#Danny's also gonna meet a lot of crows

[call-me-strega]

How to Become a Step-Dad in 5 Easy Steps: part 2 (chapter 1/?)

Here is part 1, lore

Edit: ao3 link now here

They do go to a library in this chapter so there are a lot of references to books in this chapter. I've read some but not all of them so I can say anything about their quality more than as things that I thought sounded interesting in theory. A lot of the stuff at the library was inspired by my own experiences with public libraries.

~~~

Step 2: Get to know them

Within the next 4 months Jason ran into Danny several more times. Each time becoming more and more enamored with the young man. It was hard not to when he saw how kind and hard-working he was.

~

The first time he ran into Danny after their first meeting he actually ran into Ellie first. Well, technically she ran into him but that's beside the point. But if you were gonna get technical about it he heard her little giggles before he saw her.

He had been at the library during some of his downtime to peruse some books and relax. The life of a vigilante crime lord isn't a very peaceful one, go figure. That's why Jason liked taking some time to himself every once in a while whether it was to have tea with Alfred, hang with one of his friends or siblings, or in this case visit Gotham Public Library.

Sure he could've gone to the Manor Library or gotten something online but the Manor was pretty far from the Alley and preferred having physical copies of his books rather than a computer or tablet. Electronics just didn't have that nostalgic book smell or the soft touch of a well-loved page.

Going to the library also came with its own perks. For one, he got to visit Barbie at work. It was always nice to see her as they had this unspoken solidarity between them. The atmosphere was also a plus. There was just something special about being able to be completely solitary yet still have this special connection to the other patrons. Seeing the old man enjoying a novel with his wife, the book club that met on Sundays, the haggard office worker winding down on the weekend with a graphic novel, the young woman teaching herself sign language, the teens goofing off while they were supposed to be studying, a mom reading The Kissing Hand to her kids, all of the various people here for various reasons; all of it made Jason feel like he was a part of something bigger.

He was currently browsing a display of LGBT+ books for young adults that the library had put up for Pride Month. '"Cemetery Boys", "Aristotle and Dante", "You Should See Me in a Crown", "Six of Crows", "Boyfriend Material", "Red, White, and Royal Blue", "Carry On", Oh- "The Song of Achilles" that sounds interesting?'

That’s when he felt a small chill pass behind him. He initially dismissed it as a draft from the air conditioner, but soon after he heard the sound of excited giggles nearby. He didn't think too much of it assuming it was another kid on their way out of the children's section. However, something niggled in the back of his head that this particular giggle was one he was familiar with.

That's when he felt something collide with his leg. He looked down to see a small child with a head of glossy black hair in a red beanie glomping his leg. Suddenly, the child looked up and beamed at him. Jason's eyes lit up with recognition and he laughed.

" Hey there munchkin, how are you?"

Ellie continued to smile, releasing her hold on his leg.

" I'm doing really good Mr. Jason! Daddy told me he didn't have any work today and he said we could go anywhere we wanted! First, we went to the bodega a got these really big breakfast sandwiches! Like really really big! Like the size of my face and we shared! And then Daddy took me to the park and it was really fun! I saw a squirrel there but it ran away before I could pet it! And then we came here and Daddy said we'd make me a library card so I could get whichever books I wanted. He read Oh The Places You Will Go and Where the Wild Things Are to me and then they were gonna have story time and Daddy looked tired from the park so I told him to read one of his space books and rest while I went to story time like a big girl! When story time was over I looked around and saw you so I came over to say hi and thank you for the cookies and food because daddy says we should always say thank you when people give us gifts!"

Damn, the girl sure had one hell of a motor mouth on her. It seemed she and Danny were in the middle of a father-daughter day. It brought a smile to his face to see that she was well taken care of, but based on her very informative rambles, it seemed they were taking care of each other.

" Why don't we go say hi to your dad, huh Elle?"

The young girl gasped, "That's a great idea! Then Daddy can say thank you too! And then you can read with us and come to our house for dinner! Daddy kept saying how he wanted to make something for you too since you made us the-, the- uuh... luz-on-ya and cookies!"

" Whoa there munchkin, how about we just start with hi?"

Ellie nodded with a determined look on her face, she wrapped her little hand around his pointer finger and pulled him along to the semi-secluded corner of the children's section. Sitting there in an armchair next to a small pile of books was Danny, who seemed to be out cold, The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy slipping from his fingers.

'Aah he must be tired from moving in and probably from working too' Jason thought to himself. A smaller voice in the back of his chimed in with its own two cents. ' He still made time for her. He took her out and is spending the whole day with her even though he's tired. He's a good dad.' That's when he made up his mind not to disrupt Danny's nap and let him get some rest before he had to tackle the rest of his father-daughter day with his hyperactive six-year-old. He placed a hand on Ellie's shoulder, stopping her as she was about to shake Danny awake, and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

" It looks like you were right about your dad being tired. How about we let him rest for now and I'll say hi another time? Besides I wouldn't want to interrupt your daddy-daughter day now would I?" He started to guide her to a different portion of the library quickly forming a plan, "Hows' bout we do something I think you'll like? Did you know sometimes they bring puppies and kitties into the library?"

The young girl gasped, " REALLY!"

" Yeah, sometimes puppies and kitties can help people who are feeling sad or nervous feel better. They also help teach kids how to act nicely and quietly so that they don't scare animals by letting them read to a puppy or kitty. I can help you sign up to read to a puppy or kitty today if you want? Then afterward, you can go tell your dad and he'll be really proud of you."

The young girl seemed so excited by the prospect that Jason worried for a second that she might explode.

" That's a great idea Mr. Jason! He'll be so proud of me and he'll bring me again! And I'll get so good at not scaring animals that the squirrels in the park will let me pet them! Then, Daddy will be so impressed that he'll let us get our own puppy and Cujo can come live with us!"

Jason winced, perhaps his plan had been a tad too effective. Single parents had a hard enough time keep themselves afloat while looking after their kids, a pet was extra expenses and another commitment to devote time and effort to. Pets were usually out of budget and out of question for anyone living in or near the Alley.

Well, he'd cross that bridge if he ever got to it. For now, he focused on getting Ellie signed up to read to Charlie, the old St. Bernard that was at the library this today. He and the trainer, he squinted reading her name tag, Amanda, supervised the session. Jason would be lying if he wasn't endeared by the sight of a young girl reading Dragons Love Tacos very enthusiastically to a dog nearly twice her size.

" It's nice to see a young father spending time with his daughter."

'I agree' Jason thought before realizing Amanda thought he was Ellie's dad.

" Oh- ah no I'm her -," Jason quickly made up his mind on the least creepy excuse he could find, " -babysitter. Although, her father does make a lot of effort spend time with her."

The dog trainer flushed and apologized for her mistake but Jason waved her off saying it was no big deal. Silently, he wondered how often Danny got time to himself. When he realized what he was thinking he raised an eyebrow at himself before dismissing it as worry for a young parent and wondering how he divided his time to be able to take such good care of his daughter.

Ellie was saying her final goodbyes to Charlie when he got a text from Alfred reminding him he had promised to meet him for tea and some chitchat. Once Ellie returned to his side he let her know that he had had fun seeing her today but that he had to go spend some time with his granddad and that he'd have to say hi to her dad another time. She accepted this with a surprising amount of maturity for a 6-year-old but made him pinky-promise that he'd definitely spend some time with the both of them next time they saw each other. Jason happily accepted and sent her back off to her dad before heading over to the tea shop he and Alfred liked to meet at.

" It is so nice to see you again Master Jason. I'm happy to see arrive in one piece. Usually when you are delayed it is due to some rather -ah, unfortunate hold-ups," Alfred greeted him. He returned the smile, sinking into his seat across from Alfred, ready to unload.

" Not this time Alfie, though it is a bit of a story."

" One I'm sure you'll be pleased to tell me all about," he challenged, raising an eyebrow. Jason just shook his head and chuckled.

" Sure thing Alfie."

~

The next time he ran into Danny and Ellie he was at the grocery store.

Jason had been examining a piece of zucchini when he felt a light, cool breeze quickly followed by the sensation of someone walking past him. A lean figure came and stood nearby inspecting the squash. Jason glanced up, having registered a new presence, before doing a double take. A small grin graced his lips as he spoke,

" Well hey there neighbor, didn't expect to see you today."

Danny looked up, slightly startled before he saw that it was Jason. He smiled back and returned his greeting in a warm tone.

" Hey neighbor, I didn't expect to see you either. Honestly, I was hoping we wouldn't meet till I had made a batch of my family's signature fudge to give you as a thank you when we returned your dishes for the food and for looking after Ellie that day in the library."

" Ah~ the little munchkin told you bout that did she?"

" She was pleased to inform me about how she was learning not to scare animals and how Mr. Jason was sooo nice and even pinky promised to spend some more time with her." he teased.

Jason flushed slightly, his hand coming up to the back of his neck,

" Oh yeah, I hope I didn't overstep my bounds there. She just seemed so excited."

" Yeah, that sounds like my little spitfire!" he chuckled fondly. He took a deep breath and continued. " Well if you don't have anything else going on tonight I'd love to have you over. Ellie has really been looking forward to seeing you again and I can whip up some fudge that you can take home with you if you stay for dinner?" Danny seemed to flush at his own forwardness before rushing to continue, " I mean- not that you have to, especially if you're busy! I just- thought it might be nice to get to know my neighbor, especially since Ellie seems to like you so much! But-"

Jason, who had just finished processing the dinner invite, interrupted before Danny spiraled deeper into his nervous rambles. He place a hand on Danny's shoulder to get his attention and spoke,

" Sure. I'd love to come over Danny." He smiled, puffing up his chest, “ Besides, I have a pinky promise to fulfill.”

Danny returned his smile with a laugh, giving Jason's shoulder an embarrassed shove. Jason grinned at having successfully made the other laugh. The two stared at each other for a beat, coming down from their high of making each other laugh, before flushing and looking away. A look of realization passed over Danny's face and he turned to speak to Jason again.

" You probably have your own groceries to finish and put away. How about you come over around 7:30? I can have the fudge cooling in the fridge while we eat, oh which reminds me, you’re not allergic to anything are you?"

Jason smiled back. "7:30 sounds great Danny and no, no allergies as far as I’m aware, though I’m not particularly fond of most shellfish."

“Well alrighty then I’ll see you at 7:30,” Danny confirmed with a smile and rushed off to continue his own shopping.

And that’s how Jason found himself standing outside the Nightingale residence in a casual maroon 3/4 sleeve tee, a dark denim jacket, and some of his nicer trousers with a bouquet of flowers he put a frankly embarrassing amount of thought into. He figured bringing more food wouldn’t be appropriate since he was a dinner guest, dessert wouldn’t fly either as Danny had claimed he’d be making fudge, and wine didn’t seem appropriate with a 6-year-old also in attendance.

‘Come on Jason, it’s just a casual dinner with your neighbors! Normal human interaction, nothing to be nervous about! You can do this!’

Jason took a breath and knocked on the door. He heard a pitched squee followed by a “it’s him daddy!” come from behind the door. Unconsciously, Jason smiled as he heard the door unlocking. As it opened he was met with a cool breeze from within the apartment and the sight of his two neighbors. Danny was in a pale, moss green apron, smudged with what appeared to be powdered sugar, over a pale blue button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and cuffed jeans. Ellie was dressed in an interesting combo of pink crocs, neon green leggings, a sparkly, powder blue tutu, a white shirt with glittery black script declaring her “Daddy’s little princess”, a denim jacket embroidered with flowers and vines on the back and sleeves, and a plastic tiara with a big purple gem in the middle fixed atop her signature red beanie.

“Hi,” Danny greeted a bit breathlessly. His young daughter stood in front of him beaming up at Jason.

“ Mr. Jason you came!” She bounced excitedly on her heels before launching forward to hug his leg. She tugged at his jacket before pointing to her own, “Look! We match!”

With a smile, Jason got down on one knee and offered the flowers to her, “ And what an honor it is to match with such a beautiful princess! Please, accept these flowers as a token of my goodwill m’lady!”

“Thank you!” The girl giggled, accepting the bouquet and scurrying back into the apartment. Jason watched her go with a smile. He then turned his gaze to look up at Danny who watched the whole interaction with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. He met Jason’s gaze and smiled.

“Why don’t you come in too my good sir,” he teased, holding out his hand to help Jason up. Jason smirked at the opportunity Danny had unknowingly presented him. He took Danny’s hand but made no move to get up. Instead, he ran his thumb over the other man’s knuckles and slowly brought the hand closer to his face. He glanced up once more, teal eyes connecting to icy blue ones.

“Of course my dear king,” he whispered. His breath dancing over Danny’s hand, his lips ghosting over his knuckles. Maintaining eye contact, the kneeling man placed a gentle kiss on his knuckles, watching a beautiful red flush bloom upon the young man’s face.

‘His hand is cold. His fingers have the beginnings of callouses on them. It feels like his hand was made to fit in mine. This feels right’

Jason is snapped out of his reverie when Danny clears his throat. He coughs into his other hand while trying to hide his blush, averting his eyes in embarrassment. He doesn't withdraw his hand however, allowing Jason to continue to hold it. Jason took that as his sign to get up before this got too awkward.

He rose from the ground still not letting go of the other's hand. The pair stood there for a moment with their hands intertwined, as if a message was being passed through their tingling palms. A charge filled the air with an exhilarating tension. The kind you feel before trying something unfamiliar and new that, unbeknownst to you, will become your favorite.

“So, uh, let’s head in then?” Danny said, slowly withdrawing his hand from Jason’s, almost as if he was reluctant to do so.

“Let’s,” Jason replied and the two turned into the apartment.

Danny had Ellie show Jason to the bathroom so he could wash up as he set the table. He had made grilled squash, a macaroni and beef hotdish, and some Greek salad on the side. The three of them sat at the table making some small talk ( how are they liking it in Gotham, how did the rest of daddy-daughter day go, does Jason have restaurant/activity recommendations, would he like to see Ellie’s favorite model airplane, etc.) and laughing with each other over horrible dad jokes and Ellie’s antics.

Jason could feel his chest fill with an almost unbearable warmth. He would’ve sworn it’d have melted him from the inside out if it hadn’t been accompanied by an overwhelming feeling of joy and desire. The traitorous little whisper in his head returned to comment on how much he’d love to be a part of the Nightingale’s family.

Soon enough it was time for Ellie to head to bed and Jason to head out, lest he be late for patrol.

“Here, I can clear off the table while you put her to bed.”

Danny rushed to stop him despite the young child koala wrapped over his torso. “Oh, you really don’t have to do that. I can-”

“Relax your highness, let me take care of this while you put the princess to bed.” He gave Danny a kind look, hefting up the dirty dishes. Danny returned it with a grateful look and turned to go put his daughter to bed. Over his shoulder, Ellie looked up sleepily and weakly waved one last time saying “Goodnight Mr.Jason” in a small voice.

Jason smiled gently at her and replied, “Goodnight princess.”

He then turned back to his task of clearing the table. Moving the dirty dishes to the sink and the serving dishes to the counter. He figured he’d get started on the dishes while he waited for Danny to return. He let his mind wander as he covered a plate with soapy suds. Danny and Ellie seemed like a good pair of neighbors. He doubted they’d cause him any trouble and if they ever unintentionally did, Jason found himself thinking he’d find it rather easy to forgive them. The two were both so welcoming and full of life. They made Jason feel so happy and peaceful tonight. They welcomed him into their home and made him feel as if they enjoyed his company and wanted him around for more than just a cursory “return the favor” dinner. ‘As If he belongs there. With them.’ The little voice returned, prompting Jason to reel in his thoughts. He’s only known them for what? Two weeks? These weren’t the type of thoughts he should be having at this point. He tried to rationalize it telling himself he just missed the domesticity of family dinners like he had when Catherine was in a good stretch or like he had with Bruce, Dick, and Alfred as kid when they were all getting along. He made up his mind to attend one of the bi-weekly family dinners at the manor coming up. It’d be nice to see the little demon brat, big bird, and nerd bird again now that they were getting along like actual brothers.

“Oh! Jason you didn’t have to do that!” His train of thought broken by Danny rushing over to protest him doing dishes. “You’re a guest! You really didn’t have to-”

“It’s okay Danny, I wanted to,” he reassured the fussing young man who pulled him away from the sink. The young man responded by pushing him out of the kitchen and telling him to grab his jacket before turning back to grab something from the fridge.

And there he stood in the doorway, 20 minutes after he had intended to leave, still saying goodbye. Danny pushed a familiar Tupperware container into his hands, which recognized as the one he had given them lasagna in, now full of dark squares of fudge sprinkled with a bit of white and green on top.

Danny smiled as he handed him the sweets. “A family recipe with my own little twist on it,” he winked. Jason gratefully accepted, wishing the young man well and agreeing that he hoped to see the other again soon. And with that, Jason rushed off hoping that he wouldn’t be late for patrol.

~ Later that night Jason returned to his apartment, exhausted. He chucked his helmet off onto the bed and stumbled to his kitchen. He pulled open the fridge in search of something to eat when his eyes landed on the fudge his neighbor had given him. He pulled it out and grabbed a square, giving it a sniff before biting in. His eyes widened at the taste.

The fudge was, well fudgy, but not overly sweet. It had a richness of dark chocolate and a sweeter note from the white chocolate chips mixed in. There were also candied orange peels mixed into it which gave the fudge a bit of chew and acidity to break up the richness. The fudge was topped with pistachios adding a nutty, earthy flavor to the experience. He’s sure that if Martian Manhunter ever tried these he’d accuse Jason of giving him hard drugs. But what Jason liked most of all was the quality only homemade food and family recipes passed down over generations have. He could practically taste the amount of love and thought that went into this fudge.

Jason smiled to himself finishing off his square and decided the save the rest for later. He headed off to bed with a peaceful smile on his face and a warm, full, feeling in his chest.

~~~

I tried very hard to balance out the dialogue and description as well as to not make it too long winded and keep the story moving so please let me know what you guys think. I love receiving feedback so if there is anything you want to see more or less of let me know. I’m also open to suggestions of where Jason should run into our father-daughter pair next.

If anyone's interested here is what the bouquet was comprised of: apple blossom- preference, basil- good wishes, white camellia- you're adorable, goldenrod- encouragement/good fortune, violets- watchfulness/modesty/faithfulness

I actually looked up a real fudge recipe so that I'd have and easier time describing it. You can find it here: https://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/candy/creamy-rich-pistachio-tangerine-fudge

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

Dear Evan Hansen

You may have seen some ~online discourse~ about the film Dear Evan Hansen, an adaptation of the 2016 Broadway musical, and you might have wondered what all the hubbub is about. I mean, it’s a feel good story about a senior in high school, Evan Hansen (Ben Platt), who has some pretty severe anxiety and depression. While trying to fulfill an assignment from his therapist to write a letter to himself, his letter gets picked up by another student, Connor (Colton Ryan) - and later that day, Connor kills himself. Connor’s grieving parents and sister Zoe (Amy Adams, Danny Pino, and Kaitlyn Dever) are desperate to learn more from the boy they think was Connor’s best friend - after all, Connor’s suicide note was a letter addressed to “Dear Evan Hansen.” And, as you can imagine, Evan tells them about the unfortunate mistake and sits with them in their grief as they struggle to pick up the pieces of their lives. 

Just kidding! He lies to them, repeatedly, elaborately, expansively for months, constructing an entire false friendship with Connor that never happened, and ingratiating himself into the wealthy nuclear family he never had, in large part because he wants to get into Zoe’s pants! THIS IS THE PROTAGONIST OF THE STORY. Oh, and it’s a musical so there is a lot of singing and crying and singing WHILE crying and sometimes crying and not singing at all. But the #inspiration, you guys. 

Things I liked:

Pretty much everything but the story and Ben Platt’s performance. The supporting cast is stacked, and all of them do a great job at elevating material scraped directly out of a diaper worn by someone who just chewed their way through a copy of the DSM-5. 

A couple of the songs are damn catchy - “Waving Through a Window” and “You Will Be Found” are standouts for a reason - and here’s the thing, Platt sings them well. But as you’ll discover, there’s a lot more to a movie musical than just singing your part. 

Stephen Chbosky, the man behind every deep thought I and a lot of people in my generation had in 2006 after he wrote The Perks of Being a Wallflower, is a pretty good director. I particularly enjoyed the fanvid-type cuts in “Waving Through a Window” in conjunction with the lyrics, and his use of interstitial shots to flashbacks (and sometimes flashforwards!) is a neat little bit of shorthand that I thought was used sparingly enough to be effective. 

Amy Fucking Adams. She’s holding on so hard, so desperately to the idea of who her son could have been, rather than the reality of who he was, and she is full of such deep pain that is masked by an almost endless supply of patience with Evan and relentless positivity. All this made me want was Enchanted 2 even worse than I already did. 

Super into everything Zoe wears - the costuming department did a great job, and now all I want to do is live in mom jeans and baggy sweaters.

Did I Cry? I teared up a couple of times because I’m not a completely heartless bastard and when Amy Adams offered Evan Connor’s college money, my heart broke for the lie Evan had thrust upon her, and Julianne Moore’s song got me good, because she’s just a single mom to Evan who is doing her goddamn best. 

Things I hated more than the time I dropped a frozen gallon container of fruit cocktail on my pinkie toe in my parents’ garage and it turned black and I thought it was gonna fall off:

Ben Platt is 28 years old. He originated the role of Evan Hansen on Broadway, so in many respects it makes sense that he plays the role in the movie, except for the one kinda sorta important thing where he looks like a wizened old crone standing amongst a sea of children doing his best twitching, cringing Hunchback of Notre Dame impression. If you want someone to convincingly play 20 years their junior, hire Paul Rudd. Otherwise, please don’t ask me to believe that this supposed 18-year-old has crow’s feet. 

And that twitching nervous energy is a huge part of the black hole at the center of this film - he’s playing to the cheap seats and walking through the halls of his high school like a wet chihuahua. It’s an excruciating acting choice to watch - he doesn’t just have anxiety, he is on the verge of a nervous breakdown seemingly every second of every day. Like honestly, where is only-mentioned-never-seen Dr. Sherman, because this young man’s meds are NOT WORKING DR. SHERMAN. 

There’s such a lack of self-awareness on behalf of the writing, directing, and performance by Platt. There’s one song, “Sincerely, Me,” that offers the only glimpse of commentary about what Evan is doing, by pointing out the malicious ridiculousness of him writing a series of fake emails as proof of his and Connor’s friendship. 

Also what high schoolers email this much?? I know this was written in probably 2014 or so, but has a bitch never heard of a text? Even a DM? This whole plot is constructed around the premise that high schoolers are just constantly, constantly emailing each other. 

Everything - and I mean EV-ER-Y-THING - about Evan’s relationship with Zoe is so creepy and disturbing that with a soundtrack change, this could easily be a horror movie. He attempts to get her to like him by describing to her all the things her brother noticed about her - oh wait, I’m sorry, all the things HE noticed about her while he was skulking in the shadows following her around for years, watching every move she made, and it ends with him singing repeatedly “I LOVE YOU” because following a girl around and never having a conversation with her or knowing her at all is love, right? This was clearly written by the same people who chose “Every Breath You Take” as their wedding song because Sting is hot and they never actually listened to the damn words. 

And it gets about 10 billion times worse when Zoe goes to Evan’s house alone, takes him up to his room, and sings “I don’t need reasons to want you” and that was the moment I was that person I hate in a movie theater and I pulled out my phone to Google who wrote the music and lyrics to the musical (we were in the back row of the theater no one was behind me THIS WAS AN OUTRAGE EMERGENCY) and of motherfucking course it was written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, 2 men who heard about meeting an actual human woman from a friend one time but otherwise are unfamiliar with the concept. 

Lastly, enormous serial killer vibes from Evan sending unlabeled flash drives anonymously through the mail with no note in an attempt to right his wrongs. That’s not catharsis, that’s how the next installment in the Saw franchise starts, with Evan in a Billy the clown doll mask showing up on the screen and asking if you want to play a fucking game. 

Also, I know it’s not possible for the narrative to justify this in a way that could be satisfying based on Evan’s actions, but what is with this thing where single working-class mom Julianne Moore is turning down rich people’s money for Evan to go to college? Like, obviously we can’t have that happen in the movie but in real life, fuck your pride! Take those rich people’s money!

I also know how movies work but nothing annoys me more than a giant group of high schoolers all getting beeps and boops to indicate text notifications all at the same time because I don’t know a single person under the age of 55 who keeps their ringer on. That shit is on vibrate AT MOST, and I feel like that’s a millennial thing. 

The emotional climax of the film is obviously Evan’s WAY TOO LATE confession, but the idea that it’s prompted by Connor’s family suddenly getting a lot of internet hate is, frankly, laughable. If Sandy Hook taught me one thing, it is that no tragedy is immune from trolls who live only to cause other people devastating emotional pain on the internet. That shit starts day 1. Apparently no one involved in this production has ever been on Twitter?

Also it feels like there should have been a dog somewhere in this movie and there was no dog, so points off for that too. 

Perhaps Dear Evan Hansen isn’t nearly as deep as it aspires to be. Perhaps it’s a morality play, a simplistic message of “Don’t lie, kids, lying is bad!” Major studio movies wrap themselves up with a nice bow at the end so everyone can feel good about themselves and leave with a happy ending, but the moronic cruelty on display here makes that feat feel impossible. We’re left with Evan in an orchard, reading Connor’s favorite books and staring into the big blue sky with all the self-actualization he’s earned now as a lil treat. And if Evan Hansen looked like an actual 18-year-old, it would be a lot easier to extend more empathy to him and his not-fully-developed prefrontal cortex, but it’s a little harder with this fully-grown, weathered man who was old enough to remember seeing Liar Liar in theaters. 

Dear Evan Hansen, 

Get some actual help and a haircut and maybe you can grow up enough to have an actual healthy interaction with any other living person, ever.

Sincerely, 

Me

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[satans-helper]

Drop-Off

Pairing: Sam Kiszka x Danny Wagner

Word Count: ~2900

Warnings: none. Part spooky story, part fluff, part crack. Happy Halloween :)

Inspired by my own many haunted cemetery adventures and, of course, my adoration for this pairing. I could really see these two getting up to some ridiculousness on Halloween. I hope you enjoy & have a safe & marvelous Halloween!

---

“Sam, wait--ah, fuck.” Stopping in his tracks as the jagged metal fence, a nearly person-sized hole cut through it, clung to Danny’s sleeve, threatening to tear it. “Stop--just wait,” he ordered, eyes darting ahead to try and make out Sam’s shape in the pitch black. 

Sam turned around, also blinking to try and see Danny. The silver of the fence was more obvious, so his eyes followed that to Danny’s arm, crooked and stuck. “You good?”

“No, as a matter of fact, I’m not,” came the irritated reply. Sam heard the fence rattling and another muttered curse, then Danny was stumbling forward, hands flying to Sam’s shoulders. “There you are. I can barely see, Sam.”

“Just a little further, then we can use the flashlights,” Sam assured his partner in crime--literally. Even though they hadn’t cut that hole in the fence, it was still breaking and entering into a cemetery after hours. Trespassing. And it wasn’t like they were 16 anymore--they were adults, and adults faced real consequences. That was something Danny wasn’t forgetting, but Sam had compartmentalized his thoughts enough to leave that one tucked away for now.

Danny’s hands were still tight on Sam’s shoulders. The earth below felt too soft, too unreliable. At least even with Sam’s chaos, he was still a grounding presence. “Why are we doing this?” 

“The urban legends. The cult,” Sam replied, turning away to move forward, taking Danny’s hand in his own. He would be his guide. His own eyes had adjusted, for the most part, to the sliver of moonlight and faint smattering of stars; still, he walked swiftly but carefully, relying more so on feeling than on sight to avoid the fallen headstones and very trippable dips in the ground. “Remember where it all supposedly takes place? The Devil’s Bowl? We’re going to find it.”

Why had Danny agreed to such a stupid idea? Oh, right--it was Sam’s idea. And a lot of Sam’s ideas seem good when they’re both drunk and stoned and in need of some kind of adventure, an adventure entirely of their own choosing. Literally, it was an idiotic, risky choose-your-own-Halloween-adventure. “Right, but then what? What if there IS a cult there, sacrificing crows or cats or drinking pig’s blood, or whatever they do?” 

Sam laughed. “There’s not going to be a cult there. At least, no dudes in hooded black robes drinking blood. Come on, Daniel.” He tugged Danny forward, stepping along the base of the little valley until they were on gravel, a curved stretch of road between two big mounds of graves sprawling before them. 

“I already know we’re gonna get lost,” Danny warned in Sam’s ear, stepping up to be at his side. 

“Nah,” Sam said, as confident as ever, graveyard or no graveyard. He moved forward again, sneakers crunching over the gravel, and grabbed the pocket-sized flashlight from his hoodie, turning it on and shining it on the signs down at the next meeting of roads. “We’re on Indian Trail and Bluebell Road. Remember that.” 

Danny stared at the signs, trying to imprint them in his mind. “So where to next? We don’t even have a map.”

Sam shuffled in his pockets again, pulling out a pamphlet, slick and shiny in the moonlight. “Wrong again, Daniel. I came prepared.” He opened it up and held his flashlight over it. “Okay, so the Devil’s Bowl isn’t on the map.” Danny scoffed, and Sam gave his ankle a light kick. “Stop it. It’s not on the map, but remember, it’s right by that big fountain? That’s on the map.”

“How far?” Danny asked, inspecting the map for himself. The place was massive, sprawling with plots, and it all seemed so imposing in the dark. It was dead quiet, no sound whatsoever, and while he wasn’t particularly worried about ghosts, he was worried about creeps prowling around, the police ambushing them, and also still worried about the possibility of some insane, violent cult performing some heinous ritual right in the spot they were headed to. 

Danny could hear the smirk in Sam’s voice as he answered: “Kind of far.” So Sam was enjoying torturing him. 

Danny pinched his side. “You’re the worst. What if we get caught?”

Sam snorted. “We won’t get caught. You think the cops don’t have anything better to do?”

“No, honestly, I don’t.”

That made Sam laugh. He hooked his arm in Danny’s and started to lead the way, turning the flashlight off. “Maybe you’re right about that. But we’ll be fine. Besides, you think any cop could really catch us? We’re fast.”

“Okay, that’s a fair point,” Danny agreed, feeling a little better since they were at least sticking to a road and not tumbling through tombstones. He held Sam’s arm even tighter and ended up leading more than following with his slightly bigger strides, plus the new fuel of assurance and confidence from Sam that was, Danny had to admit, often infectious.

It was still spooky. The winding gravel road weaved between hills and valleys and the pair was quiet as they walked, really stalked, through the old and weathered cemetery. The tops of the hills loomed over them in silence and shallow fear prickled up Danny’s spine; he kept expecting to see a pair of eyes in the dark up there, or to see a blur of a shadow slither past a mausoleum. Thankfully, he saw none of that, but the creepiness followed with each step, this weight that couldn’t be shaken. 

Sam didn’t want to--wasn’t going to--admit it, but he was pretty spooked himself. Total silence felt better when it wasn’t taking place in the middle of a place where thousands of corpses and skeletons were mere feet below him, below each and every step. He clung to Danny, his rock, as they moved through the thick darkness, both of them turning at every foreign sound that intercepted the silence, each sound unexplainable without sight but probably, hopefully, innocent and benevolent. 

“So let’s say we get to this place and there is a cult,” Danny proposed, his quiet voice looping to Sam’s hyper-aware ears. “What do we do? I have a pocket knife but they would probably have like, cleavers and big knives--”

Sam laughed. “I’m pretty sure we could outrun them, too. They’d trip on their own fuckin’ robes.”

Danny unhooked their arms and slid his hand down Sam’s wrist, grabbing for his hand instead. There was no way he was going to disconnect anytime soon. As much as strange, glowing eyes and shadow figures freaked him out, he knew other people were the scariest possible things they could run into. “If we hear chanting, I’m out.”

“I’m cool with that. Chanting, music, the sound of something--or someone--being slaughtered--we bolt.” Sam slid his free hand into his hoodie pocket, making sure the map was still there. “We run towards the road, hop the fence. That’d be the quickest way out.”

Danny halted the two of them in the middle of the path, the cool breeze drifting over his face like a warning. “Wait, is the Devil’s Bowl by a road?” 

Sam chuckled and Danny could see the glimmer of a smirk in the faint blue light. “Yes, Daniel, kind of by a road. So I think that lessens the chance of a cult hanging around there.”

“But it increases the chances of someone else spotting us,” Danny replied, reaching in his back pocket for his own little flashlight. “Where are we right now?”

“Not there yet,” Sam chirped, though he could have sworn he heard something shuffling behind them. He willed himself to ignore it. “We’ll know when we find it. It’s literally like, this huge crater in the ground.”

“Oh, great,” Danny snorted, safely securing the flashlight, still off, in his free hand. “Something to fall right into. Disappear into. Never be seen again.”

“We’ll be fine. We’re just gonna check it out. It’s Halloween,” Sam reminded him. “Maybe we’ll, I don’t know, experience something in it.”

Danny obliged to Sam’s next steps, settling back into a pace beside him. “Experience what?” Whatever it might be, he sensed they were getting closer and closer--he could see street lights glowing faintly in the distance, partially obscured by tall, black trees.

“Something, y’know, scary,” Sam told him, eyes darting to the side. “If Jake can see ghosts, why can’t we?” He could still hear something shuffling behind them, as if whatever it was was literally following them. But Danny showed no signs of noticing the sound--it must have been in Sam’s head. He shook it off again, squeezing Danny’s warm hand as they carried on, the gravel crunching beneath their sneakers, the breeze swirling around their hair, tickling their faces. The air smelled cold; it smelled like dead leaves and dirt, like stone and wet grass. No stench of death though--at least they were spared that, though the knowledge that they were trodding over one giant death pit never relented.

It wasn’t actually long before they came across another curve in the road, this one deeper, like it was hugging something--and it was. Sam and Danny paused at the base of it, peering ahead into darkness, eyes widening to inspect what the road was cradling. 

“What is that?” Danny whispered, pointing to some unidentifiable shape, just large enough to be imposing. It was clearly not a living thing, but it didn’t look like a mausoleum or a tombstone of any kind.

Sam clicked his flashlight on and pointed it right at the thing. “It’s the fountain.” He exhaled, his heart hammering just a bit, and swept the flashlight down, slowly panning it closer to where they stood. “So the Devil’s Bowl should be right around here.”

“No cult,” Danny sighed. “Thank God.” He still gripped Sam’s hand tighter, both of their palms sweaty, practically sticking together even without each other’s intentional grasp.

“No cult,” Sam affirmed, bringing the stark light down, to the left, where it illuminated another curve, a thick curve of dirt and smattering of grass and brush, and then a half-buried tombstone, tilted at an angle. “Hey, look--I think we found it.” He let go of Danny’s hand and stepped to the edge, the toes of his sneakers hanging over the empty space. It wasn’t a far drop down, maybe two and a half feet, but it was still imposing. Shining the light around the whole circle, he could see how huge the “bowl” really was, how its curvature shoved full-bodied trees out of the way at odd angles, how the graves around it looked so out of place, how the bones below must just be absolutely everywhere, coffins askew. 

Danny met Sam’s side again. The flashlight gave such a limited view, but at least he 

could see there was no one lurking below, no dead animals, no skeletal remains sticking out of the dirt. Still, the whole thing felt foreboding in a way, like this “Devil’s Bowl” was an entity in and of itself and like, if they stepped inside, they’d be swallowed down forever. 

“Come on,” Sam urged, taking one big step down, leaving Danny up on the edge. 

“We found it. Isn’t it time we move on?” Danny replied, but he followed anyway, glancing up towards the distant streetlights once he was down in the pit. The fact that it was largely so empty was giving him the creeps. Besides the few scattered graves around the top edge, there were only a handful of other graves in the actual bowl, also scattered around, like no one had a real place, no one was meant to be together. 

“So who are these people?” Danny asked, taking out his flashlight, stepping over to one lopsided, half-buried tombstone along the edge. “Or ‘were,’ I guess. They must have died a long time ago.” Even creepier--none of the tombstones in the bowl were at all legible, all the carvings and etchings into the stones long eroded away, leaving mostly blank, cold slates. Nameless. Dateless. The night wind carried itself over again and Danny shuddered. He kind of wished he and Sam were back home already, watching campy horror movies and stuffing their faces with leftover candy. 

“Man, it’s pretty spooky here,” Sam said, scanning his own light over the other tombstones, ready to admit that the situation he’d put the two of them in was maybe a little beyond normal Halloween hijinks. “Totally barren. I guess if I were in a cult, this is where I’d make sacrifices.” He whipped his head around to look out into the dark, back toward the fountain--there was that shuffling sound again, clear as the day that was many hours away, loud and somehow, to him, aggressive. “Danny, what the fuck.”

Instantly a little alarm went off in Danny’s head. If Sam was scared, it was serious. He gripped his flashlight hard and took two big steps to meet Sam’s side. “What?” He didn’t hear anything, didn’t see anything. But his mind was so caught up in the idea of getting caught, much of everything else was clouded.

Sam grabbed Danny’s forearm. “Do you hear that?” It was still there, coming from the same vague spot. Close and loud enough to be concerning, but it didn’t sound like it had moved. Hopefully. “That shuffling sound, like--like something in the leaves.” 

Danny paused, trying to somehow tune his ears in the direction of Sam’s gaze. Silence for a few seconds and then there was something--something dry, like swirling dead leaves, like bird wings rubbing together, like insects congregating. Something, whatever it was, that made his skin crawl. 

“We’re out,” Danny said, no longer whispering but announcing. “Let’s go.”

“I’ve been hearing it the entire time,” Sam whispered back, digging his nails into Danny’s arm. “Like it’s been following us.”

Dread pooled in Danny’s stomach. “Don’t say that. It’s in your imagination.”

“You heard it too!” Sam hissed loudly, and both of them turned again at the sound of that dead, dry shuffling only a few feet away now. 

“We have a tour to finish,” Danny said, starting to pull Sam away, taking big steps. “I’m not dying in this graveyard.”

“Fine, fuck it, we’re out,” Sam agreed, lunging forward to take the lead. Both flashlights were shining on the ground as their backs were turned to the sound; he tried to ignore it as he gripped Danny’s hand tight, feeling with his feet for when the hard ground would climb up and they’d have to clamber out of the basin. Panic surged up his spine when Sam could find no edge, no curve of dirt, no end to the pit they were in. 

Danny noticed, too. “Where is it? Where’s the ledge, the edge, whatever?”

“I don’t know!” Sam yelped. “We didn’t go that far.”

There really was no way in hell Danny was going to let either of them get trapped in a graveyard overnight, certainly not with some mystery noise tailgating them along the way. He returned Sam’s death grip on his hand and tried to breathe, trusting in his flashlight and that they had probably just strayed further into the pit than they’d realized. The edge was there, somewhere, and the road above was waiting for them to get back on it. 

It felt like much longer than it was, but they did reach the edge, bumping into the dip of dirt that was cool and damp against their thighs. It felt like it had come out of nowhere. Danny climbed up first, yanking Sam up after him, all the while whatever sound had been coming from the depth of the dark had quieted, or so it seemed. They stood on the edge once more, looking down into the Devil’s Bowl with their flashlight little beams the only light in the dark. 

“We didn’t go that far,” Sam said again, chest heaving, adrenaline pumping. “We were still right at the edge, right? Why did it feel like we moved--moved so far away?”

“I don’t know, Sam,” Danny said, taking his hand again. “But I’m not sticking around here to find out. We saw it, wet went in, we heard some weird shit. I just wanna go home and stick my whole face into a bag of candy corn.”

They walked back briskly, almost on the verge of a jog, making them start to pant once more. The flashlights bobbed with their strides, the gravel crunching a much more welcome sound now that they were headed back. Sam didn’t feel anything else anymore other than Danny’s hand in his and the fear that had morphed into delirious delight, almost pride--they’d broken into a haunted cemetery, really haunted, and lived to tell the tale. Josh and Jake would be so jealous. 

“You’re pretty hot when you’re scared,” Sam said between breaths. He couldn’t see much of Danny but it was still the truth. There was something else they’d both want besides candy corn, thanks to all that adrenaline. 

Danny had to laugh. “You’re the only one I’d want to get sacrificed with, Sam.”

Thank God it hadn’t come to that. Sam managed to lift Danny’s hand up to his mouth and kiss his knuckles, taut and rigid in his own hand. “Right back at ya, Daniel.” 

---

Tagging: @mountainofthesunn​ @mssives @bigthighsandstupidguys​ @dreams-madeof-strawberrylemonade​ @kiszkawagnergvf​ @chestinfect-me​ @woman-ina-dream​ @itsametaphorbriansblog​ @karrotkate​ @edgeofgreta​ @silver--storms​ @jimmypagesandbrianmayshair​ @camomillacatalina​

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Field of Poppies Part 7

Summary: After being apart for six years, childhood friends Tommy and Amelia reunite under odd circumstances. Tommy is an outspoken young man and Amelia is pregnant and out on the streets. The bond of family can be unbreakable but it is tested often. Especially when Europe descends into war.

Part 7: Amelia decides on a name for her baby, Tommy decides on a name for his gang. 

             “Look at that.” Amelia folded the knitted blanket over the railing of the cot. It had been a present from her employers at the grocery store. They had given her a couple of months off of work so she could deliver the baby and get settled. “All ready.”

            Tommy was sitting on the chest at the end of her bed. “Just need the baby now.”

            She smiled and rested a hand on her swollen abdomen. “Couple more weeks.”

            “Are you nervous?” He asked.

            “I don’t know.” She admitted and adjusted the sheets on the cot. It was perfect, just waiting to cradle the little boy that was due. “I suppose I am but it feels okay, lie everything will be taken care of.”

            “It will be,” Tommy promised. “You don’t need to worry about a thing.”

            Amelia went to sit on the bed, leaning back on her hands to try and ease the ache in her lower back. “I can’t imagine how things would end up without you, Tom.” She murmured softly.

            “You’d be alright.” He stood up and stepped in front of her. Cautiously, he tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. Although they had confessed their love to one another the month prior, neither of them took a step to show that affection. Either because they were always surrounded by family or they weren’t sure what to do. How to allow things to begin.

            Tommy and Amelia were very familiar with one another, being friends for so long. But being in love was so different that they almost had no clue how to handle it. It was new territory. Tommy had flings before, girls flocked to him. A combination of blue eyes and a reputation for trouble was alluring. But with Amelia, it was different. Tommy saw a future, which was very unlike him. Most of his plans were related to lifting his family out of the slums of Birmingham. He wanted to make others understand the hardships of the working man. But with Amelia, he saw a personal future.

            She took his hands in hers. “I was thinking about what we could name him.” The change of subject brought Tommy out of his thoughts.

            “Yeah?”

            “Remember I told you about the woman at the fair who I talked to for a bit?”

            “With the baby?”

            “Right, Maxine. I was thinking we could name him after her. I mean if Polly’s right about the gender.”

            Tommy chuckled and gently grazed his thumb over her knuckles. “She’s never been wrong yet. Me mum said she knew what gender each of us would be months before we were born.”

            Amelia smiled. “Well, then we’ll have to name him Maxwell. Max for short?”

            “That sounds like a fine name.” He agreed. Tommy didn’t want to suggest naming the boy after his father and he had a feeling she wouldn’t want to name him after her father either. Neither of them was a role model.

            “Maxwell Thomas Shelby.”

            Tommy looked surprised, wondering if he’d heard her right.

            Amelia looked a little sheepish. “I mean if you don’t mind if he takes your last name. I didn’t really want to give him mine.”

            “I wouldn’t mind at all but…you want to give him my name too?”

            “Why not?” It was a no-brainer to Amelia.

            “I just-” He shrugged and realized he was at a loss for words. The simple act of giving the boy his name was just solidifying the future he would have with Amelia. It was exciting but also petrifying. For the first time in his life, he was thinking about ‘forever’ and not just the brief moment. Everything suddenly had long term consequences. Things he couldn’t walk away from. But he didn’t want to walk away. He wanted to be by Amelia’s side forever. “I’m never gonna leave you, Mel.”

            “I know you wouldn’t.” She looked up at him, trust in her brown eyes.

            Tommy, overcome by the moment, threw caution to the wind. He helped her stand up from the bed so he could kiss her.

            Amelia let go of his hands and for a moment, he was afraid she was going to push him away. But instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck so she could bring him as close as she could.

            It was a thrilling moment but Amelia also felt exceptionally safe. As if Tommy could keep her completely out of harm’s way as long as he was near.

            And back then, Amelia thought he could.

 ~~~~~~~~~

            The betting shop was gaining attention fast. But Amelia was purposefully kept in the dark. The less she knew, the better. And Tommy knew it wasn’t to mislead her or be deceptive. He just didn’t want her to worry about any of the business side. He wanted her to live a comfortable life removed from any of the danger the betting shop might garner.

            Tommy and Arthur had spent a lifetime learning to defend themselves. But they needed to become better. More ready. That’s when the idea of concealing razor blades came up.

            “Coppers can take guns ‘n shit, but what if they can’t find any weapons on us even when we’re still armed?” Arthur mused in the empty betting shop with Tommy one night after closing.

            Tommy posed this to Great Jurossi who worked at her family’s tailor shop. After becoming a loyal member to the union cause and the communist party, the young woman trusted Tommy. So, she didn’t question his reasons for wanting a concealed weapon. The streets of Birmingham were rough, a lot of people had weapons.

            She came back with a prototype of sorts. One of Tommy’s flat caps with two razor blades sewn into the brim. A suitable weapon and a clever one as well.

            And it worked a dream when one of the Birmingham Boys came around talking shit.

            Two weeks after the Appleby Fair, Tommy was accosted by a man who told him Billy Kimber didn’t appreciate his territory being threatened.

            It wasn’t a fair fight, especially since the man hadn’t even reached for his gun before Tommy slipped his cap off. Adrenaline pumping, Tommy gouged the man’s eye out.

            The man screamed as he clutched his face, blood pouring down his hands and arms. He fell to his knees in agony.

            Tommy, his heart pounding like nothing he’d felt before, stood over the man. He clutched his flat cap close, the man’s blood dripping from the blades. “You go back and tell your boss, to never fuck with the Peaky Blinders.” He said in a ragged voice before taking his leave.

           ~~~~~~~~~~~

            The name was pieced together by Tommy. Although he took two separate comments from Greta and Arthur and pieced them together.

            “It’s got a blade peeking out the top,” Greta said as she showed him what she’d put together. “So you need to be careful with it now, if you grab it the wrong way, you’ll cut your hand.”

            Peek.

            “Fucking hell,” Arthur said when he examined the cap. He held it firm in his grip. “You could blind a hundred men without skipping a beat with this thing.”

            Blind.

~~~~~~~~~ 

            “That’s a fucking stupid name,” Freddie remarked from his spot on the front stoop.

            “I weren’t asking your opinion. That’s what we’ll be known as.” Tommy insisted. “People will remember it.”

            “Yeah,” Arthur agreed. “From Brighton to Blackpool, everyone will know the Peaky Fucking Blinders!” He crowed proudly.

            Danny laughed. “So, we’ll have a uniform then, like those cavalry dicks?”

            Tommy shook his head. “The hat isn’t a uniform, it’s a weapon. And a damn good one.”

            “Yeah, he cut a Birmingham Boy so badly, he won’t ever fucking see again.” Arthur grabbed his younger brother by the shoulder and shook him playfully.

            “You did what?” Freddie’s eyes widened. “Tom, Billy Kimber owns the racetracks, what are you bloody thinking by cutting one of his men?”

            “He was on our territory,” Tommy answered simply with a shrug as he lit his cigarette with a match and shook Arthur off.

            “Territory-you don’t have any fucking territory.” Freddie protested. “You’re biting off more than you can chew.”

            “I know what I’m doing.”

            “You could do more with Greta. You’ll have people who will be backing you up, Tom. It’ll help Small Heath more.” Freddie argued.

            “That’s the end goal, mate,” Arthur said. “We’re helping more than those bastards in the Commons ever will.”

            “Greta knows the extent of the law,” Tommy spoke after a long drag from the cigarette. “As do we, but we choose to not follow the law because the law’s never helped us. If we play by their rules, they win. If we play by our rules, we win. Then they’ll have to pay us some attention instead of kicking us to the dirt like they have for generations. But you can’t build Rome overnight, aye?”

            Freddie looked displeased but just shrugged.

            “Who’s building Rome?” Amelia came down the sidewalk, only catching the tail end of what Tommy was saying.

            “Geez Louise, Mel, you’re ‘bouta pop!” Danny remarked.

            Amelia rolled her eyes. “I’m well aware, Danny.” She giggled. Indeed, it was so close to her due date. In fact, it was a miracle Polly and Tommy had let her go for a little walk up and down the block. Tommy was afraid she might go right into labor down the street.

            Tommy ditched his cigarette so he could help Amelia up the front stairs. “Yeah, should be any day now.” He was hoping she would forget anything she heard if he didn’t mention it.

            “Oh, Tom, you’ve got a stain on your hat.” She noticed. “Want me to clean it?”

            “No, no, I can do it.” He waved her off. He wondered if she’d noticed his wariness around his hat. Ever since Greta had sewn in the razorblades, he’d made extra sure to know where it was, never just tossing it to the side. The last thing he wanted was for anyone else to pick it up and see what had been added, worse even, they might accidentally cut themselves.

            “I don’t mind.”

    ��       “You need to be resting.” He said and walked into the flat behind her. “How are your feet?”

            “They ache, I guess.” She was a bit suspicious of how quickly he was to change the subject. “Is something the matter?”

            “I’m just…” Tommy had a hard time meeting her eyes. But that was a mistake because it made Amelia zero in on the brim of his hat.

            “Tommy?” She reached up to slip his hat off his head.

            “Mel, stop.” He tried to stop her but she was too quick.

            “What is this?” She inspected the brim with confusion. “Are these-Tommy!” When she pushed back the fabric of the cap, she could see the distinct lines of a razor blade. “Tommy, what the fuck are you doing with bloody razor blades in your hat?” She exclaimed.

            “Sh, sh, c’mon.” Tommy tried to quiet her so Polly wouldn’t hear the conversation. His aunt didn’t know anything about the Birmingham Boys or the Peaky Blinders.

            “No don’t shush me! I deserve an explanation for this!” She shook the hat in his face.

            “It’s just a precaution.” He said calmly.

            Amelia made a noise of displeasure and she pushed his cap back toward him. “I told you this betting shop was a bad idea, Tommy, it’s only going to get you into trouble. What happens when you’re arrested? You said you were going to be there for me and the baby!”

            “I’m not-Mel, I’m keeping my promise. But this money is going to be good for the family. I’m not going to be my father. I won’t let the baby go hungry every night like we did.” He asserted.

            “We can make do without getting into trouble,” Amelia argued. “This isn’t the only route.”

            “You’re right, but I’m not going to waste me life working for no compensation. If we rely on jobs in Birmingham we’ll never get anywhere. We need to rise above this, Mel, and this is how we’re going to do it.”

            Amelia looked uneasy. “It doesn’t feel right that you need to carry weapons with you.”

            “I’m sorry, but it’ll be alright. You won’t have to worry about me.” He touched her cheek gently and kissed her forehead. “Just trust me.”

            “I trust you.” She said quietly. Though her world had been shaken, Amelia had no clue what was to come.

Permanent Tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla @giftofdreams @biba3434 @kimmietea @karmezii @enrapturedbythemoon @vampgirl1997

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[littlebitalexis]

Schitt’s Creek Questionaire

tagged by @bestwisheswarmestregards

1. Favorite Schitt’s Creek character: david rose tbh. alexis is a v close second

2. Favorite Quote: can i quote the entirety of  the title track off the critically reviewed, limited reality series, ‘a little bit alexis?’ esp the ‘im a cute huge yacht’ bit, absolutely gets me every single time.

3. Who is the best dressed character in Schitt’s Creek?  alexis i think? like, the 70% of david’s wardrobe that i love, i love with my whole heart. but that other 30% i absolutely hate, whereas with alexis it’s a much more positive/neutral even split, so she comes out the overall winner. omg also, her workout gear? god damn

4. If you could be best friends with any character in Schitt’s Creek, who would it be? stevie bc she provides the weed and is also hot and i think she’d be down to join me for wine/mst3k movie nights. altho im tempted to say alexis bc she has to have a ton of air miles saved up, right? i wanna say patrick as well, but if i’m being honest he’d just make me feel anxious about all the paperwork/emails i’m constantly avoiding in my everyday life. which makes me sound like david and proves answer #6 a lie.

5. How many times have you watched the series up until this point? straight thru? 4 times i think. but individual eps/seasons have def been rewatched more than 4 times.

6. Which character are you most like and why? honestly i’m nothing like her really, but i relate so much to alexis. her whole going back to school and getting her degree arc? v much get that, love that journey for me,

7. Would you live at the Rosebud motel? nah man, i’d take that haunted $275/month soundproofed studio apartment from s2 in a fuckin heartbeat. david and alexis were both idioots for letting that one slip away, even if carl did hang himself from the ceiling fan there.

8. Do you prefer Patrick or David’s version of Tina Turner’s The Best? i’m gonna say patrick, bc due to 2nd hand embarrassment i can’t watch david’s performance without anxiously pausing every 3 seconds. i think it’s the eye contact with the camera in the beginning? having said that, i also have to pause patrick’s version every 6 seconds probably. i’m likely the only person on the planet who’s grateful to roland and jocelyn for interrupting that sincerity-fest. which only serves to prove that my answer for #6 (and #4) is a lie and the truth is that i’m actually most like stevie.

9. If you were to work in Schitt’s Creek, where would you work? cafe tropical for sure. that place is always popping and twyla is the only waitress so i’d get a ton of tables. she must make a killing in tips. sry to rose apothecary but food service industry > retail every fuckin time. i know ppl like to hate on tipping culture but you can make some money (when there isn’t a pandemic floating about. fuck you 2020 all restaurant dreams everywhere).

10. What moment made you laugh the most in the show? there are a lot, but i gotta say that i think the biggest laughs from me were moira-driven. the danny boy solo from s1, her interactions with the fiddly old man from motel review, the gd bernadette peters wig/latex gown ensemble from ‘rip moira rose’

also every single moment of moira as dr clara mandrake?? an icon (also i keep thinking of the ‘character within a character’ as ‘clara barton’ which is 1. disrespectful 2. absolutely awesome 3. can you believe that a human/crow hybrid founded the red cross????? incredible.)

11. Favorite episode? most of my favs are the ones that a lot of others would also say are their favs, so there’d be no surprise there. so instead i’m gonna mention my fav from s1: carl’s funeral

12. What actor would you most like to be friends with in real life? truly idk, i have a weird thing where when i become a fan of a show i find it rly hard to watch any interviews with any of the cast. i wanna say catherine o’hara tho. but also maybe dan levy bc i did somehow talk myself into watching that sturday night seder that he guested in, so who knows. i was feeling really lonely about passover this year.

13. What was the most touching moment for you? first things i thought of were the david/stevie moments from s6, esp that convo on the hood of her car in front of the cottage. also the entire second half of grad night, the alexis/ted breakup, and the s2 finale, and the scene in patrick’s apartment in meet the parents, and the bit in ‘driving test’ where david admits how much he worried about his sister over the years. i get emotional about this show a lot, don’t really have the desire to pin it down more than that tbh.

not tagging anyone bc i went and disappeared for 2 months and idek who’s done this or even who’s around anymore! also it’s 3am rn and i don’t want to be that person. but if you see this and want to claim i tagged you, i’ll totally vouch for you that i did.

[phoebenavarro]

My Doctor Sleep Review

Here’s the short version:

If I like The Shining movie but haven’t read the book or Doctor Sleep, will I like this? YES. It pays homage to the film beautifully but doesn’t rely on it too much, and it creates a beautiful story of it’s own.

If I’ve read both books, will I like this? Well, here’s where things get complicated. It’s definitely still worth your time for how beautifully Ewan McGregor and Kyliegh Curran bring Dan and Abra to life, but you will also probably find yourself incredibly frustrated with the third act.

My more complicated thoughts are under the cut. (Spoilers, obviously!)

Overall, the film does a wonderful job blending the differences between the movie and the book, although overall it felt to me like they were privileging the film and mostly just giving nods to the book, so that book fans could be happy. And as much as that frustrates me as a book fan, it worked! I can absolutely believe that in a world where the Overlook didn’t explode at the end of The Shining, that this would be what happened.

I guess my biggest issue was that I wanted them to mostly ignore the movie. They could keep the Overlook standing, sure, that was just fine with me, but I wished they’d followed both books’ canon basically to a T. And for the first two acts that is pretty much exactly what they did! It was almost beat for beat the book. And the things that they did change in the first two acts, I loved. I loved their take on Billy as a character!

And well, let’s talk about the good for a second, shall we?

Every actor gave a STELLAR performance and was perfectly cast. I knew I was gonna love Ewan McGregor and he went above anything I ever imagined. Abra was amazing too! She really captured Abra, her rage, and her love for her family. Rose was great, the only thing that kept catching me off guard was that she kept changing her accent and I’m not sure if it was intentional? Like there were some scenes where she sounded Irish to me, and other scenes where she sounded completely American. It could’ve been that she was Irish with the Knot and American around rubes, but it didn’t seem purposeful enough. Minor characters that really stood out were Billy and Crow Daddy, especially Crow. He never struck me as particularly interesting in the book, but he was very engaging in the film. The little boy who played Danny killed it as well. He merged the catatonic Danny from the film and the talkative Danny from the book in a way I didn’t think was possible.

Also Azzie the cat was perfect and I’ve never been so happy to see a cat in a movie in my LIFE.

The scene where Dan fell into his role as Doctor Sleep for the first time was really wonderful, and that was the first time I cried during the movie. His speech at the AA meeting, about Jack, absolutely WRECKED me. I was straight up sobbing. Because it was the first (and only) time in the movie (or the Shining movie) where you see how much Dan loved his dad, and how he’s been struggling his whole life with continuing to love a man who hurt him and his mom, tried to kill them, and that’s just as much why he drank as trying to drown out his shine. THAT’S Dan Torrance right there, and a hint towards the Jack Torrance from the novel, the one who loved and died for his family. THAT is why the Shining is a tragedy, that’s why I cried for an hour after I finished reading Doctor Sleep for the first time. It showed that Dan was finally moving on, he’d found friends and community, he broke the cycle of abuse and alcoholism.

And from there, we go into another scene of Dan helping someone pass as doctor sleep. It’s such a stark contrast to the first time. He’s comfortable with it instead of horrified by it, he’s HAPPY to help these people, to comfort them in their final moments, because he knows what that fear feels like. He’s been trying to escape that fear since the Overlook. So he sings with him, he’s not afraid to use his shine to look into his mind to make it easier for the man. For the first time in his life his shine brings him something other than pain. And I loved it.

The scene with the baseball boy was WAY more brutal than I expected it to be. Like I was genuinely surprised that they really showed the Knot torturing him like that, and all the blood. It was harrowing, and it worked so well, because before that the Knot was pretty likable. Sure, they killed kids, but we didn’t SEE it, and they’re cooky and fun! And then there’s THAT, and we see that they are monsters. I loved Abra making murder appear on Dan’s wall, and him seeing REDRUM in the mirror. Dan’s face was CHILLING.

We also GOTTA talk about Dick Hallorann. He was really perfect, and I loved how excited Dan was to see him the last time they talk. And well, I heard him tell Dan “ka is a wheel” which FLOORED me. The last thing I was expecting was a Dark Tower reference! I’m not 100 percent sure he said it, I might have misheard it, but it works. I mean, in the book, King describes many things as a wheel, and that’s a running theme in his work, so it makes sense. And that’s really what this story is about, the wheel of ka turning and the mentee becoming the mentor.

This is a scene I have slightly complicated feelings about, but I mostly liked it, and that is Dan’s conversation with Jack’s ghost at the bar. I loved how they paralleled Dan to Jack but also highlighted how Dan is his own person, and in many ways succeeded where his dad failed. I gasped incredibly loudly when Jack referred to the whiskey as medicine, and called Dan a pup, cause that is something from the book that (correct me if I’m wrong, it’s been a while) he never says in the movie. And ohhhhh god, the way Dan cried. The way he got mad and said “Don’t you want to know what happened to your family?” and how Jack finally broke character. It fucked me UP. But it was Jack from the movie basically saying fuck you to Jack from the book, which like, I GET it. It would feel really weird if Nicholson!Torrance showed ANY warmth or love to Dan in any way, but still. I mourn book!Jack Torrance every day of my life. (But would Nicholson have been able to pull it off? Probably not. So maybe it’s for the better. Steven Webber, on the other hand, from the miniseries, is MY Jack Torrance.)

And here’s where we start to get to the bad, or the things I have very complicated feelings towards.

Well first of all, there was genuinely no fucking reason to kill off Billy OR Dave. They don’t die in the book! And it’s not a great look that they killed off the two men of color who are on the good guys’ side. It’s as stupid and pointless as killing Dick Hallorann in the Shining. But I guess we gotta continue that legacy right? /s If they wanted to get Billy and Dave out of the way for the final confrontation, there were other ways for them to do it, like they did with Abra’s mom! Crow could’ve just drugged Dave. He still could’ve told Abra that her dad was dead, to manipulate and fuck with her. And hell, Dan could’ve made Billy stay behind, to take care of Dave, or to wait for Abra’s mom to get back and fill her in on what’s happening. They definitely didn’t need to fucking DIE, Mike! You don’t need them to die to raise the stakes, nothing raises the stakes like watching a child be tortured and murdered.

And well, in concept I really like Dan and Abra having their showdown with Rose in the Overlook. And uh, “waking it up.” It makes sense, I mean, he already uses the Overlook ghosts against the Knot in the book, so why not? And I liked that part. I think Dan walking around the hotel went on a little too long, like they just wanted to show off that they rebuilt the overlook set. I liked the continued parallels between Jack and Dan, but again, it highlighted how Dan was different. Like when Dan is on the stairs holding the hatchet, he’s actually playing Wendy’s role, while Rose is Jack in that instance, walking up to him with her arms out, falsely trying to placate him. She has the power in that moment. And her toying with Dan? MM. I liked that a lot. I’m a sucker for whump. And her finally getting destroyed by the Overlook ghosts was SO SATISFYING.

I had kind of thought that Dan would find a way to harness Jack’s spirit and sick her on Rose, and that would be able to be Jack’s redemption, and then Jack would be able to finally move on. It would’ve made sense, since in the book he uses Abra’s momo, but in the movie she’s not really important. Tbh I think that would’ve been the best way to let Dan finally find peace with Jack, to give us something like that moment in the book where Dan sees Jack at the end and Jack blows him a kiss. But whatever, it’s fine. I think the conflict between Dan and Rose as it was was pretty great.

If it ended with that, I would’ve been VERY happy. Maybe there could’ve been a bit of a scare with the hotel trying to possess Dan and Dan being able to fight it off, and Abra and Dan leaving, letting the boiler explode. And then maybe Dan could’ve collapsed from blood loss outside the hotel, giving the audience a bit of anxiety over whether Dan will survive or not. But it didn’t end there.

I take issue with the very premise that the ghosts would be able to possess Dan like they did Jack. Jack had so many weaknesses, more than just the alcoholism. Jack was insecure about everything in his life, his career, his role in his family, his talent of an artist, but Dan doesn’t share those insecurities, just the alcoholism. ALSO Dan’s been sober A LOT longer than Jack ever was. He’s much more skilled at resisting that temptation. Maybe back before Dan hit rock bottom and started fixing his life, I would buy it, but not Dan at this point in his life. ESPECIALLY since they couldn’t get him when he was a kid, when his shining was so much stronger. Why would they be able to get him now? Dan has a lot of similarities to his dad, but he is his own person.

But whatever. Let’s assume that it’s possible for the hotel to possess Dan. I loved that they played out some of the scenes from the Shining novel, because the climax of the Shining has my favorite moments from the whole novel. I gasped when Abra said “You’re not my Uncle Dan. You’re just a mask.” And I ALSO gasped when he said “let’s unmask then,” (or something to that effect) because I thought they were gonna do MY FAVORITE moment from the Shining, when the hotel bashes Jack’s face in with the mallet and we see a different ghost after each hit. As cool as seeing that would’ve been, I’m glad it didn’t happen, cause Dan would’ve been gone after that. And oh god, the hug between Dan and Abra. It hurt. And Abra remembering the boiler, knowing it’s gonna blow.

And well, finally seeing the Overlook burn was VERY satisfying. In a lot of ways this film was both a love letter to Kubrick and a “fuck you” to Kubrick simultaneously. I wish they’d leaned into the “fuck you” side more because honestly, WHY should we keep celebrating him or his films? Especially with the Shining. The pure disrespect he showed to the source material, and to Stephen King, and of course, the way he tortured Shelly Duvall on set.

I think my feelings of betrayal come down to this: I was COMPLETELY blindsided by Dan’s death. I TRULY did not expect Dan to die. I thought that would be departing from the book too much, and honestly I didn’t think King would’ve gone for that. Like, I started to get worried when he got hit in the femoral artery, but, perhaps foolishly, I kept holding out hope that he would be okay. And I know the whole point of the end is that yes, he’s dead, but he’s good, but he deserved to LIVE and die of old age. The Overlook should not have been given the satisfaction of getting him, even if it was destroyed in the process.

I did like that as he died Wendy was there with him, since in the movie she’s the one who actually loved him. But mostly I was in a state of mixed rage and sadness, because Ewan SOLD that performance. He was perfect. He IS Dan Torrance. But I did not come to the theater to watch Dan suffer Jack’s fate. I came to see Dan finally move on from his trauma and embrace his shine!!

Ultimately, It feels like the movie undermined it’s own climax. The whole film was building to Rose’s defeat, which is then COMPLETELY overshadowed by the hotel trying to use Dan to get Abra. It focused too much on the Shining, and forgot that Doctor Sleep is DIFFERENT. Dan is not Jack. Abra is not Dan. There are parallels, of course, but they are different. And why undermine your more interesting villain? The ghosts of the Overlook PALE in comparison to how interesting and engaging Rose is. It was a great nod to fans of the book, and as a book fan I enjoyed it, but I think it made the film weaker.

If Flanagan wanted to do the ending scenes of the Shining, he should’ve just remade the Shining, for God’s sake! And actually, I would’ve liked that very much, Ewan McGregor could make a VERY good Jack, as shown in the scenes when he’s possessed by the hotel. I actually would love to see adaptations of The Shining and Doctor Sleep where the same actor plays Jack and Dan. I think that would produce fantastic performances and really force the actor to highlight the differences between the characters. And anyway, we need a new version of the Shining. Steven Weber and Rebecca Du Mornay are PERFECT in the miniseries but it’s just that, a network television miniseries, and it’s aged pretty poorly. A new Shining remake is gonna happen eventually, if Kubrick’s estate ever gives up those rights.

And finally! They ignored the BEST PLOT TWIST in the book!!!!! That Dan is literally Abra’s uncle! They kinda set it up, too, which is extra frustrating. I wonder if it was present in an earlier version of the script and got cut? I had a sinking feeling that they weren’t gonna do it when Dave was killed, but like, without that reveal, the audience is gonna be left with a lot of questions. Namely, WHY was Abra drawn to Dan? And of course, it’s because he’s her uncle, but in the movie we never find that out. I wouldn’t be surprised if it shows up on Cinema Sins or whatever for being a plot hole, which is frustrating, because it’s NOT. It’s just a lazy oversight in the film. I also wished we got to see more of Abra’s parents, and Dan meeting Abra’s mom! But I guess they couldn’t include any of that in the movie since they basically cut Momo out completely. Still, that in itself is frustrating. Abra’s momo is so important to Abra in the book. In general it kinda felt like they elected to focus more on Dan and his relationship to Jack than Abra and her family, when in the book they’re pretty evenly balanced!

It’s frustrating, because the first two acts of the film are nearly perfect. And the third act has a lot going for it too, but it is just not the way to handle the ending, in my opinion.

My final feelings are: Dan Torrance is not Jack. That is the whole POINT of Doctor Sleep. And he did not deserve to burn in that hotel. He deserved to finally live out his life in happiness and with the family he’s built for himself. And that will always upset me.

[krugerevengeinej]

Plot list for Jordie lives AU fanfic | part 1?

A/N: Yeah this is an absolute fucking mess but so has been me trying to write this fic. These are just ramblings please do not judge any grammar mistakes. But I really need some feedback on this from potential readers. Just tell me what you think if there's any other things you'd wanna see in this or important shit I forgot. I really just need motivation to actually do this. Oh and the other part is here cuz I used to many fckn bullet points for one post. Yes I know it's not kanejy yet y'all just gotta be patient.

So Kaz and Jordie both live through firepox

But now they have no money, and nowhere to go

They are just two kids out on their luck and stuck in the barrel

Jordie keeps telling Kaz they'll find a way out of it

That he'll protect his little brother

That they won't need to stoop to becoming criminals like so many people there

But as time goes on and their scrounging to survive, working jobs in shitty taverns and gambling dens

A change happens in Kaz

He starts to resent his older brother for his foolishness as he learns more about the harsh unforgiving ways of barrel life

It's the day Kaz truly discovers his gift with the cards

He starts caring a little less

Becoming a little more distant and aggressive whenever Jordie tries to talk about his plan for how they're gonna make it out of this

How they're still gonna be merchers

Kaz just snaps

Then he shows Jordie the wad of cash he'd earned that day

"Where did you get that Kaz?"

The shock in his voice is obvious even if he knows where he's still surprised

Jordie was never really that great and reading people

"Won it" Kaz says

"Kaz you know this is wrong" there is betrayal in his tone, "we promised this wasn't how we'd get by"

"No you said that," "and look where we are now?" He gestures to the dilapidated building with mold and mildew growing in the corners.

Quietly, with disdain burning every word he says, "You that we could beat this city, in order to do that we have to play its game, but your still too dense to get that aren't you?

"This isn't the only way we can still-"

"No we can't! Don't you see that by now! If you're ok with living like a rat, so you don't have to feel guilty that's fine by me. But if you wanna see that smug son of a bitch pay for what he did to us, you're gonna need to get your hands dirty. Or are you still the same stupid farm boy who thinks you can outsmart the system with 'luck and good friends'."

Jordie isn't quite as ok with all of this as Kaz is

But he goes with it

The lever of greed pushing him down this path because Danny he did want Jakob Hertzoon pay

He swears he's not gonna let Kaz go in too deep, that he won't either

But Barrel life miserable as it is can be intoxicating

Picking pockets and locks, working a deck of cards, getting in fights

Kaz had an affinity for such difficult techniques, but it turns out Jordie was better with his fists

They made quite the powerful combination

It doesn't get bad until Kaz is fourteen and Jordie is eighteen and, they end up joining the dregs

By now they've found out Jakob Herzoon is Pekka Rollins

Which means this is going to be a lot more difficult then they thought

They start off as foot soilders

But it doesn't take long for Kaz's devious mind to send him climbing up the ranks

Soon he's running his own cons

And the dregs are prospering

Jordie would have almost been horrified were it not for the fact he was right there by Kaz's side.

He's changed quite a bit

Although he doesn't quite have that same edge as Kaz

He hates to admit he likes it

The flashy clothes

And gambling

And fighting

Lots of illegal adrenaline inducing things

And ya know pretty girls

And guys

Jordie is bi

Fite Me

Like this man with flirt with anything that's got a pulse

whilst picking their pocket

Ahh and then Kaz

He's definitely still Kaz he still gets the nickname dirtyhands

But he's not quite as Kazish ya know

Still has some trust issues

Some problems and shit that will come up later

But he can touch people

He actually ya know talks to people and is a little more charismatic

A surprisingly good trait to have if you think about it

Instead of being so cold and edgy all the time

Yes tho he's still pretty fucking edgy and still wears gloves a lot because they look cool, also has a silver crow tie pin he always wears

Like people kinda trust him

Which is fucking stupid cuz he will take all your money

Like he seems less intimidating

But he's still very intelligent he can read people well

Plan heists of course

Still a master of sleight of hand

He keeps his past problems locked away surprisingly well

Oh yeah and Imogen

That happened

Not till he's like 16 but it happened

Several times

Like they kinda 'date' if you can call it that

But then she ends up leaving ketterdam

Kaz's progress up the ranks of the dregs is a little slower

Like he's not the lieutenant till he's about 18

And that's when he meets Inej

Their meeting would be much different tho

So that would make Inej 17

And she's fucking done with the menegarie

She ends up killing one of the clients

And trying to escape

Running over rooftops

Doing all this crazy acrobatic shit

Kaz fucking sees this

She's getting chased

Knowing there's gonna be hell to pay if they catch her

Kaz is actually in the middle of a job during this

So he has to tear himself away

A little while later and he's on a barge he hijacked

And Inej jumps down onto this boat from the bridge above

But he doesn't even know she's there until he feels her tap his shoulder

Like how the fuck did she do that??

She asks him for help

He's about to say fuck no and draw his pistol when he turns around to look at her

[ericmooreporchkid]

watching THAT 70′S SHOW @ 25.

The first time I went to Point Place was summer 2003.

I was on a family camping trip of sorts with my friend Nick. Our families were pals and we thought it would be a stellar idea to spend humid Iowa July in some “cabins” (which were more Super 8 than log) and do some paddle boating, fishing, smore’s’in’, etc.

The trouble was we were suburb kids. Heat and bugs limited our activity to the sofa and stove Smore’s. Our moms took to the Cabernet and didn’t mind at all. After some frustration with the bloated and dusty TV ‘neath the spiral staircase, our media viewing ended up being some That 70′s Show DVD’s Nick had brought along. 

I didn’t get it at first. Why Nick liked it. We didn’t grow up in the era the show was concerned with. How could he even relate? We had velcro shoes and gushers. But, I wanted to impress him by also finding value in the funky colors and shaggy hair, so I dove in. I did feel a weird false nostalgia almost immediately, mostly because the weird orange-y chairs in the set kitchens and at The Hub closely resembled our cabin furniture and the seating offered by the shoddy grocery shop at the edge of the campground. This, interspersed with my mom’s occasional wine-hued comments about when an outfit was similar to something she’d once worn or when the coffee cups were what her grandma owned, made me urgently want to feel a kinship to this weird replicated era.

And so a few hours in I was pretty in love with all the characters. My embarrassing moments resembled Eric’s, my moron friends resembled Kelso, and all my crushes resembled Jackie and Donna. 

A few years later in middle school, as I began to crank into pubescent Hornville and become informed about sexuality and romance from movies/tv (yikes), I would spend late nights watching re-runs of the show with my younger brother. We had that early teens late night energy and hunger, and it felt weirdly invigorating to watch what high school might be like over microwave nachos. Having a consistent friend group who constantly face dumb sophomoric challenges like drinking ages and curfews and virginities in a pursuit of fighting boredom was exhilarating. 

I went through high school and had a lot of those first experiences (kisses, drinks, slight vandalism), with less cheese and folksiness but pretty similar small-town ennui. Occasionally the show would come up in mid-aughts conversations normally dominated by DEXTER, or Weeds (girls I would date were usually stronger-willed and muscled than me, so I settled into an Eric-ish self-deprecation mode that never felt good but at least felt defined), but I never watched it the way I did in that early teen fuzz, where the concept of sneaking out or drinking seemed so outlandish and attractively alien.

My summer after my first year of college (and the only summer I ever went back home for) was bleak. I had switched from journalism to creative writing, which my parents were not stoked on. I had experienced two relationships that were impactful but not meaningful. I had my first big surges of anxiety, panic attacks, calling friends and having nothing to say. I had a small part in a play and worked a part-time job doorknocking for a friends’ dad’s senate campaign. Having old people shout at me for supporting “the gays” in heat was far from reassuring life fodder. I rewatched all 200 episodes of the show that summer. It was true comfort at that point. True and natural nostalgia. It wasn’t “the 70′s”. It was just high school. It was friends. It was community. And the jokes felt cheesier than I’d remembered, but I excused them, the way you do when your mom ejects a jest you’ve heard a thousand times. The show didn’t ask me what I was going to do next, it just followed the quests of Donna to be taken seriously, of Eric to be respected by his dad, of Fez to be acknowledged as a person and also to “do it.”

Six years later and I find myself peppering in a few episodes amidst the onslaught of streaming content available. It’s odd now. It feels like summer break is done. I’ve grown so much in comedy and comedy has changed so much, on a pure structural level. Some quips that used to spark just flare out immediately, like the end of a sparkler placed in a Diet Dew can. A lot of themes and dialogue are pretty dated and gross, because it’s something made with a late 90′s concept of social structure trying to handle the 70′s style of equality, gender norms, etc. Hyde is not cool and anything remotely sexual from his mouth is dusting considering Danny Masterson’s real life monster behavior (go fuck yourself, Danny). It’s sad knowing Laurie (Lisa Robin Kelly) died from a drug overdose and the lifestyle she has on the show is so slut-shame-based, treats vices like weaknesses. The blacklight of time is on.

On a pure production level, it’s weird knowing more about sets and shooting and Hollywood gunk, which honestly does take a lot of the magic I used to see away.

But the frame and the shots and the haircuts and the love are still there. Things still work. I want to be in the circle. The world and the characters exist with such life. So many scenes are real laughter, the laughter of actors in their early 20′s having fun and being blown away that they’re getting an opportunity to create together. I don’t ever really drip into the later seasons (fuck Randy) except for that last episode when Topher returns. 

I watch that one a lot, actually. It makes me happy that past the prime of the narrative and show, they wanted to end it back on the steps with kids doing nothing and trying to understand the world right before the buttoned-up eighties. The world got uglier and prettier as the show left us, but the basic soul of the material is pure and honest and explorative. The way adolescence is. The way we can sometimes remember being. 

Below are my top five episodes. Hi, Wisconsin.

5. “Hunting” S 2, ep. 13

Eric and the guys go hunting with Red and Bob. This is some of the most stellar Red vs. Eric activity, but it comes to a real emotional truth that surpasses the show’s normal depth when Eric reveals he knows how to shoot animals and he just doesn’t want to. The way he uses an ability Red so aggrandizes to prove its arbitrary importance is such a satisfying kick in the khakis and a nice representation of one generation slightly jolting the other awake. Also, everyone accidentally eats crow. 

4. “Halloween” S 2, ep. 5

The gang breaks into their old elementary school and reads their permanent records. The relatable curiosity every kid has over what the fuck a permanent record means also turns into a beautiful bottle episode of “how did we all meet?” I always end up tracking the spider webs of my own friendships post-view.

3. “The Career Day” S1 ep. 18 

Seeing the spectrum of Point Place’s job market is pure fun. It’s such a good characterization episode (Kelso telling his brainy dad he’s just gonna write down that “he’s a farmer” always kills me) and it rocks that moment many of us go through where we look at what our parents do and think what the fuck am I gonna do? Certainly not that. 

2. “Parents Find Out” S2 ep. 19

The self-explanatory title was not only satisfying because of the parental reactions, but because there are a few episodes between when Eric and Donna lose the V and when it actually matters. You know when you do something you think your parents are gonna kill you for and then you realize they can’t really do anything? Every time I watch this I still feel like Red is going to shoot Eric. I am happy Pavlovian here. 

1. “Dine and Dash” S3 ep. 15

An amazing modernized “And Then They Were None” wherein we see each character slowly avoid the bill. Of course its dumb teenage rebellion, but there’s also a very human quality to each of the characters turning on each other. It’s carnival stress.

(below: My friend Adam and I at a gas station before prom in 2009, complete with 70′s locks).

[ask-the-phan-site]

The Shady Imp of Gluttony

>It’s time.

Off we go.

Can’t wait to see what’s in store for us.

Me, too. For the sake of everyone in Pontypandy.

Okay, let’s carry out our plan. To Norman’s Palace we go!

>Mona becomes our van and we head out to steal Norman Price’s heart.

>The Fire Station in Pontypandy. The firefighters there have asked Norman Price and his mother, Dilys, to stay because of the calling card we sent.

Not to worry, Dilys. If anything, this is probably some kind of prank. The only way these Phantom Thieves would want to steal your Norman’s heart would be to keep him from cheating on his school test.

True... Then again, I don’t mind if they do show up. I heard that Fox fellow is an artist and quite the gentleman.

(whisper) I wonder if she knows that Fox is already in a relationship... With the leader.

(also whispering) True. But let’s let Dilys dream a little.

(just joining the conversation) I agree... What are we whispering about?

>They just laughed a little.

This is no laughing matter! I got a calling card! The Phantom Thieves are going after me!

The Phantom Thieves haven’t strike yet, Norman. We don’t even know how they do it.

He’s right. You should relax. We’ll have this sorted out in no time.

>With that, the firefighters and Dilys leave Norman alone for a while... Or so they thought.

?????: I’m afraid time doesn’t work that way.

Norman: !

>A red wave passed over him. When it was over, the fire station was now some kind of warped demonic puppet theater.

???????: You always try to make yourself look like the hero, but you always put yourself before others.

???: You have ruined this town with your selfish nature and putting others in danger.

???: She’s right. I know a big ape who’s more of a hero than you.

>Then, on puppet strings, we slide down on to the stage to reveal ourselves.

Joker: Target: Norman Price.

Me and Ape came in the place of the older members to help them deal with you.

You give kids like us a bad name. But not for long.

We’re not gonna let you continuin’ whatever you want and puttin’ others in danger.

The beauty of this town as been soiled by your own dark intentions. It’s no wonder your poor mother suffers.

Panther: We know a false hero when we see one. You’re definitely a false hero.

Oracle: The time has come for you to make up for the deeds you have done. Big time.

Mona: That's right. We will take the Treasure and you will cease all the hardship you have caused.

Joker: We will take your heart!

Norman: NO! YOU CAN’T! YOU CAN’T TAKE IT!

Warrior: A little late for that. You pretty much just sold it to us.

Ape: Now it’s time to pay the price. You better be ready.

Panther: Now you will atone for what you did.

Norman: Never!

>Then, Norman’s eyes change to a golden color.

Shadow Norman: Sam is getting to old in his age. Time for him to step down and let a true hero do the work.

Mona: A true hero does his work because it makes others happy. You only became a hero for the fame and recognition.

To me, that makes you more villain than hero.

Shadow Norman: You’ll regret saying that to Normanman!

>Then, Norman’s Shadow changes its shape to fight us.

Oracle: Let’s see what we have here. Persona!

>Necronomicon scans the Shadow.

Oracle: It looks like he’s weak to Bless skills. Crow isn’t here, so Warrior, you’re up.

Warrior: Alright. It’s been awhile. Persona!

>Warrior summons her Persona, Lakshmibai.

>I change Personas.

Joker: Persona!

Mona: Persona!

Skull: Persona!

>Nebiros uses Brain Shake on Warrior. Luckily, she dodged it. Then, Lakshmibai uses Kouga. It knocks him down.

Warrior: Now we can do it. Let’s go!

>After the attack, Nebiros is still up. Unicorn also uses Kouga. It also knocks him down. We decide not to do an All-Out-Attack and I simply attacked him. Zorro uses Lucky Punch. And Captain Kidd uses Assault Dive.

Nebiros: You seem like quite the fighters. But it might be tougher than you think.

>Nebiros uses Maeigaon. It was a heavy hit on us, but we were okay. However, I was knocked down. Nebiros attacks me. Lakshmibai uses Kouga again, but this time, Nebiros dodged it. After I got back up, Unicorn does the same, but he also dodges it. Zorro uses Mediarama to heal us. And Captain Kidd uses Matarukaja to boost our attack. Nebiros uses Eigaon on me. But I dodged it. Lakshmibai uses Assault Dive. It took a lot of health from him. Then, Unicorn uses Kouga and it knocks him down.

Joker: Now, we strike!

>After the attack, Nebiros is still up, but now weaker. Zorro uses Miracle Punch. It didn’t knock him down this time. Then, Captain Kidd uses Charge to prepare for the next attack. Nebiros uses Brain Shake on me. This time, it Brainwashes me. Luckily, Warrior learned Harisen Recovery and used it on me. Then, she has Lakshmibai use Kouga. Nebiros is knocked down again. We decide not to do an All-Out-Attack. Lakshmibai uses Myriad Slashes. With that, the Shadow was defeated. He resumes his human form as a light came out of him.

Mona: And there’s the Treasure. This was easier than I thought.

Skull: Well, he didn’t seem that strong in the real world. Guess we kinda overestimated him there ‘cus he was of high level.

>I take the Treasure. It was a Junior Cadet Firefighter’s Badge.

Norman: That was proof that I was a hero. Why didn’t others see me as a hero?

Joker: Because I true hero does his deeds because it’s the right thing to do. Not to be recognized. You were only thinking about yourself rather than others.

Ape: Just try to be more considerate of others before you leap into action... Even my buddy, Kong, knows that.

Norman: ... Okay. I’ll start thinking before I leap. If it make others, even my mom, happy, I’ll be happy. From now on, Norman Price will be more hero than famous.

>With that, the Shadow returns to his true self and we leave as well.

>The next day...

This is Sarah Jones giving you the latest news around Pontypandy. Yesterday, Norman Price, our town... mischief maker, received a calling card from the notorious Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Later that evening, the Pontypandy Fire Department offered to protect Norman and his mother at their station... However, this was futile as this morning, it was discovered that Norman Price... Had a change of heart. He was found lying in his bed in tears about all the hardships he had caused the town over the years. Currently, Norman is checked in at Newtown Hospital for observation. More news as it unfolds. And now, the weather.

>We were watching on Futaba’s laptop in the van which was parked just some ways from Pontypandy.

Jo: Is this really this satisfying? I know I’ve changed some hearts before, but this...

It’s your first successful heist with us. You’ll get used to it.

Danny: Can’t wait to tell the others.

I just hope Kong doesn’t get too upset that you barely did anything. Like we just had you around for comic relief... That’s already Ryuji’s job.

Hey! I resent that!

Danny: That’s okay. I had fun either way. But don’t worry, I’ll get my chance next time.

I’m sure you will.

I wonder how the others are doing with their mock exam.

I’m sure they’re doing fine. They seem smart enough. Now come on, Jo’s parents said to bring her back to Falcon Gate soon.

Danny: And I said I would meet the others in London.

>With that, we leave.

>Tokyo University. The mock exam that Makoto, Haru, and Akechi were taking was just finishing up.

Okay, everyone, pens down! Please bring your exams up to my desk.

That was difficult. I never thought archaeology would have a part to play in botany.

Seta: More like the other way around, Ms. Okumura. Botany has a part to play in archaeology. Many other things have a part to play in archaeology. It just depends on... Your cognition.

That’s... Actually quite true.

Guess physiology is one of those things as well.

Seta: It sure is... Probably why it’s a good thing I know it now. Akechi kun?

Akechi: Is something wrong, Seta sensei?

Seta: (looking down) ... Girls, why don’t you wait in the cafeteria? They’re giving free miso soup to anyone here for the mock exam. Tell them I sent you.

Haru: (a little worried) Okay.

>Makoto and Haru leave Akechi alone with Seta.

Akechi: What is it?

Seta: I don’t suppose you’ve seen the news lately, have you?

Akechi: I was too busy preparing for these exams. Why?

Seta: Well... Look.

>Seta takes out his smartphone and logs into a news sight... What was on it almost made Akechi drop.

N- No!

Disgraced Diet Member Released

On January 25 of this year, new evidence had come to light which had cleared former member of the National Diet, Masayoshi Shido, age 55, of all charges involving the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. However, this reporter can tell you that his political career is pretty much over. Shido was released on the 28. For the time being, Shido will be staying with former members of his United Future Party before returning to his family in Hokkaido. When asked about this, Shido said...

I am well aware of my crimes. I have atone for them the best I could. All I ask now is to return home and put this matter behind me.

Shido currently has a son, Goro Akechi, the Detective Prince, living here in Tokyo. However, we have been asked by Diet Member, Toranosuke Yoshida, to leave him be.

...

Seta: Akechi kun, I’m sorry.

Akechi: It’s alright, Seta sensei, it’s not your fault.

Seta: I know. But just so you know, if you need anything, me and Haruka are here for you. And you have your friends as well.

Akechi: I know. You know, I never got to thank you that time. You took me to that institution I’m staying in. You even paid for it.

Seta: We just thought we could just let you live alone on the streets... Actually, me and Haruka were thinking that, in case you want to leave there, we can always let you live with us. Well, I mostly live in my van, but I’m sure Haruka would let you stay with her.

Akechi: Thank you. But I’ll be fine. I’ve already earned enough money from solving various cases to afford a loft in the city to be more closer to campus.

Seta: I see. But just in case, we’re here for you... Remember that.

Thank you, Seta sensei.

>With that, Akechi leaves the classroom... He takes out his phone.

Everyone, we have a problem.

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Roguish Women Part 8

Summary: Kate Rosseau is an American who fled to Paris to escape her past life. Now she's dancing and playing the part of a courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. There she meets Tommy Shelby who thinks she can be useful in expanding his empire. But has he been blinded?

Part 7: Black Star Day arrives 

           Grace and Tommy were serving beers while the Peaky Blinders chatted. A nervous energy filled the air. Everyone knew that they were walking into another battle. Striding into uncertainty. There was no guaranteed any of them would make it out of the standoff alive.

Kate went to sit at the bar beside Arthur. “Where do you boys want me to stand?”

“Best stay here with Grace. Polly’ll be at the betting shop holding down the fort.” The eldest Shelby responded.

“And I’ll be safe here?”

“Kimber’s men ain’t taking a step past us.” Arthur proclaimed confidently and nudged John who nodded in agreement.

But the mood in the pub changed in an instant when Jerimiah strode in and whispered something in Arthur’s ear.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Arthur groaned and stood up. He walked behind the bar with Jerimiah and walked to the backroom where Tommy and Grace had disappeared to moments earlier.

Kate couldn’t hear what they were speaking about but the look on Tommy’s face when he emerged was clear enough. Something was wrong.

“Kate, get up, follow me.” He ordered.

“What’s going on?” She stood up but hesitated.

“Right, let’s get a move on!” Arthur’s voice boomed over the mirth in the bar.

Tommy grabbed Kate by the arm and pulled her towards the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~

He didn’t answer any questions Kate asked on the way to Polly’s flat. He simply moved quickly, urging her along. Polly was already upstairs with Ada and the baby when Tommy stormed inside.

“Ada, c’mon. Go with Kate, get to the Bull Ring where there’s lots of people.” He spoke firmly almost to try and eliminate any need for questions.

Polly, however, wouldn’t do anything without an explanation. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve been fucking betrayed.” Tommy paced about the room like a trapped hornet. “Someone let it slip to Kimber. They’re on their way here and we’re outnumbered.”

Ada scooped up Karl, her eyes met Kate who was finding it hard to move a muscle. Kate expected to see fear on her face, but instead, she seemed to be thinking something over.

“Who else knew today was the day you were moving in on Kimber?” Polly questioned.

There was a pause in the room. Tommy stared into the hearth where a small fire was blazing. Realization settled over his face. The horror of his discovery was enough to make Polly’s lips part in disappointment.

It hit Kate when she least expected it. “Grace told me.” She said before she could stop herself. Polly turned to look at her. “She said you were going after Billy Kimber, just moments before you all came into the Garrison today.” Kate’s stomach wrung into knots. How could Grace betray Tommy and the rest of the family? She assumed the barmaid was close to the family, close enough to care about their wellbeing. She liked to think she had a read on people who were deceptive. But she never expected such a move from Grace. Maybe she’d underestimated Birmingham.

Polly’s jaw set with resolution. “I’ll deal with her.” She said to her nephew.

Tommy regained some composure and nodded curtly. He looked to Kate, wondering what the consequences were if he trusted another outsider. But there was no time. “Take Ada to the Bull Ring, stay where it’s crowded the most. Make sure people see you.”

“Could you help me with his pram?” Ada asked quietly, ushering Kate to the door.

Kate nodded; a bit dazed. “Yeah, yeah, of course.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

Tommy and Polly left the flat as Kate and Ada were getting Karl settled in the carriage. Neither of them spoke a word to the women, both of them heading right into a confrontation. Both of which had the possibility of being fatal.

Once they disappeared around the corner, Kate glanced both ways down the street. “Which way to the Bull Ring? I think I’ve gotten a bit turned around.”

“We’re not going to the Bull Ring,” Ada replied, tucking the blankets snug around her baby boy.

“But Tommy said-”

“Fuck what Tommy said. I’m not going to stand around waiting to hear if my husband’s dead or not.” Ada made up her mind and began pushing the pram towards Garrison Lane.

“Ada…” Kate felt like her feet were cemented to the ground with her options. She could let Tommy’s sister do as she pleased while she headed for safety. It risked the backlash from Tommy who Kate knew didn’t like when people didn’t listen. Or she could follow Ada into an uncertain fate. There didn’t seem to be an option of talking Ada out of her decision. If she was anything like her brothers, she stuck to her guns.

Kate sighed under her breath, made sure her pistol was loaded in her purse and jogged to catch up to Ada. She could only hope these men weren’t crazy enough to shoot around a mother and child.

~~~~~~~~~~

Men in heavy coats stood shoulder to shoulder. Facing off like soldiers in the war.

“Oh, dear God,” Kate whispered under her breath.

“Move!” Ada snapped, fearlessly shoving men aside, making her way into the center of the standoff.

Kate was sure she looked just as horrified as the Peaky Blinders. She stood near Ada and slipped her hand into her purse. She scanned over the group of men and locked eyes with Tommy.

“Ada!” Freddie looked incredulous. Certainly, this was the last thing he expected, showing up to a standoff only to have his wife and son interrupt.

“Shut up!” Ada replied.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“I said shut up!” She shouted. “I’m wearing black in preparation.” The young woman removed her hat and stood down her husband. “I want you to look at me.”

Kate held a finger over the trigger of her gun hidden in her purse. Ada’s words slipped away; the situation was too tense to listen to her. Kate’s eyes moved from Tommy to the other side where Billy Kimber stood looking a bit dumbfounded. She waited, watched for any sudden movement. She didn’t plan on killing anyone when she woke up that morning but plans changed.

“She’s right you know.” Billy Kimber’s voice, horrifyingly familiar to Kate, piped up. “Why should all you men die?” There was no time to question why Kimber was been so blasé. “It should just be them who’ve caused it.” Before he finished, his gun was raised and a shot rang out through the street.

Kate nearly dropped to her knees simply by instinct. But a protective sense kicked in. She grabbed Ada and shielded her so she could push the pram out of the line of fire. Another shot fired and Kate looked back. She saw one of the Blinders fall. Tommy had stumbled back, his hand pressed to his chest. When he lifted his hand, Kate saw blood.

“Tommy!” She ran towards him. He raised his head, then his gun. He pushed Kate aside and fired the last shot into Billy Kimber’s head.

As Danny’s body was being dragged away, Kate and Arthur each grabbed a hold of Tommy’s arms.

“To the Garrison. Bring ‘im to the Garrison.” Arthur told her.

~~~~~~~~~~

They got Tommy into the pub and into a chair. He was swaying slightly.

“Get his shirt off,” Arthur ordered Kate as he went behind the bar to get a bottle of whiskey.

“Just hang on,” Kate said quietly to Tommy and crouched down in front of him. She wrestled off his coat and began to unbutton his shirt, ignoring the blood seeping through the material.

Jeremiah hurried into the Garrison and examined the bullet lodged in Tommy’s chest. He doused a knife in the whiskey that Arthur brought over. “Alright, hold him down.”

Kate looked to the eldest Shelby who nodded. They both grabbed one of Tommy’s arm. She knelt down beside the chair and braced herself.

As Jeremiah began to try and dislodge the bullet, Tommy jerked back. Kate did her best to hold her own against him, not realizing how strong he actually was. Without Arthur there, there would’ve been no chance she’d have been able to keep him still.

A few agonizing shouts of pain later, Jeremiah removed the bullet and held it up triumphantly. “I’ve still got the knack.”

Kate released her hold on Tommy and stood up. She took a few deep breaths and ran a hand through her hair. The day’s events hadn’t been easy on her. For one thing, she didn't expect to be drawn into the Shelbys’ chaos. But she also didn’t expect the strong feelings she had for people around her. The disbelief when she realized Grace, who she considered a friend, had betrayed Tommy. How Kate was willing to kill to protect Ada and Karl. The fear she felt when she saw the blood on Tommy’s hands.

It was difficult to swallow. Emotional connections brought her nothing but trouble. She didn’t anticipate it and now that she realized it, it almost felt too late to undo.

~~~~~~~~~~

Kate was all too happy to get drunk and the boys at the Garrison gave her the perfect opportunity. After Danny’s body was loaded out in the truck, the rest of the gang took advantage of the pub’s well-stocked liquor shelves.

“Then what’s next for you then, America? Aye?” John asked, jostling Kate by the shoulders.

She giggled and shook him off. “I dunno, why don’t you ask your brother.”

“Which one?” He slurred and tipped forward in his bar stool.

“Tommy.” Kate sighed and finished her vodka. “If he wants my advice on the American gangs, I’ll be here. But I’m afraid I’ve got more than a few people who’d like to interrupt that.” Once the frenzy and violence of the day had worn off, she couldn’t help but let Santo’s letter resurface in her brain.

“Pft, who’s gonna hurt you, huh, who’s gonna hurt you when you’re protected by the Peaky Fucking Blinders?” John crowed.

The rest of the pub cheered along with him.

Kate laughed and accepted another drink but her smile faded quickly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the night wore on and men staggered out of the pub and left just Kate, Arthur, John and Polly.

Kate was laid back in one of the booths across from John and Arthur. She drunkenly regaled them with a tale of seducing an Austrian duke and swindling him out of a good sum of his inheritance.

“That’s what you’re tryna do to Tommy then?” Arthur joked.

She snorted. “Tommy’s not stupid. I like stupid men, they’re easy to take from.”

John and Arthur laughed. “Cheers, love, cheers.” The oldest raised his glass to her.

The door to the bar opened and Tommy walked in. Kate propped herself up on her elbows to watch him go in and talk to Polly. She was a bit too drunk to follow their conversation.

But his voice got easier to hear as he walked over with a bottle of champagne. “Shelby Brothers Limited are now the third-largest, legal race track operation in the country.” He clinked the bottle to each of his brother’s glasses. “Only the Sabinis and the Solomons are bigger than us, boys.”

“Who are they? The Sabinis and the Solomons?” Kate wondered and pushed her empty glass toward Tommy.

He popped the cork of the champagne and poured some for her.

“The Solomons, Alfie Solomons.” Arthur drawled on. “The Jews in Camden Town. ‘N Sabini. They’re Italians.”

Even in her alcohol-fueled haze, Kate bristled. “Fuck.” She muttered under her breath and glanced up at Tommy.

“Third largest operation, Kate.” He said to her. “No one’s going to fucking mess with us now.” He offered a hand to her. “C’mon, I’ll walk you home.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tommy escorted Kate down the darkened streets of Small Heath, her arm over his. Only to keep her steady on her feet.

“You weren’t there celebrating with us. Are we not fun to you?” She stuck out her lower lip. “I beat John in a drinking contest, you weren’t even there to cheer me on.”

Tommy chuckled. “I’m sure you’re plenty of fun. Americans know how to party don’t they?”

“When you know the right speakeasy.” She agreed. “Where were you?”

“Settling business.”

“You went to see Grace, didn’t you?”

Tommy raised an eyebrow. Even drunk, she was perceptive. “Perhaps.”

“Hm…you love her still. Ooh, oh fuck.” She stumbled a bit on the curb but he held her upright. “Thank you. So, where’s she going to go now? I imagine she can't stay anywhere near here after what she's done."

“It’s not important.”

“Ha, bullshit.” She replied with an eye-roll. “S’important to you.”

Tommy walked her up to her front stoop, making sure she didn’t faceplant up the steps. “You don’t have to worry about her anymore.”

“I wasn’t ever worried about her. I was worried about you.” Kate opened up her purse and fumbled around for her key.

“Me?” Tommy took another drink of the champagne bottle still in his hand.

“Men like you don’t fall in love easily. But when you-oh Christ, where is that fucking thing-when you do fall in love you tend to be blinded by it.” Kate finally retrieved her key.

“So, what do you reckon I ought to do?” He asked. "Seems you've got the answers."

She tried the lock a few times but couldn’t seem to get the key in the keyhole. “I like Grace. She’s smart. Reminds me a bit of myself, but she loves the same way you do. Blindly.”

Tommy took the key from her and opened the door of her flat. “So, what, you manipulate men? Learn their secrets? Betray them?”

Kate shrugged. “I don’t fall in love with the men I do it to, though. That’s the difference between Grace and I. Goodnight, Tommy.” She stepped inside and shut the door behind her.

Permanent Tag: @papa-geralt-of-cirilla​ @giftofdreams​ @biba3434​

Masterlist 

[geek-gem]

The Mummy

Well I've seen it the 2017 one and I just got out of the shower and I'm on my phone now. I was in the shower for a while cause I was thinking of this and other stuff. Including I felt I was in a weird mood man. I don't know if this is really a review or mainly so kind of but a reaction. Mainly my first thoughts when my dad who was sitting to the right of asked what did I think of it. I told him it was pretty cool. Also my Nana and step grandpa were to the right of him. Including said yeah pretty cool and alright even to my mom just even also me wanting to mention how she made my bed beautifully and how it was finally cleaned after some weeks I think I don't know man a month. Yet I'm just gonna get this out of the way. I feel I have a mixed relationship with my dad. He wanted to go and just when waiting in line I remembered this he asks me about my wallet and phone and that I didn't bring it just it frustrated me even when I didn't wanna bring it. He's mainly right yet just the way and I felt embarrassed and he said don't get frustrated with me. Also when we got home including when leaving home first my step grandpa asked about Rotten Tomatos the 17% and when we got back home my dad says to my mom he said it was pretty good compared I guess to saying my name 17 reviews.....then I said percent okay to be honest I feel like in my head I'm like fuck you dad but I didn't​ say it to home. Also yeah make sure theirs no moldy food for the dog and don't want him sick it was one piece I'm sorry. That just bothered me a bit. Sorry I'll just get to this man. So The Mummy the 2017 version and Universal's start to their Dark Universe featuring their Universal Monsters. To be honest I don't mind cinematic​ universe's and including more movies for me, I like monsters, I'm wanting to see the original movies that started these. Including I like monsters so a cinematic universe around them seems really fricken cool but I wanted it to be good. Along with I legit want I think in one of my posts I talked about after watching Jeremy Jahns review, looked at some comments and I decided to see Rotten Tomatos I went yelled out, "OH FUCK!" Yet I was alone at my house cause I got home early there. Well now I've seen it. I did say it was pretty cool. Yet for a big film Universal has marketed and they are really committed to this. They are really wanting this to work, and become a big franchise. Including they already got some actors and we got a new Bride Of Frankenstein on February 14th 2019 and liked they chose that date cause of Valentine's Day but I don't like the holiday a lot man. To be honest like I said it was cool. But I wouldn't I guess recommend coming back to see it. Mainly if you like monsters but it depends and if your really interested but I want you guys to spend your time and money wisely. I'll be honest Tom Cruise as Nick Morton and had to go to Rotten Tomatos to spell that last name right. I think he does pretty alright. Including you know I'm not the biggest fan of him. Yet I like the Mission Impossible series mainly 4 and 5 almost left 4 again man lol dude. Including he's a good stunt man and all that shit. Mainly he's good at his job. Yet what's the problem I had with the film was it's characters. Including the character of Jenny who I don't know if this is much of a spoiler yet you can tell but fine also that's the name of her character she's basically Nick's love interest. Yet throughout the movie she's not all that interesting. Including I don't buy their romance and even like the reviewers I've watched Jeremy Jahns, Chris Stuckmann, Midnight's Edge, and Angry Joe, but also watched Hybrid Network's review too. Basically their isn't much there for them I wasn't invested in their relationship or their development I suppose. Yet I'm gonna say I legit love her introduction in the film cause it's just so out of nowhere and even funny. Because seriously I didn't expect that. But mainly any of the other characters even Nick their not developed much. Including just you don't care much for them. Mainly I just saw it but yeah. You have no attachment to them. Seriously I will say even in a supposed big film like this. I like it when I'm invested not just what's​ going on but even with the characters. Including you know the talk about Inconstant tone. Will say their are some funny moments and I guess some scenes work. Including seem to like that I don't know dark yet mysterious feeling yet I don't know what I'm talking about man. Including I don't complain much about Inconstant tone. Yet I don't know. You know what I just thought this the film feels bland, if feels bland as fuck man. I feel like for a film like this that seriously should not happened. A epic scaled action horror films that sounds so cool. Yet the way it's portrayed I'm not too excited about it man. Honestly I feel like this may be bullshit what I'm gonna say. Yet like what people said I honestly liked Russell Crowe and Sofia Boutella and had to go to Rotten Tomatos a couple times pressed the scene...her last name is difficult lol man sorry. So spoilers mainly for Russell Crowe's character yet they've marketed his character even with his announcement he plays Dr. Henry Jekyll aka Mr. Hyde. Honestly I haven't seen much of Russell Crowe yet he's a good actor. Really he was pretty cool with what he was given. In fact a lot more interesting then some of the other characters. I honestly hope we see more of him. Including his performance yet also his character were indeed a lot better then others ha man. Now for Sofia Boutella as the title character herself. Really she did a pretty alright job with what she was given. I feel like the way she was portrayed and how her character was. I don't know what yet she's a good mummy yet not that great. I'm sorry I feel stupid cause I'm praising basically two monster related characters. Because they stand out cause the other characters don't stand out as much and that bothers me thinking more about the film. In fact okay I'm gonna be silly so I'm not alone but even before the movie just....think if you've seen this Game Grumps Sonic Boom episode when Danny Sexbang makes a mention of Perci being pretty hahaha....yeah it's kind of like that.... Okay I feel theirs a thing with me and weird ladies no offense lol man. Including this is a God damn Mummy, God damn imagine what it's gonna be like with lol the Bride Of Frankenstein man hahaha or some shit man. But also honestly the action was pretty dang cool even the plane scene where it was marketed a lot and the Tom Cruise scream why the fuck isn't that a meme haha. That was all nice really I didn't mind it. Also some well some parts wanted to be scary like a horror movie...yet I feel like they could of been done better. Maybe like you get this feeling like you don't know what to expect yet this film you expect something I've learned that from many films. Including the ending I've read comments it was confusing so okay we didn't sit through the credits cause I don't​ know if theirs a end credits scene or not man. Just I'm gonna look that up now forgot lol man chill out. Almost left edit ha but looked at Wikipedia okay no end credits scene man. Yet the ending not gonna spoil it man it felt like they were setting up the universe and being like we're gonna see this universe again. I was okay with it and I didn't expect certain stuff man haha. Also I'm gonna mention this you know what I found cool easter eggs. Theirs legit easter eggs to other monsters and I was smiling. Even if I've haven't seen the originals I'm sorry but I was just happy seeing certain stuff it was cool man. I don't know if theirs much else to say well Brian Tyler does the score I guess he did a very good job man. Yet the movie itself. I'm being honest I wanna see this cinematic universe launch and get going. I wanna see the other Universal Monsters or basically characters such as Gilman okay I legit looked on Google I see nothing mentioning him from The Creature From The Black Lagoon ha man , and The Invisible Man who they have casted Johnny Depp as the character and also Jarvier Bedwin as the Frankenstein Monster but smiling a lot. Also even the Wolfman even with rumors of Dwyane The Rock Johnson being casted yet we don't know heard he's been in some serious films and I'm being okay with the idea of the casting. Also with other announcements and actors Universal wants to get. Seriously I've even thought of how I feel this universe should go man. You have some big films and small films. Also these are different characters and some of them people. Such as the story of the Wolfman, and the original story of Frankenstein and maybe you can bring that but do a modern take on it yet respect the original story. Including some random idea like the Wolfman film is like Wolfman meets Dog Soldiers haven't seen both films and just whatever 1941 film or 2010 film the 2010 seems decent but the original and Dog Soldiers seem amazing man. So if you want action yet also that tragic tale of a man being bitten by a werewolf this idea gonna put it out there haha man, the Wolfman taking on other werewolves. Including some of the films are ether PG-13 or R depends of what character their focusing on. Also the idea of all the monsters fighting like the Frankenstein Monster fighting the Wolfman also this silly idea the Frankenstein Monster hits the Wolfman sends him flying towards a person taking a selfie of the fighting whether they got seriously injured or killed yet mainly injured. Also Dracula fighting the Mummy two powerful monsters. Seriously I expect Dracula to be like the biggest asshole like he thinks he's the king ha man. Yet...... honestly not a good start to a cinematic universe so took out the haha before the last ha in the last paragraph and cinematic kept turning to cone lol and cone to come lol.... Sorry but yeah not a nice start. Also when looking up the Creature From The Black Lagoon's name my Nana said bye and we bugged a bit ha man gonna chill out. Also just theirs this thing on Google nice marketing for the movie like saying The Mummy on Google and it's some gif ha, but theirs a article talking about five things wait man damn smiling man. Yes five reasons why it looked again disinterested​ in the box office no disintegrated there looked again but not going on the screen....ha I don't normally go check stuff like that online yet I wanna see this seems interesting and wanna know more stuff okay smiling a lot cause my thumbs type fast yet press the wrong buttons man. So wanted to say if you wanna see a movie pick what you want yet I recommend Wonder Woman which I saw last week that's a nice start to Summer in a way, a beautiful and amazing film I've even made a post well review reaction some what of that too man