#i wanna be more like charlie cale

[inthetowncalledyesterday]

i watched poker face, and I say this about everything i watch and then write about here, but it was really good!

the premise was fun, and each episode was interesting, and i loved how they show you the scenes then recontextualise it all with how charlie was there too. i came to really enjoy that familiar guitar track that when it plays, you're just like ah, we're about to see charlie again.

and charlie cale! she's played by natasha lyonne who did a great job and is why i started watching poker face in the first place (i really enjoyed russian doll, another great show i recommend).

but charlie cale! fantastic protagonist which made the whole show for me. i loved her kindness, her heart, but also just the way she could invite herself into people's lives, and how she could easily strike up conversation with anyone. that's one thing i really loved about this series, is how people just came together (the truckers in the diner are a big example), and all the unexpected allies she forms. but also that to me, anyways, those interactions didn't feel unnatural at all - like they could happen irl, if there was someone like charlie.

can't wait for season 2 :)

[abnerkrill]

collected poker face tidbits from e1 dead man's hand

...that may or may not have future importance, i'm just trying to think like rian johnson. for the most part don't mind me i'm just thinking out loud :)) but if you wanna talk theories i'm all ears (or correct me if i missed something)!!!!

spoilers and speculation ahead obviously <3

cliff was "offsite" when natalie's husband jerry stormed into the casino; seems like a strange detail to me, what was the head of security doing somewhere else??

sterling jr. says his dad taught him three things ("keep the carpets clean, keep Caine happy") but he doesn't tell charlie the third thing. some secret?

sterling sr. had a long relationship with caine ("goes way back"); will caine reappear? / or the CP ring and caine's crew? could sterling sr. be implicated in the CP ring?

i really want the lady galahad nickname to have some deeper meaning because seriously, out of all the knights... galahad? what about gawain, lancelot, etc?

tons of guns in sterling jr.'s office--chekhov's gun(s) or a throwaway prop?

sterling jr.'s "bad situations previously" aren't explained

sterling jr.'s line that sterling sr. "gave you a job to keep you in a cage"--maybe sterling sr. wanted to use charlie for something in the future? sterling sr. spent 10 hours watching her, maybe he was wanting her for some job?

likewise this episode proves charlie's skills work over video, wonder if that might have future importance

i thought the cut to michelle with her kids while charlie calls asking for the key combo was a little random (what's the importance of showing michelle's house unless...?) (though if i really want to stretch it, it could just be about showing the contrast between someone with a lot of ties & connections in this place, vs charlie being a drifter)

coffee makes charlie crazy, hopefully she gets it again because that was hilarious <3

will dale mcclintock, the shill, make a reappearance?

cliff is on charlie's phone a pretty long time (he must've guessed her 1234 password, lol) before he finds and plays the incriminating text message, was he looking at anything else on there?

sterling sr. tells charlie he's gonna hit her where it hurts, which implies not just killing her, but what else? framing her for something? i just have strong feelings that charlie got sterling jr. so good by getting him blackballed, maybe there's going to be a parallel with what sterling sr. does to her with post-s1 implications to make her traveling escapades a little more complicated in the future. *** haha holy shit i just checked imdb and clea duvall is playing "emily cale" in episode 10. sister??? EX-WIFE??? given that clea duvall played natasha lyonne's love interest in but i'm a cheerleader?????????

charlie sent the incriminating picture of caine's laptop to the local police, but sterling jr. claims they're in his (dad's) pocket anyway. i imagine this will be part of episode 10's plot--if charlie can still incriminate caine et al with luca clark's help or not.

having checked imdb we know cliff is in episodes 9-10, luca is in episode 10, and sterling sr. is in episode 10, so cliff catches her end of ep 9.

[commaclear]

I made an anon a while back about Wilbur keeping a photo of him and quackity when they were younger and I had an idea for this dream au ppl r writing about

after quackity broke his heart, wilbur started to get a little more distant from everyone. one night, hoping to go home early to see charlie, niki catches him and asks if he would like to join everyone for a movie night at her place. Wilbur felt something tell him not to go, but... he missed everyone maybe he should. he accepted nikis invitation (even though she probably wouldn't have taken no for an answer)

he missed this, having laughs with his friends. he got to catch up with fundy and hear how college is going. its when niki asked if someone could pick up the pizza. wilbur offered, calling fundy to join him and heading out to go grab the pizzas. niki handed him the cash for them and they headed off.

"you stay in the car, heres the key. shouldn't take too long right?" fundy nodded --

wilbur entered the pizza shop, making uncomfortable eye contact with a group of guys standing outside before "uhh pickup for nihachu?" Wilbur handed the cash across the table

"hmm, should be out in a couple minutes! were working on closing do you mind waiting outside and we will inform you when ready?" wilbur paused, "I um- yeah sure " he chuckled nervously.

he stepped outside the place. glancing over at the group of guys on the other side of the shop, quickly turning his head down after exchanging eyes with one of the more buff guys in the group.

"you want something?" a raspy voice called to him, wilbur looked up to see the guy along with his friends a little closer towards him. "n-no I'm fine thank you." wilbur gave a nervous smile and stumbled back before hitting the wall. "by that judgy look I'm thinking otherwise." the guy motioned for one of his friends to walk up a bit faster to wilbur. "he-hey man look- I don't want any trouble I promise!" wilbur keeps looking at the door, praying to anything that hasn't set their sights on ruining his life to listen. the guy in front of wilbur crushed his cigarette on the pavement as he looked over to the door, "no I'm not so sure about that, don't look at the door were just talking" wilbur felt his breath getting heavy, "please i- I don't have anything on me! my friend- he's waiting in the car just let me go I wont-" wilbur was cut off by a punch straight to his stomach before he knew it his arms were held up and his face was being bashed one punch after the other.

"PLEASE! JUST LET ME GO PLEASE!" Wilbur begged "I WANNA GO HOME" "alright" the man smirked as his two friends dropped wilbur onto the pavement before the lot of them stomped onto wilbur. as wilbur curled up to shield himself, he heard a small flap of a paper fall out his pocket.

a small picture of him holding quackity from behind, the two smiling and cheeks red. wilburs eyes widened, reaching out for the paper before a foot stomped on his hand harshly. wilbur cried out in pain. it didn't stop, everytime he thought it was over, a foot scraped over his head. "WILBUR!" Wilbur looked up to fundy running with a phone in hand. "IM CALING THE FUCKING POLICE LEAVE HIM ALONE RIGHT NOW!" Fundy screeched

the group soon ran from the scene, fundy hung up the phone and immediately checked wilbur. "wil-" wilbur fliched at the touch, standing up slowly and heading inside the shop. "is the order for nihachu ready now?" the cashier nodded quickly and ran over to his co worker for the 4 boxes. "thank you." wilbur responded to the boxes being given. the car ride was silent. much to wilburs dismay, fundy insisted he drove. fundy kept glancing over at wilbur, who was looking quietly out the window. "stop at my house." wilbur said softly, "please" "wil-" "I just want to go home. please." -- wilbur got out of the car, saying a quick goodbye and grabbing his things.

"wil... just grab a box before you go, that's all I ask." fundy pleaded wilbur complied, just wanting to go home with no more problems. as he opened his door, he set his stuff onto the counter, and placed his slightly ripped and scuffed picture onto the counter. he sighed and passed out onto his couch. -- "hey darling," "wil you're ba-" Quackity gasped and quickly ran to his husband, cupping his face. "WILBUR WHAT-" Wilbur closed his eyes, putting his hands over quackitys softly. "shh,, I know, Im fine i just- i just want you right now." quackitys eyes softened, wilbur felt kisses over his black eye and opened his eyes to quackity smiling and grabbing charlie from his crib "cmon,' he led wilbur towards their bedroom, " he's missed you" wilbur almost cried in relief, he's missed them too. quackity and wilbur sat on their respective parts of the bed, watching charlie sit up and babble on to wilbur all about his day. wilbur smiled as he gently moved charlies hand from his black eye, "no don't touch that baby" he cooed, charlie giggled in response. wilbur ruffled his hair and kissed his sons forehead. he's home.

maybeeeeee ill write a part two if I haven't absolutely destroyed yalls patience by reading all this lol

*waggles finger at you* If you keep this nonsense up, you're gonna regret it! Don't ask how or when, but just retribution will find you, and god spare any poor soul who gets caught in the crossfire

anyway, here have a slightly crushed party hat for dinosaur themed party

[gothiccwhore]

13 reasons why season 4 review

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS IN THIS!! if you haven’t finished the season yet i suggest you skip this!! :)

also this will be super long because i tend to ramble and i’ll give reviews for each character/most of the storylines! ((half way through reading this i read @jessica-acholas and @analuciacortez reviews and i agreed with a lot of it so you guys should all read their reviews as well!!))

over all ranking:

as a whole, i would give this season a 7/10. i originally was gonna give it a 6 but they get an extra point for all the zalex scenes we got, and i also was thinking of the mess that was s3 so i had to give them that extra point too

storylines/the season as a whole:

my biggest concern/annoyance with this season was how rushed or repetitive it was

every storyline this season was either super rushed or super dragged out- no in between. the fact that we only had 10 episodes as opposed to the normal 13 probably had a part in this, which idk why they cut the episodes short. let’s start off with the dragged out storylines, one of them being clay’s nightmare sequences. i honestly did like his therapy scenes because it was good to see him get help and he was a much better narrator than ani, but his nightmare scenes were so long i literally had to skip all of them i got so bored. another dragged out storyline was jesstin, which i probably will get complains about. i think they have their cute scenes and i do love both characters, especially jess being tied with alex for #1 and justin being in my top 5. but my god their storyline/relationship is beyond repetitive, its been the exact same thing for 4 whole seasons. they break up, have a long speech about how they’re not right for each other, spend the whole season pining after each other, make up in the end and then have another speech about how in love they are. like writers please make up your mind- do you want them together or not?? we also had another repetitive love triangle this season just like every other with justin jess and diego as opposed to the justin jess and alex one for like 2 seasons.

now for the rushed storylines, one of them being alex’s relationship with charlie. i love charlie ever since we saw him in s3, he’s so pure and a lovable guy and i love how he loves alex. however they happened like out of nowhere?? alex went from being in love with jess for 3 seasons to being in love with 2 people in 4 episodes. if you blinked you would’ve missed the “build up” to their relationship, and honestly it felt like they just randomly threw in some relationship for alex because they didn’t wanna have zalex happen. i’m not saying this to be bitter (maybe i am lol) but zalex had 3 seasons worth of build up and could’ve been an amazing slow burn relationship for the whole season, instead they rushed another relationship. zach is also another character who had a rushed storyline with his drinking problem, which literally happened out of nowhere too?? he just showed up this season drunk in the first scene and drunk in literally every single scene we saw him in. this storyline also never got resolved, it just stuck there like the writers didn’t even care to end or resolve it. just like how zalex could’ve worked better for alex, it could’ve worked better for zach too since his drinking problem could’ve been helped by alex. i swear the writers just hate us at this point

characters review:

clay: one of my favorites honestly, he’s in my top 5. sure clay has had his moments where he’s been annoying and extra but so has literally every single character in this show- besides tony lol. like i stated above my main concern was how dragged out his sequences were this season, like i couldn’t watch all of them. also another huge problem i had with him this season was how big of a jerk he was to justin??? for like half of the season he was rude to him and would give snarky remarks/hints like when he was surprised colleges would even want justin, which i don’t blame justin for thinking that clay expected him to just relapse again and throw his life away. the same can be said for when clay said all those awful things to him at the party- his parents not being his and not trusting him like wtf? i felt SO BAD for justin there i was expecting clay to apologize to him. on the topic of the party episode, he literally crashed zach’s car and sent them flying 30 ft in the air just to leave zach all alone to literally die?? then there’s also the part where he and ani outed alex before he was ready to fully come out which sucks, that’s something you should never do but i know he was just worried about alex and didn’t want him to get heartbroken over winston - but why didn’t you tell him sooner??

ani: like i said with clay, i hated how she outed alex before he was ready to come out. i don’t understand how her and clay both didn’t think to tell everyone - especially ALEX who literally killed bryce and would’ve gotten hurt the most about winston?? they both knew that winston and alex both knew each other and met at the hillcrest party, so why not tell him winston is gonna be looking for information to clear monty’s name?? alex is literally the only person you guys SHOULDVE told first?? however i did enjoy her this season as opposed to s3, she had a great redemption and i liked that she finally apologized to jess for sleeping with bryce. she also wasn’t up everyone’s business this season and i loved all her scenes with jess, especially the prom ones

alex: HAAAAAA BI KING WHO GOT HIS HAPPY ENDING AND DIDNT GO TO JAIL FOR FLOORING THAT RAPIST!!! HOW DO YOU BRYCE AND MONTY STANS FEEL THAT BOTH OF THEM ARE 6FT UNDER WHILE ALEX IS FREE 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 i’m so happy he got his happy ending and became secure in his sexuality, that’s all i ever wanted for him since s1. i’m not saying this because i’m biased and he’s my favorite character, but he truly was one of the only characters who didn’t annoy me this season. he had a great arc even if it was super rushed, we finally got a zalex mutual love confession (i’m still bitter that we didn’t get our endgame but in my head we did), and i love how even if he and justin had their differences in the past seasons he was there for him in the end. i don’t really have any complaints about him besides the whole charlie thing being super rushed and so random?? why did the show put 2 bottoms together like we wouldn’t notice 🤨🤨

jessica: jess is my favorite character tied with alex, both of them have been since s1. i loved how she continued to be her badass self this season but a lot of the things she did/said kinda rubbed me the wrong way?? like i applauded her for calling out ani for judging who she was sleeping with after ani slept with bryce, but when you think about it diego literally is a rape apologist too?? jess tyler is literally your friend why would you date the guy who’s defending his rapist?? also don’t get me started how diego treated clay horribly this season, he was suffering with his mental illness and he played pranks on him and called him a psycho??? clay has always been there for you jess and he’s also one of your friends why would you still hang out with diego?? also in the first episode where justin breaks up with her and she got mad at him i got upset with her, justin made valid points he’s a recovering drug addict who needs to focus on himself not a relationship. i don’t understand why she got so mad at that, it was lowkey ooc for her? overall i still loved her i just hate how the writers reduce her to only a guy each season, but she still was amazing over all and looked beautiful!! her scenes with ani were great and i cried so much at her scenes with justin at the end.

zach: another one of my favorite characters who the writers did so dirty this season. i’ve loved zach since s1 as well, he’s in my top 5 and i’ve always loved how even if he was a jock he was still good hearted and there for everyone. i hated how in this season the writers forgot all of his traits and basically wrote him as a new person?? his drinking storyline was beyond random and had no build up/not even a resolution in the end. where even was his mother or sister this entire season. the show always paid him dirt and never focused on his home life when it was clear he didn’t have the best relationship with his mom. i’m so annoyed at how they wrote him as a “drunk” all season and didn’t even acknowledge his struggles. his scenes with alex were great, and i loved every single one of them. i’m still dying on the zalex hill and saying that they missed the perfect opportunity to make them a couple, it would’ve helped his storyline just like alex’s.

justin: oh my god, when i say my heart broke in the last episode it really did. i remember hating justin in s1, and then loving him in s2 with him being in my top 5 favorite characters. he had the best redemption arc, and i loved his portrayal of a recovering drug addict. i’m thinking now and he also didn’t annoy me this season just like alex, he was great and i’m so sad how they basically stomped all over his arc by killing him. it’s clear the show only killed him off because clay started the show by losing someone he loved, and ended it the same way. him dying by aids was so random and made 0 sense, i honestly thought he was gonna die from an overdose when discussing theories because i had a feeling it was either him or alex who were gonna die. they didn’t have a buildup for his hiv/aids- only added scars/bruises throughout the season which no one noticed if they weren’t closely examining him. i’m so saddened by his death and i will be planning a funeral for him along with zalex’s 💔.

tony: honestly a great character throughout the whole show, never was annoying and always was there for literally everyone. tony has always been a fighter and has been through so much without showing it, and i’m glad he got to go to college at the end and see his sister. i’m also so happy we got more scenes between tony and caleb this season because they are one of my favorite couples and are so underrated in the show and with fans ❤️ i was upset when he didn’t believe tyler, but i understood where he was coming from because he just wanted to be safe.

tyler: he’s so pure and i also loved his arc throughout the show, i’m so happy he has friends who love him and him and estela were so cute! i wish they explored more about him and the sheriffs working together because i honestly was confused about that before rewatching scenes. i also hate how they made him feel bad about monty dying when it literally was not his fault a rapist got killed in prison- monty’s rotting 6 ft under hello let’s celebrate to that!! i also loved how he was so supportive when he found out about winston and alex on the camping trip, he seemed worried about alex when winston said they broke up. i also love how alex was the only one who truly believed in him the entire show.

bryce: good riddance!! when i say i yelled when jess saw him when she was burning the tape why did he smile like pennywise?2@/@20so glad we saw no flashbacks of him this season and that he was just an annoying ghost, but even that annoyed me

monty: just like bryce good riddance!!! thank god we didn’t get that much of a redemption arc because i would’ve lost it- even though i literally rolled my eyes every time his ghost tried to say something that was supposed to make us feel bad for him. he’s rotting with bryce 🧚🏻‍♀️🤩

charlie: i loved him, he was so nice to everyone and so pure. i just wish they let him and alex be just friends because that came out of nowhere. i hope he’s baking more cookies and being happy

caleb: such a supportive bf i love him and tony, wish we saw more of him but i hope he’s living his best life <3

winston: he gave me joe from you vibes the entire season why was he creepy lowkey s:@:&;&!392&-03@3&4 nobody @ me but for a second i thought him and alex were cute during the bowling scene then i remembered who he was. he was a rape apologist which i hated, like dude he’s dead get over it i promise that dick probably wasn’t that good that you have to do a whole fbi investigation for him. the fact that he fell in love with monty and alex after like a week is sending me oddjdkckdkdj but i too am in love with alex standall so i see where he’s coming from, he gets points for not turning alex in at the end but i expected him to be a bigger villain this season but thank god he wasn’t because i would’ve floored him

chloe: my best girl who i wish we saw more of we only saw her for like 3 scenes?? the show did her dirty even in s3 she should’ve had more scenes her storyline was amazing :/ i did enjoy her and zach’s friendship it was so refreshing to see a m/f friendship and i’m glad they didn’t make them romantic. i didn’t expect her and scott to date but go girl!!

diego: literally came out of nowhere where were you for the other 3 seasons? i literally laughed every time he would talk about missing monty like who cares if he got you into football he was a rapist no one cares. i hated how he made clay go literally insane by pulling those pranks on him and calling him psycho?? “why’d you bring a knife” MF YOU GAVE IT TO HIM???? he was nice at the end so i guess i’ll give him some points and he also wasn’t a HUGE jerk i liked how him and justin helped each other when the cop was being racist/a dick and that he seemed upset at justin’s funeral

estela: her and tyler were super cute together and i loved how she acknowledged what monty did and didn’t try to make excuses to defend him. also loved how she wanted to join HO and was completely different from monty

so overall that was my review of the season, i will miss the characters so much and zalex will continue to haunt me every night i cannot escape 💔 jess and alex are my emotional support characters who would’ve thought. selena gomez and the 13rw writers you will pay for your crimes this season!

[fritzllang]

did i put more effort into this than into any other thing i’ve done in the past month? maybe. but yeah here it is, my playlist for the cursed pairing. thanks to @anticmiscellaney​ for the help! 

KEEP ME GUESSIN’ -  a cherry cola playlist

listen to it on spotify. also here are the songs and some lyrics:

i wanna be where the boys are by the runaways - wild in the streets,  barely alive / mama’s always telling me stay inside / don’t you hang  around with those young boys / soon you’ll be lovin’ them, they’re all  night toys

charlie brown by the coasters - he’s gonna get caught, just you wait and see / why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?

i wanna be your lover by prince - I ain’t got no money, I ain’t like those other guys you hang around / and it’s kinda funny, but they always seem to let you down

jimmy, jimmy by madonna - why, oh why, oh why, do fools fall in love with fools like you?

you better you bet by the who - I don’t really mind how much you love me / oh, a little is alright / when you say come over and spend the night

friday i’m in love by the cure - dressed up to the eyes, it’s a wonderful surprise / to see your shoes and your spirits rise

spooky by dusty springfield - just like a ghost you’ve been a-hauntin’ my dreams / but now I know you’re not what you seem / love is kinda crazy with a spooky little boy like you

cherry by j. j. cale - someday I will take you away, that’s all I want to do / I’ll love you forever, Cherry, will you love me too?

you’re so cool by hans zimmer

[anarchist-puppet-on-strings]

Stories Worth Telling

SUMMARY: Jackie only said yes to this interview in hopes of getting people to hate him less.

TW - VERY BRIEF MENTION OF PEDOPHILIA

Jackie’s nervous. He hopes to any higher being that may hear this that he doesn’t look as anxious as he feels. When people see him from afar they see someone calm and collected, a joke or witty comment at the ready. He prays this interview doesn’t reveal what a dorky mess he actually is to the public.

He watches with vague interest as the reporter he’d saved a week ago—Danny—got ready. A notebook was pulled out of her bag, pencil pulled from behind her ear, phone opened to the voice memo app and set on the table between them…. It seems like she really thought this whole thing through huh. Maybe she knew he'd say yes.

He fidgeted uncomfortably. He'd never done this sort of thing before. He’s talked to few people for extended amounts of time as Jackieboy Man and that was to calm a few victims, most being children—this is a journalist. The voice in his mind told him he'd mess this all up and make even more people hate him. Oddly enough, that thought is scarier than some criminals he's fought.

The phone sitting on the table, ready to record their whole conversation is more like a viper than a phone at this point. It stares at him like it’s waiting for him to fuck up once.

“Alrighty then looks like we're nearly ready!” Danny chirped happily. “I’m going to start recording our conversation—if that's okay with you,” she said, shooting him a questioning glance.

Against his better judgement, he swallowed and nodded nervously.

She tapped the screen and suddenly the interview had begun.

“So Jackieboy Man—can I call you Jackie?”

He nodded before catching his mistake. “Err yeah. Go for it.”

“Great,” she said absentmindedly, flipping through her small notebook. “First off: why’d you agree to this interview? You’ve shied away from reporters before.”

His mind blanked and he’s left struggling to pick out coherent thoughts. “Uh, well, I was kinda hoping this would clear up some questions people might have about me? I dunno, make them hate me less? And you seem less demanding and invasive than the other ones who’ve asked.”

She hummed, glancing up at him with a soft smile as she scribbled something down and flipped back a few pages. “What makes you think people hate you?”

He scoffed. “Oh please, I’ve seen the looks I get. And I can hear all the rumors.”

Someone started something saying he’s a leader of some new gang or something. While it’s kinda amusing, it hurts his fragile reputation of being the new hero in the city. Enough people didn’t trust him as it was and he didn’t need some stupid rumor messing things up even worse than they already were.

“Well, what you’re doing is illegal,” she pointed out dryly, giving him a look that he’s all too familiar with. Stay in your lane; it’s not your job. That look always pissed him off.

Jackie couldn’t help but bark a sardonic laugh, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. “Yeah, well, the cops aren’t doing shit, so I’m steppin’ up instead.”

Perhaps he shouldn’t have said that because now her interest is peaked. Her hazel eyes were glittering in excitement as she leaned forward.

“Ah, I’m sorry; that was uncalled for-”

“No, no,” she said eagerly. “Go ahead. What’re your opinions on the cops?”

Relax, Jay; this is an interview. It’s all about you. You’re not gonna get in trouble… yet.

“Well, I don’t really needta tell anybody how corrupt this city’s justice system is. All I see when I turn on the news is about how some cop abused their power and aren’t gettin’ charged blah blah blah.” Now that he’s clearly listening to himself, he realized how bitter and… sad he sounded.

“It happens pretty often,” Danny noted, pencil scratching against paper.

“Christ, it’s like this happens every few weeks!” He complained, running a hand down his face and over his mask. “It’s stupid! I mean, it’s not hard to be a good person!”

“Is that why you’re doing this?” She cut in. “Because of all the corruption?”

“Well, yeah, why else would I be doin’ all this shit?” He asked. “I have a job and stuff to do. Why would I want to be doin’ something I don’t needta be doin’?”

“People can argue that you don’t have the right to do that. There’s law enforcement after all.”

“Technically we just talked about why we can’t trust the cops but I’ll humor you. Ya can’t just sit around, twiddling your thumbs while you wait for someone to stop the people everyone put in power cuz nobody’s gonna stop them. Sometimes ya have to step up and be karma.”

“That’s… that’s quite the statement. Very raw.”

Jackie hummed.

Silence fell for a minute until Danny spoke again. “A while ago, one of my coworkers caught a video of you stumbling into an alley after a gunfight between two gangs when she arrived on the scene. Did you get hurt?”

Shrugging helplessly, he glanced down at the ground. ”Maybe.”

“Do you… do you get hurt often?” She asked. To Jackie’s disbelief, he heard genuine concern in her voice.

“I mean, yeah… not too often for bad injuries but normally scrapes and bruises here and there every night.” He chuckled. “Most the minor ones are my fault anyways. I’m not exactly graceful.”

More writing.

“Aren’t you scared?” She asked.

“Of what?”

“Getting hurt.”

“Oh, nah, not really,” he said dismissively. “What happens happens. I just brush it off and keep going.”

“Do your family and friends know you’re doing this?” She asked.

He blinked. “What?”

She repeated the question.

“Uh—no. I don’t have any family or friends.” It slipped out before he could stop it.

The look he received was of pure pity. He hated it.

Danny tapped her pencil against the edge of the table, watching as his leg bounced up and down.

“So… tell me about your spray painting.”

“Uhm, what d’ya wanna know?” His brows furrowed. Of all the things she could’ve asked, she asked about that?

She hummed. “Well, what’s with all the messages? You have some pretty meaningful ones plastered across the walls.”

Trying to recall any only resulted in a jumble of memories. All he could really remember is the fumes of paint and the dark shielding him from prying eyes.

“Which ones? I’ve done a lot.”

She flipped through her notes again and pulled out a few pictures stuck between some pages. A bright green eyeball with the optic nerve hanging down with a blue iris and a black pupil was present in every picture but...

Danny spoke before he could examine them of them close enough. “‘Don’t tell me what you want to be; tell me what you want to do.’”

He shrugged. “It’s always what d’ya wanna be when you grow up. I think what you’re gonna do is much more important.”

She furrowed her brows while nodding before moving onto the next one.

“‘Respect existence or expect resistance,’” she read aloud.

“I think that’s pretty self explanatory.”

She gave him a patient smile. “Tell me anyway.”

Jackie sighed heavily. “People don’t respect one another and then suddenly everyone is surprised when others start to say something about it or try to do something. It’s hypocritical.”

Once he made it clear he wasn’t going any further, she continued down the line. “‘Smile because you’re loved.’”

That one made him smile slightly. It’s one of his favorites. “I think reminders are nice. People always have someone who cares, even if they don’t think so.”

She stared at him for a moment before smiling gently. “That’s a nice message.”

“Yeah, I wish people told each other more often.”

“‘Stop being silent.’” She tapped the mute button drawn next to the phrase.

He stared her in the eyes. “Citizens have power. They’re just not using it. They’re trying to scare us into silence and it’s working. We need to do something.

“‘How many have to die?’” She turned the paper towards herself and rattled off, “‘Charlie Unger, Hailey Davis, Michael Crow, Thomas Marsh, Cale Sanders, Macy Parish, Gail Sullivan…’ and there’s many more. These are names of protesters.”

“And people who the cops killed,” Jackie added steelily.

“Why those names?”

“People have argued whether some of these people were “good” or not, but here’s the thing: most of them were children. I know Macy was 16 and the others were mainly older highschool or college students. You can say they were adults but they were still in school. They had things they’ll never get to do now, and they’re not getting their justice. It isn’t fair.”

Danny’s silent as she slid the picture back into her bag. She turned her attention on the next one. “‘Divided we stand, united we fall.’ This is pretty similar to the American motto.”

“Mmm it’s switched around.”

“Why this one? Are you bashing America?”

“Nope,” he said, popping the p. “I’m bashing this city. We all have our differences, opinions, and stories, and we let those define us. But when we fall down, we fall together. We have the same fate eventually. We stand divided but we fall united.”

She hummed again (she did that a lot). “What about this one? ‘Always watching?’”

“I don’t remember doing that one.”

Danny frowned. “It has your calling card by it. Or, at least, what looks like it.”

He frowned, turning the picture to face him. The words were jagged and sloppy with little care for how it appeared. But the eye by the words was… wrong. It was black with a combined neon green iris and pupil. It looked… ominous.

“That’s not mine,” he said. He picked it up, trying to figure out where this was. “Do you know where this is?”

She reached over and plucked the photo out of his hand and flipped it over.

In scrawling letters it read: 65830 Detroit Boulevard

Drumming his fingers on his leg, he hummed.

“Can I, ah, take a picture of this?” He asked, flipping it back over and staring at the cryptic words.

“Go ahead.”

Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he snapped a picture of the graffiti. He copied the address into the notes app before turning it off and putting it away. He slid the photo back to her so she could shuffle them back into her notebook.

She cleared her throat after a minute and continued. “Your latest stunt caused some controversy. People say you have no right to reveal people’s personal information like you did.”

“I’d say those rights are forfeited when you’re caught doin’ illegal things.”

“So it can be argued that your rights are forfeited as well?” She pointed out, jabbing her pencil at him.

He shrugged again. “I mean, yeah, sure.”

The answer must’ve let Danny down. “You’re pretty nonchalant about all this.”

He smiled. “Well, at least I know where my morals lie. I’m happy to say I’m not on the deep web watching little kids like McCallister was.”

At the mention of that, she became uncomfortable. “Why’d you reveal that information to the public?”

Jackie grinned. “Because he couldn’t be left off the hook with the whole city angry, no matter how corrupt the cops are. Even if he escapes criminal charges—which I doubt—people’ll throw him outta office. You have ta get people’s attention for them to listen.”

“I… I think that’s enough for now…” She said weakly.

“Oh? Am I free to go?” He asked.

She shoved her notebook into her bag and picked up her phone. “Sure, just give me some contact info, so I can get in touch to ask follow up questions.” It sounded like she didn’t realize what she’s saying. Contact info from a hero? Psssh.

He laughed as he made his way to the open window. “Nah, you’ll see me around. Just holler.”

“Hey! Wait!” She sputtered.

It’s too late—he’d already swung his legs over the windowsill and dropped down onto the fire escape.

Danny rushed to the window and peered out, watching him vault over the railing and drop into the darkness of the alleyway. She sighed, phone clutched in her hand. She looked at the new recording named by the date and time. “Oh well, at least I have this.”

This would be the biggest story since Jackie’s appearance—maybe even bigger! She could feel it.

(A/N) I’VE WORKED ON THIS FOR  D A Y S  AND IT’S FINALLY DONE!!!

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