#like obviously its easy to find scenes with ed and his heart eyes

[edwardbonnets]

stede + his “oh so this is what falling in love is” eyes appreciation post

ed’s version

[as-above-so-below-story]

2: Dead Men Keep Secrets

Series: Fullmetal Alchemist ( Brotherhood ) Ship: Plot: Al’s obsession with kittens once again leads the two brothers into trouble. Trouble appearing in the form of a bloodied car and an unconscious girl. Ed is quick to become suspicious. Word count: 1,893 Warning: None

“ Al, you can’t just go running off like that! Jeez, for a big set of armor, you sure are easy to lose...”

“ But Brother, that kitten--”

“ I know Al, but we talked about this. It’s better off with its mom.”

The two brothers could be found walking a long expanse of road; Al, the one in the armor, had taken a scenic route in pursuit of a kitten he swore he saw. Ed hadn’t caught sight of it, but he was doing his best to reassure Al that the kitten would be alright. A bead of sweat dripped down his face. The two of them had spent quite a bit of time off in Resembool, visiting Winry and working on their studies, of which Ed was itching to get back to. But his brother, with all of his big heart and compassion, had insisted on trying to rescue the supposed kitten.

“ Let’s head back to the train station. I’m sure they’ll let us--”

“ Brother!”

Al’s gasp and pointed finger had Ed’s attention-- golden eyes fleeted over the canopy of trees off in the distance. It was difficult to discern with it being mid-afternoon, but there was an eerie red light, shining through the brush. Ed froze,

A red light..? That couldn’t be--

“ Let’s go, Al.”

“ Right!”

–

“ This….”

It wasn’t the scene they’d been expecting to find.

An arm was hanging out the drivers side window of the old Ford, and the rest of the windows were so heavily coated in blood that they couldn’t see through them. At that point in Ed’s Alchemist career, he’d seen enough that this shouldn’t have been as shocking as it was – but that didn’t mean he was completely desensitized to these situations. He swallowed his shock down and stepped forward.

“ Who do you think…. Could’ve done this?”

Ed was right beside the drivers side now, peering in through the cracked window. He pulled back, his forehead beading with sweat.

“ I’m not sure Al. But whoever did this… They must’ve been furious.”

An attack like this certainly came from a place only rage touched. The man’s face was mutilated; his flesh resembled some sort of water logged pork skin. Ed couldn’t think of any weapon capable of doing such a thing. Was it possible… That this was the result of alchemy? Ed began looking around, trying to find any  sign of a transmutation circle, but all he saw was a dirt road and a bloodied car.

“ He’s driving a military unit. Do you think he was killed back he was a military officer?”

“ Maybe...” Ed stroked his chin as he circled around the vehicle. Things had been tense between the general public and the Amestrian military, due to their continued occupation in Ishval, but this was too extreme to have just been a frustrated civilian. Ed’s breath caught in his throat when he came to the other side and found a young woman, passed out on the ground. Ed waved Al over.

Al gasped,

“ Oh, no, is she dead too?!”

Ed dropped to her side, carefully placing his ear near her mouth. He could hear the faint sound of breathing and sighed in relief,

“No, it looks like she’s just out.” Ed inspected her for a moment; he didn’t see any open wounds, and the only sign of trauma on her were the bruises on her throat and the blood dripping from her nose – definitely not enough to account for the blood staining her body. It obviously belonged to the man in the car. His frown deepened,

There aren’t any other footprints around, so I don’t think they were attacked by anyone. Is it possible… That he had attacked her and she did this to him in self-defense?

Ed had caught wind of the rumors of the missing girls in the area. He wasn’t assigned the case, so he hadn’t bothered too much with contributing his time to the investigation. Why would he? There were plenty of officers around who would jump on the case, and it didn’t help him with his studies. The sinking feeling in his gut, however, told him he’d just solved it as he glanced back at the Ford.

“ Hey, she’s waking up!” the girl was stirring, groaning as she slowly opened her eyes. Al and Ed watched on in anticipation, their faces tight with concern.

Orange hues stared up at the sky at first, dazed with confusion. What happened? Where was she? Her throat throbbed and she tried to swallow past the pain, but only winced in response – thats when it all came flooding back to her. Clark, his hands on her throat, the way he told her he was going to kill her – her hands glowing red and the way his face was suddenly twisted in a mess of bone marrow and blood--

The girl sat up with a sharp inhale that sent the boys flying backwards and suddenly she was muttering to herself in rapid succession,

“ Oh, oh god, oh no, fuck, fuck, fuck--”

“Uh--”

“What am I gonna do? This is bad, this is SO bad!”

“ Hey--”

“ I haven’t even been here for a day--”

“ Excuse me, miss? ”

She was shrieking suddenly, jerking away from the Elrics. Ed was reminded of the cowering rabbit from his training as a kid and immediately attempted to calm her down,

“Hey, hey, calm down, we’re here to help you! “

“Yeah! We found you passed out!”

Ed wasn’t sure how to interpret her stare – it was obvious she was confused. But the way she looked at them was unnerving, like they were a pair of familiar faces; As far as Ed was concerned, he’d never seen this woman in his life, so he brushed it off and continued talking,

“ I’m Edward Elric, and this is my brother, Alphonse.”

“… Kijo.”

Her voice was soft and hoarse and her eyes darted between the two of them like a frantic animal. Her fear was understandable – it was really beginning to look like she’d been attacked by the officer in the car, so of course she would be weary. Her eyes seemed to hang on Al especially, and Ed mentally slapped himself on the forehead when he remembered his giant suit. That certainly didn’t help!

“ Are you alright?” Alphonse, ever compassionate, reached forward in her direction. Kijo lurched back before bringing a hand to her throat, growing visibly uncomfortable. Al dropped his hand back to his side, whispering an apology. He felt guilty for trying to touch her, it was clear this was an incredibly uncomfortable experience for her.

Kijo opened her mouth to say something but seemed to remember the body in the car instead, as she suddenly adjusted her gaze in its direction.

“ He – he attacked me,” she spoke roughly and it was obvious that speaking pained her. Her hand never left her neck. “ He said he was going to kill me and he started choking me.”

“ We saw the bruises on your neck. Your nose – did he do that too?”

Kijo relinquished one of her hands to her face and hissed when it throbbed at her touch. Thats right, he’d gotten a pretty nasty hit in, didn’t he? Her nose was definitely broken. The taste of copper lingered in the back of her throat and she wanted to hack it up and spit it out.

“ Yeah, he did.” Kijo paused. She hadn’t expected to run into these two so soon. She still couldn’t believe they were sitting there in front of her – so tangible and real. She could reach out and touch them, and she almost did, except she remembered that she was a complete stranger; so her hand dropped to her lap and she frowned.

Ed nodded, “ you should see a doctor. Do you live around here? Is there family we can take you to?”

“ Uh – no, not exactly... I’m a, uh… Foreigner?”  The doubt in her voice made Ed quirk an eyebrow but he didn’t have much time to ruminate on it before Al was jutting his fingers into his side. He hissed, turning to his brother,

“ What? What is it?”

“ I don’t think she has any family around here,” Al was wrought with concern, and at first Ed went to protest but Al continued speaking. “She was attacked by a military police officer, Brother. That needs to reported, and she’s going to have to be the one to do it. We should take her to Central. It’s the right thing to do. ”

“ Yeah, you’re right...” Kijo was glancing between the two of them as they spoke. They really talked as if nobody could hear them, huh? She’d always wondered if they really were that obvious--  wait. They were going to bring her to Central City?

At least I know I can trust these two..! She perked up, raising her hand to speak,

“ Actually, I was trying to get to Central City anyways, so you’d be doing me a huge favor by taking me there.”

Ed was hesitant. Al had a point. Kijo had been assaulted by a member of the military, and that needed to be addressed promptly. He could already hear Roy groaning about the paperwork. At the same time, he had questions. He was certain that the officer was killed by alchemy, but he didn’t see any transmutation circles; he wanted to know how she did it.

Ed would get answers out of her.

“ Okay, yeah, we’ll take you there. I don’t know what we’re going to do about your clothes, though. ” Ed stood. Kijo followed suit, pushing herself to full height. She visibly cringed when she looked down and saw her shirt covered in dry blood. She still couldn’t make sense of what had happened earlier, prior to her passing out. Everything was fuzzy. The desperation of not wanting to die pulled something out of her, something that she couldn’t put into coherent words – was it possible that… The way she’d mutilated Clark’s face, was that a result of --

Kijo dismissed those thoughts and peeled her plaid button up off her body, blotting her face with it before she secured it around her waist by the sleeves. It was better to try to make herself look as presentable as possible, to not garner the wrong attention. The second Kijo found a bathroom, she’d be scrubbing the blood out from under her fingernails. She stopped when she found Ed staring at her with a burrowed brow.

“ What? It’s the best I got -- unless you have a suggestion.”

She couldn’t help but notice the way Ed’s eyes hovered on her. She wasn’t sure of what to make of his expression because he turned away, stepping in sync with Al to discuss how they would report the car and body. The way he had looked at her put her in a sweat – Kijo was aware of Edward’s deductive skills. She had to be extremely careful with him.

They passed the car together and Kijo was able to take one final look, cringing and looking away with a frown on her lips;

At least dead men kept secrets.

[baseballbitch116]

Stay At Camp(1.2)

Your Walking Dead - Daryl Dixon Interactive Love Story

Introduction: Follow along on your journey with Daryl and the others throughout the series... You choose your actions... Will you end up with Daryl? YOU have the power to decide that!

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x reader

Setting: Atlanta camp - before Rick has joined (S1E2-3)

Word Count: 3263

Series Warnings: Gore, violence, strong language, potentially triggering content, sexual themes, death, mentions of drug/alcohol consumption and abuse...

Chapter Warnings: Violence, gore, death, strong language, angst,

A/N: I’d just like to note that I used a lot of true dialogue from the show, which does not belong to me; however, Y/N and the rest of the writing does.

Masterlist

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“What’s going on?” You ask Glenn as he passes you. “Going on a run. Wanna come?” He asks, stopping and turning to look at you.

You had never gone with them on a run before, what exactly do you do? Would you just get in the way? But then again, you’ve been wanting to find a way to pull your weight… What should you do?

~~~

“Uhh, nah... I’ll stay back.” You respond with uncertainty. You feel slightly guilty, but you just don’t think that you’re ready to go out there just yet. Glenn nods and shoots you a reassuring smile before turning and heading toward the others. With a sigh, you head the opposite way to help out with some cleaning.

Your mind is preoccupied for most of the remainder of the day, wandering between your insecurities or fears, sometimes to different terrible scenarios that could be taking place on that run. Trying to keep yourself busy was the only was that you managed to stay sane - so that was what you did. You helped Amy clean and gut the fish her and her sister caught earlier in the day, tidied up the RV, helped Shane gather firewood, asked Carol to try to teach you how to sew, and even assisted the kids with homework - seeing as you were recently graduated from college with a degree in education.

The day drug by slowly, but eventually the sun set and everyone gathered around the fire Shane set up in to eat. It was a simple meal of canned beans and canned soup, each of you getting small portions in order to feed everyone. You sat beside Amy as you spooned at your food, listening to Dale explain his reasoning behind adjusting his watch every morning. You lent against the log that the others sat on, not overly concerned with dirtying your shorts, as you and the women wash clothes every morning.

This certainly wasn’t a meal that you would have eaten a few weeks ago - not only did beans and soup not go together, but you really steered clear of the weird mushy food. You wished you had a nice cheeseburger or bowl of Fettuccine right now - but that was a luxury that no longer existed. It was not easy to cook meals in a pot over a fire, with minimal ingredients and two dozen people to feed.

You chuckle as Dale finishes his story, taking one more spoonful of the beans into your mouth as you listen to the others speak. Your eyes wandered to Carol and her family gathered around their own smaller fire off to the side - grimacing at the sight. You liked Carol and Sophia a lot - but Ed was another story. The man wanted nothing to do with the rest of the group, contributed less than nothing, and was very obviously abusive toward his wife. You also took notice of the fact that once again, Daryl was not here.

Typically, Daryl would bring back whatever he killed, cook it up and take his plate off to his tent to eat alone. You had not seen him eat alongside the rest of the group before, it made you curious. Why did he insist on being alone? Today, he was still out hunting, having only returned for an hour or so earlier before heading back into the woods. You couldn’t help but worry - he was alone in the woods in the night. Still, it wasn’t your place to worry. The man had probably spoken a total of two words to you since meeting him - if that - you were by no means friends.

You are drawn out of your thoughts when you spot Shane standing up, approaching Ed and Carol over at their fire. Some of the group watch as the others try to mind their business as Shane asks Ed to keep the fire low, so they can’t be seen from far away. You clench your spoon as you see the man tell Carol to remove the log that he just tossed into the fire - watching as Shane stomps it out and thanks Carol, bidding her and Sophia a good night. You liked Shane - he was a pretty good guy to lead this group.

-

The next day goes by relatively the same as the one before, with the exception that the others never returned from the run. Typically, they would be gone from morning until close to sun down, which worried everyone immensely. Amy was panicking and demanding that they go out to try to find her sister, but Shane refused. You could see both sides, feeling bad for Amy but understanding Shane’s reasoning. You tried to reassure her that they were probably fine, but the younger girl wouldn’t hear any of it.

Not long before sundown, you heard the sound of an alarm blaring through the hills. Shane jumped up from where he sat cleaning his shotgun, Lori pausing in trimming Carl’s hair as she followed after him. You tried to spot where the sound was coming from, but you could not see anything. “Talk to me Dale!” Shane shouts at the older man on watch atop the RV. He is looking out with binoculars, trying to pin point what was approaching. “Can’t tell yet.”

“Is it them? Are they back?” Amy asks anxiously. You place a hand on her back to try to comfort her, your heart pounding as you anticipate what is coming.

“I’ll be damned.” Dale mutters.

“What is it?” She demands.

“Stolen car is my guess.” He replies, dropping the binoculars as the red car comes into view.

Everyone gathered around camp when the car pulled up. Shane was furious that Glenn pulled up to camp in a red sports car, laughing excitedly as its alarm shrilled.

“Holy crap, turn that damn thing off!” Dale shouts at Glenn as he grins.

“I don’t know how!” He hollers with his arms open. Shane taps the hood impatiently, asking him to pop the hood as Amy bombards Glenn with questions over the loudness of the car.

“Pop the damn hood please!”

“Is she alright?! Is she okay? Where is she?!”

“Yes! They’re all okay! Well... Merle not so much.”

“Are you crazy driving this wailing bastard up here - you trynna draw every walker for miles?!” Shane exclaims, leaning on the open hood after he shuts the alarm off.

“I think we’re okay.” Dale mutters. You run a hand through your greasy hair as you wrap your head around everything. Everyone’s okay except Merle? Why was Glenn driving this in the first place?

“You call being stupid okay?” Shane asks, shooting a look over his shoulder at Dale.

“That alarm was echoing all over these hills - hard to pin point the source. Shane stands and places his hands on his hips, giving Dale a look. You can’t help but admire how he looks for a moment - his blue button down shirt with the top buttons undone, exposing his chest. His cargo pants were snug on his long legs and his black hair was disheveled from running his large hands through it so frequently. If it weren’t for Lori...

“I’m not arguing, I’m just saying.” Dale remarks. “But it wouldn’t hurt you to think things through a little more carefully.” He points a finger at Glenn, the smile long gone from his face. You shake your head and shift your weight as a white truck pulls up behind the other car. You feel your heart swell in happiness for your friend when Andrea steps out, running for her sister with teary eyes. You watch as Morales and everyone else reunite with their loved ones, both you and Shane exchanging a look as Lori comforts a saddened Carl.

When a new man steps out of the car, dressed in a cop outfit, you are confused when you see Shane’s face fall. He looks like he’s seen a ghost - does he know this man? “Dad!” Carl screams, running into the arms of the unknown man. You watch in awe as Carl and Lori reunite with who must be his father... You and all the other smile at the scene, a single tear strolling down your cheek as you rejoice for them.

Until it hits you.

You look at Shane, his face rising and falling, his expression changing every second. He’s been sleeping with Lori... From what you knew, her husband was shot and died in the hospital right as this all happened... Was this really that man? You had so many questions but instead went over to give Andrea a hug, happy to see your friend has returned safely.

After the others settled in, the fire was once again set up and everyone feasted, listening to stories and the man - Rick - explained what happened when he woke from the coma he was in. You kept glancing back at Shane, wondering whether he was happy his friend was alive or not. He explained that he thought he died, that he didn’t hear a heartbeat and was attached to machines, which sounded like enough reason to believe he had passed to you. Still, you noticed how he looked at Lori throughout the night and you knew that there was going to be tension after tonight.

Once again, Daryl had only appeared once in the morning, asking about the whereabouts of his brother and eating before heading back into the woods. You had met his eye when he strode off, ducking your head from the intensity of his stare.

The next morning, you awoke shortly after sunrise in order to get a head-start on the day. You were going down to the quarry to wash clothes with the women while Shane and Carl tried catching frogs. You dressed into denim capris that hugged your legs and a black tank top, your hair pulled up into a pony tail as you spooned leftovers from last night into your mouth alongside Amy and Andrea. You are sitting beside them on the RV stairs when you spot Daryl approaching the camp from the woods, a string of something swung over his shoulder as he heads your way.

Swallowing the lump that formed in your throat, you exchange a knowing look with the sisters - Merle was left behind. Daryl stops a few feet away from the RV, hollering for his brother as he sets down his crossbow. “Merle!” He hollers again, making you cringe as you note a string of squirrels thrown over his shoulder. You meet his eye for a moment when he glances over his shoulder toward the RV. “Get yer ugly ass out here! Got us some squirrel!” He shuffles the weight of the dead animals over his shoulder. You grimace at the sight - knowing that it was a good thing and you should be thankful, but it was gross and sad. “Let’s stew em up!”

“Daryl?” Shane calls out, stopping Daryl in his tracks. Everyone is gathered around by this point and you exchange a worried look with the girls when you spot T-Dog heading over with an armful of firewood. “Why don’t you slow up a bit? I gotta talk to you.”

“About wha?” Daryl asks, his southern accent prominent. You try not to seem too nosey but at this point a lot of the group was gathered around, anticipating his bad reaction. You set the bowl of food aside and stand, crossing your arms and leaning against the vehicle beside your friends. “This isn’t gonna be good.” Amy mutters to the two of you, keeping her voice low. Shane makes his way over to Daryl, Rick following behind.

“About Merle... There was a uh... There was a problem in Atlanta.” You watch anxiously as Daryl takes in the information, looking around the camp at the people gathered, chewing on his thumb.

“He dead?” He asks, glancing up at Shane sideways.

“I’m not sure.”

“He either is or he ain’t!” Daryl shouts, approaching Shane. Your body is tense now and you worry that he is going to do something stupid.

“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it.” Rick steps up, approaching Daryl. He glares at him angrily. You notice how Rick looks a lot different in his large white shirt and jeans than he did yesterday in his uniform.

“Who are you?”

“Rick Grimes.”

“Rick Grimes...” Daryl sneers, sarcasm dripping off his tongue. You feel the tension growing in the air. “You got somethin you wanna tell me?” He growls.

“Your brother was a danger to us all. So I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked onto a piece of metal. He’s still there.”

Daryl begins stalking back and forth, glaring between Shane and Rick, clearly bewildered. If you were in his shoes you would be too - it sounds pretty bad. “Hold on,” He starts, wiping his face and gesturing to his head. You notice that Daryl speaks with his hands quite a lot, mentally adding it to the things that you know about him. “Lemme process this. You’re saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof?! And you left him there!” He hollers at Rick, his tone raising with each word, making you jump at his loudness.

Before anyone can react, Daryl tosses the squirrels at Rick - who dodges them - and goes to lunge at him. Shane is quick to roughly shove him to the ground - making you cringe when he hits the ground on his back. You want to intervene but it’s not your place - and what would you do to stop the older, larger man?

Daryl whips out his large dagger, making you and Amy gasp when he swipes at Rick. Between Shane and Rick, they work together to disarm and get Daryl to the ground, Shane holding him in a choke-hold as Rick tries to reason with him. “You best let me go!” Daryl shouts, his face turning red as he struggles against Shane.

After a moment, Shane releases Daryl. He shuffles to his feet and resumes stalking and glaring at the men. “The hell with all y’all!” Daryl shouts, waving his arm in no real direction. You spot the tears he roughly wipes away and your heart drops for him. If that were your brother abandoned on a roof you would be pretty furious too. You can’t imagine how he must be feeling.

“Just tell me where he is.. So I can go get him.” Daryl grumbles.

“He’ll show you. Isn’t that right?” Lori speaks up, looking over at her husband. When he nods, she stomps past you into the RV and you exchange a confused look with Amy.

You, Andrea, Amy Jacqui and Carol decided to head down to start on the laundry after the scene. Ed tags along, irritating you, but you bite your tongue. Eventually Shane follows with Carl and you watch them mess around in the water, trying to catch frogs. The sight warms your heart - until Lori shows up and tells Carl to leave. You try not to watch too much, but everyone can hear and see her hollering at Shane, telling him to stay away from Carl.

You feel that is a little harsh, given all that Shane has done for her and that he says he thought Rick was dead. You keep your opinions to yourself as you scrub clothes in the water, droning out Carol as she talks. The girls start listing things that they miss and you all laugh when Andrea brings up her vibrator, Carol agreeing with her. The moment is cut short when Ed interrupts, saying that you guys are laughing too much.

You and Andrea turn and shoot him a look as he looms over you guys, lighting a cigarette. This man had nothing better to do than to supervise? You watch as Andrea stands up, approaching him and you dread the worst. You will not hesitate to stand up for her if he acts out of line - unfair to butt in in this situation.

“Ed, tell you what. You don’t like how your laundry’s done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself.” She suggests with a calm tone. You slowly stand from where you sat and turn to face them, ready for him to pull a dick move. “Here,” She suddenly tosses a wet pair of pants at Ed’s chest, which he immediately tosses back into her face, making her gasp. “Ain’t my job missy.” He drawls, taking a drag of his cigarette. The situation very quickly escalates as Amy tries to get her sister to back down but you take her side.

“No, what exactly is your job Ed? You think you can stand around and watch us all day? Got news for ya - we sure as hell aren’t your bitches.” You growl, daring the man to try you. You’ve had it up to here with this asshole, you’re dying for an excuse to fuck him up or go down trying.

He demands Carol follow him when he pussies out of the confrontation and ends up slapping her - sending all of you over the edge. Everyone is screaming as you and Andrea quickly start pounding on Ed’s chest, you digging your nails into his arms as you try to pull him off of Carol. You manage to get a punch in before he is literally drug off by Shane. You hold your throbbing fist as you watch Shane begin pummeling Ed, climbing on top of him and relentlessly beating him.

You almost want to cheer as he does so, grimacing as Carol cries and begs Shane to stop. Eventually he takes it too far and you all start hollering for him to stop. Carol runs over to the asshole’s side and sobs over him, making you sick as she apologizes to him. You and Shane meet eyes for a moment, your gaze landing on his bloody fists. “Shane-” You start, but he shrugs and shifts his weight, walking backward from the scene.

-

While some of the men got ready to go back to Atlanta to get Merle, you iced your throbbing hand on the steps of the RV. “You okay?” Glenn asks, shooting you a worried look. You nod and give him a halfhearted smile.

“I wish I could’ve beat his ass like Shane did.” You remark, shifting your weight slightly. Glenn lets out a chuckle and removes his cap, brushing his hair away.

“He deserved it.”

“Damn right he did.” You respond, wincing as you readjust the ice. You look up to spot Daryl getting ready a few yards away. He glances up, squinting at you in the bright sun as you sit there. Word quickly got around camp about what happened and it didn’t take a genius to figure out how you hurt yourself. You watch Daryl chew on his bottom lip, looking at you sideways before dropping his gaze back to his crossbow in hand.

“What’s that all about?” Glenn mutters. You glance up at him and cock a brow.

“Whaddya mean?”

“That. Daryl.” He clarifies, a smirk tugging at his lips. You drop your head as you feel your cheeks heat up, checking out your hand.

“Nothin. We don’t even talk.”

“You want to?” He asks, leaning his body against the RV, shooting a look back at the others that he is waiting for.

“I dunno, he doesn’t seem so bad.” You mumble, glancing up one more time when you see Daryl approaching the other men at the jeep, not looking at you this time. Glenn doesn’t respond, replacing his hat on his head and patting your shoulder. “Be careful.” You tell your friend, shooting him a weak smile that he returns as he walks off.

You watch as Glenn stands a few feet apart from Daryl, Shane giving Rick some bullets. “Let’s go! Wastin sunlight.” Daryl rushes them, making you chuckle slightly. You stand up and after one last look at your friends, you head back into the RV.

| NEXT CHAPTER |

~~~

And that’s the end of the second option! This next chapter will end with more choices that you will need to make to continue through the story. You are heading down a spiral of choices and consequences. A simple decision like choosing to stay at camp is going to set the foundation of this story and all of the choices you are going to need to make following it! If you read the first option, you would see just how different the story has become, and it will only go more into depth as you continue down more paths.

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[thethirdwheel404]

Med Rewatch Series (#10)

S3 E10: Down By Law.

Episode Description: Dr. Manning sustains an injury while helping a drive-by victim and Dr. Rhodes finds himself in uncomfortable waters.

Connor being in ‘uncomfortable waters’? I can hear Ava bullying him already.

(also i wrote a little thing abt maggie giving ava a red bull so enjoy that little bit of content)

Let’s get into it.

-barry just yeeted natalie against a car holy shit that’s fucking hilarious

-will needs to chill the fuck out

-YESSSSS

-THIS WHERE CONNOR BRINGS THE WOMAN HE WENT OUT WITH UP FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT. AND THEN AVA HARASSES HIM FOR IT.

-this is one of the most iconic ava moments. (it’s first thing that pops up under the tumblr tag)

-ava overhearing connor not knowing his date’s last name. and ava walking over, already getting ready to make fun of him. barely concealing her smile

-the confidence with which she set down the file. she was too prepared and too excited

-this could just turn into a list of ava quotes

-”It must be hard, remembering all their names.”

“You know I read Derek Jeter used to send his conquests home with a gift basket. But a full cardio work up is... It’s much classier.”

-ava bekker secret baseball fan?

-Connor: “Jeter? You a baseball fan?”

Ava: “Oh, no. It’s much too boring. But I love gossip.”

-interesting. very, interesting... is it weird to anyone else to think about ava liking gossip?

-like the idea is fun and all but i hate the idea of ava being suuuper obsessed with gossip. it makes her seem way too shallow in my book. that being said, one of my hcs about women gossiping about all the shit men do to ava bc they know she’ll call them on it now has a lot more precedence

-i know she explicitly says that baseball is boring but i can’t get the idea of ava being a secret baseball fan out of my head. its just so novel

-HER SHIT EATING GRIN

- Connor: “Well, we will get you in and out of here as quickly as possible.”

Ava: “That’s what Dr. Rhodes is renowned for around here. Quick in and outs.”

Connor: *turns to her condescendingly*

Ava: *two finger salute* “I’m Dr. Bekker, by the way.”

-the lesbian icon jumped out

-also the fact that in the previous episode Ava’s mentor did the exact same salute. idk what it means but it’s not that important

-ava trying to hide her smile when asking the woman if she wanted them to contact her husband

-ava overhearing again when latham tells connor the woman he was with was doing cocaine

-ava smirking when connor says that he thinks the heart attack was from his sex and not the cocaine

-connor thinking he’s so good at sex he’s going to give this woman a heart attack

-he really drives All the ladies wild in EveryWay (sex, suicide. he’s the whole package)

-latham asking connor point blank “did you partake in the cocaine?”

-the ct team gives connor so. much. shit. it’s so funny

-also. ava just chillin at her desk looking at scans? that’s the kind of content i want to see. just her just being there. doing her own thing. that’s what i want

-THE GUY WITH A TEENAGE WIFE IS A REVEREND HOLY SHIT

-counting down the minutes til natalie drops dead (passes out but yk a girl can dream lol)

-sarah. back at it again with her rayon jacket and button up and backpack. the coffee cup only adds to the aesthetic

-connor being surprised that latham isn’t gonna let him do surgery on the women he fucked (twice, he might add)

- whatever you do, don’t think of a brown bear. are you thinking about it?

-maggie dealing red bull to people who need it. that’s a very soft idea

- ex:

Dr. Bekker is sitting at the desk in the ED. Well, sleeping, more like it. Her head is resting on her fist, her elbow precariously close to slipping off the the chair armrest, and her eyes open by just a hair.

“Dr. Bekker.”

Ava jolts awake.

“Maggie,” Ava says, strong accent cutting through, acknowledging the person standing over her. Hastily, she adjusts her jacket and scrubs, smoothing them back into place.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this tired.”

Ava shrugs, seamlessly slipping back into easy confidence.

“Rough couple of cases. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“Uh huh,” Maggie says, unbelieving.

She sets a can of Red Bull on the desk with a knowing look.

“You need this more than anybody.”

Ava scoffs. “Those things? They are murder on your heart, come on.”

Maggie hums and walks away. Ava watches her leave, and when she’s out of sight, Ava darts forward, grabs the energy drink, immediately cracking it open and downing half of it.

- anyway.

- @punksarahreese that’s on you for making me believe ava loves energy drinks

- let’s continue

- sarah looking at charles telling her not to do something: I am not going to do a thing you said

- go off babe. it was the wrong decision but go off

- all the nurses watching this guy call nat a bitch:  👀 👀 👀 👀

- will being like: god that guy called you a bitch i fucking hate him

- and natalie being like: he is also refusing to let us treat the 14 yr olds cancer but you obviously have priorities

- sarah is so logical. she’s good at talking to people. can you FUCKING IMAGINE IF SHE HAD BETTER GUIDANCE (oh and less trauma)

- this is also the one with that hilarious screen cap of sarah holding a knife

- the way she is so calm about handing this patient a knife gives me anxiety

- THIS SCENE IS SO HARD TO WATCH IT SCARES ME SO MUCH

- sarah just in alone in a room with a man who keeps having visions of stabbing his wife. and her just handing him a fucking knife oh my god i have too much anxiety for this

- rewatching the series and getting completely confused bc norma is 5′7″ but she looks so short next to colin and the guy who plays latham

- AND RACHEL IS ALSO 5′ 7″ BUT THEY BOTH LOOK SO SHORT - WHY EVERYONE ON THIS SHOW SO TALL

- anyway. ignore that that’s not important

- I... the parallels btwn sarah offering this guy the ability to slit her throat (for therapy) and ava cutting her throat... i don’t know what to do with this information

- idk but sarah holding the knife got me feelin some type of way

- the way connor looks at ava with such contempt bc she... does her job (and his but yk) especially during the hug wtf dude honestly just stop looking at her

- this is also the episode where ava pawns off the patient’s hug onto connor. while yeah, it could ava just being annoying to connor by forcing him to hug his one night stand’s husband, but she did give connor due credit. (and something to be said about her being confused and a tad uncomfortable when the patient hugs her, which is why she pawns it off to rhodes)

- she also doesn’t hug the guy back, which is kind of funny, she never moves her arms and just shrugs out of it

- and like after the hug she takes a few steps away from the guy, really not wanting any more physical contact or attention

- there’s something interesting in ava’s expression when connor gets hugged by the guy, can’t quite explain it. i’m gonna go with it’s her trying to keep a straight face while connor hugs a man he just helped a woman cheat on, but that’s not all of it so

- or. okay, I think i got it. i think that that little expression when connor gets hugged is her rolling her eyes at him getting credit when ava did most of the heavy lifting. yes. final answer. i’m satisfied

- and her looking away from them is her stopping herself from laughing, bc connor is obviously not enjoying this

- and he’s so sad and angsty he can’t even play along with the jokes

- and ava smiling at him with pity as she walks in to talk to the patient, bc that’s really what it is. she feels bad for him bc connor is so obviously lonely

- and connor’s annoyed bc ‘dammit she does have a right to pity me i suck rn’

- med pushing the women are tough agenda LITERALLY SHUT THE FUCK UP

- you hate your women characters so much just fucking shut your mouth

- and will being like ‘ i have a lot to learn about women not being objects’

- and nat saying ‘you are way further along than most’ like no, he’s not. the bar is on the ground and he still can’t jump it

- i’m pretty sure this show doesn’t pass the bechdel test. holy fucking shit it doesn’t. you’ve gotta be kidding me. (at least this episode doesn’t)

I can’t believe this episode didn’t pass the bechdel test. The only convo btwn two women were like maggie and sharon and they talk about barry and oh my god this is infuriating god med the bar is so low. And I’m pretty sure most episodes don’t pass the test anyway. Will is literally the representation of med. He gets lots of credit for doing bare minimum things like giving women rights.

Anyway.

This was a good episode. We dissected a lot of unspoken Ava things, which is very good. Ava had a lot of moments where she was there, but didn’t say anything, and when your characters can do that, that’s when you know your characterization is very good.

The moments where Ava isn’t really doing anything to forward the plot of the episode but she’s still just there, doing her own thing, are hands down my favorite. Her sitting at the desk looking at a scan while connor tells latham he didn’t do cocaine could possibly my favorite ava moment in the series, just bc it shows how much of her own character should could’ve been.

I drew an interesting parallel btwn sarah offering the guy to slit her throat and ava’s death. i have nothing for that but go wild

This episode also showed us Ava pitying Connor, another new aspect. she gives him shit but she also pities him. very good ep for little ava moments

as always, thanks for sticking through it

-

read the rest here:

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Extra

[edharrisdaily]

What It Means to Stage To Kill a Mockingbird in 2019

The Broadway adaptation’s writer and star—Aaron Sorkin and Ed Harris, respectively—talk about updating and paying homage to Harper Lee’s American classic today. 

The first line of Aaron Sorkin’s stage adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird is one of quiet confusion. “Something didn’t make sense,” Scout Finch tells the audience of the tale that’s about to unfold. Sorkin’s dramatization of Harper Lee’s novel, which opened on Broadway last December, is an unexpectedly probing work that refuses to let an American classic go unchallenged. Instead it stages two trials: One is from the book, where Scout’s attorney father Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson, an African American man accused of rape in 1930s Alabama, and tries to combat the community’s entrenched racism.

In Sorkin’s play, the other trial is of Atticus’s own nobility, and how it doesn’t always square with his grander vision of justice. Though the adaptation broadly follows the narrative arc of Lee’s novel, it uses Scout, her brother Jem, and her friend Dill (all played by adult actors) to cast a wary eye over some of the book’s more idealistic details. That framing encourages the audience to ponder the limits of Atticus’s impulse to empathize even with vile racists like Bob Ewell, a man who’s trying to pin his own assault of his daughter Mayella on Tom. The play beefs up the relatively anonymous parts given to black characters in Lee’s work, gives Atticus’s kids a more argumentative nature, and sheds harsher light on the book’s somewhat pat ending.

The stage adaptation is nonetheless made with appreciation for Lee’s novel, and that mix of homage and update has translated into a family-friendly Broadway hit. The production, directed by Bartlett Sher, premiered last year with Jeff Daniels headlining a seasoned cast and has now turned over with Ed Harris in the lead role. I was fascinated by the prospect of Harris, who brings an edge to even his most warm-hearted roles, playing one of the most heralded characters in the American literary canon, and he didn’t disappoint. There’s a sweetness and a sadness to his Atticus, a perfect match to the melancholy backward glance of Sorkin’s text. I talked to Harris and Sorkin together about their approach to the revival, Atticus’s status as a hero, and recasting the classics for a modern audience. This conversation has been edited.

David Sims: The show surprised me. I knew the book, and I had seen the film multiple times, so I was not expecting to be surprised.

Aaron Sorkin: I’m glad to hear that. From the moment the curtain goes up, we try to knock you off your pins a little bit. Scout spends the play trying to solve [the mystery of Bob Ewell’s death], but broadly what we’re doing is having a new conversation about the book, the story we all learned in seventh grade and thought we knew.

Sims: The industrial warehouse look of the set—it’s like a space that’s been there for a long time but has been standing empty.

Sorkin: That’s right. The curtain goes up and it’s not what you were expecting to see. And what the three characters—Scout, Jem, and Dill, are questioning is something from the book.

Sims: The ending, specifically. But also the entire tale.

Sorkin: When I started out [with this play], I thought it was a suicide mission, but I said yes right away cause I wanted to do a play so badly. My first draft was terrible because I tried to gently swaddle the book in bubble wrap and transfer it to the stage. It felt like a greatest-hits album done by a cover band, just somebody trying to imitate Harper Lee and standing up the most famous scenes from the book. I realized that Atticus, as the protagonist [of the stage version of the] story, has to change. And if he’s gonna be the protagonist he has to have a flaw.

How did Harper Lee get away with having a protagonist who doesn’t change? Because Atticus isn’t the protagonist in the book or the movie, Scout is—her flaw is that she’s young, and the change is that she loses some of her innocence. While I wanted to explore Scout, I absolutely wanted Atticus to be a traditional protagonist, so he needed to change and have a flaw … It turned out that Harper Lee had [already] given him one, it’s just that when we all learned the book it was taught as a virtue. It’s that Atticus believes that goodness can be found in everyone.

Sims: He excuses things [like bigotry and cruelty].

Sorkin: By the end of the play, he realizes he doesn’t know his friends and neighbors as well as he thought he did. That it may not be true that goodness can be found in everyone.

Sims: Ed, how did you get involved with the show?

Sorkin: How do you win the lottery!

Ed Harris: I was in San Francisco. I woke up in a hotel in the morning and I had an email from [the producer Scott Rudin] asking, “Do you want to play Atticus.” Period. How could I say no?

Sims: Aside from the thrill of playing Atticus, was there also the appeal of doing a big Broadway show again?

Harris: I knew Jeff [Daniels] had been doing it, but I hadn’t seen it—I’m glad I hadn’t and didn’t want to, just not to be influenced. I didn’t know what to expect in terms of whether they’d just paste us into a thing that already had its wheels turning. And it was very encouraging during rehearsal that [the director Bartlett Sher] realized this was a new cast. Yes, the play has been running for a year; yes, there are certain things you have to retain in terms of blocking. But within the themes and relationships, he was very open to us exploring stuff.

Sorkin: What Ed is describing is a big deal. To have four weeks of rehearsal, essentially just do the play all over again with a new group of people, is something you don’t find a lot. What happened on my end was, Scott called and said, “We have a chance to get Ed Harris.” So I talked to Bart about it. It’s a whole new cast, with someone like Ed Harris, you can’t just have the stage manager show them their blocking. So we started from the beginning. The result is even more thrilling because the quality hasn’t diminished at all. In fact, both Bart and I make a strong argument that the play has gotten better as a result of rehearsing it again.

Sims: For playing Atticus, how long had it been since you’d thought about the novel or Gregory Peck’s performance in the film?

Harris: I love the film. I think Peck’s portrayal in terms of that story and that script is just indelible. There are little things that happen on the stage even now, just a head move or something, that feels like Gregory Peck! But the inner life of this man I’m playing is so different [than Peck’s character]. He’s trying to hold onto a belief that’s being eroded slowly but surely. It’s really interesting to play. I’m not one of those people who finds a way to do it and is gonna do that same thing for six months. It’s always new. I try to stay open to allowing it to affect me every night.

Sims: The show is interrogating Atticus’s passivity and his nobility. How do you want to communicate that passivity, and the anger within him, as well?

Harris: Early on in the play, Bob Ewell comes by [to the Finch house] and threatens Atticus, saying “We’ve got two ropes.” And Jem, Atticus’s son, comes out and says, “You want me to respect Bob Ewell?” And he says, “Yeah, there’s good in everyone.” That statement in itself does not betray who Atticus is and how he behaves. The first clue [of Atticus’s inner anger] to me, at least, is when Atticus goes off on Mayella [in the courthouse].

Sims: That’s a fascinating scene, where Atticus yells at Mayella Ewell for falsely accusing Tom Robinson and refusing to admit the truth under oath. His frustration is very understandable; as Atticus acknowledges, she’s a victim who’s obviously suffering, but when she rejects his empathetic gesture, he loses his cool slightly. Aaron, did you want that moment to be played that frighteningly?

Sorkin: This may be weird for Ed to hear, but when I’m writing, I’m playing all the parts. I’m very physical; I’m up, I’m down, I’m talking to myself. It was easy for me to get angry at that moment and to write the line, “I want to make the truth known to this court, if I have to go through you to do it.” There’s a great tension there—we’re in the time of MeToo, and we’re doing a play about a woman falsely accusing a man of rape. And Mayella is a victim, and she does deserve pity. But Tom Robinson doesn’t have a choice, and Mayella does.  

Sims: You give a lot of that anger to the kids. In the novel, I don’t remember them ever challenging their father; they’re more like observers who are invested in childish obsessions like [their mysterious neighbor] Boo Radley. But you’ve given them, especially Jem, a more defiant dynamic with Atticus.

Sorkin: Well, if Atticus is going to have all the answers, let’s ask him tougher questions.

Sims: Calpurnia [the Finch family’s black housekeeper] has more to do as well, and she’s a much more passive figure in the book.

Sorkin: I returned to the book and was surprised to find that in a story about racial tension, there were really only two significant African American characters, neither of whom had much to say. I want to be careful—this play is in no way meant to correct what I feel were mistakes that Harper Lee made. It’s a conversation. And I couldn’t do a Harper Lee impersonation or pretend like I was writing the play in 1960. But Calpurnia in the book is mostly concerned with whether Scout’s going to wear overalls or a dress; Tom Robinson pleads for his life, but we don’t know much more about him. In 1960, using African American characters mostly as atmosphere is something that probably would have gone unnoticed by a mostly white audience. But it would be noticeable today, and it’s a really big missed opportunity. You want their point of view in this.

Harris: One of my favorite things that Aaron did is the tension between Atticus and Calpurnia. And the reason for that tension is that when Atticus tells her he’s going to defend Tom Robinson, she isn’t “grateful” enough, and he says “you’re welcome” under his breath. And she calls him on it! That scene really resonates for me, because it says so much about Atticus, and his real motivations.

Sorkin: There’s a scene in the book and in the movie. For a lot of people it’s their favorite scene, it had always been mine. My father passed away a few years ago, it was his favorite, too. At the end of the trial, Atticus has lost, he’s putting stuff back in his briefcase, and the whole courtroom has cleared out, except for what they call the “colored section” up in the balcony. Atticus turns around to see that they’re all standing silently out of respect for him, and Calpurnia says [to Scout], “Stand up, Miss Jean Louise, your daddy’s passing.” It’s a good movie scene.

Sims: Of course, it gives you a chill.

Sorkin: But the people in the balcony should be burning the courthouse down. They should be out in the street chanting, “No justice, no peace.” Instead they are [written as] docile, they are quietly respecting the guy who I most identify with in the story, the guy who seems like my father, the white liberal guy. We all want to be identified as one of the good ones, and that’s what they’re saying to Atticus. And I do think Atticus is one of the good ones—it’s just a little harder than that, and it’s where Calpurnia’s dynamic with him comes from in the play.

Sims: It’s an ongoing conversation in 2019—what the limits of empathy should be.

Sorkin: And I’m not sure that there’s an answer to that, but I know those questions are being asked very loudly, because of the monumental election we had three years ago and the one we’ll have 11 months from now.

Sims: Ed, are these things you’re thinking about, or are you more trying to inhabit the person?

Harris: I’m just trying to live it more and more every night. I’m trying to fill up this character with humanity.

Sims: Have either of you seen the recent Broadway revival of Oklahoma? I bring it up because that’s a musical that ends with a crime being covered up—the death of Jud—and a miscarriage of justice, and then the ensemble sings a song and everything’s happy. But this revival tries to interrogate that [ugliness] a little more. And then I had forgotten that To Kill a Mockingbird also ends with a crime—the [murder] of Bob Ewell [by Boo Radley, trying to protect Scout]—being covered up!

Sorkin: Isn’t it amazing? I had forgotten about it, too, and I couldn’t believe it!

Sims: It’s a story about the greatest lawyer of all time—Atticus—and he’s complicit in this crime!

Sorkin: This novel ends with, as Scout said, “The most honest and decent person in Maycomb” covering up murder with a judge and a sheriff. Why didn’t that ever come up in my eighth-grade class? I saw that and thought, well, I can tell this exact same story, but can’t that [tension] be part of it from the beginning? But that even raises new questions that people have talked to me about—that Boo Radley gets a different kind of justice than Tom Robinson gets. Never are the judge and the sheriff saying, “We gotta get Tom out of here!” [for his protection].

Sims: And there’s infinite understanding for Boo.

Sorkin: Right. Now I have a defense for that, which is that Atticus and the judge, when they arrange for Tom Robinson to have a jury trial, sincerely believe that it’s going to be a good thing for Maycomb, that justice is going to be done. They do not anticipate [Tom being found guilty]. Atticus’s mantra is “there is nobody in this town so far gone that they would send an obviously innocent person to the electric chair.” And they do.

Sims: There’s mob justice at work—Bob Ewell is disgraced, and Atticus successfully proves the way [Bob is] treating his daughter, but the town’s reaction is just to excommunicate [Bob], not to make the leap forward of finding Tom innocent. It’s been an interesting year for these great American works getting interrogated on Broadway.

Sorkin: They’re not getting repainted. We’re just taking another look, given the times we’re living in.

[romien]

Ava Bekker/Matt Casey (part 3)

(Since the writers didn’t bother to give Ava any sort of background whatsoever, here’s my take on it.). Enjoy!

“This isn’t good,” Ava said tightly to Sylvie, as she watched the EKG monitor in front of her. “Her heartbeat is erratic, but no pressure drops.”

The paramedic nodded as she grabbed intubation set while Ava dug around in her medical bag to find a needle. Just then the patient’s pressure started to drop.

“Well, you jinxed it,” muttered Sylvie as she fought to put the tube in. “She’s tense.”

“I’m giving her TPI,” Ava informed and quickly pushed the needle in the neck muscle, while being very careful not to hit the carotid artery.

Sylvie nodded in thanks as she was finally able to intubate and they both waited anxiously a second before the woman was stable. The CT surgeon still shook her head disapprovingly at the monitor to which she pointed.

“This doesn’t look good. The heart probably took damage as well – we’ve been giving her meds for the pain and blood flow, but it didn’t do much.”

“Agreed,” Sylvie nodded looking at the monitor as well while pushing on the Ambu bag. “She might go in V-fib if the strain won’t stop.”

Ava grimly nodded and looked outside and felt relieved when she saw that they were approaching Med. Both women got up from their seats and expertly moved around the ambulance to move out as quickly as possible.

Foster slammed the brakes and the ambulance halted. Immediately the staff was opening the doors and helping them wheel the patient in. Ava quickly searched the ER for the head nurse and started speaking as soon as Maggie appeared next to them.

“27-year old female, BP 86 over 50. She lost consciousness about eleven minutes ago. Intubated about two minutes ago. The dashboard crushed her legs and probably some of her internal organs. No ultrasound yet. I need an OR upstairs, immediately, and a CT assist.”

Maggie nodded and quickly tapped on her pager before announcing.

“In 3.”

The wheeled in next to the hospital bed and grabbed the patient.

“On my count – one, two, three!”

Everyone lifted the patient of the gurney and Ava noted that the patient didn’t stir. Not good. Then the surgeon turned to the paramedics.

“Thank you, we got it.”

“Good luck,” Sylvie wished them as they hurried out of the hospital back to the scene.

Ava nodded at one of the nurses that joined them as well.

“Take over the bagging, please. Give me an ultrasound and draw blood, she’s gonna need a transfusion.”

Everyone moved into action and Ava put the ultrasound probe immediately on the belly of the patient. She frowned and shook her head minutely at what she was seeing.

“She’s bleeding, but it might stop on its own, we’ll monitor that,” she put the probe away and moved to the patient’s chest while she put on a stethoscope.

“Ava, Dr. Latham left you OR 6. Dr. Kovalevsky can assist,” Maggie stepped inside.

“Tell them we’re on our way.”

“Got it. Your patient name is Jayne Rivers, her parents have been already contacted. Her brother Brett was wheeled in first.”

Ava cursed under her breath as the moved around before asking.

“Connor or Ethan?”

“Ethan.”

“Okay. We’re good – can you get us through?”

Maggie nodded and motioned them to follow her to the elevator where doctors and nurses scurried out of the way as Maggie yelled.

“Move, move! CT floor.”

One radiologist quickly pushed the right button and helped them inside before stepping out again. Ava’s stare was fixed on the young woman’s face as the door closed and the cabin started moving. Unmoving and pale, the woman looked so fragile.

Not at all like the fiery spirit that she met not even an hour ago.

 Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

 “That was a very precise work.”

The heavy accented praise broken the silence as they washed their hands in the sink. Ava didn’t spare her colleague a look as she watched like a hawk as the staff wheeled Jayne out of the OR and straight to the ICU.

Her head was pounding.

“I can only imagine, why would the hospital’s top CT surgeon choose to leave her territory when she can show off to other surgeons who came from all around the world.”

Ava grimaced, not wanting to continue this conversation, turned off the water and faced the doctor next to her.

“You are the only one out of Dr. Latham’s colleagues who isn’t American,” she pointed out. “And you’re also working in Minnesota, so that was hardly a trip around the world for you.”

With that she moved to walk around him, but he turned the water off as well and straightened out. When he smiled, he looked genuine but there was still something hard and dangerous in his face. He noticed her tense posture and took a step back with his hands mildly raised.

“Obviously, that doesn’t mean the Russian blood disappears,” he tilted his head a bit and looked her straight in the eyes. “The same way you cannot forget about your own.”

She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

His smile turned softer while he nodded to the quiet and empty OR.

“You may not know our patient, but you know her story.”

“Are you really accusing me of being compassionate?” She raised her brow disbelievingly.

“No,” he shook his head and watched her intently. “I’m saying that you seemed to project your own history onto her.”

“I’m not-“

“And you are mad, that I am pointing it out to you, because you are well aware of this fact.”

Ava was speechless, so when the door opened, she felt the relief coursing through her at the interruption. Dr. Choi entered the room and abruptly stopped.

“Ava, I… oh, sorry.”

Ava shook her head and smiled lightly at Choi before turning to Dr. Kovalevsky who was watching her with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Thank you, for the assist,” she emphasized and saw his lips twitch upward. “Dr. Latham is probably waiting for you, Dr. Kovalevsky.”

The Russian took his phone and moved to the door.

“Thank you, Dr. Bekker. Dr. Choi.” And with that, he swiftly walked out.

“How’s your patient?” Ava turned to Ethan immediately before he could start questioning her as well.

She saw him falter and nodded with a heavy heart. Her eyes drifted to the hollow OR again. To the woman she fought to save, just to tell her, that someone very close to have not been that lucky.

“She’ll be up in a few hours,” Ava whispered quietly then and saw Ethan move closer to her.

“I’ll go with you,” he assured her in a calm voice but matched her volume. There was a second where they were just standing there before he continued. “Brett’s compatible with one of Nat’s patients.”

Ava sighed.

“Are their parents here?”

“Not yet.”

“We should talk to them first, when they arrive. Before taking them to see their daughter.”

Ethan frowned questioningly.

“He chose her be the one to decide in case anything happened to him.”

“Yeah,” Ava nodded and turned to face him. Her eyes had a faraway look in them. “But she just lost her brother. Either she’ll be in denial or angry. Or both. And before she decides what is the right thing to do, Brett’s organs will lose their viability. In a case like this, we’ll be backed by our legal department.”

Before he could answer, the door opened again, and Beth walked in. She looked at Ava with barely concealed disdain in her face. Ava could feel her headache intensifying.

“Dr. Bekker, they are expecting you to… testify.”

The fact that even Ethan’s eyes flashed angrily when he heard the scrub nurses’ tone aimed at his colleague forced Ava to intervene before the situation could escalate.

“Thank you.” She said to the scrub nurse who walked out without a backwards glance or any acknowledgement to her superior.

“Is she-“

Ava put her hand up tiredly and looked at Ethan pleadingly.

“Forget it.”

“Ava-“

But she wasn’t listening to him anymore, as she grabbed her phone and headed to the doctor’s lounge to retrieve her medical coat. It was time to save Connor’s career. She refused to let him down.

 Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

 She was more than glad that Lanik seemed to be way to busy to engage in a conversation with her, so she easily slipped away from the ED. On her way to the hearing, it seemed even harder to ignore the looks sent her way, but Ava clenched her fists inside the pockets of her coat and relaxed only when she sat down in the hall to wait before they call her in.

Fumbling a bit with the bottle of pills she grabbed hastily with her coat, she took a deep breath to calm the nausea and headache. Carefully pulling one of the pills was hard as she could feel her hands shake a bit.

Ava cursed as she was able to swallow the pill with a chug of water on her third attempt. Then she bowed her head down, closed her eyes and clenched her fists that she laid tightly across her thighs.

As a doctor, she knew that it will take a few minutes before they will have any effect on her, but as a human being, she just wished the stabbing pain behind her eyelids and churning of her mostly empty stomach would disappear immediately.

“Hey.”

She pulled her head up and blinked a few times before his face stopped looking like a blurry shadow. The concern on his face was almost visible so she determinately stood up, which she almost regretted the second the world started spinning.

He grabbed her instinctively and she straightened herself by grabbing onto his forearms.

“Hey! Easy. You know, I can tell them that you are not feeling well enough to do this-“

“No!”

Ava interrupted him and stepped away. His hands hovered for a second before he apparently deemed her capable of standing on her own. She continued stubbornly before he could talk her out of it.

“The committee is already running a little behind. That probably means they are pre-discussing the outcome-“

“Ava, you are blameless, in all of this. I made every decision in the OR,” he interrupted her this time and she felt the frustration seeping through her as well as the nausea.

She wasn’t able to sort through her own thoughts due to the almost blinding headache and she didn’t know how to tell him clearly, so he could understand, that she was worried about his career as well. That he might voiced the orders, but if he didn’t, she would have.

If he told her that Will’s life was on the line instead of skirting around it. She would have chosen Will over their patient as quickly as Connor did.

And with that, Ava realized that it doesn’t matter that her thoughts might not make much sense. But she needed him to understand, that even though they are no longer together, he is still important to her and she cares about him.

She inhaled but before she could speak, Gwen’s voice called her name.

“Dr. Bekker.”

She turned around to face the COO.

“They’re ready for you.”

Turning around, she knew that there was no time to explain. She looked into his eyes for a second and hoped that he will understand. That he will forgive her for saving him.

 Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

 “Dr. Bekker, you assisted Dr. Rhodes when he operated on Mr. Corcoran.”

“Yes.”

“Do you believe that he knowingly put Mr. Corcoran’s life in jeopardy?”

Yes. Because if he didn’t wake him up, Tim Burke would have put a bullet in Will’s head.

“No,” she lied and hoped they couldn’t hear her heart beating wildly inside her chest. “All of Dr. Rhodes’ decisions were medically absolutely sound.”

“And is that your personal or objective opinion?”

She turned to the man that she never seen besides the one time she met the board. Of course he knew about her relationship with Connor, they filed the necessary documentation so they could freely be a couple while working.

She straightened and looked right into his eyes.

“You can look up Mr. Corcoran’s file. His injuries were severe. We did everything we could, but in such cases, there is just damage that cannot be undone no matter how hard we try.”

He didn’t acknowledge her at all, but Dr. Latham backed her up.

“I have given my expertise on Mr. Corcoran’s injuries, and I can only agree with Dr. Bekker’s statement.”

“So, you usually lighten patient’s anesthesia in such severe cases?” The man continued to press.

“Lightening anesthesia is a very common procedure. The more time a patient spends in a medically induced sleep, the more they are inclined to develop a fever, infections, respiratory problems-“

“Thank you.”

Ava felt her teeth clink together as she snapped her mouth shut. Her hands clenched lightly again, and she opened her mouth again to defend herself, but Gwen interrupted her.

“That will be all for now, Dr. Bekker.”

Her eyes drifted to Latham’s who shook his head imperceptibly. She stood up and followed Gwen out of the room. Connor was waiting anxiously outside, and Ava barely spared him a glance, worried that he’ll see something in her face, that will give away the fact that she was unabashedly lying on his behalf, as he disappeared inside with Gwen.

Taking a deep breath, she put one hand on the wall, nausea overwhelming her again. She sat down and touched her finger feeling the slightly raised skin where she was cut. Dropping the hand as soon as she realized what she was doing and clenching the injured one in a fist.

She hated this.

Lying. Yet she felt like she did nothing but that. Closing her eyes, Ava tried to suppress the memories trying to overwhelm her and she wished for nothing but getting in bed and sleeping for a week.

She’ll call Malik tomorrow.

Just thinking about it made her shiver. He will anticipate her call, like he always does. He’ll try to make her talk and they will end up arguing before they’ll both go outside and take a walk in complete silence, call not interrupted.

And she will wish, that she could be there, and he would stand right next to her and hold her hand. But he won’t be able to.

Because he’ll be 21 hours away from her in Capetown.

“You told them, that I did everything in the patient’s best interest?”

She opened her eyes and stood up. Her mind still drifting in Africa.

“Yeah,” she agreed distractedly and tried to read his expression.

“You and I both know that some of my actions were questionable.”

Some? She wanted to tell him but promised Will and Jay to keep a secret the fact that she knew about the whole ordeal.

“Uhm,” she searched her mind for a justifiable excuse before blurting out. “We have no way of knowing if they had any effect on the outcome-“

“Still,” he interrupted her and this time, she was able to see what he felt. Anger. “The Oversight committee should have heard-“

Well, she was angry now too.

“Why?” She stopped him harshly. “So you could face Peer review and lose your license?”

She couldn’t help but chuckle with a bit of hysteria. Because she was trying to help him, and he couldn’t see it.

“Connor, I did it for you,” she clarified herself and blinked as she could feel her vision start to swim again.

And then she saw someone else in front of her whom she tried to save too. Her throat tightened at the memory and she could feel her eyes pricking. Ava felt her mouth move and repeat the same words she said 5 years ago.

“I’d do anything for you.”

Then she turned around. She had to walk away, she needed quiet, she needed sleep, she needed… The second Ava turned around the corner she took off into the bathroom inside the on-call’s room and barged inside where she fell to her knees in front of the toilet and vomited.

When she was done, she flushed the toilet and stumbled to the sink. Splashing cold water on her face helped her a bit. She was aware of her surroundings, no blackness before her eyes. Looking at herself in the mirror she was appalled at her reflection.

Her eyes were red and full of unshed tears, pupils blown. She was pale with sweat sticking her hair to her face. And she was shaking and swaying slightly in place. She couldn’t suppress the sob that tore out of her and her palm immediately flew up to her mouth to smother the sound.

Ava turned her back to the sink and slid down to the floor. Unconsciously pulling her phone out, her fingers performed the deeply ingrained dance. She put the phone to her ear and watched her foot tapping anxiously against the tiles.

The call was answered almost immediately.

“Ava?”

The world stopped spinning and just from the one word, she could feel more tethered to the world. She slowly exhaled.

“Malik… I… Can we take a walk?”

[naughty-teddy-innit]

Rehabilitation : Chap. 1 An Ed Sheeran Fanfiction

Title:       Rehab: Chapter 1

Author: @naughty-teddy-innit

Rating:  PG- No smuts for a while, but intense content?

Click here for: INTRO

CHAPTER 1

 I craned my neck, to the left slowly, and then to the right. “Mmmmmmm...” I mumble-moaned, trying to loosen and stretch my stiff muscles.  For once, I was at the tail end of day shift.  My normal hours would often take me through the night into the wee hours of the morning, but today I found myself battling piles of precariously stacked charts right into the dinner hour, and I was feeling it.  It was one of those days where I felt it necessary to knock on wood, a catch-up day we often called it, because so far, no crazy emergencies had come in. No crashes or outbreaks, no crying parents or injured children or mass tragedies.  Days like this were always a welcome relief, and exactly why I could currently be found hunched over a mountain of paperwork, rather than running around like the proverbial chicken with its head cut off. Having said all that, it was becoming super obvious that food was going to be necessary in very short order. And coffee. DEFINITELY coffee.

“Leesie, love…?”  

“Hmm??” I spun my chair around at the soft voice behind me, and smiled at the friendly face it belonged to.  Gray-haired, big brown eyes, and grandmotherly curves, Brenda had many, many years on me in this hospital.  She and I worked together often, and she was often a motherly figure to us young ones, honest to a fault with a heart of gold, and we loved her for it.

“Hey lady, what’s up?” I stood, and turned my back to the desk, shooting her a warm smile. Welcoming the chance to move my body, I stretched my arms over my head, and leaned my hip back against the curved surface.

“Well, Sweetheart…” She paused. “I was hoping I could ask you a favour?” She cocked her head to the side, and I recognized THAT hopeful look.

“When do I ever say no to you, Mama B?” I shook my head and crossed my arms with a grin, and waited for what I knew was coming.

“I’m supposed to cover a couple of shifts up in ICU this week, tomorrow bright and early, and Saturday graveyard.” She hesitated, and with that I knew exactly where I’d be found those two days.  

“Operative words being Supposed to?” I raised an eyebrow, and huffed a laugh at the knowing smirk that crossed her face.

“You know me too well!” She chuckled, and shifted her weight. “You know my Hannah’s been having a tough time now she’s at the end of this baby business, and her doctor wants bring her in for an induction tomorrow afternoon. High blood pressure and the whole nine yards. I had next week off anyway, her due date! But I need to be there for her tomorrow. I can tell ya, Nana is NOT missing this!”

“Oh!!” I couldn’t control the grin that spread across my face! She’d been waiting for this moment for months and months. “B, I got it. Go be with your baby AND your grandbaby. Do not even worry.”

“As usual, you are the BEST, Leesie. THANK YOU. Next time you need a cover, I’m at your mercy. I’ll let Mary know to update the roster!” She reached over and squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back with a firm hand and a grin. I was just glad to help out.

Even it did mean a 5 am start. Sigh.

_____________________________________________________________

 Despite the unconscionable hour that I’d been forced to set my alarm for, I actually preferred the early morning hours to the late or overnight shifts.  Something about a brand-new day, a fresh new slate waiting to be written upon.  It always put in a ready-to-go state of mind, and today was no different.

Intensive care was a whole different ball game from Emergency. There was not nearly the chaos that came through the revolving door downstairs, but the lives we cared for still hung in the balance.  ICU was where you found the patients who were not yet stable enough to move anywhere else, who needed continuous monitoring, and who were either recovering from emergency surgery or might need to be rushed to surgery, in an instant.  Visitors were restricted, and the continuous beep and wail of monitors and alarms were routine. You could feel the gravity of our unit the moment you walked through the swinging doors, I was rather proud of the fact that I was able to keep my calm and do my job well when a patient’s status deteriorated.  

Walking in, I ran through my mental checklist, readying myself for the day.  The “Day-Board”, also known as the giant whiteboard on the wall behind our central desk, listed our current patients.  Names and Chart/Unit numbers, status, room numbers, and the doctor on duty, were kept meticulously updated on this board, for the benefit of the nurses, the doctors and anyone else involved in ICU care. There was a similar board downstairs in the ER, to track our patients in a similar fashion, and no matter where I was or what area I was working in, scanning that board was ALWAYS my first order of the day (or night!).

I checked in with the clerk finishing up from the night before, and greeted the nurses on duty before signing into my workstation. My eyes swept the board as I settled into my workstation; a middle-aged dad waiting for a bypass after a massive heart attack and a little one in bad shape after a nasty fall. A young girl, only 16, had suffered a nasty anaphylactic reaction, and an elderly woman in bad shape after a stroke. Finally, I noticed, 2 of the bus crash victims from the ER. I exhaled softly, seeing their names. I was beyond relieved they were still with us.  After the scene only 48 hours prior, when they were brought in…I wasn’t sure whether they would be.

“Annaliese?”

I whirled around at the sound of my name, cheerfully greeting one of the nurses at the desk.

“What can I do for you?”

“If you could grab the order sheets from the charts, and get them all entered, that would be terrific. Dr. Collins has them all updated and ready to go, and Lord only knows, when Dr. Hendry comes on shift, everything BETTER be at his fingertips.” A sigh and smile and she continued. “You know how he is. Save yourself the trouble! Let’s see…Alison, Dr. Hamoudi, is the surgeon on-call tonight, and the Resident is on rounds, he’ll be back for shift change later. Hendry’s on call for everything else. Page him if necessary, he’s on the board.” She paused. “…I think that’s it?”

Goody. Dr. Hendry was nobody’s favourite. His ego was known far and wide as massively overinflated and a gigantic pain in everyone’s ass. Lucky for him, and for his patients, his saving grace was that he was a damn good doctor.  

“Got it and I’ll get right on the paperwork. Thanks Amy!”

“Have a great day Annaliese, thanks again for covering!”

We both heard the direct line to the OR go off, and while she dashed off to answer the call, I headed off to discreetly gather my paperwork.  Charts hung on the front of each ICU bed, and order sheets were always clipped to the front, making them easy and quick for us to find without disturbing the patients. I smiled warmly and gently at family members sitting with their loved ones, softly explaining why I was there, and apologizing for my intrusion. I could see the fear and anxiety etched on their faces, and I tried be as warm and reassuring as I possibly could.

I had gathered all but one, and the last bed was in a corner by itself.  The patient in the bed, he was still unconscious, and the usual monitors and wires and tubes crisscrossed his body. He was intubated, a tube down his throat that helped him to breathe, and when my eyes caught the beautiful, fiery orange hue of his hair against the paleness of his skin and sheets, I remembered him immediately.  The boy from the bus crash.

I didn’t figure he was as young as he looked, ashen and still against the sheets, but I couldn’t help the thought that he looked like a small boy all on his own like that. Even the sweet sprinkle of freckles across his cheeks, his delicate eyelashes…such innocence. I so hoped he’d be okay. I cocked my head and paused for a brief moment, the thought crossing my mind that I’d not seen any family? Where in the world were they? I shook my head softly, making a note to check into that when I got back to the desk.  I very quietly gathered the paperwork I needed, my eyes sweeping over him one last time, taking in the vivid colours on his arms, and rise and fall of his chest. I really hoped he’d be alr-…

“Then find me someone who CAN help me. PLEASE.”

What in the world?? I did a double take at the sudden intrusion of a deep, aggravated, British brogue emanating from around the corner, presumably at the front desk in the front of the unit.  Whoever it was, he was NOT happy.

The last thing I wanted was any of our patients or their families to be disturbed. I strode quickly around the corner, and saw one of our Care Aides standing at the desk, intimidation etched across her face at the gentleman facing her from the other side of the nurses’ station.

She looked MORE than relieved to see my face, this sort of situation was not generally a part of their job description; transporting supplies and medications, assisting patients, maybe, but dealing with distraught families or patients not so much.

“Sir?” I said softly, calmly. “How can I help you?”  

He appeared to be middle-aged; thinning gray hair, scruffy-jawed and a round middle. His arm was fully casted, and in a sling, and he appeared to have some stitches along hairline, crossing his forehead.  The thing that struck me the most through, the thing that somehow always caught me when dealing with someone in this sort of situation, was his eyes. This was a man who hadn’t slept in ages. He was obviously agitated, frustrated, exhausted…. but mainly? He was scared. I could see the stress and panic in his eyes, and I had no doubt there was likely a damn good reason for his outburst.  

“My name is Stuart. Stuart Camp.” He exhaled, and then rubbed his eyes with his good hand, tiredly. “I feel like I’ve explained this 3 bloody times since last night, but we’ll try it again.  There was a godawful crash, a bus crash, about 36 hours ago, and a young man was brought in. Edward, 26 years old.  I need to see him, I need to know he’s okay. I’ve not had a wink of damn sleep and I’m just…knackered. I…. Jesus Christ. I just need to see him. Please.”

The rules in Intensive Care generally dictated that only immediate family be allowed in to visit a patient, and usually only 1 at a time. SOMETIMES, 2. I had a feeling though…

“Are you a family member, sir? A parent? Our rules are quite strict in intensive care, we usually only-“

He cut me off. “I’m not…not really, anyway. His mum and his dad, they’re from across the pond, in England, they’re not here yet.” He stopped to catch his breath, a weathered hand rubbing at the graying scruff that covered his jawline. “They should be touching down shortly. The airports, Jesus. You’d think they’d get their heads out of their asses considering- Never mind.” He steadied himself and continued. “They’re in a right state, Imogen especially, and they’ve been told VIRTUALLY nothing. He’s alone back there. He’s not even got cousins or aunts or anyone here. Please….”

I could see the anxiety and desperation in his widened eyes, and I really, truly wanted nothing more than to help, but…

“Mr. Camp, I can only begin to imagine how awful this must be for you, I’m so sorry.  You’re not a family member, you said…?” I paused, hoping to glean some more information. “Can I ask how you know the patient? I’m afraid our confidentiality policies make it impossible for me to give out any information, if you’re not family?”

“It’s rather complicated…” He trailed off.  “We’ve…worked together for 8 years.  I’m his manager.”  He rubbed his eyes, shaking his head slightly as he fought to make his point.  “Whether or not you’ve recognized him, I don’t know; right now, I’m trusting that you follow your own confidentiality policies. He’s one of the best-known singer-songwriters in the world right now. I’ve been with him from the beginning, and he IS family to me. His family is my family, in every way. I am not asking you to release any medical records or information on his health, I am simply asking to just…sit with him. Just let me watch over him until his family arrives. I can’t stand the thought of him back there alone. Please?”

Truthfully, I hadn’t really recognized the boy from the crash at all. His lovely orange hair had struck me as familiar, but I wasn’t much for social media, and most of the music I listened to was what played on the radio at whatever desk I was working at. Regardless of who he was, though, I’d never have violated his privacy.  

I was still a bit fuzzy on the particulars, but I what I wasn’t fuzzy on? Was how much this gentleman obviously cared for the red headed boy in the back. I wanted to help, I truly did.

I took a deep breath. “Let me speak to the nurse, Mr. Camp.  I can’t make any promises, but I’ll see what I can do.” I smiled at him, trying to put as reassurance and warmth into the gesture as I could, and motioned toward the set of seats by the automatic entrance doors. “Why don’t you have a seat for a moment, and I’ll be right back.”

He nodded tiredly, and managed a small but grateful smile. “Thank you, Love. I appreciate it.”

 He was still sitting there when I returned about 10 minutes later; hunched over, elbows resting on his knees with his head buried in his hands.  

“Mr. Camp?” I said softly, catching his gaze as I approached. He sat bolt upright with widened eyes, obviously waiting for me to say something. “I spoke to the nurse, and she in turn checked with the Resident on call, and while we CANNOT under any circumstances release any information on his health or medical status…” I took a deep breath, allowing a small smile to play across my features at the sight of him jumping out of his chair. “We’ll allow you into the unit to be with him until his family arrives.”

I could see his whole body sag as he exhaled, and his whole head tipped forward, chin to chest for just a brief moment as he steadied himself.  “Thank you.” His voice rumbled deep, the emotion evident.  “Thank you, thank you very, very much. His Mum and Dad are due to land after lunch; I’ve just had a text with their flight update. You have my word I won’t interfere once they’re here.” He huffed a dry laugh. “Hell, I won’t interfere NOW.”

“I’m glad we could help, Mr. Camp, I really am. I’ll bring you back if you’re ready, but…you might want to prepare yourself.”  I took a deep breath, and stared him in the eyes, purposefully keeping my voice calm and soft.  “I meant it when I said that we can’t give you any information in regards to his status or injuries until his next of kin arrives. But…he is in rough shape. You need to know that.”

His eyes had been focused on me until I’d finished that last sentence, and then I could see him almost get lost in whatever was tossing and turning in his head.

“He should have been in the back of the bus. He’s a damned night owl, couldn’t sleep after the show…I was passed out on the couch in the back, and he was messin’ around with his guitar in the front.  He…” His voice trailed off, almost breaking as he gathered himself. I tilted my head and bit my lip, listening to him, letting him get this out. How terrifying it must have been. My heart hurt so badly for him. “He was right where the bloody truck hit. The sound of those ruddy loud brakes screeching woke me up, that fucking truck, smashed right into the side of the bus.  Right where he was.  Right where Michael was driving. He always loves sitting up front on the late-night drives, keepin’ Mikey company. He should have been in BED.”  He squeezed his eyes shut just for a fleeting moment, and sucked in a deep breath, like he was trying to shore himself up. He straightened up, looking me in the eye once more. “Please excuse this old man’s incoherent, exhausted ramblings; the last 36 hours have been HELL.  But he’s here. How, I don’t know, but he is, and he’s not going to be alone while he recovers from this. Doesn’t matter what he looks like right now, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Well then, let me bring you to him.” I smiled softly, struck by the vehemence in his words, and the fierce determination in his eyes. I took a deep breath and gestured for him to follow me.  “It sounds like he’s very lucky to have someone like you in his corner, Mr. Camp. I’m really glad you’re okay, by the way.”

“Thank you. I know it could have been so much worse.” He looked down at my badge for just a moment, and then back up. “Annaliese, is it? Please just call me Stu. I appreciate your help and kindness more than you know.” His voice was calmer, and filled with genuine gratitude.  “Now where can I find him?”

“Bed 8.” I smiled. “And you’re very welcome. Follow me.”

 ______________________________________________________________

AUTHOR’S NOTE:  I hope you guys don’t mind the slow build and set up, but trust me, I have SO many ideas and plans simmering in my head. Hope you love it, and I’m BEGGING you for any and all feedback, replies, Asks, Anons, etc......Us writers THRIVE on it. Xoxoxoxoxo  

[linggluu]

Saving the last episode of 演员请就位 . I didn't watch the first season so I can't comment but out of Zhao Wei/Er Dong Sheng/Chen Kai Ge/Guo Jingming, I really like 尔导 the most. I came to watch for 流量s after watching 画皮 haha, but started stanning 尔冬升 instead 😂.

Zhao Wei - I think her only directorial work is So Young? Ok solid but there's no other works to judge her on. Solid actress, strong directorial debut. She's been picking handsome men for her team but her team truly has the best 团魂. Out of the directors, I think shes the most lenient and more buddy buddy with her actors. Maybe she'll change with more experience lol. You can tell she's being polite the entire show and doesn't give a crap about GJM hahaha, shes always shading him, side eyeing him and making neutral comments so she doesn't offend any one. She's very 新生代esque and I like how she decided to keep 辣目!!

Guo Jingming - I literally have not even watched 小时代 and both 爵迹's are not the best calibre of movies??? Can't believe he gave an S card to 何昶希 like 3 times wtf. He likes them pretty boys. "You don't have to like it but please allow it it exist." Wtf lol. "The reason I give an S card is because I want him to act for me." *2 seconds later* "I didn't mean I want him right now, I only said it because thats my standard." Smh. He gives comments as if he needs to prove something. "I only film movies-" SON WHO DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO?? "I don't like scenes with alot of dialogue" i'm-

Chen Kaige - his most famous work is 霸王别姬?? Rumors say his dad sctually filmed it and he just stuck his name on it. Other than this, He really doesn't have any works that stand out. Also pretty sure he took the offer to be on the show because it was part of the deal that led 陈飞宇 to be the male lead in one of his shows. He says some pretty cool things to his actors , advice that actually make sense and will help them but his script writing his terrible?? Also half the time, he really is sitting there making no comments and actually "watching the show go on." 老狐狸一个 lol. Sad Myolie Wu chose to be on his team. Because of her age, she got stuck chasing a 小鲜肉 for her last two works with Kaige daoyan smh what a waste. Also didn't like the way he treated 张海宇 by making him put on a fake nose for NO REASON and not even looking at him in the final round and straight up giving Chen youwei 50 points. Speaking of Chen youwei - "我们顶峰相见" - how much money did whatever company UNINE is from pay 腾讯??? Lmao. He's very contrite and polite to his actor but I really don't understand what he is trying to convey through his scripts lol.

尔冬升 - knew him because of his two brothers. He's been around for awhile. I've watched 门徒 and 新宿事件 , both of which he was the director but none of his acting work. About to go down his filmography haha. Out of all 4 directors, he's the newbie, he's also primarily in HK so he's literally not in town. This is his first variety show so for a HK director to be in the mainland, its a big deal because he probably has no people and no connections. Personal life aside, I found him incredibly...kind and naive on this show. For the first half of the show, he was genuinely critiquing and giving comments on acting. He probably came on the show for $$$, and also because he thought it was a show to look at young talents and help 磨练 them. After 李诚儒老师 left, you can tell the atmosphere changed haha. At that point he probably realized the whole show is dumb and only the young popular 流量s will get the votes which is true. While all the other directors picked the handsome young men and most promising girls, he was the only director who picked the older actresses (CKG with Myolie doesn't count) like Ni Hongjie and Ma Su because they actually have acting talent. I don't even believe for a minute that actresses like them were in the B group. He was the only one who was there for the 演员. Everyone was picking 明星s. He knew the trophy wasn't important, what was important was the experience, the knowledge and the future opportunities. People like Huang Yi, WZR , Ma Su and NHJ are experienced veterans; they're not gonna go head to head with these rookies for a meaningless trophy. The other point I mentioned was kind. He was asking Li zhi nan and Cao Jun about how their lives were, if everything was okay and even extending an invite to connect through Wechat and job opportunities. And I've found his works on 演员请就位, he gives his actors the most even screen time as possible and even in the final round, he let his actors divy up the points. Also to 任敏 - realizing her voice might limit her acting work in the future and is willing to help her find teachers in the future. Ugh 真暖. And one scene early on. After CYW and WCR's version of 三生三世, he was so confused because fans didn't want their idol to hug. Obviously being an older man in his 60s he was like "Ummm if you want to be a serious actor, you need to differentiate between that an idol. Don't be controlled by your fans". Respect. Also when he gets agitated, he lapses back into Cantonese haha.

And 尔导 making GJM cry HAHA.

The whole time, GJM has been making stank faces and annoying comments. "You can not like something but please allow it to exist" and then he goes off saying "I don't like this work, I don't like this production at all." Once you say something like that obviously you mean the directors and production team is at fault, obviously 尔导 was gonna get upset. So fire 🔥 when 尔导 was like "So you're blaming the directors and production then? I don't need you to criticize my actors , I'll do it myself."

The whole situation was going to end when GJM was trying to make himself seem like he was from a more "professional director standpoint " and said "well i film more movies and I didn't learn from this 体系." Like bruh at his age, 尔导 was already winning awards. Gjm really doesn't take a hint omg.

I think he almost shat his pants when 尔导 fired back with "那你学的是什么体系?" Lmao GJM really thought he picked someone easy to bully. And then directly exposing the latter by saying "before filming, you said to go easy so why did you not go easy?" I think being his first variety show, Er Dao was truly a little naive. He really took GJM's words to heart when the dude was just having friendly banter.

You can tell no one takes GJM seriously.

ZW: always shading him.

CKG: sits and watches, no comment.

EDS: "赵薇导演，凯歌导演......敬明" LIKE HES A KID HAHA.

Anyways tldr: i like尔导 and 郭敬明 is a little shit.

[sunaddicted]

Prompt suggestion: As soon as Ed can move just a little he waits till Myrtle turns her back, snatches her cell phone and calls Oswald to come get him, because Oswald is so much the better option here.

It wasn’t the fact that he was paralysed that scared Edward: his mind was lucid enough to point out that after months of being trapped in ice, unable to even twitch a finger, his muscles would have at least lost their strength - if not atrophied.

No, what scared Edward was the realisation that he was in the hands of an obsessed fangirl who had tied him to the bed.

He didn’t think his heart had ever beaten that fast - hadn’t Edward had a better knowledge of anatomy, he would have been terrified of his ribcage being smashed open from the inside.

Maybe the gory scene would scare Myrtle away.

Sure, he had wished for recognition as the Riddler - especially from Oswald but he couldn’t afford thinking about him in that moment, his thoughts would get all jumbled and he needed to stay focused - but he had never stopped to think about the possibility that admiration could be twisted into obsession.

Edward watched Myrtle happily move around the room-turned-shrine, her pace almost dizzying after months of absolute and pure stillness; he didn’t remember her - not at all, not even after she gave him such specific coordinates to find her in his memories - but he obviously wasn’t going to tell her that.

Edward smiled around a half-grimace, nodding slowly; the stilted movement caused a shower of pinpricks to crawl under his skin - a sensation he would have normally found rather unpleasant, but that he welcomed with relief in that moment: his body was waking up.

He’d never been one to stay still - it meant being vulnerable, posing the perfect target for the bullies and his father alike. So, Edward forced himself to move.

God, but it hurt.

And his mind conveniently decided that passing out in the middle of an attemot at curling his pinky was the best course of action.

When he woke up, it was only to almost immediately faint again at the sight of the obscenely long needles protruding from his skin.

Acupuncture.

This time, giving a name to what was happening to him didn’t help much to calm down: Edward’s every single brain cell was horrified that someone would violate his body in such a way while he was unconscious.

It was the last straw.

Edward faked to agree with Myrtle’s idea, absentmindedly vomiting facts about acupuncture and its medical properties while his eyes frantically scanned the room in search of something…

The phone.

Edward was reasonably convinced that he could operate it, that wasn’t what made hesitation settle in his bones - the real problem was: who would he call?

Not the GCPD, he’d end up in another prison - Arkham, probably. And if there was a place Edward never wanted to visit again, it was Gotham’s prison for the criminally insane.

He couldn’t call Barbara either: she had wanted him out of the way as much as Oswald - the only difference being that he had been momentarily useful to her and they had shamelessly exploited each other.

Edward didn’t have friends or allies.

He only had enemies and one in particular shone amidst them: Oswald.

The Penguin would definitely come to his rescue - if only to reclaim his prisoner and show the whole city that nobody escaped from the Penguin’s revenge.

It would also put Edward in a tight and risky spot, reduced to begging his former captor to escape the madwoman currently holding hin hostage.

Still, if Oswald still had feelings for him - and he must have because Edward couldn’t be the only one still reeling at the thought of him - he could play them in his favour to avoid being put on ice again.

He didn’t like the less than favourable odds but he definitely hated being tortured in his sleep.

Edward didn’t have to do much except stay awake and await a moment of distraction: despite the fuzziness of his thoughts, Oswald’s phone numbers were easy to retrieve.

“Who’s this?”

Edward licked his dry lips, hands trembling as if an earthquake was happening in his marrow with the effort of holding the phone up to his ear “Help me” he whispered.

“What?”

He should have expected the other man to not understand. Edward cleared his throat and pressed the phone closer to his ear “Oswald, it’s Edward. Help me. A woman.. Myrtle Jenkins.. she’s holding me captive”

“Where are you?”

So business like - it was something about Oswald he had always admired, the way he could shut down his feelings when he needed to be lucid: Edward wouldn’t have been able to do the same, that’s why he tried to avoid wasting his time with them “I don’t know” he answered “I can’t move. Can you find her?”

A long second of silence - a full one, his mind had been counting the milliseconds as they passed: one, two, three, four.. twenty.. thirty-one, thirty-two.. fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine..

Sixty milliseconds.

“I can. See you soon, Ed”

He was so relived that he couldn’t even find it in himself the strength to be angry because Oswald wasn’t calling him the Riddler.

Since coming back to life again, Edward laughed for the first time and his muscles moved: maybe he wasn’t as lost anymore.

[nightmareonfilmstreet]

Five So-Bad-They're-Good Horror Movies to Cure Your Post-Halloween Depression

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Five So-Bad-They're-Good Horror Movies to Cure Your Post-Halloween Depression

It’s that time of year again, folks. Yes, that irrepressible sadness achieved by horror fans once Halloween comes to a close and all of the spooky fun has been had. Parties attended, candy collected, and now it’s time to go back to your boring, non-spooky existence.

Or is it?

Plenty of websites will give you lists of the best movies out there guaranteed to shock and horrify you. This list will not give you any of those. The following is a list of five horror films that might incite a different reaction in you. This list contains the best of the worst, the most unintentionally hilarious ‘horror’ films ever put to the silver screen. There’s always been something fascinating about movies that set out to scare and end up creating joy in their sheer ineptitude, and for some reason horror seems to be a genre full of these types of movies.

Bear in mind, however, that everyone’s taste is subjective, and what might be considered irredeemably awful to one moviegoer is god-tier cinema to another. None of the movies on this list are meant to offend anybody who likes them, and in fact, I encourage you to seek them out. Sometimes a good, old fashioned spooky laugh can be just what you need to cure the post-Halloween blues.

  5. The Wicker Man (2006)

A remake of what was once called “the Citizen Kane of horror films” is already a tough one to get right. No matter how much heart and soul you put into your final product, fans of the original are always going to come at you with their grievances with your remake. Despite this, sometimes you get a remake that not only seems to have been made by people who didn’t care about the original, but seems to have no regard for movies as a concept.

The Wicker Man is based on the 1976 film of the same name, which is most notable for having starred Christopher Lee, who often cited the part as his favorite of all of the roles he’d played. The original is beloved by critics and horror fans everywhere, coming in as number one on quite a few ‘best of’ horror lists. For those who love 70s British horror, its must-see.

It’s intriguing, then, that the remake has somewhat overshadowed the original due to its infamy. It’s hard to pin down exactly what makes this movie so enjoyably terrible. Maybe it’s the fact that Nicolas Cage seems to be constantly shouting; Maybe it’s the weird obsession that the movie seems to have with bees and honey; Maybe it’s the weird matriarchal cult that comes across just a tad bit sexist in hindsight. Whatever the reason, The Wicker Man remains a classic of so-bad-it’s-good horror.

Choice Quote: “How’d it get burned? HOW’D IT GET BURNED?”

  4. Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)

Most who know about this movie know about it due to it’s being spotlighted in 1993 on Mystery Science Theater 3000. However, even without the commentary from the crew of the satellite of love, this movie is still one kicker of a beautifully bad movie.

What do you get when you combine a barely-experienced crew and actors, endless scenes of characters aimlessly driving around, polygamist Satanic cult members, and random insert scenes that have little-to-nothing to do with the plot? Well, you get Manos: The Hands of Fate, a 1966 minimal-budget horror film about a family on a vacation who encounter a cult. That’s really about all there is to it. The editing is poor, the acting is wooden. At one point a random pair of teenagers making out in a car and being caught by a police officer interrupts the plot, as if to say to the audience, “We realize there’s not much else interesting happening here, so here’s some eye candy while you wait for something to actually happen.”

According to Wikipedia, the whole thing started when director, producer, and star Harold P. Warren made a bet with a friend that it would be easy to make a horror movie. From that, we got Manos. Oh, and there are a few random scenes where the wives of the movie’s villain The Master get into catfights, seemingly for no reason other than the director wanted to show some women fighting. Take that as you will.

Choice Quote: “Enough! Enough of this stupid bickering! The child must die! If you persist in this foolishness, your usefulness will come to an end!”

  3. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)

Ed Wood is an interesting director for many reason. For more information about what an enigma that man was, check out Tim Burton’s 1994 biopic. But Wood’s 1959 science fiction-horror feature Plan 9 From Outer Space was cited by Seinfeld as one of the worst movies ever made, and continues to amuse to this day. In a deceptively simple plot, this early feature of the zombie genre (pre-Night of the Living Dead, even!) follows an alien invasion in which the alien’s main goal seems to be the reanimation of dead bodies. Thus, the deceased rise from their graves to pursue the living, referred to not as zombies, but as ‘ghouls’ by the characters.

One notable feature of the film is the fact that frequent collaborator and friend of Ed Wood, Bela Lugosi, has a part in the film. However, halfway through production, Lugosi tragically died, and in the meanwhile Wood brought in a stand-in to hold Lugosi’s place for the scenes with him that they hadn’t shot yet. This results in Lugosi’s stand-in (Tom Mason, by name) attempting to hide the fact that he was not, in fact, Bela Lugosi, by wearing a rather ridiculous-looking Dracula cape and holding it over half of his face. It’s as silly as it sounds.

In addition, the movie features some truly hilarious special effects, including a shot of a UFO flying over California that’s very obviously a paper plate, and a plot that seems to combine The Day the Earth Stood Still and White Zombie into one hilarious package.

Choice Quote: “And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future.”

  2. Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2010)

Birdemic is inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, but upon an initial viewing, the parallels fall flat when compared to the movie’s many technical faults. The atrocious CGI is overshadowed only by the wooden acting and the flat plot. The film follows a software salesman and his Victoria’s Secret model girlfriend who suddenly find their town under attack by killer birds that, get this… spit acid and explode into flames when they touch the ground.

If this doesn’t sound good enough for you, just look at those birds. No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. They don’t remotely blend with the background at all. It looks more like they’ve been merely copy-pasted into the frame than animated whatsoever. One has to watch them in motion to truly appreciate how awkward they move. It’s very obvious that they’ve not been rendered properly, and instead of the fluid motion traditionally associated with computer-generated effects, the bird’s wings flap jerkily, and spin around in a strange 360 degree motion. The movie has been compared to good-bad predecessors such as Plan 9 because of it’s strange and awkward tone, and in fact has been called “the best worst film [of] 2010.”

Choice Quote: “And many have died from starvation, due to the difficulty of finding enough food, such as seals.”

  1. Troll 2 (1990)

You’ve seen the clip on YouTube. A young man in glasses stares, horrified, while a fly crawls leisurely across his face. “They’re eating her…” he intones, ominously, “and then they’re going to eat me. Oh my GOOOOOOOOD!” But Troll 2 is more than just one viral video of bad acting. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find yourself what I believe to be the best bad horror movie there is.

There’s a lot to dissect here. First of all, the name Troll 2 is misleading. The movie is not actually related in any way to the 1986 fantasy film Troll. The movie was actually an unrelated Italian film called Goblins, but when it was released in America, the studio thought it better to attach the film to a previously released property. Most of the conflict on the set came from most of the crew being Italian and not having a very firm grasp of the English language, and that includes the screenwriter, whose clunky dialogue is a staple of this film’s notoriety. According to many of the American actors in this movie, they offered many times to try to make the dialogue sound more natural and a little less like it’d just gotten run through Google Translate, but the director, Claudio Fragasso, shot that one down.

This movie contains many things, but nowhere among those things are any trolls. Yes, you heard me correctly. The movie called Troll 2 contains no actual trolls. The creatures seen above are referred to as goblins throughout the whole thing. The town they live in is even called Nilbog. (No prizes to those among you who can tell in two seconds what ‘Nilbog’ spells backwards. Seems these goblins learned their disguise tactics from Son of Dracula.)

And that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of this mess of a film, which also contains an erotic corn on the cob-eating scene. Yes, really. It must be seen to be believed.

  And that concludes the list! Hopefully those of you out there who like a more low-key Halloween got to enjoy some classics of the horror genre, but as a connoisseur of cult cinema, I felt as though it was necessary to spotlight some more unconventional Halloween favorites. So pop one or more of these into your DVD slot or look them up on Netflix, and be prepared to laugh. You might even forget that it’s November.