#the post's insights came after catching a flash of it on tv

[fictionadventurer]

Unexpectedly brilliant choice for The Santa Clause movie to have (most of) its elves played by children. Usually, eternally young elves are, like, 20 to 30 years old. But this eternal youth is eternal childhood. These elves maintain the childlike faith and wonder of "the spirit of Christmas" that makes the North Pole such a magical place. Children know this place exists without seeing it, so of course the elves that run it are eternal children!

But that's also why Santa Claus has to be an adult! Children receive the wonders of Christmas, but giving and charity are adult actions. Santa Claus has to be childlike enough in spirit to maintain wonder and faith, but adult enough to provide for all the children of the world. The nonsensical worldbuilding might have a thematic point to make!

Whether it was intentional or unintentional, it's kind of a brilliant expression of the movie's themes of childhood vs. maturity, and I can't believe I've only just now considered it.

[fa-headhoncho]

Untitled TFATWS Fic: Part 1

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Prompt/Background: After turning yourself in to the government following the events of CA:TWS, they lock you up for the crimes you committed during your time at Hydra. Spending years there until Captain America got you on parole during the blip to help fight Thanos. Now, after doing community service acts and helping the broken society, when they give the new Captain America the shield, you’re thrown back into a life you didn’t want.

Word Count: 1871 (ahaha, yea)

Reader: Female

Warning: parole officers might be triggering??? idk

Author’s Note: I’ve decided to end my 141 part Wattpad Sebastian Stan imagine book and post on Tumblr instead :’), a happy day. Also, I’M SORRY THAT I LIKE SLOW BURN SERIES OK? Schedule for this series is every Thursday. ALSO IF YOU HAVE TITLE IDEAS FOR THIS SERIES, LMK! PLEASE

Masterlist

Part 2  Part 3  Part 4

=====

The sound of your heels echoed throughout the dimly lit room as you make your way through the exhibit. The walls take you back in time, reading how Captain America came to be and all his past accomplishments. They even updated from the last time you were here, documenting the events on the Blip.

You didn’t even know where you were going, absently letting your emotions and feet lead to where it felt you needed to be.

“For a former spy, you’re not really good at sneaking up on someone.” Rhodes’ voice greets you once you open up the curtain to a different area. A small smile sneaks its way across your face seeing the two men in front of you.

“Bit out of practice.” You spit back, walking towards them. “It’s nice to see you again, Rhodie.” You open your arms out to him and he gladly takes the hug. “Hopefully life’s been treatin’ you well.”

“For the most part,” He chuckles out while pulling away from the embrace. You move on to the other man, him happily wrapping his arms around your waist as you wrap yours around his shoulders.

Sam lets out a breath into the crook of your neck before pulling back. “You doing okay?” You ask, looking at his face for any sign of emotion. He nods but there was something in his eye that told otherwise.

You open your mouth to push him for the real answer but Rhodes cuts you off, “Well, I have to get going. It was good seeing you, (Y/L/N), hopefully, we work together soon. Remember what I said, Sam.” With that, he leaves the room to leave you and Sam alone.

The room fills with silence as the two of you turn to the iconic suit and shield in front of you. You try to watch Sam from the corner of your eye but he just stands with his back straight and his eyes forward.

“You know, I’m sure Steve would understand.” You decide to say, clasping your hands in front of you. “I didn’t become as close as you did, but from my time with him during the Blip, he tried his best to help everyone. He had a lot of responsibilities and issues of his own along with having a whole country looking up to him... 

“It was a lot… he opened to me about it one night before… you know.” You admit which makes him finally look at you. “He told me what he was going to do and all I could do is support him… I asked him what he was going to do with the mantle and he said give it to you.” Turning your head, you make eye contact with him. “I asked him if he was sure.”

He lets out a snort at that, shaking his head at you. “Really gotta do me like that?” He wipes his hand across his face then stuffs his hand in his pockets as he turns to face you. “I thought we were having a nice bonding moment and then you had to drop me like that?”

You can’t help the giggle that escapes your lips at his whining. “I’m being serious, Sam, stop.” You hit him on the shoulder. “He said there was no doubt in his mind that you do what needed to be done with the shield. He trusted you and your judgment, Falcon.” You emphasize his hero name which he just rolls his eyes at you.

“Yea, I’m sure he did.” He smiles and then changes the subject, “How’s parole treatin’ ya, still got the collar on?” He gestures to your ankle causing you to lift your dress pant leg, flashing the electric bracelet around your ankle. He lets out a hearty chuckle at it. “Still can’t believe that they have you on a leash.”

“Price you gotta pay for freedom.” You shrug and drop the cloth. There’s a beat of silence between the two of you, both of you taking a glance back at the exhibit and the shield.

“Have you talked with Bucky recently?”

“No, I was going to ask you.” Your heart sinks at the realization. “We’ve been texting a bit but I haven’t seen him since I spent the weekend with him a couple of weeks ago.” You shyly admit and look down at your feet.

“Weekend, huh?”

“Shut it, Sam.” You knock your foot against his. “We didn’t do anything, he doesn’t like me like that. Plus, he wouldn’t even let me spend the night. I had to go to a hotel, he sleeps on the floor, Sam! I’m worried about him.” It took weeks for you to convince him to let you come over and you finally knew why when you step into his apartment. It made your heart sink, it looked like if a Hydra cell got a remodel. “He has two chairs and a tv.”

“Living modestly I see.” He snorts out, covering up whatever he was actually thinking. It’s now your turn to roll your eyes at him, frustrated that he isn’t willing to talk about this. “Hey, he’s still figuring stuff out, okay? He just got all his memories back and he’s still working on living with his past. You should know better than I do to give him time.” His tone is soft as he lightly scolds you. You hang your head at his words, knowing he’s right.

It took some time for you to come to terms with your past when you turned yourself in after Hydra and SHIELD fell. You took accountability for your actions during your years at Hydra and spent a few years in jail before Steve took action to help you get on parole. That didn’t mean you weren’t fully recovered.

“When are you joining me on the field, anyway?” Sam changes the topic noticing how you went silent and your eyes looked past him. “I could use you on some of my recon missions.” 

A large smile forms on your face at the mention of your parole. “A couple more check-ins and I’m good, I think.” You excitedly inform, “They actually want to talk to me about something, and then it’s the last three months. Saving the world made my good behavior skyrocket.”

“I’m sure it did.” He smiles, “Well, let me know what happens. I’m heading down to Louisiana soon and my sisters want to meet you. She heard about your work with the soup kitchens in New York and she wanted some insight.”

“Really? Give her my number, you know I’d be happy to talk with her. I’ve been thinking about trying to get my officer to convince the big guys to expand my tracking radar so I reach out more.” You start to ramble about the ideas you’ve been having for more community service actions. During the blip, Steve got you into volunteer work and it sparked something inside of you. He said it might give you a new purpose and he couldn’t have been more right.

The two of you spend the rest of the day together, catching up on everything that’s been going on. You didn’t realize how much you missed his snarky comments and banter until he smothered you in it, “making up for lost time”, he said. He continues the bullying by texting back and forth for the next few days.

It was nice to have a friend after everything that happened over the last few years. Steve and Nat were gone so the friendships you built up during the blip were just a memory now. Yea, Bucky and you were friends but it was a bit more complicated than that.

It’s a few weeks after that and they’ve already named some prick the new Captain America. You were frustrated at Sam but you realized that he couldn’t have known that this was going to happen. Especially since when you reached out to him and he was more furious than you were. Bucky was a whole other story. When the press conference aired, he immediately called you and went off about Sam. You couldn’t offer answers so you just told him to talk to him about it. This didn’t involve you.

Now, you were sat at some random government office in DC. You were beyond nervous, leg bouncing and fingers tapping. Kevin, your sweet parole officer, had called you in for an emergency meeting. He didn’t mention anything about the content of it but he assured you not to worry. It didn’t help, though, your mind was scrambling trying to think of anything you could’ve done to break your parole or anywhere you could’ve gone that went outside your tracking radar.

“(Y/L/N)?” The familiar voice echoes through the lobby makes your head snap up. Kevin, your knight in a cashmere sweater, stands there with his hands in his pants pockets. He nods his head, gesturing for you to follow him.

He leads you down a long hallway, stopping at the end of it and holding the door open for you. You send him a grateful smile before entering the office. It was very different from his usual office. The tall windows lined the wall from floor to ceiling, making the already large room feel even more spacious. It was a bit unsettling compared to his close-knit office space located in an old house on the outskirts of DC.

Kevin moves you two to the large conference table on the other side of the room, having you sit before he does. He takes the chair at the head of the table, sighing as he opens the folder and takes a few papers out.

“Sign these.” He slides them over to you but you furrow your eyebrows in response.

“What’s going on?”

“You’re being released.” He announces, leaning back in his chair with a tight-lipped smile on his face. Your jaw drops and your heart picks up but you can’t help but question it. You quickly compose yourself and look down at the papers.

“Isn’t it a bit too early?” You ask while briefly scanning the papers. “I still have two months left, not that I’m not grateful but where is this coming from?” This was happening too suddenly, Kevin was good with warning you about the activities that go on behind the scenes of your parole and he didn’t even mention the thought of an early release.

The brunette man lets out a sigh, running his hair through his long hair. He then leans his elbows on the table with his head propped up on his palms, he opens his mouth to answer but is cut off by the office door opening.

The new Captain America and his sidekick come waltzing in, a few of his goons following as well. He didn’t need the uniform or shield for you to recognize him since his face has been plastered on every channel since they came forward with him. He’s all everyone could talk about.

“He released you.” You barely hear Kevin as your mind goes into spirals. What the hell did this guy want? Why is he even here? What the hell did he want with you?

[shinygoku]

Top 10 CSatM Episodes (2/2)

See part 1 here

As a few paragraphs and pictures for 10 episodes in a row makes a rather long, unruly beast of a post!

The second half of my personal preferred picks for a Top 10, though the order they’re being listed in doesn’t correspond to my favour, but the order how I watch them on my DVDs. I still suggest you read the first half of the list before this one, all the same~

Spoilers below the cut, be warned! ✂

Crater 101

So this ep is pretty much a sequel to Lunarville 7, and is followed up with Dangerous Rendezvous. Neither of those made the cut of my list though, and even isolated from those it makes a solid story. The most Space-y of all the episodes and a visual treat, cause while we mostly stuck to the stark accommodations of Lunarville 7 in that episode, here we see the grey grimy gloom of the outside of the Moon, and the sharp, delightful contrast of the Mysteron’s fantastic plastic Complex. Here, vivid marbled colours and flashing lights join inorganic shapes that suggest something of the Mysteron’s nature, but as always, nothing conclusive.

Moving away from the lovely Aesthetics, this is also a strong one for characterisation. We get some sweet interactions with The Lads and for this episode only, the Best Female Character in the whole show. Linda Nolan is the controller of Lunarville 6, a smart, capable woman who had her own cool space mission referenced and in fact critical to the plot. She is also relatable in that she catches feelings for Scarlet, so while she’s barking up the wrong tree I still have nothing but respect for her, hehee.

Eerie, tense, interesting and still somewhat funny, this is another episode that eeks into an even higher ranking list than 10, I could comfortably put it in 5 and mmmaybe 3. Though I’m not gonna be able to say definitively as the best episodes all bring something different to the table, and this may just be the strongest in the uniqueness regard.

Fire at Rig 15

I get the feeling this may be an unorthodox choice, somehow? But yeah, I just really enjoy it. It’s not a funny episode, but it is rather exciting, and contains some lovely new music and a sweet scene at the end. The Mysteron’s plot is pretty simple, but should it succeed, devastating as it would be crippling Spectrum’s operations by removing the unique type of fuel all the craft uses.

In a way, it’s kind of like a dark mirror to a typical Thunderbirds setup; whereas in that show the initial fire would be more likely to be accidental or just maybe some ne’er do well like the Hood, this time it’s as simple as the Mysterons reopening the master valve. When traditional firefighters would eventually retreat to make room for International Rescue, here Spectrum themselves have a rather passive role as a professional rolls in. And of course, said man finds himself very, very dead due to further Mysteron interference (see picture), with Black seemingly hypnotising the poor bloke into standing too close to the explosion.

From there his duplicate half buries his original corpse and later receives direct instructions from Black to suicide bomb the nearby refinery, and it’s en route to this is where the thrilling car chase takes place! Scarlet saves the refinery but the whole SPV he was driving is completely ablaze at the end of it. Like my thoughts on Point 783, I really appreciate the human touch to the last scene, with soft music as arrangements are made for Scarlet to recover from the horrible state we’re spared of seeing. Seeing how his ability to recover from death is one of the cornerstones of the whole premise, I love it when we’re allowed a bit more insight into what the other Spectrum personnel do in the situations, in this case White specifically instructing Dr Fawn to make sure Scarlet is comfortable as the process takes place.

Treble Cross

A notable and unique spin of an episode, where a rather routine Mysteron threat takes quite the turn when their assassinated target is brought back to life! It seems by the 2060′s we’ll have cool machinery to do CPR for a couple of hours as well as doctors ready to play god when they happen to drive by the car crash scene, heheh

Seriously though, this is a really fresh premise, that the villains who have been using doppelgangers for their devious schemes get the tables turned. This time the duplicate gets perma-killed while the original Major Gravener willingly participates in an undercover mission to help draw Captain Black into a trap at last... However, an easily overlooked factor in the driver who was also killed had been duplicated offscreen, so even with this amazing chance Spectrum can’t catch Black. But the World Capital, Futura City, is saved and Spectrum find the Mysterons themselves can’t tell their own copies from the original person, so it’s all in all a net gain!

Also this episode contains the World’s Happiest Clock, so that’s a neat plus.

Flight 104

We start this story on the incredible note of Captain Blue singing in the shower of the Hotel room he shares with Captain Scarlet. Scarlet then orders them both room service for some lunch. And if that sounds like the start of a fanfic plot, it may well be, but it’s also literally right there in the episode, baybee!

Charmingly domestic opening aside, I love this whole shebang. Again it’s the usual Mysterons threatening of an individual who Spectrum are bodyguarding, but the way both our heroes and villains go about this is different from the norm. Scarlet and Blue are trying to avoid drawing attention, so they spend the whole episode in normal clothes (Blue spending 1/3 of this in that comfy bathrobe!), and don’t have their comms. What’s more, they get a pair of reporters suspicious, and the two trail them looking for a Big Scoop.

When I was first watching this, I was expecting the journalists to get killed by Black to be the Mysteron Pawns, but no! They’re both fine from the start to the end! Then we find Black doing ....something.... to the Flight Crew of the titular Flight 104, but they aren’t killed either, just drugged. Instead, the Mysterons remotely pilot the plane on a slow collision course with the Alps, but are undone when an Electrical Plant interferes with their control.

As breaking into the pilot cabin had the side effect of jamming the landing gear, the plane has to crash land at the airport, but almost everyone being unharmed makes this one of the most gentle episodes of the lot... of course, Scarlet himself is still heavily implied to have been killed from the crash, but even his injuries seem pretty minor this time. And yet, it’s not lacking in excitement, as the tension of Spectrum trying to communicate with the two without their Comms and the inability to override the Mysteron’s control until that pre-established Electrical weakness kicks in holds for a while.

Inferno

Those who know of me from Thunderbirds are Go (the 2015 TV series) discussion are likely to know how much I love the episode from Season 1, Tunnels of Time. It heavily features my favourite ship in that show as they explore an ancient South American Temple which is full of peril. The temple is destroyed by the end of the episode.

So anyway, Inferno features my favourite ship in this show as they explore an ancient South American Temple which is full of peril, and tragically the temple is destroyed by the end of the episode! Heheeheheee~

Ok seriously though, eerie parallels aside this is another utterly beautiful instalment, with set design and lighting that really blows other episodes out of the proverbial water. And the pyrotechnic team clearly had fun with the seemingly unending explosions at the end of the adventure. An all-around visual feast!

Main plot is relatively simple, like in White as Snow, the Mysterons kill a Satellite and its crew and steer the reconstructed version towards their target of the week. Unlike WaS, they succeed in the end, a reminder that they’re still not to be underestimated. No human lives are lost, but the important complex and more tragically, the 800 year old temple that’s otherwise intact, get bombed to smithereens. Something something additional cost of warfare on Culture and History.

But while this is the end of my personal Top 10 list, it’s not all bad, because the Scarlet and Blue antics in the temple are utterly lovely and [chef finger kiss] splendid cinema~!

That about wraps up this Two-part post of mine! Picking 10 out of 32 is easier than 10 out of 100, but it’s still tricky as most of the episodes are very good, with only a few I’d promptly write off as a candidate for the list. And in some ways I wonder if I went about this the right way, some eps I only saw once and might feel strong enough to pip one’a the ones I did choose.

I have been rewatching each of the eps covered, and a few that didn’t make it, but my initial choice was made looking at the full list and letting my gut grab a few, having to think over more as the slots filled. Some fan favourites like Lunarville 7 came close, but I hope I’ve been able to clearly convey what it is about this selection that gave them the edge ;3

I will write further posts on Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons in the future, but after this mammoth and also the Notable Episodes list I’d quite like to enjoy it for a while without thinking about points to talk about, haha

[theshipsfirstmate]

Arrow Fic: You Always Knew the Melody, But You’d Never Heard it Rhyme

post-6x23. Felicity comes to terms with being a newly single parent.

“The diamond on her left hand catches the sunlight, and it reminds her how the right things can become beautiful under pressure.”

A/N: Hi guys! So I’m writing a post-s6 fic without having watched s6 and it’s pretty much @effie214’s fault. Forgive me if there’s anything grievously wrong (again, no idea what happened other than gifsets I saw) but all credit to her if you like it.

This was also inspired by the first Hiatus Fic-a-Thon prompt: “Revelation,” (thanks to @thebookjumper for that!) because I saw it and couldn't stop thinking about Felicity realizing that Oliver had turned her into her mother. And because I'm me, that became a few thousand words of angst. It's great to be back.

Title from “The Mother” by Brandi Carlile.

You Always Knew the Melody, But You’d Never Heard it Rhyme (AO3)

The rest of the day passes in a dull, aching blur.

Save for a few important moments that remain crystal clear in her memory, from the second Felicity loses sight of the armored federal van that’s taking Oliver away, it’s like she’s moving on autopilot. Digg says something that sounds reassuring -- even though she can't really make out his words -- and a uniformed man presses a packet of papers into her hands with an uneasy half-smile. When she looks down, it takes a few blinks before she can make out the forms, stamped with booking numbers and information on picking up personal effects

William stands at her side in the aftermath, stock still and quiet like always, and it takes her maybe too long to realize that he’s waiting on her.

She needs to get him fed. She needs to get him home. She needs to keep him safe. The routine isn’t that far out of the ordinary, but she’s hyper-aware that it’s just the two of them now. This could be their new normal, something that lasts for weeks or months or years, she realizes, and her heart breaks all over again for the boy beside her -- who lost the mother he's had all his life and the father he just got to know, one after the other. Now all he has is her.

Amid the storm inside, the revelation hits Felicity like a bolt of summer lightning, cracking wide and bright across the black, and illuminating something she's not sure she's ready to see.

She's a mother now. She had been before, in a sense, had warily made her peace with the “fun stepmom” role and found herself enjoying it more than she ever thought she could. She adores spending time with William, loves the family she and Oliver have made with a heart-rending ferocity and cherished every moment, despite how it all came together.

But this is something else entirely.

Now, she’s essentially a single parent, and there are so many terrifying added levels stacking up on that reality. She's someone else's whole world, and it doesn't matter that she didn't plan this, didn't even have time to strategize the adjustment. It doesn't matter that she never dreamt of this life as a girl -- or since -- never played “Mommy” to a doll with wide, unmoving eyes and floral-scented hair. None of that matters now. William is what matters.

Felicity thinks of her own mother, and then she thinks of strawberry ice cream.

She remembers knowing immediately that something was off that day, when her mother offered her ice cream right after school. It was the good stuff, too -- Häagen-Dazs, not the syrupy block of ice from the drug store case. Donna had plied her with a giant bowl of strawberry, her favorite, when she decided to break the news, and it took Felicity years to realize that it was probably to slow the inevitable deluge of questions about why her father had left, and when he was coming back. It was a way for Donna to keep her daughter from realizing how few answers she had to offer.

To this day, strawberry ice cream still makes her a little nauseous. Mint chocolate chip, on the other hand, has never reminded her of watching her mother’s mascara smudge off onto a pile of crumpled Kleenex.

She finds herself oddly comforted when she’s ordering takeout for them later and remembers there's a pint in the freezer -- but the feeling is quickly sunk by the memory of how Oliver had kissed her sweetly when she pulled it out of the grocery bag last week, shrugging his shoulders as she half-heartedly scolded him about sticking to the list.

“I want you to have everything you need,” he had whispered against her lips, “and everything you want.”

The food comes to the door eventually, and Felicity hopes William doesn’t see the way she jumps when the delivery woman knocks. It’s from one of their favorite places, but she barely tastes a thing as the two of them drift into half-consciousness in front of a Netflix show that pauses every few episodes to make them come to terms with their own humanity, in the form of an on-screen prompt that reads more and more condescending every time it asks if they’re still watching.

She gets up for more wine at one point, and realizes she should clear the dishes. That’s something a mother would do. It’s a battle against her ugliest instincts, a war against the way her broken heart is begging her to wallow in Oliver's absence, to sink into the couch and never stand up, to run as fast as she can away from the black hole of hurt that’s threatening to consume everything she loves about this life. But she doesn’t have that option anymore.

“We’ll get him back,” she offers, voice only cracking a little, when she realizes William’s watching her instead of the screen. They've had some version of this conversation before, but she doesn't know how else to reassure him. “I’m not sure how, yet. But he always comes back.”

The boy doesn’t offer a response at first, just leans forward on the sofa to silently help her stack up the plastic and foam containers and shakes his head in response when she asks if he wants any dessert. When she returns from the kitchen, though, he has a question that pulls the rug from under her.

“Is this the worst it’s ever been?”

“No.” Felicity answers on pure, base instinct, as her forehead burns with a flashback to a kiss that came with a declaration and her fingers twitch at the sense memory of the mottled patch of scar tissue just under Oliver’s rib cage. But then she considers. “Maybe.”

Looking into his son’s worried eyes, she knows that there are things more tragic than death. Especially for Oliver. “This will probably be the worst time for him.”

“Because of me.” Felicity forgets sometimes, because he’s so quiet, just how insightful William can be. She makes herself promise, in that moment, never to hurt him with an obvious lie.

Instead she just gives him a watery nod. “Because of how much he loves you.”

“And you too.”

“Yeah, and me too.” This time around, at least she’s sure of that much.

She thinks back to the moments that William is asking about without knowing -- all the times Oliver has died, or come within a breath, all the times he’s run, every tiny tragedy that forced him to sell his soul or sacrifice his humanity. They were selfless actions, ultimately, but that hadn't stopped the pieces of Felicity's heart from chipping away every time. Each hurt is a little different, she’s learned, warped in a way that makes it impossible to fully anticipate.

“Your dad has always been someone who would do anything for his family,” she finds herself repeating softly, flashing back again to the old bunker and the weathered longing of the girl she had been then. “I just wish you two had more time, before....”

Her voice is so close to cracking, and she doesn't want William to hear it, so she leaves the end of the sentence where it lies and reaches behind her on the couch for a blanket. But she freezes with the folded fleece in her hand when he speaks again.

“If you believe the team can get him back, then so do I.” They can still have that time, he's trying to tell her. There's still a future where Oliver gets the chance to be the father he was trying so hard to become, where he gets the family he's been longing for. They just have to find their way there.

It's a cautious but optimistic kind of faith that William has, endearing and trusting, and Felicity wonders where it comes from. Maybe it’s his mother’s, maybe it’s an echo of the pre-Gambit Oliver she never had a chance to know. That he’s willing to place that faith in her, however, she knows where that comes from just as surely as the blue in his eyes.

“I do believe it,” she tells him, tasting the words in her mouth and realizing that's they're true. “And I believe in your dad.”

“Me too.” He lays back across his end of the couch then, and pulls his legs up parallel to hers, sharing the blanket when she offers it. A few episodes later, his eyes are closed and the light, steady sound of his breathing echoes around her when the Netflix screen goes to black again.

Felicity stands after a long moment, and takes in the sight of Oliver’s son, sleeping on the couch, as a pang of domestic nostalgia plunges through her chest. He’s surely exhausted, but he looks peaceful in a way she knows is impossible, and her eyes offer up a fresh round of tears when she realizes that, if Oliver were here, he could carry him to bed. Without his strength, her options are limited to either leaving William to sleep on the couch or waking him and having to watch the day’s events wash over him again. There's not really a choice to make.

She tucks the blanket up a little higher, pressing a kiss to his forehead and switching off the TV and the nearby lights before climbing the stairs to her own room, where another heartbreak awaits.

Felicity slept alone for years before Oliver, but since they've been together, something inside her has shifted. The prospect of getting into a bed that doesn’t have him in it feels crushingly, hopelessly lonely in a way it never used to. But she's bone-tired too, so she washes her face and changes into one of his old hoodies, wrapping herself in the scent of his soap and favorite fabric softener, before curling around his pillow and crying herself into a fitful slumber.

It doesn’t last long. She drifts in and out for a while before she accepts that she's just too anxious to get any real rest. Instead, she lays there and thinks about what lies ahead. She wonders how long Oliver will be gone this time, how much he'll miss. She worries about his safety and agonizes over the likelihood that the person who will hurt him the most while he's locked up is already in that one-man cell with him. She considers how grateful she is that Thea wasn't here to watch her brother get dragged away again, even though Felicity selfishly longs for the support. And she thinks about the boy downstairs, who is now looking to her as his only parent.

Before she realizes it, she’s spent a few hours working herself into something of a frenzy. But even then, she has to wait a little longer until it's a semi-reasonable hour to make a phone call.

There's at least a half dozen well-thought-out questions on the tip of her tongue as she dials the number, but the second Felicity hears her mother’s voice, there’s only one thing she can think to ask.

“How did you do it?”

She sounds like a stranger to her own ears, but thankfully, Donna is with her immediately. “Felicity? What’s wrong?”

The tears start to fall immediately. Maybe they never stopped.

“How did you do it, mom? When dad left, how did you…” The words catch in her throat on an emotional trip wire that leaves her sputtering.

“Hon, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“Oliver’s… Oliver has to go away for a while. You might see something on the news.” Her mother’s not one to spend much time on the internet, but Felicity cringes at the thought of Donna flipping channels and coming across Oliver’s perp walk.

“Oh baby,” her mother croons mournfully, “I'm so sorry.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Felicity feels a panicked stutter in her chest, and tries to will her heart rate down with deep, shuddering breaths. “I just… I’m so worried. For him, and for William.”

All her calming techniques are for naught, though, because there are tears in Donna’s voice now, and it's a contagious kind of thing. “That poor, sweet boy. How is he taking it?”

“He's as good as can be expected, I guess. But mom, I can't… I don't know how to do this by myself. Parenting, and everything. I’ve never done it without Oliver.”

“Well, you love him, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” she answers dumbly. “He's my husband.” It's as simple as that, or at least it should be. She’s loved Oliver since before she even knew what it was, and she plans to love him forever; she should be able to do this for him without a second thought.

But her mother interrupts her train of guilty, weighted thought before she can take it over the cliff. “Not Oliver, hon. William.”

“Oh. Yeah. Yes, of course.” It's the truth, and Felicity knows it, even if the veracity of it surprises her a little. Just a year ago, she had been shell-shocked at the boy's mere existence, and now he has his very own compartment in her heart. “Of course I do.”

“Then that's where you start,” Donna tells her, matter of fact. “Kids need a lot. But that's what they need the most.”

She wonders if her mother's always been this wise, or if this is just something that kicks in when your kid needs you. She wonders if that's something she'll find out on her own.

“I don't want to ruin his life. I don’t want him to think I’m trying to be his mom.”

“Oh, baby, you won't ruin his life.” Donna sounds so certain, still, and it might be silly but it helps. “You do your best for that boy and he'll be better for it. I'm sure of that. Hard times can make good people strong. Remember what Bubbe used to say about diamonds?”

Felicity makes a soft sound of acknowledgement, though she's fairly certain the metaphor was not unique to her grandmother.

“I hate that's it's true, but you're a shining example of that, my darling girl,” her mother says, with a different kind of ache in her voice. “And, for that matter, so is Oliver. I'd say William's got a pretty good shot.”

The words temper things a bit, but the mention of her own formative fatherless years stokes another kind of worry.

“Mom, you might start hearing some things about Oliver as all of this plays out. I want you to know, he…”

“Honey, I know everything I need to know,” Donna interrupts, waving her off with a casual tone. “That husband of yours is a good man with a good heart, and I knew it the first time I met him -- just like I know that it would take death or the devil himself to drag him away from you.”

If only her mother knew how many times they've actually contended with those threats exactly, Felicity thinks. Still, something in Donna's assessment soothes the feral bit of panic that's made itself a home in her gut until it feels almost manageable. “Thanks, mom.”

“As for William,” her mother adds, “you don’t have to love him like he’s yours, you know. You just have to love him.”

They say their goodbyes with a promise to talk soon, and Felicity pulls herself out of bed to make her way downstairs and start the first day of whatever this is going to be. William’s already up, standing on his tiptoes at the counter, dunking slices of bread into a large mixing bowl.

She stands for a moment on the stairs, watching him, and then suddenly, she's transported back to the tiny kitchen at her mother’s apartment in Vegas. She sees herself, boiling water for Kraft macaroni and cheese, tiny glasses fogging up because she's just barely taller than the saucepan on the stovetop. To this day, there's still a silvery patch of skin on the back of her wrist, from the handful of times she had overshot the colander with the steaming pot of boiling pasta.

But that won't happen to William. That kind of latchkey loneliness won't ever be his life. She will not fall to pieces in his father's absence and, mercifully, they have the resources to ensure that he won't have to fend for himself until he's good and ready.

Felicity gives her head a definitive shake, banishing the memory to the recesses of her mind, and continues down the stairs.

“Morning,” William says, with only a half glance up. She wonders if he knew she was standing there, watching.

“Morning,” she answers, then clears her throat, because that's a stranger's voice.  “French Toast?”

“Dad showed me how the other week.” He looks down at the open notepad again -- Oliver’s makeship recipe book, Felicity realizes -- and scrunches his nose up as he reads the longhand scribbles on the page.

That's another mannerism that must come from Samantha, Felicity thinks. She wishes there were a way to save these things for him to recall later -- when the wounds aren't so fresh. She hopes he'll be able to see his mother in himself as he gets older, to savor the memories of a woman she never got a chance to know.

“Is...is that okay?” 

Felicity looks up and sees William with an egg-soaked slice of bread in hand and a concerned look on his face, worried that her sudden silence is disapproval.

“Oh, yeah, of course!” she sputters, taking a seat. “Yeah, it smells great. Thanks.”

She does love him, Felicity thinks a few moments later, as he deftly switches off the burner and brings the plates to the kitchen island, sitting to her right on the stool she already thinks of as his. Fiercely, too. She’s not sure, exactly when it happened, or how. But she loves William for the boy he is, separately from her love for his father. And she believes her mother when she says that’s the most important thing.

They eat in silence for a few minutes, but she can practically feel William working himself up to ask her a question. When he does, it's not at all what she expected.

“Will you tell me the story of the computer?”

Felicity glances at him with a confused frown. “The computer with the bullets in it, the first time you met my dad. You said you’d tell me the story someday.”

“Oh! Yeah, I guess I did, didn’t I?” she laughs, a little bit in relief, dragging the last bite of her breakfast through the syrup pooled on the plate. “Well, there’s not much more to it than that. You know the Palmer Tech building? That used to be Queen Consolidated, Oliver’s family’s company.”

Felicity expects a reaction of some kind, but William just nods. This is either old news or an uninteresting detail in the tale he really wants to hear.

“I worked there, in the IT department, and one day, my boss’s boss’s son came to me with a laptop that was clearly riddled with bullet holes and a bogus story about how it wasn't working because he spilled coffee on it.”

“And you helped him?” William asks with a grin. “Why?”

“Curiosity, at first. I knew he was hiding something and I wanted to know what it was.”

“And that’s when you fell in love with him?”

She laughs at the incredulous tone of his voice. “Yes. Well, maybe.” William screws up his face again at the indistinct. Felicity remembers what it used to be like, to hear people talk about love before you knew exactly how it felt to have that kind of longing loop its way through your insides and pull.

“I think I probably did love him then, but I don’t think I knew it until I joined the team,” she admits wistfully. “I always felt like I was meant to be doing something… bigger, you know? I just didn’t know what. And I didn’t know how to get there.”

She thinks of the people she used to be: the lost little girl, the straight-edge know-it-all mathlete, the reckless daredevil hacktivist. She thinks of the bits of them that are still left in her, that shape the woman she is today.

“When I met your dad -- really met him, hood and arrows and raccoon eyes and all -- it was like... so many of the pieces of my life started to come together,” she tells William. “I started to see where everything fit.”

“How did you find out who he was?” She knows the boy is asking for the specifics of his father’s life as a vigilante, but it hits her like a heavier question. Maybe they’re one in the same.

“He was hurt, and he came to me.” She spares him the imagery of Moira’s gun and Oliver flatlining in the dingy old lair. “He had to take off his mask, so that I’d trust him.”

“And you did?”

“Yeah, I did. Still do. Always have.”

“But you also said he lied,” William remembers with a small frown. “That he kept secrets.”

“Yeah, he has.” Felicity nods solemnly. “And it hurts, but it’s complicated, because when he does those things, he’s usually doing it for a virtuous reason, to save someone else.”

“Just like yesterday.” Again, the boy's capacity to piece together the fragmented details of their jagged lives takes her by surprise.

“Exactly like yesterday,” she agrees. “I'm mad as hell at him for making that call on his own. And I'm furious that there wasn't a better way out. But he did it for us. And I can't hate him for that. If anything, some part of me loves him even more for it.”

William just nods again. “Me too.” But that soft reassurance seems to be the end of it, for now, as he stands to clear the dishes, insisting on washing up himself, despite her half-hearted offer to help.

Felicity knows there's probably some other conversation they should be having now, about family and responsibilities and who's taking care of who, but she's emotionally drained already, and that was only breakfast. So she puts that talk away in her mind for a while, retreating to her office instead and rooting through the desk drawers until she finds the keys to the storage locker garage with the shiny luxury fob attached.

It's worth it, because William cracks his first real smile in days when she asks if he's ever been to Vegas.

They pack a few days of clothes into small bags that will fit in the Porsche, and Felicity hazards a call to Digg, cursing her eyes for welling up at the sound of his voice, a familiar touchstone in a world that feels upside-down right now.

He doesn't like her plan. She hadn't expected him to. “Diaz is going to be coming for revenge, Felicity. Soon.” But she thinks he knows better than to try and talk her out of it right now.

“That seems like an okay time to get the heck out of town, to me.”

He can’t argue much with that, and after a lengthy rundown of the security precautions she’s already planned -- plus a few suggestions on Digg’s end that sound suspiciously ARGUS-influenced -- he sounds slightly more satisfied.

“Call me. Frequently,” he insists.

“You too,” she answers, eyes flooding again. “And if anything happens…”

“We got it, Felicity.” It's good that he says so, and quickly, because she can't even begin to consider the tragedies that could live in that ellipses. “You two take care of each other.”

“We will.” She grins just a little in spite of herself. “Hugs to Lyla and the Digglet. We’ll see you soon.”

The sun's just barely up as they head out of town, but William asks if they can put the top down anyway. It's a lucky thing, because the wind whips Felicity’s glassy eyes dry when they hit the stretch of highway where Oliver once turned to her and said "I'm happy," like he couldn't quite believe it himself.

The diamond on her left hand catches the rising sunlight, and it reminds her how the right things can become beautiful under pressure. She's done this before, built a home without bricks or mortar and held onto happiness with nothing more than her own two hands. She can do it again, she’s certain of it.

She reaches over to the passenger’s seat to ruffle William's hair and he gives her a cautious smile that looks so much like his father's it cuts right through her.

They had made it then, the two of them. They survived so much for their moment in the sun, and Felicity knows in her heart that those are only the first few chapters of their story. She can do it again, for Oliver, and for his son. She’s someone who can do anything for her family.

A/N: Sight of the Son, amirite? (That's a joke for the OG readers, but sure, newbies, if you're down for a Porsche-load of post-s3 feelings, go ahead and check it out.) I'll see myself out.

A/N 2: I cannot believe myself, but I actually have some bits written for a second part of this if anyone's interested.

[mrmichaelchadler]

Home Entertainment Consumer Guide: December 27, 2018

10 NEW TO NETFLIX

"2 Fast 2 Furious" "Apocalypse Now" "Avengers: Infinity War" "Baby Mama" "The Fast and the Furious" "The Innocents" "Kill the Messenger" "The Little Hours" "Maps to the Stars" "The Theory of Everything"

8 NEW TO BLU-RAY/DVD

"Assassination Nation"

I'm only human and so there's a bit of an impulse to include a release in this column on which I'm quoted on the cover, even if the movie itself is something of a mixed bag. The quote "'Mean Girls' meets 'The Purge" is from my Sundance viewing of this divisive genre film, and is more descriptive than praising. What's been interesting to watch about the conversation around this abrasive, incendiary castigation of internet culture is that I have been very lonely in my middle ground opinion. I like its ideas more than its execution, but find it fascinating how many people either LOVE or HATE this movie. Honestly, we need more movies like that—movies that provoke conversation and debate. So you should see this not because I'm quoted on the cover but because you should pick a side ... or join me in the neutral zone.

Buy it here 

Special Features Deleted/Extended Scenes Gag Reel Trailers

"Bad Times at the El Royale"

This is another movie that people seemed to either embrace or abhor and I finished with a shoulder shrug. Maybe that's not fair. I mostly liked Drew Goddard's single-setting bloodbath, but I'm stunned that anyone sees enough to like or hate here to include in either ten best or ten worst lists for the entirety of 2018. On the positive side, the ensemble is fantastic, especially Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Bridges, and Chris Hemsworth. It's never boring, weaving several subplots on a very bad night at the El Royale hotel into one backstabbing tapestry. It's also too long, too unfocused, and slips through your fingers once it's over. There's a tighter, smarter version of "El Royale" in this one that could have been great. But this one is still pretty good—available On Demand now and on Blu-ray on 1/1.

Buy it here

Special Features Making Bad Times at the El Royale Gallery

"Fahrenheit 11/9"

Did Michael Moore's latest provocation influence the election as he so clearly hoped it would when he dropped it in the heat of the season? Maybe. Probably not, though. The fact is that Moore doesn't have the impact he once did, but should that be the only way we judge him as a filmmaker? As an influencer? It will be interesting to see how his most overtly political films like this one stand up with a couple decades of history behind them. For me, the best pieces of "Fahrenheit 11/9" don't focus on the Trump Presidency but the various stories of the last few years that led to the voter apathy that was arguably the biggest reason he won. And, say what you will about this film's lack of focus, there's a great mini-doc buried within this film about the Flint water crisis that you really should see.

Buy it here

Special Features None

"The Predator"

After the TIFF premiere of Shane Black's latest reboot/sequel to the hit '80s sci-fi/action film, I suspected that I would be in the minority of critics who enjoyed it but didn't expect it to be quite so drastic. I stand by my 2am take in Canada that this is a fun action movie that understands what worked about the original film while also taking some of the same ideas in a new direction. No, it's not going to be anyone's favorite movie of 2018, but it's a quick, enjoyable rental on a Saturday night, and it works even better at home than in the middle of the night in Toronto.

Buy it here 

Special Features Deleted Scenes A Touch of Black Predator Evolution The Takedown Team Predator Catch-Up Gallery

"Schindler's List"

Only this column could go from "The Predator" to "Schindler's List," but that's how we roll at the HECG (and the byproduct of alphabetical listings). For the 25th anniversary of one of the best films of the '90s, Universal has upgraded Steven Spielberg's Oscar winner with a 4K release that reminds viewers why this movie was so rapturously praised when it came out in 1993. Given 4 stars by Roger on its initial release, he didn't wait long to put it in the Great Movies pantheon, and it's a movie that has held up remarkably well. The 4K release is accompanied by a new documentary called "Schindler's List: 25 Years Later," adding to the sense that this is one of the essential 4K Blu-ray releases of 2018.

Buy it here 

Special Features NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM SUPERVISED BY STEVEN SPIELBERG DOLBY VISION/HDR 10 PRESENTATION OF THE FILM NEW Schindler's List: 25 Years Later - Featurette NEW USC Shoah Foundation Story with Steven Spielberg (2018) Voices from the List - Featurette Let Their Testimonies Speak - Stronger Than Hate About IWitness (2018) AND MORE...

"A Simple Favor"

Paul Feig's mystery/comedy looked like a disaster before it was released. It was coming out at a time of year when studios are known for dumping movies that they don't know what to do with, and it didn't play any fests or get much in the way of critics screenings. And then it dropped and most people were pleasantly surprised. A reasonably big hit (almost $100 million worldwide), "A Simple Favor" filled a hole in storytelling for adults that Hollywood simply doesn't care about as much as they used to. In a time when the mid-budget movie is disappearing, it feels like everything is a part of a franchise or a low-budget indie. The mid-budget filmmakers went to TV. And so it's so heartening to see a solid mid-budget flick that offers a night of entertainment for grown-ups away from Netflix. I'm a little less high on the flick than everybody else (I think Blake Lively is amazing but the movie sags a bit when she's absent), but it's totally worth a rental. 

Buy it here    Special Features 3 Audio Commentaries with Cast and Crew 8 Featurettes Gag Reel Deleted Scenes Flash Mob

"Starman"

When the acolytes of John Carpenter talk about the horror icon, they often stick solely to, well, his horror films. How many pieces can the internet produce about the greatness of "Halloween," "The Thing," or underrated pics like "The Fog" and "Prince of Darkness"? Lost in a lot of the talk about Carpenter is what is actually his highest-grossing film outside of Mike Myers, 1984's "Starman." This has always been a film that I hold close to my heart as I was nine when it came out and, well, that's a good age for this movie. It's an underrated film with a truly great performance from Jeff Bridges. As Roger wrote 34 years ago, "Actors sometimes try to change their appearance; Bridges does something trickier, and tries to convince us that Jeff Bridges is not inhabited by himself."

Buy it here 

Special Features NEW They Came from Hollywood: Re-visiting STARMAN – featuring director John Carpenter, actors Jeff Bridges, Charles Martin Smith and script supervisor Sandy King-Carpenter Audio Commentary with director John Carpenter and Jeff Bridges Vintage Featurette Teaser Trailer Theatrical Trailer TV Spots Still Gallery

"Venom"

Ah, "Venom." Is this smash hit a good movie? Noooo. It's clunky and weird. And yet there's something in here that almost brings it together and that's the totally committed lunacy from Tom Hardy. Whether he's talking to the symbiote inhabiting his body or eating a live lobster out of the tank in which he's sitting, there's something inspired in so many of his choices. Sadly, the rest of the movie totally pales in comparison, including something I didn't think was possible: flat performances from Riz Ahmed and Michelle Williams. As much as I don't want to see "Venom" again, I'll be curious about "Venom 2" just to see if Hardy's energy can be featured in a project that deserves it. 

Buy it here 

Special Features Venom Mode: When selecting this mode the film will engage informative pop-ups throughout the film to provide insight on the movie's relationship to the comics, and to reveal hidden references that even a seasoned Venom-fan may have missed! Deleted & Extended Scenes: These deleted and extended scenes will give fans even more of the Venom action they loved in theaters! Ride to Hospital – Eddie and Venom take a ride to the hospital. Car Alarm – Let's just say that Venom is not fond of car alarms. San Quentin – Extended post-credits scene at San Quentin. From Symbiote to Screen: A mini documentary about the history of Venom in comics and his journey to the big screen. Interviews with Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Ruben Fleischer, Oliver Scholl, and Director and Comic Fanboy Kevin Smith. The Lethal Protector in Action: Go behind the scenes with the production crew and learn the secrets behind the awesome Motorcycle stunts, wire stunts, and drones. Venom Vision: A look at how Ruben Fleischer came to the project, gathered his team, and made Venom a reality. Utilizes interviews from cast, crew, and producers as well as Fleischer himself. Designing Venom: Designing and creating Venom meant a huge challenge for VFX artists; follow the amazing journey. Symbiote Secrets: Blink and you may have missed it! Enjoy the hidden references throughout the film. 8 Select Scenes Pre-Vis sequences: See the progression of the visual effects, storyboards and fight chorography compared to the finished film. "Venom" by Eminem – Music Video "Sunflower" by Post Malone, Swae Lee (From Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse Sneak Peek: Meanwhile in another universe …

from All Content http://bit.ly/2EPZSPN