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heyitspersephone · 6 months

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Thinking about stranger things again now that the strikes are over and how, narratively, it would be way, WAY cooler to have Mike get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5

It’s just something about the way Mike’s trauma is never addressed or handled in any way?? Like, he hugs his mom twice and then when he was depressed in season 2 and 4 nobody did anything (his parents scolded him for his behavior in s2 ig but that’s not support). His best friend went missing leaving from his house, he watched his body get pulled from the quarry, watched El (in his eyes) kill herself stopping the demogorgon, watched Will be possessed, saw Bob die, was in Star Court when everything went down, saw Billy die, had his best friend move away, was SHOT AT (and really too few people talk about the shooting in Cali bc omg??), buried a body, and watched the apocalypse start. And that’s just off the top of my head.

(And yes I’m aware that the other characters (especially Will) are traumatized too but I will get to my point in a second just hold on)

The plot is geared towards this idea that Will and Henry have to have some big face off (and they should, in my opinion, but I don’t think it should be in a possession, or at least not the the Vecna kind of possession, yk?) but that makes it all the better, writing wise, to have mike be the one in danger. Will was helpless and hiding in s1, I think Will should get his big strong moments in s5 where he gets to be the hero of the story.

It would just be a lot more fun to work with Mike being Vecna’d than Will, because what are we going to bring up with Will’s visions? His dad? His sexuality? The events of s1 from his perspective? It would be cool to see, for sure, but we already know most of that. Mike, on the other hand, has a number of untapped things, like jumping off the quarry, why he’s so hesitant to tell El he loves her, how someone who was smart and kind enough to take El in in s1 and come up with the spy and sauna plans in s2 and s3 could turn into the oblivious asshole that he was in s3 and s4 (he needs therapy, ik, I still love his character but I want to explore the reasons he went from his s2 characterization to his s3 one)

It would be a very interesting parallel, I think, to explore Mike’s thought processes in this way, especially with all of Mike’s repression business (bc whether you ship byler or milkvan he is repressing his feelings HARD. Like, beyond his inability to say I love you there’s the fact that he doesn’t bring up the apparent many times he called pre-s4 during the Rink O Mania fight?? That literally would’ve absolved him of guilt in that argument since he WAS reaching out to Will the whole time? Hellooooo????).

Anyways, this all brings me to my main point: Vecna targets isolation as much as he targets trauma and guilt. The whole party was traumatized by the events in s1, s2, and s3, but Max was the one targeted. Plus, Henry went for Fred, Chrissy, and Patrick (I think his name was Patrick) instead of going for the perceivably easy targets that the mcs would make (ik narratively that would’ve made it more boring but shhh), so why Max and those three specifically? They were isolated. Lucas and Erica have each other, Dustin goes to Steve and Robin, Will and El have each other and Jonathan and Joyce, Nancy probably goes to Jonathan, and who does Mike go to?

No one. And don’t say Nancy because if those two have heart to hearts then I’m the next coming of Christ. Max separated herself from the Party in the aftermath of her grief and guilt over Billy, and it feels quite obvious that Mike was doing the same (like I said, he has repression issues). So Mike is traumatized, alone, and guilty (be it Will getting taken from Mike’s house, losing El in front of him multiple times, the many deaths he has witnessed, or the internalized homophobia angle), which makes him more of a target than Will, in my opinion (or at least an easier one, especially given his tendency to put himself on the line during fights (quarry, most of s2, s3 mindflayer fight), which would set him up on the suicidal ideation path)

Furthermore, as I’ve seen a few other people point out (and I can’t find the posts but one of them had eight screenshots of the various moments), Mike is always the one getting in the way, so it would be a strategic move for Henry to target him to get him out of the picture. Mike was the one that found El and got her involved in saving Will s1, he was the one who came up with the spy plan and called out the ambush in s2, he was the one to monologue Will out of his possession s2, he was the one with the sauna plan for Billy in s3, he was the one trying to help El get the strength to fight s4 (even if the monologue sucked ass it’s the intention that counts). As much as people like to hate on Mike, he is in the leader position most of the time when the party is grouped up (barring his mental health struggles slowing that down beginning of s3 and throughout s4, but he’s still capable of it). He’s the idea man, and he’s the one whose character’s foundations were built on the desire to keep his friends safe, so it would be a very fun plot line to watch him be the one targeted in s5. Like Will said, as lovestruck and cheesy as he was, Mike is the heart of the party when he’s on his A-game, so Henry should 100% be trying to keep him in the issues he’s been struggling with.

Obviously, Will and El are the Targets with a capital T for Henry since they’re the ones that got away or whatever, but I think Mike is a weakness of Will’s (and El’s tbh but also I think they need to have separate character arcs and I don’t exactly ship milkvan) that should be exploited.

TL;DR: Mike should get Vecna’d instead of Will in s5 because it would make sense in lore and be a very cool way to resolve his character arc

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aceraphale · 2 years

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THE FINDING OF WILL BYERS

we all know that in season 3, will was moved from the center stage to the bleachers, watching passively everything that happened. now, the duffers have implied that season 5 will have will as the central character, he is the missing piece in the plot that still has no answer. and yet they have also said that they want to go back to season 1’s teams and dynamics, which seems to mean that will is going to get alienated once again as el, mike, dustin and lucas are the OG party.

i’m going to analyse the themes of the characters and seasons, and what they mean for will’s own arc, as he is the one member of the main cast that has been used more as a plot device than as a character driven by his own desires and feelings.

THE SEASONS VS WILL

there’s a reason you hide from them.

season 4 has been an almost exact parallel of season 2, with one glaring exception: in s2, will was the main character; in s4, will was the gay best friend a background character. but none of these statements are actually true.

since season 1, will has been a plot device. the literal plot of the show starts with his disappearance.

then in s2 he takes the spotlight, but that doesn’t mean he is a character. the visions and his possession move the plot and the character forwards, and his actions have consequences in all the subplots. his central emotion is fear, and when he does try to face it, he ends up getting possessed and is back to square one. he tries to lie but can’t hide anymore, and trusts his mom and mike. even when he wants something bad (ie. to lie), the plot denies him that possibility.

in s3, he is in the background, but his emotions are used to further the plot, not his own character. he feels like his friends left him behind, like his childhood is over but he can’t move on. it serves to show how childish mike and lucas are in comparison to el and max, and how they’ve all grown up. and then he feels the mind flayer and explains what probably happened, so his feelings get dropped as he moves the plot and characters from a to b. he is a wizard like gandalf, merlin or dumbledore, not harry potter. he helps the heroes understand the situation and promptly disappears.

in s4, will gets back to his s2 arc. he has a secret (seeing the visions/being possessed and being gay/in love with mike) and tries to hide it by lying. his emotions (his fear and his love) seem to be the focus of his character, but that’s a lie too, because his character is there to move the characters forward. he is el’s only friend, he gives mike advice, he pushes mike to confess and save el, he even tries to help jonathan when jonathan is trying to help him. but the difference is that this time, the plot allows him to lie. he lies to mike so he can say the truth about him, because his lie is integral to the plot, not him.

TRUTH VS LIE

the truth is just the opposite. you are better than they are. superior. it is why you frighten them.

season 4 was a season that focused on facing the past and the truth. every main character has faced it in one way or another. el learned about her past and left brenner, mike said i love you (even tho he’s still very much queercoded and hiding his feelings), steve/jonathan/nancy is a thing apparently, joyce saves hopper like she couldn’t save bob, max faces vecna, lucas faces jason, dustin and eddie become heroes.

and then there’s will.

he lies to mike for the first time. he stands behind and looks at the plot and only speaks up when mike or el need it. he goes back to hawkins and gets thrown into the action without him wanting to. el and will are dramatic folds of each other, and now henry parallels will too. even lucas and max parallel mike and will in s2.

we knew her past from other people. brenner and kali and her mother, and then in this season she gets to be the narrator of her own story, albeit against her will and relieving traumas. we learn what she did by her own memories, and that makes her the most human we’ve ever seen her in all seasons. she’s not a superhero, she’s el. she has a family and friends and a past. she leaves the lab behind and faces one.

we start vol. 1 knowing vecna/henry through others. his father in the asylum, el’s memories. and then vol. 2 starts with him telling his story, showing us his memories. he gets the chance to tell his truth and explain his motives.

max parallels will by being the target of vecna. she starts emotionally closed off, just like will in s2, and gets visions that feed on her fear, even as she tries to hide from them. she gets to share her feelings with lucas, and then vecna turns it against her, making max hide in her happy memory, just like the scene in the shed of s2. even if things ended up bad for her, she still got the chance to face her demons.

will doesn’t get that chance. everything we know about him comes from other people or subtle hints. we know he’s gay because the show has been telling us he’s different even from his friends since s1. we know he’s selfless and kind because the characters have been telling us he is since s1. (almost) everything we knew about him in s1 was through memories and other characters. except a few times in s2, his feelings are always hidden behind the feelings of others. he says they’re ruining the party, not him, and doesn’t admit what he thought until mike forces him to. he doesn’t tell mike he felt left out until he talks about el lying and mike confronts him about his behaviour. he says he’ll always be there for jonathan because jonathan talks about being there for him first. he says it’s scary to open up and that he needs mike, but only because he’s putting mike and el’s feelings as a front. he doesn’t even tell anybody he felt vecna until mike says he’s gone.

MEMORY VS FUTURE

he found his strength in a memory from his past. something that made him sad. but also, angry.

memories are a vital part of stranger things, starting from the basis that it happens during the 80s and uses a lot of references and nostalgia to fuel the plot.

i won’t elaborate about the use of memories this season because memories, in this case, are equal to lies. the nostalgia in the show is a lie. the 80s were hell for a lot of people, and as the characters grow up that hell becomes clearer. what starts as bullying because they’re nerds develops into racism against lucas, homophobia against will, ableism against el. what starts as the government wants to take our friend develops into the cold war has tangible consequences (cough cough anti-socialist propaganda cough cough), we have to bury a body and hopper has to endure the gulag.

the central scene of will’s character, the one that explains him in s4, is the one where he destroys castle byers, renouncing his childhood. castle byers represents his childhood, and when he sits inside and looks at the pictures, he only sees the good.

castle byers was his hiding place from his father and the demogorgon when he was in the upside down. the photo of the party as ghostbusters was taken before they were relentlessly bullied and he had an episode and had to be pulled out of it by mike. the drawings of dnd campaigns now meant nothing as his friends abandoned him for girls. the bat he breaks the castle with is the one his father used to force him to play with when he was a kid.

he prefers the certainty of the memories, rose-tinted and nostalgia-fueled, over the uncertainty of a future he knows will bring nothing but pain. getting left behind by his friends, by his siblings, having to hide his sexuality, having to settle for a job. even in s4 there’s a throwaway line where he suggests going to vegas to be rich and never having to stop playing dnd and nintendo.

he’s been forced to grow up. he wants to go back to memories that weren’t real.

HIDING VS STANDING UP

i could not pretend. and i realized i didn't have to. i could make my own rules.

there’s an elephant in the room i didn’t address before, but now i have to, because everything has been leading up to this:

how did will survive the upside down?

he was a child. he was taken and yet he somehow hid for a week. we don’t know (as far as i know the comic isn’t canon now) how he did it, or why he was taken, but there is a reason. and it will be the main thing to discover.

to will, this means doing exactly the opposite of what el, henry, max and even himself have done.

el and henry found strength in their memories. el gets her strength from the love of her family and friends, the confidence in herself she’s managed to build. henry gets his strength from the anger and pain of his childhood, the resentment festering in him for years. max hid from vecna in her happy memories, in the love and happiness of her friends and boyfriend. will found strength in the memory of bob telling him to stand up.

but they all lost.

el and max lost against henry. henry lost against el. will lost against the mind flayer, and then the mind flayer took his memory so he couldn’t hide from him. their memories, at the end of the day, are just memories.

will byers will win because he will stand up, because his arc means that his strength comes from the future.

he is stuck in childhood. he hides in the memory of the music and the games and the party and his family. but in season 5 he has to stand up for the hope of what’s to come. he has a future, and he can be happy, and that’s what his arc has to be about.

if season 5 goes back to the beginning that means that will starts and ends the show. his disappearance starts season 1. his possession starts s2. the part of the mind flayer that was in him starts s3. s4 starts with el joining will’s family. the arc of s5 starts when will turns to see the upside down merging with hawkins.

his search for himself has to end with him facing his past and his truth not to stand up, but to look at his future and say that the truth about himself is that he deserves to be happy.

will byers has to be the hero, because his arc is the one that ends in the future.

#will byers #stranger things season 5 #stranger things season 4 #stranger things season 2 #gay will byers #henry creel #el hopper #max mayfield #mike wheeler #stranger things analysis #stranger things theory #will byers meta #byler endgame #byler

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archive2394934 · 1 year

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So with the posts mocking me and my thoughts in the tags I’ve decided it'd be cooler if we actually just talked instead! @laozuspo & @aemiron-main, given we’re right here and CLEARLY seeing each others posts.

Heres my opinions that are apparently super bad and under great mockery right now just for a refresher:

A) Henry was not allowed to live a normal life, he was not socially, emotionally or psychologically allowed to mature in a normal way give he was imprisoned, isolated and abused routinely since childhood. This is not something that leads to normal development of a person and will result in some awkwardness in how they interact with and navigate their surroundings. The context of this persons life, situation and resulting actions should factor somehow, like I just think that's personally worth considering in conversations about the character, particularly when we're wanting to be deep and analytical about these characters and their motives/behaviors.

B) We actually have no canon that details exactly what Henry’s connection with Will is and exactly how personally Henry has been involved in in previous seasons and literally a good 95% of what we have are fan theories and headcanons, many of which that are heavily biased and draw from some really sketchy stereotypes surrounding gay men apparently due to the headcanon that Henry is in fact a gay man. Sorry for being nuts, I guess, but thats a little suss for me and maybe its all worth thinking about. At the very least, the fact that there is so little canon conformation toward whats actually going on between Will and Henry, if anything "personal" at all, should be considered maybe. C) I thought it was kind of confirmed at this point that Henry didn’t forge a relationship with El just so he could use her for his own means. He started interacting with her because he related to her and wanted to protect her from Papa who was planning to harm her because he was IN FACT the abuser and monster which was literally broken down for us in the Papa episode... Like...??? Is Henry mad as hell that she pretty much “”killed him”” after he put his all into saving her? Yep! Thats true. Still doesn’t make him her “abuser” though. That title goes to Dr Brenner. And here's the thing-- Henry was right about it. All of it. About Papa, the other test subjects, etc. He straight up said he didn't want things to turn out the way they did, him and Eleven ending up enemies was never something he wanted. He only attacked Eleven because, if you rewatch the scene, SHE attacked him first. Do I blame her? No, she felt scared and trapped even if his intentions weren't to hurt her, but none the less after the first blow he had to view her as a danger to him just like the other test subjects. So yeah, he’s mad as hell that choosing to HELP HER ultimately lead to the fucked up position he’s in now and I think that AT LEAST makes sense.

But is that an example of the “”cycle of abuse””? Not in the context that I know the “cycle of abuse” to refer to? He’s just her enemy, but he’s not trying to cause her mental/emotional distress to control her for himself. That's what abuse means. Thats what “”abusers”” do. They either develop a close/personal “special” relationship with someone with the intention of using them for their own personal gratification or the close/personal relationship pre exists due to being a mother/father/brother/sister etc. This is different from being in conflict with someone. This is different from having a fight with someone, this is different from being cool with someone once and then winding up against them for some disagreement in views or opinions, etc. That's why not every single person you don't like / don't agree with / have conflict with / hurts you / is violent toward you or is an an asshole to you, etc, is your abuser. An “ABUSER” is a way more insidious. Like maybe I'm out of the loop as to when the "cycle of abuse" started to be used to refer to antagonist characters that do mean things and not a pattern of behaviors observed in RL domestic relationships, but as far as I've known, thats what the cycle of abuse is about and refers to. Which has very little to do with Henry and his relationships or mostly lack-thereof with any of the other characters, except maybe El and again its still quite a bit different, imo. Brenner was an abuser. He made close, special relationships with people just to use them for his own gain. That was his overarching goal. He was able to manipulate them effectively and keep them under his control almost permanently. Brenner died manipulating and gaslighting Eleven and Eleven “broke the cycle” by not giving into him. Billy was an example of the cycle of abuse, in the context it seems to be being used for here, as in, Billy is the result of abusive dynamics trickling through a family due to the actions of the abuser, (his dad) which Billy copped the brunt of and began to pass to his sister. Henry is a super pissed off vengeful, supernatural terrorist with leftists ideals on a mission of biblical proportions to destroy civilization because he views society as flawed, cruel, evil and oppressive and needs to be reset for the “greater good”, who the centrist protags have to stop. That is what canon actually put forward here. All the rest of it is FAN THEORY. And the thing is he’s right about most of his views-- his “evil” comes from the extreme he’s willing to go to, to achieve his otherwise ‘noble’ goals, including trying to kill a kid that's standing in his way and also being pretty pissed that said kid is the reason he feels he has to “”resort”” to this in the first place, per se. I mean is it good? Nah. But its not really that hard to get surely?

D) Every day this fandom is wickedly ableist toward this character; it doesn’t matter if the people making the posts in question think Henry is any type of mentally ill or ND personally, when a huge portion of these posts make fun of him specifically for traits associated with those things -- usually, especially with autism which the character is most HEAVILY coded as. You can pull back and talk about how you’re actually making fun of him because he’s “”an abuser””, but see point B) and C) as to why I can’t really get that.

Okay? I think these are pretty reasonable takes but y’all think thats all stupid and cringe and waay out of whack, alright. Lets put all that aside. Maybe, instead of mocking me and my thoughts you could give me your thoughts on some of the things I've brought up from canon that have influenced my own thoughts on Henry as a character and what has made them so contrary to your own.

Here’s my list:

What do you think the light scene in Henry's childhood means? Why is there a scene in Victor's flash back that shows Henry, a normal little dude, drawing innocently with his crayons in the living room of his new house, experiencing a really weird phenomenon that calls on things we've seen in previous seasons that always indicates SOMETHING from the upside down is trying to make contact with the right-side up?

Why did Henry, as a child, know to illustrate the mindflayer in such a way that his drawing displays the thing as being a dusty, misty black mass. There is a clear difference here in Henry's drawing of the MF and Will's drawing of it. Henry depicts it in a manner that is as true to life as a little kids drawing could be, especially using charcoal to capture the dusty/cloudy effect of it. How could he know this? Is it possible that this hints to something, putting it with the light scene?

Why did Henry's powers only become substantial when he moved to Hawkins. Why did Henry keep getting multiple psychokinetic abilities? So far, Henry is the only one we've seen who doesn't just have ONE psychic power but a MULTITUDE of them. WHAT made Henry the fucking supreme of the psychics in the ST universe and why?

Why did Henry, as a child, a literal 12 year old boy in the 1950s, somehow know and learn how to use his newly gained powers, to demonically suck the essence/souls out of his victims and why? What does he think he means when he says (the majority) if his victims are not really gone? We can agree at least that Henry wasn't born evil and he surely wasn't evil as a child, so I would think to be able to learn and KNOW to do something like this, something would have had to influence or guide him into it in some way. It seems unlikely he just came up with it entirely on his own.

Funnily enough, it also seems that something influenced Henry's views against humanity as well, something influenced little Henry to not just view spiders as cool animals he likes that he can relate to because of the unfair way they're treated by people, but to suddenly views them as LITERAL GODS. Isn't that a little weird?

We saw both the Vines and the MF existed before Henry entered the Upside Down. In particular, the vines were behaving very suss before Henry got there. In canon we at least see them trying to bust out of the UD when Eleven initially sent Henry through. They were forced to slither back inside as the portal didn't stay open for long. This shows they existed and were under the control of something before Henry at the very least.

We have the original scene of Henry's “transformation” in the script. The "vines" were suppose to have played a very active role. Immediately when Henry is thrown into the upside down he's attacked by supernatural lighting bolts and the vines which transform him into Vecna. Like, why? What was behind this? Henry didn't do that to himself, something did it to him. We've also never seen the UD behave like that toward anyone else who has entered it-- except MAYBE Will on a far lesser scale. It really seems as if the UD, or something else in the UD, was just waiting for Henry to get there. What could that mean?

This scene was changed a little in the canon, but we still have the weird ass lighting bolts that mutilated Henry. Do you know what creature's body is shown to be like huge thundercloud flashing with the same sort of lighting? The Mindflayer. We see this when Henry approaches it in the canon scene. You know what's also sitting in a pit below and around the MF in the canon scene? The vines. Further, as far as Vecna’s current form goes, it seems he is in fact merged with the vines. This occurred somehow still even if changed from the original script. Vecna does claim the MF was the means to transcend his human form, so somehow it did that. Makes it hard to believe its just some harmless energy cloud previously to Henry giving it its “shape”.

In season 3, in the scene where Possessed!Billy confronts El- which we can probably confirm this was Henry speaking through Billy- why does he switch to using plurals when talking about something else with him in the UD? If its just him and this thing is just a random, idk, energy cloud that he is using as a tool, why does he talk about it as if its more a partner in crime than an extension of himself, so to speak? Like why would he say things like "We see you" and "We've been building it" when he could just have said "I see you. I've been building it" etc, why the switch to plurals, why make it sound/seem like there is more than ONE intelligent force at work here. Could that mean something? Again put it with the other things I've mentioned here.

If this is JUST him and none of the other beings in the UD have any type of consciousness on their own, they're all just tools and extensions of Henry, why would he not just say "I'm" and "I've". The shift in pronouns happens seemingly for a reason, it seems to suggest at least one other "consciousness" working along side him.

He could be just talking about the Demos but the Demos didn't help anyone build "IT" (the spider monster proxy, which is what I think he’s talking about here). We see the MF fragment and the Vines doing that.

But we also know Vecna's involvement doesn't seem to really be a thing, PERSONALLY, until the end of S3, when he takes control over Billy, separating him from the rest of the Flayed to use as a remote vessel THOUGH it also seemed like he NEEDED the mindflayer to invade Billy in order to be able to take over Billy HIMSELF later on. Flaying Billy doesn't seem to have been done by his own power or direction alone because we also know part of the purpose of the Spider Monster was to steal power from Eleven, power that Vecna claimed he needed to open "his own" gates. This admission suggests the reason we didn't see very much of Henry and Henry didn't appear to be an explicitly active party in the Hawkins-Upside down invasion previously to s4 and somewhere in s3 is that Henry didn't have the power to act himself in any meaningful way.

It seems to suggest he could observe though the hivemind, but his actual personal impact was minor. And if he didn't have the power to involve himself personally until he stole that power from Eleven, as he seems to say himself, why do we think he’s been souly in control of everything going on? Wouldn't we have seen more of Vecna!Henry before s4? Why wouldn’t he just do what he did in s4 in the start? And why did Henry lose so much power in the first place when he was pretty powerful when he first got to the upside down- or at least during the lab massacre. Did he use it doing something in the upside down or was he just out of power after his fight with El back in the lab? It seems theres a big hunk of missing info here but I'm content to leave that all up to speculation and say I could be wrong, we’re gonna need S5 to really confirm this if this is visited again. Nevertheless, putting that particular angle aside, why do we think Dustin is suddenly wrong about his summary of Vecna being the MF's five star general when he hasn't been wrong before?

Why did Dustin previously describe the MF as an ancient malevolent entity if thats not somehow true to what it actually is? I mean, theres really not a lot of other way to describe it unless you wanna believe it really is just some... Random.. Cloud.. Thing.. that was just chilling in the UD.. For no reason? And Henry just come along and slapped a saddle on it and said yippee ki yay mother fucker, I'm off to go abuse some kids cos that makes sense and thats it? Usually, Dustin is used to dumb the plot down for people. He's not used to misdirect people or give irrelevant info.

Next we have the fact that all the characters that were used for inspo in crafting Vecna as a character have these things in common: They were all former humans who were horrifically 'transformed' into monsters and+OR they were 'contacted' by a (usually evil) "god-like" being that they chose to "serve" for some reason or another (Usually some type of coercion or trickery is involved in some shape or form.)

With Pinhead, a character claimed to be Henry's main inspo, it was his disillusionment with humanity and "god" after being traumatized by his participation on WW1 -- He is basically the lead cenobite who serves the Leviathan. So as not to stretch the post here is some info on the Levithan of the hellraiser universe that I think is very relevant and very interesting to the sneak peek of the Upside Down’s effect on Hawkins at the very end of s4.

With DnD Vecna its the Serpent, I'm repeating myself again from a billon previous posts here but I think this description sums things up: "An entity known only as the Serpent speaks directly to Vecna. Others—daring to call themselves wizards, magicians, and sorcerers—manipulate the tiniest aspects of the Serpent and call it magic. But Vecna speaks to the Serpent, and the Serpent speaks back."

The Serpent is the one who gave Vecna his powers in the DnD lore when Vecna was still a human, it is the force the guided him, essentially. Beside Vecna's "evil mother", the Serpent had a MASSIVE part in shaping Vecna into becoming the demi-god lich he becomes in the DnD lore. Another interesting something about the Serpent in the DnD lore is that in religious iconography within the DnD universe, the Serpent is depicted as a serpent made of cloud and lightning snaking down from the sky and whispering into Vecna's ear, telling him the secret of lichdom. Like? Really? This is nothing? Freddy Kurger is another big inspo, particularly for Vecna’s powers and murders, and their impact. Freddy was a human transformed into a monster by the Dream Demons (demonic nightmare entities). Even though Freddy was Evil Tm previous to his transformation, the Dream Demons gave Freddy this power because they wanted to use him as a means to merge the Dream World with the Awake World. Moreover, Freddy boosts this power by somehow capturing/consuming the souls of his victims. Hmmm? I BELIEVE the Duffer brothers straight up said Nightmare on Elm Street 3 was a huge inspiration for Vecna’s powers and the general plot of s4. Chrissy’s death was also suppose to be a direct reference to Tina’s death, where she ends up on the roof lol. We also can assume Henry might take some inspo from Henry Bowers of the IT universe because we know Stephan King’s universe has been referenced in canon multiple times. The Mindflayer, even prior to Vecna's introduction who also shares similar traits, seemed to take inspiration from IT/The deadlights.

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The Deadlights were writhing, radiant orange lights that were a mysterious but very deadly and terrifying eldritch form of energy that originated from the preternatural dimension known as the Macroverse (also known as the Todash Darkness). The Deadlights are the true form of Pennywise/IT. Pennywise uses its Deadlights to break a person’s mind because one look at the Deadlights will make a person go insane due to it not being able to be comprehended by a human mind. Pennywise’s spider form, the form that he doesn’t pick from the victim’s mind, is the closest our minds can come to comprehending the deadlights without going insane. Upon looking at the Deadlights, Beverly hears sounds of children screaming, including an older person who shouted "HELP ME!!!". This implied that the Deadlights, and, to an extension, It, did not just eat their flesh and fear, but their souls as well.

Further

IT will manipulate its prey by promising them what they want, but can also determine their psychological fears and utilize them to provoke or cow those it faces. IT has some ability to control the actions of others, most blatantly when It provokes Henry Bowers psychotic tendencies to kill his father and friends, and later acts as its agent in hunting the Losers. Even 27 years later Bowers remains submissive to It.

None of this means anything? This is all just re/misdirection? I mean, maybe I could believe that if this wasn't stuff you have to be paying KEEN attention to the character, the plot, and the OUT OF CANON homages the character pays to other characters in the horror genre to pick any of this up. Its not really something that's so explicit your average fan and watcher is gonna grab it. I clocked this shit purely because I'm an autistic weirdo who over thinks and I happen to also be a fan of a LOT of the stuff the Duffers for s4 in particular used as reference. (The thing, IT, Carrie, Hellraiser, Nightmare on Elm St, Dracula, etc) Lastly, on the topic of Will. In the Piggyback episode, when we’re going back over things that have somehow related to Vecna prior to season 4 we’re shown a handful of things: such as El opening the first gate by touching the Demogorgon. This established that Brenner was actually making her look for Henry, which El didn’t know, and then we’re shown her trying to close the gates thereafter. Then we’re shown the thing with the Spider Monster proxy in S3 where Vecna says he had to get her power to open his own gates. And thats all we’re shown for “Vecnas acts.” So its curious to me that there was no showing of the MF and Will in s2 or the abduction of Will by the Demogorgon either. Maybe this is because it could be viewed as a spoiler or maybe its indicating that Henry might not have been personally involved in that as I’m suspecting along with these other things. Will is suppose to be a cleric. A wizard. Will personally depicts himself as a wizard based on his DnD character. In DnD lore a cleric gets their powers due to having some type of commune with a god/deity. Sometimes, and in a manner that is true to Will, the cleric did not choose this. The deity "chooses" the cleric. This, IMO, so far, is what links Henry and Will. Both of them are symbolized by magic and wizardry. And what Vecna of DnD has in common with the Cleric of DnD is that he was also "chosen" by a deity. This seems to reflect as well in stranger things canon because it seems more likely that Will was, for reasons currently unknown, "chosen" by the mindflayer as this deity, who also seems to heavily represent the Serpent for Henry/Vecna and “chose” him too. We literally do not know if Henry was personally behind Will's "selection." This could have even been an accident and the MF "chose" Will for some reason AFTER the abduction because we have nothing to actually canonly confirm that the Demogorgon was acting as a proxy for either Vecna OR the mindflayer, and rather wasn't just initially doing the shit Demogorgon's do based on the fact we have seen the Demogorgon's are parasitic in nature and they SEEM to implant their young into the bodies of other creatures as part of their life-cycle. This happed to Barb too, not just Will. This seemed to be the purpose behind the Demo abducting ANYONE and taking them back to the UD in the first season. We also have the fact that Will was in fact dead for a short time and we don't know why exactly the Vine decided to be in his mouth. Beside the fact we’ve seen that apparently the Vines also like to drain the life from things as shown in season 2 in the underground “feeding hub.” Its still completely unclear and NOT covered via anything canon if the vine was in Will for another reason or if it was just trying to snack on him. Fan theories are fine and all but they are literally just fan theories, not canon fact, canon could go anywhere at the moment. What we do know however is that Will, through his expereinces with the UD creatures, none of whom we can confirm were ever actually Henry personally, has forged a type of link with them all thanks to his personal and failed induction into the actual hive mind in season 2. I PERSONALLY think thats what "Wills powers" are and that hes not gonna suddenly get anymore powers beyond his weird link with the UD creatures, even if I'm not gonna rule that out completely because there is a lot to be seen yet. It is possible though, particularly going back to Nightmare on Elm St 3, since a part of the plot of that movie is that the teens that face off against Freddy manage to get “powers” in the Dream world.

OH and also... The Serpent in DnD sometimes takes the form of a dragon. Isn’t that interesting? Given Will’s painting, of the party facing off against a dragon. Like that could be a season 5 clue maybe too. As far as ACTUAL CANON goes, Will's link to Henry comes from that link with the hive mind, since Henry's also part of the hive mind. If the creatures in the hive mind are all able to share consciousness, memories, perception, etc, as needed which explains why Will is able to psychically link up to Vecna. And also explains why it seems that Will was confused to learn Vecna existed, because he had never actually knew Vecna was there before to consciously feel/search for him. (Again, It could also be because Vecna's presence was apparently somehow radically diminished for some unknown reason until he was able to absorb some of Eleven’s power through the Mf/Spider proxy in s3 which is suggested) It also might explain why Vecna seems oblivious to Will, because this link between them isn't EXACTLY personal and it has occurred entirely through a third party, though the hive mind. Though again! Theres a lot here that could be expanded on and explored so I prefer not to speculate on where that is going TOO much just yet. That being said, I really cannot see Henry being confirmed for a p*do child abuser in s5. Its almost incomprehensible to me that this is an outcome some people in this fandom genuinely want and think is the most logical take. Like, I really can't see that being an accurate read, particularly not with the way Jamie, the Duffers and even Noah speak of Vecna. (Which seems to be more fondly than anything? As far as I’ve seen). Idk, I feel the fact they all seem to like the character is also some sort of clue here but if y’all really think and REALLY want that to be the outcome then... Ok? Each to their own I suppose but we really don't know yet and can’t confirm anything so acting like this is true irrefutable canon rn is bizarre and slightly unfair for fans of the character- which is my point and I’ll stick to idea that my latest obviously autistic “”queer coded”” fav isn't a depraved gay p*dophile stereotype until I’m shown otherwise in s5. But YEAH, that aside, what are your thoughts here. Sure its possible that this is all like, intended to be inverted in Vecna, but I'd like to hear what y'all think about it anyway because there is just as likely a possibility that all of this is played straight and not inverted at all. And if you guys choose NOT to engage with this post because I'm just a delusional cringe fail apologist or whatever ok, cool, but I thought I'd ask anyway because I'm seriously interested in what you make of all the stuff I’ve talked about that shaped my opinions at this point cos I’ve never seen either of you mention any of it in anything before.

#henry creel #vecna #001 #william byers #billy hargrove #el hopper #jane hopper #byler #stranger things analysis #stranger things theory #Old man yells at cloud

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fandumbstuff · 3 years

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The DC Extended Universe, Ranked Best to Worst.

1. Wonder Woman Directed by Patty Jenkins

Wonder Woman might be the only good movie that DC has made. Patty Jenkins really hits the nail on the head and perfectly captures the voice of the character. For a character so old and so iconic, there are many versions of Diana’s story, but Patty Jenkins really manages to deliver a definitive version. Gal Gadot, like Christopher Reeve or Chadwick Boseman before her, is perfectly cast in a role that is so much more than just a movie character. Diana is as strong as she is compassionate. The character flaws she needs to overcome is her own naivete, rather than the misguided angst so many of DC’s other characters grapple with. While other action sequences in the franchise have been overly cluttered, Wonder Woman’s cinematography offers some of the slickest, most iconic action scenes in the genre. It’s an altogether incredible achievement and a milestone for cinema in general.

2. Wonder Woman 1984 Directed by Patty Jenkins

The greatest fault I could find with this movie is that it didn’t lean into the 80s setting more. It does tread the line of a rather schmaltzy central plot, but solid performances from cast members like Pedro Pascal make it believable. It’s an absolute joy to see Gadot and Pine return to their roles, and an even greater joy to see ther choice of outfits for every scene. Solid. While Kristen Wiig is expectedly brilliant like with everything she does, she’s handling a character arc that seems derivative and outdated. Like it’s predecessor, WW84 showcases some pretty stellar action sequences, with Jenkins once again showing a knowing eye for big, impressive set pieces paired with frenetically paced fight sequences.

3. Aquaman Directed by James Wan

After the convoluted mess of ensemble films like Suicide Squad and Justice League, and even some of Marvel’s recent fare, it was refreshing to see a more traditional origin story. This was ultimately what drew my interest to superheroes in general, and while this film doesn’t have the same elegance of a Superman (1978) or Batman Begins, it’s an origin story that modern audiences can sign on for easily. It’s strongest scenes are in the lore-expanding quest that Arthur and Mera go on, simultaneoulsy a National Treasure-esque adventure and a showcase for solid chemistry between Jason Momoa and Amber Heard. And while Ocean Master does seem like an exaggerated villain at times, It’s Patrick Wilson’s solid performance that manages to sell it and make him arguably the best villain DC’s had.

4. Shazam! Directed by David F. Sandberg

Obviously, an inordinate amount of fun. Shazam doesn’t try and be something it’s not. Ultimately, more than any other superhero film, Shazam understands that this genre was always intended for children. And while at times the plot might seem thin or the conflict inconsequential, Shazam never loses sight of it’s heart. A capable cast of child actors make this believable, and subverting the genre tropes makes the film charming and witty. While it seems overly simplistic in terms of it’s storytelling, in DC’s world of confusing plots, this is a welcome change.

5. Man of Steel Directed by Zack Snyder

Perhaps the strangest portrayal of Superman to date, Zack Snyder honed in on the mythos of the character and what makes him “super” Unfortunately, it seems to completely ignore what makes him a “man”. We’re left with a wholly alien representation of the character- a gross misunderstanding of who Superman is supposed to be. Horrible character choices for both Jor-El and Jonathan Kent leave Clark a shell of the hero he’s supposed to be. We’re left with a character more willing to grapple with moral dilemmas and his own inner angst than actually step up and do the right thing. Henry Cavill has an undeniably affective presence, and he certainly feels right for the role, but he’s never given a chance to actually play the part. Aesthetically pleasing to look at, and generally quite entertaining, it’s unfortunately the way Man of Steel fails its character that makes it so unbearable.

6. Birds of Prey (And the rest of the title) Directed by Cathy Yan

I mean, this is basically just a Harley Quinn movie with some other random characters thrown in. Considering Margot Robbie wrote the film, I find it particularly bothersome that the most work she does for character development is for her own character. We see brief intriguing glimpses of some of the other Birds and unfortunately never get more than a taste. Some of the fight scenes are handling quite capably, trading in the more grittier feel of the standard DC fare for more amusing prop and set work. However, much like Suicide Squad before it, I feel like the movie suffers from “soundtrack vomit”- a post Guardians of the Galaxy symptom in which a movie tries to assemble catchy songs and them slot them into the edit with no real motivation.

7. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Directed by Zack Snyder

An absolute misfire from DC in a sad attempt to make themselves relevant amidst Marvel’s runaway success. A focal point in the movie is the collateral damage caused by Superman in Man of Steel. And apparently the best way for the movie to deliberate on this is by exhibiting even more collateral damage. Showcasing the conflict between these two iconic characters seems like a good idea on paper, and it’s certainly been captivating in past comics. But the movie seems to devolve it into nothing more than a bar fight between two dumb jocks. We see Batman get cyber bullied by Lex Luthor, and Superman get coerced by a stupid plot hole. Then they beat each other up like idiots. A movie that spawned a thousand jokes, it’s really only worth watching to make fun of.

8. Joker Directed by Todd Philips

Apparently, this movie isn’t supposed to be counted as part of DC’s Film Universe. But I couldn’t resist the opportunity to remind you what a steaming pile of garbage it is. It would be inaccurate to even call this a movie. It’s really just a desperate actor trying to win an Oscar from an Academy that continues to be woefully out of touch. And an even more pathetic attempt by a incel director to stay relevant. The talented work from it’s cinematographer and composer force me to show some restraint from putting it at the bottom of this list, but rest assured- while there might be films I put below this, there are none I hate more.

9. Justice League Directed by Zack Snyder(?)

Painful to watch, I went into this movie with the lowest of expectations, and they were somehow not met at all. It feels altogether rushed, poorly constrcuted and boring all at the same time. They forego any need for world building and instead toss us headfirst into a horribly convoluted storyline. They rush through an origin for Cyborg and introduce Aquaman like he’s the douchebag you never invited who shows up to your houseparty. Batman over-compensates for his eye-rolling seriousness in the last movie by being overly witty in this one. And they solve Superman’s death by having a hilarious grave robbing scene that I guess is supposed to be funny but is so ridiculous to watch that it felt more at place in an Adam Sandler movie. And to top it all off, the movie in general is one big eyesore. It’s honestly painful to watch the shoddy CGI that constitutes the main antagonist and the waves of enemies we watch the JL plow through. And while the opening scene I think is supposed to be a last ditch effort for them to make Superman relevant, it would be promising if I could look past his god awful CGI lip.

10. Suicide Squad Directed by David Ayer

A hilarious comedy where the characters don’t actually have any dialogue and instead just speak in one-liners. A touching romantic drama where the Joker abuses Harley Quinn. A moving character study where Deadshot just wants to be a better father by killing Batman. A thrilling action movie where we hope the heroes can overcome Cara Delevigne’s dumb dancing and blow up the generic pillar of doom she’s summoned in the middle of Gotham. Suicide Squad is all of these things and more- so there’s my rousing endorsement.

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imherongraystairstrash · 4 years

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The Broken Hearts (tsc AU) Part 1

A/N: I’m sorry if you’re tired of Ella Herondale, but I can’t get enough of her! This is about the “second wave” of TID children. Ella is NOT cannon, and I don’t think she ever will be, but I had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope you guys get a kick out of reading it! Also, if anyone has a better title, I’d really appreciate it, since I had no idea what to name this😂

It’s official. Ella was going to be single for life. She stared out as her parabatai Alex Lightwood danced with Matilda Fairchild. He twirled her and her skirts fanned out. Ella could see the smile on her face, that made her look so pretty. When they faced each other once more it was as though there was nobody else watching; as though the only person that mattered in the world was the one in front of them. Ella could feel it through her parabatai bond. It was incredibly annoying.

It wasn’t only Alex and Matty. Everybody in Ella’s life had someone they loved. Ella heard that, over time, adults start fighting more often or get bored with each other, and begin to drift apart, followed by a divorce. That was a load of werewolf droppings. At least, the adults in Ella’s life were sick with adoration for each other. And her parents? They were leading the army. Uncle Gabriel and Aunt Cecily still shared a mischievous and lustful glance at each other, even though they were well into their 50s. Sophie and Gideon still made doe eyes at one another. Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Henry, James and Cordelia, her parents, the whole lot of them. They were all so deep in love, they might as well have been drowning.

Except for Ella.

Ella had nobody.

The World War will end before Ella finds someone to love. And it’s been more than four years since the prospect of war wasn’t hanging over their heads.

Ella sighed and turned her attention elsewhere, only to find Jocelyn Fairchild (Matilda’s twin sister) and That Carstairs Boy dancing together. (Ella strictly referred to Cordelia’s younger brother as “That Carstairs boy” or “Carstairs boy” just to spite him and as payback for The Incident). How sad. Oh, how incredibly sad. Ella missed being in love so much. That feeling when you catch someone’s eye across the room and the rest of the world dims. The way it feels to have someone’s soft lips on your own. How it feels to be loved by someone.

Ella was still thinking about her sad and unfortunate love life when Alex walked over, pulled up a chair and sat down beside her.

“El?”

“Huh? Oh, I didn’t see you there.”

“Uh, you clearly did. I could feel your depressive gaze from a mile away.”

“I’m sorry to ruin your wonderful dance with Matilda Fairchild. I’m sorry I was staring at you because I was lonely and have nobody to dance with me other than Jonathan Dearborn.”

They both shuddered.

“By the angel, I hate him.” said Alex.

“You don’t have the right! I’m the one he keeps staring at and fawning over. It’s horrible. He’s literally staring at me right now.”

Sure enough, there was Dearborn, looking at Ella…well, at her body mostly.

Alex stood up. “I’ll make sure he never looks at anyone with those eyes again.”

“No, Alex, sit down. I don’t need your help. I can fight my own battles.”

Alex reluctantly took his seat.

“Tell me about Matty.”

“You know Matty.”

“Yes, but you are so desperately in love with her, I thought it would be adorably sweet to hear stumble over your words when you describe her.”

Alex blushed. “I’m not in love with her.”

“You’re not fooling anybody, Alex. Just twenty minutes ago, Aunt Cecily whispered ‘it’s happening!’.”

“What’s happening?”

“My words exactly and she told me, and I quote ‘The Lightwoods and the Fairchilds are finally interbreeding’. Her words, not mine.”

Alex banged his head on the table repeatedly.

“Are we killing our neurons?”

“Ew, get out of here, Carstairs Boy.” Ella said, scrunching her face as she looked at Carstairs Boy.

“Seriously? You’re still mad at me? Ellie, I said I was sorry fifty times.”

“It doesn’t matter. Besides, are you implying that a simple apology can fix the damage you did?”

“You’re impossible.”

“Correction: I’m a free independent woman, who will stand up for herself against men who wish to contain me.”

Anna Lightwood was walking by just as Ella said that. She didn’t stop, only held her hand up for Ella to high five as she passed.

“You tell him, Ellie.” She said.

Carstairs Boy sank down in a chair, meanwhile Alex kept banging his head.

“Alex!” Ella said.

“What?” He said. He sounded mournful.

“Stop doing that! You are giving me a headache.”

That’s the bad thing about being parabatai: you feel what the other does. In Ellie’s case, the banging of a head against a table.

“What happened?” Carstairs Boy asked him.

“I do not want to talk about it.” mumbled Alex.

Ella looked over at Matty, who was kneeling beside Henry’s Bath chair, surrounded her aunts and uncles. She said something that made them all laugh. She caught Ella’s eye and waved, smiling widely. Ella blew her a kiss.

Ella couldn’t have chosen someone better than for Alex to love than Matilda Fairchild. She’s truly one of the sweetest people she had ever met. She is perfect for Alex. They compliment each other so well; whenever Alex was awkward (which was most of the time), Matilda was there to even things out. And whenever someone was trying to take advantage of her kindness, Alex was there to put them in their place.

“I approve.”

“Of what?” said Alex.

“Of your relationship with Matty.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Ella smiled. “You’re very welcome.”

“Uh oh,” said Carstairs Boy, “Dearborn alert.”

Ella looked up and saw Jonathan striding over to them.

“Quick Alex, stop moping and ask me to dance.”

“What?” he said, peeling his eyes away from Matty.

“Ugh, never mind you are so lovesick, you’re going to get us killed.”

“You can dance with me,” offered Carstairs Boy, “but you’re going to have to call me by my name.”

“Carstairs Boy.”

“My actual name.”

“Not happening.” said Ella. Apparently, stubbornness was an inherited trait.

“Ella, Would you do me the honor.” said a voice from behind.

Ella turned and was face to face with none other than Benjamin Penhallow.

This could not be happening.

#tsc #tsc au #tsc fanfiction #tsc au fanfiction #tsc fanfic #tid #tlh fanfiction #tlh au #tlh fanfic #shadowhunters au #will herondale #tessa gray #Alex lightwood #herondale #lightwood #carstairs

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hms-chill · 4 years

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Secondly: Alex always saying sweet things to Henry in Spanish but won't tell him what any of it means, and he's always google translating them and awe-ing at how cute Alex is and then like maybe he learns how to say something adorable to and says it to Alex and Alex just like melts or something

I present to you: “Speaking My Language”

“¿Lo amas, cierto?”

“Por supuesto. Lo amo más que a nada.”

Henry, resting his head on his boyfriend’s lap, blinks up at Alex and hums a question. He’s too jet lagged to be paying attention to the Diaz conversation happening above him, even if it was in English, but Alex sounds so happy. Henry isn’t used to that tender tone being used for anyone or anything other than him, but Alex just strokes his hair and says, “It’s nothing, baby.”

“Are you talking about me?”

“Nah; we’re talking policy. Boring American things. Sleep, Corazón.”

That hadn’t sounded like Alex’s politics tone, but Henry is too tired to care too much in the moment. Instead, his brain sticks on the last word, and he asks, “What’s that mean?”

“It means I love you.”

“I love you.” Henry turns his head to kiss Alex’s wrist, and as he closes his eyes, he hears Alex say, “Papá, lo amo tanto. Más de lo que nunca pensé que podría amar a nadie en el mundo.”

“Y yo los amo a los dos, mijo. Mis hijos.” Oscar comes to sit on the couch next to Alex, pulling him into a hug, and Alex is so full of love he thinks he might burst. Henry feels Alex’s hand stop moving through his hair and presses a kiss to his boyfriend’s jeans, and Alex squeezes his shoulder gently before going back to playing with Henry’s hair. Just before he falls asleep, Henry hears Alex start to sing in Spanish, Oscar joining him. The last thought that crosses Henry’s jet-lagged mind is that he should learn Spanish.

He starts with Duolingo, just like anyone else who wants to learn a language, building his vocabulary in pieces on the way to the shelter or in other stolen moments. Some of the kids at the youth shelter speak Spanish, or are taking it in school, and he practices with them, fumbling his way through sentences and making sure they take him off any princely pedistels they might have him on. When he can, he’ll get lessons from them or, occasionally, from June over the phone. He holds onto the things that made Alex happiest, and once he figures out which kids will tell him the truth, he asks one of them what “Corazón” means. She grins.

“That means ‘heart’. It’s a term of endearment sometimes, like ‘sweetheart’, but without the sweet part and more personal? So more like 'you’re my heart’? It means the person who said it loves you a lot.” Henry smiles, and she asks, “Where’d you hear it?”

“My boyfriend. He and his dad were speaking Spanish, and I asked what they said. He said it was nothing, but I’m not so sure. I think he’s just shy. What about “amo”? I heard that a lot; what does it mean?“

"That’s 'I love’,” the girl says, smiling at him, and Henry blushes. He’s heard that word quite a bit in Alex’s Spanish conversations.

“One more? What… what does "hijos” mean? His dad called us that, and it made him really happy, but I think I keep spelling it wrong when I try to translate it.“

"That’s… 'sons’, translated literally. Or like… 'boys’? But not like 'those boys over there’, more like 'kiddos’ sort of? Did you hear any context?”

“I think it was just 'mis hijos’.”

“'My sons’ or 'my boys’, then. What?”

“It’s… thank you. You’re the best,” Henry says past the lump in his throat.

“Henry? You okay?”

“I’m fine; thank you, really. How’s your homework coming? Want me to proofread your essay?”

“Sure. Then you should tell me more of the things your boyfriend says about you.”

Henry laughs, turning to her essay. Still, there’s a warmth in his chest that he hadn’t expected.

Mis hijos. My boys.

Bea finds out what he’s doing, probably from June, and she’s the one who gets him connected with a tutor. It’s a birthday gift, and she makes sure to find someone who can be flexible and chat when Alex isn’t around. Somehow, the lessons feel like something Alex doesn’t need to know about. If he knew, he might stop murmuring Spanish phrases before they go to bed. He might stop talking to his family or the kids at the shelter in Spanish, or at least, it would feel less secretive. Plus, personally, Henry wants to wait until he’s conversational to reveal his newfound ability.

The bonus of Alex’s not knowing Henry can speak a bit of Spanish is that Henry gets to hear his say things he’s too embarrassed or shy to say in English. “Te amo”, I love you, is a common one, murmured before bed or in response to a morning coffee. “Dios mio”, my god, isn’t rare, and neither is “puto/a/x” (fucker/bitch). But then there are things like “me encantas”, which his tutor translates as “you enchant me”, or “eres mi mundo, mi cielo, y todas mis estrellas”. That one comes late enough that Henry can translate some of it on his own, and he makes sure to google “cielo” and “mundo” on the way into work the next morning. He melts in the back of the car. Apparently, he’s Alex’s world, his sky, and all his stars.

He’s thought about when to reveal his new talent. He’d considered proposing in Spanish, but being married to a prince could be detrimental to Alex’s career, and they’ve already promised each other forever. They’ve talked about it, but no matter how desperate the world is for another royal wedding, neither of them feel the need to jump through every international legal hoop. They love each other, and besides, Henry’s already given Alex a ring. It hangs around his neck every day, a constant reminder of their promise. Alex had noticed him rubbing the skin where it used to sit and picked up a simple gold band, just big enough to fiddle with, so perhaps they’ve already gotten accidentally engaged.

Instead, he considers Alex’s birthday, waking him up with kisses and Spanish terms of endearment. It would make a nice gift, and it’ll give him time to clean up his conjugation a bit.

As it turns out, he slips up well before March.

Henry never celebrated Thanksgiving before he started dating Alex, and last year, he had to be in London so he could be in DC for Christmas. He knows about the holiday and its turkey-based chaos, of course, but they don’t celebrate it in England. So when he and Alex get dressed up and board the train to DC with a big plate of biscuits and David in a carrier, he’s not entirely sure what to expect. They’re supposed to be meeting Oscar at the train station, then going to the White House for some sort of family dinner tonight and a public appearance or two tomorrow, but beyond that, he’s unsure.

“Henry? It’s going to be fine. My family loves you; there’s no reason to be nervous.”

“I know. I know it’ll be fine; it just feels a bit weird. I’ve never celebrated Thanksgiving.”

“Right, well, I got you something for that.”

Alex pulls out a gift bag, and Henry takes it with a slight frown. “What’s this?”

“Open it.” Alex’s grin is shit-eating, and he beams when Henry sees what’s inside. It’s a tiny t-shirt that says “My First Thanksgiving!”.

“Thanks.”

“There’s a bib too; it came as a set. And as a bonus, I commissioned one in your size, and you’ve got to wear it tomorrow.”

He’s pulled out a crew neck sweatshirt with the same design as the baby shirt, complete with a cartoon turkey holding a knife and fork. It says “Stuffing” on the back, and when he flips the smaller one over, it says “Cornbread”.

“It’s after the turkeys who made me call you that first time. But for real, I thought maybe David could wear the baby one, since it’s his first Thanksgiving, too. And you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want; Nora and I were on Etsy together and–”

Henry cuts him off with a kiss, then says, “I’ll wear it. Es perfecto.” It’s perfect.

“¿Te gusta? ¿De verdad?“ You like it? Of verdad?

"Um, sí?” It comes out more of a question than he was anticipating, and Henry gets the distinct joy of watching Alex’s brain catch up to the rest of him.

“Wait, you know Spanish? You don’t speak Spanish. Do you?”

“Un poco.” A bit.

“You son of a bitch. How long have you known Spanish?”

“Um, a few months? Maybe? I wanted to learn after that night you called me 'Corazón’. Your… you sounded so happy, and I wanted to know what was happening.” And your dad called us his boys. I wanted to know what he said that made you so happy, and it was that he called us his boys.

“You little shit. I love you so much.”

“Te amo,” Henry says, watching Alex’s smile shift into something quieter, more personal. More full of love.

“Te amo para siempre.”

“I… you love me forever?”

“And ever and ever and ever,” Alex says. After a moment, he adds, “Does this mean we can talk shit in public now?”

“I’m not very good yet, but maybe? Right now, I can tell you I love you more publically.”

“That’s more important. Holy shit, now I can tell you how much I love you in front of your family. Henry. Te amo. Te adoro. That’s 'I adore you’. Um, let’s see, what else.” And for the rest of the train ride, Alex teaches Henry the basic Spanish he needs to know, which consists of a lovely mix of insults and terms of endearment.

When they get off at the station, Oscar is waiting for them with a massive grin, big hugs, and a cheer of, “Mis hijos!”

Henry feels Alex tense up for a second before he’s swept into Oscar’s hug, and he makes a mental note to ask about that. But then he’s getting a hug, too, and Alex is opening David’s carrier and getting his leash on, and they’ve got an excited beagle to deal with, and they’re all piling into a van to the White House. Things are equally hectic there, down to the two new turkeys (Potatoes and Green Bean) who’ve taken up residence in Alex’s room.

It isn’t until they’re in bed that night, trying to ignore Green Bean’s stare, that Henry gets a chance to ask, “Everything alright?”

“Everything’s perfect. Tomorrow I get to watch you wear a stupid sweater and eat loads with my family. Why?”

“You… you tensed up when we met up with your dad.”

“Oh, uh, yeah. I… it’s just… he called us hijos, and you… do you know that one yet?”

“Yeah, I… one of the kids explained it to me.”

“I just… I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it. I know he’s used it before, but I also know you miss your dad a lot, and I didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable. You don’t have to be okay with it; I can ask him to stop if you want and he’ll get it. He doesn’t mean to replace your dad or anything; I know he doesn’t. But he loves you a lot. They all do. We all do. Them not as much as me, obviously, but seriously. You’re… we all think of you as family.”

“I… I know. And it makes me happy. When your dad calls us hijos, I mean. It… it’s nice.”

Alex grins at that, cuddling in closer. Then Green Bean gobbles, and Alex lets out a quiet, “Dios mio.” Henry laughs.

“You sure you don’t want to sleep in my room?”

“I think that might be wise. I thought I could beat them this year, I really did.”

“Hold on a second; get the lights on?” Henry asks. Alex does, and Henry opens his instagram stories.

“So, I’m in the White House, it’s around midnight, maybe? We’ve got to be up for an appearance around nine tomorrow morning, and I’m going to show you all my very favorite Thanksgiving tradition. It’s when this one,” he flips the camera to Alex, who’s eyeing Green Bean suspiciously, “insists on keeping two live turkeys in his room instead of letting them spend a night in a hotel. Then, he gets scared–”

“I am not scared! I’m wary. Intelligently so; I’ve seen Jurassic Park.”

“He gets wary, and he calls me to protect him. That’s right, Alex. Let the motherland look after you. I’ll keep you safe from these vicious American monsters.” He stops the recording on a shot of himself hugging Alex protectively, and Alex agrees to let him post it on two conditions: “You wear the 'my first Thanksgiving’ sweatshirt on live TV, and I get a recording of you speaking Spanish.”

“I’ll butcher the Spanish.”

“It doesn’t matter. If you post that, I get a recording of you speaking Spanish.”

Henry agrees as they make it to his room, falling into bed together, happy to be out from under Green Bean’s watchful eyes. Alex falls asleep first, and Henry reaches for his phone. He’s not sure how often Alex uses voice memos, but there’s a recent recording, so Henry starts another titled “Corazón” and says, softly enough not to wake him, “Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz, eres mi mundo, mi cielo, y todas mis estrellas. Me encantas, y te amo. Te amo muchísimo. Eres el novio de mis fantasías, y soy la persona más feliz del mundo contigo. Te amo, corazón.”

Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz, you are my world, my sky, and all my stars. You enchant me, and I love you. I love you so much. You are the boyfriend of my dreams, and I am happier than anyone in the world with you. I love you, my heart.

On AO3

Notes:

Please excuse my Spanish; I was mediocre four years ago and haven’t practiced since. But here are some (intended) translations for the first conversation, which I believe is the only untranslated bit:“You love him, yeah?”“Of course. I love him more than anything.”…“Dad, I love him so much. More than I ever thought I could love anything in the world.”“And I love you both, son. My boys”

Edit: A massive shoutout to @felinarealista for fixing my Spanish; you’re an angel

#rwrb #rwrb fic #red white and royal blue #red white and royal blue fic #henry fox mountchristen windsor x alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor #alex claremont diaz #spanish #but like... probably bad spanish #it's been a hot sec #FirstPrince #my fic: rwrb

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wayward-wren · 3 years

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Alright I’m losing my mind how do u feel about infodumping this new thing you’re watching bc ily and want to know what you’re talking about XD

Oh boy oh boy anon, have you opened the flood gates. *cracks knuckles* I’m always down to info dump. (gets kind long so i’m putting a cut in)

The Dream SMP is a Minecraft multiplayer server owned by Dream, and most of the stuff happens over on live streams on twitch. Some content creators post highlight videos on their youtube channels, which was how I started, but it doesn’t quite fully catch the whole story and nuances (that being said I’d recommend TommyInnit, Wilbur Soot or Technoblade as a good place to get started, they all have youtube playlists on their channels)

The server starts off like a normal survival server, but then TommyInnit joins and starts stirring up trouble. This sparks off the disc war (fighting over Tommy’s most prized possessions on the server (keep that in mind) a couple of discs he’s managed to get (Cat and Mellohi most importantly)) and the pet war (Between Tommy and Sapnap, involving a lot of animal deaths, including Tommy’s cow Henry). I’m a little unclear on the early days of the server, cos I’ve only seen a few youtube highlights, but that’s the gist of it.

Then Wilbur Soot joins the server. With Tommy, Tommy’s friend Tubbo, Eret and Fundy (who is Wilbur’s son and also a fox in lore), they create a new country of L’manburg, declaring independence from the rest of the server. Dream, the owner of the server, doesn’t like this idea and it sparks the first war - the battle for independence. After fighting, a betrayal which still hangs over the heads of everyone even now, and a whole lot of tnt, Tommy challenges Dream to a 1v1 duel for independence. He loses, but sacrifices both his prized discs to Dream, securing L’manberg’s independence.

There’s a time of peace, other characters like Niki join L’manburg and then Wilbur announces an election because he wasn’t democratically elected and wanted to secure that power. They tell Quackity - another member of the SMP who isn’t allowed in L’manburg because he’s not European and L’manberg is for Europeans only - and he decides he’s running as well.

A last-minute entry from JSchlatt and a party alliance between Quackity and Schlatt meant that Schlatt barely won the election. Schatt’s first decree is to exile Tommy and Wilbur, and they’re chased out of L’manburg by a rain of arrows. The walls are torn down, the flag burned by Fundy and a new flag erected and L’manberg is renamed Manberg.

Tommy and Wilbur find shelter in an underground canyon they name Pogtopia, Tubbo is left behind and recruited to be a mole/spy for them and they call in the help of an old friend - Technoblade.

(An aside here, Techno, Tommy, Wilbur and another Minecraft youtube - Philza - have a group dynamic called the Sleepy Boys Incorporated. Lots of people headcanon them as a family, with Phil being the father and the others being brothers, but I like Phil being Wilbur’s father, Tommy being adopted/just showing up and they can’t get rid of him, and Techno being an old friend of Phil’s who’s about Wilbur’s age)

Schlatt announces a Festival. Tubbo is in charge of decorations for it and is also giving a speech. On the way back after spying on the announcement, Wilbur turns to Tommy and asks if they’re being the bad guys. He then announces “let’s be the badguys” and despite Tommy’s protests, gets a Whole Lotta TnT of Dream.

The day of the festival arrives - Wilbur has rigged the entirety of Manburg with tnt. Wilbur and Tommy spy on the festivals while Techno who was invited joins in. Then, after Tubbo’s speech - which is going to be the cue to explode it all - things start to go wrong. Schlatt and Quackity trap Tubbo in a box, and Techno is called up to execute him because Schlatt figured out he was a mole.

Techno does because of mild peer pressure, Wilbur goes to find the button but can’t, Techno goes on a rampage and murders a whole bunch of people, and Tommy is Upset. Back at Pogtopia he challenges Techno to a 1v1 fist fight which he loses (dude has not won a single 1v1)

Tubbo is now with Pogtopia, having lost the second of his three canon lives (as have Tommy and Wilbur at different points). Fundy reveals himself to be a spy for Pogtopia (though Wilbur still calls him his ‘traitor son’ and ‘look my son who I despise”), and Dream announces that there’s a traitor in their midst. A date is set for the final war.

The day arrives. There are 11 and a half stacks of tnt under Manberg. Techno shows the team his underground bunker and they all gear up. After a battle, Dream announces that they want to surrender, and shows them Schlatt, who dies to a very anticlimatic heart attack.

Wilbur appoints Tommy president, who declines and Tubbo becomes president instead. Then Wilbur slips off to the button room, saying that the thing he built the country for no longer exists (turns out he’s the traitor).

Then Philza, who had previously not been whitelisted, joins the server directly behind Wilbur and at the same moment, Techno shoots Tubbo, announcing that despite constantly saying he was fighting against government he’d been betrayed by them setting up a government right in front of him. Everyone starts fighting while Phil tries to talk Wilbur down. Wilbur doesn’t listen, hits the button, blows up Manberg and then asks Phil to kill him. Phil does, (somewhat reluctantly “you’re my son!”) and then rushes down to help the others fight the two withers that Techno just spawned.

In the aftermath, New L’manberg rises with Tubbo as president. Techno goes into retirement and Wilbur comes back as Ghostbur - who is extremely wholesome and has a bad memory, cos he’s not able to remember anything bad. There’s a stretch of peace, in which Ranboo joins the server, Ghostbur, Fundy and Phil have some family bonding, Ghostbur hands out blue which apparently sucks up sadness, and some side plots happen.

Then Tommy and Ranboo burn down the house of the current king of the smp and Dream takes his chance. Through various manipulations, threats, and forcing people into situations they don’t want to be from Dream, Tubbo exiles Tommy.

Tommy has a Hard Time in exile with Dream heavily manipulating him, to the point where he’s staring longingly at lava in the nether and being a shell of himself. Ghostbur hangs out with him for a bit (giving him and tubbo both compasses that point to each other) but just vanishes one day, leaving tommy completely alone with Dream. (it’s later revealed that Dream sent him off to wander in the snow - and turns out snow and rain melts him. He also finds a blue sheep who he calls Friend)

New L’manberg is rotting from the inside, Tubbo bowing more and more to the pressures of his new role and becoming more corrupt. He and his cabinet (Fundy and Quackity and Ranboo is there as well) put Phil under house arrest while trying to track down Techno to kill him.

Dream pushes a little too hard with Tommy, and Tommy towers high into the sky, realizes Dream was never his friend and leaves, finding shelter under Techno’s house.

The butcher army (Tubbo, Fundy, Quackity and Ranboo’s there too) capture Techno by holding his horse hostage and try to execute him, but he escapes with the help of Dream (which will come back because Techno now owes him a favour) and goes back home to find a feral Tommy living like a raccoon in his basement. Tubbo then goes to visit Tommy, only to find a creator where Dream blew everything up, and a tower reaching into the sky, with no sign of Tommy. He assumes Tommy is dead.

Techno and Tommy have been hanging out together, Tommy wanting to get his discs back (Tubbo having one he gave him as a symbol of trust and Dream having the other, but Techno wants to destroy L’manberg and the government) Tommy is slowly building up his confidence and sneaking back into L’manberg. Techno rescued Phil from his house arrest. Tubbo has been burying himself in projects and being mostly ooc which I translate to ‘my best friend just died and it’s partly my fault so I'm gonna go make a guardian farm and Not Think About That.’ Ranboo is the only one with any sense and can see that Dream is holding all the streams and that people shouldn’t be fighting, but working together to defeat him. He’s technically part of L’manberg, but he’s been hanging out with Techno and Tommy a fair bit.

And Dream commissioned a prison that is going to be completely inescapable. Like, completely. Like, the creator of the prison died and respawned inside it at one point and said it’d take him an hour to get out and he knows how it works and had to be teleported out. Like, this thing will send texts to the guards’ phones if a block is broken. We have no idea what it’s for and we are afraid.

In today’s stream, Tommy and Techno hold someone hostage in an effort to get Techno’s weapons back, Tommy and Tubbo properly see each other for the first time and get into a bit of a fight, Techno starts to slowly turn Tommy against Tubbo/the government and Tommy faces off with Dream, gaining enough confidence to cuss him out.

And that’s basically where we’re at now. This is a very rough outline of what happens, and I’ve left out most of the more cursed lore (Wilbur has fun) and a lot of the side plots (like the Crimson egg that’s been spreading, and El Rapids). If you wanna know more i’m down to info dump more and can provide you with links.

Also, real quick, check out the animatics! SAD-ist has some amazing ones, as does Late-August, The Channel Without a Name and a WHOLE lot of other’s whose names I forget. Honestly just search ‘dream smp animatic’ and spend a couple hours looking through them they’re AMAZING. I can provide you with links of those as well!

#dream smp #long post #anon #wren answers #INFO DUMP TIME LETS GO #there is so much more #i can go in depth about every character arc probably #and i haven't even touched the cursed lore so apologies if you stumble upon that

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sloumate · 5 years

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Hello my friends! Here I am, once again, with a recap of the fics that warmed my heart during 2018. It was a bit of a weird year for me, not gonna lie, the first half was very good (I graduated from uni, so there was that, yay), but the second half was a bit meh :\ i lost myself in the absolute uncertainty of the future and anxiety has been eating away at my soul. Both the fandom and fics have always been a safe place for me, but towards the end of the year i started feeling slightly detached from everything so it was a bit of a slow one, even fic-wise.

Angst aside, good fics have always been and still are the best way to lure me right back in, and for that, I have to thank all the authors mentioned under the cut: you’re all legends and I genuinely hope you feel as loved as you made us feel with your words.

A big thank you also goes to a group of people that kept me updated on all fronts, shared with me some of these gems and definitely made my year much brighter: @imlt-archive, @pinklucozade (who also made the banner above, so thank you very much bee ♥), @moonloueh, @louistomlinsonsz, @mattbelloumy & @nouies ✨

But let’s get to business: here are my favorite fics of the year. They’re listed in chronological order and the ones that are marked with a ♡ hold an extra special place in my heart. Hope you’ve read most of these during the year, but if you haven’t, well, here’s a treat for 2019:

{ 2016 / 2017 / more fics here }

As We Were, As We Are by jaerie / @jaerie / 51k / ♡

Alex is a British soldier who has been injured in battle, Louis is a RAF pilot with amnesia. Somehow they put each other back together even if they get separated along the way.

Now In A Minute by thealmightyavocado / @avocadolouie / 150k

13 feels like yesterday for many people, but for Louis it actually was. / Or the 13 going on 30 au that should have been done years ago.

Try to not remember (rather than forget) by hereforlou / @hereforlou / 59k

Harry hadn’t left, not really. He had been right there the entire time. And that’s what had made it worse, knowing that his body was within touching distance but his mind, everything that made Harry Harry, was lost somewhere Louis wasn’t able to reach. He hadn’t left, but that’s what it had felt like most of the time. Just as if one day Harry had up and left him. / Or, the one where Harry wakes up.

A Study in Love by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings / 24k / ♡

Louis knows everything about everyone which has put him at a great and weird advantage over nearly all of them since the very beginning. He can solve any puzzle before most people know where to begin. He is rarely perplexed, mistaken, or wrong, and obviously, Louis is never ever surprised. And yet, his new flatmate after a very long string of failed ones has Louis questioning how he ever did any of it without him. [part 2 / part 3]

Chased the High by crimsontheory / @ireallysawanangel / 12k

Working as a fireman is a tough job. Being in love with your best friend and fellow fireman is also a tough job. / Or the one where Louis and Harry are both fireman and Louis doesn't know how much longer he can go on harboring his feelings for Harry.

When We Find Love by angelichl / @angelichl /38k

The famous/not-famous AU in which Louis lives in a house by the lake and doesn't know Harry is famous.

Take my hand and make the stars collide by tolvsmol / @rosesau / 15k / ♡

It all started with a few too many shots and ended with Louis drunkenly betting Harry to marry him – apparently “You won’t” is enough incentive for both of them, because now they’re at a rundown motel with a 24 hour chapel, and they’re giggling and kissing in the pews as they wait their turn. Except Louis sort of lost his buzz an hour or so ago, but he’s too afraid to say anything. Where does ‘marrying your best friend under false pretenses’ fall in terms of moral ambiguity? (Louis almost calls it off right then and there, until Harry admits he’s also dead sober, but… why not go home with one hell of a story anyway?) / or the one where what happens in vegas doesn't always stay in vegas.

Make Your Words A Weapon by HelloAmHere / @helloamhere / 36k / ♡

Louis is a music critic, Harry is a rockstar, soulmates are destiny but no one ever said destiny was easy, music is everything.

Simply Irresistible by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings / 12k

Louis only comes to town to start up a successful restaurant, but finds he can't quite leave once the job is done. Though, that might have more to do with him falling for his quirky neighbor than anything else.

Smoke & Mirrors by sincewewereeighteen / 59k

"What are we drinking then?” He asks Harry, claiming his place sitting on the stool by his side. “Tequila.” Harry replies. “Is this a good idea?” “Neither is sleeping with you, probably, but I’m going to do it anyways, so…” He hands Louis a glass. “Bottoms up!” / Or: the one in which Harry hates Louis, but doesn't know him. And then... He does.

Gonna dream of how you (tasted) by hereforlou / @hereforlou / 21k

The one where Harry needs a handyman and it turns out they have a bit of a history.

Loving You, It's Explosive by missyoubabycakes / 12k

Harry is obsessed with organization and Louis makes way too many jokes. Somehow, they're made for each other. / or Louis can't properly work because he's so in love and Harry just wants him to admit that.

Don't Let the Tide Come and Take Me by kiwikero / @icanhazzalou / 28k

The aquarium in the lobby has been there as long as Louis can remember, and so has the merman inside. That is, until the day Louis loses his job and decides to set the creature free. They set off on a road trip to the sea, learning to communicate more and more each day. Their destination is LA, but the closer they get and the more Louis gets to know the merman, the more he dreads having to say goodbye. / Or, the one where Louis decides to set a merman free and ends up finding his own freedom along the way.

Into The Midnight Sun by summerwine / @smrwine / 63k / ♡

It's 1983, Harry embarks on his first world tour and Louis is a budding actor in LA. Life spent apart isn't easily adjustable, but somehow they make it work.

Sun Means The Sky'll Be Blue by PearlyDewdrops / @curlsandlashes / 91k / ♡

As the only singleton under thirty attending his cousin's five-day wedding, Harry is desperate to find a date, or at least a reason to get people's questions about his love life off his back. So when Louis, Harry's old uni roommate and fellow wedding attendee waltzes back into his life, Harry seizes the opportunity, pretending Louis is his ex-boyfriend and that it's a sore subject not to be mentioned. If it's a little bit closer to the truth than Harry would like, well, he's a master at living in denial. So cue a mess of trudged-up feelings, past misunderstandings, a rekindled summer romance and a whole lot of sexually-charged bickering.

Keep this love in a photograph by suspendrs / @suspendrs / 48k / ♡

“I could never forget a damn thing about you, Harry Styles, not even if I wanted to,” Louis says. His hair falls into his face when he glances over at Harry, the moonlight reflecting off of it and making it glow golden, like maybe Louis himself is the sun. Harry thinks of how dark and cold his life got once Louis went away, how Harry got a taste of the sweetest sunshine imaginable and then was plunged into the longest winter of his life. He feels like he’s been buried under mounds of snow for months, years, and he’s finally made it to spring, finally getting another taste of how wonderful life can be. / Or, it’s 1919, and Harry’s been falling in love with his best friend for his entire life.

Wild Love by purpledaisy / 130k / ♡

Two best friends try to date each other for forty days. It's supposed to be fun until emotions make it complicated.

Ain't That A Kick In The Head! by lesbianharrie, wreckingtomlinson / 22k

In which Harry’s a disaster gay who doesn’t know shit about soccer, Liam drinks too many blue raspberry Coolattas, Niall knows everyone, Zayn looks dead, and Louis is Not Happy about sharing his breakout moment with “Drunk Hawaiian Guy.”

A Taste of Desire by casuallyhl / 104k

A Victorian ABO where Harry is the owner of the most successful cotton mill in Manchester, and Louis is an opinionated social activist about to disrupt Harry’s world.

Tissue-thin lies by HelloAmHere / @helloamhere / 5k

Louis has a cold but he's FINE.

This Melody Was Meant For You by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings / 32k

The Marie Henry Conservatory of Music has been around for ages, and not once has it ever admitted anybody besides the traditional, classical music student. Or at least they hadn’t until a few select outsiders are let in to mix things up and to give someone like Louis a chance.

Loyal Knight and True by rainbowninja167 / @rainbowninja / 51k / ♡

In contemporary Oxford, Harry Styles and Niall Horan run a magical bookshop, unbowed by an entire academic establishment that insists magic doesn't even exist. Sometimes, Harry finds, it's much easier to have faith in magic than in himself. Louis Tomlinson is a classically trained poet who needs something to believe in, and Liam Payne longs to be a part of something magical. But when the lines between reality and fiction - poetry and magic - start to blur, can they trust each other to keep track of what's true?

You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home by styleandsin / 43k / ♡

Louis needs a break from everything, from acting and the constant pressure of life in LA. He decides to move back home for a bit, some time with his family is exactly what can lift his spirits. What he doesn't expect is to fall in love. Both with the town he hated so much so that he couldn't wait to leave it years ago and with a curly haired florist that was the complete opposite of the guys he'd often meet in LA.

When the city shines (like the sun at night) by fondleeds / 37k / ♡

Love, Simon AU.

Oh, We're In Love, Aren't We? by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings / 30k / ♡

After sixteen wonderful years of friendship, it's hard to imagine any grand (and usually dumb) plans they haven't had or some type of mischief they haven't gotten into together. But, when Harry suddenly finds himself without a fiance and Louis just wants to help him feel okay again, they realize falling in love is one thing they haven't done, and that's about to change.

You came into my life by disgruntledkittenface / @disgruntledkittenface / 57k

When the Queer Eye cast and crew sweep into Louis’ small town and fire station to make over his best friend and coworker Liam, Louis’ carefully constructed walls start to fall down and he has to face his fears – and the only guy he’s ever been able to see a future with.

The Second Hand Unwinds by FullOnLarrie / @fullonlarrie / 51k / ♡

Louis Tomlinson is one of the first members of NASA's top secret Chrono Exploration Program. When things go wrong and he's sent further back in time than planned, he has no other option than to show up on his ex-boyfriend's doorstep.

The Lonely Planet Guide to Second Chances by 1Diamondinthesun / 102k

When Harry and Louis broke up, the last thing on Harry's mind was the non-refundable surprise trip he had booked for them across Europe. Harry was supposed to be moving on, not sightseeing with his ex. In hindsight, touring the continent with Louis was probably a bad idea. So naturally, that's exactly what Harry did. / Or, the breakup travel fic featuring romantic sunsets, awkward bed sharing, and second chances against a backdrop of some of Europe's most iconic cities

Truth, justice, and the gay way by hattalove / @hattalove / 2k

Liam needs a costume. Louis needs a best best friend award, a holiday, and to get a grip. (Harry's just in the right place at the right time.)

I believe him when he tells of loving me by bitterlee / 28k / ♡

Louis doesn't remember Harry. Harry takes him home.

When the Sun Won't Let You Sleep by allwaswell16 / @allwaswell16 / 30k

Four years ago, Louis Tomlinson left the UK to live on an Antarctic research station for reasons best left in the past. He’s carved out a life for himself on the ice and has dedicated himself to his research, his friends, and especially the Halley VI research station. He’s less than thrilled when he learns that Harry Styles, a glaciologist from another base who once broke his heart, will be coming to Halley, and he’s definitely unprepared for the upheaval Harry brings with him.

Take It To The Limit by taggiecb / 35k

Louis Tomlinson enjoys the simple life. He has his house, his family, and his friends all in the tiny town of Petty Harbour, Newfoundland. When he isn’t spending the winters plowing out the residents and keeping Liam and Niall company at Payne’s pub, he’s out on the open water doing the one thing that he loves the most, fishing. Harry Styles is a traveler. He lands in the tiny town to try to find himself. What he finds instead is a beautiful blue eyed man who seems to have everything figured out. But even a brick house can be damaged by a storm if it’s big enough. Can Louis’ perfect life and their relationship survive the tumult that’s coming?

What Our Souls Were Meant To Do by Rearviewdreamer / @all-these-larrythings / 34k / ♡

All Harry’s father wants is for his son to marry as soon as possible and give their family another heir. All Harry wants to do is fall in love.

Where your lips land by BriaMaria / 12k / ♡

A love story told through Louis' tattoos. / or the Tyler Knott Gregson-inspired AU where Louis is a poet who lives in Montana and Harry is a photographer passing through.

Just call me inspiration by hereforlou / @hereforlou / 51k

The truth is Louis knows he’s going to hell, if there is such a thing, but it isn’t because he writes erotic fiction for a living. If anything, it’s because his muse, the reason he’s inspired to write about people shagging in increasingly creative ways everyday, is the sweetest, loveliest, most genuine (and completely oblivious) future children-book illustrator in the world. / Or, the one where Louis is a writer, Harry is an art student, and they inspire each other in very different ways.

Love Me Please by angelichl / @angelichl / 23k / ♡

Louis hates Harry, which is fine because he would really rather prefer to avoid him at all costs. The only problem? They're soulmates.

O' Christmas Tree by Justalittlelouislove / @justalittlelouislove / 15k / ♡

Louis has a busy schedule to keep and a daughter to raise. He definitely isn't looking for a relationship. Enter Harry Styles, a local Christmas tree farmer that seems just a little too good to be true.

For As Long As I Can Remember (It's Been December) by green_feelings / 128k / ♡

After recovering from a severe accident that causes Harry to lose his memory of three years, he moves to London to start his life over as a star chef. Little does he know that when he falls in love with Louis at first sight, it’s not the first time they meet. Featuring an unintentional game of hot and cold, Harry chasing memories that won’t come back, Louis burying himself in work to try and forget what he can’t forget, Liam being torn between two of his best friends, Zayn as a moral compass and Niall saving the day with good music and brutal honesty.

#2018 fic rec #hl fics #fan fiction #rec list #larry #larry ff #larry fics #ao3 #fic masterpost #fic rec #mine #ls fics #hl #fics

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crypticbeliever123 · 5 years

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Reposting my question because I guess I put too many tags for it to show up the first time but here goes

So basically I've had the idea to try my hand at a multi-fic universe of DC characters kinda akin to the MCU but I've been struggling to decide which of my ideas to go with for Superboy since his origins might shake up some of the other characters' narratives around him one way or another. So here are my 4 ideas. Which version of Superboy’s story sounds better?

Couple notes: In each of these cloning is unstable when you try to speed up the subject’s growth so Superboy is chronologically 16 no matter the version. Also, no matter what version it is Superman sees Superboy as a son and wants to be a part of his life but not every version has Superboy reciprocate that feeling. And finally he wears the 90s costume while doing heroics in each version, may or may not wear the t-shirt get up in his civvies though.

A version where Krypto, Streaky, and Beppo the Supermonkey were all Cadmus experiments gene spliced with Kryptonian DNA that escaped. Krypto then came to live with Clark and Streaky and Beppo finding their own homes to hide from Cadmus in. Meanwhile, they’re secretly acting as the Legion of Superpets behind the League’s back in an effort to stop their former prisoners and when their initial attempt at a rescue goes wrong Krypto goes to the League for help in rescuing not only Project 13 but also his captured teammates, using J’onn as a telepathic translator. Superman is flabbergasted to find that Krypto isn’t actually Jor-El’s long lost dog like he originally thought and that his pet has been leading a secret team of super animals the whole time and then he, Batman, and Martian Manhunter help Krypto and his team rescue Project 13 from Luthor, causing an incident wherein 13′s telekinetic meta-abilities become apparent forcing Luthor to flee and resulting in 13′s freedom at which point Superman discovers the boy is a hybrid clone of him and Luthor. Superboy then runs away from the Kent Farm, deciding that as nice as the Kents seem he doesn’t want to be under anyone else’s authority ever again.

A version where Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman track down Bizarro after receiving reports that the disfigured clone of Superman had been robbing baby stores and find him with a newborn baby who he claims to have rescued from ‘drowning’ in a large cylindrical container at a lab he’d been captured in. Superman accepts baby-sitting duty so Bizarro can lead Wonder Woman and Batman to the lab which has since been abandoned and the only thing left behind is a computer file on the infant which states it is the 13th attempt at cloning Superman with half Kryptonian/half Human DNA, though the latter genetic source is unlisted. Batman informs Superman of the discovery with Big Blue saying he kinda figured given how much the kid looks like him and says that he plans on raising the baby as his son Conner Kent. Fast-forward to when Conner is 4 and Clark and Lois are getting married. The boy’s introduced to Lex Luthor, who is in attendance as a long-time acquaintance of Clark’s and Conner and Lex both notice they have the same eyes, causing Lex to realize that Conner is the clone he created a few years previously and that Clark must be Superman to even have him at all. Meanwhile, Conner develops a phobia of Lex and tries to tell his dad as much but Clark passes it off as Conner not knowing Lex that well yet (Clark is kinda really dumb and too trusting of Lex in this and it causes Conner to grow up resenting him for not listening to his belief that Lex can’t be trusted based solely on his gut feeling). Cue Conner, who has inherited Lex’s masterful mind, recruiting a whole mess of teen heroes from around the world to be a part of a secret movement called the Teen Titans to fight the villains the Justice League turns a blind eye to, either willingly or unknowingly (such as Lex, The Court of Owls, and the Ninth Circle) all while operating as the head of the group from the shadows right under his dad and the League’s noses.

A version where we follow a sort of Death of Superman arc where Superboy escapes from Cadmus following the apparent death of Superman to avoid being killed as he was created to kill Superman and thus with him dead is deemed obsolete. This story would follow Superboy’s POV as he struggles with freedom for the first time and trying to shake the conditioning and Stockholm Syndrome he’s developed over years of growing up under Luthor’s thumb. He quickly meets Bart Allen, fresh from the future who makes it a point to befriend him because his grandpa Barry had told him it was inevitable that he’d wind up in the past and that Superboy would need someone looking out for him at this point. Superboy also meets Tim Drake, who is less than forthcoming about his double life, unlike Bart who told him straight up he was the Flash’s grandson from the future. Tim becomes his sole ‘normal’ friend and keeps his association with Superboy a secret from Batman so as to both not betray Superboy’s trust by getting Batman involved and also not have Bruce upend his personal investigation into Superboy’s mysterious origins. In this Superboy has a low self-confidence and anxiety but acts cocky and showboaty for the public because he thinks it’s what people would want as that’s how Lex always described Superman to him. Superman returns from the apparent grave and Superboy either avoids him like the plague or actively works to keep him alive out of fear that he’d once again be obsolete and a target for termination by Cadmus if Superman dies again, but loathes the idea of Superman as a father figure as the words father and son have taken on a dark and painful meaning after years of abuse by Luthor.

Sort of similar to the last version but instead of Superboy’s POV it’s from the POV of characters like Lois Lane, Bruce Wayne, Lex Luthor, Jon Kent, John Henry Irons, Martha Kent, and Clark Kent, possibly others too. It focuses on Superboy as a mystery to be solved as he claims to have been literally born yesterday which Batman and Lois both have doubts about. Lex’s POV has him stressing out over Superboy’s actions. The story has Superman discovered alive and Cyborg Superman trying to kill him only to fail and be put away but in doing so Lois finds more reason to suspect Lex Luthor is behind Hank Henshaw turning into the Cyborg Superman and begins investigating it with some help from Batman who suspects her case might hold some connection to his investigation into Superboy. Unlike the last one, Superboy isn’t an anxious ball of nerves pretending to be confident but is actually defiant and refers to Superman’s efforts to get to know him controlling and manipulative (all he does is fly into Superboy’s path to try and stop him from just flying away before they can talk) which leads to Batman determining that Superboy was abused. Different POV per chapter with Superboy's POV coming in at the end after Clark is discovered alive but before he has a chance to try and get to know Superboy because of the Henshaw fiasco (thinking a two part fic here) where we learn just what Superboy was up to this whole time and see more of the real him. (Already working on this one but I'm not sure if I want to include it in the multi-fic universe or if it'll be a standalone story hard to say)

#superboy #conner Kent #kon-el #fanfiction #dc comics

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bethliveblogsmovies · 7 years

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Man of Steel... not my Superman

1. Very muted colors and weathered look for the Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, DC Comics, and Syncopy logos. I take it this is not going to be a lighthearted flick. Is this Batman? Did I click on the wrong link?

2. Ah, childbirth. Just what I want to see in my superhero films. I mean, what were they thinking? The first image we see is a lady Kryptonian's face scrunched up in pain. Maybe start with anything else? The Kryptonian tax code. Anything.

3. No blood on that baby. Gotta keep the PG-13 rating. I would have accepted a throw-away line like "yo, Ma-El is popping out a kid". Didn't need to see it.

4. Russell Crowe is now lecturing to the aliens (sorry. "interdimensional beings") from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and discount Judi Dench.

5. Oh, man. I kind of was warming up to discount Judi Dench.

6. Zod has Friar Tuck's haircut. From now on he shall be known as Friar Zod.

7. 5 minutes in and I'm already sick of Krypton.

8. Now Russell Crowe is riding a gargoyle-dragonfly. Ugh. I'm having Obi-Wan riding a lizard (apparently, a varactyl named Boga. Thanks Wookieepedia!) on Utapau in Revenge of the Sith flashbacks. Stop reminding me of bad movies!!!

9. Ok. The creepy underwater baby factory was a pretty cool visual. You get points for that, movie.

10. Russell Crowe is a bit careless with that codex. Is it indestructible or something? He leverages himself out of the water by placing his weight on his hand holding the codex. Doesn't get crushed or broken? Ok...

11. Is this supposed to be emotional? We don't know these people. They're shipping their kid off while their planet's falling apart. Fine. A bit sad? Whatever. I don't care about them so their pain isn't compelling. Move on, movie. You're wasting my time.

12. What is happening? They're making a flash drive from information that was in the codex. I think? Also, that flash drive looks cool. Gimme.

13. Why didn't Friar Zod just shoot the ship with Superbaby in it? Nothing like unnecessary dialogue to give the plot room to continue. Also, why not have Friar Zod FULLY RESTRAINED? Superman's dad is not very smart.

14. So Friar Zod gets captured and brought before the Council of Unfortunate Headdresses and sentenced to 300 cycles of somatic reconditioning. You could do that... or KILL HIM. Idiots. The entire population of Krypton must be either stupid or insane or both.

15. Michael Shannon is better than this. My god. The overacting reeks of poor direction. Watch him in Midnight Special. He's much better.

16. Why are we still on Krypton? This is all unnecessary. This should not have taken more than 5 minutes and we're approaching 20. All we needed from Krypton was to know Superman was born, establish Zod as a bad dude, ship off Superbaby, and blow up the planet. We're never going to see this planet again. We don't care about anyone on it. The prolonged destruction sequence is just runtime bloat. Blow it up. Move on. 5 seconds would do fine. Pacing is ATROCIOUS.

17. The oil rig scene was kind of cool. Superman was acting heroic. Mark that down.

18. I like the scene where he gets overwhelmed by stimuli. Been there. Kind of. Although I'm wondering why he had that sort of reaction right then. Is it his first day of school? His powers show up at different ages maybe? He should be used to his X-ray vision seeing humans from being around his parents, right?

19. Helloooo. Putting a shirt on that should be illegal.

20. Superteen saves the bus after deflating the tires under the weight of his angst!

21. "What was I supposed to do? Let them die?" "...Maybe" Screw the many to protect the powers of the one? Cold, Pa Kent. Real cold.

22. Mayyyybe dumping on your teenager the fact that he's a space alien is not going to help with the ANGST? Should have told him as a young boy that he was different and introduced the space alien angle as soon as he was old enough to keep secrets. Would have given him time to acclimate to the idea.

23. Also, no way a scientist gives back a piece of metal that didn't originate on Earth. 0% chance. Have the writers of this movie ever met a scientist?!?

24. I would have made that jackass's skull concave, but that's why I'd be a bad Superman.

25. Also, that mangled truck belongs in the Museum of Modern Art.

26. Amy Adams! The real reason I subject myself to this movie. She's great in everything.

27. Why is Lois Lane there? Why aren't other reporters there too?

28. I hope that photo develops. Yikes. Internal hemorrhaging and cauterization via laser eyes? Kind of badass just to get a photo.

29. "I'm not printing a story about aliens walking among us." The Lone Gunmen would. Superman/X-Files crossover? Yes, please.

30. Not going to lie, I miss the underwear on the outside of the suit.

31. That monologue by Pa El is great for a trailer, but doesn't work so well in the movie.

32. Cool flying scene.

33. Yeah. Overpasses are TERRIBLE places to go during a tornado. Bad idea. Irresponsible of the movie to perpetuate that myth.

34. That whole scene with the tornado was stupid. I don't even know where to begin.

35. I like that Lois was able to track down Clark by being a good reporter. You get a point for that too, movie.

36. More quiet character moments please. Even if Henry Cavill has the acting range of a 2x4.

37. Teenage Clark reads Plato. He should be more popular.

38. Subtle, Zack Snyder. Verrrry subtle. Stained glass Jesus next to Superman's head... what could that POSSIBLY mean?

39. Clark is 33. Really, Zack? More messianic allusions? I'm not going to list them all.

40. Why would they want Lois? Makes no sense.

41. Friar Zod delivers the exposition. Boring.

42. They haven't done anything with Lois. Again I ask: why is she there? Plot contrivance so far.

43. IHOP! They must have paid for something.

44. The scene where Pa El helps Lois through the ship is cool, but still doesn't justify her being there.

45. Leave Ma Kent alone. Not cool throwing the truck into her house, Friar Zod.

46. Yeah, threatening a farm boy's mom isn't going to end well. Especially a farm boy with super powers.

47. 7-11 must have paid for something as well.

48. That street got destroyed. And that IHOP. Is this a Superman movie? Doesn't feel like it.

49. Watching supercreatures toss each other around is boring.

50. Sears paid for something too. Ma Kent had a Sears shirt on and the building just popped up.

51. Way too much destruction. And we haven't even gotten to the major stuff yet. "Realism" is sucking the heroism out of this movie. Tonally inappropriate.

52. 9-11 imagery. Wonderful. It's officially not a Superman movie.

53. Why is Lois on that plane? She's not military.

54. Oh great. Kryptonians throwing each other through buildings.

55. Did I just watch Superman casually jump over a truck that blew up a parking garage? Out of character.

56. This is so bad. I remember laughing hysterically in the theater during this sequence.

57. Some people got mad about Superman breaking Zod's neck. I'm not. It would be out of character for the Superman we knew before this film. For this Superman it is entirely within his character.

58. Destroying a military drone? Whatever. I'm too exhausted by this movie to care.

59. And now he's at the Daily Planet. The end. Thank God.

60. So Goyer and Nolan along with Snyder are responsible for this mess. Ugh. It's obvious they tried to go The Dark Knight route with Man of Steel and it doesn't mesh at all with the character of Superman. We have Kryptonian Batman. It sucks. Wonder Woman has the sort of tone Man of Steel should have had. I'd go as far as to say Man of Steel should have been even more lighthearted than Wonder Woman. To sum up Man of Steel: no, no, no, no, no. Maybe I'll do this for Wonder Woman next. Contrast a big mistake with a big triumph.

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phoenixfeatherquill · 7 years

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To Catch A Swan (11/22)

AN: For @lollipopsandlandmines--you commissioned more TCAS a million years ago and it took me forever to grant that. Please forgive me. I hope you enjoy this full chapter!

“I DIDN’T steal!”

Neal held up his hands. “Whoa, kid, relax. I was just asking. I stole candy and comics all the time when I was not much older than you, so—”

“But I didn’t!” Henry shouted. “Just because I’m your son, doesn’t mean I’m exactly like you!”

Neal fell silent. They were sitting in Granny’s diner, each with an ice cream sundae. A few hours prior, Regina had made a snotty comment to Neal, insinuating that perhaps Neal was teaching Henry some of his thieving tricks, considering he’d nearly been arrested for shoplifting. Now Neal realized that this had been a setup—Regina had hoped Neal would broach the topic with Henry and upset him. He cursed himself for falling into such a stupid trap.

“You’re right,” Neal said finally, swirling his spoon into his dish. “You’re a better kid than I was, anyhow. You’ve got a moral compass that goes true north. I should’ve known better.”

Henry angrily took a large bite of ice cream. There was a cold silence for a few moments as Henry swallowed. “I just don’t like getting in trouble for something I didn’t do,” He said finally. “Ava and Nicholas were tricking me. I should’ve known that they didn’t want to be my friend.”

Neal’s brow furrowed. “Who’s Ava and Nicholas?”

Henry shrugged. “Some kids that go to my school. They planted the candy in my bag and I got framed for it. Regina didn’t believe them, though, so Emma didn’t arrest me.”

“I doubt Emma would have arrested you in any case,” Neal said dryly. “Maybe I should talk to the kids’ parents.”

“Emma and Regina already tried,” Henry informed him. “They gave them a fake number. I don’t think they have parents. Regina said something about putting them up in foster care. I heard her on the phone with Social Services.”

Neal winced. “I’ll bet Emma’s thrilled about that.”

He had avoided very long in the foster care system—he’d arrived in this realm as a teenager and after one awful experience with a family, decided that he’d be better off on his own. But Emma had spent her entire childhood and adolescence in the foster care system, being shuffled around from family to family. It had hurt her deeply. It was one of the reasons they connected…Neal had been abandoned by his father, for selfish reasons. Emma had been abandoned too—multiple times.

In the end, it left them alone.

“Emma’s trying to find their father,” Henry told him. “I think that’s a good idea. If their father knows they’re on their own, then maybe he’ll help them.”

“Maybe,” Neal said doubtfully.

“Why wouldn’t they?” His son asked. “You did after I found you.”

“Let’s just say that I might not be a common example,” Neal exhaled. They finished their sundaes talking about nothing more than Henry’s latest school assignments and what the holidays would be like. Once finished, Neal paid their tab and walked outside.

“Appointment with Archie?” Neal asked. He’d learned Henry’s schedule.

“Yup,” Henry replied, giving his father a brief hug. “Sorry I got mad earlier.”

“Don’t be,” Neal said gruffly. “I shouldn’t have accused you.”

Henry shrugged half-heartedly. “Well, I have stolen before. But only in very desperate circumstances. Like when I stole Miss Blanchard’s credit card to find you and Emma.”

“Fair enough,” Neal laughed, giving him another hug. Henry trotted off, heading towards Archie’s office. Neal watched him, making sure his son entered the building, before proceeding to the sheriff’s office.

Emma was sitting at her desk, eating a sandwich. Her legs were casually propped up against her desk as she examined some paperwork, looking oddly at ease. She fit the role of sheriff well, something neither one of them could ever have guessed.

“Heard Henry got into a little trouble,” Neal cleared his throat. She narrowed her eyes.

“He didn’t,” She corrected him. “Just the kids that were with him. Madame Mayor saw to that.”

“Are the kids okay?” Neal asked. Emma looked at him. He expected an angry glare, her usual furious irritation with his presence—but he was surprised to find her expression blank. Something was bothering her.

“I don’t know,” She took a sip from her mug. “I’m…I’m trying to find the father. Regina wants to ship them off, separate them, and I just—I can’t let that happen.”

“I know,” Neal said quietly. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Emma stared at him. There it was again. That strange vulnerability. This situation had to be truly hurting her, to forget her anger at him.

“Those kids need each other,” She told him. “They rely on each other. It’s not fair to rip them apart.”

Neal nodded in agreement, unsure of what she was getting at.

“You didn’t have any brother or sisters,” Emma’s expression twisted. “Neither did I. It was harder on our own, wasn’t it?”

He nodded again. He carefully took a seat across from her desk, folding his hands.

“There’s that,” Neal said heavily. “But do you think returning them to their father is the best idea? What if he’s worse than them being on their own?”

Emma opened her mouth to respond when suddenly Henry bounced in. He withdrew the storybook with gusto and plopped it on her desk.

“Archie has a cold,” He announced. “I know who Ava and Nicholas are. They’re brother and sister, lost, no parents—Hansel and Gretel.”

Emma sighed in exasperation. “Anything in there about the dad?”

Henry shrugged. “Just that he abandoned them.”

“Great. Sounds like a familiar story,” Emma grumbled, returning to her paperwork. “Whoever this guy is, he could be in Laos by now.”

Henry shook his head. “No, he’s here.”

“Just how do you know that?” Emma challenged.

“Cuz no one leaves Storybrooke,” Henry said firmly. “No one comes here, no one goes. It’s just the way it is.”

“I came here,” Emma reminded him. “So did Neal.”

“Because you two are special,” Henry told her. “You’re the first strangers here—ever.”

Emma slumped against her chair, apparently resigned to Henry’s certainty. “Well, if he’s around here anywhere, I’m going to find him.”

Henry cleared his throat. Neal and Emma looked at him expectantly.

“Can I ask you guys something?” Their son requested.

Neal and Emma looked at each other. Something about Henry’s tone made both of them nervous.

“What’s up?” Emma said warily.

“The two of you,” Henry bit his lip. “I just…I just wanted to more about you two. How you met and…and how you fell in love. Before everything got messed up.”

Emma stiffened and Neal flushed. So this was the question Henry wanted to ask. Truth be told, Neal was surprised he hadn’t asked it earlier to each of them privately. But perhaps that was their devious son’s point.

“I was pretty young,” Emma said finally. “We…we both were.”

Neal scratched the back of his neck. “I was asleep in the back of a yellow bug. Suddenly the car started moving and I realized I was being carjacked by an attractive blonde girl.”

Emma looked outraged. “It wasn’t your car to begin with!”

Henry giggled. “Emma stole a stolen car?! The yellow bug?!”

“You got it,” Neal winked at his son. “So if you’re asking if it was love at first sight—well, for me it was.”

Emma crossed her arms and her expression became inscrutable. Perhaps he’d gone too far with that remark.

“Did you get married?” Henry asked.

“No, nothing like that,” Emma shook her head. “We just…we were partners for a time. I’d just gotten out of the foster care system and he’d been homeless for a while, so we…”

“We took care of each other,” Neal finished softly. She closed her eyes at that and swallowed hard. Henry watched the two of them carefully.

“We weren’t married,” Neal glanced at Emma. “But I got her…I got her that key chain. The swan one.”

Emma’s hands drifted to her neck. The conversation had turned to dangerous waters, filling them both with bittersweet memories. It should’ve been forever. It should’ve lasted forever.

“And you got pregnant with me,” Henry concluded. “But didn’t tell him about it.”

A flash of pain crossed Emma’s features, but before she could reply, Neal interjected.

“She did what she had to do, kid,” He tousled Henry’s hair. “She wanted to give you your best chance. I betrayed her. She had no reason to trust me with you. Besides, she’s right. I was a homeless urchin who’d sent her to jail. I couldn’t have taken care of you. There was no reason for her to tell me.”

Henry processed this slowly. Emma’s fingers were still touching her swan necklace when suddenly she jerked to a realization.

“I gotta go,” Relief filled her face. “I think I know how to find this guy!”

XXXX

The man was called Michael Tillman. He worked in an auto garage not far from the closed library. Neal wasn’t entirely sure how Emma had gotten the name, but felt it was better not to ask. She had actually asked him to accompany her to see Ava and Nicholas’ father, which Neal took as a positive sign. He had to wonder why though. Perhaps Henry’s questions had reminded her of better days.

Still, Michael Tillman was less than cooperative.

“Not possible,” He declared, handing their file back to Emma.

“Actually, it is,” Emma retorted.

“Well, I’m sorry, but Dory—she wasn’t my, um…it was just once.”

“Sometimes that’s all it takes,” Emma’s reply was fairly sardonic and Neal resisted the urge to say something snarky. The situation was uncomfortable enough, it didn’t need bad jokes.

“I met her when I was camping,” Michael said awkwardly. “And we…um…no, it’s not possible. I don’t have twins!”

“Yes, you do,” Emma insisted. “You have twins that have been homeless ever since their mother passed away. You have twins who have been living in an abandoned house because they don’t want to be separated from each other. You have twins who are about to be shipped off to Boston, unless you step up and take responsibility for them.”

Michael looked distinctly uncomfortable. Neal felt a burst of pity for him. There was nothing quite as terrifying as realizing that you had a responsibility for someone else.

“Look—I can barely manage this garage. I can’t manage two kids…and why are you so sure they’re mine?” He offered up weakly.

Emma showed him the compass. Michael recognized it immediately. The realization that there was no way out—that those two kids were his—sank on him heavily. Neal sighed, stepping forward.

“I’ve been where you’re at, man,” He told him. “We both have. Emma and me—we never expected to have a kid show up on our doorsteps. Frankly, we never thought we’d see each other again.”

“With good reason,” Emma cut in sourly. “But here’s the thing. I don’t have my kid because I don’t have a choice. You do. Those kids did not ask to be brought into this world and they need you. If you choose not to take them…well, one day you’re going to have to answer to them.”

“I don’t know anything about being a dad!” Michael burst out.

“You think I did?” Neal said incredulously. “You think any parent knows how to be a dad?”

Emma glanced at him and he ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

“Look man, I get it,” Neal said finally. “I get it. Kids weren’t—a part of your plan. You were comfortable. You have a life here, you have a job, you didn’t want anything to interrupt it. That was me a couple months ago.”

Michael exhaled slowly. “Look…”

“I screw up,” Neal told him. “I screw up every day with Henry. I constantly make mistakes. Y’know what? That’s part of being a dad. Those kids don’t expect you to be Superman. They just…they just want you in their life.”

“I can’t…I can’t do this…” Michael said helplessly.

A ripple of anger overtook Neal. “Fine. Abandon them. That’s on you.”

He turned away from Michael Tillman and stalked off, heading in the direction of the bar. Emma caught up with him immediately.

“Helpful,” She said dryly.

“C’mon, Emma,” Neal growled. “We’re wasting our time with this guy. If he doesn’t step up now, he never will.”

“I have a backup plan,” Emma told him. “A last ditch thing, right before I take them to Boston. Don’t give up, Neal. Not everyone can be as great a dad as you first thing.”

He froze and stared at her. She shrugged a little, giving him a rare smile. Was he forgiven? Neal couldn’t quite tell, but the compliment meant the world to him.

“Thanks,” He said quietly. “I’m…I’m trying.”

“I know you are,” Emma responded softly. “Despite our history. And I appreciate that. I hope you know that I appreciate it.”

She gave him a long look, one of her puzzling expressions he couldn’t quite define. He nodded at her, acknowledging her appreciation.

“Emma,” Neal said finally. “Do you ever think—”

“I gotta get to Boston,” Emma said suddenly. “I gotta…I’ll see you later.”

Before he could stop her, she walked off.

XXXX

Michael Tillman manned up. Henry was pleased to report to Neal that Emma’s con worked. On the way to Boston, Emma pulled over, claiming her engine stalled. She called the local auto serviceman—Michael Tillman—and he had an attack of conscience right there on the highway road. The orphans and their father were reunited to what would be far from happily ever after. Neal knew that from experience.

“Still,” Henry said cheerfully, slurping his cocoa a few weeks later. “It’s a good sign! Things are changing around here, thanks to Emma!”

As if on cue, Emma entered the diner. Noticing Henry and Neal sitting at a booth together, she nervously approached.

“Mind I if I join?” She asked, clearing her throat. “I’m starving.”

Neal stared at her startled. “Yeah! Sure! Of course!”

Henry slid, making room for Emma. Emma ordered a cheeseburger with extra bacon and looked Neal in the eye, smiling faintly.

The three of them sitting in a booth together. About to eat lunch. Almost like…almost like a family.

“So Neal, I have to ask you something,” Emma started in, taking a sip of coke. “Are you and that woman—”

The diner door opened. Almost simultaneously, the diner turned and stared at the stranger who strode in. He was tall, with a bit of scruff and bright blue eyes, wearing a leather jacket and motorcycle boots. He leaned against the counter charmingly, saying something to Ruby. Neal froze, his expression turning into shock.

August Booth had entered the diner.

“Hey!” Henry chirped. “It’s the stranger Emma and I met!”

Everything seemed to pass in slow motion for Neal. Emma noticed Neal’s strange expression and asked what was wrong, but he barely heard her. He slowly rose and took a few steps towards August.

August noticed him and his eyes widened. But before he could say anything, run away, or do anything at all, Neal pulled back and punched him as hard as he could. August crumpled to the floor, his arms splaying over the counter, knocking dishes everywhere. The diner gasped at the commotion, but Neal didn’t hear anything.

“You son of a bitch!”

#To Catch A Swan #Swanfire #Swan Thief #lollipopsandlandmines

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instantdeerlover · 4 years

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Where To Order Takeout & Delivery Cocktails In LA (2) added to Google Docs

Where To Order Takeout & Delivery Cocktails In LA (2)

You’re in the mood for a cocktail. The problem is, your bar cart has been empty since the moment you bought it, and you’re not going back to a grocery store for three weeks. But that doesn’t mean you need to start Googling “How to make homemade hooch,” because there are plenty of LA bars and restaurants serving all kinds of cocktails. From batch margaritas and bottled martinis to Mules of every variety, here are 33 spots where you can order mixed drinks straight to your door.

Featured In The Ultimate LA Delivery & Takeout Guide Check out all our guides The spots 101 North Eatery & Bar $$$$ 30760 Russell Ranch Rd

Westlake’s 101 North is offering a great deal for batch cocktails - $40 for a bottle of liquor, plus all the mix you need to make cocktails with it. There are seven kits in all, including bottles of Redemption bourbon with homemade bitters and simple syrup for Old Fashioneds, or El Jimador tequila with house-made sour mix for margaritas. They’ve also got some more involved ones, like the Sweet Ignition - vodka, lemon, ginger syrup, and candied ginger. Wine and beer available, too.

Barcito $ $ $ $ Argentinian in Downtown LA $$$$ 403 W 12th St 7.2 /10

Downtown LA watering hole Barcito has a whole bunch of pre-made cocktails to-go, in servings of either four or eight. Some are as simple as palomas and sangria, others are as complex as fat-washed brandy Old Fashioneds, and make-your-own Aperol spritzes. And if you need ice, they’ve also $1 servings of Hoshizaki ice cubes. They’re basically the Ferraris of ice cubes, which is apparently a thing.

Bar Henry $ $ $ $ Echo Park $$$$ 1228 W Sunset Blvd

Echo Park’s Bar Henry - one of our favorite bars on the Eastside - has got a big line-up of cocktails available in servings for four or five. Our favorite (and the signature drink here) is the Flattened Priest, a tamarind mezcal margarita that even comes with Tajin for the rim. We also like The Stranger - it’s their version of a negroni, made with mezcal and jalapeño-infused Campari. They’re all $56, and come pre-mixed.

Bar Toscana $$$$ 11633 San Vicente Blvd,

A good neighborhood spot in Brentwood, Bar Toscana has a bunch of different batch cocktails for three or four served in 16 oz. Mason jars. They’re all variations on classic drinks - a negroni, a Manhattan (with 10-year Whistlepig), and their take on a spicy mezcal margarita - for $15-$24. Call 310-826-0028 to order - pick-up only.

Boneyard Bistro $ $ $ $ BBQ in Sherman Oaks $$$$ 13539 Ventura Blvd 8.0 /10

Sherman Oaks’ Boneyard Bistro has a wide variety of cocktails available in portions for (roughly) two, four, or eight. Our favorite is the Sympathy For The Devil - a smoky, spicy, and sweet drink with habañero-infused mezcal - but if you’re getting things started early in the day, they’ve also got a killer Bloody Mary. They require that you order food with your cocktails, so get some brisket tacos on the side. Delivery and curbside pick-up available.

Broken Spanish $ $ $ $ Latin , Mexican in Downtown LA $$$$ 1050 S. Flower St 8.8 /10

Broken Spanish in Downtown LA has opened up La Ventana - a window serving takeout tamales and cocktails. They’ve got a few different margarita options here, from pre-mixed ones for three, to mix-your-own versions that include a bottle of tequila or mezcal and all the fixings. We recommend the El Zócalo - it’s our favorite cocktail on the regular dine-in menu, and it involves mezcal, passionfruit, Campari, yellow chartreuse, and habañero tincture, and it’ll have you falling off your chair in your Zoom Happy Hour.

The Buffalo Club $$$$ 1520 Olympic Blvd

Santa Monica’s Buffalo Club is offering curbside pick-up and delivery for their comfort-food menu and old-school cocktails, as well as bottles of liquor. They’ve got four cocktail options, like the Deshler (bourbon, Lillet, Grand Marnier), and the Hemingway Daiquiri (rum, grapefruit, Luxardo), as well as beer and wine. Call (310) 450-8600, ext. 1 to order.

The Burbank Pub $$$$ 2013 W Burbank Blvd

A locals’ bar on Burbank Blvd., Burbank Pub is offering 20% off if you buy four of any cocktail. Which, realistically, is a night’s-worth in these dark days. They’ve also got a gin and tonic set, that includes a bottle of craft gin, four cans of tonic, and some limes for $25.

Cafe Stella $$$$ 3932 W Sunset Blvd

Quarantine seems like a great opportunity to pretend you’re Audrey Hepburn and sit at home drinking fancy cocktails in your bathrobe. So Silver Lake’s Cafe Stella has you covered. This little spot on Sunset is offering $45 batch cocktails that serve four for pick-up. From a negroni with Mulholland gin, to a Black Cow vodka martini with blue cheese olives, there are a bunch of upscale options here.

Carbon Beach Club $$$$ 22878 Pacific Coast Hwy

Chances are, if you live in Malibu, you’ve downed a few drinks at Malibu Beach Inn’s Carbon Beach Club. And they’re here for you during quarantine, too, with $6 margaritas, negronis, and Boulevardiers, all served curbside. Plus, if you buy a Swell cocktail canteen there, you can come back and fill it up again for $4.

Cassell's Hamburgers $ $ $ $ American , Burgers in Koreatown $$$$ 3600 W 6th St 8.0 /10

Koreatown burger and patty melt specialist Cassell’s is another spot offering super-affordable cocktails. For $5, you can get a single serving of negroni, Moscow mule, Old Fashioned, or Gold Rush (bourbon and honey) - or even a shot, if, say, you just sort of feel like you need a shot when you leave the house to pick food up. There’s also a Downtown LA location - both are doing pick-up and delivery via apps.

Employees Only $ $ $ $ West Hollywood $$$$ 7953 Santa Monica Blvd Not

Rated

Yet

Employees Only, the NYC-transplant bar behind a fortune teller in Weho, is offering delivery and curbside pick-up for their excellent cocktails. And while $12 is on the expensive end for to-go cocktails, to be fair, there’s no way you could make these things at home. They involve ingredients like chai vermouth, absinthe bitters, and house-made grenadine. Our go-to is the Better Margarita, a super-strong classic margarita with chile verde. $5 delivery within five miles, or curbside pick-up available.

Fancy Free Liquor $$$$ 2001 W Burbank Blvd

A new package store in Burbank, Fancy Free Liquor is offering free next-day delivery for all of LA County on orders over $50. They’ve got cocktail kits including margaritas, Moscow Mules, mojitos, and more - they include a full bottle of liquor, plus mixers and garnishes like freeze-dried lime or candied ginger. Order on their website by midnight for next-day delivery, open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm.

Far Bar $ $ $ $ American , Japanese in Downtown LA , Little Tokyo $$$$ 347 E 1st St 7.5 /10

One of the most affordable cocktail options in town, this classic dive in Little Tokyo has four different two-serving cocktails for $10 each - an Old Fashioned, a mezcal Penicillin, a Moscow Mule, and a margarita. And if you’re more interested in straight liquor (or just want take the express train to inebriation city), they’ve also got a bunch of bottles for $20-$30.

Father's Office $ $ $ $ Burgers in Culver City $$$$ 3229 Helms Ave Not

Rated

Yet

You probably know Father’s Office for their tremendous beer selection (and The Burger), but the Culver City location has some great cocktails, too. Those classic cocktails (like gin martinis, Old Fashioneds, negronis, and Manhattans) are available for pick-up or delivery for $11 each, $40 for four, or $55 for six. Obviously, you’ll want to get a burger while you’re at it.

The Front Yard $ $ $ $ Brunch in Studio City $$$$ 4222 Vineland Ave 7.3 /10

North Hollywood hotel restaurant The Front Yard has two different batch cocktails available. Both the Strawberry Fields - vodka, strawberry, basil, and balsamic honey - and the Cucumber Press - gin, lime juice, cucumber, St. Germaine - are $15 each for 12 oz. servings. They’ve also got wines by the bottle. Call (818) 255-7285 for delivery. App delivery is also available.

Genever Lounge $ $ $ $ Historic Filipinotown $$$$ 3123 Beverly Blvd

Historic Filipinotown’s Genever has a bunch of high-end batch cocktails for pick-up, like vespers, spicy tequila negronis, and gin-strawberry spritzes. Plus, every cocktail set comes with a pimento sandwich, so while you drink, you can pretend you’re at the Masters (without the institutional racism).

Guerrilla Tacos $ $ $ $ Tacos , Mexican in Arts District $$$$ 2000 E 7th St 8.2 /10

In addition to offering some pretty great taco and nacho kits, Guerrilla Tacos in the Arts District has got “Emergency Margarita Kits,” which are their house margaritas, bottled for three or four. Just add ice and shake. It’ll last about a week in your fridge, if you’re not trying to drink three margaritas in a night.

Hatchet Hall $ $ $ $ American , Southern in Culver City $$$$ 12517 W Washington Blvd 8.4 /10

Culver City’s Hatchet Hall (and attached Old Man Bar) are well-known for their tremendous whiskey cocktails and bottle selections. And right now, they’ve got batch Old Fashioneds (made with excellent Traverse City rye) that serve ten for $55. They’ve also got a bunch of those hard-to-find bottles for sale, from a house-selected Woodford Reserve single barrel bourbon ($45) to E.H. Taylor “Grain Of The Gods” bourbon ($895). Daily pick-up only via their website.

Hippo $ $ $ $ American , Italian in Highland Park $$$$ 5918 N Figueroa St 8.2 /10

Few cocktails in town have better names than the ones at Hippo, the Italian-ish spot in Highland Park. And they’re as well-made as they are named. The Back On Our Bullsh*t, for example, is a light, herbal drink with vermouth, fino sherry, and citrus cordial, and the Goodyear Blimp has a tequila base with pomegranate and orange. They’re $9 each, and available for delivery or pick-up. They’ve also got larger formats, including $29 martinis for four, or curated packages like the Italian Date Night (two negronis, a bottle of wine, and an espresso martini), or the (Imaginary) Vacation Getaway (two each of three fruity cocktails).

Little Dom's $ $ $ $ Italian in Los Feliz $$$$ 2128 Hillhurst Ave. 8.3 /10

Los Feliz neighborhood spot Little Dom’s is a great place for a weeknight drink on the Eastside, and they’ve got you covered for that during quarantine, too. They’re offering 16 oz. jars of their martinis, negronis, margaritas, and Penicillins to-go, along with a bunch of wine and beer. We also recommend checking out their nightly $25 three-course supper, too - there aren’t many better deals for prix-fixe dinners in town. App delivery and pick-up available.

M. Georgina $ $ $ $ American in Downtown LA $$$$ 777 S Alameda St Ste 114 7.9 /10

The newest restaurant at Row DTLA, M. Georgina recently reopened for groceries, baked goods, and cocktails. Those cocktails are all favorites from their dine-in menu - The Perennial Spring (gin, fennel, thyme), Rye Latte (rye, Chartreuse, walnuts), and Caribbean Soma (overproof rum, mezcal, burnt orange) - and each serves six. Order by Thursday for Friday-only pick-up, 12-7pm.

Madre $ $ $ $ Mexican in Torrance $$$$ 1261 Cabrillo Ave 8.2 /10

Madre!, the fantastic Oaxacan spot with locations in Torrance and Culver City, has a bunch of their tremendous mezcal cocktails available for $6 each, or in $38 batches. This place is also especially known for their unmatched mezcal selection. And, luckily, they’re offering many of their rare bottles at heavy discounts during quarantine, like the super-rare Amormata, a bottle made with wild-grown castilla agave.

Maestro $ $ $ $ Mexican in Pasadena $$$$ 110 E Union St 8.4 /10

Pasadena’s great upscale Mexican spot Maestro has a good selection of mezcal, tequila, and barrel-aged cocktails available for delivery and pick-up. They’ve got all the greatest hits from that cocktail menu available to-go, including the sweet, aromatic, and boozy Campfire (mezcal, chartreuse, luxardo maraschino), and their classic margarita with hibiscus syrup.

Manuela $ $ $ $ Southern in Arts District $$$$ 907 E 3rd St 7.5 /10

All-purpose Arts District spot Manuela has got five different pre-batched cocktails available, ranging from the peaty Whiskey Pimm’s (Scotch, house-made Pimm’s, lemon), to the beet-y Archie (beet-rested vodka, oro blanco). They’re $24, and serve two or three. Call ahead for curbside pick-up, or delivery available within ten miles.

Massilia $ $ $ $ Spanish , French , Italian in Santa Monica $$$$ 1445 4th St Not

Rated

Yet

Santa Monica’s local French/Italian spot Massilia has got a big menu of 16 oz. cocktails, from classics like white or red negronis and Boulevardiers, to originals like La Fumante (mezcal and elixir combier) and La Francaise (vodka, St. German, passionfruit). They range from $26-$32. They’re also offering a dinner special with two pizzas and any bottle of cocktail for $49. App delivery and curbside pick-up available.

Melrose Umbrella Co $ $ $ $ West Hollywood $$$$ 7465 Melrose Ave

This popular Weho bar always has a great, seasonal menu of craft cocktails. So it makes sense that they’ve got one of the largest selections of to-go options during quarantine - 12, in total. That includes single(ish) servings, like the 1.5x-sized gin martini, batch cocktails, like the $32 mai tai for four, and straight liquor (like the house “Fireball” that’s actually made with High West and real cinnamon). All are available for delivery via apps, or curbside pick-up.

The Mermaid $ $ $ $ Little Tokyo $$$$ 428 E 2nd St

This fantastic Arts District dive bar always has what we need after a long day. And that hasn’t changed in quarantine, when they’re offering three slushies and punches for takeaway. Their options are a rum-based Tropical Slushie, an Irish Breakfast Slushie with whiskey, coffee, and heavy cream, and a Tropical Rum Punch. They’ve got “big gulps” of beer and bottles of wine, too. Available for pick-up and delivery via apps.

Relentless Brewing & Spirits $$$$ 2133 Colorado Blvd

Eagle Rock’s Relentless Brewing and Spirits is an excellent, affordable bar in a quiet part of town. That last part doesn’t really matter right now, but here’s what does: In addition to a whole bunch of beers, they’ve got cocktails to-go that include three-serving Moscow Mules, margaritas, Old Fashioneds, and more for $15-$25. Pick-up only.

Playa Provisions $ $ $ $ American in Playa Del Rey $$$$ 119 Culver Blvd 7.3 /10

If you’re in the South Bay looking for cocktails, Playa Provisions has you covered. This Playa del Rey spot has three kinds of margaritas, big-batch Moscow mules, and their fantastic barrel-aged Old Fashioned for curbside pick-up or delivery via apps.

Pretty Dirty $$$$ 2136 Colorado Blvd

Pretty Dirty, an upscale, omakase-style cocktail bar in Eagle Rock, is serving batch cocktails ideal for a special occasion when you can’t actually leave the house. The options rotate regularly, but might include a daiquiri with house-blended dark rum, a Manhattan with single-barrel rye, or any number of original drinks like the Destroy All Tiki with multiple rums, gin, and Cherry Heering. All are sold in servings of four, for $58-$68. Curbside pick-up.

The Semi-Tropic $ $ $ $ Cafe/Bakery in Echo Park $$$$ 1412 Glendale Blvd Not

Rated

Yet

If you’re on the Eastside and need a drink, like, right now, you should probably order from The Semi-Tropic. This coffee shop/restaurant/cocktail bar in Echo Park is serving all their standard cocktails for $8-$10, plus a name-your-well-drink option for $8, conveniently served in a sippy cup with a straw. Delivery is free, usually very fast, and there’s no minimum for it.

Stella Barra $$$$ 2000 Main St

Santa Monica pizza spot Stella Barra is offering a bunch of build-your-own cocktail options, and they’re all completely foolproof. They range from simple (a 16-serving Aperol Spritz kit for $75), to even simpler (1-liter of Tito’s, 4 Topo Chicos, and some lemons for $55). Regardless of your pick, you should also add in some $1 chocolate chip cookie dough balls, and eat them as soon as you get them.

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thismoviefucks · 4 years

Text

THESE MOVIES FUCK - JANUARY 2020

I watched ten movies this month. Let me tell you what I thought.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968, dir. Sergio Leone) is a movie that tells you who it is right up front. The opening 15 minutes of this legendary spaghetti Western are paralleled in their perfection only by the other 150, establishing the tone for the whole movie; an excruciatingly slow, tense and beautiful crawl through the arid, picturesque blank slate of the desert. There is very little action in this movie, and not much in the way of dialogue. There doesn't need to be. Sergio Leone's direction, Ennio Morricone's music, and the subtle performances of a young Charles Bronson and a playing-shockingly-against-type Henry Fonda, among others, all congeal into a movie you could probably watch and love even if the dialogue wasn't there at all.

A Fistful of Dollars (1964, dir. Sergio Leone) is one of those movies that's more influential than it is good. It's undeniable how massive of an impact this movie left on film, from practically inventing a lot of what became the Spaghetti Western to launching the career of a young Clint Eastwood, but in my eyes this is a pretty weak movie. A low-budget remake of the classic Kurosawa jidaigeki picture Yojimbo, there's definitely a lot of charm here -- you can already see Sergio Leone's style in its infancy, and Clint Eastwood is as fantastic as ever in his portrayal of the Man with No Name here -- embodying that classic mysterious drifter archetype seemingly effortlessly -- but to my eyes there's just a lot missing here that makes it a sort of drab experience, unfortunately. Still worth a watch, and still very much recommended if you're interested in the history of low-budget film or the history of the Western in general.

Rambo: Last Blood (2019, dir. Adrian Grunberg) is a movie that left me massively conflicted; on the one hand, I want desperately to love the unapologetic throwback to '70s exploitation cinema (in particular, vigilante movies, low-budget spaghetti Westerns, and good old-fashioned splatter) that this movie clings to -- but on the other hand, it fully embodies all the worst elements of those movies and combines them with a pathetic excuse for a plotline, underdeveloped characters, and shoddy effects work. When I think Rambo, I think "Sylvester Stallone in the jungle, mowing down hordes of nameless mooks; this movie, conversely, feels more like a Chuck Bronson Death Wish movie than any of the previous Rambos, and carries all the baggage of that wave of '70s vigilante movies, the good and the bad. The way this movie portrays Mexicans makes me think it was written by a Fox News boomer, and given that Sly is in his 70s it totally might be; to be slightly fair to him this movie was apparently written before the excellent fourth Rambo movie, and its already-tired-in-2010 plotline has aged like milk since then. Not to mention the women characters in this, which are little more than props and only serve to give John Rambo a reason to kill everything in his line of sight, and have no personality beyond "morality pet for 70-year-old veteran guy". So I'm not sure how I felt about this movie on first watch. It is a love letter to all the great low-budget cinema that made loose cannon cowboys and renegade cops cool again, but doesn't seem to have learned at all from the 40 years since then.

For a Few Dollars More (1965, dir. Sergio Leone) is, for my money, the definitive spaghetti Western. Lee van Cleef and Clint Eastwood turn in classic performances as the quintessential badass bounty hunters kicking ass on the Mexican border. I love, love, love bounty hunter stories, and this is one of the great bounty hunter stories of all time -- though, don't try to follow the plot too closely, as it is definitely a bit of a mess, though it's at least a fun one. The first hour or so of this movie is basically all setup, whether that's setting up Clint Eastwood's character, setting up Lee van Cleef's character, them meeting in the bar, them trying to one-up each other, etc. But, once the plotline does kick in, it's a great time, with the villain El Indio being played by the great Gian Maria Volonte (who was also in A Fistful of Dollars), a giggling madman who leads a gang of bank robbers and has a brutal quickdraw hand. The scene in the church, where El Indio murders a man's wife and baby offscreen for selling him out and then forces him into a quickdraw duel, is one of the truly great scenes in Western history; this, also, is where you can see the classic elements of Sergio Leone's style begin to play out -- the extreme close-ups, the drawn-out tension, and of course the bombastic score by Ennio Morricone. And that, finally, is another thing that needs to be noted: this has perhaps one of Morricone's greatest scores; the main title theme is a classic piece of spaghetti Western music, up there with his similarly-incredible scores for Leone's next two pictures. To put it simply: if you like cowboys, if you like Clint Eastwood, or if you just plain like badass motherfuckers doing badass shit, this movie is a must fucking watch. Highly recommended.

Reviewing Parasite (2019, dir. Bong Joon-Ho) without spoiling it is pretty much like holding a hand grenade in your bare hands, so I am going to keep this as short as possible: This movie is at once hilarious and tragic. This movie is a sometimes-brutal satire of capitalism that pulls very few punches. This movie has convinced me that I need to watch Bong Joon-Ho's other stuff as soon as I can, and finally the important part: This movie deserves all of the hype it's been receiving. Highly, highly recommended.

I recently rewatched Kill Bill (2003-04, dir. Quentin Tarantino), and while it definitely isn't one of my favorite Tarantino joints, it's aged pretty well over the last 15, almost 20 years. A doting pastiche of all the '70s exploitation classics Quentin has made a living off his love for, everyone knows what Kill Bill is: A wedding rehearsal in Texas gets shot up -- massacred, in fact. 4 years later, the Bride rises from her coma and decides to get revenge by killing every one of the people that did it: members of an elite assassination team, led by her ex-lover Bill. There's a lot to love here: arterial sprays, limbs flying, white-bearded asshole kung-fu masters, entire scenes in Mandarin, the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, and all the rest. There's also copious amounts of gratuitous shots of Uma Thurman's feet (because, you know, Quentin Tarantino is a bit of a creep), and some absurdly campy dialogue writing (Uma Thurman calling everyone "Bitch" is the big one, it sounds so unnatural) that I can't quite tell whether it's intentionally or unintentionally cheesy. But overall I think this movie is still worth watching in 2020. It's at least as good a use of four hours as Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet is, and unlike Hamlet this has a decapitation in it.

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (2019, dir. Quentin Tarantino) may not be my favorite Quentin Tarantino film, but it's almost certainly his best one. It's unlike pretty much anything he ever did, a slow-burn character-driven drama that barely has a central plot at all. Some people say this movie is "about" Charles Manson, but that couldn't be further from the truth; largely, this movie consists of a slice-of-life examination of the late career of an "aging" (read: in his thirties) actor and his best friend and stunt double, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt respectively. Manson and his acolytes only figure into maybe 25 minutes of the movie, 15 or so of those being the climax of the movie where the only real "action" in the movie takes place. I think the slow, low-key nature of this movie plays to Quentin's strong suits far more than just about any of his other movies do: he is at his best when he's writing conversations between the characters he puts so much love into creating, and as far as that goes I'd say this movie puts him in the same league as Mamet. So, if you have 3 hours spare, I'd say this is worth your time and attention for those 3 hours. Check it out.

The Lighthouse (2019, dir. Robert Eggers) is one of those movies that I really am going to need to watch again, but just on first watch: This is abjectly horrifying, and one of only a few movies to genuinely make me uncomfortable and uneasy watching it. To call this movie "scary" would be sort of a misnomer: I'm not "scared" watching these two men going insane, but I am filled with a deep and utter sense of dread as the whole thing proceeds. The atmosphere reminds me most of Vargtimmen, Ingmar Bergman's classic psychological horror masterpiece, with some definite Eraserhead elements thrown in the mix too, along with the period-accurate linguistics and creeping unease of Eggers' last movie, The Witch, which was his debut. We live in a damn great time for horror cinema if people like Robert Eggers and Ari Aster can put out their first two features and have all four of the movies be the magnum-opus level masterclasses in misery and terror that they are. There's clearly some stuff hidden deeper in this film's cracks and crevices that I couldn't glean from my first watch, but even without the stuff I inevitably missed, I highly recommend this movie.

The Irishman (2019, dir. Martin Scorsese) is Scorsese's masterpiece (I think I *like* Goodfellas more, but this is clearly the better movie), and possibly the greatest gangster movie, full stop. At turns an epic, a subtle, quiet drama, and a crushingly dark portrayal of the Mafia, I have never felt more tense watching a movie that isn't trying to scare me in my entire life. There is no romanticisation or pulled punches here. The violence in this movie is few and far between, and it is always, always shocking. Gunshots in this made me tense up and jump, a reaction that I cannot say I've had to guns in any other movie. And the last hour of this movie -- chronicling the demise of Jimmy Hoffa and its repercussions -- is the best thing Scorsese has ever put to film. An unbelievably beautiful work of film. Highly, highly recommended.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966, dir. Sergio Leone) is not the perfect masterpiece I expected it to be, but is certainly a damn great film nonetheless. There are some who would call this the greatest Western ever made, and I certainly can see some reasons why that would be the case: fantastic performances from Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef and Eli Wallach, an iconic and classic soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, and one of the greatest final 20-30 minutes of a movie of all time. The hype kinda overblew it for me, though, because even with all the great stuff going for it, this movie has some slightly damning flaws that bring it down a little bit for me, namely the second act being as sluggish as it is; this movie is 3 hours long, and it starts to drag a little bit during the second act. Additionally, I thought it was a strange choice to not develop any of the characters other than Tuco beyond a few key aspects: Clint is calculating, stoic and the fastest gun in the West, and Lee is a sadistic, greedy monster. Tuco (Wallach), at least, gets some more character development, in the scenes where Eastwood and Wallach are at the church nursing Eastwood back to health. I'll definitely need to see this one again sometime soon, but in my eyes I'd rather watch either Once Upon a Time in the West or For a Few Dollars More than this one. Still though, undeniably massively influential and still definitely worth watching. Check it out.

There’s my opinions. See you next month with ten more.

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gamearamamegathons · 5 years

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Dragon Quest V: Dungeons Are Suffering

Circe here! I was going to try and hold off writing another post until I had some more meaty plot stuff to write about, but as it turns out, I have plenty on my mind now. First thing's first, though. My kids Sammy and Lamira are joining the party...at level 5, of course. So the first thing I do is just spend a while grinding in the area around Granvania until they're at a satisfying level. After that, our next goal is to head to mom's hometown, in a village to the north. After a bit of poking around, I find out that it can only be reached by sailing through an underground river by boat. I also find a big locked door there, but I can't open it, so I guess that'll be important later.

Here we find the village of El Heven, which is understandably a bit secluded. A bunch of people here are mad that some outside came and married our mom, but it's not super clear why. More importantly, it turns out that the village elders are the guardians to the gates between Heaven, Hell, and Earth (well okay, they're not called that, but basically). The gate to Hell is slowly being opened, which is bad because some great evil will escape, as it does. And the demons of Hell kidnapped mom because she's super powerful and could help them open the gate. Which, I dunno, it's been, what, a couple decades now? You'd think if they were gonna, it would've happened by now.

The more important part is that we're given permission to loot the town, which is good because we would've done that anyway. We find the Magic Key and Magic Carpet. Oh, good, that means we can open that big ominous door now, right? Nope. The carpet can help us travel more easily though. It is a bit limited, as it can't travel over forests or mountains, but it *can* travel over water, and we don't get any encounters on the carpet. Unfortunately, the game doesn't really give us a lot more plot to work with, so pretty soon I turn to a guide. Well...okay, first, now I can get the Zenithian Helm from Castle Telepador. So that's pretty sweet. Okay, *now* to the guide.

A lot of stuff involves just wandering back to old locations I've visited in the past. Our old pal Henry has a kid now too, and he's an asshole too. But that's not very important. The person we really want to visit is Ludman, the weirdo who gave us that boat before. This time, he's very upset about a pot on a nearby island, and he asks us to go look at it and see if it's red. It is! That's bad, apparently. Turns out that Ludman's ancestor sealed away a demon in the pot ages ago, and now it's going to break out and kill him. This isn't his best day, is what I'm saying. We meet up with him at the top of the tower by the town, and when he hears the bad news, he leaves to go prepare. While we're waiting for him, the demon strolls right up to the tower. Guess that didn't take long. He's pretty huge, and also kinda moldy looking. The demon is named Buorn, but for all the buildup to him, I just kinda kill him off. You'd think he'd be more important, for how...I dunno, gigantic he is? This game still struggles sometimes to make plot points feel like they fit into the story meaningfully.

On that note, once Buorn dies he leaves behind a chest with the Final Key in it. That was kinda sudden, but now we have two keys, and we can travel to that big locked door. What's behind it? Uh, three statues. I don't really get what these are for yet, so I just kinda wander off...and turn back to a guide. Here's where things start to get rough, and I am brutally reminded that an important part of Dragon Quest is struggling through relentlessly difficult and unfair dungeons. The dungeon in particular is the Emblem Cave, which is just some dungeon off near Reinhart.

I often don't end up talking about specific normal enemies, but I think I have to go into detail here. First on the list of shame is Moon Face. This monster spends a lot of time doing nothing, but it occasionally will cast Chance. This spell will have a random effect, some are good, some are bad, some affect everyone. It might heal everyone on both sides, or blind everyone, *or* it might cause all enemy attacks to become critical, or deal significant damage to party members, or WIPE OUT THE PARTY'S MP. This means I can't cast Outside to leave, and have no healing spells. The one time this happened, I had a party wipe like three steps from the exit staircase. On top of that, there's also Barbossa, a very strong monster which can also just, apparently revive other monsters forever. Not even with a spell, which might eventually run out of MP, but by just picking up a Leaf of the World Tree off the fucking ground. Weird that I can't find any of these magic leaves that are apparently scattered all over the floor of this dungeon. I once encountered a group of three Barbossas, and I literally couldn't keep them all dead, no matter how hard I tried. And deeper into the dungeon, you just start encountering brutally strong monsters.

This dungeon does have one saving grace. There's a stone on each floor that you can push around, and if you push it onto a tile with a monster face, monsters will no longer appear on that floor. Unfortunately, that takes about as long as just traversing the floor normally, and it's reset when you leave the dungeon. However, you do have to place four stones on the bottom floor in order to get the dungeon reward, the Royal Cloak. Given how easily one encounter at the bottom floor might wipe my party, that was an arduous process. But eventually I did get it.

To be honest, I dunno if it was worth it? I guess I do have better equipment. But I sorta figured that a dungeon this difficult would advance the plot in some way. Oh well...I guess having more defense is never a bad thing. I do wish that the game was better at showing me what to do, otherwise I wouldn't have had to rely on a guide in the first place and I might actually know what I'm doing. It looks like DQV still hasn't entirely escaped a lot of the iffy design decisions from the NES era.

#circe #marathon #dragon quest #dragon quest v

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