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allisonxmoynihan · 3 years

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illicit affairs ~ a. turcotte

Requested: yes | no

Song: this series is loosely inspired on Illicit Affairs by Taylor Swift (you can listen here!)

Note: okay this is my first time writing in months and i’m kind of scared about it, but please let me know your thoughts, opinions, feedback, whatever! Special thanks to @hockeyhughes11 for helping me with this and reading it as I wrote, you rock!

Word Count: 2663

“y/n,” his shaky voice whispers hoarsely on the other side of the phone.

“Hey superstar!” you cheer, an inevitable smile fluttering across your lips, as you turn the tv off so you could hear him better, pressing the phone firmly against your ear as if not to miss a thing he says.

You hear a faint scoff in the background, “wanna come over?” he slurs, sending the butterflies racing in your stomach like the low hum of his voice always did.

You slowly release the breath you didn’t realize you were holding in, “not celebrating the big win with the boys? 3 goals and 2 assists and the superstar doesn’t want to party?” You joke with him while scrambling around your apartment searching for your sneakers and hunting for your keys.

You sense him smiling on the other line, “I got other things to attend to tonight, you know that,”

You feel your face grow hot as your breath hitches, “c’mon y/n, i’m dying to see you…”

~*~

Work was an absolute blur, the grouchy morning rush of commuters flooded the coffee shop and it was nonstop brewing coffee and preparing breakfast sandwiches before they ran out the door to catch a train. You were thankful for the mid morning slump; middle aged women occupying tables and catching up on neighborhood gossip and reminiscing about their sorority days.

You look up from wiping down the espresso machine to see two boys, about your age, standing on the other side of the counter, wide smiles on their faces as they laughed with each other while sneaking glances at the menu.

“Hi, welcome to Aroma Mocha Cafe! What can I get started for you today?” You exclaim, a forced smile overtaking your face.

The dark haired boy steps forward, “hey, can I please get uhhh…” his voice trails off as he looks up at the menu before he looks back down, “uhh, the seasonal iced coffee?”

You smile, “sure thing, our seasonal flavors are lavender vanilla or salted caramel, which one can I get for you?”

You watch his face as he contemplates which one, “oh, you can’t go wrong with salted caramel!”

“Alright, your total today is going to be $2.57,” The boy quickly takes out a $5 bill and instructs you to keep the change before moving over to the pick-up counter.

As you’re preparing the two drinks for the boys you can’t help but overhear the small fragments of their conversation you can make out.

“Bro, c’mon, just ask for her number,”

“Trev, I said no.”

“You’ve been…. All… you… Alex”

“No”

“I will then”

You put the drinks down in front of them, “enjoy! Napkins and straws are straight ahead by the door,”

As you’re cleaning up your station, the dark haired boy comes back up to the counter and you feel his eyes on you before you look up and smile, “can I get you anything else? Our seasonal scones pair nicely with the coffee,”

“I’m Alex,” he says awkwardly, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets.

You nod slowly, “that’s nice…”

“We should get dinner one day,” he suggests, and when he’s met with your silence and a blank stare he adds, “you know, cuz you’re cool.”

“Oh, um, thanks, but I really can’t,”

Alex nods, looking at the pastry display case for a few minutes, “well can I at least get your number?”

You notice a group of moms, the weekly book club group, walk in the door and head up to the counter. “Alex, I’m really sorry, but it just can’t happen,”

Alex nods, looking back up at the menu, “so, uh, how long you work here?”

One of the book club moms offers you a sympathetic smile as she turns to talk with one of her friends, “Alex, I’m sorry, but we have a lot of customers right now, so if you’re not go-”

“What, am I not a customer?” he interrupts, and you breathe out heavily in annoyance.

“What can I get for you?”

“A date,” he offers with a shy, boyish smile, his dimples becoming apparent.

You sigh, scribbling your number down on a piece of paper, “fine, but only because I want you to leave me alone.”

~*~

Cold, faint rain ricocheted off of the windows of your bedroom as you crawl onto Alex’s lap, his lips nipping at your neck bound to leave marks that you’d have to figure out how to cover the next day.

His hands slide underneath your sweater and rest gently on your hip, “no one’s home, right?” he whispers, his lips vibrating against your skin.

You rest your hands on his bare chest, feeling his heart pound against the skin, “we’re all alone baby,” you murmur, pressing your lips to his once again.

He effortlessly lifts you up and lays you down on your bed, suddenly towering over you, “you know i scored the game winning goal today” He smiles cockily.

You look into his dark brown eyes, feeling a blush creep over you, “oh and how should we celebrate, superstar?”

He chuckles softly before leaning down and kissing down your jaw, slowly removing your shirt from your body, “i got a few ideas in mind,”

Within seconds he’s on top of you, one hand kneading your breasts, the other slipping underneath your leggings and collecting your wetness.

“Are you going to be a good girl for me?” he asks, sliding your leggings and panties down your legs as your legs fall open for him and he begins to kiss down your abdomen.

You writhe underneath him and let out a gasp as his tongue licks up your folds. You run your hand through his luscious locks as he picks up his pace and begins to work at your clit. You buck your hips up as you moan out with pleasure.

“So good for me you pretty girl,” he grumbles against your dripping pussy, slipping three fingers into you, his calloused fingers pumping in and out of you. You felt a knot forming in your stomach and knew you were close.

“Alex, please, faster,” you moan, only alex lifts his head and kisses back up your torso before placing a sloppy kiss to your lips, sucking on his fingers.

“I want you babygirl,” he mumbles as your hands fumble with the zipper on his jeans, helping him slide out of his boxers. Without any warning alex pushes into you, his thrusts harsh and fast. The room is filled with the sound of both your moans, his thrusts getting sloppier and sloppier. And when you both reach out your highs he slows his pace to drag out your orgasm, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead.

“Such a beautiful girl,” he hums, sliding off the bed and redressing before looking over at the clock.

You suddenly feel vulnerable and exposed, bringing your blanket up to cover yourself as Alex approaches the door, “I’ll be seeing you princess,”

You wave sheepishly at the closed bedroom door that he just escaped behind, sighing at how foolish you are, how you would consistently drop everything to be there for him. You think back to the hundreds of other nights spent like this, the two of you having your moment, and him bolting as soon as he decides it’s over leaving no trace behind.

You sit in your dark room, convinced alex does love you deep down, that he’s different and not the kind of guy that shows up on your doorstep just for sex. But you’d be lying if you didn’t admit that sometimes, you felt as if you were a pawn in his game.

You think back to your first “date” with him, how you were defiant and didn’t want to go, but how 10 minutes quickly turned into an hour and that hour was suddenly six. He made you feel special, like you were on top of the world, like you could be something more than just a barista in a busy city. You reminisce about the time you and alex once dreamt up a future together: a small cottage in minnesota, three kids running wild in the yard after a long day at the beach. You wipe away tears that happen to fall as you realize what you’ve been trying to fight for months: you were in love with him, and you could only hope that you actually meant something to him.

~*~

The crackling noise of the firewood and the light tunes of your favorite band filled your living room where you and your best friends sat binge watching the latest reality tv episode. You lean forward to grab an oreo off the plate on the coffee table, breaking it in half and eating the side without cream first.

“You know the guy I matched with on tinder the other night?” maddie asks, taking her phone out. You and christine hum in unison.

“So, i was curious and went to look at his instagram, and…” her voice trails off as she scrolls through her phone’s home screen, “here i’ll just show you.”

You lean back on the sofa, running your hands through your hair, “how bad is it?”

“You really gotta get better taste, if i see one more picture of a guy holding a fish i’m going to lose it,” Christine laughs, grabbing an oreo for herself.

“Oh shit,” maddie whispers

“What?” you and christine ask impatiently

“Hey, uh, y/n, isn’t this the guy from the coffee shop? Mr. I want a date and I refuse to leave this shop until I get your number?” she laughs, and you instantly reach to take her phone from her hands desperate for any opportunity to see him, but when you see the picture your face falls and you can feel the color drain. “It was on my explore page…” maddie adds, reaching for her phone but you turn away continuing to look down at the screen.

There he was. Your superstar. Wide grin, dimples present, his hair still wet and curling loosely at the ends, his button down shirt wrinkled and exposing his upper chest. His arm wrapped tightly around a girl’s tiny waist, her pressing her lips firmly against his cheek, cupping his face in her perfect hands.

You swallow the lump that formed in your throat, scoffing as you toss maddie her phone back, “so? He was just a normal customer, never even took me on that date he insisted on” you lie, turning your attention back to the tv.

Your mind is racing and the conversation between the other girls is drowned out by the flood of thoughts running through your mind. Alex was so much more than just the coffee shop boy, he meant everything to you, he was the only person that could make you feel whole and complete. You hated being a secret to him especially when he consumed every single one of your thoughts, you wished you could be the girl that meant something to him, the one to wear his jerseys at his games as you cheer him on, the one who goes out with his teammates after a big win, the one who gets to go home with him for the holidays to meet his family and fall in love with them for raising the man of your dreams. But you weren’t that girl. You weren’t her and you never would be her.

Later that night you go to alex’s instagram, and it’s as if you got fifty punches right to the gut all over again. Alex was happy with her. Hannah. That was her name. Alex was happy with hannah. You continue to scroll down his page and see that hannah first appeared on his page six months ago. The two of them pressed up against each other in the dim light of a bar, him leaning down and kissing her cheek. You laugh sadly at how stupid you were thinking that what you had with him was real and that you were anything more than someone to help fill a void. Your phone lights up with an incoming call, alex’s name appearing.

“Hey superstar!” you cheer, forcing a smile.

“Hey you,” he grins, “i was just thinking about you actually, can i come over?”

You say yes without hesitation, and that’s when you realize that you would continue ruining yourself for his sake as long as it meant he was going to stay in your life. You’d do anything to make him stay.

~*~

Work was a hassle, the coffee shop getting slammed with the drop of the holiday drinks, the city streets constantly bustling with tourists and holiday shoppers trying to find the best deals. You were excited to finally have a weekend off to just relax and have no worries. You approach your apartment door and smell the savory aroma of food cooking, and you're confused since you live alone.

You cautiously push open the door, peeking into the kitchen as a smile blossoms on your face. “Alex!” you cheer, running up to hug him as he peppers your face with kisses.

You pull away from him, setting your bag on the kitchen table, “what are you doing here?”

He turns his attention back to the stove, “well, i know you’ve been stressed with work and school lately, so I thought i’d do something nice for you,”

Your heart swells and you begin to feel all warm and fuzzy, “i don’t deserve you,”

He laughs, “go change and get comfy, dinner will be ready soon. It’s your favorite and I also brought your favorite movies.”

You smile to yourself as you walk into your bedroom, putting on your pajamas and walking back out to see alex has prepared two identical plates, “ready?” he asks, a boyish smile on his face.

The night is filled with the two of you snuggled into each other’s sides on the couch, laughing at all the same parts of the movies, crying at other parts, making jokes here and there, and planning a getaway trip to a small coastal town. After three movies, and the sun long gone, the soft beat of his heart begins to lull you to sleep.

“You sleepy princess?” he asks softly, scooping you up in his arms and carrying you to your bed.

You’re half asleep as he tucks you in and presses a kiss to your forehead, “sleep well baby”

You reach your arms out for him, “you’re not going to stay with me tonight?” your voice is sad, not wanting this picture perfect night to end.

You hear him laugh as he runs his finger up and down your hand, pressing a light kiss to the top of it, “not tonight princess, i’ll call you tomorrow though.”

“Promise?”

“I cross my heart and hope to die,”

“Good,” you mumble, turning over and getting comfortable.

There’s a long silence and you know he’s still in the room since the hallway light is peeking into your room. And you can’t help but fall asleep happy, thinking that life is finally going right and you have the best guy by your side.

“I love you…”

You hear the floorboards shift under his weight and just like that he’s escaped into the abyss of the night, just like he always does.

~*~

“So you coming over or what?” he repeats, a harsh undertone suddenly appearing.

You smile, impatiently pressing the elevator button over and over again because it never seems to come quick enough, “uh, yeah, yeah, I’m on my way. I was thinking, we could maybe watch that movie you were talking ab-”

His deep voice cuts you off, his usually kind and patient tone now stern, “we need to talk.”

You stare at your reflection in the elevator door as your face falls, trying to fight the inevitable tears that spring to your eyes, and you just know tonight isn’t going to be like the others.

#alex turcotte #la kings #wisconsin hockey #ntdp #ntdp boys #ntdp imagine #hockey #USA Hockey #alex vlasic #trevor zegras #cole caufield #ryder donovan #shay donovan #jack hughes #johnny beecher

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brandystanford · 5 years

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What about a reunion with Jake from ES after the cursed end where mc sacrafices themselves but they eventually find each other? I'm still not over it 🙃

I’m so sorry this took so long!! I finally got some free time today to finish it up and I loved writing it! Enjoy!

Jake let out a heavy sigh as he took a sip of his beer. Hiseyes were closed as he leaned forward against the railing of the gazebo. Thesun shone bright above, but he barely felt the heat on his face as the strawroof above his head blocked out the sun. “Five years,” He muttered after awhile, opening his eyes. “Jesus, it feels like it all happened yesterday.

Michelle nodded in agreement, staring ahead at the ocean.“It’s strange, isn’t it? One day we’re fighting for our lives in the mostliteral way possible, and the next… everything just goes back to normal.”

He nodded, a solemn expression on his face. “Not tomention…”

“I know, Jake.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, frowningto herself. “And… that’s why we’re all here. Taylor meant so much to all of us.And I can guarantee you that none of us go a day without thinking about whatshe did for us.”

He nodded, letting out a sigh as he scratched at his chin.“You’re right..” His voice was quiet. “It just… it isn’t fair. She went throughjust as much as the rest of us, hell, probably more then the rest of us, and…she had to give it all up.”

“It was her choice. And… they were all shitty options oneway or another, but she made it for herself. She wanted to save all of us.” Shegave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, smiling reassuringly at him. “Youincluded.”

He glanced up at her with a faint smile, chuckling tohimself a bit. “When’d you get so wise, McDreamy?”

“Always have been, McKenzie. You just always refused tolisten.” She raised an eyebrow at him, a smirk playing at her lips. “McDreamy?”

“…I watched a few episodes of Grey’s Anatomy on the flight.”

She grinned up at him, laughing to herself. “You never failto amaze me, Jake.”

“All a part of the charm.” He said with a small chuckle.

Before either of them had a chance to get another word in,shouting could be heard from across the beach. Michelle furrowed her brows andlooked towards the commotion while Jake simply looked confused. “What thehell’s going on?”

“How should I know?” The two of them only became moreconfused as they heard bits of everyone’s conversation.

“It has to be her..”

“We can’t be positive.”

“It looks just like her, Sean!”

“We can’t ignore all he weird shit that happened here! Thiscould be a trick!”

“By who?”

“Come on, Meech,” Jake was already on his way down to thebeach where everyone else was. His voice sounded distant when he was spoke asall his attention was solely focused on what the hell was going on.

Michelle followed close behind, her gaze filled with bothcuriosity and determination. Nothing especially strange had happened on LaHuerta since Taylor’s sacrifice, but they could never be too careful.

When the two of them finally got down to the beach, Jakepushed his way through the crowd of his friends. That’s when he saw her.

Taylor was lying in the sand, her eyes closed as strands ofher wet hair fell over her face. One arm lay across her stomach as the otherlaid out to the side, almost limp. Her head laid limp off to one side, rightcheek resting in the sand. The rest of her soft features were drenched in oceanwater. Someone had brought her far enough away from the shore that the smallwaves that were coming in were a few feet short of reaching her.

She looked just as Jake remembered.

“Is she dead..?” He asked quietly, dreading that the answerwould be yes and he’d have to face the reality of her being gone a second time.

Before anyone could get a word out, Taylor started coughing.Everyone turned to stare at her with wide eyes, her coughs and the soft oceanwaves the only noise. She began to sit up, her coughs eventually leading toocean water coming out of her mouth.

When the coughing stopped, she slowly moved her head up tostare at the eleven people standing in front of her.

“Princess..?”

Her eyes locked with Jake’s the moment she heard his voice.Her face lit up as she grinned over at him. “You’re here..” A laugh came out asshe spoke, and it came from pure joy.

Jake didn’t hesitate to run towards her. He knelt down whenhe was by her side and kissed her passionately. He ran his fingers through herhair, his other hand resting on her waist. It was the kiss that he had dreamedabout. The one that he had spent the last five years wishing for. And itsurpassed his expectations even more then he thought possible.

Taylor moved her hands up to cup his face, her smile neverbreaking as the two of them kissed. They only pulled away when the two of thembegan to run out of breath. “I missed you too, Hotness.” She spoke in awhisper, her voice loud enough for only him to hear. There was a small, joyous laughto her voice as she spoke. Something he had missed dearly.

He held her hand in his own as he helped her stand up, andhe didn’t hesitate before wrapping her into a warm embrace. “Don’t ever leaveme like that again, okay?”

She closed her eyes as she relaxed into his arms. “Ipromise,”

Soon enough, everyone had their happy reunion with Taylor.Many tears were shed as everyone exchanged stories of what had happened thelast five years. How they came back here every year because of her.

Hours passed, and eventually night came. Jake stood under the gazebo with Taylor, hisarms wrapped around her from behind as he stared out at the ocean. His gaze eventuallymoved from the ocean to Taylor, and a smile formed at the corners of his mouth.“I thought you were really gone..” He said quietly to her.

She looked up at him, biting her lip. “I did too,” Shestared down at the ground, furrowing her brows. “I was dead, Jake. I don’t knowwhat the hell happened that changed that, probably more weird La Huerta shit,but… god, I’m so glad that it happened. The thought of never seeing any of myfriends again, never seeing you again..” She looked up at him with tears in hereyes. “I couldn’t bare it.”

Jake looked down at her sympathetically. He felt the same way.Though… he wasn’t the one who had to die. “I know, Taylor.” He whispered.Cupping her cheek in his hand, he gently wiped her tears away with his thumb. “Believeme, the thought of never seeing you again, thinking you were dead,” He shookhis head. “It was a lot to deal with. But you’re here now. And I’m gonna appreciateevery moment of it.”

She sniffled as she stared up at him, her eyes full ofadoration. “I love you, Jake McKenzie.”

“I love you too, Taylor.” He closed his eyes and placed hisother hand on her hip, kissing her gently. For once, everything seemed to be atpeace. And they couldn’t be happier about that.

#playchoices #endless summer #es #jake x mc #mc x jake #jake mckenzie #jacob lucas mckenzie #my writing #thanks for the ask!#ask #anonymous

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whattaylormademedo · 5 years

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Hi guys. This is a personal update to explain what’s been going on with me. Please read it. I could use any support I can get as I fight this challenging condition. This is long so bear with me please

I’m currently in my fourth hospital stay this year to treat a rare neurological condition called Stiff Person Syndrome. I have it in my full body and have had it for months in this severe episode(some people only have it in one body part, I have it all over my body from head to toe) and I have a migraine that’s lasted since February. Stiff Person Syndrome involves paralyzing and excruciating muscle spasms (think a charlie horse but all over my body) that leave me painfully contorted and stuck because my muscles spasm harder than the rest of my body can bend. Antagonist and agonist muscles usually spasm against each other, leaving me literally unmovable and in 10/10 pain. For Stiff Person Syndrome, spasms have been known to have enough force to break bones. Luckily I think thus far I’ve only done damage to my feet, but the spasms vary hour by hour and they are excruciatingly painful and occur 24/7, even during my sleep. I don’t sleep more than 4ish hours a night even with all the medications I’m on, as the spasms wake me up because they are so painful.

I had to put my entire life on hold. Formerly a straight A’s college student, I’ve had to withdraw from college and leave my home and am basically living at one of the only hospitals that even knows how to treat this now, hundreds of miles away from my house and my family. They don’t know when I’ll be stable enough to leave. Because of the nature of this disease, any touch to me, touch to the bed that I’m lying on, or movement of my body causes excruciating pain and uncontrollable spasms that can last anywhere from hours to days to weeks. I’ve been unable to walk or stand since March. On good days I can move some limbs while lying in bed. I can’t travel because every bump in the road sends me into full-body extreme spasms. Many times I am fully paralyzed, unable to move my legs or arms because the spasms are tighter than anyone can resist. Every movement can trigger a spasm, hence why I haven’t been scrolling around and being active. Right now I can move my left hand and right thumb to type this (no control of the right arm or other fingers on my right hand atm) but usually can’t move either of my arms, hands, or legs as they twist and contort beyond what a body should bend. It’s excruciatingly painful. I’ve been not responding well to the first line of treatment, and the second hasn’t had any progress. I’ve been bedbound for a long time and don’t know if/when I’ll be able to stand or walk again.

I’ve been staring at these hospital wall for 31 days. I haven’t seen outside in months because the light is so bright and I have to wear a blindfold in light environments (and we even have had to black out the windows because the light was too bright for my head). It’s been debilitating, lonely, and heartbreaking for me and my whole family. It’s been scary and lonely, but I am lucky enough to have both parents here for support. Any messages of support from anyone here would mean the world to me because I feel so alone in this. I don’t know how long I will be at this hospital, but it’s looking like at least a few weeks, possibly months.

Every day is a struggle battling my body and its spasms. I’ve had to cut my hair (it’s like a pixie cut now) because my condition made me have to cut it without a choice (I know it’s not a big deal to most people but I was very much emotionally attached to my hair and I’ve always had hair down to my lower back and it feels like a huge loss to me and still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it. It was the last part of my appearance I hadn’t lost control over and it was and still is very emotional for me).

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to bring my service dog Taylor with me to the hospital because he’s too big and shakes me and the bed and sends me into spasms. I’ve never been away from him for this long and it’s been rough for him and I being away from him. He’s back home in New York and I’m hundreds of miles away. I miss him terribly. He used to be by my side every moment of every day wherever I went, so not having him here feels so lonely.

I’m lonely and scared and I have a long road ahead and could use any encouragement or support you can message me or anything.

The announcement of Lover was a huge thing for me, it gives me an attainable and reliable goal for something to look forward to, which I haven’t had in awhile. It is a godsend in this really challenging time to have some good news for once and a goal to keep me motivated and going through all the pain, tests, uncertainties, and fear. Every hard thing I go through now I can think to myself that I have the 23rd of August to look forward to and it has been pushing me along through all the difficult spasms and moments I’ve had since the announcement. I’m extremely thankful for this album and the songs released so far have meant everything to me. They get me through moments that I don’t know how else I could cope. Knowing this album is coming out gives me the strength to power through all the spasms and tests and shit they have to do, where beforehand I felt close to giving up.

Clean of course will always my anthem, but it seems to have taken a new meaning for me lately. I am in the rainstorm rn but I hope one day to be clean from this illness and back to my normal life. I’m thankful for the comfort and hope that song has always given me. But I am so excited to hear Lover, it’s really keeping me fighting.

But back to messages of support, I really need them and would be extremely grateful for any support or hope or anything at all. I’m really lonely and going through a lot with Stiff Person Syndrome, a one in a million with a variant that puts me at one in 5 million, and it’s a lonely battle. If you’ve read this far, thank you. I really need some support, and would love any message or ask or something, even though I can’t use this app for long and my hands are locking up again, I always can read or have someone show me messages and stuff like that. It would atm mean the world to hear from you guys during this whole thing. I miss you all terribly, and messages seem like a good way to communicate that

Thank you if you’ve read this far. I’m thankful to have your support as I battle this disease. I love you guys and I’m lucky to have you ❤️

#stiff person syndrome #Personal #My Post #sorry tbis is so long i had to get it out before #while i can still move my hands #pls send messages of support a d #s #if i dont respond its cuz i cant #move my hands so pls dont be offended #ill tryand gdt slmelne to type flr md #hands freezing up gtg but ily gjhs #and pls s #send me support #i nddd

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schraubd · 5 years

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TV Timeout

Quick thoughts on some of the television I'm watching right now. Warning -- spoilers ahead for any of these shows: Game of Thrones

The last episode was basically unwatchable. Not because it was bad -- although it wasn't great -- but literally: it was so dark and blurry you basically couldn't see anything.

It's rare one says this about Game of Thrones but -- they were too skimpy on the character killing. Pretty much every major character came out alive. The big exceptions -- Theon, Jorah -- were at the end of redemption arcs anyway. There were no "shocking" or even particularly tragic deaths. Jaime, Brienne, or Grey Worm would've worked fine. Maybe GoT has gone soft in its old age.

I like Arya killing the Night King. I'd have liked it more if she had directly used some of the shape-shifting assassin skill she'd been developing, rather than sort of jumping out of ... nowhere? How did she get there? Is that supposed to be the assassin skill?

Billions

While I continue to think this is one of the best shows on television right now, I must admit I'm not enjoying this season quite as much as some of the others. Chuck's plot, in particular, seems to be spinning its wheels a bit. But the Taylor/Axe fight, which I think holds a lot of potential, still for me seems to mostly involve them circling each other and sending out skirmishes. I want a real battle.

You know who's due for a plot? Sacker.

I also don't like the direction they've taken the Rhodes' sex life. Showtime has often been weirdly good about handling non-normative sexuality in the least likely places (see also: a gender-fluid teenager in "House of Lies"), and I appreciated how it treated BDSM as non-pathological. This season? Definitely pathological. And that's putting aside Chuck's reveal on national television -- I'm talking about him physically mutilating himself because he "needs" the pain.

I do like that they quickly and, I hope, permanently disposed of the Russian oligarch character. One thing I've liked about Billions is that it resists the easy play that rich = utterly amoral such that they'd all just being willing to kill people to get what they want. Yes, they destroy lives via other means, but it is more realistic characterization that they think of what they do as very distinct from violent crime, and willingness to do the one does not translate to the other. The Russian plotline threatened to upset that, and I'm glad it went away.

Wendy is a straight-up monster, it turns out. Was she always so, or is this character development? I'm not sure, and I don't think that speaks well of how the arc has charted out. But Mafee sure earned that rant.

Speaking of Mafee, I'm worried about him. He's one of the very few "good guys" left on this show, which makes him a prime target for Axe to destroy/Taylor to betray. I don't want to see him get hurt.

Above notwithstanding, I absolutely do want to see him in a boxing match with Dollar Bill.

Taylor's dad = B+. Axe's new girlfriend = A+. Dollar Bill's "final solution" for the chicken problem = A++++.

American Ninja Warrior Junior

Just renewed for Season Two! This was a great show -- the kids were both adorable and talented, and the conceit of the show transitioned well.

While I won't say she's destined for a career on television, Laurie Hernandez worked as a sideline reporter. Also, placing Laurie -- who is basically defined by being "small" and "graceful" -- next to a bunch of nine-year-olds who make her look like a lumbering giantess is a never-ending source of visual comedy for me.

One point of adjustment: the pacing of the show on a season-wide level. The prelims lasted forever. And then there was no change to the course even in the semifinal or final round. Give those who advance a new challenge!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

I'd say the jump to NBC is a success. There hasn't been a huge shift in tone, though it does seem like perhaps we're getting a bit more fan service than normal (hey -- we earned it for saving the show).

Oh, also NBC allows bleeping, which allowed the writers to set-up Santiago's fantastic "This B wants a C in her A" moment.

Obviously sad to see Gina go -- but happy that Scully and Hitchcock made the main credits!

Project Runway

I have to say, I like Karlie Kloss -- she who, as I've taken to putting it, "married one of the good Kushners" -- more than I thought I would. Like Heidi, she's sooooo pretty, but also seems fun and nice. She's doing a good job. Way to represent team Jew, Karlie!

The new judges are forgettable and should just let Nina run things. More surprising is that Christian Siriano isn't popping on screen at all. He's definitely no replacement for Tim Gunn.

I am enjoying the budding Hester/Tessa rivalry. I'm on Team Tessa -- I like her clean, sharp looks. Hester sometimes does cool things, but also sometimes seems like a Rainbow Brite doll who got locked in a rave for six years.

Surprisingly, the producers have done a decent job keeping the challenges feeling fresh and novel. Good job, producers!

via The Debate Link http://bit.ly/2GNebDW

#television

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itsalycenotalice · 7 years

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Five-0 Redux: A warning from McGarrett’s past reminds us of what matters most

By Wendie Burbridge / Special to the Star-Advertiser May 6, 2017

For the most part, fans watch “Hawaii Five-0” for more than just the pretty scenery, shoot-em-up action, and intense drama. Not that viewers don’t enjoy that part of the hit television show, it seems as if they want more than just a typical police procedural.

Earlier this week, I was talking to former principal and personnel director of Hawaii’s public schools, Wendell Staszkow, about “Hawaii Five-0.” Like most Hawaiians, Staszkow watched the original Jack Lord, James MacArthur, and Kam Fong version, which aired from 1968 to 1980. Today, as an “ex-pat” living in Las Vegas where he works as an admissions counselor for UNLV, he watches the reboot to get a weekly dose of his island home– and because his daughter writes this column. While we were talking on the phone last Sunday, he said the best thing in all my years of writing about the show.

“Sometimes I want to watch “Hawaii Five-0” just to see them chase the bad guys, lock ‘em up, and then go have a beer,” he said.

I had to laugh. I’ve had fans around the world tell me what they like and love about the show, but my dad wins the “best fan quote” award in seven seasons. Because while the plot my father presents is simple, easy, with no frills– these are usually the kind of episodes many of us enjoy the most. Sure, we like the car chases, and the gun fights, and the funny subplots with our secondary characters– but all in all, give us the good guys catching the bad guys, add a pau hana beer to the mix, and that is a great show.

So this week’s episode had me a little trepidatious. The episode, written by Rob Hanning and directed by Krishna Rao, was titled “He keʻu na ka ʻalae a Hina” which means “a croaking by Hina’s mudhen.” The title comes from a traditional ʻōlelo noʻeau, or Hawaiian proverb, that means “a warning of trouble, as the cry of a mudhen at night is a warning of distress.” The cry of distress comes from Naser Salaam (Omid Abtahi), an inmate at Gitmo, who McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) once showed great kindness to after he was captured by McG’s SEAL team ten years earlier.

Salaam asks McGarrett to come to Guantanamo Bay, so he can tell him in person about an impending terrorist attack on Oʻahu. He tells McG that if there is anyone who McGarrett loves on Oʻahu, “to get them off the island, and get them off now.” When McGarrett brings the news to his team, they are beyond skeptical. Yet, McGarrett feels that Salaam is paying McG back for the way McG treated him when he was being interrogated for information.

I loved the flashback scenes between McG and Salaam. While they were painful to watch, as Salaam has obviously been beaten and tortured, it is McGarrett’s actions that make the scenes between them so important. McG treats him with dignity. He brings him a prayer rug, allowing him ten minutes to pray. He gives him a meal after he has not been fed for a week, even though he is reprimanded by the CIA Operative (Terrell Clayton), who is in charge of gaining intel from Salaam. He sits with Salaam, speaking to the prisoner like a man and not as his enemy. He brings Salaam water as it is obvious he has not had any in days. It’s implied that McGarrett has brought Salaam clean clothing that also covers him appropriately for his prayer time. All of this tells us that McGarrett has tried very hard to treat Salaam decently, with respect, and kindness.

O’Loughlin is always so good in these intimate scenes. He can tell you so much with his eyes and his face. When he removes his ski mask, so that Salaam will see his face, we know he means to gain the man’s trust. As McG talks to him and spends time with him– man to man– rather than enemy to enemy, we can see how his actions reveal his desire to show Salaam that not all men are cruel.

Likewise, Abtahi is equally as strong in each scene, using his eyes to tell more of his character’s story. His character doesn’t speak much, just watches McGarrett for clues on how he is expected to act. It was intriguing to watch the two men play off each other. Both O’Loughlin and Abtahi make these simple, stripped down, scenes work on a much deeper level.

It is this strong use of these quiet scenes, peppered between the bigger and bolder scenes of action, and the Five-0 team chasing the bad guys, that help to make the episode so strong. It is in these scenes, with no special effects or stunts, where we can see how well “Hawaii Five-0” tells a story.

For me, it’s what saves the story. The impending terrorist attack seems so unlikely. Yet when it is coupled with the flashback scenes, showing the development of Salaam’s admiration of McGarrett, that helped to give the terrorist plotline a much stronger frame of reference.

While the Five-0 team chase down Salaam’s tip– to search for intelligence using the code name or phrase “Cain Allah.” With Jerry’s (Jorge Garcia) outside-the-box thinking they realize that perhaps it was an attempt at pronouncing Hawaiian words. So the closest to the word “cain” would be the word “kane” (pronounced kah-nay) or Hawaiian god of the sky, and instead of “Allah” the phrase “ala” as in “the way of”– which means, as McGarrett translates, “the way of the sky.”

Lou (Chi McBride) and Kono (Grace Park) search a travel agency, Ala O Kane, and find that it is actually a front for a “Hawala” which is a traditional way used in the Muslim world to transfer money. It was a way for families to send money home and is mostly based on trust and honor. Yet the team finds all of the paper records of transactions and quickly send the names to Chin (Daniel Dae Kim) who finds a link to a supposed suspect, Adnan Khalid (Nick Shakoour). Khalid is a naturalized American citizen living and teaching in Hawaiʻi, and as they search for him the show gets to turn on their high-powered action.

Five-0 storms Khalid’s house and find a planted video that announces Jihad and the reason for the terrorist attack. The video is set to be uploaded at 6:20 that evening, but they still do not know where Khalid could be. Lou and McG stake out a mosque in Mānoa and have Chin call his burner phone– as it rings, the two chase the owner of the phone, only to have him try and escape on a motorcycle before he is fatally t-boned by an oncoming car.

Once McG turns him over, they realize it was not Khalid they were chasing, but someone else. Seems as if Khalid is being framed to make it look like he is the one orchestrating the terrorist attack. As Lou and McG continue to search for a possible target, they find a photo on the dead bad guy’s burner phone and make a connection to an empty downtown office building.

They think it’s odd that an empty building is going to be attacked. But as they head toward the building, Lou sees that it is in the flight path of oncoming planes. Chin checks all 6:20 flights and realizes that a Marine, who was killed trying to arrest a high-ranking Al Qaeda leader, along with several members of his unit, are on a flight arriving shortly after 6:20. It is also scheduled to fly right over the empty office building.

I think this is where I start to notice the extreme difference of the stunt work of the show versus what it was just a few episodes ago. Stunt coordinator Eric Norris is obviously a complete professional, but his stunts are far more violent and brutal than they have been in the past. While I don’t normally mention that, I sometimes think perhaps too much violence doesn’t work for this show. We want our team to live and not limp– or have so many black eyes. I’m not trying to be a baby– but really, does McG have to get beat up so bad every week? His shiner at the end was awful. Kudos to the make-up team because it looked so real, I hurt for the guy.

So the team realizes that the terrorist attack is that they are going to shoot down the plane filled with innocent civilians and marines– and race to the roof to stop it from happening. McG ends up crawling up the side of the office building, using little more than the fingerhold ledges, to make it onto the roof. I suppose good shoes and gloves helped. Kono and Lou have a standard shootout with two goons protecting the roof access door, so the real terrorist can shoot down the plane with an over the shoulder rocket launcher.

Once McG gets to the roof, the fight that ensues is not at all pretty. McG stabs a knife into the bad guy’s groin and takes a few good punches before he finally just picks up the rocket launcher. When he blows our unnamed bad guy to dust with a well-aimed rocket, we’re pretty excited/shocked/surprised. Good thing the building was empty because the rocket sure left a mark, as well as a small fiery crater.

I suppose that means that my dad got his way this week. Five-0 did chase some very bad guys; they saved the innocent, the framed Khalid; they stopped the terrorists from killing the Marines who were bringing their hero friend home; they had a couple of high-speech car chases and cool gunfights; there was a motorcycle stunt; McGarrett risked his life crawling up the side of a building and engaged in some slick hand-to-hand combat– before taking someone out with a rocket launcher.

And the team ended up having beers and shrimp fried rice at Kamekona’s, where we also tied up the humorous moment of the episode. Humor is always important for an episode and this week didn’t disappoint with Gerard Hirsch (the beloved Willie Garson) returning to again ask Kono to come to his rescue. This time, Adam (Ian Anthony Dale) helped Hirsch with a business plan to expand his crime scene cleaning business. Adam helps him rewrite the plan and shows it to Kamekona (Taylor Wily). Kamekona gives Hirsch the money to expand, thus becoming his partner in cleaning up crime.

So, Dad, you win. This week’s episode had all the parts you like– but it also had the kind of scenes that reveal so much about the character of Five-0. It is those moments that help to show the deep feeling of justice that McGarrett upholds no matter what he faces or what returns from his past.

SOURCE - http://www.staradvertiser.com/2017/05/06/features/five-0-redux/warning-mcgarretts-past-reminds-us-matters/

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