#he makes sully look like indiana

[storiesbyrhi]

Bones and All - Chapter 4: Hawkins, Indiana

Eddie Munson/Reader Series Masterlist

Warnings: canon typical violence/gore, cuss words, weird parental relationships, animal farming/slaughterhouse referenced; no beta; updated each chapter

Synopsis: A Bones and All AU. What do you hunger for?

Chapter Summary: He's not a hometown hero but he might just be yours.

“So, you never finished school?” Eddie asked, his one question when you told him about the sleepover. Blood-soaked shag rugs. Tinsel skirts and high pitch screaming. But he wanted to know about you.

“No… I could have a couple times over but, you know,”

“Yeah. I haven’t either. There’s other ways to learn…” He shrugged, kept his eyes on the road. You were making good time to get to Hawkins. “And your mum left after that?”

“Um, not straight away. Two months,”

“That’s weird,”

“Yeah,” you agreed. Yeah. Why had she waited? If that was the final straw, then why drag it out and make you feel safe and forgiven?

Your mother’s letter played in your mind sometimes. It was her voice you heard, but it sounded far away like an echo. ‘Maybe never loved you like a parent should,’ and ‘I will always love you, Y/N. Please don’t come looking for me.’ What was the truth?

“Do you think she was afraid of you?” Eddie asked.

Although you had just been talking about her, it still took a second for your head to connect it. Had your mother been afraid of you? Of course, it had sort of half-occurred to you that she might have been, but it seemed infinitely more likely now Eddie had verbalised it.

You felt a pain shoot down your spine and an ache in your fingers; you pulled at them trying to coax warmth back into your hands.

Eddie saw it on your face, said your name and tried to apologise, but you didn’t hear him at all.

Was she afraid of me?

Did she love me?

If she was afraid of me, how could she love me?

Penny. Luke. Dmitri. Kevin. Marcus. Noble. CJ. Jamie. Lydia.

The letter said your mother saw no shame on your face after you ate Luke Vanderwall. Maybe you knew how to hide shame by then? Maybe you had already mastered emotional concealment? Because you sure as fuck felt shame. Didn’t you?

All your contradictions suddenly came into pristine focus. Leaving Sully under the pretence of not deserving guidance nor company, then asking Eddie for those very things. Spitting venom at Andy for offering help, but using that same word when speaking to Eddie.

Did you deserve guidance and company and help and love, or not? What did you believe about yourself? What was the truth?

The truth is like the waiting jaws of a monster, a more menacing monster than you’d ever be. It yawns beneath your feet, and you can’t escape it, and as soon as you drop, it chews you to pieces.*

She never loved me.

She felt guilty for bringing me into the world.

I was just another responsibility.

An obligation.

Any kindness… empathy… it was all because she was so guilty.

Penny. Luke. Dmitri. Kevin. Marcus. Noble. CJ. Jamie. Lydia.

Why did I let Eddie help?

Pretence?

What do I want from him?

Penny. Luke. Dmitri. Kevin. Marcus. Noble. CJ. Jamie. Lydia.

I’m gon-

“M’gonna puke,” you managed to get out before clamping your hands around your mouth.

Eddie had already pulled over the van, but you hadn’t noticed. He expected you to bolt, so when you didn’t he nudged at you with an urgent, “Go!”

You flew from the passenger seat and across the road, throwing yourself to the ground and vomiting up everything your stomach had been trying to break down. Through your tears, you saw the still-formed top section of Lydia Harmon’s finger. You’d bitten it clean off and swallowed it whole. Now, it sat amongst the bile and soup.

Crawling away from the mess, you made it to the shade of a tree, laying in the dirt and dying grass. The itch of an ant crawling up your arm begged you to move, but you stayed motionless.

Eddie watched it all from the van, his arms hugging the wheel and his chin resting on it. He was berating himself for asking the question; speaking before thinking had gotten him into trouble in the past.

It wasn’t so much the eating that made Eddie consider himself a monster. It was the conflicted emotions he experienced after. Sure, there was guilt. But only sometimes. Sometimes he liked it. That made him bad, right? But watching you paralysed with misery because of something he said made him feel really, really fucking bad. More than guilt. A little like heartbreak. That had to count for something…

Eddie gave you five minutes in the dirt before he came over with water. He was sure he was going to apologise, but he stayed silent. You were glad he did. He helped you stand up and you followed him back to the van. You pressed on like nothing happened.

When you stopped for lunch, Eddie went into the roadside diner while you went into the toilets. You were staring at yourself in the scratched up mirror when there was a knock on the door.

“Occupied,” you said as loudly as your voice would go.

Someone had written RB 4 MG 4EVA on the wall in pink lipstick. You wondered if RB and MG were still together. A little further over, a thick black Sharpie had been used to draw a heart with SGC written inside.

“Y/N? It’s me,” Eddie called through the door.

When you opened the door, he was standing right there. “Sorry. You have to go?”

“Nah.” He was looking at you with his arms crossed. “I got food,”

“Good,”

“Ah, do you wanna sit or eat, or just… hit the road?”

You wanted to not have to make decisions.

Eddie’s expression softened and he stepped closer to you. “I’m… I’m gonna hug you now. Okay?”

You nodded helplessly, then felt the warm pressure of Eddie’s arms wrapped around you. You buried your face in his chest and snaked your way around his torso. There were no more tears to cry, so you just breathed heavily.

Eddie smelt like cigarettes. Not fresh tobacco leaves. The cheap brand. You hadn’t seen him smoke though; maybe you’d ask him about it later. Under that scent was his humanness, but it was sour. The same sourness on Sully. Was that it? Was that the smell of an eater? Other people were sweeter. Other people smelt like what they had eaten. What they had spent the day doing. Not Eddie.

Cigarettes and sour. He smelt earthy and more neutral than he should have, given that neither of you had showered in a while, and he was so so close to you.

“Are you thinking about eating me?” Eddie joked.

“You don’t smell like everyone else,” you replied.

He paused, then, “So, you were thinking about eating me?”

You smiled into him and sighed. He took it as a good sign. He kissed the top of your head, but it felt the same as if he had just nestled into it.

“Let’s just keep going, yeah? We’ll get to Hawkins just after dark. Probably not a bad thing. I shouldn’t really be seen around town…”

You nodded and regretfully let him go, following him back to the van. He handed you the plastic bag he’d been holding. Two roast beef sandwiches and two cans of Dr Pepper.

“Do you need to know why?”

“Why what?” you asked.

“Why I can’t be seen in town?”

You shook your head. “No.”

The sandwich was objectively good, but you couldn’t taste much. It didn’t really satisfy you. Neither had the camp stove soup before it, or Spaghetti-Os. You’d been hungry too soon after Lydia.

…

Hawkins was nothing remarkable, but it wasn’t the worst place in the world either. You watched the town go by through the dirty van window, sitting up straighter when Eddie cut the lights and slowed right down.

“Neighbours notice everything,” he said. “And trailer parks? They’re like mini-towns. We’ve gotta go under the radar as much as we can.”

The van was parked behind some trees just down from Forest Hill Trailer Park’s entrance. You and Eddie carried your bags through a small wooded area, coming out into the Park behind some mobile homes. He knew his way around, even in the dark, unlike you. It took you almost tripping once before he held his hand out behind him so you could hold on.

“We’ll go through the bedroom window,” he whispered, coming to a trailer. The window was unlocked, sliding up easily. He climbed onto a trash can, wincing when it banged against the wall loudly. Once inside, Eddie helped you up and in.

“This is your uncle’s?” you clarified.

“Yeah. I grew up here, basically. He works nights at the plant in town, so he won’t be back till tomorrow.”

The darkness meant you couldn’t see the room around you perfectly. You could make out the bed and side tables, and that it was very sparsely decorated. Everything seemed to be in cardboard boxes in the corner of a room.

“Yeah, ah, this used to be my room. Well, I mean, Wayne says it still is. But the trailer only has one bedroom, so when I started to, you know, not be here, I put all my shit in the boxes so he could stop sleeping on the fold out.”

Following him out of the bedroom, you noted a small bathroom to your left, then the main kitchen and living room. The space had larger windows, lighting it with moonlight. It was enough to see by but in no way romantic.

“Welcome to, ah, my castle.”

There were dozens of novelty mugs and baseball caps sitting on shelves around the room.  It was a tidy space, lived in but also missing the warmth that comes with family.

“Here, you take the flashlight. We gotta keep the lights off,”

“Neighbours,” you said.

“Neighbours.”

Eddie cooked another scraped-together meal. He didn’t want to go using up all of Wayne’s supplies. He felt bad enough for skipping out on him all the time and for… everything else. He didn’t want to add ‘eating all the food’ to the list. While he cooked, he could tell you were still deep in contemplation.

Eddie knew his own mother was terrified of him, as she had been of his father. One of his first memories, if not the first, was one of the look of abject horror on her face when she found him after he’d eaten. It never got better after that.

It seemed odd that the same truth had thrown you, but he had empathy. He knew that people hid all sorts of shit from themselves. It sucked when it came to the surface.

When he brought dinner over to the small two person table, you were standing in front of three framed photos on the wall. The first was Eddie, maybe ten-years-old, dressed as a skeleton for Halloween. The second was a photo of a man who you assumed was Wayne, holding a baby you assumed was Eddie. Eddie was asleep but Wayne’s face was wide awake with happiness. The last photo was an older Eddie, maybe fifteen or sixteen.

The face in the last photo was almost the one Eddie wore now, but there was a lightness in the expression that was hard to imagine on the Eddie you knew. He also didn’t have the same scar across his cheek.

It was then you realised you hadn’t given much thought to Eddie’s scar at all. You’d noticed his hair and big brown eyes. What he wore. How he held himself. The different smiles. The shape of his lips. The palms of his hands. A lot more. The scar that crawled from his jawline, across his left cheek though, it seemed so much part of him that it hadn’t earned a second thought. It was as if your mind had just decided he was born with it. But, of course he hadn’t been. The third photograph told you so.

“Good?” Eddie asked, breaking your concentration and drawing your attention back to him.

When you tasted the food, you told him, “You’re good at this… Making something out of nothing.”

He swallowed and looked away. “I’ll go see Red in the morning. Early. You can take the bed tonight,”

"Red?"

"Max."

You nodded. “I had the bed last time,”

“It’s fine. I’ll take the couch. Or the fold out.”

You didn’t want to argue, so you just nodded again, taking another mouthful. Was he hungry like you? Did he feel it growing inside him like you did? Was it normal?  You wanted to ask but talking about eating was still something you weren’t used to, despite your best efforts.

Washing the dishes in warm water felt nice on your hands. It was good to help. Eddie dried and put everything away.

“You can have a shower if you want. If you can do it in the dark,” Eddie offered. He showed you where everything was, then handed you a clean towel. “S’alright if you leave the door open for light. I won’t spy or anything.”

The bed was comfortable and clean, unlike the cowboy’s. Sleep felt so close. Real actual rest. It wouldn’t come though. You knew Eddie was awake in the next room. He was quiet for a while, probably reading by moonlight. He began to toss and turn like you. Your heart rate picked up when you heard the squeak of the couch and the soft padding of Eddie walking down the hall.

“You awake?” he whispered, paused at the open door.

“Yeah,” you whispered back.

Eddie moved through the darkness, getting into bed with you without saying another word. Before you could will your body to unfreeze or think of much at all, he had wriggled closer to you, spooned himself into your back. As he spoke, you could feel his breath on the back of your neck.

“This okay?”

“Yeah,” you answered, but your voice sounded different. It caught you off guard, but Eddie was too on the cusp of sleep to notice.

He put an arm around you, pulled you closer to him. Not having to do anything, decide anything, made it easy. You melted into the mattress and into Eddie like it was the thing your body was born to do.

…

There was a note on the kitchen bench when you woke up.

With Max. Be back soon. Be ready to leave. – E

After making sure your bag was packed and by the bedroom window, where Eddie had already put his, you went to look at the photos on the wall again. You wanted to see if there were more somewhere but you couldn’t just look through all Wayne’s things. The man you had never met was already being more of a host than he should have been.

The clock on the microwave told you it was just passed ten in the morning. You were wondering how long an overnight shift was when Eddie came tumbling through the bedroom window.

“Ready?”

“Yeah,” you said, falling in line like a soldier.

Halfway back to the van, in the middle of the little wooded area, you heard leaves crunch and twigs snap behind you.

“Eddie!” a voice called.

You both turned.

“Shut up. Shhhh,” Eddie warned, stepping back towards the red-haired teenager.

She rolled her eyes and looked behind him to you. “She your girlfriend?”

“She’s my friend. What are you doing here? I told you to go to school,”

“Why? You don’t go,”

“Yeah, I’m a dumbass though. Come on, Red. Don’t do this,”

“Me?!” Max yelled. Eddie stepped closer again, frantically waving his arms in an attempt to get her to be quieter. “Oh my god. Nobody cares Eddie. You’re the one that makes this weird. Why don’t you just come home? Wayne misses you. He’s always sitting on the doorstep smoking,”

“Don’t try to fuckin’ guilt me, alright? I’m doing a fantastic job at that already.”

Max had her hands on her hips. She looked at Eddie, her face set in a frown. “You go for longer each time… You’re never here,”

“Jesus. We don’t, like, hang out? You’re a kid. You’ve got Dustin and Sinclair,”

“We broke up,”

“Okay. Fuck. Sorry. Alright? I don’t know what you want me to say,” Eddie said, completely exasperated.

Max looked like she might cry, instead she willed herself to get angry. “Do you even fucking care about anyone? You pretend you stay away so it's easier for Wayne, but it’s not. It’s not for Dustin or like, Gareth and Jeff and stuff.”

Eddie took a deep breath in and dropped his duffle bag. He clenched his fist and walked away from her. She watched him walk to a tree and lean against it, pulling every last reserve of patience he had.

You remembered what it was like to be Max’s age. Everything felt personal. Everything felt like abandonment. So, when she said, “And whose van is that, Eddie?” you understood her need to provoke.

Eddie knew he wasn’t going to be able to make her walk away of her own free will. He closed his eyes and let the self-hate wash over him. “I’m not your brother, Max,” he said, voice low.

She looked stunned by his words, her arms falling from her hips and her scowl turning into a sad frown. Eddie turned to her, hoping she’d run, but she was strong and defiant and everything he loved her for.

“I’m sorry, Max. I told you I’d be here, I was. But I’m not your brother. I don’t owe you anything,”

“Fuck you,” she spat, utter grief in her eyes. Max turned and walked away. Both you and Eddie knew that she was crying.

Eddie picked up his bag and began the walk back to the van. It was parked on the side of the road, a little less hidden away than last night.

You jumped into the front passenger seat and carefully moved a McDonalds take away bag to the floor.

“That’s for you,” Eddie mumbled.

“Thanks,” you replied, voice equally quiet.

He started up the van and pulled a u-turn, heading to what appeared to be the town centre. You’d figured Eddie would want to get as far away from Hawkins as possible, but apparently not. Staying silent, you are your breakfast and looked out the window and tried to imagine Eddie’s life in the small town.

Going passed a shopping mall and turning into a residential area, Eddie slowed down. He looked like he was searching for something or someone. When he clocked you watching him out the corner of your eyes, he said, “Found some weed in the trailer. I know someone always looking to buy. Figure we could make a quick buck, get supplies, then blow this joint.”

You nodded and smiled. We.

Eddie pulled up to a house that seemed pretty innocuous, except for the most outlandish swan statue smack-bang in the front yard. It wasn’t even a water feature or fountain. He looked over at you to find your brow set in a frown, a look of judgemental confusion on your face.

“Is that for me or the swan?”

“What?”

“Your face,” he said.

“It’s hideous.”

Eddie snorted a little laugh. “No accounting for taste, I guess. Wait here.”

He was in and out within five minutes. When he got back behind the wheel, Eddie handed you a wad of cash. “You’re the bank,” he said.

You took the money and held it in your hands while he circled the block and headed back the way you came.

“Here,” and he handed you his wallet. “How much do we have?”

The total amount of cash – yours, his, and the newly acquired drug money – was not bad. Eddie seemed happy with it, so you did too.

“There’s a thrift store on the other side of town. It’s big. Got like, camping shit. There’s a gas station just down from it,”

“Sounds good.”

You could tell he wanted to say something. Maybe about Max. The tap tap tapping of his rings on the steering wheel. His other hand brought to his lips, running his knuckles along them. They were giveaways that he wasn’t settled.

Deciding to risk it, you asked, “How’d Max do?”

“What?”

“In the driving lesson. Will she pass her test?”

Eddie nodded. “Yeah. If she can drive this, then she can drive anything.”

It felt like the conversation was about to die. “She seems smart. She’ll pass,”

“She is… Really fucking smart. Too smart… Deserves a scholarship or whatever, you know? Deserves better than Hawkins and everything that’s happened to her.”

They were nice things to say about someone. Nobody would have ever said them about you.

“I’m sorry… you had to see all that,” Eddie said then.

“It’s okay,”

“Nah, it’s not. I hate saying shit like that to her. I just don’t know how to make her stop… Her brother died last year… Fuck. It was a really shitty thing to say.”

You shrugged. “You couldn’t just tell her the truth?”

Eddie gave you a look of utter disbelief. “The truth?”

“Yeah, okay…” You shook your head. “Probably not the truth,”

“Probably not,” he repeated sarcastically.

“Anyway… Do you think maybe… if there’s time and there’s a good place for it, maybe you could teach me to drive too?”

Eddie grinned. “Am I taking you to prom too? Buying you a little red corsage?”

You quickly turned away, desperate for him not to see the embarrassment on your face.

“I’m sorry. Yes, Y/N. I will teach you to drive. But first, let’s get the supplies, ‘kay?”

Turning back, you smiled happily.

The thrift store provided a single mattress that just fit into the back of the van, a significant improvement on cardboard and old carpet. Pillows and blankets. A few more books. Other things deemed useful by Eddie.

After the gas station, you felt prepared to take on the world, or at least hit the highway and drive off into the sunset. Eddie had one last stop to make.

Half an hour or so outside of Hawkins’ city limits, you sped past an industrial farm. You didn’t catch the sign, unaware of the fact the place meant anything. Then, a mile or less down the road, Eddie pulled over and cut the engine.

You watched him readjust the rearview mirror and unbuckle his seatbelt.

“I worked there last summer for a week. They’re dumb as shit – all the cash from the café just stays in the register,”

“What is it?”

“Farm, mostly. Corn and soybeans. And pig slaughterhouse.”

“There’s a café in a slaughterhouse?”

“For staff, ‘cause it’s outside of town.” Eddie checked the time on his watch, then settled into his seat. “Better get comfy, got a couple hours before everyone’s out of there.”

You undid your seatbelt and climbed into the back. As you were pulling The Lord of the Rings out, an image of Eddie slitting the throat of a piglet flashed in your mind.

“Eddie?”

“Yeah?”

“Which part did you work in?”

He was rolling the window down, and suddenly you became acutely aware of the smell of fear and death. You knew it should have made you feel sick, but it didn’t.

“Started with the pigs. The pay is good because not everyone is cut out for it… But, ah… It wasn’t the killing part. That’s quick. It was everything else… The way they’re stuck in these shitty little pens just waiting to die. It fucked me up. Got all…” Eddie rolled his hand through the air as he searched for a way to put it. “In my head. Next day they tried to put me out in the fields but it turns out I’m too pasty white for that too… Spent the rest of the week washing dishes in the café. Quit on the Friday. But it’s how I know about the cash.”

You didn’t ask any more questions, just got back into your seat and started to read out loud from the bookmarked point.

…

You stopped reading for a late lunch slash early dinner. Halfway through, Eddie heard your stomach growl.

“You know you have to eat,”

“I am,” you said with a mouthful of peanut butter coated apple.

“S’not what I mean… Whatever… this is… We have to feed it.”

You thought about it. “What do you think happens if we don’t?”

“Honestly? I don’t wanna know.”

When the food was packed away, you both laid back on the mattress. It was too quiet, only the white noise of cornstalks and bugs beyond the metal walls of the van.

“What were you doing before we met?” you asked, carefully selecting a question you thought Eddie would answer.

“Nothing in particular,”

“How do you make money to live off?”

“Farm work, sometimes. Not really made for it though. It’s boring. Stealing is easy, once you’ve learnt. Whenever I’m back here I can usually get cut into some deals. Move some product out the state or whatever,” he answered. He knew you were building up to bigger questions, but he was curious about you too.

“When did you start living like this?”

“It’s been a while…”

“What made you wanna leave Hawkins in the first place?”

Eddie hesitated. “Pass,” he said.

“What are you gonna do once we get to my dad?”

He looked over at you. “What do you mean?”

“Well… Like… Are you just going to drop me off and… keep doing this or…”

“Guess that depends on if we find him. What we find out.”

You were pleased with that answer. It felt hopeful.

“Why’d you eat the babysitter?” he asked then.

“I don’t know… I was a baby… I just did it,”

“Okay… What about the next time? And the ones after that?”

It was only a question but you felt so accused. You wanted to be able to say ‘I can’t help’ it and mean it sincerely, but you knew that would never get passed Eddie’s bullshit detector.

“I… I don’t know,” you answered, words bouncing on shaky breath. “I can’t… I can’t control it,”

“Yes, you can,” Eddie said definitively. “If you couldn’t, you’d have eaten Andy,”

“That was different, I was distracted,”

“I don’t think it was,”

“What are you trying to do? What do you want me to say? That I’m a monster? That I enjoy being like this? That I just fucking love eating people?” You sat up, pulled your legs up into yourself defensively.

Eddie folded his arms under his head and looked over at you. His composure remained. “I’m just trying to get to know you… See if you’re… like me,”

“I don’t… I don’t know what that means. Like you how?”

Desperately, Eddie wanted to know if you felt conflicted like he did. Did you go screaming to the far end of self-hate, wishing you’d never been born and seeking oblivion, only to roll into the euphoria of eating? The undeniable high that came with the taste of the itty-bitty parts of the body like the pituitary gland. Sucking marrow from bone. Ripping fat from flesh. Did you feel it too? Because Eddie did. The frenzy. Swallowing. Feeling the person in him for days after. He felt like some kind of new superhero.

Eddie shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”

You could see that it did.

Five painfully silent minutes went by. Eddie had closed his eyes and rested, while you sat looking around the van awkwardly.

The sun had begun to set and when you looked out the window, the industrial farm loomed dark and ominous on the horizon.

“Is it time?” you whispered.

Eddie sat up. “As good a time as any.”

The cornfield between the van and the farm provided the best cover. The dirt beneath your feet was unstable, making it hard to follow Eddie with any grace. The feeling of anxiety grew the closer to the buildings you got. When you started to hear the distressed pigs, you regretted coming. Eddie hadn’t asked if you wanted to stay back; even if he had, you wouldn’t have chickened out.

On the edge of the cornfield, Eddie surveyed.

“There’s not like, guards or anything?”

“Yeah, two guys. Mick stays in the office. Gets blazed and sleeps most of the night. That’s his truck there. The other guy is pushing fuckin’ eighty. Can’t hear for shit… Come on.” Eddie held out his hand, you took it without thought.

Keeping to the shadows, you rounded a couple of the buildings until you came to one that looked newer than the others. Eddie picked the lock and you crept inside. Down a few hallways, you went by rooms filled with lockers and doors marked with names of men like Dennis Hurn and Robert White. The double doors to the café were unlocked.

You kept your eyes set on the doors once inside, listening to Eddie jimmy open the cash register and empty it. Suddenly, his hands were on you, putting folded notes and coins in your pockets.

“You want some chocolate milk?” he whispered into your ear.

Turning around, you watched him rummage through the kitchen for a bag, then fill it with drinks from the fridge and any food in reach.

“Alright, let’s go.”

When you got back outside, you both gasped at the light of a torch coming around the building. Eddie grabbed you by the wrist and pulled you in the opposite direction. He tried every door, eventually getting lucky.

It was a barn, eternally bright with pale blue lights above pig pens. Some of the creatures were asleep, some stood staring into the void.

“We’ll let him pass and go back,”

“Can’t we just go through the field and circle around?” you asked, keeping your voice as low as his.

Eddie shook his head. “Too easy to get lost out there in the dark. There’s a reason Stephen King writes about cornfields. We’ll just wait.”

Eddie walked down the centre of the pens and up a staircase leading to a small loft. He sat on the edge, letting his legs dangle over. You sat next to him, sides pressed together.

“You hear the music?” he asked, to which you nodded. “It’s meant to keep them calm.”

The pigs below you smelt like fear. “It doesn’t,”

“I know… I’d let them out but they’d either die out there or get rounded back up… Don’t wanna give them false hope.”

You looked at Eddie as he watched the pigs, how his eyebrows were pinched together in sadness and the lights were mirrored in his eyes like stars.

“What did you mean? Like you how?”

He sighed, looking down into his lap. Eddie took one of your hands, clasping both of his around it.

“We’re… bad. But… I think you love this as much as I do.”

You had never felt more alive.

Eddie’s mouth was on yours, and you didn’t know how to kiss but it didn’t matter. His tongue felt both slimy and like velvet and as soon as you tasted it, you imagined what it would feel like everywhere else on your body. You stopped being able to breathe but you had always wanted to die so you thought, let it be, let it be death by romance, death by being seen, being known, being understood, being loved.

End Note: *Those two lines are from page 130 of the novel. It’s perfect imagery that didn’t need to change.

For people that have read the book, PLEASE feed my praise kink – whenever you see a sneaky reference or line that I have used in a different way to its original context, tell meeee. I am literally writing this with the novel next to me and my film notes on the other side. I'm thriving.

Fic Taglist: @harrys-tittie @azydrateanatomy @pussy-drunk @mrsdollardog

All Eddie Taglist: @solomons-finest-rum @ruinedbythehobbit @munsonlives @sweetpeapod @depressooo-expressooo-blog @thorfemmes @hawkins-high @corrodedhawkins @grungegrrrl @lilzabob @mymoonisalways-in-scorpio @averagemisfit03 @ches-86 @ilovecupcakesandtea @onehotgreasymechanic @hazydespair @lacrymosa-24 @mel-the-fangirl

#Mine #Bones and All #Bones and All AU #Eddie Munson #Eddie Munson/Reader #Eddie Munson x Reader #Eddie Munson/You #Eddie Munson x You

[tomhollandnet]

Tom Holland is ready for adventure in these exclusive Uncharted images

A new look at the upcoming videogame adaptation

An Uncharted movie has been a long time coming. Since the launch of the first game in 2007, the combination of adventuring, cinematic set-pieces and movie influences made the series seem an ideal candidate for the big-screen treatment.

But while it struggled for years to get off the ground, the ball (boulder?) really started rolling when Tom Holland boarded the project as a slightly younger iteration of the series' protagonist, Nathan Drake. Mark Wahlberg - who was attached to play Drake in an earlier stage of the film’s development - has slipped into the mentor role of Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan, and Sophia Ali plays series regular Chloe Frazer.

Uncharted features on the cover of the new issue of Total Film magazine, and above you can see an exclusive image of Holland and Ali getting into the adventurous spirit, and below there’s another exclusive featuring Holland’s Drake looking every bit the globetrotting hero on a speedboat. Check it out:

Inside the new issue, Total Film speaks to Holland, Wahlberg, Ali and director Ruben Fleischer about the movie’s journey to the screen, and how it draws on the likes of James Bond and Indiana Jones.

Of finding the right filmmaker for the material, Holland tells Total Film: "Some of [the directors] came in, and had ideas that we didn’t like, that just didn’t fit the characters, and we had to move on to other people. We took inspiration from everyone. There were very different variations of Drake, and very different variations of Sully. Some people preferred to make the game, some people wanted to make it completely different to the game. It was an interesting process – one that I wouldn’t like to be in again. It’s quite stressful looking for a director."

Fleischer, for his part, says landing Uncharted was partly down to his long-standing relationship with the studio, the director having just finished back-to-back work on Venom and the Zombieland sequel for Sony. In fact, Fleischer was first publicly attached to Uncharted in early January 2020, with principal photography starting mid-March that same year. "I was firing on all cylinders from a production standpoint,” he says, speaking to Total Film while in the final stages of postproduction on the movie. “I was just really in the rhythm of making movies."

Uncharted is set to open in cinemas on February 11. For much more on the film, pick up a copy of the new issue of Total Film when it hits shelves (real-world and digital) on Thursday, Jan 6. Check out the new cover below:

#uncharted movie #tom holland #articles

[wedontdeservethestars]

Oof. Yeah, tech weeks are absolute hell, you have my most sincere sympathies, there’s a reason why I eventually decided I would rather just watch the shows.

And yessssss. Sully has been through so much crap he. He really doesn’t get enough credit sometimes. And, like, taking in a 14/15 year old Nate and teaching him that trusting people not-Sam must have been a wild-ass ride, especially when it’s evident that Sam didn’t like him all that much.

Also, the EAU 110% totally needs to be a Thing. I know I’ve read fics where the Mummy series and Indiana Jones took place in the same ‘verse, and Alex and Mutt knew each other because they were both in England growing up around the same time and were close-ish in age, and since their parents were in the same general fields, it made sense for them to be around each other. Tomb Raider and Uncharted taking place in this same verse would be sooooooo amazing. Nate and Lara both meeting up when looking for the same thing and teaming up? Depending on what Sam remembers from their childhood (and if Cassandra(? I feel like if either of their parents is likely to descendants of archaeologists it would make sense for it to be her), telling crazy stories to Nate about their families adventures that definitely have to be embellished…(until after Nate encounters some things and thinks that maybe those stories understated the magic/mythical stuff)

Watching shows is very valid, it makes me sad that I'll never be able to see the full show from the audience lmaooo. On the other hand though.....I kind of love working wardrobe?? Don't get me wrong, I'm SO exhausted and it's a hell of it's own sometimes but I genuinely love working with the actors and everyone is so so nice about it all.......AGH. They thank me too much it makes me wanna cry. Love them. BUT I digress.

Yeah, ik that the earlier games were made without having Sam in mind so we never really got to see Sully "raising" him alongside Nate, but it's a very good concept and I wish we'd gotten some insight on it somewhere.

I SERIOUSLY think that Cassandra had to have known some of the other famous archaeologists of the EAU. She seemed to be pretty damn good at her job and made some pretty solid connections with important (and, honestly, cool) people in the same field. The idea of Nate and Sam somehow meeting up with Indie and he's like wait...Nate.....Sam.......hmmmm...........and then one of them smiles or laughs or does some sort of mannerism that Cassandra used to and it all clicks and he's like. I KNOW YOU TWO. And he goes slight dad mode where he's like "woah I haven't seen you since you were toddlers!" and all that, meanwhile Sam and Nate are like "girl who r u" but then he starts telling them stories about Cassandra and they warm up to him and all they wanna do is hear more stories about their mom kicking ass with this weird older guy in a cool hat that they just met <3

#extended archaeology universe #im making this a tag now #deal with it #asks #uncharted anon #uncharted games #uncharted #nathan drake #samuel drake #indiana jones

[sass-and-suspenders]

Abogato

GIF from whatbarisiwore

Pairing: Rafael Barba x Reader

Author’s Note: This is a sequel to Dopplegänger, but you don’t need to have read it to understand this story

It would take a single glance inside Rafael’s home office to know he was stressed. If the wastebasket overflowing with crumpled pieces of paper, the haphazardly stacked files across the desk and floor, or the bottle of scotch running precariously low didn’t give it away, then the rumpled, sleep-deprived prosecutor behind the desk certainly would.

Rafael was casually dressed, his weekend commute consisting solely of a walk from the bedroom to the kitchen to your shared office, but tension radiated off him. He had been hunched over a legal pad for hours struggling to write a closing argument. His latest case had been difficult, not to mention high-profile, with the defense matching each of his small victories with their own. Rafael knew the verdict rested on his closing argument and he was determined to make it perfect.

Setting down his gold pen, Rafael ran a hand through his hair and looked over what he had so far. The page was filled with scribbled out sentences, shorthand notes exploding from the margin, and a doodle of a grumpy stick figure wearing a tie (which you would later cut out and put on the fridge). Despite the mess, Rafael managed to cobble together an introduction.

He reached for his coffee, aware that he had hours of work ahead, and was surprised to discover it was warm. You must have swapped out his stale mug of coffee with a fresh one without him realizing. Ever since your relationship began, you had taken care of him: draping a blanket over him whenever he fell asleep on the couch, bringing him food when he worked late so he wasn’t forced to survive on the saccharine contents of office vending machines, coaxing him to bed whenever countless witness testimonies and police reports left him unable to see straight.

He cherished these small, often silent, gestures, but what he loved most was sliding into bed beside you at night and waking up next to you in the morning. Without a doubt, asking you to move in with him had been the best decision he ever made. The change in the apartment was evident the minute you unpacked: you filled the space with warmth and love.

As well as numerous cat toys.

When Rafael asked you to live with him, he hadn’t fully considered what it would be like to share the apartment with a third roommate: your grey tabby. It would be safe to describe Rafael’s relationship with your cat (christened Rafaelito much to Rafael’s displeasure) as one of tolerance. Rafael tolerated finding cat toys in his briefcase. He tolerated cat hair on his expensive suits. He even tolerated the occasional hairball that managed to fall directly inside one of his shoes (and never, if he were to think about it, in one of yours).

And Rafaelito, well, he tolerated Rafael’s existence.

In between sips of coffee, Rafael looked over his introduction. As he read the words aloud, trying to find the right rhythm, Rafaelito strutted into the room. The tabby immediately noticed the lawyer behind the desk and shot him a withering glare, making Rafael feel as if he were the interloper. When it became clear Rafael had no intention of leaving, Rafaelito made his way around the desk, pausing beside Rafael’s chair, in order to glare at him in close proximity.

“Vete,” Rafael ordered, not bothering to look up from his papers, as he waved his hand towards the door. “I’m working.”

The tabby tilted his head, feigning ignorance. How convenient, Rafael thought, that the language barrier seemed non-existent whenever words like ‘dinner’ or ‘treats’ were called out in English or Spanish.

The standoff lasted a few more seconds before Rafaelito jumped onto the prosecutor’s lap, using him as a springboard to get onto the desk. The sudden impact caused the contents of the mug Rafael was holding to go flying, sending droplets of coffee all over him and the papers on his desk.

After a string of expletives and confirming that the damage to his files was superficial, Rafael turned his attention to his sullied sweater. As he blotted at the stains, Rafael scowled at the tabby (whom he had witnessed make the jump from the floor to the desk numerous times before) and calculated the odds that your beloved pet was a sociopath.

The fuzzy sociopath in question was stretched out across multiple folders bathing in a sunbeam. If it wasn’t for the destruction the cat had just caused, Rafael would have described the scene as cute. Adorable, even.

Feeling a sudden surge of benevolence, Rafael decided to let the tabby stay while he worked. After all, you did always mention that cats can reduce stress levels (although Rafael wasn’t sure whether that included Machiavellian grey tabbies). The only hitch to the peaceful work environment Rafael envisioned was Rafaelito sleeping on his legal pad.

Slowly, Rafael reached out for the pad, naively thinking that he could pull it out from under Rafaelito without him noticing. His fingers didn’t even graze the paper before the tabby’s green eyes popped open and narrowed at Rafael’s impending invasion of his space. With a flick of his paw, Rafaelito sent the lawyer’s gold pen flying over the edge of the desk.

Rafael huffed, mentally adding a check mark to the sociopath column.

As he bent down to retrieve the pen, Rafael could feel the tabby smirking at him. Drawing inspiration from Indiana Jones, Rafael picked up the pen with his left hand as he simultaneously snatched the legal pad with his right. The immense satisfaction he felt at wiping the smug look off of Rafaelito’s face was diminished by the knowledge that his opponent in this battle of wits was a cat.

“Truce?” Rafael offered.

The tabby huffed, considering himself the victor in his crusade against the Harvard-educated lawyer, but returned to his nap, leaving Rafael and the valuables on his desk alone (at least for now).

With an armistice in place, Rafael returned his attention to his closing statement and found that words were flowing more freely from his pen. The showdown with Rafaelito had the unintended consequence of helping him overcome the writer’s block that had plagued him all weekend. For the next couple hours, the only sounds in the room were Rafael’s pen scratching against paper and the tabby’s unusually loud snoring.

When Rafael finally set down his pen, he had filled a dozen pages with his cramped scrawl. As he flipped through them, he heard the muted sounds of the television. Rafael shoved aside the temptation to join you, reasoning that it was better to finish this now rather than have to pull himself away from you later.

Rafael sighed, tearing his thoughts away from you, and leaned back in his chair. He began murmuring the summation under his breath, careful not to disturb the sleeping tabby. Every so often, he would pause to debate his word choice, remaining oblivious that the snoring had stopped long ago. It was only at the end of the speech, when he was interrupted by an assertive meow, that Rafael realized he had an audience.

His eyes flicked up from the page to find the tabby in front of him.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to interrupt?” Rafael chided before resuming his speech.

The tabby meowed again.

And then a third time because Rafael hadn’t immediately acknowledged him.

“What? What do you want?” Rafael asked, setting aside his legal pad. He clasped his hands in front of him and turned his full attention to the cat on his desk. The beginnings of a frown played on Rafael’s lips; he was so close to being done, to getting to enjoy the last sliver of the weekend with you, and had no patience for further disruptions. Especially those caused by sassy tabbies.

Rafaelito meowed in response, his tail curling around his front paws.

“I don’t know what that means.” Rafael ignored the look the cat shot him. A look that, you would have pointed out, was eerily similar to the one Rafael gave Carisi whenever the lanky detective offered unsolicited legal advice. “Do you want scritches? Trea-“?

The cat meowed again, cutting Rafael off.

“What did I say about interrupting?” Rafael asked, his eyes narrowing at the tabby. “If you want attention, go see Mamá. I’m work-”

Rafaelito interjected again.

“Don’t take that tone with-“

And then again.

Rafael pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. Clearly, your cat lacked the basic manners needed for polite conversation and, short of removing him from the office (an action that would undoubtedly spark retaliation in the form of hairballs in shoes), Rafael wasn’t sure what else he could do. Whoever claimed that cats lowered stress levels was a charlatan and Rafael was tempted to prosecute them for fraud. He tried to recall the feeling of serenity his apartment once held, but his reverie was cut short by a string of meows.

Without thinking, Rafael meowed right back.

Rafaelito paused mid-meow, stunned at this new development, and stared at the lawyer with wide eyes. After a few seconds, he let out a tentative, almost questioning meow. Rafael responded in kind and soon a volley of meows in varying pitches and volumes could be heard in the office.

The conversation came to an abrupt halt when movement near the door caught Rafelito’s attention. Rafael followed the cat’s gaze to find you standing in the doorway, holding a plate of banana bread and trying not to laugh.

“I thought you might be hungry,” you said when Rafael noticed you. “But I’m obliviously interrupting something important.”

“I was practicing my summation.”

Rafaelito meowed in confirmation.

“Oh, is that what you were doing?” you smirked, walking over to Rafael. You kissed him softly then set down the banana bread in front of him. He popped a piece in his mouth before replying.

“You didn’t let me finish. I was practicing my summation until your cat,” Rafael paused to gesture to the tabby who was the pure picture of innocence. “Interrupted me.”

“Mm-hmm.” You bit back a smile. Rafael could complain about the cat all he wanted, but you knew he had a soft spot for Rafaelito. You’d often catch your boyfriend giving Rafaelito treats or making room for him on the sofa or in bed. There were probably more photos of the tabby on his phone than there were of you.

“You know,” you continued, ignoring Rafael’s feeble explanation. “You really shouldn’t be meowing at him. You don’t know what you’re saying -it could be something inappropriate or offensive. As an ADA, you wouldn’t want to be charged with a feline-y.”

Rafael rolled his eyes. “Hate speech is a misdemeanour.”

“Fine. Do what you know what is a felony, though?” You asked, barely concealing your glee.

“Don’t, cariño,” Rafael warned. He knew you well enough to know where this was going.

“Purr-jury!”

“If you’re going to continue to make cat puns, you need to leave.”

“Really? Is there a claws about that in our lease?”

“Out,” Rafael said flatly, but you saw the corner of his mouth twitch.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. How’s the closing argument coming along?” You leaned against the edge of the desk, facing Rafael. Displeased at all the attention the prosecutor was getting, Rafaelito trotted over and headbutted your hand, his way of demanding scritches.

“Almost done. I’m just reading it over.”

“Do you want another audience member? It might be helpful to have a human perspective in addition to the feline one.” Rafael narrowed his eyes at you. “Oh, c’mon, that wasn’t even a pun!”

Rafael harrumphed, but began his speech, speaking as if he were in front of a jury. You listened intently, nodding occasionally. Yet another thing you did for him: you let him run his arguments by you, always giving him your full attention. You were the only one who could listen to him agonize over word choice at length without complaining or considering homicide.

For the most part, Rafaelito remained quiet, content to receive scritches from you. It was only when Rafael reached the conclusion that he let out another meow. Before Rafael could admonish the tabby, who evidently didn’t learn his lesson about interrupting, you spoke up.

“Hm, yeah, you’re right,” you addressed Rafaelito before turning to your boyfriend. “This part is a little clunky.”

“What? That’s not…How did you know that he…It’s not clunky,” Rafael sputtered, looking from you to Rafaelito.

“We have a very smart cat, Rafa. In fact, he’s so smart that he could be your co-counsel. An abogato, if you will.” You grinned, showing no remorse for your bad pun.

Rafael crossed his arms and shot you a pointed look.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist! I’ll take Rafaelito, so you can work in peace.”

“Thanks, cariño. Te amo.”

“Love you, too,” you smiled at Rafael before calling to the tabby. “C’mon, Rafaelito, let’s leave Papi alone and go watch some trashy reality TV.”

Knowing his work was done, the tabby jumped off the desk and strolled into the hallway. You followed after him, winking at Rafael before closing the door behind you.

Alone in his office, Rafael finished off the banana bread while he read over the conclusion again.

“Coño,” Rafael muttered under his breath. “It is clunky.”

Tag list: @madpanda75​ @obsessionprofessional​ @madkingcrowley​  @im-like-reallythirsty​ @burningg-red​ @nikkijmorgan​  @misssirenlove​ @zoeykaytesmom​ @mommakat32​ @thatesqcrush​ @southern-magnolia​ @evee87​

#rafael barba #rafael barba x reader #rafael barba x you #barba x reader #barba x you #law & order svu #svu

[daleisgreat]

Speed

Today’s entry will mark the first official 4K home video release I am writing about. I already own a few other 4K UHDs, and a couple of months ago, I watched my first 4K video at home with 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. However, I already covered that movie’s BluRay release here several years ago, so I will not be dedicating another entry for it, other than to say that the 4K upgrade pops and makes it look like a new release. Today’s entry is for 1994’s Speed (trailer). Before diving into this movie, I noticed one of the tracks from this film’s score repeatedly used throughout sounds awfully like one of the main themes I primarily associated with the Metal Gear Solid franchise. I have no idea if this was pointed out before, and I just overlooked it all these years, or maybe I am grasping at straws. Click or press here to take a listen and decide for yourself. 1994 was a hell of a year for Hollywood movies primarily transpiring from a highway with The Chase, Speed, and the OJ Simpson Bronco chase….oh wait (although I highly recommend the ESPN 30 for 30 on it, simply titled: June 17th 1994). The majority of Speed has a straightforward premise: serial bomber and local madman Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) planted a bomb on a bus rigged to explode once the bus drops below 55 miles per hour. Police officer Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) is alerted to this by the bomber himself to exact revenge on Traven after successfully rescuing hostages from an elevator Payne armed at the beginning of the film.

From there, for the middle hour of this nearly two-hour film, the action almost entirely takes place on the bus. Traven makes a grand entrance onto the bus by commandeering a Jaguar and having its owner (Glenn Plummer) take the wheel so Traven could heroically leap onto the bus and save the day. It would not be that easy of a rescue mission as Payne has eyes on the bus, and Traven has to play by his rules and get him his $3 million ransom to disarm the bus. Without question, the middle hour on the bus is the best part of the film. The opening half-hour is an excellent appetizer with the elevator hostage crisis that Traven and his partner, Harry (Jeff Daniels), successfully foil. However, once the action shifts to the bus is when Speed takes off. Shortly after taking control of the bus, one of the passengers freaks and inadvertently shoots the bus driver, and a fellow passenger, Annie (Sandra Bullock), takes over the wheel. Throughout the film, Annie and Traven have wonderful chemistry, and I could not help but root for the duo throughout. Every couple of minutes, there is a new potential conflict to overcome to keep the bus going over 55mph. The film wisely peppers in brief dialog exchanges to let the movie breathe just enough before the next hurdle makes itself present.

The film's standout moment is the major obstacle for the bus to overcome when it encounters a stretch of unavoidable highway under construction and missing a hearty chunk of the road. Traven’s solution is that since that stretch of a road is on an incline, they may clear that gap if they build up enough speed! That epic stunt hits all the right notes, and I got goosebumps all over again re-watching it, and odds are, I bet you did too if you have seen this movie. If you have not, then watch this scene and see for yourself by click or pressing here. A lot of the critical discussion in the aftermath of this movie was if that jump was realistically possible. The best thing I can do is to compare it to another film, Road Trip, which is likely a better indicator of what could happen when attempting such a feat. Once the middle bus portion of the film is over, there are still about 20 minutes left where Traven tracks and chases down Payne in a subway station. The movie felt over once the bus portion had such a satisfying conclusion that it almost feels wrong to keep sticking with the film by this point, but I recommend you do since there is a satisfying payoff in the form of Payne’s demise. I have to share a story now when I first saw this film at around 13 or 14 on VHS. My dad’s VCR had what seemed to me at the time was a revolutionary feature where if I kept pressing the pause button repeatedly, it would slowly, frame-by-frame, play the film in super slow-motion. At that age, I thought this was a fantastic way to get the most out of the biggest stunts in action scenes. My favorite moment exploiting this feature was seeing Traven and Payne wrestle around on the top of a subway train until Payne was not watching his field of vision, and a warning light lead to his sudden beheading. I slow-motion replayed that sequence countless times in my awkward, early teenage years. Suffice it to say, Hopper plays the out-of-his-mind bomber perfectly, going so far as to make sure he receives his appropriate cinematic comeuppance.

The director ensures the many passengers on the bus maximized their minutes to the point I where it feels like you are right there with them!

Two audio commentaries are the only extra features of the 4K disc in this 4K/BluRay combo pack. One is with the director, Jan de Bont, and the other is with producer Mark Gordon and writer Graham Yost. Props are to whoever decided to subtitle the commentary tracks. I very much appreciate it! I first started to bounce back and forth between the two commentary tracks, but Bont was way too relaxed and had too many pauses to hold my attention, and I finished up with his track within five minutes. However, Yost and Gordon are very much engaged from beginning to end and have fun cracking jokes and sharing memories throughout. Some quick takeaways I got from them were how they wanted to film a major scene outside of a sports arena, dealing with critics poking holes at how unrealistic their stunts were, and how watching the movie felt very different at the time of the commentary recording just two months after 9/11. The BluRay disc contains the remainder of the bonus features. Inside Speed is a four-part feature lasting just under an hour breaking down the visual effects, stunts, and location sequences, but half of it also contains an HBO First Look special hosted by Dennis Hopper that hits all the right kinds of cheesy mid-90s EPK nostalgia that it is worth checking out. Aside from 12 minutes of extended scenes and a Billy Idol music video that seems totally off base with the tempo of the film, there are a couple of Action Sequences mini-features breaking down some of the stunts. I highly recommend watching the one dissecting how they did the bus jump, as it shows raw footage of what really happened when they shot it, and showed footage of some of the specific safety measures they instilled to make that stunt as safe as possible and had some eye-opening interviews with the stunt driver before and after.

After watching that old VHS copy nearly a dozen times, Speed wound up being one of my favorite action films I got burnt out early on and never bothered upgrading to a DVD or standalone BluRay. Watching it again in 4K all these years later breathed new life into it for me. I am not an expert at breaking down video quality by any means, but watching the 4K disc on my 4KTV gave the impression of this having far more current production values. The editors somehow managed to remove all the old film grain defects for a smooth 4K upgrade. If you have not seen Speed yet, then it has everything you could want out of a mid-90s action movie with explosions, gripping thrills and stunts, dramatic rescues, plenty of zinger one-liners…..and a Billy Idol theme song. Pardon me while I attempt my best Dennis Hopper impression here, “Pop quiz, hotshot, which 1994 blockbuster that takes place primarily on a bus is a perfect candidate for beer and popcorn movie night at home?” Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Endgame The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve The Clapper Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dirty Work Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Inglourious Basterds Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Justice League (2017 Whedon Cut) Last Action Hero Major League Mallrats Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Nintendo Quest Not for Resale Old Joy Payback (Director’s Cut) Pulp Fiction The Punisher (1989) The Ref The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT Trauma Center The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

#random movie #speed #keanu reeves #Sandra Bullock #jeff daniels #dennis hopper #glenn plummer #jan de bont

[kiingocreative]

Ready for a new storytelling book? Visit https://kiingo.com and sign up for the newsletter to find out when it’s available!

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It's helpful to think of the midpoint as a beat rather than an exact moment that happens in the dead center of the story. In other words, it's a period of significance in the story that tends to have certain dramatic and thematic properties.

From a dramatic perspective, the midpoint is sometimes known as the point of no return. It's the moment that the protagonist burns their bridges to their old world and takes some action that commits them to their journey in an irreversible way. In The Godfather, Michael Corleone murders Sollozzo and McCluskey, fully committing himself to his role in the family business. In Avatar, Jake Sully turns against the humans and begins attacking them, solidifying his commitment to the Na'vi.

The midpoint may begin as a preview of the final outcome of the story. If the story will end with success, the midpoint may start in a way that makes it *look* like everything's going to turn out great. In Toy Story, for instance, it appears as though Woody and Buzz are going to make it to Andy in Pizza Port. After this moment of hope, there's typically a reversal where the stakes are raised and the depth of the antagonist's plan or power is revealed. In Toy Story, Woody and Buzz are stolen by Sid.

Adam Skelter thinks of the midpoint moment as a moment of disillusionment. "Every trick, every tactic suddenly reveals itself to be not enough. This is when Neo meets the Oracle but realizes he's not the one. The Amity beaches are open [in Jaws] but Brody almost loses his son in the pond. When Indiana Jones finds the Ark but is left to die in the Well of Souls. When E.T. phones home but Elliot realizes he'll lose his friend." Hope is dangled and then ripped away. This is where the true nature of the dramatic problem begins to make itself clear.

From a thematic perspective, the midpoint beat is "the moment of first truth." It's when the protagonist gets a taste of what life *could* be like if they learned their lesson. If the story is one of a protagonist becoming corrupted, the midpoint might be the moment in which the protagonist faces and, for the first time, gives into real temptation (such as in The Godfather). If the story follows a character who becomes disillusioned, the midpoint might be the moment where the character begins to truly lose hope for the first time. In the same way that the midpoint typically previews the story's final *dramatic* outcome, it also typically previews the story's final *thematic* outcome.

Craig Mazin notes that this moment of truth doesn't necessarily need to be an action taken by the protagonist (although it certainly can be). It might instead be a moment where the protagonist merely witnesses an event or action that is in harmony with the story's theme. If the protagonist must learn that some things are worth sticking your neck out for, they may see the rewards of someone else putting their life on the line for a loved one.

#writingtips #writercommunity #writing reference #writingblr #literature #writerblr #writetip #movies #screenwriting #filmmaking

[blueskydreama]

Uncharted is my favorite action adventure video game franchise of all time. I tried my absolute best to be as unbiased as possible when writing this review, but I have to admit that I did fall into the trap more than once. Coming from the talented developers at Naughty Dog, creators of the smash hit The Last of Us, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End wraps up the story of Nathan Drake and his comrades in this last, massive and explosive adventure. The PS4 has long been aching for an exclusive killer app, and Naughty Dog has done everything in their power to make sure UC4 fits the bill. It does. Oh, sweet mother of God, it does.

 WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR UNCHARTED 4

Uncharted 4 picks up the story several years after the events of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception. Having retired from the life of a treasure hunting rogue, Drake has made a relatively normal life for himself, making a living as a salvager of cargo from underwater wrecks. However, his new life is quickly disrupted with the reappearance of his long-presumed dead brother Sam. Sam is in trouble. A Panamanian drug lord by the name of Hector Alcázar has demanded that Sam find the lost treasure of pirate Henry Avery in 3 months or he will be killed. Not an easy task, especially considering he and his brother tried once before 15 years ago and failed. Drake reluctantly accepts his brother’s pleas for help, and sets off an explosive chain of events that culminates in one of the best twists I have experienced in a long time.

Uncharted 4 will take players across the globe in a journey that puts some of the most epic adventures to shame. Players will visit Italy and pull off a high stakes heist at a black market auction, Scotland, visit Madagascar and explore the plateau, and the fabled pirate paradise of Libertalia. The story is larger than ever before, with betrayal, emotion and intensity the likes of which the previous games could only dream of. The pacing of the plot is near perfection, with an excellent balance of chaos, thrill and quiet moments, although the introduction sequence could have been better paced. However, after the (simply spectacular) opening credit scene, the pacing is far smoother, and really begins to feel like a summer blockbuster.

The voice acting is the greatest it’s ever been. Troy Baker is absolutely phenomenal as Drake’s brother, and Nolan North is at his finest portraying a worn out, tired Drake, while Emily Rose (Elena) and Richard McGonagle (Sully) also put on top acts. You truly feel that these actors have become their characters, and feel the emotional weight behind their performances.

The ending is controversial, I won’t deny that, and while it irked many people, I personally believe that it could not have been better handled. There is simply no better way to send off Naughty Dog’s flagship franchise.

Being an adventure game, it goes without saying that the locations will be exotic – and absolutely gorgeous. Naughty Dog has forced the absolute maximum potential of the PS4 for this game. The environments are huge and richly detailed, with lush foliage that bends and moves with the characters, and glistens and drips in the rain. Puddles splash when the player moves in them, and water refracts light. The animation is top notch, with characters having unique combat poses and idle stances. The level of detail and polish present in this game is beyond anything I have seen before, even on current generation games. While I can’t say anything for the authenticity in the locations, considering that Naughty Dog modelled Kathmandu in Uncharted 2 true to life, I can say it’s a safe bet they did the same here, although obvious liberties had to be taken for gameplay purposes.

Characters react realistically to the environment. When brawling in muddy locations, character react accordingly, flinging mud and becoming covered the gunk. They drip water and their clothing becomes heavy and darker colored when soaked. Skin shines and trails water, and hair becomes matted. I constantly found myself slack-jawed at the lengths the developers went for this game.

Graphics aside, the sound is unmatched. Gunfire is thunderous and jolting, and the environmental SFX are astounding. When in the jungle, you believe you are there, with howler monkeys screeching and birds calling. The wilds of Madagascar are populated with cicadas and typical wildlife. The hurricane in the opening level is terrifying. The music is astounding, with sweeping orchestral pieces during action and peaceful melodies that play during the more intimate moments.

The production values are through the roof. The game truly feels as if you are playing a summer blockbuster movie, and the near complete lack of bugs and glitches is the icing on the cake.

Not too much has changed since Drake’s Deception hit shelves in November of 2011. The gunplay is just as refined as ever, and feels smooth and very fluid, especially with the new lock on mechanic – although that can make getting headshots somewhat difficult; however, it can be disabled at any time. Many of the old weapons return, with some new additions such as the Aegis 9mm pistol and the HS39 assault rifle. Along with the new weapons comes the marking system, which allows players to tag enemies to follow their movements and plan routes of attack. In addition to this, players are given the option to completely avoid combat, a first for the series.

Another new entry to the series is the grappling hook and rope, which further enhances traversal and environmental interactivity. Drake can use it to cross otherwise impassable gaps, scale walls and even instantly KO enemies with a lethal dropdown attack. The rope enhances vertical gameplay to entire new levels, and truly feels like a useful tool. That aside, the rope can also be tethered to stationary objects and used as a pulley, or even attached to breakable things and used to create new pathways.

Hand to hand combat has been slightly upgraded as well, with new takedowns utilizing your partners and new combat moves, but otherwise stays the same. Environmental takedowns are still as flashy as ever and even seems to take queues from The Last of Us for some of them.

Stealth plays a much bigger role in this entry than previous games. As mentioned before, some combat sections can be completely avoided if you are stealthy enough. Sneaking up behind enemies and silently killing them is a lot more fun than it should be, but the terrified look on their buddy’s face when they discover the body is priceless. Enemy AI is intelligent and challenging. If they find you, they will continue searching the area even after you disappear. They flank you and use cooperative tactics to try and defeat you. It is a much welcome change from the brain dead AI of most shooters. The same goes for your partner AI as well – they actually kill enemies and do a spectacular job of aiding the player.

Treasures return, of course, only now there are 109 to find, and they are very cleverly hidden, which gives an excuse to meander around large wide open areas. Alongside these treasures are notes and journal pages to be found that flesh out the lore a bit more. By pressing the OPTIONS button, you can view these collectibles. Beating the game unlocks new bonuses such as skins and tweaks to make your next playthrough that much more fun and interesting.

 Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune blew me away the first time I played it in 2008 on my uncle’s PS3. I felt like a true adventurer, off to solve the mysteries of the ancient world. A modern day Indiana Jones – stop the bad guys, get the treasure and get the girl. I walked away dumbstruck. The game was hard, yes, but the presentation and quality spoke to me on a deeper level. That gaming could be a hobby, but could also be a way for talented individuals to tell a story, to create ART, and that’s what Naughty Dog did, way back in 2007.

Nearly ten years have passed since then. Uncharted has become synonymous with high production values, venerated storytelling, exceptional character growth, and the PlayStation name itself. Naughty Dog’s flagship series permanently landed them in the spotlight of AAA game development, and they have continued to prove that they earned their spot, garnering universal praise and hundreds of awards since then.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is the culmination of all of that hard work and dedication, passion and love. I cannot recommend this game enough. Tears have been shed, blood has been spilt and stories have been told. It saddens me to see Drake’s story end, but I would have it done no other way.

 Uncharted 4 is a true masterpiece of modern storytelling. This is for all the Dogs out there. 

#uncharted #uncharted 4 #naughty dog #playstation #ps4 #review

[somethingaboutamagpie]

Because @lemonlovely read this and encouraged me, here’s the ficlet I did the other day.

It was always about control.

When it came to Neil Hargrove, everything was about control. Control over his life. Control over his job. Control over his wife.

And especially, control over his son.

He would never let Billy embarrass the family by making his own decisions.

That's why they'd left California, before Billy could sully the family name with his...eclectic tastes.

Neil had figured that Indiana would be backwoods enough to quash the queer out of his son.

He also extended that control to how Billy took care of himself. Neil gave his son enough freedom over his look, his clothes, his car, to make it seem like the leash wasn't so tight, but despite the mullet and the tight clothes, the Camaro he'd blown a good chunk of his savings on, at the end of the day, the food on the table was Neil's choosing, and the work out equipment wasn't just a gift so much as a requirement.

Sure, Billy seemed to enjoy working out, using the pumping iron to distract himself and push some of his anger out of his sweat glands, but it hadn't always been that way.

Back when Neil's bitch of an ex wife was around, their son wasn't such a strong, shining example of fitness. Back when Billy's mother was home with him every day, their son was, in a word, doughy. She snuck him sweets constantly, let him park in front of the television all day long, never asked him to take care of himself.

And that lack of control ate at Neil daily. He couldn't stand to come home to the two of them; Billy's round face and childishly chubby body reminding him that his son was unfit, that other parents looked down on him for how he allowed his child to behave.

As soon as she'd been pushed out of their lives, as soon as Neil could distance himself from the woman he'd hated, as soon as he'd taken their son and made him his son, the sweets were gone. Sugar was a thing of the past in their home.

Sure, Billy had balked at the change in his diet, had thrown a tantrum and screamed about how much he hated his father, but a few well-placed slaps, a few missed meals, had changed his tune.

Soon, Billy was losing baby fat, shedding pounds until he was nearly average. But average was never going to be good enough for Neil.

The first weight bench Neil bought, Billy outright refused to touch. He'd changed his diet, but he drew the line at working out. His mother had ingrained the laziness into his son that Neil had hated in her. It took more than a few slaps this time, to get Billy to use them.

But, eventually, the working out became as much routine as eating healthy had. And soon, Billy was filling out. Soon, he began to look more and more like a man, and less like that horrible, unhealthy child that his ex wife had tried to raise. Neil had been proud, for a time, and even gave his son space, rewarded him with new clothes and less supervision.

It wasn't until after he'd remarried, after his new wife and his new stepdaughter had moved in, that Neil realized his lax attention on his son was taking a toll. The long hair hadn't bothered him as much as he thought it would. Letting Billy have that rebellion made it seem like he was giving up his control on his son.

But it was the company Billy had started to keep that brought the anger back. Neil was sure that Billy didn't think he noticed the way the boy he would bring home with him sat too close, or the way his fingers found the inside seam of his son's too-tight jeans.

It was less than a week after Neil had met the boy that he took the offer of a job halfway across the country.

Sure, Billy threw another tantrum, but, out of sight of his stepmother, Neil reminded him with open-handed slaps just who was in charge.

It was years later, when Neil hadn't heard from Billy since the day of his graduation, that he received a letter in the mail.

The California return address had been a shock. It had been at least five years since the move, and close to that since he'd last communicated with anyone in the state. With Susan at his shoulder, Neil opened the envelope, and a photo fell out of the folded letter inside.

Hey, dipshit,

My therapist said it was best that I send you this to have some kind of closure. That's a laugh. I've never hated anyone the way I hated you, and I'm so glad that I never have to see you again. I'm finally happy, and not just in the way you taught me to be when I was fighting with other people. I'm happy, and I get to live in a place I love, with someone that taught me that fists aren't the answer to every problem. You could use that kind of advice. I guess this is my goodbye. I didn't put my real address on here, because I don't want to hear back and I know you won't mind. Steve thought you should see how much I've changed since I got out of your house. Enjoy.

Go fuck yourself,

Billy

With shaking hands, more rage than anything else, Neil found himself picking up the photo from the tabletop.

There, in the center of the frame, was the son he remembered. Billy was smiling, smiling in the same way he did when his mom was still taking care of him. His hair was long, curly and full, and he didn't wear a shirt with his too-tight jeans. The fit body he'd beat into his son to keep was gone, the lines of muscle he'd trained for were covered in a layer of baby fat once more.

And, standing next to his Billy was a dark haired man, dressed in much the same way, with both arms around his son. A wide smile stretched the man's face where his chin hooked over Billy's shoulder.

It took everything in Neil not to tear the photo in half and throw it into the fireplace.

He'd always been all about control. And now he couldn't even control himself.

#billy hargrove #harringrove #steve harrington #fic #i haven't written in months and someone said something about 'chubby billy' and #i just had to write SOMETHING bc i felt the URGE #sorry for how rushed it is

[jovialyouthmusic]

Charlotte’s Choice

A Royal Romance AU fanfic

19 The Spider

Neville smarts from his humiliation, and Constantine takes stock of things. 

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19 The Spider

Charlotte was correct that her father would not insist on paperwork that night, as she had to take over the reins of power on his behalf as the reign of the Lord of Misrule ended. She had reluctantly left Drake in the maze to fulfil her duty, but she almost floated back to her suite after. Their meeting had been different from any other. She had found sanctuary in his arms and they had admitted their feelings for each other. There was no intimacy, no removal of clothing, no fumbling or frantic consummation. They stayed in the moment, enjoying each other’s company, without any thought of what might follow. There were kisses and embraces and soft touches, they were tender, and they spoke quietly, softly and remembered times gone.

‘Let’s make the most of being alone’ said Drake as they sat on the bench at the centre of the maze, Charlotte nestled into his side, his arm protectively holding her close. ‘Think - who would we be if were just ordinary people instead of being tangled up in this web of Royalty and nobility, with no obligations or ties?’ Charlotte giggled and thought for a while

‘Okay then, I’m… a waitress in a bar - In New York. She started ‘and one day you walk into my bar’ Drake grunted with approval.

‘Okay, and – I’m there with my best friend, and it’s his birthday.  We have a couple of other guys with us’ He nudged the Princess and she continued.

‘You’re only visiting for a couple of days, and you’re out to see the sights. My bar is downtown close to all the clubs, where you plan to go next’ Drake squeezed her tighter

‘You come over to my table to take our order…’

‘Whiskey – the good stuff, you’re pushing out the boat for your friend.’

‘I order four glasses, but there’s only three of us’ Charlotte frowned but Drake went on ‘My friend appears, and you turn to see him. He’s a handsome devil, and charming with it’ Charlotte punched his shoulder.

‘Hey, it’s about you and me, not your friend’ He grinned

‘That’s the best part. He’s charming and handsome, but… you only have eyes for me. He’s pretty pissed but then he sees that I can’t take my eyes off you either and gives us his blessing.’ Charlotte laughed

‘Ordinary you is very modest, I can tell’ she said sarcastically

‘It’s my fantasy persona, I can be whatever I want to be’

‘Okay, we’re supposed to be ordinary, not fantasy figures’ she replied, ‘Otherwise I’d choose to be able to fly, or be invisible’ Drake stroked her cheek.

‘With you by my side, I feel like I can fly – and up till now I’ve been invisible’ he said softly. Charlotte smiled. The day had been one of laughter and friendship – and now, of love.

‘You’re impossible. But all that matters is that we’ve admitted our feelings, and we can move forward and find a way to be together, no matter how difficult it might seem right now’

Meanwhile, Neville smarted from his treatment in the court of Misrule. He wished Walker had hit him – he would most certainly have made him regret it, pressed charges and seen him serve a prison sentence if he could. If only he knew beforehand that it would have barred him from the list of suitors, he would have tried a lot harder to provoke him. The King would soon be announcing that two of the hopeful suitors would be dropped from the official list. After the day’s events he had no doubt that he would be one of them. At last the humiliation ended when the Princess symbolically took back power for the Rys dynasty, and he made his way back inside the Manor. He changed first, ripping off the hated dress with no thought for preserving it, then made his way to the study where the drinks cabinet was well stocked and unlocked for the use of any member of the court or their guests. Anton Severus sat in an easy chair by the window, glass of brandy in hand. Neville grabbed the bottle from the cabinet along with a glass and poured a large measure.

‘An unusual rule this time, don’t you think, Vancoeur?’ Anton asked casually.  Neville knocked back a good mouthful of the liquor before answering.

‘It was a travesty’ he growled ‘That Englishman should be horsewhipped for his impudence. I highly doubt he really is an Earl’ Anton cast him a glance and indicated the chair next to him. Neville picked up the glass and bottle and joined him.

‘Unfortunately his claim to nobility is real’ he replied ‘I’ve looked into it myself. But you’re right, he shouldn’t get away with such disrespect to the nobility – and neither should his accomplice, the Princess’s pet’

‘Princess’s pet?’ questioned Neville

‘Oh yes, hadn’t you noticed the way she looked at Mr Walker today?’ he answered ‘The commoner managed to wheedle his way onto the list, and he should not be allowed to taint the Royal bloodline’ Neville cursed.

‘I came so close to getting him banned’ he spat ‘He was on the point of assaulting me when that upstart Earl stopped him’

‘Keep your voice down, Vancoeur.’ Anton continued. ‘I take it you are not a fan of the Englishman or the commoner Duke?’ Neville frowned

‘They should both be put in their proper place’ he growled

‘I agree. If things go on as they are, one of them is very likely to end up as Consort beside the Princess’ Neville’s face contorted with rage. Anton leaned toward him conspiratorially, his voice low.

‘Perhaps it’s time for the Rys dynasty to come to an end’ Neville’s eyebrows rose in shock.

‘That – that is treason, Lord Severus’ he hissed

‘Not if the claim to the throne is legitimate’ he replied coolly. ‘I am prepared on behalf of House Severus to take what is my rightful place’ Neville sat back in his chair, shocked to the core. They were alone in the study, but Anton still kept his voice low.

‘If I cannot win the hand of the Princess by fair means, I am quite prepared to use other methods’ He steepled his fingers together and fixed Neville with his gaze. ‘Those who support and aid me will be well rewarded with a role in Court befitting their station. No commoner will sully the workings of the Cordonian court, and there will be no counter claim to the throne’ Neville’s mouth open and closed but he was struck dumb for a good few minutes, then he extended his hand to Anton

‘I would be honoured to support you, Lord Severus’ he replied ‘In any way I can and any way you see fit’

The next day was busy for Charlotte yet again. There were more meetings, more diplomats to meet and greet, as Constantine planned to stay in his suite for the day. There was to be another formal dinner, which he planned to attend. At that formal dinner the two suitors who were least likely to succeed were to be announced and would be asked to withdraw from the process.

Charlotte went to the King’s bedroom after breakfast to discuss her options. An aide admitted her, and she entered to find him still dressed in pyjamas and dressing gown, sitting in an easy chair looking out of the window over the gardens. An empty chair was waiting for her, a coffee table nearby with refreshments. Constantine gestured to the coffee pot without turning to look at her.

‘Pour some will you?’ he said distractedly, and dutifully Charlotte went over to oblige. ‘Oh my dear I’m sorry, I thought it was Jeffrey’ he said ‘but perhaps it is fitting for you to serve your father’

‘It’s no trouble Father’ she replied, ‘How are you this morning?’ She examined his features for signs of illness. He did indeed look pale and his face had accrued more lines, possibly from enduring pain or discomfort, or just lack of proper sleep.

‘Weak’ he said ‘but I shall be able to attend tonight’s dinner. Please, sit and report on the happenings at the Apple fair and tell me who you consider should be dropped from the suitors’ list.’ Charlotte poured herself a glass of water and sat.

‘Well Father, as you know, since I last reported to you, I have had both Lord Delacoeur and Tariq assist me with official paperwork, and you saw for yourself what an excellent job Lord Brad and Duke Walker made of the Apple Fair festivities’ The King made a dismissive gesture.

‘It’s hardly doing ‘an excellent job’ by making half of the Royal Court uncomfortable by making them cross dress my dear’ Charlotte gritted her teeth.

‘From a male perspective perhaps’ she replied ‘But a lot of women found the experience liberating, and in my opinion, many of the Court need to be reminded that their station in life is not to be taken for granted. Taking them out of their comfort zone was a good experience, on balance.’ Constantine nodded begrudgingly

‘A valid viewpoint, and I did notice that Lord Bradly wore the cloak and crown very well and conducted himself in an exemplary fashion. However, I do think that choice of the highland kilt as a costume was a significant bending of the cross dressing rule – what had he to learn from it?’

‘You forget Father, he was born a commoner, as was Duke Walker. They already knew what it was to be outside the regard of the Court’ Constantine looked at her sharply

‘Again, a very valid point. I do believe you are living up to the challenge of leadership my dear, just as I had hoped. However, Bastein has informed me that Lord Neville was not happy with the events of the day and lodged an official complaint regarding his treatment in the Court of Misrule’ Charlotte swallowed.

‘It was all within the spirit of Misrule’ she replied ‘Lord Maxwell was happy to comply with the cross dressing and wore exactly the same as Lord Neville’ Constantine put his hand to his forehead, frowning and massaging it.

‘Lord Maxwell is a remarkable young man, though he does not take life very seriously. However, I accept your observation and will not permit Lord Neville to pursue his complaint. Now I must ask for your assessment of Lord Neville and Tariq’s assistance regarding the official papers I gave you’

‘I believe I already reported on Lord Neville’ she replied ‘He was more concerned with matters regarding nobility and gave no regard whatsoever to the needs of the common people. I don’t think he would make a good Consort. Tariq was not at all helpful - he only spoke of trivial matters and didn’t offer to even read the documents I was working on.’ Constantine nodded

‘A fair assessment, you understand very well who might be useful to you and who might not. Do you believe either of them should remain as candidates for Consort?’ Charlotte inwardly cheered, but stayed calm, pausing before answering.

‘No Father, I do not’ Constantine steepled his fingers.

‘If you will my dear, please tell me your opinion of the remainder of the candidates. Rashad and Milo, to begin with.’ Charlotte composed herself again, considering her words before she spoke.

‘I believe Rashad has a good head for business, though I don’t know how he would fare as far as governance is concerned. Lord Milo is exactly the opposite, I believe he has an excellent head for governance, but I don’t know how well versed he is in economics. As far as keeping a good balance between nobility and the common people, I believe both of them favour nobility…’ here Constantine interrupted.

‘The common people? Have I ever indicated to you that that subject is important to your role or that of your Consort?’ Charlotte coloured. A few weeks ago, she would have caved under her Father’s displeasure, but now she felt stronger, more assured.

‘It is something that’s important to me, Father’ she asserted ‘If the people are happy, there is less chance of unrest and dissent. Cordonia is the only remaining absolute Monarchy in Europe, and I feel it might be time to move with the times and give a voice to ordinary people.’ Constantine’s face was impassive.

‘And how do you see yourself achieving that, my dear?’

‘I think that admitting commoners to the Council would be a start’ she replied. She didn’t dare tell him that she wanted to go further and reform Cordonia, plant the seeds for the Monarchy to give over some power to an elected government.

‘And who would decide who those commoners might be? He asked. Charlotte faltered.

‘I - of course it would have to be voted on by the Council’

‘Who are all nobles and will not gladly give over power to those they consider beneath them’

‘Not all are against hearing the voice of the people’ she said, less sure of herself now.

‘Name anyone who is, my dear’ he persisted.

‘I – I’m afraid I can’t’ she admitted, unwilling to name anyone for fear of her Father intimidating them if he wanted to, and having a sketchy idea anyway.

‘Cannot, or will not?’ he answered, then sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead again with his thumb and forefinger ‘Charlotte, you are showing signs of being a passable monarch. You must know the thoughts and wishes of all under you who wield power, so you can stay one step ahead of them. You need advisers and – and spies, for want of a better term. I believe you need schooling in these matters and have some plans in place for that already. In the meantime, I wish to know your opinion of the remainder of the suitors.’ Charlotte steeled herself again.

‘I know you favour Lord Severus due to his ancient lineage’ she started ‘He is charming, but I don’t know his thoughts or abilities beyond archery, sailing and horsemanship, and am interested to see how he will perform when he assists me in the study tonight.’ She paused, but her Father said nothing ‘Lord Maxwell was extremely helpful in the study and took a lot of paperwork off my hands to my surprise, but my fear is that he is too young and carefree to take the role of Consort seriously. Lord Bradley is also charming, and his claim to nobility has been confirmed. He is new to Cordonia, and I have no idea how he will perform in your test.’ Constantine interrupted

‘Remember, dear girl, that Bradley has potential links with the British Monarchy now – which increases his suitability for the role’ Charlotte’s stomach knotted but she smiled and continued.

‘That may be so, Father but Duke Walker is the person I know the best. I know he shares my ideas as to governance and would make a good representative for ordinary people. He knows the country well and is well versed in protocol’ At last Constantine spoke.

‘And how might he perform when it comes to trade, or economics, or diplomacy?’ Charlotte coloured, but before she could answer, her Father continued ‘And what does your heart tell you my dear? Who might you wish to spend your time with if you had no responsibilities?��� Charlotte was almost struck dumb.

‘I - Father, you’ve never asked me that before’ she managed to stammer. He nodded.

‘It is an important factor’ he answered. ‘If your Consort lives up to all my other criteria, but you cannot bear to be in the same room as him, that will be a problem. No matter how you might try to hide it, people will notice. That was the advice I was given by my own father, and I have been lucky. Both your Mother and Regina were dear to my heart, though they did not have the importance to the Monarchy that your Consort will.’ He sighed again and his face clouded.

‘I cannot do more for now my dear, I must rest if I am to make the announcement tonight. I take it that Lord Vancoeur and Tariq are the ones you wish to be dropped from the list of suitors?’ Charlotte nodded, relieved. Constantine reached out his hand to hers and squeezed it. ‘Then think about what I have said. Believe it or not, I will consider what your heart says to you amongst the criteria you are to apply. Go now, and I will see you at dinner’ Charlotte bent to kiss her Father’s hand and left him to rest.

As the Manor was the summer home of the Royal Family, none of the suitors had the right to sit next to Charlotte at the head table, but as Drake had no lands and has spent many summers there, he was awarded the privilege. Lady Olivia sat next to Drake, and of course the King was there. Maxwell and Brad (afforded a higher position by association with Olivia) sat on the next table down with Lady Kiara and Lady Penelope. Maxwell’s brother Bertrand sat with Anton, Lady Caroline and her sister Margaret. Rashad sat at a table with Milo, his sister Madeleine (who apart from Lady Kiara had the dubious reputation of not having slept with Drake) and their mother Adelaide, who kept throwing heated glances at Maxwell, causing him to squirm uncomfortably whenever he noticed. Tariq and Neville sat with the notorious Montpelier twin sisters, and there were ten or so other tables, all taken with notable worthy bastions of the Court and Council of nobles.

Drake sat back looking at the assembled nobles, thinking that nothing had been learned from the previous day. Here were all the stuffy nobles filling their faces with fancy food and expensive wines, oblivious to the needs of ordinary citizens. He was complicit in it all, sitting at the top table with Charlotte – but she was a victim of circumstance. She hadn’t asked to be born into privilege and power and could not easily break out of it. He remembered the little fantasy they had imagined together, of being free and ordinary. How he wished it were true, that they were miles away from this place and able to be together without duty or obligations. He had had the chance of leaving to go to University in the States only a few years ago, but he could not leave her to the mercy of the Court and her Father. She said she was growing up – and he had to do the same, not just go day after day taking the status quo for granted. He had to step up to the mark, be the man she needed.

If he was Consort, he could start to change things, work on laws that benefitted common people, campaign for reform, for ordinary people to be involved in the running of the country. It had happened in neighbouring countries and Cordonia was the last stronghold of an absolute Monarchy. He feared they would have to change, or there would be consequences.

The meal progressed smoothly, and Drake noted that Charlotte made a good effort to include him in the dinner conversation, as his nature was to remain silent and observe. He realised it was in order for him to make a good impression on Constantine. Although he had been included in the list in order to feed the King information on the other suitors, it had been a while since he had been called upon to do so.

The time came for the King’s speech, and he stood, tapping his glass for silence.

‘Lords and Ladies of Cordonia, my daughter and I thank you for your attendance tonight. As you all know, the hand of my daughter in marriage is promised this social season, and the candidates have all made very good efforts to win her affections. But only one person can become Consort, and tonight I must eliminate two contenders.’ He paused and looked around the assembly of people.

‘I must ask all of the suitors to stand’ he commanded, waiting for them all to comply. ‘It is with regret that I have to tell you all that Tariq and Lord Neville Vancoeur will not be taking any further part in the selection process’ Tariq looked downcast, but Neville kept a stoic expression, and there was a short hum of conversation before the King spoke again. ‘It is your choice, gentlemen, as to whether you wish to continue to accompany the Court for the remainder of the Social Season or withdraw. However you will of course be welcome to attend the Coronation Ball when the Queen in Waiting will announce who will rule with her as Prince Consort. You may all sit, gentlemen. Dinner is over, but you are welcome to stay for drinks. I will retire for the night, but Charlotte will answer any questions you may have. That is all, thankyou’ Constantine bowed, and made his apologies to Olivia, drawing Drake aside.

‘I’d like to talk to you in my study, young man. Please tell Lord Bradley that I also wish to talk with him after you. Be there in ten minutes please.’ Drake bowed, his stomach knotting as he turned to find Brad. Together they made their way to the study while Charlotte watched them go with trepidation.

‘What do you think he wants?’ asked Brad

‘I don’t know, maybe it’s about the Lord of Misrule’

‘Then why ask to talk to you first, and not the both of us together?’ mused Brad.

‘Well there’s only one way to find out’ said Drake as they came to the door. Bastien stood guard and nodded to the two men.

‘His Majesty is expecting you, Walker’ he stated.

‘Good luck brother’ said Brad, and grabbed Drake’s elbow, his forearm lined up so Drake in turn grabbed his elbow. Drake looked surprised at the term ‘brother’ but accepted it, his grip firm. With his other hand, Brad slapped him on the back and Drake gave him a grateful glance before he turned to go in.

The King was sitting at his desk.

‘Walker’ he said, gesturing to the seat in front of the desk ‘Please sit. I don’t want to have to crane my neck to talk to you’ Drake sat obediently, waiting for Constantine to speak again. ‘I expect you’re wondering why I called you’ he said

‘Yes your Majesty’ answered Drake nervously. The King shuffled some papers in front of him.

‘You will recall, Walker, that I permitted you access to the list of suitors on the condition that you report to me on any information that might be of interest to me concerning the other suitors’

‘Yes, your Majesty, I…’ Drake was about to give an account of himself, but Constantine raised his hand to silence him.

‘You may also have noticed that I have not called upon you to do so for some time’ he continued. ‘Why do you think that is?’ Drake was nonplussed

‘I’m not sure, your Majesty – perhaps you were satisfied with what your other sources were telling you’ Constantine smiled.

‘So you think I have other sources?’ Drake opened his mouth but again had no chance to speak ‘You are correct of course, in my position I need to know everything about everything’ He sat back but kept his eyes on Drakes. ‘I am not stupid, Walker, I have noticed that you and my daughter share some affection. That is only to be expected as you grew up together. Please, don’t try to deny it. Do not speak.’ Drake felt his face burning red and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

‘I am not a monster, Walker, I do have some affection for my daughter, but she bears a heavy responsibility to her country. She has to find a balance between duty and affection, as did I in my time. You will be surprised that I am not against the idea of Charlotte and you being together – but you must be up to the job of taking care of our country as well. What do you have to say for yourself in that matter?’ Drake steeled himself, knowing that he must make a good impression on the King.

‘Your Majesty, I may not have been born here, but Cordonia is my home and has given me everything I have, and my father gave his life for it. I may lack some knowledge in how to run the country, but I know enough to recognise those who have that capability, and I believe that power should be shared, not piled on to the shoulders of one person, or two, no matter how well trained or capable they may be. You know that life is precarious, and there is the danger of the country collapsing if the one person wielding absolute power should fall. If I was to find myself beside Charlotte, I would find good counsel and share the responsibilities of power.’ Constantine remained stony faced through Drake’s account. He steepled his index fingers together before replying

‘Thankyou Duke Walker, you have made your position clear. You have my approval to continue to court my daughter with the other suitors, and if you should happen to discover anything of significance about any of them, you will come to me and tell me so. Please tell Lord Bradley I will see him now.’ Drake bowed and left the room. Brad raised his eyebrows in question.

‘It’s cool Brad, his Majesty will see you now. I can wait for you if you like’ offered Drake. Brad nodded, looking nervous

‘I’d appreciate that, but if I’m too long, take yourself off and have a stiff whiskey for me’ He straightened his tie and entered the study.

Inside the study, the King waited patiently like a spider waiting to feel the vibrations feeding back to him though the threads of his web.  He regarded the young Englishman with interest. Lady Olivia had been bold to bring him to Cordonia. He had seen the furtive looks she had given the young man and knew what it meant. Brad was a game changer, an interesting new piece on the chessboard of his world. He had so little time to assure the future of his country and the happiness of his daughter, if that were possible.  

‘So, Bradley de Montford, I believe I have to address you as Sir now that your claim has been approved’ he said. ‘What a pity you had not claimed earlier, you might have been able to find favour in the English Court before you came here’ The young man faced him with a cool expression. He had seen this before, noticed how calm he was under pressure, giving nothing away. His bearing was worthy of nobility, he looked the part the moment he appeared at the Masked Ball. He was a natural, born to lead men though he had not had the opportunity.

‘I wasn’t in a position to make a claim, your Majesty. I have Lady Olivia to thank for that’ he replied. ‘She has been very generous’ Constantine kept his expression neutral. Brad was nailing his colours to the mast, expressing his gratitude toward the Nevrakis woman from the start. Perhaps that would be useful rather than a hindrance.

‘I must congratulate you on your handling of the Lord of Misrule’ he said, ‘I was glad I made the right choice’ Brad’s expression flickered

‘The right choice, your Majesty?’ he asked.

‘Yes, I made sure you were the one to win the privilege. You don’t think the Court would vote for a foreigner to have sway over them, do you?’ Now the young man could not mask his surprise. ‘you handled it very well, though I needed the counsel of my daughter to make me realise how very clever it was, ensuring that the Court were ‘taken out of their comfort zone’ as the saying goes. Lord Neville in particular was very much affected, though I fear that was a negative outcome.’

‘I – that wasn’t my intention’ the young man replied, his cool façade cracking under the king’s scrutiny.

‘You are either lying, young man, or you are a natural at getting people just where you want them. Tell me, what was your intention?’

‘I wanted – to shake things up’ Brad replied, trying to regain his composure. ‘I wanted the court not to take their position for granted’

‘And you succeeded. You may not have realised how dangerous that might have been – you are dealing with men who have power, not a bunch of drunken bar patrons.’ The young man swallowed, and Constantine went on.

‘You have great potential, Sir Bradley. If you were not a foreigner, I would be pleased to see you win my daughter’s hand.’ He saw the shock on his face, knew that was not what he was seeking ‘You may still have a role in my country’s future whether you succeed or not. If you choose to leave, I can see you being successful in your own country if you apply yourself.’ He sat back, suddenly tired. ‘Thankyou for coming, Sir Bradley’ he said, ‘You may leave now.’

And the spider became quiet, sitting waiting for the thrumming of another thread…

#drake walker #drake x mc #drake x liam #the royal romance #choices the royal romance #trr #choices trr #trr drake #trr choices #trr fanfic

[dowagerintraining]

Fanfiction: The Auction (Tomb Raider/Uncharted/Indiana Jones)

At a a private auction of the goods pertaining to the estate of Mr Henry Williams, son of the late Dr Henry Walton Jones (Indiana to his friends), Nathan Drake and Victor Sullivan make a new acquaintance, Lady Lara Croft, who is wearing a striking and eye catching piece of jewellery...

“Feels kinda strange to be attending one of these fancy affairs with an actual invitation.”

Victor tugged uncomfortably at his unaccustomed necktie, as his hair stuck to the back of his neck, a trickle of sweat leaked uncomfortably beneath his colour down his back.

Nate, however, wore his suit well. A little older, a little more filled out perhaps, but with a gloss and polish that only some years as a respectable businessman had been able to bestow. He still drew admiring looks from many of the women thronging around the event, but unlike ten years ago, he barely noticed. Contentment and relative prosperity suited him as well as a few years of not being shot at or dangled from clifftops.

“Yeah, well … just keep hoping that nobody takes too close of a look at yours.”

“But you said you were…”

“Yeah, I was invited. You were … kind of an unofficial plus one.”

Nate’s grin was infectious. For a second, Victor couldn’t decide whether he was joking or not. Once he laughed, Victor knew for sure.

“Nate! Seriously, you should know better than to mess with the stress levels of an old man like me.”

“Ptff … old man. Yeah right. If you want to know what an old man in our line or work looks like, take a look at this guy…”

The portrait, one of the lots on offer at the exclusive and invitation only auction, was impressive. An oil painting, one that should have hung in an academic’s office at a prestigious university. Nate reminded himself that it had done just that, for some years, at Marshall College. The subject was sedate but luxurious in colour palette, wearing a rich brown and green tweed jacket and trousers, neat polished shoes, horn rimmed glasses, his grey hair neatly barbered, a hand resting on a leather book set to one side, with a tantalizing pile of notes, covered in sigils…

“Yeah, he was something alright. How did you find out about this event anyway, Nate? I thought you were out of this game now...”

“Contacts, Sully. Contacts. There are some names that just can’t be ignored.”

Nate glanced at the unassuming invitation he carried, to the private auction of the personal effects of the late Mr Henry Williams, proprietor of Williams and Sons Automobile Services. Nothing to suggest he had been anything special during his lifetime. But the watermark, hologrammed logo and microchip hidden in the ticket’s thick paper betrayed this first impression of banality. As did the slick suited security guards who hovered around every entrance and exit.

For anyone with an interest in archaeology, antiquities or any form of treasure, this was definitely the hottest ticket in town. Not because of Mr Henry Williams, himself, but because he had been the sole beneficiary of his father’s estate. The late Doctor Henry Walton Jones of Mashall College, Conneticut. Indiana to his friends, and at twenty five years deceased still the keeper of some of the most speculated upon secrets in the field of Ancient History.

“Quite magnificent, wasn’t he…”

The cool, assured, feminine voice behind them made both Victor and Nate jump. As they turned to the sound of a throaty, female giggle, it was only years of practice that prevented their jaws from dropping.

Tall, willowy, wearing an exquisitely cut white dress with killer heels, long white gloves and a white broad brimmed hat, their new companion could have stepped from the pages of any glossy magazine. She removed her sun glasses, revealing eyes that were dark and wicked; intelligence sparkled among the smokey makeup. Her sleek smile hinted at a filthy sense of humour. A few dark tendrils of curling hair deliberately escaped from beneath the brim of the hat, which alone surely cost more than Nathan Drake’s honest annual income.

“Absolutely, they broke the mold with him,” Victor recovered that fraction of a second faster than Nate, extending his hand smoothly. “Victor Sullivan. And this is my business associate, Nathan Drake, miss…?”

“Croft. Lady Croft.” The hand that shook Victor’s in return might have seemed delicate and feminine, but there were muscles of steel and unexpected callouses apparent beneath the thin gloves. “Lara.”

“A pleasure to meet you Lady Croft. Lara.”

Nate finally recovered his powers of speech having sternly reminded his hind brain that he was a Happily Married Man, with a wife who was blessed with both mind reading powers and the ability to break him with her little finger.

“Speaking of magnificent, that’s a beautiful necklace, Lady Croft…”

Lara’s hand strayed to the pendant which hung artlessly around her slender throat. Heavy, golden, the size of an old sovereign, it was intricately carved, the design resembling an old compass.

“Oh this? Something I picked up on my last trip to Peru.”

“Travel a lot, do you?”

“Oh here and there … South America, the Caribbean, South East Asia… wherever business takes me.”

“Business, eh? Well, perhaps our paths will cross again on a future business trip.”

Her eyes lightened, sparkled with interest.

“Perhaps they will, Mr Drake. Perhaps they will, “ she replacing her dark glasses. “Until then…”

Nathan and Victor couldn’t quite help themselves watch her walk away through the crowd, the sway of her hips was hypnotic. Once she vanished from view, Nate give himself a little shake. Happily Married Man, she thought to himself firmly and smiled inwardly at the thought of picking up Elena at the airport later.

The ever single Victor had no such need for self control. He whistled softly to himself. “Man … I tell ya Nate, it I was 30 years younger…”

“... You’d still have no chance, Sully. So stop the day dreaming and let’s get back to business. Did you see what she was wearing?”

“Oh yes … sharp of you to spot it, not so sharp to draw attention to it! Show off. That will be back in her handbag in no time.”

“Business Trip to Peru my ass, that must have taken years of work to unearth...”

“And now she’s here hunting for the matching set.”

Nate pulled out his pocket book and turned to the page which showed a sketch of the jewellery Lara had been wearing. The next page showed a set of earrings with similar markings, with a whole set of notes scribbled around the notches on the outside. In the glossy catalogue, lot number 428 featured photograph of a remarkably similar set, a gift from Dr Jones to his late wife, Marion Jones, on the occasion of their thirtieth wedding anniversary.

“If we’re bidding against her, we’re out of luck. She could buy and sell the whole catalogue for pocket money.”

“Then it’s a good thing we’re only bidding for fun.”

The two men smiled at each other. It was good to be back in business together again.

“Ladies, gentlemen, honoured guests, please take your seats, so that the auction can commence…”

“C’mon Sully. Let’s go see if we can get seats with a good view.”

“Of the pieces? Or your new lady friend?”

“Both…”

#Indiana Jones #Lara Croft #Tomb Raider #Uncharted #Fanfiction #Crossover

[adacarisi]

V E R I T A S | Rafael Barba

Chapter 4: One to Ten

Rafael awoke the next morning to the screech of his alarm, the same one he’d ignored the previous morning. His doctor’s appointment was at 7:30 and he intended on looking less disheveled than yesterday. Rafael typically had an entire routine he would follow including a shower with specific body butters and washes, luxury shampoos and conditioners. His routine took around an hour and a half usually, occasionally two hours before a high profile case where he could expect press interviews.

All of his scents were deep and dark, oaky and layered, vanilla and tobacco. Rafael favored Terre D’Hermes because of it’s initial freshness that fades into an amber vanilla. But as he held the bottle to his neck and prepared to spritz himself he stopped. The room was nearly spinning and he was forced to lean on his marble sink for support. The cool of the stone grounded him against all the familiar scents he was surrounded by.

His headache had persisted all night but the melatonin he’d taken along with the migraine pills had allowed him to sleep for a few hours. The two of you had stayed at Forlini’s until 9pm, both silently mapping out your plans for the Anderson case and all it entailed. As Rafael’s temples throbbed he looked up at himself in the mirror. His forehead was beaded with sweat and his eyes were wider than he felt they were.

“Just get dressed.” He mumbled to himself.

“Get dressed and go to your appointment.” Rafael took a deep inhale and splashed some cold water on his face, trying to shock his body into submission.

Carefully Rafael turned and exited his bathroom one hand on the wall to steady himself. The pain was layered like his cologne, sharp and pointed melded with ache and pressure. As he reached his closet the pain subsided slightly and Rafael felt himself breathe again. Rafael tugged on a white undershirt and briefs before picking out the suit he’d wear that day. It couldn’t be too elaborate but it needed to be good. Despite the ache that throbbed through his skull he debated for a few moments over whether he should wear his favorite vest or his suspenders. He always looked trim in his vest. Vest it was.

Two more migraine pills and a cafécito and Rafael was out his door, this time with the Anderson brief in hand.

Hospitals and Rafael had never been on good terms. When the electronic doors swept open he could practically hear Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights begin. Rafael hated sickness and germs and could practically feel them climbing onto him like the fire ants in Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. Rafael had seen his share of hospital rooms during his childhood, one broken bone after another. His mother would have lost custody of him were it not for James Elliott a lawyer who took on her case with Social Services pro bono. Elliott was one of the reasons Rafael had become interested in law. Rafael had never bought into the whole superhero thing, he was far too logical and realistic even as a scrawny child. But Elliott was something else, the closest Rafael had come to greatness that was matched only by kindness, and it stayed with him.

James Elliott had died two years ago and Rafael still thought of him when the job began to take it’s toll. He was making a difference for someone, just as Elliott had made a difference for him.

“It’s just a doctors appointment.” Rafael reminded himself quietly as he entered the hospital after a long and equally pensive cab ride.

Rafael liked Dr. Ross. He was passionate about his job and efficient. Two things that had attracted Rafael to him. Dr. Ross was an older man who was always clean shaven and dressed to the nines. His eyes were kind and his brow was serious, much like Rafael. Of all places they’d met at a gala, both of them quickly getting on which was surprising to both men seeing as the two of them shared the same temperament and casual dislike for social events. When Dr. Ross had agreed to take him on as a client Rafael had been slightly uncomfortable but he knew his mother would be relieved due to the fact Rafael hadn’t had a wellness check in years. Rafael was especially glad now since his headache had persisted through countless migraine pills and hot showers.

He had hardly waited a minute before he was called back, his appointment was exclusive, Dr. Ross kept select hours for select patients cognizant of their demanding professions. Rafael took a seat in the exam room, avoiding the lounge covered in medical sanitary paper.

“Ah Mr. Barba it’s good to see you! Sorry was that too loud, my secretary made a note here that you called with persistent headaches. Are you currently experiencing any pain?”

“Um, yes.”

“Scale of 1-10?”

“Sometimes a 9, but its leveled to a manageable 7.”

“You must have an exceptional pain tolerance Mr. Barba.” Dr. Ross began to write something quickly on Rafael’s chart while Rafael fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“Have you had any muscle weakness or nausea?” Dr. Ross asked still not meeting Rafael’s eyes with his own.

“Occasionally but it’s nothing I haven’t experienced as a side effect of my job.”

“Any blurred vision or mental confusion?”

“No.” Rafael adjusted his tie as he watched the doctors face for some kind of tell or give away for what he was diagnosing Rafael with.

A few moments passed with just Dr. Ross writing in scratchy sounds on Rafael’s chart. Rafael grew impatient and leaned forward with a question.

“Is there something you can prescribe me?”

“How much have you been taking?” Dr. Ross asked knowingly.

“4 Excedrin.” Rafael’s voice was tinged with guilt and the doctor immediately noticed.

“How often?” Dr. Ross looked up from his chart and raised a brow over his gold rimmed glasses.

“As often as the headache hinders my daily functions.”

“You’re not in the courtroom Mr. Barba. I’m not accusing you of anything, I’m your doctor. I simply want to know if I need to be concerned about stomach ulcers as well as neurological issues.”

“You think something’s wrong neurologically?” Rafael asked almost incredulously in a low disbelieving tone.

“The pain is persistent and you’re not one to complain which leads me to believe the pain is much worse than you’re letting on. Rafael, your 9 is most people’s 15. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned. I’d like to do a few scans just to be certain there’s nothing wrong.”

“I don’t know if I have the time.” Rafael felt his stomach drop at the gravity of the situation, he couldn’t deny he was afraid.

“Make the time Rafael.” Dr. Ross gave him a stern look before standing and offering his hand.

“I’ll send a script out for something stronger than those migraine pills. I trust our secretaries can confer and schedule your appointments. I’m going to order a CT and an MRI just to be exhaustive. Until then take what I prescribe and nothing more. Is that understood?” Dr. Ross opened the exam room door and lead Rafael back to the waiting room which was still empty save the receptionist.

“Yes doctor. Thank you.”

“If it gets worse call me right away, do not take more medication.”

“Understood.”

“Do good work today Mr. Barba.” Dr. Ross smiled as he shook Rafael’s hand firmly.

“You too.” Rafael let out a breathy chuckle before exiting the office and returning to the white halls of the hospital.

That had been quick and semi-painless. He was concerned about the worry he’d seen flash across the doctor’s brow. Rafael would discuss the situation briefly with Carmen and then put it aside for the day. The Anderson case was far to important to be sullied by his personal issues. Besides he was certain he’d made a poor impression on you yesterday and he needed to step up his professional game. He needed to be at his best for this. And he knew he was just a venti soy caramel latte with two extra shots away from it.

Soundtrack:

Germs / Dance of the Knights

Rafael’s Best

#rafael barba x reader #rafael barba #law and order svu #raul esparza #fic #svu

[vaguely-concerned]

UNCHARTED 4 REACTIONS

- uuuh can I just… find out who the FUCK looked at tiny beautiful baby boy Nate and decided to leave him with a bunch of nuns who don’t get why other kids telling him his mom’s in hell because she committed suicide would upset him??????? Like I don’t know who his biological father is but I feel a strong need to divest him of his kneecaps. (C’mon Sully with your con man expertise and my vengeful nature we could figure this out between us)

- Sam reminds me a lot of one of my uncles. I’m not sure what to do with that except applaud Naughty Dog on their eye for people ha ha. I guess everyone has that slightly sleazy and self absorbed yet periodically charming and decent man in their lives. (Can I point out how amazing his costume design is, in a way you rarely see? He’s one of those dudes who look rumpled wearing pretty much anything, everything is so unflattering on him it’s a miracle. Contrast his and Sully’s outfits in the Scotland section — what they’re actually wearing isn’t that dissimilar and Sully is like twice Sam’s age but looks a) stylish, b) warm and c) Incredibly American somehow while Sam looks like a bum and it’s  h i l a r i o u s.)

- When bb Nate’s face already does the thing where he goes from genuinely upset to dissembling smile… no… ow…  

- “You only pull something like this when you’re trying to make up for something” lasjfdlsakjfslkdjfalskj my soul has left my body and I am crying hot saltwater tears

- a) Nadine is just so incredibly, vibrantly beautiful and I feel like sending a thank you note to the offices of Naughty Dog for putting her face and overarms on my screen, b) she’s already completely done with everything and we’re not even halfway through the game, c) she’s awfully uppity about Chloe’s methods for someone whose instinctual approach to archaeology is ‘dynamite’

- NATE PLAYING CRASH BANDICOOT

THE MOST PRECIOUS SHIT

I’VE EVER LAID MY EYES ON

“THIS IS TAKING VERY LONG” THIS BLESSED ADHD BOY

- OKAY NAUGHTY DOG YOU’VE GONE AND DONE IT I’M ROOTING FOR THE HETS

- the note from Chloe in the attic :( :( :( I feel bad for her even though she eventually upgraded big time on the spouse material, she does like him a lot even if they didn’t make each other very happy.

Can you imagine if Nate and Chloe had actually stayed together tho. They’d have the smartest, snarkiest, most-unprepared-to-deal-with-emotions children in history lol just as well things worked out like they did, probably

- did u guys know… that I would die for nathan drake… I mean you all probably do by now because I never shut up about it but it bears repeating… I would….  

- oh no… nate no… don’t lie to elena she not only tolerates you she loves you despite the warning signs don’t throw this away

- It’s very impressive that they’ve managed to show that Sam genuinely does love Nate a lot while also making it clear how easily he tips into being a toxic influence — it makes all the psychological sense in the world that he’s trying to emulate the relationship they had when they were at their closest and only had each other, but purposefully trying to drive Nate away from the other people who love him is just… so perfectly the worst possible thing to do to him, jeeeeesus christ. No wonder he and Sully don’t get along — Sully is wonderfully protective without being possessive

- When Sam asks Sully why he’s there and it’s like… because… he’s HIS FUCKN DAD SAM???! YOU NUMBSKULL???!!? YOU ABSOLUTE FOOL??!?!

- All my fanfic wants for these games are so lame and low-key… like ‘the first time a teenaged Nate comes back to the hotel drunk as a total emotional mess, and Sully being like ‘oh wow… oh god… help… he’s like a tiny puppy I need to protect him being a parent is terrifying’... ‘Nadine and Chloe have a nice night in and make sweet character developing love, maybe braid each other’s hair and get in a fist fight with some dude’... ‘the gang go to an amusement park, have a good time, Charlie gets cotton candy and makes fun of Nate’...

(actually what I really, really want is a fic of Sully surreptitiously picking up the pieces of Nate after Sam ‘dies’, but, y’know. The heart wants what it wants and mine wants Nate to be taken care of)

- Sully’s face when he drops them off in Scotland… goddamn it he loves that boy so much ;___;

- The only illustration of Sam’s personality that matters is that he thinks  S u l l y  of all people might screw Nate over while thinking he can work with Rafe without it all going to hell

Just… the worst judge of character ever lol how’s that projection working out for you Sammy boy

- I played some multiplayer and Elena really has just the warmest, most reassuring presence, I absolutely see what Nate sees there ha ha

Also I love what they’ve done with her clothes, all her outfits are plausible and non-sexualized and look so chill and comfortable

- Nate’s high-pitched nervous laugh is everything to me, such a deeply endearing character tic

- Sam… you dumbass… when will you learn that the real treasure… is your little brother and his happiness…

- I have to applaud Troy Baker for his work here — he matches Nolan North’s speech patterns and timbre as Nate so well, you absolutely believe they’re brothers. (Also between them they’re like… 90% of all male characters in video games, it’s a wonder the fabric of reality isn’t fraying with two giants in such close proximity)

- Shoutout to my boy Charlie for getting one (1) whole reference in this entire game! Naughty Dog may have forgotten you but the face you pulled at Nathan in the scene with the torches will stay with me forever, you big British lug <3

- I LOVE that Nate and Sam still use ‘Father Duffy’ like you would ‘Goody Two-shoes’ or the ‘dad’ in a sarcastic ‘thanks, dad’, it’s an authentic-feeling kind of in-joke

- Nate’s journal entries are SO FUNNY in this one oh my god. I’m so happy they’re acknowledging that he’s actually an excellent artist, I hope he ends up with a sideline in making illustrated children’s books. (I have since learned they were drawn by Naughty Dog artist Alexandria Neonakis. From the bottom of my heart: thank you for everything, especially Lemur Sully)

- Gideon Emery is wasted — WASTED — in the role of ‘random goon #43’ yet again,  but whatever, at least I got to hear his voice

- Sam’s supremely shitty tattoos give me life

- I realized during the Madagascar opening that in all likelihood the person who taught Nate to drive was Sully and can I just say… this reinforces my theory that Sully is the real hero of the Uncharted games because can you imagine taking on that responsibility for Nathan ‘Adrenaline Junkie Whoops Everything I Touch Explodes and Collapses’ Drake? No, because you and I don’t have what it takes to live that life but Victor Sullivan does

- It feels like they went a bit more naturalistic with the dialogue and characterization in this one? (As naturalistic as you can go with great big undiscovered cathedrals/pirate recruiting hubs under Scotland, anyway. Scotland ain’t that big, yo, pretty sure someone would have spotted it lol) I actually enjoyed it — U3 is still pretty much an Indiana Jones-esque adventure story with some purposefully discordant notes when you get to know Nate’s real backstory and stuff like that, but this feels all round a bit more grounded in reality and characters and it works

- Sully ineffectually keeping a grip on Nate’s shirt while he’s scrabbling to get back into the driver’s seat after the car goes off the cliff ascended my soul to a higher dimension. Big mood.

Also genuinely laughed for five minutes at Sam, lapsed Catholic and born opportunist, getting in as many Hail Marys as he could just in case he was about to die. I’m an atheist from a half-halfheartedly Protestant country but even I am pretty sure that’s not how it works buddy

- Nate’s continual refusal to think ahead enough to carry his own matches (and being saved by surrounding himself with smokers) is one of the most satisfying running jokes in the series

- “Lemurs, Sully!” “Rabies, Nate” fsdajfkljdaskjhasjkhfasjdk

*cries helplessly like a little baby because I love everyone in this bar*

- I must say the clock tower felt like one of Nate’s most catastrophic onsets of… Nateness. That delicate complicated piece of machinery was still functioning perfectly after four hundred years and yet… Nate’s in there for five minutes and it crumbles like paper. I guess technically sinking the entirety of a city into the sand beats it, but… I keep coming back to the image of the cracked bell and then *high pitched giddy voice* “Hi Sully” JFC Nate ha ha

- *screams as Nate sends Sully and Elena away, literally turning to the adrenaline/treasure hunting madness he used to cope with trauma before he managed to work up to emotional intimacy with people who care about him because Sam is a jackass who knew exactly what buttons to press and is weirdly possessive of his little brother*

- You know… forgiving Sam is so hard when he repeatedly doubles down on his lies, making up further details unprovoked, because he knows it keeps Nate hooked and feeling guilty? Like Nate is far enough along in his character development at this point that just waving some treasure under his nose alone wouldn’t do it, you need that illusion that he’s saving someone he loves — the first person he ever relied on, who he thought he lost once because he failed him — to make him keep going, and Sam knows this and uses it and it’s so horribly, calculatedly cruel? I think there are a few times where he kind of wants to come clean (uh already too late because what the HELL he’s already fucked up all his relationships lol) only to be interrupted by Action but in the end it’s a deliberate, long con of assholery that it’s extremely difficult to look past. Ah well I guess he’s stuck as my ‘I will mercilessly yet affectionately mock you’ character, that’s something.

- Aaagh the scene where Elena’s like ‘who are you’ is so good because it must be such a blow, knowing this man she loves and (bravely, because he is a disaster magnet) made the choice to try to make a life with for the second time still thinks he needs to lie to her, like he’s been lying to the world at large for most of his life — his name is a lie, so much of his outer identity is invented, but hey she wouldn’t have married him if she didn’t think they were past that this time and trusted each other with honesty… and then out of the blue a dead-yet-still-somehow-smoking-a-sketchy-cigarette brother???? Normally the ‘what else have you been lying about’ line makes me roll my eyes but she is ABSOLUTELY right to wonder about that and it breaks my heart

as does Nate going ‘I’m just me’ in that voice aaaaaaauuuuuugh he does try but he’s not completely at the point where he thinks he can be acceptable and loved as he is, no need to hide the broken things, still that kid learning that it’s better to not be seen or tell the truth because it just makes things worse

(I feel it’s a good balance between ‘protagonist making some DUMB SELF-DESTRUCTIVE CHOICES LIKE AN IDIOT’ and ‘makes perfect, tragic sense considering their history’, ending up at sympathetic but still in the wrong and in need of getting it the hell together in a hurry. At least he clearly realizes he’s fucked up pretty much immediately, which is something I GUESS)

TL;DR Nate, listen to Sully and go talk it out with your wife, I’m real upset now I’ll go make myself a cup of tea ;____;

- Sam was straight up going to shoot Nadine in the head, huh. I mean… wow. I wonder why she doesn’t like you very much, bro lol

- I’m a Black Sails fan so whenever Anne Bonny shows up I’m like *golden retriever face* HI FRIEND HI sorry about the... poison

- ...is it weird that I want to write fix it fic for Evelyn and Ken

All his letters are so  c u t e  and loving and I am devastated

Puzzling their story together like that was super effective too — it was so cool that if you know what to look for you could find the Tokugawa armor he mentions in the first letter before any other clues, I was going ‘Oh she totally married that beautiful nerd’ right there and then ha ha. Evelyn’s design was wonderful, you could tell the force of nature she must have been in her prime.

Bonus points for Nate looking up at her like a puppy who’s found someone really cool to aspire to. Also their father looks nominally less of a rampant unrepentant asshole if he sold Cassandra’s things specifically to her mentor. Microscopically. I’d still like to kick his ass tho.

- I guess Sam is three to five years older than Nate, then, if he remembers (vaguely) going to Windsor before Nate was even born? Bit hazy on the timeline here, because Nate’s memories of their parents — especially their mum — must be quite hazy if, like Marlowe states in U3, he was surrendered to the state at the age of five and they moved around with their dad a lot even before that.

- Nate was the most tired-looking twelve year old I have ever seen and it hurts me

The fact that Nate started off looking exhausted and a little snub-nosed and grew into a very handsome and charming young man (ssssh I’m in no way biased here just because he’s my son) while Sam was sweet and bright-eyed as a teenager and now looks like someone who is low-key dealing drugs around the local high school… this game is truly a tour de force of character design

- So apparently Shoreline was already off to a bad start when Nadine took over? That makes it doubly sad that she’s judging herself so harshly for losing it when her father had already left it to her as a mess :(

- THANK YOU ELENA AND SULLY FOR SAVING THIS WONDERFUL FOOLISH BOY YET AGAIN. “I left my life for you”  D: D: D:

Also slightly sad that Sam has… literally nothing except Nate and Avery’s treasure? On the other hand that’s entirely his own fault so. Less sad. (Makes me immensely thankful Sully and then Elena found Nate when they did)

- Nate… using his words… cautiously expressing how he actually felt… Elena mulling it over… realizing part of why she loves him is that weird restless brain of his doing its thing……. coming up with a solution where they can solve it as partners in the ending………... I am clinically ded, go on without me

- Realest GPOY moment: Sully’s flat immediate ‘no’ to Nate going off to save Sam on his own. He’s so scared!!!! And so was I!!!! My soul bond with an American con man three times my age continues to be unbreakable

- Relieved that my sister was in control for the fencing bit, because I don’t know if I could handle being responsible for Nate’s safety like that

That said, how destroyed was I that Nate didn’t really start fighting back before Rafe threatened his family? Completely, though it does force me to take the words ‘ludonarrative dissonance’ in my mouth for the first time in my life — no way does he kill as many people in the reality of the story as you do in gameplay if he’s still this hesitant to respond to someone openly trying to murder him lol. I realize this is a game and they need some kind of pretense to keep it from being a movie with the occasional QTE, but Naughty Dog you can’t just… repeatedly show that Nate has a hard time killing in cold blood and then have him take out an army in the next breath

(Naughty Dog: We did and you’re completely willing to go with it lawl. Me: Oooooh I hate that you’re right)

- Nadine stone cold leaving those bitches behind Worked for me, you do you you beautiful disaster, see you next game with your excellent character development. Another wonderful thread they continue into The Lost Legacy: Sam being forever relegated to the back seat. Yes good.  

- Sully promptly semi-adopting a second Drake brother, arguably the tougher case. A power move if ever I saw one.

- I deeply respect Naughty Dog’s decision to make an epilogue to let me know everyone is safe and happy and it all turned out okay, but I also wish they wouldn’t have ha ha. The last scene with Elena and Nate perfectly set that up for me already, specifically spelling out one happy ending among the many that could have happened actually somewhat cheapened it for me? The ‘flash forward, now they have children, get immediately invested!’ move is already suuuuch a hard one to pull off and I think it did it about as well as they possibly could, but somehow I also begrudge Cassie for her position in the narrative and that’s not how I want to feel about it, y’know? Actually it’s fine, I’ll accept it, because their dog is named Vicky and Nate writes in his journal that he’d call his pet lemur Victor and it made my entire week

- Having played three of the games I can still say that Uncharted 3 is definitely my fave, but then parts of that seem genuinely tailor made specifically for me, so that’s not really a surprise ha ha

- Thank you, Uncharted, for being the emotionally intelligent yet light hearted adventure story with lovable characters I needed in this dark cold winter and making me spill over with so many flaily happy words. 

#uncharted 4 #uncharted #meta #thinky thoughts #I just... I love all these losers so much help me

[daleisgreat]

Police Story I & II

I am not an ardent fan of martial arts films, but there was a fleeting moment in the mid-to-late 90s where I, and a hearty amount of the rest of America, hopped on the Jackie Chan hype train with his stateside breakout hit, Rumble in the Bronx. I did not go on to watch every single thing Chan did afterwards, but made sure to check out a few of his other hyped pictures in the theaters like the Rush Hour trilogy, Who Am I? and The Tuxedo. I dove into a handful of his pre-stateside hits also and have fond memories of a movie marathon sleepover night at a friend’s where we immensely enjoyed Operation Condor and the Supercop films. I then kind of fell off his films for most of this century as he seemed to pivot more towards family films that were not up my alley, and have neglected him for the most part since. Last year Criterion released a two pack of Chan’s Asian hits with 1985’s Police Story (trailer) and its successor, 1988’s Police Story 2 (trailer). I heard countless praise for these pair of films over the years, but never got around to watching them and decided tracking down this bundle was the perfect way to jump in. Jackie Chan portrays policeman, Chan Ka Kui in both films and the first Police Story has an intense opening scene where Chan’s crime unit goes on an intricate chase through Chinese slums that sees Chan reprimanded for breaking protocol to get his man and is assigned as police protection for a key witness, Selina Fong (Brigitte Lin). An overplayed trope of the first film is Chan being ridiculously arrogant to impress Fong and his girlfriend May (Maggie Cheung). Chan routinely talks himself into a hole and finds himself at the butt of his bragging, but the whole song and dance comes off as pure schlock and parts of the crude humor would not fly in today’s world. These instances are regrettably too frequent, and ultimately mar the first film. There is one comedy scene that did win me over when Chan is attempting to field multiple calls at the police station, but most of his riff raff with May and Selina are major groaners.

Thankfully Chan’s mastery at martial arts helps compensate for the rest of the film. Chan’s meticulously choreographed fight scenes with his acclaimed stunt team are a treasure to consume. The opening and closing fight/chase scenes are the standouts of the first film. Chan goes into hysterics against his fellow officers and runs into a final blowoff fight in the mall that is filled with motorcycles attempting to run Chan over, many flying bodies shattering panels of glass and culminates in a breathtaking stunt for the ages. The stunt has Chan shimmying down a light-bulb infested pole and crashing down onto a platform that is such a gripping moment that the film breaks the fourth wall and replays it two more times from different angles immediately thereafter. It is a great way to make up for the aforementioned comedy. Police Story 2 picks up immediately in the aftermath of the mall fight. Despite Chan saving the day, his police chief is not too happy with the wanton destruction he left in the mall so he gets demoted. Mae is initially thrilled, but soon enough the police rope Chan into helping track down a bomb threat-happy gang causing a ruckus in Hong Kong. The dynamic between Chan and Mae is drastically improved in the sequel. Chan dials back the pretentious-ness and cheesy double entendres exponentially which makes him incredibly more empathetic in his plight to track down the bombers and win back Mae’s heart. There remains an occasional lowbrow toilet humor gag with one of Chan’s superiors having bad bouts of gas throughout the film, but it is nowhere near the distraction as it was before.

About halfway through the film, Chan gets a support team specializing in the latest hi-tech gadgetry to track down the bombers. A few of their investigative and stealth tailing scenes of targets drag down the tempo of the sequel, but it is not that much of a detraction in the grand scheme of things. The bombers naturally kidnap Mae, and compromise Chan to work for them and it all leads to an awesome final fireworks factory fight scene where Chan goes ballistic dueling away with each thug at the factory. Police Story 2 is leagues better than the first film, but surprisingly the bonus second cut of the sequel included in the supplemental material is even better. It is the original Hong Kong release that is about a half hour shorter, and complete with film scratching/tearing defects for authenticity. As much as I like the Criterion Edition of the sequel, I wound up leaning towards the original cut more because it is a snappier watch, and uses alternate footage that helps fill in some minor gaps in the pacing of the Criterion cut. Additionally, the original cut has a different translation of the subtitles that make some of the scenes come across differently and I found myself taking in some scenes with a different perspective. Props to Criterion by the way with their first-in-class restoration work with their HD conversions of both films. Both Criterion cuts on the BluRays have brilliantly restored visuals and audio that stand out tremendously when compared to the original Hong Kong version of the sequel.

Speaking of supplemental material, the Criterion branding lives up to its name once again with the bonuses for both films. In fact I think I enjoyed the extra features for the first Police Story more than that film itself. There is just over an hour long extra titled Jackie Chan: My Stunts that is an excellent deep dive of the fight choreography and what minute details Jackie and his team implements to add that extra ‘oomph’ to the fights in the cinematography. Well worth your time checking out. There are two interviews with movie director, Edgar Wright about his fandom for Jackie Chan, and one of the interviews is with both Chan and Wright which was fascinating to take in. The last of the extras I highly recommend checking out on the first film is King of Kings II which is a 2017 television show excerpt where Chan is reunited with original members of his stunt team that provides some powerful moments with Jackie and his team. Aside from the original Hong Kong cut, the standout bonus of the hour and a half of extras for Police Story 2 is the extra, Reinventing Action. The 21 minute feature dissects how Asian action films from the 1980s like Police Story were a big influence for Western action films and how they helped evolved the genre over the last few decades. Finally there is a foldout poster included with the two pack, but on the flipside of the poster is an essay by Nick Pinkerton that provides a comprehensive look at Jackie Chan’s early ups and downs before finding permanent success with films like Police Story and proceeds to breakdown both of these film’s finer aspects.

I was surprised I found myself so mixed on the first Police Story. Maybe I would have appreciated it more if I was exposed to it in my childhood, but as it stands now the humor drags it down a few pegs. I would recommend instead watching its opening and closing fight/chase scenes. Police Story 2 is well worth your time however, and you cannot go wrong checking out either version of the film included on the Criterion. Finally, for as lackluster as the first film is the bonus materials compensates greatly for it and the complete package all together makes the Criterion two-pack of Police Story and Police Story 2 a worthy recommendation.

Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Last Action Hero Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Not for Resale Pulp Fiction The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

#random movie #Police Story #Police Story 2 #Jackie Chan #Brigitte Lin #Maggie Cheung

[racingtoaredlight]

The degenerate’s guide to college football TV watch ‘em ups, 2019 season, week 4

The game of the week screams off the page but there are plenty of actually decent footballs happening on this here beautiful final Saturday of the summer.

Let’s see if I have the mental fortitude to write even a single word for each game, good or not. What the hell does good have to do with degeneracy, anyway?

Times are Eastern, schedule is stolen from FBSchedules and odds are ripped from Vegas Insider.

Saturday, September 21

Matchup                                                          Time (ET)          TV/Mobile

11 Michigan at 13 Wisconsin                         12:00pm              FOX

You can throw out the rankings when these teams play because neither one of them has any business being ranked this highly! One of these teams will be basically out of the running for the playoffs by the time this is over. Everybody expects Michigan because Wisconsin hasn’t allowed a point this year and Michigan has mostly sucked so far in both of their games but this is the perfect place for a shitty Wolverines team to start tricking people. Wisconsin is up 110-0 on teams that are made of sawdust. Michigan is at least particle board, if not sterner. Wolverines +3, under 44.5.

Michigan State at Northwestern                    12:00pm               ABC

With an o/u a hilarious 36.5 I wouldn’t turn to this piece of shit if every single person on twitter were cryptically sending out tweets like “MICHIGAN!” and “nooooooooo” and “asdjseskrjhjsdbf” and “THERE’S STILL A WHOLE QUARTER LEFT!” You aren’t fooling me.

Western Michigan at Syracuse                       12:00pm             ACCN

What the hell is this ACCN thing, anyway? It’s just an ESPN skin but it’s got like 2% market penetration. At times like noon, September 21st, 2019, we can all be thankful for the unlikelihood of accidentally switching to ACCN while searching for football to gamble on.

ULM at Iowa State                                            12:00pm               FS1

Louisiana-Monroe is a real dark horse contender for the Big XII title.

UConn at Indiana                                              12:00pm               BTN

Webster’s dictionary defines the word “torture” as...

Tennessee at 9 Florida                                     12:00pm             ESPN

I’ve had this weird premonition all week that Florida is totally going to fuck this up. On the one hand, the Gators should score more than 14 on defense. On the other hand, they should give up some points on offense. On the third hand, Tennessee is in a very bad place as a football program. Vols +14, under 49. But don’t put more than $1.50 on any of it.

Southern Miss at 2 Alabama                            12:00pm              ESPN2

Do people bet a lot on Bama games? Nick Saban seems to willfully undercut gamblers every week. The Tide are easily 39 points better than Southern Miss but they could realistically sit on a 24-0 lead for the entire second half.

Boston College at Rutgers                               12:00pm                BTN

BC just lost to Kansas by 24 and here they are favored by 8 the next week. Rutgers is probably really that bad but that still seems impossible. 32 points worse than Kansas? NAIA schools aren’t 32 points worse than Kansas.

23 California at Mississippi                              12:00pm              ESPNU

Don’t look now but 6 Pac teams were ranked in the top 25 this week. Rather, go look now. No way that lasts. Never trust a west coast team heading east for an early kickoff.

Elon at Wake Forest                                           12:00pm               RSN

Wake Forest sucks but nobody sucks more than Elon Musk.

4 LSU at Vanderbilt                                             12:00pm             SECN

Some things you can count on. One of them is LSU’s football team never making a goddamn lick of sense in any context.

Morgan State at Army                                         12:00pm            CBSSN

The Troops have a -49 point line as I write this but apparently every other betting option is off the books? Not sure how that works but it’s probably illegal.

 Coastal Carolina at UMass                                1:00pm       FloSports / NESN

There needs to be better vetting before allowing teams to just move up to FBS status. This is horrible.

Louisiana at Ohio                                                 2:00pm            ESPN+

This is a very tiny step up from the 1pm game. Ohio has been a mess so take the Ragin Cajuns on the road +3.

CCSU at Eastern Michigan                                 3:00pm             ESPN3

There is no watchin this one up, either, so find other things to amuse you. Like gambling or day drinking.

Troy at Akron                                                        3:00pm            ESPN+

Finally we get that magical intersection of stupid, useless, and entertaining and it’s a goddamn ESPN+ game. For shame. SHAAAAAAME!!!!

Louisville at Florida State                                    3:30pm        ��   ESPN

Did FSU’s big comeback last week wake the ghosts and get Willie Taggert on track in Tallahassee? Probably not. What little I’ve watched of these two has me thinking Louisville is a straight up better team than FSU so my advice would be to take the Cardinals +6.5 but that’s right there on the line. Don’t think twice.

South Alabama at UAB                                        3:30pm            NFLN

The Iron Bowl, Jr.! UAB -11 seems like pretty good value but you CAN THROW OUT THE RECORDS WHEN THESE TWO PLAY! A fun game to play if you watch this one is to see what fanbase is best represented in the crowd: UAB, USA, Bama or Auburn. Roll damn Tide.

Temple at Buffalo                                                  3:30pm          ESPNU

This seems like a conference rivalry but it isn’t. That’s all.

15 UCF at Pitt                                                       3:30pm   ABC/ESPN2 (RM)

I saw UCF mentioned as a legitimate top 5 team this week so I’m expecting them to lose. If Pitt wears their sweet yellow helmets I especially expect UCF to lose. So load up on UCF -11 because I am a fucking idiot. Book it.

22 Washington at BYU                                        3:30pm    ABC/ESPN2 (RM)

Poor, sweet UDub. What might have been? Probably nothing but what will be is definitely nothing. BYU is sure to follow up their big upset of USC with a belly flop.

Wyoming at Tulsa                                                 3:30pm         CBSSN

O/u has moved up to 46.5 but that still seems low to me. Very appropriate CBS SN fare here. This is just good watchin’.

Miami (Ohio) at 6 Ohio State                                3:30pm            BTN

I don’t want to be a true believer in Chase Young or Justin Fields. I need to stick to my traditional hate Ohio State stance because any time I’ve flirted with liking a player on their team it has ended in heart break.

SMU at 25 TCU                                                       3:30pm            FS1

SMU has looked better than a dead fish so far this year. I’m kind of intrigued in this game as entertainment. I don’t want to pin expectations on it but I might hang around for a quarter or so.

Bowling Green at Kent State                                 3:30pm          ESPN3

Here comes the MAC to ruin my good mood.

Appalachian State at North Carolina                     3:30pm          RSN

And here’s Mack to ruin my good mood even more.

8 Auburn at 17 Texas A&M                                      3:30pm          CBS

Just the words Auburn and Texas A&M next to each other promises a level of psychosis that will be tough to live up to. I hope you’ve got a defibrillator nearby if you take it upon yourself to place bets on this game.

Kentucky at Mississippi State                                 4:00pm        SECN

I think this is the entertaining side of S!E!C!

South Carolina at Missouri                                      4:00pm       SECN Alt.

And this is dark, depressing, unwatchable side of S!E!C!

Central Michigan at Miami (FL)                                4:00pm         ACCN

Once upon a time there was a small, slow, relatively unathletic wide receiver from Miami who went to Central Michigan and became a huge star, one of the best in the NFL, a Madden cover boy, probably a serial rapist who is now unemployable even though he’s still one of the best football players on the planet. Where am I going with this? Oh, yeah, don’t move to Pittsburgh.

West Virginia at Kansas                                            4:30pm          ESPN+

What if Kansas wins again? Does Les Miles sign a fully guaranteed 25-year extension and then immediately retire?

New Mexico State at New Mexico                             4:30pm         ATTSN

That’s some rivalry game you’ve got there. Would be a shame if it happened at the end of the season instead of the middle of September. What the fuck is this game doing on September 20th? What are these two teams planning that’s so important at the end of November?

William & Mary at East Carolina                                6:00pm         ESPN3

Has William & Mary always used “Tribe” for their team monikers? I definitely should have noticed that before now. That’s really kind of gross and weird. Anyway, I don’t see any betting info for this game but if you’re looking for a FCS -over-FBS upset for this week, this is the one for you.

Hampton at Liberty                                                      6:00pm         ESPN+

Liberty’s football team only went to FBS because Jerry Falwell, Jr. made a promise to a young man in a locker room and the younger Falwell is a man of his word when it comes to young men in locker rooms. Allegedly.

Wagner at Florida Atlantic                                           6:00pm        ESPN+

Wagner “Seahawks” is a missed opportunity so obvious I don’t think it needs to be spelled out. Prove me wrong.

Ball State at NC State                                                    7:00pm       ESPNU

I always think of Marvin Gaye when I see Ball State. And for the last couple of years every time I think of Marvin Gaye I think about rumors that he was a serial killer. I don’t believe every rumor I hear about rich and/or famous people but I do believe most of them. NC State -19.5 is a pretty solid bet if I get to use your money for it.

16 Oregon at Stanford                                                   7:00pm        ESPN

I don’t want to sell myself as some kind of Pac-12 expert but I absolutely expect Stanford to win this game by 30 because it is exactly the kind of thing that happens in Pac-12 football.

Baylor at Rice                                                                 7:00pm       CBSSN

Baylor out here sullying the good name of CBS Sports. It’s like finding out Matt Groening was a passenger on the Lolita Express.

Old Dominion at 21 Virginia                                          7:00pm        ESPN2

I know it’s ODU but Virginia winning by 27 seems like a dodgy concept against literally any team in the country. UVA has a decent shot at going 12-0 and losing the ACCCG by 100.

Southern Illinois at Arkansas State                              7:00pm        ESPN3

If you asked me once a week every week for the next 52 weeks if Southern Illinois is a D-1A school or not I would be wrong more often than not. It turns out they aren’t in the MAC at all.

Georgia State at Texas State                                         7:00pm         ESPN+

Get rid of FCS and make a real college football playoffs, you cowards! Isn’t a game like this between two FBS level programs mockery enough? How much more degradation can the product withstand before you have to give up the ruse and pay the players?

Charlotte at 1 Clemson                                                  7:30pm         ACCN

Charlotte’s odds of winning the Coastal are as good as anybody’s.

UTSA at North Texas                                                      7:30pm     Facebook

utsa-unt utsa-unt utsa-unt. There! Now you’re beatboxing!

San Jose State at Arkansas                                           7:30pm        SECN

Bad west coast team going east to play a bad SEC team in the evening. Hmm. Not sure the rules here.

Oklahoma State at 12 Texas                                           7:30pm          ABC

Chuba Hubbard is gonna get his Heisman moment tonight. I can feel it.

Nevada at UTEP                                                               8:00pm      ESPN3

The dark heart of football degeneracy is still beating. MWC and CUSA linking back up for a game only the most stupid among us can love. And I am as stupid as they come.

Nebraska at Illinois                                                           8:00pm       BTN

I told you ranking Nebraska was a mistake. I don’t think I needed to but it’s still worth noting that I did.

7 Notre Dame at 3 Georgia                                               8:00pm       CBS

This is only the third all time meeting between Notre Dame and UGA. The line for this one is up to 14.5 but both previous meetings were decided by one score or less. That’s not necessarily relevant to this matchup but Georgia -14.5 still seems crazy to me even though I hope they win by 58.

Colorado at 24 Arizona State                                     10:00pm     Pac-12N

The first rule of Pac-12 after dark is betting on a Pac-12 after dark game is a terrible idea. That’s probably the only rule.

Sacramento State at Fresno State                             10:00pm     Facebook

A game that belongs on facebook. Maybe only on facebook. Why waste money on upkeep for stands and press boxes?

Toledo at Colorado State                                             10:15pm       ESPN2

I will for sure be torn away from the TV but this late run of weird matchups in style and uniforms is exactly what I love about college football and it will just keep getting better the deeper we get into the night.

Utah State at San Diego State                                     10:30pm      CBSSN

This is my entire brand explicated. A potential first round QB playing against San Diego State until 2am east coast time on CBS Sports? Be still my heart.

UCLA at 19 Washington State                                     10:30pm       ESPN

And the marquee late game is Mike Leach and Chip Kelly in a seemingly very lopsided matchup. Run it up, you stupid boomer pirate.

Central Arkansas at Hawaii                              11:59pm  Spectrum / Facebook

A great night of degenerate football only truly ends with a Hawaii home game. On facebook? Sure. Facebook should make one of those stupid little handheld black & white TVs that only receives facebook sports broadcasts. I would probably buy one just to watch Hawaii on the smallest screen possible.

#saturday post #tv #watch em ups #college football #football #degenerate football #gambling

[narcisbolgor-blog]

A man goes to Disney World looking for a kidney. He finds one.

(CNN)Robert Leibowitz owes his life to a message on a T-shirt.

But the list for a transplant was long and he worried he'd run out of time.

So he hit upon a plan. He headed to Disney World.

A walking billboard

For a week, Leibowitz walked around the park, wearing a T-shirt that read: "In Need of Kidney. O Positive." Below the message was his cell phone number.

"Maybe it's my advertising background," Leibowitz told CNN. "I didn't know what was going to happen. But when you get desperate, you'll do anything."

Leibowitz, 60, had suffered from chronic kidney disease for 15 years.

"I was on the transplant list for the deceased for four years at multiple hospitals...but the problem is for a deceased donor, there is a 7- to 10-year waiting list," he said. "Some people don't even make it 7 to 10 years on dialysis."

Tourists clicked photos of the shirt. One couple posted their snapshot on Facebook -- and the magic happened. By the end of the day, the post received 32,000 shares.

By the end of the week, 90,000.

Hundreds of people called wanting to help the man with the shirt. For people in kidney failure, survival can be a numbers game, a game Leibowitz began to believe he just might win. But it was still a longshot.

"Just because you are a blood type match, doesn't mean...you're going to be a match," Leibowitz said. "They look at every enzyme, every single tissue. There are so many details they have to do."

Four people flew to New York for testing. Three were denied. But one man, Richie Sully, was the perfect match.

A voicemail with an offer

Sully was giving blood at the Red Cross when he spotted the viral Facebook post.

He called the number on the T-shirt, and left a voicemail.

"Hi, my name is Richie. I saw your post and I'm O positive. I have an extra kidney and you are more than welcome to it."

Sully said he thought Leibowitz would not return his phone call because the post had 80,000 shares when he saw it. Sully assumed at least someone had already vowed to help him.

"When we actually talked, he told me so many people had called and a large majority of them had flaked," the 39-year-old from Indiana said. "I can't understand the thought process behind seeing a post like that and then reaching out and then completely ignoring him."

"He knew he had an expiration date. He knew he had a shelf life. I saw this as a desperate act. I couldn't think of a reason not to call the guy. It's just seemed like this is something you're supposed to do."

The two men hope their shared story brings awareness to live organ donation. They both point out that the act -- and the impact-- go way beyond a check mark on your driver's license.

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