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#mike mills delivers yet again
daneletourneau · 1 year
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Dane’s Top Songs 2022
Hi! Here I am, nearly at the end of another crazy year for music, with not only a massive list of things I loved but also a massive queue of things I didn’t get around to listening to yet, waiting for me in my music library... but isn’t it always this way. I know I’ll have a much clearer picture of what I loved in 2022 halfway through next year, but alas...
Normally I make a top albums list, but this year felt different. I loved a lot of full-length records, yes... but there were so many things released, either as singles or as a part of full-length projects, that I loved on their own more, which is new for me. And at first I had a list of single songs, but this weird thing kept happening where for every song I’d pick, another would come to mind from the same artist that I loved just as much. And it was always just the two. Twenty twenty two. Heh. So I went with it. Here’s my top 70 songs of 2022, from 35 different artists, arranged mostly with my favorites at the top. I hope you enjoy and maybe discover something new - like I’m about to throughout 2023 with all this 2022 music I never got around to. Whooohooo!
(Check out the playlist of these top songs on Spotify, as well as the honorable mentions).
1. Everything Everything — “Leviathan”, “Shark Week”
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One of my favorite bands ever dropped their best record ever this year — “Raw Data Feel” —and though I did not make a 2022 “top albums” list, this would be at the very top if I had. Collaborating with an AI on some of the lyrics, frontman Jonathan Higgs dove further than ever before into creating an overarching lyrical “concept” while employing none of the annoying clichés that usually come along with such pursuits. Ranging from the ridiculous to the profound, and with some of the best/weirdest vocabulary among his peers (and beyond), his lyrics are always great, and this record is no exception.
To me, “Leviathan” is the most devastating track off this entire collection, and also the most heartachingly beautiful. Writing about the loss of a family member, Jonathan delivers probably the best set of melodies E,E have ever packed into one song, and the playing and production from Alex, Mike and Jeremy is just so on-point, and sublime. I actually have to skip this track sometimes as it is often too much for me, both lyrically and musically. But that often happens with my favorite music ever... it really gets in there and ... hits.
And then “Shark Week”  — I couldn’t get away from this track this year. It just slaps, in every way possible. Funky, anthemic, with big nasty awesome synths. And the lyrics are so damn fun to scream out loud: “I SAID HEY!!! DO YOU THINK YOU’VE GOT EVERYONE UNDER YOUR CONTROL??”  “I’VE GOT THE STRENGTH OF A MILLION RISING UP INSIDE!!” “HE’S OBAMA IN THE STREETS, BUT HE THINKS HE’S OSAMA IN THE SHEETS” “IS IT CHIMP SEASON BABY OR AM I IN A CAGE?”
I could go on. Listen to these songs and if you dig, listen to the record. And then listen to everything everything else this band has ever done. They are consistently underrated, underappreciated, and slept on, and they have only ever made incredible records, time and time again. Keep at it boys. I love youuuu. And dear god play a city I am living in at some point please.
2. Perfume Genius — “Cenote”, “Eye in the Wall”
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I’ll be honest, I was late to the genius of Mike Hadreas, aka “Perfume Genius”. I was first drawn in by the super weird and cool sonics of the opening track of his 2017 album “No Shape” (”Otherside”, check it out!) ... and I did like that follow up record, “Set My Heart On Fire Immediately”. But nothing grabbed me the way that “Ugly Season” has. Again, if I made an albums list this year, this would be in the top 5. Along with producer Blake Mills, Hadreas has created a mini universe of sound which felt entirely removed from everything else I heard this year. I felt completely transported, at peace, and taken out of myself whenever this record was on. In a sense, I wouldn’t recommend listening to these two tracks I’ve selected out of the context of the album, but I’ve really committed myself to this song-pair thing it seems, so here goes:
“Cenote” is the instrumental that closes the record, which normally wouldn’t be the kind of track which would make it to the top of a list of mine. But this is just so unexpected, a gorgeous little composition which hangs on a wobbly, simple little piano line and some atmospherics. And I just felt this thing, it put me in such a calm and unique space, and the melody choices as it evolves really took me out of myself for some reason. This text is insufficient to describe it, the experience is more than the sum of its parts. In many ways, that goes for the whole record too.
“Eye in the Wall” is a nearly 9-minute journey that starts in (somewhat) familiar harmonic minor territory before wandering into the desert and getting lost in the dunes, in the best way possible. The percussion choices here are brilliant, as are the tremolo guitars (and BG vocals), and gated synths which define the back half. And the rhythm change at 6:03 YESSSSSS ughhh. Get lost in it, it is absolutely lovely and hypnotizing stuff.
3. Lizzy McAlpine — “Ceilings”, “Orange Show Speedway”
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Lizzy is an incredible upcoming songwriter who I discovered on her debut 2020 record, “Give Me a Minute”. I played that thing on repeat, like crazy... it got me through a lot of the pandemic... an oasis of gentleness, beauty and really wonderfully specific and personal songwriting. This second record goes more into indie-rock territory and explores what Lizzy is capable of genre-wise, and I’d absolutely recommend giving it a full listen. But there are some major standouts for me. 
“Ceilings” feels a lot like the first record, but refined, and it really swirls and rises and culminates in a wash of drums and falsetto and goes bigger than anything she tried previously. A masterclass in telling a story and giving it a big finish, with production and LIFT to match. “Then you're driving me home, and it kinda comes out as I get up to go, you kiss me in your car, and it feels like the start of a movie I've seen before“ ... but then we find out this whole scenario is a memory, or a fantasy, and it’s not real - “and you don't exist, and I can't recall the last time I was kissed...” I’m a sucker for this kind of romantic, longing, and ultimately sad story, every time. And this one really delivers.
“Orange Show Speedway” leans more into the indie-rock of it all, with exceptional results. Nostalgia plays a big role in the lyrics here, and I couldn’t get away from this one line: “Everything changes, what a shame”... it struck and hit home again and again, and I think there are some specifics to the rest of the story here that I’m also associating with some old memories of mine. And that’s the genius of her writing. She gives you enough specifics to tell her story, but not too many that you can’t also write your own in your head as you immerse yourself in these little worlds. Keep your eyes and ears on Lizzy McAlpine.
4. Diatom Deli - "Massive Headships of Centering Tiles", "Waves Will See (Your Smiling Face)"
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My good friend and brilliant musical curator Joshua Field turned me on to this record and I couldn’t be more grateful (check out his 2022 albums list here). "Time~Lapse Nature” was also an oasis of sorts which I kept coming back to for rest, gentleness, calm, and “centering” (if you will). A repeated theme for this list, I am realizing, but yeah... something I really needed a lot of this year. This record is a lot of hushed vocals, gently picked guitars, atmospherics, harmonies, and synths, while all being very organic and lo-fi (in the best way), and was something I could just sink into and not worry about at all. It felt like an audio care package. It felt like lapping waves and fresh turned earth and a cool breeze. It felt really nice.
Picking tracks from this was accordingly tough, as for the first 10 or so listens I’m not sure I looked at any track titles, just sort of stayed immersed throughout the album. Perhaps the most memorable melodies come from “Massive Headships of Centering Tiles” or “Waves Will See (Your Smiling Face)”, so these seem to be good choices. But another record I’d recommend you listen to start to finish. There I go again. Maybe I should have made that albums list.
5. Charli XCX - "Twice", "Constant Repeat"
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“Charli made one of the best pop albums of the year”. That phrase could also be true of 2020, 2019, 2017, etc. etc. If you know you know. But certainly it is true of 2022, and if you weren’t hooked by “Good Ones” or “New Shapes” or “Baby” or.... I don’t know what is wrong with you. But assuming you were, you may have still missed some of the best pop songs of the year, as non-singles “Constant Repeat” and “Twice” are (IMO) even better.
“Constant Repeat” delivers a classic, stuttering guitar-and-synth pattern, before Charli crashes in with “I’m cute and I’m rude, with kinda rare attitude” and “you could have had a bad girl by your side” and it’s hella fun. Vocal melodies are tip top as is the production, which never really goes all the way, and keeps you wanting more. And the track feels JUST a little bit short. But it’s all intentional. So there you go, putting it on “constant repeat” ok ok ok. It’s genius.
“Twice” is the classic Charli combo of big pop sugar rush combined with weightier lyrical subject matter, probably influenced by the loss of her friend (and dearly missed musical genius and icon) SOPHIE. “All the things I love are gonna leave me... don’t think twice about it baby”... “Die happy thinking ‘bout my best friends, till then I’m diving off the deep end.” It really stuck with me all year. Also the key change at 2:29 really does it for me. It feels like it ascends just enough to take me there, before leaving me just a hair soon (as do many of the songs of CRASH, which really gives it an addictive replay value). What a song, and what a closer to a killer pop record.
I’m not going to write any essays for the rest of the songs on this list, but there’s a few things I’d like to briefly mention. I’ve never put my own music on a year-end list before, but here I kind of feel justified as the Nodata stuff was (mostly) me editing and reacting to a set of long-form ambient compositions that my best friend Jesse created on guitar. Going back to that “sonic oasis” theme... these compositions were really a place of rest for me even as I contributed to them musically. It’s my most-replayed record that I’ve ever been a part of making.
Also big love to the Black Country, New Road record. I didn’t listen to it enough until just recently at the very end of the year, but yeah... it’s definitely among the very best of 2022. And a final note on The Smile, the new band from Thom and Jonny of Radiohead fame... a couple real top-shelf heartwrenching ballads from Thom here, up to par with the best of Radiohead IMO. “Free In The Knowledge” is the most optimistic he’s ever sounded and it’s gorgeous and hopeful. “Speech Bubbles” wanders through multiple beautiful places and has that incredible, incomparable Yorke falsetto, as well as Jonny’s stunning string arrangements.
Anyways, enjoy the rest of it, thanks for reading!
6. Nodata - "Nachtheide", "Little Worlds" 7. The Smile - "Free In The Knowledge", "Speech Bubbles" 8. Tegan and Sara - "Fucking Up What Matters", "Yellow" 9. The 1975 - "Part Of The Band", "I'm In Love With You" 10. Taylor Swift - "Maroon", "Bejeweled" 11. Love in Return - "Helpless Harmony", "Candy Apples On the Way to Hell" 12. Black Country, New Road - "Snow Globes", "Basketball Shoes" 13. Cult of Luna - "Into the Night", "An Offering to the Wild" 14. Mitski - "That's Our Lamp", "The Only Heartbreaker" 15. hard.times - "1130 PM", "High with Me" 16. Sex - "Bind My Hands", "Solidarity" 17. Rosalia - "Sakura", "Chicken Teriyaki" 18. Beach House - "Pink Funeral", "Only You Know" 19. Big Thief - "The Only Place", "Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You" 20. Bonny Light Horseman - "Comrade Sweetheart", "California" 21. Floating Points - "Vocoder", "Someone Close" 22. Florence + The Machine - "King", "Choreomania" 23. Christian Lee Hutson - "Rubberneckers", "State Bird" 24. Georgia Harmer - "Austin", "Strongest Person" 25. Big Kill - "Rose Coloured Ear Drums", "Fat Lip" 26. Tangerine Dream - "Raum", "In 256 Zeichen" 27. BROCKHAMPTON - "Man on the Moon", "Brockhampton" 28. MUNA - "Loose Garment", "Anything But Me" 29. Lucky Daye - "Deserve", "Used To Be" 30. billy woods - "Sauvage", "Fever Grass" 31. Russian Circles - "Conduit", "Bloom" 32. Carly Rae Jepsen - "Surrender My Heart", "Anxious" 33. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - "The Land Before Timeland", "Hypertension" 34. Fergus McCreadie - "Forest Floor", "Glade" 35. JID - "Surround Sound", "Lauder Too"
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billy-crudup · 2 years
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Uh, whatever you plan on happening, never happens. Stuff you would never think of happens. So you just have to... You have to come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. C’MON C’MON (2021) dir. Mike Mills
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screensirenfic · 3 years
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Menthol Cigarettes - Chapter 47
Billy eventually left about a half hour later; having spent the best of that time trying to soothe me into submission with cold words and even colder caresses.
It worked to an extent; my tears having eventually dried up in the cotton of his lifeguard vest, my sobs racking down to soft sighs into the muscles of his pecs, but that didn’t mean I forgave him.
How could I; after all he’d done for me?
I’d accepted comfort from the only source I was used to receiving it from, but that didn’t mean I’d forgive him.
Instead I’d let him kiss me goodbye at the door, watching him disappear in his baby blue Camaro with promises of more tonight; though I’d never let him deliver upon it.
There was something wrong with him.
That boy; whoever he was, was not my Billy, and I was gonna find out why.
When the girls eventually emerged from Max’s room; I’d fully expected bleary eyes and rumpled PJs circa the slumber party at ours two nights ago.
What I hadn’t expected was for both girls to emerge fully dressed and raring to go.
“Hey; Lola! Can we have a ride?” Asked Maxine; marching across the kitchen with a scrunchie holding her wild red hair at bay at the top of her head.
“Already?” I replied; doing my best to force a smile as I fried up a second lot of bacon in the pan.
“But you haven’t even had breakfast yet-”
“I know , but we need to get to The Wheeler’s house. It’s urgent...” She urged; blue eyes wide as I began to catch on.
“How urgent are we talking?” I questioned, already dumping the pan back into the sink for the second time today.
“I’ll explain it all on the way...”
——————————————
“I didn’t think anything of it at first...”
Jonathan’s kid brother; Will was talking to us. Something about him living the real life experience of The Exorcist last year; which somehow neccesated a small gathering of Hawkins’ most clued in teenagers.
“I mean; I think I just didn’t want to believe it.”
He continued; and I just think I didn’t want to fucking believe I was here.
I mean; I was hearing out a group of fourteen year olds about monsters from a parallel dimension. But then again; I’d seen them with my own eyes, killed them too, and believe it or not, Will had more experience with them than any of us.
“The first time I felt it was at The Day Of The Dead...” He told us; referring to a weird feeling he’d been having all week that verged on the supernatural.
“The power went out that night too.” Mike; Nancy’s brother, pointed out; something I remembered far too well to consider at the moment.
“And then I felt it again at the field near Nelson Farm the next day.” He continued; and I tried not to read too far into it.
“And then again yesterday outside Castle Byers.”
“What does it feel like?” Max asked the all-important question, before we started jumping all into a basic case of the goosebumps for no damn good reason.
“It’s almost like... you know when you drop on a rollercoaster?”
“Yeah” The kids all replied in unison; all except El who let out a resounding “No.” that reminded me to book in a trip to the county fair into our future.
“It’s like... everything in your body is just shaking all at once, but this is worse...” He began; and I held back shuddering at the thought.
“Your body; it goes all cold, and you- you can’t breathe...” He explained, and I instantly went tense; a memory of cold fingers around my neck interrupting my thoughts.
“I’ve felt it before... when he was close...”
“Whenever who was close?” Max asked, but I already knew the answer to her question; dread welling up in my stomach like bile.
“The Mind Flayer.”
My body suddenly went cold; the name finally spoken out loud far more powerful and grim than the dark thought milling about my mind for the past twenty four hours.
“I closed the gate...” El reminded him; and I really wish it was enough to put my mind at ease.
“I know; but... what if he never left?” Will suggested; though I wonder how much of a suggestion it really was.
“And what if we locked him out here with us?”
The question was that hung in the air felt more like a statement of truth than anything I’d heard before.
He was still here. He was still with us.
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agl03 · 4 years
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Finale Predictions
Well guys, it's been quite the ride and here we are ready for the finale.   First and foremost I have to thank you all for sticking with me over the years.  Sending the asks, supporting the theories, dealing with my sometimes crazy metas and predictions, that sometimes hit and sometimes didn’t. And trusting me to be the Fandom Mom. 
As is now an annual tradition I’m putting up my post of Finale Predictions before going dark until after the finale airs.  This is for fun as I always like to see how well I did.    Please no pitchforks if I am wrong on any of these.
So here we go:
Everyone’s favorite villains, Nathaniel, Kora, and SIBYL will all make it to the finale while Garrett will be killed or locked up by the end of the first hour (and it will use some of Fitz’s tech).
SIBYL will eventually get herself a new body.
Nathaniel will turn on Kora and try to take her powers and/or kill her.
Kora has already turned on him and he/we just don’t know it yet.  Either betrays him and helps her sister or tries to kill him herself in revenge for her mother.  Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.  
Daisy will be the one to end Nathaniel and it will be oh so satisfying giant fight scene….even if we have to wait until the second hour for it.  Bonus points if Sousa get a hit in first too
Coulson, May, and Elena are able to get to space thanks to Coulson’s new computer Genius Super Power OR Garrett is ordered to bring them so they can lord their victory over them all.
Even though they have pretty much ended Shield and Hydra in the “hot mess” timeline SIBYL and Nathaniel set their sites on the OG Timeline and/or Fitz once they realize he has come into the mix and ruins their plans in the hot mess timeline..   As they are both aware he is the one who ends their little party.
The Chronicoms will not all be super thrilled with what SIBYL has been up too or her methods.   This could be another thing that drives SIBYL into the OG Timeline.   
The battle between SIBYL and Coulson seems to have gotten a bit more personal so my money is on Coulson being the one to take her down.   Close second goes to May and Fitzsimmons. 
Diana didn’t only block Memories of Fitz it took out the memories of people associated with him.  IE she is not going to remember her friends or Deke.
Deke will earn her trust quickly and be an A+ overprotective grandson of his Nana as they are rescued and get back to the team.
The team will rescue Deke and Jemma, take out a few Chronicoms, and Independence Day their way out of there.
While it won’t be the romantic Philinda some fans want we will see some quality Philinda banter over the finale as it seems they’ve settled into a good place between the two.   Coulson has also passed the torch of “team parent” onto her.
Philinda will not end as a couple.
At some point Sousa is really going to question what is going on and his life choices.  AKA He looks around stunned at what is going on.
More quality Dousy flirting and banter….they will kiss again and I do see them being a couple when things end.
Fitzsimmons family feels just a lot of them over the whole finale.  Iain and Elizabeth are going to murder us with feels.  I mean Fitz with his little girl.  I shall perish.
Despite not knowing everyone Jemma is going to be super insistent on building or activating a device (that has been stashed on the Zephyr) that she doesn’t know what it does but just knows she needs to build and activate it.  She will be the only one who can activate it and possibly it will take something very personal of hers to turn it on.  IE how she was hiding Fitz’s ring/necklace in Season 6 she might have the key hiding again.  But lets all freak out that Jemma will literally be the key to getting Fitz.
We won’t see Fitz until near the end of 12 if he is not the cliffhanger.  
That Bar place in the promo pics is either Keonig’s Bar or the Playground of the hot mess Timeline.  Seems to be some sort of secret Shield Base or what is left of them after the big attack as there are some random Shield agents milling/wth/who are these people in the background.  We know The Playground was off the books in the OG Timeline and would make sense it was also in the Hot mess.
Jemma will have her memory resorted relatively quickly after Fitz Kool Aid Man’s in all Star Lord from the portal thing Jemma activates.  And it’ll be the freaking power of her love for Fitz/her Family that overloads her (Gimme my Framework fix here).  Or Fitzsimmons have a fail safe password.  BUT GIMME TRUE LOVE.
CUE THE SECRET CHILD REVEAL!!!!!!!!!!   Yes, I will be screaming.  The team will be stunned.
I’m sticking to my theory that they will give their daughter a “celestial” or astronomical name to pay off “One of these days we’ll find something magnificent out in space,” thing from Season 3 (especially if she was conceived on the way back from Kitson).  Or a name that is very reflective of their Scottish/English roots.  
Everyone needs to hold onto their hats because once Jemma has her memories back it will be because they are gonna want to get home to their Little Girl like yesterday and have one hell of a plan that involves saving the world and taking care of Nathaniel, SIBYL, and the Season 6 Finale attack on the Lighthouse.
This is likely where a ton of the Flashbacks come in.
Where has Fitz been?  He’s been back in our OG Timeline.  The finale confirmation for me came last week when Nathaniel revealed that SIBYL’s time stream couldn’t see him….or their daughter, and that thing sees EVERYTHING in the HOT MESS Timeline.  This would also be why Jemma’s messages didn’t reach him, she couldn’t get them to cross into the OG Timeline and this was something she would have known but Diana blocked as part of hiding where Fitz was.
How has Fitz been watching the Chronicoms?  Insert incredibly complicated timey whimy thing the writers came up with that me and my Marketing degree can not fathom so just go with it okay, via the using the Framework in the OG Timeline to get into the Chronicom’s system.  Little pay back for what SIBYL has been doing in the Hot Mess Timeline.  Him being connected to the Framework explains why he was so exposed.  Because when someone is hooked up to that thing they can get their heads cut off and not know it.
Now reunited and having dropped the baby announcement Fitzsimmons will present the plan for the “Final Mission” the team must embark on to save the world….again.   
And oh baby is it complicated.  
Part of said plan will have them back at the Lighthouse during the Chronicom attack.
The dudes that showed up with Jemma at the Temple will be explained.  IE I think its some of the team and they cleared out of the Zephyr before the time travel party got started.  They also may have grabbed other hunks of the monoliths.
The fight will take place in both the Hot Mess and OG Timelines  
We have not seen the last of the Monoliths.  The fact we are jumping timelines and have Flint in the mix over in the OG timeline makes me think they are gonna need Mr. Swirly’s help in doing said jumping (Mr. Swirly is the Grey Monolith).  Or they really go with the OG and its Harold (Black Space one) that allows for it.  Kind of fitting the Monolith that tore Fitzsimmons apart is now the one that reunites them.  
We will for sure see Enoch (via Flashback), Davis (please not by Flashback #davislivesagain), Piper and Flint as returning Favorites.   
If they have Davis back to life I just gesture exhaustedly at the Monoliths again.  Not even gonna try to explain it.
Small chance we run into the Hot Mess’s Timeline Enoch but he will have no relationship or connection to the team and will make me cry.  
Top Picks for SURPRISE not on the Press Release faces to pop up if we get them:   Ward (I mean really how have we not seen him again yet), Mace, Robbie, Bobbi, Hunter, Koenig (any of them) and Mike.    REALLY WANT IT BUT WON”T GET IT!   Dadcliffe
Who was keeping Fitzsimmons Daughter safe:  
Top Pick:  Piper and Flint:  Given Fitzsimmons would have run into them picking up the Zephyr and they could have been the “we had help” they talked about.
Second Place Because I Badly want him back:  Uncle Enoch 2.0
Left Field Surprise Option:  Huntingbird
LOLA RETURNS
We will get a lot of really fun callbacks to past stories or even lines IE “I’m just the Pilot” For May.
“What We Are Fighting For”:  Family.  The team family….and the Fitzsimmons family.  Also they will have gone 13/13 in that someone will say the titles name at some point in the episode.
We will see old weapons and tech from previous seasons make one last appearance, we’ve seen 2 so far in promos and will see more.
Shotgun Axe gets a proper send off in battle (this one is for Kiddo 3)
Bear will deliver the most amazing soundtrack that we’ll never get to buy.
Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story (Sorry Couldn’t Resist)
Nathaniel:  Dies, and we will all cheer.
SIBYL:  Dies, and we will all cheer.
Garrett:  Dies or locked up, won’t make it to the second hour.
Kora:  Toss a coin.  If she dies she killed for trying to take down Nathaniel.  If in her betrayal of Nathaniel she helps Daisy get Jemma and Deke back that could be a good starting place for the sisters to work thing out.   Starting place, she has a long way to go to get in good with Daisy and setting up an 11th hour redemption arc.
Mack:  Still so nervous for him based on how he has been in interviews, especially the SDCC ones last year.  He was so clearly upset by it.  So Mack either falls or does something so out of character (Bails before the finale battle which just is not making sense to me Mack is in such a good place right now) for Mack that Henry was upset by it.  Essentially I am very confused because what I am seeing on screen now isn’t matching with how Henry was talking as Mack has really come around since his Endgame stage.
Elena:   Easily lives.  If Mack doesn’t die, wherever he lands she’ll be with him.  They’ve been a steady ship all season and I see no reason for them to break up outside of death.  And while I have a mountain of concerns for Mack, I have none for Elena..   I also see her still being a presence within Shield, she’s become a good solid agent, and bonus points if she keeps Flint with her….and he gets all the tacos he wants.  
Sousa:   Totally lives (they might give us a good fake out though because he and Daisy are becoming a thing)I can still see him being Director of Shield if Mack falls or steps down.   He’s a good Agent in a new time but he said he is right where he is supposed to be, at Daisy’s side.  Where she goes he goes.  IE he’s not letting her get away and will always be there after she runs into a wall.  So if Daisy leaves Shield, so will he.  If she stays so will he.  If she opens a coffee bar he’ll learn to make an espresso.   
Daisy:   Totally Lives, but there will be something about her ending that some fans won’t like and some fans are going to love.   Staying with Shield or no whatever she does will involve Inhumans be it the Secret Warriors are up and running again, she is mentoring and training new Inhumans coming into Shield, or my favorite option still is she reopens Afterlife.  I’ve been feeling that option for most of the Season and feel like it was really set up with Jaiying as was Daisy looking out for her little sister should the chips fall the right way.     The SS Dousy will be sailing right along.  IF Kora survives I can see her being in Afterlife as well, Daisy taking her mother’s passion that Kora has a good heart to heart herself.  
Deke:   Okay this one is weird because I feel like we are going to lose him somehow, but he won’t die.  I didn’t get the vibe from Jeff, Elizabeth, or Iain that he died and those three are pretty tight.  However,  in that I don’t think I’m going to get my Fitzsimmons Family all settling down in a giant castle in Scotland together.  They set up for him to make a sacrifice, he’s grown, and has something he’s really truly fighting for.   I have loved seeing how close he and Jemma have gotten and how fiercely he’s protected her and her secret.  Even in the face of torture he didn’t betray her.  It will come as no surprise if he doesn’t sacrifice himself somehow.  Either in taking a hit for his family or doing something similar to what he did in Season 5 to make sure they got home.  Bringing things full circle.   He also expressed that he wouldn’t mind being stuck in the hot mess timeline in ‘83.  He built himself a nice life there and Nathaniel did a pretty good job of taking out Hydra...with just a bit of Shield hanging on.  So if it comes down to it I don’t see him minding if he gets stuck there.  Sure him saying goodbye to Nana and Bobo is gonna hurt like Hades but if he ends up alive, I’m good.  
Fitzsimmons:  Both live, yes they will scare the crap out of us more than a few times especially after we know about the daughter, but they will live.  Totally peace out, we’ve done our time, leaving Shield with the adorable daughter and its Perthshire or Bust.   They’ve sacrificed enough and will not be willing to risk it again.
May:   Lives and reminds us all that she is one hell of a pilot.  If Mack decides he wants to step down, dies, whatever I’ll throw her back in contention for Director, especially as I see Sousa Following Daisy if she leaves.  Coulson seemed to have set her on that path and at the very least passed the “Team Parent” torch onto her, that it would be her job to give the Coulson talks to those who needed it.  If she’s not Director, she’ll be whomever is right hand, or I still have that option for the Academy being up and running and she’s running that, training the next generation.
Coulson: Lives.I know SHOCKING.   I think he was very ready to throw in the towel after spending 20 months in the TV but then Enoch’s moving words in his death were what changed his mind about ‘powering down” when this is all over.  Coulson realizes that yes, while it is hard to be the one to leave it is harder for the ones that are left behind but it's also necessary that they move on, and live for those they have lost before.  Like Sousa and Fitzsimmons, he’ll be another that they’ll fake out death a few times.   I see him leaving Shield though, taking Lola and finally just going and seeing the world, watching the history he loves so much happen.  We get to see him driving around or even off in Lola for the last time.   Other options include he does something that will allow him to totally run with his new super computer super power.  The final thing I can see him doing is being the coolest professor at the newly rebooted Academy.  
Flint:  Get’s his tacos.
Piper: Keeps being awesome.
Davis:  Better live dang it.
Kiddos Predictions:
That weird device Jemma makes brings Fitz 
Deke sacrifices himself for Fitz
Fitzsimmons and their kid have to leave Shield
Mack leaves shield
Fitzsimmons, Dousy, Mackelena all stay together
Daisy kills Nathaniel, Daisy needs to quake him up
May or Nathaniel will take out Kora.  But if she survives we want Daisy to take her in.
Fitz takes down SIBYL
Piper is watching the Daughter
The daughters name is Olivia
Robo Coulson will sacrifice himself
GHOST RIDER HAD BETTER BE OUR SURPRISE CHARACTER (this was literally shouted at me).  Kiddo 3 voted for PIkachu (Lincoln)
Have no idea what will happen to May
We will get a “flash forward” ending showing what the team that is still alive is doing
Flint gets his tacos
They save the team and have a full out war at some point in time
The episode is going to be super good
Mom is going to cry
Well there it is.  We’ll check back in on Thursday to see how I did!
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roselukes · 5 years
Text
Almost Forever - Ch 5 - c.h.
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Previously
Summary: Feelings make things difficult
Warnings: swearing, brief violence, mentions of violence
Tag List:  @lashtoncurls @wildhearthood@rosesarered516 @dweebluke @heartbreakashton94 @calsfrontcurl @calumspeachy @dukehoods @cosmocalum @wrappedaroundcal @monsteramongmikey @glitterprincelu @irwinkitten @hereforlukescruff @astroashtonio @catchinqcalum @irwinvalentines @kinglycalum @calumculture @angelmikeyy @hotmessmichael @curlyhairedpopstars @meloncal @heavenlyhemminqs @24kcalum @calsjackets @boytoynamedcalum@alyssarester @ssophisticated-simplicityy @mycollectionofnuts @mysteriouslycali @calteahood @cakesunflower @ohhmuke@lukesflaredpants @slimthicccal @ghostofch @norawashere @calthesensation @caffeinatedcalum @calinthewatermelonshirt @caswinchester2000 @cthoodaf @singt0mecalum @letsfuckndance @calumscorgi @rosesfromcth @c-sainthood @softforcal @talkfastfletcher @talkfastcthood @cal-pal-cuddles @honeyedhood @moonlightgodcalum @maybe-a-fangurl @asht0ns-world @pagesuponstpages @burncrashbromance @colourfulcalum @flannelpunkcalum @fallfrxmgrace @calumsmermaid @5-secondsofcolor @cunnillucas @babylonduke @babylon-corgis
“Please, tell me you didn’t.” Crystal sighed, looking at Kayla.
“I did.” Kayla whined, burying her face in her pillow.
“Kayla, if Michael finds out you and Calum fucked, he’s going to be pissed. Do you remember how mad he was when Ashton accidentally touched your boob?” Crystal raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, which is why Michael can’t know that Calum and I hooked up.” Kayla sighed. “He also can’t know that I want to do it again.”
“Stop it. You can’t do that.” Crystal said, kicking Kayla’s shin gently.
“Crystal, you’re fucking my brother. You don’t get to tell me not to fuck Calum, you’re not related.” Kayla rolled onto her side and leaned up on her elbow, her head resting on her palm. “I just really enjoyed being fucked by Calum.”
“Stop saying that out loud, Michael’s gonna be home any minute.” Crystal laughed quietly. “Has he seen your new tattoo yet?”
“No, and I don’t think he will. It’s not exactly in a spot Mike sees.”
“What’s not?” Michael asked, standing in the doorway of Kayla’s room.
“Kayla’s new tattoo.” Crystal said, turning to look at Michael.
“Lemme see.” Michael said, sitting on the bed next to Crystal. Kayla lifted her shirt and showed Michael the fresh ink, a detailed arrow above the wispy words “follow your arrow.”
“Calum did it for me.” Kayla said, hoping he wouldn’t press the issue of the placement.
“He knows you’re yee yee.” Michael said, and Kayla scoffed.
“You’re the yee yee that moved us here.” She huffed, hitting Michael with her pillow.
“Cut it out.” Crystal said, taking the pillow. “My God, you’re like children.”
“No, we’re like siblings.” Michael grinned as he sent a gentle punch to Kayla’s arm. “Anyways, I have to take care of some stuff, so I need you to drop Kayla off at Calum’s office.” Michael said, looking at Crystal.
“Why Calum’s?” Crystal asked, side glancing at Kayla.
“Can’t I go with you?” Kayla asked, looking at Michael.
“I have to do this alone. Calum’s the only one available right now. Ashton’s booked with clients and Luke’s managing the bar.” Michael said, getting off the bed. “Get her there now, please.” Michael pressed a quick kiss to Kayla’s head and one to Crystal’s lips. “I love you both.”
“Bye, Mike.” Kayla sighed, rolling off the bed as Michael walked out of the apartment.
“He’s really putting you back with Calum as if Calum’s gonna do anything other than fuck you senseless.” Crystal shook her head and stood up.
“Should I put on something a little more sexy?” Kayla wiggled her eyebrows, causing Crystal to giggle.
“You’re a freak.” She laughed softly. “You’re fine in that, let’s go.”
*** “What do you mean nothing got delivered?” Calum asked into the phone. Kayla spun around in her chair, nearly dying of boredom. She had been in Calum’s office for a little over two hours now, and all she had done was listen to Calum argue with various employees and customers. “Alright, just keep an eye out, okay? Precious cargo.” Calum said, nearly slamming the receiver down.
“Your job is so boring.” Kayla sighed, continuing to spin around in the desk chair.
“You’re gonna make yourself throw up doing that.” Calum said, his eyes not leaving his computer.
“Throwing up would at least give me something to do.” Kayla whined, pressing her feet into the carpet to stop her chair from spinning.
“Why don’t you go help Millie with the filing? That’ll give you something to do.” Calum said, picking up the office phone. Kayla sighed heavily before getting out of her chair and leaving Calum’s office. She closed the door behind her and walked over to the receptionist’s desk.
“Do you guys have a break room here?” She asked, leaning against the desk.
“Down the hall, to the left.” The receptionist, April, said. Her voice was monotone and her dress was bland. Kayla sighed to herself and walked down the hallway and entered the break room, opening the fridge. She saw a container with Calum’s name on it and swiftly pulled it out. She opened the tupperware and giggled to herself.
“Always was a fan of Michael’s cooking.” She mumbled before grabbing a fork and taking a quick bite of the cold marsala. She closed the tupperware and placed it back in the fridge.  
“Hey, there. Would you mind helping me out with something quickly?” Kayla looked up at the unfamiliar voice.
“Uh, sure.” She shrugged, walking over to the tall man.
“I just need you to stand here and watch for a delivery. I have to take a call for a client.” The man said, leading her down the stairs.
“Oh, okay.” She said, looking around the dock. The man walked away, leaving Kayla alone. She sat on one of the boxes and rested her elbows on her knees and her chin on her palms. “I was more entertained in Calum’s office.” Kayla huffed to herself, tapping her foot on the tile. She had hoped the man would be back before the delivery came, but with her luck, the truck came and the man was nowhere in sight.
“You work here?” The driver asked, handing her a clipboard.
“Yes.” She lied, signing off on the delivery. She handed the clipboard back to the driver and he glanced down at her signature.
“You’re Michael Clifford’s sister?” He looked at her.
“Yeah, how do you know Michael?” Kayla asked, looking at the driver.
“We’ve got beef, and you’re gonna help me end it.” He said, pulling out a gun and pressing it against Kayla’s stomach. “Make a sound and I’ll kill you right here.” She wanted to scream, but she was frozen. The driver grabbed Kayla’s arm and ushered her into the back of his truck.
“Please..” Kayla tried to beg, but the sound was caught in her throat. Flashbacks raced through her mind as the driver tied her hands behind her back and closed the back of the truck. She felt paralyzed as the truck began to move. She knew it had been a mere few minutes since the truck left Calum’s office, but it felt like hours. She could feel her heart pounding and her blood coursing through her veins, the sound deafening. Then, the truck stopped.
*** Calum was frantic. He looked everywhere and Michael was going to be there any second. “Have you seen Kayla?” He asked, stopping at the receptionist’s desk.
“Who?” April asked, barely making eye contact with her boss.
“Tall, blonde hair, green eyes. She was wearing a neon green sweater and black leggings.” Calum rolled his eyes.
“She asked where the break room was about 2 hours ago. Haven’t seen her since then.” April shrugged.
“I checked there.” Calum groaned.
“Then, I don’t know.” April shook her head and turned back to her phone. Calum slammed his fist down on the desk as he stormed away.
“Enrique, have you seen a tall blonde girl wearing a green shirt?” Calum asked as he passed his shipment supervisor.
“Yeah, I asked her to watch for a delivery. The boxes are there, but I figured she just left.” Enrique said, handing Calum the package slip.
“Are you fucking stupid?! This packing slip is from Heinz Mills. They haven’t delivered to us in nearly 5 goddamn years. You didn’t think that was fucking suspicious?!” Calum yelled, the vein in his neck pulsing.
“I didn’t sign for it, I didn’t notice it until she was already gone. I didn’t even know who she was.” Enrique pleaded.
“She’s about to be fucking dead.” Calum said, crumpling up the packing slip. “Clear out your desk. You’re fired. If I ever see you back here, I will not hesitate to rip you apart.” Calum seethed.
“Calum, where’s Kayla?” Michael asked, walking into the bullpen where Calum stood in front of Enrique.
“She’s fucking gone, Mike. The Raiders took her and they’re probably bringing her to Dixon.” Calum said, storming past Michael and into his office.
“I gave you one simple instruction. You weren’t supposed to let her out of your sight!” Michael yelled, following Calum into his office.
“She was getting restless just sitting her, so I told her to help Millie with the filing. Clearly, she didn’t listen. Fucking Enrique made her sit and wait for a delivery, but Taggart got her instead.” Calum said, sitting in his chair. He picked up his phone and dialed Ashton’s number.
“I trusted you to look out for my sister. It hasn’t even been a month since the last attack!”
“You don’t think I know that?! Mike, I thought she would be safe with Millie. I gave her the most isolated job in the building to keep her occupied. This isn’t my fault!” Calum yelled, before turning back to his phone. “Ash, Kayla’s gone. The Raiders got her and they’re taking her to Dixon. Cancel your appointments and meet us down there.”
“I should’ve taken her with me.” Michael shook his head, following Calum to the parking garage.
“No, that would’ve been more dangerous. She can’t go with you to your sales. Do you know how many times you’ve been jumped while supplying? Imagine what would happen if your junkies saw you with a girl like her. She’s safer with us.”
“She’s clearly not safe with you.” Michael rolled his eyes, sliding into Calum’s Range Rover.
“She’s safer with me than she is with you. Now shut up and track her phone.” Calum said as he pulled out of the garage, speeding down the side street. He parked in front of Dixon’s bakery, a front for the narcotics he sold with each donut.
“Her phone says she’s at the office. She must have left it there.” Michael sighed and got out of the car. Ashton pulled up behind Calum’s car and got out, Luke getting out of the passenger seat.
“What the hell happened?” Ashton asked, walking over to Calum and Michael.
“Calum was negligent and let my sister get fucking taken.” Michael said, walking into the bakery.
“Well, if it isn’t Michael Clifford and his ratpack.” Dixon smirked, pulling off his gloves. “What brings you to Sunshine Creamery today?”
“You know exactly why we’re here.” Michael glared at him. “Where’s my sister?”
“Oh, you mean little Kayla? She’s doing just fine. In fact, I think she’s enjoying some quality time with a dear friend of mine. Perhaps you remember him from the day you shot his eye out.” Dixon smirked at Michael.
“Where is she?!” Michael yelled, pulling out his gun.
“Fuck this.” Calum said, jumping over the counter and grabbing Dixon by the collar. “Where the fuck is Kayla?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Dixon smirked. “You have fun in Ashton’s tattoo shop?” He raised an eyebrow and a sense of concern floated across Calum’s eyes.
“How do you know about that?” He growled lowly.
“I know everything.” Dixon smirked. “Now, unless you want Michael to know what you and his baby sister have done, I’d suggest letting me go.” Calum hesitated for a moment before releasing Dixon’s collar.
“Bring her out here.” Calum said, his hands over his gun.
“This is gonna be fun.” Dixon smirked to himself and walked into the back room. He came out, pushing Kayla in front of himself as a human shield, his gun pressed into her side. Her arms were tied behind her back and her mouth was taped shut. Blood dripped from her temple and the dried tear tracks on her cheeks showed her pain.
“Let her go.” Calum said, pulling out his gun.
“You think your guns scare me?” Dixon laughed dryly. “If you want me to let her go, you’re going to have to put your guns on the counter. All of you.” Kayla whimpered as Dixon tightened his grip on her sore wrists and pressed the barrel of his gun deeper into her ribs.
“Okay, okay, just don’t hurt her.” Michael pleaded, putting his gun on the counter. The boys followed suit, their eyes never leaving Dixon.
“Perfect.” Dixon smirked, removing his gun from Kayla’s side. He pulled the tape from Kayla’s mouth and wiped her tears. “Save those for when you really need them.” His smirk widened as he lifted his gun, pulling the trigger.
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serendipitous-magic · 5 years
Note
Hey could you maybepleaseifyouhavetime write a l i t t l e something where Will doesn’t survive the end of s2 and the thing is from Mike’s POV and it’s based on All I Want (Kodaline)
How dare you.
All I want is nothing more
To hear you knocking at my door
‘Cause if I could see your face once more
I could die as a happy man I’m sure
When you said your last goodbye
I died a little bit inside
‘Cause you brought out the best of me
A part of me I’d never seen
You took my soul wiped it clean
But If you loved me
Why did you leave me?
The Gate is closed. And Will is dead.
That’s what they’re saying, at least.
When Joyce, Jonathan and Nancy returned from the cabin, they returned alone. Hours after the Gate closed. Their movements slow, their eyes red and puffy. Mike was the first to ask -  “Where’s Will?” and they wouldn’t answer. He had to say it again. “Where’s Will?” And then, when they just stood by the car and avoided his eyes, “Where is he? What happened?”
Joyce, silently, started crying.
In the end it was Nancy who had to step forward and put one shaky hand on Mike’s shoulder, taking a shallow breath to deliver the blow. They weren’t able to save him. The heaters didn’t work; Will screamed and writhed in the heat, skin burning red, hair plastered down with sweat - and it didn’t matter. The Mind Flayer wouldn’t let him go. The veins of dark matter pulsed under his skin until the very last, binding him to the Upside Down until El was forced to close the Gate - and that was it.
They tried to revive him. Nancy says that over and over - “We tried. We tried.” CPR. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Nothing worked; his body went cold. Colder even than when the Shadow had him. And now Mike is sitting at the Byers’ kitchen table, drifting in a glazed-over bubble of unreality. This isn’t real. This is not real. It’s not. He won’t believe it. Will has been there since Mike was five - nearly as long as he can remember. He can’t be gone - it’s just not possible. It doesn’t make sense. Will has always just been there. Mike is still here, alive - it’s unfathomable that Will isn’t.
He just wants Will to appear in the doorway. He keeps looking, keeps expecting it. He rubs his fingers over his eyes,counts to five, and then looks again. Every time feeling a little jolt of anticipation in his belly, and every time feeling the cold, sinking feeling of emptiness when Will’s not there. The others mill around, halfheartedly nailing boards over the front window and sweeping up glass. Peeling up the spiderwebbing trail of papers from the carpet, the walls, the ceiling. Will’s map. Then Mike snaps at them to leave it, and they do.
Will’s face keeps swimming somewhere in the layers of his vision. Tricking him. Making him think he’s really seeing those features that are somehow, impossibly, soft and sharp at the same time. they’re nearly as familiar to Mike as his own reflection. God, he should have said something. Anything. Something that mattered. He should have told Will just how much he means to him. That he’s one of two people on earth Mike would kill or die for. The last time they really talked - the last time they said goodbye to each other - was in that hospital. That was before the Mind Flayer eclipsed the last glimmer of Will’s control. And Mike doesn’t want to - he doesn’t want to - but he can’t stop seeing Will’s face. He was sickly pale, with dark curves under his eyes, his bangs fanned out over his forehead in strings. But he smiled at Mike. Mike remembers that. Will smiled at him, from that hospital bed - a small, tired smile. It was at something Mike said. A joke. Will wasn’t exactly in a laughing mood, but it did coax that smile out of him. He’s always had a smile like the sun. And it made Mike smile, too.
Will always does that. He makes Mike smile, even in the worst of moods. There’s a side to Mike that only ever seems to emerge around his best friend. A little softer; a little more vulnerable. And all at once Mike stands, pacing across the kitchen and down the hall in a fit of restless energy.
Damnit, Will, he thinks, wandering into Will’s bedroom and kicking at the carpet. Why couldn’t you have just held on a little longer? If you had just waited… Just a few more minutes…
Mike can’t help checking behind the bed; under Will’s desk; behind his door. He’s gotta be somewhere. It’s just like last time. It has to be just like last time. He’s here somewhere. He’s out there, somewhere - he’s not dead.
He sits heavily on Will’s bed and pulls the lamp onto the corner of the bedside table. Breathing deep.
“Will?”
He waits. Staring at the lampshade so intently that the patterns burn into the back of his eyes. Then he rips the lampshade off and throws it on the floor, staring at the bare bulb like it’s a magic crystal. Waiting for a flicker. A glimmer. The barest fizzle of response.
“C’mon, Will,” he mutters. “C’mon. I know you’re there. You have to be there. Say something.”
Mike waits. The bulb remains dark, inert. Cold. Maybe Will doesn’t know Mike is trying to contact him, maybe he can’t hear, maybe -
He rolls across the bed and snatches up Will’s supercomm from where it fell halfway under the bedframe. Sitting up, he yanks the antenna to full length and jams his thumb firmly against the button.
“Will, come in. It’s Mike. Do you copy?”
Silence. The faintest buzz of static - and nothing more. Mike tries to call again, but his throat is closing, heat swelling behind his nose, his eyes, and when he opens his mouth again his voice dries up to a strained wobble.
“Will, I -” I need you to answer. Please, please answer. Please be there.
Unable to speak, Mike holds down the talk button again, and begins to tap one fingernail against the hard plastic of the speaker. Letter after letter. Patiently. Mike can be patient. He knows all about waiting.
-.-. .-. .- –.. -.– / - — –. . - ……-.
Tap, tap, tap.
When he’s done, he sits in silence. Still waiting, watching the light, praying, pleading with the universe to please, just give him this one little miracle. Just this one. He’ll never ask for anything ever again - no wishes, no birthday presents, no vacations or good grades or mercifully brief phone conversation with relatives - just this. He just wants his best friend back. Just that, and he’ll be happy.
It hits him all at once, that gloss of disbelief melting away and leaving a horrible, sick jolt in its place: Will isn’t going to answer. He’s gone. Forever. Mike will never, ever turn and find Will at his side, where he’s been for nearly a decade. He’ll never hear him laugh, whispering some inside joke just to make Mike snort when he’s supposed to be serious. He’ll never sit beside Mike in class, or draw a scene from a campaign, or meet Mike’s eyes from across the room. He’ll never hold Mike’s hand again. Like they used to when they were little. Like they did just a couple days ago - has it been that long? - when Will was telling Mike about the Shadow.
What if he spies back?
We won’t let him.
That was Mike’s promise. And he broke that promise. He wasn’t good enough; he didn’t do enough. He let that thing spy back, and he let it kill his best friend. He could have stopped it. Somehow. But he didn’t, and Will is dead.
Mike breaks. Pushing his face into his hands and dry-sobbing. He thinks he hears his name, somewhere off in the distance - maybe his sister looking for him, or Joyce. But no - it’s a boy’s voice, it’s -
Someone is shaking him. Shaking his shoulder. And Mike can still hear someone saying his name, saying -
“Mike. Mike. Hey. Mikey. Wake up.”
It’s dark. Mike blinks rapidly, his mind in freefall for a moment as he tries to orient himself, caught between two overlapping realities. Then the dream dissipates and he’s left in the vague, familiar shadows of the Byers’ living room, lying in his sleeping bag on the ground. And Will is -
Will is there. Just beside him. Alive.
He must still be mostly asleep, his mind not yet free of the nightmare, because Mike’s gut reaction is to rear up and crush Will into a hug. No - not exactly a hug. It’s something far more fierce and instinctual than that. The primal stem of his brain registers the concepts Will and alive, and its reaction is aggressive affection.
Thank god, Mike thinks, as he struggles his way awake. Holy shit. Thank god.
Will doesn’t say much; he simply allows it, quietly, letting Mike wind his arms around Will’s ribs like a boa constrictor. He waits through Mike’s deep, heaving breaths, tucking his chin against Mike’s shoulder. And then, still sitting half-in-half-out of his sleeping bag, he whispers, “Nightmare?”
Mike nods against Will’s hair. They’re silent for another few minutes. Then, like an afterthought, Will half-whispers, “You said my name.”
Mike doesn’t respond, somehow embarrassed, but Will doesn’t seem to be waiting for a response. He shifts a little, settling into a more comfortable position, winding his arms around Mike in turn. He doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to pull away, and for that, Mike is grateful. He holds Will tight enough to feel his warmth, his heartbeat. Will is alive. Wonderfully, miraculously alive. Mike’s best friend in the whole universe. Mike could kiss him. He -
Mike freezes. Confused and still half-asleep, and trying to sort through his thoughts. Because for one strange moment, he wanted to. The impulse washed over him so strongly that he even turned his head, his body following the thought before his mind had caught up. He wanted to kiss Will. The same way he used to want to kiss El, sometimes, when he would call her on his supercomm and wished with all his heart and soul that she would appear in front of him. He used to stare off into space and try to remember what her lips felt like, during that one clumsy, impulsive moment - were they soft? Chapped? Did she smell like the woods, or like the salt they had been lugging back and forth all day to make the sensory deprivation pool? Did she gasp a little, like she hadn’t been expecting their mouths to bump? He can’t quite remember anymore. He’s been over the memory so many times he can’t tell what’s true memory and what’s wishful thinking.
And now, as Will patiently lets Mike cling to him, it flashes through his mind for a split second. Would Will’s lips be soft or chapped? Would he taste like the toothpaste they brushed their teeth with mere hours ago? Would he take a sharp little inhale of breath in surprise?
And then the moment passes and Mike slips free of the hug, and Will’s arms are a second late to drop. As if he was still reaching, unwilling to let Mike move back even a foot.
They talk for maybe an hour before falling back asleep. And that whole time, Mike can’t get that odd impulse out of his mind.
He chalks it up to sleep deprivation.
(Be honest, y’all knew I wouldn’t give it a sad ending ;) )
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bullet-prooflove · 6 years
Text
Mike Dodds x Reader: Liar
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Part Four of the Ex!Mike Series - Can be read as stand alone.
Part One: See You Again
Part Two: Expectations
Part Three: Coffee Break
    The bar that Mike had chosen was a civilian one, one that you had been to several times. You knew why he had chosen this place and in a way you were relieved. The two of you would do anything to prevent yourselves from being the source of gossip, it may be innocuous but if you were seen having a drink with Chief Dodd’s son the rumor mill would start churning. With anyone else it wouldn’t have mattered but with a rising star like Mike...
    Well there was always someone waiting to extinguish that light.
    Mike was already perched at the bar on one of the velveteen stools, his suit jacket was slung over the end of the bar beside him. The sky blue shirt he was wearing paired well with the navy blue tie, even without the jacket he still looked ready to take care of business. You guessed that was a symptom of the career path he was undertaking. He could be ready at a moment’s notice, no matter what came his way. He was nursing a beer when you took up residence on the stool beside of him, his thumb chasing up the glass towards a bead of condensation.
    “Hey, thanks for meeting me.” he said, angling his broad form towards you before raising his hand and hailing the bartender.
    “No problem.” You uttered, pausing to deliver your order, a single glass of rose wine, to the bartender. “I thought you’d wanna blow off a little steam after that case.”
    Mike pursed his lips together, nodding his agreement at your words.
    “I think I had a very predetermined view of what SVU was all about and the Lane Baker case changed that for me.” he informed you before taking a sip of his beer. “It’s not just a guy on the street deciding to get take what he wants, it’s worse than that. Some of these predators are so god damn good at hiding themselves, it’s hard to believe what they are until you’re faced with it.”
    You murmured your thanks to the bartender before toying with the stem of the wine glass between your fingertips.
    “I’m not going to lie to you and say it gets easier.” you told Mike, raising your gaze to meet his so that he could see the honesty shining in those pretty blue eyes of yours. “I’ve been here a year and the cases we come across still surprise the living hell out of me. We had a really weird one last year where a whole bunch of parents caused a measles outbreak because none of them got their kids vaccinated. We got called in because some idiot uploaded pictures from an underage sex party online and it became something else entirely.”
    “So you’re telling me to roll with the punches?” Mike summarised, the cogs in his brain turning as he processed the information. “Be less... rigid.”
    The word sounded foreign on his tongue. He was a stringent by the book type of guy, he followed protocols to the letter, eye always on the bigger picture or at least that was the way he liked to see himself. He had to admit though, he did have a reckless streak, one that he tried to keep buried. It had come out a few times over the years, he’d felt it today, pulsing underneath the surface of his skin when he had walked in on Pastor Eldon trying to marry thirteen year old Lane Baker. He had wanted to wipe that smile off that son of a bitch’s face and they had in the end by arresting him, but for a moment Mike had wanted to do more.
     It had occurred to him just how clever Eldon had been about choosing his victims, he thought the Baker’s would brush it all under the rug to protect their brand, that he would never be held accountable. If Benson had stopped pushing, he would have gotten away with it for the second time and there were two other daughters in that family that would have soon fallen into his ‘type’. Yet again he’d made another misstep, one that could have endangered even more people than it had already hurt.
    “You’re still learning.” You pointed out, observing his down cast expression and furrowed brow. You reached out, your hand coming to rest on his arm gently, your thumb lightly stroking the underside of his forearm through his shirt.
    Mike’s gaze lowered as he felt that flicker of heat surge through him at that slight, reassuring touch. He wondered if it would always be this way between the two of you, if there would always be this thrill, this spark whenever you were in each other’s presence. He’d tried to recreate it a couple of times over the years, with blind dates and the occasional one night stand but nothing had ever come close to the way he felt with you. There was a connection that thrummed between the two of you, a deep, flowing undercurrent that came to life whenever he was around you. The way you looked at him sometimes...
    It was the same way you had back then, when the two of you had something tangible, something real. Or at least he had thought it was real. You had never put any labels on your relationship, neither wanting to rock the boat due to the precarious position you were both in as partners as well as lovers. He could pinpoint the moment things had changed. He’d been offered the position in Crown Heights, he was leaning towards not taking it because of how good things were going for him in Narcotics, not just with you, but with the unit. There were good people there, ones he trusted and he had just started to settle.
    When you had broken things off, it had become too painful to stay there. Seeing you, day in and day out was like being stabbed in the chest over and over again and he had needed to get some distance. So he had taken the job, got his foot on the next rung of the ladder and pulled himself up again once more.
    At the time he’d believed her when she said it was all just a bit of fun, that the danger and the exhilaration of the affair was what had made it last as long as it did. It wasn’t serious, they didn’t love each other after all...
    It wasn’t true, he had loved you and when he looked at you now, he could see that you had always loved him. You were falling into the same familiar traps as you had the first time, you had to see that and instead of pulling away you veered straight into it. He knew that craving, it was like a narcotic chasing through your system, like a drug you could never be free from but he had to know the truth, he had to hear it from your lips before he could consider moving forward.
    “You lied about why you left.” he found himself saying as he stared into those gorgeous eyes of yours.
    For a moment you looked stricken, he heard your breath catch in surprise. His large hand came to cover yours lightly, preventing you from withdrawing as his heart ached.
    “Please don’t pull away from me.” he requested softly, his thumb ghosting over the shape of your knuckles, the muscles in your hand relaxing. “I need to hear it.”
    “I really don’t think...” you began before Mike cut you off using that patient, tender tone of his.
    “Don’t think.” he murmured, taking your dainty hand in his and guiding your open palm to that place on his chest, the one where his heart beat just underneath the cotton fabric of his shirt. “Remember how it feels, remember how you used to put your hand right here after we made love.”
    Made love...
    You had never said those words out loud during that time together but that’s what it had been. There was no other way to describe the sensation of losing yourself completely like that, not in Mike’s eyes.
    “Mike...” his name seemed to roll of your tongue unwillingly, your fingers splaying, teasing along his collarbone.
    “Tell me.” he implored, his voice pleading and hushed. “Tell me what I did wrong.”
    It was those words that broke you, he could see those walls come tumbling down as you shook your head venomously against the blame that he was laying on himself.
    “It wasn’t you.” you told him fiercely, your vibrant eyes burning bright with a fire that Mike hadn’t seen in what felt like a lifetime. “It was your father.”
    Suddenly Mike knew, you didn’t have to say anything else because he knew himself what his father was capable of but he let you continue anyway. He had asked for your honesty and he wanted to hear every single word of what his father had done, not just to him, but to you.
    “Your father came to see me, not long after you’d been offered that position in Crown Heights.” you told him, this time when you retreated he let you. He knew that this painful, that you needed the mental space before you could continue. “I don’t know how he knew about us but he did.”
    A thousand memories came back to Mike at that moment, snippets of conversations with his father, over the phone, face to face at the diner that liked to frequent on the Sunday. He recalled the disappointment on his old man’s features when he had told his father he wasn’t sure about taking the job in the Anti Crime Unit. The way he had tried to persuade him otherwise. He recounted times before that, turning down his dad’s offers to set him up, his dad’s comments about how you were an attractive woman, Mike had shrugged them off reminding his father that he preferred mind over matter. He had never really denied his attraction to you, he cut you from conversations with his father completely for the fear that the older man would pick up on your relationship. He steered talk away from his love life when his father attempted to bring it up. All of these were clues in themselves, he realised.
    “He told you, you were holding me back.” Mike uttered the words out loud as they dawned on him.
    “I was in the way.” you corrected him, your gaze lowering to the rose colored wine as you allowed your fingertip to circle along the rim of the glass. “That if I really cared about you, about your reputation, that I should end things before anyone else found out and tried to use the relationship against you.”
    Mike’s mouth pursed into a grim thin line, his jaw clenching as he played the scene out in his head. He could imagine his father saying those words, knowing the consequences of the conversation, that they would push Mike into the exact place his father wanted him to be.
    “He was right.” You admitted, tilting your head towards Mike so he could see the truth shining in your eyes. “I knew what I was doing when I broke it off with you. I knew how much it would hurt, that it would push you into the Anti Crime Unit.”
    There was a moment of silence between the two of you as you locked gazes. Mike could taste the bitterness of the sentiment on his tongue as he stared back at you.
    “Am I supposed to thank you?” he asked you harshly. “That decision was mine to make and instead you manipulated me into taking that position.”
    “I don’t expect your gratitude.” you informed him. There was resolution in those features of yours as if you had come to terms with this decision long ago an he knew that was the reality he was faced with. “I did what I thought was right, what we were doing could have derailed everything you had worked so hard for, everything you were going to achieve...”
    “That wasn’t your call.” he snapped back, his handsome features inches away from yours, his forest green eyes blazing with indignation. “It should have been ours.”
    You watched as he rose to his feet, snatching up his black suit jacket up off the top of the bar before marching towards the exit and disappearing out of the door.
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10 movies you'll want to see from the Sundance Film Festival
LOS ANGELES
Dispatches from the Sundance Film Festival are usually accompanied by descriptions of the looming mountains, snowy premieres and frantic bus shuttles. This year's Sundance, which played out entirely virtually due to the COVID-19 surge driven by the omicron variant, meant less evocative screening circumstances: Laptops, digital links and Zooms.
But even in reduced form, the films were often hypnotic, thrilling and urgent. Here are 10 films that stood out to AP Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle from their virtual Sundance, which wrapped Sunday.
— “Fire of Love”: Katia and Maurice Krafft were married French volcanologists who spent their lives documenting the world’s volcanoes and died during one such expedition in Japan in 1991. Werner Herzog used them briefly in “Into the Inferno,” but the Kraffts and their stunning photographs and 16-millimeter films get the spotlight in Sara Dosa’s “Fire of Love,” a mesmerizing and almost mystical portrait of love and the extremes of the natural world to be released by National Geographic. With a synthy indie pop score (including Brian Eno and Air), Miranda July narration and experimental editing, it’s like Mike Mills meets Terrence Malick meets Guy Maddin. — LB
— “Descendent”: Margaret Brown's documentary concerns the discovery of the Clotilda, a schooner submerged in Alabama's Mobile River in 1860, considered to be the last known slave ship to bring enslaved Africans to the U.S. But Brown's film, which was acquired by Netflix and the Obamas' High Ground Productions, excavates far more than the Clotilda. In taking a wide lens to the descendants of the ship and the present-day circumstances of Africatown near Mobile, where many of the survivors settled, “Descendant” lyrically ruminates on the legacy of slavery in America, telescoping past and present like few films before it. — JC
— “Cha Cha Real Smooth”: On paper, this movie looks like something that came out of a round of Sundance mad-libs: Aimless college grad gets hired by local mothers to be a party starter on the local bar-mitzvah circuit and strikes up a friendship with a young single mom of an autistic teenage daughter. And yet Cooper Raiff’s sophomore film, which he stars in alongside Dakota Johnson, is never what you expect. Sweet, funny and moving, this is a small, indie trope-defying gem that’ll be on Apple TV+ this year. — LB
— “The Exiles”: Sundance's grand jury prize winner for documentary is a sometimes awkwardly balanced fusion of essentially two films that nevertheless makes for a profound examination of political dissent and missed opportunity for change. “The Exiles," which is directed by Ben Klein and Violet Columbus and executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, seems initially like a portrait of Christine Choy, the brash Oscar-nominated filmmaker and professor. Choy has more than enough personality to fill a character study, but she's a framing device here. “The Exiles” leans on footage Choy shot in the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre with a handful of Chinese protesters in New York. Decades later, Choy and the filmmakers meet with those long-exiled dissidents again to tenderly and thoughtfully consider their sacrifice and unfinished battles for freedom. The binding tissue of “The Exiles” is a firm, fiery belief that uncompromisingly outspoken is the only way to live. — JC
— “We Need to Talk About Cosby”: Bill Cosby’s descent was fairly definitive. And yet even with his (brief) imprisonment and the wider cultural #MeToo reckoning, director W. Kamau Bell had a feeling that we had not yet fully processed what had happened to the man once known as America’s Dad. And indeed the four-part docuseries “We Need to Talk About Cosby,” rolling out on Showtime over the next three weekends, delivers on its title. Bell talks to survivors, colleagues and cultural commentators about Cosby’s life, career, impact and misdeeds, in his own attempt to grapple with the downfall of someone he and many others once thought of as hero. It is an absolute must-see. — LB
— “Emily the Criminal”: The burden of student loan debut is taken to darkly electrifying extremes in first-time writer-director John Patton Ford’s taut neo-noir thriller. Most of all, it’s a showcase for Aubrey Plaza, who plays a desperate young Los Angeles woman drawn into a criminal underworld through high-paying but dangerous scams (with a charming Theo Rossi) that slyly critique modern-day economic injustices. The always engrossing Plaza, also a producer on the film, has never been more potent. — JC
— “The Princess”: There are so, so many accounts of Diana’s life, struggles, death and legacies (many recent and many excellent, too) that even the idea of another film just sounds exhausting. But “The Princess,” coming to HBO this year, is something else entirely. Director Ed Perkins tells the story of her public life using only archival footage, including news broadcasts, man-on-the-street interviews, talk show segments, b-roll and outtakes. Looking at us looking at her is an immersive, moving and revelatory experience. — LB
— “Navalny ”: Daniel Roher’s documentary of the imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is a riveting, occasionally farcical, often alarming portrait of a still-unspooling real-life geopolitical drama. The film, which HBO Max and CNN will release later this year, was both the documentary audience award winner and the overall audience winner at Sundance. That’s a testament to Roher’s film and to Navalny’s audacious, entertaining manner. — JC
— “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”: Emma Thompson plays a somewhat repressed widow who hires a handsome sex worker (Daryl McCormack) in “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” a charming (and slightly blue) chamber piece about finding yourself later in life that Searchlight Pictures will release on Hulu. Sophie Hyde directs off a script from Katy Brand, that turns what could have been a cheap gimmick into a terrifically witty, sophisticated, adult comedy. — LB
— “The Janes”: Unlawful, underground Chicago syndicates have long been the stuff of movies. But the HBO film “The Janes,” directed by Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes, documents a lesser known chapter in 20th century American history, with overwhelming relevance to today. Lessin and Pildes' film chronicles the Jane Collective, a group of women who banded together in the late ‘60s and early ’70s to offer illegal abortions to women who needed them, in the years before Roe v. Wade. In “The Janes,” those women — now in their 60s and 70s — compelling tell their story, many of them for the first time on camera. A fictional drama about the collective, Phyllis Nagy's “Call Jane,” also debuted at Sundance.
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kaasrasper · 6 years
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Best of 2017: Movies
And yet again, there were many great movies this year. I’ve sat my ass down in the cinema for more than 80 times this year. Hihi. One of the most thrilling scenes must have been the famous one-shot staircase scene from Atomic Blonde, in which Charlize Theron kicks some serious ass. That film did, however, not make it to my top 20. The following films did. Happy reading - and hopefully watching!
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01. 20th Century Women (dir. Mike Mills) For me this was the most moving film of the year. It’s a dynamic drama, with a continuous shift of focus on, and between a few characters living in California in the seventies. With too many beautiful moments, great performances and an outstanding soundtrack.
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02. On Body and Soul (dir. Ildikó Enyedi) Both visually and narratively an amazing piece of storytelling that’s shattering in its modesty.
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03. Thelma (dir. Joachim Trier) Slow-burning, dark and very intriguing coming-of-age thriller drama with a breathtaking lead-performance.
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04. Visages Villages (dir. Agnès Varda & JR) An utterly funny and warm documentary that follows director Agnès Varda and muralist JR on their journey through France while capturing faces, stories, and places.
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05. Aquarius (dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho) Sonia Braga gives a powerhouse performance in this knock-out character study.
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06. Moonlight (dir. Barry Jenkins) A kaleidoscopic coming-of-age story, showing an African American boy/adolescent/grown-up’s search for love and friendship without ever being too sentimental. Slumbering and simply beautiful.
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07. mother! (dir. Darren Aronofsky) One of the most intense and berserk movies I have seen in a very long time. Left me dumbfounded.
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08. Jackie (dir. Pablo Lorraín) Basically a 90 minute close-up of Natalie Portman’s face. She delivers one of her best performances so far, and it’s all accompanied by Mica Levi’s haunting, yet stunning score.
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09. The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Yorgos Lanthimos) Absurd, terrifying and darkly funny. A lot of wtf-ing going on, just as you can expect from Lanthimos.
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10. Personal Shopper (dir. Olivier Assayas) Kirsten Stewart is mesmerizing in this not so conventional ghost story.
Runner-ups: 11. Logan Lucky (dir. Steven Soderbergh) 12. Paterson (dir. Jim Jarmusch) 13. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (dir. James Gunn) 14. Brigsby Bear (dir. Dave McCary) 15. The LEGO Batman Movie (dir. Chris McKay) 16. God’s Own Country (dir. Francis Lee) 17. The Square (dir. Ruben Östlund) 18. Your Name (dir. Makoto Shinkai) 19. Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (dir. Rian Johnson) 20. Raw (dir. Julia Ducournau)
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aion-rsa · 5 years
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Stephen King: 16 Best Scary Stories to Read
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Here are 16 of the very best horror stories from Stephen King!
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Stephen King is a master of the short story, able to dish out horror tales to make your skin crawl, astounding sci-fi, and even literary reflections aimed at more "sophisticated" readers. He's done it all, with no sign of stopping. 
Although I've had the tough task of picking 16 of my favorite King horror tales for this list, you should absolutely pick up ALL of his collections and give them a read through. You'll always find something to give you the chills. 
Make a note: this is a list of short stories, not novellas. And on top of that, stories that are genuinely scary. I didn't forget "The Mist" or "N." or "Secret Window, Secret Garden" or any of those other goodies. Those deserve their own article, don't they?
So below: a list of stories and what collections you can find them in. "N." would have been my inclusion from Just After Sunset, but again, that's really a novella. "The Cat from Hell" ain't bad, either. But really, none of the stories from that collection made the cut for me. You can yell at me in the comments. 
Enjoy!
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Night Shift (1978)
Graveyard Shift
Night Shift, King's first short story collection, is really the crux of this article, as it features several of his best scary tales to date. They have a B-movie sensibility right at home in the late '60s and early '70s, and were influenced by campy cult films and plenty of EC comics. Hell, many of the stories have even become cult films themselves.  
"Graveyard Shift," the second story in the book, is a great example of what King can do with seemingly ordinary situations turned bad...really, really bad. In one of his most campy stories to date, a group of men are tasked with cleaning up the abandoned basement of a textile mill that's been infested by rats for years. As they descend into the depths of the mill, the horrors they find are...well, you'll just have to find out, won't you? 
Read more: Stephen King's 10 Best Horror Novels
I Am the Doorway
If you're a Constant Reader, you're probably used to King's use of body horror. This is one of his early ones and features a bit of science fiction as well. An astronaut returns from a mission to Venus after coming into contact with a strange alien mutagen. Upon his return, he discovers that eyeballs are growing out of his hands! This one is just too much fun to miss...
The Mangler
You've probably heard of this one: a series of very weird (and unfortunate) events causes an industrial laundry press to become possessed by a demon. No, I don't know where the hell this guy comes up with all this stuff. King has a way of turning ordinary blue-collar life into grisly death. This one was turned into a movie directed by Tobe Hooper a few years back, and it stars Robert Englund. Yes, it's as bad as you think. 
Trucks
You've probably heard of this one, too. Because King tried to direct a movie based on this story. Motor vehicles have inexplicably come to life and decide to murder all humans who disobey them. The doomed characters in this story suffer a very tragic end that's almost poetic. By the way, the movie King directed is called Maximum Overdrive, and it's the only time anyone was crazy enough to let this guy behind a camera. 
Sometimes They Come Back
Okay, you're probably wondering why I totally skipped "Children of the Corn." The answer is simple: that story has become so twisted in its movie form that a) you already know how the story goes, b) what you've seen in those god awful movies has tainted any good perspective on said story. That said, yes, read it or whatever. 
read more: It Chapter Two Easter Eggs and Reference Guide
BUT, you do get this treat instead: "Sometimes They Come Back" is one of my favorite King stories to date. A teacher is haunted by three psychotic greasers from his childhood. After those around him begin to die, he realizes that he has to fight pure evil with pure evil. Truly creepy. 
You can buy Night Shift right here!
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Skeleton Crew (1985)
Here There Be Tygers
King loves tormenting little kids in his stories, and believe it or not, "Here There Be Tygers" is one of the lighter examples. And it has nothing to do with the Ray Bradbury story of the same name. In King's story, a little boy really needs to go to the bathroom but is too frightened to do so when he encounters a tiger in the school lavatory. Because of course there's a tiger waiting in a bathroom. King has said that this was one of his earliest stories, written when he was in high school. 
The Monkey
This a weird one. A diabolical cymbal-banging monkey toy torments several characters through the years. How does a toy cause such dread in its owner? Well, every time it bangs its little cymbals, someone or something dies. Simple enough.
Read more: 12 Best Stephen King Movies
The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands
In a sort of "campfire story" format that's quite fitting for King, a mysterious club in Manhattan gathers to tell tales of the strange and grotesque. A companion to a novella called "The Breathing Method" from Different Seasons, tonight's tale is about a man with a peculiar phobia: he's terrified of touching anyone and avoids all physical contact like it's the plague. The conclusion to this one is quite fun. Maybe not a traditional scary story, but the story circle format really lends it that Halloween feel. I'd love to see an anthology series based on this format - Are You Afraid of the Dark? for King fans.
Gramma
You might know this one. It was later adapted by Harlan Ellison for Twilight Zone '85 and was recently turned into a movie starring Chandler Riggs (Carl from The Walking Dead). A little boy is left alone with his gramma, a bed-ridden old woman who frightens him deeply. As you'd expect, he indeed has a lot to be frightened about. Interestingly enough, horror buffs will notice that this story is part of the Cthulhu Mythos, the shared fictional universe created by H.P. Lovecraft, one of King's idols. 
You can buy Skeleton Crew right here!
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Nightmares & Dreamscapes (1993)
Home Delivery
I like this one because it's a Stephen King zombie story. Part George A. Romero outbreak epic and part intimate story about reuniting with those you've lost, "Home Delivery" is a good read and even gives us a reason behind the apocalypse that's too fun to miss. King's other "zombie" tale, a book called Cell, is also worth a read.
Sorry, Right Number
No, I guess this one is technically a teleplay, which was produced as an episode of Tales from the Darkside, but it's short enough to read as a short story. Sue me. This is the first King story I ever read—in a school textbook, no less!!—and it remains one of my favorites. A woman receives a very strange call from a distressed woman, who can't quite deliver her message. The message and the outcome of this story are really heartbreaking.
You can buy Nightmares & Dreamscapes right here!
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Everything's Eventual (2002)
Autopsy Room Four
Perhaps the most fun story King has ever written, this isn't the kind of King horror you're used to. Yet, it's still exceptionally terrifying. The situation is as real as they come (in a King story, anyway) and the outcome is actually pretty funny. A good story for those looking for lighter fare on Halloween. 
The Man in the Black Suit
King's most literary horror story to date tells the tale of a boy's encounter with the Devil, who appears to him as a man dressed in a black suit that smells like burnt matches. The story isn't so much horror as it is a rumination on mortality. The monster in this story isn't out to get you. Instead, it wants to let you know it's there and it's waiting. 
Read more: A Guide to Stephen King's Dark Tower Universe
The Road Virus Heads North
A killer painting is the subject of this story. Yes, this list has proved that if you put the adjective "killer" in front of pretty much any object, you get a Stephen King monster. Still, this one's plenty of fun, if you like a little camp with your horror. 
1408
Rounding Everything's Eventual is "1408," another one of King's "writer in peril" stories that he loves writing so much. This one stars Mike Enslin, a guy who writes about haunted places he's visited. He arrives to the Hotel Dolphin in New York City after he hears about the infamous room 1408. Although he doesn't believe that any of the places he's written about are truly haunted, room 1408 does a lot to change his mind. 
You can buy Everything's Eventual right here!
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Bazaar of Bad Dreams (2015)
The Dune 
King really is having fun with "The Dune," a more classical horror story with a twist ending that will give you chills. A man tells his lawyer a story about his secret obsession with a dune on an unnamed island off the Florida coast that can predict people's deaths. Every time he makes the trip to the island, the man sees a new person's name written in the sand, and within a month, that person is found dead. It's a haunting little story that might remind you of Poe, as the shocking truth behind the man's tale is revealed with a sinister smile.
You can buy Bazaar of Bad Dreams right here!
Alright, Constant Readers, what are your favorite Stephen King horror stories? What are you reading leading up to Halloween? Tell us in the comments!
John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9. 
A version of this article originally ran on Oct. 30, 2015.
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Feature John Saavedra
Sep 9, 2019
Stephen King
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toldnews-blog · 5 years
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New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/politics/5-key-takeaways-from-president-donald-trumps-state-of-the-union-address/
5 key takeaways from President Donald Trump's State of the Union address
President Donald Trump called for unity again and again in his State of the Union address, delivering a speech that was a sharp contrast to the last month of digging in his heels during a 35-day government shutdown and almost two years of political battles during his administration.
Here are five major takeaways from the speech.
Trump calls for “greatness” and compromise in State of the Union but doesn’t budge from his own uncompromising positions
Facing a newly divided Congress in his State of the Union address, Trump made a call for cooperation and unity to the nation’s lawmakers, though persisted in his own uncompromising call for a barrier along the southern border wall.
“Victory is not winning for our party. Victory is winning for our country,” Trump declared at the beginning of his speech.
“We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution – and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good,” Trump told the assembled joint session. “We must choose between greatness or gridlock, results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction.”
“Tonight, I ask you to choose greatness,” Trump said.
Doug Mills/Pool via Getty Images
President Donald Trump arrives to deliver the State of the Union address in the U.S. Capitol Building on Feb. 5, 2019, in Washington.
In contrast with his own words of unity, the president passed up the opportunity to directly congratulate House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on winning the gavel before the joint session and has not, in the days leading up to the speech, let up in his own attacks of Democrats.
It was not a topic left untouched by Stacey Abrams, former candidate for governor of Georgia who delivered the Democratic response.
“The shutdown was a stunt engineered by the president of the United States, one that defied every tenet of fairness and abandoned not just our people, but our values,” Abrams said in her televised response.
Trump remains steadfast on the wall
As expected, the president stopped short of declaring a national emergency to obtain funds to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border without congressional approval. He also did not directly threaten another government shutdown, though he called on both Republicans and Democrats to “join forces” and pass a bill in the next 10 days.
He also emphasized the benefits of legal immigration to the country, saying “I want people to come into our country, in the largest numbers ever. But they have to come in legally.”
His tone reflected the realities of the showdown, which left more Americans blaming Trump and the Republicans in Congress than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats, 53 percent to 34 percent, according to recent ABC News/Washington Post polling.
But he didn’t leave out the wall.
“In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall, but the proper wall never got built. I will get it built,” he said with resolve and to applause from Republicans.
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence applaud President Donald Trump at the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 5, 2019.
The nation won’t soon forget the women who watched
The presence of the largest-ever class of women in Congress was made all the more clear at this year’s State of the Union when they brought about a rare moment: Trump and Pelosi smiling, for the same reason, at the same time.
The women, dressed in white to honor the 100th anniversary of the amendment which granted women the right to vote, abruptly stood for the first time when the president spoke about progress made by women. They gave a loud standing ovation.
Trump receives cheers and standing ovations from a bipartisan group of female lawmakers wearing white as he touts the number of women in the workforce and more women serving in Congress than ever before.
“You weren’t supposed to do that,” he jokes https://t.co/TreW1l5Pqr #SOTU pic.twitter.com/fiCAgSoKZi
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 6, 2019
“No one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women, who have filled 58 percent of the new jobs created in the last year,” Trump said, triggering the applause.
“You weren’t supposed to do that,” Trump said to the group. “Don’t sit yet — you’re going to like this,” he added.
“Exactly one century after Congress passed the Constitutional Amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in Congress than ever before,” Trump said.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Female lawmakers cheer during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 5, 2019, in Washington.
The white-clad bloc of Democratic women, who spent most of the speech seated expressionless, responded with louder cheers that were joined by bipartisan chants of “U.S.A.”
The president then highlighted his administration’s support for nationwide paid family leave, a policy his daughter Ivanka Trump worked on.
He also made a fast pivot to call on Congress to pass legislation banning late-term abortion.
“There could be no greater contrast to the beautiful image of a mother holding her infant child than the chilling displays our nation saw in recent days,” Trump said, specifically citing embattled Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s recent comments that stirred controversy.
“I am asking Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s womb. Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life. And let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: all children – born and unborn – are made in the holy image of God,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments prompted swift backlash from some women in the audience, like 2020 candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democrat from California.
Politicians ?? should ?? not ?? tell ?? women ?? what ?? to ?? do ?? with ?? their ?? bodies. #SOTU
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 6, 2019
Trump uses speech to announce dates for second North Korea summit, highlight peace efforts
Trump used the speech to announce the next move forward with North Korea — a peace summit on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam.
Though recent U.N. reports found North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are still intact, despite promises of “complete denuclearization” after the last summit, held in June in Singapore, Trump promoted his message of peace with the news.
“If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea. Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one,” Trump said.
“Chairman Kim and I will meet again on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam,” he announced.
Stacey Abrams closes out the night, another emphasis that Trump’s second State of the Union comes on the heels of a new era
Much has changed since the president’s State of the Union address a year ago. He now faces a divided Congress — and one that has more women and people of color than ever before.
Abrams was a manifestation of that change, both as a woman of color — the first African-American woman to give the State of the Union response — and as a new voice that rose out of 2018.
Even though she lost a tight race for Georgia governor last November, Abrams nevertheless was selected to be the face of the party in a speech seen by millions nationwide – a testament, experts have said, to the power Democrats believe Abrams holds to connect with a diverse electorate in a moment of American politics enveloped by the complexities of gender and race.
ABC News
Stacey Abrams delivers the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech, Feb. 5, 2019.
Abrams’ words were further looked to in the aftermath of the scandal engulfing the Virginia governor — which she addressed without specifically referencing the calls for his resignation or the racist yearbook photo.
“We must hold everyone from the highest offices to our own families accountable for racist words and deeds and call racism what it is — wrong,” Abrams said.
“We must hold everyone from the highest offices to our own families accountable for racist words and deeds and call racism what it is — wrong.”
Stacey Abrams calls out Trump’s policies and rebukes racism in her historic response to Trump’s #SOTU address https://t.co/FkS7StsH0t pic.twitter.com/2sfktzcEet
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 6, 2019
Abrams was more direct about the president, who many predicted she wouldn’t directly call out.
She defended Democrats against the president’s claims that the party wants “open borders,” saying “compassionate treatment at the border” is not the same thing.
“President Reagan understood this. President Obama understood this. Americans understand this. And Democrats stand ready to effectively secure our ports and borders. But we must all embrace that from agriculture to healthcare to entrepreneurship, America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants – not walls,” Abrams said.
But Abrams emphasized a similar theme from the president about victory for the country, over one party.
“So even as I am very disappointed by the President’s approach to our problems, I still don’t want him to fail. But we need him to tell the truth, and to respect his duties and the extraordinary diversity that defines America,” Abrams said.
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theplaguezine · 5 years
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KREATOR
Interview with  Mille Petrozza by Daniel Hinds
(conducted October 1999)
Trying to name a band more important to the development of thrash metal than Kreator would be difficult.  Naming one that is still producing quality music in 1999 would be nearly impossible, but this German powerhouse has consistently delivered the goods for fifteen years now and shows no sign of letting up.  Guitarist/vocalist Mille Petrozza has always been the mainstay and driving force behind Kreator, never letting the band's sound stagnate.  From the high-speed chaos of Endless Pain and Pleasure To Kill through the technical riffing on Extreme Aggression to the experimental industrial influences of Renewal , right up to the slower and more atmospheric (but no less heavy) Outcast and Endorama, Kreator could always be counted on for a quality album.
With a newly signed deal with Pavement for the American release of Endorama, Mille took the time to answer a few questions…
The production on Endorama is excellent.  Did you do anything differently this time out? We took more time, especially on the guitars and vocals and everything.  We are a lot more prepared this time, too, than any time before.  In the past, most of the times we didn't even know what we wanted when we went into the studio and we figured out how the songs should sound in the studio.  This time we had a very clear vision of how the final production should sound.  So, it was hard work, but it was worth it.  Like I said, we took over three months with just the recording and that paid off.  You take time and go back and use a different guitar here and a different amp there, mike up the guitar a different way.  Especially for all the clean stuff, the picking stuff, we used like 4 or 5 different guitars, 12-string guitars, everything.  When you take the time to do that, the final product is a lot more detailed and a lot better.
Will you self-produce next time, too?   I think so, because it doesn't make sense to find a big-name producer who is only cashing in money and I don't think it is necessary anymore to work with a producer.
Would you ever produce another band?   I've had a couple offers to do other bands, but to be honest, I think that it only makes sense if I can really help a band.  If I had a band that was okay and the songs were good and they needed a producer, I would do it.  But most of the bands that offered me a production spot on their records, I had the impression that they didn't need a producer for what they wanted to do.  So, it needs to be a good band and some band that really wants me to produce their record because I could help a band do a great album, give them my experience and help them not make the same mistakes that we did.  But it's gotta be someone that really wants me to produce their record and not just because I'm in Kreator, but because they like what I do.
How did you decide upon the name Endorama for the album?   You know, the word doesn't exist, 'endorama' - there's no such word.  To me, it means a certain end that comes to everyone and everything that ever existed.  Of course, nowadays with the new millennium coming up, a lot of people have this apocalyptic vision of how the world is going to be or how it's not going to be.  I think Endorama fits the music a lot, it's a perfect title for this record.
The credits list a vocal coach.  What exactly did they do for you? Basically, it was my vocal teacher who came into the studio with me and she was helping me to get where I wanted to be, with my vocals and my voice.  She figured out where my strong points and where my weak points are, and she knew how to get me where I wanted to be with my vocals.  It was amazing, a whole new experience.  In the past, the vocals came last and I always had to suffer through the vocals, but this time it was a lot of fun.  That was the main difference from previous productions - this time I actually enjoyed doing the vocals.
Have you worked with her for a while? Yeah, for the last year before doing the record.
Was all the orchestral stuff done with keyboards?   Yeah, basically.  It would have only made sense for us to get a real orchestra in if we would have had even more time, you know.  That would have been a little over the top. (laughs)  Maybe next time…
Do you think you will do more of that kind of stuff in the future? Yeah.  It's a whole new way to explore music.  Once you open up for new instruments, there are so many possibilities.  There's so much we can still do and we definitely want to do more in this direction on the next record.  It's just so amazing and exciting.
Did you play any of the festivals this summer?  How did they go?   We did, we played a lot of festivals in Europe.
Any upcoming tour plans? Yeah, we're planning on coming to the States even, next February.
Kreator has gone through a few different labels over the years.  Is your current situation pretty solid? I hope so. (laughs)  You never know.  For us, we're very easy to work with, as long as the people that we are working with are putting the same energy into their work as we do into writing the music.  The people from Pavement seem to be really into the band and have been very supportive so far and, as long as it works like that, there is no reason to change labels again.
Last couple years has seen many retro-thrash bands come along, many copping a sound very similar to early Kreator.  What do you make of this trend?   I do respect that, if people take the influences from what we've done in the past, that's cool for them.  But for us, it wouldn't be interesting nowadays.  We want to go in new ways and set new standards instead of going back in time and repeating ourselves, it's senseless.  Of course, it is cool if people get inspired by what we've done in the past.
On the Morbid Angel tour you expressed some concerns about the rather right-wing attitudes they presented to the audience.  What do you make of the even more extreme views of some of the so-called 'elite' black metal bands? I think it is just these things come along because a lot of people are uncertain about their own personalities, so they need to follow something.  When you're not strong enough to stand as an individual, you submit to something bigger than you or what you think is bigger than you.  Some people think that their personality expands by joining the right-wing movement, that they are better people or whatever.  Those people are just insecure, in my opinion.  I don't think they are very educated when it comes to politics, if you ask me, and I really wonder where a lot of these people get their information.
No doubt a lot of it is just for shock value, too. Yeah, exactly.  That's why I don't really take it seriously anymore, so I don't want go 'oh fuck them!' or whatever, I just don't care. (laughs)
I understand there's a tribute to Kreator coming out soon.  Have you been involved with it at all?   No, I haven't.  It's something that they put together, some label - Full Moon Productions I think.  I only know who is playing on it, but I haven't heard it.
What do you think of tribute albums in general? There have been some very good ones and some very bad ones, and I hope the Kreator tribute album is gonna be a good one.
You've managed to evolve with each album without losing the trademark Kreator sound.  Is it something you are conscious of when writing?  Do you ever write songs and think 'that's a good song, but it just isn't Kreator'? Yeah, that happens sometimes, but I think that any song I write is somehow linked to Kreator.  It's the same voice over all these years and the same attitude.  We still feel the same way toward our music and about our music, so I guess anything that we release is going to be released under the name Kreator.  It makes sense because we've never…  You know, there are people who like the new records and people who prefer the old ones, but no matter what you say about any of them, none of those records were fake.
Would you say your outlook on the world in general is more positive now than when you started out or more negative? Hmmm…..I can't decide on that.  Sometimes even more positive and sometimes even more negative than it used to be.  Somewhere in the middle maybe. (laughs)  At the moment, right now, I'm feeling okay, but there are times when I feel very negative and I have a very negative outlook on things.  But then, the next day, everything is forgotten, just like anyone.  I don't think there's a big difference between me and other people.
Have you been able to make a living out of Kreator? Yeah.
You released a single for the song "Chosen Few" off of Endorama.  Is that the first single you guys have released? Yeah.
Was that your idea or the label's? The label's.  It was our idea to put the videos on it.  I don't know if you have that version…
I don't have it yet, but I was going to buy it just to see the videos. Is it available in the States?
No, but you can get it from CDnow and other mail-order places. It's interesting because in the States there seems to be no TV station that play videos of that kind of music, so we put these on the CD so that people with a computer can watch the videos.
Can you tell me a bit about the videos? One is for "Endorama" and it has me and the guy from Lacrimosa.  The other is to "Chosen Few," which has footage out of a movie that comes out in Germany soon called Trek.  It's kind of a road movie, very brutal, very aggressive.  It fitted the song for some reason, so we gave them a couple of our songs for the soundtrack.  I don't think it is every coming out in the States, but it should be out here pretty soon.
Would you like to do more soundtracks in the future? Oh yeah, that's always fun.
Do you like doing videos? Yeah, it's a lot of fun.  I love the new videos.  I wish I had more money to do the videos, though.  Maybe one day, we force our record label to give us so much money that we make the video that we are completely happy with.
kreator-terrorzone.de
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agl03 · 4 years
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Final Predictions:  How did I do?
What I got will be in BOLD and if I feel I need to add notes they will be in italics.  Might have to toss in a keep reading line because it is long.
Everyone’s favorite villains, Nathaniel, Kora, and SIBYL will all make it to the finale while Garrett will be killed or locked up by the end of the first hour (and it will use some of Fitz’s tech).
SIBYL will eventually get herself a new body.
Nathaniel will turn on Kora and try to take her powers and/or kill her.
Kora has already turned on him and he/we just don’t know it yet.  Either betrays him and helps her sister or tries to kill him herself in revenge for her mother.  Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.  
Daisy will be the one to end Nathaniel and it will be oh so satisfying giant fight scene….even if we have to wait until the second hour for it.  Bonus points if Sousa get a hit in first too
Coulson, May, and Elena are able to get to space thanks to Coulson’s new computer Genius Super Power OR Garrett is ordered to bring them so they can lord their victory over them all.  
Even though they have pretty much ended Shield and Hydra in the “hot mess” timeline SIBYL and Nathaniel set their sites on the OG Timeline and/or Fitz once they realize he has come into the mix and ruins their plans in the hot mess timeline..   As they are both aware he is the one who ends their little party.
The Chronicoms will not all be super thrilled with what SIBYL has been up too or her methods.   This could be another thing that drives SIBYL into the OG Timeline.  
The battle between SIBYL and Coulson seems to have gotten a bit more personal so my money is on Coulson being the one to take her down.   Close second goes to May and Fitzsimmons.
Diana didn’t only block Memories of Fitz it took out the memories of people associated with him.  IE she is not going to remember her friends or Deke.
Deke will earn her trust quickly and be an A+ overprotective grandson of his Nana as they are rescued and get back to the team.
The team will rescue Deke and Jemma, take out a few Chronicoms, and Independence Day their way out of there.
While it won’t be the romantic Philinda some fans want we will see some quality Philinda banter over the finale as it seems they’ve settled into a good place between the two.   Coulson has also passed the torch of “team parent” onto her.
Philinda will not end as a couple.
At some point Sousa is really going to question what is going on and his life choices.  AKA He looks around stunned at what is going on.
More quality Dousy flirting and banter….they will kiss again and I do see them being a couple when things end.
Fitzsimmons family feels just a lot of them over the whole finale.  Iain and Elizabeth are going to murder us with feels.  I mean Fitz with his little girl.  I shall perish.
Despite not knowing everyone Jemma is going to be super insistent on building or activating a device (that has been stashed on the Zephyr) that she doesn’t know what it does but just knows she needs to build and activate it.  She will be the only one who can activate it and possibly it will take something very personal of hers to turn it on.  IE how she was hiding Fitz’s ring/necklace in Season 6 she might have the key hiding again.  But lets all freak out that Jemma will literally be the key to getting Fitz.
We won’t see Fitz until near the end of 12 if he is not the cliffhanger.  
That Bar place in the promo pics is either Keonig’s Bar or the Playground of the hot mess Timeline.  Seems to be some sort of secret Shield Base or what is left of them after the big attack as there are some random Shield agents milling/wth/who are these people in the background.  We know The Playground was off the books in the OG Timeline and would make sense it was also in the Hot mess.
Jemma will have her memory resorted relatively quickly after Fitz Kool Aid Man’s in all Star Lord from the portal thing Jemma activates.  And it’ll be the freaking power of her love for Fitz/her Family that overloads her (Gimme my Framework fix here).  Or Fitzsimmons have a fail safe password.  BUT GIMME TRUE LOVE.  Okay I’m calling this one close enough!
CUE THE SECRET CHILD REVEAL!!!!!!!!!!   Yes, I will be screaming.  The team will be stunned.
I’m sticking to my theory that they will give their daughter a “celestial” or astronomical name to pay off “One of these days we’ll find something magnificent out in space,” thing from Season 3 (especially if she was conceived on the way back from Kitson).  Or a name that is very reflective of their Scottish/English roots.  
Everyone needs to hold onto their hats because once Jemma has her memories back it will be because they are gonna want to get home to their Little Girl like yesterday and have one hell of a plan that involves saving the world and taking care of Nathaniel, SIBYL, and the Season 6 Finale attack on the Lighthouse.
This is likely where a ton of the Flashbacks come in.
Where has Fitz been?  He’s been back in our OG Timeline.  The finale confirmation for me came last week when Nathaniel revealed that SIBYL’s time stream couldn’t see him….or their daughter, and that thing sees EVERYTHING in the HOT MESS Timeline.  This would also be why Jemma’s messages didn’t reach him, she couldn’t get them to cross into the OG Timeline and this was something she would have known but Diana blocked as part of hiding where Fitz was.
How has Fitz been watching the Chronicoms?  Insert incredibly complicated timey whimy thing the writers came up with that me and my Marketing degree can not fathom so just go with it okay, via the using the Framework in the OG Timeline to get into the Chronicom’s system.  Little pay back for what SIBYL has been doing in the Hot Mess Timeline.  Him being connected to the Framework explains why he was so exposed.  Because when someone is hooked up to that thing they can get their heads cut off and not know it.
Now reunited and having dropped the baby announcement Fitzsimmons will present the plan for the “Final Mission” the team must embark on to save the world….again.  
And oh baby is it complicated.  
Part of said plan will have them back at the Lighthouse during the Chronicom attack.
The dudes that showed up with Jemma at the Temple will be explained.  IE I think its some of the team and they cleared out of the Zephyr before the time travel party got started.  They also may have grabbed other hunks of the monoliths.
The fight will take place in both the Hot Mess and OG Timelines  
We have not seen the last of the Monoliths.  The fact we are jumping timelines and have Flint in the mix over in the OG timeline makes me think they are gonna need Mr. Swirly’s help in doing said jumping (Mr. Swirly is the Grey Monolith).  Or they really go with the OG and its Harold (Black Space one) that allows for it.  Kind of fitting the Monolith that tore Fitzsimmons apart is now the one that reunites them.  
We will for sure see Enoch (via Flashback), Davis (please not by Flashback #davislivesagain), Piper and Flint as returning Favorites.  
If they have Davis back to life I just gesture exhaustedly at the Monoliths again.  Not even gonna try to explain it.
Small chance we run into the Hot Mess’s Timeline Enoch but he will have no relationship or connection to the team and will make me cry.  
Top Picks for SURPRISE not on the Press Release faces to pop up if we get them:   Ward (I mean really how have we not seen him again yet), Mace, Robbie, Bobbi, Hunter, Koenig (any of them) and Mike.    REALLY WANT IT BUT WON”T GET IT!   Dadcliffe  But YOUNG VICTORIA HAND HECK YES!
Who was keeping Fitzsimmons Daughter safe:  
Top Pick:  Piper and Flint:  Given Fitzsimmons would have run into them picking up the Zephyr and they could have been the “we had help” they talked about.
Second Place Because I Badly want him back:  Uncle Enoch 2.0
Left Field Surprise Option:  Huntingbird
LOLA RETURNS
We will get a lot of really fun callbacks to past stories or even lines IE “I’m just the Pilot” For May.
“What We Are Fighting For”:  Family.  The team family….and the Fitzsimmons family.  Also they will have gone 13/13 in that someone will say the titles name at some point in the episode.
We will see old weapons and tech from previous seasons make one last appearance, we’ve seen 2 so far in promos and will see more.
Shotgun Axe gets a proper send off in battle (this one is for Kiddo 3)
Bear will deliver the most amazing soundtrack that we’ll never get to buy.
Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story (Sorry Couldn’t Resist)
Nathaniel:  Dies, and we will all cheer.
SIBYL:  Dies, and we will all cheer.
Garrett:  Dies or locked up, won’t make it to the second hour.
Kora:  Toss a coin.  If she dies she killed for trying to take down Nathaniel.  If in her betrayal of Nathaniel she helps Daisy get Jemma and Deke back that could be a good starting place for the sisters to work thing out.   Starting place, she has a long way to go to get in good with Daisy and setting up an 11th hour redemption arc.
Mack:  Still so nervous for him based on how he has been in interviews, especially the SDCC ones last year.  He was so clearly upset by it.  So Mack either falls or does something so out of character (Bails before the finale battle which just is not making sense to me Mack is in such a good place right now) for Mack that Henry was upset by it.  Essentially I am very confused because what I am seeing on screen now isn’t matching with how Henry was talking as Mack has really come around since his Endgame stage.   Henry really I have no idea why you were so upset!
Elena:   Easily lives.  If Mack doesn’t die, wherever he lands she’ll be with him.  They’ve been a steady ship all season and I see no reason for them to break up outside of death.  And while I have a mountain of concerns for Mack, I have none for Elena..   I also see her still being a presence within Shield, she’s become a good solid agent, and bonus points if she keeps Flint with her….and he gets all the tacos he wants.  
Sousa:   Totally lives (they might give us a good fake out though because he and Daisy are becoming a thing)I can still see him being Director of Shield if Mack falls or steps down.   He’s a good Agent in a new time but he said he is right where he is supposed to be, at Daisy’s side.  Where she goes he goes.  IE he’s not letting her get away and will always be there after she runs into a wall.  So if Daisy leaves Shield, so will he.  If she stays so will he.  If she opens a coffee bar he’ll learn to make an espresso.  
Daisy:   Totally Lives, but there will be something about her ending that some fans won’t like and some fans are going to love.   Staying with Shield or no whatever she does will involve Inhumans be it the Secret Warriors are up and running again, she is mentoring and training new Inhumans coming into Shield, or my favorite option still is she reopens Afterlife.  I’ve been feeling that option for most of the Season and feel like it was really set up with Jaiying as was Daisy looking out for her little sister should the chips fall the right way.     The SS Dousy will be sailing right along.  IF Kora survives I can see her being in Afterlife as well, Daisy taking her mother’s passion that Kora has a good heart to heart herself.  
Deke:   Okay this one is weird because I feel like we are going to lose him somehow, but he won’t die.  I didn’t get the vibe from Jeff, Elizabeth, or Iain that he died and those three are pretty tight.  However,  in that I don’t think I’m going to get my Fitzsimmons Family all settling down in a giant castle in Scotland together.  They set up for him to make a sacrifice, he’s grown, and has something he’s really truly fighting for.   I have loved seeing how close he and Jemma have gotten and how fiercely he’s protected her and her secret.  Even in the face of torture he didn’t betray her.  It will come as no surprise if he doesn’t sacrifice himself somehow.  Either in taking a hit for his family or doing something similar to what he did in Season 5 to make sure they got home.  Bringing things full circle.   He also expressed that he wouldn’t mind being stuck in the hot mess timeline in ‘83.  He built himself a nice life there and Nathaniel did a pretty good job of taking out Hydra…with just a bit of Shield hanging on.  So if it comes down to it I don’t see him minding if he gets stuck there.  Sure him saying goodbye to Nana and Bobo is gonna hurt like Hades but if he ends up alive, I’m good.  
Fitzsimmons:  Both live, yes they will scare the crap out of us more than a few times especially after we know about the daughter, but they will live.  Totally peace out, we’ve done our time, leaving Shield with the adorable daughter and its Perthshire or Bust.   They’ve sacrificed enough and will not be willing to risk it again.
May:   Lives and reminds us all that she is one hell of a pilot.  If Mack decides he wants to step down, dies, whatever I’ll throw her back in contention for Director, especially as I see Sousa Following Daisy if she leaves.  Coulson seemed to have set her on that path and at the very least passed the “Team Parent” torch onto her, that it would be her job to give the Coulson talks to those who needed it.  If she’s not Director, she’ll be whomever is right hand, or I still have that option for the Academy being up and running and she’s running that, training the next generation.
Coulson: Lives.I know SHOCKING.   I think he was very ready to throw in the towel after spending 20 months in the TV but then Enoch’s moving words in his death were what changed his mind about ‘powering down” when this is all over.  Coulson realizes that yes, while it is hard to be the one to leave it is harder for the ones that are left behind but it’s also necessary that they move on, and live for those they have lost before.  Like Sousa and Fitzsimmons, he’ll be another that they’ll fake out death a few times.   I see him leaving Shield though, taking Lola and finally just going and seeing the world, watching the history he loves so much happen.  We get to see him driving around or even off in Lola for the last time.   Other options include he does something that will allow him to totally run with his new super computer super power.  The final thing I can see him doing is being the coolest professor at the newly rebooted Academy.  
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andytgerm · 7 years
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Oscar Picks! Get Your Fresh Unique Oscar Picks Here!
TI did good this year! In terms of preparation, I mean. These picks are probably godawful, a losing combination of switching between going with my gut or my heart or my head. But, I have seen all but THREE of the nominated films (2 animated, 1 foreign language), which is, I think, very good for someone with no connections for screener access. Also, I thought it was, on the whole, a good group of nominees, in that I only wanted to die while watching, like, 3 of the movies.
So, without further ado, my mostly informed picks for tonight!
Best picture: “Arrival” “Fences” “Hacksaw Ridge” “Hell or High Water” “Hidden Figures” “La La Land” “Lion” “Manchester by the Sea” “Moonlight”
La La Land has been “controversial” since more than festival-goers saw it because it’s been the front runner for so long. But it will surprise few to learn that I think it’s great! Deeply considered and moving, and with thematic depth, plus the kind of razzmatazz I’m a complete sucker for. Frankly, I don’t see a ton of differences between it and, say, Mad Max: Fury Road in terms of craft and skill displayed, but it’s been dinged because the perception is that it is light and unserious and a rip-off or what-have-you. Or too jazzy, or maybe the wrong kind of jazzy? Anyway, it’s definitely winning, and in a line-up with only 2.5 movies I didn’t as least think were “mostly good” (Hacksaw is pretty bad, Lion is meh-nipulative, and Hidden Figures is a little obvious, but otherwise I like ‘em all!), I’m not really mad about it and probably would vote for it because it appeals to my taste so specifically.
Will Win: La La Land Should Win: La La Land Dark Horse: Moonlight
Lead actor: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea” Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge” Ryan Gosling, “La La Land,” Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic” Denzel Washington, “Fences”
The most high profile competitive race, despite it being one of the weaker categories this year. The battle of the narratives is strong here, and I wonder if it’s been overblown a little bit. BUT, the competitor is who I would pick, so I’m going to lean into hope and go in that direction. Garfield is nominated for the wrong movie (you didn’t see Silence, but he was great), and he’s kind of a cartoon in Hacksaw with his VERY broad accent. Gosling’s charming, but the center of the so-called “backlash” against LLL with his jazz love. Captain Fantastic is a bad movie that buys into Viggo’s characters world-view too much to be anything but self-indulgent claptrap and also has no support anywhere else. Affleck’s got the momentum and a great performance, but Washington’s got the monologues. Both playing frustrating characters, one for talking so much without doing enough listening, the other for not communicating at all. My vote goes to the excellent August Wilson interpretation, again, due to personal taste leanings.
Will Win: Denzel Washington Should Win: Denzel Washington Dark Horse Smart Pick: Casey Affleck
Lead actress: Isabelle Huppert, “Elle” Ruth Negga, “Loving” Natalie Portman, “Jackie” Emma Stone, “La La Land” Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”
GREAT category. God, so many great female lead performances this year. My personal pick is probably the sadly un-nominated Annette Benning in 20th Century Woman, who is so subtle and great and does some of the best “watching and listening” acting you’ll ever see. But Ruth Negga probably takes the subtle and unshowy slot, and she’s terrific too, so I can’t complain too much. Given this choice selection, I’d go for the probable winner, because, seriously, Emma Stone is charming and funny and deep and complicated in La La Land, plus she gets to do a big 11 o’clock number. Huppert’s probably the potential upset, she’s got momentum and gets to do a LOT of different unusual things in Elle. Portman never seemed to reach full potential, but she’s a strong center in Jackie once you get used to the big choices and latch on to the movie’s wavelength. Streep Streeps it up and does all the things you love.
Will Win: Emma Stone Should Win: Annette Benning Emma Stone Dark Horse: Isabelle Huppert
Supporting actor: Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight” Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water” Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea” Dev Patel, “Lion” Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals”
Another strong category, though the Shannon nomination for that nothingburger of a movie is regrettable (he’s at least the CORRECT supporting actor to go with). Bridges is great, turning on a dime when The Big Dramatic Thing happens at the end of that terrific movie, having kept you laughing the whole way to that moment. Patel’s fine, but his section of the movie does not fulfill the potential suggested by in the first part. Mahershala Ali is another great watching and listening performance, and his raw and simple connection with Little, especially in the scene where he explains what “faggot” means to him, is so delicately beautiful. Hedges, though, is unexpected and confounding in the best way. His character is trying his best to make the best of a bad situation, giving his all, even though he’s not grown up enough to have that be enough all the time. It’s a terrific honest and unexpected portrait of grief in a movie full of contrasting pictures, and I’m really excited to see what he does next.
Will Win: Mahershala Ali Should Win: Lucas Hedges Dark Horse: Jeff Bridges
Supporting actress: Viola Davis, “Fences” Naomie Harris, “Moonlight” Nicole Kidman, “Lion” Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures” Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”
Octavia would not be my Hidden Figures pick (how about that Janelle Monae, huh?) but she does have that killer line in that great scene with Kirsten Dunst. Kidman I sadly found forgettable (but check out Big Little Lies on HBO, you guys). Naomie Harris gets the most recognizable/predictable arc in Moonlight, but she sells the hell out of it. And doing it in three days!? That’s incredible. Michelle has the big scene that’s the closest we get to catharsis in Manchester, and is maybe doing the best job of “Supporting” in a way that many of these other performances aren’t. But holy hell does Viola deliver everything you would want her to in that part. I have no beef with her placement here, and she gives great watching/listening, great monologuing, and has the best scene of the movie (that night time phone call) centered on her. Gosh it’ll be great to see her win.
Will Win: Viola Davis Should Win: Viola Davis Dark Horse: Michelle Williams, I guess, but c’mon.
Best director: “La La Land,” Damien Chazelle “Hacksaw Ridge,” Mel Gibson “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins “Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan “Arrival,” Denis Villeneuve
Oh, hey, I haven’t had the chance to say anything about it yet, but Arrival is really great and full of ideas and feelings, and to see it nominated here is great! But this is a Jenkins/Chazelle race, and La La Land fever is definitely strong within the Academy.
Will Win: Damien Chazelle Should Win: Really, I’d be glad do see anyone but Gibson, but I guess I’d go with Denis Villeneuve in the interest of spreading the wealth? Dark Horse: Barry Jenkins
Animated feature: “Kubo and the Two Strings,” Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner “Moana,” John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras and Max Karli “The Red Turtle,” Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki “Zootopia,” Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer
This is one of my “I haven’t seen them all categories” which is too bad because I like seeing animated films a bunch, but Zucchini and Red Turtle have not made it to my neck of the woods yet. I liked Zootopia a lot, though I found its second half less engaging on second viewing, and I think the villain is telegraphed a bit too heavily. But that beginning, and getting to know the world, plus its thematic depth will make it a worthy winner. Kubo is GREAT and fun and moving, perhaps a bit let down by its vocal cast, but otherwise gives you everything you could want in an animated film. But Moana is a Disney musical, and if you haven’t figured it out already, I’m a sucker for those (they make me cry just by, like, structure? Like, opening establishing musical numbers emotionally move me to tears just because they exist?). And it’s one that doesn’t forget it’s a musical halfway through.
Will Win: Zootopia Should Win: Moana Dark Horse: Kubo and the Two Strings
Animated short: “Blind Vaysha,” Theodore Ushev “Borrowed Time,” Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj “Pear Cider and Cigarettes,” Robert Valley and Cara Speller “Pearl,” Patrick Osborne “Piper,” Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer
This crop was just ok this year, I thought, though seeking out the shorts is always one of my favorite parts of Oscar season. Borrowed Time was my surprise favorite, and is heftier than you think it’s going to be. Pear Cider is... a lot, and not always in a good way, but the style is good. Blind Vaysha’s a bit much, but has got a great Caroline Dhavernas voice-over. Piper’s level of detail is jaw-dropping. And Pearl’s got tech innovations and well-calibrated sentimentality, so that gives it the edge for me.
Will Win: Pearl Should Win: Borrowed Time Dark Horse: Piper
Adapted screenplay: “Arrival,” Eric Heisserer “Fences,” August Wilson “Hidden Figures,” Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi “Lion,” Luke Davies “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney
I mean, am I gonna not give a theoretical award to August Wilson? Well, predictions-wise, yes, but god that script is so deep and fascinating. This is an easy area for them to recognize the great achievement of Moonlight, and it is certainly a win I can get behind, three well-told connected stories is no easy feat.
Will Win: Moonlight Should Win: Fences Dark Horse: Arrival
Original screenplay: “20th Century Women,” Mike Mills “Hell or High Water,” Taylor Sheridan “La La Land,” Damien Chazelle “The Lobster,” Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou “Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan
20th Century Women! That’s a hell of a script, and it moves so beautifully and delicately. What a wonder of a miracle that movie is! The Lobster is prickly and the dialogue is very mannered, but the conceptual originality is undeniable. Hell or High Water has a lot more on its mind than you go in expecting, and was a huge surprise favorite for me, with some terrific duet scenes (Pine and his kid! Pine and Bridges!) and wonderful cameo sized characters (Texans with guns! Waitresses!). In hopes of a “spread the wealth” mentality, I’m predicting Manchester, though, as it’s not favored much elsewhere, and it certainly is written with depth and insight.
Will Win: Manchester by the Sea Should Win: 20th Century Women Dark Horse Smart Pick: La La Land
Cinematography: “Arrival,” Bradford Young “La La Land,” Linus Sandgren “Lion,” Greig Fraser “Moonlight,” James Laxton “Silence,” Rodrigo Prieto
These are all great!
Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Moonlight Dark Horse: Moonlight
Best documentary feature: “13th,” Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish “Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo “I Am Not Your Negro,” Raoul Peck, Remi Grellety and Hebert Peck “Life, Animated,” Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman “O.J.: Made in America,” Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow
Many of these are also great! And the three that are centered on the African American experience are a nice trilogy together. But, c’mon, OJ is a TV miniseries.
Will Win: O.J.: Made in America Should Win: I Am Not Your Negro Dark Horse: 13th
Best documentary short subject: “4.1 Miles,” Daphne Matziaraki “Extremis,” Dan Krauss “Joe’s Violin,” Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen “Watani: My Homeland,” Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis “The White Helmets,” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara
Boy, this is an emotional killer of a category. After seeing all 5 in one night on the big screen, I tweeted “Saw all the Oscar doc shorts tonight, and they were crushing, but if seeing all of any 1 category would make one a better person, that's it.“ and I stand by that. Illuminating and tough, a great group of shorts.
Will Win: The White Helmets Should Win: Watani: My Homeland Dark Horse: Extremis
Best live action short film: “Ennemis Interieurs,” Selim Azzazi “La Femme et le TGV,” Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff “Silent Nights,” Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson “Sing,” Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy “Timecode,” Juanjo Gimenez
This was definitely the weakest shorts category. I enthusiastically liked one of them (Sing) and thought another one was fun (Timecode), but the rest I found inaccessible (Ennemis Interieurs) or verging on sappy (La Femme/Silent Nights). My cynical self thought Silent Nights (sentimental, but deals with Important Social Issues) would win the moment I saw it, though I have heard of no one who is a fan. Still gonna guess it, so I can be pleasantly surprised when it loses.
Will Win: Silent Nights Should Win: Sing Dark Horse: Ennemis Interiurs
Best foreign language film: “A Man Called Ove,” Sweden “Land of Mine,” Denmark “Tanna,” Australia “The Salesman,” Iran “Toni Erdmann,” Germany
I was blown away and cannot stop thinking about The Salesman. That movies got staying power, plus it received extra attention with the awful Travel Ban, so that makes it an easy prediction. I haven’t seen Land of Mine. Tanna was pretty and simple and unique, but didn’t really hold together upon reflection. Ove is pitched right to the older sentimental voter, and I guess it’s a pretty ok version of that story. Toni Erdmann’s got the cool film fan vote, and it had like 3 of my deepest, most gut-busting laughs of the crop, but it took a long time for me to get on board with it.
Will Win: The Salesman Should Win: The Salesman Dark Horse: Toni Erdmann
Film editing: “Arrival,” Joe Walker “Hacksaw Ridge,” John Gilbert “Hell or High Water,” Jake Roberts “La La Land,” Tom Cross “Moonlight,” Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon
Another easy area for La La Land to rack up a sweep, and it’s certainly got rhythm and pizzazz going for it. Moonlight’s got some terrific wordless sequences though, and can hold a long shot with the best of them.
Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Moonlight Dark Horse: Moonlight
Sound editing: “Arrival,” Sylvain Bellemare “Deep Water Horizon,” Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli “Hacksaw Ridge,” Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright ���La La Land,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan “Sully,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman
Arrival made up all those alien noises, which were really essential to you buying into the movie. Deepwater Horizon was a better watch than I expected, and it certainly explores all the different ways an oil rig can blow up with sound. Sully’s got those birds. Don’t forget the birds. But this is a big war movie category, and the most high profile one of the night will *sigh* probably win here.
Will Win: Hacksaw Ridge Should Win: Arrival Dark Horse: La La Land (sweeps can be powerful, you guys)
Sound mixing: “Arrival,” Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye “Hacksaw Ridge,” Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace “La La Land,” Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth
I watched Michael Bay’s Benghazi movie and all I got was vague credibility when predicting this lousy Oscars category (it was bad). Musicals do well here, though I think La La Land is weaker than many think here because a lot of folks complain that they couldn’t understand the lyrics (I thought the mixing was fine, but they maybe should have chosen singers with more powerful voices?).
Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Arrival Dark Horse: Hacksaw Ridge
Production design: “Arrival,” Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock “Hail, Caesar!,” Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh “La La Land,” David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco “Passengers,” Guy Hendrix Dyas, Gene Serdena
Sweepin’ gonna sweep. How bout Hail, Caesar!, tho?
Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Hail, Caesar! Dark Horse: Arrival
Original score: “Jackie,” Mica Levi “La La Land,” Justin Hurwitz “Lion,” Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka “Moonlight,” Nicholas Britell “Passengers,” Thomas Newman
Original musical! I’ve been humming and feeling the great instrumental themes form La La Land since I saw it.
Will Win: La La Land Should Win: La La Land Dark Horse: Jackie
Original song: “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” “Trolls” — Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster “City of Stars,” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul “The Empty Chair,” “Jim: The James Foley Story” — Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting “How Far I’ll Go,” “Moana” — Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda
This is a heartbreaker category, where is Popstar? Where is Swiss Army Man? Where is Sing Street? Why those La La Land songs? I’ve gotta go with my sort-of Twitter buddy Lin Manuel Miranda (he followed me for a little while, OK? Get off my back!), even if he’s many not who most are predicting. Plus, if Pasek and Paul lap him and EGOT in a year, I’ll be pissed at how rude that is.
Will Win: “How Far I’ll Go” Should Win: “How Far I’ll Go” (really for the second reprise, but it’s good at first too!) Dark Horse: “City of Stars” (though Audition is better, and Someone in the Crowd’s the best song in the movie)
Makeup and hair: “A Man Called Ove,” Eva von Bahr and Love Larson “Star Trek Beyond,” Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo “Suicide Squad,” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson
Realistic old person makeup is hard to bet against, and I really don’t want to live in the Oscar Winner Suicide Squad world. Star Trek’s got really good work in this category, too, though.
Will Win: A Man Called Ove Should Win: Star Trek Beyond Dark Horse: Star Trek Beyond
Costume design: “Allied,” Joanna Johnston “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Colleen Atwood “Florence Foster Jenkins,” Consolata Boyle “Jackie,” Madeline Fontaine “La La Land,” Mary Zophres
This is far from my best/most knowledgable category, but I’ll be happy if contemporary memorable designs from La La Land get it as expected.
Will Win: La La Land Should Win: La La Land Dark Horse: Jackie
Visual effects: “Deepwater Horizon,” Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton “Doctor Strange,” Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould “The Jungle Book,” Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon “Kubo and the Two Strings,” Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould
Did you see all those animals in the Jungle Book? And the note at the end about how it was filmed in California? That was really cool. Doctor Strange was great fun in this area too. But Kubo had a special features real showcasing this work during the credits, so it moves up in the running for me.
Will Win: The Jungle Book Should Win: The Jungle Book Dark Horse: Kubo and the Two Strings
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biofunmy · 4 years
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The Good, the Bad and the Bizarre for the Knicks and the Nets
The Knicks and Nets have had disappointing seasons thus far, punctuated by both teams losing to the Los Angeles Lakers this week.
On some level, this was to be expected. The Knicks seemed to have a poorly constructed roster with too many forwards. The Nets, having traded D’Angelo Russell to make way for Kyrie Irving, were expected to be better than .500 but with lumps, given that this season is a bridge year as the franchise awaits Kevin Durant’s likely return next season. The lumps have, instead, been mountains.
It hasn’t been all bad, though. There have been some rousing wins, great plays and signs of a bright future for each team. At the halfway mark of the season, we give you the good, the bad and the bizarre.
The Knicks
Overview: This might end up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Barring some miracle, the Knicks will not make the playoffs, again. The team showed a spark after David Fizdale (4-18) was fired and Mike Miller (8-15) took over as the interim head coach. But most of the young players, like Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina and Mitchell Robinson, have not played much better than they did last year. The veterans — Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson — haven’t fit well together. Dennis Smith Jr. has missed half the season with injuries and has been unproductive when he has made it on the court.
At least R.J. Barrett, even though he has struggled with his shot, looks to have a long career in front of him. He is a strong defender with a knack for hustle plays. But even so, this feels like yet another lost season for the Knicks.
Best Win: Nov. 8 at Dallas, 106-102
The Knicks got their first road win of the year in early November against a surprisingly good Mavericks team. The Knicks also got a strong all-around performance out of Marcus Morris Sr. — 29 points on 22 shots — and they needed all of it, since Luca Doncic scored 38 points for Dallas. It was the first time Kristaps Porzingis had faced his former team as an opponent, and he dropped a line nearly identical to Morris Sr.’s: 28 points on 22 shots.
The win came after blowout losses by 21 (against Sacramento) and 20 (at Detroit) and improved the Knicks’ record to 2-7.
Worst Loss: Dec. 2 at Milwaukee, 132-88
At one point, this game was 0-0, which is about the best thing you can say for the Knicks. They were down 18 at the end of the first quarter and things progressively got worse. At halftime, the Bucks were up 72-45, effectively ending the game with two quarters left, giving Milwaukee its 12th straight win. The Knicks season had already become dreary. The loss put them at 4-17.
Play of the Half-Year: Mitchell Robinson, Dec. 26 at the Nets
Ntilikina drove the right side off a soft pick and roll set by Robinson early in the second quarter. Once Ntilikina got near the basket, he lobbed a pass near the rim that Robinson caught well behind his head and viciously threw down as some Nets defenders ducked for cover. It was the kind of alley oop that very few players can catch, but Robinson is one of them. While he still fouls too often, he has improved slightly this season and remains a reliable shotblocker. No one on the Knicks is more likely to generate highlight-reel plays.
Most Bizarre Moment: Nov. 10, Madison Square Garden
After the Knicks were blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers, dropping them to 2-8, Steve Mills, the team’s president, and Scott Perry, the general manager, held an impromptu news conference to tell reporters that the Knicks brass was unhappy with the direction of the team. They did not take any responsibility for how that team was constructed, though, aside from Mills’ saying, “We think we collectively have to do a better job of delivering the product on the floor that we said we would do at the start of the season.” Mills said the team still had faith in Fizdale, whom he fired less than a month later.
Bright Spot: Marcus Morris Sr.
Morris Sr. is not a part of the Knicks future. He is a prospective free agent, and while he has said the right things about staying with the Knicks, there are certainly playoff contenders who will want to shell out some cash for his talents.
But he is having the best year of his career and is the team’s most reliable performer. He’s averaging a career high in points (19.1) on a solid 58.3 true shooting percentage. His 3-point percentage is at the core of his efficiency — 45.7 percent — good for third in the N.B.A., behind George Hill and J.J. Redick. He’s shooting better from outside than he is from inside the arc (42.8 percent), but he also is averaging a career high in free-throw attempts per game (4.6). The team’s offensive rating is 106.4 when Morris is playing and 99.9 when he is not. To put that in perspective, 106.4 would place the Knicks 22nd in the league in offense; 99.9 would be dead last by a large margin.
The Nets
Overview: This season was always supposed to be a wash, but the injuries to players like Irving (missed 26 games with a shoulder injury) and Caris LeVert (missed 24 games with a thumb injury) have hampered the team’s development in the short term. Irving has already publicly suggested that the team needs more pieces to contend for a championship. The Nets might not even make the playoffs this year, which would, even for a wash season, be a setback. But unlike the Knicks, the Nets have Durant waiting in the wings. That will always temper whatever happens this season.
Best Win: Nov. 29 vs. Boston, 112-107
Getting a win against a division rival is great. Doing it without your best player is even better. Spencer Dinwiddie put on a show, pouring in 32 points and dishing 11 assists, giving Nets fans early hope that the team could stay afloat without Irving. And they did. They moved above .500 for only the second time all season, after losing to Boston just two days earlier. The Nets would win six of their next nine, before hitting a seven-game losing skid.
Worst Loss: Nov. 2 at Detroit, 113-109
It seems unfair to include any loss without Irving, so I won’t. I’ll pick an early November loss to Detroit because it was a winnable game, and Irving had a triple double (20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists). The Nets even had a 13-point second-half lead. This is the kind of loss that haunts you when it comes to seeding or just trying to make the playoffs. The loss dropped the Nets to 2-4. They had no answer for Andre Drummond, who scored 25 points and snatched 20 rebounds. The Nets have more talent than the Pistons, even without Durant. This one should have been a win. (The Oct. 27 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies warrants a special mention, but a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer in overtime against a decent team gets sympathy.)
Play of the Half-Year: Spencer Dinwiddie, Nov. 25 at Cleveland
Dinwiddie hit a midrange pull-up with 1.6 seconds left to win the game for the Nets, 108-106. The Cavaliers are not a good team, but any win without Irving was valuable for the Nets. There are plenty of dazzling ball handing displays from Irving that also merit consideration — but we are partial to game winners.
Most Bizarre Moment: Jan. 15, Philadelphia
After a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Irving told reporters that the gap in talent between championship contenders and the Nets was “glaring, in terms of the pieces that we need in order to be at that next level.” He would go on to list several players who he suggested were a part of the championship core. He did not list the whole team, of course, and the quote was seen as a slight to the unnamed.
Of course, Irving was correct. Not all the players on the Nets right now will be part of a championship core. But as a leader, there are some things you just don’t say out loud. What made the comment especially baffling was that it was only Irving’s second game back from his injury — and the Nets had performed better in his absence.
He had a terrible game against the Sixers, shooting 6 of 21 from the field. In a game where the Nets lost by 11 points, the team was outscored by 29 points when Irving was on the floor. In addition, Irving has a history of throwing shots at teammates, particularly in Boston last season. All seems to be fine right now for the Nets, but Irving’s track record suggests that as the losses pile up, there will be more flare-ups. And even the prospect of having his close friend Durant to pass the ball to might not be enough to limit them.
Bright Spot: Spencer Dinwiddie
Dinwiddie carried the Nets while Irving and LeVert were injured. He led the team in scoring in 21 of the 26 contests that Irving missed. In those games, Dinwiddie scored at least 30 points six times. He was the offense for a team that lacked playmakers once Irving went down. If the Nets make the playoffs, the 13-13 stretch without Irving will have been crucial to get there. During that time, with Dinwiddie on the court, the Nets had a 112.6 offensive rating. This would be good for one of the best offenses in the N.B.A., extrapolated over a full season. When Dinwiddie was off the floor, the Nets were at 89.9 during this period — which would easily be last in the league.
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mastcomm · 4 years
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The Good, the Bad and the Bizarre for the Knicks and the Nets
The Knicks and Nets have had disappointing seasons thus far, punctuated by both teams losing to the Los Angeles Lakers this week.
On some level, this was to be expected. The Knicks seemed to have a poorly constructed roster with too many forwards. The Nets, having traded D’Angelo Russell to make way for Kyrie Irving, were expected to be better than .500 but with lumps, given that this season is a bridge year as the franchise awaits Kevin Durant’s likely return next season. The lumps have, instead, been mountains.
It hasn’t been all bad, though. There have been some rousing wins, great plays and signs of a bright future for each team. At the halfway mark of the season, we give you the good, the bad and the bizarre.
The Knicks
Overview: This might end up being one of the worst seasons in franchise history. Barring some miracle, the Knicks will not make the playoffs, again. The team showed a spark after David Fizdale (4-18) was fired and Mike Miller (8-15) took over as the interim head coach. But most of the young players, like Kevin Knox, Frank Ntilikina and Mitchell Robinson, have not played much better than they did last year. The veterans — Julius Randle, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson — haven’t fit well together. Dennis Smith Jr. has missed half the season with injuries and has been unproductive when he has made it on the court.
At least R.J. Barrett, even though he has struggled with his shot, looks to have a long career in front of him. He is a strong defender with a knack for hustle plays. But even so, this feels like yet another lost season for the Knicks.
Best Win: Nov. 8 at Dallas, 106-102
The Knicks got their first road win of the year in early November against a surprisingly good Mavericks team. The Knicks also got a strong all-around performance out of Marcus Morris Sr. — 29 points on 22 shots — and they needed all of it, since Luca Doncic scored 38 points for Dallas. It was the first time Kristaps Porzingis had faced his former team as an opponent, and he dropped a line nearly identical to Morris Sr.’s: 28 points on 22 shots.
The win came after blowout losses by 21 (against Sacramento) and 20 (at Detroit) and improved the Knicks’ record to 2-7.
Worst Loss: Dec. 2 at Milwaukee, 132-88
At one point, this game was 0-0, which is about the best thing you can say for the Knicks. They were down 18 at the end of the first quarter and things progressively got worse. At halftime, the Bucks were up 72-45, effectively ending the game with two quarters left, giving Milwaukee its 12th straight win. The Knicks season had already become dreary. The loss put them at 4-17.
Play of the Half-Year: Mitchell Robinson, Dec. 26 at the Nets
Ntilikina drove the right side off a soft pick and roll set by Robinson early in the second quarter. Once Ntilikina got near the basket, he lobbed a pass near the rim that Robinson caught well behind his head and viciously threw down as some Nets defenders ducked for cover. It was the kind of alley oop that very few players can catch, but Robinson is one of them. While he still fouls too often, he has improved slightly this season and remains a reliable shotblocker. No one on the Knicks is more likely to generate highlight-reel plays.
Most Bizarre Moment: Nov. 10, Madison Square Garden
After the Knicks were blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers, dropping them to 2-8, Steve Mills, the team’s president, and Scott Perry, the general manager, held an impromptu news conference to tell reporters that the Knicks brass was unhappy with the direction of the team. They did not take any responsibility for how that team was constructed, though, aside from Mills’ saying, “We think we collectively have to do a better job of delivering the product on the floor that we said we would do at the start of the season.” Mills said the team still had faith in Fizdale, whom he fired less than a month later.
Bright Spot: Marcus Morris Sr.
Morris Sr. is not a part of the Knicks future. He is a prospective free agent, and while he has said the right things about staying with the Knicks, there are certainly playoff contenders who will want to shell out some cash for his talents.
But he is having the best year of his career and is the team’s most reliable performer. He’s averaging a career high in points (19.1) on a solid 58.3 true shooting percentage. His 3-point percentage is at the core of his efficiency — 45.7 percent — good for third in the N.B.A., behind George Hill and J.J. Redick. He’s shooting better from outside than he is from inside the arc (42.8 percent), but he also is averaging a career high in free-throw attempts per game (4.6). The team’s offensive rating is 106.4 when Morris is playing and 99.9 when he is not. To put that in perspective, 106.4 would place the Knicks 22nd in the league in offense; 99.9 would be dead last by a large margin.
The Nets
Overview: This season was always supposed to be a wash, but the injuries to players like Irving (missed 26 games with a shoulder injury) and Caris LeVert (missed 24 games with a thumb injury) have hampered the team’s development in the short term. Irving has already publicly suggested that the team needs more pieces to contend for a championship. The Nets might not even make the playoffs this year, which would, even for a wash season, be a setback. But unlike the Knicks, the Nets have Durant waiting in the wings. That will always temper whatever happens this season.
Best Win: Nov. 29 vs. Boston, 112-107
Getting a win against a division rival is great. Doing it without your best player is even better. Spencer Dinwiddie put on a show, pouring in 32 points and dishing 11 assists, giving Nets fans early hope that the team could stay afloat without Irving. And they did. They moved above .500 for only the second time all season, after losing to Boston just two days earlier. The Nets would win six of their next nine, before hitting a seven-game losing skid.
Worst Loss: Nov. 2 at Detroit, 113-109
It seems unfair to include any loss without Irving, so I won’t. I’ll pick an early November loss to Detroit because it was a winnable game, and Irving had a triple double (20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists). The Nets even had a 13-point second-half lead. This is the kind of loss that haunts you when it comes to seeding or just trying to make the playoffs. The loss dropped the Nets to 2-4. They had no answer for Andre Drummond, who scored 25 points and snatched 20 rebounds. The Nets have more talent than the Pistons, even without Durant. This one should have been a win. (The Oct. 27 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies warrants a special mention, but a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer in overtime against a decent team gets sympathy.)
Play of the Half-Year: Spencer Dinwiddie, Nov. 25 at Cleveland
Dinwiddie hit a midrange pull-up with 1.6 seconds left to win the game for the Nets, 108-106. The Cavaliers are not a good team, but any win without Irving was valuable for the Nets. There are plenty of dazzling ball handing displays from Irving that also merit consideration — but we are partial to game winners.
Most Bizarre Moment: Jan. 15, Philadelphia
After a loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Irving told reporters that the gap in talent between championship contenders and the Nets was “glaring, in terms of the pieces that we need in order to be at that next level.” He would go on to list several players who he suggested were a part of the championship core. He did not list the whole team, of course, and the quote was seen as a slight to the unnamed.
Of course, Irving was correct. Not all the players on the Nets right now will be part of a championship core. But as a leader, there are some things you just don’t say out loud. What made the comment especially baffling was that it was only Irving’s second game back from his injury — and the Nets had performed better in his absence.
He had a terrible game against the Sixers, shooting 6 of 21 from the field. In a game where the Nets lost by 11 points, the team was outscored by 29 points when Irving was on the floor. In addition, Irving has a history of throwing shots at teammates, particularly in Boston last season. All seems to be fine right now for the Nets, but Irving’s track record suggests that as the losses pile up, there will be more flare-ups. And even the prospect of having his close friend Durant to pass the ball to might not be enough to limit them.
Bright Spot: Spencer Dinwiddie
Dinwiddie carried the Nets while Irving and LeVert were injured. He led the team in scoring in 21 of the 26 contests that Irving missed. In those games, Dinwiddie scored at least 30 points six times. He was the offense for a team that lacked playmakers once Irving went down. If the Nets make the playoffs, the 13-13 stretch without Irving will have been crucial to get there. During that time, with Dinwiddie on the court, the Nets had a 112.6 offensive rating. This would be good for one of the best offenses in the N.B.A., extrapolated over a full season. When Dinwiddie was off the floor, the Nets were at 89.9 during this period — which would easily be last in the league.
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