Elden Henson - Blog Posts

Born Again Put a Bullet in My Childhood

*Born Again Spoilers*

The return of the Man Without Fear not only broke my heart, it signifies the end of my childhood. The bullet fired by Benjamin Pointdexter went straight through its victim and into the last bit of nostalgia I held for my younger years. 

I was twelve years old in April of 2015. The concept of a streaming service was still new to me, and I expected the first Marvel/Netflix show to be reminiscent of a low-budget fan series. I was going through a lot at the time. My parents were getting divorced, my grandfather was sick with cancer, and my family was on the verge of being homeless. On April 10th, my father and I stayed at my grandad’s house. Grandad was at the hospital because his lung cancer had taken a turn for the worst, and I curled up on the worn couch as spring air filtered in from the open window and my Dad sat down with a grunt in the recliner. My Dad turned on the show and I was enthralled. 

I had never seen a superhero show that felt so adult, so real, so slick, and complicated and heavy. I related to Matt Murdock, someone who always seemed to have some sort of obstacle ahead of him. I related to Matt’s boyhood counterpart who was concerned about his father making the rent payments on time. I related to being small, consumed with the big mysterious world that can change at any moment with various levels of stability. I liked that Matt Murdock kept going, no matter how bad things got. 

Two days later, I was sitting in my bedroom late at night, watching the infamous episode “Nelson V. Murdock” on my Wii console, legs folded under me, chewing my nails as Charlie Cox and Elden Hensen cried on screen. I was still thinking about that episode the next morning as we drove to Grandad’s house. Later that day, the police called informing us that our house had been robbed. My TV and Wii console were both stolen along with all our other possessions. The drawers in my bedroom were pulled free and clothes were strewn about. Looking at my room, I felt naked. There were Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle decals on my walls and I wondered if the thieves looked at them when they came into my room. I wonder if they felt bad about stealing from a child and I knew they probably didn’t. Two days after that, we were officially evicted. 

In 2018, I was an angry teenager. My mother was getting remarried and I didn’t like the guy. I didn’t like that we were moving or that I wouldn’t see my friends as much anymore, even though they didn’t feel like my friends at the time. Most of them treated me like shit because we were all young and unhappy about something. I was suicidal but I didn’t fully understand what I was feeling. I pretended to be happy all the time and that made it worse. The new season of Daredevil was the only good thing I had going on in my life. I coveted the episodes, watching one every other week, taking my time. When the series was canceled I was halfway through the season. I stopped watching it and I wouldn’t finish it until 2024. I didn’t want the story to be over. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Matt, Karen, and Foggy, my only real friends. 

Recently, I’ve been struggling with the concept of growing up. I’m twenty-two years old and I’m in a weird space where I’m not a kid but I also don’t feel like an adult. It feels like I stopped aging in 2020. I keep reminiscing, thinking to myself “Things used to be better,” even though I know that isn’t true. I’m in college, I’m in therapy, I’m on medication, and life is good. Yet, I can’t seem to move on from periods of my life that have passed. I find myself dreaming about my childhood home and places I lived in my teens. They’re always altered, mashed together like some fucked-up Winchester mystery house. 

For years I wanted Daredevil to return. The original series was the postmark of my adolescence. Matt, Foggy, and Karen did more for me during the worst parts of my life than most of my friends have. I wanted to see them again. It was so weird when I got my wish. Tuesday night, I assembled the best bar food I could find, spicy chicken wings, fries, mozzarella sticks, a big juicy burger, and three ice-cold bottles of Coors Light. I set my favorite Daredevil comics and Funko figurines around my television set and placed my fancy chair right in front of it. Seeing Matt, Foggy, and Karen together again was like a dream or a hallucination. And none of that compared to the shock of seeing Foggy gunned down in the street. Hand covering my mouth, food getting cold next to me, and my cousin crying on speakerphone, I watched one of my best friends bleed to death on screen. 

I’m a sensitive person and I tend to overthink. I like drawing connections, even if they don’t make complete sense sometimes. In the aftermath of the Born Again pilot episode, sitting on my chair and staring at the ceiling, I realized something: I can finally move on. In some odd, fucked up way, seeing my three favorite comfort characters together again, and seeing one of them die, has given me a sense of closure on my childhood. No TV show was meant to last forever. I’m glad the 2015 Daredevil series died a hero before it could become a villain, and I’m glad the new series is taking a different route.  Seeing a definitive end to the original series is permission for me to let go of my unhappy adolescent years and move on. I’m grateful for that, and I know that Born Again is going to make me cry more in the future. 

Tonight, I will drink to Nelson, Murdock, and Page and all they’ve done for a lonely kid.

Rick Stepp (irresponsibleink@gmail.com)

Fulton Reed x reader. ( mighty ducks fan fiction)

Pronouns: she/her

Warnings: none

Requested:no

Fulton’s pov

“ Hey Dean do you think y/n would like this?” “Of course man I know my sister and I know she’ll love it.” I smile down at the little box in my hand thinking about y/n’s reaction when I give it to her. “You think?” I ask. “ Fulton stop overthinking this she’s gonna love it. Now get ready for this date you don’t wanna keep her waiting any longer do ya?” I laugh and shake my head as I finish getting ready to go on my date.

Y/n’s pov

I look in the mirror and smile as I add the finishing touches to my makeup. “ How do I look?” Julie looks up from her book and smiles widely “ You look amazing y/n. Fulton’s gonna love your outfit and your gift .” “ You really think he will?” I ask hopefully. “ yes he’s gonna love it. Now hurry up and get on your way to that date. You don’t wanna keep him waiting do ya?” She questioned laughing. I smile “ bye Julie thanks for helping me. I’ll be back later tonight.” “ bye y/n have fun and be safe.” I head out the door and get in the car to make my way to the restaurant Fulton’s taking me to eat at.

Time skip

I make it to the restaurant and I see Fulton sitting in his car. I go up and knock on the window. Fulton looks up and smiles at me while getting out of the car. “ Hey love. You look absolutely beautiful tonight.” I smile leaning in to kiss him. “ Thank you babe. You ready to go in?” He nods his head yes and we walk in hand in hand. “ Hi I have a reservation for Fulton Reed.” Fulton tells the host. “ Oh yes a 7:00 reservation for Fulton Reed party of 2 right this way.” The host grabs our menus and leads us to the table.

Not long after we order our food and drinks. After we finished our meals we sit at the table talking about hockey and how schools going. The waiter comes to the table and hands us the bill. Fulton slips a 100 into the folder and hands the waiter the bill.

We leave the restaurant and I go to sit in Fulton’s car with him. “ so tonight’s our 3 year anniversary and I wanted to give you something special.” Fulton reaches in the back seat and pulls out a small black box. He opens the box and inside is a beautiful dainty diamond ring. “Fulton” I gasp but he cuts me off. “ it’s not an engagement ring yet. It’s a promise ring. I promise to love you forever and I promise that one day I am going to marry you. Y/n m/n Portman will you accept this ring?” “Yes Fulton I accept the ring.” I answer smiling.

Fulton slips the ring onto my finger and grabs my face kissing my lips softly. I pull away and smile. “ while we are on the topic of giving gifts I have something for you as well.” I reach in my pocket and grab out my own small box. Inside is a solid black silicone ring. “ Fulton Elden Reed, I promise to love you forever and I promise to marry you when you ask me. Do you accept this ring?” Fulton gives me a big toothy grin “ yes y/n I will accept this ring.” He kisses me yet again. “ I got you a silicone ring so you can even wear it when you’re playing hockey.” “That was so thoughtful of you babe.”

He leans in kissing me again. He pulls away and stares into my eyes. “Happy 3 years y/n” “ happy 3 years Fulton”

Hey everyone I hope you enjoyed this story. If you can’t tell I’m a fan of the mighty ducks. I will be taking requests for any of the characters. Please leave feedback and any requests or suggestions

Idle Hands Directed by Rodman Flender (1999)