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letterboxd · 3 years

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In Focus: The Mummy

Dominic Corry responds on behalf of Letterboxd to an impassioned plea to bump up the average rating of the 1999 version of The Mummy—and asks: where is the next great action adventure coming from?

We recently received the following email regarding the Stephen Sommers blockbuster The Mummy:

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to you on behalf of the nation, if not the entire globe, who frankly deserve better than this after months of suffering with the Covid pandemic.

I was recently made aware that the rating of The Mummy on your platform only stands at 3.3 stars out of five. … This, as I’m sure you’re aware, is simply unacceptable. The Mummy is, as a statement of fact, the greatest film ever made. It is simply fallacious that anyone should claim otherwise, or that the rating should fail to reflect this. This oversight cannot be allowed to stand.

I have my suspicions that this rating has been falsely allocated due to people with personal axes to grind against The Mummy, most likely other directors who are simply jealous that their own artistic oeuvres will never attain the zenith of perfection, nor indeed come close to approaching the quality or the cultural influence of The Mummy. There is, quite frankly, no other explanation. The Mummy is, objectively speaking, a five-star film (… I would argue that it in fact transcends the rating sytem used by us mere mortals). It would only be proper, as a matter of urgency, to remove all fake ratings (i.e. any ratings [below] five stars) and allow The Mummy’s rating to stand, as it should, at five stars, or perhaps to replace the rating altogether with a simple banner which reads “the greatest film of all time, objectively speaking”. I look forward to this grievous error being remedied.

Best, Anwen

Which of course: no, we would never do that. But the vigor Anwen expresses in her letter impressed us (we checked: she’s real, though is mostly a Letterboxd lurker due to a busy day-job in television production, “so finding time to watch anything that isn’t The Mummy is, frankly, impossible… not that there’s ever any need to watch anything else, of course.”).

So Letterboxd put me, Stephen Sommers fan, on the job of paying homage to the last great old-school action-adventure blockbuster, a film that straddles the end of one cinematic era and the beginning of the next one. And also to ask: where’s the next great action adventure coming from?

Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz and John Hannah in ‘The Mummy’ (1999).

When you delve into the Letterboxd reviews of The Mummy, it quickly becomes clear how widely beloved the film is, 3.3 average notwithstanding. Of more concern to the less youthful among us is how quaintly it is perceived, as if it harkens back to the dawn of cinema or something. “God, I miss good old-fashioned adventure movies,” bemoans Holly-Beth. “I have so many fond memories of watching this on TV with my family countless times growing up,” recalls Jess. “A childhood classic,” notes Simon.

As alarming as it is to see such wistful nostalgia for what was a cutting-edge, special-effects-laden contemporary popcorn hit, it has been twenty-one years since the film was released, so anyone currently in their early 30s would’ve encountered the film at just the right age for it to imprint deeply in their hearts. This has helped make it a Raiders of the Lost Ark for a specific Letterboxd demographic.

Sommers took plenty of inspiration from the Indiana Jones series for his take on The Mummy (the original 1932 film, also with a 3.3 average, is famously sedate), but for ten-year-olds in 1999, it may have been their only exposure to such pulpy derring-do. And when you consider that popcorn cinema would soon be taken over by interconnected on-screen universes populated by spandex-clad superheroes, the idea that The Mummy is an old-fashioned movie is easier to comprehend.

However, for all its throwbackiness, beholding The Mummy from the perspective of 2020 reveals it to have more to say about the future of cinema than the past. 1999 was a big year for movies, often considered one of the all-time best, but the legacy of The Mummy ties it most directly to two of that year’s other biggest hits: Star Wars: Episode One—The Phantom Menace and The Matrix. These three blockbusters represented a turning point for the biggest technological advancement to hit the cinematic art-form since the introduction of sound: computer-generated imagery, aka CGI. The technique had been widely used from 1989’s The Abyss onwards, and took significant leaps forward with movies such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Jurassic Park (1993) and Starship Troopers (1997), but the three 1999 films mentioned above signified a move into the era when blockbusters began to be defined by their CGI.

A year before The Mummy, Sommers had creatively utilised CGI in his criminally underrated sci-fi action thriller Deep Rising (another film that deserves a higher average Letterboxd rating, just sayin’), and he took this approach to the next level with The Mummy. While some of the CGI in The Mummy doesn’t hold up as well as the technopunk visuals presented in The Matrix, The Mummy showed how effective the technique could be in an historical setting—the expansiveness of ancient Egypt depicted in the movie is magnificent, and the iconic rendering of Imhotep’s face in the sand storm proved to be an enduringly creepy image. Not to mention those scuttling scarab beetles.

George Lucas wanted to test the boundaries of the technique with his insanely anticipated new Star Wars film after dipping his toe in the digital water with the special editions of the original trilogy. Beyond set expansions and environments, a bunch of big creatures and cool spaceships, his biggest gambit was Jar Jar Binks, a major character rendered entirely through CGI. And we all know how that turned out.

A CGI-enhanced Arnold Vosloo as Imhotep.

Sommers arguably presented a much more effective CGI character in the slowly regenerating resurrected Imhotep. Jar Jar’s design was “bigger” than the actor playing him on set, Ahmed Best. Which is to say, Jar Jar took up more space on screen than Best. But with the zombie-ish Imhotep, Sommers (ably assisted by Industrial Light & Magic, who also worked on the Star Wars films) used CGI to create negative space, an effect impossible to achieve with practical make-up—large parts of the character were missing. It was an indelible visual concept that has been recreated many times since, but Sommers pioneered its usage here, and it contributed greatly to the popcorn horror threat posed by the character.

Sommers, generally an unfairly overlooked master of fun popcorn spectacle (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is good, guys), deserves more credit for how he creatively utilized CGI to elevate the storytelling in The Mummy. But CGI isn’t the main reason the film works—it’s a spry, light-on-its-feet adventure that presents an iconic horror property in an entertaining and adventurous new light. And it happens to feature a ridiculously attractive cast all captured just as their pulchritudinous powers were peaking.

Meme-worthy: “My sexual orientation is the cast of ‘The Mummy’ (1999).”

A rising star at the time, Brendan Fraser was mostly known for comedic performances, and although he’d proven himself very capable with his shirt off in George of the Jungle (1997), he wasn’t necessarily at the top of anyone’s list for action-hero roles. But he is superlatively charming as dashing American adventurer Rick O’Connell. His fizzy chemistry with Weisz, playing the brilliant-but-clumsy Egyptologist Evie Carnahan, makes the film a legitimate romantic caper. The role proved to be a breakout for Weisz, then perhaps best known for playing opposite Keanu Reeves in the trouble-plagued action flop Chain Reaction, or for her supporting role in the Liv Tyler vehicle Stealing Beauty.

“90s Brendan Fraser is what Chris Pratt wishes he was,” argues Holly-Beth. “Please come back to us, Brendaddy. We need you.” begs Joshhh. “I’d like to thank Rachel Weisz for playing an integral role in my sexual awakening,” offers Sree.

Then there’s Oded Fehr as Ardeth Bey, a member of the Medjai, a sect dedicated to preventing Imhotep’s tomb from being discovered, and Patricia Velásquez as Anck-su-namun, Imhotep’s cursed lover. Both stupidly good-looking. Heck, Imhotep himself (South African Arnold Vosloo, coming across as Billy Zane’s more rugged brother), is one of the hottest horror villains in the history of cinema.

“Remember when studio movies were sexy?” laments Colin McLaughlin. We do Colin, we do.

Sommers directed a somewhat bloated sequel, The Mummy Returns, in 2001, which featured the cinematic debut of one Dwayne Johnson. His character got a spin-off movie the following year (The Scorpion King), which generated a bunch of DTV sequels of its own, and is now the subject of a Johnson-produced reboot. Brendan Fraser came back for a third film in 2008, the Rob Cohen-directed The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Weisz declined to participate, and was replaced by Maria Bello.

Despite all the follow-ups, and the enduring love for the first Sommers film, there has been a sadly significant dearth of movies along these lines in the two decades since it was released. The less said about 2017 reboot The Mummy (which was supposed to kick-off a new Universal Monster shared cinematic universe, and took a contemporary, action-heavy approach to the property), the better.

The Rock in ‘The Mummy Returns’ (2001).

For a long time, adventure films were Hollywood’s bread and butter, but they’re surprisingly thin on the ground these days. So it makes a certain amount of sense that nostalgia for the 1999 The Mummy continues to grow. You could argue that many of the superhero films that dominate multiplexes count as adventure movies, but nobody really sees them that way—they are their own genre.

There are, however, a couple of films on the horizon that could help bring back old-school cinematic adventure. One is the long-planned—and finally actually shot—adaptation of the Uncharted video-game franchise, starring Tom Holland. The games borrow a lot from the Indiana Jones films, and it’ll be interesting to see how much that manifests in the adaptation.

Then there’s Letterboxd favorite David Lowery’s forever-upcoming medieval adventure drama The Green Knight, starring Dev Patel and Alicia Vikander (who herself recently rebooted another video-game icon, Lara Croft). Plus they are still threatening to make another Indiana Jones movie, even if it no longer looks like Steven Spielberg will direct it.

While these are all exciting projects—and notwithstanding the current crisis in the multiplexes—it can’t help but feel like we may never again get a movie quite like The Mummy, with its unlikely combination of eye-popping CGI, old-fashioned adventure tropes and a once-in-a-lifetime ensemble of overflowing hotness. Long may love for it reign on Letterboxd—let’s see if we can’t get that average rating up, the old fashioned way. For Anwen.

Related content

How I Letterboxd with The Mummy fan Eve (“The first film I went out and bought memorabilia for… it was a Mummy action figure that included canopic jars”)

The Mummy (Universal) Collection

Every film featuring the Mummy (not mummies in general)

Follow Dom on Letterboxd

#the mummy #brendan fraser #stephen sommers #action adventure #fantasy adventure #action adventure film #the green knight #david lowery #dominic corry #letterboxd

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smokeybrandreviews · 4 years

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Baxter Brilliance

There are whispers all over that John Krasinski met with Marvel for Mr. Fantastic. That sh*t makes the same amount of sense as RDJ for Iron man or Chris Evans for Cap. Straight up inspired casting. If this is true, Phase 5 might be getting off to a pretty legit start. Now, i'm curious who they get for Doom. I mean, you make an FF film, you gotta have Doom. From what i hear, they’re going straight issue one with Mole Man ass the main villain, which is fine, but, come on? No Doom is like a Batman franchise with no Joker, a Superman franchise with no Luthor, and a Spider-Man franchise with no Goblin. You NEED Doom. Hell, the interaction between Reed and Victor drives that narrative. It’s absolutely the heart of those books. If Halpert really gets the nod and straps up those stretchy boots, who has the presence to carry that Latverian juice?

Personally, I was of the mind that Mads Mikkelsen was perfect for Victor but they blew that load for Doc Strange. Kaecilius, while entertaining, was a waste. To under use Mads so haphazardly is a legit crime. Dan Stevens? He's got the look. Dude’s are are mad intense and he plays mania very well. Legion is the best audition available for this type of part. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau? Jamie Lannister was pretty good on Thrones and i imagine playing a vain megalomaniac would be a cake walk after that. Mike Fassbender might be as perfect for this role as Mads but, again, blown prematurely all over Magneto. I’ve seen cats mention David Tennant, Mark Strong, and Vigo Mortensson; All of which are very interesting choices, particularly Strong. Ten and Aragorn are nice looks but, i mean, Mr. Antagonist, Mark Strong, himself, might be the best option. F*cking Mark Strong? Dude was Sinestro but, i mean, it's f*cking Mark Stronk! Who else, outside of Mads and Shark-tooth Grin can embody this role so perfectly? Rami Malek.

Now, you might be thinking, “Ryan, What the f*ck, buddy?” but hear me out. Mark Strong has that presence. He looks the part. I grant you that. Dude is an exceptional actor as well. Another feather in his cap. Strong is also tall as sh*t. John’s given height is 6′3″. Stronk’s is 6′2″. Rami is definitely shorter than both of these dudes, by a good amount. Again, Mark Strong is a brilliant choice and i would not be mad about that casting at all. However, Doom is in a full body of armor complete with mask. Anyone can play that part. Rami can play that part especially knowing all of the tricks learned from RDJ’s Iron Man. That makes the height thing irrelevant. I like the Malek look, especially considering the geographical location of Latveria in the books and Doom’s Romani origins. I like the fact that Rami can play subtle psychopath as he did in Mr. Robot. If that’s not enough, we’re going to get one hell of a litmus test in the next Bond flick. Rumors are swirling he’s going to be Dr. No, the quintessential mad scientist of the 007 mythos, with just a touch more physicality than his predecessor. I like that the juxtaposition in physical difference. It can be mitigated in the intellectual execution contrast. Reed can be played as smart but reckless, thus the Four’s accidental empowerment. Doom can be played as smart but reserved, thus his animosity to the wildly dangerous Richards. Have an accident when they were young, scarring the already barely stable Doom and you have a lifelong antagonist to plague your hero; One just as smart, if not smarter. One amenable to committing atrocities in the pursuit of bringing Richards to task. One willing to accept things outside of reason and science to accomplish his goals. These two actors playing in that emotional sandbox? F*ck yeah!

Krasinski wants Mr. Fantastic and i think he’ll be excellent in the role. H e wanted Cap but they went with Evans instead. Back then, he was just Jim Halpert. Snarky, hipster hot, Paper pushing, James Halpert. Cats gave him the hard pass. That was before he was Bayhem-ified and got the Jack Ryan role. Ever since, Jim has been rolling. It helps, tremendously, that Chris Pratt made good with Star-Lord. Dude transformed for that role and it paid off tremendously not only for the character but for the MCU as a whole. I think Krasinski has the potential to be just as revolutionary, especially considering the expanded world the MCU is looking to create going forward. Also, just personal taste, gotta be Beard Richards. Dude looks good with the scruff, just sayin’.

#Marvel #MCU #Fantastic Four #Reed Richards #Mr. Fantastic

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theskyexists · 4 years

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The Witcher

Honestly I quite enjoyed the Witcher it did some interesting social commentary, was very feminist (lots of focus (75%?) on diverse female characters navigating an explicitly patriarchal world with lots of agency) and the characters were Excellent. Geralt was very morally intelligent, compassionate and likable. His navigation of what a 'monster' actually is (not always the beastie) and whether monsters can be saved from this role that (often) has been forced upon them by awful humans - excellent. Yennefer had an amazing 'coming into power' storyline. And both their marginal existences contrasted very well with Ciri - a deeply privileged girl learning what is really outside the walls. Ciri was also clearly presented as a high fantasy 'chosen one' who will one day return to claim her birthright and I just LOVE that a girl gets that - also 'the lion cub of cintra' is an awesome epithet especially because she literally roars.

But damn those last few episodes were a lot worse than the first few.

I liked the way the timelines interwove to tell stories about different themes in the first few episodes - revealing the main characters' histories and the histories of the world and its rulers - that was great. The way the characters were presented as so kind and badass and wise (Calanthe - loved that character!) but then the coin flipped and we got to see all the racism and brutality - that was pretty great and nuanced. But when they all started meeting it got more and more silly and the pacing got wack. Also all the talk about 'destiny' was enjoyably genre savvy until the point they forgot to tell me what made Geralt decide to give in to it.

I'm also not sure about the later message that urged me to root for a Queen who built walls to keep others out (bit of a sore point right now - especially considering the political state of Poland) - and the very institution of monarchy itself vs. the EVIL Nilfgaardian empire 'of the people'. Also the Dark mage was literally black. (But the dark magic was very icky and cool-horrible)

The second to last episode was just a recap of the first - they should have done a purely Geralt POV if they wanted to do that. And it felt a bit anticlimactic that the only reason Ciri has been stumbling about the kingdom for days was because they missed each other on the way out of the city.

Also - magic. How the fuck does it work? Why make 5 portals to escape, draining yourself when you could have made the knife beasty kill itself at any time? Why did Geralt and Yen have to kiss for him to cast Aard? WHY PUT THE SODDING GLASS CANNON MAGES OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF THE CASTLE.

Where did the rule go about having to draw life from around you to do magic?

I'm just sayin. I thought Mousesack putting a wall around the castle was silly - like why??? Surely there is a more effective and deadly thing to do??? Like I DON'T KNOW - POUR HOT TAR OVER THEIR HEADS?? That's non-magical but a lot more effective.

But that last battle took the cake.

I know Vilgefortz had a hand in the strategy and he's clearly sketchy or something - but can no one else think? Why have Mage Carol kill 25 soldiers out in front of the walls if she could do it - FROM the walls and not be hacked to death immediately afterward? That's what a castle is for!!!

Also - the Nilfgaardian ballsack armour? Why even wear that if everybody can just slice and stab right through.

Basically the combat is shit except for the human/human sword twirly bits (even if those are the most unrealistic - they look good) including the nonsense with the Striga - there is no reason that Geralt shouldn't have been gutted about three times - except for monsterfucker reasons I guess - they just really wanted him laid out under her (thrice) I guess.

But never mind. The combat and magic aren't like - huge problems. Mostly I want Geralt to make up with Jaskier and Yennefer and train Ciri in fighting. And I want Yennefer to start systematically tearing Nilfgaard apart. But DAMN - vfx was SHIT. Lol. I didn't really care but DAMN. Doctor Who has better VFX nowadays.

#my stuff #vidi #also there is quite a lot of sex in it but none of it feels degrading or voyeuristic which heh is ironic #my mum and brother could not follow the timeline shenanigans lol #witcher

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monigheandonn1743 · 6 years

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Ceart-leth

Previous Chapters

Chapter 17

It was another two days of long hard riding, unforgiving roads, stubborn animals and sleepless nights, before the road split and Brian and his men said fair well and departed for Fort William. In some ways she was sorry to see him go. The more she got to know him, the more she liked him, and she’d miss him. Even if it was only for a few days.

After he’d disposed of Black Jack, he was planning on returning to Lallybroch, to await the birth of Jenny’s baby. She could see that he was as nervous about it as Jamie, and she’d promised them both that she would do all she could to see her to a safe delivery.

What she wouldn’t miss was his near constant teasing of them both. He was taking his role as chaperone to the extreme and, between him and Murtagh, they’d not had two seconds alone in the last two days. Last night she’d half expected him to pull out an English etiquette book and a ruler to make sure they weren’t sitting too close by the fire. But instead Brain simply plonked him self down between them and drank his ale without a care in the world.

She wanted to scream, we’re in the fucking highlands, who gives a shit! But she didn’t and she’d seen the first fraying edges of Jamie’s temper, when he launched his mug into the fire, and stormed off without a word.

They knew good and well that there was no-one here that would say a word about her reputation. The men were too loyal to the Fraser men to betray them like that. But he was having fun and claimed that one wrong word to a wife or sister, an’ the whole of Broch Mordha will claim ye a fallen woman! I’m only doin’ my duty, lassie.

So here she was, on the last day of their journey, sore, tired, moody, and to top it all off, she’d started her period.

Of course, Joe being an imbecilic, stupid, godforsaken, idiot of a man, hadn’t thought to pack any towels or tampons. So, she was riding on a horse, with strips of a torn up vest top in her knickers, trying to hide her pain and embarrassment from Jamie and his merry men.

Surely she’d mentioned that in her diary!

She loved her sweet, caring man dearly, she really, really did, and she’d missed their closeness the past few days. But if he asked her one more time if she was alright, she was going to lose her shit. She wasn’t alright, she was far from alright. She was miserable, self conscious and in pain. But while most twenty first century men knew that her being fine meant run for your life, poor Jamie didn’t have a clue, and one of them was bound to pay the price for it.

Or maybe he did.

And maybe it was her.

After his father left, rather than make the most of his absence, Jamie had ridden ahead with a small group to scout the road, leaving her under the watchful eyes of Murtagh and Willie. She missed him the moment he disappeared out of sight, and instantly cursed her shitty mood. It wasn’t his fault, and she felt like a bitch for taking it out on him. To make matters worse she needed to stop, again, just to check things and she didn’t want to ask Murtagh, nor stop without Jamie in their current position.

Bloody men!

She huffed, unintentionally catching Willies attention, and almost groaned when he rode his mount closer to her.

“Are ye well, milady?” He asked sweetly, his boyhood charm lessoning the impact of his question. But she still had to remind herself not to try and wring his scrawny little neck.

“I’m fine, Willie.” She answered for the millionth time. “But you really shouldn’t call me that though.” She reminded him gently, despite the warmth the simple name brought her.

None of his men referred to Jamie as anything but Mac Dubh, unless Brian was around, then it was Milord this and Milord that. But since their return from the stream, most had been addressing her as Milady, and despite her protest she secretly loved it.

Especially when Jamie said it.

He’d still made no formal offer of marriage, but despite their new, strict adherence to property, forced though it was, he’d begun openly courting her. And it was the sweetest thing in the world. Her emotions got the better of her, and her skin erupted in goosebumps, just simply from remembering his small thoughtful gestures.

The way he kissed the back of her hand in greeting, and the palm as he left her. Always making sure to close her fingers around his kiss to keep it safe until his return. Or the way he shooed off the men to give her the first cut of meat, and a place closest to the fire. Or how he always found the most comfortable spot for her furs at night, and if there wasn’t one, he’d sneak one of his own beneath them for comfort.

Despite her protests.

God she missed him. He’d been gone less than a hour, but she felt like shit for having driven him away. He loved her, and he was worried about her, and she’d almost snapped his head off.

Now it was her turn to be worried about him.

“Milady?”

“Sorry, Willie. I was miles away, I missed what you said.” She apologised, shaking her head as she turned to look at him. But he simply smiled, and waved her away.

“Ah, dinna fash. I was only sayin’ that we’ll have to soon enough. Might as well get used to it.”

“Don’t jinx it.” She laughed lightly, although she was completely serious. She wasn’t really superstitious, but after everything that had happened, she wanted to cover all her bases. “How much longer do you think they’ll be?” She asked, casting her eyes around the dim forest.

They’d left the open road some time ago, to enter the woods and the mountain pass within them. So the view was limited, which was the reason Jamie had left to scout in the first place. They still rode with the Argyll banner and it offered them some protection, but it had its pit falls as well as its advantages.

It would announce to any redcoat patrols that they were friend not foe, and discourage them from attacking. But it would have the adverse effect on bandits, or the notorious watch, so the men were on high alert for raids or ambushes. It made her nervous, and she was worried for Jamie. His still only had the use of one arm, and he wouldn’t be able to fight well if it came down to it.

“I dinna ken.” Willie shrugged. “They’ll want to check through the pass, an’ then they’ll circle back to make sure we’re not bein’ followed.”

She glanced behind her, looking for any sign of him, but seeing no hint of his bright red hair in the caravan of men, she sigh and tuned back to Willie.

“Do you live close to Lallybroch?” She asked, needing a distraction. The cramps in her stomach were getting worse, and she wanted to try and take her mind of them, and her wayward…what? Boyfriend? Lover? Beau?

“Aye. My da’s a tenant. He’s been farming the land there since His Grace took control. That’s over thirty years. He helped him build the original house.”

“The original house?”

“Aye. The new manor was built around the old one.” He told her excitedly, almost bouncing in his seat. “T’was only finished this spring, an’ t’is grand, ye ken. I’v no been inside but my aunt, Mrs Bissett, she’s the house keeper, she said t’is like a palace.”

“Really?” She asked, trying to keep the scepticism out of her voice. Despite their newly inherited titles, neither Jamie or Brian struck her as the type of men to flaunt their position.

“Aye.”

She sighed. Jamie had told her that he still worked the farm and while she knew that was unusual for landed gentry or a peer, it really didn’t surprise her. It was simply the man he was. She was sure he go stir crazy as a man of leisure. He wasn’t born for it. He was a Scottish highlander through and through, and she knew he’d work night and day until he was forced to take over the Dukedom.

Besides, Willie had lived his whole life here in the highlands. Her idea of a palace and his were probably vastly different. At least she hoped they were.

She’d tried her hardest not to think about it, because it was too ridiculous to wrap her mind around. But the truth was that if and when Jamie did ask her to marry him, she would be talking on more than just a husband. Some day, hopefully in the very distant future, she would become the Duchess of Argyll.

It made no sense. How could she, little old Claire Beauchamp from here there and everywhere, be destined to become a fucking Duchess?

Just over a month ago, she’d been sitting in her studio apartment, in twenty first century Oxfordshire, cramming for her final medical exams. Christ, after five years of bone wary, soul draining, thankless hours of studying and on the job training, she didn’t even know if she’d passed.

Yet here she was now, in eighteenth century Scotland, claiming to be the doctor she didn’t know if she was. Ready to marry a man she’d known for ten days and loved beyond her imaginings.

And facing the life of a Duchess.

It was no wonder she couldn’t make head nor tails of it, and she was clinging to the hope that Jamie’s idea of a farm and hers coincided perfectly.

They’d travelled for another half an hour or so and there was still no sign of Jamie. Bordering on desperate, she’d just decided to ask Murtagh to stop at the other side of the mountain pass, when her blood ran cold. She stopped Brimstone so quickly that she startled and reared, almost toppling Claire off.

The vast walls of the mountain sides rose up on either side of a narrow path. At it’s mouth stood the group of men that Jamie had ridden off with, and at it centre stood the man who held her heart. It was the dagger at his throat, and the redcoat who held it, that stopped it completely.

“Murtagh.” She choked, looking around her frantically, as she tried to bring Brimstone under control. He was already beside her, and he reached for the reigns, and quickly brought the horse to heal.

“Easy, lass.”

“Easy?” She hissed desperate to call out to Jamie but terrified of the consequences. “He’s got a fucking knife at his throat! Don’t tell me to be easy!”

“Ach.” One of Jamie’s men called as he casually left the group and walked towards them. She searched her memory for his name, but it was lost in her panic, and she really didn’t give a shit.

Shouldn’t he be doing something?

“Dinna fash, Milady. They’ve been at it for the last twenty minutes. To be fair, t’is the first time the lobster backs had the upper hand. Even one armed Mac Dubh’s no making it easy on him.” He shrugged as he came to stand beside them. “T’will be over soon.”

“Have you lost your ever loving mind?” She growled as she jumped down intending to do something if they wouldn’t. “Help him!”

“He’d skin me alive.”

“Claire, he’s fine.” Murtagh laughed, dismounting himself and moving towards her. But she ignored him and pushed her way through the crowd of redcoats and highlanders, pulling out the dagger Jamie had gifted her.

Strong hands clasped around her upper arm, and she struggled against them uselessly, trying to get away.

“If ye mark her, I’ll cut ye bollocks off!” Jamie warned as he grabbed the redcoat and flung him over his shoulder. He landed with a thud, all the air knocked out of him, and while half of the group hissed, the other cheered.

The grip around her arms had slowly loosened at Jamie’s threat. But she stood stock still, watching as Jamie brushed the hair out of his eyes, and offered a hand to the fallen redcoat.

What the fuck?

“Ye getting’ slow in ye old age.” He laughed patting the younger man on the shoulder as he dusted the mud off his uniform.

“It is your years of experience no doubt. I am sure by the time I reach the grand old age of six and twenty, I will be able to thrash you in my sleep.” The redcoat threatened, his well spoken English betraying his affluent upbringing.

“Ye believe that if it makes ye feel better.”

Despite still being somewhat shaken, he fell into step beside Jamie and she watched in a daze as they walked towards her. Her eyes flitted from one man to the next until they came to rest on the redcoat as he eyed her with confusion. She couldn’t really blame him, she was a lone woman with a bunch of rag-tag highlanders. But she held the monopoly on sheer incredulity. She had no idea what the hell was going on.

Her heart was pounding erratically, and she could barely stand as Jamie stopped before her. He smiled and reached out to take the dagger from between her shaking fingers.

“Easy, Sassenach.” He laughed, as he raised her hand and pressed his lips to the back of it. “Let me introduce ye to my good friend Lord John Grey. Lord John, Mistress Claire Beauchamp…my…my intended.”

Claire raised an eyebrow as she stared into the bright, wary, blue eyes of her Viking warrior. For someone who had been fighting for the last twenty minutes there wasn’t a hair out of place and he wasn’t winded at all. She wanted to rail at him for scaring the shit out of her, but she wouldn’t in company, and she was too surprised by his introduction.

She hadn’t missed his hesitation either.

Jamie’s smirked and she took a deep breath and turned back to face his friend.

“My Lord.” She curtsied politely. His eyes widened, no doubt at her accent, and he bowed to her, but it was almost an after through. All of the colour had drained from his face, and he looked almost sick to the stomach at having to address her.

“Mistress Beauchamp, it is a pleasure.” He lied as his eyes darted from her, to Jamie, to the hand that was still wrapped around hers. “I hadn’t heard you were to marry again, Jamie.”

“Nay ye willna have…t’is recent an’ we’ve no announced the banns yet.”

Nor have you actually asked yet.

“Then I wish you congratulations.” He nearly whispered, his eyes locked on Jamie’s.

“Thank ye. It means a lot.”

She was still lost in a haze of shock and confusion as she watched their exchange. But it was clear that there was more being said than what she and the men could hear, and it took her a moment to read the subtle undertones.

There was a question and an answering apology. But it was the longing and devastation apparent in Greys eyes that had Claire’s breath catching in her throat. She felt such sudden, heartbreaking sympathy for the man, that any slight she’d felt at his obvious dislike towards her, melted away.

He was in love with Jamie.

She knew all too well how easy he was to love, and how devastating it was to feel as though that love was in vein. But while her heart had broken, she’d had the comfort of knowing that he loved her too. Lord John had no such comfort.

At least she hoped he didn’t.

“If you’ll excuse me?” She asked, looking from one man to the next as she eased her hand from Jamie’s grasp. She needed a moment to process what was happening, and she had a feeling they did too.

She almost felt like an intruder, and it made her feel slightly sick.

“Are ye well, Sassenach?” He asked, frowning down at her with the same look he’d given her all morning. After her fright, his question failed to irritate her, and she smiled weakly and nodded.

“Yes. I just need a moment now we’ve stopped. I’ll leave you gentlemen to it. It was a pleasure to meet you, Lord John.”

“Mistress Beauchamp.”

She curtsied again and just caught Jamie’s gesture for Murtagh to follow her. She wanted to cry. She was hoping that with so many people about, she’d be allowed a moments privacy. She needed to get some things out of her bag and she couldn’t do that with Murtagh watching over her shoulder.

Attempting to push down her embarrassment, she ignored Murtagh’s curious gaze, and quickly unstrapped her bag. If she couldn’t take out what she needed, she’d have to take the whole thing and just hope he didn’t question her.

“Dinna go too far, lass.” He warned as she turned off the path and walked into the trees.

“I’ll stay in yelling distance.” She promised clutching her bag in one hand and her stomach with the other.

Her mind felt as twisted as her uterus and after she’d righted herself, and buried the used rag, she sank down against a tree and hid her head in her hands.

That Jamie loved and desired her was perfect clear, and she didn’t doubt him for a moment. There was no way that anyone could fake the passion that burned between them. But she was a twenty first century girl, she understood the concept of bisexuality, and her stomach knotted at the thought.

Lord John had done a terrible job of hiding his feeling for Jamie. They were written on his face, as clear as day. It was Jamie’s guilt that confused her. Was it simply because he was aware of his friends feeling, and was sorry to have hurt him? Or was it because he shared those feelings but knew that they could never act on them? Or even that they had acted on them, and he felt guilty for falling in love with her and betraying they relationship?

Homosexuality was illegal here, and she ached for the pain that the men and woman had to suffer. Having to hide who they were, and who they loved, was cruel and unjust. But she hated the thought of sharing Jamie’s love with anyone man or woman, and pure unadulterated jealousy burned in her gut like acid.

Just like she imagined it did in Lord Johns.

If it was another woman that held his affection, though she’d still be envious, she’d always know that he’d chosen her. But where Lord John was concerned, he had no choice, not without the risk of being found out and hung for his crimes.

So, would she be left to always wonder if she was second best? They were friends and there was no doubt that they’d spend time together. Yet each time they did, would she question what they were doing when she wasn’t around?

Just ask him you fucking idiot!

She huffed at herself, and snapped open her bag to take out two painkillers. Her head was aching as much as her stomach and with her exhaustion and bloody PMS she was close to tears.

And being complete irrational.

“Claire?”

“I’m coming.”

Her heart had slipped its usual beat at the sound of his voice, and at its call, she snapped her bag closed and pushed to her feet. Whether he loved Lord John or not, he was hers, and she was his.

He was waiting for her just at the edge of the tree line and when he saw her face, so drawn and lost, he threw property to the wind and pulled her into his arms.

“I’m begin’ ye, lass. Tell me what’s wrong.” He murmured, holding her against his chest. Leaning down he pressed his lips to her hair and held them there as she trembled in his arms. She’d bathed again this morning, before they’d started their journey, and the gentle scent of roses permeated his scenes.

“I…Lord John…” she whispered, burrowing closer as she let go of her bag and wrapped her arms around his waist. “He’s…”

“Aye, I ken.” He laughter lightly. “It dinna take ye long to notice.”

“He didn’t make much of an effort to hide it. It’s just…are…do you…”

“Lord, no!” He jumped in, shaking his head vigorously. How could she think for one minute that he’d ever even consider taking a man? Or being taken by one? He shuddered at the thought. It was one thing to know of, and begrudgingly understand, Johns affections, but to be a part of it was unthinkable. “What do ye take me for, lass? I’m no an arse bandit.”

“Jamie!” She chastised hotly, as she pulled back and frowned up at him. “Can you not be so…crass! There’s nothing wrong with being homosexual, or bisexual. I was only wondering if you and John…”

“He may be my friend, Sassenach, but the law says differently.”

“Now maybe, but not forever. Same sex marriages will be perfectly acceptable in the future.” He gaped down at her, made speechless once again by yet another realisation about the would she’d lived in.

“Marriage?”

“Yes. But I’m sorry I asked, it’s just, you looked so guilty when you introduced us, and it was clear that he’s in love with you.”

He sighed and pulled her close again, holding her head against his heart. He’d known for a long time about Johns feelings for him, and while they’d disgusted him at first, he’d come to accept that he’d never expected more than his friendship.

“Aye, he is. But he’s never attempted to foster them on me, and he ken’s well that I’d never reciprocate.” He whispered rocking her gently. “I canna help but feel sorry for it. But ye avoiding’ the question. Ye’v no been yerself all day, Sassenach, so dinna be using’ John as an excuse no to tell me.”

He felt her chest expand beneath his arm and she whispered something so quietly that he didn’t hear a word of it. He pulled back slightly and unwound his arm, so he could lift her chin. She was bright red and she refused to look him in the eye.

What was she hiding?

“Claire? Tell me!”

“Oh for Gods sake!” She huffed stepping back and wrapping her arms around her waist. “I started my…courses this morning. I feel icky, uncomfortable, and in pain. There, are you happy?”

He blinked at her as her word sunk in, but when they did he suddenly felt like an idiot, and had no idea what to do. Of course being married before he had a basic understand of a woman curse, but for him it had simply meant there was either a bairn on the way, or there wasn’t, and they stopped trying for a while.

They were always mentioned in abstract, something along the lines of I’m not fit for company or I’m with child. He’d never been close enough with Annalise to know when or how she suffered with them, or really what they entailed.

“Why are ye in pain?” He eventually asked, focusing on his biggest concern as he took a step towards her. He didn’t like the thought of her hurting, and it worried him. What if there was something wrong?

“It always hurts for the first day or two.” She shrugged, allowing him to wrap his arm back around her. “But don’t worry, I’ll manage today. I’m not bleeding too much yet.”

“Yer bleedin’?” He gasped, pulling her back away from him and looking her over from head to toe. “Why? Where?” He couldn’t see any blood, but her dress was dark, he might have missed it. He tried to turned her around, to check her back as his heart pounded in panic, but she slapped his hand away.

“Of course I’m bleeding!” She huffed as though it was nothing, and his world wasn’t about to fall apart. “What do you expect?”

“No for ye to be bleedin’ an’ in pain! Show me.”

“What? No!”

“How can I help ye, if ye won’t let me?” He growled turning around to find her wee bag on the floor behind him. He bent to grab it, but she fell down to her knees before him and stilled his hand.

“Jamie.” She whispered, moving her hands up to cup his face. “There’s nothing wrong with me. It’s my courses. They come every month, and I bleed for five days, and then stop until the following month. The only time they stop completely is when a woman’s pregnant. It’s perfectly normal.”

Five day?

Who bleeds for five days and lives to tell about it?

“Aye, I ken that, I just dinna ken ye’d be bleedin’.” He sighed, falling on to his arse and pulling her down against him. “Are ye sure ye well?”

“I’m fine I promise. But, you were married. How do you not know?”

“Ye ken we werena close. I was either welcome in her rooms or I wasna. There was never a mention of them unless she was telling me about a bairn. T’is no a thing men talk about.” He explained his heart finally slowing as she nestled against him.

“Well you best get used to it. Because I’m likely to bitch and moan about it every twenty eight days.”

Chapter 18

#outlander #jamieandclaire #outlanderfanfiction #ceart-leth

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therandomfish · 3 years

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Victorious: The Final Season

Victorious was (and still is to many) a fantastic show. And there are some like myself who still watch the show today (on Netflix if you’re interested). Recently I came across a youtuber called Jayniac Jr and his videos which delved into the deeper aspects of the Victorious cast. And, unsurprisingly enough, he wrote a finale to the show due to it never receiving one in the actual show run. He gave an emotionally fuelled finale that I thoroughly enjoyed. However, I’m not here to praise Jayniac as I am here to write my own finale but with a twist! In his version he wrote the last episode that wrapped up everything in one episode. I wanna do something different over a bunch of episodes. One for each character and one for the finale in a way. Or maybe these will merge together in some kind of massive two parter… though I doubt it somewhat. Each episode will be headlined by each character’s name. So let us begin

Robbie: This episode begins with the core cast sat at their usual table and eating their lunch. There are sarcastic comments and playful insults thrown back and forth until Trina just goes ahead and spits out the question about Robbie and Rex; “Robbie. You’re going to be graduating soon, why is “that” still attached to you?” Rex responds with an insult to Trina possibly something along the lines of “Why is that face still attached to you?” or something like that. However this gets the conversation going and the others start asking questions about it too to Robbie except Beck. Robbie starts getting upset and runs off, leaving his bag behind. Tori goes to take the bag to him but Beck stops her and gives them some backstory. A backstory that they and thus we the audience, never heard. Beck tells them that Robbie was always quiet but was always bullied, more often than not by the popular kids (of which Beck was a part but never bullied Robbie himself) and Robbie never said anything but kept all of those insults in his head. He’s never gotten over it and never believed himself worthy of anything and thus has been using Rex as someone to keep him down forever. Jade makes a comment about just getting rid of Rex and Beck takes Robbie’s bag and goes after him telling Jade that while he can withstand her barbed wire comments, Robbie doesn’t exactly bounce back from these things and keeps them in his head forever. Beck goes and finds Robbie who is talking to Rex, there is some comedy being thrown around with them but when Beck sits down with them, he talks to Robbie only, ignoring Rex whenever he tries to speak and give off a sarcastic comment. He tells Robbie that he is worthy of his friends, he is worthy of being happy and that no one is stopping him, only himself (which is when Beck gestures to Rex) Robbie doesn’t say goodbye to Rex but simply puts him down and he breathes a sigh of relief. He asks Beck to help him with one last thing then he’ll never bother him again. Beck smiles and tells Robbie to bother him whenever he wants, they are friends, and nothing changes that. Robbie and Beck leave with Sinjin providing a bit of comedy with coming in and trying to pick up Rex and he can’t make him talk and puts him back on the bench. Robbie and Beck return to the table with Jade apologizing in her own Jade like way. Robbie then turns his attention to Cat and asks her to be his girlfriend.

Cat: This episode picks up right after that one with Cat freaking out and running away with Jade, Tori and Trina following her while Beck, Robbie and Andre stay at the table eating they girls food too. The girls run into the theatre where they have a talk about Robbie and Cat. Jade asks her why she’s running away when they all thought she liked Robbie, Tori agrees with Jade and Trina just thought they were already a couple with the way she’s always around him. Cat tries to make excuses and try to confuse them but it doesn’t work so she reveals the truth. She wants to be with Robbie but the fact is that she’s scared. Robbie has left Rex behind and is looking to move forward with her as more and she doesn’t know if she can or even wants to move forward when she likes things the way that they are. Going back to Robbie, Beck and Andre. They talk about Cat, with Beck and Andre giving Robbie advice on what to do, with the conclusion being that he shouldn’t be forcing something that she isn’t ready for. He leaves and heads into the theatre where he assumes they’ve gone. He sings an acapella version of “I think you’re swell” and sits down next to Cat where he tells her that there’s no rush and that he’s happy to be just friends. Cat smiles, and asks “What about friends who hold hands and occasionally kiss?” Robbie grins and this and agrees and we see Cat actually be the first to lean in and kiss Robbie. She admits it’ll take time but she thinks that what they have is worth the wait. They leave together trying to hold hands but Robbie can’t because he’s too sweaty, Cat giggles and tells him to wait until they find Sinjin then Robbie can wipe his hands on Sinjin instead. Tori and Jade are left alone which leads us too

Jade: Again, carrying on from the last episode. Jade makes a mean comment and they both leave. She then meets up with Beck and they leave the group with her making another mean comment to Tori. Tori has finally had enough and gets Andre to help her do something for Jade. They start work on making a short film that Jade wrote but never made. Her own version of the Scissoring called The Cutting. Jade and Beck go off somewhere and Jade tries to be all cute and whatnot with Beck but he refuses and tries to calm Jade down about Tori but finally Jade lets loose and reminds Beck that Tori basically came into her friend group, kissed her boyfriend and, even though Jade had made it abundantly clear that she didn’t like Tori, the girl has done nothing but force herself onto Jade. Beck asks about Sikowitz getting involved but Jade admits she understands why the teacher did it so that they could both remain professional about things on the stage, but Tori is trying to keep this going outside of the school and Jade can’t stand her. Beck then asks why does Jade stay in that friend group if she hates Tori so much? Jade blurts out that she saw Beck and Tori nearly kiss when she was at the music awards and she may have developed a bit of respect for Tori when she rejected anything with Beck in order to keep Jade happy. Beck then gets upset and tells Jade that she needs to stop putting up walls with everyone, that he father hasn’t influenced everyone and therefore there is no reason to assume that everyone is going to abandon her. They then see Tori and Andre trying to film a bit of Jade’s script and Jade goes after them, demanding to know what’s going on. Tori explains it and apologises. Jade smiles, freaking everyone out and she tells Tori that she wants to direct it, keeping Tori and Andre around and they leave together while Beck goes off to a classroom, saying that maybe one of them should be in the right class.

Beck: Beck enters the classroom where they mostly spent their time. Sikowitz emerges and he attempts to address the class and only sees Beck. He is disappointed but continues, nevertheless. Beck however interrupts him and asks about his future as an actor. Asking him seriously if he would ever make it in the industry. Sikowitz reveals to Beck that he has a contact that could get Beck a breakout role in a movie. No the main character but a decent side character with frequent lines and everything but then reveals that he has no contacts and the number he got was by accident and the police will be called if it happens again. Beck goes back to the others and talks to Andre about it as Jade and the others are off doing her short film and Trina is just useless and they talk about Beck actually having talent. Eventually Andre brings him to the theatre stage and makes him give off a speech from something which Beck does. During this Sikowitz enters and he makes Beck do other things that he got the group to do. As Beck does each thing he gets more frustrated and finally asks Sikowitz what any of it means. The teacher reveals that Beck is one of the most versatile actors he’s ever met, able to rise to any challenge and indeed has the most talent to be an actor out of any of the others. He didn’t need to do much because he was absorbing the world around him to become a better actor. He tells Beck that he has an audition for him for another acting school and even some auditions for theatre companies or even film productions that could potentially give him a leading man role. Andre stares and smiles at the back of the theatre and leaves when his phone goes off leading to

Andre: Andre picks up the phone upon leaving the theatre and gets told that his grandma has had a freak out but this time the police have picked her up and she’s been begging to see him. He goes to see her and finds out that she is getting worse and worse to the point where she may need to go to a home for the elderly. At the same time Andre gets an email through from a record company that wants to hire him as a songwriter for them. He is being presented with the best news of his life with the worst and he doesn’t know how to feel. He ends up going back to Hollywood Arts to think about it and ends up dealing with Trina Vega of all people. She points out how ridiculous it would be for him to give up on the dream of becoming famous. Andre says how he owes his grandma for raising him when his parents weren’t around and how he doesn’t want to just give up on her. Trina legitimately points out how she wants Andre to do well and that maybe his grandma will be better off with people who can help her and that maybe she’ll always be with him due to his music and his memories with her. Andre writes a song for his grandma that is one of the most heartfelt songs he’s ever written and he sings it all by himself to her. He messages Trina on the pear phone saying thank you and we cut to

Trina: Trina wants to do a big performance to close out her time at Hollywood Arts but no one wants to perform with her. She tries to get people to come but fails miserably. She returns home and sulks. Her parents try to get away but fail however she then asks them a serious question of whether or not they actually love her like they apparently love Tori. Her Dad tries to comedically get out of it but her Mum pulls him back and reassures Trina that they don’t love Tori more than her but then Tori walks back in the house and the parents run away from the problem. This all leads to a massive break down from Trina who declares that she is sick and tired of being put down by everyone. Tori then gives her a giant reality check and points out how ever since she’s joined Hollywood Arts she hasn’t had talent, that she bullies everyone around her, that she has no thought or regard for anyone besides herself and that she doesn’t care about being talented, she only wants to be famous. Trina is broken and starts crying out. Saying she only wanted to be those things so she would have one up on Tori. That everything happened to Tori in a positive way while it only happened badly for her. Which leads us into

Tori: Tori is left flabbergasted by what Trina says and leaves. Going back to Hollywood Arts she asks the only person who’s opinion matters to her when it came to the truth, Jade. Jade tells her the truth that yeah, when it came to Hollywood Arts and getting in, she was very lucky and to Trina it definitely looked like she was blessed where Trina was cursed, but Jade points out how Tori not only made friends with people but she also got them to tolerate Trina which is already a pretty big achievement. Tori makes one final effort with Trina and asks her to put on one last performance for her, the production of “A Woman in Chicago” which Trina doesn’t wanna do but Tori tells her that its not for any points, it’s just between them as sisters and Trina gives an emotionally heartfelt performance and sings not as well as Tori but manages to sing well. It’s then revealed that the auditorium had Sikowitz and the other teachers there. Trina is overjoyed and breaks her cycle of being insensitive and asks Tori why she decided to do that for her. Tori simply states that she didn’t want Trina to think Tori didn’t love her and that she’s always been a people pleaser which leads into

The Final Scene: Everyone has left Hollywood Arts and they all meet up at Tori’s house. Beck reveals that he and Jade are going to New York to go do a theatre production while Jade will make arthouse movies while Andre is off somewhere else to record his music. They are all sad but also very excited about the next chapter in their lives. We see them create a final version of the ABC improve game

Tori: Are we going to forget each other?

Jade: Blink and we’ll be gone

Trina: Can’t we all stay together?

Andre: Doubt it

Beck: Even if we could

Cat: Forget it

Robbie: Growing she means

Tori: How has it been 4 years?

Jade: I felt like it was years

Trina: Just what are you insinuating

Andre: Kings and Queens got nothing on us

Beck: Lovely sentiment man

Cat: Man I loved this school

Robbie: Never went anywhere like it

They all pause. They all profess how it’s late and they all leave. Except for Trina and Tori, who closes the door. Trina looks up and asks how Tori is feeling now it’s all over. She simply smiles and says “We all went to Hollywood Arts High School. And we are victorious!” Applause.

The End

Dunno if it works but it did in my head. Anyway, what do you guys think? Let me know

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foslad · 6 years

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Almost Too Good (A Chris Evans Story): Part 18

A/N: I made an entirely separate post detailing my excuses as to why this took so long and my thoughts and feelings about this chapter, so check it out if you wish! Otherwise, HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO YOU ALL <3

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‘Uh, I’ll be brief with my speech. Partly because I don’t like giving speeches; mostly because we have to give the studio space back in twenty-five minutes…’ Ben announced to a low hum of laughter before continuing.

‘…So as most of you are aware, this hasn’t been the easiest year for me, by a long shot, and I just wanted all of you to know that your hard work and commitment to this project has been the sole reason I was able to get out of bed every morning and not feel like I was the world’s biggest loser.’

My face fell into a sympathetic frown, along with the rest of the cast and crew, as I held my solo cup close to my chest and watched on as THE Ben Affleck poured his heart out to us atop a chair.

‘This project has been my baby for a long time and I’m stoked to see it come alive with the help of all of you. So,’ He raised his cup in a toast and we all followed suit, ‘cheers to The Eyes Of Nobody and its future endeavors! No matter what the outcome, it’s been a pleasure rocking with you guys!’

A round of claps and woo’s greeted Ben as he stepped down from the chair and we all engaged in a sip of cheap wine bought with the left-over change from the extended budget from the production company.

Well that was it. It was mid-November and the movie was officially wrapped.

As everyone began to mingle around the makeshift wrap party, I clocked eyes with Ben’s accountant Michael and shot him a wink as he made his way over to me; solo cup in hand. He and I had become “close buddies” as Ben liked to call it, since he had convinced himself that his “matchmaking skills” were out of this world…

‘What the hell am I supposed to do now!?’ He declared dramatically, taking a big glug of the wine.

Rolling my eyes, I raised an eyebrow at him. ‘You could try, oh I don’t knoooowww, going on a date?’ I teased, leaning in to poke his chest, only for him to shoot me a sheepish look whilst extending his glug of the wine to an outright chug.

Michael and Chris’ brother Scott had been in constant contact via text since I’d introduced them all those weeks ago yet neither had grown a pair big enough to take it to the next level; each expecting the other to kick start it.

‘Hush up.’ He croaked before looking around glumly at the now closed set. ‘So, lay it on me, when are you back off to the Big Apple? And more importantly, when can I come visit?’

I paused for thought, unable to give him an exact answer.

90% of myself couldn’t wait to get back home; to gladly settle back into routine and all that jazz. I couldn’t physically remember the last time I had sat down and watched a movie or taken time for myself to browse through shops and online for new and exciting clothing pieces or even walked through Central Park as a daily reminder of just how lucky I was. At this point I had even gone so far as to start up a Pinterest page, pinning different recipes I wanted to try out when I finally had the time.

I felt a little foreign to myself and of course, like a true New Yorker, I blamed LA for that.

But naturally there was a remaining 10% that, despite being small in number, weighed me down like an anchor…

‘Soon, I guess… I haven’t had the time to discuss it with my assistant yet.’ I blagged.

Thankfully, something I had grown to notice, and was therefore extremely thankful, about Michael was that he had a short attention span. Instead of paying attention to my answer, he decided to indulge in some good ol’ fashioned gossip instead.

‘I’m even losing Ben to it, you know…’

‘To what, New York?’ I asked, suddenly intrigued.

‘Mhmm.’ He nodded, lifting his cup high and finishing off his wine. ‘Between you and me, I think that his little tete-a-tete with that SNL producer is more than just a passing fling. He’s spending the holidays with Jen and the kids, but he’ll be flying back and forth in-between... If you know what I’m saying…’

Oh, the holidays… My favourite time of year! Even the thought of it brought a warm and cosy sensation to my heart. We were a week away from Thanksgiving and I was delighted to have the holiday period completely signed off to nothing but family, laughter, fun and above all else, food…

As a few crew members around us began to pack away the last few fragments of the set, Michael turned and asked, ‘Please tell me your coming to the actual wrap party at Roamers?’

I smiled wide and shook my head. ‘Nope! I have a prior engagement I’m afraid.’

He raised his eye brows sarcastically. ‘Is this “engagement” six foot, with a body like an athlete on his way to the Olympics?’

I smiled even wider. ‘It suuuuure is. I’m teaching him how to make stuffing, the right way, for his Thanksgiving meal with his family.’

‘Sounds like a bucket of fun,’ He jested, ‘and let me guess, the turkey’s not the only thing getting stuf-’

I clapped my hand over his mouth and light-heartedly glared at him. ‘Nuh uh uh, none of that, thank you very much.’

‘Lots of that…’ He whispered when I removed my hand. I rolled my eyes but admittedly, I was still grinning ear to ear as I sipped the last of my wine.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t floating on Cloud 9 right now. What happened after the night of Gracey’s wedding was like something out of a movie. It was as though I was living out some sort of glorious fantasy that never went away, even when I pinched myself.

Chris and I had travelled back to LA together the day after my sister’s wedding and I was convinced my happiness was enough to cure world peace.

As I sat on the flight, next to a dozing Chris, gazing out at the orange and yellow hue that had begun to court the pale blue sky, signalling dusk, it occurred to me that I was truly smiling.

And my smile only grew wider when I realised that there was so many reasons as to why I could be smiling right now.

I was heading back to finish off a project that made me feel fulfilled in my acting career; my assistant Amy had informed me that she would be coming back to work full time in the new year (but was now capable of helping me long distance in the meantime), my family were all radiating with joy and love after such a magical weekend and Chris and I were finally pushing forward to bigger and better things.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, I began to feel like the old Adrian again. There was no sadness in me, there were no worries; hell, there wasn’t even any fear anymore.

Just pure contentment.

The view of the sunset from the plane seemed extra spectacular that day. I even took a notion and snapped a try-hard “hipster” picture for my currently dormant Instagram that hadn’t been shown any TLC in almost two years. I cornily captioned it;

When you have every reason in the world to smile; it’s kinda cool when it smiles back at you.

‘No! What part of gently fold it in registers in your brain as mix it into oblivion!?’ I reprimanded, yanking the spoon out of Chris’ hand and bopping him out of the way with my hip. From my peripheral, I could see the outline of Scott double back in laughter as he watched Chris and I try to navigate the kitchen together with a beer in hand from the island.

Observing me stir the mixture, Chris’ voice began to raise in protest. ‘You’re doing exactly what I did!’

‘No, I’m not! I’m “gently”, GENTLLLYYYYYYY, folding it in!’

‘Looks pretty fucking similar to me!’ He argued, taking a swig of his beer and shooting Scott a playful look.

‘Uhhh, who’s the teacher and who’s the learner here Evans!?’ I replied, tipping the delicious substance out onto a baking tray.

‘I’m just sayin’!’ He held his hands up in innocence as I placed the tray into the pre-heated oven and picked up my own beer for a smug swig. ‘Well, wait until you taste it, then you’ll see why we “fold”!’

As we waited for the goodness to cook, the boys decided to take the time to grill me on a certain topic that, in general, I had been trying to avoid in my everyday life; so as to not psyche myself out.

‘How’s the training for your Justice League audition coming along?’ Scott asked, after being let in on my little secret a couple of weeks ago and then promptly made to swear to keep silent about it.

Today marked exactly one week after I had received the call from my agent Magda to tell me all systems were ago as far as the audition and truthfully, I was still trying to mentally wrap my mind around it all, never mind even think of the physicality involved.

‘I mean, I gym twice a week, like always, if that’s what you’re asking?’ I hadn’t taken any measures out of my daily routine to prepare…Why should I? I wasn’t even going to get the role for crying out loud!

‘For how long? What do you do when you’re there? You got a trainer?’ Chris questioned intensively.

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa slow down. I do my own thing, like I’ve always done.’ I replied casually.

‘You reckon that’s enough? You feel fit and strong?’ He crossed his arms and eyed me closely.

‘Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.’ I responded defensively. Okay, so I’ve only ever taken to the gym to be able to justify eating whatever I want, but whatever! They didn’t need to know that!

‘Cool.’ Chris stuck his bottom lip out slightly and nodded. There was a solid twenty second silence as he took one last determined swig of beer before laying the bottle down with a bit of force onto the countertop. ‘You. Me. Pull up competition. Right now.’

With that declaration, he pushed himself away from the counter and began to make his way to the glass door that led to his backyard.

‘What!?’ I called after him, shooting Scott a ‘is he for real!?’ look.

‘You heard me!’ His voice trailed off as he exited out of the door.

The sky was starting to get dark but Chris’ garden was well lit. I begrudgingly trailed after him as he walked past his pool and over to the tall oak tree situated towards the side of his garages.

The tree was thick and strong; with Chris reaching up and placing all his weight on it to see if it would hold up. ‘Alright, seems sturdy enough.’ He deduced as he jumped back down.

Standing under it, I gazed up in intimidation. ‘I can’t even reach it’- was my first excuse.

It took all of two seconds for Chris to bend down behind me and wrap his biceps around my knees, swooping me up with ease so that I was eye level with the branch.

‘But what if I fall!?’ - came the second excuse.

‘Well then we’ll scrap the competition and I’ll just stay here to catch you in case you do fall.’ He countered once again. ‘C’mon, grab the branch.’

‘What if it cuts my hands?’ - marked my last feeble attempt. Now that I was closer, the branch did seem a little old and sharp…ish.

‘Just grab the damn branch Warner!’ He ordered, using his strength to give my body a little jolt upwards.

‘Okay, okay!’ Reaching out and wrapping my hands around it, taking a few seconds to secure my grip firmly.

‘You got it? Am I good to let go?’ He slowly let go and lingered for a second to check I wasn’t going anywhere before stepping away. I hung there like a moron, my legs flailing slightly like a child as I tried to keep my balance in check. Chris stepped towards me again and laid his hands on my legs.

‘Knees together and then lift and cross your feet behind your back.’ He ordered. I could already feel the burn in my arms as I followed his instructions and I hadn’t even started yet.

Once he was happy with my posture and positioning, he glared up. ‘I want ten pull ups.’

Okay, that’s not too bad… Ten should be okay…

Harnessing every piece of strength that I’d gathered from lifting light dumbbells for the past nine years, I raised myself up towards the branch and lifted my chin over it.

‘One.’ Chris called out.

Easing myself back down, I felt a sense of achievement. Alright! My first ever pull up! Go Adrian!

Nine more, not so bad…

The next time I felt the burn even more, but I managed it at least. ‘Two.’

When I eased myself down the second time, my arms began to feel the ache a hell of a lot more than they already did.

Mustering the strength for the third one was not so easy. I could feel myself starting to laugh at my own pathetic excuse for upper body strength, but the laughing only made my stomach hurt more and thus caused me to use up more energy.

‘Still two.’ Chris counted, doing his best not to laugh alongside Scott, who had long lost it. Clearly, I was the entertainment for the evening.

My legs had become undone slightly in hopes of helping me complete my fitness mission.

‘Nope! Keep your legs crossed at the back or I won’t count it!’ Chris’ arms were now folded as he started to stare up at me smugly.

‘It’s hard!’ I whined.

‘What? I thought you said you were “up to date” with this training?’ He used the bunny ear gesture to quote me directly before crossing his arms again.

I frowned but refused to give in. Gathering all my strength, I started up once more; unfortunately vocalising every piece of pain I felt - But I made it!

‘Three.’

‘Ohhhhh my God.’ I panted. Why was this so hard???

‘I’ll compromise at five. Get to five and we’ll call it even.’ Chris bargained, leaning back against the tree.

Two more agonising pull ups, which took what felt like hours to complete, followed. Chris moved forward and stepped under me, lightly wrapping his arms around my legs again. ‘Okay, drop down.’

Delighted to be rid of the pain, I let go and slid down into his grip. Chris clenched a little tighter just before my feet hit the ground so that I was now eye level with him. His eyes screamed in triumph as he waited for me to admit that I wasn’t “up to date” with my “training” at all.

Instead however, I simply let out a deep breath through my nose and wrapped my arms around his neck. ‘If you weren’t so cute, I’d be very pissed right now.’

‘Blegh.’ Scott declared before heading back inside to check on the oven.

‘Pissed at what? The fact you have the upper body strength of a kitten?’ Chris inquired as he turned his attention backed to me and lifted his eyebrow in self-satisfaction.

I shot him an unimpressed look in return before pulling away.

With a light chuckle, he lightly wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we trudged back into the house. ‘I was just trying to show you that “fitness” and “strength” are actually two very different things. It’s not about waiting to get the role and then starting training; you gotta show them what you’re made of from the off! Stay ahead of the competition, if you will.’ He squeezed me lightly, causing me to look up at him.

‘You could really slam this audition if you put your mind to it, you know.’

I smiled softly, recalling a similar pep talk I’d received from Ben a couple of weeks ago. I could feel myself light up inside at how supportive he was being; even if that “support” meant that my arms felt like they were about to fall off any second.

‘You should work on your weight lifting and think about getting yourself a trainer.’ Chris advised as he made his way over to the sink to pour me a glass of water whilst Scott declared that there was five minutes left on the timer.

‘Can I hire you?’ I asked half joking, half not.

‘No can-do kiddo, I have my own training to do. Infinity War is coming up and Poppa don’t get in shape as easily as he used to.’

‘Suuuure,’ I teased, gladly accepting the water, ‘because you look so terrrrible right now.’

‘Well, I certainly don’t look like Captain America that’s for sure.’ He replied before sighing and gazing over at the oven. ‘I mean, if we’re being real, I prooooobably shouldn’t even be eating stuffing right now either.’

I squeaked at his blasphemous tone. ‘Stuffing is always okay!’ I walked over and placed my hands on his cheeks and squeezed so his lips puffed up to attention. ‘Stuffing is good for the soul! Say it with me! Stuuuffing is good for the souuul.’

‘Preach it girl!’ Cried Scott from his position at the fridge, as he retrieved three more beers.

No more than ten minutes later, I arrogantly watched on as the two boys went to indulgence heaven and back as they tucked into my creation. I took great pleasure in scolding Chris on how the flavours and different textures of the stuffing would’ve been destroyed had he continued to mash them to death like he had been.

The tail end of dinner took a turn when Scott notified us of the text he had received from one of his roommates. One of them had left their keys at home and with Scott being the only one left in LA this late in the upcoming holiday season, it inevitably made him the only one to be able to help. So, we bid him goodbye as we continued to gorge on stuffing.

After binging three episodes of a new series we’d discovered on Netflix, I sat on Chris’ bed, on top of the covers, and glanced through my emails.

All were mostly worked-related; one was about maintenance that needed to be done to my apartment back in New York and then one, I noticed, seemed to catch my eye for the right kind of reason.

After reading it through, a small smile spread across my face and I found myself calling out to Chris in his en-suite.

‘Did you get the email about the Fashion Awards?’ We’d been invited, as representatives of Gucci, to present one of the awards at the ceremony.

‘Oh, yeah, Jake mentioned something about an awards thing. In England, right?’

‘Mhmm! Would you wanna do it?’ It wasn’t compulsory or in our contract to have to do such events, so I felt like I already knew his answer before he even spoke.

‘Eh.’ Chris shrugged before waving it off and walking back into the bathroom; signalling that he wasn’t even interested, never mind entertaining it.

I nodded and smiled, albeit a little sadly, as I pretended to agree with him.

It was the third thing we’d turned down in the space of a month.

The first being an Elle pictorial spread that had been in the works for weeks due to the popularity of our commercial, 2.5 million views and counting at this point. Chris had decided at the last minute, however, that it would just bring unwanted attention to us and that I should just do it by myself.

But of course, they weren’t interested in just me.

The second was an invite to the launch of Gucci’s new Fall Collection. Off the bat I knew that kind of thing wasn’t Chris’ cup of tea, although I had half-hoped he might’ve been swayed with the knowledge of how much that kind of thing means to me and that we could get away with going together because we were still technically “co-workers”. Alas, I attended that one alone.

The Fashion Awards made it a trio and to say it was a little disheartening, was an understatement.

Obviously, I wasn’t completely clueless. I knew deep down he was just trying to protect and preserve what we had. We’d still managed to evade being public knowledge and that was something Chris was passionate about keeping for as long as possible.

Unlike our early days, nearly every evening was spent at Chris’; which was totally fine! Spending time with him was so beyond fulfilling and I was so lucky to have him! It was night’s like tonight, cooking and chilling together, that really brought a special warmth to my heart.

But I’d be lying if I said we weren’t lacking in most aspects outside of that. There were no dates, no dinners out, no movie trips. I wasn’t even allowed to walk Dodger with him. Something as simple as walking down the street and holding hands or going to the grocery store were also out of the question.

Menial tasks that I ached to do.

And I knew he had done them in the past. A quick google search would should him going on dates or holding hands with past lady friends…

But I knew that kind of thinking was toxic. I had become good at steering away from stupid thoughts like that after the promise I had made to Chris to just trust him.

I didn’t doubt Chris or his feelings, it was just the way things were that made it harder for me to adjust to. I wasn’t as big of a “celebrity” (nor did I ever wish to be) as Chris and, up until we started dating, could happily walk around and go about my business without having anybody give a shit. Even outside of my relationship, I was still able to do that. Stupid little things like fashion award shows and clothing launches, I’ll admit, were still fun little ventures to me that meant a different kind of night out to the usual routine.

But of course, I knew that as soon as Chris and I did become public knowledge, I could probably wave that goodbye. Still…

I hadn’t realised I’d been staring into space until the bathroom light clicked off and Chris emerged, zipping up a jacket and grabbing a cap from the side.

‘Alright, I’ll be back soon. Just gonna take Dodger out real quick.’ He informed me as he bent down to give me a parting kiss. I watched intently as he attached the leash to the dog’s collar.

‘Can I come?’ I chanced. It was dark out and already gone 10:30pm, I doubt paparazzi patrolled his street at this time of night on the off chance he might walk out of his door. Besides, in the one in a million chance that they might be, the picture would be too dark anyway; surely.

I just wanted to hold his hand. Outside. That’s it. That’s all I needed.

He struggled to form words as he tried to figure out a way of gently letting me down that didn’t just involve an outright ‘no’.

‘Please? I hate being here on my own...’ I begged, knowing full well it was probably going to make him feel a little guilty. Sure, I wasn’t being wholly honest but even I could see that the truth seemed slightly embarrassing and needy.

A small frown appeared on his face as he made his way back over to me; leaning down again to kiss my cheek. ‘I’m only gonna be gone ten minutes, Adrian, I promise!’

He had paused for my reaction, but Dodger’s light whimpering pressured me into reluctantly nodding my head.

‘…Okay.’ I whispered, allowing him to lean forward for one last peck.

Chris wasn’t stupid. He probably knew deep down that my request was deeper than just a fear of being alone.

To Chris’ credit, the front door sounded not ten minutes later and a content Dodger trotted down the hallway and into the bedroom; closely followed by his owner.

I picked up the remote and turned down the volume on the random World’s Wildest Police Chases episode I was watching and looked over as Chris entered the bedroom. Smiling, I scooted over and made room for him in the bed.

As he undressed, I decided to break the slightly awkward silence by asking if we could watch Conan tonight. I was happy to see a smile appear across his face as he crawled under the covers next to me.

‘You don’t have to keep asking Adrian, we watch it every night.’

We continued the silence, although now a little more content, as we listened to Zac Efron talk to Conan about the upcoming Baywatch reboot he was shooting on a low volume. We were half-way through the interview when Chris finally spoke up.

‘I feel bad about earlier.’

‘Don’t! It’s okay,’ I reached over and rubbed his cheek affectionately, ‘I understand why you said no.’

A minute or so passed, I had returned my attention back to the screen, when he spoke again.

‘Listen, I was gonna ask you a little closer to the time, but I guess now is a good a time as any.’ Chris sat up and cleared his throat a little. ‘Every year, around New Year’s, Downey throws this fundraiser for a charity of choice. It changes every year.’ He rambled.

I listened intently, but I’d be lying if I said my eyes weren’t widening by the second.

‘Anyways, there’s no red-carpet bullshit but people still dress up and it’s for a good cause, so I try and make it every year.’

‘That’s nice of you.’ I replied, although my tone was willing him to continue.

‘Would you, maybe, wanna go… with me… this year?’

My lips trembled as I fought back a big, fat, beaming smile.

‘Sure.’ I replied as casually as I could, but it was obvious he could see right through me. ‘I should be free.’

He grinned at me as we returned our eyes to the screen but within seconds, I had turned back and smacked my lips against his. Forgoing Conan for the night, I decided to show him just how I grateful I was for his suggestion.

----------

If you read this one through, YOU ARE A GOD! THANK YOU! New chapter SOON!! Special shout out to mrs-captain-evans and elphabathropp for playing a huge part in my return to writing! I’m sorry I suck but I love you for caring!! <3

#chris evans #chris fic #chris evans imagine #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fanfiction

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smokeybrand · 4 years

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Baxter Brilliance

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literaphobe · 7 years

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i’m in love with a girl i hate (she enjoys, pointing out every bad thing about me)

this is... the drama club AU. i honestly have no idea how to summarize this without giving stuff away so you know what?? YOU should read this and send me a summary!! (you don’t have to but it could be fun who knows) ANYHOOZLE heads up this is not a one shot,, this is chapter one (6.6k words, just sayin) of what i’m gonna call the drama club AU. jake and amy are here, this is a peraltiago AU,, the squad’s all there so just roll with this!!

(title from She’s A Lady by Forever the Sickest Kids)

“This is gonna be your what- hundredth school production?” Kylie snorts over the phone. “You might actually act yourself to death if you keep doing this.”

“It’s fun, Kylie. Memorizing lines, bringing joy to an audience-”

“You mean getting standing ovations and praise, or approval of some kind?” Kylie interjects without a moment’s hesitation. “Amy, I may have moved to a new school district, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten your validation craving ass.”

Amy huffs, but it’s light-hearted and lacking any sort of malice, because Kylie is absolutely right. She yearns for approval, especially when it comes from authority figures, people she respects, etc.

“Fine. I guess I do love all of that. But even if I hated acting, I’m attached to the club at this point. I wouldn’t leave.”

“Ah, Jake Peralta must’ve finally grown on you-”

“Shut up! He’s unbearable!”

If Amy were forced to pick one aspect of theatre she found the most tiring, insufferable, vexing, and draining to experience- it would be Jake. Hands down. She wouldn’t even have to consider it. Jake Peralta is annoying, full of himself, tells stupid jokes, and oh yeah- they’re enemies, something mutually declared since elementary school.

“Lies, lies, lies,” Kylie drawls sultrily. “Surely years of playing lovers doth drawn you close?”

Amy groans into the receiver to express her disgust as dramatically as possible. “No- no no no no no! That doesn’t even make sense!”

High school brought upon a mysterious phenomenon that was an absolute curse to Amy. For the past three years, Jake and Amy have been cast as lovers in every single school production they’ve acted in. That’s right-- Every. Single. One. Their director Raymond Holt insists he’s not doing it on purpose- they are apparently the only actors in the club exhibiting the right chemistry to portray lovers.

This knowledge appalls them both, but it’s a good thing playing romantic counterparts usually comes with lead roles. Everyone loves a good romance, but no one loves love more than their scriptwriter, Terry Jeffords, whom they mostly refer to as Terry. Terry makes a living playing in the NFL, writing plays for their school as a hobby. He’s an alumni student with a knack for language, and a degree in theater studies to back it up. His plays are witty and poetic, but most significantly riddled with romance and thus he always has his main characters fall in love with each other.

“Come on- it’s got to mean something if they keep casting the two of you as a couple. And don’t give me that enemy crap- enemies hardly talk to each other, and they definitely don’t play lovers on stage.”

“Hey, we have no say in the casting! And I wish he wouldn’t talk to me- we’re not friends, and we never will be.”

Kylie pauses, withholding response to ponder over this. Amy was being unnecessarily hostile regarding Jake- sure they were ‘enemies’, but Kylie would actually categorize their relationship as more of an off-and-on friendship.

Of course, they were nothing but vicious to each other before high school-- Jake and Amy used to go head to head for lead characters, and considered the other their biggest competitor when it came to casting. Director Holt always made sure there was no bias in his scripts, giving rise to gender neutral roles that meant Jake and Amy were always on equal footing to fight over main characters.

That was the most stark similarity about them- their competitiveness. But their shared competitiveness was matched with passion and talent, putting the two of them among Director Holt’s favorites. Eventually, he started casting them as romantic counterparts- whether this was a ploy to force Jake and Amy to overcome their differences was something only the man himself would know.

In short, Jake and Amy’s relationship became more amicable after they started high school, although they often clash resulting in bouts of annoyance and resentment (usually caused by Jake and experienced by Amy).

Kylie’s point is-- Amy doesn’t get this mad and insistent about Jake and her being enemies unless he does something to majorly piss her off, which leads her to believe…

“He made one of those 'title of your sex tape’ jokes again, didn’t he?”

“I’m hanging up.” This means Kylie is a hundred percent right.

“Hey, calm down! They’re a little funny.”

“How could you be on his side?”

“I’m not! Maybe…” Kylie smirks. “Those 'jokes’ are his way of saying he wants to have se-”

“GOODBYE, KYLIE.”

She hangs up for real after that.

BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL, 0807 HOURS, JAKE AND AMY’S HOMEROOM

Amy watches unfazed but with a rapt attention as Jake shuffles into class minutes late without a shred of urgency. He spots her disapproving frown immediately, waving shamelessly before placing a finger over his lips- as if he were worried about getting caught. Their homeroom teacher Mr McGintley is fast asleep on his desk, snores rolling out in crescendos and diminuendos.

“Hey desk buddy,” Jake greets blithe and casual as he settles in the seat next to Amy, maliciously rubbing in the new fact that they’re desk partners. Assigned to sit together. For an entire school year. It’s only for homeroom and Global Studies, but still.

“You’re seven minutes late,” she cuts in bluntly, her face burning with a glower. She hates how ostentatious his attitude towards late-coming is, although to be fair Jake’s existence generally tends to irk her in and of itself.

“Who died and made you teacher?” He teases, noisily dumping his duffle bag on the table and carelessly rummaging through it for god-knows-what.

Amy points at their unconscious teacher. “Does he look alive to you?”

Laughter bubbles in Jake’s throat, which sweetens Amy’s bitter mood. He often has a tendency to be the most annoying person on the planet, but his laughter rings and chimes, uplifting and contagious to all who hear it.

“Okay okay, I actually have a good reason for being late-” he finally pulls what he’s been looking for out his bag (which she notes with a grimace, is full of trash), revealing a large packet of gummy worms. “I bought sour candy from the bodega that’s shutting down! Their prices now are dope-ishly low.”

“That’s not a valid reason,” it’s not Amy’s job to care, but she’s stating a fact. Buying candy has never been and never will be accepted as a pardon for being late to school. “Also 'dope-ishly’ is not a word.”

“Aww, don’t frown you sour clown-” he coos mushily, which disgusts Amy. “I got you something too.”

A flash of intrigue passes over her face, but is soon replaced with skepticism.

“Really,” she says flatly. “Don’t tell me it’s candy.”

“Fine, I won’t tell you-” yet he reaches into his bag and pulls out a pen which nearly gets Amy shrieking.

Which might seem to be an overreaction, but this isn’t just any old pen- it’s a limited edition fountain pen that Amy remembers complaining about being out of stock the week before.

She’s in shock.

“Why did you- how did you-”

“Chillax. I saw it while buying candy and bought it since I had extra cash. It was the last one. You’re welcome.”

Amy looks up at him disbelievingly. “You bought this at a bodega?”

“No,” he corrects. “I was buying candy on the way home yesterday too. And it was in the stationary store next door.”

Amy forces herself not to disapprove of or form any sort of judgement regarding his addiction to sugar. He did, after all, buy her an expensive fountain pen she had been searching for for weeks. “How did you… remember? How did you even know?”

“No biggie. You wouldn’t stop yappin’ on about it, ‘course I heard everything. And don’t think I did this for you–” he waggles his finger playfully–“I did this for Karma.”

Amy snorts, straightening in her seat because whatever Jake’s about to say next is probably going to be good.

“You did this for luck?”

“Specifically, so that we won’t get cast as a couple again this year,” he explains, and this logic resonates with Amy.

“Oh, yes. I’d love for that not to happen.”

“So we’re on the same page, good. Because full offense, but I wanna do actual cool stuff this year, not practice making goo-goo eyes at you all the time.”

Amy nods her assent. “Agreed.”

“Nice. And just in case the universe hasn’t caught up-” Jake takes the fountain pen from Amy’s hands, before presenting it to her again in a formal gesture. “This is me–” he looks up at the ceiling, speaking to the universe–“doing something nice for Amy Santiago.”

“And this is me-” Amy continues, looking up at the ceiling as well, surprising Jake with how seriously she’s taking this. “-accepting his nice act of kindness.”

After a delayed pause, they break apart, Jake returning the fountain pen to Amy.

“That better work. Here’s to not being onstage lovers.”

The bell rings then, and they part ways for classes where they won’t have to sit together.

BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL THEATER, 1803 HOURS, DRAMA CLUB (AUDITIONS)

“–the role of Johnny will be played by Jake, and lastly, the role of Dora will be taken on by Amy.”

“Yes!” Jake fist-pumps excitedly, whooping and cheering boisterously as his voice echoes throughout the theater.

It seems Karma is working in his favor- Johnny’s a badass (as far as Jake can tell from the script excerpts they read for auditions), and he seems to have no interest in romantic entanglements whatsoever. In fact, none of the script excerpts seem to reveal any sort of romance in the play at all. Terry must’ve finally grown sick of the lovers thing, thank god (or Karma).

Plus, Johnny is long for John, and Terry hasn’t revealed character last names yet, but in Jake’s mind Johnny’s last name is definitely McClane.

“Please do limit your reactions,” Holt reminds pointedly, his words directed at Jake, specifically.

“Sure. But like… my passion for theater overwhelms thy?” Jake attempts, failing miserably to make any sense. It will probably be best for his pursue of theatrics to end with high school.

Thankfully, any negative reaction from Holt gets interrupted by Terry, who nearly bursts through the doors in excitement.

“The scripts are printed!” He announces, relief evident in his voice. The printing shop had messed up that morning, and thus he could only get parts of the script to school on time for auditions.

“Excellent,” Holt remarks with a slight nod. “All speaking roles in the play have thus been assigned, and I’ll start working with the ensemble in our upcoming session. We shall also be doing a script read, so kindly go through the script on your own when you return home. Gina, do send me a text message if you have any suggestions regarding ensemble work.”

“Aight,” says Gina, leader of the ensemble, and the reason why they have at least three dance numbers every performance. Holt took a liking to her years ago, seeing promise and potential in her, which he could not be more right about.

“If there are no further questions, you are all dismissed. Have a good rest.”

JAKE’S BEDROOM, 2347 HOURS, WAY PAST HIS BEDTIME BUT WHO CARES, HIS MOM STOPPED ENFORCING THAT YEARS AGO

Three-ty (so, thirty) five games of Kwazy Cupcakes later (don’t judge him, he was this close to beating Gina’s score), Jake rolls over and puts his phone down to charge, catching sight of his script and deciding to leaf through it before going to bed.

He decides he likes Johnny well enough, although he doesn’t actually turn out as similar to John McClane as Jake would prefer- he’s still pretty cool in his own way.

Jake nearly shuts his script when he notices something at the bottom of the page-

Johnny leans forth, embracing Dora in a gentle, chaste kiss.

What? This couldn’t be happening!

Jake reads through the script again and again, scrutinizing the interactions between Johnny and Dora- crap, Amy was playing Dora!

His chest tightens nervously as he flips the pages, words blurring together as he begins to full-on freak out. This can’t be, his eyes must be playing tricks on him- why was there a kiss?

The only thing that surfaces to his mind as he tosses his script halfway across the room is that Karma- is an absolute bitch, as they say, and doing anything good is pointless because the universe doesn’t care what you do. In fact, doing something nice- like getting Amy the fountain pen she wanted so badly and making her eyes widen like they always do over nerdy stuff- was only going to result in something worse- like having to kiss Amy.

SOMEWHERE IN BROOKLYN, 0758 HOURS, EN ROUTE TO BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL

Jake frantically reads through the script again, praying, hoping, that what he discovered last night was all part of a dream (or some horrific nightmare) and that Johnny’s actually just as cool if not even cooler than John McClane, super badass- and most importantly, doesn’t have to suck face with anyone.

Johnny leans forth, embracing Dora in a gentle, chaste kiss.

God damnit- no! Jake nearly rips the script in frustration, but his scripts are almost always subject to wear and tear anyway (unlike Amy’s neatly filed scripts with her lines highlighted, neatly margined with post-its containing actor’s notes), so it would make no difference, really.

What was he going to do? He has to kiss Amy, for god’s sake, and that’s (obviously) something they’ve never done. Yes, they’ve been playing lovers onstage for three years straight, but they have never, ever, had to kiss.

Until now, apparently.

Jake plods in dread, each footstep he takes slowing with every pace. He’s really not looking forward to school today.

BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL, 0809 HOURS, JAKE AND AMY’S HOMEROOM

Amy’s staring into space, not bothering to acknowledge Jake’s tardiness, not even glancing over when Jake trudges in (significantly quieter than usual). She seems to be deep in concentration, or confusion, or heck it could be happiness- Jake can’t say for sure, because he feels much too awkward about the whole situation to look at her too.

“Hey,” he finally says, because the silence wants to kill him, and they can’t not talk about this.

“Hey,” she mumbles, fiddling with her hair absentmindedly, actions Jake’s not used to seeing Amy take.

“Okay, I’ll come right out and say it because you obviously read the whole script first thing when you got home- what the hell is up with that kiss?”

“I know right?” Amy snaps and words roll out her mouth, unstoppable. “It makes no sense to me! Why in the world would a strong, independent woman like Dora be interested in someone like Johnny?”

Jake tenses. “I wouldn’t go that deep yet- my issue was mainly the smooching.”

To be fair, Amy had not read the entire script like Jake assumed. She too, got freaked out when she realized what was going to happen between their characters and could barely process any more words after that. Her impression of Dora was largely based on the material they received during the auditions, and the way she had planned to portray her.

Amy gulps, receding back to her previous disposition. “Yeah. That- I don’t- why would Terry do something like that?”

Jake shrugs. “Maybe Holt’s gonna hate it. I mean, maybe he doesn’t know about the kiss yet, and he’ll tell Terry to cut it.”

“Maybe.”

“Or we can protest- right? Holt will hear us out. They can’t make us kiss.”

BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL THEATER, 1520 HOURS, DRAMA CLUB (REHEARSAL)

They’re completely wrong- Holt loves Terry’s script to bits.

“Dare I say, Jeffords, this could very well be your best work,” he remarks, shaking his head in pride as he reads through the script.

“Thank you, Sir, that means a lot to hear.”

Jake and Amy exchange panicked looks- neither of them want to protest against the script after hearing something like that. One other thing they have in common is not wanting to disappoint Holt (although Jake would never admit this), which means they have to suck it up and… suck face.

BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL THEATER, 1525 HOURS, DRAMA CLUB (WATER BREAK BEFORE FIRST SCRIPT READ)

“Okay what if-” Jake suggests as Amy nervously gulps water. “We got the wrong script?”

Amy’s face contorts doubtfully. “How would that happen?”

“Maybe–” his fingers tap against the drywall–“the kiss was in an earlier draft of Terry’s play, but he cut it out, but it didn’t change for our scripts.”

Amy’s eyes brighten with a glimmer of hope. “It’s a very slim chance, but…”

The two break off immediately, determined to check as many scripts as possible in order to test their theory.

Jake spots Charles nearby, working on a list of props they’ll need to make, using the script as reference. Ever since he’s been promoted to Head Of Props, Charles has taken a bit of a backseat acting-wise by taking on smaller roles, which isn’t a problem at all because he’s absolutely brilliant with props. Charles has delicate and dainty fingers perfect for crafting the most sturdy and beautiful props, thus making him the right person for the job.

“Hey buddy, can I take a look at that?” Jake trails on with an air of nonchalance, grabbing the script and quickly scanning through it before Charles even realizes it’s out of his hands.

“Sure, I’ll just work on this later. You forgot your script again, huh?” He teases, but lacking any sort of judgement.

“Nah, me and Amy are just checkin’ in case we don’t actually have to kiss in the play.”

“YOU AND AMY HAVE TO KISS?!”

Charles shocks Jake, the entire club, Holt, Terry, the building, and possibly the entire world with his explosive response. He’s on his feet now, eyes wide open and fingers curled in excitement.

While his outburst was a shock, Charles’ happiness comes at no surprise to Jake. The former often tries to persuade Jake that his supposed 'hatred’ for Amy is in actual fact, a huge crush. Their repeated claims to be enemies mean nothing to Charles’ heart.

“OH, YOU PROBABLY MEAN BLUE AND CREAMY HAVE TO CHEESE, CHARLES!” Jake yells, just as loudly in a desperate attempt to cover up, which is completely useless since everyone definitely heard Charles loud and clear.

“Really, Charles?!” Jake whispers in a harsh tone which does nothing to tear down Charles’ jubilation.

“Not sorry, Jake. This is destiny!”

“No, this is not destiny, this is something that can’t happen!” Jake settles with a frustrated sigh in a nearby seat. “At least you not knowing probably means we don’t really have to kiss.”

“Uh, actually Jake- I haven’t read the whole script.”

“What? Charles!” Jake picks the script back up and furiously searches again.

“I’m sorry! I only have a few lines, and I needed to catch up on homework.”

Jake freezes in place suddenly, which gets Charles grinning wide and leaning over to read the line:

Johnny leans forth, embracing Dora in a gentle, chaste kiss.

Jake groans in denial, getting him strange looks from some, but smirks from many others that already know what Jake and Amy have to do.

Almost everyone knows by the time the script read starts, and it gets people looking at Jake and Amy suggestively, to say the least.

BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL THEATER, 1530 HOURS, DRAMA CLUB (FIRST SCRIPT READ)

It only gets worse from there. People don’t just look at Jake and Amy, they’re affected, jittery and giggly as they mess up lines, recite with the wrong emotions.

Jake and Amy, on the other hand, are awkward and their delivery is lifeless. They too, fail to maintain any semblance of professionalism.

Holt stops the script read halfway through.

“I am incredibly disappointed in you all. This childish buffoonery is something I wouldn’t dream of receiving even from actors in elementary school- of which, the few of you that I worked with then displayed better performance than you currently are. If everyone doesn’t get their act together– literally, I will cancel this year’s play effective immediately. Am I clear?”

His anger has everything. Enunciated denunciations, finger pointing, and wordplay delivered with a serious face. Everyone shrivels in shame at having let down their respected director, most of all Jake and Amy. They know they’ve caused the club to lose focus for the craft, and they themselves have also failed to keep up their standards and live up to Holt’s expectations.

BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL THEATER, 1750 HOURS, DRESSING ROOM (ONE WEEK LATER)

The past week was one of silence between Jake and Amy. Things are awkward, and they haven’t spoken since getting very thoroughly chewed out by Holt the week before. Neither has bothered striking up a conversation which makes class quiet and boring, but it’s better than having to confront the issue.

Except, things have improved from last rehearsal. Everyone takes the script read seriously, pleasing Director Holt which makes him decide to start blocking scenes. His focus this rehearsal is largely on scene transitions, as it’s too early to experiment with props and set. As a result, things are moving quickly, actors running on and off stage with their scripts and saying their lines, barely making the effort to experiment with any actions.

That’s actually the problem here, for Jake and Amy. Things are moving much too quickly, and they know their kiss scene is coming up. They won’t be 'saved by the bell’ or allowed to skip that scene because that’s not Holt’s style, and they can’t go on stage and beat about the bush about having to kiss, because it might make Holt angry again.

Everyone’s doing a great job today, including Jake and Amy, and they can’t ruin that because they’re getting all freaked out about touching lips. It’s a kiss, that likely won’t last more than a few seconds, and it’s not like they’ve never kissed other people. Jake’s had two girlfriends, like the goddamn rockstar he is, and Amy used to date Teddy, a fucking loser Jake hates, but Amy used to make out with that blob, so he’s (unfortunately) still being noted as part of Amy’s past kissing experience. Her kissing resume, or her kissing portfolio, if you will.

Point is- Jake and Amy have never kissed each other, and they’ll never want to, but they very likely have to within the next hour or so regardless of their feelings, and that’s why Jake’s now standing in the dressing room, having followed Amy in.

Somehow, she’s not even surprised and seems to have no intention of kicking him out.

“Hey,” she says, swallowing awkwardly as she leans against the corner of the dressing table. Jake fares no better in looking cool, and is so close to the door he might as well not have entered the room in the first place.

“Hey,” he says, and then he cracks because this pressure is crazy unbearable and one of them has to take the plunge and go for it, right?

“Okay so- things are moving real fast rehearsal wise, and I don’t think we can skip… y'know.”

Amy nods rapidly, picking at her skin. “Yeah, I know. We’ll probably have to be on stage soon, give or take a few minutes.”

Jake takes a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair. He can’t believe he’s actually going to suggest this, even though it’s literally why he followed Amy into this dressing room.

“Look- we’re gonna have to do it eventually, so you wanna just… practice before we have to do it for realz? I don’t want Holt to go batshit crazy again, and if we mess this up everyone’s gonna laugh in our faces.”

Amy nods, and it seems like it’s the only thing she’s been capable of this entire conversation.

“I mean, Gina’s convinced it’s gonna be the kiss of the century in terms of sloppiness and unwillingness, so we gotta at least prove her wrong about our kiss being 'Youtube-viral’ bad.”

This gets Amy to crack a smile- it’s half-hearted of course, but her tense and overly quiet demeanor had been far too worrying to get subjected to, and although Jake’s not exactly throwing a parade in excitement over having to kiss her, he hasn’t nearly been this unresponsive.

“Yeah, let’s do this,” she tacks on with a lip bite. “Lock the door.”

Jake titters to lighten the mood. “And I thought we were leaving it wide open so everyone could watch,” but he locks the door.

They both take a deep breath. Several deep breaths.

“We’re really doing this,” he says, and it’s possible he’s never felt so anxious about- anything, really.

“Yup. We are about to kiss. To practice. For stage. Play-” she sucks in a tight breath, because she’s clearly freaking out about this too.

“Okay, we’re making this out to be too big a deal. On three, we kiss. Okay? One-”

“-who’s doing the counting?” She interjects unintentionally, eyes widening when she realizes he had already started counting and she had just interrupted him, stopping his flow and making everything worse.

“God damnit, Ames, you’re-”

“Screw it- onetwothree,” she stammers before grabbing his shirt and pulling in for a kiss.

Jake’s caught completely off guard at first and his late response is slow and cautious. Amy’s lips feel uncertain and scared against his so he decides to meet her efforts at initiation with a bit more confidence. They’re practicing kissing, right? He knows how to kiss kinda, so he’s not gonna give her half-assed snorkeling and starts properly moving his lips.

Her hands are still clutching his shirt tight and stiff, so he places his arms around her waist because he has no where else to put them, and holding them up like he’s being held hostage is probably not something he should produce on stage.

The strange thing is, they actually start getting into a little bit of a rhythm, and it’s… not bad.

Okay, it’s more than just not bad, it’s good, it’s really good and it just gets better by the second.

Jake’s insistent lips encourage a more passionate and fiery response from Amy, and that’s when things spiral out of control.

Jake sees stars when Amy shoves him against the wall, her hands no longer just crumpling his un-ironed shirt but instead grazing his sides. It’s strangely a sensation he enjoys- her hands are gentle but ambitious, they want more than they’re getting, and Jake wants to give Amy’s hands whatever they want.

By the time Jake meets Amy’s tongue, not stuck out at him in petty annoyance, but delving into his mouth, warm and playful; he’s completely lost in pleasure. Kissing Amy is ecstasy, pure heaven, and he hums in delight at the talent of her lips with each smack and lick.

Jake and Amy completely lose themselves, forgetting everything around them, the reason why they started kissing in the first place slipping from their minds. Their hearts are pounding no longer from nervousness but from the intensity of their actions. Their kiss seems to have no end, only slowing down now and then with no signs of stopping. Their minds are blank, completely blank, because somehow getting sucked into what is currently the most mind-blowing kiss of either of their lives leaves little space for critical thinking.

Jake’s hands leave Amy’s waist and begin combing through her hair, she bucks up against his lips and Jake smiles, he takes note of this for future-

“JAKE IF YOU’RE IN THERE GET ON STAGE ITS TIME FOR THE KISS SCENE!”

Jake and Amy split apart, Charles’ (very excited) voice waking them up like getting dunked in a bucket of ice. They’re panting heavily, having pushed each other away in sheer horror. Jake’s not looking at Amy, Amy’s not looking at Jake, they’re both just staring at different areas of space trying to pump enough oxygen back into their brains.

Which is when Jake starts to truly panic.

What on earth just happened? His lips, and Amy’s lips, touched and did something and it was magical and beautiful and honestly kinda sexy and she was sexy and the kiss was super hot and- Jake is a complete mess who may or may not want to grab Amy and start kissing her again.

Because holy smokes that felt good. Really good, the best damn kiss of Jake’s life. And seeing Teddy and knowing what a loser he is he probably did a crap job of kissing Amy too so heck, assuming Amy hasn’t kissed anyone else, could be the best kiss of her life too! Just saying!

“I think we have to go,” and Amy’s words descend Jake into new levels of dismay.

They were going to have to kiss now. In front of Holt, and anyone else watching- they were going to have to kiss each other.

Jake could be considered an idiot for freaking out about having to kiss Amy after just kissing Amy– but that’s the entire point. He kissed Amy. When really, he should’ve just lightly smooched Amy. Or pecked her on the lips. But no, they just had to make out for god knows how long, and he’s freaking out because the way they just sucked face is definitely not how they should suck face on stage. Or anywhere, really. Their kiss was something he wouldn’t recommend showing to kids.

Because as Jake recalls all too clearly (due to reading it over and over to make sure it was real), the script calls for:

Johnny leans forth, embracing Dora in a gentle, chaste kiss.

See? A cute, PG-rated kiss that kids could see and go aw, not their violent slamming against walls, hair-pulling mess that would make children cry, scarring them for life.

What they need (in about seconds from now) is a sweet, innocent kiss– not Thirty Seconds Before Porn. And given how they failed to do that in the dressing room, Jake isn’t sure they’ll be able to pull it off now.

They approach the stage carefully, steps loaded with dread when they realize Holt is no longer in the audience. Instead, they see almost everyone from the club, with Gina and Rosa sitting in the front row. For some strange reason, everyone has popcorn, Gina and Rosa most of all.

“Where did Holt go?” Amy asks, genuinely curious, although Jake can’t help but note a degree of relief in her voice.

“Family emergency,” Rosa explains, mouth full of popcorn. She has no business staying here right now, being in charge of both lights and sound (yeah, Rosa’s good), and it’s too early in the stage of production for her to be of use. She’s required to turn up for club sessions, of course, but Rosa’s definitely not supposed to be sitting in the front row, eating popcorn like she’s about to watch her favorite movie in theater for the third time in a row.

In fact, none of the club members are supposed to be sitting in the audience seats right now as per Holt’s rules, let alone the whole club.

“Then why are we all still here? Doesn’t this mean rehearsal’s over?” Jake questions.

“Nuh uh,” Gina explains, mouth full of popcorn as well. Where they all got their popcorn is a mystery, but not a prioritized concern. “Holt says I gotta make sure y'all get the kiss right, he says he wants to see it next rehearsal.”

Jake rolls his eyes. “Fine-” he grabs Amy’s face and plants a kiss smack on her lips before pulling away, taking her by surprise. “Can we go home now?”

Some people whoop in excitement, others gasp in shock at actually seeing Jake and Amy kiss, albeit briefly. Charles starts tearing up, which Jake pretends he doesn’t see.

“NO,” Gina narrows her eyes, which only makes Rosa break into a wide grin. “Not good enough. Do you want me to tell Holt y'all ain’t taking this seriously?”

Jake and Amy protest against this apologetically. Gina’s threats hold real power because Holt trusts in Gina and her judgement. If she were to tell Holt that Jake and Amy weren’t taking parts of the play seriously, he would believe her, and that’s not something either of them want.

“How long do you even want us to kiss for?” Amy asks, her tone impatient but question valid.

“Forever,” Charles sighs with a dreamy smile, and it kind of scares Jake if he’s being honest.

“Give it at least ten seconds,” Gina relents, and Jake and Amy shrug because hey, that’s reasonable.

Except when they do kiss, it’s awkward and strange all over again because they seem to be holding back (because they are holding back), and they’re kissing weird and with restraint, something they would’ve expected from themselves if they had not practiced. So their practice session had been practically useless.

The crowd goes wild- not with applause, but with jeers and taunts. They’re being booed by the drama club, especially Gina and Rosa who hurl popcorn at them, eventually prompting them to stop kissing because things are getting way too crazy.

“COME ON, GET SOME TONGUE IN THERE!” Gina yells.

“GRAB EACH OTHERS ASSES!” Rosa adds just as aggressively.

Only Charles remains loyal and still touched by their kiss, and after all the hubbub dies down everyone slowly leaves the theatre to go home because Gina and Rosa had lied about rehearsal not being over and everyone had went along with it to see Jake and Amy kiss.

BROOKLYN ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL THEATER, 1804 HOURS, DRESSING ROOM

Amy walks back to the dressing room (after Gina announces that rehearsal’s over) which thankfully no one is around to witness, especially since she hears Jake’s footsteps behind following her.

He locks the door, a smart move that nearly gets Amy blushing.

“So um, that went horribly,” she starts, because it really did, and she kind of wants to talk about how intense their kiss from before got but she doesn’t know how to even begin to approach the situation.

“Mmhmm, yeah,” Jake slurs in a way that Amy knows usually means he’s not listening to a word she’s saying. She’s about to chide him but when she looks up he’s very obviously staring at her lips. She’s almost surprised but the attention he adorns her with makes it hard to look away. His eyes on her makes Amy feel like the most prized possession one could only wish for.

This heated exchange of gazes snaps and Amy’s not sure who surges forth first but they’re kissing again, and it’s somehow even better than the first time– it’s more desperate, it starts much faster and needier than their last, and it feels absolutely incredible.

Kissing Jake is more than just kissing- his arms are wrapped around her more firmly now, his hands running rampant up and down her back; desire pools at the pit of her belly because his lips declare want and need, insufferable need without using words and his hands feel so ridiculously good, Amy both wishes and would hate for his hands to leave her back and touch her elsewhere.

Embarrassingly, Amy’s so overwhelmed by pleasure she lets out a wordless moan that gets Jake chuckling noiselessly against her lips. She finally comes to her senses and pushes him away.

“Okay- that, that’s just weird,” she puts it out there, because it is weird, super weird-

“Uh, huh,” he shifts, voice strained.

“We- we’re supposed to hate each other,” she says, and it comes out almost as a reminder, a memo that hey, they’re still enemies and enemies do not make out… like that.

“Oh yeah, I like, super hate you too,” he’s very unconvincing, but Amy can’t blame him for not hating her guts after what they just did. It was freaking amazing, even if she says so herself.

“So what does-”

“-but maybe this isn’t about us, or hating each other, or anything. Maybe we’re just super good actors and it shows.”

Amy considers this. “Huh.”

“Right?”

“Okay but- when Teddy and I used to kiss it was never anything like that.”

Jake grins wide and proud, and Amy almost rolls her eyes because great, she just gave him more reason to be super full of himself.

“Hmm, never would’ve guessed,” he teases, but Amy can’t even bring herself to get mad. “But like, ditto. It was never like that for me either, but Teddy isn’t an actor, and neither were my exes.”

Amy nods. “That’s true.”

“So maybe it’s just one of those actor chemistry thingies. And we’re just good at kissing. And that’s why–” his hand extends, gesturing back and forth–“this, y'know.”

“Yeah, I think I get what you mean,” Amy crosses her arms. “So since we’ve pretty much nailed this kissing thing, we should stop practicing?”

“What? NO-” Jake protests, with an intensity that scares Amy.

“Why not?”

“No, I don’t think we should stop at all. In fact, I think we need to keep practicing.”

Amy raises an eyebrow in interest. A part of her is curious about how Jake will explain himself. Another small, very small part she’s barely aware of, wants him to admit he wants to keep kissing her… purely because of how enjoyable he finds it.

“Why?”

“You think they’re gonna let us up on stage with a kiss like that Parents will sue, just like they did when Charles played Daddy Warbucks in our production of Annie-”

“Ew, no! Gross gross gross! Please don’t remind me of that,” she begs with her fingers curled up and her eyes tight shut. She doesn’t know this, but Jake finds it to be almost cute.

“Amy-” he continues, “we have to focus all our energy into making this kiss as un-sexy and school friendly as we possibly can.”

“That was sexy to you?” Amy teases, almost because she wants to hear him admit it, somehow making her worst enemy (that makes sex tape jokes insinuating that she’s a boring prude) admit that something she did/participated in was sexy is appealing to her.

Jake looks at Amy incredulously, like she’s got to be kidding him. “Amy, you moaned.”

Amy’s breath catches in her throat, because she knows she did, and she knows she was loud enough for him to hear, and she knows she pulled away specifically because she had moaned, and because of his reaction to it but- hearing him lay it all out makes it so much more real, and she’s now tongue tied and her cheeks are burning more and more with each passing second.

He knows he’s got her feeling shy, and he responds with a shallow laugh. “Relax, it’s cool, it happens. And it was pretty hot, I’ll give you that-” this makes Amy feel like convulsing, “but it’s exactly that kind of stuff that we need to get rid of before we take this kiss from the page-to-the-stage.”

Amy inhales sharply, and builds up the nerve to look up at him. “Okay, I’m in.”

“You are? Cool. Okay so- I don’t think we should keep practicing in here because people are eventually gonna find out and ask why we keep going to the dressing room together and locking the door, so we should meet up someplace else.”

“Where?”

“I’m thinking- my place? Before you say anything–” he holds his hands up even though Amy hasn’t so much as said a word of protest–“hear me out: my mom works late so we’ll get the house to ourselves. We could even do lines together, and hey- you can bring your homework! I know you’re always complaining about how noisy your place is. Seven brothers and all that.”

It’s a strangely sweet proposal, filled with details catering to Amy; how he pays attention to details about herself she doesn’t even directly share with him is frankly kind of amazing.

“I’m sold,” she says, holding her hand out which Jake shakes.

“Awesome. So it’s settled then.”

#text #peraltiago #brooklyn nine nine #PLEASE LIKE THIS IDK #AND LIKE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK

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alluratron · 7 years

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Voltron seasons 3 and 4 review

I rewatched the two seasons in one go so as to see how much I’d like it as one single season as it was originally meant to be and I did actually prefer it that way. So I’ll talk about the good aka what I liked and enjoyed, then about what I was kinda “meh” towards, before talking about what I disliked.

The good:

Allura. I love seeing Allura in the thick of things, hence my love of episodes like “Collection and Extraction”, and the confrontation with Haggar and the druids in “Blackout”. I was rather disappointed in s2 by how much of Allura’s screentime was to do with opening wormholes or sitting around waiting (although I did prefer that to her supposedly being ~racist~ -.-) so to see her always involved in the action this season was very satisfying for me.

Her pink paladin armour is glorious and watching her wield her whip bayard is magnificent. So many Wonder Woman comparisons made valid and I love it.

By “Code of Honor” she’s back in a co-leadership position with Shiro, where Shiro seems more of the battle strategy leader and Allura more of the coalition diplomacy leader.

HER MAGIC LITERALLY LIFTING VOLTRON UP!!!! They were actually going to be crushed by gravitational pressure but Allura saved them all on her own and that’s amazing. She’s explicitly untrained and yet she has so much raw power. I truly believe she’s some sort of Chosen One or something.

Lance’s insecurities not just brushed under the carpet after Shiro’s sharpshooter comment in season 2. It definitely seems like he’s going to have the longest running arc. We saw him attempt to use the black lion to ~cure~ his insecurities with the whole “this is your moment” thing.

We also learn that he worries that not only is he the least useful member of the team, he doesn’t even deserve to be on the team at all. As the viewer we know this isn’t true and this is especially highlighted this season, with Lance fighting at the forefront a lot more.

Evolution of Lance and Keith’s dynamic. I think it’s super interesting how Lance stepped up when Shiro was gone, consoling Keith and supporting him when Keith felt most alone, but seemingly steps away from that role when Shiro returned.

Lance was never afraid to call Keith out and somehow is able to get through to him and that made him the perfect balance to Keith.

The relationship didn’t just skip to BFFs though, because even though Lance is good at supporting Keith, Keith sucks at it and as such there’s still problems to address for them to grow.

Evolution of Lance and Allura’s relationship. Lance didn’t flirt ONCE with her!!!! In 13 episodes!!!!! Their relationship is so much more profound now. I made a post about this, but I love the contrast between “Red Paladin” where Allura motivates and encourages Lance to believe in himself and says why the red lion has chosen him, and then in “A New Defender” Lance motivates and encourages Allura to believe in herself and her abilities and says the blue lion chose her for a reason. I love mutually supportive friendships. Also, Lance checks in to see how Allura is doing in Blue. He also genuinely compliments her for taking out a bunch of sentries.

Shiro back in the black lion. I still have my doubts as to whether this is the same Shiro from seasons 1 and 2, but either way I’m glad to see his face in the lion. The more paladin armor in the matching lion the better imo.

More emphasis on how badass Hunk is. His piloting skills have come so far since season 1. He also elbow dropped someone in the face like daaaaammmmmnnnnnn son.

More emphasis on how loyal Hunk is. He wanted to form the head with the yellow lion 😭😭😭. He loves his lion and I love him. He also is very loyal to his friends. He split off and went back for Allura when she fell behind.

More emphasis on how smart Hunk is. In season 2 there was a tendency to downplay his intelligence (and everyone else’s) to make Pidge seem smarter. This season, however, Hunk was very much involved in the nerd talk, with him and Pidge (and Matt when he joined) bouncing ideas off each other.

Speaking of, Matt. I really didn’t want that storyline dragging out any longer so I’m glad Pidge found him finally. They have a lovely dynamic and he’s so sweet and supportive of her. I know some people are saying his personality is basically the same as Lance but I don’t see that. Sure, he flirts with Allura but if you think flirting is Lance’s most defining trait then uhhhhh. Well. Also Lance doesn’t really do puns. Also also Lance isn’t a nerd.

I saw spoilers so I knew Matt wasn’t dead but they still had me thinking Matt was really dead???? Had me tryna rationalise future Matt scenes like maybe that Matt is from an alternate reality. Really well done episode. I didn’t cry but I only cry for Allura so eh.

GROUP HUG!!!!!!!!!! It was so pure and cute and Keith looked so happy. I wonder if he’s been in a group hug before. Pidge crying that they’d miss Keith when she was the first one who ever tried to leave the team shows how close they’ve grown since season 1.

I know this a kids show and they aren’t going to kill any of the main cast but damn if Keith didn’t get me. I was in SHOCK, wondering if maybe Steven Yeun didn’t want to be part of the show anymore lmao. Props to them for actually making that really convincing.

The generals turning on Lotor “for Narti”. We see that they really are friends with each other. Ezor looked very upset after Narti’s death. Zethrid looked upset too. These girls care for each other.

The “meh”:

“The Legend Begins”. I’m really glad it happened because it was about time we got some backstory. I did enjoy certain aspects of it (Alfor’s “oh dear” and Zarkon’s “i must go” are big winners to me) and I especially enjoyed red paladin Alfor confirmation (because I’m petty and I hated how people acted as if it was canon confirmed that he was yellow).

But some aspects fell flat for me. I would’ve liked more female paladins, or for the one female paladin to not be in the same lion as the girl on our original team (bc really they could stand to mix things up once in a while). I would’ve loved Blaytz to be female and a lesbian, flirting with a female galra servant.

The queen of Altea’s design and role was a big disappointment. It was extremely lazy to just give her all of Allura’s features just with a different dress. She also doesn’t speak a word nor have a name. What happened to her? Who knows. Maybe we’ll find out in future episodes but I’m sceptical.

I’m not keen on how Alfor made a joke out of it when Zarkon was reinforcing class separation. It makes me wonder if that was present on all the planets, just not as enforced. I do like that Zarkon was already classist and power hungry before he died in the rift. It made it feel less like they were trying to excuse his tyranny and more like they were saying “he was a dick but quintessence exacerbated his dickiness”.

I love Honerva’s character, but I don’t like how she had a small, pointy nose before and once she turns evil she gets a hooked nose.

“The Voltron Show”. I know it’s supposed to be meta and make fun of itself/the fandom à la “Ember Island Players” but it just fell a bit flat for me. There were some really funny bits, like Coran sayin Shiro is the most popular character and telling him to put on a tight shirt, and I still don’t know whether I love or hate Pidge complaining about saying fake made-up science words.

But the “Humorous Hunk” thing was really not funny. Not because “oh boo more fat jokes, this time about farting” but because the episode was supposed to be this self-aware thing, parodying the show itself and the fandom and thus going over the top with everything. But them parodying using their fat character as comic relief doesn’t sit right when they continue to do just that outside of the parody. There’s a video called The Adorkable Misogyny of The Big Bang Theory and it talks about ironic lampshading (from around 13:04 if anyone’s interested). That’s what sits wrong with me about Humorous Hunk. They parody the fat comic relief character as a way to show that they’re aware that it’s an unsavory trope, yet continue to use it. I put this in the “meh” because I don’t actually know if they’ll continue to use it. Maybe they’ve finally heard the fans and will stop with the fat jokes. We’ll see next season.

Keith missing from 3 episodes. Don’t get me wrong I’m not upset about that at all, considering there was plenty of him in the first 8 episodes. But I was curious as to what this weeks-maybe-months-long mission would entail. I wouldn’t have minded, like, a minute long segment for Keith in those episodes showing us what exactly he’s up to. Even better would’ve been to show us him missing the team. They could’ve had a short scene of him watching the voltron show and smiling wistfully before he gets called away to the mission. Something like that would’ve had more people emotionally aligned with him.

The Bad:

“Hole in the Sky”. This whole episode a nightmare. Evil Alteans? Really? Is your writing that bad that you’re incapable of showing nuance without going down that route? Allura is apparently too clueless and idealised in her view of Alteans to understand what is going on by the time Keith yells “you’re taking away their will!” Keith has to be some sort of moral compass to her.

Allura saying “you’re no Altean” as if Alteans can’t be morally corrupt. As if she didn’t meet Haggar just last season finale. I know they wanted to make it hard for Allura by presenting her with the option of an idealised society, but they don’t have to make her stupid for that. I’ve come to the conclusion that any and all storylines involving race on vld are going to be badly handled and should thus be scrapped. I’ve had enough.

Lion ranking. The emphasis on Black as leader and Red as second in command feels like it’s devaluing the whole theme of voltron as 5 essential components by assigning greater worth to certain lions. Keith moving to Black and Lance moving to Red were portrayed as upgrades or promotions. Also, does this mean Lance is now Shiro’s second in command? Wasn’t discussed at all.

Allura in the Blue Lion. When Shiro was away, Allura should’ve been in the Black Lion. That’s the only rank that was established right from the beginning as leader and Allura is a great leader. She’s described in the show as the decision maker, and the black paladin is the decisive head of voltron. It’s clear she best fits the role. It also isn’t fair to have her taking orders from people she used to outrank. To rank her below Keith is bad enough, but with the second in command stuff as well, Allura ends up ranked below Keith and Lance. Depowering your WoC is not a good look.

When Shiro comes back though, the second in command thing seems to fly out the window and Allura is back to giving orders despite being in Blue so I guess they’re just inconsistent lmao.

The black lion refusing to let Shiro fly it for a grand total of 2 episodes. Seriously, that lasted 40 minutes. And 22 of those minutes we were learning the backstory. What was the point of that?

Lotor killing Narti. Hoooo boy I’m really mad about this one. It was completely unnecessary. The only reason it happened was for shock value. Lotor realised Haggar was watching him through Narti so he killed her. That makes no sense though, because Narti doesn’t fucking have eyes! She sees through Kova! So if anything, Haggar was seeing indirectly through Kova and Lotor could’ve killed the cat instead! Why he has to kill anyone anyway is a mystery to me. He could’ve knocked her out and left her and Kova there while he and the other generals leave with the ships. How is Haggar going to watch him through Narti if he isn’t even with Narti?

The whole scene was just really unpleasant. Killing off a disabled character never sits right. And there was so much more to her character that could’ve been explored. How did she come to meet Kova? Why did she join Lotor? And mind control! She could’ve used that on characters fighting in or with team voltron! Some quality angst material right there! But nope, she’s dead.

Possible redemption for Lotor. Soz pals, unnecessarily killing your comrade puts you in my shit books.

I don’t actually think he’s going to be redeemed - I think he’s just going to use team voltron while they benefit him and then turn on them as soon as they don’t - but I’m mad at the writers for making me have to sit through endless posts of fandom woobifying his punk ass. “Space Zuko!” they cry. I gaze weakly towards a hypothetical camera as though I am a character on renounced TV show, The Office. “Why.” the word is barely a whisper as it leaves my mouth. I am Tired.

#vld analysis #voltron meta #voltron #vld #vlds4 #vld spoilers

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bethygauw · 7 years

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[1/2] Enstars: Gamegift interview with Mika’s voice actor

Published on 28 April 2017. It’s to celebrate Enstars second anniversary.

Please note that Gamegift does not allow reproduction or repost of this article without permission. A reminder that you are reading a shady blog.

Previously there’s also an interview with Kuro’s voice actor, Shinichirou Kamio, translated by Creampuffs (tumblr)

[edit 7/5/17: fixed small points for grammar and one mistake: × As for Mika, when he’s acting he doesn’t make up any sort of voice. ○ Regarding Mika, when I act as him I don't make up any sort of voice.]

An interview with Jun Oosuka, Mika’s voice actor, that totaled up to 2 hours. They’re talking about how Oosuka feels about the characters and his play style (which is part 2).

Writer/Interviewer: Tamao (Twitter) Gamegift link

Tamao: It’s my pleasure to be working with you today.

Oosuka: The pleasure is mine. Holding my phone on one hand while getting interviewed is a novel experience (laugh).

Tamao: I don’t mind if you’re grinding on the event (laugh). First, could you please tell us about your first impression on Mika and what happened when your role was decided?

Oosuka: At first, I was only told, “Your role in Enstars has been decided.” At that time, the game was already released and I knew it’s getting richer and richer in content, so I thought to myself, “Wait wait, I thought they only cast veterans or young voice actors?” (laugh) So I was surprised when I got the offer. Then, when I got the character materials and looked through them, I was like, “His character setting is like a full course meal…!” He has heterochromia, speaks Kansai dialect… I wondered if I’m really up to the job. I’d never had a role that speaks Kansai dialect either (laugh).

Tamao: You’re from Kyushu, aren’t you?

Oosuka: Yes, Fukuoka. Kyushu and Kansai have similar intonations. But the details and vocabularies that they use are different after all, so for recording, I would have notes for the dialect. That’s also why even now, when I hear Kansai dialect on the TV, I would pay attention to it and see how it’s done.

Tamao: When you act as Mika-kun, do you have anything you like? Or is there anything you find to be relatable?

Oosuka: What I find relatable is how he’s lacking in self-confidence. I reflected again after KYOMAF event (an offline event held in September 2016) that I really don’t have confidence in myself. But there’s also a part of me that will go through it because there’s a strong voice inside me that says, “I have to do it!”. I feel that’s our common point. Putting it in a good way, he’s an honest boy. Putting it badly, he’s a foolish boy. He’s very straightforward. Although I also see it as a good point of his. Also, there was quite a long period of time between the time I finished recording and when he’s introduced into the game. In that period, I was really anxious thinking about what everyone will think. After it was made public, I see he’s loved by many and I’m relieved.

Tamao: He’s really popular, isn’t he? He also ranked high in the popularity poll from the other day.

Oosuka: The dakimakura one, right? I also voted 17 times (laugh). The MV wasn’t even released yet, but a Valkyrie member made it to the ranking board. But to be honest, Mika’s popularity as a character can become pressure at times.

Tamao: Certainly from a player’s perspective, I got a bit sceptical when they’re introducing a new character full of quirks this late into the game. What is this character going to be like? I wondered. But once I tried to open the lid, he turned out to be such a boy with no self-confidence, but very kind, and when Jun Oosuka-san’s voice is added—

Oosuka: I feel like my voice makes him more pitiful (laugh).

Tamao: No no! Conversely, I think it makes me feel more affectionate about him. I suppose you could say it stirs up one’s desire to protect him? (laugh)

Oosuka: Aah, so that’s why his [Gamegift] birthday article was like that (laugh). I was so surprised. A friend told me, “It was very poetic.”

Tamao: This is the second round I’m writing birthday articles for all characters, and year-by-year it gets more and more poetic (laugh). Among the characters, I think Mika-kun is a very unique character. It’s like this person called Mika-kun is incomplete in his own.

Oosuka: No matter what, Oshi-san is always already there, isn’t he?

Tamao: Yes, that’s it. That’s also what made it a bit hard to write at times. But from my point of view, he’s like someone who got deep into a Bible-like thing without himself realizing.

Oosuka: In a way, he worships Oshi-san like a god, huh.

Tamao: That image of his is really vivid, so I thought his existence is like that of Saint Peter. I also received feedback that says, “Mika-chan is that kind of boy.”

Oosuka: Among Enstars characters, Mika-kun seems to be someone who is worldly but is actually naive, and I feel that in a way he may be the least idol-like among them. He also feels like every other young man who could just be around the corner over there, but when he enters the stage he undergoes metamorphosis, which I think is his charm. I hope that part of him could be brought out in his singing as well.

Tamao: Can I ask you to elaborate a bit more about what you think about Oshi-san?

Oosuka: If I consider Valkyrie, Oshi-san looks like he’s pulling the team along, but in reality he’s very frail. There are a lot of instances where you can see Mika-kun being the one who’s supporting him—perhaps it’s the fragility that one doesn’t have unless they’re a genius. In Scout! Nocturne, I really like how we can see a glimpse of Ryuu-kun (Kuro Kiryu) and Oshi-san’s past. Also, Scout! Eccentric is a story that have all Five Oddballs in it. I could see how Oshi-san back then was a properly sociable person as well.

Tamao: I can see that. He also made matching outfits for everyone, didn’t he?

Oosuka: When he’s talking to the Oddballs, you can see his gentleness, and there are humane qualities that he doesn’t show in front of Mika and Nazuna. That’s what you may think, but he can be super cool just like in Tanabata event (Dance Performance! Thoughts that Bridge the Milky Way).

Tamao: That Oshi-san had a threatening presence like a demon god*.

[*trivia: “demon god” is here is 鬼神, consisting of kanji for “demon/ogre” and “god”. There are many readings and I don’t know which one is used, but one of them is apparently “kijin”, which is homophonic with “kijin” from “奇人/Oddballs”.]

Oosuka: As graduation gets closer, we get scenes suggesting Oshi-san “may one day cease being able to talk with Mado-nee”. I wonder if it means Oshi-san is becoming an adult, or if he’s on his way conquering something on the lines of unspoken trauma. By being separated from Mado-nee, Oshi-san may turn into an ordinary person, or he may become even more of a genius. I’d like it to be the latter, but also, I feel that Oshi-san is showing us his humane side more than Mika-kun does.

[It’s getting bulky so I’m only putting up one picture... There are more pictures in the original]

Tamao: After the third-years graduate, there will be units that have only one member remaining. Akatsuki is like that, and Mika-kun goes without saying. Personally, what do you think Mika-kun will do?

Oosuka: I think he’ll depend on the transfer student. Though there’s also a possibility that Oshi-san may leave him a parting gift. Maybe Oshi-san will leave him at the stage where he can look for friends even on his own, or maybe he’ll have those friends prepared already—I don’t know. But since Oshi-san has always been doing anything for Mika’s sake, I hope as a result Mika will become someone who thinks that he has to become strong. I want him to change from being a “doll” to a “human”.

Tamao: Are a lot of your favorite events related to Mika-kun, after all?

Oosuka: I suppose. My favorite, as I thought, is Tanabata event (Dance Performance! Thoughts that Bridge the Milky Way). I also like Halloween (React! Magical Halloween), but the event that shows Valkyrie’s awesomeness is Milky Way after all. That event story is where the line “Oshi-san’s sayin’ is absolute” got realized as it is. They managed to surprise that Eichi. To me, Mika’s singing is on a higher difficulty in that event so in a way I’m also bearing a grudge for that event (laugh).

Tamao: Milky Way was really good, wasn’t it? Oshi-san and Mika-kun couldn’t be any cooler.

Oosuka: I thought that must be the Oshi-san whom Mika fell for. It was what he was waiting for.

About the unit songs

Tamao: Speaking of singing, Valkyrie’s unit songs are great, aren’t they?

Oosuka: Really, I was glad I got to do it with Hiroki-san (VA of Shu Itsuki: Hiroki Takahashi). Actually, when I had my debut, I worked together with Hiroki-san. I was able to work together with him for a long time in a certain series*, so we have understanding of each other. Of course he’s also a senior I respect, so that makes our relationship like that between Oshi-san and Mika-kun. So even when I was singing, I was able to think, “it’ll be okay if I follow Hiroki-san.” When my role for Mika-kun was decided, my manager asked me to tell who the co-actor was, and when I told my manager it’s Hiroki Takahashi-san, I was given a triumphant pose with full strength (laugh).

[*I’m not sure which series, maybe Prince of Tennis 2?]

Tamao: Your relationship is very fitting.

Oosuka: It is. Actually, our height difference is about the same as Valkyrie. So when we line up it looks natural (laugh).

Tamao: Are there times when Takahashi-san gives you advices?

Oosuka: No, we pretty much don’t see each other in Enstars-related jobs. In the end I didn’t get to see him during the [unit song] recording either. For some reason though, I got to see Ishikawa-kun (VA of Tsumugi Aoba: Kaito Ishikawa) (laugh).

Tamao: How did you find the recording?

Oosuka: First, as an otaku, my reaction was, “AliPro!?”. A part of me thinks, even if a guy sings AliPro* songs, there’s no way anyone can hold a candle to the great Arika-sama! (laugh) When I tried singing as it is after I received the song, a part of me thought I was losing to the song. The bar was set high, I thought. I went through trial and error thinking about what I should do with it, but the interesting thing is, during the recording, the direction I got was more for acting, rather than for singing. For example, “Imagine there’s an audience beyond the mic and sing” or “Look intently when you sing”. Also, I got a direction, “bring out your emotions gradually towards the second half”. For that one, I think I was able to express the concept of Mika-kun being a “doll” well, so I was thankful for that direction.

[*Ali Project, the group behind Bewitching Theater. Lyrics (also unit’s vocal): Arika Takarano. Composition & arrangement (and unit’s keyboard): Mikiya Takakura]

Tamao: Certainly you can see a picture of something like a stage play expanding before your eyes.

Oosuka: As for the recording, Oshi-san (Hiroki Takahashi) and Nazuna-nii (Yuki Yonai) finished theirs first, and I was the last to record. For the most part I practiced with the singers in the demo tape. But I was able to [record] while listening to the rest of Valkyrie singing, and I felt like Hiroki-san’s singing pulled me along. I’m glad I was the last to record. But I hope one day we’ll be able to do that…

Tamao: In other words?

Oosuka: Being on the stage together, the two of us with Hiroki-san… no, with Yonai-kun as well—I want the three of us to sing together. I know it’s really difficult for that to happen, but it makes me think of the possibility of me and Hiroki-san wearing those Valkyrie outfits (laugh).

Tamao: Please wear different colored contacts too!

Oosuka: I can’t have piercings, so I’ll wear clip-on earrings (laugh).

Tamao: Valkyrie especially is a unit that has a perfected worldview, and since it’s their first unit songs, people had high expectations for them.

Oosuka: They were way too high! It was so scary. When I’m singing character songs, I’m the type to get super nervous until the release date. This time too, I was really at loss thinking about Mika’s “singing voice”. It was possible to sing in the way he speaks as it is, but I was also contemplating if Oshi-san would allow that.

Tamao: Oh! I see, that’s something to consider.

Oosuka: My interpretation is that Mika-kun’s singing in Bewitching Theater was what was born after Oshi-san’s training and maintenance. Regarding Mika, when I act as him I don't make up any sort of voice. So when I act as him “I” am the one who is out there, but his singing voice is what is produced after Oshi-san’s guidance. I hope you can capture that.

Tamao: I’m incredibly moved by what you said.

Oosuka: If I sing in the way Mika speaks in normal times, I thought it would be disrespectful to the song and AliPro. But, I bet there are those who expected the usual Mika, so I also feel sorry for them. But when I consider Valkyrie as a piece of work, Valkyrie as artists, I believe I did the right thing this time, so I hope you can accept it kindly.

Tamao: Well, I think you couldn’t be any more correct. I think that’s why it gained so much popularity too.

Oosuka: When I went to Tower Records a day after the release date, they ran out of Valkyrie’s CD. When I asked the staff, they said it was sold out. I replied with a sad face, “I see…” but the me inside was like, “Serious… Are you serious!?” (laugh).

Tamao: What do you think about the other unit songs?

Oosuka: There was a song preview event* on the other day so I got to listen to Switch’s songs. Now, I can pretty much sing them, somewhat.

[*Switch and Valkyrie cast and Satoru Kuwabara (2nd series music director) hosted an event where they previewed the songs and talked about their impressions and behind the scenes etc. There are sessions with the rest of the CDs too.]

Tamao: What? Really?

Oosuka: I like computer-programmed songs. Sound-wise, Akatsuki’s songs are unique and I like them too. The quality of Enstars songs are so high—you may end up not being able to tell if they’re character songs or artists’ songs. But they’re idols in the first place, so I do think that song quality is something that is demanded from them. But I get the impression that there are many songs that are polished really well. By the way, I have sung the opening theme at the karaoke. One thing though – and I think everyone agrees on this – when you sing Morikubo-san’s parts you’ll end up singing like him, no matter what.

Tamao: I understand (laugh). You will, won’t you.

Oosuka: I’ll never sing it in front of him, though (laugh). That song is also really good, isn’t it? I’d like Valkyrie, Leo Tsukinaga, and Switch to be part of it.

Tamao: I agree. There’s a disadvantage to the new characters who are not involved in the main story… By the way, have you seen Enstage?

Oosuka: No, I haven’t! One day, when Valkyrie participates in the stage play, I’d like to visit Mika-kun. Being in this line of job, there are times when I get to see my roles appear in stage plays. Before I watch the play, I would keep a slightly arrogant stance. Something like, “How will you act out my character, I wonder?”. But mysteriously, when the play starts and my character appears, I’d be all, “Foowaaaaahhh…! I said this! I said this!” and it made me give my stamp of approval (laugh).

Tamao: Enstage hasn’t finished the main story yet, so I think they’re at that stage wondering about how they should proceed if Valkyrie were to participate.

Oosuka: It's not for me to say, but a lot of characters that are introduced later are popular, so I think there are a lot of people in the audience who are holding up expectations. I’m looking forward to who will be chosen as his actor. Their character reproduction is amazing, after all. On the topic of character reproduction, I was surprised with Kitamura-kun! [who is the VA and stage actor for Arashi].

Tamao: That was an unfair move, wasn’t it? (laugh) From Knights, there were only two of them in the first part, but even so they were perfectly Knights.

Oosuka: By the way, I like tokusatsu. I didn’t know Maeyama-kun (Eichi’s stage actor), who was in Kamen Rider, was participating until later. I wanted to go.

Tamao: Maeyama-san was wonderful. His way of expressing that charisma of Eichi’s was solid.

Oosuka: You know, Eichi is up there on my list of favorite characters. This is my own selfish interpretation, but he reigned the academy by oppressing everyone, right? But I think the scenario inside Eichi himself may have been, “only until someone who defeats fine appears.” If I think that way, I don’t hate fine’s position—I don’t hate Eichi.

Tamao: Interpretation for Eichi’s character varies a lot depending on the person, doesn’t it? If there are those who see him as virtuous, there are those who see him as evil.

Oosuka: To Trickstar, he’s a villain. Valkyrie thinks the same too. In the app, there’s the main story, but there are also a lot of people who basically just focus on their favorite characters. So they may build an impression on another characters but stop at that.

Tamao: Ah, that may be the case. There are parts you won’t be able to understand unless you have covered everything, but there’s no way everyone is doing that.

Oosuka: Everyone plays the game with their favorite characters as their focus, and moreover, everyone has their own depiction of the stories in their minds. I’m one of the “people behind the scenes”, so I have to think about the relationships between my character and other characters, and by extension, everything.

Tamao: After you see a character’s bad side, you stop at that and that’s your impression… That sort of thing may be happening.

Oosuka: I think there are a lot of ways you can come to like them. By changing the way you view them, you may come to like characters you previously hate. As a result, you will have more favorites, and you may be able to have more fun.

Tamao: Do you have other favorites?

Oosuka: I like fine members, like Wataru Hibiki… Actually, all Oddballs are a pain, aren’t they? (laugh) Even Oshi-san, from Jun Oosuka’s point of view, is a pain (laugh). Other than that, I like Mika-kun’s classmates. Like Oogami-kun, or Naru-chan. As for first years, I like Midori-kun. I can sympathize with that favorite phrase of his, “I feel sluggish…” (laugh)

Tamao: The main story will be fully-voiced soon.

Oosuka: But [Mika’s] not appearing! I only realized after I gave my response on Twitter the other day. He’s not in the main story! (laugh) But I’m probably the one who’s scared of having it fully-voiced the most. I have to speak with a dialect after all.

Tamao: Because it will be voiced to the full anyhow, huh…

Oosuka: It’s not my official language (laugh).

Tamao: Come to think of it, there was a voiced drama in the unit song first series. Since Valkyrie only joined in the second series, they didn’t have the voiced drama.

Oosuka: That’s right. So in the probable event of Valkyrie releasing a drama CD, there will be at least three roles: Mika-kun, Oshi-san, and Mado-nee. So compared to Hiroki-san, I would have it easier.

(To be continued to part 2)

#ensemble stars #gamegift #jun oosuka #mika kagehira #staff

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meitanteikazuha · 7 years

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Intermission One: Father and Son

So anyways awhile back I wrote this oneshot based off of a prompt, which was, basically, asking what would happen if Heiji and Kazuha swapped roles. Anyways it became a proper AU on it’s own, and I plan on not only retouching on all canon Heiji cases with it, but also writing these “intermissions” I guess, between ‘em!

so anyways that said, here’s the first. you can also read it on AO3.

"I hear that you got yourself mixed up with that serial murderer, Heiji."

All but freezing at the sound of his father's words, Heiji bit his tongue to keep himself from lashing out in response to them at once. He'd known that they would come sooner or later. Instead, he forced himself to draw in a long breath, trying to steady himself before he turned his father's way, only vaguely wondering since when he had gotten home.

"If ya want ta complain, shouldn't ya be sayin' that ta Kazuha?" Heiji asked, leaning back in his chair, doing his best to look as unperturbed as possible by the man's presence. "She's the one who got shot, after all."

"Kazuha is not my child." Heizo said firmly, eyes locking with those of his son's the moment Heiji turned his way. "I will leave that matter up to her own father."

"So what? Ya come ta lecture me again?" Narrowing his eyes, Heiji forced himself to keep his temper in check, knowing that it wouldn't do him any good right now. "Fer all ya know, things might have turned out worse if I hadn't been there. Ya heard how he stabbed the kid, right?"

"I did hear about that." Heizo noted, his expression, as always, unchanging. That was the most frustrating part about him for Heiji- no matter how hard he tried, he could never tell what the man was thinking. "However, there's no reason that you should have stepped in. Police work is no place for amateurs to butt in."

His father, the chief of police for the entire Osaka prefecture. His father, admired by his fellow police, and feared by criminals. His father, whose approval he would never have. His father, whose shadow it seemed that he would never be able to escape from. His father, whose shadow he had already given up trying to break free of.

"Like I said, ya should be tellin' Kazuha that sort of thing, not me." He could put on an act of dismissing the man's words all he liked, making a show of breaking eye contact with him, giving him an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders. In truth, he wouldn't be able to let them go that easily- and he knew that his father probably knew that much himself.

If it wasn't for him...

If it weren't for his damn shadow, then-!

"After all, she's the one runnin' around doin' that high school detective thing, not me." Heiji noted, making a show of turning his attention back towards his magazine. "Even landed herself in the hospital, tryin' ta keep Sakata-han from offin' himself. That idiot."

"You could have gotten yourself just as badly hurt, Heiji." Heizo said simply. "And I'm not done with you yet, boy. Don't avert your gaze from me."

"Ya might not be done with me, but s' far as I'm concerned, I'm already done with this talk." Heiji said simply, turning the page of his magazine, only casting a disinterested glance towards him. "Besides, it's not like I went ta that mountain cabin intendin' ta pick a fight with a serial murderer. It just sorta happened that way, s' all."

"Besides, what are sayin' old man?" Pausing to glance back at him again, Heiji's eyes narrowed. "That I should have just sat by an' let him swing his knife around? Kid was damn lucky that the knife got caught like it did, otherwise he would've gotten off much worse than a bit of a bruise."

He still didn't understand what Kazuha's reason was for giving the kid her charm, but if she hadn't, he might be dead by now.

"It was yer cops that let him get the knife in the first place, anyways." Unable to help himself, Heiji let a smirk cross his face, a challenging expression in his eyes even though he knew full well what was like to result from it. "Ya should be thankin' this amateur, if anythin'."

"Had you not left the car with Kazuha's guest, the situation would have not occurred in the first place." Heizo said simply, his stern expression not faltering in the slightest. That was his father for you... a man whose feathers couldn't be ruffled by anything, the perfect police officer.

Someone that he could never compare to, no matter how hard he tried. And if he couldn't, what point was there in even trying?

Too quick tempered, too hotblooded, too impulsive, too reckless- he'd heard any number of reasons already as to why he was such a disappointment in comparison to his father. Over and over, he'd heard them, to the point where he'd all but memorized them, words resounding in his head whether he wanted to or not. Too unlike his father, they said- and sometimes, when they thought he couldn't hear them, they'd even go so far as to wonder if they were really father and son.

Everyone expected things from Hattori Heizo's son. Nobody expected anything from him. To these people, he'd never be anything more than an extension of his father- and a lousy one at that. He was too much of Hattori Heiji, and far too little of Hattori Heizo. And that, apparently, was a bad thing.

What use was it then, trying to impress them? It was just a waste of energy.

"That Neechan's the one who left in the first place, ya know, not me!" Heiji noted, unable to bite back his anger this time. "I just followed her ta make sure she wouldn't get lost. Honestly, it's like ya try an' make everythin' out ta be my fault!"

"I can see you're not in the mood to have a reasonable conversation." The first hint of emotion that escaped him was the faintest of sighs- and the sound of it was enough to make Heiji's blood boil.

Reasonable conversation? He was the one who had come to him, and had started saying things like this!

"We shall continue this discussion later, Heiji." Heizo informed him. "I hope at the very least, you properly saw Kazuha's guests off in her place."

"I can at least do that right." Heiji half-growled. "Shouldn't ya be goin'? I'm sure ya've got people ta arrest or somethin' like that."

For a moment, Heizo merely lingered in the doorway, half giving Heiji the impression that he was going to say something again. Instead, the man merely closed his eyes, and without another word, turned on his heel and left.

"Damn old man." Muttering to himself, Heiji slammed his magazine down on the desk, kicking his chair away from it to create some distance. He was hardly in the mood to sit still right now, not after taking all of that- he hadn't even done anything wrong!

But it seemed like no matter what he did, there was nothing he could that would ever win his father's approval. He might not come out and say it, but he probably viewed him the same way as everyone else- as a disappointing failure of a son. If he was just going to be viewed that way in the first place, there was no reason to bother to even try and be anything more than that.

Grabbing the keys for his motorcycle off of his desk, Heiji shoved his wallet and his phone in his pocket. For now, he just wanted to get as far away as possible from here- it would probably only just earn him another lecture later, but for the time being, he didn't care one bit.

As long as he could get away from here, and from the expectations that he'd completely failed to live up to, what came later didn't even matter.

#Detective Conan #Heiji Hattori #Heizo Hattori #in reverse more like heiji's daddy issues the au #fic

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yerimsowd · 5 years

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4 reasons why J. Cole is the best active rapper

No one tells a story like him

Storytelling in hip-hop is the ability, as the name indicates, to tell a story through rap. Now, some may argue that some way or another, any artist that takes their pen and write a rap tell a story. However, what we really mean by storytelling is the ability to transport the listener into a vivid, colorful, 3D type of narrative. Storytelling is almost cinematic and a good storyteller sucks the listener into their tale. In Ice-T directed and executive produced documentary Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap, Ice-T interviews an impressive cast of rappers (from KRS-One to Eminem to Raekwon) about the process behind their style of writing. One of the interviewees is Rakim from Queens mid 1980s rap duo Eric B. and Rakim and he insists on the importance of storytelling in his rap technique. “I’m taking you into a whole other world of thought”, Ice-T explains he felt when listening to Rakim. My first argument in my case for Cole being the best active rapper is that no one does that better than him. Although I don’t think it is the best Cole storytelling song, one classic and well-known example would be Wet Dreamz from classic album 2014 Forest Hills Drive. The song is a fictional story of adolescent Weltschmerz about losing one’s virginity, leading to the sensational twist contained in the title.

Has got galore classics

If you browse hip-hop media outlets such as Complex or Genius (or even if you don’t) you may have come across countless articles about who the best active rapper is. You may even have had this debate with your friends. And even though it’s an unsolvable issue, one argument that always comes up is the question of who has the most classics. This is why a lot of people dismiss the idea that Drake is the best rapper of his generation, because it’s hard to pick a Drake project and say: “we’ll come back to this ten, fifteen years from now and still appreciate it”. But when it comes to classics, J. Cole is up there, with two of his projects standing out. The first is his third mixtape Friday Night Lights (2010), which contains twenty songs, features star producers such as Kanye West or Timbaland, samples everything from Erkyah Badu to Jay-Z to 2Pac and has featurings with Drake or Pusha-T. The second, Cole’s third studio album 2014 Forrest Hills Driveis much better known. That’s the album that so famously “went platinum with no features” and that got the internet crazy about it. Songs like 03’ Adolescence, A Tale of 2 Citiez, Fire Squad, G.O.M.D, No Role Modelz, Apparently, not forgetting the epic fourteen minutes long Note to Self at the end have made 14FHD -as fans affectionately call it- an instant classic.

Uplifts the whole game, instead of tearing it down

“I love you lil’ niggas I’m glad that you came / I hope you scrape every dollar you can / I hope you know money won’t erase the pain”– MIDDLE CHILD

Cole’s relationship with his peers has not always been appeased. In a 2016 track called Everybody Dies, Cole had taken serious shots at the new generation of up-and-coming SoundCloud/mumble rappers: “Bunch of words and ain’t sayin’ shit, I hate these rappers / Especially the amateur eight-week rappers / Lil’ whatever, just another short bus rapper”. But since then, Cole has come a long way, as the MIDDLE CHILD lines quoted above illustrate. During his set at JMBLYA festival in Austin in May 2018, the Fayetteville, North Carolina MC stopped the crowd from shouting “fuck Lil Pump” and “fuck 6ix9ine”. Later that month, he sat down with Lil’ Pump for an hour-long, laid back, one on one talk on how both started rapping, their influences, their childhoods… Before that, he had expressed his growing appreciation for the new wave, citing XXXTentacion, Trippie Redd and Lil Baby. His twitter feed is now filled with tweets of support for younger rappers from Offset to 21 Savage and 6ix9ine (whom he sent his prayers to after they got respectively deported and locked up). Finally, J. Cole uplifts the hip-hop scene through Dreamville records, the record label he co-founded with his manager Ibrahim Hamad. Dreamville has allowed the hatching of young artists such as Bas or J.I.D. It’s a multifaced project that includes a non-profit organization, a festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, and a series of compilation mixtapes featuring most artists signed to Dreamville (Revenge of the Dreamers III is coming out in April).

Commercially successful and socially and politically conscious at the same time

“They tellin’ niggas, ‘sell dope, rap or go to NBA’ in that order / It’s that sort of thinkin’ that been keepin’ niggas chained”– Immortal

The fourth and final reason why I believe J. Cole is the best active rapper is that on top of everything I have talked about before, he is one of the few rappers that manage to find a balance between commercial success, critical acclaim and social and political consciousness. His album 4 Your Eyez Only was released alongside a documentary bearing the same name and that covered multiple issues affecting the African American community (gang violence, mass incarceration, racial discrimination…). The album itself tells the journey of a friend of Cole’s who went from selling crack to starting a family. 4 Your Eyez Only is a tape addressed to his daughter for he to listen to after he dies. Call me corny, but I don’t think you can the best rapper alive if you onlytalk about your jewelry, your car and your girls. J. Cole’s strength is that he can make party music you can play in the club and music you can listen to on your bed with your headphones.

Sources: Genius, whosampled, Vulture

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izloveshorses · 7 years

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Alrighty so while I’m thinking about it here’s basically every element from Beauty and the Beast that I adored

can I say how surreal it was to be in a theater packed with young girls of all ages wearing yellow dresses with their Belle barbies

not to mention all the adults and people my age who’ve been singing Be Our Guest for eternity were all so excited

it was almost like when The Force Awakens came out and Star Wars was alive again and everyone, old and new generations of fans, gathered together.... ya know what I’m talking about? where everyone in the room is buzzing with anticipation

the CGI wasn’t as terrible as y’all thought, y’all need to have a little faith sometimes lol

the casting was excellent!!

i know people have mixed feelings about Emma Watson playing Belle but I honestly wouldn’t have casted it any other way. She’s always been a women’s rights activist, a bookworm and a thinker, and a strong role model for young girls. and her favorite princess was always Belle I mean come on. and her singing voice was so incredible!! that was what I was most looking forward to in this movie and it did not disappoint

she also said in a buzzfeed interview that she imagines Belle would open the Beast’s library to the public and start a school!!! How rad is that?? HEADCANON ACCEPTED

shout out to Dan Stevens for waltzing in 10 inch stilts while wearing a 40 pound body suit

ok Luke Evans and Josh Gad must’ve thought they were in Dirty Dancing because they had the time of their lives

and Luke was pretty attractive. just sayin

overall, the cast was really diverse! not one but two interracial couples! and in general there were a lot of poc in the village featuring a wonderfully sweet librarian dude

Everything about Belle’s character was fantastic I’m not kidding

i think the town had such a consistent routine that she could precisely time when the morning rush started?

despite the village blatantly gossiping about her she was still so nice and polite to everyone

so??? much??? sass??? it was unreal??? When Gaston asked why she wouldn’t go out to dinner with him he assumed she had plans but she was just like “No...” and she didn’t even explain further how freakin savage she shot that boy down

(a few more examples bc this girl was on fire) “Why would I be startled? I’m talking to a candle” and “Is that a joke? are you making jokes now?” and my fav “’Maybe you just haven’t met the right man?’ ‘It’s a small village Gaston, I’ve met them all’”

this is Elizabeth Bennet level Jane Austen would be proud

they touched on how women were expected to have kids in their late teens/early 20s and she’s like “screw that” yeah girl smash that patriarchy

how on earth did it take me 17 years to realize she’s considered odd because she’s the only literate girl in the whole village???????? how did I, a history buff obsessed with the French Revolution, never make that connection before???? this isn’t specific to the new film but still I applaud it good job disney

she was an inventor!!! i don’t know if i’ve ever been happier than when i saw her solving equations and tinkering and making a washing machine so she can read and get chores done simultaneously. emma totally had something to do with this decision absolutely no doubt

she doesn’t ride her horse sidesaddle and that was like a huge faux pas for ladies back then (again, smashing the patriarchy one step at a time)

SHE WAS TEACHING ANOTHER SMOL GIRL HOW TO READ!!! THAT’S SO IMPORTANT AND PRECIOUS I’VE BEEN UNABLE TO THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE SINCE THAT MOMENT

she planned to escape the castle from the beginning and was really creative about it, and no matter what she always found some sort of weapon lying around lol (a random stick, a chair, a pitcher Belle what would you do with that) but she was always prepared to defend herself with somewhat of a plan and attempt at thinking ahead

She was really curious about the curse and asked questions about it to figure out this mystery herself

she was always problem-solving and trying to find a solution to situations and that was so cool girls need to see that strong female leads aren’t always the ones that can fight, but girls with wit and bravery

there was lots of nice background info on characters that otherwise wouldn’t exist, like Belle’s mom’s death, why Maurice chose to stay in that boring village and Adam’s dad being a jerk and turning him into a monster (no pun intended)

Mrs Potts giving us a reason why the entire castle was cursed, not just Adam. They didn’t do anything to stop Adam’s dad from corrupting him and man that’s some heavy stuff

I feel like each character, especially the servants, were so much richer and stronger and more complex, and the stakes were higher bc each time a rose petal fell they became less and less human

even the enchantress had a name and she was gorgeous?

they went pretty dark in this one... like something caused that tree to fall in Maurice’s path and back into an upright position. the wolves wouldn’t cross the gates because of some boundary. the way the whole castle shuddered with each drop of a pedal. i could go on... and the added character depth really helped that dark stuff too

THE MUSIC!!!! WAS SO GOOD!!! I’ve had the album on repeat for.... four days now and I’m not sick of it yet?? please send help

seriously, they did an amazing job. it was perfectly balanced w both old an new songs, and neither of them overshadowed the other. each song got it’s spotlight, they honored the old ones while including new original ones that were awesome (cough forevermore cough cough)

Gaaaaaastonnnnnnnnnnnn omg that sequence was awesome. honestly i think everyone in the theater tapped their foot when he was stomping and dancing on the tabletops

Belle was really good too to me because i’m a nerd for that set design

Days in the Sun is extremely underrated!! but yes, Forevermore is breathtaking it’s growing on me more and more each day

lots of rotating cinematography and spinning i’m a nerd i love it

the costume and set design.... holy crAP it’s stunning

i read somewhere that Belle’s casual getup has large pockets for her books and she has part of her skirt pinned up so she can ride Philipe easier and that’s beautiful

each scene was packed with tiny details that most movie makers overlook and I’m so impressed???? not just visually but there were so many sounds that truly made it feel real like in the village I’d occasionally hear a crying baby or a dog barking or just constant chatter and that’s stuff you’d expect to hear in a crowded village square

the little twinkling lights during the ballroom dance was probably my favorite i may have cried

No one ever say anything bad about Belle’s dress again IT WAS SO GORGEOUS it floated across the floor like a bundle of sunshine

and there were so many details in that scene? did anybody notice her gold earrings she wore they were wonderful

her hairstyles throughout the whole movie were so cute (esp at the end with that updo!! and that pretty flower dress I need it)

the historical accuracies??? unreal??

so much baroque architecture with all of the elaborate gold designs ahhh i love it

half of it looked like a rococo painting, the other half a neoclassicism painting

girls weren’t allowed to be educated so that’s why Belle was hated so much--and so cool--and ohhhh my mind is blown why did i not understand this until now

lol a giant chunk of France was illiterate at the time too so LeFou realizing that halfway through trying to spell Gaston was hilarious

actually the mob song in general is scarily accurate. what starts with a small discomfort turns into irrational fear which turns into extremism in crowds and they did the stupidest things like “hey there’s a monster that we’ve never seen or heard of and it’s never attacked us before but LETS KILL IT” seriously the French loved mobs

they included a lot more intimate moments w Belle and the Beast to build up their relationship more carefully

Belle almost in tears when she was in that library because honestly same girl

my favorite moment in the entire movie, although small, was when they were in the library during “Something There” and she just kept grabbing book after book and he was walking behind her holding this massive stack that was so cute

honorable mentions: when the Beast shook his head like the horse omg. and I freaking cackled when he threw that giant snowball at her face

when they were in Paris, and Belle figured out that her mother died of the plague and she said “let’s go home”

she just rode off while still wearing her ball dress

“no time to change gotta go save my pa i’m keeping this btw”

and then she strips down to her undergarments because they’re about to go after Adam and that’s the final straw nobody messes with him under her watch she has to save him and, sorry, but she won’t let a big bulky dress get in the way of that despite how beautiful it is

Belle participated in the climax fight scene she was not taking any of Gaston’s crap

and then Adam was like “stay there I’m coming” and she completely ignored him so she could step in if he needed her

“I am not a Beast”

the transformation scenes were amazing

LeFou’s character arc was surprisingly great! and I support him and his boyfriend

that one growl at the end... you know the one... I’m very confused why was that so sexy is that bad

there were so many moments where i got goosebumps and sudden tears from the swelling of the orchestra or a certain chilling line and i was just so moved by this movie

in every showing that i went to there was a massive applause from the crowd and i love it you deserve it disney

I'm running out of adjectives

There was hardly an aspect that I disliked. Maybe more of Mrs Potts would’ve been nice, maybe Belle asking Adam to grow a beard was a little strange, maybe Ewan could work on his French accent a little more (don’t get me wrong I love this man but it could use a little more work... other than that his acting was superb). my complaints stop there! I honestly loved this film so much and I’d been pumped since I first heard about it back in 2015. It didn’t disappoint! that means a lot coming from a person who had insanely high expectations for it.

#I'm sorry i saw it 3 times in one weekend so i had a lot of time to think about this and the list kept growing #but if i see another person calling belle a furry or saying she has Stockholm syndrome will fight #i think I've listened to the entire album at least 20 times today #AND I KNOW SHE'LL NEVER LEAVE ME #EVEN AS SHE FADES FROM VIEWWWW #i think i'm going insane #batb #batb spoilers #disney #emma watson #I'm sorry again bc my thoughts are a jumbled mess lol so it's not quite in complete chronological order #beauty and the beast #beauty and the beast 2017 #batb 2017 #personal

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