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#caleb knocked it out of the park in this scene
wisefoxluminary · 9 months
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I will never get over this scene 😭
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glimpseofeddie · 2 years
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Stranger Things wouldn't be as magical as it is if it wasn't for the absolute stellar actors and how much love + respect + care they have for their characters. S.4 v2 was beautifully done and it's all in part due to the improvising done by the actors. They gave us such sweet, caring nuances that makes it SUCH a heart tugging and tragic season.
Can the Duffer Brothers write a good show? Yeah. But I will die on the hill to say that Joseph Quinn, Gaten Mattarazo, Sadie Sink, and Caleb McLaughlin knocked Season 4 out of the goddamn park.
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lollytea · 4 months
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Unfortunately due to TOH being cut short by Disney a lot of character arcs and more storyline could not be fully fleshed out and finished as Dana had to wrap up everybody’s story in just a few episodes
I'm fully aware that Disney's intervention is responsible for a lot of the plotlines getting suffocated. Which is why I don't think it's fair to go harassing crew members with "why didn't THIS happen??" and all that, because nobody really knows what they endured working on those final episodes and how much they had to cut and rewrite. But from things Dana has said, it was likely a very stressful and exhausting experience. So I don't like to make assumptions about the crew being incompetent. Nobody knows how the season WOULD have turned out if they had been granted full creative freedom and breathing room to develop it to their hearts content.
However, me not directing personal ire towards the crew doesn't mean that I think that the show is immune to criticism. Its flawed. It might not be entirely the crew's fault but that doesn't mean we can't talk about how it's flawed. If anything, I think acknowledging and dissecting its weaknesses is a good learning opportunity for what we should consider when creating our own stories.
Season 3 is a bit of a mess. There's good stuff. There's some less than good stuff. I think ultimately, as a story about Luz, King and Eda, it knocks it out of the park. When they were left with no other option, they decided to prioritize the writing of their three protagonists and I think that was the correct choice.
But I've been thinking about the three specials and how they stand on their own, quality wise, and honestly, there's valid criticism to be said that is completely unrelated to the shortening.
Bear in mind that the crew has known since Follies that the show was getting cut short and they needed to start wrapping up loose ends. So it's not like they started writing Thanks to Them believing it was the first of 20+ more episodes. They knew that they were going to be writing a 40 minute special. So the execution had to be tight, concise and satisfying, right?
Well...it was....weird. Definitely fun. Good for fan service. The main hook was the witch kids navigating the human world in their dorky witchy way. And initially, that was enough. But once the novelty of that wears off and we focus on the plot of the special, what do we have left?
Thanks to Them is very guilty of lore baiting. Dropping in stuff that they know damn well that they're never going to elaborate on, leaving the audience with a feeling of intrigue that is never going to be satiated.
I personally think that is just bad writing. They knew they didn't have a full season 3 and rather than rewrite the means of which the hexsquads finds answers, they still made the choice to drop in what are most likely vague ideas from the initial draft.
I think, if they had no intention of developing it in future specials, there was no point to that scene of Masha telling the Wittebane story. It was just...filler. To stretch out the running time. Which is....kind of precious. Only 40 minutes. If you're obsessive enough about lore, you already knew the story from the Hollow Mind paintings. That scene was for casual viewers. Which is useless, because there's no point in casual viewers learning about Evelyn and Caleb because it never went anywhere.
Also. I personally think that if there was any value to learning the Wittebane lore without making it plot relevant, it would be for the sake of character development. We wanted to know how the kids would react to this knowledge.
Well how did they react?
*Shrug* They seemed a little unnerved but they kinda forgot about it the second they got off the hayride.
So what was the point of all that? What was the point?
Is it because we wanted "Goodbye, Evelyn," to be more of gut punch?
Was it worth it? Was "Goodbye, Evelyn" worth it? We know fucking nothing about Evelyn.
I think the rebus was a stupid and lazy means for the kids to discover Titan's blood. You introduce this mysterious object that was hidden under the floorboards and then you just use it as a plot device.
When the kids uncover the rebus and find the secret code inside, the viewer is not thinking about how it can be used as a means to an end (finding blood) The viewer is thinking "what the fuck is that thing and how did it get there and how did Flapjack know it was there?"
Questions that will not be answered <333
ALL IM SAYING is that I'm sure the crew could have come up with another way for the kids to have a Titan's blood treasure hunt. Maybe they could have dug a little more into the history of Gravesfield and follow leads on weird things happening on this one spot in the graveyard (which turns out to be because there's magical energy there, revealed when Luz realizes she can use glyphs)
I just think that if you're gonna leave the mystery box a mystery, you shouldn't have included it.
And I know. Its subtle storytelling. There's elements of what could have been a far more complex story and they're leaving hints of it here and there.
Well the thing about that is I think the hints are very unsatisfying and weaken the episode's plot significantly.
Also I don't think they should get to just pick and choose what parts of the lore are subtle and what parts are ham-fisted.
YES we are going to be reminded like three times that Flapjack is being secretive and hiding things from Hunter.
NO we are never going to get a payoff for that because he gets shanked and dies first.
BUT!! BUT!! If you squint, its IMPLIED that Flapjack belonged to Evelyn and blah blah blah
You don't get to rub things in the audience face and then choose to be all subtle about it at the last minute. Pick one or the other.
Anyway....I think they could have written Thanks to Them as more of an intriguing and suspenseful horror mystery where they spend forty minutes gathering clues and everything finally clicks together at the very end. That's not what we got.
We got a very weak attempt on the Hexsquad's part to be little detectives, but like a minute of screen time was devoted to them dicking around in a library, a costume shop, and a zoo.
I don't think we can blame the shortening for this.
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urdearestmom · 2 years
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alright y'all I've recovered enough from vol 2 that I can now articulate my thoughts somewhat. here we go! I really want season 5 immediately but unfortunately cannot have that :( I will say that I think Stranger Things' episode Nines are just,,,, amazing. nothing so far has come close to my love for s2e9 except for s4e9. I think they're tied
ngl I was mildly concerned they were going to attempt some kind of redemption with Brenner so I was pleasantly excited when he continued to be as evil as he ever was :) El finally standing up to him and realizing she's not the monster, he is, was AMAZING and I loved how she just said bye and walked away. left him to die on his own as he deserved! Owens is still a shady guy but he's always on the gang's side (I'm just curious what happened to him? like did Sullivan have him killed? arrested? will we see him next season? I'm nearly certain we'll see Sullivan again because I don't think that subplot will be so easily resolved)
as for the rest of it, Eddie's death panned out pretty much exactly how I thought it would so I never let myself get too attached to him. what got me was Dustin's reaction! Gaten did so amazingly in that scene wow. Jason also died which was great for me because he was just insane at that point and while I kinda felt for him he was also annoying. sorry not sorry
Jopper finally getting together was lovely. I've never been overly invested in them bc they are so canon in my mind that I never doubted it would happen but it was great nonetheless. Hopper reuniting with El had me smiling so hard at the end bc for a sec I genuinely thought it was Sullivan coming to kidnap El and that was how the season would end and then it was just good ol' Hop :) El having a family like she deserves is my favourite thing!! Hopper and Mike also hugging caught me off guard bc I didn't think they'd do it but they did and I hope that leads to them having a better relationship!
now El getting picked up in the desert and blowing up that helicopter? TOP. TIER. I had my arms up cheering "HERE COME THE PIZZA BOYS!!!!!!!" and when you could see Mike getting out of the van being the first one to run to her, all in slow motion, my god. I was speechless. their whole reunion was gorgeous. El's disbelief, the forehead touch: chefs kiss. El hugging Will like that? best. I live for El having a family. El's brothers ftw
Mike's long-awaited monologue: WHAT. I was shaking and on the edge of my seat the whole scene. It will absolutely live in my head rent free for the rest of all time. I can barely even process it. He really said he's loved her since the moment he saw her I can't believe it. It's what I've been waiting for since I was 16 years old and it still feels surreal that he really told her all of that in words. Mike Wheeler, King of Not Talking About Any Of His Feelings Ever, really said all of that. Wow. Finn knocked that completely out of the park
Lastly, Max's death? HOLY SHIT. That one tore me up I was sobbing and yelling at my tv. I really love Max and didn't want her to die even though I had a feeling something else was still going to happen to her. THE FACT THAT THEY USED THE SONG FROM FINDING WILL'S BODY IN S1- JAIL FOR 1000 YEARS. Her dying in Lucas' arms and his reaction really got me. Both Caleb and Sadie did phenomenal work this season and made me love Lumax a lot more than I did before. Lumax OUTSOLD!!!! Max's little drawing and the fact that they won't get to go on their date and the way Lucas was sitting in the hospital with his beat up face reading her a book... I'm in shambles
El being there watching it happen while no one knew she was there was also heartbreaking
Mildly concerning that El couldn't find Max's mind in the void though, even if she is in a coma. El can find and even vaguely communicate with Terry who is in a vegetative state, so I'm not sure what I think will happen with Max next season. Guess we'll have to wait and see!
That ending too. Vecna's not dead obviously and Hawkins is... yikes. The cliffhanger makes it seem like season 5 will pick up where 4 leaves off and I am very excited to have a resolution!
This isn't even all I could say but I don't want this post to get super long so I'm just touching on the stuff that stuck with me
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aliferousdreamer · 2 years
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millie, sadie, caleb and gaten 1000% deserve to be nominated for an emmy after their incredible, emotional, heart-breaking, gut-wrenching and painfully raw performances in volume 2. they all knocked it out of the park and completely stole the show as el, max, lucas and dustin. man... their scenes had me sobbing my eyes out for ages.
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andiwriteordie · 2 years
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see, on one hand.
i want someone important to die on stranger things because millie and noah are right, and the cast is freaking huge. like i loved vol 1, but with such a big ensemble cast, it was hard to devote enough time to all the characters we know and love (i’m looking at you, california plotline)  
and also just like. sometimes i go back and watch the quarry scene and??? the acting??? oh my god??? caleb??? finn?!!? i want the actors to get some gut wrenching, terrible, heartbreaking scenes that make me want to throw myself in front of a car because i know they’ll knock it out of the park!!!!
like pls let noah scream and cry again like in s2. let finn have a scene where he just gets to sob like that one deleted scene from holly jolly. let millie and sadie do whatever the fuck they want because i know they’ll kill it no matter what. hell let caleb and gaten have some heart-breaking scenes bc we have yet to really see that yet from them and i WANT TO SEE IT!!!!
but then on the other hand...
i swear if anyone dies i’m gonna lose my shit
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rascheln · 2 years
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ST4 pt.2 thoughts under the cut! here’s my post from last month about pt.1
Brenner begging El to understand what he did was “for her” when all he did was torture and hurt her and her not giving him that understanding felt so incredibly good. I was worried they’d make his end this touching moment between them, but imo after all the shit he put her through, trying to actually save her for once (even if it was out of selfishness) was very cathartic. 
both the orchestral additions to Running Up That Hill in pt1 and the remix for Separate Ways at the end of ep8 were *chefs kiss* incredible uses of songs while adapting them for the scenes they were used for. Like holy shit, amazing editing!!
jason is supposed to be attractive, but imo the only moments he looked hot were in ep8 when he looks kinda greasy and unhinged lol
the Russians having even more Upside Down shit desperately needs an explanation! where did they get the demodogs from!! the goddamn particles!!!! this doesn’t make sense!!! to be fair though, the whole Russia plot felt incredibly bloated. Loved Dimitri though.
Lucas and Max continue to be the cutest couple out of all the canon pairs tbh. Like, I genuinely don’t care for most of the romance in the show, but these two just have so much chemistry with each other and so much love for each other. Caleb absolutely knocked it out of the park in ep9. 
i fucking knew Steve trying to get Nancy back would happen but i didn’t want it and i hate that it was so heartfelt and sweet???? The way Joe delivered that little speech about the camper van was just too charming, even though it was soo unnecessary. Nancy not saying anything later when he revealed that he imagined her at his side and then her just going back to Jonathan at the end was kinda hilarious tough. 
Both Steve and Nancy defending the other when other ppl are dismissive of them warms my cold heart though. Please, I just want them to be friendly exes!!!!!
Steve’s little anecdote about him crawling backwards as a baby and then falling down the stairs and hitting his head puts another mark on the “the harringtons are shitty parents” tally. baby your head is more craced eggshell by this point!!!!
can we PLEASE stop with the guy speeches.though!! eddie got one jason got one mike got one even the camper story felt like a mini speech. im tired!!
ppl call Billy racist for threatening Lucas and shoving him around, so i hope everyone really fucking goes after jason bc on top of having to watch Lucas actually threatened by a white dude with a gun and almost beat and chokes to death felt borderline insensitive to, y’know. fuckign everything. same thing with that guy holding erica down. 
here’s the thing: while i think it’s shitty writing for the show to leave out Billy being a victim of abuse and to simply get rid of Neil (because the writers would have actually have needed to deal with the abuser still being there), i do think Max gets to hate Billy for how he treated her. more importantly though, in the scene where she admits that she wanted him to die, she pretty obviously makes that speech to access the deepest pit of her depression and her lowest point emotionally to draw vecna in. and i don’t think that negates what she said at billy’s grave. i think she came to terms with these terrible feelings and she was forced to finally put into words both the good and the bad.
genuinely sad about the death flags for Eddie coming true. His guitar scene??? insane. that interaction Dustin had with the uncle at the end? heart wrenching
Max saying she doesn’t want to die while essentially dying in Lucas arms?? hellow??? WHO SAID THIS WAS OKAY :(((((( . 
the way will essentially did a whole speech about how much he loves mike while also comforting El was so, so sad. and jonathan of course knew. imo they’ve been handling Will’s feelings really well with this situation. Like, he genuinely loves El and cares for her. He didn’t want her to lie to Mike. He probably encouraged her to make the hero diorama in the beginning of the season because he wanted her to make sth that would make her happy. but man, that whole situation must be so fucking painful. Really, really well acted imo.
To add to that, while I don’t necessarily care for who dates who, I very much love the way a lot of the relationship dynamics are portrayed in the show and I think this season really nailed that. Robin and Steve, Steve and Eddie, Dustin and Eddie, Max and her entourage of Dustin/Lucas/Steve, so many more!! 
Jonathan taking Will aside to reassert how much he loves him was also a standout scene. There’s not much I have to say about Johnathan most of the time, but goddamn does their sibling relationship warm my heart.
Hawkins splitting into quarters was honestly an amazing culmination of vecna trying to get both dimensions connected. I had a feeling something like this would happen and I wonder if the upcoming season will lead to more of the public finding out about the Upside Down because it can’t be covered up anymore.
Some overall thoughts on the season: Some parts, especially Russia and the hatemob in Hawkins dragged on for way too long. It’s not a perfect season and for example Eddie dying was a truly shitty move- one they already did with Bob ffs!! Let the nerds have their hero moments!! Despite that, as I said last month, I think the tone and atmosphere, the mix of horror, mystery, humor and relationship dynamics was some of the best stuff I’ve seen since s1. It’s been an absolute blast watching this season tbh
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mischas · 1 year
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You've discussed your favourite RM scenes but are there any non-RM Marissa scenes that are also your favourites?
I think Marissa's farewell scenes with Jimmy in 2x07 and 3x03 are really powerful in different ways. She reverts to being childlike in 2x07 and is then the more mature of the two in 3x03. It's so stark but shows a spectrum of emotion that MB did so well.
This is Ryan-adjacent but I love the scene in Marissa's bedroom in 2x22 with Trey (content-wise it's hard to watch but it's a great Marissa moment). Man, Mischa knocks that one out of the park. Marissa already understands the complexities of Ryan/Trey so well and doesn't want to ruin what she knows is Ryan's trust being built back up from Trey's previous misdeeds. God, there's so many layers. The selflessness she displays, I am in awe.
Also Ryan-adjacent is 3x02's "I'm proud of what I did and I'd do it again" like yes babieeee
God okay this is getting ridiculous but another Ryan-adjacent scene is the Baskin Robbins scene with Kaitlin from 3x14. It shows how Kaitlin really gets her sister and I like someone confronting Marissa head-on about her feelings. I think Marissa needs nudging like this! Oftentimes Marissa liked living in the shades of grey rather than putting her foot down (relatable) so to see her be sort of challenged on this thinking was good.
The emotion on Marissa's face in 1x24 when SS unveil her finished, furnished bedroom is so special. We know she's just agreed to live with Caleb and Julie so I think that bittersweetness comes across so beautifully. She and Ryan don't tell SS just yet about the news and I love that Marissa gets to sit and enjoy the care they give her in that moment.
Watching Marissa in Chino in 1x23 is really wonderful, holding neighborhood children and chatting happily. My soft girl.
The scene in 2x24 right before Seth calls Marissa about Ryan/Trey is also really good. She hesitates for a moment before hugging Julie and I just love it so much. The awkwardness but then the smile on both of their faces. ALL Marissa wants is a functioning family.
I also deeply love how nonplussed Marissa is in 3x11 when Julie tells her about the trailer. Marissa's just like 'when can I move in?' No one gives Marissa enough credit!!!
Okay this is a straight up RM scene but in 3x01 when she offers to visit Trey in the hospital with Ryan, oof. "I would've gone with you" god!!!!!
I like the scene where she comes out to Summer in 2x13. It's super sweet. And various other Alex-related scenes.
Of course "the two loneliest people in Newport" scene with Seth in 2x03, an all time fave.
"Marissa brought bagels" in 2x07 my HEART (possibly the show's greatest-ever scene)
There are many others!
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meant-to-be-a-hero · 2 years
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Season Four, Chapter Nine: The Piggyback
I made it. Somehow, I made it.
The Netflix synopsis upset me even before I started the episode. "With selfless hearts and a clash of metal..." is just Eddie all over, isn't it?
I'm honestly still surprised no one in the Russia story died. I thought for sure the guard or Yuri was going to bite it. Or possibly Murray, but they just made him a regular so that seemed unlikely.
The Hop/Joyce hook-up was a long time coming. They're as bad as Nancy and Jonathan, dancing around each other - you can see where Jonathan gets it from.
Hey, breadsticks and lasagne ARE good!
Ninja!Steve!
This is the last time Nancy, Steve, and Robin see Eddie alive :(
Argyle suggesting the baggage compartment is just...yeah. He does come up with the right solution in the end though, so he gets points for that.
Fucking Jason, ruining everything.
For what is essentially longer than most movies, this episode really does keep you going all the way through. There's a LOT to it, and I never felt like I was getting bored even having seen it once before.
They manage to link the Russia storyline back to the Hawkins stuff pretty well, surprisingly.
Hey, it's Chekov's flamethrower!
Pizza is always the answer.
Oh god, the Argyles are multiplying. I'm sure the other guy is even billed as Other Argyle or something in the credits, I forgot to check.
You should probably lock the door, Jonathan.
Preparations for war take many forms. Guns, guitars, and pizza dough are equally as important.
I'm glad at least some of the pizza ingredients got eaten.
Eddie's final stage :(
Super confident idiot. We love Steve. I'd forgotten about this whole conversation, it really does sum up Steve's arc up to this point.
Of all the things you wouldn't expect to work, appealing to Yuri's better angels is what gets him to buck his ideas up. Huh.
The Lucas/Max scene with the notepads is adorable as fuck. Also Caleb's a lefty.
Good thing Vecna was home and not out for a walk or something.
Oh, it's the sad Will hour.
Jonathan is still Big Brother Of The Decade.
And there's Tear-Up #1 - Will and Jonathan hugging it out set me off.
I hope the water they had MBB laying in was warm, at least.
Sadie Sink really knocks it out of the park this season. She's always been the strongest of the kids, but this season was another level.
Max wanted something bad to happen to her, and she definitely got it. I wonder how she'll feel in Season 5, if she'll think she deserved what happened to her?
The timelines for this last bit are kind of weird. Pretty much everything happens at once, but because they linger on certain scenes it makes it feel like some stuff takes longer than it does - like Steve, Nancy, and Robin are being strangled for like 45 minutes because the prison stuff is so far behind.
The blending of the Billy footage is really good; you'd never know Dacre didn't re-shoot it.
I love that Eddie's reaction when Dustin tells him it's time to go is to rock harder, and not run away.
Couldn't Eddie and Dustin's plot just end there? Let them leave and live happily ever after?
Silly Russians, you should know not to play with evil clouds.
Memory-ception!
Blood balloons. Gross. I know high school dances are bad, but this is kind of ridiculous.
Jason's little minion should NOT have messed with Erica.
Eddie shoving the nail-shield into the ceiling was very clever.
Oh, it's kinky strangle time! Vecna has a choke fetish for Steve, this is like the third time it's happened.
And here we go. Eddie's fucking face when he realises that he has to go back is just...the journey he goes on, it's so painful. This is the part where I realised he wasn't going to make it out of the season the first time through, and it broke me.
"Eddie, what are you doing?!" Yeah, we were all asking that, Dustin.
Crit hit! Go Erica!
Lucas's speech to Jason is A+. "Normal is a raging psychopath" indeed.
If Jason hadn't smashed the cassette player, I wonder if this would have ended differently.
The parallel between how Henry held El in the Rainbow Room vs. how El holds Henry in the Snow Ball is delicious.
There's just so many of those bats, but Eddie stays anyway. What a fucking hero.
"Touch her again, and I will kill you...again." El has entered her BAMF stage. Kali would be proud.
That shattered Creel House set in Vecna's mind is so good, it's smashed to bits, just like Vecna's mind itself.
I do enjoy the Mind Flayer/Vecna dynamic twist. Considering we haven't seen the Mind Flayer at all this season, and we know it's still alive out there.
Also, the Mind Flayer is a giant spider. I never noticed that before, but it is. So clever.
"It was always you." The best kind of retcon is one where it doesn't even look like a retcon. Amazing storytelling.
"Stay still, it'll all be over soon." That's exactly what Billy said to the people that got flayed.
Murray + Flamethrower = <3
Everyone really does play a part in the final fight, even if it doesn't look like it from the beginning.
Just fucking die, Demogorgon, jesus christ.
Epic Kate Bush reprise is epic. Get his ass, Nance!
But of course, he gets away.
Eddie's lifeless eyes, FFS.
Here comes Tear-Up #2 - Eddie's death, and then Max's literally the scene afterwards was just too much, man.
Did Jason deserve to die? No. Am I glad he won't be around anymore? Yes.
God, somehow watching that was worse the second time around. I was a mess even before Eddie died.
Oh, we're going into the final season, let's smash all the sets!
Steve's ass in those jeans at the end is perfection.
God, Vickie and Robin are as bad as each other. What a pair.
And just when I'd recovered from #2, here comes Tear-Up #3 - Dustin's little speech to Wayne broke my fucking heart.
Jonathan's still lying to Nancy. It's not going to end well, bud.
I wonder if, because Vecna apparently absorbs everyone he kills, El might be able to like deep-dive into his mind and pull her out, so she can get back to her body?
That final shot is chilling as hell.
What a great season.
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hes-writer · 3 years
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Confessions: A ‘Favourite’ Extra
Summary: beatrice graduates and dad!harry is not invited
Warnings: angst!
Word Count: 3305 words
A/N: this is part of the ‘Favourite’ universe :D this scene takes place sometime between the first and second part! please read them before reading this.
Part One | Part Two
_____
Graduation.
Through Beatrice’s 18-years of living, she did not think that the celebration of liberation would be so sour. The day started off like any normal day. That is, except, she did not have to deliberately avoid the areas of the house that her dad, Harry, was in. It was strange that she had to feel uncomfortable in her own home.
For this special event, Beatrice had initially bought only three tickets for Ruby, Caleb and her mum, Y/N. Her dad had a packed schedule of promoting his newest album anyway so Beatrice thought that it wouldn’t even matter. She didn’t think he would want to come anyway. If Beatrice knew anything about her father is that he never really cared much about what went on in her life.
Beatrice supposes that it was okay. She had a whole lifetime to get used to it. A full lifestyle living on the edge because she didn’t know when her dad would clap-back with an insult for no reason. However, it didn’t mean that the spike in pain hurt any less. Don’t get her wrong; she was grateful for Y/N being around and involved. But Beatrice sometimes wondered how it would feel like to be wrapped in a fatherly embrace or be guided with wisdom and courage.
She really couldn’t remember the last time Harry did anything that made Beatrice feel like his daughter. Aside from the family photos they took on during the holidays or when celebrating whatever work achievement he managed to snag--that was the only time where Beatrice would feel Harry’s hand resting on her shoulder.
___
“Can I get one?” Ruby asked, tugging on the coloured strings of Beatrice’s cap. Her small body was being held by her older sister while Y/N took photos of the three siblings.
“Caleb, put your phone away please,” Y/N requested, shaking her head at the way the young boy groaned. Nonetheless, he followed the instruction.
"You’re lucky I love you or I would not have shown up,” Caleb grumbled, offering a sweet smile afterwards to suggest that he was joking. The three siblings posed for the camera, Beatrice trying hard not to let Ruby tilt her square cap.
Between a plastered smile, Beatrice replied, “Probably why dad isn’t here,”
Caleb widened his eyes significantly. Though, it seemed conspicuous to Y/N who was busy figuring out how to brighten the screen.
“That’s not true, sissy. He’s just busy,”
Beatrice chuckled, shrugging off the comforting hand of her younger brother, “Always busy but never when one of you have something going on,”
“It’s just a coincidence,”
“Yeah, sure,”
Caleb frowned at her response, focusing her attention on Ruby’s babbles. He almost spilled the surprise that their dad was going to watch Beatrice cross the stage. Caleb knew how his sisters felt about Harry and he hoped that his appearance would help patch things up between them.
Caleb walked over to Y/N, “Are you sure that Dad’s coming?”
Y/N nodded, “Yes, he said he’s looking for parking now,”
Caleb bit his lip nervously, “Do you think she’ll be surprised?”
——
“Graduate with honours, Beatrice Y/LN,”
Applause filled the venue as Beatrice walked up the steep steps of the stage. A shy smile was placed on her lips when she caught sight of the projector screen showcasing her achievements for her senior year.
In the audience, both Harry and Y/N were confused as to why Beatrice used her mother's name to be announced. The cinch in Y/N’s brow smoothed out when the principal continued speaking. Harry, however, couldn’t help the questioning frown.
“Top Chemistry. Top Biology. Overall Best Science Student. Gold Volunteer Badge. Level 4 Music Theory. Beatrice has been excelling both academically and musically while serving the community,”
Beatrice squinted at the bright lights, placing her diploma and speech on the podium. She had never been good at public speaking. However, her announced name gave Beatrice newfound confidence. It’s just her. All her achievements wouldn’t be credited to her father just because he was Harry Styles.
“Hi, uh,” She cleared her throat, “I’m Beatrice Y/LN and I’m very honoured to be standing in front of you today,”
Her speech was short and to the point; thanking her fellow classmates even though there were very few to thank personally. There were a few jokes in between and some nostalgic memories about various school events throughout the year. Beatrice mentioned remarks to her teachers who helped her achieve high grades. Lastly, she thanked her family for supporting  her
“I’d like to thank my family. My brother, Caleb. My sister, Ruby and my Mum. You guys have been so wonderful to me and I hope that I made you proud,”
Y/N was tearing up with a hand clasped over her mouth. She could not believe that her oldest daughter was off to university in a few weeks. Beatrice’s work ethic was unmatched and it showed in her getting the recognition that she deserved.
There was a pregnant pause before applause filled the space again. Despite switching her name last minute, everyone in her school knew that Beatrice was a Styles kid. They were probably waiting for her to mention him in her speech. But Beatrice felt no need to mention the man that had done nothing for her. He wasn’t even here.
“Thank you and congratulations, everyone!”
Harry slumped lower in his seat. He could feel Y/N’s worried eyes and Caleb’s observant gaze inspecting his face.
____
Beatrice stood beside her family, watching Harry a few metres away who was currently busy attending to the fans that recognized him. Even with his graying hair, many parents greeted him with a reminiscing statement about how they ‘saw him in concert back in the day’, to which he would chuckle at and proceed to converse for a few minutes until their child--Beatrice’s age--tugged them away.
All that Beatrice wanted to do was to get home and interact with her online friends. She had mentioned that she was graduating today and they were all very proud of her. Beatrice would rather take the peace and quiet of her own room than a bustling party.
“You’re invited,” Emma, a popular girl, stated while handing her a piece of paper with all the details of the party. Beatrice mumbled a hushed ‘thanks’, despite knowing that she wouldn’t even attend it in the first place.
“Are you going, Tris?” Y/N asked, holding Ruby’s hand so the youngest child would not get lost in the crowd.
Beatrice shook her head ‘no’, explaining that there was no point.
“I don’t know anyone there anyway,”
She was kind of a loner, but Beatrice was happier by herself anyways. “Besides, I don’t think dad will agree. It’s way past curfew,”
Y/N nodded in understanding. The curfew set for their eldest child was at nine in the evening. Y/N was sure that Harry would be lenient to let Beatrice go; it was her graduation after all. Sooner or later, Beatrice would be leaving for university.
____
Beatrice should be grateful. She should be happy, yet somehow those emotions were non-existent to her brain right now. She should be smiling, eyes brimming with tears because her dad actually cared to throw a party for her. But all she could feel right now was a pure disappointment and agonizing anger because Beatrice knows that he was trying to make up for years of mistreatment.
At this moment, the rowdiness of the party only proved that Harry really did not know anything about Beatrice. She did not know over half the people here, aside from the few relatives they see during the holidays; her grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. The rest were recognizable from Harry’s industry. Beatrice swore she saw Lizzo sipping a cup of liquor in their kitchen.
Aside from the initial greeting of ‘congratulations’, paired with the large banister taped on the foyer of the house, this party wasn’t much of a celebration based on Beatrice’s milestone in life. If anything, it looked like a regular get together for celebrities and industry people. Frankly, she had no interest in interacting with them. As rude as it may sound, the swirling turmoil of emotions beginning from her stomach made Beatrice push past the packed crowd with a tight-lipped smile in order to get to her room.
She felt like she couldn’t breathe, especially knowing that these people in her house absolutely adored Harry. They saw him as a family man, loved and appreciated by his kids. It wasn’t a complete lie, per se. Beatrice just didn’t have much experience to confirm that he was, in fact, a lovable and caring person.
If she had to put a finger on it, Beatrice was feeling utter disgust. She was disgusted because Harry was the perfect person in their eyes when everything he had shown her was that she was someone that didn’t deserve any of his attention. It felt like this was a celebration of her dad’s façade--he was not actually proud of her. He was just making it seem like he is so he wouldn’t be perceived as the dead-beat dad.
A knock at her door sounded. It was almost as if Beatrice could sense her dad’s presence without turning around to look at who just entered the privacy of her room.
“Tris?” Harry whispered, hesitating on mumbling the nickname. He had never done it willingly before, much less not as bitter as the previous times.
Beatrice swore that she could practically see the venom slithering on his tongue every time he said her name. But maybe that was just her skewed perception.
The chair that she was sitting on creaked as she shifted her weight, leaning her elbows on her desk.
“Why did you even throw a party, dad?”
It was merely a genuine question that held so many underlying meanings. Why now? Why not earlier when there was still hope to fix whatever sort of broken and fucked up relationship they had with each other?
Harry fully stepped into the room, observing the walls decorated with art and artists whom he recognized were his friends. He didn’t realize that she was a fan of Florence Pugh.
He cleared his throat with a fist to his mouth, “I wanted to celebrate your graduation,”
Beatrice internally rolled her eyes, “Did you really? Because you haven’t been there when I needed your help with my homework or assignments or anything. Now,  suddenly you want to act like you were a big part of how I achieved my accomplishments?”
It was a sour realization. It was accurate that Harry refused to help her with schoolwork. He swore that he was busy looking over new options for his upcoming projects. Retrospectively, he might have subconsciously spewed out excuses so that he wouldn’t be able to help his dear daughter.
Beatrice sighed, flattening the balls of her palms against the edge of the sleek wood, pushing the rolling wheels of the chair back. She stood up.
“Just admit it. You threw the party because you felt guilty and you think that somehow, everything will magically be okay between us?” Beatrice shot him a questioning look, chest-puffing when Harry’s lack of words confirmed her theory.
Beatrice propped her feet in the middle of her room, twisting her body so that her back was facing away from the closed-door; from him. She breathed heavily through her nose, lungs rising up and down as she gathered her thoughts.
Unbelievable.
Harry stood with his arms by his sides, staring at his daughter with curious compassion. He did not know what to say, nor did he know how to act because he didn’t take the time to get to know her. He didn’t spend time with Beatrice; nurturing, caring, calming or comforting her because he simply couldn't get over the fact that she was once a person that caused calamity in his life.
“Tris,” Her dad spoke, earning a pinch of her facial expression from the familiarity of the nickname. Yet, it was unfamiliar because Harry used it mundanely.
Beatrice cut him off, “I’ll be leaving for university in a few weeks. You can quit pretending like you care. You say this graduation party is for me but I don’t even know most of the people here!”
The volume of her voice reached a threshold that should warn both of them to keep quiet. However, Beatrice knew that with the hustle and bustle of the celebration going on downstairs—no one would hear her honesty except for her and Harry.
Harry blinked twice, mouth dropping slightly agape. Why did he throw this party? He knew his intentions; he was proud of his daughter. He wanted to show her off to everyone he knew about how intelligent and well-rounded Beatrice was.
The girl continued speaking as if reading Harry’s train of thought.
“This is for you,” She spoke bitterly as if her tongue was left with an odd taste in her mouth. “Showing off a ‘trophy’ daughter who graduated with honours but that doesn’t matter, does it? Nothing I ever do will match what you’ve done.”
The accompanying laugh—albeit, sarcastic— left Harry confused.
“What? No, this is for you. I’m proud of you,” Harry quickly disagreed with Beatrice, gesturing his large hands in a wave to emphasize his words.
She turned around with gentle disbelief; her features were hardened yet Beatrice’s eyes gleamed with hope. She wanted so badly to believe her dad, but his lack of attentiveness to her led Beatrice to roll her eyes at him instead.
“Cut the crap, Dad,”
“Language,” Harry added, pursing his lips when Beatrice scoffed.
“I can’t believe this,” Beatrice muttered, she stared at the ground as if picking out the words to say.
As bad as it sounded, she wanted to hurt her dad the way he did to her. Years of being treated like an unwanted child slowly built up inside of her and Beatrice wanted the pain to end.
“You wanted to be everything so bad that you forgot to be my Dad,”
“I am your dad, Tris,” Harry watched as she walked over to her desk. Fingers cascading the glass picture frame which held a still of their family.
“Don’t you think I know that?” Beatrice turned around, throwing the edged frame on her bed in a fit of anger.
Harry’s brows shot up to his forehead, watching his daughter’s eyes well up with tears.
“You are my dad but you’ve never been one to me! Why is that? Huh?” Beatrice pressed, crossing her arms and digging her fingernails on the skin of her bicep.
“I’m sorry that I took those opportunities away from you. You got movie deals, You had an album coming out. Tours, shows, money—you had everything and I ruined it, didn’t I? As you said, it would’ve been better if I wasn’t born,”
Harry was no stranger to not interrupting someone when they spoke. However, he couldn’t let Beatrice believe the words she spoke.
“Don’t say that! That’s not true,” He stuttered over his words, heart-shattering under the weight of Beatrice’s truthfulness. Sure, he had everything, but it didn’t mean that he was satisfied.
“But you thought about it right? You wondered how different it would be if I wasn’t born at the wrong time. Maybe you would’ve loved me more—like you do Caleb and Ruby,” Beatrice smiled sadly.
She was glad that at least her siblings would not have to experience the searing pain of being unappreciated. They did not deserve to be seen through like a ghost.
“Maybe you would’ve paid more attention to me. Maybe you would have cared that I was hurting every time you showed me nothing but disdain,”
Beatrice used her forearm to wipe away the tears beginning to soak her reddened cheeks. She sighed, plopping down at the foot of her bed, watching Harry look at her with an unreadable emotion on his face.
“You know, It’s not my responsibility to ask why,” Beatrice whispered. Though, she wondered what would have happened if she did question her dad why he looked at her as if she was a burden in his life.
Beatrice’s monologue crescendoed as utter pain cracked her voice every now and then. Her figure slouching as she truly experienced what it was like to let go of the turmoiled affliction soaring through her body.
“I’m your child! You’re the one who’s supposed to be looking out for me. You’re the one who’s supposed to show me what love is supposed to feel like. I’ve always wondered how you’d react if I came home with a boyfriend like all the movies and books talk about. But, all you’ve shown and made me feel was my first heartbreak when you’re supposed to be the one nursing me from it,”
At that point, Harry could not remain the eye contact he shared with his daughter, gazing down at the floorboard in shame.
“You were supposed to scare guys off because I’m your eldest daughter. You’re supposed to protect me from everything that could hurt me, even when it’s irrational because that is what Dads do,”
That same bitter laugh that pierced Harry’s ears earlier echoed again.
“But I guess you never really wanted to become one to begin with. Or maybe just not with me.”
Harry took a few steps back. Her words figuratively churned and twisted his gut. He caught his balance on the doorknob that moved feverishly under his weight. Sure, he didn’t want to be her dad at first. And he had many chances to fix a strained relationship, but he never took them. So really, he had no shield at denying the truth. He was simply a father who failed to be the dad to Beatrice.
“I-I do! I want to be--if you'd let me,” He hated the way his voice became weary.
Despite their differences, Beatrice and Harry both mutually hated the way his tone pinched. The way he had to plead and beg for his daughter’s forgiveness when it seemed to be too late. This could have been avoided if Harry took the chance to become the dad that Beatrice deserved to have. The dad that her siblings--Caleb and Ruby--saw and spent time with while Beatrice watched behind, wondering why she was never treated the way they did.
“For years, I wondered what was wrong with me. I listened to the music that you liked. I asked mum what you enjoyed doing because you never talk to me. I wanted you to see me as a daughter instead of this--this invisible speck that you shrug off your shoulder every time I needed you!” Beatrice cried out, hugging herself for comfort.
The worst part was that she could see Harry’s legs buckle in hesitation to come closer to her or not. He shouldn’t even have to think to comfort his daughter, but he did.
“I wanted you to like me as if I even have to do that in the first place! You’re my dad, don’t you get it? Because I didn’t. I spent so much time being the perfect child in hopes of you giving me an ounce of your attention aside from the face you put on when I walked into the room. Why did you have to treat me this way, huh?”
Tears spilled from her forest-green eyes, identical to Harry’s glazed ones. His mouth parted in retaliation. As if he was plopped in quicksand, Harry had no idea how to defend himself.
“I know that you didn’t want me in the first place but--,” Beatrice sniffled, wiping the salty liquid to her damp temples, “I just wished you treated me like I wasn’t a burden to you,”
_____
641 notes · View notes
charlies-gillespie · 3 years
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private relationship | charlie gillespie (part 1)
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PART TWO
paring: fem!reader x charlie gillespie
summary: reader and Charlie have been in a very private relationship. none of their fans know that they’re together, until a slip up at a very public event changes everything for the pair
requested: no
length: long
rating: PG (borderline PG-13 tho for some nsfw jokes)
warnings: a dirty joke or two, a few sexual innuendos throughout, drinking
!! MY GIF - give creds if used !!
authors note: “mon amour” means “my love” in french. it’ll probably be used a lot throughout the imagine
another author’s note: would y’all want a part two, but with smut?
MASTERLIST
“Charlie!” you call. Your voice echoes through your apartment. “Can you come here for a second?”
You need help zipping your dress. Charlie was the first to get to your apartment. He’s been waiting for Owen, Madison, Jeremy, Jadah, and Savannah, and Sacha to get here so your group can go to the release party together. It’s a formal event so you had to wear a dress and heels. It wasn’t your first choice, especially the heels part.
Charlie appears in the doorway and says, “Yea- woah.” You see him in your mirror. His eyes are on you. He looks good in his suit that he’s wearing. His jacket and pants are black, his button-up beneath the jacket is white, but he wears a silver tie to compliment the color of your pale pink dress since he can’t match your dress.
A smile forms on your lips and you ask, “Can you come zip up my dress, please?” Charlie nods and walks into your bedroom. You watch him as he slowly zips up your dress.
The dress is a long, baby pink dress with satin fabric. The skirt is a little poofy from the waist down. The top hugs your chest, pushing your breasts up a little bit so they look a little bigger than they actually are. A sparkly silver belt sits on your waist to add some sparkle to the dress. The sleeves are off your shoulders, and there are hidden pockets in the skirt.
Your boyfriend admires you in the mirror. You’re fully dressed now. Your hair is loosely curled and you have a natural makeup look painted on your face. The light color of the dress compliments your tan skin.
“You look stunning, mon amour,” Charlie sighs. “Absolutely stunning.”
You lean your head back a bit, resting it against Charlie’s shoulder. “You clean up very nicely, Charlie,” you say. “I like that you matched me without actually matching me.”
He laughs and says, “I might’ve had Mads and Jadah help me with that little detail. I wanted to match you but it would draw suspicion to us.”
When you and Charlie started dating almost nine months ago, both of you agreed to keep it on the very low. No social media posts unless hanging out in a group setting, no tagging each other in stories if you were alone together, and only going as far as following each other on social media since you’ve worked on the same show together. The fans don’t even know that you’re friends with each other at this point. Only your closest friends that are going with you to the event tonight know that you and Charlie are together.
Kenny Ortega also knows since he’s technically your boss and you’re both co-workers. He also might have found you making out with Charlie after the two of you got carried away when cuddling on Julie’s bed after a few hours of shooting scenes. You couldn’t lie to him after that.
Tonight is a very public event. Pictures will be taken, journalists will be wanting every juicy detail, and fans have been invited to the event so if there’s even a little be of suspicion, it won’t take very long to go public. It’s the release night party for Julie and the Phantoms season two. Everyone’s been invited to watch the first few episodes of the new season.
You feel Charlie kiss your bare shoulder and you giggle softly. “I’m sure everyone will be getting here soon so we should go wait out in the living room,” you tell your boyfriend.
“I wish I was able to touch you tonight,” he says. “It’s your big Netflix debut, Y/N. I wish I was able to hug you and show you how proud I am of you.”
A little sigh leaves your body and you say, “You can hug me. I’m sure a friendly hug won’t hurt, as long as you hug other people too. As for showing me that you’re proud of me, you can do that later when we’re alone.” You send him a playful wink so he gets what you mean.
Charlie’s jaw drops and he blinks at you. “I-you, um,” your boyfriend stammers. “Okay, yeah. I’m going to show you just how proud I am of you later, baby.”
You turn and face Charlie. “I look forward to it, Charlie,” you tell him, leaning up. He smiles and lightly pecks your lips.
Someone knocks on the door and you click out of the room in your silver heels to answer the door. Owen and Jeremy stand at the door. Jer’s wife, Carolynn, stands beside him.
“Hi, Y/N,” Owen greets you. “You look very pretty. I saw Charlie’s car in the parking garage so where is that loser?”
You laugh and say, “Probably still in my bedroom. Go get him. I think I shocked him or something with my words.” Owen pushes past you. Jeremy follows him, leaving you and Carolynn alone.
Carolynn smiles and says, “I love that color on you, Y/N. It suits you.”
“Thank you,” you say, shooting her a little smile. You’ve grown close to Carolynn since she’s married to Jeremy and you’ve spent a lot of time hanging out with the guys in a group.
You let Carolynn walk in before closing the door behind her. Faintly, you hear Owen say, “Bro, what’s going on with you? Your face is red.”
Charlie responds with, “I am so having sex tonight, dude.”
Both you and Carolynn laugh in the living room as Carolynn asks, “I don’t want to know what that’s about, do I?”
As you sit, you say, “Charlie said he wishes he could touch me tonight at the party so he could show me how proud he was of me. I told him he can show me how proud he is of me later when we’re alone.”
Carolynn says, “Ah, okay. That makes sense. Congratulations, by the way. Making your big Netflix debut tonight. How’s it feel?”
“I’m excited, but very nervous,” you admit. “The first season did so well and won so many awards that I’m scared that I’m going to come in and ruin the whole show and that people won’t like my character.”
She says, “You play the nice daughter of the villain of the show. Everyone will probably love you when they realize that your character wants to help the Phantoms instead of siding with Caleb. Don’t tell Jer and the guys but I think you have one of the best songs of the season so I think the fans will definitely love that.”
You smile as there is another knock on the door. Charlie, Owen, and Jeremy come into the living room as you answer the door.
Savannah stands in the doorway with Mads, Sacha, and Jadah. “I had to pick up the kiddos,” Sav says. “Ooh, Y/N. You look beautiful.”
“Thank you,” you say, smiling. “We’re just waiting for the limo to get here. I think we have a half hour or so before it gets here.”
Kenny is sending a limo to your apartment for the nine of you. When you decided to go as a group so you and Charlie could go together, Kenny pitched in and helped like the wonderful human being he is.
Owen decides to go live with Jeremy on his Instagram account for a few minutes. Carolynn talks with Savannah, Sacha, and Jadah while you find yourself talking with Charlie and Madison.
Mads says, “Kenny is giving us the opportunity to sing on stage together tonight. He told me that we can pick whatever song from either season. He thinks the fans would want to hear Perfect Harmony or Stand Tall since those were massive after season one dropped.”
Charlie nods and says, “Stand Tall would be good since all of us can get in on that number. I can talk to Jeremy and Owen about it when they get off live.��
You smile at the two of them and say, “That’s exciting. The fans will be so excited for this little surprise.”
“We can thank Kenny when it goes really well,” Mads says with a laugh. “He’s always got these great ideas. I don’t know how he comes up with them.”
Both you and Charlie laugh as your phone rings. You answer it, speaking to the limo driver. After a moment, you hang up the phone and announce, “Limo is here. Let’s head on out.”
Everyone gets their things together, Owen gets off Instagram live, and you all head down two floors to pile into the limo.
The drive from your apartment to the Laglyan Complex on North Vine Street is close to forty minutes. It was close to six when you left and it’s almost seven when you arrive to the venue for tonight’s event.
There is a red carpet laid out across the front of the building to the door. There is a lot of press here and a lot of cameras flashing. Cheyenne Jackson and Booboo Stewart are together on the carpet. You spot Kenny with one of the assistant directors.
When the press spots the limo, they begin to mumble to each other as they try to figure out who is in the car. Owen and Jeremy get out first. The press begin to snap pictures of the guys. Madison gets out with Jadah. Carolynn, Sacha, and Savannah. Sacha pairs up with Savannah while Mads, Jadah and Carolynn walk the carpet together until Carolynn finds her way to her husband.
Charlie helps you out of the car. The journalists call Charlie’s name as you close the door behind you. “Go,” you order him. “I’ll be okay. You’re the star of the show.” He smiles and sends you a wink since his back is turned toward the cameras. He walks off and your eyes follow him. Cheyenne walks over.
“Look at you, Y/N,” he says. “You look wonderful.”
You smile and say, “Thank you, Cheyenne. You look nice tonight. I love the suit.” He wears a shirt similar to his Julie and the Phantoms character, Caleb Covington. You play his daughter on the show.
Cheyenne holds his arm out for you and you hook your elbow with his. The cameras snap away at you and Cheyenne since the two of you play a father-daughter duo. Booboo comes and joins you and Cheyenne as the ‘Hollywood Ghost Club Crew’, as Booboo dubbed the three of you. The band is getting pictures together. Savannah, Sacha, and Jadah are getting their pictures taken together. Carolynn is getting her pictures done.
The journalists call out questions to the cast. They ask Madi which season was her favorite, which she replies with, “Y’all really going to make me choose? I can’t do that.”
Owen is asked whether or not we’ll get a Willex kiss in the future, which Owen replies with, “We’ll just have to see, won’t we?”
All the journalists laugh. One of them calls out, “Y/N, what was it like joining a show that already had a pretty large fan base and a successful first season?”
“It was nerve wracking at first,” you admit. “But the cast welcomed me with open arms and I’ve made some very, very close friends.” You shoot a smile to the cameras.
A second journalist calls out to everyone, “Are there any secret romances on set that no one knows about?”
Most of the cast, including you and Charlie, laughs. Owen answers with, “Now it wouldn’t be a secret if we told everyone. But no, there aren’t any secret romances. That I know of at least.”
After a few more pictures and questions, we all head inside. The main room as a bunch of tables set up and a little stage with Madi’s piano, Charlie’s guitars, Jeremy’s bass, and Owen’s drums. There are a few fans that were exclusively invited that are scattered around. They start getting excited when they see you walk in with everyone.
You find your table. You’re sitting with Owen, Charlie, Jeremy, Carolynn, Cheyenne, Booboo, and Savannah. This is the “adult” table, you guess. Mads, Jadah, and Sacha sit with Kenny and a few of the younger cast members at another table.
You’re sitting between Charlie and Owen. Someone needs to sit between them or they’ll be at each other all night. That’s your argument if someone is suspicious of you and Charlie.
Suddenly, you feel someone’s fingers lace with yours under the cloth that’s on the table. You glance over at Charlie and he has a little smile on his face as he talks with Jeremy. You turn and say to Owen softly, “Did Charlie really say that he’s having sex tonight?”
Owen laughs a bit and nods. “He thinks he is anyway,” the blond says. “Is he?”
“If he can behave himself then yes,” you say. Owen chuckles.
You feel Charlie squeeze your hand. You know he heard so you smile.
After small conversation with everyone at the table, you get up and get a drink. You walk to the bar, asking for a martini. While you wait, you’re approached by a guy dressed in a nice button-up shirt and dress pants. His hair is in a neat bun behind his head. “Hi,” he says. “I’m Austin.”
“Y/N,” you say.
“I couldn’t notice you came over here alone,” he says.
The bartender gives you your drink and you say, “I just came over to grab a drink. I was going to go back to my table after I grabbed it.”
Austin pulls out his wallet and hands the bartender a twenty dollar bill. “Let me at least pay for it,” he says.
You smile a bit and say, “Thank you. I must be headed back to the table with my friends now. I appreciate the drink, though.”
He blocks your way and you look up at him. “How about a dance in return for the drink?” Austin suggests.
Feeling more and more uncomfortable, you say, “Maybe later. I need to get back to my friends.”
Austin asks, “What’s the rush? It’s not like you have a boyfriend or anything. I follow your social media accounts and you never post a guy.”
You begin to say, “Actually, I-” before Charlie walks up. You let out a soft sigh of relief.
“Everything okay here?” Charlie asks. “You were taking a while to come get a drink so I thought that I’d come check.”
The stranger says, “All good here. I was just offering Y/N a dance here since I paid for her drink.”
Charlie looks down at you and blinks before you say, “I didn’t ask him to pay for it. He took out a twenty and offered.” Austin looks between you and your secret boyfriend.
Then Charlie says, “If you offered yourself then Y/N isn’t obligated to dance with you just because you paid for her drink.”
Austin says, “Well, I’ll just ask again later.” The man walks away and you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding.
Your boyfriend moves and stands in front of you. He asks, “Are you okay?”
You nod and say, “Yeah, thank you. It was just uncomfortable. I didn’t know how to get out of it.”
Charlie reaches up to cup your face in his hands but he stops before he can touch your face. You look up at him before you lean forward, putting your face in Charlie’s hands. Your eyes flutter closed and you smile.
“Y/N,” Charlie says. “People are looking.”
With a sigh, you say, “I just need you to touch me, Charlie. I want you.”
He runs his thumbs over your cheekbones and you can hear pictures being taken. You put your drink on the bar counter and step closer to Charlie.
Your eyes open and you find Charlie looking down at you. He says, “You know what this means for us, right?”
You nod and say, “Our on-the-low relationship isn’t as on the low now. I don’t mind that anymore because I’m tired of guys coming up and trying to flirt with me while I have a boyfriend.”
Charlie chuckles a bit as he says, “I hope that means I can kiss you now. It’s all I’ve wanted to do tonight.”
“Yeah,” you sigh.
With no hesitation, Charlie leans down and crashes his lips to yours. You press your body against his, grabbing his jacket and holding him close to you. You kiss Charlie back just as hard as he kissed you. Your eyes are closed again but you can see flashes behind your eyes. You pull back from the kiss and stare up at Charlie.
Both of you smile at each other as Charlie says, “You better be ready for what happens after this.”
You push Charlie’s hair away form his face and say, “What happens after this is you get on that stage tonight, you kill it, we go back to your place because it’s closer, and you get all the sex you want.”
Charlie’s face turns a little red and he says, “I will never get used to you saying something sexual to me. I hope you know that.”
“You better, Mr. Gillespie,” you tell him. “I’m not the innocent girl that you met a year and a half ago.”
He laughs and says, “Trust me. I know you’re not the innocent girl that I met last year. You’ve proven that several times at this point.”
With a smile on your face, you take Charlie’s hand in yours before grabbing your drink and walking back to the table with your friends. When you get back to the table, you scoot closer to Charlie and rest your head on his shoulder. Owen looks over and says, “Woah, being affectionate in public. This isn’t the best idea.”
You say, “It’s okay, Owen. Everything is okay.”
Owen looks confused as you look up at Charlie. Charlie looks at his best friend and says, “I kissed her. At the the bar when I went to check on her. Cameras saw so that’s going to be a huge thing in the morning.”
Jeremy says, “Well, congratulations on making your relationship public, I guess.”
The table laughs. Owen looks at you, Charlie, Jeremy, and Carolynn before he says, “I need a relationship. I feel so single right now.”
Charlie says, “You’d actually have to talk to people to get a girlfriend, Owen.”
“Haha,” Owen says, sticking his tongue out at Charlie. You laugh.
***
At nine, Madi, Charlie, Owen, and Jeremy all leave to get ready. They decided on Stand Tall for the number they’re going to perform. It’s almost 9:30 when Kenny gets on the mic on stage. “Hello, everyone,” he says. “Today, Netflix released season two of Julie and the Phantoms. To celebrate, I offered our band the chance to perform a song of their choice. So, let’s all welcome Madison Reyes, Charlie Gillespie, Jeremy Shada, and Owen Patrick Joyner to the stage for their performance of whatever song they chose.”
The crowd cheers as everyone walks onto the stage, taking their place. You and Carolynn get a front row seat while you both watch your guys perform. You notice Charlie took off his jacket and his tie. He also cut off the sleeves, but that doesn’t surprise you. The top few buttons of his white button-up are unbuttoned, showing off his chest a bit.
Mads begins to play the first few keys to the song.
Don't blink No, I don't want to miss it One thing, and it’s back to the beginning Cause everything is rushing in fast Keep going on, never look back
You smile and watch Madi sing. She’s insanely talented and you’re so glad that the world was able to hear her voice.
The guys nod their heads to the beat while they wait for their signal to begin playing. Once they get their cues, they begin to play one by one.
Right now, I'm loving every minute Hands down, can't let myself forgеt it, no Cause everything is rushing in fast Keep holding on, nеver look back
Charlie plays like he’s flickering on and off stage like he does on the show. You smile and admire your boyfriend. You know how talented he is, especially those fingers of his, but he never ceases to amaze you how talented he is.
And it’s one, two, three, four times That I'll try for one more night Light a fire in my eyes I'm going out of my mind
You smile wide when Charlie sings his line at the end of the pre-chorus. Then he begins to sing his part of the song and you dance with Carolynn. The crowd sings and dances behind you two.
The four of them finish the song and smile. The crowd cheers and you smile, looking at Charlie. He has the biggest smile on his face, which is covered in a layer of sweat. His hair is damp with sweat too. Charlie bows with his closest friends before putting his guitar on the stand. He jumps off the stage and comes over to you.
“I told you that you’d kill it,” you tell him when he gets to you.
Charlie laughs and says, “Oh, hush.” He pulls you into a soft kiss. You smile and kiss him back, making your relationship with him completely public. The people around you cheer a bit as Charlie pulls away.
You look up at him and say, “You’re going to have so much fun being able to hugs me and kiss me in public now, aren’t you?”
He smiles and stares down at you. Charlie says, “Maybe I’ll be having too much fun now.”
As you brush some of the hair away from Charlie’s eyes, you say, “Please try to keep the PDA to a minimum, Charlie. You do have a lot of younger fans. Save most of it for when we’re alone.”
“Like how we will be tonight?” Charlie asks, eyes hopeful.
You laugh and say, “Just like how we will be tonight.” Then an idea pops into your idea. “This dress is getting really hot. I might need to take it off soon.”
Charlie gets what you’re trying to say so he replies with, “Let’s go.”
He takes your hand and hops over the barricade. You smile as he leads you through the crowd of people. Charlie calls you an Uber so you can both go back to his place tonight.
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unsaid-stardust · 3 years
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The Blowing Kisses Motif
OK THERE’S A LOT TO UNPACK HERE SO BUCKLE UP KIDS
Disclaimer: this is inspired by my friend’s post here (which you should read to gain more depth about this theory and also just bc lev is my friend and I love her). And @reggiepetersbass helped with some of this as well! go support them!! 💜
NOW ON TO THE META
For starters, let’s layout all the times it happens. 
ep1: At dinner after Julie getting kicked out of the music program is brought up, Tía blows a kiss to Carlos before she leaves. 
ep6: during “all eyes on me” one of the moves is Carrie blowing a questionable kiss (I say questionable bc it’s not the same as the others, but is worth talking about)
ep9-there’s two separate times in this episode as a whole:
when Caleb shows up on the grand piano, he whisks the boys away by blowing a kiss
after the “stand tall” performance and the boys poof out, Julie’s dad blows her a kiss
Now that we know what the motif is and when it happens, we can get in to the importance of each kiss, which can be attributed by how the characters react to the blown kiss as well as how it is executed. I grouped them one by one so do with that what you will cough work smarter not harder cough.
Tía’s Kiss 
(wow you’re still here? ok.) Tia’s kiss is very playful and familial. When you first watch the scene, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. it’s something you see in a typical-loving home. What’s noticeable about this kiss is that it’s also very over the top and dramatic, but with warm tones. Tía uses both hands while making the usual “mwah” sound that is paired with a kiss. Carlos excitedly stands up in his chair, an “oh yeah!” sounding as he does, and he playfully pretends he is knocking it out of the park. 
It’s clearly a positive response; a dramatic one too. The show is practically screaming “here! Look at this! Look at this kiss! It’s loving! Julie lives in a very loving and caring household!” which is important to lay out considering that some of the others are not like this at all. it’s also why it’s in the first episode as well as the first interaction Julie has with Tía in the season, but we’ll get to more of that later (buckle in or open the car door and roll out to make your getaway now idc it’s your life)
Carrie’s Half-Kiss
ah yes, the half kiss. i totally did not just find carrie blowing a kiss to prove my point nope Idk what you’re talking about. 
As pointed out, one of the moves that Carrie performs during “All Eyes on Me” involves the act of blowing somewhat of a kiss. This kiss is nothing like Tía’s. It’s not at all familial or loving. No, it’s confident yet a little-bit self-absorbent. It’s dramatic, but in a true pop-queen way. It’s very carrie (I”m sorry you had to read that sentence sadkfhj). 
Carrie is a bit superficial, just like her kiss. She doesn’t come from the same loving home that Julie does. Sure, her dad loves her, as stated in ep 9. But, one can assume that she’s felt a lot of loneliness. Her mom ran out on her at a young age and her dad is never there as he’s busy with his music. That’s all she’s known so it’s all she does. (This is totally not a self plug, but if you want more on carrie pls read here ). It’s practically inevitable that Carrie is the way she is currently. And it’s why her half-kiss is done for attention and receives applause instead of affection. 
Caleb’s Kiss
oooo now this one! This kiss is the most interesting one imo. For those who didn’t read the first post I linked (seriously you should tho bc lev is smart don’t tell her I said that tho), here’s the quick run down. Essentially, galaxy-brain @reggiesjams explained that Caleb manipulates the way each character loves and blackmails them by holding their loved ones and hobbies by a thread. This is where each and every blown kiss throughout the season comes together; Caleb’s kiss. 
Unlike Tía’s kiss, it’s not loving, but the exact opposite. It’s jealousy. It’s poison. Because it’s used to whisk the boys away from the studio, from crossing over, from Julie, the person all three boys love with their whole hearts (especially one Luke Patterson). And it’s right after that, that Caleb’s “last pitch” takes place. 
The one in which he essentially tells all three boys “hey! this thing you love? if you go towards the light that is Julie Molina, the pourer of love that is Julie Molina, you won't have those things, but you’ll have them if you stay.”
This is where it all connects. (but I'll leave you in suspense because we still have probably the most important blown kiss throughout the season but honestly can’t believe you read this far! gold star for you good noodle)
Ray’s Kiss
yay!! back to love!!!! 
ok so we established earlier that ray’s kiss happens after the boys poof out as the crowd cheers when “stand tall” ends. This is completely in contrast to Caleb’s kiss that happened before the performance. This kiss is so much like Tía’s and yet it’s not Tía giving the kiss (more on that soon almost there!). It’s full of love and affection and awe.  It’s not used to accumulate applause or manipulate how someone shows their affection. No. It’s pure and good and wholesome. It’s everything that his daughter, julie, is.
TL;DR
Remember when I said I'd hold off about the connection that Caleb’s Kiss creates as well as why it’s not Tía blowing the kiss? Well, here it is. 
The trilogy (or tetralogy if we count Carrie) of the blown kisses, and the chapter of Caleb’s manipulative kiss, is a nod towards the show’s theme which is quite literally “the power of love is the strongest power”. 
In the first episode, we see a mourning Julie who has lost not only her mom, but her love of music. She’s dreary and dark. But, in the last episode, we see a Julie who is so full of light; literal fireworks exploding behind her as she performs. How does this happen?
Love. Love from her dad. From Carlos and Tía. From Flynn. From the boys. But, most importantly, her mom. She may not visibly be there, but oh is she there  alright.
She’s there in the first episode with the sun that shines through the window as Julie sings for the first time in a year. She’s there any time a Dahlia is present. She’s there any time the boys are there because she’s the one that sent them. And she’s there after the performance of “Stand Tall” as her husband Ray blows a kiss to their daughter’s way. 
She’s what brought the boys back to the studio in the end. She’s the one who guided them towards the light that is Julie; towards love. 
It’s proven that Julie’s mom is who sent the boys back to her when Ray says after the kiss “I still don’t know how she does it” referring the the holograms. He  could’ve said anything else. “Wow! My daughter is so amazing!” or “incredible!” but is that what he says? No. He questions the boys’ existence. This is pretty much the equivalent of a big flashing arrow that points to the show’s theme
And well, even though Carlos answers “it’s all one big mystery to me”. It’s really not because their mom’s love is the answer.
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dustofbrokenheart · 3 years
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The Covenant: Christmas Music in November
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Caleb
It’s not his favorite in the weeks before Thanksgiving, but won’t complain if he hears it.
Has good memories of both Thanksgiving and Christmas so he likes to give both their respective places.
The pharmacy he frequents to pick up his parents’ meds starts playing Christmas music in November every year so he’s used to it. He puts on his most polite smile and goes about his business.
Was caught by Tyler freshmen year of high school full out jamming to Mariah Carey in the parking lot. A whole performance: belting out lyrics and dancing in the driver’s seat of his car. Tyler interrupted him with a knock to the window. Caleb wore him to secrecy to avoid Reid’s teasing and to save face with Pogue.
Will never admit it, but his favorite song is “All I Want For Christmas.” He’ll insist it’s something more traditional, like “Silver Bells” or “Winter Wonderland” but Tyler knows the truth.
Pogue
Is the least discrete about his dislike for Christmas music in November. He can’t hide the exasperation on his face.
He’ll complain, but won’t be aggressive about it. But as previously mentioned, his face will give away his true feelings to anyone who looks at him.
One of the guys at the work put the radio to a Christmas mix once and Pogue swears it was the longest days worth of work he ever did. The other guy noticed Pogue’s clenched jaw and never tried it again. It’s now an unspoken rule at the garage that they can’t listen to Christmas music in the garage when Pogue is on shift in November.
Isn’t a huge Christmas guy in general. The more he learned about it as a teen, the more critical he became toward it.
The one song he tolerates best is the Trans Siberia Orchestra version of “Carol of the Bells.” There’s no lyrics and the guitar is especially good.
Reid
More of a Halloween baby, meaning he’s bitter every year when spooky songs on the radio convert to nativity numbers.
Give him ghosts and skeletons over snowmen and Santa any day.
Come the winter holiday season he tries to limit driving with Tyler. Listening to all that Christmas music, especially in November, makes him mental. He used to skip through Tyler’s cd mixes, but it made Tyler mad, and Reid hates fighting with his best friend so it’s easier just to try to limit riding in the Hummer with him.
Is more okay with it once Thanksgiving is over, but will definitely speak out against it if it’s before. Is known to make a scene at stores and restaurants that play it early. Nothing too major, but will be extra loud about it and make smart-mouthed comments if he’s confronted.
No one is surprised when he says his favorite Christmas song is “What’s This” from The Nightmare Before Christmas. “Hey, the movie is about Halloween and Christmas, so it totally counts.”
Tyler
An absolute Christmas season fanatic. It’s his favorite holiday and his Christmas season starts early in November every year.
As soon as the clock strikes midnight on November 1st, he’s breaking out his Bing Crosby and Michael Bublé cd mixes. Also tunes into radio stations that start playing Christmas music for driving music.
When he’s out shopping and hears the first Christmas song playing over the store speakers he turns into a little kid and starts bopping around, humming along.
It’s hard to choose just one, but he’d pick “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” as his favorite song. He knows all the words and can still sing the whole thing even if it’s just the instrumental track playing.
Won a trivia night event once because he successfully named all the reindeer on Santa’s sleigh, thanks to the song, and frequently reminds people of the fact.
Bonus: Chase
Tells everyone his favorite Christmas song is “I Have A Little Dreidel” knowing full well it’s for a completely different holiday just to be contrary.
Hasn’t celebrated the holiday since his parents died, and hasn’t had a good Christmas since he was twelve, but still considers it one of the best holidays.
He doesn’t necessarily look forward to listening to that kind of music in November, but will start to listen to it once it starts getting played.
When he notices someone complaining that it’s way too early to start promoting Christmas, he’ll ham it up and start singing out loud just to get a reaction out of them.  
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doof-doofblog · 3 years
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"He's My Brother?!"
Tuesday 16th March 2021
Part One
Hello again everyone, hope you're all doing well! I wanted to share some personal news with you, I received my first Covid-19 vaccine yesterday, we're slowly on the path on getting things back to some form of normality! Who knows, maybe soon EastEnders might be able to go back to its original 30 minutes, even though I'm enjoying it and don't care how long the episodes are, it'll just feel normal, right? Anyway, I've seen a few spoilers regarding these two episodes, I'm really intrigued to write about these episodes. Tuesday aired two episodes of EastEnders so I'll be doing two posts to review each one.
Monday's episode ended on such a cliff-hanger, it's only right that I start this blog with mentioning Lucas and Chelsea first. The episode opened right there Monday left off, Chelsea and Lucas are at the airport preparing to go to Ibiza with suitcases full of drugs. Chelsea's suitcase is currently being checked, she's stood in absolute panic about what the security guard is going to find. Only when he reveals a bottle being over the correct amount she's allowed to take, I got really confused! I was completely and utterly convinced that Lucas had given Chelsea the drugs as a way of teaching her a lesson, and not in a bad way but in a cruel-to-be-kind kind of way. But as soon as Lucas begins to walk through with his suitcase, Chelsea hears commotion from behind and Lucas is surrounded by armed guards. The interesting thing is, Lucas doesn't hesitate, calmly and willingly, he drops the suitcase, opens it up to reveal the amount of drugs stored inside it, Chelsea watches on in dismay as her Father basically gives up on the whole job. Lucas looked over at his daughter, but the look on his face, I couldn't quite tell what he was doing? Was he doing this to save his daughter?
Frantically, Chelsea later arrives home, informing her Mum that Lucas has been arrested and he plain and simply gave up the drugs as if he'd planned it. Denise is visibly shook to hear but she's more relieved to know that Chelsea is safe and no harm has come to her, as far as she's concerned, Lucas can look after himself, whereas Chelsea needs her family around her. However, Chelsea seems to think that Lucas has given up the job on purpose, and now because the job hasn't gone through, Chelsea and the rest of the family could be in danger.
Returning to the airport, Lucas has been taken to side room, there he is begging the officer to allow him one phone call. At first the officer seems to think he's part of a drug gang and is wanting a call to let his comrades know about his arrest, however when Lucas mentions that it's to do with his family and that they could be in danger, it looks as if the police officer suspects he could be telling the truth and allows the phone call. As Denise and Chelsea are at home, Jack is there trying to keep them calm and discuss what actions could be taken due to Lucas's arrest, but of course his main concern is to keep Denise and Chelsea safe, if Caleb finds out the job hasn't been done, he knows that the Fox family could be in huge danger, he instructs them to not go on their phones and don't answer any calls or answer the door to anyone but himself. It's then that he receives a phone call from Lucas, pleading to for his help. What on Earth could Lucas be asking of Jack? Will Lucas be okay? (Of course some of you may have already seen the second episode, but as I haven't, I'm going to be speculating, please no spoilers, thank you!)
--
The next thing I want to mention is Bailey and Bernadette. The sisters are still deeply saddened by Bronson's passing, but as they sit in the park with Mitch, they continue to discuss Bronson's personality and his favourite foods. Always the best way to remember a happy doggo! Unfortunately, as the family reminisce about their beloved pup, Mitch has devastating when he hears a job opportunity had fell through, which he was hoping would keep him going until the winter. Are the Taylor family falling on hard times? Are they really struggling for money so much right now?
Bailey however tries to reassure her Dad, informing him that he has to keep positive as something will come up eventually, but she also drops the bombshell that he wouldn't have to pray for Astronomy Camp for her as she didn't win her competition, both Bernie and Mitch voice their disappointment for Bailey as she begins to feel sorry for herself.  But suddenly a little surprise makes the young girl begin to smile, a little dog approaches her as she holds food in her hand, it appears to not be wearing a collar and no one is around to claim the dog, must be a stray. Happily Bailey interacts with dog and smiles to her Dad that it's a sign from Bronson.
Seeing the little pup bring a smile back onto his daughter's face, he later approaches Karen about the possibility of keeping the new found dog. I also just want to mention how adorable the new dog is, I know not many dog last for long on the Square, but it would be nice for them to fill the void of Bronson. I don't think EastEnders have ever had a better dog since Wellard. They need a pet who's going to become memorable, and with one as adorable as this new pup, it could really work. Karen unfortunately is against the idea of getting a new dog, mainly because they can't afford it. But something tells me that maybe she's just not ready to get over Bronson, maybe? I feel if you've been able to afford a dog before, there's no reason why you can't get another one after? Right?! Mitch really wants to cheer his daughter up, I'm hoping Mitch will go and find the new dog, adopt him and bring him in to their family.
--
The next thing I have to mention is Ash and Suki, after finding her daughter at home alone with Peter, Suki takes it upon herself to confront Ash about the fact that she's been suspended from work, of course she has no idea why, but we all know it's because of Peter begging her to give him pain medication whilst off duty. As the ladies begin to argue, Ash tries to reassure her Mum that everything will be fine when she attends the hearing, she'll be able to explain and she'll get her job back. But Suki begins to fret, considering how much she cares for her family, and more so their reputation, I reckon?
Peter takes it upon himself to interrupt, informing Suki that Ash wouldn't have been suspended if it wasn't for him, this makes Suki realise that it's all Peter's fault, but the devastating blow is that her daughter could potentially lose her job because of a boy! Later on, as things begin to cool off, Suki is alone at the family business as Ash visits her, without Peter in tow. She begs her Mum to not worry and let things slide as she and Peter have a plan of way of getting her job back, but Suki seems to really struggle as the realisation sinks in, she voices that the reason she's so upset is that was she so proud of her daughter for getting so far with her career, for the job role she took on in life, how she has become successful in life, and now she fears that because of Peter, everything could be taken away from her! For me, I found it interesting to see this side of Suki, we know she loves the idea of power and success, but to actually hear that she's proud of one of her children, seems that maybe she really just wants the best for her family.
--
Okay, now the main event! After hearing the news that Gavin has passed away, Kathy and Sharon are discussing whether to attend the memorial. Of course, Sharon isn't interested in sharing memories of her biological Father, needless to say she doesn't have any fond memories of him, Gavin did have a bad reputation after all. Kathy however, considering as she was married to him once - I'm assuming, we know for sure she loved him and/or dated him, is considering going, whether Sharon joins her or not. As far as Sharon is concerned he can "Rot in hell!"
However, after a few wise words from Callum about Dad's in general, regardless whether they were pigs or not, it's always best to be the bigger person, Sharon then decides to tag along with Kathy and attend the memorial. As the arrive Kathy realises that she recognises a few faces, where of course Sharon knows nobody. Sally, Gavin's sister approaches them and thanks Kathy for coming, regardless of the awful things Gavin did, she makes the valid point that she did love him once.
As they look around the room, there is one bloke in particular who seems to be downing a lot more alcohol than others, he seems to be banging to people and knocking into the bar, eventually this man decides to make a speech, but it's not one of the speeches you'd expect. But however, to Sharon's interest, he seems to be saying things which she would actually agree with. Gavin was the scum of all scumbags. This speech however doesn't sit well with other family members and the young man dashes over chairs and tables to escape the angry mob!
As Kathy and Sharon make their exit, they watch as everyone gathers in the parking lot. However Sharon seems to have somehow managed to get her hands on Gavin's urn, without a second thought she simply dumps it into a litter bin, much to Kathy's shock. Looking for the drunken, suspicious man who rudely corrupted the memorial, both Kathy and Sharon seem to notice that their car has been left un-open. Realising that the young man could be hiding in their car, they make a subtle entrance and sit in the front seats. This scene looked like something out of a comedy, the young man appears between them in the backseat, shushing them not to give away his hiding place. Unfortunately, for the young man, the angry mob begin taking their anger out on his sports car - I did find this pretty comical as Kathy and Sharon both describing the damage being made to his car as he hides on the backseat. After the angry mob seem to finish off the last of their damage and head back into the building, Kathy asks the young man his connection with Gavin, how did he know him? Why was he at the memorial? Were they business partners or something?
But then as he walks away, he drops the big bombshell, introducing himself as Zack and that Gavin was in fact his Dad! As he walks away to his damaged car, both Kathy and Sharon look at each other in their shock as they come to realise Sharon has a brother she never knew existed!
Now I just want to say, most of us recall what happened when Sharon found out about another long-lost brother, however, I have to make the valid point that Dennis was in fact an adoptive brother. Den Watts was her adoptive father, so technically Sharon and Dennis were never really blood related, which I guess is why their romance can be looked to one side, however, Zack would be Sharon's Half-Brother! People might think history will be repeating itself if Zack was to become Sharon's new love interest, but I'd hope that EastEnders wouldn't go down the route of incest. It would be interesting though to see how Sharon will come to terms with knowing about her secret brother, will she want to build a relationship with him? Will he want to know her? Could they bond knowing that they've both had such a horrid man for a Father? Who knows?
I'm really looking forward to seeing the second episode following this one, I will be posting about it tomorrow, but in the mean time please no spoilers for me. I'll look forward to blogging about it tomorrow! Thank you again for reading! Love you all xXx  
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pixieposts · 3 years
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Febuwhump Day 26
AO3
Today’s prompt was “recovery” so this is a little companion piece to yesterday’s prompt.  I got all my medical info from healthline and mayoclinic.  This will be the very last prompt I fill!  I’ve already written 27 and 28, so I’ll have finished with exactly 7 days to spare (it’s the 23rd right now).  I hope you enjoy!
Specific TW’s
Brief descriptions of injuries
MotherHen!Fjord
Beau and Yasha arrived at the hospital around noon to pick them up.  Fjord had called that morning, explaining the situation and worrying that the truck would be too hard for Caleb to get into.  The door flew open, and Caleb winced at the sound.  
“Beau, concussion remember?” Fjord glared  
“Shit- right sorry man”  
She walked over, a sheepish look on her face as she stopped to take in the scene.  Fjord knew what she was seeing, because he saw it too.  Caleb covered in bandages and bruises, Caleb in a cast, in a hospital, with tubes all around him.  Caleb hurt.  He caught her eye and grimaced sympathetically; it would be hard for her.  A large hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up to see Yasha smiling tentatively at him.
“We brought clothes”  
“Danke Yasha, Beauregard, that was very thoughtful of you”  
“No naked ginger butts in the van”  
“Such a wonderful sister, your concern is touching”  
“I don’t want your ass touching the seats is all”  
Fjord rolled his eyes and stood, leaning forward to hit the buzzer for the nurse's station.  
The next hour was a blur of activity while the nurse got Caleb unhooked from his machines, Fjord walked him (probably too slowly) to the bathroom to help him change from the hospital gown to the clothes Beau had brought.  She had made excellent choices, soft worn sweatpants and a loose fitted t-shirt (one of Fjords, if the way it hung off Caleb’s shoulder was an indication) and a zippered hoodie.  Fjord tried not to wince at the sheer amount of bruising that covered Caleb’s skin, but his expression betrayed him.  Caleb reached for him as Fjord went to open the door, tugging lightly to get him close before pressing his forehead to Fjord’s shoulder.  Fjord held him as gently as he could, feeling the way Caleb’s hands shook where they gripped his shirt.  The nurse had given him a rundown off all the necessary caretaking instructions, along with a few printouts with the same information.  Beau took Fjords keys and parking lot ticket, offering to drive the truck back to their apartment so he could sit in the van with Caleb.  
Getting Caleb into the apartment took much longer than usual, mostly because Fjord refused to let him walk faster than absolutely necessary.  Yasha walked in ahead of them, unlocking the door and scooping up a very grumpy Frumpkin.  She went ahead, turning on as few lights as she could.  Fjord got Caleb settled in his favourite armchair before taping the care instructions to the fridge.  
No strenuous activity, limit screens, no driving... Sleep upright at first, icepack for pain, pain meds....
Did they have pain meds?  He couldn’t remember the last time they had bought any.  He checked the bathroom, pulling out a mostly empty bottle and shaking two loose.  Grabbing a glass of water he made his way back to the living room.  Yasha had settled herself on the floor cushion Molly had bought them the year before, and Frumpkin was purring in Caleb’s lap.  Fjord held out the meds and Caleb sighed.
“You heard the nurse, take them every four hours on the dot unless you want the pain to catch up to you”  
Caleb took the meds, swallowing them with the cold water and handed the glass back.  
“Beau’s grabbing meds, she wants to know if you want burgers?”  
Yasha and Beau left around dinner, keeping an eye on Caleb while Fjord made all the necessary phone calls to Caduceus and Vandran.  Caleb wouldn’t be working until his concussion was at least mostly gone, and Fjord knew he wouldn’t work until Caleb could be left alone again.  He was suddenly far more thankful for all the horrible overtime shifts he had been working.  
The first two weeks were the worst.  
Caleb struggled with the effects of the concussion most, the fogginess in his mind was something he wasn't used to.  He was forgetful and unbalanced to the point of Fjord insisting on helping him every time he had to walk more than a few steps.  It didn’t help that he couldn’t watch TV without an instant headache or read without getting nauseous.  Fjord tried to make things as easy as he could, but Caleb was irritable and frustrated by it all.  He couldn’t even take a shower without at least leaving the door open in case he got the spins.  
“I hate this Fjord, I hate it”  
“I know love, it’s got to be frustrating, but-”
“But nothing, this is the worst.  I just want to read or sleep normally!  Is that so much to ask?”
Fjord just sighed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder gently and pressing a kiss to his temple.  The helpless feeling was something he was rapidly getting used to.  
The snappish behaviour continued, only getting worse as time went on.  It got to a point that Fjord just stopped talking, as anything he said seemed to set Caleb off.  He didn’t blame him of course, Caleb was used to being independent, he was used to working and reading and writing... he couldn’t do any of that.  And if he took it out on Fjord well... Fjord was still battling the guilt of leaving him in the hospital by himself all night.  It was worse when the nightmares started, Caleb would wake sweating and shaking and absolutely refuse to let Fjord near him.  Fjords own nightmares he kept to himself.  
Things started to look up as Caleb’s concussion symptoms lessened and he was able to do more on his own, but Fjord still hovered.  He tried to hide it as well as he could, but the image of Caleb in the hospital, of the black and purple bruising that had covered his skin... well, that sort of thing is hard to forget.
Four weeks had passed, and Caleb had been given the okay to sleep lying down again, and they were finally getting the cast off his arm.  The doctor had been very pleased with the progress his ribs were making as well.  They lay in bed the night the cast came off, Caleb lifted his arm up into the air and flexed his fingers.  
“Must feel nice”
“It feels... lighter” he sat up, turning to looked at Fjord and chewing his lip “Fjord...”
Fjord sighed, sitting up and pulling Caleb close, he knew that face.  
“Whatever you’re about to apologize for, don’t”  
“But-”
“Nope” Fjord popped the P before pressing a kiss to Calebs cheek “nothing to apologize for”
“I was awful to you; you were just trying to help”
“You were frustrated and had a literal brain injury Cay.  I can’t imagine how... how shitty that must be, and I’m the one who should be apologizing anyway”  
“If this is about the phone thing again-”
“You were alone in there, after getting in a massive accident”
It was Caleb’s turn to sigh as Fjord settled them back in bed and Caleb pressed in as close as he could to Fjords side.  It was hard not to just roll over and hold him properly, but his ribs still had healing to do and Fjord would be damned before he messed them up.  
The next morning while Fjord was making breakfast, Caleb walked into the kitchen looking excited.  
“What’s up?”
“Turn around”  
Fjord set the pan onto a cool burner and turned, raising an eyebrow curiously as Caleb stepped in close.  Caleb slid his arms around Fjord’s waist, holding tight as Fjord wrapped his around the smaller mans shoulders.  He rested his cheek against the top of Caleb’s head, taking a deep breath as the comfort of having him close washed over him.  
“I realized I didn’t do this yesterday” Calebs voice was muffled against his shirt “I wanted to, because I couldn’t before and... gods it feels so nice”  
“I missed it too”  
They stood like that, just holding each other, until the toasted buzzed and pulled them back to reality.  
The day of Calebs six-week checkup arrived in a buzz of excitement.  If the x-rays came back clean, Caleb could go back to his life.  Fjord knew he was desperate to get back to work.  The concussion was nearly gone from what they could tell, he had been able to read without feeling sick for nearly a week now and the bathroom light was no longer the enemy.  If his ribs were healed to a point that the doctors were no longer concerned...  
Fjord sat in the waiting room while Caleb was in the x-ray, drinking the horrible hospital coffee and wishing for some of Cad’s tea.  The nurse who had been on duty the night of Caleb’s accident came out to get him, smiling encouragingly.  He was led down the hall to one of the small consultation rooms, the nurse opened the door and Fjord stepped in.  He barely had enough to register the X-rays up on the light screen before Caleb had thrown his arms around Fjord's neck, knocking the air out of him.  He caught Caleb instinctively, wrapping his arms around his chest and steadying them both with a laugh.
“Good news I guess?”  
He looked over Calebs head to the doctor, who was smiling indulgently as he nodded.  
“All clear, his ribs look good as new.  Just keep an eye on any lingering concussion symptoms and hopefully we won’t see you any time soon”
“Thanks doc, really”
Fjord managed to steer Caleb out of the room, shuffling them so that he was tucked under Fjord's arm as they walked.  They got to the parking lot and Caleb pulled him to a stop before he could open the truck.  Fjord turned, and Caleb wrapped himself around him again.  Fjord chuckled, burying his nose in the long ginger hair and reveling in the simple pleasure of holding him tight.  
“It feels good to have proper grip on you again”  
Fjord kissed the top of his head, giving him a squeeze.
“Damn right it does”  
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norahastuff · 4 years
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Have I mentioned before how much I love Meredith Glynn? I mean of course I have but it always bears repeating. Her episodes balance interesting plot developments with explorations of the characters’ emotional states so well. 15x06 was no exception. 
Fishing is something that comes up quite often in Supernatural, and it’s often linked to feeling closer to humanity. Last season when Jack found out he was dying, he knew how he wanted to spend his final days:
Since I've been alive, everyone assumed. I would be this special "person" who goes on forever. Only now it looks like forever might be a couple of weeks, so -- We don't know that. What I do know is I'm done being special. Before my life is over, I want to live it. I-I just want a chance to… get a tan...to see a hockey game...get a parking ticket......get bored... and when it's all over...die.
Jack knew he wasn’t this all powerful immortal being anymore. He was essentially human. So how did he wish to live out the rest of his life? Doing human things. Being normal. And Dean granted him his wish. He took him for fast food, taught him how to drive but the one activity that was Jack’s choice? Fishing with Dean.
There was also 10x01. When Cas and Hannah were looking for the angels that did not want to return to heaven, they found them fishing and waxing lyrical about how much they valued humanity and free will.
Cas: Daniel. What are you fishing for?
Daniel: Trout, mostly. They do love a good curlytail grub. Trick is to find that special spot just outside the run, where the big ones -- the smart ones -- are holding low.
Cas: Do they -- do they put up much of a fight?
Daniel: The ones who truly want to be free? They do.
The metaphor was pretty obvious, the fish were the angels, yearning to live on earth, free and enjoy the things that humans did. 
In 15x06, Cas continues the fishing metaphor
Andy: What can I do for ya? Bait working out good?
Cas: Oh, yeah. The... bait's good. I think it's the fish. They've begun to anticipate me. Andy: Yeah fish can be smart. I’d switch up spots.
There are different kinds of fish, sure some are very resistant to learning poetry, as Cas has lamented in the past, but some are very smart. Now that Sam, Dean and Cas know all about Chuck and his machinations, they too have begun to anticipate him. Or is it that he can’t anticipate them anymore? The metaphor is starting to become jumbled because so is the status quo, as is Chuck’s place at the top. I don’t think it’s exactly breaking news that we’re most likely going see major changes to the scale of power by the time this story draws to a close.
And then there’s the Dean of it all. It’s interesting because Dean and Cas start the episode in similar emotional places. Sam has already resolved to fight God and has been spending his time trying to track him down. Dean and Cas however...well they’re not quite there. They’re trying to distract themselves from all of the awful things; Dean by watching the cartoons and eating the food that brought him comfort as a child, and Cas by trying to do the things Dean told him were relaxing. It’s not like Cas really has much experience in taking some time for himself to de-stress, and he has always taken his cues on human things from Dean. I’m using this point as an excuse to add one of my favourite *camera pans to Dean moments of the series. 
Cas: There’s seemingly nothing but chaos, but not all bad comes from it. Art, hope, love, dreams. 
Hannah: But those are human things.
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(I still laugh at this every time!)
Anyway, both Cas and Dean are looking to escape, but by the end of the episode, while Dean may be in the same hopeless place, Cas has gotten some of his resolve back. As Melly told him:
taking yourself out of the game doesn't really change the game.
Facing off against the sheriff, yet another crappy Chuck knock off, Cas realises how right Melly was. He’s not going to let entitled selfish men like Chuck break him. He’s going to fight. Because he has value. He can make a difference.
If I stay, nothing changes. It’s time for me to get back in the game. 
Meeting Melly and her son, fighting the Djinn and ending his reign of terror on the small town, Cas was reminded of why he fought. Dean can’t see that right now. He can’t see a reason for fighting, for believing. He’ll get there. He just needs to find some hope again. 
And just one extra thing, even after Cas struggles to heal Caleb, showing how depleted his powers are, he still vows to get back in the game to defeat Chuck. Because it’s not about his powers. It’s about him or to quote Cas quoting Dean, 
I had something else that was extremely helpful. I had myself. Just the basic me, as, uh...as Dean would say, without all the bells and whistles.
That was how Cas described how he felt, to Jack, back when he lost his powers and became human. It seems he’s starting to remember that again.
After Melly sees Cas shrug off the bullets (amazing scene) and heal Caleb, she’s awestruck and asks him 
That’s a...miracle. Were you sent by God?
Cas doesn’t refute her claim. One, because he doesn’t want to shatter her worldview by telling her that God is a cruel egotistical dick, but also because...well he was. He had his role to play in the original plan, but also God sent him back, after Raphael killed him, after Lucifer did, even after the Leviathans. But Cas never did whatever God sent him back to do. He repeatedly ripped up whatever script God/angels/anyone really tried to get him to play by and forged his own path. He’s never played the role Chuck wrote for him to play, and I think Chuck forgetting that isn’t going to work out particularly well for him in the end.
(Okay I guess that was two extra things)
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