#she should have showed up in the credits :( simon went missing for several days SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bojasonwalker · 4 years

Text

Manage Cookies

Us Weekly

Subscribe Now

CONFESSIONS

Ally Brooke Gets Real About Fifth Harmony, Almost Quitting ‘Dancing With the Stars’ and More in Memoir

By Nicholas Hautman

10 hours ago

In the eight years since she competed on The X Factor, Ally Brooke has done just about everything: toured the world with the multiplatinum girl group Fifth Harmony, launched a solo career and made it to the finale of Dancing With the Stars. And now, she has added “author” to her résumé.

In her memoir, Finding Your Harmony: Dream Big, Have Faith and Achieve More Than You Can Imagine (out Tuesday, October 13), the singer, 27, takes readers through her humble beginnings in a Mexican American family in San Antonio, Texas, to the moment her life changed forever when she auditioned for The X Factor in 2012 and was grouped with Camila Cabello, Normani, Lauren Jauregui and Dinah Jane.

“I’d always performed on my own, but suddenly I was in a group with a bunch of strangers. This was a lot to take in,” she writes in the book. “In one day, my plans had changed drastically. I had spent a decade already, since I was 9 years old, working my butt off to become a solo artist. It was what I’d wanted, the goal I’d pursued so passionately, the thing my parents had sacrificed so much of their lives for. Yet at the same time, I was grateful.”

Although Fifth Harmony did not win the Fox competition, they went on to have massive success in the music industry. In 2015, they released their debut album, Reflection, which included the hits “Boss” and “Worth It.” Their sophomore effort, 7/27, came the following year and spawned the biggest song of their career, “Work From Home.” But in December 2016, Cabello abruptly left the group on bad terms (something Brooke goes into little detail about in her memoir).

Fifth Harmony forged on, releasing their self-titled third album in 2017, but Brooke, Normani, Jauregui and Jane announced an indefinite hiatus in March 2018 to pursue solo projects. Soon after, Brooke began working on an album of her own, which is expected to be released in 2021, and competed on DWTS season 28 in 2019. She and her pro partner, Sasha Farber, finished in third place.

“My time on the show was so special,” she writes of the ABC series. “It moved me, it changed me in so many ways and it gave me memories I’ll cherish forever.”

Scroll down to read 10 revelations from Finding Your Harmony!

1 of 10

She’s Saving Herself for Marriage

For her 18th birthday, Brooke asked her parents for a purity ring with “True Love Waits” inscribed on it. “It symbolizes the choice I’ve made to save myself for marriage, a commitment I have maintained to this day, even in an industry where such values are not generally celebrated, and I’ve sometimes been judged and made fun of,” she writes. “But I’ve just held my head high and remained true to who I am and what I believe in.”

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

2 of 10

Her ‘X Factor’ Audition Was Heavily Edited

Brooke will never forget watching her first TV appearance — for all the wrong reasons. “After the music stopped, the camera cut to the judges, and Simon [Cowell] looked annoyed. Other judges made cringing faces at me. The producers cut to people in the audience laughing,” she recalls. “The camera cut back to me as I sang, but the magic was shattered. Simon appeared even more irritated. This version of events was nothing, and I mean nothing, like what I’d experienced in real life.”

Credit: Broadimage/Shutterstock

3 of 10

Khloé Kardashian Comforted Her After Grandpa’s Death

The cast and crew of The X Factor rallied around Brooke after her grandfather Paul died in the middle of season 2. “One of the hosts that season was Khloé Kardashian. Radiating warmth, she pulled me aside, giving me a big hug, and I cried in her arms,” she writes. “‘I am so sorry for your loss,’ she said. ‘I lost my dad [Robert Kardashian] when I was very young. Even to this day, it’s still hard. But I’m here for you, and I’m praying for you and your family. One thing that I’ll tell you is don’t let anybody tell you how to grieve. If you want to cry, cry. If you want to try to be happy, be happy. But you grieve in the way that you grieve.’”

Credit: Shutterstock (2)

4 of 10

She Fought for More Lines in Fifth Harmony Songs

After the girl group recorded their debut single, “Miss Movin’ On,” in 2013, Brooke was heartbroken to learn that only one of her lines made the final edit. “This was our first single — our first chance to show the world we were more than just a reality TV group — and I’d only been given one line on the bridge, and one ad lib,” she writes, noting that she eventually mustered up the courage to complain to their manager. The track ended up being a hit regardless, and Fifth Harmony won their first VMA for the music video.

Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock

5 of 10

She Once Gained 20 Pounds by Emotionally Eating

In the midst of Fifth Harmony’s 7/27 tour in 2016, Brooke struggled with her confidence, in part due to her unflattering wardrobe and negative comments from social media trolls. She writes that she turned to food as a “temporary escape,” but overeating caused her to gain 20 pounds. “I’m only five feet tall, so on my small frame, it was noticeable,” she remembers.

Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock

6 of 10

Fifth Harmony Were ‘Nervous’ to Perform After Cabello’s Exit

Brooke breezes past Cabello’s departure from Fifth Harmony, merely writing that the group “underwent a change” and “became a foursome” at the end of 2016. She does, however, admit that “there was some uncertainty about what we should do,” particularly for their first performance as a quartet at the 2017 People’s Choice Awards. “We were so nervous that we were jumping up and down, trying to get out the jitters,” she recalls.

Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

7 of 10

She ‘Seldom’ Sees Her Former Groupmates

Brooke admits that keeping in touch with Normani, Jauregui and Jane is “hard” now that they each have solo careers. “We message one another or comment on one another’s social media, but we seldom have time to get together,” she writes. “But one thing is true: I will always have love for them. And who knows, maybe one day, we will be at a major worldwide event together as a group again.”

Credit: Rob Grabowski/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

8 of 10

Record Labels Weren’t Eager to Sign Her as a Solo Artist

Brooke had meetings with several fruitless — and uncomfortable — meetings with record labels in 2018 as she tried to score a solo deal, which Cabello, Normani, Jauregui and Jane had already done. “Of course I was happy for them, but it also upped my anxiety, reminding me how far behind I was, and that there was not an infinite number of labels to choose from.” Eventually, Atlantic Records signed her, and her debut single, “Low Key” featuring Tyga, came out in 2019.

Credit: Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock

9 of 10

She Was Reluctant to Do ‘Dancing With the Stars’

Just a few months after signing with Atlantic, Brooke got an offer to compete on DWTS season 27. Although she was a “huge fan” of the show, she writes that she felt “the timing wasn’t right” since her “solo music career was still in its infancy” and she wanted to keep her schedule open for promotional appearances. Months later, producers approached her again for season 28 — and she agreed after weeks of weighing her options and praying on it. “It was hard to believe that I was really going to be a contestant on a show that I had watched and loved for years,” she writes.

Credit: MediaPunch/Shutterstock

10 of 10

She Almost Quit ‘DWTS’ in Support of James Van Der Beek

During her time on the dance competition, Brooke developed a close bond with James Van Der Beek. “He became like a mentor to me. He is such an amazing soul,” she writes. During the semifinals, the Dawson’s Creek alum’s wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, suffered a miscarriage while pregnant with their sixth child. That same week, he ended up in the bottom two against Brooke, who offered but failed to go home in his place. “The judges had chosen [to save] me over James, after what he’d gone through,” she recounts. “And now I feared that I’d be known as the girl who’d taken James Van Der Beek’s spot, right after he’d lost his child.” Later that night, an emotional Brooke went to the actor’s trailer to talk to him, and he encouraged her to stay in the competition, which she did.

Credit: Courtesy of Ally Brooke

Us Weekly has affiliate partnerships so we may receive compensation for some links to products and services.

Part of the American Media Entertainment Group.

3 notes · View notes

write-havoc · 6 years

Text

This Is How I Disappear Ch. 3

Summary: A girl named Chuck finds herself in the exact place she doesn't want to be, living with violent men in a desolate nursing home. After her former gym teacher finds her, will he be the savior she was looking for?

Fandom: The Walking Dead AU

Pairing: Negan/Original Female Character

Status: Completed (story continues in The Flame Is Gone, The Fire Remains)

Contains: swearing, violence, sexual assault, blood, smut

Readers 18+ of age only

Masterlists in my bio

Simon leads Chuck to the stairwell and they begin to descend. He pushes Chuck gently through the first floor doors upon reaching the bottom and they make their way through the meandering halls to a back stairwell that leads to the basement, silent the whole way.

“What happened, Chuck? What did you do, kiddo? Why is Negan punishing you?” Simon breaks the silence as they approach several metal doors lining a long, dark hallway.

“It… doesn't matter. I just… want to get this over with, please.”

Simon walks to one of the doors begrudgingly, pulls out a key, and opens it up. The room is small, just slightly bigger than a broom closet and completely stark except for a bucket in one corner.

This should be interesting. I don't really know what I was expecting, but…

“Get in.” Simon motions into the cell and she obeys.

“How long will I-“

He closes the door without another word.

I guess that's part of the punishment, not knowing how long I'll be in here. This might not be so bad, I mean, I don't mind being alone. Sure, it's dark and uncomfortable, but it's not exactly torturous, is it? I guess I’m glad I’m not on “fence duty”.

I wonder what’s the longest someone has stayed in here. And do different infractions have different lengths of punishment? Like, “five days for stealing, one for not kneeling fast enough, SEVENTY-FIVE FOR FLIRTING WITH WIFE NUMBER THREE!”

She makes herself giggle with her internal Negan impression, but it fades quickly. She realizes that she must be getting delirious from lack of sleep. She paces around a bit, letting the gravity of her situation sink in, and then sits down on the cold concrete.

Hmm. Yup. This is going to get uncomfortable really quickly. I wish I had put on a sweater today. I could use it as a pillow. Or blanket. It's actually kinda cold in here. Jeez, I'm already complaining and I've only been in here, what, three minutes?

I need to keep my mind occupied. Think of something. I wonder what Negan’s men are doing at Rolling Acres. Maybe they'll plant more crops. There's room for it there. Of raise animals. They might be more successful than I was at keeping them. I wonder how many people Negan has stationed there. Would someone live in my old room? Sleep on that bed… Okay, I don't want to think about that.

A song, maybe. I wonder if people are still making music out there. God, I would love to play something again. I probably can here. The fences are far enough away that the dead won't be attracted by it. I was always so afraid to play before. Even at Rolling Acres. I wish I had my mom’s old guitar. It wasn't in the house when I went back there to see if she was…

I miss her so much. I wonder what she would tell me to do now. She always knew just what to say to make me feel better…

——— Chuck’s POV ———

— 7 years ago —

“You okay, sweetie? The doctor said you can take your pain pills every four hours. You should be about due for some.” My mom is staring at me from the other side of the couch, knitting a blanket for her work friend’s daughter who’s pregnant. The tv is playing an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. I never really liked that show, but my mom absolutely loves it.

“Oh. No. I'm okay. I can hold off on the drugs for a while,” I’m not really in too much pain at the moment. I have my cast left foot propped up on our ottoman, with a few pillows underneath it for extra comfort. I can't believe that I broke my ankle going down two stairs on our porch! What kind of a klutz does that? Ruined my whole weekend. Now I have to go into school tomorrow and try to hobble around to all of my classes. I haven't even really gotten the hang of these crutches, yet.

Ugh. And now I'm gonna have to talk to Coach Negan about how I can participate in gym. I can't exactly run, or jog, or do anything we’re doing in that class. And I need the gym credits to graduate. Stupid me didn't get them out of the way early, so now I have gym class every day of my senior year to make them up.

“You sure you're okay? You're making a weird face.”

“I'm just anxious about tomorrow. I'm going to have to talk to your favorite teacher about an alternate lesson plan, considering my condition.” I lift up my left leg and wave my cast in the air as much as I can.

“Who's my favorite teacher?” My mom giggles a bit and I give her the “really?” face.

“Coach Negan.”

“Mmmm.” She nods. “Oh yeah. Coach Negan. He's so hot.” She fans herself to hammer her point in.

“Mom! Don't lust after him so much! It's weird… and gross.”

“Come on! You have to see that he's gorgeous.”

“Well, yeah, I have eyes,” I agree. He is a very handsome man. “He's just… my teacher. I can't look at him that way.”

“No, you're right. You shouldn't look at him like that, sweetie. Stay away from older men. Especially ruggedly handsome older men. Who have that bad boy thing going for them. And dimples.”

“Mom! Stop!” I exclaim, trying to stifle a giggle.

She laughs. “I'm just teasing!” She leans over and hits my arm playfully. “Well, why are you dreading having to talk to Professor HotBody about class? Is he an asshole or something. I bet he is. The really handsome ones usually are.”

“Not really. Well, I mean… yeah, he kinda is, but not to me. He’s only mean to the kids who are... you know, douchebags.”

“Why are you so anxious, then? He'll understand that you can't participate. I'm sure he'll work with you.”

“Yeah. I know that. I'm sure I'm not the first kid to break a bone. It's just that… just being around Negan makes me really nervous. I hate talking to him. It always gives me the hiccups.”

“Aww! It's always so adorable when you hiccup!”

“No, it isn't, mom. It's embarrassing and makes me want to die.” I let out a dramatic sigh as she makes an incredulous noise. My mom doesn't really understand what it's like to be awkward and quiet. She's perfectly comfortable around people. She never worries that she'll look stupid or do the wrong thing. “You've never really talked to him, so you don't know what he's like. He's just so…” I gesture my hands, trying to think of the right word, “ intense. He's super confident. And loud. And he swears all the time. He also talks with his whole body.” I throw my arms out and gesticulate wildly. It makes my mom laugh. “Being around people like that just makes me nervous. You know I'm weird like that. I didn't get your ‘normal people’ genes. I got dad’s awkward ones.”

“Well, you'll just have to think out exactly what you want to say to him and go over that a few times. Then you won't be scrambling to think of what to say when you're in front of him.”

“Yeah. I think I'll do that. His prep period is the same as my study hall, so I think I'll talk to him then. I don't want to interrupt one of his classes, or anything. And that’s the period right before my gym class, too, so it'll work out perfectly.”

“There you go! No need to worry.”

———

*Knock Knock Knock*

“ Yeah ?” comes Negan’s voice from inside the room.

Okay, Chuck. Just open his door and go through the speech you have memorized. It'll be fine.

“Hi, Coach,” I say after I open his door. He is seated behind his desk going through papers of some sort.

He looks down my leg at my cast. “Holy shit, Chuck. What did you do? Break your foot off in someone’s ass?” He laughs hard at his own joke.

I chuckle a bit. It’s kinda funny. “Uh, no. I tripped on my porch stairs like an idiot.” I hobble awkwardly around to sit in the chair in front of his desk, leaning my crutches on the chair beside me. “But, uh, that's why I'm here. I needed to talk to you about gym class. I can't participate normally, so I thought that, maybe, I could write reports on a sport… or an athlete, or anything you want, really. I could do a report for every class to make up credit-“

“Fuck that shit,” he interjects.

“Wha-“

“I didn't become a gym teacher so I could read fuckin’ reports. No offense, kid, but I'd rather have my nutsack ripped off by a chimpanzee than read fuckin’ book reports about the history of baseball or some shit.”

“I, uh..” *hiccup*

Ugh. Great. I really did not expect him to reject my idea. Now I'm all flustered.

“Look, you're a good kid. You're not a little motherfucker like most of the rest of them. What grade do I usually give you? A?”

“Uh, y-yeah.”

“Congrats. You get a fuckin’ A this term.”

*hiccup*

He starts to laugh at me. Ugh! “The fuck? You got the hiccups now?”

Yes, Negan. I have the stupid hiccups because I'm a crazy person and can't have a simple conversation without my body breaking down into a bundle of anxiousness! Of course, I never would say that out loud, so I just nod.

“Just hold your fuckin’ breath and get rid of them.”

I do as he said and my hiccups go away. Wow. That actually works. Good to know.

“So… what do you want me to do during class?”

“Fuck if I care.” He thinks about it for a second while he looks at me. “Wait… you're fuckin’ right. If people see you doing fuck all and still passing the class, I'll probably get shit for it.” He leans back in his chair with a perplexed expression on his face. He casts his gaze down to the papers on his desk and a slow smile creeps onto his face. “You know much about football?”

“Um. I know that they score touchdowns and that the quarterback throws the ball…” I shrug. That really is about everything I know. I'm not exactly the sporty type.

“Do you know anything about fantasy football?”

“I've watched The League a few times…?” I give him a little shrug, not really knowing what he’s wanting from me.

“Hmm. Well here's what we're gonna do. You'll come here to my office, this period and we're gonna work on my lineup and shit.” He shuffles the papers around and picks one up that has a bunch of names and scribbles beside them. He puts it in front of me to look at. “This is my fuckin’ team. I need you to look all these people up and tell me every-fuckin’-thing about them. What position they play. Their performances in past games. Whether they started or not. What the fuck is going on in their personal lives. Any fuckin’ shit that might say how they'll play in the next game. Got it?”

“Uh… Yeah. I can do that.” I think.

“I'm gonna take the shit you give me and determine who I'm going to play in that week’s game. If the players I pick actually play and do fuckin’ well, then I get points. If I get more points than anyone else in my league, then I fuckin' win the season. That's fantasy football.”

“That makes sense… I guess.”

“Good. You can start by organizing all this shit I have here.”

“Okay…”

“I'll okay this all with the principal later today. It should be no problem. I'm still teaching you about a fuckin' sport after all.”

That's how it goes for a few classes. I would do his research on whatever guys he wants me to and I would bring it to him, all organized. He'd pick out his players and fix his lineup for the week. It didn't take Negan too long to realize that this work doesn’t exactly fill the entire period. Especially five days a week.

“Well, fuck. I didn't think this through. Now I feel responsible for educating you and shit for the whole period and keeping you fucking occupied.”

“Uh. I guess I can just read quietly while you do your work…”

“You know how to play chess?” he asks suddenly.

“…Yeah. I can play.” Why is he asking? That's… random.

He stands up and walks to a cupboard on his wall. He rummages around until he produces a wooden box. “Good. I haven't played in fucking forever. No one learns how to play fucking chess anymore.” He sets the box down on the desk and takes his seat. The board is one of the kind that folds up and contains all the pieces inside. He opens it up, spilling the pieces on his desk. The two of us scoop up our pieces and begin to set them on the board.

“Oh, uh… I'm not very good, I don't think.” Why did I say that? I know I am pretty good at chess. Not that I've played recently. I used to play with my mom all the time. And my dad. When I was a kid. Before he died.

“It'll be a short game, then.”

We each take our turns, carefully making sure not to make any mistakes. I see his expression change after a few turns, from a smile to a tight frown. He is deep in thought with each move of the pieces. I admit, he is great at chess. I didn't really expect him to be.

“Checkmate,” Negan says, finally letting his grin back on his face.

“Good game, Coach.” I hold out my hand to shake his. That is just good sportsmanship. My dad would be proud.

“Why the fuck did you tell me you weren't very good?” he asks as he shakes my hand. “I'm fuckin’ amazing at chess and I just barely won.”

I shrug, not really knowing what to say. “I don't know…”

“Don't fuckin’ do that. Downplay yourself. If you’re fuckin’ good at something, own that shit.”

“I, uh. Okay... I will.”

The bell rings signaling the end of the period. Thank god. That seemed like it was going to turn into an awkward “Do you have self esteem issues?” conversation. No, thank you. I don't need the pamphlet… again. I gather up my things and leave quickly, or as quickly as I can on my crutches, giving Negan a small wave as I pass through the doorway.

After a few weeks, I actually begin to get comfortable around Negan. We talk about football and the league as we play chess during our class time. Often, though, our conversations go to more everyday things and we get to know each other pretty well.

“There is no way you were a nerd in high school!” I exclaim between giggles.

“I didn't say I was a nerd in high school, I said a was a nerdy fuckin’ kid. I was a chubby fuck when I was little. My family was poor as fuck, too, so I had no friends. Pretty much all I ever did was read all those same fantasy books you read now and watch a ton of sci-fi shit. And play chess with my mom.

“No way! You were fat nerd?!” I giggle. The thought of him being anything but the way he is now is just funny to me.

“Fuck yeah, I was. Then I switched schools and shot up 6 inches when I was fourteen. And started playing baseball. That helped with the whole fuckin’ popularity thing.”

“So you went from nerd to jock just like that?”

“I never really stopped being a nerd.” He pauses. “But don't tell a fuckin’ soul that, Chuck.” He points at me and gives me a stern look.

“I don't believe you! Okay, okay. Favorite character from Lord of the Rings?”

“Aragorn. He's a badass!”

“Uh. What's the name of the ship from Alien?”

“Oh shit. Uh. Uh... Nostromo!” He snaps his fingers as he comes up with the name.

“Okay. Ah! What's this from, ‘Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most human.’?”

“Really? Fucking Wrath of Khan. Everyone knows that!”

“Ooooh.” I make a sarcastically impressed face. “Okay. Um… ‘All those moments will be lost, in time, like tears in rain.’”

“Blade Runner. Next.”

“‘Put on the glasses!’”

He laughs. “They Live! I'm surprised you fucking know that one!”

“It's a classic! Okay, okay. Oooh, I know! You'll get this one. ‘Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal.’”

“Hmm.” He thinks for a moment. “Nope. Don't know that one.”

“What?! That's from Firefly!”

“Never heard of it.”

“Oh my god! It's amazing! It was a tv show but it only had one season. But it was soooo good. You should look it up. It has hookers in it. You'll like it.” I laugh at my own joke.

“Ha ha, Chuck. Very funny,” he says sarcastically. “I shouldn't let you fuckin' talk to me like that, you know.” He points at me as I move my bishop.

“Checkmate!” I exclaim.

“Fuck!” He snaps his gaze to the board. “You distracted me with talk of hookers!”

———

We're meeting in the library now.

I read the note on Negan's door. Really, Negan? I gotta hobble all the way to the library now? You couldn’t’ve told me any earlier?

I make my way to the library as fast as I can, but still arrive after the final bell. No one stops me in the halls anymore, though, because of my crutches. Negan is waiting for me outside the library doors as I turn the corner.

“This way.” I follow him to a table in the far corner of the library. The chess board is already set up and waiting for us. We take our seats and began to play.

“Why are we meeting here instead of your office?”

“Because I fucking said so.”

Jeez. He's in a mood. I hate when he's cranky. It puts me on edge. He goes to move his pawn and I notice that his knuckles are all cut up and bruised.

“What happened to your hand?”

“I fucked it up.” He snaps back.

Okay. No conversation this time.

Or the next time.

Or the time after that.

He hasn’t been himself for a few days. Something is up with him, but I don’t know what. It takes a week of completely silent chess matches before things go back to normal… ish. We still meet in the library, but Negan is back to his old self, it seems. I don’t ask what happened and he doesn’t tell.

“I'm getting my cast off next week, so I guess this will be one of our last games.”

“Why?”

I’m confused at his response. “Why am I getting my cast off?”

“Don’t be a smartass. Why would we stop playing?” he clarifies.

“Well, I figured I'd go back to my regular gym class.”

“This period is still free for both of us. Why does you going back to gym mean that we have to fucking stop playing chess this period?”

“I guess it doesn't, really.”

“Good. Because I think I need to kick your ass a few more fucking times to get ahead of you on wins.”

“You're keeping count?”

“You're not?” He caught me. I am keeping count. And I’m ahead by four games.

“You can't just let me be ahead?”

“Fuck, no! There's no way I'll let you graduate holding that shit over my head.”

“We're going to play the rest of the year then?”

“What, are you that bored of me?”

“No, of course not. I just always thought you were biding your time until you could be rid of me.”

“Really? You think I'm that much of an asshole?”

“No. I didn't mean it like that.” Did I hurt his feelings? I didn't know that was possible.

“I told you when we fucking started that I thought you were a good kid. And I haven't played chess like this since fuckin’ college.”

“Thank you, I think. That's a compliment, right?”

“Well, I meant it as one, so you're fucking welcome.” He smirks at me, but it quickly turns into a frown. “The fuck you lookin’ at, Brandon! ” Negan yells as he shifts his gaze to look behind me. I turn my head to see a boy from my class looking our way.

“Nothing, sir. ” He stands there for a few moments then leaves. That’s weird. I don’t really know what to make of it.

“Uh. What was that all about?”

“Don't worry about it.” Okay. That's all the info I'll get out of him. I know that tone.

“His name is Brendon, you know-”

“I know what his fuckin’ name is. I just hate that kid. Stay away from him, okay? He's a douchebag.”

I laugh a little bit at how Negan is talking about another student. He’s not wrong, though, about him being a douche. I hate that kid, too. He always harasses me, saying how good I look all the time just to tease me.

Negan rubs his beard and looks a bit uncomfortable. Maybe he’s not exactly back to his old self like I thought. “You know I would never be inappropriate with you, right?” he says quickly, as if he really doesn’t want to say the words.

I’m taken aback at the sudden change in topic. I know that some of the kids joke with me about my “extracurriculars” so they say, with Negan, but I never thought they actually believed it or talked with anyone else about it. I wonder if that stuff got back to him and that's why he’s acting so strangely. That would make sense, actually. He’s probably just been trying to cover his back. A male teacher meeting with a female student alone in his office could seem suspicious. But if Negan were to have an affair with a student, I’m pretty sure I would be his last choice.

“Yeah, I know. I trust you. I know you would never do anything like that,” I say genuinely.

“Good.” He looks at me with a strange expression. Like he’s trying to read my mind to make sure I’m not lying.

“So… My mom wants to invite you and your wife over for dinner sometime.” I change the subject after a few tense moments because I really don’t want to dwell on that uncomfortable topic. I wasn't lying, though. My mom had been trying to get me to ask him over for dinner for a while. She said she wanted to thank him for being such a good teacher to me. I figured she just wanted to ogle him.

“Hmm.” He looks away, his expression becoming lighter as he looks back to me. “Yeah. I think we can come over on Thursday. Lucille will be fuckin’ happy. She loves meeting parents and shit. I fuckin’ hate it.”

“Well I'll be sure to tell my mom that.” We both laugh.

“I didn't mean your parents. You're one of the only kids I can fuckin’ stand. All the rest of those little douchebags were raised by fuckin’ big douchebags and I hate dealing with them. If your mom raised you right than she must be a pretty good woman.”

I laugh. My mom would probably love to hear him say that. “I should've had you write my college recommendations. ‘Chuck was possibly raised right and I can effin’ stand her’.” I make him laugh with my impression of him.

“You know, you can have a real smart fuckin’ mouth, sometimes.”

———

“Dinner was delicious, Diane,” Lucille says while delicately patting the corners of her mouth with her napkin. She is very beautiful. Her silky straight dark auburn hair falls just past her shoulders and complements her icy blue eyes perfectly. Her stylish clothing flatters her petite frame and highlights her femininity. And she is the exact opposite of Negan. Quiet. Polite. Poised. With an air of nobility about her. I bet her family had money growing up. I wonder how she got with Negan…

“Yeah. That was fuckin’ great. We’ll have to have you cook for us more fuckin’ often.” My mom laughs. I warned her not to be offended by Negan’s language. Not that she’s against swearing to begin with, but Negan’s style of cursing can be jarring.

“You're more than welcome any time. You've been so good to my daughter, Negan. You know, Chuck doesn't have many friends, so you taking an interest has been so good for her.”

“Oh my god, mom. I'm right here,” I say lowly. I know my face has to be bright red since my cheeks and ears are burning hot. My mom gives me a smile as if she didn't just embarrass me horribly.

“She's a good kid,” Negan says while looking at my mother. Okay, guys. I am still here.

“Yes. You're a very fine young lady and I'm sure your future will hold great things,” Lucille actually says to me, smiling warmly. She seems so amazing. No wonder Negan settled down with her. Jeez, she’s so perfect that I kinda wanna settle down with her.

“Well I think it's about time for us to get fuckin’ going. Ready, babe?” Negan says to Lucille after a few more minutes of light conversation.

“I suppose it is getting late. Thank you very much for the delicious dinner, Diane.” Lucille makes her way over to my mother and gives her a friendly hug with Negan doing the same. “And very nice to meet you, Charlotte.” She hugs me, too. I've never really liked hugging people, but she is so nice, so I soldier through it. I try not to be too awkward, which is a feat for me.

“Nice to meet you, too.” I give her a smile.

Negan walks past me, giving me a small nod. “See you tomorrow, kid.” He turns back to my mom. “Will you see us out, Diane?”

“Oh, sure.” She follows them out to their car, which is parked on the street.

After a little bit, I walk upstairs to my room to get ready for bed. As I walk over to my windows to close the curtains, I look outside and see that my mom is hugging Negan and Lucille has her hand on my mom’s shoulder. That's kinda weird. What are they doing? It looks like they're consoling her, or something. But that makes no sense.

I watch them speak to each other for a few more minutes until Negan and Lucille get into their car and drive off. I change into my pjs and go downstairs to ask my mom about the encounter. I find her standing in front of the sink washing the dishes from dinner.

“What was that all about?” I ask.

“What, sweetie?”

“With Negan. Outside. I saw you talking with him.”

“Oh.” She clears her throat. “I was just telling him again how much his friendship with you means to me.” She continues to wash the dishes, not raising her gaze.

“Jeez, mom. You're gonna make him think I'm some pitiful outcast or something.”

She turns around and pulls me into a tight hug. “I love you so much, Chuck. I just want the world for you. And sometimes this world can be such a horrible place.” She kisses my forehead.

“Okay, mom. I love you, too.” I'm not quite sure what this is all about, but whatever. My mom could always be a bit overdramatic. “I'm headed to bed. Night.” I pull away from her and turn to leave the kitchen.

“Night, sweetie.”

—— ——

Chuck is pulled out of her memories by the sound of the metal door scraping open. She covers her overly sensitive eyes as light floods the small room. Negan's large form casts a long shadow onto her as he steps into the doorway.

“Come on, Chuck. Time to go.” His voice is flat, emotionless.

Chuck slowly stands, stretching out her stiff limbs. As soon as she gets to her full height, she feels light headed. She tries to take a step, but her vision starts to tunnel. The last thing she feels before darkness takes over is Negan's arms wrapping around her.

10 notes · View notes

jtq1844 · 5 years

Text

One day into this and I’m already behind ...

Where did the day go? So much for taking this opportunity to build in some writing discipline into my life. I actually have a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (Antioch University -- Los Angeles, 2017). It started out as “an external goal” in 2015, something to try after we moved as empty-nesters up to Washington State from Santa Cruz. The program is “low residency,” meaning it is mostly online. I had had a few stories published already, so I had reason to think it was doable. I like story-telling. I like writing. What I discovered was that, while I have some writing competency, I don’t exactly have a passion for it.

Here is one of the CNF essays from my official portfolio to amuse you until I compose a more heartfelt and informative post for tomorrow … er, I mean, today … um. You know what I mean.

-=-=-=-

Sister Clorina, Saint Blaise and Doubting Thomas by Jean Tschohl Quinn

It can take years to come to an understanding about something. Alternatively, an understanding can barrel into consciousness like a grand and glorious epiphanic elephant. Sometimes, both happens. I love paradox. I adore the celestial AND. It is in this sort of epiphany, decades in the making, that I found Bahá'u'lláh.

Sister Clorina hated me. No. That’s too strong. She simply did not like any girls not named Mary. She didn’t like me in particular because she had suddenly been “demoted” to second grade from fourth grade where my sister Mary was -- sweet, clever, pious and faithful. How could I compete? My best friend then was named Mary too. Mary Wirhanowicz was also sweet, clever, pious and faithful. I hold no grudge against the average Mary. They’ve got the whole Blessed Virgin Mother expectation thing to deal with and had no choice in the matter because that was their collective given name. It is, apparently, a lot of pressure. There is the occasional exception of the BVM standard when there are multiple Marys in a single classroom. Some of them get an out if they had, say, a younger sibling who called them something else and the teacher approved for clarity’s sake. One of my grandmothers was one of those. There were several Mary’s in her one-room schoolhouse in Nova Scotia. Her younger brothers and sisters called her Mayme already and so she was dubbed in the classroom and life in general. To this day, I consider her the sanest person I’ve ever met. However, in my second grade classroom, Sister Clorina felt she had reason to suspect me as nefarious. First, I was not named Mary. Second, I was “philosophical.”

Her move down to second grade was precipitated by Sister Marie Madison’s hasty withdrawal from the convent life after only a month with our class. We were informed that we had simply “driven her crazy.” Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa. (That’s not quite accurate; it was post-Vatican-II. We didn’t actually learn any Latin.) The girls of the class all knew the blame rested solely on the antics of Vince Wederath, Brian Doherty, and Eddie Marx. They were the bad boys. Maybe Tim Relihan too. We were sure of it. Twelve or so years after the fact, I bumped into Eddie on a bus as I headed home from college for a weekend of free laundry and food. He was still proud of his part in the good sister’s loss of faith. We choose our triumphs; this apparently was one of Eddie’s.

Sister Clorina emanated a stern energy. I cannot tell you whether she was tall or short from my second-grader memory, but I do recall her immense energy. Sometimes, she’d fill in on the organ at Mass when the ridiculously cherubic Sister Acquitaine was overwrought or under the weather. Sister Acquitaine was the music teacher. She felt my brother Kevin’s musical talent was extraordinary -- it is – and so she kept him in at recess for violin lessons because we already had a violin that Grampa Hanson had picked up at St. Vinnie’s for $7 in 1967. Kevin did not like missing recess. He abandoned the violin at his earliest possible convenience. I still have and play that violin, mainly because no one else had a use for it. I have always felt that I have a right only to that which is of no use to anyone else. It’s a youngest child thing. In second grade, I even went so far as to claim my favorite color as moss green because I felt sorry for it.

In any case, Sister Clorina as a substitute organist kept the tempo “up” much to the consternation of the older folks. My family liked it that way; it was zippy. She would shout over her shoulder, “Hymn number 8.” Only I thought she was saying “Hit number 8” like Casey Kasem might, so I thought we were going to sing Winchester Cathedral or Last Train to Clarksville depending on the week. I somehow knew never to expect Wild Thing.

I had high hopes as Sister Clorina glowered over us in the hall outside the classroom. I reached for her hand, trying to be the brown-noser I knew myself to be. She sniffed and tucked her arm inside her surplus. Her disdain for me was immediate.

First grade had been a long line of substitute teachers after Mrs. Conti-Morgan left to give birth after an entirely crabby last month. She and Mrs. Lambert, a squat dynamic storyteller, in the fifth grade were the only lay teachers in the school. Second grade looked like the beginning of a whole new world. I was finally going to be close enough to a nun to touch one.

After Sister Marie Madison bailed on us in the second-grade, I suspect Sister Clorina took the move from her already beloved fourth grade class to our clearly evil second grade as a demotion. The smaller four and fifth grade classes would be combined with the incredible Mrs. Lambert at the helm. My sister Mary was immediately named co-chair with Mrs. Lambert of their mutual admiration society. Mary has that mysterious charm that immediately made her teacher’s pet. Every time.

My year with Sister Clorina should have been a good one. She did Science. We studied the classic simple machines: lever, incline plane, screw, pulley, wedge, and wheel and axle. She even pointed out that a screw is really just an incline plane wrapped around a pivot point. This was good stuff. We learned about meteorology and taxonomy. Why wasn’t it working? For one thing, she had no joy once Mary Wirhanowicz got really sick and was gone for weeks. I brought homework to Mary and back to school regularly. Did I get any credit for helping the BVM wannabe? No I did not. Looking for credit is always a sure way to not get any. I was dead last in the rankings of teacher’s pet, even behind Renee Kucze and she NEVER adhered to the dress code.

Mary eventually recovered and returned to class. My only hope was merit by association. No luck. Christmas rolled around and the requisite study of the Nativity. We learned about the Magi, those astrologers from the East. The question was obvious, so I asked it, “If they understood how important Jesus was before He was even born, shouldn’t we be studying their Religion?” Sister Clorina never called on me again.

Second grade crawled on. I was dying to ask about the blessing of the throats on Saint Blaise Day, February 3, but I couldn’t ask Sister Clorina. I thought the hubbub was kind of cool -- how we’d line up and have blest candles criss-crossed about our necks with a little prayer for health offered – but still didn’t understand it. My mom, who was much more informed and cynical than I could have realized then, knew a little about it. One of the miracles attributed to Saint Blaise was miraculously saving someone from choking. His “day” was the day after Candlemas, February 2, when families traditionally brought in all their candles to be sanctified.

“While this is completely pointless in the 20th century,” she postulated, “imagine what candles meant to a family three hundred, five hundred, seven hundred years ago.” Having them blest would be a prudent gesture to Christians throughout Old Europe and the Byzantine Empire, she hoped I would agree. In my limited comprehension, however, I continued to attempt reconciliation of all of this with Groundhog Day. Maybe the flicker of candles cast interesting shadows on any groundhogs popping out of holes on the same day.

By Lent, I knew better than to ask questions. During the required Tuesday-after-school Stations of the Cross, I languished with questions. It’s not three days between the afternoon of Good Friday and dawn of Easter Sunday. It’s two. Much later, I learned that the Jewish day starts at sundown, so it was definitely only two days. I did not dare ask. And the renaming of Simon to Peter, the rock. What was that about? That was a whole lot of palaver over one little verse and the power that Saul/Paul grabbed anyway. I didn’t get it and couldn’t ask.

At Pentecost, I remember sitting amiably in the pew, gently kicking at the kneeler after the Gospel Reading, followed by a rambling homily about Doubting Thomas. He misses a visit from the post-Resurrection Christ and demands physical proof. Christ does come to revisit and offers Thomas a chance to “probe the nail holes.” Thomas believes even though there’s no record of him poking his fingers anywhere – seriously not in a single one of the four Gospels -- just being with Him again is sufficient. Christ then adds “blessed are they that have not seen but still believe.”

Yes, I committed to myself – kick, kick, kick -- I will never be like Doubting Thomas, needing proof like that. To this day, I have never witnessed any firsthand wowza moment. Some friends of mine have hosted these remarkable, spiritual ongoing events where miracles of joy, epiphany and synchronicity are a regular occurrence for years. Long-lost friends reunite. Extraordinary fund-raising. Mysterious healings. You name it. Whenever I show up, it’s invariably an “off night.” My friend who has witnessed it all invariably shrugs and says, “I don’t know what happened this time. Maybe it was the traffic.” I trust their reality. I have to, because I wasn’t there.

I was still mindlessly kicking the kneeler. Why didn’t they recognize Christ as Jesus when meeting Him after the Resurrection? Seriously, they don’t recognize Him at first. Why would that be? What was the big deal about a physical resurrection anyway? The Old Testament was full of them. I could get the importance of a spiritual one – I thought: Peter … Rock … denied Him and the hiding … rock rolled away … blah, blah, blah … Didn’t Jesus call His followers His body? I was not about to ask questions. The symbolism worked so much better than literal story. Don’t ask; don’t tell. Just get through second grade.

By the end of that year, Father Podolak, that gentle, rambling soul who would eventually preside over my wedding years later, announced that the school would be closing at June. My sister and I were devastated. My brothers and older sisters were already going off to junior high and senior high school, mercifully saved from attending more Catholic school by the cost of tuition times six. Mary and I lay in bed with the blankets kicked off, feeling entombed by the muggy heaviness of Wisconsin in the summer bemoaning our fate, a public school education with their loose morals and strange ways. Of this we were sure. No potentially free music lessons from Sister Acquitaine; no exciting tales about WWI in Italy from Mrs. Lambert; no stern preparation for junior high from Sister Rhodelia whose great contribution to our family was her encouragement to my parents that my shy, nervous, older sister Jackie would achieve every regular thing, just in her own time. We were off to public school and weekly Catholic CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. I kid you not).

How wrong we were! At the public school, we got free music lessons on any instrument we chose from hip young musicians; one for band instruments, the other for strings (my choice, obviously). And Mrs. Grossman taught us singing. She really liked how Mary (either one) and I sang together. By the following Christmas, my sister now a fifth grader and I a third grader sang in front of an audience of hundreds a harmonized duet of Mel Torme’s A Christmas Song. Afterwards Brian Doherty spoke directly to me, probably the only time he ever did, “You have guts. Double guts.” Respect. I don’t remember seeing him after that.

We also had a regular dedicated art teacher, Miss Sanford. She got a nose job the following summer and nobody recognized her when she returned. The best part was, my third grade teacher, Miss Nawrocki. She looked like a Barbie doll. She wore wigs of different colors and lengths. She got married halfway through the year and became Mrs. Raniewicz. Dang. We had just conquered spelling capital-N A W R O C K I. She directed a class musical. I had lunch with her a couple of years ago. She is still awesome, although significantly shorter than I thought. Public school was fine. Better than fine. It was great. To heck with you, Sister Clorina.

Around ninth grade, Confirmation rolled around. It was time for me to publicly commit to God and His Church, whatever that meant. Among the somewhat arbitrary options for going through a Catholic Confirmation is taking a new name. It has little or no intrinsic meaning within Western cultures, but the vestigial tradition hangs on. My 15-year-old self was interested in saving the world by becoming a medical doctor – didn’t happen: boys, booze, and a reading disability derailed that vague idea during the first semester of college – so I chose the name “Blaise” as my Confirmation name. I had mistakenly thought he was the patron saint of physicians. I was a piss-poor researcher back then too. So many of his miracles had to do with healing, particularly having to do with throat ailments and choking. Who am I kidding? I claimed the name Blaise because the choice was due the week after the whole Candlemas/Saint Blaise weirdness -- exactly forty days after Christmas. What was this thing with forty days anyway?  Noah in the Ark, Jesus in the desert, Buddha under the Bodi Tree, the Prophet Mohammad in a cave.  There’s Lent.  There are periods of mourning, of fasting or of thanksgiving in most belief systems.  

In any case, my choice of Blaise, a male name, upset a fair few people, so I had to write a couple of letters to some persnickety council of some kind. The request was okayed … with reservations. The actual Confirmation was forgettable other than choir director being in a car accident on the way there, so the choir – which included my mother, my sister Mary, Mary Wirhanowicz and me – had to wing it.

“So why was the name Blaise so important to you?” Father Podolak asked me months later.

“Well, if this spirituality stuff doesn’t work out, ‘Blaze’ is a good name for a stripper.” The words were out of my mouth before I ran them through my brain. I kept walking.

The next time I saw Fr. P, he said, “Jean, do you know how we make holy water?”

“You bless it?” I stammered.

“No, you boil the Hell out of it.” He smiled apologetically and gently clarified, “That was a joke.”

I chatted with a priest at a wedding I was hired to sing for a few years later, I mentioned the parish I grew up in. The priest said, “Ah! Bill Podolak, a kind man.”

“Yes, indeed.” I was running out of things to say.

“… not a dynamic speaker.”

“No, indeed.” We laughed, all too cruelly I believe.

In spite of my bad research skills, Saint Blaise continues to intrigue me. Having been martyred by being beaten to death with iron combs used for wool combing and carding, Saint Blaise has since been associated with any trade having to do with wool since the Middle Ages, not the healing arts. So, after all the hubbub about me picking a male saint’s name, perhaps it works for me. After all, what is my essay-writing but glorified wool-gathering?

The year after my Confirmation, I lived in Tunisia through a foreign exchange program the same summer that Monty Python’s Flying Circus filmed Life of Brian a mere 100 kilometers away. I did not find out until just after my return to the US, by watching an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Eric Idle. His monologue was about the long, sad love songs Tunisians sing with such relish and the ubiquity of jasmine there. Mr. Idle’s monologue went over like a fart in church as the saying goes. My family, however, laughed spasmodically as they recalled the similar stories from my letters home. Dad with his ever-present bowl of popcorn balanced on his chest, fell off the couch chortling. Mr. Idle’s underappreciated monologue notwithstanding, my summer in Tunisia changed my perceptions of just about everything. I had lived with a Moslem family in a Moslem neighborhood in a Moslem village. They valued education and kindness, respect and humor, the individual and the collective. The child peeking out of the doorway to see the American girl may have looked like an advertisement for C.A.R.E., but I came to know that her family loved her abundantly, fed her regularly if frugally, and had dreams and hopes for her. Neshua, the daughter of my host family closest to my age, and I were invited to several homes. Some of those invitations were offered because I was a curiosity to the village. In most of the humbler homes, there was a carpet in the works, a large frame taking up a wall in their main living space. A color plot hung taped to one of the loom’s posts. I learned to knot and trim the wool according to the plot, to shift the heddle and weft shuttle, to tamp work with the kleleh to compact the threads. We sat together, partly in fellowship, partly to contribute to the household. One little girl elbowed her way next to me knotting two to my one and announce that she would teach me the Arabic alphabet. “C’est très important” for me to learn how to read Arabic. I never did, except for “Coca-Cola” which I suspect had more to do with it being on large red billboards.

I was quite full of myself. Eventually the lessons of that summer, about the oneness of Religion, not the Arabic alphabet, sunk in. No longer would the coat of we’re-right/they’re-wrong Christianity fit me properly.

Eventually, I was off to college where at some point I made out with a guy who decided to become a priest. I think there may be something more to process about that. Maybe not. I ended up eventually working in Washington DC and met my future husband Mike at a Trivial Pursuit party in the apartment complex we both lived in. We were both Arabic-speaking (although mine was pretty patchy), left-handed (which has its own complications in Middle Eastern countries), green-eyed Catholics. It was Kismet. Oh, and we both preferred to drink milk with pizza. Like I said, Kismet. We went through all the Catholic wedding hoops and started our family when I got pushed onto a spiritual journey by a couple of Jehovah’s Witnesses. While the JW logic never worked for me, I will forever be grateful to Betty and LaVonne for starting me on the journey. Here I will skip chapters full of synchronicities that only Baha’is would find amusing, we attended some meetings referred to as Firesides after moving to San Jose, California a few years later.

The speaker one evening expounded on the subject of Progressive Revelation. In brief, Progressive Revelation encompasses the idea that Religion is unfolding over time as humanity becomes ready for a fuller understanding of the true nature of Reality. The speaker went on to offer examples of how Judaism begot Christianity and primarily affected Europe in its initial reach and development. Likewise, Hinduism begot Buddhism which moved out to Asia. Islam is also Abrahamic but was couched in Zoroastrian customs as well. It spread into North Africa, the Middle East, Oceania. The Baha’i Faith was revealed just as the world needed to start thinking globally, in the mid-19th century. Any corruption of Religion has to do with mankind messing with it, not with the purity of the original Message. This made some sense to me, but I didn’t know anything about Zoroaster. The speaker recognized my raised eyebrow-of-confusion and explained.

The moment the speaker explained that the primary understanding of Zoroastrianism in the West would be the Zodiac. He also mentioned that the priesthood was referred to as the Magi, as in the “astrologers from the East.” In that moment, all the disparate thoughts from the time I was seven onward coalesced in my mind’s eye like a jigsaw puzzle completing itself. I wiggled in my seat in excitement, trying not to disturb the tiny middle-aged woman of Asian descent or the black man next to me who had fallen asleep. He was snoring full out and no one was perturbed by it. His wife, a white woman at least a head taller than he was, later explained that he had had a stroke during brain surgery a few years before and often fell asleep. The oneness of God, the oneness of Humanity, the oneness of Religion all made sense to me. In that blink of an eye, I saw the interlocking of fact and legend, of the Magi and the Baby, of tradition and skepticism. I was back with Sister Clorina, Saint Blaise, and my family in Tunisia.

It was both in an instant and over the course of my lifetime up to that point that I came to this understanding. A few weeks after that night, Mike and I together declared our Faith in Bahá'u'lláh, that is to say, became adherents to the Baha'i Faith. We have found our lives infinitely richer because of that choice, so have our children (so they tell me). It is not easy to always keep in mind that each and every person that exists or did exist or will exist is unique and beloved by God, or that our individual Free Wills can send us in all different directions, or that "This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future" as Bahá'u'lláh says. In fact, it's mostly challenging. Building Heaven on Earth is not for sissies. However, I know it is the right thing for me to pursue.

I still do not get my faith confirmed by fantastical measures. I’d love to see a crowd of people collectively gung their foreheads with the heels of their hands that the oneness of Humanity is a fact and the work it will take for every person to feel loved and beloved as the family we are will be worth the effort and sacrifice. I’d love to see someone healed miraculously. I still get the sense that I won't ever witness events like that first hand.

Occasionally, I do witness people who die with grace or see a smile generated from a purely motivated kindness perpetrated on an unsuspecting grump. It is things like that -- tiny, lovely indications that my spiritual path is worth toddling upon – with which I chose to be satisfied. I promised myself so long ago that it would be enough.

Sister Clorina was only in my life for six months over fifty years ago. She still pops into my head, usually when I am accused of being “too sensitive” about something. I’d love to prove to you that she’s not important to me now, but you’ll just have to take that on faith.

#Tunisia #saintblaise #doubtingthomas #bahai #baha'u'llah #SisterClorina

0 notes

kohaive · 7 years

Text

bad hat

It was hate at first sight.

Ten-year-old Madeline first met him just after he'd moved. The little girl had decided to buy some flowers on her way home to surprise Miss Clavel, so she headed down the street towards her favorite flower seller. It was a lovely summer day, and Madeline was looking forward to afternoon tea, which she had promised to spend with Danielle and Yvette.

The girl crossed the bridge, turned the corner, and stopped dead. Standing over the flower seller was a taller boy with dark brown hair and sloping grey eyes. He didn't look like anyone she'd seen in the city before, and the lilt in his voice didn't sound French either. And Charlotte, the poor girl, was cowering and protecting her precious stand the best she could.

The boy was speaking a language Madeline recognized as Spanish. "¿Me vendes un flor, señorita?" he asked. "¿Puedes entenderme?"

The boy's superior tone sent a stab of irritation through Madeline, but she kept her composure and hurried forward. "Charlotte, Charlotte, it's alright," she soothed.

"Madeline, make him go away," Charlotte whimpered.

"I will," Madeline promised. Then she turned to the boy. "Mi amigo no se español, señor. ¿Hablas francés?"

"Ah," the boy responded in French. "You grace me in my own language." He looked to Charlotte, who was fiercely protecting her stand from this stranger. "I would like to buy a flower from you, señorita." He produced a handful of coins, none of which looked like euros.

"I-I can't accept these," Charlotte stammered, clutching at the cloth of her skirt. "I-I'm very sorry, monsieur, b-but-!"

"Charlotte can only take euro," Madeline said firmly. (Charlotte nodded behind her.)

The boy inspected the coins in his hand and then pocketed them. "Aaaah, estoy muy estupido. I have not converted my allowance from the Polish złoty to the euro. Lo siento, señorita. I will return with the proper currency tomorrow." He spun and started walking down the street.

Madeline spied something poking out of his jacket pocket. "Sorry, Charlotte, I'll come back later," she told the flower seller, and then chased after the boy. "Excuse me--excuse me!" He didn't turn around, and Madeline's anger bubbled over. "HEY!" she snarled. The boy stopped dead and turned around, looking shocked. Madeline composed herself. "I am very sorry for shouting, monsieur, but I think it is very rude when you ignore someone!" She gestured to his pocket. "It is ruder still when you lie to shopkeepers, no?"

The boy cocked his head. "Eh? No comprendo, niñita. What is this thing you claim I am lying about?" He wore a cocky smile that infuriated Madeline to no end, but she looked calm as she marched over and swiped a twenty-euro out of his pocket. "Hey-!"

"I am speaking about this, garçonnet," she replied, waving the bill in his face before setting it back in his hand. "You claim you have nothing but the złoty, yet you carry enough euros to buy a bouquet. Why would you lie?" The boy's grin widened. "I meant no harm, niñita. Just a good bit of fun to mess with the shopkeepers, no?"

What a horrible boy, Madeline thought. I want nothing to do with him. However, if she didn't get going she would be late for tea, and she had no more time to spend on this garçonnet. "Please do not tease Charlotte, she is very shy," she told him, shifting her bag. "Enjoy your stay in Paris, monsieur." With that, she returned down the street.

Paris was a large city, she knew, so it was very unlikely she would run into that boy with that stupid hat again.

When Madeline finally reached her home (a large, old building covered in ivy), she was surprised to see several trucks stationed outside the mansion next door. She had been quite grateful when Lord Covington had moved (he may have been on the school board but it was more fun when he didn't live so close), but who was their new neighbor?

Aaaaah, I will find out later. Madeline went inside. She didn't have flowers for Miss Clavel, but she quickly spotted Yvette and Nicole drawing at the table in the sitting room. She skipped over happily. "Yvette, Danielle, I'm here!"

The two girls looked up and smiled. "Madeline!" Yvette chirped. "What took you so long? I thought you were only going to the bookstore."

"I had a little trouble on the way home. I'm very sorry!" Madeline slid into an empty seat and set the books out onto the table. "But I did get the books, you see?"

"You're so reliable, Madeline," Danielle cooed, picking up one of the books. "At last, I'll know what happens to the prince. Thank you!"

"Oh, it is no problem," Madeline said, waving a hand. "I like going out on walks, so the bookstore was not too out of my way."

"Girls," Miss Clavel said, knocking on the door. "Could you gather, please?"

Miss Clavel's Boarding School for Girls was very small--only twelve girls attended. Chloe, Nicole, Danielle, Nona, Lulu, Anne, Ellie, Monique, Janine, Simone, Yvette, and Madeline herself made their way to the main room. To Madeline's surprise, there were two people dressed in expensive clothing already there--a man and a woman. They stood with a sort of stiff superiority that made it clear they were not on the same level as brats in a boarding school. Their cold gazes actually made Madeline stop in the doorway, but she swallowed and sat next to Nicole.

Miss Clavel tottered up to the front of the room and gestured to the couple. "These are the Asturias. Monsieur Asturias is an ambassador from Spain who has recently come to France. Beginning today, Monsieur and Mademoiselle Asturias will be living in the mansion next to us, along with their son..."

A boy stepped out from behind the Asturias, and Madeline's heart seized. He was dressed in clothes befitting his status, now, and he had gotten rid of that hat, but he still looked like an insufferable idiot.

"...Pepito. Please treat them kindly."

Pepito gave the girls a cocky grin and lifted a hand in greetings. "Hola, niñitas. Please be kind to me from today on, oui?" He glanced at Madeline, and then produced a bouquet of twelve roses. "Please accept these from a local flower seller as a gift, sí?"

Madeline received the rose with the most thorns.

"A guide?"

Miss Clavel nodded. "Yes. You have lived here the longest, Madeline, and you know Paris very well. I thought it would be suitable if you showed him around."

"But Miss Clavel, my studies!"

"You are doing well in all of your classes, and I will excuse your time off."

"But--can't someone else do it?"

"Of course." Miss Clavel smiled. "But I think you are the best choice. I have already told his parents regardless."

"But Miss Clavel, he's--"

"That's enough, Madeline," Miss Clavel interrupted, holding up a hand. "It has already been decided. Do not fight me on this, please."

Madeline knew there was no point in arguing further. "Yes, Miss Clavel."

"Thank you." She gestured to the door. "He is waiting outside. I have spoken with him personally; he is sure to be a delightful companion that should cause you very little trouble."

"Hey, niñita, are you bad at putting on makeup or do you look that way normally?"

Madeline walked briskly down the street, but Pepito had no trouble keeping stride. "That is the nearest coffee shop," she said as if she hadn't heard him, waving a hand. "That is a clothing store. That is a bookstore. That is a thrift shop."

"Is that where your sorry excuse of una escuela gets its uniforms? I've seen potato sacks of better quality."

Madeline struggled not to hit him. "That is quite unkind of you to say, don't you think, monsieur?"

"Is it?" Pepito's voice had an amused lilt, as if everything he said were a private joke. (If the joke was himself, then Madeline could understand why it was funny.)

Madeline would not rise to the bait so easily, and continued the tour as if nothing had happened. To Pepito's credit, he asked questions at the right time about the right things, and eventually settled into a routine of asking questions interspersed with insults.

At last, a question Madeline couldn't answer came up: "What's back there?"

Madeline peered in the direction Pepito was pointing. It was a small side street, tucked behind a few buildings, and it wasn't as clean as the main streets. The taller buildings threw shadow across the path, but Madeline could see the telltale glass window of a store further down the street. "I don't know," she admitted. "It is not a place I frequent, monsieur. It looks quite dangerous, no?"

"It looks interesting," Pepito remarked. Madeline thought he was going to stray from the road and head down the seedy-looking side street, but he stopped at the soft mew of a cat winding around his feet. The Spaniard looked down in surprise.

(Madeline was surprised too. She didn't think cats associated with piles of trash.)

Madeline half-expected Pepito to kick the poor feline out of his way. Instead, he knelt and scooped up the ball of fur, holding it with a surprising gentleness. "Hola, gatito," he murmured, scratching the animal behind the ears. The cat rewarded him with a purr, like the soft thrumming of distant passing train.

"You like cats?" she asked, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.

Pepito looked up at her and smiled. Something about it was off, disturbingly off, and she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"Something like that," Pepito replied.

She shouldn't have followed him.

Madeline frequently volunteered to do the daily errands, because she liked to be up and active. Paris was a wonderful city just to walk in, and sometimes the big house they all lived in felt cramped and musty. The air in the city, while not the cleanest, was certainly an improvement. And, of course, there was a lot to do. There were flowers to buy, books to read, freshly-baked bread to smell, and people to greet. Madeline was well-known enough that she was stopped by several people as she kept walking.

In fact, if she hadn't stopped to chat with Charlotte, she never would have seen Pepito.

The Spanish boy blended in remarkably well for a foreigner. Madeline supposed one of the first stops he had made after arriving in the city was the thrift store he had derided on their tour. Pepito was dressed in ratty clothes that didn't suit someone of his social class, and he was carrying a bag that kept trying to attack him. He kept glancing over his shoulders as if expecting to be followed and wore shades to cover his eyes, but Madeline was convinced it was him. Only one person wore a hat that looked that dumb. Madeline said her goodbyes to Charlotte and hurried off in Pepito's direction.

The boy had slipped into one of the back alleys Madeline wasn't allowed to go down. Madeline lingered in the mouth of the alley for a moment, hesitant. This was forbidden territory, a place she wasn't supposed to enter. But she was sure that if she wasn't permitted to go into grungy places like this, Pepito wasn't either. Perhaps she could use this against him and get out of being his guide. Madeline disliked having the ambassador's son follow her around; it was like an annoying cat weaving at your heels.

Madeline gathered her courage, checked to make sure no one was around, and then entered the alley and went down. She didn't see Pepito, and she already didn't like it here. The walls were peppered with distasteful graffiti and trash littered the ground. There were dozens of cigarettes that still gave off the acrid smell of smoke, and Madeline spotted at least three discarded syringes.

Madeline shuddered; she didn't like this place. But her curiosity won over, so Madeline kept going. If Pepito wasn't here, then he had to be at the other end of the alley, where Madeline could see a sort of open space and a few shadows. She reached the end of the alley, curled her fingers around the broken brick and peered around the corner.

Madeline saw Pepito, standing atop a low wall, holding a thrashing sack. Below him clamored a pack of stray dogs, growling and barking and snapping at the sack. Madeline was very confused about what exactly he was up to...

...and then the sack mewed.

Madeline stilled in horror as Pepito dragged out a small kitten by the scruff of its neck. The sadistic grin curling his mouth told her all she needed to know about what was about to happen, and without thinking she rushed forward to prevent the worst of it.

"PEPITO ASTURIAS!" Madeline yelled, kicking up gravel and scuffing her mary janes. Pepito looked up, surprise lifting his eyebrows, and before he could react she had waded fearlessly through the dogs and joined him up on the wall. "What do you think you are doing?" she snarled, with enough force to make Pepito take a small step back.

His intimidation didn't last very long, though, and Pepito's brow furrowed in annoyance. "What are you doing here, niñita?" he growled back.

"Saving this poor kitten, it appears," Madeline retorted. "You are not going to mangle a poor animal for your twisted games!" She held out her hands. "Give me the cat."

"You cannot tell me what to do." Pepito leaned away from Madeline, taking the kitten with him. "Can't you just leave me alone already, niñita? It's bad enough you shadow me everywhere else. Just let me have a bit of harmless fun."

"Harmless!?" Madeline exploded, hands balling into fists and shoulders rising. "You think--you think your little games are harmless? You think I like following you around, you insufferable brat!?" She took a step forward, a little cautious; the wall wasn't that wide. "I will not turn a blind eye to this, garçonnet. Give me the kitten."

Pepito narrowed his eyes. "Why can't you just leave me alone like everyone else!?"

Madeline blinked, but before she could register what Pepito had said properly, he took a step backwards and his foot punched through empty air. The anger in Pepito's eyes melted to fright as he swayed dangerously over the Seine. Madeline reached forward to pull him up, but he reached past her arm and to her shoulder, pressing on it frantically to push himself back up.

As Pepito straightened, Madeline's foot slipped on the already-precarious top of the wall, but she had nothing to hold on to. His eyes widened in shock as Madeline tipped over the far edge.

"Ah--NIÑITA--!"

Madeline saw Pepito's outstretched, useless hand, shrinking in her vision. Some small part of her reached out to grab at it, and then she hit the river and was immediately enveloped by cold, compressing darkness and the intense need to breathe.

Unable to tell which way was up, Madeline blindly flailed her limbs. One hand broke through the water, and Madeline's head was quick to follow, breaking the surface with a gasp. Hair and river water obscured her vision, and she flapped her limbs uselessly, unable to swim. She registered dim yelling (Pepito, shouting for help) and barking (the pack of stray dogs were getting excited) and blurred colors that were somehow supposed to be the world. The Seine's freezing temperature leeched the strength from Madeline's limbs, and her arms and legs slowed in their desperate attempts to keep her afloat.

Unable to tread for much longer, Madeline gave in to the powerful tug of the river, slipping beneath the surface once again.

Before the black shut down her mind, something wet and furry brushed along her leg.

Madeline woke up to a rabbit on the ceiling.

That was the first thing she registered. The second was a small golden pile of fur at the foot of her bed, something she didn't actually think was allowed in Miss Clavel's school. As she watched, the fur slowly rose and fall. Whatever animal it was, it was asleep. But why was it there in the first place?

A sudden chorus of "She's awake!" and "Miss Clavel! Miss Clavel!" startled Madeline as eleven younger girls all crowded her bedside at once. The pile of fur unfolded itself to reveal that it was, in fact, a small puppy, which immediately trotted up to Madeline and curled up on her as if trying to escape the noise.

"How are you feeling?" Chloe asked.

"You've been out for hours," Anne said, worry knitting her brows together.

"Did you die and come back from the dead?" Nicole asked eagerly. (This earned a light punch in the arm from Chloe.)

"Madeline," Miss Clavel murmured, coming up to Madeline's bedside. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Madeline replied, staring at the puppy that was sitting on her lap. "What happened?"

"Pepito found me and told me you had fallen into the Seine," Miss Clavel explained. "But when we arrived to help, you had already been pulled ashore by... well..." She gestured to the golden puppy, and suddenly Madeline recalled something furry brushing against her leg. This tiny puppy had saved her?

"You're really lucky, Madeline," Danielle added. "If you were a little bigger I don't think she would have been able to get you to shore."

"Of course, now she won't leave your side," Yvette sighed. "Every time we tried to get her away from you she kept running back in."

"I can call the pound to pick her up," Miss Clavel said.

"No!" Madeline quickly interjected. "No. Um... Miss Clavel, is it alright if we keep her? She seems very attached to me after all, and I think she might be a stray. She needs a good home."

Miss Clavel pursed her lips, the way she did when she was thinking about something. Madeline held her breath until her teacher nodded. "You will be responsible for her care. And, of course, Madeline, you'll need to give her a name."

Madeline looked down at the puppy, who looked back up at her with soft brown eyes. "Genevieve," she decided after a moment. "I'll call her Genevieve."

Asturias Manor was far too posh for Madeline's liking. It felt stuffy to be there, and she stuck out like a sore thumb in her school uniform. But she had to thank Pepito for helping her, so Miss Clavel said, so here she was.

Gen was there too, of course. The puppy wouldn't leave Madeline's side--she followed her in the streets, slept at the end of her bed, and curled up next to her during classes. And all without the need of a leash! Madeline liked to imagine that Gen was her guardian angel in disguise.

The sitting room chairs were, fortunately, comfortable, so Madeline settled and waited. It didn't take long for Pepito to appear, dressed in a stylish waistcoat and lacking that stupid hat that looked so awful. He actually seemed a little sheepish. Madeline squinted at him suspiciously. What was he planning?

"Hi," Pepito finally said, breaking the awkward silence. "You look, um, better."

Madeline folded her arms. "Yes, it is amazing considering I was pushed into a river only a week ago."

Pepito winced a little. "Look, I'm really sorry about that--"

"Save it," Madeline snapped. "I am here to thank you for lying to Miss Clavel to save your rich behind and nothing more. So thank you." She stood up, and Genevieve stood to attention as well. "May I leave now?"

Pepito frowned. "If... you want to. I don't want to keep you here if you don't want to stay."

"Good," Madeline said briskly, and headed for the doorway. Just before she stepped outside the room, though, a familiar mew reached her ears.

Disbelieving, Madeline turned around to see the kitten that Pepito had nearly thrown to the pack of dogs jump up on the seat she had just vacated. As she watched, it turned around a few times and then settled into a small ball. She looked at Pepito critically. "Your own pet? You are a sickening boy."

"Niñita--"

"Goodbye, Pepito." Madeline turned on her heel. "I hope I do not ever see you again."

Despite her resolve, Madeline still checked on the alley every day she went out. It remained mercifully empty, with no trace of the horror that had almost happened there. She didn't see Pepito either, much to her relief, yet something uncertain gnawed at her gut. After spending so much time showing him around the city, it felt odd not having him shooting off annoying remarks at her side.

For two weeks, Madeline lived in uneasy peace, never seeing Pepito or hearing about him. Life returned to normal, with the wonderful addition of Genevieve, who Madeline was allowed to keep so long as she walked and fed her.

Life was normal, and that was what bothered her.

Early one morning, Madeline was up cooking breakfast (it was her turn to do so) when someone knocked on the door. After ensuring she wouldn't burn two dozen eggs, Madeline wiped her hands on her apron and went to answer it.

She was not expecting to see Mrs. Asturias standing in the doorway, clutching a tear-soaked handkerchief and lower lip trembling. "He ran away," she sobbed. "Pepito ran away."

A hot ball of guilt rolled into Madeline's stomach, and her knuckles turned white against the door. It was incredibly annoying. She didn't want to feel guilty because she didn't accept his stupid apology. She didn't want to feel responsible for Pepito running away and not looking back. She didn't want to be worried about his stupid hair and his stupid grin and his stupid cruel grey eyes.

"Where did he go?" she asked.

"He said he was going to visit some friends in London in a note," Mrs. Asturias managed to explain. "But he didn't say how he would be getting there or when he would be back...!"

Idiot, Madeline thought. "I will try to help him. Would you like to come in for tea?"

Mrs. Asturias nodded and Madeline led her inside, knocking on Ms. Clavel's door to alert her to the guest.

London, she thought tiredly. I suppose this means I should go to London.

London happened.

Madeline returned in sticky August heat, bundled up in a thick golden sweater she'd found in a pawn shop. Pepito trailed after her sheepishly, watching the back of her head with furrowed brows.

"Aren't you too hot?" he asked.

"No," Madeline replied shortly.

"Shouldn't you--"

"No."

"But you were--"

"And you are not going to say anything about it. Is that clear?"

"...yes."

Madeline stopped in front of the Asturias' manor and turned to Pepito. "Go inside and console your mother. She was a mess the morning she found you were gone. I am going home. Goodbye, Pepito."

"Goodbye, Madeline," Pepito called after her, but Madeline walked faster and pretended that she hadn't heard.

He's nothing but trouble, she thought, nothing but trouble wrapped up in a nasty coat and a bad hat.

#quill pen #jennfic #c: madeline #c: pepito #u: merlin

3 notes · View notes

hiraeth-doux · 7 years

Note

did claire or owen ask for a second date (in a non-incident world)? if they did, how did they do it? :)

Owen did, sort of.

The way the thingsworked on the island between Jurassic Park and InGen was that even though thecompanies were technically separate entities that had little to do with oneanother, they still shared a few departments for convenience. Like Accountingand Supplies, mainly because the number of the InGen employees on the islandsimply wasn’t substantial enough to require their own full-time specialiststhat they could so easily ‘borrow’ from Jurassic World, and frankly, in severalways it was easier for Simon, too. He was under a lot of pressure from both theshareholders of the companies and the military; everyone wanted the results,and they wanted them yesterday.

The least he could doin this situation was to make it easier on himself when it came to logisticsand paperwork and reporting, hence the merged data that Claire normally collectedfrom all of the departments at the end of the month , or upon his request,before forwarding a compiled document free from unnecessary information to him.It was an established process that worked for them, and if Claire were honestwith herself, she did like being on top of everything that was happening on theisland, so she didn’t particularly mind this arrangement even though it occasionallymeant late nights in the office.

Fast forward to severalmonths after her date with Owen.

Now, the main issuewith said date was the lack of communication. They knew next to nothing aboutone another before they went out – Owen was well aware of her reputation in thepark and the honest-to-got fear she seemed to have been evoking in everyone foras long as she worked there; and Claire knew – or at least heard the rumors –about his way with the ladies. To his credit, he always took his businessoutside the island, if only because it would’ve been highly impractical for himto have affairs on a piece of land small enough to cover it on foot in one dayif he wanted to keep them casual. Besides, he didn’t want to have to deal withthe personal issues at work.

(What Claire didn’tknow was that it took him quite some guts to ask her out since he was goingagainst his own rules, and it was the risk, but the risk he wanted to take.)

However, they bothhad certain expectation from one another, and when said expectation went down thedrain, they both ended up feeling cheated and disappointed beyond measure. It wasn’ther itinerary, or his attire that were the problem, per se, so much as the factthat the person they went out with wasn’t the person they expected each otherto be. And frankly, in different circumstance they might have hit it off nicely.Alas, that was not the case.

So…. Several monthsafter the date that they both managed to mainly block out in their minds,Claire found out that the crucial piece of info from Hoskins that she neededfor the Board of Directors meeting was missing. She tried the phone but he didn’tanswer, so she had no other choice but to go to the raptors’ paddock to findhim in person, and sadly, as much as she wanted to avoid the trip, the time wasticking.

She drove down thewinding roads in the late afternoon, tapping her fingers nervously on thesteering wheel because it was one thing to be pissed off at Owen Grady forruining the night for her, and another – to actually face him after all thesemonths that they both spent pointedly ignoring one another. Now, she was not acoward, but somehow, Owen managed to pull at her strings without even trying,and the last thing she wanted was to have another confrontation with him, herdisappointment still fresh and raw, much to her surprise.

Well, she hoped theirpaths wouldn’t cross.

But, as her luckwould have it, Hoskins wasn’t at the paddock. In fact, the first person she sawwas Owen, his brow furrowed in concern, as he headed toward the ground-level entranceto the cage. He paused when he spotted her, and Claire was THIS close tobolting out of there, the mature woman that she was. However, she squared hershoulders and tipped her chin up, looking him straight in the eyes and doingher best to ignore the worry lines crossing his face. He told her that Hoskinswasn’t around and he had no idea where the man went, so she was welcome to keeptrying his phone that was probably dead.

In all honestly, Owenhad little interest in bickering with her at the moment because Blue had beenfeeling under the weather all day and they couldn’t for the life of them figureout what was wrong. The vet narrowed it down to either a food poisoning or avirus, and pumped her with antibiotics, but since there was nothing in thebooks about the dinosaur maladies, they were pretty much blindfolded when itcame to dealing with the stuff like that, and right now, all they could so waswait. Which was only adding to his anxiety, making him pace restlessly around thecage while Blue – who couldn’t be separated from her sisters because theysimple didn’t have a spare paddock for that – was whining quietly inside,looking rather miserable.

Claire didn’t expectherself to ask what was wrong. In fact, she planned to turn on her heels andleave, but the words were out of her mouth before she knew it was happening - shewasn’t used to seeing him so worried, and it unnerved her on more levels than shethought was possible. And Owen didn’t plan on answering her honestly because itwasn’t really any of her business, and yet he did, his eyes darting over his shouldernow and then as he spoke, his voice laced with fear and helplessness that wereeating him up from the inside. And something inside her snapped.

Technically, Clairedidn’t have to stay under the pretense of waiting for Hoskins, all because itwas the end of the day and she didn’t want Owen to wallow in his gloom alone. Andtechnically, he could have showed her to Hoskins’s office and leave it at that.Instead, they somehow ended up sitting on the catwalk above the paddock,talking about nothing in particular, their shoulders touching as the sun inchedcloser to the horizon. Without the pressure of trying to impress her thatruined everything the first time around, Owen told her about the raptors andwhat they were like and how tiny they were when they were born, which was hardto believe because they were towering over him now. And she listened, taking noteof the softness in his voice she was not yet familiar with, seeing that side ofhim for the first time. Sure, he mentioned the raptors during their dinner, butit wasn’t like that, it didn’t feel this personal, and he was almost like adifferent man right now, and she found herself wondering….

Claire wasn’t surehow it happened, but after a while, she fell asleep with her head resting onOwen’s shoulder. He nudged her awake around midnight and joked that Hoskins wasprobably not coming back tonight, and for a moment, she had no idea what he wastalking about because she had long forgotten about her lame excuse. Blue wasfeeling better apparently, or so she figured when Owen told her it was okay togo home. It was dark and the paddock was illuminated by the lamps mounted abovethe walls that kept the two of them mostly in the shadows. She could feel the warmthof him though, smell the forest and the ocean on him. So when he asked if maybethey should give each other another chance, she couldn’t possibly say no.

#clawen #clawen hc #claire x owen #it's almost as long as a one-shot #sorry about that

18 notes · View notes

clayray3290 · 5 years

Text

Clayray Closeout 2018

Another momentous year has passed, and I am feeling reflective about my tastes and my year, so once again, clayray is closing out the year. Usually I don’t do this, but this year, I traveled a lot, like A LOT a lot, and I made the move across the country to LA, so before I reflect on my media consumption, here is a list of all the places I went to this year:

January - Baltimore for a baby shower February - San Francisco Sonoma for a wine tasting trip with college friends March - New York City to see musicals April - Las Vegas for PBS TechCon Two days after getting back - Sarasota for Roadshow Less then a week after - Tulsa for Roadshow May - San Francisco for CAAMFest Louisville for Roadshow Literally the day after - LA San Diego for Roadshow June - Detroit for Roadshow Toronto with mom Montreal to see Sarah July - Charlotte to meet up with Colleen and Katy Smoky Mountains for a bridal shower New Hampshire for a wedding September - Moved to LA! October - San Francisco for a wedding Boston Newport for a wedding November - Florida for Thanksgiving

Whew! As you can see, August and December were the only months that I didn’t travel, and that was because August was spent preparing for my big move and in December, my family came to me. What with layovers, I was on 33 flights plus 5 significant buses plus several “road trips” with friends/family, too. And some of these trips were so back-to-back that I barely spent any time sleeping in my own bed!

Now, I’m still in a weird period of transition, but soon enough, I will develop a routine and establish a place here. I moved across the country with no job, no apartment, and very few friends, and it was a humongous change to make. But as scary and hard as it can be, I think I have enough faith in myself that it will all work out and I will be okay. And with that, I’m looking forward to 2019!

But meanwhile, continuing to look back:

Music - Artists

La Luz

Joywave

Jesse McCartney

Younha

Saint Motel

30 Seconds to Mars

Betty Who

The Aces

BTS

Infinite

As always, artists that I saw live are a huge presence in this list: La Luz, Saint Motel, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Betty Who, and technically I was walking up to the venue when Joywave was playing (which I am still bitter about, for the record.) Other artists I saw live this year: MisterWives and Walk the Moon opening for 30 Seconds to Mars, Tamia, Duckwrth and Buyepongo at the Made in LA Festival literally my second day in LA, Gymshorts opening for La Luz, Vincent Vallières and Brigitte Boisjoli and Martha Wainwright and Michel Rivard and Klô Pelgag at the Fete in Montreal, Bleachers, Sara Bareilles at MisCast, Dionysia and Bazmati Vice, Gryffin, and I guess technically I saw Pregnant Boy.

I have been in love with Jesse McCartney since I was 11 and he released new music this year, which I adored (which you will soon see in the Top Tracks), so of course he’s that high up. Similarly, Younha released an excellent album this year and I’ve always loved her. I actually didn’t find Infinite’s album particularly thrilling, but I guess I liked it well enough that I wouldn’t skip their songs whenever they came up.

I had actually listened to The Aces before, but this year was when I really got into them. Their album is stellar and I love their sound and their look!

And as for BTS, my mom’s actually a huge fan and there was no escaping their immense worldwide popularity. I remember when they debuted! It’s great to see how they have grown to be the K-Pop group that has “made it” to the States.

This is the first time in a long time that my all-time favorites like Secret and McFly haven’t been in the top. Secret’s disbandment really hurt, even though we all saw it coming, and I’m still not over it.

Odesza didn’t make it up to the very top, but I also listened to them a lot with my boyfriend. :)

Music - Albums

Younha - RescuE

The Aces - When My Heart Felt Volcanic

Infinite - TOP SEED

Hamilton OBCR

Alexz Johnson - A Stranger Time

Dan Masterson - When Reality Calls

La Luz - Floating Features

Janelle Monáe - Dirty Computer

Eric Nam - Honestly

Anastasia OBCR

Unsurprisingly, my top artists are showing up in the top albums. I was surprised to see that the Hamilton OBCR was so high, but then I remembered that I featured it heavily in my 4th of July playlist that I played during my party. I’ve been fond of Alexz Johnson since Instant Star, even though I didn’t actually watch the show, and my friend Schuyler and I had a bit of a phase reminiscing about that era of “teen show” singers like her and also Drake Bell.

Dan Masterson is, full disclosure, a friend of mine from college, but his album is really excellent, and you should check it out if you’re interested in piano-based singer-songwriter tunes!

What is there to say about Janelle Monáe except that she is a beacon of brilliance, and we are lucky just to be able to witness it.

The other musical on this list is Anastasia, which is one of the musicals I saw this year. I saw it on Derek Klena’s last evening performance, which is actually one of two times that I saw him. I also saw him in Jagged Little Pill at the A.R.T (he is not the best part of that show, though, Lauren Patten’s “You Oughta Know” is hands down unequivocally the showstopper). The other musicals I saw this year were Allegiance, Hello! Dolly, and I saw the Genies’ Jukebox. Not a musical, but I also saw the off-Broadway show Puffs, which was hysterical.

I’m not sure why I didn’t pay attention as much, but Death Cab’s album this year is pretty great. I didn’t love the Arctic Monkeys’ album as much as I wanted to, though they actually just missed being in my Top Artists by 10 listens. Robyn’s album this year was also pretty stellar, but it was released pretty late in the year.

Movies

As always, subjective ranking and not numbers-based.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Okay, biased, what with my children’s media thing and PBS thing. Tbh I don’t even like documentaries that much, but this one. I wept. And we really needed this film right now.

Blindspotting I saw this at the Independent Film Festival Boston, with a Q&A with Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal afterwards, and just wow. This is an incredible tour de force. Brilliantly crafted and visceral and hilarious, too. I know a bunch of people were drawn to it because of Daveed Diggs and his Hamilton fame, but genuinely, he and Rafael Casal’s passion for this film and overwhelming talent shine through in this.

Searching Look, I love love loved Crazy Rich Asians and Asian August and Asian-American women bringing back the rom com. As an Asian-American woman, I have been waiting for so long for this to happen. But I picked Searching because as a film, Searching takes the screen footage tactic, heretofore only really used in horror films, and capitalizes on it to such amazing dramatic and emotional effect. John Cho is fantastic, of course in this very tense and very stressful film.

Black Panther I cannot believe it hasn’t even been a year since Black Panther. Can we start using the term BBP and ABP for Before and After Black Panther? I saw somewhere that Letitia Wright is the biggest box office star of the year, which is fabulous because she is fabulous (and a Disney princess!). The world-building is amazing, the action is amazing, the eye candy is amazing (Helloooooo Michael B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman and Danai Gurira and Lupita Nyong’o and...you get the point).

Ralph Breaks the Internet I spent a lot of this film marveling at how only Disney could have pulled this off, this massive ambitious bringing together of so many brands and characters and, y’know, the internet. I also enjoy that this is not a romantic love story, and it is a story about love in other ways. Loving your friends and caring for them and respecting them is so important, and dealing with insecurity is as well. This is such a smart movie, and as somebody who cares about children’s media, that is the standard to which we should aspire.

Honorable Mentions: A Quiet Place (Though of the horror films this year, Hereditary and Annihilation were also very good), Madeline’s Madeline for Helena Howard’s performance, I Tonya because um duh figure skating but does not make the list because trying to pass off Margot Robbie as teenage was laughable, Three Identical Strangers

Movies I Want to See But Haven’t Yet: Eighth Grade, Sorry to Bother You, Support the Girls, Widows, Creed II, The Hate U Give, Halloween, Burning, RBG, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Dumplin’ (My roomie’s in it!)

Movies I Should See But Haven’t Brought Myself To Care About: A Star is Born, Mission Impossible: Fallout, Mary Poppins Returns, Green Book, Love Simon, Paddington 2

2020.12.02 EDIT: I was wrong about Paddington 2. It is an incredible film.

Television

Sharp Objects I’ve read the book (and own it somewhere...) but it had been a while, so Sharp Objects did what a good mystery does - even upon a revisit, the things you don’t remember are tantalizing and the discovery of new clues and revelations keep shifting your perspective and giving it a jolt each time. Amy Adams is phenomenal in this (as she always is) and Eliza Scanlen as Amma gives a piercing performance in this.

Queer Eye All of the remakes happening incessantly is tiring and also eyeroll-inducing (it’s cliche but honestly, where are the original ideas nowadays?), but then we get something like Queer Eye. Reality TV gets a hard rap, but with Queer Eye, you get the entertainment factor and also incredibly moving emotional heft as well. Also, I genuinely wonder at how Bobby gets all that house remodeling done and he doesn’t get enough credit for it!

The Haunting of Hill House I love the Shirley Jackson story and also the original movie (I have not watched the 90′s movie and I don’t think I ever will), so my only real gripe with this show is that I wish they didn’t call it The Haunting of Hill House because it really isn’t. But what it is, is a brilliant family drama launching off of the Hill House story. It is captivating and beautiful and spooky, and also the casting of the young kids is impeccable.

Nailed It! Sometimes you just need to guffaw over people’s ridiculous failures. This show doesn’t take itself too seriously and because it embraces the silly, it’s full of heart and joy.

Élite I love foreign teen dramas. I love murder...in my television/movies. Of course I was gonna love this show. But just because it has these two elements doesn’t mean that I automatically was going to think it’s a great show (It does probably mean I would automatically enjoy it, but that’s different). Both of these genres are rife with tropes, but this show takes them and executes them in such a way that it rings true and doesn’t distract from your enjoyment.

Honorable Mention: Memories of the Alhambra only because it’s still ongoing! It’s a brilliant way of looking at technology and combining it with all the elements of a K-drama that you could want. It’s kinda like if a good episode of Black Mirror (because goodness knows that quality varies) combined with a K-drama.

Also of mention are some excellent series that continued this year. I can’t believe I didn’t watch them when they first came out, but The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Big Mouth are both so so good. Though I have strong feelings about the second season of Maisel and think the Paris bit was just an awkward flex and should have been cut, and the Catskills could have been an entire series of its own. Also, I actually saw Nick Kroll do some readings of all the characters in Big Mouth at the Vulture Festival this year!

In addition to the show-watches-from-the-beginning that I am still working through (Parks and Rec, The Wire, Gilmore Girls, Mad Men, etc.) I’ve also started watching Ugly Betty and Strong Woman Do Bong Soon from the beginning.

There are a few new shows from this year that I really have been wanting to watch but haven’t yet: Killing Eve, Kidding, Homecoming. Mostly Killing Eve for Queen Sandra Oh and also the girl from MMFD!

Okay, whew! That’s enough of that. Where do I even find the time to watch all this stuff??

#Clayray Closeout

0 notes

londontheatre · 7 years

Link

On October 22nd at the Harold Pinter Theatre, a host of stars will gather to perform scenes from Shakespeare’s plays in response to modern-day refugee video stories. The evening will be directed by Jamie Lloyd. All profits go to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

A cast including such luminaries as Bertie Carvel, Lee Evans, Martin Freeman, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Wunmi Mosaku, James Norton, Jack Whitehall, Olivia Williams & many more will join together to create a one-night-only, never-to-be-repeated gala event in support of the millions of forcibly displaced people around the world. The evening includes a special guest performance by actor Jay Abdo, himself a refugee of his native Syria.

Inspired by Shakespeare’s ‘refugee’ speech from ‘The Book of Sir Thomas More’, written as a plea for tolerance during the London riots of May 1517 (500 years ago this year), ‘Whither Would You Go?’ pairs scenes from Shakespeare, read by stars of stage and screen with genuine refugee stories from around the world.

Jamie Lloyd says ‘Whither Would You Go? uses the words of William Shakespeare to highlight our shared humanity. When we focus on what we all have in common, we can start a conversation. With more than 65m forcibly displaced people in the world – the highest levels ever recorded – we should be talking and we should be acting.‘

Stephen Fry, who participated in the inaugural event in LA said ‘Shakespeare has always been a friend to the marginalised. Who better to champion the needs of refugees worldwide?’

Olivia Williams, LA event alumni & London cast member said ‘Contributing to Whither Would You Go? is the answer to the question, ‘what can I do to help?’

‘Whither Would You Go’ is the creation of Ella Smith & Emma West, both actors & producers who wanted to harness the power of storytelling to bring tangible help to refugees. Their inaugural production took place in Los Angeles in March and sold out. Further productions are now planned for New York & Sydney.

We are now witnessing the highest levels of displacement on record. An unprecedented 65.6 million people around the world have been forced from home. Among them are nearly 22.5 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18.

Cast of WWYG LA Photo by Mark Brown

Often the first on the ground to help those forcibly displaced by conflict or persecution, UNHCR is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions. All profits from ‘Whither Would You Go?’ go directly to UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency.

Best known for his work with his eponymous theatre company (The Jamie Lloyd Company) for Trafalgar Transformed at the Trafalgar Studios, Jamie Lloyd has been credited with drawing new people to the theatre and introducing plays to a wholly diverse audience. He is a proponent for affordable theatre for young and diverse audiences and has been credited with ‘redefining West End theatre’ (Nick Curtis, Evening Standard – ‘Jamie Lloyd: The Playmaker‘). He has an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre for ‘The Pride’ at the Royal Court – and has been nominated a further four times. His production of ‘Passion’ during his associate directorship at the Donmar Warehouse won an Evening Standard award for Best Musical. He has also worked at the National Theatre, the Old Vic and in the West End.

A refugee of his native Syria, actor Jay Abdo’s career was cut short in 2011. During a trip to Beirut where he spoke to a reporter from the Los Angeles Times, Abdo spoke out against the Assad government and how they were “responsible for killings within their borders”. After returning to Syria, Abdo began to receive threats and was intimidated and criticized for his lack of patriotism. As a result, he moved to the United States in October 2011 to escape persecution. He joined his wife in Minnesota, where she was studying as a Humphrey fellow at the Fulbright Program and the couple later moved to Los Angeles so he could start acting again. After working several odd jobs, including delivering pizzas for Domino’s Pizza and driving an Uber, he finally began to land major roles again, including QUEEN OF THE DESERT with Nicole Kidman, A HOLOGRAM FOR THE KING with Tom Hanks & most recently 1ST BORN with Val Kilmer & William Baldwin.

Bertie Carvel is currently starring as Rupert Murdoch in INK at the Duke Of York’s Theatre in the West End, and on screen as Simon in the BBC’s hit drama DOCTOR FOSTER. Previously he starred in JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL, COALITION, BABYLON and as Miss Trunchbull in MATILDA, THE MUSICAL in Stratford-Upon-Avon, the West End and on Broadway (Olivier award for Best Actor in a Musical).

Over the past decade Lee Evans has received rave reviews for his West-End theatre roles including; Samuel Beckett’s ENDGAME alongside the legendary Michael Gambon, Mel Brooks’ musical THE PRODUCERS with Nathan Lane plus Harold Pinter’s THE DUMB WAITER, with Jason Isaacs – for which he received the London Theatregoers’ Choice Award – and Clive Exton’s BARKING IN ESSEX. Lee has won many accolades in the comedy world including ‘Special Contribution To Comedy’ Award at The British Comedy Awards 2011, the highly coveted ‘Perrier Award’ and the Time Out Award for Comedy. He has experienced huge success as an international film star with major starring roles in FREEZE FRAME THE MEDALLION, THE MARTINS, THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, MOUSE HUNT, THE FIFTH ELEMENT and FUNNY BONES. He has also starred in several television series and television films; DOCTOR WHO, THE DINNER PARTY and THE HISTORY OF MR. POLLY.

Currently treading the boards of London’s West End in Jeremy Herrin-directed ‘Labour of Love’ for the Michael Grandage Company, Martin Freeman was most recently seen reprising his role of ‘Dr. John Watson’ in the much anticipated fourth series of SHERLOCK on both BBC One in the UK and PBS in the US. Martin is currently filming Ryan Coogler’s sci-fi drama BLACK PANTHER, alongside Danai Gurira, Michael B. Jordan, Andy Serkis, Forest Whitaker and Lupita Nyong’o. Martin takes on the role of ‘Everett K. Ross’ in a story concerning the story of new ruler ‘T’Challa’ defending his land from being torn apart by enemies from outside and inside the kingdom of Wakanda. The film will be released in February 2018.

Prior to this, Martin was seen in Crackle’s new drama STARTUP, alongside Adam Brody and Edi Gathegi. The series TX’d in September 2016 and ran for 10 episodes. Martin will also be seen in the big screen adaptation of Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s GHOST STORIES. The thriller also stars George MacKay and Andy Nyman and is due to be released later this year. 2017 will also see Martin in the feature film adaptation of award nominated short CARGO. The post-apocalyptic thriller also stars Anthony Hayes, Caren Pistorius and Susie Porter.

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s theatre credits include: DEATH & THE KING’S HORSEMAN, ANTIGONE, EDWARD II & Guildenstern in ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD (NT 50th Anniversary show) for the National Theatre; A RESPECTABLE WEDDING, JOE TURNER’S COME & GONE, THE CHANGELING & FEAST for the Young Vic; THE LOW ROAD for the Royal Court and HAMLET for the Barbican.

His film credits include: THE DOUBLE, DOCTOR STRANGE, JUSTICE LEAGUE, PADDINGTON 2 & MARY POPPINS RETURNS. Kobna’s TV credits include the BBC’s LITTLE BRITAIN, PULLING, SILK, FATHER BROWN, CLASS, WAGSTAFFE & THE SPLIT, as well as PHONE SHOP & MIDSOMER MURDERS.

Wunmi Mosaku’s theatre credits include: Jeremy Herrin’s THE VERTICAL HOUR, Debbie Tucker Green’s TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION & Vicki Featherstone’s CYPRESS AVENUE for The Royal Court; MR. BURNS for The Almeida & TIGER COUNTRY for Hampstead Theatre.

Her film credits include: STOLEN & MY BABY for the BBC, Stephen Frears’s PHILOMENA, PAN, FANTASTIC BEASTS & WHERE TO FIND THEM, BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE & MACBETH. Wunmi’s TV credits include: SILENT WITNESS VIII, MOSES JONES, BLACKOUT & Stephen Poliakoff’s DANCING ON THE EDGE for the BBC; FATHERS & SONS, SCOTT & BAILEY & VERA II for ITV and BLACK MIRROR: PLAYTEST for Netflix.

After graduating from Cambridge University, James Norton immediately went on to study at RADA. He is a bright star in the British acting landscape which was confirmed when he was selected by Screen International to be one of their highly prestigious ‘Stars of Tomorrow’.

James can currently be seen in FLATLINERS, the reboot of the hit 1990 sci-fi horror. He stars alongside Ellen Page, Diego Luna and Nina Dobrev as the character of would-be doctor ‘Jamie’. The story follows a group of medical students who conduct near-death experiments in order to explore the afterlife. James has recently completed work on the AMC/BBC One crime drama MCMAFIA, which is anticipated to release in 2018. Written by Hossein Amini and directed by James Watkins, the story follows Alex Godmanthe, English-raised son of Russian exiles with a mafia history, who has spent his life trying to escape the shadow of that criminal past, building his own legitimate business and forging a life with his girlfriend Rebecca.

James is also set to star alongside Imogen Poots in the Donmar Warehouse’s production of BELLEVILLE, penned by Amy Herzog. Directed by Michael Longhurst, the pair play American expatriates whose marriage violently unravels when they move to Paris. Faith Alabi and Malachi Kirby round out the production, which runs from December 7th to February 3rd.

Jack Whitehall is an award-winning comedian, writer and actor. As a successful and much sought-after stand up, actor, writer and presenter, Jack has firmly established himself as one of the UK’s most exciting and successful comedy talents, a status cemented by his People’s Choice Award for the King of Comedy at the 2012, 2013 & 2014 British Comedy Awards.

2017 saw Jack film a new adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s classic novel DECLINE AND FALL for BBC2 alongside David Suchet and Eva Longoria. This autumn sees Jack co-star in a new travel series with his father, Jack Whitehall: TRAVELS WITH MY FATHER which airs on Netflix and his arena tour, JACK WHITEHALL AT LARGE will also air as a Netflix Special later this year. In addition, Jack has co-written a new series for Sky 1 – BOUNTY HUNTERS is a comedy drama and sees Jack co-starring alongside Rosie Perez and Robert Lindsey – which will air this autumn.

Olivia Williams studied English at Cambridge University before training at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Theatre credits include: For the National Theatre; Mosquitoes, Waste, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Richard II. For the RSC; Peer Gynt, The Wives’ Excuse, The Broken Heart, Wallenstein, Misha’s Party. For the West End: In a Forest Dark and Deep. Her TV credits include; Counterpart, The Halcyon, Manhattan, Salting the Battlefield, Playhouse Presents, Case Sensitive, City Hall, Dollhouse, Miss Austen Regrets, Krakatoa, Agatha Christie, Jason and the Argonauts, Friends, Emma, Van Der Valk, Ruth Rendell.

Olivia’s film credits include; Victoria and Abdul, Man Up, Altar, Maps to the Stars, Sabotage, Last Days on Mars, Seventh Son, Hyde Park on Hudson, Anna Karenina, Now is Good, Hanna, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, The Ghost Writer (ALFS award Supporting Actress, NSFC award Supporting Actress), An Education, Flashbacks of a Fool, There for Me, X-Men 3, Tara Road, Valiant, To Kill a King, The Heart of Me (British Independent Film Award, Best Actress), Below, Man from Elysian Fields, Lucky Break, Born Romantic, The Body, Dead Babies, Four Dogs Playing Poker, Sixth Sense, Rushmore, The Postman, Gaston’s War, Wesley, A Brand from the Burning.

Whither Would You Go? Sunday 22 October 7:30pm Harold Pinter Theatre Panton St, London SW1Y 4DN Tickets £50-200 Tickets http://ift.tt/2fPMzon MORE CAST ANNOUNCED SOON…

http://ift.tt/2xXDSOT LondonTheatre1.com

#IFTTT #LondonTheatre1.com

0 notes

movietvtechgeeks · 7 years

Photo

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/mariah-carey-diva-cuts-ways-plus-lionel-richie-ready-idol/

Mariah Carey diva cuts both ways plus Lionel Richie ready for Idol

Once again, superstar songstress Mariah Carey is getting called out for her infamous diva-esque behavior. According to recent reports, Mariah was supposed to do a cameo in the comedy film The House, which stars several big name actors, including Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell. However, when Mariah arrived on set, her unreasonable demands and behavior wound up getting her cut from the film altogether. While promoting the movie, which will be hitting US theaters on June 30th, several of the film’s stars have shared some details about the unbelievable experience they had “working” with Mariah on-set. Earlier last week, star Will Ferrell appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers where he revealed some of the reason Mariah was cut from the movie. Will explained, “There were suggestions that weren’t executed. [Mariah] was on our set, and, um, things happened. Things happened and didn’t happen. Let’s just put it this way: At about midnight, I got a knock on my trailer and [they said to me], ‘you can just go home. We’re not going to get to you.’” Although Will didn’t spill too much during his interview with Seth Meyers, Will’s co-star Cedric Yarbrough gave a much more in-depth depiction of what went down between Mariah and The House crew. In a Facebook post, Cedric ranted, “Okay since Will Ferrell is talking, I’ma talk-ing. Yeah, a real funny cameo was SUPPOSED to happen in the new film [The House] with the superstar Mariah Carey. But it was ruined by superstar Mariah Carey.” Cedric went on to explain, “When Mariah finally showed up [to set] she refused to match the stunt. ‘Darling, I would never do it that way…’ I heard her say those exact words. She then requested a large fan for her hair to be blown around and a camera that would be above her, basically a crane shot…this lady was unprofessional and borderline abusive to our director, who tried his best to appease her ever wish.” You can catch The House, sans Mariah Carey cameo, when it hits theaters on June 30th, 2017. With the ABC reboot of American Idol underway, the network is frantically trying to find the perfect panel of superstar judges. While they already have singer Katy Perry onboard, the production crew is reportedly eyeing crooner Lionel Richie to join on as well. According to media outlet TMZ, Lionel went in to meet with the American Idol producers earlier last week. At the meeting, they discussed the possibility of Lionel acting as a judge for the reality show reboot. Sources close to the show’s crew told TMZ that the producers very much liked Lionel’s “vibe” and think he would be a perfect fit for the show. Further, the American Idol executives reportedly think Lionel would take on the role of the “nice” judge, which leads one to believe that the next celebrity judge they bring on will have to be more of a tough, Simon Cowell-type. At this point, nothing serious has been negotiated between Lionel and the American Idol producers. However, after the ABC executives seal the deal with Ryan Seacrest, who is planned to join back as the show’s host, they are going to start looking at what dollar amount they are willing to offer to get Mr. Richie onboard. With Perry's upbeat statement and Richie - whose daughters Nicole, 35, and Sofia, 18, are celebrities themselves - known as an all-around nice guy, it was not immediately clear if the judges were looking for a brash and blunt judge in the vein of Simon Cowell, the outlet reported. The former Commodores member's potential deal remains in limbo, the outlet reported, until producers finalize their arrangement from the show's host Ryan Seacrest. The sticking point in the negotiation for Seacrest - who's agreed to a payday in the range of $10-15 million - boils down to Seacrest's request for executive producer status in addition to his on-air duties. Stay tuned for more details about the ABC reboot of American Idol! Lady Gaga, a longtime supporter of gay rights, says Pride weekend is a time to shine a light on equality. "This weekend is a time for us all to reflect on the importance of tolerance and the importance of bravery and kindness, (and) the importance of us supporting one another," the pop star said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday. The pride parade in New York City, Gaga's hometown, kicks off Sunday. The Grammy-winning performer, like Madonna, Cher, and others before her, has a strong gay fan base who credits the singer with pushing gay rights to the forefront. Gaga said she's touched to witness the "beautiful pride that I see so many of friends and the LGBTQ community have." "It's a beautiful pride that we all should be in awe of," she added. Sunday's parade in Manhattan, which starts on Fifth Avenue, ends in the West Village. Sportscaster Erin Andrews and former NHL player Jarret Stoll have tied the knot. Publicists for Andrews confirm that the 39-year-old Fox Sports sideline reporter and "Dancing with the Stars" co-host married Stoll on Saturday, his 35th birthday. People magazine first reported the nuptials. According to the magazine, the wedding was held at sunset in Montana in front of a small group of family and friends. Andrews wore a gown designed by Carolina Herrera. The couple, who started dating in 2012, got engaged in December at Disneyland. The wedding follows a rocky year for Andrews. In September 2016, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, months after winning a stalking lawsuit. She settled with two hotel companies that were found partially to blame for the stalker, who got a hotel room next to hers and posted a nude video of her on the internet. Stoll played in the NHL for 13 years, for Edmonton, Los Angeles, Minnesota and the New York Rangers. About a week ago, singer Katy Perry publicly announced that she was willing to forgive and forget all the drama between her and longtime rival Taylor Swift. Unfortunately, a recent development in the feud, outside of Katy’s control, is working against her attempt to reconcile with the 1989 artist. Back in early March, 29-year-old obsessed fan Mohammed Jaffar was arrested after being charged with stalking Taylor. Newly released documents relating to Mohammed’s arrest detail that the fan had told investigators that his stalking of Miss Swift was at the hand of Katy Perry herself. At one point in his interview, Mohammed blatantly claimed, “I’m in the music world and get people started. I do work for Katy Perry. I helped her get started.” He went on to say that he was currently working for Katy and that he had “ties with the industry.” While there is no evidence to back Mohammed’s claims that he was somehow working alongside Katy when he was obsessively stalking Taylor, his comments to his interviewers nonetheless add to the already palpable tension between Katy and Taylor. Fortunately, Mohammed is now under the watch of law enforcement, as his behavior towards Taylor was deemed unsafe. Prior to his arrest, Mohammed was accused of sneaking onto the roof of Taylor’s $20 million penthouse in New York, as well as allegedly calling her management company over 59 times, trying to reach Taylor to discuss “business deals.” While all of the media reports these days involving the Bachelor franchise are about the Bachelor in Paradise drama, there are other things going within the franchise and its alum. In fact, one couple that paired up on Bachelor in Paradise reportedly just tied the knot! According to E! Online, former Bachelor/Bachelorette contestants Evan Bass and Carly Waddell said their “I dos” this past weekend. Reports say that the duo exchanged vows at a low-key beach ceremony in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In addition, Bachelor host Chris Harrison was there to officiate the wedding. Inevitably, plenty of fellow Bachelor alumni were present for Evan and Carly’s big day. Some of the notable guests at the wedding included Kaitlyn Bristowe, Nick Viall, and Vanessa Grimaldi. Early on Saturday, Evan shared an intimate picture of him and Carly on his Instagram feed. Alongside a picture of them staring lovingly at each other, the former Bachelorette contestant captioned, “I love love.” Evan Bass, Instagram post: While they have been engaged for several months now, Carly and Evan’s lifelong commitment to their relationship still comes as a surprise to many fans. During season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise, it took quite a while for Carly to warm up to the idea that she would pair off with Evan. However, the two are now happily in love and currently live in Nashville with Evan’s three sons. First, it was Miley Cyrus, then it was Katy Perry and now its Girls creator Lena Dunham opting to chop off her locks. On Monday, Lena took to her social media account to share her latest ‘do with fans and followers. The often-controversial starlet showed off her shockingly different look, as she went for a style very similar to that of Katy Perry (think Ellen DeGeneres-esque). On her Instagram page, Lena shared a photo of her holding her chopped off hair. Alongside the photo, the star captioned, “Didn’t make it to Locks of Love length but if ya’ll are considering a cut and have a 10 in pony tail I urge you.” Lena Dunham, Instagram post: The actress also showed off a selfie of her and her new look. Jokingly she captioned the picture, “Your mom’s therapist friend she leaves your dad for.” Lena Dunham, Instagram post: Unfortunately, Lena has been struggling with health issues recently. In fact, the star was rushed off to the hospital at this year’s Met Gala. It is believed that her health scare was related to the condition endometriosis, which she has been openly battling for several years now. Seeing that we are now kicking off the summer season, Lena picked the perfect time to go for a lighter, more easily managed hair ‘do. In case you somehow missed it, Kim Kardashian has been busy on social media promoting her upcoming beauty line. The star is joining the likes of her younger sister Kylie and releasing a series of beauty products under her line “KKW Beauty.” A few days ago, Kim shared a bunch of photos from her first promotional campaign for the new cosmetic line. Unfortunately, her photos did not get the response she was hoping for from fans. In fact, the star was accused of sporting “black face,” as she was noticeably darker than usual in her promotional photos. In an attempt to defend herself and save face, Kim did an exclusive with The New York Times to kick off the week. While discussing her noticeably darker skin tone in her newly released pics, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star told the interviewer, “I would obviously never want to offend anyone. I used an amazing photographer and a team of people. I was really tan when we shot the images and it might be that the contrast was off. But I showed the image to many people, to many in the business. No one brought that to our attention. No one mentioned it.” Later in the interview, Kim went on to acknowledge her understanding of the backlash and admitted to learning from her recent “black face” controversy. The Armenian beauty noted, “Of course, I have the utmost respect for why people might feel the way they did. But we made the necessary changes to that photo and the rest of the photos. We saw the problem, and we adapted and changed right away. Definitely, I have learned from it.” Inevitably, Kim went on to post a bunch more - modified - promotional shots in anticipation of her beauty line’s upcoming release. KKW Beauty launched on June 21, 2017. After a ton of hype, Kim Kardashian West’s new beauty line, KKW Beauty, launched on Wednesday morning — and to no surprise, some shades were sold out in minutes, bringing in millions for the star. But contrary to the expectations of KarJenner beauty product fanatics (er, Kylie Cosmetics shoppers), the line was actually available — and easy to purchase — for more than just a few minutes, without the website crashing. At 12 minutes into the shopping experience, Kardashian tweeted to confirm that the medium shade was the first to sell out, as the light went next and dark and deep dark remained over an hour later. And while Kardashian’s first drop didn’t sell out nearly as quickly as her sister Kylie Jenner’s original lip kit launch, that just means Jenner’s growing pains are helping her sister out. https://twitter.com/KimKardashian/status/877572167596072961 When Jenner launched her original collection of lip kits back in 2015, the star’s products were sold out in a mere 30 seconds, with customers waiting unsuccessfully for successful access to the checkout page of their dreams. She also dealt with shipments being sent empty, and faulty brushes. But with Jenner’s continued launches, the process became smoother, with fewer sellouts, broken page, and product mishaps as she addressed the issues. Now, with the same tactics in mind, Kardashian stocked the site with 300,000 products, according to Money — enough for those who set their alarms for the 9 am PST launch — and while some customers had trouble getting onto the page, most twitter users have been sharing their KKW purchase success stories. And for those on social media speculating a sibling beauty rivalry between Kim and Kylie, they’ve supported each other all along. Case in point: Kylie’s lip kit collaboration with Kim was, in fact, a preview of KKW Beauty. The products all included the title “KKW By Kylie Cosmetics,” written in Kim’s new signature font, and they were all packaged in her dusty rose aesthetic to match the line.

Movie TV Tech Geeks News

#Erin Andrews #Featured #Katy Perry #Lady Gaga #Lena Dunham #Lionel Richie #Mariah Carey

0 notes

meralee727 · 7 years

Text

Yesterday, Jethro Nededog wrote this article for the Business Insider about eighteen shows which are in danger of being canceled:

http://www.businessinsider.com/tv-shows-getting-canceled-2017-4/#the-odd-couple-cbs-1

Now, of the shows he listed, I don’t really watch like sixteen of them. I tried watching Blacklist once and fell asleep and then just forgot about watching it completely. I didn’t watch the Blacklist Redemption one, either. I’ve never heard of Making History or Powerless or the Agent Shield Marvel show. I never watched Code: Black, Ransom, Sleepy Hollow, Blindspot, Elementary, Pure Genius, Quantico, Training Day, or Rosewood. I didn’t even know there was a Criminal Minds spinoff and I kept meaning to watch American Crime but totally forgot. So for the most part, I’m fine. I’ll get through the pain and heartache. I don’t think I will be missing those shows at all.

The two that make me a little sad are the two that I will focus on. For more information about the other shows, click on the link above and then you can go through your own feelings of sadness and write about it.

New Girl

The show which began in 2011, left the void in my obsession filled heart that had been left there by Friends. New Girl was Friends if they all lived in one loft apartment. It starred Zooey Deschanel as a quirky, fun girl named, Jessica Day and even the name was just perfect. She moves into a loft with the most amazing cast which included Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, Lamorne Morris and Hannah Simone, They gave us memorable storylines, laughs, and tears and quotes that still bring smiles. We wanted to live in that loft. We wanted to have drinks with Nick in his bar. We understood the bond between Winston and his cat. Throughout the seasons, there was also the on-again-off-again/will they or won’t they saga between Jess (Deschanel) and Nick (Johnson) which in many ways, played so much better than the Ross/Rachel story ever did.

Nick was grumpy, funny, weirdly wise yet simple. Jess was an overly optimistic school principal who by the way made running a school look surprisingly easy considering she was never there, but we won’t get into that. The point is that Nick and Jess did the on again-off again plot that has been a mainstay in every show since the beginning of time incredibly well. You did root for them. They were the very definition opposites attract. Where Ross could be very controlling and possessive, Nick and Jess were sweet and innocent.

Nick and Jess though weren’t the only couple to root for, there was CeCe (Simone) and Schmidt (Greenfield) and Winston (Morris) and Aly, played by Nasim Pedrad who joined the show in 2015. CeCe and Schmidt eventually married and by the most recent episode were expecting a baby, Winston and Aly got engaged and Nick and Jess ended that final episode making out in an elevator. Much like how Friends ended because the six characters were now all officially in the next stage of their lives, the stage where families are starting to be formed, it seems that Jess, Nick, CeCe, Schmidt, Winston, and Aly are all in that next stage. While it would be strange to see them all living together next season and Schmidt and CeCe now have their own home…..

…..I’m not ready to say goodbye.

I still want one more season. One more round of True American. I want to see CeCe and Schmidt starting their family. I want to see a wedding for Aly and Winston. I want to see Nick and Jess figuring themselves out without constant input from the others. I think they have a season left. There are stories and I do hope to see them. The goodbye of the last episode didn’t feel final. It’s not really a series finale. It felt like a season finale. It kind of reminded me of the last episode of Gilmore Girls back in 2007. It was a nice ending but it wasn’t a series finale. New Girl has always reminded me of Friends and just like they got a goodbye and Gilmore Girls did eventually get their goodbye, I think New Girl deserves the same treatment.

The Odd Couple

While this show has never been a ratings juggernaut and was always close to the chopping block, I always held out hope that it would keep going, giving Matthew Perry another long-running series to add to his resume. Since Friends ended in 2004, he’s had a string of one-season shows. There was the severely underrated and should have had a second season, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, there was a show he created, Mr. Sunshine and another show that really should have been given a chance to grow, Go On. Finally, he seemed to have a hit with The Odd Couple.

The Odd Couple was a remake for those who don’t know of the Neil Simon classic. What made this different wasn’t just Matthew Perry as Oscar. Yes, his fanbase drew people in but the rest of the cast kept them there. Thomas Lennon, Yvette Nicole Brown, Lindsay Sloan, and Wendall Pierce held their own and it became an ensemble show which was not true of the original. Lennon was the perfect Felix for Perry’s Oscar and Brown, Sloan and Pierce were far from supporting. It was a cute show, funny, sweet, and the actors were and are likable. Was it a deep show? No. Not entirely. It wasn’t meant to be. Garry Marshall had been the one to first develop The Odd Couple into a television series back in 1970 and this current reincarnation stuck to the Marshall legacy. It more than upheld it. No sex. No drugs. No rock and roll. Well, maybe some rock and roll but not a lot. It will be sad to see this one go, if only because it will be sad to not see those actors on my screen every week.

Now, unlike New Girl where it can go either way, it doesn’t look too good for The Odd Couple as Matthew Perry tweeted this:

Seems a little harsh, by the way. It feels like the Hollywood version of ghosting. I also am curious how he found that out. Did someone text him a picture? Was he there while they were painting? It just sounds cruel and it can’t be good news. I do have to give credit to Yvette Nicole Brown for her optimism:

I love this so much! I hope she’s right and if she is well….’cause the CBS Radford Studios are super close to Laurel Tavern and the home of some really good burgers, if they do get picked up…..I hope they go celebrate with burgers and if they don’t, well they really should have the burgers ’cause they’re good. Also, if you need someone to follow on Twitter, I suggest following Yvette Nicole Brown. Her tweets are the best of just all the things. Oh, and as an educator, I will always applaud her for her dedication to teachers and also her optimism.

So my final thoughts….while the fate is up in the air for New Girl and The Odd Couple’s fate may already be sealed, my apologies to Yvette Nicole Brown, no matter what happens, I will definitely miss those two shows. Were they perfect? No. Were there times where I went, “wait, what?” Yeah but I also do that a lot…..both of these shows hit what they needed to hit. They were wildly different yet were both wildly entertaining in their own ways. We need both.

Two Shows I Watch Are Probably Getting Canceled and I Have the Sadness Yesterday, Jethro Nededog wrote this article for the Business Insider about eighteen shows which are in danger of being canceled:

0 notes