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haus-seeblick · 3 years

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Suptober Day 6: “Who Brings a Gun to a Cemetery?”

For Day 6: Cemetery Boys

Rating: General Audiences; Ship: Pre-Destiel; WC: 3,219

POV Outsider (Original Male Character); full tags on AO3 or below the cut.

Summary: Jerry Wallace has seen a lot of satanic rituals. A lot. Candles and daggers, pentagrams, hoods and chanting; you name it, he’s seen it. As the head of security — and only guard — of Sullivan Cemetery, he’s bound to have run into the occasional devil worshipper. It doesn’t even faze him anymore. There’s not much Jerry Wallace hasn’t seen.

In which: Jerry Wallace encounters Dean Winchester, supposed Satanist.

On AO3 Here (or read under the cut!)

Full Tags: POV Outsider, This poor cemetery guard doesn't know what to do about Dean Winchester, Dean seems insane, BAMF Castiel, Early Seasons Dean and Cas, Pre-Relationship Dean and Cas, Pre-Friendship Dean and Cas, somehow they still manage to flirt though, POV Character is briefly threatened by Dean Winchester but it all ends OK,Humor

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Jerry Wallace has seen a lot of satanic rituals. A Iot. Candles and daggers, pentagrams, hoods and chanting; you name it, he’s seen it. As the head of security — and only guard — of Sullivan Cemetery, he’s bound to have run into the occasional devil worshipper (and worse. People dig up graves for really unsavory reasons). It doesn’t even faze him anymore. There’s not much Jerry Wallace hasn’t seen.

But tonight, as he sweeps his flashlight back and forth across the dewy grass, making his rounds and sipping on his steaming coffee, something stops him short. He narrows his eyes and cocks his head to listen. There’s a scuffling sound up ahead, from just outside the Bennett mausoleum. It sounds too big to be any of the usual animals. Humans, then. Jerry sighs. He was hoping for a quiet night, so he could make himself comfortable under the lamp at the cemetery entrance and read the book his teenage son, Andrew, had lent him. Cemetery Boys, it’s called. Jerry finds it fitting.

A man’s rough voice rings out from around the corner of the mausoleum. “Dammit, Sam, you can’t give me any hints?”

Jerry blinks at the audacity. Who sneaks into a cemetery at night and doesn’t even try to be quiet about it? He decides to give these particular satanists a little scare, just to teach them a lesson. He switches off his flashlight and gently sets his precious cup of coffee on top of the nearest headstone. Time to have some fun.

He sneaks on silent feet across the grass, clutching his flashlight tight in hand and deciding which tactic he wants to use. The reliable old jump scare? Flashlight beam to the face and an earsplitting yell — it’s worked well on thrill-seeking teenagers in the past. Or the more tricky option, creeping around and making ghostly sounds to unnerve the trespassers so thoroughly that they leave? More time investment, but also more amusing in the long run — Jerry decides on Option Two.

The wall of the mausoleum gives him excellent cover to start his performance. He sidles up along it, to the very edge. The intruders are just around the corner, and it sounds like one of them’s rummaging around in a bag of some sort. Jerry rolls his eyes. Probably some weirdos with spray paint, here to deface the walls of the mausoleum with symbols that take ages to wash off. Jerry opens his mouth and is about to emit his first long, ghostly moan, when the same voice as before pipes up again.

“Picking the lock didn’t work, Sam, I’m telling you, it’s gonna take longer. You gotta hold her off.”

The other person — Sam — doesn’t reply, though. Jerry furrows his brow. Who’s being held off? He decides to get a better picture of the scene before initiating his plan. Very slowly, he pokes just the right side of his face around the corner. The front of the small white building is washed in moonlight, the nearest lamp a ways down the path.

There’s a man crouched outside the mausoleum, maybe in his late twenties, from what Jerry can tell in the low light. He’s wearing an oversized leather jacket over a patterned shirt, with jeans and sturdy-looking boots. His short hair is spiked a bit in the front.

He doesn’t look like a satanist. Jerry stays very still, breathing shallowly and watching.

The man has both hands in a medium-sized duffel bag, rooting around. The contents of the bag are clanging and thudding. With a triumphant exhale, the man stands up, crowbar in hand. Jerry balks. This is already a step beyond chanting and spray paint. Again, nothing he hasn’t seen before, though.

What Jerry couldn’t see while the man was crouched, that now makes itself clear, is that he has a mobile phone pressed between his shoulder and ear. As the man advances on the door with the crowbar, he barks into the phone, “Update, Sammy. You still kicking?”

Jerry can’t make out Sam’s muffled response, but it obviously displeases the man, because he whacks the crowbar against the mausoleum door with a frustrated growl. “Watch your back. Figure out what the hell I’m supposed to burn!” He flips the phone shut and stuffs it into his jacket pocket.

This is getting stranger and stranger. Jerry watches as the man goes to town on the mausoleum door, an offense that Jerry would usually be more inclined to stop from happening. Something about this man, though, about the way he carries himself and the way he talks, is holding Jerry back.

He’s very glad about his decision to stay put about ten seconds later, when the man drops the crowbar to the ground with a clang and pulls a gun out of his jacket. Jerry doesn’t even carry a gun. His heart starts beating and his palms prickle with sweat. He didn’t sign up for this. Who brings a gun to a cemetery?

The man steps back a couple feet, points the handgun at the lock, hunches his shoulders, and fires. Jerry barely has the wherewithal to throw himself back around the corner and press his hands over his ears before the shot goes off. He feels it reverberate through the wall, twice, as the man fires again. Fully out of sight now, Jerry gingerly lowers the zipper on his jacket and reaches into his chest pocket for his radio. He needs to call this in. This is way above his pay grade.

“Dammit!” the man yells. The gun must’ve been ineffective. Jerry mentally pats himself on the shoulder. He requested upgrades to all mausoleum locks after a series of break ins last year, and it looks like the security company came through.

Jerry hears the keypad of the mobile phone beeping as the man punches in a number, then there’s muffled ringing. Jerry uses the sound as cover to pull his radio out and to inch his face around the corner again so he has a visual of the scene.

The man’s phone rings and rings. With another frustrated yell, the man slaps it shut and paces back and forth in front of the door, one hand running through his hair, the other still holding his gun. After a few moments, he stops in his tracks. He’s facing Jerry’s direction, silvery moonlight throwing his cheekbones in sharp relief. He looks like a respectable young man, really. Jerry wonders where he lost his way.

There’s a set of complicated emotions working their way across the man’s face. His eyebrows are pinched in concentration, eyes squeezed shut, lips moving as if he’s talking to himself. This lasts about ten seconds before he throws up his hands and glares at the sky.

“Oh, come on!” he shouts. “Get your harp-toting ass down here! Castiel!”

Jerry, who prides himself on never swearing, thinks: What the fuck.

The man is obviously disturbed. He needs a doctor. Jerry glances down at the radio in his hand, and presses the emergency button. He can’t afford a conversation with dispatch; the man will overhear. This will at least get someone out here.

When Jerry looks back up, he twitches. There are now two men in front of the mausoleum. The newcomer is wearing a long trenchcoat and standing stiffly. He’s facing away from Jerry, looking at the gunman, sensible shoes planted hip-width apart. His messy dark hair blends into the shadows.

Where on earth did he come from? Jerry darts his eyes around. The mausoleum is on a slightly raised part of the cemetery, visibility clear in all directions. Even if the trenchcoat man had approached from the opposite side of the building, Jerry would have seen him.

“Cas,” the gunman says, voice heavy with something like — relief, perhaps? His tense posture relaxes slightly and he claps the trenchcoat man on the shoulder. “You took your time,” he accuses. “Can you open those doors?”

The trenchcoat man, Cas — is this Castiel? Jerry cannot keep up — turns slightly to regard the doors.

“This is why you prayed to me?” Cas’ voice is deeper than the gunman’s, rougher. He speaks like a robot. “Heaven is at war, Dean. You call me to help you break down a door?”

Jerry’s brain is spinning. Are these… actors? Cosplayers? He learned about cosplayers from Andrew. Some of them do have very elaborate costumes. Jerry squints at Cas’ back. This doesn’t look like a costume, though. Cas looks like a tax accountant. Like he should be at home with his family at this time of night.

“Sam’s in trouble,” Dean’s saying, an ever-so-slight pleading edge to the words. “I gotta get in here, Cas, or he’s gonna meet a real bad end. I know you’ve got the mojo, come on!”

“I do not exist to do your bidding,” Cas replies. He strides over to the doors, though, trenchcoat flapping around his calves. “I do not serve you.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re a warrior.” Dean’s hovering at Cas’ shoulder. “Can you blast ‘em?”

Cas lays a hand on the doors, long fingers splayed against the metal. Jerry glances down at his radio again. The red button is flashing, indicating that he’d called for help, but he can’t hear any sirens yet. He hopes they send enough officers for two grave-desecrating weirdos.

“Stand back,” Cas says. “And tell the man behind the wall to stand back, too.”

“What?” Dean’s head whips around.

Jerry hastily pulls his head out of sight, heart racing. Oh, no. He’s seen enough. He can ID these two for the cops later. He doesn’t need to be on the scene.

He turns heel to run, but makes it only two steps before a hand grabs his collar and yanks him back. The air is knocked out of him and he yelps, feet scrabbling on the pavement as a strong arm drags him around the corner. He lands on his butt in front of the doors, palms scraping on the ground. He quickly raises one over his head in surrender.

“Please— please, I have a family!” He keeps his eyes averted. Dean’s boots are inches away from his legs. “Don’t hurt me, I won’t say a word, I promise!”

“You the guard?” Dean crouches down in front of him. Oh, lord, the gun is trained on Jerry’s face. He whimpers and nods.

“Great. Give me the keys to the doors. Stat.” A palm appears in front of Jerry’s chest, held out in expectation. He hesitates. Isn’t that aiding and abetting?

No way. He’s at gunpoint. He nods again, fervently, and fumbles in his pocket for his ring of keys. His hand shakes violently as he drops them onto Dean’s outstretched palm. He sneaks a peek up at the men.

“Cas,” Dean says, tossing the keys to the trenchcoat man. “Figure out which one it is. I’ll deal with him.”

Cas catches the keys. “So, you do not want me to break the doors?”

“No— just—” Dean closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, lips pressed together. “Just unlock them.” Cas scowls, but begins slotting the various keys into the mausoleum lock.

Dean turns back to Jerry and waves a hand in front of his face. “Hey,” he snaps. Jerry meets his eyes, conscious that he must look utterly terrified. He hopes it’ll appeal to any sense of humanity in this gun-toting lunatic.

“Whatever you think I am, I’m not,” Dean says, quickly and gruffly. “I’m not some pervert tryin’ to get my rocks off with Sleeping Beauty in there. I haven’t got time to ease you in slow, so here it is: ghosts are real. There’s one after my brother. I can gank it, but I gotta burn some hair or somethin’, something keepin’ it here. That’s all. Once Cas opens the doors, I’ll be in and out. We don’t have to get nasty. I’m even saving your doors from gettin’ blasted, as a favor. ”

Jerry picks and chooses what to process of that. “You have a gun pointed at me.”

Dean glances at the gun, like he’s just now realizing he still has it trained on Jerry. He lowers it. “Sorry. Had to let you know I’m serious. You gonna let me do my thing, or we gonna have a problem?”

The police will be here soon, Jerry thinks. It’s not my responsibility to stop this maniac.

“No problem,” he says. Dean nods once, satisfied, and in that moment, the lock clicks. The doors swing open heavily. Dean springs to his feet and races toward the mausoleum.

“Awesome, Cas!” he shouts, slapping a palm against Cas’ chest as he passes. Cas looks after him, a bemused expression on his face.

“I don’t know what to burn!” Dean hollers from inside.

Jerry is so far past trying to understand any of this. He nurses his scraped palms, huddling on the cold pavement and thinking of the book Andrew gave him. He wanted to finish a few chapters tonight so they could talk about them over breakfast tomorrow. He hopes he gets the chance.

Jerry is tough, but his eyes sting a little as he thinks about it.

“Dean is a good man,” Cas suddenly says, in that mechanical way of his. “Righteous. He won’t harm a human.”

Jerry stares at him in disbelief. There’s nothing he can say to that, beyond “Okay.” Cas just nods, and turns to gaze into the darkness of the mausoleum. There’s a lot of scraping and clattering echoing from the room inside, as if Dean is dismantling the place. He probably is, Jerry thinks miserably as the sound of breaking glass reaches his ears.

Dean comes storming back out of the room, assorted items piled in his arms. Jerry recognizes the doll that’s usually propped up behind the glass of the Bennett daughter’s crypt, and a locket that hangs behind the mother’s. A whole array of other personal effects that Jerry spends his nights guarding also end up on the pavement at Dean’s feet. Dean dives into his duffel bag, pulling out a can of gasoline. He douses the whole pile in the acrid-smelling stuff — Jerry’s nostrils sting and he coughs, scrabbling a little farther away. Dean pulls a lighter out of pocket and flicks it several times, cursing when it doesn’t ignite.

“Allow me,” Cas says, stepping forward. He pauses. “Close your eyes.”

Jerry throws an arm over his eyes without a second thought, just catching sight of Dean doing the same. His jacket sleeve does very little, though, to shield his eyes from the brilliant blue-white light that rips through the darkness. It feels like a bonfire, there one moment and gone the next, leaving the tips of Jerry’s hair singed. He cowers, eyes pressed shut, heaving huge breaths.

“Damn, Cas,” Dean says, voice tinged with awe. “Thanks for the assist.”

Jerry lowers his (slightly smoking) arm and peers at where the pile of belongings once lay. It’s completely gone, reduced to ash, just smoldering dust on the pavement. How on Earth—

In that moment, Dean’s mobile phone rings. He frantically plunges a hand into his jacket and rips it out, flipping it open.

“Sammy?” he asks sharply, pressing the phone to his ear. The voice on the other end mumbles something and Dean sags in relief, dragging a hand over his face. “Close call, huh? Yeah, glad it worked.”

Jerry tunes out the rest of Dean and Sam’s conversation. His eyes travel from the smoking pile of dust, to Cas (who’s standing motionless, staring at Dean), to the open mausoleum door, to his own hands, trembling in his lap. A light catches his eye off to the side and he follows it, realizing it’s his radio, abandoned on the pavement, red emergency light still blinking steadily. He gazes at it like a lifeline.

“Is that— Did you—” Dean’s voice is suddenly closer, right next to Jerry, and he quickly looks up. Dean’s looking at the radio, too. His phone is closed in his hand; he must be done talking to his brother.

“The cops coming?” Dean demands, gesturing at the radio. Jerry doesn’t want to let on, he doesn’t, but faced with this strange, complicated, definitely violent person, he can’t hold out. He nods.

“Dammit,” Dean mutters. Just then, the first siren wails in the distance, growing louder by the second.

Finally.

Dean groans and rushes over to his duffel bag, throwing the can of gasoline back in and grabbing the crowbar off the ground to toss that in, too. “Leave the keys, Cas,” he snaps at the trenchcoat man, who still has Jerry’s key ring dangling from his fingers. Cas drops the keys on the ground.

“Can you zap me to my car?” Dean hoists the duffel over his shoulder and faces Cas. “I won’t make it if I run.”

Cas steps closer to Dean, until he’s right in front of him. Their noses are just a few inches apart. Jerry, with nothing else to do but wait for his rescuers, watches them. Dean takes what looks like a shaky breath. His eyes flick down to Cas’ mouth. “You gonna stare, or you gonna help?” he asks, but it comes out small, a weak attempt at bravado.

Cas reaches out and places his hand over Dean’s left shoulder. “I’ll go with you,” he says, deep and measured, and in the next second, they’re gone. Just gone.

Jerry could swear he heard the flapping of wings. He sits there, numb, staring at the spot where they vanished.

Eventually, the yellow beams of flashlights dart across the front of the mausoleum and voices break through the fog in Jerry’s brain. A hand lands on his shoulder. “Sir, are you all right?”

He’s saved.

There’s a lot of questions from the responding officers, a lot of Jerry having to recount what he saw, picking and choosing details — which of course renders his story utterly implausible — and a lot of nobody believing him; there’s a breathalizer test — humiliating — that of course comes back clean (whether that’s better or worse for him, Jerry’s not so sure), and a round of paperwork, and finally, finally, Jerry is allowed to go.

He stumbles down the cemetery path in a daze, passing his long-cold cup of coffee, still perched on its headstone. He snags it and throws it away in the trash can at the cemetery gates. The officers said they would lock the mausoleum and the security station; Jerry was supposed to go home. He stops briefly at his station, though, to grab Andrew’s book.

He’s not quite ready to go home yet. He’s not sure what to say.

Jerry makes himself comfortable in the front seat of his car, overhead light on, and cracks open his book. He starts to read.

#suptober21 #this was fun to write #have some silliness #i enjoy imagining what regular citizens think of the winchesters #poor jerry #he's just doing his job #early seasons destiel #pre-destiel #fanfic #ficlet

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tiramisiyu · 3 years

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【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: “Romantic Rail Getaway” Xia Yan Route, Day 4

Translation Masterlist | Event Masterlist

Xia Yan Route: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

Videos, where applicable, are hyperlinked on the headings in the post.

See under cut!

Part 1: Mine Landscape Area - “Search for the Mine”

Mine Pit Flower Field

The train stopped near Kuru Mine, but the path up the mountain wasn’t as easy as we imagined.

We kept walking, winding around near the mine pit flower field behind the mine. The more we proceeded, the more we gradually drifted from the original sightseeing route.

Xia Yan: … The road here is a little complicated.

MC: What’s the matter, did a problem come up?

Xia Yan: I originally wanted to wind past the mine’s main entrance and see from the side if we could get in the mine…

Xia Yan: From the looks of it now, this road is much farther than I imagined. Plus, mountain navigation like this isn’t very easy to use.

MC: How about we rest first to conserve on stamina, and then afterwards, we can keep searching for another path?

Xia Yan: Mhmm, let’s rest first.

Just as we were planning to sit on the grass field and rest… right at that time…

???: Why hasn’t daddy returned yet? Seriously… it’s like this every time.

The voice of a little boy caught our attention.

I turned around, noticing a little boy in the grass, holding a grass-woven ball, boredly bouncing it back and forth.

MC: What’s the matter, little friend?

Little Boy: I’m waiting for daddy. Why’s daddy still down the mountain… he promised that he would get off work and play with me…

Little Boy: Wah, I haven’t seen him in so long.

Xia Yan and I looked at each other, feeling like we’d found a problem breakthrough point.

INTERROGATION START

Father’s Identity

MC: Little friend, does your daddy work at the mine? What’s he named?

MC: In a moment, me and this big brother are going to play at the mine, and we might be able to run into your dad.

Little Boy: My daddy’s called Mark. He’s a really great miner.

Little Boy: Lots and lots of pretty rocks were dug up by daddy. Daddy always says that those stones are worth a lot of money.

Little Boy: I don’t know why, but daddy hasn’t been home in several days already.

Little Boy: Compared to pretty rocks, I like daddy more…

This kid’s dad is Mark?!

For a moment, I didn’t know what to say, freezing in a daze where I stood.

Xia Yan gently patted my shoulder, then kept asking for me.

Work Times

Xia Yan: Is your dad typically always busy?

Little Boy: Mhmm, daddy’s always been very busy…

Little Boy: Every day, he works until really late at the mine. Sometimes, he won’t come home for several days in a row.

Little Boy: But today is my birthday, and daddy promised that he would come home and be with me… why hasn’t he appeared yet…

Mine Location

Xia Yan: Right, do you know how to get to your dad’s mine?

Little Boy: I do – there’s a little road behind here, right?

Little Boy: If you walk up this road, you’ll get to the mine’s back door.

Little Boy: It’s just that daddy didn’t allow me to go to the mine to look for him… so I can only wait for him here.

MC: (So there was a little road like this! If this kid didn’t say, we really wouldn’t have noticed.)

MC: (Good thing we asked, or else we’d have to walk through a lot more worthless roads.)

INTERROGATION COMPLETE

Little Boy: Wah… daddy…

MC: Don’t worry, when we head down to the mine in a moment, we’ll definitely help you ask about where your dad is.

Little Boy: For real? Big sister, you’re not lying, are you?

MC: Of course I’m not, I promise.

Xia Yan: Relax, big brother promises that, if we see your dad, we’ll definitely let him know to return home fast.

Little Boy: Mhmm, big brother, big sister, you two really are great! Then I’ll be here, waiting for daddy to come home.

The boy smiled naively and innocently. All there was on his face was a smile of yearning and hope.

We walked for a long way down the little road, until the little boy’s silhouette disappeared. My heart still felt heavy.

MC: Xia Yan, we have to find information about Mark.

Xia Yan held my hand, the warmth of his palm transmitting gradually into my hand.

Xia Yan: Mhmm, we will find it.

I unconsciously held Xia Yan’s hand tight, like I was holding onto a power that could bring me stability and tranquility.

Part 2: Kuru Leisure Area

[Gameplay]

Part 3: Mine Observation Deck

[Gameplay]

Part 4: Kuru Mine Area - “Visiting the Mine”

Following that road that the little boy talked about, we smoothly entered the inside of Kuru Mine from the back door.

The mine was full of bustle. Each person looked like robots fixed on conveyor belts, numbly and repeatedly working.

When they found out about our arrival, most of the miners’ faces had numb expressions.

But there was also a small portion of people who eagerly explained everything that had happened here to us quietly.

Miner A: If it weren’t to support my family, I really couldn’t endure this for a day.

Miner B: Typically, aside from work, we work. We really live with way too much oppression.

Miner A: About the Mark thing, who doesn’t know about it? But how would we dare talk about it towards the outside?

Miner A: Yeah, if we talked about it, then our wages are going to be even more impossible to receive.

Miner A: You guys don’t know – ever since after Mark’s accident, they’ve dispatched people to watch us every day.

Miner B: Exactly. A few days ago, wasn’t Jerry brought back… ugh.

Maybe it was that they typically had very few chances like this to speak their mind, but gradually… more and more miners joined in.

The miners popped in with their own words, breaking down the various sorts of unfairness they typically encountered.

I recorded every useful word of information that they said in detail. Right then, a person ran furiously over to us.

Miner Boss: Who let you two in?! Get out!

[Gameplay]

MC: We’ve already obtained solid evidence on the mine’s breaking of laws. Give it up.

Miner Boss: Hmph, so what? Here, what I say goes.

Xia Yan: That might not be the case. Don’t struggle – the more you do things that you should feel guilty for, the more likely it is to be noticed at some point.

Xia Yan: The things that have occurred in the mine, the circumstances that the miners have reacted to – I’ve already told the police before you appeared.

Xia Yan waved his phone. The phone screen displayed the call records with the local police, the timing of which was 10 minutes before.

Xia Yan: The police will be here immediately. Next up, just wait to explain to the police.

The miner boss’s complexion blanched all at once.

Ten minutes later, the police took the miner boss away, and promised to everyone that they would solve the problems very quickly.

The miners basically didn’t dare believe everything that had happened in front of their eyes. Only until after the silhouettes of the police disappeared did they crowd around again.

Miner A: Oh my god, is this for real? J-just now, when the police said that they’d dispatch people to supervise our mine?

Miner B: … I must be dreaming. They even said they’d take charge of recovering the wages that the mine deducted for us?!

MC: It’s real, don’t worry.

Miner B: I didn’t think we could… could wait until this day. It simply is just like I’m dreaming.

Miner A: Thank you. Seriously, thank you so much.

Xia Yan: No problem, all of this is something we should be doing.

MC: Right, I’ve still got some questions that I’m not too clear on… if it’s convenient, could we chat a little longer?

Miner A: Of course! Ask me, I’ll tell you everything I know.

INTERROGATION START

Mark’s Personality

MC: What kind of person was Mark typically?

Miner A: About that, Mark had a bit of a temper, but he really was a very good person.

Miner A: There was a time before when I couldn’t finish my work, and it was Mark who helped me do it.

Miner A: Ugh… I really hope he’s alright.

MC: Don’t worry too much, I’m sure that he’s alright.

Location of Disappearance

MC: Where is the cliff that Mark disappeared at located?

Miner A: It’s right near the newly-opened gem deposit behind the mine.

Miner A: After the incident happened that day, Mark jumped straight off the cliff, and we didn’t hold him back…

Xia Yan: Hmm, let’s go look around near the cliff in a moment, then?

MC: Mhmm, we might be able to find some clues.

Aftermath Information

MC: Have you all searched for Mark afterwards?

Miner A: We did search. We searched at the bottom of the cliff for a very long time, but we never found him.

Miner A: Ugh… don’t know how he’s doing.

Miner A: Because the mine watched us strictly before, we also had no way of running to far-off places to search.

Miner A: Logically speaking, the cliff he jumped off isn’t very high, and there’s a river in the canyon, so there shouldn’t be any danger…

MC: (That being so, it’s very likely that Mark is still alive.)

INTERROGATION COMPLETE

Miner A: Do you two have any other questions?

MC: None more. I’ve basically got an understanding on the Mark issue, thank you.

Not long after, the local police returned to the mine again, requesting that the miners cooperate with evidence-obtaining investigation.

If their complaints turned out to be true, the mine would pay the price for its unscrupulous conduct.

All the hard work would be worth it.

Part 5: Mine Pit Flower Field

[Gameplay]

Part 6: Warmth of the Palms

Mine Pit Flower Field

The information that Xia Yan and I collected became the most beneficial evidence to knock down the unscrupulous mine.

The local police took action quickly, closing down the gem mine, and arranging for the miners to work temporarily at the mine supervised by the local government.

We finally received results from a day of running around. Only right then did I truly have the heart to sit down and enjoy the scenery of Kuru Mine.

MC: It’s so tranquil… I hope the Kuru Mine crisis can also truly calm down.

Xia Yan: The local working departments have already intervened. I’m sure that the circumstances will improve quickly.

MC: Speaking of which, the difference between the rich and the poor really is huge here in Tambuyani. The capital Xiangya City has artificial beaches and commerce streets…

MC: But here there are only some thatched huts, earth fields, and the poor who worry for their livelihoods.

Xia Yan: At Tambuyani, the industry for natural resources like diamonds, coal, gold, and gemstones is indeed very developed…

Xia Yan stroked his chin with his fingers, seeming like he was organizing his language.

Xia Yan: But the local business development is really slow. It’s not enough to support the entire country’s economic system.

Xia Yan: The gem-mining sector isn’t complicated. Just some labor work from those in the primes of their lives can deal with it.

Xia Yan: Thus, the remunerations earned by the workers are relatively low, while the money-earning sectors like jewelry design, sales, et cetera, are controlled by a small portion of people.

Xia Yan: This way, the earned profits will forever circulate only within a little, closed circle.

Xia Yan: Like a vicious circle enveloped by a bubble. The rich in the circle get richer and richer, and the poor outside the circle get poorer and poor.

MC: This time counts as us poking a little hole in the bubble, right?

Xia Yan: Mhmm, I’m sure that one day, the bubble will disappear.

If there is no one who takes the initiative to raise the bonfire, penetrating the long night with light, the darkness will always exist.

Hopefully, Xia Yan and I had inadvertently lifted a torch… lighting the way forward for travelers.

MC: It’s just a pity that the whereabouts of the miner Mark and the golden gem are unknown… I feel like your commission this time might not be completable this time.

Xia Yan: That businessman just wanted to recover his payment. I just asked the police – they will urge the people in charge at the mine to return the payment as soon as possible.

Xia Yan: About Mark… I do have an idea about it…

Hearing Xia Yan say this, I knew that he definitely had thought of some plan.

MC: What, what? Tell me quick!

Xia Yan: Isn’t there a river at the bottom of Kuru Mine?

Xia Yan: The distance of the mine and the riverbed is about 10 metres… the riverbed is very wide and the water flow is rapid.

Xia Yan: Mark might have been injured when he fell, but he probably doesn’t have any major life-threatening injuries.

Xia Yan: I’m guessing that he was carried along the river all the way downstream. We can go see the downstream area – maybe we’ll notice something.

The downstream area of Kuru Mine’s canyon river…

MC: Isn’t that the Delai River Canyon we’re going to tomorrow?!

Xia Yan: Mhmm, so I want to go to the canyon tomorrow to search.

MC: I’m going to pray – I hope that tomorrow…

Xia Yan: Wait a bit.

Xia Yan folded a flower blossom – one where I didn’t know the name of, but it bloomed extremely splendidly. He wrapped the flower stem on my wrist, fastening it into a bracelet.

MC: Hmm?

Xia Yan: Try the wish-making method of the Tambuyani indigenous people.

Xia Yan: Wrap a flower with tenacious vitality on your wrist, then speak your wish to it…

Xia Yan: And then your heart’s wish will receive the god of flowers’ blessing. No matter how many hindrances you encounter, it will successfully come true at the end!

As he spoke, Xia Yan held up my hand solemnly. The slight warmth from the overlap of his pair of hands transmitted into my heart…

Xia Yan: It’s done, make your wish!

MC: I hope that there will be good news tomorrow. Um… and…

MC: (I hope that Xia Yan and I can be together every day, and be happy every day!)

Xia Yan: And what?

MC: Nothing – it’s a heart’s wish, after all… if I say all of it, it might not come true!

I picked a flower stem and wrapped it on his wrist, smoothly tuning away the topic.

MC: How about you make a wish too?

The fingers he held my hand with became somewhat stronger.

Xia Yan: I hope… all your heart’s wishes will come true.

Xia Yan’s voice was gentle and sincere, like a breeze that brushed past the flower petals in the night, softly melting in my heart.

MC: T-this doesn’t count. What about your own wish…

Xia Yan: It counts. This is my wish.

The solemn voice tapped on my heart, and the warmth of the overlapping hands made me forget the flower bracelet knotted on my wrist.

The wish made to the flower god was just a formality. The warmth transmitted from Xia Yan’s fingertips was the true power that made me feel at peace.

MC: Xia Yan…

Xia Yan: Mhmm, I’m here.

Yes, because Xia Yan was here, I wouldn’t feel any fear or worry.

Because he was… that person who would accompany me to achieve our goals together, no matter now many hindrances there were – he always was.

#未定事件簿 #tears of themis #tears of themis translations #xia yan #mihoyo #tot translation #xia yan is just so sweet my heart can't take it jfsdkdsjf

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stateofloveandnegan · 6 years

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I Just Can’t - Jerry Cantrell

While the last anon doesn't come up with a request, I got one. Would you please write a smut one shot where the reader and Jerry had a not so friendly break-up but they clearly have strong feelings for each other. So maybe after a couple months trying to contact her they meet again by coincidence at a party or something and she finally gives up trying to fight it. Thank you :)

IM SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG

But I’m actually very happy with how this turned out, so I hope you think so too! Enjoy :)

Requested by: @ladyfulton

Warning(s): smut

MASTERLIST

‘Even after four months he still doesn’t know when to stop.’ I think to myself as I decline his call once more.

“Shouldn’t you give him one more chance?” Demri asks me to which I scoff.

I take another long swig of my wine before answering: “He messed up. He had his chance, Dem. I’m not gonna let myself fall for it again.”

She sighs, knowing fully well that I’m right. But then again, she hates seeing me like this; heartbroken, even after four months.

I turn the volume of the tv a bit and lose myself in the awfully bad tv show that’s currently playing. Fortunately it helps set the mood a bit and Demri and I both laugh every now and then.

At midnight Demri decides it’s time to head home and I let her out, “Bye Dem, see you soon.”

“Yeah, and you’ll come to Chris’ party right?” she asks, which causes confusion to enter my face.

I wave it off, “I’ll call him and ask about it, don’t worry. See you!”

And with that, Demri leaves and I turn after closing the door to reach for my phone. I dial Chris’ number and it rings only one of two times before he picks up.

“Cornell household, what can I do for you?” he says in a mocking-tone.

I laugh, “Hey Chris, how are you?” he let’s out an exciting sound when he realises it’s me.

“(Y/N)!! I was just about to give you a call, actually. You’re coming to my party this Friday, aren’t you? I totally forgot to tell you about it, I’m sorry! Can you forgive me, sugar?”

“I was just about to call you about it, Demri just mentioned it and I wanted to make sure if I was invited, but of course, I’ll be there! And quit it with the pet-names, Cornell.”

We both burst into a fit of laughter, “Alright, see you Friday, Chris.” I say before hanging up.

The rest of the week go by in a flash and before I even realise it, it’s Friday already. “Shit!” I mutter to myself at the realisation.

“Dem! Hey!” I practically scream into my phone as soon as it’s picked up. “I need your help, alright. The party is in two hours and I’ve done nothing, yet. Please, help me out here!”

She just chuckles and tells me she’s on her way. I thank her and move over to my wardrobe. There are a couple of dresses that look quite nice for a birthday party. But then again, there are also some nice, tight, pants in there and some nice shirts.

I take out a dress, a pair of pants and a shirt, and some heels and boots to go with it. When I’m about to change, my doorbell rings and I open it to find Demri standing in front of me, already completely dolled up for the party.

I grab her wrist and take her with me to my room, “Soooo, I’ve got this set: these tight pants, this shirt, and the boots.” I tell her, showing her the black, ripped tights, a t-shirt with ‘rock’n’roll’ spelled on it and the black dr martens boots. “Or this dress and these heels.” I say as I show her the black, lace, dress with a pair of matte black, open, heels.

She seems to genuinely think of what I should wear and finally speaks up, “First one, deffo first one.” she says and throws the outfit at me.

“Alright!”

After a good hour and a half, I’m finally done. Clothes hugging my body in a perfect way and make up smoothly on my face. “He won’t know what hit ‘m.” Demri says under her breath.

“What?” I ask since I didn’t hear her very clearly.

Her eyes snap up to meet mine, “Oh, nothing. You look amazing.”

Demri eventually calls Layne to tell him she’ll meet him at the party, ‘cause she’s staying here with me for the time being.

“You know, you’re lucky with Layne, he’s such a sweetheart to you.” I tell her, thinking about how lovey-dovey they can get. She chuckles, “Well, there’s also another side to it, of course. But yes, I’m very happy with him.”

Time flies and before we know it, it’s already time to go to Chris’ place. I get my keys and put them in my purse, along with some money. Before closing my apartment and hopping into Dem’s car.

“There you are!” Chris exclaims when we enter, seemingly a tad bit later than the rest, (we might have had karaoke in the car and didn’t want to stop..)

There are a lot of familiar faces and I greet them all, except for one face I wish I never had to see again. Him calling me was already heavy on me. Seeing him was even worse. Before his eyes meet mine I quickly turn around and walk to the other side of the room, where Chris and Demri are conversing. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me hewould be here?!” I whisper-scream.

They both give me a pained expression, “Because then you probably wouldn’t have come,”

“Damn right I wouldn’t.”

“but you need to have fun, (Y/N). Just have fun tonight, alright? Enjoy yourself again for once.”

I sigh, knowing they’re right. I drop the subject and move over to the kitchen to grab a beer. “You showed up.” a very familiar voice speaks from behind me. A voice I wanted to avoid very dearly.

“Not because you’re here.” I snap without turning around.

I hear him sigh and there’s also a soft thud, probably him putting down his drink on the table. “Don’t be like that, (Y/N), please.” he says in a soft voice, which almost gets to me. Almost.

I finally turn around and my eyes meet his, “Be like what, Jerry? Like I’m done with you? Like I don’t want to talk to you? Well, I don’twant to talk to you. So I’m going to leave this kitchen and you’re going to let me.”

For once, he actually listens to me and lets me leave the kitchen without any more than just looking at me with broken eyes.

The evening goes on pretty alright, without any more encounters with Jerry, I’m actually really having fun for the first time in a while.

My conversation with McCready is cut short when someone taps on my shoulder. I turn to be met with those broken eyes once again.

I turn back to Mike, ignoring the presence behind me, but fail at it as Jerry walks around me and steps in front of me, “I need to talk to you, (Y/N).”

Mike gives me an apologetic smile and walks over to where Eddie is standing. My eyes leave Mike’s retreating figure and snap back to Jerry. “Alright, but not here.” I give in. It’s been so long and when I really think about it, this act of not caring is killing me, ‘cause I do care about him, way too much for my liking.

Jerry grabs my arm gently and walks upstairs into the hall with me following him. The party is going on downstairs, so there isn’t anyone upstairs.

“So, what do you want?” I spat at him, feeling a tad bad for how harsh it sounded.

Jerry sighs, not meeting my eyes, “I miss you. So fucking much, it’s killing me.”

I scoff and he finally meets my eyes, “Maybe you should’ve thought of that a bit sooner.”I say and look away from him.

“I know I should’ve. God you don’t have to tell me that. I’m an idiot, the biggest idiot, for what I did to you. And I’ve tried so hard to get over you, to let you move on, because I know it’s selfish of me to ask you to forgive me, but I’ve realised that I am selfish.”

His words are so sincere and honest that I can’t stay mad at him. “Why did you do it? Why did you have sex with her? My cousin, for fucks sake, Jerry. And to make it even better, on my birthday! What the hell did I do to deserve that?” I desperately ask him, tears already streaming down my face.

Jerry’s hand moves up to my cheek and he brushes the tears away with his thumb, “Nothing. You did absolutely nothing to deserve that. That’s why it makes me even more of a selfish prick to ask you to forgive me. But it was a mistake, (Y/N). I big mistake at that. I was drunk, and I know that’s not an excuse, but I’d never do anything to hurt you on purpose. I love you.”

That was that. Those three words. Those words did it. “You love me?”

“I love you, (Y/N). More than anything. And I guess if I love you, I should let you move on. But I can’t, I genuinely can’t.”

Never had Jerry said those words to you, not even when you were dating.

“You don’t have to say them back, I don’t expect you to. You probably don’t even feel the same, but I had to say it.”

We’re both quiet for a while, just staring at each other. And I’m thinking, about everything he just said.

“What if I did say it back?” I ask quietly.

“You woul- what?” he says, only then realising what I just asked.

“What if I said I loved you too? Because I do, Jerry. After all this time, I still fucking love you. I’ve tried to get over you, but nothing worked.”

For a moment, he says or does nothing, but as the words sink in, he pins me to the wall and crashes his lips against mine in a kiss that tells me just how much he loves me and how much he’s been wanting to do this.

At first I’m hesitant, not knowing if this is really what I want, if I really want to get back into it with him. But the hesitation is soon replaced by hunger and love for the man currently pinning me against the wall with his whole body.

I kiss him back just as eager as he kisses me. Jerry practically drags me into the first room we reach, locking it on our way over to the bed that’s inside. The fact that we’re about to have sex on Chris’ bed doesn’t even bother me. All I want to do right now is make up for lost time.

Both our shirts are somewhere on the ground even before we hit the matrass. “You sure?” Jerry asks as he’s hovering above me.

I let out a chuckle as I smile at him, “You’ve become a gentleman, now?” I ask teasingly. He laughs, but quickly reconnects our lips together, his hands roaming over my whole body and stopping at my waistband. Moving his hand slowly to my zipper, sliding it down, and undoing my button.

His hands slide my pants off, our shoes already being lost, and his hand immediately goes back up to slide off my panties. “God (Y/N), you’re already so wet.” He says as he gently slides a finger through my folds.

I let out a moan and Jerry smirks before kissing me hungrily. His thumb playing with my clit, as one finger slides into me, has me soon as a moaning mess. His fingers are at familiar territory and he knows exactly what to do to make me feel like I’m on cloud nine.

“Jer- God, Jer.” I grunt as he starts pumping, now two fingers, in and out of my roughly. He removes his fingers from inside me and swiftly removes his boxers as well.

His hands are now resting at the side of my head, both on one side. He’s positioning himself between my legs, the tip of his cock teasing against my entrance. He moves himself up a bit, his cock now sliding against my clit, causing me to let out a loud moan.

Jerry chuckles before sliding himself into me completely. I arch my back, the once familiar feeling a bit renewing.

“You alright?” he whispers softly, caressing my cheek with his thumb. I nod and he places a gentle kiss on me lips before thrusting in and out of me. At first, his thrusts are gentle, but as soon as he realises I’m completely adjusted to the feeling of having him inside me, his thrust get harder and harder.

“Jeez, (Y/N) you’re so tight.” Jerry grunts as he keeps pushing in and out of me. A chuckle I let out forms into a moan as he hits my sensitive spot. He places kisses all over my neck and nibbles and bites every now and then.

I feel my orgasm building up in the pit of my stomach “Jer, I’m close-” I tell him and he nods, “Me too, babe. Just let it go, come for me.”

It takes us both only a couple second before it’s done. I scream his name as he screams my name. We ride off our high and he pulls out slowly, collapsing next to me on the bed.

“I’ll never let you go, (Y/N). I’ll never give you another reason for it.” he whisper in my ear while placing his arm around my waist.

“I won’t let you do anything like that ever again, Jer, so don’t worry.” I say and we both chuckle.

The sound of the door opening startles us and Jerry quickly grabs a blanket to cover the both of us. Chris enters the room and as soon as he sees us he freezes.

“I thought you locked to door.” I whisper to Jerry, my eyes not leaving Chris’ figure.

“I guess I was a bit too busy getting us to the bed to check the lock…”

“You guys,” Chris said, while pointing his finger at me and then Jerry, back and forth, “just had sex. In my bed.” he says, more to himself than to us. “IN MY BED!”

Jerry and I share a glance, smiles creeping up on our faces, “Oops?”

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mairzymarzipan · 5 years

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Night of the Full Moon Character Reviews: The Carpenter(s) and the Lumberjack(s)

After yesterday’s events, I decided to push my reviews of these characters way up.

Just a note that at this point, I’m going to just sum up descriptions. Some of them get to be really longg and sort of redundant in their wording.

The Carpenter/The Werewolf

The Carpenter, Jerry, is a character Red might meet in the first chapter. He’s usually very weak and a quick battle. I can’t even remember his attacks. His reason for fighting you is he’s worried about your safety. When he talks to you, you can either choose to thank him, tell him you’ll protect yourself, or disregard him. If you thank him, he stops himself from saying something. If you disregard him, he’s hurt.

ofc if you read my post yesterday you that the big twist that he’s also the werewolf you fight in the end. The second fight is definitely more of a challenge. The werewolf has regenerative powers. His main gimmick is that, on each turn, you have to pick one of seven cards, each with a different effect. Two of them actually benefit you but most of them are a pain in the ass. I recommend using the 90% heal and the ‘you can’t use cards’ option while you have a lot of health.

“I don’t know if it’s because he is young and shy or because he’s a werewolf, but the carpenter won’t tell Little Red Riding Hood how he feels. He was worried that on a full moon night he will turn, lose control and harm the villagers. The werewolf planned to go and spend the night in the Black Forest, but he did not expect to be pursued by hunters. He was injured and finally fell at Little Red Riding Hood’s hands...he didn’t even get the chance to say anything.”

So yeah, this is another downer ending. Honestly, idk what is worse- killing your grandma or your childhood friend. This is another weird instance of the text going into first person for no reason. Who’s talking here? The Infected?

The Carpenter description is quite a bit longer, but it summarizes to:

He’s adopted

His dad is the lumberjack

He makes beautiful furniture

He’s well liked

He’s got a secret crush on his friend, Red

He’s a werewolf

He’s kept that secret from everyone

He does not remember when he got cursed

He’s worried he might harm people when he’s a wolf

I would like to know how the heck he managed to keep the werewolf thing secret from his dad, who he lived with. This isn’t like, oh, he has a certain opinion. Nah- this is his body transforming every month. How does his dad miss that?

Him being adopted also kind of hints that his bio parents are werewolves, as does this.

This is the picture you get when you toggle Jerry’s class to hard: a crying werewolf leaving a human baby at a lumberjack’s shop.

Since there’s a full moon and the werewolf is, well, a wolf, and the baby isn’t, I’m going to bet that werewolves in this world don’t start transforming until a certain age. Jerry would be old enough to know that he has to hide himself once he starts. One does wonder, though, why the wolf needs to leave their baby. Does it have something to do with the arrow in their leg?

Maybe this will be like Red’s set. Maybe we’ll get all kinds of Jerry classes and each one will display a scene of him a little older to tell a story.

Here’s another theory: This wolf is the Cursed Werewolf, who Jerry might fight as a boss. I mean it works just as well as Red fighting her grandma.

I must say, fighting as Jerry is pretty fun. It feels as chaotic as a card game can be, yanno? Like you really are a rabid wolf. I especially love the cards you can get, though. A lot of them have Jerry- as a wolf or a human- on them. And they sort of humanize him a lot. He has this whole range of emotions, whereas the cards Red appears on always makes her look like a badass.

I especially love that one.

Anyhoo, I’m gonna give Jerry 🌕🌕🌕🌕 four full moons. He’s a cute kid, and as a werewolf, and challenging fight. It’s clear that they’re planning to embellish on his story more. I just do not care about the romance angle, tho, and I hate that the game does so much.

The Lumberjack

When Red encounters the Lumberjack, he’s wondering what she’s doing out so late, but isn’t really trying to stop her. If you defeat him, he’ll tell you about Jerry going missing and ask if you’ve seen him. He even sees he goes missing every full moon, and yet he still hasn’t put the werewolf thing together yet? Oi.

One bit of interesting trivia is that his dialog actually changed. He used to say, “Who are you? What are you doing here?” So, I guess he used to be just, a guy, but then the programmers decided to make him important. That’s cool.

His description tells us that the Lumberjack found Jerry in the woods, so it clashes with the illustration we saw earlier, but I’m willing to forgive that. Also it was snowing when he found the baby. Either it was winter or the curse was in affect even waaaaay back then.

I’ll give him 🌲🌲 two trees. He’s a good solid character for what he is. Obviously he is just there to be a part of Jerry’s story but he does as best as he can in a support role. He’s just, not terribly memorable? I’ve fought him several times but I’m struggling to remember what cards he uses.

The Crocodile

The Crocodile is a boss, so you could find him in any of the three chapters. He makes good use of attack cards. He also has some great lines.

“I’m more like drift wood.”

“Family means hope.”

“Crocodiles don’t cry only because...they’re never sad.”

“I could never lift an axe...”

I haven’t talked about the voice artists yet, but I feel like the crocodile gets one of the better English ones. It’s too bad these people aren’t credited! Honestly, why?

But yeah, he really does a good job of making this character sound like a real person. There’s a sense of trying to put on a brave face with self-effacing jokes while honestly being miserable.

So anyway, this guy

“This powerful-looking crocodile was once a lumberjack. Once he learned that the identities of Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother had been exposed, he tried to help them hide. However, the church patroller had other ideas. Things didn’t end up well for the lumberjack, but Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother made it out. Now he still waits for the curse to be lifted from the Black Forest, for it afflicts many innocent people, including his out son: the carpenter, Jerry.”

Is Jerry’s dad.

Jerry’s dad in, another timeline? This whole thing about Red and Grandma needing to hide for a while- that’s not really referenced in the other character bios. Usually it’s just Grandma going out into the woods and Red needing to find her. The human Lumberjack doesn’t seem very protective of Red. He seems totally understanding of her quest and only asks if she’s seen his son. So it doesn’t make sense for him to get turned into a croc while trying to help her the same night when he was on his own mission. But this bio kind of gives the impression that this guy has been trapped for like, months if not years.

I can tell you that Jerry’s line got changed too. It used to be ‘One day, my father went into the dark forest, and never came back”. Now it’s “There are those who go into the forest and never return.”

It almost seems like the Crocodile being Jerry’s father is something the creators want to retcon out of existence. So far this description hasn’t changed, but I keep watching it.

It would bum me out, to be honest, if that were the case. The Crocodile is, honestly, my favorite character. He’s the reason I got so swept up into the lore of this game. Not only does he have the best lines, but his voice actor is really good. You get the sense of a guy who’s losing hope because he lost his family, and at the same time hates himself because he wouldn’t be able to provide for them anyway. But he’s also proud, and doesn’t want Red to know he’s cursed, and certain not a person who cries!

I also love that these two sometimes-animal people are both cursed but also both taking pains to keep the other from finding out about the curse. Wonderful irony, there.

The obvious way to fix this situation with the two lumberdads is...with two dads. In fact, in my fics Jerry does have two dads- a red headed guy who’s still there, and another one who’s missing. He’s supposed to look like this.

Anyhoo, I’m going to give him 🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊🐊 SIX big toothy lizards in the hope that the devs will save my croc son!

#mairzy posts #night of the full moon #the werewolf #the carpenter #the lumberjack #the crocodile #character reviews #jerry #theorizing

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rockrevoltmagazine · 5 years

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INTERVIEW: MYLES KENNEDY OF ALTER BRIDGE

Formed in the early part of this century Myles Kennedy (lead vocals, guitar), Mark Tremonti (lead guitar, vocals), Scott Phillips (drums) and Brian Marshall (bass) of Alter Bridge are making another major contribution to keeping rock and roll alive and well with their sixth studio release Walk The Sky. I had the opportunity to talk with Kennedy about the strong reception of Walk The Sky, the challenges that came with making their latest effort, his first encounter with Mark Tremonti, who he would like to collaborate with and the impact of fame on his personal life.

RockRevolt: Congratulations on the number one rock album Walk The Sky, how does that sound?

Myles Kennedy: Yeah, pretty awesome. Surprising and cool. Not complaining.

RR: And over the pond number four in the UK as well as top five in some other European countries. The album is being well received what do you attribute that to? Feels like the fan base keeps growing.

MK: Yeah I think that after 15 years of establishing the quote/unquote brand I guess that people have continued to not only support what we do and comeback and express interest but also it seems to be growing. Seems like they’re telling friends and friends are telling friends. That’s a great position to be in especially after doing this for over a decade and a half. I wasn’t sure how this was going to roll-out and we were pretty blown away with the reception.

RR: That brings me to my next question, Walk The Sky is a bit of a departure from past Alter Bridge albums. Were you at all nervous whether the fans would accept it or not? It is a bit different.

MK: I think it was a needed change. One thing we didn’t want to do was continue to make the same record. So we chose to mix things up, even from the way we wrote the songs. These tracks primarily Mark and I would demo the tracks separately whereas before we would do a lot more collaboration. That was an interesting experience in of itself. We’re happy with how that turned out. We felt like the sonic hallmarks were still there, what we’re known for with our fans. We didn’t want to necessarily alienate people and have them feel like what are they doing here. We wanted to make the record that still injected the riffs and the melodies that the fans have come to expect. It’s always a delicate dance when making a record you want to evolve and change things just enough to show that you’re not being complacent. At the same time there’s going to be some risk there and you have to be cognizant of that. I feel like we landed on our feet.

RR: Most fans know that between Mark and yourself you do a large majority, if not all the writing. Where does Brian and Scott plug-in to the whole creative process?

MK: To me they don’t get enough credit. I feel like as a rhythm section they have something that is very unique that only they do which is the feel. Really where they both feel the downbeat. There’s a pocket when those two play together there is very unique and really helps define this band. Mark and I bring in the songs but they provide a certain backbone that if it was any other rhythm section it would really shift the sound of this band dramatically in my opinion.

RR: How about Michael “Elvis” Baskette, how much does his say influence the record. And how far does his say go when making a record?

MK: He’s our honorary fifth member, he’s our George Martin. He’s the last filter. So when we are trying to figure out which songs are going to make the cut. When we are trying to figure out how the arrangement is going to be settled in the end he has the last word. He’s able to have that thirty-thousand foot view of things. A lot of times the band will be too close to the songs to be able to see the forest through the trees and he’s the perfect guy for that to help us navigate into the final phase. He’s a tremendous asset to the band.

RR: Prior to making this record did you listen to any particular bands or style of music that may have had some influence?

MK: On this record nothing jumps out. You go through phases as a writer that you might listen to something a little more than you normally would. You know I learned something, it was a really profound statement that Jerry Harrison, he was the guitar player for the Talking Heads, he produced the very first Mayfield Four record back in ’97. I remember OK Computer was just getting ready to drop by Radiohead and I was so excited, I couldn’t wait to get that record and he told me something that really stuck with me. He said I want you to hold off on getting that record and listening to it until we’re done with this Mayfield Four record. What will happen is it will really become such an influence if you’re not careful you’re not going to be your true self as an artist. That really hit home for me. That was probably the best advice anyone had ever gave me. You want to go in with a clear palette and not be absorbing too much of any artist and be yourself.

RR: Is there a song on Walk The Sky you are most proud of? A song that may have been challenging to create?

MK: There are a few. I think that “In The Deep” took a little while to get settled. That’s like the second or third song on the record. It was a little bit of a departure especially the verses. There was a lot of experimenting that went on there. I’m real happy with how that one turned out. I feel like it has a real uplifting vibe to it. It just makes me feel good when I hear it.

RR: How about a song from the new record that could be difficult to play live?

MK: Yeah, I was just actually rehearsing “Native Son” the other day and to try and sing and play that will be a bit of a challenge. I wrote the riffs I remember I didn’t have a melody yet so when I did the demo for the music I wasn’t thinking about how I was going to sing and play the verses. So the other day I tried it for the first time and was like oh man what have I done. Sing myself into a corner here.

RR: So is there a chance we hear it live?

MK: I think we’ll definitely do that one live, seems to be a fan favorite. We’ll definitely get that one in the set.

RR: Speaking of live you just wrapped this leg of the U.S. tour. What’s next for the tour, how long do you plan to tour this record and will you be back stateside?

MK: Yeah we’ll be out for at least the next year touring anywhere that will have us. Coming to a birthday party near you (laughing). We’ll definitely be back in the states at some point next year.

RR: I was a little disappointed to not see Alter Bridge announced as one of the headliners for the UK Download Festival. What’s going on with that, I figured at some point you would be taking one of the headline slots.

MK: (laughing) always a bridesmaid never a bride. It’s actually fine with me. I think I’m the only guy in the band that isn’t pushing to headline Download. I like the slot just before the headliner goes on (which Alter Bridge have held on multiple occasions). Then you can relax and have a gin and tonic while the headliner is on.

RR: Are you doing the festival circuit overseas?

MK: Yeah, that’s the plan.

RR: Do you recall the first time you met Mark and were there creative sparks right away?

MK: The funny thing is when we first met it was when the Mayfield Four was opening for Creed. We met in the cafeteria. I was leaving the cafeteria and Mark was walking in, in the basement of the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. It was like a real brief, hey and fist bump or something. There was no real hanging out or anything. I hung out more with Scott Phillips (Alter Bridge and at the time Creed drummer) then any of those guys. So that was the only guy I got to know.

RR: When you get the call from Mark that he’s putting this band together and we want you to be the singer what’s your initial thoughts?

MK: I was pretty surprised because I didn’t even know I was on their radar. I didn’t even know that they heard us even when we were opening for them. I assumed we were the first band on the bill, just getting started, trying to make a name for ourselves. I was really blown away that five years later they chose to give me a buzz. I was pretty shocked.

RR: Do you jump right at the opportunity?

MK: Once they sent some demos and I heard those I thought this could be cool, a good fit. We didn’t mess around, I got down there about a month after I got those demos, we started working on what would become One Day Remains, it was pretty quick.

RR: How about with Slash, how did that all go down and what was it like first getting together with him?

MK: Once again it was a really big surprise. I think it’s because I live in Spokane, WA and I’m not really in the thick of it down in LA or New York so when a heavy hitter like Slash gets your number and calls you, you’re kind of scratching your head going how did this happen. I was grateful non the less. He asked if I would be interested in doing something on his first solo record, sent me a demo of some music and I put the melody and lyrics to what would end up being “Starlight.” Flew down to LA a few weeks later and we cut the track. It was a trip getting to hang in the studio and talk, watch how he worked. It was a really cool experience.

RR: With Guns N Roses back together have you had the opportunity to meet Axl?

MK: I haven’t. I have not had the opportunity to do that at this point. It would be really cool though.

RR: Was curious if he might have had any feedback on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performance. What was that experience like being able to perform at the Rock Hall of Fame with some of the Guns N Roses guys?

MK: I’ll tell you what that performance was probably the most nerve-racking experience of my life. I honest didn’t think it would happen. I thought that I would get there and at the last minute Axl might show up and they would all get on stage and do their thing. I remember looking over at the stage door as they were doing their speeches, getting their award and I kept looking at the door thinking Axl is going to show up at any minute. I really didn’t think that I was going to go out there. Then all of a sudden I hear the crowd clap and see them go to grab their instruments and I remember thinking to myself this is actually going to happen (laughing). It was a trip.

RR: Anyone out there that you would love to collaborate with?

MK: Oh man there’s so many guys out there that I respect. I’m a massive Gary Clark Jr. fan, I think he’s incredible. I love Rival Sons, Jay Buchanan is one of my favorite singers, love Jay. I could just go on and on. I’m such a fanboy. I love the Gojira guys.

RR: Gojira, I recently read an interview with you and you stated Gojira is one of the most important metal bands right now.

MK: Yeah, it’s subjective. For me I’d say Gojira and I would say Mastodon as well are my two favorites.

RR: I’m sure this won’t be easy but give me your top five records.

MK: Top five records period, of all time for me?

RR: Yes.

MK: Grace by Jeff Buckley, Highway to Hell by AC/DC, What’s Going On by Marvin Gay, Ingenue by k.d. lang and lets throw in something heavy Van Halen I, not really heavy but it’s bad ass.

RR: Has fame got to a point with you that it’s difficult to go out in public? Or are you relatively unnoticed?

MK: I go absolutely unnoticed and I love it (laughing). It’s great. I can do whatever, it’s awesome. My wife and I just went on a walk and we were talking about how we have a great wonderful existence because I can go out and tour and make music. Then I can comeback home and have a very fulfilling regular life. It’s awesome.

RR: One last question, I’m curious every time I see you onstage, in interviews or in person you always seem to have this very upbeat, laid-back personality. Do you ever get pissed off?

MK: Oh sure, I’m human I’ve got plenty of flaws but I try to balance it with staying positive and being grateful.

RR: Well I’d have to say you’re one of the nicest guys in rock and roll and fans appreciate that and we appreciate the latest record, Walk The Sky, another monster hit by Alter Bridge. Any final words for the fans?

MK: Just a sincere thank you for embracing the new record and have made it so we can continue to make music. We are beyond lucky, we applaud you for it, thank you.

RR: Thank you Myles and good luck with the tour and new album Walk The Sky.

MK: Sounds great Brett thanks brother.

INTERVIEW: MYLES KENNEDY OF ALTER BRIDGE was originally published on RockRevolt Mag

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND October 4, 2019 - JOKER, PAIN AND GLORY, DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, LUCY IN THE SKY

It’s October and we only have two more months to the year, but we have to get through one of the tougher months of the year (in terms of quality of films) to get to the good stuff. Fortunately, the month starts out with Todd Phillips’ JOKER (Warner Bros.), starring Joaquin Phoenix, which is looking to tell the definitive origin of the Batman arch-nemesis

You can read my mostly positive review of the movie right here (and more over at The Beat), but I want to talk a bit more at length about two movies that will get a limited release this weekend.

The first movie I want to talk about is Pedro Almodovar’s PAIN AND GLORY (Sony Pictures Classics), which in my opinion is his best and possibly most personal film in a decade or more. It stars Antonio Banderas as filmmaker Salvador Mallo, who has mostly retired as he faces illness late in life that makes him unable to work on a film set… or get the inspiration to make a new movie. Salvador has been invited to do a QnA for one of his classic films as it celebrates its 30thanniversary along with the film’s star with whom he had a falling out due to the actor’s drug use, the two having not spoken since. And it’s Salvador’s job to get the star to agree to do the QnA with him…. An encounter that ends up being catastrophic for Salvador, who starts using drugs himself.

To reveal more about the plot of Almodovar’s latest would be a huge disservice to the filmmaker who has created another intricate plot where every element has a purpose that’s all resolved by the film’s end. The film frequently flashes back to Salvador’s childhood in a small Spanish village with his single mother (played by another Almodovar regular, Penelope Cruz), which add to the troubles the filmmaker is having later in life. (Almodovar has cast an older actor to play Salvador’s mother sixty years later but she doesn’t look even remotely like Cruz.)

This is a film where you’re drawn into the story as Salvador’s life unfolds, and we learn more about what made him the way he is, and it’s easily one of the best performance of Banderas’ career. The warmth and humor he brings to Salvador allows you to be with him even when he’s doing questionable things. I also want to call attention to the amazing Asier Etxeandia, who delivers an equally compelling performance.

I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s one of those confounding things that can be interpreted in so many different ways…and I can’t wait to see the movie again to see if I can unravel it. Pain and Glory is another beautiful and brilliant piece of art and storytelling from Almodovar and a welcome return to form both for him and for Banderas.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

The other movie I want to draw special attention to is Craig Brewer’s DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, which Netflix will give a theatrical release this weekend before streaming it on Netflix starting October 25. As you may have heard, it stars the great Eddie Murphy back in his first leading role in ages, playing Rudy Ray Moore, the stand-up comic and sing who wanted to be famous more than anything else. If you haven’t heard of Moore and his comic character Dolemite, you just have to look on the influence he’s had on everyone from Murphy to Samuel L. Jackson to just about every rapper who has ever gone on record (especially the 2 Live Crew!)

We meet Rudy as he’s trying to convince a DJ played by Snoop Dogg to play his records with no luck. Rudy is working in a record store with his faithful assistant, played by Tituss Burgess (from The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), and he’s desperate to break-out as a failing stand-up comic. When he starts hearing the raunchy stories of Dolemite from the local bums, he puts together a new act where he plays a raunchy, foul-mouthed pimp named “Dolemite,” which goes over huge for his mainly black audiences. That soon turns into making a record that’s a huge hit with Moore touring the country selling them out of his trunk, and that eventually becomes an idea to make a very DIY movie.

This has a great cast but some of the real breakouts around Murphy include Da’Vine Joy Randolph as his protegé Lady Reed (aka Queen Bee) and Wesley Snipes in an amazing performance as “serious” actor D’urville Martin, who agrees to direct the movie but clearly has no idea what movie Moore and his team are trying to make. There’s also great stuff from Keegan-Michael Key as Jerry Jones, the serious dramatic playwright who also finds a way into Dolemite’s world. Randolph has the best moment when she thanks Rudy for putting “someone who looks like her” on the screen.

The script by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski is fantastic, but Brewer – whom I’ve been a fan of since his early film Hustle and Flow – does terrific work in keeping things moving and making sure that Murphy is doing his best work.

Sure, it’s impossible not to avoid comparisons to The Disaster Artist, but I’d prefer that it be compared to Mario van Peebles’ excellent 2003 film Baadasssss!, which was about his father Melvyn van Peebles’ going through similar efforts to make his own film that appeals directly to black audiences years earlier. There’s actually more in common between the accomplishment by Van Peebles (a much more capable filmmaker) making his film and how he got it out into the world to Moore’s DIY ethos and its results. The Room was a bomb and a disaster that eventually became a cult hit; what Moore created was much more lasting.

I’m a little bummed that so few people are going to see this in theaters surrounded by laughter, but just the fact that Netflix is getting a movie about Dolemite into the world makes it easier to forgive them.

Rating: 8 out of 10

(Also, check out the repertory section below for a way to see the movie in double features with some of Moore’s “Dolemite” movies at the New Beverly theater.)

LOCAL FESTIVALS

The 57thNew York Film Festival continues this week with screenings of Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite– which I reviewed for The Beat– Kelly Reinhardt’s First Cow, and a special event screening of the Safdie Brothers’ Uncut Gems. (Oh, yeah, and who could forget that Joker is screening with Todd Phillips doing a QnA on Wednesday?) Friday will see the Centrepiece premiere of Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, starring Adam Driver and Scarlet Johansson with SIX screenings! The weekend sees the debut of Michael Apted’s 63 Up, continuing his long-running doc series, as well as Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network, which I’ll also be seeing on Friday. There are also a few revivals and restorations, which you can read about in the repertory section below.

Also, Beyond Fest 2019 continues at the Egyptian in L.A. with more fun genre films. Your best bet is to click on that link and see what’s being shown but you can read about the rep stuff below, as well.

LIMITED RELEASES

On Wednesday night (with a repeat screening on Sunday), Trafalgar Releasing will release Roger Waters: Us and Them nationwide into a bunch of theaters, the movie documenting Waters’ 2017 tour, which sadly I missed, but I’m excited to see what I missed.

Opening Friday is Legion and Fargo creator Noah Hawley’s feature film directorial debut LUCY IN THE SKY (Fox Searchlight), starring Natalie Portman as Lucy Cola, an astronaut who has spent time in space but has trouble adjusting when she returns to earth and her husband (played by an unrecognizable Dan Stevens). She’s in training for one of the next two shuttle launches, but she starts having an affair with fellow astronaut Mark Goodwin (Jon Hamm) while competing fiercely against a younger trainee (Zazie Beetz). Things go downhill from there as Lucy – who is based on the real-life Lisa Nowak– starts messing up more and more. I think I can understand why critics have been so rough on Hawley and this movie, because really, it isn’t the outer space adventure some might be expecting, and that’s really just used as the set-up for Lucy having trouble adjusting at home. In fact, this could be an episode of a Fargo-like true-crime anthology that goes into other realms than just the Midwest. Once you get used to Portman’s heavy Southern accent, she’s quite good in this, and if you go into it expecting more of a true-crime story… with Hawley’s artistic filmmaking touch and some gorgeous imagery… Lucy in the Sky really isn’t so bad. I definitely think that people are going into this with certain expectations from the trailer/commercials that isn’t necessarily accurate.

A movie I saw at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and really enjoyed was Kevin McMullin’s LOW TIDE (A24 /DirecTV) starring Keann Johnson (Alita: Battle Angel) and Jaeden Martell (It) asbrothers living on the Jersey coast who find a bag of valuable gold coins and try to hide it from their no-goodnick friends Red (Alex Neustaedter) and Smitty (Daniel Zolghadri) with whom they break into vacation homes to steal valuables.

Another decent lower-profile film about brothers opening Friday is Henry Alex Rubins’ SEMPER FI (Lionsgate), starring Jai Courtney and Nat Wolff as brothers “Callahan” and “Oyster” who are part of the Marine Corps Reserve. When they get into a bar altercation in which a man dies, Oyster is sent to jail and his brother feels the need to get him out in a plot that involves his Marine buddies. It’s a movie that starts off as a military drama but actually has some decent action in the last act, and I liked it more than Rubins’ last narrative feature Disconnect.

You can read my interview with Jai Courtney here, and I hope to have an interview with Nat Wolff soon, as well.

I haven’t had a chance to watch Michael Beach Nichols’ doc WRINKLES THE CLOWN (Magnet) but I’ve heard great things that makes me curious. It revolves around a YouTube video from 2014 that shows a man in a clown mask who has been hired by the parents of a young girl to frighten her for misbehaving. This genre-based doc looks into where “Wrinkles the Clown” came from and how he turned into a viral video, similar to the great HBO doc Beware the Slenderman.

Memory: The Origins of Alien (Screen Media) is the new doc from Alexandre Philippe, whose 2017 film 78/52took apart the shower sequence from Hitchcock’s Psycho. This one is just as intriguing as it goes through the processes of creating Ridley Scott’s Alien, which celebrates its 40thanniversary this year. I’m such a huge fan of Alienthat I just ate this movie up, and I could probably watch it over and over since I love hearing stories about the ideas and design that went into the movie.

Playing at the Film Forum starting Wednesday is Olivier Meyrou’s doc Celebration (KimStim) about fashion icon Yves Saint Laurent, commissioned by his business partner Pierre Bergé, has been sitting on the shelf for over a decade because it was deemed to be “too revealing” as it followed the ailing fashion designer during his last three years.

Unfortunately, I’ve run out of time for this week’s column but I’ll have more stuff to add here by Thursday afternoon sometime, if not sooner. Please check back for a few more limited releases!

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

Metrograph’s latest series “NYC '81” which was more self-explanatory when it included the subtitle “A Series of NY Films from 1981 Leading into (the) Re-Release of Downtown 81.” Some of the films showing this weekend include Abel Ferrara’s Ms. 45 (also playing as part of Late Nites at Metrograph), Sidney Lumet’s Prince of the City, Steve Gordon’s comedy Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, and Louis Malle’s My Dinner with André.Alain Corneu’s Série Norie will continue at least through Thursday. This weekend’s Playtime: Family Matineesgoes with Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands(1990) starring Johnny Depp (plus you can still see David Lynch’s Mulholland Driveone last time tonight!) Also, Saturday afternoon you can see the Humphrey Bogart classic, The Maltese Falcon (1941).

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

You might notice that the New Bev has been released from the corner it was put in for misbehaving by playing new movies. It makes up for it by having a Wednesday matinee of Hitchcock’s 1960 classic Psycho and also having screenings the next couple nights of David Fincher’s Zodiac. Friday is a matinee of Final Destination 2, one of my favorite movies in the series, and then the weekend “Kiddee Matinee” is the popular 1976 favorite The Monster Squad. Friday night’s midnight movie is Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, while Sat night is Kill Bill: Volume 2. Monday’s matinee is Wes Craven’s 1986 horror film Deadly Friend. Next week starting Monday, the new Bev begins a special program celebrating Netflix’s Dolemite is My Name with screenings of the movie as double features with actual Dolemite films, Monday and Tuesday nights being double features with the original 1975 movie Dolemite (the making of which is shown in the Netflix film). Welcome back, New Bev!

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Thursday, as part of the New York Film Festival, there’s a special retrospective presented by Warby Parker to celebrate the 100thanniversary of the American Society of Cinematographers. As part of that, you can see Robert Altman’s Western McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971) and a new restoration of Jack Arnold’s sci-fi classic The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). On Saturday is a screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather: Part II (1974) just after a special The Cotton Club Encorewith a screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1984 movie at the Alice Tully Hall with a conversation with Coppola, Maurice Hines and James Remar afterwards.On Monday, Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven (1978) will screen as part of this retrospective, followed on Tuesday by a screening of Jim Jarmusch’s 1995 film Dead Man, starring Johnny Depp. It’s a pretty impressive sidebar to the festival from one of the uptown’s only retrospective theaters remaining.

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

Ooo… Bong Joon-ho’s amazing 2006 monster film is playing at the Alamo Thursday night at 10pm, and as of this writing, it’s not completely sold out yet! On Sunday, the Alamo is doing an “ultimate Willy Wonka Party” showing the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (one of my favorites from childhood) with some of the grow-up young cast from the movie! (Noon is sold out but there’s another screening at 9AM… good luck with that!) Next Tuesday’s “Terror Tuesday” is the 1991 Scary Movie, starring John Hawkes, while Wednesday’s “Weird Wednesday” is Lucio Fulci’s The Devil’s Honey from 1986.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Film Forum is beginning another great series this weekend called “Shirley Clarke 100” celebrating what would be the 100thbirthday of the African-American documentary filmmaker who passed away in 1997 at the age of 77. Some of the films in the series include Ornette: Made in America, Portrait of Jason, The Connection, The Cool World and more, including a series of shorts including Skyscraper, which received an Oscar nomination. Also playing for one week is a new restoration of Bill Forsythe’s 1981 film Gregory’s Girl, a film set in Glasgow that has been deemed one of the 100 greatest British films of the 20thCentury by the BFI. (Bill Forsyth will be there Saturday afternoon for a conversation.) Joseph Losey’s Holocaust drama Mr. Klein is also returning for one more day on Friday. This weekend’s “Film Forum Jr” is the coming-of-age film Breaking Away (1979).

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Beyond Fest 2019 continues this weekend with a sold-out screening of The Exorcisttonight with William Friedkinin person. Otherwise tonight you can catch one of three free screenings of the 1971 film Mooch Goes to Hollywood and on Thursday, there’s a free screening of 1975’s Dolemite and a free screening of 1981’s Madman on Saturday. Unfortunately, Saturday’s West Coast premiere of the 4k restoration of Sam Raimi’s 1981 horror classic The Evil Dead is also already sold out. The Sunday triple feature of Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Night of the Creeps and The Fog is also sold out unfortunately.

AERO (LA):

The AERO celebrates “50 years of Monty Python” with double features of the 1975 classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Terry Jones’ Erik the Viking (1989) both in 35mm printson Friday, The Meaning of Life (1983) and And Now for Something Completely Different (1971) on Saturday, A Fish Called Wanda (1988) and Fierce Creatures (1997) on Sunday. Tuesday’s “Tuesdays with Lorre” matinee feature is The Maltese Falcon.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

This weekend’s “See It Big! Ghost Stories” screenings are the 2001 Japanese horror film Pulse, clearly sharing the same 35mm print with the Roxy. Jonathan Demme’s 1988 film Beloved, based on the novel by TonI Morrison and starring Oprah Winfrey and Thandie Newton screens Saturday afternoon, while The Innocents andThe Others screen again on Sunday evening. On Friday night, you can also see the fairly recent Yuen Woo-ping action film Master Z: Ip Man Legacy. Saturday afternoon there’s a Serbian double feature of Ognjen Glavonic’s 2016 film Depth Two and 2018 film The Load.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

It doesn’t look like the IFC Center has posted their new series yet, although on Friday and Saturday at midnight (actually 11:59pm), you can see Satoshi Kon’s Paprika, if you haven’t seen it yet despite it screening for months here and at the Metrograph. Also, the IFC Center is showing George Miller’s 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Roadat midnight (actually 11:59pm) those same nights.

BAM CINEMATEK(NYC):

This weekend, BAM is showing the 1997 film Selena, starring possible Oscar-nominee Jennifer Lopez in her break-out role. It doesn’t seem to be connected to any series.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

Tonight and tomorrow night, the Roxy is screening the Japanese horror film Pulse (2001) in 35mm.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday’s midnight screening is Tommy Wiseau’sThe Room… again.

STREAMING AND CABLE

This week’s “Netflix and Chills” offering is In the Tall Grass, the new movie from Vincenzo Natali (Cube, Splice) based on the novella written by Stephen King and his son Joe Hill. It’s about a brother and sister, her pregnant with a baby, who hear the cries of a young boy from a field of tall grass and they go inside to rescue him only to fall foul of a sinister force within that separates them along with a few other people, including one played by Patrick Wilson. I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie as much of it involves people running around yelling each other’s names in the tall grass, so it’s not particularly scary.

Next week, we’re back to three wide releases as Ang Lee’s Gemini Man, starring Will Smith, takes on the animated The Addams Family and the tech-comedy Jexi.

#WhatToWatchThisWeekend PainAndGain MyNameIsDolemiteJoker Movies Reviews

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kazosa · 7 years

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Second Chances - Jeff x Reader: Chapter 5

HELP ME NAME THIS SERIES! DON’T BE SHY!

Summary: Reader and Jeff work a project and become fast friends. The project ends and they go their separate ways, neither forgetting the other. With Hollywood being a small community, you two bump into one another either at events or projects, but there is always something keeping you apart. Will the obstacles ever end? Chapter 5 Summary: Reader goes to another party and has a chance encounter. Warnings: language (probably), slow burn, angst, crowded space anxiety A/N: I have a few ideas to continue this, but it’s still developing. Please leave comments or let me know if you want to be tagged, etc.

Word count: 2100(ish)

Catch up here: Masterlist

Tags: @jml509 @jasoncrouse @yellatthetopofyourlungs

Flash Forward 2002

Your POV: Not gonna lie, it hurt watching Jeff walk away. I was unsure of so many things, but I was sure that Jeff at least liked me. I don’t know what I expected from him, but I thought I deserved to have a proper goodbye. What happened at the bar made me feel like a cheap mistress. I was mad at him for a long time which was also his fault because he didn’t call me at all, not once. We could have talked things over and maybe I would have been able to forgive him sooner. By the time I’d forgiven him and let it go, I felt like I’d missed my shot, that I was too late. I didn’t have his phone number, but I could have gotten it, I’d just gotten to where I was too scared to do so. Oddly enough, it was Todd, the first AD from the movie, that was there to help me pick up the pieces and help me through my issues. Todd was the one who gave me a business card for a producer at Fox Studios. He’d lined up a job to be AD on an episode of “The X-Files” and suggested I send in my app. I’d had a quick interview over the phone with Kim Manners and he said he wanted to meet me, so I had decided to make a vacation of it and packed clothes for a week. I ended up staying for 3 years. Kim had offered me the job and it was awesome. I got to work on one of the coolest shows on TV and it was nice to have a somewhat regular schedule. The show had run for twelve years and wasn’t renewed for another season, so I was out of a job. The studio was going to throw us a big party in LA a few weeks after the show wrapped. There would be a screening of the finale in an auditorium and some live music, probably more, in a ballroom at the same location. Pretty much everyone that had ever worked on the show was going to be there, and the usual celebrity invites were sent.

You were in your bathroom getting ready to go to the party. You had curled your hair and had it pinned back so the curls cascaded down to your shoulders. You decided to wear a black dress. It was somewhat form fitting but the material felt like a t-shirt and that was what sold you on it. Simple silver jewelry, your star necklace that you always wore, black heels with an ankle strap and a clutch were your accessories. “Babe, you ready to go yet?” Todd said from the bathroom door. “Uh, yeah. How do I look, okay?” you said giving him the full view. Todd’s mouth was hanging open just a bit. “Jesus.” You smiled. “So, good?” “Yeah, you look amazing,” he said. His eyes briefly landed on the necklace. You knew Todd didn’t really like you wearing the necklace that Jeff had bought you, but he knew that it was more to you than something Jeff had given you. It reminded you to always work hard and never give up and it had paid off.

You’d been promoted to a production coordinator the last year of the X-Files. Kim had fought hard for you to get that promotion and you’d wanted to knock it out of the park and make him proud. It certainly helped that it was the last year and if you messed it up too much, it really didn’t have much bearing on the show’s success! Proving again that working hard and doing a good job for your employer pays off, Kim had given your name to someone he knew. This person was going to be an executive producer on a cable show tentatively named “Hack” for HBO. Just the week prior to the party and one week after production ended, you got a call from Bob Singer inviting you down to the States to begin filming in Philadelphia in just 2 months. You crossed the room to him and pushed Todd out of the bathroom. You were both ready now and he drove you to the party.

Whenever you were nervous, you touched the star that hung round your neck, and you were nervous now. Todd had gone ahead to find a spot for you to sit and you didn’t like being left alone to get through this big of a crowd. You hated being sentimental, but every time you touched it, you remembered how calming Jeff had been for you and it helped to settle your nerves. Events like this one worked your crowded spaces anxiety pretty hard. You were starting to feel hot. People were everywhere and people bumping into you was something that you had the most difficulty with. You never understood how people didn’t see you. You were quite tall even in flats and people would still bump you. “How do you not see me?!” you always thought. Your irritation meter was pegged. Your skin started to feel prickly. You swore if one more person bumped into you, you were going to give ‘em a piece of your mind. Where the hell was Todd?! You stopped to open your clutch to pull out your cell phone when it happened. Someone had slammed into you so hard, you stumbled sending your clutch and cell phone flying. You watched as the contents of your clutch emptied all over the red carpet. “GODDAMNIT!” you didn’t yell, but you were definitely loud with your production coordinator voice in full effect. You felt all of the eyes turn toward you and your outburst, but you didn’t care, you were sick of people being so damn rude. You crouched down to pick up the things that had fallen near your feet. “I’m so sorry. No, no, let me do that,” a low, smooth voice said. It had been a while, but you knew that voice. The goosebumps let you know you weren’t imagining it. The man’s shoes were beat up boots, he wore jeans, and if you stood up to look at his shirt, you would bet it was a t-shirt, maybe a suit jacket over it. “Let me help you up,” he said. You put one hand in his and the other went to the star around your neck. The old habit didn’t seem to help this time. You let go of his hand but couldn’t look up into his eyes. The man put your things back inside your clutch. “Sweetheart,” he said. The goosebumps again. Where the hell was Todd?! “You gotta let me apologize,” he said. You put your hands on the clutch and tried to take it, but he wouldn’t let you. “You already did,” you said.

Jeff’s side:

He hated these events. The only thing they were good for was seeing old friends and networking, otherwise, it was all meaningless bullshit. Case in point, he’d just finished talking to an old acquaintance, Jerry, about getting together for drinks some night. He’d finished his conversation with Jerry and, as he turned to walk inside, he didn’t notice the woman that had stopped behind him and he slammed into her, sending her little purse flying. It wasn’t until he saw the light glint off the star hanging around her neck that he realized who she was. Oh Jesus, it’s (Y|N), he thought. He wanted to dash away, but he couldn’t, not again. He’d wanted to call her so many times. He almost did more than a few, even dialed once or twice. He had good reasons, at the time, not to call. Now, he couldn’t remember what a single reason was. He missed her a lot, at first. He often thought about that last night he was with her, how he almost kissed her at the hotel. If he was going to be honest with himself, he knew back then that something wasn’t right between him and Anya. If he had really been in love with his wife, he wouldn’t have had those feelings for (Y|N). It took him a long time to realize that he was drawn to her for a reason, and now here he was, literally running into her at an event. She wouldn’t look at him when he called her “sweetheart.” He supposed he didn’t deserve to call her that anymore. All he wanted to do was tell her how sorry he was and that he should never have left with Anya, at least, not without saying goodbye. He wanted to explain to her why he did the things he did, but on the red carpet was not a good place to talk.

“No, I mean for before. For leaving without saying goodbye, for leaving the way I did. It wasn’t fair to you. Can we talk about it sometime?” he said. You really wanted to tell him off. He actually wanted to talk now. “You mean like you should have done three years ago?” He had that coming and he knew it, “Yes, like that. Can I meet you after the party to talk?” “You got a lot of balls asking me that,” you practically hissed. “Tell you what, if you can find me, you can talk to me.” “Babe, everything okay?” Todd had finally reappeared. The moment got very awkward as Todd realized it was Jeff who had caused (Y|N)’s current irritation. “Oh, it’s you,” Todd said, unimpressed. Jeff gave Todd the same look. Todd had been the cause of a lot of (Y|N)’s anxiety during their film shoot. What in the hell was he doing here with her? “Todd, you remember Jeff,” you said. “Of course, he does. Otherwise he wouldn’t be giving me that look right now. Are you two together?” Jeff asked. “We are and we’re very happy,” Todd said holding his arm out to you. You took it and he led you away. You couldn’t form a coherent thought until Todd had you seated in the auditorium. “Wanna tell me what is going on?” Todd’s voice sounded accusatory. “He ran into me and it made me drop my purse,” you said, still a little dazed. “I had no idea he’d be here.” Todd was the one who had helped put you back together after the wrap-party incident. You thought you’d sorted through it all, but now it all came flooding back to you. The weight of the star resting on your chest was bound to suffocate you, but you couldn’t bear to take it off.

Todd’s side:

He saw the whole thing, the look in her eyes when she watched him walk out the door, the tears that welled up. He’d gone to her and put an arm around her shoulders and helped her back to the table. He didn’t ask her if she wanted a drink, he just pushed his fresh drink in front of her and let her go. Todd had seen the way they were together, everyone had, and no one begrudged them any of it, sometimes a person had to take happiness when it presented itself. It had been obvious to everyone that they had something special, whatever it was. Watching Jeff throw it all away and the hurt he had caused (Y|N) had made it all come across so cheap. It took a few days for what happened to really set in. She had a lot of issues to deal with and he’d been there for her. He had gotten a job in Vancouver and suggested she put in an app with the studio, and just as he’d thought, they offered her a job and they each got a place to live in Vancouver. His feelings for her didn’t just happen overnight, it took a while and now they were in a place where she was good without Jeff and they had a good life together. They were even talking about getting a place together in Philadelphia rather than two separate places.

“Do you want me to kick his ass?” he said seriously. You tried not to laugh in Todd’s face. Instead, you just smiled at his offer. There was no way he could take Jeff. Jeff had at least 50 pounds on him and was probably 6 inches taller. Jeff was also not afraid to throw down and would destroy Todd. “Don’t worry about it, Todd,” you said putting your hand on top of his. “I really don’t think he’ll be a bother.” “Didn’t he say he wanted to talk to you?” Todd asked. “Yeah, but his track record for that isn’t the greatest. Let’s just try to enjoy the party, okay?” you said, more calmly than you were feeling.

#fanfic #JDM #reader insert #Jeffrey Dean Morgan #fanfiction #jdm x reader #kazosa

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smoothcurvesinteractive · 4 years

Text

A brave new child

Emergence

White,

bed,

un imago ally comfortable,

ooh ow cramp!!!

massage starts

must still be asleep, rubbing feels so good, hey honey a little lower,

no response

but rubbig goes lower.

Mary?

Roll over sleepy, there is no one there,

rubbing continues, in fact it never stopped.

Sudden shock of the memory of loss, Mary has been gone for 7 months.

Adrenaline powered reactions launch off the bed, oooh shit the thud as head hits low celing is that of an underripe watermelon, darkness comes back with a flash

J oh great we over did the augmentation and requeued another one - would you stop brushing yourself and plug back in to full monitor, you would notice he is just in a state of suspended consciousness.

Oh yeah, guess your right, Who the hell designed this species anyway? who makes a species suspend executive functionality when they receive trauma? For such a combative species you would think head trauma is when a species needs executive functionality the most.

J You got the same briefing I did, and you know that species with caretaker class emotive architecture can not maintain empathetic coherence if lower rationality is maintained through non terminal Trauma events.

Yeah, i still think it is a stupid design, it has nearly gotten This one killed on foru separate occasions,

J You forget Burma and San Francisco. Fix the emergence venu volume, this is an OG instanceanciation.

Oh, yeah, I guess that last one counts too. expanding, time relevant accutron.

Lost

I wake up and shake to clear the nasty buzzing in my left ear...

I look up and around. I must have scrambled my senses when I jumped put of bed I could swear I hit my head on the ceiling, but this hotel too. Has 14 foot ceilings, geese is this the markus inn in eureka? again?

Why'd they paint everything whit and grey?

hospital?

Never been in a hospital room without windows, maby they renovated the markus? the cheap chink bastards never do that.

I stand up, still a little shaky, I can't remember...

Where the hell is the door?

there is a panel on that wall, about hand height

Child

Follows for a while, very tan, with odd freckles, looks like he has been playing in the sun too much, long scruffy hair must be a girl. Tomboy, like jessy the polak who lived two doors when we lived in Chicago.

Child is walking right up to me just how do you do,

takes my hand? WTH, I’ve never even met a dog this trusting.

"it is time for me to see doctor this month, all children need to meet doctor once a month, it is my time.”

She, pretty sure its a Sshe, says it like a memorized line.

I am not a doctor!,

I know that, I am not some new one, old one, I am two and a half!

Where are your parents?

Parents?

Your mom and dad?

Are you broken old one? What is a your? And a mom and a Dad?

Uh uo, in this day and age to run across a street orphan

I had heard they where still all over Europe even so many years into marshal plan, but here, in the us of a?

Delima

look down, do I take her to doc rob, or what?

Doc would know what to do but he is all the way acr.o..ss...

I start to look around and notice that this isn't a real street..

I must have banged my head pretty good,

am I still inside?, inside? underground?

I don't recognize any of this, but all around me are stores and sidewalk cafe's

it is night, most buildings are dark, cafe’s closed, stores dark

Mark? Asks the child, I need to go to doctor.

I look down, alright I say, trying not to frighten the urchin.

DecisionI

ll find a cop, An encounter with the cops does not go as planned

Authority

So let me get this straight, you are an adult male, and a child told you it was time to see doctor. And you didn't take the child to doctor?

Yeah, when The kid said she didn't

Wait, SHE? is nt that being a little harsh?

Wha? you mean that mop was sitting on top of a boy?

All right enough of that! ya sick bastard! one more wack like that and your done!

Whoah officer I think there is a big misunderstanding I was jut trying to help the orphan out.

What do you mean orphan?

Like I was saying, the kid said, um, Jerry, said he had no mom and dad. Right then and there I knew something was terribly wrong.

Mom? Says cop 1

dad? Says cop 2

Yeah and I saw you two and knew you would be able to take care of it, you know child services or something.?

let me see if I understand, a child approached you, a full grown adult citizen with a full set of responsibilities and capabilities, a child in need of guidance no less, approached you, with your fine clean judicial appearance, and you bring the c.h..i.l.d to us?(he stretched out child)

Um yeah? I thought you could take responsibility. But I, not so sure now

Dam right your not so sure now.

The next few moments where a blur, because just as the cop was lecturing me about citizen responsibility and something about village children a stunning blond walked by, long neck, muscular arms like a farm girl, about my height, which is really tall for a woman, she must be swedish, her high gloss fingernails almost glow in the dark, and match all four of her crimson painted hooves.

hooves

I couldn't get my head around the sight

Jerry noticed too.

I moved to step between the freak and the kid but jerry was too fast

MOllY yells Jerry and runs right under the horse, woman, thing

Jerry looks up and says "It is time to see doctor"

In a voice that sounded like 6 andrew sisters in perfect harmony, “sure, hop on sweetie, but i am not molly, i am mary.

Hi Mary, that judge would not take me,

Then the horse woman turned her head toward me, and I saw her face for the first time, I had noticed her face before because I was distracted by her chest, and other things. I am, usually distracted by a good chest, but this was especially distracting because this chest was smallish, and I like most of my buddies, like a full figured girl, but bare as the day she was born.

I looked up into those eyes that where the brown of fine Hershey chocolate, o ly those eyes where 4 sizes to big and set so far apart.I could not look away, the world started to spin those lovely watery huge horse sized, oh i had ridden my aunt pearlies mare once when we visited for easter. I was scared half to death pf the huge animal until it set its huge compassionate and amazingly intellegent eyes on me. And now those eyes where starig at me, those same deeply intelligent eyes, only they where set in jane mansfields face,

where I had seen compassion as a child now all I see was disgust and contempt.I started to feel dizzy, the world started to spin, I must have been really drunk. In my army days, I’d get so drunk Id passed out, I knew I could shake this, it must have been a side effect of hitting my head,

I shook my head squeezed my eyes, and started to say "Miss, let me explain"

I think all I got out was before that beautifully twisted face came within an inch of mine and with all the indignant righteousness of reformed preacher she uttered one word,

one accusation, and the voice of a heavenly being quite struck me dumb

"irresponsible"

My vision narrowed, everything started to go grey,Thankfuly one of the cops said something to this breathtaking freakshow

you making that official Mary?

“yes bob" said the Andrew sisters like it was their next top 40 hit

Alright you, come with us, I wish I could say I was sorry, but I became a cop because I thought that someday there would be someone who would drop responsibility and I would be right there to pull them out.

At which point I had the presence of mind to loose consciousness for the second time this short morning,

Judiciary

I woke up on a bed in a white room, not unlike the one I started the day in, no cops and no recollection how much time had passed.

“You give us some concern Mike”, says a voice from somewhere,

My head is throbbing and my left ear is buzzing lowder, before it was just honey bee, now it’s a pissed off wasp. I sit up slowly this time, and try to shake the headache.

“Ah I see some residual swelling and latent pain receptor firing, I'll shunt that momentarily”.

Then before I can say anything the throbbing stoops and my vision clears.

Wow, “I didn't even feel the shot doc”,

I turn but there is nobody there “Doc?”

“You will visit the judiciary now.” Is the only response I get, and it must be coming from some overhead loudspeaker only I can't make out where the grill is

a door opens and the lights in The room start to dim. Dimming lights in a hospital? fancy.

It has the desired effect I get up to leave.

”Thanks for fixing my headache doc”, I say to no one I particular, could you fix the buzzing in My ear?

There is no buzzing in your ear.

Judge

you, a member of the judiciary are hereby sentenced for the crime of irresponsible, and attempted displacement of communal parenting responsibility. As you well know the punishment for this crime is the harsest we can administer: banishment.

Wait, what? Member of the what? I'm a licenced and bonded private detective, I do personal security work. What's going on here? where am I?

Are you claiming you where unaware at the time of these crimes?

“No. I am not claiming anything, I am demanding to know where I am? And I know I have a right to habeas corpus.”

“Habeas corpus? I gotta look that one up..”

“What? No human legal system has been based on presumption of asymmetric information in, over 300 years.”

“This distraction is Irrelevant. A child did in need of guidence approached you?”

“Yes”

“And you failed to nurture, protect, guide, support and educate that child as is your responsibility under article 2 of the luna founding constitution.?”

“The Where? What? There is no such article in the US constitution, and the only only places I have heard of called Luna where bars.”

“Claims of asymmetric information will not be heard in this court! We have complete recordings of the whole incident. The facts are not in, nor have they ever been, nor will they ever be in question.”

“The only answer remaining is what was going through that human head of yours!? Explain yourself, why did you take that child to the police of all people.”

“Well, when the kid,Joey,Joey,When Joey told me he didnt have any parents.”

“Wait right there, here is the replay “

I am about dumbstruck as the best 3d cinema I have ever seen popps to life, but I’m not wearing the red and blues. it replays the conversation exactly, my shock at this wonder goes completely un noticed by the judge

“What possessed you to ask a CHILD such a question?”

“You mean ask who the child's parents where?”

“Are you now claiming insanity? Are you claiming to not know the distributed responsibility matrix of child rearing? The way you, and every other human around has been raised for 3 generations?”

This time my dumbstruck confusion was not lost on the court, and for the third time I felt the world Round me start to spin.

“Sir, Your honor, you keep referring g to me as a member of the judiciary, but I am just a regular joe, and unless I got elected by special vote of the people last night I am still just a joe. And....: as I began a tieraid about kids having a proper mom to cook clean feed, and a dad to lay down the law and bring out the belt.. It was looking like into a mirror.

The judge looked as dumbstruck as I did

Judge said , to no one in particular, “why did no one check this guys history prior to the event?”

“Did anyone notice that judge mike here did not EXIST an hour before the incident?” “I thought not.”

“Well, mike, if that is your tpreal name, I'll start with the easy part. Ill explain everything because obviously you have been the victim of some kind of prank. And it is not like your the first meme seaplane joke gone awry.”

“You have been referred to as judge because of what you look like, members of the judiciary take the classical ancestral form as an honorarium for all those who have gone before, that have stood, and caught with the might of will for an ever better place.”

“The offense, we dispensed of individual parentage over 3 generations ago. You see, about the same time as human economies where coming to and end wit the first high volume quantum coherent state sintering printers we got to the point where need of material goods beyond critical infrastructure was dramatically reduced. Humans returning to small communities, getting away from industrial urbanization, discoveries that the requirement for intimate single parent bond was a result of a hostile world.”

“You see, Mike, we’ll call you mike until we get your real personality back, we built ourselves the perfect world. No great need, no hunger, everyone has access to all information. But we still need taking care of as humans, our youngest and oldest. Think of it as our new economy, we trade bonds in caring and nurturing.”

“Jimmy did not know his mom and dad, because shee has no concept of single parent. “

“We all get paid for taking care of children and elders. Single parenting was outlawed 4 decades ago as monopolistic anti competitive behavior, “

“free access to children, naffta newborn and free family trade act allowed everyone access to the ability to provide care for children. “

“The egyption and indonesian constitutional dissamblies of the early 21st century. sparked a Debate about what to do in a post scarcity world. The Debate went well. But Exposure to the debate, near created a cultural tsunami, and forced macro introspection.”

“The founding of the luna colony gave humanity its first opportunity to create a functioning society, and focus all of its resources and capability to create and nurture well adjusted humans. “

Debate

Unknown entities debate this hu

selection placement,

morality of culture shock,

morality of tampering.

He is from their pre space era

for alt makers sake. We are supposed to get emerged just look at yourself, un modified form nonetheless, procreational cavity, enhanced frontal glands, at least I took a fashionable quadrepedial hydagoniousequis form.

I have had 3G io. Propositions in the last cycle alone. just think that it would extend our goals to introduce an even more divergent seed.

This man was a soldier, we meticulously tracked and he is personally responsible for the resurrection queuing of 34 of his own species, not to mention his eating habits.

33 of those queuings where conducted in a moral envelope and under cultural coseration called "war" only 2 of those actions occurred outside of that envelope, and both where third party queuing prevention, and the las resulted in his own premature queuing.

I just think that we could extend the desired impact by introducing specimins with a higher confirmed proclivity for intraspecies destruction, Mengla, Cacey, that Russian mass murderer?

Your points are well founded but you concede to the underlays primary point.Before assent and progenitors carry forward Spanish cycle shock must be existing experience set. And the seed must exhibit sufficient ambiguity. Reluctant assent to the underlays wisdom.

#original story #story fiction

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