#(How do you have such a high budget and fumble movies again and again?)

[beatingheart-bride]

"Of course," Philippe replied without hesitation, turning to Susannah with a soft grin. "There's no one else I'd rather go with. If anything, thank you for coming with me: I'm honored to be the one to take you to your first ballet. I know that it doesn't sound like much, but I'm thankful to be able to share this part of my life with you."

He could see by her body language that Susannah was nervous to be in such an environment, likely feeling that she didn't belong there, but that couldn't be further from the truth. In that ornate blue dress with her hair done up in such a neat bun, she looked elegant and stunning in equal nature. She almost looked like a princess, like a true Cinderella herself: she truly had nothing to fear. No one would dare look down on her when she looked so elegant: if anything, she'd take their fellow audience members' breath away.

If only they could see her beauty when she wasn't dressed up to the nines....

@beatingheart-bride

Susannah was quivering as she and Philippe headed up to their box and took their seats: With the way she was trembling, one might think she was about to go onstage herself, suddenly seized by an intense care of stage fright...

...but why? She had nothing to be nervous about. No eyes were on her, as they climbed the stairs up into the box, a pair of plush, comfortable-looking chairs awaiting them, as well as two pairs of opera glasses. No one was paying any attention to the young couple preparing to watch the show, just like everyone else. To them, she and Philippe were just another pair of faces in the crowd.

And yet, Susannah still couldn't help but feel jittery for some reason, as she fidgeted with her program, trying not to crumple it in her hands. She couldn't help but wonder if it was because, dressed in her best friend's clothes, wearing her hair up and sitting beside a high-class man, about to watch a ballet, she felt like something of an imposter, as though she didn't belong here. Maybe she felt like someone would clock her as an imposter, clock her as being who she was-what she was-and throw a fit. It was an absurd fear and she knew it, but she couldn't help but feel it anyways.

Setting her jaw, she tried to furnky put the fear aside, not about to let it spoil her afternoon with her beloved. Setting her program on her knee, she instead found Philippe's hand again, squeezing it as the overture began, and whispering sweetly to him over the hum of the instruments beginning to warm, "Thank you again for this, Philippe-I...I think I'll have a wonderful time. E-E-Especially with you here with me."

She punctuated this with a little kiss to his cheek, making her blush like a schoolgirl as she turned her attention to the stage.

[anolyso]

Utena thoughts...about 2 weeks later

I've been putting it off for way too long and so most of my thoughts stopped being fresh. On top of watching way too many analysis vids post-watch, but still I do at least want to put my 2cents of Revolutionary Girl Utena out there for the world.

Utena is perhaps one of the most famous "magical girl"/shoujo action shows out there for not only it's transgressive themes of relationship abuse and low-key pretty much being the poster girl for like actual feminist perspective on/in anime...but also just doing it all in both a heavily allegorical and understated, yet super over-the-top stylish fashion

But that's it's reputation preceding itself, is Utena worth while all these years? The answer is Yes, but it also really shows it's age and budget in pacing and repetition, tho as an appreciator for "behind the scenes" compromises in art, it's more showcasing Ikuhara's talent in working around both taboo and long-form budget constraints with just well-thought out and iconic imagery that - while episodic and formulaic - is just very good at filling the 39 eps with feasts for the eyes.

Utena broadly is about tomboy Utena with memories long ago after her parents died being "saved" by a princely figure like a princess...except she's so enthralled by the nostalgia that instead she becomes a full on Prince herself and receives a dueling ring to fight in the Ohtori Acadamy secret duels for "engagement" to Rose Bride Himemiya Anthy.

Utena is divided between 4 arcs, only the first and last being Manga adapted from hearsay:

1: Student Council Saga

2: Black Rose Saga

3: Akio Ohtori Saga

4: Apocalypse

From back to forth I'd say that Akio + Apoc is more just escalation into the finale while Black Rose being anime original comes off as a glorified side-character study which while complementing the secondary cast, feels like one of those Anime movies that has to say "but if you don't watch this part, it's pretty much optional for the main plot" despite it also actually introducing the most important antagonist within it's margins.

More importantly, it's the Student Council (arc and the actual people) that lay the foundation but also a large part of the show's focus which ironically puts Utena in the background until like almost the finale and some in-between developments, so it's less "Utena (and Anthy Himemiya)'s story" until the very end, but more like a showcase of how fucked up the system at large is (pin in that).

By the Council themselves is:

Kyouichi Saionji: The biggest jobber, like actually introduced as the most despicable loser ep 1 and proceeds to be a complete arrogant joke for the rest of the show. Honestly in another shojo "love" story, they'd find some way to redeem him but semi-compellingly they turn him into like an Aqua-lad type pathetic brat with an inferiority complex to the actual Student head

Miki Kaoru: the naive "nice, non-threatening soft boy" that also just never actually listens to the girls around him. Probably adds more complexity to the whole patriarchal idea on analytic reflection since yeah, the whole "nice guy finishes last" plays up better when the kid comes off as that "ally" energy of wanting to save Himemiya from being the Rose Bride but also low-key won't actually not just do the duels and win her cuz he's that sorta wishy-washy hypocrite. Arguably the least hateable guy in the cast (minus mascot Chu-Chu)

Juri Arisugawa: TRAGIC LESBIAN TRIANGLE LOVE. Probably the biggest point to of both "not-explicitly homosexual" but also really freaking obvious since her entire story is her girlfriend stealing her "boy crush" when actually she was crushing on her and being pretty much frustrated throughout her story as pining most of it. It's quaint by today's standards but also like damn girl, get over her she was like the worst back stabbing bitch (literally if Black Rose counts)

Nanami Kiryuu: SPEAKING OF QUEEN BITCH, it's been a long time since I've watched a High School girl bully and honestly it's kinda refreshing. If Miki is "soft-boy uwu" Nanami is a brat that gets her come-uppance often, featured prominently as an anime only with the MOST filler/comedic episodes but also not low-key, being the most out-spoken actual brother complex ironically spins perhaps the biggest twist and ironic relationships of "I love my brother but not-like-that but also like-that" by the end. Mostly comedic relief but I find her inclusion to actually add a lot more to juxtapose...

Touga Kiryuu: Big Student Council Prez himself, the first arc antagonist and also a strong foil to Saionji and later a stepping stone for Akio. Touga is THE image of a Princely Playboy Heart-Throb that in any other Shoujo romance would have the main girl win him over from all those "other girls" despite him being apathetic if not outright manipulative of them. Good thing Utena is better than that and really puts a spotlight on just not-actually-ok his power hunger for "the power to bring the world revolution" that leads him to heavily objectify Anthy, arguably even more than Misogynist Trophy Girlfriend beater Saionji, since he doesn't even see her as more than a means to an end despite professing and looking the Prince part but lacking all the actual virtues.

The Student council matters more since they're characters and subsequent tragic flaws are the ACTUAL meat of the show and on second rumination actual shows more how fucked up the system/gender dynamic/power hierarchy is since - while it blatantly fucks over Juri who can't just outright say who she likes - also show almost it's own sub-text of Masculine failings: Saionji desperately clinging to being TOXIC MASCULINE™ and completely falling short underneath Touga; Miki's "nice boy" act belying him trying to replace his low-key nostalgia for his sister (also a bitch, but apparently was more like Nanami in the manga); and best yet Touga being the quintessential "Prince in all but actual behavior" by emulating a cutthroat and Machiavellian world view but coming up empty because well, he's just an illusion of a prince...but that leads in way more to the big finale piece where I'll reintroduce the actual story's main trio

Utena Tenjou: Tomboy Prince with brain empty except for lesbian thoughts. Honestly probably what every western "STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN" archetype wishes they were since while having very tomboyish personality in athletics, blunt speaking and also VERY oblivious to the actual plot for REAL DRAMATIC IRONY, but also never actually demeaning her being feminine partially due to her love of an childhood prince and how she maintains her relationship with both her friend Wakaba and later Anthy. Honestly mostly a plot device after S1 until she gets ACTUAL development by the very end and instead kinda bumbles her way into undoing the entire REVOLUTION OF THE WORLD. I kinda wish she felt either more cognizant or at least felt like she was developing/properly rebuking the rest of the cast's power obsessions but I guess that's for the movie.

Anthy Himemiya: Actual Trophy Wife with a dark secret (darker than ski- wait no that's terrible scratch that). Set-up very much as an immediate princess in distress while also being the most femme Yamato Nadeshiko, Anthy being the Rose Bride as a literal prize who acts and behaves as whom she's "engaged" with desires while otherwise being quiet, wry, mysterious and noticably submissive, by the end it actually plays up into THE BIG REVEALS of just how abused she's been into a hopeless acceptance...like y'know actual abuse victims.

Akio Ohtori: Grade A Antagonist, probably the most insidious I've seen a villain in a while, Akio is notable for, back in 1997, being perhaps the big go-to of actual deconstructing the facade of a whole shoujo genre's "hots for a teacher/sexy man putting the moves" and highlighting how actually exploitative and abusive a person like that really is. Being Himemiya's brother (somewhat justified in the manga by both being a weird Sailor Moon-esque reincarnation of gods/godesses of Dios), despite how much of his motives are runing the background and how the entire back story is  uh...brought up in like barely in the last arc with little lead up (some scenes feel like they'd be a full melodrama season and they just have like 1 scene in the final arc episodes) he manages to one-up Touga (in the plot as well) by instead of "just" objectifying girls, not-just-flat out saying Utena looks best as a princess, but y'know the fact that he is implicitly yet constantly exploiting and victim-blaming Anthy for her own suffering for "the power of Dios/Revolution of the world" turns it on its head

I've spent all this time on characters but in truth a lot of the meat of the show relies again on the Council Members fleshing out the issues of system leading to outright divorcing "being a Prince" (heroic altruistic virtues) and "being a man" (considering like all but maybe the comedic relief have some deliberately misogynistic behavior) and beyond just the plot (or rather character) synopsis, the talent goes far more in how it's framed, the symbolic/allegorical shots, the repetition adding a good episode formula flow to character showcases, probably the most "tasteful" allusion to uh...*ahem* sexual abuse that so many other edgier/prentious shows fumble. Both in how intimidating yet understated it's foreshadowing is until they hard-reveal it despite never explicitly naming it even tho it sends Nanami into hysterics

Really it's both a massive blessing and reason for it's cult beloved status for it's aesthetics but also it's burden, for being a full 39 episodic season by season character development study of everyone BUT the main trio except for snippets and the very end that makes it greatly appreciable as a legitimate work of art.

What I wanted more to say however (long overdue) is that a large part of following is, visibly at least, western feminist critiques and yes while it almost seems like Utena fits the "deconstructing patriarchy" story like a glove...it's weird how almost none of them actually can give a good historical account of actual Japanese female/gender/sexuality norms nor Anime contemporaries actually were. Like Tenchi Muyo and Berserk came out the same year (Cardcaptor Sakura the next) and despite how you can "feel" the influence in lots of modern shows like SHAFT's signature visual imagery cuts or many WESETERN shows having straight scene references to Utena....almost no one has a similar feel to Utena until like Princess Tutu comes out.

Really tho probably should've watched Utena and then Tutu because while it's undeniable that Utena is a major pillar of shoujo re-codification - what with everyone before Utena was saying they thought it'd be like a Rose of Versaille or Lady Knight rip-off...whose laughing now? - it's almost like there's a missing link between it and it's major western fanbase (probably with what few anime did get overseas, this one probably rose to the top), or how very noticeable there IS an influence on it's genre in Japan

Almost none of the big analyst fans actually know A) it's not "a deconstruction of Magical Girls" since despite Ikuhara working on Sailor Moon just before this, almost none of the tropes line up and instead more with Shoujo genre as a whole. or  one of the major inspirations was Takarazuka theater.

And this is not to dismiss how inspirational it is to it's western fandom, but while I am notably cynical towards placing things on pedestals, there's probably something about cultivating the whole pop-culture feminist reading commune with people making weird time-loop theories while kinda most of it is just filling in a mad-lib mostly thanks to Ikuhara just keeping things on the vague and letting the audience take away their own perspective.

Again, most of the show is completely sub-textual or visually/symbolically depicted and never stated nor properly defines it's weird key words (End of the World, Revolutionize the World, Power of Dios, Rose Bride, all things said constantly but never really said what they "mean". But that's also perhaps its charm, in it's allegory and very Death of the Author approach, it has definitely allowed it's fan theorizing and appreciation to flourish so there's something there for that.

Ultimately I'd say Utena the TV series is great more so for what it isn't...or rather I should say it's great for not just subverting Shoujo tropes and archetypes for the Japanese audience but also that despite dealing with some very serious and heavy subjects in obtuse and perhaps understated ways for the time, people have allowed it to be put on it's pedestal because they can easily fit it in themselves.

Honestly though, not that a more "straight forward" approach wouldn't detract from Utena but I will say that the movie, Adolescence of Utena, is very much the best encapsulation of what Utena strives to be (for another big blog post) and while the TV series has plenty of time and flexes it's directorial muscles with budget constraints and season pacing UNrestrained, the movie will trim a lot of the fat

[kumkaniudaku]

Understanding

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17

Recommended Listening: Understanding x Xscape, Purple Emoji (ft. J. Cole) x Ty Dolla $ign, My World x Asian

Word Count: 2,137 

If you were going to win an award that afternoon, it’d be for attire, not confidence. Your expertly crafted golf outfit was the only thing willing your feet forward once you parked your car in front of Senior’s golf course.

Black women and men dressed like modern Jet magazine ads waltzed in and out of the clubhouse while you scanned the area for your party. You’d been to your fair share of golf courses, but none as exquisite as The National. Marble accents complemented modern brass finishes and unbeatable views of the city. The desire to take photos for your father was almost too much to shake, but you managed to play it cool. Acting out of place was surely some type of faux pas for the wealthy.

Across the way, Senior sat at the bar sipping a glass of water while thumbing through a newspaper. His furrowed brow was identical to Yahya’s whenever he was knee-deep in work or a good book. The mental comparison made you smile before ushering in a tinge of sadness. For two people so undeniably similar, they were miles apart physically and mentally.

You navigated through groups of young and old alike on the way to the bar.

“You made it on time,” Senior spoke without looking up from a story on education budget cuts.

“I made it with time to spare.”

“You don’t get praise for doing what’s right.”

“Think of how much better things would be if we did.”

Senior paused his reading to take a deep breath and shake his head. You mentally berated yourself for overstepping so soon. Not even five minutes into the outing and you had already committed an avoidable infraction

Yahya I prolonged the unbearable silence as he continued to read through another article, reading each line painstakingly slow while you watched in agony.

“I apologize. That was unnecessary.”

“I’ll ask you again,” he spoke, finally looking away from the newspaper to study your face. “Let’s leave the character right here. We’re here for a purpose, so grab your clubs and follow me to the first hole. I hope your game is as good as you are at running your mouth.” Taking his retort in stride, you quickly grabbed your set of clubs and followed with no objections. “After you.”

Senior found himself immediately impressed though he wouldn’t verbalize his feelings. He watched you breeze through each hole with near expert precision, opening a series of questions at hole 5 during casual small talk.

“Where’d you say you were from again?”

“A tiny town in South Carolina that you probably wouldn’t know.”

“Try me,” he answered while taking stock of his position on the fairway.

“Anderson, South Carolina. Home of Larry Nance and the great Chadwick Boseman.”

“Can’t forget James Kennedy, Young Lady.”

You cocked your head back in surprise. “What you know about Radio? I mean outside of what the movie says?”

Senior remained quiet long enough to take a hard swing. The loud “whiff” of his driver slicing through crisp, clean air didn’t match the stroke’s output. Both of you watch the golf ball sail high into the air before making a landing well short of the intended destination. Senior shook his head at the miscalculation before turning to answer your question.

“Black folks from all over are connected, even without all that Snapgram and Facebook foolishness.”

“I could argue it’s helped, right? How else would you be able to share your granddaughter’s first steps with the whole family?”

“In photo albums. You might not remember those, but they did us just fine.”

“Yeah, but it’s instantaneous conversation and information. Who wouldn’t want that?”

“Maybe instantaneous conversation is the problem. We aren’t making enough time to stop and really think about what we’re saying to each other.”

“Mm.” You let the conversation naturally taper before following Senior to his golf cart. The rolling hills provided enough scenery to keep you interested while you sorted the words in your head.

“I think we may have started off on the wrong foot.” You spoke once the cart came to a full stop. Senior trailed behind in silence, gathering a new club while watching you examine the other golfers in the area.

“You’re rather observant.”

You chuckled and plucked a club from your bag. “I’ve been told. Yahya calls me Eagle Eye when I catch something he’s already talked about ten minutes ago.”

“It’s what his Big Mama used to call his Pop-Pop for the same thing. That man was notoriously late to the punchline.” The nostalgia in Yahya I’s voice caught you off guard though he didn’t see your minor fumble. Something in his retelling appealed to your sense of compassion in a way that you considered long gone when it came to him.

“Let’s not beat around the bush. You have an issue with my presence that we should discuss. Because I can assure you, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Bold,” Senior responded with a sarcastic laugh. He gestured to nothing in particular as you squared up to take a swing and nodded. “And direct. Continue.”

You took a moment to hit a line drive toward the green in the distance, using the movement as an outlet for the unexpected nerves churning your stomach. Both of you quietly watch the golf ball for its final resting place before you turned to speak.

“You are extremely hard to please, and it is literally ruining your family. Yahya does everything in his power, and, excuse my French, you don’t seem to give a fuck. Why is that?”

“What makes you think that my love isn’t what makes me push him to be the best that he can? It may not be the fluff and frills you’re used to in your home, but it’s what he needs to get him to his potential.”

“Did it help you?”

Senior mistakenly allowed a quick moment of confusion to take over his features. “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“You tell me. When’s the last time you enjoyed a laugh with your family or felt like you could just...be? You’re carrying a weight that is crushing the people around you, and you don’t even see it.”

“You don’t…” Senior caught his words and bottled them behind his lips. He took a deep breath as he approached his golf ball and took a half-hearted swing. Noticing his misstep, he shook his head. “I’m from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My father, Yahya’s Pop-Pop, moved my mother and me to a shotgun shack to find work when things weren’t quite shaking out back home. He was in and out of trouble and such. Couldn’t get right, but he had a natural knack for building and design.”

A nearby group of golfers erupted into laughter, helping to break up some tension.

“So architecture’s been in the family for a while,” you asked. Yahya I curled the corner of his lips into a far-off smile.

“A long, long time. It got us out of that shack when my siblings came along and into a house with our own rooms and a backyard. But, my father was a hard man. Hard to please, you know,” he laughed, making a reference to your earlier words. “He wanted the best from me, and he made damn sure he got it. I needed that to get my head out of the clouds.”

“You also needed some reassurance.”

“Perhaps. But, what’s done is done. I look at what I’ve built with no complaints, especially when it comes to my boys. I couldn’t be more proud of the men they’ve become.”

Senior’s proud smile almost looked foreign on his face. You’d never seen more than an indifferent expression or the slight twinge of anger smoldering behind his eyes.

Leaning on your club, you kept your eyes forward to gaze out over the course.

“Yahya would love to hear that. I don’t know if you know this, but he is desperately searching for your approval. There is not enough praise from me or anyone else that could replace knowing that you’re proud of him. Yet, as much as he would like to tell you these things himself, he’s afraid that you’ll think less of him for being vulnerable.”

“I could never think less of the boy. Tough love is still love.”

“Maybe for you,” you added, shrugging. “But, what good is continuing this cycle if it’s hurting the children you claim to love and the grandchildren after them?”

Senior dropped his head in thought before looking up with an unreadable expression. “Deuce will be fine. He’s all the best parts of his mother. I...I’m confident he’ll figure out fatherhood on his own despite my shortcomings. We raised him well.”

“Forgive me if I’m overstepping -”

“That has never stopped you before, young lady.” His light-hearted chuckle invited you to follow suit.

“Fair point,” you laughed. “So, let me cut to the chase. Allowing Yahya to just ‘figure things out’ is a passive existence. Yahya says you’re constantly reminding him to take things into his own hands. Sounds like you should take your own advice. Be the parts of your father that you needed at 33.”

Instead of acknowledging your advice, Senior twirled his club in his hand on the way to the golf cart. He maintained an impenetrable poker face that even the most skilled readers couldn’t interpret. You silently hoped that at least some of your words had made it through his thick skull, but you chose to let the discussion meet a natural end.

As he started the cart, Senior turned to you and smiled. “How the hell you learn to swing like that? I know it wasn’t in Anderson.”

“Hey, we play a little golf here and there!”

“Where? Out in the woods?”

“No, out in the Bayou like you did.”

A small smirk crept across your face as Yahya I chuckled at your joke. He sounded identical to Yahya, full of mirth and beautiful melodies.

“The ole Bayou,” he repeated in a thick accent. “You ain’t seen a place more beautiful in your life.”

“Maybe Yahya and I could visit one day.”

He quickly looked over and shrugged. “Maybe. For now, you focus on defending this lead. I think I’m getting back into my rhythm.”

Senior couldn’t make a convincing comeback, but he did show glimpses of a softer, more personable disposition. He cracked jokes on occasion and asked questions that turned the conversation from a therapy session to banter between associates. Your mind traveled to the possibility of civil family dinners or vacations during the ride home. Though it seemed silly to create imaginary scenarios after one conversation, you couldn’t help the urge to see a better future.

Your happiness helped you float into your shared apartment, making Yahya smile when he caught a glimpse of your wide grin and short skirt.

“Damn, girl,” he hollered from the couch with Leche cradled in his arms. “If Tiger was out there cheeked up like that, I might’ve paid a little more attention to the golf network.”

“Oh, really?”

Your raised eyebrow made Yahya kiss his teeth once he caught on to the joke. “You know what I meant. Where you been anyway?”

“Oh, I was just out doing a little golfing...with your dad.”

“Right. That was today, huh?”

Even Yahya’s best attempt at feigning interest, his question came out in a flat drone typically used on annoying coworkers. You dropped your purse and keys against a nearby barstool on the way to his spot on the couch.

“It was today. I think we had a good time,” you answered as you slid your arms around his neck from behind, placing a gentle kiss behind his ear. “He didn’t yell at me.”

“You must’ve kissed his ass the entire time.”

“No. We talked about how great I am at golf. I mean, I kicked his ass.”

“Good on you, baby girl. Bring honor to our house.” In a surprise maneuver, Yahya pulled you over the couch and into the space beside him. “Is that all?”

Silence blanketed the room, allowing the college basketball game in the background to have center stage. You considered your options carefully, weighing the pros of a potential argument against a peaceful Saturday indoors. Yahya turned his attention back to the television as he waited for a response.

“Did you hear me, baby? He didn’t say anything rude to you, did he?”

“No!” You blurted. Taking a deep breath, you slowly slid the remote off the coffee table and pressed the power button. Yahya blinked twice at his reflection on the black television screen before turning to you for answers. Your fingers danced across his thighs to interlock with his long digits.

“I think...I think we need to have a real talk about your dad.”

----

A/N: I hope this is better late than never. Only two more chapters left! Really striving to have those to y’all by the end of the month.

Let me know if you want to be tagged or untagged!

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[crystalstar8]

Eye of the Sky

Ch. 3

Pairing: Namjoon x oc

Genre: heist au, action

word count: 1,245

warnings: action, violence, gun violence, car chases, car crashes, swearing, blood probably

notes: heist au, action, adventure, crime, enemies to lovers, ooc namjoon, because he has his license lol

Summary: Ten years ago, Namjoon's father was killed by his best friend and partner in crime, A man who now goes by the name Hawthorne. Now, Namjoon wants to get into the family business in order to avenge his father's death. After finding the man who killed his father, Namjoon builds a team and creates an elaborate plan to finally take the man down.

But will they be able to get through Hawthorne's state-of-the-art security system? And will they succeed with a mysterious assassin chasing them? Let's just say, it's a good thing Namjoon's team members keep surprising him with useful skills.

@mozy-j  @strawberriewithchocolate-blog @daechwitad-2

“Remember to practice your forms before next week, because we’ll be learning new stuff!” Jungkook shouted as the kids ran to their parents at the front door. Jimin and Jungkook had long since removed their belts, letting their jackets hang open because they were sweaty.

“Excuse me, Sensei,” one of the mothers said, approaching Jungkook and Jimin, the two teachers. Her six-year-old daughter was clinging to her pantleg, her brand-new green belt clutched in her hand. “I hate to do this, Minji really loves coming here every week, but money is getting a bit tight these days. We’re going to have to cut corners where we can in order to just pay rent-“

Jimin didn’t let her continue. There were no other children around with their parents, but he still lowered his voice when he said, “We can give you a few weeks for free.”

“Yeah, Minji is one of our best students, we can tell she loves it,” said Jungkook. “She’s the youngest in the class to earn a green belt.”

“Are you sure?” Minji’s mother asked. “I hate to take advantage…”

“Seriously, don’t worry about it,” said Jungkook. “We know how the economy is these days, if you need to take some time to get your feet back on the ground, we understand.”

“Thank you! Thank you both so much!” she said, bowing deeply. After saying their goodbyes and congratulating Minji on her green belt one last time, the front doors finally fell shut.

“How long do you think we can keep this place open?” Jungkook asked.

“I’m sorry, I know we promised we wouldn’t let this happen again but-“ Jimin began.

“No, it’s okay. I was going to do the exact same thing if you hadn’t,” said Jungkook. “I can always ask my cousin if I can borrow money…”

Just then, the doors opened, letting in a gust of wind. It blew their jackets and hair back in slow motion as they turned to see who was entering.

Jin was the first to walk in, followed by Namjoon and Taehyung.

“I heard you needed to borrow my money?” said Jin.

“Were you listening at the door or something?” Jungkook asked in shock.  

“No, my money senses were tingling,” said Jin.  

Namjoon pushed to the front and said, “Before the bickering starts, we should tell you why we’re here. Jin told us that you two were martial arts masters and gymnasts. We could really use you on our team.”

“Who are you guys?” asked Jimin.

“Oh, pardon us,” said Jin. “I’m Jungkook’s cousin, Kim Seokjin. You might know me from my latest movie, ‘A Heart’s Desires: Fate Unknown: A sequel’. And this is Namjoon and Taehyung. Guys, this is Jeon Jeongguk and Park Jimin.”

“Is there somewhere more private where we could talk?” asked Namjoon. “Anyone could walk through those doors.”

“I’ll go lock them,” said Jimin, running off to the doors.

“We have a job for you both,” said Namjoon. “It will be dangerous, but if everything works out right, which it will, it will pay very, very well.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

               “Park Jimin…Park Jimin…” Namjoon paced his apartment, mumbling the name over and over again. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

               Jin shrugged and continued flipping through an Italian Vogue magazine from his spot on the couch. Taehyung had gone back to the museum. Jungkook and Jimin had agreed to do the job. Jimin was especially enthusiastic about it, eyes lighting up when he heard the name of the item they would be stealing. Jimin didn’t even know them. Why was he so enthusiastic about the job? It was suspicious.

               Namjoon went to his laptop and began a search for Park Jimin. Not much showed up on social media accept the website for their dojo. All of a sudden, the screen went dark and green text began typing itself at the top.

               You might want to refrain from doing a Naver search for your teammates on a laptop riddled with porn viruses.

               Namjoon stared at his laptop with wide eyes and mouth hanging open for several seconds before saying, “Hey, Jin. You might want to look at this.”

               Jin tossed his magazine onto the coffee table then walked over. As soon as he caught a glimpse of the screen, he choked on a laugh, slapping a hand over his mouth. Namjoon swatted at him. The green text erased itself and then began typing again.

               I know what you’re doing. I know what your plan is. You won’t succeed, but you will with my help.

               “Try to type back,” said Jin. Namjoon started typing.

               Namjoon: Who are you?

               ?: be at your apartment at 7:30 pm tonight and you’ll find out.

               ?: make sure you’re alone.

               Namjoon and Jin stared at the screen for several seconds before Jin spoke.

               “I’ll be on standby,” he said. “I’ll wait in my car in the garage downstairs. Just call me if you need backup.”

               “Good idea,” said Namjoon. “But I have a good feeling about this.”

               “Oh yeah?”

               “Yeah,” said Namjoon. “I think we just got ourselves a hacker.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

               Yoongi had been keeping an eye on Namjoon and his little escapades for a while now, but he had never seen the inside of the man’s apartment. Finally seeing it in person, it was obvious Namjoon came from money. The décor was obviously professionally done and everything looked expensive and high-end. Even the coffee he was sipping from was better than anything Yoongi could afford in his budget.

               “Are you sure you don’t want cream and sugar?” Namjoon asked, rummaging through his smart fridge.

                “This is fine,” Yoongi said as Namjoon fumbled with a jar of pickles falling from one of the door shelves. He caught it before it could hit the floor then closed the fridge.

               “You said I needed your help?” Namjoon asked, turning to face Yoongi, who was sitting at the breakfast bar, his laptop open beside him.

               “How much do you know about Hawthorne’s security system?” Yoongi asked.

               “I know that it uses state of the art technology and that it’s hack proof,” said Namjoon. “That’s why I wasn’t sure what you meant when you said-“

               “Nothing is hack proof,” said Yoongi, taking a sip of coffee before continuing. “The thing is, though, I need codes. And those only exist in the lab his tech was created.”

               “How do we get into the lab? How do we know where to find the codes? Are they on a flash drive or something?” Namjoon asked.

               “Probably,” Yoongi said with a shrug. “We can just ask the person who made his security system. I know her.”

               Namjoon’s eyes lit up. “How? How do you know she’ll help us?”

               “Because Hawthorne had her fired after she tried to tell him there were still flaws in the design,” said Yoongi. “Not enough to be a detriment to Hawthorne, so he took it anyway. He ran her out of the country and everything. I was thinking I’d set up a meeting with her for you. You can ask her about where to find her old office and stuff.”

               “How do you know her?” Namjoon asked.

               “We went to college together,” said Yoongi. “And I…also used to work at the lab with her. It was a long time ago. I didn’t stay long before quitting and going freelance.”

               “Well, when can we meet?” asked Namjoon.

               Yoongi hid a smirk in his coffee cup and said, “I’ll give her a call.”

[diedieri]

WIP - Unfinished- Holiday Brickercup (that sounds like a cookie)

So I really really wanted to get this finished the for Holiday but..Kinda lost steam.

I loved the idea of fluff n smut and I was like I need to get some Brick and Buttercup action so it doesn’t bleed too much into the main fic (LOLOLOLOL WELP)

so...this is unfinished, it’s a one shot, who knows maybe I’ll feel motivated later. I had a whole vision for this and for a Butch x Buttercup one shot too

alas...

I legit have not reread a damn word of this.

Little ficlet under the cut. I guess a bit of a warning-- i love all the dumbass holiday movie tropes. xDDDD;; so that’s what this (and the other) were supposed to be. Self indulgent lol  WHEN AM I NOT YOLO.

If motivation does hit me, i will prolly put the finished product up on AO3

happy holidays merry christmas, mask up and stay safe

Christmas.

 Cookies. Presents. Families. Snow. And escape plans.

 Year after year, Buttercup had told herself she was going to skip it. Tell her family oh sorry, she had other plans. Every year, she came closer than the last. Last year had been that final straw. Buttercup, the only single sister watching everyone laugh and clap at the serendipitous surprise of both Blossom and Bubbles being proposed to. Buttercup was happy for them, and hateful for every family gathering to follow. Every time her sister’s promised they knew a girl, they knew a guy, that she would just love if she gave them a chance!

 Buttercup hadn’t been looking for love or waiting for it. There was a city to save. Work to be done.

 So this Christmas, she had a plan. From Halloween on she’d been dropping hints and planting the seeds of her having someone to see. Being late due to a date. At last when Blossom proposed the time the meet at the house, Buttercup laid out her cards.

 “Oh, this year I’m actually going out of town! It’s nothing, big…Just.” She had to downplay it and let her sisters assume it was her pride getting in the way. They were elated and made her swear next year she’d insist the plans be back at the Professors.

 It would have been just as easy to stay home in her apartment to play out her rouse. The more Buttercup had begun to imagine her would be date, the more she had decided to be accurate, incase anyone asked questions. She’d tell them which cabin she was going to, how cold it was going to be. She researched every night until one day she had done it. She booked a cabin from a small mom and pop place. They had pictures on their website but you had to call to make reservations.

 What would Christmas be without a little self-indulgence? Wine, lingerie, bathbombs, and cookies were all on the list. It was her first vacation ever, the first ever alone at least. Bubbles had given her a gift just for the trip, a freshly knitted scarf and cap. Blossom bought her an expensive leather jacket. The professor got her doc martins. The guilt bled in a little. Only a little. She need the time away. To feel good and sane again. The distance would help her love her family and not strangle them.

    “Ms. Utonium! You’re. Here.”  The disappointment had never been more obvious. Buttercup barely got in the door, she hadn’t been able to shut it quick enough without letting snow blow in. Even her vision had been questionable in the brewing snow storm. Her cheeks were red and fingers nearly frozen shut around the handles of her duffle.

 “Yeah,” Buttercup didn’t smile to met the woman’s nervous countenance. She was portly and rosey cheeked, though Buttercup would argue it was more flustered than natural. She set her bag at her feet. A distance from the counter.

 “Oh sweetie,” Her distance instantly recognized, “I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just. Well.” She shuffled from behind the counter, her hands wiped over her apron hand stitched with an abundance of Christmas decorum. It matched the check in cabin nicely. Two trees. Real pine. A burning fire place. There were presents neatly placed under the pine and stockings stuffed to the brim. The lights on this cabin had been a dead give away when she wasn’t sure where to check in.

 “You see with the storm coming, folks haven’t been checkin’ out. I couldn’t kick them out without a plan on Christmas. And with the planes grounded, I didn’t think anyone else would be coming in.”

 At the mention of anyone else Buttercup turned completely to the red couch just behind her, another guest with a long black coat and red cap. If there had been any surprise he had since collected himself and left Buttercup alone to flounder.

 Brick. Rowdyruff Brick was sitting with crossed arms staring her down. Of course the only two people with super powers had braved the storm and made it up to the mountain.

 “Well darlin, you see, we have one cabin left.”

 “So you gave it to him?” Buttercup asked with a snap, eyes still on Brick. If there was anything a Ruff could manage to take from a Puff it was their happiness. Buttercup’s one holiday she’d given herself. The chance to be without ridicule and out from under a microscope, the only one single and alone—her perfectly planned cottage get away. Stolen.

 “No.” Brick answered for her. “She wanted to be sure no one was coming.”

 “Goodness gracious,” The woman fanned her face despite the chill. She’d said it like a swear and the tone had Buttercup turning her back on Brick. Somehow she suspected this woman rarely swore and her meltdown would be a bigger threat than Brick.

 “Hey, Ma’am its—”

 “We know each other,” Brick cut in. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Buttercup, a visual representation to calm the ailed woman. “We can split it.”

 “What?” The hostess and Buttercup asked together.  

  “But she’s,” a she, the woman might have said.

 “I can handle myself lady.” Buttercup stomped out the fear without batting an eye. The point of this vacation was to be alone, right? If Brick had come this far away from Townsville it had to be no different than her.

 “Is that alright?” Her cheeks were less fire engine emergency and more Jack Frost had nipped at her cheeks. Buttercup made fists in her pockets and damned the will of the people.

 “That’ll be just fine.” Hardly. “Brick is a real gentleman. Righty Bricky?” She had been queuing up for a pack mule joke, but he had already shouldered her bag and taken the key from the Mrs. Klaus look alike.

 “Oh dearie, take this. You’ll need all the extra you can get.” She hoisted a bundle of logs with both hands, Brick took it with one. “Oh, goodness and why don’t you take this on the house. For the trouble. We normally host a Christmas party, a little raffle.” She gifted Buttercup with a blanketed basket.

 With the way Mrs. Klaus had been apologizing, Buttercup had been expecting the worst pick of the lot. Brick, drove their rented car slower than she’d ever seen him move up the twisted Mountain Road. It was farther than the other cabins. Brick gestured to the crude map that had come with the key.

 “The Christmas Cottage. Really.” Buttercup snickered and noted the ghost of a smirk on Brick.

 “What do you expect? I booked the one on Rudolph road.”

 “I thought Snowflake Lane was winter themed.” It had been the cheapest of the bunch and even for her fake trips, Buttercup had kept to a budget.

 The outside was small, decorated modestly with lighted candy canes noting the start of the long driveway up to the cottage. They framed the walkway up to the door, keeping its guest on path. This far up the mountain and back into the wood, the snow had piled on high and thick. The candy canes barely had any light to them under the grey sky and hidden under blankets of snow.

 The chill was enough to have Brick and Buttercup moving quick. Neither dawdled over their situation and wanted to get in the cabin and warm themselves up. Brick fumbled with his things and the keys, he barely stepped in before back tracking to the car. He had thought a little deeper into the lodging, bringing multiple cooking supplies where Buttercup had a bag of goods to make pancakes, cookies, sausage, eggs, popcorn and frozen pizza. She thought about dining out one of the nights, she hadn’t thought about that being weather considering. Weather had played a very small part in her fantasy get away.

 Of course Brick had considered everything. Buttercup hung in the doorway, Brick maneuvering around her to set down the large yeti cooler. He shut the door behind them,

 “It’s warm.” He held out a palm. Buttercup kept hers tucked under her armpits. Her breathe wasn’t visible in the cabin and the chill closed behind them she thought anything might feel warm.

 “Stomp off the snow and kick off your shoes.”

 “I know how snow works,” Buttercup chirped and carefully undid the laces. As much as she loved the new kicks it was a relief to be out of them. The backs of her ankles were no stronger than anyone else’s when it came to breaking in new boots. She floated above the wood flooring to the cream colored carpeting.

 Brick turned on every light as he walked, carrying the cooler to the kitchenette first. Buttercup couldn’t believe her own gasp.

 The sharp ‘what’ died gently when he saw just what the switch had turned on. Every eve above the head was wrapped in white lights, the door frames lined with lighted garland and a tree just in front of the balcony, across from the dark fireplace. Blossom was a master interior designer, but Buttercup had never oo’ed and aw’ed like this before. It was a scene out of a movie, she was staring at a real life Christmas card. A red plush blanket tossed over the couch. Matching mugs on the wooden coffee table, Mr. and Mrs.

 “Oh shit,” Buttercup held one up, a packaged cocoa nestled neatly inside. “I guess this is why she sorry.”

 “Honeymoon suite.” Brick agreed and held up a bottle of champagne. “Oh. And there’s cake.” He read the card,

“A small wedding cake for the lovely Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph.”

 “You’re shitting me,” Buttercup floated behind him. The damn thing was even decorated with the two reindeer. Either the couple would have hated or loved this. Likely loved it considering their location of choice.

 “Well. Mr. Rudolph. We have cake.” Buttercup had no shame. Free wedding cake? She’d take the name if it came with a prize.

 “I bet there are more surprises, Mrs. Rudolph.”  His joke knocked a grin onto her face. Brick was snide and snarky. His remarks could cut as deep as his fist could punch. Something said without it being at the expense of any person was a bit of a surprise.

 “Should we see what else the happy couple left four our honeymoon?”

 “Wouldn’t that be stealing?”

 “We’re helping them not be wasteful. Come on.”

 “Go on, I’m going to start the fire.”

 “Oh because that’s such a challenge for you.”  Buttercup reached, her nail dragged from his collar bone and over Brick’s adam’s apple. Her sister was an ice breather and he had a belly of fire.

 “I don’t need to use shit to start a fire.”

 “Uh-huh, I’m sure you can.” Buttercup batted her eyes and walked down the hall, “I’ll turn up the heater. Don’t want to freeze out.”

 Buttercup didn’t really doubt the resourcefulness of the other. The boys had lived on their own, who knows what tricks each of them had picked up to sustain themselves. The banter was just another dialect, part of Buttercup’s language. A natural problem starter and shit stirrer.

[smkkbert]

Mothers know best (8/22)

Summary: Since they have been kids, they have been best friends. Since they have been friends, their mothers wanted them to be together. After coming back from the east coast, Felicity takes over a position at Queen Consolidated, the company her best friend will soon take over from his father. Their mothers still push for them to be together, and they seem closer to that goal than ever because wedding bells are ringing. The only problem is that they both plan to get married to someone else.

Rating: Explicit

Previous chapters: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  

Chapter 8 of 22: Merak

= The feeling of bliss and sense of oneness with the universe that comes from the simplest of things like daily pleasures that add up to a great sense of happiness and fulfillment (Serbian)

Just when he was about to take another look at his schedule to check if he had messed up the time again, Felicity came rushing into the room.

“Hi,” she said quickly and sat down in the empty chair next to him at the conference table. “I am sorry for being late. I was down in the Department of Applied Science and took a look at the progression that’s being made with our bio-stimulant. The results of the last tests looked pretty good and I was discussing all the ways we could still improve the product and suddenly I forgot all sense for time.”

“Don’t worry about it.” With a smile, Oliver handed her a mug of fresh coffee. “You just owe me one now. The next time I am late, you can’t hold it against me.”

“If anything,” Felicity said firmly, leaning forward and taking the mug of coffee from him, “You owe me one less after the 5214 time you were late in our childhood and youth.”

Oliver puckered his lips. “It wasn’t that often.”

When Felicity shot him a pointed look, Oliver rolled his lips into his mouth and looked at him with the cutest facial expression he could offer. Chuckling, Felicity put her hand to his face and pushed him away playfully.

“It was probably even more often.”

With a shake of her head, Felicity lifted the mug of coffee to her lips. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the smell of the steaming liquid for a moment. Only then did she take a sip. The taste made her release a quiet sigh of content.

Oliver smiled softly as he watched her. He had always admired Felicity’s love for coffee. She was like an addict when it came to her daily dose of caffeine. She could never get enough of it.

“Now, do you want to start or should I start?” Felicity asked and shot Oliver a brief look while she was opening the file that she had brought with her. “Please say that I get to start.”

Chuckling, Oliver leaned back in his chair. “Fine. You start.”

Since they had started working together, they had met every other day to update the other on what they were working on and where they needed to communicate more. As long as Felicity was learning the ropes of the company and they were both getting used to working together in the most powerful positions of QC, they were playing it safe with the regular meetings.

Though these meetings made it hard to schedule appointment with investors and partners outside of the company, Oliver enjoyed always enjoyed these meetings. Watching Felicity while she was talking about her work just infected him with this happiness and excitement. It was impossible not to be infected with it given how happy it made her.

After Felicity had told him everything about the progressions down in the Department of Applied Science, he informed her about the current developments on the market. He kept the fact that he had managed to increase the budget for her project until the end of his report. It got him exactly the reaction he had hoped for.

Naming the new number alone made Felicity’s mind go crazy. She started babbling about everything she would do with the money and how they would be able to reach their goals that much faster if they invested the money well.

Oliver had been seventeen years old when he had first started to get to know the company. He hadn’t really been interested in it back then, but his father had insisted that he was getting to know it better. Since Oliver had grown up saying he was going to take over the company one day, he guessed it had only been fair.

Anyway, through all the years, Oliver had talked to a lot of people. He had seen a lot of people talk about their work. Nobody had ever been even close to as excited as Felicity was about her work every single day. It was good to have her in the company. It needed her spirit.

“Half an hour,” Felicity said, stretching out her arms over her head and releasing a long yawn. “We are getting quicker and quicker here.”

Oliver smiled. “Yes, we are. We are good at working together.”

“We have always been good when we have been together,” Felicity replied, leaning back in her chair and holding her mug of coffee between both of her hands. “We are going to rock taking this company into the future.”

Even if hadn’t agreed with her, he wouldn’t say it out loud. Felicity was so convinced of this that no arguing would change her mind anyway. Her optimism was another thing the company could certainly need right now.

“Speaking of future,” Felicity added after a moment, cocking her head at him, “did you make progress with the wedding planning?”

“Yes, we did.”

Oliver smiled briefly before he turned back to his files and pretended to read some of the papers there. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Felicity frowning at him.

Of course Oliver knew that his reaction wasn’t what it should be. He just couldn’t talk about his wedding with Felicity. Her engagement had just been broken off. She had been very rational about it the night she had told him, but Oliver still felt like it was wrong to tell her about his wedding plans now. He didn’t want to hurt her.

“Oliver?”

Pursing his lips, Oliver shot her a brief glance. He tried to turn back to his papers, but Felicity was holding onto the armrest of his chair. She turned his chair around until he was facing her. Even if he tried, he couldn’t avoid her gaze. Felicity was looking at him intently, her eyebrows perked up while she was waiting for Oliver to tell her what was going on with him.

Oliver released a long sigh and took Felicity’s hand, holding it between both of his. He lowered his eyes for a moment before he looked back into her eyes.

“I shouldn’t talk to you about my wedding.”

“Oliver, I am fine,” Felicity said. “Of course it’s sad, but things like that happen. I am not heartbroken. I am not devastated. I am maybe a little bit disappointed, but that really is everything. Besides, even if I was heartbroken or devastated, that doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t be happy for you.”

Oliver scrunched up his nose slightly. “Still, I feel guilty.”

Felicity frowned, and her fingers fumbled with the end of her ponytail a little bit nervously.

“Guilty?” she asked. “Why? It’s not like you had anything to do with our break-up?”

“So you want to tell me that our little trip to BBB wasn’t what triggered this?” Oliver asked doubtingly. “Really?”

Since Felicity had told him about the break-up, he hadn’t been able to get this question out of his mind. He honestly wondered if he should go to Carter and talk to him about it again. He didn’t want to be the reason his best friend lost the love of her life if that was what Carter had been to her.

There was a moment of hesitation and for the break of a second Felicity even broke eye contact. Now Oliver was almost sure that there was at least some truth to his suspicion.

“Oliver, our trip to BBB might have triggered Carter and me to see the truth, but it wasn’t the reason we broke up,” Felicity said quietly. “That was bound to happen eventually, and it just happened soon enough for us to pull the breaks and hop off the wagon.”

Oliver looked at Felicity intensely, trying to find any doubt in her eyes, but she seemed to mean exactly what she had just said. Though Oliver still wasn’t completely convinced, he nodded his head with a long sigh.

“I am really happy for you,” Felicity assured after a moment, squeezing his hand. “You are my best friend, and I want you to be as happy as you can possibly be. I mean I remember those times in high school when you were so afraid of commitment that you were basically sleeping with every girl in school.”

“Hey,” Oliver said and pinched her side lightly. “Don’t be mean. I didn’t sleep with every girl in school.”

“Oh, really?” Felicity cocked her head at him. “Name one that you didn’t sleep with.”

Oliver puckered his lips, but it didn’t last long. A wide grin snuck on his lips instead as Felicity was perking up her eyebrows.

“Well, you. Obviously.”

Felicity chuckled. “Yeah because that would be gross.”

“Totally gross,” Oliver agreed, nodding his head. “Best friends don’t sleep with each other.”

“No matter what the modern movies are trying to sell today.”

Again, Oliver nodded his head and released a long breath. He had watched enough cheesy movies with Felicity, Thea and McKenna to know that romcoms were indeed taking that turn from friends to lovers quite often. Reality just looked different from that a lot of times.

“Anyway, Felicity,” Oliver said a lot more seriously now, “I am really sorry for what happened between you and Carter. I understand if being my best woman is too much for you or-“

“Hey, no.” Felicity shook her head firmly. “I will be here with you every step of the way.”

Oliver smiled with relief. “Like you always have.”

“Like I always have,” Felicity confirmed. “And like you always have for me and like you hope you will always do for me in the future too.”

Perking up his eyebrows, Oliver cocked his head. “Are you referring to something in particular here?”

“I will move into a townhouse I just bought and I could use your help,” she said, “so do you have some time tomorrow to help me?”

“Tomorrow?” Oliver blew out a breath. “That’s quick.”

Felicity nodded slowly before she shrugged her shoulders. “You know me. I don’t like living out of my suitcase.”

“True.” Oliver nodded. “I still thought you were going to take your time before you moved somewhere new. I mean if it’s just because you don’t want to stay in a hotel, you can move in with McKenna and me for a while too.”

“Oh, that’s going to be so romantic with me lying in bed between you two at night.”

Oliver rolled his eyes. “You’d sleep in the guestroom.”

“I didn’t mean this literally anyway,” Felicity whispered back before she chuckled and shook her head. “No, really. The sooner I move forward with my life, the better. What I need now is a new place to call my home, something to build for myself. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Okay.”

Oliver just whispered the word almost under his breath. He had wondered for a brief moment whether her break-up with Carter would make her reconsider living here in Starling. She had denied that very firmly when they had spent the night together a couple of days ago, but Oliver hadn’t been sure if she had really meant it.

When Felicity had left for MIT all those years ago, it had been hard on Oliver. For weeks he had felt like he was walking around with a giant hole in his life. Before she had moved to Boston, Felicity had just always been at his side. It had been an unfamiliar feeling and it had taken him a long time to get use do it.

He had had her back for a couple of days now, but he already knew that he didn’t want to go back to having his best friend live that far away from him. He was just feeling better as long as she was here.

“So will you help me?”

“Of course I will,” Oliver assured her with a smile. “Whatever you need, I am here for you. Always.”

Felicity nodded her head and squeezed both of Oliver’s hand in a wordless gratitude. They had been friends for so long that there were no more words needed between them. Quiet gestures were everything that was needed to understand the other. They had a connection like that.

When a strand of hair loosened from Felicity’s ponytail and fell to her face, Oliver felt Felicity’s fingers loosening from his. He was quicker though. Leaning forward, he tugged the strand back behind her ear with a gentle gesture.

When his eyes found hers, he noticed that she was already looking at him. Her eyes were widened slightly and she had her bottom lip caught between her front teeth like she did so often. Without thinking about it any further, Oliver stroked his thumb over her bottom lip to free it from her front teeth.

His gaze lingered on her lips, and he could feel his thumb tickling with the desire of touching it again. Hesitatingly, he brought his thumb back closer to her lips and-

A knock at the door made both of them flinch and move apart quickly. Oliver pulled his hand back like he had just burnt himself. He still felt the prickling feeling linger on his skin, but it was different now.

Felicity didn’t look any more comfortable than he did as she was stroking her hair back with almost trembling hands. Her eyes met his briefly, but she looked away so quickly that Oliver didn’t know what she was possibly feeling or thinking.

Resting his hands flat against the tabletop, Oliver cleared his throat. Then he lifted his eyes.

“Dad,” he said with surprise when he found his father standing in the frame of the door and looking back and forth between him and Felicity. “I thought you were out to meet Ted Kord.”

“Ted had to cancel,” Robert said slowly, looking back and forth between him and Felicity once more. Though he tried to hide it, Oliver was sure he could see the slightly disapproving expression of a father who just got to know his daughter’s boyfriend in his eyes. “Do I bother?”

“No,” Felicity replied quickly, putting on a slightly nervous smile. “Absolutely not. Oliver and I just finished updating each other on what we are working on and wanted to-“

“-have wild sex on the conference table.”

Felicity shot Oliver an angry glare. When he only grinned at that though, Felicity rolled her eyes. Putting her hand to the armrest of his chair, she pushed it far away from her. The chair rolled over the marble floor to the other end of the conference table, making Oliver chuckle.

As much as Felicity tried to hold onto her anger, all Oliver had to do was wink. A smile broke through her frown, and she looked away with a shake of her head.

Oliver chuckled quietly and looked at his father, who had watched them with his arms crossed in front of his chest. From the expression in his eyes, he was still a little suspicious or whatever to call it. He was watching both of them closely, his eyes narrowed down on them.

Shaking his head, Oliver rolled his eyes. In all the years, his father had never joined in on this crazy dream of Donna and Moira that maybe one day Oliver and Felicity would suddenly discover that they had been in love all along. He better didn’t start now.

“So, everything is going okay here?” Robert asked, stepping closer into the room. “Or is there anything you need help with?”

“I think we are getting along quite well,” Felicity said and shot Oliver a brief glance. “Right?”

Oliver nodded his head in agreement. “We have already made some progress on reliving that project about the spine chip.”

“And with spine chip he means our bio-stimulant of course.”

Oliver looked at Felicity, but she just smiled innocently. Shaking his head, Oliver smiled too. He couldn’t be angry with her either. They just couldn’t be angry with each other. It was one more reason why working together worked well for them.

“And working together works well for the both of you?” Robert asked, looking back and forth between them once more. “No disagreements? No rivalry?”

“Since we are working on two completely different things,” Felicity replied with a shrug of her shoulders, “we are complementing each other rather than rivaling.”

“Just like friends should do,” Oliver added. “Really, we are working together even better than I thought we would.”

Robert smiled softly. “Luckily, I wasn’t expecting anything else.”

Oliver and Felicity shared another look, knowing exactly what Robert meant. Working with a friend could get complicated when business and friendship mixed. Luckily for them, this wasn’t the case here. They got along well in the office, so there couldn’t be any bad ramifications on their friendship.

If Oliver ever had to decide between working with Felicity and being friends with her, he would gladly leave the company to her and find something else to do. He could live without QC, but he couldn’t live without his best friend.

“Now, since things are going so well, why don’t we all go out to lunch together?” Robert asked. “I’ll invite you.”

Oliver pursed his lips. He had an appointment at The Geek Squad that he didn’t want to miss. He couldn’t tell either of them where he was going though and John couldn’t serve as his alibi this time around either. He had taken a few days off to go on a short vacation with his family. Since he was working for Robert, Oliver was sure that his father was very aware of that.

For a short moment, Oliver wondered if now was the right time to tell them the truth. He knew there was nothing he had to fear and both of them would keep this secret for him if he told them that he didn’t want anyone to know. He might not get another chance at telling them so easily anytime soon.

“I would love to,” Felicity said before Oliver could decide what to do, “but I promised Tatsu to pick up Akari from school today.”

Oliver almost released a low breath of relief. Now might have been the perfect time to tell them, but he hadn’t been really ready for that yet if he was being completely honest. He had kept this secret for so long now and he was happy about the way things were going there. He didn’t want anything about it to change.

“What about you, Oliver?” Robert asked. “Time to have lunch with your old man?”

“Sorry,” Oliver replied with a sigh, shaking his head. “I am busy too.”

“Okay.” Robert nodded his head. “Then I guess we will do this some other time.”

“Gladly.” Felicity replied. “But I insist on a good steakhouse or at least a restaurant where I don’t have to search for my food with a magnifier.”

“I would never dare to invite you anywhere else.” Robert winked at Felicity the way Oliver always did before he knocked his fist against the frame of the door. “I’ll see you two soon.”

Oliver lifted his hand to a brief wave. As soon as his father had disappeared, he glanced at his watch though. Knowing the traffic during lunchtime, Oliver decided it was probably better to leave early. He straightened up in his chair quickly and piled up the papers he had brought here with him.

He was excited to go back to The Geek Squad. There was a new girl that was going to introduce herself today. She’d come by with her godmother to take a look at the program they offered. Hopefully, he was going to convince her of joining The Geek Squad.

When Oliver had piled up his papers, he was about to grab the pile and get up to leave. The moment he turned to Felicity, ready to tell her goodbye for the day, he noticed that she was watching him though. She was leaning back in her chair, her arms crossed in front of her chest and her head cocked at hi  slightly.

Oliver frowned. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you going out for this secret stuff again?”

As much as he tried to hide a grin, Oliver wasn’t able to. The fact that Felicity just knew that he was going there again made him smile. She just knew him so well, better than anyone else he guessed.

“I am,” he confirmed after a moment. “I have stuff to do there.”

“Secret stuff at your secret hobby in a secret place.”

Oliver shot her another brief glance, smiling. “That are a lot of secrets indeed, but they will stay secret for a while.”

Felicity perked up her eyebrows. “You still won’t tell me what you are doing there?”

“No.” Oliver shook his head. “Not yet.”

Maybe not ever he added in his thoughts, but he kept that part to himself. He couldn’t really see himself sharing this secret with anyone yet. Of course it was possible that this would change one day. For now, he liked it the way it was though.

“But you are going to tell me one day, right?”

With a sigh, Oliver got up on his feet. He lifted the pile of papers into his arms and started walking to the door. He was well aware that Felicity was following him with her eyes. He wouldn’t get around answering.

Only in the frame of the door, Oliver turned back around to Felicity. Just like he had known already, she was indeed still looking at him. Nosiness was written all over her face.

“I might tell you one day,” Oliver replied with a sigh. “Just not yet.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him even more. “I could just hack your phone or your laptop or both and figure this out all by myself.”

“I know you could,” Oliver replied, his voice showing no doubt since there wasn’t any. He knew Felicity’s skills, and she could easily hack him. “I just trust you enough to assume that you won’t do it.”

At that, Felicity’s eyes softened. She angled her head even more to the side as a soft smile spread on her lips. Warmth was sparkling in her eyes.

“You can trust me,” she promised. “Always.”

“I know I can.”

He really knew he could. He had never told a person as much about his life as he had told Felicity. She was the one who knew him the best because he had always told her so much about himself. Felicity had always been the person he had known he could trust.

To say Oliver was lucky to have her was an underestimation. He knew he could never find a better best friend. He would never meet another person like her, someone he could so easily be himself around without ever feeling uncomfortable.

Besides, having Felicity as a friend was much better than having her as an enemy. With her skills, she could destroy a person in a heartbeat.

“I gotta go now,” Oliver said eventually. “I will see you tomorrow to help you move.”

“Thanks.” Felicity smiled. “And have fun doing your secret stuff.”

“I will.”

Oliver had already taken a few steps when he got slower and eventually stopped completely. He thought back to the moment he had shared with Felicity before his father had interrupted. He didn’t know what had gotten into him in that moment, but he knew that it had made Felicity feel uncomfortable and he couldn’t say that he was feeling at ease thinking about it either.

Pursing his lips, Oliver turned back around and stepped into the frame of the door once more. Felicity was just grabbing her stuff to leave too. When she saw him standing there again, she stopped to just look at him though.

“Forgot something?”

Oliver hesitated briefly, but soon the words blurted out of him. “Are we okay?”

Felicity frowned like she had no idea what he was talking about. Oliver shot her a meaningful gaze, dipping his head forward slightly. He doubted that this was actually helping, but Felicity seemed to know what he was referring too. Of course she knew. She knew him like that.

Biting down on her bottom lip, Felicity lowered her eyes. She stroked her hands over the cover of her file like she needed to smooth out any wrinkles that were in the paper. Oliver knew that she was just trying to busy herself though. She needed time to think about her answer.

“Do you remember that day you convinced me to go skating with you and I fell on my butt so hard that one time that there were little scratches quite high on the back of my thigh?”

“Of course I do.” Oliver tried to hide a grin. “I felt terrible for convincing you to do that.”

“I hope you did because those bruises hurt,” Felicity replied, her voice soft. “Anyway, when we were home, I tried to apply that gel to the back of my thigh, but I couldn’t reach the right spot without hurting myself even more because I was already terribly sore.”

Oliver nodded his head. “I was the one who did it for you.”

How could he ever forget that awkward moment when he had had to touch his best friend’s butt? He had barely been able to look Felicity in the eyes the rest of the day because it had just been so weird.

“And you ask me if it made me uncomfortable that you touched my cheek?”

Again, Oliver nodded his head slowly since Felicity was right. He didn’t even know why he was making such a fuss about that little touch of before. It wasn’t like he had never touched Felicity’s cheek before.

“I mean what do you think should have happened?” Felicity asked. “That I’d freak out because you touched my cheek? Or that I fall madly in love with you all of a sudden?”

“Yeah, certainly not.” Oliver shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I am honestly not sure what I thought would happen. I am just glad that we are okay. I- I guess I will go now.”

Felicity nodded her head, not saying another word. Oliver just shot her one more smile and left.

* * *

“Hi, Ollie.”

Oliver had trouble not to groan. If there was one thing that bothered him about The Geek Squad, it was the fact that Carrie Cutter was working here. She always seemed to be flirting with him and it was just annoying.

Of course Oliver knew that he could just fire Carrie. The problem was just that she was really good with the kids. Firing her would take away a weekly annoyance for him, but it would also make a lot of the girls that were learning here sad.

“Hi, Carrie,” Oliver said, biting back a sigh. He put the plans for a possible expansion of The Geek Squad into the topmost drawer of his desk and folded his hands on the tabletop. “How’s it going today?”

“It’s quiet.” Carrie shrugged her shoulders, leaning into the door. “A few girls told me they have some tests coming up, so I guess they have to cut back on there time here a little bit.”

Oliver nodded his head. “Yeah, I remember.”

A lot of girls couldn’t come here regularly because their parents couldn’t or maybe just didn’t support them as much as necessary. They came here when they found the time, but often their lives were too busy and too unpredictable for regular visits.

Oliver wished there was something he could do to support those families at home too. Apart from sex and race, he was sure that the familial background was an important factor for success in school and career. Parents’ support was just too important to not be a factor.

Since Oliver wasn’t too proud to admit it, he could honestly say that his family was the main reason why he had been able to make something of himself. When Oliver had been lazy or disrespectful at school, his parents had kicked his ass. When his grades had become bad, his parents had made sure he was repeating the stuff. When Oliver hadn’t understood something new, they had asked Felicity to explain it to him.

Smiling, Oliver shook his head. Even during the time that Felicity had still been one grade behind him, she had been able to help him through his classes.

“Given how quiet it is, maybe we could drink a mug of coffee together,” Carrie suggested eventually. “I mean when else do we get the time to really get to know each other?”

Oliver had to bite down on his tongue to not start laughing or ask Carrie if she was being serious. It was one thing to flirt with your boss when he was single, but Oliver had never hidden the fact that he was taken. He hadn’t dived deeper into it because he was trying to separate between The Geek Squad and everything out of it when it came to his personal life, but it was no secret that there was someone in his life.

Carrie’s unashamed attempt of asking him out on a coffee date was just cheeky.

“Actually, I-“

“Mr. Smoak?”

Oliver almost released a sigh of relief when Rosalie stepped into the frame of the door behind Carrie. She smiled warmly like she always did. In some way, she reminded Oliver of Raisa, so he wasn’t surprised that he felt absolutely comfortable around her.

“Is our newest prospect already here?”

“Yes.” Rosalie nodded, still smiling. There was a little bit of confusion in her eyes though as she added, “Ms. Smoak just arrived with her.”

“Ms. Smoak?”

Carrie looked at him with a frown. Apparently, she had processed this news a lot more quickly than he himself had.

In these four walls of The Geek Squad, he had been Mr. Smoak. He had lived with his name here for so long that the bare mention of a Ms. Smoak should be weird to him. On the other hand, he had honored Felicity’s smartness and everything she had achieved from the very moment he had decided to build The Geek Squad. Hearing that she or any Ms. Smoak was here just felt so natural to him at the same time.

It was a weird feeling to be so torn between feeling absolutely familiar and comfortable with this situation and feeling like it was so irrational at the same time. It was hard to describe.

“Is that your wife?” Carrie asked when Oliver didn’t answer. “Are you married?”

Oliver released a sound that could mean anything. It could be a confirmation. It could be a negation. He wasn’t ready to answer. He wasn’t even sure if he really understood what was happening right now.

“They are waiting for you at the reception.”

With a nod of his head, Oliver got up from his chair. His thoughts were still spinning when he followed Rosalie aside and down the hallway to the reception. Was Felicity really here?

The question answered itself the moment he turned around the corner. Felicity was standing at the reception, looking through a flyer about The Geek Squad. Her eyes were narrowed down slightly. A young girl, Akari he guessed, was standing next to her, an excited smile on her lips as she looked around the foyer.

For the break of a second, Oliver wondered if Felicity had hacked him after all. He knew that she could easily do so. It wouldn’t take her long or demand a lot from her. She could basically do it on the way from her office to her elevator. She was that good.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, as quickly it faded away again though. If there was one person in his life that he trusted blindly, it was Felicity. He knew she would never cross a line like that, especially when she had promised him not to do so only an hour ago. She was the best friend he could have, so of course she wouldn’t do something like that.

It had to be a coincidence that Felicity was here, and he guessed that the girl by her side was the very reason for that. Oliver didn’t know much about Akari. What he did knew was that her mother had been at MIT with Felicity before she had given birth and that Akari lived in the Glades with her mother. From what Felicity as her absolutely unbiased godmother – she herself had pointed that out – had told him, Akari was a really smart girl.

“Ms. Smoak,” Rosalie addressed Felicity when Oliver stayed silent, just staring at his best friend. “Mr. Smoak is now ready to talk to you.”

Felicity shot a smile at Rosalie. Her eyes turned to Oliver briefly before she looked at Rosalie once more, and Oliver could have pinpointed the very moment that she had processed who she had just seen there. Her eyes widened slightly as she turned back to stare at him.

A long moment of silence passed. Oliver wondered how he was going to handle this situation now. He hadn’t been prepared to share this secret with her. He hadn’t even been sure if he should tell her or anyone at all.

It didn’t take long for Oliver to realize that he wasn’t feeling uncomfortable about it because he had never had any reason to feel uncomfortable around Felicity. She had always been the one person in his life who had accepted him and supported him no matter what. So he wasn’t uncomfortable. He was nervous at most because there was no way that Felicity could miss who had inspired him for this project. The name of this building as well as the name he had used to hide his real identity was as revealing to her as it possibly could be.

With Carrie still in the back of his neck, trying to take a look over his shoulder at Felicity, Oliver figured that maybe this was a happy chance for him.

“Felicity, Hon.”

Felicity looked slightly confused about the way he addressed her. There was a small cringe between her eyebrows that told him so, but Oliver doubted that the others could see it. They didn’t know Felicity as well as he did.

Oliver crossed the distance to Felicity quickly. Putting his hands to her hips, he brushed his lips against the shell of her ear and whispered, “Please play along. I need help here.”

Stepping next to her, Oliver wrapped one arm around her slim waist. Felicity was still staring at him, even more confused now he guessed. With the slightest of a nod towards Carrie, who was watching them intently, he tried to tell her what was going on. Felicity seemed to catch up quickly because, with only one brief glance at the nosy redhead, she leaned into his side with a warm smile.

“Hey.” She put a hand to his chest and rubbed her hand over his heart. “I hope I don’t inconvenience you.”

“You inconveniencing me?” Oliver winked at her. “Never.”

Oliver and Felicity smiled at each other. He hoped that she knew how grateful she was that she was playing along. She had to have a thousand questions about this. Yet here she was, helping him about something she didn’t even know fully about. She was just as remarkable as she had always been.

Clearing her throat, Felicity eventually leaned a little away from him. She reached out her hand for the girl she had brought with her and pulled her in front of her.

“Oliver, you didn’t get around meeting my good friend Akari yet,” she told him, a proud smile on her lips. “She is quite smart.”

“I just love mathematics,” Akari said, shrugging her shoulders. “And biology and tech. And chemistry.”

Oliver shot Felicity a brief smile. He guessed she and Akari were a lot alike. At least these last five seconds made it sound like it.

Getting down on his knees, Oliver brought his face on one level with Akari. With a smile on his lips, he reached out his hand. Akari looked at it briefly and took in a deep breath before she put her much smaller hand into his and shook it.

“Hi, Akari,” Oliver said. “I am Oliver Queen.”

“I am Akari.” She faltered briefly. “But you already knew that.”

Oliver chuckled. “Yes, I do.”

With a shy smile, Akari leaned back against Felicity, who wrapped her arms around Akari from behind. Oliver met her eyes briefly and smiled even wider when he saw Felicity smiling at him.

“So, you like science, Akari?”

Akari nodded her head. “Yeah. A lot.”

“That’s cool, and it’s a good thing you are here then because we love science here too.” Oliver tapped his fingers against Akari’s heart playfully before he shot a look back at where Carrie was standing. “This is my colleague Carrie. She is going to show you around here. If you find something that you are interested in and that you want to try, feel free to do so.”

When Carrie stepped closer, Akari shot a look at Felicity. “Can I go with her?”

Felicity smiled and nodded her head. “It’s why we are here. You go and have fun. I’ll be here when you want to leave.”

Side by side, Oliver and Felicity watched Akari leave with Carrie. The little girl shot another look back at Felicity like she wanted to make sure that she wasn’t going to leave. Only when Felicity smiled and winked at her, Akari took another deep breath and left.

When Felicity turned her head to look at Oliver, he didn’t say a word. He just laced his fingers with hers and tugged at her hand. He led her to his office, pushed her through the door and stepped in right after her.

The moment Oliver had closed the door behind them, still wondering what exactly to tell Felicity now, she was already right in front of him.

“What is all of this?” she asked him. “When did you build this? Why did you build this? How did you even get the idea? And why does nobody know about this? Or does someone know about this? But if someone knew about it, why would you use some other name? And why are you using my name of all the names possible?”

Felicity continued to fire questions at him, but she didn’t give him any time to answer even a single one of it. She just asked more and more questions. Meanwhile Oliver was trying to remember all of them, so he could answer them once Felicity allowed him to speak.

For now, that didn’t seem to be the case though.

Oliver waited patiently, taking his time to just watch Felicity. From the expression in her eyes, he was almost sure that she was at least a little bit excited about this. She might be confused, the deep cringe between her eyebrows proved that to him, but there was a sparkle of excitement and amazement in her eyes.

It was all the knowledge Oliver needed to feel safe about talking to Felicity. Since she just continued babbling, he put a gentle hand to her shoulder.

“Felicity.”

Felicity fell silent immediately. She took in one deep breath of air and pressed her lips together. With still wide eyes, she waited for him to answer her.

“I-“ Oliver pursed his lips, briefly wondering where to start with telling her. “A few years ago, I read another article about the Glades. There was a lot of focus on how the children growing up here, especially girls, had little to no chance of making something of themselves.”

Felicity nodded. She knew as well as he did what the Glades were like. Since she had spent a lot of time at the Queen Mansion with him, she certainly remembered the conversations his father had had with his friends about the Glades too. Oliver wasn’t the first in the Queen Family, who hoped to make some change here.

“Later that day, I overheard our mothers talking in the living room. Donna was talking about you and how proud she is of you.”

Smiling softly, Felicity lowered her gaze briefly. As much as she loved to talk about how smart she was, she still reacted almost a little bit shy when people acknowledged it, especially Donna. Mother and daughter hadn’t always been the best friends. They hadn’t even gotten along very well. Felicity had felt like her mother, who was so different from her, just didn’t understand her. At least when it came to her intellect and her interests, Felicity was taking a lot after her father.

“Your mother mentioned that, if it hadn’t been for my family, you and your mother might have ended up in an area like the Glades or maybe even worse.” Oliver remembered stopping dead in his tracks after he had heard that, imagining Felicity in some dark alley with dodgy guys. “And I realized that there might be girls out there who are incredibly smart, but they just aren’t given a chance to show that. Their talents get lost because they don’t come from a nice house in the suburb.”

Oliver shook his head. He had once been to a school here in the Glades to advertise for The Geek Squad. A lot of teachers were over challenged with handling the kids and surrendering. Many of them seemed to have given up hope on their students, and Oliver didn’t think that anyone could hold it against them. Kids mirrored what they saw in their environment. Kids of the Glades grew up in an environment of violence, so that was what they were mirroring a lot of times.

“I mean knowing how smart you are and how determined you have always been to make something of yourself and to learn so much more, I think you might have made it on your own.” Oliver nodded slowly like he needed to reassure himself and reassure her that he really meant it. “You would have probably managed to make it to the top of a company anyway. It would have just been more exhausting, and it would have probably taken some more time.”

“Or maybe I wouldn’t have made it?”

Oliver didn’t falter. “That wouldn’t have been possible.”

Felicity was touched by his words. Her eyes glazed over and she lowered her eyes for a moment. Oliver grabbed her hand. When he squeezed it gently, Felicity locked her eyes back with his.

“I know that this world is going to be better with you as a CEO of Queen Consolidated. If someone will make a change in this world or leave some meaningful footprints, it’s going to be you,” he said with certain voice because it was exactly what he was thinking and feeling. “The only thing I can do is trying to make sure that even more girls will have a chance of leaving their footprints on this earth in a good way.”

While a comfortable silence was spreading between them, Oliver’s thumb rubbed back and forth over the back of Felicity’s hand. She had lowered her eyes to the floor once more. Although Oliver was desperate to hear what she was thinking, he didn’t push. He could see from her frown that she needed time to think about this herself first.

Oliver’s heart was beating frantically in his chest. With every beat, his heart pounded against his ribs so firmly that Oliver almost felt like it would crack them. He was holding his breath, so he didn’t make any other sound that could make him overhear whatever Felicity would say. He was almost sure that she could hear his heartbeat too.

Finally, Felicity lifted her gaze back at him. The crinkle between her eyebrows had deepened even more.

“The Geek Squad? Mr. Smoak?” She shook her head slightly like she couldn’t find the right words. “Why?”

“Because of you of course,” Oliver said matter-of-factly. “Felicity, you helped me turn into the person I am today. I know you always respected me the way that I was and you never really wanted me to change, but you inspired me. That changed me, turned me into someone better. It’s why our friendship always worked so well.”

The corners of Felicity’s lips twitched before a smile spread there.

“The Geek Squad is my way of giving back some of what you gave me,” Oliver added. “This world gave me the best friend I could possibly have. Now I am giving the world something back for that. Since this was a sign of my gratefulness, I didn’t want the media or my mother to make a big fuss about this. When I was thinking about a codename, yours was the first that came to my mind. Honoring all of this to you always felt like the right thing to do. Besides, you are going to bring a lot of success to the name Queen by working for Queen Consolidated. It’s only fair that I will help your name to be recognized a little more too.”

For a long moment, Felicity’s eyes stayed locked on his. When she looked away, she was blinking several times. It didn’t keep Oliver from seeing the tears that were welling in her eyes though. She released a breathless chuckle when she finally looked at him again.

“Wow,” she whispered. With another chuckle, she punched her fist against his chest playfully. “If your vows to McKenna is going to be half as meaningful as the speech you just gave me, I swear you will make everyone cry.”

Oliver needed a moment to process the sudden change of mood and subject. He guessed Felicity didn’t exactly know how to deal with the situation either, so she did what she could do best. She was using humor to cover her insecurity.

Squeezing her hand, Oliver replied, “Let’s hope I will be able top this at all.”

“Of course you will.” Felicity smiled. “Talking about someone you love so deeply always adds a particularly emotional note to it. It will work like that.”

Oliver nodded his head slowly. Felicity was probably right. At least he hoped she was right. So far, whenever he had tried to think about his vows, his head had been all empty. Maybe it was just the pressure of knowing that everyone would listen to those vows that made it so hard to find the right words.

As long as it was just him and Felicity, it was different. He knew that, even if he expressed himself completely wrong, she would understand. Felicity always did.

“How did you even find this place?” Oliver asked eventually. “I mean why did you come here out of all the places possible?”

“I was looking for something near Akari’s home, so she could go there as often as possible.” Felicity chuckled. “The fact that a secretive Mr. Smoak had started this project had just felt like a sign for me.”

“I guess it was,” Oliver replied. “I am really happy you found this place.”

“Although it means that I found out about your secret?”

Oliver nodded. “I am glad you found out about it. I don’t like to keep secrets from you. I don’t like that we are keeping secret from each other.”

“Yeah, neither do I.”

Felicity’s answer had only come after a beat of hesitation. As short as that moment had been, Oliver hadn’t missed it. Something told him that they weren’t as honest with each other yet as he had thought they were.

Before Oliver got to ask about it, there was a knock at the door though.

Oliver shot another brief look at Felicity, considering to ask her about it, but Felicity was already pulling her hand from his and taking a step back. There was no use in asking her about it now. She wouldn’t tell him the truth because the trustful atmosphere with just the two of them was over.

“Yes?” Oliver said when there was another knock. “Come in.”

Rosalie stuck her head into the door. She smiled warmly like she always did as she looked back and forth between Oliver and Felicity.

“I am sorry to interrupt you,” she said, “but Akari saw everything and is ready to go now.”

Oliver frowned. “Already?”

Rosalie shrugged her shoulders. “I got the impression that she really liked what she saw, but she might be a little tired.”

“She had an exhausting day at school,” Felicity told Oliver, putting a hand to her forearm. “I considered delaying our visit here, but she was too excited.”

“Well, then let’s asks her when she wants to come back,” Oliver suggested, “and then you get her home to relax a little.”

Felicity nodded, smiling at him. “Sounds like a good plan.”

When they arrived back at the foyer where Carrie and Akari were already waiting, Oliver got what Felicity had meant. Akari looked like she was about to fall asleep right there. Her lids seemed to be tired as her eyes were barely opened. She blinked several times when Felicity stepped closer to her. As soon as she recognized her, she smiled though.

“How did you like The Geek Squad?” Felicity asked her. “Did you enjoy it?”

“It’s cool.” Despite her tiredness, there was excitement shining through her voice. “I love it here.”

“That’s good.” Oliver smiled proudly. “You are always welcomed here. Whenever you want to come by, the door is open for you.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Oliver promised and winked at her. “And if you ever need someone to pick you up at home or to take you back, you call Felicity. She has my number. If Felicity can’t do it, I will do it for you.”

“You are nice.”

Oliver chuckled. “I am trying.”

When Akari yawned heartedly, Felicity chuckled. Stroking her hand over Akari’s dark hair, she pulled the keys of her car from the pocket of her coat.

“Akari, you go ahead to the car. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

Nodding her head, Akari took the keys and already walked to the door. Oliver and Felicity exchanged a look, and they both had troubles to contain their laughter. Sleepy kids could be quite funny it seemed.

“Bye, Carrie,” Akari said at the door, turning back around once more. “Bye, Oliver.”

“See you soon,” Oliver replied, while Carrie just lifted her hand for a brief wave. “And get some rest.”

Yawning once more, Akari nodded her head. She didn’t say anything else though as she just turned towards the door and left.

Oliver couldn’t hold onto his chuckle any longer. He turned to Felicity, who was chuckling and shaking her head too.

Just when Oliver wanted to ask if she was getting along with Akari on her own or if Oliver should join them, so he could carry Akari into her bed, the expression on Felicity’s face changed. Glancing at something or someone behind him, she stepped closer towards him.

“What’s the deal about that redhead?” she asked in a whisper. “She’s staring at us.”

Oliver groaned. He didn’t have to look back over his shoulder to check what she meant. He knew Carrie long enough to know exactly how she was looking at them right now.

“I fear she’s into me,” Oliver whispered as quietly as he could. “She’s been trying to flirt with me since I hired her. No matter how many times I tell her that I am in a relationship, she continues to flirt with me.”

“Oh poor Oliver Queen,” Felicity whispered, an amused grin on her lips. “He’s just too handsome for the world.”

Oliver pinched her side, but he pulled her into his arms in the next moment already. While they were hugging and swaying from side to side slightly, Felicity rubbed her hands over Oliver’ back. The warmth of her skin sought through his clothes.

“I think I got an idea how to shut Carrie up eventually.”

Oliver whispered the words into Felicity’s ear, still not sure if he should follow up on that. When Felicity started to lean back and out of the hug, Oliver made a quick decision though. The moment Felicity had leaned her head back enough, so they could look at each other, he leaned forward and captured her lips in a kiss.

It was supposed to stop Carrie from flirting with him ever again. The moment his lips touched Felicity’s, all thoughts about Carrie vanished from his mind though. All thoughts he had had the break of a second ago were just like erased. His head felt empty like he didn’t know the meaning of a single word anymore.

Everything inside of him was focused on the feeling of Felicity’s lips against his. They felt even softer and fuller than they looked. It made his entire body tingle in the best way possible. Heat pooled in his stomach and spread through his body.

Oliver had to suck in a deep breath to stop this feeling from taking over completely. It only caused him to breathe in the sweet scent of Felicity’s skin though. The familiarity of it made the tingle inside of him only increase more. Another wave of heat rushed through his veins. He felt like he was running a fever, a fever that made want to open his mouth and pull her bottom lip between his so badly.

Before his fever pushed him to cross a boundary that would make it hard to come back from, Felicity pulled back though. Her eyes were widened as she looked at him with intense eyes. Her pupils were blown wide and she was panting through slightly opened lips.

Oliver gulped, unsure what to say. From the way she was looking at him, Oliver was sure that whatever had just happened inside of him, Felicity either knew about it or she had felt it too. And something told him that the feeling had nothing to do with the awkwardness of kissing your best friend.

“I gotta go now,” Felicity whispered eventually. “Akari is waiting for me.”

Oliver gulped once more. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, but he regretted it the moment he noticed the sweet taste of Felicity’s lips on his. Oliver had to clear his throat to be even able to say a single word.

“Sure.” His voice was so low that he was surprised that Felicity could hear him. “Bye, Felicity.”

They continued looking at each other for another long moment, neither of them saying a word. Oliver was holding his breath, unable to breathe. Everything inside of him was still focused on Felicity, almost like there was just the two of them on this earth right now.

Soon, too soon probably, Felicity stepped back though. His hands fell away from around her waist. She lowered her eyes, breaking eye contact. All of a sudden, Oliver became aware that there was so much more to the earth than just the two of them. Starting with his fiancée.

“Bye, Oliver.”

It was the last thing Felicity said, her voice raspy and barely audible, before she turned around and left. Oliver looked after her, and he couldn’t stop himself from letting his tongue swipe over his lips again. Her taste there was already gone though.

Oliver still had troubles processing what had just happened. Too much had happened in the last half and hour or such since he had left his office to meet another interested girl. He hadn’t been prepared for any of it and it just confused him.

When Carrie stepped closer to him, Oliver muscles tensed slightly. He was still looking at the door where Felicity had just disappeared. Though he couldn’t see her anymore, it was almost like he could still feel her here.

“You make a really nice couple,” Carrie said a little sourly. “I have to say that.”

In the past, Oliver had always denied that he and Felicity could ever be anything more than friends. Even now he felt the urge to make clear that he and Felicity were just friends. He knew he couldn’t do so now though, not if he wanted to keep Carrie away from him.

Clearing his throat, Oliver finally turned his gaze away from the door. He looked at Carrie only briefly before he turned to the hallway that led to his office.

“Thank you,” he said between clenched jaws. “I have some work to do. See you.”

With that, he disappeared into his office. Closing the door behind himself, he leaned back against it and closed his eyes for a moment. He thought back to the kiss and all the ways it had made him feel.

A chuckle rose inside of his throat soon though. Shaking his head, he rubbed his hands over his face and went behind his desk. He guessed he really needed John to come back, so they could train together again. His head was always going crazy when it was too busy and got too little compensation.

He and Felicity had been friends since they were kids. No faked kiss and no whatever would change anything about that. 

* * *

Next Wednesday, I am going on my first solo-trip. I'll stay in Spain for one week, all by myself in a nice hotel at the beach of Jandía Playa in Fuerteventura. I will probably take my laptop with me, hoping to find my muse when I am drinking Mojitos while I am watching the sunset. My muse really tries to hide from me lately.

Anyway, what I am really trying to say is this: Because of my vacation, I won't be able to update the next two Wednesdays. Fear not, my friends! I won't hold back the updates for too long. I will just shift the posting a little. Here are the release dates for the next three chapters:

9   - 07/16/2019 (Tuesday) 10 - 07/25/2019 (Thursday) 11 - 07/31/2019 (Wednesday)

* * *

@fannaz @promiseyoullbepatientwithme @bytemegeekette @felicity-said-just-in-case @phanseptiic @orangeisorange @mspotatohead14 @whentheheavenfades @emmaamelia95 @smoakingskye @seaolicity @ourwritinginvein @1022bridgetp @felicityqueenforever @leagueofolicity17 @yryssss @myhauntedblacksoul @sherlock44 @sinceriouslybea @arrowsalways @olivyflavescentdeer @olicitys-castle @ofnothingcharming @vaelisamaza @smoakedandcharmed @alexisa1206 @mysaudadespt2 @florence-bubbles @addictiontelly @queens-of-arrows @memcjo @hysterical-for-joshifer @oswinelevenforever @olicitylovemaking @bandanab310 @mymusiclove101 @lynslogic @scarletqueen23 @olicityshipper19 @alex-wesley @arrows-4ever @unabashedlynerdypatrol @louehmysoul @ligiapimenta @chattyyana @charlie-leau @coal000 @samcrowleys @ishippolivia @julianegomesqueen @malafle @miriam1779 @charlinert @melaux @ontheolicityship @myshipperlife @wrightainsley @lexi9515 @ladygreenwood @multi-fandom-crazy-fangirl @morinamel @mje-thomas @kebarry @canadianheartgirl @nannett2307 @almondblossomme @paarti12 @kathrynelizabeth89 @imdfabulous @cutearrowgirl @mrt2501 @mecha1330 @arsipaci14 @mzminx @salasvia @brandis91 @cainc3 @morganmiguess @pr0fessi0nal-fangurl @iamisalima @nessafrancis-blog @jonhdiggle @niki-is-amazing @universed-posts @hopeful-warrior @senoritaswiftie @bellemmie @green-arrows-of-karamel @iheartarrow @olicityovereverything @oliverfel4 @navyaarsha @fandoms-breathe-life @simone4mcswarek @olicity-in-the-heart @fullychippedcreation @geemarie @everything-but-normal-cat @myarroworld @tjmartinez @pleasantfanandstudent @itsmagnoliagirl @j69confessional2 @scentedcolorpirate @icanica74 @javinancupil @tjmartinez98 @certainmentalityface @tatianadamaceno @ryelew @wildwillowzepplin @missafairy @letsplaymurde-r @lipizette @positivepiper @nuttymilkshakehologram @laksagirl @turnupthemusicandscream @pumpernickle93 @onceuponanolicity @1106angel @jaspertown @fadinglands @morganashimi83 @mochababychristy @omglovechrissie @mariejr88-blog @thetaufactor @onceuponanolicity @speakandseethetruth @bri206 @aglasgo @thats0klaroline @geemarie @pineprincess @nerdgirljen @peterpanslostgirl666 @eternal-olicity14 @allyouhadtodowas-stay-stay-stay @lovelycssefan @tsseract @flowerandsunshine @dcnmarvelgamergeek @blondeeoneexox @monetsmark @soaring-cities @bb-olicity @mashamarty @rulerofsilence @erika-amber @felicity087 @i-claim-only-emily @pattid1 @westallenandolicityshipper @babyolicityandwestallen @nothingmorethanmyotps @kayleenyc @tonto16 @olicityfluv @olicitea1990 @olicity5ever @haahaaa2408 @pattid1 @faegal04 @24karatgem @wrldtravler @readerkas @valery6488 @lemmyeatspeaches @olicity-beliver

(If you want to be tagged or untagged, just let me know. :))

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Goretober (Day 15)

Prompt: Teeth

Fandom: Once Upon A Time

Characters: Regina 

Song Rec: Cake Bake Betty - 64 Little White Things

Summary: Regina keeps finding teeth Henry’s room.

Note: Sorry if this one is a bit lackluster. I was super excited for this prompt but have been sick and my brain is just kinda...eh...it did its best.

Henry runs up to her with a wide smile. “Look, mom!” He exclaims. 

Regina looks up from her paperwork. She tries to muster up a smile but she is buried so deeply in tax forms and proposed budget plans that she only manages half of one. “Did you color in the lines again?”

“No, mom! Better!” He smiles wider and wiggles his tooth. 

“Very nice, dear.” She ruffles his hair and starts to turn back around. 

“It’s my first one!” Henry declears. 

“Perhaps you’ll get a surprise after it falls out.” 

“From the tooth fairy?” He asks.

“From me.” Regina tries for another smile. “There are no fairies in Storybrooke.” 

“Am I going to like the surprise?” 

Regina lifts him into her lap, “you might.” 

“What are you doing?” 

“Nothing fun, dear.” 

“Grown up homework?” 

“Grown up homework.” Regina nods. Henry sticks his tongue out in disgust, making a point of wiggling his tooth in the process. She lets the boy watch her work through her stack of papers until he nods off.  When she is sure that he has fallen deeply asleep, she lifts him up and carries him to his room. She pulls the covers up to his chin and kisses his forehead. She turns out his light and decides that it will do her well to get some sleep too. 

.oOo. 

She sleeps fitfully, not that this is anything new. Her nights are usually accompanied by vivid re-renders of her father’s death; of the man begging her to spare him. Of him saying that he hates her. 

She runs her hands through her hair and gets up. Quietly, so not to wake Henry, she wanders down the hallway and into the bathroom where she rummages through the cabinet for some sleeping pills.  She takes two tablets and makes her back into the hallway. 

It is dark, enough so that she almost doesn’t notice that Henry’s door is slightly ajar. As quietly as possible she creeps towards his room, she thinks of calling his name, but she doesn’t want to bother him if she is just being paranoid. She opens her mouth to call him softly anyways. Instead, she lets out a quiet hiss of pain. 

She was going to have to get him to clean his room in the morning. She bends over to pick up whatever she had stepped on. She knits her brows as she holds it between her fingers. She glances back at Henry. He seems to be sleeping peacefully and undisturbed. 

Regina wonders if he had grown impatient and yanked it out himself. She curses herself for her minor negligence; she should have told him not to do that. She looks at the tooth, he’d probably panicked and dropped it there.

She rubs her hands over her face. She supposes that if he’d done any real damage he would have run in crying. 

They were going to have to talk in the morning. 

.oOo. 

It is the weekend so she lets him sleep in, taking the time to fill out the last of her paperwork. She hears the faucet turn on, noting that she will have to add a sticker to his chart for brushing without being asked. For a flicker she feels some of the happiness that has been lost to her for some time. It is nice to know that his loose tooth has made him enthusiastic to brush on his own. 

Regina turns the stove on. She supposes that she will add some whipped cream and chocolate chips to his pancakes this morning, yanked or not, she had promised him a special treat for his lost tooth. 

The scent of melted chocolate is kind on her nose. She sets the plate before him.

“What’s this?” He asks. 

Regina smiles at him, “it’s for your lost tooth. I promised you a surprise didn’t I?” She pauses. “But.” She gives him time to process the ‘but’. “Next time you have to let it fall out on its own. I know that you were excited but pull it too soon probably hurt a lot, didn’t it?”

The more she talks the more confused he seems to grow. 

She sighs. “I’m not mad. I just don’t want you to get hurt.” 

His brows furrow and he opens his mouth. 

Regina tilts her head. 

It is still there. 

All of his teeth are still in place; he wiggles the loose one with his tongue. 

She feels the breast pocket of her night shirt. She touches something small, something with ridges. “I’m sorry, Henry, I must have stepped on a rock…” it had been dark afterall, she had been exhausted. “Leave your shoes at the front door…”

“I have been.” He protests. “Does this mean I don’t get the pancakes?”

“You can have the pancakes.” She replies, feeling bad for having blamed him despite how utterly perplexed he looked. 

He finishes his breakfast and tells her that he is going to go play in his sandbox. She waits for the door to close before emptying her pocket. The object she pulls out is unquestionably a tooth. Her eyes narrow and she shudders. 

.oOo.

This night is as sleepless as the one prior. If not more so. She listens for any sound, she hears none. Nothing all night. Henry is as cheerful as ever and boasts about how his tooth is getting looser.

Yet there is a second tooth on her dresser. 

A third night arrives and he asks her why she wants to sleep in his room. “Mama, I’m six years old! I already have a loose tooth. I’m not a baby anymore. I can sleep in my own room.” 

“But I’m a big boy! I’m not even scared of the dark!” He declares. 

“But I am.” Regina tries, putting her hands on his shoulders. “Can you help mommy sleep tonight?” 

Henry giggles.

“What’s so funny, Henry?”

He continues to giggle, “you’re ‘fraid of the dark ‘n I’m not.” 

Regina lifts him into bed. “Hey!” she feigns offence. “I don’t laugh at you when it thunders.”

Henry stops laughing and pats her head with his teeny hand.  “It’ll be fine mom. I’ll help you sleep!” 

She already feels better. She turns the lights out and waits. She humors him and lets him think that she has fallen asleep first and that he is protecting her. His snores comfort her and remind her of why she needs to keep herself awake and alert. She eyes the door, waiting for the knob to turn or for it to slowly move itself agape. 

Every crack and shift of the house leaves her wishing that she had left herself with a supply of magic. She watches 11:00 become 12:00. And then 12:00 shifts into 1:00. Her eyes begin to feel heavy. The urge to get coffee is almost overpowering but she doesn’t want to leave Henry. Not even for a moment. She knows that it is waiting, whatever the hell it is. She won’t let it get her son. She won’t let it take from her, the only thing that really matters. 

She peers down at Henry. At his precious and sleep smile. He coos something in his sleep. She is glad that his dreams seem pleasant. She moves his hair and kisses his ear. 

Something hits the back of her neck. 

Regina goes completely tense. 

Mustering up every bit of the queen that she has hidden away, she turns with a scowl. 

Nothing is there. 

Nothing but one single and small tooth. 

She seats herself in front of Henry and glares at the door until light filters through the curtains. 

When it finally does, she feels Henry stir and quickly lays herself down and closes her eyes until he begins to shake her. “I did it mama! I helped you sleep! I kept you safe!” 

Regina rubs at tired eyes and forces a smile. She ruffles his hair again, “I guess you’re my little prince and my knight.” 

Henry beams from ear to ear. She suppresses a shudder at his loose tooth. “Unfortunately for you, princes and knights have to go to school too.”

.oOo.

She almost wants to pretend like she has to stay late at the office and take Granny up on her babysitting offer. He might be safer in a new location, she thinks. ...Or he will just be in the hands of someone who doesn’t realize that there is danger at all. 

Regina looks at the three teeth and clenches her fist. This town is supposed to have no magic. She finds herself stomping towards Gold’s shop. As things go in her life, it is locked up tight with a sign reading ‘closed for the day.’ 

He doesn’t answer his door either. 

She spends the better part of her day pretending to work and catching up on her sleep. For once, she is genuinely thankful for Sidney’s desire to please. He fills out most of her new forms, she will simply check them over when she is more rested. 

She locks up her office and picks Henry up from school. She only half listens as he tells her about his day. She instructs him to finish his homework and watch some TV as she prepares dinner. 

An hour later she hears the trademark wooshes and bangs of a superhero movie. She pops in to make sure his homework is done and reminds him that there is a back side. There is a ten minute pause before she hears Batman talking again. 

She leaves the pot of pasta to cool. The sun is still rather high so she goes for a quick shower. The water is on for no more than five minutes when she hears pounding on the door. “Mom! Mom!” He wails. 

Dread consumes every part of her. She doesn’t waste time dressing herself, not when his voice conveys that much distress. She throws the door open and takes him into her arms. “Oh, God, Henry, what happened?” She holds his arm up. “How did this…?”

“Mama it hurts.” 

She rakes her fingers through her hairline and fumbles about the cabinet for some alcohol wipes and bandaids. “I know it hurts and this is going to hurt a little more…”

“Then don’t do it, mom.” 

“Do you know what hurts more than cleaning a cut?” She asks. “An infection. How about this, you let me clean your arm and we can...we can spend the night and Granny’s and get some ice cream.” 

Henry nods, dabbing at tears with his good arm. 

She can’t control her own shivering, she has to work fast, they have to leave the house. She feels horrible for not being as gentle as she can be in her haste and tries to ignore his pained hisses. 

When that is done she, speedily slips back into her dress and, faster still, buckles him into his carseat. 

She tries to hold herself together as Henry, once again joyful as ever, laps at a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.

“Is something going on, Madame Mayor? I never see you here this late. Much less with Henry...eating ice cream.” 

Regina nod but her stress is very clear on her face. “I think someone is trying to hurt him.”

“Who?” Granny asks. 

Regina shrugs. “We’ll be staying here until I figure it out.”

.oOo.

She lets Henry watch some cartoons, far later into the night that she ever has. Several episodes in, she pauses the TV. “Henry? Can I see your arm?”

Henry hesitates before holding it out. Carefully, she lifts the bandaids. A new brand of terror chills her core at the sight of it. 

Bite marks.

Red and swollen bite marks. 

“Henry, who did this to you?” 

Henry yawns and Regina notices that his loose tooth is gone. 

“Henry.” She repeats, more firmly. “Who did this to you.”

He rubs his eye.  “I got a visit from the tooth fairy, mom.”

[christmasromcoms]

The Knight Before Christmas: 3.6/5

I had been looking forward to this movie since I first was forced to watch the trailer when it automatically started on Netflix. A time-traveling knight? Vanessa Hudgens? Christmas? Hell yeah, fuck me up. However, after watching it I was sadly left a little disappointed.

Brooke is a middle school teacher who no longer believes in love after a romance with a fuck boy. Sir Cole is a knight from the 1300s who is sent to the future by a witch in order to complete his quest and become a “true knight”, whatever the fuck that means. His quest is interrupted by being hit by Brooke’s car. With the guilt of maybe making this guy lose his memories and think he’s a medieval knight, Brooke takes him back to her house (which is actually like two houses don't worry she didn’t let a strange man into her house) to take care of him until he gets his memories back. They grow close as they prepare for the annual holiday feast and try to figure out what Sir Cole’s quest might actually be. He only has until midnight on Christmas eve to become a true knight, again what the fuck, and return to his time for his brother's knighting. However, if he succeeds, is returning what he truly wants? 

Predictability 2/5

The Knight Before Christmas was so predictable that I kept over complicating guesses of what would happen next because I didn’t think it could possibly be that predictable. 

Originality 4/5

I may be wrong, but I don’t think there’s another movie out there about a time-traveling knight at Christmas whos quest is to fall in love with a middle school teacher. If that’s not original I don’t know what is. 

Do people of color exist? 5/5

Congrats for reaching the bare minimum.

Is the guy hot? 3/5

I think he’s cute. In weird puppy/boy band member but also a grown man way. The shirtless scene was underwhelming I hate to admit. But he redeems himself by knowing how to bake. 

Are you rooting for them? 5/5

For all this movie’s faults, I was always rooting for them. They were sweet in all their interactions and they legitimately seemed like they liked being around each other. I was worried about Sir Cole becoming a childish freeloader but he proved himself as someone who could contribute to their lives if he stayed in the future. Although you did have to suspend your belief a little bit, I could picture them having a successful relationship after the movie finished. 

There was also a scene where he helps her kneed bread with his arms around her which practically guarantees a 4/5.

Did it have to take place a Christmas? 3/5

You know, I want to give them a 5/5 just because without it taking place at Christmas they wouldn’t have been able to call it the Knight Before Christmas. However, once again Christmas mostly served as the deadline and a good opportunity for them to talk about personal stuff. This movie could have taken place at a different time, but it being Christmas was helpful for plot and going to the Christmas Castle about a million times in 5 days. 

Do you want to fistfight the main character? 2/5

I wavered between 2 and 3 for Brooke because there’s not really much wrong with her but I spent a lot of the movie screaming at the screen for her to stop. Brooke as a person is kind and smart, but half her interactions with Sir Cole made me want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her. Sir Cole thinks he a knight from the 1300s but she refuses to explains things he wouldn’t understand and then acts confused when he fucks up. When he puts the Alexa in the fridge to stop it, she says “you know you could have just used the power button” as though he’s supposed to know what a power button was. I think the poor boy just came to accept he wasn’t going to understand anything and learned to nod when Brooke said something there was no way he could possibly get. 

At one point, Cole asks to drive take her car and. she. lets. him. She lets him. She lets a guy without a license, a memory of modern-day, or any clear knowledge of what a car is drive her car. Brooke, what the fuck. He could have killed someone. 

Decorations? 5/5

Oh soooo many decorations. It was AMAZING! I think they put the whole budget into Vanessa Hudgen’s outfits and the decorations.

Com? 2/5

Did I laugh? No. Did I enjoy the movie? Yes. 

Is there a magic helper? 5/5

She is a beautiful old woman with wonderful hair that is unfortunately only called Old Crone. However, she’s the perfect magic helper: cryptic, jolly, and probably love chaos. 

—

Writing this review has made me realize The Knight Before Christmas wasn’t a bad movie, my expectations were too high. I love The Princess Switch and I thought Vanessa Hudgens would bring the same heat to this novel premise straight off the trashiest romance novel shelf. 

The Knight Before Christmas is by no means a poor movie, it was a lovely story with a uniqueness that I actually hope becomes less unique as other people incorporate time travel into Christmas romcoms (more than just going back to the Christmas you made a mistake). However, there were frustrating points. They fumbled with having a knight in modern times, not using the premise to its full potential. They gave Sir Cole an absolutely ridiculous vocabulary, discarding reality for what I assumed was an attempt at humor. This may sound silly to say about a Christmas rom-com, but if they had taken their time-traveling knight a little more seriously rather than creating a caricature, this movie could have been iconic. 

However, mistakes or no, it was an enjoyable watch and Vanessa Hudgens is hot. So what more can you ask for?

Final Score: 3.6/5

[olicitysecretsanta]

Wrapped up

For @sadfangirl05 by @sparklesannie

Fluffy: Best Friends AU. 

“Smoak!” Oliver called out as he made his way through the whole IT department of QC finally making a stop at the door to her office.

Head of IT Department

Felicity M. Smoak

He’ll never get used to that title—even though she’s been the head of the department for five years already.

“Smoak- hey there you are! You said you were coding but you weren’t in the server room.”

It’s where she normally goes to code, it’s the only place where she knows she won’t be disturbed.

“Yeah, I decided to do it from my office.” She says without even looking up, her voice muffled by the pen she’s chewing on. The only one who can understand her when she does this is Oliver, but of course he’s had a ton of practice. “What’s—Do I smell coffee?” She asks finally looking up and yanking the pen from her red colored lips.

Oliver smiles. After all these years he’s finally figured out how to get Felicity’s attention when she’s coding.

Coffee. 

“Indeed, you do. Here,” Oliver offers her a big to-go cup from Jitters. “I bought you a Peppermint Mocha to celebrate the beginning of the holiday season.”

“Very thoughtful.” Felicity hums appreciatively as she sips her coffee. “Thank you. So…what do you really want—and don’t say nothing because we both know you only bring me coffee when you need something from me. So… shoot, what can I do for you?”

“You know me too well.” Oliver winks at his best friend. “When does Hanukkah start this year?”

She looks a little surprised and confused by the question but still answers all the same. “Tomorrow. Why?”

“I was thinking it’s about time we learned about our holidays. So I’m staying over at your place until Hanukkah is over and I was thinking you could come over to my place to celebrate Christmas.”

“I’ve never done Christmas before. But I’m so busy with the company and the new software we’re implementing. I’m sorry Oliver but I’m gonna have to pass.”

“Lis come on. All you do is work, work, work. Besides you’re the boss here, which means you can—”

“Uh-uh. Don’t ‘Lis’ me you know I can’t resist it. And you’re one to talk Mr-I’ll-sleep-when-the-restaurant-opens. When was the last time you took a day off?”

Feeling attacked Oliver crossed his arms over his chest. Yes, he has been busy too, and like Felicity, he too is the boss. He’s been working nonstop for the past six months on opening his very own restaurant. And with the opening date getting closer he’s been spending a lot of time making sure everything is set in place. “Fair enough. How about I’ll take the time off if you agree to celebrate Christmas with me.”

A beat of silence passes as Felicity wages wether to say yes or no, then a huge smile appears on her face and a sparkle in her eyes he’s never seen before. “Oliver Queen you are way too easy. Of course I’ll do it. And since you can actually cook we can even make latkes! Ooh! This is going to be so fun!”

Did she just trick me into taking a mini vacation.

Smoak: 1

Queen: 0

*****on the last day of Hanukkah ****

Felicity insisted that he didn’t have to buy her presents for Hanukkah but he did it anyways. He wanted to, plus he liked showering his best friend with gifts.

He got her a lot of useful things like, computer parts and processors, earrings, makeup, a beautiful red dress he insisted she saved for the Christmas dinner his parents hosted every year. He also got her a new platinum menorah with her name engraved on the bottom, a collection of Doctor Who DVDs and lastly a hand stitched red stocking to hang on her fire place.

He got a kick of saving the stocking for last.

“Aww! It has my name on it!” She jumped excitedly from the couch to hug him. “Thank you!” She presses her lips to his cheek.

Oliver could feel his face getting warmer thanks to the rush of blood that flowed up to his cheeks. It’s not the first time she’s kissed his cheeks but that doesn’t seem to matter.

It’s embarrassing that he’s almost thirty years old and has a crush on his female best friend. Total fucking cliché.

“Whoops! Sorry about that.” And he’s still blushing when she uses her thumb to wipe the lipstick stain she left there. “So what did you think? You like Hanukkah?”

“It was really nice. Definitely way more meaningful than what my family does to celebrate Christmas. Now I feel like you’re not going to like it.”

“I doubt it. Not that I know much about it but it always looks fun in the movies.”

***** Christmas Eve ****

It was Christmas Eve and Oliver called Felicity to make sure she remembered to pack a bag. Sure she had a change of clothes at his apartment but that was for emergencies only.

She would crash at his place often especially around the time the quarterly reports were due at QC. She would work until the wee hours of the night and she would stay over at his guest room since he lived so close to the office.

He also kept an overnight bag at her place. More often than he cares to admit he’s faked being drunk or drunker than he really was just so he could stay over at her place. In truth it wasn’t just staying over at her place that he liked, what he really liked was that she babied him. She would tuck him into bed, drop a kiss to his forehead—probably thinking that he wouldn’t notice. But he did.

He’d tried to confess his not platonic feelings for her but he never went through with it because he knew she wouldn’t take him seriously if he was ‘drunk’.

He knew that she cared for him but just how much he had no idea. She never crossed any boundaries or said anything that might even suggest she even found him attractive.

They were just friends. Best friends.

“So we can stay at my parents house—”

“I think you mean castle.”

“Mansion?” He offers and he can practically hear her nod in approval over the phone. “As I was saying, we can stay over there tonight so we can have a proper Christmas morning with family and presents.”

Originally they planned to go to his parents’ dinner then go back to his apartment and then open presents on Christmas morning. But Oliver knew that the more time he spent alone with Felicity the more opportunities he’d have to screw up their friendship.

And there is nothing more important to him than Felicity.

“Yeah, That sounds nice. By the way thanks for helping out again with Christmas shopping. It’s really difficult shopping for billionaires.”

Oliver chuckles, he had the same problem shopping for Felicity’s presents. Though his problem had more to do with the what he really wanted to buy her not his budget.

“No problem. So I’ll pick you up around six, that okay?”

“Yeah, see you. Don’t forget the wine!”

“I won’t.”  

********** *********  

He knows how gorgeous the red dress he bought her is. But he’s not prepared at all to be so blown away by the way it fits her. The straps hang low around her shoulders and the sweetheart neckline accentuates her collarbones and makes her neck appear to be even longer. Tempting him to run his hands over her body and plant kisses all over her neck and shoulders. Her hair is done up, pulled back into what looks like a low bun and a couple of curls frame her face that is devoid of her usual glasses. A thin gold chain he recognizes- it was a birthday present from earlier this year- hangs from her neck. The dress is loosely draped on her lower body, a high split on her left leg shows a decent amount of gorgeously toned thigh.  

Felicity looks smoking hot. Pun very much intended.  

Felicity has been waiting for a good minute by the door, but his brain has yet to register that.  

“Is it too much? It’s too much, right? Is it the hair? Maybe if I wear it down instead—”

“No! No. It’s good like that. You, um,  look very—you—Wow.” Since when does he fumbles like an idiot? Oliver shakes his head as if to shake his brain back to function. “You look incredible, Felicity.”

She smiles brightly at him, her cheeks seem pinker than usual. “You don’t look bad yourself. Come on in, I’m gonna need help with my bag and the pre— did you bring the wine?”

“Yes. It’s in the car.” Oliver smiles as he walks past her to grab the wrapped presents she bought for his family. He can feel her eyes on him.  

Is she checking him out?  

Oliver bends more than necessary making sure to really bend his knees thus flexing his butt. He hears a whimper and oh yeah, she’s definitely checking him out.  

But when Oliver turns around he sees why Felicity is making that noise. She’s struggling to reach the zipper on her back it’s halfway done.  

So she wasn’t checking him out.  

“Oh, here let me. I got it.” Oliver drops his cargo and walks over to Felicity. He gently grabs the zipper with one hand and with the other he secures the ends of the zipper before pulling it closed. “There. All done.”  

Zipping up his best friend was not a good idea. He hadn’t planned to be in such close proximity much less this level of domesticity. Her soft skin beneath his fingertips, the smell of her perfume enveloping him and when she turns around he realizes just how closely together they were standing.  

Her eyes roam over his face before smiling. “Okay then let’s go.”  

Oliver helps her into her coat and grabs her bag and the presents.  

They are greeted by his sister when they get to the mansion.  

“Speedy. Good to see you.” Oliver drops a kiss to his baby sister’s forehead.  

“Merry Christmas, Ollie.” His sister responds. “Felicity, I didn’t know you were joining us.” Thea says as she hugs Felicity.  

“Yeah, well Oliver convinced me to celebrate Christmas with him this year.”  

His sister arches an eyebrow at him. She knows about his not so little crush on Felicity. Apparently it’s more obvious than he thought, the only one who doesn’t see it is Felicity.  

“Well then, come on drop you coat and let’s get you a drink.” Thea offers and pulls Felicity along to the main living area.  

Oliver hands off their bags and gifts to Raisa and she assures him she’ll put them up in their room. Rooms. She definitely said rooms.  

When Oliver steps into the main room looking for Thea and Felicity. He finds Thea by the bar but she’s with her boyfriend Roy not Felicity.  

He spots Felicity over with his parents by the fireplace, he walks over.  

“Oliver, dear.” His mother greets him with a hug and a kiss. “My beautiful boy.”  

“Mom.” Oliver widens his eyes in mock embarrassment, still he presses a kiss to her cheek then turns towards his father to hug him. “Hey, Dad.”

“Son.” Robert replies with a smile and offers him a glass of scotch which he gratefully accepts.  

Oliver continues to watch the exchange between Felicity and his mother.  

“I must say Felicity that dress is stunning.”

“Oh, thank you. Actually it was a Hanukkah present from Oliver.”  

Moira glances back at him, clearly impressed by his taste in women’s fashion. “Good choice. Very festive and very beautiful.”  

______________________

The rest of the night goes off smoothly. They have dinner in the formal dining room. Oliver makes sure to point out to Felicity that his parents only ever use the formal dining room for special occasions such as Christmas or birthdays.  

Felicity asks about their traditions for this holiday. Oliver tells her about when he and Thea were younger, how they used to race each other to see who could finish eating a candy cane first. Thea always won because she cheated. Also he liked seeing his sister win.  

Once they’re done with dinner they move back to the main living area to watch It’s a wonderful life before going to sleep.

“Well if you all excuse us Robert and I will head to bed now. We’ll see you in the morning.” Moira excuses herself and her husband.  

Thea fell asleep on Roy halfway through the movie so Roy gently picks Thea up and heads upstairs to their room.    

It seems like it was just yesterday that his baby sister used to run circles around him and Tommy. Oliver still can’t believe that Thea is twenty-three years old, a grown woman right before his eyes. He couldn’t be more proud of his sister. She is currently finishing off college to join Tommy’s latest business venture gentrifying The Glades.  

“Hey,” Felicity pokes his side pulling him from his thoughts.    

He’d forgotten that he lent her his jacket and he can’t help the way his chest tightens when he looks at her and sees her being dwarfed by his clothes. “I’m sorry I spaced out. What’d you say?”

“It’s midnight. Merry Christmas.” Pushing herself up by pressing a hand to his chest Felicity presses her lips to his cheek where they linger before sitting back down. Felicity burrows her face in his chest and sighs in contentment.  

“Merry Christmas.” His heart hammers at a painful pace threatening to jump out of his chest. He can’t help it. Felicity is looking up at him with that joyful smile of hers that brightens up your day. Suddenly Oliver thinks that she can feel his traitorous heartbeat, then she speaks.  

“Oliver?”  

“Yeah?”

“I kinda wanna get out of this dress.”

Holy shit, Smoak! What are you doing to me? Oliver thinks to himself. If it were up to him he’d rip off that dress with his teeth.  

“Of course.” Oliver gets up from the couch and offers her a hand up. “Come on, I’ll show you where you’ll be staying.”

Oliver shows Felicity to her room that’s actually across from his. He helps Felicity unzip her dress then he’s gone to his room. He barely sleeps that night with the image of his hands gently taking off her clothes.

*****XMAS MORNING *****

Felicity knocks on Oliver’s bedroom door, giddy with excitement. She’s practically bouncing on the balls of her feet but Oliver doesn’t open the door. So she opens the door and walks in to wake him up.  

It’s not the first time she’s done it, she does it all the time when he sleeps over at her place.  

Oliver lies face down with his arms hugging the pillow, the duvet is a mess wrapped around his legs. He’s shirtless but Felicity can see his pj bottoms peeking out from under the covers.  

Damn his gorgeous perfectly toned ass.  

“Oliver.” Felicity gently sits on the edge of the mattress and shakes his shoulder.  

In a swift -and not thought through- move Felicity lays down on top of him and puts her arms around his torso, her hands coming to rest one across his chest and the other on his abs. “Come on! It’s time for presents!” She squeezes him to emphasize her urgency.  

Oliver grumbles in response something she can’t understand. “What was that?”

“I said,” Oliver turns his head to the side so his voice isn’t muffled by the pillow anymore and grabs both of her hands and pulls them to his chest. “This has been gift enough.”

Felicity’s heartbeat quickens to an alarming rate, she’s still plastered to his back and all she wants to do right then and there is plant one on him. Oh how she wishes she could have the guts to make a move already. But she doesn’t so she settles for dropping a kiss to his cheek. “Oh, well then I guess I’m the gift that keeps on giving. Come on I wanna open presents!”  

—————  

After copious amounts of coffee and delicious french toast, Oliver and his family gather around the Christmas tree to swap presents.  

He is happy to see that everyone has given gifts to Felicity despite her invitation to go along with him was last minute. Moira must have sent Raisa on an emergency shopping trip.  

Oliver and Felicity are the ones left to swap presents.  

“Merry Christmas Felicity.” Oliver says as he extends a manila folder for her to take.  

He watches intently as she opens it and studies the contents. He can see the exact moment when she realizes what he’s actually giving her.  

“Oliver! You can’t be serious!” She screeches.  

The papers state that he’s giving her twenty five percent of his trust fund. He is investing in her. Her dreams and her vision. Because he believes in her.  

“I am serious, Felicity. For as long as I’ve known you all you ever talked about is your dream of one day creating your own tech. So of course I’m giving you that chance. I believe in you.”

Unshed tears shine in her eyes and she smiles at him still not knowing if she should laugh or cry. Oliver hugs her to him and she settles comfortably on his chest. “Thank you so much, Oliver.” She whispers as he drops a kiss to her forehead.  

Felicity squeezes him before pulling away to pepper his cheeks with kisses, one lands half on his lips. They both blush profusely but before anyone can say anything, specially his sister, Felicity urges him to open up her gift.  

It’s a small green box wrapped with a red bow. It doesn’t weigh much, in fact it almost feels like it’s empty.  

Carefully he unwraps the bow and takes off the lid of the box. He’s confused by what’s inside it.  

Mistletoe?

Does she even know what you’re supposed to do when you’re under it?

Everyone is quiet waiting for his reaction. When he finally finds his voice it comes out lower than he anticipated. “Umm…Do you know what this is for?”

Felicity doesn’t say anything, instead she puts both hands on his cheeks and pulls him to her. She plants her soft lips on his and it feels like time has stopped. Everything around them disappears and it’s just him and Felicity like he’s always wished.  

He’s ripped from this fantasy when he hears his sister ‘aww’ from behind him.  

“Felicity?” He asks dumbfounded because he’s an idiot that hasn’t realized Felicity’s feelings for him. That this isn’t one sided.  

“I’m tired of waiting for you to get a clue. You are a good friend—the very best. You’re smart, caring, charming and handsome and I’ve been waiting four years for you to ask me out!”

“I had no idea you felt this way.”

“I’ve been single since the day we met. Do you have any idea how many dates I’ve turned down?! A lot Oliver, a lot. Not even a coffee.” Thea chuckles at that in the background while Felicity continues to lay it on him. “You seriously didn’t notice? I thought I’d made it obvious with the forehead kisses, the hand holding, the lingering glances…I’m pretty sure I cuddled y—” she doesn’t get to finish because Oliver is kissing her now.  

One hand on her back the other cradles her cheek as he kisses her. Right there in the middle of living room, in front of his family.  

Best Christmas ever!!

Hope you liked it <3 happy holidays

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Every Movie Has a Lesson by Don Shanahan: EDITORIAL: Lessons on the New Future of Movie Theaters

Image: pxfuel.com

During this last month or so of our collective national and international quarantine, I’ve been holding the topic of re-opening movie theaters from my usual “What We Learned This Week” columns on the Feelin’ Film podcast for a “Soapbox Special.” There have been so many articles, so many perspectives, and so many rapidly evolving updates and changes that I couldn’t distill them down into one little lesson or column entry.

With several regions of America starting to re-open (including my own state of Illinois and city of Chicago), it was time to get on the stump and arm the cannons. I put some of what follows into spoken word recently on an episode of Mike Crowley’s “You’’ll Probably Agree” podcast, but the issue has grown since then. Click into the multitude of links in the lessons for the deeper referenced stories. They are well worth their reads and your attention. The theme of this all can be summarized as cautiously optimistic.

LESSON #1: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO GO BACK TO THEATERS — I’ll open this rant back in late May with polling from Variety. It featured a survey of consumer comfort. Here are some bulleted results in numerical order:

91% requested hand sanitizer stations

90% say the most important factor is a cure for COVID-19.

86% supported limited screenings for cleaning time

75% support employees temperature checks

70% would rather watch a first-run feature at home

61% would feel better about mandatory face coverings

60% support audience temperature checks

47% were comfortable buying concessions

46% were comfortable using public restrooms at theaters

There’s more there in that article, but those were the highlights. Beyond even that poll, you’ve got more and more segments of the population who won’t feel comfortable with any public event, let alone a movie, without a vaccine in place. Putting any number of these initiatives in place would be costly, especially for theater chain companies reeling on the edge of bankruptcy.

LESSON #2: WHAT DOES THAT FUTURE LOOK LIKE — Any of those changes from Lesson #1 would make for a very different setting than the “normal” way we’ve been going to the movies for the last century. Many editorials and articles (Seattle Times in May, Vulture in May, and Quartz in June) have tried to talk that out exhaustively with every guess in the clouds. For example, many of us have embraced reserved seating as a way to select our spots, skip crowds, and guarantee seats even if we walk in last minute to avoid 20 minutes of senseless trailers (I know that’s not just me, *wink*). The activity timeline changes upward if we are to stand in a line for temperature checks and even downward if there are no concession lines or needs anymore, which is a tremendous business hit to the theater chains that have been bolstering their kitchen capabilities and choices beyond candy and popcorn for the better part of the last two decades. The other word in there everyone wants to avoid is “crowds.” Can that be accomplished with roped off sections, skipped seats, or an all-reserved seating model (which some older theaters don’t fully have)? In the meantime, you’ve got companies fumbling financial footballs and poking public outcry bears (bravo Michael Phillips) over requiring or not requiring masks (and reversing courses) and other measures before they even open. Do you really trust them to get all of this right on the first try here in July?

LESSON #3: THE OPTION OF AUTOMATION — Piggybacking off of Lesson #2, one potential solution could be artificial intelligence, as crazy at that sounds. According to Variety in May, some theaters in Korea were considering “contact-free” technology. Theater chain CJ-CGV replaced its human staff with AI robots and automated kiosks for scanning and handling ticket transactions. Concession stands were replaced with app-powered and LED-controlled pick-up/delivery boxes. Leave it to tech-savvy Asia to be the tip of that spear. Could the likes of AMC or Regal pull stuff like that off, again, while teetering on financial failure? How do data-danger-minded consumers feel about that?

LESSON #4: COMPANY SURVIVAL IS PERILOUS — The first three lessons constitute a forecast and some great ideas, but who or what can afford those measures? After months of virtually complete closure, save for some door-front concession hawking, large theater chains, especially AMC (which includes the Carmike brand), are in the financial toilet. Bailouts and loans are hard to come by and “junk” status is hitting stock reports. You even have Amazon interested in gobbling up AMC, which would be quite interesting. It may require a rescue such as that. This peril is international as well with CineEurope reporting a possible $20–31 billion loss for the year. Even reopening isn’t an instant cure. The majority of profits for these companies are dependent on concessions because of the high ticket receipt percentages going back to the studios, a gouge that has been increasing over the years at the high blockbuster level (Thanks, Disney). If the food areas are closed due to viral fears and health code regulations, that destroys earnings. 50% capacities of social-distanced seating doesn’t help theaters either. Even 50% might be optimistic. There are theaters opening at barely 25% capacity.

LESSON #5: “TOO BIG TO FAIL” IS LOOKING FAILURE STRAIGHT IN THE FACE — And with that we reach the studios’ level of wallet hit with an inactive theater distribution market. Even with their demanded big bites of the pie, half-filled (or less) theaters do not help them either. This is especially the case at the blockbuster level. No matter the anticipation demand or potential staying power of a really big hit flick with less competition, it is exponentially harder to recoup $200 million-budgeted tentpoles and their $100+ million marketing campaigns if sizable fractions of the screens holding butts are gone or entire chains are shuttered. That’s why the really big stuff like Tenet, Mulan, Fast 9, No Time to Die, and more are not automatically landing on streaming services or VOD outlets. Even at a Trolls: World Tour-equivalent $20 price tag per rental (and its modest success), those giants cannot recoup those huge red balances versus getting a ticket for every head instead of every household. A little thing like The Lovebirds or Irresistible can land in the green with VOD, but not Wonder Woman or Black Widow. A business with a blockbuster class level of movies that once looked too big to fail making its worldwide billions is now failing because they have no place to go and no one able to come to their shows.

LESSON #6: STUDIOS DID SOME THIS TO THEMSELVES — Believe it or not, the studios have slowly damaged their own theatrical success/potential for years with the incremental shortening of the windows between big-screen premieres and home media release dates. Folks my age remember the months of interminable wait back in the VHS and cable TV eras before streaming services were even a glimmer in someone’s eye. For example, Forrest Gump hit theaters over the July 4th weekend of 1994. It didn’t land on VHS until late April 1995 after a long theatrical run and a winter Oscar bump. After that, it wouldn’t hit paid cable for another bunch of months and then years before basic cable made it “free.” By comparison, Joker opened on the first weekend of October last year, hit store shelves the first weekend of January 2020, and no one cares if it comes to HBO or Showtime because Netflix, Hulu, or VOD is cheaper and better. What used to be six months at the minimum (or even an entire year if you were a Disney release) has shrunk to merely 90 days on average. Sure, both Forrest Gump and Joker raked for their times, but it’s an indictment on patience versus money-grabbing. People that are willing to wait can now weather a pretty comfortable amount of time compared to the past for their 4K players and big-screen TVs in their dens. In our current COVID-19 state, we’ve all got nothing but time on our hands to do just that. Why risk health if personal patience versus some “fear of missing out” can pay one $20–30 digital download/disc price to watch a movie repeatedly instead of hauling the entire family plus concessions once, especially for something they don’t deem “big screen worthy?” The studios trying to keep the buzz constant with shorter waits will now see leverage backfire in favor of the consumer. For a current case of that, just look at Disney/Pixar’s Onward and the mere weeks it took to cave from the VOD rental level to dismissively dishing it to everyone in Disney+. With studios building their own streaming shingles, you’re going to see more of that or see more wins for Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.

LESSON #7: THE PRICE POINT OF DIGITAL — Let’s go further with the digital wants of consumers versus the new risks and hassles of theaters. Circling back to that opening Variety polling again, remember that 70% would rather watch a first-run feature at home. And that was back in May. Imagine now knocking on the door of Independence Day, no matter how much antsy-pant anticipation and hope is out there. That same Variety polling screened respondents on online pricing with some keen results. It asked how much a “reasonable” price would be to stream top-quality productions in their home. Here are those results in numerical rank:

47%- $10

20%- $20

19%- only if it was free

6%- $30

3%- $40

1%- $50, $60, or $80%

That’s 67% holding firm at $20 or under and studios need to do their own projections of math. Regardless, welcome to a more than a little bit of the #firstworldproblems portion of this entire “Soapbox Special.” Movies are wants, not needs, period. They are lovely fulfillment, but non-essential. For every one of those 6% hardcore FilmBros and cinephiles with the disposable income to drop $40 or more to see their precious Christopher Nolan film, over 95% aren’t budging or can’t afford it. Check your privilege.

LESSON #8: ADAPT OR DIE — One way or another, change is needed at the highest level that trickles down to every screen in America. A popular industry that has weathered the advent of television, cable, and now streaming opponents and competition in its century of existence should be able to survive this. Or can they? With the Paramount Accords lapsed, is it time for studios to buy or build their own sustainable theaters to show off their own wares and keep all the profits they used to share with the chains? If studios instead mine the digital landscape successfully, do we really need multiplexes anymore? That is a question posed recently in The New Yorker by Richard Brody in a good read. They’ll need smaller budgeted films to do that, scaling so many things down. Go back to the roots. You can make a dozen solid indies or five or more star-driven mid-budget programmers like the industry used to do in the 1990s with the cost of a single MCU film. Reverting back to that level of business would require some baths and haircuts, but it would rescue the industry. It’s time to embrace those needs. In another angle, columnist Nick Clement on Back to Movies says the film industry is “f — ked.” In many respects, I highly agree with him and his fantastic stump piece speaking on unemployment and the public state of some of those aforementioned #firstworldproblems. Time and patience are the biggest needs.

LESSON #9: “ABSENCE AWAY MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER” — I’ve used this lesson before in “What We Learned This Week” and it’s time to end with it again. Shed away all the polling and conjecture. We all know the love for movies is there or we wouldn’t be talking about it. Look at the success of early openings and the lined-around-the-block comeback of drive-in movie theaters. It will be a topsy-turvy year, without question, even with a full return. We’ve had a zero-budget film named Unsubscribe streaking at an empty box office only to be dethroned by revival screenings of Jurassic Park putting it back to #1 in the nation, George Foreman-style, 27 years after it last ruled the multiplexes. If the year ended today, Bad Boys For Life would get the “biggest movie of 2020” championship belt in the record books. Just like Field of Dreams says, “people will come.” They just need to wait. Everyone, for that matter, from the greedy studio execs and sidelined movie stars to the lowly theater ushers and concession stand workers, needs to wait. This has sucked and it will keep on sucking, but the best answer is to wait and get through this better and healthier, personally and financially, than rushing and screwing it all up. The movies will be there. We want all the people to be there too.

LOGO DESIGNED BY MEENTS ILLUSTRATED

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