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ptergwen · 4 years ago

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from one kid to another

w/c: 6.0k

warnings: mentions of drinking, lots of swearing, implied smut, and angst at times

summary: it was a mistake, a beautiful one that you didn’t make on your own

a/n: this genuinely is my favorite thing i’ve ever written :,) i say that a lot but this time i mean it, it’s really special i think and i so so so hope y’all do too <3 enjoy my loves

there’s only one thing in life that testing positive for is actually positive.

depending on the situation, obviously. yours isn’t ideal, or planned or a blessing or whatever people say. it’s a gigantic mistake that you didn’t realize you made until a minute ago.

you’d noticed something was wrong when your time of the month came and all you experienced was the symptoms. cramps, cravings, everything except your actual period. as everyone is pretty much taught to do, you ran to the closest drug store for a pregnancy test. what the hell else could it be? you messed around a few weeks ago, so there’s a possibility.

your heart felt like it was going to explode out of your chest the whole time you waited for the results. you’d thought of calling tom over for support, but there are a couple of reasons why you couldn’t do that. you realized you made the right decision when your timer for the test went off.

two red lines. you’re pregnant. you’re pregnant, and your best fucking friend is the father.

where do you go from here?

the test falls from your hand and hits the floor with a mocking clank. you slide down until your back is against the bathtub. well, you’re fucked. what an ironic word choice.

the fact that you aren’t ready in the slightest to be a parent when you’re still growing up yourself is one thing. it’s another that this could ruin the most important relationship you’ve ever had.

no, tom won’t be mad. he’s never once fought with or even raised his voice at you. in your times of need, he’s been the one to uplift you and kiss your puffy cheeks dry. no matter how he takes this, you know it won’t be out on you. he is half responsible.

but, with how you left things the last time you spoke, you’re not sure you’ll be able to get past it.

tom is alarmingly good at hiding how he truly feels. you always tease him that it’s because he’s a gemini. he’ll come back with shut up, i’m an actor and stick his nose in the air to give you the full image. in all seriousness, it does take a toll on how well he can communicate.

you’ve seen it in small ways, like when he brings you along for press days and uses unenthusiastic smiles to cover up his yawns. how he’ll be polite in a conversation with people he’d rather not speak to, then mumble about it once you’re home. he tries to put forward the “appealing” parts of himself even though he’s more than them.

tom’s biggest communication issue is that he’s been in love with you since year nine and hasn’t said a word about it. you’ve yet to figure that one out.

you two became friends while tom was starring in billy elliot. his schedule was so scattered between shows and school, so he struggled to balance both. he often had to stay late for extra help on the lessons. you’d also been there a few times. you worked better in the classroom, and he was grateful he didn’t have to be alone with the teacher.

most kids made fun of tom for his interest in theater, to his face and behind his back. not you. you thought it was just incredible that someone in your own classes worked at the west end. you’d told him on your way home one night.

he’d heard you before he saw you. “you’re tom, right?” you asked from behind him, the two of you making your way through the hall. the question sounded friendly, and it wasn’t every day kids were nice to him. tom stopped walking so you could catch up. “yes, and you are?” you gave him a small smile, books clutched to your chest. he instantly returned it.

“y/n. i heard you’re in billy elliot?” you laughed at your understatement, then corrected yourself. “that you are billy elliot, i mean. that’s so cool.” “oh, i am. thank you,” he chuckled back, a full grin taking over his face. you were both walking again, you by tom’s side. “i was hoping to come see you soon.” your voice got quieter as you told him, like you were nervous.

tom never had much luck with girls, not at this point in his life. this was an opportunity to change that. at the very least, to make a new friend. he offered something you said yes to without a beat of hesitation. “what if i got you the tickets?”

from then on, you began talking during class and not only when it ended. tom really knew how to keep the conversation going, telling story after story that left you laughing so much your teacher would shush you. you’d eventually moved to hangouts at either of your houses. harrison came into the mix at some point, the three of you forming your own group.

the difference between tom and harrison was that while harrison linked with other girls, tom was only interested in you. he’d gotten a crush on you pretty fast, if he was being honest. it might have been your shared sense of humor or the way you said his name.

thomas, when he was being cheeky. tommy, which took the place of a pet name. even regular tom. that might have been his favorite. he loved how it rolled off your tongue. he loved, and still loves, you.

you’d gone to all of tom’s performances you possibly could, the ones for school theater included. you also gave him the push to take his talents to hollywood. tom was afraid he wasn’t cut out for the big screen, that he needed more practice and experience first. you told him that if this was what he wanted to do, he had to start somewhere. why wait?

tom then landed his first movie role in the impossible at the age of fifteen. he’d received tons of praise and almost gotten nominated for an academy award, all because you convinced him to audition. you played a huge part in keeping him grounded when he was between films, and caught him up on whatever schoolwork he’d missed.

you practically zoomed to tom’s house when he was announced as the next spider-man. you’d been constantly refreshing every social media platform marvel was on since tom became a finalist for the part. that process was probably the most difficult experience he’s ever gone through. you’d know, having heard all about it from tom.

the two of you celebrated along with the rest of tom’s family that night. you kept giving him little proud of you squeezes on his shoulder or knee. tom is eternally indebted to you for being the most supportive of everything he does.

he of course sends the support right back. although he went down the movie star path, acting wasn’t for you. you’d gone off to university and studied hard as hell and aced all your shit. tom quizzed you on material whenever you needed. he wanted to help you somehow, and this was all you’d let him do.

he’d offered to pay off your loans and any other expenses necessary because he had the money to do that now. you refused every single time, not trying to become dependent on him. he admired your drive, yet hated it at the same time. everything you’d done for him, it was his turn to be the caretaker. it should’ve been.

whenever tom wrapped filming for the holidays and came back home, you were always preparing for final exams. he kept you company, content with simply being in your presence. you typed away on your keyboard and read over notes until your eyes burned. tom occasionally brought you snacks, tea, asked how you were and what he could do.

sometimes, he would have to cut your study time short. he’d say it wasn’t healthy or you were overdoing it and to come relax with him for a bit. other times, tom let you be. he didn’t want to get in the way of your already stressful assignments. those were the nights you’d fall asleep in front of your laptop. drool on your chin, hunched over at your desk.

tom made sure to tuck you in, press a light kiss to whatever part of your face wasn’t covered in spit, then let himself out. he knew where your spare key was, so he used that. you’d wake up to a “Fell asleep studying again. Rest today x” text the next morning.

when it came time for you to graduate, tom was on the first flight there. it was during another round of reshoots for chaos walking. he respectfully told doug that he’d have to work around his schedule or replace him, which couldn’t be done so late into filming. tom didn’t care that it made him seem like a prick. he was getting to you no matter what he had to do.

he’d earned plenty of stares and whispers from people as he took his seat in the crowd. he was a proper celebrity now, so he expected it. his solution was to ignore everything and chat with your family about how proud they were of you, tom the most. he saw you go from a kid attempting algebra equations to an adult at her uni graduation. you’ve really grown up together.

it was why he teared up hearing them call your name, seeing you beam as you walked across the stage. your mom grabbed his hand and nodded at him, like she could tell exactly what was going through his head.

you ran right up to tom after the ceremony was over, leaping into his arms. he let out a couple of chuckles as he spun you around. “i didn’t think you’d make it,” you’d admitted, happy yet sad tears in your eyes. tom put you down so he could pull you in for a real hug. “i’ll always be wherever you are, y/n,” he said into your ear, rocking you while you gripped at his suit collar.

flash forward to a year later, your career is finally taking off, tom’s is flourishing like it has been for years, and you’re pregnant with his child. you’re trying to recall the series of events that led you to this moment.

you were both drunk, blackout drunk because the only reason you remember sleeping together is that you woke up naked in the same bed. harrison’s bed.

he threw a housewarming party for himself, having recently moved out of tom’s and the other boys’ place. the three of them, sam, and you were all in attendance, along with a lot of others you hadn’t met.

neither you nor tom could figure out where he knew all those people from. he’d clinged to you two for the most part, more so you now with tom usually away. they could have been from work. harrison is breaking into the business himself, small roles here and there. tom actually met him in your school’s theater program, then he introduced him to you, ten years ago already.

sam entertained himself by making concoctions with the snacks harrison set out. harry got together a playlist for the party. harrison and tuwaine struck up a conversation with some of harrison’s actor friends. that left you and tom alone, out of stuff to do, and with one way to fix it.

“drink?” tom had asked you, a smirk playing on his lips. “love one,” you hummed back and set off for the kitchen. the two of you raided harrison’s liquor cabinet, grabbing his biggest bottle of wine. he’d dumbly pointed it out during the house tour he gave you before the other guests arrived.

you were about to search for glasses, but tom’s fingers threaded through yours. he gently tugged you away and nodded behind him. “let’s bring this upstairs. seems much more fun there,” he’d murmured over the music, a grin breaking across your face.

tom is big on clubbing and socializing, however, you aren’t. he comes up with ways to get you out of these events, just in case.

“we can break in harrison’s bed for him,” you said as a completely harmless joke, no intentions of that becoming your reality later on. spoiler alert: it did. “and how are we gonna do that?” tom quirked a suggestive eyebrow and breathed out a laugh as you dragged him towards the stairs. despite yourself, you’d giggled at his words.

not one drink in either of you yet, and you were stumbling and cracking up as you ran upstairs. you’d pulled tom by your still attached hands into what you remembered as harrison’s room. tom shut the door, locked it, saying under his breath that would be a “convenient investment” for him to make as well.

he took out a bottle opener that he must have put in his pocket at some point and got to work on your wine, you getting comfortable on the new mattress. the two of you passed it to the other after every sip, tom licking the taste of your lip gloss off his own lips every so often.

the equivalent of three drinks in, you were making out. both of you were just tipsy at this point, tom holding you by your hips as you lied down, your legs around his waist. god, he could’ve done this sober. he’d dreamed about kissing you, really kissing you since he was fourteen. you’d always felt like you two had something more. ah, there it was.

halfway through the bottle got you past the next two bases, and you were ready for the fourth and ultimate one by the time you shook the last few drops onto the tip of your tongue. tom groaned at the sight of that, drawing your half naked body in closer to his.

you two had forgotten to use protection in each of your drunken states. without a doubt, you both would’ve agreed to a condom had your minds not been everywhere but where they should have.

you’d woken up first the morning after, panic immediately coursing through your veins thicker than blood. a fully nude and sleeping tom had you in his embrace, arms secured around your middle, facing you. you gasped when you made the connection, loudly enough to wake tom up. his long eyelashes tickled your face, a confused pout on his lips. uh... um...

“did we fucking...” you trailed off, no words to describe whatever unfolded. “fuck?” tom finished for you. a very blunt explanation, but true nevertheless. “looks like it,” he rasped, pout changing into a smile. your face fell at the vague memories of how you spent your night.

you definitely wanted to do it. just, he’s your best friend, who’s seen you at your least sexy moments over the years. when you were sick, had breakdowns from stress, you name literally anything, tom was there. it took one bottle of cheap wine for him to forget that?

the real answer was no. tom is entirely in love with you, for a decade at that. you were beginning to discover you feel the same, only you had no idea he already loves you. you’d assumed this was meant to be merely a hookup. from the frown your face held, he’d thought you were regretting it. oh, were you both so wrong.

“um... we don’t have to talk about it,” tom told you halfheartedly, under the impression that’s what you preferred. you physically felt yourself get weaker in tom’s strong arms. he’s not interested. “yeah, that’s probably for the best. i...” you were lying. his heart shrunk, shriveled up inside his chest. she doesn’t love me like that.

“you have to go. aren’t you behind on some emails?” tom hoped you didn’t hear his voice strain from the tears pushing at his eyes. “right. almost forgot, thanks.” you’d plastered on a smile, slipping out of his grasp. a tear rolled down his cheek, so he wiped it away before you noticed. you’d already gotten out of the bed and begun picking your clothes up off the floor.

“i’ll drive you home, then.” he rolled on to his other side, you thought so he could give you privacy to change. it was that, and also because he was crying. he couldn’t hold it in. tom is naturally an emotional person. imagine finding out the love you’ve had almost half your life is unreciprocated. it’s soul crushing.

you two found harrison snoring and on top of tuwaine as you left the house. no silly remarks or shared glances for the first time in ten years. tom couldn’t muster anything up, and you felt numb.

the drive was painful. you’d said your goodbyes after tom pulled up to the curb, which held an odd weight to them. once you were out of the car, a sob wracked through him, banging on the steering wheel and not giving a shit about the loud horn going off. you collapsed face first onto your bed. hours passed by while you stared at nothing and contemplated everything.

since it happened, you haven’t spoken much. small talk over text every few days or so, both of you pretending things are normal for the other’s sake. about a month later, today, is when you found out you’re pregnant.

there’s no use wallowing in any of this. you need to figure out your next move, one that should probably involve tom. first, you want to talk to someone else. you want other opinions and a voice in your head that isn’t your own. harrison gets a text from you saying to come over now, the now in all caps. he does.

you let him in after the second knock, his eyebrows furrowing in concern. however torn you are, you must look it. shirt balled in your fists, lip quivering. he keeps his eyes on yours as he steps inside, pushing the door shut behind him. this is all becoming too real. “y/n, are you okay?”

you’re about to cry in three, two...

“haz, i fucked up,” you choke out, tears unable to stay at bay. he takes you into his arms for a hug. half your face is hidden in his shoulder, hands clutching at his back. he lets you cry it out, holding you until your heavy breathing steadies. “what’s happened?” harrison asks quietly, both of you leaving the hug.

“if- if i tell you, you can’t freak out. you can’t tell anyone else, either,” you instruct, searching his eyes for certainty that he won’t under any circumstances. “i won’t, y/n/n,” he assures you and puts an encouraging hand on your arm. your heart pounding abnormally fast, you spit it out. your first time saying it aloud. “i’m pregnant.”

harrison flinches and doesn’t even try to conceal it. he takes his hand off of you, worry swimming across his features. he blinks at you, unsure of what to say. you’d react the same way, maybe worse, so you don’t blame him. a discussion you, him, and tom had a couple years back replays in his mind.

the three of you were talking about your futures, seeing as you were close to living them. when tom asked you two where you stood on having your own families, you didn’t hesitate to answer. “nope, the factory is closed for a long ass time.” until you were in your thirties, you aimed to focus on yourself. harrison distinctly remembered because of how you phrased it.

“you’re... you... wow,” is all he replies with. you head over to the couch, more tears welling up in your eyes. do the pregnancy hormones act up this early? harrison follows you over and sits down next to you with an awkward clearing of his throat. “do you want to be pregnant?” he has to ask because he’s not sure if he should congratulate you or what.

“i don’t know,” you answer honestly, voice airy. your eyes are fixed on the wall in front of you. you haven’t given yourself time to think about it. there are so many reasons you don’t, and a single one you do. “do you, um, know who the dad is?” harrison glances over at you. “yeah.” your voice cracks. you’re both afraid for him to ask what he does next.

he shifts so he’s sitting up. “can i know?” a sniffle passing through you, you finally look at him. “it’s tom,” you say it before you lose the nerve to. harrison’s face doesn’t change this time. he isn’t surprised you and tom went there. he’d seen your friendship growing into more the older you all got. what he can’t believe is where it took you.

his best friend pregnant, and his other best friend responsible for it.

“when did you...” “at your party,” you explain, bringing your legs up so they’re criss cross on the couch. “i thought you were gone a little too long.” he says that to try cheering you up. you appreciate the effort, but it doesn’t work. you’re not in a joking mood. he’ll stick to the main issue. “so, have you told him?”

“clearly not,�� you scoff, not at him but at what you two have gotten yourselves into. “y/n... i think you should tell him,” harrison sighs out, then adds, “whether you keep it or not.” “why? that would ruin everything, it already has.” you’re getting angry now, which plunges you into angry crying, voice unsteady as you go on.

“the last time i saw tom was that night, and i guess it meant more to me than it did to him because we haven’t talked about it at all. he didn’t want to.” you swipe the back of your hand across your eyes, gaze stern compared to harrison’s soft one.

he drapes an arm around your shoulders, you curling into him with another sniffle. he doesn’t say anything for a minute, then he tries again. “i know you, y/n, and i know tom. you’ll kill yourselves not talking about this.” he’s right, no shit he is. avoiding telling tom how you feel, and your pregnancy on top of that, it’s eating you up inside. it’s swallowing you whole.

“what if he doesn’t want to be a dad? or- or i’m a shit mum?” you croak out, your doubts getting the best of you. “i can barely take care of myself. what am i supposed to do with a baby?” you’re leaning forward with your hands pressing into your temples. harrison’s hand moves to your upper back. “i- i don’t think i should have them. i... we can’t,” you conclude.

“tom loves kids,” he gives you a gentle reminder. “why would his own be the exception?” another good point, yet you still have rebuttles. “right, he’s a godfather and he’s really good with them and all that, but i’m not the right person, and it’s a terrible time,” you tell him all at once, in a rush to get your words out before harrison’s sway you.

“he’s never around, i’m doing my own stuff. we’re not meant for this.” you lift your head out of your hands and sit back on the couch. harrison returns his hands to his lap. he’s frowning at you, which you see from the corner of your eye. “i’m not going to force you to have the baby. just saying you have options.”

yeah, really shitty ones.

“either way, talk to tom.” harrison says this more like a demand so you’ll take his advice into actual consideration. “at least about the hookup.” your teeth sink into your lower lip, eyes watering for the nth time already.

you have no choice because he’s right again. you’ll never move on from what happened unless you and tom address it.

the next morning, you do what harrison told you to and invite tom over. he replied saying he was on his way maybe a minute later. he’s nervous to see you because yeah, but more so looking forward since it’s been so long. you’re so nauseous you barely have room for nerves. it’s morning sickness with a hint anxiety.

it feels almost normal when he first gets here, no how’ve you been and what are you up to these days? being as close as you and tom are, you’re not capable of such a dry conversation. personally, you still feel uneasy while he recounts a golfing incident him and harry got into the other day. you know something he doesn’t.

“when i tell you we flew, we flew,” tom makes a pushing forward motion with both hands. “right into the tree. i think harry, like, dented part of his face.” he lets out a breathy laugh, you forcing out one of your own. you’d be more interested without the fact that you’re expecting a child, his child, at the back of your mind.

tom exhales, shifting to face you on your couch. it’s funny how different things were when you and harrison sat in these same spots yesterday. so much has and is about to change.

“they had to send another golf cart to come get us. it was wild.” “it sounds wild,” you hollowly agree. he can tell you’re not too invested in hearing about harry’s terrible driving skills, so he changes the subject. “anyway, harrison told me he came over last night?” your stomach drops, heat coming over your whole body.

“did... did he say why?” you murmur with a look of urgency in your eyes. tom shrugs a shoulder, and casually. there’s no way he knows. “no, was he supposed to?” his tone stays playful, which you can thankfully tell. that puts you more at ease. “no. no, never mind. i would’ve asked you to come, but...” you’re searching through your catalog of excuses.

thank god tom says something else because you can’t find a good one. “it’s alright. i actually, um, had a work call.” a small smile spreads across his face, a proud one. intrigued, you raise both eyebrows. “what’d you talk about?” tom twiddles with his fingers in his lap. “i’ve been offered an audition for this really amazing film. everything works out, it’ll be huge for me.”

you’re smiling back this time, putting a hand over one of his. “woah, that’s incredible. i’m so happy for you, tom.” you lock your fingers with his from the back of his hand. he looks down at them, humbly shaking his head. “when is it?” “a few weeks from today. it films in brazil...”

oh. you can’t tell him now. it’s not worth him missing out on a milestone in his career for a baby you’re not sure you should have. that would be so unfair of you to ask. what are you going to do, not support his dreams for the first time in a literal decade? and, you’d call yourself his best friend through it all?

you guess this also means the way you feel about tom is one sided. he’s okay with leaving you after the most intimate moment you two have ever shared. you’ll dance around it the rest of your lives. better yet, act like the night never even happened. that’s not so easy to do when you’ve got a permanent reminder of it.

the thought makes you sick to your stomach. so sick, you could...

while tom is talking more about what the audition entails, you suddenly bolt up from the couch. you run for the bathroom, a hand cupped over your mouth. his face twists up in confusion from your disappearance. tom calls, “y/n/n?” out to you, but you can’t respond because your head is in the toilet. he rushes in when he hears you retching.

he gets onto the floor with you. you’re bent over, puking your guts out, back in another place where your life changed forever less than twenty four hours ago. tom pulls your hair out of your face and into a makeshift ponytail with one hand, his other on your back. that’s all you have in you. you stay over the toilet just to be sure.

saliva drips from your mouth, making you cough roughly, the sound echoing. tom moves so he’s next to you, keeping his hand in your hair and not caring one bit about the smell because he loves you and he’s utterly concerned about what he witnessed.

“love, are you sick?” he coos, searching for your eyes. they water from the intensity of everything. “morning sickness,” you answer without thinking first. shit. shit, shit, shit. it came out of you like more vomit, word vomit. there’s no going back now.

tom lets go of your hair with his eyes still on yours. his hand on your back then leaves you, fingers trailing down your body as they go. “morning sickness,” he repeats, putting it together. “you’re pregnant?” guilt taking over your features, you sit across from tom. you’re once again leaning against the bathtub, him against the counter.

“this isn’t how i wanted you to find out,” you admit and bring your knees up to your chest. “i took a test yesterday. it was positive.” your arms wrap around your legs, you now tearing up because tom figured it out. a shaky breath passes his lips. “i haven’t gone to my doctor or anything yet, but i-“

“are you keeping the baby?” tom cuts in. not to judge you for your choice, to find out what the fuck is going on before he travels across the world. you tighten your arms around yourself, grabbing your wrist. “i haven’t decided.” he gives you an understanding nod and reaches out for you. you dodge him. he might not want to do that after what you say next.

“tom, i... there’s more,” you whimper out. “yeah. i’m... i’m listening,” tom croaks, unable to hold in his infinite amount of emotions for a multitude of reasons. he’s losing you a second time. more tears spill from your eyes as you break the news, the news that will destroy what he’s been working towards his entire life.

“the baby is yours.” his face relaxes, looking almost relieved when you confess it. “when we slept together, uh,” you’re sure it’s obvious enough that you don’t have to go over the details. he’s tearing up himself. you reluctantly continue. “if you still want to audition, i get it. we don’t have to do this.”

“fuck the audition. fuck the whole movie. all of my movies, really,” tom surprises you by blurting out. he moves in until your legs are touching. “i’m staying. even if you don’t have the baby, i have to be here.” you watch in disbelief as he wipes away what are actually happy tears. “really? i was scared you’d resent me for it, or hate me even,” you mumble to him.

“y/n, what? why would i ever do that?” tom places a hand on your cheek, touch gentle and filled with love. you part your legs so he can be closer to you. he takes the space between them, thumb brushing over your skin. “i didn’t think you’d want to deal with all of this. i thought that night was only a hookup for you.” your voice wobbles under his gaze.

“no, are you kidding? i thought that’s what you thought.” he’s smiling now, eyes twinkling along with it. what he’s been meaning to tell you since you were only kids finally comes out. “i’ve loved you as long as i’ve known you, y/n. i always imagined myself doing this with you.” his words draw a quiet laugh from you, a happy one. “i know we were drunk, but i meant it all.”

the sincerity in his voice, the warmth in his eyes, they make you cry all over again. you’re getting used to it.

“i love you, tom,” you lean into him with a sniffle and a grin, his forehead now resting on yours, using his thumb to catch one of your tears. “i really do.” “i love you forever. i always have,” tom speaks lowly, breath fanning across your face. your hands grab at his shoulders. “so, you’ll stay? you’ll do this with me?” he reminds you of what he said before, this time a promise.

“forever.”

you ended up having the baby, and tom held your hand through the entire labor. nikki was holding his other hand, your mom holding your other hand. harrison had originally been in the room as well. when you started to push, he got freaked out and had to leave. your support system remained strong either way.

despite his repulsion of your daughter’s birth, you and tom decided to make harrison her godfather. he eventually became the godfather of your other two children also, which you had a few years later.

tom took a paternity leave from the industry so he could be with you and jamie. he’d also used his time off to propose to you, something else he fantasized about since year eleven in school. it wasn’t anything too grand because the whole world was already buzzing about you two, and a big gesture felt too impersonal with everything you’d been through together.

he did it in the form of passing a note, something you often did in class to avoid being scolded by your teacher for talking. the note came with a pencil to check off either the yes or no box, “will you marry me?” written above them. anyone else would have found it so unromantic, but you giggled as you checked off yes before your lips crashed into his smiling ones.

you were married shortly after the proposal, jamie as your flower girl and all your friends and family in attendance.

to do what he loved and stay with the people he loved, tom created his own version of hollywood in london. he took it upon himself to assemble a team and make a production company. harry behind the camera, harrison and tuwaine in the films, and tom either starring alongside them or directing. they give so many young actors tons of opportunities.

you eventually went back to work, too. it was like you’d never left, coworkers offering endless hugs and going over what you missed, not that you struggled getting into it. tom was there to celebrate every promotion, every compliment from your boss, every part of your life. jamie was also there, then liam and lucy.

all three of them are running around the house right now, putting on shoes and collecting their supplies for school. you take a sip of the orange juice liam didn’t finish with a lighthearted eye roll. tom chuckles as he passes you in the kitchen, getting the kids’ lunchboxes for them to minimize the chaos.

“you have that pitch meeting today, right?” he slips his hands through the lunchbox handles and walks over to you. “mhm,” you hum, mouth full with juice. his lips press to your temple, giving your waist a one handed squeeze. “you’ll smash it. always do.” “thanks, tommy.” putting down the cup, you reach up to button whatever parts of his shirt he didn’t have time to.

“aren’t you doing a casting? for the new script they sent?” you wonder aloud and smooth down the cotton material. “me and harry. should be interesting,” he remarks, you giving him a quick kiss back on his chin. they tend to have their artistic differences. “good luck with that. you do drop off, i’ll do pick up?” you pat one of the lunchboxes around his arms.

“deal.” tom goes in for a kiss on your lips, then a chorus of dad, we have to go led by jamie rings through the house. with a knowing smile, you push at his chest. “see you later. love you.” “love you, holland,” he bites back a grin of his own. his last name, now yours, suits you perfectly.

#tom holland #tom holland fluff #tom holland smut #tom holland x you #tom holland x reader #tom holland x y/n #tom holland fic #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland imagine #tom holland au #peter parker #peter parker fluff #peter parker smut #peter parker imagine #peter parker x reader #marvel

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falcqns · 4 years ago

Text

Over Again

Pairing: Henry Cavill x Reader, Sebastian Stan x Reader

Summary: Part two to To Be So Lonely. You work with Tom again, and is forced to face Henry.

Warnings:

A/N: Here’s part two! Hope you enjoy!

Said I'd never leave her

'Cause her hands fit like my t-shirt

Tongue-tied over three words, cursed

Running over thoughts that make my feet hurt

Bodies intertwined with her lips

The next few years with you and Sebastian went great. Both you and Sebastian had issued a statement discussing what had happened, as well as Henry. The media was all over it for a few weeks, but eventually, it died down. Henry was able to maintain his role on The Witcher, but you had heard that things between him and production were a little tense. He hadn’t made any more movies, and rarely appeared at public events, such as award shows. You felt bad for the way he was being treated, but Sebastian reassured you that its what he deserved.

You and Sebastian had gotten married, and had a 2 year old daughter named Lerae Georgeta Stan. You continued to work, doing big projects such as a few Marvel movies, and quite a few Tom Cruise movies. When Tom called you and asked if you wanted to be in the new Mission Impossible, you said yes. He had told you that Henry would be appearing well, but you insisted everything would be fine. Henry had seemed very remorseful the last few years, and you weren’t one to hold grudges. You’d have scenes with him, but Tom assured you there would always be another person in the scene with you at least.

Sebastian was happy for you, of course, but he was still nervous. You understood his nervousness, and when he asked if him and Lerae could come with you, you agreed. You hadn’t ever left your daughter, and you weren’t planning on it anytime soon. You didn’t want to be one of those ‘celebrity moms’ who never see their children.

You arrived in England a few weeks after getting the role, and you, Seb, and Lerae found an apartment which was close to the set, and planned to come to set whenever they could. Seb still wanted Lerae to experience a normal childhood, and explore London, so he planned on taking her out to do “Daddy - Daughter” activities in the city.

You had arrived on set the first day of shooting, without your husband and daughter. They were supposed to come, but Lerae threw a huge tantrum the night before out of pure exhaustion, so Sebastian decided it would be best to keep her home for the day, so you were on your own. You had worked with some of your co stars before, and the ones you hadn’t worked with, you had met previously. Working with Tom Cruise had its benefits. You didn’t see Henry, but everyone else was there.

Now she's feeling so low since she went solo

Hole in the middle of my heart like a polo

And it's no joke to me

So can we do it all over again?

Just as you were finishing up in Hair and Makeup, Henry walked through the door. Every one said hello to him, but you just gave him a nice smile, to which he didn’t return, his eyes averting to the ground. Everyone was finished a few minutes later, and then it was just you, Henry, and the hair and makeup artists. You were about to say hello to him, when your phone rang. You answered, and your heart dropped.

“I have to go back to the States today,” Sebastian said, and you heard him sniffle. Your eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

“What? Why?” You asked.

He sighed before talking. “Apparently a good 20 minutes of footage is unusable because the files on the camera card corrupted, so I have to go back to reshoot. I’m so sorry.” Sebastian said, and you heard him breaking down over the phone, and your daughter asking why her daddy was crying.

“Sweetheart,” You said gently, and noticed Henry’s face get even sadder. “It’s okay. Bring Lerae here, and you head back. I can manage her on my own for a few days, okay?” You said, and Sebastian calmed down.

“O-Okay. I’ll bring her in about an hour.” He said, and you nodded.

“Sounds good. How long will you be gone?”

“Only about a week. I’m just feeling bad because we just got here,a dan now I have to leave you alone to parent in a whole new country while shooting a movie.” He explained, and you chuckle. “We’ll survive. We’ve had weeks alone before, dont worry, okay?”

“Okay.” Sebastian said. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay. Te iubesc,” You said.

“Și eu te iubesc,” He responded, and he hung up.

Your hair and makeup was finished soon after, and you headed out of the trailer. Henry’s eyes followed you out, but didn’t say anything. You walked over to Tom and explained the situation, to which he was very understanding.

Not too much later, Sebastian sent you a text saying he was here, and you walked over to meet him at the entrance to set. His eyes were still red and puffy, and Lerae was clinging to him for dear life, obviously afraid of the big burly security guards.

“Hi sweetie,” You said, and your daughter reached out for you. “Hi, Mama,” She said, before she pressed a kiss to your cheek.

“Hi other sweetie,” You said as you turned to Sebastian, who smiled as well. “Hi baby,” he said. He gave you a sweet kiss, and handed you Lerae’s diaper bag. She was mostly potty trained, but did tend to have accidents sometimes, just like a normal two year old. Seb then wrapped his arms around you, and pulled you into his chest. Lerae giggled, and rested her head on his chest too.

“We’ll be okay, my love,” You whispered, and he nodded.

“I know. I just worry sometimes.” He said and you nodded. “It’s okay.”

He sniffled again and pulled you two closer. “I should go, or I’m going to miss my flight, but I’ll call you when I land, okay?” He promised, and drew your lips in for a kiss, which made Lerae gag. “Ew, Dada!” She exclaimed, hiding her face behind her Winter Soldier bear. Sebastian chuckled, and lifted her out of your arms.

“be good for mama, okay? Dada will be back on Sunday,” He said, and she nodded. “I pwomise Dada. I be good.” Sebastian smiled, and hugged her to his chest. He pressed kisses on her cheek, which she returned, and then she was handed back to you. The three of you said your goodbyes, and you two watched as Sebastian walked away.

“Okay, honey. We’re going to go to my trailer and play there until Mama has to go film.” You explained as she wiggled out of your embrace to walk on her own. “Otay Mama. I see Uncle Tom?” She asked, as she gripped your hand and you two made your journey to the trailers. “Yes honey, we can go see Uncle Tom in a little bit.” She nodded, and you watched as she gazed around at the buildings on set. She had been on set’s before, but she was always so interested. You and Sebastian had a suspicion that she is a star in the making.

You two passed the makeup trailer just as Henry was coming out, and you smiled at him. He gave you a sad smile in return and retreated to his trailer to wait to be called to set. You two walked inside your own trailer, and Lerae climbed up on the couch to take her shoes off.

The two of you were able to stay in the trailer for a few more hours, her colouring, and you rehearsing lines, before a PA knocked on your door and told you they needed you on set in 20 minutes. You got changed into your costume, and Lerae gasped as she saw what you were wearing. You had a yellow sundress with white flowers on it, with matching yellow ballet flats.

She scrambled up, and gave you a hug. “You so pwetty, Mama.” Your heart melted and you lifted up your little girl. “Thank you, baby. Let’s get out shoes on and head to set, okay? We get to see Uncle Tom!” Lerae giggled, and slid out of your grasp. She got her shoes on and gripped her “Bucky Bear” in her hands, and followed you out.

You were reminding her that when the cameras are rolling, she has to be quiet, and sit in your chair nicely, when she squealed. You looked up, and saw Henry. “Mama! Supaman!” She exclaimed, and your stomach flipped. “Yeah, baby, that is Superman. Maybe if you’re nice enough, he’ll say hi to you,” And she nodded with a determined look on her face.

Henry noticed you, and then his eyes drifted down to Lerae. He smiled, and gave her a wave. She then decided to take off running to go say hello to one of her favourite superhero’s. You followed after her, and smiled when Henry finally talked to you.

“Hi, Y/N,” He said, giving you a tentative smile.

“Hey. Listen, you don’t have to walk on eggshells around me. It’s been 3 years since then, and we’ve all moved on. I’m sorry for what my friends did to your career. I never wanted that to happen.” You said, and he smiled warmly.

“Thanks. And, you don’t have to apologize. What I did was horrible, and I deserved what happened. I don’t blame you, or anyone. I was actually hoping to a police to Sebastian about what happened, but I guess he left,” He said, glancing down at your daughter who had her face smushed against his leg, and gazing around the room.

“He’ll be back Sunday. He feels really bad too, so I think you two talking it out is the best thing.” Henry nodded, just before Tom came up and scooped up his niece.

“Hey, you two. We’re about to start. I’ll watch her.” He mentioned, while tickling her belly, and you thanked him, before moving to start filming.

If you're pretending from the start

Like this with a tight grip

Then my kiss can mend your broken heart

I might miss everything you said to me

The rest of the week went well, with Lerae glued to Henry. You two hadn’t had a moment alone to actually talk, but Michelle and Rebecca came into your trailer and insisted that they could watch your daughter so you could go talk to him.

You knocked on his trailer door, and heard a faint ‘come in!’, so you entered. He smiled at you as he was petting Kal, who ran up to you.

“I was hoping to actually talk to you about what happened.” You said and Henry nodded. “Me too.”

You sat down on the couch, and pet Kal, while Henry sat next to you. You took a deep breath before speaking. “I’m really sorry. If I had known how you were feeling, I wouldn’t have mentioned it, or at least brought it up in a different way. And I definitely wouldn’t have talked about him as much as I did. I was just in love, and wanted to tell everyone about him,” You said and Henry nodded.’

“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. I guess I built up how our first meeting would go in my head, and then I got angry when it went in a completely different way. Sebastian told me how excited you were to work with me, and on The Witcher, and I instantly felt bad. I wanted to come and apologize but you were gone, and the damage was already done.” He said, his eyes down cast.

You scrunched up your eyebrows. “How bad was it after?” You asked.

Henry looked up at you. “I got screamed at. By everyone. Anya, Freya, Joey, Lauren, and Director, everyone. Anya, Freya and Joey didn’t talk to me for a god two months afterwards, and everyone else was extremely harsh on me. My agent and manager said they had never seen someone act the way I did, and that they were considering dropping me. Thankfully, they didn’t, but it was very tense for a while. I’ve never seen my parents more angry at me. I honestly thought they were going to disown me. Once I had made my statement, I couldn’t find work. Until this movie, I was relying solely on The Witcher for income. Which, is okay while were filming, but the cheques aren’t as big after filming wraps. I thought for sure that I’d lose this role too when you found out, but I’m very thankful that I didn’t.”

You smiled sadly. “I don’t hold grudges. You’ve changed, I’ve changed, and everyone’s moved on. We’re all good. And don’t worry too much about talking to Sebastian. Knowing him, he’s going to try to apologize for getting me first,” You joked, and Henry laughed.

“You two seem happy. Sometimes I wonder if we could have been that happy,” he remarked sadly, and you nodded.

“Maybe in another life. But, we’ll never know.” You said, and Henry smiled.

“I’m just happy that we can be friends,” He said. “You’re daughter seems amazing. What’s her name?” He asked, as he gazed out the window where she was playing tag with Rebecca and Michelle.

“Her name’s Lerae. It means ‘strong and brave’, which she is. She was born two months premature, and she fought like hell the entire time.” You explained, your eyes drifting to her. She was running around, her blue eyes reflecting off the sun. You could see so much of Sebastian in her.

“She’s the real superhero. Not me,” Henry said and you chuckled.

“Sebastian says the same thing.”

You'll never know how to make it on your own

And you'll never show weakness for letting go

I guess it's still hard if the seed's sown

But, do you really want to be alone?

The film went smoothly after that. Sebastian arrived on Sunday, and him and Henry had a good talk, which resulted in them making plans to go to a Rugby game with some of Henry’s friends. After that game, they became really good friends. Chris and Anthony forgave him as well, and the four of them were great friends.

Lerae loved her Uncle Henry, and she loved Kal. Her daddy may be a Marvel hero, but she always had a soft spot for Superman. Henry remained involved in her life. He came to every birthday party, every dance recital, and eventually every movie premier when she grew up. He got her her first acting job at the age of 7, on The Witcher. After that, she was hooked.

You and Sebastian stayed together through everything. You gave him a son, named James Anthony Stan, when Lerae was 4. The two were inseparable, much like you and Sebastian.

Even though you and Henry remained friends, he always loved you. You’d notice it sometimes, wether it be in the way he looked at you when he thought you didn’t notice him looking, or the way he treated your children. Sometimes it wasn’t as noticeable, and you’d think it faded, but then you’d catch his eye in the right light and you saw it again.

The love.

If you're pretending from the start

Like this with a tight grip

Then my kiss can mend your broken heart

I might miss everything you said to me

And I can lend you broken parts

That might fit like this

And I will give you all my heart

So we can start it all over again

#henry cavill #henry cavill smut #henry!holmes #fluff #august walker #chris evans #mission impossible #geralt of rivia #sebastian stan x y/n #sebastian stan man you lookin good #sebastian stan fluff #sebastian stan smut #sebastian stan #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes #marvel #tom cruise

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trampohlena · 4 years ago

Text

Okay. I seriously want to know what the writers were thinking when writing this episode. I’m going to complain in this post because I love the show and all of the incredible actors, however, I am frustrated with how this season is playing out (and no one I know watches this show so I just need to vent here for sec, okay?)

1. What in the fuck.

2. Tell me why the Superfriends enter the PZ and we see that in less than 10 minutes they have “fear visions” when Kara has been trapped there for the last 5 episodes and we have yet to see a SINGLE FUCKING FEAR VISION FROM THE TITLE CHARACTER! I mean, come on!

Each of the superfriends had, in the very least, a 2-3 minute look into their “greatest fear” and we haven’t seen a second of what Kara has supposedly been experiencing for however long she’s been trapped in the PZ? Are they for real? Like they literally spent an ENTIRE episode on everyone’s fears except for the person who’s supposedly suffering the most? Mkay.

We couldn’t get a glimpse? A hot little sec of Kara maybe seeing the ship, having hope, and then watch as it comes crashing down into the terrain and explodes, killing everyone she loves and her screaming out in pain. Maybe even a gut wrenching cry for “ALEX!” Or “My family!” SOMETHING? I feel like Hellen Keller over here, shouting at my television, because I still ain’t SEEN or HEARD shit about what Kara is experiencing (mentally/internally) in the PZ!

3. Wouldn’t the couples “worst fears” overlap? Like couldn’t they have saved more time by having the couples (Nia/Brainy, Alex/Kelly) experience the same scenario which in essence is losing the person you love the most? That way they could have allotted more time to see what Kara’s worst fear is and what has been replaying in her mind while trapped in the PZ? I don’t get it. I feel like they chose to play those out to purposely eat up time because MB wasn’t available for enough reshoots or whatever but like...come on.

4. Zor-El being Kara’s touchstone? Mkay. They didn’t even hug/embrace when they reunited after almost two decades apart believeing that the other was dead (thank fuck they finally did). And we’re supposed to believe that he’s her touchstone? Mmmmmkay.

5. Lena’s whole water monster thing. Okay. I get it. I know what they were trying to do and okay cool they did a little nod to Alien in there but she couldn’t have thought about Kara for a second? You know the whole entire reason she is on a Martian ship, traveling to another dimension, and facing uncertain peril looking into the face of this demented Lochness wannabe ALL TO SAVE HER BFF?

She saw everyone else dead. She couldn’t have a line of dialogue for a second of like “oh no, how am I going to get to Kara?” Or her, I don’t know...calling out for supergirl or even better calling out “Kara” in the hopes that her best friend/future wife will come and save her and then realizing at the last moment that that’s not going to happen. That maybe her other biggest fear (perhaps an unconscious fear) is that when it matters most in the end, Kara isn’t going to be there for her? That she won’t swoop in and save the day? Unfortunately, “missed opportunity” seems to be the common theme throughout the show and especially in this last season.

6. The half a second hug at the end? Really? That’s it? It took me longer to spend my stimulus check, who are they fooling?

7. Zor-El just standing there like a seventh grader at a school dance that’s too shy to even go out on the dance floor and try the stanky leg? They couldn’t have spared 5 seconds of someone like either Nia, Kelly, or Lena taking a look at Zor-El, noticing the House of El crest on his robes, and asking “who are you?” Or “who is that?” Cool....cool.

8. Kara’s fine?! I know that Lena (brilliant as she is beautiful) made the sun-bomb thingymajiggy and that restores Kara’s powers but...to full capacity? If so, cool. Lena is even more of an incredibly badass bitch that will stop at nothing to make sure her boo-thang is kept at 💯

But like...wouldn’t Kara have collapsed into Alex’s arms? Been so completely relieved and overwhelmed to be back in her sister’s arms that she completely breaks down and is utterly inconsolable? Like wouldn’t that have shed a teensy bit more light onto the true nature of the effect the PZ has on one’s psyche after being trapped there for so long? I understand, or I should say HOPE at this point, that they will most likely show flashbacks and we will see behavioral changes in Kara’s character and demeanor as the show progresses but like, fuuuuck. It’s all in the details babe!

Alas, I’d hate to end this post on a low note, and like I said I’m a HUGE fan of the show, so I will say this: All the actors were fabulous, as always. Lena really shines in this episode. And I mean that literally. I don’t know if it’s the more causal wardrobe or the fact that she’s accepted by the superfiends and finally feels included but like, she was GLOWING this episode. Her whole demeanor looks lighter and she seems more playful. Almost as if the superfiends are now seeing her as Kara has always seen her. Idk, whatever it is. Katie is rocking it.

That is all! Thanks for listening/reading if you made it this far. And sorry if I offend anyone with my sense of humor. It’s wicked, what can I say?

#supergirl #supercorp #lena luthor #kara zor el #kara danvers #6x7 #phantom zone #the cw

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syndianites · 3 years ago

Text

A Queen Serves and Protects

Chapter Two

Last Chapter --> Current --> Next Chapter!

Summary:

Post-Style Queen, Pre-Queen Wasp.

Chloe finds the Bee Miraculous, but instead of finding an obliging, subservient Kwami, she finds the Kwami of Order and Subjugation, and Pollen is not about to let herself be used like Nooroo was.

Granted, the only danger in a teenage girl is the damage she poses to herself. Can Pollen shape Chloe into a hero? Or will she stubbornly refuse to change and remain the bitter, harsh person the city has long since known?

[My take on how Chloe’s character could have developed] ——————————————————————————————

Twenty four hours went by excruciatingly slow for Pollen.

First, she had to wait through the night. Chloe hadn’t unboxed her until late in the day, when the sun was almost gone. That left little time in the day for much interaction with others.

But she didn’t spend this time twiddling her thumbs. She did what research she could. After observing Chloe- who she learned the name of moments after their deal- meander on her phone and laptop for a few hours, she had a dubious grasp on how the current technology worked.

It was quite the adventure.

But after trial and error, she managed to look Chloe up on the internet. (And what a fascinating thing!). The results gave her a basic background; Daughter of the Mayor of Paris, Mother is a renowned expert in the fashion industry, and so on. She seemed clean, for all Pollen could tell.

So she searched her room. Most of what she could see was clearly expensive, from shiny new gadgets to prim and proper clothes. Beyond some Ladybug merchandise- and oh boy was this girl a fan of Ladybug- nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

A sneak around the hotel didn’t reveal much about Chloe, herself, but her parents on the other hand….

What disasters!

Calling their relationship dysfunctional would be a complement. They were completely polarized opposites, and not in the good, healthy way. Her mother was derisive and cruel, refusing to associate with those she believed were below her and didn’t meet her exceptional standards. Her father was, despite his position, a lapdog. He would bend over backwards to please his wife, acting like a doormat.

Together, they were the perfect image of an Evil Queen and her loyal Servant.

It didn’t give Pollen any good feelings about how Chloe herself would act. Would she take after her parents? Or would she be her own person?

Day time did not ease her fears. Chloe was brash and rude, clearly taking after her mother. She didn’t remember anyone’s names, was haughty and snappy towards her staff, and clearly was comfortable acting above everyone else.

Not a good sign at all.

The way she treated her ‘friend’ was yet another bad sign. Just like her mother had her father as a lapdog she, too, had her friend as a lapdog. However, Pollen took note of how she did remember her name. That must count for something, she considered doubtfully.

School was a disaster for Pollen.

Chloe started out just as haughty as she had in the hotel. Somehow, she got worse. Rude to other students, sneering at and belittling them, and outright mean. Treating her ‘friend’ as a servant. Disregarding other’s feelings. Causing chaos in the class.

There was little Pollen saw as redeemable for Chloe. Between her attitude towards those who worked for her and her family and those who she spent most of her time around, acts of kindness were nigh impossible to find.

As they made their way home, Pollen mulled over how to find Ladybug or Master Fu. In theory, she could try and call out to the other kwami, but such an act took a lot of power and could draw the attention of Hawkmoth or worse. She could camp out until Ladybug and Chat Noir had to come out for another akuma, but how would she manage to transport her miraculous across the city without getting snatched by said akuma?

But as Chloe walked into the lobby of the hotel, her mother’s voice caught her attention.

“Clara!” Audrey strutted up to her daughter, typing away at her phone with one hand. “I need you to fetch me something dear.”

‘Clara?’ Pollen mused, ‘Her name’s Chloe.’

Chloe perked up. “Of course mother. And my name’s Chloe. What can I do for you?”

Audrey waved her hand, “Whatever you say, Cindy. I heard that Adrien Agreste, Gabriel’s son, is in your class. I need you to ensure that Gabriel seated me in the correct location this time. The reshoot of the fashion show is today and I will not be in the second row again.”

From where she could just see Chloe from the gap in her purse, Pollen watched her face fall before she straightened back up with a nod. “Of course! Putting you in the second row is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

“Yes, yes, now please leave. I have business to attend to Carrie.” Audrey dismissed Chloe with a wave before heading deeper into the hotel.

Chloe, despite being misnamed three times in a row, seemed determined to please her mother. She gripped the handle of her bag tighter before rummaging in it to fish out her phone. Barely looking up, she wandered towards the elevator that would take her to her penthouse suite.

When the doors closed and left Chloe alone in the elevator, Pollen poked her head out of the bag. “Is it often your mother gets your name wrong?”

Her lips thinned as she pressed them together. “Yes.” Chloe’s response was short and clipped.

Pollen mulled this response over. Pieces of the puzzle that was Chloe were falling into place. As the doors opened again, Pollen ducked back down into the purse.

Chloe continued to text until a smile lit her face up. “Oh, Adrikins! I can always count on you.”

She skipped into her room, shooting a text to her mother- who didn’t respond- that her seat was guaranteed to be in the front row. Chloe went to toss her bag before remembering that it was occupied and lowering it down on a chair gently.

“Alright, Pollen, how was I? As great as you imagined I would be?” Chloe placed the back of her hand under her chin proudly.

In lieu of an answer, Pollen merely replied,”It hasn’t been twenty four hours yet, Chloe.”

Chloe groaned, grumbling complaints about how her heroic qualities should be obvious by now, but ultimately let it go. They had made a deal, after all.

“Oh,” Chloe said suddenly, “Sabrina will be coming over soon, so you’ll want to hide out for a while.”

A perfect opportunity to see what Chloe was like behind closed doors.

Turns out, she was strangely sweet.

Sabrina and Chloe played together like any teens would; watching shows together, gossiping- albeit in a less than kind way- doing each others’ make-up, and most embarrassingly playing ‘Ladybug and Chat Noir’. Despite herself, Pollen found it endearing.

Still, it was not enough to sway her. Endearing or not, Chloe was not fit for being a superhero.

///////

The fashion show was cute. True to word, Chloe and her family were sat in the front row where Audrey critiqued- quite loudly for such an event- each outfit that came about. A few she praised, but they were few and far between.

When Adrien Agreste appeared, the Style Queen gave an appreciative hum. “What quality craftsmanship. Surely an exceptional designer made that hat.”

It wasn’t until after the show that things went south.

Audrey had approached Adrien and, to many’s surprise, Gabriel Agreste in the flesh to discuss the fashion.

“My dear, it seems you’ve set up yet another exceptional line of clothing. That hat dear Adrien is wearing is quite the gem among them.” Audrey gushed to a polite but stone-faced Gabriel.

“Ah,” Gabriel began, “That hat is not a design of my own.”

Adrien piped up here, “It was actually made by a friend of mine! Marianette,” he called over his shoulder, locking eyes with a shocked dark haired girl. “Come show Audrey this hat you made!”

Nervous and stuttering, Marianette explained the logistics of her hat and its design, from the synthetic feather to the careful craftsmanship. Audrey, a known harsh critic, glowed as she listened.

“Fabulous, my dear!” she crowed, “I simply must see more of your work. How would you like to come to New York with me to design more fashion for a line of mine?”

Pollen, invested in the conversation, was pulled out of it by a shaking sensation. She looked up to see Chloe outright trembling as she pulled her hands into fists.

“Mother! Why would you take her of all people!” Chloe burst out. All eyes turned to her.

“Why, Connie, it’s because she is quite exceptional! I would recognize such talent a country away,” Audrey replied with a dismissive wave.

“So am I!”

A laugh. “Dear, the only exceptional thing about you is your mother.”

Had it not been for the hubbub of people around them, you could have heard a pin drop. Chloe stared resolutely at the floor, teeth grinding together and tears threatening to fall. Marianette, for her part, looked like a deer in headlights, stuck between a sharp drop off a cliff and an incoming car.

“Now Audrey,” Gabriel started, before getting cut off.

“I am exceptional!” Chloe shouted. “I will show you! I’m going to be a super heroine! Just you wait, I’ll be better than this girl will ever be!”

Audrey outright cackled. “Oh honey, keep dreaming. There is not a heroic bone in your body.”

Eyes watering and lips trembling, Chloe turned on a dime and stormed off. Pollen caught Marianette make an aborted move towards her, but was stopped by Adrien putting a hand on her arm.

Fuming and ready to bawl, Chloe bust out the front doors and began running down the sidewalk. For minutes, safely tucked into Chloe’s bag, all Pollen can hear is hard footsteps, people shouting, and Chloe’s heavy breathing.

After hearing doors slam open and closed repeatedly, Chloe and Pollen are left in silence. When Pollen braved a look out the purse, she sees that they have found their way back to the locker room at Chloe’s school. Seeing that they were alone, she moved out into the open.

“Fuck!” Chloe exploded. “How dare she!”

Feeling the rage roiling off Chloe, Pollen rushed to calm her. “Chloe, take a deep breath. Give yourself a minute to let it simmer.”

Icy eyes shot up to look at Pollen. “Take a breath? Let it simmer? Are you kidding! I have done my best to make my mother see I am exceptional, so show her that I am good enough, and what does she do? Invites Dupain-Cheng of all people to go with her to New York.”

Pacing back and forth in front of the benches, Chloe growled. “Do you know when the last time I saw my mother for more than a day was? Years ago! Years, Pollen!” Tears trickled down her cheeks as Chloe caved in on herself. “I’ve done my best to be just like her, to show her I can be great too. Why won’t she ever look at me?”

With a hesitant pause, Pollen reached a paw out to Chloe’s shoulder. “Some people can’t be pleased, Chloe. You shouldn’t base your self worth on the word of another.”

Chloe jerked her shoulder away, turning her back to Pollen. “You don’t understand.”

“My mother left when I was young.” She walked forward towards the door so that she could peer out the window. “I didn’t understand why. She didn’t even say goodbye.”

“But,” Chloe continued, “If I can just get her to see that I’m worth staying for, she’ll stay here. Maybe, just maybe, I can convince her to be part of our family again.”

Red-rimmed eyes and wet cheeks turned back to Pollen. “It’s just so hard. She hardly cares for me at all.”

A pause. “Pollen?” Chloe bit her lip. “Am I unlovable?”

“Of course not. Chloe, no one is beyond love. Not even the worst of people.” Pollen could feel the tides shifting. Before, she was determined to leave Chloe behind. But now? Her heart ached at the thought of abandoning her.

Chloe starts to say something else, but all Pollen could hear was the flap of wings. Her eyes flicked to behind Chloe to where the locker room door was just set ajar. A delicate butterfly of deep, cracked purple squeezed its way inside.

“Chloe!” Pollen yelled. But it was too late. The butterfly touched down on her white sunglasses and disappeared without a sound.

A sudden blank look came across Chloe’s face. A purple butterfly mask appeared across her eyes. Every part of Pollen screamed that she was in danger. Not just from an akumatized Chloe, but from Hawkmoth knowing that she was with Chloe.

Her eyes darted around the room. She needed to hide. It would be safer for the both of them if she kept herself unknown.

“Yes, Hawkmoth.”

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #ml #chloe bourgeois #chloe bourgeois redemption #pollen #pollen (ladybug)#kwami pollen #bee miraculous #bee!chloe #original akuma #shit mom Audrey #im bad at tagging on tumblr #ml fanfic #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste

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agentnico · 3 years ago

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Free Guy (2021) Review

“Don’t have a good day, have a great day!”

Plot: When a bank teller discovers he's actually a background player in a brutal open-world video game, he decides to become the hero of his own story - one that he can rewrite himself. In a world where there's no limits, he's determined to save the day his way before it's too late, and maybe find a little romance with the coder who conceived him.

Last time I watched such a hyper-actively positive film I was seeing little LEGO figures jumping about on screen with Morgan Freeman hanging off a string in ghost form. Yes, The LEGO Movie shares a lot in common with Free Guy, not just in its opening sequence where Ryan Reynolds’s loveable Guy is starting off a perfectly good day every day with a nice cup of coffee and wishing everyone not a good, but a great day, goes to the job at his bank and goes back home, and rinse and repeat. But the character of Guy himself is basically Chris Pratt’s Emmett from The LEGO Movie - full of sunshine and innocence and taking everything that comes with child-like excitement and energy. You can also treat Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” song usage here like “Everything is Awesome” with how many times its played, but damn if it isn’t catchy! And the film comparisons don’t end there. You wouldn’t be faulted for seeing references to Ready Player One with all the cameos and Easter Eggs and pop culture references thrown in the mix, to The Truman Show based on the general concept and obviously certain video games such as Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row and even Sims due to the video game open world that the movie creates.

Speaking of the video game open world that is created, you could tell director Shawn Levy and the producers went through a lot of effort to research modern video games and all the tiny little details and quirks that exist. For example it was a lot of fun seeing characters tea-bag someone they just killed to then a character glitching out and jumping into the wall repetitively or the obvious inclusion of Fortnite inspired dance jiggles. You also get cameos from various real-life game streamers such as Jacksepticeye and DanTDM, and I found an interview on IGN where those guys spoke about in regards to how Hollywood can never seem to get video-game-to-film adaptations right, and how they appreciated that the producers of Free Guy went to them and asked questions and actually showed interest in wanting to create a realistic feeling video game in the movie and getting the terminology right. Evidently unlike other video game adaptations Free Guy manages to succeed from the fact that it doesn’t need to replicate a specific game from real life. There are nods to certain games as I aforementioned, but otherwise they’ve created their own entire game and as such there is no expectation to impress a certain individual fan base. So in conclusion what I’m saying is that I guess Hollywood should stop trying to adapt film versions of popular video game franchises and instead do their own original stuff maybe? Then again I do want to see that Ghost of Tsushima adaptation come to life, so yes, I’ll just go and kindly shut myself up.

Taking the video game matter aside for the time being, I found Free Guy to be an absolute delight from start to finish. Well, to be exact from 20 minutes from the start to finish. Honestly when the film began I was concerned if the movie was going to turn out to be the typical “I live in a simulation” story, and though as a basis it is exactly that, there’s so much goodness thrown into the mix with funny jokes to the cameos (the cameos are to die for!) to the visuals to the music choices to the performances - the movie is such a joy to watch. Speaking of the cameos and pop culture references, Free Guy is also an interesting film outside of its narrative. This movie was in production during the time the studio that was behind it - 20th Century Fox - was being sold to a certain little known company called Disney. As such, you can tell after the studio’s transfer to Disney was complete, this film underwent some additional reshoots and last minute changes, mainly in the finale because there are certain surprises at the end of the movie that will be a geek/nerd’s wet dream and were only made possible after Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, now known as 20th Century Studios. Personally I still have my qualms about Disney being the massive conglomerate business giant that is buying out all the other studios, but not going to lie even I got excited and jumped up like a kid in my cinema seat when a certain something happened at the end of this movie. Luckily only my lovely fiancée saw me like this as she was sitting next to me, and yes, I’m certain that me revealing my true nerd colours definitely lost me some attraction points from her, but nevertheless I don’t care, the Easter Eggs at the end of this movie are real fun!

The entire cast is top notch here. Ryan Reynolds does his usual shtick that he’s been doing ever since he found success with Deadpool, however naturally here he’s kept PG-13 and not swearing every other breath. That being said, his charm and sarcastic charisma really worked for the role of Guy, and he presented himself as really loveable and naïve and it was impossible not to like him in this film. Jodie Comer in her role has also been getting humongous praise from critics and reviewers alike, and yes, the rumours are true, she shares great on screen chemistry with Ryan Reynolds and also is proper cool and badass as to be expected. That being said I was told by a certain someone that they know someone who knows someone who knew someone who spoke to someone who said that they worked with Jodie Comer on the set of Killing Eve, and this was just some behind-the-scenes worker, and apparently in their experience they found Comer to be a real diva and challenge to work with. So that’s now me here spreading some gossip for no apparent reason besides causing a little stir and now I can move on. Joe Keery has a much bigger role in this film that the trailers made it seem, and I must say the lad has really been doing well for himself ever since his appearance in Stranger Things. Whenever I’ve see him in anything since such as Spree or Death to 2020 he’s always been wonderful to watch. Here in Free Guy he’s no different, getting to play a character who at first comes off as a villain but then is revealed to simply be a guy working for the wrong person. Speaking of that wrong person, the villain of the movie is played by none other than actor-director Taika Waititi himself, and his role is really interesting seeing as he plays the owner of this big video game business company who only cares about money and sequels over art, which I found quite ironic seeing as this movie is distributed by Disney that’s all about sequels, remakes and reboots. Just saying. Also found it funny how even though this movie marks a little reunion of sorts for Ryan Reynolds and Taika Waititi, they don’t share any scenes together which was probably for the best, as last time they worked together Green Lantern occurred. Anyway, Taika is as goofy and over-the-top as you expect him to be, and I can see him being very divisive. You’ll either find him hilarious or super annoying. However both opinions would work seeing as he’s the villain.

Free Guy is an absolute cuddly crowd-pleaser full of casual mayhem and crazy ideas, and is sure to be a welcome boost of fun in a summer that naturally lacked bigger blockbusters due to what’s happening in the world right now. However nonetheless, this and The Suicide Squad have really made a point that cinema is back, hopefully to stay.

Overall score: 9/10

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justformyself2 · 4 years ago

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what is up with us and boats?

Happy Easter yall!!! This one goes out to the beautiful soul that gave the idea @alievans007 thank you do much, i really hope you enjoy ♥

I don’t know if you guys ever watched “My Best friend’s Wedding.” but there is this scene were they are on the boat ride in Chicago, and i love that scene, this is sort of based on that.

VIDEO FOR WHO WANTS TO SEE. (CLICK)

KrasinskixReader/Fluff.

(don’t remember where i got this gif from.)

"We need to talk." The worst type of message anyone could ever receive.

Holding up a smirk, you start typing.

"Yes, we do."

"Could you focus? You know, for the love of God and everything. We still have to drive to Olivia's after this." Mariah interrupts whatever dance with the danger you were having with John over text.

"Why is everybody so weird all of the sudden? First John and now you too, I mean, we are settling details here. The trip to Positano is all sorted."

She gets radio silent, making you look away from your phone.

"Mariah." You call.

"What?" She answers, badly covering the stress in her voice.

"Everything is fine, right?"

She breaths out through the nose, clicking on the mouse rapidly.

"Mariah." You call again as if an answer different than you were expecting would come out.

The Positano trip was a huge deal, a huge, cryptic deal that Mariah arranged by herself through an old friend you never heard or saw. The client, by the name of Vince, was paying double to hire your company, and an undeniable request came, almost sweeping away all of your doubts. You would get to shoot a perfume commercial during the holidays at the place you always dreamed of visiting. It was embarrassing how fast the yes came out, almost in a scream towards Mariah's face, even though there was something off.

It was true that in the past you worked for the big names, but since the decision to open your own company with Mariah happened, it was all new, too new to be receiving this type of offer. You decided to brush it off by

trusting your business partner, Mariah had been in the game longer than you have, and if she claimed, more than once, that it was a safe offer and that she had under control then you should believe since her reputation was on the game too, but now get to watch her sitting in front of you, looking worried.

"Well, I'm going to make some phone calls, but don't worry, it is a quick fix situation. I will be right back."

She gets up from the desk, grabbing her phone, and leaving the space before you could say something back.

Your mind wonders over the fact that your intuition should be listened to more often. It was a "too good to be true" offer, so if that would end up being right, and Mariah came back with the bad news, would it mean that you were probably right about John too.

You look at your phone, facing down on the desk, and decide to check the messages again. There must be something missing between the lines.

Inserting the pin you open up the new messages you received from your boyfriend.

"What do you mean with ‘yes we do’?"

"Tell me when I can call you."

"Damn. I think I'm not getting the week off. They are talking about reshooting some parts."

"I will call you in 10 minutes."

And just as you read the last one, your phone vibrates. It was his call. Taking a deep breath, you accept it.

"Hey, babe, did you get my texts?"

You hear the many voices in the background mixing with his.

"Yes, I did... Are you on set right now?"

"Yes. I'm on a little break...I'm sorry, baby. I'm not going to make it to Positano."

The frustration makes your heart skip a beat even though you saw the message, hearing it in his voice had a different effect. You stopped counting the weeks without him because of the impact they had on your day, instead, in a very unhealthy way, that habit was replaced with you picturing him waiting for you at home, laying in the bed you shared or in the kitchen, trying to replicate whatever recipe out of Youtube just to prove that he could cook, just to try to impress you. He still wanted to impress you after all this time, he just didn't figure out how to be in two places at once.

"Well, don't be. If I'm right I don't think this trip is happening."

As time passes by without Mariah coming back, your guess was becoming a reality. It wasn't a quick fix thing.

"What are you talking about?"

His voice went urgent, and he quickly added: "I mean, it was a great offer."

"Yes, but it is a holiday season. It gets difficult with hotel reservations and flights, but Mariah ran away before I could get a word out of her. It happens."

"Wow, you sound so indifferent. I thought you loved Positano."

You had to agree with him. You felt the apathy in your bones.

"I do love Positano, but the offer was out of touch like something was off like everything is off."

You hear him chuckle and frown to yourself, walking towards Mariah's laptop on her desk.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. You were so weird when I dropped you at the airport as if you wanted to say something to me or pass out."

You reminisce his pale face and the way his hands were clammy on yours before the goodbye on the car.

"Those are two very different things." You wanted to picture the face he could be doing right now.

"Well, I still feel like there is something you are not tell-."

"Baby, I need to go right now, sorry, I will call you later okay."

The interruption of a female voice in speakers was the last thing you heard before he hanged up.

"What the hell was going on?" You say to yourself.

Forgetting about the phone you decided to check on Mariah's laptop for confirmations, but before anything was done she busted through the door.

"Did you fixed it?"

You ask, seeing her avid eyes shift between you and the laptop.

"What are you doing?" She asks and snaps out of the suspicion stare.

"What do you mean what am I doing? I want to help. Do you care to tell me what is happening, Mariah?"

Her phone calls her attention, and she rushes towards the laptop, answering quickly, leaving you only to watch again.

"Did you get my text? Yes, apparently a bug happened on the site, and our plane tickets got canceled." She discoursed to the person on the other site.

"I don't know if we are getting new ones on the same date, there is a lot of demand... Well, then we have to cancel for no-... Are you sure? Okay, no. I can do that, is way off plan, way less dreamy, really, way less, but I guess we can do it if you do this right now."

She pauses, focused on what was being passed down. "Okay, then it's the new plan. Okay, okay, bye."

Hanging up, she now seemed to be willing to share.

"Change of plans. I informed Vince's team about what happened, and a girl named J-Jannete said that we should meet to settle some details. They want to go for a studio since the deadline would get messed up because of the plane ticket debacle."

"Shit, why didn't you put on speakerphone? I know someone that could help us wit-."

"NO!..." She screams, making you back away involuntary. "I mean, I already checked that, and we can't keep tapping on something that isn't working. They are already upset and we could lose even more time. Jenna set up a meeting with Vince himself...Jannete, at four, so you get to meet him, as you wanted."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . .

"Why are we on a boat ride again?"

You ask Mariah, who fanned herself with a flier they were distributing about the ride.

"Because we got bailed on and it has been a long time since I don't go on one of those."

She adjusts the sunglasses in an annoyed way.

The day-star was starting to set, still, the weather was hot and humid as if it was peaking. You try to catch delicate hints of purple and pink on the mostly light orange painted sky.

"I haven't been on one of these since John asked me to be his girlfriend. It was our third date. He insisted on the boat ride and I didn't like it, but then the sun was setting so beautifully, in not time the only thing i could care about was the way he looked at me."

There is no interruption other than the sting in your chest, making you stop on the tracks of something you loved to remember.

"I think John is lying to me. I don't think he was on set." Voicing the thoughts made them too real, and suddenly you wanted to forget about them.

"Yeah."

Mariah twists her torso once or twice, looking back to the people who were still taking seats. You doubted she was listening to anything you said all the way here. She started inspecting the place, restless since the taxi dropped you two.

"Okay, are you waiting for someone?"

By impulse, you look back to pursue whatever her eyes were trying to find even without knowing, and that is when you spotted him, a vision that walked towards you, seeming to be out of breath. His mouth partially open turns into the smile you wanted to kiss.

"Son of a bitch."

The words flew from your lips and you hear Mariah's laugh.

Your eyes follow his movements with thirst, so much thirst that everything else is a mere blur in the background.

John comes closer, saying something to Mariah when she gets up and hugs him. She never hugged him.

You swallow dry, seeing for a second Mariah give you a thumbs up before walking away.

"Hey." He almost whispers towards your face, taking the seat, and when his lips come closer to yours, you back away. He frowns.

"You were in LA."

"Yes, I was."

"Please, don't short answer me."

He gets up from the chair and grabs extends his hand towards you.

"Come with me, and I will explain."

Not thinking twice you accept his hand, being guided to the stern of the boat, walking in the middle of strangers and loud conversations. John drops your hand and reaches for your waist with smoothness as if he could be taking you to dance. Intuitively your arms laces around his neck.

His eyes trace a path away from you and straight to your mouth before he started moving.

"You are so difficult to lie to." He starts, smirking.

A gust of wind blows the locks of your hair away, and his fingers are quick to adjust them behind your ear, sending goosebumps on your back. You missed his touch on your skin.

"But you did lie to me." You can't help to say, trying to focus.

"It was only because I wanted to this right, but I know I would blow it at some point. It almost happened when you dropped me at the airport."

"Do what right?"

His breath came out uneasy through his nose, and he licks his lips.

"Ask you to...marry...me."

Instantly you feel your eyes starting to water. There was no control or rational thought that could calm down the wave of feeling like the soles of your shoes weren't touching the wooden floor of that boat, and his arms were the only thing keeping you down.

"There is no Vince. It was a bait to make a surprise for you and get you to Positano without getting too suspicious, and I lied about not going as part of the surprise. I would do the whole thing right, bring our families, have a huge dinner, enjoy a couple of days there. Then your tickets got canceled, the Vince thing got way too suspicious, and I haven't seen you in almost four weeks. Next thing I know, I was at the airport, counting the hours to do this."

He captures your lips with his before you could comprehend. There are intensity and the passion you craved, and that only he could provide, he could devour you, and you would let him.

"Do it right now."

You ask, out of breath, after parting the kiss with his moan of reproval.

"Don't you want the real thing? You know, I can figure out the tickets, maybe call Clooney and ask if we can borrow his private jet. He will probabl-."

"I don't care where you are going to propose to me. I just want you to do it, that is the real thing. It could have been on the car, at breakfast, at the airport, or even in a replica of the day you asked me to be your girlfriend."

He laughs, kissing you again. He holds your face in his hands, parting the kiss to gaze at your eyes.

"Oh, I'm glad you remembered it. That is why I wanted to make something different this time. What is up with us and boats?."

"I don't know but let's get back into the program here. You were about to ask me something."

He frowns, looking away theatrically.

"And what was the question, again?" John asks, setting his face close to yours. His lips touching your cheeks, coming closer to your ear.

"Was it something like. Do you want to marry me?"

You could feel your neck hair getting up with the vibration of his low and deep tone affecting you easily.

"Yes."

#John Krasinski #john krasinski imagine #john krasinskixreader #proposal #imagine #fanfiction #fanfic

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cultofbeatles · 5 years ago

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parts of pattie boyd’s book wonderful tonight that involved george that stuck out to me:

pattie didn't have any of the beatles records at first and only bought please please me since she was going to be in their film

“on first impressions, john seemed more cynical and brash than the others, ringo the most endearing, paul was cute, and george, with velvet brown eyes and dark chestnut hair, was the best looking man i’d ever seen.”

during a lunch break pattie and george sat next to each other and were both very shy

george asked pattie “will you marry me?” and after she laughed he said, “well, if you won't marry me, will you have dinner with me tonight?” and she turned him down.

she deadass invited george to hang out with her and her boyfriend at the time.

pattie and george are both pisces.

once reshoots for the film were happening george asked pattie about her boyfriend, she said she had dumped him, and george once again asked her for dinner. she accepted this time.

brian epstein joined them for their first date.

they sat side by side and were too scared to even hold the others hand.

george got along great with pattie’s family.

pattie liked cynthia lennon but found her difficult to make friends with.

“she wasn't like my friends, who enjoyed a giggle and some fun: she was rather serious, and often, i thought, behaved more like john’s mother than wife.”

there was a rumor that john and pattie were having an affair and pattie worried cynthia believed it. it wasn't true.

maureen cox (ringo’s girlfriend) was another beatles girl that pattie had a hard time being friends with. but said that she was “jolly and friendly, more relaxed than cynthia.”

pattie got along best with jane asher but saw her the least.

“i felt there was definitely a north-south divide among the wives and girlfriends. and i had the definite impressions that the girls from the north (maureen and cynthia) felt they has a prior clam to the boys.” okay shade, we see you.

(talking about going on holiday with john, cynthia, and george) “it was a good way to split the group. john and paul were the closest in some ways and immensely creative together, but they clashed if they were in each other’s pockets for too long.”

george asked pattie to cut his hair while on holiday and one of the cleaners found his hair and kept it.

(talking about george) “he was so beautiful and so funny.”

once a “weird looking man” tried to force his way into pattie and george’s house. pattie thought he was either a salesman or a jehovahs witness. it turns out it was paul in disguise.

george said the only place he got peace was in the bathroom of his hotel suite.

pattie got a lot of letters saying that if she didn't leave george there would be a curse put on her.

pattie’s cleaner was a male ballet dancer and “a terrific duster.”

pattie would count the days till george came back. once he jumped into the bed early in the morning to wake her up.

those two would deadass not lock their doors and were surprised that clothes were going missing...what is with older generations and not locking their doors i -

george would be in the studio from 11 am - 11 pm. sometimes midnight.

george’s mom loved when john would visit and would always ask him for an “upper.”

when john lennon is your drug dealer.

pattie wasn't a good cook but was optimistic.

“i loved listening to him (play guitar), loved the sound of the guitar in the house. sometimes i would start to talk and he'd be so deep in thought about the lyrics or the melody he was writing that he wouldn't answer. we’d be the same room but he wasn't really with me: he was in his head.”

pattie developed a kidney disorder.

(talking about the beatles dynamic) “in many aspects they were still children. they had few real friends apart from each other, and when they were asked questions they could answer as one - they were so much on each other’s wavelength. if one went to a gallery opening, they all went; if one bought a new car or new house, they all did. if one seemed in danger of taking himself too seriously, the others knocked it out of him.”

one evening george stopped the car and said, “let’s get married. i'll speak to brian.” they went to brian’s house, george went inside, and when he came back in the car he said, “brian says it’s okay. will you marry me? we can get married in january.”

briannnnnnn, is it my turn to get married yet pleaseeeee

pattie invited her absent father to their wedding but he did not come.

at the train station everyone left cynthia behind as she was carrying the suitcases and john was carrying nothing. peter brown had to go back and get her.

pattie’s quote from the lsd in the coffee moment is hilarious to me. “you've just had lsd. it was in the coffee.” john lennon: “how dare you fucking do this to us?”

pattie and george didn't go to brian’s funeral in liverpool but george sent one single sunflower.

pattie stopped modeling because george didnt like it. and she felt like she lost a part of herself.

maureen was afraid of flies.

during the India trip, mia farrow told john that maharishi was inappropriate with her and john wanted everyone leave after that.

after India george and pattie’s relationship changed.

(talking about george) “some days he would be all right, but on others he seemed withdrawn and depressed. this was new: he had never been depressed before, but there was nothing i could do. it wasn't about me, but i found that my moods started to mirror his...so bad indeed, that at times i felt almost suicidal. i don't think i was ever in any real danger of killing myself, but i got as far as working out how i would do it: i would put on a diaphanous ossie clark dress and jump off beachy head.”

george became more obvious about his cheating. it hurt pattie.

george was gaslighting her.

cilla black was staying at george and pattie’s house and was uncomfortably close to george so pattie left. six days latter george called to tell her the girl was gone and she could come home.

“..but my ego was too fragile and i couldn't see it as anything other than betrayal. i felt unloved and miserable.”

“jane asher came home unexpectedly from new york and found another woman in the house, an american girl - and did what i should probably have done with george...”

george would start to talk about his feelings about paul or john but would stop bc he never wanted to admit that he felt left out.

“we had once been so close, so honest and open with each other. now a distance had developed between us..”

(about yoko contributing to the beatles break up) “the four had never allowed anyone into the recording studios with them, but yoko not only sat by john throughout every session, he consulted her about the music they were making, which upset paul.”

during the let it be sessions there was a time with george and paul got in a fist fight and george left.

the same day john told George he was leaving the beatles, george’s mom told him she was ill and in critical condition.

i love that she vibe checked george. “he was bringing home bad vibes.”

george continued cheating and they continued arguing.

“my diary is full of entries about my unhappiness and the disintegration of our relationship.”

john came to visit george and pattie’s new mansion and said that it was so dark he didn't know how they could live in it, and george recommended that he took of his sunglasses.

eric clapton being a piece of shit and saying “if you won't be with me pattie i will become addicted to heroin.”

pattie said the only thing she had left was cooking and george took that away.

the couple was suppose to go on holiday together but george cancelled last minute bc he didn't want to go with her. he ended up going to spain.

“when i challenged him, he denied it and tried once again to make me feel as though i was paranoid.”

i'm not even...the whole fucking story of the george and maureen affair PISSES ME OFF more than i can describe. maybe i’ll make a whole other post but omfg i'm fuming. fuck them bothhhh. they deserve no rights.

george harrison, mere days before their wedding anniversary: “let’s get a divorce this year.” what an amazing new years resolution jerk.

ringo offered pattie a job.

when george told ringo about the affair pattie was so mad she dyed her hair red.

george loved pattie’s little brother and was his role model but he wouldn't come to the man’s wedding even though he was invited.

the night pattie told george she was leaving him george came to bed in sadness and said, “don't go.”

“i'm going.”

george invited pattie to dhani’s eighteenth birthday party bc she “had to be there. she was family.”

george had become more of an older brother to her now.

pattie had learned about john’s death from eric clapton and immediately went to the beatles office in london to hang out with everyone there.

(after finding out about george’s death) “i couldn't bare the thought of a world without george. when i left him for eric, he had said that if things didn't work out, ever, i could always come to him and he would look after me. it was such a selfless, loving, generous thing to say and it had always been tucked away at the back of my mind. now that sense of security had gone.”

the last time they saw each other was when george called saying he wanted to visit her new cottage and see her.

pattie didn't go to his funeral nor did she go to the memorial concert that took place a year later. but she spent that day high on the mountains thinking of george. “i was happy to mourn him alone and in my own way.”

she would have dreams of george after his death. “oh george, it’s so wonderful that you are alive after all, this is so fabulous; i knew they had all made a mistake.”

and then she’d wake up.

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sailtoafarawayland · 4 years ago

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The Things We Don’t Say - Ch 2 (modern AU - actors)

Summary: No one is perfect, and sometimes, two people are just so perfectly flawed that those pieces fit together and make something beautiful. When sparks fly between two leads of a new hit show, is there a happy ending in sight, or will their own mistakes overshadow any chance they had at something worth fighting for.

Rated: Explicit

Warnings: This is a joyfully Captain Swan story, but there are a few warnings. It does start with Emma/Neal and Killian/Milah. I don't write non-CS, so there won't be any sexual anything happening 'on screen', so to speak, between those couples, but I won't guarantee there may not be a mention. This story contains numerous episodes of cheating. If any of these things make you squick or are not your bag, carry on.

AO3 - FF

- or read below the cut -

As always, let me know if you’d like to be tagged (or removed) for further updates.

Tag list: @xarandomdreamx @jrob64 @wefoundloveunderthelight @teamhook @tiganasummertree @pirateprincessofpizza @lfh1226-linda @kmomof4

Chapter Two

Killian sighed into the hard press of his fingers against his tired eyes, listening to the soft hum of the elevator as it climbed to his floor. He’d look like a drunken raccoon by the time he got into the apartment, but he couldn’t find it in him to care. An early morning shoot that had dragged late into the day left him feeling more dead than alive, and he hadn’t bothered with his normal clean up on set. The time saved getting back to his bed was the bright side—the downside was a few fans had recognized him when he jumped out of his uber, his trademark eyeliner and messily styled hair a giveaway. He’d managed a few weak smiles as they snapped pictures and hurried on his way, taking a few strange turns and slipping a spare beanie he kept in his pocket over his head. That, a popped collar, and hunched shoulders normally did the trick. Being famous certainly had its perks, but crazed fans knowing where he lived certainly wasn’t one of them.

It was usually simpler to drive to set, but lately he’d been to worn out to trust himself behind the wheel. The past two weeks had been a nightmare of last minute reshoots and publicity, and he couldn’t wait for it to all be over.

The elevator doors slid open, Killian staring at them for a moment before he realized her was staring at the familiar artwork that spanned the hall outside his condo. Desperately trying to blink away sleep, he trudged down the hall, leaning his forehead against the cool metal door for a brief second before unlocking it and heading in.

God, he hoped Milah was content to have a quiet night in.

Everything was blessedly dark and quiet when he stepped into the entryway, shrugging his leather jacket off and hanging it on the waiting hook, his boots next as he eased them off his aching feet and lined them up neatly below the jacket. He rolled his neck and stretched, wrinkling his nose as he realized a fifteen-hour day filming had left him less than fresh.

A hot shower and bed—that was the plan. With any luck, and the darkened apartment seemed to be on his side, Milah would already be stretched beneath the covers and he could slip in behind her and fall asleep pressed to her warmth. It would be the perfect start to a weekend otherwise free of engagements and obligations.

“Milah?” he whispered, not wanting to startle her if she was relaxing in the living area.

There was always the chance she’d gone out with friends earlier and wouldn’t be home until late. It was a Friday, after all.

His back ached as he stretched his shirt over his head, balling it up and launching it toward the hamper as he walked into the bedroom. A glaring light greeted him from around the corner and he realized that Milah was indeed home, but not where he’d hoped. It looked as if a tornado had blown through the walk-in closet—every pair of heels she owned were tossed onto the floor and the chaise was covered with a haphazard pile of glittering dresses. Milah was standing in front of the mirrored wall, a sequined, black strapless number pulled over her body but left unzipped as she adjusted a pair of large earrings, her brow furrowed.

“Oh, thank god your home,” she huffed, flashing an annoyed smile over her shoulder as she slid her second earring in. “This zipper is absolutely impossible.”

He smiled and stepped into the closet, taking care to avoid the dresses that had sloughed onto the carpeting.

“I’m happy to help, darling,” he assured, catching the nearly invisibly zipper and easing it up her back. There were certainly nights he would have coaxed her into agreement that off was the far better option, but tonight he was more than happy to get her dressed and out the door if that was what she so desired. “Headed anywhere special?”

“It’s that opening of the new club—you know, the one with the glass ceiling that everyone has been going on about. I mentioned it the other night—good lord, Killian, you positively reek.”

Killian flashed a tired smile in the mirror, but her frown only deepened.

“Honestly, Killian, you can’t go out like that. You’ll need to have a quick shower.”

Killian’s brows echoed her own displeasure as he realized what she was implying.

“Did you want my company, as well?”

“Do you even listen when I speak? Sometimes I wonder. I told you two nights ago that Lara and William were expecting us. They’ve barely seen you.”

Killian couldn’t remember a Lara, but he seemed to recall a bright, friendly man with reddish-blond hair who may have been a William. No matter who they were, he had no interest in spending the evening with them, and even less in spending the evening on his feet in an obnoxious club.

“It’s been a long day, Milah—every day for the past couple weeks has, and I’m exhausted—”

“You’re absolutely right, Killian, it has been a long day, a long few weeks, and I’m sorry that I thought I might get to spend some time with you at the end of all of it. How foolish of me,” she snapped, and Killian felt the words like a slap to his face.

“No, you’re right. It’s—I’m sorry. I’ll have a quick rinse and get dressed.”

Milah beamed at him, adjusting her hair and checking that everything was just as she wanted it to be in the mirror. Killian pressed a soft kiss to her bare shoulder, the warmth of her smile washing away a bit of his exhaustion.

He wanted her to be happy, and perhaps the past few weeks had been more difficult for her than she let on.

“It will be a lovely night, I promise,” she said, shoving him gently toward the bathroom as she turned to reappraise the pile of heels.

* * *

Despite Milah’s initial enthusiasm that he’d agreed to join her and two people he most definitely did not remember—apparently William had brown hair and was quite pretentious—it was not a lovely night. The hot shower and the warmth of Milah’s arm in his had been enough to fool him into think it might be the tiniest bit enjoyable—after all, it had been some time since he’d been to a club—but he’d been wrong, very wrong.

Everything from the moving lights to the music to the stench of hot bodies pressed against one another was giving him a pounding headache, and he slid down further into his chair, nursing a rum and casting about for Milah, wherever she’d gone. He’d wanted to give her a nice evening at his side, but he hadn’t been able to find it in him to join her on the dance floor—probably because his feet had blisters from filming in his costume boots all day—and she hadn’t been able to find it in her to forgive him.

He’d been able to keep track of her at first, but soon she was lost in the crush of bodies and he was lost in his rum—at least it helped dull the sounds a bit.

He didn’t know if it was the insane schedule he was booked to finish shooting for his latest movie, or just the lack of free time, but nothing felt quite right lately, and he was worried a change was needed. Milah was clearly unhappy with his schedule, with how much distance it put between them. He found himself wondering if perhaps it wouldn’t be a bad time to step back a bit, to get away and really dedicate some time to the two of them.

It was a question he’d come back to more than once in the past few months, and as much as he wanted to feel that doing so was the right answer, his gut kept telling him it wasn’t.

He loved her, he certainly didn’t want her to be miserable, but the thought of missing out on opportunities at the high point of his career, it did worry him. Liam had worked more than any person should have to help put him through school, and he’d only ever wanted happiness for his little brother. Liam was a big enough man to know that for Killian that meant acting, even if it was a hard path. If Killian were to step back now, would that be doing justice to his brother’s sacrifice. What if he started turning down offers and never bounced back from it?

He searched the dance floor once more, but there was no sign of his Milah. Knowing she was probably hurt enough to ignore him for the rest of the night, he whipped out his phone and started scrolling through emails, most of them simply things his manager had already spoken with him about over the phone. It wasn’t until he scrolled farther back, nearly hypnotized by the small boxes flying along the screen, that a flagged email came to his attention and he stopped. The details were familiar, and he only just remembered the conversation he’d had with Cora.

It had been an offer for the lead role in a new series, but he’d turned it down due to the filming location. He’d been worried about having to uproot Milah, but scanning through everything once more, he found himself second-guessing his first decision. Perhaps it would be the answer they needed, and the more he thought about it, the more it appealed to him personally.

Maine was certainly quiet and would allow for more quality time together—and the pay was bloody obscene, which never hurt. According to Cora, the role had been written specifically for him. He wondered how the showrunners had taken it when he declined.

His finger hovered over reply.

He should probably discuss it will Milah first, but then thoughts of Liam tugged at his tired mind and he reread the arc for the lead role, each sentence making him more inclined to see if taking it on was still a possibility.

He’d earned his name and place in Hollywood by becoming the face of playboys and scoundrels, all of his characters well-known for their rakish appeal, but to be honest, he was starting to become concerned he may not be offered anything more diverse if he didn’t branch out soon. This role—this would be something different, something Liam would be proud of. The series treaded water somewhere between a fantasy show and a piece that examined the very fabric of what is real, the main character a man who suffered great personal tragedy and loss only to have his independence and health rocked.

The more Killian looked at it, the more he knew it was for him, the words swimming with possibility...or rum. He didn't know what about his previous roles had drawn the showrunners to him of all their choices, but for the first time in a while, he really wanted something.

He really wanted this.

A feeling of certainty settled in his gut and he shot off a reply to Cora.

K: I want this, do what you need to do.

The message sent and he almost expected to look up and see Milah hovering over him, a flushed smile on her cheeks from dancing, her hair falling in tendrils around her face, but his table is still empty and the dance floor is still a writhing mass of faceless people.

Raising his glass in a lonely toast, he took another drag of rum and closed his eyes.

He wants to dream that she’ll be as happy as he is, that’s all he wants for her.

#Captain Swan #cs fanfic #cs ff #emma and hook #sailtoafarawayland #the things we don't say #modern au

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archivedjr · 4 years ago

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JORDAN RILEY FOR RIOT! MAGAZINE, feat. mickey alteri ( @sequelslasher )

JORDAN RILEY BREEZES INTO HALLOWED GROUNDS like something out of a movie — not a hair out of place, and she doesn’t miss a beat as she slides into an empty seat at the table, apologizing for running late when she’s ten minutes early. When this is pointed out, she laughs.

“I try to be fifteen minutes early to everything; anything else is late.”

Orders are placed, pleasantries are exchanged, and once a steaming cup of jasmine tea is in front of her, Riley becomes an open book to RIOT!

YOU STARTED OUT IN THEATRE. WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO TRANSITION TO FILM?

It was something I thought long and hard about. I always knew I’d make that leap eventually, but I didn’t know when, and I had lots of conversations with my agent about it. It came down to waiting for the right project to come along, and I was lucky enough for it to happen so early.

HOW DID YOU KNOW THE DEEP CUT WAS THE RIGHT PROJECT?

My agent gave me the script to read over and on the train ride home I cracked it open; I couldn’t put it down. I had plans with friends that night that I canceled so I could finish it. I was making notes in the margins, just immediately highlighting, annotating. It hit me at one moment that I was putting the cart before the horse and I knew I had to play Sloane. I at least had to try, or I’d regret it.

WHAT WAS YOUR AUDITION LIKE? HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO STAGE AUDITIONS?

Well, I didn’t have to prepare a song or dance. It didn’t stop Mickey from asking me to sing a few bars when he saw all the stage credits on my resume. [ She laughs. ] It wasn’t too different, honestly. They had me read my sides, and gave me room to improv a little, which was great for me because I have some improv training and I think my acting is the most fresh when I’m thinking on my feet. I was really in my element in the audition room, so any nerves I had building up just left me completely.

WHEN DID YOU FINALLY GET THE CALL?

After about six weeks from my initial audition. I did several rounds of callbacks after my first audition and then I didn’t hear anything for a couple of weeks, and I thought, well, I didn’t get it. I was between gigs at the time and took up waitressing because you still have bills to pay and food to put on the table, whether you book a job or not. I never got a formal call, either — Mickey found out what restaurant I was working at, requested to sit in my section, ordered a whole cake and asked me to write ‘Congratulations Jordan Riley, you are Sloane Whitman’ on it. I think I jumped ten feet in the air, I was so happy. I know I quit on the spot, but I think my boss understood.

THERE’S A LOT OF HEAVY SUBJECT MATTER IN THE MOVIE. HOW DID YOU PREPARE FOR THOSE SCENES?

I’d try and isolate myself prior to shooting those particular scenes just so I could clear my head and get in the right mindset and just wholly and completely focus and be in the moment. And I think, as people in general, if you live long enough, you have some less-than-stellar life experiences. I tapped into my own and pulled from those experiences to elevate the performance as best I could. I think the audience knows when an actor is simply acting, you know, running through the motions, making sure they hit the beats, and when an actor really believes the material they’re trying to sell and is in it, and I wanted to make sure I did all I could to be in it.

WHAT WAS YOUR PROCESS OF GETTING INTO CHARACTER?

I like to think of it as ‘soft method.’ I went back to my script annotations and I just built off of that. I thought about what Sloane’s daily routine would be like — she doesn’t have one, in my opinion — and I went from there. There was day where I hopped on a bus just to see where it would take me, which, in hindsight, is a little reckless and dangerous. I also made a huge playlist of music I felt like she’d listen to and I played that when I was in hair and makeup, and I’d have it on me to listen to between scenes just so I could stay in that headspace.

WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING DAY ON SET?

I don’t want to spoil anything, but the third act is about what you would expect from a slasher movie. There’s a lot of action, a lot of things happening, one right after the other and it all takes place on one location at night. It took us weeks to shoot this sequence of just, madness happening, and there was one point, it’s three in the morning, we’ve been shooting for hours with no break, I’m covered in blood, so are some of my co-stars, and we’re just — we’re all losing our minds, a little bit. Keeping up the energy and staying in the moment was definitely a challenge, because you’re sore, and tired, and hungry, your throat is getting hoarse from screaming, but you still have a job to do and you have limited time because sunrise is in a few hours and then you can’t shoot anything until the next night, and it’s a tight schedule. We pulled it off but that was something I hadn’t anticipated.

WHAT WAS THE BEST?

Any day where I got to do my own stunts. I have a huge background in dance, I run three miles every morning, and I have some experience in self-defense, so I’m fairly athletic, fairly flexible, and the way fight scenes work, it has choreography. It’s a lot like a dance, and I thought, well, I can do that. And they let me!

RUMOR HAS IT MICKEY ALTIERI IS A PRETTY STRICT DIRECTOR TO WORK WITH. WHAT WAS THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE?

I can’t lie to you, I was a little intimidated at first — but when it comes down to it, he’s just trying to make the finished product the absolute best it can be. That’s what everyone on set wants, and�� when you’re all working toward the same goal, it’s hard to get upset about reshooting a scene twenty times. Especially because — he’ll have the shot, you know he will, but he wants to try something different, wants to change it up a bit, just to see what will work, and he’s really receptive to suggestions and ideas other people have. There were a few moments where we finished a scene, and it was good, we got everything we needed, but he goes, okay, let’s try this. And we try that, and it turns out to just push things to another level. I really respect that and the level of dedication there is. It was the best motivator, to be completely honest with you.

WHAT HAS YOUR LIFE BEEN LIKE SINCE FILMING? DO YOU GET RECOGNIZED OFTEN?

I’ve gotten recognized a couple of times, but it hasn’t been anything extreme yet. More often than not people have kind of double taked in the sense of, ‘I recognize you, but I can’t place it.’ Life’s been good, though. I’m originally from Ohio and I recently got to go back home and visit my family, which was great. Everyone was so excited to hear about LA and what filming was like and it was just nice to be surrounded by the people who mean the most to me.

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST INSPIRATION?

My abuela. She’s the strongest woman I know; she immigrated here from Puerto Rico on her own when she was seventeen years old, and she built an amazing life for herself. She’s the reason I got into acting in the first place. I think, if I become even half the woman she is someday, I’ll have done good.

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST THING YOU LEARNED FROM WORKING ON THE DEEP CUT?

To not be afraid of letting my guard down and just being vulnerable, both as an actress and as a person. You never really think about it, but the horror genre is home to some of the most deeply human stories you’ll see in film, and this one taught me a lot about myself — mostly, to stop holding myself back.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU?

Professionally, I’ve got a stack of scripts on my dining room table I’ve been looking through and some auditions lined up. I can’t say much more than that — just that I’m excited to get back in audition rooms and see where it leads me.

Personally, I’m just enjoying the last few weeks of anonymity I have. I might sign up for a surfing class or go out for pizza and beers with my friends tonight. Either way, life’s been pretty good to me lately. I don’t have any complaints.

#EDITS.#MINE.

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redshirtgal · 5 years ago

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Look at that deadly serious face. Would you believe there are two amusing stories involving this gentleman? One from a scene involving his character, the other involving the actor behind the scenes.

The idea to bring in a doctor specifically trained in Vulcan medicine was a good one. But we were not introduced to Dr. M’Benga until halfway through the second season in an episode titled “A Private Little War.” It is because of his expertise that we know all those bizarre life scan readings are merely a sign that Spock is concentrating his efforts on healing the severe gunshot wound he had received on the planet.

Up until this point, we have only seen the stern, serious side of M’Benga. But we find in this scene that he has a wicked sense of humor (and an excellent sense of observation). He informs Nurse Chapel that Spock has been conscious enough the entire time and most likely even realized Christine had been holding his hand earlier. And then you see this little grin as poor Nurse Chapel looks mortified and more than a little miffed.

There is one other scene that is not exactly amusing in itself, but has an side story that is. This is the scene where Dr. M’Benga gives Christine explicit instructions about what to do if Spock shows any signs of consciousness. But when the time comes and Spock commands her to hit him as hard as she can, Christine just can’t do more than a weak slap. Then Scotty enters and when he sees what is happening, pulls her away. It’s up to Dr. M’Benga to bring Spock back to full consciousness.

Which he proceeds to do by pulling his arm back... and delivering a wallop of a slap that even Scotty would be proud of.

And which Spock calmly deems quite sufficient. But Leonard Nimoy was actually pretty irate just after the slap. The filming of this episode was already behind. While the crew set up for this scene, Leonard Nimoy pulled the actor Booker Bradshaw aside and told him he didn’t want to have to reshoot the scene (because he had a paid appearance scheduled that evening). So according to Bradshaw, Nimoy told him no stage slap - to give it everything he had. So... when the time came, Booker Bradshaw wound up and delivered a slap so hard, it knocked Leonard off his feet. And the Vulcan ears off Leonard. Which sent the stage crew and everyone else on the set into peals of laughter but Nimoy did not see the humor at all. Bradshaw said to his dismay, the star was quite angry and made it clear that this time, he better make it a stage slap.

We see him one more time in “That Which Survives” when he is asked to find the reason Ensign Wyatt died. Dr. M’Benga replies that Dr. Sanchez (in the background) is already performing the autopsy and promises to report the results to Mr. Spock as soon as he knows them.

Later, Dr. M’Benga’s expression demonstrates his exasperation at not being able to give Mr. Spock an explanation for Wyatt’s cause of death, which Dr. Sanchez had established as cellular disruption. And that’s the last time we see Dr. M’Benga. Memory Alpha seems to think that Dr. M’Benga was meant to be there from the start and that M’Boya was simply a misspelling of his name in that first draft. Yet according David Tilotta in an article on StarTrek.com, Dr. M’Benga was not added to the cast of “That Which Survives” until a few days before filming. In the very beginning, the doctor’s name was given as M’Boya. Then as the script revisions progressed, the character of Dr. M’Boya was dropped and his lines given to Nurse Christine Chapel.. But Marc Cushman’s These Are the Voyages: Season Two backs up what David Tillota wrote, saying that one of the researchers from Kellam de Forest suggested to Fred Freiberger that the name should be changed to M’Benga on September 13th. However, he makes no mention of the previous change of M’Boya to Nurse Chapel doing the autopsy. Still, it does seem likely someone would have realized there was no need to create a new doctor when Dr. M’Benga had already been established as highly regarded by his CMO. Story Editor Arthur Singer turned in a final draft on September 20th and page revisions were added on the 21st. Once Fred Freiberger made a few more changes and created the revised final draft dated September 24th and the page revisions were inserted the next day. Just in time for the first day of production which again backs up David Tilotta’s assertion that Dr. M’Benga was close to a last minute addition/revision.

Dr. M’Benga was played by Booker T. Bradshaw of Richmond, Virginia. Bradshaw’s background is quite impressive. After working at his father’s life insurance company, Booker decided this was not the life for him and entered Harvard University. During his junior year he appeared on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour as a folk singer. Not only did he win three times, but he made it to the finals at Madison Square Garden. Booker did return to graduate from Harvard in 1962 with the intention of becoming a lawyer. Fate intervened in the form of a Fellowship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London but not before he had performed at Carnegie Hall. Bradshaw did receive an honors certificate for his time at the Academy of Dramatic Arts which he completed by touring England with his Academy students as part of a Shakespeare repertory theater. *photo credit: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/b/bhl/x-hs8414/hs8414

After finishing the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, you would think Booker would head straight into the acting world, wouldn’t you? Oh, he had done some stage plays in Harvard and a few other venues, but another opportunity arose. Bradshaw’s connection in the music world lead him to working for Motown Records in Detroit as their international manager. He specifically arranged the European tours of both the Supremes and the Temptations. According to several stories he could speak anywhere from three to nine languages, depending on the source. Above is a photo of the Supremes as they were about to start their 1965 European tour in London. Not only did Bradshaw serve as their manager but he also did an interview with them that was reprinted here - https://motownjunkies.co.uk/2013/03/02/589

Around 1967, Booker Bradshaw came back to the United States to resume his acting career and joined a repertory theater in Rochester, Michigan run by one of his mentors, John Fernald. Fernald was formerly Head of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Bradshaw even wrote the lyrics and music for a play produced there titled And People All Around, which was based on the murders of three civil rights workers in Mississippi. He also appeared in several plays at the Ebony Showcase Theater, including Day of Absence and Happy Endings in 1967. One of his co-stars in both plays was Isabel Sanford. Some of you may remember her as Louise Jefferson in The Jeffersons, which ran from 1975-1985. The Ebony Showcase Theater was the first black theater created especially for black audiences in Los Angeles. Above - Booker Bradshaw, Juanita Moore and Isabel Sanford (Louise Jefferson) in Happy Endings. Photo credit - https://filmismemory.wordpress.com/2015/12/29/the-ebony-showcase-theater/

Booker Bradshaw went on to have a very full and successful career in television and film, both as an actor and as a writer. He landed parts on a number of television shows, including several episodes of Tarzan, the Mod Squad, and The F.B.I. In fact, as this newspaper clipping shows (which was actually a press release that appeared in many newspapers across the U.S.), it was thought his role as Special Agent Harry Dane might be a semi-regular one. However, he is only credited with appearing in two episodes. *clipping from p. 35 of The Jackson Sun (Jackson TN), November 7, 1969.

Bradshaw’s movie appearances were fewer, but included two that attained some notice at the time they were released. Above is a publicity photo from The Strawberry Statement (1970) which was loosely based on the Columbia University protests of 1968. He played the character Lucas who is seen on the far right. Fellow Star Trek actress Kim Darby was the female lead named Linda.

But Booker Bradshaw’s biggest role probably was that of politician Howard Brunswick in Coffy (1973). He was the boyfriend of the title character played by Pam Grier. She played the title character, a nurse who is out to get revenge on the drug dealers who were responsible for the death of her sister. Being a folk singer/media mogul/ theater actor/TV & film actor was evidently not enough. Bradshaw also became a quite accomplished television writer. Between 1973-1976 he and David P. Lewis together wrote scripts for shows like Columbo, Planet of the Apes, and McMillan and Wife. Bradshaw went on to do scripts for Different Strokes, Gimme A Break, and four episodes of The Richard Pryor Show. During the 80s he became a voice actor. Sadly, his impressive career came to an end when he died suddenly of a heart attack in 2003.

#Star Trek TOS #Dr. M'Benga #A Private Little War #That Which Survives #Booker Bradshaw #Booker T.Bradshaw

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emeraldspiral · 4 years ago

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Falcon and Winter Soldier really didn’t go the way I thought it would. Like, the last two episodes seemed like a slow build to John Walker going absolutely batshit crazy and becoming the main baddie who’d try to kill Karli even after she repents because her conscience is more guilty than she wants to admit. But it was actually kinda the opposite.

Walker’s redemption arc was kind of abrupt. Like, one minute he’s out for blood and the next he’s completely got his chill back. I don’t feel like just because he chose to save the hostages instead of pursuing Karli that means he was over his best friend being murdered by her and her friends, especially when they only reinforced how merciless and unsympathetic they could be by actively trying to stop him from saving those people. It kinda feels like there was a scene missing between him letting Karli go to save the hostages and him peacefully arresting the Flag Smashers. Like, he should’ve had another opportunity to brutally murder someone again, but then Bucky talks him out of it or something. IDK, I know they had to do a lot of reshoots because of COVID and I’m guessing that included about 90% of the final episode, so maybe they didn’t have the time or money to rewrite and film a more polished version of Walker’s resolution.

As for Karli, they do ultimately portray her as a misguided martyr and they do make her last words “I’m sorry”. But up until then, she was pretty much just as relentlessly stubborn as Thanos. Every time there was an opportunity to show her conflicted and hesitant, she only became more ruthless and fanatical. She was utterly apathetic to Walker’s face about what she did to his best friend and ordered the deaths of her hostages as a plan B as casual as if she were talking about seeing a different movie if the one she wanted to see was sold out. They also didn’t have her ultimately lower her weapon, unable to go through with killing Sam, or telegraph that she was going to before Sharon shot her.

It kinda rubs me the wrong way a bit. Like, Walker’s redemption arc was a pleasant surprise, but it feels undercut by the cynicism of Karli’s end. The overall story is actually a lot like Black Panther, where the driving force is a radicalized villain who dies unrepentant as a tragic cautionary tale that inspires civil change meant to ensure that it won’t happen again. But IDK, I think Captain America stories, whether they’re about Steve Rogers or Sam Wilson, should be more optimistic. It feels especially inappropriate given that in CA:TWS, Sam was the one who kept telling Steve that Bucky was too far gone to save, and was ultimately proven wrong. And then they made a big deal in Civil War and the show about how it was hard to get Bucky deprogrammed and in recovery, but ultimately the effort paid off. And like, they went out of their way to reestablish that Sam is a therapist and had him believing in Karli’s inner goodness and fighting for her just as hard as Steve fought for Bucky, but then she ends up being beyond salvation. No deradicalization or reform for Karli, she’s just another cautionary tale.

#the falcon and the winter soldier #falcon and winter soldier #f&ws #tf&tws #spoiler #spoilers #falcon and winter soldier spoilers #the falcon and the winter soldier spoilers #marvel #marvel comics #mcu #f&ws spoilers #tf&tws spoilers

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cogentranting · 5 years ago

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I don't know if you've completed JJS3 yet. If you haven't, save this ask for reserve. But what were your thoughts on how they handled Trish's arc in the end? Personally, I think her ending reminded me of Daenerys being screwed over by bad writing on Game of Thrones, if you get my drift.

I’m gonna preface this by saying I know all the stuff about the Daenerys controversy but I don’t watch the show so I’m not gonna weigh in on that.

I like Trish’s arc a lot. I thought it was very well set up across the three seasons, so it made perfect sense to me that she would have this sort of descent. It’s not abrupt or out of nowhere. You can see in her childhood issues and the complicated relationship with her mother the roots of the ideas which come to consume her. And it’s a pretty clear progression from where she’s at in season 1 to where she ends up in season 3. You’ve got her ideas about what Jessica should be doing with her powers, where she’s a bit self-righteous but mostly correct and then after being attacked (I think she’s attacked? My memory of season 1 isn’t great, it’s been a while) she starts to become more paranoid and become obsessed with protecting herself. And throughout season 1 and 2 (and defenders) she’s fixated on the idea of making a difference in the world, but in a way that is partially focused on being taken seriously. And all that pushing her to the point of killing Jess’s mom in season 2.

So it’s this really interesting portrayal of someone moving from idealism and wanting to make difference in the world, but giving in to their own trauma and ego and self-righteousness and ending up in a place where they’re angry and feel entitled to do whatever they want, regardless of what anyone else is telling them,. And it’s linked into her childhood with her celebrity creating her ego but also giving her a strong desire to be taken seriously and redefine herself separate from that, and the addiction tying into her sort of getting addicted to the adrenaline, and they sowed seeds of her being jealous of Jessica’s powers, and the abuse in her past relates to her desire to punish people who are doing wrong. Then there’s the whole relationship with her mother where Dorothy created a sense of Trish being dependent on her which made her death even more devastating. And the way that Dorothy shaped Trish as a child where she put so much responsibility on her shoulders (the pressure of “you have to be successful because all our money is in this” etc) and then pushed her to have this ends justifies the means attitude (pushing the other girl out of a part, and all kinds of shady business stuff like that) which helps Trish to feel like she needs to do this crusade and that its justified no matter who gets hurt, so long as the bad guy is punished. The abuse creates this complicated situation when Dorothy dies, where Trish is still somewhat stuck in that abuse victim mindset of wanting the relationship with her mother to be there and not be hurtful, so when the possibility of that is taken away it’s devastating. And her history of addiction shows that she doesn’t have healthy coping mechanisms to deal with trauma (her season 1 reactions go along with this as well).

So I think that Trish’s fall is very well written, fits really well with everything they established about her character, and is an interesting, engaging story both on it’s own and for the way that it interacts with and creates Jesscia’s story. Ending it with her going to the Raft makes sense once you get to that point. It’s a super depressing end to that story, but it’s not badly written.

BUT the biggest thing is I feel pretty confident that it wasn’t intended to be the end of her story. JJ season 3 started filming in June 2018. I can’t find a date for when they finished but probably sometime in the fall, around the time that Iron Fist and Daredevil were airing. And the scripts would’ve already been written by the time that those shows premiered. Iron Fist and Luke Cage didn’t cancelled until October. Daredevil didn’t get cancelled til November. So Jessica Jones season 3 wasn’t written to be the final season. Daredevil’s cast talked about their shock at being cancelled, even after IF LC got cancelled, so before any of those? Jessica Jones probably thought it was safe. To me, it looks like the final scene with Jessica in the train station was re-shot/rewritten when they realized that they were probably getting cancelled. Her decision to turn around and go back was pretty abrupt and I think if it were always the intended course to have Jessica almost leave everything behind and run but then decide to stay despite everything it would have been explored for longer than 5 minutes at the end of the episode. To me, it looks like the intent was to leave Malcolm running Alias, Erik trying to do good, so in very dynamic positions (similar to Foggy moving to the big corporate law firm at the end of DD2 while Karen goes to work for the newspaper), have Trish down and out for the moment but with a little glimmer of her future redemption in the way that she seems to be starting to realize the error of her ways at the very end of the season, and then have Jessica run away to Mexico. Season 4 would have started with Jessica having been gone from the city a while, coming back to find Erik and Malcolm having come to be in very different positions, and maybe Jess is drawn back by something going on with them, or by the potential of a way to save Trish, and having to choose not to run even though so many terrible things happen to her. And I think Trish’s redemption would have been explored in that season. But when the other three shows got the axe, Jessica Jones only had time for small changes, so they did the best they could (which is ultimately pretty good, on at least the part of Jessica, Erik and Malcolm) by having the Killgrave moment which is, in my opinion, pretty effective at prompting that last minute decision in Jessica. So just by adding in that moment and having Jessica turn around instead of going to Mexico, they provide a open ending that gives the implication that Jessica is going to reclaim her life and probably reconnect with Erik and Malcolm. And they only had to rewrite/reshoot half a scene. But Trish’s ending would have required much much bigger changes to have her end up somewhere else. If they have her not go dark side, they sacrifice their climax (both in terms of plot/action, and character arcs for both Jess and Trish). If they have her just go on the run that lessens the effect of Jessica’s choices at the end. If they rush a redemption in the last episode, that cheapens the whole arc and creates a lot of plot holes. So in order to end Jessica’s story well, they had to let Trish’s arc play out as intended even if that made it really sad.

#jessica jones #trish walker #askbox #once again in case it wasn't clear: I think as it stands trish's story is a tragedy #but a well written one #and if it had been allowed to continue there would have been a redemption arc for her

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radkoko · 5 years ago

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Acting Up

Day 4: Not Ninjas As a mostly AU author I wanted to try something new to me, so here is Kakashi as an actor and Iruka as an idol.

Read on Ao3

~~~

People were crowded around someone on the set, Kakashi hadn’t really cared who it was, just that they were disturbing the order. When he was finally able to see through the crowd -not that he was looking- his eyes caught on a cute brunette at the center of the mob.

It must be their new cast member.

Kakashi had been told they were introducing a new character on the next season of their show, but he didn’t have much interest in who it was. The guy hadn’t even managed to make it to the table read because he was on tour, and the producer assured Kakashi that it wasn’t a big deal.

Somehow this… what was his name… Iruka? Was able to get away with things no other cast member could, simply because he was some famous pop star. That was the only reason they hired him too. They were heading into their third season, and Kakashi overheard it could be their last if they didn’t get their ratings up. So the producers had panicked and brought in someone would would draw a crowd, but it wouldn’t matter much in the long run if he couldn’t act.

Kakashi expected he’d be dragging the new costar through their scenes, and he was going to be doing it for a while. Iruka’s character had been set up as the arc for the entire season. He didn’t even know if Iruka knew how to act.

With a roll of his eyes Kakashi sat down in a chair set aside for him, and waited. He was already in costume and to the set on time as always when he found the set turned into a mob. The production assistants were trying to clear a path for Iruka to get to hair and make up so they could start working some time today.

Once the singer was gone, everyone got back to their jobs and the storm around them calmed.

“Sorry for the delay Mr. Hatake,” a young PA apologized, “We should be able to start the first scene in about 10 minutes.”

Kakashi nodded to her, not thrilled about the delay, but at least they were an easy show to set up for, no crazy amount of prosthetics to put on each day. Although he had noticed a large scar across Iruka’s nose earlier and wondered if they’d be trying to cover it up for the show. His character was the only one with a scar put on by the make-up team, a remnant from their villain in season one. It made him look a bit cooler especially with the red contact he wore in the eye underneath it.

The murmur of the set increased again and without looking Kakashi knew Iruka was back. He stood up as they called for quiet on set and actors to take their places.

The director took a few minutes to talk to Iruka about the scene, and took a nod from Kakashi as an ok to start.

“Action!” rang out through the studio.

Iruka’s character slammed through the front of the detective agency, “Where is she?!” he demanded of the assistant sitting behind the desk.

“Who?”

“My sister. She’s missing and this place is the last place she was, I want to know where she is now!”

Kakashi watched on in awe, surprised at the raw skill of the newbie actor. If he hadn’t known Iruka’s background he wouldn’t have expected this was his first acting performance.

Suddenly another voice rang out through the set, “CUT!”

Kakashi repositioned wondering why they were cutting so quickly.

The PA cleared her throat, “umm, you missed your cue,” she whispered to him. She looked like she was about to start shaking from having to tell him that he’d done something wrong.

Kakashi was flabbergasted, he’d never missed a cue...never messed up a scene. How did one random idol change that…

“Something felt off, we should start again,” Kakashi feigned, giving an explanation, even if it was a bit of a lie, to make himself not look bad.

She nodded and helped the crew set up again, before calling for action.

This Iruka was not one to take lightly.

~~~

They progressed through a number of scenes, not needing many reshoots, but each one got more intense.

Kakashi avoided tripping up again, but it was close during their last scene together when he had Iruka up against a wall, gripping at his shirt. Iruka looked wounded both physically and mentally as Kakashi yelled at him for putting numerous character’s lives in danger while trying to get clues to save his sister. Kakashi had almost let go afraid he was really hurting the other man, but he held onto the moment, trusting the director to call cut if it was needed.

Of course everything was fine when the director did finally call cut at the end of the scene. Iruka was the first off the floor from where Kakashi had tossed him aside and he was already all smiles and laughs with the rest of the crew.

Kakashi shook his head at the way he could transform with a snap. Unlike Iruka, Kakashi tended to stay in character between scenes. Broody and misunderstood was something that was better when he just ignored everyone around him.

The PA called for a thirty minute break and touch ups, which Kakashi was happy to take. He needed a break from his character, and Iruka. They had some strange chemistry on set and Kakashi wasn’t looking to fan the flames by hanging out with him any longer than necessary.

He retreated to his dressing room to relax, his one perk for being the top billed actor. Although he wouldn’t be surprised if Iruka had gotten one too. The special guests often got some of the best perks.

“Did I do something wrong?” a voice asked before he was able to open the door and disappear.

Kakashi huffed at the disruption and turned towards Iruka who stood behind him. He stood there with his arms crossed and looked a little out of breath, probably from running after Kakashi.

“Why do you ask?” Kakashi questioned, wanting to finish this conversation quickly, but not looking to volunteer any information.

Iruka took in a breath to answer, but was stopped when two girls appeared ogling him and giggling as they walked past.

He rubbed at his neck waiting for them to disappear, his cheeks dusted with red even beneath the makeup. “Can we talk in private?” he asked pointing past Kakashi to the dressing room.

Kakashi wanted to say no out of desire to keep the room to himself, but he didn’t really want to have any sort of argument out in the hallway, so he opened the door and welcomed Iruka inside.

“You seem mad at me.” Iruka blurted out as soon as the door was closed.

Kakashi stared at him, before looking away so he didn’t get caught in the soft brown eyes. “Why do you think that?”

“Uhh… That,” Iruka held out his hand as if it was a perfect example. “You keep avoiding me as soon as we stop filming.”

“I prefer to stay in character,” Kakashi knew it was perfectly acceptable method of acting.

“That’s not the same thing. You’re actively avoiding me as if I did something wrong, but we’ve had no contact before today.”

Kakashi felt like he had no choice, “You’re better than I expected.”

“Huh?” Iruka cocked his head and questioned Kakashi’s statement.

“You’re acting. You have no experience, I didn’t expect you to be so competent.

“I don’t know whether to say ‘thank you’ or ‘that’s rude’,” Iruka puzzled, “Wouldn’t you want me to be a strong actor?”

Kakashi shrugged. He might have a little pride in being the best on the set.

They stared at each other, Iruka’s face running through a number of emotions.

“So I’m good, which is a bad thing? Am I understanding you right?”

“How did someone with no experience, learn to act?” Kakashi asked. He was already too deep into this conversation he might as well ask what he really wanted to know.

Iruka chuckled, “You don’t know anything about idols do you?” he didn’t wait for the answer, “We act 24/7. There are fans everywhere whether you can see them or not, so each idol is like a character, perfect whenever we’re out in the public. We have to be happy and smiles, even when someone is trying to pull at our clothes or shove a camera in our face. Each concert is it’s own performance filled with songs and dances that have a story to be told. So I disagree with your statement that I have no experience. I have plenty of experience, it’s just not in traditional acting.”

It was a reasonable explanation. Kakashi had never followed any sort of idol, so he didn’t understand half of what Iruka had talked about, but he was also an actor which meant he'd dealt with some of the same types of fans.

“For what it’s worth, I think we play well against each other,” Iruka offered a peace branch.

“I guess we could call those scenes… adequate,” Kakashi teased.

Iruka’s face flushed, highlighting the scar across his face. Kakashi was glad they had decided to leave it for the show, it played into his character’s backstory of being a reformed gangster, and not to mention it made him look cute when he got angry.

Before Iruka could reply to Kakashi’s taunt there was a knock at the door, “Last call for touch ups, we need everyone back on set in 10,” the assistant called through the door.

“Thank you,” Kakashi acknowledged her before turning his attention back to Iruka.

Iruka had puffed up like a child trying to win an argument, “I’m going to prove I deserve to be here just as much as you. It doesn’t matter where I came from, I want to act.”

And with that he stormed out of the dressing room before Kakashi could say anything more.

“I look forward to that,” he whispered to himself with a sly smile.

#Kakairu #kakairu week 2019 #kakairuweek2019 #My writing #fanfic #AU

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smokeybrandreviews · 5 years ago

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Smokey brand Movie Reviews: Deepest Dive

Thalassophobia is the fear of the ocean. I have that sh*t in spades. It’s deep, dark, and unknown. As a grown man in his mid thirties who can’t swim a stroke, i respectfully refrain from entering the sea. That said, i marvel at what has been found there. What little we have found there. We know more about the goddamn moon, than we do about what’s under our own waves, here at home and that’s staggering to me. How can something be so abundant, so dominate, and simultaneously, so unknown? That’s craziness to me. When i heard about Underwater, i immediately knew i had to see this movie. I’m entranced by these types of films because the possibility of some, undiscovered, gigantic, predatory, deep sea creature is very real. Exploring that reality, letting your imagination play in that sandbox,always kicks out something unique, and often, profound. Does Underwater pull this off? Did i finish this film feeling the way i did after Leviathan? Deep Star Six? The Abyss?

The Good

Underwater has a tremendous atmosphere. this thing nails that claustrophobic panic that you rarely see executed correctly in one of these types of films. I felt that rush of sheer panic throughout this movie, especially in that opening scene.

Speaking of atmosphere, this thing leans real heavy into that Alien aesthetic. There’s a visual language which these films share, that echoes through Underwater. It’s not a bad thing, mind you. Alien is one of my all-time favorite films so i adore seeing that type of production whenever it crops up in cinema. However, it’s hard to homage without embarrassment. Alien was lightning captured in a bottle. It excels at so many things and it does it while looking effortless. Underwater is not that. Underwater is very laborious. It feels like it’s trying too hard to be a Ridley Scott film which is hilarious because i don’t think Ridley Scott even knows how to make an Alien film anymore. Even so, Underwater is the closest to that razor-edged, disgustingly gritty, manic desperation,you feel on the Nostromo so high marks for that.

There is a look to this film, when you can see it, that is incredibly unique. It’s Deep Star Six meets Abyss meets Alien but so much more than that. You can tell that there was a strong vision propelling this world as it began to unfold over the course of the plot.

I cannot praise this opening sequence enough. That sh*t sent me into a straight fervor. I love the way it’s shot. I love the realism in the survival effort. I love the utter futility in Stewart’s face. Excellent. I would have changed one thing but, aside from that, outstanding.

Speaking of Stewart, she gives an excellent performance. I’ve like her, mostly, throughout her career, with the exception of the Twilight films. Those things were the worst but that’s mostly because the source material is sh*t. Given an opportunity, Kristen Stewart can be incredibly compelling in a role. Panic Room, Adventureland, Zathura, American Ultra, The Runaways; All great performances. Personal Shopper is my favorite post-Bella infamy but her role as Norah Price is pretty legit. She’s the most convincing Ellen Ripley i’ve seen onscreen since Sigourney Weaver Cargo Loaded that b*tch out of an airlock.

That creature reveal was pretty legit. Very chestburster in implementation but still worthwhile. Everything hearkens back to Alien with this movie. It’s a little heavy handed cribbing from it’s very blatant inspiration, especially as you continue through the plot and realize there’s a hive, drones, and even a goddamn queen; All with their own independent vision, of course.

The pacing in this flick is mad sprightly. It’s like a power-walk from one scene to the next, clocking in at a surprisingly tight hour and a half, roughly. You get through this entire movie in no time.

The Meh

All that voice over. Ugh. I hate when films do this, especially at he beginning. Sh*t’s the most effective way to completely deplete tension, especially when your film is trying to build up to a sudden, pronounced, event. It works when your main character is in solitude or when there is a principal protagonist but this film does neither of those things. There’s a reason they do things this, way which leads me to my next point, but take away this inner monologue or whatever and certain scenes become far more effective.

TJ Miller is in this movie. He plays TJ Miller. I’m getting tied of TJ Miller.

The rest of the cast did their part. The material most of them had to work with was pretty mundane so their characters are inconsequential, which is a shame because i really like some of these actors. Jessica Henwick is adorable and Mamoudou Athie has proven he has the skill to be big, all the more distressing about that lack of material. Imagine these characters having that initial bonding scene. A little lunch or something, together, before the initial collapse. there’s comradery, you build a sense of endearment to characters while establishing traits, gives your actors room to act so when sh*t hits the fan, you feel it. Hell, having Kristen Stewart go to bed early, only to wake up and go directly into that epic opening sequence would have been brilliant.

The editing in this is hit and miss. Alien was so effective because they didn’t have any goddamn money. They had to be clever with edits and sh*t because they couldn’t afford more film for reshoots. Underwater was shot digitally. There is no film. This is all computers, man, so no restraint of takes. That means no restraint on cuts and there are some absolutely atrocious jump cuts in scenes you do not want them. This is more a critique on modern film making than a knock of this film, specifically, even if it has some of the more aggressive examples i’ve seen of this sh*t in a while.

The actual underwater sequences are dark ad f*ck. It’s hard to see what’s going on most of the time. That’s forgivable, to an extent. The monster you see in your head is always far more terrifying than the one you see with your eyes. I get it. But you can’t see sh*t; Not the monster, not the crew, not the surroundings, nothing. That’s a function of being at the bottom of the goddamn ocean but damn, dude, really? Can a motherf*cker get a more powerful flashlight or something? It’s hard to react when i don’t know what i’m reacting to.

The Bad

The way this thing ends is real bad. Not so much the climax but the resolution. It feels like the production ran out of money. It kind of mirrors the opening credits in a way but, after spending all that time in this world, learning about these characters, ending the film how they did is wildly unsatisfying if a little frustrating. I imagine this was because of budget reasons but, come on? A little extra cash and you could have had a real gem.

The Verdict

For all the praise and indifference i have about this film, the biggest thing that both irks and compels my mild adoration is the fact that it unabashedly wears it’s love for the original Alien on its sleeve. This is Alien, if it were made today, but underwater. That “if it were made today bit” is what kills it. You could get away with something like this back in the day because cats knew how to stretch a dollar. There was minimum studio interference and creators could create, especially with smaller budget fare like this flick. Not so much anymore. Margins are razor thin and every dollar counts so none of the major studios take chances. If this were an A24 film, it’d be be much better but it’s not. It’s a Fox leftover so Disney really wasn’t trying to actually spend more money than they already had. Missed opportunity.

Ultimately, Underwater is a good time. It’s competently made, technically sound, and has a compelling premise that does a decent job of building tension. It does, however, drop the ball on characterization. you never feel part of this crew. it doesn’t have that comradely scene like Alien does and you need that in this type of flick so when the horror starts, you feel the loss. You don’t feel anything for these people. They’re characters not a crew. Outside of that, the performances are decent and the effects were much better than you’d expect for how much this thing cost to make. They flub the landing, for sure, but the ride to that point is pretty entertaining. Underwater feels like there was more they wanted to say, more they wanted to do, but the rug was pulled out from under the creators at the last minute and they had to run with what they had to the box office. I’d say give it a shot but don’t judge it against it’s very obvious inspiration. Alien is forty years unassailable but Underwater does pulls off a decent homage. If this thing was cared for a little more by the studio, this could have been a contender for that crown. As it stands, it’s the best Alien film since Aliens. Underwater is thrilling at times, groan-worthy at others, a little disappointing toward the end, but entertaining throughout. It’s definitely worth a watch.

#Smokey brand Movie Reviews #Underwater

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