#because you got these two actors taking on the same role with near similar background

[ladsofsorrow24]

i saw a lot of reviewers mentioned memories of murder in their review for beyond evil, but as i rewatch sympathy for lady vengeance, i realized that what makes dongsik feels so familiar to me is because he reminds me so much of lee geumja in that film

[creativeashproductions]

Reluctant Vacation // Charlie Gillespie

Summary: The niece of the infamous Kenny Ortega had its advantages and disadvantages, you received insight on his projects but felt guilty saying no. Kenny seeing the exhaustion pulling you down invites to the set of Julie and the Phantoms where you rediscover your love with the field.

Warning: Swearing and fluff.

 Words 2.2k

A/N: I do take requests. It may take a bit to get to them but I’ll post some.

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Masterlist

The sigh came from deep in your chest wanting to drop to the floor for an exhaustion induced nap, but an airport wasn’t the best place. Large sunglasses obscured people from seeing the deep bags under your eyes on the way to the film lot. It was coming full circle, the change different from the frantic schedule you had had recently. When Kenny called you hadn’t hesitated in packing and buying a ticket.

“Miss Y/L/N?” The voice pulled you from your thoughts as a man holding a card with your name displayed. He was of Puerto Rican descendent with a young girl beside him with similar features, “I’m Ricardo. This is my daughter Madison.”

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m-“

“Y/N Y/L/N.” Madison supplied with a beaming grin on her face having recognized you from your role as Sabrina in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina along with movies.

All you could do was send a fragile smile in response after a long sleepless flight to Canada.

Madison’s eyes saddened at the exhaustion you carried, “I can fangirl later. You looked really tired.”

“Kenny saw and asked me to come over the guise of help, but he knows I need a break. He’s lucky I don’t need to be on set for a few weeks.” You replied, covering a yawn as you found yourself at a car, the walk a blur.

Unintentionally you found yourself asleep in the backseat the moment you settled back there for the drive. You had filmed in Vancouver before, so it wasn’t a huge deal, and the Reyes’ duo didn’t have the heart to wake you up.

“We’re here,” Madison whispered with the back-car door opened. Your eyelids fluttering at her voice, giving Madison a closer look at your face.

Walking on set, you saw Kenny giving one of his pep talks before he cut himself off at the sight of you. The actors surrounding him furrowed their brows as the legendary director power walked to a person concealed behind Mads.

“Sweetheart.” Kenny beamed, pulling his niece in for a hug before leaning back to scan her features, “You need a nap.”

“I need to meet your new cast.” You snickered stepping around the man to the three actors he had abandoned to see you. You found amusement in their widening eyes at the sight of the Y/N walking to them.

“Oh, my shit.” Owen gasped freaking out as the actress co-starring in the new Spider-Man trilogy came closer.

Last night Owen, Charlie and Jeremy had hosted a movie night in the rented apartment the first two rented. They had quickly made their way through Captain America: Civil War before watching the following movies with Spider-Man. You had a cameo in Captain America: Civil War before becoming a star in Homecoming and Far From Home.

“We manifested her.” Charlie hissed frantically fixing his set costume growing a blush at the smile you wore. He could feel the hair stylist on standby glaring at his tousled locks.

The girl in question came to a stop before the three guys portraying the phantoms of the show in the second season. You couldn’t help but chuckle at the expressions each one of them had.

“Hello.” You greeted flattered when the tall blonde one turned a blossom pink at the voice of an angel. Charlie and Owen had developed celebrity crushes on you.

In revenge, Tori, a returning choreographer and background character, saw Charlie’s expression along with a familiar girl. After filming season one ended the previous year you had stopped by during the filming process of CAOS to catch up with Kenny. Tori had been there and you two became friends.

“Hey!” Tori grinned, pulling you into a hug, “These three binged your MCU movies last night, and Charlie’s wallpaper is you.”

“Tori!”

“This is what you get for telling Booboo about the poster!” Tori called to the Canadian boy jogging out his area. Charlie’s cheek darkened more than Owen’s as your smile grew bigger.

“No worries Ghost. Luke definitely my favourite character and gotta say you should have been on Charmed more than two episodes.” You supplied walking backwards to Kenny once more yearning for a night’s rest after the flight.

“Holy shit.” Charlie choked smacking Jeremy’s arm repeatedly, “She knows me. Oh, oh, OH. She’s seen me-“

 “-Getting it on for a scene.” Jeremy snickered as his friend grew more and more flustered, “That was tame compared to her and Tom going at it.”

Charlie’s face dropped being reminded of the explicit scene you had done with Tom Holland in the movie that came out near the end of 2020. The Devil All the Time was the only film out of the MCU you had done with Tom. You had played the promiscuous daughter of a devout, loyal churchgoer and close friend of the preacher.

“Didn’t they date for a few months?” Owen questioned thinking back to the media mayhem during the virtual press for the film.

Owen was correct with the chemistry between you and Tom it was natural you would do interviews together via shared video chats. Charlie watched every single one that came out with interest. He hadn’t even expected the film to do so dark and explicit, but you had a natural talent.

“English, handsome, actor-“ Charlie started to list off on the English actor with a far more extensive list of credits. Charlie felt like a Canadian child in the city of Los Angeles compared to your leading man.

“-runs a charity with his family.” Jeremy continued raising one eyebrow, “At least he isn’t tall. You’d be fully screwed.”

Charlie shoved his teasing friends away with a smirk of his own as the trio continued on to the film. Charlie put his feelings on the back burner to focus on the storyline and emotions of the scene.

“Spider-Man Three baby!” The English accent shouted from the phone with only an ocean separating the two actors. Tom hadn’t even greeted you before screaming at the news you both received; despite the scripts from a few weeks prior the sequel had fully been greenlighted

Your head tossed back at the childlike glee on the older adult, clearly displaying the two years really mean he was two years old. After meeting on the set of Civil War along with Harrison, you had become friends. Followed with the following MCU appearances, it had been a surprise to be cast in Devil All the Time.

“Insane.” You started making your way through the set to where Kenny had texted you from. It was closing to the end of your vacation.

In the few weeks, you had reconnected with Tori on her breaks along with becoming good friends with the cast members. Something clicked between you and the core four of the show even if Madison sometimes still got starstruck.

“Did you read the script?” Tom questioned quirking his infamous eyebrow his fans wholly adored. You found it amusing, to be honest, that every character he portrayed had the same eyebrow.

“Not fully. I’m surrounded by people, and unlike you, I prefer not to jeopardize my career with marvel.” You teased glancing up as Charlie and Owen made their way over, “I’ll be flying out in a few days for filming.”

Tom nodded his head, “I got get back. Jacob and Haz are visiting. Remember to film the announcement! Bye Love!”

You gave a thumbs up before Tom ended the facetime glancing up at the duo who each raised their eyebrows. Charlie’s mask nearly breaking at Tom’s goodbye. Charlie could feel the cover of his feelings falling more and more each day.

“Announcement?” Owen questioned, slipping his jacket on over his shoulders having changed from his Alex outfit.

“Nothing.” You waved it off, starting to walk backwards with a smile that Charlie thought made your eyes shine brighter than stars.

The boys followed behind on the walk to the house Jeremy and Carolynn had decided to rent during filming. You had been crashing there as Jeremy didn’t want Carolynn to be alone with his filming schedule. It also gave the perfect place for your plan. Last few nights you had binged the marvel movies again ending with Far From Home.

The living room was decked out by Carolynn with your help from earlier as she was the only know that knew. Everyone settled in the living room with Mr Reyes there as well who had quickly become a father figure to you.

“So, I wanted everyone here for a reason. I’m sure you’ve noticed I’ve been reading a script and I have something to open.” You started thanking Jeremy as he brought in the package, he had no clue of the contents, “Now nobody says any spoilers for season two.”

You turned on the camera Paul Becker had supplied with a small smile having already filmed the opening sequence. You sat on the floor in the camera shot, opening the big box to hand out the smaller boxes to your friends. Charlie, Owen, Jeremy, Madison, Savannah, Booboo and every else glanced at the non-descript red box.

“Open them.” You urged grinning as the room went silent except for the tape ripping off the packages.

In each individual box was marvel themed candy, a plushie of Spider-Man along with signed cards from the Avengers actors and the MCU Spider-Man cast. At the very bottom, all it said was to look up at you. Instead of facing them with their looks of shock, you addressed the camera.

“Tom and I are so incredibly happy to announce that Spider-Man 3 is in the beginning process of filming.” You beamed at the camera listening to the intense noise of your friends screaming, “we can’t reveal anything else about the film, but the script is immaculate as usual. You’ll get to see Harper on the screen once more.”

“WHAT!” The collective scream behind you came as you waited a second before ending the video. You’d have to replay it before sending to marvel for the finishing touches with Tom’s version and then you could post it on Instagram.

“Surprise!” You spoke to the group behind you all in states of excitement, “You don’t know how much I’ve wanted to tell you guys! I got the script a few days before I came.”

“Holy shit.” Owen spoke, laughing at he shook his head, “You managed to get autographs from fucking Iron Man himself.”

“I got connections.” You snorted meeting the gaze of Charlie, “Nah, Downey’s kids came for a visit, and I kept them company. Downey offered to do anything, and I took the favour.”

The surprise wore off as the group mingled, but Charlie’s eyes stayed pinned to your form as you sent a message to Tom. Locking your phone to noticed his eyes.

“Hey Charlie.” You smiled, sitting on the couch next to him. His expressive eyes showing a silver screen of emotions you couldn’t quite decipher.

The corner of his mouth tilted up in response to the way his name rolled off your tongue, sending his heart stuttering. A cold sweat appearing when you grasped his hand in yours in a confident manner.

“So, you leave soon?” Charlie murmured moving closer to hear you among the chatter of the group. Your lips turned down for a split second as you felt the sadness of leaving.

It was refreshing to be on set without the demands of makeup, costumes, filming and choreography. To see the action and magic but not be part of it was a definite change you had needed desperately. But to leave Charlie hurt.

“My call time is in three days. Need to get ready to bring Harper Osbourne back to the big screen.” You replied, loosening your grip on his hand, “I don’t really want to go back. I’m gonna miss you…and everyone else of course.”

Unaware to the eyes watching in anticipation you and Charlie conversed further on the upcoming months. To the great disappointment of the house began to clear out, Owen for an early call time. Savannah was meeting with her brother, and Mr Reyes was taking Madison home.

It left Jeremy and Carolynn to retire to their bedroom while you stayed on the couch with Charlie for longer. The emotions building from the prior weeks, bubbling to the surface. Hearts thudding in their chest Charlie leaned in glancing at your lips; yours glancing at his.

Who moved first couldn’t be known, but as your lips brushed together just barely you felt grounded and peaceful. If he leaned closer, you wonder what the kiss would make you feel.

“I’d like to kiss you.” Charlie murmured startled at the confidence he had gained, “But before I do. Do you have something with Tom?”

“Other than onscreen chemistry? Absolutely nothing.” You spoke barely louder than a whisper to the boy that had become so much more than some actor.

He was Charlie. The goofy boy that put a smile on anyone’s face with an impromptu concert in the middle of a crowded street. He lived life to the fullest without any regrets. He was passionate about his work, music and the environment.

Those thoughts evaporated when lips met another pair of lips in what might be described as the best kiss ever. No fireworks felt as Wattpad would say, but instead, it was the heady warmth of hot chocolate on a cold day; a warm shower after a long stressful day. It was home and perfect.

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[gra-sonas]

Currently airing its second season and already renewed for its third, The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico continues to push the story of alien siblings attempting to live peacefully in the town of Roswell to new places even perhaps for fans of the original Roswell. MICHAEL VLAMIS discusses working on the show, the complexities of his character, Michael Guerin, the many (MANY) other projects on his plate and more!

watchtivist: To start off, congratulations on the success of the show! How cool that you’re heading into season three now!

MICHAEL VLAMIS: It’s crazy, I remember when I got the call that I was going to be on the show in the first place. It’s the role that changed my life and it really set me up for all the other things going on in my life. I remember getting that call, crying in a public place. So jacked up! And now all of a sudden, it’s like no big deal. I watched the episode last night (episode 207) on the TV and I get reminded it’s a big deal when I talk to my parents after every episode and hear their thoughts. Just the fact that they get to see their son miles away on television once a week. I appreciate you saying that because sometimes it feels like this is something we’re doing now, but definitely taking those moments to be grateful and the fact that we have season three is amazing.

W: It’s really great, especially in this landscape where shows don’t really get to dig into things. It’s gotta be exciting!

MV: Definitely.

W: One of the questions we received from Twitter was about if this role, that of Michael Guerin, has led you to acquire any particular skill set (or sets) for it.

MV: Oh wow, that’s interesting. Season one made me pull out my guitar again. Which was actually really cool because I got like not good at guitar, but decent where I could play a few songs. In college, I borrowed someone’s guitar and later got my own and played a bunch. Then for years, I got so focused on trying to make it as an actor, writing and auditions, that I stopped playing it. The show forced me to really go out of my comfort zone and even though it was easy things like songs with four chords or strumming patterns, sometimes depending on shooting schedules and if they got switched around, I’d learn something three hours before going to set. We’d wrap super late sometimes and I’d come home and dig in with my guitar. It’s definitely helped me brush up on that. I haven’t played the guitar on season two, so I’m probably back to where I was. [Laughs]

W: With the violent circumstances making up Michael’s background, he kind of starts out with that “looking out for number one” approach to things and season two we’re seeing Michael’s growth and him realizing when it’s perfectly ok for him to let people in and reprioritize based on that. What has that been like for you in terms of tackling the role? What would you say is the next phase of the growth for him?

MV: I think number one in tackling it was that I had no idea that the character was this complex in the beginning. I knew he was hiding his sexuality and who he really is, which is an alien. I knew that something had happened to him in the foster system growing up and he didn’t have the best upbringing. As the seasons have developed, everything has made a lot of sense. I’m sure Carina (Adly MacKenzie) knew from the moment she got the opportunity to do the new Roswell , so the way that it was written in the beginning, I was never surprised where it led me. And even with not being surprised, it’s been really cool to just see what they’ve given me to jump into. It’s kind of helped me deal with some of my trauma as a kid, and my trauma is not near what Michael Guerin’s was. I definitely had my moments, just as we all do with our families. Not feeling good enough or just hiding certain things about you because you’re afraid of who you are and people wouldn’t understand you. The complexities of the character have really helped me also look into who I am. Because I need to figure out a way into every script, every scene and the character. It helps me strip things away and boil down to “Ok, who was thirteen-year-old, chubby, Michael Vlamis and now I’m this way. What was that growth like?” Figuring out my own personal growth helps me elevate that character, Michael Guerin.

With where we’re going next, I can’t say too much because he already has some changes coming towards the end of the season. It’s very interesting to see everyone’s theories online, some are correct and some are way off.

I saw in last night’s episode they finally revealed the junkyard owner, Walt, was the little boy from the flashbacks and people were speculating that really early on! That was really cool to see people getting validation in their theories because I love seeing those online. When it comes down to it, I want the dude to be happy with one of these lovers. I don’t know who that’s going to be. Everyone always asks who I’d rather be with and I can’t really even say that, even if I had one, because they’re both so different. I think Maria (Heather Hemmens) and Alex (Tyler Blackburn) are both good for Michael at different times in his life. I know Tyler is going around telling people that that’s what he wants in season three and I let him run his mouth and hope that his new love interest in the show crashes and burns. [Laughs] I would like him to be in a good relationship, a happy relationship, but at the same time, I’m so excited to do the work on the days where my mother is dying, my brother is in a coma or I’m getting my heart ripped out. I love those scenes so much, as happy as I want and think Guerin deserves to be, I love the drama on the show. So, a little bit of heartbreak won’t hurt me.

W: Right, that makes sense. The question was going to be what would you want to see for Guerin in season three and beyond but you basically answered that! You want him happy. [Laughs]

MV: I’d love to see that. I would like to further expand his journey of putting that spaceship back together. I would love to see where that goes. I don’t even know if The CW has the budget to do that and take us to outer space or something but I think that’d be so cool. To find out about that and their home planet.

W: I mean, The CW has The 100 and DC Comics shows! Space isn’t a new place for The CW.

MV: That’s true! So maybe right now we’re willing it into existence. We’re manifesting it.

W: Actually, bringing up spaceships. Given that we live in the craziest of times and the Pentagon officially released videos of UFOs - Has that been something you’ve talked about with any cast or crew members?

MV: I haven’t talked to any of the cast or crew members about it but I’m pretty sure we’re all feeling the same way about it, we’re all excited for any new information. I’ve been interested in aliens since I found out Tom Delonge from Blink 182 was a major conspiracy theorist and loves everything about UFOs and alien artifacts, that search for if there’s life outside of our own. I always thought that was so cool, going back to fourth grade listening to “Aliens Exist” by Blink 182. I want that to be the case, I want that to be real. I think life would be far more interesting and I’m always trying to believe in the most interesting things because it just furthers the imagination. I haven’t talked about it with them but now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll shoot off a text.

W: The show hasn’t shied away from increasingly difficult topics like the foster system, immigration, citizen’s rights, abortion, etc. Is there an area you’re hoping the show either continues to explore or adds going forward?

MV: I would’ve answered this question so differently two years ago but now I would say something with the LGBTQ community really responding well to the show has really furthered me as a human being and opened up my mind to what people who are made to feel “outside of the norm” go through. I personally don’t think or feel that they are. I think it’s ridiculous the taboo that society has placed on sexualities over the years. The fact that we give marginalized voices a platform to come forward and see that what they’re going through, other people are going through. That it’s ok, it’s love and that’s all that really matters at the end of the day. It’s so special to me. The more that we can tackle that, it really comes down to my character and Tyler’s character having a great relationship. That might mean that Lily Cowles’ character, Isobel, is still going to Planet 7 and seeing what’s out there. I think it’s cool how we normalize that, it’s not a big deal. I live in LA right now, and people, they experiment, they’re fluid. They’re interested and the more you find out about yourself, the more you know, the more comfortable you are with yourself. I think that’s a really important topic that I want to further.

I think we’ve done a really good job with the idea of what an immigrant is and what an immigrant looks like. I think we tackled the abortion scenes, I would’ve never thought that was something on our show. It’s very hard because the writers find a way to interweave everything in. I haven’t had the time to sit back and think “what else?” because every week has been something new.

W: That’s a great answer, it’s true. The show has covered a lot of topics and it’s doing very well.

MV: The abortion episode was insane, Carina fought for those shots of Lily’s legs bloody and she didn’t want to shy away from the graphicness of the scene. And I think that was important, to be really truthful to that.

W: Incredibly. This season resurrected Rosa (Amber Midthunder) from a pod years later, which is similar in a way to Captain America or Han Solo being unfrozen. With time having gone on, she’s having to adjust and in her own way, catch up to 2020. Let’s say you were able to suggest 1-2 things that someone should undoubtedly know about in 2020, what would it be? Is it a book, movie, show, certain type of food? What’s something you’d for sure put on that “must haves/dos” list of things or experiences?

MV: Oh wow, you’re really making me think about this! I can’t help but think about it as if it was me in that scenario and I would say something that I was really fortunate enough to do ten years ago, which was scuba dive The Great Barrier Reef. I think it’s so sad that it’s deteriorating at such a rapid rate because of pollution. I’m sure some natural causes. A lot of people fighting climate change will say natural causes and I can understand and see both sides to that, but I know that we definitely contribute to that. That was one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen. And if someone wasn’t able to see it the way I saw it, I haven’t been down there since so I don’t actually know what it looks or feels like now. But that was one of the first moments in my life where what I was experiencing…the world felt so big. Not in a way it felt just traveling. In a way it felt magical, that something like this can just exist and has existed much longer than we’ve ever been around. I’ve had that with hiking the second largest glacier in the world. All these feelings with nature have really expanded my mind and my horizon of the potential and possibilities. Realizing we’re very small, we’re here for a short amount of time. Let’s cherish it.

Traveling to these places that have just been so affected, I think that’s very important because of what it did to my mindset.

W: I loved that answer, you made it ecofriendly and everything. That was wonderful!

MV: My sister studied environmental science at the University of Illinois, so I gotta keep her mind. But I really do believe that. Maybe that’s something I want to see in the show too! Go into some climate change.  I don’t think we’ve touched that really, have we? Each side has arguments.

W: Each episode of Roswell, NM is titled after a famous ‘90s song. What’s your favorite or what would you consider the most iconic ‘90s song or band/musician?

MV: For me, it was Blink 182! In the ‘90s that was me. I’m a big Conor Oberst fan, the lead singer of Bright Eyes. The fact I’m in a scene, now multiple scenes that play that song. They did it in season one and in season two, they play “First Day of My Life,” that has been so surreal to me because music has been so important to me as a kid. I haven’t told many people this. As a kid I’d make short films with my friends, a lot of people know that, but what they don’t know is that I would rip so much music from all these platforms. As a little 11 year old kid, I’d get as much music as I could to have thousands of songs on my iTunes and iPod. Not that I was going to listen to them, but that one day when I was making my own big movies, I’d have this database of music to select from. Back then there wasn’t Spotify and it wasn’t as readily available, and also I was a kid and that was my thinking! Music has such an influence on my life, but Blink 182 specially. All that angst I was feeling at the time as a kid, it’s really in Guerin and me, even though I handle it in different ways in real life. Feeling a little different or not understood, that was that music that would give me a release without being too intense or too Screamo. If a Blink 182 song is ever in a scene that I’m in, I can die a happy man.

W: [Laughs] Amazing. Alongside acting, you’re also a talented writer, director and producer. A screenplay that you co-wrote earned a spot on the Black List which was one of the coolest things I’ve ever read. Congratulations! Are there other projects you’re currently working on or maybe topics you’re considering for future screenplays?

MV: Thank you! Yeah, definitely! The new Nicolas Cage/Tiger King series, the creator of that is actually the showrunner of a TV show my writing partner and I created as well. So, we’re all really stoked about that. Dan Lagana, showrunner of American Vandal is making such a splash with this Nicolas Cage project that it’s helping our TV show get put together too. We’ve got the Black List/Mac Miller script, we have a “Halloween comedy” feature film that’s set up at Seth MacFarlane’s company right now. Hopefully that gets made. We have an “old lady comedy” that’s being read, taking a lot of good meetings on that. We’re writing our next movie right now, we’re probably going to finish the beat sheet. We do a very detailed, intense outline of the movie, scene by scene as if we were actually writing the script. Exterior, interior, every single scene in order, everything we want out of characters in the scene, what we expect to happen, some dialogue that maybe came to mind as we’re banging out the outline. Once we get to writing, we could bang out eight pages in a day. We finish scripts very quickly, so we’re writing a “mob action comedy” right now. So yes, I became a writer out of desperation and found some success with writing. It’s been really good. As a kid making short films, it wasn’t actually in script form.

The last four years I’ve been writing a ton and now it’s starting to pop off a bit. I love it. I produce my own movies too and it looks like we’re about to lock down distribution for the first feature film I produced and starred in called Five Years Apart, it’s got a pretty cool cast in it and I’m really pumped for people to see it, we have a really cool distributor, I’m 99% sure that’ll be our distributor but I don’t want to jinx it. We’ll see if that’s going to be Hulu, Netflix, small theatrical release, I’m not sure yet. As a first time producer I’m learning all that. We’re gearing up on producing our next feature too, we were planning on filming in Wisconsin this summer but things have changed with the conditions of the world.

Acting, producing, writing, directing and releasing another merch line. I’ve been staying busy during the quarantine!

W: Seems so! I saw the line and love the pops of color!

MV: Thank you! It’s been really good, honestly the feedback, I was very surprised with how it’s done. Compared to last year and the multiple drops, this year, we’re nearing a certain point in orders and products that we’ll have to produce within three days of being out. It’s been really cool. Last year we gave 100% of profits to a charity called Random Acts started by Misha Collins of Supernatural. And this year, I unfortunately can’t do 100% again, I made the point but learned the lesson in that we had no money for this next launch. [Laughs] I had to dig into my own pockets, which was fun and it’s all good, it’s a big creative project. This year Carina created this thing called The Little Alien, a Roswell fund for the Roswell crew that’s out of work right now. She’s been raising money through t-shirts and I’m going to donate some of our proceeds to them as well. They’re the heartbeat of the show, they’re the reason we get to be there every day and things go smoothly. We’re trying to take care of them at this time.

W: Amazing, intentions matter so that’s really cool to hear. Lastly, anything you’d like to say to those reading and watching?

MV: To those reading and watching, thank you from the bottom of my heart that you’re tuning in and giving me a platform to do what I love the most. And what I set out to do felt like such a dream that from the age of 12 to 20, I wasn’t acting and making movies. Dreams are just dreams until you realize that they are very plausible, and most dreams, I think, can be achieved given the right circumstances, opportunities and work ethic. Thank you for allowing me follow my dreams and I hope that I’m able to inspire you to follow yours.

~ WatchTivist

[ecofinisher]

The Adventures of Super Nathan 4 - Chap 1

Fandom: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Pairings: NathanielxLila, AdrienxKagami (Side/background ships: LukaxMarinette, JulekaxRose, IvanxMyléne)

Rating: 13+

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https://archiveofourown.org/works/29003949/chapters/71182620

https://www.wattpad.com/1016775028-the-adventures-of-super-nathan-4-chapter-1

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Ah yes, I'm starting this fic without even having an idea what the middle will be, Lol. How I love that. Right now I have this fic in plan and one for the Snow Queen fandom (Which practically is dead or is alive, but in Russian only) so I'm giving it here a try as I actually planned to start this one first and Snow Queen just fell into my life by accident. (As usual, a ship pulled me into the fandom along with Amy MacDonald because why not?) (I also have the interest in a Crossover between MLB and SNow Queen, because I just love the idea of RollanxGerda with their elemental powers as superheroes in a lovesquare too xD I need to outline that once I got ideas.

Additional note:

- All mentioned offsprings, classmates, and random are actual OC's of mine.

Nathaniel Kurtzberg sat on the couch of the Kurtzberg household face timing with his wife Lila Kurtzberg, which was out for a few months in Italy due to her work as an actress.

„Today really was now the last day of our recordings here. Tomorrow in the morning I will catch the train to head back to Paris. That one will go directly to France and has only one stop in Turin," Lila explained making Nathaniel nod.

„How many episodes are now in front of me until the one you recorded today?"

„Uhm I think you have 18. We are currently at 42. But you will enjoy the last few episodes, cause my character Isabella will......nah I can't spoiler you that, but you will be surprised," Lila quoted making Nathaniel frown.

„Oh now I'm curious,"

„Hey, I already told you why I had to dye my hair in black and brown lens. You have to wait for it along with the other viewers,"

„Can I at least know if it will end in a cliffhanger?"

„Duh of course. It's the end of the season, that's to keep the tension high," Lila answered. „But I can tell you there will be a few new faces and one of them you may recognize very well,"

„Who? Any of your aunts?" Nathaniel questioned making Lila shake her head.

„No it's Wayhem," Lila responded. „He will have a minor role as a class clown. He is actually pretty decent for that role. At least in the tryouts he was,"

„Thanks to Gabriel he made it there too. That's actually cool,"

„It really is," Lila agreed.

From behind the couch where Nathaniel sat appeared a small girl, which jumped up at the couch on Nathaniel causing him to yelp and the girl with the long brown hair looked at the smartphone to see the raven-haired woman on the other side of the electronic device.

„Hi mama" The girl greeted her mother, which smiled enchanted at seeing the daughter on her husband's lap.

„Hi bella, where have you been?" Lila asked at the sudden appearance of the girl.

„I think Nathalie was working on something special for you," Answered the redhead gazing into the blue eyes of the daughter, which winked back at the man. „But as it is a surprise you can't know it until you're here," „You two are being really mean," Lila joked crossing her arms pretending to be mad at the decision of the two blue-eyed family members.

„Come on pumpkin. You'll see it tomorrow when you get back. I'm sure it will blow your mind, right Nathalie?" Nathaniel asked earning a nod from the daughter.

„Well then the only thing I have to do is to wait until tomorrow," Lila added earning a nod from Nathaniel. „Has anything special changed during the time I was gone?"

„Well, what happened.....yes Sabrina is pregnant. I've heard that from Adrien. Adrien has next Friday his exam again, which he had failed two times before and I think that's it so far. Tomorrow also I will attend the first school day of Nathalie along with Luka and Kagami with their son,"

„That's great Nathy, and Nathalie I don't know what your dad said, but don't forget to brush your teeth before going to bed," Lila warned earning a nod from Nathaniel.

„We took care of it. I promised to let her watch your show tonight if you're okay with it,"

„Okay. It's actually rated 13+, but just the last few episodes I would rather not let her watch,"

„Okay it's fine," Nathaniel responded. "I'm here for her,"

„Look I'm finishing the call for now. I'm going to visit Nana before leaving,"

„Okay, be careful," Nathaniel warned making Lila chuckle.

„Don't worry with Trixx around me, I'm safe," Lila assured earning a nod from the husband.

„See you tomorrow,"

„Bye Nathy," Lila said sending Nathaniel an air kiss, then Nathaniel turned the call off and picked the remote to turn the TV on, which was showing a commercial of Wayhem holding a cereal package in his hands.

„Nutty by Nature. The new cereals for young and teens containing almonds, raisins, and walnuts. Try it out. This may contain nuts and gluten. Suggested to be served with milk or yogurt,"

„Isn't that the cereal you wanted to try out?" Nathaniel questioned sitting up on the couch, followed by Nathalie which sat beside the father.

„No, it had Ladybug on it," Nathalie mentioned earning a nod from the redhead.

„Okay, we can see it next Wednesday during shopping," Nathaniel said, then watched on the TV the logo of an Italian studio appear, then Nathaniel placed his hand on his daughter's shoulder. „Look Nathalie the show is about to start," Nathaniel said putting the TV a little louder as the logos had played a 90th themed song in the background and showed a coyote near a road in the middle of the desert howl leading to the start of the intro and a car pass by on the road, then the theme song of the show began to play which was a pop-rock remix making Nathalie dance with her head amused at the song.

„Cool," Nathalie commented afterward she smiled brightly as she recognized in the intro her mother walk towards the camera, then under her married full name was blended in and Nathalie looked up at Nathaniel, which smiled at seeing her name on the screen.

„And what do you think of mom?" Nathaniel questioned. „Doesn't she look beautiful there?"

„She is very beautiful, dad," Nathalie agreed lying her head on the father's shoulder looking at the screen seeing a different actress with a similar body and facial structures as Lila strutt towards the camera and an Italian name appear under the woman's name.

„That woman there plays the younger version of your mom," Nathaniel pointed out earning a nod from the daughter watching the camera switch back to a male younger, character who also had his actor name announced on-screen through the introduction of the show.

At the mansion of the Agreste's, Adrien Agreste along with his wife Kagami and their common son had made the first steps of their life under the same home they were in since their first part of the education.

Adrien's ten-year-old sister sat in his old bedroom watching TV along with her five-year-old nephew Elliot. The boy Elliot sat interested looking at the movie to see a male character with fire powers throwing it on a trunk to make fire, so a group of kids got reunited around it to heat their hands.

„Rocky the fire guy is so cool," Elliot commented earning a nod from the older niece.

„What about Ally the water girl?" Questioned Hope. „She's also cool,"

„Nah I prefer Rocky," Elliot defended making Hope chuckle, then see an anthropomorphic rabbit push out from the ground two walls to form a tent-like shelter.

At the entrance of the room entered Kagami wearing a white tank top and red shorts as her sleeping outfit, then she made her way towards the couch, where the two blonde Agreste's sat and she placed her hands over on Elliot's shoulder.

„Elliot, it's bedtime," Kagami announced leaning her cheek on Elliot's face making him sad. „Do I really have to go now to bed?" Elliot questioned looking up at Kagami, which nodded.

„It's almost 10 am sweetie and you know tomorrow is your first school day and no one wants to have a tired boy during the class?" Kagami stated tapping the boy on the nose.

„Can I wait until the break?" Elliot questioned watching Kagami look at her watch and at that moment the movie got into a commercial making Hope groan disappointed.

„Not again," Hope complained making Kagami chuckle.

„Look you two, what about tomorrow we all watch that movie you were looking at? You two, me and Adrien?" Suggested Kagami earning a nod from the two blondes.

„Where's Adrien?" Hope asked watching Kagami open the TV guide to check the movie title. „I haven't seen him since dinner,"

„Your brother is studying for the big exam. You know after the last two times he failed he isn't really easy to convince to stop or take a break,"

„Dad is studying too much, mom," Elliot mentioned earning a nod from the mother, which helped her son down from the couch.

„Learning about medicine isn't for everyone. Even if Daddy is giving his best," Kagami mentioned earning a nod from Elliot.

„Will school tomorrow be hard for me?" Elliot asked making Kagami shake her head.

„No, it's very easy if you pay attention and if there is something you don't understand you can always ask your teacher at the school or us," Kagami said watching Elliot grab her hand, then Kagami walked out with her son into the corridor to reach the last room, where she got into and was in the bedroom, which got altered after Hope got older and Elliot was born into the Agreste heir. His bedroom contained a bed with a night table beside him and on the left side he had a bookshelf with only a few books on it and the others remained empty for now. On the wall he had four different watches both analog and digital, each of the clocks was adjusted to the European time zone and the Japanese time zone, which had about a difference of 8 hours. Kagami watched Elliot open up the bed for himself and got into it, then grabbed from under his pillow a red panda plush making Kagami smile remembering they had got the animal from their trip to Japan two years ago. Elliot used to sleep with the plush every night after they bought it for him.

Kagami adjusted the covers of the boy and looked at the boy, which smiled at the woman afterward Kagami pecked the boy on the cheek wishing him a good night.

„Good night, my little boy,"

„Good night mom," Elliot wished watching the mother caress the boy on the forehead gently before he closed his eyes, then the woman got up and left the door half-open and walked across the corridor into the bedroom, which now was used by Adrien and Kagami to sleep. Kagami encountered Adrien sitting in front of a desk with his arms on the table reading a book about diseases. Adrien was notably close to falling asleep, then Kagami walked toward the man, which was focused on the book, then Kagami placed her hand on Adrien's shoulder shrieking him along with herself, then Adrien sighed in relief to see it was just his wife.

„Oh it's you Kagami," Adrien mentioned watching Kagami pick up the water glass on the table handing it out to Adrien, which took it to drink,

„I just brought Elliot to bed," Kagami mentioned earning a nod from Adrien, which yawned. „And you better go to bed too, get a good night of sleep, then you wake up, have a walk or a jog, take a shower, have a good breakfast and you continue your work. Give your brain a little more oxygen before you spend another day inside the house. Elliot sort of is right, we barely saw you today,"

„I'm sorry," Adrien apologized getting up walking into the bathroom to wash his face. „I have been focusing a little too much lately on the studies,"

„Half of the summer vacation," Kagami added earning a nod from Adrien, which grabbed a towel to clean his face. „Tomorrow depending on if he receives homework or not I suggested Elliot and Hope to watch the movie they didn't finish watching tomorrow. If you're okay with it, join us watching the movie. So you'll be spending a bit of time together with your son and at the same time you can give your head a break,"

„Sounds like a good idea. What's the movie about?" Adrien asked leaving the bathroom, then removed his t-shirt while Kagami closed the door behind them.

„I don't know, but the main characters seem to be some sort of superheroes with elemental powers," Kagami responded. „I think you may like it as well,"

„Okay, okay. We'll see it then," Adrien spoke getting rid of his trousers as Kagami got into the bed, followed by the blonde, which covered himself with the bed cover and looked around at Kagami, which yawned making Adrien smile and lean his forehead on his wife's, then kissed her on the nose. „Good night,"

„Good night Adrien," Wished Kagami closing her eyes along with Adrien, so they would soon fall asleep.

Luka Couffaine stood in the kitchen of their 3-room apartment putting inside a sandwich grill a piece of toast on each black surface, afterward he added on the front row a slice of cheese and on the top of it, he added ham onto it. Luka closed the grill tight so it would grill the sandwich, so he took the time the device was cooking to store the ingredients back and he took out a pack of orange juice, then filled it into two cups, then brought them to the table. Luka walked out of the kitchen towards the corridor of the apartment to spot his son Rouven Couffaine get out of the bedroom while yawning making Luka smirk.

„Morning champ," Luka greeted the boy, which made his way toward the kitchen. „Did you sleep well?"

„Yes" Rouven responded. „Is mom gone to work?"

„Yes she is, but she told me to give you kisses and wish you a good first school day," Luka mentioned. „And you don't need to worry about it, you will see Elliot and Cody there. At least you will already know two people,"

„Cool," Rouven responded sitting down, then Luka went back to the kitchen to check, if the paninis were done and saw the grill had the green light turned on, then Luka opened it to remove the paninis into a plate and placed it in the middle of the table, so Rouven could take one, while Luka took the other.

„Mmh I love this smell," Rouven commented as he took a bite from his sandwich. „Delicious,"

„What do you think will you learn today at the school?" Luka asked. „Any idea?"

„Math?" Rouven answered.

„What else?"

„Gym. Mom said I needed to pack my gym stuff," Rouven mentioned. „She forgot to help me,"

„Okay, I will help you later with it. You don't know, where mom left your notes for school per coincidence, right?"

„I don't know,"

„Alright, let me just finish my toast and I will see, what you need," Explained the father earning a nod from the boy, then Luka heard his smartphone on the counter begin to play a rock solo, followed by Rouven use his hands to pretend to play a bass, making Luka chuckle, then Luka picked up the smartphone to see his wife's name highlighted over the number.

„Hello Marinette," Luka greeted. „Rouven is already having breakfast,"

„Great, look I forgot to pack Rouven's gym clothing. Can you do that for him?"

„Sure I was about to do that after Rouven mentioned it. Was there anything more on the list except for that and the writing utensils?"

„Uhm the water and the snack box I left it inside the fridge, the writing utensils he's got it inside his satchel, books and booklets he'll receive at the school as they require a certain type of it and that's all so far....oh and the school cone. I have hidden it in the back seat of your car,"

„Okay, I will prepare everything for Rouven. See you later,"

„Bye, I love you,"

„I love you too, Marinette," Luka finished the call, then walked toward the corridor to get to the room of his son to organize the needed school material.

On Monday morning around the 9, Ivan Bruel was reaching along with his son to the elementary school.

„We're here," Ivan said looking down at the raven-haired boy. „As I see Rouven or Elliot didn't arrive yet,"

„Yes," The boy said, then watched along with the father a black sports car stop, where a man with a mustache sat and from the back seat left a brunette woman together with a blonde girl which carried her backpack, then both made their way to the schoolhouse.

„We seem a little early or everyone else is already here. What do you think of going in to see your classroom?" Ivan asked earning a nod from the boy, then the man accompanied the son to the entrance of the schoolhouse to spot a few more children along with adults surprising Ivan at the number of parents that were present to attend their children's first day of school.

„Wow, there are really many parents present. Have you seen it, Cody?" The strong man asked earning a nod from the brown-eyed boy.

„Yes," Cody responded, then noticed in front of a classroom his father's old classmate Nathaniel Kurtzberg stay looking onto a sheet, while next to him stood Nathalie Kurtzberg holding her school cone tight in her arms.

„Nathaniel, hey!" Ivan called walking along with Cody to the redhead, which smiled and held his hand out to have Ivan slap his hand on the friend. „You're going to the class of Miss.....uh.....Donner. Evangeline Donner,"

„It is Donner like give in French, not Donner like thunder in German?" Nathaniel asked showing his daughter's schedule to the tall man.

„Probably the French version," Ivan mentioned. „Can we go in already?"

„I think so. I just got here," Nathaniel responded entering into the classroom to find a few students present with their parents in the classroom, then Nathaniel widened his eyes as he recognized a few of the parental figures inside the room. „Wow, I know some of those faces look that's Leeton Sakamoto. He plays in the Parisian soccer team," Nathaniel said advising Ivan to look at the second row, where a middle-sized man stood beside the desk looking at his own son, which was showing the adult something.

„Yeah and there's River Langerak the journalist Alya works with," Ivan pointed out watching the woman take a selfie with the raven-haired daughter making Ivan smile at the deed the woman was doing.

„Uh hum," Agreed Nathaniel, then both walked their kids into the class and Nathalie sat down in the third row along with Cody.

„Do you think Elliot and Rouven will be in our class?" Nathalie asked the boy, which shrugged his shoulders.

„I don't know," Cody responded placing his school cone on the table, afterward Nathalie did the same and both leaned their backs against the wall watching a brunette woman enter along with a blonde girl into the class greeting accompanying her to the first row on the left side.

„That girl I saw before as I got here," Cody mentioned. „I think her grandpa is rich. He drives a very fast car,"

„Cool," Nathalie answered, then watched a man dressed in a police suit accompany his raven-haired son, which waved along with the dad at the present citizens, afterward a Rose Lavillant entered into the class making Nathalie smile as she recognized one of her mother's best friend enter along with a white-skinned girl with light blonde hair, making Nathalie curious.

„Whos' that girl?" Nathalie asked making Cody shrug his shoulders. Rose smiled as she recognized Nathaniel and Ivan, then meet up with the guys by embracing both with excitement.

„Oh boys I haven't seen you for so long," Rose began. „How are Lila and Myléne doing?" Questioned the blonde.

„Fine," Both men answered.

„Lila is coming today from Italy from her acting time. Have you per coincidence see the show yet?" Questioned the redhead earning a nod from the petite woman.

„Yes, I've been liking it so far. Juleka mostly," Rose responded. „Oh and I have only told Kagami about it, but I and Juleka finally made it to adopt our first child. Let me introduce you to Eireen. She's originally from Danish descendants, but her parents lost their lives in a......shipwreck,"

„Oh," Both men replied sad, then Rose patted the girl's head making her smile a little.

„She has already been for a month in our house to get to know us better. So far I think she's liking to be with us,"

„If she's interested, she can befriend Nathalie," Nathaniel mentioned. „Nathalie is my daughter. She's sitting right behind you," Explained the redhead watching the blonde girl look back at the brunette girl, which smiled a little shyly at the adopted girl.

„Hi nice to meet you," Eireen said, then Cody got up and showed Eireen the place.

„Hey you can sit with her if you want," Cody offered making Eireen shrug her shoulders.

„You don't have to go for me," Eireen mentioned making Cody shake his head.

„No, it's okay. I'll be sitting somewhere else," Cody explained making Eireen nod and sit down on the chair, followed by Cody picking up the school cone.

„Oh, I forgot your cone. Will you wait here? I will go immediately to the car to get it," Rose said making Eireen nod, then Rose ran out. Nathaniel took out his smartphone to check the time and saw a message from his wife Lila Kurtzberg.

„Are you at the school now?"

Nathaniel went down on his knees, then held his camera to Nathalie making Nathalie jokingly stick out her tongue, followed by Nathaniel making a dorky face so he could take a picture of the two.

„Shall I send it to mom?" Nathaniel asked the girl for permission which nodded, then the father got up to send the image to the mother of the girl.

„Hey Ivan, hey Nathaniel," A voice said, then Nathaniel looked aside to see Luka Couffaine come along with his son followed by Kagami with her boy Elliot.

„Hey Luka," Nathaniel greeted.

„Hey Luka, hey Kagami," Ivan greeted. „Where's Adrien?"

„He stood back to study," Kagami responded. „You know this Friday he's got the exam and hopefully he will pass it this time,"

„Oh right. I really hope he can make it this time," Mentioned the raven-haired man. „It's harsh when all your friends pass but you,"

„Yeah it really is," Kagami said, then she heard someone call her name and she looked across the classroom to see Adrien's old university friend Jin pass by together with his son. „Hey Jin, great to see you,"

„Same Kagami or should I say.....Mrs. Agreste," Jin joked doing to the woman finger pistols making the son look confused at his father's comment.

„Is that a friend of dad?" Elliot asked looking up at the mother making her nod,

„Yeah. He was with your dad in the same class about five years ago," Kagami mentioned. „Dad would probably love to see him again,"

„Let's tell Dad, " Elliot asked watching Kagami place her hand on the boy's shoulder.

„Maybe we can ask Jin to visit us after school," Kagami mentioned then Nathaniel came between the two Agreste's.

„Are you three actually coming tonight to the surprise party?" Nathaniel asked making Kagami wide her eyes and facepalm.

„Kuso, I forgot about it. I promised you to come and I also promised Elliot and Adrien to watch the movie they missed yesterday,"

„On TV?" Nathaniel questioned.

„Yeah, but we can still watch it on replay before 72 hours pass," Kagami mentioned. „I should have written all my promises down on an agenda. I've been so busy lately that I forgot it,"

„It's okay. Can happen," Luka mentioned patting Kagami on the shoulder.

The school bell rang and before the teacher entered a blonde woman entered along with a blonde boy making Luka chuckle along with Ivan, making Kagami and Nathaniel furrow their eyebrows in confusion, then Nathaniel looked at Luka questioningly.

„Hey, you're married," Nathaniel spoke, then Luka hit the friend on the shoulder.

„I know. I'm just laughing cause that's the woman who vaccinated Rouven last time at the doctor," Luka explained, then watched the class teacher enter into the classroom with a suitcase on wheels, then she gazed in surprise as she saw the full class along with their parents.

„Wow, I'm impressed," The teacher commented placing her suitcase beneath her desk. „This is the first time after ten years, where I have so many parents present on their kids' first school day,"

„It's actually a pretty good thing," Jin shouted making a few adults snicker.

„It really is. And you're the father of who?" The teacher asked.

„I'm Jin Norgay, father of Zheng Norgay," The man introduced himself approaching the son, which sat on the table next to a blonde boy.

„Alright so, as this is our very first day of school. We will be spending the first hour getting to know each other. First I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Mrs. Donner. I'm 33 years old and I was born in Bretagne. In my free time, when I'm not working I like to read and play cards with my family," The teacher introduced, then picked up a ball of yarn from her table and held it on the beginning of the threat and threw it at the first student on the first row, which was a raven-haired boy. „So you're the first one to introduce yourself to the class. You don't need to tell a lot. Your name, nationality and maybe what your parents work is a good start," Mrs. Donner suggested earning a nod from the boy.

„Hello everyone. My name is Duarte. Actually, I have two names. I'm called Duarte André. But you all can call me Duarte. Both my parents are police officers, which met at the work. I come from Portugal, but was born here in France," The boy said earning a nod from the teacher.

„And now pass the ball to the person you want and hold the thread," The teacher asked watching the girl threw the ball back at a raven-haired girl, which smiled at the boy.

„My name is Ruby Langerak. Uh.....I'm from many countries somehow....My mother is from Ireland and England. My father from Sweden and Portugal. I'm sort of from all those four countries," Ruby explained making a few students chuckle.

„Wow, that's interesting. Which languages do you speak at the home?"

„English and French for now," Ruby responded. „My mom said maybe later I could learn Swedish as it is similar to English and furthermore if I want to Portuguese,"

„I can teach you," Duarte suggested earning a nod from the raven-haired girl.

„Aww that's sweet," The teacher commented.

„And my mother is a journalist and my father works in a theatre building the stage and other important things," Ruby explained throwing the ball at Cody, which sat behind her.

„Hello my name is Kodiak, but everyone calls me Cody. I'm from France and my mother works as an actress at the theatre and my father works in the kitchen for a house, where only seniors live,"

„A retirement home?" Asked the teacher making Cody shrug his arms.

„Yes Mrs. Donner," Ivan responded making the teacher smile and Cody passed the ball to Elliot, which frowned at Cody's lazy decision.

„My name is Elliot Agreste. My father is French and my mother is Japanese. My mom works in a bureau at the animal rescue center from my father's family and my dad is at home learning for a big exam, so when he passes he can become a doctor,"

„Ah wow, that's a great idol you got there," The teacher complimented making Elliot smile and look up at Kagami, which gave the boy a thumb up. Elliot threw his ball at Nathalie, but it landed in front of Eireen, then she looked at Elliot, which shrugged his shoulders but smiled at the adopted girl to let her take the ball of yarn.

„Hello everyone. My name is Eireen, I'm from Denmark. My parents died a few years ago in a ship like in the movie with the iceberg and I was in an orphanage with other kids and got adopted this year by my mother. This year is a little special to me, cause I have for the first time in my life new people that like me and also I have now two mothers instead," Eireen said, then a few adults looked at each other bewildered at Eireen's situation.

„Did you hear that, she has two mothers" A voice said making Rose swallow at hearing that comment, then Luka noticed it and placed his hand on Rose's shoulder to comfort her.

„That's still amazing Eireen. At least you found two people that are there to help you out and take care of you. That's what matters the most, right Mrs. Donner," Luka stated earning a nod from the teacher.

„Yes you're right Mr.....,"

„Couffaine, Luka Couffaine"

„Yes thank you, Mr. Couffaine "

„Don't worry. You'll know my name in a few years," Luka said jokingly making the teacher chuckle and watch Eireen slide her ball to Nathalie.

„I'm Nathalie Kurtzberg. My dad is from Germany and works in a comic book store. My mother is from Italy and works on a TV show as an actress,"

„Oh is it from the show Isabella – The rebirth?" Questioned the teacher watching Nathalie look up at Nathaniel which nodded.

„I've seen a few episodes. I think I know who your mother is," Mrs. Donner stated watching Nathalie throw her ball across the room at the hands of a blonde girl.

„The name is Debby, short for Deborah. I'm from Spain and Scotland. My mom works as a vet assistant and my father works in a recording studio for music," The girl introduced herself earning a nod from the teacher, then she threw the ball across the room to another boy, which introduced himself to the class too, followed by others students until everyone's turn had passed.

[dafukdidiwatch]

U.S.S INDIANAPOLIS: MEN OF COURAGE

Nick Cage mixed with WW2 and sharks. What can possible go wrong?

Answer: Everything

Nick Cage has just an attraction to me. I have known him for so long since I was little, I can’t tell if he is a good actor or if it was nostalgia. All I know is if there is a Nick Cage film, it is going to have that Nick Cage charm. And BOY HOWDY, this movie has it.

Let’s go with backstory first.

This movie is based on the incredible and horrific events that happened to the U.S.S Indianapolis, a Naval Ship during World War 2. It was sent on a secret and dangerous mission to deliver parts for the construction of the Atomic Bomb. However, on their way back a Japanese Submarine sunk it with a torpedo, leaving the survivors stranded alone in the middle of the ocean for 4 days filled surrounded by sharks who would attack the dead, injured, and living. Out of the almost 12,000 sailors aboard, only 300 would survive, making this the worst naval tragedy in U.S. Navy history.

And they made this movie.

Not going to lie, I was stupidly judgy through this movie. I mean, I tried goddammit, to watch and enjoy it straight. But I couldn’t help it. I care about this history. I’m fasinated by this bit of history, the horror and pain the sailors when through. This is THE Greatest Shark Attack in history. I was judgy because I wanted this movie to respect the event and tragedy that had happened, to do the survivors justice. And they tried.

God did they tried.

The problem is that they didn’t do it well.

Let me start with the good things about this movie.

1) Nick Cage was pretty Good

He plays Captain Charles B. McVay of the Indianapolis. There is still a bit of hokiness that comes from Nick Cage being Nick Cage. One is him talking to himself while writing a letter to his wife in the weirdest way possible. Another is the fact that his sunglasses makes it look like his eyes are closer to his forehead. But he does the role well I think. He makes sure to show that Captain McVay cared for his men, put their safety ahead of his own, did everything he can to help. I thought he did a good job.

2) They were respectful in the representation of the Japanese Submarine Crew.

The movie could have just not even show the submarine until the ship sinks, but no, we actually get to see the crew. We see the Captain Hashimoto dealing with the struggles of fighting their side of the war. How he cares for his crew, and how they will lay down their lives for the fight. The ship was sunk by Kaiten Torpedoes, basically an underwater version of Kamakazi pilots. They were manned torpedoes, so you see the men loading themselves in to be launched. So while the main focus is on the Indianapolis, it is nice they tried to be empathetic to the Japanese crew as well.

3) The side-characters were interesting enough.

With a historical story like this, the best way is show the movie is to let the audience see all the possible people that were serving on the ship. You see two best friends fall in love with the same girl. Two guys who were enemies and in jail together. A guy with a gambling addiction. The lovable engineers that you see up above. The brand new green commander who is a bit of a dick. My favorite one is the writer sailor. He writes what he sees and tries to bolster people up with his stories. Like, there is a lot of characters so even if you don’t like one plot-line, there are others you can enjoy. They may act goofy/overly dramatic at times, but the actors did a good job for you to root for them.

With that out of the way, things I didn’t like.

A) The cgi was too basic and shit in places

I wish, I WISH I can find a better picture to show what I mean. When we were watching, even my sister were going back and forth on whether it was good or not. Everything that was cgi was just weirdly too smooth. Like really look at it. It looks more like graphics for a video game. Which, is passable. But you can’t have passable for a movie. This movie came out in 2016! We have the technology for a hell of a lot better images than template models. At that was the better cgi. Because when the cgi is bad, it is glaringly obvious bad.

B) The Editing Kills Me.

They have a weird sense of pacing in this movie. When you hit the middle part of the movie, it’s fine. Decent moments of the sailors goofing around, hving drmatic romance, fights, struggles. But there are some parts of the movie where someone in the editing room was like “Oh shit, the people watching this won’t understand. Quickly! Put out that exposition as fast as you can!!”

An Example: the first 3 minutes of the movie. Minute 1: BATTLE! Ok, good, see our historical men in action. Minute 2: We are in a war council room where the Indianapolis has been chosen for a secret mission. “You mean the atomic BOMB?!” -> Basically the line used. And this was BEFORE meeting ANY of our main cast. So it felt like the movie was putting more emphasis on the ship rather than the sailors. 

It also didn’t help the movie Felt like it ended when the survivors were rescued, but didn’t Actually end for another 20-30 minutes longer. I appreciate them going in for historical accuracy of showing the actual aftermath to Captain McVay, but by that point I was so done and bored that I didn’t really care.

Plus they keep using the same periscope tracking shot 7 times! Seven! In the same scene. TWICE!! When the Japanese were firing in daytime, we see the same daylight periscope 7 times before launch. Then when they fired a torpedo at night, LET’S DO THE SAME THING since it went so well the first time.

B) The ship sinks titanic style, the fuck is that?? 

Not going to lie, while I am facinated by the Indianapolis, I do not know everything about what exactly happened. One of them was how the ship sank. But I am pretty sure the ship did not sink in the Exact Same Way as the Titanic. Where one side is lifted up, then got cracked in the middle, and so it was split into two parts. It was, it was bad. Because this tied in to the whole repeating shots thing, because I saw the same man holding onto a pole trying not to drop 5 different times. The Same Exact Scene. No difference. And I’m sure he fell in the exact same way as in the Titanic Movie shots.

(Note:The jail cell sailors during this part were very good, but I still have No Idea how the hell they got out. Let me know if you figured it out)

C) The Sharks were S H I T!

This is basically where the whole meat of the story should have taken place, nd it was AWFUL! Trash! They were stupidly inaccurate, trying to go for Jaws Chomp factor instead of being anywhere near historical. The sharks were all Great Whites, which wasn’t a thing. Because the sharks that historically attacked were Oceanic Whitetips.

But ok, you could get pass. The sharks look similar enough at first glance so it would be an honest mistake. Except that sailors were specifically talking bout “Great White Sharks” with colored pictures of great whites, (which think about that for a minute) so that was bullshit. in making the audience think Great White.

But ok, so what, who cares, the sharks still does it’s things right? Why should we care if they got the type wrong or not?

^Because of Shit like This!! This movie decided to try and shittily mimic Jaws and the Jaws ripoffs by having crappy cgi sharks launch itself out of no where to stupidly chops on the nearest sailors. God you could make a drinking game out of it. Take a shot for every shark you see. Which won’t kill you, because there were NOT ENOUGH SHARKS!!

^The sharks should have been like this. The sailors literally should have been like waist deep in sharks. There were a lot of fucking sharks. And yet! There weren’t any. The sharks only decided to freaking rocket launch themselves out of the water when it’s time for a jump scare, on any old person they can fine. And maybe the reason they decide to throw themselves to the nearest pound of flesh instead of going for the closest dead body is because

D ) THERE WERE BARELY ANY SURVIVORS!!!

Seriously! When the ship sank there were 800 sailors left in the water, We only see 60. TOTAL! Not even random background sailors. It was just Nick Cage’s group, then a separate group of 30 people, and random boats here and there.  God how could they have fucked this up! I don’t know if it was just, not in the budged to hire more people or what, but you can still get somebody. Show the survivors dammit!

It pisses me off because this could have easily solved their shark problem. Because if there were more people, you can see the sharks eat/take the dead bodies. Then when there is a ton more sharks, see them go after the injured and dying. Like, having screams constantly while sharks pick people off left and right, even if it is just background characters, would build so much more tension than just “guys have a good laugh, talk, and support each other, send the shark for the jumpscare.”

I will give the movie this though: While I feel like the majority of the ending was unneeded, I do respect that they have little end-cards for what happened to the character’s historical counterparts, as well as come footage of some of the survivors describing the experience.

Overall: Don’t watch it. If you wanted to watch it for the actual historical event, watch something else. They made note of smaller historical facts while completely screwing up the actual main event with the sharks. You can find better documentaries Here, Here, Here, Here, and Here. The last one has a clip of the special that I I saw originally and while you do have to pay to see it (Here), it is very well done.

And If you want to watch a “so bad it’s good movie” then maybe it fits the bill, but I just honestly don’t think it’s worth it. The editing and pacing will give you whiplash. The CGI takes you out of the zone.  Nick Cage tried his best, but not even his enjoyable presence could save the film. They make for a great movie to rag on, but having it be on an actual historic event like this just leaves a bad taste in my mouth

[ohayohimawari]

Kakashi Asks-Answer

Q: (From @thetoxicstrawberry) What are your thoughts on Sukea? Do you think this disguise existed prior to him messing with Team 7?

A: I know that you and I have congratulated each other on having the same brain before Berry, and this is another of those priceless occasions, haha! I’ve been hoping that someone would ask me about Sukea so that I could have an excuse opportunity to geek all over my favorite ninja dork’s alter ego. Thank you for reading my thoughts (your thoughts? Our thoughts?)!

*Cracks knuckles* My study of the development of Kakashi’s photogenic photographer not-so-secret identity starts below the cut.

It’s a beautiful coincidence that I answer this question so close to my first anniversary as an outed writer in the Naruto fanfiction community. I wrote my headcanon of the origin of Sukea in my very first (and very naughty) fic! Seriously, I can forgive Kishi for almost everything simply because he removed the mask from my favorite character and put a camera in his hands (for those that don’t know, I’m a photographer).

In my story Supplemental Training, I portray Kakashi just as I imagine him when he’s nearing the end of his ANBU career. While he claims to be a man of many hobbies, he is first and foremost a ninja. He goes to sleep and wakes up a shinobi. His ability to form plans and strategies makes him both a powerful ally and a formidable enemy, but beyond the scope of missions, I don’t believe him to be an especially imaginative person. At the very least, I mean to say that he doesn’t put much stock in his own latent creative ability, and that prevents him from attempting such. Further, at that stage in his life and career, Kakashi is wound tighter than a two-dollar watch.

In my fic, he is reluctantly thrust into a situation that he is suspicious of, and is determined to control. He plays along with another character when she asks what he would like to call her, and Kakashi dubs her with a name that is obvious and unimaginative. She, in turn, christens him with a name that is equally obvious and unimaginative: Sukea.

(Side note: sukea is the Japanese pronunciation of the English word scare. Kakashi means scarecrow in Japanese, so, his alter ego’s name is a play on his own.)

In the story, Kakashi accepts the offered moniker, and it’s not long before he realizes that he stands to gain new skills if he manages to successfully navigate his situation. I’d written that my quick-thinking bean likens this experience to being an actor that is assuming a role. In scrambling for a costume, he tugs his mask down; effectively removing the face that most have come to recognize as his. Then, he’s nervous af.

This leads to the pivotal moment of my story, and in the creation of Sukea. Konoha’s prodigy, for all of his brilliance, doesn’t shine in the social interactions arena. Kakashi, bless his heart, wants so badly to be in control of the situation. However, it’s only when he lets himself go in favor of becoming Sukea, that he finally does gain control of it.

Near the end of my story, I write that Kakashi considers, “… what he had gained, who he had escaped, what he had beaten back, and who he became.” It’s from this moment on that I believe Sukea is an important part of this character’s life.

This transition doesn’t have to play out the way I’d written it in that fic, but I think Kakashi would have to be pushed into stepping outside of himself. We don’t see him assuming different identities in his career. He’s not a role-playing kind of dude in his downtime. He lives in a mask and wears an additional one when he clocks in for his shifts. He insulates himself during missions and isolates himself between them. I sometimes wonder if, by this stage in his life, he’d hidden his identity so well that Kakashi had lost sight of himself.

So, the experience of being Sukea-however it comes about and for whatever reason-would be something between refreshing and liberating for the Copy Nin.

Now I’m going to pull a Kishi tactic and employ a time jump with minimal backstory. A couple of years go by in which bad things happen to the Uchiha clan, Konoha adopts yet another orphan, and Kakashi is released from ANBU.

I imagine that this is one of the most difficult stages of Kakashi’s life. Nothing could be more unsettling for this dork than idleness after the familiar, strict, comfortable routine of the decade he spent in ANBU. I honestly think Kakashi wouldn’t know what to do with himself in the years between Black Ops and Team Seven. As a result, he begins to have a greater appreciation of Gai and his challenges. Also, this is when Kakashi would flesh out his secret identity as Sukea.

Because escapism.

Kakashi can’t stand himself in the years between Team Minato and Team Seven, and after he’s out of ANBU, he’s got too much time on his hands to ruminate on it.

There’s no way in hell that he would just wake up one day and decide to skip along the streets of Konoha without his mask on though. Kakashi would approach this consciously and meticulously. It helps to occupy the extra time. It postpones the moment between deciding to go out as Sukea and actually doing it. He would need time to prepare for this, mentally and physically.

There’s more to my headcanon than loathing himself though. The Third Hokage decided that this traumatized soldier was grade A teacher material, and Kakashi takes his orders seriously. While I don’t think he would view his eccentric nature as odd, I think he would be aware that he is socially awkward (at least, he would be aware that he feels awkward in social situations). I think he would strive to improve at this, if only for the sake of being a sensei.

This is why Sukea is a photographer.

Being a photographer is similar to being a fly on the wall. In order to capture candid moments or gather pictorial evidence, a photographer needs to melt into the background. Kakashi, being a ninja, would know how to succeed at that. He’d come to terms with the fact that the mask that hides his face makes him stand out. He’d know to cover his luscious, outrageous silver cowlicks, his famous scar and borrowed eye.

I can almost hear a couple of you piping up in the back asking, “But Hima, he’s a ninja! He can just don a henge!” The answer to that is no, unfortunately. As long as that sharingan is in Kakashi’s eye socket, that shit never shuts off. Even though he’s wearing a contact lens, as long as both of his eyes are open, it’s a constant drain on this poor knucklehead’s chakra reserve. Also? I think he doesn’t want to.

Choosing photography as Sukea’s schtick was brilliant. Photographers are expected to focus on their subjects, affording Kakashi plenty of time and opportunity to study others. He would definitely learn a great deal about people this way. Relationships and their dynamics are captured by his lens. He gains some new social skills by watching and catches up on the lives of the folks of the Hidden Leaf at the same time. One of his many hobbies is born. The best photographers are careful in their observations, quick in their actions, and Kakashi is already carrying those tools around in his fanny pack.

Unrelated, but, only Kakashi could make a fanny pack look asjkfsd hot. Another trivial detail, but you know how I love those: I’m thinking of one of Berry’s delightful headcanons about his mask and drawing from it now in my imagination. I wonder if Sukea carries Kakashi’s mask in his coat pocket the first few times he goes out in public.

Whether he does or not, after a few field trips around Konoha, I think Kakashi would genuinely enjoy stepping out as Sukea. He would have to if he’s still doing it during his sensei days, and again in the next-gen era.

He delights in trolling Team Seven, that’s for sure. Sukea is his own private joke, and who among us tires of laughing at our own jokes? Kakashi’s no different, and that’s why we catch him smirking at his reflection when we finally got to see the goods in that special manga chapter and anime episode. It felt so good to have my anime crush validated, btw.

Every time Kakashi drifts undetected around the Leaf Village, there is one other jōnin that Sukea’s camera avoids. As much as he enjoys his joke, he wouldn’t push his luck when it comes to the possibility of Maito Gai recognizing him. I think it speaks volumes about their friendship when we see Sukea sweating it out as Gai’s eyebrows invade his personal space and he stares the other man down. I’m convinced that this is how Kakashi learns his eternal rival is hopelessly face blind, but that’s a headcanon for another day.

Sukea is still stalking the inhabitants of the Hidden Leaf when Boruto’s generation of ninja are preparing to graduate. However, we see Kakashi tugging his mask back up and pulling the wig off, transitioning in front of Iruka. In so doing, he proves how much he’s grown throughout his life. I imagine that being Sukea had a lot to do with that.

This alter ego of Kakashi’s-like so much about him-is enigmatic. It seems to me that he’s revealing himself rather than hiding himself; giving others a chance to get to know him underneath the underneath. The person aside from the elite ninja that he is.

I said earlier that I wondered if Kakashi had hidden his identity so well, that he had lost sight of himself. I like to think that in being Sukea, Kakashi reconnected with himself.

XOXO

[sweetsmellosuccess]

TIFF 2018: Day 3

Films: 4 Best Film of the Day: The Old Man & the Gun (pictured)

Gwen: This is no white-knuckle affair; it’s a red one. As in knuckles chapped and scraped until nearly bleeding. Wind plays a large atmospheric role in William McGregor’s unsettling drama, both as a constant background noise, and as a bleak visual metaphor for the pitiless sparseness of the land. Wales is shown to be both staggeringly beautiful, with its craggy mountains and rolling green hills, but also unwaveringly uninviting: You will not see a more overcast film this year. The story concerns a young woman (Eleanor Worthington-Cox), her kid sister; and her struggling mother (Maxine Peake), as they try to survive on their hardscrabble farm while Gwen’s father is out fighting in an unnamed war. As their farm gets more and more stricken by what seems like a curse — their sheep are slaughtered, their potatoes are fallow, and their horse breaks his leg — it slowly becomes clear that these are not supernatural forces at work, but rather the acts of a supremely callous and hateful capitalist, who’s after their land for his mind operation. The obvious comparison would be to Robert Egger’s deeply unnerving The Witch, but McGregor isn’t playing with devils and demonic curses, here, just the horror perpetrated by callous greed and disregard for humanity. The film’s unrelenting grimness could certainly be a deterrent for some audiences, but it does capture something both about the land, and the attitude of those who can survive it.

Donnybrook: As a longtime admirer of Jamie Bell (and not only because he was the voice of Tintin), I’m happy to see he’s branching out his roles and expanding his reach, as it were, I just wish he’d picked a better project than this grungy, exploitive action drama from Tim Sutton. Bell plays a dude named “Jarhead Earl,” a former Marine, and a dutiful fellow on the economic downswing, looking to make a pile of cash at the big midwestern, bare-knuckle brawl known as the “Brook.” With a wife (Dara Tiller), teetering on the edge of meth addiction, and two young kids, Earl stakes all his hope on the prospect of winning the Brook, and claiming the $100K prize. Meanwhile, many other unsavory characters flit about, including another vet-turned meth dealer, Angus (Frank Grillo), and his seriously deranged sister (Margaret Qualley), whose had to put up with years of her brother’s intense abuse and has had enough; and the local sheriff (James Badge Dale), who’s knee-deep in his own business with Angus, and is dirty as they come. The film is filed with flags, guns, fists, and blood, as well as a jacked sensibility that suggests a faint homage to Lynch, without any of his wit, creativity, or artistic merit. It is not intended as irony, to be sure, or if it is, no one informed the serious-as-death actors, who play this to the last drop of blood. It’s the kind of film where a tied and tortured middleman gets to have sex with a seriously beautiful woman, while still bound to a chair, and immediately after he reaches the highs of ecstasy, she tips him over and shoots him in the head.

The Old Man & the Gun: How would you follow up a film as utterly stunning as A Ghost Story, a powerhouse of a philosophical treatise on love, time, and human artistic legacy? Perhaps by approaching a similar topic from a vastly different direction. Based on a true story, David Lowery’s film follows the exploits of a man named Forest Tucker (Robert Redford), an elderly bank thief who simply cannot stop plying his trade. His approach, gentlemanly and smooth, matches the tone of the film’s opening two acts, as Forest hooks up with his two compadres (Danny Glover and Tom Waits), meets and woos a feisty widow (Sissy Spacek), and matches wits with the detective (Casey Affleck), whom he inadvertently humiliated during an earlier heist. By the film’s third act, however, as he gets closer to being caught, the film begins to take on a more melancholy air, as if sensing his mortality. He made a career out of springing himself from prisons (a series that gets lovingly highlighted near the end), but there is the sense he can’t escape his mortal prison, nor can he change spots and just settle down on a nice horse farm. A shot near the end, as the cops are sweeping in posits him as a kind of Don Quixote figure, sitting forlornly on his horse, looking down and defeated. Reportedly, this is Redford’s acting swansong, and if so, like Forest, he’s certainly going out on his own terms.

Halloween: Unofficially, there have been 700 bazillion sequels and remakes of John Carpenter’s 1978 slasher film classic, most of which have been derivative drivel, but with director David Gordon Green, working with longtime collaborator Danny McBride, you finally have a new vision for the venerable horror series. It’s been four decades – to the day – since Michael Myers terrorized a teenaged girl and murdered her friends. Since then, he has been locked up in an asylum, never uttering a word (the film smartly disavows all previous sequels). To the still-disturbed Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis), however, the nightmare has never ended. Since surviving his original attack, she has dedicated her life to preparing for his eventual return, learning fighting/survival skills, fortifying her house, and arming herself to the teeth. This devotion to self-protection she imbued to her daughter (Judy Greer), and attempts to do so with her granddaughter (Andi Matichak), now the same age as Laurie was when she first met the Bogeyman. Things move along in typical Halloween fashion, with Michael escaping, donning the mask, and returning to Haddonfield to kill indiscriminately once again, only this time, he finds Laurie well-prepared and waiting for him. What ensues follows a similar pattern but with a major twist. In the film’s most exhilarating moments, the film gleefully twists and turns the tropes we have come to know so well – one such moment, setting up the film’s fiery climax, left the midnight TIFF audience laughing and cheering wildly – and morphs into, of all things, a feminist slasher flick. Naturally, the ending leaves things just ambiguous enough for another sequel (or six), but as a re-imagining of one of the seminal horror movies of the last 40 years, it’s got a lot of moxie. It might not have the actual scares of the original, but the film’s forward-thinking politics twist the butcher knife in very satisfying ways.  

Tomorrow: A mix-and-match sort of day: In-between interviews, I’ll be checking out the militia-group thriller Standoff at Sparrow Creek; the harrowing sounding The Most Beautiful Couple; another Witch-like film in the horror/western The Wind, and, if I can stay awake, the brutal retelling of the Mumbai terrorist attack from 2008 in Hotel Mumbai.

[turtle-burgler]

If you’re interested in animation, you’ve probably seen Disney-Pixar’s latest hit, Coco. The beautifully-portrayed story of a young musician named Miguel and his journey to the Land of the Dead took the world by storm since its original debut in Mexico on Día de los Muertos, eventually making over 700 million dollars worldwide. If you’re watching this, you’ve probably heard some of the hidden-Pixar-characters trivia, but there’s so much more to the movie than that! The movie’s emotional connection, memorable music, and rich depiction of the land of the dead are full of details you missed the first time you watched, and there’s tons of behind-the-scenes info you ought to know!

As I’ve been preparing this video, I’ve been involved with the Coco fandom on Tumblr. Lots of other smart people on there have noticed things I didn’t or given insight I couldn’t! I’ll share these with you too and credit the fan who noticed it.  

Without further ado, here’s 122 things you missed in Coco. This is a given, but SPOILERS AHEAD!

The directors had the mariachi Disney intro made just for fun, but loved it so much that they kept it in the film.

You can hear bells like the one that killed Ernesto throughout Coco: The opening and closing 

The first line in the movie (“sometimes I think I’m cursed”) is already foreshadowing the plot.

The beginning sequence where we learn Imelda’s backstory through cut-paper, or papel picado, was originally a musical number set in the middle of the film.

Some of the papel picado is stylized and couldn’t exist if you tried to recreate them without the paper falling out!

“And never returned” Notice these skulls? A hint that Héctor didn’t just abandon his family, but was murdered.

Why did Imelda choose shoe-making out of all her possible professions? According to the papel picado, Coco’s shoes were falling apart. Imelda had to fix them herself. And it turns out she had a knack for it!

Miguel went through a few different redesigns, originally being named “Sam,” then “Marco.”

That big fat guitar isn’t off-model; it’s a guitarrón mexicano, a staple of mariachi music. 

We see various Pixar characters as piñatas, which was inspired by real handmade merchandise that the animators saw on research trips to Mexico.

In this collection of alebrijes, you can see a few more Pixar characters, true--but it’s also the audience’s first look at Imelda’s alebrije, Pepita!

(Via prismasandtoonpies) Dante popping up next to the alebrijes foreshadows his future role as a spirit guide.

Coco’s background characters have their own stories and amusing reactions. As Miguel messes around, see the weird look this character gives him!

Pixar fans usually know that the movies often hide references to an animation classroom from Calarts, “A113”--even though the department was rearranged by the time some Coco artists attended. Other fans have spotted A113 on the door of the department of family grievances. But did you see A113 on De la Cruz’s album covers as well?

The set that De la Cruz performs on looks similar to the graveyard entrance to Santa Cecilia.

Speaking of Santa Cecilia, Miguel’s hometown: Santa Cecilia is the name of a real town near Mexico City, but the name was chosen because Santa Cecilia is the Catholic patron saint of musicians. 

De la cruz hands off the guitar to make a fancy gesture while performing. It’s lucky he did, saving the guitar, or we wouldn’t have had a movie!

Those drunk guys were singing “La Llorona!”

The mariachi in the plaza also plays a couple chords of “la llorona”

The mariachi and Gustavo were both played by the same voice actor, Lombardo Boyar. The co-director has joked that Gustavo is the mariachi’s great-great-grandfather and it’s “all in the family” 

Although Coco’s director, Lee Unkrich, has confirmed multiple times that the movie takes place in present day, here’s some in-movie proof: The 2016 calendar in the background of the Riveras’ zapateria, though it’s outdated--as seen in the up-to-date 2017 calendar in this (anything to declare) scene. https://twitter.com/leeunkrich/status/941382162355453952

You see multiple posters for “bolero expres” in the background of the land of the living throughout the movie--although “bolero” is a kind of dance, a “bolero” in Mexico is a shoeshine boy!

Lee Unkrich slipped in several references to his favourite movie, the Shining. (truck leather scene) You can see an ax in a stump here beside a red barrel, or a “red drum.” A third shining reference is hidden later in the film, where you can see the creepy twins from the movie in De la Cruz’s rehearsal hall.

Miguel’s guitar isn’t just beat up, it’s homemade with supplies Miguel took from the zapateria. It’s held together by shoe leather, and it has nails for frets.

Here’s a partial list of De la Cruz merch on Miguel’s ofrenda: 

Album covers

News article clippings

Papel picado

Signs, both professional and homemade

An academic book

Photos

A handdrawn picture 

Posters

Figurines (wooden, ceramic, bobblehead)

Coffee mug

Buttons

Collectible cards

Soda bottles

The video tape

According to the directors’ commentary, the De la Cruz poster was placed in this shot to make it feel like “De la Cruz was looking over him like a guardian angel,” at least from Miguel’s point of view.

“If it kills me” More foreshadowing about Miguel’s future curse!

Dante eating mole off the ofrenda was inspired by a real basset hound the directors met in Oaxaca.

The ofrenda already has a frame on the floor before dante starts inhaling mole. Sucks to be that person!

When Miguel says he’s gonna be a musician, he throws off his leather apron to symbolize his rejection of being a shoemaker.

Elena didn’t just destroy miguel’s guitar. She made the sign of the cross. She sent its spirit to the afterlife! 

Even more foreshadowing as to where Miguel’s going when he runs away: he’s following the cempasuchil path that’s supposed to guide his ancestors from the land of the dead.

Similarly, the land of the living is (excepting this scene) portrayed in the daytime while it’s always night in the land of the dead for the duration of the film. It’s fitting that as Miguel runs to the cemetery and enters the land of the dead, it’s dusk. 

Whenever Miguel tries to ignore Dante, his spirit guide, it’s automatically a bad decision, even if he doesn’t realize until later.

Conversely, any time Miguel follows De la Cruz’s advice to “seize his moment,” he winds up making a mistake.

The man saying “The guitar! It’s gone!” is co-director Adrian Molina.

When in the land of the living, the skeletons are glowing through their clothes. You can see faint outlines of their bones.

See the other cempasuchil bridges? They lead to the land of the dead from other cemeteries.

The architecture of the land of the dead was meticulously laid out so that old, mesoamerican buildings can be seen at the bottom with newer, modern architecture being built on top. There’s not much concern for safety regulations either, since the inhabitants are all already dead.

The reception areas for the returning dead are all shaped like Aztec style pyramids like those in Teotihuacan.

Via ashleyketchumall on tumblr: The land of the dead is partially based on the colorful architecture in the Mexican city of Guanajuato.

A costuming detail: The dead Rivera family members wear leather aprons to remind us if their role as shoemakers. 

“Caquitas” If you don’t speak spanish, you might have missed the film’s one poop joke.

This guy’s grumpy because all he got for an offering was a single lousy muffin.

Meanwhile, look at these two guys who seem to be making a trade for something illicit in a bottle.

The original plot had Miguel bringing the guitar with him to the land of the dead, needing to return it to its rightful owner, and have that person strum it in order to break the curse.

The guitar isn’t where miguel left it--why? Because the cemetery worker put it back!

Because some people prefer to call the holiday “Dia de los muertos” while others know it as “dia de muertos,” the movie included both versions depending on the speaker. Miguel, his abuela, and the clerk use “Dia de los muertos.” A couple background characters and Hector use “Dia de muertos.”

There are no living plants in the land of the dead. Just metal ones. 

Alebrijes are partially a reflection of the characters who own them, which is why Imelda’s spirit guide, Pepita, is strong and intimidating, while De la Cruz’s alebrijes are more for display than anything practical.

In the original script, the Riveras weren’t able to talk regularly. They had to sing. And they hated it.

Unibrow faking may be illegal because it’s so rare for skeletons to have eyebrows at all in this world, making it a privilege for certain cultural heroes like Frida Kahlo.

The inspiration for the department of family reunions was the post office building in Mexico City, the Palacio de Correos de Mexico.

There’s a physical comedy moment in the background when the twins accidentally switch heads and don’t realize right away.

Another background character moment: Dante sniffing at this background skeleton, who gets a little surprised to feel it!

Ceci was listening to “Remember Me.”

This scene was evidently inspired by a real monkey riding a dog at a rodeo that the creators attended.

“Bunch of self important jerks!” This line is probably hinting at Ernesto's villainy, but it's also evidence of hector’s self hatred.

“Pronated” means “slightly bow legged.”

You can tell that they’re going down the towers because the architecture is looking more and more ancient

Chicharron was a musician, though it may only have been a hobby. He has multiple instruments in his shack: the guitar, but also a drum and trumpet.

It makes sense that Chicharron, who collects odds and ends, wouldn’t have a matching set of shot glasses. But interestingly, the one Hector drinks from is the same design as the shot glass he was originally poisoned with.

Chicharron’s guitar has writing inside it, probably the brand name: “El Leon.”

Hector’s reaction makes more sense when we find out the true history of “Remember Me.”

Dante’s job is to bring miguel and hector together. Any time they’re together, Dante’s happy and content. If they split up, Dante gets anxious.

People have noticed this character’s shirt resembles Sid's from Toy Story. Is Sid in the land of the dead? No, director Lee Unkrich says this guy resembles Sid but isn't really him. https://twitter.com/leeunkrich/status/941386078585589760

Chicharron’s line “You gotta earn it” might be influencing Miguel to try so hard to earn De la Cruz’s blessing.

Dante has a hilariously concerned reaction to Miguel's grito.

The “Chachalacos” are named after a bird called the “chachalaca,” which is also a word for a chatty person.

Hector looks not just happy but surprised when it turns out Miguel can actually perform.

Hector’s percussive dancing is inspired by the tarima “stomp box,” a wooden platform with holes cut out of the sides so that a dancer can stomp on it to create a rhythm.  

Real bones were used to record parts of Poco Loco!

Via prismasandtoonpies: Un Poco Loco mentions counting your blessings, the same phrase earlier in the movie when describing Hector and Imelda’s marriage!

Hector calls Miguel Gordito, or “chubby,” since unlike skeletons, Miguel has flesh on his bones.

Is this choreographed? No, Hector guides Miguel in his little spin onstage.

The statue in De la Cruz plaza is similar to the one in the land of the living, including the “Seize Your Moment” quote, but it’s the skeletal version of De la Cruz.

It's implied that Miguel and Hector would have won the battle of the bands if Miguel hadn't run off before the encore.

The ad here is for “cerveza de raiz,” or root beer.

You can see the famous La Catrina, the day of the dead political cartoon earlier referenced in the cemetery, after Miguel meets Pepita for the first time.

The directors confirmed that the stripe on Miguel’s hoodie was added to give viewers a sense of Miguel’s arm bones, even when his gradual skeletonization was covered by clothing.

Miguel’s calavera face paint has four streaks at the top, though it’s hard to see in most shots.

At De la Cruz’s party, you can see some characters in what might be Aztec regalia--Montezuma specifically is mentioned in a deleted scene as someone who will “live on forever” in the land of the dead due to his fame. 

Ernesto’s tower has a marigold-orange carpet instead of a red carpet to mimic the color of the cempasuchiles.

Though Dante's name is of course a reference to Dante's divine comedy, a literary classic in which the main character journeys through the afterlife, Dante is in-universe named after the horse in a De la Cruz movie.

The dj is wearing a “give cumbia a chance” t-shirt, advertising the mexican electronica project “mexican institute of sound.”

There are many celebrity cameos in the land of the dead, including: musicians Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete, wrestler El Santo, actors Cantinflas and Maria Felix, and revolutionary Emiliano Zapata beside a soldadera.  http://radiobuap.com/2017/11/10-curiosidades-sobre-coco/

Cantinflas is only wearing chaps on his lower half!

Ernesto’s skull is designed with f-holes, emphasizing his legacy as a musician.

Ernesto never gets to finish his blessing, which is why the petal didn’t start glowing. It’s possible he may have been considered “family” enough to bless Miguel after all. https://twitter.com/leeunkrich/status/941362375596429312

The murder being committed wasn’t shown on screen, just implied--we never see a bottle of poison. It’s ambiguous because Miguel is put in a position of choosing who to trust more: his idol or Hector.

Lee Unkrich has said that the guitar was a gift to Hector from Imelda. https://twitter.com/leeunkrich/status/935724236668272641

Hector’s songbook has both “Remember Me” and “The World is Mi Familia” in it.

Hector and ernesto’s charro suits aren’t the same--Ernesto has a Greek-fret style design, which he also has on his belt and in his pool in the land of the dead. His suit is a darker colour while Hector’s is lighter, and has some of the same flourishes his mandible markings do

As Hector falls, he grabs his stomach! Like he did when he died! 

Via karlofflugosi: In the flashback, Ernesto slyly moves Hector’s guitar away under the guise of helping him as he chokes. He steals the guitar AS HECTOR’S DYING! 

Real cenotes are natural sinkholes with spiritual significance. This one is manmade, though still used to make a metaphorical sacrifice to send someone to the land of the dead: Miguel. You can see sculptures in the background that is meant to portray the king and queen of the land of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli and Mictecacihuatl. 

The voice actor for Hector, Gael García Bernal, had his young daughter Libertad sing this part of Remember Me. 

Emilio Fuentes, the original voice actor for Miguel, had to be replaced after his voice dropped, but he has a single line in the movie: “Places senor, you’re on in 30 seconds!”

“La Lllorona” is a recurring theme when Imelda is part of a scene.

Many viewers may not be aware that La Llorona is a traditional song and wasn’t composed for this movie. In fact, the movie has a shortened version of the original lyrics. “La Llorona” also famously featured in the 2002 film Frida, about--you guessed it!--Frida Kahlo.

Miguel’s gesture encouraging Imelda to “sing” is the same one that Hector gave him at the battle of the bands.

The guitar player and the conductor look at each other here, wondering who’s playing, before joining in.

The conductor is a cameo of the movie’s score composer Michael Giacchino (said ja-keen-oh). 

Via miquelrivera: Another funny background character reaction as Ernesto’s revealed as the villain.

A quote from co-director Adrian Molina about this scene: “People give me grief about why all of these people would have fruit at a concert. And it’s because they’re coming back from Dia de Muertos, and their families leave them all these offerings!”

This character (what did i miss) was voiced by Lee Unkrich.

At this point (“it’s ok mijo/ we’re both out of time mijo”), Hector switches from calling Miguel “chamaco,” meaning “kid,” to “mijo,” meaning “my son.” 

...Just like Miguel has switched to calling him “Papa Hector,” emphasizing their newfound bond as family. 

Miguel did get a musician’s blessing after all!

The family members sleeping outside on the bench were probably out all night looking for Miguel.

This is an accurate portrayal of how music affects memory in patients with dementia.

Coco describes Hector’s songs as ‘poems he wrote for me.’ She may not have known that some of the lyrics were for songs!

The frames on the wall contain lyrics for three songs: Remember Me, Un Poco Loco, and The World is Mi Familia.

Besides lyrics, there are letters from Hector to Coco saying things like “Sorry I can’t be there” and “Dear Coco, I love you with all my heart.” They’re always signed “Papa Hector.”

Most of the letters have drawings on them--hearts, a picture of Coco, a star, a dog, and a little church with some cacti. Hector was a doodler!

As many have noticed, in the ending scene, Hector is more put-together and well-remembered. His bones are whiter and less loose, his clothes are nicer, and he even has a new pair of shoes!

He gives coco the B I G  G E S T  H U G

Pepita’s shadow at the end is similar to when she was seen in this previous scene.

Twins realistically run in the family

Miguel gets lifted up at the end like in poco loco :)

According to the songwriters, there were at least 17 different genres of music that Remember Me was performed in throughout the movie..

The original message of the film when it was pitched was about letting go of dead loved ones, getting closure, and moving on. But after doing research on the meaning of Dia de los Muertos, the message was reworked into a more culturally aware idea that dead people will always be a part of their loved ones’ lives.

And that’s 122 things you missed in Coco! Did I forget any good ones? Tell me in the comments below! Hasta luego!

[firewclking]

📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂📂

“📂“ for a random yet completely useless headcanon | accepting | @svbjet​

📂 -- all subjects in the experiments have a really odd allergy; seven is allergic is sulfites, max is allergic to certain types of apples, caspian is allergic to caffeine and roi is allergic to certain shellfishes📂 -- diana was previously engaged but after the passing of her father ( her only living relative ), diana went on a soul searching journey and in the end, her fiance couldn’t wait for her to come back so he broke off the engagement📂 -- lifen’s proudest work is actually the mural ( spray ) painted on the wall of one of the numerous stairwells in the art building of her school📂 -- meilin is an active practitioner of taichi; she wakes up early to do taichi with her grandparents. 📂 -- jackie is absolutely terrified of clowns.

📂 -- dahyun can speak russian, chinese, korean, japanese, english and french fluently📂 -- adaline sometimes volunteers in the pediatric ward; she quite enjoys working with kids and witnessing their bravery and perseverance.📂 -- lihua is only nineteen but owns a shop, she’s actually just as smart as her older brother ( iq rivaling each other ); she is actually still attending school so she’s only in the store near the afternoon.📂 -- bomi loves watching the powerpuff girls !! she usually has it playing in the background when she’s working.📂 -- hyesung is sure that her parents have a GOOD idea where she is but is waiting for the right time to ruin her dreams to become a prominent producer ( she is the heiress to a huge conglomerate ).📂 -- carina has a cat-like familiar that helps her and is her companion, to the human eye...it’s just a normal maine coon cat that she coos and speaks to but in reality, it speaks back to her📂 -- iseul avoids eating instant ramyun as best she can, she’s not a huge fan of it and advocates her idols / talents to eat healthy meals📂 -- yuxuan is a really proficient dancer but it’s often not showcased in the music videos she’s in...she’s featured as backup dancers in other group’s videos / concerts📂-- dohee is also an avid badminton player !! when she has the time, she’ll seek out her older brother for a few matches of badminton📂 -- minji starred briefly in a musical but not a huge role; a supporting actress with a few lines but she enjoyed the entire process nonetheless📂-- eunha actually prefers watching action / crime genre shows / movies over cartoons ( she watches enough for her work aha )📂 -- chungha struggled the most with chinese when she was learning it because of the pronunciation and intonation of certain words can change the meaning. 📂 -- sunny has a background of contemporary dancing and has learned how to TUMBLE and do flips out of pure interest📂 -- YN18, X-OUT, LOST BOYS and 989 all live in the same building but on different floors; it’s never a surprise when one group runs a vlive to find members of another group with in it📂 -- minseok wears a knee brace during practice to stabilize his right knee; it’s an old injury he had gotten when he was 15 ( not a serious one but his right knee is a little weaker than the other )📂 --  when zhixiang gets flustered / anxious / excited, he slips into another dialect ( commonly known as minnan ) and only sunny, minzhe and wen seems to understand what he’s saying📂 -- jiwon and woojin both have musical background ( broadway ), both having started in broadway before deciding to take the route to become idols instead of actors📂 -- many fans have noted how similar jiwon and minzhe looks so they have taken to calling them twins...not knowing minzhe has an IDENTICAL twin so when the three are together, some would call them triplets ( except...jiwon is much taller than the two )📂 -- delun had a girlfriend during his stay in the united states but broke up before his return to taiwan ( he calls her the one that got away ) but they remain good friends; he’s invited to her wedding in august.📂 -- yuna is an avid gymnast, so she is very flexible and agile; it would be no surprise to find her sitting in odd positions.📂 -- while natsu and takeshi are japanese, being from different regions confuses them sometimes when either boys slip into speaking in a particular region’s dialect and confusing not only each other but everyone else ( or those capable of speaking japanese )📂 -- hajoon and jaehyun have numerous collaborations together online that people started calling them 2UN ( bc un sounds like the syllable OON in their stage names -- J.YOON [ jaehyun ] and B.JOON [ hajoon ] ).📂 -- weizhe loves citrus fruits !! often spotted eating a small mandarin or tangerine during the day ( gotta get that vitamin c !! )📂 -- seven and caspian loves to eat pop rocks...but caspian loves to eat apple pies much more📂 -- between seven and luxun, if their mother didn’t undergo cesarean section during birth, luxun would have been the elder of the twins 📂 -- grayson’s father is unhealthily competitive to the point where he both physically and emotionally abuses grayson...grayson’s medical files ( if he had an official one ) would be filled with lacerations / tearing of muscles, bruising and other things.📂 -- seonho uses the screaming rubber chickens to cover up his struggles; he wants his group mates to be happy and not worry about the stress of debut and other things, so he shoulders a lot of burdens and uses the rubber chickens to cheer them up or interrupt them so they get angry.📂 -- luxun hates wearing glasses because it reminds him of his ‘nerdy’ and bullied past...he got his vision corrected as soon as he could ( basically becoming an idol was his GLOW UP and a fuck you to his bullies )📂 -- luxun is still in contact with his old group mates ( the group formed as a result of a survival show ) and makes time to visit them when he’s back home📂 -- zhangjing is a sex fiend who’s thirst is seemingly never ending...his friends know about his sexual tendencies but don’t know about his job as a camboy📂 -- during his time with his makeshift idol group, luxun tended to be the HOUSEKEEPER ( or housewife that his groupmates lovingly dubbed him ) and attended to cleaning their shared dorm, making meals and doing all the household chores.📂 -- liwei is relatively hard to scare when it comes to ghost pranks but if it’s well planned and there’s a good build to it ( and multiple in succession -- like a haunted house ), liwei may just freeze up and be reduced to tears📂 -- chengping has TWO tattoos that people haven’t see yet ( one is under his arm and the other is on the medial side of his right ring finger )📂 -- caden has a business background; it surprises people when he says that he’s actually completed a bachelors of business administration while being a trainee...it took a lot of hard work and compromises but he did it📂 -- wonho is EXACTLY one centimeter taller than youngjin and he’s proud of that fact 📂 -- luxun is a workaholic that eats his weight in food ( jk -- but he eats quite a bit and rather frequently ) but despite so, he’s hypoglycemic so he tends to have juices in his bag or some sugar source to stave off the low blood sugars📂 -- grayson absolutely loves nutella...he keeps a small jar in his bag and hides them around the yeoneo building and dorms so he can snack whenever he’s working.📂 -- liwei started out with an innocent heart murmur as a child before being given up for adoption and it got worse over time simply due to the career he had chosen -- long work hours, endless practice, etc -- that it had caused him to collapse one night and rushed to the hospital ( his members thought he was having a heart attack ).📂 -- chengping is actually really self-conscious about his body image and weight so he regulates what he eats / drinks strictly with a biweekly cheat day.📂 -- luxun is absolutely TERRIFIED of heights and flying...so he takes strong sleeping pills before going on flights so he’d be asleep for a bulk of the flight📂 -- chengping has been nominated and won the best supporting role for his role in a romantic drama ( #secondleadsyndrom )📂 -- meilin loves to drink herbal teas and tries making her own leaves blend with different health benefits📂 -- lifen ( while she doesn’t seem like it ) follows a lot of idol groups and is currently watching the survival show idol producer📂 -- mingjie does drugs once in a while but often gets drunk more often than not and even though he’s intoxicated, he tends to not take a taxi home ( aka -- impaired driving )📂 -- hyunki owns an variety of coffees ( different roasts / blends / regions ) and two french presses at home; he is capable of differentiating between coffees📂 -- it’s no surprise that several of the trainees from yeoneo own animal onesies; they boast of it during their lives and have ‘fashion’ showing off their cute onesies ( notable mentions -- sunny’s panda onesie and luxun’s cow onesie )📂 -- michael has made it a routine to get ice cream after his orthodontist appointments, more so to use the cold treat to soothe his teeth pains than as a reward for getting through it.

[orhelponefaintingrobin]

Netflix’s “Death Note” - Film Review

Now, I do want to clarify something before I get into this. In this review, I am not going to be spending a lot of time talking about the controversy surrounding the casting in Adam Wingard’s “Death Note”. I understand the filmmakers’ motivations as to the casting, and I also understand a lot of the reasons why people had an issue with it, most of all the dreadful record of characters of Asian descent in Western films, but the truth is, I am going to be talking about the film that was made, and although, on balance, I think that they probably should have gone with an actor of Japanese descent to play the lead role, if that was the only thing that was changed, it wouldn’t have really changed my feelings towards the film.

But “Death Note” is a film that exists. And I just watched it.

I really don’t want to focus on this film being an adaptation. There are two ways you can approach viewing this film. You can view it as its own thing, or you can view it as an adaptation of the original Manga. But I think that drastically changes the way you are going to react to it. Because if you view it as an adaptation of the manga, then there is very little argument as to whether or not it is good. If you want to see a faithful adaptation of “Death Note”, then watch the anime. I mean, you should do that anyway, the anime is incredible, but you get what I mean. This is not a faithful adaptation of Tsugumi Ohba’s Manga. Save for a few of the names (Light, L, Watari, Ryuk) there is almost no similarities between the two products other than Ryuk’s design, and if that’s something that’s going to be a problem for you that you’re not going to be able to get past, then you are going to absolutely hate this film.

But, I did manage to put that out of my mind, for the most part, so, now, I am going to talk about the film that was made, from the perspective of SOLELY the finished product, not as an adaptation, separate from the controversy.

And the truth is, “Death Note” is… Alright.

The film is definitely well made, from a technical standpoint. As far as the direction, the cinematography, and most of the script is concerned, it isn’t a terrible film by any stretch. The special effects on Ryuk and the bigger set pieces are decent, and I didn’t feel any particular impulse to turn it off. It was a film that I was able to watch, beginning to end, without feeling too offended by what I was watching. There was definitely talent present for the making of the film, that much is clear. Adam Wingard’s previous films have generally been pretty untamed, gory horror flicks, and there is definitely evidence of that in “Death Note”, but he also manages to direct the more thriller-esque parts of the film decently as well.

The acting is generally competent, save for Nat Wolff’s… interesting screaming near the beginning. There are some experienced names in the mix; Nat Wolff has some relatively well-known films under his belt, such as John Green adaptation “Paper Towns”, Lakeith Stanfield has credits on “Straight Outta Compton”, Donald Glover’s “Atlanta” and this year’s popular “Get Out”, and Willem Dafoe has plenty of credits under his belt, including the role which made him so well suited to Ryuk, The Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s original “Spider-Man”. So, there’s definitely actors in the film. Even when you don’t compare it to the original, Lakeith Stanfield is probably the standout performance, in my opinion at least, who, even when being given a character who was probably the closest to the original, still managed to really make L his own character (And a character who I actually wouldn’t mind seeing more of…). Nat Wolff is pretty good, given his character had all the controversy, both with the obvious racial issues and the vast differences between the film’s Light Turner and the original Light Yagami’s personalities. Margaret Qualley was decent as well, though maybe a little over-the-top at points (Though, I’ll get back onto that, and it might be script more than anything else). Other background characters worked fine; Light’s dad was a cop, not much else, Watari was well-performed but had about as much to do as he did in the original. Willem Dafoe was amazing as Ryuk, but that was probably the best casting choice they made anyway.

The overall plot of the film was relatively easy to follow, and didn’t get too confusing at any points. But, this is actually where we start to see some issues. Not with a lot of the film overall, but just with bits. Two bits, in fact. The beginning and the Ferris wheel scene.

The beginning was weirdly jumpy, switching between the first bits of the credits, then a couple of shots of Light and Mia, then jumping to the title card, then jumping back into the film. It almost felt like someone had got the clips mixed up, and accidently put the title card in the wrong place; that was how jumpy it felt. And as far as the first few minutes, it was just a little rushed and confusing, and it could have been worth shortening a few other bits, such as Light and L’s chase, to establish a few different bits before Light ended up with the Death Note. I’m hardly a professional (yet) but I’d probably have tried to make some similarities to the original, and structure it as: Light doing other people’s homework à Light getting into the fight with Kenny à Light getting caught and getting detention à Light seeing the Death Note out of the window while in detention, so that it catches his eye similarly to how it does in the original. Then we can have Light go and pick it up after detention, see Kenny bullying the girl, and have Light kill him from a distance, and go from there. I don’t know if that makes sense, but my point is the way that the first five/ten minutes were organised felt a little off, and it meant that by the time Light starts killing, we don’t really know anything about his character.

The ferris-wheel scene is the next bit I have an issue with. I get that they needed to find a good way to wrap it up, and I get that western filmmaking includes these big set-pieces, but the way it was done was… awkward… Actually, that goes back to the reveal that Mia wrote Light’s name in the book, although once it gets past that bit, the scenes with L were pretty good, until we get back to the ferris wheel. Where things just all feel a little… off. Light writing Mia’s name in the Death Note didn’t make a whole lot of sense, even when he explained everything to his father at the end, their confrontation felt too jumpy, with it going from Light begging Mia to let them stop to Mia snatching the book to the ferris wheel breaking… And ‘dramatic’ slo-mo is never particularly dramatic… It all just felt a little off.                Not to mention the whole scene sort of summed up my issues with Mia as a character. I mean, she’s definitely a more convincing character than her sort-of-counterpart, Misa Amane (Although, Adam Wingard said that her character was more based on Light Yagami’s sociopathic side), but it still seemed a little too much. Take her motivations, for example. Why did she have an interesting in Light or the Death Note? Annoying as she was, Misa at least had strong motivation for everything: She had a clear reason for worshipping Kira, a clear motivation for doing what she was doing, and though she was more tolerable to watch, there was very little of this in Mia. And the ferris wheel scene really showed that. Agreeing that she loved Light to ordering him around, her reaching for the Death Note as it fell, it all just seemed one step too far. And her actual death really summed that up. She could have died normally, could have just splattered on the ground like the FBI agents she killed. But the flowers showed how over the top her characterisation was.

In all honesty, I think I’ve worked out what the main problem with “Death Note” was, as a film. Yes, it’s got SO MANY FLAWS as an adaptation, from the tone-deaf casting to the almost unrecognisable plot. But as a film in its own right, it isn’t too bad. But the issue is, it was an adaptation. And, while “Death Note” was a coherent, not generally awful film in its own right, the original Manga’s core seemed to get lost in translation. That wasn’t to do with changing the setting or the race, either. I mean, it was an issue, but it wasn’t what affected the quality of the film. This film was a thriller. Not quite an action film, or a mystery, or even a horror, past the first half an hour, but a thriller. You were waiting to see how Light would get out of things, and it isn’t even unsatisfying in that way. But it doesn’t have anything else. Yes, the original “Death Note” is a gripping psychological thriller (A better one, but that’s not my point), but what the original does is use that as a mask for a careful moral examination, a character study showing so nicely the age-old idea that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Light fails, and he doesn’t fail because he was betrayed, or because L works out who he is. Light Yagami, in a way, beats himself. And we don’t even see that in this film. The way it ends doesn’t really tie any plot points up at all, and leaves it very much asking for a sequel. And, much as I’m almost ashamed to say it, I almost want one, just because I like narratives being tied up. But, while it needs a sequel, it doesn’t really deserve one.

As I said, “Death Note” wasn’t bad, but when you can just as easily go onto Netflix and watch the original, which gives most of the same positives as this film while giving you a much deeper story, it just doesn’t feel like there’s much point to it.

Watch it if you’ve got nothing better to do (Which is the only way I got around to watching it), but it probably isn’t essential. You just can’t beat the original.

[beautifuldisastr]

As season 3 closes, ‘Madam Secretary’ creators, cast reflect on real-world events, show’s future

Politics are notoriously unpredictable. So, perhaps, it’s little wonder that the creators of “Madam Secretary” on CBS have a hard time conjuring storylines that are more dramatic than current events.

“We shoot three or four weeks out, and by the time they got on the air, some of these things have happened” in real life, Barbara Hall, the show’s creator and executive producer, told The Washington Times during recent filming along the National Mall.

On a particularly bright spring day, series star Tea Leoni jogged with a dog and two fictional Secret Service agents trailing her near the Lincoln Memorial. A sign not far off informed passersby that they were tacitly giving permission to use their likeness in the background of certain shots. Here and there, onlookers recognized Miss Leoni, using their phones to snap photos of the star.

“We try to take anything that’s happening right now and then ‘game it out’ in the future to the most dramatic conclusion,” said Ms. Hall, a veteran producer of “Homeland,” “Joan of Arcadia” and “Judging Amy” in between takes of Miss Leoni jogging with her entourage next to the Reflecting Pool.

Viewers have tuned in for the exploits of Secretary of State Dr. Elizabeth McCord (Miss Leoni) since 2014. The show, already renewed for a fourth year, airs its third-season finale this Sunday.

“The first time we were here was the pilot episode, so this is a little nostalgic for us,” said executive producer Lori McCreary of location filming in the nation’s capital. (The bulk of the series films on soundstages in New York.)

“We had no idea if the show would ever get picked up, or if people were going to like it,” Ms. McCreary told The Times of the political show’s beginnings. “So being here at the end of the third season is really satisfying because we know we have a great audience.

“And I love being here. There’s nothing like shooting in D.C.”

Season 3 has seen McCord working to end a hostage crisis in Sudan, fighting worldwide human trafficking and even in the running for a Nobel Peace Prize. All the while she balances geopolitics with a home life that includes her husband, Henry, (Tim Daly) and the couple’s young-adult daughters, Stephanie (Wallis Currie-Wood) and Alison (Kathrine Herzer).

Both Ms. McCreary and Ms. Hall are proud of the fact that their show not only features a strong woman in the title role, but is run by women and has a writing room staffed by several more — somewhat of a rarity in the often male-centric television industry.

“The networks are really focusing on” gender parity, Ms. Hall said. “We’re certainly doing our part. I just think it’s a matter of awareness and everybody being committed to improving that situation.”

“Girls especially being able to see women in those positions will make the biggest difference,” concurred Ms. McCreary. “I think mentoring programs are great,” she said, adding the crew has many women on staff as well.

Such sentiments are echoed by actress Patina Miller, who portrays press coordinator Daisy Grant on “Madam Secretary.” Miss Miller, who came up through the milieus of soap operas and Broadway plays, believes it’s crucial to continue to support entertainment created and shepherded by women.

“It’s been great to work in an environment where we’re getting to tell smart, interesting stories that are written by females and performed by females,” she told The Times. “It’s a really great place to be in, and I hope we continue to move in that direction.”

Art not imitating life

“What I like about the show is that we portray a government that is aspirational,” said actor Erich Bergen, who portrays McCord’s assistant, Blake Moran. “Very similar to what was going on in ‘The West Wing,’ we’re trying to [show] a government that works for everyone and attempts to do the right thing.”

Mr. Bergen, who cut his teeth on stage as Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio in the stage and film version of “Jersey Boys,” said “Madam Secretary” viewers need only click “a few channels over” to witness the current chaos of the Trump administration and the nonstop criticisms emanating from its political enemies.

“I think our show holds an important place on television just because of [what] we’re watching our real government go through,” he said.

On “Madam Secretary,” the McCords marriage is depicted as stable and the fictional administration is largely scandal-free.

“The drama that is dealt with between Elizabeth and Henry is obviously very high-stakes given their jobs, but they work through it as a strong couple and a strong family would,” Mr. Bergen said. “I think that’s something we don’t see a lot on television.”

Like Mr. Bergen, Miss Miller is a veteran of the New York stage, having starred in the Broadway and London versions of “Sister Act” and assayed the lead in “Pippin.” But reciting the same lines night after night on the Great White Way is a far different animal than learning and filming a new mini-film every eight days on “Madam Secretary.”

“There kind of is no rehearsal process in TV and film,” she said. “We have blocking and marking, and then we shoot.”

Furthermore, she said 40 to 50 crew members don’t provide the instant performance feedback that a packed theater of 1,000 audience members can.

“Coming from the theatre, you feed off that energy every night. It helps your performance in a way,” Miss Miller said. “With TV, because there is no audience, you don’t get the satisfaction of knowing if what you did during the scene played well. You find out later whenever you see it.”

The piecemeal nature of TV and film work means that actors aren’t as “in charge” of their performance as stagecraft allows, Miss Miller believes. Rather, it’s “everyone telling the story,” including the editors who construct the show from shards of different takes.

The brisk nature of TV work also requires the rapid memorization of scripts — as well as sudden, and constant, rewrites. Miss Miller credits her time on “All My Children” with helping her to develop the ability to briskly learn new dialogue. (She calls “AMC” legend Susan Lucci “one of the most amazing, talented actresses.”)

“Honestly, you just get used to it,” said Miss Miller.

Mr. Bergen said that while people do approach him on the street to discuss real-life politics, more often they wish to inquire after aspects of the show’s characters.

“I hear the classic line: ‘Boy, I wish you guys were in the White House’ a lot,” he said.

Mr. Bergen was in fact invited to the Executive Mansion during the show’s first season. He dined with former President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Mr. Abe, it turned out, not only recognized Mr. Bergen but informed him that “Jersey Boys” was his favorite film.

“So I was there as a ‘Jersey boy,’ but then I was also starting to get known for this fictional government show,” Mr. Bergen said, adding that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also approached him at the event to discuss the show, which he describes as a “meta moment.”

On the set of “Jersey Boys,” Mr. Bergen said he experienced another such surreal incident sitting next to director Clint Eastwood on the first day of filming in Burbank, California. Mr. Bergen pondered if perhaps “Jersey Boys” would be the octogenarian’s final film, but while entertaining the thought, he received an alert on his phone announcing Mr. Eastwood’s next project, “American Sniper.”

“He’s very inspirational to me,” Mr. Bergen said of Mr. Eastwood, who, at 86, continues to make films.

“It’s the same thing with Frankie” Valli, the Four Seasons frontman who still tours the country night after night singing “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and other classics, Mr. Bergen said. “If you love what you do and it’s what you know how to do best, there’s no reason to stop.”

Incumbency

The cast and crew of “Madam Secretary” are mum on the details of Sunday’s season finale, but all involved are proud of the season 3 arc, including the May 7 episode, “Seventh Floor,” which Mr. Bergen describes as “our strongest yet.”

“I think we’re really about to start hitting our best stuff” in season 4, he said. “I’m very proud of the work we’ve done.”

Miss Miller said her character Daisy’s pregnancy will play a major part in future storylines.

“We’re going to keep giving you a fantastic show,” she said.

Ms. Hall, the show’s creator, echoed the sentiments, saying the showrunners’ goal remains to continue to expand the universe of “Madam Secretary” moving forward.

“We want to [give] everybody a better understanding of our characters,” she said as the crew called for Miss Leoni and his entourage to do another jogging take by the Reflecting Pool.

The season finale of “Madam Secretary” airs Sunday at 9 p.m. EST on CBS.

- Washington Times

[brokehorrorfan]

Interview: Sarah Habel (Riverdale, Atomica)

Sarah Habel sat down to talk about Atomica, which hits select theaters on March 17 and VOD on March 21 via Syfy Films. She stars in the sci-fi thriller alongside Dominic Monaghan and Tom Sizemore. We also discuss her recent turn as Miss Grundy on The CW's Riverdale, along with her past work on Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn, The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations, Hostel: Part III, and more.

Can you begin by telling us about Atomica and how you got involved?

Atomica is a sci-fi thriller about a girl who's brand new to her role of nuclear site test investigator and gets into a situation where she's in way over her head. Dominic [Monaghan], Tom [Sizemore], and I are all represented by the same agent, so we got involved together to collaborate on this one. It's just the three of us in it, so we really get to explore our characters closely together.

What was it like working with Dominic and Tom so closely?

It was wonderful. They both come with such a rich background of working in the industry, so I learned a lot from them. I feel like the actor Sarah up against the actors Dom and Tom was the perfect set-up, because of the way my character was against all odds, climbing this huge mountain to find the truth. They presented huge obstacles, and it was such a challenge and really made the movie for me.

What kind of things did you learn from them?

Dom has this amazing looseness and just kind of goes for it. He has no boundaries. It's all on the table. And Tom is the same way. Every take has its own feel, which I always try to do, but to see them do it was really inspiring.

The film set in near future with a lot futuristic technologies. What was it like to play in that world?

It was hard! [My character] is so smart, and to try and jump into that world without that experience was a challenge. Also the way she is such a professional and so together; she remains unaffected for the most part. She struggles to remain unaffected by the characters she interacts with. That was really hard, because Tom and Dom are affecting. It was a huge challenge, one of the biggest that I've ever had as an actor.

Did it feel daunting when you first read the script to find not only are you the lead character but you have a lot of technical jargon in your dialogue?

A lot of the words, it was like, "What does that mean?" It was a lot for me. I was daunted. I think that's a perfect feeling to have in the face of this role, because the character is daunted. The future of the world is in her hands, so I think it added to it.

I'd like to talk about Riverdale for a minute. The show has such a unique look and tone. What was that experience like?

For me personally, it was a dream come true. It's such a great cast and amazing directors and a world that is really different. Something great about being in the supporting cast is that you get to do the crazy, scandalous things. For me, as an actress of my age rage, to get to be an authority figure was a stretch and a new challenge. I mean, she took her authority when she wanted to. [laughs] I was super lucky to get to work on that show, and I'm really glad there's been such a strong response to the show and to my character. I hope they'll keep going forward with it.

How did you approach your role of Miss Grundy versus your part in Atomica?

There are some similarities, because both characters are very contained - which is not my natural state. I think the physical work of remaining contained and still is similar. But with Miss Grundy, she's a Juilliard-trained cellist, which I most certainly am not. [laughs] I took a few cello lessons for that one, which was a huge challenge in and of itself. So much of the work comes from the collaborative aspect of it. Each role is just a product of the world where the characters interact with each other. It's unique in every job.

You had two earlier roles in the horror genre, with The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations and Hostel: Part III. Coupled with Riverdale, what's it like appearing in projects that have built-in fan bases and success?

It definitely helps to be able to tap into a group of people that are excited. It feels good to do work that people want to see. It's also intimidating. With Miss Grundy, I was like, "How are those Archie Comics fans going to feel to see their spindly, old white-haired lady as me?" But at the same time, I completely appreciate anybody that is avid and wants to experience anything that I work on. It's also so far removed. It's weird; it's not like live theater. You don't get to have that immediate feedback from the audience in real time. It's always enlightening to see how people react when the thing actually comes out.

You voiced Judy in Night of the Living Dead: Darkest Dawn. Tell us about that experience.

It was so cool! I had this headset on with cameras all around, and I was watching what was happening and reacting to that while voicing the character. At the time, I hadn't met any of the other actors. It was a completely different experience. I would love to do more work that. It was all contained. It was like an exercise.

Do you have a preference between film, television, and theater?

No. [laughs] I'm an actor. When we get to work and experience any set or any stage, it's a complete blessing. Anyone who gets a job is like the luckiest person ever, because everyone that wants to do it really wants to do it. I love the immersive aspect of film, that you get really dig in. With TV, I love the long arc of the characters that can keep going. And with theater, there's that electric feeling of doing a show and sharing that experience with the audience. It's like nothing else. So I love it all. I don't have a preference.

To wrap up, if someone comes across Atomica on VOD, why would you suggest that they check it out?

From my character's point of view, she's so driven by the truth and by looking for the good in people. I think that's such a strong message. If any of that gets across to anybody that's watching, then party on! But I think it's great way to think about life. Also, it's super creepy and fun!

[creativeashproductions]

Magician Behind the Music // Owen Joyner

sagSummary: Being in a studio recording songs is an intimidating experience for anyone regardless of age. Wanting the best in the business for his soundtrack Kenny Ortega brings his cast to the best in the business. Heading the production is no ever than Y/N with a certain sparkle when it comes to the tall blonde.

Warning: Swearing, insecurity, oblivious!reader and fluff

Words: 2.1k

A/N: I know nothing about producing songs so I ended up winging it. About time I make a fic for Owen

TO BE TAGGED SEND AN INBOX PLEASE!

Masterlist

The studio had the sound of music as a group of people walk down the hall of the building that housed world-renowned recording studio. The office chair was leaning back as a figure sat listening to the nearly finished album. Forest green Sanuk slip-on shoes on the feet of the individual the door opening wasn’t heard.

“Girls you wanna hear the finished product?” You questioned from your seat behind the large control panel. The four girls on the video chat excited responded enthusiastic band members.

Not needing anymore push the song replaced the one that had been playing as background noise. Sliding the volume up the music, you had both produced and featured played through the speakers. As the pre-chorus and the chorus came, you couldn’t help but start singing.

 I find peace in every story you told

 I think of you, I’ll never be alone

 It’s true, true, true

 You know I do, do, do

 Oh, I need you more than words can say

 Oh, you save me in ways that I can’t explain

 Always been there for me, now I’ll do the same

 Oh, I need you more than words can say

All five that poured themselves on the song couldn’t help but bop along with the catchy words and beat. By far, one of your most favourite songs you ever co-wrote, feature and produce. You and little Mix had been desiring to co-work on something for years now.

“That pre-chorus and chorus are the favourites of my career!” You excitedly announced glancing up the glass separating the booth from the control room. Your face found a handful of young adults and Kenny in the reflection.

“It’s gonna be a bop to sing!” Perrie agreed with her hair in messy space buns sitting at her computer desk in comfy clothes.

Jesy, Leigh-Anne and Jade wore similar loungewear in the safety of their homes after travelling out of LA back to England. An entire week spent solely on writing music and recording with a few sleepover nostalgic of the teen years.

“I gotta go. My next clients are here.” You told the excited British girl group before your cursor ended the video chat.

Pushing off with your toe on the floor, you faced the group seated taking in the awed expressions from the song. Part of you is annoyed at the blatant disregard of professionalism and the potential of the song being leaked.

“Charlie, Owen, Jeremy, and Madison this is my friend Y/N. She’s a musician, songwriter and a producer.” Kenny spoke, waving towards your seat position at the forefront of the control panel.

Your eyes gleamed brighter with the teal blue cable knit sweater paired with a pair of fitted blue jeans. The pros of being a producer in a recording studio meant the work attire was relaxed compared to desk jobs. It appeared this group was similar.

“Hello.” You spoke standing up to be closer to the group, “I believe you have a soundtrack needed? I’m Y/N Y/L/N. I’d like to ask that the song you overheard not be spoken about again.”

“I’m Charlie.” The brunette with a white hat put on backwards immediately shook your hand. Even with the hat, you could tell his hair was a gorgeous brown that contrasted his pretty eyes hazel green eyes.

“Hi Charlie.” You smiled at the male before stepping around him to the other three people in the room. The only other girl in the room was most definitely the lead of whatever show Kenny was currently doing.

“You’re Madison.” You spoke, taking in her youthful appearance and the quiet wisdom flowing within her eyes, the colour of dark coffee grounds. Her hair was down in her natural texture, resting on the shoulders of her muted olive green shirt.

“Jeremy.” Came from the shorter boy with startling rich dark brown almost black hair and eyes you couldn’t discern between blue or green. His cheeks a permanent pink flush but an infectious grin, “How are you?”

“My collaborators for a song liked it, and I’m not going to explain what you’ll be doing in the booth.” You replied gesturing to the enclosed space with the microphone and a stand of instruments.

Brushing off any other details you finally came to the only nameless individual in the room with the only blonde head of hair.

“Owen.” The blonde spoke softly with his eyes nearly begging to leave your expression with the anxiety building. This was so new for Owen, and unlike anything, he had ever experienced before in his life.

“Take a seat.” You motioned towards the long couch against the wall opposite the recording booth. It was a plus that extended couch perfect for a short nap after a near all-nighter. Your studio was the only one with such a good sofa.

“I’ve worked with Kenny on his Descendants series with the cast along with strictly only musicians. I say this with respect with Kenny, but if you don’t respect me or my process, I won’t hesitate to end this. It’s in the contract.” You sternly told the young individuals, “That being said. Your voice is an instrument that needs to be cared for. You need to be careful with it.”

The vocal coach dove into a more detailed list of the items not to be ingested by actors. The same thing happened with every new client you met after the horror film of a massacre a few years previous. As they went over, you looked over the schedule.

The binder was thick with the different songs in the series with jot notes in the margins. Kenny sat in the other chair, looking at them.

“So, Jeremy is the only one with experience?” You questioned glancing up at your elder with a look of curiosity. Kenny nodded with a fond smile, “Okay so let’s get his vocals for the first song recorded. That way, the others have a first-hand look at how it happens.”

Jeremy was quick to rid himself of his jacket to slide into the booth with the headphones resting on only one ear. In two hours, you had guided Madison and Charlie through their parts of this session. Your mouth opened to invite Owen into the booth but his demeanour concerned you.

“Kenny, how about we take a break for lunch?” You subtly guided Kenny to look at Owen before he quickly agreed.

Charlie was practically skipping out of the recording studio with his hands nudging Jeremy on his way out. Madison, led by her father, left right after leaving Owen to just about exit the room.

“Hey Owen?” You spoke, bringing the tensed young man’s attention, “Can you give me a moment?”

His head of thick blonde hair hesitantly nodded as Kenny followed the other cast members out of the room. Gently nudging the door closed you guided him to sit on the couch with you stationed in the office chair.

“First time recording is a bitch of pressure. I completely understand because I’ve guided people and been guided in the booth.” You began leaning forward to meet his eyes, “I know as someone with anxiety it’s intimidating. Let me know. Whatever you tell me will stay between us.”

Owen was quiet, “I’ve done other projects. I’ve never had the opportunity to have a role as a drummer. I guess this is overwhelming.”

“How about you hop into the room, and we mess around with a song?” You questioned, “I can show you how I produce if you’d like.”

“I’d like that.” Owen’s lips curved just a fraction into a ghost of a smile with the tension in his shoulders melting.

For the next two hours, you spent time in the booth explaining the equipment’s role in the recording. After he gave a short lyric, you invited him to sit by the soundboard with you to walk him through it. All the while, you shared the pizza you had ordered for both of you.

 “I started in the business as background vocals for a few bands before I delved into my own career as a musician. I believe I was about seventeen when I got to be part of people getting the songs ready for fans. I fell in love and find it more fun behind the soundboard.” You informed the blonde listening to a recent song you had finished.

“This is insanely cool. I think I’m ready to record my parts.” Owen admitted playing with his fingers. In response, you typed out a quick message to Kenny, bringing the other people back after a long break.

As much as you would have loved creating the soundtrack, it wasn’t possible with your other commitments. Leaving the work in Alana’s capable hands, you had been packing for your visit to the UK for performing the song with Little Mix. Owen, having the day off, had found himself in your apartment as he had for the last few weeks.

“Do you really have to go?” Owen whined, staring at with his head tilted back on the couch. Lips pursed in a pout and blue eyes shining sadly.

“As much as I would adore falling for that look, we both know I have to.” You admitted dropping packing to snuggle into his side, “What’s up with you lately?”

“What do you mean?” He questioned, rolling his head on the back of the couch you look at you. From the position, he couldn’t see your face, but that didn’t stop him from staring.

“It’s hard to describe, but you get flustered when certain songs come on. You’ve been ditching the cast to spend time with me.” You listed off, staring off into the distance, “You got Charlie to drive in the opposite direction of your work to pick me up.”

“What kind of songs?” Owen inquired with one arched eyebrow high. You shifted to stare up at the soft look in his pretty blue eyes.

“It was some duet from that tv series about the High School Musical films…” Your sentence trailed off as everything clicked, “You have feelings for me.”

“Thought it was blatantly obvious. I danced with you in the rain at midnight while I sang to you. I think that’s the most obvious action.” Owen chuckled brushing a strand of hair behind your ear as he took in the startled expression

Owen had walked you home after a late recording session with the cast talking each other’s ear off with different subjects. His hand had slid into yours as he tugged you into the ice cream shop on the way; a scoop each. His eyes glued to every move you made with passion behind every single word.

“-they came to me about a song. It’s a surprise for Kenny, I suppose.” Your one holding the ice cream cone nearly went flying with the motion you made. Your other clasped in Owen’s without even realizing it.

“So, it’s the last song you’ll be helping us on, right?” Owen asked halting to toss the napkin from his cone in the closest bin. You followed suit while intertwining your fingers back together.

“The girls want to do a short little radio tour to promote the single. It would be a month most likely to brainstorm new ideas for songs. We’ve all agreed to collaborate in the future.” You informed the nineteen-year-old. He was a year and a half younger than you.

“When-”

Your sudden squeal cut him off as the sky opened up to a sudden pouring of rain on the two of you. Had you not been so focused on the conversation you would have seen the cloudy sky and the light drizzle of rain.

“Whoa!” Owen laughed, tugging you into his arms in a complete act of spontaneity. His voice softly singing one of your favourite songs.

As he twirled you around in the rain, he serenaded you with Edwin McCain’s song ‘I’ll Be’ unapologetically sharing a piece of himself. It seemed the universe took pity on the male by allowing him to dance smoothly with his friend.

“This is my favourite song.” You giggled as he dipped you with one of your legs in the air. The joy in your features melting the actor’s heart.

“You’ve been playing it every day for the last week.” Owen beamed, leaning his forehead on yours as he trailed off the end of the song, “I’ve memorized every lyric in it.”

With rainwater dripping down your nose the words settled in your mind cementing something you had been only slightly aware of. Playing that song often meant one thing: you had deep feelings for someone.

The someone being Owen Joyner.

“I’m kind of stupid.” You snorted turning to wrap your arms around his neck, “I’ve got no doubts I fell in love with you in that dance.”

Owen’s grin preceded a toe-curling kiss that was the first of many that would happen.

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[dragonscanbeplantstoo]

Oil & Sky: echoes from the trash

Engarde

Corin folds his legs up and props his chin on his hand, his own stretching forgotten as he watches Zorion raise his left leg vertically over his head, opposite hand just touching the barre for balance. He is wearing gray knit running shoes, and the soles make a protesting squeak as he rises up on his toe. The moments he hovers are tense and improbable, like a brown leaf on a green tree, or a cello string in that fine place between tuned and snapped. Zori folds his leg in and returns to his heels in a single controlled motion. Corin is impressed, as always. Less so than he might usually be, if he weren’t so distracted.

“Zori, why hasn’t she called?” He whines.

Zori gets down on the floor and reaches for his feet. “We’re stretching, Corr.”

Corin sighs and reaches for his own feet, catching the toes of his trainers. Zori is folded entirely in half, his Michelangelo face resting against one of his double-jointed knees. Corin stares. He is plenty trim and athletic from running, swimming, and genetics, but Zori is sinuous into the most elusive corners of the body; edges of hips and between rib-bones. He is wearing a Metallica hoodie over his tights, and even through the sleeves Corin can see the deep curve of his deltoid and bicep. That sweater is the same deep matte black as the tiny hairs that wisp around Maeva’s temple and ears. Zori rolls one eye Corin’s way.

“Are you worrying about the painter or being a bi-saster again?”

“Uh…” Corin blinks, “both.”

“It’s only been like two days. She’s probably busy figuring out how to paint left-handed.” Zori sweeps his legs out into a split, and it’s a little too beautiful for the eye to take in.

Corin looks away. “I would have called me.”

“I don’t get the impression that you two are particularly alike.”

“That’s like asking if you and I are alike.”

“Well there you have it. I would be more worried about my own finals than your pretty face.”

“Then you need to hand in your bi-saster card.”

“Fair point. Maybe she doesn’t think you’re that pretty.”

“You think so?” Corin shrugs. “I suppose anything is possible.”

They both turn to look as the classroom door swings open and their professor appears, a delicate stage foil propped on her shoulder, first-years pushing a rack of similar weapons behind her. The students begin rising up off the floor and migrating to the barre on that side of the room. Zori discards his hoodie by their bags, and Corin reluctantly folds his scarf on top. They pad over to the rest of the group. Choreographed combat classes are a requirement for anyone who’s major involves a stage, so the group is an even mix of third-year dancers, singers, and actors. The former easily picked out by their tights and swan’s-neck posture, the latter two blending more easily together. Corin and Zori stand out as second-years because their eyes are slightly less tired and they look slightly less on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Already this class has seen the effects of the purge—in Corin’s absence they were reduced from a nice round twenty-two to an awkward thirteen. Their faces remind him that he hasn’t been to see his academic advisor since his return. Their faces make him want to continue avoiding it at all costs.  

“Alright, my little ones.” Professor Rajanna pats the sword rack with one of her hide gloves. “Today is the day.”

Corin murmurs to Zori, “today is the day you humiliate me.”

“Only because I have to.” Zori elbows him.

“…I want to see nice clean footwork, be aware of where you put your weapon today, not just thrusting out into the heavens and hoping you don’t kill someone…”

Corin counts through the beats in his head. One, two, three, four. Parry, step, strike, turn. Five, six, even, eight. Strike, miss, stumble, block. He pauses in his next count—he can’t remember the order of strikes.

“Does anyone have any lingering questions about the choreography?” Professor Rajanna asks.

“I do,” Corin says, “for the losing side, the strike combination in the middle has two thrusts, right?”

“Yes, and that reminds me,” She holds her foil out. “When you make that second thrust, I want you to disengage your thumb beforehand, so that when your partner wraps your blade, you’ll be ready to release it. No broken fingers today, little ones. Off you go.”

Zori brings Corin a foil, and they rush to catch a spot near the mirrors. Professor Rajanna is already floating through the room, yelling at people to stay far enough apart. Zori holds his foil up in front of his face and bounces airily from foot to foot.

“You ready?” He asks.

Corin gets into the starting stance. “As I’ll ever be.”

This class always seems to be the last on his list of priorities. This week he’d literally thrown a dorm party rather than practice enough times to get an instinctive grasp of the steps. Zori makes the first lunge, liquid grace, a silvery flash, and Corin is a half-beat behind him. He can hear it in the movement of their swords. The swish of Zori’s foil always ends a second before the satisfying clang of blades meeting. Five, six, seven. Corin trips over his own feet and snatches the sword up to catch Zori’s downward strike.

“Oh, there’s life in him after all.” Zori teases, bearing down.

Corin’s sword makes a long screech as he turns out of the block and starts backing Zori up with strikes and thrusts. One, two, three, four. Zori makes the most graceful ankle-roll in existence, his off hand flitted out to the side. Corin braces himself for the turn of the fight—Zori leaping the distance between them, slashing Corin back onto his heels. Whenever Zori does a thrust he pops up onto one foot, making it into a cute little arabesque. When his sword launches from his hand, Corin tumbles appropriately into the hardwood, his knuckles cast across his cheek.

“Don’t hurt me, Zori!” He cries, “who ever would sing you to sleep?”

Through his hand he can see Zori pausing, see the next pair over giving them a quizzical look. Corin can’t hold back the laugh. In his moment of hesitation, Zori’s eyes narrow, and he makes a snarling smile.

“There’s always Tristan.” And he punches the sword into the floor by Corin’s bicep.

“Tristan?” Corin looks between the sword and his friend. “That’s cold, Zori.”

“Eh, he was the only other tenor I could think of.” Zori reaches to help him up.

Corin stretches his hand up without thinking, and Zori’s fingers brush the inside of his wrist, dig into the scars through the fabric of his shirt. Something crawls up Corin’s arm, spreads through his chest and his shoulders. He pulls out of Zori’s grip and rubs his arm.

“Corr, I’m so sorry.” Zori’s voice is thick and dusky “Do they still hurt?”

“No, no, it’s okay.” Corin takes his hand back. “They just feel weird. Don’t worry about it, okay?” He smiles.

Zori smiles half-mast. “Okay.”

Corin squeezes his hand. “Come on, let’s do it again. I’m still not as fast as you.”

They start again. Their timing is better and the counts come faster, but Corin is never going to be as quick as Zori. His physicality is incredible, the speed at which he can coordiZori his limbs from one pose to another. The seamless, mindless way he puts flourish into his important motions. The professor stops to watch them, and he turns it up even further. Corin has to physically pause mid-strike to process the elegance of Zori’s parrying pose. He looks like he’s about to break into a Flamenco. Corin sees Professor Rajanna raise an eyebrow and hurries to shake off the gay, pushing his sword carefully into the next position.

“Pause for a second, Corin.” Professor Rajanna says.

Corin lowers his foil. “I’m sorry, I got distracted.”  

He eyes Zori. Zori sticks his tongue out.

Professor Rajanna laughs, “oh, dear, I don’t mean that. You know your steps very well, and you two have a good flow going, but your energy is very contained, close to your body. There’s no sense of forward motion.”

“I didn’t notice that.” Zori says.

“It’s hard to notice someone’s energy when they’re pointing a sword at your face. Here, Zori, the first strike combination. And, go.”

Professor Rajanna performs the series of slashes and thrusts that back Zori up with bone-deep precision. She isn’t a dancer, her background is in Shakespearian theatre, so she doesn���t have the same sparkle to her motions as he does. But she has violence. Stark and anxious, all in the snap of her elbow and the forward tilt of her body.

She lowers her sword, and like that, the violence is gone. She turns to Corin. “Do you see the advance? Yes? Good. Go, go, crawl on top of him.”

Corin looks at Zori. Zori looks back. In that glance, they make a mutual decision not to comment or laugh. Later, Zori’s honeybee-brown eyes say. Later, Corin’s sky-blue eyes agree.

Corin tries the advance again, trying to push his energy forward, add snap to his strikes like Professor Rajanna had. When they stop to look at her, both he and Zori are breathless.

“Hmmm.” Professor Rajanna turns her long braid over her shoulder. “Better, but I still feel you’re cold, Corin. Your attitude is very removed, and I can’t think of a single tenor role where the character is removed from his opponent, can you?”

Corin laughs. “No, they’re usually angry to the point of madness.”

“Then you must communicate that. You must channel the anger through both your voice and your motions.” She looks between him and Zori. “You two are quite good friends, right?”

“Best friends.” Zori says.  

“Best friends.” Corin nods.

“Oh, well, best friends like lovers, fight a lot. When did you last fight?”

Corin frowns. Zori frowns back at him. The last fight Corin remembers having with a friend was Alex, and even then, he was so high that he doesn’t remember feeling angry, just that Alex was yelling at him about drugs. But he and Zori have never fought. He and Quentin have never fought. Corin has never seen the point in fighting with his friends when he could just ask them to do things, and do as they ask. Zori as well, doesn’t ask for very much.

“I don’t think we ever have.” Corin says.

“I can’t think of anything either.” Zori says. “I mean, Alex and I fight all the time, but you never give me a reason to fight with you.”

Corin wonders why Alex had thought drugs a good reason for fighting, while Zori hadn’t.

Professor Rajanna sighs. “You’re a sweet thing, Corin. Anger is going to be hard for you.”

“I don’t know, I’m good at acting angry when I sing, aren’t I?” Corin checks with Zori.

“Yeah, of course you are. When you were practicing that one song last year you were giving me nightmares.”

“Perfect!” Professor Rajanna claps her gloves together. “Sing me something furious, then attack Zori with that same energy!”

“Mhmmm, I’m going to die.” Zori says. “Cool. I didn’t want to go to my repertoire class anyway.”

Corin wracks his brain for something quick to rattle off, but all he can think of is the recitative that Don Giovanni sings right before the opening sword fight. It’s not within his voice type, but whatever. He knows the words, the notes, and the story behind them. He holds up his sword and glares at Zori.

“Attendi, se vuoi morir…”

Zori’s eyes widen, and Corin strikes at that moment. Don Giovanni is angry that a woman has turned him down. That never happens to him. The very idea is absurd. And now Zori (or Il Commendatore, in the opera) is preventing his escape from humiliation. He blocks the strike that turns the fight, putting more pressure on Zori’s arm than strictly necessary. Their swords make a low grinding noise, and Professor Rajanna claps her gloves together.

“Perfect. You feel that, don’t you? The tension that wasn’t there before?” She knocks her fists together in demonstration.

Corin nods, “absolutely.”

“Definitely feel it.” Zori says.

“Keep that feeling even as he overtakes you, Corin. Resist the steps and let Zori push you.”

“Will do.”

It’s definitely more difficult to keep his character in mind as he purposely reels back, but he does as the professor said and lets Zori push on him, humming the music to the opera under his breath. He falls, Zori stabs at him, so dies Don Giovanni. If it had gone this way in the opera, the rest of the story would have been extremely boring. Above him, Zori laughs from his stomach.

“Ah! già cade il sciagurato! Affannosa e agonizzante—”  

“No, no!” Corin claps his hands over his ears. “Stop that, Jesus Christ!”

Zori may have the right Fach type for Don Giovanni—baritone, the most common male voice—but he sings loud and thin and horribly off-key. Corin growls and kicks at him. His ears are going to be shot for the rest of the day after hearing that garbage.

Zori is clutching his stomach from laughing so hard when Corin finally gets to his feet.

“I can’t believe you just did that.” Corin says. “Now if Maeva calls me I won’t be able to hear her.”

“Oh it was not that bad.”

One of the third-year baritones calls from across the room. “It was pretty bad, Zori. Corin, though, you made it work. I’ve never heard a tenor try that.”

“Thanks.” Corin smiles. “I’m sure if I had to project it though the tone would be shit.”

Zori gives Corin a low look, but Corin just shrugs. Most baritone songs are well-enough within his range that he probably could project them through an auditorium and be fine, good even, but that isn’t how opera works. A singer’s type is their type for a reason. Trying to sing outside of it is asking the fates for vocal trouble. Corin has had enough vocal trouble. He looks at Zori.

“One more time for good measure?”  

Zori holds up his sword, “Oh, for good measure.”  

They do the first couple of strikes, and it’s easier to keep their rhythm this time. Corin laughs to himself.

“Remind me never to ask you to do backup vocals for the band.” He says over the clang of their swords.

Zori laughs. “Speaking of, where are we at with the band?”

“I’m not sure what you mean?” Corin lunges, “Our practices have been fine, don’t you think?”

“No I mean, what’s happening after you graduate?” Zori slips away from the thrust. “Is it over? Are you going to La Scala?”

“I’m not in La Scala yet.” Corin dashes Zori’s sword away a little harder than necessary.

“Ok, that’s a premature question, sorry.” Zori says. “I guess I just want a sense of what you’re leaning towards. I know Quentin is married to the band. He’s ready to throw his degree out the window.”

“Yeah, I know.” Corin murmurs, thinking of Quentin’s enthusiasm in their last rehearsal. “I just haven’t been able to think about it much right now.”

“Okay, well if you want to talk it through, I’m around.”

“Sure.” Corin makes his fall.

The truth of it is, he’s still avoiding thinking about his world after graduation. He wants La Scala, he’s wanted it for fifteen years, and this year is no exception. But when he cradles his microphone, he feels a love like he’s never felt before, tunneling from his chest all the way down to his gut, warm in his cheeks and the tips of his fingers. If he starts to think about it, he gets a flutter in his breath and a powerful desire for oblivion.  

Professor Rajanna claps her hands to end the class, and Corin takes their foils back to the rack. Zori offers him his scarf when he returns. Corin loops it twice around his throat, cuddling it under his chin for a moment. It’s a soft, safe moment. He sweeps up his bag and fishes his phone out. No missed calls. No Maeva.

“She’s just busy, Corr.” Zori says.

“You mean she doesn’t like me.” He sighs. “I probably said too much and freaked her out that night.”

“Mmm, it’s possible.” Zori says. “You can be kind of intense sometimes. Unless, of course, someone compliments your singing.”

Corin rolls his eyes. “Don’t start with that.”

“I’m just saying, there’s no need to be so modest when you can obviously sing both tenor and baritone characters. Hell, you could probably sing the…whatever is above a tenor.”

“Countertenor.” Corin says. “And yes, maybe, but I’m not going to go around advertising either. It’s egotistical and unprofessional, and singing is not the same as performing.”

“It’s not like it’s never been done. Placido Domingo sang baritone roles.”

“You’re not really about to compare me to Placido Domingo, are you?”

“I don’t know.” Zori shrugs. “Your voice kind of reminds me—”

“He didn’t have a high C.”

“Oh, well excuse me.” Zori laughs. “I’m just saying, you should own your range, don’t hide from it.”

“I’m not hiding from it, I’m staying in my lane.” Corin says. “If I want to use my lower range, I have a microphone. I’m perfectly happy making out with a microphone all day.”

Zori looks at the ceiling and makes an exasperated noise. “See, this is what I’m talking about. Ever since you came back you’ve been set on La Scala, but then you drop lines like that and it sounds like you’re planning to give up on opera altogether. I don’t know what to think.”

“Hey, hey.” Corin stops walking. “I didn’t mean it like that, I was being funny.”

“Of course you were, I just—I’m sorry.”

“Hey, no, talk to me.” Corin takes Zori’s hands and pulls him to a bench on the walkway.  

Zori sits down, his face turned toward their hands. “I know you’re going through a lot, but I wish you would take some time to think about this and at least get an idea, so I understand my options. I mean, should I start applying for companies? Or not bother because we’ll be touring or something next year?”

“Well, you should do whichever one you want, you know we’re behind you either way.”

“No, no, no.” Zori shakes his head. “If I just make up my own mind, and then it’s different than what you all do, I’d be abandoning you. I can’t do that.”

“You can, and you should.” Corin dips his head so he can see into Zori’s face. “You’ve put more work into dancing than you’ll ever put into being a guitarist. To change the path of your life for that is a huge decision,”

Zori glares. “We can all say that, Corr.”

“We’re not talking about all of us, we’re talking about you. Doing what you want for yourself is not abandoning us. If you keep saying that, I’m going to take you to therapy with me.”

“Okay.” Zori murmurs.

He has that twist in his voice that tells Corin he agrees, but doesn’t really believe what he’s saying. Corin sighs and props his forehead against his friend’s.  

“Do what feels right, and don’t worry about me.” He lifts his head and smiles. “I have Italian, but I’ll try to think about it more. See you tonight?”

“Nine P.M.”

Corin squeezes Zori’s hands one more time before he leaves. As he slips through the crowd toward the Ack building, he has to swallow down a ball of tension. He slips his fingers along the edge of his phone, lifts it up. Still no missed calls. Still no Maeva. His chest twists up with an emotion he can’t identify. Whatever it is, it drowns out anything about Zori, the band, or La Scala.