#julianne do you still follow me?

[sc0tters]

One Night | Gabe Perrault

summary: when things get said during spring break, you realise gabe doesn’t hate you all as much as he makes it seem.

trope: one bed

warnings: mentions of underage drinking.

word count: 2.27k

authors note: can we truly believe that this is the first time I’ve used this trope? Like seriously it’s shocking, I'm on the fence on if I liked this or not but still here is our second update of the week and another to add to the BC boys and the 500 follower celly (that I hope to finish soon...)! But beyond that we all love a bit of a rom-com-inspired prompt, don't ask me which one but I know I've seen this on tv before.

You thought that you were the unluckiest woman in the world.

Gabe was for lack of a better phrase your perfect type of guy. Every quality you wanted he had, but the one that he lacked that was by far the most important was the one he needed; Gabe hated you. It shocked everyone, you were nice and this cheerful ball of a joy on the media team. Every interaction you two had was engraved in your brain and none of them had you him being nice to you.

It was stupid how you felt the need to hide your feelings by masking things up with hatred and backhanded comments. Because as much as you didn’t want to admit that you were enamored by him. Each time a guy would make a move on you, they were always turned down because you only wanted him.

But those wants only became stronger as you both ended up in the same group that headed down to Florida for spring break “what the fuck!” You both groaned jumping out of your seats as you learnt that you’d be sharing a room together “we’re sorry but you’re the only two who are single.” Ryan shrugged as each of the boys wrapped their arms around their girlfriends.

Gabe scrunched his face in disgust “I’ll sleep on the couch.” He announced after remembering that it was a double bed in the blue room that you two were in “don’t act like you’re doing me a favor here.” You scoffed as you shook your head “I’ll sleep out here.” You added as you raked your fingers through your hair.

As you both glared at each other Julianne couldn’t help but clap her hands together “surely you guys could just put your shit aside for one day?” She groaned as she pinched the bridge of her nose “I have nothing against him!” You rolled your eyes as you pushed past the boy “you sure about that?” Gabe’s question was only met with him being hit with a pillow.

The first night was the most awkward as you were in the middle of your nighttime routine when Gabe walked into the bathroom “I’ll take the floor.” His voice was soft as you rubbed cream into your neck “no.” You sighed as you shook your head.

He clutched his pillow as he furrowed his eyebrows “I’m not letting you take the floor-” Gabe’s words were quickly shut down as you glared at him “I was going to offer half of the bed.” You corrected him as you crossed your arms letting out an unamused scoff.

It made him roll his eyes “shouldn’t even be surprised.” The hockey player threw his pillow back onto the bed “you stay on your side and I’ll stay on mine.” He snapped as blankets were thrown between you both to create what only be the Great Wall of blankets “don’t have to tell me twice.” You grumbled as you hit your pillow trying to fluff it up.

The air was tense as you both climbed into bed refusing to acknowledge the other person as you each faced the wall “you don’t snore right?” Gabe as a kick hit his calf “ow!” He groaned as you had broken the wall between you both like it was nothing “the only thing you have to worry about is me trying to not kill you!” You grumbled as you rolled your eyes nuzzling your head into your pillow as you sighed.

As you stared up at the wall you couldn’t help but hate the fact that deep down you still knew you had some kind of feelings for him.

Ryan and Will couldn’t help but sneak into the room as the sun hung below the clouds and by ten a.m there wasn’t a peep that came from the room at the end of the hall. Their curiosities got the best of them as the boys had all made their bets for what had happened with most believing that one of you were dead “oh damn.” Cutter grumbled as he was met with the site of Gabe’s arm wrapped around your waist as you were both asleep on his side of the bed.

But Jacob was quick to hit his head “we’re home!” The girls called out as they had been shopping “lets go.” The goalie grumbled as he motioned how you began to stir. The sun hit the floor as your eyes blink almost having you jump in surprise as the door slammed shut “Jesus!” You yelled being faced with the sight of a sleeping Gabe.

It didn’t last long though as he groaned “could you not?” He pleaded snuggling back into your side “Gabe get off me!” You complained as you attempted to pull him off of you.

Gabe’s eyes shot open as he realised that it was you who he was with “why the hell are you on my side?” He scoffed sending you a glare “why is your arm wrapped around me!” You shot back as you pushed your hand against his chest as you motioned to your waist.

The way his hand left your waist would have made you laugh usually but instead you found yourself rolling your eyes as you got up “I need a shower.” You announced grabbing your towel from the rack beside your bed “why do you get to go first?” He scoffed making you tense up.

There was a moment that you both stared at each other as you glared at him before you both ran to the bathroom with you only getting there first because he had to climb off of the bed. A smirk formed on your lips as you stood to face him at the door “sorry slowpoke.” You waved your fingers at him at your dropped your towel on the door letting the door slam shut in his face.

As much as you wanted to piss him off, your shower was quick. But you should have seriously contemplated spending just a few more minutes in there. You were in the middle of styling your hair when Gabe finally walked out with his towel loosely wrapped around his waist as water dripped down his front “you like what you see?”He smirked as your cheeks went red and your mouth fell open.

Your mouth watered at the pure sight of him as the thoughts left your brain “cat got your tongue too now?” Gabe laughed as your eyes went wide “shut up.” You grumbled as you shook your head.

You got up to leave but the boy had made his way over to you “c’mon you ready to admit that I’m hot?” His hand cupped your jaw as his thumb rubbed a soothing line against your skin “I’ll say it.” You gasped as your heart thumped out of your chest as he nodded “when I’m fucking dead.” You spat as your hand raised to slap his away.

As you shut the door with the slam the group downstairs realised that they weren’t going to be able to tease you both about whatever happened in that room. Beyond not so subtle snickers from them say two came to an end with you and Gabe avoiding each other until you went to bed.

Day three was surprising for Gabe as he woke up to an empty bed, you had gone for a run on the beach and did everything within your power to avoid him. All the way until the night was about to come to an end as Cutter and Will opted to do a campfire on the beach to end the night off.

The sound of crackling wood echoed through everyone’s ears as you and Gabe had been sent to get everyone drinks “could you believe that y/n had a crush on Gabe?” You and Gabe both seemed to freeze as you heard the words “had? She still does!” Another girl laugh as you made the mental note to kill your friends “y/n?” Gabe’s voice was shaky as you gripped your the neck of your beer bottle.

Your ears pounded as you felt the sand between your toes “I should go.” You nodded to yourself quickly turning around as you ran back in the direction of the house as embarrassment ran through your mind.

Tears streamed down your face as Gabe turned to his friends “I’m so sorry.” Julianna apologised as she raised her hand to her mouth “look just take these drinks.” Gabe sighed as he placed the cooler on Will’s lap “what are you gonna do?” Cutter went to give the boy beer but he stopped him.

Gabe knew it was stupid but he couldn’t process that those words could have been true “does she really?” Truly it looked as though Gabe had been hit by a truck “please just be nice to her.” Julianna pleaded as she watched him run in the same direction that you had.

You swore you wanted to crawl into a hole and hide as you locked the door to your bedroom. Sliding down to the ground your knees quickly hit your chest “why’d you have to be a fucking idiot.” You sobbed taking your fingers through your hair. You craved some kind of soothing moment as you lay your head against the door “y/n?”

That voice made you freeze as your eyes went wide “go away Gabe!” You groaned bringing your hand to your face to wipe the snot from your nose “please I just wanna talk.” His voice was soft as he leaned against the door “just so you can reject me?” There was a hint of irritation and amusement in your tone as you laughed.

The boy shoved his hands into his pockets as he sighed “what I want to say sort of needs me to see you.” The hockey player was close to giving up when he couldn’t hear you “please.” He thought you moved away from the door.

But instead you got up and unlocked it facing the boy “can I come in?” He pleaded sending you a small smile as you stepped aside to let him in. The air felt heavy as he wiped his hands on the thighs of his shorts “you were crying?” Gabe frowned as you were quick to wipe your eyes as though it would make it impossible for him to see.

You shook your head “you said you wanted to talk?” You reminded him of what he had said “do you really like me?” This desire filled his mind as he was desperate to hear you say it “you know I do.” You rolled your eyes not being able to bring yourself to finally say it to him “just say it.” He groaned tugging at his hair.

The inside of your cheek was soft against your mouth as you chewed at the flesh “okay sure yeah I like you but could we just act like I didn’t?” You pleaded thrashing your fists as you didn’t want to hear him turn you down.

But Gabe couldn’t help it as he smiled “sure you think my feelings are funny!” You complained not noticing as he shook his head “how have you not noticed that I like you!” He groaned as he crossed his arms.

Truthfully in the time that he knew you Gabe had never seen you so quiet “you hate me!” You shot back swearing that he was lying “I wanted to after I saw you and that football player and after that it just got too far to not stay with that.”Gabe let out a huff as he sat on the bed “god I could hit you.” You mumbled sitting next to him.

Gabe smiled as he nodded “think I might as well do it too.” He watched you turn to face him “why couldn’t you have told me sooner?” You were in a way irritated that you had to watch him with so many other girls before you came into his picture “you saw the way we acted on the first day here.” You had hit him with like four bottle caps each time he’d open his mouth because he had pissed you off.

Laughter filled the room as you were both reminded of the memory “so what do we do now?” The question came as the next logical thought as you wondered what was going to happen “what do you mean?” As Gabe turned to you, you both finally saw how little space was in fact between you “do we go back to hating each other?” Your voice was barely a whisper as you prepared yourself for the worst.

Gabe felt his heart break a little at your words “wanted to take you on a date.” He explained causing a smile to form on your face “like a real one?” You laughed as he brought his hand to cup your cheek.

This time it was soft though, a stark contrast to just a few days ago when he had done it “want to give you the world pretty girl.” You giggled as you stared back at him “can I kiss you?” You blurted out not getting a chance to regret your question because the boy nodded as he kissed you.

His lips were soft as you practically melted into his touch “you better not have killed her Perreault!” Ryan’s warning made you both pull away “you were good at that.” You mumbled running your finger over your lip as you looked at him “plenty more of where that came from.” Gabe pecked your lips once more before he got up “she’s still alive I promise!”

[studentfilmyoulying]

can u feed me another brim fanfic😭 I love brim too much

It took a while, but absolutely :3 bc same tbh

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Ship: Brim (Brian Thomas x Tim Wright

Length: ~700 Words

Trigger warnings: none

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Brian pulled up to the Blockbuster, Tim in the passenger seat; the sun was starting to set and warm colors washed over everything. He starts to get out of the car and realizes Tim isn't following suit. 

"C'mon Tim, you gotta help pick out a movie for tonight," he reached over and casually brushed Tim's hair out of his eyes, doing his best to ignore how this made the other man blush. 

"Brian, I told you, I'm not going in with all this makeup on my face. I don't know why Kralie even bothers; his camera is too shitty to pick it up anyways," Tim huffed. 

"Oh, please, you can barely tell, and plus, it looks good on you. It highlights your masculine features and those sexy as fuck sideburns," Brian comments sarcastically before bursting into laughter as his friend flipped him off and rolled his eyes. 

"You know you love them, Bri. Alright, fine, I'll go in, but if I get hate-crimed for being a man wearing makeup in Alabama, it's on you." 

Brian stifled his laughter as they both got out and went into the Blockbuster. They walked straight to the VHS section as neither of them had a DVD player yet, and Tim claims it "looks more authentic," whatever that means. He immediately picks up some 80s dark fantasy film with barely clothed women on the front and shows it to Tim, waggling his brows at him suggestively. He responds by smacking him on the back of his head (on him tippy toes) and keeps looking. 

"What're you in the mood for tonight?" 

Tim scans the shelves before picking one up, "How about My Little Pony—A Very Minty Christmas, eh? Seems like a real thriller." 

"I hate you," Brian says as he tries not to draw too much attention to them with his raucous laughter. He picks up one they haven't seen before and suggests it. "How about this one? Looks interesting," 

"I'm down; let's go pick out some snacks." Tim then heads over to the snack area, where he grabs a box of Muddy Bears, Snowcaps, and Cookie Dough Bites. Brian grabs a box of popcorn, and they go checkout. Once they finish, they pile back into Brian's car and head over to his place for a movie night. 

~ 

They get to Brian's place as the sky tints the front lawn purple with the setting sun. After getting inside, the two men easily slip into their usual roles. Tim prepares the popcorn and snacks; Brian sets up the movie and makes the living room cozy. It just became routine to them after awhile, and it was easier this way. 

Popcorn popped, and movie started, they cuddled up together on the couch with a blanket thrown over their laps. As if knowing the movie was about to begin, the sun finished it's descent to the horizon and it was now dark outside, setting the mood perfectly. 

The title screen came up; "The Forgotten" appeared on screen as Tim leans in to rest his head against Brian. The taller man returns the gesture by grabbing Tim's hand under the blanket and giving it a gentle squeeze. 

~ 

As quickly as it began, it was over. Brian disentangled himself from Tim, much to the others disappointment, and turned the lights on. 

"I'm still not sure if that was supposed to be God or aliens in the sky." 

""I'm gonna go with Aliens; why would God do experiments on people?" Brian responds as he sits back down. 

"I mean, why wouldn't he?" Almost as soon as Brian was situated on the couch, Tim got all over him again. 

He rolled his eyes at the sassy remark and kissed the top of Tim's head, making the other man wriggle in place like an overly-excited puppy. 

Tim continues, "I think it was God, and if God ever took away my memories of you, fuck, I'd challenge God to give you back too. Julianne Moore had the right idea. I'd be so lost and empty if I ever forgot you." 

"Well, thankfully," Brian begins, "that will never. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Happen," and with each "ever," Brian peppered Tim's face with kisses, ending with a big smooch right on his lips. 

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

AAAAA I had such a good time writing this!! It's so nostalgic and cozy! pls send more requests/asks :3

[myveryownfanfiction]

Chapter 38

18+ MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO DNI

tags: @illiana-mystery, @iobsessoverfictionalmen, @stark-ironman, @plush4bunny

warnings: swearing, pregnancy, possible secret child, spoilers for season 3 episode 1

AN: we’re back baby! Welcome to night court season three! And the return of our favorite lawyer.

after rozs reception, Dan had taken me home. Laying in bed, Dan propped his chin on my pelvis and stared at my stomach.

“still can’t believe it.” He breathed out, kissing my stomach. “I’m gonna be a dad.” Shaking his head, he climbed up bed and hovered over me. I reached up to cup his cheek as he stared down at me. “Thank you.” I laughed and rubbed his cheek with my thumb.

“For what?” I asked, smiling at him. “Having your baby?”

“not just that.” He turned his head and kissed my palm. “Taking a chance on me. Loving me. Standing by me. Everything. From day one. You’ve been there.” I pulled him down into a kiss.

“I love you.” I whispered. Dan smiled against my lips before kissing me again.

“I love you too.” He laid down next to me as we drifted off to sleep. The next day, we headed back into work.

“Olivia got a job offer at a big law firm. Apparently talking to that lady at rozs wedding payed off.” Abby said as we walked in. I sat down next to Dan, snuggled up to him under his arm. “I hired a new district attorney. She’s starting tonight.” I nodded as Dan kissed my head. “What about you two? How are you feeling after the wedding?”

“I mean…” I shrugged. “I wouldn’t trade our wedding for the world. But I think now people expect us to do it properly. After the proposal.” Dan nodded.

“I guess we have to start planning it soon.” He said, looking at me. “Maybe we should do it before you start to show?” Dan furrowed his eyebrows at me. I shrugged.

“I mean legally we’re already married. If anything this is technically a vow renewal.” I looked up at him. “We could do it whenever we’re ready.”

“whenever we’re ready.” Dan agreed. “And of course you’ll preform the ceremony again.” He looked over at the judge. Abby nodded, looking jittery.

“of course.” She confirmed. “Well we better get to court. New attorney should be here already.” Dan stood up with a sigh, helping me up before heading to the court room.

“something’s up with her.” I whispered to him. Dan nodded.

“she won’t tell us though.” He said. I nodded in agreement. “Oh shit.” Dan stopped where he was and went white.

“what?” I asked, turning to look at the person who had just entered the courtroom. “Shit. Julianne.” I breathed. Dan turned around and headed to Abby.

“I need your hr boyfriend.” He seethed. Abby refused to look at him as she fidgeted.

“I really don’t think we need…” she started.

“Yes we do. I have an hr emergency.” Dan said. He stared Abby down and she nodded.

“I’ll go get him.” She said before heading off to make the call.

“I’m out of here until he shows up. And you are too.” Dan grabbed my hand and led me down to his office. “That woman is going to kill me.” He muttered as he contemplated pushing the couch in front of the door.

“Dan she doesn’t know where your office is.” I sighed as I sat behind his desk. “You’re fine.” There was a knock on the door and Dan let out a high pitched scream. “Or not?” I got up and opened the door as Dan flattened himself against the wall. I looked behind the door at Dan and rolled my eyes. “It’s Jake Dan. Want to change your pants before the meeting?” Dan sighed in relief before coming out from behind the door. We followed Jake back down to Abby’s chambers, Dan explaining why he called Jake.

“I mean it sort of is a problem.” Jake muttered. “It’s not the kind of relationship I like to file for but I can still do it.” Jake turned to look over at me. “Which congratulations by the way. Abby told me you were expecting. Paperwork is all filed for leave for both of you and if you need anything else let me know.” I nodded as I squeezed his arm.

“thanks Jake.” I said, passing him as I went to sit down on the couch. I started going through the case files for the night, tuning out the argument taking place.

“alright. Fine. My dad wrestled alligators. Your dad was a judge. And (Y/N)’s dad works in construction. Now we’re all caught up on dads.” Dan seethed. I looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Can we please get back to the matter at hand? My life is on the line and you want to make jokes.”

“look there weren’t many judges that signed up for the second chance incentive. But judge stone signed up for it forty times.” Julianne said. I nodded.

“sounds like Abby.” I muttered. Jake nodded with a smile and Dan gave me a look.

“you signed up for something and kept it from me?!” Dan looked at her, clearly appalled. I giggled, realizing now how much they acted like father and daughter.

“Well I…” Abby stuttered. “You know me…” Dan sighed and nodded.

“yeah i do.” He muttered. “So there’s nothing we can do about this?” Jake shook his head.

“not really. I mean not unless she tries to kill you again.” Dan sighed and got up.

“great. Just great.” He shook his head and headed to the cafeteria. “She’s gonna win them over one by one I swear.” I wrapped my arms around him and smiled.

“not me.” I said. Dan gave me a small smile.

“no. I doubt she would.” He agreed. Kissing me softly, Dan pulled me tight against him. “Come on. Time to go back to work.” Heading back into court, Abby continued to act weird. Flobert kept coming and going, distracting me. “What?”

“I don’t know. Something’s going on.” I muttered.

“aside from Julianne?” He asked. I nodded. “Whatever it is, don’t want to be a part of it.” Dan shrugged.

“oh. By the way, the file you wanted is here.” I handed him the file he requested from records. “But I don’t think you’re going to like what you see.” Dan pulled out the papers and started reading between cases. He looked over at Julianne.

“you weren’t lying. Wow.” He said, looking between her and the paper. “So you’re really not here to…” he handed me her credentials.

“wow. Yale pre law. Criminal lawyer. Then criminal. But I mean. That’s impressive.” I said, looking up at the two. Julianne smiled as she nodded.

“I’m just crazy. Well that explains earlier why I thought I heard a trash can screaming.” Dan chuckled and shook his head.

“no you did.” Julianne said. I furrowed my eyebrows. “It was that guy. Flobert.” She pointed over by Abby.

“wonder what’s going on over there.” I said, moving to stand next to Dan again.

“they’re just trying to find out if he’s the judges boyfriends father.” Julianne said. Dans jaw dropped and my eyes went wide, hand going to my stomach. Abby turned to us, horror on her face.

“you think what?” Dan exclaimed, staring at Abby in a mix of shock and horror.

“would it make you feel better if I said at least my boyfriends not my brother?” She asked. I blinked at her.

“he’s not your what now?” I asked. Abby smiled sheepishly at us. “Abby I think you need to explain. Now.”

[kittyplushy]

Dough

Gayass minific...takes place a few weeks after they become a couple. Short and sweet and fluffy.

A lil bit of a content warning bc of body talk- some parts are suggestive but nothing comes out of it or is taken far but I just wanted something positive after a triggering couple of posts I saw doomscrolling.

Julianne looked down to the ground trying to keep her composture. She stood frozen trying to make herself look well mannered. It was somewhat unsettling that the relaxed and typically chatty cat was acting all obsequious around someone she should be all familiar with, yet she's suddenly decided to mask herself, looking like a still doll outside her apartment doors. She had a reason to be so well-behaved though, didn't she? Her paws played with the zipper of her backpack and keychains. Nervously anticipating another instruction...

"Hey, why are you just standing there? You can head to my room now."

The feline looked up, melting and quivering at the attention of her girlfriend. Sam gave her a small, satisfied smile as she lifted the backpack out of their arms. Julianne shook her body a bit to shake away the artificial tension. You're being ridiculous..

"I really liked that fried pork you made. Maybe I should let you stay here more often and ask you to cook..."

"I'd love to if I had more time.." Julianne chirped after being mute for so long.

"Well, I think that would be even more possible now that..hey, what's wrong?"

Julianne's feet seemed to be stuck on the floor. Sam gently let go of her arm to check on her expression. She was sweating bullets and flushed red. Her eyes were wide open with her lips slightly parted.

"Don't you wanna see the surprise upstairs?"

"Sam..uh..my heart is beating so so so so faaast." Julianne managed to mimic her own speaking pattern artificially. She nervously grins. Sam just chuckles in amusement. It was like seeing a machine short-circuit in front of you.

"I'm not gonna eat you. Unless you want to do something-"

"Not yet!! Not yet but..I..I'm just a bit shy about something."

Julianne finally took a few steps forward. She skittled her way upstairs behind the taller woman and tailed into her room. The bedroom was at the 2nd floor of the home in a modest looking space only occupied by a few cabinets, a book shelf, a vanity desk and stool, and what appeared to be a large bed held up by a metal frame.

"Ta-da! What's to be so shy about? The bed can support us both." The bear further teased her, "Or should I say beds? I just bought another frame and mattress to connect to my own bed. So you can sleep here with me instead of the couch."

Still, her heart couldn't stop pounding so fast. She brushed her fingers against the sheets, smiling slightly as she observed the little violets printed on the cotton. The moon lit the room in a gentle blue hue. It was dark enough to calm her nerves but bright enough for her to see each of their features in full bloom. Julianne took the backpack laid against one of the cabinets and looked for her toiletries. She took out her toothbrush and paste as well as the nightgown she packed. She followed the light outside the room to join her girlfriend in the bathroom clean up.

Moments later, Julianne sat on the edge of the bed, shyly observing her partner preparing to get to bed. Her eyes looked right into the mirror of the dresser door to make sure Sam wouldn't notice her peeking. She turns away, eyes only observing from a limiting frame her pick a blue pair of pajamas. She sets the clothes aside and proceeds to unbutton her blouse. Every movement punctuated with care that within a few folds, her shirt was neatly stacked into a basket near the door. Julianne could feel her heart pound faster as her eyes traced her body. She was perfect. Her arms were soft and toned, defined with experience and scars. Julianne's eyes shyly lidded looking at her bare torso wondering how she looked so soft and tough at the same time. An angelic androgynous form was the only justifiable definition she could muster but it was nowhere close to what she was seeing. Her coat was smooth, glistening under the moonlight where the brightness touched. So lost in her thoughts was the feline, she didn't register she was locking eyes with her partner. Not that she needed to worry though. Sam was savoring each gentle glance and deep stare. Julianne falters but turns back around to face her from across the room.

"It's fine. You can still look."

"S-sorry."

Sam tosses a large comforter over to the bed, landing it perfectly on her side. Julianne giggles, amused but unsurprised by how intricate she is even with a careless move like so. Her breath gets heavier and hotter when she feels the bigger woman sit down next to her. Her large hands sit on top of her paws and her fingers crawl to the nightgown on her lap.

"Aren't you gonna change?" Her voice was as low as the air.

"Yeah, I will..Let me just..uhm.."

"I'll help ya change. Come here." The bear wrapped an arm around Julianne's waist, "Sit on my lap."

Julianne instinctually sucked her stomach in and attempted the same technique on her hips to no avail, only tightening and heightening her chest. Sam notices and continues to pull her closer to her lap while her other hand takes the burgundy dress. It is a short red dress made of cotton with a bow ribbon at the back.

"That won't do. Hey, why have you been acting like that?" Although Sam could definitely tell why she was acting so timid, she was still clawing for an answer from the reclusive cat.

Like her, her eyes travelled up and down her soft features. They just looked so warm and inviting. Her cheeks were plump and full, drawing attention to her eyes when she smiles or laughs. Her body looked like many figurines of Venus: sweet and full and satisfied. Her thighs squashed when she sat reminded her of loaves of sourdough. She looked so comically sweet. Julianne finally looked back up and shrugged.

"I dunno..nerves..I guess. I'm not sure how you'd feel about my body though too so I'm a bit..nervous is all I'm saying. Yeah." She awkwardly laughed. Suddenly, Julianne meowed when she was lifted up and placed on Sam's lap. She froze up again feeling a hand gently trace up and down her spine.

"Such a skitty kitty. Let me help you wear this. Also don't worry about me thinking anything else about your body. It's yours, not mine."

Julianne relaxed, nodding still cautiously when she bumped her muzzle on the top of her head like a cat.

"That doesn't mean I don't like it..in fact.."

She lifts up slowly her pink shirt. Julianne's soft tummy and skin slowly peeks out and rests on her lap. Sam lets go of the fabric right below her breasts. Julianne's torso lacks any spotting or pattern save for the orange heart shaped mark on her stomach which extends below. The two both nervously look down, wondering what to do next. Julianne purses her lips and nods, allowing whatever her girlfriend is thinking to happen next.

"Mmh!" Julianne exclaims feeling Sam press her wrist gently on her stomach. Then a finger, two fingers follow to knead against the soft skin, careful to not be so forceful. Then a whole hand comes to squish her soft sides and pinch lightly all the soft exposed skin. The cat begins to involuntarily purr, enjoying the touches and the wordless teasing on her body.

"Sorry. I can't help myself." She growls, "You feel like milk bread. Like light loaf..like dough.."

Julianne couldn't help but laugh. Those were such apt descriptions. If she could only describe her body as sweetly and easily as her favorite things..

"You think so?" Her voice couldn't hiccup any thanks just yet.

"You look like you're full of cheese, fish, bread, and wine."

"Mostly bread and cheese, haha"

Her cheeks were cupped and she felt her face brought upwards to be suddenly kissed. As soon as she was let go, the rest of her shirt seemed like it had slipped off. Julianne's body suddenly couldn't decide whether it wanted to be solid or liquid. She just sat there smiling and giggling. Her body became a bit more obedient to the gestures, taking off her shorts and sliding in her nightgown with ease. The dress wrapped around her nicely. It defined her soft sides and stomach.

"You're so cute, you know?" Sam whispered as her knuckle dragged across the curve of the cat's body. Julianne was back to her giggly little self.

"I guess so!"

"You remind me of a doll I used to have. My dad got me a lamb doll that wore a little dress like this and my mom made a few more that I could change her into."

Julianne wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's shoulder. She pressed her cheek against Sam's and she swore she felt it getting hotter. Her crimped ears looked like they had a shade of red lightly brushed onto them.

"Teddy..that's so sweet to hear from you especially. From a really pretty girl like you."

"Aww, don't call me pretty."

They rolled into the now bigger bed together, adjusting into their new positions, pinkies intertwined. Julianne smiled like she normally did yet her heart was still beating..so so so so fast.

[dd-is-my-guiltypleasure]

Born in New York City in 1960, David Duchovny graduated from Princeton with an AB in English Literature before earning a Master of Arts in the same subject from Yale. Following a small role in David Lynch’s Twin Peaks he won the starring role of Fox Mulder in 1993 on the global smash hit UFO series The X-Files opposite Gillian Anderson. From 2007 to 2014 – a period which coincided with treatment for sex addiction – he played troubled womaniser Hank Moody in Californication. He’s also written five novels and released three music albums. He has two children, 24-year-old actress West and 21-year-old son Kyd with his ex-wife Téa Leoni.

Best childhood memory?

I think it’s probably just being in the park playing football or baseball with my dad, in New York City, 21st Street and Second Avenue where I grew up. It conjures up memories of being with my dad and enjoying the sort of simple communication that you can have through a game. I did the same sort of thing with my own son, who was good at playing baseball for a while.

Best day of your life?

There’s no one specific day but in my mind’s eye I can see a beach and my kids. I don’t know if it’s a particular day I’m thinking of; it’s just one of those summer days. It could be on holiday, or it could be in the States; it’s really just that feeling of no structure, summertime and no school for the kids; being in the water and feeling the waves and having to protect them a little and teach them about the water.

Best moment on a TV set?

About two or three years after I started on The X-Files, I did the Larry Sanders Show with my friend Garry Shandling although he wasn’t my friend at the time. He didn’t know me, but I loved his show. The producers told me, “Oh, Gary loves you.” Then I got there and it was clear that he didn’t have any idea who I was, which was fine. We did this scene – half written, half improvised, maybe – and Gary said, “How old are you?” I said, “32” and he said, “What took you so long?” and that felt like a blessing as to me he was the king of a certain kind of comedic performance.

Best Hollywood party?

I didn’t really go to many, especially at the peak of the X-Files years. For five years the show was shot in Vancouver and in many ways, it was a blessing to be out of that world, but I had some interesting, if nerve-racking moments at awards ceremonies. I remember going to the Golden Globes and being sat on the same table as a really good friend of mine, director Bart Freundlich and his wife Julianne Moore. My ex-wife Téa was sitting there, and Téa went to the bathroom, and she came back and said, “Did I miss anything?” I said, “Yeh, they announced my award. I won and you missed the whole thing.” Which was not true at all. I only kept her in the dark for a couple of seconds as it became rapidly apparent that I had no statue.

Best moment of self-realisation?

In many ways we remain children no matter how old we get and in many ways a lot of my reactions were based on childhood stuff; not necessarily something that I am ever going to change, but something to be aware of and keep an eye on. It’s the fine line between realising that a lot of your personality was constructed a long time ago, before you were really smart about these things, or knew about these things. And that that’s the same for everybody – but that’s not an excuse to continue reacting like a child. So, for me, life is this balancing act between honouring that kid and also not letting him drive the bus.

Best personal characteristic?

Perseverance. There have been many occasions when I’ve felt like giving up on everything, but I didn’t. I don’t give up. I guess I gave up trying to be a professional athlete at some point. I loved baseball and basketball and before getting to college I still had secret dreams of going pro.

Best decision?

This is going to sound negative towards education, but to leave graduate school and try to find out what else I wanted to do aside from being an academic. Not to denigrate academics but, for me, that was a hard and good decision although a scary one. I was a dissertation away from my PhD. I had done four years as an undergraduate, nearly four years of graduate work. Eight years towards a certain life; a good third of my life pointing towards a certain goal and then saying, “You know what, I’m gonna go do this thing, where none of that matters.” At the time it felt a little like I was throwing it all away. But in the end I think I’ve honoured those academic years and they also fed me.

Worst childhood memory?

My parents’ divorce. I was 12, which wasn’t a good age – but it’s never a good age. It’s hard to say exactly what the impact was on me, but it was profound. And I think having gone through it, as a parent as well, it’s taught me what I might not have been able to process at the time: it really pulls the rug out of a kid’s life. You can sugar-coat it all you want but it’s a traumatic experience. It’s not the end of anything and it’s not like you can’t recover from it but you do have to acknowledge that the world turned upside down. It’s hard to say how my life would have turned out had it not happened but I think I’m thankful for being hurt. I’m thankful for the wound because that’s what makes you human and makes you an artist. If you can survive it and remain empathetic it makes you aware of other people’s hurt. And without that, I don’t think I’d have anything.

Worst moment of your life?

Telling my kids about getting divorced. I still can’t think about it without feeling terrible. It’s actually a memory that I push out if it comes up. I don’t want to think about it. It happened nearly 10 years ago now, so the wound has healed a little but it’s not my wound; it’s theirs. And that’s why I push it away. I’ll never know it.

Worst moment on a TV or film set?

I wouldn’t want to name the project because I wouldn’t want to hurt the people involved. Probably my feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time was more about me than it was about the project or them. But, yeah, and that’s just a terrible, terrible feeling. I’ve certainly had periods of self-doubt and I very nearly got fired on an early job. They gave me dailies to take home to see how bad I was. I wasn’t great but I think I was just young and green. I just needed some more gentle direction.

Worst moment of self-realisation?

I guess I have two self-conceptions. One is that I’m really talented and can do a lot of stuff easily. The other is that I’m not very talented at all and I have to work, work, work hard to do anything. And I believe I’m both of those things. It’s a fight when I’m not working. When I’m working, and I have something to work on; to put my perseverance and hard work into, then I’m healthy and I’m good. When I’m not working, I can be a little on edge. And I know this sounds like a humble brag, but it’s my reality. Obviously, I do a lot of stuff, but I feel lazy. I always feel like I’m not doing enough or working hard enough. Whether it’s in work or life, I always feel like I want to go and rest, to switch off and tune out. I also want to give up half the time, which is why that tendency in myself of perseverance is my greatest trait. 

Worst thing anyone has ever said about you?

It would have to be something that I thought was untrue – and there have certainly been plenty of untrue stories written about me. But then, I’m willing to entertain anything. Whatever you say to me, I’ll entertain it for a minute, and I feel like that’s a strong point for me. It’s a painful thing to be that open but whatever is said I’ll consider the source then come up with my own opinion.

Worst decision?

I think even some of my worst decisions have been beneficial. When I took the X-Files job I’d also accepted a small part on a TV movie, and I had to let the director of that project down because the dates of the two projects conflicted. I told my agents and obviously they said, ‘Take the X-Files’, which meant breaking my word, which I wasn’t comfortable with. But, clearly, ultimately my agents’ decision was absolutely correct. If it had been left to me, I would have made the wrong decision.

[lulu2992]

Who is the voice of the female Deputy?

When I saw this question, I decided to try to find an answer.

I looked up all the actors listed in the credits, listened to their voices (in interviews, demo reels, or other videos), and… I’m still not sure who played the female Deputy.

While I usually find it relatively easy to recognize voice actors in French, my native language, it turns out that’s much harder for me to do in English. Also, it doesn’t help that they’re usually very good at changing their voice/accent and that, in real life, most of them don’t sound like the characters they play.

I still believe the person who played the female Deputy is also “Cult Follower Female 5” (CFF5), but it seems to me the actor used a different accent and tone so the cultist sounds a bit “villainous”. In any case, I didn’t find anyone that sounded exactly like the two characters…

According to my ears, though, the female Deputy and the female Captain from New Dawn have the same voice. Outside of cutscenes, the Deputy has 314 lines in Far Cry 5 (which you can listen to here, here, here, here, and here) and the audio files were all reused for the Captain. In cutscenes, so the “lines” that were specifically recorded for New Dawn, the character sounds exactly the same to me, which means the voice actor must have worked on both games.

I looked at the names that appeared in the credits of the two games and narrowed the list down to the 15 (+1; see below) likeliest candidates, so here are the people who, in my opinion, could potentially be the voice of the female Deputy, as well as, when the information was available, either in the game or on IMDb, which character(s) they played:

Claire Armstrong

Kailea Banka

Carolina Bartczak (Cult Follower in FC5; apparently not in FCND, but you never know)

Kimberly D. Brooks (Gun for Hire)

Nicki Burke (Cult Follower in FC5, Selene in FCND)

Lucinda Davis

Stacey DePass (Nana in FCND)

Amber Goldfarb (voice of Faith’s Priestesses, “Cult Follower Female 3”, and, I believe, Rae-Rae)*

Julianne Jain

Mara Junot (Sherri Woodhouse, “Civilian Female 6”)

Helen King

Erica Linbeck (voice of Anne, but also this and this)

Cynthia Kaye McWilliams (Resistance Soldier)

Debra Wilson

Kim Yarborough

Mayko Nguyen, who plays Kim Rye, was credited a second time as a “voice talent” in Far Cry 5, which implies she may have also played one of several NPC. Since she worked on New Dawn, she too could be the female Deputy’s voice.

Again, English isn’t my first language, and after spending two days listening to all those voices, everyone started to sound the same to me :’) If you’re a native English speaker and/or have a great ear, though, maybe you’ll be able to more easily solve the mystery! We can do it!

*IMDb says Amber Goldfarb played “Noodle’s owner” (the woman who called Ms. Mable for her pet snake) but the files tell me the voice is actually “Civilian Female 6”, so Mara Junot.

And under the cut, just in case, I included all the other female voices who appear in the credits.

FAR CRY 5

MAIN CAST Beryl Bain (Tracey Lader) Sarah Booth (Tammy Barnes and, according to IMDb, a “Civilian”) Luisa D’Oliveira (Deputy Joey Hudson) Jenessa Grant (Faith Seed) Debra McGrath (Nancy) Tasya Teles (Mary May Fairgrave)

VOICE TALENTS Carolina Bartczak (Cult Follower) Lauren Jackson (Skylar Kohrs) Erin Mathews Julie Nathanson (Jess Black) Kristen Peace Murry Peeters (Grace Armstrong) Claire Rankin Cara Ricketts (Dr. Sarah Perkins in FC5, Mickey in FCND) Charlotte Rogers Paula Shaw (Ms. Wilhelmina Mable) Jane Wheeler (Adelaide Drubman)

PERFORMERS (I’m not sure they recorded voices and they apparently didn’t work on FCND) Michela Cannon Roanna Cochrane (Cult Follower) Athena Karkanis Karen Knox Janet Porter Melissa Robertson Alyssa Trask Brandi Marie Ward

FAR CRY NEW DAWN

MAIN CAST Reina Hardesty (Carmina Rye) Leslie Miller (Lou)

VOICE TALENTS Rylee Alazraqui Mary Faber (in the “Additional Thanks” section in the FC5 credits and in Lost on Mars according to IMDb) Camryn Jones Rachel Kimsey Melanie Minichino (Gina Guerra) Carolyn Ratteray Marisha Ray Nadia Verrucci

PERFORMANCE CAPTURE PERFORMERS (again, I don’t know if they recorded voices in FCND) Ava Augustin Tamara Brown Jenny Raven Ajanae Stephenson Lydia Zadel (also credited in the “Additional Thanks” section in FC5 and a voice in Lost on Mars according to IMDb)

Good luck!

[waywardxrhea]

Chapter 1 - Heart of Stone

What happens when you lie to the Devil? How long can one woman keep a lifetime of secrets from the Devil of Hell's Kitchen? The answer may surprise you...

installment list

pairing: Matt Murdock x enhanced!fem!OC

series content: coffee shop AU, fluff, humor, friends to lovers, pining, language, canon typical violence, use of guns, angst, drinking, implied smut, medical emergencies, mental health disorders (PTSD, panic disorder).

"you can build me up, you can tear me down, you can try but i'm unbreakable. you can do your best, but i'll stand the test, you'll find that i'm unshakable. when the fire's burnt, when the wind has blown, when the water's dry you'll still find stone. my heart of stone" - heart of stone, six the musical

word count: 3.9k

A series of unfortunate events leads Julianne Porter to uproot her entire life in London.

Standing at the back of the crowded church, Julianne Porter wiped away a tear that slipped from her eye despite her best efforts to keep them at bay. As she saw her father’s watchful eyes turning in her direction, she darted back behind the pillar so he didn’t see her because that would have meant certain punishment for daring to step foot into the church hosting his wife’s funeral. She was her mother too, but considering he blamed her for his wife’s untimely death in the first place, Julianne was unceremoniously barred from attending the event.

She couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t try to attend though, so she took what she could, sneaking in through the doors right as her mother’s favorite song was playing loudly through the speakers. Eileene was always a lively person and she had always made it clear to her husband Dean that when her time came, she wanted the funeral to be a joyous occasion celebrating her life, love, and career. Despite that wish though, Julianne wore all black because in the end, after what her father said to her that night, she felt she was to blame.

Giggling like a lovestruck teenager, Julianne kissed her boyfriend one last time before they came to a stop at the gate outside of the Porter family manor. “Tonight was amazing,” he told her between the last few kisses of the night.

“Thank you for taking me out, I really needed it,” she replied with a smile, wrapping her arms around his strong form, adding, “I wish it didn’t have to end.”

“Maybe it doesn’t have to… Come back to my place tonight, I’ll make it worth your while,” he told her with a sly wink.

She giggled once more before shaking her head and telling him, “I can’t, you know how it is around here. I…I really shouldn’t have even gone out tonight so last minute. If my father finds out I’ve been with you, he’ll kill me…”

“One day I’m gonna make that man like me, just you wait, darlin’,” he told her confidently.

“In your dreams, that man is-“ she started to say.

Julianne’s sentence was cut off though as she heard a scream coming from within the manor. Her eyes went wide as she pushed Kit away, telling him, “Shit, I have to go. I…I’ll call you later!”

Without a second glance back toward Kit’s shocked form, Julianne was off, racing up the drive of the manor with shaking hands, hoping for the best but expecting the worst upon hearing such an ear-splitting scream. When she got inside though, her worst fears came to fruition as she saw her mother being held at gunpoint. Upon seeing the fear in her mother’s eyes, Julianne put her hands up and said calmly, “Let’s not lose our heads now, let’s talk this out, I’m sure there’s some sort of agreement we can come to here.”

“We aren’t here to bargain princess. Grab her!” the man holding her mother snapped.

“I guess we’re doing it my way then aren’t we?” she asked before forcefully stomping on the ground, sending some of the granite flooring into the air, followed quickly by a punch to send the stone directly at the man holding her mother hostage.

“Don’t let her use her powers you blitherin’ idiots!” the man shouted.

Julianne could see two men coming at her from behind in a mirror across from her and launched an attack on them as well, causing the tile at their feet to suddenly sink into the ground, effectively trapping them in place. In her distraction of making sure that the men’s feet were thoroughly stuck, a third man came up behind her and picked her up off the ground like a daisy. 

“Let go of me! I’ll-!” she tried to shout as she struggled in the man’s strong arms.

Everything in the next few seconds happened so quickly that she didn’t even have time to think before she saw her mother’s brains being shot out of the side of her head by her captor. And Julianne? Well she was screaming bloody murder as the men ran from the house jeering at her all the while.

“What the bloody hell is going on out here, I was in the middle of a conference with a very important client about-“ came Dean Porter’s voice as he stalked into the room flanked by two men from his security detail. He stopped cold though as he saw Julianne weeping over her mother’s body, the pool of blood surrounding them growing steadily. “Ridge, Oliver, find the men who did this. I want them dead. I’ll deal with the brat…” 

A third man emerged from the room holding a binder to his chest, asking, “Dad, what-?” He too stopped cold as he saw his twin sister weeping over their mother’s body, his mouth agape and eyes wide. 

The memory was abruptly interrupted by Julianne’s phone buzzing in her trouser pocket. She sneakily ducked out of the church before answering quietly, “Hey love, everything all right?”

“Smashing,” came Kit’s bright voice from the other line. “Look, I’m really sorry you couldn’t give your mum a proper goodbye… If you want, meet me at our usual spot for some cheering up. I’ll bring your favorite.”

“You’re the best, thank you,” Julianne whispered, her voice breaking with emotion at his kindness. “I’ll see you in ten, I love you.”

“I love you more,” he replied with the slightest crack in his voice at the end. Kit had met Eileen a few weeks ago for the first time and they hit it off instantly, and even though Dean hadn’t approved of Julianne dating, Eileen was happy to see her little girl happy. So, when Julianne told Kit about witnessing her murder, he had been a bit of an emotional mess too. Ever since that night, he had been especially gentle with Julianne and her emotional state, meeting with her in their secret spot just outside of the manor every night and bringing her chocolates or champagne to help her feel better. And while the gifts did bring her joy, merely being in his warm embrace and hearing his reassuring words brought her more comfort than any tangible object could.

The walk to the manor was breezy, the chilled autumn air cutting right through Julianne’s scarf and coat. She hugged her arms close to her body as she approached the little alcove she always met Kit in, calling out quietly, “Kit, it’s Julie, you here?”

Her eyebrows knit together when she didn’t get a response and instead heard a quiet thud on the ground, one that sounded almost…wet? She peered around the corner and for the second time in as many weeks, Julianne was weeping over the body of a loved one. Her limbs went numb, and she felt lightheaded as she surveyed Kit’s battered body bleeding out onto the concrete around him.

As Julianne fell to her knees with a sob, her heart kicked into high gear, racing irregularly in her chest as black threatened to engulf her vision. The darkness started to take over as she fell to the ground, the last thing she saw before passing out was the note nailed to Kit’s chest that read, “This is on you, Julianne.”

“Is someone over here?” James asked as he and Oliver made their way into the area a few minutes later. “I thought you said you heard something,” James snapped as they walked. 

“I did, I swear it,” Oliver replied, turning the corner into the little alcove. He stopped dead in his tracks as he took in the sight in front of him: a bloodied Kit Wilson and Julianne unmoving near him. “Holy shit, James, I-”

“Shit, check on Julie, I’ll call Dad, see what he wants to do,” James said, reaching for his cell in his coat pocket. 

James heard Oliver sigh in relief after a few moments, saying, “She’s alive. Heart rate is through the roof though.”

“It’s that stupid heart condition. She’ll come to soon,” James replied as he listened to his father’s instructions over the phone, turning his back to the scene as a sly smirk twisted its way onto his face. 

“Are you sure you want to do this? There’s always time to back out,” said JD,  a friend of Julianne’s since uni. 

“Yes JD, I’m sure, I’ve been planning this for a month. I…I can’t be here anymore,” she replied quietly as she ran her fingers through her hair. “Remember your promise back when I first found out what you do?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know…” he said with an exasperated sigh. “I’m just saying, this is a big decision, and you haven’t exactly been in the best mindset since…”

“Since my mother and boyfriend were killed because of me?” she asked haughtily.

“I wouldn’t exactly put it like that…” he replied hesitantly.

“Just give me the IDs and passports JD,” she told him.

“Not until you tell me your plan to get out of the country,” he said defiantly.

“How I’m getting out of here doesn’t matter, just know that I’ll manage,” she responded.

“And that’s exactly why I’m worried, Jules. In my line of work when someone says something along those lines it means they’re about to do something either illegal or borderline suicidal. So, which is it?” he asked seriously, holding the documents closely to his body while Julianne impatiently held out her hand.

“Let’s just say that the O’Hare syndicate is about to get a pretty paycheck thanks to me,” she told him while gesturing for JD to hand over the documents.

JD made a choking noise as his eyes went wide. His eyebrows shot up as he asked, “The O’Hare syndicate? As in your father’s most powerful rival? Are you mad?!”

“Quite apparently,” she replied shortly as she snatched the documents from his loosened grip. “If my father wants to play dirty I will too. It’s only fair, innit?”

“Well while we’re on the subject, what the bloody hell is he going to say or do to me and my family when he finds out I helped you? This isn’t just about you anymore!” JD said, a bite of anger in his voice as he glared at Julianne. 

“Trust me, I’ve thought this all out. I can get you and your family out of the country too. Get a new start and get the kids away from…stuff like this,” she said, shaking her head when she ended her sentence. “All you have to do is say the word.”

“And what if your little plan doesn’t work? What if the O’Hares don’t follow through?”

“Then that means I’ll be dead and you won’t have to worry about my father blaming you for helping me. Pack what you need and only what you need. When they agree to my terms, the O’Hares will deal with the rest,” she said as she turned her back and began heading for the door.

“You seem awfully confident this is going to work,” JD called, a hint of desperation in his voice. 

“Just trust me, will you? Be ready to go come week’s end. If all goes to plan this is the last time you’ll be seeing me. Take care old chap,” she said as she pulled her hood over her head and ducked out into the gloomy London night. 

After a ride on the tube and a few minutes walk, Julianne found herself walking into a crowded pub full of Irishmen, armed to the teeth. “Oi, where can I find Sheamus around here?” she shouted, which prompted about a dozen guns and even more blades to be pointed in her direction. 

“That’s that Porter gal innit?” one man asked aloud to his buddies. 

“Why I oughta-” another growled, cocking his gun and aiming it at her forehead. 

Julianne put her hands in the air and said, “Oh calm down, I’m here to cut a deal and line all of your pockets. If I can talk to Sheamus.”

“Pat her down, make sure she isn’t armed,” the second man said while still training his pistol at her head. 

“You know she doesn’t have to have any weapons to fight right? Not with those freak powers of hers…” the first man told him as he advanced toward Julianne and began frisking her. 

“Well then check her for a wire you blitherin’ idiot!” he shouted.

After a more thorough than needed pat down, Julianne asked, “See? I’m unarmed and unwired. I came for a deal. That’s all.”

“You came into enemy territory, that's what you did, lass! Now if you don’t get out of me pub in five seconds, I’ll-” the irate man snarled before he was cut off by a handsomely dressed man entering from behind the bar.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here? Do my eyes deceive me, or is little miss Julianne Porter standing in the middle of my pub?” Sheamus O’Hare asked, throwing a pointed glare at the man with his gun trained on Julianne. 

“The one and only,” Julianne told him with a small smile. 

“Well Miss Porter, I’m not usually one to make deals with me rival’s daughter, especially one whose gotten some of me men caught due to their inability to run from the cops after you…dealt with them. So tell me why you’re here before this place lights up.”

“With all due respect, I’d rather not discuss intricacies in front of so many men, especially ones with guns pointed at me,” she told him, taking a quick glance around the many guns still trained on her. 

“Give me one good reason to let you back into my office and let you walk out of here alive,” he countered. 

“The shipment that’s coming in tomorrow night for my father. The details are yours if you and your men agree to my terms,” she said, not breaking eye contact with him for even a second. 

A smirk slowly made its way onto Sheamus’s face as he gestured for the men to lower their weapons. He reached out a hand for Julianne to take as he said to her, “If that intel’s good, I think we can make the proper arrangements. Follow me.”

As she followed him back to his office, he asked, “So what made you want to turn on your old man?”

“He had my boyfriend killed. I think it’s about proper time he got what’s coming for him,” she replied as she took a seat across from him.

He ran his hand over his facial hair while contemplating the sincerity behind her words before asking, “So what’s in it for us?”

Julianne scoffed, telling him, “Only the biggest shipment this country’s ever seen. It’s coming directly from Mexico with the product hidden in clothing, ready for sale. If you take over the shipment from the seller, you’ll not only get the product, but you’ll also be making him lose money. The daft bastard’s already paid. So he’ll be out and you’ll be swimming in more money than you’ll know what to do with.”

Sheamus narrowed his eyes and asked, “What’s the catch? You seem like you’re a smart girl, there’s no way you’re just doing this to get revenge.”

“So you O’Hares are brighter than they say you are,” she told him with a wink. “But you’re right, there are a few things I want in return.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to help me fake my death and the death of JD Williams plus his family. And you need to make it look damn good because you’ll be sending photographic proof of my death to my father. Once you do those things, we’ll all be out of the country and the slate will be wiped clean. You get a seller, I get revenge and to safety, my father loses. It’s a win-win for the both of us. So, what do you say? Do we have a deal?” When she finished her side of the bargain, she crossed her legs as she waited for his response. 

“So you’re telling me that you’ll give me the information on these shipments in trade for faking some deaths?” Sheamus asked as a wide smile broke out onto his face. 

“That’s it. No tricks, no turning sides when your men are at the docks, just pure revenge.”

“You got a heart o’ stone on ya, don’t ya? I like the sound o’ that,” Sheamus said enthusiastically as he stood up to shake her hand. He put his arm around her waist as they exited the room, telling her, “Now let’s get some Guinness in ya and talk details with my men, yeah?”

Come the end of the week, Crystal was standing near the harbour’s entryway with her hands tucked in her pockets waiting for her father’s men to show up to be ambushed by O’Hare’s men. When a couple finally showed up, she asked them, “What the hell? You were supposed to be here a half hour ago! My father is not going to be pleased with you!”

“Sweetheart, we’ve been run ragged by your old man trying to finish selling from the last shipment, give us a break!” Donnelly snapped as he shoved past her. 

“And don’t plan on just standing here like you always do, you’re coming in with us. Since Mummy isn’t around to stop you from helping out anymore, your old man told us to have you tag along. In case things go bad. Rumor has it the Wellenelly men might be trying to get a piece of the action so he wants you nearby. Got it?”

“Got it,” she said, trying to hide the sudden fear in her voice. She told O’Hare’s men that she would be waiting at the entrance… What if this messes everything up?

As she followed the two men down the dock and heard a truck pulling up nearby to pick up the shipping crate, she hoped that at least one of the men tailing her heard so they could change the plan. She waited with baited breath as she followed the two men toward the designated ship that was bobbing in the water. The man standing near the ledge looked up and said in a hostile tone, “I thought there were only supposed to be two of you.”

“There was a change in personnel,” Donnelly told the man while reaching for a pen in his pocket. 

“I was told that I can only hand off the shipment if there were two men with your description. There wasn’t no girl on the roster!” he countered. 

“Well this here girl is the boss man’s daughter, so unless you want to take this up with Mr. Porter yourself and risk a bullet in the brain, I would-” He couldn’t finish his sentence though as out of seemingly nowhere, the butt of a gun came down hard on his temple.

Instinctively, Julianne told the second man to get down and went into a fighting stance before she felt a sharp knife press to her throat. She froze on the spot, eyes wide as she began pleading for her father’s worker to help. “You so much as think about using your freak powers and I’ll slit your throat faster than you can beg for Daddy’s help,” said the man holding her hostage. 

Before he could do anything though, there were three more O’Hare men on the scene, beating the two Porter men. Right before the second passed out from his injuries, the victor spit near his unmoving body and said, “You tell Porter that his shipment is ours and so is his whore daughter!” He turned his attention to the man holding Julianne and snapped, “Take care of her and make sure Porter knows not to mess with us from here on out!”

“What do you want me to do to her?” he asked with a smugness in his voice as he pressed the blade further into her skin, drawing blood. 

“Kill her for all I care!” the first man said before turning his attention to the man on the boat. 

“This is gonna hurt,” muttered the man holding Julianne as he took a swift swing at her temple that had her vision blacking out faster than she could process what was happening. 

By the time she came to, Julianne was in what seemed like an abandoned hotel with blood smeared all over her body, clothes, and hair. The smell was horrendous and she tried not to gag as she sat up from her position on the floor. “Oh you’re awake, finally. I didn’t think you were going to come to,” came a woman’s voice from behind a camera nearby. “Go on, you can get up, we just finished taking all the photos we needed to send to your father.”

“God, what is that smell?” Julianne asked as she stood up and looked at what seemed to be a brutal crime scene. 

“Sheep’s blood. The fake shit they use for theatre wasn’t gonna cut it, so I got some real blood. Hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t guess I had a choice, did I?” she asked as she caught the towel the woman tossed her. 

She took a quick shower to wash off the blood and emerged feeling refreshed. As she looked at herself through the fogged up mirror, Julianne shook her head and grabbed the scissors she brought with her into the bathroom and began cutting her long hair. Once she got her hair looking neat enough resting on her shoulders, she emerged from the bathroom to meet with the woman again. 

“Nice cut, but you missed a few spots,” the woman said with a light laugh as she took the scissors from Julianne and tidied the haircut up. As she finished up, she added, “You don’t have much time before you need to get out of the country, are your arrangements ready?” 

Julianne nodded, checking her watch as she told her, “Flight’s in three hours. Red eye to the States.” She paused for a moment, telling the woman, “Thank you guys…”

“Thank you,” the woman said with a small smile on her lips. She paused for a second before saying, “Once you exit those doors, Julianne Porter will no longer exist. I hope you know what you’re doing. And when you get there, cover up that God-awful paperboy hat tattoo if you know what’s good for you.”

“Don’t worry, I can handle myself. My mother raised me right,” she replied as she exited the building with her sunglasses on and hood pulled over her head. 

“Miss Shaw?” came a voice as she felt a tapping on her shoulder, rousing her from her slumber. She made a noise of discontent as she stirred awake, her joints aching from sitting for so long. “Miss Shaw, we landed in New York. We’re deplaning now.”

“Oh, right, sorry,” she replied in a groggy voice as she stood up and grabbed her carry on from the overhead bin. 

As she walked out of the plane and through the airport, Julianne suddenly felt a weight lift off her shoulders at the prospect of freedom ahead of her. She would no longer be under her father’s control. She would no longer have her every move tracked. She could have a life! Friends! A normal job! And all that began to happen as she stepped out of the doors of JFK and onto the New York streets, not as Julianne Porter, but as Crystal Shaw.

next chapter

[whatiwillsay]

💀💀💀

NONE of that “tea” is confirmed, aside from the John Mayer stuff. Which we all knew years ago as she’s been bearding since the beginning. You can’t claim “oh I know she fucked Julianne and Lily, and that Joe was real” because it’s never been confirmed. That’s what I mean when I say you have not given reliable tea about her relationships.

Imagine being this stupid.

what a terrible day for me to be literate because that means I have to read your stupid asks.

i guess you don't have the same relationship with literacy that I have because I literally SAID julianne and lily can't come out and confirm the tea I've shared.

most of the personal tea WON'T EVER come out and be confirmed the way work-related tea will be because the personal tea is just that. it's PERSONAL. it's a SECRET. the work-related tea starts out as a secret and then will be revealed to be true because people's work is eventually going to be made public. taylor swift's secret gay relationships are not going to be made public ever unless something crazy happens. the point is that some of the same insiders (not all but some of them) that share the work-related tea ALSO share the personal tea.

i got bilor confirmed by the same person who tipped me off on olivia's album coming out and sabrina opening for taylor on the eras tour. they're a connected source with lots of good tea. they also confirmed joe was real but horribly rocky (that's been confirmed by the music).

there's a reason i am so tapped into taylor that I did an episode on how I thought she and joe were in trouble THE SAME DAY SHE WROTE YOU'RE LOSING ME. THE EXACT SAME DAY. i don't think any other taylor account can claim that lol.

what would be reliable/confirmable tea about her relationships??? your "tea" is that she faked her relationship with matty healy but that hasn't been "confirmed by anyone".

in fact, it's almost a laughable notion. anyone who follows matty healy knows that he does not do any pr. he famously doesn't even have a standard publicist that manages his public image. he only has a publicist for the 1975 who connects the band with media appearances. matty healy would never EVER EVER be a beard the fact that you think he was one shows how little you know about the music industry, particularly the UK music industry.

and btw most gaylors would say she was in a real relationship with john. i was going against the grain when I shared that info and I got heat for it. people made it out to sound like I was saying she lied about being abused when ofc I never said that I think she just got abused by a different guy (and/or never dated john but still got her feelings hurt by him). what other guy? oh martin johnson, which I shared about early on, and then ashley tisdale (who dated martin later) came out and confirmed that taylor and martin dated! thank you for reminding me of more personal tea I shared that was later confirmed!

damn i rarely miss lol

anyway let taylor be bi it's not illegal!

[backstage-if]

Hey fend I have a bone to pick with you!

I looked at the pintrest boards and although I love Em and Spencer is still and always will be life! (Good job on the boards btw you did well! Yay!! Go you! ♥️)

Also will you consider making a list of the Ros fav movies or fav plays for me plus why they love em... pretty pleasseee 💜

but

HEY! Don't distract me!!!!!

Why are you out here making side characters hot??? Kwan, Saint and Anton have no fucking logical reason to be that attractive. My eyes are ruined now. 🙄😭 thanks for that 😑

Sorry not sorry for making hot side characters 😌 (and you maybe be able to kissy kiss with Anton, who knows what the future holds)

BUT sorry sorry sorry for the delay on the ask.

Here it goes.

C

I think C looves Sci-Fi and fantasy movies, like Star Wars and Interstellar (also, they're definitely watching Dune 2), but I choose Watermelon Woman (1996) for Cassandra and Paris Is Burning (1990) for Callahan. I can imagine them age 14, starting questioning themself, hiding under the covers to watch these in the middle of the night and still considering their fav movie to this day.

For favorite play, right now I would say The America Play by Suzan-Lori Parks, because of its themes about living in your own shoes and also bc they consider it to be challenging.

Neil

I can see Neil saying his favorite movie is something classic like 12 Angry Men (1957) (why is he always telling half-truths?), but actually having a soft spot for The Sixth Sense (1999). I just imagine him putting it on TV the following week of his mother's funeral + after his grandma returned to her house and both of his siblings ending up in the living room watching it with him bc all three of them haven't be able to sleep well.

For a play, it's Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, because 1) he watched it once with his parents (it's also one of his dad's favorite plays, unfortunately), 2) the themes.

Joy

I don't feel like Joy has an actual favorite movie, I think it depends on her humor and changes basically every week bc she loves movie nights with friends and/or with her cat. The most recent one would be Boogie Nights (1997) because of vibes ✨️ and also Julianne Moore.

For play, it's The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. She wrote an analysis on it for college and now believes it's a classic for a reason. Same as movies, Joy's favorites changes for time to time, but this still holds the first place (for years now).

Spencer

Spencer has a lot of movies they consider close to heart, but some recent ones are Garoto/Kid (2015) and Sound of Metal (2019). They are captivated by the acting and the themes (they think a lot about feeling unnable to do what they love and about death, probably more than would be healthy).

I think Spencer likes a lot of plays, but never actually stopped to choose a favorite one. Right now, their answer would probably be Little Shop of Horrors, because of the combo themes + music + pratical effects + they did it once right after they started acting (as ensemble) and have good memories of it.

A

A watches a bunch of movies with their mom when she has free time, so they have multiple favorites to choose from. Right off the bat, Ameera would say Lady Vengeance (2005) and Adarsh would choose Memories of Murder (2003), simply because these are movies they really enjoyed and think about rewatching from time to time (unusual for them, who prefer to discover new movies).

Now, for play it would be Spring Awakening, because no one can convince A not to choose a musical. It's a dream role for them and one of the reasons they decided to quit ballet and choose theater (not as dramatic as it sounds, more like.... it help them realize it seemed interesting and challenging and captivating in a way they didn't feel like ballet did anymore).

[pynkhues]

That's so funny, I JUST thought of Jeffrey Wright yesterday!!! I think of him as so American that I wasn't sure if it would work, but he's such a brilliant actor (his performance as Belize in Angels in America is one of my absolute favorites of all time), so I'm sure he'd be amazing. Good point about the oscar nom, but yeah, if the role is interesting enough I could absolutely see him doing it. You said that about Julianne Moore, that she seems willing to go where more interesting roles are, and I think he's like that.

Guy Pearce would also be great, he's such an amazing actor -- excellent thought. lol I didn't know that about him and Cate Blanchett! Does anyone know why?? I feel like she's very well-liked in general?

Jeffrey Wright is SO amazing, and yeah, I totally agree actually that I'd kind of put him in the same category as Julianne Moore as a star who's still really role-driven / is willing to take smaller roles in a good project as opposed to having to be the star, y'know?

And yes! Guy's always great, and I think he can deliver that really good sort of mmm, I guess simultaneous elegant charm and slightly off-putting smarmyness that would really work for Marius?

And lmao, yeah, the public-facing goss is that they had a pay dispute while Cate was Artistic Director at Sydney Theatre Company back in the late 2000s when he was cast in a Poor Boy, and he pretty famously pulled out of the initial STC production yet still did the Melbourne Theatre Company run of the same show the following year, which is kind of a Whole Thing, because Sydney and Melbourne are very competitive creatively and culturally (and in general tbh). It was - - pointed, lol.

The stuff I've heard on the rumour mill working in the creative industries though is its more about how much power Cate and her husband, Andrew Upton, who is an A-list play director and playwright here (and a sort of mid-tier screenwriter) wield in the Sydney scene (there's definitely a cult of personality around them, which can be A Lot). Cate and Andrew were co-Artistic Directors of STC and in that time, Cate got her choice of roles (like she starred in The War of the Roses, A Streetcar Named Desire, Uncle Vanya, The Present, Gross and Klein and the Maids all while she was an Artistic Director of the company, which even lowkey to me feels like a huge conflict of interest).

She stepped away a few years later, and her husband stepped in to be the sole Artist Director, but apparently everyone knew that she was still heavily involved and pulling strings behind the scenes, so even though the company was officially only being led by Andrew, it kind of wasn't? And look, I don't think she was doing anything bad necessarily, but I know that it put at least a few people, both in creative and crew's, noses out of joint. Including Guy's apparently - I think he equally holds the grudge against STC given he hasn't acted for them since, and I don't think Cate appreciated it.

[dwtsfun]

Dancing with the Stars Season 32 Week 2: I Have a Confession

So last night was week 2. And I was thinking of structuring this like last week, but only 1 and a half couples truly had me feeling energized about the night. So I guess we'll go back to the regular format. Because Jamie Lynn was eliminated, I'll just talk about her up here. After watching her dance, I wasn't shocked. With all the controversy that was following her, we needed to have at least one big week from her. We didn't get that at all. And outside of that one moment up in the skybox with Julianne when she redid that move from her cha cha, we didn't get much fun out of her either. So what happens when you have a controversial celeb (that people truly don't like) that has potential that is not even being scratched, who is kinda just there and not giving much in any department? You get a somewhat shocking (but not really when you think about it) elimination. If they wanted to stay, they had to do something to get our minds off of the Britney Jean sized elephant in the room. They didn't do that and I think I'm more shocked that they didn't vs the fact that she was eliminated. That being said, she went out on a positive note (for the most part). So hopefully she can internalize that.

The show itself was a snoozefest. Alfonso and Julianne have kinda been blah so far. The technique and performance quality of the vast majority of the stars was not good enough to have Latin night this early. I just feel like theme weeks should start week 4 at the absolute earliest. Week 5 is what I believe is ideal. Let everyone's skills get better so that we're not watching 4 couples stumble through a samba in week 2, all to fulfill a theme. And the dances that the pros have been giving to the celebs have been pretty ho hum across the board. So now let me start the recap.

Lele and Brandon- Samba (Score=21)- Lele did pretty well with this dance. This was the half a dance I was talking about and upon watching it back, I'm actually gonna up that to being fully impressed and I think this dance was underscored. It should've gotten at least one 8. I think Lele had an understanding of the technique and rhythm of the dance that none of the other samba doers truly understood. And her feet were pointed this time! Than you Brandon. I just want her to do some more refining things and she'll be set.

Tyson and Jenna- Salsa (Score=18)- What an improvement a week makes! Tyson was a completely different dancer out there. I just knew he wasn't a no hoper. We just needed him to get more comfortable out on the floor. What I want him to work on now is 1) getting the technique cleaner and 2) work on getting lighter on his feet. But he is definitely on the right path.

Barry and Peta- Cha-cha (Score=15)- Barry struggled a little bit more this week than he did last. But the foundation is there for him to give good Latin dances. He does have some rhythm and his technique is mostly nice. Those New Yorkers were really really nice. Now, we gotta get him to fix his pancake hands, work on the technique a bit more and loosen up them hips. But I really think these two could play spoiler to many couples this year if he keeps improving. And honestly, he might be a true dance contender.

Adrian and Britt- Samba (Score=15)- Mm. Okay so this was a challenge. So let me start with the good. His face was much better this time around. I also saw that he worked on cleaning up his footwork. Now, he struggled with the dance itself, he still needs to be lighter on his feet, the technique still needs work and he needs to do a better job of partnering Britt. Right now it's not working the way that it should. But if they stick around, I can see that getting better and him becoming a decent dancer.

Mira and Gleb- Salsa (Score=18)- Hmm. Okay. Mira has really nice technique. She has everything to be amazing. But she's currently petrified of the dances and she dances too light. I need Gleb to get her to realize that she's good. I also want him to tell her to dance through the floor and not just on top of it.

Xochitl and Val- Salsa (Score=24)- So I thought this was a good dance. It was missing something though and I can't really place my finger on what it was. Actually, I know what it was. It was too much and too fast. It's a critique I have of Val at least once a season. He jam packs so much into a dance that sometimes, his partners can't breathe. Xochitl did well enough, but I also felt like it might've been a little much and sometimes she got a tad behind. Also her arm in that last lift was not great. Very good dance though.

Ariana and Pasha- Samba (Score=20)- Ariana did alright for the most part part. There were several questionable moments where she either looked off balance or lost a bit of control. I'm gonna say it's her nerves right now because it's not bad. She's still a fantastic dancer and I'm also still worried about her fanbase. But she might benefit from the same things that Melissa Rycroft did in her first season. Only time will tell.

Mauricio and Emma- Salsa (Score=12)- Mauricio actually started out doing pretty well. The problems that most of the other men dealt with this week, he did not deal with it. That was up until he forgot everything. And then the routine crashed. I'm actually shocked that Mauricio didn't get eliminated this week. But I guess people really pulled through for them. I still don't think Mauricio will last long, but hopefully he can come back strong next week.

Alyson and Sasha- Tango (Score=19)- Alyson also had a major improvement this week. I have to admit, I didn't think we could get this level of dancing out of Alyson. But we got it and it was a legitimately good dance. Now, I want her to dance with more intention. She placed everything pretty well, but it wasn't as strong as it could've been. I also want her to relax a little bit more throughout the dances. But we're moving in the right direction.

Charity and Ezra- Cha-cha (Score=21)- As we know, Artem had COVID and had to sit out this week. So we got Ezra as a fill in and I'm glad we got to see Ezra in this capacity. I would not mind seeing him as a pro next season. Ezra is also gay and we're lacking that representation with Louis gone (even though Louis is a bitter and hateful ass bitch and I don't get that energy from Ezra at all) and I don't think we've ever had that on the women's side of things (please correct me if I'm wrong). Now onto Charity. It was cool. Technically, it was a great dance. But I feel like she was timid and stiff. I'll chalk up a lot of that to having a new partner and just being nervous in general. She'll be better as the show goes on, but this just wasn't her best.

Harry and Rylee- Salsa (Score=15)- Harry moves very small and is still terrified of these dances. I think he handled this one better and I saw some improvement. He stayed on time more. But it's still not great. I don't think he can get to a great or even a good level. But he is improving and he can shock us. I mean Alyson definitely shocked me this week.

Jason and Daniella- Rumba (Score=24)- This was the best dance of the night. I think Jason might be the one to beat. I have to see a ballroom dance from him but I do not have any reason to believe that he will really struggle with those based on what he's shown and the past work of Daniella. I did see the misstep that CAI was talking about, but wow, what a dance. I was incredibly impressed.

So that's what I thought about the show. Let me know your thoughts and I will talk to you all soon.

[tzpnet]

Nicholas Galitzine honored by Taylor Zakhar Perez for EW's 2024 Entertainers of the Year: 'The best is still to come'

Galitzine's "Red, White & Royal Blue" costar shares on-set memories and celebrates the "Mary & George" and "The Idea of You" actor's big year.

We're gonna need some pizza for this one. After winning over a whole legion of fans last year as Prince Henry (George Edward James Hanover-Stuart Fox — a real mouthful) in the adaptation of Red, White & Royal Blue, Nicholas Galitzine took a trip back to 17th-century England for the series Mary & George, where he played the titular George Villiers, whose mother encourages him to seduce and become King James I's lover. And then he wooed Anne Hathaway in the romantic dramedy The Idea of You, as boyband lead singer Hayes Campell — singing his way into more viewers' hearts, if that was even possible.

Taylor Zakhar Perez, who plays his enemy-turned-lover Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz (also a mouthful — IYKYK) in RWRB, pays tribute to his costar and friend.

It comes as no surprise to me that Nicholas has been named one of EW’s Entertainers of the Year. Over the past two years, he’s continued to build an impressive career, with memorable and unique projects like Purple Hearts, Bottoms, The Idea of You alongside Anne Hathaway, Mary & George with Julianne Moore, and, of course, the much-loved and highly anticipated Red, White & Royal Blue. Having had the privilege of sharing the screen with him in that project, I can say firsthand that his talent and dedication are evident in everything he does. Behind every “overnight success” are years of hard work, and Nicholas’ journey, spanning more than a decade, is a testament to his perseverance and passion for his craft.

The first time we met in person was at the first rehearsal for RWRB. Everyone graciously gave us space and time to chat and connect, allowing us to find our rhythm before diving into the work. Contrary to popular belief, we rarely get to choose our costars, and this project was no exception. That made this time together even more valuable, knowing we’d be spending the next three months filming, and then the following year promoting the movie. Little did we know, two years later, we’d also share the incredible experience of campaigning during Emmy season.

We both understood the gravity of the assignment — the responsibility to do justice to this beloved adaptation — and the weight that came with it. But beyond the professional expectations, we connected on a deeper, more personal level. I’m a Midwest boy now living in Los Angeles, and he was contemplating a move to L.A. full-time. We bonded over our shared love for travel, music, our passion for acting, and the surreal experience of watching our childhood dreams come true. In this job, you have to be emotionally vulnerable and willing to drop the masks quickly, diving into the authenticity. That’s exactly what we did. Sitting in that room, about to film a major movie, we had a quiet moment of recognition: “We’re in this together.” It was such a cool shared moment, one I’ll never forget.

Spending two days rolling around in cake with Nicholas, wearing medical gowns to eat in our Saville Row tuxes, and texting each other that we found even more frosting in our ears days later — really solidified our friendship. After that, I knew we’d be friends for a long time — whether he liked it or not, he wasn’t getting rid of me that easily. In London, he became our personal tour guide, often steering clear of our American tourist antics. Instead, he introduced us to his close-knit community of actors — the friends he’d grown up with in the industry — making London feel a little more familiar, almost like home. He’d hear me doing my vocal exercises in the morning, yell through the door to mock me, and then we’d end up performing hilariously awful duets outside our trailers. Rachel Hilson would always join in, adding her signature touch with some over-the-top interpretive dance moves. Those moments, filled with laughter and shared antics, made the experience so much richer.

What really stands out about Nicholas, aside from how ridiculously funny (and dashing) he is, is how locked in he gets the moment the director yells “action.” Some actors are asking at 5 a.m. what time lunch is, but with him, it’s like the weight of the normal world disappears, and he’s completely present in the scene, making really specific, thoughtful choices. He’s also the kind of scene partner who’s incredibly generous even when the camera isn’t on him. Set days can get long — 12 to 16 hours sometimes — and it’s easy for the energy to dip. That’s when it helps to have a partner like Nicholas around keeping things light no matter how tired we were. Working with him made the tough days a lot easier and the good days even better.

I’ve seen every version of Nicholas now, his highs, his lows, and everything in between, and he’s seen mine. This industry is a rollercoaster, with extreme highs and crushing lows, but the real work happens between the work and on long phone calls reminding ourselves why we got into this in the first place: to tell meaningful stories that foster empathy, understanding, and a space where everyone feels seen and valued. As actors, there’s always this underlying fear of being misunderstood, whether it’s in your performance or the creative process. Getting to know the real Nicholas, beyond the work and the business, has been incredible. (Okay, I’m done calling him Nicholas, he’s “Nick” or “Nicky 2 Takes” to me.) He’s someone I genuinely enjoy spending time with, both on and off set, and we’ve built a brotherhood-like friendship, which is something extremely rare in this line of work.

I love watching my friends transform on screen, whether in television or film — I’m that fanboy (fanman?) for my friends. Watching Nick in The Idea of You and Mary & George this year, I felt like a proud brother. I was beaming because I know how much young me dreamed of moments like these and I know he’s feeling that same sense of awe, too. Seeing it all come true is surreal — the wildest dreams realized.

As I look ahead, I feel nothing but pride and excitement for Nick and the incredible journey he has ahead of him. He’s already achieved so much, but it’s clear this is just the beginning of an extraordinary career. Whether he’s stepping into the role of He-Man or taking on the next project that captures his imagination, I know he will continue to captivate audiences and elevate every story he is part of. Nick isn’t just a remarkable actor, he is the kind of person who brings out the best in everyone around him. He’s talented, driven, and endlessly generous with his humor. Here’s to Nick and everything the future holds: more unforgettable roles, more laughter, and more moments that remind us why we love doing what we do. I’ll be in his corner, rooting him on, knowing the best is still to come.

[thewritermuses]

Still Alice

Still Alice - Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland

This is part of my unedited thoughts series. 5/10 This film looks at the impact of early-onset Alzheimer's on Alice and her family. The decision to integrate both the impact on Alice and the way the disease is passed onto her children is bold but ultimately flawed. Alice is diagnosed with a type of Alzheimer's that can be passed on to her children. This is an interesting and original idea. The problem is that for this to be properly integrated we need to know more about the children than we do. Because the children are only given a cursory once over we don't get to see how this really affects them and that would have been amazing to see.

I understand that the key reason for including this was to have a huge amount of guilt for the hero Alice. And we see this and it is powerful. But without being able to see the actual impact from the character affected it is two-dimensional.

Alice's husband, John, comes across as heartless and self-serving. To start off with his reaction to the diagnosis is disbelief and refusal - which all makes sense. The problem is that he doesn't move from this state to support Alice who is clearly moved beyond this. In the end, John ends up leaving Alice in the care of one of their daughter's saying: "You are a better man than me." This is tried to be spun as financially important but this doesn't hold true with their lavish lifestyle. Once again if we had been able to see more of John from John's perspective this whole mini-arc could have been great. The way that Alzheimer's is revealed to us and Alice through everyday normal interactions is really well done. The point where she forgets where she is when she is out running is very powerful. We watch Alice decline to the point that she has to give up teaching. It's heartbreaking to watch and the performance is spectacular.

Julianne Moore's performance was stellar and she deserved the nomination if not the Oscar itself. I haven't seen all the other films where the lead actress was nominated in 2015 but my pick would have been Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl. Also a much better film.

A really big flaw with having a character with Alzhiemer's is that they loose agency throughout the story. This is a big problem for a normal narrative arc as the hero needs to drive the action and well before the end of the film Alice isn't making any decisions at all. They did start to set up something that looked like it was going to get around this problem in an exciting way. Alice began recording videos and leaving notes for herself. These were instructions for suicide once she couldn't answer a set of questions. The problem here was twofold. The first was that it was only used in this one instance. It would have been nice to see Alice try to hold onto some sort of control in other areas through these sorts of methods. The second was that Alice only didn't follow through with the plan because she was interrupted while trying to follow the instructions in the video that she finds by mistake. The sequence is really great but it could have been more powerful if Alice had been the one to finally decide on which way to go. Unsure how this fits with the diagnosis but it would have made a great scene. The only child that we really get to see in any detail is Lydia. This is because the story uses this character as an adversary to Alice early on. The character then morphs into a test and then an ally.

The way this transition occurs is great as Lydia sees the impact of the disease on her mum. She is also left defending her mum's rights against her family. She is interested in understanding where Alice is at as the disease progresses which also gives us greater insight. Read the full article

[kittyplushy]

She Loves You (2/2)

Cathedrals are everywhere for the eyes to see.

Thank you all for being patient with how long this took! Happy 2nd month, House Guest! This crazy hyperfixation has me holding on and recovering from everything.

Read the 1st part and the Midfic to fully understand everything going on here.

In which our beloved couple present themselves happily long before they need to defend their existence to their imagined public.

December 12, 1987

.

.

.

You want to look up and pretend it isn't snowing. you want to see the autumn sky again but no. It's flat. It's a pastel lavender. And the weather freezes everyone's paws as they read the morning paper. You're unwrapping this notebook that's been sitting snuggly in the wrapper for the new season. and as you transfer important notes and numbers from the old book, a pink sticky note has her name and telephone number on it. It was only yesterday when you first called but the numbers are already burnt into your mind. Then your eyes look at the clock, monitoring the hours, scratching in impatience, anticipating…

Then you realise what’s happening. You thought that you had kept her at arms-length, close enough but not comfortable. You kept most people at a distance but not her. She begins to tap dangerously close into your mind and you can only shut down to prevent any more ideas from flowing. But she’s multiplying, burrowing everywhere you can hide. How annoying.

Then you may stop to think to yourself: “Is it likely that I’m falling in love again?” Again? Since when have I loved someone? Like Lola? I’m not too sure if there’s a calibre we can weigh the intensity on. Maybe a heart attack, but I never had any of those either. In any case though, I don’t believe I do that sort of thing. The feeling is far distant from it. I could say that I love different things- like the autumn breeze, black coffee with hazelnuts, or the feeling of control. Those are just extreme expressions we throw around. Nothing else special. 

I walked out of the shop expecting a yellow sky but it was still covered in lavender. The feeling was beginning to make me go mad. Dressing up in new garb, looking directly at myself in confused rage. I’ve had this conversation before. I like women. I prefer women. I am not above killing them though. But love knows its ways around me. I’m blushing. I’m fixating on every clumsy sign of affection she shows me. Her kind gestures. Her smile. The way she scrunches her face when her glasses begin to slip. Her unusual voice. I’m beginning to feel it again. A quickened heartbeat. The blurry vision. Sweaty palms. Slurred thoughts.

Maybe I do.

Then she shakes my shoulder when she finds me sitting near the ticket booth with my arms crossed. I sit up properly taking a good look at her. Julianne finally wore her glasses outside, the red frames matching a ribboned top. It was something a little nicer than any of her usual outfits. I curiously wondered though who was inside the silver locket she was wearing.

“Hi, I’m sorry if I kept you waiting.”

“No, you aren’t late at all.” I replied “It’s not even 4 yet but let’s hurry. I have a secret to show you in here.”

Her ears popped up hearing the invitation. She nodded and followed behind me when I bought our tickets and made our way into the cinema. The theatre lights were still on, but as to be expected, there were handfuls of families crowding the theatre this Saturday. Thankfully seats 6 and 7 on Row L were empty and everyone else was courteous enough to not surround our bubble as badly as they could have. 

“Don’t tell anyone about this spot.” I whispered “This has the best view in the cinema even on a packed night.”

Her eyes instead focus on the architectural quirks and details swirling around the space, drawn immediately to the gold cat centrepiece hanging above the screen. She looks back at me and nods.

 “It is…seems just right in the middle..” Her voice tones down to a shy whisper. She rubs her hand on the plush of the velvet seat. The lights dim and the projection begins. The doors are closed for the next hour. Time was moving slower in that red box. I could barely focus on the movie. I know I’ve seen it before somewhere. Julianne on the other hand had her eyes focused on every minute and every detail. She was holding back her excitement to not be so rude. The entire time I was squinting, making out her face in the dark and she only caught me staring once just to tell me her favourite scene was coming up. I forced myself to look at the screen, avoiding suspicion but my hands wandered, landing on top of hers, comfortably sliding my fingers between the gaps, neither of us aware what we were doing to one another.

I could not resist it. My signals were jammed, and they were all directing me to hold her hand or her arms the entire time. I regained autonomy when I asked myself if I could take it a step further. Then the excitement of momentum drowned. 

Julianne continued to hold my hand though even outside the theatre an hour later, humming the songs happily and swaying her arms.

“Hey Julianne, your glasses are fogged.”

“Aw, are they? Thanks.” She let go and grabbed a napkin to clean them up.

She leaned her head on my arm, purring as we continued walking downtown to her apartment. Lively Saturday nights have returned slowly but surely. Christmas lights and displays illuminated the stores around each corner, decorated with trinkets or dioramas of religious imagery. Julianne would stop every now and then to admire a few of them. 

“Thanks for taking me to see Annie tonight. You really didn’t have to.” 

“It’s my pleasure. I don’t know what to do with myself on December nights. Everyone is either out of town or closed early.”

“Everyone is home in December where I’m from. Woodbrook would be twice as busy. Everything would be open til 11!”

I gently smile.

“Oh, I should make it up to you..uhm..do you like magic shows? Not the birthday party sort of ones, the ones that are a lil more mature.” Julianne asks almost excitedly “It’s more of a comedy thing than it is kiddie entertainment. I could take you with me..”

“I’m sorry, I don’t. It’s not my cup of tea.” I said between half-gritted teeth, feeling awful for rejecting the offer. 

“Well, is there any hobby you have that we can do together? Something we can do over the weekend?” Julianne begins insisting. 

“I don’t really have a lot. I’m getting old, so maybe woodwork but most of my hobbies are solitary”

“We can always meet at the library then. I don’t mind. Also, have you eaten dinner? Do you want to go out? I’ll pay tonight since you paid for the tickets.”

I struggled to reply to that. I really had no appetite today. Maybe a few pieces of bread would do today but the thought of the movie meet up tonight weighed upon my head even after the fact, I had lost the will to. I shook my head. 

I’ve been down this road before.

Except she was a lot more merciful in her methods. She left disappointed but she at least understood when to stop pushing my buttons.

“I’m being so pushy, am I? I don’t want to force you to do anything. You’re just so nice to me. I also wanna be nice to you.” She frowns, wrapping her tail around her waist for her to fidget with. We stop at the entrance of the red building. She looks back at me and slowly blinks.

“I’ll leave it at that for now. You really should eat dinner though. Thank you!”

I stood at the doorway for longer than I would have liked to admit.

.

.

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.

December 15, 1987

Last night, Woodbrook experienced its first gleanings of winter. This morning, my driveway was covered in snow. I figured that I should get the front of the house and shop cleared up as early as now to avoid delaying opening. And so I was up since 5, shovelling through snow and greeting school children before it was time I drove to town to do more of the same. 

Coming into the town proper, an alarm bell began ringing in my mind- it was calling for me to look around. I did not understand what I was watching for suddenly. There were no signals in the snow this morning. From the reflection on the glass though was a bright rose parka that my eyes followed into the corner to the church. Nobody else wears that bright of a color here.

Following the butterfly into the pews, I hung my head low and pretended to have a reason to be there. She was seated rows away from me, spending 20 more minutes praying the rosary. She broke out of that solemness and looked around her, turning her back and finally acknowledging my presence. Her cheeks warmed up as she smiled then hid her blushing as she quickly got up and signalled I should follow her. 

“Did..did anyone see that?”

“See what?”

“See me…”

I playfully wrapped my arm around her shoulder. Her cheek got redder, cautiously looking around the street for any onlookers. 

“Most people can’t put up a fight about it. Cut it out.” I reassured her “Wanna get a chocolate at Betsy’s?”

“I’m fine, I’ll be making pancakes at home. Do you want to come with me?”

We looked at a clock inside the still closed stationery store. It was 7 in the morning. The storefront was already clean anyway. 

“I’ll help cook them with you. I’m glad you asked, ‘cause I haven’t eaten anything since 5.”

“Five? I’ve been in church since five. It’s the first snow too.” She was holding out her tongue to taste the snow. 

“Yeah, just clearing out my road, and you don’t have work today?”

“Woodbrook Elementary suspended classes today due to how intense the snow was last night. I also thought that, yknow, 10 days til Christmas. Isn’t there a vigil mass leading up to Christmas at the start of the day? Guess not.” She was talking her head off, eyes still looking behind us. The church had long disappeared into the horizon and she was still distracting me from actually asking what I had come there for.

“No, they don’t. But there is a mass during Christmas Eve. Do you want us to go together?”

“No, no, no, no, I don’t..want to..go to Mass..going with..I’m just saying God would know I’m coming there with impure intentions or what have you.”

Her eyes avert away from where we’re walking and she tries to let go of the grip I have on her. I just continue to hold her closer. The heat in between us was already far too comfortable to let go of. She tried again and my hand just lowered itself to where it was holding her hip.

“No, I’m not letting you go, we still have a block away to walk. Nobody is out here anyway.”

It was an unusually empty Tuesday morning. Half the stores on this avenue were shut down and the foggy air obscured whatever might just be waking up right now. Everything was washed in cream and blues that Christmas ornaments and lights would cut through later in the day. But it was 7 in the morning. To the two of us, this could have been a 3 pm on any other season. 

“It’s safe for two girls or guys to hold hands at least here. Anything other than that is a gamble. I don’t think anyone has any balls in them to punch anyone over what we’re doing right now.”

“I mean..we’re just friends though, right?” Julianne quickly corrected me.

“Of course, of course. That’s why I was thinking if we could attend mass together then we’ll have Christmas dinner. How does that sound?”

“You’re Catholic too?”

I could feel myself trying to not burst into laughter at her silly question. That’s the worst you could assume of me. 

“Sorta” I lied.

“Then we can, as..you know..friends..and you just don’t have to look at me during Mass but..”

“Julianne, don’t think about the Mass part, think of what we’ll do when we get back to my house–” I held my breath and thoughtfully constructed what I would say next “-- What food we’re gonna be eating or what drinks I should prepare..do you drink alcohol? No, bad question, do you have an allergy somewhere? Are you okay with salmon steak for us both..?”

Julianne pulled out her keys when we got to the lobby of the apartment building, eyes following us to the room at the top of the complex.

“I do love salmon, what if we bake it though with buttered vegetables and cheese?”

Her face was red and warm, a hand similarly holding on to the small of my back in front of more people than she worried about. She excitedly talked about what she could cook for the night or what we’d be doing after.

The rosary on her neck heard every intention and desire regardless.

They know. And they’re rewarding her for it.

.

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.

.

December 25, 1987

“I told you” She whispered “Don’t look at me during the Mass.”

“Where else was I supposed to look?”

“I don’t know…the altar?” Julianne pouted again. She toyed with the silver heart on her chest since we got inside the truck. 

We were stuck in the traffic between the busiest roads in town. New cars were flowing in and out of town for vacation while most were rushing home for dinner or their reservations. Last year I spent the day in bed, watching movies alone, and hiding from the world. I was still well fed by at least three families sending me everything I wanted. I was eating a casserole and cookies under my table waiting for Spring. I did miss the formality of the night though. I used to spend it with the Albrights for over two decades. Now with them away, I was getting calls from all around town to stay over. But the message was clear this year. Julianne placed her hands back on the handles of her tupperware when the light turned green.

“It’s so nice that you made that baked salmon too. You didn’t need to.”

“You just wouldn’t tell me what else I could do for you after Annie. It’s all I can do.”

Regardless, I was fine with returning routine back into my holiday schedule. I was wandering in the dark again earlier this year, trailing off of last year’s habits. I remember I still absentmindedly bought a certain somebody’s favorite cakes on a Monday afternoon for what was our afternoon tea time. Luckily, I now had someone at awe of such simple treats like raspberry tarts. Her tail was happily straightened up admiring the gussied-up kitchen. A table for two, sharing two big casseroles of food, strawberry shortcake, raspberry tarts, and a whole bottle of wine. She straightened her white dress, looking back to me to politely gesture we take a seat.

“As friends, right?”

“To my dearest friend, Julianne.”

I know she doesn’t only think of me as her friend.

I’m a special case. An eyecatcher. And then a crush. Then a friend. Now her first suitor. 

She’s crawling inside and finding her space.

Her hand rests on top of mine as we eat.

Many, many more wordless gestures.

The lamb rests inside comfortably.

I could lock it inside now.

But when her eyes curiously glance over to mine, the pressure drops and I feel similarly airy. A fever rushes back to me. The feelings become reciprocal for a glean of a second.

It’s poisoning us both.

This Christmas I watched a girl put a whole strawberry in her mouth. Then she helped me wash the dishes and pack away the Christmas garb on my dining table. For one night I was not angry. I felt fine. I felt fuzzy around her.

She gave me a few new shirts and hid stickers at the bottom of the box because she noticed I had this notebook with me all the time.

I hid one of my old sweaters in between the folds of the dress I bought for her.

In the safety of my house, just before she left, I asked her to come closer when I began thanking her for coming over. I lost focus of what I was intending on doing then leaned over and kissed her forehead before telling her to run along now. It looked like she wanted to reciprocate back but she walked away from my porch with her hand on her head. 

If I was thinking clearly, I may have asked her to be mine instead.

But some things take time, right?

.

.

.

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January 1st, 1988

I wondered where she was last night. I called her up in the morning of the eve, then the afternoon, and later left a message on her machine instead the minute a new year passed. My eyes were always looking for her. She had to be wearing any sort of shade of pink or red. Rose was absent from the crowd of onlookers tonight. Last night I only looked at the display with a solemn emptiness. I figured that maybe Julianne would have preferred a plain sky. When the smoke cleared, I looked up to see her windows shut. Her lights were still on but not even a hint like the sound of my keys prompted her to open them.

But I could feel myself develop a dependence on her presence in an environment ever since. I see flowers spelling her initials or colors I’ve sworn looked out of place in a town dull without eccentricity. And even before anything was finalized, I was asked- “where’s Julianne?” by at least 3 people.

I guess we go in pairs now.

I couldn’t be embarrassed about it anymore. It was my lifestyle now, knocking on their door to come inside the red bricked apartment. It’s like they were almost expecting me, telling me she’s been in her apartment since December 30th. I’ll admit, I began to worry when I got to her front door. I was imagining the poor girl depressed on the floor. But when she opened the door, she just sighed in relief and told me to get inside as soon as possible. She was feeling a bit jumpy, she described staying far, far away from the windows as possible. The sound of firecrackers and fireworks startled the poor kitten. It was not isolation but caution.

Fireworks displays were anxiety inducing to her. She voluntarily hid away from the parade to keep her peace of mind.

“And yet…” Julianne whispered to herself “...people were still looking for me.”

“You’re already such an integral part of the town. People are going to go look for you.” 

“Days ago, I was approached by Guy near his store, and he confidently called me ‘Amy’.”

“But have you heard what they’re calling you, though? Like Pinky. Pinky is a popular nickname now.” I chuckled.

“Pinky…”

“I’m sure they all understand.”

“But were you disappointed I wasn’t there?”

“I guess I was. But you should just tell me fireworks freak you out sometimes..”

She wrapped her arms around me in loving suggestion, almost immediately retracting before resting on my chest fully.

“I heard there’ll be another fireworks show over at the edge of Centerville though… if you want to watch something with me tonight..”

“I’m fine..let’s just stay where we are.”

“Stay…” She echoed back to me, crawling closer and closer.

“You’re so close now, woah, what’s going on?”

“I’m not sure either. Do you?”

She sits herself on my thigh, arms wrapped around my shoulders as she lightly imitates initiation. She couldn’t keep a straight face though.

“Stay and watch the stars with me later.”

I tilted my head in flustered confusion. Sure I will. At least by now the smoke has settled. She slips her glasses off and leans into me, taking the initiation to kiss me first. 

The jumpiness transfers, shaking from her hand to mine to everybody. The burning and the electricity. How shocking. 

She loves me.

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E125 (Feb. 16, 2021)

Goooood evening good evening good evening, all! I hope you’re all staying warm and safe and dry in this chilly weather. Tonight’s guests: Travis Willingham and Laura Bailey. 

We open tonight with Travis ribbing Brian for his continuous remodel of his office space. Laura demands a second introduction of herself as she wasn’t paying attention during the first one.

Travis: “You’ve gotta love Julianne Moore. She’s the only actress who can cry and show you all her teeth at the same time.” I was listening pretty closely when he said this and I’m still not sure it had any context. 

Jester thinks there’s a strong possibility at least half the party will die against the Tombtakers. Fjord doesn’t think the odds are quite that high, but it will be dangerous. Laura points out that most of the M9 are also willing to sacrifice themselves for the rest of the party, so that changes their odds as well. Travis: “The game is not a stress reliever. It is not a stress reliever. I mean, it’s fun as shit, but it is stressful!”

Laura thinks Essek will give them a better chance. Travis: “A plus-one? A powerful plus-one, but a plus-one?” Did you see his reaction when we gave him the lowdown? Let’s be real: we kinda trust Essek. I got $50 that when we come back, he’s gone.” Laura is convinced he is trustworthy & wants to lighten his soul.

Jester spent so much time trying to bring out the Molly side of Lucien that to have him then betray them sucked. She knew that trying to bring the good out of everyone they met would eventually fail, but it stung that it was the most powerful one they encountered to first betray them.

She tries to talk about finger gestures during the answer as a reference to the HBO show “Raised by Wolves,” and Brian and Travis tell her to keep digging this hole she gets herself into about fingering. Travis: “Just get off the interstate at the next exit and turn right.” Laura, of course, immediately mimes turning a hard left, and they spent the next few minutes laughing at her inability to tell right from left and that even now she still has to hold up her hands to tell left from right.

Fjord is furious that they nicked the Bag of Holding. The loss of Vess DeRogna is bad enough, but he is genuinely IRL anxious about the loss of the Cloven Crystal. Laura points out that Fjord has also explicitly talked to Lucien about the deep sea creature patron he used to follow as well. He’s terrified one of Lucien’s scimitars is suddenly going to have a big eye sticking out of it. Laura suggests they’ll just succeed, bring back the city, and wake up Uk’otoa for the heck of it.

It was really rough to go from the Gelidon fight to the Tombtaker fight, especially since the first fight sent so well. Travis felt great that he initiated the dragon fight - he knew they had a far advantage in the numbers and felt that it was an open and shut case.

Laura does boggle that if Caleb hadn’t asked for that item from the Bag of Holding, they might have slept all night before realizing it was gone. They’re both relieved that they now know so much more about how the Tombtakers fight, especially the anti-magic cone. The most anxiety-ridden part was when they were trying to run and the TTs weren’t letting them. “You know when you don’t even have squares, when Matt’s black-tableclothing it, you’re in deep shit.” Laura had no spells left - she was so worried if she dropped the polymorph she would have had nothing left.

Travis: “Thanks for healing me, babe.” Laura: “You’re welcome, baby. It was ultimately a waste, though, because we took a rest immediately and you could just spend your hit dice.” Everyone laughs at Travis’s pain. She does say it was worth it in the moment since they didn’t know if they would be able to get away.

They joke that Laura’s just wearing the Fire Resist ring on a chain around her neck/Sprinkle is wearing it now to keep it safe since she’s not attuned to it anymore. It’s pretty hilarious!

Travis hoped that the TTs were originally actively looking for more acolytes rather than just having Caleb & Beau read the book. Otis needs to die. He’s relieved they have an idea of what all their blood rites do. Laura thought the time with them was fun, but it makes her retroactively wish that she’d dropped Zoran in the lava when they had the chance. Travis wishes they’d put a chime on the door of the tower.

Laura loved the tarot card reading, since Taliesin sent her really detailed breakdowns of the cards & gave her a real deck for Christmas. Taliesin told her she did a great job afterwards which she really appreciated, since she’s not sure what she’s doing. She does wish that she knew why Lucien seemed so nervous when she was talking about rebirth.

Cosplay of the Week! @clever_comics on twitter with a lovely Veth in her snowy lavender-colored outfit and pigtails.

Travis on confessing to Jester: “It FUCKING made me crazy!” He’s never been an instigator of campaign romances in the past, but because he loves Laura and was able to connect to her on that level he felt like it was a good challenge instead. He doesn’t think he could have done it with someone he wasn’t comfortable with. It was also important to him for it to be founded on real-game moments and after real-game time had passed, and he felt it was a very natural progression. Seeing the statues rip five years from her in such a benign situation made him realize that to let the opportunity pass wouldn’t have been worth it. He wishes he’d told Vandran what he meant to Fjord as well.

Laura loves that Fjord is becoming more confident as well. The post-Gelidon smooch took Laura completely by surprise since she’s finding Jester is a little surprisingly awkward with IRL affection, and she was surprised Fjord was the confident one there. “It’s so wonderful. It’s a matter of finding a way to get comfortable with it with her away from the Tombtakers.” Travis thought it was important to continue the “go for it” mantra. He notes that he’s pretty private about his personal life IRL, so it’s been a bit of a shift. It’s slower in a way - not a “you’re my one true love” kind of thing, more of a “let’s see where this goes and act on what you can” thing.

They were all “poopin’ in their pants” to get to go to Emon. The worst part was not getting to explore outside the tower since they had to leave again immediately. Kima is so cool, and Travis was actively trying to get Kima to come with them. Everyone boggles that they got to borrow Allura’s staff.

Laura only was thinking about the item-tuned-to-the-target-plane because she’d been texting with Liam trying to iron out their spell choices. She’s so relieved that they were able to get something tuned to the Sea from Allura.

For the most part, Laura knows what spells are the most useful for Jester, but every now and then she does get caught by major component requirements that she hadn’t noted. She wants to get another chalice for Hero’s Feast before they go into the Sea.

Dani points out that a lot of their allies right now are mages (no Kashaws, no Kimas, no Grogs) and they’re heading to a bad place for mages.

Travis has a sudden brain wave about all the TTs being from the Claret Order and wonders if they should investigate that before they pursue. I don’t even remember what that order is and I feel terrible!

Fanart of the Week! It’s a beautiful card by @crovyne on twitter of the Cree counterspell.

Laura really wants Brian to shave the sides of his hair and do Viking braids in the rest. I didn’t want to say anything out loud, but Brian’s hair is really looking pretty...pandemicky.

This is Dani’s four-year-anniversary of her start for Critical Role! Awww, Dani! You’re so short in real life.

Fjord is stoked that the Star Razor is a Vestige, and more now that he knows in-character what that means. It was great to see Allura react the way she did.

Jester doesn’t think they can really go to Nicodranas - they don’t have anymore time. Even more, Jester’s avoiding going home because she doesn’t want the Ruby to see that she got aged up/hurt on her travels.

Travis honestly assumes that the TTs are spying on them 100% of the time now.

Does Jester feel better now that the crest is away from Lucien? Yes, even though it’s gone off course. She thought dropping the crest where they were was a HORRIBLE idea and was appalled so many people were suggesting it. She saw the city with her own eyes, knows the danger of what’s coming, and if they had dropped it in flight she would have dropped with it and defended it as long as she could if that’s what would have kept them from getting it.

Travis thinks that if they can negotiate with Lucien, they should try. Everyone is super worried about Caleb’s and Beau’s new eyes and are fully anticipating they’re on a clock at this point. They wonder if it’ll drive up their exhaustion, allow Lucien to force them to fight against them, maybe make them willing slaves to the mysterious voice...they need to solve it sooner rather than later. 

And that’s all for tonight! New episode this Thursday - usual time, usual place. Stay warm, friends, and is it Thursday yet?

[crhinge]

Breaking Down The Classic Rom-Com

I feel like I haven’t written a fun post in a hot sec so lets talk about one of my favorite subjects: Rom Coms

According to wikipedia, a Rom Com, also known as Romantic Comedy, is “a subgenre of comedy and slice-of-life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles.” In the past, Romantic Comedies have also been called “Chick Flicks” but I think this is devaluing of both women and  the romantic comedy genre. 

The other day, I woke up to find that the most wholesome rom-com couple of all time reunited: Matty & Jenna (Aka Mark Ruffalo & Jennifer Garner). This got me thinking about the beauty of the Rom-Com and how unappreciated they can be. It has been years since we have seen a rom-com with the cultural impact of 13 Going on 30, and I would like to petition for more of them after a sad and painful year. 

I can already hear the millions (in my head this blog is extremely popular) of comments “What about To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before?!?” “What about The Kissing Booth?!?” And too that I say, "Good Riddance!” If you’re rating your rom coms on a TATBILB scale, or even WORSE The Kissing booth, I feel sorry for you. Truly I do. So let's dive into the best Rom Coms of all time, but first... 

What makes a Rom-Com good? Well let's start with a relatable as hell main character. I am talking a girl (sometimes guy), who has many flaws, but the audience can see themselves within her/him. Let's use Jenna Rink from 13 Going On 30 as an example. Well, she's literally a 13 year old in a 30 year olds body, but don’t we all still have a preteen hiding inside of all of us? She is 100% willing to be herself at every step, even if that means dancing thriller all alone. She touches on all of our insecurities, while teaching us how to break down our walls. 

Rom-Coms also need characters to make realistic choices. This does not mean that the movie itself is realistic, but rather than you can understand the choices the characters make. Again, 13 going on 30 does a fabulous job of this. Obviously, Jenna traveling in time because of wishing powder is not realistic, but the choices that her and her past self make are. Due to the insecurities of her childhood and a need to feel included, relevant, and powerful Jenna pushes important people out of her life, which happens to so many people in the real world. These decisions force her to miss out on the love of her life, and ultimately, the story ends sadly: the love of her life marries someone else and she is left with tears, wishing powder, and an old doll house. That is until she is able to travel back in time and change the course of her life. 

Lastly, Every classic Rom-Com couple needs to have chemistry. There. I said it. Hollywood loves just casting random famous actors without giving them a proper chemistry read. One great example of this is Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel in Safe Haven. Both fun, famous, Hollywood actors who have zero chemistry. Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner had more chemistry throwing back Razzles than those two did during an intimate sex scene. 

Alright, now that we have broken down the requirements of a Romantic Comedy, let's jump into the best and worst of all time.

Best: When Harry Met Sally. 9/10. A classic. A tale as old as time. Both Sally & Harry are very flawed, yet relatable characters. Sally is too picky and particular, while Harry is a player. They both suck at relationships, but make rational decisions based on their motivations. We all have friends like these two and their chemistry is on point, both on a friendship and romantic level. They bounce off of one another splendidly. 

Worst: Sleepless in Seattle. 1/10 I know, this is a strong take, but this is a terrible movie about a stalker. Meg Ryan (I don’t even remember her character's name) is the stupidest most unrelatable character I have seen in a long time. She is extremely unlovable, cheats on her SO emotionally, and flies across the country to stalk a man that she has never met before. And then you’re telling me that Tom hanks FALLS FOR HER? Nope. No. I refuse to except this. Plus, their chemistry in this is pretty mediocre (You’ve Got Mail is Way Better) and we only get to see them together once. 

Best: 10 Things I Hate About You. 8/10. I was tempted to leave all high School Rom-Coms off this list, but Heath Ledger is my exception. Talk about likability. Kat is a strong, powerful, independent woman who learns how to be more vulnerable while still being a feminist badass. We all wanted to be Kat growing up. Meanwhile Heath Ledger is the classic bad boy with a soft side, and who wasn’’t into that? Both characters grow into new people throughout the movie making them relatable, complex, and realistic. Not to mention the angel that is Joseph Gordon Levitt, who keeps the audience up beat and smiling throughout the course of this Shakespeare tale

Best: My Big fat Greek Wedding. 10/10.  Have you seen this film recently? Because it is an absolute DELIGHT and so relatable. It dives into the difficulty of family expectation and cultures merging. It also has the cutest proposal of all time with a realistic couple that fights for one another on a daily basis. You laugh. You cry. You get a dynamic cast with wonderful chemistry. You feel invested in the family and the relationship. Just a joyful wonderful film.

Worst: Something Borrowed. 0/10. If you’ve never seen this movie, don’t. Ginnifer Goodwin sleeps with her best friends fiancé and we’re supposed to be okay with it because she liked him first. Hard pass. And she ignores John Krazinski who is right in front of her. She is unlikable, unreliable, and makes dumb decisions that no one else would. 

Best: He’s just not that into you. 9/10  I will go to bat for this movie. It follows several realistic storylines in a Love Actually manor, except they actual seem legit. A woman realizing her boyfriend is never going to marry her. A girl facing the fact that maybe some guys just aren’t that into her, and she isn’t an exception to the rule. A man slowly making the decision to cheat on his wife as they are growing apart. A woman realizing that she is worth way more than her bastard husband. A woman realizing that the person she’s sleeping with will never leave his wife for her. It's compelling, has realistic characters that we can relate to, and still warms your heart in the end. 

Best: The Big Sick. 8/10. Okay to be fair, this is based on a true story so it automatically has realistic characters and decisions. Maybe I should leave this off of the list, but I wish this film got the recognition it deserves. Two lovable main characters who make mistakes that are understandable. Wonderful chemistry between Kumail and his girlfriend as well as her family. 

Best: About Time. 11/10 This is hands down the best Rom-Com of all time and Potentially the best film of all time as well. If you don’t cry in this movie you do not have a heart or soul. The characters are SO insanely likable and adorable.It touches on the importance of family and valuing time and how little of it we have. The chemistry within the whole cast is palpable, and we can all relate to at least one character, whether it is the protagonist Tim, his wife Mary, his sister Kit-Kat, or his father. 

Well it is important to point out the obvious here: this list is lacking diversity in a huge way. All but one of these movies follow a cis, straight, white couple, and that is extremely concerning. People have attempted to make more diverse rom-coms over the past few years, but they all seem to be lacking one of the three core components of what makes a rom-com great: Relatable, realistic, and great chemistry. For example. Crazy Rich Asians was a fantastic film, but the high level of wealth that Nick Young comes from, made his character difficult to relate to, and I’m sorry but the chemistry just wasn’t there for me. Always Be My Maybe’s characters fell flat and it’s not a film I would want to watch more than once. Love Simon made some huge waves for LGBTQ representation in the media, but that ending kiss was unrealistic along with his friends reaction to fining out he was lying, which left the movie anti-climactic by the end. 

Now, the most recent film on this list was made in 2017. And before that 2013. So where have all the Rom Coms gone? Why don’t we see more of them. There are a few Rom Coms that could be contenders on the “Best” list from the last couple of years that include a small amount of diversity: 

Yesterday 7/10. The big question here is does this count as a romantic comedy? The love story isn’t the main plot, but is definitely a large sub-plot. This movie features an interracial couple and is highly re-watchable. The main characters are entertaining, relatable, and have pretty good chemistry. We will see if it stands the test of time. 

The Broken Hearts Gallery 7/10. This movie has gotten NO recognition. The main character, Lucy, is an extremely likable 20 something, not unlike our Ginnifer Goodwin in He’s Just not that Into You. The plot is fun and predictable but keeps you watching. I don’t know if this one will stay on my list long, but it’s definitely up there. 

But here is my challenge to Hollywood: create some new, beautiful Rom Coms that celebrate diversity but that don’t throw away the relatable, realistic, and high chemistry characters that we are just waiting to fall in love with. It’s got like 16 ideas up my sleeve, so just give me a call Hollywood.