#phew! been a while since I last did some commentary for a piece | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dream-a-little-bigger-x · 4 years

Text

Hero | Luke Patterson

Add yourself to my taglist! | Here’s my masterlist!

Song Fic February Week 4: Musicals

Inspiration: StarStruck (DCOM)

Requested: Yes/No

A/N: Anon suggested doing something with the Starstruck soundtrack, so I’m writing a whole-ass series. This is based off the plot of Starstruck but the reader was a fan of JATP until she met Luke... Basically crush to enemies to lovers! Also a modern!au.

The third installment of the StarStruck series!

StarStruck

Something About The Sunshine

Hero

What You Mean To Me

Pairing: Luke x Fem!reader

Song(s) used: Hero - Christopher Wilde (StarStruck ST)

Warnings: few swear words, mention of car accidents, mention of child abuse, mention of postnatal depression, tiny bit of angst

Words: 8.6K

I’m almost nervous to see him again. There’s a nervous flutter erupting from the pit of my stomach and I feel hot and sweaty when it’s not even that warm out. The boy didn’t have that effect on me just a day ago and now he suddenly does? I hate this.

“Morning,” I greet when I find Luke standing outside the coffee shop with his hood pulled far over his head and sunglasses covering his beautiful eyes. He shoots me a smile, but I don’t think he actually looks at me. Right, the whole “I can’t be seen with you”-thing.

“Want to go grab some coffee before we go?” I ask instead, pointing at the shop.

Luke nods his head and follows me inside where we wait in line together. The silence that hangs over us is uncomfortable for the first time. I don’t know why but his mysterious, secretive antics are making me nervous.

“Next!” the barista calls and the two of us step forward. The twenty-something woman shoots the both of us a polite smile, not even acknowledging that Luke’s keeping his head low. This is L.A., she’s probably used to it by now. “What can I get for ya?”

“An iced vanilla latte for me, please,” I say and then glance down at Luke.

He coughs. “Iced caramel macchiato.” His voice is low, just above a whisper, as though he’s telling the barista and me a secret. I’m glad we’re going to be out of the city soon, so Luke can go back to his regular self. Or to the singing-on-top-of-a-car-in-the-middle-of-nowhere self.

“What’s your name, please?”

“Y/N…” My eyes land on Luke for a split second, and I’m pretty sure he’s not even going to answer. Luke’s a pretty generic name, I’m sure people won’t even bother to look up. “Put my name on both, please.”

The barista smiles and then dashes off after I paid to start making our coffees while we shuffle towards the end of the counter, ready to take our drinks when they’re ready. Luke keeps his head down. He doesn’t even look up at me and the awkward silence doesn’t eb away.

“You’re not gonna talk to me yet, are you?” I ask him as I hand him one of the two straws I picked up. He shakes his head. I try my hardest not to groan and instead, hand him the keys to my car. “Here, get yourself settled in my car, I’ll handle this.”

His eyes peer over the rim of his sunglasses, flickering with uncertainty and gratefulness at the same time. I shoot him a smile, urging him to get out of here, which he does with a quick flash of his teeth.

The awkwardness quickly washes off me when he’s left the coffee shop and I’m all alone, hoping everything would change once we’re all alone, away from the prying eyes of Los Angeles’ residents.

“Iced vanilla latte and iced caramel macchiato for y/n,” the barista calls and places the cups on the counter in front of me.

I smile at her, say, “Thank you! Bye!” and then dart out of the coffee shop as fast as I could. I weave my way through hasty people and slacking tourists towards my Toyota Yaris where a hooded boy sits in my passenger seat. He still has his hood pulled up and his sunglasses balancing on the bridge of his nose. He almost looks sad, which makes me a little sad too. I wish I could do more than let him wait in my car.

“Here you go,” I say and hand him his coffee when I’ve settled into my seat.

“Thank you,” he mutters, and I’m pretty sure it’s not just for the beverage.

A smile etches its way to my cheeks as I regard him. “You’re welcome,” I say and then start the engine. As I pull out of the parking lot, Luke finally sparks up a conversation. I’m almost relieved to hear his voice again for more than two words.

“Where’re we going?” he asks.

I debate telling him but then decide I’d do it anyway. I’ve been researching a lot last night and have found the greatest secluded spots and the time slots when they’re mostly deserted or have the least visitors. The one I wanted to take him to today was a lot closer than the other ones, so I figured we could start with that.

“The Old L.A. Zoo. It’s less crowded before 9am, so I figured we could go explore it a bit until too many people arrive?” The statement comes out of my mouth as a question since I’m unsure whether or not he’d like that.

“Cool,” he replies, and he sounds honest, too. “I don’t think I’ve ever been there.”

It surprises me a little, but I go with it anyway. “Really? I’ve been there plenty of times! It’s really cool! Kinda spooky.” Luke lets out an airy laugh at that and it makes my heart flutter a little.

Within ten minutes, we arrive at the old zoo. Ten minutes had gone by and yet it felt like a split second. The conversation ran fluently on our way there and Luke told me things about the band and his childhood that not even the biggest fangirl on earth could possibly know. I love talking to Luke about those seemingly uninteresting, small things.

The rest of the morning, too, goes by as if there’s no concept of time whatsoever. The two of us walk through the old, abandoned zoo and explore every single old habitat. I even find a website that tells us the entire history of each section of the zoo and as I read it, Luke listens and adds in his own commentary. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this much in just a few hours. This guy is genuinely funny and I just adore talking to him. Our conversations go from the ridiculous to the serious, and every subject in between.

It’s just the perfect day that I wish would never end, but inevitably, Luke has his own responsibilities and has to go by lunch time.

“Hey, why don’t you come with me to the studio?” he asks with a smile as we’re making our way back to the car. “I’m in there all by myself, aside from our producer, and I’m recording a few songs.”

I open and close my mouth a few times, letting incomprehensible sounds roll out. It makes me look like a dumbfounded fish, I’m sure, but I don’t care. My brain is dysfunctioning for a moment. Luke Patterson is asking me to come to the studio with him. To watch him record some songs. Songs that are going to be on the album.

Luke’s laugh makes the gears in my brain fall back into place. “Is that a yes?” he asks.

A heat rises up to my cheeks. “Yeah,” I finally manage.

“Cool,” he says and then gets into the car.

The ride to the studio is filled with smooth conversation. We never miss a beat, there’s never an awkward silence between the two of us. Only when we arrive at the recording studio and we’re met with a huddle of paparazzi outside the door.

“Fuck,” he mutters and ducks down. I do the same, knowing he doesn’t want me to be seen with him either. “Drive around back,” he orders before fumbling into the glove compartment of my car. He retrieves a pair of sunglasses I kept there, along with a shawl of my mother’s that I didn’t know was still in there. “Put this on.”

“No,” I reply sternly, pushing his hand with the shawl away. I do take the sunglasses from his hand though, and push them onto my nose. “Put that shawl away,” I bark. The boy obeys and stuffs the piece of cursed fabric back where it came from.

Mental note: throw that out.

When we finally do get into the recording studio, as soon as I’m on Luke’s side, he grabs my hand and drags me into the building before anyone could ever spot us. I nearly stumble on my own feet, but quickly pick myself back up before I faceplant the floor.

Luke huffs. “Phew, that was close.”

He looks at me, and for a second, I think he might bring up the shawl again, but he doesn’t and instead turns to his producer, who had gotten up from his swivel chair the second we burst in.

“Connor!” Luke greets excitedly and shakes the man’s hand.

He looks near his thirties, strong built with flawless dark skin and a full head of afro hair. Combined with his extremely savvy outfit, I find him really cool-looking. He’s the kind of guy that would get all the girls in high school while still being a sweetheart.

“You brought some new flesh, I see,” Connor says to me and outstretches his hand for me to shake. I do so with a wide smile on my face while pretending not to be completely nervous about being in a recording studio for the first time.

“Y/N,” I introduce myself.

“Welcome to our little slice of heaven on earth, y/n.” My eyes flick to Luke, who’s giving me that look again, so I quickly turn back to Connor. “Any knowledge of recording studios, y/n?” he asks.

“Never been in one, but my friend is a producer and he did teach me some things.”

I hear Luke huff beside me. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, there’s a lot you don’t know.” I shoot him a wink as Connor beckons me towards his deck. For a while, Connor guides me through his paces while Luke gives the best of himself on this song.

After a few takes, Luke comes out of the booth and joins me and Connor to listen to what we’d recorded thus far. “What if –” I pause, debating my thoughts. “What if we go in with some soft backing vocals on here?” I click the part of the chorus we’d recorded and sing along with recorded Luke.

“'Cause I I can be everything you need If you're the one for me Like gravity I'll be unstoppable I, yeah, I believe in destiny I may be an ordinary guy With heart and soul But if your the one for me Then I'll be your hero”

“I think if you put Julie on those backings, it could give that duet-vibe you guys are so good at.” I notice Connor and Luke glance at each other, soft smiles playing on both their lips.

“Why don’t you show us?” Connor asks as Luke already grabs my hand.

“What?! Me? No! Julie.”

Luke chuckles and drags me into the booth with him. “Yeah, but we’re gonna need a demo, don’t we?” He delicately places a set of headphones on my head before placing one on his own. He signals to Connor and no later than 2 seconds, the instrumental version of the song blasts through the headphones.

Gazing at me, Luke starts singing the first verse of the song, and I let him. It almost feels like he’s serenading me. Almost. All that’s missing is a guitar or a boombox over his head.

“I'm no superman I can't take your hand And fly you anywhere you want to go Yeah I can't read your mind Like a billboard sign And tell you everything you want to hear But I'll be your hero”

From the chorus onwards, I jump in with backing vocals wherever I feel like it’s acceptable without taking my eyes off of Luke.

“I I can be everything you need If you're the one for me Like gravity I'll be unstoppable I, yeah, I believe in destiny I may be an ordinary guy With heart and soul But if you're the one for me Then I'll be your hero”

“Could you be the one Could you be the one for me” “Oh I'll be your hero” “Could you be the one Could you be the one for me” “Yeah I'll be your hero”

“So incredible Some kind of miracle That's what it's meant to be I'll become a hero So I wait, wait, wait, wait for you”

We keep our eyes locked at the high note too, smiles plastered on our faces from ear to ear. Singing with Luke gives me some kinda rush. A feeling I can’t quite describe but it’s a feeling I want to feel more often.

“Yeah, I'll be your hero Yeah”

“Cause I I can be everything you need If you're the one for me Like gravity I'll be unstoppable I, Yeah, I believe in destiny I may be an ordinary guy with and soul But if you're the one for me I'll be your hero”

“Yeah, I'll be your hero”

“Could you be the one Could you be the one for me”

“Yeah I'll be your hero”

The music fades out in our headphones, and soon, Connor’s applause sounds through it instead. I’m snapped back into reality, away from cloud 9, away from the pure bliss that’s singing with Luke and gazing into his eyes.

“That was amazing! Good job, guys!” Connor says, beaming.

Luke and I remove our headphones and he grabs my hand to lead me back to the decks where Connor welcomes us with open arms and a wide smile.

“I thought you and Julie were the most watchable duetters, but I’ve been proven wrong.”

I feel the heat rise to my cheeks before Luke snaps me out of it again.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Con. Can you send the finished product to the band and our manager? I’m sure they’d like to hear this. Don’t tell them who’s on backing vocals, though. They don’t need to know that.”

I swallow a lump in my throat and try to convince myself it’s probably not that deep. Luke doesn’t want to be seen with me. Not even by his band mates. It’s fine. It’s totally fine.

We wrap up the recording session and I drive Luke back to the coffee shop where he looks behind him and out of every single one of the windows, just to be sure the coast is clear of paparazzi.

“Thanks for the day, y/n. I really enjoyed spending time with you again.”

I force a smile. Ever since his statement to Connor about not wanting the band to know about me, I’ve been going over everything in my mind and it has caused me to fold in on myself.

“Yeah, it was fun.”

He gazes at me for a moment, inspecting every inch of my face as if detecting the lie from my eyes. When I think he’s just going to bid his goodbyes and get out, he doesn’t. Instead, he turns his body to me and reaches for his phone. I watch as he unlocks it and taps away on it before turning the device towards me. There’s a new contact form open on his screen.

“Gimme your number. I’d love to do this again some day.”

I furrow my brow while taking the phone in my hands. “Do you even have time to spend days with a nobody like me?” I don’t dare look at him and keep my eyes on the screen as I type my name and number.

He doesn’t say anything either until I finally cave and look up when giving his phone back. There’s a crease in his forehead as his eyebrows are knitted together in confusion.

“You’re not a nobody, y/n. I’d gladly make time for you. I told you, I loved spending days away from reality. Especially with you.” Fangirl Me is jumping out of my skin while Present Me tries to keep her cool and ignore all of the butterflies that erupt in her stomach.

“Cool,” Present Me says out loud while Fangirl Me is scolding her so hard.

Cool? Cool?! Seriously? Dude.

“I’ll text you, yeah?”

I nod my head in response and watch as he gets out of my car. Before I can even place my foot on the gas or shift out of park, my phone beeps in the pocket of my sweater. For the first time in forever, I smile when seeing an unknown number on my screen.

As I look out of my window, I find Luke looking at me with his hood pulled over his head again. He shoots me a quick smile and a wave before I turn to my phone again and type a reply.

I whip my head up to see his reaction. His jaw drops before his face turns into a scowl as he glares at me. Giggling and satisfied with the reaction, I place my phone on the passenger’s seat where Luke was sitting before and then pull out of the parking spot.

That night, I save Luke’s number to my phone. I go between “Luke P.”, “Patterson” and “Luke ❤️” but eventually decide on the funnier option and save him as “Poo Musician 💩”.

I stand in line at the coffee shop before 8:30 that morning and I’m a little nervous. Last night when I returned from my day with Luke, the two of us had been texting back and forth. I felt like a sixteen year old again. One of those giggly teenagers that’s texting their crush. Which is what I was, but it’s been a while since I felt like it.

Once I have an iced vanilla latte and an iced caramel macchiato, I head outside where I find a boy waiting by my car. He’s wearing a sleeveless shirt paired with a bright blue sleeveless sweater, his hood pulled far over his head so his face is hidden from prying eyes.

I don’t need to see his face to know it’s Luke. I’d recognize those muscles from a mile away. The way he’s leaning against the hood of my car and the way he’s holding his phone is a dead giveaway too.

“Your coffee, sir,” I say in a serious, deep voice.

Luke’s head snaps up, eyes wide. He looks like a deer caught in headlights until he notices it’s just me and relaxes. A smile etches onto his face as he tucks his phone into the pocket of his jeans whilst taking the coffee I ordered for him with his other hand.

He takes a cautious sip from the beverage. “Hm, Caramel Macchiato, someone’s been stalking me.” I know he’s just teasing, I can tell by the way one corner of his mouth curls up and his eyes have that childlike glint in them.

Making my way to the driver’s side of my car, I smile and say, “Contrary to popular belief, Patterson, I’m not a stalker. I just remembered your order from yesterday.”

Luke’s smile tells me something I’d rather not think about. It’s like he’s saying “You remembered my order” in that flirty way only he knows how to. I simply shrug before opening my door and getting in with Luke following my example. Without missing a beat, he fishes my phone from between my fingers and grabs my free hand to use my thumb to unlock my phone. This time, I don’t object and let him. I know that it’s just to get to my music app anyway.

While Journey’s Anyway You Want It plays through the car’s speakers, I pull out of the parking spot in front of the coffee shop and start driving to the next location I’d found during my research the other night.

“Where’re we going?” he asks, and I flashback to yesterday when he asked me the exact same question in that exact same way.

I smile as I place my cup in the cupholder between the two of us. “You’ll see.” I glance over, finding him tilting his head slightly and giving me that ‘Really?’ look. “I promise it’s very secluded and not a lot of people will be there.”

“Cool,” he says and sips. “Is this where you’re going to kidnap me and hold me for ransom? I bet you could get a lot of money for a Julie and The Phantoms band member.”

I snort at his remark. “How much do you think I could get for you?”

He scrunches up his nose in thought, which I catch as I take a quick glance at him again. As I face the road again, I reach for my coffee and take a quick sip, awaiting Luke’s response to my question.

“Like 10k?”

I nearly spit out my coffee. “10k?!” I screech, and his laugh thunders through my car. “Careful or I’ll actually kidnap you and hold you for ransom if I’m gonna earn that much.”

The laughter dies down and after a few moments of silence lingering in the air, Luke says, “How much do you think I’m worth?”

Without missing a beat, I respond to his question, dead serious. “Not even a dollar.”

Luke gasps, his mouth dropping in absolute disbelief while I can’t help but cackle loudly. Judging from this conversation alone, I’m positive today will be a good day. A good, fun day.

“I’m worth more than a dollar, right?”

“No, you’re right, I’d probably ask like a million and then no one will pay the ransom and you’ll have to stay with me for the rest of your life.”

I let out my best maniacal laughter as I feel him watch me. I know the exact look he’s giving me. The look. The one with the glistening eyes and the slightly turned up lips. The one all girls and gays swoon for. The one I would swoon for if I’d turn my head right now. But I don’t. For once in my life, I’m smart and keep my eyes on the road.

“You like me,” he states proudly.

“Slightly less strong dislike.” I’m lying through my teeth, but I’m hoping Luke won’t notice. Or at least not acknowledge it because I can already feel the heat rising to my cheeks.

“I’ll take it.”

He reaches forward and turns the volume up as Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” floats through the speakers. Very loudly, and very obnoxiously, the boy begins to sing along. If it wasn’t for the velvet smooth voice, I would’ve scolded at him to keep it down. But the sound actually makes my toes curl and my stomach flutter. For a verse, I let him sing by himself while I enjoy his performance but by the chorus, I can’t withhold myself and sing along with him.

The rest of the ride is filled with belting of the road trip tunes, laced with patches of small talk. It’s the perfect car ride, and before we know it, we’ve arrived at our destination. Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area. The parking lot is practically empty, aside from two cars, which I’m assuming are the staff’s. It’s the perfect indication that I picked the right spot to go to, and I can tell Luke knows it too.

He’s bouncing in his seat, either from excitement or the amount of sugar that was in his iced coffee, and when I turn off the ignition and turn to him, he looks at me with the widest smile plastered on his face. He almost looks like an excited toddler on Christmas morning, ready to open his presents.

“I came here once with my parents when I was younger,” he tells me, “I love this place.”

His confession makes me smile. “Good because I’ve been scouring the internet for the perfect place.” He shoots me the look again. “Stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you’re going to kiss me.”

He shrugs, “Maybe I want to.”

“So you want me to slap you?”

His smile fades away immediately. “Let’s go,” he grumbles and quickly gets out.

I heave in a deep breath, recollecting myself before getting out too and retrieving the backpack I brought, filled with stuff for today. Including my itinerary – or just a notebook filled with some ideas I had.

“How about we start with a bike ride across the park?” I suggest, pointing at the bike rental shop I found on Google the other night.

We walk into the rental place, expecting there to be bikes upon bikes but instead, we’re met with kayaks, pedal boats and go-karts. My eyebrows furrow, creasing my forehead as I look around the space. Why’s this called a bike rental when there are technically no bikes to rent? No actual bikes.

“I thought we were going for a bike ride?” Luke says, teasingly. I look up at him, and I think my face tells him enough about my knowledge about this place. My research clearly wasn’t sufficient.

Deciding to just roll with the circumstances, I roll my shoulders back and put a smile on my face. “Yeah, we’re going on a bike ride with one of these!” I say and point to the large, green go-kart. One of those that look like an old-school car at the front and have children’s seats in front of the terribly cushioned seats for adults. The ones with the small plastic wheel and bike pedals for two adults. I remember going on one of those big ones for six people with my family.

“You’re serious?” Luke asks, his eyes wide.

Instead of answering, I shoot him a smile before stepping forwards towards the staff member at the counter. The woman behind the counter looks no older than 45 and has long, billowing blonde locks that cascade down her shoulders. Her bright blue piercing eyes glisten as they land on the two of us, clearly glad she sees some customers so early in the day.

“Good morning,” she greets with a smile, “We open in half an hour.”

“Oh…” My research has been poor.

Before I can possibly think of an answer, Luke steps forward and flashes the woman a smile. I’m not sure if he’s going to use his manly charms or if he’s going to pull the “Don’t you know who I am?” card.

“Can’t you… make an exception for us?” he asks, leaning his elbow on the counter as he looks at the woman through his lashes. The woman looks up at Luke, her face like stone. She doesn’t recognize him and doesn’t fall for his charms either.

Shaking my head, I spring into action. I quickly change the ring on my index finger to my ring finger and wrap my arm around Luke’s bicep while the other rests on his chest, making sure the ring is as visible as can be. As I flutter my eyelashes at the woman, I let the words tumble out of my mouth.

“Please, ma’am? It’s our one year engagement anniversary and he was going to take me on this romantic bike ride….” I then lean forward over the counter. “He’s not very good at researching our dates, but he tries.”

The woman’s eyebrows knit together as her eyes dart from me to Luke and back.

“Aren’t you guys a little young to be engaged?”

Luke jumps into the improvisation spot. “We’ve been told that a lot but we’ve been best friends for years and there’s no one I’d rather spend the rest of my life with.” He looks down at me and when I glance up, too, he kisses the tip of my nose, which I then scrunch.

I ignore the flutters in my stomach and face the woman again. She seems to have softened, her eyes less icy than it was before. Then, she turns to her computer and clicks through a few browsers before facing us again.

“What do you guys want? The Surrey?” She points to the green bike-thing at the front of the shop. I nod my head in response. “Okay. You’ve got it for two hours for the price of one hour.”

A smile etches its way to my face. “That’s perfect, thank you.”

Luke pays the woman the rental fee and then she helps us get Surrey out of the garage. After bidding our goodbyes, Luke and I pedal off on the bike.

“One year engagement, really?” Luke asks me when we’re far enough from the rental and I switch my rings back around.

“Well, whatever you were doing didn’t work.”

He scoffs. “It was working.”

We pedal down the winding road with the wind blowing through our hair. I love how warm the breeze is and how the birds are chirping in the trees around us. This is the perfect day to go out and do this.

“What exactly were you planning to do?” I ask him, glancing up at him. He’s focusing on the road ahead of us, a comfortable smile resting on his lips while his eyes flick from one side to another, taking everything in.

He glances down at me, the smile turning into a smirk. “I was going to charm her with my manly wiles.”

“And how was that working for ya?”

For a second, we lock eyes. Luke has an annoyed look on his face while I can’t help but have my lips curl up on one side into a smirk. When he whips his head forward again, I notice the slight tint of pink covering his cheeks.

Did I just make Luke Patterson blush?

“So,” he coughs. “Whatcha wanna do?”

I shrug. “We could play twenty questions? Get to know each other better.”

He nods his head in response. “You wanna start?”

“That’s your first question?”

“That’s yours?”

I press my lips together, shutting myself up for just a moment before recomposing myself. I’m not going to lie, I totally Googled some questions to ask in a game of 20 questions. So, I’m prepared.

“If you had to be trapped on a deserted island with one of your friends, who would you pick and why?” Luke’s eyes widen at the question a little.

“Woah, straight in! I thought you were gonna start with ‘favorite color’ or something.” He chuckles lightly, and so do I. “Uhm… Not Alex, he’d probably be super anxious and pace all the way across the island and make me nervous. Not Reggie either, he’d be singing country songs the entire time, though he is a great cuddler. Maybe Julie? Though she’s gonna be miserable without Flynn….”

With every thought he says out loud, my smile grows bigger and bigger.

“You?” My heart leaps in my chest at his answer. “Yeah, I like spending time with you and what better place to get away from real life than a deserted island, right?”

Without missing a beat, the next words pour out of my mouth. “It’s cute how you think we’re friends now.” I surprise myself with the words I speak. We are friends, but I like winding him up into thinking we’re not.

“Friends who wanna kiss each other.”

Ignoring the heat rising to my cheeks, I reply, “You mean kill?”

Luke shakes his head, an amused smile on his face. “When are you going to admit that you like me?”

“Never – Next question.”

“Uhm… What was the last thing you stole or shoplifted?” he asks and I’m glad he doesn’t push any further on the fact I basically admitted that I like him.

“Oh! A magnet in a tourist shop in Lanzarote,” I reply, giggling a little at the memory. “I was there with a couple of friends during Spring Break and those magnets cost way too much for what they are and there was like a rack outside the shop. So, I shoplifted an overpriced Lanzarote magnet.”

Luke throws his head back as he laughs, nearly steering us into the bushes. “That’s amazing,” he cackles.

We cruise through the entire park for two entire hours, asking each other questions, and after returning the Surrey, we walk towards the lake where we settle down onto the blanket I brought for some food. I’d prepared an entire picnic basket for us to enjoy during our lunch.

“I find it very cute that you made an entire picnic basket for our first date.”

I smile. “I find it very cute that you think this is a date.”

He gives me the look again, but I ignore it and get every piece of food out of my backpack, sprawling it out around us. Sandwiches, chopped up vegetables and fruits, muffins,... All the delicious foods you’d find in a picnic.

“Tell me more about your childhood,” Luke then says as he takes a chicken sandwich and takes a bite. “You don’t talk about it much.”

My heart drops into my stomach. I wish he wouldn’t ask about that. Talking about my childhood means talking about my mother and I’ve been trying to avoid that for the past years. Not that many of my friends even know about that.

“I told you plenty.”

“You talked about your teenage years, but never about your childhood.”

I take a deep breath. He’s not going to shut up about this until I tell him. It’s not that I don’t trust him, it’s just that I don’t love talking about what happened with my mother. It’s something I’d much rather forget.

“There’s a reason for that,” I reply pointedly and then shut myself up by taking a sip from the box of orange juice. I’d packed one for the both of us, but I’m the only one who’s opened it already as Luke had gone straight in with the sandwiches.

Luke stares at me expectantly, waiting for me to continue. His eyes pierce through my soul and give me a sense of comfort. They lift a weight of my shoulders and chest that I hadn’t even noticed were there. His eyes feel like coming home. Comfortable. A place to relax. A place to be me, be myself.

I heave in a deep breath and place my juice box on my nervously bouncing knee, holding it with my hand. It doesn’t stop the bouncing, so now my whole body is practically shaking along with the movement.

“I–” I stop myself, reconsidering my words. “My childhood wasn’t the sunshine and roses it’s supposed to be.” I chuckle nervously and when I meet Luke’s eyes again, they’re looking at me with such intent that I almost launch forward and kiss him. But I don’t.

“Mom was… difficult to live with…” I start cautiously, not even daring to look at Luke as I speak and keep my eyes on the still lake in front of us. “She uhm… After I was born, she kinda went into postnatal depression. She didn’t take care of me, she barely even looked at me… At one point, it went so far that she got into an accident, on purpose, with me in the back. She did it a few times, even, to the point where dad just had to report it. She was admitted to the psych ward and that was that... I was ten at the time.” I swallow to hold back the tears that are pricking behind my eyes.

Feeling a soft brush of the hand on my knee, I glance up, meeting Luke’s eyes. They give me that sense of comfort again, that sense of home, the reassurance that I’m okay.

“We haven’t really seen her since. She’s out of our lives…” I sniffle and place my hand over Luke’s, giving it a thankful squeeze. “I don’t like talking about it.”

Luke carefully laces his fingers through mine, his cold rings cooling my warm hand. “I’m sorry I brought it up.” I shrug dismissively. “But thank you for telling me.”

“So, tell me,” I lift our entwined hands for a second as though pulling us back into reality. “How did Sunset Curve-slash-Julie and The Phantoms came to be?”

Luke chuckles before engulfing our locked hands with his other and tumbling into the origin story of the bands he was in. He talks about meeting Reggie and Alex in primary school, and then meeting Bobby in middle school. He explains how they started the band in music class and then continued playing together until Bobby moved away from Los Angeles. The story then lapses into giggles and chuckles about all the things they tried to keep Sunset Curve alive, but terribly failed.

“But then we met Julie in high school and – the rest is history.”

We’re clearing up our mess before making our way back towards the car. I love hearing Luke talk, especially about the band. It makes his eyes light up and he gets all bouncy and enthusiastic. It’s the cutest side of Luke I ever did see in the past few days of hanging out with him.

I take one last look at the lake where tiny dots of humans are floating along on the lake in their tiny boats. There are just a few, so nothing to worry about, but it does make me want to go kayaking too. Mostly because I don’t want the day to end.

“Wanna go kayaking?” I ask Luke, pulling him to a halt by tugging at our still intertwined hands. His eyes dart from mine to the lake and back. I can tell he’s debating it, but then he nods and a smile appears on his face.

With our hands intertwined, we go back to the rental place and ask the woman for a double kayak. We pay, put on the safety vests she’s given us and then proceed onto the water. As we pedal along, Luke tells me about all the adventures he’s been on with his friends and how he used to do this all the time before his schedule got so crazy.

Every now and again, he stops and pretends to tip the kayak, making me squeal each and every time whilst he laughs his most maniacal laugh.

The wall I’d built around my heart was slowly crumbling. Every laugh, every touch, every glance took away a small part of the brick wall. I’m falling in love with the boy I’d had a crush on and then strongly disliked for a good five-ish days.

Getting distracted was not a good idea as I’m not prepared for what follows next. Luke pretends to tip it over again, but this time, he wobbles too hard and actually makes the boat topple overhead. I squeal, but quickly shut my mouth as I tumble into the water, making sure not too much of the lake’s contents gets into my body.

“Patterson!” I scowl as I crash the surface again and find Luke laughing a few feet away. His brown, shaggy hair sticks to his head, dripping small drops of water onto his face. If I wasn’t so angry at him, I would definitely kiss him right here, right now.

“I hate you!” I splash some water at him as the words roll off my lips. Luke’s laughter abruptly stops and he stares at me. His once glistening eyes dull down while his mouth falters into a frown.

“You do?”

My face softens as I watch him. He looks so beautiful with his hair all dishevelled and the reflection of the sun on the water mirroring onto his face. I want to kiss him. I want to kiss him so bad.

I swim closer towards him and stroke his wet hair out of his face. My breath hitches in my throat at how close we are but I try to play it off by keeping my hands on his face and my eyes locked with his. I notice his eyes flicking down to my lips a few times, telling me he wants to kiss me as much as I want to kiss him.

Should I? Full throttle? Or step on the brakes?

I don’t even get the time to think about it as Luke presses his lips to mine. Now I don’t hesitate a single moment and immediately kiss him back. Sliding my hands into his wet locks and pressing my body as close as I can, I melt entirely into him. The same sense of bliss I have when singing with Luke washes over me and I find myself on cloud 9 again.

We pull back after a moment to catch our breath. The glint in his eyes is back and his mouth, though a little swollen and red, curls up into a smile. He presses one more kiss to my nose before helping me towards the shore. We climb out of the water and bring the boat back to the rental place, along with our safety vests.

Grabbing my backpack I had left with the woman for safekeeping, Luke and I bid our goodbyes and leave the rental, intertwining our hands again. The feeling his hand in mine gives me will never get old.

As we get to the car again, I yawn, feeling a sense of exhaustion wash over me. Luke smiles upon noticing this and takes the keys from my hand. Wordlessly, he presses a kiss to my forehead and then leads me to the passenger side. He opens the door and lets me get in before shutting the door and jogging to the other side.

The car is filled with a comfortable silence, just the crackling of a song playing on the radio filling out the quietness. I rest my head against the headrest and glance at Luke every now and again as he drives Sabrina. He has that one-hand feel on the steering wheel and the other rest comfortably in mine on the gearshift.

“I had a lot of fun today,” I mumble, unable to speak any louder.

A smile etches its way to Luke’s face. “Me too.” He takes a quick glance at me and then lifts our hands to plant a kiss on my knuckles. “Our band’s house is closer, you want to stop there and get us dry before you go home?”

I hum softly, letting my eyes fall shut for a moment. Luke’s thumb grazing the back of my hand almost lulls me to sleep until he curses before the car comes to a halt. He pulls his hand away from mine and when I look up, the driveway and street in front of the enormous white-brick house is filled with dozens of cars.

“Fuck, I forgot about the album wrap party,” he grumbles and then looks over at me. I’m shivering from the cold and exhaustion. “I can’t let you drive home like that.”

I’m unsure if he’s talking to me or pondering out loud, but I shake my head instead. “It’s fine,” I say. “My house isn’t that far away… I think…”

“No, y/n. I’m not letting you drive home exhausted and cold.” His voice is stern, yet laced with a bit of worry. “You’re gonna come in and I’m– I’m gonna bring you up to my room. You can dry off there and maybe take a nap or something. Yeah! Yeah, that’s it!” He sounds way too excited about something so banal.

He hops out of the car and quickly jogs over to my side whilst I’m already opening the door. Before I could react, he tugs me towards the house. I can barely get my bearings or take the time to look where I’m going before I’m pulled into a room.

“There are shirts and joggers in the dresser over there, pick out whichever you like and then take a nap or something. I’ll be back before you know it.” He kisses my cheek and then dashes towards the door.

“You’re just gonna leave me here?”

He lets go of the door handle and slowly turns towards me. His eyes are laced with regret as he takes in the sight in front of him. I must look ridiculous with my hair and clothes wet and bags under my eyes.

“Please, y/n? I can’t have people know about us, okay? I just – can’t…”

Turning on his heel, he opens the door and leaves me in his bedroom all alone. I take a minute to let the information process in my brain before turning around and taking in the room I’m in.

The walls are painted white, except for the one wall behind his bed that’s a muted dark blue. His bed is king size and on either side is a nightstand. I inch closer to the one that’s actually filled with stuff, which I’m assuming is the one he uses most. Nightstand contents often tell a lot about a person. His contains the band’s autobiography, “Bruce Springsteen: All The Songs” and “Beach Read” by Emily Henry, the book I started the other week and shared on Instagram Stories.

Would he have seen that and decided to read it too?

Shaking the ridiculous thought out of my head, I move over to his dresser and take out a pair of joggers and his Rush muscle tank I’ve seen him in many a time during gigs. I peel my drenched clothes off my body and get into Luke’s freshly washed ones. They smell of his laundry products. It’s a fresh and calming scent.

For a while, I look around his room. The books on the shelves and the pictures on the walls, most of which of the band and some of him and Carrie Wilson. There had been a rumor about him dating the Instagram Influencer, but I’d never believed it until I saw her face pop up in some of the framed photos in his room.

I decide to go and venture about the house since all the commotion seems to be outside in the garden. I weave through hallway upon hallway, finding more photos and more things that belong to the band. The living room walls are adorned with platinum records and other awards they’d won over the two years they’d been active in the music industry. I can’t help but feel a sense of pride rush over me. That’s my favorite band right there. That’s the boy I’ve fallen in love with.

“Excuse me – Who are you?”

The voice makes me jump out of my skin. I thought everyone was outside. When I look up, I find the perfectly flawless face of Carrie Wilson. Her long, blonde hair cascades into curls down her shoulders and back while her round, brown eyes stare at me with intent and curiosity.

“Oh, sorry. I’m y/n. I–” I stop myself, remembering Luke didn’t want anyone to know about us. That includes his girlfriend – or ex-girlfriend.

Carrie’s mouth curls up into an amused, curious smile, catching onto what’s happening. “You’re Luke’s new adventure, aren’t you?” I huff out the breath I was holding. It’s a telling huff, I’m sure. “You are…” She trails off and inspects me for a second before continuing. “Just so you know, it’s not going to work. Luke’s too infatuated with this lifestyle of his. He loves his job, he loves his stardom. He loves it too much to ever focus on a partner. Believe me, we tried.”

I exhale at the use of her past tense, but then all the other information downs on me. Luke’s life is so much different from mine. While I work several jobs to pay for college and still live with my dad, he lives by himself and tours the world. He’s too busy to start anything serious with me. Whatever happened in the last few days was just temporary.

“You seem sweet, y/n, so I’m going to be frank. Get out before it’s too late. You’re only gonna get hurt if you’re gonna stay.” As she passes me, she places a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

If my brain wasn’t going a mile a second about everything she’s telling me, I would be caught off guard by how sweet Carrie Wilson is. She’s always portrayed as this complete ego-centric bitch who used people to her advantage.

The exhaustion taking over, I shuffle back upstairs and sit down on Luke’s bed but when I hear the commotion outside die down and guitar strums float through the air into the house, I grow curious. I get up from the bed and make a beeline towards the ceiling-to-floor glass doors that give out onto a balcony. I carefully open the door and step out, the summer breeze tickling my skin while Luke’s voice reaches my ears.

The balcony looks out onto the garden, it’s just out of sight from where everyone’s huddled up around the band. I lean my elbows on the bannister and watch on as Luke’s voice floated through the air.

“I'm no superman I can take your hand And fly you anywhere you wanna go, yeah I can read your mind Like a billboard sign And tell you everything you wanna hear, but I'll be your hero”

I smile at the memory of us in the studio yesterday. The last few days have been perfect. Just… Perfect. And now this girl has to come and ruin it by pulling me back into reality.

“Cause I, I can be everything you need If you're the one for me, like gravity, I'll be unstoppable I, yeah I believe in destiny I may be an ordinary guy without his soul But if you're the one for me Then I'll be a hero Oh, I'll be a hero, yeah I'll be a hero”

It’s not that Carrie isn’t right. She is. Luke is way too busy with the band and his fame and everything around it. He doesn’t have time or room between those things for me. Not for an ordinary girl. Not for anyone.

“So incredible Some kinda miracle That when it's meant to be, I'll become a hero, oh So I'll wait, wait, wait, wait for you”

Luke’s eyes meet mine as he hits that high note and his mouth curls up into that beautiful smile I’ve come to love. Once again, I’ve fallen in love with someone who would never reciprocate those feelings. If I don’t get out now, I’m going to get hurt.

“Yeah I'll be a hero Cause I, I can be everything you need If you're the one for me, like gravity, I'll be unstoppable I, yeah I believe in destiny I may be an ordinary guy without his soul But if you're the one for me I'll be a hero Yeah, yeah I'll be a hero, yeah I'll be a hero Hero”

As the last notes of his song ring out into the night, I grab my still wet clothes and my keys Luke left on the dresser, and then leave the house. My heart breaks with every step I take, but I know it’s what’s best for me. It’s what’s best for both of us. There’s no room for me in his life. Like he said, he’s no superman, he can’t handle this many things at once. Not even a hero would be able to.

Everything taglist:

@wanniiieeee @phantompogues

JATP taglist:

@hannahhistorian92 @marinettepotterandplagg @thequirkybookaholic @bookdealer5 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @hemmingsness @iainttakingshitfromnobody @ifilwtmfc @angryknightstatesmantrash @kiss-themoongoodbye @charliesmountains @thedarkqueenofavalon @calamitykaty @caitsymichelle13 @wiselight @kcd15 @vicesvsvirtuesfanfic @stars-soph @kinda-really-lost @notasofti @stellasmusa @n0wornever @kaitieskidmore1 @tefilovesreading @pxperphxntom @crybabyddl @crybabyddl @headheartbellarke @authentic-gillespie @happinessinthedarkesttimes @bright-molina @rangerelik @cordeliascrown @willex-owns-my-heart @fangirlangioma @frickin-bats @flower-name @jaskiers-sweetkiss @jandthephantoms @kelpwithawhy @the-hufflepuff-hunter @lookingthroughmirrors @buckybarnesishot310 @echocharm17618 @littlemissaddict @mystic-writings @joynerxmercer @brooke0297 @magicalxdaydream @musicianspiritsblog @bexxy @ruvaitkevicius @whitetigerlover17 @stressyanddepressysimp @talk-on-the-street @theolivekiddo @sunsetcurvej @teti-menchon0604 @candycornmgg @gray_jato

Charlie/Luke taglist:

@lukeys-giggle @gingerxarmy @lovesanimals @lolychu @perfectlywrongformend3s @luckylouiebug @camiladelrio98 @myfriendscallmebeans @rachmmb @whitemanshoe19 @killerqueenfan

TAGLIST | MASTERLIST

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #jatpsongficfeb #luke patterson #luke patterson x reader #luke patterson fic #luke jatp #luke patterson x fem!reader #modern!au #StarStruck

205 notes · View notes

kittymaverick · 5 years

Text

MCF Moths to a Flame Extra Gameplay commentary and game critique, MCF Black Crown beta commentary

Spoilers below the cut! Game critique up here though: I’ll be honest, Eipex did REALLY, REALLY, REALLY WELL on the main game this time. Even though it was basically a MCF nostalgia fest, it was done right, had a plot of its own that stands on its own feet, the puzzles were the right difficulties, and the story was entertaining with it’s own twist at the end. Like, I’m legit sad I can’t buy this game right now and play it myself! It feels like how Fate’s Carnival felt when THAT was released.

1. “I can’t believe someone from the agency did this.” I’ll be honest, considering how much supernatural stuff you guys stumble on and deal with... MD: This is.. sort of an... only a matter of time thing. That and it’s about time we did some backstabbing in the agency. Like, 19 games already guys, that plot was way overdue. 2. “Hey, where did this come from?” *BUG ATTACK* “SOMEONE CALL MASTER DETECTIVE.” MD: Excuse me, but do I look like an insect exterminator? Well, you HAVE been an opponent exterminator for a while now, if we must be counting-- MD: That was a rhetorical question also how dare you say yes. 3. So the trash building is confirmed to be the agency. Wow. MD: We REALLY NEED that renovation. 4. Hey, hey did you see that slogan before you walked through the elevator? Hello, player to MD? MD: if I didn’t pretend I did, and if I did, pretend I didn’t. Sounds like something dirty is going on in your agency, just SAYING. 5. Pazu: That is... THAT IS NOT A BREATHING MASK. ME: Look, the slogan SAID you HAVE to see it through MAC’S eyes. MD: Don’t actually do drugs kids. It’s bad for your health. 6. MD: The archives is... smaller than I expected. Explains why your agency is in disrepair. Like, How many GOOD paying cases do you guys even get? MD: I’m starting to have the feeling that I’m literally the only one bringing in money, and only SOMETIMES. 7. MD: Wow, that’s, a lot of rejection forms. Oooooh so those were agent application forms. And yeah, wow, that’s... that’s A LOT. MD: 8. “Lure him into a trap” The Archivist REALLY didn’t get your gender right, did he? MD: I swear, of all the secrets this world can keep, why did it have to be this one? 9. MD: Hm, so the elevator MAC thing simply redirects power from the elevator to the locked door-- Um, HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO GET UP THERE NOW IN AN EMERGENCY? MD: ...My sense of self preservation has been a bit out the window since the beginning of this game, okay? I dare say it’s been out the window SINCE YOU STARTED WORKING AS THE MD! 10. Archivist recording: I KNEW YOU WOULD GET TRAPPED AGAIN! THIS IS MY PLAN B! ENJOY THE SURPRISE! Pazu: Yeah, your plan A failed big time. MD: Honestly, I’m a little too dead inside for surprises. Yeah, not to mention chances are, it’s probably a Darlimar, a bomb, some magic stuff that can trap you, or something that breaks that magic feather of yours... I mean, it’s pretty forseeable. MD: Oh it’s something I’m simply going to react with a dull surprise to. 11. WE GET TO GO IN THE NOT A SECRET PASSAGE! YEAAAA-- Oh, it’s a laundry room. MD: With MORE SECRET PASSAGE YEAAAAAHHHH-- this is gonna lead to Ravenhearst or the Blackpool asylum, I swear...

12. ???: HELP I’M LOCKED IN HERE GET ME OUT PLEASE! Pazu: Who, ARE you? Me: BET YOU IT’S A RECORDING DON’T OPEN IT. MD: ...I’m so tempted to do that, to be honest, but duty calls. Me: NO LOOK THAT IS TOTALLY A TV HEAD YOU CAN JUST TELL. MD: OH LOOK WHERE DID MY BRAIN CELLS GO GOTTA RESCUE FOLKS BYE. 13. Pazu: It’s a dummy. I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT TOO! MD: I DID KNOW IT BUT THE PLOT DEMANDS I DON’T! Archivist: AHAHA! YOU FELL FOR THE TRAP! YOU ARE THE FINAL HOSTAGE. ENJOY THE BOMB, SOON-TO-BE-NOT-MASTER-DETECTIVE! See, I said it was a bomb. MD: I KNOW. 14. MD: OOOOOooooookay, bomb defused. Archivist status: unknown. I THINK I deserve a holiday-- Queen: Oh hi MD, um, somethings... strange over at Manchestor Asylum that I think you should take a look. If you would be so kind, can you get on this mission for me again? Thanks and toddle-loos! MD: ..........Alright, who is it this time? Queen: Um, a... Phineas Crown? MD: Oh, the Pirate from 13 skulls-- *Kitty experiences her skull phobia flashback* NOPE MD: Actually, I’m up for this-- NOOOOOOOOOOOOO ANYTHING BUT THE SKULLS!!!!! *Dragged away* 15. Urgh, why, why does it have to be skulls. MD: Wow, patient is NOT a Dalimar, from the looks of it. So at least that’s new, maybe. Hm. 16. Dr. Norton: You might not remember me-- MD: Actually, in this case, I DO remember you. It’s a bit HARD to not forget what happened that had me running out of here, doc... Dr. Norton: Oh, btw, it’s just a formality, but please sign here to access the patient-- MD: You’re making me sign a form to get me institutionalized, aren’t you? Dr. Norton: Dammit there’s no getting by you, is there? 17. MD: Hi? ???: Hi? ...Hello, can you confirm for me whether this story’s plot is the evil Dr. Norton imprisoning the both of us here so he can get Phineas Crown’s treasure? MD: Really, you’re just going to go ahead and figure the plot out? Look, when I can’t solve the game itself, I start solving the plot, okay? And my conspiracy theory says DR. NORTON IS BAD NEWS. 18. MD: Bring you back to life-- Can we NOT bring that pirate back to life, please? It won’t be the first time someone gets brought back to life... 19. ???: Last piece of the puzzle. Thanks. MD: ...Can someone for once just NOT use my head for solving puzzles??? Dr. Norton: Oh, you can leave now, btw. MD: I can... actually leave? We all swear you were going to get locked in there. 20. MD: Phew, alright, driving to the estate-- AAAAAHHH PAPER!!!! MASTER DETECTIVE NOOOOOOOO NOT THE CLIFF!!!!!!! MD: MY BUGGY!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, okay, I’m still fine-- I’M NOT FINE NOPE! You know if a Raven caused this, I would be WAY MORE UNDERSTANDING, but a POSTCARD? MD: STOP DISSING MY DRIVING SKILLS AND GET ME OUT OF HERE! 21. MD: ...Your breaks are broken-- WHO TOUCHED MY BUGGY?????? Oh, they touched the car. They are so dead....Also, YES DRIVING ON THE RIGHT SIDE AGAIN! 22. They... they’ve officially killed buggy. I’m... I’m... I’m so sad. MD: *sobs* good bye old friend. I’ll miss your cup of teas in the glove compartment. *sobs* *In the Arms of the Angel plays in background* 23. Um, a dog. Are you a dog person, Detective? MD: Nope. *Puts dog in cage* Oh you-- YOU ARE EVIL. MD: I HAD TO OKAY. And shortly after, the beta ended. It’s... looking promising so far. I look forward to the actual game, whenever it comes out!

#Mystery Case files #Moths to a Flame #Black Crown #Big Fish Games

6 notes · View notes

weekendwarriorblog · 4 years

Text

The Weekend Warrior Home Edition June 12, 2020 – THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND, DA 5 BLOODS, ARTEMIS FOWL, YOU DON’T NOMI and more!

Sorry about the delay in this week’s column. Some stuff came up that was out of my control… like the actual summer.

If this were a normal weekend, I’d be writing about the box office prospects about a few movies, including Judd Apatow’s new comedy THE KING OF STATEN ISLAND (Universal), which teams him with “Saturday Night Live’s” enfant terrible, Pete Davidson. Instead, I’m once again writing about movies mostly not playing in theaters except for a few sporadic drive-ins across the country.

I already reviewed The King of Staten Island earlier this week – you can read that here – and though I know it will be playing in some regional drive-ins, I have no idea how many nor do I think Universal will report any box office if it does make decent bank. I think there will be general interest among younger people who like Pete Davidson on SNL but I’m not sure anyone over a certain age, say 30 or 40, will have much interest in what Davidson and Apatow can do together. The general gist of the movie is that Davidson plays Scott, a Staten Island slacker whose widowed mother (Marisa Tomei) starts dating a fireman, much to the chagrin of Scott, who lost his fireman father at an early age. You can read my review to see what I think, but it’s relatively tame for Apatow compared to his earlier films. I’m not sure that makes it necessarily better but people seem to be digging it.

One of my favorite movies from last year’s Tribeca and what is essentially this week’s “Featured Film” is Jeffrey McHale’s YOU DON’T NOMI (RLJE Films), which takes an in-depth look at Paul Verhoeven’s 1995 movie Showgirls, thought to be one of the worst movies and biggest bombs in its day but also a movie that has grown a built-in cult audience that adores it. It’s a pretty straight-ahead doc that relies on a number of experts to discuss the problems and virtues of Verhoeven’s film, including David Schmader, who did the DVD commentary for Showgirls, and author Adam Nayman, who is responsible for the book, “It Doesn’t Suck: Showgirls.” While I never fell into either the love it or hate it camp for Showgirls, I love how McHale’s doc acts as a thesis piece to explain exactly why so many critics took issue with Verhoeven’s much-maligned follow-up to hits Basic Instinct and Total Recall.

I won’t spoil the movie’s climax showing Showgirls finally achieving redemption, but it’s a pretty amazing event from 2015 that shows that maybe Showgirls has gotten past the hatred and ridicule that followed it around for decades. If nothing else, You Don’t Nomi will make you want to rent and watch (or rewatch) Showgirls almost immediately after seeing it. You might even agree with this film that it’s a misunderstood masterpiece on second viewing.

I’ve also decided to scrap the sections in this column, since two of the other big movie releases this week are going straight to streaming services, although both would probably have gotten some sort of theatrical release if not for COVID.

One of the other major releases of the weekend is Netflix’s streaming of Spike Lee’s DA FIVE BLOODS, his look at the Vietnam War through the eyes of four black Army vets who return to the country to retrieve the body of their fallen comrade… as well as a cache of gold bullion they found and hid during their previous tour.

I’ll be the first to admit that the quality of Spike Lee’s filmmaking over the past couple of decades has been somewhat spotty at best, although BlacckKKlansman was probably one of his better films over the past couple decades. Da Five Bloods reunites Lee with his BlackkKlansman co-writer, Kevin Willmot, and though it’s a fictitious tale, there are a few themes and elements in common.

Delroy Lindo and Lee regular Isiah Whitlock Jr. star as two of the Bloods, Paul and Melvin (along with Clarke Peters’ Otis and Norm Lewis’ Eddie). We meet them as they’re reunited in Vietnam, soon joined by Paul’s son David (Jonathan Majors) along to keep an eye on his father’s health. Chadwick Boseman plays the group’s leader, “Stormin’ Norman,” in the flashback sequence to the war era showing what happened to the Bloods on the fateful day their chopper went down behind enemy lines. There are a few satellite characters, played by Mélanie Thierry and Paul Walter Hauser (making a return from BlackKklansman), as well as Jean Reno, Jasper Pääkkönen and Johnny Trí Nguyễn, who all become involved in the Bloods’ search for gold

When you think of Vietnam War movies, it’s impossible not to think of Apocalypse Now, and Lee throws in a few obvious nods, whether it’s using “Flight of the Valkyrie” or the Chamber Brothers’ “Time Has Come to Day” but in general, the musical choices are solid. I wouldn’t say that the screenplay is particularly enlightening, the story being far more simple than

Just when you have settled into what you think is a fairly laid-back pace, Lee throws a “Holy shit!” moment at you that completely changes the complexion of what you’ve been watching, and that’s when the movie starts breaking into a few more action setpieces, some better than others.

Honestly, it’s a little strange seeing all these old black guys running around and shooting guns without Samuel Jackson being among them. Make no mistake that this is first and foremost Delroy Lindo’s film, as he gives a strong if not somewhat erratic performance, and he’s the crux of the story, but Whitlock and the other actors have some nice moments, as well. The bonding between the four guys is pervasive, to the point where it almost feels like the other characters are interfering, maybe because they are.

It’s a great time to release Da 5 Bloods, due to what is going on in this country, and like with BlackKklansman, Lee throws in a few shots at Trump, the guys referring to him as “President Fake Bone Spurs.” At least in this case, it’s incorporated into the story, but I hope Lee realizes that these Trump references will ensure these movies will feel dated if watched ten or twelve years from now.

That all said, Da 5 Bloods is a decent Spike Lee Joint, maybe not quite on par with BlackkKlansman but better than his last attempt at a war movie, 2008’s Miracle at St. Anna.

Rating: 7/10

As expected by quite a few people earlier during this pandemic, Walt Disney Pictures decided to send the Kenneth Branagh-directed ARTEMIS FOWL movie directly to their Disney+ streaming service, despite the movie having been in various stages of development for a decade or more. Unlike Da 5 Bloods and The King of New York, this movie based on Eoin Colfer’s book series, is far more streamlined with a kid-friendly running time of 95 minutes. Phew!

It centers around 12-year-old super-genius Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw) whose father (also named Artemis Fowl and played by Colin Farrell) goes missing, forcing the young “Artie” to look for a powerful mystical device called the Aculos. Joining him on this quest are his non-butler Domovoi (Nonzo Anonsie), Dom’s daughter Juliet (Tamara Smart), an elven police officer named Holly Short (Lara McDonnell) and an oversized dwarf played by a bearded Josh Gad. Oh, yeah, and in this world, fairies, trolls and dwarves are real, but most humans don’t know about their existence due to their secrecy as well as having a way to erase humans’ memories ala Men in Black.

I’m quite sure the latter will be a qualifying benchmark for those who review the movie without having read any of Colfer’s fantasy series – like myself -- but it takes similar ideas as David Ayer’s Bright and the Amazon series Carnival Row and transforms them into something that attempts to be in the vein of Harry Potter or Fantastic Beasts but maybe comes across more like Percy Jackson. The irony is that Chris Columbus directed the initial chapters of both Potter and Jackson, but Artemis Fowl benefits from having Branagh at the helm.

I will freely admit that I’m very much a bonafide Branagh stan, and much of that is due to the way he’s handled bringing fantasy worlds to life in movies like Thor and Cinderella. Artemis Fowl is right up his alley, and he does an exemplary job even if most of his cast other than Gad… oh, yeah, and Dame Judi Dench, who plays the head of the “fairy police” – are fairly inexperienced. You can kind of tell that’s the case with first-timer Shaw, and his inexperience might be one of the tougher things for which older viewers might have to contend. Younger viewers won’t take issue with any of the problems that might throw off those expecting more from Artemis Fowl, because the storytelling is kept at a fairly brisk pace with a few decent action setpieces.

Artemis Fowl could have been released theatrically and been one of the summer’s sadly forgotten films. It finds a fun way of setting up the characters and ideas – presumably most of them taken directly from Colfer’s book – plus it sets up the possibility for even more fun family-friendly fantasy storytelling.

Rating: 7.5/10

There are a few other movies below I was hoping to get to, but see my note at the top of this column about why it was delayed by a day. If I get to any of the ones below, I’ll update and mention on social media.

One of the movies delayed from March but now getting a digital release is Carl Hunter’s drama SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER (Blue Fox Entertainment) -- not to be confused with Never Rarely Sometimes Always with the two movies at one point in danger of coming out on the same weekend! It stars Bill Nighy as tailor Alan, who has been searching for years for his missing son Michael, who stormed out after a Scrabble Game. When a body turns up, Alan must try to work things out with his younger son Peter, played by Sam Riley, and an online player they think could be Michael.

Jonas Alexander Arnby’s Danish film EXIT PLAN (Screen Media) stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from Game of Thrones playing insurance claims investigator Max, who follows the clues of a death to the remote Hotel Aurora, a facility that specializes in assisted suicide, uncovering some disturbing revelations in the bargain.

Joshua Caldwell’s INFAMOUS (Vertical Entertainment), which will be available via VOD and in select Virtual Cinemas, stars Bella Thorne as Arielle, a down-on-her-luck dreamer seeking popularity who runs into Jake Manley’s Dean, an ex-con working for his abusive father who dies in an accident sending the two of them on the run.

The dance drama, Aviva (Outsider Pictures/Strand Releasing), directed by Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans, Max), was supposed to premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March, but it will instead get its premiere through Virtual Cinema this Friday. It’s a love story that explores gender dynamics with dance sequences choreographed by Bobbi Jene Smith of the Batsheva Dance Company. Aviva is a young Parisian who gets into an online romance with a New Yorker named Eden, eventually meeting and getting married with the story told by four different dancers/actors simultaneously.

I haven’t had a chance to watch Flavio Alves’ The Garden Left Behind, starring Michael Madsen and Ed Asner, but it was a winner of the Audience Award at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival, so I’m definitely interested in learning more about its story of a young trans woman from Mexico who lives with her grandmother as undocumented immigrants in New York City.

Released in a union between Shudder and RLJE Films, The Dead Lands (Shudder/RLJE Films) hit Digital HD yesterday. The supernatural fantasy set in New Zealand is co-directed by Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger and Michael Hurst, and it stars Te Kohe Tuhaka as Waka, a murdered Maori warrior who has returned from the Afterlife who goes on a quest with with a young woman named Mehe (Darneen Christian) to discover who broke the world. Not quite sure why didn’t get to this one, as I’m usually interested in New Zealand-based films as well as supernatural fantasy.

Daniel (For the Bible Tells Me So) Karslake’s new doc For They Know Not What They Do (First Run Features), which will hit virtual cinemas this Friday, which looks at the intersection between religion, sexual orientation and gender identity in America through a number of families of faith learning to accept their LGBTQ children. It has pretty much run the festival circuit through most of last year, winning a number of audience awards.

Coming to the Film Forum’s Virtual Cinema this Friday is Bill Duke’s 1985 directorial debut The Killing Floor and Alastair Sim’s 1954 schoolgirl romp, The Belles of St. Trinian’s. Uptown at Film at Lincoln Center, besides the Human Rights Watch Film Festival (see below), they’ll be debuting Hong Sangsoo’s 2014 film Hill of Freedom (Grasshopper Films) in their already quite robust Virtual Cinema.

A few other films I wasn’t able to get to this week, include Return to Hardwick (Gravitas Ventures) and The Departure (October Coast), so I guess I did better than last week?

A few film festivals taking place mostly virtually this week include the annual New York edition of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, running from June 11 through 20, and the Fine Arts Film Festival in Venice, California (June 8 to 14). The latter is offering 92 films from 27 countries with different packages including the entire festival for $20 or individual series for $10. Also, the Oxford Film Festival continues its virtual festival with two music docs, Dillon Hayes’ short All I Have to Offer You is Me about country-Western singer Larry Callies, as he tries to get his voice back after a degenerative disorder, and Dennis Cahlo’s feature In Flowers Through Space, in which the filmmaker tries to use the Fibonacci Sequence to try to create a unique music album. You can also check out Ben & Bo Powell’s Mississippi doc Nothin’ No Better about Rosedale, Mississippi, and more short blocks, all available on Oxford’s Virtual Site.

Also, the June episode of Hulu’s horror series “Into the Dark” is Good Boy, a movie directed by Tyler MacIntyre, starring Judy Greer, Steve Guttenberg and Ellen Wong (from Scott Pilgrim!) that has Greer adopting an emotional support dog that kills anyone who causes her anxiety. Just in time for Pet Appreciation Week! Yeah, I’m gonna have to see this one.

Next week, more movies (mostly) not in theaters!

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have bothered to read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or drop me a note or tweet on Twitter. I love hearing from readers … honestly, I do!

#TheWeekendWarrior #ArtemisFowl #DaFiveBloods #SpikeLee #Movies #Reviews #YouDontNomi #Streaming #thekingofstatenisland

0 notes

faces-in-unexpected-places · 5 years

Text

Do You Have the Time? Episode 013: Andre Ramone

Warning: This episode contains strong language that may be shocking or offensive to some readers.

[3rd Moon of Aestas, 13XX, 19:59]

You amble through the ethereal grove of Terrafron. The golden sunlight shimmers between the wavering leaves and branches in the peaceful evening of mid-Aestas. The grove was always lovely this time of year. You carry your lute and pluck the notes of a C major scale, as you have retired your sword for the day. You march with pride, knowing that the village you had just left was free of the nefarious troglodytaria that have been wreaking havoc in the Land of Ignis and Fumus for over a century. Bonavento, your long-time ally and friend, will meet you in the centre of the grove to escort you to the Archduke of Terrafron. You currently work under the Archduke as a mercenary for hire. The grove becomes gradually thicker, the grass taller and darker, and the air cooler as you head further into the forest.

“Aye!” a voice called from the top branch of a hawthorn tree. Bonavento fiercely aimed an arrow straight at you from his bow. “I hereby claim you a, uh, a traitor of the Archduke, and will thus have you—AH FUCK—”

The branch snapped beneath him and he tumbled from one limb to the next. His head hit the first branch of the fall, then his abdomen on the second. His funny bone, third, and groin last, before plummeting to the knobby ground that was disrupted by enormous tree roots. Bonavento groaned and slowly dragged himself up to his knees, holding his head.

“Bitch!” he cried, “That fuckin’ hurt. The Archduke doesn’t pay me enough for this bullshit, you know that? He’s—he’s not even paying me for this, I’m—I’m just, you know, framing you, as the enemy of the kingdom, so I can keep, you know, I don’t know. Doing whatever it is Celtic fuckin’ squire-ass traitor’s of the kingdom do? Embezzle I guess? Did they have that back then? And by then, I mean now? Oh, Jesus, I think I pulled something. Oh-HO,” Bonavento bent over backwards to stretch his back, “Fuck meeeeEEEE! AHHH. DID YOU HEAR THAT CRACK. Ugh, okay… phew… alright, enough dickin’ around, yeah, big reveal, long-time friend, actually huge traitor-douche, start the boss-fight already let’s goooOOOOO!”

*New Player has Joined Game*

[April 18th, 2018, 13:03]

“Madison, would you cut it out, already,” Jeremy called from the other side of the lab. Jeremy stood at the lab bench in the back of the room that almost spanned from one wall to the other. He was gathering various mechanical parts to construct one of the functional parts of their machine.

Jeremy, Leslie and Leopold had all agreed on a schematic that illustrated how the cosmic strings would be formed, and he began his work on a piston. Essentially, the one end of the cosmic string would stick to the piston; then the piston would quickly spin and connect the other end of the string to the first to form a loop. Afterwards, the loop would be pushed upward so that it would rise into the air; a test-object would sit on a platform above the loop and in the middle of its trajectory. Thus, the test-object would experience the space-time distortions of the loop as it passes around the test-object.

It was a difficult concept for Jeremy to concentrate on with the incessant cursing coming from Madison’s game.

“I just got to a cool part, though!” she complained and set her controller down on the lab meeting table. Leslie stiffly sat at the meeting table near Madison, trying not to get involved. She quietly typed the methods section of their scientific paper; they had finished their introduction the previous week.

“I don’t care what part you’re at,” Jeremy snapped, “The screen that animate’s IO’s facial expressions isn’t meant to play those annoying, never-ending, online games.”

“Oh, I guess you’re right,” Leslie interjected, “IO’s face and personality mostly comes from pixels on that screen! I’m not sure if I ever entirely… registered that in my head.” She tried to direct attention away from the conflict.

Madison spoke back to Jeremy immediately, completely ignoring her attempt at restoring peace.

“That doesn’t make any sense, dude! I saw you play games on IO’s face all the time, when we were kids. Your games are still on here, I can see them right now!” she cried out.

“Kids?” Leslie asked.

Jeremy stepped away from his lab bench and strode over to Madison and IO, becoming increasingly irritated. Leopold glanced up at the commotion and removed his earbuds. He was sculpting a crude prototype part of the machine that would spin heat into the strings. He was at the same lab bench as Jeremy, but on the other side of the room. Jeremy leaving the bench in a hurry caught his attention from the corner of his eye.

“That’s because when I played games, I actually played simple ones with IO. I never made him run those monster-sized games that take a ton of CPU and just make him sit there and watch me the whole time. He’s not your personal play-thing,” he hissed.

Madison furrowed her brow and leaned back in surprise.

“Him?” she enunciated, “What do you mean ‘him?’ It’s a robot!”

“What’s the problem over there, kids?” Leopold called, unaware of the tension.

Jeremy stifled in shock at her response. To avoid embarrassment, he quickly unplugged her controller. The game powered down, and IO’s simple, pixelated circle eyes and macaroni shaped mouth reappeared on the screen. IO seemed relieved to have quit the program.

“Hey man, what the hell!” Madison blurted out, “I didn’t even get to save my progress!”

“So, build your own robot,” he said coldly, “Come on, IO. We have errands to run.”

Jeremy stormed out of the lab and turned down the hallway in the direction of the lobby. Madison looked between the two remaining lab members with an opened jaw and a look of disgust on her face. Leslie was visibly distraught, and Leopold sauntered to their table carefully.

“What a jerk!” she yelled.

“Okay, okay, everyone, let’s try to take a breath,” Leslie suggested, “We’ve been working really hard on this project lately; I’m sure he’s just stressed out and didn’t mean it, Madison. I’m stressed out, too, you know?”

“Yeah, well, that was one way to handle it,” she scoffed.

“Maybe since you don’t have that game to play anymore, you can focus more on your own work like us? Maybe study for your final exams. They’re just a few weeks from now, right?” Leslie offered.

Madison groaned.

“Dude, I was playing that game to specifically avoid all that stuff. All you ever want to do is work.”

“Hey kiddo,” Leopold said assertively. She spun around to face him. “How about you cool off with me for a bit? You can help us figure out how large of a chemical reaction we’re going to start with, when we’re testing our machine. We can test the reaction and watch it light up.”

Madison let out an audible sigh.

“Guess I’ve got nothin’ else to do now, anyway. Alright, Leo, let’s do it. Gimme your best explosives or whatever,” she said and rolled her eyes as she dragged herself in the direction of his work bench.

Leslie exhaled her own stress out as she sat alone at her meeting table. Despite her efforts to bring everyone together, she somehow felt as if nothing would be enough. Perhaps she wasn’t as good of a friend or coworker as she thought.

[April 18th, 2018, 13:20]

Jeremy treaded through the lobby without batting an eye at Martha and B-lined for the robotics lab. He had been getting fed up with working on the piston, anyway; he didn’t have all the parts to keep it functional. The robotics lab often had pieces and parts to spare. Sophia wasn’t exactly a friend of his or anyone else’s in the Looney Lab, but she seemed to treat them fairly, in an economical sense. In a personal sense, she obviously had her opinions. But a few spare parts shouldn’t stir up that much trouble. As Jeremy approached the lab, he became confused at the sound of music. It sounded familiar. He peered into the robotics lab. It was a chaotic mess like it always was. Papers all over the tables, machines in mid-function, and a plethora of metallic limbs lying around. They were separated from their parent machines, and added to the clutter of the lab.

Sounds of loud, distorted, punk-rock guitars strumming to rapidly beating drums filled the room. The only person inside was Andre. He was the one blaring music. He wore tight, black jeans, a striped burgundy and grey shirt with a solid, long-sleeved, black shirt underneath. Andre appeared to be preoccupied on a computer… playing that horrible game of Madison’s.

Jeremy sighed.

“Excuse me,” he projected his voice over the music. Andre turned to face him, smiled and gave a nod of acknowledgement.

“‘Sup, man!” he yelled over the music.

“Can you turn it down!?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah!” Andre agreed and lowered the music, “Sorry, sorry. Was playin’ this sweet game, and joined someone’s game nearby, but then they left. Guess they don’t want anyone else to know that they’re goofin’ off at work,” he laughed, “Whatcha need?” he asked, nonchalantly.

“I need a crankshaft for this piston that I’m putting together,” Jeremy replied, ignoring the rest of Andre’s commentary.

“Ahhhh, yeah, ya kinda need the piston to go up and down huh?” he joked, “So you’re really gettin’ that machine together? That’s cool, lemme see what I can find.”

Andre wandered all the way to the back of the lab, rifling through numerous cardboard boxes, kicking some out of the way. Jeremy rocked back and forth on his heels while he waited, hoping it would be over soon.

“Aha!” Andre yelled, “Here ya go!” he plopped himself in a desk chair on wheels and flung himself through an aisle in the lab, running over papers and bolts, until he reached Jeremy. Andre held a cardboard box full of crankshafts of various sizes in his lap.

“Any of these good for ya?” he asked.

Jeremy glanced through them, and, to his surprise, he did find one that would fit his piston. Eventually, he would need a piston with a circumference larger than most people, so that the cosmic loops were big enough to circle the person in the machine. For the time being, a small piston would do, because the test-objects were considerably smaller. Andre smirked and reached out to IO, who had been standing behind Jeremy’s leg.

“Hey there, little man, good to see ya again! Gimme some skin?” he posed, holding his hand out and palm up, “Or, I guess, gimme some metal?”

IO emoted a smile on its screen and gave Andre a high-five, after warming up to the environment again. Jeremy glimpsed between them, as his attention was torn away from the crankshaft.

“You two are… acquainted?” he asked.

“Oh yeah,” Andre said, “He was here for a long enough time for us to share a moment or two. He liked my other boys, too. Too bad I gotta perform a bit more maintenance on them right now, otherwise they’d be up and about.”

IO sounded a high-pitched, twinkle-like beep for Andre. He wore a goofy grin and pointed to IO.

“That mean he likes me?”

“Uh, yes, actually,” Jeremy responded, feeling entirely caught off-guard again. He felt his aggravation fading. “You call IO and your robots ‘he’, too?”

“Yeah! That’s just the way I see ‘em, though. But they don’t mind.”

“I always called IO an ‘it’ because he’s a robot.”

“You just called him a ‘he,’” Andre corrected.

“Oh…” Jeremy hesitated, “I guess I did. I haven’t been sure what to use, recently.”

“Just whatever feels right, man,” he said, “To you, or to IO, I should say.”

Jeremy hummed and kneeled down to IO.

“What do you think, IO? Do you like ‘it’ or ‘him’ more?” he asked.

IO flashed grey lights from the bulbs on its head. Jeremy smiled, having been surprised for the third time within the hour.

“You don’t care?” he asked.

IO confirmed.

“Huh… I didn’t know that. Well… maybe I’ll go back and forth then, if that’s okay.”

IO flashed blue lights, expressing contentment. Jeremy stood back up.

“Well… thanks. Maybe, uh, well, I’d like to meet your… robots—machines—when they’re operational again.”

“Oh, sure, I’d be happy to introduce you,” he waved away the request.

“…So I can just take whichever crankshaft I want?” Jeremy asked.

“Yeah, go for it, ya don’t see me usin’ them,” he chuckled, “Just keep this deal on the DL. Don’t want you-know-who findin’ out.”

Jeremy frowned and pointed to a crankshaft. Andre gestured for him to pick it up. He squinted at Andre and turned his nose up at him, suspiciously.

“You’re not like Sophia, are you,” he wondered.

“Nah,” Andre snorted, “Although, I will need something in return before you take the crank with ya.”

Jeremy sighed.

“There’s always a price,” he mumbled.

“I just need you to take this other box of junk to Martha in the lobby,” Andre said, “Sophia spring-cleaned her office the other day and put all the stuff she didn’t want in the box. Told me to take whatever I wanted and give the rest to reception.”

“Oh. That’s it?” Jeremy replied.

“Yyyyyup. That’s all. I just don’t wanna walk over there. So just do that, come right back, get your crank, and you’re good to go.”

“Huh,” Jeremy paused, “Okay. Can I take anything from that box, if I find something I like?”

“Bit of a glutton there, huh, Jeremy Brilliant?” he jested, “Sure, sure, makes no difference to me. Just, ya know, not to state the obvious, but don’t tell Sophia about this either. Ya know?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Andre spun in his chair, reached underneath a nearby desk and traded the crankshaft box for a flimsy box that was half filled with office supplies. Paper clips, pencils, erasers, a stapler, stacks of unopened paper, a pair of scissors, and various other supplies. Jeremy left Andre, IO, and his crankshaft in the lab. On his way to Martha’s desk, he shuffled the box around in his arms. He kept glancing through the contents and stole a permanent marker or two. There was a pack of sticky index tabs and a pack of orange Post-It notes. He set the box down on the reception desk. Martha glanced at him and smiled.

“Hey there, darling, how’s the research going? You sure were walking with a purpose earlier!”

“It’s okay,” he said, still looking into the box. “We’ve made progress. I just hope we’ll make enough of it to be worthwhile. I brought you this box from the robotics lab,” he said, distractedly. Jeremy felt as if something was happening. Some sort of vague… shift.

“Well, thank you, sweetheart! You’re not switching labs, are you?”

He couldn’t take his eyes off the sticky notes. He reached in, picked them up and held them up in the air to examine them.

“No,” he responded, simply.

Martha frowned and her eyes bounced left and right at the peculiar behaviour.

“Do you… use sticky notes a lot?”

“Not really.”

“Do… you want to take those ones?”

Jeremy shook himself out of a dazed trance. He didn’t want to let the pack go.

“Uh. Would you mind?” he asked.

“No, ‘course not,” she snorted, “You seem like you’d get more use out of them, anyway!”

“Huh… yeah. Thanks.”

“…You’re welcome, oddball!” she chuckled, uncomfortably.

The pack of Post-It notes felt indistinctly familiar. He couldn’t explain it. He rarely used sticky notes, and wasn’t particularly fond of the colour orange. Was it déjà vu? Martha tried once again to shake him back to reality.

“So, what were you doing in the robotics lab?” she asked.

It worked. Jeremy put the pack of sticky notes in his back pocket and refocussed himself onto her.

“Uh, right. I was, uh, looking for something to go with this piston that I’m reassembling in the lab. I’m trying to modify it so it will push up and down like it’s supposed to, but also spin at a high velocity,” he explained, sheepishly.

“Oh, so you’re making a new kind of tool?” she probed.

“Sort of. Mostly just making a few small changes.”

“Well, I’ll have to keep in touch for updates! You go on and get back to work, now. I wouldn’t want to keep you!”

“Thanks. See you around.”

Jeremy walked back into the robotics lab to find Andre showing IO the game that he was playing when they first walked in. Andre acknowledged him as he wandered up next to IO.

“You can take the crankshaft whenever you want, man. Thanks again for the favour!” Andre said.

Jeremy dug through the box again and retrieved the correct size. Seeing that Andre and IO were both absorbed in the game, he felt compelled to wait. He watched the game for a moment, and then his curiosity got the best of him.

“Andre,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“I want to ask you something.”

“I’m all ears.”

He seemed pretty agreeable for not even knowing what the question was.

“What do you think of Sophia?”

Andre paused the game. His natural half-smile, and carefree spirit seemed to subside. He took a deep breath, and spun his chair ninety degrees to face Jeremy. IO backed up so it wasn’t between them.

“Why are you asking me?” he cross-examined.

“Does it matter?”

“Is this for your own knowledge, or somebody else’s?” Andre pressed.

“It’s my own curiosity. I know there is something going on with her and Leopold. I don’t know what it is, and it isn’t necessarily my business. But it’s clear that she has a problem with him. Or a need to get under his skin. It’s almost vindictive. But you are nothing like that, from the looks of it. And yet, you work here. Why?” Jeremy laid his cards on the table.

Andre chuckled to himself.

“Well, I’m glad that I look non-vindictive. To tell you the truth, Jeremy, I don’t know much about it either. All I could really do for you is speculate. From my perspective, seems like Leopold and his lab are bad for business. Makes the university look foolish, and undermines everyone else’s work by association. Since Sophia is in a position where she is managing everyone’s work, maybe she holds a grudge to Dr. Looney for making her job unnecessarily hard?”

“Seems corrupted. Why hasn’t The Board of Research stepped in? Or human resources? Isn’t that technically a hostile work environment?”

“Yeah, probably. But the higher-ups hired Sophia themselves. Supposedly she’s buddy-buddy with someone up there. And honestly, she’s been a great manager for the rest of the labs. Not to mention that most other labs probably feel frustrated just like her because they feel that they are missing opportunities for funding because Dr. Looney works here. He’s been workin’ on that time travel stuff for a long time, and his last presentation to The Board really solidified the reputation he has now. At least that’s what I’ve heard from the people that still work here from back then,” Andre elaborated.

“And so… why do you work under her?” Jeremy reminded him of the original question.

Andre sighed.

“Listen, I’m not going to defend Sophia’s actions. But I don’t want to throw her under the bus, either. We met when we were both enrolled at the university, actually. We were both part of the Fellowship of Minorities in STEM. It was my first year, her last year, and she showed me around. Introduced me to faculty and showed me the ropes. Later, I came to work here with her, and when I got my degree last year, I was hired to be a full-time employee. And, well, I’m sure you know what happened after. She got promoted and now… I guess we’re lookin’ for a new Principal Investigator? One of the higher-ups used to be the PI, and it’s just kind of been handed down. Maybe since he’s still around, they’re trying to hold off on hiring someone else,” he snickered, “Maybe I can work an angle and get a raise.”

“So she’s done good things for you,” Jeremy summarized.

“Pretty much, yeah. I just feel like I owe her something. Some grace. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life… and she really helped me figure it out. I was the first in my family to even go to college. I wasn’t even sure it would work out, let alone graduate? Work in a laboratory? I mean, I’m workin’ on robotic prosthetics! How fuckin’ cool is that?!”

Andre’s eyes widened and he covered his mouth.

“Oh, oh, sorry,” he quickly interrupted himself, “That was unprofessional.”

Jeremy shrugged.

“I don’t care. I’m used to it.”

Andre relaxed after seeing how little Jeremy was phased, though he thought it peculiar. He tried to steer the conversation away from his mistake.

“Long story short,” he said, “she helped me make my dream of being a first generation college graduate a reality. And I’ve made it farther in life than I ever thought I could. So… that’s why I work here.”

“…Can I ask you one more question?” Jeremy said.

Andre laughed and leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

“What, you don’t want to wait until my life story comes out on DVD?”

Jeremy ignored the joke.

“Why did you answer all my questions? You could have just ignored me or refused. Why let someone you hardly know ask you so many things?”

Andre let out a humorous breath.

“What can I say, I’m an open book, man. I’m cool with hangin’ out with just about anybody. But ya have to tell people about yourself if ya want ‘em to stick around, ya know?”

“You do?”

Andre snorted.

“Uh, yeah! If people go years without knowing anything about you, you’re pretty much just a stranger. At best an acquaintance. So I tell people about me, especially if they ask! Ya never know who’s gonna like what they hear, and keep comin’ back.”

Jeremy furrowed his brow, nodding his head at the information. He hummed and cleared his throat.

“Uh, thanks… Andre,” he croaked, “I appreciate your honesty.”

“S’what it’s all about, man. Now get outta here, go do your fancy time stuff. I’ll see ya next time ya need a crankshaft!” he joked.

“O—Okay. Goodbye,” Jeremy said abruptly, and cued IO to follow him.

The two of them headed out into the hall and began walking back to the Looney Lab with the crankshaft. Jeremy had not expected… any of that to happen. The day seemingly never ceased to shock him. Still, for a reason unbeknownst to him, he felt a bit happier. Perhaps the time away from Madison did it. Although, Andre was quite bizarre. He would have never guessed he’d be so talkative. At least not to Jeremy. IO beeped to get his attention. Jeremy glimpsed down to see IO displaying a silly smile on its screen, looking up at him. He snorted.

“What’s that look for?”

IO blinked playful yellow and pink lights at him like a carnival ride.

“Oh hush,” he nervously laughed, “I was just curious. I only went there for the crankshaft, that’s it.”

The lights shifted to teal and orange.

“You can think what you want,” he sputtered, “But the only thing I got out of that was the crankshaft. Come on, we’ve still got lots of research to do.”

IO let out a high-pitched hum that sunk to a low one that resembled a youthful, disappointed “Okaaaay…”

As Jeremy advanced toward the doors of the Looney Lab, his raw feelings of relief began to fade. He remembered the unsolved issues with Madison, the quickly approaching deadlines for their research, and the mountain of work that was waiting for him. His body felt heavier and worn. The events of the day had already jerked him around through all kinds of feelings. He resorted to his most comfortable, neutral disposition once again.

#do you have the time?#episode 013 #well look what the cat dragged in #another story arc in do you have the time?#the other parts of this arc should be posted in the following weeks #yes andre is a punk and yes his last name is in reference to the ramones #the good news is that the story is really moving now #the bad news is that... well #I'm moving next week and starting grad school in less than a month so #i may not get to work on this as much anymore #of course i will never give this story up!#i have every intention to finish it #but you know even as an undergrad i had a hard time writing this stuff during the semester #but i've got plans for it #ohhh do i have plans heh #also that first part of madison's game was basically one big meme lmao #if she was going to play a game i thought 'might as well describe it'#to be completely transparent though i would really like to write a story in that manner one day #medieval with a lot of made up worlds and lands probably magic too #i think it would be a lot of fun #big tone shift from do you have the time? lmao

0 notes

stormyrecords-blog · 6 years

Text

march 29th new arrivals

in on thursday restock on these lps - HEXADIC III $24.99ben chasney currated lp of current amazing guitar players on drag city CAVERN OF ANTI-MATTER Hormone Lemonade $28.99still the clear vinyl version!!! JAY DANIEL - Audire Vol 1 Watusi High cassette $9.99beats tape by local dj/electronic magician who has been running with the Wild Oats crowd for years. Debut release from Detroit super-duo 'Audire', comprised of Jay Daniel & Ajamu Yakini. Raw work of art combining World, Jazz, Hip-Hop & everything in between. Limited to only 100 cassettes.Running Time 28 mins. JAY DANIEL - School Dance ep on Watusi $8.99it's wonderful to be in a place where we get to meet young people with the dream of making music. and to watch them work hard and grow and realize their dream of putting out records and performing all over the world. it can also be hard as they age to see them and see they are older, and know that means we are older too. we're proud to be able to play some small part in the lives of musicians like jay, who so truly loves what he does. Following releases on Theo Parrish’s Sound Signature imprint and Kyle Hall’s Wild Oats label, ascending house DJ and producer Jay Daniel has decided to step out on his own, unveiling the first release on his new Watusi High imprint. The two-track School Dance EP collects a pair of muddy, slow-chugging house tracks from the man himself. Funkadelic: Free Your Mind LP $31.99"Funkadelic's second LP, originally released in 1970, is another straight up masterpiece from the stoniest, strangest funk and R&B group of all-time. Opening with the 10 minute title track complete with a shredding keyboard solo from Bernie Worrell and, of course, the six-stringed insanity of Eddie Hazel. One of George Clinton's finest sets of songs and another essential part of the Parliament-Funkadelic catalog reissued on blue starburst vinyl in a deluxe gatefold jacket." Atobe, Shinichi: Butterfly Effect 2LP $29.992018 limited repress. Shinichi Atobe has managed to stay off the grid since he made an appearance on Basic Channel's Chain Reaction imprint back in 2001. He delivered the second-to-last 12" on the label and then disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a solitary record that's been selling for crazy money and a trail of speculation that has led some people to wonder whether the project was in fact the work of someone on the Basic Channel payroll. That killer Chain Reaction 12" has also been a longtime favorite of Demdike Stare, who have been trying to follow the trail and make contact with Atobe for some time, whoever he turned out to be. A lead from the Basic Channel office turned up an address in Japan and -- unbelievably -- an album full of archival and new material. Demdike painstakingly assembled and compiled the material for this debut album. And what a weird and brilliant album it is -- deploying a slow-churn opener that sounds like a syrupy Actress track, before working through a brilliantly sharp and tactile nine-minute piano house roller that sounds like DJ Sprinkles, then diving headlong into a heady, Vainqueur-inspired drone-world. It's a confounding album, full of odd little signatures that give the whole thing a timeless feeling completely detached from the zeitgeist, like a sound bubble from another era. This is only the second album release on Demdike Stare's DDS imprint, following the release of Nate Young's Regression Vol. 3 (Other Days) (DDS 007LP) in 2013. Who knows what they might turn up next? Mastered by Matt Colton at Alchemy. Messthetics: S/T LP $18.99cd also available $12.99"The Messthetics are an instrumental trio featuring Brendan Canty (drums), Joe Lally (bass), and Anthony Pirog (guitar). Brendan Canty and Joe Lally were the rhythm section of the band Fugazi from its inception in 1987 to its period of hiatus in 2002. This is the first band they've had together since then. Anthony Pirog is a jazz and experimental guitarist based in Washington, D.C. One half of the duo Janel & Anthony, he has emerged as a primary figure in the city's out-music community. The trio's debut includes nine songs recorded at Canty's practice space throughout 2017, live and mostly without overdubs. It's a snapshot of a band dedicated to the live ideal, where structure begets improvisation." Perry, Jordan: S/T LP $17.99"Much needed reissue of the extremely limited 2017 debut LP by Virginia guitarist, Jordan Perry. We were turned on to it when Chris Guttmacher at Blue Bag Records in Cambridge told Kassie Richardson of Good Cry (who did the initial 100 pressing) to send us a copy. He thought we might be into it, and halfway into one spin we knew he was right. There have been several fat boatloads of acoustic guitar players floating across our turntable the past few years. And to be honest, we've dug the majority of them. Seems like there must be a lot of good stuff in the water, or something. Despite this, a preponderance of the players we've enjoyed have definitely been in the American Primitive mode. Lots of swift modal aktion with a folk/blues base, invaded by various foreign agents. Jordan Perry's approach to his guitar is quite different. Although there are some basic völk sonorities in his playing, Mr. Perry's brunt combines these with more avant garde note selections and compositional gambits, as well as a string attack with classical qualities. While there's a gentleness to the melodies at which he eventually arrives, Perry's journey crosses prickly patches of tone clusters, and has a circular logic that defies pop logic. A few passages recall moments on All Is Ablaze, our recent album with experimental player Julia Reidy (FTR 338LP), while some of the open strumming has a beautifully languid quality verging on mid period William Ackerman. All of which makes this a record very deserving of much personal headspace. Give Jordan Perry some room and you'll be very glad you did. We promise." --Byron Coley, 2018 Edition of 300. Plastic Cloud:S/T LP $27.992018 repress. "Plastic Cloud recorded, quite simply, one of the greatest psychedelic albums ever made. This is a record with few equals, full of foreboding melodies and lovely hippie harmonies, as well as some of the most superb and trippiest, Eastern sounding fuzz guitar ever recorded. There is no point singling out a specific track, they are all excellent -- one is equally as good as the next. Take for example the album centerpiece, the ten-and-a-half-minute 'You Don't Care,' an insane piece of social commentary that features terrific back-of-the-mix fuzz guitar as an elusive focal point to its extended pounding-drum laden instrumental breaks; with a great chorus and a plaintive melody in the verse, it doesn't overstay its welcome, winding its way to a final freak out. Essential psychedelia!" 180 gram vinyl; Edition of 400/ Comes with lyric insert and replica vintage press release. Phew: Voice Hardcore LP $26.99"Living legend Phew follows up her brilliant Light Sleep album with another masterwork -- Voice Hardcore -- comprised entirely of her iconic, instantly recognizable voice, twisted, folded and layered over six mesmerizing tracks. Recorded at home in summer 2017, this release finds Phew exploring an idea she first hatched while recording her debut single 'Finale' in 1980 -- to, in her words, ' make new reverberations that I have never heard before, using only my body.' 37 years later, Phew proves herself again to be the exception to the rule -- a veteran artist with an estimable catalog spanning decades who, rather than repeating herself or playing it safe, charges headfirst into uncharted territory. Phew's self -- released tour CD of Voice Hardcore was voted # 23 Best Album of 2017 by The Wire Magazine. This Mesh-Key vinyl edition features a silver foil stamped cover and a double-sided, full color insert, and comes with an mp3 download card." Morrow, Charlie: Toot! Too LP $26.99Recital present the first vinyl LP by composer/event-maker Charlie Morrow. Toot! Too culls performance recordings from 1970 to 2014. It focuses on his "Wave Music" series, which are compositions based around swarms of like-instruments; i.e. sixty clarinets, conch choruses, and army of drums and bugle horns, etc. The 1978 piece, "100 Musicians With Lights", was performed at dusk in Central Park. One hundred players (brass, reeds, percussion) congregate and march in spiral formations, playing their instrument with penlights attached to them. The piece dissipates and ends as each player marches through the park to their respective homes. The sound is fascinating; a tape recording made by an audience member swirling and dancing through the performance. Charlie is an organizer: one of instruments, with the pieces that landed on this LP and dozens more; one of events, through decades of public solstice celebrations across the world; one of publications, including New Wilderness Audiographics and EAR Magazine; and, one of friendships as Charlie has kindly introduced me to many fascinating players in this quirky game of ours. He views networking as an art form, always connecting friends with other friends, building a larger web for everyone to dance throughout. Label owner Sean McCann on the release: "In working on this LP over the past years, Charlie Morrow and I have become close. It has been a joy to have him in my life. At the age of 73, he is determined and creative and as positive as ever. Each time we speak, new projects arise -- like a mysterious soup boiling up fresh aromas. One of my favorite memories with Charlie was us staying up 'til the wee small hours of the morning drinking a bottle of sweet potato shochu, me listening to him tell funny and poignant remembrances. I am happy to share these lovely recordings, just a pinky toe in his artistic footprint, but wow, such a gorgeous toe!" Includes 20-page, 8.5x11" color booklet with scores, writings, and photographs; Includes download coupon; Edition of 500. Spacemen 3: Dreamweapon 2LP $39.99"August 1988, Spacemen 3 embark on one of the strangest events in the band's already strange history. Billed as 'An Evening Of Contemporary Sitar Music' (although consciously omitting the sitar), the group would play in the foyer of Watermans Arts Centre in Brentford, Middlesex to a largely unsuspecting and unsympathetic audience waiting to take their seats for Wim Wenders' film Wings Of Desire. Spacemen 3's proceeding set, forty-five minutes of repetitive drone-like guitar riffs, could be seen as the 'Sweet Sister Ray' of '80s Britain. Their signature sound is at once recognizable and disorienting -- pointing as much to the hypnotic minimalism of La Monte Young as to a future shoegaze constituency. On this double LP reissue, Dreamweapon is augmented by studio sessions and rehearsal tapes from 1987 that would lead up to the recording of Spacemen 3's classic Playing With Fire album. 'Spacemen Jam,' featuring Sonic Boom and Jason Pierce on dual guitar, is a side-long mediation on delicate textures and psychedelic effects. Includes download card and new insert with liner notes by Will Carruthers."

1 note · View note