#eric and jack are like that too with one episode where some people from college make a bet about them being gay

[writerswho]

The fact that it's canon that everyone sees Cory and Shawn as a couple is so funny.

Morgan makes several jokes about Shawn being Cory's boyfriend or saying that they are going to get married.

Alan asks if Cory really likes Topanga, implying that he thinks that Cory might like Shawn.

And the way Cory and Shawn deliberately act like a couple, having even broken up and got back together.

Even Topanga saying 'stop it, you're boys' with a smile is funny. Because it's like 'they're boys, they shouldn't act like this', but they don't care and Topanga doesn't care either because she doesn't feel threatened by their relationship, so much that she's even said that Shawn loves Cory more than her, and she's fine with that.

#eric and jack are like that too with one episode where some people from college make a bet about them being gay #boy meets world #cory matthews #shawn hunter #topanga lawrence #cory x shawn #cory x topanga

[iridescentis]

I've been slowly getting back into GMW recently and I remembered that I made a whole episode list for post-canon GMW and I never shared it anywhere! I wrote episode titles and summaries from Season 4 to Season 11 but I never finished it and so it never got posted anywhere but I kind of want to try again?

The main plot points that I can remember were:

Riley and Lucas break up amicably in season 4

There is a two-parter around the end of season 4 where Maya calls Riley out for trying to force her to stay unhappy because I needed that

Maya finds out she's a lesbian around early season 5 but doesn't tell anyone until later

When she does tell people she gets a two part episode because she has to sort out the whole open ended Josh situation

Riley has a couple love interests here and there

IMPORTANT: Farkle figures out Maya likes Riley, and she begs him not to tell her. He keeps it a secret the whole show even though he doesn't want to.

In season 6 we see a bit more of Shawn shining through Maya as we get her dating era

Jack and Eric are living together again by the end of season 6

Season 7 I'm pretty sure is when I introduced Shawn and Katy having a baby together

Maya obviously has her 'I won't get into college' moment because she's that character

At the end of Season 7, Farkle and Smackle leave to go to Princeton and the rest go to NYU (I wanted at least some of them to split up because they always bait us with that drama but never give it)

Season 8 is college! Riley and Maya are obviously roommates so are Lucas and Zay

Maya gets a girlfriend who stays until Season 9 (keep in mind she's still in love with Riley)

Season 9 we have a lot of Riley trauma. She starts to realise she likes girls too and she does NOT take it well

(I wanted her journey to be a lot slower and harder because she's VERY sheltered)

Eric is the first person to figure it out before she tells anyone and he also senses something between Riley and Maya

SEASON 10 IT RILAYA TIME BITCHES!!

Yeah they get together that's all I have for season 10

And season 11 is just a lot of fluff and goodbyes as Maya goes to her art gallery in Soho and Lucas goes to veterinary school and the others do something idk

I basically just wrote the whole thing now but I had to get it our of my system, maybe one day I'll write a huge fic series about this but probably not

#girl meets world #riley matthews #maya hart #lucas friar #farkle minkus #zay babineaux #rilaya #this is mostly rilaya focused because i make the rules #i have been unhealthily obsessed with jeric for years so obviously i snuck them in subtly in the background

[supersonic-womanofyou]

My first attempt at an interview fic! Read this on Ao3, or under the cut. 

Spotlight on Eric Bittle

 Interview by Elizabeth Chu

Photographs by Jack Zimmermann

  The internet personality, author, and baker talks about his childhood, his relationship with Providence Falconers captain Jack Zimmermann, being a LGBTQ role model, why he struggled with his overnight success, and his upcoming cookbook.

 I meet Eric Bittle in person for the first time on a Saturday afternoon, in a trendy coffee shop in downtown Providence. Even though I’ve heard of it in passing, I’ve never been inside. Eric obviously has, since when I approach the table where he’s chosen to sit, Eric is already chatting familiarly with one of the waitresses. 

 But after a couple minutes talking to Eric, I mentally revisit that assumption. Eric Bittle has a way of putting people at ease, of making even the most distant strangers feel like long-lost friends-- through his warm personality, but also through his seemingly-never ending supply of homemade baked goods. By the time I sit down across from him, I’m already in possession of a whole pie and two jars of jam. 

 Most of the celebrities I’ve met have on screen personalities that are vastly different in person, but the Eric Bittle I meet that Saturday could have been pulled directly out of his Netflix series or one of the episodes from his vastly popular vlog. He’s perennially bright and cheery, with a Southern drawl that’s been blunted by years in New England, but is still very present. When I mention it, Eric laughs. “I used to hate my accent, but I think it’s become as part of my brand as pies are. I’d probably lose all of my followers if I started talking like a Yankee,” he jokes.

 The source of Bittle’s accent is his hometown-- Madison, Georgia, a town of barely four thousand people. When I ask what drove him to move up north, he gestures to himself as a whole. “Not too many opportunities for a baking, skating, Beyonce-loving gay boy in Morgan County.” He turns more serious, though, when he continues: “I was bullied a lot as a child. When I think back to my childhood, to living in Georgia-- for people who looked or acted different, it could be suffocating. I remember feeling like my future was just so starkly outlined for me-- going to a state school, settling down with a nice girl, spending the rest of my life just pretending. It sounds like overdramatic teenage angst now, I know, but I always knew if I wanted to live honestly, I needed to get out.” 

 And so Eric applied-- and was accepted to--Samwell University in Massachusetts, which touts itself as one of the most LGBTQ friendly schools in America, under the motto “one in four, maybe more.” According to Eric, it’s where he began to come to terms with himself and his identity, where he finally said the words “I’m gay” out loud, where he continued to bake and vlog and began to think seriously about a career in both, and where, perhaps most famously, he met his now-husband, Providence Falconers captain Jack Zimmermann. 

 “We both played on the hockey team, but we weren’t exactly friends at first,” Bittle says about his relationship with Zimmermann.

 So, of course, I have to ask him-- what is it like, being a baker married to a hockey player? Eric and his husband seem like almost comical counterpoints in every aspect of their careers and personalities. Eric makes his living through baking and cooking, Jack plays in the notoriously-macho NHL. Eric has built a brand and a food empire off of cheeriness and Southern hospitality, Jack has a reputation of being a “hockey robot,” with his cold, generally disagreeable demeanor during interviews.

 “Well, with it all laid out like that, it really does sound like we’re night and day,” Eric laughs. “But honestly? We just work. We both love skating-- that’s what we bonded over in college, actually. We also both technically majored in history, even though we have very different specialities and did so for pretty different reasons. But even our differences are compatible. Like, I love talking, he doesn’t, so we’re never talking over each other or silent. Also, pro hockey players have to eat an insane number of calories, so Jack’s always there to eat my cooking, and that’s really all I can ask for.”

 Eric and Jack, who played on a line together briefly at Samwell, took the sports world by storm seven years ago when they kissed on the ice after the Falconers won the Stanley Cup, making Jack the first openly LGBTQ player in the NHL. The pair broke yet another barrier for LGBTQ people in hockey soon after, when Eric became the first openly gay NCAA Division I hockey captain. 

 When I ask Eric if he ever thought about following in his partner’s footsteps and pursuing a career in professional hockey, he just laughs. “Oh, definitely not. I love being on the ice, but I don’t think I would have made it very far in the NHL or AHL.”

 His fame may have started out in the (relatively niche) world of professional hockey, but since graduating from Samwell, Eric has found incredible success beyond the legacy of that historic kiss. His first book, published five years ago, spent several weeks on the New York Times Food and Diet bestseller list, and was applauded as a fresh, vibrant take on Southern cuisine and desserts.  Check, Please  reads as seventy percent cookbook, thirty percent memoir, with every page infused with Bittle’s indomitable, ubiquitous personality. His vlog, which he started in high school and has updated continuously ever since, has millions of subscribers, who tune in every week to hear Bittle talk about everything from pies and cookies to relationships and family. Finally, and perhaps most famously, Bittle hosted his own Netflix series last year, applauded as a combination of Marie Kondo and Queer Eye, in which he taught baking with his usual brand of positivity and universal appeal, interspersed with feel-good moments and life lessons.

 It strikes me that while Bittle’s career may have been jump-started by his relationship with Jack Zimmermann, he’s certainly managed to make a name for himself in the years since. To the hockey world, he may still be an afterthought to Jack Zimmermann, but to the baking world (and a good portion of Netflix’s viewership), the name Jack Zimmermann is an afterthought to that of Eric Bittle. 

 “Jack definitely gets a kick out of it when we’re in public together and I get recognized, and he doesn’t,” Eric says. “It’s kind of crazy, actually-- I definitely couldn’t have imagined all this ten years ago, back in college or in high school.”

 And what did Eric imagine himself doing? “To be honest, I don’t think I had any idea. When I decided to go to Samwell, I didn’t even have a major in mind or anything. I just wanted to get out of Georgia. And at Samwell-- I mean, I majored in American History, of all things. Talk about a useless degree! I literally just chose the major that let me take the most baking or baking-adjacent classes.” He pauses, and laughs. “It drives Jack crazy, actually-- I never have a plan for anything, really, big or small. I’m the kind of person who just crosses my fingers and hope it all shakes out for the best.”

 His husband’s opinion aside, this tactic seems to have worked out pretty well for Eric. His next, eagerly anticipated cookbook, which follows much in the vein of his Netflix show, is due to come out in two months this August. “It’s going to be focused on easy, cheap cooking and baking that’s still healthy and fulfilling. I think there’s a mindset that to make tasty, healthy food you need to have expensive ingredients and tools, or a lot of time on your hands, or have a lot of experience. But like-- I made food for an entire hockey team in a frat house on a college student’s allowance for four years, so I know something about cooking healthy on a budget,” he jokes. “I really just want to make good, healthy food accessible for everyone.”

 Well, he’s managed to do that, and more. Eric Bittle’s career so far has certainly been a whirlwind. He’s gone from publishing his first cookbook to hosting his own show in what’s only been a matter of years.

 “I do have to pinch myself sometimes, “ Eric says about his dizzyingly quick ascent to fame. “Like, Carrie Underwood tagged me in a tweet about hockey husbands the other day. Carrie Underwood!” The disbelief is clear in his voice. “I mean, Jack’s always been the bigger fan of country music, but the Georgia boy in me had to lie down for a moment when I saw the notification. So I think-- I still can’t really believe all of it, you know? It feels like yesterday I was still about to graduate college, with barely any plan and procrastinating on my thesis. And I guess sometimes-- sometimes I do feel a bit guilty, you know? Like-- there’s so many people fighting for this, fighting for what I’ve got-- getting books published, getting a show, everything else. I definitely had a leg up in name recognition because of Jack and hockey, and even when Jack and weren’t married yet, I never had to worry about having a roof over my head if the vlog wasn’t bringing in enough money or the cookbook wasn’t selling well enough.” He pauses, pensive, and it’s not the first time in this conversation that I mentally reassess my first assumptions about Eric Bittle. Behind the nationally famous smile and welcoming accent is a thoughtful young man still grappling with becoming a public figure and a role model, with a sprinkling of imposter syndrome, who doesn’t understand exactly what millions of people across the country see in him. 

 But perhaps that as well is an unfair assessment. It’s clear that Eric has a refreshing genuiness that few public figures possess, and that this is part of what has managed to speak to so many people from all backgrounds. That on some level, his modesty about his own fame is part of what constitutes his appeal. 

 When I mention this, Eric flushes a bright shade of pink. “Oh, aren’t you a flatterer. Well, I suppose so.”

 So after this cookbook, what’s next? Is fatherhood on the horizon? 

 “I did mention that I never have a plan, didn’t I?” he quips. But he does confide that he and Jack have been talking about having a family. “We’ve always wanted kids, but there’s always been something going on. Jack’s job and being on roadies all the time, me trying to get my career started. We don’t want our kids to be raised by babysitters and nannies, you know? We want to be there for them, so while it’s definitely something we’re considering, we’re trying to balance timing. But it has been a couple years, so.” He blushes. “We’re revisiting the idea.”

 “But other than that-- I have been approached about the possibility of some other projects and shows in the future, but I probably can’t talk about those,” he says. “And though it’s always been a dream of mine to own a bakery, that would be a pretty huge commitment. So I guess I’m just trying to say that I’m not really sure exactly what comes next.” Nevertheless, he grins, as if to say,  and isn’t that exciting ?

 Fatherhood or his own bakery-- I’m sure that no matter what comes next for Eric Bittle, he’ll forge ahead with his characteristic positivity and Southern grace, with plenty of baked goods along the way. *

#omgcp #eric bittle #jack zimmermann #interview #multimedia fic #art #magazine #fic #omgcp fic #zimbits #pov outsider #omgcheckplease

[mintycanoodles]

mmmmmmaybe a Cupcake Wars au where the Graduation Kiss never happened and Bitty and Jack went their separate ways never able to shake the feeling they missed out on something big and maybe neither of them really get over it but what can you do but waste countless sleepless nights thinking about what if’s??

so a handful of years down the road Bitty has his bakery and Jack is the darling of the Falconers but is a walking talking PR disaster who never really grew out of the hockey robot thing. so.

The Falconers are having some sort of Thing and get involved with Cupcake Wars to promote it. And who gets guest judge duty? To work on his public persona and media navigational abilities? Jack of course.

And who, of course, is one of the contestants??? Bitty duh so Bitty goes, and iirc contestants aren’t told the theme or guest judge beforehand so the drama bomb that drops when eyes meet and repressed feelings get tapped into and yeeesh now that’s what I call Awkward.

so. Despite two participants with major internal and interpersonal drama happening, the episode actually goes mostly smoothly. Neither Jack nor Bitty mentions it to anyone on the production team because whose business is it anyway and obviously no one did any homework on them so they?? act like they just don’t know each other???????? It’s not like they can sneak off for five minutes and hash it out so both just. Try not to interact directly too much but come on you know things happen.

Bitty can’t exactly forget Jack’s favorites and Jack cannot even begin to be unbiased (not when every taste he gets of Bitty's baking feels like home again, even after all this time). Jack may or may not fight the judges at every critique aimed at Bitty’s cupcakes, but Bitty hardly needs it, he solidly trounces the competition and wins. And gets invited to the Falconers Thing. Which works out pretty great in Jack's eyes.

Except it doesn’t. Bitty avoids him all evening? He cold shoulders Jack the whole time and Jack kind of gets it, the cameras are still rolling and they can’t exactly catch up now but still? Before Jack gets anything approaching a chance to talk Bitty packs up and he’s out of there as soon as he’s contractually able to.

So Jack may or may not eat his feelings in cupcakes over it. It feels like another missed opportunity and it stings and he wonders how he keeps getting it so wrong.

According to Georgia it’s an unqualified success. She watches the footage, pats him on the back for going through with it, and says something offhand about how well he got on with a few of the contestants (one in particular she notices. she doesn’t mention it). Jack gets in a funk over it, but there’s nothing to do but forget about it until the episode airs.

No one, definitely not Georgia, definitely not the PR department, is prepared for the chaos the premier causes. It’s not immediate, the episode comes out on a quiet Tuesday and the Falcs do some promotion for it, but not much, so some of Jack’s diehard fans watch it but they’re not expecting any kind of major major response. It was supposed to be something small and light to soften Jack’s image and work his media relations muscles. Who even watches Cupcake Wars anyways???? Plenty do. And they go nuts for the episode.

People who have no idea who Jack is, barely an idea what hockey even is, see Mr. tall dark and Canadian and see too exactly what Georgia had seen. Bitty and Jack and all the special attention paid to the little southern baker boy.

It’s, of course, obvious to anyone with eyes the sparks between them, the lingering looks, how Bitty can barely stop from grinning when Jack lists off his every favorite part of Bitty's cupcakes but has monosyllabic responses for the other contestants. As subtle as the two thought they’d been, they really hadn’t and it’s only a matter of time before it’s trending on Twitter and every lovelorn Cupcake Wars fan is writing RPF and subtweeting the Falcs and Bitty's account about it.

This is not exactly the public image Georgia had been hoping Jack would cultivate. They try to put out the fires, calm things down and make a few #relatable Twitter posts about it that the PR interns cook up. Georgia wheedles the real story out of Jack, and it throws her off kilter actually, once he fesses up to a few details that would make the collective heads of the internet reel, but she’s a professional. The PR team is a crack squad. They get things under control.

Until, of course, some intrepid fans uncover The Truth.

Mamely, how Bitty and Jack totally knew each other because they were totally on the same hockey team in college??? And had totally set records together and there were totally pictures still archived on school websites of celebration hugs and even a few traces left of a senior photography project that featured one Eric R. Bittle (and others) in touchingly intimate portraits???? and uhhhhh explanations????????? are needed?????????

#cupcakegate takes the Twitterverse by collective storm. Kardashians whom??? Bitty gets bombarded, the Falconer’s can’t make a single post about a home game without demands for updates on the drama and Georgia is nearly drowning in it all but wading through it like a champ.

The PR department reaches out to Bitty in an email that Bitty never responds to, his stomach too tied up in knots over all this debacle is bringing up, but he feels like this is partially his fault. He tries his best. He does a tell all vlog to set the record straight.

He tries to keep it simple, stick to the main points.

Why didn’t they say anything? Why act like they didn’t know each other?

Neither of them knew the other would be there (truth) and they didn’t want to disrupt filming or make it seem like Bitty had an unfair advantage.

Are they currently romantically involved?

No (truth).

Had they ever, at any point, back in college, been romantically involved?

No (truth?).

Was there anything, anything at all behind the long looks and soft gazes? A single spark? An ounce of unspoken, hidden attraction?????

No (lies).

Bitty bears his heart a little, gets going on a tangent on their relationship back in college and how much Jack helped him through and what a good team they’d been and how he’s a little sad he and Jack drifted so far apart (lies, it hurts, it’s never stopped hurting) but he’s happy for Jack and really proud of him and glad he got the chance to see him again and wishes him the best (truth).

Of COURSE this only makes things worse. Bless Bitty's heart but he has zero self awareness when it comes to Jack and his clearly lovesick vlog brings avid followers of the whole debacle to new emotional heights. People are invested. The drama continues.

It comes to a head when Jack himself braves the world of Twitter, finally, to try and hash things out privately with Bitty so he logs onto the dusty old handle Georgia created and verified for him ages ago that he’d, bless her heart, just never gotten the hang of. He knows Bitty's handle from all this hullabaloo now so he opens up a message, stares at the blinking screen for about a minute, then promptly has a breakdown.

Everything comes back to him. Every warm moment they’d shared back in college. Every time he felt Bitty there for him and every inch of home and safe Bitty ever gave him.

And how he never told Bitty how he felt (lies. still feels). How he’d let that slip right through his fuckup fingers.

It takes him two weeks to draft the message. That’s ages in internet time, so things die down a bit in the interim and other celebrity dramas unfold so Jack finally stops getting pestered about it by every pap and chirped by every team mate. He’s glad they’ll never put him on reality baking competition show duty again but is it worth it? (yes. yes it is)

It gives Jack plenty of time to stew and stew he does, until he’s finally able to write out a pretty succinct summary of everything he never got a chance to say.

It boils down to a couple main points:

Bitty was probably the best thing that ever happened to Jack. Bitty made him softer and better able to handle things and just gave him the safety net he needed and he would always be grateful to Bitty for that.

Jack had also never meant for them to drift apart, he’d always wanted to stay in touch, actually, he’d always wanted so much more than that but Jack knew Bitty didn’t feel the same way, so Jack created the space between them and he was sorry he’d been such a poor friend and had gotten it so wrong.

Jack hoped, maybe beyond hope, that it wasn’t too late. Jack asked if they could be friends again, that he missed Bitty, and he hoped to hear back from him.

Jack is rather proud of himself for all the emotional eloquence that goes into the message. He thinks Shitty would be, too. Of course, it is kind of annoying he has to split it up into so many pieces and tag Bitty's account in each one so they’ll send to him, something about a 140 character limit? Jack doesn’t really get it, but social media isn’t his thing. So he sends his piecemeal message and waits patiently for Bitty to get back to him.

Georgia regrets ever trying to get Jack any amount of media exposure.

Jack’s not so private love letter is screen capped, saved to hard drives, printed into longevity and takes the internet land by storm all over again. Jacks completely oblivious to it until day two or so when Shitty, Lardo, and every person he knew at any point at Samwell bomb his phone. Georgia does her best, she really does, but it’s the last straw for the PR team. They’ve long since collapsed in a puddle of tears and Georgia has to coordinate the disaster relief effort herself and enforce the media lockdown until they can just deal with this and Jack, it’s okay, we’re all here for you and your sexuality is valid but honey, no more internet for you. Georgia does take the thread down but its too little too late and there is going to be a million and one interviews about this and she hasn’t slept in days and-

and Jack feels bad for her. He feels a little embarrassed his personal business is so out in the open like that but. Well. It’s his own fault. He should have probably asked a few more questions about how to work Twitter. But deep down? It’s a huge weight off. He’d never exactly planned on coming out publicly because he never really thought he’d have anyone who would make him consider it but. Well. He’s said what he needed to say. About time.

He lets Georgia tell him what to do and what to say to whom. He does a few interviews, nothing televised, just a few online publications. It takes several more weeks for any of it to approach any sort of calm again, but eventually, an equilibrium is reached. And then, only then, does Jack get a call from a number he doesn’t have saved yet.

“Hey, Jack,” he hears in a thick southern accent when he picks up, and it doesn’t, not at all, send a shiver of pure warmth all the way down to his toes (lies, all lies).

“Bittle-Eric? Bitty. Hey,” he says. Bitty laughs.

“I think maybe we should talk. Would you, maybe, want to meet up for coffee sometime?”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course, I’d love that.” (truth)

#zimbits #omgcp #whoops i slipped and wrote a fic? #this was just supposed to be an idea but then it kept happening #a cupcake wars au that no one asked for but here it is anyway #and i shall call it; #All is Fair in Love and Cupcake Wars

[aion-rsa]

Director Mike Figgis Talks Trading Licks with Ronnie Wood

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Before becoming a filmmaker, Leaving Las Vegas director Mike Figgis was a musician and performer in the experimental group called The People Show. Before that, he played trumpet and guitar in the experimental jazz ensemble The People Band, whose first record was produced by Rolling Stone drummer Charlie Watts. He is also the founding patron of an online community of independent filmmakers called Shooting People. You can say Figgis is a People person, which makes him the perfect director to capture Ronnie Wood in the documentary Somebody Up There Likes Me.

One of rock and roll’s most iconic guitarists, Wood is good with people. He plays well with others. He is the Stone who’s never alone. Before he began weaving guitar licks with Keith Richards in the Rolling Stones, Wood helped shape the British rock sound in bands like The Birds and the Creation. He was the bass player to the guitar maestro in The Jeff Beck Group, which featured the distinctive voice of Rod Stewart at the front. They put out two albums, 1968’s Truth and 1969’s Beck-Ola, before splintering just as they were to appear at Woodstock. Wood and Stewart inherited the Small Faces from Steve Marriott and dropped the album First Step in 1970. They realized they were too tall for the diminutive moniker and renamed the band The Faces. They released the albums Long Player and A Nod Is as Good as a Wink…to a Blind Horse in 1971, and Ooh La La (1973), before splitting up in 1975.

Wood guested on albums by David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, the Band, Donovan, B.B. King, and on Stewart’s solo albums. He spent so much time flavoring other performers’ works, he didn’t put out a solo album of his own until 1974 which he aptly titled I’ve Got My Own Album to Do. Wood also went solo for 1981’s 1234 and collaborated with Bo Diddley on Live at the Ritz in 1988, Wood’s seventh solo album, I Feel Like Playing (2010), featured guest spots from ex-Faces bandmate Ian McLagan, as well as The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Billy Gibbons, Bobby Womack, and Jim Keltner.

Somebody Up There Likes Me isn’t structured like most music documentaries. It is primarily a conversation, and it veers from much of Wood’s vast output. The hard-partying musician beat lung cancer and candidly blames his excessive indulgences. He saw bandmates, contemporaries and friends, like Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and John Bonham push past the lethal limits of chemical reactions. Wood himself remembers telling Keith Moon to take pills, not bottles of them. Richards remarks in the documentary how the two Rolling Stones guitarists share strong constitutions. Wood began recording with the Rolling Stones when they were halfway through their 1976 album, Black and Blue, and has been steady even up to their recent pandemic live stream.

The documentary also captures Wood’s visual artistry. He was an artist before he was a musician. His drawings were featured on BBC TV’s Sketch Club when he was a child, and he studied at the Ealing Art College. Wood did the cover artwork to Eric Clapton’s 1988 box set Crossroads. The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee continues to capture visions like Mick Jagger’s dancing in a Picasso style, as well as the shots in Somebody Up There Likes Me of him capturing the grace of a ballerina on canvas.

Born in northern England, director Mike Figgis was raised on jazz and Jean-Luc Godard movies. The inventor of the “fig rig” knows when to experiment, such as he did in Timecode (2000) and Hotel (2001), how to get drama out of romance, as he did with One Night Stand, starring Wesley Snipes and Nastassja Kinski, and The Loss of Sexual Innocence. He is adept at crime dramas, directing the “Cold Cuts” episode of The Sopranos in 2004 and Internal Affairs, which starred Richard Gere. He also mines deep emotional schisms in films like Mr. North and Leaving Las Vegas (1995) for which he was nominated for Best Directing and Best Screenplay Oscars. Figgis spoke with Den of Geek about cinematic jams and studio sessions with Ronnie Wood.

Den of Geek: Over the course of the film, you produced a song using nothing but your backings and an orchestra of Ronnie Woods. How was he to produce?

Mike Figgis: He was a delight, actually. We did most of the interviews and everything where he was painting, he was in his own space for that. Then the dialog, he’s very very witty and so on. But at the end of the day, the man’s a musician. Quite later on in the process I said, “Let’s go into a studio and do something.” I think the minute we got into a studio it was different. For both of us because I’m a musician too. It’s just a different kind of reality and the language becomes much simpler between musicians and understanding the equipment, the whole vibe.

Originally Mark Ronson was going to do a soundtrack for us which would have been fantastic and then he just got very, very busy because we got late. I presented him with a kind of template of how maybe could make a nice soundtrack, which is basically what we did anyway. So we did it without Mark and Ronnie was very comfortable with that.

He very much left it to me. He added a lot, obviously. He said, “I’d like to do this as well,” and so on. So, we had a pretty full couple of days in studio time. But he was great to produce.

There are a lot of musicians working on this besides you and Ronnie. Rosey Chan did the score for a painting scene.

Rosey’s my wife by the way. She’s a phenomenal concert pianist and composer and musician in her own right. She’s releasing an album now. She’s an amazing pianist, I just needed something to take us into a different zone, so I asked her to compose some piano pieces for that. Then I did some score myself. Just when he’s talking about drugs. I put a little bit of a weird score on that one.

So is this film more of a cinematic jam that you just edited in the mixing room?

Yeah, I think so. I think that’s a good way of putting it, actually.

Ronnie also worked with Bob Dylan, Prince, David Bowie, Aretha Franklin. Did you allow the interviews to determine what parts of his career you were going to include?

I actually wanted to avoid anybody else. I said, “Let’s just make it about him painting and us talking.” I wanted to make it as simple as possible. That didn’t happen because as soon as you sort of uncover one little stone, you kind of say “Oh, well obviously we should interview the Rolling Stones.” Then he started thinking, “Well, Rod’s around, we can use Rod.” When I discovered about Damien Hirst, “Actually that would be an interesting, unexpected one. That would be good, yeah.” So yeah.

It was kind of organic, really. It was all sort of scheduled based in a sense that, “When are you available?” And, “When am I available? When are these people available?” So, getting the Stones was actually the trickiest thing. You had to go to Berlin and get them between gigs when they were watching the World Cup. In between World Cups actually. Very specific.

I know you’re in the People Band which had an album produced by Charlie Watts. So, were you in the same periphery of the Stones as Ronnie Wood back then?

No, the connection with Charlie was very interesting because the People Band was a free music ensemble. I mean really experimental. Really way out. The drummer was this phenomenal percussionist, still is, called Terry Day. Terry Day went to art college with Charlie’s wife and he knew Charlie because they were both drummers, so they got on really, really well. Charlie Watts has always been a huge jazz fan. Through Terry, it was one of those moments where Charlie says, “You know, we can record you. We got a mobile studio. We can either send the mobile to you wherever you’re playing.” I’m talking about in those days, in ’68 or whenever it was, the idea of a mobile multi-track was pretty amazing. “Or you can come to Olympic Studios,” which was where they recorded Beggars Banquet and everything. It was an amazing studio. And, “We’ll just give you the studio and the engineer, and you guys do what you want.” That’s how that came about and it was really lovely.

Over the years, once in a while I would see Charlie and just catch up, talk about drumming, really. And jazz. So it was really nice interviewing for this one again.

When you were asking Rod Stewart about Peter Grant, he sort of cut back and he became the young man that was bullied.

He did, didn’t he? When he said, “I’m protecting my hands and my face.”

The gangster aspect of that mid ’60’s period, especially with Peter Grant, how did that affect the musicians and the working? Do you think it actually in some ways was good for it?

Well, you know that comes about from a very strange coincidence which was sort of touched on in the film. But, quite a few years back, Malcolm McLaren was wanting to produce a film. A feature film about Led Zeppelin and as a result of that, he and I went and interviewed Peter Grant which is where that footage comes from. I did a huge amount of research into Led Zeppelin and Peter Grant at the time, and spoke to and interviewed a lot of the people who were involved with their success. I didn’t interview Johnny Bindon, but he was a key figure. Johnny Bindon was a kind of very violent criminal. In London. Very good looking. He became an actor for a while. Had amazing sexual legends built around him involving royalty and all kinds of things, and was part of a kind of fashionable gangster scene. The craze and all the rest of it. The London gangster scene.

Sort of became fashionable because people went to all their clubs, and hung out with them, and David Bailey photographed them and all that. So there was a kind of a zeitgeist about gangsterism. There’s an incredibly good book written about it called Jumping Jack Flash which came out two years ago. Bindon became one of the agents for Led Zeppelin and famously beat up somebody so badly on one of their tours that was hospitalized. He was a very mean individual.

The whole association with Led Zeppelin was very much gangsterish because of Peter Grant and his associates who had those stories and so on. So that was a kind of one aspect, and also a lot of the management were fairly crooked in London at that time. There’s a bit of a gay mafia and all the rest of it, so part of the folklore of that period of British rock and roll is very gangsterish, and very much part of the story.

Whenever I think about gangsters and British rock I think of the movie Performance. When you’re filming conversations in the moment, are you saying in your head “this is filmic?��

Not consciously, no. I accept it as being part of the fabric, actually. I try to make everything filmic anyway, so I’m always trying to get as far away from any kind of documentary feel. I like things to have a live element to it.

I loved Peter Grant’s Gene Vincent story. In the Beatles Anthology, George Harrison tells a similar one. What did Gene Vincent mean to young British rock and roller’s that everyone’s got a story about them?

Oh, because he was there, he was around. A little bit like the stories about everyone remembers Big Bill Broonzy and everyone remembers Sister Rosetta Thorpe. Main reason for that is they were a part of a very small group of musicians who were allowed to visit the UK during the Musician’s Union ban on touring. We were basically deprived of a lot of American musicians after the war, and the only reason Broonzy got in and Sister Rosetta Thorpe, was folk musicians were allowed in as opposed to, say, Louis Armstrong.

They all came in as folk singers even though they weren’t. I mean Broonzy was a fully-fledged Chicago blues musician and so was Sister Rosetta Thorpe. But everybody knows that. Anybody that was anybody around at that time would know those names. And Gene Vincent has become a kind of UK legend.

Do you see Ronnie as a very varied painter?

I wanted to capture a certain aspect of his art which was the line drawing. When we first started talking, I looked at all his art books. He does huge canvases with a lot of color, featuring the Rolling Stones, et cetera, et cetera. I was less interested in those. Those sell for a lot of money apparently and people really like them.

But when I saw his line drawing, his very quick drawings. Line drawing is very, very important. Sketching is very important in the same way that when you hear a very basic demo from a musician, there’s a certain truth about that. Then you can produce it and over produce it, and you can make it super sophisticated. I was interested in the bit that leads up to the way that he started producing. I wanted to set up situations where I would just see his line drawing. His ability to control lines, that was amazing.

Then physically watching him do that is fascinating. I love filming people playing their musical instruments. There’s a certain truth about that, they get into their thing. And watching him draw I thought was fascinating. His concentration, absolute. Even in the interview with Damian Hirst. He’s so focused on what he’s doing that he doesn’t really pay much attention to Damian Hirst. Sort of answers the question. He doesn’t pick up on any of the jokes. Because he’s really focused on what he’s doing.

Watching his live stuff, Wood is a different person. While he’s playing guitar, you see him and Keith joking around.

I think that has something to do with the eye. Because I think it’s about blues guitar. You can see the finger memory is really, really strong so I mean in that early footage he’s smoking at the same time, right? He’s smoking, joking around, getting to the microphone, late usually, for the backup vocals. And moving around and having a great time. He doesn’t have to look at the guitar to do that. However, if you are drawing something, either you make that contact with your eye, so creating the triangle between the subject, the canvas, and your eye.  And you’re quite right. Radically different body language, and that’s interesting. There are two physical sides of him demonstrated on film, which you don’t really have to explain. There it is.

Is Somebody Up There Like Me a flip side to Leaving Las Vegas?

Maybe. You know, people have had a life, have had experience and come through darkness and coming to light and so on. For me, it just becomes 10 times more interesting than people who’ve just had a nice life and behaved well. Look a little puzzled that they’re not sort of 70 or something because it’s all been quite peaceful, you know? So there’s a kind of turbulence there which I think he says quite well when he says, “I see a fork in a road I take it.”

Like he says, “I would do it with my eyes more open now if I did it again.” I kind of admired that. It’s not like me. I’m much more protective. But I also loved the way he talked about the drugs. He talked about, “I would never get to the point of losing control because I always knew.” Because he’s very ambitious. “I always knew where I had to be next and I never wanted to be at the place where I couldn’t control where I wanted to be.” I’m sure there were a few exceptions to that, but in general, that was quite truthful.

You’re known as a very experimental filmmaker and I was wondering how you keep coming up with different ways to look through the camera?

I got sort of bored with 35mm and started going back to 16mm and then when video got more interesting, looking at video. Then as video got smaller and XLR happened, that radically changed the possibilities. Then as the world changes, like with at the beginning of this conversation we talked about the coronavirus effect. And how the Timecode principle, how that then ties in with what is possible in terms of filmmaking, really.

When you were making Timecode, did you know that you were predicting pandemic filmmaking?

No, although looking back I can think where it’d be really useful now.

The Rolling Stones streamed their performance early in the pandemic, is this the future of entertainment and is it an imposition?

I think in a way it is. Obviously at some point we will get coronavirus under some kind of control. But there are dire predictions about what’s coming next in terms of the unleashing of the demons that come through global warming, et cetera, et cetera.

On the one hand, maybe these variations of these conditions will continue well into the future. But I think even if it was just coronavirus, I’m talking about making films with various people right now, it’s almost like unless you actually acknowledge the world as it is today and has been for the last six months, any film that you make is going to have an air of unreality about it because this is quite definitely a global reality now. The way we’re communicating now and so forth.

I’m doing a masterclass in London at the film school next week and I’m going to be talking just about that to young filmmakers. The best ways to go about making films now.

As a jazz musician, what did you make of Jagger’s classification of jazz from back then?

It was pretty accurate, actually. I’d done the blues documentary with Martin Scorsese, the history of the British Blues, Red, White, and Blues. So, I covered that period and I was fascinated by that unique British period anyway, which is why in a way Marty and I got on so well too was because unlike America, the post war British music scene was heavily into traditional jazz and then bebop. Then folk music, and skiffle, and all those things. They all combined. If you talk to anybody, Eric Clapton, anybody, they’ll all make the same references. Big Bill Broonzy and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and then Woody Guthrie, and so kind of everybody was listening to all those influences and people were coming out of traditional jazz and then making quite dynamic decisions about this, that, and the other.

But the Trad boom was, the commercial aspect of the British jazz movement was very commercial, and immediately commercialized. There are some great musicians, but not the hippest genre in the world, so Jagger’s commented quite rightly if you want to be a young, sexy, happening musician, you’re not going to base your style on your grandfather’s taste and the rest of it. It was a kind of nice point of view. I loved it when he said, “I like the MJQ because of the way they looked and the way they played. I’m not sure I was crazy about the music or something like that.”

And I loved that he said, “We can be like that or we can be something different.” I love that moment in the film where you actually suddenly see the Stones kind of go, “Yep.” That’s pretty different from those two choices. That was, you’re creating a new genre there. And I have to say, my respect for the Rolling Stones went very, very high in making this documentary. I always like the Stones. I preferred more basically a blues band and I was listening to a lot more complicated pop musicians and jazz musicians.

I read that you’re doing a K-drama about the #MeToo movement. Would that be in the K-pop industry?

Yeah, I became interested in Korean film of course like most filmmakers. And then on an impulse, two and a half years ago, I bought a ticket to Seoul and I went and stayed there for three or four weeks, and just went around meeting people and just trying to get a handle on their film scene, initially. Then, I kind of got hooked on K-dramas as well and started to meet the actors. That’s turned into a project that’s been in development for about a year now. It’s going really, really well, but coming up with this series of scenarios. Sort of loosely around the #MeToo movement, really but just to do with the Korean social pop entertainment scene. And that’s what that was there.

I didn’t know that the Stones had originally thought about asking Ron Wood to replace Brian Jones. As a musician, you said they stuck to their guns. Do you think that would have been more true had they skipped over Mick Taylor and gone straight to Ronnie Wood?

It was interesting because that period, because obviously Jagger comes from a very much blues background. But by that time he was a megastar and the Stones were very much “Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones.” He was making movies, he was hanging out at the clubs, he was the hip guy. So obviously his horizons were expanding and he said that having Mick Taylor in the band really expanded his horizons as a songwriter because the voicings that Mick Taylor used. Mick did incredibly lyrical runs as the guitarist. Not a straight down the line blues player by any stretch of the imagination. A great blues player, but that’s not all he did.

So, I can imagine at that period, it would have been totally understandable if they’d continued to go in a different direction. I think what happened when Mick Taylor walked out, there was a kind of obvious cause of action to go to Ronnie. That probably then put Keith in a more comfortable zone in terms of the two-guitar thing because I would imagine that with Mick Taylor in the band, Keith’s role must have been definitely not so much the two-guitar thing because they are functioning at different levels. Probably in a way, back to a kind of grassroots level by bringing Ronnie back in.

Also, he looks like them. They were like brothers at that point. There’s a kind of a, suddenly a cohesiveness to the band as a band in a different way. Mick had a wider range in terms of songwriting and performance. A different way to go, but I think he was more than happy to go back into the kind of grassroots journey that they’d been on.

It’s very interesting how one musician can radically alter the destiny of the band, the longest lasting band in rock and roll history basically now.

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Ronnie Wood: Somebody Up There Likes Me will be available as a Virtual Cinema release at www.ronniewoodmovie.com starting Sept. 18 running through October. It will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and deluxe hardback book release on October 9.

The post Director Mike Figgis Talks Trading Licks with Ronnie Wood appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[zen3to5]

J/H 7-22: 2000 Light Years From Home

No more partial scripts - from here on out, it's Page One rewrites until the finale.

So, Eric's been on a different track to teaching in this timeline, but is the destination any different? And what happened to Jackie and Hyde - I thought this was supposed to be a Zen rewrite? Well, read on, friends. Read on...

FF.Net AO3

***

SHOW TITLE   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - NIGHT   The gang, hanging out. JACKIE ruffles around in the deep freeze, HYDE reads a magazine in his chair, and DONNA and FEZ watch TV from the couch.   KELSO enters from the basement door and throws himself down in the lawn chair.   KELSO: Okay, I'm breaking up with Angie. All we have anymore is hot sex.   FEZ: Hot sex? All I have is hot soup. Can't make love to that. Too damn hot.   DONNA: So, Kelso, you gonna break up with her your usual way - send a note saying you got kidnapped by kung fu robots?   KELSO: No, it won't work with her. She doesn't even believe in kung fu robots. Just gonna have to talk to her.   DONNA: Wow, Kelso. I thought your usual Plan B was to have one of us tell the girl you're dead. And then when she eventually sees you, you have us tell her you're a ghost.   Jackie crosses across the room to stand behind Kelso.   JACKIE: Michael, why don't you do what you did with me: toilet paper my house!   She smacks him upside the head, then steps back to lean on the door.   KELSO: I can't do that to Angie. I respect her too much 'cause she agreed to have sex with me so fast.   ERIC enters from the stairs. He has a stack of papers in his hand and a glum look on his face.   ERIC: Hey! Bad news.   KELSO: Your mom changed her mind about making blueberry cobbler?   FEZ: No, she made it. I would know – I ate it. All of it.   Eric, ignoring them, jumps over the back of the couch to sit next to Donna. He throws the papers down on the coffee table.   ERIC: No. I’ve been working on a budget, and I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to pay for college.   DONNA: Didn’t your parents hang on to your college money after you had to stay home the last time?   ERIC: Yeah, but – see, remember how I sold your engagement ring to pay for my year off?   JACKIE: How could we forget? Donna made jewelry history – the world’s smallest diamond for the world’s worst wedding.   ERIC: Well, the pawn shop must have thought so too, because it turns out what you get for a used engagement ring isn’t enough to support yourself for a year – even with living at home with your mommy. And after calling her “mommy” and going to a macramé class, my mom turned over my college account to me without telling Red. I started using that money to get by, and now there’s not enough left to pay for college.   DONNA: Eric, don't worry. There are plenty of ways to get money for school.   HYDE: Yeah, man. You could always get a football scholarship.   JACKIE: Hey, look, he weighs about as much as a football, and people do like to kick him.   She crosses the room to sit in Hyde’s lap, stopping to pat Eric on the shoulder on the way.   FEZ: (to Eric) I know what you should do. You should go to Hollywood and become the next Gene Wilder. That guy's a laugh riot.   JACKIE: You know, Eric, we all had to meet with the guidance counselor before the end of high school to talk about college. Maybe you should go see him.   DONNA: Yeah. Finding money for college is what high school guidance counselors do.   HYDE: Yeah, they also spend a lot of time staring at themselves in the mirror saying, "I can't believe I'm a high school guidance counselor."   ERIC: The high school guidance counselor? Who is that? Is that still Mr. Bray? (Jackie nods) I don't know about Mr. Bray. I don't think he really liked me. One time I told him I was being bullied, and he just said, "what'd you expect?"   JACKIE: Look, Eric, Mr. Bray asked to see me tomorrow about an opportunity for my public access show. Why don’t you come with me to my appointment? I’m sure he’ll help. He loves me. In almost entirely appropriate ways.   Hyde gives Jackie a look; she looks back and shrugs.   KELSO: Hey, people, how’d we get side-tracked? We’re forgetting what’s really important here – how I’m gonna break up with Angie.   HYDE: (to Kelso) Look, I don't care how you do it. I'm just happy you won't be violating my sister anymore.   KELSO: Yeah, I know you hated it, Hyde. I would have broken up with her sooner if I didn't find it so hilarious.   Hyde crumples up his magazine and chucks it at Kelso, beaning him in the head.   KELSO (cont’d): You be nice, or I will marry her.

MAIN CREDITS   BUMPER   INT. GROOVES - DAY   The next morning. A brisk business at Grooves. Customers peruse the crates. Hyde and ANGIE keep an eye on things from the listening pit as they talk.   ANGIE: Jackie’s getting some kind of offer about her show? Why? Her last episode was a half-hour about which high heels Olivia Newton-John would wear if she was ever a guest star on Charlie’s Angels.   HYDE: Hey, it was better than the one about how Jack Nicholson should do his hair.   ANGIE: How?   HYDE: Because she didn’t spend all week trying to get me to stand in for Jack Nicholson.   ANGIE: So – any idea what the offer is?   HYDE: No.   ANGIE: Do you know if Jackie’s been looking at colleges?   HYDE: No.   ANGIE: Have you two talked about your future at all since you got back together?   HYDE: Angie, I didn’t talk, plan, or think about my future for eighteen years. You know what that got me? (she shakes her head) A cool black dad and a record store. Why start planning now?   He heads to the register.   Kelso and Fez enter through the door. They stop when they see Angie, who is helping a customer.   KELSO: (to Fez) Okay. I can do this. I'm just gonna tell Angie that things are fizzling between us, and we should end it.   Angie sees them, smiles, and walks over.   ANGIE: (to Kelso) Hey, how's it going, sweets?   FEZ: Not bad, toots.   Angie and Kelso both give him a look.   FEZ (cont’d): (to Angie) Oh, him. Go.   He waves Angie over to Kelso.   KELSO: (to Angie) Okay. Well, um, we need to talk about something. This might be kind of hard to take. (beat) Fez still wets the bed.   FEZ/ANGIE: What?/Eww!   Angie edges away from Fez.   KELSO: (to Angie) At least we're still together! I'll see you later.   He steers Fez around and gives him a push toward the door, following after.   FEZ: (to Kelso) I'm going to wet your bed. They exit.   CUT TO:   INT. COUNSELOR’S OFFICE - DAY   The office of Point Place High’s guidance counselor, a bare-minimum office lit more by the window than the poor lighting. Jackie and Eric enter through the open door.   ERIC:  Oh, my God. I can't believe I have to tell my high school guidance counselor that I spent an entire year doing nothing. He's gonna think I'm such a loser.   JACKIE: Yeah. You know a good way to avoid that? Don’t be a loser.   ERIC: Whatever. I bet he doesn’t even have an offer for you. This is probably like that time he told you he wanted to talk about who should be the head of the decorating committee, then asked you to prom.   MR. BRAY himself enters, a portly man in a fool’s version of suave attire. A stack of files is tucked under his arm. He breezes right past Eric to shake Jackie’s hand.   MR. BRAY Ah, Jackie. How very, very – very – pleasant to see you again. And so soon after high school.   JACKIE: And so soon since the last time you drove by my house.   MR. BRAY: (beat) Well, uh, my mother lives right next door.   JACKIE: Next door is the guest house.   MR. BRAY: Well... isn’t Mother a charming guest?   Jackie fixes him with a condescending look. Mr. Bray clears his throat and stands up straight.   MR. BRAY (cont’d): Well, Jackie, I asked you here because the school was recently contacted by a TV producer out of Chicago about you.   JACKIE: (gasps) Oh, my God! Was it about my show?   MR. BRAY: Yes, indeed. She asked if we could pass on her interest to you and that she’d be in the area if you could take a meeting before taping.   Jackie squeals, hops, and claps with delight.   JACKIE: Oh, my God, yes! Yes! When is she coming?   MR. BRAY: Today. I meant to tell you sooner, but I kept dropping the phone – my hands tend to get sweaty when I’m nervous.   JACKIE: Today? Oh, I – I have to get ready. I have to get dressed – I have to do my hair – I have to get down to the studio!   She makes for the door. Eric catches her by the arm.   ERIC: What? Jackie, you don’t tape for another four hours.   JACKIE: Yeah, but it’ll take me at least two to get over there.   ERIC: Why?   JACKIE: Because I’m telling everyone!   She pulls herself free and runs out of the office.   Left alone, Eric and Mr. Bray awkwardly survey each other.   MR. BRAY: And you are?   ERIC: Eric. Forman. 1977's most improved mathlete.   MR. BRAY: Oh, right. Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, Eric. I just figured the bullies had gotten ya.   They continue to awkwardly survey each other.   BUMPER   INT. GROOVES – DAY   Business is still brisk, and Kelso and Fez are back. They stand together, heads bowed and arms folded, in the listening pit. Their heads jerk up when Jackie bursts through the door.   JACKIE: Where’s Steven?   KELSO: At lunch with Angie.   Jackie turns to head back out the door, but Kelso lunges, takes her arm, and pulls her into the listening pit. They sit on the couch together while Fez sits on the armrest.   KELSO (cont’d): Wait, Jackie! Listen, I need some advice on breaking up with girls, okay? And you've been broken up with a lot. Several times by me. So, what didn't you like?   JACKIE: Oh, um... the lying, the cheating, the sneaking around - oh, and I also didn't like Fez trying to make out with me five minutes later.   FEZ: Well, then you're really not gonna like this.   He leans down for a kiss. Jackie shoves him back by the face.   KELSO: Look, I don't know how to break up with Angie.   JACKIE: Well, why don't you try to figure out how to do it kindly – maturely - respectfully?   KELSO: Yeah. That sounds nice. (beat) I think I'm just gonna sleep with her best friend.   CUT TO:   INT. COUNSELOR’S OFFICE – DAY   Mr. Bray and Eric have moved to sitting on opposite sides of Mr. Bray’s desk. Mr. Bray reviews the contents of a file and shakes his head,   MR. BRAY: Well, Eric, I have to say – your eligibility for scholarships would normally be determined by what you’ve done for the last year, but as far as I can tell, you haven’t done anything.   ERIC: Okay, well... yeah. But what about the year before that? I mean, I gave up college to support my family.   MR. BRAY: So?   ERIC: Isn’t that, like, a really noble and decent thing to do?   MR. BRAY: You don’t get scholarships for nobility. Not unless you’re in Europe. And there, it’s not a scholarship – it’s actual nobility.   ERIC: Come on, Mr. Bray. There’s gotta be something I can do to pay for college. I’ll do anything to become a teacher.   MR. BRAY: You’re going to college for teaching? (Eric nods) And you spent the last year – (checks notes) “Reading comic books and acting out movies with your dolls” -   ERIC: Action figures!   MR. BRAY: Well, if you’re going to UW, there’s an option to be the instructor in a pilot teaching program that may just work for you.   ERIC: Wait – pilot program? What does that mean? Like, an experiment? I don’t know if I wanna be a guinea pig. What would I be teaching?   MR. BRAY:  Comic books.   Eric’s jaw drops. Slowly, his eyes bulging and his breath quivering in his throat, he pushes himself upright until he leans over the desk, his feet barely in contact with the ground. It’s an uncomfortable enough sight for Mr. Bray that he inches his seat back by a few good scoots.   FADE TO BLACK   COMMERCIAL   BUMPER   MUSIC NOTE: The theme from the 1966 “Batman” series.   INT. COUNSELOR’S OFFICE - DAY   Right where we left off. Eric is still leaning over the desk, his body trembling with the threat of jumping up and down for joy. Mr. Bray still looks uncomfortable.   ERIC: So you’re saying that I would get paid to teach a class about comic books?   MR. BRAY: Comic books, sci-fi films, fantasy novels, contemporary television – it’s an experimental course based on a program done in Indiana a few years ago. The university would pay you to teach this course, and while you act as the teacher, you could get a free education yourself. It would mean jumping right into a professional setting. So if you value time with your dolls –   ERIC: ACTION FIGURES!     MR. BRAY: Right. I’m just saying, you won’t have a lot of free time, and this sort of program needs someone with a strong work ethic. If you think you’re up to it, I can go get my information packet, but...   He trails off as he looks Eric over – pasty, skinny, fresh-from-a-year-off Eric. Eric gives himself a look-over before pushing himself away from the desk and standing up tall.   ERIC: You know what, Mr. Bray? I am up to it. You know, I wasn’t always this lazy, goof-around loser. I had work ethic – real work ethic. I don’t know how I got to this point, but I’ve been looking for a way out. And now – I have it. (puts hands on hips) I feel... I feel like Luke Skywalker when he vowed to follow Obi-Wan and learn the ways of the Force. Except we’re not surrounded by dead Jawas. And there’s no dead Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru. And I don’t live with Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru, I live with my mom and dad, and – oh, screw it, I’m teaching Star Wars and comic books!   He gives the air a happy jab. Mr. Bray gives a slight smile, shakes his head, stands, and leads Eric out of the office.   BUMPER   MUSIC NOTE: “Right Back Where We Stared From” by Maxine Nightingale.   INT. STUDIO – EVENING   The studio of the public access station, Jackie’s set. JACKIE, only slightly overdressed, bobs on her feet, all grins as the visiting CHICAGO PRODUCER, MRS. BERTRINELLI, sits on her desk and chats with her.   MRS. BERTRINELLI: Well, Jackie, everyone in the Chicago station’s been talking about your program.   JACKIE: Oh, really?   MRS. BERTRINELLI: Yes, we’ve never seen anything quite like it.   JACKIE: Well, I’d say I’m surprised, but –   She indicates her face and lets out an airy laugh.   JACKIE (cont’d): You know, my boyfriend Steven, he says the same thing every time he watches the show. At first, he meant it sarcastically, but now I think he means it as a compliment almost half of the time.   Mrs. Bertrinelli gives an enigmatic sort of smile; Jackie can’t tell if she’s genuinely amused or condescending. Jackie clears her throat and stands up as tall as she can.   JACKIE (cont’d): So, my guidance counselor said you had some sort of offer for me?   MRS. BERTRINELLI: Yes. As I said, we’ve been watching your show. And quite frankly – you advertise it as a news program, and yet all your content is concerned with fashion, disco, decorating, celebrity gossip, and local scandal. It’s superficial, irrelevant – all the flightiest impulses of youth. All in all, it’s a terrible news program.   Jackie’s face falls like a downed chopper over Saigon. Her hand clutches at her heart.   MRS. BERTRINELLI (cont’d): But it’s perfect for the arts and leisure segment of a real news program. How’d you like a job as entertainment anchor?   Jackie’s face changes again, into a stiff mask of shock. Her whole body goes stiff as an amused Mrs. Bertrinelli chuckles and shakes her head.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT – EVENING   The end of a hard days’ work – relatively speaking. Hyde reads a magazine in his chair while Fez and Kelso share the couch.   KELSO: (to Fez) So, there's a problem with my "sleeping with Angie's best friend" plan: Angie's best friend is Hyde.   Without looking up from his magazine, Hyde shoots an acknowledging finger point Kelso’s way.   FEZ: (to Kelso) Drat. And That’s not just your plan foiled.   KELSO: Whaddya mean?   FEZ: My plan to console Angie when you dump her, then console her best friend when you dump her too, just went down the dumper. (to Hyde) You son of a bitch.   Hyde briefly flips down the magazine, grins at Fez, then goes back to reading.   Jackie enters through the basement door, her face long.   JACKIE: (to Kelso, Fez) Um, you guys, I gotta talk to Steven about something really serious.   KELSO: (gasp) Maybe she's pregnant!   FEZ: Maybe she cheated on him.   KELSO: Maybe she cheated on him and she's pregnant.   They grin up at her like idiots. Jackie, ignoring them, moves to the end of the couch nearest to Hyde’s chair. Hyde sets his magazine down and leans in toward her.   JACKIE: Steven, this TV producer came by to tell me she loved my public access show. And then she offered me a job at her station in Chicago starting next month.   HYDE: Whoa. Um, you're gonna take a job and move to Chicago?   JACKIE: No, no, not yet. No, I wanted to talk to you about it first.   KELSO: Uh-oh. This is "serious" serious, not funny serious. (to Fez) We should probably leave.   FEZ: (to Jackie, Hyde) But we won't.   Jackie and Hyde both ignore him.   JACKIE: Steven, this is my dream come true. But you are the most important thing in the world to me. So, I'm willing to give it all up and stay here with you. But if I do that, I need to know we're gonna get married.   HYDE: Jackie, we agreed not to talk about our future.   JACKIE: Until our future got here, and it just did, Steven. Look, the station needs an answer by the end of the month, and I do, too. HYDE: Well, I don't know what to say right now.   A flicker of hurt crosses Jackie’s face, but she gives Hyde a slow nod.   JACKIE: Okay, well, you don’t have to say anything right now. But this month is all the time left I can give you.   Hyde looks away from her. He sits back in his chair and tosses his head back as Jackie looks down at the floor.   Kelso sweeps a hand out to draw attention.   KELSO: (to Hyde) I know this is a sensitive moment, but may I offer a word of advice?   He stands, crosses to the basement door, and throws it open.   KELSO (cont’d): Run!   Fez heeds Kelso’s advice: he jumps to his feet and dashes out the door. When Kelso sees the look Hyde’s giving him, he does the same thing.   BUMPER   INT. FORMAN KITCHEN - NIGHT   Post-dinner clean-up. KITTY is at the sink, gloves on, working at a roasting pan soaked in suds. RED sits at the kitchen table, reading a newspaper.   Donna enters from the patio door.   DONNA: Hey, is Eric home? We were supposed to hang out at the Hub after his meeting with the guidance counselor, but he never showed.   KITTY: (shakes head) He hasn’t been home all day.   RED: (flips paper down) If he’s trapped in another locker, we’ve gotta disown him. The only time in a man’s life when it’s acceptable for him to get stuffed in a high school locker is when he’s in high school.   KITTY: But he was in the high school.   RED: You know what I meant.   The patio door slides open again. Donna steps back as Eric and Mr. Bray enter, all grins, each with a stack of papers under their arms.   ERIC: (to Donna) Hey. I know I didn’t show at the Hub, but I’ve got great news. I –   Mr. Bray elbows past Eric to shake Donna’s hand.   MR. BRAY: Donna! Donna Pinciotti! How nice to see you again. You’ve done something different with your hair since high school.   DONNA: Yeah, you noticed.   MR. BRAY: Well, I notice everything about all my students.   ERIC: You didn’t even remember my name.   MR. BRAY: (to Eric) I notice everything about all my recent students.   ERIC: Donna and I were the same year.   MR. BRAY: Yes, well... I would like to change the subject now.   KITTY: (to Eric) Honey, you said you have great news?   She peels off her gloves and crosses to the table. She and Donna sit as Eric sets his papers down and clasps his hands together.   ERIC: I found a way to pay for college.   DONNA: Eric, that’s wonderful!   KITTY: Hooray!   RED: Pay for college? What’s wrong with the money we’ve been putting into your savings account?   KITTY: Oh – um, Red, honey, we – we need to talk later.   Red opens his mouth to press the issue, but Kitty waves him quiet.   ERIC: Yep. Not only will I be going to college for teaching – I’ll be going to college to teach.   KITTY: Ooh, how nice! (beat) What does that mean?   Donna and Red, just as confused as Kitty, look to Eric.   ERIC: You are looking at the future instructor of UW’s experimental “Genre Fiction in America” course!   He’s met with an audience of blank looks.   ERIC (cont’d): I’m teaching Star Wars and comic books.   Donna slaps a hand over her mouth, Kitty’s jaw drops, and Red, glaring, stands.   RED: Are you telling me that college is giving a whole class over to those moron books and that dopey space movie?   ERIC: No, Dad, it’s all of science fiction and fantasy. It’s a pilot course about how genre fiction comments and reflects on modern American life.   MR. BRAY: We were on the phone with UW all afternoon, setting Eric up for the program.   RED: Oh, crap. First they turn out commies, then they turn out hippies – now our colleges are gonna take America’s children and give her back a bunch of smart-mouth slackers indoctrinated by Professor Dumbass.   He drops back to his seat and puts a hand over his head. Eric shrugs and turns to his much more enthusiastic reception from Donna and Kitty.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT – NIGHT   A short time later. Donna and Fez sit on opposite ends of the couch, Kelso sits on the washer, and Eric stands by him, working at a popsicle. The remnants of a burger-and-fries dinner litter the coffee table.   KELSO: (to Eric) So all those times you were going on and on about Star Wars – how this is like Star Wars, how that is like Star Wars, how the Vista Cruiser is like your Millennium Falcon from Star Wars – it turns out you can get a job teaching that? That’s, like, the biggest burn on everyone who ever made fun of you for being a loser.   ERIC: Kelso, you always made fun of me for being a loser.   KELSO: And the burn’s on me. Well played.   ERIC: (to all) Man, isn’t this great? And the best part is, if this pilot program takes off, it could become just a regular class, offered every year.   DONNA: Eric, if you stay on with UW to teach that course, you could end up as Professor Forman. I kinda like the sound of that.   ERIC: Me too. Professor Eric “Star Wars” Forman.   DONNA: Okay, now I like it a little less.   FEZ: (to Eric) And you will teach comic books too?   ERIC: Comic books, TV, cartoons, magazine stories... it’s like this entire basement condensed into a study guide.   KELSO: Hey, you know what comic book you should teach? Mine.   ERIC: You have a comic book?   KELSO: Yeah, it’s called Adventures on the Planet Zorgon. There’s these bugs that burrow into your brain, and they lay, like, a thousand eggs. And when the eggs hatch, they, like, shoot out of your head like little worm bullets.   He’s grinning from ear to ear. Eric gives him an indulgent smile in return.   Hyde enters from his room, SCHATZI in his arms. He makes his way to his chair and sits down, staring blankly ahead while he scratches Schatzi’s head.   DONNA: So, Hyde – we heard about Jackie. What are you gonna do?   HYDE: Well, I’ve spent all night kicking it back with Schatzi.   ERIC: With Schatzi?   HYDE: Yeah. If I hit my stash hard enough, I can understand him.   Eric and Donna share a look.   DONNA: And what did you and Schatzi come up with?   HYDE: A great idea for a movie that now I just can’t remember.   He shakes his head in frustration, retrieves a piece of beef from the coffee table, and feeds it to Schatzi.   CUT TO:   INT. GROOVES – NIGHT   Well past closing time. The customers are gone, the lights are out, but Angie is still at work. She stands at the register, reviewing the drawer. Satisfied with what she sees, she shuts the register, retrieves her bag, and heads for the door. Just as she opens it, Kelso appears in the doorway.   KELSO: Hey, Angie. I’ve been thinking about this all day, and I finally worked up the nerve. And I think we need to talk about us.   ANGIE: Yeah, I’ve been meaning to talk about us too – I’m breaking up with you.   Kelso’s jaw drops.   KELSO: How dare you!   ANGIE: Come on. You know things were sort of fizzling anyways.   KELSO: F-fizzling? How can you even say that? What about all the times you said that I was really, really good-looking?   ANGIE: Michael, its over. But know this – when I said you were good-looking, I really meant it.   She pats his arm and strolls out into the night.   KELSO: (yelling after her) You know what? You’ve got a lot of growing up to do!   FADE TO BLACK   CREDITS   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - NIGHT   THE CIRCLE. A baffled and slightly repulsed Eric peruses a crudely-drawn amateur comic book.   ERIC: Kelso, I never knew you had such a... a thing for bugs crawling around in peoples’ brains.   Pan to Kelso, on the verge of tears.   KELSO: You know what, Eric? Right after a guy’s girlfriend breaks up with him is not the time for constructive criticism!   Pan to Hyde.   HYDE: Well, one day down, and I still don’t have an answer for Jackie. (to his right) You got anything?   Pan to Schatzi, propped up on pillows.   SCHATZI (v.o.): Nothing yet, man. I think I need more kibble.   END.

#z's fics #that 70s show #zenmasters #jackie x hyde #zen3to5+ #fan fiction #fan script

[ambitionsource]

AMBITION Season 2 ♫ “We’ll Be the Stars” [ 2.11 ]

CREATED BY Esther (rapunzles) & Maggie (quincywillows) || S2 Tag || Official Page

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER – Tensions are set aside in honor of a promenade, and some students opt for a change of pace. A clever ruse forces Eric and Jack to team up. Unfortunate circumstances make for odd couples, but stars always know where they’re supposed to go in the end.

66 Minutes (18K words) || No content warnings apply.

[ ← Rarely Pure and Never Simple ] [ S2 Synopsis ] [ Final Run → ]

( Follow along with the music on Spotify here! )

INT. AAA - DAY

A series of shots guide us into the episode, displaying the school in the midst of preparing for promenade. Banners are hung, student council members work the ticket booth. The halls are decorated according to the theme, “We’ll Be the Stars,” small stars seemingly glittering on every visible surface. A promposal wraps up in the hall outside the auditorium, senior students applauding and cheering as the girl says yes and the other girl wraps her in a tight hug.

Yes, it’s prom time at Adams Academy for the Arts. Let the insanity commence!

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

FARKLE MINKUS opens his locker. We’re looking at him from the inside, giving us a look at it as he rearranges some things. Its decor has been updated after a long detour of being trapped in sophomore year -- there are fewer photos, but they are newer and more representative of the way things actually are now. A couple photos of him and Maya are the focal point, but there’s a few scattered notable mentions. A photograph of the full Junior A Class; a picture of his whole family; a rare capture of him and Isadora.

From outside the confines of the locker, we hear RILEY MATTHEWS speak.

Riley: And you’re sure you can handle it? I’m sure if you wanted, we could work out something else --

Perspective shifts back to its usual framing, showing the two of them hanging by his locker. Farkle stems her worrying from the start, holding up a hand.

Farkle: I’m going to stop you right there, Riley. Do you know what you’re doing to me right now?

Riley: … demonstrating concern as a good friend?

Farkle: You’re neuro-splaining me. [ off Riley’s expression ] I get it, you’re concerned about my health. Mentally, above all else.

Riley makes a face, obviously not sold on the concept of “neuro-splaining.” As if she hasn’t had her own mental health experiences… but she figures it’s not worth the argument.

Farkle: But trust me, as much as I appreciate it, I will be fine. [ a beat ] I don’t want to miss out on anything else essential to my junior year experience, and prom is one of those things. Not to mention, I certainly won’t be able to graciously receive my prom king crown if I’m not there to accept it.

It’s clear he’s joking, although with his dry delivery… either way, he’s made up his mind. Farkle will be in attendance at the upcoming event, come hell or high water.

Farkle: Besides, it’s bold of you to assume I could avoid it anyway.

Riley: How come?

Farkle: Prom isn’t just an event around here. [ pointedly ] It’s a contagion.

As he closes his locker --

INT. AAA - CLASSROOM - DAY

For how alight with excitement the halls seem to be, classes are still in session and there’s still work to be done. The energy is tamped down in Cory’s classroom, where everyone is completing silent reading for the last few minutes of class.

Still, Farkle was right, and the junior class has been bitten by the prom bug. Everyone is jittery as they sit at their desks, unable to keep still. Under the desk, ZAY BABINEAUX taps his foot to an unheard rhythm. MAYA HART flips her pencil in her fingers, adding to the rhythm against her desk.

CHARLIE GARDNER glances up at the clock, impatiently watching the seconds go by. Tick, tick, tick… as the percussions slowly evolve into an actual beat...

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “You Should Be Dancing” as performed by Glee Cast || Performed by AAA Juniors

The bell rings about 7 seconds in, releasing the class from their academic torture. CORY MATTHEWS cringes as the energy in the room skyrockets, papers flying as the energetic juniors are free to succumb back into the groove.

Zay kicks off the vocals, the number staying in the classroom for the first verse as he volleys lyrics back and forth with Maya. As they escape into the halls…

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

Charlie takes over, leading the charge into the rest of the school. The three of them are the front of the pack, but they pick up other junior students as they go. The whole atmosphere of the halls has changed, feeling groovier in the midst of the twinkling stars and amped up music.

Around a minute and a half in, they pass by Riley and Farkle and pull them into the dance. The movements become less chaotic and more choreographed at that point, truly a spectacle only AAA could pull off.

As they pass by the techies hanging out on the stairs outside the auditorium, it seems even they aren’t immune to the allure of prom fever. They jump up and join in the parade, JEFF MONROE in particular worth spotlighting due to his breakdancing ability.

And away they go again…

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

By the time they make it into the auditorium and onto the stage, the vibe of their collective imagination has completely succumbed to fantasy. The stage is basically a disco floor as they dance their way up there, the only thing still remaining commonplace their outfits.

And by this point, they’ve paired off. Farkle and Zay stay front and center -- a fun little duo to witness tolerating each other again, if nothing else -- with Maya and ISADORA DE LA CRUZ to their left and Charlie and YINDRA AMINO to their right. In the back, ASHER GARCIA and DYLAN ORLANDO are grooving together, while Riley Matthews gets LUCAS JAMES FRIAR to at least do something.

As they finish out the jam, Farkle and Zay theatrically toss their heads back and raise a hand to the sky. Declarative, with a flourish, what a dynamite finish. One thing is essentially guaranteed on this prom week, that’s for sure.

There will be no shortage of drama.

Cue title sequence.

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

Zay is at his locker, swapping out his dance duffle for his classwork. When Maya practically jumps him and surprises him at his locker, he’s not fazed -- he might be the only student at AAA who she doesn’t strike instant fear into in one capacity or another.

Zay: What do you want, mini Britney?

Maya touches her hand to her chest, faux flattered.

Maya: You’re so sweet. I was just thinking that you and I have a real opportunity on our hands this week.

Zay: Must everything be about an “opportunity?”

Maya: Ugh, would you stop being such a damp toilette? Your mood has been totally subbasement the last couple of weeks and it’s really harshing the vibes.

Well, Maya, he did just break up with his boyfriend. But people not knowing about them was kind of sort of the whole problem, so he says nothing as he allows Maya the floor again.

Maya: Chin up, Zayby. It’s promenade. And you and I are going to come out of it as royalty.

Maya makes her grand pitch: they should go to prom together. Not out of any romantic interest -- although, as she admits, Zay is by far the most eligible male in the walls of AAA -- but because the two of them would be a shoo-in for junior prom king and queen if they team up.

And like everything else at Adams, there is an opportunity attached. Every year, the duos crowned as prom king and queen in both grades get to perform at graduation. It’s a time honored tradition, one that Maya believes they should not pass up.

Zay: I don’t really see what the big deal is.

Maya: Oh, Zay. Isaiah! Wake up! Snap out of whatever quarter-life crisis funk you’ve succumbed yourself into and smell the potential right in front of you! [ matter-of-factly ] You know that there are always college representatives at Triple A graduation. Of course, it’s to honor the students they’ll be bringing into their ranks, and to hopefully snag some quality time with a celebrity family member or two -- I mean, think how many people are going to be swarming our graduation next year when Valerie comes to support Isadora --

Zay, flatly: Yeah, I’m sure she’s so excited about that.

Maya: But it’s also to scout the next crop of graduates. That’s us. It’s almost cosmic that every junior prom king and queen end up going to amazing schools for the arts -- there was even that junior prom queen in ‘96 who got a straight up recording contract.

Zay: How the hell do you know this stuff?

Maya: Because I do my research, Zay. And I know you do, too. Which is why once you’ve shaken off the ennui and have your head back on straight -- or, bi, whatever -- you’ll realize we have prime real estate in front of us. And it’s ours to take… if we step up to the plate. [ backing away ] You know where to find me.

Well, that’s certainly a proposition. Maya floats away as Zay contemplates it, slinging his bag over his shoulder. It’s a good point, he can’t argue with that, and yet…

He glances to the photo of him and Charlie, still taped up in his locker innocuously amongst the rest. In some ways, it seems, it’s just hard to let go of the way you hoped things would be.

Zay closes his locker, heading on his way to rehearsal.

Dylan, pre-lap: We’ll boycott.

INT. AAA - TECHNICIAN’S BOOTH - DAY

Dylan and Asher are following Lucas into the booth, obviously in a heated discussion. Dylan continues to make bold declarations.

Dylan: We’ll stage a full-on protest. You know, when I was in middle school, I was renowned for my poster-making skills in environmental club. They usually lasted like, nine days longer than usual before people tore them down. And Cory is always saying how loud and annoying I am -- that has to be helpful for a protest, yeah?

Asher: He said that to you?

Lucas: Guys --

Dylan: Or even better --

Asher: I swear, I’m going to report him. Like, sorry Riley --

Dylan: Let’s stage a riot. That’ll really show ‘em! They think they can bar Lucas James Friar from prom? Not when we’re there to literally blow the roof off this place. I bet we can get Isadora to sing “Bad Reputation” -- I think we’d need music to be taken seriously here, so --

Lucas: Hey. Hello. Earth to Asher and Dylan. [ clapping ] Let’s cool it, alright?

Lucas waves off their concerns about his ban from prom. He doesn’t want them wasting energy on him when it hardly matters. All things considered, being barred from stuff like this for the rest of the year seems like the best he could’ve asked for given all the bullshit he’s done this year. He slouches into his rolling chair, shrugging.

Lucas: I mean, it’s not like I was really psyched to go anyway. I think I’m more lucky I didn’t get expelled.

Dylan, under his breath: Would’ve boycotted that too.

Lucas: You guys have been looking forward to this for the last three years. It would be stupid for you to blow it just for me. Especially when we consider everything else you’ve already sacrificed for me. Like your sanity. And your clean legal record.

Dylan: I wasn’t mad.

Lucas, bluntly: You should have been. Asher was, but then, he’s always been the smartest out of the three of us.

A beat of quiet as that truth lingers between them. Lucas reiterates the point -- that he doesn’t want them to give up something they care about just because of him. They do enough of that already. Asher and Dylan exchange a look.

Dylan, softer: … well, we love you, man.

Lucas: I know. [ looking at them, then slowly ] And I love you guys, too.

Well, there’s a breakthrough! Dylan beams, looking to Asher in excitement. Asher is smiling too, although a bit more bashful. Lucas elects to move past the vulnerability quickly -- he can give it, but only so much at a time.

Lucas: Which is why I’m not letting you do this. You’re going to prom, and you’ll have a great time without me. Besides, someone has to give whatever posh performers are gunning for prom court a run for their money.

True enough. In fact...

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

That’s exactly what the rest of the techies are discussing as they start doing end of year inventory. It’s a long process, so they have to start early. Rather, they’re complaining as Jeff and DAVE WILLIAMS pick their way through the furniture and wood supplies under the prop loft. NATE MARTINEZ is supposed to be taking notes, but he’s not doing a great job.

JADE BEAMON is seated on a stack of wood pieces, nodding along as she feverishly works on the finishing touches to a wardrobe piece. It doesn’t look like a costume for any sort of production, however…

Nate: It’s rigged, anyway. Every year the most popular performers win so it’s not like the institution means anything.

Jeff: Does prom court mean anything… anywhere? Ever?

Dave: My parents were prom queen and king when they were seniors. They got a free dinner at Waffle House.

Jade: [ tearing a thread with her teeth ] Sounds like a better prize than performing at graduation.

Inspired by their complaints, Nate lights up with an idea. He claims that they should start a new tradition to go with their holiday party, and should throw a techie pre-prom bash. That way they can celebrate their year together and have real fun before they have to go deal with the performers all night.

Jade: You know, I think that’s the first idea of yours I’ve liked in months.

Nate bows, then enthusiastically gives Dave a high-five.

Their tomfoolery is interrupted by Isadora entering, all of them growing uncertainly quiet. She hesitates but then marches onward anyway, greeting them with the best attitude she can muster. She just came by to drop off some paperwork for them -- she already went ahead and inventoried the wood and set building supplies. This is good, because Nate definitely wasn’t doing it.

Jeff accepts her record, looking it over.

Dave: When did you do that?

Isadora: Oh, I just skipped Matthews’ class. [ offhandedly ] I could ace that class with my eyes closed, so. And probably brain damage.

It’s a nice gesture, and they’re not going to refuse it. Jeff awkwardly thanks her, silence settling over them once again. Isadora clears her throat, clasping her hands together. She expresses that she knows she messed up with them, and she is going to put in the effort to get back in their good graces.

She spins and escorts herself out without waiting for a response, leaving the four of them to contemplate her promise. Interesting development…

Dave: So… we don’t have to count the wood?

INT. AAA - CAFETERIA - DAY

Charlie is having lunch with HALEY FISHER and CLARISSA CRUZ, although he doesn’t seem nearly as enthused about prom as they are. On the other side of the cafeteria, applause erupts again as another promposal between seniors gains public attention. So happy, so romantic!

Clarissa: I swear, nowhere in this school is safe right now.

Haley nudges Clarissa, claiming that she should be less cynical. It takes a lot of bravery to ask someone to prom in front of everyone else.

Clarissa: Yes, well, then they could just have a conversation about it. Or make a big deal about it, but like, between the two of you.

Haley: I think it’s romantic.

Clarissa: You think everything is romantic. You’re the most hopeless romantic I’ve ever met.

Haley: Charlie is too -- you agree with me, don’t you, Charlie?

In all honesty, Charlie was not listening. He blinks himself out of his daze, blankly agreeing with whatever Haley said. Clarissa rolls her eyes.

Haley goes to explain how much courage it takes to do such a public proposal. It demonstrates what you’re willing to go through for the other person, how much you like them. Charlie admits that it’s not exactly an act of bravery to ask someone who you know will say yes -- especially when there’s no stakes involved for either of you.

Haley: Well, there’s always stakes. You know, even if you think you know someone, they could always say no. And there’s a lot at stake with a rejection… you know, especially if it’s… [ looking at Charlie intently ] between good friends…

Whatever hint Haley is trying to lay down, it’s going right over Charlie’s head. He shrugs, claiming he might not even go to prom. He’s just... not feeling it this year. Haley is mortified, Clarissa looking between the two of them apprehensively. This seems like a recipe for disaster.

Meanwhile, the techies are enjoying lunch at their usual indoor table when NIGEL CHEY approaches. He greets them before turning his focus to Jade.

Nigel: … hey, Jade.

Jade, shy: … um, hi.

Nigel: I, uh… I just had a quick question. I was wondering if, uh --

All of the techie eyes are on him, making this whole situation a lot more intense. Dylan is watching with wide eyes, wondering if what he thinks is going to happen is about to happen. Jade might be holding her breath. Nigel pushes up his sleeves nervously, clearing his throat.

Jade: … yes?

Nigel: I was just… [ quickly ] I had a question about the costume you made for that number last week. It’s actually… it’s nothing, I’ll just ask you about it in class. Sorry, ha ha. Didn’t mean to interrupt.

Jade: … oh. Okay.

Clearly not what he actually intended to ask. Nigel backs off awkwardly, making a quick escape. Jade tries to hide her disappointment. Asher and Dylan exchange a look across the table, shaking their heads. Pathetic!

All of the missed prom-portunities are forgotten, however, as soon as Maya and Zay arrive to kick off their pronouncement of going together. Evidently Zay agreed, because here they go…

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Greedy” as performed by Ariana Grande || Performed by Maya Hart & Zay Babineaux

It’s been a while since we’ve endured a good old disruption in the cafeteria during lunch hour, and this time Lucas is less likely to pull the fire alarm than ever. So Maya and Zay take full advantage of it, bringing up the energy with their talent and an undeniable bop.

They make a point of pulling other people into it at their tables, and of course, Maya is going to climb up onto the tables in her heeled boots. It’s not quite the same full-blown jam session as “Looking At Me” from earlier in the season, but people seem to be into it and in the general prom mood. Spirits are high!

Well, mostly. There is one pointed shot of Charlie forcing a smile as everyone else grooves along, likely wishing he could be anywhere else.

It’s not so much a promposal as it is… a spectacle, but boy, do they know how to put on a show… once they wrap, Maya makes the official statement that they’re campaigning for prom royalty, and if people have any taste, they sure know who to vote for come prom night.

Given how naturally glamorous the two of them are, up high on the table top and looking fresh as ever, it’s hard to argue with that!

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

Riley is hanging up her dress for prom, a classic and simple lavender floor-length number. She’s fretting over it as she vents to Maya, expressing that she’s still debating the whole upstate move thing Topanga has saddled her with.

Maya: Well, do you want to move?

Riley: I… it’s not that simple.

Maya: It should be. Either you want to go, or you don’t.

Riley: Yes, but… I mean… there’s lots to think about.

Maya: She said it was your choice.

Riley: Yeah, well, my mom says a lot of things she doesn’t mean, so…

Maya: Have you talked to Cory about it? He might have some insight. Or like, Eric?

Riley chews her lip, avoiding the question. Maya straightens up, asking if anybody knows about this potential move other than the two of them. Riley has plenty of excuses ready as to why she hasn’t mentioned it to anyone else, but Maya isn’t interested in hearing them. She claims she at least, at least, needs to tell Cory. He deserves to know, lest another life-changing thing get sprung on him with no warning.

Maya: Believe me, as the girl with no parents because of sudden life-altering moves, you owe him that decency.

Youch. Well, that’s tough to debate. Riley absorbs it, focusing back on her dress and smoothing it out nervously.

INT. GARDNER HOME - ROSIE’S ROOM - NIGHT

ROSIE GARDNER is chilling on her bed with her laptop, listening to pop music and humming to herself. Charlie comes and knocks on her door, pointedly until she takes out her earbuds.

Rosie: Ugh, yes? Can I help you?

Charlie: You’re so nice. How about, hey, Charlie? How was your day?

Rosie: I’m fourteen, I have the right to be obnoxious.

Charlie: I wouldn’t say it’s a right so much as an active choice.

Rosie groans, asking him what he even came in here for in the first place. He asks if she has anything going on this weekend -- perhaps they could go do something together. It’s been a minute since they did some brother-sister bonding.

Rosie: I dunno. I guess we could go see that new Chris Evans movie. I think it’s coming out next weekend, and I’m probably free Saturday --

Charlie: … well, I was thinking more this weekend. Specifically. Like not next weekend. This weekend.

Rosie: I know what this weekend means, weirdo. [ looking up movies ] Why are you so set on that? Isn’t it prom this weekend?

Charlie: … well, you know, it’s not a big deal. I was thinking I probably wouldn’t even go anyway, so.

Rosie, offended: Charlie! Ew, no, you can’t not go to prom. Don’t be lame, you’re embarrassing me.

Charlie, scoffing: This has nothing to do with you! You don’t even know anybody I go to school with.

Rosie: Yes, but by Gardner law, I’m associated. Just go with your friends! It does not have to be that deep.

Okay… fair point. Charlie questions if her blatant disgust means they’re not going to the movies, and she claims next week… after he doesn’t embarrass their family name by going to prom like everyone else. So much for finding a clever way out.

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

Speaking of clever escapes, JACK HUNTER is still struggling to find a way out of the Bradford debacle. So much to the point that he’s now elected to share the issue with Lucas, sitting opposite him with ERIC MATTHEWS as they get him up to speed.

It’s obviously not the kind of thing you want to hear. Lucas is hiding his head in his hands, cursing to himself before turning back to Jack.

Lucas: How long have you known about this?

Jack: … a couple months --

Lucas: Months?

Eric tries to keep stress levels at a manageable level, taking over for Jack in explaining exactly what the suit entails and what the Bradfords are hoping to gain from it. Essentially, they’re hoping that publicly printing Jack’s “questionable” enrollment processes will force his hand. Either he’ll cave and let her enroll regardless, or public dissent will push him to oust Lucas, making room for her in his vacant spot.

Jack, reassuringly: Which will not happen.

But for it to gain any traction, it needs to smell somewhat of a scandal (even if it isn’t) -- which is why they’ve targeted Lucas as their student to blame. They’ve obviously done their research. And between Lucas’s unique situation for enrollment, his lack of participation in the more showcased elements of the school, and his behavioral record…

Lucas, exasperated: I’m guessing stealing a car didn’t help!

Jack frowns. It’s clear he didn’t want to get Lucas involved if he could help it, and seeing this stressed reaction from him is exactly why. But Eric placates them both, reminding them that the fight isn’t over until it’s over. They will be able to brainstorm a way to fix this -- it’s just going to take a concerted effort.

Eric: We will be able to make this work. But it’s going to take a team effort, and total cooperation. You have to trust us, Lucas, and you have to be willing to cooperate. Can you do that? Can you work with us?

What a question, and posed to the notorious school troublemaker at that. But Lucas doesn’t want to leave AAA -- let alone be forced out. He sighs, tilting his head back and swallowing his pride before nodding.

Lucas: Okay. Yeah. [ serious ] Just tell me what to do.

He looks to Jack, meeting his eyes. Ready to do whatever it takes.

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

Charlie is at his locker, relaying the rejection by his own sister to Riley. She’s leaned back against the lockers, listening sympathetically as he points out another crappy addition to what has been a crappy last couple of weeks.

Along those lines, Riley questions if Charlie still thinks he might transfer to a different school. He hasn’t heard back from Haverford yet, but is he still seriously considering the notion?

Charlie, diplomatically: Given that Zay and I were able to lay everything out there and at least confront the reality of our situation, I don’t think it’s really a necessary maneuver anymore. I mean, the situation is far from ideal, but that I can deal with. I’ve been living in far from ideal my whole life.

Riley: Sad, but sort of inspiring, I guess.

Charlie: I will admit though… it was kind of nice, going through that whole process. Just going out there, you know, proving that I could do things. That I was capable. [ smiling to himself ] If anything, at least I came away with that.

Riley mirrors his smile. Then they’re back on the subject of prom, Charlie lamenting that he doesn’t see what the point is of going if he can’t be there with the person he would actually want to spend it with.

Riley: Considering my ideal date has literally been banned from all school activities and therefore can go nowhere near it, I think I can say I relate.

Charlie: Tragic.

Charlie mentions what his sister said about not making it that deep and just going with friends, and this seems to strike something in Riley. A smile drifts onto her face.

Charlie: Oh no. I know that look. What are you thinking?

Riley: Just that dear Rosamund might have a point. If we are going to be miserable and repressed all night long, then we should at least be miserable in good company.

Charlie: … I don’t know if I like where this is going…

Riley turns to face him, a mischievous smile on her face. She leans in conspiratorially -- her delivery would be more convincing though if she wasn’t so inherently cute.

Riley: Charlie Gardner! [ in a whisper ] Will you go to prom with me?

Charlie stares at her, expression betraying nothing. She matches his gaze, wiggling her eyebrows. Then he can’t help but crack a smile.

Charlie: Well when you look at me like that, how could I say no…

Riley grins, bouncing on her feet and lightly punching him on the shoulder.

INT. AAA - BLACK BOX THEATER - DAY

The first step to putting Lucas in less jeopardy -- actually participating in class. He’s meeting with HARPER BURGESS to discuss how to make his optics better in that regard. Unfortunately, there’s really only one thing he can do…

Harper: If you do even one performance, then at least you’d have something to point to if the case attempts to jump down your throat.

True. Although he looks like he’d rather die, Lucas reluctantly accepts that point. So it’s official -- he’ll be performing a number this week!

Harper: It’s for the best, actually. Everyone else is so consumed with prom fever, they won’t even remember it happened.

Zay: Are you kidding? It’s Lucas James Friar. No one is ever going to forget this.

Lucas: Yeah, um, [ pointing to Zay ] what is he doing here again?

Harper gestures Zay forward to join them. She explains that considering Lucas is literally starting from scratch, he’s going to need help when it comes to choreography. And singing. And well… basically all of it. She figured Zay is one of their best performers and far more willing to lend a hand than, say, Maya. If Lucas wants a chance of pulling off a decent performance, having his help would be his best bet.

Harper: That is, of course, if you’re up for it, Zay.

Zay: Honestly, I would welcome the distraction. It’s been… an interesting few weeks.

So that’s that. We’ve got the team, we’ve got the plan -- time to make shit happen! Even if it kills Lucas in the process. As the backbeat floats in…

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “I Think He Knows” as performed by Taylor Swift || Performed by Dylan Orlando (feat. Asher Garcia)

Two AMBITION firsts in one, as Dylan kicks off his first mostly solo performance by bringing Taylor Swift into the song catalogue. He starts off at his locker, giving us a glimpse into the interior which despite the mess is basically as bursting with love as he is -- full of photos of his friends, his family, and Asher.

Of course, there’s Asher.

And that’s what he’s focused on as he slides into the pre-chorus (“He’s got that boyish look that I like in a man, I am an architect I’m drawing up the plans”). When he sings “It’s like I’m seventeen nobody understands,” he sure means it, because he is seventeen, and nobody does understand. Whew, Taylor really just knows how to write ‘em!

Then he launches into dance, strutting his way down the halls with a definite spring in his step. It’s nowhere near as elaborate as performer choreography would be, but it’s charming and just sharp enough that it’s clear Dylan’s got some real talent.

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

Dylan takes the number into the auditorium, making his way over to the prop loft where he’s guaranteed to find Asher. There’s a brief sequence he basically serenades Asher from down below, scaling the fence around the set pieces until he convinces him to come down. The whole thing is dynamic and fun and a little bit theatrical, humoring their classmates as they watch from the stage before class.

On the bridge, Asher takes over the vocals, taking Dylan’s hand and leading him through the backstage areas. Dylan follows along happily, waiting until they’ve reached the other side of the stage to pull him back towards him. Asher presses their foreheads together (“Where we gonna go… I whisper in the dark… where we gonna go…”), then drifts away as Dylan belts out the note that throws us back into the chorus.

The final swell of the song takes place center stage, surrounded by classmates and with nothing but good energy. The techies are laughing along, cheering, and even the performers are enjoying the rendition. Dylan and Asher sway together in a circle with the beat, doing a final spin under Dylan’s arm before falling back together and breaking into laughter to take it home. The A class breaks into applause, Asher pulling Dylan down into a quick kiss.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you prom-pose!

In the high energy after the performance, Nigel casts another glance towards Jade across the stage. It seems like he really might do something, and she definitely acknowledged his eye contact… but then nothing.

Isadora also notices the exchange, curiosity piqued. She raises her eyebrows, Sherlock brain turning before Maya pulls her into a conversation about how the twink performance was clearly not better than hers and Zay’s… right? Right?

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

Isadora brings up the notion while hanging out with Maya and Riley, the three of them spending an evening together to map out prom logistics. She questions if either of them noticed it too, or whether Nigel has ever even shown interest in their classmates before. Maya claims he’s never dated anyone in their class, and Riley states that maybe he’s just shy.

Maya scoffs, focused on painting her toenails a shiny silver.

Maya: Look, Nigel is lean meat. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s talented, but the boy has no moxy. He has let Farkle walk all over him for three years, when if he just put like, a crumb of effort in he may have already had a lead by this point.

Riley: You know, it could be that he just… doesn’t care that much.

Maya: Well that was his first mistake.

The point is, if Nigel does have interest in Jade -- which Maya doesn’t get, because she forgets who Jade is half the time -- then it’s more than likely he will do absolutely nothing about it.

Isadora: That’s too bad.

Maya: I mean… I guess.

Riley: Maybe they just want to go with their friends. Prom doesn’t have to be inherently romantic, you know. [ off Isadora’s nod ] I mean, I’m going with Charlie, and --

Maya: Wait. [ sitting up ] You and Charlie are going together?

Riley: Yeah. But, like, just as friends.

Maya: Oh… oh. That’s… interesting.

There’s a plot twist. If Riley’s unnerved by Maya’s tone, she has the right to be. It’s an odd moment, and it’s only subdued by Cory calling for the girls from the living room. There’s a surprise here for them!

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - NIGHT

And what a surprise it is. Maya practically screams when she finds KATY HART in the living area, having just arrived with VALERIE DE LA CRUZ. She runs over and launches into her arms, the two of them hugging tightly.

Maya: Oh my God, what are you doing here?

Katy: Val helped me. Paid my way, so that I could be here for prom.

Isadora: No way?

Valerie: Oh, it was nothing. Hardly a penny out of my pocket. I know how much it meant to me to be here for this weekend -- figured the least I could do would be to allow a good friend the same opportunity.

Certainly no arguments here. Maya and Katy hug again, elated. Cory and Riley exchange smiles, Cory pulling her to his side and into a hug.

Valerie pulls Isadora aside, greeting her and stating that she wants to do something special after prom. Like a girls night, deglam and rejuvenate and catch up. Deglam being key, because Valerie knows Isadora is going to look stunning. She can’t wait!

Isadora is totally open to the idea. She nods, matching her enthusiasm.

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

Jack is at his desk, going through the Bradford paperwork. He’s flagging and highlighting every potential point he might have to refute in an argument, emails open on his desktop of pitches he’s going to send to school board members for support if the complaint breaks.

Eric pokes his head in and knocks on the door pointedly.

Eric: Knock knock.

Jack: Who’s there?

Eric: Stop obsessing.

Jack: Okay, we’re done with the bit --

Eric smiles, leaning against the doorframe. He knows Jack is concerned, but he’s already thought so extensively about this problem. He needs to take a mental break from it, before he burns himself out. Besides, there’s always the chance that it won’t even ever go public.

Yes, a chance… but a chance isn’t a guarantee. Jack claims he just wants to be prepared for the worst, which Eric can’t exactly argue against.

What he can do is change the subject. He states he wanted to double check that they’re both still on for chaperoning the dance on Saturday. Jack confirms, wondering why plans would have changed.

Eric: Well… you know, given your own personal circumstances, I just figured you might not want to --

Jack: Eric, I’m fine. [ with a shrug ] After all, what better distraction is there from the shambles of your personal life than watching out for a bunch of rowdy, dramatic teenagers all night long? Can’t think of anything better.

Eric: At least your humor is still intact.

Jack makes a face, accenting the point.

Zay, pre-lap: Okay, literally, what the hell is the matter with you?

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

Zay is attempting to teach Lucas choreography, but it’s clearly far from easy. Not that that’s surprising, but it’s evident that Lucas was not meant to be a dancer. It’s a challenge unlike anything Zay has ever confronted before, regardless of how hard Lucas is trying.

Zay: I don’t -- like, is your brain connected to your limbs? How is this not clicking?

Riley enters, brightening when she finds them both. She asks how everything is going, and the look that both of them give her basically answers her question for them.

Riley: I hope I’m not interrupting.

Zay: No, you know what? It’s good. I need a break. Rome wasn’t built in a God damn free period. [ pointing to Lucas ] Don’t go anywhere with your two left feet, Fry Pan.

Lucas holds out his arms. What do you want from me? As Zay marches off, Riley tries to hold back her smile as she joins Lucas at center stage.

Riley: So seems like it’s going good, then.

Lucas: Oh, haha. [ making a face ] You know -- and this may shock you -- I’m not a dancer.

Riley, gasping: No. You’re kidding?

Lucas: I know, I know. Brand new information.

Riley smiles, asking to take a look at Zay’s choreography sheets. Lucas hands them over, Riley hopping onto the stacked acting blocks and reading them over for herself. He watches her as she reads, only shifting his gaze to his feet when she glances up to look at him.

She says that all things considered, the choreography isn’t so bad. He just has to keep working at it, and the whole thing is pretty low stakes anyway.

Riley: What even made you decide to do a performance? I have to admit, I never thought I would see the day.

Lucas: … well, with everything I did this year, figure it’s the least I can do. Just putting the karmic cycle back in balance.

Riley: You believe in karma?

Lucas: Could be. Either way, mine is shit. Objectively speaking.

Riley gives him a look. She glances back down at the papers and then states she’s sure he’ll be fine, and she for one is looking forward to the show. He rolls his eyes.

Lucas: You know, they have words for people who demonstrate ridiculous belief in unreliable things. It’s called blind faith. Usually it’s reserved for important things though. Gods, governments. Conventional belief systems.

Riley: Well, I’m nothing if not unconventional.

Lucas, quietly: Yeah.

The tension between them is palpable, even with the fair amount of space between them. They hold each other’s gaze, another one of those moments where they can’t seem to look away from one another. If it were possible, they might just stand there and look at each other forever.

Fortunately -- or maybe unfortunately, depending on your perspective -- Zay keeps that from happening. He reenters and tells Lucas to get ready to run it again, totally oblivious to their lingering moment. Riley hops off the acting blocks as Lucas clears his throat, directing his attention back to Zay.

Riley: I’ll get out of your way. Good luck. [ smiling ] Both of you.

Zay waves her off, sending her on her way. Once she’s gone, he turns back to Lucas and lets out a grand sigh.

Lucas: Now you’re just being a bitch.

INT. AAA - COSTUME LOFT - DAY

Jade is in the costume department, ignoring the task of organizing the leftover fabrics from this year and painstakingly attempting to fix the project she’s been working on all week. When someone enters she jumps and tries to hide the garment, straightening up and nervously looking towards the doors.

It’s not who she was expecting. Isadora enters, pushing a costume rack.

Isadora: Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.

Jade: No, it’s okay. I’m just um… it’s fine.

Isadora nods, bringing the rack all the way in. She explains that she got a head start on the inventorying of the costumes, and all the ones on the rack here are finished. She intends to put them back after theatre lab, if that’s alright.

Jade, surprised: Um… sure. Yeah, that would be helpful.

Isadora: Great. [ a beat ] I really am sorry, Jade. It wasn’t intentional, but I know I dropped the ball when it comes to pulling my weight on our team. [ hesitant ] And our friendship.

Well, Jade isn’t going to tell her otherwise. She shrugs lightly, acknowledging the apology but not necessarily accepting it quite yet. It’ll take time, and Isadora gets that. But she’s said her piece, and now all she can do is keep working to make reparations.

As she’s heading out, though, she decides there’s one more thing she wants to say.

Isadora: About Nigel.

Jade: Huh?

Isadora: Nigel. If you want to go to prom with him… then you should just ask him yourself. Don’t wait around for some boy to do the job right when you’re perfectly capable of doing it -- and probably better. He’s chicken, but the way he’s been looking at you… I’m pretty sure he would say yes.

Something to think about, at least. Jade considers it as Isadora exits, leaving her alone with the costumes.

INT. AAA - CAFETERIA - DAY

Riley has joined Charlie, Clarissa, and Haley for lunch. As they chat the notion of Charlie and Riley going to prom together comes back up, Haley visibly taken aback by the reveal. She starts to question how that came to be, obviously struggling to accept it, when their conversation is totally derailed by Maya paying a visit to their table.

Although she’s all bright smiles, the tone is mildly threatening as Maya confronts Riley and Charlie. She also is questioning their union for promenade, wondering if their admittedly perfect cookie-cutter image is intent on also campaigning for prom court. Because it would sure be a shame for them to have to go head to head…

Maya might be built like a pixie, but the threat behind her words resonates loud and clear. Charlie shakes his head, stammering to correct her thinking.

Charlie: Oh, we’re not --

Riley: We weren’t planning to --

Yeah, no. It’s a no. This seems to appease Maya, who relaxes and turns back on the charm. Still, her friendly laughter still feels ominous as she wishes them the best, and reminds them not to forget to vote for her and Zay for prom king and queen come Saturday evening.

Clarissa shakes her head, reiterating her former stance.

Clarissa: Nowhere and nothing is safe.

INT. AAA - ERIC’S OFFICE - DAY

Eric is putting on his most encouraging counselor smile, sitting across from Isadora and Farkle. He’s just wrapping up a pitch, stating that considering they’ve become such good friends in the last few months, he thought maybe it would be a good idea for them to go to prom as a duo. Just as friends. Pals, looking out for one another! Good, old, promenade buddies.

Farkle seems entertained by the mere suggestion. Isadora looks unamused.

Isadora: So you want me to babysit him.

Eric: That’s -- that’s not what I said.

Farkle: That’s basically what you said.

Eric tries to save face, but he forgot he’s dealing with the two most intuitive (and judgmental) students in the junior class. They see right through his facade, recognizing this tactic for exactly what it is.

Isadora: Also, what makes you assume I don’t already have a date?

Eric: … well do you?

[ Farkle looks to Isadora, raising his eyebrows. When she huffs, he cracks a smirk. ]

Isadora: No, but that’s not the point.

Eric relents, talking to them straight. Yes, they want Farkle to have company at the dance due to his history over the last few months. Ideally, this would be a small ask, considering they are friends and would likely be hanging out at the event anyway.

Eric: You are friends, yes?

Isadora: Request pending.

Farkle: I think of it more as intellectual sparring partners.

There’s really no good way to respond to that. Eric requests that they consider the option, as it would be a favor to him if nothing else. Give him a little peace of mind.

That’s just the selling point he needed to flex. Isadora glances between them, then sighs, claiming Farkle will pick her up when she decides he will.

Eric is thrilled, and Farkle doesn’t look all that opposed either. This, he claims, is a good thing. They’re thwarting problems before they even arise. No problems for junior prom this year!

INT. AAA - HALLWAY - DAY

Clarissa runs into Charlie, concerned. She takes his arm.

Clarissa: Problem. Big problem.

When Charlie asks her what the heck is going on, she states that Haley has finally broken down. She’s up in the costume loft and is refusing to talk, and she’s effectively decided she is not going to prom. Whatever crazy plague is running through their class, it’s finally hit her.

Charlie sighs, nodding and telling Clarissa he’ll handle it. He takes off at a jog towards the auditorium.

INT. AAA - COSTUME LOFT - DAY

Haley is sitting amongst the costumes, wiping tears from her cheeks. When Charlie pulls himself into the loft it almost makes it worse, Haley shaking her head and telling him to go away.

Haley: As if this could not get any more humiliating.

Charlie: Hey, don’t worry, I have had… my fair share of breakdowns up here.

He settles down next to her, in the exact spot he was crying just an episode ago. He waits patiently for her to acknowledge him again, asking her why she’s so upset. Clarissa told him she wasn’t going to prom -- what’s that all about?

Haley shrugs, huffing and avoiding eye contact with him. She shakily admits that some part of her always thought… maybe it was stupid, but he really doesn’t get it. They can be friends for years, spend all this time together, and he still has no idea. And she just… she feels like such an idiot. All of this is just so stupid.

Charlie pauses, searching for how to tread cautiously.

Charlie: If we’re being honest with each other… I know.

Haley: You -- you know. You know that I --

Charlie: Yeah. I have for a while.

Haley: Oh God. [ hiding her head in her knees ] That’s even worse.

Charlie: It’s not, Hales. You can’t help who you like. [ a beat ] Although, still being honest… I don’t really think you do.

Haley lifts her head, frowning at him. She asks what he means, and Charlie tries to figure out the best way to articulate what he’s thinking.

Charlie: Believe me, I speak from experience here, but I think it’s… really easy to become in love with the idea of something. Things that seem easy, and perfect, if they could just work out a certain way. So we fall in love with those ideals, rather than the way things actually are.

Haley: So, what? You think I’m just making everything up?

Charlie: No, I believe some of it is real. I believe you love me -- and that makes sense, because I love you, too. We’ve been friends for years, like you said, and I can’t imagine what my time at Triple A would be like without you. I don’t want to.

[ Haley wipes her eyes. ]

Charlie: But I think, realistically, that’s all we’re ever going to be. And I think you know that, too -- it’s just safer to keep things the way they are now. Where you never get what you think you want, but then you never get hurt, either.

Haley: … okay, you’re kind of freaking me out here. Get out of my head.

Charlie, laughing: Like I said, talking from experience.

A quiet moment passes between them. Charlie goes on to state that Haley shouldn’t give up her junior prom, especially not over him. They’ll both be there, and they’ll still get to spend the evening together with Clarissa and Riley and the rest of their friends. It’ll be fun, even if it’s not the fantasy they imagine in their heads.

Charlie: And as for the rest of it… I guess you and I will both just have to see what the future holds. Rather than hiding behind expectations we know we’re never gonna meet.

A tough pill to swallow, but important. Haley exhales and then nods, giving up. Trading out the fantasy, but perhaps for the better. She gives him a smile.

Haley: I do love you, Charlie Gardner. That much is true.

Charlie returns the beam, accepting the hug she gives him.

INT. AAA - BLACK BOX THEATER - DAY

Jade is standing outside the black box, watching Nigel chat with Yindra and NICK YOGI. Dylan and Asher stand behind her, hyping her up as she gears up to do the impossible.

Asher: Just be yourself. Be straight-forward.

Dylan: Go in there and get what you came for.

Jade: Right. Sure. [ a beat ] What if he says no?

Dylan: Sock him.

Asher glares at him, Dylan shrugging before smiling to himself. Asher takes the more serious approach, bracing Jade’s shoulders from behind.

Asher: If he says no, then it’s his loss. You’re Jade Beamon --

Dylan: Jade motherfucking Beamon!

Asher: And he would be lucky to get even an evening of your time. [ patting her shoulders ] Go get him, queen.

Dylan lightly nudges her forward, Jade taking a deep breath. Then she marches into the classroom, approaching Nigel and tapping him on the shoulder.

When he turns around and meets her eyes, for a second it seems like she’s going to run. But she squares her shoulders, clears her throat, and speaks as confidently as she can.

Jade: Nigel.

Nigel, surprised: Jade?

Jade: We should go to prom together. If you want to. I mean -- you should want to go with me. But only if you do. The point is -- will you go to prom with me? Maybe?

The back and forth between assertive and timid is jarring, but also quite charming. Nigel takes a moment to fully absorb what’s happening, but the smile that blooms across his face is near instantaneous.

Nigel: Yes. Yeah, I’d -- I’d like that a lot.

Jade: Great! I mean, um, great. Good. I’ll text you with details.

Nigel: Okay. Great.

Jade: Great. Okay… great.

Jade spins on her heel and marches back out, Yindra and Yogi exchanging wild looks. But Nigel is fully endeared, obviously not at all opposed to this turn of events.

As Jade escapes back into the hall, Dylan and Asher mob her with congratulatory hugs and pats on the back! She did it! Jade Beamon is going to prom with Nigel Chey, baby!

In tone with the celebratory mood, the bold brass opening floats in…

INT. AAA - AUDITORIUM - DAY

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “I’ve Gotta Be Me” as performed by Glee Cast || Performed by Lucas James Friar (feat. Zay Babineaux)

Another AMBITION first for the bucket list, Lucas gives his first almost solo performance, with a Broadway number, and that isn’t fueled by pure rage. Zay is on stage with him to help with the choreography, but in some ways that’s a nice way to help take the pressure off. It’s sort of like a dress rehearsal rather than an actual performance.

And look… it’s not great. Lucas is not a performer, and he was never pretending to be. But it’s passable, and honestly the vocals aren’t half bad. There are even a couple of rare, fleeting moments where it seems like he might actually be having fun.

The real fun is for the audience though. His classmates are near entranced by the spectacle, having watched Lucas do nothing but grump and roll his eyes for three years straight -- and especially the majority of this year. Farkle is watching with his jaw dropped open, blankly stunned. Riley is hiding her fond grin behind her hands, shaking her head. Isadora is openly laughing, but with him rather than at him. Even Jack and Eric came to watch, thoroughly amused, and maybe a little bit proud.

The techies are cheering along the entire time, and when Lucas gets through that last note and hits those last steps with Zay, they leap to their feet and give him a standing ovation. Given the year he’s had, the uproarious applause sort of feel well-deserved.

He survived, God damn it, he survived!

INT. AAA - COSTUME LOFT - DAY

Jade is leading Asher into the floor level of the costume department by both hands, the latter having been instructed to keep his eyes closed. He’s playing along, but nervously, reminding Jade that he hates surprises and also hates not being able to see.

Asher: You know going blind is one of my anxieties.

Jade: Everything is one of your anxieties. But hold on, we’re almost there.

She gets him right in front of where she’s hung up her latest project, pulling back and instructing him to open his eyes. He does, seeing the surprise and expression growing shocked.

It’s a pair of suit jackets, custom-made for junior prom. They align with the theme in terms of the subtle allusions to stars and shimmering elements factored into the design, but they’re inverse in terms of colors -- one mainly creme-colored with darker accents, and the other dark with lighter accents. Matching, but unique. And clear labors of love, from a seamstress who knows her craft.

Jade explains how she got the idea to make them, how she wanted to make sure they were clearly a matching set like Asher and Dylan, but also distinct from one another.

Jade: We just used to talk all the time about how fun it would be to have custom stuff for prom, when we got there one day. And you used to always talk about what you and Dylan could wear, but then would get all embarrassed, as if that was silly. Like it would never happen, that you couldn’t last that long. [ a beat ] Well, we got here, and I just figured after the hell year we’ve had…

Asher is staring at them, speechless. He’s tearing up, at a loss for what to do. Jade takes the impending waterworks as a bad sign, searching for a way to recover.

Jade: I mean, if there’s something you’d like better, you can just tell me. Or if you already picked out tuxes, that’s totally fine too, you don’t have to wear them --

Asher interrupts her nervous rambles, barreling her with a hug. The embrace is tight, and although there are tears the tone in his voice conveys that they’re happy.

Asher: I love you so much.

Jade beams, getting choked up too. She hugs him back.

Jade, teary but laughing: I love you, too.

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - NIGHT

Prom night is upon us! There’s a flurry of activity at the Matthews apartment, making it more lively than its been in months.

AUGGIE MATTHEWS is there to help Riley get ready and spend the weekend with Cory. Riley is obviously happy that he’s there, grinning when she emerges from the hall in her gorgeous lavender gown and he jumps up in excitement. She questions where their dad is and Auggie nods towards the fire escape, Cory visible through the window.

EXT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - FIRE ESCAPE - NIGHT

Riley delicately climbs her way out onto the balcony, Cory going to help her through when he notices she’s trying. Once they’ve got her upright, he gets a good look at her and goes soft with fatherly pride.

Cory, softly: You look lovely.

Riley smiles, both of them adjusting further out onto the fire escape. They take a moment to look at the scenery of their street, throwing a couple of jokes back and forth about how she’s going to prom with Charlie and whether or not Cory should be worried (he should not at all).

After a moment of quiet, Riley pecks up the courage to speak on what she really needs to say.

Riley: When mom called a couple weeks back, it wasn’t just to check in. She, um… [ off his wary expression ] She wants me to come upstate, too. For senior year.

Cory: … oh. [ swallowing hard ] Oh.

Riley: I’m not telling you because I’ve made any sort of decision, yet, or anything like that. I’m going to take the time to really… really think about it, and make sure I make the right choice for me. [ a beat ] But I just… wanted you to know what was going on. And also that no matter what happens, I’m still with you. I’m not going to leave you alone.

Cory nods, trying his best to accept it. Riley hesitates, deciding if she wants to continue.

Riley: Regardless of what I choose though… I need to be clear that I can’t be in the middle anymore. I love you both, but I am tearing myself apart trying to keep up with the constant back and forth. Trying to keep things civil in this family when I don’t think that’s supposed to be my job.

Cory: It’s not… Riley, I never meant for --

Riley: I know. And part of it is me -- feels like I’m always looking for other things to focus on and fix rather than myself. [ with a deep breath ] But I can’t keep living like that. I need to start focusing on myself… and that comes with setting boundaries. I love you, dad, but I can’t carry your baggage with mom anymore. It’s your fight, not mine.

Cory hesitates, obviously feeling guilty. Then he nods, assuring her that he’ll try his best to remember that. He doesn’t want to make this any harder for her than it already is. And if she’s trying to get him to hear her, then he’s listening. He really is going to try.

Riley smiles lightly, leaning forward to pull him into a hug. He returns the embrace, stating that he’s grateful he gets to be here with her on this important night. They pull apart, Cory fixing a piece of her hair.

Cory: Absolutely beautiful.

She smiles again.

INT. MATTHEWS APARTMENT - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

Katy and Maya are sharing a similar bonding moment. Katy has taken over eyeliner duties, adjusting Maya’s makeup with her expert hand. She claims Maya has a tendency for overdoing it, which makes her laugh.

Maya: Tell me something I don’t know.

When she’s all finished, Katy looks at her daughter lovingly. She looks stunning, in a beautiful silver and white dress and blonde hair glossy as ever.

Katy: Like bona fide royalty. [ touching her chin ] No matter what the votes say.

Maya grins. She pulls her into an embrace.

INT. MINKUS HOME - NIGHT

JENNIFER MINKUS is nitpicking at Farkle, brushing off the shoulders of his navy suit jacket. He tells her to stop fussing, but she requests just one more second. She reaches up on instinct to fix his hair then remembers there’s not as much there as there used to be. Then she smiles, bracing his shoulders.

Jennifer: Beautiful boy. Perfect.

The housekeeper claims that the driver is downstairs, so Farkle should start heading out. STUART MINKUS shares an exchange with him as he’s in the entryway, offering him a Minkus good luck charm. It’s a silver lapel pin, a little crest shape related to their family coat of arms.

Stuart carefully pins it to Farkle’s lapel.

Stuart: You know, I wore this when I went on my first date with your mother -- and look where we are now.

Farkle, scoffing: It’s not -- this isn’t that kind of…

He doesn’t finish the sentence, letting it trail off. Stuart’s expression is amused, claiming he doesn’t quite buy it, but relenting for now.

When he finishes and smooths the lapel to crisp perfection, he takes a moment to really take in his son. Still with him, still standing in spite of everything that’s unfolded. It’s clear that there’s something he wants to say to him, heavy with the same weight that him sleeping at his hospital bedside all through his recovery held.

Yet, the words still don’t exist. Emotional expression has never been paramount in the Minkus household, and old habits die hard.

Instead, he pats his shoulder bracingly and wishes him luck. Jennifer comes to join Stuart as Farkle steps out, both of them wishing him a good time. Have some fun! This is your night of freedom, soak it up for all it’s worth!

Isadora, pre-lap: I don’t see how much fun it could be when we’re being watched by faculty all night long.

INT. ERIC’S APARTMENT - ISADORA’S ROOM - NIGHT

Isadora is seated at the vanity in Eric’s guest room, the space she’s taken over while staying with him. It seems that per their last conversation, Eric is keeping to his word with Valerie and is giving Isadora an actual legitimate place to stay in the mean time rather than Blue’s couch.

She’s sitting impatiently as Lucas stands behind her, braiding pieces of her hair to complete her prom look. A hidden talent, perhaps? It looks pretty, to say the least. He plainly states that she’ll be having more fun than him no matter what, there’s little doubt about that.

As he wraps up the last braid, Isadora pulls on her Converse and carefully gets to her feet.

Lucas: What, no heels?

Isadora: Are you kidding me? I think I’d break my ankles.

Lucas: Very “I’m not like other girls” of you.

Isadora: This is not about faux-originality, this is about my comfort and safety. As well as the safety of others.

The shoes hardly put a dent in the overall ensemble anyway. She’s in a gorgeous dark blue number, accented with a sheer layer of star patterns and custom designed by one of Valerie’s designer friends. It’s certainly not her typical ensemble, but she makes it work. Beautiful, but still a force to be reckoned with.

Lucas smiles, lightly punching her shoulder. He tells her she looks good, and she nudges him back before saying thanks.

Lucas, more serious: Sorry I can’t be there. To be there for you.

Isadora: It’s whatever. Be sad for your own sake, not mine.

Eric calls for Isadora from the hall, the two of them heading towards the door.

INT. ERIC’S APARTMENT - NIGHT

Eric is adjusting his suit and tie in the hall mirror when there’s a curt knock at the door. He goes to open it, delighted to greet Farkle on the other side. He gestures him inside, Farkle awkwardly making his way in and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Both of them soften when Isadora emerges from the hall, obviously exceeding expectations. Eric tells her that she looks great -- Farkle says nothing, because he has no words. How are you supposed to react when your intellectual sparring partner shows up looking like that?

For a moment, all of them just hang awkwardly in the living area. Lucas clears his throat, scratching at his neck. That’s as good a cue as any, and Eric claims they should get going if they’re going to get there early to help set up. The price they pay, carpooling with a chaperone.

Eric ushers them out, giving Lucas a pat on the shoulder and telling him he’ll drop him off at his destination for the first half of the evening. And away they go! As their door closes…

INT. GARDNER HOME - NIGHT

Another opens, Riley standing bright and smiling on the doorstep of the Gardner home. AMBROSE GARDNER takes care to greet her cheerfully and help her inside, asking if there’s anything he can get her.

She should be grateful that the sanest member of the family met her first. ELEANOR GARDNER excitedly comes in from the kitchen moments later, greeting her enthusiastically and wanting to know a million things about her. Of course, they’ve heard so much about her already -- feels like Charlie is always talking about her!

From the living room, Rosie and DAISY GARDNER watch curiously.

Daisy: She’s pretty.

Rosie: Yeah.

Daisy: How did Charlie manage to get that?

Rosie: Shh.

As if summoned, Charlie rushes down the stairs. He looks charming in his relatively simple tuxedo, the touches of purple in his tie and pocket square perfectly accenting Riley’s dress. She gives him a hug as he reaches the bottom of the stairs, all of the Gardners eyeing them as they interact in front of them for the first time.

And to be fair, they look lovely. They seem near classic, the picture of prom perfection… but it’s so… boring. Whatever spark of flirtation Eleanor thinks she’s seeing between them, it’s absolutely nothing.

Still, she insists on getting some photos before they go. Charlie is embarrassed, but he allows it. As they’re assembling against the wall by the door, he leans over to whisper to her.

Charlie: Sorry about this. You look great, by the way.

Riley: Thanks. You too. And it’s fine. These’ll be great pictures to show my kids someday.

The choice of “my” rather than “our” is very pointed. Charlie gives her a look, elbowing her and earning a giggle out of her. Eleanor captures the moment, claiming that’s the perfect one.

Then Charlie tries to plot their escape, claiming they really should get going. Ambrose thanks Riley for driving -- Eleanor jokingly warns them not to stay out too late! A-wink!

Charlie looks like he’d rather be dead. Riley holds back her laughter as they escape into the night, the whole family sending them off cheerfully.

Once they’re gone, Ambrose and Eleanor exchange thoughtful looks.

Ambrose: She seems nice.

Eleanor, “knowingly:” Mhm… pretty…

Yeah, she really thinks this is something else. As she saunters back towards the kitchen…

INT. ORLANDO HOME - NIGHT

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “That’s What I Like” as performed by Bruno Mars || Instrumental

The techie pre-prom gathering is in full swing, the techie jams playlist on shuffle as they get ready together and mingle. Some of their parents are also in attendance (and likely to have a party of their own once they get them the hell out of there), namely LEVI GARCIA, EMILY GARCIA, and of course RANDALL ORLANDO.

Randall subtly interrupts a conversation between Lucas and Jade, where she’s just finished commenting on how nice it is for this gathering to be snapback free. It’s true that Lucas does stick out like a sore thumb, in his plain old blue flannel and jeans rather than dressed up like the rest of them.

The two of them exchange a bit of small talk before Randall gets to the point, asking Lucas about how things are going. Considering the last he heard about everything was literally picking up Dylan from the police precinct because of the joy ride, it stands to reason that he would be interested in knowing since he’s let Lucas back in his home since then.

To his credit, Randall has also been more of a dad to Lucas than his own, in spite of how avoidant Lucas can be. So he tells him the truth, stating that it’s been better but it’s also definitely been worse. He apologizes for what happened with the joy ride, and assures him that he’s banking on that sort of thing never happening again. Randall gives him a nod and a pat on the shoulder, approving.

The moment is interrupted as Nate gets their attention, using a cooking spoon as a faux microphone as he plays MC. He thanks them all for coming (which Dave and Jeff jeer at) before claiming he has the distinct pleasure of introducing their host and his paramour for the evening, showing off their custom-made, never before seen Jade Beamon originals.

Nate: First up -- you know may know him as Dyl Pickle, vlogger extraordinaire, the deviant who once stuck a whopping thirty-two sticky notes to Shawn Hunter’s back in one class period. He’s as gay as they come, in every sense of the word. Host of the evening and renowned “kissing expert” --

Asher, from upstairs: NATE!

Nate: What? He told me to say it! Anyway, let’s give it up for the one-of-a-kind Dylan Blake Orlando.

All of them cheer theatrically as Dylan comes downstairs, sliding down the banister and hopping onto the bottom step. He shows off the suit jacket Jade made, looking even fresher and fun actually on him than just hanging in the costume loft. He spins and hams it up for a moment, then backs off so Nate can continue.

Nate: Equally as effervescent, our other star of the evening is not to be discounted. He’s smart, he’s sharp, he’s the scariest person you will ever meet if you piss him off or forget to organize the paints in alphabetical order. King of production design, prop mix master, puts the Ash in Ash Cash Money --

Dylan, taking the spoon: The love of my life --

Nate, taking it back: Hey, this is my gig! I didn’t ask for ad-libs.

Jeff: Drunk on power…

Nate: Anyway, let’s give it up ladies and gentlemen for the only one of us with any class, Asher L. Garcia!

Asher jogs down the stairs, looking equally as iconic in his custom suit jacket. He does a small spin as well to give the item it’s due moment, Dylan cheering the loudest of all of them.

Randall: Very nice, very good. Now, could I get a moment with my “gay vlogger sticky note” son?

The techies all cheer and laugh at his take, Dylan sliding across the hardwood to meet him. Jade and Asher link up, the former taking his hands and practically bouncing as she proclaims how good the suits turned out. They look amazing!

Lucas looks around at all of his friends, glammed up and excited. Distinctly left out of the excitement, only this time not by his own choice. Somehow, that’s worse.

He’s pulled out of it as Nate declares they still have one order of business, the seven of them regrouping. Dylan slips back into the circle between Asher and Lucas.

Nate: Now, as with any good tradition, we have some firsts to establish. And this shit is important -- it may be the most important thing we do in our lives at Triple A.

Jade: Speak for yourself.

Nate: As we know, the prom court institution at Adams is royally corrupt. It’s the same shit every single year.

Dave: Nothing new.

Jeff: Same old shit.

Nate: And to that, the techie tots say no more. We will be crowning our own reigning royalty this year, and that honor happens tonight. Without further ado --

For what it’s worth, the only two that don’t seem to know what’s happening are Asher and Dylan. They watch in confusion as Dave retrieves two pin cases from his interior pocket, handing them to Jade and Lucas respectively. Then they turn to face them, grinning wide at the stunned expressions on Dylan and Asher’s faces.

Nate: Congratulations, Pickle and Bird Bones. You’re fucking royalty.

Jade and Lucas move forward, pinning the brand new charms to Asher and Dylan’s lapels, respectively. The pins are small medals, the band being monochrome like techie uniforms and the metal piece a small crown.

The true kings have been crowned. Whatever happens next hardly matters.

Jade: Okay, we have to get out of here before Asher cries again.

Randall and the parents swoop in, insisting on one group photo before they all head out to wreak havoc. At first Lucas steps out of the photo, allowing them their classy group photo, but then all of them shout for him to get in the picture as well.

EXT. ORLANDO HOME - NIGHT

Dave leads the charge down the steps to the “party van,” i.e. their techie van they use for Home Depot runs. On the steps, Dylan and Asher hang back and check in with Lucas one last time.

Asher: You sure you don’t want to come?

Dylan, sing-song: We could sneak you in...

Lucas knows they damn well mean it. But he waves them off, assuring them that he’ll be fine. They need to go have fun and not worry about him for a night.

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Good Love (Feel Like This)” as performed by Sir, Please || Performed by Nigel Chey (feat. Dave Williams, Nick Yogi, and AAA Juniors)

And so it is. Asher gives him a pat on the arm and then they’re off, leaving Lucas on the steps alone. He watches his friends head out without him, bittersweet smile on his face.

As the groovy rock hit floats in…

INT. PROM VENUE - NIGHT

Prom roll up! The event is hopping, the large ballroom space beautifully decorated towards the stars theme and everyone’s appropriately matched outfits shimmering under the low lighting. The brightest lights are geared towards the DJ stage, which alternates between a sound system and live performances.

At present, Nigel is giving a riveting vocal performance while the junior and senior class parties on the dance floor. Dave is backing on guitar, Yogi on the keyboard, and other B Class students filling out the rest of the band.

Jade, Dylan, and Asher are right by the stage, Jade watching him perform with a mix of shyness and excitement. Every once in a while, he’ll look over at her and crack a smile.

Dylan and Asher are distracted when Isadora wanders over to join them, all of them immediately complimenting one another on their one-of-a-kind outfits. Dylan gives her a hug. Asher asks how it is being accompanied by Farkle Minkus, which Isadora claims isn’t terrible -- but it’s not particularly enchanting either.

Meanwhile, Farkle has just met up with Riley and Maya. They ask him how his evening is going so far -- is he having fun? It’s not too overwhelming, is it?

Farkle: Oh, yeah. Sweaty room, loud music, constant surveillance, date who didn’t even want to go with me. Time of my life, girls. Undoubtedly.

On the opposite side of the room, Charlie has just made his way over to the refreshments. He reaches for the ladle for the punch just at the same time as Zay, their hands brushing before they look up and lock eyes.

For a moment, neither of them say anything. They just take one another in -- well-groomed, nice tuxedos, the most they’ve even really seen of each other since the break-up -- before Zay manages to say something.

Zay: You look… classic.

Innocent enough. Charlie laughs nervously, nodding.

Charlie: And you look…

He can’t finish the sentence. What’s he going to say? No word is good enough. And where they are right now doesn’t allow for him to say what he’s actually thinking.

Thankfully, Maya swoops in and unwittingly throws him a life preserver. She interrupts their conversation, claiming that she needs for Zay to come dance with her lest people get the impression she can’t hold her own on the dance floor. She pays Charlie the same compliment in that he looks nice, before reminding him to vote Zay and Maya for prom king and queen!

Charlie: Okay, if you keep saying that, someone is going to murder you by the end of the night.

Maya: Attempted assassinations are just part of the job description.

Farkle regroups with Isadora, finding her amidst the crowd. The two of them stand in silence for a moment, absorbing the chaotic scene around them. Farkle eyes Jack and Eric across the room, talking to one another and not paying any attention to them, then leans down to whisper in Isadora’s ear.

Farkle: You wanna get out of here?

Isadora looks around at her classmates and teachers before her gaze lands on Farkle. She smiles, somewhere between a smirk and genuinely sweet.

EXT. COURTHOUSE - NIGHT

Valerie emerges from the courthouse, seemingly in much better spirits than the last time she was there. She inhales a deep breath of fresh air, blithe smile on her face.

INT. HOTEL SUITE - NIGHT

Katy opens the door to her hotel room, surprised to find Val standing on the other side. She’s carrying a bottle of champagne and doesn’t wait for an invitation to march inside. She tells Katy to grab a couple of glasses, they are celebrating!

Katy, uncertainly: Good news, I’m guessing?

Valerie: You know, in this industry, they tell you the most important thing is to hang on. Hang on by the skin of your teeth, dig your fingernails in, and never let go. Who would’ve known that applied to the rest of this crazy, mixed up world too?

Valerie pops the champagne and pours a glass for her and Katy, raising her glass.

Valerie: I persevered, and only good things have come from it. [ sublime ] Isadora is going to be mine. We’re going to be a real family.

Katy happily cheers to that, both of them taking a drink from their glasses. They settle down on the couch in the suite, Valerie absolutely giddy with the news. She can’t wait to tell Isadora. Katy can imagine -- she knows how important it is, having time with her baby girl.

An idea seems to strike Valerie in that moment, eyes widening. She reaches out and touches Katy’s arm, excited.

Valerie: You’ll come stay with us.

Katy: Wh -- what?

Valerie: Yes, yes, you’ll come back to New York and you’ll stay with us! You, me, Maya, and Isadora. The four of us will live together, four rough and tough, talented women surviving the concrete jungle as a team.

Katy: Oh, I don’t… I couldn’t --

Valerie: Katy, you belong here. In this city, with your daughter and your dreams. If I have proven anything in this endeavor, it’s that it’s never too late to change course and achieve something you never thought possible. [ a beat ] You belong in Manhattan, with Maya. Talent like yours shouldn’t be wasted in the farmland of Vermont.

Katy processes that, taking another sip of her champagne. If a Hollywood starlet is telling her she’s meant to be here, then who is she to refuse it?

Katy: Alright. Alright, then!

Valerie claps excitedly, already abuzz with so many new ideas.

Valerie: Oh, this is so exciting. This is amazing! Isadora and Maya are going to be over the moon. This is a bigger deal than when my good friend and mentee Lizzo basically single-handedly saved the R&B industry.

She raises her glass again for another toast. Katy grants it, their glasses clinking together.

INT. PROM VENUE - NIGHT

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Dance Again” as performed by Selena Gomez || Instrumental

The lighting is more aesthetic and dimmer as the prom goes on, the junior class out grooving on the dance floor. We get shots of different combinations of them dancing -- Charlie is with Haley and Clarissa, Jade and Nigel are giggly as they get comfortable with one another, Dylan and Asher are upholding their reigning title as cutest couple.

In the midst of the festivities, Eric grows concerned as he realizes he can’t find Isadora. Farkle is nowhere to be found either -- and that’s because they’re not there. They’re long gone, someone having disappeared right under his nose.

Eric grabs Riley from the edge of the dance floor, asking if she’s seen either of them. She claims not since they first got here… is everything okay? Eric doesn’t respond, pushing through the crowd to try and get a better look.

He’s surrounded by teenagers, and yet none are the two he’s specifically supposed to be keeping an eye on. Just as he’s on the verge of panic, Jack comes to his side and asks what’s going on. What’s with the look on his face?

Eric, breathless: Isadora -- and Farkle -- they’re not -- I can’t find --

Jack: Okay, relax, alright?

Eric: Relax? I lost two children!

Jack: Okay, we’ll find them. Alright?

Jack drags Eric out of the center of the room, passing by HARPER BURGESS as they go. He tells her she’s in charge, guiding Eric out of the venue.

INT. LUCAS’S APARTMENT - LIVING AREA - NIGHT

Lucas emerges from his room with a box, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and clearly down to business. He and GRACE FRIAR are operating with relative ease, indicating that their third household member isn’t home at present.

He places the box on the table in front of her, claiming that he’s gone through it and he needs her to go through it too so they can decide whether or not to donate it. Grace seems intrigued, but not opposed to the idea.

Grace: Spring cleaning?

Lucas: Something in my life might as well be in order.

She chuckles a bit at that, although the joke is admittedly somewhat dark. She starts going through the contents, hesitating before telling Lucas she’s sorry that he didn’t get to go to prom. He shrugs it off, but his aloof facade has worn thin over the week.

Grace gives him a warm smile, stating that he’ll be able to go next year.

Lucas: Yeah, let’s see if I make it through this year first.

Valid point. Lucas leaves her to keep going through the stuff, agreeing they should get rid of it either way before Kenneth gets back.

INT. LUCAS’S APARTMENT - LUCAS’S ROOM - NIGHT

Lucas steps back into his closet of a bedroom, sighing at all the junk there still is to go through. He frowns when his phone vibrates in his pocket, growing even more confused when he sees who is calling. He answers.

Lucas: Hello?

Jack is on the other end of the line, already on the road with Eric.

Jack: What are you doing right now?

Lucas, flatly: Crystal meth.

Jack: Okay, you jest, but you’re really not in the position to be making those kind of jokes right now.

Lucas asks what’s going on, and Jack explains the situation. He asks if Lucas has seen or heard from Isadora, and he says no. When Jack requests that he go search that side of town, just drive around and take a look, Lucas seems skeptical.

Lucas: Aren’t you forgetting? My license is suspended.

Jack, unimpressed: Am I really supposed to believe that makes a difference?

Lucas: … fair enough. I’ll do whatever.

Jack assures him if he gets into any trouble, he’ll help him out of it. They just need to get a trace on them so Eric can breathe again. Lucas grabs his denim jacket, heading out.

INT. DINER - NIGHT

Isadora and Farkle, thankfully, are not engaged in anything remotely nefarious. They’re just making an evening out of it all their own, having escaped prom to seek refuge at a non-descript diner across town.

Farkle is way more enthused by the prospect than Isadora. He’s practically jittery, tapping his fingers on the table and unable to stop grinning. He claims this is the most fun, the most freedom, he’s had in months.

Isadora: Okay, calm down, edgelord. It’s not that deep.

Oh, but perhaps it is, Isadora. Farkle leans further into the theatricality, dramatically stating that he doesn’t think there’s ever been a night quite like this. Full of this… energy, and mystery, and potential. Can’t she feel it? In homage to the number that’s just about to come into play, Farkle sits up so that he’s sitting on the booth seat, rather than in it.

Isadora: Okay, what are you doing? Sit down.

Farkle: Can’t you just feel it? And how… how we start thinking --

Isadora: Start thinking what?

Farkle: How wonderful it all is.

Isadora: How wonderful what all is?

Farkle: Everything.

Isadora: Now you’re just talking nonsense. Did you take too much medication this morning? What are you on?

He, Isadora, is on life. The freedom of tonight, how good it feels to just be out and adventuring and… alive. In fact, he thinks, it might need some expressing…

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “A Lovely Night” as performed by Cinderella Original Television Cast Recording || Performed by Farkle Minkus (feat. Isadora De La Cruz) [ starting at 4:20 ]

Farkle pushes his way out of the booth and starts sauntering through the diner, Isadora leaning out after him and whispering for him to come back. But he’s already on his way as the instrumental comes in, meaning there’s no hope. This singing train has left the station!

So he kicks off the first verse, singing the fantastical lyrics about how absolutely perfect the evening is. Somehow, it actually works, brightening up the drab, everyday diner and adding a splash of something special and unique.

It helps that Farkle is crazy and completely unapologetic as he takes over the space, the other patrons hesitant at first but then endeared by the performance. Farkle sings the first line about a “charming prince” to a gaggle of middle school girls, who all collectively lose their shit when he turns away from them. To them, for all intents and purposes, all suave in his prom suit and singing so elegantly, he is a prince charming.

Isadora might be starting to figure that out too, as she watches in disbelief while Farkle pulls other diners and workers into brief stints of choreography. By the time he makes it back over to her table in the second verse, he leans forward on the table and sings the lines “darling, I love you” while looking right into her eyes.

Part of the whole act? It’s impossible to tell.

Then he pulls her up from the booth, into dancing with him through the diner as the dance break commences. Although she’s hesitant at first, Isadora is more surprised by how not averse to the experience she is. Farkle is a good dancer, at least this kind of dancing, and it’s not long before she finds herself grinning and laughing along.

They spin their way towards the front, right out the doors…

EXT. DINER - NIGHT

And out into the city, the world aglow with nightlife and even more emphasized by the unreal quality of the dance. It feels very La La Land. They continue the pas de deux through to the end, Farkle picking up the lyrics again for the final rendition of the chorus.

They end it spinning in a circle in the parking lot, Isadora laughing and Farkle truly free as they round out the performance. If there’s going to be any true spectacle this prom season, then Icarus and the fallen Techie Queen dancing together in what may as well be a fantasy sure takes the cake.

INT. JACK’S CAR - MOVING - NIGHT

Eric is not feeling the fantasy, a nervous wreck as they drive through the streets looking for signs of Isadora and Farkle. He relays that she has not responded to any of his texts, and Jack states that’s it. He pulls over, allowing him to give his focus to Eric as he parks on the side of the road.

Jack takes Eric’s phone, out of his grasp.

Jack: Enough. You’re driving yourself crazy.

Eric: Yeah, you’re one to talk. [ trying to snatch it back ] Mister obsessive civil suit --

Jack: Oh, I’m not saying I’m innocent. But you have got to give yourself a break. It was their choice to sneak out and go wild, not yours. You can only do so much. If they choose to be idiotic, that’s on them. Regardless of how much we care.

Eric knows that Jack is speaking from experience. He sighs, slouching back in the passenger seat. Jack tries to comfort him, reminding him that Isadora and Farkle are two of the smartest students at AAA. They’re not going to get into trouble. Besides, if they are, then at least they have their best troublemaker on the case.

Jack: He’s like a heat-seeking missile. If there’s mischief afoot, trust me, I believe he’ll find it.

EXT. NEW YORK STREETS - NIGHT

Maybe so, Jack. Maybe so. Somehow, Lucas manages to catch up to Isadora and Farkle as they’re walking along the streets, slowing down in Grace’s car and coming up next to them. He honks, startling them both.

Lucas: Hey! Lunatics!

Isadora: Lucas? What the hell are you doing here?

Lucas: I could ask you the same question.

Farkle: Isn’t your license suspended?

Lucas holds up a finger to silence Farkle, not acknowledging his question. He keeps his focus on Isadora, who is similarly confused.

Isadora: Isn’t your license suspended?

Lucas: You tell me. You tell me what the hell you’re doing walking around like freaks and sending Eric so postal Jack had to send me out here risking future legal penalty to come find you.

Farkle: Hey, I mean, we snuck out of prom. [ holding his arms out ] Don’t I get a little credit for that, Lucas James Friar?

Lucas glares at him, unimpressed.

Lucas, sharply: Don’t talk to me like you know me.

Farkle raises his hands in surrender, turning away. Lucas turns his focus back to Isadora.

Lucas: Tell Eric where the hell you are and that you’re not dead. At least pay him that decency.

Isadora: Alright! Alright, I will. Sorry you got dragged into it.

Lucas: You’re so lucky I have no life.

Lucky, indeed… Lucas drives off, leaving the two of them alone again. Isadora shifts awkwardly, Farkle hesitating before giving her an unbothered smirk. Woo, reckless freedom!

INT. JACK’S CAR - NIGHT

Jack gets the text from Isadora on Eric’s phone. He smiles and then passes it back to him, telling him that now he can breathe again.

And so he can. Eric lets out a huge sigh of relief, falling back against the seat and rubbing his face. These kids, are they ever gonna let them live? Once he’s pulled himself off the ledge, Eric drops his hands and asks what they’re supposed to do now.

Now that they’re already out? Well… Jack shrugs.

Jack: You like bowling?

INT. PROM VENUE - NIGHT

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Magic” as performed by Gabrielle Aplin || Performed by Yindra Amino

Things slow down back at the prom, allowing the students to shift into a slow dance. Before Riley and Charlie can make any decisions, Zay swoops over to them to cut in. For a second it seems as though he might ask Charlie, in front of everyone… but he simply requests a dance with his favorite girl at AAA. Charlie relents without an argument, allowing him to steal Riley.

Riley: Sweet of you to say all that. And…

Zay: And I will give anything not to slow dance with Maya, yes.

Charlie shifts his sights to Haley, offering a hand to her. With their former conversation having cleared the air, the two of them are able to simply enjoy a dance together rather than twisting themselves up over what it might mean.

Yindra’s vocals truly help set the mood. The types of slow dancers are all across the spectrum. The soft familiarity of Dylan and Asher, whispering in each other’s ears and smiling and tilting their heads against one another; the timid beginnings of Nigel and Jade, more distance between them but equally as happy to be sharing the dance. Then there’s Maya, not bothering to slow dance at all and continuing her campaign amongst the other single prom-goers.

While Zay and Riley dance, they softly discuss how the evening is going. Riley subtly makes it clear that she is no way moving in on Charlie -- they should both be well aware how unlikely that would be. Zay holds no such suspicions. After all…

Zay: Think you and I are both here while our hearts are somewhere else.

Couldn’t have said it better, Isaiah. Tellingly, while Haley and Charlie are having a swell enough time dancing together, he cannot seem to keep his gaze from drifting towards Zay over her shoulder…

Yindra brings the number home, delivering yet another dazzling performance.

INT. BOWLING ALLEY - NIGHT

Pow! A bowling ball knocks over a volley of pins, shattering the dreamy melancholy of prom.

Jack and Eric have already played one game, crashed in one of the tables by the lanes and sharing some cheap bowling alley snacks. They’re also drinking and… okay, they might be a tad tipsy. They’re laughing as they chat about the evening, more relaxed than we’ve ever seen them. They could almost be teenagers themselves, just wasting away prom night at a bowling alley and blowing off expectations.

Eric complains about Isadora and Farkle’s actions, still not over the sleight. Like he gets it, they’re teenagers, but really? Jack chuckles, shrugging and claiming it’s just that kind of night. He can remember how he used to be -- Lucas really isn’t that far off from how he was at that age, although the kid is way more ballsy than he was.

Besides… there’s something about prom night, man. It makes people do crazy things.

Jack: I was never super into it, but… ha. I remember senior year, me and the guy I was going with --

Eric nearly chokes on his drink. Jack raises his eyebrows, handing him a napkin in concern.

Jack: You okay?

Eric: Yeah. Yeah, I just -- [ clearing his throat ] Guy? You went with a guy?

Jack: Oh, yeah. Administrators weren’t thrilled about it at the time though. [ off his stunned expression ] Oh, come on. You know I’m bisexual. We’ve totally discussed this.

Eric: Um. No. No we have not.

Jack: We definitely have.

Eric: Jack, I would not have forgotten that. Believe me.

Jack shrugs, smiling to himself and taking another drink. Eric just stares at him, trying to reconcile this new understanding he has of his friend and co-worker in his head. He starts to say something, then thinks better of it. Lost for words.

The music on the sound system of the bowling alley saves him from having to speak. As soon as the song starts playing, both of them react with joyful acknowledgement.

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Bye Bye Bye” as performed by *NSYNC || Performed by Jack Hunter & Eric Matthews

At first the two of them just reminiscence, talking about how classic this song is. Speaking of hits of their youth, this was it in the college days. But as they casually start singing along in their seats, just like their students (and maybe thanks to the alcohol), the groove overtakes them.

Eric jumps to his feet first, crouching on his seat and launching into the second verse. Jack cracks up and claps, encouraging the dramatic performance. Eric manages to pull him into it as well, the two of them delivering the rendition with the same gusto as their overdramatic students.

INT. BYE BYE BYE DREAMSCAPE - NIGHT

In their folly, it would only be fair to give them the same imaginative scape as their students. Part of the performance is a fantasy tribute to the “Bye Bye Bye” music video, Jack and Eric dressed as if they’re back in the early 2000s and dancing around a tilting room.

INT. BOWLING ALLEY - NIGHT

We cut back and forth between that and them wreaking mild havoc in the bowling alley, and gosh dang is it a fun performance.

That’s one way to cut loose for a night. Let’s go principal and counselor!

EXT. HOTEL - NIGHT

Farkle walks Isadora to the front stoop of the fancy hotel Valerie is staying at, although she tells him that he didn’t have to. He claims as her date it was his duty -- even if their arrangement wasn’t exactly by choice.

Isadora: Well, impressively, I did actually have fun.

Farkle: Oh?

Isadora: Yes. I don’t expect the enchantment to last past midnight, but it was fun while it lasted. [ a beat ] I suppose I’m glad that I had to babysit tonight.

Farkle rolls his eyes. Isadora looks at him for a long moment, and then stands on her tip-toes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

He blinks, obviously not expecting it. After a moment he kind of smiles, caught between a confused frown and a pleasantly surprised smile. He looks at her, narrowing his eyes.

She gives him no explanation. She just tilts her head in a nod and marches through the revolving door, leaving him on the sidewalk. He glances up at the building, smile widening as he spins on his heel and saunters down the street.

INT. PROM VENUE - NIGHT

Clarissa and Haley are just wrapping up a performance, dismounting the stage as Harper heads up to the microphone. She warms up the crowd by asking how everyone is enjoying prom, which is met with resounding cheers. The time has come, she announces, for the crowning of their junior and senior prom court!

Amidst the cheers, Charlie shifts his focus to Riley next to him. She’s zoned out, glancing over her shoulder and not paying any attention. Looking for someone who isn’t going to be there, no matter how many times she looks.

After a moment, he elbows her lightly.

Charlie: You should go.

Riley: What? What do you mean?

Charlie: I appreciate what you did for me tonight. But we both know… you don’t want to be here. Not really. [ nodding towards the door ] So you should go. Don’t waste the rest of your night on me.

Riley examines him, thoughtful. Then she smiles, taking his arm and leaning forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. She squeezes his arm.

Riley: Never a waste.

Then she’s gone, weaving her way through the crowd and on a mission. Charlie watches her go, and when he turns back to the crowd and the excitement of the senior prom court being announced he suddenly feels very detached. Like he’s a fish out of water, as if he shouldn’t even be there at all.

It’s claustrophobic. Charlie starts to push his way through the crowd as well, searching for an exit. Needing to get out of there.

From where he’s waiting with Maya, Zay notices Charlie’s frantic escape. He frowns, hesitating for only a moment before darting out after him. Only Maya notices him go, looking after him in confusion.

Maya, in a whisper: Zay. Zay!

He’s already gone. And her attention is stolen anyway, as Harper gets a drum roll going for the announcement of junior prom queen and king. It goes, unsurprisingly… to Maya and Zay!

Only Zay is nowhere to be found. Lucky for him, Maya is an expert showman and covers as if it’s nothing. She hops up onto stage and happily accepts, claiming her king had to dip out for a moment and she’ll be accepting both on his behalf.

Once she’s found a way to balance both crowns on her little blonde head, she takes to the microphone and gives a small speech about what an honor it is to be selected. And in return, tonight, she’ll give them a prom slow dance really worth remembering. As the track cues up --

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “At Last” as performed by Beyoncé || Performed by Maya Hart

As obnoxious as she is, there is no doubt about the fact that Maya Hart can sing. Her vocals are damn good on the romantic classic, truly creating a perfect final slow dance for the evening. And she’s milking every second of it, glamorous as ever in her elegant gown and dual crown glory.

EXT. PARKING LOT - NIGHT

Charlie has made his way to a mostly vacant section of the parking lot, inhaling as much fresh air as he can. He holds his breath, then lets it out, fighting off whatever strange panic was prickling at him.

It doesn’t truly fade until Zay joins him, approaching casually and claiming that he’s missing Maya’s big performance. Isn’t that what he came all the way out to prom for anyway? Charlie can’t help but laugh, even though the vibe between them is still uncertain.

Charlie: Oh, naturally. Everything’s about Maya Hart, after all.

Zay: Absolutely everything, yeah.

Charlie: [ just looking at him ] … shouldn’t you be in there too, then? Far as I recall, you were her running mate.

Zay, with a shrug: I didn’t really care much about it.

Zay is stepping closer with every word that passes between them.

Charlie: … no?

Zay: Nah. I mean, can’t blame Maya though. She knows how to pick a winning candidate.

Charlie: Well, no arguments here. Sure you don’t want to get your crown, though? Think that would be a nice prize regardless.

They’re standing right in front of each other. Zay swallows, meeting his eyes.

Zay: I can think of something better.

Charlie lets that sink in, not sure how to respond. Knowing that they’re the way they are for a reason… but then there he is, right there in front of him…

Zay doesn’t ask for much. He gently takes Charlie’s hands, pulling him towards him and into a slow dance. There in the parking lot, alone, where nobody else is going to bother them.

Charlie is stiff at first, then slowly he relaxes into it. The familiarity, the ease, the way they seem to just naturally fit together... especially when it comes to dancing.

Still, something in his expression is conflicted. It’s obvious he loves it -- being so close to Zay, sharing anything with him regardless of what their status is -- but then that’s the problem, isn’t it? As long as Charlie is around him, he’s never going to be able to let it go. They’re going to keep drifting back to each other like this, and Zay is never going to be able to move forward.

Charlie realizes all of that… and yet.

For now, he chooses to live in the moment. He tilts his head against Zay’s shoulder and chooses to soak it up for all it’s worth, the dance and the closeness and the way he continues to choose him, even when he pushes him away.

Everything else, he can deal with another day.

INT. VALERIE’S HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

Isadora has changed back into more comfortable clothes, Valerie hanging her dress up so that it stays nice and unruffled. After all the hard work Stella McCartney put into it, she would hate for it to only survive one use!

Then Valerie settles on the bed with Isadora, telling her the good news. The paperwork went through -- they’re on their way. She just has some things she needs to go wrap up last minute in Los Angeles, and then they’re going to do it. They’re going to be a proper mother and daughter, she’ll move to the city, and everything is going to change. For the better, she’s sure.

Isadora is stunned just to hear it said -- she can’t begin to wrap her head around it in reality. But she manages action, leaning forward to initiate a hug with Valerie.

She hugs her back, tight, so excited about the next steps they’ll be taking together.

INT. LUCAS’S APARTMENT - LUCAS’S BEDROOM - NIGHT

Well, for only a night’s work, Lucas has made substantial progress on organizing his hell bedroom. You can actually see the floor now in most places, which is a step up. Maybe one solution to not having horrible mental health is to not feel like you’re living in an abandoned storage closet. Music is playing from his phone, shuffling the playlist Riley made him last year.

He finishes clearing the floor by the actual closet door, finding Riley’s gala shawl. He holds it in his hands, delicately, trying to decide what to do with it. It’s survived this long, in spite of all the times he’s thought about destroying it -- to get rid of it now would almost be a disservice.

He’s distracted from the decision for now, his phone buzzing. He settles onto his bed, putting the shawl to the side towards his pillow and opening the message.

Song Cue ♫ ♪ “Ebony Eyes” as performed by Jamie Scott || Instrumental

It’s from Dylan, a group picture of the techie crew in the midst of the glitz of prom. The caption underneath it is simple and to the point -- “We miss you!!!!!!!”

Lucas can’t help but smile, but after a moment it shifts to something more muted. The disappointment is clear on his face now, fully realizing how much he might be missing out on. How much he’s missed out on for the entire year, while he was busy fighting to survive his own personal hurricane. And there’s no way to get that back -- there’s no way to know if it’ll ever stop hurricaning, given how up in the air everything feels.

He’s distracted once again from his own internal musing, this time by creaking from outside his window. At first he glances towards his door, worried it might be someone coming home, but an additional creaking confirms it’s coming from outside. It’s coming from the fire escape.

Cautiously, Lucas gets to his feet, edging towards his window. He nearly jumps out of his skin when Riley appears from the ladder below, scrappily climbing her way up to his level.

EXT. LUCAS’S APARTMENT - LUCAS’S FIRE ESCAPE - NIGHT

Lucas scrambles out the window to meet her, eyes wide in disbelief. She smiles at him as he emerges and she manages to pull herself fully onto the fire escape. There’s barely room for them both to stand, Lucas taking her arm and pulling her as far from the window -- and his apartment -- as possible.

Lucas: What the hell are you doing here?

Riley blinks at him, trying to catch up with her own choice of actions. She’s changed out of her fancy gown, hair and makeup still done up but having opted for a pair of high-waisted jeans and a thrifted tee. Better attire for building scaling, at least.

She explains that she couldn’t stop thinking about him and how he was missing out, so she decided to bring some of the fun to him. She shrugs off her backpack, unzipping it and showing off some of the snacks and movies and junk she threw in there along with her laptop. She didn’t have a lot of specific ideas, or anything, she just thought… who knows. She just knew she wanted to be here.

Lucas is in shock. He can’t believe any person would ditch prom without some other grand plan, and definitely not for him.

Lucas: That’s… that’s nice, but you shouldn’t have to do this. You should be at prom, having fun. Least of all worrying about me.

Riley, shaking her head: Wasn’t the same without you.

Oh. Well then. Riley glances towards his room, recognizing the music playing and smiling to herself. She comments that at least he has good tunes to get him through the night, and the slower, rustic song playing now is better than about half of the songs they played at the dance.

In fact… she did say she was going to bring the evening to him…

Dropping her backpack by the window, Riley cautiously takes Lucas’s hands. When he doesn’t complain, she gently guides him into a dance of their own -- a promenade on six square feet of metal with a shitty outdated iPhone speaker acting as the DJ.

Even still, it might be the most authentically romantic duet of the night. The music quality shifts and improves to be more encompassing as they settle into the dance, once again supplemented by that fantastical quality of the evening. Secluded enough for Lucas to ease into it, more intimate than a room full of their peers would allow.

After a minute or so, Riley adjusts their posture and presses their foreheads together. For how soft the moment is, the energy between them may as well be electric. They’re inches apart, one or two breaths and a bold choice away from another kiss. And maybe they could…

But not tonight. Not yet.

Riley shifts and rests her head against his shoulder, Lucas closing his eyes and tilting his head against hers.

For now, what they have in this moment together is enough.

INT. AAA - ATRIUM - DAY

Crazy how in the aftermath of such a whimsical weekend, life is expected to proceed as normal. Jack is in good spirits as he jogs his way into the school building later than usual, pushing through the doors at the same time as Lucas. Lucas comments on his late showing.

Jack: You know, for all the times you’ve shown up to class tardy with no good excuse, I think you can zip it on this one.

Touché. Jack does remember to thank Lucas for his help with Farkle and Isadora though, expressing that it was a big help. He asks how he spent the rest of his evening -- aside from the crystal meth.

Lucas, nonchalantly: Nothing much. And you?

Jack: Got kicked out of a bowling alley.

Lucas: … fun. Respect.

Jack grins, nodding him on his way. He makes his way back into the office…

INT. AAA - JACK’S OFFICE - DAY

Where the real world is waiting for him. Jack is surprised by the gift-wrapped item on his desk -- until reality slams into him like a freight train. He drops his briefcase and jogs towards it, lifting the ribbon-bound local newspaper into his hands.

There it is. The Bradford case, front page Monday morning news. Likely paid a fortune to make it front page news, if he knows his adversaries.

It’s officially gone public. The fantasy is over. Another day has arrived, and now it’s time to deal with all of the challenges ahead.

Now, it’s time to take action. For better or for worse.

END OF EPISODE.

#S2 #211 #episodes #y'all.... we really in it now

[negahc]

March 2021

It is with great regret and sadness that we announce History Center Board Member, supporter, and dear friend Jackie Cooley passed away On February 9.  She had been a Board member since 2016, but she and her husband Counte had been involved with the History Center for much longer, especially in relation to the White Path Cabin. Along with Counte she had operated Electronic Sales Company for 23 years. She was incredibly active in the community, including as co-founder of For Her Glory, an organization that helps cancer patients in need in medical assistance.  Jackie always had a smile, an encouraging word, and a sharp insight, and she will be truly missed.

We have lots of exciting livestream programs for the month of March! Every Wednesday at 2 PM EST we host free livestream programming to the general public. Every Friday at 2 PM EST we host special Members Only programs.

Become a Digital Member today for as little as $3/month or $35/year at www.negahc.org/member.

View our entire March lineup at www.negahc.org/events

Homeschool Connection is going great. It is hard to believe we are approaching the midterm point of our 2nd semester already! We have just entered the 20th century in our American History Course. Last week we learned about WWI and we time traveled to meet a German Imperial Soldier who had been fighting in the trenches in France.

Is the pirate life for you? Come to the Northeast Georgia's virtual family day made possible by the Ada Mae Ivester Education Center on March 14th from 1PM to 5PM EST and find out. We will have lessons on the history of piracy, the weapons and tactics used by pirates, and you'll get to meet some of the most famous pirates to ever sail the seven seas! We will also talk about pirate legends and why are pirates are so popular today. And to end the family day be sure to join us live at 5pm to play our Pirate Trivia Game. If you win you may just get some treasure!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our February Family Day: Voices for the Vote! It was held on February 14th which we learned is the League of Women's Voters Day. We had a wonderful time learning about the women's suffrage movement through the virtual tour of our special exhibit, crafts, fashion, and dance. We even had famous suffragists Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone, and Frederick Douglas come and speak about their views. This program was made possible through the Ada Mae Ivester Education Center and viewers like you!

March Forum: Plagues in History

I know, we're all tired of hearing about, thinking about, and living through COVID-19... but what about some of the other pandemics from the past? Join us for a socially-distanced, mask-free virtual presentation on Tuesday, March 9, at 7PM ET for a MEMBERS ONLY Forum as we look back through history at some of the not-so-good days where plague walked the land and what our ancestors thought about disease and it made it through... Eventually.  

Not a member?  It's not too late!  got to https://www.negahc.org/member and become one in just a few minutes!

We exceeded our February donation goal! Our goal was $200 and our generous viewers and members supported us with $215. Thank you to all of our donors: Eric Falls, Dale Granata, Sue, Leigh Elkins, Rosann, Phil Fortin, Jeanne, Arrelina Bernal, Stella, Anonymous, and HandsOnHomeschool Academy!

In March, we are going to try to reach $250. If you donate toward our March goal, you will be automatically entered into a raffle to win a $15 gift certificate to our online museum shop. Every $5 gets you one raffle ticket! So if you donate $20, you will be entered into the raffle four times. Donate today at bit.ly/march21goal

In our latest episode of Then Again, Glen discusses the geological history of Appalachia with geologist and professor Jim Buecheler from Northern Virginia Community College. Learn the effects of continental collisions, mountain formations, and more in this ROCKIN' episode! You can also follow Jim on his Twitch channel to watch his fascinating geology lessons at www.twitch.tv/geojim2006

Visit our website to listen to this episode (and all other episodes) at: thenagainpodcast.com

The brand new online Museum shop is now open! We have over 70 items currently in the store, with many more items soon to come. We also have discounts of up to 70% off on select books!

Visit our new store at: http://negahistorycenter.square.site

CJ Payne: Digital Studio Intern

My name is CJ Payne, I’m a recent graduate of the University of North Georgia. I got my bachelors’ degree in Film & Digital Media with a minor in Graphic Design. I’m passionate about bringing stories to life through editing videos. I love working on documentaries because true stories have much more of a lasting impact with their message, in my opinion. I am interning at the Northeast Georgia History Center because I want to gain more experience working as a video editor. I enjoy learning about the lifestyles of people in past time periods especially those from cultures other than my own like the Cherokee nation. There’s much to learn from people living in a different era than mine.

I love spending time on set with friends, watching movies, and hiking. I dabble with outdoor photography and take way too many pictures of my dog. I also love to read and take my dog for long walks.

Andrews Gless: Digital Studio Intern

Raised in North Georgia, I fell in love with music and movies at a young age. From  action movies to historical biopics and classic hip-hop to opera, music and movies are something that I have always loved. History is very special to me. Apart from being one of my favorite subjects in school, I love learning about different figures and events through time. There is always a lesson about life that can be learned through the study of history.

I have a Bachelor's Degree in Film and Digital Media with a Production Concentration from the University of North Georgia, where I was able to work on several different award winning films throughout Georgia and the South, (A Devil in God's Country, Dead Winter,  Halfway). I wanted to continue to hone my editing and production skills. The History Center offers the unique opportunity of being able to help produce different types of content for all ages with a  variety of professionals. I hope that I will be able to assist in bringing more stories of North Georgia and the United States to life. I love good stories, great food and movies of all types. I'm an amateur vinyl collector, avid gamer and I can always be found sharing a laugh with my close friends and family.

From Cheryl and Jerry Vandiver in memory of Dinah Wayne, Jack Frost and Frank Norton Sr.

From Cathy and Tony Herdener in memory of Frank Norton Sr., Dinah Wayne, Jack Frost, Jackie Cooley, Jim Walters and Jo Ann Adams.

From Sandra Williams in memory of Jackie Cooley and Jack Frost.

[troey-jibiani]

10,388 words of me trying to fit as many headcanons in one fic as humanly possible. Polyfrogs Soulmates (AU where you have the first words your soulmate says to you on your body somewhere)!

Chris knows when he’s very young that he’ll have to leave home eventually. He loves his family, he loves his home, and he loves the Sharks, but his words seem to imply that his soulmate will meet him somewhere that isn’t California.

Not that that’s a bad thing. Chris has always been and will always be excited to go new places, try new things, and meet new people.

He’ll miss his parents, he’ll miss his little sister, and he’ll miss their dog, but getting a soulmate out of it sounds like a very fair tradeoff to him. Plus, his soulmate might even be from California, as well! They just meet somewhere else. Like at college. One look at the hockey team, and Chris chooses Samwell. It was destiny, after his parents met there, and he skated for the first time there. He hopes his soulmate picks Samwell too.

Since Will’s words showed up, he’s had his college decided for him. His backwards, homophobic grandparents had turned their noses up at the word ‘Samwell’ on his skin. His parents had said ‘Liam, that’s a good school. Don’t know how we’re going to afford it.’ And with that, he started researching. Academic scholarships. Sports scholarships. Scholarships for volunteer community outreach hours. Scholarships for kids from low income areas. Scholarships for LGBT youth and allies.

Will manages to get all the scholarships he could. He works like crazy and saves every penny. He plays hockey like his life depends on it.

When he gets to Samwell, he feels like it’s well earned, like he deserves to be there. He was worried it would feel like an obligation, because of his words, but it doesn’t. It feels like he belongs there, and he clawed his way to this school and this hockey team.

Caitlin’s not enthusiastic about her words. You wouldn’t be either, if they basically said that your soulmate was going to physically hurt you.

So far, three people have said things that were pretty close, but not one of them has been exact, and she didn’t say their words back. She looks at colleges and sees that one in four students at Samwell meet their soulmate there. It’s a no brainer. She’ll go to Samwell, get injured, and bam. Soulmate.

It doesn’t hurt that they’ve got a killer volleyball team.

Derek’s words scare him. He’s scared that his soulmate won’t be mutual, somehow. He knows that’s not a thing, and yet deep down in his soul he still feels it. So he works on feeling nothing, for a while. Really though. Someone telling him that they’ve already heard their words isn’t encouraging.

He gets through high school on his fake chill and determination. When it comes time to pick a school for after that, Samwell is at the top of his list. LGBT friendly, good hockey team, great English program.

He parents are proud of his choice. His mom’s an alum, as are many of her business partners. They’ve all talked the school up to her, so of course she’s ecstatic about her son going there.

He’s not sure about the whole ‘one in four’ thing, though. He doesn’t want to meet a soulmate who’s already taken.

He goes anyway.

At freshman orientation, a group of people from the SMH take over as tour guides for Will and a few other guys. There’s a tiny blond that he and a few other guys mistake as a manager, the actual manager, and a man with a ‘70s porno-stache. From the rink, they take them to the team’s house–no, Haus.

There still aren’t any final decisions made, but at least some of the guys in this group will be this year’s freshmen on the hockey team, which he has been told by a very large man with glasses are called ‘frogs.’

Speaking of that very large man, his words are proudly on display on his arm, ‘Bro, are you as stoked as I am to be d-man partners?’ and a guy walking next to him has a matching ‘Hell yeah, bro!’

Will smiles. They met on the ice. Maybe his soulmate plays hockey too?

He falls in line next to a dude with eyebrows for miles and decked out head to toe in Sharks memorabilia. His eyes are dark but somehow also wide and bright, and he’s got a permanent smile on his face. At Faber, he had pressed his face to the glass.

“I’m guessing you’re from California?” Will says as a means of breaking the ice.

The boy stills, looks at Will, and smiles wider. “Chyeah! Aren’t you just super excited to be at Samwell?”

Will stops dead in his tracks. “Dude,” he whispers, pulling at the bottom of his shirt with one hand and the waistband of his jeans with the other to expose the words on his hip.

“Oh! Oh my gosh I–mine are on the bottom of my foot, hang on,” the guy babbles, hopping up and down and pulling at his shoe. He’s not paying much attention, and bumps into the most hipster human being Will has ever laid eyes on.

Hipster dude topples over. He doesn’t seem mad, though. He takes in Will’s soulmates appearance and laughs. “I’m guessing you’re from California?” He looks at Will, who’s scowling. “Chyeah. Aren’t you just super excited to be at Samwell?”

Will and his soulmate both go slack jawed. “You’re not the first person to say that to me today,” they say at the same time.

“Fuck,” hipster dude gasps. Will thinks he’s going to pass out. “What the fuck.”

“Hey! Quit lagging behind!” one of the guys from the team barks. Will thinks he remembers the guy being introduced as captain.

“Sorry!” Will’s first soulmate apologizes immediately. “We said each other’s words so I was kind of freaking out! I’ve heard of multiple soulmates before, I mean, I have two dads and a mom, so obviously I’ve heard of it. I just didn’t think it would happen to me!! Oh gosh, I didn’t even ask you guys what your names are! My name is Chris.”

“I’m Will,” he says, extending a hand to help up hipster dude.

“Derek,” hipster dude mumbles. “What the fuck?”

“I know man, I’m just as confused as you are,” Will assures him.

The ridiculously huge guy and his soulmate bound over to the three befuddled soulmates. “Dudes! Congratulations! Me and my bro Ransom here met at our first practice. The coaches and our boy Jack had paired us up and we were both super stoked,” he says.

“Yeah bro. It was ‘swawesome. Holster cried,” the other guy, Ransom(?), tells them.

“Wow! Has anyone else on the team met their soulmate like that?” Chris asks.

“Well that senior bro with the majestic flo and ‘stache combo’s soulmate is our fearless manager Lardo. And our frog year two dudes met mid game, one from our team and one from the opposing team. It was sweet. Like, modern Romeo and Juliet,” Holster, apparently, recounts.

The little dude that Will had mistakenly assumed was the manager approached them. “Hey, y’all. I know I introduced myself earlier, but my name’s Eric. The boys all call me Bitty, though. What are y’all’s favorite pies? I want to make something to celebrate meeting your soulmates!”

“Bits is the best baker alive,” Holster informs them. “It’s just not fair to be so talented. Amazing baker, amazing dancer, and the fastest forward alive? Unfair.”

Will feels a Spongebob reference in here somewhere.

“If I’m lucky, Mr. Talent will rub his tentacles on me,” Derek says, just as Chris says “The Krusty Krabs is unfair! Mr. Krabs is in there! Standing at the concession! Plotting his oppression!”

Ok, so there were two Spongebob references there.

Bitty and Holster both look absolutely mortified at Derek. “It’s from that episode of Spongebob where Squidward teaches an art class?” he says weakly.

Shit. Will is totally in love with these nerds.

The three of them sit down in Chris’s dorm to talk things out. They need to get to know each other, and they need to figure out if they’re platonic or romantic soulmates.

“This is crazy,” Will blurts out, sitting on the edge of Chris’s bed. Chris takes the desk chair, and Derek sprawls out on the floor. Will offers him the bed, but he mumbles something about aesthetic. “I’m not the only one who thinks that, right?”

“Yeah. I didn’t see this coming,” Derek agrees. Is voice is smooth, level. He’s Chris’s polar opposite in that respect, Chris thinks. He knows he’s excitable and loud sometimes. Will seems like he’s probably a little less than mellow, too.

“How can you be so calm about this?” Will asks, brow furrowed. Uh oh. Chris knows angry when he sees it.

“Dude, chill,” Derek dismisses, and oooooh no.

“What the fuck man, don’t tell me to chill,” Will hisses. “This is a weird situation and I don’t think it’s normal to be chill right now.”

“Hey, hey, guys. Will, you’re right. This is different. Not everyone comes from my type of family, so I understand this being weird for you. But! People all express their emotions differently. Some people don’t get as excited as others. We really just need to talk things out, ok?” Chris intervenes.

“Whatever,” Will huffs, crossing his arms across his chest and rolling his eyes. “So is it platonic or romantic? I know what I feel, from meeting you guys, but I can’t really…like, decide for you?”

“Oh! That’s right!” Chris says. “I know we just met but I really like you guys and I could totally see us in a relationship some day but right now we can just be friends? If that’s ok with you.”

Will frowns, but doesn’t protest. “That’s chill,” Derek says. Chris hopes that’s a good thing? It’s hard to tell with Derek.

“Um. Ok,” Will mumbles. Is this not what he wanted?

“Why are you so weird about this? Do you have a problem with your soulmates being dudes?” Derek accuses.

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Will spits. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Typical,” Derek says, shaking his head. “You’re just another privileged white kid who’s too good for–”

“Privileged? Privileged? My family is low income, I’m the first kid to go to college in four generations just because of my stupid words that you just had to say. I’ve spent years of my life working my ass off on a stupid lobster boat–hell, the jeans you’re wearing cost more than my entire closet. Fucking privilege? Really?”

Oh boy.

He’s changed his mind. Will does not, will not, cannot ever love Derek Nurse. Yeah, he’s literally the most attractive being on the planet, and he was kind of cute earlier, but holy shit, he’s pretentious. And demeaning. And a giant bag of dicks.

“Yo, Poindexter, chill,” he says, and oh man does Will just want to  kiss punch that stupid look off his face.

“What does that even MEAN?” Will asks.

“You don’t have to deflect like this. I get it. Obviously you’re uncomfortable with having dudes as your soulmates and the possibility of it turning romantic,” Derek persists.

“Oh my GOD you could not be more wrong,” Will groans. “Just because you’re a douche doesn’t mean I’m a homophobe.”

“Guys!” Chris interjects, “I don’t think it’s a good idea to make assumptions about people you just met. Why don’t we try talking about ourselves? You know, a better introduction so that we can get to know each other better and understand where each one of us is coming from? I can go first!”

Will doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t feel like he has to, and Derek doesn’t say anything either.

“Ok! So! I said before that I have two dads and a mom. I also have an amazing little sister! And I’m from San Francisco. My mom is Chinese and that’s a big part of our lives but I don’t know like, more than two words in Chinese. But I want to take classes!!! Oh, and speaking of classes, I love computers and I want to take programming classes here at Samwell. I like cats and dogs, and I want my braces off, they drive me crazy. And my favorite team is the Sharks, if you couldn’t tell. But you probably could!”

Will looks at Derek, and then at Chris. “I’ll go next? Uh. I’m from Maine. I’ve had to work a lot. My uncle has a lobster boat so I’ve spent a lot of time doing that, and my other uncle is a repairman so during the school year I used go to his shop after school and help. So I can fix a lot of things. Oh, and Chris, we’re probably going to take a lot of classes together.”

“Do I have to?” Derek mumbles. Chris gives him a sharp glance.

“I’m from Manhattan. Both of my parents work a lot, so when I was little I spent a lot of time with a nanny. She’s like, an extra mom to me. I went to Andover, uh, I actually know one of the seniors from there. His name’s…well, you met him on the tour. People usually call him Shitty. I didn’t really have a lot of friends there? But Shits is cool. I was born on Valentine’s Day, so I get I tons of chocolate on my birthday.”

You’re rich enough to go to Andover and I’m privileged? Will desperately wants to say it out loud, but he holds it in for fear of upsetting Chris. He still thinks that he could fall in love with Chris so easily, that he practically already has.

Why did the universe have to stick him with Derek Nurse, too?

Who knows. Maybe he and Chris are romantic soulmates and Derek is going to be their awkward third wheel platonic soulmate. Or maybe Chris and Will are romantic, and Chris and Derek are romantic, but Will and Derek aren’t.

It’s well into November when Shitty decides that they’re going to have a race. A piggyback race? Chris (he’s Chowder now!!!!) is still confused about it. He jumps on Dex’s back anyway, leaving Bitty to be Nursey’s piggyback-passenger.

Shitty is officiating, not participating. Dex is pulling them into the lead, and Chowder’s sure his enthusiastic cheering helps. Somehow. Maybe it’s a soulmate thing?

The tiny kiss he’d pressed to Dex’s neck right before they started probably helped too.

But Chowder distracted him too much, and they ended up crashing into half the women’s volleyball team. Chris landed in a pile of leaves–on top of one of the girls.

“Oh my gosh!! Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!! Are you ok??? I’m so sorry!!!!”

As Chris scrambled off the volleyball player, she stared up at him dumbly. Oh no! Had she hit her head on the ground? Had Chowder gIVEN THE POOR GIRL A HEAD INJURY?

“I’m guessing you’re from California?” she manages to say.

Dex freezes next to Chowder. He had been brushing leaves off himself, but he he’d gone paler than usual. “What? Did I say something? Oh, were those your words?”

“Yeah! But really, are you ok? You didn’t hit your head, did you?” Chris asks. “Oh! This is one of my other soulmates, Dex! And my name is Chris, but everybody calls me Chowder!”

She eyes Dex as she stands. “Wow. You’ve got more than one soulmate? That’s pretty rare. Caitlin Farmer. People usually just call me Farmer,” she introduces herself.

“Yeah!! Our other soulmate was the one we were racing!! He’s right over–hey, where did Nursey and Bitty go? Shitty, have you seen Nursey?”

Shitty jogs over to the three of them. “One of the girls may have a concussion so Nursey offered to help Bitty get her to the student medical center. If it’s bad, they might take her off campus to the hospital.”

“Wait your name is Shitty?” Farmer questions. “Hockey players are something else. Not that that’s a bad thing! I uh, I just. Wow. This isn’t really what I expected meeting my soulmate to be, you know?”

“You’re not the first soulmate I’ve fallen on!” Chris laughs. “When I met Dex, I got super excited and tried to take off my shoe to show him my words on the bottom of my foot, but I ended up falling on Nursey! And then he said my words too, and Dex’s! And we said his.”

“Ok but at least you didn’t spill booze on your soulmate while half naked,” Shitty inputs. Farmer looks mortified. “Sophomore year was a dark time.”

Chris had heard the story before. A friend of a friend had invited Lardo to the first kegester of the semester, and by the end she walked out manager of the SMH and covered in tub juice. The ‘dark time’ Shitty is referring to is a time when he didn’t get completely naked at parties. Which isn’t such a terrible thing if you ask literally anyone else.

Shitty displays his words proudly by pulling up his shirt. ‘What the fuck WHAT THE FUCK’ lays across his chest in pretty, curly script.

“That must have been fun for your parents to explain to you when it showed up,” Farmer snorts. An alarm buzzes on her phone. “Shit. I’ve got class–I want to meet up with you later? Maybe Annie’s? Both of you. And bring your other soulmate too?”

Chris nods. “I’ll let him know to meet us there! Actually, me and Dex have class together right now!”

“Cool,” Farmer grins, leans forward and presses a kiss to Chris’s cheek, and rushes off to her lecture.

Derek’s phone buzzes in the waiting room at the medical center.

Hey so something really amazing happened today!! I want to tell you in person, can you meet me and Dex at Annie’s?

“All right, April. Your head’s fine. Just a little bump, and I know it shook you up, but you’re good to go. Come back if you have a headache tomorrow.”

Nursey lets Chowder know he’ll be there and stands to walk out with the volleyball player they’d injured. Bitty smiles at her and chatters away, and Nursey nods like he’s listening, but he’s a million miles away. Whatever Chowder wanted to tell him had to be important for him to want to do it in person.

He stays in his head for a while, so that’s probably why he trips on the way into Annie’s later. He flails, tries to catch himself, but ultimately ends up knocking into a girl who’s in line.

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. Are you ok? I’m so sorry,” Nursey apologizes.

The girl pales, and then laughs. “You’re not the first person to say that to me today.”

“What the fuck,” Derek stutters (whoa deja vu), “I just–did I just say–and you said–but that means that–”

And then Dex is there, chirpy grin plastered across his face. “Yo, chill, Nurse,” he says smugly. “This is Chowder’s big news. He met yet another soulmate.”

Chowder bounces over to them as well. “Which is totally ‘swawesome! I wasn’t expecting you and Farmer to be soulmates too!! Wow, I guess it’s just Dex who’s not Farmer’s soulmate, then. But that’s ok! Maybe Dex has another soulmate too!! But if he doesn’t that’s ok too because he already has you and me and that’s already more than most people have.”

Something is different though. It’s different, when Derek sees this girl. It’s like there’s a big sign above her head that says ‘shaped like a friend.’ He feels like he could spend his life with her, but he doesn’t want to date her. Which is a lot different than how he feels when he sees Dex and Chowder.

“Cool,” Derek manages.

Farmer learns very quickly that she and Nursey are platonic soulmates (they tried making out once and it was kind of hilarious). They have an easy connection, and they both love Chowder to death, but they don’t love each other the way they love Chowder.

Gosh, she loves Chowder. Chris Chow is pretty much everything she’s ever wanted. He’s sweet, he’s caring, and he’s athletic. Caitlin, a Jock™, can’t date non-jocks. It just wouldn’t work.

Derek Nurse is everything she could want in a best friend. Super chill, super thoughtful, and perfectly capable of sitting in silence while scrolling on their respective phones. He even lets her put winged eyeliner on him! After which he takes the eyeliner and tells her to hold still, and gives her the prettiest cat eye she’s ever seen in three seconds flat. She’s in friend love with him for sure when that happens.

She likes Dex too. He’s a bit more on the sensitive side. All three of her boys are, but not in the same way.

Chowder’s an emotional guy. He shows all of his feelings with equal intensity. Nursey’s all about internalizing and repressing. He vents through poetry, of course, though Farmer thinks that might not be enough. They both have defense mechanisms, that she picks up easily; Chris acts super innocent, angelic, and happy to throw people off the trail, and Derek shows no emotion so that people think they can’t hurt him.

Dex, though. At first, Caitlin thinks, he seems to have anger issues. After only a few weeks of knowing him, however, she has him pegged. Dex is a hurt-first-so-I-don’t-get-hurt kind of guy.

If he strikes first, he gets the upper hand. If he strikes first, he can save himself the trouble of getting too close. If he strikes first, he won’t have to deal with his feelings for Nursey.

Yeah, Caitlin can see that, too. They’re soulmates, they obviously love each other. When she asks Chris about it, he tells her that the first day they met they started fighting and never stopped. When she points out their defense mechanisms, Chris wholeheartedly agrees. When she asks what they should do, he insists that they work it out on their own. He tells her he tried to talk to Bitty (who’s like a mother to the four of them) about it but it just made things worse.

Farmer wants all her boys to be happy, but decides to leave it up to Dex and Nursey to work things out.

He kisses Chowder. He kissses Chowder, in Chowder’s dorm, and Chowder kisses back.

Dex couldn’t be more ecstatic.

The day they met Farmer, Chris had been giving him signals. They flirted like crazy, there was that tiny peck on the back of the neck Chowder had given him, and Chowder picking him first for the race. After they crashed into Cait, however, it had all been kind of pushed back. Dex felt like he needed to get Chowder’s attention.

Maybe kissing him isn’t the best way, but it works. Chris pulls back with stars in his eyes (which isn’t that abnormal) and a flushed face, so Dex is counting it as a win.

“Oh,” Chris says quietly. “Um, did that really happen?”

Dex snorts. “I can do it again if you need proof,” he offers. “It happened.”

“Wow. Uh, yeah, I’d like for it to happen again. I was starting to think maybe you wanted to just stay friends? But you got kind of flirty and then stopped, so I didn’t know what to think. Caitlin’s going to be so happy, oh, wait until she finds out! She’s been so worried that you weren’t happy, she keeps–”

And Dex kisses him again. And again. And again.

“Wait, what was that about Farmer worrying about me?”

Chowder frowns. Dex is pretty sure it’s just because he’s not kissing him anymore. “She says you pick fights on purpose to keep certain people at arm’s length, and it’s been keeping you from being happy.”

Now Dex is frowning too. “I don’t–” Chowder gives him a very pointed look. “Ok, maybe I do. Look, if this is about Nurse, it’s not happening. We don’t understand each other, and we never will. We come from places that are too different.”

“But you’re soulmates! Doesn’t that mean anything?” Chris asks.

“It does. And I’ll try to be around him for your sake. It just doesn’t seem to be enough,” Dex tells him.

“I think you guys would get along a lot better if you–both of you–would try. Some people have to wait a long time for their soulmate, and most people only have one. Don’t you think you should be happy about meeting us so early in our lives?” Chowder implores. He’s so earnest, it’s hard for Dex to disagree with him.

“Can you tell him that? He acts like he doesn’t give a shit about anything. Maybe if he actually cared about me I would be nice,” Dex laughs hollowly.

“Dex, you know that’s just how Nursey is. He wants to make people think he doesn’t care so no one can touch him.”

“He should be able to talk to his soulmates! Like, open up or something! If he would just tell me about himself instead of saying what he thinks he knows about me, things would be easier,” Dex huffs. He’s bordering on angry, and he knows he needs to control himself, but it’s getting tough. “I’d be willing to listen, too. God, C, it’s ridiculous. I don’t want to hear him say I somehow have it better than him, I want him to tell me what’s wrong.”

Chowder is…shook. Dex shifts in his spot on Chris’s bed uncomfortably, but Chowder brings their foreheads together and smiles softly.

“Dex, that’s actually really sweet. You care about Nursey more than you let people see, huh?” he whispers. “Maybe we can get Nursey to be more comfortable with us so he’ll open up, ok?”

I love you, Dex thinks. I love you, I love how much you love him, and I think I love him too. “How?” is what he actually says.

“I don’t know yet, but we’ll think of something! And I know Caitlin can help. She and Nursey get along really well, I mean obviously, they’re soulmates too. But their bond is platonic. Anyway! She talks to him all the time! I think they’re at Annie’s together right now. Oh my god Dex we have homework we’re supposed to be studying!!!”

Dex looks down at the laptops they were ignoring. “Oh, yeah. Homework.”

Farmer plays with the little liftable flap on the lid to her chai latte. She takes a sip; it always throws her off just a little bit that something can taste the way that flowers smell. Derek is sitting across from her with his ultra-complicated, ultra-pretentious drink that she couldn’t remember if she tried, looking down at his phone for a second.

“Have I ever told you how my parents met?” she asks, out of nowhere, just because she can.

“No, but it can’t be worse than you and me or you and Chris,” Nursey says. “I bet your dad didn’t mow down your mom in a coffee shop.”

She barks out at short laugh. “Oh, no. My dad was working at this little grocery store, and he’s stocking a shelf when this girl runs up to him and yells ‘WHERE’S THE BATHROOM?’ And he forgets that those are his words, so he just says ‘Near the frozen food section.’ And she yells thanks and keeps running. He had to chase her down in the parking lot.”

“Ok, so that’s less than romantic,” Nursey agrees. “My parents had like, this beautiful fairytale meeting.”

Caitlin waits for him to say more. “My mom never really put much thought into soulmates. She didn’t want someone that was perfect for her, she wanted to build a relationship over time on her own terms. She met my dad in college and he had the same view, so they started dating. They moved to New York together, which was fine, until she was pregnant and he met his soulmate and decided to leave.

“So now she’s alone in Manhattan and pregnant with that asshole’s kid. She was walking out of her apartment building to go to a job interview–with a company she’s now the CEO of, by the way–when she walks right into this other lady. It’s snowing, and she’s super pregnant, and he didn’t even think about how it wasn’t really her fault because the lady was on the phone. She starts apologizing, tells her ‘I wasn’t watching where I was going, I’m so sorry.’ And the lady cups her face and says ‘I’ve finally found you, habibi.’ I’ve heard the story a thousand times. Oh, and then I was born at some point in there.”

Farmer’s floored. She’s never heard Derek talk about his dad before, so hearing it now is jarring. He seems to hate him. Derek’s not one for showing a lot of emotion. This is news.

“That’s really sweet,” Farmer tells him. “And your mom, she believes in soulmates now?”

“After she met Mama, she knew that their bond was worth so much more than anything she could have had with my dad,” Nursey explains. “I was kind of worried my soulmate wouldn’t want me, based off of my words. Mama said you never know, but I’m still not sure that any of this is real.”

Whoa. Get Derek Nurse to talk about his moms and suddenly he’s an open book. Farmer needs to remember this for later.

“It’s real. I promise. But I’m pretty sure we’d still be friends even if we didn’t have a soulbond,” she assures him. “I’m in friend love with you.”

“Aw, I very platonically love you too,” Derek snorts.

“Ok enough mushy shit, I need your help on this stupid essay. I’m not doing so great in my Brit Lit class. I thought it would be easy, reading books I had to read in high school, but I literally can’t stand Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is a big bag of dicks.”

When their break for the holidays comes, Chowder and Farmer both go home. They live in California (in different cities, but they’re about and hour and a half away from each other). They’ll be able to meet each other’s family this year. Dex doesn’t go home until New Year’s Eve because he’s afraid of talking to unnamed family members that are visiting for Christmas about his soulmates. Derek doesn’t ask who.

Derek himself doesn’t go home because there won’t be anyone there. His parents are in…he doesn’t actually remember where they went this year. And there’s no way in in hell he’s going to see his dad.

The rest of the SMH are gone as well. Jack’s in Montreal, Bitty’s in Madison, Shitty’s only in Boston but he’s still not at the Haus. Lardo went with him, of course, and Ransom and Holster are spending Chanukah with Holster’s family and Christmas with Ransom’s. Even Ollie and Wicks are gone. A few guys on the team who don’t live in the Haus and don’t really hang out with the guys are staying, but since they don’t interact with the team much, Derek won’t be seeing them anyway.

Bitty offers to let Nursey and Dex stay in the Haus while everyone is gone. He says that there’s plenty of food in the fridge, and that both Jack and Shitty have said they could use their rooms in addition to Bitty’s, so no one has to sleep on the Couch.

For some reason, probably because he’s an idiot, Nursey agrees. He says he and Dex can dig out Christmas decorations from the basement and celebrate since no one else is there to celebrate with them.

Bitty, of course, is over the moon at the suggestion. He pulls out the decorations early and shows them everything they have, and since Bitty is so excited, Dex has to agree to staying in the Haus with Nursey. He feels a little guilty about it, like he trapped Dex here with him.

After everyone else is gone, Dex gets to work. He starts with lights, stringing them on the roof almost completely by himself–all Nursey has to do is hold the ladder.

After the roof is done, they put out the inflatable Santa that Ransom and Holster had bought one year, despite Holster not celebrating Christmas. There’s a hole in it that Dex ends up covering in red duct tape. There’s also a set of light up reindeer that someone (Lardo) has tediously replaced every single bulb on so that they’re rainbow colors instead of their original white. Dex isn’t sure about putting them out but Derek begs, and he’s not Chowder or Bitty but Dex still couldn’t say no.

Inside, they put on Mariah Carey, make some hot chocolate, and set up the four foot, white artificial tree. The decorations are mostly blue, silver, and gold, courtesy of Shitty insisting that it can’t be a Christmas Tree but instead a ‘non-denominational holiday tree.’ There’s a Star of David for the top, and dreidel shaped ornaments, along with gaudy tinsel and some handmade paper decorations. Each one has a name on it, made by hockey players past and present.

There’s a set of reindeer that are cut outs of different sized hands, with Johnson, Cohen, Berger, and Marsh written on them. There are trees made of popsicle sticks and sequins with Einhardt, Wagner, Ransom, Holster, and B. S. Knight on their short popsicle trunks.

Nursey’s favorites are stocking shaped cut outs that have been decorated with crayon, made by Bitty, Wicks, Ollie, Shitty, Ransom and Holster (yes, they shared a paper stocking ornament), Lardo, and Jack. It’s the only thing on the tree that Jack had a hand in, and he likes the colors Bitty chose.

“We need to make something to put on here,” he says to Dex as he winds a string of blue lights around the middle section of the tree. “Everybody else has something on here. It’s too bad Chowder’s not here to make something, too.”

“What do you have in mind?” Dex asks, completely calm and reasonable. Which is…nice. Derek thinks he likes trying to get along with Dex.

“Maybe we could do pipe cleaner candy canes? We could put beads on them, and tags with our names. They probably have everything we’d need at Walmart,” Derek suggests.

“How are we going to get there? It’s not like the Murder Stop n Shop, it’s not walking distance,” Dex questions. It’s not hostile, like it could be, but Derek treads lightly anyway.

“I have a car. My parents bought it for my eighteenth birthday, to bring with me to school. I don’t usually drive it because there’s no reason to, but we could get to town and back,” he says.

“Your parents just bought you a car?” Dex asks, like it’s a foreign concept, and Nursey can feel that they’re on the verge of a fight.

“It’s nothing special. It’s used, and didn’t even have FM radio when they bought it. They put in a new radio though. They knew I wouldn’t really want some brand new sports car,” he tells Dex.

“God, if they bought you a car for your birthday, what was Christmas like?”

Derek stills. He doesn’t think that Dex wants to hear him complain about how he never celebrated Christmas as a child.

“They didn’t. We never really did Christmas. My mama is Muslim, and Mom was never religious. My dad celebrates Christmas and Kwanzaa, and he sends me something small. I got presents from friends, and a couple teachers. But we didn’t ever have a tree or decorate at all.”

Dex frowns. “No wonder you’re so terrible at putting lights on a tree,” he says, seriously.

“I thought I was doing a pretty good job!” Derek protests. He’s gotten down to the bottom layer, and it looks pretty good to him. Dex grins. “That was a chirp. Damn it. I fell for that!”

“Is that why you want to make ornaments? Because you never got to as a kid?” Dex asks softly. It catches Nursey off guard, because Dex doesn’t do soft. He’s all sharp edges and harsh words.

“I guess. But that’s super depressing and shit. What was December like in your family?” Derek very obviously diverts.

“Well, I’m one of seven, so Christmas was definitely something. My oldest brother, Jeremy, was married with kids by the time I was born, so it’s always been the seven kids, Jer’s wife, and my nieces and nephews. And there are seven of them, too,” Dex recounts. He’s got a small smile on his face. “My parents are fosters, so I was adopted when I was twelve. My sister Shannon was too. We’re twins. But anyway, Jeremy and Matt are biological siblings, and so are Lonnie and Kayleigh, but Linda was an only child.

“Anyway, everyone always got socks, underwear, apples, oranges, and candy in their stocking. And Jeremy and his wife, Dove, always got everyone really great presents. Everybody got one thing from our parents and one thing from Jeremy, and then eventually one thing from Matt, and one thing from Linda. I guess if I go next year I’ll have to get everyone something too.”

“That’s a lot of presents to have to find,” Derek says dumbly.

“Yeah, but it’s pretty easy. I mean, Jeremy and Dove get like, candles and shit, Matt likes football so he’s easy, Linda will love you forever if you get her something for her cats, and Lonnie’s obsessed with Gerard Way so just get her something from Hot Topic and you’re done. Kay’s a little harder, since she’s not sure if she’s done with Barbies yet or not, but she likes Nintendo games.”

“It sounds like you’ve helped your parents with Christmas shopping a lot.”

Dex nods. “No one else wanted to drive an hour to the mall. And those are my dad’s exact words, by the way, about Jer and Dove. Candles and shit.”

Satisfied with the lights, Derek sits down and grabs a mug of cocoa off the coffee table that he’s pretty sure is his. “So are all of your siblings adopted?”

“Yeah,” Dex says, sitting next to him. He picks up the mug that Derek didn’t, so it was probably the right one. “Kay doesn’t know it yet, but they’re surprising her with the papers Christmas Day. And a 3DS. Lonnie overheard Dad on the phone with the lawyer so she already knows.”

“That’s sweet. Are we going to put the ornaments on or wait until we have all of them?” Derek asks. “You know, if we’re going to make something.”

“I guess we can run to Walmart and then finish the tree later.”

They walk to the dorms, where Nursey’s car is parked, and Dex is only a little pissed off.

“Nurse. That’s not a used car, that’s a fucking vintage car. There’s a difference,” he growls. It’s a VW Type 1, with the semi-automatic stamp and everything. “What year is it?”

“’69,” Nursey mumbles.

Unbelievable. This car is beautiful. Dex is jealous. He and Shannon share a beat up old pickup truck back home, and Nurse has this beautiful little bug. “You’re so ridiculous.”

“Can we just go to Walmart?” he whines. “And maybe not make a big deal out my car?”

Will considers his options. They’re getting along well, which is something they don’t do, and Nursey was opening up to him, which is something else that doesn’t normally happen. So he can be a whiny bitch and mess this up, or he can drop the whole car thing and continue getting along with someone who’s supposed to be his soulmate.

“So are we making red and white candy canes or can we do different colors?”

(When the SMH return to the Haus in January, there are matching blue and purple candy canes hanging on the branches of the tree.)

Summer of 2015 is hard. Dex goes home to Main, Nursey is in Manhattan, Farmer’s in Sacramento, and Chris is stuck in San Francisco alone.

So, he’s not aaaall alone. His mom is here, his dad and his baba are here, and his sister, May (and the dog). Her soulmark has just appeared, and she’s so excited. And Chris is…jealous. She gets to anticipate finding her soulmate, and that could happen at any time, while Chris’s soulmates are all so far away. It’s dumb, he knows, but he can’t help it. She doesn’t have to experience this awful pull, this feeling deep inside that wants him somewhere else.

He ignores it as much as he can. He puts on a big smile and tells his family about how much he loves his soulmates and how he can’t wait for them to meet Dex and Nursey.

They already met Farmer over Christmas, of course. And she’s going to hang out with him as much as possible over the summer.

It’s just not the same without Dex and Nursey. Chowder and Dex have been officially dating for seven months; he and Nursey have yet to DTR. He feels like he should have said something at some point in the school year. He doesn’t know why he didn’t, but here he is. Moping about it. He misses them both like crazy, Nursey doesn’t know how he feels, and he’s moody.

The four of them have a regular Skype call once a week, at five in Chowder’s time zone. And they have a group chat that’s mostly memes.

Sometimes, Farmer comes to Chowder’s house for their call. She sits next to him and holds his hand, and tells him it’s alright to miss people and to let others know how you feel. He laughs. He says he’s not Nursey, he’s not repressing things. Then his computer screen lights up and he hits accept, and that’s that. She’ll have to say something about it later.

He kind of is repressing things though? He tries not to think about it too much.

The summer feels too long for Chris. California isn’t home anymore. Home is wherever he can be that Farmer, Nursey, and Dex can also be. He just wants to go home.

When they finally come back, for their first semester as sophomores, things have shifted. Jack and Shitty are gone, Bitty’s different, and there are new Frogs–they’re getting called Tadpoles–who are learning the strange ways of the SMH. Ransom, Holster, and Lardo will graduate this year. Things are tense.

It’s not too far into the year when Derek shows up for breakfast at the Haus and something feels even more off.

When he gets there, Jack and Shitty are both there. Everyone in the Haus is awake, and in the kitchen. Dex is there already, hair ruffled and looking like he just woke up.

Oh. He must have spent the night with Chowder.

He doesn’t dwell on why that hurts. Instead, he looks Dex over again. He’s wearing a blue shirt that fits a lot better than some of his clothes have in the past. He looks…happy, maybe actually almost calm for once.

Chowder comes up behind him and buries his face in Dex’s shoulder, and Dex leans into it. They sit at the table together, waiting patiently for breakfast and holding hands under the table.

Derek balances himself on the door way and stays there until there’s food.

Ransom and Holster are talking animatedly at the table about something. It’s hard to tell what it is, and way too early for that much enthusiasm about anything. He could see that kind of energy from Chowder first thing in the morning, but not Ransom and Holster.

Shitty and Lardo are hovering near the fridge. They also seem to be talking about whatever it is that has the co captains so awake, but they’re much more low key about it.

Jack is helping Bitty with pancakes, which is definitely new. He knows Jack and Bitty took some weird food history class together and made pie for a project, but Derek hasn’t personally seen Jack do anything in the kitchen, like, ever. If Jack and Bitty are maybe a little closer together than normal, he doesn’t notice.

Except he does. Did they hook up or something? It’s chill. He won’t say anything. But he can definitely see that something has shifted.

“Chowder, Dex, Nursey,” Bitty addresses them, “could you boys all go to the living room after breakfast? I’ve got something I want to talk to you about.”

Shit. Is this another attempt to get him and Dex to play nice? He thought they were doing pretty well this year, he thought maybe things might actually work out between them. But obviously either Chowder or Dex himself went to Bitty about it so they weren’t doing as well as he thought.

Derek eats uncharacteristically fast. He knows Chowder and Dex are looking at him, but he wants to get this over with.

“Jacky, Jacky boy, Jacques, it has been too long my bro, fucking light of my life,” Shitty suddenly exclaims, launching himself at Jack’s back.

“Shits, we got brunch together yesterday and slept in the same Haus last night,” Jack deadpans, but he smiles after a moment and relaxes into Shitty. “Yeah, I know, buddy.”

Shitty kisses Jack’s cheek. “I fucking love you man. I can’t stand being so far apart all the time.”

Jack reaches back to put his hand on Shitty’s shoulder as Shitty wraps his arms around Jack’s waist. “You can come visit as much as you want. And actually bring your homework with you.”

“I feel like this should be a fine? But Jack and Shitty aren’t dating?” Holster stage-whispers.

“Bro we’re fucking soulmates leave us alone,” Shitty yells, a bit too close to Jack’s ear.

“What??????”

“BRO WAIT WHAT?”

“BRO WHAT THE FUCK BRO WE LIVED WITH YOU DUDES FOR TWO YEARS AND DIDN’T KNOW THAT?”

Lardo looks at Ransom and Holster skeptically. “You didn’t know? Come on, Shitty slept in Jack’s bed. Naked. With Jack in it.”

“Oh my gosh!! Are you guys platonic?? I mean, I think you are since you’re not dating or anything but I don’t know you could be dating and like we just didn’t know,” Chowder babbles, “Or like maybe you’re not dating because Shitty’s not into heteronormative labels on relationships. I know he’s said that a lot. And like, that’s what he says about Lardo, and–”

“Actually, boys, Jack’s soulmates are what we wanted to talk to you about,” Bitty interrupts.

Derek’s confused. Beyond confused, actually. Jack and Shitty are soulmates? Which means that Shitty also has multiple soulmates like him, Dex, Chowder, and Farmer? And Bitty just said ‘Jack’s soulmates’ so Jack has more than one soulmate too?

“Go on, living room,” Bitty commands.

Derek fumbles his way to the couch and sits in the middle. Chowder sits a respectable distance away from him, but Dex sits reeeeally close. Like, their arms are pressed together close. Bitty and Jack stand in front of them, also really close.

“Jack and I are dating. We’re soulmates,” Bitty says.

“Wow, ok,” Dex says more calmly than Derek would have expected.

“Oh. Cool,” Derek says, just as Chowder jumps, gripping the couch and smacking Derek in the process.

“YOU AND JACK?!!” he gasps. “BITTY, OHMYGOSH. CONGRATULATIONS? HOW LONG?? OH GOD YOU GUYS NEVER DID ANYTHING IN MY ROOM DID YOU?? THAT’D BE LIKE MY PARENTS HA–I’m not going to finish that sentence because it’s gross but GUYS!!!”

Dex smiles fondly. “I’m sure they didn’t bone in your room, Chow. But somebody else did.”

“Dex! Dooooon’t!!!” Chowder whines. “Jack and Bitty are right there!!”

“I thought having multiple soulmates was supposed to be super uncommon,” Derek says. He doesn’t want to dwell on Chowder and Dex flirting in front of him.

“It is, but Samwell just seems to be a place where lots of people do,” Bitty responds.

Shitty appears then. “Actually, I have a theory that everyone in the world has three potential soulmates, but most people only meet one of them. Example, Jack, Nursey, and Chowder all have three soulmates, but Lardo, Ransom, Holster, and Bitty only have one so far, and Dex and I both have two.”

Derek chooses to ignore that Jack has three soulmates. If he doesn’t want to talk about the third one, no one should pressure him to do so.

“That’s so cool!! Shitty, you should write about that or something!!! After you finish school though, because I know you have a lot of work right now,” Chowder tells Shitty with as much enthusiasm as he does everything else.

“Maybe I will, bro.”

So Dex has a problem.

He and Nursey are getting closer, and maybe a little more understanding after spending Christmas together, but it’s just not enough for him. He wants to fall into Chowder’s bed at night and Nursey be there too. He wants the four of them, the boys and Farmer, to all go to Annie’s together instead of him and Chris going and Nurse and Farmer going separately.

He wants to introduce Nursey as ‘my boyfriend, Derek,’ to his parents on Family Weekend. Which is rapidly approaching, so it doesn’t seem like that’ll happen.

He tells Chowder, because he and Chowder actually communicate unlike some people. That’s his biggest problem with Nurse, communication. He and Chowder have the Healthiest Communication. Farmer and Chowder do too. Hell, Dex and Farmer understand each other and talk regularly, and they’re not even soulmates!

He’s running out of ideas, so he decides he’s just going to confront Nursey and hope for the best.

He waits until he knows Nursey doesn’t have class and isn’t with Farmer and goes to his favorite tree. It’s where Nurse goes to clear his head. He says there’s something about sitting on the ground that helps him breathe better, and just think. It’s so fucking pretentious to Dex, but he knows it’s where Nurse will be.

He’s writing furiously in a leather bound notebook when Dex gets there. “Yo, Dexy,” Nursey says without looking up. “Something you need?”

Dex huffs out a short breath. “I’m going to talk and you’re going to listen, alright Nurse?”

Nursey doesn’t say anything, so he continues. “We don’t get along the best, but we’re fucking soulmates. I care about you, ok? And like, I know I don’t get pretty much your entire life, and you don’t get mine, but I’m kind of tired of the back and forth shit. I want to talk shit out. I want to know why you’re the way you are, and I want you to get why I’m the way am.

“I feel like we got a little closer to that last year over Christmas? But it’s not enough. I don’t just want to be civil, I want to actually be close. Like, not friends close. I know you think I’m having some sort of weird internalized homophobia gay crisis thing, but I’m really not. I mean, like, you’ve seen me with Chris. No gay crisis happening here.”

“I think I get it,” Nursey mumbles. He closes his book and looks up at Dex. “Like, I accused you of being super privileged. And that just fucked everything up between us. I get it, I grew up with certain privileges that you didn’t because my parents have money, but you have privileges too.”

“I’ve looked up a little bit about that? Like, microaggression and shit,” Dex tells him, voice small.

“That's…actually kind of cool that you did that?” Nursey stands up. “We can like, talk about it some if you want.”

“Yeah, ok. What else have you had to deal with?”

“Blatant racism, for one. Not like, ‘oh what are you??’ but like being treated as less than, at school, out walking in my home town, and especially playing hockey. I don’t need twenty billion dumb ass hockey players to tell me that black people don’t usually play hockey. I know.

“And there’s Islamophobia even though Mama’s not even really religious. People see a woman with a Hijab and go ‘she’s oppressed and I feel the need to tell her that!’ even though it’s her choice, and they don’t care that there’s a kid with her, they just start screaming. I’ve gotten death threats, and, Jesus, one time, I left the house in a skirt and then regretted everything I did that day.”

“Wait, are you like…trans? Nonbinary?”

“Yeah. Nonbinary. Transphobia fucking sucks, too.”

Dex hums. “Yeah, I know.” Nursey looks at him funny; he feels like this is it, it’s now or never. “I’m trans.”

“Oh, dude, I had no clue. Uh, thank you for trusting me with this moment? And like, me too? But I’m not like–I mean, I’m nonbinary so I’m trans but I guess not in the same way? If that makes sense?”

“You’re floundering, Nurse. You sound like me,” Dex laughs. “I get it. And nonbinary is still trans.”

(In the words of B. Shitty Knight, “Fuck anyone who says genderfluid people, agender people, and enby people aren’t part of the trans community. Fuck ‘em.”)

Dex thinks about the GoFundMe his parents set up for his mastectomy. About telling his parents he was changing his name to theirs but keeping his last name. About his grandparents on his bio dad’s side just fucking off and out of his life when they found out. Sure, he and Nurse obviously had very different experiences with being trans, but this was one way they could relate, for once.

“What, uh, pronouns, do you prefer?”

“He/him is fine. Are your parents supportive?” Nursey asks.

“Oh yeah. My dad cried when I changed my name. By the way, my parents are coming for Family Weekend. My name is William, and so’s my dad’s, so in my family, he’s Will and I’m Liam.”

“So I’m meeting your parents?”

“If you want to,” Dex sputters. “You don’t have to, but it’d be cool if you did.”

Nursey plants a hand down on Dex’s shoulder. “That’s fine, Poindexter.”

“Dad hasn’t said anything about it yet but I think they’re bringing at least one of my sisters. They want to surprise me.”

“Do they know about me and Chris?”

“They do. I have family I don’t want to tell, but it’s not my parents or any siblings,” Dex assures him. “I was hoping I could introduce you as my boyfriend and not my soulmate that I’m super awkward around.”

“That’s chill,” Derek says and then immediately looks like he wants to take it back. “I mean yes. Good. I would also like to be your boyfriend when I meet your parents.”

Dex likes the sound of that. Maybe he doesn’t have a problem after all.

Farmer’s a little caught off guard when she gets to Annie’s for her and Derek’s weekly coffee date and Chris and Dex are there too.

“Did something happen that you guys want to tell me? Does Chowder have another dumb hockey boyfriend?” she asks when she sits down (next to Chowder, across from Nursey). Derek already has her chai latte, and slides it across the table to her.

“No, I just thought it would be nice to all go out together,” Derek explains. “Although. C, do you want another dumb hockey boyfriend? Because, like, I’d be down. We are soulmates.”

Farmer tries not to grin too big. She knows Chris has been waiting MONTHS for Derek to make a move.

Chowder, on the other hand, beams. “Yes! That! Is great! I want to date you!”

“Damn. Christopher Chow has mad game,” Farmer drawls. “Two boyfriends and a girlfriend? How’d you do it?”

Chowder turns red. “Well, you would think the braces would get in my way, but I’m pretty good at eati–”

“Stop talking now you’re ruining the sweet innocent image I have of you in my head,” Derek cuts off. “You can’t just say shit like that.”

“Chill, Nurse,” Dex says.

“Yeah, Nurse. Chill. Chowder’s a big boy, he can have sex if he wants,” Farmer agrees.

Derek looks distressed. “Don’t tell Bitty. It would break his heart. Chowder is his precious angelic son who can do no wrong.”

This? This is fucking nice. All her boys are happy, and Farmer’s happy too. “So, anybody’s parents coming for Family Weekend?”

“Mine are,” Dex says.

“Mine said maybe next year,” Derek sighs.

“Jack and Bitty will be here, does that count?” Chowder asks.

“Yes babe, Jack and Bitty count,” Farmer laughs. “Do I get to meet the Poindexter’s?”

“I’m. Um. My last name is Poindexter but my parents are Shepherds,” Dex corrects. “I kept my biological parents’ last name. I wanted a piece of them to hold onto. My sister did too. Keep their last name, I mean. But yeah you can meet my parents too. Chowder and Nursey are going to.”

“When are they getting here?” she asks, trying not to dwell on something that’s making Dex feel awkward.

“Tomorrow, actually. They’re staying in a hotel not that far from campus.”

“Didn’t you say you thought they might bring a sister or two?” Derek inputs.

Dex nods. “I think it’ll be Shannon.”

“That’s your twin sister right? Do you guys look super alike?” Chowder inquires.

“If you’re asking if her ears are as big as mine, yes,” Dex replies.

“No! That’s not what I meant at all! I guess your ears are pretty big but that’s not a big deal!! You’re cute. I like your ears.”

Derek reaches across and ruffles Chris’s hair. “C, chill. Dexy’s just chirping you.”

Yeah. They’re all happy.

They play against Colgate and kick ass. Dex is in amazing mood when they come out of the locker room, Chowder notices. They meet up with Farmer, and start walking toward Jerry’s. They’re celebrating their win with Dex’s parents, over greasy diner food.

They’re a block away when someone yells “Liam!” and Dex’s eyes light up.

He runs, past Farmer and Chowder who had been slightly in front of them, and jumps into the arms of a middle aged Black man. “Pop!”

There’s a slightly older white man with the man Dex is hugging, who has dark hair streaked with gray.

“Jerome. Don’t keep Liam all to yourself,” the older man chastises, trying to pry Dex off of the man who’s name is apparently Jerome.

“Sorry Dad,” Dex laugh-cries. “I’m just really happy to see you guys.” He unlatches himself from Jerome and hugs the one he called dad.

There’s a girl running up behind them; she’s literally Dex with longer hair. “Hey, I know we’re being super dramatic and extra, but some of us are wearing heels and can’t move as fast,” she huffs. This must be Shannon, Chowder thinks.

“Shan!” Dex gasps, throwing himself at her.

“Hey Liam,” Shannon says softly. “I missed you. I know it’s just been since the summer, but I hate when you’re not at home.”

“Um,” Nursey coughs.

“Oh! Right!” Dex untangles himself from his sister and turns around. “Dad, Pop, Shannon, these are my soulmates, Chris Chow and Derek Nurse, and their soulmate Caitlin Farmer. I’m dating Chowder and Nursey. And Chowder’s dating Farmer, but Nursey’s not.”

Chowder’s a more than a little surprised. When Dex has talked about his parents, he never mentioned that he had two dads.

“Nice to meet you, kids. You can call me Will,” Dex’s dad say, extending a hand first to Nursey, then Chowder, and then Farmer.

“And I’m Jerome,” Dex’s other Dad tacks on. “Liam talks about you all a lot.”

“Pop,” Dex groans. Chowder thinks it’s sweet that Dex talks about him, and he already likes both of Dex’s dads. It’s going to be confusing calling Dex’s dad Will, though.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any baby pictures. Those are all with Liam’s grandma on his mom’s side,” Will tells them. “We do have some awkward middle school photos.”

“Please tell me Dex was emo,” Nursey asks, grinning. They all turn and continue on to Jerry’s.

“Well–”

“DAD NO!” Dex shrieks. Looks like Nursey hit a nerve? He’s really good at doing that to Dex.

Once they reach the restaurant, the conversation has moved to how the four of them met. Dex’s dads both think it’s hilarious that Chowder and Nursey just kept falling on and knocking over soulmates.

“How did you two meet?” Farmer asks.

Jerome smiles. “We played hockey together.”

“Honey. You’re leaving out almost everything good about the story,” Will protests. “Ok. So, Jerome got picked on by some of the older boys on the team, and I waited until the locker room was almost empty and sat down next to him and said ‘Hey man, those guys are all douche bags.’”

“I was so amazed that he had just said my words that I looked up and blurted out the first thing that came to my mind,” Jerome continues.

Will lifts up his arm and shows them inside of his forearm. ‘You have really pretty eyes,’ is what his skin says. “It was sweet.”

“It was stupid,” Jerome argues. “Can you believe that? I just met the love of my life and all I could think of was that his eyes were pretty.”

This reminds Chowder of something, but he’s not sure what.

“Babe, it’s not stupid. I like that you like my eyes. It’s better than you having to be stuck with douche bag on your body for your entire life,” Will counters.

“Here we go,” Dex and Shannon say at the same time.

“Yeah but that’s meaningful? You were trying to comfort me?”

Will frowns. “Babe, it’s meaningful that you thought my eyes were pretty.”

“I still think they’re pretty!”

“You don’t say it,” he mumbles.

“Chill? I don’t have to say it. It’s right there on your arm.”

Oh. Chowder knows what this reminds him of now. It’s kind of adorable, though. Dex is just like his dad, and Nursey is scarily similar to Dex’s pop.

“Wow Dex, this is really weird,” Nursey points out. “It’s like looking into the future.”

“What’s weird? What do you mean?” Dex fires back waaay too quickly and way too angrily.

Chowder and Farmer lock eyes. “Here we go.”

#nurseydex #polyfrogs #charmer #william poindexter #derek nurse #chris chow #caitlin farmer #eric bittle #jack zimmermann #b shitty knight #ransom and holster #lardo duan #dex's dads #my lobster son

[hotspotsmagazine]

It’s Not Over Till It’s Over: Sean Hayes Talks ‘Will & Grace’

Where would our queer world be without Will & Grace?

That’s where my head was just before Sean Hayes phoned, recalling my lonely teen years, when gay white men on TV alone — here’s to evolved representation! — was unprecedented and life-changing for people like 15-year-old, closeted me.

It’s not enough, then, to say Hayes, 48, portrays Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom, because some roles become legend, upstaging even the actor giving him life. Jack is one such character.

And so, a call from Hayes is like being a kid and spotting your fifth-grade teacher at the grocery store: It doesn’t quite feel real. And yet Hayes is a real man with a real life and even a real husband, music producer Scott Icenogle. But to the late-’90s TV landscape, it was the actor’s half-fiction as Jack and his exploding-rainbow persona that cut through heteronormative programming with gay jokes even your grandma could get down with.

And then, there’s Karen.

You obviously don’t need me to needlessly ramble on about Jack’s socialite best friend (played by Megan Mullally), who never met a martini she didn’t like. You know her, you love her. And together they truly make all of our friends out to be absolute fucking bores. The sitcom’s recent revival reinstated #friendshipgoals when the snarky pals, along with titular housemates Will (Eric McCormack) and Grace (Debra Messing), came swishing back to NBC in September 2017 for a ninth season after ending its initial 1998–2006 run.

Hayes isn’t Jack, exactly. But you might be fooled if he called you, too. His usually-unflashy voice sometimes picks up wind and takes on the kind of rapid-fire cadence his famous Cher-worshiping alter ego is known for. With Season 10 premiering October 4 and Season 9 now available on DVD and digital, I caught up with Hayes to talk about those who’ve long criticized Jack for being “stereotypically” gay, the history of the legendary Karen-Jack slap fights, and who helped him be OK with being gay.

It’s hard to put into words exactly what it feels like to talk to the man who gave me such an iconic gay character when I needed it most.

Oh my god. That’s so sweet. I really appreciate that. And you just answered the reason why when people ask me what’s the best part about playing it — that’s the best part.

Is it?

One-hundred percent.

When did you first realize Will & Grace had impacted the LGBTQ community the way it has?

Just a couple of weeks ago! [Laughs.] No, I’m joking. You know what’s so funny — first of all, you have no idea how much that means to me, you saying how much I mean to you. It means equally as much to me, so thank you.

So when did I know I had an impact? I think when I was young and doing the show I was so wrapped up in myself, in acting, in getting the part: “Am I going to get fired? Am I gonna learn my lines?” I was just happy to have a job.

It’s such a fascinating thing to discuss, and I’m so glad you asked. I felt normal growing up, so when I got a job, playing a gay character on a television sitcom I just thought, “Oh, I just have to be me, kind of, a heightened version of myself.” I didn’t think it would have that much of an impact because of the bubble I grew up in. I surround myself with people who are accepting of me, so naively I was like, “The rest of the world must be OK with it.”

I mean, I knew the stories [about homophobia] out there. I grew up and knew [being gay] wasn’t accepted, but I just didn’t think on any big level it was any big deal. So, that gave me the confidence to play Jack as outrageously as I could because, again, I’m surrounded by writers and actors — everybody else — who embrace this, so I felt loved, I felt supported and I felt confidence. So, I wasn’t heading to work thinking about how this is going to affect anybody.

[That] was a wonderful byproduct later, and I was like, “Oh, ohh!” And once it started, and all the press and blah blah blah, and we never got any backlash for being political in that sense, meaning how they politicized gay people, which is wrong. That’s another interview.

WILL & GRACE — “The Wedding” Episode 110 – Pictured: (l-r) Eric McCormack as Will Truman, Debra Messing as Grace Adler, Sean Hayes as Jack McFarland — (Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank)

Over the years, people have criticized Jack for being “flamboyant.” How aware were you of that concern when the show returned for its revival season?

Oh, I never heard that. This is the first time hearing it. So, you’re saying people were worried, but I was playing him — I call it “outrageous” because “flamboyant” means a certain type of gay person, I think, and that’s another conversation to have. I was playing him as outrageously as I was before. So, people were concerned that I was playing him a certain way?

People wondered if Jack was too stereotypical for TV in 2018 and expressed some concern over what the straight community might think of us.

I think that’s [internalized] homophobia. Because I know people like Jack, because one part of me is like Jack, and so if you’re saying people in the gay community were concerned that I was playing Jack a certain way and people would “worry” that gay people act like that, they do act like that. And there’s people who act like Will. There are people on all spectrums of human behavior in the gay community, just like there are people on all spectrums of human behavior in the straight community, so I nix that, and I say “bye” to that — I say, “Bye, Felicia!” — because that doesn’t make any sense to me.

Similarly, the character of Cam on Modern Family was criticized for being an over-the-top and exaggerated version of what a gay person is. And I’m like, what exactly is a gay person supposed to be in 1998 or 2018?

Yeah, exactly. What are they supposed to be? And by the way, they are exaggerated, some of them. And so are straight people. Look at Jim Carrey, look at Robin Williams. There are lots of straight people who are exaggerated as well. I hate that argument — no, I’m glad you brought it up. I’m just saying I love talking about it, because it’s ridiculous.

As a kid coming to terms with being gay, who was your person?

If you’re talking about a famous person, Andy Bell [of Erasure]. Because I was in college and I was 17, 18, and I was shocked that somebody was out and proud, making a living in the arts or in pop culture by being who they are and not apologizing for it. I thought that was mind-blowing. “A Little Respect” was the No. 1 song on the radio, and I was like, “Wait, the guy is gay, and everybody is OK with that?”

The truth is, not a lot of people knew [Bell was gay] because we didn’t have the internet. But I knew, and all my gay friends knew. And I was like, “That’s amazing.” So that was inspiring to me, that you could be gay and make a living by singing, acting, whatever.

What has it been like to be a part of a show that has existed during two very different times, culturally and politically, for the LGBTQ community?

First, I feel very fortunate and lucky to be part of the chorus of the movement. I may not be a single voice, but I’m enjoying being a part of the chorus. And I think we’re lucky to have the voice and the representation for people to talk about it again, because I don’t think it should ever stop being talked about because everything is not OK. There are still gay kids being bullied. Look at that [gay] couple [that was assaulted] in Florida in the bathroom during [Miami Beach Gay] Pride. It just doesn’t end. The hate doesn’t end overnight.

So, we have to keep doing things, and again, my contribution may not be as an activist, because I just don’t feel comfortable doing that, it’s not who I am. It’s not in my blood, it’s not in my DNA to stand at a podium and speak in sound bites about how we need to prevail over the government and the system. I leave that to people who are good at it — I’m not good at it.

What I’m good at is being comfortable in my own skin and showing people that I have a husband, and we make stupid Facebook videos and try to show people that we’re as normal as any other human. I try to do my best at that.

So, I’m happy the show is back because there’s still tons of work to do. The power of comedy is so incredible; that’s why we broke so many boundaries the first time. And hopefully we can continue to do that.

Megan Mullally has said that you’re her “second husband,” after her real husband, Nick Offerman. How does your chemistry with Megan after all these years compare to the first time that you stepped onto set and shot the pilot?

It’s so funny that she calls me her second husband because Nick and I were born on the exact same day, same year, about 30 miles apart. Isn’t that hilarious?

But it’s like working with your sister. There’s a shorthand that nobody else would understand. So, it’s like, “I’m gonna do this,” and she’s like, “I’m gonna do that,” and then we just do it together. And there it is. So, we now know how to cut through all the stuff that you need to [cut through] to get to a comedic moment in a scene. And that’s what’s great about all this time that’s passed: I understand her, she understands me, we understand each other, so the chemistry has only gotten hotter.

Tell me the history of the slap fights between Karen and Jack.

There’s an episode called “Coffee and Commitment,” where Jack is trying to get off of coffee and Karen’s trying to quit alcohol. That was the first time we slapped each other. On paper, it was just, “Karen slaps Jack, Jack slaps Karen.” But of course, [Will & Grace Director] Jimmy Burrows, who is incredible at physical comedy, said, “Let’s make a dance out of this.”

So, we rehearsed the rhythm of it. I think that’s what makes you laugh — that’s what makes me laugh: the pauses and then the slapping again and then the pause and the slap-slap. It’s music, so you have to rehearse the beats and the rhythms in order to get that. [Laughs.] It makes me laugh even thinking about it.

What do you envision for Jack’s future?

Well, I don’t want him to change too much because our friends are our friends from high school because they never change, right? Maybe get married, but still remain Jack somehow, or find a long-term relationship. Or maybe — maybe! — there’s someone close in his own life that might be a suitable partner for life. Who knows?

Will?

I have no idea.

Could you see them together?

Could I see Will and Jack together? Maybe!

You’ve said you want to see him with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Just so you know, I’m here for it.

I think that would be a hilarious episode, and I hope Dwayne comes to his senses and comes to the Will & Grace [set] to play and have a good time.

from Hotspots! Magazine https://hotspotsmagazine.com/2018/07/12/its-not-over-till-its-over-sean-hayes-talks-will-grace/

[trentteti]

The Logical Rose-ning Section: Your Recap of The Bachelorette, Episode 4

Rachel Lindsay is a practicing attorney who once took the LSAT. And you, dear reader, are an aspiring attorney who will soon take the LSAT, Rachel Lindsay is also an aspiring married person, serving as the Bachelorette on this season of The Bachelorette, the love story these depraved times deserve. And you, dear reader, may also be an aspiring married person? Either way, you definitely have at least a few things in common with Rachel. So every Tuesday, we’re going to be tracking Rachel’s romantic journey on The Bachelorette, and see what we can learn about love, loss, and the LSAT. Welcome back to the Logical Rose-ning Section.

Last time: Well, we’ve been deprived of quality Bachelorette time these last two weeks as lesser competitions like the NBA Finals dominated the airwaves. In the meantime, we learned about how Rachel actually dated NBA Finals MVP Kevin Durant in college … and that the producers may have committed gross negligence during the filming of spin-off Bachelor in Paradise, which allegedly led to a situation that is in no way humorous or romantic or anything these shows attempt to be. This resulted in legal action and the cancelation of BIP. With this distance and the intervening news stories, it’s tough to remember, say … the men grinding on the unwitting audience of The Ellen Degeneres Show or professional wrestler Pretty Boy Pitbull Kenny losing a wrestling match or Lee leaning into that Richard Spencer haircut of his.

Lee the Racist Leatherfaced Snake Person

We immediately pick up from last week, with Lee attempting to cut down Eric, Kenny, and Josiah. What do these three guys have in common that might not jibe with noted racist Lee? No idea. Anyway, as Lee attempts to manipulate these guys, he becomes increasingly desperate and volatile.

When Kenny attempts to have some one-on-one time with Rachel, Lee purposefully misunderstands Kenny’s request for “60 more seconds” with Rachel as a request for “16 more seconds” with Rachel, a duration of time no one has ever asked for, ever. Lee, upon pulling this “trick,” looks child who just tricked his parents into letting him go to bed at 9:30.

Dean and Brady pick up on Lee’s treachery. If Rachel doesn’t already pick up on Lee’s increasingly sweaty appearance and deranged actions, or the contestant’s growing antipathy for him, or his racist beliefs, then hopefully she realized she’s dealing with a horrible person once he gifted her a Manson-sque carving of “ENCHANTING” on a wood block.

That looks like it was a made by deranged serial killer who drank two pots of coffee and then used his left hand to engrave. It looks like it was made by a person trying to accurately replicate how he wrote as a kindergartner. It looks the last thing you see in a slasher film before Lee the Racist Leatherfaced Snake crashes through a window to slay himself a wife.

Lee absolutely dominates this episode as the editors set him up as this season’s villain. It’s really too bad that Rachel, who is among the smartest, most successful, and self-assured Bachelorettes this show has ever had, doesn’t get the typical villain who, like, gets a little too confident and drunk and flirty. She has to deal with this bigoted sweat gland of a human as her season’s villain, who views the manipulation of the non-white contestants as his right.

Rachel, of course is very perceptive, and seems to sense that Lee might not have the most enlightened beliefs or people skills. At this thought, she gets emotional—for the first time, she is a loss of words—about the pressures she faces as the first black Bachelorette. She mentions the harsh judgment she’ll receive for the decisions she has to make on the show. She also says she alone will face this judgment. Later, at the rose ceremony, Lee gets a rose. It’s hard not to see this sequence and think that she broke down at the producers’ insistence that she keep the Lee on to continue to fill the show’s drama quotient. Again, after the producers showed really bad judgment during Bachelor in Paradise, it’s hard to not assume they’re acting with the worst of intentions here.

Chris Harrison, scratching and crawling his way back onto the camera after being an afterthought this entire season, promises to “facilitate anything” that Rachel wants. He then does the only thing that seems to be within his powers as the nominal host of this show, which is to cut the cocktail party short and go straight to the rose ceremony.

Rose Ceremony

Smash cut to the rose ceremony, where Will, Dean, Jonathan the Tickle Predator, Piggo Mortensen, Adam (still don’t know who this is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), Bryan, Matt (don’t know this dude either), Josiah, Jack Stone, Iggy, Pretty Boy Pitbull Kenny, and Lee get the red rose of continued camera time. They join Eric and Peter, who already received date roses. This means that the elfin Bryce, the similar but slightly less elfin Brady, and Diggy must say goodbye. These contestants bid adieu to Rachel, and then walk solemnly to the cannon where Chris Harrison fires them in the general direction of their hometowns.

One-on-one date with Dean

This week’s episode was brought to us by the tourism board of Hilton Head, an island off the coast of South Carolina. The contestants travel to the island, which steadfastly kept its name despite the disreputable associations it conjured during the Paris Hilton sex tape scandal of the early aughts. Once on Hilton Head Island, do we learn about the island’s strategic importance during the Civil War? The rich culture and history of its Gullah inhabitants? The island’s lowcountry cuisine? Nope! We learn about blimps.

Dean, who looks like a laboratory-engineered contestant for this show, gets the one-on-one date with Rachel. They drink champagne on the hood a jeep when the Goodyear blimp, in all of its old-timey, slow-moving glory, approaches them with a message that their “ride is here.” 36 hours later, the blimp lands and they hop aboard.

Rachel, adorably, had a childhood fascination with blimps, which she referred to as “b’imps.” Dean, afraid of heights, struggles to repress images of the Hindenburg.

Rachel, doing the last thing someone who has a fear of blimps would want her to do, takes the wheel (Joystick? Old-fashioned lever and pulley operation?) of the blimp and manages to not immediately imperil the passengers. The pilot then lets Dean pretend that he’s controlling the blimp like a big boy. Dean and Rachel then step three feet away from the pilot in the back of the cockpit to enjoy a quasi-intimate moment.

The blimp then flies by the hotel the other contestants are staying at with the message “Ice Cube’s a pimp” “Dean and Rachel 4 ever.” The last thing these insecure knuckleheads need is an airborne advertisement of Rachel’s intimacy with another guy. They try to reassure themselves that Dean is younger and handsomer than they are … which in their warped minds is a bad thing.

Dean gets the date rose. Rachel and Dean then go to concert by something called Russell Dickerson. These live performances by D-level musicians are a staple of one-on-one dates, but who are they for? The musician looks like he is just trying to get through a contractually-obligated performance that will maybe net him $14.73 of new spins on Spotify. The Bachelorette and contestant look uncomfortable as props in a live show. And the crowd of 37 Craigslist extras look just as confused about what a Russell Dickerson is as the rest of us. Anyway, successful date!

Group Date

Afterwards, we move onto the group date, featuring Alex, Anthony, Piggo Mortensen, Bryan, Jonathan, Adam, Matt, Kenny, Lee, Iggy, Eric, Will, Josiah. This leaves Jack Stone with the one-on-one date, which is shelved for another episode.

This massive gaggle of guys are invited to a boat to see Hilton Head Island. The dudes bring out their best boat attire, but none better than Josiah, who wears flood pants high enough that his cuffs would stay bone dry even if their boat sunk to the bottom of the Port Royal Sound.

On the boat, the dudes have a dance off, a rap off, and eventually a shirt off competition. During the rap battle, Piggo calls Rachel a “girl from the hood” keeping with the theme of racist nonsense in this episode. Dude, her dad has been a federal judge for like 20 years.

The guys then are compelled to do a spelling bee. Josiah brags about his vocabulary, but can’t immediately think of a word to describe the vastness of his lexicon. My favorite words are wordy words that describe wordy words, so let me help you out Josiah: brag about your vocabulary full of recondite, grandiloquent, abstruse, recherché, and arcane words next time.

Some guys get easy words like “passion” and “façade.” Other guys get words that are literally impossible to spell, like “boutonniere.” Josiah, as promised, wins the spelling bee. The only thing higher than his IQ is the hem of his drawers.

What these dudes would have scored on the LSAT

This episode really focused on these dudes’ smarts, which allows us to surmise what they would have scored on their LSAT. Here are a few educated guesses:

Dean is perceptive, picks up on Lee’s lack of respect right away, and is able to calmly articulate that into the producer without saying anything regrettable himself. He seems like he is able to absorb information and make the proper deductions. 168.

Jack Stone stumbled into a conversation and thought Dean was referring to the other contestants’ “corks,” not “quirks.” 143.

Bryan, in response to Rachel’s query that Bryan’s charm seems too good to be true: “It’s a fairy tale.” Bryan, in response to Rachel’s retort that it is not a fairy tale: “It’s real, it’s 1000% real. I promise you.” 138.

Iggy, during the spelling bee, mixes up “boudoir” with “Bordeaux” (which he also spells incorrectly), which leads me to believe he is prone to equivocation fallacies and sloppy mistakes. 141.

Eric misses four out of the six words in “façade.” Missing four out of six questions on the December 2016 LSAT would net Eric a 136.

Back to the Group Date

During the cocktail portion of the group date, Piggo establishes pole position in this group, as he and Rachel start to discuss living arrangements. Rachel is apparently licensed to practice in Wisconsin, allowing her to move to Piggo’s hometown of Madison. This surprises Piggo Mortensen, but Wisconsin lets experienced attorneys from every other jurisdiction practice there, so basically every attorney is licensed to practice cheese curd law or whatever the main legal industry in Wisconsin is.

Meanwhile, the other dudes use their time with Rachel to question the motives of other guys in the house. Iggy brings up doubts about Josiah. Josiah brings up how Iggy admitted to shooting steroids into his testicles.

Lee brings up Kenny. Kenny brings up Lee. Things get heated between an increasingly frustrated Kenny (who, embracing the hottest term of January 2017, calls Lee “an alternative facts piece of garbage”) and an increasingly inebriated Lee. It looks like everything is about to come to a head until … duh duh duh … they hit us with the third consecutive “TO BE CONTINUED …”

What we learned about love

The journey to find love is a perilous journey best traveled via outdated and dangerous airships from the 1920s.

What we learned about loss

There’s no shame in losing a spelling bee, provided you get most of the letters of your word correct.

What we learned about the LSAT

These dudes would not do well on the LSAT, but Rachel? Probably very well, although the exact score is still undetermined.

The Logical Rose-ning Section: Your Recap of The Bachelorette, Episode 4 was originally published on LSAT Blog

#LSAT #The Bachelorette #The Logical Rose-ning Section #trent teti #lsat

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Superman & Lois Episode 2 DC Comics and Movie Easter Eggs and References

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This article contains Superman & Lois spoilers.

There’s no question that Superman & Lois really knows its stuff. The first episode was a genuine love letter to Superman history, and proved once and for all that you can do a faithful, reverent take on the Man of Steel legend without just retreading stuff people have seen a thousand times.

Superman & Lois episode 2 digs a little bit deeper for its lore, but once again pulls tons of terrific deep cuts from both DC Comics and the character’s history in movies and on TV.

Here’s everything we found…

Captain Luthor

Captain Luthor is from a world that was ravaged by an evil Superman (one wearing the black suit that we saw him wear on Elseworlds). Could this mean that this Luthor is from a world similar to Earth-3 in DC Comics, where the people we know as heroes are in fact evil and vice versa? If so, Captain Luthor could be Alexander Luthor, the power-suited and heroic champion of Earth-3 who fought against an evil Justice League known as the Crime Syndicate.

We have much more about Captain Luthor right here.

Human Defense Corps

One of the soldiers working with General Sam Lane is referred to as “Rosetti.” Could this be Colonel Reno Rosetti of DC’s Human Defense Corps? I think so, especially since it leads into…

7734

The mysterious 7734 is more than just “HELL” in numeric and backwards form. Its existence dates back to the Superman: New Krypton special, which kicked of a massive saga in the comics that eventually culminated in War of the Supermen.

There, 7734 was indeed the brainchild of Sam Lane, and it was meant to keep the planet safe from Superman-style extraterrestrial enemies. It blended military expertise with Lex Luthor-esque super science, so you can see how/why Captain Luthor might have been involved on his world.

Morgan Edge

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It’s not often that we get an Arrowverse character created solely by the legendary Jack Kirby, but that’s Morgan Edge! Edge first appeared in Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen #133 in 1970. This isn’t Edge’s first turn in the Arrowverse, having been played by Adrian Pasdar on Supergirl already. This appears to be a different Morgan Edge than the one Pasdar played (who ended his Supergirl run as a known criminal rather than the shady vulture capitalist we see here), which is certainly a result of changes made to reality in the wake of Crisis on Infinite Earths (like the recasting of Sam Lane and his warmer relationship with Clark and the very existence of Jordan Kent and the aging up of the boys to teenagers).

Chrissy Beppo

The character of Chrissy Beppo is a new creation for the show, but her name harkens back both to the classic Superman comics and to the trailblazing CW superhero series Smallville, albeit by way of the comics. The Smallville Legends web series expanded the universe of the show and featured a Smallville Ledger columnist named Christopher James Beppo.

The Beppo name comes from Superman comics of the 1960s, where it turned out that Jor-El had used a Kryptonian monkey as a test subject for the rocket that sent Kal-El to Earth. Beppo the Super-Monkey (look, the Silver Age of Comics was a weird time, ok?) eventually made his way to Earth, gained powers, and served alongside the Legion of Super-Heroes in the Legion of Super Pets. No, I am not making this up. This wasn’t even the 12th weirdest thing in Superman comics between roughly 1950 and 1969, so don’t @ me (or do!)

There’s another big Smallville connection, too…

Mayor George Dean

The sharp-eyed folks at the ever-reliable Kryptonsite pointed out that Mayor George Dean is played by Eric Keenleyside. And while Mayor “Dean” could possibly reference former TV Superman Dean Cain of Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman fame, he has a more direct connection to the Superman mythos, however minor.

Keenleyside played Chloe Sullivan’s father in a deleted scene from the Smallville pilot. He later turned up as “Mike the Bartender” in a single episode of Smallville season 2, “Suspect.”

Man of Steel

The music all through this show evokes the mood of Hans Zimmer’s excellent Man of Steel score, but it’s particularly noticeable in the Fortress of Solitude scenes. Additionally, the idea that it was a depletion of natural resources that started Krypton’s eventual spiral into destruction is something from the comics, but that was really spotlighted well in Man of Steel.

But speaking of that Fortress…

The Fortress of Solitude

The Fortress of Solitude looks slightly more claustrophobic than the way we’ve seen it portrayed on Supergirl in the past (where it featured the statues of Jor-El and Lara, a whole bunch of visible Kryptonian tech, and even a Legion flight ring) but hopefully we get to see more of it in the future. That being said, the color is consistent with the way we’ve seen it elsewhere in the Arrowverse and it’s still appropriately cold and icy looking.

The notion of using a sunstone crystal to operate a control panel that produces a hologram of Jor-El (more on him in a minute) who functions as the AI of the Fortress of Solitude as well as Kryptonian history teacher originated with 1978’s Superman: The Movie, which is not only incredibly influential on this show, but has seen elements of it increasingly adopted by the comics as well.

That holographic map of Kryptonopolis looks pretty cool, too. I can’t attest to whether or not this is the first mention of Kryptonopolis in the Arrowverse (we’ve had plenty of talk of Kandor and Argo City, of course).

Also, in the Son of Superman story by Peter Tomasi and Patrick Gleason which helped introduce Jon Kent in the comics, Clark does indeed take his son to the Fortress for evaluation after he first starts to display his powers. Only there it’s a much younger Jonathan (since Jordan has yet to be introduced in the pages of DC Comics).

Jor-El

That’s Angus McFayden (Braveheart) as Jor-El and he looks pretty cool in the role. It’s only recent portrayals of the character that have given him facial hair, which has also become the standard in the comics, too (in the past, Jor-El often looked pretty much indistinguishable from his son). Even though Clark said in the previous episode that his mom made him the costume (at least that cool early version we saw), it’s important to note that the “S” is still very much intended as the family crest of the House of El, just as it has been established on Supergirl.

There’s one other neat touch on Jor-El’s costume that feels like another nod to Superman: The Movie, though. The black and white color scheme is very similar to how Marlon Brando’s Jor-El dressed in that film, and in particular, the white sections of the costume reflect light in a way that’s very reminiscent of those costumes. It’s really cool.

New Carthage

Lois makes reference to some failed investments that Morgan Edge made in New Carthage. New Carthage is a fictional town in the DC Universe, roughly located around upstate New York like Poughkeepsie or New Paltz or somewhere. And like that latter college town, it’s the home of Hudson University, where Dick Grayson went to college. Folks, if this show is gonna keep dropping Batman deep cuts, I’m just gonna have to keep pointing ’em out!

Batman? Is that you?

On that note…Moldova is a real country, albeit one that was parodied/fictionalized as “Moldavia” in the very first episode of the 1966 Batman TV series, “Hi Diddle Riddle.” If you want to include the “Rory’s First Kiss” joke on the movie marquee from episode 1, this is the second Batman Easter egg on the show. No? Too much?

Friday Night Lights

The Smallville High football team is coached by “Coach Gaines.” Gary Gaines was the Permian Panthers football coach who was played by Billy Bob Thornton in Friday Night Lights. Helbing has also pointed out the Friday Night Lights vibes they want to evoke on this show with its football sequences, and how Lois and Clark handle small town parenting.

Conduit

The Sequoia movie theater has some graffiti that seems to be the initials BK or KB. Could this be Kenny Braverman, the supervillain known as Conduit who knew Clark had powers back in Smallville? OK, fine, I’m probably reaching here.

Miscellaneous Stuff…

The moving company that the Kents use to move from Metropolis to Smallville is called “Change of Pace” with the slogan “Go anywhere, anytime.” This may or may not be an echo of a sentiment Superman & Lois showrunner Todd Helbing expressed to me in a recent interview about the decision to move Superman’s base of operations. “The way we approached it was, if Flash is the guardian of Central City and Supergirl is the guardian of National City, Superman is the guardian of the world,” Helbing says. “So it really doesn’t matter where Superman’s based. He can fly anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds. Once you understand that, it really doesn’t matter where his home turf is… it could be anywhere.”

The post Superman & Lois Episode 2 DC Comics and Movie Easter Eggs and References appeared first on Den of Geek.

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Supernatural Series Finale: Why Dean’s Fate Works

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This Supernatural article contains MAJOR spoilers for the series finale.

A lot of fans were hoping that Supernatural would end the way its penultimate episode ended, with Sam and Dean literally driving off into the sunset in the Impala, to new and unknown adventures. When it comes time to re-watch the series (a hefty undertaking, considering there are 15 seasons of it!) no doubt many will choose to stop there; the episode even has a series finale-style montage of moments from across its 15 years to go with that classic conclusion.

But Supernatural didn’t end with “Inherit The Earth.” In a show where death was in danger of losing all meaning, it was never really going to be over until we’d seen the Winchesters finally die, for good, we really mean it this time, no take-backsies. Sam and Dean have watched each other die, grieved each other, and brought each other back from the other side so many times that we needed to see them reach their final rest, in a much-improved new Heaven, without demon deals or miraculous resurrections or angel rescues or anything else. When Dean gets Sam to agree not to try to bring him back, there’s an almost palpable sense of relief, as sad as it is. No more deals, no more accidentally ending the world trying to save each other. Just a normal, human death (fighting vampires).

And just as we needed to see the Winchester boys die to really get closure, it had to be Dean who died young, leaving Sam to live out a long and apparently happy life before joining his big brother at last.

There were several reasons it had to be this way. One reason is to honor creator Eric Kripke’s original planned ending for the show without simply replicating it. As many fans know, the series was supposed to end with the season five finale, “Swan Song,” which ended Kripke’s original arc plot, but it was renewed and The Magician‘s Sera Gamble took over as showrunner (followed in later years by first Jeremy Carver, then Andrew Dabb and Robert Singer). In Kripke’s finale, Sam died (he went to the Cage with Lucifer riding his body, along with Adam and Michael) and Dean retired to live a family life with his girlfriend, Lisa, and her son, Ben. Repeating the same ending – Sam dying and Dean trying to move on – would have felt redundant. But reversing it, so Dean dies young and Sam has to move on and start a new life with a wife and son but without his brother? That honors Kripke’s original ending without pointlessly repeating it.

No offense to Kripke, but it has to be said: it makes a lot more sense this way around anyway. Since the very beginning of the series, Sam has been the one trying to escape the hunting life they were raised in and settle down with a family, while Dean has always been a hunter through and through – and hunters don’t usually die in their beds of old age. In the pilot episode, Sam has a girlfriend he loves and a career plan, all of which gets taken away from him when Jessica is killed and Dean comes asking for help. When Dean spent a year in Purgatory, Sam found another girlfriend, Amelia, and a dog, and tried to settle down.

But when Dean spent a year living with Lisa and Ben while Sam was gone, he didn’t adjust too well. He was always on edge, looking out for things to hunt, never quite settled. While he resents Chuck’s dismissal of him as a “killer,” Dean did always get more out of the hunting life than Sam did, taking satisfaction in it as a calling and even enjoying some aspects of life on the road. Dean was his father’s son, and a hunter born and bred; Sam took after their mother a bit more, with more of a yearning to be able to give up that life and rest.

Of course, Sam doesn’t necessarily give up hunting all together, as we see him answer a call for help made to “Dean’s other other phone.” He is also, presumably, married to another hunter. The writers have been carefully setting up Sam and Eileen’s relationship throughout this final season, giving Sam a possible future family. Whether the actress was unavailable, or whether they simply made a choice to focus on just the boys and Bobby (and, randomly, Jenny the vampire) for this finale, the blurry woman in the background while Sam is playing with his son could easily be Eileen, as she seems to be right height with the right hair color, and Eileen is as much a hunter as the Winchesters. So Sam is probably still hunting – but perhaps it forms just a part of his life now, rather than the whole of it. The way he left the bunker and turned out all the lights certainly suggests he’s not living there any more, and perhaps that he’s exploring other things as well.

While Sam was being carefully set up with a future family all season, Dean hasn’t had any really significant relationships outside of Sam, Castiel, and Jack for years. While he was a rampant womanizer in earlier seasons, this was later toned down, and his last romantic interest was Amara – and that was a rather complicated relationship. When Castiel tells Dean “I love you” and sacrifices himself two episodes before the end in “Despair,” it’s left up to viewers to decide whether he means it romantically or platonically – but it’s undeniable that, Sam being his brother and Jack his surrogate son, Castiel is by far the closest thing Dean has had to a love interest in years.

And Castiel is an angel – he belongs in Heaven. It was a bit disappointing not to see him there to greet Dean, considering how big a part of the show Misha Collins has been for eleven years, but Dabb clearly wanted to focus as much as possible on the Winchesters themselves, and avoid taking away from the welcome appearance of Original Bobby. Bobby confirms that Jack brought Castiel back from the Empty and that both of them worked on re-shaping Heaven, so he is around, along with Dean’s parents, Bobby himself – just about everyone Dean loves except Sam. Sam has ties on Earth, people to go to and to care about. Almost Dean’s whole world, except for Sam, is already in Heaven.

Some fans may have been surprised at what took Dean out in the end – a random bit of bad luck during a random mission against some anonymous vamps and a first season character who’s barely remembered (Jenny was turned into a vampire and then escaped the Winchesters in season one’s twentieth episode “Dead Man’s Blood,” in case you were wondering).

But that, too, was the way it had to be. We’ve seen the Winchesters psych themselves up for apparent suicide missions many times, and in several cases they’ve even died. But in the end, as in real life, Dean doesn’t know this is the day he’s going to die when he wakes up in the morning. He’s on a hunt and he just runs out of luck, like so many others before him. And even this was foreshadowed early on. It’s easy to forget that the Winchesters’ first real brush with death came long before Sam stupidly turned his back on a still living enemy and a knife in season two’s “All Hell Breaks Loose,” and before Dean ended up in a coma following a car crash in the same season’s “In My Time Of Dying.”

No, Dean’s first near-death experience came in the first season episode “Faith,” the episode that introduced the Reapers and which was one of the earliest episodes to set the tone and themes for much of the rest of the series – and it’s one of Kripke’s favourites. Most of the episode is dedicated to Sam’s desperate attempts to save Dean from impending death as a result of heart damage due to electrocution, but the actual near-fatal accident happens quickly during a routine hunt in the cold open. The boys are fighting a Rawhead and Dean just gets unlucky. It makes perfect sense, then, that rather than some huge showdown fighting God or Death, in the end, Dean just ran out of luck, just as he had 15 years ago.

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This, then, was how it had to be. Season 15 as a whole has seen appearances from many returning faces, of friends and foes alike, across the season. “Despair” gave Castiel a suitably emotional send-off, tying his fate to Dean’s as it has been since his very first appearance in Season 4. “Inherit The Earth” acknowledged aspects of Kripke’s finale, pitting Michael and Lucifer against each other one last time. But, ultimately, this was the fate the Winchesters have been hurtling towards since Dean dragged Sam away from the college in the very first episode. Dean was always going to die on a hunt, and Sam was always going to have a better chance at building a life for himself. And, now, in whatever far-off future year we left him, there’s still a young Dean Winchester around, and perhaps his dad left him the key to a mysterious old bunker full of strange books and a battered old notebook full of monsters…

The post Supernatural Series Finale: Why Dean’s Fate Works appeared first on Den of Geek.

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