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jazy3 · 3 years

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Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 18X01

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

I was really excited for the Premiere and I have never been so disappointed in my life. It took me a few days to write this review because I’m just so unimpressed. I feel like the only interesting parts of the Season 18 Premiere were the Meredith and Hayes FaceTime call, Levi in that outfit and Jo with that hair, and the interviews. That's it. I mean Teddy and Owen’s two weddings were interesting if you’re a Teddy and Owen shipper, but I never have been so that didn’t really do anything for me.

The pacing of the episode was super slow and it was just altogether boring. There were also just so many inconsistencies. For example, Teddy and Owen originally planned to get married at the park with just Megan, Farouk, Evelyn, Leo, and Allison which doesn’t make sense because prior to their break up they were talking about planning their dream wedding. Now they finally get married and Richard didn’t even know about it? They asked Megan to fly in, but they didn’t tell their friends at the hospital after they just all attended Maggie and Winston’s wedding two weeks earlier?

It’s also not clear if Meredith knows that they got married which is weird because she’s the main character of the show and was an integral part of Owen’s previous two weddings one of which was held at her house. Also, Amelia and Link weren’t there and it’s not clear if they even knew about the wedding which is weird because Meredith, Amelia, and Link were all present when Owen proposed to Teddy at Christmas at Meredith’s house and they are all co-parenting Leo together.

While I appreciated the shift to a lighter tone and that they chose to have this season exist in a post-COVID alternative universe where we can see the actors faces again without the PPE and return to escapism the Premiere didn't pack the punch I was expecting. The premieres are usually super shocking and action packed and this one just wasn't. It was just boring and all of the most interesting stuff happened off camera during the two weeks between the Season 17 Finale and the Season 18 Premiere which is just stupid.

I saw the priest getting hit by one of the cyclists coming a few minutes before it happened based on the promo and the context of the scene and there wasn't a big shocking event like there usually is. The pace of the Premiere really felt off to me. My friend Amy who I watch with every week described it as the pacing you usually associate with a nice stroll through a moonlit garden. Fine for episode two or three or a connecting episode but not the Premiere. I feel like they really misjudged what fans were looking for and I’m hoping that they do the work and course correct now that the Premiere has aired and the completely dismal fan reaction as come out.

One of the few bright spots for me was the introduction of Peter Gallagher as Dr. David Hamilton. I love him as an actor! He's great! His recent roles in Grace and Frankie and Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist were fantastic! I was super excited when I heard he was coming to Grey's. I like Dr. Hamilton so far and I'm interested to see how his relationship with Ellis and Meredith having dreams about her mother following her battle with COVID will play into the story this season. While it would be interesting to see Meredith work in Minnesota temporarily like Cristina did back in Season 9, I don't want her there permanently. Seattle is as much a character in the show as any of the main characters we've come to love, and something would be missing for me if she moved.

To be perfectly honest, it doesn't make much sense to me for Meredith to move to Minnesota permanently when she only knows a few people there. Who would watch her kids? If she's going to move to me, it makes more sense for her to move to Kansas where Alex is or Switzerland where Cristina is. Her kids have already lost their father and so many other caregivers and Meredith has stuck it out in Seattle for so long after everything that's happened that her moving to Minnesota for me would be bonkers.

Also, where were her kids in the Premiere? All of the interviews that came out prior to the Premiere talked about how Meredith’s focus at the beginning of the season would be on her work and her kids, but they were nowhere to be found in the Premiere and it’s not clear whose watching them while Meredith is in Minnesota. The interviews also made it seem like Meredith and Hayes would still be circling each other at the start of the season with quotes about how timing hadn’t been on their side, that they still needed to have an official drink and go out on a date, and that while Meredith wasn’t looking for a relationship one might find her.

That had literally nothing to do with the Premiere we saw whatsoever! The kids were MIA and it turned out that Meredith and Hayes started dating off screen following Maggie and Winston’s wedding and we didn’t get to see ANY of the firsts they talked about so much over the last two seasons. So stupid. The Premiere was a total rip off. I hate that Nick Marsh is back and I’ve never gone from liking a character and an actor to hating them in such a short period of time ever. My God. I’m so pissed off about this. What the hell were they thinking? Why did they think we would want this at all?

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Nick Marsh as a character and Scott Speedman's portrayal of him when he first showed up in Season 14. I was all ready for him to be Meredith's next great love and I was on board. But then he disappeared and was never heard from again and it was reported that Speedman wanted to take a break from TV for a while so I mourned the loss of what could have been and moved on. I sat through the out of character nonsense that was the DeLuca storyline in the belief that eventually that storyline would end, and Meredith would get a real proper love interest that made sense and would be her post-Derek endgame.

So, I was really excited when they introduced Hayes and I have really come to love his character and his budding relationship with Meredith. I feel like I've been waiting forever to finally see them go on a date and I am super pissed off that we didn't get to see it. I would have loved this storyline with Nick if they had introduced it at any previous point in time, but now after they've spent so much time setting up Meredith and Hayes it's just infuriating. I feel immense rage over how they handled Meredith and Hayes and Meredith and Nick’s storylines in the Premiere. I'm so angry. The whole thing just made no sense. That Premiere should never have aired. It never should have gotten past the draft stage. It was that bad. The first date and all of the firsts that come with a new relationship are the most exciting parts of a romantic storyline for me and I love seeing all of that on screen. They hyped Meredith and Hayes’ relationship up so much and even had the two of them talk about 'firsts' and dating after death so for their first date to happen off screen along with Austin's panic attacks and bad reaction to his Dad starting to date again is just such a rip off.

I have stuck with this show through thick and thin and for them to reward that loyalty by having the most interesting parts of that storyline happen off screen while showing a bunch of stuff on screen with other characters that they could have just told us about? So ridiculous. I was so excited for this season and now I'm just angry. I'm hoping that they are building to a big mid-season finale where Meredith is going to return to Seattle and by that time Bailey will have helped Hayes out with Austin and the two of them will finally get together on screen but I'm starting to feel like every time I get invested in one of the Meredith's new love interests, they pull the rug out from under me and I'm getting really fed up.

In other news, I'm not too surprised that Megan and Riggs broke up off screen only because Virgin River, which I love, just got picked up for two more seasons and I imagine Martin Henderson is busy filming that and it looks like Megan is going to be around for a while and they had to explain it somehow. I loved Meredith and Riggs together and I hated how they ended that storyline so I'm not sad about them breaking up off screen.

The Premiere also broke my heart over Amelia and Link’s storyline. It’s just so stupid. It’s drama for drama’s sake that’s all it is and it’s tired. When did marriage become so important to Link? In the span of a few months, he went from being totally fine with not getting married and checking in with Amelia every few weeks on how she felt to convincing himself that Amelia wanted him to propose so he did so at her sister's wedding and used her dead brother's children to do it. Amelia's right the whole thing was super messed up and manipulative and she was right to say no.

Link decided marriage was important to him and that fostering Luna would be totally fine without ever talking to Amelia. Yes, Amelia should have shared her thoughts with him too, but he also should have paid attention. Now their otherwise healthy relationship is over because she doesn't want to participate in an archaic ritual that involves signing a contract and exchanging vows? That's just stupid. I hope they find a way to work it out and get back together because I really like them as a couple.

I like Dr. Michelle Lin the new Head of Plastic of Surgery that Bailey and Richard are looking to hire. I thought for sure after that photo of the other guy made the rounds on social media that he was going to be the new Head of Plastics, but then he said that he doesn't do "free" and I knew he was out. I'm excited for there to be another female surgeon of colour on the show as the gender and racial balance on the show has been more white and male as of late and I think Grey's is at its best when you have a roughly equal number of women and men and as many different races being represented as possible.

I think it makes the storylines more interesting and authentic and personally gives me more characters that I can identify with. This new doctor seems driven, determined, and could have a potentially interesting dynamic with Richard and Bailey. She’s also giving me some Cristina Yang vibes and I’m all for that. I love Cristina. Always have. Always will. That being said, I'm a bit confused as to where they are going with Jo's storyline as I thought for sure the new Head of Plastics would be a guy and her new love interest. But Bailey did say they still needed to hire a new general surgeon and a new neurosurgeon so maybe one of them will be for her?

I can't really say that there was anything I loved about the Premiere which is disappointing. Jo's parenting hair dye mishap was funny, Levi's outfit cracked me up, and I liked that Bailey agreed to help Hayes out, but that's about it. The thing I was most excited for coming into this season was Meredith finally being back on her feet and seeing the romantic storyline between her and Hayes finally come to fruition.

Finding out that she's going to be in Minnesota for the foreseeable future, she and Hayes started dating off screen but had to call it quits because seeing his Dad date someone new caused Austin to have panic attacks, and finding out that Nick Marsh is back? I hated it. I don't understand how the same person who wrote the Season 16 masterpiece “Snowblind” with that amazing snow scene between Meredith and Hayes wrote the Premiere. I just don't understand. I really hope they're not going to do a love triangle with Meredith, Hayes, and Nick because that would just be so stupid.

She's a forty something award-winning surgeon who's a widowed single mother of three. Love triangles made sense when she was young intern, but at this point it's just dumb. I also didn't feel the chemistry this time around between Meredith and Nick like I did the first time. It felt forced and flat. I like Maggie and Winston together, but I didn't find their storyline in the Premiere particularly engaging. I'm glad that Amelia stayed true to herself, but I hate that Link has decided marriage is the only way forward and that they're still fighting.

The only moment that really made me laugh out of the hour was when Jo opened the door and Levi was in that ridiculous outfit. I loved the FaceTime call between Meredith and Hayes, but I hated the context. Honestly, I'm not really excited about any upcoming storyline this season which makes me really sad. I'm usually super positive and hopeful when it comes to this show, but this episode just stomped all over my dreams. All I can hope for now is that they pull a twist and everything I was hoping for happens in the mid-season finale otherwise I don't think I'm going to like this season very much.

Until next time!

#grey's anatomy #meredith grey #cormac hayes #MerHayes #jo wilson #levi schmitt #atticus lincoln #amelia shepherd #amelink #miranda bailey #richard webber #cristina yang #michelle lin #ellis grey #david hamilton #thoughts #review #18X01 #here comes the sun

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rsbry-beret · 2 years

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hey!! i decided to make a lil intro post :)

hi! call me Raz or Raspberry, i use any pronouns <3

~~~

my fandoms change like the rolling tide (check my bio for current obsessions) but here are my forever favorites :

DEAD POETS SOCIETY- i love these boys!! i write a good deal of fic for them (my claim to fame is Song of Myselfie, u shoukd check it out ;)) and am proud to have indoctrinated a friend in my Chameron appreciation crusade

ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST - the other fandom i’ve written a metric ton of fic for… coder bfs has a special place in my heart (it’s bc they’re both so stupid <3)

TED LASSO - actually the best tv show ever imo

STAR TREK <TOS>

FANTASY HIGH - dimension 20 my beloved… riz gukgak is an aromantic goblin and i love him

SHAKESPEARE - one of these things is not like the others listen i just love gay subtext. R&J and Hamlet <3

A COURT OF FEY AND FLOWERS - dimension 20 you’ve done it again. i love me a good fantasy regency character-driven story oh my GOD

~~~

i also have an ao3 account if u want to check it out, username Rsbry_Beret

pssst. i LOVE fanart so so so much!! if you ever make fanart for a fic of mine, please tag me / msg me so i can geek out about it :D

~~~

my post tags!

Rsbry’s jam - gen tag for any posts i make :)

Rsbry’s fic - all my fanfiction writing! usually a summary and a link to ao3

Rsbry’s asks - answering any asks ppl leave (pls feel free!)

Rsbry’s uquizzes - …yeah. uquizzes i make lol

Rsbry’s art - okay these are all very self explanatory.

Rsbry’s brambles - rambles and personal stuff :)

~~~

okie! welcome to my tumblr, love! good scrolling ig idk

#Rsbry’s jam #intro post

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wannaliveattheholidayinn · 3 years

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Ok, But Seriously, I Have Thoughts

I have... really mixed feelings about this episode, so I'm gonna talk about those feelings. And if my feelings about zep as a show and this season come out during that... so be it. (Seriously, this got long. I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry). Also spoilers for the new ep below the cut, but y'all should've been able to guess that

- I... Zimon seriously deserves just so much better. We saw them as a couple together for three episodes, and they honestly weren't explored enough. Zimon... and this is a very personal opinion, but they really do strike me as a couple who never fully leave the honeymoon phase... like ever. Like, of course, they'll fight and disagree on a lot of things, but they also can have adult children, and just kind of act like newlyweds even if they've been married for over twenty years. And again, I know that's a very personal opinion, but I mean... we all knew c/arkeman was gonna be endgame, and it just feels like zimon was never given an actual chance.

- However, I do very much appreciate that their breakup was not messy, there's still clearly a ton of respect for the other on both of their sides, and that Simon is okay.

- "We didn't belong together." No, you fucking did.

- I am not going to stop writing Zimon fanfic either. In fact, this might spur me to write more and work harder on writing Zimon fanfic.

- Rose. Fucking. Deserves. Better. I'm not even gonna elaborate on this one. We all know it.

- Despite the fact that I fucking hate c/arkeman and that it was very, very rushed... I'm giving acting and singing props to Jane. I Melt With You is a song that's extremely personal to me. It helped get me through a point in my life where... I was constantly feeling at war with others, myself, and even felt unsafe in my own home (something I still feel today, no matter how irrational I know it is). I just generally feel a strong connection to every version of the song bc of that, whether it's the original or the Bowling for Soup cover (that was in Sky High!), and... Jane just has a way of making me feel safe when she sings. So, I really, really loved her cover.

- Um... yeah, I'm gonna be real, I don't like the idea of Max having powers. I don't know, I just think it kinda changes the whole original concept of the show, and I'm not a big fan of that...

- Simon! Simon working on changing SPRQ Point!!!!

- I do not really like how they handled Simon's racial bias/systemic racism in coding storyline *after* episode six (aka it only really being mentioned in passing, not being further explored, etc.), but,,, credits due where it's due I guess? I like how they handled him going to Danny Michael Davis, and how DMD listened.

- Sidenote, I kinda find it weird we as a fandom don't refer to him as Danny... it's Danny Michael Davis, DMD, or fucking Willy Wonka jokes. Makes sense I guess.

- Um... the writing was just... so lazy. Yeah. It's... really sad, I think that the show would've benefitted from even one less ep. But on the other hand... lazy writing is lazy writing.

- I think it would've been better - honestly - if Zoey's feelings of loss hadn't been connected to Max in a romantic way, but in a platonic/familial way. We didn't see a ton of their friendship, and yeah,, I hate Max, but there are a few moments there where you can see a legitimate friendship that's really sweet. I also think if they had maybe explored Zoey's fear of losing Simon as well as Max and centered the finale more on Zoey telling Simon about her power, it would've just been a lot better.

- But... honestly, after I just aired out all my issues with this episode (and the season too kinda),,, I honestly liked it. I hate that Zimon broke up and I just generally hate cl*arkeman but... this ep had some really great moments. Zoey and Mitch were beautiful to see again. Mctobin, Davidemily, and Mo x Perry were all absolutely my favorite parts of the episode. Hell, I'll even admit I... well I don't wanna say laughed considering I was so close to crying, but I let out a weird, breathy noise resembling a laugh when Zoey just blurted out she and Simon had broken up.

I don't want to say it was a bad episode, because I did honestly, enjoy ~parts~ of it... but... it wasn't even that cl/arkeman happened, I knew it would, but how it did... it just honestly (my g.od i need to stop writing that word) seemed like they were trying to kill off or like... fucking quash *any* hope Zimon shippers may have had,,, and the writing was just so fucking lazy, I just...

I started the show after dance one night because my teacher showed us the Help! number bc he was an extra in it. And I had already been intrigued by the few ads I had seen for it. So, my mom and I watched it, and we loved it. So we kept watching. And it was good! It was really good! Sure it could be cheesy, but... that didn't matter. I latched on...

I don't know if, ZEP is gonna get renewed, and if it is, I don't know if I'll watch it if/when it does. I latch on to shows really fucking hard when I do latch on. It's why I keep rewatching The Good Place and why I'll never forgive Freeform/Disney/Marvel for canceling Cloak and Dagger. The way I latch onto things is probably a bit unhealthy. And the fact of the matter is, despite everything, my overwhelming feelings about ZEP are positive. And I latched on. I'd honestly do it all over again.

I have a lot of feelings about this fandom and this show, both positive and negative. Still, I love it. Unconditionally. Ultimately, I don't care if Zoey ends up with Max or Simon (though, seriously, she and Simon are made for each other). It's a good fucking show, ships shouldn't be everything that matters.

I began lurking in this fandom when I was fifteen. I began posting fanfic for it when I was sixteen. I'm almost seventeen now. I was planning to get Tumblr when I was seventeen. I also knew I wouldn't forgive myself if I hadn't made my presence here known if it didn't get renewed.

I want to thank @simon-haynes because, uh, holy fuck, I adore you. Running a blog for fandom is something I couldn't even fathom, especially when a large portion of the fandom doesn't like your ship. I legitimately can't believe you followed me.

Thank you to @jennakang. You are, honestly, one of the best writers I've ever read from. You were so incredibly supportive of my writing on ao3, despite the fact you didn't know who I was, and that really meant the world to me. Thank you so much for your contributions to the fandom. Also, uh, fun fact, I was the anon who, after you expressed the want to write the quarantined Zimon fic, sent in that ask that was like "please do!" and also "hope I'm not being pushy about this". I don't know if you remember that at all, but your response meant the world to me.

And uh, lastly @myheartissetinmotion. Um, wow. I know we barely know each other, but I can honestly say, you have been my anchor for this whole show. I love both your Tori content on TikTok as well as just zep content you do on there, and how you wrote her into zep on ao3. I personally like to think of you as the pioneer of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist Tok. You were pretty unbiased when it came to ships on there, and that made me feel safe in a place where there were virtually no zimon shippers. Your content was funny, and I always found myself laughing or screaming "accurate" at it. I know, I'm the nuisance who every few months DMs you about something zep related, but I hope you know, you made me feel both seen and somewhat appreciated in this fandom. I cannot thank you enough, Isabella 💗

I know Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist may not be ending. But this still oddly feels like the end of an era. I'm not leaving the fandom, I plan to keep posting fanfic for it and everything. I just want everyone who may be reading this to know I love this fandom and I would not take any moment here back.

Also, this is me formally asking for a link to a Discord group chat since I know it exists but I'm too scared to actually ask any of you for it directly.

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janelevy · 3 years

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i remember laying on my bed in my dorm room and watching zoeys extraordinary playlist for the first time. i’m not sure where i first saw the ads for it; probably while watching some other nbc show, or maybe it was one of those youtube ads that were, like, actually the entire pilot. i’d vaguely recognized jane levy (and maybe had a gay freak out moment) and i recognized skylar astin from pitch perfect, and it looked bright and colorful and fun so i decided to give the show a try.

it turned into something so much more. that day i had nothing to do, so i binged every existing episode (only up to 1x05 at the time) to the point that my laptop overheated on the bed so i had to switch to my desk. i remember flipping out when the episode ended with zoey and simon against her front door, breathless after a heart song that she never saw coming. i wanted more, needed more.

so i kept watching. and god, this show had such a way of having their characters express emotions. how could they do it in such a raw and REAL way with sometimes big and flashy, sometimes not big and flashy, musical numbers? and it was actually GOOD. incredible choreography, great voices (and even when the voices were not so great, you loved the character/moment/meaning enough to not even care.) it was utterly unlike anything i’d ever seen before. it wasn’t glee. it wasn’t crazy ex girlfriend (also my beloved). it was zoeys playlist, an entity all its own.

and then the hyperfixation hit. and the fanfic. i remember constantly refreshing the ao3 page, waiting for something new to appear along with the 1 (yeah, ONE) fic that had been published at that point. now that same ao3 page boasts close to 500 fics. as of posting this, i have contributed 14 fics of my own, 14 different little universes and stories within the world inhabited by the characters of zoeys, a multi-shipping haven. 14 fics, 171,504 words. yeah. never have i ever committed to writing fic for a particular fandom for over a year, but zoeys was different that way. a once empty ao3 page filled. a once dry tumblr tag filled with countless gorgeous gifsets crafted with care by passionate people. a small fandom compared to most, but a vocal one. imperfect, maybe, but hardly anyone ever completely agrees with each other.

and then came the best part: the friends i made through this show. i almost didn’t click that join link to the zoeys discord on april 4, 2020. i was so close to not doing it; i hadn’t been on discord in a couple years and the thought of just jumping into a server gave me anxiety. but i did click that link. i’ve met so many people through that discord, too many to list here, and i’m happy to say that a few of them have become my closest online friends. and through a couple of these friends i met other people who i never would’ve known without the one common denominator: zoeys. i’ve known most of these people for over a year now, and we all struggled through the uncertainty of whether or not we’d get a season 2. i remember exactly where i was on june 11, 2020 when we got the great news. then we struggled through the uncertainty between season 2 and a potential season 3. so yeah, we’ll struggle through this news together, too.

i know, i know, it’s just a show. but it’s also really not. these characters have become a part of us. i have a friend who took the name of a zoeys character (love ya kinnie <3). i have a friend who created an awesome, interesting, and relatable original character who is the cousin of zoey, and she’s written an incredible collection of fic dedicated to this character and her life in the world of zoeys. i have a friend who started a blog dedicated to zoeys gifs that has soared and thrived. even through our own frustrations with some of the characters’ choices/actions, or certain decisions made in the writing room, our dedication (okay, obsession) persevered. even if we won’t have zoeys playlist anymore, we’ll still have each other. and i am forever grateful to zoeys playlist for changing my life. it made a pandemic-stricken world feel a little more hopeful.

i wish all my best to all the fandom contributors, lurkers, and passersby. and i wish all my best to every person who worked on the show, both the actors and those behind the scenes. stay extraordinary ✌🏻

#zoey's extraordinary playlist

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thetechguru · 3 years

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Title: Miranda Cosgrove reveals iCarly premiere date, talks set photos and characters 10 years later.

Date: May 14, 2021

Source: entertainment weekly.

Miranda Cosgrove received the best birthday gift on Friday — the news that the iCarly revival series will premiere June 17 on Paramount+.

The actress' iCarly castmates Jerry Trainor, Nathan Kress, Laci Mosley, and Jaidyn Triplett were on set to celebrate Cosgrove turning 28 with a cake, which then revealed the announcement.

Along with this news, Cosgrove chatted with EW about what viewers can expect from the upcoming series, and gave us details about some exclusive set reveal photos. And make sure to check out the video of Cosgrove and Trainor giving a tour of the set, which should look very familiar to fans of the original series.

Miranda Cosgrove reveals iCarly premiere date, talks set photos and characters 10 years later

EW has exclusive set photos and an interview with star Miranda Cosgrove, plus a video of Cosgrove and Jerry Trainor giving a tour of the iCarly set.

By Rachel Yang

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Chad_105_04_041321

Miranda Cosgrove received the best birthday gift on Friday — the news that the iCarly revival series will premiere June 17 on Paramount+.

The actress' iCarly castmates Jerry Trainor, Nathan Kress, Laci Mosley, and Jaidyn Triplett were on set to celebrate Cosgrove turning 28 with a cake, which then revealed the announcement.

The 13-episode season will pick up nearly 10 years after the Nickelodeon series, which ran from 2007 to 2012. The core cast are all reprising their roles, with Cosgrove once again embodying Carly, while Trainor and Kress are returning as Carly's brother Spencer and her friend Freddie Benson, respectively.

And because it's been a while since we've seen the cast, "Carly has gone through a lot over the last 10 years — all the characters have," Cosgrove tells EW.

https://www.refinery29.com/images/10475174.jpg?format=pjpg&auto=webp&resize-filter=lanczos2&quality=50&sharpen=a3%2Cr3%2Ct0&optimize=low&width=960

Another icarly reboot update:

Miranda Cosgrove received the best birthday gift on Friday — the news that the iCarly revival series will premiere June 17 on Paramount+.

The actress' iCarly castmates Jerry Trainor, Nathan Kress, Laci Mosley, and Jaidyn Triplett were on set to celebrate Cosgrove turning 28 with a cake, which then revealed the announcement.

And because it's been a while since we've seen the cast, "Carly has gone through a lot over the last 10 years — all the characters have," Cosgrove tells EW.

Miranda Cosgrove reveals iCarly premiere date, talks set photos and characters 10 years later

EW has exclusive set photos and an interview with star Miranda Cosgrove, plus a video of Cosgrove and Jerry Trainor giving a tour of the iCarly set.

By Rachel Yang

Source: yahoo

With the Freddie character, he's gone through a couple divorces," the actress reveals. "Spencer has become very wealthy, so there's a lot of different dynamics and different things going on."

As for Carly, she went to college and is pretty successful, Cosgrove continues, but she's "kinda in between" where Freddie and Spencer are at.

Spencer, who's "the most successful of all" the characters, still resides in the original loft he and Carly lived in, though he's remodeled it a bit. Cosgrove says she and Trainor worked with the set designer to keep some of the flair from the old series in the new set.

For instance, you can see below the bottle bot, a sculpture Spencer made that was a fixture on iCarly. Though they couldn't track down the original, the team asked the artist who made it to build one as identical as possible to be in Spencer's living room. Similarly, the designers had the same couch from the original reupholstered and updated.

"They tried to do a lot of cute, little things for the fans from the original that stayed the same," Cosgrove says.

Nickelodeon

nickelodeon

You can also see that the loft's upstairs, which Carly used as a studio to film "iCarly," has been updated but looks pretty similar to the original.

nickelodeon

The new show will catch up with Carly, who's now in her 20s and hasn't kept up with her "iCarly" web show that she hosted with her friends Freddie and Sam (Jennette McCurdy) as teens.

"She hasn't done 'iCarly' in a long time, and she decides to start it up again in the pilot," Cosgrove says. "So we're exploring what her new show is. And even though it's 'iCarly,' it's not the same as it was before. So we've been exploring a lot of different things with that, just like what a 26-year-old would really be doing if they had a YouTube channel nowadays."

Cosgrove, who's also an executive producer on the show, says she's excited to see how Carly will navigate YouTube and Instagram given how much the internet has grown since iCarly went off the air.

Not revealed yet is Carly's apartment, which is also at Bushwell Plaza, the same building in Seattle that Spencer's apartment is in. In the upcoming project, she lives with her roommate and best friend Harper (Mosley). And it wouldn't be iCarly without Freddie nearby, though this time around it may not be great news for the character.

"He's gone through a divorce and he's moved back in with his mother," Cosgrove says. "So Mary [Scheer], who played his mom on the show is back and we all are living in the same apartment building together."

Another new addition to the show is Triplett, who plays Millicent, Freddie's snarky and social media-savvy stepdaughter whom he adopted.

"It's funny because it's a lot of the old because we do have like the little studio we used to film in and we have Spencer's apartment, but then we have a lot of new sets and new characters, so it's like half and half," Cosgrove notes.

The revival will explain everyone's backstory in the pilot, and she says it was exciting to think about what all the characters would have been doing over the last decade. Cosgrove doesn't answer whether the show will address Sam's absence on the show, but she does promise the return of some fan-favorite recurring characters. Nevel Papperman (Reed Alexander), Carly's pretentious nemesis is slated to return, and they recently did an episode featuring Nora Dershlit (Danielle Morrow), the stalker "iCarly" fan who appeared in the original.

Currently halfway through filming, Cosgrove says she doesn't know how the last four or five episodes will play out yet. She has her own curiosities she wants the show to address, like what happened with Spencer and Carly's mom. And she says Trainor is dying for Spencer's unseen friend Socko to finally appear.

What Cosgrove is clear on, however, is what kind of show she wants iCarly to be, especially since it took the team "a really long time to figure out."

"We really tried to make this show, along with the showrunner Ali [Schouten], as much for the fans of the original as possible, because it's not really a kid show anymore," Cosgrove says. "It's mainly made for the people who watched when they were little, they're now more in their 20s."

"We're getting to explore different things with [what] the characters go through that we would never have been able to do before, that's a lot more like stuff that's happened in our real lives and things that people in their 20s and 30s go through," she adds. "It's just been a fun reunion getting to see everybody, and I'm really excited for people to see it."

Last thoughts 😑:

I have mixed feelings about this so I skip it no thanks. I hope it last for one season. Good luck to others who are going to watch this.

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hallmark-movie-fanatics · 3 years

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KATIE FINDLAY AND WYATT NASH FIND OUT IF ‘LOVE STRIKES TWICE’ A NEW, ORIGINAL MOVIE PREMIRING OCTOBER 2, ON HALLMARK CHANNEL

Part of the Network’s Annual “Fall Harvest” Programming Event

STUDIO CITY, CA – September 20, 2021 – Katie Findlay (“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”) and Wyatt Nash (“Riverdale”) are a young couple at a crossroads until a visit home – and to the past – brings a new perspective in “Love Strikes Twice,” a new, original movie premiering Saturday, October 2 (9 p.m. ET/PT), on Hallmark Channel as part of the network’s annual “Fall Harvest” programming event. Marshall Williams (“When Hope Calls”) also stars.

Maggie (Findlay) and Josh (Nash) are a married couple who have gotten out of sync. When Maggie wishes for a do-over, she wakes up the next morning and inexplicably finds she was transported fifteen years into the past. Once she shakes off her confusion and gets her bearings, Maggie sees this as a chance to find out what her life would’ve been if she had stayed with ex-boyfriend Rick (Williams). But revisiting the past with her present life experiences causes Maggie to see things – and people – in a new light. Will her new-found perspective lead Maggie to choose Josh again or will Rick be her happily ever after?

“Love Strikes Twice” is from Crown Media Productions, LLC. Stan Spry, Eric Woods and Lesley Demetriades are executive producers. Anthony Fankhauser is co-executive producer. Devin Towers serves as co-producer. Jeff Beesley directed from a script by C. Jay Cox.

LINK

#love strikes twice #fall harvest #hallmark channel #press release #katie findlay #wyatt nash #marshall willimas #hallmark movies #link

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montygreen · 3 years

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2020 Fanfiction Round Up

Total Word Count of 2020: 240,175 (though approx 55,000 probably are actually words written by @parkersedith considering that’s about half of the words in our collaborative fics from last year)

Total Hits of 2020: 33361

Other 2020 AO3 Stats: KUDOS: 3129 COMMENTS: 403 BOOKMARKS: 535

Link and Titles to Works of 2020:

[Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist] do you think you will be good enough (to love others and to be loved) - Post season 1 episode 10, Zoey and Max finally have a real conversation and trade some needed apologies (1,811 words)

[Never Have I Ever] i feel like i'm the worst (so i always act like i'm the best) - 5 times Ben Gross wanted to kiss Devi Vishwakumar, and the 1 time she kissed him instead (3,300 words)

[Never Have I Ever] found a life worth living for someone else - after Paxton tells Devi he won't date her until she's been in a relationship with someone else first, she makes the natural decision: pose as Ben Gross' girlfriend (11,664 words)

[Never Have I Ever] my heart just burst like a glass balloon - Devi and Ben, mostly canon compliant Soulmate AU (6,481 words)

[Never Have I Ever] can you teach me how to feel real? - after Shira predictably bails on him, Ben asks Devi to come to the LA Clippers game with him instead. Diverges from Season 1, Episode 6 (3,725 words)

[Never Have I Ever] my heart is nuclear (love is all that I fear) - 5 times Devi wished she was dating someone (and observed the relationships around her), and 1 time she actually was (7,441 words)

[Never Have I Ever] we've worked so hard (yeah we've come so far) - 3 holidays Devi and Ben celebrate together (11,483 words)

[Never Have I Ever] i got dark only to shine - 5 times people suspect something happened between Devi and Ben, and the 1 time someone catches them (7,530 words)

[Never Have I Ever] smitten kitten - seeking a cure for his loneliness, Ben adopts two cats. Of course, being the overachiever he is, he wants to be the perfect pet parent, but that's not something he can quite tackle on his own. That's where Devi comes in (4,055 words)

[Never Have I Ever] i smile with tears in my eyes - Ben drives Devi home from his party. It all explodes from there. Diverges from 1.08 (8,833 words)

[Never Have I Ever] hit me with your sweet love, steal me with a kiss (written with @parkersedith) - Devi's ok at one-night stands, she likes to think. but when quarantine orders come in, a one-night stand turns into a lot more than just that (11,726 words)

[Never Have I Ever] hard like a rock, cold like stone - The bus is empty and the Model UN alliance works. Devi's just not sure how she went from allies to friends to—something else with Ben so quickly. Diverges from 1.05 (9,501 words)

[Never Have I Ever] i had a marvelous time ruining everything (written with @parkersedith) - Ben and Devi grow up together, as academic rivals, best friends, and maybe, just maybe, something more (38,072 words)

[Never Have I Ever] how would you feel, if i told you i loved you? (written with @parkersedith) - an mri machine has fucked up Devi's life considerably, and the scariest part of it? finding out her long-time nemesis has feelings for her. she's just hoping there's some guidebook on how to handle this (also known as: the zoey's extraordinary playlist fusion no one asked for but we wrote anyways) (25,124 words)

[Never Have I Ever] i'm forever chasing after time - Devi knows the only way to get out of this time loop is if she kisses her soulmate. She's cool with it. She's got a plan. Problem is, she has no idea what to do when that plan doesn't work out (17, 380 words)

[Never Have I Ever] the sky is clear (of fear) - 5 times Devi notices Ben's smile, and the 1 time he notices hers (8,405 words)

[Never Have I Ever] life couldn't get much sweeter - 5 times Ben and Devi try (and fail) to hide the fact they’re dating, and the 1 time they admit it (9,562 words)

[Never Have I Ever] one single thread of gold (tied me to you) (written with @parkersedith) - 5 times after malibu Ben and Devi almost kissed, and the 1 time they did (15,297 words)

[Never Have I Ever] i hate accidents except when we went from friends to this (written with @parkersedith) - Devi asks Ben to be her fake boyfriend. it would be easy, except for the fact that he used to be her best friend, and now he's not (18,785 words)

[Never Have I Ever] the stars collide as the planets turn - Devi and Ben in "Hang The DJ" (11,849 words)

[Never Have I Ever] merry christmas (i wrapped it up and sent it) - tired of Devi and Ben dancing around each other, Eleanor enlists Fabiola with a plan to get her friends together. It goes haywire—more than once (8,196 words)

Favourite Fic: i'm forever chasing after time is like my baby, I worked hard on it, and given it’s like the only fic I’ve written that I’m genuinely proud of, like yeah, it’s my favourite

Hardest Fic: I remember genuinely STRUGGLING with some of the parts of how would you feel, if i told you i loved you? mostly because I was trying to describe heart songs without using any lyrics (since Bhargavi and I decided early on we HATED when fics just dumped lyrics of a song at you.)

Do you plan to take prompts in 2021? I mean, if people are interested in sending me some sure! I’ve never gotten a prompt so LOL

What was the best thing about 2020? Writing wise? Probably the fact that I got back into writing? I hadn’t written any fic since 2015/2016, so it was nice to get back into it!

What was the worst thing about 2020? Uh... I mean... come on, it should be a given.

Any last thoughts for 2020? Bye, won’t miss you. Really hoping I’ll be able to get vaccinated in 2021 and see my friends in person again cause I miss them very very much.

Goals for 2021: I’m assuming these are writing goals so I’ll keep them at that

Hit 300k, hell if possible hit 400k

Expand my fandoms! Everything spare for one fic that I wrote this year was for Never Have I Ever, but I’d love to try writing something for another show I love like Anne With An E or Brooklyn Nine Nine

Also, keep writing Never Have I Ever and Devi and Ben obviously

Not tagging anyone, but if you see this and want to do it, I encourage you!

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crackers4jenn · 3 years

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2020: a fandom review

Fics written: I wrote three (3!!) fics this year, which is nuts considering it's been almost that many years since I wrote anything new. I posted here's a map, here's a shovel, here's my achilles heel, and I will pull my whole heart up to the surface, and the second and final chapter of Wedding Guy. I also have two more fics I'm working on at the moment that are largely done, so. Yikes. All Dean/Cas, of course. Double yikes.

Vids posted: It feels like ages ago, but I did make a handful of vids this year. A Josh & Ollie one, another Courtney & Shayne frenemies compilation, and two different Zoey/Max vids from Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. The Shayne and Courtney one is easilyyyy the most popular, with 46k views. People love to see a compilation.

Fanart???: Same as last year, I did draw a couple of fanarts, but mostly because of Instagram challenges. I completely forgot I did the Zoey's one, though! And that Skylar Astin shared it on his Stories and messaged me that I captured Max's essense "so well"! Humblebrag.

Favorite shows I watched in 2020: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist was my big fave, even though I have a love/hate relationship with it. On My Block, The Umbrella Academy, Love on the Spectrum, Warrior Nun, pen15, and What We Do in the Shadows all captured my attention and sometimes my emotions too.

Favorite movies I watched in 2020: I can't think of anything I watched beyond Jojo Rabbit, which was so good and so soulbreaking. I'm just not a movie person 😔

Favorite youtubers: Rhett and Link still, Smosh kinda, Garrett Watts, Ten Hundred, Soft White Underbelly, Naomi Jon, Korean Englishman/Jolly, THE RESURGENCE OF DAXFLAME, emelia fart, Ghost Town Living, Shane-Ryan-Steven Lim, the Try Guys, Brittany Broski, etc etc. I'm a 12 yr old, all of my entertainment comes from ~influencers.

Favorite characters: Maya and Anna from pen15, Jackie Daytona, and I've been on a "CAS DESERVED THE WHOLE WORLD" kick the last month, so him too.

Favorite 'ships: Zoey/Max was the big one until Dean/Cas reentered my life, and now THEY are The Big One.

Etc: Also did some regular art stuff, again based mostly off #dtiys challenges.

#self #2020 end of year fandom review #fanart #my art #etc etc

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randomtheatrethoughts · 4 years

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Theatre Activities To Do During Quarantine

Theatre-Related Videos to Watch During Quarantine:

Samantha Pauly (Katherine Howard in Six on Broadway) posts a video of her singing a song from a production almost every day on her YouTube channel. Examples include Ex-Wives, Six, Dead Girl Walking, and Dead Mom

Andrea Macasaet (Anne Boleyn in Six on Broadway) posts a segment called “Karaoke and Chill” on her YouTube channel once a week (she’s done a Hamilton one, a Heathers one, and of course, a Six one)

Go watch the international collaboration of all the Six Queens (Australia Cast, West End, UK Tour, Bliss 1.0 and 2.0, Breakaway, and Broadway) plus some of the Queendom singing Ex-Wives and Six!

Watch some theatre tik-tok compilations (yes I just went there)!

Every week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 6:00 EST, Andrew Barth Feldman (2018 Jimmy Awards Winner who replaced Taylor Trensch as Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway) and Alex Boniello (who played Connor Murphy in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway) host a segment called Broadway Jackbox where they hang out with fellow actors and play games to raise money for the Actors Fund, which you can view on tiltify.com or on Andrew’s YouTube channel (he posts it the following Sunday/Monday)

At 2pm and 8pm EST every day, Seth Rudetsky and his husband James Wesley host a Stars in the House stream where they interview actors and raise money for the Actors Fund

Every day at around 5:00pm EST, Broadway.com’s YouTube channel posts Live At Five at Home where they interview actors from home

Theatermania’s YouTube channel is posting live interviews at 2:00pm EST with actors, as well as a trivia segment at around 7:00pm EST every Thursday (there might be more than one day, I don’t really know)

Go watch Katherine Steele! She posts a theatre related video every Thursday ranging from theatre controversies to cast recording recommendations. While you’re at it, go watch her vlog channel, Party at Kats! She posts vlogs there, and you can go rewatch her vlogs when she went to New York last year and the year before to help quench your thirst for Broadway

Amy Lovatt, In Reel Life, and The Caitie Diaries are other theatre youtubers who are a MUST WATCH

While you’re at it, go watch Kevin Lynch! He’s AMAZING!

Rewatch Broadway.com vlogs or Theatermania’s “theater gone wrong” segments!

Watch Glee! Watch Smash! Watch Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist! All FANTASTIC shows (I just started getting into Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist and it’s just…*chef’s kiss*)

Listen….sometimes you just gotta quench your thirst for Broadway…..so watch a bootleg!

Other Theatre Related Things To Do:

Listen to a Theatre Podcast! I recommend The Ensemblist, The Patrick Page Podcast, Behind the Curtain: Broadway’s Living Legends, Deep Dive Broadway, Josh Swallows Broadway, Broadway Podcast Network, or Theater People

Listen to new cast recordings! Personally, I’ve listened to 27 new ones and I’ll be posting reviews of those shortly. I recommend The Mad Ones or Bare: A Pop-Opera (but there are tons of more recommendations, also coming soon)

Work on possible audition songs!

Arrange covers of music and sing them and create your own harmonies (I’m currently arranging a mashup, and you can use flat.io or musescore to create digital sheet music)

Paint a picture of a scene or symbol from a musical!

Create some backgrounds with musical lyrics!

Create art projects or boards with playbills!

Make stickers!

Make a theatre journal!

Connect with your theatre friends!

NOTE: if you need help finding directions for any of the DIY projects suggested, feel free to message me! I’ll explain it to you or send you a link to a video!💖💖💖

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jade4813 · 4 years

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The Lies We Tell Ourselves, Chapter 6

Fandom: Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist

Title: The Lies We Tell Ourselves

Rating: PG (I’m assuming it’ll stay there?)

Pairing: Zoey/Max

Synopsis: Max would do anything for Zoey. Including posing as her fake boyfriend to give her father one last “big moment” to celebrate with her. Nothing could possibly go wrong. After all, it’s only his heart that stands to be broken. Right?

Chapter: 6/?

Author’s Notes: Takes place after Zoey’s Extraordinary Glitch.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

“Max?” Zoey asked blearily, turning towards him. Wrapping her in his arms, he helped her into his apartment. “I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“No,” he reassured her. His brief glimpse through the peephole had been accurate; her steps were unsteady, and she was slurring her words slightly. It seemed she had been drinking. Brushing her hair off her face, he stared at her closely, but while she seemed inebriated, she appeared otherwise unharmed. “Is everything okay?”

She nodded, then collapsed against him when it seemed the movement was too much for her. “Uh huh. I went out for a few drinks. I think I drank too much.”

“Well, that’s okay,” he reassured her. “Do you want to sit down?”

Zoey shook her head, pressing her hand against his bare stomach. “You’re not wearing a shirt.” It hadn’t occurred to him to put one on before answering the door, but that seemed self-explanatory, so he just waited, wrapping his arms around her to steady her and trying not to think about the feeling of her breath against his bare skin.

“I didn’t mean to wake you up,” she mumbled, clearly having forgotten that he’d told her she hadn’t. “I just wanted to see you. I missed you.” She shifted forward, rubbing her cheek against his chest, like she was trying to curl up against him. “You always make me feel better. You make everything better,” she breathed. Then she sighed, the sudden burst of warm air causing him to shudder. Closing his eyes, he breathed in slowly. She’s drunk. She’s drunk and it wouldn’t mean anything even if she weren’t.

“Oh.” She was probably expecting a better response, but it was the only thing he could think of to say.

Tilting her head back, she looked up at him. “I love you, Max, and I think you should kiss me.”

His heart soared at her confession, but it plummeted again when he remembered she was intoxicated. His laugh was shaky. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he replied, choosing to ignore her dubious admission.

“Why not?” she asked with a petulant frown.

Before he could find a gentle way to explain, “Because I love you, and you don’t love me. And also you’re drunk. And just standing here like this with you is a bad idea. And did I mention you’re drunk?” she wrapped her arms around her neck and tugged, trying to pull him down to her level.

“I like kissing you! And didn’t you hear me? I said I love you. I looooooove you!” She dragged out the last word as though she’d never heard it before and got lost halfway through. Or like she’d never said the word before and was getting used to the taste of it in her mouth. Tilting her head to the side, she stared up at him with narrowed eyes. “You don’t believe me. Why don’t you believe me?”

He tried to grin and failed miserably, but he hoped she was too drunk to notice. “Sweetheart, you’re drunk.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not telling the truth,” she pointed out, thrusting her chin forward belligerently.

He stroked his hand down her back, trying to disentangle himself from the vice-like grip she had around his neck. “I believe you! I just think Sober Zoey may have a thing or two to say about it. I think she’d probably disagree with you.”

“Pbbt,” she responded enthusiastically enough that he had to wipe some spittle out of his eye. “Who cares what Sober Zoey would say? Sober Zoey is no fun. She doesn’t even know what she wants, but I do. I like Drunk Zoey much better. Don’t you?”

This time, he didn’t have to fake a grin. She was just so darn earnest and adorable. Of course, she was completely hammered, so he wasn’t foolish enough to take a single word she said seriously. But, still, she was so charmingly well-intentioned, it was a shame she’d be so mortified about all this in the morning. “I don’t know,” he argued, keeping his tone light and playful. “I’m kind of fond of her.”

Then, before she could resume an argument about her differing personality traits according to various states of inebriation, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead. When she looked like she wanted to bring him in for a proper kiss, he straightened and said quickly, “Come on, Zoey. It’s late. Let me put on some clothes, and I’ll walk you home.”

He started to walk away, but she reached out and grabbed him, her hands brushing tantalizingly against his chest as she fumbled clumsily for his arm. “No, wait. Can’t I stay?”

“Zoey, sweetheart…I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he pointed out gently, but her eyes were wide and sad, and he let out a small groan of defeat. He already knew he couldn’t resist her, so why was he even bothering to try? If he wasn’t going to sleep anyway, he could lie awake as easily on the couch as in the bed. “All right, come on.”

Wrapping his arm gently around her waist, he guided her into the bedroom and then rummaged around in his closet until he found an oversized t-shirt and light sweatpants with a drawstring. As she swayed back and forth in the middle of the room, he handed them over. “Okay, I’m going to go into the other room and get you some water. Do you think you can get changed by yourself?” If she couldn’t she was going to have to sleep in the dress she was wearing. That was one line he was absolutely not willing to cross.

To his relief, she nodded, so he backed quickly out of the room and shut the door. He’d spent the better part of the last three hours thinking about Zoey’s kiss, and now she’d showed up on his doorstep and asked him to do it again. While professing feelings he’d always wanted to hear but didn’t dare fool himself into believing were true. It was a special level of hell even Dante had never imagined.

Forcing his mind onto the task at hand, he hurried into the kitchen to grab her a glass of water. Then he lingered, grabbing Aspirin from the medicine cabinet to have on hand when she awoke the next morning. He meandered about the apartment, tidying the place, and was just about to knock on the door to check on her when she called out to him.

“Max?”

“Yeah? Zoey?” he asked, moving to stand outside his bedroom door. He didn’t dare open it yet, afraid that if he did, he would find her undressed and it would give him a heart attack on the spot. Resting his hand on the handle, he asked, “Are you dressed?”

“Uh huh,” she replied, though the sound was muffled.

He still hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“Uh huh.”

“Absolutely sure?” he asked one more time.

He almost laughed when he heard her sigh loudly and call out, “Yes!”

Very slowly, he turned the handle and cracked open the door, ready to slam it closed if necessary. But when he saw her standing next to the window, he was relieved to see she was wearing the clothes he’d found for her. The pants were absolutely enormous on her, extra fabric pulling around her feet, and she was positively swimming in his oversized shirt.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he stepped into the bedroom and had to bite back a laugh when she lifted her hands helplessly and pointed out the obvious. “They’re a little big.”

Shaking his head, Max grabbed her hand and led her to the bed, tucking her under the covers and putting the glass of water and bottle of Aspirin on the nightstand. “Do you need anything else? Do you feel sick to your stomach or anything?” She shook her head, stroking his hand with her own. “Okay, if you need anything, I’ll be right out in the living room on the couch. You can -”

“No, stay here with me.”

“Zoey,” he groaned, trying to pull away. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” she protested. “I won’t try anything, I promise! We’ll just be sleeping.” He tilted his head back and heaved a heavy sigh, wondering what he had done in this life to deserve being tortured like this. Whatever karmic sin he’d committed, he was deeply, deeply sorry. “Please?” she whispered.

He sighed again, capitulating. As she no doubt knew he would. “All right. Give me a minute.” He tucked her under the covers and then walked to the living room, grabbing extra pillows off the couch. When he returned to the bedroom, he stretched out on top of the covers, as far away from her as he could get without falling on the floor. Then he set up the two couch pillows between them – hopefully a more effective psychological barrier than they were a physical one.

Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on his breathing to forget the presence of the woman in the bed next to him. But every time she moved, his breath caught and all he could focus on was her. He felt the mattress shift as she scooted closer and had to stifle a groan when she reached out and rested her hand on top of his chest. “Max?” she asked in a voice just above a whisper. “Can I ask you a question?”

Placing his hand on top of hers to quell the idle patterns her fingers traced against his skin, he linked their fingers together. “Yeah?” he asked, glancing over at her.

“Why didn’t you tell me you loved me?”

“You know how I feel. But I don’t think it’s something we should talk about when you’re drunk.”

She shifted against her pillow, a thwarted shake of her head. “Not tonight. Before.”

Oh. He heaved a heavy sigh and looked back up at the ceiling. “Because I knew you didn’t feel the same way about me, and I didn’t want to make you feel like I was pushing you into anything. I was afraid, when you found out, it would ruin…things. Everything.”

She repositioned her head on the pillow. “What changed your mind?” Staring at the lights reflected on the ceiling from cars passing by on the street below, he debated how to answer the question. Or even whether to answer the question.

“I don’t think we should talk about this right now,” he offered reluctantly. “We’re dealing with enough as it is, and I don’t know that -”

“I need to know,” she interjected. “Please?” Then, when the silence between them had stretched out a little too long, Zoey prompted, “Max?”

“I told you how I felt because it was killing me not to,” he finally admitted, his voice heavy with regret and tinged with defeat. “I kept telling myself I could go to work every day and hang out with you at night, and eventually I’d get over my feelings for you and we could go back to the way things were. But that didn’t happen. I just kept falling more and more in love with you, and every time you called me in the middle of the night, just to talk, or when you told me you missed me, or…” he broke off with a quick shake of his head. The numerous moments he’d convinced himself to misunderstand didn’t matter. “I kept wanting to believe it meant something more. Until, eventually, I let myself believe that maybe you were even starting to feel the same way about me.”

Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, Max did what he often did. He resorted to humor. “I guess I could have just come to you and told you how I felt, instead of hiring a whole flash mob and making a big scene out of it. But then what would –”

“Don’t do that,” she cut in, shaking her head. “Why do you keep joking about it like that?”

His smile fell, and he sucked in a deep breath. Zoey was just drunk enough to bravely demand the truth of him, but he wondered if she was still just sober enough to not really want to hear it. Still, even though he knew it was probably a bad idea, there were only so many times he could lie to her. And laying here at night, with her in his bed, her hand warm against his chest and her misguided professions of love still ringing in his ears, he was finding it hard to find the half-truths that he knew she wanted to hear. “Because remembering what actually happened that day still hurts, and I keep telling myself if I can get to the point where I can laugh about it, it won’t anymore.” If he really could laugh about it, maybe it wouldn’t feel like his heart was breaking all over again, every time he looked at her.

She curled her hand into a fist against his chest, trapping his fingers in hers. “I really do love you, you know.” The tightness in his throat prevented him from responding, and he couldn't look over at her for fear his emotions would show on his face, so he just responded with a slow shake of his head. “Why don’t you believe me?”

Because, in the morning, when you wake up, if you remember this, you’ll hate yourself for saying it. And you may even hate me for hearing it. And I’d rather you not say anything at all than say something you’re going to regret and want to take back. He had a feeling that would only lead to an argument, so instead, he offered, “If you still mean it in the morning, I’ll believe it then.”

He heard her huff, a quick, frustrated exhalation of air. “I just don’t want to keep hurting you, and it’s killing me that I know I do.”

Summoning the courage to look over at her, he replied reassuringly, “I’m not trying to push you into anything. And I don’t want you to be with me because you feel guilty. I want…” His voice trailed off when he realized what he’d been about to say. Wasn’t it obvious? I want you to love me. I want to know, when you say you love me, that you really mean it.

Zoey shifted closer, until her mouth was only a few inches from his. “What?”

He lifted a hand and brushed her hair off her face. “I want…to get some sleep. We can talk about this more tomorrow. Okay?”

She looked disappointed, but she moved back on her pillow, putting some distance between her mouth and his. “Okay,” she mumbled, shifting into a more comfortable position.

Max lay on his back, staring up at the patterns of light moving across his ceiling, long after he heard Zoey’s breath deepen and knew she’d fallen asleep.

Zoey stifled a moan when her pillow shifted under her cheek in the morning. Pillows didn’t normally move like that, did they? She also didn’t remember her pillow being this warm. And she was pretty sure it didn’t usually smell like Max. Still caught in that hazy world between sleep and consciousness, her mind wasn’t able to put those pieces together. Instead, she made a soft sound of protest when it moved again and scooted forward, chasing the warmth that was starting to elude her.

Throwing one hand out to hold her pillow in place, she inched forward until she found a spot that cradled her cheek perfectly and let out a happy sigh. A slight pounding behind her eyes warned her that, when she finally dragged herself back to the world of consciousness, she would regret it pretty much immediately. So for the moment, she was content to stay just where she was.

As she dozed, only half-asleep, she heard the soft strains of piano music in her mind and she tried to block it out with a frown. “No,” she mumbled grumpily, nuzzling her pillow in a silent prayer that consciousness would elude her just a few minutes more.

Then she heard the singing. Though the voice was soft and low – and only in her mind, she was pretty sure – she’d recognize it anywhere. Max.

“It’s time for me to be on my way, I know. I got business to conduct, and I’ve got places to go. But I can’t help looking at her sleeping instead. Another morning I’ll have trouble climbing out of this bed.”

Wait. Max? What was Max doing in her bed? She stifled a moan as the memories of the night before came flooding back. Things got a little fuzzy after her fifth shot, but her memory of standing in Max’s living room, begging him to kiss her and professing her love for him, were all too clear.

Unaware that she was awake, she felt Max try to scoot out from under her. Her cheek was still pillowed on the crook of his shoulder, and her arm was splayed across his chest. Moving slowly, his touch light and gentle, as though trying to be careful not to wake her, he lifted her hand to his mouth and brushed his lips across the back of her fingers. He continued to sing in her mind, “Because she’s such a temptation. It’s driving me crazy. And it’s my fascination that’s making me act this way.”

Slowly, careful not to jostle her too much, he slid out from under her. She let him gently reposition her head on the pillow, keeping her eyes shut tight so he didn’t know she was awake. And listing to his heart song.

“I know what all of my friends say. They’re afraid that I’m losing my touch. She’s such a temptation.”

As she heard him move around the room, gathering his clothes together, she cracked her eyes open just wide enough to watch him. As she remembered everything she’d said to him the day before, she was too mortified to confess she was awake and risk the conversation that would inevitably ensue. But part of her longed to reach out to him and pull him back into bed. He looked weary, his shoulders stooped in exhaustion, and she watched as he rubbed one tired hand down his face.

Her hand ached to reach out to him. To tell him that she wasn’t sure that her words the night before had been a lie. Unfortunately, the alcohol that had made her so bold was out of her system, leaving the old, familiar fear behind.

“Oh, I look so tired, ‘cause I don’t get much sleep. I got too many commitments that are too hard to keep. And I try to be rational. And I try to be wise. But it all gets blown to pieces when I look in her eyes.” His clothes slung over one arm, he hesitated at the bedroom doorway and looked over at his shoulder to her sleeping on the bed. “Because she’s such a temptation. And nothing can save me. But I might find salvation, if I can tear myself away. ‘Cause I know what all of my friends say. There’s a danger in wanting too much. She’s such a temptation.”

He crept out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him, and she heard him move around in the adjoining bathroom. She tried to sit up, but as soon as she lifted her head, hammers started ricocheting inside her skull, making her collapse back on her pillow with a groan of agony. Reaching blindly for the Aspirin and glass of water by her nightstand, she gulped down a few pills and remained as still as she could while she prayed for her hangover to pass quickly.

A short while later, Max returned to the bedroom, freshly showered and dressed. He approached slowly, a fresh glass of water in his hand, but when he saw she was awake, he knelt down by the bed with a look of concern. “Hey. How are you feeling?”

She groaned. “I can’t believe I just showed up on your doorstep like that last night. I kind of want to kiss you, but I also kind of want to throw up. So I guess the jury’s still out. Ask me again later?”

He chuckled. “Okay, well, if I get a vote, I’m voting for the kiss.” He cupped her cheek, stroking her skin gently with his thumb.

Realizing he was wearing a button-up shirt and a jacket, she frowned. “You look dressed up.” There was an unspoken question in her statement. He always looked nice at work, but it wasn’t the type of job that required him to dress up.

“Yeah. I have something I have to take care of before work. It’s not a big deal. I’ve been meaning to tell you about it, but things just keep getting in the way. I need to head out now, but we can talk about it later, when you’re feeling better. For now, you should try to get a little more rest, if you can. Can I get you anything?”

“No,” she whispered, wishing she was brave enough to ask him to stay.

He hesitated, staring into her eyes as if he was debating whether or not to say something, and she heard the heart song pick up where it had left off.

“Oh, I should be leaving, but I can’t cut it loose. I have my reasons for resistance, but I have no excuse.” Apparently deciding not to say whatever was on his mind, he got to his feet leaning over the bed to press a soft kiss against her forehead. “And I lose my composure. And I could use some restraint. I never claimed to be a hero, and I never said I was a saint. She’s such a temptation, and it’s driving me crazy. And it’s my fascination that’s making me act this way.”

“Max,” she blurted, stopping him just as he reached the door. But when he turned to look at her, she lost her nerve in the face of his hopeful expression. “I…can we talk? Later? At work? When the world has stopped spinning.”

He gave her a sympathetic smile and nodded. “And I can just hear all my friends say, ‘better watch out, you’re losing your touch.’ She’s such a temptation.” Then, with one more glance at the bed to make sure she was okay, he headed out the door.

Max was humming to himself when he walked through the SPRQ Point front doors. When he stepped onto the elevator, however, he hit the button for the sixth floor instead of heading straight to his office. He’d been meaning to tell Zoey about the promotion he’d been offered the morning before, but between her kiss and their impromptu lunch date with her parents, it had never seemed the right time. Well, and to be fair, it had been the last thing on his mind during their kiss.

When the elevator doors opened on the sixth floor, he stiffened, feelingly slightly on edge by the aggressively modern atmosphere. Warmed by the memory of Zoey’s smile that morning, he steeled his shoulders and stepped forward.

Although it was early, he wasn’t surprised to find Ava at her desk already. “So, I take it you’ve made your decision?” she remarked, not looking up.

“Yes,” he replied gravely. “And I really want to thank you. It’s an incredible opportunity, but -” But he couldn’t leave Zoey. Almost certainly not the best thing to say, however, so he finished instead with, “I just don’t think it’s the right time to leave my team. We’re right in the middle of a big project, and -”

“And your team will carry on just fine,” she finished for him, looking up at him for the first time. “If they’re any good at their jobs. The point is, you are capable of much more than you’re doing right now. I’d hate to see you sell yourself short.”

“Still. I really am grateful for the offer. I just don’t think now is the right time.”

She shrugged, turning her attention back to her work. “Well, I told you that you had until five today to make a decision, and so you have until then to change your mind.”

Smiling to himself, he turned back to the elevator. He was confident nothing could happen that would change his mind. He certainly never would have guessed that, less than four hours later, he would do just that.

#zoey's extraordinary playlist #zep #max richman #zoey clarke #the lies we tell ourselves #fanfiction #my fanfiction #zax #zomax #clarkeman

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