Sunday, January 15, 2012

Studio Time: Twenty Two




University. Seven Locks Road: 8 PM



Hurrying down the stairs in the rental he shared with his brother, Eric glanced out the window while shrugging into his coat; the weather was holding clear for once. There had been other awards evenings, this wasn’t his first, but it was a big one with a lifetime achievement award going to their father and Mercury Rising not to mention all the other awards they were up for. Album of the year, song of the year, artist of the year to name a few. After calling half a dozen different people, he'd finally reached his father who had assured him everything was fine, come on, Slim would meet him. He sounded distracted and even more hoarse than he normally did. This should be a good time and it wasn't turning out that way. He started to yell for his twin and then saw him lounging on the couch wearing sweats and doing nothing.


Eric turned his head, favoring his left ear, the one he could use, an automatic reaction he tried to avoid but never seemed to overcome, and looked over the back of the couch at his brother.  No fucking way he was sitting there.  "What the hell are you doing? You look like shit, you're not coming?"



Nate sank down into the couch, stretched out, looking at football game highlights, changing the channel, hitting something with a retrospective on their father's career, stabbing hard at the remote, turning it off with a vengeance.  He sat there in front of the blank screen. 


"No."


As hard as he tried, Eric never understood his twin, no twin language, nothing. He thought he'd gotten past most of it, almost most of it, to the point where he started to feel comfortable in his own skin but the attitude, he couldn't get past that and here it was again, and, once again, he had to pick up the pieces and fix what Nate blew up.

"You know what, you're an asshole. Wyatt's in the hospital; Mom's probably not going to show or she'll come with Blade; who the hell knows what Rayne's doing; this is Dad's big moment and you're going to sit it out? Fuck you, Nate. I'm going. And yeah, I can hear you. I'm not listening but I can hear you. I can hear you better than you can hear me and I always have."



Eric slammed the door, strode down the dark sidewalk on the side of the campus nobody ever wanted to walk, the side with the drop into nowhere, the side he preferred. The taxi was waiting, his twin somewhere behind him, being Nate, being his father's clone, being the dark side of his father, every damned thing he didn't like multiplied. Simplified. Purified.


Eric struggled with his wallet once he got to the street, angry, realizing he'd left his cash behind, wind blowing, cold, and the taxi idling with the headlights pointing west toward the highway and the exit to South Beach.  "Hold on, forgot this again didn't you."  Nate shoved in, flashed a smile at the taxi driver and a wad of bills and then turned and came at him.


"Quit sucking up, Eric. He's a dick and you know it. I don't forget, maybe you do, but I don't. I was the one he pinned up against the wall when we tried to stop him. Not you. And I didn't back down but if memory serves me...yeah I can use some big words...if memory serves me you ran off.  If Mom's there, give her a hug for me. Nobody but me seems to give a damn about her."


That was so messed up on so many levels, Eric didn't know where to begin, and it didn't help that Nate used people himself and never seemed to consider it a big deal.  The hero cape didn't fit Nate and never would.  


Cold, his hands shaking, Eric knew he should just give up and get in the damned taxi and leave, but this time, this one time, the whole Nate the hero deal pissed him off too much to walk away from it.

"Let's say you're right.  Dad's a dick and Mom's a princess and you're the what...what are you exactly?  You think you're going to rescue her? If you don't show up for the biggest award of his career, you make her look bad. Everybody knows what she did; they're on his side, not hers. Maybe that's not fair, but that's the way it is.  If you don't show, she'll get the blame, she'll be the one who kept you from going because she's such a bitch.  And the whole deal with you and Dad, nobody knows and nobody cares if you got into it with him, except me. I was there, too, Nate, and I didn't run. What I didn't do is get in his face and tell him to go put it where he'd been the night before, and yeah, he slammed you against a wall.  I don't like doing this alone and you owe me."


Nate turned away, walked a few paces, then looked back, standing in the spray from the fountain somebody should have shut off because it was goddamned winter and the thing froze up, and he was shivering and laughing, forced and hard. "Yeah man, I guess I do owe you, don't I? Stick in the ear and a lot of shit, haven't forgotten about that girl and the deal with the cops so yeah, I do owe you. And I'll miss some serious swag. Give me ten minutes."



“He’s kind of a jerk, isn’t he."


Eric took a deep, shaking breath and shot the taxi driver a quick glare. She’d gotten out of the car and was standing on the sidewalk watching the exchange. She was probably a second year student with a side job, and she probably knew who they were, everybody always did, and here she was, waiting on Nate or waiting on a chance to see his father.  The badge in the taxi said 'Linnet Carpenter'.  He didn't recognize the name.

“It's none of your business. And he's not wrong.” Eric’s eyes drifted along the path his twin had taken. He was a jerk but Eric knew there was more to Nate than met the eye. Folding his arms, he exhaled, his warm breath misting as he glanced back over his shoulder at the girl. She just stood there, pretty and quiet.


"You don't know him."  Behind him, Eric heard the lights buzz on.  Something in this damned place worked once in a while.  The girl was still looking at him, and maybe he just needed to say it to someone who didn't know him, someone who didn't know his brother, someone who didn't care.  "Like I said, he's not wrong. But neither am I.“

28 comments:

  1. These two have always been protective of Beth. More so, Nate than Eric but I do remember them trying to shield her from Cooper a few times. Can't say I blame them but it is a shame to see them involved in their parent's issues.

    There is something alluring about Eric. Don't know if it's the intensity of his eyes next to that dark hair but something about him screams, "Diamond in the Ruff".


    The night shots are gorgeous! I don't know how ya'll pull them off! Mine always come out extra dark with the ugly shadows on the face.

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    1. Qui, I agree about Eric. He looks more like Coop now that he is older and in some ways he is more attractive than Nate. I think it is the intensity and artistic traits that make him that way. Of course I could be way off base.

      Thanks so much for always being a supporter of our stuff. ;)

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  2. It was nice to see this glimpse into the inner workings of Eric. He's spent his whole life in Nate's shadow and it's nice to see him shine. They do have an interesting dynamic, and that's even before throwing their parents into the mix. I wonder how they'll grow into their own.

    I have no idea how your shots are always so consistently gorgeous but I don't think I want to because the look is just so unique to your work and any attempts to mimic the effects just wouldn't cut it. It's brilliant.

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    1. Eric will eventually come into his own, at least I think he will. I can see him becoming more confident. Maybe it will happen if he separates himself from Nate. I hate that he compares himself to his twin and thinks he comes up short. Those boys are the same and yet different. The light and dark of their parents.

      I don't think anyone pays as much attention to detail as Beth. She has a vision of how it should look and never fails to create art.

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  3. I love hearing from these two. They're both gods in their own right, only Eric seems to be just starting to discover it. The long hair on both of them is perfect!

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    1. You nailed it Lunar on both accounts. The hair is great isn't it? Not everyone can wear that hair and look that good.

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  4. I like how they settled things as only brothers can. They may be more a like than they want to admit.

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    1. Thank you, jazen. They're different, but they think alike and have more in common than either of them realizes. They're both like their father, too, although from opposite ends of the personality spectrum. Nate's arrogance is likely to get him into trouble eventually.

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    2. I agree jazen, they are more alike than they will admit. Thanks!

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  5. This is the first time we've seen Nate and Eric at university, right? I'm really looking forward to following what they get into. They're very different guys but I still think they probably "get" each other more than anyone else would.

    I've always liked reading about these two. Of Cooper's kids, they definitely have the most angst about their father. I wonder how much of that is personality and how much of it is their age. Old enough to know what's going on but too young not to internalise it.

    Ha, this taxi driver is a ballsy girl!

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    1. Other than in posting shots of them, this is the first time we see them at uni. You nailed it with those two. Even though Eric thinks there is no twin connection, it's there.

      Not sure if they are the ones with most angst although considering they and Hugs are the only kids of Coop's where he was there as they grew up, you may be right.

      Thanks Carla from both of us.

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  6. I love how Eric did the reverse psychology on Nate to make him come along LOL ok maybe it was wrong but that was the best way to get him to do what he needed to. I think they both are right in their own way and the things Eric said about Beth taking the blame for Nate not showing up was dead on! The public don't know her as the victim or anything because she isn't the rocker. And as media goes, you are always more forgiving of the famous person than the one they are with. Sad but true.

    Great job and as always the shots are magnificent! I especially love the one in front of the fountain (maybe it's because of the eye candy but I'll never tell)

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    1. Dai, thank you! Yeah, Eric kind of manipulated Nate a little bit, but he doesn't disagree with his brother about what he said. He just thinks Nate won't make his point, that it would backfire, and Eric has more sympathy for Cooper than Nate has. Nate is emotional, hot headed, protective of his mother and he's sort of competing with his father.

      The lighting in that courtyard was hard to work with so I'm really glad you liked that shot!

      From both of us, thank you so much for your support. We really appreciate it.

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    2. Dai, I just want to say thanks for leaving a comment here. It is always nice to hear what people think about the story and the characters. And of course Beth's gorgeous shots! :)

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  7. Eric and Nate seem so different but in ways very similar, I guess because of the whole twin thing.

    These two have obviously been affected by break up of their parents. Isn't that standard though.

    At least with their connection they somehow know what the other is thinking, feeling and then they just get it all out in the open. Like nothing is left unsaid.

    Wonderful shots as always! I love the one of Nate with the fountain behind him. The lighting is perfect. That's one thing I feel I need to work on.

    Great job, keep it up and I look forward to more! :)

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  8. Thank you, Jennifer. We're going to finish this particular story arc then see where we are with everything including these boys. It was fun to work with them for a change, though.

    Your lighting is wonderful! I have to be careful about over lighting and over editing my shots.

    From both of us, thank you so much for all your support all this time. We really appreciate it.

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  9. Ah, it's good to hear a bit about Wyatt--I'm looking forward to learning more about what happened to him.

    Eric, wow--what a face! It's the dark hair and that strange mix of Beth and Cooper. Same with Nate, but he looks like the party boy with that blonde hair. Both of them are so angry and dealing with so much fallout. I'll be interested to see how they deal and what they've been up to at university!

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  10. Eric and Nate are an interesting combination of their parents. As they get older, that is more apparent than ever. They are the same, yet different. Even though Eric denies the twin thing, it is there under the surface. They would both go to the wall for each other - at least I think they would.

    I won't be posting Wyatt's story online anymore. That blog is finished and any future story will be in another medium. Suffice it to say he didn't die. ;)

    Thanks so much Rachel. Your taking the time to read and comment means a lot to both of us.

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  11. Wow. I finished this finally a week or so ago, but needed time to digest it all, considering my crash course reading marathon of the past several weeks. I could not be more impressed with you ladies. The growth from the beginning until now is amazing. It started out good, but has evolved into something very special. You both have so much to be proud of here.

    I was also glad to hear Wyatt is alive, if not exactly well, what a way to end his story! Will we continue to hear tidbits about him and other characters in Studio Time, or will there be side projects forthcoming?

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  12. Brandi, from both of us, thank you so much! We are just delighted that you took the time to read it all (wow...), and that you enjoyed it. I think we've both learned quite a bit and hopefully improved over the years.

    I don't think Gayl plans on continuing a blog on Wyatt, although she might be pursuing that story in another medium. We discussed side projects for some of the other characters and might pursue them. We're trying to find the time to finish this particular story arc which we've been planning for a long, long time. After that, we'll take a look at everything and make some decisions. The relationship between Duff and Rayne is something I think we'd both like to go further into, for example.

    Again, thank you for your time, for your interest, and for your feedback. I'm just thrilled you like it!

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  13. Ah, I'm late but happy to have caught up.

    I love seeing the interaction with the twins. They definitely seem a mix of their parents. Both stubborn, both hurt. I wonder if their viewpoints and empathy for their parents will change with age.

    They seem quite stuck in the middle of all the chaos going on around them too. They have the advantage of being old enough to know what is going on but young enough to not quite do much about it. Ah, it seems the whole Stanfield clan needs to go into therapy.

    What a taxi driver. I'd be annoyed too if someone not only came out of the car and listened but decided to put in their two cents. She should be happy she wasn't cursed out.

    Lovely work, ladies.

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    1. Thank you, Choco. In retrospect it's a piece that maybe we shouldn't have bothered with. It's hard to find the right balance between including enough detail and getting sidetracked.

      The twins are a mix of their parents and a reflection. Nate is more volatile, but not by much. There's no clean division, no 'sensible' one. Eric is both more realistic about his mother's shortcomings, and more understanding of his father's, but he doesn't disagree with his brother's feelings.

      From both of us, thank you!

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  14. Hard to believe that these two ever shared the same small space for nine whole months; they couldn't be more different. But they balance each other out in a way that might actually help them in the long run, especially if Nate decides to use his powers for good.

    I like the way that their relationship is developing. It's very complicated with years of resentment and jealousy brewing. I'm happy that these two have made such an indelible mark on the canvas.

    Wonderful update.

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    1. They are very different, but bound to each other and they do depend on one another whether or not they see it clearly. It's a complex and uneasy relationship. I like both of the boys. It was fun to work with them.

      Thank you from both of for your long and constant support. It is appreciated more than I can say.

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  15. Finally getting caught up on this, i have no idea where to start!

    I love this story, hands down.

    My biggest things, i guess thinking back is Rayne and Duff, can't wait to see what happens there, and Alex and Dani, he's going to give her a baby!I wish they would get back together but i'm guessing that's too much to ask for, i can still hope.

    Will definately be keeping up on this...edenz~

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    1. Thanks edenz! I wouldn't worry about starting from the beginning. It is much easier to get up to speed by following the summaries. Its too confusing otherwise. So happy you are enjoying this!

      We are working on tying up this arc which should be in an update or two. We will touch on Duff and Rayne but I don't think you will see any more of Blade and Dani in the future. Of course I will never say never but we are going to tighten our focus for future updates. We haven't worked out all the details yet but I promise you will still enjoy the ride.

      Thanks so much from both of us!

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  16. Absolutely inlove with this story!! Keep up the good work!! Can't wait for the next update!

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    1. Hanli, thank you so much! It's been quite a while since we updated but we are working on something. We both really appreciate your comment!

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