It has been about month since I first did voice over now.
I love it.
Absolutely love it.
We went over to many other companies for it and now we both are editing and doing voice overs simultaneously. I edit while Damien is recording and he edits while I am recording.
Now that Spencer is back, it is just easier for both of us. All of us.
But today was a big day.
We were sitting in a polished office.
I zoned out while starring at the mickey mouse clock infront of me.
Oh! I am zoned out right now.
Should I return?
No. Its ok. Moreover we are just waiting anyway.
"Hey!" Damien shook me.
"You zoned out?"
"Yeah, I realized that." I said back.
"I still can't believe we are going to work for Disney." he said, failing in his attempts to look calm.
His constant fidgeting always gives him away.
"I know. This is too much for reality."
In the one month of my new career, I and Damien were a famous pairing.
Chad thinks it is because we already have known each other for some time. I don't know how is that supposed to make sense but it is better than nothing.
This project at Disney, a short film is given to us based on our first voice over. Apparently those students sent it here for a competition or something, and these people really liked it, so now a Disney sponsored sequel of the video is being made.
After we were done, we got in his car and drove back.
"So, how was it working with Disney again?" I teased him.
Not many people are allowed to make joke about it off camera, but I can.
"Ha ha. Humour out of my pain. Funny." he said back.
"Don't you quote shows now." I pointed my finger at him.
"You can not just casually use such golden lines in a car conversation" I said.
The car stopped at the red light I switched on the radio.
After some lame jokes about shape of a comma, finally a good song started playing.
Young volcanoes.
One of the biggest things that bond me and Damien was our liking for Fall out and Panic at the Disco.
We both turned up the volume immediately.
"Tonight, foxes hunt the hound..." we started together.
We looked at each other and instantly laughed. Its creepy sometimes how well we coordinate. Not that I am complaining.
"We aaaaaare wild, we are like young volcanoes,"
We started again.
I don't know if we can be nostalgic about present, but that is what it felt like. I knew it was the first time we were singing out loud in public, well sort of public. I also knew that this is going to be one of my favourite memories.
So I stole all the nectar I could.
It felt like Courtney's quirky side took over me for that song.
Courtney.
Shit.
"Damien, lower the volume!" I yelled, so that he could hear me over the song.
"Whyyyy?" he made a weird face, but obeying none the less.
"I have to call Courtney."
"Why?" he seemed toned down now.
"Today they had a meeting with Mythical." I said while sifting through my contact. I should put her on my speed dial.
"OH YES!" Damien got excited again
"how did it go?" he asked.
Really?!!
"I was with you the whole day Damien. How am I supposed to know?"
"Oh yes. Sorry." he switched back his attention on driving.
"hEllO?"
"Hey court. Where are you?" I asked.
"MytHIcal. WHy?" she said on the other end.
"How was the meeting?" I asked. Through my peripherals I could see Damien's constant turning.
"It wAS goOd. LIsteN, COmE at IAn'S plaCe at 7"
"Why? Everything ok?"
His head was now fixed on the road. But I know he still has all his senses towards me.
"jUst coMe. Oh, aNd brINg DAmien alONG."
And then she hung up.
"What happened?" Damien asked as soon as I brought my phone down.
"She told me to be at Ian's place at 7 and bring you along."
There was a dead silence in the car, only the faint music played in the background. I had so many questions unanswered. If it was good then how good? What were their reactions? How was Ian holding up? Were they interested?
Did they buy us?
If not then why?
If yes then where would we work?
Will they change us?
I felt like my head would explode, but I knew this was a place where patience was a virtue.
So from there on the ride back home was quite.
None of us spoke until we reached my apartment.
"Should I come to pick you up?" Damien asked me.
I was so busy in my own thoughts that I completely forgot about going.
"Yeah. I guess. That would be great."
TIME SKIP:
I stood infront of my building, swiping through insta when Damien's car stopped infront of me. I pulled open the passenger seat door and sat down.
Oh thank God. Its his old deodorant again.
"I can't tell you how happy I am that you switched back to your previous deo. I like this one better."
I said.
"Thank you." he replied.
He is still tensed.
I can't say anything against that. He has been a part of Smosh longer than me. To me this is a family, but to him it is his life.
As a matter of fact, the only reason I cover him for his Twitch is because I know it keeps him away from depression. But right now he needs to talk. He has been quiet for few hours now.
"You ok buddy?" I asked as softly as I could.
"Huh? Yeah."
Then there was a long pause, after which he continued.
"Shayne told me that the meeting was good, but then Rhet and Link talked to Ian in private, after which he hasn't spoken much."
"What did they say?" I asked immediately.
I can't believe Courtney didn't tell me that.
"They don't know. Ian won't tell. The only reason we are going is because they hope you would get it out of him. Ian listens to you."
Ohhhhhhh. Pressure.
See, that's the thing. Ian is a tricky person to handle. You never know if he is listening. You never know what he wants to say. In this case, I don't know if he will tell me anything.
For some reason it always somehow works, but there is no guarantee.
Also, this isn't a trivial thing such as who paired with him on tinder. This is big. Damnit it's huge.
When we pulled over near Ian's house, it was already 7:30. LA traffic.
We had parked just behind Shayne's car, which was even more worse than i last remember it.
We knocked on the door and were greeted by Ian.
"Ian. Beard?!!!" Was my immediate reaction.
It had been 2 months since I last saw him, even in videos.
"Yeah. Just something different I did." he said, closing the door behind him.
"Looks good man. Keep it." Damien said.
We walked to his sofa and sat down beside each other, since Shayne and Courtney were already occupying seats next to each other on a two seater sofa.
After a round of nuggets, we finally came to the important part of conversation.
"They are saying that we have a very broad spectrum, but no depth." Ian finally spit out after I talked to him.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Shayne asked.
"They think that we are lacking a direct communication with the fans."
There was a silence in the room. The one that you get when you are shown something you weren't seeing before.
"We have pit videos for that." Courtney said.
"But that is not us, it too is scripted in some way." I added.
"So did they not show any interest?" Damien asked.
"No, actually they want to buy Smosh badly, but they just need that depth factor." Ian said.
It just came as a wave of relief. So now all we have to do is find out a way to directly communicate with public.
Another hour was spent brainstorming on it, at the end of which ideas were Smosh blogs, fan invites, even Smosh magazine. All of which were... weird.
"How do they do it?" I asked.
"How do who do what?" Ian said. He is so bad in staying focused on conversations.
"How do Rhet and Link give... depth?" I asked, gesturing depth with my hands. Atleast attempting to.
"They have a podcast I guess. Earbuiscuits I think." Courtney said.
Podcast. That's not a bad idea. Actually, its a pretty good idea.
I and Damien immediately exchanged glance. Then my eyes darted towards Ian, who did the same.
I can't believe this didn't cross our minds before. Podcast is a perfect idea. We can get guests, crew members, cast members, games members. No script, little editing and it's their own idea, so it can't be bad for them.
"Dibs on being the anchor." Ian shouted all of sudden.
"GOD IAN!" Shayne shouted.
"You almost gave me a heart attack."
"I didn't know we were calling dibs on anchoring." Damien said in a disappointed tone.
"Yeah, but now it is done. I'll talk to them about it tomorrow itself." Ian said and again shifted his focus on the dinner for all of us.
"What if they don't like it? I think we should have a backup." Damien said.
Well, he is not wrong. There is a chance that it might happen.
"Then we will tell them about Smosh magazine." Shayne said with a slight hint of excitement. "I still think that we should do that alongside the podcast." he added.
"Shayne we are never going to document your jokes, or work out schedule, or whatever it is that is going on in your mind." Courtney said showing a fake frustration.
"But why? My jokes are good." Shayne argued.
"Uhh. No" Damien jumped in.
I backed his answer with a nod, and soon Ian joined me too.
Over the dinner we talked about how our lives were going on. Ian told us about the deal and stuff, but it was evident that he was holding back. He doesn't want us to worry, but this is more stressful.
Shayne and Courtney told us what happened when Courtney went to see Shayne's family. Then Ian asked her about wedding bells, and she just took it as a joke. But I think they were closer than we thought.
Then we told everybody about our today's voice over.
"So now you both are a thing?"
"for the industry." he added after a pause.
"Shayne?!!" Damien was first to say that, almost simultaneously with Ian.
Courtney just laughed.
But I was sort of angry. I mean, I don't mind you joking about me, but I don't like being associated with anybody, and he knows that.
I think he picked it up from my face, because his loud laugh died suddenly.
"I am sorry." he said in a low tone.
"No issues. And yes, our combination is gaining popularity." I tried to change the topic.
DAMIEN POV:
After a while of talking, my phone suddenly binged. I looked at the screen and saw that Shayne had sent me a message.
I wasn't in a very good mood after what he did few moments back. He knows Y/n is a very walled up person, and my friendship in thus depth with her is just new. If anything ticks her off, she will go back.
But I opened the inbox anyway.
S: Dude did u do dat?
D: Do what?
S: Get u 2 projects 2gether?
D: No, can't do that and I never will even if I could. It just happened on it's own.
S: Dat is cool.
D: Yeah. Its kinda difficult too.
S: Why?
D: Now that we are together almost all the time, she is growing on me stronger. It's getting difficult to not bring up love related topics.
S: U r such a wuss😂
Although he joked about it, it was a bit serious now. Since we started doing voice overs together, I was constantly looking out for opportunities for us to do it together. It was just funny that almost all of my projects last month were with her. The industry really loves us together
Y/n POV:
"So Ian, what is the probability of we being a part of Mythical?" I asked. I had to.
"I don't know. I really don't." he said
"But if it was on me, I would sign any paper right now." he added.
"Really?" Courtney asked.
"Hmm. Mythical is just the hind of parent company that I wanted for Smosh." he said and leaned back on the sofa.
We didn't stretch that topic anymore, but it wad pretty evident that Ian, and even Shayne and Courtney wanted it really bad.
All I know is that if they want it so bad, then that is what we need.