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Alexia Fast in Manhattan

Alexia Fast as Callie Winter

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Episode 1x2 (The Prisoner's Dilemma)

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[futbol16]

Just tell her! ・ Clàudia Pina

Request: "Hey, if you're taking requests, could you maybe do an Aitana or Alexia (whoever you prefer or someone from Barca) x Reader where R joins mid season from a top European team in a shocking transfer? Really just Barca team getting to know R & devolping a relationship along the way. Please & thanks. Love your work BTW."

Hope I this turned out better than I think it did, but enjoy!

Word count: 1,5k

Your transfer from the top women’s football team in Italy to Barcelona was shocking to say the least. Fans and players collectively were surprised and confused at the news, especially after your phenomenal 2020/21 season.

The whole Barca team was astounded by your signing, but they couldn’t help but feel excited at the prospect of having you on their team. They’ve seen how good you are.

Your first training session with your new team was at the very beginning of the 2022 year and you felt good as you pulled the Barca training top over your head.

You had met the team a couple of times since you’ve signed, but they were yet to learn your reasoning for the sudden transfer. Yes, they believed that you’ve always been a Barca fan, but many of them felt like that wasn’t the full extent of your story.

 As you tie your boots you feel a nudge to your leg and you look up at the person.

“Aitana was asking you why you signed with us.” Claudia repeats the question and you look at Aitana confused.

“I’ve told you guys already, I’ve always wanted to play for Barca.”

“But is that all to it?” Aitana questions carefully and she studies your face for a second. Your expression falters at her heavy gaze. “We’re just curious and want to get to know you Y/N, but if you’re not comfortable you don’t have to.”

Taking a look at the rest of your teammates who all nod at the girl’s words and you take a deep breath, readying yourself.

“The coach didn’t like me, I was constantly benched from the bigger games. Barely brought on for the last 20 minutes.” you start explaining and suddenly the floor becomes very interesting to look at. “He said I wasn’t playing good enough, wasn’t fast enough and that he couldn’t risk bringing me on for the more important matches.”

The girls around you share a look and you feel a hand on your shoulders, Claudia smiles at you softly.

Your training session soon begins after your talk and as you near the end of it, you’re put into groups of 5, an end of session scrimmage 5vs5.

The players currently standing at the side, those who aren’t playing at the moment, watch dumbfounded as you dribble up the field with insane speed, nutmegging and outsmarting the opposing team before you cross the ball to Patri for a tap-in.

“How the fuck?” is heard from Jenni and Alexia smacks her in the arm for her use of language.

“No, but seriously, how the hell did her coach think she wasn’t good enough?” Claudia also comments and yelps as she gets smacked in the back of the head.

“Language!”

For the remaining 15 minutes of your scrimmage, the ten Barcelona players watch stunned as you manage to pull tricks on every single one of their teammates and your team eventually wins the game.

This wasn’t the first time they’ve seen you play, they've watched plenty of your games before, all of them big fans of the energy you brought with you every time you stepped foot on a pitch. But seeing your magic right in front of them was a whole different experience.

They couldn't be happier to get to call you their teammate and they’d make sure you’d never get disrespected by anyone ever again.

As the months passed by, you formed a close bond with most of the girls on the team and you were performing better than ever, Joanatan actually put you in for the majority of the games you’ve played so far.

There was one person in particular who you got extremely close with.

Claudia and yourself have been named the most iconic youngster duo at Barcelona. The two of you spent every waking moment together, becoming bus buddies not long after you joined, rooming together at away games and always reserving a seat for the other during team lunches. 

It didn’t take you long to realize your feelings for the shorter girl went beyond those you were supposed to have for a friend. 

With the Spanish already being a very affectionate bunch, you relished in the feel of Claudia’s soft skin on yours every time the girl would scoot closer to you.

Those not so subtle touches the girl sent your way wasn’t missed by your teammates who were counting down the days to when the two of you would finally admit your feelings.

Patri and Leila have already approached you on more than one occasion as they tried to convince you that your best friend did have feelings for you. You denied their claims though, you didn’t want to believe them, to have false hope. 

It wasn’t until the Barca team went to the beach on a random weekend towards the end of the season that things changed. 

You were currently wrestling with both Leila and Mapi in the sand, hair full of sand as the three of you laughed your asses off over nothing.

Claudia watches as your arms flex when you flip Leila over, her heart fluttering at how you still make sure she lands softly on the sand before you get knocked over by Mapi who laughs at the two of you.

Patri and Alexia sit on each side of her and she already knows what they’re going to say. You weren’t the only one who was constantly pestered by your friends.

“Come on, just tell her! This is becoming pathetic!” Patri exhales loudly as she throws her hands up frustratedly.

“Patri!” Alexia scolds the younger girl who just raises her hands innocently. “It’s not pathetic..you just, you have to admit it Claudia. Go up to her and be brave.”

Contrary to you, Claudia was aware of your feelings, but she didn’t know how to approach you. You were her best friend and even though she knew her feelings were reciprocated, she couldn’t help but be afraid of actually having to confess to you.

A not so gentle push to her shoulder brings her out of her thoughts and she looks at Patri confused. Her friend just nods towards where you are making your way towards the water, presumably to wash the sand off you. 

She takes this as her chance and as she stands up she’s again encouragingly nudged, this time by Alexia. She takes a deep breath when she nears the water, seeing your head reemerge from the water, she starts swimming towards you.

The giggle you let out when she finally reaches you is music to Claudia’s ears and she grins back at you before her expression becomes nervous. 

“What’s wrong Pina?” you ask concerned. She holds onto one of your shoulders as the waves seem to want to pull her under and you quickly follow by placing your arms around her waist.

She blushes at the contact and circles her own arms behind your neck as you hold her above the water. She realizes that she hasn't yet responded to your question and clears her throat.

“So uh I actually wanted to tell you something?” she starts “No, I need to tell you something. I erm..well you see..I-” she stammers nervously and you look at her, patiently waiting for her to finish.

She soon gets frustrated at not knowing how to confess and as she sighs, she momentarily closes her eyes.

You lean your forehead against hers, hoping your touch would calm her enough so she could say whatever she wanted.

Your thumbs rub circles into her skin soothingly and when she next opens her eyes she has this look in them, one that you can’t describe but it makes the butterflies go wild in your stomach.

Claudia opens her mouth again, seemingly wanting to speak again before she abruptly closes it. Her eyes bounce across your face as she stares at you before her gaze settles on your lips.

Your mouth grows dry at that and your breath hitches as she starts leaning in.

You close the distance between the two of you as your lips hug hers and the both of you sigh into the feeling of being so close.

She pulls you closer as she enjoys the softness of your lips and it’s only when you hear loud wolf whistling from the shore that you pull away and look towards your teammates.

They’re cheering, many of them have their phones out and Patri is standing with a huge grin on her face as she shows you two a thumbs up.

You giggle at the girls, pulling Claudia out of the water with you and pressing a kiss to her cheeks as the two of you get wrapped in a big towel.

[hollywocd]

alexia fast icons please

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Emma Winchester icons for Emma Winchester Week!

Feel free to use!

[youngfcs]

— 𝘼𝙡𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙖 𝙁𝙖𝙨𝙩 | Last Kind Words gif pack.

By clicking the source link or [ this link ], you’ll find #83 gifs of Alexia Fast (1992) as Amanda in the movie Last Kind Words [2012]. Alexia was born in Canada and is of white/caucasian ethnicity. All made by me from scratch, so please, don’t repost or claim them as your own! You can use them in editions, or crackships, but please credit me (@youngfcs).  If using, like or reblog ❗

[ ! ] Contains: screaming, kissing, crying (it’s a horror movie)

[ Don’t include them in any gif hunt, don’t crop these into gif icons without my permission, don’t use them in any smut threads/rps or for taboo roleplays and don’t use to rp the celebrity itself ]

[aion-rsa]

15 Best Resident Evil Bosses and Monsters Ranked

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You don’t go 25 years with a name like Resident Evil without introducing a good mix of macabre monsters primed to haunt the nightmares of players everywhere. At their best, these frightening beasties make you want to run away and hide, challenging you to use your limited resources wisely while trying to survive the night. Even at their worst, any Resident Evil monster worth its weight in viscera will still have you gawping at just how disgusting it appears. Eugh!

With the release of Resident Evil Village and the arrival of nine-foot-tall vampire Lady Dimitrescu, we thought it worth ranking the 15 scariest monsters in Resident Evil history. That’s right – not even a top 10 would be good enough to do the creatures of Capcom’s iconic survival horror franchise justice.

15. Ustanak – Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil’s much maligned sixth entry has a lot of problems, we’ll admit, but one area where it does succeed is in its litany of boss fights. While the game features four interconnected campaigns with plenty of unique enemies, Ustanak breaks away from the crowded roster of other monsters thanks to his relentless pursuing of Jake Muller and appearance (however brief) in almost all of the featured storylines. As far as bioweapons go, he’s also one of the most mean-looking, boasting a tank-like physique and threatening mechanical claw. 

You’ll fight Ustanak multiple times as part of Jake’s Resident Evil 6 campaign, first within a wintery Eastern European town as he clambers from chopper to chopper to get to you, then as part of a team-up with Leon in a shipment yard, before eventually finishing him off in a fist fight as boiling lava bubbles below you. Very much following the Nemesis template of growing persistently stronger, Ustanak is easily one of the redeeming elements of Resident Evil 6’s overt bloat.

14. Comms Officer/Scaghead – Resident Evil: Revelations

The mutated Comms Officer in spin-off title Revelations is one of the first major hurdles you come across. After learning that Chris isn’t aboard the Queen Zenobia, Jill is forced to venture into the bowels of the cruise ship, and this oversized piece of sludge is the only thing standing in your way. Taking down this two-headed behemoth involves getting him close to the various gas cylinders littered around and firing, all while keeping his many ghoulish minions at bay.

The comms officer’s human half is where the monster is at its weakest, so by placing a few well-timed sniper shots in this area players shouldn’t have too much trouble. Even still, only having a limited number of windows to jump through and tight passages to go down makes him a real problem early on. That’s why it pays to be patient (as well as smart) with this lumbering mass of goo. 

13. Regenerador – Resident Evil 4

Capable of regrowing any limbs you shoot off with relative ease, the first time you encounter a regenerador in Resident Evil 4 is easily one of the adventure’s scariest moments. Though Leon is by this point well-equipped, and without Ashley as his tag-a-long helper, these sludgy beings are still quite the challenge, as they continue chasing you unless you equip your thermal vision and target their specific weakness points.

An enhanced version of the Regenerador greets you a little later in the form of an Iron Maiden. This hellish creature would enjoy nothing more than to hug Leon and impale him on the long nails that protrude from its flesh. You have to be sure to not get to close and maintain your distance, all while targeting the leech-like Las Plagas cells scattered all over its body to make it out safely.

12. Executioner – Resident Evil 5

It may have been the entry that saw the series swerve fully into action blockbuster territory, yet Resident Evil 5 also features some extremely unsettling monsters that still haunt us to this day. One of the first you come across are the handful of executioners who look and act exactly as their name would suggest. These immense figures have pins sticking out of their arms and wield a deadly axe, one swing of which is enough to turn Chris and Sheva into nothing but jam.

The executioners pose a real problem early on in Resident Evil 5’s campaign, as your weapons are severely underpowered, and you’re only given limited space in which to lead them around. Hold out for long enough, though, and you’ll manage to avoid the edge of their blade, only to encounter a more imposing version of them later on in the Desperate Escape DLC. It’s here where their axe is now laden in flames and primed to roast your skin.

11. Licker – Resident Evil 2

Arguably not just one of the scariest but also one of the most iconic monster designs to come out of Resident Evil, lickers are known for their ability to move fast, climb walls, and trip players up using their incredibly far-reaching tongue. The lickers’ one weakness is lack of sight, which Leon and Claire are wise to take advantage of when exploring the zombie-infested R.P.D building. Sometimes, however, these brain-exposed mutants are simply impossible to avoid, forcing you to outwit them and stay at a distance. 

Believe it or not, lickers are thought to be an advanced form of zombie. These particular subjects were designed to be even deadlier bioweapons. We’d say they succeeded. While lickers are easily dealt with in most of the games (provided you know what you’re doing), their arrival is always unsettling since you need to remain quiet, often while trying to contend with other undead threats. 

10. Lisa Trevor – Resident Evil 

Altering an existing game’s story or structure is always a tricky prospect. On the one hand, you want to be true to what fans know, yet at the same time sprinkle in a few surprises. This was the case with Lisa Trevor’s debut appearance in the 2002 remake of the first Resident Evil game. She isn’t just a ho-hum boss fight, but rather a fully formed character with a surprisingly sad back story that involves her being experimented on by Umbrella for at least 20 years.

Lisa Trevor’s animal-like posture and distorted appearance is a result of this constant testing, which makes having to slay her alongside a true series villain (Albert Wesker) all the more heart breaking. The encounter itself may be relatively straightforward, but hearing Lisa wail and cry out as you’re forced to pump rounds into her is genuinely unsettling. Lisa Trevor is a welcome addition to the original Resident Evil’s canon, not least due to how terrifying her circumstances are.

9. Dr. Salvador – Resident Evil 4

What makes Dr. Salvador from Resident Evil 4 even scarier than he looks is the fact he’s not even a boss. No, all this relentless, bag-wearing maniac needs to try and keep Leon Kennedy at bay is a thirst for blood and a ripping chainsaw primed to rip our protagonist to shreds. He’s surprisingly fast and nimble in spite of his wide-set frame, which makes for a deadly combination when you’ve just heard the rumble of his tool-turned-weapon from a distance and are trying to get an accurate lock on him. 

Typical handgun bullets will do very little to stop the swing of Dr. Salvador’s chainsaw. Instead, your best bet is to barrage him with shotgun shells or attempt a stun with a flash grenade. Either way, every die-hard Resident Evil fan remembers where they were the first time they heard the grinding of a metal chain so soon after entering Resident Evil 4’s Spanish village. 

8. Cerberus – Resident Evil

Dogs have always played a huge role in Resident Evil, but most players will never forget the first time they smashed onto the screen. Slowly traversing down an innocent hallway of the Spencer Mansion in the original Resident Evil, the unsettling silence is suddenly disrupted by the sound of windows shattering and what appears to be two undead Dobermans. They are, in fact, four-legged monsters known in canon as Cerberuses – bio-organic weapons infected by the T-virus strain.

These doggos are far from the good boys you first expect them to be, leaving a mark on your mind as well as the hallway floor thanks to the amount of blood they drip. Their introduction kicked off the classic Resident Evil tradition of having to take down zombie canines quickly. If you don’t, they’ll continue to pursue you around most corridors or until you can bide your time in the nearest safe room. Cerberus dogs are living proof that no mammal is safe from Umbrella’s experiments. 

7. Nosferatu – Resident Evil Code: Veronica 

Code: Veronica often gets forgotten about as far as Resident Evil games go. This is a shame considering its host to two of the most merciless franchise villains in siblings Alexander and Alexia Ashford. What makes them so monstrous? Possibly their willingness to experiment on their own father, eventually transforming him into the near unkillable monster known as Nosferatu. Strung up, blinded, and suffering from a gaping hole in the chest, he serves as one of Code: Veronica’s most nightmarish monsters and boss fights.

Nosferatu is another Resident Evil monster with a deep and disturbing back story, which makes fighting him even creepier. After whipping Claire whips her partner Steve Burnside away to one side, she faces Nosferatu on a wintery helipad without much visibility. It may be fairly obvious where his weak spot is, but you’ll quite literally need to play it cool to pump enough rounds in.

6. Deborah Harper – Resident Evil 6

Bombing it through the underground cavern in a minecart while trying to avoid the clutches of Helena’s gloopy sister is one of Resident Evil 6’s best sequences. At first it seems like you may have rescued Deborah in time, but it isn’t long until Leon and his partner discover she’s already been subjected to the C-virus, causing her to catch alight before birthing a more monstrous version of herself from out of her own back. 

If this imagery alone isn’t enough to make you fear Deborah, just wait until she comes at you with her four whip-like tentacles. First you face her head-on while trying not to get repeatedly lashed as the caverns crumble around you, before gunning at her from the back of a racing minecart as mentioned. The fight culminates once you hit a ridge and squeaky Deborah is forced to fall to her death. For a short while there, though, this gruesome bioweapon gets close to giving Leon and Helena the kiss of death.

5. Queen Leech – Resident Evil 0

Don’t be fooled by how regal the monster known as Queen Leech looks in human form. By the time Billy and Sherry come across her in Resident Evil Zero, she’s increased in height, gained multiple flaps, and sports a face full of enough teeth to finish you in one bite. This boss fight serves as the climax of this prequel adventure, and as such she chases you throughout multiple areas.

She’s one of the scariest Resident Evil monsters due to her disgusting final form, coupled with her ability to control loads of smaller leeches, too. Players with a hatred of slithery creatures are sure to find her disgusting.

4. Marguerite Baker – Resident Evil 7

Almost any member of Resident Evil 7’s Baker family would have been a good choice for this list, but we had to pick Marguerite due to how distinctly spooky your boss encounter with her is. Not only has she grown abnormally long limbs by the time you take her on in an abandoned outhouse but the majority of the fight also takes place in the dark. This makes your attempt to burn her all the more unnerving since she’s prone to sneak up on you and strike.

Players will likely have already developed a deep hatred for Marguerite even before this fight, though, due to the handful Metal Gear Solid-esque missions where you’re forced to sneak past her as Mia. However, all bets are off by the time you face her as Ethan. It’s just a simple case of knowing where to look and what nooks she may pop out of. Sending both Marguerite and her army of insects to Hell is satisfyingly tense and a good showcase of Resident Evil 7’s more claustrophobic first-person perspective.

3. G-virus William Birkin – Resident Evil 2 Remake

The mutated version of William Birkin already looked grotesque in Resident Evil 2 on PlayStation One, but Capcom outdid itself when returning to the character for the 2019 remake. Transformed into a ghoulish monstrosity as a result of injecting himself with the G-Virus strain, Birkin constantly cries out in pain to his wife and daughter as players concentrate fire on the gaping eye bulging out of his right-side shoulder. This final hint of humanity makes fighting him feel devastating.

Dr. Birkin loses more control of himself as the Resident Evil 2 campaign barrels towards its end, eventually transforming into a wall-crawling mass of daggers that tries to tear your head off. His pursuit of Leon and Claire eventually leads to his downfall, however, after his attempt to derail the train escaping Raccoon City is thwarted by a few pokes. Still, Birkin goes down as one of the gooiest monsters in Resident Evil history.

2. Nemesis – Resident Evil 3

Resident Evil’s original hulking stalker is still one of the scariest. First appearing in the original PS One version of Resident Evil 3 before being slightly modernized for last year’s remake, Nemesis is a massive pain the ass for ex-S.T.A.R.S member Jill Valentine because he just doesn’t stop and can appear unannounced at almost any time. His Terminator-like determination to pursue means that you’re never safe when exploring the streets of Racoon City.

Nemesis is easily recognisable by his missing lips and stitched-together skull, both of which result in a face that only a mother could love. He becomes more deformed the longer Resident Evil 3’s campaign progresses, too, making each fight feel scarier than the last. Nemesis has only ever returned in spin-offs, but you never know when he’ll pop around the corner next.

1. Mr. X – Resident Evil 2 Remake

Mr. X is the reason many players start panicking whenever they hear the sound of approaching footsteps in Resident Evil 2 Remake. Don’t be fooled by his bowler hat and trench coat, this Tyrant model T-103 looks like a wardrobe but moves at a brisk pace. As such, facing him head-on is always a bad idea, especially since he won’t stay down for long, even after pumping him full of explosive rounds. The opposite direction is always your best bet whenever Mr. X unexpectedly shows up. 

While he gradually evolves into something more monstrous and unsightly towards the end of Leon and Claire’s adventure, even Mr. X’s initially plain appearance is unsettling. You simply have no way of defeating or halting this 7-foot-tall stalker, and you’re instead forced to navigate R.P.D headquarters using an entirely different route than you first intended. This endless game of cat and mouse never fails to get the heart pumping, especially since he follows you in real time.

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[evak-elu-nicotino]

I need to ramble about OG SKAM and remakes, and it's gonna be a long-ass post !

Before I begin, just to be clear : I haven’t watched all of SKAM NL, and I didn’t really like SKAM Austin. Well, I watched the first episode of SKAM Austin a while back, but I didn’t really wanna watch the rest of it, so...yeah.

So far, I watched the whole of SKAM Italia, and OG SKAM of course. I watched parts of season 1 & 2, and then from season 3 of SKAM France until current season 6; season 2 of SKAM España; the first episodes of SKAM NL; part of season 1, then complete season 3 Druck; and some of the season 1, the complete season 3 of WTFock, as well as WTFockdown, though.

Anyway, I was talking with my wonderful beta-reader, @unfinishedbusinessss​ a couple weeks ago,and thought, wow, I can’t even begin to rank Even & Isak’s versions in every remake, each couple has chemistry, and I can’t even pick a favorite among the remakes !

This got me thinking, I kinda wanted to do a humongous post about the whole SKAMverse though, not just the Evak versions.

Obviously, OG SKAM will always be first, and Even & Isak are just...OTP, forever. I fell in love with their story so much, but I feel like every remake managed to get me to fall in love with every Even & Isak’s version, and I wasn’t prepared fo that, tbh. Vilde is so irritating. Noora is the best character in the whole SKAMverse, and William is an ass. I loved Sana’s season so much it hurts, and Yousef is a sweetheart. Cried during the whole Jonas’ speech at the end, and during the Vilde-Chris scene as well, even though I don’t like Vilde ! That’s saying something. Isak is one of my favorite characters, but Even comes close. Eskild is my precious child.

Top 5 characters from OG SKAM :

1. Noora Amalie Sætre (wow, what an icon ! I mean, I kinda wish they would’ve dropped her whole storyline with William, because I definitely do not care for him, and I like Noora’s opinions in season 1 & the beginning of season 2. I love that she’s a feminist, so much more mature than the rest of the girls’ squad, and her introduction in the show, when she meets Eva, is jus perfect. I loved her from the first second ! Red lipstick looks incredibly good on her too, just saying.)

2. Isak Valtersen (I can’t tell you how much I like and relate to Isak, me, a 31-year old woman. (lol) He’s very much a teenage version of myself back in the days ! I like his inner battles, his friendship with Jonas is everything. His internalized homophobia is portrayed very realistically, I might add. I liked his character from quite early on, but his season just did it for me. Tarjei Sandvik Moe is a very good actor, we got so lucky with his casting in this role ! I love his character development from season 1 to season 4. He’s grown so much in such a short period of time !)

3. Even Bech Næsheim (okay, let me start with the obvious : Henrik Holm’s smile, eyes and laugh had me gone from the start. He’s gorgeous and I can definitely see why Isak fell for him ! His character is soooo well written, Henrik portrays Even so beautifully and with so many nuances, I loved every on-screen minute Even gets in season 3 and season 4. He’s got so much layers ! I also liked that we were all lost because of his atttitude when we watched season 3 of OG, because what the hell’s happening right now, Even ?! That’s really a proof of how amazing Henrik was in this role. And their chemistry was off the charts from their very first scene together, which doesn’t hurt either !)

4. Jonas Noah Vasquez (amazing best friend to Isak when he needs it !)

5. Sana Bakkoush (queen ! I love her so much, she’s definitely an iconic character ! I think all of the Sanas in the remakes don’t even come close to her, but Imane in SKAM France is amazing, Amira in SKAM España is fantastic, Yasmina in WTfock is sooooo good (can’t wait for her season !!), and Amira in Druck is freakin’ amazing as well. But like I said, Sana in OG SKAM is definitely the most fantastic one !)

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SKAM France

When I heard they were making remakes, I honestly thought, “okay, so they’re gonna make seven different copies in seven different countries ?” It didn’t make any sense at the time. 

So when SKAM France aired, I watched from afar, terrified that they would mess this up in the only way the French knows how (I’m French myself), and I didn’t really fell in love with the first two seasons. I didn’t even like Lucas, to be honest. He was a minor character in the background, and I didn’t expect to fall in love with Lucas and Eliott’s story as much as I did. I also didn’t expect their love scenes to be this tasteful and beautiful, so I was kinda blown away by that, and by their chemistry. The piano scene and the paint scene will forever be on my mind whenever I think about season 3 of SKAM France. I also fell in love with Imane, to be honest. She’s gorgeous, and her season with Sofiane was amazing. I didn’t expect to like “Le gang” as much as I did either. Mahdi and Magnus in OG SKAM are not really among my favorite characters, but boy did I liked Arthur and Basile. Both the actors are amazing, which tremendously helps ! I didn’t find Daphné as irritating as Vilde in OG SKAM though, don’t know why. She might actually be in my top 5, whereas Vilde is one of my least favorite characters in OG SKAM, with Emma of course. Oh, and I love the fact that Alexia is bisexual in this version ! That’s such a good addition !

I loved season 5. I was kinda dreading it at first, but when I learnt that it was gonna be based on Arthur, I was kinda relieved. I think Robin Migné is a terrific actor, and his performance during this whole season is just stellar !

So far, I quite like season 6. Maya will definitely enter my top 5 sometime very soon, honestly, and Lola’s not far behind her. Basile has redeemed himself so much since season 3 when I thought he was annoying as fuck !

Top 5 characters from SKAM France :

1. Lucas Lallemant (that guy. We’ve been blessed, you guys : Axel Auriant is a freakin’ incredible actor, which makes the character all the more realistic and likeable. I’ll be forever impressed by episode 7 of season 3, especially the beginning with the scene on the couch with Mika and Manon, where Lucas is crying because of Yann’s stupid reaction to Lucas coming out. What a shitty friend, honestly...)

2. Imane Bakhellal (she’s so fierce and I almost like her even better than I did Sana in OG SKAM. She’s beautiful and witty AF, I loved her season !)

3. Alexia Martineau (bi queen with colored hair, I love her so much !!)

4. Arthur Broussard (he grew on me sooo much in season 5, but I liked him from the start, tbh)

5. Manon Demissy (although I didn’t get around to watch her own season yet, but I hate Charles’ character with a passion, so I can’t bring myself to watch it yet...)

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SKAM Italia (SKAM Italy)

Oh boy, does this remake has a particular place in my heart. I’m in love with the Italian language, have been for YEARS literally, and I think the whole cast is just gorgeous ! Eva might be my favorite Eva version to date. Season 4 was just SO GOOD, OMG, and I don’t even like Italian Sana that much, but wow, this was amazing !

Top 5 characters from SKAM Italia :

1. Martino Rametta (what a surprise ! It’s not a secret : Martino means the world to me. I was drawn to him very fast, very deeply. Maybe it’s because Federico Cesari is one hell of a an actor, maybe that’s because of his boyish cute freckly smiley charm, whatever; but he’s my number one favorite character from the whole SKAMverse. I can’t explain, really. He’s got something about him that just...makes me squeal every time I see him on screen. His season was SO GOOD YOU GUYS. I loved that we got to see his relationship with his mom. I loved the way Fede portrays his emotions, his inner battles, his fears. The way he acts with his eyes. And boy, season 4 was fireworks. Fede was always good, but season 4 was AMAZING. That scene with Sana is all kinds of incredible. Martino has never looked this good. He never looked so open, raw, vulnerable. His storyline with Niccolò kinda broke my heart, to be honest, but we got so much Martino screen time, I’m not complaining. He’s a gem. I’ll never not like Martino, he’s my person. I just connect with him so much, I can’t even explain it clearly !)

2. Giovanni Garau (”con la u finale, perché è sardo” ! Giovanni, aka the best Jonas in the entire SKAMverse. I loved OG Jonas, as well as German Jonas, don’t get me wrong, but Giovanni is ALWAYS there for Martino, and their friendship definitely fall into the brOTP category ! I love how supportive he is all through season 2, fights for Martino’s right to be happy and in love in public in season 3, and just never leaves his side in season 4. We’ve been blessed with this character you guys ! The male characters in SKAM Italia are so strong and likeable, it’s not even funny !)

3. Filippo Sava (one of the most amazing versions of Eskild to ever exist. I don’t have enough words to describe how much I LOVE this character ! Pietro Turano did an amazing job, wow. If Milan in WtFOCK wasn’t so fantastic, I’d definitely put Filippo in first place in the Eskild versions ranking !)

4. Niccolò Fares (I think Rocco Fasano did a fantastic job portraying Niccolò ! He’s definitely an underrated actor. Loved Niccolò quite late in season 2 though, but from the moment their first kiss happened, I fell in love with their story. And season 4 was just SO GOOD. We definitely get a side of Niccolò we didn’t even get with Even in OG SKAM, and his clip in episode 10 is amazing. Kudos Rocco, you definitely deserve recognition for your portrayal of  Niccolò !)

5. Eva Brighi (one of the best Evas in the whole SKAMverse, IMO !)

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

SKAM España (SKAM Spain)

I’m not gonna ramble too much on this remake, especially because it might be the one I connected the less with, and I’ve only seen season 2 so far. Might be an unpopular opinion, but Cris gets on my nerves sometimes, that’s why she’s not in my top 5 characters from this particular remake.

Top 5 characters from SKAM España :

1. Lucas Rubio Fernández (the spanish Eskild, I think he’s cute AF, and incredibly brave. I really loved all of his interactions with Cris in season 2, he’s bringing her some wisdom she didn’t even knew she needed !)

2. Joana Bianchi Acosta (queen. I quickly was drawn to her character, I think from the moment we see her in her first scene with Cris. Tamara Ronchese is fantastic !)

3. Amira Naybet (OMG, her reaction to Cris coming out is everything !! Can’t wait to see her season !)

4. Nora Grace (she reminds me so much of OG Noora sometimes, it’s uncanny ! She has such a graceful presence !)

5. Dani Soto Peña (Cris’ older brother. I quite liked that we got to see Cris’ family in this version, her mother and brother. Dani was soooo annoying at first, but he was sooo sweet to Cris from the moment he drove her to the hospital to see Joana, and that scene when they smoke together on the terrace is everything. Such an accurate sibling scene !)

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

Druck (SKAM Germany)

Hooooooly wow, this remake is FREAKIN’ FANTASTIC. I finally watched season 3 during lockdown, so it’s very recent, but GOD it gave me so many feelings ! That version of Isak and Even is everything. 

Top 5 characters from Druck :

1. David Schreibner (KING. Holy wow, Lukas Alexander/von Horbatschewsky is GOLD. He got me crying more than once. David’s story actually changes a lot from OG SKAM, but thank youuu Druck for shining a light on transgender’s representation in TV shows. David is a sooo well written character, he struggles a lot, but he’s relatable in so many ways. Wow, he’s just such a layered and complex character, I was blown away, really. And again, THANK YOU Druck for showing a sex scene with a transgender character, and him having an open conversation with Matteo about his struggle and how he sees himself is soo so important. It is so important to feel represented in movies and TV shows, I’m truly so thankful for this version of SKAM. Thank you Lukas !)

2. Matteo Florenzi (Matteo is an actual teenager, his portrayal is on point, and I felt his pain from the start. Michelangelo Fortuzzi did an amazing job, wow. Matteo grew on me so much in just one episode, it’s actually scary ! By the end of the first episode I wanted him to be happy, dump Sara, and just kiss David already.)

3. Jonas Augustin (Matteo has such an amazing best friend, with such a good singing voice ! Episode 10 of season 3 had me shook ! Iconic episode !)

4. Amira Mahmood (just a word for you : QUEEN ! Amira’s iconic ! I can’t wait to watch her season !)

5. Sam M’Pele (LOVE Chris’ version in Druck ! She’s awesome and so stylish ! I’m in love with her hair !)

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

WTfock (SKAM Belgium)

Yet again, I actually caught up on WTfock during lockdown, since Druck and WTfock were the only remakes I never watched at this point. And yet again, I was BLOWN AWAY. WTfock got me feeling so many things, and I only watched season 3 and WTfockdown. Wow. hOLY WOW. Might be one of my favorite remake, it’s SO GOOD.

Top 5 characters from WTfock :

1. Milan Hendrickx (the flemish Eskild, one of my fave characters in all of the SKAMverse ! FUCK, Lars Brinkman knocks it out of the park, he truly does ! Milan is by far my favorite Eskild character. He’s sooo supportive, he’s a true friend, he’s funny AF - OMG, that scene where he tries to flirt with Moyo got me howling with laughter !! And he’s loyal. I love that he’s almost a father figure to Robbe, who definitely needs it ! That scene in episode 6 when Robbe tells him about the homophobic assholes...His reaction...I think I cried for like a good five minutes when I watched this, I couldn’t catch my breath. Milan’s precious, and we must protect him at all costs. A favorite. I’m in love with him, his supportiveness, his loyalty to Robbe, his smile, his affection for both Zoë and Robbe. They matter so much to him. He’s a sweetheart !)

2. Robbe IJzermans (FUCK I didn’t expect to feel so much things when watching season 3. Robbe is the Isak version that goes through the hardest stuff. His own internalized homophobia is sooo painful to witness... Jens is supportive when he comes out, but then Moyo and Aaron act like the biggest jerks on the planet, they just have this RIDICULOUS reaction when Robbe tries to tell them thay he's into Sander...And the end of episode 5 is awful. I just can't. He's gone through so much that season,it's insane. And yet by the end of episode 10, my heart felt so full for him and Sander finally happy...Gosh. What a rollercoaster...Willem Herbots is insanely cute and wow how well did he conveys Robbe's emotions. I'm speechless !)

3. Sander Driesen (holy wow this character is sooo good ! I was wondering at the beginning of episode 3 when we'll get to see him, and the minute he appeared on screem, him and Robbe instantly had that insane chemistry. Which peaked in the first kiss, in the pool in episode 4. That scene, that sing, that intensity...Yeah, Robbe and Sander bewitched me !)

4. Zoë Loockx (such a good character as well !)

5. Yasmina Ait Omar (can't waiiiit for her season !)

~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~

SKAM NL (Skam Netherlands)

This is gonna short and sweet, since I’ve only seen a couple episodes, but I already like quite a few characters so far !

Top 5 characters from SKAM NL :

1. Liv Reijners (what a badass character ! She’s beautiful and fierce, what a great Noora version ! I love her so much and I haven’t even watched her season yet !)

2. Isa Keijser (very relatable version of Eva, I must say. She’s cute AF and I love her friendship with Liv !)

3. Janna Mertens (one of the best Chris’ versions I’ve ever witnessed so far ! She has a unique look, and I think she’s an awesome female character !)

4. Lucas van der Heijden (a sneaky little shit I just love ! I’m sad we won’t get his season though...He’s very attractive, and I would have loved to see him meet his Even...)

5. Imaan Elami (once again, a version of Sana I quite like ! She’s beautiful, and kind of a queen, to be honest ! I really like her a lot. Yet again, so sad we won’t get her season, nor her friendship with Lucas...)

[vexedtonightmares]

last dance (elu ballet au) chapter huit

Lucas is in his final year at the Paris Opera Ballet School and he’ll be damned if he lets his former friend-turned-rival Eliott steal the lead role in their production of Swan Lake.

aka- lucas and eliott are rivals who are forced to room together for their final year of ballet school before they try to enter the company. we can all see where this is going.  

i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii.

ao3

**For those unaware, I will only ever post my works on my tumblr or on ao3 under the name bluesxrgent. If you see my work posted elsewhere, I did not post, or give my permission for it to be posted, and I would love it if you let me know. Bisous.**

tw: brief mentions of past child abuse in this chapter

Jeudi 14:37

“Fuck,” Lucas hissed under his breath for probably the twentieth time that day. Imane glared at him, which was justified. It was like he had two left feet all of a sudden, he couldn’t get any of the moves right. Madame Rigaux had been downright terrifying in their earlier classes, and he’d hoped he would be able to get it together by the time Swan Lake rehearsals started, but no dice. 

He couldn’t keep his mind off the dream he’d had that morning, memories of him and Eliott as children coming in and out of his mind in flashes. He’d slipped out of their suite while Eliott was in the bathroom that morning but hadn’t gone to the studio, knowing Eliott might look for him there. 

It was his fault, really, if Eliott thought they were back to being friends, but he hoped some good avoidance and ignoring on his part would do the trick and send them back to mutual hatred. 

The director eyed him from the front of the classroom and Lucas snapped to attention, trying to pretend his mind wasn’t running a mile a minute. Eliott, unfortunately, was completely back in his groove, dancing better than he had since he’d been out for a week. Manon was flawless as usual, and they complimented one another very well. Lucas reached out for Imane’s hand, preparing to restart the phrase they’d been working on. 

It went more successful than the last time, but they were still nowhere near their usual chemistry. He knew Imane would chew him out about it later, but at the moment as long as he was executing the steps properly he really didn’t care if the right energy and passion wasn’t there. 

They moved along into the sequence where Odile, disguised as Odette, fools the Prince, thus allowing Von Rothbart a victory. Manon and Imane had been practicing this sequence harder than the others because it was one of the most iconic moments of the ballet, as it was the part where Odile executed thirty-two consecutive fouettes. Eliott met Lucas’ eye as the girls prepared to run through their turns before doing them in line with the choreography, and Lucas flinched away from the glance. 

They were seventeen now, and Lucas had still never been the Prince or done the fouettes like they’d promised each other back when they were eight. When he looked back up at Eliott, Eliott was wearing a slight frown, brows furrowed in concern. He raised one of them at Lucas in a silent question, but Lucas ignored it, pretending to pay attention to Manon and Imane so he knew when to come in with his own choreography. 

They were seventeen now, and Lucas was still making all the same mistakes. He wanted to pretend it wasn’t his fault, but he’d always been the master of his own demise, believing in the good in people even after they’d shown that whatever they considered good was not to be trusted.

Needless to say, the rest of rehearsals flew by in one big blur. The one surprisingly decent part of the day was how Lucas had actually done quite well in their hip hop class that day. Maybe it was all his pent up rage, but he’d killed their combination that day, and it didn’t go unnoticed. Actually, their hip hop instructor asked to record him doing the combo after class, which was usually only ever requested of people like Manon, Imane, Sofiane, and, before she’d left the school, Alexia. 

Sweating, but smiling when he finished, he packed up his things and left the classroom, running right into Eliott who’d been waiting outside the door. Lucas shot him an alarmed and confused look, but Eliott just fell into step beside him. Lucas looked at him out of the corner of his eye, even more confused by the fact that Eliott was grinning peacefully. Hadn’t he noticed Lucas was avoiding him?

“What are you doing?” Lucas asked finally. Eliott looked surprised. 

“What do you mean?”

Lucas raised his eyebrows. “I mean, why did you wait for me?”

Eliott shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I? We’re going back to the same place and it only took a few minutes anyway.”

“Maybe I didn’t want you to,” Lucas grumbled, and Eliott’s smile finally faltered. “And maybe I wasn’t coming back to the room.”

“But it’s dinner time. Remember? We planned to make ratatouille?” Eliott teased. They had, in fact, planned to make ratatouille, because they’d watched the movie while they ate the night before, mouths watering at all the animated food even though they had no idea why. What was it about animated food that made it look so much better than real food?

“I can’t,” Lucas lied, “I promised Yann I’d go out to dinner with him.

“On a Thursday?”

“Yes.”

Eliott’s face fell further. “Oh. Um, ok then. You don’t want to shower before you go?”

Lucas wrinkled his nose. “Are you telling me I smell?”

“No, but you have a shower every day after practice before you do anything else so…”

Ok, fine, that was true. He really did need a shower. “I meant after my shower, obviously.”

“Ok, sorry.” Eliott’s voice was small and closed off. Part of Lucas was pleased that he was finally taking a hint, the other part frantic that he’d dimmed Eliott’s natural light. They walked the rest of the short distance to their room in silence. 

Once inside, Lucas beelined for the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind him before slumping against the side of the door. He knew that Yann had plans with his own parents that night, but that didn’t matter. Lucas could spend his time in one of the studios and pretend he’d been out with Yann for the night. If he was lucky he’d be able to come back after Eliott fell asleep. 

He was suddenly grateful he’d agreed to go to the party with the boys tomorrow night. At least then he had an excuse to avoid Eliott. Now he only had to worry about the rest of the year, which was wonderful. 

He turned the shower on, realizing he’d been in there for a while and he’d just been sitting on the floor. Even though the shower was on, he was still unmotivated to actually get in, so he laid his head against the bathtub and watched until the shower got so hot that steam formed on the mirror. 

There was a small part of his heart that couldn’t stop clenching painfully in his chest, and he didn’t know why. More accurately, he was pretty sure he did know why, and that made his heart clench even tighter. 

Vendredi 21:16  

Lucas was nowhere near as drunk as he wished he could be but, given the disastrous experience of the last party, he’d limited himself to one drink at the pregame, one drink when they got to the party. Most of his friends had no such reservations, and he frowned at the beer he’d been nursing for an hour in disappointment. 

The party was supposed to start around 22h, which meant that they would be showing up fashionably late, which meant he had to nurse this beer for the next hour and a half at least. Great. Lucas, Yann, Basile, Arthur, Manon, Daphné, Emma, Imane, and Alexia were at Emma’s house for the pregame because her parents were never around and it was pretty close to both the school and where the party would be held. 

At least Eliott and Sofiane hadn’t joined them, choosing to hang out with Idriss and one of their other friends, Alex. Lucas wasn’t even sure if they’d be going to the party and hoped to god they wouldn’t. He wouldn’t have minded seeing Idriss and Alex, but he could survive a night without them if it meant a night without Eliott too. 

Arthur laid his head in Lucas’ lap, looking up at Lucas in concern. “You look upset.”

“I’m not upset,” Lucas said. He wasn’t, really, at least no more than usual. 

“Bullshit,” Arthur sang to himself, then giggled. Arthur usually didn’t get drunk very fast, so he must have had a lot to drink already. “You’re always upset.”

“That’s not true,” Lucas argued, but it sounded strained. They both knew it was true, but Lucas hadn’t realized Arthur picked up on it. 

Arthur blinked slowly, like it required quite the effort. “It is. I don’t know why, though…” he trailed off and Lucas thought for a second he might have fallen asleep. Then, out of nowhere, his eyes snapped open and he spoke again. “You’re too hard on yourself. If only you could see what all of us see, for real. I know I don’t tell you enough, but you’re amazing, dude. Not just at ballet, but at everything you do. It makes me sad that you can’t see it.”

Lucas felt a little bit flustered. He knew Arthur was only being so honest because he was drunk, but people always said drunk words are sober thoughts, so there must have been some validity in what he was saying. Something occurred to Lucas and his eyes went wide. “Wait. you’re not… you don’t… like me, do you?”

“Of course I like you.” Arthur tapped the tip of Lucas’ nose lazily, letting his hand flop back down like a dead weight. “But I’m not in love with you if that’s what you’re asking. I wish I was, you’d probably be a great boyfriend,” he giggled. 

Even though the last part had been a drunken ramble of a joke, Lucas smiled to himself. It warmed his heart, even a small amount, to think that Arthur thought that about him. “For what it’s worth I think you’d probably be a great boyfriend too,” Lucas responded, tapping Arthur’s nose in return. 

Arthur laughed louder this time. “Yeah? I think you’re probably the first to have that delusion. But thanks.”

Maybe Lucas wasn’t the only one who had a harder time than he let on. Lucas began brushing Arthur’s hair casually with his fingers, trying to express his love and appreciation for his friend without going over the top. He wasn’t sure if Arthur understood, but Lucas would try harder to show Arthur all the ways he loved him going forward. Sometimes he wished platonic relationships were a thing. They were, he supposed, to a point, but no one ever got married platonically, or had a platonic boyfriend. Well, maybe they did, but not enough in Lucas’ opinion. 

Platonic intimacy was so deeply undervalued, he thought, though maybe it was just because he’d pushed people away so much that he had a deep craving for someone to lay with him until he fell asleep with no feelings attached other than those of a familial sort of love. Sitting there, brushing through Arthur’s hair with his friend’s head in his lap, neither of them wanting anything more from the other was exactly what Lucas needed. 

He wanted to be able to do things like this all the time without it meaning anything other than the fact that they loved each other, but not like that. Maybe he was just so touch starved that he’d take whatever he could get.

“What do you say we make one of those pacts, like in the movies?” Arthur asked, leaning into Lucas hand. 

“What pacts?”

Arthur thought for a moment, and Lucas could almost see him lose his train of thought about five times. “Like ‘oh if we’re both single by the time we’re thirty, we’ll get married’. Although, you’ve probably already promised yourself to Yann, haven’t you?”

Lucas laughed. “Do you really think Yann will be single at thirty? He’ll be married by the time he’s twenty-one, mark my words.”

“Fair point. Want to make a deal, then?” Arthur held up his hand, the action looking like it took grave effort. 

Lucas moved his hand from Arthur’s hair and shook it. “I still expect you to get down on one knee, just saying.”

“Right now?”

“No, not right now dumbass. If we’re single at thirty. I also expect roses and a ring so big it puts Kim Kardashian to shame.”

Arthur narrowed his eyes, then shrugged. “Sounds doable. I also promise mind-blowing platonic sex, if you want it. Deal?”

“Deal,” Lucas responded with a laugh, shaking Arthur’s hand once. 

“What are you two doing over there? Come join the rest of us!” Alexia yelled from where everyone else was chatting a few feet away. Arthur sat up more quickly that Lucas would have thought possible, stumbling over his feet as he rejoined the group. He shot a wink Lucas’ way and Lucas couldn’t help but smile in return, wondering if Arthur would remember any of this come morning. 

“You ok?” Yann asked as Lucas approached him. “You haven’t even finished your drink.”

Lucas nodded, surprised that Yann had noticed. “I’m trying to stay relatively sober tonight. Last time I drank way too much and I still feel sick when I think about it.”

Yann nodded gravely. “Yeah, we’ve all been there.”

Lucas smiled and settled into the circle beside him. He loved how, most times, Yann understood him without question. If he’d stayed friends with Eliott all these years, he and Yann would never have formed the relationship they had now, so he supposed he had Eliott to thank for that at least.

Manon was a bit quiet and she kept averting her eyes every time he tried to meet her gaze. They hadn’t spoken much in a while, at least not about anything other than ballet, and Lucas missed her. He wondered if she was dealing with as much turmoil in her life as he was, and wondered if Charles had anything to do with it. 

For the most part, though, the nine of them laughed and joked together, some much drunker than others, but Lucas found himself actually having fun. This was what he liked, not the huge parties where all people wanted to do was get drunk and hook up. He thought maybe in another life or a parallel universe he could have been one of those people, but definitely not in this one. In this one, he just wanted to go to bed. 

Nevertheless, he participated more than he normally would have, trying to take his mind off all the things he would have been overthinking had he been shut up in his room. It worked, for the most part, and by the time they all got ready to leave for the actual party, he didn’t even have to fake his smile.   

Vendredi 22:52

The party was in full swing. Lucas and all of his friends had arrived about half past 22h, and there was already at least fifty people there. Lucas was immediately overwhelmed but pretended not to be, grabbing another beer and planning to retreat somewhere quiet for a while. Yann, unfortunately, had been anticipating this, so he dragged Lucas into the kitchen with Basile and Arthur, forcing him to participate. 

Thankfully, the kitchen wasn’t as full as the rest of the house, so Lucas was able to breathe more freely and feel less claustrophobic. “Hooking up with anyone tonight Baz?” Arthur asked, and Lucas had to fight not to roll his eyes. It would only be a matter of time until they asked him.

Basile cast a glance around the room and Lucas could tell he was looking for someone in particular. “Fingers crossed, boys,” he said. 

Arthur gestured for him to continue. “Who?” he prompted gently. 

Basile turned to look at them in exasperation. “Daphné! Duh!”

“Since when are you into Daphy?” Lucas asked, forgetting that he’d been trying to keep himself out of the conversation.

“Since forever? Besides, there were totally some vibes between us earlier, didn’t you feel them?” Basile asked excitedly. 

Arthur nodded. “Oh, totally. You’ve got this!” he encouraged, but when he met Lucas’ eyes behind Basile’s back he widened his eyes with a look that said He does not, in fact, have this. Lucas snorted into his beer, accidentally bringing the attention back onto himself. 

“What about you, then? Anyone in the crowd catch your eye?” Basile asked, wiggling his eyebrows. 

Arthur cut in, “Oh, come on Baz, Lulu doesn’t do romance, despite what that hoodie of his might say.”

Lucas flipped him off, taking a sip of his drink. “That’s not true.”

Yann leveled Lucas with a knowing stare. Ok, fine, maybe it was a little bit true, but not everyone had to be on the lookout for a hookup or a relationship at all times, right? There was more to life. Sure, if he found someone he really liked, maybe he’d go for it, but there had never been anyone like that and he didn’t anticipate there being anyone like that anytime in the near future. 

He rolled his eyes at his friends again. “Whatever,” he grumbled, saved from saying anything more by the appearance of Alexia.

“Hey! We’re playing fuck, marry, kill in the other room, come join!” she yelled over the pounding music. Did Lucas want to go play a game? No, but it got him out of this conversation, so he took off after Alexia, not waiting to see if his friends would join. 

It turned out that they did follow, and they sat down beside him in a big circular group. There was some faces Lucas didn’t know, but otherwise it was just the boys and the girls from the ballet school plus Basile and Alexia. 

“Yo, wait for us!” someone shouted, stumbling into the circle. The body belonging to the voice nearly tripped over Lucas’ shoulder and Lucas looked up to find Alex smiling apologetically. “Sorry, dude— oh, wait, Lucas! Long time no see bro, how are you?”

Alex had, against Lucas’ better judgement, been the first guy Lucas had ever kissed. It wasn’t a bad memory or anything, but Lucas still got a bit red in the face whenever he saw Alex. They were still friendly and everything, so if anyone was making it weird, it wasn’t Alex.

“I’m good,” he answered after a second too long, “You?”

“Fucking fantastic. Uni is so much better than lycée. Though I guess I don’t know how it compares to ballet school,” he laughed, then turned, attention called elsewhere. “We’ll catch up later, yeah?”

Before Lucas could even nod Alex was swept away to the opposite side of the circle with his friends who, Lucas remembered with a jolt, included Idriss, Sofiane, and Eliott. Lucas hadn’t seen Eliott yet, so he assumed he hadn’t come. Eliott didn’t look to be enjoying himself either, he looked a bit like he was trying to fold himself into a tiny little box. Their eyes met and Eliott smiled hesitantly, and Lucas averted his gaze immediately, mood souring. He was so caught up in not looking at Eliott that a few rounds of the game passed without him realizing it. 

“Lucas!” 

His head snapped up. Emma was looking at him mischievously. “It’s your turn. If you don’t answer you have to drink.”

“Um, ok.” He waited, hoping someone would jump in to save him before he had to answer. They didn’t. 

“Fuck, marry, kill,” Emma started, “Yann, Basile, and Arthur.”

Oh, that one was easy. “Fuck Yann, marry Arthur, kill Basile.”

Basile looked at him in alarm. “You had that answer ready too quickly.”

Lucas just shrugged, fist bumping Yann and Arthur as they grinned at him. Shit, it was his turn to ask then, wasn’t it? He decided to go for Alex, knowing that whatever combination of people he chose, Alex would consider his answer very seriously. “Alex.” Alex looked up at him with a wide grin. “Fuck, marry, kill… Emma, Daphné, and Camille.” 

Alex wrinkled his nose at the last name. Camille had been one of Alex’s girlfriends long ago, but was the only one whose name Lucas could remember. Alex had his answer ready quickly. “Fuck Daphné, marry Emma, kill Camille, god I haven’t thought about her in a while.”

Emma looked pleasantly surprised and Lucas narrowed his eyes between the two of them, wondering if there was something there that he’d accidentally picked up on. Alex took a swig of his own drink before turning to his target. “Eliott Demaury.”

Eliott folded in on himself even more, if possible. “Fuck, marry, kill Idriss, Sofiane, and… Lucas.” 

Eliott choked, even though he didn’t have a drink in his hand. Lucas rolled his eyes. This one should be easy. “Sofiane, can you pass me a drink?” Eliott asked a bit quietly. Sofiane furrowed his brows but did as he was asked. Eliott met Lucas’ equally confused stare for a split second before he downed the drink and sat back, gaze cast downward. Why had he refused to answer? 

Clearly picking up on whatever strange tension had begun to build, Daphné chimed in, “Oh, I know! Why don’t we play truth or dare?”

Everyone cheered at the suggestion, and Lucas wondered if it was possible to call aliens down to abduct him so he didn’t have to participate. Alexia explained that the rules would be the same, if there was something someone didn’t want to do or answer they could opt to drink instead, simple enough. She went first, daring Emma and Alex to spend seven minutes in heaven. They didn’t come back for twenty. 

After that the game went by quicker, each truth and dare blurring together a bit. At one point Lucas was dared to kiss Yann, which he drank instead. Some friendships weren’t meant to be ruined by a stupid game of truth or dare. At another Basile and Daphné made out, Basile looking a bit more eager than Daphné. Eliott somehow ended up without a shirt on and Lucas noticed that he had a small tattoo on his chest above his heart but he couldn’t read what it said from across the room. Sofiane asked Imane if she’d ever cheated on her online schoolwork and, since she didn’t drink, she’d squeaked out a small yes, which put everyone in hysterics. 

“Eliott, truth or dare?” Imane asked, still glaring at Sofiane. 

“Truth.”

“Do you have a crush on anyone in this room?” she asked, and he suddenly glared at her. She raised her eyebrows innocently, daring him to answer. 

“Yes,” he said at last, giving no further explanation. A couple more rounds passed and every time it landed on Eliott they tried to get him to divulge more information. 

“Do they know?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Boy.”

“Does he like you back?”

“No.”

“How do you know he doesn’t like you back?”

“Educated guess.”

“Who is it?”

Eliott had drank to that one, and Lucas was struck wondering who it could be. It must have been the same person Eliott told him about the other night, right? If he had to guess, his bet was on Idriss, because as far as he knew, Idriss was straight, hence why he wouldn’t like Eliott back in the same way. There were a couple more questions but it never got back to Eliott, so Lucas never learned more. 

Soon it was Daphné’s turn to ask, and she focused on Lucas. “Truth or dare?” Her words were a bit slurred and Lucas wondered how much she’d had to drink. Manon was watching her carefully, so at least there was someone who would take care of her if need be. 

“Truth.” He’d been forced to give Alexia a lap dance less than ten minutes ago, so dare was a bit too much for him at the moment. 

“Why do you hate Eliott?” she asked, and Lucas almost dropped his drink in surprise. That hadn’t been what he’d expected anyone to ask, much less Daphné. He stalled, pretending to take a sip of his beer. It wasn’t like he could tell the truth, not in front of that many people.

He realized everyone was silent, waiting. He could tell part of the truth, the superficial things, at least. “Why do I hate Eliott? Why don’t I hate Eliott? First of all, he acts so much better than everyone just because he got special private lessons from the director when we were ten years old. Manon did too, but you don’t see her acting all superior all the time. Secondly, he shows up late to every single practice. Well, not late, per se, but just on time, which is late in ballet terms, but he still gets the front spot at the barre. He’s also shit at math, which I guess a lot of people are, but he’s like really bad at it. He’s got his head so far up his own ass that he doesn’t realize when his friends are suffering or that when he skips class for a week it affects people other than himself, or maybe he just doesn’t care because the director still treats him like he shits pure gold. Well guess what? He doesn’t shit pure gold. There's a line between self confidence and narcissism, and he thinks he hasn’t crossed it, which only goes to show how much he has—” 

Lucas cut off abruptly, realizing he’d been going on a tangent longer than he’d meant to. It felt so fucking good to say all those things, but deep inside he felt horrible, because he knew that a lot of it wasn’t true. His issues with Eliott were deeper than all the crap he’d just said. He dared to meet Eliott’s eyes over the crowd of dumbfounded people, surprised by the hurt he saw. Before anyone could say a word, Eliott was up, throwing his shirt back over his head and storming out of the circle. Lucas could have sworn he heard the door slam as Eliott left the house. 

Fuck, he hadn’t meant to— he really hadn’t meant most of the things he’d said, he really hadn’t. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Without realizing what he was doing, Lucas stood up from the circle as well, running out after Eliott. He hoped everyone else would think he went to throw up or something so they wouldn’t follow. He fired off a quick text to the gang just in case. 

GROUP CREATED: Lucas Lallemant, Yann Cazas, Arthur Broussard, Basile Savory

Lucas: Not feeling well, I had to go to the bathroom. I’ll text if I feel better but if you don’t hear from me assume I went back to school -_-    

Yann: No prob bro, feel better

Arthur: :( sorry man

Basile: Not feeling as bad as Eliott I bet lmaooooo    

Arthur: Dude

Arthur Broussard removed Basile Savory from the group    

Lucas pocketed his phone, feeling better now that he knew they wouldn’t be waiting for him. Though, he supposed he’d need somewhere to stay for the night to avoid Eliott killing him. 

He thought he lost Eliott until he saw a familiar head of untameable hair storming away across the street, bounce in his step still there even when he was clearly upset.        

“Eliott!”

Eliott turned around and saw Lucas, weariness and fury mingling in his eyes, even from this distance. Of all the times Lucas had told himself that Eliott hated him, this was the only time he thought it might be true. His face was illuminated by the light of the fountain he was standing in front of making the gray in his eyes stand out more and more the closer Lucas got. 

“What?” Eliott asked, crossing his arms, but not making any moves to back away. “Don’t you think you’ve insulted me enough for one night?”

“I didn’t… I didn’t mean to insult you,” Lucas said, even though it was a lie. Eliott knew it too, raising his eyebrows in disbelief. Lucas backtracked, “Ok, I did mean to at the time, but I came to apologize.”

“Right.” Eliott still didn’t believe him, clearly. 

Lucas didn’t know what else to say, felt like the words were on the tip of his tongue but they wouldn’t form fully. Unfortunately, when he didn’t know what to say, he got defensive. “You know what? I’m not sorry, then. You’ve made my life hell for years, this was barely a taste of what I’ve lived with.”

Eliott breathed out an incredulous gasp and shook his head. “I’ve made your life hell? Are you serious? You’re the one who’s been rude to me every chance you’ve gotten since we were like, twelve.”

“I wouldn’t have been if you hadn’t ditched me the moment it became clear I wasn’t quite up to your standards. You made the choice to abandon me, Eliott, not the other way around,” Lucas argued. 

“Are you kidding me? I was ten! What was I supposed to say when the director of the school told me to take private lessons with him? I never wanted to stop hanging out with you, but you got all jealous and I didn’t know how to make it better! What could I have done?” Eliott shot back.

Lucas laughed mirthlessly, spreading his arms wide. “I don’t know… maybe tried, even a little bit? If you knew me at all, you would have known that I was never jealous of you, I just wanted you to see that I wasn’t ok. After all, you and I both know that I never would have just ditched you for no reason at all. The school could have been burning down and I still would have waited to make sure you got out before me.”

“I was ten!”

“That didn’t make it hurt any less. And lest you forget, I tried to stay friends with you, even when I knew things would never be the same, but you just weren’t that interested in me anymore. I never really saw anyone interest you other than Lucille.” Her name felt filthy on his tongue. Lucas had never really understood why he’d hated Lucille so much, other than the fact that she’d seemed to replace him in Eliott’s life. Sofiane had too, in a way, but Lucas didn’t harbor any hard feelings his way. 

“You know what? Fuck you, Lucas. Lucille was there for me. She knew what it was like to be isolated from the rest of the group because she’d been put up on a pedestal she’d never asked to be put on,” Eliott spat. 

Oh that was fucking rich. Lucas laughed even harder and even more humorlessly. “Oh, well, excuse me for not being as talented as you. Sorry I wasn’t at a high enough level for you to deign to talk to me. I was too busy being beaten by my father to be much good in the studio, I’m afraid.”

Eliott paused. “What the fuck, Lucas? What are you talking about?”

“Like you didn’t know? Every time we hung out during the summer you didn’t wonder why I never wanted to go home, why I flinched away whenever you or your mom or your dad tried to touch me? All those bruises I pretended didn’t exist?”

“You said you were clumsy—”

“And you believed it, Eliott!” Lucas was slightly out of breath and his voice was shaking. “You shouldn’t have believed it! You knew me better than even my parents did, and you didn’t even notice. Yann noticed, but I didn’t want to talk to him about it. I wanted to talk to you.”

Eliott looked pained when he responded, “I don’t— I was ten, I was wrapped up in ballet, and I didn’t notice a lot of things, Lucas. You can’t blame me for not guessing that you were… that things were happening to you that I didn’t know about.”

“I was wrapped up in ballet too, but I still noticed every little thing about you.”

“What do you want me to say? That you were a better friend? Sure, fine, you were soooo great, is that what you want to hear?” Eliott yelled. 

“I want you to apologize!” It was all Lucas wanted, was some acknowledgement that Eliott at least understood why Lucas had distanced himself, why he couldn’t bear to be around him after a certain point. Eliott didn’t respond and Lucas clenched his fists at his sides. Was it really so hard to just say sorry, even if he didn’t fully mean it? “Too good for that?” Lucas spat, “Tell me, what’s the weather like all the way up there on your high horse?”

Eliott took a deep frustrated breath, wiggling his fingers like he either wanted to punch Lucas or a wall. Lucas was hoping for the latter, but the former was more likely. Eliott became calm all of a sudden, looking Lucas dead in the eye. “It’s actually really nice up here. Too bad you’ll never know.”

Then it was all just too much. All of Lucas’ insecurities about not being good enough bubbled to the surface on top of Eliott’s refusal to acknowledge that he’d, even unknowingly, made mistakes, and Lucas didn’t have a moment to think before he shoved Eliott, pushing him into the water of the fountain. Once his blind rage cleared he blinked with regret. 

“Fuck, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I did that,” he stammered, leaning to the edge of the fountain and peering at Eliott, soaked head to toe and sitting stunned on his ass in the water. Lucas held out his hand to pull Eliott out, not realizing how trivial a mistake he’d just made. 

As he should have foreseen, Eliott grasped his hand and pulled, causing Lucas to tumble into the water as well. “Fuck!” he exclaimed, when he resurfaced, wiping water from his eyes, stumbling his way to a standing position.

When his vision cleared he noticed Eliott standing across from him, sheepish look in his eyes. “I’m sorry, that was a petty thing to say and a petty thing to do,” Eliott apologized. 

Lucas didn’t know what to say. Of all the things he’d expected from Eliott in that moment, an apology was not one of them. It wasn’t the apology he’d wanted, but it showed Eliott was capable of uttering the words. Eliott shocked him further, continuing, “I’m sorry too, about how our friendship ended. If I would have known… I’d like to say I would have done things differently, been a better friend. I’m sorry for not knowing, too, it’s not your fault for not telling me. I highly doubt I would have either.”

Lucas stared at Eliott, wondering if he was going mad, imagining the whole thing. “I’m sorry too,” Lucas said, shocking himself even further, “For everything, not just tonight. All the ignoring you and the rude comments and everything… I’m sorry. I know you didn’t mean to be as dismissive as I thought you were.” 

“Why?” Eliott asked, taking a step towards him. “You really don’t have a reason to apologize. I’ve been a shitty friend.”

Lucas shrugged, regretting what he was about to say before he said it, but yearning to say it even more. “Because against my better judgement I don’t think you’re so shitty anymore. And I don’t want you to think I am either.”

The water was still splashing them from where it came up in arcs from the center of the fountain, matting their hair down to their heads. Eliott somehow looked beautiful like this, Lucas realized, and with that realization came another. Eliott looked beautiful all the time, and it wasn’t just his obvious external beauty. He was beautiful down to his core, and that was part of what had angered Lucas for all these years, but now Lucas wanted Eliott to know he thought so. He also wanted Eliott to know that he thought his true beauty came from within him, no matter what mistakes he made when he was ten years old.  

The lines between hate and love were really blurry, Lucas realized, really fucking blurry.

He held his hands up in front of his chest, cringing internally, thinking to himself what the hell are you doing? Eliott’s eyes went wide in surprise, then narrowed. “What are you doing?” he asked, voice eerily calm. 

“In your ballet, didn’t you say that the partners come together like this when they finally meet? Once they face their fears and come together for the first time?” Lucas’ voice was no more than a hushed gasp, shallow breaths taken between the loud beats of his heart. Eliott’s fingers fluttered and Lucas almost retracted his hands, thinking himself a fool for doing what he was doing, for thinking Eliott might understand what he was trying to say with the gesture. 

Lucas screwed his eyes shut in embarrassment, seconds away from dipping back under the water and hoping Eliott would forget the whole thing had ever happened, but then he felt a brush of fingers winding and clasping into his own. He folded his hands along with Eliott’s and slowly opened his eyes, seeing the same nervous look he was certain he wore reflected on Eliott’s face. Eliott’s thumb brushed the back of his hand absently, and Lucas was lost. 

Their bodies came together in one fluid motion, Lucas didn’t even know who moved first, but suddenly Eliott’s hands were cupping his face and their lips were pressed together. Lucas ran his hands through the hair he couldn’t stop thinking about, realizing he’d been longing to do so for quite some time. Everything he’d ever wanted to do with Eliott came to him in an instant, as if there was a list he’d compiled somewhere in his head and subsequently ignored until Eliott’s kiss unlocked it. 

Eliott’s tongue swept his lower lip, and Lucas opened his mouth further, inviting as much of Eliott in as he could. He raised up on relevé to reach Eliott better, loving the way Eliott smiled against his mouth as he did so. 

The fountain was still spraying them, and they were still standing up to their knees in the water, but it somehow felt as natural as anything. Eliott pulled back a moment, breathing heavily and looking right into Lucas’ eyes. Kiss me again, Lucas tried to tell him with his eyes, Kiss me until I forget my own name. 

Eliott laughed softly and brushed Lucas’ cheekbone, tracing the lines of water down his face, his neck, his chest. Lucas couldn’t do anything but stare back, completely blinded by what they had just done, how it had made him feel. Another realization struck him, the realization that this had been the kiss he had been waiting for all along. Maybe he hadn’t hated romance after all, he’d just hated himself for wanting something he’d never thought he’d be able to have.

“I’ve wanted to do that for so long, fuck,” Eliott whispered against his mouth, and Lucas pulled away a bit to look up at him. 

“Your favorite color is my eyes,” he said dumbly, and Eliott surged forward to kiss him again. Lucas knew they should probably get out of the fountain, but he also wanted to stay there forever, lest the spell be broken. “My favorite color is the color of your eyes too,” he admitted between kisses, needing to even the embarrassment factor between the two of them. 

Eliott laughed gently. “Is that so?”

“Mmhmm.”

“What do you say we go dry off and continue elsewhere?” Eliott suggested and Lucas shook his head adamantly. 

“I don’t want to go back to the real world.”

“Why not?”

“Because in the real world you won’t like me, and I’ll be forced to hate you again.” 

Eliott pressed their foreheads together, cupping Lucas’ cheeks with his hands. “I’ll make you a promise, then.” Lucas nodded softly, asking for him to continue. “I promise that, no matter where we are, you’re it for me. It’ll always be you, the one that I love.”

Love, love, love.

Was it too soon for love, or had they been waiting too long? “Even in the real world?”

“Especially in the real world.”

Lucas considered this. “Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Ok.”

Eliott separated the two of them further, leading Lucas by the hand out of the fountain. When they started walking back to the school, neither one of them released their grip on the hand of the other. “Just so you know,” Lucas said as they walked, “You’re it for me too.”

He’d known it for a while, but he hadn’t wanted to know, covering it up in grudges based in miscommunication and ten year old bullshit. Eliott smiled down at him and pulled him closer as they continued their path, kissing the top of his head. Love, love, love.

[eviewlw]

There is so much I love about this clip.

Firstly, Alexia coming out to her bf and his reaction followed by “Men, I swear to fucking god.” A mood. lol

I wish Daphne had danced with Arthur. :(

I loved that Alexia and Imane were the ones who told Chloe off for her generalisations about gays. We love two disapproving protective Moms.

And then we have Lucas and Eliott. The sexual tension is suffocating at this point, I love choking.

The iconic eye fucking scene. I mean there’s not much to say here, it was perfect.

I love how Eliott walked Lucas home and casually mentions that he’s not just into girls. What a pan icon! Lucas just about snapped his own neck with how fast his head whipped around to look at Eliott. lol.

“This is where we say good night then.” THE SEXUAL TENSION!!! Slay me! And Lucas you brave bold homosexual, he stands there with his shoulders back, his head tipped up, his eyes completely focused on Eliott, just daring Eliott to kiss him. Phew!! It was fire.

Manon, you suck! Kidding. Hey girl hey. I see Noora in every universe has the worst timing EVER!! Amazing!

I am so excited for episode 4. Hold me!

[acioo]

Would you be willing to make gif icons of Alexia Fast? She was in Triple Dog, The Secret Circle, Supernatural, and Jack Reacher if that helps?

def, ya ! i’ll have ‘em posted within the next few days.

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Alexia Fast in Manhattan

Alexia Fast as Callie Winter

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Episode 1x1 (You Always Hurt the Ones You Love)

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REEBOK’S PRESIDENT THINKS TAKING A MIDDAY WORKOUT BREAK IS THE MOST PRODUCTIVE THING YOU CAN DO

ALEXIA BRUE, JANUARY 22, 2017 / https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/reebok-matt-o-toole-interview/

In this week’s Fit For Business, Well+Good’s co-founder and CEO Alexia Brue sits down with Matt O’Toole, president of activewear giant Reebok.

For nearly six decades, Reebok has been continually making waves in the activewear world (two words: the Pump). That’s continued under the leadership of current president Matt O’Toole, whose tenure has been defined by bold decisions.

Needless to say, the iconic brand—which was the first to focus on female athletes in the ’80s (hello, aerobics)—is most definitely trailblazing again. After (smartly) betting big on CrossFit, Reebok brought on millenial-approved (and workout-obsessed) it-girl Gigi Hadid as the face of their “Perfect Never” campaign this past fall, is collaborating with buzzy Instagram fitness star Emily Skye on a training shoe, and in March is introducing a new sneaker called The Floatride, made with game-changing new foam technology

But perhaps how O’Toole has had the most impact is through his investment in the company culture. The Chicago native gives employees an hour every day to work out—in addition to having a lunch break. And when you walk the Reebok campus (a 44-acre spot just outside of Boston), it’s hard not to notices the incredible camaraderie between colleagues.

Although the scenery will soon be changing—the company is moving into a new headquarters on the Boston waterfront later this year—this ethos will most certainly continue.

Here, O’Toole shares his best career lessons—and reveals some insider intel on what Reebok has in the works for 2017.

What distinguishes Reebok from other players in the activewear market, in terms of the product?

One thing we’re really proud of is that we were in fitness when fitness wasn’t cool in the early 1980s. There was really a big change going on with the introduction of Title IX, which gave women the same rights in terms of college sports participation and ultimately high school sports participation. Women at that time were saying, “Hey, I can sweat, work out, have muscles. I can really feel more empowered.” Reebok was the brand that was right there, the first one to make athletic footwear for fitness with our Freestyle, our Ex-O-Fit, and most of the models that are really popular for us today in our Classics line. It’s our authentic self. It’s who we are. We’re not some of the fast fashion guys posing as people who are in fitness.

A lot of research shows that most people don’t actually wear their sneakers or their leggings to work out in. Do you think the Reebok brand gives permission to people to lounge and live life instead of “being in the game”?

Yes, I think the fact that so many people are wearing fitness [clothes] as part of their lifestyle, whether it’s the sneakers that first started the movement or popular styles today and leggings, is a really good thing because it’s reminding us all of the importance of living a fitness lifestyle. I don’t think it’s going to be a short-lived phenomenon. I think this kind of versatility in the way we dress is going to continue.

Talk to us a little bit about this particular moment for Reebok: Sales are up and the future looks bright, but there are big expectations from Adidas, your parent company.

We feel like we’re the right brand at the right time. Probably the biggest macro-trend in terms of not just North America, but the world, is an interest in living a healthy and fit life. This is only going to continue to grow. There’s much innovation coming in our pipeline.

Can you give us a sneak peek of some of the innovations? Yes. I would say the one product that we’re most excited about is a shoe called Floatride that we’re debuting in March at specialty running stores. It’s a product that we’ve been working on for some time. [It has] a unique construction that includes proprietary foam that we created with a company in the UK. We really feel like we’re onto something, in terms of revolutionizing the performance of footwear—both from a cushioning but also from a lateral support point of view.

As a CEO, you’re making big decisions every day. Can you look back and cite a key decision that was a turning point for Reebok?

I’ll give you two: One business decision and one cultural decision. From a business point of view, the toughest decision was when we decided to refocus on fitness about five years ago. We had almost €700 million of team sports business. We decided to leave all that behind and replace all that business, and on top of replacing it, grow. We have 60 percent fewer products than we had five years ago, [yet] our business is bigger. This monumental focus on fitness and serving our consumer has really paid off for us.

Culturally, we had a day when we convened everybody who works here, and about a thousand-plus people worked out together on the back lawn. We explained that everyone, on top of their lunch hour, would have another hour every day to work out. [Since then] I think we’ve had a massive transformation—we all know each other in a different way now, and everyone is feeling a much healthier outlook, in terms of what it does for you to be moving and active.

That really shows how Reebok as a company walks the walk. How did the decision to give employees an extra hour to exercise come about?

We were heavily influenced by a professor at Harvard named John Ratey, MD, who wrote Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. It’s all about the social aspects and the cognitive aspects of actually being physical. Dr. Ratey’s research shows that as social dynamics change, we’re calmer, we’re clearer, we’re more focused. It absolutely turned out to be the case. I don’t want to say that we did it for some kind of altruistic reason—we’re definitely a for-profit enterprise here—[but] I think that the benefits have come back to the company in spades.

You also architected the CrossFit relationship, right?

If you think about in the ’80s, Reebok’s relevancy really came from group fitness and what was happening in studios for women, particularly aerobics. This is about us really needing to get back to some more tribal community-based fitness, where we feel like we’re not just working our body out, but we’re communing. For us, CrossFit was the perfect place to start.

Can you share some of your favorite efficiency hacks?

One thing that I’ve found crazy helpful is starting every meeting asking: “If we have a successful meeting, what are we going to accomplish?” And we write that down. If we really get clear on what we need to accomplish in the next 30 minutes and the decisions we have to make, I find we just crush it.

What early influences shaped you into becoming a business leader?

I grew up in Chicago, not too far from Wrigley Field, with four siblings. My older brother and I were serial entrepreneurs of very small measure. We started with regular stuff like cutting grass and snow blowing. Then we saw this trend where people were doing singing telegrams, so we started this thing called Balloon Brothers—we would deliver balloons in tuxedos to people’s houses. Then we bought a hotdog stand…. We all definitely got a flavor for the entrepreneurial spirit of creating something and satisfying your customer.

Is there a piece of advice that you give to people just starting out in their careers?

My experience working in larger companies is that there’s a feeling people have when they’re younger, where you want to carry the argument all the time and have your point of view prevail. Now that I’m an old guy [laughs], you realize that’s not the important thing. It’s much more about having people around you feeling invested, engaged, and owning not only the outcome, but the plan. Sometimes we’re just too eager to want it to be our way instead of letting it be what it needs to be for everyone to feel engaged. My experience is that most plans of action can be effective if everybody’s on board.

But I’m speaking from a big company point of view. This is different for an entrepreneur. You just want to keep learning, having new experiences, and challenging yourself. It’s a lot like how it is for our physical bodies. Our brains—and our own ability to adapt and learn—needs new stimulation.

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Alexia Fast in The Secret Circle

Alexia Fast as Eva

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Episode 1x17 (Curse)

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Alexia Fast in Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Alexia Fast as Mona Wilder

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Episode 2x09 (Trouble is Bad)

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Alexia Fast in The Secret Circle

Alexia Fast as Eva

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Episode 1x15 (Return)

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Alexia Fast in iZombie

Alexia Fast as Yvonne

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Episode 3x06 (Some Like It Hot Mess)

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