#and then he taught albert how to shoot it when they got together

[knockoff-conlon]

"yous is holdin' it wrong," finch snorts. he taps his shoe against albert's leg, watching him.

"no, i ain't!" albert yells back.

"yous is left-handed. you needa hold it the other way." he jumps off the fence and stands beside albert. "here, lemme show ya." he holds out a hand for his slingshot.

"look, i don't need ya to help me with everything," albert says defensively. finch grins.

"yeah but you ain't ever shot a slingshot before. watch." he plucks his slingshot from albert's hands. he grabs a pebble from the ground, loads it, and aims at the bottle he set up about twenty feet away. "see this?" he lets it go and it slams right through the bottle. "that's how it's done."

"i don't get how ya do that so easily."

"if ya let me show ya, you could." albert sighs and takes finch's slingshot back.

"fine, fine. go set up another bottle." finch sets another bottle up in the old one's place. he heads back to albert.

"switch your hands." albert listens. he doesn't listen too much to anyone but he listens to finch. "no, no, like this." he puts his arms around albert, puts his hands on top of al's.

"yeah."

"focus. yous is lettin' yer mind drift. don't do that." albert's head turns slightly to stare at finch as he speaks. "ay, pay attention."

"sorry."

"now c'mon. focus. try and just look at the bottle. just the bottle. ain't nothin' else around."

"hard to focus on that shit when yous got ya hands on me." he rolls his eyes before nudging albert to make him pay attention again. "ay, yous is distractin' me, sweetheart."

"the bottle, please, al." albert shifts his focus back to the bottle, smiling slightly. he stares at the bottle, trying to narrow everything just to it. finch taps his arm and he lets his pebble fly. it smashes the bottle. "ya did it, red!"

"i fuckin' did it, finchy." he presses a kiss to finch's nose, grinning when he makes a face. "yous is a good teacher."

"ya still ain't allowed to take my slingshot whenever ya want, al."

"it's a good weapon. cause now i can hit crutchie from real far away. he ain't gonna whack me with his crutch no more."

"maybe yous can get race to get ya one from brooklyn. this one's mine. it took me forever ta steal it." he grabs his slingshot back.

"right, sweetheart. i ain't gonna take it. thanks for lettin' me shoot it though." finch smiles at him.

"yeah. anythin' for ya."

"love ya, patrick."

"i can feel ya takin' my slingshot, al. put it back."

"damn."

[noxexistant]

Please I beg of you good hcs 😭😭😭 I Need feel goods 😭😭😭

everyone in the manhattan lodging house knows there’s an open invitation to the penthouse.

it’s jack and crutchie’s place, sure, they’re the only ones who sleep up there every night - mostly because nobody else is crazy enough to - but specs has taught them all how to get up there, and jack always leaves the one window to the fire escape cracked open. every time he heads up there at night, he tosses, “‘m’in the penthouse ‘f’you need me,” over his shoulder, before he helps crutchie up the ladder - an invitation that anyone can go up there and seek him and crutchie out. that it’s not private.

the newsies take him up on it when they need it. race most frequently, because, okay, he misses his brothers and sometimes gets jealous that they’ve got their own private little place that doesn’t include him - which, yes, they only do because he’s refused every offer to join them, insisting he’d much rather sleep under a roof in a bed if there’s both going, thank you very much - but it’s the principle of it all. so, some nights he’ll clamber up the steps after his brothers and make them drag their beds together so he can clamber into the middle, and they can all spend the night like they did when they all first met. just kids tucked up together, safe in their trio, talking endlessly and learning everything about each other. there isn’t much to learn anymore, they know each other backwards and forwards, but that just means race has to come up with stupider questions to cover - like whether they’d rather fight a hundred tarantulas or a hundred rats, and if they heard the latest gossip fresh out of brooklyn, and if they wanna hear how he swindled some asshole outside the races.

the younger newsies climb up there pretty frequently too. splasher especially - he’s restless, and he likes to climb, though once he’s up there he gets in trouble with jack for clambering too close to the edges. he ends up all but pinned in jack’s arms, and only ever manages to giggle and fight for a few minutes before he’s out like a light. jojo likes to stand at the ledge and seek out the light of the churches, finding comfort in the fact that they’re there.

finch likes to sit and whistle out to the night, an endless wandering lilt of tunes and songs all blending into one another, hazy and soothing. he often can’t sleep indoors, needs the familiarity of the fresh air and the chill. albert likes to shoot finch or crutchie’s slingshot out at passers-by trying to get home in the dark, and loves that he doesn’t even have to hide because there’s no light on the edge of the roof for them to see him in. specs will sit at the edge of crutchie and jack’s beds and just talk, the types of talks that they don’t often get to have with all the kids around - honest and more serious. grown-up talks. which usually dissolve into hushed laughter and gossiping anyway, cracking jokes and sharing rumours they’d never get away with in front of the kids.

les begs davey and their parents for weeks to be allowed to have their first sleepover on the roof too. he’s enthralled by jack’s penthouse right from the first moment he sees it, where davey thinks jack is insane. davey’s never slept outside in his life, can’t imagine the appeal, but then it’s a warm evening and les is still begging and jack’s got that warm, amused look on his face, and davey finally says that, yes, okay, sure, they can go home and ask their folks and then, if they’re allowed, come back for a sleepover.

les and davey’s blankets that they bring are a lot softer and cleaner than jack’s and crutchie’s, but they’re added to the pile on the floor without hesitation. all four of them - the two pairs of brothers - all lay together in the mess, les and crutchie whispering amongst themselves, so it’s just jack and davey on the other side. and davey maybe finally understands the appeal, feeling the warm summer breeze on his face as he just looks at jack, silhouetted in the darkness but lit hazily on the one side in weak golden lamplight. he’s in just his trousers and undershirt, and his hair is untidy, and he looks as in his element as he does when he’s selling or painting. he looks peaceful.

davey forgets to sleep for a long while. he’s more interested in staring at jack. but then jack, half-stirring, makes a sound and opens his deep brown eyes just the slightest sliver, and reaches out discontentedly to where davey is sat at what he’d hoped was a respectable distance, a little too anxious to lay down. half afraid that it’d break the spell of jack like this. jack’s warm hand finds his forearm and pulls him closer none too gently, and suddenly davey finds himself lay on the confusing feeling of soft duvet on hard concrete, feeling jack’s hair tickle his cheek and smelling his skin, and jack makes another sound - a much more content one this time.

he and les have a lot more sleepovers at the lodging house after that. les is always delighted to get to spend the night chattering with crutchie until they fall asleep in a chaotic tangle.

[morporkian-cryptid]

Today in "Elliott's Niche AF AUs": one (1) person asked me about this, sooooo...

Lupin III Discworld AU crossover headcanon pile thingy!!!

For those who don't know: Discworld is a flat world held on the back of four giant elephants on top of a giant turtle, floating through space. That world has magic, as well as trolls, dwarves, goblins etc... but in a way that's meant to subvert typical fantasy tropes.

Ankh-Morpork, the biggest city on the Disc, is a hotbed of crime, innovations, and innovations in crime. It is run by a council of guilds, and by a Patrician (a lifelong tyrant; he's elected by the guilds but he has the final say in everything). Notorious for having an Assassins', Thieves', Beggars', and Seamstresses' (sex workers) Guilds. Also notorious for its Watch (the police), which is actually surprisingly good at solving crimes. It's also the biggest immigration destination on the Disc.

Character backstories/situations:

Lupin : half-quirmian-half-agatean (Quirm being the DW equivalent of France), grew up in the Agatean Empire (DW equivalent of China/East Asia). He moved to Ankh-Morpork to follow Fujiko, and/or to escape Zenigata. He’s an illegal thief (meaning he's not registered with the Thieves' Guild), and his favourite hobby (besides just stealing in general) is screwing with the Guild. Commander Vimes, the head of the Watch, is supposed to catch him (or at least help Zenigata catch him), but he's secretly rooting for him because he dislikes the Guild slightly more than he dislikes Lupin.

Jigen : son of a couple of Agatean immigrants in Ankh-Morpork, grew up as a street urchin in the Shades (the most crime-ridden neighborhood of the notoriously crime-ridden Ankh-Morpork). He joined the Assassins’ Guild later in his life as a (mostly self-taught) sharpshooter, with a talent that outshone that of the Guild's best students. He later quit the Guild after he met Lupin (possibly had a contract to kill Lupin, and decided “screw this I’m going with him”). He can use any kind of shooting weapons, but favors crossbows. He’s tried stealing and using the gonne (DW's first and only firearm); it didn't go well. He somehow managed to learn one single spell from the wizards, the fireball, by becoming pals with Arcchancelor Ridcully (wizard, head of the Unseen University, and famous for his unfortunate passion for crossbow shooting).

Goemon : agatean immigrant/fugitive, master swordsman. He left Agatea because Fujiko stole his Zantetsuken and fled to Ankh-Morpork, so Goemon had to follow her to retrieve his sword. He then met Lupin and Jigen and decided to stick around. The Zantetsuken is a talking sword, and its personality is basically the embodiment of Bushido. It's extremely annoying (like all talking swords), but Goemon loves it. (it was probably his only friend back in Agatea)

Fujiko : agatean immigrant/fugitive. Ran away from the Agatean Empire chased by Goemon. She joined the Thieves’ Guild, but everyone confuses her for a seamstress because her technique usually involves seduction. She tried it on Vetinari once. It failed spectacularly.

Zenigata : agatean immigrant, part of the Empire’s police force, who came to Ankh-Morpork chasing Lupin. He only brought his assistant Yata with him, and has to cooperate with the Watch to have resources to catch Lupin. Vimes doesn’t particularly like him, but he’s good at his work so he can’t say anything (they're both too stubborn to get along).

Bonus:

Yata: Zenigata’s assistant, came to Ankh-Morpork with him, rapidly became great friends with Rufus Drumknott (the Head Secretary of the Patrician, Lord Vetinari). He has a bad influence on Drumknott. He also befriended Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson, but then again Carrot befriends everyone.

Ami: She's a clacks operator. Clacks are basically the DW equivalent of telegraph. There's a group of clacks hackers called the GNU, so she might have joined them.

Albert: He's part of the Patrician's Dark Clerks (they're the secret services of Ankh-Morpork)

Rebecca: She's from Quirm. That’s all I have about her for now. (Quirm's the equivalent of France, but in the french translation it was made into an equivalent of Italy)

Random-Ass Headcanons

Lupin gets along like a house on fire with Moist von Lipwig (former conman and current postmaster, notorious adrenaline junkie), both figuratively and literally. Lupin and Lipwig sometimes team up on heists and rely on each other’s help, when they’re not busy competing against each other because Lupin keeps daring Lipwig to thieving competitions.

One of the contests’ goal is to steal Vetinari’s manuscript, The Servant. Fujiko wins. She wasn’t even in the race.

///

Fujiko quickly became friends with Adora-Belle Dearheart (Moist von Lipwig's rather explosive girlfriend), they get together every now and then to trash-talk their respective boyfriends.

///

For some reason everyone thinks Lupin is a werewolf. (it’s actually Jigen)

(maybe. I haven't yet decided whether or not he is. That would be a very good source of angst, considering what most werewolves are like, and also a very good source of domestic fluff if the whole gang has to adapt to the moon cycle and Jigen's transformations. Idk. Might be fun.)

///

Fujiko owns a horse golem (a gift from Adora-Belle or something she stole, we may never know). The Gang also owns a carriage, modified with a spell so it will drive faster, and they drive it completely carelessly. It has been destroyed and rebuilt countless times. (actually a bunch of spells, Lupin probably found a way to blackmail Ridcully so he could mod the shit out of his carriage. Or they rely on Jigen’s friendship with Ridcully)

///

Lupin uses swamp dragons as firearms (dialogue courtesy of @marquise-de-clarabas: Jigen: You stole a dragon??? Lupin: I didn’t steal him! He’s his own person and can make decisions himself! Dragon: I wanna steal). He has an alias and disguise entirely dedicated to visiting the Sunshine Sanctuary For Sick Dragons, and somehow became friends with Lady Sybil Ramkin-Vimes (Commander Vimes' wife, and the greatest expert on swamp dragons in the city, probably on the Disc). Vimes doesn't know about it, and Lupin finds the whole situation hilarious. He constantly makes jokes about how he’s playing with fire.

///

The Thieves’ Guild and the Watch are competing to catch the Gang, but secretly Vimes is rooting for the Gang (the Guild just hates them). That said, Vimes also hates Lupin (only slightly less than he dislikes the Guild), because he's always a little shit whenever he gets put in jail, and then he immediately breaks out.

///

Rincewind (famously bad wizard with a shit luck and a tendency to run from problems) once got arrested by Zenigata, because he got startled by him yelling LUPAAAAAAAAAN! and started running for the hills, making Zenigata believe he was Lupin in disguise. Rincewind is terrified of Zenigata.

///

Zenigata is actively trying to stop the Thieves' Guild from catching Lupin and Co, both because he wants to catch them himself, and because he knows what the Guild does to illegal thieves and he doesn’t want it to happen to Lupin.

///

Lupin stole Ridcully’s hat (custom wizard hat with a bunch of pockets, drawers, a crossbow, and a tiny flask of alcohol) as a gift for Jigen’s birthday. He also stole Lipwig’s hat (golden cap with dove wings), after which Adora claimed she didn’t recognize Moist (dialogue courtesy of @marquise-de-clarabas: Moist: C’mon babe, it’s me, your boyfriend! Adora, knowing full well who he is: I have never met this man in my entire life). He also raided the Assassins' Guild's armory/museum to get a birthday gift for Goemon.

///

About Jigen and the gonne (spoilers for Men at Arms) : basically, the gonne being such a dangerous and destructive weapon compared to crossbows, it has a nigh-magical attraction on people, and awakens and strengthens whatever lust for power, vengeance, blood etc they have. It basically controls its user and feeds on their convictions, addictions, wants, etc. The only person known to have resisted it is Vimes (because he's a stubborn mofo with a sense of morals you could bend iron on), and even he came damn near to losing his mind. (And Carrot, because... he's Carrot.)

Assuming the gonne didn't get destroyed in this AU: after they steal it, Lupin tries to use it, gets completely possessed/cursed (again) and accidentally tries to murder his friends (again), prompting Jigen to take it from him. Jigen then gets possessed as well, and they start fighting for the gonne, until Goemon just walks in, takes it out of their hands and takes it away. Goemon's completely unaffected by the gonne because 1) of his ascetic training and 2) "it is a filthy morporkian artifact and cannot compare to the noble art of the sword."

///

Zenigata often teams up with Angua (resident werewolf of the Watch), they get along very well. The Gang is very easy to track, they smell like a tobacco factory that has caught on fire.

///

Yata and Drumknott (Patrician's head secretary, and confidante, sort of) get together after office hours, and argue about whose boss is the best (because as we all know they both have a crush on respective bosses). One day Drumknott accidentally calls Vetinari “Sempai” after he heard Yata call Zenigata that all the time.

///

Lupin follows Lipwig’s example and steals all of Yata’s pencils every time he visits the Pseudopolis Yard (the Watch's HQ). Drumknott is fuming when Yata tells him about it.

///

Leonardo Da Quirm is butt-naked, because Part 4.

///

Something with vampires, probably.

///

tagging @carriagelamp and @mad-whoman-with-a-book00 because I know you may be potentially interested in this AU ^^

[shes-an-oddbird]

A Very long list of Season 5 Predictions/Wish List

I tried to hit as many of the characters as possible so this is really really long

The trickiest thing about this show seems to be the ever growing cast creating several stories at once and the fact that it’s a show about first responders so even characters that don’t seem like they would follow that career choice end up there and those that don’t sometimes feel out of place.

This is not to say that I don’t LOVE AND ADORE FIREFIGHTER ALBERT HAN! (but really kind of thought it came out of nowhere and yet I’m not surprised because what else were they going to do with him?)

It seems unlikely they’d assign Albert to the 118 unless Bobby requests him like he did with Eddie, but I think Bobby might have some hesitations about that. They’re already as close as family and sometimes make dangerous decisions because of it. He might feel its better for Albert to be with a different fire house or maybe Chimney would.

But he’s a regular so putting him with the 118 would be the best way to give him screen time

I personally think he’ll be assigned to the 133 since we’ve seen a bit of them this season. I’d love if there was a fun rivalry between the two firehouses (whichever one Albert ends up at.) I’ve said it before that the 118 is probably notorious at this point for the weird situations they get into. The teasing and the taunting would just be so much fun to watch. Albert talking to Chim or Buck and just being like, so the guys told me about this time…

Actually can we take a moment to appreciate that the 118 got ANOTHER firetruck destroyed and this one wasn’t even theirs. The 133 spends FIVE MINUTES with Buck and Eddie and their truck is in shambles.

On a more serious note, we might meet Chimney and Albert’s dad. I’m thinking he’s not going to be thrilled about his youngest joining the fire department and show up to talk some sense into him and scold Chimney for letting him do it.

I’m so confused about how much time has passed? How long does it take to become a firefighter? They must have some sort of plan for him because cutting out him going through training seems like a lost opportunity. It’s a story we haven’t really seen through anything but montages. Is it difficult? Would he try to quit? I’d have liked to see him making the decision in the first place.

putting the rest under here because its really a lot

We’ll also miss Eddie recovering (and Bobby too actually), which I’m a little bummed about but not devastated. It sounds like we won’t see much in the way of the effects of either shooting but can’t do anything about that now unless they flash back and have them work towards that moment on the roof.

My biggest concern with the time jump is missing literally any of Maddie’s story. I don’t know much about PPD or if its called recovery or overcoming it but I do want to see Maddie work through that and Chimney and the others supporting her.

I think her leaving the dispatch center will be temporary but it may take half or all of next season for her to return.

Maybe she’ll take over for May, if she does go off to school

Or May might continue working at Dispatch and going to school.

If she doesn’t go to school Athena is not going to be very happy with her. But maybe we could get Maddie and Josh being big siblings to May which is an underappreciated dynamic. Maybe it will help Maddie cope with how useless she’s feeling with Jee.

I’ll need to rewatch to see if they say what May wants to do but maybe she’ll study journalism or something that will keep her in the loop of the main characters the way it does Taylor.

And speaking of Taylor, she is actually a very interesting character, whether you like her (morally) or not. I think we’ll see more of her in season 5 and I genuinely think she’ll fall hard for Buck. And I think everyone needs to chill about how it’ll destroy her character.  We’ve already established that Taylor is like the female version of Buck (with a bit more sense maybe but a mirror if him non the less). If Buck is allowed to grow and want an actual relationship, is anyone really surprised they’d have Taylor go through that too.

She’s just a few steps behind, like he’s in relationship phase and she’s just coming to terms with her own feelings for him

My big concern, since they like to break Buck’s poor little heart, is that she’ll leave. She’ll get a job opportunity and pick it over Buck. I think it would be a hard decision for her but in character. Or maybe they’ll surprise us and make Buck and Taylor endgame (I know a lot of people don’t want to hear that but I could see it happening that way)

On the flip side I don’t know what’s going to happen with Eddie and Ana. I know she’s pretty much hated but its super unclear what the plan is other than that they’ll eventually break up per what Carla implied. I suspect they’ll be together for a bit of season five until Eddie figures out what’s up with what his heart wants. I don’t think Ana is some awful witch so the break up will probably be mutual or at the very least Ana won’t be surprised.

But hopefully we get more than just that as far as Eddie goes. The episodes we do get that are focused on him are really some of my favorites. They are wrapping up his moving on from Shannon arc which is cool. The trying to be a good father to Christopher will always be there, that’s something that will never change and always be a growing/learning experience.

I’d love to meet one or both of Eddie’s sisters. They don’t have to stick around long term like Albert did but to have them pop up with some crisis would be interesting and we could learn more about Eddie and the dynamic with his family which seems loving but strained.

Maybe we will see Eddie working more with Hen too. I was wondering if they’d make Eddie a full paramedic to take over for her eventually, which I decided they probably won’t do. But one episode of Buck distressed over the fact that he and Eddie wouldn’t be partners anymore would be fun drama.

The two really are just at a loss without each other and I love that. They get so pouty when they’re apart.

I don’t know what other plans they might have for Buck next season. I suspect we’ll see him worrying over Maddie and I’d kill to see him watching Jee-Yun.

I don’t know how old she’ll be because of the time jump but can you imagine Buck watching the baby and it just being an absolute disaster. So he starts calling everyone in a panic and we get firefam taking care of Baby Jee, maybe while Chim and Maddie are at a therapy session or just a weekend away for themselves.

I’m convinced the Baby would love Eddie. I think its just me projecting my desire for Eddie and Maddie to interact more. But like Hen teasing him because of course the baby loves him, all the girls love Eddie, he’s got the pretty face. Buck being super jealous that Jee likes him more. Eddie being genuinely surprised because he felt like such a failure when Chris was a baby. 

Denny, Harry and Christopher are all getting older too so there has got to be a story there with at least one, if not all of them. Harry was sidelined this season but I love that kid, he is the spawn of Athena and Michael and we already know he’s a little trouble maker. Match that with Christopher who is sassy and too smart for his own good and Denny who is clearly the good kid of the bunch. I don’t know, it’s another lost opportunity if they don’t do something with that.

They could assign Karen and Hen an older foster kid who’s maybe not such a good influence at first. Unless they opt for just younger ones, I’m not really sure how that works. But they could get one that’s not as easy as nia and they have to work for that bond.

Might be they adopt them at the end

I hope we see more of Hen’s mom and med school friends but not like a crazy amount. The cast is already too big but I love them so an occasional appearance would be welcome.

I love David and Michael too but they always seem like the hardest to work in because, as stated, they are not first responders. David is a doctor though so maybe we’ll see some interaction with him and Hen. And all the Bobby and Michael content is welcome.

I NEED A WEDDING NEXT SEASON! Just pick a pair and marry them please!!! Maddie and Chimney!!! Michael and David!!! Someone, please! Even just a proposal?! Maybe? Please?

And there will be another crossover event which is exciting because I really enjoyed the first one. I wonder if they’ll come to LA this time and what would bring them there. With the scheduling of the shows next season they won’t have to tie them together so much time frame wise. They literally could just be popping in for a visit. I’m not gonna lie when I thought about another crossover I really wanted Bobby the self-taught chef to meet Charles the actual chef but now I can’t have that and it makes me so sad.

Putting all this out there is a really good way to insure it never happens, but still, they seem like logical places to go as of the finale.

[novoki]

Ranting about my favourite strangers

I have three very distinct favourite strangers (and thus stranger missions): Sister Calderon, Charlotte Balfour, and Hamish Sinclair. All of these characters are wonderful on their own – powerful, independent, kind – but more than that they are extremely important to Arthur. Something they all have in common is being there in Arthur’s time of need, giving him the support he’s lacking from seemingly everywhere else around him, and here are my rambles about why that is:

First I want to talk about Sister Calderon, both because she comes first chronologically and for reasons I’ll mention later. Honestly, the ‘Help a Brother Out’ mission chain is one of my favourites in the game hands down, and Sister Calderon is a big part of that. Brother Dorkins is sweet and kind on his own, but Sister Calderon is simply delightful.

She’s happy and cheerful, she’s joyous and hopeful – but, more than that, she gets Arthur. Arthur may be rough around the edges and hides his true self behind a gun and a gambler hat, but Sister Calderon sees past this and into the good man that’s in his heart. When Arthur tells her he’s an outlaw, he says it like he expects her to turn around and flee from him. And this woman, this wonderful woman, fucking laughs and continues to support him.

She relates to him, says “a long time ago, I was like you” and tells him the importance of love; she reassures him that “the actions will lead” when he’s worried about his status as a good man; she teases him and jokes with him and says one of my most favourite lines in the game: “Take a gamble that love exists, and do a loving act!”

In the train scene, Arthur is so close to dying, so close to coming to an end. He knows the gang is falling apart – he’s already planning to get John out, has accepted the others leaving because he understands why. He’s hopeless and he’s helpless and he’s scared. And he tells Sister Calderon that!! Like, do you get how important that is?! Arthur Morgan: the enforcer of the Van der Linde Gang, the man who doesn’t shed a tear in the game once, who loses people and mourns them once and then moves on because he doesn’t have time for anything more, goes and tells Sister Calderon that he’s scared and he needs her help. He wants her help. And she reassures him, puts the faith back into his step. She is exactly what he needs in this scene, and you can just tell he knows that, too - “you’re too smart for me!”

Next up is Charlotte Balfour, my queen! Charlotte (and Hamish) are a rare spark of light in the hellscape that is Chapter 6. I think she’s actually one of the reasons Chapter 6 is my favourite chapter in the game – or maybe not her exactly, but rather what she represents.

First off, she’s just a bombass woman. Could totally move back to Chicago or some other city, actually should since it’s the sensible choice, but is so committed to her late husband’s dream that she decides to stay. And, over time, it becomes her dream too – we watch her grow from someone who is scared and insecure into a woman who is confident and sure of her skill. Meeting her in the epilogue as John made me ridiculously proud of her: look at those pants, that hat, that gun! She’s grown so much, she’s so strong, she’s so independent!

And, like I said, she’s also important to Arthur. Arthur, in Chapter 6, knows he’s dying of TB. It would be a totally appropriate response for him to just shut down, run away to some hole to hide in, and die peacefully. Of course he doesn’t do that, he’s got a gang to take care of, that’s just who he is – but his decision to help Charlotte is also indicative of his character. His new character. Arthur in Chapter 1 would not have saved Charlotte’s life, taught her how to shoot, or shot a fucking rat for her. Arthur actively takes time out of his journeys and days to not only save Charlotte, but to simply be with her. He sits down for dinner, for Christ’s sake, their friendship is adorable! 

Charlotte is there to show Arthur how much he has changed, that despite all his self-hatred a woman is alive because of his efforts and his kindness. She’s there for his time of need too – helps Arthur when he’s sick, lets him feel at home in her cabin. She leaves a clearly armed and experienced man in her home with valuables, and offers them to him. She so very clearly trusts him! It must feel so fucking good for Arthur when his own home is so hostile in every direction he turns.

And, of course, the Ultimate Dad: Hamish Sinclair. Lovable gruff bastard, just like his horse is (are we all collectively guilt-ridden for riding Buell into Red Dead Redemption and causing his death? Yeah? Not just me? Alright cool), the man who had seen war and now only wanted some peace. And for Buell to stop dicking around. From the first interaction, I feel in love with Hamish: his competence and confidence as a homesteader and hunter, his clear love for Buell despite all his bluff, the way he opens his home to Arthur. He actively invites Arthur to his home, multiple times in fact, and sits him down to share details of his life but also details of Arthur’s. And, of course, the ultimate sign of trust: giving Buell to Arthur after his death. The amount of gratitude and dedication that one act alone shows – which is why you NEVER take Buell into the final mission, you hear me?!

I think Hamish is also important due to the role he plays in Arthur’s life. He’s older, more confident – he lives the life Arthur might have wished for himself if he weren’t an outlaw: living amidst nature, helping passing travellers, bonding with animals, hunting peacefully and expertly. Arthur can’t have that, not now, but Hamish still shares this life with him whenever he visits. Hamish is a pretty clear father figure for Arthur, which is important – Arthur no longer has any fathers. Hosea is long in the ground and Dutch has revealed his true colours. Arthur is lost and confused, unsure who to be loyal to, who to protect and defend. And all amongst this is a man in a cabin on a mountain who is there to hear him out and spend time with him. Hamish is so deeply important to Arthur, especially during this part of the story. And, like Charlotte, he represents the change in Arthur: Arthur would not have looked at this man twice in Chapter 2, likely would have assumed him and weak and strange and moved on. Hamish extends a kindness to Arthur I’m sure Arthur wishes he himself could have been capable of earlier.

 As I mentioned earlier, I grouped Charlotte and Hamish together for a particular reason, and that reason is because they serve as a reprieve for Arthur from the chaos Chapter 6. I think it’s important to distinguish Hamish and Charlotte from other beloved strangers, including Sister Calderon, in that all of Arthur’s meetings with them are intentional. He does not bump into them like he does with Sister Calderon or even Albert Mason – no, our sullen cowboy actively goes out and looks for these people. He rides up to Willard’s Rest to check on Charlotte, stops by Hamish’s house with his fishing rod and hunting gun. Arthur is making a choice to spend time with them, and it’s clear why: they both present Arthur with a peace away from his painful camp life.

While Dutch is wreaking havoc and causing everyone to either quietly run away in the dead of night or turn on those who they used to call friends in camp, Charlotte is making dinner for Arthur and Hamish is inviting him on hunting trips. They are an escape from Arthur’s hectic home, a place where he can rest and relax and be happy. Simply be existing they are doing so much for Arthur, being there to support him and listen to him, learning from him or teaching him. Arthur desperately needs this stability in Chapter 6 which is why I love these two characters so much – and Sister Calderon, for her kind words at the train station.

Basically, Arthur loves these characters almost as much as I do (though not quite!) and I felt a need to express why.

[kiss-my-freckle]

8x16 Rewatch: Nicholas Obenrader

IRS storyline. Red’s friendly thief talks about someone going to Boston University. Another one going to college. Agnes will tie into their college storylines somehow. I love Red’s comment about Ressler. “Black shoes, cheap suit, flat stomach, regulation cut - don’t get me wrong, he’s bent, just not as bent as we’d like him to be.”

“Why must you always be early?” This ties in Ressler’s comment to Liz in Brothers. “Not on my watch.” Whatever happens, he’ll be early. Ressler informs the team. He knows a great deal about the Yakuza because of Mako Tanida. 

Espinosa was building his golden parachute like The Director did. He takes a 10% cut from the 40% cut the crew is supposed to get. Red’s friend informs Neville. He’s boxing Espinosa just like he did Rudigger. Neville’s people have no reason to doubt Liz. He already knew she was an agent.

“She’s really good. But I think we’ll all be a lot better when this is done.” A nice hit to the note the woman from Paris left for Red. “You’re good. I’m better.” The worst has yet to come.  “Liz’s mom abandoned her. She would never do the same to Agnes.” Aram has no clue why Katarina gave Liz up for adoption. She had no choice. Liz will realize this soon enough when her own child ends up in danger because Neville wants to kill her. Katarina didn’t make a mistake, Liz did. 

The whole brother of Charles at the lake house reminds me of Liz’s comment about Ressler’s lake house when she spoke to Laurel Hitchin in 4x19. 

Liz is so disrespectful. Anyway... Cooper sent Aram to Paris because he’s still unofficially working with Liz. Ressler last week, Aram this week. Cooper basically knew Aram would be meeting with Liz. I will blame the entire task force along with Liz for whatever happens to her and/or Agnes and/or Jennifer because they failed to arrest her and chose to work against Red instead. He’s their CI. Liz is not. Red put her on the blacklist for a reason. Panabaker put her on the wanted list for a reason. 

“If I were you, I’d like the finish line.” Red’s comment is a nice kick back to his comment to Liz in Devlin’s episode, S5. “Our sprint to the finish. The bag is just out of reach now.”

I love Aram’s care for Agnes in this episode, but I laugh at Liz’s comment.  “Where we live is quiet and peaceful.” A nice kickback to the scene cut in 7x13 for their War and Peace theme. Ressler's "But maybe this will help us." US being Keenler. A hearing aid that blocks out sound. Cut to Agnes' name on her passport meaning Peace. “Your daddy just always taught me to be ready for a rainy day.” This runs through The Freelancer in 8x5. “There's a number pre-programmed. You ask for Charlotte. You tell them you got caught in the rain and need to dry off.” It won’t be quiet and peaceful for long. Charlotte’s web is about to get tangled. 

“I’ve done some awful things.” Liz kicking back to S3... again. “I have done... so many terrible things. I have hurt so many people."

“Whoever said crime doesn’t pay wasn’t very good at it.” When crime nearly costs Liz her daughter... she’ll understand what that truly means. It’s a dialogue that kicks back to The Ethicist in S6. “He did a cost-benefit analysis on these people, figured that the cost outweighed the benefits, and killed them because of it." Liz believes the benefit outweighs the cost. It doesn’t. 

Finally, some Ressler action in a lake house. 

Sikorsky’s official name is Ivan Stepanov. Red’s friend in the East. Officially, he’s SVR. Unofficially, he’s a high-ranking member of Zaslon. running black-ops around the globe. “Mobilize assets.”

Red doesn't expect Obenrader to reveal anything meaningful about Neville's organization. Obenrader knows the blowback it’ll have on his loved ones if he does. This is what Liz will have to worry about later. The blowback on her loved ones. More specifically, Jennifer and Agnes. 

Whoever their inside man is, it’ll be a low-level agent like The Director’s friend in Zal Bin Hasaan’s episode. I’m expecting someone outside the task force, but close enough to tap the phone. They know Liz is using burners, so they had to tap Ressler’s. Yeah, another kickback to S3. 

The task force can’t arrest Stepanov, so they’re letting Liz extract him. Because they chose to work with Liz and Ressler contacted her about Stepanov while having a tap on his phone, Neville’s own people got their hands on him first. Precisely the point. They just put Liz in the direct line of fire because Katarina was N-13 and she’s very much alive. I thought it’d be Paula who got into his line, but it was Neville’s people. Guarantee Stepanov can prove Katarina was N-13, and knows the identity of imposter Katarina. This knowing will be Liz’s downfall. He’s going to protect Red at all costs (tortured or not) because he and Red have been working on this project together for the past 30 years.

“Oh, my stars” is a common quote from Red. He used it in Lord Baltimore with Yaabari. "Let me guess, I stole something from you. A painting, jewelry.... your heart."  Red’s new asset is gorgeous as hell. Priya Laghari. 

“I want to be your angel.” - Red

Red pulls a fake shooting on Ressler and Park so as not to look like a CI in bed with the FBI. “Of course, a mystery is only as good as the story around it.” Red saying exactly what I’ve been saying about his real identity. It has to fit the story around it. 

Alina Park is pretending to read Just Fly Away by Andrew McCarthy. “A powerful story about family secrets, first love, the limits of forgiveness, and finding your way in the world.”

“Like taking candy from a kid.” A hit to Rizal’s episode. This is where Agnes falls in, along with the dialogues about spoiling her rotten. 

“You think you’re giving her a rope to hang herself. I fear you may be giving her a rope to hang all of us.” A nice hit back to 8x14. “I’m responsible for Mary Bremmer’s murder, Dembe’s torture, and I got nothing to show for it, except for another reminder that no matter how tight the noose, Reddington will always cheat the hangman." To be clear, Liz fully accepting responsibility for the murder of Mary Bremmer, so what comes to Jennifer will be on her. That whole washer necklace choking Mary through Liz’s Cyranoid. She didn’t specify that it brought her good luck, only that it brought her luck... because Tom Keen is bad luck. 

A noose for Jennifer Reddington. Then Liz will have something to show for it. 

Red is worried about Priya. He hired her to assassinate Neville. 

He should be worried. This focal shot is a kickback to Roy Cain's episode in S7. His "knock on wood" will push back to Liz and her fate.

Purposeful stuff. 

A kiss of death... like the woman from Paris kissing Red before injecting him. It also makes me think of The Apothecary, the Scotch. Just throw it in the bottle while he's gone and be done with it. While she may not kill Neville, I do think she’ll be the reason Red’s friend Ivan will survive. She’s a thief. "Items” include people. That's what Neville wants Priya to steal. She's gonna steal Ivan Stepanov. "Item" is how Red referred to Raymond’s bones in S5 and how they referred to Karakurt when he came in country in S2... items. Rakitin wasn’t worth the save. 

The Stranger by Albert Gamus. The book Dembe was reading that Red starts to read. The novel is famous for its first lines: “Mother died today. Or maybe it was yesterday, I don’t know.”

"Katarina Rostova was N-13. And Katarina Rostova is dead." Ivan Stepanov speaks truth. Red is N-13 because he's Katarina. SHE has been dead for 30 years. Of all people, the person who created the archive can prove who stole it in 1990. Expect Neville to be pissed because he's been chasing the wrong woman for 30 years. Ivan can reveal it all without revealing Red's real identity.

Neville’s comment about her innocence. “But Katarina Rostova was framed. Which means I dedicated my life to the hatred of an innocent woman.” This pushes back to Red’s comment in 8x2. “Is that the story she told you? She's a victim? An innocent wrongly accused?" What Ivan will be revealing to Neville. The real Katarina Rostova was no innocent. He knows Red is Katarina and he knows he’s dead either way because he created the archive that took Neville’s family. "Do you know who I am? Because I know who you are. You're the one who created the archive that destroyed my family." He’s gonna put Liz on the chopping block. "And I asked you to fly here so I could look you in the eye and tell you: I agree... for now." Because he has no idea she’s Katarina’s daughter, which means he has no idea she’s Red’s daughter.  

Full drive through the rest of the season. The first person Neville would kill... is Liz. 

[ihatecoconut]

Misunderstood

Cross Posted to AO3

“Race, c’mon.” Jack called, “I don’t have time to stand outside here and yell at you until you come out, but I will.”

There was a muffled response from the other side of the door, which Jack chose to interpret as an affirmative, but was more likely a repetition of the ‘fuck off’- the only thing he had heard from Race since he had locked himself in the bathroom. He still didn’t know why.

Race had come home almost half an hour ago, slammed the front door and locked himself in the bathroom. Jack, who had stuck his head out of the kitchen at the door slam had just had enough time to watch Race borderline sprint to the bathroom and lock the door. He had been in their since, had only started responding to Jack after twenty minutes, and Jack was pretty certain he had been crying.

“Race please.”

“Fuck off, Jack!” Yeah, definitely crying, Jack could hear the crack in his voice.

He sighed and slid down the wall until he was sitting in their tiny corridor opposite the bathroom door. “I can’t help you if you won’t tell me what’s wrong.”

“Who said I want your help?” Race retorted.

That, Jack decided, was progress. It was something out of him other than ‘fuck off’ and it was also kind of an acknowledgement that something was wrong.

“Alright, how about Davey’s help?”

Race didn’t respond to that, choosing instead to throw something at his side of the door- or that was what Jack assumed he did, considering all he heard was a thump and he couldn’t actually see Race. Either way, he took it as an affirmative.

Cowboy: hey can u come over smthns up w race

DaveyBaby: Yeah, of course, do you know what it is?

Cowboy: nope hes looked himself in the bathroom & wont say anyth or come out

DaveyBaby: I’m on my way, I’ll be about ten minutes

Cowboy: thanks.

Davey didn’t respond, and Jack took that to mean that he had put his phone away in order to drive. Ten minutes- he could deal with ten minutes of unresponsive Race; he’d been dealing with Race since they both moved in to Medda’s nearly eight years ago.

“Are you gonna talk to me yet?”

“Fuck off, Jack.”

Apparently not.

*

Davey arrived exactly ten minutes later, as expected because he never drove over the speed limit, no matter the emergency (‘I won’t be able to help in an emergency if I’ve been pulled over by the police, Jack!’) and he always perfectly calculated the amount of time it would take him to drive said speed limit. The only indicator that Davey was as worried about this as he was, was the fact that he opened the front door and let himself in, rather than knocking and waiting for Jack.

“Where is he?”

Jack waved his hand listlessly at the door, “Still in there.”

“Alright,” he raised his voice slightly, “Race?”

A pause. A thump. “What?”

“Are you gonna come out?”

“No.”

Any other time, Race would have jumped at the opportunity to make a joke about being gay and coming out, but instead of throwing out the ‘I’m gay���- even miserably- he didn’t make it at all. Jack watched as the crease in Davey’s brow deepened.

“How long has he been in there?”

“About forty minutes now.”

He nodded, and Jack could almost see him breaking down the problem in his head, “Race?”

“What?”

“Have you eaten today?”

There was a small, broken sob and Davey’s eyes widened, panicked.

“Yeah,” Race said, “I ate.”

The two of them exchanged a confused glance,

Davey turned back to the door. “Uh, have you got a drink?”

There was a quiet sniff that they only picked up on because they were listening out for any more sobs, “No.”

“Will you open the door enough to take a water bottle?”

Jack resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Davey’s unconscious mothering.

“Yeah,” Race sighed, “I guess.”

Davey smiled, looking slightly relieved, “Thank you. I’ve got one here.”

A hand stuck itself out of the crack that appeared, and Davey placed a water bottle- that he had apparently just brought with him in his satchel? - in it. The hand disappeared quite quickly after that and there was the sound of Race re-locking the door. Jack looked up at Davey.

“What now?” he mouthed

Davey held up a hand- the universal sign for ‘hold on’- “Race? We’re gonna go into the kitchen now. Shout or come out if you need anything, ok?”

“Yeah.”

Davey nodded and bit his lip, the worried look was back in his eyes and Jack wasn’t feeling any better than he had been ten minutes ago, the only positive he could see was that he- the most emotionally stilted person he knew- was not dealing with this alone. Carefully, the two of them moved into the kitchen. “Where was he?” Davey asked quietly, glancing back at the corridor before looking Jack straight in the eyes.

“I don’t know,” Jack replied, keeping his voice to the same volume, “he said he was going out, I asked him if he was meeting someone and he said yeah and then left so…”

“You don’t know who he met?”

Jack shook his head apologetically.

“Ok, ok. Let’s go down the list.”

“Huh?”

“Our friends. You know, people he could have been with.”

“Right, ok, go ahead.”

Davey nodded and pulled out a pen, “Paper?”

When Jack finally found a blank piece of paper, Davey spilt it into two columns- ‘Not’ and ‘Possible’. Down the ‘Not’ column, he wrote ‘Davey, Jack, Sarah, Katherine, Albert.’

“Albert?”

“Sarah was helping him with his math class.”

“Ah, ok.” Jack took the pen and added to the column, ‘Elmer, Smalls, Sniper, Crutchie’

“Were they with you?”

“Yeah. Except Crutchie, he was at Medda’s today.”

“Alright, and now the possible column.”

Together they managed to collect the rest of their friends’ names in the other column- ‘Tommy, Mike, Ike, Blink, Mush, Spot, Finch, Henry, JoJo, Buttons, Specs, Romeo.’

“That’s a much longer list.” Jack pointed out, unhelpfully, “What are we gonna do, text everyone and ask if they were with Racer?”

“Unless you have any other ideas, yeah.”

“I’ll take the top six then.”

Davey nodded reluctantly- it wasn’t the best way they could do this, and it was a little bit of an invasion of Race’s privacy, but Race never cried and he wasn’t offering anything they could do- so they both sat down, ready to text a bunch of their friends and offer no explanation for their question. As people slowly responded, they crossed names off the list. Ten minutes later, Race emerged from the bathroom, just as they had got it down to the twins and Spot.

“What are you guys doing?” he asked quietly, a massive difference from Race’s normal demeanour.

“Trying to work out who you were with.” Davey told him, oblivious to Jack wincing at his honesty, thinking that Race wasn’t going to be happy about that, “Because it might help us work out how to help you.”

“Oh.” Race responded, listless and emotionless, “Who do you have?”

“The twins, Mike and Ike.” Davey watched Race for a reaction, “And Spot.” The reaction to that was immediate, Race’s face crumpled, and he curled his knees up to his chest.

“Spot, then.” Jack muttered, and then louder, “Ok, what did he do and how much should I hurt him?”

“Please don’t hurt him,” Race whispered, barely audible through where his face was buried into his knees, “I think I love him.”

There was a long pause and Davey and Jack exchanged a bemused glance, “Ok,” Jack finally said, “I’m gonna need an explanation on that one.”

Race sat up again and rubbed his sleeves over his eyes, “I thought we were dating, we go out every week and we hooked up at Jack’s last party, so I thought we were dating, but apparently not because he asked me who I was dating, which must have been his way of trying to let me down gently, but I thought we had something and-“ he broke off with another sob.

Jack was choking slightly, “You had sex?” he demanded, “With Spot Conlon?”

“Yeah, and we kept dating after that, but apparently we weren’t.” Race managed to get out between sobs. Davey stood up and went to get a glass of water,

“Calm down, drink this and calm down, we can’t do anything while you’re like this.”

Race nodded, accepting the water, and breathing deeply after ever sip, the other two watched him until he had finished the glass and seemed a lot calmer.

“Ok,” Davey sighed, “I think I know what happened.”

The other two looked at him, Race with raised eyebrows that quite obviously asked him to go on.

“Ok,” Davey started, “so, before you had sex- “

“Please just say hooked up,” Jack interrupted.

“Before that happened,” he continued, shooting an irritated glance in Jack’s direction, “the two of you were already going out for meals together, spending time together- doing what you classed as going on dates?”

Race hesitated, obviously unsure of where Davey was going, “Yes?”

“Alright,” he nodded like this made sense, “and then you… ‘hooked up’ and neither of you spoke about it, you didn’t acknowledge it at all.”

“Well, you know Spot, he doesn’t like to talk about things.”

“And then you continued to go on what you classed as dates?”

Davey could see some of the clarity he had dawning in Jack’s eyes, unfortunately Race still looked confused, and it was Race he was trying to explain the situation to.

“Yeah, Mouth I don’t get where you’re going with this.”

“Did Spot know they were dates?”

“Uh…” the horrified realisation was finally rising across Race’s face like the sun across the ocean, “I mean, he must have, right?” He looked at both them desperately, “Right?!”

“He is a little dense.” Jack offered, almost immediately wincing from the sharp kick Davey delivered to his ankle- apparently growing up with a twin taught you to do an insane amount of things unnoticed.

“This cannot be happening.” Race whispered, “Oh God.”

“You could talk to him.” Davey pointed out, “Tell him what you meant, apologise for not talking to him clearly, et cetera.”

“I’ve never heard someone say that out loud.” Race informed him, still in the same distant, horrified tone as before, “Et cetera. Who says that?”

“You’re changing the subject.”

“I know.”

*

Hotshot was in an incredibly similar position to the one Jack had been around 20 minutes previous; the only difference was that Spot, rather than locking himself in the bathroom, had chosen to pace the length of their apartment, muttering under his breathe and waving his hands angrily. He had been doing that for about 15 minutes and she was starting to get sick of it.

“Are you gonna snap out of it, or what?”

He paused, blinking at her as if he hadn’t noticed she was there, “What?”

“Snap out of it, Spot!”

“Yeah, sorry.”

He immediately resumed his pacing, and she resisted the urge to bang her head against a hard surface,

“Spot,” she groaned, “why are you doing this?”

“Me and Racer went to Jacobi’s for lunch.”

The urge to bang her head against a hard surface and not stop until everything stopped, “You do that every week.”

“Yeah, yeah I know that.”

Hotshot gritted her teeth- this was her best friend, and he was obviously struggling with something, so she was going to help him through this and not yell at him. She let out a calming breathe. “Then what’s the fucking problem?”

“He told me he had a boyfriend.”

“If you keep only telling me half pieces of information, I’m gonna hurt you.”

“Alright, alright! He told me he liked having a boyfriend, and I was upset because I’m a little bit in love with him and we hooked up at Jack’s last party and I thought that might mean something, but I’m a good friend and I wanted to be supportive, so I asked him who he was seeing and he just left and I couldn’t go after him because neither of us had paid, so I paid and then I was gonna go after him, but he and Jack moved in together and I don’t have his new address yet so I can’t and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Jesus Christ.” She muttered, slightly overwhelmed with information. “When I said stop giving me half bits, I didn’t mean dump all of it out.”

“I don’t know what to do, Niamh.”

“Alright, ok, we, uh, we should probably deal with that slowly.”

He was looking at her the way he had used to when they were still two kids in an abusive foster home, and she had taken on the role of his older sister. “Ok.”

“What do you mean you hooked up at Jack’s last party.”

His face went red, “I didn’t mean to say that bit.”

“Yeah, I guessed. Explain.”

“Explain what, Niamh? You know how it works.”

“Don’t get snappy with me, Sean.”

He leaned back into the couch, “Sorry.”

She ran a hand over her face, running back over his little info-dump in her head, “You’re in love with him?”

“Yeah…”

“Why?”

“Why?”

She hadn’t meant to ask that; she had just never even understood how the two of them had become friends- they had almost nothing in common from what she had seen- and was therefore utterly thrown by his deceleration of love. “I don’t know, Sean.”

“He’s so kind.” Spot whispered, “he’s so nice to everyone, and he smiles at people on the streets, and the kids at his dance studio all adore him, and he always makes time to talk to them if we see them in public. He always makes sure that Davey has time to chill at Jack’s parties ‘cos otherwise he would spend the whole time worrying, and he dances so prettily.”

“Huh.”

He sunk further into the couch- anyone else would think he was ashamed of his deceleration, of the fact that he liked another boy, but Niamh had known him long enough to know he was waiting for her validation, he wanted to know that she thought it was ok. Often, she had cursed the people who had made him crave validation for every response, but it was more important in that moment to give him the validation than to tell him he didn’t need it.

“I’m glad you found someone.”

Spot smiled up at her, just a small thing, but it was there, and then it was gone, “It doesn’t matter, though, he’s got a boyfriend.”

“Yeah…”

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, which was Spot’s general attention span in the quiet, “I don’t understand why he wouldn’t tell me who it was.”

“What do you mean?” Niamh asked, running back over that part of his monologue in her head- so I asked him who he was seeing and he just left and I couldn’t go after him because neither of us had paid, so I paid and then I was gonna go after him, but he and Jack moved in together and I don’t have his new address yet so I can’t and I don’t know what to do about it.

“I mean he just left!”

“And how did he seem?” She asked slowly, carefully making her way towards the same conclusion Davey had reached with Race.

“Uh, upset, I guess? But I don’t know what he was upset about because I would never abandon him or be mad about who he’s dating so…” Spot trailed off and looked up at her again, and the expression was back.

“You asked who he was dating, and he seemed upset?”

“Yes. Are you listening?”

“And you hooked up at a party?”

“Yes.”

“And you go out to eat with Race, and just Race, every week, no matter what?”

“Yes, Niamh, what’s your point?”

“I think it’s you.”

“You think what’s me?” Spot demanded, and his ‘King of Brooklyn’ façade was up, concerningly since he had never felt the need to be emotionless around her.

“I think…” Hotshot explained carefully, “that Race thinks the two of you are dating.”

“What?”

“Yeah…”

“But he told me he had a boyfriend.”

“No…” Niamh corrected, “he told you he liked having a boyfriend. He said that. To you.”

Spot’s eyes had gone wide, “Oh no.”

“It’s not that bad.”

“It’s so bad, Niamh! He probably thinks I was rejecting him or something!”

Niamh didn’t know Race that well, but if he was a true match for Spot, he probably did jump to a conclusion that stupid. She neglected to point that out, instead grimacing sympathetically, and watching him as he jumped back up and resumed the pacing he had been doing previously- she couldn’t even bring herself to criticise him this time. “You could talk to him?”

“I don’t know where he lives, Niamh! How am I supposed to do that?” Spot was waving his hands frantically, “He probably hates me!”

“Spot! You have a phone!”

He froze, halfway through another step, hands up in the air where they had been when he suddenly stopped. She was half tempted to pretend to reset him, but that would probably be insensitive considering his panic.

“My phone.” He finally whispered and dove across the room to grab it. “What do I sa- hey!”

Niamh snatched the phone out of his hands, helpfully already unlocked and pulled up Race’s contact- the only contact in his phone with an emoji after it.

“What are you gonna say?”

“Hey, I think I might have misunderstood you earlier, can we talk please?” she spoke as she typed it out, “That ok?”

“I-uh yeah.”

“Good.” She hit send and they both stared at the screen. “Maybe we should do something else for a while?”

“Yeah…”

*

Back at Jack and Race’s, the three of them were trying to come up with some sort of plan. Davey kept shooting down most of what they came up with- most notably ‘kill him.’ ‘avoid him.’ ‘seduce him.’- and was starting to look slightly done.

“Oh my God!” Race suddenly shouted, holding his phone out at arm’s length, “He texted me!”

Jack and Race politely ignored Davey’s “Thank God,” instead choosing to read the text several times,

“Huh,” Jack said, “I think Davey was right.”

The boy in question leaned over the shoulder that Jack was not reading over and glanced over the message. “Yeah. I think Spot might be on the same page as us now.”

“So, what do I do?” Race asked, looking up at him hopefully.

“…Text him back?”

“Yeah, yeah, uh I’ll ask him to come here? Or should we go somewhere else?”

“The park.” Davey suggested, “It’s kind of neutral ground.”

“You’re a genius!” Race informed him, typing fast enough that his fingers were almost a blur, “If you didn’t like Jack and I didn’t like Spot I would absolutely date you!”

“Thanks…”

“He responded! He said yes! I’m leaving!”

“Please put on shoes and a coat!” Davey cried as he made a break for the door with neither of those things.

“Yeah, yeah, ok.” Shoes and coat in place, Race gave them a cursory wave and sprinted out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

“I am so glad that crisis is over.” Davey sighed, sinking back down on the couch, “And I am now going to sleep for three years.”

Jack laughed and ran a gentle hand through his boyfriend’s hair, “You do that.”

*

Nobody ever actually found out how the conversation between Race and Spot in the park went, but they did announce that they were officially dating- and kinda had been for three months- in the groupchat later that day. Hotshot and Davey also received some nice socks a few days later, supposedly from an anonymous donator, but the ‘thanks for your help with Race/Spot’ respectively did kind of make the lack of signature pointless.

[bxckle-up]

about.

FULL NAME: [ REDACTED ] (former) DRISCOLL (COLE) JAMES CASSIDY (current) NICKNAME: [ REDACTED ] (former) CASSIDY (current) AGE: 35 BIRTH DATE: MARCH 12 GENDER: MALE ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: DEMIROMANTIC SEXUAL ORIENTATION: PANSEXUAL OCCUPATION: VIGILANTE, BOUNTY HUNTER, OUTLAW PARENTS: CLINT MCCREE (FATHER) , JESSE CASSIDY (MOTHER) EYE COLOUR: BROWN HAIR COLOUR: DARK BROWN HEIGHT: 6'1 , 1.85m BODY BUILD: ATHLETIC TATTOOS + PIERCINGS: PRINCE ALBERT PIERCING NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: LEFT METAL ARM PROSTHETIC, CIGAR BURNS ON HIS BACK, DEADLOCK TATTOO INTELLIGENCE: STREET SMART LIKES: COFFEE, CIGARS, APPLE PIE, BEING ALONE DISLIKES: THE THOUGHT OF DYING ALONE, "KNOW IT ALLS" EXTRAS: He frequently hooks up with people, but doesn't allow them to get close. He sees sex as something to release any sort of frustration. He hasn't actually had any true passionate nights with someone he's deeply cared about, and the thought of it frightens him.

BACKSTORY

CHILDHOOD/TEEN YEARS [ REDACTED ]

REASON: ❝ past is th’past. never understood bein’ obsessed with what used to be. we should all be focused on what is. ❞

❝ i lied most ‘bout it anyways, thinkin’ reyes would pity me if i said i had a rough upbringin’. truth is, ma ‘n pop were dirt poor, yet determined t’keep the farm up ‘n goin’. pop taught me how to hold and shoot a gun proper before i sprouted hair on my chin if i was to defend the farm from coyotes, bandaged my hands when i burnt myself cleanin’ the barrel, cheered when i brought shot duck for dinner. when he got sick ‘n kicked the bucket, the farm felt gray ‘n dull. ❞

❝ ma gave me his gun from way back when he was sheriff. he was ‘supposed to gift it t’me the summer after he died. she said he called it peacekeeper, as thugs ‘n criminals always fessed up just by lookin’ at ‘er. crime was lowest when pop was in service, ‘til his knee started givin’ him problems.❞

Born into a motherless life, his father was a strict man that initially did not even want a son, and hoped for a daughter instead. Growing up, his father refused to speak about his mother, only hearing from him that she was a "selfish whore" that "got whatever was going for her" as she had passed during childbirth. [ REDACTED ] was an energetic boy with plenty of dreams; all shot down by cold shoulders and aggressive attitudes from his father. If he were to speak out of turn, he'd be punished. Snuck out snacks from the pantry, he'd be punished. Didn't reach the quota on the farm, he'd be punished-- he'd be punished more often than not. He doesn't like to talk about the type of punishment he received, but know that this is where the cigar burn scars came from. He never held grudges; he was a wise kid and knew better than to get angry. It wasn't his fault, despite the persuasive words from his father. Reaching his teen years was when he was able to do as he pleased as long as it did not anger his father. He'd work on the farm, keep outside far from the old man as much as possible. Though, shooting was the only thing that bonded father and son together, as they created a makeshift shooting range somewhere on the farm. When they weren't shooting together, his frequent lounging spot was a pond nearby their shooting range, spending a lot of time reading about the history of old American southern culture; not to mention watching old cowboy movies when he could. In the last few months of his father's life, him and his father bonded immensely. Peacekeeper is his father's gun, and the first gun that [ REDACTED ] had ever held. It kept him out of a pinch from times to come. He'd take care of it, bring it in for repairs if needed, and DID NOT ever misplace it.

YOUNG MCCREE/PRE-OVERWATCH  [ REDACTED ]

REASON: ❝ i was told i needed an explanation for my misdeeds. that i needed to look poor ‘n needy to even be considered t’become part of overwatch. ❞

❝ i started doing the odd job here ‘n there, scroungin’ up any money i could get to help ma keep the farm. when she passed, i figured it was best to sell the property. farm started losin’ more than it was givin’ and it was time to let go of the past. i sold it ��fer a pretty penny, but most o’ that money went towards connections ‘n keepn’ peacekeeper pretty. ❞

❝ had a ‘couple friends hook me up with a solid job at another farm ‘fore runnin’ into a pretty gal with a rebel spirit. she had the brains, i had the brawns. it was stroke o’ luck, findin’ her when i did. i was down to my last dollar when we talked ‘bout runnin’ heists for a livin’. ❞

❝ i don’t like talkin’ much ‘bout it. we... had our differences. one bad heist, and now she probably thinks i hate her. if that ain’t the furthest from the truth... ❞

When his father passed due to heart complications, he found himself leaving the farm to avoid grief and ran into a couple of ruffians. Respected once winning in a duel, [ REDACTED ] worked alongside them, robbing local stores and small banks in exchange for a sense of familiarity and friendship. His charismatic demeanor made him the recruiter of his small group, using the art of persuasion instead of force as a means to gain numbers. Upon stumbling across Elizabeth Ashe, the two would immediately hit it off and eventually pursue a life of crime with one another. Various heists planned by both would be proven successful, and although they had friends by their side, the true duo behind all the antics was Ashe and [ REDACTED ]. Both being history nerds and lovers of old American southwestern culture, they created the Deadlock Gang. They never killed unless given reason to, never killed the innocent either. Sure, they were reckless, but they weren't stupid cold-blooded killers. The Deadlock Gang had hearts, souls and were aware of others too-- frequently stealing from the rich to give to the poor as well. The ones who they would kill would be the assholes that were stupid enough to try to foil their plans and get them caught. Even then, they'd make it quick, but made sure that they all had a chance to live. During a heist that Ashe was not present for, Overwatch intercepted the operation and captured [ REDACTED ] along with a couple of other gang members. However, impressed by [ REDACTED ]’s skills, they gave him two options: rot in prison, or work for Overwatch's covert ops, Blackwatch. Not wanting to leave what was oh-so familiar to him but at the same time not wanting to go to prison, he'd reluctantly join Blackwatch.

BLACKWATCH

Initially, [ REDACTED ] did not want to be in Blackwatch. Operation after operation passed, and he grew to enjoy being in it. He found that, working for an organization whose intentions were genuine at best, simply felt better than constantly living on the edge. In the beginning, he chose to keep himself reserved from the other associates in Blackwatch. That eventually changed as he warmed up to them-- Commander Reyes in particular, whom he spent most of his time training with. What [ REDACTED ] did not agree with for the most part, however, was that Blackwatch killed whoever got in their way. He always knew that to every soldier was a family, something that he and Ana Amari bonded over greatly. The longer he stayed in Blackwatch, the more souls he'd have to take, the more it weighed down on his conscience. The people in Overwatch were nice, and often debated asking for a transfer to one of the other Overwatch divisions as he grew to dislike his own dispatch team in Blackwatch. Unfortunately, [ REDACTED ] would lose his arm out on a mission for Blackwatch, post-Venice. A fellow cyborg was forced to amputate on the battlefield, and [ REDACTED ] was never the same since. He left a couple weeks after receiving his new prosthetic, the breaking point being his failure in saving Mina Liao from an attack on her laboratory. He blamed himself greatly for this mistake.

POST-BLACKWATCH/PRESENT DAY

❝ i lied ‘bout who i was ‘cause i knew reyes loved his rags-to-riches stories. i thought ‘bout the boys in the farms that spoke ‘bout gettin’ beat by their fathers, ignored by their mothers, the unfortunate orphans ‘n homeless men. jesse mccree was all o’ them.❞

❝ y’know, ashe never knew my real name was driscoll. i think i just wanted my real name t’be reserved for the good, ‘n good only. deadlock was none o’ that. neither was blackwatch. but overwatch... overwatch is different. i can feel it. ❞

❝ now that overwatch is gettin’ its second chance, i’m willin’ to take mine. ❞

❝ the name’s driscoll james cassidy, but i go by cole now. cole cassidy. ❞

[eyesforjade]

Underestimate — Jill Valentine X Carlos Oliveira [Resident Evil 1 and 3]

Summary:

underestimate

verb

1.

direct transitive

not giving due esteem, value or appreciation to; not having a lot of consideration; disdain.

"s. someone's intelligence"

2.

direct transitive

miscalculate, for less.

"s. the demand for a given commodity"

OR

Five times a man underestimated Jill Valentine, and one time one didn't.

Author’s Note: Hey there, this was an idea I had while I was listening to “Boys Will Be Boys” from Dua Lipa. The result made me really happy, and was something I really liked writing, although, I’m very insecure about it, because, I translated to english, but english is not my mother language, hey, I’m Brazilian, just as Carlos in my future AU’s. Well, stay tunned for my other works, and I hope you guys really like this.

Word count: 3841 words.

 Warning: Maybe for my bad english, but besides this, there’s some points where the character’s lines are sexist, and there’s also scenes of shooting in the characters.

Also available on ao3

Δ

i. dick valentine

Jill vaguely remembers having a day with her father, even though he wasn't training her skills. She was a smart girl, and she knew very well what her father did for living, and even though she didn't think it was right, it was the only thing she had, knowing that her mother would never return to her life, especially because of her father.

Dick Valentine has always been very hard, he wanted his daughter to follow in his footsteps, because he knew how much capable she was. But all the pressure to learn drove Jill crazy, and often missed the things she did. At the time, Jill never understood, but now older, she understands that he underestimated her many times, so that she was better at what she did.

And that's why when he saw the opportunity for Jill to join the S.T.A.R.S., it was when he started getting heavier. Days and nights in the clear, a lot of pressure, Jill worked hard that year, got a lot of injuries in the process, but it was from that she managed to achieve more things, Jill learned to live and it was all thanks to him.

But she never denied that it was a heavy childhood. The training was intense, but it taught her things she never forgot, like that day in her teens, when Dick trained her on how to deftly break into a home. “Only fools accept the obvious and go no further; use your brain, Jilly”. That same day, they had a fight, and Jill will never forget her.

 — You can do it, Jilly. — He said that on average at least 30 times a day, and Jill was tired of hearing that, dropping the lockpick gear, she turns irritated to her father.

— If I can do it, why do you keep demeaning me?! — Jill always thinks about what she will say, and that day she was just tired.

— Because I want you to be better! — Hearing that from him, at that moment, was something that ended the training for him. He stood up, dropping her in front of the lock. — Better than me. — Jill spent the rest of the day trying to perfect her skills, she didn't want her father to have to talk to her like that. Never.

 Δ ii. brian irons

 It was another normal morning at R.P.D., everything was very calm. All corridors were with as little noise as possible, except for the whispers about the special ceremony that the S.T.A.R.S. were organizing. The captain of Alpha team, Albert Wesker was organizing a shooting competition between the two S.T.A.R.S. teams for training, and it was obvious that for incentives, he had a huge trophy for the winner, second and third place medals, and medals of participation for the other places.

As the event was entirely focused on S.T.A.R.S., they organized on their own, and participated, while the other policemen watched and cheered for whom they preferred. The event would take place outside, at the entrance to the west wing, there the two teams were divided and being led by their respective captains, Wesker and Marini. Enrico ordered his team to make sure that all weapons were good and ready for the competition, while Wesker, ordered his team to assemble the entire structure of the competition, and as a perfectionist, he wanted everything perfect.

When the lack of duct tape to stick the targets is over, Wesker sends Jill Valentine to get more. It was a simple task, which he had forgotten to do and he says to Jill, that he had left some boxes of tape on his desk in the office, she does not complain when she receives the task, she just turns to smile at Rebecca Chambers of Bravo, and go looking for it quickly. She was already close to the office, just another corridor, entering the door to her left, she immediately smelled the coffee that the office always carried.

With a smile on her face, Jill begins to approach the door to Wesker's small office, listening to the door she entered close. Albert was right when he said that the box of tapes would be on his desk, Valentine takes four tapes, thinking it was too much, but it was better to be left than missing, heading for the exit, when her hand holds the handle, she hears some voices outside, voices that were speaking about her, Jill grips the knob tightly, not turning it.

— Seriously, a little girl like her? — She soon recognizes the voice, Brian Irons, the chief of police, Jill takes a deep breath, being as quiet as possible, did not want them to know she was there. — Is that what you're rooting for?

— I think she has a lot of potential, Irons. — It's impossible not to recognize Marvin Branagh's voice, he almost never talks to her, but it was nice to know that he thought she had potential.

— If we were placing a bet, you would lose. — Jill is silent, trying to hold the hurt that burned in her chest. — She won't even come in third, I don't know why Albert admitted her to Alpha... — Valentine remains silent, hearing the voices fading due to the distance. She swallows hard, trying to get it out of her head, leaving the office as soon as possible, heading back to the west entrance.

 Jill could say that the shooting competition was one of the worst disasters of her life. She wasn't at all motivated after hearing Irons say that, and she blamed herself a lot for letting it take over during the competition. Be in line with the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. waiting to receive his participation medal, it was one of his worst nightmares.

He was in the middle of Barry and Joseph. Barry had stayed in fourth place, while Joseph secured himself in sixth, Jill knew that fifth place was a good position, but the words of that filthy man, circled her head, while she practically stared at the floor. She had seen Irons whisper among some policemen, making them laugh, and that discouraged her even more. Chris had won the trophy, and she couldn't be happier for it, but she also really wanted to get out of there.

That day, Jill learned her lesson. She would never let any man say anything bad about her, ever again. She left R.P.D. without speaking to anyone, whispering: "your happiness is worth more than winning a stupid competition".

 Δ iii. barry burton

 Walking around the mansion had a bizarre mix of feelings. Jill liked quiet places, and the empty mansion by itself was a perfect place for her, except that almost every corridor had a new surprise waiting for her, zombies, crows, and the insecurity of opening a door, and finding one more. STARS member dead.

Jill had a lot on her mind, and the new area of ​​the mansion made her unsure about things. She had just put a cylinder inside the machine that would make the underground elevator work, the four buttons lit a red light. Pushing the buttons, even in the most obvious order, hadn't worked, and Jill becomes impatient when she sees the cylinder come out again. Examining the cylinder, she can see that it had a sequence of numbers, but that the two parts did not meet.

Rotating the top, she discovers the sequence. “IV II III I”, with a smile on her face, Jill puts the cylinder back in the machine, pressing the buttons in the same sequence, glad it worked. The sound of the elevator, which was held by very visible chains, reaches the floor she was on, and she walks to him, analyzing the buttons on the panel, she hears the sound of the door she entered opening, and soon recognizes the voice that called her name.

 — Barry?! Thank god you're safe. — She leaves the elevator, approaching the older man.

— You too, Jill. — He starts looking everywhere, like every other time that Jill had found him. — A noise I heard brought me down here, but... — He enters the elevator, Valentine followed him, watching his movements. — I didn't expect to find a place like this. Have any idea as to what might be at the bottom? — Barry asks, while Jill continues to analyze the panel.

— There's only one way to find out. — She says confidently, pressing the button. It didn't take long for the elevator to reach the bottom, they weren't sure what was there, but they heard a strange noise. Barry pulls out his gun, looking around intently.

— What the hell is that sound? — Jill starts to analyze the place, the caves under the mansion were certainly huge, it would take a while to check all that. — It could be a person. — What Barry said next made Jill question Burton's character. — Jill, go check it out. We have had enough surprises for one day. I’ll stay here, and secure our escape route in case something happens. — Valentine was totally against the idea of ​​spliting up, she thought if they were together, maybe they could find Wesker and Redfield faster, but she also didn't complain when Barry sent her to check, she was part of the S.T.A.R.S., she didn't have to refuse to do something. It was her job.

 Entering a door near the elevator. Jill had to face a woman, or what was left of one, her body had become monstrous, and now she couldn't even distinguish the woman's monster anymore. Valentine couldn't help but be sad, everyone in the mansion was a person, and they were alive before that.

Facing her, Jill discovered it was her making the noises. Knowing this, she had to go back to Barry, and maybe, that would mean they could walk through the caves together. When she got back to where the elevator was, her heart sank, Barry went up with the elevator, leaving her right there. She was sad, angry, and that only motivated her to continue, and get out of there, why did Barry act strange?

The next time they meet, Barry looks surprised to see her. His look was one of despair, fear, he seemed much more nervous than the other times they met. Jill had been through many things since that meeting in the caves, had returned to the mansion, and placed the emblems at the back of the stairs. Seeing Barry again, made Jill unsure, about trusting him again.

When she found him, he was touching a stone structure, it looked like a coffin. He was holding his gun, and as she started approching, he turned to her, placing the gun behind his back, as if he was trying to hide it. He acted as if she hadn't seen it.

 — Jill! Are you alive! — Jill approaches him, in silence, watching his movements, Burton looked really nervous. — I was worried, because I thought you were ... — “Dead? After you left me there?” Jill thought, anger was all she felt, Barry had underestimated her.

With a quick movement, Barry points the gun at Jill. Reacting fast, Jill manages to execute a maneuver, disarming him, Barry was distracted, in other situations, he would never have let him be disarmed, Jill holds the gun, pointing at him, she was tired, and couldn’t believe he had aimed the weapon at her.

 — Start talking! — She says, her anger increased more, every time she thought about everything that was happening. And then, she decided, no matter what, she would come out of that nightmare alive.

 Δ iv. albert wesker

 The mansion incident was something that would forever be remembered in the memory of the five S.T.A.R.S. survivors. Being inside that office, which was once lively and cheerful, left them really agitated and insecure.

The mansion had been blown up. Probably to prevent them from having concrete evidence of Umbrella's guilt about all of this. They only had some evidence, files, that they had taken from the mansion. Much of it was brought in by Chris and Rebecca, who lead with the mansion's things together, Jill carried some she found during her time there, Barry, while having to side with Wesker, contributed some too.

But there is one that Jill will never forget to read. She took it from Albert's body, after Tyrant killed him, it was a pocket diary, which he was updating while they were trying to survive in the mansion. About Redfield, he said that Chris was already suspicious, and it would be a long time before he found out the truth. About Burton, he had written that he was the weakest link, because he had family, and he could use that against Barry. About Vickers, well, it was just him thanking the fact that he was a coward, because he didn't have to get his hands dirty to lure us to the mansion.

About anyone from Bravo, there wasn't much, just that he imagined they were already dead by then. But about Jill ... He had written that she was a skinny, good detective, and had already left R.P.D. suspicious of him, but for him, she would be an easy target, and it would be the first one he would kill if she got in his way.

Jill didn't want to count this as a victory. It was not the time, especially after so many casualties. But she had survived, and he hadn't, and it shows how much she wasn’t an easy target, Valentine was sure it wasn't done with Wesker, and she was going to take Umbrella down now.

 Δ v. nicholai ginovaef

 During the outbreak of the virus in the city, Jill obtained refuge and support from a man named Carlos Oliveira. It wasn't much, but it was a start, even though Valentine didn't know how far her confidence should go, since in less than 10 minutes, she found out that Oliveira was with Umbrella, or almost.

Umbrella had sent a platoon to save the survivors from the outbreak. Jill met the U.B.C.S. platoon captain, and even though she didn't want to trust them, she wanted to help civilians as much as they did. So, following Carlos' requests, Jill was on her way to the subway substation.

Going there, she passed a garage in a car repair shop. Where she found a man... A soldier, dressed in clothes similar to those of the U.B.C.S. injured, without thinking twice, Jill approaches him, who was propped up in the car. His injuries didn’t appear to have been made by zombies. Jill experienced zombie bites, and that one definitely wasn't one. The injuries were more like a melee attack from someone alive.

 — You’re U.B.C.S.? — She begins to analyze her injuries, while the man looks desperately at her.

— Yeah. C-careful, careful. — Jill gets lost in her thoughts, it definitely didn't seem like a bite, who could have done that to him? — Come on, don't look at me like that, alright? I'm not infected!

— Okay, let’s take care... — Suddenly, the soldier starts to say “no” quickly, and all Jill could do was see the gunshot directly through his head, leaving Valentine slightly scared. She gets up, looking at the bald-haired man, dressed in a U.B.C.S. uniform, looking at the body of the soldier he had killed. — What the fuck!

— He was infected. — His accent was strong, similar to Mikhail's, Jill looks at him in disbelief, unable to believe what the man had just done.

— He MIGHT have been infected! — The man laughs, turning his back on Valentine, it was surreal, Jill followed him with her eyes.

— Are all S.T.A.R.S. this soft? — He laughs, starting to walk, he walked fast, as if he wanted to get out of here fast, Jill takes his step following the same. — No wonder so many of you are dead.

— And what are you? — Jill confronts, the same stops walking, he had started up the stairs, and to look at her. — U.B.C.S.? Killing your own people? — He goes down a step, approaching Jill's face, as if he was trying to intimidate her, Valentine doesn't give in, she looks at the man with the same intensity, no man would intimidate her.

— He would have turned. — He smiles sideways, making fun of her, Jill feels her fists clench in a tight grip, he had no mercy, he seemed to follow his own rules, even if Commander Victor was in charge of the U.B.C.S. — Where's your sense of self-preservation? — He laughs dry, and goes back up the stairs. — Go back to the subway station. We don’t need a bleeding heart like you getting in the way.

 Jill is left alone again, she was sure that this would not be the last time she would meet him, but she realized that she would have to be careful around him, because she wouldn’t die in Raccoon City.

 Δ vi. carlos oliveira  

When Jill arrived at the helipad, she saw Carlos lying on the ground near the helicopter, she imagined the worst. She had stayed behind, to put an end to the tyrant who pursued her during her stay in Raccoon City, and asked Carlos to go after Nicholai and the vaccine, see Carlos' fallen body, made her think the worst.

She runs over to him, crouching down to try to feel a pulse in his neck. She soon hears footsteps approaching him, and she sees Nicholai, who kicks her, without being able to react quickly. She recovers quickly, trying to pull the gun, but she is soon disarmed by another kick from the man. He had the vaccine in hand, and a gun pointed at her.

 — You’re not going to stop me. — He shakes the vaccine in his hand. — Promised you this, didn't I? — He throws the vaccine at her side, and Jill tries to reach it, only to see it being shot by Nicholai.

— Do you have any idea what you’ve just done? — She looks at Nicholai, who had a sarcastic smile on his face.

— Don’t know. Don’t care. — He shrugs. — My client ordered me to reduce Umbrella to rubble. — When the robotic voice announces that the missile is only 10 minutes away from reaching the city, Valentine's heart is racing. Nicholai smiles, looking the same. — Ah, the missile has launched. And this is my cue to leave. — Jill was still on the ground, she hadn't gotten up, afraid the man would rush over and shoot, but she knew he would probably kill her now. — Goodbye, Miss Valentine. A shame you didn't listen to me when you had the chance.

 She feels safe when she sees that Carlos' body was no longer in the same place. She was happy, happy that he hadn't died, but afraid that he was fighting Nicholai now, trying to disarm him. Despite the shock, Jill turns her attention, and reaches for the weapon she had lost earlier. Aiming at Nicholai, who was now surrendered by Carlos, Jill takes a deep breath, looking at Carlos.

 — Jill! Shoot him! — Hearing Carlos say that, made Jill insecure, she knew she wouldn't be able to shoot Nicholai without hitting Carlos.

— I can’t! I'll hit you! — It was an idiotic moment for this, and Jill knew it, but at that time, she remembered Iron’s comment on the day of the competition, and how much it affected her, if she couldn't hit the targets there, how could she hit him without hitting Carlos?

— Shoot! You have to! There's no other way! — Jill tries to aim with all precision, her shaking hands didn't help at all. — I trust you. — That was more than an incentive for her to pull the trigger, hitting Nicholai in the chest, making him fall to the ground, and consequently, Carlos too.

— Carlos! — Jill approaches him, lowering, part of her worry leaves her, when she sees the smile on his face.

— Hey, I told you I couldn't leave you in a Carlos-less world. — Jill smiles at him, happy that he was alive. — That would just be too cruel. — Jill extends her arm, lifting Carlos. — What about him? — Carlos asks about Nicholai, getting into the helicopter to start him.

— Why’d you do it? — Jill asks next to Nicholai, the man smiles, holding his chest.

— There's a price tag for everything. Even letting the world burn. — Jill looks at him with disgust, tired of all this.

— Who are you working for? — She hears the helicopter engines, she knew Carlos was waiting for her.

— I'll tell you if you get me out of here. I'll pay you whatever you want. — Valentine smiles, looking at the helicopter, walking to it. — You’re a fool. You’re a fool! — Nicholai kept saying, looking at Jill close to the helicopter. — If I die, you’ll never find out the truth.

— I don't mind a little detective work. — She climbs into the helicopter, closing the door, sitting down, feeling the helicopter start to take off. Her gaze lands on Carlos, and she can't help but smile, she was finally where she wanted to be.

  Δ bonus  

B.S.A.A. organized a huge event, with all the team members, to honor some people. Jill hated this type of event, but it always came because Chris insisted that it was good to rest after all the B.S.A.A. missions, but she knew that she only came to make fun of people's behavior with Carlos.

Carlos and Jill stayed together after Raccoon City. They were together, dating, for a long time. Carlos loved it when Jill made a joke about these events, and to Jill it seemed kind of forced when he insisted that they come to that specific event. Jill knew she never won awards, they always came for the food and the joke, and sometimes, they would come to Carlos receive his awards.

Redfield had contacted Carlos, convincing him to bring Jill. The reason was simple, the only honorees of the night were the former members of S.T.A.R.S. for all the service they did and still do, Oliveira was happy to bring Jill, he loved seeing her smile with the jokes they made, and she looked beautiful in those chic dresses.

Jill always accompanied him when he received awards, and he was more than happy to be able to accompany her on this one. He knew he would be up front, seeing her on stage, and applauding her, Jill was an extraordinary woman, and Carlos couldn't be more proud.

When they called her name it was a shock. Jill had been very happy when they called the name of Barry, Chris and Rebecca, applauded them with a huge smile on their face, but didn’t expected when she heard her name, she looked at Carlos, with a weak smile, and he opened a huge smile, standing up to hug her. Following her as she headed towards the stage, joining Barry and Rebecca, while Chris gave a short speech.

And Carlos was there. At the front, cheering her with a smile on her face, Jill cried when Chris's speech spoke about her, she laughed and hid her face in Barry's jacket, ashamed, but Carlos, Carlos thought she was beautiful.

[daddyfuckinlonglegs]

Let’s talk about Nate.

I guess I should cn for mentions of abortion and a gay slur

Nathan Christopher Stahl was born on 12.05.2042 to Albert (Bert) and Felicity Stahl, in Boston, and grew up (briefly) around the South Slope before moving away to Newton for most of his adolescence. His father was a Navy SEAL and his mother was from the "good stock" line of DeLaneys - once cranberry farmers who now had an extensive line of factories and packing facilities under their belt.

Nate's dad wanted him to be a tough kid. Having inherited his mother's slender build, Nate was, in his fathers words, "a prime target for bullies, assholes and homos", and when his dad wasn't stationed away, Nate spent a lot of the time they had together being taught to swim, shoot, and use a knife. He was moderately successful, a steady shot and a strong swimmer, increasingly able to hold his breath for a long time, earning himself a kind of schoolyard fame in his pre-teen years for fishing valuable items from the bottom of the pond in the common, and later the Charles river.

His father was deployed several times throughout his childhood, leaving the two with a less than stellar connection, but his father tried to instil in Nate his own skills and values, giving him a sense of courage and honour, but also a growing mistrust of authority figures. Nate resented his father's absences more and more, especially in his teenage years. He developed a close relationship with his maternal grandfather, until his death when Nate was 12.

He meandered through school averaging a 3.3 gpa, not really applying himself and grating against the sterner tutors - not clashing head to head, but bickering and nit-picking his way through their bluster until he found himself in the principal's office. Primarily interested in the arts and humanities, Nate had a talent for acting and a keen interest in sociology. Nate had developed a real skill for diplomacy, parsing his father's stoicism and his mother's temper into their useful parts, and brought his acting skills to the fore - wit and charm riding on the back of quiet determination, coupled with a talent for mirroring others, and a hell of a poker face. He also had a tendency to hyper-vigilance, from avoiding the hair trigger of his mother's pent up anger and picking apart his father's weighted silence and disappointment. Nate read people easily, and could usually work any situation to his favour, but increasingly lacked a desired outcome - he could have talked anyone into getting what he wanted; if only he knew what he wanted.

His father leaned towards him joining the forces, and as a teenager the pressure on their relationship mounted, coming to a head when he left high school. Nate left home, enrolling in Endicott college in 2059, opting for a major in international studies, amid the deepening conflict between America and China - that year, the Anchorage Front Line was established, and Nate's father was deployed for the last time.

He met Nora O'Connor in college, her part-way through her first year at Boston University, him in his final year at the college. The two hit it off immediately, and started a fairly casual relationship that lasted a little over a year before Nora got pregnant. Both of them were unwilling to settle down at this point in their lives, and they agreed that Nora would terminate the pregnancy, although her financial background meant that she would have to scrape together every loan and favour she could muster to be able toa afford it. Nate did the right thing, and offerred to pay for the termination with his family's money, after a difficult conversation with his father and a long stint in the doghouse with his mother. Despite their mutual decision, Nate felt guilty for having been careless and putting Nora in that position so early in her life, internally reflecting on the relationship with his own parents - them having made a different decision at a similar time in their lives. The situation brought some strain to his relationship with Nora, and both agreed to take some time away from each other for a short while, to let her focus on her studies, and for him to find a way into his own career.

He worked a few charmless jobs after college, packing in a cannery for the immediate summer after graduation, then spending some time as a sales rep for RobCo, and half heartedly attempting to move into a more political position, finding himself frustrated by both the lack of clear, rational positioning of the government on the trade talks with China, and with his own inability to decide what to do with himself - whether he wanted to work within the government in a diplomatic position, or whether he fitted better in a more un-biased body of officials. Ultimately he never decided.

When his father received his honourable discharge in 2061, returning blinded in one eye and losing a leg in combat, Nate pushed himself to reconnect with his dad, and after some time, instead of pursuing a diplomatic career, enlisted in the US Navy - in part wanting to finally do his dad proud (though his near brush with fatherhood left him less resilient to his own father's pressure to "make something of himself and stop pissing around"), in part hoping the discipline and stability of taking orders would help him with his own decisiveness, and in part running from his own guilt at what he increasingly saw as a failed relationship with Nora. The Navy was glad to receive him, his father's son in all but motivation, and he quickly settled to the strange routine of deployment and shore duty.

The Navy changed Nate in more ways than one; working the threads of his mistrust of authority into a small, tight knot that would slip through the eye of all but the sharpest of needles, his occasional, ethical objections earning him something of a reputation and more than one spell of disciplinary action. It substantially altered his understanding of power and obedience, and he learned how to put his head down and work as a unit, instead of a headstrong individual. He was devoted to his fellow man, and the hyper-vigilance he developed as a teenager became a tremendous asset in battle, but a thorn in his side in more personal matters; he noticed the damaging impacts of the blocky bravado expected of the men, and the more subtle, insidious chirp of propaganda adding racial tensions to the ranks as the country geared up for war.

Another thing that changed was his understanding of his sexuality. His father's worry of Nate being a prime target for "homos" proved accurate, in a sense; he developed a (stilted, at first) relationship with a crewmate, John Bowden, beginning while on a three year stint at sea, and ending amicably when they were subsequently posted separately after shore leave. The relationship was secretive, although Nate was unhurried with their time together, and their time at shore gave them opportunity to explore things more openly. Both men struggled with placing their feelings at the beginning, the internal shame of something else Nate knew would disappoint his father weighing heavy on him, as well as the obvious risk of conducting a relationship which would be classed as fraternisation. But the two built a strong companionship, and John was a grounding, patient presence for Nate when he received news of his father's death, and when he returned to service after his subsequent leave.

Nate saw the war firsthand, but it was a strange, subdued boredom that he experienced most - the dissociation of distance from the carnage wreaked by missiles, the tranquillity and dread of the vast ocean and the the hot, tin interiors of warships were commonplace. His deployments were long, and the crewmen he fought with saw battle infrequently until close to the end of his career. He served for 9 years total, seeing three long tours of duty, a promotion to lieutenant in the pipeline.

After the end of his relationship with John, Nora came back into his life. The two reconnected while he was on shore leave in 2073, Nora having become a semi-high profile lawyer, and after a brief (but, ahem, busy) two weeks together, they kept up correspondence until Nate retired from the forces in in 2074.

Nate returned to live with and care for his ageing mother, and Nora rented a flat nearby, keeping themselves close, but with enough space to let Nate adjust to life at home. His mother died the same year, and Nate struggled tremendously with the loss, really facing the death of both of his parents in this time, isolating himself and quietly working through his guilt with some small help from substance abuse, until Nora gave him a metaphorical slap to the face and asked him to get clean and marry her. Nate initially refused, but after a six month stint of joblessness and recuperation, he made the decision to sell the family home, and start a new life with Nora in sanctuary hills. They married quietly, in a subtle ceremony, and within the year Nora was pregnant again. This time, they chose to go ahead with the pregnancy, naming the child Shaun, for Nora's father.

[squidproquoclarice]

yo i know youre super busy but any of your thoughts on sadie and arthur headcanons, together or separate, would be an absolute blessing. thank u for your time, 💗 u

Shoar, I’ll try to provide here!  Since it’s the 5th, 5 headcanons.Arthur* His middle name is Hugh, for Beatrice’s beloved brother who died in a mining accident.  He had an older brother, David, who died at age 2 of diphtheria when Arthur was only a few months old.  Beatrice and Lyle got married in a bit of a hurry due to her being pregnant with David.  Lyle liked the idea of being a family man, he just didn’t like the actual messy, noisy, inconvenient reality of having children, or the responsibility of having a wife.* He used to read and practice his penmanship late at night by the fireplace that first winter in Montana after the adults were all asleep, because he figured if it was worth reading and writing it was worth being able to read well and not looking half-literate with a messy scrawl for handwriting.  Susan caught him at it one night and she and Bessie bought him a lantern for his room, ostensibly as a late Christmas present, saying it was better a kid not ruin his eyes squinting in the firelight.  Dutch and Hosea had bought him clothes, and Hosea had bought him books for Christmas, but that was the first gift he’d gotten since before Beatrice died that felt really personal, since the books sort of came with expectation at that point.  Sadie* Her middle name is Lorna, suggested by her Scottish-born Grandma Rosie.  Rose Griffith comes across as something of a stern “be a little lady” type perhaps given her joking about sending Sadie to a convent, but honestly, it’s more amusement than judgment.  Sadie was actually her favorite grandkid because she liked Sadie’s toughness and smarts.  Caroline, the younger daughter, was the wild child but it got overlooked more because she was the younger daughter and her rebellion was less tomboyish than Sadie’s, and of course, as a boy, Henry (the oldest child) got away with more.  (Yay patriarchy.)  Sadie was pretty much the Lisa Simpson of the family.* She broke Jake’s nose with an angry, clumsy punch when she was 12 and he was 13, because he was being a bit of a brat and talking about all  the things he was being allowed (shooting a gun, etc), and being taught by her father besides since his own father had died the year before, and teasing that as a girl, she might never get to learn.  She didn’t mean to hit his nose, but he kind of stepped into it.  She realized he was just trying to feel like he belonged rather than being the boy with the dead dad. He realized he’d been a little shit to her.  They hugged it out like BFFs, and he covered for her, claimed he’d spooked a horse who knocked him facefirst into a support post in the stable.    Sadithur* Arthur caught a bit of a photography bug thanks to Theo Levin giving him that camera, and his experiences with Albert Mason.  So chances are he’s likely going to buy a Kodak Brownie, which was fairly affordable (the improved 1901 Brownie No. 2 version was about $60 in modern US dollars).  He kind of regrets he lost that camera in his satchel that he gave to John, given there were pictures from around camp, including Sean, Kieran, Susan, Hosea, Molly, and Lenny.  But he’ll get into it, and Sadie will also, because she’s aware too how quickly things can change and moments, and people, can be lost.  So they’re absolutely going to be that couple taking landscapes and selfies and both goofy and precious shots of each other, of the animals, and of the kids too once they’re in the equation.  ;) 

[aion-rsa]

When Paul McCartney Braved the Set of Roger Corman’s The Masque of the Red Death

https://ift.tt/3p32HBm

Jane Asher is as well-known for acting as she is for dating an ex-Beatle, and in 1964 she brought Swinging London to the canteen of Roger Corman’s The Masque of the Red Death.

Based on the gothic short story “The Mask of the Red Death: A Fantasy,” the film remains the most ambitious installment in Corman’s Edgar Allen Poe cycle of movies, contrasting the bleak landscape of a dying village with the psychological torment of six rooms of color, and one with no color at all, just a deep black with a blood red crimson glow cast on it. Vincent Price stars as the sadistic and satanic Prince Prospero, whose darkness reigns over his dominions. 

Price wouldn’t be this malignant again until 1968’s Witchfinder General, which was retitled The Conqueror Worm, even though it had nothing to do with the Poe story. In Masque, he throws decadent orgies to distract himself from the catastrophes which rage out of his control around him. The Masque of the Red Death came out in 1964, but shot in London during the titillating Profumo Scandal of 1963, and the pampered and entitled characters Hazel Court (Hammer’s Curse of Frankenstein) and Patrick Magee (Dementia 13, A Clockwork Orange) played could have stood in for unholy political unions. The 19-year-old Asher, as virginal peasant girl Francesca, personified the bright lights of the other side of town.

Asher was an iconic face of Swinging London and the emerging youth culture of the early 1960s. Probably best recognized as the little girl who makes friends with the astronaut in The Quatermass Xperiment (1955), she was a child actress who first appeared on screen in the 1952 film Mandy. Before Jefferson Airplane warned about chasing “The White Rabbit,” Asher played the title role in Argo Records’ productions of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass in 1958. While her parts in films like The Greengage Summer, and the 1962 Disney production of The Prince and the Pauper increased her visibility, it was a spot on the BBC’s Juke Box Jury which forever tagged her name with the pop revolution which was swinging through London in the wake of the racket coming from the seaport of Liverpool.

Asher was 17 in 1963 when the British magazine Radio Times assigned her to cover a Beatles concert at the Royal Albert Hall. “Now these I could scream for,” she declared in the story when it came out. Asher’s onscreen persona and public profile personified hope and helpful activism which may have seemed naïve to the Prosperos of the older generation but lurked outside their castle walls. Asher’s flame-red hair promised as much of a danger to the old guard as the Red Death. And he brought that optimism to the set of Masque.

“Jane Asher was wonderful to work with,” Roger Corman tells Den of Geek while talking about the restoration of The Masque of Red Death. “She was a very young girl. She had worked on the stage. I think she was in the Young Shakespeare Group. And I don’t know if it was her first picture or not, but she was very good. She was an excellent actress and very good and easy to work with.”

Asher’s Francesca is so accommodating, she tells Prospero’s mistress Juliana, “I will do what I must to save my men. But if they die, I will die — and so will Prince Prospero.” Asher’s performance is fragile and courageous, giving the character sensuality and dignity. As part of “the Resistance,” she is a worthy opponent for Price’s dark prince. Although she is uneducated, she can counter his Satanic philosophies and self-serving moral relativism. She is also the stand-in for the audience to relate to as she ventures through the colored rooms with her eyes wide open, occasionally in shock.

The first cut of the film shocked the Catholic Legion of Decency in the U.S. and the British Board of Film Censors, which bemoaned the “Satanism and erotic costuming” on the screen, according to the booklet which comes in the restoration package. Corman cut nine frames from the scene where Francesca is stripped down and thrown into a bathtub because it gave the illusion of nudity. The removed frames ensured Asher’s breasts would not appear on screen.

Offscreen, Asher was just as fresh and friendly as her character. The actress was also dating a very famous musician, who happened to write a big hit for the band her brother, Peter Asher, was in. Den of Geek asked whether Asher introduced Corman to any of the other players in Swinging London.

“A little bit,” Corman says. “Jane and I used to have lunch together in the studio commissary. And on a Thursday, she said a friend of hers was traveling through, on his way to London the next day. Would it be all right if he came and watched a shooting during the morning, and we could all have lunch together? And I said, ‘Sure, fine.’

“So, I got a director’s chair, sitting next to mine, during the shooting. And it was a nice, young guy, and we talked during the shooting. And I explained to him a little bit between shots, how it all worked. And then we all, Jane, and he and I, had lunch together. And it all went very well. And at the end of the lunch, I said, ‘Jane tells me you’re going to London. What are you going to be doing in London?’ He said, ‘Well, I’m with a singing group from Liverpool, and we’re going to be making our debut tomorrow night in London.’”

Yes, it was Paul McCartney.

By that point, Corman had already made the jukebox movie Rock All Night, which featured the music of The Platters, and would go on to produce the 1979 punk movie classic Rock ‘n’ Roll High School. That film starred The Ramones, who got their name from Paul McCartney when he tried out the stage name Paul Ramon. But Corman had no clue who he was talking to back then, and the Mersey musician kept up his part in the masquerade of red sauce.

“He was very cool,” Corman says. “He knew that as an American, I didn’t know who The Beatles were, or what he was. And as he left, I said, ‘Well, good luck, Paul, on your debut in London tomorrow night.’ And I remember he was very cool. He understood, and he didn’t want to say, ‘Listen, buddy, we’re the number one group.’ He just said, ‘Well, we’re a singing group.’”

Whatever show it was Paul’s singing group was in town for, the band apparently passed the audition. “Then I saw the paper Sunday morning headlines, ‘Beatles conquer London,’” Corman remembers.

Read more

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By Tony Sokol

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While McCartney never came back to the set again. It wasn’t the last informal encounter the two legends had. “We were at an Academy Award party, which was I think the Vanity Fair party, and I saw across the room Paul McCartney,” Corman recalls. “And I said, ‘Oh, there’s Paul over there.’ And my wife, Julie, said, ‘Let’s go over and talk to him.’ And I said,’”No. I had lunch with him 60 years or so ago. He isn’t going to remember some guy he had lunch with 60 years ago, and I don’t want to intrude’ because he was in a conversation.

“And Julie said, ‘Well, I want to meet Paul McCartney.’ So, she went over and talked to him, and he came over to see me. As he approached, he said, ‘Masque of the Red Death.’ He knew exactly where we’d met.”

Shortly after the filming of The Masque of the Red Death, McCartney moved into the attic of Asher’s parents’ 18th-century London townhouse. McCartney and John Lennon wrote many of their signature songs in a music room in the basement, including “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”

Asher inspired McCartney to write classic love songs like “All My Loving,” “And I Love Her,” and “Here There and Everywhere.” Their relationship also drove him to pen the equally classic “We Can Work It Out,” “You Won’t See Me,” and “I’m Looking Through You,” which McCartney says, in the biography Many Years From Now by Barry Miles, “I seem to remember after an argument with Jane.”

Jane’s mother, Margaret Asher, taught McCartney to play the recorder, which was used on the song “The Fool on the Hill.” That song was written about Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and Asher was part of the Beatles’ entourage on the band’s meditation retreat to India.

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After The Masque of the Red Death, Asher would go on to star in Alfie opposite Michael Caine in 1966 and continue a diverse artistic course. Besides being a consistent presence on film, television, and stage, Asher has written three novels: The Longing, The Question, and Losing It.The Masque of the Red Death will be available on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital on Jan. 25.

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from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/39PchBs

[buffyfan145]

Somebody Like You 1/?

Fandom: Victoria, Vicbourne

Characters: Queen Victoria, Lord Melbourne, Emma Portman, Dash, Nancy Skerrett, Charles Francatelli, Prince Albert, Prince Ernest, Duchess of Kent/Victoria's mom, Robert Peel, various other characters from the show & real life, and new characters created for the story.

Rating: PG

Summary: Modern day teacher AU. Victoria is a young English teacher facing her first year of full time work. After making friends with the staff, she comes to rely on William Melbourne, the head of history department, and the teacher across the hall for advice and wisdom as their departments work closely together with the senior class.  As the two grow close feelings start to emerge which complicates various parts of their lives. Will they act on their feelings or chose to do what each thinks is best? Title from the Keith Urban song.

Author's Note: Happy Valentine's Day Vicbourne shippers!!! :D The story came to me one night at 3 am a couple weeks ago when I couldn't sleep and was thinking about these two and remembered my senior year of high school with how my English & History/Government teachers actually worked together with us for a joint year long senior project, and also how a lot of my teachers ended up dating and marrying. The school system in this is American based since that's what I'm used to but doesn't really have an exact US or UK setting, and I changed William's last name so he gets to keep Melbourne.

Chapter 1

Victoria Windsor was slightly nervous as she walked into Buckingham High School that late-August morning.  It was her first day, actually her first day ever, as the school's newest English teacher.  She had only graduated from college that previous May and thankfully a workshop had led her to meet Emma Portman, the head of the English department at Buckingham.  Emma and Victoria hit it off and the school had recently lost an English teacher through his retirement so the job was offered to Victoria and she gladly accepted. 

It was now the day to meet the other members of the faculty as school would be starting the following week.  Victoria walked in the front doors and loved the old fashioned look of the school, even though the building had only been built five years ago to replace the original high school.  The school board, superintendent,  parents, and alumni wanted to preserve their school they fondly remembered but have it be capable to use modern technology.

She made her way to the cafeteria where all the faculty and staff would be meeting with the principal and they could start to focus on getting their departments and classrooms ready.  Emma was standing by one of the tables with a cluster of other women and a man, and she smiled when she saw Victoria.

"Victoria!"  Emma said while giving her a hug.  "Welcome to Buckingham!"  She then turned Victoria towards the others.  "Victoria Windsor, this is Nancy Skerrett, Sarah Jenkins, Annie Hudson, and Richard Penge, our other English teachers."

Everyone said their hellos. "It's nice to meet all of you."  Victoria said.

"I've heard this is your first year?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, I'm a bit nervous too, but my internship and workshops helped prepare me."  She replied.

Nancy spoke up next. "It's my first year here too, so we're both new even though I taught at another school last year."

After some more small talk Victoria got some of the breakfast food that was set out and took a seat with the others in her department.  The members at her table talked for a bit till suddenly it got a bit quiet as a man entered the room.

Victoria watched as the man greeted and talked with the other teachers, but seemed to avoid one in particular who watched him sternly.  "What's going on?" She asked confused.

"That's William Melbourne, the head of the History department.  He and Robert Peel over there don't really get along as Robert's been trying to take William's job as the department head.  It's been nasty between them for some time."  Nancy explained.

"But most of us don't like Robert anyway for good reason.  William, however, is very nice." Sarah added.

"Many of the other staff and the children's mothers would agree."  Annie added, making the women giggle.

Victoria could understand why as William Melbourne was very attractive.  He looked to be maybe a little past 40, but still had dark, curly hair, striking green eyes and cheekbones, and a nice smile.  He seemed very friendly too as he talked to the other staff members and then made his way to their table, which caused Emma to shoot them all a warning glance to stop talking.

"Well, hello ladies and Richard.  I hope everyone has been having a wonderful summer."  William greeted them with a smile.

They stood up and said their hellos.  Emma hugged him too.  "Hello William.  It's good to see you again."  They both laughed as it seemed like they knew each other closely.

"It's always good to see you Emma.  I hear you have a new hire this year."

"Yes," Emma looked at Victoria and motioned her forward.  "This is Victoria Windsor.  She'll be taking some of the 10th and 11th grade English classes mostly but will have one class of seniors."

It then dawned on Victoria what that meant.  "It's nice to meet you.  That means we'll be working together with the seniors on their project."  She said.  Emma had told her the English and History departments worked closely with their classes as the seniors were required to take Melbourne's government class and their papers and speeches would also count as part of their English class grade, and a few books would correspond to his teachings.

William took her hand in his.  "It's nice to meet you too and yes we will be working together closely for that.  If you like I could meet with you to discuss more for what I'm planning this year. Emma teaches the rest of the seniors, so she'll be able to assist you as well."

"I would like that very much, thank you."  Victoria replied with a smile.

He smiled back and she felt her face blush a bit.  "I'm looking forward to it."

She was going to respond but they were interrupted by the principal as he welcomed them all there and to take their seats.  This coming year seemed challenging but Victoria was ready to face it.

[sailorrrvenus]

The Winning Photos of the 2019 Wet Plate Competition

Modern Collodion has just announced the winners of the 2019 Wet Plate Competition, the second annual contest for wet plate collodion photographers around the world after launching last year.

This year, over 220 photos were submitted by 90 photographers based in 19 different countries. The judges, Michael Godek, Giles Clement, Alex Timmermans, Tom DeLooza, and Paul Barden, spent nearly a month on “difficult deliberation” before deciding on the handful of winning wet plates.

Here are the 2019 winning photos, artists, and stories:

Grand Prize: “Two Nails” by David Russo

I first became interested in collodion after seeing the work of Sally Mann in a photo book several years ago. I found the photographs moving and the process itself rather compelling. In 2013, I attended a workshop at the George Eastman Museum to study under Mark Osterman and learn the wet plate process. I’ve been practicing ever since.

Two Nails is an attempt to share something of my own experience with the world. It comes from an ongoing body of work titled The Framer. I’ve been working professionally as a picture framer for nearly a decade now, and it seemed like a natural extension of my working life to begin photographing the tools of the trade. With this ambrotype, I wanted to make a self-portrait that sought beauty in its simplicity.

Making the plate itself was a real labor of love. I say this, in part, because it took two months to work through. How does one make nails float? The answer, it turns out, is a lot of hard work. Through the use of selective focus, lighting, perspective, and a bit of custom fabrication, I was able to achieve the illusion. For me, the process was all about trial and error. I’ve discovered you learn a lot in the trying.

Studio Portrait, 1st Place: “Gestation” by Gianni Eros Cusumano

I have always lived in big cities, now I live in a tiny medieval village surrounded by nature. My approach to photography, through wet plate collodion process, reflects the slowness of the place where I live.

I also really like portraiture, the result of a tension between me and the subjects in front of me that results in a unique image.

This plate (10×12 inch) is part of a series called “Gestation” consisting of four collodion plates on clear glass. Each plate is the result of a double exposure: one image of the silhouette of my pregnant wife, obtained through a backward illumination of the subject with continuous light; and another one of the grain I placed on a black background.

The idea come up during the period of my wife’s pregnancy and was created two days before my daughter Giorgia’s birth. Seeing the transformation that my wife had during her pregnancy time was an incredible experience. Day after day her body has become more and more beautiful and strong in order to protect the life she was carrying on.

Studio Portrait, Runner Up: “Waltnessmonsta” by Matt Alberts

Feeling frustrated with the meaninglessness of most digital photography in combination with a desire to make something with my hands, I found the wet collodion process. In February of 2013 I took a class taught by Quinn Jacobson and thereafter we became good friends. I related to Quinn’s philosophy that the collodion process should be used to create something meaningful; he took me under his wing and he became my mentor. While apprenticing at Quinn’s studio in Denver, I invited my close friend and skateboarder, Walter Lacey, over to show him the process and take his portrait.

The plate “Waltnessmonsta” was one of the earliest images I made for the LIFERS project series. This shot was made using a 11×14 Deerdorff studio camera with a 320mm CC Harrison Petzval lens. The image is on black glass.

Natural Light Portrait, 1st Place: “Ballet in the Castle” by Gabriel Kiss

This photo is the result of a three days long preparation and negotiation. The photo shooting took place in one of Hungary’s most beautiful castles, the Esterhazy palace. Because it is a scheduled monument we needed a lot of permits. With the figure of the ballet dancer I did not want to point out the dance but rather to emphasize the tension surrounding the dance itself, its edges and lines.

Natural Light Portrait, Runner Up: “Gravity” by Keira Hudson

I originally studied printmaking at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia from 2009-12 before transitioning to photography. I worked digitally for five years until I grew tired of working in front of a screen and decided to enroll in a tintype/ambrotype workshop at Gold Street Studios in Trentham.

I am inspired by a mixture of artists, writers, films and TV shows, and have a large hard drive full of media collected over 10 years. The artists whose work I regularly revisit include Berlinde de Bruyckere, Jenny Saville, Lauren Simonutti, and Sally Mann. I am drawn in by the rawness of their work, and the treatment of the human body in their respective practices.

For the past few years I have been working on a series centered around anxiety, and the body’s physical and emotional responses to persistent overthinking. I incorporate props such as thread, clothing, plastic wrap, and glass vessels into my photographs to restrict and compress the flesh, and recreate the daily feelings of anxiety I experience. In “Gravity”, I wanted the body to be suffocated in a glass and water cage.

Still Life, 1st Place: “Incroyable!” by Libby & Stephen of Henrietta’s Eye

We are primarily self-taught having been introduced to wet plate collodion almost by accident when a friend showed us the basics of the process. Admittedly, there’s more than a little bit of punk rock, DIY attitude in us, so making photographs the hard way somehow naturally meant for us that we’d also learn the hard way.

About our piece, fully titled Incroyable! (Wednesday, November 9, 2016): intentionally referencing the surrealist painter Magritte, it’s our attempt at expressing the collective spasm of disbelief felt by many following the 2016 presidential election in the United States — not just the surreal nature of that moment but the outrageous nature of life since. Beyond the symbology of the carnation, the suit and tie and mushroom cloud-like explosion, it was thematically relevant to use the in-camera trick photography associated with the early 1900s spiritualist movement to express this communal gasp and the experience of being hoodwinked by charlatans.

Still Life, Runner Up: “The World and The Man” by Gabriel Kiss

My photo was born from the idea that the egg as the origin of our world – the birth – has already been set on its edge and has to balance on it. And the scissors as the sword of Damocles are swaying above the egg. The rope can break any time and they can smash into the fragile eggshell.

Landscape/Architecture, 1st Place: “A Quiet Lakeside” by Maximilian Zeitler

Last October someone broke into the shared place I use for a studio and stole nearly all my large format cameras and a very rare and big lens I got borrowed from a friend for ultra large format portraits. Gathering equipment for wet plate always means searching auction houses and hoping to be lucky. Since I started wet plate about four years ago I therefore tried to get good equipment to work – that then was gone.

When I had overcome the first shock I packed the last ‚portable‘ wooden camera and all my darkroom equipment and drove into the Spreewald near Berlin to escape the studio and all the bad thoughts. At this small lake in the woods I set up the camera from 1890 together with an old wide angle lens from 1880 and exposed one plate around 60 seconds.

One should always keep on doing what you love!

Landscape/Architecture, Runner Up: “The Best Day” by Lynnette Bierbaum

I started doing wet plate collodion two years ago and glassblowing shortly thereafter. I stumbled through being self-taught with wet plate in the beginning but wanted to learn more about the process. I took a wet plate collodion class taught by Dan Estabrook at Penland School of Crafts in the summer of 2018 and returned again as a studio assistant for Jill Enfield in the spring of 2019.

These opportunities allowed me to refine and continue printing on my blown glass forms. I strive to find a balance between two and three-dimensional planes within my art. I blow the glass vessels to create an extension beyond the photograph that is just as important as the image itself.

I use positives in contact with the wet plate emulsion under an enlarger to expose the images onto the three-dimensional glass forms. Next, I develop, and varnish before removing the frame from the glass.

The idea behind the forms was my constant search for belonging and a place to call home. I always knew that the Midwest wasn’t the place for me, so I started traveling around the world looking for my idea of a home. Home is more than just a place, it’s about finding the right person, community and artifacts to make a place your home. The image printed on this glass vessel was taken in Ebeltoft, Denmark.

You can find a gallery of Honorable Mention wet plates as well as the full gallery of submissions over on the competition website (warning: some of the photos are not safe for work).

source https://petapixel.com/2019/04/11/the-winning-photos-of-the-2019-wet-plate-competition/

[pauldeckerus]

The Winning Photos of the 2019 Wet Plate Competition

Modern Collodion has just announced the winners of the 2019 Wet Plate Competition, the second annual contest for wet plate collodion photographers around the world after launching last year.

This year, over 220 photos were submitted by 90 photographers based in 19 different countries. The judges, Michael Godek, Giles Clement, Alex Timmermans, Tom DeLooza, and Paul Barden, spent nearly a month on “difficult deliberation” before deciding on the handful of winning wet plates.

Here are the 2019 winning photos, artists, and stories:

Grand Prize: “Two Nails” by David Russo

I first became interested in collodion after seeing the work of Sally Mann in a photo book several years ago. I found the photographs moving and the process itself rather compelling. In 2013, I attended a workshop at the George Eastman Museum to study under Mark Osterman and learn the wet plate process. I’ve been practicing ever since.

Two Nails is an attempt to share something of my own experience with the world. It comes from an ongoing body of work titled The Framer. I’ve been working professionally as a picture framer for nearly a decade now, and it seemed like a natural extension of my working life to begin photographing the tools of the trade. With this ambrotype, I wanted to make a self-portrait that sought beauty in its simplicity.

Making the plate itself was a real labor of love. I say this, in part, because it took two months to work through. How does one make nails float? The answer, it turns out, is a lot of hard work. Through the use of selective focus, lighting, perspective, and a bit of custom fabrication, I was able to achieve the illusion. For me, the process was all about trial and error. I’ve discovered you learn a lot in the trying.

Studio Portrait, 1st Place: “Gestation” by Gianni Eros Cusumano

I have always lived in big cities, now I live in a tiny medieval village surrounded by nature. My approach to photography, through wet plate collodion process, reflects the slowness of the place where I live.

I also really like portraiture, the result of a tension between me and the subjects in front of me that results in a unique image.

This plate (10×12 inch) is part of a series called “Gestation” consisting of four collodion plates on clear glass. Each plate is the result of a double exposure: one image of the silhouette of my pregnant wife, obtained through a backward illumination of the subject with continuous light; and another one of the grain I placed on a black background.

The idea come up during the period of my wife’s pregnancy and was created two days before my daughter Giorgia’s birth. Seeing the transformation that my wife had during her pregnancy time was an incredible experience. Day after day her body has become more and more beautiful and strong in order to protect the life she was carrying on.

Studio Portrait, Runner Up: “Waltnessmonsta” by Matt Alberts

Feeling frustrated with the meaninglessness of most digital photography in combination with a desire to make something with my hands, I found the wet collodion process. In February of 2013 I took a class taught by Quinn Jacobson and thereafter we became good friends. I related to Quinn’s philosophy that the collodion process should be used to create something meaningful; he took me under his wing and he became my mentor. While apprenticing at Quinn’s studio in Denver, I invited my close friend and skateboarder, Walter Lacey, over to show him the process and take his portrait.

The plate “Waltnessmonsta” was one of the earliest images I made for the LIFERS project series. This shot was made using a 11×14 Deerdorff studio camera with a 320mm CC Harrison Petzval lens. The image is on black glass.

Natural Light Portrait, 1st Place: “Ballet in the Castle” by Gabriel Kiss

This photo is the result of a three days long preparation and negotiation. The photo shooting took place in one of Hungary’s most beautiful castles, the Esterhazy palace. Because it is a scheduled monument we needed a lot of permits. With the figure of the ballet dancer I did not want to point out the dance but rather to emphasize the tension surrounding the dance itself, its edges and lines.

Natural Light Portrait, Runner Up: “Gravity” by Keira Hudson

I originally studied printmaking at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia from 2009-12 before transitioning to photography. I worked digitally for five years until I grew tired of working in front of a screen and decided to enroll in a tintype/ambrotype workshop at Gold Street Studios in Trentham.

I am inspired by a mixture of artists, writers, films and TV shows, and have a large hard drive full of media collected over 10 years. The artists whose work I regularly revisit include Berlinde de Bruyckere, Jenny Saville, Lauren Simonutti, and Sally Mann. I am drawn in by the rawness of their work, and the treatment of the human body in their respective practices.

For the past few years I have been working on a series centered around anxiety, and the body’s physical and emotional responses to persistent overthinking. I incorporate props such as thread, clothing, plastic wrap, and glass vessels into my photographs to restrict and compress the flesh, and recreate the daily feelings of anxiety I experience. In “Gravity”, I wanted the body to be suffocated in a glass and water cage.

Still Life, 1st Place: “Incroyable!” by Libby & Stephen of Henrietta’s Eye

We are primarily self-taught having been introduced to wet plate collodion almost by accident when a friend showed us the basics of the process. Admittedly, there’s more than a little bit of punk rock, DIY attitude in us, so making photographs the hard way somehow naturally meant for us that we’d also learn the hard way.

About our piece, fully titled Incroyable! (Wednesday, November 9, 2016): intentionally referencing the surrealist painter Magritte, it’s our attempt at expressing the collective spasm of disbelief felt by many following the 2016 presidential election in the United States — not just the surreal nature of that moment but the outrageous nature of life since. Beyond the symbology of the carnation, the suit and tie and mushroom cloud-like explosion, it was thematically relevant to use the in-camera trick photography associated with the early 1900s spiritualist movement to express this communal gasp and the experience of being hoodwinked by charlatans.

Still Life, Runner Up: “The World and The Man” by Gabriel Kiss

My photo was born from the idea that the egg as the origin of our world – the birth – has already been set on its edge and has to balance on it. And the scissors as the sword of Damocles are swaying above the egg. The rope can break any time and they can smash into the fragile eggshell.

Landscape/Architecture, 1st Place: “A Quiet Lakeside” by Maximilian Zeitler

Last October someone broke into the shared place I use for a studio and stole nearly all my large format cameras and a very rare and big lens I got borrowed from a friend for ultra large format portraits. Gathering equipment for wet plate always means searching auction houses and hoping to be lucky. Since I started wet plate about four years ago I therefore tried to get good equipment to work – that then was gone.

When I had overcome the first shock I packed the last ‚portable‘ wooden camera and all my darkroom equipment and drove into the Spreewald near Berlin to escape the studio and all the bad thoughts. At this small lake in the woods I set up the camera from 1890 together with an old wide angle lens from 1880 and exposed one plate around 60 seconds.

One should always keep on doing what you love!

Landscape/Architecture, Runner Up: “The Best Day” by Lynnette Bierbaum

I started doing wet plate collodion two years ago and glassblowing shortly thereafter. I stumbled through being self-taught with wet plate in the beginning but wanted to learn more about the process. I took a wet plate collodion class taught by Dan Estabrook at Penland School of Crafts in the summer of 2018 and returned again as a studio assistant for Jill Enfield in the spring of 2019.

These opportunities allowed me to refine and continue printing on my blown glass forms. I strive to find a balance between two and three-dimensional planes within my art. I blow the glass vessels to create an extension beyond the photograph that is just as important as the image itself.

I use positives in contact with the wet plate emulsion under an enlarger to expose the images onto the three-dimensional glass forms. Next, I develop, and varnish before removing the frame from the glass.

The idea behind the forms was my constant search for belonging and a place to call home. I always knew that the Midwest wasn’t the place for me, so I started traveling around the world looking for my idea of a home. Home is more than just a place, it’s about finding the right person, community and artifacts to make a place your home. The image printed on this glass vessel was taken in Ebeltoft, Denmark.

You can find a gallery of Honorable Mention wet plates as well as the full gallery of submissions over on the competition website (warning: some of the photos are not safe for work).

from Photography News https://petapixel.com/2019/04/11/the-winning-photos-of-the-2019-wet-plate-competition/

[thejustinmarshall]

Music is an Art for Annie Haslam and Renaissance

Interview by Danny Coleman 

“I’m 71 this year; can you believe it? I take care of myself; I never abused my voice with drugs and things. The last tour tired me out a little bit because I had to do everything myself but with Micheal Dunford gone I have to make it happen.”  

As the legendary vocalist and front woman of the progressive rock band Renaissance, Annie Haslam has seen the ups and downs of a long career which has morphed many times over since 1971. From focal point, to solo artist, to painter and now back with the reformed band once again; this siren with the five octave vocal range continues to wow audiences with her angelic voice as well as her artistic ability. 

“I started painting in 2002,” she explained with a voice as smooth as silk. “I went to art school to be a dress designer, I ever only did one painting, it was a watercolor and I thought, I don’t like this it dries too quick. I just didn’t have the desire to do anything like that even though my boyfriend at the time was a brilliant painter but I didn’t look at that because I wanted to be a fashion designer. I did photography, fabric printing, anything to do with what I was there for really; rather than just painting. Then in 2002, I was winding my solo career down, I felt like I had done as much as I could. I had taken on a couple of managers and they just didn’t work out so I thought; what am I going to do? I mean; what am I going to do? I thought well I’m good at photography, I don’t read music so I can’t teach, which was a shame because If I had learned to read and write music I could’ve taught singing. So I was a bit scared as to what I was going to do but I decided that I had to make a change and one day a voice in my head said,”It’s time to start oil painting now” and I’ve had all kind of experiences in my house while I’m painting; all good and wonderful.”  

Annie has branched out from her music career yet sees parallels in her two fields of interest. “I feel like I’m gifted. When people listen to the music, they say the same about my paintings; it does something to them, it really uplifts them, it really gets to them and if I do a commission they say,” My God, you got me in this painting” and I’m painting songs now, I can paint songs! The guitar I painted for Martin Guitar is in their museum and I’m painting electric violins apart from all of the other painting I’m doing. A Lot of my earlier works have to do with aliens, I’m definitely very much tuned into that because I believe we’re all from different planets anyway (laughs).”  

Surprisingly, Haslam wasn’t ready to become a painter and avoided diving in head first, yet was somehow unexpectedly drawn to it and has now fully embraced her skills as an artist; so much so that at times it borders on the super natural.  

“When I was painting my fourth painting, I’m not a flowery girl, never wore flowery dresses and I thought I’m not going to paint flowers but I thought; what am I supposed to be doing?  So I bought everything I needed and didn’t paint for like another two or three months and then one day I thought, well today is the day. So I picked a Tiger Lily and painted it and I was very disappointed. I bought a book on oil painting but I didn’t read it because I’m not a reader; I read one page and put it down because I couldn’t be bothered. I thought I’d rather do it wrong and work it out to do it myself, which is what I did but when I decided it was the right day; I thought oh shoot; where do I start? Do I start at the top? The bottom? The middle? (Laughs) Of course it has nothing to do with that at all, it’s  the character I get. I don’t try and do anything, it’s just like I’m being plugged into something and the paintings just appear. The third or fourth painting, I was sitting in front of my easel and about six inches in front of my eyes appeared a spider on a skein of silk. It was a really rich auburn red and I blinked and it was gone and as soon as blinked my eyes there was an overwhelming smell of pipe smoke; I knew right away that it was Vincent Van Gogh. I had already started doing the painting and it was like someone else was holding my hand; it’s very exciting and I love it.” 

Over the years and with a growing confidence, Annie has begun to cross pollinate her music and art. Several years ago at a progressive rock festival headlined by the band Yes, she put her artwork on the line against some of her peers and one well respected artist by the name of Dean, Roger Dean. 

“I recall, “Yestival” in Camden, NJ for two reasons; one musical and one artistic. I did 95 four by six inch paintings to sell there and you know, Roger Dean was there selling his work and his was extremely expensive but absolutely amazing but anyway; I sold everyone of them. I sold every single one of them, all 95. The other thing was, it was very exciting and we had to be there by nine in the morning and we had breakfast, lunch and dinner there but when we went on stage later that day, something was happening with the speakers and there was a rumbling on stage that you couldn’t hear out in the house apparently but it was a rumbling and I’m deaf in one ear so I only wear one in ear(Monitor) and it’s in my right ear and all I heard was this rumbling coming up from the stage and my voice was; oh my I sounded like I was 10 miles away. When something happens like that you somehow have to have a stiff upper lip and cover it up somehow but if you can’t hear yourself singing it’s very difficult to sing in tune (laughs).” 

Renaissance reunited within the last decade and on the surface appears to be continuously on the road but according to Haslam; such is not the case and judging by her reaction to the first show after years apart the band made the right decision. 

“Not really, we’ve played on the east coast twice a year and also have been to Europe and England but when Michael Dunford and I got the band back together in 2009; we didn’t know what was going to happen really. It was John Scher putting his faith in us again and that’s what started it all off. The first tour we did was amazing; everybody came out of the woodwork and it was like, wow! Because so many years had gone by and we hadn’t done anything, I had my solo career and been to Brazil and Japan with that and then I started my painting career and so it’s been amazing really. Because we’re a six piece band, it’s not cost effective because we lost that time and momentum of all those years and we lost promoters on the west coast, some of the older ones are still around and the younger ones don’t want to take the chance and we were always bigger on the east coast anyway; so it was very difficult for us to get to further a field. We did manage to get to England in 2015 and 2016 and that was absolutely incredible. We filmed a DVD in London at the Union Chapel, we went to Europe, we went to Germany, Holland, Belgium, Israel and Portugal as well and it looks like we might be going to Japan in September; we were there in 2010. So it seems like we’ve been doing a lot but not really, it’s not like six week tours. It’s maybe eight days in the spring and maybe six or eight in the fall and something else somewhere else. We did, “Cruise to The Edge,” which was quite exciting and we did the “Moody Blues Cruise,” which was phenomenal as well.”

 So what hasn’t the band done over its long and storied career? How about incorporating a symphonic sound? Haslam says that what started out as an experiment blossomed into more than they could’ve hoped for. “We did these shows last fall with a 10 piece orchestra, it was a test really. We did an indiegogo campaign to make it all happen and John Scher stood up for us again and booked us at Town Hall in New York and that was a big place to book for us really but it was close to a sell out. Then we did the show down here at the Keswick (Theater) and every song I did a painting for; I did it on a 12 by 24 inch canvas and we blew them up to 24 feet by 12 feet. I had to get them photographed with a special camera so that it would work and we filmed it and we’re working on the DVD right now.”  

With the experiment a success, the band is currently revisiting symphonic shows and recently performed one at the NJPAC in Newark, NJ. Once again, much of the logistical  responsibility falls on Haslam’s shoulders but she’s enlisted some good company to assist her.  

“We’re using the orchestra again, we did four shows with the orchestra the last time around. Then John Scher said that he’d like to do another show with the orchestra because he was really impressed by the show in New York which was wonderful. I basically did this all myself with the help of people who work with me and Ray Tessa who has been an incredible pianist, director, my producer and we have written songs together, he’s a very gifted man and a wonderful spirit and we did it. We had a meeting in London after the 2016 tour with the director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra because we’d been written to and were asked to work with them again. This was amazing because so many people want to work with them and here they were inviting us to work with them again but of course they don’t pay you, you have to pay them,” she said with a loud laugh.  “So we had the meeting to work out how we could do the Albert Hall and we made notes about everything that we’d need and the cost and the budget. It would’ve been nice if we could do more orchestra tours but it’s great because we didn’t think that we’d be doing one so quickly and this last show was in a great theater; the Victoria was beautiful. We’re probably going to be doing another one in the fall as well but of course it all comes down to money; we’ll probably make it happen. We tried it here first with a smaller orchestra and Ray gathered these incredible musicians and the blend of everyone was amazing and when they first struck up at the rehearsal I had tears in my eyes and at the first show in Connecticut I thought I was going to pass out to hear the orchestra playing with us.”  

So new chapters begin in the lives of Renaissance and Annie Haslam, proving once again that you’re never too experienced to learn or re-invent oneself when necessary. To discover more about Annie, the current tour dates and/or Renaissance; please visit www.anniehaslam.com.

Danny Coleman (Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled “Rock On Radio” airing Sunday evenings at 10 p.m. EST on multiple internet radio outlets where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.)

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