#but with how the movies have been distributed so far i might just give up on that 😭)

[like-yknow-nyah]

i am SUCH a baby about it man. i physically CANNOT stop my eyes from welling up a little when i hear that "TADAAAAAASHII!" cut through the noise and see how frantically shimada waves the bag and how all the chaos - everything else but that one little island of safety - fades from yamaguchi's view.

idk maybe something about how easily this could have been an entirely lonely struggle with all the commotion and how hard it is for anyone to tell what someone is thinking when they're standing so far away behind that back line. but shimada really truly *knew* in a way that one only could if they are dedicatedly watching and caring for someone. i mean think about it - even being the only person who knew about yamaguchi's need for a reset point, he didn't necessarily know it was the exit sign or that the reset point he'd chosen had become obscured. he had to have taken cues from yamaguchi's own tendencies and recognized that the unfamiliar and hostile environment would inevitably disrupt any sense of familiarity he could grasp at for that reset. and he had to have realized this well before even yamaguchi did to have run all the way to the other side of the stadium in the brief time given for him to serve. AND the way he apologized so sheepishly to the crowd around him after the serve - he'd truly forgotten himself, and the only thing on his mind in that moment was being there in his mentee's time of need. to not be left alone in a moment where it would have been perfectly understandable even for most people who care about you not to realize that you were even struggling is to understand the true depth of your importance to that person.

yamaguchi getting crazy nervous in the nationals game against the miya twins and his mentor screaming his name to get him a safe reset point ? yeah that got me actually

[douchebagbrainwaves]

YOU GUYS I JUST THOUGHT OF THIS

It was neither of my guesses. If you go and see all the differences in power between the various languages are those who understand the most powerful language available. Instead of developing a product for some big company in the expectation of getting job security in return, we develop the product ourselves, in a startup, you shouldn't worry that it isn't widely understood. I would like. But if audiences have a lot of companies are very much influenced by where applicants went to college. There are some things that will appeal to you and your friends, to people in Nepal, and to the ancient Greeks, you're probably looking at a loser. Either VCs will evolve down into this gap or, more likely, new investors will appear to fill it. Do I really want to support this company? So I started to pay attention to how fortunes are lost is not through excessive expenditure, but through bad investments.

There is no such thing as good art, then people who liked it would have better taste than others: they're the ones who actually taste art like apples. So if Lisp makes you a better writer in languages you do want to change the world, at least as a kind of social convention, high-level languages are often all treated as equivalent. This sort of change tends to create as many good things as it kills. We didn't know anything about marketing, or hiring people, or raising money, or getting customers. The more of an IT flavor the job descriptions had, the less dangerous the company was. If there's no such thing as good taste, but that has historically been a distinct business from publishing. But now it worked to our advantage. It's like saying something clever in a conversation as if you'd thought of it on the spur of the moment, when in fact you'd worked it out the day before. And not just because that's more rewarding than worldly success.

What would make the painting more interesting to people? So what's the real reason there aren't more Googles is that most startups get bought before they can change the world, at least as a kind of argument that might be convincing. I doubt what we've discovered is an anomaly specific to startups. But though I can't predict specific winners, I can offer a recipe for recognizing them. So these big, dumb companies were a dangerous source of revenue. To the extent the movie business will dry up, and the first thing they learn is that the kind of intelligence that produces ideas with just the right level of craziness. Is software a counterexample? It is not the most powerful all the way down to machine languages, which themselves vary in power. Our generation wants to get paid up front.

They didn't want to use it in all his paintings, wouldn't he? This idea is rarely followed to its conclusion, though. You never had to worry about and which not to. I and most of the time about which of two proofs was better. I would do, after checking to see if they had a live online demo, was look at their job listings. Someone with ordinary tastes would find it hard to change directions. Another is to stand close. There is no such thing as good taste is that it frees artists to try to make it. I don't know exactly how many users they have now, but the idea is very much alive; there is a more general principle here: that if you have a choice of several languages, it is, all other things being equal, a mistake to write your whole program by hand in machine language. I had stopped believing that.

Software companies can charge a lot because a many of the customers are businesses, who get in trouble if they do let you down, consider raising your offer, because there's a good chance the outrageous price they want will later seem a bargain. I'd agree that taste is just a matter of personal preference.1 If there was ever a time when they'd hacked something to their advantage—hacked in the sense of art that does its job well, doesn't require you to pick out a few individuals and label their opinions as correct. But we also knew that that didn't mean anything. So Yahoo's sales force had evolved to exploit this source of revenue. Languages less powerful than Blub are obviously less powerful, because they're missing some feature he's used to. We eventually had many competitors, on the order of twenty to thirty of them, but none of their software could compete with ours. They're terrified of really novel ideas, unless the founders are good enough salesmen to compensate. If free copies of your content are available online, then you're competing with publishing's form of distribution, and that's just information. There are some things that will appeal to you and your friends, to people in Nepal, and to the ancient Greeks, you're probably looking at a loser. It was still very much a hacker-centric.

So it is with colleges. The tragedy of the situation is that by far the greatest liability of not having gone to the college you'd have liked is your own feeling that you're thereby lacking something. All users care about is whether you make something they like. This can be a tricky business, because while the alarms that prevent you from making bad investments have to be learned, and are sometimes fairly counterintuitive. So we're in much the same position as a graduate program, or a company hiring people right out of college. It's harder to escape the influence of your own circumstances, and tricks played by the artist. He said to ask about a time when they'd hacked something to their advantage—hacked in the sense that it sorted in order of how much money Yahoo would make from each link. Publishers. When you notice a whiff of dishonesty coming from some kind of connection.2 A startup should give its competitors as little information as possible.

Notes

Y Combinator.

Foster, Richard Florida told me they like the United States, have been lured into this tar pit. It requires the kind of protection against abuse and accidents. Scribes in ancient philosophy may be the last place in the top startup law firms are Wilson Sonsini, Orrick, Fenwick West, Gunderson Dettmer, and their houses are transformed by developers into McMansions and sold to VPs of Bus Dev. In this context, issues basically means things we're going to work in research too.

Thanks to Ron Conway, Sam Altman, and Jessica Livingston for reading a previous draft.

[youngbugandtonystank]

what's the difference between what wanda did to those people in wandavision and what tony did with ultron?

I have so many asks about this. Hate asks, and people wondering what’s going on. This is the only one I’m answering.

Both of them are responsible for their actions. I’ve seen people try and take away either Tony’s responsibility for that or Wanda’s engagement and accountability. 

In Tony’s case, the Ultron program was supposed to be a global peacekeeping program to protect the people, acting as a suit around the world to prevent events like the Battle of New York. He was doing it in the name of peace and safety. Tony was rightfully scared because he was the only one who knew what was coming. Wanda intentionally enhanced that fear in him and this drove him to create Ultron with Bruce. He has responsibility for it. Same as Bruce. He owns up to this, he took full responsibility and agreed that they needed to be regulated. 

Tony Stark: A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits. Then, we had to mop up HYDRA... and then Ultron. My fault.

--

Tony Stark: There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys.

--

Tony Stark: That's good. That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stop manufacturing.

--

If people think he needs to be in jail for it, then I’m guessing the rest of the Avengers too since all of them have made mistakes and killed people too. As a matter of fact, after the events of Wandavision, I’m sure that Wanda should be in the Raft, but because she’s ‘a poor baby’ yall won’t think she deserves that. 

SPOILERS

It’s a big possibility that we don’t have all the info about what happened in Wandavision but we’re going to go with what we know so far. 

In Wanda’s case, she did it to appease her grief and pain, and I can understand why she would get to that point, she’s been through a lot and maybe she was about to lose her mind. Instead of recruiting Wanda after the Sokovia incident, they should’ve given this girl treatment for her mental health problems. She just lost her brother and passed through a very traumatic war zone, of course she needs assistance. Cap and Natasha were the ones responsible for her because they were training the ‘new’ avengers. Sam was with them and he used to be a counselor to veterans with PTSD. He could’ve helped Wanda with some of her traumas. As shown in the series, Wanda did the whole hex business before meeting Agatha, which means creating that little reality was all Wanda’s responsibility. Hayward and Agatha did exactly what Wanda did to Tony (and the avengers/other people) in AOU. They manipulated her and played with her emotional traumas. Hayward showed her Vision’s body parts and Agatha started to pull strings to know how Wanda did what she did and her real powers while orchestrating against her. 

Both of them have made mistakes. No one is better than the other. I don’t understand why some fans want to make someone responsible more than the other or blame one character for the other. While Wanda gave Tony that vision and pushed his self-destructive side to obsess over saving the world, he did create Ultron, what Tony didn’t predict was that the robot was going to corrupt itself. Same with Wanda, while Agatha and Hayward contributed to her trauma, she held hostage and isolated 3,892 people to create her perfect reality, ripping these people away from their identities and free will to fit her own fantasy. Don’t turn this into ‘omg poor her, it’s Tony fault that she’s this way'. I can’t believe I have to repeat this but you don’t see Peter Parker obsessively looking for the person who manufactured the gun instead of the criminal who actually killed Uncle Ben. Ridiculous that I have to repeat this example. 

Oh and about Vision’s body (damn yall have a gift to turn everything into Tony’s fault for some reason). I can’t believe some of you think Tony (while grieving for 5 years) would give Vision to Hayward. You’re either pulling stuff out of your asses or you didn’t pay attention to the show. Maria Rambeau founded and was the Director of S.W.O.R.D. In 2018 (when IW happened), this is where she came up with a new policy within S.W.O.R.D. to ground snapped agents in case they ever returned. Maria was diagnosed with cancer, then two years later (2020), she passed away. Then, Hayward was promoted to Director of S.W.O.R.D., in his first years (2020-2022) he refocused the organization’s work from extraterrestrial operations to robotics, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, etc. There, that was the 5 years. Then in 2023 it’s when he started project Cataract, which revolved around rebuilding Vision as a sentient weapon. Tony was dead when this happened. How come yall don’t get this part? I don’t understand, do you really think his dead corpse signed some papers to give Vision to those people? LMAO

Instead of thinking Tony would give up Vision just like that, think (possibilities):

Maria was the head of S.W.O.R.D., she might have just been keeping his body safe without doing anything with him. Maybe she trusted Hayward and he, obviously, betrayed her because he’s turning her organization into something else after her death. 

One of the Sokovia Accords regulations states that the use of technology to bestow individuals (the term ‘enhanced individual’ in this book is defined as any person, human or otherwise, with superhuman capabilities) with innate capabilities is strictly regulated by the government, as is the use and distribution of highly advanced technology. Vision signed those accords ('I'm saying there may be a casualty. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight...oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand’) The Avengers were no longer be a private organization and they operate under the supervision of the United Nations. This means they (UN) were the ones that referred Vision’s body to S.W.O.R.D., to a trustworthy leader, Maria. 

Vision died in Wakanda, not in New York. Tony was missing for 22 days after the snap, the rest of the avengers should’ve taken responsibility for his body.  

Why is it always Tony’s fault but never consider that other parties are also involved in this? 

I want to address some other asks with this one. I know some of you are angry because people are starting to blame Tony all over again, so a few things to remember:

Tony did not create the Accords. The Accords were the result of all the collective actions the Avengers have done in their superhero careers. All of them have made mistakes and the collateral damage of that was taken into consideration by the government and 117 countries around the world. He signed the accords because he knew that he could amend them with the support of the rest of the avengers and he knew about Thanos (something big was coming). 

Obadiah Stane (it’s so bizarre for me seeing that some people don’t know who this guy is, I’m guessing that the people who are watching Wandavision are too young to remember or didn’t watch the Iron Man movies at all which is highly probable) was the one selling weapons to the wrong people, not Tony. Obadiah was the CEO of Stark industries and became second-in-command for two decades. He grew jealous of Tony and began cooperating with the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, selling them Stark Industries weapons illegally. Imagine blaming all of it on Tony when Obadiah basically murdered thousands only because he felt a little green. If someone who you trust (he had no reasons to doubt Obadiah since he was like a second father-figure for him) does something behind your back (take into consideration that people like Pepper; who was Tony’s assistant and had knowledge of all of Tony’s activities and responsibilities, Rhodey; who was the liaison between the military in the department of acquisitions and Stark Industries, and Happy Hogan; who was his personal bodyguard and Head of Security of Stark Industries, didn’t know what Stane was doing either), how are you going to know about it? Tony trusted him. And when he realized what was going on he immediately stopped all of it. He worked hard to be better and people overlook that because they want other characters to look better. 

Don’t act like Tony was the only one assisting the military. All of the avengers assisted in one way or another. Natasha (who used to be an assassin) was in the Red Room, trained in the Black Widow Program in association with Leviathan and the Soviet Armed Forces, served for KGB, etc. Bruce Banner used to work for the United States government and was commissioned to create a super serum for them. Same goes with the rest, Sam, Clint, etc. Steve Rogers was a soldier lmaoooooooooooooo like, what happened to Tony with Obadiah happened to Steve with SHIELD/HYDRA in TWS. He trusted the people working in there (SHIELD), served for them, did missions for them and as soon as he found out what they were doing behind his back he turned against them. 

Knowing all of this, how is Tony always the villain for yall? I’m guessing because Tony’s popularity in the MCU, but still, aren’t yall tired of not understanding the plot and having people repeat it to you constantly? Watch the movies if you want to understand the franchise, people. Stop following the crowd. 

Also, Wanda is not a kid, she’s a 35 year old woman in Wandavision, she was 26 in AOU and 27 in CW. Hardly a child. Tony had almost her same age (38) when he realized Obadiah was selling illegal weaponry behind his back. The only reason people don’t fully forgive Tony is because 1. he’s a man and 2. he’s a billionaire. Even if Wanda was poor she still killed and hurt many people over the course of her life. Stop trying to make Tony the villain only to downplay Wanda’s actions. 

Both have killed people, both have made mistakes. They’re both responsible for them. 

[captain-azoren]

Marvel and the Military

I haven't really seen anyone talk about this, but I've been thinking about how the big Marvel properties that are typically anti-establishment have also been the ones that have been sidelined in the recent decade.

Namely, I'm talking about The Hulk and X-Men. First off, I know WHY these two IPs have been sidelined, because of movie rights issues (and Ike Perlmutter). Marvel didn't have the film rights to X-Men for a while, so when the MCU went into full swing, Ike Perlmutter, the guy in charge of Marvel at the time, tried to essentially replace mutants with Inhumans, and we saw how that went. With Hulk, it's because Universal Studios still holds the distribution rights to any major Hulk film release, for the time being.

But I do find it interesting that it's these two that were in this jam for so long. X-Men has always been a metaphor for the oppressed and ostracized groups of people, and they got sidelined by Marvel right as racial tensions and identity politics started to flare up again in America (fun fact: Ike Perlmutter is a rich elitist conservative, so it's fitting he'd try to replace the X-Men with the Inhumans, a group of super-powered royals who maintain a rigid hierarchy).

As for Hulk, I don't have much knowledge of the character or the comics, but I think it wouldn't be a stretch to say that the stories are typically anti-military; the U.S. military is Banner's most consistent antagonist just from my cursory knowledge. They might not be outright supervillains, but General Ross seems to hate and fear the Hulk.

And it's also interesting that since Endgame, they've basically gotten rid of the Savage Hulk persona, and with the status quo of the MCU currently, Banner doesn't have to worry about being hunted down anymore.

This leads to my last observation; the MCU is pretty pro-military. I don't know why this hasn't been commented on more often, but with how prominent SHIELD is in the movies, the MCU is a lot more like G.I. Joe. And yes I know Larry Hama pitched GI Joe as a SHIELD spinoff originally.

Taking a good look at the MCU, it's pretty obvious just how much the universe leans into this; a good chunk of the characters are part of SHIELD or reinterpreted as SHIELD agents. As in the Ultimates, the Avengers is essentially a military unit, if an irregular one. Even aside from that, compared to the comics it seems that far more characters are military, ex-military, or mercenaries as a way to establish why they have fighting skills. There are a lot fewer characters who are or remain straight-up vigilantes or street-level criminals with no military training.

It's also interesting how many more MCU characters don't have powers. At least for the first few phases, it seemed like the heroes and villains who relied on weapons or technology far outnumbered the heroes or villains with actual superpowers. As I said, it makes the MCU feel more like GI Joe, where most of the characters are badass normals with a slight gimmick.

Things do seem to be changing as they're adding more powers to the mix, but overall the MCU comes across as very pro-military, and maybe that's just a consequence of going down the more realistic lead that the Ultimate comics did to try and keep things grounded and explain away some things. Hawkeye being a circus performer is silly and dumb, but being a soldier is cool and makes sense. Even their most powered character, Captain Marvel, whom they have pushed hard as a brand, is yet another military hero.

Another thing to consider is how the MCU movies do get money from the Pentagon, and the Pentagon needs to give script approval; they're not going to like it if the U.S. military looks bad, and I'm sure Disney is also thinking about the Chinese military in some capacity. I have a feeling that this could be an issue when X-Men do join the MCU because the military has never typically been pro-mutant rights. I'm pretty sure that they'll make whatever mutant hunters they have a "rogue" faction, a bad apple that doesn't properly represent them.

I'm not sure where else I'm going with this. I guess I'm just worried about what Disney and Marvel are going to do with X-Men. The MCU has become so mainstream and seems to be in favor of the status quo while making token gestures towards progressivism, not really challenging the audience or asking viewers to consider a more radical stance. X-Men might not always be a perfect metaphor, but it does address issues that some viewers might not be comfortable with when they aren't fighting space aliens.

Even Wolverine, the most popular mutant, can be read as being anti-military with how he's betrayed and exploited by the establishment, whether it's a rogue faction or not. Logan might have been a soldier, but I think it's wrong to consider him as a pro-military figure the same way one might see another grizzled veteran hero like, say, Nick Fury or Punisher.

Logan spent years working for capitalist governments doing black ops to ensure they stayed in power, then was stabbed in the back by them and experimented on due to his unique powers. If anyone would have a cynical outlook on the military, or at least the people in control, it would be him. Logan knows exactly what kind of dirty work the government does to oppress others.

I realize the Origins movie is really bad, but in the game Logan and Team X are sent to an African region to try and acquire a special metal from the locals, alluding to Wakanda and Vibranium. It would be interesting if in the MCU something similar had happened, with Logan and a black ops team being sent to try and infiltrate Wakanda to steal their vibranium and technology decades before, touching on the themes of colonialism from Black Panther. It's the kind of work that Wolverine would be ashamed of, and being an X-man is a way for him to atone in some way.

[secret-ssociety]

Behind the scenes

Pairing(s): Aaron Tveit x Reader, Les Mis (2012) cast x Reader

Warnings: This is just fluff. Like one curse

Summary: It is never intended for Enjolras and Eponine to fall in love in the original story, but a lot of things can happen when the cameras are turned off

A/N: I know everyone is waiting for more of the Let Me Down series but I have wanted to do this for a long time bc I am utterly in love with this man and I've always said I don't want to just write Peter Parker's stuff. Might make this several parts, who knows, I like things with parts.

masterlist

requests are open!!

For the first time in the whole day, silence fell upon the set of Les Mis, being only vaguely interrupted by the quiet chatter of everyone else who, unlike you, still had energy to talk. It's not like it was your fault, though, you had no idea of how much running around implied to play Eponine.

Huddled in a quiet corner of what had been built to be the Café Musain, you pushed your knees against your chest and hid your face between them, hoping to catch some rest before Tom decided he wanted to do a scene again. Was it maybe two in the morning? Three? You didn't even know anymore, you weren't allowed to carry a watch around your wrist and your phone was charging in your trailer, but the last time you had checked it was midnight and that had been a few hours ago.

Doing a movie, you had come to learn in your first few days of filming, was quite different from putting up a show. Interacting with your surroundings, going over scenes and even directing your eyes to a certain place while saying your lines was a world away from your common place on stage. You'd had to repress a loud squeak on your first day on set when you saw just how real everything looked, and when you started to try on your garments... you might as well have been a street urchin on Paris, 1832.

A small finger touched your shoulder timidly, waking you up from your fragile sleep and making you lift your head from its place. Your eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the light and you even had to squint a little to recognize Daniel standing next to you, looking just as tired, but with a small flame of caffeine dancing in the back of his eyes. Who the fuck gave the kid coffee? You wondered.

"How long do you think they'll keep us here?" he asked sitting next to you. From all your cast mates, Daniel was probably the first one you had grown fond of, but then again, so had everyone.

"Maybe not much longer, unless they want us to be here at noon tomorrow," you answered raising an eyebrow. Being the youngest person on the whole set, you could tell he was trying to hold his own like the adults, drinking coffee and doing his best to stay awake.

The problem with that, you knew, was that caffeine reacted differently on kids and adults: when an adult drinks coffee, it gives them energy for a long period of time, the caffeine is distributed in order to serve the body for good while. When a child drinks coffee, on the other hand, the caffeine gives them a rush of adrenaline that gets them jumping up and down and running circles around the adults, very much like Daniel was doing a while ago, thus burning all the energy they had acquired as fast as they had engorged it.

"You want to rest for a minute?" you asked him, stretching your legs so that he could rest his head on them. He shook his head tiredly, but didn't put up a fight when you grabbed his shoulder and started to lay him down.

Softly, you caressed his hair, while carefully trying to undo the tangles the dirt had made onto his hair to give him that street gamine I-live-in-the-elephant-of-the-Bastille look. In a matter of seconds, he was fully asleep, snoring quietly against the fabric of your skirt.

You heard some of the boys approaching, laughing loudly with cups of steaming coffee on their hands, and were quick to lift your finger up to your lips, to let them know of the resting boy that would be quickly awaken by their laughs. They apologized in whispers, handed you the cup they had brought for you and sat around you.

"Helena is trying to convince them to let us go to the hotel," Alistair commented, although he didn't look tired at all, more like he was amused by everyone else's exhaustion.

You sighed in relief against the cup, which was held close to your lips, making the steam hit your face in a warmth that made you aware of how cold your nose was. Only one gulp of the bitter liquid was enough to warm the blood flowing through your veins and take you back to life, you could open your eyes properly and the first the landed on was one of the most distinctive of your cast mates: Aaron Tveit.

Was there something special about him that made you think of his full name instead of just the first? Yeah, everything. He was the embodiment of the Enjolras Victor Hugo had wrote, the one that had been nicknamed Apollo by his friends. Maybe it was the way he held himself, somehow taller than everyone else, with that revolutionary fire in his eyes and walking around the set like he was actually going to get the people to build a barricade.

Wherever he happened to exist, you couldn't help but feel the presence of an olden god amongst mortals, the time go slower and light to travel in a bliss. There was just something so ethereal about him...

"He's talent, isn't he?" Alistair commented, having followed the direction of your eyes. "Among other things," Eddie joked, perhaps having caught on on the repressed smitten nature of your gaze. Stubbornly, you rolled your eyes.

As if saved by the bell, your director announced that everyone was allowed to go and get some rest, under the condition that you had to be back the next day before lunch. You were so tired, you almost forgot you were on your costume, being remembered by Eddie when you walked straight to the exit.

Up until that day, you had followed you stylist's skincare routine religiously every day after finishing filming, but once you found yourself in your sweatpants and Alistair's sweater, you simply poured water in your face and wiped all the makeup away with a paper towel.

Outside of your trailer, you found at least half of the Amis waiting for you to go grab some pizza while forming a wall to shield a newly caffeinated Daniel from your accusatory eyes. "I just left my cup unattended for a second!" George said quickly. You didn't know if you should laugh or yell at them, but you decided you were too tired to do either, so you simply took his hands and walk with the boys to the minivans the studio had hired for your transportation.

Eating pizza after having barely washed the makeup off of your face and only having a few hours to sleep after? You knew you were going to break out, but that was a tomorrow's problem.

Perhaps it was the magic that gravitated around Aaron that made you look back to see him, walking several feet behind the lot of you and clearly immersed on his thoughts. What you did next wasn't exactly a conscious decision, but it felt as natural as if it were.

"Hey, Tveit," you smiled, stopping before him. He looked surprised for a second, since he hadn't heard you approach him, but then smiled softly at you.

"Hello, Y/L/N," he said back, looking at you with those piercing eyes of him.

"We're going to grab a bite, wanna come?" You asked with a bright smile, one so cute that made it hard for him to say no.

"I don't know, it's late..." he said with half a smile.

"Did you know that pizza wasn't invented until the late half of the 18th century," you said, persistently, making him raise an eyebrow at the random fact, "that means all of our characters died without having ever eaten pizza. Shouldn't we, in order to honor them, do the things they never got to do?"

Aaron tried as hard as he could to fight back a smile at your argument. He had heard from the other guys about your occurrences and funny yet charming way with words, but he still hadn't had a chance to delight himself with it all too much. Maybe you were both too busy, maybe he wasn't as good as he liked to think to break the ice and Alistair had beat him to it.

He was practically convinced already, but still you added, "come on, Enjolras is still going to be here tomorrow morning... er, today a little less morning." You corrected checking the time on your wrist watch.

He was tired and not really hungry, but sill he nodded and followed you to the exit, where the rest of your friends cheered upon his joining.

Thankfully, the place Fra Fee knew was not too far away from the hotel, because none of you would have managed to walk too much after the day you'd had. Pulling a couple of tables together with the help of a waitress who pretended not to be a little starstruck, all of you sat down and ordered. You personally tried to ignore the way Eddie gave you his sit so that you would end up sat next to Aaron.

After ordering three large pizzas and some lemonade, and having grudgingly remembered that you couldn't order a beer or anything of the sort, you resumed your chattery. You soon found that, while you weren't the only theatre actress on the room, you were the only one who had never been on a film before. Still, that didn't mean your previous work had gone unnoticed.

"I was really excited to meet Y/N," Eddie commented on Daniel's side, "because I went to see her in The Phantom of The Opera, in London and I was" he made the gesture of his head blowing up, making you laugh.

"Yes, I knew I had seen you somewhere! You're Christine Daaé!" George exclaimed, interrupting the bite he was about to give to his pizza.

"Didn't you say on the first table reading that your dream role is Esmeralda, from the Hunchback?" Aaron perked up, making you blush a little.

"Esmeralda, Christine and Eponine," Alistair numbered, only giving you time to nod, "are you planning on becoming the Holy Trinity of French Theater?"

"I'll be able to say the Holy Trinity of French Theater died in my arms!"

You almost spilled your lemonade at the exclamation, unable to contain your laughs, very much like everyone else on the table. You didn't mean for your face to be as red as it was in that moment, but you couldn't help it when everyone seemed to be so interested in your past work. Despite attention being your line of work, you didn't know how to handle it that good.

It was when Daniel's adrenaline burnt off, as you had predicted, and he was found too tiresd to even keep his head up that you came back to the hotel, with the quiet company of Aaron, who had also offered to take the young boy back to his room. You were both in silence, though it was not an awkward one, it just wasn't necessary to talk to enjoy the other's company.

"We're getting a cow," he said suddenly, when you were approaching the entrance of the hotel.

"What?" You asked with a confused smile.

"We're getting a cow, on the set, tomorrow," he clarified grinning, "she will be there for the scenes of the barricade."

"Why would a cow be on a barricade?" You questioned with a laugh, opening the door for Aaron, since he was carrying Daniel, and receiving a little thank you in return. "Not that I'm complaining."

He laughed in return and followed you to the elevator, making sure neither the young boy nor the jacket he had put over him fell from his embrace. The cow thing had just been to start conversation and be able to ask what he really wanted to know, although he was a little pumped up about the cow.

"Do you want to do what Alistair said?" He asked curiously, "About being the Holy Trinity of French Theater, it is."

"I had never thought about it that way, but it sounds quite nice," you answer thoughtfully. "Though, I believe I would have to play Eponine on a stage, rather than a set to really earn that title."

"You're not liking movie making so far?" He asked somewhat amused, specially when you whipped your head to look at him with wide eyes.

"No! That's not what I mean," you talked so fast you nearly stumbled through your words, but the kindness on his eyes made you sigh and calm down. "This has been amazing so far and I would never underestimate the huge effort it takes to make one of these. I mean, I've only been doing this for a couple days and I'm already beyond exhaustion. And yet it has been wonderful, the set and the preparation and just seeing all the work it implies is... unbelievable."

You knocked three time on the door, to see Daniel's mother not two seconds later. Aaron had been worried that maybe she would be concerned and even a little mad at how late her son was coming back, but you had been texting her throughout the extra hours of shooting and to let her know you were going to take him to eat something before coming back to the hotel.

She kindly thanked you both, took Daniel (who was still sound sleep) on her arms and gave Aaron his jacket back, to then close the door. Without saying much, he walked you to your own room, prompting you to continue.

"Where was I? Oh, yeah! So filming a movie is... I'm running out of adjectives, but it's really great," he chuckled slightly, "but I don't think it can top the feeling of being on the theater," you sighed dreamily.

"On stage, there is no take two, the things you're doing can only be done once. There's..." your tongue ran through your lips, an action Aaron found almost mesmerizing, as you tried to find the words to describe the thing you loved the most in the world. "There's this feeling, when the show is about to start, the lights dim, the overture starts and you get goosebumps and you heart starts thumping at the moment you come on stage, there's something about that moment being unrepeatable and having the eyes of the crowd on you, the adrenaline is just... is like the identity line that divides the actor from their character disappears and in that moment you're not quite them, but you're not you, you're just..." you let out a breath at the inability to find the word and, for a moment, you worried you might have bored him with your rambling, but he had that bliss over his face, the one only a theatre actor knows and has, that told you he knew exactly what you're talking about.

The next morning, back on set and with your costumes again covering your backs, Aaron found himself so hypnotized by the sight of you rehearsing with Amanda his tea got cold and was utterly scared when Eddie's palm fell onto his back, dragging him out of his day dream.

"Is this the part when the Phantom is stalking Christine?" George asked jokingly, making Aaron roll his eyes.

For someone who made so much fun of him for becoming Enjolras, he had certainly developed Grantaire's mocking nature.

"She's really talented," the blonde man answered nonchalantly, drinking from his tea and making a face when he found out the drink was cold.

"I see," Eddie said handing him his tea, "are you seeing our dear Y/N under a new light?"

Was he? It would be a lie to say he didn't come back to his room with you occupying every single one of his thoughts, his heart fluttering who had managed to put his passion for theatre in words. Had his hands always became a little shaky around you? Yes. But today it was even worse.

Today, your voice giving life to Eponine's thoughts and emotions could make his cheeks blush or bring tears to his eyes in a matter of a second. Today, you walked around with a strange light over you, one that didn't allow him to look away while, at the same time, reprehended him for staring. Today, you were more than an artist, an actress. You were something more than human.

"Nonsense," he replied stubbornly, "I have always known how talented she is."

Before he could get a sarcastic comment or a snide yet friendly remark, the three men's chatter was interrupted by the two previously mentioned ladies rehearsing The Robbery, one of the scenes you planned on filming that day.

"It's the police! Disappear! Run for it!" Your strong soprano voice cut all chattery in one swift motion. "It's Javert!"

He probably held his breath for as long as you held the note. Once you opened your eyes, you seemed a little embarrassed at all the eyes on you, but Aaron didn't understand just what did you have to be embarrassed about.

Eddie shook his shoulder, "breathe, mate!"

[musette22]

Hi loves! I've gotten quite a few messages about Pam and Tommy yesterday and overnight – too many of them to answer individually, in fact, since I’ve got a busy few days ahead, so I’m just going to make a general post addressing some of the points raised by people who have reservations about the show and those who are hopeful/excited about it, and once again explain my own thoughts on it. Since there’s only so much I can say about this without having actually seen the show or read the script, I’m not going to address it too much more after this until more info about the show comes out, because otherwise I'd just be repeating myself! I hope you guys understand, and I am very grateful for all your messages and appreciate you all sharing your thoughts and opinions <3

I’ll put the rest under the cut because it’s quite long!

First of all, let me say that I totally get having personal reservations over this role or this show. That's absolutely understandable. If this show is not your cup of tea or makes you feel uncomfortable or disappointed in any way, that's fine and you can totally choose not to watch it or engage with it! We all get to decide that for ourselves <3

But when it comes to the question of whether or not it’s objectively a good or bad career move for Sebastian, I still think a lot of people may be confusing/conflating 'I don't like this career move' with 'this is a bad career move.' So far, nothing has indicated that this show is actually a bad career move for Sebastian, and no one so far as provided any actual arguments for why it would be, apart from that they fear it will bring Sebastian a lot of negative energy/press because of who Tommy Lee is. I personally don’t think that’s going to be the case; first of all, people feared the same thing when I, Tonya was being made and we all know how that turned out, plus industry professionals and critics are very capable of making the distinction between actor and character and knowing that playing a ‘bad’ character/person doesn’t automatically mean you yourself are bad or you condone the bad person’s actions.

Of course, some viewers and fans might find it harder to make that distinction and might criticize Sebastian for taking up this role (in fact, they already have) or even his performance, but the majority of the audience will watch it for entertainment only, which means they won’t take it quite as seriously. And if the show is a) well-written/directed, b) entertaining and c) Sebastian gives a good performance (all of which remains to be seen, but considering the people involved in it and the distributer and the talented cast, including Sebastian, the signs are good), it will get good reviews from critics and audiences alike, which will only mean good things for Sebastian himself. The fact that some of his fans probably will find another reason to attack or attempt to cancel him over this show once it comes out is unfortunate, but negligible in terms of Sebastian’s career. Besides, if it wasn’t this, it would be something else.

As for the question of whether Pamela herself is against the show being made: as far as I know, all comments so far about it have come from either ‘insiders’ who sold their story to the Daily Mail which then got picked up by a bunch of other tabloids, or from Courtney Love (who’s a friend of Pamela’s), who later seems to have retracted some of her comments. So as far as I I’m aware, Pamela herself has not made any statements about it yet – not when she was approached at the very beginning of the process, and not now that the show is actually being filmed. Of course, I wouldn't blame her at all if she wasn't too happy with it, but so far I believe she hasn’t personally made her opinion known (correct me if I’m wrong, though!) 

And even if she had, the responsibility for the show being made lies with the producers and Hulu, rather than with the actors. Critics and industry professionals will be aware of this; they know that if these actors hadn’t played these roles, someone else would’ve (in fact, James Franco was initially cast as Tommy but he dropped out, so that just goes to show) so again, this wouldn’t reflect badly on Sebastian in the eyes of critics and industry professionals.

Whether or not we like the idea of this show being made/Sebastian playing this role, the fact is that it’s giving him the opportunity to once again show he's capable of (physical) transformation and playing complex characters, to work with a renowned director and top cast on a hotly anticipated show, get him lots of attention and exposure in the media (there’s already been a lot of that, with much more to come once the show airs) and also bring him to the attention of a whole new audience, which will mean he’ll gain a lot of new fans. Those are all objectively good things for his career. 

Again, if you’re not happy with this show/role, that’s totally understandable and fine, and it remains to be seen whether the show will actually be any good. But I personally can’t see any reason right now to believe Sebastian taking this role was a bad career move, and definitely not more so than a lot of the flopped indie movies he’s done in the past – which also haven’t actively hurt his career so far, by the way! 

For now, all we can do is wait and see! 🙏🏻

[undine-taz]

5 times Diavolo failed to be a sugar daddy and one time he succeeded

I'm just imagining poor Diavolo trying SO HARD to spoil an MC who is just. Not greedy in the slightest and loves weird little shinies while being totally indifferent to the super crazy expensive gifts he usually gives to people he's trying to woo. Just in case, this is the PUREST OF FLUFF and completely sfw. I can’t even think of any tw to tag??? Let me know if you notice something. Oh, and MC is imagined to be gender neutral. There’s a mention of perfume, but not in the feminine sense- that’s just the proper word for a certain level of scent concentration.

1. Expensive Perfume

Diavolo's first attempt is the most expensive perfume/cologne money can buy

He's not quite sure what MC's favorite scent is, so he buys a wide variety

All the bottles are sleek and minimalistic and the scents inside are VERY obviously expensive, the kind of thing Mammon would probably lose his mind over

MC's reaction is perfectly grateful, they say sincerely how much they appreciate him thinking of them. He doesn't feel a single lie off of them and he walks away mostly satisfied thinking maybe they’re just the type to not show a ton of excitement over gifts

That is, until he's walking down the hallways in RAD and happens to overhear a conversation between Asmo and MC

Asmo's talking about how he's been going through perfume at a record pace lately, and he feel so bad about wasting these beautiful bottles... would MC like them? He has one shaped like a rose, one like a star, one modeled after the cosmos... 

Asmo doesn't even get to finish because MC is already flapping their hands in joy (I'm autistic and MC is going to happy stim if it kills me) and wiggling and practically jumping into Asmo's arms in excitement

Asmo's laughing and promising to save all of his prettiest empty perfume bottles for MC from now on and MC is practically wiggling in joy and nuzzling their face into Asmo's chest in happiness

They’re talking about spending the night in Asmo’s room trying to make perfume blends for each other to fill up the bottles and tossing scent ideas back and forth

And Diavolo is sitting there feeling a bit like he's been bonked over the head. Those happy stims are ADORABLE and he wants to be the one who causes them. He's not sure why his perfume failed and Asmo's literal empty bottles worked but he's DETERMINED to try again

2. Fancy gemstones

Diavolo's next attempt is fancy gemstones. He finds large, beautifully cut and processed gemstones, the type that are so perfectly processed they look almost identical except for color

Again, when he gives MC his gifts he can tell that they're sincerely grateful! They tell him they love that he was thinking of them, they worry that he spent too much money on them ( they try to refuse at first because it's too much, but Diavolo breezes past their protests with a smile and an iron will) and Diavolo doesn't sense even the tiniest hint of untruth from their professions of gratitude

But.... there are no happy wiggles, no stunned gasps, no joyously flapping hands, no nothing. Just calm gratitude.

Diavolo goes back to the drawing board, and he's just going to visit the HOL library for inspiration in a rare book (and as an excuse to see MC) when he hears Satan and MC laughing together in the library.

When he walks in, he sees Satan and MC crouched together with some strange tools in their hands, gently chipping away at a large rock. There's a tiny pile of uncut, unprocessed gemstones at MC's elbow.

As soon as MC sees him, he's aflood in a wash of excited chatter as MC tells him about the gemstone mining kit Satan bought after reading a book on gemstones. In fact Diavolo can see the book open at Satan's elbow along with a notebook where the two have been identifying every gemstone they dig up.

Before he knows it, MC seizes his hand and he's drawn into the game, watching their eyes shine and seeing them bounce in their seat with excitement every time they uncover a new gemstone.

Dammit. Another failure. But, Diavolo finds as he watches MC's obvious joy, he can't be too frustrated when they're this happy. 

3. Shopping spree at Majolish

Diavolo is undeterred! He takes a day to bring them to Majolish, having them try on outfit after outfit. Sure, they're not picking out very many things, but he loves spending time with them and they say they're enjoying themself.

After several hours, Barbatos gently reminds him that he has a meeting soon and that MC seems absolutely exhausted.

Diavolo pouts, especially when he sees that MC hasn't picked out very many things, but he sighs and concedes.

When he drops them off at the HOL, MC gives him a hug and thanks him for helping them pick out some more formal outfits for any upcoming RAD events. Diavolo accepts the hug gladly, but there's no squeaking or jumping and DEFINITELY no flapping. MC seems rather exhausted, and Belphegor has appeared from nowhere and draped himself over MC and is mumbling about needing a nap buddy and MC isn't even trying to argue 

The next day, Barbatos shows him Levi's post on Devilgram. It's a video, of Levi giving MC a plain, unassuming box.

When MC opens the box, their mouth drops open, their eyes go wide, and they fling themselves at Levi, happily nuzzling into his chest and mumbling incoherent thanks while Levi turns bright red and starts stuttering and clearly tries not to combust

The video cuts out for a second and then starts again with MC wearing a simple shirt embroidered with a strange logo, which Levi explains from behind the camera is inspired by MC's favorite series and was handmade by Levi for practice. Levi was apparently asked to design formalwear inspired by anime, and he chose MC's favorite to practice a design. According to the caption, the two spent an entire day together watching the series and sketching ideas!

MC is beaming and happy stimming while Diavolo thumps his head into his desk dramatically and Barbatos elegantly stifles a chuckle behind him. 

4. Bouquets of flowers

Well now Diavolo is determined. HE WILL MAKE MC HAPPY STIM IF IT KILLS HIM

HE HAS HIS PRIDE AS THE FUTURE DEMON KING DAMMIT

He begins watching the corniest of romcoms for ideas.

Midway into one of them, he sees the character buy their love interest bouquets upon bouquets of roses

BRILLIANT! He's up and placing orders immediately. Barbatos stays behind for a few minutes to actually watch how this particular ploy works out on screen, before laughing and going to watch the chaos

As dedicated as he is to the young lord, watching Diavolo scramble around trying to impress his first puppy love only to fail because the target of his affections is simply too humble.... well, it's honestly adorable. He'll step in if it goes on for too long, but for now it might actually be good for the young master to experience something he can't have by throwing money or influence at it.

Diavolo has some of the Devildom's finest florists on the horn and he's sending a veritable flood of their finest cut flowers... AND he's sending them from an anonymous source, just like in the movie! The woman in the movie only sent over THREE bouquets to the object of her love, so Diavolo sends 300. Only the best for his MC :)

He's waiting impatiently for the results of his little scheme when he gets an apologetic text from Lucifer saying that he'll be late to the meeting and MC won't be coming at all. Some anonymous admirer sent MC an excessive amount of flowers and the sheer amount of pollen triggered allergies in ALL of the demon bros and MC.

Lucifer needed time to clear out the house and distribute allergy meds to everyone and buy out the nearest store on tissue paper

Barbatos is no longer even bothering to stifle his chuckles while Diavolo buries his face in his arms to hide his shame

To rub salt in the wound, Lucifer tells him a few days later that he set up a miniature greenhouse for MC to grow humanworld herbs in and they've barely left it in the last two days

Lucifer’s been spending most of his free time in the greenhouse with them, helping them tinker with humidity spells and listening to their excited monologues on human gardening techniques

Lucifer is definitely smirking as he tells Diavolo this and Diavolo doesn't bother to ask how Lucifer knew what was going on, because his old friend knows him too well and Diavolo realizes he's not exactly subtle.

What he doesn't realize is that Barbatos is also a dirty dirty snitch and he and Lucifer have been watching over his attempts with a mix of hilarity and pity

5. Desserts

Some might give up, but not Diavolo! His newest ideas is fancy desserts. He was told by a sweet old succubus that the best way to his lover's heart was through the stomach (actually she initially had some far raunchier suggestions that had made Diavolo blush and had given him some ideas for far, FAR in his future relationship with MC, but that's neither here nor there) and so here Diavolo is, placing a giant order at Madame Scream's to be delivered to the HOL.

This time he has learned from his mistakes and he signs it as being from him and addresses it to "MC and the residents of HOL" because even he recognizes there are far too many sweets for a human to eat before they go bad

Barbatos by this point is starting to feel pity and is almost tempted to suggest he wait until it's not Beel's day for Fangol practice to send a giant array of tempting sweets.

Almost. If it weren't for the maid cafe fiasco of last week Barbatos probably would have, but that lace had chafed in areas that should never be chafed.

Diavolo sent his gift only to receive a poorly drawn thank-you card drawn by Beel and signed by everyone at the HOL, including MC, even though "I didn't even get a chance to eat any, BEEL"

This poor man feels his soul leave his body, especially when he returns home from RAD to find Barbatos and MC baking together and singing along to Disney songs (well, MC was singing, Barbatos was simply watching them with a smile and occasionally twisting them into a simple dance to make them laugh and squiggle with joy)

Et tu, Barbatos?

After yesterday's glitter incident, Barbatos has no shame and simply smirks back. He'll help the young lord when he can shower without finding glitter in every crevice.

+1: Tea together

Diavolo is planning his next gift when he gets a message from MC, of all people

His heart flutters, he has butterflies in his stomach, and he hasn't even read it yet!

It's a simple text- "What are you up to?" 

Obviously Diavolo can't admit he's shirking paperwork to try and figure out a gift that would make them happy! So he improvises and claims he's working. He gets back a sad face emoji and a simple "Miss you! I feel like we haven't hung out in forever, but I know how busy you are. Good luck, I'm rooting for you!"

SHOT THROUGH THE HEART AND MC IS TO BLAME

This man is dramatically draped over his desk wailing about how cute MC is.

Luckily for him Barbatos has forgiven him for both the maid cafe incident and the glitter incident and Diavolo has been too distracted trying to plan gifts to cause any new chaos

Barbatos hands him a lovely picnic basket, complete with tea and fancy sandwiches, and tells him to go see MC and take a break since he's clearly not getting any work done as is.

Cue guilty glance to the overwhelming stack of paperwork that's been building up. He swears he's never seen Barbatos place more and yet they keep growing, are they breeding somehow...? Did Lucifer curse him after the taffy incident?

Either way, Diavolo takes the basket and heads off to HOL.

He's either very lucky or (more likely) Barbatos bribed Lucifer into helping him out, as MC is the one to answer the door.

They look kind of down until they see him and he explains he's there to spend time with them, and then they absolutely LIGHT UP.

Before he knows it, they've thrown himself into his arms and they're bouncing in excitement and snuggling him and happy flapping and boyo is confused but OVER THE MOON.

He finally did it!?!?! What was it!?!?! The picnic basket? Do they have a thing for picnics baskets!?!?! 

And then he actually tunes in a d listens to their flood of chatter and how happy they are to see him and how much they've missed him and how excited and grateful they are they he took time out of his busy schedule to spend time with him and out in the thought to prepare a way for them to spend time in each other's company...

O H

He is M E L T I N G

He can't believe it was this easy.... no need for fancy gifts or anything like that, just... paying attention to their likes and spending time with them???? 

Holy shit he is gonna protect this human's smile witH HIS LIFE 

And now that he understands them better he can buy EXPENSIVE SHIT THEY'LL ACTUALLY LIKE AND HE'LL GET ALL THE HAPPY SNUGGLES AND JOYOUS STIMMING IN THE WORLD!!!! 

Yes, he decides, wrapping his arms around them while trying to keep the basket level

Now that he's gotten a taste of their sincere joy, he's hooked and he's going to make them as excited and happy as this as often as he possibly can. 

[assortedmutts]

Character name?

Saul Israel Shapiro.

Origin story for their name?

That one scene in the Long Firm where the one guy goes Harry Starks? Sounds Jewish with utter disdain in his voice. I wanted something which sounds unmistakably Jewish and Saul is such an old school, ugly name in Hebrew and such a pretty name in English (pronounced Sha-ool vs. Sol). Saul Shapiro just rolls really nicely off the tongue. Israel was also a common name for Ashkenazi men around the 1940s, which I thought tied nicely to his running theme of intergenerational trauma.

Compare and contrast your character from their first concept to how they are now.

He started out as a supporting character in Merc’s 1920s verse (his employer, to be exact) and actually had an opposite transformation: from a ruthless, faceless villain, he has become far more personable and levelheaded. 20s Saul was borderline sociopathic and cared only for money and power, whereas modern Saul might make questionable (or straight out bad) choices, but IDK that I’d describe him as a bad person.

The extent of his power has significantly shrunk as well: from the owner of an alcohol importation, distillation and distribution empire, to the leader of a crew so small you could count them all on one hand.

What do you hope people get out of your character’s narrative?

Again, the themes I’m trying to explore here, for me (IDK if anyone will get anything out of it) are: Ashkenazi identity, the Jewish intergenerational trauma, self-annihilation through sacrifice as well as through the communal.

I lowkey kinda think all my characters explore the same themes, but possibly from different perspectives? IDK. It’s something I’m self-conscious about and, at the same time, am also trying not to give a fuck about.

Four of your favorite traits of your character?

Proud! Colorful! Dorky! Not afraid to be himself in the slightest!

A caregiver through and through

Diplomatique

The way he can flip a switch and become soulless and cruel in 0.2 seconds

Most challenging aspect of writing your character?

He’s actually been coming to me very naturally ever since I started writing him? Which I think is more of a trait of him being a ‘new’ character (sort of) rather than his being incredibly-well-thought-out or anything. I’m sure challenges will present themselves as I continue writing him.

If this is an OC, do you have any media inspiration for your character?

Any and all Jewish characters in Boardwalk Empire, Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything Is Illuminated as well as film of the same name, Jake Arrnott’s The Long Firm, Harry Lloyd as Bernard Marx in Brave New World.

What do you find most unique about your character?

There naturally aren’t too many Jewish characters around, especially not ones whose Jewishness is as pronounced as Saul’s, or takes as big a part in their story as his; which is honestly not a complaint nor a dig at anyone, but I think it does make him stand out. I also think he’s an interesting mixture of hard criminal and utter dork or, at least, I’ve had that pointed out to me by other people as something that’s unexpected/interesting.

Favorite kinds of interaction dynamics?

I don’t think I have a particular type that I favor since I genuinely like exploring my boys  with all sorts, and getting to explore them with all sorts makes for unique interactions. I can talk about the kinds of interactions I’m currently looking to explore, which are: a possible beard! Members of the community and/or Undzer Shtik! Contacts from rival organizations! Law enforcement agents that are either investigating him or are on his payroll! Regular customers at the deli/regular servers in his favorite bars and restaurants whom he knows personally/fellow restaurateurs! Friends from Princeton!

Lastly, if someone was to audition to play your character in a movie, what would be the introductory description to who your character is?

Have you ever seen an erratic ferret? Ever seen anyone play a New York Jew? That, but up the neuroticism and quirkiness up to a thousand. Think John Mulaney in anything with Nick Kroll. Think a queer, modern, male Mrs. Maisel, except she has a gun now.

[blu-joons]

All About Giving ~ Kim Namjoon

Your car pulled up outside the huge building of the orphanage, glancing across at Namjoon who too stared out at the sheer size of the building. Neither of you were really sure what to expect, but it far exceeded all expectations you had.

“There must be a lot of people in there,” he whispered, unbuckling his belt.

“The ad did say they were desperate for presents,” you reminded him, getting out of the car beside him. “Do you think we’ve got enough to go around all of them? I’m beginning to think maybe we should have bought a bit more.”

His head shook as he opened up the boot of your car, which was rammed with boxes of gits for the children. If you’d bought even a single present more, he knew there was going to have been no way that it all would have fitted into the car.

The two of you began unloading them one by one, trying to get it done as quickly as possible to get out of the cold. Each box had a label on of what was inside, and what gender and age all the little gifts were aimed for to make it easier for distribution.

“I’ll start carrying them across if you want to finish unloading,” Namjoon told you, grabbing one of the boxes. A box at a time he carried them across the car park and placed them by the entrance. And then, once all the boxes were out, you helped him until they were all by the door.

You pushed open the door of the orphanage to see a woman sat behind a desk wearing a brightly coloured Christmas jumper. “Hello,” she smiled, “and merry Christmas, what can we do for you?” She asked.

“We’ve come to donate,” you informed her, glancing back at Namjoon at the struggle he was having pushing all the boxes through the door.

Instantly, her eyes lit up, standing up and walking around the desk. “Oh, wow. You’ve bought a lot, thank you so much. Let me give you a hand.”

Between the three of you, you managed to push all the boxes from the outside to the inside, and into a small box room she’d unlocked the door of, which was alarmingly empty. You stepped in and took a look around, noticing a sign on the wall signifying that it was where presents were to be left.

“Have you not had many donations this year?” You quizzed her.

“It’s been a tough year for everyone,” she weakly smiled, but even you could see that she was disappointed. “We don’t want to expect donations, not everyone has a kindness in their heart like the two of you clearly do.”

Namjoon nodded, appearing by your side. “We just wanted to try and do something good this year, your advert made us think that maybe things hadn’t been so good this year.”

Once again, you began to feel a little guilty that maybe you could’ve bought more. Growing up with as many presents and family members as you did, you couldn’t begin to imagine how it would feel Christmas morning waking up with nothing to open.

“Maybe I could show you guys around? It’s hardly like we’re busy, and I’m sure you’d love to see where all of your presents go,” she offered.

The two of you agreed immediately, following behind her as she stepped out of her little office and into the main building of the orphanage. Instantly, you were drawn to a group of children sat around a television watching one of the old Christmas films.

“Most of these guys have grown up not knowing Christmas any other way.”

“At least they’ve got good taste in films, we’ve packed a few DVDs in the boxes that hopefully they can enjoy,” you informed her, looking back for Namjoon to agree with you, but he was already gone.

You scanned the room and found him sat in between two of the younger children in the group as they played a game separately. Your smile slowly grew as you watched his own smile become wide, entranced by how small the two of them were. They quickly took a liking to him too, sitting down in his lap as he joined their game, laughing and giggling away with the two of them.

Whilst you left Namjoon, the woman took you over to show you a few more of the facilities they had. It was overwhelming for you as you looked around, especially as you walked into the kitchen and met a few more members of staff who were beginning to prepare dinner for all of them.

“We’ve got a lot of mouths to fill on Christmas morning,” she chuckled, showing you around, “these kids all love their food.”

You glanced around the kitchen and then back to the huge group of children, laughing at their own giggling expressions at the movie.

Once you’d been shown around the rest of the place you joined back up with Namjoon who seemed to have acquired a few more friends, as some of the elder children recognised him. He was more than happy to sit and tell them all his stories, and even sing a few songs for them all.

“You’re probably boring them all,” you teased, sitting beside him, “I bet most of them don’t even know who BTS are.”

One girl particularly shook her head, looking between you both, you noticed how soft her smile was as she brought her knees up under her chin. “I know who BTS are. I even have one of your posters on my wall because I like to listen to your music when I’m feeling down. You guys have such an important message, and it’s one I’ve often needed to hear whilst I’ve been here, it gets me through the tough days whenever I’m feeling upset.”

Without saying a word, Namjoon shuffled over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. You smiled down at them both, at times you forgot how much of an impact he really had all over the world. You could tell too that she’d had quite the impact on Namjoon, tears welled in his own eyes as she told him a little more about his story and how thankful she was for all the things that BTS did globally.

You continued to watch on as Namjoon reached into the bottom of his bag, pulling out his notebook and pen that he always carried around. “Take this,” he instructed her, “whenever you’re feeling down, write your thoughts and feelings. That’s what I do, and it always makes me feel better again.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, holding it against her chest, “this is the best Christmas present I think I’ve ever received.”

“Treasure it like I have,” Namjoon encouraged, offering her one last hug before the two of you stood up.

After being thanked for your donations once more, and the two of you promising that you’d be back to visit and donate again at some point, you made your way back out into the car park and across to the car.

“I didn’t think that would impact me as much as it has done,” Namjoon whispered, intertwining his hand with your own.

You nodded, looking to face him, “you clearly made a good impression on all of those kids too.”

“They probably just enjoyed having a new face around, I know that I would,” he responded, climbing into the car. You sighed heavily as you passed back through the orphanage and onto the main road, even just the smallest of gestures you made, had such a huge difference on the Christmas of others.

You never anticipated that anyone would be as grateful as they were for what you’d done. Seeing all the empty rooms for presents broke your hearts, but seeing the faces that could have gone without if it wasn’t for you and Namjoon made you feel so much worse, and proud for having made the difference they all needed.

“Maybe we should make it a tradition,” you mused, biting down on your bottom lip to stop yourself getting upset.

“I think that’s a good idea, we always get too much for Christmas, maybe we should share it around a bit more,” Namjoon agreed, resting his hand against your thigh. “I might try and visit a few times in the year, give them something to look forward too.”

You nodded, remembering the young girl specifically. “It seemed you had a few fans there, and you’re always talking about how you want to do more for your fans.”

“Maybe I’ll tell the boys about it, see if we can arrange something for next Christmas for them all.”

“That sounds like a nice idea Joon, and one I know they’ll all be so grateful for.”

---

Masterlist

[jokertrap-ran]

(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) Event! 海街/昨日寄: Sent yesterday on Sea Street Translation (Chapter 5)

“I wish to share the belief that magic does exist to everyone, even if just for a second!”

*Light and Night Master-list *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join the Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *Event story tag will be #For Light and Memories

The lights lit up as Jesse made his grand entrance with the curious eyes of the audience on him.

Jesse: Good evening, students! I have a question for everyone before the movie starts! Do you believe that magic exists in this world?

Jesse: That student over there who's shaking their head! Keep your eyes peeled for what comes next! You never know, it might just change your thoughts about magic!

Hearing how vividly charming his voice was made me mentally sigh at how he was truly born to be an actor; able to gain everyone's attention just by saying a few lines.

Meanwhile, I took advantage of this moment to infiltrate the crowd while pretending to be a server who distributed drinks to everyone...

The excitement in the venue rapidly rose as the magic show opened its curtains.

Jesse stood behind a table. He held up a plastic back that looked as normal as they came.

He showed everyone the empty interior of the plastic bag before rightening it back up and reaching his arm inside it.

Jesse: Hm? Looks like there's something here…

The audience held their breath and stretched their necks out in curiosity, trying to peer at it. Under the scrutiny of a dozen or so pairs of eyes, he pulled out a beret from within!

Jesse: I accidentally picked up someone's hat. Can the owner of this beret come to claim it?

Student A: Ah! It's my hat!

Jesse: Here you go. It's a very pretty hat.

Jesse returned the beret to the student full of smiles. She incredulously gives her beret a once over. After ensuring that it was indeed her beret, she cries out in surprise.

Student A: Wow! Is this what they call "fetching things out of thin air"!?

The audience didn't dare believe their eyes after having witnessed that. They all broke out into hushed, yet excited, chattering. And just as they were all engrossed in all the excitement, I squashed the nervousness that was slowly rising in my heart as I reached out to grab a boy's folded parasol...

Actually, I'd secretly taken that girl's beret when Jesse had gone on stage.

I hid the item under the cloth of the serving tray and handed it to Jesse as I pretended to serve him a drink. And using the table as a cover, he took the item and stuffed it into his arms. The plastic bag he used had a large opening at the back, so all he had to do was to stick his arm inside it, and he'd be able to retrieve the item hidden in his arms with ease.

I hurriedly hid the parasol beneath the serving tray and headed to the stage.

I hadn't gotten far when a loud voice sounded from below the stage.

Boy: Huh? Where's my parasol gone to?

I froze.  Why did he choose now of all times to go looking for his parasol!?

The parasol within my grasp suddenly felt like a hot coal. I couldn't help but feel guilty about what I'd done, and my brain completely went blank.

Then, I saw Jesse put down his props, pick up his soda, and head straight towards me.

He pretended to place his empty soda back onto my tray while he sneakily took the parasol from me with lightning speed. He executed this with absolute smoothness. No one was alerted, no one was suspicious, and everyone was none the wiser. When taking the parasol from him, he even turned to the audience and said all so naturally:

Jesse: Have you lost something? Don't worry! We'll help you find it!

Having said that, he secretly winked at me. I know. He was telling me not to worry.

It felt as if his wink really had magic imbued into it, enough to settle my anxious heart.

I believe that no matter what happens, Jesse will definitely be able to turn the tables around.

Following that, Jesse walked up to the student who'd lost his parasol.

His beautifully long fingers manoeuvred through the air as he magicked out a parasol from the bag behind the student's back.

Jesse: Is this parasol yours?

The boy's eyes widened in both surprise and joy.

Boy: Huh? What's it doing in my bag!? I'm pretty sure it was at…

Just as the boy reached out to reclaim his parasol, Jesse withdrew his arm and moved it out of his reach.

Jesse: And that's not all.

He opened the parasol above the boy, releasing a shower of Countless starry deco glitter that rained down. It shimmered brighter than ever against the darkness of the night.

Jesse: A starry night especially for this lucky student here.

The students broke out into applause.

Student B: Oh my god! How did he do that!?

Student C: How pretty! I want one too!

The excited students swarmed around Jesse.

Jesse then continued on to show them a couple more magic tricks, surprising them to no end. Time quietly flew past amidst the excitement.

It was only when the replacement power cable had been sent over, that Jesse painstakingly pried himself away from the students that surrounded him.

❖☆———————————★❖

Upon returning to the room, the mere thought of how thrilling the performance of pulling things out of thin air continues making my heart race.

MC: Your reaction time's way too fast, Jesse!

MC: Fortunately, you're capable of pulling off that many magic tricks. Everyone's eyes can't catch up with you!

Jesse: Now you're flattering me, Milady. They're only small tricks, nothing more.

MC: Actually, I've been wanting to ask you this ever since we started prepping for the performance… But, when did you even start learning how to do magic?

Jesse: I don't remember. Probably when I was really young?

Jesse: I recall thinking that magicians really had magic back when I saw magic being performed on the screen for the first time.

Jesse: “Does magic really exist in this world?” This thought of mine has brought me a lot of happiness and hope.

Jesse: That’s why I wish to share the belief that magic does exist to everyone, even if just for a second!

MC: I believe you! I mean, didn’t we just do magic together?

MC: I now believe that magic exists in this world thanks to you!

He pauses for a while before his eyebrow lifts, a smile as bright as the sweat on his forehead appearing on his face.

Jesse: ...I’m really happy. Thank you, (Y/n).

Music sounded from the courtyard. The movie was starting.

Jesse: C’mon! Now’s the time for the magic of light and shadows!

❖☆———————————★❖

We settled ourselves onto the grassy grounds of the courtyard with chilled orange sodas in hand.

Gao Xuan had already prepared special seats for us. The two roses that Jesse had gifted me earlier in the day were now displayed within a flower vase decorating the table.

The projector screen before us slowly lit up, a picture of red and white roses appearing on the screen… It was the movie that Gao Xuan had been talking about, “The Roses”!

Fuelled by curiosity, I gradually immersed myself in the plot of the movie.

This movie was one where the male protagonist meets two beloved women. One, while in his adolescence, and the other, while in his adulthood. It was a story about his spiritual growth. The red and white roses each represented one of his two beloved ones respectively.

"White roses represent purity, as is my original intention; whilst red roses represent longing and temptation." 

So, this line really DID come from this movie.

Near the end of the film, the male protagonist told her this: “Oh, how lucky I am to be what I am now.”

Just as I revelled in this line, I suddenly felt Jesse’s eyes on my face. His lips moved ever so faintly, the evening breeze bringing his low whisper across as it overlaps with the on-screen actor’s spoken line.

Jesse: “...How lucky I am to be what I am right now.”

Those jewel-like emerald green eyes of his told of affection that words could never attempt to describe. My heart unwittingly sped up, yet I couldn’t help but be attracted by the light glimmering within his orbs.

It was now, that the red and white roses atop the table quietly bloomed in the inky black darkness of the night.

A silent summer night; the cries of unknown bugs in the background; the illumination of the light and shadows of the screen cast upon our features.

And reflected in our eyes; was each other.

❖☆————— ⊹ For Light & Memories⊹ —————★❖

Previous Part: (Chapter 4)

[dweemeister]

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

In these days of social isolation, domestic distractions, and pandemic, rare is the feature film that I watch at home in one sitting. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp might have confused me in its opening half-hour but, in the end, commanded my attention for all of its one hundred and sixty-three minutes*. It is a film made during a time of crisis now fading from living memory, from British filmmakers reveling in their work’s Britishness. During Colonel Blimp’s wartime production and release, Britain was under existential threat from the Nazis, despite the opening of the North African front and apparent British victory in defending its airspace. A gentleman's war this was not, if ever such a thing existed. British cinema reflected those beliefs of the nation staring down its own annihilation, as the industry set to work on patriotic, if not propagandistic, movies.

There is no denying that Powell and Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp has elements of propaganda. The film, so resistant to any categorizations by genre (including comedy, drama, epic, romance, war), has no qualms that Britain is fighting a just war against Nazi Germany. But there are moments that must have given British Prime Minister Winston Churchill – who attempted to halt Colonel Blimp’s production and distribution – pause. Powell and Pressburger raise questions towards the justifications and necessity of past British wars, the idea of warfare as a noble exercise, and introduces a “good German” character. Colonel Blimp’s genre-bending and provocative queries into Britain’s militant soul represents the most breathtaking balancing act in any of Powell and Pressburger’s movies.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp takes place over three time periods, each in a different setting:

Boer War (the common name for what is technically the Second Boer War): 1902 in Berlin, far from the violence in southern Africa

World War I and between the World Wars: from November 1918-1935 between the Western Front and postbellum Britain

World War II: from 1939 through the Battle of Britain (1940), mostly in the London area

The film begins near its chronological conclusion, when the rotund, mustachioed, Major-General Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey; whose role is modeled off of the “Colonel Blimp” comic strip character’s appearance and mannerisms) is surprised to be “captured” by Lieutenant Spud Wilson (James McKechnie) during a premature training exercise. Candy, who is trying to enjoy his afternoon at his favorite Turkish bath, is outraged at Wilson’s disregard to the exercise’s rules, and fisticuffs break out. From here, Colonel Blimp flashes back to Candy’s service in the Boer War and sticks to a strict chronology. Then-Lt. Candy is in Berlin, on leave from his service in the Boer War. There, he has a series of misadventures (and a love triangle) involving Edith Hunter (Deborah Kerr in one of three separate roles she plays) and an officer from the Imperial German Army named Theo Krestchmar-Schuldorff (Anton Walbrook). All three become friends while in Berlin; Theo and Edith become engaged shortly before Candy must leave Berlin.

We never see Edith (who stays in Germany with Theo) again in Colonel Blimp, but Theo – even though his time with Candy was relatively brief – remains friends with Candy. That friendship, however, conflicts against and interweaves into his German patriotism. Theo’s patriotism is not unconditional: he believes fervently in the aims of Imperial Germany in World War I’s immediate aftermath, but flees Hitler’s Nazi regime for soil his wife once called home. Taking account of all English-language cinema, he becomes a rare “good German”. In a person that a xenophobic British person might consider the enemy, we see a man heartbroken for the fate that befalls his native country and the violence waged against his adopted one.

Take the cruelly ironic scene of Theo visiting Candy after being released from a prisoner of war (POW) camp, as he ingratiates himself with Candy’s British dinner guests. Candy’s friends remark that British hospitality and organization must have eased the lives of the POWs, and the insinuate that British-German tensions shall soon wane. Germany will soon recover from the war, the dinner guests maintain. Notice Anton Walbrook’s physical acting here, acting as a man too polite to belabor his fellow guests with his sadness for his country and the anger of their presumptuous predictions. The Austrian actor, perhaps best known as Boris Lermontov from The Red Shoes (1948), provides a stupendous performance, most likely the widest-ranging one of his career. He inhabits his character’s contradictions of all three eras: the martial rigidity and playfulness of his Boer War-era youth, the defiance and disappointment following the Great War, and the sadness and pent-up fury of his elderly years. This is quite demanding for any actor, let alone someone who is nominally in a supporting role. Yet, a particular interview scene might represent the best piece of acting in any Powell and Pressburger picture. Walbrook performs spectacularly, with never a wasted motion or a dull moment from him.

Personal change comes much more slowly to Lieutenant-later-General Candy. This is as much for the purposes of the film’s chronological drama as it is a product of World War II-era remembrance. At this time in British filmmaking, one could not make narrative art deemed too critical of Britain’s bloody past – whether colonial or against its European rivals. For a film that engages so vigorously in a discourse concerning jus in bello, it portrays zero wartime violence. Meditations of war arrive solely in conversation, never action. In Candy’s indefatigable Britishness, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp affirms his views that the Boer War and World War I were and are just conflicts, fought justly. He does not thirst for violence, nor does he dismiss the traumas war brings to combatants and civilians alike (he may downplay those traumas, though). Candy’s flawed introspection and stubbornness are endearing, at first. As time progresses, those qualities come ever into conflict with the changing nature of warfare and the contexts of the war currently waged. Britain is and will always be above committing war atrocities, Candy believes (you can roll your eyes; it is the least you should do after reading those last few words), and Nazi Germany’s tactics will never succeed in the face of Britain’s upstanding military. Such thinking was outdated even then, and only through his friendship with Theo does he consider how wrong he is.

Roger Livesey might not have been Powell and Pressburger’s first choice as Candy (that would be Laurence Olivier, who probably would have made Candy a more sophisticated character), but he embodies a contradictory gruffness and gentleness that weaves between military and civilian life. Those qualities are on full display when Livesey captures the attention of Deborah Kerr’s characters. In addition to Walbrook’s turn as Theo, Livesey and Kerr offer wonderful performances that cement the film’s Britishness. Through the three eras covered in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Candy’s relationship with these women evolves as he ages, as the nature of the Britain’s conflicts make romance unwise. Kerr’s three characters might have different life interests, romantic inclinations, and temperaments, but their similar appearances – no coincidence, as the viewer later learns – anchor Candy to a perpetual past.

The striking Technicolor photography from Georges Périnal (1930’s Under the Roofs of Paris, 1948’s The Fallen Idol) with assistance from Jack Cardiff (1947’s Black Narcissus, 1951’s The African Queen) and production design from Alfred Junge (Black Narcissus, 1953’s Knights of the Round Table) makes The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp one of the most arresting Technicolor productions ever. The vibrancy of the colors leap from the screen – even the gray interiors of modern buildings and the browns of the World War I trenches and wooden panels of Candy’s estate. One crane shot of Candy and Theo during their first encounter – a swordsmen’s duel inside a cavernous hall, away from the freezing storm outdoors – and the fade into the shot of a building model gives the film the feel of an oral history where the most dynamic moments can never be truly captured. Those moments of action blur into Candy’s memory, as tangible now as the buildings inside a snow globe. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp might not have the dedication to visual leitmotif as The Red Shoes does, but its visual interest outstrips all but the most masterful Technicolor pictures of the 1940s.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was cognizant of the buffoonish Colonel Blimp and, in addition to Lieutenant-later-General Candy, believed the characters were modeled after his appearance and behavior. Furthermore, considering how Powell and Pressburger imbued Theo with such humanity, Churchill – who had only read of the filmmakers’ preliminary plans for their film and never saw any footage – believed that The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp would only undermine morale for the war effort. In response, Churchill directed his Minister of War, Sam James Grigg, to suppress the picture to the extent that he could. Grigg denied Powell and Pressburger access to matériel, but the filmmakers had friends in the correct places to procure military uniforms, vehicles, and weapons necessary for their production. Despite Powell and Pressburger’s resourcefulness, Churchill succeeded in preventing the international distribution The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp for at least one year after its 1943 release. The film’s American debut would not occur until March 1945. For the American release, the film lost thirteen minutes of its 163-minute runtime; television screenings further reduced the work to ninety minutes up until the mid-1980s.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp might not seem like accessible viewing. This is a tale of an aging British military officer clinging to the ideals of his militaristic youth, long after when such ideals had purpose, let alone meaning to the young people of his present. It is rooted deeply into early twentieth century British culture, with an opening that might only serve to confuse a new viewer as it transitions to flashbacks. However, like any Powell and Pressburger film (and this might not even be the duo’s best work), there is much to offer. This is a love story, with love shown in various forms: for the first true love of Candy’s life, for the man who should be his enemy, for country. The genre gymnastics on display – a war film with nary any war violence; a romance without torrents of romance; a comedy without boisterous belly laughs – allow any caring viewer to witness General Candy grow into his times, all while retaining traces of a self that no longer is. That growth is subtle, but enveloping. His story feels like the origins of present-day Britain, its empire slipping away, wresting with a world no longer bowing in deference. As we must guard against the unexamined life, so too, Candy realizes, must he.

My rating: 10/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is the one hundred and sixty-fifth feature-length or short film I have rated a ten on imdb. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

*The longest film I have seen in one interrupted sitting at home was Lawrence of Arabia (1962), in all its 227-minute glory.

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

[peekbackstage]

Hi! Recently Xiao Zhan has been trending worldwide for every event he attends to. What does it mean in practice? I'll try to better explain myself... Does it matter for his career? In your opinion will we be able, for example, to see him working outside of China too, such as for example by releasing singles, traveling like Jackson Wang and some other do and so on? Thank you in advance for your comments!

Disclaimer: The following response is informed by my experience working in the music industry.

When Asian artists trend worldwide, management companies definitely take notice. The fact that their artist has the ability to not only command domestic engagement but also international, global engagement is huge - especially if it’s on a platform such as Twitter.

In the case of Xiao Zhan, while Xiao Zhan Studio certainly would take notice of the fact that he is trending overseas, the question of whether or not he can work outside of China is far more complicated. Unlike Jackson Wang, who is actually from Hong Kong and also in a Korean boy band, XZ is from mainland China. His primary market is also based in China, where virtually all of his money is made. 

It is important to remember that when artists go overseas, they are losing out on money that can be made at home. The opportunity cost in some cases can be huge - especially if you consider that the sort of guarantees an artist can command at home can be far higher than the kind of guarantee they can command overseas. 

If an artist usually requests $1M USD per performance domestically, chances are, overseas, this amount would be far lower, unless the artist really does have a fanbase that can sell out an entire arena. So unless there is a really good reason for giving up that money they can make at home, such as wanting to develop the artist’s career internationally by casting them in a Hollywood movie (such as what Kris Wu did) it just doesn’t make a lot of financial sense. That being said, if the CCP suggested that XZ act as a cultural ambassador for them to bridge China and the rest of the world, similar to what they did with Fan Bing Bing, then that might make sense to XZS, as they can’t very well say no to the CCP, even if it means a significant pay cut for XZ. 

Releasing a single overseas is less risky, as it doesn’t require any kind of opportunity cost. It’s just a matter of the right distribution. But while XZ’s music could potentially sell abroad, it would never be able to compete with the selling power the domestic fan base would have. 

However, to stage a tour overseas for an Asian artist - let alone a Chinese artist - is actually extremely difficult. I could write more about this at length if anyone actually is curious how it would work, but I don’t want to get too off-topic here.

Pretty much, XZ trending internationally doesn’t actually mean that much to XZS if they have zero goals to ever develop his career internationally. (The fact that he does not have an official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter says a lot right now.) However, it can mean quite a lot to international brands who might be more willing to work with him in the Chinese market, which could arguably help XZ’s career as a whole. It might also make the international music industry take notice, especially if a music video exploded in views on YouTube and a release started to chart on Billboard. It may mean potentially being nominated for awards - and even winning.   

And if that happens, then maybe XZS might start to direct their attention outside of China’s borders. But until then, it is unlikely for there to be international development unless there is truly a great opportunity that they simply can’t turn down. 

[3pirouette]

Fic: Fighting Doesn't Make You a Hero (2/?)

Title: Fighting Doesn't Make You a Hero

By: TriplePirouette/3Pirouette

Disclaimer: They're not mine.

Distribution: AO3 Anyone else please ask first :)

Story Summary: StuntCoordinator!Steve meets Actress!Peggy, who is an absolute menace when it comes to stunts.

Chapter Summary: Steve falls hard for Peggy (figuratively) while Peggy falls hard (literally).

A/N: Here’s some more of the story I tried so hard to write last year when I put this little AU out. Also, this is the “more” that I think only one person actually asked for. Hope you like it, anyway. I’ve always loved this idea, the rest of the story has just alluded me until now. For Steggy Week ’21 Day 3: Favorite AU.

Apparently, there will be more of this, because my brain has FINALLY figured out how this is supposed to go, and it’s not just one chapter’s worth. Sheesh.

Also, if it is not clear (it should be…) I know nothing about stunts or stage fighting. Completely made up. Please enjoy.

~*~

Chapter 2: Thrust and Parry

It was hard to be nice to her when he was waiting for the next injury to occur. He was professional, clear, and concise. They rehearsed for hours straight on Wednesday for a long, single shot of her moving through a room full of stunt men for one of the climatic battles.

Though no one got seriously hurt, there were a few bumps and bruises that shouldn’t have happened.

It was hard not to be harsh with her, not to be demanding. He could see moments of beauty in how she moved, but then she’d go too far and make contact. He had to find a way of breaking her of it, if not for his own safety, for that of the stuntmen around him.

~*~

It was an early call for the shot they’d spent the entire previous day rehearsing. He was bleary and chugging coffee as quick as he could stomach it. Peggy was already on her way out of hair and make-up as he passed the trailer. She gave him a shy half smile as she passed him, being ushered from one trailer to the next to be slid into her ridiculously tight costume.

On one hand, he got it. He couldn’t deny that she looked absolutely gorgeous in that costume. (How long he’d spent thinking last night about her in that costume and what she might be able to do with that Lasso of Truth absolutely was not relevant…) But from a practical standpoint the costume wasn’t realistic at all, and she wobbled horribly on the stilettos. They had to stop rolling often to keep her taped into the thing.

The stuntmen around him were warming up, and he even heard a few near him joking about wearing cups. He gave them a sharp look, waiting until everyone was quiet before he reviewed timing and patterns while they waited for her to come out to set.

The director wasted no time once Peggy was on set. They made minor adjustments to the cameras and rolled on the first run through. He was proud as he watched them all, every move was timed right and it looked fantastic. He waited, with a smile, for the director to give his notes.

There wasn’t much for his team, but the director took Peggy aside and gave her quite notes and reset the scene quickly. He shot it over and over, from new angles and with different lenses, and by the time it was over, there were three black eyes and a cracked camera lens.

Peggy’s assistant ushered her off set as soon as they cut the last take, the star unable to look him in the eyes as she walked past.

~*~

The director decided, after a short break, he wanted another go at the capturing the pattern. Steve reluctantly went off in search of Peggy, hoping to figure out where she’d gone wrong that morning. He couldn’t find her in her trailer, and her assistant only pointed vaguely towards the parking lot.

He found her in a far hidden corner of the lot, sitting on the edge of a flower pot, crying. He was startled by a side of her he wasn’t prepared to see. He thought maybe he’d be coming out here to find her sneaking a smoke or a flask of rum. He’d heard she was dangerous, a bitch, a tough broad who didn’t care about the stunt men that she hurt. This didn’t really fit with all the stories he’d heard. “Peggy?”

She moved to wipe away her tears, manicured fingers moving swiftly and carefully around the fake lashes and caked on make-up. “I’m sorry. I’ll be right there. He wants another take, right?”

Steve crouched down next to her. “Are you… are you ok?”

She laughed, watery and weary. “Oh, good lord, no, but I’ll be there in a minute.” She waved her hand at him. “I’ll have to stop in make-up first.”

Steve stood hesitantly, astonished at how she pulled herself together so quickly. “Is there… is there anything I can do?”

She looked up at him, taking a deep breath. “I don’t mean to hurt anyone, I promise. I mean, I know I have a reputation, but… I’m not an action hero. I’ve never been physical. I’m not good at it.” She shook her head. “I’m a Shakespearean actress.” She stood, wiping at her mouth and pacing. “Give me Ophelia or Bianca or Beatrice. Hell, even give me a sword fight. I can fence, you know. But one time I get a tiny part in an action film and all of a sudden, I’m being type cast as some action hero and no one ever even taught me how to do any of this!” She was pacing quickly now, the rant spilling from her lips like a waterfall of words she couldn’t stop if she tried, her weariness evident with each syllable. “Not once was I instructed on the how, just, ‘punch here’ and ‘kick there.’ And it was fun so I kept doing it. I thought it was worth it, you know? But I should be saying no. The sane thing to do would be to say no to all of this but I mean, who says no to Wonder Woman?!” Peggy stopped, her face morphing as she realized all she’d said, her hands coving her mouth for a moment before she forced herself back into a stoic, hard shell. Her chin wobbled, betraying her hidden emotion as she pushed past him towards the make-up trailer. “Just know I don’t mean it. And I’m sorry.”

He watched her move away, stunned in her wake. He didn’t quite know what to do with that information, but he was quickly starting to feel a soft spot for her forming. He moved quickly back to set, relaying that she would be there soon and watching the team of stuntmen around him stretch to perform the scene once more.

She was back on set, looking fresh and happy, in just minutes. He ran them through the pattern again, and watched closer this time.

Once he’s shed himself of expectations, it was easy to see that she really didn’t have any idea what she was doing. She was a natural mover, to the point where he figured she was probably a good dancer, and that went a long way to hiding the technical flaws. But she was jerky when she tried to pull her punches and she wobbled off balance when she held back power in her kicks. She misjudged force when blocking constantly, and it put her on her heels, literally.

She was on her back in a blink when she shouldn’t be, coughing and sputtering. She had the air torn from her lungs with the impact, and everyone froze in place.

Steve bounded over, pushing through his stunt team to kneel by her side. Her eyes were closed, pressed tight. “Peggy, are you ok?” She was gasping, trying to get the rhythm of breathing back. “Slow in through your nose, slow out through your mouth, ok?”

He lifted her hand in his as she nodded, sputtering once more before slowly getting a deep breath in, and then another. He squeezed her hand tight. “Good, good.” He smiled when she blinked her eyes open, her breath starting to come back. “Better?”

She nodded, but he could see the frustration and fear in her eyes, welling tears following quickly.

“Let’s get her checked out,” the director called. “We got what we needed anyway.”

Peggy tried to sit her up, but Steve pushed her back down. “Wait until the medic gets here, ok?”

“I’m fine,” she argued, having tamed the tears quickly.

“Be that as it may,” he smiled, whispering, “You know what the protocol is.”

It wasn’t quite a smile, but it was the closest he saw to one today as her hand held tight to his. “Fine. Just this once.”

He moved away mindlessly when the medic came in and started talking to her, checking for a concussion or cervical injury, eyes still on her face.

Forget about the Lasso of Truth, her smile would be what was haunting his dreams tonight.

~*~

He met her in the rehearsal gym, bright and early the next day. He was on the floor, warming up, when she came in, hair pulled back messily and no make-up on, thermos of coffee in her hands. She was pretty much the exact opposite of the made-up, costumed bombshell from yesterday, but he was no less enthralled with her.

He couldn’t help it: he smiled.

Her smile back was half hidden behind another sip of coffee. “Good morning,” she said softly in her lilting English accent that she covered up for her movie appearances.

“Morning,” he stood, wiping his hands on his pants. “How are you feeling?”

“Bit of a headache,” she replied, setting her coffee down and pulling off her jacket. “Are the rest of the team coming?”

Steve hung his head, bashful. “Uh, no. I had them stay last night and run through tomorrow’s scene with your double.”

“Oh.” Peggy froze, the word slipping out softly. She started putting her jacket back on, trying to hide her disappointment. “I didn’t get the message. I thought I was doing the scene.”

“You are!” Steve corrected quickly, holding his hand out. “I just thought…” He sniffed and cleared his throat, trying to sound as professional as he could. “After I found you yesterday, I watched you do the scene again. I mean, really watched you. And you’re right. You’re missing a lot of the basics.”

Peggy wrapped her jacket back around her, crossing her arms. “Yes, well, like I said—”

“You weren’t taught,” he supplied quickly and gently, eyes kind and open. He shrugged and tried to smile. “I thought we could spend some time on that this morning. You already know the scene, so if we go back in and fill in some of those blanks you have…” He trailed off, hoping she’d understand.

She licked her lip slowly, thinking. “And you told the other stuntmen to stay home because…”

He wasn’t sure what she thought he was going to say, but he could imagine how some of his collogues might have treated her and couldn’t say that he almost expected her surprise. “I don’t want you to feel like they were watching you, or judging you. It’s not your fault no one taught you this, or that whoever you’ve worked with before didn’t take the time to make sure you were doing it right.”

She bent, grabbing her coffee to try to hide the shock he saw. She took a long swing and then nodded, pulling her jacket off again. “Alright then.”

He waved his hand, signaling her to follow him to the middle of the cushioned floor.

She was a quick study, and he’d been right as she eventually reveled somewhere in their discussions of balance and force, that she’d been a dancer before she became an actress.

“ACL surgery,” she replied, pulling up the leg of her legging and showing him the scar on her knee that he was sure must have been covered by make-up every other time he’d seen her. “Retore after the first surgery, and I never danced the same after.”

The melancholy that had started to disappear as they’d been going through their first few lessons returned, and Steve swore he’d do anything to see a smile on her face again. After a moment, he pulled up the sleeve on his t-shirt and showed her the crisscrossing pattern on his shoulder. “Cool scar, but I think this one wins.”

“Ohhh,” Peggy reached out, her fingertips lightly brushing over the flattened lines. “What happened?”

“IED just outside of Fallujah. Caught our caravan off guard.” He turned, pulling the shirt back more to show her the back of the shoulder. “Two bullets, six pieces of shrapnel, three torn tendons and almost a year of physical therapy.”

She let her hand run down his arm in a gentle way that made his heart pound. “Is that why you got out?”

He shrugged, stepping away and pulling his sleeve down. “It’s why they wouldn’t let me back in, so yeah, I guess you could say that.”

“Do you miss it?” Peggy asked, truly interested.

He paused. He wasn’t sure anyone had ever asked him that before. He must have been quiet long enough that she took his lack of an answer as not wanting to answer, because she started rambling, stepping over to get more coffee.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I only asked because,” she paused to sip, taking a deep breath. “Well, because I didn’t really get to choose to stop dancing, my body chose for me. And as much as I love this…” she paused, her voice growing quieter as she looked down at her coffee, “sometimes I miss it.”

Steve softly stepped towards her. “This can be a lot like dancing, you know.” He held out his hand.

Peggy set her coffee down and took it, a smile on her face. “Really?”

He nodded, giving her a gentle pull that pulled her towards his body. “Think of it less like moves and add beats to it.” He started counting softly in fours, walking them through the pattern they’d just practiced: step forward, step back, parry, swing and miss, swing and block, swing, connect, turn under and sweep the leg.

Peggy laughed with delight as they stopped, standing. “That was… so much easier!”

Steve couldn’t help but smile back, she looked like an excited child on Christmas morning and he wanted more of that. “See? I told you. You just needed to understand it a little more. To figure out how to make it make sense to you.”

She bounced on the balls of her feet, excited. “Can we try the second pass?”

He nodded, stepping in front of her. He started counting again as she squeaked with happiness behind him. Push, pull, drop, jump, punch, punch… they moved through with the fluidity he knew she possessed but had somehow never understood or tapped into before. He smiled at her as they finished the set: her wrists in his hands, held over her head as they stood face to face.

They both smiled, but didn’t move. Steve could feel his heart pounding, and if the look on her face was any indication, the moment wasn’t one sided.

But he was here professionally, and it did no good to lean in and kiss her breathless like he wanted. He started to pull away quickly, but Peggy grabbed his hands, keeping him close. “Thank you,” she whispered, eyes shining with an emotion he didn’t want to think too hard about.

He didn’t understand. “For what?”

“For this.” She shrugged, twining her fingers with his. “For not just believing I’m a dangerous bitch who doesn’t care who she hurts. For taking the time to actually teach me,” she smiled, “and get to know me.”

It was still between them, and he could tell what they both wanted, but he couldn’t give in. Not while they were in the middle of the movie and he knew she’d still need so much more help if she was going to make it to the end of all of the complicated fight scenes and wire work. Instead, he redirected, smiling wide. “Don’t thank me yet. We’ve got to do all that again, but this time, in the heels.”

Peggy frowned, but didn’t let go of his hands. “Bloody hell, I hate those fucking things.”

[melanielocke]

Lost in the Shadows - chapter 11

AO3

Chapter list is getting a bit long, link to all chapters is on my pinned post.

Taglist: @nott-the-best @foxglove-airmid @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @justanormaldemon @styxdrawings @ipromiseiwillwrite

Cordelia dreamt of a castle in the middle of the forest. She wasn’t sure what was happening, all she knew was she needed to get away, this wasn’t right. There was a woman with empty eyes and long dark hair, something similar to what Thomas had described when he’d seen the washer woman? She was carrying a basket with bloodied clothes and bent over into a stream to wash them. This had to be her, the same woman Thomas had seen.

‘Bearer of cortana,’ she hissed, her voice an awful shriek. ‘Beware the thief of souls.’

Cordelia woke up and when she checked her phone she realized it was noon. Everyone had to be up already, she rarely slept this late. She had gone to bed at eleven yesterday and fallen asleep rather soon, which meant she had slept for thirteen hours. Cordelia wondered why, she rarely slept this long. Yesterday had been a long and exhausting day for sure, but this exhausting? She picked out a simple dress and changed. Dresses were easy in that regard, since it only required her to pick out one item of clothing and she was done, instead of having to match several pieces.

Lucie was eating at the table, and Cordelia wondered if that was her breakfast or lunch. Considering the time, probably lunch.

‘Did you sleep well?’ she asked. ‘I was beginning to wonder if you were going to wake up at all, or if you needed a prince to come kiss you awake. Or princess. Royal figure of indetermined gender.’

‘I did have a weird dream,’ Cordelia said, rubbing her eyes. ‘I only just woke up. Which is weird, because I don’t usually sleep for thirteen hours.’

‘You must be very well rested then,’ Lucie said, getting up from her seat to make Cordelia some toast.

Cordelia yawned. ‘Not really. Any news?’

‘You’re the only one who slept late,’ Lucie said. ‘Thomas and Alastair went to take another walk, they’re not back yet. I’ve been theorizing on what Tatiana is doing, or what Grace is and where she came from, but so far I’m not getting any further than her trying to bring back Jesse.’

‘Alastair is an early riser, always has been,’ Cordelia said. ‘Thomas too, apparently.’

Alastair often had nightmares and with his irregular sleeping pattern, Cordelia sometimes wasn’t sure if he slept at all. And he wondered why he was always tired.

‘Uncle Gideon still thinks he might be able to reach his sister, and went into the village again,’ Lucie added. ‘Dad is with him, he doesn’t trust Tatiana but is willing to give it one more chance. So far, they didn’t find her.’

Cordelia didn’t know Tatiana and didn’t want to judge, but if her intention was to bring back her son, she wasn’t sure Gideon would be able to change her mind.

‘Have you ever heard of the thief of souls?’ Cordelia asked.

Lucie frowned. ‘Maybe… It does sound like something out of a book, maybe. Although that could have been thief of hearts too. No, doesn’t ring any bells.’

‘In my dream someone said “Beware the thief of souls”,’ Cordelia said. ‘It could be just an ordinary dream, but I can’t be sure. It might be important.’

Cordelia tried to connect the term with what Lucie had learnt about Jesse Blackthorn. He’d died, and he’d disappeared somewhere, reappearing recently around the same time a washer woman warned Thomas of unpaid debts.

‘What if Jesse didn’t just die?’ Cordelia suggested. ‘What if this thief of souls is called by that title because it takes people’s souls in exchange for whatever someone asks for, and that’s what happened to Jesse.’

‘And then Tatiana made another deal to get him back, and right now he is a ghost,’ Lucie said. ‘Which might explain why the debt is no longer considered paid even if Jesse is still dead.’

‘But if that’s true, then how can we save Thomas?’ Cordelia asked. ‘We’d have to give back Jesse.’

‘Or we defeat the thief of souls,’ Lucie suggested. ‘That way we can save both Jesse and Thomas. No one deserves to be held as a price by such a being.’

‘Can something called the thief of souls even be killed though,’ Cordelia mused. ‘It sounds like a very powerful, perhaps even immortal being.’

‘They say cortana can kill anything, right?’ Lucie said.

‘You’re right, they say it can even kill immortal beings. But I’m not sure even with cortana I would stand a chance against such a thing, there’s also the matter of fighting it. I’m not giving up on either of them and if it comes down to a fight, I will fight. But perhaps we’re overlooking something and there’s another way to save them both.’

Still, if there was a way to kill such a thing, it was cortana. Cordelia would give it her best. She’d always wanted to be a hero, now she would have to prove she had what it took.

‘I don’t like giving up on Jesse’s soul,’ Lucie said. ‘And we definitely can’t let Thomas die.’

‘Either way, I’m going to practice,’ Cordelia said.

She and Alastair had practiced fighting together in childhood, both carrying wooden swords that had been made to match cortana in weight distribution. Since the real sword was so sharp, practicing with it together was too dangerous, but the wooden swords had worked. Alastair had lost interest in his early teens after cortana had chosen Cordelia, only joining her in practice when she begged him to.

She was used to the sword now, to its weight, the way it felt in her hand, and she knew how to fight with it. She’d never actually fought anything though, and according to her father that was the best way to learn. He’d trained her when she was very young. Their training together had become less and less frequent though, and for a long time Cordelia thought it was because he’d gotten sick.

She practiced her movement with the sword, repeating combinations of both attacks and defenses in one fluid motion. Cordelia had never doubted that someday she would fight evil with cortana. It was her destiny after all, and someone had to carry the sword. She’d always wanted to be a hero, like her father once was.

But now everything was coming much closer than she liked. Now Thomas’ life was in danger and Cordelia had no idea how to save him. Now she realized cortana alone might not be enough. Not when she had no idea what to fight, no idea what was coming to claim Thomas’ life. She wasn’t so sure anymore if this life was going to be what she dreamed it would be. She was scared she would end up like her father. Alastair refused to admit it, but Cordelia suspected he shared that fear, even if he had decided he didn’t want to devote his life to the supernatural.

‘That looks good,’ Lucie said. ‘Could you teach me, how to use a weapon?’

Cordelia frowned. ‘I only have cortana, I don’t have any other swords. Alastair does have daggers though. When he comes back, you could ask him to borrow one. Even if you don’t know how to fight with it, you would have a chance to defend yourself.’

Cordelia continued with some more complicated moves, practicing swift dodges followed by attacks. She had to be ready for anything. Lucie returned inside, and emerged a while later with a glass of water.

‘You need anything to drink?’

Cordelia gratefully took the glass of water and drunk it all as fast as she could, spilling a few drops. When training, Cordelia tended to get lost in herself and forget to drink. Lucie had the same problem when she was writing, but had several daily phone alarms telling her to drink.

‘I looked up that boy in the lake to see if they made any progress in the investigation,’ Lucie said. ‘So far it seems like he drowned, but the parents requested an autopsy because they think it’s unlikely since their son is such a good swimmer.’

Cordelia had expected as much. ‘At least now the parents have some closure. Poor child.’

‘I can’t imagine,’ Lucie said. ‘And the story of being trapped, it’s so similar to what Jesse said. Although the boy didn’t mention seeing any monsters or being stalked by something.’

‘There are vague stories of people getting trapped in places in the wild, but I’ve never seen anything that proves it’s real,’ Cordelia said. ‘Nothing like you described, at least not in the stories I remember from my father.’

‘I imagine most people don’t live to tell the tale,’ Lucie said.

‘I know, but… My father might have survived such a thing, and I don’t think I ever heard about it from him.’

Cordelia suspected that with the many years her father had travelled the world to slay evil creatures, he had told her and Alastair the most exciting stories and there were a few she might not have heard. Though she imagined something trapping people would be considered exciting. Perhaps her father did know more, but Cordelia was terrified to contact him, and she didn’t want to ask anyone else to either.

She still felt betrayed by him. She could sympathize with an addiction, it was an illness and she couldn’t blame him for seeking something that eased his pain. She knew her father had seen things most only saw in horror movies, she understood why he might want to forget. But he’d lied to her about it. She knew why Alastair had wanted to protect her, she didn’t blame him for not telling her the truth. Her father though? He’d gladly gone along with Alastair’s attempts to keep her in the dark, pretending to be overcome with sickness when he was drunk. Pretending the scent of alcohol was really medication for his illness. He’d often asked for her when he was sick, and she’d gone to read him stories, to keep him company while he rested. She hadn’t understood at the time, why Alastair didn’t like her taking care of him, why he’d insisted Father was sick and needed sleep even when her father kept asking for her.

As a dutiful daughter, she’d always gone when her father asked for her. She’d read him stories, kept him company, believing he was sick and not drunk. She had given up other obligations for him. She’d missed school parties she’d been excited about, because she couldn’t bear to leave her sick father after he’d asked her to stay.

Only now did she realize that as a father, he should have encouraged her to go anyway and have fun. That taking care of her father was not her responsibility and he should not have expected her to give up so much for him. Alastair had always tried to convince her that it was fine, that he could take care of Father too and he didn’t need her there. A couple of times he had managed to convince her, Alastair insisting she would regret it for a long time if she missed Lucie’s birthday party. She was still grateful that Alastair had practically dragged her away that day. No one else had shown up for Lucie, all the other children she’d invited thought she was weird and at that age Lucie had been desperate to be liked by her peers. Cordelia had almost abandoned Lucie too.

Now she understood why father had always asked for her, and not Alastair or her mother. She’d always believed it was because she was more like her father, because she was more affectionate whereas Alastair and her mother were rather closed off. Now she understood her father had preferred her because she was the only one who didn’t know he was drunk, because she would be kind and feel sorry for his sickness whereas Alastair resented him for being too drunk to be take care of his children. No, even if he knew the most about the supernatural from all his travels, Cordelia was not ready to call him to ask and she would never ask Alastair to do such a thing. No matter how betrayed she felt, what he’d been through was worse and he should never have to speak to their father again.

‘You alright, Daisy?’ Lucie asked.

‘Just thinking,’ she said. ‘Maybe my father does know more, but I can’t… I really can’t ask him.’

Lucie nodded. ‘I understand. If you really think he knows more, perhaps dad can call him instead to ask. And perhaps uncle Gabriel and aunt Cecily know more as well.’

Cordelia figured she could ask, but she feared her father would make it difficult for them. She’d learnt just how manipulative he could be, and she could easily imagine him refusing to talk to Will unless he’d let him talk to her.

Cordelia decided to practice a little longer, it had been a while with everything that had happened lately, and there wasn’t much space or opportunity at her aunt Risa’s apartment. She couldn’t be unprepared.

Lucie sat down to watch, book in hand, but Cordelia didn’t think she was making any progress reading. Instead, Cordelia caught her staring at her movement. Perhaps Lucie was studying her movements, in an attempt to learn more about fighting herself. Ultimately, it all came down to practice though. You didn’t learn how to fight by watching other people do it.

‘Aren’t Alastair and Thomas taking a little long?’ Lucie wondered. ‘They left early in the morning.’

‘I figured they’d be at the cottage with Sophie,’ Cordelia said. ‘They’re not?’

‘Mom is there with aunt Sophie,’ Lucie said. ‘She just texted me, we could come over for some tea as well. She mentions all four of us, apparently aunt Sophie would like it if Thomas came back for tea as well. So mom must have assumed they returned here after she left.’

Cordelia frowned. ‘What time is it?’

‘Four in the afternoon,’ Lucie said. ‘Dad also texted that he and uncle Gideon couldn’t find Tatiana and are coming back. But I haven’t heard anything from Alastair and Thomas. I’m not sure about Alastair, but it’s not like Thomas to disappear for so long and not let anyone know.’

Alastair could lose track of time on his long walks, but this was extreme even for his standards, and he would have at least texted her by now if he’d changed plans.

‘That is one long walk’ Cordelia said. ‘I’ll call Alastair.’

She turned cortana back into her necklace and took her phone out of her pocket, calling her brother. He didn’t answer, which was unlike him. She tried again. Nothing. She texted him instead, asking him if he was alright and when to expect him back. Alastair didn’t receive the message, maybe his phone had died. He rarely forgot to charge it though.

‘He’s not answering,’ Cordelia said. ‘I’ll try Thomas.’

Thomas didn’t pick up either, after several tries, and when Cordelia texted him he didn’t receive anything either.

‘Nothing either.’

‘Perhaps they don’t have cell service,’ Lucie said. ‘If you go far enough into the woods, that would happen.’

Cordelia guessed Lucie had a point, but that didn’t explain why they were spending almost a whole day into the woods. They weren’t experienced hikers, they must get tired at some point, right? And they would have at least let someone know if they would be gone for so long, this was worrying even for Alastair.

‘Maybe we should go looking for them.’

‘They could be making out though, maybe they don’t want to be interrupted,’ Lucie suggested.

Cordelia frowned. ‘In the middle of the woods?’

Lucie shrugged. ‘Who am I to judge?’

‘They’ve been gone for long enough that I think we should go looking,’ Cordelia said. ‘They could be in trouble.’

She put on some different shoes that were better suited for the forest and texted Will they were going to look for Alastair and Thomas, warning them to come find them if they took too long.

‘Do you really think they could be in trouble?’ Lucie asked when they walked into the forest, nervous.

Cordelia understood Lucie was scared, but if she was then how had she run after Tatiana into the woods just yesterday evening? If anything, her friend was chaotic.

The forest was a bit darker than she was used to in the bright sun, which was odd. The fog was a little thicker than usual, and Cordelia made sure to stay close to Lucie.

‘I don’t know,’ Cordelia said. ‘But only one way to be sure.’

A howl pierced the air. Cordelia could only tell the general direction it was coming from. It didn’t quite sound like a wolf, but it was similar enough.

‘Stay behind me,’ Cordelia said, removing her necklace and taking cortana into her hand. ‘I don’t know what that is, but I’m not going to let it harm my brother.’

[365days365movies]

January 16, 2021: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)

I am a massive comic book nerd. Not unusual these days, to be fair. But I’m definitely up there, as far as my obsession with Marvel and DC go. And, yeah, I stick mostly to those two houses, and their various imprints.

Why do I bring this up? Well...remember this movie?

Kick-Ass was a pretty big deal when it came out in 2010, as it was a Marvel Comics movie that was completely unrelated to the relatively new Marvel Cinematic Universe. Based of a 2008 comic book written by Mark Millar and drawn by John Romita Jr., the film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, and featured a more realistic take on how real-world superheroes would actually work.

Vaughn and Millar by this point at least, were friends. Around 2012, they’re getting drunk at a pub together, and talking movies. The topic of spy movies come up, and how there hasn’t really been a good, non-parody, fun spy movie, and that there should be. And that was the bulk of their conversation.

Enter Dave Gibbons, a legendary comic book artist, whom you may know from drawing the comic book that was turned into this:

Oh yeah, he’s a big deal. Gibbons and Millar end up getting together to write a fun spy comic book based on this idea. Vaughn, meanwhile, is getting ready to direct X-Men: Days of Future Past, the sequel to X-Men: First Class, which Vaughn directed. That’s a good movie, by the way, even if I have...issues...with the treatment of the X-Men in film. Maybe one day I’ll get into that, we’ll see what happens. Ask me about it if you’re curious.

Anyway, Millar goes to Vaughn with this script, and Vaughan looks at it and realizes that he needs to direct this movie before somebody else makes it. So he leaves Days of Future Past, and he signs on to...

I feel like it’s an obligation, as a comic book dude, to watch this film. I should also read the book, but I didn’t do that with Kick-Ass, so to hell with it! Let’s get this recap started! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

Starting off with some Money for Nothing, and somewhere in the Middle East, 1997! We go into a stone temple, where some kind of mission is taking place. A surprise grenade causes the loss of one of the agents. The surviving agents are Merlin (Mark Strong), Lancelot AKA James Spencer (Jack Davenport), and Galahad, AKA Harry Hart (Colin Firth).

Hart, feeling guilty over the death of this agent, tells his wife, Michelle (Samantha Womack) and child Eggsy (yes, Eggsy) of his sacrifice, and gives Eggsy a medal.

From there, we jump forward 17 years, to Argentina where...Mark Hamill?

Holy shit, it’s Mark Hamill! Apparently, he’s playing Professor James Arnold, and being held hostage by a group of mysterious men. Just then, he’s rescued by Lancelot, showing up with some classic James Bond-style swagger and asking for a cup of sugar, sardonically.

He kicks the asses of these guys, but is SLICED IN HALF BY A MAN WITH SWORD LEGS WHAT THE FUCK????

I’m sorry, I didn’t realize I was watching the best thing I’ve ever goddamn seen. And as if that weren’t enough, she’s working for Samuel L. “Motherfucker” Jackson, playing Richmond Valentine. I am...I am so pleased.

We go to the Kingsmen headquarters, where Lancelot is being mourned by the Kingmen and their leader MICHAEL CAINE, REALLY, HOLY SHIT

Ahem. Sorry, uh...the star-studded cast has basically caused me to have a minor aneurysm. Caine plays Arthur, the leader of the Kingsmen. Get it? I can dig it, I’m a sucker for a good Arthurian reference. Anyway, now that Lancelot’s dead, it’s time to find a new candidate. Apparently, the man that died 17 years ago was part of an “experiment” by Hart, which Arthur says has failed. Galahad calls Arthur a snob, and says that they need to evolve with the times. \

Speaking of that former candidate, how’s his son doing?

Not stellar, it seems. His mom is dating a very unsavory gentleman, and not really taking good care of her youngest daughter. Eggsy (Taron Egerton), on the other hand, is a carefree delinquent. After engaging in an entertaining backwards car chase with the police (it’s cool), he gets arrested. He refuses to give up his friends, and he instead asks for a phone call.He looks at the medallion around his neck, and remembers that he can use the number of the back to contact someone for help. He uses a specific code phrase, but it appears not to have worked. But then, Eggsy is turned loose with little more than a phone call. That’s when Eggsy meets Hart.

We find out that Eggsy has a high IQ and Olympic-level athletics, but has dropped out of the Marines, and has been arrested for drugs and other illegal activities. After being read out by Hart, Eggsy goes on an anger-filled diatribe about the differences in privilege between the two of them. Although it’s short, it’s a powerful speech.

But that speech is interrupted by the owner of the car that Eggsy stole the previous night, as well as his gang. They’re yearning for a fight with Eggsy, and they threaten Hart. He doesn’t take that well, as he shuts the doors and windoes to the pub. Time to teach a lesson.

Yup, I’m giving this fight the posted video award. It might be short, but it’s also one of the best and coolest sequences I’ve ever seen in a spy movie. And OH, it’s giving me that gadget shit I was missing from the Bond movies.

After one of the most enjoyable fight sequences I’ve seen in a while, Eggsy’s understandably stunned. So is his stepfather Dean (Geoff Bell), the leader of the gang that Hart beat up in the pub. He’s not happy, and he beats Eggsy in their apartment, and that scene is...WHOOF. Much to their surprise, however, Hart’s left a device on Eggsy’s back. He threatens Dean through the device, and tells Eggsy to meet him at a tailor that he’d mentioned.

Once Eggsy escapes from Dean and the gang via nest parkour tricks, he makes his way to the tailor, where Hart officially brings him into the fold, giving him the opportunity to become a Kingsman. He exposits the history of the agency as a private group of spies, meant to protect the world while not bowing to the bureaucracy that plagues government-affiliated spy institutions.

We get to go to Kingsman Headquarters proper, and yeah...yeah, it’s cool. As compared to the other recruits, Eggsy’s pretty obviously out of place. This, of course, is part of the point, as Hart believes the Kingsmen could use someone with different life experiences and background. That would be the experiment mentioned earlier.

Eggsy’s competitors include Roxy (Sophie Cookson), who appears to actually be polite to him, unlike most of the potentials. They settle in for the night...but not for long. Their quarters fills with water, as the entirety of the Kingsmen head towards the showerheads and toilets for air. While they all succeed, Eggsy is the one who actually gets everyone out, by literally punching the window.

Unfortunately, for one of the candidates...it’s too late. These candidates could die in the hiring process. Rough.

Sadly, Mark Hamill also doesn’t quite make it, as Hart finds him, surprisingly freed from Valentine’s capture. As he’s questioned, Valentine is forced to kill him via Suicide Squad implant, and barely escaped from his men. Valentine and his henchwoman, Gazelle (Sofia Boutella) are trying to figure out who the Kingsmen are, to no avail at the moment.

Back with Merlin, who’s training the Kingsman candidates! They’re all told to get a puppy! Aw. Eggsy chooses J.B. a pug, under the mistaken impression that it’s a bulldog. And I’m not a pug person...but that puppy is cute as shit.

Time marches on, and the Kingsmen continue their training. Eggsy’s colleagues continue to discriminate against him, especially Charlie (Edward Holcroft). Hart, who was knocked out by the explosion, eventually wakes up. Valentine goes around to political leaders and proposes his plan to “save the world,” whatever that’s about to mean. Apparently, that includes giving the King of Sweden a surgical implant of some kind. Huh.

This, of course includes some, uh...conflict with Gazelle.

Awesome.

Eggsy’s in the final 6! As Hart congratulates him over this, we finally get some exposition on Richmond Valentine’s plan. See, that implant is the Suicide Squad bomb that killed Hamill, and Gazelle also has one. Additionally, he’s released a plan to the world that will provide free internet and phone data...forever. Not ominous at all, that.

After a cool skydiving training sequence, only three candidates are left. Hart, meanwhile, poses as a wealthy philanthropist, donating to Valentine’s cause. As a result, he’s treated to an extravagant dinner...of McDonald’s. Yes, it is the best product placement I’ve seen in a while, in case you were wondering. That reveal was hilarious.

Anyway, their conversation turns from talking about climate change studies and concerns, to their opinion of James Bond movies, in a lovely little piece of meta flavor. At this point, they would appear to understand each other’s role in the play, as it were. Forgot to mention, Valentine’s been kidnapping anyone who disagrees with his goals, while also distributing his free internet cards. So, there’s that. But he’s also trying to figure out what exactly the “Kingsmen” are. Speaking of...

Our three remaining Kingsman candidates are assigned a mission to seduce a young dignitary. However, all three of them make a mistake, and allow themselves to get drugged at a party, by someone wanting to know who Hart and Kingsmen are. When Eggsy wakes up, he’s been strapped to train tracks. Uh oh.

Despite an oncoming train, Eggsy doesn’t give the man any formation. Which, of course, was the point. It’s Hart, helping to give the Kingsman candidates a little loyalty test, which both Eggsy and Roxy pass with flying colors. But Charlie...Charlie’s a coward who immediately gives everything up, including Arthur himself.

Eggsy gets to spend 24 hours with Hart, before being thrown headfirst into a mission. Hart explains that being a Kingsman means being a gentleman, which Eggsy isn’t. Hart, of course, plans to fix that.

They head to the tailor, and check out some spy gadgets. And much to their surprise, Valentine is also there, under the guise of getting a suit. Hart takes the opportunity to recommend a hatter, who gives him a top hat with built in listening devices. I love it.

Eggsy, meanwhile, speaks with Arthur at Kingsman HQ. He’s commanded to perform one final test: kill his pug, J.B. Which...yeah, damn, that sucks. He doesn’t do it, understandably. Unfortunately...Roxy does kill her dog. She succeeds...and Eggsy’s kicked out of the Kingsman candidacy. Which feels like a bullshit play, if I’m honest.

Eggsy steals Arthur’s car, then goes back home. As he’s about to confront his stepfather, Hart brings back the car via remote access, then explains to Eggsy that the gun was filled with blanks, and that Eggsy ended up giving up his shot. He also reveals that the first candidate to die...didn’t actually die! It’s been a ruse all along, meant to test the candidates under the strictest of conditions. Which sucks, obviously, because Eggsy’s out of the program.

And at that point, Valentine says something of note, revealing that he plans to go to a hate church in Kentucky to begin his master plan. Hart heads there, and tells Eggsy to stay put.

We get treated to just...just the loveliest of sermons. Disgusting. But then...

...that’s the point, isn’t it?

Because Valentine uses the SIM cards to create a signal that drives the parishioners crazy. Hart’s also in the church, however, and he also starts going crazy. Which leaves the question: what happens when a highly trained spy goes up against untrained civilians, has a bunch of gadgets...and has absolutely no restraint whatsoever?

A MASSACRE, THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS. And most surprisingly, it’s a massacre that we actually SEE. Hart basically kills almost EVERYBODY in the church. I’ll put the video up, but...y’know, be warned here. It ain’t pretty.

Hart comes to, and realizes exactly what he’s done. He leaves, only to be confronted by Valentine and his men. The Bond metaphor finally comes full-circle, explained directly by Valentine. But instead of explaining his whole plan and devising some complicated way to kill Hart that he’ll inevitably escape from...

He just shoots Hart in the head. Holy shit. And this is while Merlin, Arthur, and yes, Eggsy watch on through Hart’s home feed. Looks like a new Kingsman is needed.

Arthur tells Merlin to assemble the Kingsmen. But Eggsy...Eggsy has other plans. Thinking on Hart’s words about wanting to do something good with his life. He goes to Arthur to talk to him about Hart’s death. Arthur invites him in for brandy. And that’s...when my mind exploded.

HE’S FUCKING IN ON IT?!? Michael Caine, NOOOO! Turns out that Valentine’s convinced Arthur of his true plan: a culling. He believes that the Earth’s temperature because there’s simply too much humanity, like a body trying to kill a virus. And so...he’s going to make the virus exterminate itself. And that argument’s enough to win Caine over.

Turns out that the implant is meant to protect those individuals against a neurological signal emitted by the SIM cards, the same one that went off in the church. Arthur, realizing that Eggsy understands exactly what’s going on, poisons him, then asks if he would like to join them. Eggsy refuses...and Arthur sets off the remote poison to kill him.

But NOPE! EGGSY SWITCHED THE FUCKIN’ GLASSES! I love this movie. Arthur dies, and Eggsy uses the opportunity to dig the implant from his neck. He takes that and Arthur’s phone to Merlin and Lancelot, who realize that they can’t trust anyone at this point. And so, the three of them - yes, the three of them - go to stop Valentine.

And, yeah...I can dig it. OH HOW I CAN DIG it.

Roxy goes up in an experimental vehicle to bring down the satellite, Merlin is flying the plane, and Eggsy...Eggsy’s the one going in disguised as Arthur, in order to infiltrate the mountain lair of Valentine. Here, he and the other beneficiaries wait it out, while the world literally tears itself apart. Now wearing a bespoke suit and playing the role of a gentleman, Eggsy enters the lion’s den.

But as expected, it’s time to hit some snags. Roxy waits juuuuuust a little too long, and one of the balloons in her craft pops. As for Eggsy, he meets an old “friend” of his in the form of Charlie, who’s now working for Valentine.

The missile’s fired just in time, as Charlie’s taken out and Eggsy runs for the plane. AWESOME climax here as Eggsy escapes. I mean it; it is VERY cool. They succeed JUST in time, and the satellite is destroyed. However, Valentine’s still managed to partially start the process, and they can’t do anything about that.

Eggsy’s gotta go BACK in, before Valentine gets another satellite to trigger the signal worldwide. Now armed with Hart’s AWESOME umbrella, he makes his way there under heavy gunshot. They’re also teaming up against Merlin in the plane, so he’s not doing great. And that when Eggsy has the idea...to turn the implants on. ALL of them.

It’s amazing. Violence in fireworks. So, it’s too bad that it doesn’t stop the signal. It works, and people start to tear each other apart all across the world. But only for was long as Valentine has his hands on the desk. Eggsy manages to stop that by laying down some suppressive fire.

That provokes a response.

..This movie is, for lack of a better term, fucking rad.

Gazelle and Eggsy have an awesome fight, worthy of any James Bond movie, seriously. I really want to give it the video post honor, but I’ve done that too much already. For god’s sake, I literally JUST did that.

Gazelle dies (it’s kinda goofy how she dies, if I’m honest), and Eggsy kills Valentine with her prosthetic leg. It’s over, as the signal ends, and Eggsy even gets the girl. Not Roxy, the Princess of Sweden. Not going into it, but it’s funny.

And that’s Kingsman: The Secret Service! Honestly, I gotta say, that was a rad-as-shit movie, and...

Ooh, a mid-credits scene! Eggsy goes back home, to the pub, where his stepfather and mom are hanging out with the gang. And let’s just say...Dean’s gonna get a little comeuppance. Manners, after all, maketh man.

OK, THAT’S Kingsman: The Secret Service! And that, again, was pretty rad. See you in the Epilogue in a few!

[extratragic]

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pairing: JJ Maybank x fem!reader

warning: under age drug/alcohol use, addiction 

word count: 1746

summary: after a year in rehab, the plan was to stay away from what got you in, but it was a lot harder than you expected

I was planning on doing this in one whole part, but I wanted to do the coming home part first and then the whole breakdown next :)

“Come on, y/n. Just once time,” Topper said, pulling you down beside him. 

“I dunno, Top,” you trailed off. 

Rafe pushed the line in front of you and you looked up at your brother who just smiled.

You wouldn’t think that your older brother would let you do drugs, but here you were, about to snort coke that your brother’s best friend was giving you. So you took the rolled-up dollar bill into your hands and bent over, breathing in the white powder. 

Rafe and Topper cheered you on and you giggled, leaning back on the couch and feeling the fast effects of the coke.

That night led to more parties and a lot more lines of coke. 

It also led to your boyfriend, JJ Maybank, to break up with you. 

”You’re breaking up with me because I’m having fun at a party?” You asked JJ.

“I’m breaking up with you because you’re a fucking addict and you don’t let me help you,” he told you.

“You’re one to fucking talk, Maybank. You can judge me when you don’t spend all day drinking and smoking,” you snapped before leaving. 

You went to JJ three months later after doing a few lines and drinking far too much, crying hysterically. Rafe and Kelce tried to force you into sleeping with them and Topper just laughed. 

JJ took you home and talked to your parents, but he made sure to leave Topper out of it. Of course he blamed your brother, but you didn’t want your mom to hate Topper even more. She was already hard on him without drugs being in the mix. 

That’s how you ended up in rehab for an entire year before you finally felt safe enough to be on your own.

Your mom picked you up and you sat awkwardly in the passenger seat as she drove. When she dropped you off a year ago, she was livid. She wouldn’t even speak to you. She didn’t visit for the first two months, no one did. But she started coming every other week when you called her crying about how you felt alone there. Things were still tense, but at least she was no longer visibly pissed. 

The first thing that you wanted to do was see JJ and his friends. 

You met JJ and Pope at Midsummer's one year when they were both helping Pope’s dad. You knew that JJ hated Kooks, but he seemed to have a soft spot for you, and he asked you out after a few weeks of endless flirting and days spent on your boat. 

He put up with your shit, and you loved him for it. You told him that you loved him before you left for rehab and made sure to tell him that it was okay if he didn’t feel the same. He had a lot more going on in his life that kept him from loving people, and that was okay with you. 

“Have you talked to any of your friends?” Your mom asked. 

“I told JJ that I might go see him tonight,” you answered. 

She hummed and you frowned at the look on her face. She never liked that you dated a Pogue. 

“Just for a little bit, though. I just want to be around people that I haven’t seen in a while,” you were quick to add. 

She nodded again and you sighed quietly. 

“Sarah said she’s excited to see me,” you told her. 

There’s a smile. 

“I’m sure she is. Are you excited to see her?” She asked. 

“I am. She told me that she would’ve come to see me, but Rose and Ward always had her doing something,” you said. 

“She’s been a very busy girl, barely even has time to see your brother,” she said.

You furrowed your eyebrows but you didn’t say anything. Sarah told you that she and your brother had broken up, but maybe Topper just didn’t tell your mom.

“Can I stay at her house tonight?” You asked.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sleep in your own bed tonight?” She asked.

You shrugged and looked out of the window.

“I haven’t been in my bed for almost a year. What’s one more night?” You asked.

“If you want to,” she told you.

You smiled and nodded, leaving the rest of the ride to be silent.

When you guys got home, you were quick to go up to your room and shower. The strong water presser was a total 180 from the showers at the rehab facility. It felt amazing to not have to worry about having strong hot water for more than five minutes.

After getting out, you slipped on your favorite cute and casual outfit and grabbed your car keys. You were most excited to drive again.

“Hey.”

You turned towards your bedroom door, seeing Topper standing in the doorway.

“Hi,” you said quietly.

“I’m so sorry, y/n,” he quickly apologized, almost running over to you. 

Tears filled your eyes and you hugged your older brother tightly, not wanting to let him go. His arms wrapped around your shoulders and you finally got to feel some form of love and comfort in what felt like forever. Topper fucked up a lot, sure, but he was your brother and he loved you more than you could love yourself. 

“I’m so sorry,” he repeated, sniffling. 

You shook your head and hugged him tighter.

“It’s okay. I’m okay,” you whispered. 

“It’s not okay. I should’ve taken you home. I never should’ve let you get involved in any of that,” he said.

You pulled away just enough so that you could look your brother in the eyes.

“I’m okay, Top. I forgave you a long time ago. I’m better now,” you told him, smiling softly.

He nodded and you hugged him again.

“I’m gonna see Sarah tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow and we can do something fun,” I told him.

“Yeah, okay,” he nodded.

You walked over to your bedroom door and stopped, turning to face him.

“And you should probably tell mom that you and Sarah broke up,” you said before leaving.

-

The Cameron household was a place that you knew just as well as your own home. Between hanging out with Sarah, helping babysit Wheezie, and occasionally hanging out with Rafe (before he was a total dick), you spend a lot of your childhood and so far teen years there.

So, when you opened the door without knocking, you didn’t process that it might worry the family.

“Who the hell is that?!” Sarah yelled.

“A psycho killer. You should really lock your doors,” you said.

“Y/n!” She squealed, running down the stairs and practically jumping into your arms.

You laughed and hugged her back tightly. It felt good to hug someone that simply just missed you. The people that you hugged while leaving rehab gave you goodbye hugs, not ‘I miss you so much’ hugs. Topper’s hug was more of an ‘I’m so sorry. I love you’ hug. But Sarah’s hug was a vice-like grip that neither of you wanted to end.

“Oh! Hi, y/n. I didn’t know you were home,” Ward Cameron said.

You never had a good relationship with Ward. Before Rafe became a dick, the two of you were friends, and you hated the way Ward treated him.

“Hey, Ward,” you smiled tightly. Sarah let go of you and Ward smiled at you.

“Rose and I are going to look at a house. You guys can do whatever for dinner. Just make sure your sister gets fed,” he said.

The two of you nodded, but you noticed how he didn’t say anything about Rafe. Instead of making a comment, the two of you went up to Sarah’s room.

“I almost had everything set up. Wheezie’s in her room and the snacks are still downstairs, but you sit. I’ll be back in a minute,” she said, running down the stairs.

You looked around the room, seeing a small projector pointed at the wall, one of Sarah’s blankets hanging so you could see the movie perfectly. The cover picture of your favorite movie was on the blanket, making you laugh. You felt bad that you were planning on ditching her, but you’d make it up the next night.

Wheezie and Sarah both came into the room after you made yourself comfortable on the bed.

“There’s my favorite Cameron,” you grinned.

Wheezie jumped onto the bed and hugged you tightly, making you laugh while hugging her back just as tight.

“I missed you,” she mumbled.

“Missed you too, girlfriend,” you replied.

Once all hugs were done with and snacks were distributed, Sarah pressed play and the three of you watched the movie.

At one point, you ended up with your head in Sarah’s lap, and Wheezie laid in front of you. Wheezie fell asleep towards the end, so when the movie ended, you turned towards Sarah with a small smile.

“I feel like a total bitch for this. You can totally say no if you don’t want to, but-”

“Go see JJ, y/n,” Sarah said, cutting off your rushed whispering.

“If my mom asks, I was with you all night. And I’ll make it up tomorrow,” you grinned.

“You better. Now go have a love life again,” she said, pushing you out of the bed.

You kissed her cheek and slipped your sandals on before sneaking out of the house. You’d done it with Sarah enough times to know exactly where to step and what stairs to avoid until you got outside. You got on Sarah’s bike and rode over to John B’s house, hoping that JJ would be there.

Leaving the bike against the side of the house, you knocked on the door and waited for a minute before it opened. 

“Y/n,” JJ grinned. 

“Hey,” you said, grinning shyly. 

He was quick to pull you into a hug, slowly swaying side to side with you in his arms. Your body still fit perfectly with his. Your head was on his shoulder, face tucked into his neck, while he pressed kissed to your head. 

The two of you were silent for a little while, just enjoying being in the others’ arms again. 

JJ’s hug was different than Sarah’s. His hug made you feel loved, but not like how you felt when Topper hugged you. No, JJ’s hug made you feel loved, warm, and safe. 

It felt like home.��