#conversation: melissa lin

[ayaz--ates]

@msmelissalin Time: after party.

Any other night, and he would've asked permission before joining her at her table. Tonight, though, the Rutherford lieutenant was so fed up, etiquette had followed his patience right out of the window. At least he'd brought an offering. Sliding the martini glass across the table, he eventually lowered himself into the seat beside her.

"Nice dress."

[aurelieparra]

@msmelissalin Event: Valentine's Day Auction. Time: After Party.

"The irony of bidding so much on something so utterly fucking worthless."

[aviv-kasyanenko]

@msmelissalin Location: Spoons because in this universe it's still a fuckin Spoons. Dated: 29/9/23.

Since his rather heated exchange with the croissant mother fuckers and Lara's right hand bitch—yet another that had landed him in a hospital bed, much to Konstantin's growing annoyance—Aviv had mostly kept to himself. Leaving his apartment was saved for work and the bare essentials, not that he minded much at all. The Israeli had no need to socialise beyond the Russians, nor did he want to...and now was proving precisely why that'd been one of his smarter ideas.

The one night he chose to head out for a drink, and a familiar face had to greet him.

They really had to stop running into each other like this. Or at all.

A subtle dig, just because he could: "This your new local or something?"

[constance-rutherford]

"A remarkably positive attitude given your nominations this evening. Commendable."

How was she? Not drunk enough for this conversation, that was for sure.

Constance looked at her in silence for a moment. What was the word for a dress like that? Not old enough to be considered vintage, but too much so to be considered becoming of a woman at the forefront of representing her hus--ex-husband. Several sprung to mind, but none of them were appropriate for civilised conversation. Thus, she remained silent, briefly taking a sip of champagne.

"You look nice."

FOR: @mobscene-starters WHEN: 23rd of March, 2024. WHERE: Royal Albert Hall. Pre-Awards.

"Is that all your mouths good for? Talking?" Melissa grumbled at Benjamin, he dripped a refined elegance that had her brow inching. Who'd brought him that? It hadn't been her. With a glass in hand, she took a slow sip. "Actually, do not answer that. Find something else to do. You'd think you'd appreciate the break for once." She needn't say more, Benjamin quickly sauntered away, leaving Melissa to pivot on her heel, a grin spreading across her face.

"What a pleasant evening this is turning out to be," Melissa remarked, with a swift glass raise toward the oncoming arrival. "How are you?"

[ceceliaahathaway]

@msmelissalin Event: A Beginner Advanced Baking Class: Chocolate Soufflé Dated: 20th of March, 2024 Location: The Avenue Cookery School, Fulham

She was turning over new leaves. Yes, since getting back home to London, Cece had decided, a new year a new Cece. What did she have on the cards tonight? A cooking class. She was finally going to make Adam his favorite dessert: Chocolate Soufflé. Though, it did seem a bit ambitious for a beginner class, but she was sure the instructor wouldn't give them anything they couldn't handle. "Hi, hello! I'm here for the Chocolate Please Don't Deflate class." She let out a tiny chortle. That had been a good one. Alas, it got lost on whoever was checking her in, "Bench Six, you'll be cooking with Melissa tonight." A partner? How jolly. She never liked to drink alone and she'd brought an entire bottle of Shiraz with her, "Thank you."

After walking over to her bench, she started setting up, wanting to make sure everything was ready and poured for when her partner showed up. She'd been told drinking would be okay. She was going to need it to. With all this recent blackmail business she needed an out and tonight that was a nice oak-y red and a hopefully sturdy soufflé. Humming to herself, Cece didn't realise that her partner had shown up till, she was twirling around with two glasses in hand. "Oh perfect this is for you!" Wait a second. She knew this woman. Melissa Lin. Sure, she'd heard about her dealings, but she wasn't talking about that. "Oh, it's Melissa right? I'm not sure if you remember me, but you joined me for brunch one afternoon. We had a delightful conversation about Diors latest line.."

Snap, snap. She found her eyes widening as the instructor (correction: head chef) walked into the room and got their attention with the snap of his fingers (not exactly the most polite---) She was snapped back into silence. "Welcome Chefs," cute, "today, we will build upon the lessons from last year and venture into the realm of mastering the infamous chocolate Soufflé…" wait.. last year's classes. Was there pre-reqs to beginners classes nowadays? Pulling a face, Cece leaned in closer to Melissa, "well I don't know about you, but the last thing I cooked successfully was microwave popcorn, so this should be.. fun." At least there was wine.

[yvonne-rutherford]

Does Yvonne trust anyone who works for the Rutherford family who isn't a direct relative? Does she even trust them?

Not really. I think once upon a time, she trusted Johnathan, but that relationship kinda shit the bed when she shot him. And she sure as hell has never trusted Melissa Lin.

The big thing about Yvonne is that she's grown up aware of what her family is and she's never known anything different. She very much sees the world as everybody looking out for themselves and their ambitions because that's what she grew up being modeled in front of her. And when it comes to her family, she trusts them to an extent. But she also knows how the loyalty lies in her family and to who everyone is loyal to. Gideon is the one she trusts the most, but while he has no loyalty to Andrew, he's absolutely still loyal to Lara, Damon, and Adriana and will do anything to protect them. And Yvonne never wants to ask him to choose between them. Damon is 100% loyal to Andrew and Lara so Yvonne definitely doesn't trust him when it comes to things like the conversation she's having with Cassie Acton. Same with Adriana. And come on, does anyone really think Yvonne and Lara would ever trust each other?

@drrutherford @damon-rutherford @amaroadriana @lararutherford

[eroticfriendfictions]

2, 3, 6, 11, 12, 13, 12, 16 for the book asks thing

2. Did you reread anything? What?

No, aside from some fanfics I didn't reread anything. Too many books I haven't read for the first time yet.

3. What were your top five books of the year?

In no particular order:

Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

The Future by Naomi Alderman

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

I was planning on reading Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood, Open Throat by Henry Hoke, and End Credits by Patty Lin before the end of the year, but I think I'm probably not going to make it. They will be pushed to next year.

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

I'm not really sure what counts as "a while." I'll say The Radleys by Matt Haig, which was published in 2010.

12. Any books that disappointed you?

Not Forever, But For Now by Chuck Palahniuk. It was an interesting premise but the writing style was annoying to me. (It wasn't as bad as his book Pygmy though.)

13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

Eeeee Eee Eeee by Tao Lin, Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne.

12. Any books that disappointed you?

I think you accidentally listed this one twice but I'll go ahead and give you another. The Pisces by Melissa Broder I thought was going to be fun weird but it was mostly just weird weird in a way that I wasn't really into.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

I don't really feel like I read anything that was overhyped, but I will say I got an advance copy of The Tyranny of Desire by Morty Shallman and the note from the publisher said it will be the most messed up thing I will ever read, but it wasn't, I've read worse.

Thank you!!

Feel free to send more book asks!

[ayaz--ates]

With his mouth on hers, it should've registered sooner that the voice hadn't come from Giordana at all. Unfortunate that his brain wasn't exactly working at full fucking capacity, then. All he could focus on was getting her out of that fucking dress, and maybe his haste had worked in their favour, he supposed, given that he'd been struggling with getting her zipper past the halfway mark. Ayaz had been determined, though, and wholly ignorant of the door...until her hand froze in place, and the realisation hit that the voice wasn't familiar because it was hers. If looks could kill, he'd have been cleaning up a hell of a mess tonight...

The only way the situation could've been worse was if it'd been Lara, herself. Didn't stop his heart from missing a few beats, regardless.

Fuck.

Sorry to disturb you? Right.

The truth was, he hadn't much considered the 'when' or the 'how' when it came to breaking the news about his relationship, because as convenient as it might've been, Ayaz didn't intend on hiding forever. Whilst it would come out eventually, though, he had, at least, expected it to be on his own terms. That chance evaporated in an instant.

But Ayaz didn't sit. He stayed at his girlfriend's side. And it might well have been the first time he'd ignored a demand from a Rutherford.

"I don't think this is the time or the place, Melissa."

Concealed in the shadows where the lights didn't quite reach the edge of the room, Melissa Lin had been in a deep conversation over the latest bill being passed in parliament. Encircled in board members, and trustees: people who would pay money for sponsorships. Boredom had found her some time earlier, still, she was always the woman to maintain that facade: smiling through, pretending, and calculating. Under the influence, many made the mistake of revealing one too many secrets.

Things she'd bank for later, always waiting.

However, movement in her peripheral had her sharp gaze fixated on two figures entranced in close embrace: two people that sent her own stomach tumbling. The revelation, Ayaz and Giordana. Close, way too close. It was as if she was frozen, the conversation drowning out to nothing as her ears roared like crashing waves on a stormy ocean beach. He knew the threat, she thought, and still...

It might've been a sad realization, but she'd never admit it.

Taking one step, and then a second. She could stop this. She should.

Betrayal, yes, but also this strange tinge of...jealousy, quickly suppressing beneath her composed, hoarfrost-induced exterior. After all, sentimentality had never served her well in the cutthroat world they lived in. And Ayaz knew that it was one of the reasons she'd always appreciated his presence. Giordana wanted to see her swing for what happened with Vincenzo: she was just close enough that she could hear the cadence of their voice, still, she wasn't in sight when she took a fresh glass of champagne from a passing tray when she heard it.

"Sounds like an upgrade from the one last year."

Her lips curved into the coldest smirk, the best she could do to hide that screaming that ripped through her. A whole fucking year? Melissa observed their banter, joining a random circle close by, as she became a silent witness to this private, disgusting shared intimacy. Was she bitter? Very. Was she rational? Never.

Each second passed, something darker than dread grew in the pit of her stomach, and every step they made towards that bedroom had her blood singing in her veins. Not tonight, she told herself, face flashing blood red with rage. It's not the right time, she repeated it over and over like a mantra in her head. Why did she feel like a schoolgirl scalded by someone she had no right to expect anything from?

Melissa demanded loyalty, but Ayaz was Lara's, not hers.

What would Lara think of this? Eyes scanning the room, and although she'd told herself not tonight: Melissa Lin had never had that kind of patience when it came to affairs that felt more personal. Maybe it was why she had such a hard time keeping herself from blowing up at her ex-husband, turned business partner. Yet, her feet were charging, and the door barely closed when she reached it.

One breath. Was she going to do this?

Two breaths. Yes.

And without giving them time, she clicked the door open and slid inside.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I think it's time we had a little chat." her voice held no warmth, or reassurance, or kindness. Instead, the eyes of a cat, and jaw set. "Sit. Both of you." Melissa snapped with the force she used in a courtroom.

The locking of the door follows.

[varden-lefebvre]

@msmelissalin

No amount of cocaine would make this place enjoyable. That hadn't stopped him and Yves trying every time they were within a metre radius of the other, though...

There was only one reason he'd returned to the underground station so plagued with horror, it was certainly fit for purpose. The most logical way Varden could hope to achieve what he needed came in the form of someone he'd typically avoid at all costs...particularly when Delphine was loitering around somewhere, waiting for any excuse to glance over at him and the Clark Kent glasses she'd forced him into.

Finding her hadn't been as difficult as he'd expected. Getting her attention, less surprisingly, even easier. He made his way to the Rutherford underboss.

The Frenchman extended a drink, a pleasant smile accompanying the offering.

"Melissa."

[ayaz--ates]

@msmelissalin​

It seemed prudent to be early.

At the best of times he resented keeping people waiting, but Melissa Lin wasn’t just anybody. The fact she’d messaged him at all had come as a surprise, especially when she wasn’t using it to give him orders, and that alone had piqued his interest enough that he’d left shortly after. Of course, a reward sweetened the deal... Mostly because Ayaz had absolutely no idea what a woman like her would consider a gift.

Unsurprisingly, plenty of security waited outside of her home, but he wasn’t exactly in the mood for small talk. As he leaned back against his car, he pointedly ignored the man who’d walked over to him suspiciously until their boss appeared in the doorway:

“Don’t look so worried, kid. I’ll have her home before midnight.”

[viciousgold]

okay first off, I'm mainly putting my thoughts on live action little mermaid here bc I've seen other people here talking about it + I gotta put my thoughts somewhere lol

My overall thoughts: there were a lot more things I liked about this than issues I had, like I'd argue this is one of the better live action Disney remakes, partly due to how amazing Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy, much to everyone's surprise with Melissa lol, both are, partly due to Rob Marshall, like he did Chicago, he did Nine, partly because of Lin Manuel Miranda, partly because of Alan Menken, like there's such a huge amount of talent here. like is it perfect? no, like it still has flaws, but it's pretty decent as far as live action remakes go and there were actually so many things I personally enjoyed about it

So here's the list of things I did and didn't like, starting with the much larger list of things I liked, also spoilers for the movie if you care about that

Slay:

Obviously the biggest slay was Ariel and Ursula. Halle and Melissa killed it, they were the absolute stars of this movie

I like what they did with Eric's character; he's given a lot, and most importantly, we see Ariel seeing more of who he is. We see Ariel overhearing a conversation between Eric and Grimsby that shows her that she and Eric have something major in common, both feeling trapped by their current lives and wanting more, wanting to adventure, to explore the world. We also see Ariel witness Eric risking his life to go back and save the dog. Like bruh, I'm a lesbian and despite that I was like, this man's marriage material. But they don't make Eric perfect either, we see him have a clear struggle between wanting to get to know Ariel more while still longing for this mystery girl that saved his life, feeling things for both of them, unrealized that they're the same person. He also gets a song and this song is great, this is a broadway level song.

I actually like most of the new songs they've added, except for one, but I'll get into that later. But with Ariel, I like that they give her a few more songs in the form of her inwardly singing, like how she does in the stage version of the little mermaid

Speaking of the stage version, like in the stage version and in the original film concept, Ursula is stated to be Triton's sister in this, which adds such a layer of who they are to each other and why they're enemies, and I was always upset that they decided to not add it to the final version of the original.

The actress playing Vanessa also ate

Maybe this is my lesbian bias but I really liked the inclusion of the Queen character, I think it was a nice play off King Triton, and her superstitions about the sea and ocean gods added another layer of conflict. Also her outfits were fantastic

I really like that the kingdom we're in seems to be inspired by the Caribbean, it goes well with Sebastian's accent being Jamaican and I guess this was also Disney's way of addressing the whole "there are no black people in Denmark" argument that people were making to which I'm still like bruh it's a magic fantasy movie where mermaids are real, anything can be real and anyone can exist anywhere, but I like what they do with the setting; the Carribbean was colonized by Europeans, so they use this as the reasoning behind why there are so many different ethnicities seen in the film

I also really like that we find out that Eric was actually found as a baby in a shipwreck and adopted by the Queen, idk man I think it's sweet

Another thing that I thought was really sweet, the way Eric figured out Ariel's name and Ariel guiding him to it, with him showing her constellations, one of them being Aries and she points to the Aries constellation he showed her but when he says it, she drags his lips down with her finger and keeps doing it until it sounds like he's saying Ariel and idk man it was just a super sweet moment

Also the two actors have such good chemistry, like they bounce off each other really well, they have such good interactions, I could really buy that these were two young people falling in love (Another reason I like the Queen's inclusion, it shows that he actually has a parent living with him, implying that he's actually close to Ariel's age, hopefully, I mean Eric gives off major teenage boy vibes in this, so lets hope, y'all)

This is maybe a hot take but I actually really liked this version of Under The Sea. It was really creative, bright, colorful, it couldn't just do what the animated movie did with having all the fish have tiny saxophones, so it found other creative ways to showcase how beautiful and fun the sea is and idk it did a really good job of doing it in my opinion

This is maybe a cliché at this point with the live action remakes or retellings of fairy tale stories, but like... I do like that they don't get married at the end. idk like, it doesn't read as "modern" to me, it reads as making sense for their characters; both Ariel and Eric are shown to be adventurers, they're both shown wanting to explore and be free, so it makes the most sense that neither of them would want to settle down yet. They want to explore the world together first and I think that's beautiful

I also really like the Hans Christen Anderson quote they showed at the beginning; But a mermaid has no tears, and therefore she suffers so much more. Bruh???? hitting us with that angst right outta the gate lol

I also like that the concert with all her sisters was replaced by a seemingly very important meeting that happens like, once a year apparently, it's way more reasonable for king triton to be furious with ariel over that than missing a concert that she apparently never wanted to be part of in the first place

I really liked the voice acting for flounder, and the voice acting for sebastian slowly grew on me

I like the fact that ariel was very suspicious of ursula and even started to swim away during poor unfortunate souls, but ursula makes the valid point of her likely never getting an opportunity to be human or leave the ocean ever again and this is what changes ariel's mind in her desperation to become human

The scene where complete strangers of the kingdom took ariel in and took care of her and made sure she was washed, fed and clothed and like, genuinely seemed to care about her and worried about what kind of trauma she went through, it was just so wholesome

I love that they got around the whole "ariel could just write to eric, she clearly wrote when she signed ursula's contract" thing by instead not having ariel be able to write and also having ariel *do a blood contract* with ursula, what a creatively dark solution to this plot hole

love the sad heartbroken reprise of part of your world after finding out eric's shacking up with vanessa

Not Slay:

how dare they change vanessa's song to just having her hum, that song is not long and the lyrics aren't problematic, so idk what reason they had for cutting it, let her sing her bitchy little song about ruling the ocean like

What a lovely little bride I'll make My dear, I'll look divine Things are working out according to my ultimate design Soon I'll have that little mermaid And the ocean will be mine

that could've been kept in, how dare they just reduce it to humming (however I did like the effect they did with the singing coming from the necklace and then coming from her as she puts on the necklace)

the scuttle song, it was entirely out of place, so different in tone from all the other songs in the movie, it was jarring y'all lol when that song came up I wished I had a fast forward button for the theatre screen. it was painful. it's so clearly to me like, them trying to put in a hamilton esque song in there but like??? no. stop. one of these things is not like the other. one of these things just doesn't belong.

the "ursula saying pathetic out loud in front of ariel" thing doesn't personally bother me, mainly because we've already seen it happen in the stage version and no one complained about that, and that was ursula loudly belting "pathetic". what bothers me is other people complaining about it as this huge thing that ruins the whole song, y'all it's really not that big of a deal lol like ariel does find it suspicious that ursula is being shady and she does try to leave but then ursula makes a good point and she goes back. this is not the big gotcha that some people think it is.

I do like that they made scuttle a gannet bird that can dive underwater, I think that's neat; however, gannets can dive underwater but they can't breathe underwater. They just dive underwater for fish. There's no way ariel would be able to have a full underwater conversation with scuttle. now this is a magical mermaid movie where magic is real so you could say that the bird can breathe underwater, fine, but I think it was really special that ariel had this one friend she could only talk to by going to the surface

javier bardem's acting as triton lol. listen. I'm sure he's a great actor in other things. in this though, his face remained the same for almost all of his scenes, his tone of voice also almost always kept the same tone. he did not bring the energy or emotion to this role that we needed to see.

the amnesia plot was unnecessary lol. it was such a selective amnesia too like, "lol I'll have ariel just forget that she needs to kiss eric" but bro, sebastian and flounder still heard that ariel needs to kiss eric and they still do the exact same shit in order to make kiss the girl happen and ariel still has the same energy with eric and she still has literally all of her other memories, so like, what was the point of this addition? it added nothing to the story lol

but yeah these are my literal only complaints. I didn't really mind the realistic animals, idk man it's a live action movie, sebastian looks like a normal crab, flounder looks like a normal fish??? like it's not that deep lol flounder doesn't look like the "horrific abomination" people have been calling him online like bro he just looks like a normal ass fish, that's what fish look like

[benjaminvox]

"Loss is loss," Benjamin shrugs his shoulder, huffing a distant sound. Nowhere near a laugh, but more of an acknowledgment. "You shouldn't have had to go through that, anymore than I shouldn't have had to go through the things I did. Fuck, man. We were kids." watching as the beer arrived, and tilting his head in thanks.

The difference between the two men though? Benjamin's anger. That darkness that had been bred, and then honed. Living with vengeance was the only way he'd found any modicum of peace.

'You think it might right a wrong, give you closure — it won't'

Benjamin doesn't agree, and it says so as he shifts in his seat, causing the upturn of the corner of his lips. "Did you seek revenge? For your parents?" a pause. "Or are you guessing that it won't make me feel better?" There was a reason he'd been likened to Johnathan...that unwielded rage that most hadn't yet seen. The need to serve. The need to hurt. It lay under that young boy smile, the yet to age face.

And he needed somewhere to direct it. Finely educated, the only credentials he had was working for Melissa Lin. A title, and a fine reputation in itself...he'd bore quickly. He needed this.

'Whose fault is it then, Benjamin? Hers or yours?'

Benjamin doesn't answer immediately.

He sits on it. Traces condensation dripping down the glass in hand, cold seeping into his fingertips. His first instinct is to deflect, throw some biting comment back at Gideon that might force the conversation in some other direction, but the weight of it all, that fucking question settles heavily on top of him. His life, Melissa, his parents, Étienne...his brothers.

Benjamin felt like the world was weighing down on him, and he was it's sole bearer. It's not the first time he's wondered about it, too many times has it found it's way into his thoughts, his dreams...but having someone like Gideon ask it so bluntly strips away any excuse he might've leaned on.

Any chance he could escape those nightmares.

He's fucking lost. Staring. Like the young boy he was still, rummaging to the surface.

Benjamin hadn't quite lost that to his years yet.

"Both," he finally says, eyes vacant, blue a vast nothingness. He doesn’t look at Gideon, can't bare it, honestly: instead, his eyes finds the drink in his hand. "It'd be hers for pulling the trigger. Mine for giving her the reason to, I guess."

Loyalty was a dog: and he was her hound. Benjamin knows it’s not the answer Gideon wants, not the clean division of responsibility he'd probably hoped to hear. And he wouldn't lie to him, his mind had been moulded to Melissa Lin's tactics some eleven years ago...there was no changing his heel. But it’s the truth as Benjamin sees it. Melissa isn’t without her flaws, but she’s always been clear about the stakes. He accepted them the day he stepped into her world.

Into the Rutherford name. And while she commanded it, he obeyed.

He leans back, letting the chair creak under his weight. "Look, I’m not saying she’s perfect. Far from it, fuckin' hell...I'm meant to be smart, right. But... I owe her. A fuckin' lot. Not just for keeping me alive, but for making me into something. Someone. And yeah, that comes with risks. But doesn’t everything?"

Jabbing a finger over his shoulder, he shakes his head -- aware that there were parts of Melissa that Gideon refused to see. To acknowledge. "My parent's killer is here...drinking, laughing...and Melissa's checked in on me every two hours." The side eye, shoulders shrugging. She was his family. Benjamin knows he's justifying, fuckin' rationalizing. Gideon can probably see through it, but it’s the only way he’s ever been able to make peace. "I know you think I’m just another pawn in her game. And maybe I am. But...I chose this life. I know exactly what I signed up for."

Raising his glass, he huffs. "So if she shoots me one day? At least I’ll go down knowing I didn’t sit back and let the world tear me a-fuckin-part." He leans forward, his elbows on the table. "What about you? You’ve seen the same shit I have. What made you realise you'd never want...this" he knew Melissa well, knew a lot of what went on in the Rutherford's -- it was his job to know.

After everything Benjamin reveals about his past, it's less what he says and more how his voice breaks hoarsely over that single word, 'yep', that coaxes Gideon's begrudging sympathy for him. Silently, he hails the bartender, ordering another round of beers for them. Tonight, Benjamin can acquire his own, compliments of his allocation to the rich tents, but there's some goodwill hidden in the gesture nonetheless.

"It isn't all that similar, and I won't pretend that it is." He replies, concerning the demise of both their biological parents. "A car accident doesn't quite leave the same scars as death by unnecessary violence, and I certainly wouldn't have wanted to see what you stepped into, that day you found their bodies." No, it'd be insensitive to claim that he understood what Benjamin had experienced.

But he does understand loss, through and through. Time and time again.

'I can't let it go.' — That's what he's afraid of, that's the part that will consume the boy, if he lets it. Because the Rutherford's seen that too. Time and time again.

"There are plenty of occupations that don't involve breaking the law, Ben." Lest the young man feel he's trying to step into the role of father, unsolicited, Gideon adds;

"I'm just saying. And the thing about anger, is that there's no end to it. Your anger won't bring them back. Murdering Étienne won't bring them back. You think it might right a wrong, give you closure — it won't." He's seen it play out too many times among other members in his father's mob. Recruited with the sweet promise of vengeance, only to find it hollow once they'd sacrificed everything to obtain it.

'And if I die for it, then... That’s on me.'

Gideon takes another sip of his beer. "You haven't answered the question." The bottle settles back on the table, and the surgeon fixes him with a scrutinizing look. "I'm not asking if you die out of bad luck. I'm saying imagine a scenario where you change your mind. Where you decide 'to hell with it, I don't want to work for Ms. Lin anymore', and she shoots you point blank in return. Whose fault is it then, Benjamin? Hers or yours?"

[kathleenzhao]

@msmelissalin​

“I was told you wished to speak with me.”

It’d been a most unwelcome interruption, in fact.

Kathleen had never heard the woman’s name until she’d gotten to London, and even then, it more so graced conversation she’d shared with the Italians as opposed to the French. What she’d heard about her position in the Rutherford family, however, was enough to be sure she wanted no part of whatever this conversation was set to be.

The dancer had been walking some of the ladies through a new routine when she’d been taken aside by someone who was evidently more intimidated by the older woman’s request than her own glare. Seeing no other option, she eventually agreed, albeit begrudgingly. Making her way through a club she knew like the back of her hand, it didn’t take long to spot the woman. It was hardly her scene, and it showed. Kathleen’s smile was friendly as she approached, despite feeling anything but. 

“I’m terribly busy, you understand...”

[lightgamble]

DARK MATTER | 1.09

One of us is a traitor.

[keepingupwithlinmanuel]

The Cast and Crew of In The Heights Talk Music, Miracles and Merengue

Melissa Barrera: I was inside the bodega waiting for my cue. The bodega was not operating because we had taken over, but people just kept coming in to shop. I’d say, “Oh, I’m not working right now,” and they’re like, “Oh, well, can I just grab something?” I was like, “I’m sure it’s all props, or the production will pay for it. Just grab whatever you need, but we’re shooting.” They would shop, and I’d just say, “Thank you so much for coming.”

...

Mitchell Travers, Costume Designer: Oftentimes I would just pick a corner and people watch, letting certain real-life outfits on the street inspire the outfits I would put on camera. One day while filming, a real-life abuela (grandma) walked by wearing the exact same dress our abuela wears in the film!

Jon M. Chu, Director: The neighbors treat you like family, and they share with you. They yell at you like family too, if you’re in their parking spot. I even brought my mom [to set] one day, and by the time I came back, she was having drinks with the neighbors.

Lin-Manuel Miranda: You know, there is the nightmare Hollywood version of this where it looks like a telenovela and has nothing to do with this neighborhood. But we cast these incredible actors who have lived in authenticity, who don’t feel out of place next to our neighbors on 175th Street.

Jon M. Chu: Every day, we knew the responsibility to share, as truthfully as we could, what it felt like to have family and community there. Even down to the food and the sauces. One of the actors would say, “Oh, you know what, they wouldn't have these sauces here,” and someone would bring sauce from home, so we put that bottle on the table. It was a constant conversation to make it as truthful as possible.

Lin-Manuel Miranda: In The Heights exists because in so much of the entertainment world, particularly in musical theater, Latinos are invisible, and so, my mandate, my dare to myself when I started writing this with Quiara [Alegría Hudes, co-writer], was to put us on the map and tell the stories I wasn’t seeing [in the media].

Anthony Ramos: [A 2012 touring production of] In The Heights was the first time I had a lead role in anything. It was a principal role where I got my union card, which then allowed me to audition for Hamilton, which is how I met Lin. In The Heights set it off for Latinos, and now, hopefully, the movie can be that.

Lin-Manuel Miranda: I think the most autobiographical lyric in this whole movie for me is, “I used to think we lived at the top of the world when the world was just a subway map.” That was true for me. When you watch movies about New York, or you look at a tourist map, they hardly go above 96th Street. That used to drive me crazy growing up, because I grew up at the top of the A train, and I just loved my neighborhood.

There’s something about Washington Heights that just is undefeatable. It’s historically been an immigrant neighborhood. When I was growing up, it was a largely Dominican neighborhood. Before that, it was a Puerto Rican neighborhood and Cuban neighborhood. Before that, it was an Italian neighborhood, an Irish neighborhood and Jewish neighborhood, but there’s a lot of first chapters in American life that begin in this neighborhood.It’s for strivers and it’s for survivors, and I’m really proud to call it home.

[drrutherford]

He fixes her with a silent glare. Yes, he means freedom from people like Melissa Lin... People like Johnathan Parsons or even his own father. She knows his feelings on that front already. Gideon won't let her goad him into having to declare it again aloud. Not when her mocking laughter pierces his skin like shrapnel, as if even with that caustic sound she can tear apart his determination to stay free of everything she stands for.

"I think it, because you've wasted no opportunity to rub it in everyone's face how good you are at being just that, yes! A puppet-master." He throws the word back, viciously glad she'd been the one to choose it this time, lest she try to guilt him for that, too, on some future occasion. "— Even now!" Gideon's tone pitches into disbelief. "Even now, you admit it's what you are. What difference does it make, the degree?... The motive?"

Even Stalin had a motive, he thinks bitterly, but doesn't charge her with it for fear she'll latch onto the parallel and refuse to hear anything else he has to say. "The ends never do justify the means, Ms. Lin, nor do motives and degrees of manipulation make you any less what you are — A manipulator."

Is it any wonder, then, that he's angry when the puppet strings she's decided to play with this time are his ex-girlfriend's?... A woman he still cares deeply about?

Is it any wonder he cannot stand to hear her opine about 'what happens to those who lack power', when she's so often the steel hand that rips it away from her targets in the ugly underbelly of London's street war?... Gideon shakes his head, the word dancing on his tongue, barely lashed by his teeth. Hypocrite, hypocrite, hypocrite!

He sees her intention to leave before she grabs her coat. More importantly, Gideon sees that she's denying him a satisfactory end to the conversation, a guarantee that Amélie will be spared her machinations. 'I thought I was doing you a favour,' Melissa had claimed, and her words echo in his ears like a taunt. He ignores her quip about sleeping elsewhere. He doesn't care, let her make her own bed and lie in it, as he'd foolishly done on the ground of this same tent last night.

So he calls out after her, loud enough to ensure he's heard. "The only favor you can do for me is to keep the hell away from her." Mark my words or I'll do far worse than paint you a villain, he doesn't add, turning to survey the empty space she's left. He grabs the bed sheet and begins airing out all remnants of the treacherous Underboss' perfume.

— End.

"Freedom? From what exactly? Me?" The laughter that followed was un-humored. Instead, it mirrored disbelief as a hand raked through her hair. For a moment, she forgot that she probably looked in a state. And cared little — because this carousel of emotions was going off-kilter, and she was not enjoying it.

Instead, Melissa simply decided to let him rant. 

She'd seen Andrew similarly over the years, but their relationship differed from the one she had with his son. Mutual respect seemed to be lost on Gideon once he deemed her unworthy. 

But Gideon, the almighty, the righteous, condemned her for playing the game: like he'd expected her to be better than the rest. Even if he didn't...it was unreasonable thinking on her behalf. Melissa presented herself like a broken mirror: a hundred different faces...her forward, most facing sharpness had always been gentler with him. She’d favoured him for some time. But when did she stop? When did enough become enough? 

Standing there, those dainty shoulders squared, hands flexing at her sides as she tried to let go of a feeling that was curling at the base of her spine. At her five foot three, Gideon towered over her, even from where he stood. Instead, Melissa made an executive decision.

Flip the goddamn cards, Melissa.

She wasn't one to crumble under fire. And yet, when he finally stopped, her head tilted, lips pressed into an unforgiving thin line. Suffocating, bitter.

' — do you take me for a fool, Melissa?? '

"Funnily enough, Gideon, of everyone I've met...I always thought you to be smart." a short pause. "...you’re angry, far more than you used to be, Gideon, but I see no fool." It wasn’t a question she understood. 

“You think I’m just this..." A laugh broke through...hurt. "This...fucking puppet master pulling strings at every corner...and yes, to a degree. I am. I don't pretend to be anything different. But what you so often forget, manipulating everyone around me is my job — not for the fun of it.” two steps closer. "You're always so damn eager to believe the worst in me. It’s easier, isn’t it? To paint me as the main villain, so long as I give you someone to hate? To blame..." 

Grabbing the coat and bits she'd piled together. She couldn't stay here, not when he was in a mood like this. "I believe in power. I believe in control." If she didn't, that lovely life that he'd been afforded by Andrew and Cerys would've been far different. "Because I’ve seen what happens when you don’t have it," and she shot him a look. 

Standing there, coat in hand...looking at him. How she'd missed him...and still, he drove the knife in time and time again. “I’ll find somewhere else to sleep.” And he better pray she didn’t find a way to send Roman over here, so she could bunk with Benjamin.

Without another word, she scoffed and walked out of the tent doors.