#one of my favorite actors and one of my favorite drivers interacting??? what??? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

crackers4jenn · 3 years

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I was going to do a very long, very thorough and detailed post about the j2m panel from jib10, about how it’s THE BEST worst one, but it got out of control sooo instead I’m going to list my top 5 favorite things about this hour long wild ride.

No. 1 “Hey, you know what I haven’t told you today? That I love you.”

The panel begins SO NICELY. Jensen’s running a few minutes late, Misha starts things off solo making jokes about bathroom issues. But then Jensen joins him and the first thing he does is drop that “I love you” line.

Of course, because it's them two, they joke that the reason he hasn’t said it is because he doesn’t love him, but this interaction basically sums up how the Misha/Jensen portion of the panel plays out. Lots of sweetly sincere moments undercut with teasing humor.

FOR EXAMPLE:

As they’re deciding what to do, Jensen tells Misha, “I always have so much fun with you.”

“WE LOVE YOU, MISHA!” someone screams / “Thanks, Misha’s mom!” Jensen mocks.

After Misha's floundering metaphor about dad puns, Jensen wraps his arm around Misha’s shoulder, who jokingly asks if this is an intervention. “Let’s call it an extra-medium intervention” Jensen says, and you can practically see the wheels spinning in Misha’s brain before he blurts, “you mean like my shirt size?” This, of course, is peak comedy and Jensen doubles over laughing.

Misha reveals he's actually wearing Jared’s t-shirt (“Are you really?” Jensen stops what he’s saying to ask) and calls it “triple extra-medium.” Very chill, Jensen tells him, “Hm. That’s cute.”

“Say what you will, but. You don’t get number one on the call sheet army-crawling into the set just to physically harm actors on camera.” / “It is pretty sweet.” / “That’s it, it'll never happen again.” / “It’s pretty special.” AND THEN THIS SAPPY, SENTIMENAL GAZE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT:

Misha tells Jensen, “On the set of Supernatural, though, there’s always been—you know, I showed up, I was the new kid on the block, and I showed up the beginning of season four—but it was incredibly welcoming, incredibly warm, incredibly um… I don’t know, like just—there were all these efforts made to make, you know, new actors coming in feel welcomed. And I think that’s—very rare.” Jensen says, “Well, to be honest, it was—I was finally like, 'Ah! I'm not the short one.’” Ha ha ha!

No. 2 “Alright, driver, what're we listening to?”

You wanna pinpoint the defining moment this panel is doomed to go down in flames, here it is. As soon as Jensen sits down for the first time, almost instantly, he realizes him and Misha are on the wrong sides. Usually he's on Misha’s left.

But when he gets up to fix this, Misha gives him a look and a lil patronizing, “let’s switch it up, let’s try something different.”

AND SO we enter a Community-esque darkest timeline with this roll of the dice Misha so casually threw into the air without any regard for where we'd land. You know that gif of Troy walking into his and Abed’s apartment and the place is on fire? THAT IS THIS PANEL IN A NUTSHELL ♥️

No. 3 “Sorry, that was a little fondle-y.”

This just makes me laugh and laugh because there are several other moments when they touch each other as equally fondle-y. When they first hug on stage, Misha’s hand lingers. TWICE. When Misha makes a ball-busting gesture that he regrets half a second later, he grabs Jensen’s knee and laughs, “help me.” And Jensen pats his knee right back. The head on the shoulder, the arm Jensen wraps around Misha's back and KEEPS there for like a solid minute, etc etc, it's all just as fondle-y!

So why this moment of casual touching feels different enough for Misha to call it out, who the heck knows, but lol forever at Jensen's 'didn't see me protesting though' lift of his eyebrows.

Anyway, here's a gif of Misha groping Jensen's arm but not, I guess, fondling it:

No. 4 “Misha’s usually the middle.”

Jared, from the second he's on stage and throughout the entirety, is there to stir up chaos. One of the first things he does is tug Misha towards Jensen, to the middle chair, with the claim that Misha's always in the middle. Innuendo aside, this is just... decidedly not true, as the simplest "j2m panel" youtube search proves. A-like so:

Sure, okay, 3 out of the 12 instances I grabbed here do have him in the middle, but I feel about 80% confident those are the only existing times in Misha's 12 year history with spn where he was.

So, insinuations aside, with this comment Jared sets the tone PERFECTLY for how his inclusion is going to go. He is there to fuck things up, and fuck things up he does.

Misha asks Jensen about a dream he had (see gif below) and Jared immediately stumbles to his feet with a, "WOW. Woah, this just got really romantic."

Jared finds some, you know, vaguely genital-shaped balloons to first thrust at Misha and then Jensen. ("Y'all are fucked up," Jensen tells them lololol.)

When a destiel question gets asked, Jared scoots his chair around so he can gaze expectantly at Jensen.

BASICALLY, he is equal parts a meddler, an instigator, and an enabler to the chaos.

Misha says, "Dean doesn't like it when Cas stands in his doorway and watches him sleep." Jared laughs, "Because he's naked!" with great delight.

No. 5 Astute Misha

I wouldn't say Jensen was a ray of genuine sunshine at the start of the panel, but he was trying to entertain at least. As soon as Jared gets onstage, he just nosedives into this scowling, sarcastic, mocking, aggressive dick of a human being. I say that laughingly! He mocks the crowd for "woo!"ing over the 'destiel is canon' shirt then gets confrontational over "where" destiel supposedly is, he shushes Misha and Jared, he imitates Jared like a lil brat--at one point he shoots his arm out to shut Jared up and barrels right over his words with a "no, we're done." IT'S A LOT.

But EVERY TIME, Misha's able to swoop in and distract him. When Jensen's going full-on aggro over the destiel shirt, Misha gets him to sit down and calm down. When the fan asks about how Dean and Cas's s15 relationship will develop, Misha jokes, "I think that the relationship is going pretty well" and finallyyy Jensen cracks a smile.

And Misha just gets so attentive to and tactile with Jensen, who just keeps glaring and like, mentally shuffling through his life's events to see where he went wrong to have had it lead to this.

Whenever Jensen isn't engaging, Misha purposely prompts him with a question or a look or an aside, to include him, to pull him out of his funk. A couple times he tells a dumb joke that Jensen is the only human being in the world who would laugh at it, and it WORKS.

I don't know what prophet thought to arm the front row with water guns, because by the end clearly Jensen needed a cool down.

But there Misha is with his damage control, offering a grip and a joke, and Jared drops some innuendo with the whole "Misha's the only one who didn't flinch" joke and it all ends so wonderfully TENSE.

Anyway, what a panel. 10 out of 10!

#i feel good now that this is out of my brain and onto tumblr #jensen ackles #misha collins #cockles #this 'ship is called cockles okay?

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fillingthescrapbook · 2 years

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Waking up to a Magical World

This series made me cry. I just wanted to start with that because I feel like it's the one thing that cemented, for me, the magic of playing a tabletop role-playing game.

When I finished the first season of Dimension 20, Fantasy High, I made a decision not to watch another actual play series. This takes commitment. A long commitment, even if I decide to binge it. I don't remember what happened exactly, but a bout of depression pushed me to watching the first episode of The Unsleeping City.

New York is one of my favorite cities in the world. There really is something magical about that city, because even though I didn't completely enjoy my first visit (going there with work friends who aren't even acquaintances anymore), I still found myself wistfully remembering the days I spent there. Sure, the memories I actually remembered fondly were from the days I was on my own, but still. Fond memories. My second visit was also a disaster...but this is not about my trips to the "Big Apple."

This is about the magic of New York. And not just Manhattan.

Watching Game Master Brennan Lee Mulligan lead his group of intrepid heroes through the secret world of the city, both fictional and real, tugged at my heart. Over and over. You could feel the love that was given to the setting, to the story, to the sets, and the characters. So much love that I could help but love New York all over again.

Now, while I did mention how my trips to New York were less than stellar, they weren't complete shit shows. And meeting the characters of TUC reminded me of the people I also met when I was there:

Ever-friendly Kingston Brown, with a ready hand to lend to anyone willing to ask for help, reminded me of the old couple who I arrived in New York with my first time there. Finding out that it was first trip to the city, they offered to go extremely out of their way just to make sure I get to where I needed to go safely. (I, of course, thanked them but declined the offer. We had a very stressful flight and I didn't want to delay their travel home.)

Safety-conscious firefighter Ricky Matsui took me back to a curbside interaction I had with a truck driver. Pedestrians never get the right of way where I live so when I walk, I always give way to vehicles. When a truck screeched to a stop upon seeing me on the curb, I thought I was gonna get screamed at. That's the image of New York that was always shown in television and in movies. But instead, the truck driver just told me that I had right of way. That I can cross because there is a pedestrian lane. After thanking him, I went on my way.

Sofia Bicicleta Lee, the hairdresser from Staten Island, was very much like my (first!) Airbnb host who always had an ear ready to listen and an advice to share, in the guise of telling us about their past experiences. They also had a lot of cats. (One even took over my bed when I went out of the room to pee.)

Broadway actress Misty Moore, of course, was a stand-in for all the amazing actors and actresses I saw on Broadway, all of whom gave time after a tiring show, to talk to their fans at the stage door. Like, I knew there's a tiny bit of obligation in what they were doing, maybe a tiny bit of narcissism, but neither negates the fact that they could have opted not to talk to the fans. They could have just walked away. But instead they chose to bless us with an experience we could treasure--even if they themselves won't remember it.

Kugrash, the rat druid who takes care of the forgotten, actually made me think of how I didn't notice many of New York's homeless. Like, when you read about the homeless population on the internet, they make it seem like they're a menace and should be feared. But the few I did come across were friendly, or polite, or kept to themselves.

The only character that I didn't immediately place in my experience of New York was Pete Conlan. At least the first chapter version of him. Second chapter Pete though? He was the artists we saw in Highline. Outside MoMa. In Central Park. In Dumbo. Ready to dream. Ready to risk. Ready to live.

The Unsleeping City gave me a chance to relive happiness from my past. To remind me that things weren't all bad even though right now is pretty tough. And seeing the players choose to do the right thing? Choose to help out? Choose to keep fighting? It helped me find a bit of light in the darkness.

New York City is magic--and it's perfectly encapsulated in the world that The Unsleeping City created. (And I signed up for Dropout after finishing the first chapter. Because I wanted to watch the second chapter immediately.)

#the unsleeping city #dimension 20 #my words

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girlactionfigure · 3 years

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Last of the Red Hot Mamas

The Queen of Jazz

Sophie Tucker was a singer and comedienne whose powerful voice and brassy wit delighted audiences for over six decades.

Sophie’s Jewish parents had to escape from Russia in 1886 after her father had deserted the Russian military, and she was born on the boat to America. The family settled in Hartford, Connecticut where they ran a kosher boarding house and restaurant. Sophie and her three siblings worked hard in the family business, waking up at 3 am every day to peel and chop vegetables before school. After Sophie got home she waited tables and washed dishes.

From almost the moment of birth, Sophie had a huge and magnetic personality. She was confident, sassy, and uninhibited. Jewish vaudeville stars often stayed at her family’s boarding house and she was fascinated by them and their lives. She always knew she was destined for a life in show business. Her parents absolutely forbade her to join the paskudnyaks (rascals) who stayed at their rooming house. Sophie still found a way to perform – she started singing for their guests as she served them. “I would stand up in the narrow space by the door and sing with all the drama I could put into it. At the end of the last chorus, between me and the onions there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”

Desperate to leave home, she eloped in 1903 with local beer truck driver Louis Tuck. When they returned, her parents organized a traditional Orthodox wedding for them. They had a son, Burt, in 1906, and lived with her family, where she was back to her old role of cooking, cleaning, and serving customers. Meanwhile a frequent guest was Willie Howard, a popular vaudeville comedian and the first to use openly Jewish content in his act. He was impressed by Sophie’s natural talent as an entertainer, and he urged her to move to New York and break into show business. Sophie’s husband Louis did not share her enthusiasm for the stage and after she told him she wanted to move to New York, he took off. Soon, Sophie left Burt with her family, telling them she was going to New Haven for a short vacation. Instead, she moved to New York and never returned. She was 19 years old. Burt was raised by Sophie’s family, and Sophie kept in frequent contact with them over the years.

Sophie arrived in New York with a letter of introduction to a famous composer from Willie Howard, but the composer wasn’t impressed by her singing. She was quickly able to find work singing at coffeehouses and saloons. At the German Village, a popular beer garden, she sang 50-100 songs a night for $15 a week. She was such a hit that she was soon making over $150 a week in pay and tips.

Sophie was generous with her money. She sent most of what she made to her family, and lived in a shabby boarding house where the other residents were prostitutes. A nice Jewish girl from Hartford, Sophie had never encountered this type of woman before, but she wasted no time making friends with her neighbors, and started a longtime practice of giving free women-only concerts in bordellos. Sophie shared her money and belongings with the call girls, and hid the money they made from their pimps. She later said, “Every one of them supported a family back home, or a child somewhere.”

At the time, $150/week was an impressive salary for a single woman, but it wasn’t enough for Sophie, who wanted to get out of the restaurant business once and for all and make it big in vaudeville. She got her first break in 1907: a chance to audition for impresario Chris Brown’s Amateur Night. After her audition she overheard Brown say, “This one’s so big and ugly, the crowd out front will razz her. Better get some cork and black her up.” He told Sophie that she passed the audition and would be featured in the show. However, she had to do it in blackface. Sophie was aghast at the suggestion, but Brown and the other producers insisted that her only chance for a career in show business was in blackface. She agreed to do it.

Sophie’s first vaudeville gig was at Tony Pastor’s on the Bowery where she was booked for a pre-show before the matinee. When she took the stage, the theater was empty. She started singing, but as people entered the room they completely ignored her, chatting noisily as they awaited the main event. She suddenly stopped the show, and started berating the audience for being so rude to her. Sophie had what Jews call chutzpah – audacious self-confidence – and she displayed so much humor and spirit that the audience fell in love with her. Nobody made a peep for the rest of the show, and they demanded three encores.

She was booked onto the New England Vaudeville circuit to sing African-American spirituals, and got rave reviews everywhere she went. It wasn’t just her big voice audiences loved, it was also her big personality, her confident swagger combined with self-deprecating humor. Sophie had a sharp wit and a voice that didn’t need a microphone to fill a room.

Audiences adored Sophie’s minstrel act, but she hated performing in blackface. Finally, at a performance in Boston, she’d had enough. She told the producer that her blackface makeup and costume were lost in transit, and before he could argue she marched onstage as herself. She told the shocked audience, “You-all can see I’m a white girl. Well, I’ll tell you something more: I’m not Southern. I’m a Jewish girl and I just learned this Southern accent doing a blackface act. And now, Mr. Leader, please play my song.” She never performed in blackface again.

Some of Sophie’s songs were bawdy, filled with innuendo and double entendre, while others were sentimental. Her most popular songs included “Some of These Days” and the Jewish favorite, “My Yiddishe Mama.” Initially Sophie only performed “Yiddishe Mama” in front of mostly Jewish audiences since much of the song was in Yiddish, but she soon found that all audiences loved the song. Even if they didn’t understand all of the words, they could appreciate her heartful singing about her devoted mother.

Sophie did a European tour in the 1920’s which was a huge success. When she arrived in England in 1922, she was greeted by fans with a huge sign reading “Welcome Sophie Tucker, America’s Foremost Jewish Actress!” Looking back at her career later in life, she described that sign as her proudest moment. Sophie performed for King George V and Queen Mary at the London Palladium in 1926. She greeted the monarch with a hearty “Hiya King!” The Daily Express described Sophie as “a big fat blond genius, with a dynamic personality and amazing vitality.” Yiddishe Mama became an international hit, and she was asked to perform the song in Berlin by the Berlin Broadcasting Company in 1931. Two years later, when Hitler came to power in 1933, all copies of the recording were destroyed.

Comedy writer Bruce Vilanch saw Sophie Tucker perform when he was a child. He remembered, “She’d make you laugh like crazy. She would belt. She still could blow the roof off the joint. Then she would do something incredibly schmaltzy, she would turn on a dime and make the audience weep… As soon as you were done crying, she would turn around and do some bawdy song… Everything she said was with the force of a judge making a sentence. She didn’t speak, she made policy statements.”

Throughout her career, Sophie chose songs mostly written by black and Jewish songwriters from Tin Pan Alley, including young Irving Berlin. She was close friends with her fellow Vaudeville performer Bill Robinson, known as Bojangles. When Sophie invited Bill to her sister’s wedding in the 1920’s, the doorman wouldn’t let him in, telling him to go through the kitchen. Sophie heard this and immediately pushed the doorman out of the way, closed the front door, and told the guests, “OK everybody goes through the kitchen.”

Despite her act’s raciness, she said “I’ve never sung a single song in my whole life on purpose to shock anyone. My ‘hot numbers’ are all, if you will notice, written about something that is real in the lives of millions of people.” Her songs included, “I May Be Getting Older Every Day (But Younger Every Night),” “I’m The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas,” “I Ain’t Takin’ Orders From No One,” and “When They Start to Ration my Passion, It’s Gonna Be Tough on Me.” She often made fun of her size, calling herself a “perfect 48.”

She kept improving her act, and after a decade as a solo performer, she created a back-up band of black jazz musicians called the “Kings of Syncopation.” They recorded several albums together, all of which were hits, and toured the country playing to enthusiastic crowds. In Chicago they played 15 weeks at the Palace and then at every other theater in town. Crooner Tony Bennett called Sophie “the most underrated jazz singer that ever lived.”

After a few years as the self-styled “Queen of Jazz,” Sophie re-imagined herself again, as a cabaret performer, accompanied by piano player Ted Shapiro. He became part of her act as they developed a snappy banter. Over the years she did some film, radio and TV work but what she loved most was interacting with a live audience.

Sophie married two more times, but neither husband liked being “Mr. Sophie Tucker” and both marriages failed. She said, “Once you start carrying your own suitcase, paying your own bills, running your own show, you’ve done something to yourself that makes you one of those women men like to call ‘a pal’ and “a good sport,’ the kind of woman they tell their troubles to. But you’ve cut yourself off from the orchids and the diamond bracelets, except those you buy yourself.” Throughout her life, Sophie was known for her generosity, and she gave away much of what she made to a variety of philanthropic causes. She established the Sophie Tucker Foundation in the early 1950’s, and endowed hospitals, synagogues, actors guilds, and several charitable organizations in Israel.

Sophie continued performing until the end of her life, even after getting lung cancer. While undergoing treatment she was still doing two shows a night. Sophie died at age 80 in 1966, during a months-long theater engagement. As she lay on her death bed, she asked the nurse to “bring me my chiffon hanky, bring me my wig” and she did bits from her act until she took her last breath. Thousands of mourners attended her funeral at Emanuel Synagogue Cemetery in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Known as the “Last of the Red-Hot Mamas,” Sophie’s act inspired later female performers such as Mae West and Bette Midler.

For entertaining audiences around the world for sixty years and giving generously to others, we honor Sophie Tucker as this week’s Thursday Hero.

Accidental Talmudist

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waywardnerd67 · 4 years

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Everlasting

Summary: People always said that Hollywood was a whole other world. Soon, (Y/N) was about to find out just how different Hollywood could be. Characters: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, Misha Collins, Reader Pairing: Jensen x Reader Warnings: AU/Fluff/Angst Word Count: 5564 Prompts: “Loving me is a death sentence.” / “We found each other. That’s all that matters.” A/N #1: This is for @supernatural-jackles SPN Bi- Weekly Writing Challenge. Don’t judge me… I’ve been rewatching/rereading Twilight. *ducks from flying objects* A/N #2: Jensen Photo Edit Credited To: @justjensenanddean

I stopped in front of the Stage One door, looking up at the massive building in front of me. The last month had led up to this very day. I was hired on by Warner Brothers to be the Personal Assistant to Jared Padalecki while he filmed in Vancouver. Even though being a PA was a horrible job, working on the set of my favorite TV show was a dream. I had spent my days leading up to my moving to Vancouver training my inner fangirl to be a normal human being.

“Remember they eat, breath, poop just like any other human.” I whispered to myself on the plane ride from my hometown.

“Girl, please! They are sculpted from marble by the hand of God himself. Just don’t embarrass us in front of them. Make a good impression!” She commanded as if I had any control over that.

Now, standing in front of the main sound stage, my stomach coiled into an anxious knot. Trembling I took a step forward through the door and found myself looking into the Men of Letters Bunker. My inner fangirl squealed with delight urging my body to walk through the set.

“Can I help you?” A tall, dark haired man stood with a camera rig around his waist.

I cleared my throat of the large lump forming within it, “Yeah, my name is (Y/N) and it’s my first day as a PA. The studio told me to go to Stage One when I arrived this morning.”

He smiled a soft chuckle coming from his chest, “Oh you must be Jared’s new wrangler. Here I will show you where to go.”

I followed him to a small office building that had on site office staff and writers housed. He pointed me in the direction of Susan, the executive assistant to Jim Michaels. She was on the phone as she waved me into her office. Standing off to the side was another woman with long, wavy blonde hair. Her fit body was covered by a simple pair of dark jeans, soft chocolate sweater and black knee high boots.

She stuck her hand out towards me, “Hi, I’m Ash. You must be Jared’s new PA.”

Shaking her hand I nodded, “I’m (Y/N).”

“I’m so excited you’re here. Now I don’t have to keep my eyes on both of them. I’m Jensen’s PA so you’ll be hanging with me quite a bit.”

Susan ended her call smiling up at the both of us, “Fantastic, you’re here! I will go with you to meet Jared and then you can shadow Ash for this week. How did your move go?”

“As well as could be expected moving from Kansas to Vancouver. My apartment is amazing.” It was the truth. The apartment Warner Brothers provided was twice the size of the one I had in Kansas.

Ash chuckled, “Yeah it’s nice until you have two Texans crashing your place at all hours.”

My eyes must have widened because both ladies began to laugh, “I haven’t told anyone that you are a fan, (Y/N).”

“Oh… yeah…” I felt my cheeks burning and my inner fangirl was doing cartwheels.

“We’ll keep that between us for now. Jensen and Jared will eat you alive if they found out that juicy piece of information.” Ash chuckled as I noticed Susan flinch slightly.

They led me back towards the row of trailers, the first of which, they stopped and knocked on the door. My heart was beating against my chest and my hands began to shake as the door opened. There stood Jared Padalecki in all his 6’4” glory. His chestnut hair damp from a shower, his light gray t-shirt clinging to his sculpted body and the waistband of his boxers peeking out from his low hanging jeans.

I sucked in a shaky breath making Ash chuckled beside me

“Jared this is your new PA, (Y/N). Be nice.” Susan warned, narrowing her eyes at him.

His laughter echoed around them, “I’m always nice. It’s great to meet you (Y/N). Susan and Jim have told me great things about you. Hopefully, we’ll be great friends.” He held out his hand to me.

When I placed mine in his, the heat coming off of it surprised me. The corner of his lips curling upward into a sly smirk. His hazel eyes caught my attention as flecks of emerald and sapphire seemed to shine. He let go of her hand taking a step towards Ash then leaning down to kiss her kiss.

“Now I see why you needed a new PA.” I mentioned as they both smiled at me, “I look forward to working and getting to know you.”

“Me as well. Are you taking her to meet grumpy pants?” Jared looked at Susan who brow was furrowed at the interaction.

Ash groaned, “Oh no, I thought after last night he would be in a better mood.”

Looking from Susan to Ash it seemed everyone was in on the secret except me, “I’m sure we don’t need to bother him before filming. I can always meet him another time.”

“I’ll take her over to meet him. I need to check in with him anyway and it will be a good experience for her.” Ash reached up giving Jared a quick kiss then stepping away from him.

“I think you have this under control, so if you need anything (Y/N) just come to my office. Please check in with me when you’re done with your day.” Susan did not wait for a reply and walked back towards the offices.

Jared chuckled, “You’d think after all this time that she would be used to us. Ugh!” Ash smacked him in the stomach giving him a stern look.

“Come on (Y/N), let’s go meet Jensen.” Ash and I waved goodbye to Jared.

We walked a couple of trailers down and again my heart began to race. I tried taking a few deep breaths to calm down but the moment she knocked on the door all the air in my lungs vanished. The door opened and Jensen Ackles looked down at us.

“Ash, why so early?” His velvet voice sent shivers down my body.

A slight breeze blew past us and his lean body went rigid. His bright olive eyes darkened to a deep forest green. His fists were clenched at his sides and I could see his arms trembling. Jensen narrowed his menacing gaze at me freezing me in place.

“Go. Away. Now.” He seethed going back into his trailer and slamming the door.

Wide eyed and stunned, I turned to Ash who was looking perplexed, “(Y/N) why don’t you go to craft services. Tell them you want Jared’s usually breakfast and bring it back to his trailer. I will meet you there.”

“O-Okay.”

Ash directed me to where craft services were and the wonderful owners started chuckling when I asked for Jared’s usual. I carefully balanced three cups of coffee atop of three styrofoam containers filled to the brim with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, muffins and a small cup of fruit. Before I could knock, Ash opened the door to let me inside.

“Great job! My first day, I spilled the coffee.” Ash began to open the containers taking some food for herself and one of the coffees.

She handed another one to me with a soft smile, “Where’s Jared?”

“He’ll be back. He’s having a heart to heart with Jensen. For today, I would just stay clear of him.” I nodded sipping my coffee as Jared came back in frowning.

The morning and afternoon flew by as the guys began filming. Taking Ash’s advice, I made sure to stay out of Jensen’s way and even his line of sight. Not that it mattered because he was permanently in a foul mood for the day. Finally, around six o’clock Ash sent me to see Susan saying she could handle the rest of the evening filming.

Making my way to the offices, I had not seen Jensen for a while and as I made my way to Susan’s office I could hear his velvet voice coming from Jim Michaels’ office.

“She has to go.” He hissed, my heart dropping to my stomach.

There was a long sigh, “She comes highly recommended and honestly she is over qualified to even be a PA. She’s smart, talented and in need of getting her foot in the door. You better than anyone know that starts from the lower level. Did she do something or see something?”

Jensen let out a dark chuckle, “She hasn’t seen anything. She seems naive.”

“Then what’s the problem Jensen?”

There was a long pause before he answered, “She exists, that's the problem.”

I had heard enough and walked towards Susan’s door knocking before entering her office. She was packing up for the day when she looked up smiling at me, “How’d it go?”

I put on my best smile, “Jared and Ash are great. Even Misha behaved himself.”

“Jensen?” She inquired looking as if she were trying to see under my mask.

I squared my shoulders back determined to make this work, “Fine. I know my place and will keep my distance. He’s not who I have to worry about, so all that matters is how I keep Jared on time and in line.”

Susan seemed impressed by my answer then pulled out a manila envelope from her briefcase, “Legal didn’t have this drawn up at the time of your hiring. You will need to read this over and sign it by tomorrow morning.”

I took it from her, “Of course. I will have it for you first thing in the morning. Have a good night.”

Walking out of her office, I made sure Jensen was nowhere in sight. Feeling confident he was gone, I made my way towards my car. Looking down towards the ground as I walked past the row of trailers, I did not notice the black SUV behind me. The honk startled me as I tripped over my own feet landing firmly on my ass.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. Just needed you to move over a little.” I recognized the driver as Jared and Jensen’s bodyguard/driver, Clif.

The back window slid down as I stood up and Jensen’s dark eyes pierced through me. As they began to pull away I swore I heard a low hiss coming from him. I hurried to my car and drove off the lot as fast as I could. It was not until I was on the highway that my fired nerves finally started to calm down. I knew there was nothing special about me but having my favorite actor despise me sapped all hope out of my heart.

Once I was parked in my spot at my apartment building, I was standing at the elevator when the doors slid open revealing once again the gorgeous man who seemingly hated me.

“Are you following me?” He asked, walking directly at me glaring.

I stepped back, “No I-I’m not. The studio is renting an apartment for me here. I h-had no idea you lived here until Ash mentioned it this morning.”

He ran his hand over his sandy, brown hair, “Why did you take this job?”

His question took me by surprise for a moment, deciding honesty was the best policy, “I wanted to be a part of my favorite show and I wanted to learn more about the business. No better way than to start at ground level and work my way up.”

“Favorite show, huh? So, you like monsters?” He chuckled as if he had told himself a joke.

“The monsters are cool, I guess. I’m more invested in the story of the brothers. Plus there’s no romance in Supernatural which is nice.” I watched as his shoulders relaxed briefly.

His eyes glanced around then came back to me, “You don’t like a love story?”

“No. I’ve had my heart broken too many times. I’d rather escape into a world of monsters than deal with matters of the heart.” My own heart betraying me as it thumped against my ribs.

Standing in front of him now, Jensen was truly striking. His sharp facial features, fair skin, plump red lips and muscular body had my own body aching in ways it had not in years. He was beautiful.

“I should go.” He abruptly left walking off towards the street.

As soon as he was out of sight, I sucked in a deep breath willing my body to move towards the elevator. That night my dreams were filled with dark alleyways and forest green eyes.

Over the next several weeks, I fell into a regular routine on set with Jared and Ash. I kept to my word that I avoided Jensen at any cost, but had noticed he was continually coming around me more. At first, I thought it was just because of Jared, but then I noticed he was coming around when he was not needed on set.

My inner fangirl was urging and encouraging me to talk to him. Then my first time meeting Jensen flashed through my mind and kept me far away from him. The last day of filming for the week was a night shoot. Ash and I were constantly running to get coffee for ourselves and the crew to stay warm. Jared every once in a while would pull us both into a bear hug allowing his body heat to warm us up. We were in the middle of a forest as Jared and Misha were filming a scene and I was trying everything in my power not to chatter my teeth.

“You’re going to freeze to death.” His smooth voice brought heat to my cheeks.

I pulled my coat around me tighter, “I-I’ll be al-alright.”

His perfect lips pursed together before he slid his jacket off his shoulders, “Here take this,” He stepped just close enough to drape his large jacket over my shoulders.

“T-Thank you.” I slipped my arms inside surprised that it was slightly chilled still.

We stood there in silence watching as Jared purposely messed with Misha’s takes, “Children.” Jensen muttered as I chuckled.

In a rare moment I witnessed him smile brief and my inner fangirl sighed gracefully falling onto a lounge chair, “You have a great smile. It’s nice to see it.”

Jensen rolled his eyes, “Yes well, I’ve recently come to the realization that instead of trying to fight fate I should just embrace her cruel destiny.”

I raised an eyebrow at him confused, but decided it was better I remain silent. What did he mean by fighting fate? What destiny? My heart began to race as hope filled my chest. There was something about the way he had been acting and what he said that gave me hope he was talking about me. The director wrapped for the night and we made the trip back to the studio.

Just as my luck has always been, when I got to my car it would not start. I was one of the last people to leave the studio in the early hours of the morning. Trying to decide if it was worth calling a cab or just sleeping in my car. I was leaning towards the latter of the two.

“Everything okay?”

I yelped turning quickly to see Jensen stopped in his car, “Jesus, you scared me.”

He chuckled before shutting his car off and coming towards mine. He lifted the hood and began checking through everything, “Looks like it could be your starter or alternator. We can have one of the mechanics look at it Monday morning.”

I sighed heavily, “Great… just great.”

“Come on, I can give you a ride back to our building.” His genuine smile dazzled me for a moment as he closed up my car and went to open the door to his car for me, “(Y/N)?”

“Um, yeah that would be great. Thank you.” I got into his car shivering from how cold it was inside.

Jensen turned on the heat and took off down the main street towards the highway. His large hands gripped the steering wheel tightly but the rest of his body seemed relaxed. A wave of fear crashed into a wave of excitement of being in close proximity to him. My inner fangirl and mine’s curiosity was getting the better of us from earlier.

“What did you mean by embracing fate’s cruel destiny?” I thought maybe he had not heard me as a silent tension filled the air between us.

“Did you sign the NDA they drew up for you?” Answering a question with a question was a pet peeve of mine but I let it slide.

I turned slightly in my seat, “Yes, though I don’t understand why I needed to sign one. It was clearly stated in my new hire paperwork not to speak of any upcoming episodes or scripts.”

Again, his soft laughter had an edge to it, “The NDA has nothing to do with the show or network. It is something our managers and agents have in place to protect us.”

“You mean protect you and Jared? Why would you two need protecting?” Suddenly images of Jensen starring in his very own version of Fifty Shades of Grey filled my mind and my cheeks burned.

We were approaching our exit and I knew my time would be up with him, but I did not want to leave. He remained silent until he parked in his space within our garage. He turned towards me, his eyes downcast and shoulders slumped forward. If I had not known any better, I would have thought he was upset or in pain.

“Jensen, anything you or Jared would tell me or I would see would strictly be between us. I don’t need a NDA to keep private matters private. I have more respect for both of you that I would never want anyone running your names through the mud of public opinion.”

I reached out my fingers briefly brushing against the back of his smooth skin. A small gasp escaped my lips from how cold he was even with his heater on. He pulled his hand away from me quickly getting out of his car. I followed him towards the main street where he finally stopped.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” He held up his hand to silence me.

Turning back towards me, his eyes were dark once again but not threatening unlike when we first met. No, there was something else. Something I did not recognize, but it made my heart race with anticipation.

“Tomorrow, I promise to explain everything. I will come by to get you around ten o’clock.” Jensen hesitantly brushed the back of his fingers against my cheek and instinctively I gravitated towards his embrace.

He quickly took off down the sidewalk leaving me with a million questions and yearning I had never felt before. In a daze I made up to my apartment and into my bed. Sleep did not come easy and when it did my dreams were vivid, sensual.

True to his word, there was a knock on my door at ten o’clock on the dot. I opened my door inviting him in as I finished getting ready.

“I’m sorry about my place being a mess.” I mumbled going back into my room to grab my coat.

I heard me laugh, “Quite alright, I mean Jared’s place is a pigsty.”

When I walked back out, I watched as his bright olive eyes traveled the length of my body. I nervously fidget with the strings on my coat as a slow smirk spread across his face. Jensen was dressed in a simple black hoodie, dark denim pants and black boots. A pair of dark Ray Bans hanging from the collar of his hoodie. Even dressed down he looked like a runway model.

We walked to the elevator, an empty car arriving, and as we stepped in the tension between us was nearly unbearable. I shifted from one foot to the next avoiding his intense gaze. With lightning speed, Jensen had me caged against the wall and his lips pressed against my throat.

“Jen-Jensen…” I sighed breathlessly as he dragged his nose up my neck to under my ear.

“Dammit, I promised myself I would not lose control around you, but…” he paused taking a deep breath in making my legs tremble, “you smell divine.”

As quickly as the moment had happened it was over as the elevator doors opened. Jensen was on the other side of the car looking unphased by what had happened. Whereas I was trying to remember how to breath and walk at the same time. His low chuckle and smug smirk made me smack his rock hard bicep.

“Ow.” I muttered making him laugh even harder. The pain was worth it to hear his musical laughter.

Instead of going to the garage, Jensen led me towards the sidewalk. He slid his dark sunglasses over his beautiful eyes and pulled his hood up over his head. I figured this was so no one would recognize him from the show. We walked side by side towards a nearby park. Our hands would brush against one another until finally he took mine in his pulling me closer to him. Leading me to a spot just off the Vancouver Harbor.

The sun was shining bright warming my skin then a cold breeze from the water would make me shiver. We sat at a clear spot sitting silently next to one another staring out over the water. Jensen gently pulled me into his side and draped his arm around my shoulder.

“Well, this is much better than when I first met you.” I whispered leaning my head on his shoulder.

I felt him press his lips and nose against the top of my head inhaling deeply, “Yes, well when we first met I wasn’t expecting you to be so… appealing.”

I sat up looking at him, “What does that mean? I feel like you are talking around me and I don’t like that.”

He sighed, pulling his hood down further as the sun shined brightly over us, “It’s only because the truth would send you running far, far away.”

“I told you, anything you tell me is between us. You have my word and a signed NDA for a safety net.” My inner fangirl and I were desperate to know what secret he was holding back. She was practically jumping on the lounger within my mind.

“When Eric Kripke came up with the idea of Supernatural, he had no idea how close to being right he was.” He pulled his sunglasses down his piercing out looking over them.

I swallowed the small lump lodge in my throat, “So you’re saying that supernatural creatures are real or that hunters are real?”

He smiled, pushing his glasses back up, “I guess hunters could be real, but then humans would have to acknowledge the fact that monsters were real.”

“Monsters… like you?” Suddenly a lot of his behaviors were making sense even if my mind could not wrap around the fact that monsters were real.

He nodded, “Does that scare you?”

“No.” My answer came quick and firm. I was not afraid of him. I knew he would never harm me. Somewhere deep within my heart and soul, I knew I was right where I belonged.

“You should be. I’m a dangerous creature even more so than Jared.” He looked out towards the water, “Mainly because Jared is just a big dog. All cute and cuddly as Ash would say.”

“Jared is a… werewolf?” I could not quite believe the words coming from my mouth, but his nod answered my question, “Then you are…”

Jensen faced me baring his teeth as his fangs grew slightly longer than the rest. I sucked in a breath as he closed his mouth, “Now you’re afraid.”

“No. More mesmerized than anything. You’re… you’re a vampire.” The awe in my voice could not be helped. I spent most of my life reading grand tales of mythical creatures and humans falling in love with them. Now, I was in the middle of my own fairytale.

He scoffed, “Mesmerized? I’m an undead murderer and you're in awe of it.” He looked away in disgust.

“I’m in awe of you. You’re obviously drawn to my scent and yet here you sit next to me. You could have ended me at any time these last few weeks but you haven’t. Hell, in the elevator that could have been it, but all you did was… kiss my neck. I’m in awe of your strength and will power.”

Jensen's expression softened and he pulled me back into his side, “It’s difficult being around you. When I first met you, I had never wanted a human so much in my life. First it was my primal need, but now…”

“Now what?” My heart skipped a beat as hope filled my chest.

“Now, I have this overwhelming need to protect you and be by your side always.” His jaw clenched as he spoke the words.

I reached up brushing my hand against his cheek, “Why is that so hard for you to say?”

He leaned into my touch, “Loving me is a death sentence. The thought of losing you is insufferable.”

Jensen’s forehead pressed against mine as I whispered, “We found each other. That’s all that matters.”

“You’re ridiculous, you know that right?” He chuckled, easily lifting me onto his lap and wrapping his arms around me.

“I’ve been called worse. Tell me more about your life.”

For the next several hours, Jensen told me all about his life from his rebirth in 1920 to how he and Jared became best friends. I hung on every word of every story he told and it was not until my stomach began to growl from hunger that he finally stopped.

“You should eat.” He easily picked me up as he stood and set my feet on the ground.

I looked away from him, the anxiety building in my chest knowing we would have to part ways soon. He laced his fingers through mine and led me back towards the main sidewalk. When we arrived at our building, I was having a difficult time keeping the tears that threatened to fall back. Once again, as we stepped into the elevator, the air tightened around us.

“What is it about elevators?” he muttered making me laugh as the very thought had gone through my head.

When we went past my floor, I looked over and saw a smile on his face. We stopped at the very top floor both sighing as we exited the elevator. He pulled out his keys and opened the door for apartment 1520.

“I thought it was only fair if you saw my place as well.” Jensen held the door open for me as I walked in.

The layout was open and bright with one wall being all windows. His furniture was dark gray with steel blue and navy accent pillows. He had a big flat screen TV with a few game consoles. What caught her by surprise was the wall of records and record player he had. I turned back around to see him anxiously watching me.

“Not what I expected from a vampire.” I walked towards his flawless kitchen and looked untouched which I guess was to be expected.

“Were you expecting a coffin and velvet?” His smile was infectious as I nodded.

Taking off my coat, I sat down on his couch as he walked off towards his bedroom. Jensen came back in with his tablet and a blanket. He placed the blanket over my and sat next to me.

“Order whatever you would like for dinner. Don’t worry about paying for it because I insist.” He chuckled as I rolled my eyes.

Deciding to order from my favorite pizza place I handed him the tablet to put his payment information in, “What do you eat?”

“Finally! The question I have been waiting for all day.” He exclaimed, “Are you sure you want to know?”

I nodded, “If I’m diving head first into oblivion then I want to know everything.”

“Brave woman. I still drink blood, but that which is donated. There are certain organizations within the acting community that are set up for actors such as myself. We go to grab our supply of ‘food’ and then we store it in our homes.” He pointed back towards the refrigerator, “All of it is from blood drives once the hospital receives its share then we buy the remainder.”

It was better than him stealing blood like Benny in Supernatural or drinking animal blood like Edward in Twilight, “Oh okay then. At least I won’t be surprised if I open the fridge now.”

There was a sad undertone in his laugh, but I chose to ignore it, “What about Jared and Ash?”

“Ash is human, but she seemingly blossomed at the end of last season. Jared was immediately drawn to her and they spent most of the summer at his cabin near Red Rock Point, Montana.” Jensen bit his lip smirking.

“Why?” I knew there was more to what he was saying but he seemed almost embarrassed to speak of it.

He sighed pulling me closer to him, “If you had asked me that question a month ago I would have given you a snarky answer about not being able to control his inner animal, but now… now I know better.”

I leaned my head against his shoulder, “Meaning…”

“Every few months, Jared would go into what he calls a rut. His need to procreate becomes overwhelming and he has to be off on his own as a wolf to deal with it. Now, he found his mate and one weekend a month they will go off to his cabin to… you know…”

My inner fangirl was begging on her knees for Jensen to say the words out loud but I just nodded, “I get it. Why is it now that you know better than before?”

I looked up into his shining eyes captivated as he leaned closer to me, “Because now I know exactly how Jared felt when he found Ash.”

His perfect full lips were inching closer to mine. My tongue darted out over them just before his were going to touch them then his door intercom buzzed. A small growl escaped his lips as he quickly got up buzzing the delivery man in. I found myself trying to take deep breaths to collect myself as my inner fangirl was hyperventilating.

“Dinner is served.” He said placing the box down on the table.

“I’m not hungry right now.” I said as he sat back down next to me.

He laughed, “Eat before the alien in your stomach pops out and eats the pizza for you.”

I narrowed my eyes at him before lifting the box open and grabbing a slice. Settling back into his side, he turned on his Netflix account. His fingertips trailing down my arm as I took a bite.

As I was taking a second bite he leaned in whispering into my ear, “There will be plenty of time to test my will power later.”

I shivered, truly no longer hungry for food. I placed the piece of pizza back in the back turning towards him, “What would happen if I took initiative and kissed you?”

He turned into a stone statue as he stared at me, “That would be a very dangerous thing to do.” He spoke slowly with a hint of challenge in his tone.

My inner fangirl was cheering me on as I pushed the blanket onto the floor and swung my leg over his lap sitting on his thighs. His ice cold hands gripped my hips as I leaned down my lips hovering his. There was a brief moment where time stood still then it was as if a rubber band snapped. His lips crashed against me and his arms wrapped around my waist holding me against him. He groaned as if in pain and I pulled away from him.

“Since I’m breaking all my rules and going to hell…” He whispered and in a flash we were both tumbling onto his bed.

That night was the best one of my life. Jensen may be a primal killer but with me he was nothing short of a gentle lover. I knew from that moment, I would do anything to remain at his side forever. Just like every cliche movie or book trope where the meek, naive woman falls in love with a monster that has a heart gold. I found myself in their exact shoes desiring an everlasting love affair with a vampire.

On Monday, when Jensen and I arrived at the studio, Jared and Ash were waiting by his trailer. No words were spoken between them but by the smiles on their faces I could tell they knew what was going on between Jensen and I.

“You owe me twenty bucks Padalecki.” I heard Ash as Jared grumbled.

Jensen and I laughed as we walked to the studio building to meet with the executive producers and legal team concerning our newly starting relationship together.

If you enjoyed this story then check out my Masterlist!

My Nerd Herd: @waywardbaby @ladywinchester1967 @akshi8278 @ericaprice2008 @deans-baby-momma @spnbaby-67 @dean-winchesters-bacon @carryonmywaywardcaptain @-lovepeacenhope- @destiel745 @carribear31 @srsllydunnodoncare @whimsicalrobots @thisismysecrethappyplace @starstruckzonkoperatorbat @adoptdontshoppets @mrswhozeewhatsis @bella-ca @drakelover78 @imascio08 @pisces-cutie @dwgrl1903-blog @mannls @the-salty-asian @winchesterprincessbride @xostephanie @superromijn @witch-of-letters @time-travel-bouqet @screechingartisancashbailiff @myinconnelly1 @sister-winchesters99 @thekatherinewinchester @maddiepants @tumbler-tidbits @sandlee44 @destielhoneybee @jerkbitchidjitassbutt @thefaithfulwriter @stoneyggirl @supernaturalginger @emoryhemsworth @wednesdayismyfunday @team-free-will-you-idjiot @atc74 @cosicas-cuquis @casseythebee

#SPN Bi-weekly writing challenge #jensen ackles fanfiction #jensen ackles fanfic #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles fluff #jensen ackles angst #jensen ackles au

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refinedbuffoonery · 3 years

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5x04 Thoughts

That’s the right ep # right?? I already lost track lmao.

Anyway this episode was pretty good. Y’all are, of course, entitled to your own opinions, but here me out on why it is, in a narrative sense, a well-done episode.

Part 1: Desi + Family

At first glance, all of these scenes were pretty standard for the show. They were predictable. But, if you look closer, the nuances to each scene add meaning and depth to the typical “characters try to have personal life and it goes to hell” trope. I could write a whole essay unpacking Desi’s micro-expressions throughout the episode. Notable ones include: Desi mocking her dad when he’s bragging about Simon, while she’s recreating the murder fight with her brother, and each of the pauses between punching bad guys. This show does so much of it’s deeper-level storytelling through the actors’ facial expressions, and if you don’t pay attention then you’ll miss half the story.

What we learn about Desi through both the backstory we’re explicitly given and her reactions is that she’s grown up in her brother’s shadow, as the second-favorite child. He’s the one who always made the “right” aka family-oriented decisions, and when Desi pursued the things she believed in (aka joining the military, then becoming a spy), she was deemed the harder child by her family. Desi has a career that would make her parents proud, but she is stuck suffering the consequences of not being able to tell them about it...and we see their growth at the end when her parents figure out her job isn’t what it seems.

We could spend forever psychoanalyzing people who grow up in the shadow of their siblings, but I’m lazy, so all I’m going to say about it is that it can really fuck with someone’s head.

Desi feels estranged from her family because of all this (plus the fact that her brother leaves her out of the loop), and Mac is totally right when he tells her that it’s not actually the job that’s keeping her away. She stays away because she thinks she doesn’t fit in. But, Desi can be close to her family even with all the secrets. If Jack could do it with Riley and her mom, then Desi can do it with her family. And throughout the course of the episode, Desi figures out that Mac is right.

Part 2: The Future of the Phoenix

We get so few glimpses into the larger workings of the Phoenix outside Mac + the gang, so it was nice to see Matty and Russ’s scheming applied to the organization as a whole and not just the team.

No one is perfect, but Matty Weber is pretty damn close. We got to see both sides of her this episode: Boss Matty and mom/mentor Matty. She is exactly the type of person who should be in the driver’s seat of a powerful organization like the Phoenix. Every interaction with Eli (the kid) was just...flawless.

In future episodes, I want to see Bozer, Mac, and Riley all taking turns mentoring Eli and teaching him cool stuff. And I want more of Mom Matty helping him (and the rest of her spy kids lmao) navigate life. All four of them are so good with kids/teenagers, so it would be fun to see that side of them in action. (I know Eli won’t become a main character any time soon, if ever, but leave me and my wishful thinking alone.)

Part 3: Other Stuff

This episode, particularly in the first half, was funny. The sex innuendo in the opening, Desi mocking her dad, and Eli saying “yeah but can Mac make a self-driving car in two minutes” and Matty confidently replying “Definitely” were all my exact brand of humor.

Also, I liked how they incorporated everyone in meaningful ways despite the huge number of characters in this episode. There were 13 named characters, plus just as many unnamed ones (i.e. all the bad guys and Eli’s parents). Yes there wasn’t much of Riley—and even less of Bozer—but in exchange we got more of Matty doing her thing plus Desi and Mason character development. Seems like a fair trade to me.

Speaking of Mason, the writers seem to be setting up some kind of redemption arc for him. I haven’t yet figured out why he’s important enough to keeping coming back, but I’m interested to see where this goes.

Overall episode rating: solid 8.5/10.

#beth speaks #macgyver #season 5 thoughts

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westallenfun · 3 years

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A Most Unexpected Love, Chapter 2

WestAllen secret santa gift

From: @jade4813

For: @sophisticatedloserchick

Author Notes: For the lovely @sophisticatedloserchick from @jade4813! Merry Christmas, and I hope you like my first fic after a long hiatus!

Title: A Most Unexpected Love

Rating: PG

Synopsis: Iris has loved Eddie Thawne Allen her entire life. When she returns home just before Christmas, it looks like she might finally have a chance to catch his eye…unless an accident puts his older brother, Barry, directly in her path. Story inspired by Sabrina (with some quotes lifted more or less directly from the source material).

Chapters: 2/7

Chapter Two

Iris squinted at the glare of the sun reflecting off the fallen snow, pulling a pair of sunglasses out of her purse and sliding them on before grabbing the handle of her suitcase and giving it a tug. It had been a long journey, but she was finally home, arriving just in time for the holidays. Her father was supposed to pick her up, but she’d jumped at the opportunity to take an earlier flight than originally scheduled. It would make a tremendous surprise for him, she decided upon landing, and so she walked purposefully toward the taxi station, rather than calling to update him on her change of plans.

The drive didn’t take long, but she still needed to stretch some kinks out of her muscles when she stepped out of the car and fixed the Allen house with a critical eye. It looked almost exactly as it had in her memory, though it appeared someone had affixed the shutters with a new coat of paint at some point in the three years since she’d last stood in this spot. She’d missed this place, she realized, as well as all the people who worked there. Not to mention Eddie. She could never forget how much she’d missed Eddie.

But Eddie wasn’t her primary concern at the moment. She ran a hand down the fabric of her skirt, smoothing out the wrinkles. She wanted to look her best for her first meeting with her dad. Of course, they’d seen each other numerous times over the last three years. He’d come to visit her at school, and they Facetimed at least once a week. But this was her first time coming home as a college graduate – and an adult woman who had proved herself capable of running her own life. She wanted to make him proud.

Thanking the driver, she passed him a tip before grabbing her bag, pulling it behind her as she approached the house. It was rather heavy, so she pulled it to the side of the house, where it would be out of the way until she could retrieve it later. Then she stepped indoors on a quest to find her father.

Knowing he often stopped by the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee, she decided to head in that direction first. On the way, she heard the clattering of balls knocking together in the game room and peered in on her way past, curious to know who was inside. Her heart skipped a beat when she caught her first glimpse of Eddie, his tousled blond hair falling expertly across his forehead as he leaned over to line up his cue stick with the ball. As though sensing her presence in the doorway, he glanced up and straightened abruptly at the sight of her, his eyes growing wide.

“Wow. I mean, hi,” he greeted her with that boyish grin that had captured her heart so many years before.

Feeling a little shy, as she always did in his presence, she threw him a small smile. “I don’t mean to disturb you. I was just looking for someone.”

“Whoever it is, I’m happy to pretend I’m him if it means you stick around,” he reassured her hastily, setting his pool cue aside.

The obviousness of his pickup line, combined with the headiness that his attention was focused on her for a change and the astonishment that he didn’t seem to recognize her, made her laugh. “I’m afraid not,” she said, pulling off her sunglasses so she could get a better look at him. How could he not know her? Granted, it had been a few years, but they’d grown up together, and she didn’t think she’d changed that much.

But still, while she was a little disappointed in his continued ignorance of her identity, she was warmed by the gaze he swept over her body. “Let me guess…you’re looking for Barry. He’s always had all the luck. Well, today is also your lucky day because he happens to be my brother. So I’m pretty much the same thing, right?”

As he teased her, he threw her another one of his devastating grins, prompting her to laugh again. “I don’t think so,” she said, shaking her head. As tempted as she was to linger and bask in the glow of his flirtation, she couldn’t wait to see her dad, so she took a step back, intending to walk away.

Eddie wasn’t content to let her go, as he bounded after her. Taking position by her side, he walked with her as he chided her gently, “You’re really gonna make me work for it, huh? And here I was, hoping we could get to know each other better.”

Iris threw him a wry look out of the corner of her eye. “Really? And here I was, thinking you just liked the chase but you wouldn’t know what to do with me if you caught me.”

“That is categorically untrue!” he protested, feigning offense. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand gently, and Iris thrilled in the warmth of his touch. “But, you know, I won’t be able to prove that to you if you don’t let me catch you.”

“I suppose that’s true,” she conceded, humoring him. Then, succumbing to curiosity, she pressed, “You really don’t recognize me?”

She knew full well that Eddie wasn’t a good enough actor to feign the surprise that crossed his features. “Why? Should I? I can’t imagine we’ve ever met. I’d definitely remember you.”

“You might be surprised,” she returned in a dry tone.

Eddie might have lost the battle, but he wasn’t about to concede the war. Instead, he pressed, “Well, that’s all the more reason for you to give me a chance. I tell you what. We’re having a Christmas party here tonight at eight o’clock. Say you’ll come. We can catch up on old times, just the two of us.”

Chuckling, Iris shook her head. “You don’t give up, do you?” she asked, secretly pleased with his efforts. After all these years, he’d finally noticed her. He was finally chasing after her. Perhaps it was small of her to revel in their altered circumstances, but recognizing that fact did nothing to change it.

“Nope,” he replied with a shameless grin.

Iris nodded. “All right. I’ll see you tonight. Eight o’clock.” His display of elation at her agreement didn’t even come close to that which she secretly felt. She managed to hide her smile until she walked away and turned a corner. Then it was all she could do to bite back her shriek of joy. It was all she’d ever hoped for, catching Eddie’s eye, and the reality was so far better than she’d even imagined.

That night, Iris gave her reflection one more critical look before leaving her room and heading to the party. Her dad had been overjoyed to see her, but his happiness had been diminished slightly when he’d heard about her interaction with Eddie. She knew he was just worried about her; he’d never approved of her attachment to the younger Allen son. Though he loved the family and would give his life for any of them, he’d confessed he didn’t think Eddie was good enough for her, but she’d always dismissed his opinion as being clouded by paternal affection and a life-long overprotective streak.

His concern did nothing to diminish her excitement, and so she’d shrugged it off as she’d dressed into one of her favorite gowns, obtained during her studies abroad. Floor-length and deep red in color, it was strapless, with a chiffon skirt and beaded top with a sweetheart neckline. It was the perfect dress for a holiday party, and – more importantly – she knew it would draw Eddie’s eye.

She was almost skipping with joy as she walked into the party, her eyes sweeping over the crowd looking for one face in particular. But it wasn’t Eddie who caught her eye first; it was Bartholomew. Tall and lanky – and able to wear a tuxedo like he was born into it, even more than his brother (though it seemed traitorous of her to think so) – he’d always stood out from a crowd. She’d recognize him anywhere, even when his back was to her as it was now. She watched as the tall redhead before him said something to him, nodding toward Iris in the doorway. He turned to follow her gaze, his face breaking into a heart-warming smile when he caught sight of Iris.

She watched as he said something to his companion and then raced toward her, stopping barely a foot away. For just a moment, she thought he was going to pull her into a hug, but he didn’t. Instead, he smiled at her warmly and cried, “Iris! You’re home? Why didn’t you come by and say hi? How was your trip?”

Before she could answer, Eddie appeared as though out of nowhere, stepping in front of his brother. “You came!” he said gleefully. “I wasn’t sure you would.” When Bartholomew cleared his throat, Eddie stepped to the side and looked at his brother in surprise. “Oh, I’m sorry, did I – wait, do you two know each other?”

Bartholomew looked at his brother in confusion and concern. “You’re kidding, right? It’s Iris.” When Eddie didn’t seem to register the name, he prodded, “West? Joe’s daughter?”

Eddie’s head whipped around in surprise. “What, really? Iris?” As his gaze swept over her again, understanding dawned in his eyes, and he pulled her into a tight hug. “Oh my god, it’s so good to have you back! Now you really have to dance with me. Let’s go.”

He grabbed her hand and started to pull her away, and she was more than happy to follow, but his brother intervened. Clearing his throat, he moved slightly into Eddie’s path and cautioned him, “Is this really a good idea? How is Patty—”

Eddie cut him off. “Barry, I know that you excel at being a stick-in-the-mud, and you’re twenty-five going on eighty. But it’s a party! Surely you can go bore someone else? Iris just got here.” It was the first time in her entire life that she could recall being so taken aback by or disagreed with Eddie’s behavior, and when he grabbed her hand to pull her onto the dance floor, she hung back. Finally, her reluctance seemed to get through to him, because he stopped to ask her what wrong.

“I know he’s your brother, and the two of you…well, you don’t always get along. But that was unfair. He a little serious, but he isn’t a bad guy,” she reprimanded him gently.

He grimaced. “Okay, you’re right. I’m sorry.” He gave her another one of his boyish grins, which had gotten him out of trouble over his entire life. “I’ll apologize to him later, too. But for right now, I really do want to dance with you.”

Iris almost protested, but then she was in his arms and he was sweeping her around the dance floor, and it was better than she’d ever dreamed. She felt herself get lost in his eyes, barely noticing when the song changed to something soft and slow and he pulled her closer, tempting her to rest her head on his shoulder.

“You know what I want?” he murmured in her ear. “I want to dance with you.”

“You are dancing with me,” she shot back with a slight laugh.

His grin was unrepentant. “I want to dance with you alone. It’s too public here; we can’t really talk.” Then, as though the idea had just occurred to him, he added, “Hey, there’s something you should see.”

She’d seen him pick up enough women that she knew what he was about to suggest. He was going to suggest that she meet him in his mother’s solarium. He would meet her there with a bottle of champagne and two glasses, and they would dance under the twinkling lights that were undoubtedly strung along the ceiling in observance of the upcoming holiday. While they danced, he would woo her with his words, and then they would kiss. Just because it was a scene she knew had played out dozens of times didn’t means she didn’t want to be a part of it.

“Okay,” she breathed, swaying toward him.

“Meet me in my mom’s solarium?” He paused, grimacing, as he realized that she wasn’t like most of the women he courted in this manner. “Oh, I just realized…you’ve probably already seen my mom’s solarium, huh?”

Afraid this hitch in his plans would cause him to grow skittish, she reassured him, “But I haven’t seen it in years! Will you show it to me?”

“I’d love to.” He danced her closer to the exit and came to a stop, though he didn’t immediately release her. “Head over, and I’ll follow you in a minute. I want to grab a bottle of champagne first.”

“Sure,” she breathed, watching with a wistful smile as he stepped away. The entire stroll to the solarium, she felt like she was walking on air.

#westallen #westallen secret santa #submission

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niamaggie · 3 years

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100 - Julie and the Phantoms Prompts

In honor of my favorite holiday and one of my more recent obsessions, I have been posting fic prompts over on the Julie and the Phantoms Discord server (https://discord.gg/2WC6GD23UT). Today I reached a milestone of 100 prompts and decided to masterpost them here.

Some of these are fluffy, but many are angsty/whumpy, but they’re all ones that have popped off in my brain in the last month or so. Many are of the guys and Julie, but they’re are prompts for pretty much every character. I’ve done my best to put triggers before the actual prompt, but if I’m missing any, please let me know.

These are free to use, however, I do ask that you tag me or send me a message if you decide to fill one since I would love to read it and add it to this list. <3

Prompt 1: *Triggers - Body Horror* The Phantoms feed off of Julie’s energy to stay corporeal. The more energy, the longer they can stay visible and the easier they can interact with everyone. At first, it’s really great. The guys get to meet everyone officially and things are looking up. But, Julie is having a harder time staying awake and keeping it together. She feels guilty since she loves how the guys are able to enjoy themselves. She doesn’t want to end that for them. Eventually, she can’t keep up anymore and tells them what’s going on. Queue cuddle time to recharge and talk it all out. They decide to slowly build up Julie’s abilities. Bonus: ALL THE CUDDLES

Prompt 2: What if Julie knew Caleb outside of the guys (maybe history with her mom)? What if she considered him family and didn’t realize he was the one causing issues with the guys? They run into each other when Caleb comes after the Orpheum performance expecting the band to take his deal. Julie: “Uncle Caleb?” “Julie?!”

Prompt 3: *Triggers - Nightmare* Julie has a night terror after the Orpheum performance, thinking the guys are gone. She runs into the studio and the guys are all there sleeping/napping. She breaks down, and just grabs onto them and won’t let go. They all cuddle her to calm her down, telling her they are still there. They all fall asleep on the couch.

Prompt 4: *Triggers - Child Neglect, Child Mental Abuse, & Anxiety* There’s more to Alex’s story with his family than what Luke said. They don’t just disapprove of him; they outright pretend he doesn’t exist. It gets to a point where he completely breaks down in the studio after having a bad practice day (the kind of day where nothing is going right). Being a ghost, is like what his family did to him, but on a much bigger scale. It’s much harder to deal with... Just want the band to comfort him, please?

Prompt 5: *Triggers - Mental Health* Reggie really, really wants to be able to interact with Julie’s family. Now that they can touch her, he shyly asks if they can officially meet them. “If that’s ok?” “It’s just they..” She beams and says, “ Of course.” Reggie just hugs her super tight with watery eyes.

Prompt 6: *Triggers - Murder* The hotdog’s weren’t rancid; they were poisoned. Why did someone want Sunset Curve dead? (Not Bobby/Trevor)

Prompt 7: With all the new found fame for “Julie and the Phantoms”, the band starts amassing quite a fan following. One particular “fan” thinks Julie doesn’t deserve/is good enough to be playing with them. They’re determined that she needs to go. #ProtectiveGhosts.

Prompt 8: Hanging out with the boys has some perks (especially since they can now touch). With practice, the guys can do a lot more than just poof away. So, they decide to use more ghostly tricks on Julie in their set/show. Julie phasing through the boys like in Bright, teleporting her to different areas of the stage, helping her with magical costume changes?

Prompt 9: Ray decides he needs to meet the boys, especially after that performance. If nothing else, he just wants to thank them for saving his daughter and his family. When he does meet them (and catches the little things they say about their families), he decides to officially/unofficially adopt them into the family. There is no way he can let any child (let alone these ones) think that no adult is in their corner.

Prompt 10: The boys being involved with Julie’s family. Simple things like helping set up the dinner table (spots for all of them and Julie’s mom) and talking about their day. Cue, Tia Victoria showing up and being condescending/rude to the family. So, the boys decide a little payback is in order. Meanwhile, the Molinas just sit there and are like “What are you talking about? We didn’t see/hear anything?”.. #TheBoysDon’tPutUpWithThat

Prompt 11: *Triggers - Physical Abuse* - Julie notices things are off with “Nick”. She can’t explain it, but she knows something isn’t right with him. He’s asking all sorts of questions about the Phantoms, asking who are they, how did you meet, how does it work, etc. Julie tries to brush him off with short answers, but, “Nick” is persistent and he wants what he wants. “Nick” eventually gets fed up with playing nice and grabs Julie’s arms hard enough to leave bruises. Julie gets away after a few moves (there’s no way that girl doesn’t have some killer martial arts moves). She shows up to practice with angry tears. The guys ask what’s wrong, but tells them it’s nothing and tries to start practice. Luke holds her arm and she hisses while taking a half step back. The guys are shocked when Luke pulls up her sleeve and they see the finger-shaped bruises. #ProtectiveGhosts #PissedOffGhosts

Prompt 12: *Triggers - Bullying* What if people did notice Julie talking to thin air? She’s shunned/bullied by everyone at school including Flynn (Julie never gets to sing “Flying Solo” to her). It gets so bad that she runs away after an exceptionally bad day. The boys try to convince her to go home, but she refuses. Feeling guilty, they decide to watch out for her. So, her new life a mix of epic shows at night with the guys, but the reality is she’s still homeless on the streets of LA. Eventually her dad and brother find her (and with some words from the boys about their own regrets), they all take her home.

Prompt 13: *Triggers - Bullying* One of Carrie’s dancers decides to pick on Julie about her mom, thinking it will put them in better standing with Carrie. Unfortunately for them, that type of “attack” on Julie was the one thing that Carrie won’t stand for. Because even if Carrie and Julie aren’t friends any more, they have a mutual/silent agreement that their moms are off limits. Carrie apologizes to Julie for the attack and says she knows better. They don’t magically end up best friends again, but they’re no longer enemies.

Prompt 14: *Triggers - Murder* The line in “fit to kill” from “You Got Nothing To Lose” stirs up some ideas because what if Caleb was responsible for the boys deaths? After all, he does seem fixated on them... Maybe he just wants them as more ghosts for his club or as a part of his house band? Maybe it’s more their potential? Either way, the boys ruined his plans by not showing up for 25 years… Good thing he had Willie keep an eye out for them… But then again, he did bargain with Willie for his freedom in exchange for theirs.

Prompt 15: *Triggers - Child Neglect & Abuse* What if Julie’s family were the opposite from cannon because they blame her for her mother’s death? … If only, Julie hadn’t needed a ride from voice lessons and a reckless driver was actually paying attention… Julie connects with the boys on another level since none of them have good families. They become each other’s found family instead.

Prompt 16: There are consequences for using the likenesses of the deceased. What happens when Julie and the Phantoms get CEASE & DESIST notices from the boys’ families? What do they do since they can’t play/preform?

Prompt 17: Julie and Flynn think it’s time that the boys got some new clothes and personal items. Queue ghostly shenanigans at the mall/stores with all three of them.

Prompt 18: Actual Witch Julie! She meant to summon her mom (also a witch), but accidently summoned the guys. Oops. She tries again using part of “Wake Up” lyrics to talk to her mom, but it doesn’t go anywhere… Julie’s best gift is her voice, good thing she’s working on her enchanting skills.

Prompt 19: *Triggers - Injury* Concussion – Julie has an accident and has some retrograde amnesia of the last few months, meaning she doesn’t remember meeting the guys. How do you explain to someone that you’re ghosts, but only you can see them unless you’re preforming together? “Like how?! That doesn’t make any sense?!” Just want the guys trying a couple of different ways to convince her, but Julie is being stubborn. Think first scene of them together, but more denial and more of “Stop talking to them. They’re not real. There’s no such thing as cute ghosts.”

Prompt 20: Comic Con?! Julie and the Phantoms go to Comic Con (either as guests or maybe as performers?). They’re all super excited, but Reggie can’t contain himself. How can he with all the costumes, the artists, and the actors. Hello?! “There’s so much to see!” Plus, how much mischief can they get into? 😉

Prompt 21: Rules/Boundaries – You know how Julie keeps mentioning boundaries and the guys keep breaking them? She decides to come up with a list to keep in the studio… Honestly, I would just like to see little moments where the guys keep breaking Julie’s rules. Could be a 5+1 fic, where most of them are comedic, but the last one is gut-wrenching?

Prompt 22: What if Julie was more physically connected to the guys? Like when she’s sick, they’re sick, etc. And what if they start showing signs of aging like their hair getting longer as months go by? What does that mean?

Prompt 23: Julie starts experiencing shooting chest pains. At first, she brushes it off, but they’re getting worse. During practice, she gets another one, only this time she can’t take in a breath. Can the boys help her?

Prompt 24: When the guys are “preforming” at Caleb’s club, Julie goes looking for them. When she finds them, she can tell they’re in trouble and decides to crash the party. She helps free the guys and everyone else from Caleb’s clutches with a musical number of her own. Without the other ghosts feeding his abilities, Caleb fades away into nothing.

Prompt 25: Birthdays – Would love to see everyone else’s birthday moments, but with Julie and the Molina family? Maybe a little angst since I don’t think Reggie or Alex’s family really celebrated theirs and here are the Molinas stepping up for some boys who are eternally 17?

Prompt 26: *Triggers - Body Horror, Human Remains, Murder* The guys are feeling pain again, but it’s all over, and it feels - different and wrong. It takes a few days to find out why. On the news, are their photos. They’re bodies are being exhumed as their deaths have been reopened as possible homicides.

Prompt 27: Band Life – Just a little cut scene where everyone is doing warm-ups. But, I really want to see the guys helping Alex stretch before (since apparently drummers can get terrible muscle aches/cramps).

Prompt 28: Holidays – Just imagine the guys’ first holidays with Julie’s family. All the usual cheesiness, but must include a trip to the mountains and a snowball fight.

Prompt 29: Sleepover – It’s late and the band decides to have a sleepover in the studio. After a bit, it turns very deep and emotional. It becomes a really eye-opening experience for Julie as she learns more about her bandmates and they her.

Prompt 30: *Triggers - Allergic Reaction* Food - The boys are very protective of what the Molina family eats. I’m talking they will throw out, reheat, overcook food if the food is at all questionable. One day, they throw out Julie’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich “because the jam looked off”. So, they make her a peanut butter and fluff one, too bad that they didn’t know Julie’s allergic to corn (which can also be used to make marshmallows).

Prompt 31: *Triggers - Cheating* The guys ask Julie what the situation is with Carrie and why she’s seems to be out to get her? Julie explains that they used to be best friends before Carrie’s mother cheated on her dad and Carrie caught her in the act. “After that, Carrie was gone from school one week and it was like her personality changed overnight into this plastic I’m-better-than-you robot. I tried talking to her, but she ignored me for months. Anytime I tried, she pretty much just harassed me to go away. Then my mom got sick and then she died. I just didn’t have the energy to keep trying.”

Prompt 32: Julie singing in Spanish and the guys being in awe.

Prompt 33: *Triggers - Death of a Parent & Grief* Rose’s death… How did she die? What were the Molinas like in the first year after her death?

Prompt 34: Something where the Julie is being interviewed and has to describe the guys and they her?

Luke – Contagious, Sensitive, Intense

Reggie – Lovable, Goofball, Questionable

Alex – Loyal, Emotional, Careful

Julie – Gifted, Fiery, Thoughtful

Prompt 35: Luke singing “Unsaid Emily” acoustically for a show (Julie did reach out to the Pattersons beforehand).

Prompt 36: *Triggers - Illness* Julie having to perform while she is seriously sick. The guys try to convince her to postpone, but she’s being stubborn. She continues the show until she literally collapses at the end of it. The guys are worried and take her home afterwards to recuperate.

Prompt 37: I really want a protective Flynn fic where she doesn’t trust the boys after they ditch Julie and her at the dance. She makes them work hard to make it up to them.

Prompt 38: *Triggers - Character Death* What if Rose was the one who found the guys after the rancid hotdogs and called 9-1-1?

Prompt 39: *Triggers - Injury* The jolts happen to Julie instead of the guys. Despite the guys being the ones cursed, every jolt is felt by Julie instead and she gets weaker and weaker. What better blackmail and incentive to the guys need to join Caleb’s club?

Prompt 40: *Triggers - Possession & Stalking* The guys notice possessed Nick stalking Julie at school and eventually her house/studio. #PhantomBodyguards

Prompt 41: *Triggers - Bullying* What if Carrie witnessed Flynn and Julie being bullied by another student? Something in her snaps and she rips the bully a new one before helping Flynn and Julie.

Prompt 42: With Julie’s help, Luke is able to track down Reggie’s and Alex’s families as a surprise/gift. He wants to give them the same closure that Julie gave to him.

Prompt 43: Role reversal – After a performance, Julie is the one to poof out.

Prompt 44: What if Julie was a medium (since birth) and was trying to talk to her mom, but can’t? Instead, she got the guys?

Prompt 45: *Triggers - Physical Child Abuse, Child Emotional Abuse, Child Mental Abuse, Child Neglect* The boys’ lives are a lot darker than canon. Reggies’s are physically abusive, Alex’s are emotionally/mentally abusive, Luke’s are neglectful/never around. 3+1 (Molina family being awesome).

Prompt 46: *Triggers - Suicidal Thoughts & Ideation* Reggie was suicidal before having found a family with Luke and Alex (and then Julie and her family). He looks back on where he was and where he is now. “I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that.” And “All it takes is a beautiful fake smile to hide an injured soul and they will never notice how broken you really are.”– both Robin Williams

Prompt 47: Julie is the new student at school, but the guys are still ghosts. How would it play out if no one knew Julie before “Bright”?

Prompt 48: JATP are being interviewed (virtually) and the interviewer starts asking inappropriate questions about Julie and the guys’ relationship. Julie is clearly upset (as are the guys). It gets so bad, the guys decide to disconnect and refuse to continue. Afterwards, they cuddle Julie and talk about it.

Prompt 49: A lifer from Caleb’s club sees a JATP performance and are not happy to be paying for an exclusive ghost experience only to find it available for free. As time goes on, more and more lifers are refusing to go to Caleb’s club until it’s an actual “ghost town”.

Prompt 50: Bobby/Trevor is a lifer at Caleb’s club.

Prompt 51: *Triggers - Murder* Bobby/Trevor made a deal with a ghost in 1995. Help him become famous now and in return, he will join his ghost club after his death. Too bad Bobby/Trevor didn’t read the fine print. He didn’t just sell his soul.

Prompt 52: Battle of Wills – Julie goes to Caleb’s club and tricks him into letting the boys and Willie, by intimidating him with her “powers”. Something like, “If I can do this now as a lifer, I wonder what else could I do?” Caleb would then threaten her life and Julie would reply that she would just come back as an even more powerful ghost and make his afterlife a nightmare. Instead of his nightly parties, it’ll be nightly riots. Caleb eventually agrees to let the boys go in exchange that they (and Julie) never enter his club again. After being freed, they meet up back at the studio and the guys are in shock. They can’t believe she did that. Julie responds saying, she couldn’t just leave them behind. They’re her band, her family. Plus, it’s not like she has any actual powers that could take on Caleb… Or does she? #BADASSJULIE

Prompt 53: *Triggers - Murder & Body Horror* What if Caleb took more than souls? Turns out he drains the life of the living to run his club, and then takes your soul as part of his deal. The drain isn’t a part of the deal, but rather a consequence of going to the club itself. The more often you go to get answers about the other side, the closer you are to joining it.

Prompt 54: *Triggers - Murder* What if Julie was also a ghost? A terrified ghost who doesn’t remember how she died. Her mom is still alive and her family still lives in their house, but they’re more zombies than people. Julie can’t interact at all with them unless she’s playing with the guys. The guys try to help her remember as her family grieves. As time passes, Julie gets flashes of memory of her death or rather, her murder. She was killed in the studio by Bobby/Trevor after discovering he stole Sunset Curve’s songs. It isn’t the first time he’s killed…

Prompt 55: *Triggers - Death of a Parent & Grief* Before Julie played their CD and the guys appeared, changing her life forever, she was just a girl grieving for her mom. One day, something sparks her to laugh. A laugh that makes her feel so light, that’s she’s floating only to crash down to earth when she realizes her mom won’t ever laugh like that again… Julie refuses to laugh if her mother can’t… Just want something where someone tells Julie that it’s ok to laugh again.

Prompt 56: How did Alex and Luke find out about Jar Jar? 😉

Prompt 57: *Triggers - Bullying* Carrie’s getting harassed by someone and breaks down after a Dirty Candi number. Julie sees it (or maybe Alex spots it and tells her) and puts a stop to it and defends Carrie and her performance. It leads to Carrie sticking up for Julie a couple of days/weeks later, and it slowly leads back to a road of friendship.

Prompt 58: *Triggers - Possible Injury* (Before 1x9) In his excitement to catch ghosts, Carlos sets up a trap for the guys, but Julie gets caught in the crosshairs. Option A: She’s more annoyed then injured. Sibling hijinks ensues. Option B: She gets hurt and Carlos has to help her. Either way, the guys apologize for making her life harder and antagonizing Carlos.

Prompt 59: *Triggers - Injury* Julie gets a concussion at school (I’m thinking gym class). She’s extremely confused, which the nurse warns is normal but also gives her a list of protocols to follow. Julie gets home and can’t see the guys, but she can hear them. She doesn’t understand what’s going on and gets very frustrated with them and herself. As she starts to cry, she asks for her mom.

Prompt 60: *Triggers - Possession* You know how Flynn yells at demon and Carrie responds? What if Carrie was actually a demon? Think Buzzfeed Unsolved (fandom) head canon with Shane, a demon posing as a human, and Ryan, as the unsuspecting human.

Prompt 61: *Triggers - Medical Condition* Julie arrives home after school with a migraine that’s been building all day. Everything boils over when she steps into the kitchen and Ray’s cooking dinner. She heads right for him and seeks comfort. The guys are a bit lost, but are quiet as Ray whispers to Julie.

Prompt 62: *Triggers - Character Death & Missing Characters* What if the guys don’t actually know how they died? And what if, their bodies were never found and that they’re still considered “missing”? How would that change things?

Prompt 63: I can see this falling under Witch!Julie, but it doesn’t have to? Julie marked the boys by gifting them Dahlia pins (which they wear with pride) before they visit Caleb’s club. He goes to mark them on the night of the dance, but the stamp doesn’t “stick” and his other powers don’t work on them. He makes up some excuse, but he decides to investigate. He goes to the house and confronts Julie. He tries to pull on his usual bag of tricks, but they don’t work on her either. Caleb threatens her, “I’ll get them one way or another.” “I wouldn’t bet on it.” “Haven’t you heard, all bets on me?” “Yeah, the odds aren’t in your favor.” “Who do you think you are?!” “Julie Molina, from Julie and the Phantoms. You... obviously don’t get out much.” #FlusteredCaleb

Prompt 64: After a couple of weeks of constant late-night rehearsals, gigs, and studying for finals, Julie can’t keep her head up during band practice. She keeps nodding off at the piano, blinking rapidly, and shaking herself to try to stay awake. The guys stop playing after the nth time Julie slows down or misses a cue. They decide that it’s time for her to go to bed. They drag her to her room and with strict instructions to change, go to bed, and that she has to sleep in tomorrow until noon.

Prompt 65: Slang Exchange – Flynn and Julie teach the guys 2020’s slang while the guys teach them early 90’s slang. They each keep explaining more obscure and crazy words/phrases until it turns into a friendly competition of each era’s craziest terms.

Prompt 66: In Julie’s dance class, they’re given their mid-term or final exam where each person must preform 3 different styles of dance with a partner. Julie asks if the dances can be performed with people outside the class or even multiple someone’s and the teacher agrees as long as the person or persons are there on the day of the exam. Julie asks the guys to help her since they have such distinct body moves/styles. Examples: Hip-Hop, Rumba, Salsa, Waltz, Cha-Cha, Swing, Tap, Foxtrot, Jive, Tango, etc.

Prompt 67: *Triggers - Physical Child Abuse & Scarring* Julie walks into the studio after school and sees that only Reggie is there and he’s changing his shirt. It’s not an usual sight to have Luke or even Alex change shirts in front of her, but Reggie had always been a little shyer. When she sees his back, she now knows why. There are a lot of thick old scars near his spine. When she drops her bag in shock, Reggie gets spooked and poofs out. Julie then spends the next few hours anxiously waiting for him to come back. When Luke and Alex later poof in and see her distress, she explains what she saw. Luke and Alex exchange looks and Alex tells Luke to go talk to him while he explains things to Julie.

Prompt 68: Ever notice the amount of jewelry the guys have? I would just like to see the stories behind how they got them, particularly their necklaces? My head cannon is that the necklaces are gifts from each other over the years.

Prompt 69: *Triggers - Mental Health* Five times Julie can’t touch the boys when they needed comfort and the one time (and more), she can after the Orpheum show.

Prompt 70: *Triggers - Mental Health* After Julie can touch the guys and after Ray and Carlos know about them, the Molina family decides to surprise them with their first family meal. The guys are super happy, but a little worried. The last two times they ate, things didn’t end well (the hotdogs and Caleb’s club). The idea of being able to food or being able to eat, feels… tarnished?... #FamilyComfort

Prompt 71: JatP debuts a new song and they decide to switch things up, literally. One second everyone is in their normal position, the next everyone is playing a different instrument and killing it. For example, Alex on guitar, Julie on bass, Reggie on piano, Luke on drums.

Prompt 72: *Triggers - Death of a Spouse* Can we have a Ray and Rose moment like Amelia and Dr. Harvey from Casper (the scene with the red dress)? One where they tell each other how much they love and miss each other?

Prompt 73: *Triggers - Mental Health* During the day while Julie is at school, Luke is in Julie’s room. He knows he shouldn’t, but he’s been feeling off and being in her room makes him feel better. But, the more he looks over her pictures and reads through the writing on her desk (he learned his lesson about breaking her trust with looking in her dream box), the more he feels guilty when he can see all the good memories in them. He feels so guilty because it feels like everything wrong or that has gone wrong lately is his fault – running out on his parents, having the idea to eat the hotdogs, making Julie’s life difficult by making her lie to her family, needing to get revenge against Bobby/Trevor, which led them to Caleb and missing the dance, which breaks Julie’s trust, almost not making it to the Orpheum show… He just keeps spiraling until Alex and Reggie come looking for him.

Prompt 74: After that magic hug, Julie takes note of the guys Orpheum outfits.

Prompt 75: *Triggers - Mental Health* Empath!Julie. She feels things on a deeper level and can sense what other people are feeling. She channels her emotions through her music and it’s why it feels so alive. It’s why her family has been so worried about her not playing music for nearly a year. She was so shut down, they feared they would lose her too… When the guys show up, she isn’t ready to open herself up emotionally to them. It’s also why she can’t touch them. As time goes on and she opens a bit and she tries to touch them, it doesn’t work because she’s not strong enough yet. It’s only after “Stand Tall” that she allows herself to be vulnerable/strong enough at the same time that she can touch them.

Prompt 76: During “Perfect Harmony”, when Luke says, “Step into my world”, Julie actually steps into the ghost world. After that, she can see more than just the guys and now sees ghosts everywhere.

Prompt 77: *Triggers - Food Hoarding & Child Neglect* The guys were food starved before the hotdogs. Reggie’s family was poor and couldn’t afford enough good food at home. Luke didn’t have much money for food after running away from home nearly six months before he died. Alex wasn’t welcome at home, let alone the dinner table.

Prompt 78: *Triggers - Graphic Murder, Possession, Medical Condition, Possible Medical Disability* This one is gruesome and it’s based on a nightmare… Caleb possesses Nick a little earlier than cannon. He still goes over to the Molina’s with flowers and rings the doorbell. When Julie opens the door, he slashes her throat and then stabs her. He runs as Julie staggers with her hands on her throat and torso. Ray hears her struggles and rushes over, yelling for Carlos to call 9-1-1. The guys try to keep Julie calm and in the present. They follow the Molina’s to the hospital, where Julie is placed in a coma. She’ll live, but her ability to talk, let alone sing is unknown. Meanwhile, the police think it was a crazy fan because of the dropped flowers.

Prompt 79: *Triggers - Body Horror* What if Caleb’s stamp only caused the guys pain if they’re playing their instruments or preforming outside of his club? Being unable to perform is excruciating, but spending their afterlives as Caleb’s puppets isn’t enough/real either. Which leads to Luke’s words, “No music is worth making Julie, if we’re not making it with you.”

Prompt 80: *Triggers - Body Horror & Nightmares* Caleb haunts Julie’s nightmares and causes her to sleepwalk into danger. Think the nightmare scene in “Anastasia” where Anya nearly jumps off the ship thinking she’s jumping into a lake to see her family. Who/what does Julie see? Who/what wakes her?

Prompt 81: Halloween special! The Molina family are a bunch of werewolves. Can you imagine the craziness when the guys realize what they are? The questions they might ask (particularly with Alex’s “softer touch”)?

Prompt 82: *Triggers - Mental Health* Reggie’s biggest fear is being alone and the absolute worst thing you can do is ignore him. His parents used to do it all the time to punish him. So much that, he felt like a ghost long before he died. The only thing that kept him afloat were the guys, and now Julie with her family… After a bad day of flashbacks of his old life, all he wants is to be with his new family.

Prompt 83: *Triggers - Child Neglect, Child Mental Abuse, Child Emotional Abuse, Mental Health, & Anxiety* The feeling of not being enough, let alone good enough is something that haunts Alex constantly. He was a good kid, who had good grades, never talked back or caused trouble. He helped out around the house and did everything his parents asked of him… So, why wasn’t he enough for them?

Prompt 84: *Triggers - Mental Health* Julie comes home upset and runs into Alex. He stops her and talks to her. Over time, he calms her down enough to explain what happened. She does and he hugs her as he tells her that she can always come to him. After all, a big brother always looks after their little sister.

Prompt 85: *Triggers - Body Injury/Horror* Some thing a little different? What if the guys didn’t know how they died (or anything about their past really)? What if they only knew their music/instruments, their friendship, their first names, and not much else? It’s pretty much a foggy mist when they push too hard. Julie has to play detective to figure out who the guys were and what happened to them. She still loves music, but she’s not ready to play/sing quite yet. I just imagine Julie in the studio trying to piece together bits and pieces of information to dig into the mystery of who the guys were/are.

Prompt 86: Artist!Julie. She’s obviously a creative soul and I can just see her drawing the guys in their element. And also sketching them how she sees them in normal everyday activities in their afterlives.

Prompt 87: Julie walks in on the guys hanging out with her family. She realizes that the guys are more than family to just her. Her family is their family too and she loves them all the more for it. Later, she gives the guys extra hugs/cuddles.

Prompt 88: *Triggers - Stalking* After a gig, Julie is harassed outside by a creep. The guys poof to her wondering what the hold up is. They end up scaring the creep off by becoming visible and corporeal. The creep is terrified.

Prompt 89: Willie teaching Alex the choreography to “The Other Side of Hollywood”. As Alex opens up and allows himself to relax, he teaches Willie some dance moves.

Prompt 90: The guys help Julie and Flynn study for finals. Luke – English and Music Theory, Reggie – Calculus and Chemistry, Alex – Social Studies and History

Prompt 91: *Triggers - Mental Health* Reggie overhears Julie talking to Flynn on the phone about being a waste and thinks they’re talking about him… He’s obviously very upset and decides to leave, but not before leaving goodbye notes/gifts for everyone. It takes over a day for Luke and Alex to track him down and bring him home.

Prompt 92: *Triggers - Illness & Mental Health* Burnt Out!Julie. Suffering dehydration, exhaustion, and just feeling overwhelmed, Julie isn’t sure how much more she can take. The guys step up and force her to take a break. They may be ghosts (sorta), but she’s still human and she needs to rest.

Prompt 93: During a Molina family dinner, the guys are curious to what they’re having and Julie replies it’s ____, her mom’s favorite dish. The conversation stalls, and the guys offer up some of their favorite dishes (and least favorite) to help ease the tension.

Prompt 94: *Triggers - Racism/Sexism & Mental Health* Someone says something bad or gives a backhanded compliment to Julie about her looks, but compliments the guys. The guys are horrified/disgusted with that person.

Prompt 95: Family Game Night – The Molina family, Flynn, and 3 ghosts play classic board games (think Twister, Monopoly, Payday, Clue, Uno, Pictionary, Apples to Apples, Taboo, Jenga). I just keep imagining Alex with his “let someone with a softer touch” and being the most competitive one.

Prompt 96: *Triggers - Mental Health* Julie writes a song about missed opportunities in honor of the guys. The first time she plays it for them, the guys just break down. After that, they decide it needs to be part of their set list with an acoustic version.

Prompt 97: For a school project, Julie has to take a play and then write a song about it, however, they’re not allowed to say which play it is or name any characters. After the songs are presented, the class gets to guess what play it is for extra credit. She’s given Romeo and Juliet… And she knows exactly what to write about.

Prompt 98: Alex being introduced to Adam Lambert. That’s it, that’s the prompt.

Prompt 99: *Triggers - Mental Health* When Julie calls Luke out for only thinking about himself before walking away, her words hit a lot harder than in cannon. Luke poofs away and breaks down because he knows she’s right… Because all he can think about right now is how much he misses his parents… Just want more expansion from Luke’s POV.

Prompt 100: *Triggers - Possession & Injury* When Nick starts acting weird, Julie grabs his arm to get his attentions. She let’s go immediately because her hand feels like it’s on fire as Nick screams in pain. Something is not right… She realizes it’s not Nick and forces Caleb to release him. Julie and Caleb both feel the burning pain, but Caleb gives up first. He’s forgotten what actual pain felt like and vacates Nick’s body.

#julie and the phantoms #jatp #jatpdaily #jatpsource #julie and the phantoms fics #julie and the phantoms fanfics #julie and the phantoms fanfiction #julie and the phantoms prompts #jatp fics #jatp fanfics #jatp fanfiction #japt prompts

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nmoroder · 4 years

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L4D(2) Actor AU

This is a (not complete) list of headcanons for the Actor AU me and my bro came up with during our Expert runs and running extremely low on morale. We created this as a sort of ‘happy’ AU which would also give some room to our own ideas, so some of this stuff below may only slightly be related to original. We understand.

This post won’t be updated but instead followed by other ones if something else arises, so check ‘l4d actor au’ tag on my blog for more!

Overall setting

The Left 4 Dead universe itself is a series of 90-min movies divided into first and second season, L4D1 and L4D2 respectively. This list will further refer to them as S1 and S2;

L4D is a series about, of course, zombie apocalypse, but teamwork and forming bonds between people are brought to spotlight. Both seasons consist of episodes where four Survivors try to find a solid ground and safety with every episode ending on a cheerful note but every next one starting with the cheerfulness destroyed. The episodes share their names and events with Campaigns;

Originally, L4D was created by a team of enthusiasts, consisting of friends, families and family friends, so they are all very immersed in process and really giving their best. Their collective is also the reason their funding isn’t very high and they’re mostly using their own equipment and props; this makes the series look less expensive and polished but retains the atmosphere and the main goal: to show people growing warmer to each other and learning to stick together;

The actors’ names are mostly created by combining the face model’s first name and the voice actor’s last name, though some other versions do take place (see S1 and S2);

The safehouse graffitis are inspired by the fans’ responses from forums and contests, so it’s some sort of communicating with audience through screenplay;

The Third Strike, more commonly known as Black and White Mode which occures after second incapacitation, was firstly discovered as a camera malfunction but then the team liked it so much that they decided to leave it as a feature and add the heartbeat effect and stuff;

Main plot line consists solely of canon Campaigns (that means it doesn’t include Last Stand and Cold Stream) but there were also suggestions to shot additional episodes - the Mutations. After S1 success, the authors posted their ideas on different ‘modes’ and fans added theirs as well and thus during S2 some more episodes were made using, for example, a male synchronized swimming team to create the Hunting Party mutation. The original Hunter actor also participated and the swimmers required to copy his behavior; they did it so well that sometimes the whole Survivor team was being overwhelmed once they began the take;

There are no stuntmen on board so every fighting scene is shot with original actors. When it requires to shove someone off with a weapon (e.g. Zoey shoving a Hunter off Louis in the L4D1 intro), after the take actors always ask each other whether they hit too hard, should they improve the movements etc. Different actors have different range so it’s a tricky thing to cooperate but they still manage (I’ll come back to this topic in L4D2 section);

Most Infected, especially Special Infected encounters are improvised, bringing more life and realism to the Survivors’ response. The Hunter is responsible for a fair share of their shock as they noticed him stuck at a saferoom ceiling only after a while (this is a reference to the glitches that allow the Hunter to get stuck under the roof in Versus);

There was a suggestion to run a Kickstarter campaign to gather money for a fanservice episode especially for shippers. While it was most likely a joke from actors who didn’t mind shipping, it’s still a suggestion and not in work.

L4D (Season 1)

Zoey shares the zombie movie obsession with her actress; Sonja was the most familiar with the topic among original team and provided a lot of help with setting up the scene, behaviour writing etc. Along with Louis and Boomer actors, she was the creator of original idea and can consider herself a founder of the series. She is also older than Zoey as a character, being already in her 25s while Zoey is a college student;

The original Boomer actor was a CGI specialist and offered his skills for post-processing while also playing an Infected role. He came up with the idea of a Boomer Infected himself and suggested his large physique to do the role with a little touch of computer graphics and makeup;

While discussing the major characters and personalities worth including, Zoey’s actress instantly remembered her neighbor, the big buffy tattooed guy who was her childhood friend, worked as a driver and spent his weekends with his favorite bike. She figured that it’s a nice image to have in a zombie apocalypse setting, and thus Francis’ actor made it to the set;

When it came to the image of a war veteran refusing to give in to monsters, Zoey’s actress was also the one to suggest another person to fill up the space: her father. He was younger than Bill was written to be but did the impersonating well. He’s got an overall friendly but bickering attitude towards Francis’ actor so most of lines written for Bill and Francis interaction were the ones actors remembered from their own conversations, slightly exaggerated;

Zoey’s actress and Louis’ actor were co-workers for several years and bonded over their mutual interest to zombie theme and shooting. She foud out that Sean attended a shooting range in his spare time and asked him to take her out too; thus she both found out he aces in ambidextrous shooting and got him to teach her how to wield a hunting rifle. The weapon preferences were carried over to respective characters;

Hunter’s actor became a surprise for the team as Francis’ actor brought him over saying that the guy’s got a fantastic voice (and a music band) and physique to make some badass new Infected for them. They got him to voice the crowd extras of common Infected but also came up with an idea of shrieking hooded parkour bastard to rip someone’s guts out, thus creating the Hunter as another Special Infected;

As the next Special Infected concept came out of the shadows - a lanky coughing tongue-twisting zombie who would grab the Survivors and restrict them, Hunter’s actor brought another person to the set. It was his music band co-participant who did drums and back vocals and also had an ability to eject the most horrible coughing sound out of his throat while being (seemingly) healthy. He took over the role of a Smoker;

Hunter’s actor is named Mike after Mike Patton, the voice actor for Infected and SI like Hunter and Smoker. Smoker’s actor is named Mike too but the fact that he plays drums and does back vocals is actually a reference to Faith No More, the band where Patton actually does vocals and Mike Bordin does what Smoker’s actor does. It sounds complicated but originally the idea of Hunter and Smoker actors sharing a name came from Patton voicing them both, and then I found out about the band and two Mikes present so... that was a weird but happy coincidence;

The fact stated above was the reason the team came up with nicknames just for two Mikes on the set - Hoodie and Tongue respectively. The tradition was carried over to S2 where the new Hunter actor would receive a patronizing nickname Kid from Survivors (see S2)

Of all Infected actors, Hunter’s actor was the least level-headed and even Francis’ actor sometimes doubted his past decision to bring him in. Nevertheless, Hoodie’s cheerful attitude and energy helped the collective stay positive and fuelled during especially hard days. It also brought out the less lethargic and melancholic part of Tongue and made him more lively about things;

Despite Hoodie being the Endless Energy Core which people tended to adore, he was still in a lousy relationship with Witch’s actress (her name, by the way, is different from the voice actress - it’s Rose). He kept a charmer’s attitude towards her even though she was a married woman; Rose tended to be neutral or mostly positive towards most colleagues but this behavior pissed her off big time, leading to Hoodie being injured by her stage costume claws after she punched him in the face for a really bad dating joke. Hoodie toned it down afterwards but their relationship didn’t improve much up until the end;

Witch’s actress is keen on baking and sometimes brings some to the filming set;

Since the budget was comparatively low, the team couldn’t afford a lot of crowd extras so they hired a group of people to then create an image of a Horde attacking by using CGI. That’s why there’s so much repeating common Infected on-screen;

The first season included all L4D1 original Campaigns, leaving The Sacrifice out as it was added later in a DLC. As S2 came into development stage, the team wanted to add an episode with the old Survivors team but Bill’s actor was unavailable at the time and was overall not hot with the idea of shooting movies anymore; so eventually they plotted the episode (The Passing campaign) to feature Bill being dead. The fans were shocked to find it out and demanded to know what exactly happened, thus leading to actually shooting The Sacrifice as a bonus episode to S1 (and requiring Bill’s actor to come back despite his attitude).

L4D2 (Season 2)

The collective decided to take a sharp turn on the new Survivors and create them being unacquainted and sort of separated at the start but growing closer as time passes by. The idea of S1 Survivors being almost a family to each other sounded great and played along just right but the team wanted to delve deeper into relationship problems and also have a change of scenery - and so they did;

The Infected team for S2 still consisted of some old faces (Boomer, Tank and Witch) but some had to leave the set for the time being and were unable to rehearse the roles, this being Hunter and Smoker actors. They got into music harder than zombie movies and planned to go on a tour so they could only leave their old Infected sounds as a legacy;

The new Smoker actor was a treasure Coach’s actor brought to the set. Since Coach was in fact a college coach, he kept a close eye on some problematic students under his wing and picked out the one he’d considered perfect and at the same time worth looking after. The guy was recovering from compulsory drug treatment and had some ugly scars all over his arms, making him an easier candidate for makeup;

Hoodie, on his part, brought a replacement on his own, and it was his brother - four years younger, even more insanely into parkour and a huge fan of L4D series, he made a perfect new Hunter. Despite being only a few years younger than Hoodie, he instantly became treated like a restless constant-questioner child, a literal piece of sunshine on the set, so the team came to call him just Kid. He adjusted to the nickname after a couple of weeks, though being seriously surprised at it at the start;

The actors of Ellis, Jockey and Charger all come from one family, being two sons and a father. Coach suggested the family as well, being their close friend for many years and pointing out Ellis’ actor appearance being something close to the laid-back mechanic they wanted for the new Survivors team;

Although fluently speaking in a Southern accent, Ellis’ actor isn’t very fond of it as he tried to get rid of it and move to a different state; the role obliged him to use the accent again though and it wasn’t hard to recreate, but he still didn’t take pride in it and was mostly annoyed with it and Nick’s jokes written in script;

Ellis’ actor is also the one more frequently complaining about amount of money the actors receive for their work on set. Their funding increased a bit since S1′s popularity strike but still;

Most of Ellis’ stories were written based on actual on-set incidents, usually featuring Nick’s actor (see below);

Nick’s actor, Taymour, is married to Witch’s actress and is a big fan of her performance in S1. When she heard the idea of having a snarky self-centered ladies’ man in the new Survivors team, she immediately knew who’d handle the role at his best. She also rehearsed the role of Witch just to make sure nothing bad happens to her husband on-set (also see below);

Nick’s actor suffers from constant bad luck incidents. He can accidentally break or twist something without serious effort; he’s also allergic to artificial blood and he is the reason the filming set actually features painkillers and functioning adrenaline shots. Despite all that, he’s got a positive attitude about bad luck and got used to being in a state of constant non-obvious danger, unlike others who geniunely worry about his well-being and fear that one day an accidental injury might end him once and for all;

This trait is also the reason Nick’s line “Can’t you see I’m limping here?” made it into the script - it was improvised after Nick’s actor badly hit his leg and was the last to make it to a saferoom during a take. The team liked it and decided to leave it in;

Nick’s actor treats his role with all respect and doesn’t consider it a small one despite the not so large fee. He’s also a complete opposite to the character, being a very friendly and kind-hearted guy to everyone on set; he can however switch back to his script personality with startling speed and it scared some of the new actors at first. Despite playing an asshole which is very different from real him, Nick’s actor enjoys it a lot and overall finds great joy in working with the team and bringing them together;

Bringing back the topic of being gentle to each other, Nick’s actor takes great care when it’s required to hit or shove someone in the take, keeping it mildest possible, unlike for example Ellis’ actor who can smash you in the face without a second thought;

Nick’s actor and Witch’s actress keep their loving attitude on set as well, sometimes making it hard to shoot scenes featuring a Witch killing; as they were shooting the Witch Bride scene where the same actress took place but had a different outfit and makeup, they ruined several takes by driving the dialogue in unwanted directions, e.g. “Ellis, go kiss the bride! No wait, I’ll do that myself” or “N: Sounds like my ex-wife... W: I still AM your wife, darling! >:C”;

With her husband on stage, Witch’s actress is probably closest to her role - she will tear apart anyone who dares to hit on Nick’s actor or mean any harm to him (as if his own harming isn’t enough...). The only one she’d go loose is Ellis’ actor, being an old close friend;

Ellis’ actor was the one who introduced Nick’s actor to his future wife. They’ve actually been close friends since the university and Ellis’ actor was among those who obviously saw Nick’s actor and Rose being in love but completely oblivious to it. Ellis’ actor is still kinda jealous that she took his best friend away and they can’t hang out anymore like they used to, but they get quite a lot of time on set so he’s less irritated about that;

Nick’s actor is especially supportive towards Rochelle’s actress, Shanola. She feels self-conscious because of her character’s rating being lower than expected and blames it on her performance, but Taymour keeps reassuring her that she’s doing amazing. Rochelle’s actress is also the one least accustomed to shooting a weapon and handling violence of any kind so it was hard for her to get her head into action. With the team fully supporting her, the progress sped up tremendously;

Ellis’ actor’s name is Jesy and he gets salty about people misspelling it or mistaking it for a female name. It was the inspiration to include the “El kinda sounds like a girl’s name” part of Ellis’ dialogue;

The team is overall friendly towards shipping dynamics in the series’ fandom, with the only one explicitly stating otherwise being Ellis’ actor. He’s espeicially upset with Nellis ship as people started shipping actors over it too; he stated multiple times that he and Nick’s actor have been best friends for so long that it’s simply wrong to imply any romantic and/or sexual relationship between them. He once stated in an interview that he’d rather believe an Ellis/Hunter ship and the fandom exploded with it on the next day, much to the actor’s chagrin. The Hunter’s actor, or Kid, however, wasn’t that upset and supported the idea. The team made no confirmation to any ships yet;

Nick’s actor is neutral to most ships including Nellis and doesn’t see why his friend is so angry about it. His personal favorites are Nick/Witch for obvious reasons and Nick/Hunter for less obvious reasons that he doesn’t state. He jokingly suggests Jesy from time to time to start a Kickstarter campaign for a Nellis-centered episode; it’s still unknown whether they’ll take it serious one day.

#left 4 dead #left 4 dead 2 #l4d #l4d2 #actor au #au #l4d actor au #longpost #morodertalks

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years

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Survey #400

“it’s an age-old story: the first will be last, and the last will be kings / the small will be great, and the great will be weak”

Who was the last person you sincerely thanked? My mom; I thank her every time she cooks for me/us, and I really do mean it. What’s the longest you’ve ever stayed as a guest at someone’s house? Somewhere around a month. What was the last thing to really surprise you? My brother has a fiancee and is having another son! :') Have you ever found out that you have been sleep walking? No. Have you ever tried making something from one of those short cooking videos? How did it turn out? No. Have you ever written a review for a product you bought online? No. What was the last thing you had the urge to do? Idk about anything notable. Is there anyone you feel that takes you for granted? No. What is the last thing you had a craving for? A donut. Do you ever read the comments on social media posts? Sometimes. What was the last thing you felt like you wasted money on? It's so rare that I buy things with my own cash that I really don't know. What was the last thing you wanted to buy, but couldn’t afford? Venus' terrarium on my own. Mom has to help me with buying it. What is a recipe you’d like to try to make for yourself? I don’t cook, so. What goes through your mind when you look back at old photographs of yourself? More than anything, I get sad over how much weight I've gained. I was so healthy once upon a time. It also just makes me miss my childhood. What was the subject matter of the last email you sent? I believe it was about setting up an appointment with my therapist. How do you get your news? Facebook articles, really. What do you think about lizards? I love them! I was that kid that always tried to catch them when I saw 'em. Now I just observe because I don't want to terrify them by trying to pick them up. Have you ever done consumer testing (testing products before they come out on the market)? If not, would you ever want to? No, but sure, I'd do it. Have you ever received anesthesia or morphine? Both. The time I received morphine, it did jack-all for me. If you had to choose which video game to be in, which would it be? Hmmm... I would say Azeroth from World of Warcraft, but too much shit goes down, ha ha. Perhaps the top of the temple in Shadow of the Colossus? So long as I could have someone I love with me, I'd be in Heaven. Although... I doubt there's WiFi there, so I might drop that answer, lmfao. I really don't know. Between the two, would you rather live in a place where it’s only night or where it’s only day? Day. I need the natural light of day sometimes, and if I wanted to sleep, I could just find shade. If you had to be an actor/actress in a movie, what genre of the movie would you be best at? Fantasy. Out of fire, earth, water, wind, light, and dark, which element appeals the most to you? Dark. What’s one thing that you wish was real? Friendly dragons, haha. Is there anything (show, comedian, etc.) that you constantly quote or make references to? No. What’s your favorite Disney Channel movie? I have absolutely no idea. I don't even remember almost any of them. What’s your favorite holiday? Christmas. Do you ever have to do yard work? No. Do you have any live versions of songs in your music software? Yes. Did/do you listen to Britney Spears songs? Yeah, sometimes. I genuinely don't mind her. Do you still make Christmas lists? Yeah, because I'm asked to. Do you watch the show Dexter? Never seen it. Which musical instrument do you think sounds the prettiest? I'm torn between the violin, harp, and piano. Is your mom or dad the older parent? Mom, by a year. Do you and your parents like any of the same bands/singers? A lot, actually. Is there any food in your bedroom? What? I have these tictacs I keep in my purse in case of a dry mouth. Medication makes me have that severely, and my psychiatrist recommended me to always have a hard candy available to suck on since it forces salivation. Do you know anyone who has road rage? Who? My younger sister, badly. How far away do your grandparents live from you? They're all dead, but they lived in far away states. Do you know anyone who wants to be the president one day? No. What kinds of chips are in the cupboards? None. It's a bad idea to keep chips in this house, haha. Do you have your mom's or dad's hair? Well, I was born with dirty blonde hair like my dad, but my hair is thick and more similar in color now to my mom's before the cancer completely drained the color. If you were going out with your celebrity crush, what would you wear? OH MY GOD LA;KSDJFAKLWJE I DON'T KNOW I LOOK AWFUL IN EVERYTHING. Have you ever cried when a teacher retired? Teared up, yes, multiple times. Do you swear and yell while playing video games? I might swear under my breath, but that's the extent of it. If you were adopted, would you want to know? At this point in my life, I don't really know. I kinda find myself leaning towards no. Has a best friend ever ditched you for a girlfriend/boyfriend? Pretty much. Do your pets chase after bugs? Roman sure does. When’s the last time you were so excited you couldn’t sleep? Why? I want to say that was the night before I was getting my tattoo redone. Do you own any flip-flops? Yeah, considering they're like... all I wear, ever. Did you ever really believe that the stork brought babies? I don't believe so, no. Have you ever had a dream about sleeping with a celebrity? (You don’t have to give details.) It was the only lucid dream I've ever had and I'm not complaining about it lmao. Have you ever had a dream that upset you or made you cry? Oh I'm sure. Has anyone ever told you that they needed you? Do you think they meant it? Not to my recollection, no, and I don't believe you should ever adopt that mentality and say that to someone. Do you own a laser? No. Is there anything you like to put on a sandwich, that some might find odd? Nah. I do enjoy a layer of potato chips on some sandwiches, like ham and cheese, but I know that's like an actual thing some people just like. What colour are the shoes you wear most often? They're black flip-flops. When was the last time you were required to put on a mask? In the morning when I go to the TMS office. And what colour was the last mask you wore? It's one of those normal blue and white medical ones. The last time you were in a queue, what were you waiting for? To see the woman who would give me my APAP mask. Have you had your Covid vaccine yet? Which one, if you have? Yes, Moderna. If you've had your vaccine, did you experience any side effects? None for the first shot, but my second shot bruised badly and I felt seriously shitty the following day. I was perfectly fine afterwards, though. Can any of your friends sing well? Which one has the nicest singing voice? Sara has an AMAAAAAAAAAAAZING voice. When was the last time you wore make-up, if ever? What shades/colours? I don't even remember, but I'm sure it would've been black. What is something that seems popular, but doesn't interest you personally? Fashion, various TV shows, etc... Are you clumsy or graceful? I am STUPID clumsy. Like it's just ridiculous. Do you like gloves? I like fingerless gloves. Does your sibling(s) have braces? My older sister did as a kid. Do you ever say "OMG" in person? No; it's a random pet peeve of mine, "Internet talk" irl. What was the last thing your parents got mad at you for? Dad, no idea. Mom, uhhhh. Not "mad," but "annoyed" probably better fits how she felt about me leaving the heating pad I use for my cramps on the floor. Do your pets have favorites? I'm definitely Roman's favorite seeing as he is my literal shadow, and I'd assume Venus trusts me more than anyone else, but realistically, she's in contact with almost no one else, so. Who was your first boyfriend/girlfriend? Why did you break up? The first guy to have the title of "boyfriend" was Aaron, and I broke up with him 'cuz I just wasn't as romantically into him as I thought I might be. It was puppy-dog love, and I feel I knew that. My first *real* boyfriend was Jason, who broke up with me because my mental illnesses began to affect his wellbeing. Which I now accept is fine, but he seriously coulda gone about things differently... When was the last time you got a new bed? Is your bed comfy? Late into my teenage years; idk the exact age and don't feel like doing the math. Teddy kept peeing on the bed to where it was just unrecoverable and needed to be thrown away. My current bed is comfy enough. What kind of games did you play on the playground when you were younger? My absolute favorite was digging tunnels in the sandbox, pretending to be a meerkat. The only trend I ever created, haha, seeing as my classmates got into it with me, allowing us to make huge tunnel systems. It was really cool. I also liked playing 4 Square (which I now don't even remember the details of) on the basketball court. Do you remember the first time you ever drove a car? Who were you with? Yeah, my driver's ed instructor and the guy who was on the same route as me. What’s your favorite thing to do when drunk? Would you do this sober? N/A Are you a fan of dogs? Do you have any as pets? I'm picky with dogs. I like interacting with any dog, but I don't plan on ever owning another. I don't like how hyper they can be, and I prefer more independent pets, like cats. Basically, I'll be hyped to meet a random dog on the street and give it some loving, but I don't want to take it home to be my own. Are you an elitist (even a little bit) when it comes to anything? What? No. I cannot stand elitists. Is just being fond of something enough, or does it take more than that to be a ‘real fan’? And I hate gatekeeping in fandoms even more. There are varying intensities of "being a fan," but regardless, if you like something, congratulations, you're a valid, "real" fan. What type of fabric is most comfortable for clothing? I don't pay attention to this, honestly. If you wear one – bras with or without a wire? I'll wear either, but without is way more comfortable. If you wear one – are you able to find cute bras in your size? God no. What length do you like your shorts to be? I don’t wear shorts. What was the last disappointing movie you saw? Warcraft, but not because it was bad. I've talked before how in the theater, the orcs' voices were just so fucking baritone that I couldn't understand almost ANYTHING they said. Kinda ruined the experience for me. What was the last disappointing book you read? Don't recall. Do you ever watch compilation videos? Of what? Very rarely. If I do, they're mostly of animals being silly. Favorite Disney character who isn’t royalty? Probably Dory, but idk. There's WAY too many options to fish through.

#survey #surveys #random questions #lyrics: ''this is the kingdom'' by skillet

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talkingbl · 3 years

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The Good and Bad of TharnType (TTTS)

SPOILER WARNING. TW: rape, sexual assault

The Good:

Unapologetically gay lead. As I've mentioned in other posts, this is sorely lacking in most Thai BLs. It comes as a pleasant surprise in TharnType

Roommates story construct. Roommate-related tropes can get boring for me very quickly, but the way it’s done in TharnType adds a layer to Tharn and Type's relationship. It forces Type to interact with someone he would otherwise avoid at all costs, which, IMO, is the main driver behind his initial openness to their relationship

The hidden-relationship FWB trope. It's one of my favorite tropes and is actually often underdone in BLs, in my experience. It adds stakes to the relationship and conflict that doesn't rely upon a jealous ex-female lover coming back ruin gay bliss

Gulf's portrayal of Type, particularly in nonverbal scenes. Now, I want to preface this by saying that this isn't a Mix-Tian situation where I was blown away by the quality of a rookie's acting, but it was still decent enough. For a relative rookie, Gulf's non-verbals seemed very natural. I also want to add that Gulf brought a very strange charisma to Type, which, while mildly inappropriate for the character at times, created this sort of push-and-pull dynamic. It's hard to explain but sometimes I could feel myself liking Type in bitchy scenes (I love tsundere and tsundere-adjacent characters lol), while hating him for his homophobia

Also Type's bitchiness carried lmao

The consensual sex scenes. While not particularly realistic, they were very passionate. I think most would agree that Mew and Gulf's kisses were very well done and the physical intimacy was far better than the average BL. There's also the fact that steamy scenes came in very regular intervals--not a one-and-done thing that happens mostly off-screen at the end of the series

The boldness of some of the dialogue. Hearing Type ask Tharn to fuck him was one of the best moments of that series

The OST, while not particularly great, is unbelievably earworm-y, which, I guess is a good thing

The Bad:

The budget seemed like it was $12. In many cases this wouldn't bother me, but the story/acting wasn't strong enough to offset the absolute pennies the production was made on

Type as a concept is just bad. His character had an extremely traumatic backstory but it was literally never dealt with healthily. In fact, it seems like the answer to all his problems was just "go get some dick," when it should've been "go get some therapy." On paper, he's easily the most mishandled lead in a BL I've seen to date

Tharn agreeing to sleep with, be friends with, and ultimately be in a relationship with Type set humanity back 2000 years

The acting. Oh my god, the acting. I know Waanjais/Mewlions are going to attack me for this but Mew's performance in TTTS is the most wooden and awkward performance I have ever seen, ever. In fact, the only reason I could even partially into TTTS is because his chemistry with Gulf was decent enough to overcome his utter lack of natural human range as Tharn. Gulf and Mild were by far the best actors in the show, and that in itself should tell you something given that it was Gulf's first series as something other than a one-off character. Also, I never believed fighting scenes in this show. They were either overacted or underacted to the point of awkwardness (Mew)

The storyline (or lack thereof) is the most convoluted BL plotline I have ever watched. Honestly, I'm not even sure what all happened in TTTS after Tharn and Type decided to be FWB. The show wanted to do so much and had legitimately interesting ideas but fell flat at every point

Lhong and Tar... Lhong really did all of that just to get away with it without even so much as a call to the police department... And the fact that Tar (by far the most mishandled character in this show) was treated like he had done something wrong despite him being literally raped! The fact that the story never treats him like an actual human being and always paints his victimhood as his fault just so we can better empathize with Tharn?? This was such an absolute moronic plot line

Oh yeah, Tharn casually molests Type multiple times at the beginning of the series and they go on to fall in love and get married seven years later

#tharntype the series ttts #thai bl boys love #mewgulf #mew suppasit gulf kanawut #mild techno lhong kaownah

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haileymorelikestupid · 4 years

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this is a cooke appreciation post because i haven’t shown enough love to the convoy boys like i have scho and blake and i decided to start with everyone’s favorite feral private.

not gonna lie, first time i watched i was like this dude is not the nicest huh but i’ve since realized that he doesn’t have any ill intent, he just lacks a filter at times. like telling scho he wouldn’t make it wasn’t to be demeaning or anything he was just putting it out there, whether he even believed it or not. he’s just feral and sarcastic and at least slightly unhinged and that’s okay i love him for it.

truth is, he’s honestly so caring and attentive in his own, barely noticeable ways. first of all, no one says much to scho or stares at him or anything when he first gets on, except for rossi’s lil welcoming comment. i think there’s a couple reasons for that – they’re probably used to random soldiers showing up at random times and smith brought him so there’s no point questioning why he’s joined them so suddenly, what would they even say to him, he’s clearly been through some shit so it’s almost polite to leave him be, etc. they could have just sat in silence, uncomfortable or not, but then cooke urges butler to carry on with that story so it’s no longer silent. sure, he may have done that because he actually wanted to hear, but i think a part of it was filling the silence without questioning the dude sitting next to him and without basic small talk or anything. and, since there’s no questions being asked by telling a story, scho doesn’t need to participate, thus giving him some time to just sit without something being expected of him. maybe that’s a little too much thought and credit put into cooke asking for a story, but whatever, i like it.

as much as cooke may seem to lack a filter, when he notices scho looking at his watch, you know he’s not going to ask. he looks at butler, not scho, but when butler asks, he finally looks at scho. cooke seems like the type of guy to add on when someone asks a question he wanted to ask (i.e. you’d think he’d make a comment or say “yeah” or repeat butler’s question or something), but here, he just watches and waits. course, we’ll never know what cooke would have done or said after that, if anything, since the truck gets stuck. point is, i think cooke’s care for scho comes in the small things, like choosing not to speak or choosing to encourage another to speak and draw attention away from scho.

then, when scho goes to get out of the truck, he hands cooke his rifle. it’s such a quick exchange i didn’t notice it until i saw cooke hand it back and went, “wait, when did cooke get will’s gun?” and rewatched the scene to see it. and like ok, yes, i understand that this is a film and the whole point was for george to hand the gun off so he could get out and push the truck in a moment but i’m disregarding that for now. because that exchange was so quick, and even though we can’t quite see cooke when scho is standing at the back looking down before he gets out, i think cooke was ready to take his gun or offered to take it himself. scho barely even looks at him and then cooke is holding his gun, scho is jumping out, and cooke is following. which, also that – cooke is the only one that follows him out. it’s possible he just got out because it was more comfortable to be out than cramped in the back of the truck, but i don’t think that’s it. in the few minutes we get of cooke, he’s very attentive to scho, even just with his presence. it’s hard to say why he jumped out, but i think at least part of it was that will is out so cooke is out too in case scho needs anything. he’s got his gun already slung over his shoulder but i’m sure if scho took his helmet off or something cooke would already have his hand out to hold it.

and yeah, he’s not actively paying attention to scho in terms of body language and looking right at him, but he’s still attentive. why else would he answer to scho’s suggestion of putting it in reverse? a halfhearted answer, maybe, but it’s not like scho asked a question in need of an answer. even if he did, who’s to say anyone would need to answer? i mean cooke’s “is that a dead dog?” was a question and it went unanswered. yet he knows scho directed it towards him in some way, so a small “yeah” is better than nothing. it’s not like whatever cooke says will really impact scho, he could have said nothing or shrugged or whatever and scho would probably still tell the driver to put it in reverse. that tiny response is just a sign of his attentiveness and own form of care towards scho, even if nothing but a pleasantry or formality, at least in my opinion. it’s the same reason he turns his body as scho walks to the other side. dude’s just having a quick lil snack and isn’t even looking at the other man, but he turns to face him anyways.

when scho starts demanding the men get out, he doesn’t say anything. he may not see why the guy is yelling, but he clearly isn’t going to judge him for it. if he wanted to do that, he would have gone to butler to make a comment or not helped push in the first place. but what does he do? he helps push, and he puts at least some effort into it. rossi doesn’t even do that much at first, bless him. when it doesn’t work, he makes a valid suggestion. he looks slightly incredulous when scho denies and says to just keep pushing, but he does it anyways. then when scho pretty much begs everyone to help, he doesn’t look to butler and rossi as quickly as everyone else does. he looks at scho for a moment longer, and i think he’s genuinely concerned for the man – plus, he’s gonna keep helping to push anyways, it almost doesn’t matter if everyone else joins or not. he even moves to a spot where he’ll have to let go of the straps of the guns to push. and yeah, will isn’t the only one who wants the truck out of the mud, cooke isn’t only doing it for him, but i think his concern for schofield makes him want to help at least a little more.

we know jondalar cares and is pretty compassionate towards will, but cooke is no less so. even though jondalar is the one who helps will out of the mud, i think cooke would have if jondalar hadn’t. if you watch his boots, he takes steps back and towards will once the truck is no longer stuck, even though he doesn’t need to. once scho is up and talking to jondalar, we know cooke isn’t looking at him or trying to talk, that he makes a comment to the driver instead, but i think his presence is just his way of communicating his care and concern (whether scho receives that message or not is beside the point).

and then, of course, he gives his rifle back when they’re back in the truck. the thing about that, to me, is that everything in that exchange, from the moment he takes will’s rifle and shoulders it to the moment he gives it back, is unspoken. he doesn’t complain and he doesn’t try to give it back until they’re settled again. scho could have done everything with his rifle shouldered if cooke did it all with two, but cooke doesn’t make him. he just takes it and it’s a small act that is simultaneously meaningless and meaningful.

then everyone’s looking at scho and they all seem concerned, so imma gloss over that. but out of that interaction, i wanna talk about the “you’ll never make it”. again, i don’t think there’s any ill intent, he’s just putting it out there. as for scho’s response, i can’t say with certainty whether that grated on him a bit or if his response is also him convincing himself (or maybe both). but after a moment, cooke makes this face where he kinda pulls his lips in, and i don’t think it’s from being chastised or rebuked or anything. it’s almost akin to admiration and respect and seems to say “i hope you do”, and it’s just another display of concern and care in cooke’s own way.

his farewell is of course a mix of good luck and a very cooke-esque comment, but it doesn’t diminish it in any way. he keeps his eyes on will as he steps down, and when they make eye contact one last time, he gives him a nod that says a lot – good luck, i hope you make it, messages of respect, etc.

bottom line is that i love cooke and the way he shows how much he cares and is concerned just by being present and attentive. maybe i’m giving way too much to a character with a few minutes of screentime and whose care by my definition may just be an actor doing his job and the blocking of the scene but i don’t care, i stand by all that i’ve said. please feel free to respond and tell me what you think or if you agree or if you think i’m totally wrong, i love when people interact with the stuff i say (legit you could call me a stupid idiot and i’d be glad you responded)

ps cooke definitely has big younger sibling energy, i talked about it with @schofielded and i so think he’s a younger sibling (but probably with a big family, his younger sibling energy is different from tom’s and tom only has one sibling so it makes sense that cooke would have many, imo)

#thank you for coming to my ted talk #please discuss #i'm always so down to talk about 1917 it's not even funny #hope yall aren't tired of these yet #1917 film #private cooke #private rossi #private butler #sepoy jondalar #private malky #william schofield #lance corporal william schofield #scho #my film analysis #cooke is amazing and i love him

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