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#well america got nominated. I’m happy for her. but oh my god
frecklystars · 4 months
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Don’t get me wrong I love Ryan Gosling’s Ken more than I love anyone else rn. I owe that character my life. I genuinely would not have lived through the last 6 months if I didn’t have that movie breathing life back into me when I was at my lowest point, he’s my number one go-to character when my flashbacks are happening and when I need support. I would genuinely have died without this guy and his dozen characters to keep me going and helping me feel safe self shipping again
But how the fuck did Ryan get nominated for an Oscar for being a supporter to Barbie while Margot Robbie whomst IS Barbie, she is EVERYTHING… did not…???? 😭😭 How did Greta Gerwig not get nominated for best director when she made history being the first and only female director to break the biggest opening at the box office????? What the fresh fuck is this
Ryan said himself it’s Barbie AND Ken… there is no Just Ken………………
The Barbie movie would not have happened if Margot didn’t get the rights to Barbie and trust Greta 100%. Nobody believed in this movie more than Margot did, because she believed in Greta, she knew it would be a powerful film. It would not have been half the story that it is if Greta didn’t direct this movie. Greta and Margot are the reason this movie 1) exists in the first place and 2) the reason the movie is as incredible as it is. Not to mention Margot had to convince Mattel that they needed to get comfortable with the idea of being uncomfortable. They were allowed to get away with SO MUCH because Margot is an artist at putting her 110% into everything she does and that includes getting Mattel to allow any of this to exist in the first place when they are so careful with Barbie.
Margot and Greta are literally everything. Ryan is JUST. KEN. THAT HAS BEEN THE ENTIRE FUCKING POINT
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BTS Scenario || You Find Out They Were Nominated For A Grammy
HELLO!! In honor of BTS being nominated for a Grammy, I’ve decided to make a drabble thing where you, an American, are their significant other and you get told that they are nominated for a Grammy. 
Hope you enjoy!!!
>>>Admin JiHyeon<<<
JIN:
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It was round 2 o’clock in the morning and you woke up to an empty bed beside you. Only a few hours ago Jin had been asleep alongside you and now he was gone. With an eyebrow raised, you climbed out of the bed and slipped on your slippers before making your way from the room and toward the living area of the apartment. The kitchen light was on and it illuminated the living room. Sitting on the couch with the biggest smile on his face was Jin. 
“Jin-ah? Are you okay?” You asked him and he glanced up at you when you spoke. He nodded and stood, making his way over to you. 
“I’m great, jagi. More than great actually,” he chuckled and wrapped his arms around you, picking you up and spinning you. A giggle left your throat and you held onto him as he spun the two of you.
“You’re in a good mood,” you smiled as he set you down. “What’s got you so happy?”
“Dynamite was nominated for a Grammy jagi!” He exclaimed and you felt a sudden wave of excitement wash over you upon his words.
“Oh my god that is amazing! That is so exciting! I’m so proud of you jagi!” You screamed with a laugh before you wrapped your arms around him and kissed him. This was something he has wanted for a long time and now that it was happening, you were probably the proudest you’ve ever been of him and to call him yours.
“You’ll be my date to the show right?” He asked suddenly and you giggled but nodded nonetheless.
SUGA:
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You were curled up in his side as the two of you laid on his bed at his parent’s house. Neither of you were sleeping. He was on his phone and the room was quiet as you laid there. You were slowly finding yourself slipping from consciousness listening to his calm heartbeat and his rhythmic breathing. Suddenly he sat up excited, forcing you to roll off his chest and onto the pillow.
“What’s going on?” You asked him as he chuckled to himself.
“I wish I was in Seoul right now,” he said, the smile on his face not faltering at all. You raised your eyebrow as you sat up and ran your hand up and down his arm.
“Why? You look like a serial killer right now,” you chuckled and he turned his head to look at you.
“BTS was nominated for a Grammy y/n!” He exclaimed and it took a second but when the realization hit you, your eyes widened and you wrapped your arms around him.
“That’s amazing Yoongi!” You said before you covered his face in kisses. He was giggling himself the entire time before he wrapped his uninjured arm around you.
“This just proves it,” he started and you looked at him.
“Proves what?” You asked and he smirked.
“That what I want, I get,” he said and you rolled your eyes.
“You just have really good luck, don’t get get pompous,” you smacked his shoulder playfully. 
“I’ve got to call the members, share my excitement,” he said as he climbed off of the bed and dialed a phone number. You watched him fondly, proud and excited for him and his band. This was something they had wanted for years now, and you had a good feeling that they would win. 
JHOPE:
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The apartment was silent as you were curled up on your couch. It had been a boring few weeks since you had flown back to America to be with your family during these uncertain times. Being a nurse meant your family was constantly calling you at all hours of the day when you were in Korea, so you chose to fly back to help ease their worries. You had just gotten home from an overnight shift at the hospital and you were exhausted, but you had to get some things done around your house and you were meeting your mom for lunch at 1pm, which was in about two hours. 
You knew that today was the day that the Recording Academy were announcing the nominations for the Grammys. The livestream was up on your TV as you pulled your blanket up to your chest and held your coffee in your hand. You looked up as they were announcing the nominees for Best Pop Group Performance. The second they said Dynamite by BTS, you jumped off the couch and your cup of coffee was thrown over your hardwood floors, but you didn’t care about the mess. Immediately you dialed Hoseok’s number and put your phone to your ear. As you waited, you danced around your living room excitedly.
“Jagi!” He answered and you laughed.
“I am so proud of you!” You exclaimed and heard him let out a laugh.
“So you heard?” He asked and you snorted at him.
 “Of course I did. I’m sitting in my living room with the live stream on my TV,” you told him and he was quiet for a second before you heard a sniffle on the other end. “Hobi-ah? Is everything okay?” You asked him, concerned.
“I’m fine, yeah. Just really happy. This is something we have wanted for so long,” he said quietly and you smiled to yourself.
“It is and you got it. I’m sorry I’m not there to celebrate with you, but I’m gonna have a glass of wine and blast Dynamite when I get back after lunch with my mom,” you told him and heard him chuckle.
“Facetime me when you do, it’ll be nice to see your face while you celebrate,” he told you and you nodded.
“Anything for you Hobi-ah,” you said as you sat back down on the couch. 
RM:
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You sat in your shared apartment with Namjoon, waiting for him to come home. Though you knew that it wouldn’t be for a while since the Grammy nominations were being announced today. After showering you pulled on one of Namjoon’s shirts and grabbed your phone before sitting down on the couch. As you were making yourself comfortable, your phone started ringing, signalling you were being facetimed. When you saw Namjoon’s face you smiled and answered.
“Hello aein,” you told him and he smiled at you.
“I was going to wait to call until after we got the news but I couldn’t wait,” he chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his neck.
“It’s fine, I just got done with a shower and now I’m sitting in the living room,” you smiled at him. “You think you guys got the nod?” He stared at you and shrugged.
“I hope so but if we don’t, it’s not the end  of the world,” he said and you nodded. Then you fell quiet and watched him as he glanced away from the screen, nervous. You watched his face for a moment silently before you watched  him jump up and suddenly his phone was tossed onto the couch and there was screaming and laughing on the other end.
“Joonie? Everything okay?” You asked and waited for a response. After a few moments of silence, you called out again. “Namjoon, hey, what’s going on?” A second or two later his phone was picked up and you saw Namjoon’s face with the biggest smile spread across it.
“We got a nomination!” He exclaimed and you smiled at him.
“That’s amazing aein! Congrats, tell the others I’m proud of you guys,” you told him and he smiled at you with a nod.
“I’ll be home soon jagi, and don’t think I didn’t notice you wearing my shirt,” he smirked at you and you raised your eyebrows and smirked back at him. That was the plan after all.
JIMIN:
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You sighed as you fastened the last button on your work uniform and pulled the hat on your head. Your shift started in a little over an hour but the drive was 45 minutes. From the hallway you heard your mom walk past, humming to herself. Your dad was downstairs making breakfast for the three of you. Another sigh left your chest as you left your room and headed downstairs. 
“Has that boyfriend of yours called you today yet?” Your dad’s voice sounded when you entered the kitchen.
“Not yet but he’s busy,” you shrugged and sat down at the counter.
“Aren’t the Grammy nominations being announced today?” Your mom asked as she walked into the room with you.
“Yeah but I, sadly, doubt that they will get nominated, America isn’t exactly accepting of other countries or music,” you sighed and your mom shrugged.
“I heard that they have a chance. Wouldn’t hurt to check it out, maybe call Jimin?” She suggested and you nodded before pulling out your phone and doing a quick Google search. Suddenly your eyes widened and you screeched. 
“Oh my god! They were nominated for Best Pop Group Performance!” You said excitedly and your mom patted your shoulder.
“Told you they had a chance. Go call that boyfriend of yours and make sure he knows and isn’t sleeping,” she told you and you immediately pulled up his number and FaceTime’d him. It rang for a few seconds before his face appeared on the screen, a smile on his face.
“So you heard?” You asked before even saying hi.
“Yeah, Namjoon-hyung, Taehyung, and Jungkookie are here with me. We watched the livestream. I’m so happy,” he rambled and you smiled softly at him.
“I’m so proud of you! I’ll be watching the Grammy’s from California on the day of, don’t you worry. I’ll take the day off just to devote my whole attention to it,” you told him and he chuckled.
“Well, we got the nomination so, even if we don’t win, it’s an accomplishment,” he said and you stared at him for a moment.
“Look at you being excited but still remaining humble,” you chuckled.
“This is something we’ve wanted for a long time, if only Yoongi-hyung were here to celebrate with us,” he sighed.
“Yoongi-ssi is probably losing his mind in Daegu right now,” you reassured him.
“Probably,” he smiled and leaned back on the couch. It warmed your heart to see him so happy after this year of negativity.
V:
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The Emergency Department floor was quiet as you sat at the intake desk with your favorite co-worker. Your shift at the hospital started about 6 hours ago and you 6 more to go. The salad you brought was sitting in front of you as you had your head leaned back on the chair and spun.
“Become a nurse, they said. It’ll be fun, they said. Did they forget to mention that it’s like deader than dead most of the time?” Your coworker complained and you looked at her.
“I mean at least we can relax for a bit,” you said and she nodded.
“So, how’s you and Taehyung doing?” She asked and you smiled.
“Good, he hates that I’m doing my residency in America and not Korea but we are good,” you chuckled as you took a bite of your salad.
“How’s he handling the whole Covid situation on the entertainment business?” She asked you and you sighed.
“He is bored a lot of the time but we also FaceTime a lot,” you smiled and got quiet as your coworker scrolled on her phone. Suddenly she let out a snort and leaned over to you.
“Seems like your boyfriend isn’t happy about the nod,” she said and you furrowed your eyebrows and grabbed her phone. You watched the video that BTS tweeted out and watched Tae’s reaction, or rather lack thereof.
“What the heck?” You chuckled and pulled out your own phone to text him. A moment later and you felt your phone vibrating. You let out a chuckle when you saw his name trying to facetime you. 
“Hey,” you answered it and he looked confused.
“What was with that text?” He asked.
“What was with your lack of reaction to being nominated for a Grammy?” You asked him and he raised an eyebrow.
“What?” He asked and you switched the camera around to show him the video off of your coworkers phone.
“Oh, I was surprised. Didn’t expect to be nominated,” he shrugged.
“Oh come on, you guys have wanted this for like ever!” You exclaimed and he shrugged.
“Yeah but it’s also 2 in the morning here,” he said and you nodded.
“You get a pass, this time but I expect a full reaction once you’ve gotten sleep okay?” You asked him and he nodded. It sucked that you couldn’t be there with him to celebrate this accomplishment but you were proud of him nonetheless.
JUNGKOOK:
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You sat quietly behind where the camera was positioned so that you weren’t seen, watching Jungkook as he sat on the couch. When he had told you that he was going to the dorm to watch the Grammy nomination live stream with his hyungs, you tagged along, not wanting to sleep alone. But now it was 2 in the morning and you were tired and cold. The blanket you stole from Jungkook’s room at the dorm only helped a small amount. You glanced up when you heard Namjoon say something about the live stream starting. Jungkook was happily sitting there, staring at you as they began naming off nominees. As the categories went on and BTS wasn’t mentioned, you felt discouraged. But then you heard them mention Dynamite and you nearly fell off your chair from both your own excitement and from being startled by their screams. 
“We did it!” Jungkook exclaimed excitedly and you smiled at him. The camera was still rolling so you knew you couldn’t say anything but then after a minute or two, Jungkook got off the couch and walked over to you, wrapping his arms around you tightly.
“Congratulations Kookie,” you said to him with a smile.
“Thanks jagi,” he smiled before kissing your nose.
“Guys, this is such a big step for our careers,” Namjoon said and you smiled over at the leader.
“Someone call Suga-hyung,” Jimin said and Namjoon nodded before he pulled his phone out and left the room.
“Where’s your normal excitement y/n?” Jimin asked and you looked at him.
“It is 230 in the morning, it’s asleep,” you chuckled and he nodded.
“I forget you’re not used to being up this late,” he teased you.
“I’m up this late a lot but usually it’s cause I’m in my own home and watching a movie or getting lost on the internet,” you smiled and he rolled his eyes.
“You Gen Z kids and your internet,” he joked and you almost threw something at him.
“I am not Gen Z, I am a 90s baby, so, you can suck it,” you said back and Jungkook rubbed your shoulder.
“Okay kids, let’s calm down. I should get this one home anyways, I’ll see you guys later for schedule!” Jungkook called out as you stood and the two of you left the dorm, heading home.
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sunflowerim · 3 years
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I LOVE YOU 3000!
-PART 11
Tuesday, 12:30P.M. BBC Recording Studio.
Louis had to basically drag himself to the studio. He tried to talk to Nick about switching him but it was of no avail. He just had to do it.
Harry would be here soon. Thankfully the show was gonna be pre-recorded. So, if he said something mean to Harry "accidentally", the world wouldn't know. Maybe the studio will, but who cares about that.
After a few minutes, Louis watched as Nick suddenly stood up and reached the glass door to greet someone. Probably Harry Styles.
Louis sighed. He couldn't really remember how Harry Styles looked. He hadn't paid much attention to the tweets concerning him and from the distance, he could just make out a tall figure who was shaking hands with everyone and speaking in a slow drawl.
He took deep breaths and braced himself for the worst. He watched as the tall figure slowly made his way towards him and suddenly Louis forgot to breathe.
Harry Styles was gorgeous with a capital G.
No. Fuck. No. Don't think about him like that. You're supposed to hate him. Louis chastised himself, all the while politely smiling at Harry and gesturing him towards a seat in front of him. This was gonna be a long interview.
Harry smiled softly at him and Louis released a breath he didn't realise he was holding.
"Hi, I'm Harry Styles", Harry said in his syrupy drawl as he extended his hand for Louis to shake.
And God Louis might just melt. No.
"Hi, I'm Louis Tomlinson", he managed to say in what he felt like was a confident voice.
"Nice to meet you".
Wish I could say the same. Louis bit back his tongue to stop himself from saying those words out loud. Instead he settled for, "shall we begin?"
Harry nodded and the crew around him started immediately.
"Hello and welcome to Tommo Tuesdays! I'm Louis Tomlinson and today we have among us, none other than Mr. Harry Styles!"
Ugh. He should have used nice adjectives.
Or maybe he did fine.
"So Harry, you've been nominated in the category of Academy Award for Best Actor for your movie 'My Policeman'. How do you feel about it?"
"Uhmm.. I'm really excited about it. I mean... I was already overwhelmed by the audience reaction to the movie and I couldn't believe when I got nominated. Everyone had worked so hard on the movie and I'm really proud of it".
"That's good to know. And how did your friends and family react to it. I mean we saw a lot of fan reactions, screaming and crying on social media. What about your personal life?"
"Haha my best friend bought a hundred pizzas to celebrate and it was just the two of us."
"No way."
"Yes!! And I guess you know him too. Niall Horan."
"Oh Niall!! Then I have no difficulty in believing that the two of you finished hundred pizzas haha.
So how do you balance your work life and personal life. I'm sure there must be a lot of pressure on you right now."
"Yes. I mean ofcourse there's gonna be pressure in every field. I'm sure you have your bad days too when you don't wanna come to the studio but you have to anyway because it's your job and you enjoy it very much. In the same way, the fans' reaction to my work, my family's pride in me and the satisfaction I get from working is just worth all the pressure".
Louis fidgeted in his seat. He'd lost Harry the moment he started talking about Louis not wanting to come to the studio and was just staring at him. Harry staring back at him jolted him back to reality. Yes. Interview. Focus Louis focus. Harry was just generalizing. He doesn't really know that you didn't wanna interview him.
"You're right. Now let's move on to the next segment shall we? The fans have a lot of question for you Mr. Styles. We selected a bunch of questions and I guess the fans would be really happy if you answered them"
"Sure. Ask away."
Louis stopped himself from fonding as he watched Harry say the last sentence while waving his hand in the air with a sweeping gesture. This is no time.
"So, Harry, , the fans want to know who your celebrity crush is."
"Ummm.. Jennifer Aniston."
"Ohh that's a good one, I love her."
"Who's yours? Is it me? Should I blush?"
And what the fuck. Was Harry flirting with him? No that couldn't be. Wasn't he straight?
He ignored the smirk playing on Harry's lips and tried to form a coherent sentence.
"Haha, sorry to burst your bubble but no. I have my heart set on David Beckham."
At that, Harry scrunched his nose and God help Louis.
"Proceeding to the next question. What's your favourite colour?"
"Your eyes."
"Excuse me?"
"You asked what my favourite colour is, so yeah. Your eyes."
If Louis wasn't sure before, he was now. This was blatant flirting.
Louis could feel his cheeks burning and he hoped it wasn't visible to anyone watching him. "Hah, I do have nice eyes. Thank you."
Harry smiled and Louis continued.
"What's your favourite Marvel movie and who's your favourite Marvel character?"
"Ummmm lemme think", Harry said and stroked his imaginary beard. "My favourite character would be Black Widow and favourite movie is Captain America: Civil War."
"Cool choices. On that note, tell us a bit about the upcoming movie."
"I think the trailer pretty much speaks for itself. The rest you have to find out in the theatres."
"Okay. We can be patient. So which actor are you dying to work with?"
"I think I'd like to work with Timothee Chalamet. His work in 'Call Me By Your Name' was exceptional."
"Yes, yes I did watch the movie. Amazing lad. Kay, next question-"
Louis didn't mean to but he started laughing. "So they wanna know what time you go to bed."
Harry joined in his laughter, saying "I'm sure they wanna know this so that they don't miss out stuff when I'm awake and they're asleep."
"I'm aware. You're infamous for dropping stuff when the fans are asleep." False. He wasn't aware. Nick had informed.
"Hahaha it's fun. But for real, I usually go to sleep at around 11, but my sleep time is never fixed during shoots."
"Do you read fanfictions?" Louis asked with a sly smile.
"I don't. I mean I tried, but I don't like how most writers portray me. Like I'm some womanizer, when I'm not."
At that, Louis' smile faltered. Because the Harry Styles he'd heard of was one. So many articles, so many pictures, it couldn't be all false.
"Well, maybe they're taking inspiration from all the articles about you. They're quite the deal breaker you know."
He expected Harry to snap at him but Harry just smiled. Which was somehow worse. "I can't go around telling people what they should think about me. So I've let it be."
Oh.
"Proceeding wi--"
"I have a question", Harry interrupted with a smile. The previous tension seemed to have left his body.
"Yes?"
"Do YOU write fanfictions?"
Louis could feel the air drain out of his lungs.
"NO, I don't have the time or talent for that", Louis replied as nonchalantly as he could manage.
"Aww so you've never written something about me I could read?"
Harry Styles needs to stop.
"Haha no, but if I ever come across good stories about you, I'll make sure to forward."
"I'd appreciate that."
Louis refused to think about how Harry's lips quirked upwards as he said it.
"Back to my questions, would you ever date a fan? Can they keep their hopes up?"
"I wouldn't necessarily date someone just because they're a fan you know but I won't mind if I started liking someone and they turned out to be a fan or someone who really likes my movies."
"That's good."
"I'm currently single by the way."
What the hell. Why would Louis need that information. He needs to talk to Zayn right fucking now. There's no way on earth the person sitting in front of him was straight.
"Good to know." And with that Louis shot him a winning smile. Two can play at this game.
"Would you ever date a celebrity Louis?"
Louis wanted to punch a wall.
"I would maybe, if they managed to sweep me off my feet haha."
"Good to know."
Louis had to finish the interview as soon as possible.
"Moving on, to the next question-", Louis paused. Do you like milk? Who asks that. Louis was gonna kill Nick for handing him these questions.
Louis quickly changed the question card, and went to see the next question. If anyone noticed, he didn't care.
"What fruit do you associate yourself with?
"I think avocados."
"What?"
"They're cute."
"Fucking avocados man. Sorry. Just bleep it out Nick."
"You don't like them?"
"Hate them."
"Oh, I think peaches are great too", Harry said with a smirk.
And no. Louis was gonna ignore the obvious innuendo behind Harry's answers. He'd had enough for one day.
"And that's all the fan questions for today. We hope you had a good time here."
"I sure did." The smirk was still there.
"Yeah, so would you like to tell your fans anything before you leave?"
"I'd just like to say that I love you all and I'm thankful to every single one of you who took time to watch my movie and pushed it to the top. I do hope you like the upcoming movie too. Thank you!"
Nick stepped in after that to talk to Harry and Louis took the chance to grab his stuff and leave. He couldn't risk staying longer.
PREVIOUS / NEXT
INTRO
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chemiste · 4 years
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Voicemail. ~part 2~
a/n : you want it? go get it! heres the second part to voicemail!! I’m thinking a 3rd and final part for this??? if y’all want it tell me! ALSO I’ve linked what the reader is wearing and maybe what others are too so if you see a link thats what it is. also wanted to say thank you so much for the support on this one shot!! i would put those big eye emojis but im typing on a laptop and i dont think O.O is the same....
first part!!!! go read
mah masterlist
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“Next on the red carpet is singer/song writer Y/N L/N, wow look at that beautiful dress!! This year at the Grammys she is up for 3 awards, Song of the Year, Best Dance Recording, and Best Solo Pop Artist!” 
The interviewer exclaimed excitedly from her podium along side the paparazzi wall. It had been a week since the songs were let out for the world and so there was definitely an electricity in the air at the awards ceremony.
“All you fans are probably watching for the most anticipated performances of tonight! Harry Styles will be singing one of his new songs from his album FineLine! Twitter is going ballistic from the recently leaked songs about is break up with L/N, we all know the cameras will be on her tonight whenever he’s mentioned! Oh look, here she comes now!”
You walked over in your beautiful award dress, safe to say you were the best dress star there. Your hair was done up and the red long dress seemed to flow around you effortlessly as you walked. 
“Hello Diane, it’s lovely to see you again.” 
You said in a polite voice, smiling to her and the camera, she handed you an extra mic, ready to drown you with questions.
“I’m going to cut to the chase— did you listen to the songs?”
Wow, this lady’s cut throat I’ll give her that.
“Oh yes! I’ve listened to all the albums nominated this year and I’m so excited.”
“Oh I was talking about—“
“I’m so incredibly grateful for the nominations, I put my blood, sweat, and tears into this album and I’m glad the fans love it as much as I do.”
You could see the Diane deflate a little, understanding you’d keep dodging questions about Harry until it was over so she moved on. 
“Yes, you’re nominated for Best Dance Recording, the music video for your song Clouds was crazy! How long did it take you to figure out how to dance while flying?!” 
You laughed, thinking back to the many rehearsals of choreography on the ground and then being connected to cables and hoisted into the air to perform it. 
“A girl never tells her secrets,” you said with a wink. 
“Well speaking of flying in a music video, I know one performance tonight will be—“
Cheers and hysteric screaming filled the fan area as someone came on to the carpet. 
“Is that? Oh look, Harry Styles enters the stage in a—, my goodness! You and him are matching!”
You couldn’t believe it.
Harry was decked out in a full red suit, hair beautifully fluffed and glimmering in the light. He had red heels that looked like Dorthy’s slippers.
And he had the faintest amount of red lipstick on, making him look like an ethereal being in red.
“Wow, we really are matching.” 
You mumbled to yourself, half forgetting you were being filmed. 
You turned back to the camera the moment you remembered, making your face emotionless so hopefully the interviewer wouldn’t pick up on your thoughts at the moment. 
You quickly thanked her and slipped off into the sea of celebrities, hearing his voice ‘hello love! So happy you could come’ to the fans hoping he would give them a signature.
You entered the award room, looking for your assigned seat. Luckily you were strangely one of the only people in there aside from a few techies working on the stage lights.
“Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Billie Elish, Kahild… Harry….” 
You gasped, basically scoffing at what you saw next. 
“Y/N L/N? Are you fucking kidding me?!” 
You started to breathe a little faster, “Oh god, I don’t think I can do a whole ceremony next to him, after the whole thing online… and not responding to his texts.”
It’s true, when he had texted you that morning, it took you 5 hours and a shot of tequila to actually open his messages.
Bastard (wasn’t allowed to block, fuck PR)
Hey… I don’t know if you’ve gotten a call from one of your PR people yet but, I just wanted you to know I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, I don’t wish to put you through anymore than what I already have…
Bastard (wasn’t allowed to block, fuck PR)
Um, but uh, if you’ve listened to the songs, just know that I really do mean the words I sang. I wish we could have, uh talked, but I understand I’m not in any position to ask for that. Just, there were a few others songs that didn’t get leaked, and uh, I’d like you to have them. You don’t have to listen to them but, it would mean a lot to me if you did.
Bastard (wasn’t allowed to block, fuck PR)
“Mrs. Styles.”M4A. Click to open.
Bastard (wasn’t allowed to block, fuck PR)
“I Should Have Fought.”M4A. Click to open.
Bastard (wasn’t allowed to block, fuck PR)
“I’m Sorry.”M4A. Click to open.
You didn’t listen to them, like the others. 
You just… couldn’t. 
It had taken you so long to get over him and grind it into your head that you didn’t do anything wrong, he did. 
Your PR team decided the best thing to do was acted like nothing had happened because if you didn’t give a response the public would have nothing to go off of, so here you were, looking at one of the scheming ideas from someone on the Award Team to see if they’d be the first to get some action between the two of you.
“Fuck that.” 
You said to yourself, looking around to make sure no one was looking, you snatched your name paper and walked about 15 seats over and changed with Lana Del Ray. 
Because you were all in the front row, you couldn’t get farther than that, but this would have to do. You quickly put Lana’s paper in your previous seat and walked out of the room, escaping the ‘crime scene’.
At least I’m sitting next to Shawn now.
You and Shawn had gotten to be friends around a year ago when you bumped into him at the recording studio and....maybe spilled your marshmallow milkshake down his shirt.
“I’m so fuckin sorry! Oh god please don’t sue me for this, or worst, tell your fans!!” 
You rambled, padding him off with the napkins from your fast food bag. You looked up at the tall Canadian in front of you that just had a smile on his face.
 “Hey don’t worry about it, uh, I’m Shawn but I guess you already knew that.” 
“Yeah, I’ve been listening to your music for a while its fantastic, I’m—“ 
“Y/N L/N, America’s Favorite Child and Feminist thats not faired to fuck you up?” 
You grinned, “Oh you saw that video?” 
He laughed, “Hell ya I did, You punching that old misogynist groping that girl on the street is one of the videos saved on my phone!”
After that day, you both caught on like a house on fire since you seemed to be in the studio at the same time, it was great having someone to throw ideas around with at 3am when everyone else had left the studio.
“Y/N! Girl! I haven’t seen you in forever!” 
You looked up from the corner of the red carpet you had been hiding standing in. Hailee Steinfeld made her way over to you in a black dress that hugged her perfectly. 
You let out a sigh of relief, you gave her a big hug, breathing in her sweet perfume. 
“Hailee you’re a life savor, I feel so out of it here.” 
She gave you a soft look, “Cause he’s here right?”
You clinched your jaw, “And we’re fucking matching! How did that even happen? It’s literally the same shade of my dress and everything! There are so many shades his team could have chose but they went with that one! And the lipstick! He’s basically a devil personified! But he’s got style!”
You quietly rambled to your fellow singer, she squeezed your hand when the bell chimed telling everyone it was time to enter. 
“Y/N, before we go in I wanted to ask if you had listened to the songs.” 
“Uh, no… I… I couldn’t hear his voice staying those things to me so I just read the lyrics.” 
Hailee gave your bare shoulder a squeeze, “Well, I don’t want to play devil’s advocate,” you smiled at her little quip, “but I did, and what’s not in the lyrics just written is the emotion you could hear in his voice. During Drunk Thoughts, theres a part that people are speculating he’s crying while recording, trying force sing it out and, it’s just, I think it’s time you spoke to him.”
Hailee was one of your most trusted friends and to hear her say this, wasn’t surprising.
You were starting to think it too.
“But, I’m scared H, what if makes it worse?”
The final bell chimed and you both started to walk inside. “I have a feeling it won’t."
                                                        ........
“What an incredible performance by Ariana Grande, next up is the show we’ve all been waiting for, or well I’ve been waiting for, here’s Harry Styles performing a new song from his nominated Album, FineLine!” 
James Corden announced from the side aisle. You felt Shawn subtly queen your hand, knowing there was bound to be a camera on you the whole time while Harry sang.
You took a deep breath,
No facials.
No twitching.
Calm.
The curtain came up from the stage, the set was a back cube cut diagonally so the audience could see the inside. 
Harry stood in a white suit sans a shirt. He wasn’t wearing shoes so you could see the painted red toe nails peeking out from underneath the too long suit pants. 
His hair had been messed with a bit, giving it a soft and fluffy just out of bed look.
Now he looks like an angel.
He held a red mic in his hand, and spoke into it.
“Before we start, I’d like to inform you that I will be singing an unreleased song not from my album called.”
He took a breath.
"Red.”
You curled your toes in your heels the only way you’d be allowed to release the tension you felt in your body since they were covered by your dress.
Fuck, that’s why we match.
A piano started playing, a sort of dark melody that reverberated through your bones and into your soul.
It’s all I can see,
It’s all I can hear,
The sound is loud,
But it’s not clear.
The tone of your voice,
Plays in my head,
That look in your eyes,
I can tell you want me dead.
Grays are the only color I see,
Black and white and in between.
But then I saw you in that dress.
The color of blood always suited you the best.
You and your red dress.
You and your red…… dress.
Thoughts swirl around, in my mind.
Pretty eyes and satin clothes,
They plagues my dreams, in the night.
Grays are the only color I see,
Black and white and in between.
But then I saw you in that dress.
The color of blood always suited you the best.
You and your red dress.
You and your red…… dress.
You watched as he struggled to hold back the emotion in his voice, you sucked in a small breathe when his eyes made contact with yours, unwavering.
Oh… I wish could take it back.
Oh… I wish I could take it back.
Oh… I wish could take it back.
Oh… I wish I could take it back.
You and your red dress.
You and your red…… dress.
You and your red dress.
You and your red…… dress.
The song ended and the audience was silent.
 Everyone could feel the tension in the room, so you did the only you could do.
You stood and started to clap.
Shawn and Hailee immediately followed your cue and soon the rest of the auditorium was erupting with cheers and roars of excitement.
But all you could focus on was the smile on his face, looking down at you.
And the one forming on yours too.
<3
3rd part right here!
alsoooo i’d like to say a big wtf to people that white wash reader inserts! it’s so damn easy to just put a little colleague together like i did and add it so everyone can envision themselves and like,,, need a hairstyle? literally say ‘you did your favorite hairstyle’ thats perfect and a neutral way to keep everyone happy!!! people that bitch about going the extra mile are worthless writers smh
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etraytin · 4 years
Note
west wing gang on day 14 of self quarantine?
(Okay, assume for the purposes of this fic that the US election schedule is based on reality and not the show’s weird two-year offset, okay? So everything is happening in 2020 instead of 2018 or 2022.)
“Does my face look flushed to you?” Josh demanded. 
“Well, you’ve been yelling for the past ten minutes, so...” Donna pointed out. 
Josh frowned, leaning closer to his laptop. “No, I’m being serious. Do I look flushed to you? I feel hot.” 
Donna flicked her eyes down, studying him through the screen. “Nope,” she decided. “Just normally enraged by politics. Did you take your temperature?” 
“Well yeah, of course I took my temperature,” he replied, grimacing. “I took it three times.” 
“And what did it say?” she asked patiently. 
“98.9,” he admitted. “But I normally run cool! That’s high for me!” 
“Are you coughing?” 
“No, but my throat feels scratchy.” 
She smiled faintly. “Did I mention the part where you’ve been yelling for ten minutes?” 
“Well I can’t help it!” he insisted. “We’re less than four months from the convention, we haven’t sewn up the nomination, we can’t hold a single goddamn rally or let the candidate shake anybody’s hand, we lose every news cycle to a new report about how sneezing is bad for you, I’m four hundred miles away from you and the kids and I can’t come home, the SATs are cancelled so god knows what that’ll do for Jo’s college search-” 
“Josh,” Donna began gently, then more insistently. “Josh! JOSHUA! Calm down, take a breath!” She smiled when he subsided, for all he was still glaring at the screen. “I know it’s frustrating, and I miss you too, but it’s going to be okay,” she promised. “Sam's the prohibitive favorite atthis point, and the virtual Q&As have been very well-received.I've got data here showing a solid fifteen point lead in primarystates that have yet to vote, and twenty-five points against theRepublican candidate. Everything we're doing is working,” shereminded him.
 “Not well enough!” Josh insisted. “I mean, how do we know?Maybe people aren't answering their phones. The only in-personpolling they can do is from people too stupid to stay home, so that'sgotta be skewed, right?”
 “I think it's a pretty good indicator still,” Donna told himpatiently. “And yes, the SAT was canceled, but that just puts us inthe same boat as thousands of other families. Jo has a 4.0 GPA andgreat extracurriculars, plus a letter of recommendation from JosiahBartlet. I think she's going to be just fine.”
 “Maybe,” Josh had to assent. “I feel like I have body aches.Body aches are a symptom, right?” 
 Donna's eyes sharpened. “Where are they at?” 
 “My lower back is killing me,” he informed her, “and myshoulders.” 
 She eased back. “Have you been using the lumbar cushion?” sheasked archly. “And how many hours have you been hunched over thatscreen?” 
 “What else is there to do?” Josh demanded, skirting the pillowquestion entirely.
 “How about some exercise? You guys are in a three bedroom suite,right? There's room to at least do stretching. Oh, CJ's pinging me,I'll patch her in.”
 Donna tapped a few keys and the screen split, now showing both herand a somewhat disheveled CJ. “Christ,” CJ muttered, brushing herhair flat, “I didn't realize we were video calling.” 
 Josh grinned at her, happy to see at least one person less puttogether than himself. “Hey CJ, long time no see! Are those yourpajamas?” 
CJ glared at him. “I'm in quarantine, what do I have to getdressed up for?” 
 “Are you back in the States now?” Donna asked. “Did you haveany trouble?”
 “Not much, all the restrictions are on Europe, but we're stillsupposed to quarantine for fourteen more days.” CJ adjusted thecamera up so only her head and neck were showing. In the background,Danny was wandering around the kitchen in a pair of University ofCalifornia boxer shorts, apparently unaware of the webcam. “How'sthe campaign?” 
 “Stalled,” Josh groused.  “Dead in the water. Momentumless.” 
“That's the spirit!” Sam told him cheerfully, coming from hisbedroom and fastening his cuffs as he leaned over Josh's shoulders.“Josh has been talking to Toby,” he confided to the womenonscreen. “I think we'll have to stop him.”
 “Sounds like a good idea, Mr. Senator,” Donna agreed,grinning. 
 “You'll probably have to tie them both down in separate rooms,”CJ advised. “Long time no see, by the way. You're lookingremarkably happy for a man in quarantine with his campaign staff.” 
 “That's because I have America in my heart,” Sam told her withmock gravity. “Hi, Danny!” CJ glanced down at her own screen and abruptly yanked the webcamfocus back onto herself. 
“Hi Sam!” Danny's voice echoed over theline. “You should be nicer to the press pool.” 
 “They're never nice to me back!” Sam pointed out. “I'mhaving a lot more luck with the women's magazines.” 
 “I bet you are,” CJ cackled. “Hey, have any of you heardfrom Abbey and Jed?”
 “They're all right,” Donna reported. “Zoey, Charlie andtheir kids are out with them, and that farm is so remote it's aboutthe safest place they could be. Abbey says they've got enough cannedgoods in the basement for a year , if you don't mind a lot ofapple-based dishes.”
“And apple based trivia, I'm sure,” Josh put in. “How aboutyou, you're not going out, are you?” 
“I'm being very safe,” Donna assured him. “I'm fromWisconsin, we stock up when there's a storm coming. Hey, Garret!”she called, snagging a fast-moving blur behind her chair. “Say hito Dad and everybody!”
 Garret leaned down into the frame, all lanky body and light brownhair and a dimple just like his dad when he grinned. “Hi Dad andeverybody! Hey Dad, I can use your car while you're gone, right? Ipromise not to go where there are people.” 
 “What?” Josh squawked. “My car? No!” 
 “We'll talk about it later, kiddo,” Donna told Garret, shooinghim away. 
“Donna!” Josh protested. 
“Listen, mister, you haven't been stuck in the house forfourteen days with two bored teenagers,” Donna reminded him.“Even the internet has stopped being enough. It's your own damnfault for buying that middle-age crisis testosterone-mobile.” Josh frowned and tried to ignore the fact that CJ was alreadylaughing. “Fine, but when our insurance rates skyrocket, I'm goingto be the one saying I told you so.” 
 “That's a price I'm willing to let you pay,” Donna replied,serene once again. “You guys have another Q&A in a couple ofhours, right?”
“It's on healthcare in America, so it should be a barn-burner,”Sam agreed. “Are you going to watch?” 
“Oh, I have a list of questions,” CJ assured him smoothly. 
Sam's eyes widened. “That sounds a little terrifying.” 
“I like to think of it as getting you prepared for the bigchair,” CJ told him. “You'll do fine. Josh, don't let him haveany more coffee.” 
 “I'll drink it all myself,” Josh promised. 
 “Josh!” Donna protested. 
 “Good man. Good luck!” CJ called cheerfully. “We're rootingfor you!” 
“Just make sure you vote for me!” Sam called back as CJ'swindow blinked out. “I'm gonna go make some coffee,” he muttered,wandering off into the kitchen.
 “Still feeling warm?” Donna asked when it was just the two ofthem again. 
 “Not as much,” Josh admitted rolling his shoulders. “Stillpretty stiff, though. I miss your backrubs.” 
 “As soon as you can get home, I'll make sure you get one,” shepromised. “Go take a long shower and some Advil, it'll help.” 
 “I miss you, too,” he told her seriously. “This sucks.” 
 “Yeah,” she sighed, slumping visibly. “But it's not forever.Take care of yourself, okay? Come home soon.” 
 “Doing my best,” he promised. “But next time we getquarantined, I'm bringing you with me. Love you.” 
“Sounds like fun,” she laughed. “Love you too. Go do a job.”The picture winked out. Josh took his temperature again. 98.9. Stillokay for now. How long was this thing going to last? 
This fic can also be found at Archive Of Our Own, username Etraytin, under the title   Isolated Cases.
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crysanthemumlotus · 4 years
Text
Drarry Fic Snippet
It was a cold dark night in Godric's Hollow, and Lily Potter was holding a spray can and drawing magic circle on the floor of her son's room. Like any other responsible parent out there, she worried about the effect of the fumes on her son's lungs, but considering that the most notorious wizard of all times was out there in her living room, relocating either her activity or her son was out of the question.
"You shall not lay a hand on my son!" James Potter cried out, hurling another jinx which broke something, possibly the ugly vase Dumbledore got them for their wedding. Good riddance, she absently thought, before sharpening her focus back to the magic circle. It was almost done.
With a flourish, she finished the last symbol and stood at the edge of the circle, her back to the door. From his crib, Harry Potter watched with much interest and glee. Lily smiled at him. "Everything's going to be alright, love, you'll see."
Outside, He Who Must Not Be Named cackled disturbingly, the voice of which sent shivers down her spin. She took a steadying breath and began lighting the nine candles, placing them in equidistance around the circle.
"This is your end, James Potter! Avada Kedavra!"
The incantation of that spell was followed by a dull thud. Lily took a steadying breath and picked up the knife lying on wardrobe nearby. She only hesitated for a second, before gritting her teeth and slicing her upper arm, letting the blood drop on the middle of the circle. And then, she began the summoning chant.
"In Nomine Dei Nostri, Satanas Luciferi Excelsi, Ave Voluptartis Canis."
The white, spray-can painted summoning circle began to glow with an unearthly light. She repeated the chant again, and the light grew exponentially brighter. She chanted it one last time, and a blinding light engulfed the whole room. Lily shielded her eyes.
When the light subsided, she opened her eyes, and saw, in the middle of the circle, a pitiful young man in black trenchcoat, curled up in a fetal position with a bottle of unidentifiable liquid clutched in one of his hand. He looked positively wasted. 
Oh fuck, Lily cursed, I did something wrong. Internally, she began to panic. Outside, He Who Must Not Be Named was flinging the doors open dramatically, one by one. There was no time left to redo the summoning ritual. She looked down at the strange... person and began to think.
Well, she did summon him through the circle, right? At the very least, he's got to have some kind of power to protect them, right? She heard the sound of another door being broken off its hinges, this time louder.
"Why is there so many rooms in this place?" He Who Must Not Be Named complained loudly.
Lily gasped, and in her panic, crouched down by the man and grabbed him by his lapels, "Wake up! Wake up, damn it!" she hissed, desperately shaking him.
The man moaned, wincing, "Jesus Christ, fuck off, Gabe."
"Come on, wake up! Wake up! I need your help, goddamnit! Wake up!" she was sounding more and more hysterical by the second.
The man grunted, then finally, opened his eyes. "Ow, what the fuck? Whe–" he rubbed his face, groggily sitting up, "Where the fuck am I?"
"You're in my house! I summoned you because I need your help! Please, you've got to protect us! A madman has come to kill me and my son! Please, you've got to do something!"
"The fuck...?" he moaned again, "Ow, fuck. My head."
Lily has never performed the summoning spell before. She only read it in a book, one which she randomly found in a flea market in America. The book was in Latin, so it was a bit hard to translate, but she was pretty sure they said that this was meant to summon a magical being of unimaginable power. This was not what she was expecting at all. Maybe James was right, maybe that book was a sham. Oh, then whatever shall–
Before she can finish that thought, the door to the nursery slammed open, and the notorious He Who Must Not Be Named stepped inside. Lily shuddered in fear, his magic slickened the air like rancid oil. Oh, how much she hated him.
"Stand back! Stay away from my son!" Lily screamed, standing up to face the Dark Lord. She pulled out her and pointed it at him.
A lazy grin broke out on the Dark Lord's face. "Stand aside, woman. I shall spare your life if you follow my orders."
"Never!" she spat out. "Expelliarmus!"
With a lazy flick of his wand, Lord Voldermort deflected the spell. He took a step closer.
"Flipendo!"
Again, he deflected the spell without much effort, and took another step forward.
"Y-You! Crucio!"
The Dark Lord tilted his head, waited. Nothing happened. "I guess that tickled a bit," he finally said, before throwing his head back to laugh. "Last chance, woman. Step. Aside." He was right in front of Lily by now. 
"Never," she repeated, bravely, while looking at the horrible face of the madman who had killed her husband.
"Then per–!"
His words were cut-off by another loud groan. He looked over Lily's shoulder to find the strange blond man pulling himself up to his feet. He was swaying, and had to hold onto the edge of the crib to remain upright. He was the perfect picture of a hammered man.
"Alright, what the fuck is going on here?" The man asked, before he turned his gaze to the ceiling, "Gabe, whatever the fuck this is, it's not fucking funny! Cut it out before I strangle you, you little snit!" He moaned again, before noticing the bottle in his hand for the first time. He gave it an experimental shake, found that it was not empty, and took a hefty swig.
Lily and He Who Must Not Be Named watched on curiously, with the former feeling slightly mortified at the amount of cursing the man was doing in front of her son. That was just not done.
The man returned his attention to them, gaze suspicious and expectant. He was still alarmingly swaying. He sniffed the air once, twice, before a confused expression settled on his face. "I'm on Earth."
"Yes," Lily said slowly. "You're on Earth."
"Oh," he looked at the bottle in his hand, inspected the label, found none, and turned his baffled expression to Lily once more. "I didn't remember getting here. How did I get here? Do you remember?"
"I don't remember, I know," Lily was starting to regret summoning him. "I summoned you." she gestured at the magic circle around his feet.
He followed her gaze, and recognition dawned on him. "Oh," he giggled, "Oh that's how! Brilliant!" He then walked out of the circle, and dropped down on the sofa Lily and James had placed next to the crib. It was an old, ratty thing, the kind that gets only more comfortable the rattier it got. He dropped himself on it and groaned indecently. "Been a while, since someone summoned me with that," he said, eyes already half-closing.
"What did you summon?" The Dark Lord asked, his intellectual side piqued.
"Hey, hey, that's..." the man waved his hand vaguely in the air, "Rude. Very rude."
"What's rude?" Lily asked, frowning.
"That," he gestured at the Dark Lord. "That is rude."
"What is that?"
"What is what?" the man burst into a fit of giggle. "What is anything? Oh god, you people are hilarious!"
The Dark Lord, already losing interest, turned his attention to Lily again. "Anyway, as I was saying–"
"Oh, right, where are my manners," the man suddenly put aside the bottle and shot up to his feet, clapping his hands as he did so. He searched his coat for a moment, before pulling out a card with a triumphant 'aha!'. Still dangerously swaying, he walked over and handed the card to Lily. 
"Draco Malfoy, professional dealer, at your service, ma'am."
He tried to bow, but nearly topped over and thought better of it, settling to offer her a charming smile full of sharp teeth instead. Too full, perhaps.
Lily looked down at the card and read it out loud, "Lucifer Satan, Morning Star, the First Angel, Ruler of Hell, King of All That Is Fallen, Dark–"
The man—Draco—clumsily snatched the card out of her hand. "Whoops, sorry. Wrong card. Haven't used that one in millenias! Ah, here's the right one!"
Lily took the new proffered. Compared to the previous one, which was filled from top to bottom with titles, this one only had three, neatly printed words; 'Draco Malfoy. Dealer.'
"You're... A dealer? As in...? Cars? Or illegal drugs?"
"No, no, no, no, no, NO!" Draco threw his head back to laugh. "Although, if that's what you want, lady, we can work out a deal. The car, I mean. Not the illegal drugs. I've got tonnes of that to spare, and I'm always happy to share happiness with everyone, including you, noseless!"
The Dark Lord frowned, clearly offended.
"So, what do you mean, dealer? What is it?" Lily asked again.
"I," Draco swayed again, "Whoops, sorry lady, mind if I sit down? Asgardian meads are vicious!" he went back to the chair and flopped down bonelessly once again. "So anyway, where was I? Oh right, dealer. Deal, deals, dealing." He burst into another fit of giggles.
"So, it all started before the First Human was ever created. I was vice-president director of Heaven, groomed to be the next president director, and the youngest in history too, not that there was much history to begin with, mind you. I mean, it was just set up a couple of hours before this story began. So yeah, there was nothing impressive about that. There was nothing impressive about Heaven at all, actually. Everything there was white and boring, no alcohol, no lunch breaks, and only this nasty tune," he hummed a rather sweet and calming tune, "Playing over and over and over again in the background! So I said to God, hey pops what do you say we–"
"Can you get to the point, some of us is on a deadline here!" The Dark Lord yelled.
"Alright, alright, yeesh, fine! What do you want, lady?"
"What do I want?"
"Yes, you! I'm talking to you! You're the one who called, right?"
"Um, yes."
"Well, what do you want from me?"
Lily hesitated, "I want you to... Protect my son from this... Man, right here."
"Is that all?"
"Yes," she nodded, slightly more certain. "That's all."
"Alright, then come over here and shake my hand." he held out his hand, "Come on lady, you heard the guy there, he's on a deadline. Gotta help the poor man, you see? He's probably got a nice wife and a litter of noseless kids to feed back home. Just imagine what would happen to them if he lost his job thanks to you."
"I'm pretty sure that's not the case," she stepped closer to him, and took the proffered hand. 
The moment their hands clasped, a blue fire engulfed their entwined hands, and she felt something in her uneasily shifted.
"There, all done!" Draco let go of her hand and smiled winningly at her, "Well, nice doing business with you, lady. Now time to go back to the party and get even more wasted! See you around!"
One moment he was there, and the next moment he was gone. "Huh," Lily wondered out loud, "That was weird."
"Yes, I agree," the Dark Lord said. "Now can we get back to what we were doing?"
Lily looked down at the wand in her hand. 
She shouldn't have bought that stupid book.
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miss-nerdstiles · 3 years
Text
THE WEST WING #105 [5-17] The Supremes Full transcript Written by Deborah Cahn Directed by Jessica Yu.  I do not own this in any way, nor do I get anything from the sharing of it.
(MONDAY)
(CROWD OUTSIDE)
DONNA: (on phone) Tommy at Justice.  Covitz at Justice.  Citizens For a Strong America. Archbishop Gaudio, Archbishop Rummel…
JOSH: What?!  
DONNA: Rummel! Of New York. Man of God.
JOSH: I can't hear a damn...  Excuse me please.  Thank You.  How are these people up so early?  
DONNA: It's a Supreme Court seat.  They had sign-painting parties the second Justice Brady dropped dead.  Council sent a new list, said burn the old list.
JOSH:  Listen to this.  “They cavalierly sacrificed the unborn innocents and beckon, arms akimbo, the reaper, the horseman and the apocalyptic end.  Akimbo is a word you wish got used more.  There’s someone out there selling  “Who Would Jesus Nominate” t-shirts.  
DONNA: They’re in Leo’s. They just started.  
(OUTSIDE LEO’S OFFICE)
JOSH: You want this?  
DONNA: You don't like it?  
JOSH: Not really. Sorry I'm late.
LEO: Dem Leadership is in with the President.  
JOSH: They giving us more names?
LEO: I'm sure they are.  
TOBY: I need the short list by the end of the week.  
LEO: Your schedule.  Your schedule.  Mine.  Keep 'em quick.  You got 3 judges an hour.  
C.J.: Who has Austin Girelli from Connecticut?  
TOBY: Me.  
C.J.: ACLU called about him.  I don't think it'll be a problem, but ask him about that migrant workers thing he wrote.  
JOSH: Why isn't Haskins on here?
LEO: Having an affair with his clerk.  
MARGARET: Toby - Dubar on line two.  
C.J.: Here’s Bernstein. And this is…
TOBY: [on phone] Senator? Yes, Senator.  No we're not having a party over the death of a Supreme Court Justice.  Well, not a big party.  
JOSH: Evelyn Baker Lang?  
LEO: Fourth circuit.  
JOSH: Isn't she kind of a lefty?
LEO: Yeah  
C.J.: Decoy duck.  And don’t do it in your office.  Do it someplace where the press can see her.  
LEO: We want the left flank sufficiently mollified and the right flank sufficiently panicked so as to inspire a little conciliation on all flanks.  
JOSH: Lang should do the trick.
TOBY: Put Fred Canterbury down on some list of people we’ll never consider.  
C.J.: Baker Lang's just with Josh?
LEO: You want Toby too?  
C.J.: It'll look more like we're taking her seriously.  
LEO: Toby, Evelyn Baker Lang will be your 8:45 with Josh.  Let's go, people. First one to find me a Supreme Court Justice gets a free corned beef sandwich.  
(ROOSEVELT ROOM)
JOSH: Obviously we're impressed with your record.  
TOBY: Your work on the 14th Amendment in particular is the stuff dreams are made of.  
JOSH: But before anything else, we want to gauge your interest level.  This will certainly be a lifestyle...  
LANG: We can just chat  
JOSH: I'm sorry?  
LANG: I hear you really went to bat for Eric Hayden.  
JOSH: I wish we could have gotten him confirmed.  
TOBY: Judge Lang, if the President were to...  
LANG: Is he still teaching?
JOSH: Eric?  Yeah.  Umm...again, if we...  
LANG: A conservative anchor of the court has just died.  A young brilliant thinker who brought the right out of the closet and championed a whole conservative revival.  You cannot replace Owen Brady with a woman who overturned a parental consent law.  You'd be shish-ka-bob'd and set aflame on the south lawn.  Two reporters have... three reporters have walked by since we started.  I'm window dressing. That's fine. I'm happy to help.  But let's just chat about the weather.
(OUT IN THE HALL)
TOBY: Not bad.
JOSH: That's what we're talking about.  Maybe we should put her on the short list.  
TOBY: Yeah
JOSH: Okay, who's next?  (Donna gives them folders)
TOBY: That’s his.
DONNA: This is…
JOSH: That’s a “no”.
ACT ONE  
(DONNA’S DESK)
DONNA: Sign, please.  
JOSH: You want to move it so I can see?  
DONNA: Not really  
JOSH: Why are we apologizing to Ashland?  
DONNA: We sent him flowers. Condolence flowers.  
JOSH: Condolences?  
DONNA: For his death.  
JOSH: He's alive.  
DONNA: That's what he said.  
JOSH: We sent flowers to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on the occasion of his death?  
DONNA: They were supposed to go to Justice Brady's family.  
JOSH: Get protocol on the phone.
DONNA: They didn't actually....
JOSH: We did this?!  
DONNA: It was an honest mistake. Ashland's 80, he's knock knock knocking on ....  
JOSH: Who put the order in?
RYAN: Hey guys!  
JOSH: You sent a funeral bouquet to the family of the living breathing Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
RYAN: No I sent them to the guy who died , Brady.  
JOSH: No, actually you didn't.
RYAN: This is terrible.  Umm... I really apologize.  You know I am a nightmare with details.  It's embarrassing.  This stuff just leaks out of my head. We should leave the detail work to Donna.  She's got the head for it.  I'm more of a big picture kind of guy.  
JOSH: She's here because she's invaluable.  You're here because your uncle's so powerful I can't fire you.  Big Picture.  
LISA: Hi.  Bad time?  
JOSH: I'm on my way out.  
LISA: Two minutes.  
RYAN: Lisa, right?  You work for the Judiciary Committee.  
LISA: Staff Director.  
RYAN: Ryan Pierce, we met at my office.  
JOSH: Excuse us.  
LISA: Is he the one who flipped the car in Nice?  
JOSH: Yeah.  
LISA: When do I see names for Brady's seat?  
JOSH: Do you want to let the body cool?  
LISA: You’re meeting with Barwald, Girelli, Evelyn Baker Lang.
JOSH: Here we go.
LISA: Whose acid trip is that?
JOSH: Just take a breath.  
LISA: The committee’s not going to let the balance of the court hurl wildly to the left.  You fill Brady's seat with...  
JOSH: It's not Brady's seat.
LISA: It's not your Senate.
JOSH: We're just looking at the field.  
LISA: Girelli has a fondness for Vicodin and Evelyn Lang is not an option.  Save us all some time.  
JOSH: We're some democrats over here.  We're not going to nominate a born again elk hunter with a tattoo of the confederate flag on his ass.  
LISA: Look at Arthur Lopez or Brad Shelton or Mayra Height.  You go with Barwald or Lang and the Senate is going to make the next year of your life a living hell.  I tell you this as a person who would be your friend if I was a person who looked for different things in friends.  
JOSH: We should do this in more often.  
LISA: As often as it takes.
(LEO’S OFFICE)
LEO: [on phone] We don't' hate Asians.  No we don't.  Justice Wong is more valuable to us where he is. Certainly. Thank you sir. [hangs up] Do a drive-by with Sebastian Cho, Massachusetts Supreme.  
TOBY: Yeah.  You were looking for me?  
LEO: You hear about a congressional delegation to the Middle East?  
TOBY: Next month.  
LEO: It was Jordan and Egypt. Now they want to add Israel and do a day in the territories and meet with this shadow negotiation crew.  State's iffy.
TOBY: As they should be.  The Prime Minister is going to go through the roof.  
LEO: Not to mention the Palestinian authority.  
TOBY: I'll look into it.  
LEO: Andy's leading the delegation.  Is that going to be a...  
TOBY: No.  I'm on it.  
JOSH: President's on his way.  What's up?  
TOBY: We hate Asians.  
JOSH: Okay.  
(OUTSIDE OVAL OFFICE)
DEBBIE: Ah Rina, how goes it?
RINA: These are today's. And Mr. Ziegler says that the President would want this before their 1:00.  
DEBBIE: Oh here, you can put it in his hot little hands yourself.
RINA: Ah, this is for you, sir.
BARTLET: Thank you Lana.  
RINA: Uh, thank you sir.  (to Debbie) It…
DEBBIE: I hate to do this, but it's Rina, sir.  
BARTLET: What?  
DEBBIE: The girl in the dress with the flowers.  
BARTLET: Just now?  
DEBBIE: Yes.  
BARTLET: What'd I call her?
DEBBIE: Lana.  
BARTLET: Who's Lana?  
DEBBIE: I'm guessing an exotic dancer from your spotty youth.  
BARTLET: I should apologize.  Get her back.  
DEBBIE: You asked me yesterday how the schedule gets off the rails.  
BARTLET: Yeah.  
DEBBIE: This is how.  
LEO: Good afternoon, Mr. President.  
BARTLET: Hey, we make any friends?
JOSH: Maybe Zimmerly, Shelton.
TOBY: Mehldau.  
JOSH: Lang was pretty impressive.
BARTLET: The gal from the 4th?  Didn't she strike down some stuff?
JOSH: Parental consent for abortion.  
BARTLET: Yeah, that's not going to happen.  
LEO: She was a red flag to the bull.  
JOSH: Well, it's working.  Lisa Wolfe from the judiciary committee showed up today spewing all kinds of threats and admonitions.  
LEO: About what?  
TOBY: Three dems on the committee called, elated we were considering bold choices.  
LEO: If the strategy's working, let's get her in again.  
BARTLET: You like Shelton?  
JOSH: Yeah.  Moderate, insightful, gets it.  
BARTLET: Let's meet him.  Who else?  
JOSH: Helen Waller.  Beresford Bannett DC Circuit.  Ellis Yaffe.  Martha Zell. Uh.. Howard Kagen out of New York.
(TUESDAY)
(C.J.’S OFFICE)
TOBY: What are you doing?  
C.J.: Nothing.  
TOBY: What?  
CAROL: She has a date.  
C.J.: And she's getting fired.
TOBY: Evelyn Lang’s coming back in for another red herring performance, 3:00.  You don't find that annoying?  
C.J.: I'll have Carol march the Times by Lang at three.  
TOBY: Brad Shelton's in with the President.  
C.J.: We like him.  
TOBY: Yeah,  we do.  
(OVAL OFFICE)
BARTLET: E. Bradford Shelton.  What's the E for?  
SHELTON: Elijah.  
BARTLET: That's a burden.  
SHELTON: Hence the E.  
BARTLET: I hear good things about you from my staff.  What did they miss?  
SHELTON: My son burned you in effigy.  
BARTLET: Did you watch?  
SHELTON: I didn't. It was a campus demonstration against American presence in Saudi Arabia.  There's a photo in his yearbook.  Someone'll dig it up.  I thought it would sound better in person than on paper.  
BARTLET: I'm not sure it did.  Did he burn anybody else?  
SHELTON: No, just you.  
(HALLWAY)
LANG: Well, I’ve missed you both.
JOSH: We appreciate this.  
LANG: I keep running into Brad Shelton in the parking lot.  Some say coincidence. I'm not so sure.  
JOSH: You have been very patient.
LANG: Well I don't mind.  But people wonder why the appellate system is so backed up.  We shouldn't let them know this is how I spend my time.  
TOBY: Well, if you were less appealing.  
LANG: Same to you sir.
(OVAL OFFICE)
BARTLET: Affirmative action is going to be back in the next few years.  Let's start there.  
SHELTON: What do I know about it?
BARTLET: What do you think about it?
SHELTON: I don't know.  Not the answer you were looking for?  
BARTLET: Not really.  
SHELTON: Unnerving isn't it?
BARTLET: Is there another topic you'd be more comfortable with?  
SHELTON: Nothing comes to mind.
BARTLET: Perhaps you should make something up.  
SHELTON: I'm not trying to be cagey, but I don't position myself on issues and I don't know what I think about a case until I hear it.  There are moderates who are called that because they are not activists.  And there are moderates who are called that because sometimes they wind up on the left and sometimes on the right.  
BARTLET: You think I want someone who’s gonna vote with Ashland?  
SHELTON: I think you are looking for somebody who will vote with him now and replace him later.  
BARTLET: And that's not you?
SHELTON: Wish it were.  He's a giant.  But my allegiance to the eccentricities of a case will reliably outweigh my allegiance to any position you might wish I held.  
(ROOSEVELT ROOM)
JOSH: Let's talk a little bit about what the judiciary committee's concerns would be.  We can safely say reproductive rights are gonna come up.  
TOBY: They're going to say judicial activism, particularly in drori.  How would you address that?  
LANG: And you're who?  
TOBY: I'm sorry?  
LANG: Who are you?  We're playing committee.  
JOSH: This will be coming from one of the 11 Republicans on there.  Mitchell -  
LANG: You can only be one.  
JOSH: We don't need to -  
LANG: If you're Webster, the question is 'Where do you stand on Roe v Wade?'.  And the answer is 'Judicial ruling shouldn't be based on personal ideology, mine or anyone else's'.  If you're Davies, the question is 'How would you approach a D&X case?' because he's the drum banger on partial birth.  And the answer is 'I don't comment on hypotheticals'.  If you're Malkin, you're from Virginia, so you ask about my decision in drori.  I take you point by point from the doctor to the father to Casey to undue burden to equal protection back to Roe at which point you can't remember the question and I drink my water for a minute while you regroup.  
JOSH: Will you excuse us for a second?
(OUT IN THE HALL)
JOSH: I love her.  I love her mind.  I love her shoes.  
TOBY: We march her to five senator's offices and they'll be so scared they'll beg us to put Shelton on the court.  
(ROOSEVELT ROOM)
JOSH: Sorry. You were vetted by the FBI when you hit the Federal bench, but if we re-opened an investigation....
LANG: I'm a shill, right?  Why would you bother with a background check?  
JOSH: Humor us.  
TOBY: If there's anything that they didn't find...  
LANG: Let's see, umm... in high school I snuck a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover out of the public library and never returned it.  In college I got a marijuana plant from my roommate as a birthday present.  And in year two of law school I had an abortion.  Can I get some water while you regroup?
ACT TWO  
JOSH: Okay.  Okay.  
LANG: I tell you this so you'd be prepared. It might not come up, but if it did, I wouldn't comment.  
JOSH: But if they know, it'll be hard.  
LANG: Roe v Wade affords me the right to terminate a pregnancy and to do so, free from all restraint or interference of others.  
JOSH: A hearing room....  
LANG: I'm told I have a right to privacy.  I think this would be the sort of thing it's referring to.  I also bet like a drunken sailor during my bi-monthly games of Hearts.  Do you wanna talk about that?
(C.J.’S OFFICE)
C.J.: An abortion?  
TOBY: Of all the gin joints in all the world....  
JOSH: Maybe they won't find it.
TOBY: Oh, they'll find it.  
JOSH: Yeah, but who's going to bring it up?  The committee, they'd look like monsters.  
C.J.: They don't have to.  Someone leaks it to the tabloid press, it's a feeding frenzy in 12 hours.  
JOSH: She says she can handle it.
C.J.: Oh, okay.  
TOBY: Well, we need her.  She's the cautionary tale.  Without her, we may not get Shelton.
C.J.: You been outside today?  We don't hand someone to the madding crowd so they can take the heat off some guy from Indiana.  
JOSH: The woman is - you should hear her.  
C.J.: What? So she IS a serious candidate?  
JOSH: She should be.  
C.J.: She's going to be on posters under a headline that says 'Wanted for the murder of 15 million American children'.  
JOSH: Let's think about this.
C.J.: Let it go.  
JOSH: No.  Really, nominees live or die by Roe v Wade.  We're playing along with the ridiculous notion that the Supreme Court is a single issue body in a way it hasn't been since, I don't know what...  
TOBY: Slavery.  
JOSH: Exactly.  So she had an abortion. Who the hell are we?  
C.J.: You think I like this? You keep this up, somone's going to take this to the press and this bright woman's going to be a checkout counter spectacle. Get her out of the building.
(WEDNESDAY)  
(OVAL OFFICE)
BARTLET: Brad Shelton could work for us.  I like him.
LEO: So talk to him this afternoon.  He's going to start getting calls.  
BARTLET: Who else?  
TOBY: Wisnewski’s a good maybe.  The majority leader’s really pushing him.  And Barkham from the 5th, though he has a question.  
JOSH: It's a tax thing.  We're looking into it.  
BARTLET: You still having a love affair with Evelyn Lang?  
JOSH: No. Uh, Robert Brant.
BARTLET: How come?  
JOSH: She won't make through vetting.  
BARTLET: Why not?  
TOBY: She had an abortion.  
JOSH: Robert Brandt’s on the 9th circuit state.  Stan Yancy's worked with him and says he's always kept his cards -  
BARTLET: When did she have an abortion?  
JOSH: Law school.  
BARTLET: Before or -  
C.J.: After '73, it was legal.
BARTLET: We discarding anybody else for legal activities?  
TOBY: Not yet.  
BARTLET: Tonsillectomy? We down on surfing this year?  
C.J.: She'd be publicly eviscerated.  
BARTLET: 27 million women voted for me.  I think they might had in mind that I was going to protect this particular right.
JOSH: We have plenty –
BARTLET: “I like that guy from Florida with the good hairdo, but I want to retain my right to choose, so I'm voting for what's-his-name, married to Abbey Bartlet.”  
TOBY: Sir.  They're going to make this about her objectivity.  
BARTLET: We promised the committee a short list by Friday.  I want her name on it.  
LEO: Okay.  
STAFF: Thank you, Mr. President.  (EXEUNT)
BARTLET: That pisses me off.
LEO: Apparently.  
BARTLET: We marched her around here all week.  The honor of a place on the short list is the least we could do.  
LEO: We’re still going with Brad Shelton?  BARTLET: (nods)
(DONNA’S CUBICLE)
RYAN: Filling a seat on the Supremes…heady stuff.  
DONNA: Don't call them that.
RYAN: My uncle calls them that.  So does the minority leader.  So does Henry Clark.  You know him? He's on the court.  
DONNA: You drop one more name and I'm going to staple your mouth shut.  
RYAN: (chuckles)
JOSH: There’ll be hell to pay at Agincourt.  I've offended the dauphin.  
DONNA: Lisa Wolfe called twice.  Senator Webster called regarding E. Lang.  “What can you possibly be thinking?”  Senator Milbank, regarding Lang.  “NO NO NO NO NO.” Bertha McNull, “Not a snow ball's chance in...” oh, that's not about Lang.  That's about the highways bill.  
JOSH: I need a drink.  
DONNA: Sun’s not over the yardarm.
JOSH: C.J.'s right.  
DONNA: Usually. You want a Black Eyed Susan?  
JOSH: Is that a drink?  
DONNA: It's a cookie.  My mom sent them.  
JOSH: No -- Yes.  
DONNA: Peanut butter with a chocolate kiss.  
JOSH: They’re cat people?  [holding up cookie tin]
DONNA: No they're not.  
JOSH: These theirs?  
DONNA: Shadrach and Meschach.
JOSH: Two cats, they’re cat people.  
DONNA: For years they only had one, but he died over Christmas.  
JOSH: This is a dry cookie.
DONNA: After what was deemed an appropriate mourning period, they went to get a new one. And my mother liked the abyssinian and my father liked the gray.  And they claim that after 39 years of marriage, they’ve outgrown compromise, so they got both.  It doesn't make them cat people.  The house doesn't smell. Do I have crumbs?  
(TOBY’S OFFICE)
JOSH: They pick one.  They pick one! That's how we get Evie Lang. And not as a decoy.  We put her on the court.  
TOBY: Hi.  
JOSH: The Chief Justice says he wouldn't step down because the President wouldn't be able to fill his seat with another liberal lion.  She's the liberal lion. Ashland resigns, she takes his seat, okay?  And we offer the Republican Senate Judiciary Committee the opportunity to hand-pick a conservative for Brady's seat.  We put 'em both up.  
TOBY: I’m ordering mu-shu. You want some?  
JOSH: Listen to me.  
TOBY: No.  
JOSH: I'm serious.  
TOBY: And then we got what, after we hand the Republicans a seat on the Supreme Court with a red bow on top?
JOSH: We have a balanced court.  They can't let Brady's seat go to a liberal.  So let them keep it.  Meanwhile, we name the first female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the nation's history.  I'm taking it to the President.  
TOBY: No you're not.  Do not go in there.  
(HALLWAY)
JOSH: Trip him.  
TOBY: Ashland is 82.  We may have an opportunity to put two people on this bench. That's two seats we fill with Democrats.  
JOSH: Moderates.  
TOBY: What do you care how moderate they are?  Two is twice as many as one.
(OUTSIDE OVAL OFFICE)
JOSH: Can I get in there?  
DEBBIE: No, just a minute.  
TOBY: We don't need him.  
JOSH: Not moderate, mediocre.
TOBY: What, Shelton’s not bright enough for you?  
JOSH: I want more than bright.  If we had a bench full of moderates in ’54, 'Separate but Equal' would still be on the books, and this place would still have two sets of drinking fountains.  
TOBY: Moderate means temperate.  It means responsible.  It means thoughtful.  
JOSH: It means cautious.  It means unimaginative.  
TOBY: It means being more concerned about making decisions than making history.  
DEBBIE: Indoor voices please.
JOSH: Is that really the biggest tragedy in the world?  That we nominated somebody who made an impression instead of some second rate crowd pleaser?
TOBY: The ability to see tow sides of an argument is not the hallmark of an inferior intellect.  
DEBBIE: Toby!
JOSH: What about the vast arenas of debate a moderate won't even address? A mind like Lang's?
DEBBIE: Josh!  
JOSH: Let them pick a conservative with a mind like like Justice Brady had.  
DEBBIE: Josh!  
JOSH: You can hate his positions, but he was a visionary.  He blew the whole thing open.  He changed the whole argument.
DEBBIE: (sprays water in Josh’s face) The President will see you now.  
BARTLET: And you?  
TOBY: I think they're going to pick a young, spry, conservative ideologue who's going to camp out in that seat for 45 years.  
JOSH: Fine.  Two voices are articulating the debate at either end of the spectrum.  
BARTLET: Filling another seat on the court may be the only lasting thing I do in this office. Shelton's a great choice. He'll make us proud. And if Ashland resigns in a year, we’ve got a stack of great options. We can't give it away.  
JOSH: Mr. President, the first woman in that chair.  
TOBY: We go out on some limb here and alienate the Senate, they'll tread water for three years, and we get nobody. The next guy gets to fill Brady's seat.  
BARTLET: Take it to Ashland.  See what he says.
TOBY: How’d you come up with it?
JOSH: What?  
TOBY: The swap-a-dee-doo.  
JOSH: There was.... Donna's mom... I thought it up in the shower.
(JUSTICE ASHLAND’S OFFICE)
ASHLAND: Who let them in?  
TOBY: Sorry to disturb you, sir.
ASHLAND: Carrier pigeons. Oh -- your flowers.  Yeah, we like them.  
JOSH: I'm dreadfully sorry about that, sir.  
ASHLAND: Oh for God's sake, let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings.  Brady was your age.  Eat your greens.  
TOBY: He was a great man.  
ASHLAND: He was a selfish bastard.
JOSH: You told the President you hope to be replaced by a liberal with the same level conviction that you brought to the chair.  
ASHLAND: That sounds like something I'd say.  
TOBY: Sir, are you familiar with Evelyn Baker Lang?  
ASHLAND: Miss Lang. You've met with her?  
JOSH: Yes sir.  
ASHLAND: How are you going to get her past the pit bulls?  They're not going to like the notion of Miss Lang in Owen Brady's seat.  
JOSH: For your seat, if - if - you were to resign, she'd be Chief.  
ASHLAND: My seat? What about Brady's?  
TOBY: We'd allow the Judiciary Committee to choose someone.  A conservative.  
JOSH: Would you consider stepping down under those circumstances?  
ASHLAND: Sure.  
JOSH: We think it might be a viable option.  
ASHLAND: Go ahead, see who they pick of their favorite sons.  See what segregationist, anti-miscegenationist,  Isaiah-quoting, gay-bashing bastard they come up with. Jed Bartlet from New Hampshire had an idea.  Uh-oh.
ACT THREE
(THURSDAY, LISA WOLFE’S OFFICE)  
LISA: No, I cut this because what he's implying is illegal.  Take it back out. [to Josh] Three times in one week.  In some cultures we'd be married.  
JOSH: Chilling.  
LISA: Is it Shelton?  
JOSH: He's the front runner.
LISA: Good, are we done?  
JOSH: Mind if I shut the door?
LISA: No.  
JOSH: How are you doing?  
LISA: Ah, super!  
JOSH: Feeling good?  
LISA: I got a meeting in 4 minutes.  
JOSH: I'm going to float an idea here that even I can't believe I'm mentioning and my colleagues definitely can't believe I'm mentioning, and the President would probably prefer I drop completely and if I find it in the Washington Post tomorrow morning, I'll march straight out to the Press Room and tell them the idea came from you.  It'll embarrass the crap out of your boss and you'll be on Hotjobs by nightfall.
[THE WHITE HOUSE. TOBY’S OFFICE]  
TOBY: There's someone in my office.  
RINA: I thought it was your ex-wife.  
TOBY: You didn’t want to warn me about that?  
RINA: You asked her to come in.
ANDREA: She's cute.  
TOBY: Late some night, our eyes’ll meet over the maritime commission report. We'll be at the Justice of the Peace before dawn.  You want to talk about this dog and pony show you're attending in Gaza?  
ANDREA: Not really. Bradford Shelton.  
TOBY: He's on the list. You're not going to Gaza.  
ANDREA: I still don't want to talk about it.  
TOBY: You're not attending peace talks with a bunch of Israelis and Palestinians who don't work for the Israeli or Palestinian governments.  
ANDREA: They may generate some useful ideas.  
TOBY: The ideas already exist. The problem is getting the recognized parties to stick to the plan.  
ANDREA: So we sit with our hands folded?  
TOBY: We asked them for democracy. We should maintain some scrap of respect for the guys who are democratically elected.  
ANDREA: If you're really interested in peace, you negotiate with anyone.  You negotiate with the mailman.  
TOBY: Thanks for tee-ing that up. The mailman can't deliver.  
ANDREA: We'll see.  
TOBY: No, we won't see. You're jeopardizing this country's relationship with the Likud party and with the Palestinian authority, and it is not an option.  
ANDREA: Is that all you've got? There’s no “and what about the kids?”  
TOBY: Did something happen?
ANDREA: I'm going away for two weeks.  
TOBY: Will they be...?  
ANDREA: At my mothers...  
TOBY: Good.  
ANDREA: Would you have asked?
TOBY: I figured your mother’s, which is apparently....  
ANDREA: You say you want to be involved. It doesn't come with an embossed invitation. You involve yourself or you don't.  
TOBY: The President would like to remind you that this is a fact-finding mission. Please make it clear to any parties that you meet with that you are not empowered to negotiate for the United States.  
[OUTSIDE C.J.’S OFFICE]  
JOSH: Is she in there?  
CAROL: Hang on. She's getting off....  [C.J. laughs loudly through the door]  the phone.... [into speaker phone] you want Josh?  
C.J.: Lord knows I do! Josh Lyman as I live and breathe!  You want a cookie?  They're from Donna's mother.  
JOSH: I spoke to Lisa Wolfe.
C.J.: What did she say?  
JOSH: I don't want to talk about it. I'm hiding from Toby.  
C.J.: [giggles] Nothing. You're hiding. It's funny.  
JOSH: It's not funny.  
TOBY: Hey  
C.J.: [laughs] see?  It is.
JOSH: I gotta go.  
TOBY: What's going on?  
JOSH: C.J. has the giggles.
C.J.: It's your deal.  I find it elating.  
TOBY: She stoned?  
C.J.: I'm fine. I just didn't get enough sleep.  
JOSH: You were with Ranger Rick weren't you?  
C.J.: Josh spoke to Lisa Wolfe.
TOBY: She give you a name?  
JOSH: You are a faithless wench.
TOBY: What's the name?  
JOSH: Christopher Mulready.  Wait for it....  
TOBY: Christopher MULREADY????!!!!
JOSH: There it is.  
C.J.: He’s not the....  
TOBY: American's Democrats - The triumphant of Socialism.  
JOSH: He doesn't like the name.
TOBY: The man wrote a book that flushes the entire doctrine of un-enumerated rights down the -
C.J.: Toilet.  
TOBY: …garbage disposal. No right to use a condom. No right to get an abortion, certainly. No protection from electronic searches. No substantive due process.  
C.J.: He's what, 48?  
JOSH: I know.  
C.J.: The left's going to blow a gasket!  
TOBY: No separation of church and state.  
JOSH: We got problems on the right too.  Kogan, Howard, Tondello.  They can't vote for a Mulready.  Their constituencies are too moderate.  
TOBY: Get another name.  
JOSH: That is the name.  
TOBY: There are other....  
JOSH: This is the deal. He's what Evelyn Lang is to them. We nominate the patron saint of a woman's right to choose for Chief Justice. We ask them to ignore an incredibly rich piece of her personal history. We take the name they give us.  
TOBY: This isn't going to work.
JOSH: Yeah.  
TOBY: It isn't.  
[JOSH'S OFFICE]  
TOBY: If --- if we were going to try this, what would be the plan?  
JOSH: We give the President and Leo the name. We bring Christopher Mulready in. We bring Lang back in, hopefully the two of them woo the pants off the President. And he agrees to the deal without noticing he's standing in the gaze of history, pantless.  
TOBY: I'll talk to him.  
JOSH: You don't have to talk to him.  
TOBY: You have been on about this. It sounds more plausible coming from me. What are you gonna do about the committee?  
JOSH: Lisa Wolfe’s gonna take it to the Chairman.
TOBY: I mean the Democrats. I need to get Senator Pierce on board or you get nobody.  What are you going to do about Pierce?  
RYAN: (singing)'Won't you stay... just a little big longer... '  
DONNA: Stop.  
TOBY: I thought you were firing him?  
JOSH: If wishing made it so. Donna! Send in Elvis.
RYAN: What's up?  
JOSH: Come on in, take a load off.  I was a little, ah, brusque with you before. I'm sorry about that.  
RYAN: Okay.  
JOSH Your feelings a little hurt?
RYAN: Not at all  
JOSH: Really? Why not?  
RYAN: Would this be easier if they were?  
JOSH: I said I was going to fire you if it wasn't for....  
RYAN: Are you?  Firing me?  
JOSH: No.  
RYAN: Then there's a “sticks and stones” thing that comes to mind.  
[OUTSIDE OVAL OFFICE]
TOBY: Finishing a call. I spoke to Andy.  
LEO: Anything?  
TOBY: No. The National Security Caucus is sponsoring the delegation. We could talk to them.  
LEO: We'll deal with it next week. Don't worry about it.  
TOBY: We got a name for Brady's seat.  
LEO: Somebody workable?  
DEBBIE: You can go in now.  
LEO: Thank you.
(OVAL OFFICE)
BARTLET: MULREADY!  
TOBY: That's the name.  
BARTLET: No! Are you out of your bloody mind?  
TOBY: Let's sit down and talk about this.  
BARTLET: The last time I heard Christopher Mulready's name it was in conjunction with a treatise over the rights of incorporation, and some sort of baloney about the stranglehold the EPA has placed on the endangered species list…
ACT FOUR  
(THURSDAY)
[DONNA’S CUBICLE]
JOSH: Ryan in here yet?  
DONNA: Not yet.  
CHARLIE: Chris Mulready?  
JOSH: Yeah  
CHARLIE: Dissented on minority set asides. Struck down hate crime legislation. Went after miranda rights. Feeling pretty good about that?  
JOSH: It's not a perfect plan.  I'm the first to admit.  
CHARLIE: The President wants to reiterate, he’s not spending more than five minutes with this clown.
C.J.: The press room is clear. Carol is going to babysit the filing shop.  But keep an eye out for roving reporters.  
CHARLIE: You're in on this too?
JOSH: We got Lang coming in to meet the President at 7.  Christopher Mulready is at 8.  The press can't see him. We need a clear shot from the Roosevelt room to the Oval.  
DONNA: He's on the short list?
JOSH: He is if she is. We may get both.  
DONNA: Oh my god. You're putting my mother's cats on the Supreme Court.  
C.J.: You're what?  
JOSH: It's just an experiment. She’s on sentry.  We’re good.
TOBY: Hi.  
JOSH: Don't ever tell anyone that story.  
TOBY: We all settled?  
C.J.: Lefty’s got the goods.  Rocko got the call.  Stinky's on lookout.  
DONNA Hey!  
RYAN: Shall we?  
JOSH: Your uncle’s here?
C.J.: Knock 'em dead. Pierce’ll never buy it, will he?  
TOBY: Nope.
RYAN: Remember, he's all bark.  Just let him holler and wear himself out.  He's got the strength. You've got the endurance.  Here.  [hands over bottle of scotch]. Use it wisely and for God's sake, don't try to keep up.  You're way out of your league.  
JOSH: Not necessary.  Thank you.
(MURAL ROOM)
SENATOR PIERCE: Good to see you, Josh.  
JOSH: Senator Pierce, thank you so much for stopping in.  
RYAN: Josh was pretty impressed with your floor speech on Tuesday.  
PIERCE: Josh can kiss up all on his own.  Get back to work.  
RYAN: Yell if you need anything.
PIERCE: My nephew behaving?
JOSH: He's a… treat.
PIERCE: Well, he better be.  Bugged me for two years to get him a job in this place.  
JOSH: Really?
PIERCE: Watch yourself, he's a lean and hungry type.  Have someone taste your food.  
JOSH: Ryan?
PIERCE: So!  Craziest rumor you ever heard running around the committee.
JOSH: Oh, yeah?
PIERCE: Charlie Felson says you want to put Chris Mulready on the Supreme Court. I said anybody who tries is going to find himself in a closed session with myself, the minority leader, and the business end of a two-by-four.  
JOSH: You know, we got a 21year old Glenlivet knocking around here. Can I get you a drink?  
[DEBBIE'S OFFICE]  
C.J.: Lang still in there?  
DEBBIE: Oh, she's a big hit.
C.J.: She has to leave. Her evil twin Skippy is on his way.  
DEBBIE: I did our secret wrap-it-up sign, which is, I knock and say 'The deputy NSA needs to talk about Japan' and he said 'you talk to him, you've been there' which is true. But it makes me think he's forgotten it's a secret sign.  
C.J.: How about "Excuse me Mr. President we need to move on"?  
DEBBIE: If you want the job, you're going to have to work on your typing.  
[ROOSEVELT ROOM]  
TOBY: Apologies.  He's running behind schedule.  
MULREADY: I imagine that happens.  You want to tell me what I'm doing here?
TOBY: Oh, just a hello.  
MULREADY:  I'm not being impeached?  
TOBY: No.  
MULREADY:  This isn’t a not-particularly-subtle form of intimidation about the gays in the workplace case?  
TOBY: That would be illegal.
MULREADY:  My point exactly.  
TOBY: The President will explain....any minute now.  
MULREADY: Hm.
TOBY: But since you mention it, I read your article on Bellington, and I may be out on the fringe here, but I - I don't see how a family values conservative justifies denying committed couples access to the benefits of state sanctioned monogamy.  
MULREADY:  Homosexual couples.  
TOBY: Couples. A couple is a couple.  
[C.J.'S OFFICE]  
JOSH: Hi.  
C.J.: How was Ryan's uncle?
JOSH: He's a blast. Come meet him.
C.J.: He's still here? Oh my God!  You're drunk!  
JOSH: I think I just promised him a pork barrel roads project on an omnibus bill that doesn't exist. Don't try and keep up.  He's got a wooden – a hollow leg. He drinks a lot.  
[ROOSEVELT ROOM]  
TOBY: It's an equal protection violation.  
MULREADY:  Homosexuals are not a suspect class.  
TOBY: D.O.M.A. denies access.
MULREADY:  No.  
TOBY: To over 1,000 federal protections.  
MULREADY:  To what?  
TOBY: Survivor benefits under Social Security.  
MULREADY:  $255.00? I'll write you a check.  
TOBY: Hospital decision making.
MULREADY:  So talk about power of attorney, not marriage. Besides, the fact that D.O.M.A. doesn't restrict access to marriage.  
TOBY: Of course it restricts access. It restricts full faith and credit.  
MULREADY:  So, Vermont gets to steer nationwide marriage legislation? Vermont?
LANG: Well, this is a sight to see! One of the more unlikely meetings in the history of the Bartlet White House.  
MULREADY:  It's good to see you, Evie.  
LANG: You too, Chris.  I came to say goodbye. I wish I had a camera.
MULREADY:  Mr. Ziegler was trying to convince me that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.  
LANG: Oh, D.O.M.A.?  He was trying to convince you?
TOBY: What?  
LANG: He doesn't need convincing.
TOBY: I wasn't doing it because...
LANG: He was yanking your chain. He would never uphold D.O.M.A.  He may not love the idea of gay marriage, but he hates congressional overreaching, and Congress doesn't have the power to legislate marriage.  The issue isn't privacy.  
MULREADY: Or equal protection.
LANG: It's enumerated powers. He'll have an easier time knocking down D.O.M.A. than I will.  
MULREADY:  Lack of imagination on your part, if I may be so bold.
TOBY: You were yanking my chain?
MULREADY:  You called me in for a meeting with a Democratic president in the middle of the night.  Are you really going to give me crap about yanking your chain?
LANG: Josh Lyman is gesticulating wildly.  
TOBY: Excuse me.  
[HALLWAY]  
TOBY: Where's the Senator?  
JOSH: He's in with C.J.. He got me a little drunk.  
TOBY: Is he leaving?  
JOSH: I think he's getting C.J. a little drunk. How's it going?  
TOBY: He's striking down gay marriage bans and she's defending him and they're as thick as thieves and he's a fan of chain yanking.  
JOSH: She's defending him?  
TOBY: Down is down, down is up.
LANG: I am not... no I am not rewriting Article 1. What I am saying is that a gun free school zone...
MULREADY:  Is not a federal issue. In Lopez…  
LANG: Lopez overturned 50 years of precedent.  
MULREADY:  Too bad, they ruled a plain text reading of the commerce clause, does not afford Congress...  
LANG: A plain text reading of the Constitution values a “negro” at three-fifths of a man.  
MULREADY:  Hence the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.  
LANG: Oh, generous. Thank you.
MULREADY: The relationship between guns and schools and interstate commerce is... is...  
LANG: You don't think that the quality of education has a direct affect on the economic...  
[DEBBIE'S OFFICE]  
TOBY: Is he?  
DEBBIE: Waiting to meet a man you're holding hostage in the Roosevelt room.
(MURAL ROOM)
C.J. AND PIERCE: Oh and while the king was looking down, the jester stole his thorny crown, the courtroom was adjourned, no verdict was returned…
JOSH: Ok... ok.... Everyone needs to put down their glasses and pay attention.  
[OVAL OFFICE]  
BARTLET: You like him.  
TOBY: I hate him. I hate him, but he's brilliant. And the two of the them together, they’re fighting like cats and dogs, but it works.  
[MURAL ROOM]
PIERCE: You couldn't find a single warm-blooded centrist to put on the court?  
JOSH: We've got centrists. We've got six of them plus two staunch conservatives plus Justice Ashland. The one clarion voice articulating a liberal vision. He's going to go and then what?
[OVAL OFFICE]
BARTLET: Well, send him in....
TOBY: Sir…  
BARTLET: I said I'll listen to him, Toby. That's going to have to do it.  
[HALLWAY]
DONNA: Toby.  
TOBY: What?  
DONNA: Nothing's happening.
TOBY: Hang on.
DONNA: That's him?  
TOBY: Yeah.  
DONNA: No tail.  No cloven hooves.  
[OVAL OFFICE]  
DEBBIE: Judge Mulready.  
BARTLET: Thanks for coming in.
MULREADY:  It's an honor sir.  
BARTLET: Please.  I understand that you and Judge Lang had a bit of a knock-down-drag-out.  
MULREADY:  She wants to federalize law enforcement.  
BARTLET: Yeah.  
MULREADY:  I thought it was hasty.  
BARTLET: Not your brand of judge?
MULREADY:  Quite the opposite.  I haven't had that much fun in months.  
BARTLET: Really?  
MULREADY:  Use her, if you can. I'm not sure what all this is about.  I suppose a number of people are placated by a glimpse of someone like her or someone like me in these halls. I'm most certainly here for that.  But if there’s anyway that you can use her…  
BARTLET: It's unlikely.  
MULREADY:  Who's at the top of the list?   ... If I leaked it, would they believe me?  
BARTLET: Brad Shelton.  
MULREADY:  Really?  
BARTLET: You don't like him?
MULREADY:  He's a fine jurist. And in the event that Carmine, Lafayette, Hoyt, Clarke and Brannaghan all drop dead, the center will still be well tended.  
BARTLET: You want another Brady?
MULREADY:  Sure, just like you'd like another Ashland - who wouldn't?  The court was at its best when Brady was fighting Ashland.  
BARTLET: Plenty of good law written by the voices of moderation.  
MULREADY:  Who writes the extraordinary dissent? The one man minority opinion whose time hasn't come, but 20 years later some circuit court clerk digs it up at three in the morning.  Brennan railing against censorship.  Harlan's Jeremiad on Jim Crowe.  
BARTLET: Maybe you, some day?
MULREADY:  They can't put me on the court, just like you can't put Evelyn Lang on the court.  It's Sheltons from here on in.  
BARTLET: There are 4,000 protestors outside this building worried about who's going to land in that seat.  We can't afford to alienate all of them.  MULREADY:  We all have our roles to play sir. Yours is to nominate someone who doesn't alienate people.  
(FRIDAY)
(PRESS ROOM)
JOSH: Where's Toby?  
C.J.: Can you see this? [pointing to spot on her blouse]  
JOSH: Yeah.  
C.J.: It's water, it'll dry.
JOSH: Okay.  
TOBY: Ready?  
[on the TV in background...]  
REPORTER ... have gathered around..... Ashland having served 32 years on the United States Supreme Court, 12 of them as Chief will officially announce his retirement in just a moment.
ASHLAND: (at podium, on TV) Henry Staub retired, and I received a phone call, you were probably learning to walk. It's been an honor to pause in Henry Staub's chair, a joy to spend...  
C.J.: (to Bartlet) He’ll take three questions at the most, and then we’re off  .  
LANG:[to Lang] you ready?  [Lang is engrossed in Ashland's announcement] [To C.J.] That's a yes.
MULREADY: So, why a racial preference and not an economic one?  
CHARLIE: Because affirmative action’s about a legacy of racial oppression.  
MULREADY:  It’s about compromising admissions standards.  
CHARLIE: That's bull….excuse me. It's about leveling the playing field after 300 years of…
MULREADY:  See, this is where the liberal argument goes off the rails.  You get stuck in the past. Now you wanna comeback at me with grading is based on past performance, but admission should be based on potential on how a candidate may thrive with this sort of opportunity. And studies show that affirmative action admits have a higher predisposition to contribute to society.  
CHARLIE: Hang on, I gotta write this down.  
BARTLET: Ah-ah-ah.  Hand it over. [to Evelyn] Toby has a daughter, Molly, 10 months old. She's a looker and very bright. And someday he'd like to give her this copy of the 14th Amendment signed by the first woman to ever hold this job.  
LANG: Have you got a...  
TOBY: Oh... [hands her a pen] Would you mind adding that title?  
LANG: That's a bit premature, isn't it?  
BARTLET: No.
TOBY: Thank you.
C.J.: Mr. President.  
BARTLET: Shall we? [at the podium]
C.J.: Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.  
BARTLET: The honorable Christopher Mulready, nominee for Associate Justice - United States Supreme Court. The honorable Evelyn Baker Lang, nominee for Chief Justice - United States Supreme Court. I look forward to taking your questions.
THE END
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olehistorian · 4 years
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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-interview-imelda-staunton-is-tight-lipped-on-playing-the-crowns-future-queen-pkzpb76b2
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Have you watched Vera Drake lately? Obviously, you have to be in a certain Saturday-night mood to turn off The Masked Singer and choose to put on Mike Leigh’s tale of a big-hearted backstreet abortionist in the East End in 1950. But it’s worth another visit. It’s one of the great British films and turbo-boosted the careers of many a character actor. Leading the ensemble cast in the title role — in an Oscar-nominated, Bafta-winning performance — was Imelda Staunton, who would become queen of them all. And possibly even the Queen. We’ll come to that.
“Just the best, best, best job of my life,” is how Staunton reflects on Vera Drake now. “Yeah, it was very hard to continue after that.”
After Vera Drake, Staunton had the little-old-lady role pretty much sewn up. The “little” is unavoidable. She’s 5ft nothing. In the hotel sideroom in which we meet, she fidgets on the edge of an armchair, sipping a juice a similar shade of green to her blouse and trench coat, which she keeps on throughout the interview. The “old” is perhaps more unfair: she was in her forties when she played Drake. We meet the day before her 64th birthday. “I think a lot of women now don’t think about their age because it’s changed for women, hasn’t it?”
She did “harrowing” again last year in ITV’s true-crime A Confession, playing the mother of Sian O’Callaghan, the 22-year-old from Swindon who was murdered in 2011. But otherwise, of late, she’s been — in the nicest way possible — British cinema’s arch biddy: in the gay-rights drama Pride; in Nanny McPhee; in the Downton Abbey movie alongside her husband, Jim Carter, who plays the long-suffering butler Carson; and as Professor Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter films. It all comes back to Mike Leigh. “I wouldn’t have got Harry Potter if my profile hadn’t been upped with Vera Drake,” she says. “They might have wanted me, but I wasn’t, you know, hot enough.”
At the end of last year, it was reported that the ultimate little-old-lady part was coming Staunton’s way: succeeding Olivia Colman as the Queen in series five and six of The Crown. Netflix played it down as “speculation”. But at a charity event at the Ivy before Christmas, Grant Tucker, the Sunday Times entertainment correspondent, asked Staunton’s husband, Carter, what it was like being married to royalty. “Thankfully I don’t have to start bowing to her for another two years,” he replied, “so I have plenty of time to practise.” So it’s true? Staunton’s reply is immediate, polite and professional: “I can’t discuss anything to do with that.” Which isn’t, you’ll note, a no.
She tells me she woke up at 4am today, thinking about her next big gig — Hello, Dolly! at the Adelphi Theatre. It isn’t on until August. Rehearsals don’t start until June. But “to me, that’s 10 minutes”, she says. “I just know the process is beginning. As Jim said, ‘This is the rest of the year, is it?’ I think about it and think about it. ‘How the hell am I going to do that?’ [Past success] means nothing at all, because it’s the next challenge. The more people say, ‘Ooh, it’s going to be great,’ the more I just get so depressed.”
And what success. In the West End, she’s busted free of the twinsets to become a bona fide, big-lunged musical star — a pocket rocket with a trail of five-star reviews and awards in her wake. Her first Olivier was back in 1991, for Into the Woods. In 2013, she won one for Sweeney Todd, in which she appeared alongside Michael Ball. Stephen Sondheim saw her performance and told her she should take on a revival of Gypsy next. The 2016 Olivier followed for that.
Her dog, Molly, a terrier, appeared on stage with her in the early performances of Gypsy, at the Chichester Festival Theatre. One time, during the West End run, a mouse snuck into her costume. “I did the whole first 20 minutes with a mouse inside the sleeve of my coat, singing the song, carrying on the scene. It’s good what your head can cope with, isn’t it?” It’s not the sort of thing that should happen to a Harry Potter star, surely? “That’s what you want. That’s the reality of the glamour of the thing.”
Staunton grew up in Archway, north London, above her mum’s hairdressing shop. Her dad was a labourer. Her mum, a first-generation Irish immigrant, was a big fan of the Queen. She died just before her daughter received her Oscar nomination for Vera Drake, and before Staunton collected her OBE and later CBE from the palace. “She’d have bloody loved all that,” she says.
She went to a convent school — “a really nice one because we had a lot of lay teachers”. Her report cards read: “Imelda could try harder, but she was very good in the play.” Her elocution teacher, Mrs Stoker, pushed her towards Rada, where contemporaries included Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall and Juliet Stevenson. When she got her first job in London, in 1982, it was in a musical: Guys and Dolls at the National Theatre. Staunton, by now used to lead roles, was only in the chorus. “I was thinking, ‘I just played Electra, what am I doing? Oh God.’” But Ian Charleson, Bob Hoskins, Julie Covington and Julia McKenzie were higher up the bill. “That’s what I was doing there: learning, really, really learning. That was wonderful.”
Also in the cast, seven years her senior, was Jim Carter. They married the following year. In 1986 they appeared together in Dennis Potter’s classic TV musical The Singing Detective. But, until the Downton movie, their working lives seldom intersected. “We don’t ever try not to work together — we just haven’t,” she says. “On the Downton film, we got completely overexcited, as we went to work for three days at the same time. What was lovely was doing the publicity together: travelling, just being in a hotel. We made sure we enjoyed ourselves.”
They have had a long-standing pact not to spend more than a couple of weeks apart, a rule Staunton broke to film Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock (no, me neither). “I think it was five weeks: I was in America and thought, ‘Yep, that’ll do.’”
She enjoyed last summer filming Flesh and Blood, a new four-part ITV drama, on the coast near Eastbourne. “The sea does do something different to you, doesn’t it? I do think it would be brilliant to have somewhere by the sea, but it’s not going to happen.” She’s happy at home in Hampstead with Carter, walking the dog, spending days at the Test match and doing the gardening: “That’s probably an older person’s thing to say. Well, f*** it, you know? It’s healing, really healing. Having a stable place to come back to is quite necessary for me and for Jim, I think. It nourishes us. It allows us to go into a place that isn’t comfortable because you know you can get back to a more comfortable place.”
Flesh and Blood is an example of good parts being written for older people, especially women. “I’m encouraged by it,” says Staunton. “Very encouraged.” It’s not so much a whodunnit as a whodunnwot. In its rather gripping first episode, there’s a mystery body on a beach and a recent widow (played by 74-year-old Francesca Annis) starting a new life with a new fella who has a whiff of the gigolo about him. Staunton is back as the little old lady, Mary, a creepy next-door neighbour with a pair of binoculars and penchant for opening other people’s mail. This primetime drama does contain scenes of pensioners smooching.
“It’s not just for the sake of it,” says Staunton. “This isn’t trying to be ‘Oh, we’re beautiful things having sex later in life.’ There’s a loving relationship developing. The fact that [in one of Annis’s scenes] the dressing gown slips off is not extraordinary.” Would Staunton ever want a crack at being the older woman getting the, ahem, action? “I don’t think that would be required,” she replies. “I don’t think so, no — not unless it was funny.”
We talk about the trial of the film producer Harvey Weinstein. What experience has Staunton had of that grim — and criminal — casting- couch culture? “None. Absolutely none,” she says. “I’m not surprised [that it goes on], but I’ve always been in situations where women are treated equally. In the rehearsal room, women behave as they wish to behave and are listened to, and that’s normal. I never thought, ‘Oh, isn’t this marvellous, somebody’s listening to me?’ I’ve never witnessed it, but I hope good will come out of this. The irony of that” — she pauses to choose the word carefully — “situation is that that man [Weinstein] has made good things happen now. Hurrah.”
It won’t come as too much of surprise that she voted Labour in last month’s election — her MP, Tulip Siddiq, has a 14,000-vote majority in Hampstead and Kilburn, Glenda Jackson’s old seat. Staunton voted for remain. She also featured in a video last year for Extinction Rebellion, organised by Richard Curtis. “It was a friend who said, ‘Could you come along, they’re just doing it today, this bit of filming.’ Well, I was doing nothing else. I’m not climbing up the side of a building, so I’ll go and do that. If I can help, I’ll do that. As much as we can all do, every little bit helps.”
Does she worry about putting her head above the parapet like that? “No, not at all. That’s the only bloody point of any slight fame: you’ve got to use it, to put it to good use.” She has also provided the voice for some polar bears for Greenpeace. “Trump is just an absolute … It’s just a nightmare, and the climate’s a nightmare and Brexit’s a nightmare. And yet I wake up thinking about Hello, Dolly!”
At 64, Staunton seems to recognise that a Vera Drake or Hello, Dolly! might not roll round again. Even Harry Potter was, she says, “a very serious piece of work, weirdly”. She feels lucky that an actor’s life goes on. So no plans to retire? “I don’t think people do, do they? Name me an actress! No, you won’t get bloody Maggie Smith retiring. It’s a very nice job, if you can get it.” Plus, she’s still hoping someone will cast her alongside her 26-year-old daughter, Bessie, also an actress. “I’d love that. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.”
I hope they do give her the Queen job. If there’s anyone who could add some plausibility and empathy to the madcap past 12 months of royal history, from Megxit to the sweat-free antics of Prince Andrew, it is Staunton. I would pay good money to watch her, in standard-issue HRH lemon-yellow frock and tight-curled wig, look up, fix her aide with a stare and utter the words: “A Pizza Express … in Woking?”
Flesh and Blood is on ITV in February
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dramallamadingdang · 5 years
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Speaking of religion, I saw in a lot of MTS off-topic discussions that you identified yourself as a Christian and defended it a lot. I think you even said once that you were waiting for your husband to die so you can remarry? IDK. What made you switch to our side?
Ooooooh, deconversion testimony. Let’s do this thing, man!
Yes, I was a quite fundamentalist Christian, in certain respects, for a long time. I was part of a non-denominational church that had strong Pentecostal leanings.  The theology was very much of the “hellfire and brimstone” variety, and to this day I can still speak in tongues with the best of them. *laugh* Thankfully, I had not been indoctrinated into any religion as a child, but rather did the “Save me, Jesus!” prayer at the age of 15, after attending my friend’s Assembly of God church for a while off and on, mostly when I’d stay over at her place on Saturday nights. Initially, my conversion was mostly an act of rebellion against my nominally-Catholic but spiritually lackadaisical mother. (By that I mean that she’s probably always been atheist but she never wanted to use the “A” word to describe herself because of its negative connotations, particularly amongst her very Catholic family.) But, even though I didn’t really take it seriously at first, Fundie Christianity got its hooks into me pretty good.
That being said, I always had some beliefs that did not toe the party line, as it were, precisely because I had not suffered childhood indoctrination. The primary things that I had to keep more on the down-low were that I could never be anti-gay, nor could I ever accept creationism as true. (I saw the latter as utterly idiotic even when I was at my Christian-est, although for a while I was convinced of intelligent design.) However, I was very convinced of God’s existence, and I swallowed the hell thing whole, and I believed that the Bible, aside from its creation fairy tale, was all true but that it needed to be read in historical context in order to understand what it “really meant.” That last bit was how I got around thorny things like, for instance, the Bible’s denouncement of homosexuality in both of its Testaments as well as its balls-out endorsement of slavery in both Testaments. But, I did love me some Jesus, yes. I was one of those who focused more on on the happy-lovey verses in the New Testament while deliberately not addressing the far more numerous horrifying bits in both Testaments. I coasted along in my faith just fine. I was even good at winning converts for the church because, having been raised by lawyers who wanted me to be a lawyer, too, I was indoctrinated into bull-headed logic and rhetoric and argument as a child. :)
Problems began, though, when I married my first husband. We married in 1992, so I’d been Christian ~15 years by that time. About a year after we married, he began to buy into the Duggar-esque “the man is the head of the household and the woman must be submissive” bullshit. Thankfully, he didn’t want to have two dozen kids, at least. It was bad enough, from my point of view, that he wanted a wife who did what she was told and waited on him hand and foot, with bonus sex toy functions on demand, all in the name of the Lord. I, as a dominant female raised by very strong 60s-era feminists – as in, both my mother and father – had…hmmm, difficulty with the whole submission thing, though I did try really, really hard, much to the detriment of my mental well-being. 
Secretly, though? Well, secretly, I deliberately took off my “God glasses” and began to do some extremely intense (and, notably, objective) Bible study that incorporated non-religious academic study materials along with the standard apologetic stuff. I spent hours at the library (since the interwebs were in their infancy at the time *laugh*) researching and studying because I refused to accept the notion that the God whom I loved and who I knew I loved me really just wanted me to be chattel, not much different from the livestock that people also weren’t supposed to covet. I was confident that this could not really be the case, and the lawyers’ kid in me wanted to be able to present a solid, well-argued, airtight case to my husband (and to the church as a whole) that would make him see that he was wrong about what God wanted, and then everything would be just fine.
Of course, my husband wasn’t wrong, as it turned out, and thus began my disillusion. I started studying other topics that nagged at my conscience in the same way and…Well, as they say, the easiest way to become an atheist is to be a Christian and objectively read the Bible. (There’s a reason that laypeople reading the Bible is discouraged, if not outright disallowed, in the Catholic church.) So, from the early 90s on, I began a long, slow slide down the slippery slope to apostasy. I didn’t recognize that that was what it was, of course. I thought I was discovering the “real Christianity” that all the people in the church pews, with dogma up to their eyeballs, were missing. Turns out, what I was really discovering was…Well, not to put too fine a point on it or anything, that the Bible is BS and so is Christianity in general. And, after expanding my self-education to include other theistic religions, thinking that maybe one of them was right, that, alas, there is not a single sliver of evidence for any god. I could no longer in good conscience believe in any god, not unless/until I had evidence of he/she/it/them. Which, to date, I do not have. (And frankly, if one day I do have evidence of Yahweh’s existence, at least, and if he is what he says he is in the Bible, then I will no longer be an atheist, but I will deem Yahweh unworthy of worship. I’ll be spitting “How dare you?!” at him, all Stephen Fry-esque. I would rather burn in hell than eternally worship such an abhorrent creature.)
Anyway, by the time I was participating in threads on MTS about religion, my husband and I had divorced, and I was probably ¾ of the way down the apostasy slope. At that point, I was still calling myself a Christian but a heretical one, and until about a year ago or so I called myself a Deist because while I could no longer in good conscience call myself a Christian, even a heretical one, there were things that I clung to that I did not want to let go of. Mostly because of “personal experiences” that made me want to think there was a God of some kind. But about a year ago or so, I finally let it all go, to make a long story short, and it was an enormous weight off my shoulders. I’m now comfortable with being publicly truthful about what I am, no longer fearing the “A” word.
That being said, although I have great antipathy for Yahweh himself, I don’t hate Christians or people of any religion. Nor will I “preach atheism.” At least, not here. ;) So, if you’re a Christian or other theist, fear not. I will probably be no more or less of a godless heathen on this particular blog than I have been before. I am, however, considering making an atheist-themed personal sideblog or something, which I would use to occasionally wax anti-apologetic and whatnot. In general, I think it’s important for American atheists, especially, to be “out” if they can be, because America is highly religious, particularly in certain areas, and people who are not with that program need community, especially if they’ve been ostracized by friends/family over their lack of belief. Not to mention the creeping fingers of Christian dominionism in our current government, with things like “religious freedom” bills and the Congressional “Freedom Caucus” and Project Blitz and such, all of which needs to be fought tooth and nail. But…I don’t know that I have the energy for another blog. We’ll see, I guess.
Oh! One last thing. Yes, I did indeed keep my marriage vows post-divorce. Christianity aside, I take serious vows…well, seriously. :) So, although we divorced, I did not sleep with anyone else until my first husband died. I almost didn’t even date anyone else, though current husband and I started dating about 4 months before my first husband died of pancreatic cancer, which at least was after I knew he was terminal and in hospice care. So, yeah, I was celibate for ~17 years. Call me weird, if you wish, but…Well, I take vows seriously. It’s just how I am.
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favefandomimagines · 5 years
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Marvelous (b.h.)
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Summary: Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated for an Academy Award and so was Ben’s girlfriend for Avengers: Infinity War (let’s pretend). And Ben got the pleasure of telling her the big news.
A/N: a little short but full of fluff ❤️this man officially owns me and i do not apologize for the amount of Ben Hardy imagines on this page 
Ben and you were in Paris together for fashion week when the Oscar nominations were announced. You were busy running lines for your upcoming Marvel movie and hadn’t been on social media for the entire day. 
You were pacing around the room, reading the script to yourself when Ben’s phone rang. Looking to see it was Joe, he excused himself to the balcony of the hotel room. “No bloody way. That’s incredible!” Ben exclaimed. “I know! And get this, Y/N was nominated for Avengers: Infinity War. Does she know?” Joe asked him. “She’s been in movie mode all day, she hasn’t been on her phone. Y/N is going to freak out.” He answered. “Well, you better tell her before someone else does. That’s pretty exciting stuff.” Joe told him.
Ben looked through the window and saw you lying on your back with the script above your head.
He could tell you were concentrating because of the way you furrowed your eyebrows. That’s when he noticed your phone light up and he quickly hung up the phone and ran into the room.
Ben grabbed your phone before you could and you gave him an odd look. “What are you doing?” You laughed. “Don’t answer your phone. There’s something I want to tell you.” He answered. 
You smile fell slightly, thinking that he was going to break up with you or something. “Bohemian Rhapsody was nominated for five Oscars.” He added. Your jaw dropped before you launched yourself onto Ben. “Oh my god! Babe, I’m so proud of you!” You squealed. Ben wrapped his arms around you tightly, with a huge smile on his face. “Five nominations. That is amazing. I knew you all could do it.” You added. 
“There’s one other thing that’s more exciting.” He said before letting go of you so he could take a look of your reaction when he told you were nominated. “What could be more exciting than that?” You asked. Ben took your hand in his and you furrowed your eyebrows. “Y/N, you were nominated for best supporting actress for Infinity War.” He answered. 
When you heard those words, you practically lost feeling in your legs and you felt as if you were dreaming. “Are you serious?” You questioned, your eyes beginning to water. “I’m 100% serious, love. Joe just told me.” Ben said. 
Your hand flew up to your mouth before you let out a very happy sob. Again you wrapped your arms around Ben, who was also getting a bit emotional for you. “I can’t believe I’m nominated.” You said, while both smiling and crying. “I’m so proud of you, babe. You deserve this.” Ben told you. 
You let go of him as you wiped the tears off your eyes. “Oh my god, I’m a mess.” You laughed. 
Ben looked at you and still thought you were the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. That’s when he remembered the pact you two made almost two years ago, after you won a People’s Choice Award for Captain America: Civil War. 
“The day we both get nominated for Oscars, you better be proposing to me.” You joked as you and Ben arrived back to your hotel room. Ben laughed slightly before taking your hand, making you look at him. “Let’s make a pact. Because there’s not a doubt in my mind that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, the day either of us gets nominated for an Oscar, I will get down on one knee and ask you to be my wife.” He told you. 
You smiled at him before placing a soft kiss on his lips. “I’m looking forward to that day.” You replied. 
While you were in the bathroom, fixing your makeup, Ben reached into his suitcase and pulled out a small, velvet box. He’d been carrying that around with him for months, waiting for the perfect time to do it. He was going to propose to you whether or not either of you ever got an academy award nomination. 
Ben walked into the bathroom and stood behind you. “We should celebrate.” You suggested turning around to look at him. You noticed a look in his eyes that you’ve never seen before. Without giving you an answer, Ben dropped to one knee in front of you. “Oh my god, stop.” You said. 
“Y/F/N Y/L/N, you have been my number one supporter since the day I met you. And I knew I was going to marry you a month into the relationship. So, sticking to the pact we made two years ago, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” Ben asked you. 
“Uh, yeah! Of course I will!” You said with a large smile on your face. Ben stood up with a smile just as wide as yours and placed the ring on your finger. You jumped up and down before wrapping your arms around Ben’s neck and your legs around his waist. “I love you.” You said. “I love you too.” He said back. “Now we really have to celebrate because now we’re engaged.” You told him. “What about you running lines?” Ben asked. 
“Screw running lines! We’re getting married!” You exclaimed. Ben laughed at you before bringing you into him once more. 
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'I’ve never sought fame so I’m loving it ... I hope it lasts!': As she returns in the hit BBC sitcom Mum, Lesley Manville reveals how a surprise Oscar nomination finally made her hot in Hollywood at 63
By COLE MORETON FOR EVENT MAGAZINE PUBLISHED: 22:01, 27 April 2019
'I can’t believe this late flourish that I’m having,’ says Lesley Manville, beaming with happiness. ‘It just keeps on giving!’
She’s about to star in the third and final series of the brilliant BBC comedy Mum, playing the kind and loving widow Cathy, surrounded by a family of not-always-lovable fools, and slowly falling for her old friend Michael. It’s hugely popular, for reasons Event’s TV critic Deborah Ross explains below, but that’s not all. Suddenly, to her own astonishment, at the age of 63, Manville is Hollywood hot property.
‘I don’t really share this much, except to my very close friends, because you’ve got to let off steam to somebody about how extraordinary it is,’ says Manville, hand fluttering briefly as if to fan herself. ‘And the enormity of how it has shifted things. Everything has changed.’
Scripts and offers are flooding in since she was Oscar-nominated for her role in Daniel Day-Lewis’s 2018 film, Phantom Thread. After decades of working ‘under the radar’ – as she puts it – in the theatre, on television and in Mike Leigh movies such as High Hopes, Secrets & Lies and Another Year, Manville was thrust into the brightest spotlight of all. ‘I got to go to the Oscars with my sister and my son!
‘But, oh my God, it was a mad dash. I was on stage in the West End on the Saturday, got home at midnight, only had time to wash my hair and catch two hours’ sleep, then I was on a plane in the early hours.’ The Oscars were that Sunday night. ‘I got there with an hour-and-a-half to get ready.’
She rarely gives interviews and hasn’t talked about this publicly before, but there was something else remarkable about that night – her ex-husband Gary Oldman was also up for an Oscar, for his role as Sir Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. The Hollywood media went wild at the idea of divorcees being nominated at the same time, and there was even talk of ‘fisticuffs on the red carpet’ – particularly since he had walked out on her in 1989, when their child Alfie was only three months old.
‘I had a son to bring up,’ she says, sounding matter-of-fact rather than bitter after all these years. ‘I was 32 and I had a baby. I wanted to carry on working and I did. I must have been knackered. I was up at dawn and looked after Alfie all day. Then my sister, who was working for me, would come and do teatime and bedtime. I’d go to do Miss Julie or Top Girls. Nice light plays!’
Somehow she gave her all to those far from light works. ‘I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I never wanted to stop working. And also I didn’t want to be a slovenly mother – not bothering, just phoning in motherhood because I was working. I wanted to be the best mother, with a proper meal on the table every night, and proper things in the lunchbox. All of that. And I’ve done it. That’s my biggest achievement, I think.’
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Did she feel that way because Gary had abandoned them? ‘No, I’m just like that – I’m quite a perfectionist in my life and my work.’
That’s easy to imagine. Manville is friendly and engaging but happily describes herself as ‘a control freak’ and looks very much like she’s got it together in her chic, cream baggy pants with matching boots, Breton striped top and leather jacket. She speaks with the diction and bearing of someone who has spent a lifetime on the stage. Does Alfie appreciate what she did for him? ‘Oh, yes. We’ve got a really nice relationship. We do argue, but we’re very close.’
Oldman later admitted that work and alcoholism had made him ‘anxious, neurotic and hell to live with’ – but he moved in with the much younger Uma Thurman soon after taking off to America. His fifth wife, Gisele Schmidt, attended the Oscars with him, while Manville is single and walked the red carpet with Alfie, now a cameraman. So just how awkward was this public reunion?
‘Gary and I are fine. We’re friends. We’re more than fine. People wanted to make something of it that didn’t exist. Christ almighty, we’re 60. We’ve got a 30-year-old son. Come on!’ She does understand why there was such interest. ‘I even stayed sober for one night in LA at the Oscars so that I could do a live interview on the Today programme. Something should be made of it, for the sake of our son. Very few children have been to the Oscars and seen both their parents nominated. It was nice because Gary was there with his wife – who I get on with very well – his other two sons and my son. We’re grown-ups.’
In her eagerness to demonstrate that they’ve worked out their differences, Manville even reveals that the two former partners are planning to work together again.
‘Gary’s asked me to be in a new film he’s hoping to shoot soon. So of course we’re fine. It’s a film about Eadweard Muybridge, the man who invented film.’ The Victorian photographer devised camera techniques that laid the foundations for the motion picture industry. He also shot and killed his wife’s lover, but was acquitted by a jury on the grounds of justifiable homicide. ‘It will be amazing.’
And although she did not win the Oscar for best supporting actress last year (Oldman did win best actor), Manville says she has been almost overwhelmed by offers since then. ‘You get inundated with scripts and immediately I got offered a film with Liam Neeson, Normal People, that’s virtually a two-hander. It comes out at the end of this year.’
Neeson got himself in a lot of trouble earlier this year by confessing that in the past, after the rape of a friend, he had taken to prowling the streets with a cosh, hoping ‘some black b******’ would come out of a pub looking for a fight. He was actually expressing shame at having had those feelings and drew support from Whoopi Goldberg and the England footballer John Barnes, but others called for his films to be pulled. Did that put Normal People in danger?
Manville draws in breath, pulls back her shoulders and says: ‘I’m not going to talk about it at all... except to say that Liam is one of the nicest gentlemen I’ve ever worked with. And he’s a friend.’
Is she just like Cathy in Mum, who insists on seeing the best in people? ‘Oh, I don’t compare to Cathy. I’m kind, but I’m a bit more judgmental than she is. I’m from this chippy world of acting, where people are beautifully acerbic, funny, and sarcastic and cutting. I enjoy all of that. It’s banter.’
Still, she is firmly supportive of Neeson then quickly moves on. ‘Then I got a film I haven’t shot yet, called Dali Land, about Salvador and Gala Dali. I’m going to play Gala. Last week I was filming the new series of Harlots [in which she plays the madam of a high-class 18th-century brothel], then preparing for the film Let Him Go with Kevin Costner and Diane Lane.’
Does Manville thrive on all this new attention? ‘My sister can’t believe I’m not exhausted. It is overwhelming at times, but I do sort of feel I’ve earned it. I’ve put in decades of doing what I feel were the right jobs. I’ve never sold out. I’ve never sought fame. So I’m genuinely loving it and I’m hoping it will last, but it will only last if I keep turning out the work.’
Does she wish this had all happened before? ‘No. I’ve had an amazing, steady career. And I’m grateful for that. A lot of young people who get success very quickly come under huge pressure to maintain it and that is very hard. Especially if they’re good-looking, because if you’ve built a career based on your good looks when you’re young, it’s very difficult to carry on in a real and proper vein.’ Has she come under any of Hollywood’s infamous pressure to go under the knife?
‘No. I went to a lot of meetings while we were there, and the reaction I got is: ‘Oh, you’ve done nothing to your face, isn’t that great!’ If I suddenly started doing all that, it would make nonsense of this career I’ve had for 40-plus years. I’m setting myself up as somebody who likes to play characters. This Bible-bashing mad woman with a gun that I’m playing in Let Him Go isn’t going to have gone under the knife in 1963. Just leave it alone.’
Manville grew up in Brighton, where her father was a taxi driver, and at the age of 15 she started commuting to the Italia Conti stage school in London. She declined the chance to join the steamy TV dance troupe Hot Gossip. ‘I thought, I can’t wear stockings and a suspender belt on telly with my dad watching! He wasn’t a prude – it was more that I was a bit of a prude. I was a good girl. I never broke the rules.’
Just like Cathy in Mum, then? ‘I am a good girl at heart, so there is a bit of Cathy there, but the other side of me is very driven and single-minded.’
Her father couldn’t believe it when she gave up a perfectly good, lucrative part on the soap Emmerdale Farm to concentrate on theatre. ‘My dad was like, “What are you doing? Why would you want to do plays?”’ But Manville went on to have a truly illustrious and highly acclaimed career on stage, from her early days at the Royal Court through numerous leading roles at the National Theatre, The Old Vic and with the Royal Shakespeare Company to her performance in Ibsen’s Ghosts, for which she won the Olivier in 2014. This was the pinnacle of her career at the time, and she said: ‘Ghosts is my Olympic moment.’
There was no way of knowing that the Hollywood legend Paul Thomas Anderson, director of There Will Be Blood and Magnolia, would call her out of the blue, having seen her in the Mike Leigh films he loved.
But before that happened and she got really famous, the director Richard Laxton approached Manville in 2016 about making Mum, and had some persuading to do.
‘My only experience of comedy was 25 years ago, a series called Ain’t Misbehavin’ with Peter Davison,’ says Manville. ‘It was well written, but you had to be funny. I didn’t enjoy it. I wasn’t very good.’
Laxton sent a script and a box set of Him And Her, a series also written by Mum creator Stefan Golaszewski and shot in a very similar, low-key way. The actors play the drama and not for laughs, although they certainly come. In Mum, we see the craziness of the family from Cathy’s point of view as she tries to keep going, do her best and be kind.
‘Just the slightest twinkle from Cathy, and the audience knows what it’s going to mean,’ says Manville.
Series one began just after Cathy had lost her husband Dave. Series two saw her become increasingly – but very slowly – close to old family friend Michael, before she finally declared her love. Now, at the start of the final series, they are together, but haven’t broken it to her son or anyone else yet. ‘I love the way the writer does that,’ she says. ‘We last saw them tentatively holding hands. At the start of this series she just gives him a very casual kiss on the lips, when she’s showing him the bedroom she is staying in.’
The inference is that they have made love. ‘You don’t see them having sex. You don’t see them having passionate kisses.’ Is that a relief? ‘Yes. You wouldn’t want to go there really, but I knew they were going to get together.’ The pair have such joy on their faces, as if they can’t believe their luck.
‘I think younger people – 20- and 30-year-olds – don’t think of anybody aged 60 falling in love. They don’t really imagine that all those feelings an 18-year-old in love has – all those butterflies, uncertainties and insecurities, all that joy – is the same for everyone, whatever your age. That’s an emotion and a set of feelings that we never lose. Thank God! I love Mum for showing that.’
The characters are also very understated. ‘I love the fact that Cathy and Michael are not glamorous, they’re not thinking about how they look. They’re good, kind, thoughtful people. They’re intelligent. They’re very in touch with their own feelings and emotions and reality. They have a very acute understanding of the people around them.’ The cast and crew all stayed in the same hotel and found a local pub to eat and drink. ‘Lots of times, someone would spot one of us up at the bar – say Lisa [McGrillis, who plays Kelly] – and they’d go: “That’s her from Mum!” Then they’d turn around to see where she was taking the drinks and we would all be sitting there!’
How are people with her? ‘Mum is the thing I get stopped in the street most about. They say very kind things. They love the series. When I say it’s back in May but this is the last series, they can’t bear it.’
So why is Mum finishing? ‘Stefan wants to move on to other things. But it’s got a nice finite ending and why would you do any more? Either they get together or they don’t. Either way, that’s it.’ We don’t see so-called late love like this on the television much, do we?
‘No, but I think that’s shifting very slowly. Women and men of my age want to see themselves represented. And there are those actresses who are just carrying on – not just Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, but Helen Mirren, Meryl Streep, Annette Bening.... We are fronting films. And all those female-led films like Mamma Mia!, Quartet and The Best Marigold Hotel that have been huge box- office successes have made studios think: ‘We can have a film about a 50-year-old that people want to see!’
She says ‘we’, but those women are older than her. Thanks to her sudden Indian summer, Manville is now poised to lead a new generation of female actors taking on those kinds of roles. ‘Those actors have opened up the way for us, absolutely. I’ve always felt my life was a slow burn. I’m pleased with the way it has all turned out. Delighted, really. I can’t wait to see what happens next!’
The final series 3 of ‘Mum’ begins on BBC 2 next month. Series 1 and 2 are available on iPlayer.  
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theycallmemoosey · 5 years
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Dan x Reader
A/N - Yahoo! Back again for 2019! Happy new year! So, here’s another lovely request that I really really enjoyed writing from the wonderful @winchestergirl907 . I hope you guys enjoy it! Moose :)
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“So guys,” Benny began as yourself and Dan settled into the chairs in front of the famous ‘Fine Bros’ scenery, “I know you’ve been and done this before for a couple of videos but I’ll just do a quick rundown so you know what’s going to happen. So, what we’re going to do is ask you a couple of questions about yourselves and your relationship etc etc and then we’re going to show you some clips. Act as naturally as possible and we’ll guide you in the direction we need you to go. Once we’ve shown all the clips we have for you we’ll ask you a couple more questions about the clips and what you thought and then the whole sign off thing. Sound ok with you guys?” 
“Sounds awesome” you replied, smiling and nodding as you sorted out your hair. 
“Received” Dan added, cringing slightly after realising what he had just said. 
“Ah-shit. Just got to talk to Rafi about something. I’ll be two seconds. Sorry guys” 
“Oh no,” you reassured, “don’t worry. No rush”
As Benny left, Dan leant into your shoulder and whined in your ear, “can you sort out my hair?” 
“It’s fine” you replied, not even looking at him as you checked your phone. 
“Y/N!” 
“Stop it, Dan. It’s fine” you chuckled, lifting your hand to stroke his head. 
“You just messed it up. Fix it!” 
Sighing, you put your phone down and turned towards him, placing his curls in random places just to keep him happy. 
“Are you okay by the way? You seem…nervous”
“Nervous?” 
“Yeah. Quiet and just fidgety. It's not like you haven’t filmed a collab video before”
“Yeah. No. I’m fine. I’m just really tired that’s all. Jet-lagged” 
“Well sorry you had to come back to MY country to see MY family for Christmas, even though I live in YOUR shitty, rainy, boring old country” 
Dan looked at you blankly, “Don’t be racist”
Laughing, you finished off ‘fixing’ his hair.
“Better?” 
“Much” he smiled, kissing you quickly before returning to the position he was just in as Benny walked back onto set. 
“Sorry about that guys, we’re ready to start when you are” 
“Ready!” 
“Ok. I’m gonna do the intro and then we’re into it. Just act natural” 
“Easy” Dan smiled. 
——————————
“Dan Howell and Y/N L/N. You two are a very famous youtube couple that has a total subscriber count of over 8 million. How long have you two been together?” 
“We have been together for about…” you hesitated, looking at Dan for help, only to physically see the cogs turning in his brain as he too tried to work out how long you had been together. 
“7 years? We’ve been together since 2012 haven’t we?” Dan asked you. 
“I think so” you laughed, looking back at Benny who was looking at the list of questions on his sheet. 
“How did you two meet?” 
“Well we both were young idiots making videos on youtube and somehow we had already made quite a large fanbase separately. We were both invited to the Sony Awards that year in which Dan and Phil were nominated for the Golden Headphones Award for their radio show.” 
“Yeah, I remember that now. Oh god, 2012…” Dan cringed, remembering how awkward the whole event was, “Wait, why were you even there” 
“I think I was just invited by my uncle who was one of the nominees. You know he lives in England.” you replied, looking at Dan before looking back toward Benny to continue the story, “Dan and Phil didn’t know a lot of people there and I, for one, appeared to be the only American there. Naturally, the three loneliest people got together and we really got on” 
“We then showed her around London for the next two weeks while she was over here” Dan continued, “then we exchanged Skype usernames and our numbers and everything before she went home. Remember that? Skype? Ew” 
“I can still hear the ringtone” you laughed, remembering the hours the two of you spent calling each other. 
“I think it was only a few weeks later that we officially got together. I mean, I knew from the moment I saw you that I liked you, and it was a few weeks after you left you finally told me you liked me back” Dan smiled, taking your hand underneath the table to keep the PDA to a minimum. 
“We were online boyfriend and girlfriend for months before I finally got enough money to go back over to the UK to see them again. We did this for ages” 
“And then eventually, Phil and I decided that we missed Y/N as soon as she left our apartment so we asked if she wanted to move in with us. We were looking to move apartments anyway so we thought, why not? We never did end up moving though so you moved into the iconic London apartment before we moved last year” 
“So how long have you been living together now?” 
Dan chuckled, “Probably about four years or so. Best four years of my life” 
“Shush you big baby” you laughed, slapping his arm playfully. 
“So we have a few clips to show you if you’re ready?” 
“Yup. Ready” you nodded at Benny, taking the laptop from him. 
“So I’m sure you guys have seen some edits of your relationship as you are the fan favourite relationship of youtube” 
“Are we really the fan favourites? I didn’t think we could compare to couples like Alfie and Zoe or Felix and Marzia…god forbid, I never thought we would be the fan favourites against the Joe and Dianne!” you blabbered excitedly. 
“How far back do these clips go? Right back to 2012?!” Dan asked, jokingly with a panicked tone.
“Yes! Right back to 2012!” 
“NOOOOOOO!” Dan groaned jokingly, placing his head in his hands as the first clips began to play. 
————————————
“Oh!” You exclaimed, “this is of you and Phil recording the radio show!” 
“We just wanted to say, “ 2012 Phil stated into the mic, “that we are so grateful here at BBC Radio 1 for all your votes that made us win the Golden Headphones Award last week. We are honestly beyond thrilled that our silly little show has brought you guys so much entertainment so thank you guys” 
“Phil,” Dan replied, “stop being so sappy” 
“Sorry. It was actually a great evening. Really fun. We met a load of new people and got to learn more about radio stations etc etc. Oh but Dan loooooved the party. We both made a new friend who happens to now be staying with us. She’s pretty awesome actually” 
“You hear that kids? Going outside can sometimes be a good thing!” 
“Hear that hun? 2012 Dan wasn’t lying. You really need to start going out some more…it can be a good thing” 
“But the outside is dangerous. And I’m not a kid”
“Shush, just watch it” 
The video went from present day back to 2012, Dan and Phil showing you around central London. 
“This is the famous Big Ben?” You asked, your accent thicker than usual as you were living in America at the time.
“I know, not very impressive is it?” Phil laughed, panning the camera over to the three of you, their hair longer and straighter than you ever cared to remember. It was easy to spot that Dan had a thing for you back then, as he could not take his heart-eyes off of you as you took in the surroundings. 
“Well, I’m not saying it’s not impressive but…it’s not exactly the Empire State, is it?” 
Dan laughed, “Yeah, it’s a bit underwhelming. Onwards to the London Eye!!”
Dan laughed, “Two days you had been in that country and you drag our entire culture down in a matter of seconds. Wow.” 
“It’s true! It is so hyped up. Although to be fair, we had a great rest of the day” 
“And using the Empire State in comparison. Y/N, you aren’t even from New York” 
“Yes but that’s what most people think about first when they think about America in general. After Hamburgers, Trump and guns” 
“Woah. Stereotyping your own country” 
“What’s this?” You asked, pointing towards the laptop. 
“Oh lord, it's the pink diary video. The one we filmed after we announced that we were together” 
“Shit! No! Do not press play, Daniel!”
“You had a bright pink diary when you were 12!” 
“Dude, if you think that’s bad, then you should have seen my room. Bright pink walls, curtains, floors, bedsheets…got how much I regret that. Well, perks of getting your older sister’s old room” 
As the two of you scanned through the pages, Dan flicked to the page where you mention your childhood crush. 
“Oh my…who’s Elijah, Y/N?” 
“What? Oh god, Dan wait” you laughed, lunging to grab the diary from his hands. 
“Y/N, are you cheating on me? Already?!” He gasped, laughing as he held the diary out of reach from you. 
“Dan, just…give it back. Let me see it!” 
“How do I explain Elijah?” Dan began to read, “He is the coolest, most popular, handsomest - Y/N, that’s not even a word!” 
“Shut up, Daniel” you slapped his arm. 
Dan chuckled and cleared his throat before continuing, “Handsomest boy in school. God, how much I wish he would notice me. O-M-G. I think I love him!!” 
You groaned, covering your face with your hands. 
“That will forever be one of my favourite things I have done with you” Dan smiled, pausing the video as you calmed down from your giggle fit. 
“Hearing all about my first love, Elijah? God, 12 was a good age for me” 
“What’s next?” Dan laughed, pressing play and starting the next video. 
“Oh! It’s my first gaming channel appearance” 
“Hello, DanandPhilgames spooky weekers!! Today, we are delving into the well-known game that is no doubt going to make me shit myself, Outlast! Unfortunately, Phil is not able to join me today because he has left me all alone in the house which was a very stupid idea. However, because I am too much of a pansy to actually do this by myself I invited, the one, the only, the very amazingly beautiful pain in my ass, Y/N!” He paused, waiting for you to roll the chair into frame. 
“Y/N!” He repeated, waving his hands as a gesture to get you over, “Seriously? Do I have to do this? Oh come on” 
Dan shuffled towards you and grabbed the arm of your chair, pulling you into frame as you frowned at the camera. 
“I don’t want to be here” you stated, Dan laughing next to you. 
“The people need a video and there is no way I am playing this game on my own at night in an empty house. I’d do it for you!” 
“Well, I’m here now aren’t I? Eurgh come on, let's just get this over with”
The two of you began to play, although the video had sped up until the first jumpscare. 
“I think that we need to - OH MY GOD!” Dan cried out, accompanied by your loud scream. You threw the controller onto the desk and shook slightly before clinging onto Dan’s arm tightly. He too was shaking slightly but laughing more at your reaction. 
“Daniel you know I fucking hate horror games. Why the fuck am I here?”
“You’re cute when you’re scared. It’s ok, you’re ok.” Dan comforted you, hugging you tightly after pausing the game, “Nothing has jumped out of the screen yet” 
You gasped and moved back from Dan, slapping his arm slightly, “Why the fuck would you say that! The nightmares I am going to be having tonight” 
“Come on, let's continue” 
“I still hate horror anything to this day” you stated, Dan laughing as he nodded in agreement. 
“Yup. Games, movies, houses. Anything remotely scary and it's automatically a no-no for you. But its ok, you have me to protect you” 
“Says the man that falls off his chair every time he has a jump scare come at him” 
“Woah ok, thanks Y/N” 
“Day in the life of Dan and Phil!” Phil exclaimed into the camera, walking into the front room to capture Dan in the sofa crease, “What’s happening today, Danny-boy?” 
Dan laughed before closing his laptop, looking towards the camera before explaining, “we are going to pick up Y/N, who I’m sure you guys have seen before and if you haven’t, just…who even are you?” 
“Yeah, she and Dan have been dating for quite a while now. So, catch up guys. Sorry Dan, carry on” 
“Thank you, Phil.” Dan glared, “Basically, we decided that Y/N should just move in with us because she was spending so much money constantly travelling back and forth from America to see us” 
“We’re picking her up from the airport today and then grabbing some more things she needs for the apartment” Phil explained before sighing at Dan, “We have to pick her up in about an hour, why aren’t you ready?!” 
“Seriously, Danny? Phil was more excited to pick me up than you were?! And I’m YOUR girlfriend” 
“Yeah well…” Dan began, but you hit his arm to silence him. 
“Helloooo everyone and welcome to baking with Dan and Phil!” Phil began, Dan doing something weird as usual next to him.
“YES HELLO WELCOME TO SPOOPY BAKING” 
“Today,” Phil began in a fit of giggles, “we are making spooky pumpkin spiced cookies” 
As the video continued in the background, you turned to face Dan, “I was so mad after this video” 
“Oh my god, I remember” Dan laughed, rubbing his eyes slightly. 
“They made such a mess and I had to fix it. And I wasn’t even allowed a cookie afterwards because the fat pigs had eaten them all. Doesn’t help that I was on my period at that point and super cranky. I think it was during the period I was moving in as well, so I was stressed as anything” you explained, Dan giggling softly behind you. 
“What did we actually upload? Because you had a proper fit” 
“Shut up you arse” 
“OH OH THIS IS WHERE YOU COME HOME!” Dan exclaimed excitedly. 
“Hey guys” you said, walking into the kitchen as you had come home from the meeting, “what you up to?” 
“Baking with Dan and Phil” Phil said, filming Dan as he whisked together the mixture. 
“You two are baking? This should be a shit-show” 
“Cheers for the support, hun” Dan said over his shoulder, jumping slightly when you kissed his shoulder. 
“I’m going for a shower, this place better not be burnt down by the time I get back”
“Famous last words” You scoffed, making Dan laugh as the two of you continued watching. 
The video had fast forward to the point you came back from the shower, changed into jeans and one of Dan’s shirts. You stopped in your tracks when you saw the mess in the kitchen. 
“What the hell have you done!” You shouted at them, looking at the state of the floor.
“We’re making cookies?” Dan shrugged his shoulders, eating icing out of the bag.
“BOYS!” You cried, taking a large breath before the clip cut to the next video. 
Dan paused the video and looked at you smugly, “I had to edit out your little fit because you literally screamed at us for two minutes straight” 
“Did you see the state of that kitchen? It was disgusting! You deserved it” 
“Basically,” Dan explained to Benny, “She then ordered us out the kitchen, tidied everything away, finished the cookies off for us and then went to bed to edit a video. Phil and I finished the video and I gave her some chocolate” 
“The way to Y/N’s heart is chocolate. Noted.” Benny replied, laughing as he urged the two of you to continue. 
“Helloooo Dan and Phil karters” Phil waved at the camera, Dan making some weird noise at the side. 
“Good. Dayyy” Dan dragged on, before snapping back to his usual persona he had on camera, “we are here today to celebrate the first Mario Kart session with Y/N!” 
“Good morning” You rolled into frame, shuffling the wheelie chair into the middle of the boys. 
“This is the first time you’ve been on the gaming channel since you moved in, Y/N. How does it feel?” Phil asked, pretending to hold a microphone up to you. 
“The same as it did when I was last here”
“Yeah but you now live here” 
“Biggest regret of my life. Girls, don’t move in with two boys. They smell. And if they order takeout, leave as quickly as possible or else you’re being the one who gets the joy of cleaning it all up” 
“When you’re quite finished dragging us into the gutter, Y/N!!” Dan cried out, placing his hand over your mouth jokingly to stop you from going on, “God. Imagine when she beats us, Phil…we’d never hear the end of it for god’s sake” 
“We just have to beat her then” Phil said, cracking his knuckles as he picked up the control to start the game. 
As the clip continued, you watched and smiled, feeling Dan take your hand and stroke his thumb over your knuckles. You glanced back at him and smiled, sticking your tongue out at him before leaning into his shoulder. 
“I stand by that by the way, Dan. Although I have to admit, you have been getting better at clearing up after yourselves. Phil too” 
“Yeah but Phil has just become a bit of an obsessive cleaner” 
“That’s very true” 
“What’s up guys, its a-me, Y/N. Today we are joined by my very sweet, very lovely, very amazing boyfriend, Daniel James Howell” 
“Hello everyone” Dan waved slightly, chuckling in his usual way. 
’What are we going to do today, Dan?”
Dan sighed jokingly, placing his face in his hands, “The goddamn bloody ‘Boyfriend Tag’ that I swore I would never do yet here I am” 
“Woah ok. If you don’t want to do this then I guess I should cancel the pizza I ordered” 
“OKAY HI GUYS LETS CONTINUE ON WITH THIS” 
“Seriously?!” You burst out laughing, grabbing your phone from the bedside table. 
“Food - the way to my heart!”
“Not me then?”
“Nope” he smiled, giving you the famous heart eyes. 
“Guess I should pack my bags and head back to America then” you huffed as you sat back down, opening Twitter to get up questions and suggestions from fans.
“Guess you should” Dan smiled before leaning over and kissing your cheek gently.
“Can we get on with the video now?” You asked, sighing as you glanced at Dan, just wanting to get the video over with so that you could chill out with the boys and relax.
“Do you want to film this tomorrow?” Dan asked, leaning his head on your shoulder while giving you heart eyes.
“Babe, it has to go up tomorrow…” you whined, continuing to scroll through the comments.
“I’ll buy you your favourite ice cream if you leave that in the video” Dan smirked, laughing as you turned back to the camera and smiled, indicating you were going to continue with the video” 
“Jesus, it looks like I really do know the way to your heart huh?” Dan laughed, pausing the video to look at you. 
“Sure do. Offer me food and I’m putty in your hands” 
“OH! So not, you know, the years of affection I’ve given you or the fact that I let you move into MY apartment or my handsome looks or even, you know, that I LOVE YOU” he jokingly shouted, smiling at the way you laughed at him.
“No. Just the food” 
“Right I’m going to press play again because clearly, you don’t love me”
“First question…when did you realise you first loved me?” 
“Ew gross. Next question?”
“Ok. Just for me. I’ll edit it out the video” 
Dan sighed, looking down as he felt himself turning red, “Honestly? As soon as I saw you, I knew you would mean the world to me. And you really do”
You smiled at him, leaning in towards him as he went to kiss your cheek. 
“Awww you big sap” you laughed, placing your hand on Dan’s as you kept watching the video, blushing as you felt Dan copy the video and kiss your cheek.
“Totally going to leave that in there” you chuckled, Dan gasping and clutching his chest.
“But you promised!” 
“You promised that I could choose what we had for dinner last night but that never happened did it?” 
“Touche” Dan chuckled, watching you lovingly as you scrolled down through Twitter to find another question, “I love you” 
“I know” 
“Honestly, the number of comments from fans after you uploaded this video was the most we’ve ever had, including Phil” Dan added, looking towards Benny who smiled, “I was speaking the truth there though Y/N. I still mean it, even seven years down the line” 
“Really?” You asked, the laptop playing in the background.
“Course. You’re everything to me” 
“Can you post this on YouTube or is this too NSFW” you turned to Benny, laughing as you blushed.
“Really Y/N?!” Dan laughed loudly.
You glanced back at the laptop, watching as Dan kissed you before heading to grab his phone from the front room. 
“Wait…I didn’t upload that. You kissed me, we both agreed that we wouldn’t kiss on camera…hang on. This is the full video. The unedited one…”
“Is it? Oh. You may have just uploaded the whole video by accident” 
“No…no I’m sure I didn’t. Remember, I spent hours doing this edit” 
“Shhh…listen” Dan nudged you, 
Dan sat down in front of the camera and did a big sigh before smiling gleefully, holding his phone to his ear as he appeared to be speaking down the phone to someone.
“Hey guys!” He spoke down the phone, “Thank you so much for coming back to me…oh fantastic! We’re going to America to visit Y/N’s family for Christmas on the 15th. I would kinda like to do it on the 30th if that suits you guys?…amazing. Thank you so much for doing this…yeah, yeah, she’s going to absolutely love it…I’ll speak to you soon…bye!” 
Hanging up, Dan did a little fist pump in the air as he imagined the collab video in just a months time. Just as he was going to switch the camera off, Phil walked in. 
“What did they say?” 
“They’re thrilled. 100% happy to do it” 
“Amazing!” Phil cried, going to hug Dan. 
“Seriously, I have literally never felt closer to crying of happiness since…since…oh, I don’t know. Since the birth of Dil” 
“Oh wow. Dil over Y/N. Smooth dude” Phil laughed, walking back out the room to leave Dan to switch the camera off. 
“Dan?” You asked him, glancing towards him in a state of confusion.
“What?” 
“What was all that about?” 
“I don’t know what you mean” 
“Well…this isn’t exactly an edit is it? It’s-“ 
“SHHHH” 
Dan quietly pushed the door open to your shared bedroom, the camera pointing down towards the floor. Giggling softly, he climbed onto the bed where you were asleep, placing his legs over both of you as he stood up. Angling the camera towards you as you slept, Dan began to jump on the bed. 
“Happy birthday to you!” 
“DANIEL!” You cried angrily as you were jolted awake. 
“Happy birthday to you!” 
“Dan, stop it!” You shouted, the covers falling off of the bed as Dan jumped carelessly on top of you, showing you sleeping in just Dan’s t-shirt. 
“Happy birthday to Y/N” he sang out of tune, stopping jumping as he sang your name, the camera filming you squirm underneath him. He collapsed down to his knees, rolling over next to you while keeping the camera at arm's length to capture your shame. 
“Happy birthday to you” he whispered in your ear, kissing your cheek gently. 
“Thanks for the wake up call Danny boy” you giggled, turning towards him to kiss him passionately, his arm still outstretched to film the two of you. 
As you pulled away you smiled lovingly at him, before he stuck his tongue out at you. 
“We can’t upload this footage” he laughed, indicating towards the camera as he noticed your confused expression. You groaned as you realised what he was doing, moving your arms to block the lens as you tried to escape out of Dan’s grip. 
The video switched quickly to another, showing a video of the two of you on your first Christmas spent together at Dan’s family’s house. 
“What did you get Y/N?” Dan’s brother asked, standing up slightly to see over the lid of the box Dan had wrapped your present in. 
“Patience Adrian” Dan laughed, panning the camera over to his brother and parents before pointing it back at you. 
“Oh my gosh, Daniel” you gasped, instantly recognising the distance bracelets. 
“I was thinking white for you and black for me because it matches my soul” 
“Daniel…” his mother warned, smiling at the thought of his gift. 
“Thank you so much, Dan” you jumped up to kiss him, before handing his to him. 
“Its so that when you have to go back to America to see your family or for work, and I can’t come with you, you still have a little bit of me with you” 
“Oh god, I’m going to throw up” Adrian faked a gag, his mother slapping him on the arm as a result. 
“I love it, thank you Daniel” you smiled at the camera before it shut off, the video switching to another one. 
A snapchat video was played on the screen - one that was never posted for Dan’s immaturity. Dan was filming you driving in your car, dancing slightly to the radio. 
“Where we heading, Y/N?” He asked you, filming you glance towards him and see him hold his phone up towards you. 
“We are heading to Ikea today to do some shopping. We need to buy a new TV stand, some new houseplants for Philly and a new bed” 
Dan flipped the camera around to himself, smirking at the camera, “Because I broke it!!!” 
“I wouldn’t be so smug about that mister. You’re costing me a goddamn fortune!” 
“Calm down, Y/N. You sure weren’t complaining last night” he winked at the camera. 
“DANIEL!” You cried out before the snap ran out of time. 
“I’m so glad you didn’t post that” you laughed, wiping the tears from your cheeks, “Dan, what is this? We’ve never uploaded any of this”
“You’ll see in just a second” Dan wrapped his arm around you and pulled you to his chest, kissing your forehead and wiping a tear from your cheek before changing his attention back to the video. 
The video changed to Dan filming you asleep on him on the sofa, near Christmas as the decorations were stringed up behind you. He stroked your hair gently before resting his hand on your arm. 
“I just wanted to say that in moments like these, when you fall asleep on my lap and talk sometimes in your dreams, that I love you more than anything or anyone in the whole world. I would die in a heartbeat for you. I am so incredibly lucky to have found you. You are my whole world” 
The second clip started playing and Dan was filming you cooking in the kitchen. He set the camera against a glass and filmed him dancing with you, the bacon in the pan burning as he twirled you and swayed with you to the songs on the radio. At one point, he tried to lift you up in the air to do the dirty dancing lift but your squirming caused the both of you to fall to the ground in heaps of laughter. 
The next clip played and Dan was at the piano, filming himself playing his newest piece to send to his grandmother when you plopped down next to him, placing your head on his shoulder and listening to him play so elegantly. He was so humble about his talent and very rarely shared it online. The two of you started laughing when you placed your finger on a random key and disrupted his piece constantly. 
The clips changed and Dan was now filming you on your phone in their patio garden, “You always look so beautiful and I constantly wonder how a guy like me scored such a gorgeous girl like you. We are going to have the most beautiful children...if they get all your genes anyway. God, I love the way you just make the simplest of actions the most beautiful things. I could watch you for hours…in a non-creepy way. You make me so happy. You are the reason I’m still here. You keep me going. I can’t wait to marry you one day”
The video changed once again and it was a video Phil took of the two of you when you all decided to go on holiday quite early on in your relationship. You and Dan thought he was taking photos so you kept doing different poses, some for your followers and some for yourself. Dan looked at you lovingly and held you tightly. Unknowing that Phil was filming, you kissed Dan gently with the sea in the background, smiling when his hands squeezed your waist. When you pulled away, Dan whispered the words “I love you” for the first time. You took a step back breathlessly, before jumping into Dan’s arms. You kissed him multiple times, saying “I love you” every time you pulled away. You didn’t know this video existed, but it was already one of your favourite videos of all time. 
The video changed once again, to the all of you shopping. Dan filmed you and Phil as you both looked through each of the clothes on the rail in Primark. He sighed contently, “Fuck it.” 
He filmed himself walking over to you and explaining he was just going to the camera store with Phil, kissing you on your temple as you were unaware he was filming. The video sped up as the boys walked out of the store, heading to the nearest Jewellers. 
“You’re going to do it?” Phil asked Dan, excitement in his face as he watched Dan browse all the rings. 
“Course I am. What do you think?” He asked, pointing at the rings in front of them. 
“Black diamond” 
“You read my mind” he smiled, walking into the store.
The video changed to the last clip, Dan set the camera against something and sat down in the chair in your parent’s house. Your father walked into frame and sat down opposite him, his arms on his legs as he looked at a nervous Dan. 
“Sir, I want to just say how grateful I am that you have welcomed me into your family and life. I love Y/N with everything I have and I swear that for as long as I live, I will give her everything she needs. Basically, what I’m trying to ask is…” 
“You want to marry my daughter?” 
“Y-yes, sir. With all my love in the world, I want to give her the life she deserves. I want her to be my wife. Forever” he began to laugh, wiping the tears from his eyes. 
“I thought you would never ask! Of course, Daniel!” Your father jumped from his seat to embrace Dan, laughing happily with him before shouting to your mother in the next room, “DANIEL IS GOING TO MARRY Y/N! WE ARE GOING TO BE DANIEL’S IN-LAWS!” 
You hiccuped, your eyes and nose streaming as your eyes were fixed on the screen. You watched the video of your father jumping up and down with Dan fade to black, laughing at your father’s immaturity. You wiped your eyes with your sleeve when you notice that Rafi has joined Benny behind the main camera, holding another camera down towards the floor. You followed his line of sight and gasped when you realised that Dan had moved from his chair and was now kneeling down next to you, a black box in his hands revealing a silver band with a square black diamond. You cried loudly as Dan took his own deep breath, starting to say the words, “Will you -“ 
“Shut up. Shut up. You know it's a yes you idiot! Yes! Oh my god, yes!” You jumped off of your seat and into Dan’s arms, making the both of you fall to the floor in a laughing but sobbing mess.  You heard Dan cry into your shoulder, muttering “thank you thank you thank you” over and over as he tried to push you away to put the ring on your finger. 
“Oh, Daniel…Dan, its so beautiful thank you so much”
You heard a large round of applause and cheers from behind the camera, as all of Benny and Rafi’s employees and other reactors had snuck in to watch Dan propose.
You and Dan climbed back into your chairs, very embarrassed as you had fallen onto the floor in a complete scene of PDA. 
Benny laughed, still clapping along with the rest of the crowd behind him.
“So guys!” He began, “You two are engaged!” 
“Yes!” You cried, holding your hand up and wriggling your fingers to show your new engagement ring, looking at the red, puffy-eyed Dan holding your other hand and smiling widely.
“Congratulations you two, how do you feel?” 
“I feel like I’m on cloud nine right now. Every dream of mine is finally coming true” you answered, still sniffling. 
“Best day of my life so far” Dan smiled, kissing your cheek. 
“Well, we expect you here next time to react to your wedding! And then your first child. And every relationship goals video ever” Rafi added, making the two of you laugh. 
“Of course” you nodded, still looking at your new ring. 
“We’re just going to wrap up the video now - if that's ok with you guys” Benny explained, yourself and Dan nodding. 
“Like this video and subscribe to the Fine Bros” Dan explained, pointing down to the floor as an indication for the description box. 
“Thank you so much for watching and we’ll see you again next time! I’m engaged!!” You shouted, moving your hand towards the camera as everyone laughed. 
Dan moved to hold your free hand and kiss your temple before you both looked towards the camera, waving your hands, “BYE!!!” 
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Interview: Costume Designer Anna Robbins Returns Us to Sumptuous ‘Downton Abbey’
Like many diehard fans, I was beyond excited when I heard that Julian Fellowes’ popular British TV series Downton Abbey was following its six-season run with a full-length feature film. Taking place between 1912 and 1925, the television series had introduced us to the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants who lived together in an incredibly grand Yorkshire home called Downton Abbey. Throughout the series, the Crawleys and their servants snaked their way through many of the big historical events of the early 20th century. As the film picks up the story in 1927, the Crawleys and their intrepid staff are preparing for one of the most important experiences of their lives: a royal visit from the King and Queen of England. This exciting experience will ultimately unleash scandal, romance, and intrigue that will leave the future of Downton hanging in the balance.
Among the joys in revisiting these beloved characters is seeing the amazing work of costume designer Anna Robbins (Emmy-nominated for her work on the series) which is even more spectacular on the big screen. This is a time just beyond the Gilded Age, entering the modern one, which is reflected in great detail in the costumes from Dowager Countess of Grantham Violet Crawley’s (Maggie Smith) pastel, formal Edwardian garb to the more flapper-friendly styles favored by Lady Mary and Lady Edith (Michelle Dockery and Laura Carmichael). For the latter pair, the silhouettes and color schemes reflect their outlook – Lady Mary in more angular blacks and whites for instance, and a beautiful gold flowing 1920s gown for Lady Edith, a gorgeous use of fabric and pattern and color where you can really see the texture and detail. I loved sitting down for a chat with the talented Anna Robbins about her work on the film, even if I did feel painfully underdressed.
Danny Miller: I so loved being with these characters again. And as far as I’m concerned, your work is one of the most important stars of the film. It was already so gorgeous on the TV series but am I correct in noticing that it all seems ramped up a bit for the movie?
Anna Robbins
Anna Robbins: Oh, yes, it is definitely ratcheted up a notch! We set a high bar for the show, with all the departments really pushing to elevate everything, but I think watching it on television we all thought it could be even bigger. And then along comes the opportunity to make it literally bigger which was so much fun to do.
I know, I just wanted to stare at the threads on the fabric seeing all those beautiful clothes on the big screen.
Yes, which is exactly what made it so challenging since I people would be able to see the threads and the quality of the craftsmanship in such detail. I like to use as many originals as possible and those had to be of a very high quality to withstand that scrutiny.
Wow, how on earth do you find 90-year-old dresses that are in good enough shape to look new?
For women’s wear I’d say it’s about half and half. I use more originals in evening wear because those dresses were often carefully preserved and they weren’t the kind of things to be worn every day so they haven’t worn out. Some pieces do require restoration, of course, and if it can be done to a very high standard, we do it but sometimes the fabric is simply too fragile so I might be able to re-imagine it as something else or take the fabric and rework it somehow. It’s a combination of a lot of things, but yes, I really had to raise the bar for the film and make everything even more sumptuous.
And, of course, this film includes the royal visit, so I’m sure that storyline also ramped things up.
Yes, that definitely upped the ante but it also meant you weren’t going to be exploring the most up-to-the-minute risky trends in women’s wear because there’s a very specific elegance and classicism to how you would dress to meet a royal.
I would imagine that you get to know these characters better than almost anyone. Do you have to think beyond the script to the whole of their personal histories? For example, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) having been raised in America, do you think that influences her clothes?
Oh yes, where they came from is very important. The wardrobe’s got to say as much about the past as it does about the present day. It’s a very intimate process as well, working with an actor to find that characterization and it becomes a very important tool for them. But I have gotten to know the characters really well which meant I had a shorthand when I went onto the film that allowed me to work at pace right from the beginning without needing to do the huge amount of research that I did when I first came on board.
Shorthand like you could see something and think, “Oh, Lady Mary would never wear that.”
Yes. At this point I can walk into a vintage shop and see a Lady Edith dress across the shop and know it’s going to work.
Lady Edith is someone who really interested me in this film because, as we know, she had a big change at the end of the series. It did seem like her new status was reflected in her clothes.
I think Edith had one of the biggest journeys of anyone throughout the series. I remember in Series 5 her wardrobe was very restrictive and pared back, very autumnal colors during the period when she was estranged from her daughter and just very low emotionally. Then in Series 6 she literally blossoms as a human and finds her identity and she’s suddenly in this literary world so I created this London working woman’s wardrobe which was very different from her estate wardrobe. It still felt like the same person but she was far more adventurous and bold in her choice of prints and color.
You can literally see her self-confidence change over the course of the series and it was amazing to watch how her physical appearance reflected that.
Yes, I loved dressing her. And now in the film it was important that we didn’t lose that sense of style she had found even though now she’s no longer a magazine editor in London, she’s the Marchioness of Hexham and outranks all of them. So we took everything that she’s learned about herself including her self-assuredness and sense of style and moved it up into the position that she’s in now. But still always focusing on the level of craftsmanship in the textiles, it might be embroidery, it might be devoré, it might be printed silk. There’s always some sort of interesting surface to the fabrics that I use for Edith.
Was there at all a touch of rubbing her new status in Mary’s face with her clothes at all? A bit of showing off?
I don’t think so because I don’t think Edith has an ego like that. And she and her husband are very modern in their approach to their high positions. Remember — they arrive at Downton without a nanny. They call themselves “modern folk.”
I guess just the fact that she’s happy now is enough for her to stick it to Mary.
(Laughs.) Yes, exactly. I love dressing the two of them in their scenes together. Even when they weren’t at each other’s throats, there’s always a contrast, I always look to create some kind of dichotomy between them. Their dresses should always work with each other but create a nice contrast. And, of course, as individuals they’re very different.
I know the film takes place in 1927, which is a few years after the series ended, but do you have to think about certain characters like Violet (Maggie Smith) who may hold on to past styles in some way?
Well, Violet is a Victorian/Edwardian lady and that will never change. But the fabric choices may change. Where she once wore a fabric with an Edwardian pattern, that may become more art deco. You’re always looking for different micro trends that affected clothing manufacture, the way they were put together. And her jewelry might go from being more square cuts to show more modernity. I like to find ways to show that sense of modernity without changing her very recognizable silhouette.
Dame Maggie Smith
Did you know that there was a movie coming as the series was ending? Were things saved in a different way than they might have been otherwise?
No, we didn’t know. We hoped, but nothing was certain back then. Luckily, the main jeweler I worked with wasn’t organized enough to disband the collection and use it in other things so it was mostly intact.
Plus, the series was so popular, you could take the whole collection on the road!
Yes, we did work on a touring Downton Exhibition over the years so we’ve always been aware that there’s a life for the costumes after filming whether or not they ended up in a new film. But really getting to create new costumes for these wonderful characters was just a hypothetical dream that has thankfully now come true.
We’re talking so much about the women and my first instinct is to assume that costuming the men isn’t as interesting, but then I see their gorgeous clothes on the big screen and I’m totally fascinated.
Oh God, I love working with the men, I love tailoring. If you get that right, everything just looks so good. And the fabrics are fantastic. I was talking about using original pieces with the women, but it’s very rare that you’ll find any originals that you can use with the men.
Because men back then wore their clothes so much more often and they just wore out?
Yes, exactly, they just haven’t lasted. But the bits we do find are wonderful references for the cut and shape and how the pieces are constructed. I also work to make sure the men’s clothes complement the women’s and that all the scenes work together in composition. But the detailing in the menswear is just wonderful. And if you look closely in the film, the men change as often as the women do. I think Robert changes four times on the day that the Kind and Queen come to Downton. I was even able to design new dress uniforms for the livery staff with the Crawley insignia in the fabric, it was wonderful, those beautiful green tailcoats with silver frogging and lacing with the white breaches and stockings. Just brilliant.
Matthew Goode, Michelle Dockery, Allen Leech
So incredible. And then you leave work and go out into London and see people dressed like I am right now — it must be so depressing!
(Laughs.) I mean, I’m sure it was very hot and uncomfortable at times, so it’s good that we’ve moved forward, but those clothes do look so fabulous and I’m glad I get to spend such a huge proportion of my life with them!
Is designing for the servants more of a case of strict research on what the staffs of big houses would be wearing in 1927?
Well, there is lots of research and looking at what would have been worn but then you design touches for each character. For example, there is always a sort of very subtle floral pattern within the silk for Anna. And it may be more geometric for Baxter, with a more complicated cutting technique since Baxter is a dressmaker.
Is the implication that the servants would be mending their own clothes?
Yes, to some extent, so you’re going to see differences. They’re all designed to the character and to make them identifiable even if there’s a common look.
Lesley Nicol and Sophie McShera
I imagine at the first fittings for the film it must have been heavenly for the actors to slip back into these costumes to get back into character.
It was wonderful seeing them literally step back into their characters’ shoes. And it’s always been a very collaborative process working with them. It’s a joint effort to find the right looks. I lead it, for sure, since I have an overview of how the whole thing has to look and I know what’s going to work together in each scene such as they’ve got to start off in this setting which may be against red and then move into this room which might be green.
Oy, that seems like so much to keep track of. And it’s not like in real life we ever know the colors of every room we’re going to walk into!
Exactly, but I have to create these huge charts that allows me to painstakingly keep track of all those different elements. I work very closely with the director, production designer, the DP, and the actors. I have to think about lighting and how the colors are going to behave on camera.
I remember reading about the making of Gone With the Wind and how Selznick and costume designer Walter Plunkett tortured the actors with real corsets and other undergarments from the period even though they would never be seen. Are you a stickler period detail as well?
I am all about what makes the right silhouette but I might make the garments worn under the costumes more comfortable than the originals might have been. Remember, they didn’t have the luxury of stretch materials! Unless you actually see the underwear, as you do in some scenes in the film, then I absolutely insist on the real thing, of course.
Of course, the 1920s were more kind to women than previous eras in terms of undergarments.
Absolutely. You had underwear then that created a more boyish silhouette which could still be confining for some. But I also find that actors are quite keen to use whatever underwear creates the foundation that makes the clothing look more authentic and therefore more believable. And sometimes the underclothes affect posture and even the way you speak. I think it’s worth noting that while the girls lost the corsets, the gents were still wearing stiff-collared shirts full of starch with starch-fronted shirts. These are very uncomfortable, and you shouldn’t even be able to get a finger down the collar. So, rest assured, I still put the actors through the ringer.
I used to love the original Upstairs, Downstairs before Downton Abbey and I remember the actors talking about how they tended to be treated differently on set depending on what class they were playing. I remember Jean Marsh, who played the parlourmaid Rose, once said to the people on set, “Hey, I created this series, why is everyone treating me like I’m not as good as Lady Marjorie?” Did you ever notice anything like that on your set?
Oh, that’s funny. No, I wouldn’t say so. We were really like one big family and very equal. I think something the downstairs characters might get a bit of envy in terms of all the beautiful fabrics and costumes that the upstairs characters got to wear, but by the same token the upstairs characters had to do fittings week upon week upon week. The downstairs characters had a much easier time of it pre- and post-filming where they could just get into their cars and leave whereas I had to drag Lady Mary to do the fifth fitting that week for a new dress that she was wearing the following week.
I do feel inspired by your magnificent clothes in this film. As God is my witness, I want to start dressing better!
Go for it! The thing is, a bespoke suit can be very comfortable because it’s been made specifically for you. It molds to your body.
Thanks so much for chatting with me. I’m excited about all the Downton Abbey frenzy I’m seeing. This is definitely the movie that we need right now in this country, if you know what I mean.
Oh, trust me, we need it right now in the UK, too!
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mcarfield · 6 years
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This really should have been proofread more but I just had to submit this ridiculous mess of a fic. Apparently Margot Robbie is married, so just pretend in this universe she’s not and it would make sense for James to be jealous of her. 
oh my god ARE YOU A NEW FIC-WRITING ANON? OMG YOU GUYS, you are all just... you are all so marvelously talented and wonderful, and THE FANON YOU GUYS ARE DROPPING IS KILLING ME.  I shrieked at like 8 different parts of this oh my god??? THE KILLER LINES IN THIS. ANDREW’S SWEET CLUELESS POV OH MY SUMMER CHILD. SAOIRSE. THE JEALOUSY. JAMES’S ANDREW IMPRESSION. JAMES WORKING THAT TUXEDO. THE HOTNESS. God, anon, you have just killed me with this. i love it (and you) so much. 
In some bizarre twist of fate, Under the Silver Lake has the same release date as Mary Queen of Scots, meaning Andrew and James are in LA at the same time, for premieres and press junkets and all the bells and whistles, making it all feel like some extremely lucky serendipitous week for Andrew, though it won’t feel like that until later.
He arrives a few weeks before the premiere and tries to spend that time catching up with people and not wishing he was just in New York in his actual apartment and not this sterile temporary one he finds himself in, pretending not to want to text James to see if he wants to get coffee. He’s sure James is very busy and probably not even in LA yet, spending as much time as he can outside of the city Andrew knows he hates. And besides, they’ve spoken only sporadically since Angels closed and Andrew still isn’t certain if they’re even friends.
Ten days before the premiere, Andrew calls his agents and his publicist and tries to get them to get him into the Mary Queen of Scots premiere without sounding like a total diva. They use the influence Andrew knows he holds but tries to ignore and wiggle him in. 
Which is how he ends up dateless, standing at the edge of a red carpet and looking at James at the step-and-repeat, realizing that he most certainly does not want to be friends with James.
James is wearing a black tuxedo, his air coifed but not slicked back, smiling half-heartedly at the photographers before him. His hands are shoved in his pockets and he looks only a quarter of how uncomfortable  Andrew knows he feels. And Andrew’s breath catches in his throat, his lips parting and forming a small O, and suddenly, his heart is racing too fast and all he wants is to close the cavernous space that’s settled between them since James left New York in July.
“Oh, fuck,” says Andrew under his breath. His publicist ignores him, shuffling him toward the cameras since he clearly has no control over his mental or physical faculties anymore.
He likes James. He likes James. He spent two years pretending to be his boyfriend and almost five months after the show has closed, he’s hit with the soul-crushing realization that he’d quite like to kiss him again, as Andrew kissing James, not Prior kissing Louis. He feels suddenly weightless and adrift, moving across the Red Carpet, smiling and waving at those he knows. His publicist deposits him by some reporters and he snaps himself to attention, putting on his polite and friendly interview persona, shoving any thoughts of James to the back of his mind. His short, dizzying realization is gone as quickly as it came.
Four interviews later, he steps back and his publicist is asking him a question, something about if he’s all right since he’s usually quite self-sufficient at these things, but all Andrew can hear is rushing in his ears and that weightless feeling is back because James has caught sight of him.
He looks startled at the sight of Andrew, frowning as if he doesn’t trust his eyes. There’s definitely something else in James’s eyes, but Andrew can’t place it, and James smooths his features into a wide, friendly grin before making his way through the crowd toward him.
“You didn’t say you were coming,” says James as he approaches him, putting his arms out for a hug. Andrew reciprocates, making sure he doesn’t do anything stupid like inhale James’s scent or linger too long.
“Surprise!” he says, because he’s not certain of what else to say. “I wriggled my way in last week, I doubt they were overjoyed about it.”
“I’m sure they had a conniption when they found out Spiderman was coming,” says James with a teasing grin.
“Everyone’s second favorite Spiderman,” Andrew corrects, and if he weren’t himself and weren’t able to hit just the right tone of humor, it would have come out depressingly self-deprecating.
“Not mine,” says James, and Andrew feels a rush of warmth toward him. Oh no. “Tom Holland who?”
“You’re a darling,” says Andrew, reaching out to put a hand over James’s heart before he can stop himself. James is looking at him funny and Andrew pulls his arm away quickly—though if he hadn’t, he would have felt the way James’s heart picked up the pace. Andrew feels the sudden urge to apologize, though that would make it all worse, he thinks. “I’m here for Silver Lake. In LA,” he says lamely.
James opens his mouth to respond, but he’s interrupted by the appearance of Saoirse at his shoulder. 
“You didn’t tell me you were coming!” she says, pulling Andrew into a hug. “Hello, James! Andrew, why didn’t you say?”
“Last minute thing,” he says with a wave of his hand.
“I’m so happy I’ve seen you two, I had to escape the vultures,” she says under her breath with a glance toward the photographers. “Do you two know each other?”
“Oh, yes,” they say in unison and inexplicably, Andrew flushes red.
“We were in Angels in America together,” James explains.
“My god, that’s right!” says Saoirse, covering her mouth with her hand. “I saw it at the beginning of the National run, I’d completely forgotten!” There’s a pause, and then: “Oh, you two were brilliant.”
“Thanks,” they say at the same time, looking at each other and chuckling.
“You were nominated for Tonys, right?” she asks, looking between them.
“Andrew was, I wasn’t,” replies James.
“What?” Saoirse says, aghast. “You weren’t nominated?”
“No,” says James.
“Well that’s bullshit!” she says, turning to Andrew. 
“I know,” he says. “I threatened to withdraw when we found out.“
“You did not,” Saoirse says with a laugh.
“He did,” says James. “We all went out for drinks to celebrate and he had one too many—“
“Excuse you, I was completely sober,” Andrew says, faux-affronted.
“—And he got up to make a speech about how grateful he was to be a part of something like this and how he just loved us all dearly…” says James, smiling through his words.
“Oh, that’s so sweet!”
“It was, but then he turned to Nathan and Denise and said he was very happy and proud of them and they completely deserved it except ‘James McArdle was robbed. What is the point of awards if they don’t even nominate the right people?’” James says in a quite accurate impression of Andrew’s voice, looking at Andrew with his eyes dancing. “He said something about how I was the next Mark Rylance and people teared up, his drunken speech was so good.”
“I didn’t say all that…” says Andrew, blushing again. Had he really been that obvious? How could he have not seen this before?
“You did and it was lovely,” says James, nudging him with a grin. 
“Well, he’s right,” says Saoirse. “I’m appalled you weren’t nominated.”
“We all were,” says Andrew and he beams at James, who returns the expression. When he looks back to Saoirse, she’s studying him with a look of dawning realization. He looks away quickly. 
James is pulled away by someone not long after but Saoirse stays and it only takes her two minutes until she brings it up.
“So,” she says, “James, huh?”
“Don’t,” Andrew says, fixing her with a look. Saoirse looks at him with a look so piercing, he has to look away, except he catches sight of James laughing raucously with Jack Lowdon and narrows his eyes. Saoirse giggles. “What?”
“You’re so transparent,” she says.
“I am not!” 
“You so are,” she says. “You look like you want to take Jack apart limb from limb. And also you look at James like the sun shines out of his arse.”
“I do not!”
“Andrew, I adore you, but you wear your heart on your sleeve. Besides, I think it’s adorable.”
“He’s straight,” he says glumly. James has fallen into another peal of laughter at something Jack has said. Saoirse snorts.
“So were you not long ago,” she points out.
“Even if he were into men, I bet he’d rather be with Jack Lowdon before me,” he says.
“Tell me, are you pretending to be the lead in a romantic comedy right now, or are you actually that dramatic?” she asks.
“Ha ha.”
“Look, I’ve got to go mingle, it’s my movie and all. But for what it’s worth, I think he likes you back. You should have seen his face when he saw you,” says Saoirse, and Andrew snaps his gaze back to her, making her smother a laugh. “Talk to him. And call me, we should get coffee sometime soon.”
Andrew doesn’t see James until later, not until one of the many afterparties. It’s past one am now, and he can feel himself getting tired of it already. He had good fun talking to Margot for a bit, but she’s getting pulled away by someone else and just as he’s contemplating leaving, James appears before him, hair slightly disheveled in the way it is when James is drinking.
“I’ve been looking for you!” he says over the music and Andrew hates that he feels excited at this new information.
“Having fun?” he asks and James shrugs.
“You know how I feel about these things,” he says.
“Liar,” says Andrew with a smirk. “You love the afterparties.”
“All right, only sometimes,” James allows. He hesitates as if he’s not sure he wants to say what he’s going to say next. “I saw you talking to Margot.”
“Yeah, she’s brilliant,” says Andrew, suddenly lost and unsure why James has brought her up. James smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Did you like working with her?”
James nods but doesn’t say anything other than humming his assent, making Andrew even more confused.
“She’s really sweet,” Andrew says when James stays silent. He has no idea what James is thinking right now and is completely lost as to what to say. James nods and smiles again, but it’s even less genuine than before. Andrew studies him carefully.
“Stop looking at me like that,” says James, breaking the silence. Andrew blinks at him.
“Like what?” he asks, genuinely perplexed. 
“Like…” James snaps his mouth shut and lets out a harried sort of sigh. He gestures with his hand at Andrew’s face, as if that answers the question.
“What?”
“Just—“ James says but breaks off again, looking impatient with himself. “If you keep looking at me like that I’m going to kiss you and I don’t think anyone wants that.”
Something in Andrew’s brain short-circuits and he can’t come up with two words to string together in response. He just blinks at James again, opening and closing his mouth over and over. 
“Don’t say anything,” says James after a while. “We’ll just…I’ll walk away and pretend I didn’t just say that and you can just…forget it.”
“Forget it,” Andrew repeats blankly.
“It’d be for the best, wouldn’t it?” asks James.
“Define best,” says Andrew and confusion flickers across James’s face. “I don’t think it’d be for the best. I think what would be for the best would be, quite plainly, if you took me into one of those rooms upstairs and kissed me and let me do a whole lot more to you.”
James gapes at him.
“You…?”
“I do,” Andrew says, nodding. He feels as though his heart is going to give out as he watches James carefully.
“Well, that decides that,” says James with a quick nod. He grabs Andrew’s hand in his and tugs him through the crowd. Andrew can’t help it, his face cracks open with a wide grin as he follows James out of the room. Instead of taking him towards where the rooms are, James makes a beeline for the front lobby and out the door. 
“Where are we…” Andrew trails off when they come to a stop on the curb.
“What’s your address?” asks James quickly, turning to him. He’s got a rideshare app open on his phone because this is LA and there isn’t a subway or cabs roaming the streets but for once in his life, Andrew wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. He gives his address to James, who orders the car and they stand there on the curb, an inch between them and dying to touch each other, even chastely.
James’s hand brushes against Andrew’s as they wait and he sends Andrew a sidelong look, letting him know it was intentional. 
It only gets worse in the car, Andrew’s hand resting on the seat half a foot from James’s. He glances at James every now and then and James returns his grin before they both look out the window once more.
The space between them feels even more gaping than before, made larger with the weighty tension, though much less impassable. It feels so much worse, so much harder, knowing what it’s like to have James’s lips against his, even if it was on stage and in character. Even the recollection of lying in bed, tucked into James’s arms makes him dig his fingernails into his palms. If he turns to face James right now, if he even moves to talk to him, he’ll be wrecked and all the self-control he’s channelling right now will be thrown away. 
And so they sit in silence, both glancing at the other out of the corner of their eye and counting down the seconds until they get out of the car.
When they pull up, Andrew rockets out of the car, practically tripping over himself and James laughs. Andrew is about to snap a quick retort about being nice when he catches the look in James’s eye. It’s so fond that the words die on his lips and he finds himself softening.
It’s late enough that the street around them is completely deserted so Andrew throws caution to the wind and grabs ahold of James’s hand. James looks at him, startled, but squeezes his hand back and they walk into the building. The elevator doors are barely shut when Andrew turns to James, not yet sure of what to say but knowing he wants to say something.
Except James just shakes his head a bit, takes a step forward, and puts his hand on Andrew’s cheek. It’s like an electric shock travels through Andrew and he springs into action, leaning forward like a magnet is dragging him.
And then they’re kissing. They take a moment to adjust to each other, to reacclimatize to kissing each other and to adapt to what it feels like to kiss each other as themselves. And it feels like everything. Andrew sighs against him, his whole body softening into James’s as James opens his mouth just so to let Andrew in and Andrew could drown in this feeling. James’s arms are tight around his waist, pulling him impossibly closer as the kiss deepens, drawing a low moan from Andrew’s lips. 
Andrew pulls away, more from shock at how fucking good it feels to kiss James like this, and they both take a small step back. 
“I…” Andrew starts but can’t seem to finish his sentence. James doesn’t say anything. Andrew pauses, thinking very quickly. “Fuck it,” he says and closes the space between them once more, pushing James against the wall of the elevator and kissing him fiercely. James responds in an instant, cupping Andrew’s cheeks as his tongue slides against his. 
The elevator dings and they jump apart with a gasp. James chuckles—Andrew’s face must be laughably alarmed. There’s no one waiting at Andrew’s floor—blessedly—and they walk into the hallway, hand in hand to Andrew’s door.
James leans against the wall opposite his door as he digs in his pockets for his keys and Andrew pointedly doesn’t look at him, knowing the sight of James in a rumpled tux leaning against a wall is certain to sink him. He finally pulls his keys from his pocket and after several tries, gets the door open, nearly falling through it as he pushes it. James follows him in, remarkably calm and suave. 
“Want a drink?” Andrew asks, flicking on the light.
“No,” says James, stepping towards him. Andrew takes a step backwards, toward his bedroom.
“Some food?” he asks, trying hard to school his features into something serious.
“No,” says James, mirroring Andrew’s steps towards the bedroom.
“A nap?” 
“No,” says James, unable to stop his lips from turning upwards in a smile.
“What do you want?”
“Mmh, I think you know,” James says. They’ve entered the bedroom now and Andrew can feel his breath quicken. He tilts his head. “Should I spell it out for you?”
“A demonstration will suffice,” says Andrew and finally he pulls James’s lips back to his and they tumble to the bed. It’s messy and their noses knock into each other and Andrew nearly elbows James in the face as he tries to get his shirt off but Andrew has never felt this impatient to undress before. James is pressing hot, open-mouthed kisses against his neck, surely leaving a mark for tomorrow. Andrew is about to say as much, or at least tease him a little, except now James has started to move down his chest, his lips dragging over Andrew’s skin as he moves lower and lower.
And later, when all is said and done, Andrew collapses against the pillows, spent and satiated. 
“What the fuck,” he states, turning his head to face James, who grins widely at him.
“Happy?” asks James.
“Supremely,” he replies and shifts closer to kiss James gently. 
“So,” James says when he pulls away. “Not straight?”
Andrew laughs, burying his head in his pillow.
“I should think not,” he says when he emerges. “You?”
“Decidedly not.”
“Good.” And he tugs Andrew in so he can kiss him again. 
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leeegrinnerrr · 6 years
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Lee Pace Came Out Seven Times a Week. Then He Came Out for Real.
It’s 2018 and we still don’t know what being out and gay will do to an actor’s career.
Five nights and two afternoons a week on Broadway, “Angels in America” sets out on its grueling, eight-hour course. “A Fantasia on Gay Themes,” as its playwright, Tony Kushner, called it, “Angels” is a knotty, furious history play, a jeremiad on the AIDS epidemic originally delivered at crushing ascent. It is also, at the same time, a skein of interconnected stories about love and betrayal and identity, God, man and Eros. Also, there’s a couple of Mormons. Before “The Book of Mormon,” no less.  
Five nights and two afternoons a week, one of those Mormons, Joe Pitt, a closeted lawyer working for the infamous fixer Roy Cohn, goes through hell and out the other side to come out as a gay man.
And so, over the course of this production — now the play with the most Tony nominations in history — does Lee Pace, the man who plays him.
Mr. Pace, 39, has been working steadily in theater, film and TV for the better part of two decades, helping to prop up mega-budget studio tent poles like “The Hobbit” (he is the elven king Thranduil) and “Guardians of the Galaxy” (the ferocious Ronan the Accuser) and cult favorites like “Pushing Daisies” and the recently concluded “Halt and Catch Fire.”
Mr. Pace sometimes attracted attention — from the nominating committees of the Emmys, the Golden Globes and the Independent Spirit Awards — but mostly disappeared into whatever elves, necromancers or sales executives he happened to be playing at the time. That was by design.
“It was a real strategy to draw boundaries,” Mr. Pace said in a recent interview at his New York apartment, as his rescue dog, Pete, dozed by his feet. In interviews, he kept the focus on his work: “I believe very firmly that my work is the reason we’re talking, and my personal life is something I want to protect.”
But earlier this year, Brian Moylan, writing about Mr. Pace’s arrival in the “Angels” Broadway cast for W Magazine, put the question to him directly: What was his sexual orientation?
It seems an entirely predictable question for an interview about the cornerstone of the gay theatrical canon. Mr. Pace had already said in that interview that he “feels it’s important for gay actors to play the gay roles.”
But he was thrown. He seemed “flustered” and “surprised,” Mr. Moylan wrote, and he published Mr. Pace’s response: “I’ve dated men. I’ve dated women. I don’t know why anyone would care. I’m an actor and I play roles. To be honest, I don’t know what to say — I find your question intrusive.”
“He told me his truth, which is all I asked, and all I hope for from any interview subject,” Mr. Moylan said recently. “I don’t apologize for asking the question.”
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In the past, Mr. Pace was so not out that occasionally gossip blogs would put him together with an actress, like his friend Judy Greer. He brought her to the premiere of “A Single Man.”
“At the time, I knew he was gay,” Ms. Greer said in an interview. “I didn’t really talk about it to anyone — not even really because he asked me not to, just because it’s his business. When I saw that stuff online, I thought it was really strange. I didn’t think anything of it but to be flattered that anyone would think he would want to go out with me. I was like, ‘Oh my God, whattt?’ He was so tall and handsome! I thought, I’ll ride this wave for a minute.” She laughed. “And I was single at the time.”
The W article made headlines, and Mr. Pace was displeased he had come off angry. In an effort to take back his own narrative, he announced on Twitter that he was a “member of the queer community,” and noted he’d been playing queer characters his entire career, from his breakout role as the transgender showgirl Calpernia Addams in “A Soldier’s Girl” through his Broadway debut in “The Normal Heart” to the bisexual former IBM executive of “Halt and Catch Fire” and now, “Angels.” “Onward,” he wrote, “with Pride.”
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The positive response to his tweets — thousands of likes, many comments and now, regular references to them at the stage door after the show — has assured him that he made the right decision, though the old habit of reticence died hard.
“The truth is,” he said at his apartment, “when you grow up queer, you get tough. And perceptive. And you learn how to field it. When someone comes at you that you don’t know, interested in that area of your life, it’s not always a good thing. I certainly knew that when I was a kid.”
Mr. Pace was born in Chickasha, Okla., and grew up in suburban Texas. He came out to his younger sister, Sally, while still in high school. “She cried,” he said. “She said, ‘I don’t know what that means.’” But she was supportive. So were his parents. Mr. Pace headed to drama school.
Unlike Broadway, Hollywood can be less accepting. There are still relatively few out gay actors, along with leading-man parts for them, at least in major studio fare. As his career took began to take off, was Mr. Pace encouraged not to be too open?
He pause for a while. “No,” he said, then reconsidered. “Look — yeah. I remember when I signed with a new agent, we worked together for a year. He took me to some coffee shop in the middle of the afternoon and I knew he wanted to talk about something. He said, ‘I heard you’re gay, is that true?’ I said, ‘Is that a problem?’ And of course he said, ‘No, fine, just felt like I needed to know.’ But within about a year, he was no longer working with me.”
Mr. Pace has the full support of his current team, he added, with whom he has been working happily for years.
The W article ended up offering an “opportunity to participate,” he said, in a way he hadn't before, even if it was one he hadn't necessarily sought or anticipated.  
What changed his mind were two things. One is a new relationship, with a fashion executive he preferred not to name. (“I’ve never seen Lee so happy,” Ms. Greer said.) The other is the role of Joe Pitt, and the reflection it gave him on his own life. Onstage, in Joe Pitt’s coming out, Mr. Pace sticks on a few particular lines: “I want to live now. Maybe for the first time ever. And I can be anything. Anything I need to be.”
“I remember after it had happened, I was able to say that,” Mr. Pace said, recognizing the thrill of freedom in it. “I can be anything. Once you say those words and the sky doesn’t fall down, or the earth doesn’t open up, a lightning bolt doesn’t zap you. You really can be anything.”
So he has embraced the opportunity. “It feels nicer,” he said, “than I ever thought it would be.”
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What comes next, and how this affects his career, if it does, is yet to be seen. One person whose advice he sought as he considered his Twitter statement was his friend Matt Bomer, a fellow out actor and Mr. Pace’s friend since their high school days. “I’ve known Lee since he was shorter than I am, believe it or not,” Mr. Bomer said. (Mr. Pace is 6-foot-5.)
“My counsel to him was, basically, when you decide to make it public, it can feel like you’re operating in a void,” Mr. Bomer said. “Nothing about you has changed, but maybe certain people’s opinions about you have changed. The beautiful thing about that is out of that void come all the people who truly want to engage with you and want to embrace your most authentic self. To me that’s always been far more rewarding than whatever mass appeal you have if you chose not to.”
“That’s assuming that that even happens,” he said. “I don’t know if that happens anymore.”
When asked if he had experienced negative repercussions after his own coming out, Mr. Bomer paused.
“The shorter answer is yes,” he said. “I hate to say it, I really do. I wish the answer were a resounding no. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. What happened was, an entire world of artists who I had always dreamed of working with and who wanted to engage with me on the most authentic level all came to the forefront.”
Mr. Bomer is appearing in the Broadway production of “The Boys in the Band,” just a few blocks away from “Angels in America.”
“I don’t think he stands anything to lose,” he said. “I don’t think any of us do, really, anymore. And if they do, let it fall by the wayside.”
Mr. Pace acknowledged the uncertainty but also said he had no anxiety about his decision.
“I’m curious to know what it’s going to do to my work,” he said. “I’ve played very different characters, and I don’t think that’s going to change. I guess I’m curious to see if this influences that, and the kinds of roles that come my way. Or in people’s perception of the work that I do.”
But he is confident in the future. “The work speaks for itself,” he said, “and I trust that.” For now, that is the grueling work of being Joe Pitt.
“The thing that gets me through the pain of doing it is knowing he’s going to be O.K. after it’s over,” Mr. Pace said. “Once he gets through it, he’s better off. I imagine him on a beach in Hawaii, renting surfboards. ‘How did you end up with this life?’ And he’s like, ‘Well, actually, I was married. I used to be a Mormon.’ Now he’s got a great boyfriend in my imagination.”
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seriouslyhooked · 6 years
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Scoring Your Love (Part 4/?)
Modern AU where Killian is a world famous soccer star who has hit rock bottom and been sentenced to the place where ‘football’ legends go to die – America. While here he crosses paths with Emma, an up and coming musician and film scorer who challenges everything he thought he knew and makes him want more than the game he’s always loved. Will be filled with fluff for days, and eventually rated M.
Part One, Part Two, Part Three. Story also on FF here and AO3 here.
A/N: Hey everyone! So this chapter we are back to just an Emma POV but as I said before, the eventual reunion of Emma and Killian is coming and we will get a little taste of that here. We’re picking up a few days after the Oscars, though there will be some mention of it, and Emma and her friends have all collected for a special outing. Can anyone guess what that might be given the obvious breadcrumbs I’ve provided? I’m sure you can. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy and thanks so much for reading!
“So if you had to guess, what does one actually wear to a soccer game?” Ruby asked Emma from the doorway of their living room. “Is this like comfy casual, or is it like that time we went to the Lakers game and didn’t get the memo?”
“Oh God I hope not,” Emma replied, recalling the time one of Ruby’s many admirers had gifted her with four tickets to a professional basketball game only for the friends to be dressed in t-shirts and surrounded by women ready for the club. It was staggering to see, especially since every man there was in fan gear and couldn’t give less of a damn, but apparently sitting in the good seats at the Staples Center demanded more fabulocity than any of them realized. “Mary Margaret mentioned she’s wearing her jersey so I would assume it’s pretty normal.”
“Thank God,” Ruby exhaled with just a touch of drama. “I love a good excuse to dress up, but I think Sunday was enough glam for one week.”
Emma totally agreed with her there, thinking back to what was probably the biggest night of her career so far and the culture shock it had been. Not even forty-eight hours ago Emma and Ruby had been standing at the center of one of the glitziest nights of the Los Angeles year, the Academy Awards. It was the talk of the town and ‘everybody who was anybody’ was there. In some ways it had been fascinating, to see what kind of process went into making a show that would be watched by millions across the country, and even at the most trying of moments Emma had felt the honor of being nominated amongst some really impressive professionals. But in her heart Emma hadn’t been all that impressed and she certainly wouldn’t consider it a fun outing.
If anything the tiers of importance that this industry boasted had been too fully on display to ever feel really comfortable. There were the people who were deemed worthy, like the big time actors and directors, and then there were the others, people who had worked just as hard if not harder on their craft but who didn’t get the same kind of attention. Emma had born witness to that as the hours of the evening progressed, and though she never wanted the kind of fame that would come from those more public roles, Emma still felt the not so subtle tension. There was a complete lack of balance on display there, and that underlying strain was all the more awkward when everyone was dressed to the nines, networking and mingling, and drinking champagne for hours with no actual food provided by the venue.
From Emma’s estimation, most of the people in her particular field would agree with her assessment that award shows weren’t the most rewarding part of this work. No one entered the business of scoring movies for the prestige and fan adoration, but there had been one person at her table who loved every moment of the evening and that was Ruby. In that at least Emma had been fully content, because even if she felt kind of ridiculous sitting there, Ruby had made the evening as fun and enjoyable as she could. The commentary she’d let loose throughout the telecast and the rest of the awards was filled with her usual biting humor and Ruby also made friends very easily, breaking the ice for Emma and letting her feel far more at ease than she ever would have felt on her own.
“Honestly that was enough glam for a lifetime,” Emma replied and Ruby rolled her eyes at the thought, making Emma smile. Knowing her roommate there would be some other Hollywood event Emma was dragged to in the coming weeks that, while not so extravagant, would require a level of presentability above her normal attire. And though Emma feigned like it was torture, she’d still go to support Ruby no matter what because that was what best friends did.
“Clearly we have to find you some new hobbies like Mary Margaret’s. You would think this preview game was bigger than the Oscars she’s that freaking excited. I mean honestly, the way she makes it sound she had a better chance of winning the lottery than scoring these tickets.”
“Well whatever the chances were, one thing is for certain – she is going to kill us if we’re late and I’m not ready to face the wrath of Mary Margaret, are you?”
Emma’s question inspired Ruby to actually get moving, and luckily just the thought of their usually chipper friend’s anger and disappointment was enough to get them up and out of the apartment in a timely fashion. The universe appeared to be on their side the whole way there too since traffic was light and parking was blessedly easy to find, but it became more and more clear as Emma and Ruby made their way to the stadium that this wasn’t the boring, basic practice they were expecting. This place was packed with people and Emma for one was shocked given how little enthusiasm most people in America seemed to have for the sport.
“Jesus, this is actual mayhem,” Ruby said at one point as she scanned the crowds for Mary Margaret and their other friend Belle. “I’m actually kind of digging it.”
“Of course you are,” Emma replied with a smirk and a shake of her head. “You live for chaos.”
“Well yeah, I mean it makes for a great story, and what is an actress if not a storyteller?”
“What is she indeed,” Emma laughed before spotting her other friends across the way and pulling Ruby along with her. It took a bit of time, but once they were all united, Emma was happy for it and glad to see they still had sufficient time to get into the park and to their seats. She was also astonished at just how exuberant Mary Margaret was. Her friend was typically an excitable person, but she was practically buzzing with energy today and her smile was infectious, like watching a kid experience their first candy store or opening presents on Christmas.
“Emma! Ruby! You made it! Oh my gosh - I mean this is just so far beyond awesome. I can’t believe we’re really here. We are really here!”
“Has she been like this all morning?” Emma asked Belle after hugging her friends in greeting and Belle nodded.
“Oh yeah. It’s been a solid twenty four hours of sports references I do not understand and actual squeals of delight.”
“You’re kidding,” Emma said, looking back to Mary Margaret who was now chatting Ruby’s ear off as they headed through the gate after scanning their tickets and being admitted inside.
“Remember when the last Harry Potter book came out and I completely lost my cool?” Belle asked, reminding Emma of another enjoyable evening in the early years of their friendship as she nodded. “It’s been worse than that. She makes me look like a casual Rowling reader.”
“Wow. So we’re really in for something today, huh? It would help if I knew anything about soccer. They kick the ball into the net right?”
“Emma!” Mary Margaret chastised, having now started listening to the conversation and Emma laughed heartily at that.
“Mary Margaret I’m kidding. I know soccer, okay? At least enough to get by. Trust me, after all these years of being your friend I’ve picked up on some stuff.”
“Well that makes one of us,” Belle said with a sigh. “I swear all I’ve got at this point is ‘Killian Jones is the best player in the world,’ and that’s because I heard it on repeat almost nonstop for the past month.”
Emma found herself stumbling a bit at the mention of the team’s star player, not because there was anything obstructing her path, but because that name meant something to her. Killian – now how common a name could that really be? She’d never met someone with the name before that she could recall, but only the other day she’d run into someone – someone who had made Emma feel something she hadn’t felt in a long time – and he too was named Killian. It felt like a very small world all of a sudden, but Emma shook it off, knowing rationally that there was no chance in hell they would ever be the same guy. Soccer stars, and international ones at that, did not gallivant around LA in leather jackets and shades. They just didn’t… right?
“You joke Belle, but you’re all going to see exactly what I mean once this game starts,” Mary Margaret said after finding their seats, which were surprisingly fantastic, and leading them all into the stands. “We already had a good team, a strong showing for the MLS, but with Jones… there will be no stopping us and maybe we’ll actually win a damn tournament for once!”
“Aren’t there only like twenty American teams? How bad can they really be?” Emma asked. “Also didn’t they just win that tournament thingy a few years ago?”
“Yeah but that was just the MLS cup. There’s international rankings we never qualify for and… really when you think about it anything but being number one is less than the best,” Mary Margaret said casually. “And they could be the best.”
“God I love when you get crazy competitive,” Ruby said with a genuine sense of happiness. “It means we get to scream our heads off all game and be totally nuts. It’ll also help me prep for that audition I’m doing next week. I’m supposed to be a jilted lover and I mean rage is rage right?”
“Oh yeah,” Emma agreed. “Just wait for a ref to give a bad call and Mary Margaret will give you all the character notes you need.”
Soon thereafter the stadium began to get more active. The people in charge of getting the place ready came out as practice prep began, but Emma was content to chat with her friends as Mary Margaret randomly threw in statistics here and there about assists and scoring and defensive tackles. It mostly went in one ear and out the other for Emma, but then something shifted and Mary Margaret was totally animated again.
“Oh my god, here they come!”
The friends turned in the direction of the tunnel through which the teams were exiting, and Emma noted the clear athleticism on display here. Soccer players might not be as big and bulky as football or hockey players, but Emma knew once this game started they’d be sprinting all over the place and playing to impress. No one got to this level, American league or not, and didn’t have talent and she was excited to see that even if she didn’t have nearly as much invested in this as Mary Margaret. As she scanned the oncoming players though, one particular man on the field caught her eye and her heart clenched tightly in her chest in the moment just before recognition set in.
Holy shit that’s him! That’s Killian! Emma thought to herself as her body flooded with a newfound sense of anticipation. Her hands began to shake and her pulse picked up its pace as she stood there, taking in a man who was little more than a stranger but who Emma hadn’t been able to forget since the moment they met. Out here on the field he looked different than he had on the street, but the uniform didn’t do anything to undermine his appeal. If anything Emma was more aware of how handsome he was now, noting the way that he appeared natural and at ease even with the eyes of thousands of people watching him right now.
“I can’t believe it’s really him!” Mary Margaret yelped as she grabbed Emma’s hand. “Killian Jones in the flesh. Can you believe it?”
“I can’t,” Emma whispered, and she meant it to. She hadn’t imagined it possible, but there was no denying it now, her Killian and the Killian Jones of international soccer renown were the same person. Well no wonder he’d thought a date with him was God’s gift – he’d probably never been turned down in his life. His good looks alone were enough to tempt anybody, but throw in the money and the fame and… well let’s just say Emma could understand that level of cockiness he’d tossed her way before.
“Mm, Mm, Mm. Those pictures do not do that man justice. He is h-o-t hot!” Ruby said with a wolfish grin. “But to be fair, they’re all hot.”
“Yeah they are,” Belle agreed. “You should have told us Mary Margaret! I would have been watching soccer with you way sooner if I’d known.”
Mary Margaret harrumphed at the joke and instead changed the subject to the game ahead and the stakes before them. They were playing one of their top rivals in the league, and apparently that was important because of blah blah blah, but try as she might Emma couldn’t pay attention. In fact, she couldn’t even seem to tear her gaze away from the field. She was instead watching Killian and trying to wrap her brain around how this was really happening. How had she flirted and ultimately turned down a guy like this without knowing? And why did she feel in her gut right now (and pretty much ever since the incident) that she wished things had gone differently than they had?
At that very moment something even more remarkable than his being there happened. As if she’s summoned him with her thoughts, Killian turned in her direction, and even though she was in a sea of people, she knew that he saw her. Their gazes caught and here she was all over again getting sucked into the mysterious force from this man that called to her. She felt exposed like this, as if he could see her fully, past all the walls and guards she put up to the world, but somehow she wasn’t afraid of it. Because the look in his blue eyes right now wasn’t arrogant or resentful – it was earnest and kind. He seemed softer now, but that intensity remained and Emma was drawn to it, wanting this strange sort of reunion to be happening anywhere else where they could actually do something more than look at one another in shock and wonder.
“Emma, are you okay?” Ruby asked, pulling Emma’s attention from the field and Emma looked over at Ruby, trying to put on a poker face, but through some sort of best friend ESP, and through looking in the direction Emma had been staring, Ruby made the connection of what Emma was going through. “Wait, that’s Killian?! Your Killian? The guy you-,”
“Yes, Ruby, that’s him,” Emma said, interrupting what would no doubt be lengthy commentary about Emma’s confession to her friends about the interaction she and Killian had on the street.
“No wonder you’ve been all moody and quiet. How did you possibly turn him down?” her friend asked, pretending to fan herself as she glanced back at the field.
“He was an ass. Totally full of himself, arrogant, basically everything wrong with men,” Emma said, but even as the words floated out into the air she felt a twinge of doubt. 
Had he really been that bad? Or had he been flirting with her and just chosen the wrong thing to say? Lord knew she’d been called overly sensitive a time or two, but she’d never given that criticism any thought. Now though she wondered at her own actions and that instinct to judge and write him off. Excessive cockiness or not that spark was still there. Even all the way across this field Emma felt wrapped up in just the sight of him, and that look in his eye that he kept sending her way… well it was clear his interest hadn’t dried up at all.
“Well Ems, he’s rich, famous, and hot. Given those qualifications, when is the last time you think a woman said no to him?”
“Never,” all the friends agreed at the same time.
“Still that’s no excuse,” Emma said, sticking firm to the belief that guys who showed colors like that were best avoided given her track record.
“No, it’s not,” Mary Margaret acknowledged. “But maybe you caught him on a bad day or something?”
Emma could hear her friend trying to be positive about what was likely totally typical behavior for this man. Despite what he made her feel, Killian Jones was a player, at least if the little she’d listened to was true. Ruby had hit the nail on the head with all those aspects of him that would appeal to people, but their meeting indicated that he had a sense of entitlement because of it that Emma couldn’t stand. Still even at his worst Emma had this niggling sense that she wasn’t seeing him fully. It hadn’t felt right that he acted that way given the start of their conversation, and though her sort of superpower usually only extended to telling if someone was lying, she hadn’t been able to shake the idea that there was more to Killian than a lot of hot air and sweet nothings. It was those eyes of his – they’d conveyed something to her that made her heart skip and butterflies appear out of nowhere. It was totally terrifying, but at the beginning of their interlude she’d been brave enough to stay, because scary as it was it also felt so incredibly promising.
“Doesn’t matter now,” Emma said resolutely after shaking her head. “Because it was a one time thing.”
“You keep telling yourself that, girl.” Ruby taunted playfully as Emma ripped her eyes back from the field and turned towards her friends who all looked pleased as punch at having just witnessed her overt ogling of the pride and joy of the LA Galaxy. “Damn this is going to be so good. There’s no way he’s letting you go now.”
Emma tried to shake that comment off, but as the game began and Emma watched the match with rapt attention she had to say she agreed with Ruby’s assessment. Try as she might to deny Killian’s lingering interest, there was more than a couple of too-long glances in her direction cast during the game, and every time their gazes met Emma could feel the plea behind his look. She honestly swore she could hear his voice in her head it was so clear:
Just give me one more chance, love. I swear you won’t regret it.
And funnily enough Emma didn’t think she would. She just had to figure out when to tell him as much, and with her scheming friends at her side, she was pretty assured that an opportunity would present itself if only she were patient.
Post-Note: Okay so I know it’s not fair to kind of leave this dangling as is, but what can I say? I’ve been missing these shorter chapter story styles and given my current lack of ability to write it seems like the safest bet to getting the story out there at a regular pace. Not to worry though – next chapter we’ll pick up right here only from Killian’s point of view. You can expect an actual meeting then and I’ll be giving Killian his second chance at making a better impression with his Swan. Expect the fluff to come and then we’ll get to the cuteness of dating and all that fun stuff. Anyway hope you guys liked it chapter and let me know what you thought!
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