#red starling

[ilurked]

What is Past is Prologue (Part 3)

Fandom: Detective Conan Rating: T for canon-typical violence Continuity: Post series

Part 1: The Detective Part 2: The Phantom Thief Part 3: The Agent

Jodie Starling spent more than half her life living in the past. She had allowed her past to define her identity and set the course for her future.

But no more.

She was defined by what had happened when she was a child. A fat lot of good it did her.

Despite dedicating her life to bringing the woman who all but destroyed her innocence to justice, she was thwarted, time and again, first by the organization shrouded in the darkness, and later by the institution she had sworn to serve and protect.

That was why when she was offered the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk away from her past, away from the bureau that betrayed her, away from everything, she took it with both hands and promised herself that never again would she allow herself to be this helpless, this powerless.

Therefore, when her past came calling, in the form of the man she once loved, she did not immediately respond. She had to make sure that she would not be meeting him out of some misguided hope that she would be able to fix the past. In the end, she said yes to meeting him because, like a cat, she could not help but know what had happened after she left.

“You’re a hard woman to find.” Shuichi Akai told her as he slid gracefully to the booth where Jodie Starling was sipping her coffee.

“I have to be,” she replied. She set down her teacup carefully to hide her hand’s subtle but unmistakable shaking. “A long list of people want my head on a platter.”

She absently noted that he was no longer wearing his disguise. He had ditched the blonde hair and the glasses that made him look harmless. He went back to growing out his dark hair. His look reminded him so much of the young man she met and loved so long ago.

Her heart ached.

Akai’s lips thinned as if her statement gave him displeasure, but he did not say anything until the server who approached their table to take their order had left.

“Don’t you think we’re too old to live like this?” He asked her honestly.

“By we, you mean me, don’t you?” She asked. As the head of a no-name, internationally funded, but globally disavowed organization, she knew that after helping bring down the Black Organization, Shuichi semi-retired from the FBI and concentrated on piecing back his family.

Unlike her.

Jodie shrugged when he didn’t reply to her question. “I actually spend more time behind the desk now,” she told him honestly. She was surprised how much paperwork being the head of a no-name organization generated. She took a deep breath; forced herself to relax and smile. “Hello, Shu. How are you?”

Taking his cue from her, he also relaxed. “I’m good.”

“Me, too. Let’s get straight to the point. After five years, why contact me now?”

“Direct, as always. I have information that your agency has in its custody an asset believed to be dead.”

Jodie struggled to keep the shock out of her face. It would have worked on any other person, but it was Shuichi watching her. He knew all of her tells.

One of the advantages of being the head of a no-name organization was that she could run it as she saw fit. And she saw fit that knowledge of her newly acquired asset would be known only to few people inside her organization: three people, to be exact: herself, one reluctant consultant, and the asset herself. 

The consultant would literally die before he revealed information about the asset while the asset would not talk, also literally. Since the leak did not come from her, that could only mean—

“That bitch.” She muttered. Jodie winced. She did not like calling other women  names. However, the shoe fits the woman now going by the name of Alicia Vineyard, the daughter of the late Chris Vineyard. To Jodie, that woman would always be Vermouth.

“That is why the PSB, the CIA, and the FBI all agreed to keep her alive and on the streets.” He told her gently. “She’s a veritable fount of information.”

“That woman needed to die. At the very least, she needed to pay for her sins. Putting her on the streets would only endanger more people.” Jodie told him vehemently.

“I agreed with your assessment five years ago,” he reminded her. “But we were outranked and outvoted by our superiors. “And you can’t place the blame entirely on her. Word on the street is that a certain Phantom Thief also had a run-in with your asset.”

A run-in which was not disclosed to her.

“How accurate is our asset’s information?” Shu asked, careful not to utter any names as one never knew who was listening. “Is your asset really the girl from Beika? All that the Kaitou Kid would say is that it’s her, but it’s not her.”

“I’m not at liberty to—”

“Don’t give me that, Jodie. Some people back in Japan deserve to know what happened.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Jodie looked away, figuring out how much she could tell him without her telling him anything. She knew that she would not get away with misleading him for information. Knowing him, he had already done his due diligence and confirmed what he could before confronting her with the information he already had.

“So, it is her?”

“If it’s not her, she’s an excellent imitation of the original.” She shrugged. “I tried to bring her home, but she had so many decisions taken away from her already. Now, I don’t think anyone could force her to do things she doesn’t want to do.”

“How is she?”

“She doesn’t speak much of what had happened to her.” She replied truthfully. “In fact, she doesn’t speak to me at all. She only talks to the doctor.”

“The doctor?”

Jodie nodded. “She found him and decided to trust him. She talks to him. He talks to us. She doesn’t trust me or anyone else. And he only talks to us only when it’s convenient for them. They help us, but they’re not with us.”

“Who are they with?”

“Who knows?” Jodie shrugged. “The Black Organization was weakened when its head died. A war broke out between many organizations, syndicates, and cartels to try to take its place. Rumor has it that the struggle unceremoniously and decisively ended two years ago. The victorious entity in the power struggle was more intelligent, secretive, and infinitely more dangerous than its predecessor. Law enforcement had tried and failed to identify, much less infiltrate, it.”

“You think your asset is with the new shadow organization?”

“Just a hunch.” She admitted. “Because there couldn’t be more than one organization so secret that not even my agency, with its infinite budget and network, could not know.”

“Is she in danger?”

Jodie paused. Considered. “I would have said no before. I believed that she had eliminated the threats to her life when she put out feelers to us.”

She saw the shock on his face at the revelation.

“Eliminated?”

“We still don’t know what happened to her. The only clues we could follow are the trail of bodies left behind.”

Shu hunched closer to her. “Are we sure it’s her?”

Jodie smiled bitterly. “As I’ve said, we have no idea what was done with her. But you and I both know that when the Black Organization puts its hands on you, it changes you.”

Shu let out a breath. He did know how much the Organization could change a person. He let that poison touch his life. And for what?

 “The Kaitou Kid is right,” Jodie continued. “She’s the same person, but she’s no longer the same person they took from her home all those years ago.”

“Is she in danger?” He asked again.

“Before today, I would answer no. But knowing that the Bitch knows about her means that the remnants of the Black Organization know about her.”

“The remnants?”

“The Black Organization may have been cut at its knees, but it still has many loyal supporters, trying to find a replacement for its former leader, hoping to bring it back to its former glory. She’s doing what the FBI, the CIA, and the PSB should have done five years ago,” she told him. “Burn the organization to the ground. Have you heard of the Malta massacre?”

Shu leaned back and tried to recall a short news article he had read a couple of months ago.

“An office building in Malta burned down a while back. The firemen found about a dozen unidentified people in the building.”

“It was not just an office building,” Jodie told him succinctly. “And the people there are not office workers. It was a hideout for the Black Organization. About half of the dozen people who died were high-ranking officers. They did not die by fire as the news reported.”

“She did that?” He was unable to reconcile the sweet, innocent teenager he knew all those years ago with the portrait of a person Jodie was painting. “Alone?”

“She did that,” Jodie confirmed. “But we don’t know if she did it alone. And we didn’t know that the building was a front for the organization until after we received a tip not to allow the local law enforcement to force open the vaults inside.”

“And what did you find?”

“Information.” She replied. “Enough to justify the budget of my agency to my superiors ten times over. And Malta’s just the beginning.”

“Do you need help to protect her?” “Protect her?” She scoffed. “God help the idiot who tries to hurt her.” #tbc

#detective conan #fanfiction #dcmk fanfic #shinran #shinichi x ran #shinichi kudo #ran mouri #shuichi akai #jodie starling #red starling

[miwakosatoru]

The White Bag - A RedStarling Pre-Canon Fanfiction

Cast & Main Pairing: Shuichi Akai (26), Jodie Starling (22)

Rating: T

Genre: Rom-com, Fluff

Words: 1224

I do not own Detective Conan. Jodie Starling and Shuichi Akai belong to Gosho Aoyama. The others are supporting characters I created.

---

This is Shuichi and Jodie's flashback story, 6 years prior to the main timeline when they were still dating and Jodie was still a junior agent.

---

That day is the last day for the FBI team to be in the Albuquerque desert area after an outdoor mission to fall out of a criminal syndicate. Since morning, they prepared to leave the temporary headquarter area using a Jeep and headed towards Albuquerque International Airport. Jodie herself has settled up and is ready to go. While she packed her things, someone came closer to her. It's her boyfriend.

“You ready?” Shuichi rests his hand on her shoulder.

“Yap!”

“You'll ride with me, right?”

“But, Shu... I'm sorry, Andrea invited me to ride with her, along with Vanessa and Grace. Andrea will be the driver.”

Shuichi didn't say anything. He's looking at her with a flat gaze, as usual.

“Okay. Take care.” He rubbed her shoulder, making her blush.

“Thank you, Shu. See you!” she smiled.

No one knows they're now together. At least, their colleagues have yet to be made aware of it. Both of them preferred to keep their relationship private. They never did any PDA or something. But Shuichi always cares for her even in public and shows affection in his way, while trying his best not to get attention from others. The others already knew that they were close, but not as lovers.

Shuichi then left her, headed to the 7th Jeep, and sat in the driver's seat. Jodie kept her eyes on him until her colleagues from the 12th Jeep, the last one, yelled her name.

“Starling, come in! We're about to go!” Grace shouted. Jodie walked fast towards them, then placed herself in the 2nd-row passenger seat on the Jeep beside Vanessa.

Just right before they departed, Jodie's phone rang. A stranger's number called her, but she answered it anyway.

Jodie: Hello?

Someone: Hello, is this Agent Jodie Starling?

Jodie: Yeah, what's up?

Someone: A white Chanel handbag, with a rose keychain, is this yours?

Jodie: What? Yes, it's mine, but I believe I brought it with me!

Someone: I found it. Then, I left the bag near the reception table. I am unsure if it's yours or not. Just check it by yourself.

Jodie: Okay, hold on! I'll be right there.

The call ended, then Jodie immediately released her seatbelt and headed to go.

“What's wrong, Jodie?” Andrea asked her.

“Someone found my cosmetics bag, but he's unsure if it's mine or not. I think I should check on it.”

“Okay, we'll wait for you.”

Jodie left the car, going back to the headquarters. While she was gone, Shuichi came to face passengers on the 12th Jeep.

“Hey, Andrea! I think your car's oil is spoiled!”

“What?” she was surprised and checked it immediately.

“Ah, no fucking way! I need to hurry! I'm the one who booked the flight tickets! I have no time to fix this.”

“What if we exchange cars? I might stay here longer because I gotta clear some things up.”

“Whoa, is it okay, Shuichi?”

“It's okay. I can take it. My car is number 7.”

“Thank you! Okay, guys, let's move!” Andrea led her colleagues to move to Shuichi's car.

“By the way, you can keep all your luggage here. It'll be so much space since I drive alone,” said Shuichi.

“Eh, how about Jodie? We need to call her and tell her we'll move!” Vanessa uttered.

“Andrea is hurrying, right? It's okay, I'll take Jodie with me. She's a junior agent. She has nothing to hurry.”

“Alright. See you, then!”

Andrea, Vanessa, and Grace got out of the car and headed to the 7th Jeep. Minutes later, all of the Jeeps left the headquarters one by one, except the last one.

Meanwhile, Jodie desperately searched for her cosmetics bag. The housekeepers said they'd cleaned every spot in the reception room and found no bag. She then concluded someone had just taken her bag, kept it for her, and decided to return immediately.

When she arrived back at the parking area, she was so surprised when she found out only her Jeep was left there, and the others were gone. She felt guilty because her colleagues had to wait for her.

As she opened the car door, she yelled. “Ah, I'm so sorry to make you wait- Shu! What are you doing here?! Where's Andrea and the others?!”

“Stop talking and get in here,” Shuichi opened the car door for the passenger seat beside him.

“But, how?! What happened here?!” she sat on the seat but was still confused and startled.

“Where have you been?”

“Finding my cosmetics bag. Someone called me, he found it and put it somewhere on headquarters' reception desk, but when I searched for it, I found nothing,” Jodie breathed deeply, putting her hands on her head.

“You mean this?” Shuichi showed her the white bag she was desperately looking for.

“What?! How the hell my bag is on you?! You... Wait...” her expression changed from shocked to puzzled, full of confusion as Shuichi chuckled.

“Don't say it was your plan...”

“I'm amazed you noticed this earlier than I thought.”

“So it's true?! But... the one who called me... He didn't sound like you at all!”

“I paid someone to call you.”

“Shu..."

“See, Jodie. You ended up with me anyway.”

Jodie's cheeks reddened, realizing although Shuichi can be categorized as a cold-blooded man, he is also very sweet. He tricked her, fooled their colleagues, and made some effort only to be with her. If he had wanted to be with her so badly, he could've asked her one more time and forced her a little, and she wouldn't have refused. But, no. Shuichi would do it in Shuichi's way. He's a man of service, not a man of words.

“How did you manage to exchange car with them?!”

“I tricked them, said that this car oil spoiled. Whereas I spilled out the oil by myself.”

“Shu, you're ridiculous!” Jodie laughed. A pure, genuine laugh. So heartwarming and full of joy, like how she is in Shuichi's eyes. Shuichi then realized all the tricks he had done were worth it to make her laugh like that. She unintentionally gave him a ray of sunshine for his thunder, and he needs nothing more to heal himself after going through a hard mission.

Even though she was quite flattered by his actions, she felt a little bit of displeasure. “But you got me a heart attack, Shu! I can't lose this bag!” she gummed, crossing her hands.

“My apologies,” he grinned a little. “Is the bag contains holy grail or something?”

“My cosmetics and skincare, which cost around $1000 in total. And most importantly, I just bought this Dior lipstick last month for goddamn 50 dollars, Shu. It's still full. I ain't losing it for nothing!”

“You using it right now?”

“Yeah, why?”

Without thinking and considering any hesitation, Shuichi suddenly catches Jodie's lips with his and kissed them passionately. Jodie was startled, her muscles are stiffen, not ready for the surprise. But she enjoyed it eventually, especially when she began to taste the mix of tobacco and Bourbon in him. Time stopped for both of them, as their kiss is getting deeper, and deeper.

“Mmmh... Not too bad for 50 dollars,” said Shuichi after he broke the kiss. Jodie, however, was still processing what had just happened, while Shuichi started their Jeep and rode away toward the airport.

---

*Note: This is my first English fic, I'm so sorry for any grammar mistakes :“)

-Hagirara, 2023-

#redstarling #red starling #shuichi akai #jodie starling #detective conan #flashback #fluff #akai x jodie #fanfiction

[cabbi3]

random Clannibal in red

#cải's art #clarice x hannibal #its Mid Autumn festival so i want to draw something moon-related for them #hence the “moon” thingy #i draw lots of red string of fate for my ocs #so its only fair that my blorbos also get one #clannibal #clarice starling #hannibal lecter #hannibal #the silence of the lambs #silence of the lambs #sotl #thomas harris

[somecleverreference]

I don’t think we talk enough about what a Mary Sue Hannibal is in the books. He’s got maroon eyes that “reflect red pinpoints in the light,” six fingers on his left hand, perfect pitch, several graduate degrees, a photographic memory, and a literal actual castle. He speaks seven languages. He can do every kind of art. He can smell cancer. He gives himself reconstructive surgery (twice). He’s the funniest bitch alive. AND he gets his girl.

#theres definitely stuff I’m forgetting too #stay tuned for his my immortal intro parody I’ll get to it eventually #Hannibal #hannibal lecter #red dragon #silence of the lambs #hannibal rising #Clarice starling #clannibal #thomas harris #sorry I just really want people to see this and all my followers are p0rnb0ts :/

[gatopidao]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ︶⏝︶ #collection: thomas harris! ✷ headers ୧ ︶⏝︶

#headers #spirit headers #thomas harris headers #thomas harris #books headers #random headers #series headers #movie headers #hannibal #hannibal headers #the silence of the lambs headers #the silence of the lambs #red dragon headers #red dragon #mads mikkelsen #hannibal lecter #will graham #clarice starling #random #halloween headers #dark headers #dark #black headers #white headers #red headers

[rocksalt-and-pie]

shout-out to the makers of NBC Hannibal for (clearly) reading all four books about Hannibal Lecter by Thomas Harris and going "hmm. actually we will make the gayest possible version of this" going on to COMPLETELY disregard the other main character and (canon) ?love interest? of the series and never even MENTION Clarice Starling. Like it's so funny to me that she never even appears on the show when book!Will Graham literally fucks off after The Red Dragon and wants nothing to do with any of this anymore and book!Hannibal is obsessed with Clarice in the same way that tv!Hannibal is obsessed with tv!Will. like they really took a whole book franchise, picked out the cherries, and made it their own personal little gay AU. that's so refreshing and should be a leading example in television adaptations. in this essay i will

#hannibal #hannigram #hannibal lecter #will graham #Clarice Starling #thomas harris #nbc hannibal #mp #i actually like clarice as a character though #but i do think that the red dragon is the best book of the series and they get worse and worse #also they have nothing to do with the show when it comes to aesthetics #they're literally just action filled crime thrillers. they feel very to the point‚ very technical and practical and sober #whereas the show is literally just art and poetry and emotions and meaning and simply beautiful #i also love that the show treats its female characters so much better than the books #the books feel very masculine which is just due to the time of publishing i guess #i feel like a lot of books written and published by men in the 80s/90s have this very brutalist straight forward no emotions style #but yeah. the people who made the show really went all out with it and i love how their interpretation is kinda just high scale fanfiction #like i respect that so much and also: goals

[schwarz-san]

Art for halfa Tim as Consilior Starling!

I did say I'm going to make art for it.

#danny phantom #dp x dc #dp x dc au #dc x dp crossover #The Cōnsilior Starling AU #i checked the earlier post and learned that the au was already called by a diferent name #im embarassed of my self a little #i feel like i stepped on someone elses foot for some reason #the white knight au #ghost king danny #advisor tim #tim drake #halfa tim drake #my drawing is a mess #the colors feels like its all ovee the place #art #digital art #ghost king au #red robin

[minarcoi]

Doodle of Hannibal, Will, Clarice etc. from the books!!

#art #illustration #hannibal #hannibal lecter #the silence of the lambs #the red dragon #tom harris #hannibal fanart #hannibal fandom #sketch #fanart #clarice starling #hannibal x clarice #will graham #jack crawford #reba mcclane #francis dolarhyde #hannibal rising #hannibal books

[cbrcbbr]

so, I have some ideas—

#hannibal #silence of the lambs #red dragon #hannibal lecter #clarice starling #will graham #francis dolarhyde #buffalo bill #mason verger #body horrow cw #fan art #🚬🗿

[articolare]

the silence of the lambs/hannibal: naka-choko

#hannibal #red dragon #silence of the lambs #the silence of the lambs #will graham #hannigram #clarice starling #annotating books #naka choko #hannibal lecter

[bobowbeau]

“Well, Clarice, have the lambs stopped screaming?”

#art #painting #artists on tumblr #digital painting #paint #fan art #my art #horror #hannibal #hannibal fanart #Hannibal Lecter #silence of the lambs #Anthony Hopkins #Jodie foster #Thomas Harris #red dragon #Hannibal rising #hannibal x clarice #clarice starling

[wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee28374728]

Yesterday, January 20th, was Hannibal Lecter's birthday, and I didn't see ONE happy birthday post.

So wish my man a happy belated birthday RIGHT NOW 🥺🥳

#hannibal lecter #silence of the lambs #hannibal #the silence of the lambs #hannibal meme #clarice starling #clannibal #will graham #shitpost #hannibal shitpost #red dragon 2002 #red dragon #manhunter 1986 #hannibal movie #hannibal 2001 #tsotl #hannibal tetralogy #Happy birthday Hannibal #🥳

[laurelgerbil]

Hannibal Tetralogy my beloved

#hannibal #silence of the lambs #hannibal tetralogy #hannibal textpost #red dragon #clarice starling #will graham #reba mcclane #hannibal rising #hannibal lecter #molly graham #jack crawford

[sailorstarr-chan4]

Who is the Ultimate OTP? 👀

Vote nicely, absolutely NO ship bashing allowed, and may the best OTP win! ❤

#Starling polls #anime and manga #Vampire Knight #Radiant Zeki #Inuyasha #InuKag #Sailor Moon #UsaMamo #Clannad #Fruits Basket #Skip Beat! #Snow White with the Red Hair #Yuri on Ice #Viktuuri #Kamisama Kiss #Yu Yu Hakusho #otaku issues #original post #1k+ votes #200 notes

[marias-wonderland]

The clannibal demons of discord won @deadhead31​

#Clarice Starling #will graham #hannibal #silence of the lambs #red dragon #clannibal #the demons won #M stands for motherfucking #because she can fuck all of our mamas

[peachy-panic]

BBU: Hollywood

This idea took root and wouldn't let go. Can't say for sure if this will be A Thing, or just a one-off teaser of a thing, but here it is nonetheless.

WARNINGS: BBU, implied noncon, implied noncon drug use, the fucked up film industry

“Cut!”

He doesn’t realize the cameras have stopped rolling until the shrill ring of the bell jolts him back into his body, and out of the one he’s been inhabiting since the last call of action. He doesn’t move, doesn’t blink for a few moments, still caught in the blurry line between characters. Sometimes it takes a few seconds to remember which mask he's wearing.

There is a flurry of movement around him; PAs rush past, murmuring into their headsets, toting plush robes and glass bottles of sparkling water. Hair and makeup swoop in to invade everyone’s space, making their minute adjustments before rolling begins anew. 

When he returns to himself, Henry's cheeks are cold with drying tear tracks, and his heartbeat pulses lightly in his lips. 

His scene partner is already turned away, her attention attuned to the phone in her hand while a woman with frizzy hair attends to her smudged lipstick. Distantly, Henry knows if he touches his fingertips to his own mouth, they will come away in the same shade of red. Seconds ago, they were locked in an embrace, their tears mingling in the neckline of her silk gown, whispered words of affection spilling between them, and now Henry doesn’t exist. He won’t again until the cameras are pointed at him. Only then does he become alive.

A cold, acrylic nail hooks his chin and turns his head. His personal makeup artist is a woman named Kat in her late thirties with a sleek, blonde bob and smile lines around her eyes. She’s worked on every one of Henry’s films, and she has never spoken to him directly. On instinct, Henry lets his eyes fall shut, slipping back from the surface as she goes through the familiar routine of touching him up. 

From behind the wall of his own little world, he allows himself the indulgence of tuning into the conversations around him. A couple of new production assistants—not much older than him—talk about the food truck that production ordered as an end-of-week treat. (This doesn’t apply to Henry. He is on a strict diet of kale and boiled chicken while he's filming. He is always filming). The wardrobe team talks about grabbing a drink at Stanley’s after wrap today. (He knows that Stanley’s is everyone’s favorite spot because it’s less than a mile from the studio, but he’s never seen it for himself). The assistant director comments on her third cup of coffee of the day. (Henry wishes he could ask for some).

The voices fade and flutter until one cuts through the rest.

“One last take, and we’re calling it, David.”

Henry opens his eyes, and Paul stands directly in front of him.

His sleek, black suit stands out among the crew's workwear, and probably costs three times as much combined. It’s hard not to notice the ways everyone’s demeanor changes the moment the Executive Producer steps onto set. In a way, it’s almost reassuring to know Henry isn’t the only one who shrinks in this man’s shadow. But that’s where the commonality ends. They may fear him, too, but at the end of a fourteen hour day, they are not the ones who return home to Paul Maxwell’s bed. 

“Our star needs to be red-carpet ready in an hour-thirty.” Though he’s addressing the director, Paul stares directly into Henry’s eyes. “Be sure that he is.”

He doesn’t need to nudge the makeup artist away so much as she instinctively pulls back when Paul lifts a large hand and touches the tips of his fingers to Henry’s jaw. Henry keeps his eyes where they’ve been beckoned and pretends not to notice the assistants in his periphery who duck their faces away from the display of ownership. Paul’s thumb swipes across the corner of Henry’s mouth, taking with it a smear of Eliza Darling’s expensive lipstick. Then, wordlessly, he releases him. 

There’s a renewed sense of urgency as Paul retreats from the chaos, but also one of relief that comes with the last shot of the day—for everyone except Henry. 

He was up before the sun, and he knows he’ll be out long after it has set. The worst part about interior days: he doesn’t get to see daylight once. Normally, even the call of his Keeper’s bedroom feels like a reprieve after this many hours of shooting. But tonight, his previous film is set to premier on the other side of Los Angeles, and there is no premier without Paul Maxwell’s shining star.

More importantly, there is no after party without him.

There is no time for exhaustion, not for him. When the caffeine pills have run their course, he’ll be given something stronger, and he’ll take it. Whatever it takes to get through the night that will inevitably become a very long weekend.

“You heard the boss,” David says, running a hand through his salt-and-pepper hair. “Let’s make it a good one. Clear frame.”

The makeup brushes make a few last frantic swipes across his skin before they scurry away. Liza Darling tucks a blonde curl behind her ear and presses her phone into a nameless PA’s hand. Henry closes his eyes and slips into another man’s skin.

People tell Henry all the time that he’s lucky to lead the life that he does, in his position. It is only in these fleeting intervals of fiction between reality that he might just agree with them.

For the next three minutes, he does not have to be Henry, nor is he the boy with the name from a life he is not allowed to remember. For the next three minutes, he is Brock Layton: twenty-three, rich, and madly in love. 

For the next three minutes, he is as free as he’ll ever be again. 

“Sound speed,” the mixer calls out, raising the boom pole over his head. 

“Rolling,” camera echoes back. 

“And, action.”

#bbu #like bbu adjacent? #whump writing #whump #whumplr #Henry The Sad Little Starling #I've thought a lot about how BBU workers would potentially be used in the entertainment industry #because it is such a brutal and demanding work environment #and how they would have this exterior of glamor and stardom #but it would be a gilded cage as they say #and nothing would be as fun as it seems #I have an urge to write the follow up chapter #the follow up chapter being the red carpet (and the after party which is worse) #and i know what youre thinking: #hey peachy what about the 800 other stories you have started and neglected #and to that i say: