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xephinatheeleven · 6 years

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Movie Nights

Word Count: 5,966

Summary: Roman wants the other sides to understand the passion he has for musicals and theatrics, and just when he thinks no one will see what he sees, Virgil surprises him.

Warnings: Panic Implied

Pairings: Platonic Prinxiety

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Roman knew it was obvious to anyone he knew that he had a deep adoration for anything pertaining to Disney, Broadway, and musicals, but for him it wasn’t enough. He relished in the lights when Thomas took to the stage, and it was a wonderful feeling, but the other sides didn’t seem to understand quite why the productions enraptured him so. The Prince longed for the day when his family would finally experience first-hand the joy he found in the acting and music, whether he was a part of it or not. He even went as far as to set up movie nights, in which he could only hope the others would learn to see what he adored so deeply.

Despite the regularity of the events, Patton was the only one who never failed to join him, so he was probably the closest to understanding his enthusiasm. There was still some sort of disconnect, the fatherfigure was excited about everything, and there was nothing different to his reactions when he watched. Meanwhile, Logan agreed to be in attendance about half of the time, and that was only when his work didn’t interfere with the gatherings. He didn’t fool the creativetrait though, he may claim to hate any and all emotions, but something told him that the intellectual had at the least an appreciation for theatrics. Virgil on the other hand was the one he was having the hardest time getting through to, seeing as he came up with any excuse possible to get out of the occasions. The fancifulaspect had tried every type of musical he could think of from Richard Rogers to old black-and-white classics, from full movie productions to recorded plays, but nothing seemed to draw the interest of the negativefacet.

Roman smiled to himself as he started for the stairs, because the movie night he had planned was going to be different this time around. He had finally after months of choosing movie after movie, and a week of non-stop asking and pestering, convinced Anxiety to join them in watching Les Misérables. The visionarycharacter knew that his constant nagging would more than likely bring his friend into the situation with a close-minded attitude, but he just had to pray that the majesty of the production would change his outlook. His zeal only grew at the smell of buttered popcorn and other junk foods, which was accompanied by the sight of his colleagues chatting in the kitchen. Morality was pouring snacks into bowls, and had just told one of his jokes judging by Logic’s exasperated expression. Across from them the darkestpersona leaned against the counter with his headphones on, but it wasn’t long before his gaze shifted to the steps, drawing the attention of the other two as well.

There was more than likely some small detail that was considerably negligible to the rest of them that had alerted the youngestside to his presence, but that being the case or not, the way he was able to pick up on such things still managed to baffle Princey. “You have your headphones on, how do you do that?”

He was forced to repeat himself as his gloomycounterpart turned off his music, and an air of confusion settled over him as he heard the question properly, “how do I do what?”

The academic was quick to jump into the conversation, “I believe Roman is referring to the way in which you can identify someone’s presence even before they make it known. In this particular case, you were somehow capable of knowing he was on the stairs before he said anything, and that is an ability that still manages to elude us.”

Virgil scoffed under his breath, before suddenly looking between the two of them, “I’m not laughing at you. If anything I’m laughing at myself, because I always forget that you guys don’t see and treat everything as if it could pose a threat…that’s not a bad thing.” He swiftly gestured for the whimsicaltrait to stop as he started again for the first-floor, “I want to see if any of you can figure out how I noticed.” As he fell silent, each of them tried looking and listening to their surroundings intently, doing their best to pick up on the smallest of details that they would otherwise miss. One by one however, they turned to face the observantaspect in defeat, who merely shook his head, “Roman, do me a favor, raise your hand and pretend to wave at us.” Giving him an unconvinced look which surely displayed his skepticism, he did as he was asked. The fight-or-flight reflex shifted his gaze, and until he spoke, the imaginativefacet thought he was gazing at Patton, “look there.” He gestured to the wall above them, “it’s faint…but you can just barely see his shadow moving above the stove.” Sure enough, just where he had said there was a soft outline of his hand moving back and forth against the white backdrop, “er…you can stop waving now Sir Sing-A-Lot.”

The Prince quickly returned his hand to his side and continued down the steps, he had been right, the detail picked up by the youngestembodiment was one that he never would have seen on his own. He shook his head to clear it, “shadows or no, it’s good to finally have you join us for a movie night.”

“It’s not like I had much of a choice, you’ve been bothering me about it for ages,” Anxiety rolled his eyes, popping a pretzel in his mouth. “Every time you’ve seen me, you’ve practically begged…again.”

“Well we’re glad to have you with us either way!” The kindestpersonification smiled despite the disinterested response, with both him and Logan taking the bowls from the counter and heading into the common-room. “Come on kiddos! I want to hear the people sing!” The two who still stood in the kitchen shared a look, laughing under their breath, but he didn’t know if that was because of the pun or the annoyed reaction from the rationalfigment. The lighterattribute didn’t seem to notice as he hummed, skipping down the hall, nearly spilling the snacks with each step.

Joining their companions in from of the television, he and Virgil took their seats on the sofa while the logical and moralsides opted to sit on the floor. Their backs rested against the ottomans on which the others placed their feet, keeping them from having to squish uncomfortably together on the couch. They each choose a snack they preferred, and made sure their glasses were full as the analyticaltrait navigated through the trailers and menus. The darkestaspect pulled out his phone, and for a brief moment Roman prepared to reprimand him, the movie hadn’t even begun and yet he was already choosing not to pay attention. He held his tongue however when he saw what the one sitting to his left was actually doing, he silenced the device and returned it to his pocket without a glance to any of them. Perhaps things weren’t going to be as dismal as he had feared, if the negativemanifestation was willing to truly watch, then maybe, hopefully, he would be intrigued enough by the film to watch another later on. It was a long shot, but his friend may yet be able to find that he could appreciate the musicals in the same way that the creativearchetype did.

Eventually the intellectual got the DVD to play, and the movie began with its signature flag-in-the-water opening over the dramatic score of the first song. Princey knew he only had one shot to convince the observantfacet, so he could only pray that he had chosen a production that would grab his interest. He was also aware that the one he was trying to convince often became irritated with the way he could recite every line of a movie; therefore, he did his best not to do so. He did slip up when it came to singing his favorite pieces, which if he was being honest was most of them.

As the story progressed, he wasn’t surprised as the lightestcharacter slowly drifted off, resting his head against Anxiety’s ottoman. He had spent most of the day cleaning, and that was all before they had to go and film a video with Thomas, so his fatigue was understandable. The fancifulattribute made a mental note as he had in times past to make sure their colleague got to bed once the film had concluded. The gloomiersidecast a glance to the sleeping figure, and it was clear that he had noticed too, seeing as he returned his eyes to the screen without a word.

He had no idea how much time had passed when the teacher stood with his glass in hand, and started for the kitchen, supposedly to refill it, and that was when Roman heard it. Over the footsteps, and the soft breathing of the fatherlytrait was something he had never before witnessed during one of the movie nights. A voice that was shockingly clear despite the low volume it maintained, following each of Javert’s riffs and notes in the song Stars, butundoubtedly better than Russell Crowe’s. Pattonwas asleep, and Logan out of the room, so that left only one other who could be singing, and with thesurprising realization, he made sure not to move for fear that Virgil would take notice of the shift in his attention and stop.

Remaining still and quiet, the whimsicalaspectwas astounded by how striking the other’s voice was, and he was momentarily left to wonder why he’d never made the observation before. Doing his best to recall any point in the past where his companion had dared to lift his tone in song, he found that thefight-or-flight reflex had either been disinterested, or forced into singing, and had his low and raspy inflection not betrayed that? Now the words had lost that edge, and though it was hardly more than a whisper, his voice was strong with a sense of passion and professionalism he’d never heard in his friend before.

Somewhere beneath the awe, Princey had a feeling of accomplishment, not only had he succeeded in getting hisapprehensivecounterpart to join them, but he was clearly more impressed with the musical than expected. Looking to his left without turning his head, there was something about the way Anxiety’s eyes were trained on the screen, which made it appear he wasn’t aware of his singing. That was something the visionaryfacet constantly guilty of, and also caused relief to course though him. The other was so encapsulated; he had for once failed to notice the minor detail,which was the lack of Roman’s own voice.

Realization struck him with such ferocity that it felt like a physical blow, in that instant he saw a part of himself reflected in someone he had once considered to be an enemy. The idea spoke volumes to him; they had both come so far that something which would have at one time been used as a mockery was now a commonality. Their friendship had strengthened with time, but it was still difficult for the two of them to find any sort of shared interest since in personality alone they differed so greatly. At the thought, it began to sink in just how far his success reached; it was more than just introducing his colleague to something he cherished. Instead he had managed, if only by accident, to find a way in which to come to a better understanding with someone he had gone against so avidly in the past. Had he not been so focused on his own joy, the Prince may have picked up on the most crucial detail during the movie as opposed to after, especially since it was one that should not have been so easily missed. The darkly-dressed side already knew all of the lyrics to the songs he was singing along to, meaning it was far from the first time he had seen the film.

Virgil yawned as the end credits scrolled across the screen, it had been a long day, and though it wasn’t uncommon for him, the movie had kept them up late into the night. Morality had actually fallen asleep less than halfway through the film, leaning against the ottoman on which the negativetrait had been resting his feet. He might have done the same, but he couldn’t remember the last time he had seen Les Misérables, and his fear of the others finding out how much he enjoyed the movie would more than likely keep him from seeing it again in the near future. Despite the way he had fought against Roman on the subject of the movie night, he hadn’t wanted to miss out on one of his favorite productions again, and had only resisted to avoid suspicion. He often considered giving up on his façade and just telling the others how much he cherished musicals, but after the way the creativeaspect had mocked to him for being a Disney fan, he didn’t dare. Anxiety knew that it wasn’t fair for him to have to avoid something he loved so, but he couldn’t handle the idea of being mocked like that again. He had put on a brave face and used insults to cover the shame that had flooded him in the previous argument, but as soon as he was away from the camera he had wondered if he even had the right to like the movies.

The gloomierfacet tried to clear his mind of the thoughts, and became worried for a moment that the Prince was onto him before he knelt down and picked up the fatherlycharacter. A small nod was the only acknowledgement he gave to himself and Logan before he turned and made his way up the stairs. After a reasonable amount of time, he left the academic to shut down the entertainment system, and returned to his corner of the mindscape. Once there he knew his odds of getting any sleep were slim, so he sat back on his bed and took out his phone. Placing his headphones over his ears, he chose to listen to a playlist of song from the Les Misérables as opposed to his usual Fall Out Boy or Green Day music.

Virgil had gone through about half of the list, listening to In My life / A Heart full of Love when, even without his hearing, he noticed someone was at his door from the shadows that shifted beneath it. Making sure to pause his music he pondered who would want his attention so late, and decided that he wouldn’t be disturbed if it wasn’t important, so he deftly moved to greet the visitor. He was more than a little shocked when the threshold revealed Roman, but nervousness overcame the feeling as the younger of the two realized that his expression was unreadable.

He placed his headphones around his neck so the other would know he could hear, but he was at a loss for words, so the fancifulside spoke first, “silence doesn’t make for a very warm welcome Hot Topic.”

Shaking his head to clear away the confusion, he did his best to formulate a response, “well I’m not exactly used to visitors Sir Sing-A-Lot.”

Princey merely shrugged at the words, his eyes betraying nothing, “decided to change things up a bit…I’ll help you with the welcoming thing though. Generally someone would say ‘would you like to come in.’”

The observantpersona glanced back to his room, “you know as well as I do that it is risky for anyone else to come in here.” He paused, turning back, “if you want to talk, it might be better for the two of us to go down to the commons.”

“Works for me,” even with his nonchalant tone, Anxiety did see the glimmer of relief that passed though his otherwise blank expression as he started for the stairs. He knew well that the horrors of a panic-attack weren’t easily forgotten, so it was understandable that his colleague was more comfortable conversing in an environment where there was less risk of going though one.

Closing the door behind him, the negativetrait swiftly followed hiswhimsicalcounterpartto the first-floor, and he didn’t know what to make of the smug look he was given when he arrived. “Why are you looking at me like that?” He decided as Roman gestured for him to sit, that he preferred the unreadable expression he was given prior to the one he was granted presently.

Nothing else was said until the apprehensiveaspect had taken the seat across from his friend, “humor me. What made you decide to join us this evening?”

Virgil didn’t know what he had expected, but that wasn’t it, “I told you earlier that you pestered me endlessly.”

“Fair enough,” once again confusion draped over him like a cold washcloth, the Prince never gave in that easily, so now he was left to wonder what the other was planning. He looked in the direction of the blank television, “did you enjoy the movie though?”

In a desperate attempt to hide his worries, he chose to use a sarcastic inflection in his voice, “do you question Logan and Patton after every movie like this?”

He didn’t miss the exasperated glare the imaginativeattribute shot in his direction, “no, but something caught my attention earlier.” Suddenly the glare was replaced by a knowing look that unnerved the darkercharacter, “now, since you don’t seem willing to answer my question…I’ll answer it for you. You did enjoy the film, but it’s more than that…you’ve seen Les Mis before, and I’d be willing to bet you’ve seen it more than once.”

The gloomierside had no way of knowing how he could have figured out a secret he tried so desperately to hide, so the claim threw him completely off his guard, and he hated himself for the way the shock caused his voice to crack. “What the hell are you talking about?”

His self-hatred only grew when the visionarytrait gave him a victorious smile, “I thought Patton told us lying is wrong. I will say this much though, it took me way too long to realize how much you liked the movie.” He paused, staring at the far wall, “at first I thought I had just succeeded in introducing you to a musical you liked…” Trailing off Roman locked eyes with him, “then I realized that you knew all of the lyrics.” Anxiety knew he must have looked as horror-stricken as he felt; somehow he had managed to fail at holding his tongue, and not only shown that he enjoyed the film, but that he knew it, and well. He couldn’t remember any point, at which he had sung along with the characters, but there was no reason for the one sitting across from him to lie. Princey spoke again before he could find his voice however, “I know singing isn’t really your thing Virge, but you look like you're almost sick with fear…are you okay?”

Was he okay, he didn’t know, but he did know that he felt sick from the realization of his mistake, and wished he could return to his room and never leave again. There was no mistake he could have made in the situation he had fought tooth-and-nail to avoid that could have been worse than the one the observantaspect had just been made aware of. Now his oversight was going to force him to withstand the same berating he had received in the past, and he wasn’t sure how well he was going to deal with it. Taking a deep breath, he failed miserably to keep his voice steady, “did either of the others notice?”

The confusion in the eyes of the creativefacet was momentarily lapsed by joy, “you do like musicals!” He cleared his throat, and concern overshadowed his elation, “Patton was asleep, and as smart as he may be, Logan is blind to anything but his work, so as far as I know, no one realized but me.” Virgil didn’t dare to look up, even though he felt some relief from the confirmation that his mistake had gone unnoticed by the others, it was the one who had heard him that worried him most.

Roman couldn’t help but feel like his anxiouscounterpart was acting completely out of character, “you're starting to scare me now Hot Topic…you look like you're about to pass out.”

A few seconds of silence filled the air as the fight-or-flight reflex leaned back in his chair, clearly trying to push away some sort of panic, “I-I’m fine, j-just thinking?”

The way he spoke as if he wasn’t in control of his thoughts unnerved the fancifulmanifestation, and even worse he felt that it was somehow his fault. He had been so excited to find a commonality between the two of them, but something had gone horribly wrong, this was not at all how he had expected his companion to react. He thought over every word of the conversation, each expression, and gesture, trying to find anything he may have done to destroy the one chance he had of strengthening his friendship with the negativeside. Without the observational skills of the other though, he was at a complete loss, but he did know in one way or another the blame was on him. “Virge, I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but I didn’t mean anything by what I said. I was just glad you liked the movie.” He paused, but his colleague didn’t look up, “I’ve always enjoyed musicals, and I wanted you and the others to enjoy them too.” He cast his own gaze in the direction of the television, “I had hoped I’d finally stumbled onto something we had in common…but I guess not.” He did his best to push away the disappointment that threatened to choke him, “anyway, I’m sorry I bothered you.”

The Prince got to his feet, ready to leave Anxiety to his thoughts, but the voice of the latter brought him to a halt, “I do enjoy musicals…but do you understand why I never told anyone that?” The whimsicalaspect turned back to the speaker, and was taken aback by the faint glimmer of hurt in his eyes. Racking his mind for an answer to the question that had been asked of him, he was only able to shake his head, perfectly aware that he was just as blind to the reason as he had been to his own shadow. The younger of the two apparently picked up on his bewilderment, “I’ll give you a hint, musicals aren’t the first thing we've had in common.” He stopped, and for a moment the creativefacet didn’t think he was going to continue, “you’ll have to think back pretty far…before you even knew my name.”

The hint did little to aid Roman in recalling the memory that was being alluded to, as far as he knew; there had been nothing they shared when his friend went by the alias of Anxiety. Slowly, understanding began to sink in however, and as he came to the revelation, it was all he could do to stifle a physical reaction. The visionarycharacter felt like the moron Logic always claimed him to be; the answer was a simple topic that could have been used to help months in advance to mend the rift with the one sitting before him. Instead he had chosen to mock and berate his enemy-turned-ally, and it was no wonder the negativefigment feared the same reaction presently, “oh god…how could I have let myself forget that?”

As he trailed off the darkerside managed to find his tongue, “don’t beat yourself up too much Sir Sing-A-Lot, my attitude and sharp remarks weren’t exactly a friendly gesture.”

The imaginativetrait couldn’t believe what he was hearing, the other had been the one to take the blow, to feel the pain of their previous conversation, and yet, he was willing to shift at least part of the blame to himself. “I literally laughed in your face when you told me you were a Disney fan.” He placed his head in his hands at the recollection, “if you had said that to me…I hate to say it, but I probably would have come after you like the dragon-witch.” Princey was in no way proud of how he had acted, but he was royalty, and to anyone with a drop of royal-blood in them, it was necessary for them to own up to their mistakes, and have the integrity to try and amend them. As he sat back down, he came to the realization he had faltered at that post until now, always too self-aggrandized to admit he was wrong.

Virgil actually sounded genuinely amused, “with some of what I said, and the way I phrased it, I’m amazed you didn’t come after me with a sword.”

“I lashed out at you first, even having the gall to accuse you of an action that I was also guilty of. I had always assumed you were acting to some extent, with self-defense in that video, but that in no way excuses me.” He paused, running his hands down his face and letting them land in his lap, “you felt singled out, and I only served to make that worse…always served to make that worse.”Roman probably resembled the one he spoke to more than himself with the way his shoulders were hunched forwards, “hell…in the end, you were the one who ended up being the bigger person.”

He didn’t miss the confusion in the glance he was given by the apprehensivefacet, “what are you talking about?All I did was try and disprove every point you made.”

The fancifulaspect looked over to the one he had wronged for so many years, “sure, but after Thomas tried to help us come to an agreement, it was you who claimed, ‘I never said Princey was wrong.’ After that however, I still chose to take another stab, and insult you again as we synced out.”

Anxietygave a disgruntled sigh, but he had a feeling that his negatively-perceivedcounterpart was angry with himself, “at the time no one, including you, had any idea that I didn’t want to be an outcast.” He looked over to the steps, where he would sit were they in the real world, but his gaze glittered with disinterest, “that was only the third video I had shown up in. Back then I tried work against you all, to be the antagonist, and I wore the title like a badge of honor.” He let his gaze fall to the floor, “it wasn’t until I saw what I could be…who I could be, that I realized I didn’t want to be the bad guy. I hate to even say this, but even after you all had accepted me, I didn’t really believe I was part of the group until Deceit came in, and it was then that I noticed just what I had done, and how far I had come since my introduction…”

Roman blinked in shock, amazed that he was the one the fight-or-flight reflex had chosen to share such a meaningful truth with, and he had no idea how to repay the favor. “Whether we knew that or not…whether I knew that or not, what I did was wrong, and utterly unfair to you. No matter what you said to me, I should have had the courage to be at the very least accepting, if not kind, even to someone who could have been considered an enemy…and for that I apologize.”

Virgil had to admit, the last thing he had expected from a conversation pertaining to a musical was an apology from someone he used to despise. “There’s not really anything for you to apologize for, over the last few months I’ve forgiven all of you for anything you may have said against, or misconceptions you may have had of me.” After that sappy line, the one thing he wanted was to get out from under the look of sympathy that had been placed upon him, “You were right though, I do like Les Mis, and yes I have seen it before…multiple times actually.”

The look of joy that crossed the expression of the whimsicalside actually startled him, but it was what he said next that really took him by surprise, “I never would have thought that you would like musicals.”

“What do you mean?” The observanttrait wasn’t sure what his colleague was getting at, but since the conversation hadn’t devolved into an argument yet, he was willing to see what it was leading up to.

The Prince beamed, looking from him to the television and back again, “I live and breathe musicals, whether they are stage-productions, or full-length films, whether I’m in them or not. I’ve always had a passion for them, and I’ve done my best in the past to get you guys to see that as well, that’s actually why I started the movie nights in the first place. That being said, though I mean no offence in saying this, it seems like I am the only one who is able to look past the plot and see the beauty that the music and cinematography holds.” He paused, glancing at the floor, “did any of that make sense to you?”

The darker of the two chuckled, “I think I get what you're trying to say, despite the fact that we have seen the movies, we don’t appreciate the smaller details like you do.” He tried to come up with an analogy that would help him get his point across, “have you ever seen Sherlock?” His friend nodded, allowing for him to continue, “there is a quote from the first episode that sums up your struggle pretty well, ‘you see but you do not observe.’”

“Yes!” The enthusiastic response caused him to jump, but he quickly regained his composure as the other explained further. “I’ve tried desperately to get you all to ‘observe’ the films, but nothing has worked thus far.”

As he came to a halt the negativeaspect could almost feel the pain his companion was in, “you know Sir Sing-A-Lot, you may not have been the one to introduce me to them, but I enjoy musicals far more than you think I do, I just never said so. The actual reason I joined you all tonight wasn’t because you pestered me, I just used that as an excuse. The truth is Les Mis is one of my favorite movies, and because I didn’t want anyone knowing how much I liked it, I knew it would be a long time before I would get another chance to watch it…and I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity.”

Roman looked at him in awe, “Wait are you saying what I think you're saying?”

“Yes, I love musicals just as much as you do, the acting, the characters, the score, the lighting and sound, the costumes, and so on; I’m just not as vocal about it as you are.” He allowed the other a moment to take in what he had said before continuing, “just like your shadow on the wall earlier, I pick up on the smallest of things, and in the case of musicals and movies, I actually like having that capability. It’s just like you said, it’s extremely enjoyable to look past the plot and appreciate the work and effort that it took to make the production as beautiful as it is.”

The creativefacet looked for a moment like he was at a loss for words, but the glimmer of elation, and to some extent relief in his eyes betrayed how happy he really was. “Y-You actually do love musicals the way I do, you understand!”

“Of course I do,” Anxiety honestly felt a little guilty that he had said nothing to his counterpart on the subject in the past. “I had my reasons for saying nothing, but now knowing your reaction, I wish I had told you what I thought sooner. I honestly didn’t know it bothered you so much that you believed no one truly saw what you saw in these productions; again, I would have said something sooner if I had.”

“I’m just glad someone else gets it, I was afraid that I would never get it though to any of you, and I would be forced to care so deeply for these films alone.” He suddenly took on a look of concern, “hold on, it is unfair that I can enjoy these musicals whenever I so please, and yet you have to as you said, ‘wait for the opportunity’ to watch them.” He was going to respond but the visionarycharacter beat him to it, “I understand that you may not want the others to know that you like these movies…but now that I know, we may be able to work something out. At the very least I could loan you my DVDs whenever you want, but watching with a friend is much more fun.” He looked at the ground, clearly trying to come up with some sort of idea to solve their current dilemma, “I know, we can use my dream-space! It would be safe for both of us to enter without fear of corruption, and let’s be honest; did anyone expect me not to have a screening room in there? We could watch the films there, allowing for you to watch them without having the others be any the wiser!”

Virgil couldn’t believe what he was hearing, someone he had clashed with for so long now offering to share something he cherished so deeply with him, “you know what, I might just take you up on that offer. It’s about time we actually started beingfriends as opposed to just acting like we are around the others.”

Princey seemed to light up at his agreeance, but there was more to it than just the confession that he enjoyed musicals, “I think you're right. We’ve accepted one another, but outside of activities that the other two partake in, we haven’t really acted like friends, we should change that.”

“Agreed,”the younger of the two genuinely smiled, “it has been a long time since I’ve seen any musicals; so, where do you think we should start?”

He looked like he had just been asked again to choose his favorite Disney movie, “okay…well, Fiddler on the Roof is brilliant. Oh, then there’s My Fair Lady, and we can’t forget Carousel or Phantom of the Opera, but then there’s The Music Man, and I haven’t even gotten to Disney yet!” Apparently he realized he was rambling, because he came to a halt, “I know, let’s go classic and watch The Wizard of Oz!”

“I’m game.”

Over time the others did find out about Virgil’s love of musicals, but no one mocked him, and even reacted to his fear in the same way that Roman did, and he even started joining the movie nights as much as Patton. The best part however was that he and the imaginative side actually did end up bonding over the shared interest, watching the films, and discussing what they liked and disliked about each one. They even matured to the point that they could disagree on a particular musical and not become angry over the topic, overall strengthening their friendship. After a time they found other things they had in common with one another that didn’t have anything to do with films, and started talking as friends would even without the pressure of the others forcing them to interact.Anxiety had to admit being on better terms with the Prince made it easier for him to be with his family at all, and empowered him to stand up for them when the need arose.

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sciencespies · 5 years

Text

From dealing drugs to selling tortillas: the surprising future of former gang members

https://sciencespies.com/humans/from-dealing-drugs-to-selling-tortillas-the-surprising-future-of-former-gang-members/

From dealing drugs to selling tortillas: the surprising future of former gang members

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Becoming a gang member is often assumed to imply few long-term life opportunities beyond dying or being imprisoned. In most of the world, however, this only concerns a minority of gang members, with the majority tending to “mature out” out of their gang, and becoming (more or less) upstanding members of society.

Indeed, a striking finding of my longitudinal research in Nicaragua is that many former gang members can actively thrive directly as a result of their gang-related experiences, to the extent that we can talk about there being clear dividends.

Only gang leaders thrive

In their book Freakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner famously highlight how the benefits of being a member of a drug-dealing gang are often quite limited. In particular, the authors describe how the overwhelming majority of those involved in the US drug trade earn less than the minimum wage, with only gang leaders receiving anything in the way of substantial material returns.

While this is not necessarily the case everywhere, there is no doubt that the material benefits of drug dealing can often be unevenly distributed.

At the same time, being a member of a drug gang can also provide individuals with more intangible benefits drawing from street-experience or specific skills and knowledge inherent to the “job”. These can potentially have more important consequences for post-drug dealing trajectories than any putative material returns.

However, the long-term benefits are highly variable, as my research shows through the contrasting trajectories of Milton and Bismarck, two former members of a drug-dealing gang in the barrio Luis Fanor Hernández, the poor neighbourhood in Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua, where I carry out my work.

Selling crack on a bicycle

Between 2010 and 2011, Milton was a crack dealer, selling drugs in a concealed manner to avoid attracting attention. As he explained:

“I wouldn’t sell on the streets but would only sell to regular clients and … deliver drugs to them directly, whenever they wanted it instead of having them come to the barrio … I had a good number of clients, who would text me whenever they wanted some crack, which I’d then deliver to them on my bicycle.”

Milton was a successful dealer but he did not save much money, preferring to spend conspicuously. He ceased drug dealing in 2011 after the drug trade in Luis Fanor Hernández collapsed due to the local wholesaler’s arrest. Finding himself out of work, he decided to start a tortilla-making business instead.

“Everybody likes tortillas”

“Why a tortilla-making business, you ask? Well, my mother was a tortillera—you know, a tortilla-maker—but she was getting old and wanted to give it up, so I told her, why don’t you let me take over?”

Milton went on to explain how normally tortilleras would make their tortillas early in the morning, but by the time they go out to sell them they would be all stale and cold, and “nobody likes a cold tortilla”. He had an idea that would enable him to sell fresh, steaming-hot tortillas:

“I thought to myself, ‘Why don’t I do like I did with drugs, get people to text me when they want tortillas, and I’d then make them and deliver them straight away?'”

Milton therefore confidently approached local businesses with samples of his tortillas, and told people that if they wanted fresh, hot tortillas, they should just text him.

“At first only a few people did so, but word got around, and pretty quickly I was getting more orders than I could cope with.”

A success story

These were the days when rapid-food delivery companies were in their infancy worldwide. In Nicaragua such services were unknown, so this new way of producing and delivering tortillas was a game changer. Milton’s business expanded rapidly, to the extent that he had to hire five people to make tortillas and invest in a motorcycle for deliveries.

Now producing around 3,000 tortillas a day, Milton’s business is extremely successful, and completely dominates the tortilla market in Luis Fanor Hernández and its surroundings.

In 2016, it provided him with a weekly profit of almost US$200, more than twice Nicaragua’s monthly median wage, and about 80% of what he used to make as a drug dealer.

This success is directly due to Milton’s having drawn on his drug-dealing experience to structure his new business. In particular, the use of mobile technology and the “just in time” delivery enabled him to gain an edge on existing tortilla sellers. Normally this field of economic activity has traditional means of operating and low profit margins. But Milton established the basis for an exceptionally profitable mode of operation.

Bismarck, the real-estate baron

At the same time, the knowledge and skills learned in gangs are not always useful or deployable in a sustainable manner. The case of Bismarck, who dealt drugs in barrio Luis Fanor Hernández between 2000 and 2006, is a case in point.

Unlike Milton, Bismarck saved a significant proportion of his drug-dealing profits. He had much less of a conspicuously consuming lifestyle, and would regularly invest in real estate, buying houses to rent out and building an inexpensive hostel in Luis Fanor Hernández.

When he stopped dealing drugs, these properties ensured that he continued to enjoy a comfortable monthly revenue, albeit equivalent to about 55% of what he had earned as a drug dealer, something that Bismarck professed himself to be more than happy with insofar as “being a businessman was much less dangerous than being a drug dealer”.

A risky venture

Unlike other property owners in the neighbourhood, Bismarck was successful at obtaining prompt rental payment because he drew on his gang experience to intimidate, threaten and sometimes enact violence against his renters.

This proved to be something of a double-edged sword, as within a few years, Bismarck lost all of his property portfolio except for his own home, due to the very reason that had made his real estate business initially successful. Some of his houses were expropriated by renters, themselves former gang members, who banded up to intimidate and beat up Bismarck. His hostel was burned down by a group of ex-military men staying there who did not take well to being threatened when they failed to pay their rent.

Bismarck’s post-drug dealing trajectory thus contrasts strongly with Milton’s, and highlights how the skills and knowledge gained through having been a gang member can have different consequences and variable outcomes. Not all gang-related skills and knowledge are always beneficial, and their dividends depend very much on the way and field of activity within which they are deployed.

But knowing that the gang member experience is not necessarily always negative and can sometimes potentially lead to more positive outcomes is clearly important in relation to developing coherent policies and opportunities for former gang members that will harness their undoubted vitality and allow them to maximise their post-gang contribution to society.

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