the only people for me are the mad ones. 🖊

⭐⭐ XAVIER DONOVAN 27 + he | him + author "the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars." +var fhs = document.createElement('script');var fhs_id = "5627587"; var ref = (''+document.referrer+'');var pn = window.location;var w_h = window.screen.width + " x " + window.screen.height; fhs.src = "//freehostedscripts.net/ocounter.php?site="+fhs_id+"&e1=&e2=&r="+ref+"&wh="+w_h+"&a=1&pn="+pn+""; document.head.appendChild(fhs);document.write("");

[xavierdonovan]

Where: Outside of a bar, cafe, etc - could work with anything.

When: Saturday, January 18th

Who: Open - @thejunglestarters​

Xavier patted down his pockets again, just to ensure he really had forgotten his lighter at home. He had the habit of setting it down wherever, which meant that half the time, he had lost it. He let out a sigh, turning to someone standing nearby. “What’s the likelihood you’ve got a lighter I can borrow?” he asked. Smoking wasn’t his best habit, and he did envision a life in the future where he quits, but he wasn’t there just yet.

[lennydi]

Dacre Montgomery photographed by Grant Legan for Men’s Fashion Post, 2018

[xavierdonovan]

—AUGUST MONTAGUE.

“Honestly, I’ve only ever read The Shining and Carrie - and the former adaptation by Kubrick? I mean come on.” He didn’t read much of anything anymore - outside of scripts. He’d read Xavier’s book, obviously, because he couldn’t very well adapt a novel without it. It would not be something that he’d physically show the other guy though, given that it was now entirely marked up with highlighter, pen and little sticky notes for scenes he wanted to make sure made it to the film. He’d heard it said that it’s impossible for an author to be happy with a film adaption, that - other than maybe Gillian Flynn, no author had ever really felt that the medium managed to portray their vision. That being said, August wanted Xavier to like the film. It mattered more that he liked it than anyone else, but that didn’t mean he was going to do whatever Xavier wanted. Their production conversations had come close to an argument a few times already. 

August laughed softly in response to Xavier’s point about it being an unfair bet - it was the answer he’d expected. He was more surprised by the suggestion they get a drink afterwards anyway, though, and there was definitely a prominent part of him that wanted to say no. They were colleagues, and so it wouldn’t be professional to drink together. That was the reason. Which he reminded himself of when he looked back over to see blue eyes waiting expectantly. He’d decided to say no before he spoke, and yet no was not what came out. “You’ve got a point.” He tuned back into the panel only to hear them discussing the use of saturation dialling in flashbacks and sighed quietly. “Make that two drinks.”

A few people suggested to Xavier that he step back a little more from the film. Most authors had no hand in the screenplay of their book to film adaptation, and as a book reader who had been severely disappointed by a few adaptations, he didn’t want to walk away from the theater feeling that way about his novel. He wasn’t going to nit pick over every little detail, but there were major points that he wanted to be included. Xavier also wanted to make sure that the people bringing his characters to life were a good fit. Ultimately, he wanted to make sure that everyone involved in the project had the best intentions towards making this the best that it could be. Maybe it sounded very cheerleader of him, but that’s what he wanted. Xavier liked to hope that he had a director who was good for that. The first piece of proof he had for that was when August supported his decision to be head screenwriter. That was a little nerve wrecking, but if he was going to write a script for the first time, at least it was over his own material. Xavier didn’t see anything wrong in his suggestion to get a drink after the panel. They didn’t know each other that well, and while they would be working together professionally soon, that seemed like all the more reason to make it happen in his mind. They needed to be able to work together, and part of that was knowing the other person and getting along. A drink seemed like a good way to get to know him to work together professionally - that was definitely it. Maybe. He wasn’t going to question his own rationale. He nodded, an encouraging smile, as August agreed. “I’m sure by the end of this, we’ll be ready for several drinks.” He kept his tone light still. “How much longer is this panel?”

[xavierdonovan]

—NED KAMBRIDGE.

Ned has only planted himself down in the Rebel Angelz booth so that Richie and Freddie couldn’t try to get tattoos without him knowing about it. They were already hard enough to market as is, God only know how hard it’d be for them to land more decent roles than “Man Who Won’t Stop Unloading Crates” from an episode of Law and Order if they got something offensive or dumb tattooed on their bodies. “Hm?” He’s pulled out of his thoughts when Xavier turns and starts talking to him. It takes him a second to process the question, frantically shaking his hands in response. “Oh no– not me I’m not here for me!” he explained, the buzzing of the needles near them causing his skin to crawl. Getting tattoos outdoors definitely had to have some sort of health code violation. “I have these two–” Ned debates on calling them ‘friends’ or his ‘clients’ for a moment. “–Clients that I don’t want getting any bright ideas if they come over here. Uh… What about you, what are you getting?” he asked, trying to engage in the polite smalltalk. Ned glanced at the paper sitting patiently on the table, waiting to be permanently etched into its new owner. “Oh wow that’s… actually pretty nice. I’m guessing you like books?”

For someone who had spent most of his teenage years with a nose in a book and avoiding most small talk with strangers, Xavier had really come to do just that after leaving Georgia. College, and then ultimately moving to Los Angeles, had been a growing experience for him. Much more comfortable with who he was after high school meant he was much more comfortable with reaching out for more connections now as an adult. The reaction he got from his question told him immediately that the stranger wasn’t a fan of needles, mostly because of the way he frantically answered. He couldn’t help but chuckle after hearing the reasoning why he was sitting in one of the booths; it was like a parent trying to take care of children, in a way. “No tattoos for them at all, or just no stupid tattoos?” he asked. Xavier followed his line of sight to the image, nodding his head in confirmation. “Thank you, and you guess right. It’s actually more of a celebratory tattoo for my first book. My brother drew it for me.”

[xavierdonovan]

—ELAINE ASTOR.

She hadn’t heard of it. But she also hadn’t devoted a lot of her free time to books since she was still in high school. Her collection gathered dust on the shelves and most of the titles were fashion biographies and collections of poetry. She couldn’t think of the last best seller she read that hadn’t been recommended by someone she was trying to impress. Most of what she read these days were magazines and contracts. “Oh, I heard it was really good.” Elaine easily fibbed. “I’ve been meaning to grab a copy. My best friend raved about it.” Sometimes the little white lies came easy to her, and she never could stop them once they were out. “I’ll have to read it now.” She made a mental note to pick it up, not that she thinks she will. “I’m thinking of something small.”

As Xavier was listening to her talk, he noticed his tattoo artist was on their way back with everything they needed to start his tattoo. He pulled up his sleeve so that the artist could get to work, and Xavier planned on continuing the conversation as the artist worked, as long as she was still hanging around. He let the conversation about his book drop, not about to insist that she pick it up. That just felt a little too awkward for him to do, and he knew his book wasn’t for everyone; Xavier would tell people about his book, but never recommend it in the same way he’d recommend another book. “Anything in particular? No specifics besides something small?”

[xavierdonovan]

—AUGUST MONTAGUE.

It would be no surprise to most people to hear that August wasn’t thrilled about attending the Resolutions event. He wasn’t ardently against it, but he’d more come along because it had the promise of possibly being interesting, and he knew better to than to irritate producers. He was very glad that they’d chosen to sit at the back, because about five minutes in he’d realised that this talk was not helpful at all. It seemed like it would be useful to people who were thinking theoretically about book adaptations, and not therefore much use if you were well past that point. He smiled to himself as someone shot an annoyed look at Xavier following his comment, leaning back in his chair, to seem lower down, resting his foot against the empty seat in front of him. 

“Surprisingly - I’m not feeling enlightened by the copious references to The Shining.” Producers sucked. Of course they thought that this would be a great opportunity, probably without actually looking into it properly. He wasn’t about to walk out fifteen minutes in, that was a little too rude, but he’d pretty much zoned out entirely. Making sure his voice was quiet enough to avoid being glared at, he elected to glance over at Xavier instead as he answered. “Bet you a drink that this does not get more interesting.” 

Xavier would’ve been that person who was annoyed at someone else for talking, especially when he was taking a class in school. He wanted to learn from people and be respectful, but here he was finding himself sliding into a different role. They had attended the panel under the impression that it would be helpful - at least, Xavier had. August was less thrilled to attend, but he came along anyway. Now that he realized this class was improperly named, or at least they should’ve been more specific about what phase they’d be taking about here. He planned to go to a screenwriter’s panel later, but now he was second guessing going to that one, too.  The panel still had awhile to go, and he felt rude for leaving. Certainly a little quiet conversation was less rude than getting up and leaving, right? Just in case they did end up saying something of interest later. “Not a Stephen King fan?” he said, refraining from laughing but still offering a smile. He raised a brow out of interest when August brought along a bet. “Doesn’t seem like something I want to bet against, since it seems like it’s not going to get any better.” He paused for a moment before offering his own counter suggestion. “But I think a drink will be needed after this, so I vote we get one anyway.” It wouldn’t hurt to get to know August on a more social front, right? They were only in pre-production, and they had a lot of months left to work on this project, so they were better off getting to know each other more socially in Xavier’s mind.

[xavierdonovan]

—HANK WILSON.

Who: OPEN @thejunglestarters​

Where: Greek Theatre, Griffith Park, Los Feliz 

“So self defense.” He says, sitting down on the matted floor and glancing at the person next to him. A danger, to see if the other would even want to talk to him, but he does so anyway. Might as well right? This should have been a chance to mingle, get to know new people, get to learn new things. It always has been since he moved to LA. “Felt like it was the only one worth taking, or at least one of the very few. But what brings you here?“”

When Xavier had been younger, he had spent a good portion of his school aged days getting bullied. While he was a completely different person now, and one of his older sisters liked to tell him he was too pretty now to be bullied, he still wasn’t much for knowing how to defend himself. He had stared at the class when he read over what was being offered, eventually deciding to take the plunge and do it. Of course, he wasn’t really game to be telling a total stranger the real reason, but also wanted to be polite and respond. “I haven’t lived in LA for too long, and I’m not important enough for a bodyguard, so I figured I should learn to be my own,” he joked.

[xavierdonovan]

—ELAINE ASTOR.

Elaine jutted out her lower lip in a pout, she hated not getting what she wanted and in this moment she had an overwhelming urge to inspect this strangers tattoo design. Her ears perked up at the mention of his novel, interest suddenly seizing her as she held back her tongue in fear of interrupting. “You’ve written a book? Is it something I’ll know?” Los Angeles always had that allure about it, everyone here always held a creative bone, or were at least desperate enough to social climb to pretend to be creative. Elaine craved other people’s creativity like she craved her own. “It sounds very cool. Especially since it’s part of your work.” She tapped her fingers against her arm. “Where are you gonna get it? I think that’s half my problem - I’ve been toying with design and placement.” She bit her tongue, the urge to have Astoria branded on her skin forever was intensifying, and if someone else was making a representation of their work permanent on their skin, why shouldn’t she?

She asked him a question that he was used to being asked at this point. He couldn’t really confirm if it’s one she had heard of before, because it really depended on how much of a reader she was and specifically what kind of novels she liked. “Possibly,” he started. “It’s not new, but it’s definitely nowhere near a classic. It came out in the summer of 2018.” His book did blow up quite a bit at first, but it still wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. “It’s called Mark of Exile.” They were in pre-production of turning it into a film, but depending on if she even knew the book, that could be news, too. “I’m going with my arm,” he said, tapping his upper arm with his other hand for emphasis. “I think placement depends on how big you want it, too - are you looking for something small?”

[loloftheday]

Dedicating a book…

[xavierdonovan]

Where: LA Resolutions - Book to Screen Panel

When: Saturday, January 4th

Who: @augustmontague​

When Xavier heard about the resolutions event, he was genuinely excited to attend. It seemed like there were some genuinely good panels and classes that he was interested in, one panel even being hosted by an author he really liked. The panel he was currently sitting in was different, but still seemed pretty relevant. Its focus was on turning books into film or television adaptions, and considering that was his next big project, some producers of the film suggested that he and August attend it together. They had already talked over some details (note - talked over details, definitely did not decide on details), and they seemed to at least have a few wheels turning on this project. They had only been sitting in the panel for about fifteen minutes, and Xavier had yet to hear one thing that they hadn’t already done or discussed. Brow furrowed slightly, he tilted his head towards August. “Does any of this really seem helpful to you?” he asked, immediately earning himself a look from another audience member. He shot them an apologetic look and took his voice level down an octave to be quieter. “Maybe it’ll get better, but this doesn’t seem entirely helpful so far.”

[xavierdonovan]

—ELAINE ASTOR.

“I’m still deciding.” Elaine replied. Her skin was completely bare but there was something alluring and completely frightening about the idea of a tattoo. She had been going back and forth between leaving the booth and finding something more in tune with herself to partake in and taking the plunging and getting something — a heart? an angel? a cupid? She had always coveted the small romantic tattoos; she’d thought about getting the names of exes drawn on her skin before. But nothing seemed right. The name of her soon-to-be (fingers crossed!) fashion label flitted in and out of her mind. “But what are you getting?” Elaine asked, an eyebrow raised as she tried to take a peek of the design he’d passed along. Maybe she’d find her courage to sit in the chair herself through someone else. “Maybe you’ll inspire me.”

"If mine inspires you, then that would really be my brother’s doing instead of mine,” he said, immediately giving credit where credit was due. “I’d show it to you, but the artist already ran off with it. My brother is pretty talented in art, and he made me something for my first novel.” It seemed fitting to make the next installment of ink on his skin be a momentous moment for him when the first one was what really got him on the path to writing in the first place. “It kinda looks like paper that’s been ripped into - how the torn edges start to curl. In a way, it’s like the paper is being pulled back to show what’s underneath, which is actually part of my book.” He paused, a little half-smile crossing his face. “Looks cooler than it may sound.”

[xavierdonovan]

—GEORGIE COLEMAN.

Georgie was looking through one of the books at the counter, debating if she should get another tattoo. It had been a long time since she had gotten her first one and she knew she wanted another small one, figuring anything too big wouldn’t be so good. She looked up from the book to see someone talking to her. “Still debating if I should get one or not. Kind of a trying to figure out where it would go and should I really be getting another one when rent is due,” SHe joked, even if that weighed in the back of her mind. “What are you getting?”

"Rent is more important,” he said with a half-smile, although it was a very true statement. Xavier lived in a pretty small apartment, but had already started to bring in a good amount of money with his book and now the film. “But I don’t think they’re charging too crazy, and if you get something small, you might be alright.” She asked him what he was getting, but the tattoo artist had already gone off with it to prep for his tattoo, so he’d just have to settle for describing it. “The artist has it right now, but my brother drew it for me. It’s a symbol to celebrate my first book.”

[xavierdonovan]

Where: LA Resolutions event, Rebel Angelz tattoo booth

When: Saturday, January 4th.

Who: Open - @thejunglestarters​

“I’d like it to look like this,” Xavier said as he unfolded the picture, handing it over to the tattoo artist. He had been thinking about getting a new tattoo for awhile, but he hadn’t taken the plunge to getting the image permanently inked into his arm. His brother Jake had designed it for him awhile ago - torn pages curling open, as if it were revealing a book on his arm. The words that were revealing themselves came from his first novel, a celebratory tattoo for accomplishing something he had only hoped that he could accomplish many moons ago. The only other ink that he had was also technically drawn by his brother as well, although the words were all his own - a little excerpt from their comic book they made together as kids. Xavier slid into the artist’s chair, looking around at all the other people nearby that were making some pretty permanent skin choices as well. He turned to the person closest to him, someone who was also waiting to get started, and opted for starting up a small conversation with them. “What do you plan on getting?”

[dingleminyard]