In The Region Of The Summer Stars

- an axe

MARWAN KENZARI as Yusuf Al-Kaysani aka Joe  THE OLD GUARD (2020)

*slams fist on the table* do you ever think about how fucking big Joe’s heart is, and I’m specially talking about the kidness line here because Joe met Nicky on the Crusades, Nicky was part of the Crusades and he was on the wrong side of it, and of course he knows better now and he’s following the right part now, and he’s doing it wonderfully and I’m so proud of him, but whatever the reason was, Nicky was on the wrong side of history then, specially when confronted with Joe’s position on the Crusades, and Joe surely must have hate him at the beginning, there’s no way to see an invader claiming your land in the name of a god you don’t believe in in a good light… But even knowing that, even meeting Nicky like that, even with Nicky being on the wrong side then, Joe was still able to set his rage aside eventually and let himself to know Nicky, he saw Nicky learnt the truth of what he had done and suffer for it, because once Nicky realized the truth behind what he was taught to believe and the extent of what he did he must had felt so terribly guilty, and Joe saw him through all that, Joe saw him understand and regret his mistakes, and Joe’s heart was so fucking big that he opened himself to Nicky’s feelings, to Nicky’s true nature, so sincerely and willing that he was able to see the kindness of Nicky’s heart, the kindness of the man who he once rightfully hate. Joe’s heart was big enough to forgive Nicky for the terrible mistakes of the past, to believe in his redemption, to see the true regret and his fierce desire to do better and the true kindness of his soul and then Joe fell in love with him, totally and irrevocably, he gave himself to Nicky without reservations, to his once enemy, and Joe is so sure of that kindness that he let himself see for the first time so long ago, the kindness he stills sees everyday now, that he’s able to honestly talk about that kindness with his heart on his sleve, with love, with admiration, and I just want to say that I do think about this, and about how Joe is a fucking wonder, and I’m sure that Nicky believes just the same.

The part where they gave up trying to kill each other and started to learn about each other, their hopes and fears *chef’s kiss*

Booker was born in 1770. Booker was born in 1770 in France, and the first time he healed up after dying, he grew an extra four inches at forty-two years in age, body making up for the inches he hadn’t had after being malnourished for the entirety of his teens. He spends the next two months bumping his head on fucking everything. Booker will eat literally anything, and he gets antsy when a safehouse runs low on canned goods. Booker cooks mostly French staples, because it’s what he knows best, and he usually cooks a lot - lasts them days, weeks, once freezers become readily available. He likes rich food, sauce thick with butter and cream and he’s kind of disgusted at the concept of skim milk, but on the whole he left pickiness behind him when the crops failed in the 1780s. He’s Joe’s favorite guinea pig for weird new ingredients because he’ll enjoy just about anything Joe cooks up and he’ll usually have good ideas on how to make it better (granted, half of them are “more butter”, but he’s not wrong).

MARWAN KENZARI as Yusuf Al-Kaysani (Joe) in The Old Guard

But then Merrick wants them all, and Andy isn’t healing, and he realises what a colossally bad idea all of it was, and throws himself into trying to fix his mistake. And its not some stupid last minute change of heart for plot convenience. It is 100% within expectations for his established character. Best of all when all the shooting is done he doesn’t expect instant forgiveness just because he swapped back to their side. He accepts that they’re all going to need time and that his actions had consequences. And it’s great.