#Danny is going for a acting award

[rboooks]

The Royal Consort Part 2

Danny nervously took a sip out of the coffee mug. The rich liquid, filled with surgery goodness and creamer, helped settle his nerves as he tried to think of what to say.

Across from him sat Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and a man named John Constantine. Besides Danny, Jazz, and his parents sat, though only Jazz seemed unfazed by the situation, staring back at the heroes as if daring them to start a conversation first.

Sometimes he forgot she was the most mentally stable one in the family.

The Dark Knight had said nothing to him since he was brought up to the watch tower, the white lens of his mask staring back at Danny with no hint of emotion behind them.

This contrasts Superman, who had warmly offered them coffee and pie as they were brought into the meeting room. The man of steel had even allowed them all to pick a mug from the gift shop free of charge, smiling warmly when Danny hesitantly asked for a Martian Manhunter theme.

Wonder Woman had given him a courteous bow befitting her status. She seemed eager to sit down and get the peace summit going as soon as possible. It seemed she had prepared various speeches, bills, and other essential documents Danny had yet to understand in his Government Studies class. She offered the young man a warm smile whenever his eyes nervously wandered to her.

John Constantine mainly had remained silent past the few swears under his breath. He fiddled with Danny's necklace- the Royal Consort necklace. How could he have been so stupid to wear that around his neck for so long without realizing what it was? It did explain why that particular necklace had a whole room to be displayed in.

It was in the center, on a lavish pillow, on a pure marble pillar. Surrounding it were six more miniature lockets, each on their own less extravagant pillar and pillow, with similar symbols. The smaller ones almost tempted Danny until he saw that this necklace had white and red, his favorite colors.

The others had been black and red.

He wonders now what the lockets meant and if giving one to Dani had been a mistake. He hadn't had the time to text her, seeing as he had been whisked away by the Justice League as soon as he woke up.

He was escorted out of his home before ten am with news crews tripping over themselves to get a few shots of Ecto-Royalty. They had his house surrounded, flashes and questions coming from all sides as the paparazzi struggled to be the first to get Consort Daniel Fenton to comment for them.

Danny swears Sam had been one of them, laughing silly with Tucker, who had somehow gotten a hold of a prominent news camera. The two had likely thought his secret had been outed and were trying to sneak him away while pretending to be media.

"Come on. Come on," Constantine muttered in frustration, poking a glowing finger into the center of his locket. Each time he did, a soft ding went off in Danny's head, and he fought to not react. He thinks Batman had seen his flinch the first time it happened, but he hadn't said anything about it yet, so Danny hoped he was wrong.

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

Danny grimaces as the sound replays over and over again before he can't take it anymore and finally speaks up. "Could...could you not do that to my necklace?"

Constantine blinks, then hastily places his locket on the table as if it burned him. "Forgive me, your Majesty. I meant no disrespect."

"It's cool dude. You, ugh, don't have to call me that, by the way. Danny is fine."

The magic-user shakes his head. "Forgive me, your Majesty, but I could not do something so disrespectful. I can switch to Prince Danny, but never Danny. If His Majesty Phantom were to hear me make such a blunder, it could break apart any form of peace. I'm sure you know how much ghost value rules."

Danny thinks of the Yearly Treaty, Walker with his prison, The Observant's court, Clockwork's time frames, and even Far Frozen formal speech. He sighs. "Yeah, Phantom won't care, but his subjects will."

"Exactly."

"Speaking of King Phantom, would he be joining us soon?" Wonder Woman asks. Danny has a moment of panic before Jazz smoothly steps in.

"Phantom and Danny agree to not have him appear if Danny is near our parents." She says, gesturing to their horrified parents.

"What?" Mom looks close to tears, guilt making her face seem much older than Danny has ever thought possible. "Honey, is this true?"

Danny shifts in his seat. "Yes?"

"Oh Honey, why?"

"What are we going to do today, Jack?" Jazz cuts in again in a poor imitation of their mom. She deepens her voice, trying to match Dad's happy-go-lucky tune as she dramatically shakes her fist. "What we do every day, Maddie. Try to capture the ghost boy and rip him molecule by molecule!"

The other heroes make faces, but nothing compares to the devastated expressions on his parents' faces. He almost told them it was okay, that he had forgiven them, but Jazz glanced sharply in his direction and knew it was best not to say anything.

She has often said the only way he could rally heal from all the unintended trauma their parents inflected on them- not just the hunting but slight negligence- was to have them first see exactly what they had done. It would be harsh, but it would be necessary.

"Makes sense" That is all Dad says. He's been so quiet since this morning. Danny is worried about him.

"That explains why he hasn't answered the summons." Constantine sighs. Danny opens his mouth to ask, but Superman beats it to him.

"You were summoning him?"

"Attempting to." Constantine corrects. "Prince Danny's locket has a calling bacon in it. Someone pressing magic against the center alerts King Phantom that his husband wants to speak to him. It's difficult magic too. Anyone with less control or power would be blown to smithers if they attempt it. Or, in Prince Danny's case tapping his finger against it works too since the necklace is for him. "

"Would anyone with the necklace be able to call Phantom then?" Batman finally speaks up. His voice makes Danny jump in his seat. It sounds a lot....darker than he thought a human could make.

"No. The necklace would only work if Prince Danny willingly let someone have it. If someone tried to take it by force, the necklace would transport itself back to King Phantom's lair or Prince Danny's person."

Danny clears his throat. ''Phantom and I have other rules. He can only come to see me if I'm not in school or if one of his subjects is attacking Amity Park. Otherwise, he mostly stays within the Infinity Realms."

Constantine nods as if that makes perfect sense. "The strain on your body must make it difficult to keep your husband here."

Danny nods, then takes another sip.

"If you don't mind me asking. How did you meet King Phantom?" Superman asks.

"I'm....a meta. I can make my eyes glow in the dark and I can turn invisible." Danny blurts, making both his parents gasp. Jazz nods as if it was common knowledge and not something Danny made up on the spot.

Those two abilities have always been more linked to his emotions, so Danny thought if he established a fake meta gene as the cause if he was later caught doing them, no one would bat an eye. The world was watching him now, he needed to be careful. "It's nothing really impressive, but I guess the day I activated it caught his attention."

"How so?"

"Um, well I was playing in my parents' lab when my best friends dared me to go into the portal. I thought it wouldn't work, so I did, but it launched me into the zone as soon I stepped into it. Phantom was this big ice looking thing flying by when I was falling in the zone- they don't really have ground in there. Everything was floating, but I just started falling and screaming since I couldn't fly. He caught me and offered to help me back to my home. The only thing was I didn't know how to go home, which way was up or down, and I didn't know how long I was gone. We tried to fly for a while, but the Infinite Realms always change. By that time, my home portal had moved to who knew where. Phantom took me to his lair to rest, Phantom, since he thought I was a baby ghost because my eyes glowed until I accidentally cut my hand on one of his icicles and bled-"

"You allowed your human blood to fall in his lair!?" Constantine sounds horrified. Oops? Maybe, stealing one of Frost Bites' few human encounter stories wasn't the brightest thing he could have done?

Oh well, he's already so far into the story. "Yeah, he reacted the same way. I freaked and turned myself invisible when he saw my blood."

"Blimey, I knew King Phantom is a protective spirit, but to think he didn't do anything to you once he found out you are a human- a virgin human no less- in his own lair? Benevolent is too little of a word for him."

Yeah, Danny really didn't like the sound of that. Sadly Constantine didn't seem willing to continue that line of conversation, and it would be really suspicious if he asked for more information since he is supposed to be the most informed person here.

After a slight pause, he continues, trying to sound confident. "He helped me get home after a while. Once we found the entrance to Amity Park, he asked if he could come to see me again in the living world. I told him it was fine, but I didn't think he meant it for real. Sam and Tucker- ugh my best friends- said I was only gone for three minutes but I swear it was much longer."

Danny could feel his face heating up. This is so embarrassing to be talking about himself in the third person. He felt so lame.

Jazz gave him an encouraging nod when he peaks at her. At least the others were buying his story.

"The next thing I know, my town is almost overturned by ghosts because, apparently, our passing through the portal stabilized it and established it as a new permanent entrance. I told Phantom, who vowed he keep it safe for me, and yeah, he fumbled a bit in the beginning, but he did a good job. Whenever he needed to fight I had to find somewhere safe to hide, so that I could keep him here, and that's why I missed so much of school and sleep all of freshmen year. His last big fight was against the old king Pariah Dark after the monster took Amity Park into the zone. Once he won, he was crowned and he um gave me this necklace. We've been going ugh, steady since."

The room was silent until Wonder Woman smiles "A most romantic tale Prince Danny."

Ugh, it really was. His face grew even redder as Jazz snorted. "Thank you."

Feeling an intense stare, Danny looks up, only to be met with Batman's emotionless face. "The reason you and King Phantom look exactly alike is that he took your shape, didn't he?"

What.

"That's standard practice." Constantine waves his hand. "Powerful beings that need to anchor themselves to the human realm often take humanoid figures. If King Phantom saw Prince Danny and thought he was the most beautiful person he's ever seen -which is likely since there haven't been any hints of Phantom having any partner before now- he would, of course, make himself look like him. He even copied his parents' hazard suits because he likely thought that would honor them. Am I right, Prince Danny? ."

I could kiss you, English man. Danny thinks gratefully as he nods.

Batman grunts but for a second, Danny thinks he didn't buy it. He doesn't say anything else.

"Well, what about-"

Whatever Wonder Woman was going to say gets cut off by a blur flying into the room. The heroes all spring up into battle positions as the blur rushes Danny. He's about to throw himself before his sister to protect her until the blur slows down.

It's Dani. She's wearing her own necklace too. Shit.

"Are you okay!?" She gasps. "I saw them take you on the TV and came as soon as I could!"

"Who are you?" Superman demands. His clone turns to the other side of the room, hands pose in a fighting stance and the British man gasps.

"Stand down! She's a royal!." He shouts, pointing at her necklace. His blue eyes flicker between the two halfas until they widen dramatically. "Princess, I swear we have done no harm to your father."

Dani tilts her head, momently thrown. "My father?"

"You are wearing the Heir Apparent symbol. I assumed you were made from Prince Danny and King Phantom. I apologize if I am wrong."

"No need. I am made from Danny." Dani smiles, likely unaware that the magic man meant a daughter rather than the correct answer, as in clone.

"I'm a grandmother!?" Mom shouts, and his Dad bursts into tears.

The room descends into chaos.

( Part 1 ) (Part 3)

[cieloclercs]

congrats on your 1K you deserve it‼️‼️

when you have the time could you write for lewis hamilton + nepo!reader ( male or female ) who is an actress / actor?

king of my heart — lewis hamilton

pairing. lewis hamilton x nepo baby!actress!reader

genre. social media au

face claim. gigi hadid

warnings. mentions of age gap, swearing, some online hate, lewis and reader are literally the hottest couple ever, daniel lowkey trolling lando, sex jokes ??, mixed up met gala years sorryyyy, some inaccuracies with race outcomes shshsh

author’s note. hello anon! thank you for being my first request for my 1k event 🥰 i wasn’t sure if you wanted an imagine style thing or not so i’ve gone for a social media au. hope that’s ok ! if not just let me know and i can redo this for you <3

liked by kaiagerber and 4,739,725 others

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lewishamilton The happiest 4 years with my Queen 🤍 Here’s to forever x

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tagged: lewishamilton

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…

lewishamilton 🤍🤍

comments on this post have been limited.

[stealingyourbones]

Submitted Prompts #99

Jazz went to Gotham to finish her degree away from her parents, as their obsession with Ghosts started becoming dangerous to everyone. So, of course, she brought Danny with her, so he's also far away from them and the GIW.

Danny held out a whole year without going out on patrol, just establishing his haunt in the new city. Lady Gotham was very happy to be able to show them to their new place, almost giddy that the little King and his Queen Mother have come to live in her beloved city.

Of course, the first time Phantom floats out of his window and into the night, he has a new suit, made of padded black leather, and a fluffy white cape with a hood (imagine the Lightkin Cloak from Destiny2, but snow white, rather than black and grey), along with a facemask engraved with a fanged design. New haunt, new look, and the new look fit right in with the viciousness of Gotham City.

And, as luck would have it, his first Gotham Rogue was Poison Ivy. Thinking back to his fight against Undergrowth, Pantom opened with his ice, forming a double-sided axe to better cleave her vines apart, and locking Ivy herself down with ice.

To further distance himself from his identity as Phantom, in case the GIW somehow became smart at some point, instead of blasting ice like most ghosts fire ectoblasts, Danny asked Pandora for lessons on fighting with weapons, and Frosbite taught his how to channel his element as an aura, or a freezing breath. He even sat down to listen to Nocturne speak as they wove spells and ectoplasm, and the Personification of Dreams softly taught him how to use his powers through objects acting as catalysts, or as manifestations of his will, rather than throwing his affinities around by brute force.

With his new abilities and look, rather than fight like a feral raccoon, Danny took to fighting more like a spellblade, slinging around ice shard and spells to enhance his physical strikes, controlling the pace of a fight to get the upper hand on his enemies.

Suffice to say, Poison Ivy hadn't expected the Avatar of Icy Vengeance to lock her in a pillar of ice up to her neck while her vines withered into frosty sculptures.

Gotham's newest hero got awarded a new name by the news the next day: Ymir, Frozen Progenitor.

Danny thinks it's too pretentious for a random ghost, or random halfa, like him. Joke's on him, the perception of Gotham's people slowly starts empowering him, slowly enough that the only reason he notices his oncoming Ascension to myth as a Protector Spirit is when a terrified kid begs for his help, and he hears them loud and clear out of nowhere.

The Bats are confused by this Entity. Constantine stepped one foot in Gotham, felt it's cleaner air, the sharp bite of ice in his nose and lungs, and the overwhelming pressure of the new Godling training under Gotham herself to control his new powers, and ran out screaming about not getting paid enough to deal with divine beings. Zatanna is trying to contact Ymir to ask them to join the Justice League Dark.

Jason is vibing with the tall redhead Amazon he's met at Babs' library, and her feral little brother who cured his Pit Rage by biting his arm when they first met. One time Jason is in a pinch after a stakeout gone wrong, Bellona (Ancient Roman Goddess of War) takes the fight to his captors to free him, dressed in golden armor and wielding a spear Pandora and Firght Knight made for her. Nocturne and her brother worked together to imbue a spell into her back to give her wings she can use to fly or fight with. The fact it left a badass tattoo on her back, is just another way Jazz rebels against her parents. It also has Jason weak in the knees when he first sees it.

[seeingivy]

the met gala

actor!eren x f!reader

**part of my method acting series

content: the end contains some possibly triggering content. toxic man moment/unsafe situation so dni and protect ur peace if you need to.

an: fan service to the highest t. you want laufey? i'l give you laufey. you want sukuna? ill give you sukuna. did you ask for catoru gojo? no but i'll give it to you anyways. and the end is a nice yummy lil eren little fdklsfjdksljfkdlsjfkdsjk. also I changed real life met gala lore idgaf if they don't do real perfomances there bc they do now

songs mentioned: death of a bachelor by panic at the disco, seven by taylor swift, promise by laufey, and dorothea by taylor swift

previous part linked here

--

Eren waits for it in nervous anticipation. Because despite everything Hyla and Lana say, he knows for a fact that you won’t be staying silent. That Danny and Sareen wouldn’t let this slide and neither would you. 

And it eats at him while he waits for the real response, beyond that video Connie posted of you, Mikasa, Connie, and Jean dancing to Girlfriend and your tweets about how much you loved the song. 

He’s positive that a forty second video can’t be all you’re doing. People loved it and thought it was funny. But surely that can’t be it. 

“I can’t believe all your friends sided with her. I thought you were close with Connie.” Lana mentions. 

“I was. Before you did that.” Eren responds, clenching his jaw. He can feel anger surging through his blood, every minuscule fraction of frustration building even more - like it had been for the past three days since the awards show. 

It's irritating how quick things crumble down. He figures this is what Sukuna was talking about. Because the last time he talked to Connie was when Mikasa called him and it was nothing short of irritating. 

Eren’s phone rings in the middle of the night and he’s nearly scrambling out of his bed because he thinks it’s you. Nine hours after the awards show and you’ve finally gotten the chance to respond.

Except he sees Mikasa’s name flashing across the screen, accompanied with her contact picture which is you and Mikasa sleeping.

“Mika? What’s wrong?” 

“What the fuck is wrong with you Eren?” 

“Mikasa. Okay, I can ex-” 

“You can explain? You can explain why you just humiliated Y/N in public? Are you serious?” 

“I-I know it’s bad and she hasn’t picked up my calls and-” 

“Eren. Is there something wrong with you? Because I don’t even recognize you right now. You would never do something like this, let alone to her of all people.” 

“Did you just call me to yell at me Mikasa? You don’t think I feel bad enough about it already? You don’t think I would have stopped it if I had any idea it was going to happen?” 

He hears the line get quieter and Mikasa murmuring over the phone, only to be met with Connie talking to him now. 

“Hi Eren. It’s Connie.” 

Eren sighs, the fact that Mikasa’s so put off she won’t even talk to him sitting wrong with him all together. 

“Hi Con.” 

“You okay, man?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, is she okay?” 

“Mika? You know her, she gets mad so fast and-” 

“Not her.” Eren whispers. 

“Oh. No, no that’s why we called. She won’t talk to any of us. We called to see if you would know what to do because we’re coming short on ideas.” 

The words die on Eren’s tongue. The first line of defense when you get like this is always him, because he can always get you to talk. 

Could always get you to talk. 

“You tried Levi?” 

“Yes.” 

“Her brothers. You need to fly Falco and Colt out now. I’ll pay for the tickets. Get the shin ramen from the store, it’s her comfort food - put half of the spice packet in because she can’t eat it too spicy, make sure you boil the egg for six minutes because she likes it when it’s still a little runny, and chop ONLY carrots and green onions for the vegetables. And put on Spy Family, it’s her favorite show. Her favorite episode is nine, I think. It’s called Show Off How In Love You Are. ” 

“Okay, that’s all great man. Really. Thanks.” 

“Connie?” 

“Yeah?” 

The thought crosses his mind so fast and suddenly he's asking it.

“Do you hate me?” Eren asks, the whisper in his voice sounding so pitiful that he’s almost embarrassed. 

“No, Eren. I could never. Just, I have to be here because she needs us right now. You get that.” 

“No, no I do. Take care of her, please. Tell me how it goes.” 

“Yeah man. Sure.” 

Connie hangs up and the guilt eats at Eren. 

Eren hears the resounding pounding of footsteps - only to be met with Myka, Hyla, and two other people he’s literally never seen before - standing in his bedroom. 

The first thing he learned quickly about filming with these people? They have no concept of personal space or time. 

“What?” 

“Ricky and Y/N. They made a music video. Put it on.” Myka states, the group of them crawling onto Eren’s bed as he starts pulling up the video. 

The thumbnail already has him sick to his stomach. It’s you kissing Ricky’s cheek. The video starts with you and Ricky’s hands, playing the piano together, and it takes Eren all but three seconds to realize that this is the horrible, gut-wrenching response he was waiting for. 

His first cue? Not only are the two of you playing the piano together, but you and Ricky are wearing matching, beaded bracelets with each other’s names on them. Like the ones you and Eren have, the one he keeps on him at all times. 

The camera pans up to the two of you and Ricky starts singing, which earns him a nice list of profanities from Lana at his side. 

Do I look lonely? I see the shadows on my face People have told me I don't look the same Maybe I lost weight I'm playing hooky with the best of the best Put my heart on my chest so that you can see it, too I'm walking the long road, watching the sky fall The lace in your dress tangles my neck, how do I live?

His second cue? The dress you’re wearing in the video, the one with the lace, is one he knows all too well. 

“Okay so, Eren. I have to find a dress to wear for the album premiere tomorrow. And it's my first album and it's special and I want it to be perfect. Something kind of soft and casual, since it’s just going to be just fans. Can you help me pick?” 

Eren nods as he flops back onto the soft plush of your bed, eyes focused on all the little pictures and knick knacks littered over the walls of your childhood bedroom. Participation awards for sports, signed letters from your teachers, and pictures of you and Colt doing karaoke. 

“Ew, Eren. Don’t look at those.” 

“What do you mean? You were such a cute baby.” 

Eren hopes your kids don’t inherit your messy hair genes as you walk up to his side and look at the picture - of you and Colt with little pink microphones in your hand and the little plastic crown on your head. 

“You know, you still do that.” 

“Do what?” 

“Everyone else holds the microphone at the top, their fingers nearly wrapped around the wire. You’re like the only person I know who holds it at the bottom - like you’re doing in the picture.” 

You roll your eyes as you gesture to the dress, asking for his opinion. Eren stands up, grabbing you by the wrist, to spin you around in the air. And he loves the sound of your laugh and how you berate him immediately after. 

“Eren. Be serious. What do you think?” 

“Perfect. Wear this one.” 

“But it’s black - it doesn’t really fit the vibe that I wanted to go with.” 

“Good point. No one should see you in this but me. Try another one on.” Eren states, placing a kiss on your neck before walking over to your bookshelf. 

"You're no help." you whine.

"I'm biased. You look good in everything, sweetheart."

He’s running his hands against the spines of your books, clearly bent and broken from reading them so much as you try on the next dress. 

“Love?” 

“Hm?” your voice comes out, all muffled from the sound of the closet door. 

“How many times have you read the Goblet of Fire? This spine is demolished.” 

He feels your limbs wrap around his neck and a kiss on his cheek as you lazily murmur into his skin. 

“Lots. Cedric Diggory was my first love.” 

“Oh? Really?” 

Eren turns around and makes it a point to pointedly glare at you, which you return with the sweetest, cheesiest of smiles as you tease him on. 

“Oh, of course. I’ve always had a thing for Hufflepuffs.” 

“Would you look at that? I’m a Hufflepuff too.” 

“No, you’re not. You’re a Ravenclaw, Eren.” 

“I was expecting you to say Slytherin.” 

“No, I feel like that’s a cop-out answer. You’re intelligent, creative, and clever. Ravenclaw.” 

Eren smiles as he brings his hands down to your wrists again, spinning you in the air again. He brings his hands up to your hair to tuck your hair behind your ears before responding. 

“Nope. Very pretty, but too formal for something small like this.” 

“I appreciate the honesty this time, mon chéri. I only have one more, so it better be the one.” 

Eren leans forward, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. 

“What was that for?” 

“I love it when you speak French to me.” he whispers. 

Eren watches you roll your eyes as you disappear into your closet again. He settles into the seat at your desk, flipping through the song lyrics in your bound notebook.

And he doesn’t miss the polaroids you have taped into certain pages - the one of the two of you at the vow renewal on your invisible string page and one of him at the piano on the New Year’s Day page. 

“Okay, Eren. Good?” 

Eren turns around to find you shyly smiling at him, hands tucked behind your back. It’s a soft white dress, with a lace neckline. Eren thinks it makes you look like an angel. He makes it a point to stand up just so he can push you onto the bed behind you and lean right over you. 

“Eren.” 

He leans forward and starts peppering kisses all over your cheeks and your face, leaving longer lingering ones in your neck that leave you in a fit of nervous giggles and saying his name so softly it only sets him off more. 

“It should be illegal-” 

Kiss. 

“To look like this.” 

Kiss. 

“You’re doing this on purpose.” 

Kiss. 

“Doing what?” 

“Trying to drive me crazy, love.” 

“Am not, Eren. It’s just a dress.” 

“It’s never just a dress with you. Be serious, Y/N.” 

He watches your eyes go wide, a soft pink dusting your cheeks. Your hands are resting on his face and he swears they’re shaking, your arms trembling along with them. Eren brings his hand to your cheek, softly brushing across the skin once. 

“Hey. What is it?” he whispers. 

“You said my name.” 

“I say your name all the time.” 

“No, no. You always call me love or sweetheart.” 

“Do you like it when I say your name, Y/N?” 

He watches the blush spread across your cheeks again as you nod, the sweetest smile on your face. 

“I like how you say it. Y/N.” 

“I love your name. Though, it’s missing something.” 

He watches you frown, the confused look spreading across your face. 

“What’s that?” 

“My last name at the end.” he responds, pressing a kiss to your lips. 

“Ew, Eren. That was so corny.” 

He brings his hands down to the side of your dress, where the zipper lies and starts pulling down. He watches the shock spread on your face, immediately pulling back. 

“Are you crazy? Falco and Colt are still here even if my parents aren’t.” 

“Falco is sleeping over across the street. And Colt is definitely at a party and pretending not to be. Who takes limes and salt to a study session? He definitely needs those for the drinks, silly girl.” he responds, sliding the dress off your shoulders and burying his face in the crook of your neck, leaving lazy kisses all over your skin. 

“Eren.” 

“Hm?” 

“Chelseaiswatching.” you murmur. 

“Huh?” 

“Chelsea is watching.” you whisper.

“Who the fuck is Chelsea?” he asks, the panic laced in his voice. 

You point over his shoulder and he immediately rolls his eyes when he sees her, bringing his hands up to pinch your cheeks. 

“Are you being serious? You can’t kiss me back because your stuffed animal is watching?” 

“Eren. It’s weird, I’ve had her since I was a kid. And my dad bought her for me.” you whine. 

“And you think she’s going to narc on you?” 

“No. It’s the principle, Eren! Don’t do inappropriate things when kids or kid-like things are present.” 

Eren stands up, making it a point to pick up your stuffed animal and bury it in the back of your closet before he returns, hands on his hips. 

“Okay. Anything else? Do I need to put tape over your posters of Loid Forger doesn’t watch us doing it?” 

“Now that you say it, it’s actually-” 

“Too bad.” 

And well after being tangled in the sheets together, Eren pretends not to be offended when you pull on a hoodie and immediately get out of bed and reach for your notebook and your pen instead of cuddling with him after. 

You crawl back in the bed next to him, where he immediately rests his head in your lap and starts groaning. You reach forward to push the messy hair out of his face and make a mental note to cover up the purple skin on his neck later so Colt doesn’t hang you at the cross whenever he comes back. 

“Did I get you that inspired that you can’t hold me right now?” 

“Basically. You’re my muse, Eren.” 

“What’s the song called, Y/N?” 

“Dress.” 

“Clever. I wonder what it’s about.” he responds, pressing kisses along your thigh, consecutively going higher with each kiss. 

“Eren. Are you serious? It’s only been like ten minutes.” you respond, the nervous jittery feeling growing in your stomach. 

“It’s like vitamins. Can’t go without it.” 

“Do not refer to it as vitamins. And you can technically go without vitamins, if you’re like really healthy.” 

“Quit being a know-it-all. You know I meant like medicine.” 

“Eren.” you respond, a warning tone in your voice as you keep scribbling your lyrics out. 

“You get two minutes to finish what you’re writing and then I’m throwing that book out the window.” he responds, his breath on the inside of your legs tickling you. 

Eren knows you’re trying to drive him crazy and not in the way he likes. And it’s working. And Ricky’s all too agitating singing voice doesn’t make it any better. 

The death of a bachelor Oh oh Seems so fitting for Happily ever after (woo) How could I ask for more? A lifetime of laughter At the expense of the death of a bachelor

Eren watches you and Ricky dancing through the streets, while Ricky sings on and on about happily ever after, and he can’t help but slam the computer shut and all but push the group of them out of his room. And when he closes the door, all he can do is cry and hope they can’t hear him.

--

You peek out the window and count seven black cars and fourteen different people standing on the block, anxious faces craning up with shining black cameras in their hand. You feel a hand on your shoulder and know the ice cold hands can only be Ricky. 

“Hey.” 

“How many?” 

“Fourteen.” you groan, giving him a frown as you yank your shoulder out from under his hand and walk past him. 

You head to the vanity, where you’re going to place your last finishing touches on your outfit. Ricky’s quick to follow and lean into your space, with a smirk pressed on his face. 

“Ricky.” 

“Yes, babe?” 

“Ew. Do you need something? Or are you all up in my space for fun?” 

“For fun! You smell really good.” 

You make it a point to lightly shove him back, which you both laugh at as you clip on the sparkly necklace, making it a point to not move suddenly at all from this moment forward. 

It would be infinitely embarrassing if you ripped the first designer dress you wore. Especially when you have to return it later. 

Ricky swings his hand around you from the back and holds a cupcake in front of your face, a glimmering blue candle lit in the middle. You give him a questioning look in the mirror. 

“Baby’s first Met Gala!” 

You snort as you blow out the candle, taking it from his hands and pulling the wax out. 

“You’re welcome, by the way.” Ricky says. 

“For?” 

“The cupcake! And getting you invited to the Met Gala.” 

You smack his shoulder, giving him your angriest look, before you both laugh. 

“You’re a prick. I got invited all on my own.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that.” he responds, sarcastically. 

“What flavor is the cupcake?” 

“Chocolate.” 

“Eh. I like vanilla.” you respond, swiping the frosting off the top with your finger. But before you can lick it, Ricky reaches for it first and swipes it right off your finger. 

“I mean, I was going to eat that, Ricky.” 

“I only like the frosting of the cupcake.” 

“Well, I only like the frosting too. Especially when it’s not the flavor of cake I like.” 

You hand Ricky the rest of the cupcake and grab your purse as you head out. You press the button on the elevator and both slide in when it opens, the anticipation of the fourteen people waiting outside for you and the hundred more who will be at the event sitting on you. You must be making some weird face because Ricky catches on to it super fast. 

“Just relax. It’s just paparazzi, not flying to the moon.” 

“I know that. I just feel like I’m not entirely here at the moment. And they’re all going to ask me about Girlfriend and you and Eren and I just-” 

You still haven’t encountered the press after the entire thing, despite most of the tabloids writing things in your favor. Because rehashing the worst thing that’s ever happened for you in the two seconds the paparazzi talk to you and have it become a whole convoluted story is not something you’re ready for. 

After the entire thing went down, you retreated to your room for one day. One day. With full intentions to mope for the rest of your life, because you would never live this down. And because the entire ordeal was so overstimulating, so stressful that you need to rest.  

Until Danny and Sareen dragged you out by the legs and forced you to film a music video with Ricky. Then go to his debut of the song and the music video in Times Square. And then they granted you your beauty rest, but then that stupid voice in your head got the best of you and you couldn’t help but watch what everyone said about the entire thing after the event. 

People thought the entire Girlfriend thing was really tasteless. Because it was. Ricky did a bunch of interviews, where he just talked you up and how the entire thing was ridiculous in his opinion. They thought it was sweet of Ricky to come to your defense with Death of a Bachelor and that your official debut as a couple was one for the books. 

You’ll take a win where you can get one. 

Everyone sided with you, which was nice. Fans wise but also from your real friends. Connie, Marco, Mikasa, and Jean were at your side the entire time, which you appreciated. 

Connie was the one that convinced you that “you had the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever” and filmed a video of you, Jean, Mikasa, and him dancing to Girlfriend and posted it. 

Which was your favorite part of the entire thing, not because of the song, but because they were there for you through the entire thing. That Connie could make something mortifying funny for you. A bad memory a good one. A true testament to his support. 

Unlike some people. People’s inquisitive eyes leave no stone untouched and now rumors of a fallout between you and Historia are flying around, when she’s the only one to not publicly come to your defense. And you get it, she doesn’t have to. What you don’t understand is why she won’t return any of your calls. 

Ricky reaches down and grabs your hand, locking his fingers in yours as he gives you a smile, bringing you back down from the thoughts. 

“I won’t leave you, okay? Danny and Sareen said I should handle all those questions anyways.” 

“And if Lana comes up to me?” 

“Spit in her face. She’s really annoying.” 

“And if Eren comes up to me?” 

“I’ll give you a big kiss.” 

“Ew. Don’t do that.” 

“I love it when you act disgusted by me.” 

You snicker as the elevator rings and the door swings open. You’re immediately flooded with a mound of flashing lights as Ricky grabs your hand and drags you through the crowd into the fresh air. And it only gets worse outside because not only are the cameras outside bigger, but the reporters are louder. 

Are you and Ricky official? 

Eren and Hyla are rumored to be dating. Do you have any comments on that, Y/N? 

Can you tell us anything about your upcoming record, Ribbons? 

Ricky ducks your head into the car first before sliding in himself, tapping on the seat ahead of him as the car speeds off. You let go of Ricky’s hand, wiping the sweat against your dress, immediately freezing when you remember you’re supposed to return it at the end of the night. 

“Now was that so bad?” Ricky asks, giving you a winning smile. 

“Literally, yes! I wasn’t expecting them to be in the lobby.” 

“Cmon, you nailed it. I was there, wasn’t I?” 

“Quit trying to flirt, Ricky. You suck at it.” you grumble, which he laughs at. 

The car comes to a screeching halt and you give Ricky a weary smile as he walks out first, making it a point to open the door for you on the other side. You wrap your arm around his as you both walk the carpet, giving glimmering smiles every time you walk a few paces. 

You make mental notes of those standing on the steps behind you and you catch sight of them. Eren and Hyla, in the center of the carpet. Eren’s lifting his hand to twirl her in the middle, with consecutive clicks from the cameras. And you can see Sukuna right behind them, pretending to gag with Maki and probably ruining all the picutres.

You smile, making it a point to sit with Sukuna later because he’s so wildly unserious that it’s probably the only thing you could tolerate on a day like this. And it would really piss off Eren.

Mikasa and Jean are smiling at you from behind the ropes, Mikasa giving you a sweet smile and mouthing that you look great. She points at a spot towards the left and you nod, signaling that you’ll meet her there after. 

Out of the periphery of your eye, you catch sight of it. The giant cat in the middle of the runway. You tap Ricky on the shoulder, pointing it out to him. 

“Oh god.” 

“At the Met Gala? That’s so unserious.” you respond. 

“Ten bucks it’s Gojo.” 

“That’s such a lame bet. I know for a fact that’s Gojo. He’s the only type of dumbass to show up to the Met Gala dressed up as a big white cat with blue eyes.” 

You both lean closer together, making a point to make sure the paparazzi are taking pictures of you two all close to each other. The head of the cat pops off and surely enough, a very excited Satoru Gojo is now running in circles around in the middle of the carpet. And blocking every girl standing on the side.

You don’t miss Geto standing ten paces behind with Shoko, the two of them very loudly declaring that they, in fact, do not know or associate with that man.

“You owe me ten bucks.” 

“I never agreed to that, Ricky.” 

Ricky leans forward and plants a warm kiss on your cheek, earning a nice symphony of cooing from the photographers on the other side. 

“Oh?” 

“We both got it right. So we both get a reward.” he responds, tapping his left cheek. 

You roll your eyes as you stand on your tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek and consequently wipe your glittery lip gloss off his face after. You give the cameras a smile and wrap your arm around his again as you walk farther down the carpet towards the interviewers. 

“Y/N. You look gorgeous!” 

“Thank you! So do you.” 

“Is there anything you can tell us about your third upcoming album, Ribbons? What’s your favorite track on the album?” 

“Thank you for asking! I think Ribbons is a mix of a lot of feelings I’ve had lately - specifically good, warm, and positive feelings. I-I think that being negative is something that’s really easy to do, especially when you’re in my position, but I try to keep my music feeling like sunshine on a nice day, because who likes to focus on the bad when you can just be the good. My favorite track on the album is seven, a song that I’ll be performing inside later today with one of my best, best friends who I wrote it with.” 

“That’s sweet. Are any of these positive feelings a consequence of your new beau, Ricky James?” 

And right on cue, Ricky’s on your side, tilted eyes glimmering in the camera. 

“I know for a fact they are. She loves to write songs about me.” 

“That’s a bold statement coming from you, Ricky.” you respond. 

“I’m a bold guy.” Ricky responds, giving you a wink. 

“Speaking of writing songs, Y/N. How do you feel about songs being written about you? Songs like Girlfriend?” 

The reporter looks way too excited at this part now. You look at Ricky before answering, who gives you a subtle nod. The answer you practiced with Sareen and Danny. 

“I think it’s flattering.” 

“Really?” 

Ricky slides his hand around your waist and smiles, finishing off the rest of the answer for you. 

“Oh, it’s totally flattering. I mean, I’d be really intimidated if I was comparing myself to someone like Y/N here too. She’s quite literally at the top of her game, in every sense, and it’s easy to feel less than when you’re comparing yourself to a future triple threat. So we get the thought process behind it.” 

“Ricky.” 

“It’s true, Y/N. Personally, I think they should pick London Boy from her discography as the song selection. But that’s just me.” 

You smile at each other as you give the interviewer a polite nod, giving each other a thumbs up as you walk around the floor. You finally get to stop near Jean and Mikasa, who are very obviously already wine drunk, from the way their cheeks are tinted pink. 

“Wow, Jean. It hasn’t even been two hours yet.” you respond, placing your hand flat against his cheek to see how much his skin is burning. 

“I hate this type of shit.” Jean responds, grumbling. 

“Jean. How drunk are you? Don’t tell me you’re imagining cats walking around are you?” you ask, feigning concern. 

“Huh? That cat isn’t real?” 

“You’re actually seeing cats?!” Mikasa asks, catching on. 

“THERE’S A REAL CAT HERE, MIKA. LOOK.” Jean says, pointing at Satoru who is now lying face down on the red carpet. 

"Jean."

"Y/N. MIKASA. I'M SO SERIOUS I SWEAR THERE'S A REAL CAT. IT TALKED TO ME EARLIER. IT TOLD ME I SHOULD HAVE DRESSED UP AS A HORSE WITH IT."

“Oh, sweetheart. We should go inside, you’ve had too much. You always do this, Jean.” Mikasa says, shaking her head as she leads him in. Mikasa turns her head over her shoulder and gives you a wink, before she walks straight into the venue. 

Geto and Shoko come up to your side after they catch you staring at Gojo - who's now doing the worm in his cat suit on the floor - as they both give you polite hugs. The three of you stand against the wall to watch him take the spotlight away from anyone who was hoping to have it. 

“Can you believe you’re married to that guy?” you ask Geto. 

“Please don’t remind me. It pains me everyday.” 

“He wore the cathead to my house the first day he got it. I was hosting a vigil for one of my neighbors.” Shoko states, placing a cigarette between her teeth. 

You snort at the thought of Gojo, in his fully exuberant energy, trotting into a room of people mourning with the cat head on.

Megumi and Yuuta join the group of you as you now watch Yuuji - whose actually dressed in a nicely styled suit - have a dance off with Cat Gojo on the red carpet. 

You nudge Megumi in the side. 

“Can you believe you’re dating that guy?” 

“We’re breaking up.” Megumi responds, earning a laugh from the group. 

“I can’t tell what’s worse. The fact that they’re dance battling at the Met Gala or that Yuuji is horrendously losing to Gojo wearing a twelve pound cat-suit.” 

“Yuuji losing.” you all respond in unison. 

“I think Cat Gojo is going to haunt me in my dreams.” you respond. 

“Get this, Y/N. It’s not Cat Gojo. It’s Catoru.” Yuuta responds. 

“Don’t tell me he trademarked it already.” 

“He did.” they all respond in unison. 

"Geto. Shoko. When you burn that thing in the flames of hell, I want a video." you state.

"That's a promise, kid." Geto responds, with Shoko giving an affirmative nod.

You turn to your left to find Ricky standing at your side, with his arm wrapped around John. Historia’s ex-boyfriend. You give the group of them a polite nod as you walk away and join Ricky at your side. 

“Y/N. This is my friend, John. He’s been looking forward to meeting you.” 

“Hi. Y/N.” you respond, making every effort to emphasize the flatness in your voice. 

“John. Nice to meet you.” he responds, holding his hand out which you refuse to touch. 

“Play any chess games lately?” you ask, making a pointed reference to Historia’s song. 

He glares and you watch the smile on Ricky’s face drop. You give your best, sickly sweet smile as you wait for a response. 

“That’s right. You acted in Attack on Titan so you must be friends with Historia.” 

“Very good friends.” you respond. 

“Okay John, we’re going to go in. I’ll see you in a sec, yeah?” Ricky responds, hands increasingly hard on your biceps as he drags you a few paces away. 

“Ouch, Ricky. Get off.” 

He’s leaning close to you, whispering in your ear earlier like you two were when Satoru came in, except this is nowhere near as fun as last time. 

“What’s your problem?” 

“What’s yours? He’s not a good guy, Ricky.” 

“I’ve made every effort to be friends with your friends. You could and should be doing the same for me, Y/N.” 

“And I will. For your friends who aren’t groomers, Ricky.” 

Ricky glares at you before giving you a smile and pressing a kiss to your forehead with the paparazzi so close, before dragging you into the venue with him. You settle into your seat next to Ricky, craning your neck to see where the rest of your friends are sitting, all the way on the other side of the room. 

You turn to the girl sitting next to you and whisper in her ear. 

“Hi. I’m Y/N.” 

“I-I know who you are. I’m a big fan.” 

“I’m really sorry to ask you this then. But you see that guy right there, pink hair, those two little scars near his eyes. Could you go and switch seats with him? He’s sitting in between Megumi Fushiguro and Yuuta Okkotsu, so I can at least promise it’s a better seat than this one.” 

She looks over and gives you an affirmative nod. You squeeze her shoulder as you watch her stomp over, Sukuna turn back to give you a questioning look, before letting the girl take his seat and striding over to sit next to you with two cups in his hands. 

He sits on the chair to your left, making it a point to spread his legs as far as he can on his chair, and glare at Ricky as he sits down. 

“What do you want, doll?” 

“Nothing. I got bored.” 

He shrugs as he places the second cup in front of you, which you pick up. And then immediately spit back up, because it’s just straight vodka. 

“Shit. My bad, doll. That’s mine.” 

“You’re drinking straight vodka? No chaser?” you ask. 

“Imagine doing this shit sober. I’d drive myself half insane.” he murmurs. 

You switch the cups and drink yours again, pleasantly surprised by a warm, sweet latte. 

“Sukuna. How’d you know?” you ask. 

“Eren told me.” 

You look over at him, giving him your best glare. 

“As if you’d talk to Eren.” you snort, craning your neck to find him on his phone, next to Hyla’s who is fixing her hair. 

“We talk. It’s just not pleasant.” 

“Yeah. My preferred coffee order is just so horrible to talk about.” 

“You wouldn’t believe it. Poor guy mopes about you so much it even makes me depressed.” 

Ricky taps aggressively on your shoulder, leaning over into your space.

“I’m going to go sit with John.” Ricky states, angrily. 

“Okay?” you respond. 

“Okay? That’s it, Y/N?” 

“Do you need a formal, written invitation? Or does she need to hold your hand and walk you there so you don’t get lost?” Sukuna responds, glaring at him. 

Ricky gets irritated at Sukuna’s response and storms off, which just has Sukuna moving his chair so that you can both prop your legs up on it. You’re both switching off on sharing your drinks - mixing Sukuna’s alcohol with your latte and watching all the performances. 

“Are you performing?” Sukuna asks. 

“Yeah. With Marco, right before Eren.” 

“Real cute. Is it that same fluff shit you always write?” 

You smack him hard on the shoulder. 

“Asshole. That fluff shit is Multi-Platinum, dumbass.” 

“I get that. But I’m saying, you should write something more serious than that. Instead of penting up all that rage in your forehead, you should write it in a song. Quit letting real stupid girls call you stupid in songs.” 

“I can’t. My record doesn’t really like the idea of that.” you respond. 

“So? You’re the artist and it’s your music. Write whatever you want. Don’t be a chickenshit.” 

“It’s not that simple, Sukuna.” 

“No. It literally is. You’re just chicken.” 

“It’s not about chicken, Sukuna. My record was the one who took a chance on me and to some extent, I have to follow that. And they’ve made me Multi-Platinum so far so who am I to not listen to them?” 

“God. You’re pathetic.” 

“And you’re an asshole, Sukuna.” 

“Do you want to kiss now?” 

You reach forward to smack his face, which elicits a laugh from him. 

“You never change, do you Sukuna?” 

“Best thing about me, doll. You should learn to piss people off like I do. It’ll actually relieve some of that tension. And flirting is good for your health.” 

“We can’t all afford to be feather rustlers like you.” 

“You could. I’m sure people would eat it up - the whole sweet girl saying her mind type thing. I’ll give you lessons on how to talk your shit sometime instead of letting idiots like that do it for you.” 

He points over at Ricky, whose glaring bullets at the two of you. You give him a gesture, which he completely ignores as he turns over to whisper in John’s ear. 

“Out of all guys, you had to pick that one? When you tweeted that you were charged with murder, I thought you were being serious and got really excited for a second.” 

“Danny and Sareen picked him. That’s not my fault.” 

You feel a tap on your shoulder and see the usher, signaling that it’s time for you to perform. You nod and turn to Sukuna, who's already getting up from the chair. He presses a kiss to your cheek before you walk off to the other side where Marco’s waiting. 

--

Eren’s sitting towards the end of the bench, hands pressed under his legs, when he watches you take the stage with Marco, a glittering smile on your face.

And in your billowing, white dress, there’s only one thing Eren can focus on. The fish tattoo, right on display. He instinctively reaches for his own, hidden under the fabric of his clothes, and thinks about how your sweet, flowery smell was always overwhelming, even in a disgusting tattoo parlor. 

And when Eren catches sight of Marco at the piano, Eren knows you’re a temptress to everyone and not just him. Exhibit A? You convinced Marco to sing in public with you. 

“Hi everyone. My name is Y/N.” 

Everyone breaks into a loud applause and Eren thinks that the wolf-whistling in the corner is Mikasa, who he’s convinced is shit-faced by the way her cheeks are glowing pink. 

“Thank you. Um, can we just take a minute to give a second round of applause to my sunshine boy, Marco, here? He’s not a big singer and I’ve all but forced him to do this with me, so let’s all give him some love.” 

The crowd claps again and Eren knows for a fact that the wolf-whistling this time is Jean, who is actually plastered. 

“This song is off my new album, called Ribbons, and it’s called seven. The idea of this song kind of came up randomly. I told Marco that it was kind of sad that I don’t have any of the childhood friends I did when I was a kid anymore. And Marco just responded by saying, ‘what do you mean, we’ve been friends since we were seven?’ And long story short, I jumbled out a nice mess of lyrics with Marco and Armin produced it after that and the song was finished. We hope you like it!” 

Marco starts playing a soft piano tune, accompanied by your light strumming on the guitar, and some part of it is so familiar, so you that it makes Eren’s heart ache. Not that Eren’s a big hater of your new, more pop songs like London Boy, but Eren’s always enjoyed your soulful, soft songs like this more.

They remind him of the soft parts of him that you only shared with him, when you used to be next him when he slept at night. 

Y/N:  Please picture me In the trees I hit my peak at seven feet In the swing Over the creek I was too scared to jump in But I, I was high in the sky With Pennsylvania under me Are there still beautiful things?

Eren fights the urge to snort. Of course, there’s still beautiful things. You’re standing right there.

And Eren knows he’s way too sensitive for this because hearing your soft, echoing voice when he’s about to sing a song about the last time he kissed you has him pushing his face into the table. Because there are tears in his eyes. 

Y/N:  Sweet tea in the summer Cross your heart, won't tell no other And though I can't recall your face I still got love for you

Marco:  Your braids like a pattern Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs The love lasts so long

When you both finish, Eren watches you give Marco a big hug and a kiss on the cheek as you both walk off together. And then Eren’s trailing up to the stage where Historia’s waiting, the orchestral suite setting up their instruments and he feels his hands shaking at his sides. Historia gives him a smile, which he appreciates as he takes the front stand.

He hates it up here. He knows that flowery scent in the air is you. He manifested it by thinking about it and now it's suffocating him.

You lean against the wall with Marco, hands linked together, as you watch Eren readjust the microphone to his height and Historia sit at the piano. You make a fleeting second of eye contact with her and give her a smile, which she halfheartedly returns.

Eren’s hair is shorter, he’s cut it from the last time you’ve seen him. And he looks kind of tired, though you’re sure you look no better. 

“My name is Eren Jaeger. This is my new song, Promise, that I co-composed and wrote with my friend, Historia.”

You lean your head against Marco’s shoulder, who is giving you a warm squeeze on the shoulder, as you listen. 

I made a promise To distance myself Took a flight, through aurora skies Honestly, I didn't think about How we didn't say goodbye Just see you very soon

You pinch your eyes shut as you feel the breath constrict in your throat and tears warm in your eyes. 

“You okay?” 

“It’s Eren. Of course, I’m not okay.” you whisper. 

No matter how long I resist temptation  I always lose  It hurts to be something  It’s worse to be nothing with you I’ve done the math  There’s no solution  We’ll never last Why can’t I let go of this? 

As Eren goes on and on, that soft voice that’s lulled you to sleep hundreds of time is haunting you. And Marco’s reflexes to wipe your tears away fast are the only reason that people don’t catch on.

When Eren finishes, his green eyes meet yours and he gives you a painstakingly long look, before walking away. 

You don’t see him again that night. Or for a while. You figure it's better that way. Being in the same room but not talking is like nails on a chalkboard.

--

You lean over the counter, scrolling through the set of pictures Ricky just took, as you wait for the timer on your computer to count down.

Ricky circles his arm around your shoulder, as you both watch the seconds on the timer run out and the little display of confetti go around the screen. 

You refresh the tab on your Apple Music and you see it - your name and album cover displayed in bright colors right at the top banner. 

“How does it feel?” Ricky asks, watching you refresh your Spotify on your phone and watch the songs turn from grey to white, meaning they're now able to be played. 

“Good. I hope Historia calls me after she realizes that dorothea is about her.” you murmur, the notifications on your phone buzzing from Reiner, Levi, and Mikasa. You open Levi's first.

levi: We love the record, kid.

you: it's been out for five seconds.

levi: Just shut up and take the compliment, sometimes.

you: I love you, levi. give kisses to hange. i'll call you guys tomorrow.

“She will. Just relax.” Ricky states, as he watches you push up on the counter, legs dangling in the air after putting your phone down.

He reaches for the lowest drawer, pulling out a dark black box and placing it flat in the palm of your hand. 

“What’s this?” 

“A gift, before you go on tour. And I wanted to ask you something.” 

You nod, encouraging him to go on, as you look at the bracelet - a chain-linked, chunky silver bracelet with a heart charm right in the middle. 

“That’s custom made. From Tiffany, because it’s your favorite right?” 

“Yeah. Thank you, I really appreciate it.” 

“Well, I’m really proud of you. Ribbons is a great record and I’m sure you and I will be competing for Record of the Year in a few months.” 

You smile as Ricky leans closer, hands on both of your sides of the counter. 

“I think you’re really great. And-and I know we’ve been pretending but some part of this became really real for me and I think it did for you too. So I think we should quit playing around and do this for real.” 

You feel your throat dry as Ricky smiles at you, so excited and earnest, that you almost feel bad. For how you’re going to shoot him down. 

“Ricky. Oh. Um. Listen. You’re really great. I-I really like you. But I-I don’t know if I can do that right now.” you respond. 

“That’s okay. I don’t expect anything from you and I’m willing to be patient and all that. We’ll figure it out.” he responds, yanking the chain out of the box and reaching forward to secure it around your hand. 

“Listen. I-I don’t know if it’s all that. It’s just, I don’t. I like you Ricky but not like that. I just can’t do that right now.” 

Ricky leans back in confusion, dragging the necklace off your hand as you give him your most sincere smile. And you can’t help but feel bad for not liking him back. When he’s helped you out more times than you can count, with red carpets and defending you when he didn’t have to. 

But you can't help these sort of things.

“Listen. I-I can go home. I’ll take the trash and then leave so you can be alone, yeah?” 

“Okay. I appreciate that. Thank you for being honest.” 

You breathe a sigh of relief.

“Of course. And thank you for taking it well, I still appreciate what you’ve done and have a lot of love for you.” you respond, squeezing his shoulder as you walk past. 

You take the half filled bag of trash and walk out to the garage to swing the door open. There’s a decent amount of rain pouring down and you quickly scamper out admist it. You throw the bag over your shoulder and quickly run over to the chute to throw it down before running down to the door. 

Except when you reach for the handle, it doesn’t pull down. You jam it down, more aggressively this time as the heavy drops start matting your hair to your forehead. Giving up on the door, you run to the other side and rap your knuckles against the window, where Ricky’s back is still turned. 

He turns around and gives you a look, half opening the window. 

“Hey. Sorry, I accidentally locked the door on the way out.” 

“That wasn’t an accident. That was me.” Ricky responds, glaring at you. 

“Huh?” 

“That was me.” he responds, again. 

“Listen, I can’t really hear you and it’s really cold outside. Can you just let me in?” you ask. 

“Sorry, Y/N. I really like you but I just don’t know if I can do that right now.”

"Ricky."

He closes off the window and walks away all together. 

You can feel the panic setting in your chest - at the fact that you’re standing in the pouring rain in Seattle and you don’t know where to go. And that Ricky, nice and sweet Ricky, just locked you out.

You hunch over on your knees, yanking your phone out of your pocket to call Mikasa. She picks up on the first call and you can hear her and Jean screaming through the speaker. 

“TOP TEN ON THE CHARTS I KNOW THAT’S RIGHT.” they both scream, the sentence going over you’re head. 

“Mika. Mika, wait.” you whisper, the tears starting to fill your eyes. 

You’re thrown off by the screeching of tires and doors closing and you march over to Ricky’s side door. You lightly crack it open and spot seven paparazzi cars, parked straight on Ricky’s porch. 

Meaning. Not only did Ricky lock you out of his house in the pouring rain but he made sure to call the paparazzi so they can catch you the first chance he got. You quickly shut the door and run to the backside of the house, into the back streets by Ricky’s neighborhood. And the panic's starting to make your legs shake.

“Mika. You’re not still in Seattle, are you?” you ask, the panic laced in your voice. 

“No, babe. We’re in Tampa right now for Armin and Annie’s thing. We left a few days ago.” 

“Do you know anyone who is? This is urgent, Mika.” 

You hear Mikasa murmuring over the phone and suddenly Jean’s on the line, his voice more firm and collected than Mikasa’s. You can suddenly hear her panicking in the background, talking to a third voice you can’t identify. 

“Marco says your options are Eren or Historia. They’re both still in Seattle, though I think Eren’s closer to where you are. Call us when you’re safe. Immediately, Y/N.” Jean says. 

“Okay.” 

You can hear the sound of raised voices from the direction you came and you quickly hunch to the side. You try your best to wipe the wetness of your phone as you scroll for Eren’s contact and dial. 

He picks up on the first ring.

“Y/N?” he asks, voice raspy like he was sleeping. 

And at the sound of his voice, months after the fact, when you’re soaked to the bone in the rain, you can’t help but cry. 

“Eren?” you ask, voice breaking. 

“Y/N. What is it?” he asks, voice suddenly louder. 

“I need your help.”

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No. No, I'm not hurt, but I could be? I don't know, Eren I-"  

“Say the word. What-what is it? I-I’m there. Just tell me what you need me to do, love."  

“I need you to come get me, Eren.” 

“I’m coming. Stay exactly where you are and on the line with me.”

--

--

next part linked here

taglist:

@k0z3me @kayleegomez @yihona-san06 @bsenpai  @sweetenertea @mykyoon @violetmatcha  @rebeccawinters @cutiejg @bokutosthings @bookwrmm @mblrrr @wheredidmycrowngo @somethinginyoureyes7 @chilichopsticks @okaystopwhore @you-always-made-me-blush @itzmeme @firelordazulaaaa @whoami-72 @g-ghostly @intimacywithceline @erensmoodygf @cocomellxn @princess-ackerman @jaegerfiles @cacapeepee @squirrelspoetry @rui-0836 @moonmalice @invisible-mori @sofiasber @bbybeeb @timetobegone @tee4str @ttokki2 @leave-rae-alone @ec3lipsy @officialsimpp @gojojang @yookayyo

lmk if you want to be added to the taglist by either commenting on this or the masterlist <3

[denimbex1986]

'When Cillian Murphy took to the podium during Sunday night’s Golden Globes, his nose smudged in his wife’s lipstick, it was as if a door had opened on this Hollywood Neverland and an ambassador for the real world had stepped through.

Accepting the Best Actor in a Drama award for Oppenheimer, Murphy wasn’t so much un-starry as stonkingly everyday. Here was a normal person who had somehow beamed into peak Tinseltown and, if pleased, was also clearly a bit perplexed by it all.

The Oppenheimer win has made Murphy a frontrunner for the Oscars. In all likelihood, he will be up against a creepy Barry Keoghan in Saltburn, an overblown Bradley Cooper in Maestro, and a fervent Leonard DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon. With the arguable exception of the grandstanding Cooper, all would be worthy winners. And yet, underdogs everywhere will be cheering for Murphy. He’s spent the past 20 years negotiating Hollywood on his own terms and has rejected Tinseltown’s showiness in favour of staying grounded and playing the long game.

Murphy always wanted to be an actor rather than a star. Such a choice could easily have condemned him to a lifetime of supporting roles. Or a hiatus in TV, to which he seemed exiled when he settled in for a long run as Tommy Shelby in Birmingham noir Peaky Blinders.

But his decision to turn away from flashy parts has proved inspired. He is that rarest of things: an experienced A-list actor who comes to the Oscars without baggage. Unlike DiCaprio, he hasn’t had to overcome a past life as a teen pin-up. Nor does he have to justify a lucrative stint in comic book films, as Cooper has with his time as Rocket Racoon in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Above all, Murphy goes into Oscar season as an antidote to the “look at me!” culture of the social media era. In an age when fame is regarded as the ultimate commodity – more important than awards or critical acclaim – Murphy would rather let his work speak for itself. He lives humbly in suburban Dublin with his wife and two children – and his great passion outside of acting is music, as demonstrated by his semi-regular presenting slot on BBC 6 Music.

That’s lifetimes removed from Hollywood, with its self-mythologising and turbo-charged fakeness. It is also of a piece with his career since he broke through playing a survivor of the zombie apocalypse in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later. Ever since, he has chosen his jobs thoughtfully. In so doing, he has assembled a body of work of which he can be proud.

He hasn’t been above popcorn. He was a memorable villain in Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, where he played the Scarecrow as a trippy nightmare. But even when shooting for the box office, Murphy has been studiedly un-starry. Careful to keep his ego in check, he’s often happy in an ensemble – hugging the background in A Quiet Place II and settling for an extended cameo in Nolan’s Dunkirk, where he was content to let Harry Styles and Tom Hardy hog the spotlight.

Hog it they did – yet it was Murphy who proved to be in it for the long road. Because he could go into Oppenheimer without a Hollywood aura, he disappeared into the role. If hardly obscure, he nonetheless assimilated fully into the part. Throughout that film, you were aware of its stars. Florence Pugh and Emily Blunt doing their best with under-written female characters. Robert Downey Jr trying to pretend he hadn’t spent a decade as Iron Man.

Murphy, by contrast, split the acting atom. He vanished into Oppenheimer with a performance that exuded humility and sincerity. Bookies have now installed him as a favourite for the Best Actor Oscar. If he wins, it would be a victory for knowing who you are and what you stand for and believing good work has value beyond short-term acclaim. Above all, his success shows that it is possible to stay grounded while scaling Hollywood’s giddiest heights.'

[lukabitch]

A ghostface x male killer reader we’re they’re complete opposites like the reader is really cold and distant and barely talks and that’s what draws Danny to him and basically how Danny somehow gets the reader to like him back and them getting together?

One of my personal favorite tropes. Thank you for the request Anon! :)

Tw: mentions of blood.

Danny had his eye on you for awhile. The way you would keep your head down and avoid every killer. You remind him of some of his favorite victims just a lot more lethal.

He’s tried to hang around you but, you’d somehow always found a way to leave. Not this time though, he really wants to get to know you. You were out in the woods sharpening your weapon. He walked up to you giving a award winning smile.

“Hey handsome you wouldn’t mind if a join you?” He didn’t give you time to answer and joined you anyway. You sigh out giving trying your best to ignore him. “I always thought your weapon was cool. Do you have a name for it?” The question stayed in the air for a long time.

“Christine.” You voice was quiet and rough from lack of use. The name was weirdly normal for a weapon. He thought about the name going over ideas in his head. Then it dawns on him what the name is from.

“Wait like the book Christine? By Stephen King?” The excitement was very clear in his voice. You nod your head gently focusing on your weapon. “Personal I love that book. Definitely a slow buildup but it was worth it in the end.” He was on the verge of completely nerding out on you. If there is one way to describe Danny it’s definitely a horror nerd.

“It was one of my favorite books growing up.” You were done with your weapon your full attention on the man beside you. “What’s your favorite book by him?” Danny finally got what he wanted your attention. “Personal my favorite is The Shining.” You hummed in acknowledging and taking note of it.

Awhile has past since then and you two have a mini book club. You still have the tendency to act cold and distant towards him but, that’s what he liked in the first place. The book the two of you are reading is Misery.

Though he had something else in mind for today’s meeting. He worked his ass off to get you a gift. Obviously he got you your favorite book and some of your favorite candies. When he got to the log you two usually meet at you weren’t there.

He assumed that you were in a trial and waited for you to get back. Luckily that didn’t take long for him. You were not in the best of moods at the moment. The trial went pretty bad for you. All you got from it was your clothes being stained with blood. You just wanted some comfort before the entity kicked your ass.

You went to the spot you knew you would find Danny. When he saw you he walked up being more cheery then usual. That’s when you saw the gifts he had. “I manage to get these for you.” Hearing that made you pull him in close for a hug.

He was over the moon with the affectionate you gave. “I need to ask you something sweet thing. Would you like to make these meetings into dates?” He wasn’t exactly expecting an answer from you.

“I would like that actually.” your voice was softer more vulnerable. Needless to say Danny was ecstatic about this.

“Trust me handsome you won’t regret this.” You had the feeling he was right.

[papermoonloveslucy]

RIP GLYNIS JOHNS

1923-2024

Johns is probably best remembered for playing Winifred Banks in Disney's Mary Poppins (1964). Although it was a mainstream hit for Judy Collins, Johns introduced the song "Send in the Clowns" in the Broadway musical A Little Night Music (1974) for which she won a Tony Award.

On August 5, 1963, CBS' "Vacation Playhouse" aired an episode titled "Hide and Seek," which was the pilot for "Glynis", a sitcom starring Johns and Keith Andes, who played the male lead in Lucille Ball's 1960 Broadway musical Wildcat and would go on to appear on "The Lucy Show." The series' working title was "The Glynis Johns Show", but eventually it was shortened to the star's first name. The series was produced by Desilu and created and executive produced by Jess Oppenheimer, one of the original creators of "I Love Lucy". A month later "Glynis" earned a spot on CBS' fall schedule, but only lasted 13 episodes.

Johns was nominated for an Oscar in 1961 for The Sundowners. She worked with a lot of the same stars as Lucille Ball, although the two never acted together. She was in The Court Jester (1955) with Danny Kaye, Papa's Delicate Condition (1963) with Jackie Gleason, and Mary Poppins (1964) with Dick Van Dyke. Like so many of Ball's colleagues, she played a villain on "Batman": Penelope Peasoup in 1967.

She was 'born in a trunk' to theatrical parents touring in South Africa, but raised in Wales. She was 100 years old. From four marriages she had one child whom she outlived by 15 years.

[devilsrecreation]

Me and @sweetheart-weeb-33 came up with the best TLG au ever. Listen to this:

TLG Actor Au where all the animals in the Lion Guard is a Zootopia-esque actor

Imagine all the villains are actually super sweet irl and I do mean ALL of them

Kiburi’s an actual rapper who had a hand (claw) in helping write the villain songs, especially with Janja’s lyrics. Kiburi also wanted to do a solo in “Run this Dump” but his record label wouldn’t let him

-He probably writes his own version

He and Makuu are pretty good friends irl

Oh speaking of which, it’s one of the songs that won an award. Jasiri, Ushari, and Kiburi all collaborated on it and it was legit their greatest masterpiece

-The other songs that won an award were “Sisi ni Sawa” and “A New Way to Go” (both songs Jasiri wrote herself)

-They got the news during the shooting of a scene by someone shouting “WE FREAKING WON”. There was a huge party at Janja’s afterwards. Kiburi has picked up Makuu during the excitement

-Kiburi wasn’t allowed to speak during the ceremony due to the fact that he gloats to the other nominees. Reirei offers to do it instead

They got Kenge as a guest star from another show and he accidentally keeps mixing up the two. “Oops, wrong show” is something he says a lot

This one’s my favorite: Tamka is actually English as opposed to the New Yorker accent he does in the show

“Oh! How dreadful! I have been defeated!”

“Cut! Hey Tamka, can you say that in like a New York mobster kind of voice?”

“Oh, like this? OHHHHH! DE AGONY! YOU HAVE BEATEN ME!”

“Perfect.”

Believe it or not, Sumu’s really shy and introverted off-camera. He gets so awkward when someone recognizes him in public. He gets even more surprised when people are positive about it like “Wait, you LIKED my part? You think I’m a good villain? Really?”

-He’s even apologized profusely about what his character was about to do and if he was being too scary. He swears he would never sting out of malice

Bunga gets along well with his “enemies” offscreen. He and Ushari’s friendship is so wholesome and Mama Binturong freaking loves him. She is THE mom figure ever. You know how Danny DeVito took care of Mara Wilson during the filming of Matilda? That’s Mama with Bunga

Mama’s the mom figure to everyone, honestly. She’s interrupted filming just because Ushari or Janja didn’t have breakfast that morning

Ushari doesn’t need to act much he’s already done with everybody’s shit

He and Shupavu are married irl

Njano got a part due to being the director’s son. Yup, good ol nepotism. He sometimes needs help with his lines

Bunga’s the best with improv. 98% of his stunts are improvised

Makucha has a friendlier, higher pitched voice irl. Sometimes doing his gravelly voice hurts his throat

Ora plays his part so well, everybody’s genuinely scared of him

The cloud and fire used for Mufasa and Scar are done with special effects and puppets

The bloopers are golden. There’s a lot of cursing done backstage for a preschool show lmaoooo

[destinyc1020]

I am catching up on your discussion on tcr. As a Tom fan who has not yet watched tcr (I know I know, but I have just had a lot going on). I have seen many comments in a few communities I am in that say, they didn’t care for Tom before watching the show but were blown away by his performance. I think one thing for sure is that his performance is being highlighted as a standout almost unanimously. I am looking forward to eventually watching and make up my views on the show. However, if so many people are ranting and raving about Tom’s performance. I feel like it can only really benefit him in the long run when people actually start to look at his performances as a whole and realise his talent. Cause my unpopular opinion is that Tom may be an overrated celebrity (lovingly) but I think he is an underrated actor right now.

I am catching up on your discussion on tcr. As a Tom fan who has not yet watched tcr (I know I know, but I have just had a lot going on).

Lol I'm j/k Anon 😅🤣 You know I don't care who's seen what projects lol 😆 It's NOT that serious. (Hope you're doing well btw 🙏🏾)

Anyway, I def think Tom is the standout in this series, and I highly highly recommend it! 😁👍🏾

Some scenes might be a bit tough to watch for some ppl (ie. TW: Danny being forced to perform sexual acts on a man in exchange for him getting a gun, flashbacks to child sexual abuse and molestation, etc. ), but you can fast forward those things if they are triggering for you.

But yea, I def think the series is worth a watch! 😁

I really think the critics are going to be eating crow come awards season lol 🤭

Remember, TCR isn't eligible for an Emmy THIS year (if we even have the Emmy awards this year 😵‍💫😩), but it will be eligible NEXT year!

[echoesdaffodil]

Okay, starting some discussion because I have to and state some of my feelings. I love DC pride, its rainbow capitalism feel good shit but I as a queer person deserve my payed escapism like any other person. And they payed respect to some really important stuff and at least showed quotes from queer people and add help hotlines as advertisers etc. As much as I cried in the bus driving home when I read the quote on the back of 2023’s DC pride.

“Between us and home there’s a thousand bad guys, but this time we’ll do it like we always did… together.”

With that said, I am sad that again certain characters do not want to be seen inside the DC pride collection. And that’s wrong. Every character that’s queer deserves their story here. Also John Constantine and Tim Drake. If they are treated respectfully. And some of y’all act really weird bc when Ghost Maker, Aqualad, Crush, Alan Scott etc are reduced to their sexuality nobody saying shit but with Red Robin is, you do? Really?

My general concern is that these characters should be inside the DC pride but should get elsewhere different stories. Erasing them from here is not helpful and does not help these characters to be seen. Now their sexuality is a part of them and I don’t know about you guys but when Jon came out or Tim (my Robin growing up) came out. I felt seen. When Connor Hawke had his coming out, as an ace person I felt seen. When dreamer came out as trans I felt seen. John Constantine and his whole sexuality made me feel that queers have been here long before I was even born.

Some characters get invited every year and some get ignored. Such as Doctor Occult who gender swaps, Timothy Hunter (the better DC Tim) who had a whole gender crisis within his comics, Danny the Street, Larry Trainor, Coagula/Kate Godwin, Edwin Paine, every one of the Endless for they have no gender and just present in the gender they feel the most comfortable with, I could go on for there are too many who don’t get recognised and even they get get invited they don’t get any runs.

DC pride is an award winning comic series. I love that I have DC pride but it’s not enough and kicking out characters is not the answer to the “reducing to sexuality problem”. It feels elitist or homophobe and often it’s both. It’s DC’s inability to address queer characters that have been before or already are as queer and use them accordingly. DC pride could be advertising these beautiful characters and get more people to read them and handing them the feeling to be seen. Like it was with Kevin Conroy’s story back in 2022.

[sugdenlovesdingle]

Jane Hudson needs to go. I really won’t understand ITV keeping her after the humiliation of getting nothing at the British soap award. I believe an executive producer can only survive one slump. The writing did get better with Marlon’s stroke after being atrocious ever since the last year of Robron and Ryan Hawley and Danny Miller departure. However this past year has been awful, they doomed so many characters and made them hated by the viewers which caused the actors to immediately leave when their contract was up (Marcus and Naomi). I think they didn’t appreciate the actor of Marcus leaving with the way his departure was introduced, I heard the more awful the departure is, the more it means the producers didn’t like the actor’s leaving and to get revenge, they are writing the worst ending. You can see they tried to make Paddy depression and attempt to take his life to get awards buzz, because they hoped that they would get the same reaction than Marlon’s stroke. Dominic Brunt is a fantastic actor but there’s nothing he could do with non-existent writing of his storyline. I felt it barely lasted 5 episodes… he disappeared, was found by Marlon and Chas, was being looked after, they had the all-male episode and then he went to the reunion and that’s it, storyline over. And then the ongoing storyline that nobody cares about, I mean, can’t they read the room, Chloe is really not liked, Mac had a promising start but now people had enough with him and everyone is waiting for Charity to get back with Vanessa. Let’s not start with Wendy and Liam, they are really trying to group characters with no attach to anyone together. Most importantly, where the hell are Arthur and Marshall, it’s been a month and we got nothing since they got together, it was one of the sole storyline that attracted viewers attention recently.

I seriously believe that Jane Hudson and all of the people responsible for Emmerdale sinking to the lowest they had ever been. I know they pride themselves in having three women in charge but I am sorry but for what, every female character end up pregnant, they are making them being everybody’s girl and honestly we don’t talk enough about it but the influx of pretty boys who also can’t act has exploded since she became the executive producer. At some point, it seem really unprofessional from her. When was the last time an Abercrombie and Fich model was not introduced as a new character ? Where are the new families or the relatable characters ? The upcoming storyline look atrocious, nobody knows how to do a whodunnit anymore, it’s always about characters that no one care about.

wow tell me how you really feel anon 😉

I'm not sure Jane is the only problem at emmerdale at the moment... but yeah - something's gotta change.

Marlon's stroke was really well done but they can't keep using that for the awards. Paddy's depression and attempted suicide were horrendous. Paddy is depressed about his wife cheating on him and planning to take his daughter away from him when running away with the other guy, and Chas made it all about her. SHE had to be with Eve, SHE felt sorry for herself because Paddy wanted a divorce, SHE went crying to Caleb when The Family didn't want to talk to her... and the all male episode? I don't even remember it... it was a whole load of nothing.

I adored Mack when he was first introduced - his happy go lucky nature, the flirty banter with Aaron, and in the beginning with Charity... but then they flicked a switch and he was suddenly mister domestic with Charity... and now he's all about the baby and Chloe... I mean... Chloe has as much personality as that baby? She was introduced as the weird surrogate daughter for Kerry and the rich girl friend for Sarah who didn't know the meaning of the word boundaries. Then she slept with Noah, Nate, and then suddenly Mack and they shoved a baby at her. And the other young mothers in the village? 0 interaction apart from Amy every now and then to tell her "you're his mam". Why can't she talk to Amelia about being a young (single? I don't remember if Noah and Amelia ever got back together) mother, or Vic who supposedly lives in the same house?

and Amy and Matty are ENGAGED yet their relationship gets 0 focus. It's all about Chloe and the baby and Matty is allowed to walk around in the Hop a bit and sort of talk about/with his mother every now and then. I saw an insta post from Ash earlier that he's been on the show for FIVE YEARS... but after his initial introduction/moira accepting him and the five minute toxic masculinity story, they've done nothing with Matty. Even the relationship with Amy gets no focus - their engagement was the first time they even kissed on screen! (i know they got together during the first covid lockdown/social distancing but there were work arounds for that - camera trickery, real life partners as stand ins, etc) In this time where trans people are being attacked (either physically or via legislation) emmerdale could choose to show a trans man in a loving relationship preparing for his upcoming marriage to his long term girlfriend... but they do... everything but.

As for the Caleb stuff - I doubt he actually dies. They made such a show of getting Will Ash on board, I don't think they're going to kill Caleb off just like that and let Kim just "win". Nicky will probably be a suspect, Kim, Will, the entire dingle fam... and watch it be that Adrian guy he introduced last night.

Sigh.

There is so much potential with these characters, and even with the storylines they choose to run... but they only run them into the ground. Characters and actors who vibe well together (Naomi and Marlon, Marcus and Noah) just never interact after one or two scenes... and Ethan is just... nowhere to be found? When his grandmother (who he supposedly knows) just rocked up in the village? He's a lawyer, couldn't he have helped her with her housing situation?? Where's emile? Is he still on the show or has he left too?

Just... hire me emmerdale, I have ideas!

[yano2519]

Suspect

THE first pictures have been released of Outlander star Sam Heughan’s latest role – in Channel 4 mystery drama Suspect.

Heughan will feature alongside award-winning actor James Nesbitt (below) in the new series.

Nesbitt plays the leading role of veteran detective Danny Frater who is dealt a devastating blow when he goes to the morgue for a routine ID check. The corpse turns out to belong to his estranged daughter Christina, played by Imogen King, who has ostensibly taken her own life.

Each of the thirty-minutes episodes in the eight-part series then focuses on Nesbitt’s interactions with one other character as he seeks to understand the truth of what happened to her.

Through this series of intense exchanges with those closest to Christina – her godfather, Ryan (played by Heughan, above), her partner, Nicola (played by Niamh Algar), her best friend, Maia (played by Antonia Thomas), her business partner Jaisal (played by Sacha Dhawan), her mentor, Harry (played by Richard E Grant) and finally her mother Susannah (played by Anne-Marie Duff) – Frater learns of his daughter’s “descent into delinquency”.

He is forced to confront his own failings as a father whilst struggling to make sense of a mass of contradictory testimony and circumstantial evidence, and he must decide who, if anyone, is responsible for Christina’s death and what he’s going to do about it. Also appearing in the series is Jackie (played by Joely Richardson), the pathologist who carries out the post-mortem on Christina’s body and Richard (played by Ben Miller) Danny’s Detective Superintendent boss.

Nesbitt said the programme had an "incredible array of acting talent" on board.

He said: "I could relate to Danny, with his flaws, vulnerabilities and the devastating situation he faces, from the very first moment I picked up the script.

"Each episode of Suspect is an intensely theatrical double-hander, a psychological battle of wits between Danny and another character who may know something about his daughter's untimely death, and I really can't wait to lock horns with my fellow cast members and to lead this incredible array of acting talent."

[mercheswan]

The Mile High Club

Pairing: Stiles Stilinski/Theo Raeken

Rating: Explicit.

Words: 2990

Summary: Stiles is fired from the FBI due to him not being good at following the rules and protocols. He ends up working as a Bodyguard for some rich kids and celebrities. Enter Theo Raeken; Rap Superstar.

Theo grinned almost predatory. “Stiles…” The singer whispered in a low and sensual voice. “Won’t you join the Mile High Club with me?”

For @steodiscord May Prompt: Famous AU.

You can also read it in AO3. (Link in the comments)

Sometimes Stiles regretted the fact that he has the inability to follow rules. That had been the primary reason why, It has not worked for him in the FBI. Too many protocols, too much bureaucracy. Stiles was more the type to act first and ask for forgiveness later, and that didn’t settle right with the Federal Bureau.

He could have gone back to Beacon Hills to work under his father in the police department, but he felt a little bit ashamed that he had ruined such a big professional opportunity that when some FBI acquaintances told him about the possibility to work as a personal bodyguard he decided to do it. He could join his father in Beacon Hills later, he needed to prove that he could be independent. Furthermore, the bodyguard job was especially well payed and he only had to accompany some rich kids to some parties or events.

That was how he met Theo. Theo Raeken new rap superstar, he was the ‘moment’ as the celebrity blogs and music radios claimed. He was young, hot as hell and charismatic. He also worked as a model and he was beginning to do some television too. Stiles had no doubt that the man will end up being on the big screen in no time.

When the personal security enterprise contacted Stiles to tell him that his new client was Theo, Stiles had to admit that he was a little bit excited. The guy was incredibly handsome and sexy, so at least Stiles could get a good view while doing his job. But, Stiles predicted the rap singer to be a total jerk and he wasn’t very wrong in his assumptions. It wasn’t that Theo was rude or problematic, but he totally knew how to manipulate people and use his fame to get what he wanted. It was very irritating, but at the same time it fascinated Stiles how well Theo managed to make the people dance at his orders. It was kinda hot.

In addition, It seemed that Theo liked Stiles cause he always requested him as his personal bodyguard. It was very good money.

This last job consisted in accompanying the Raeken boy to Las Vegas to a music awards show. So they took a private jet to get there.

“First time in a plane Stiles?” Theo smirked.

“No. But, it is the first time I’m flying in such a little airplane. It looks more like a Star Wars spaceship” Stiles replied. Theo snorted at his comment.

“And have you been to Las Vegas before?” Theo questioned. Stiles shook his head. He had never. His best friend from High School, Scott, had never been the party type. If he had got along better with Danny and Jackson, Stiles would have probably come already to some party. “Then you are going to love it. The wildness of this city is incredible. Everyone acts impulsed by three things: money, party and sex” Theo said in a seductive voice. It made Stiles shiver. Why did his client had to be so hot!?

“I’m working though. You know, bodyguard and all that ” Stiles said.

“Stiles” Theo came closer focusing his eyes on the Stilinski boy. Stiles almost gulped out loud, he suddenly felt like he was a prey being hunted. “You know what they say, what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas. I’m gonna party hard and you can do the same if you want” Theo smirked mischievously.

Stiles wasn’t sure what Theo was proposing but he felt tempted to say yes. Instead, he just smiled politely and stared at the plane’s window.

For a few minutes neither spoke but then Theo broke the silence. “You know, I always ask for you when I hire your enterprise” Stiles glared at the singer. “It’s because I like you. The first time they assigned you to me I was like, damn my bodyguard it’s hot!” Theo laughed. Stiles’s eyes widened in surprise. “And I know you find me attractive too, I’ve seen you stealing a glance or two sometimes”

Stiles felt his cheeks getting warm. “Whatever” he scoffed trying to hide his embarrassment.

Theo laughed. “Oh, come on… we both have the hots for the other, that’s a good thing. We can totally exploit that for our own… enjoyment”

Stiles wasn’t sure if he liked the direction in which this conversation was going. But at the same time he felt slightly excited. “What do you mean?”

“You said you’ve never been in a private jet before, right?” Stiles felt confused by the sudden change of topic. He shook his head. Theo smirked. “You know, there are some things people say you need to do at least once in your lifetime. I’m totally in for new experiences. Especially the pleasurable ones”

Stiles furrowed his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

Theo grinned almost predatory. “Stiles…” The singer whispered in a low and sensual voice. “Won’t you join the Mile High Club with me?”

Stiles froze. He had not been expecting that. He was probably turning red as a tomato. “Are you, a-are you mad!?” The bodyguard exclaimed in a hushed voice.

“Come on Stiles… we are young, hot, uncommitted and we are traveling just the two of us in this plane…” Theo said while resting his legs in Stiles’s thighs.

“We are not a-alone!” The Stilinski hissed pushing away the singer’s legs.

“Stiles… the pilot and the stewardess work for me… in fact, they work for an enterprise of private airplanes and jets for rich people. Do you really think they have not seen other clients… being naughty on the plane? They had sworn to secrecy” Theo huffed a low laugh.

That might me true but Stiles knew he shouldn’t. “The answer is no” He tried to sound firm.

But Theo was not going to accept such answer. He moved from his place to sit on the bodyguard’s lap and before the Stilinski had the chance to push him off, he pressed their lips together in a demanding and sensual kiss. Alarms sounded in Stiles’s head. He felt like he was in some type of wet dream. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t be that Theo Raeken one of the most desirable men from the moment was making out with him in a plane, and even wanted to have sex with him. How did his life became this?

Stiles knew he should have pushed Theo way. He should have maintained control and be a professional, but he had always been horrible at following rules and he had been horny for Theo from the first day they met. The bodyguard’s brain just said ‘fuck it’. Stiles melt into the kiss, returning it with equal passion. Their mouths moved with urgency, tongues dancing together, making the kiss get heated very quickly. Theo smiled into it, knowing that his plan of seduction was working. When he pulled away from Stiles, both of them were panting hard, the rap singer then began leaving little bites and kisses in the Stilinski’s neck. Stiles left out an airy moan. Theo’s hands moved to the bodyguard’s torso, touching his fit body. The Raeken’s moans were silenced by Stiles pushing their mouths together again in an ardent kiss. Stiles was trembling with pleasure.

“T-Theo… ah…” Stiles babbled out, huffing.

“Fuck yes! I knew you had a dirty mouth…” Theo mumbled biting the other’s lower lip.

Theo’s hand moved to rub through Stiles’s pants feeling his bulge and causing the bodyguard to moan out softly. “N-Not here!” Stiles said huskily.

“Come on” Theo whispered against the other’s lips leaving a little peck. “Stiles” he called into his ear before nibbling into his lobe. “You know you want to…” The rap singer said all knowingly in a low and suggestively voice.

Stiles closed his eyes and exhaled a moan, resting his head on his seat. When he opened his eyes they met Theo’s blue. “The Toilet” He declared between pants.

Theo smiled and eagerly nodded accepting the request, before getting up and grabbing Stiles’s hand to guide them both to the plane’s toilet. He opened the door and stepped inside with Stiles, quickly locking the door. The mentioned toilet was bigger than an average commercial plane one, but it still left small room to move. The bodyguard was pressed against the door, he looked gorgeous, so incredibly hot, Theo was feeling very attracted to the man being all flushed and messed up, because of him. He wanted to be the only one who got to see Stiles like that. Theo moved his head closer to capture the Stilinski lips on a messy kiss. He then attacked Stiles’s neck, kissing, sucking and biting, not caring about the possibility of leaving marks.

“The… - ah - o… - ah, ah! - you… - mmm oh yes…ah -” Stiles said between desperate moans.

Theo pulled away from the Stilinski’s neck and offered a sensual and predatory grin that made Stiles’s knees go weak. He couldn’t believe that this was really happening. “Fuck Stiles… your mouth… you have no idea how many times I’ve think about your mouth… those lips are sinful… god… how good they would look wrapped around my cock” Theo panted before smashing their mouths greedily in a kiss. Stiles whimpered in pure pleasure. He was getting so turned on, his whole body burning. The comment made his head spin in ecstasy. He was such a cock slut, he wanted it. He wanted to suck it so bad. Stiles’s hand moved to Theo’s hard dick and squeezed it.

Theo growled and pressed his body into Stiles, making their groins rub together. Stiles left out a chocked sound. “So you want it? Do you want my cock, Stiles?” Theo asked in the most sensual voice Stiles had ever heard. The bodyguard thought he was gonna cum right there. Another time, perhaps, he would have protested a little bit to the other’s cocky attitude and requests but he was insanely aroused and blinded by desire. Stiles fell to his knees and rapidly pulled Theo’s pants and boxers down, desperate to have the other’s cock in his mouth. Theo hissed when he felt the cold air against his naked skin. He was very hard, Stiles couldn’t help but to left out a dirty moan at seeing the other’s length, Theo was quite big which was a very pleasing discovery.

Stiles tentatively licked Theo’s erection, kissing and sucking the head in a teasing way. Theo groaned out loud. “Fuck… Stiles…” His eyes showed hunger.

Stiles grinned mischievously and laughed sending the vibrations to Theo’s cock. The singer whimpered in pleasure. Then Stiles took Theo’s member in his mouth causing the singer to moan out loud at the feeling of Stiles’s wet mouth around his length. Stiles eagerly sucked, his own moans being muffled by Theo’s cock. The Raeken boy rested his hands on the door to support himself as the stared at the bodyguard working on him. Theo panted and moaned almost uncontrollably. Stiles sucked like a pro.

Stiles’s whole body burned with desire and need. He was painfully hard, he needed to let his erection sprung free, so with one hand he began unbuttoning his trousers. Theo noticed the Stilinski’s movement and pulled his hair making Stiles whimper in surprise. Theo pulled again indicating the other to get up. Stiles stood up and Theo hungrily kissed him again. He guided the bodyguard’s body a few steps back until the Stilinski boy was pressed against the sink.

“What are you…” Stiles mumbled in a husky voice. Then Theo turned him around so that Stiles was looking at his reflection in the sink’s mirror. He looked like a pure mess. Flushed face, swollen lips, watery eyes. “Absolutely ravishing” Theo whispered in a low voice looking at the other through the mirror. Stiles titled his head back to Theo’s shoulder and left out a loud moan. Theo was going to kill him. Stiles reached to his member but the singer slapped his hand away. Stiles whimpered in protest as Theo grabbed his arms and put them on his back. “This stay here, okay?” Theo commanded in a sultry voice.

Stiles was panting desperately. “T-Theo… - ah…ah - please, p-please… I can’t take it anymore…” He begged. Stiles needed Theo to touch him immediately.

But Theo began unbuttoning his shirt, painfully slowly, and then he played with his nipples. Stiles sobbed in pleasure for the overstimulation. “Theo! Fuck you! What the hell! T-touch me already!” Stiles protested and whimpered.

Theo bit his shoulder softly. “You’re so fucking sexy Stiles…” He held the bodyguard’s chin and turned his face to steal a dirty and wet kiss. Stiles moaned in the kiss and then he felt a hand covering his erection. Stiles broke the kiss. “Ah! Ah! Yesss…” He exclaimed. Theo pumped the other’s member with a fast pace making Stiles moan uncontrollably. Theo’s own length which had been unattended, hardened even more as he witnesses the Stilinski boy turning into a hot mess before him. Stiles came embarrassedly fast with a loud cry, but he couldn’t be blamed when he had been teased mercilessly before. This whole experience seemed surreal and it was too hot to be true. His cum splashed all over the sink and his body had to he supported by Theo as his legs felt like jelly.

“F-fuck… Theo… that was… a-amazing…” Stiles panted.

“I’m glad” Theo smiled. “But I haven’t finished with you yet”

Eichi glanced at the other’s hard member and trembled with desire. Stiles nodded and pressed their mouths back together in a demanding kiss. He pulled away and hugged Theo, trying to catch his breath. Stiles saw Theo reaching out for the little cabinet next to the mirror. Then he opened it and took a bottle of lube and a package of condoms.

Stiles’s eyes widened. “Unbelievable…”

Theo snorted “I told you we weren’t the first ones to be naughty in the plane . They come prepared” Theo huffed a laugh. The singer met eyes with the bodyguard. “Stiles. Can I?”

“Fuck…” Stiles hissed in a low voice. He was getting hard again, he was still pretty horny. He really wanted it. “Wreck me” he begged. “Fuck me until I can’t say my name anymore”

Theo growled like a wolf, devouring Stiles’s mouth before bending him over the sink to have better access to the Stilinski’s ass. Theo put on some lube in his fingers and thrust them in and out of Stiles’s hole, preparing him.

“Ah… ah! Yes please… just like that… there, there… ah, ah” As Theo added more fingers and scissored him, Stiles moaned uncontrollably, still being sensitive from his previous orgasm.

Once Theo considered that he was ready enough he took one of the condoms and put it on. “Are you ready?” Stiles nodded.

Theo thrusted slowly into Stiles’s hole, the bodyguard left out a choked sound as he felt Theo filling him up. “F-uck Stile-s… you’re so tight…” Theo groaned as he kept pushing inside. “Ah… you feel a-amazing….”

Stiles was fully panting and whimpering with his eyes closed. “P-please… m-move…” He begged.

Theo happily obliged penetrating the other’s ass harder and deeper. The toilet was a mess full of moans, groans, sobs and whimpers. Cries of ‘more, more!’ ‘please harder’ ‘don’t stop, don’t stop!’ filled the room.

Theo kept hitting that sweet spot making the Stilinski see the stars. Stiles was fully hard again. “I-I’m close…” Theo panted. “M-me too…” Stiles responded.

Theo’s thrusts became more erratic he closed his eyes fully lost in the pleasure.”F-fuck… I really wanna come a-again…” Stiles mumbled.

Theo buried his cock inside, hitting hard on Stiles’s prostate causing the boy to cry out loud. “L-let’s come t-together…” Theo moaned. Stiles only nodded not trusting his ability to form words anymore. A few more thrusts and Theo began moaning wildly grabbing Stiles’s hips with force and thrusting and thrusting uncontrollably. Skin slapping skin sounds resounded in the small toilet. He came with a loud and animalistic groan. “Ah… ah! Fuck, yes!” Theo’s orgasm provoked Stiles’s own climax as he came again in pants and loud moans.

The pair’s eyes met again through he mirror’s reflection. Theo slid off Stiles, getting rid of the condom before wrapping his arms from behind the bodyguard to pull him in a strangely affectionate hug. Eichi made a scoffing sound as he rested his back on the singer’s chest. Theo pushed their lips together in an hungry kiss making Stiles almost purr. “Satisfied?” Theo asked in a raspy voice.

Stiles was still enjoying the bliss of his orgasm but he managed to answer. “Fuck you... but that was hot” Theo grinned mischievously.

“Excuse me!” The feminine voice coming from the other side of the door starlet the pair. “We are going to land in fifteen minutes… if you could please return to your seats…”

“Oh my god…” Stiles groaned. The stewardess voice made him realise what he had just done. He had just had sex in a plane’s toilet with Theo fucking Raeken.

“I told you it’s fine, they are probably used to it.” Theo assured. “In a minute! Thank you!” He responded to the stewardess. “Come on let’s get ourselves clean up”.

A couple of minutes after, the pair exited the toilet and sat back at their places in silence.

“It was fun but it was a one time thing” Stiles said breaking the quiet atmosphere.

Their smirked. “Do you really think that you are going to be able to resist me?”

“Excuse me!”

“You heard me” Theo pulled closer to the Stilinski. “Now that I had a taste of you, I do not want to let you go. This this the Capital of Sin Stiles… I’ll make you sin again” Theo grinned as he rubbed his feet to Stiles’s leg in a seductive way.

Stiles knew in that moment that he was fucked. Both literally and figuratively. But he was going to enjoy it.

[yesthatssadirichardslove]

Barry Manilow prepares upcoming Broadway musical 'Harmony,' at long last

NEW YORK

More than 30 years after the musical “Harmony” was written, it finally prepares to make its Broadway debut. The show was almost lost to history — like its subject.

The historical show written by Barry Manilow and Bruce Sussman tells the true story of the forgotten German performing group The Comedian Harmonists. Many regard the six-man group as one of the first boy bands, as they recorded a string of popular albums and played sold-out venues around the globe.

But at the height of their popularity, the Nazi party took control of Germany, and they were denounced for being degenerates. Three of the group’s members were Jewish, and possessing their music was considered a crime.

Relegated to obscurity and word of mouth, Sussman learned of the group through a German-language documentary. After seeing it, he recalls running to a phone booth in lower Manhattan to call his writing partner about what he just saw.

“I had never heard of them. And I thought, (Manilow) knows every song ever written. He knows every group that ever was,” Sussman told the Associated Press in a recent interview after a rehearsal for the show.

Manilow was also unaware.

“Then we realized that’s the story,” Sussman said.

But that was half the battle, as information on the group was hard to come by. “The Nazis tried to annihilate them, and they did. You couldn’t find any records. You couldn’t look at any of their movies,” Manilow said.

Though they made approximately a dozen films and released numerous recordings, most were confiscated by authorities and destroyed.

“It was illegal to own or play or sell the records, so people hid their 78s under their mattresses. And after the war, they began to emerge,” Sussman said.

While playing concert dates in Germany, Manilow visited a Tower Records store in Berlin to check out a major display.

“There was a whole wall of Comedian Harmonists. It was like the Beatles. They were the Beatles. They were the Backstreet Boys. They were the first boy band. That’s how big they were,” Manilow said.

While the show was written in the 1990s, Manilow states the long road to Broadway — including stops off-Broadway in New York City and La Jolla Playhouse in California — had little to do with finishing the show and more about finding the right person to bring it to the big stage.

“Basically, it was ‘Harmony’ even in 1997 at the La Jolla Playhouse. Great reviews. Everybody loved it. And it wasn’t about the show, it was about the producers just couldn’t keep going. They couldn’t take it to New York,” Manilow said.

Then Tony-Award winning theatrical producer Ken Davenport stepped in. “He delivered all the way,” Sussman said. Previews begin Oct. 18 at the Barrymore Theatre.

The musical stars Sierra Boggess, Chip Zien and Julie Benko. The six Comedian Harmonists are Sean Bell, Danny Kornfeld, Zal Owen, Eric Peters, Blake Roman and Steven Telsey. The director is Warren Carlyle.

Manilow and Sussman are hoping that audiences learn about the legacy of The Comedian Harmonists, and how their brand of entertainment paved the way for the acts that followed.

Manilow and Sussman have worked together for decades with Manilow writing the music and Sussman dealing with lyrics, including the iconic hits “I Made it Through the Rain,” “Copacabana (At the Copa),” and “Hey Mambo.”

[denimbex1986]

'Since his breakthrough performance in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later over two decades ago, Cillian Murphy has become one of the biggest names in acting. Later, Murphy honed his skills with an iconic performance as Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders and a series of collaborations with beloved director Christopher Nolan. After appearing in The Dark Knight, Inception, and Dunkirk, he now takes on the starring role of the eponymous Oppenheimer in one of the most anticipated films of the year.

Alongside the Irish actor’s love for cinema, he also harbours a passion for music. In his youth, Murphy sang and played guitar in bands, even meeting his wife at one of his gigs in the mid-1990s. His most promising band was The Sons of Mr Green Genes, named after the Frank Zappa song, which featured Murphy and his brother Páidi. Acid Jazz Records even contacted the duo to offer them a deal, but they declined.

Though Murphy’s gigging days are behind him, music remains a huge part of the actor’s life. During an interview with the Sunday Independent Life Magazine, he stated: “The only extravagant thing about my lifestyle is my stereo system, buying music and going to gigs.” He still plays and writes alone and with friends and was even featured on a recent single by The Coral.

Expectedly, for someone so well-versed in music, Murphy’s taste is varied. Though he presents on the alternative station BBC Radio 6, his taste stretches beyond dad rock. From the early synth-pop of Christine and the Queens to fellow Irish performer Van Morrison, Murphy has littered his interviews and radio shows with wide-spanning music recommendations. We’ve collated a number of tracks he’s shared his love for throughout the years.

Murphy once awarded the title of his favourite band to Radiohead, naming ‘No Surprises’ as the song he wishes he’d written in an interview with NME. He states: “I think they’re the biggest band, who became the biggest band in the world without wanting to be the biggest band in the world. They’re probably my favourite band.”

Murphy also once noted his love for the contemporary Irish band Fontaines D.C. On one of his shows for the BBC, he stated, “I’ve been playing a lot of Irish music, but I am Irish, and there is a great explosion of new Irish music!” He names ‘Liberty Belle’ as one of his favourite tracks from their 2019 debut album Dogrel, but adds, “Every single tune, they’re relentlessly themselves.”

Murphy also shared his love for rapper Kendrick Lamar, noting that DAMN was the first album his 11-year-old son ever purchased. Murphy’s own was The Final Countdown by Europe: “I’m not ashamed of it; it’s a great riff. But Kendrick Lamar… Look, I think he tips it.”

Ranging from Beatles classics to contemporary rap and 2000s indie, check out our collated list of Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy’s favourite songs below.

Cillian Murphy’s favourite songs:

Christine and the Queens – ‘Tilted’ Elbow – ‘Fly Boy Blue / Lunette’ Europe – ‘The Final Countdown’ Fleetwood Mac – ‘Man of the World’ Fontaines D.C. – ‘Liberty Belle’ Jackson C. Frank – ‘Blues Run the Game’ John Lennon – ‘God’ Kendrick Lamar – ‘YAH’ Low – ‘Always Trying to Work It Out’ Marvin Pontiac – ‘Small Car’ Massive Attack – ‘Hymn of the Big Wheel’ Paul McCartney – ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ Radiohead – ‘Daydreaming’ Radiohead – ‘No Surprises’ Stevie Wonder – ‘Sugar’ The Band – ‘The Weight’ The Beatles – ‘Love Me Do’ The Kinks – ‘You Really Got Me’ The Strokes – ‘Someday’ The Velvet Underground – ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’ Van Morrison – ‘Sweet Thing’'

[incrediblemelk]

At MIFF this year I saw Hello Dankness, the new film by Soda Jerk, which won several festival awards. Using Soda Jerk's signature pop-piracy sampling style, it draws heavily on American film and TV depictions of 'the suburbs' to stitch together an account of the US's post-truth journey into the heart of dankness, from the 2016 presidential elections onwards.

As their artist statement says, "We tried to scream, but all that came out was a meme."

It was literally the first time I had thought about the "dicks out for Harambe" meme since 2016.

Hello Dankness quite extensively samples This Is the End (2013), which left me with a hankering (a dankering?) to watch the film. When I saw it pop up on Stan last night, I thought, "Now's the time."

I missed the film when it was new, because there was a preview screening clash where two screenings were scheduled on the same night, and I chose the Pacific Rim screening instead (a film with which I became obsessed).

It's such a fascinating time capsule of the Apatovian heyday of gross-out 'manchild' and 'stoner' comedy. At the time it was mostly hailed as a self-indulgent minor entry in a subgenre already running on fumes.

But when I rewatched it last night, I was struck by how fresh and culturally relevant it still feels. Has public discourse just got danker over the past decade?

There's a whole act in the middle when the narrative momentum sags as the central group of frenemies barricade themselves in James Franco's house. But now to me it reads like the Covid-era lockdown malaise, when an initial fun buzz ("let's do all the drugs!" "let's make Pineapple Express 2!") gives way to boredom, bickering and a sense of mounting threat from outside.

It's also pre-#MeToo and yet it's prominently about unpleasant, self-obsessed men trying to reassure each other that they're 'good'.

There's a scene where the group get so worked up about their need to reassure Emma Watson that they don't pose a sexual threat to her that she ends up being convinced they're absolutely going to rape her, and ends up leaving, along with all their food and drink.

(Watson notoriously refused to participate in a later scene where Danny McBride has become the cannibal king of ruined Los Angeles, with Channing Tatum as his gimp.)

It was striking to watch an apocalyptic moral punishment come for people like James Franco and Jonah Hill.

Meanwhile, Seth Rogen and Jay Baruchel, who end up in heaven dancing with the Backstreet Boys, have basically turned out to be IRL mensches.

Even Craig Robinson, who's had some drug troubles, seems to be living a pretty wholesome life.

In a Daily Beast podcast appearance from May 2023, Baruchel said, "Jonah and I don't get along super well – or at least didn't back then." When the host observed that this comes across strongly onscreen, Baruchel replied, "Yeah, no shit it fucking does!"

Baruchel also recalled:

It was this weird thing of mining personal shit. But not for catharsis … mining it just for comedy. So mining it in the most monetized, capitalist way of, "we’re going to dig up real personal shit," but nobody’s going to go home feeling better about it. We’re just going to turn it into a fucking product.

We never talked about any of the real shit. Like, it never came up for real. Because we’re both 1982 kids, which means we were raised in a great misogynistic tradition of not talking about shit. Especially two boys … we'll air grievances. When we're mad at each other and say that, but it’s very rare to be vulnerable.

I don't know why I'm so frequently drawn to stories of male friendships, but at their best, the Apatovian cycle does create a mainstream space for male vulnerability – even though they frequently can't help undercutting the intimacy with 'no-homo' mockery or self-mockery, or diverting it into jokes about dicks and bodily functions.

As Baruchel said in 2020, "Crass, male gazey shit is definitely in the DNA of the thing, but so was heartbreak and wearing your heart on your sleeve and not being blessed with with every fucking advantage. They’re deeply human things, and were really imperfect and super honest and devoid of vanity."