#a stone for danny fisher

[vintagepresley]

The author of this book must be a time traveler because he clearly wrote this book with Elvis in mind. Danny and Elvis are so much alike in their personalities, the way they talk, care, feel, etc. It’s hard not to think of Elvis when you read this book because he really did portray Danny so well. I’m nearing the end of this book and I really don’t want it to end. The way it takes you through his short life from the age of 8 to 27.. 😭

After reading this book I completely agree with @deke-rivers-1957 that Danny Fisher is the character that is most like Elvis. I know I’ve been annoying with this book and I do plan to do a lengthy review because at the end of the day, it’s Elvis related. I’ll be doing it when @deke-rivers-1957 does their review of the movie!

[deke-rivers-1957]

King Creole Review

There's a lot of history with this movie. Based on the Harold Robbins book A Stone for Danny Fisher, Hal Wallis bought the rights to make a movie with the intent on casting James Dean in 1955. However, with the death of James Dean in that same year, this movie was initially canceled. It wasn't until Hal heard of the successful off-Broadway version in 1957 that Elvis was considered for the lead role. Production was very troubled due to Elvis getting his draft notice a month before filming began. To avoid losing money that was already invested, Elvis had to get a 60 day deferment.

With Elvis officially able to film, the plot had to be retooled to fit Elvis' southern roots including changing the setting to New Orleans as well as making him a singer instead of a Jewish boxer. This movie has the luxury of being filmed in New Orleans' French Quarter with the Fisher family living right on the infamous Bourbon Street. Given the nature of the original story, famous director Micheal Curtiz was selected in addition to well experienced cast. Once filming was completed, Elvis was officially inducted into the army only two weeks later. Considered by fans as the most cinematic Elvis movie, does it deserve the title as the best Elvis movie or is this movie overrated and a complete rush job to cash in on Elvis astronomical rise to fame? Let's find out.

We are immediately greeted by pure New Orleans aesthetics with various black street vendors singing about their wares. I know it's not on the official soundtrack so I'm lumping it in with "Crawfish" as it marks the first time we ever get a duet in an Elvis movie. When I think about that song, I actually don't think about Elvis. I think about Kitty White and all of the vendors vocals. I was impressed that we emphasize the history of New Orleans by focusing on the French Quarter as that's the oldest neighborhood in the city. I couldn't think of a better way to start the film off.

Danny and his family are introduced and we're told that both Danny as well as his sister Mimi have to work. Ever since their mother died, Mr. Fisher couldn't keep a job to save his life. You can tell this is a dated movie because programs that would've at least slightly helped this family wouldn't exist until the 1960s. Heck food stamps wouldn't even exist until 1964. While there were programs meant for unemployment and dependent children, it's obvious that they don't qualify for that. Even if they did, the apartment they live in is all they can afford. It's a very bad place to be in so of course you understand why Danny wants to graduate and start working full time.

Before going to school, Danny works a couple hours at a nightclub as a bus boy. We see based on the sign outside as Danny walks in that it's interestingly enough called the Gilded Cage. The name as we'll find out is more than fitting. Some men are completely drunk and one of them wants to dance with a woman named Ronnie. The interaction makes you feel very uncomfortable because you know that while Danny can just keep his head down to avoid trouble, the situation was getting wildly out of hand. So to avoid having to listen to Ronnie getting beat, he decides to sing. It's incredible how right off the bat, this movie doesn't hesitate to build off the gritty nature Jailhouse Rock tried to develop.

"Steadfast, Loyal And True" feels like a moment of irony. Danny is being made fun of for going to school. Ironically it also represents Danny's innocence. It still doesn't stop the man from hitting Ronnie again and we see Danny directly get himself involved so the situation doesn't continue to escalate. He makes sure that Ronnie is safe on his way back to school. Yet when he does get in trouble for getting into a fight, the teacher decides to fail him. The principal goes along with it as if there was no other alternative and he has no authority to overrule her judgement since they didn't even hear Danny's side yet. Danny wouldn't have gotten into that fight, if he didn't get Ronnie out of there. And now he's being punished by a system that's meant to keep kids off the streets. Had Danny been allowed to graduate, none of this would've happened. But because it didn't, we are seeing Danny come to a point in life where he's questioning if doing the right thing is worth it anymore.

Deciding to quit school, Danny runs into Shark's gang. Shark gets mad because Danny punched his brother. We get introduced to his two lackeys, Sal and Dummy. Naturally there's a lot wrong with a man being called Dummy when he's very clearly mute (or at the very least has severe issues with speaking), but this is 1958. People with disabilities were treated poorly on a regular basis to the point of it being normalized. While Shark wants to get even for what Danny did to his brother, Danny doesn't mess around by immediately pinning Shark against the wall. Having a certain amount of respect, Shark offers to let Danny in with the gang about a possible job. Danny still wanting to have a good moral standing of course says no and heads home.

As soon as he gets home, everyone's disappointed to hear that he wouldn't graduate. Somehow Mr. Fisher makes an agreement with the principal that Danny can graduate after one semester if he can get the job at the pharmacy. That's right his dad's a pharmacist and you really start to question what on earth he did with his life if they fell on hard times that fast. I know that they lived in the French Quarter for 3 years because he went into a depressive state and couldn't work, but you seriously have to question on how someone can go to medical school to get a pharmaceutical degree and not have any kind of nest egg saved up. Even back in the 1950s, people in the medical field would've been comfortably well off. But regardless, I get why you have this since you need to have Danny make it very clear why he's so aggressive. Mr. Fisher has no backbone or self respect that even when he gets punched in the face, he didn't do anything about it.

To prove his point that he'll never end up spineless like his father, Danny decides to join Shark's gang. While he doesn't actually steal anything, he does sing "Lover Doll" to distract the crowd. I have no idea why the entire store gets distracted by this but it works. I also have no idea why a nickel and dime store would have anything expensive like watches or jewelry but at that point you just have to say "whatever". So to avoid suspicion, Danny hangs around the counter where he meets Nellie. For some reason, she says that she knew he was in on it, but doesn't do anything about it. I admit this whole scene is just weird but we have so much movie left that you kind of forget about this. I'm also just realizing that if Nellie is just now meeting Danny for the first time, yet we see that she's in walking distance from her house, she's older than Danny. The Fisher's lived in that apartment for 3 years and that school looks small enough where everybody knows everybody. For all we know she could be Mimi's age.

Meanwhile we get a very blatant case of ageism in the workforce. Mr. Fisher goes to the pharmacy for a job and if it wasn't for the head pharmacist's boss saying if he's qualified he should get the job, he wouldn't have gotten the job. Mr. Primont outright says that he wanted a younger man to Mr. Fisher's face. Throughout the movie we see that Mr. Primont only wants a younger man so he can train them to do it his way. It's pretty progressive to not pull any punches when showing this. They do not hesitate to make it clear that Mr. Fisher is being discriminated because of his age as opposed to a genuine display of incompetence. In fact, Mr. Primont's boss makes it a point to say that Mr. Fisher shouldn't be judged by his age or by the quality of his suit but his competence and that they've gone through a lot of younger pharmacists that couldn't cut it. So Mr. Primont begrudgingly hires him.

Later that night Danny runs into Ronnie again but also finally meets his boss, Maxie Fields. Maxie being the jealous type, thought she was cheating on him with Danny. She tries to make it clear that things were innocent as she heard him sing and Danny of course goes along with it. After all, any decent human being who already saw someone like Ronnie getting abused would do what it takes to make sure it doesn't happen again. Calling his bluff, Maxie wants Danny to sing right on stage. I genuinely think "Trouble" has one of the most natural build ups in an Elvis movie. It's a character defining song as you get the idea that Danny is singing it directly to Maxie. The black jazz musicians also showcases the sense of scale where people of color aren't just used as window dressing to fill in the shot. If Danny was asked to sing a capella or with the Blue Moon Boys cameoing as his back up band, it wouldn't work. It would feel like an Elvis song. But because we did get black jazz musicians to reflect the New Orleans setting, this is no longer an Elvis song but Danny's. And he makes his point loud and clear.

He gets introduced to Charlie LeGrand who owns the King Creole and offers Danny a job. In an act of foreshadowing, Maxie comes in and says that even if Danny leaves he'll always get what he wants. Knowing that Danny can sing, Maxie of course would want him too. Danny leaves the club as he doesn't want to make a rash decision and we see more of Shark's gang as well as a blatant case of ableism. Shark doesn't want to give Dummy (which I'm not calling him for the rest of this review) his equal share of the money made from their theft and that he should be thankful to be getting anything. But that's where we get Danny making the decision to step up and take the money out of Shark's hand so he can give it to the man. This is where Danny shines as a character since we see that even when he does something wrong, he still has some morality to him. While he did participate in the larceny, he also made sure that the money was distributed fairly even though he knew this would put him in Shark's bad graces. There will be times when he very easily could've made a bad moral decision if it benefited him, but instead tried to keep kind.

Danny picks up Nellie after work and we get another instance of him making a bad decision but still keep kind. When he takes her to the motel, he pays the man at the front desk to get a room. Obviously his intention was to bed her, but Nellie starts getting nervous. Once he sees that she while she does like him, she isn't ready for that type of relationship he backs off. Even though he just paid for the room and there's even images of a deleted shot of them in the room, they leave. This is when we see Danny realize that despite his reputation of being a hoodlum, he really doesn't act like one.

When Ronnie shows up, even when he kisses her, I don't take it as him actually being interested. He just thinks he is because he thinks this is the type of girl that he deserves. A good girl like Nellie would just be wishful thinking since he was only minutes if not seconds away from bringing her down with him. Of course, Danny still has his moments of morality as he's willing to stick up for his father. After checking in on him at the pharmacy, he sees Mr. Fisher getting berated by Mr. Primont. While he doesn't reveal that he's Mr. Fisher's son, he does stick up for him by saying that his father saved his life after getting a bad prescription. Sure it's a lie, but he needs Mr. Primont to see that even though Mr. Fisher isn't a young man, he's competent. All he needs to do now is to get a spine.

Once he talks with Mr. LeGrand, Danny invites him to dinner so he can try to convince Mr. Fisher to let Danny work. Then we get a weird scene where he expresses interest in Mimi. If we're assuming she's in her 20s that's fine, but Mr. LeGrand looks way older than 40. I know people back then didn't put that much thought in preventing wrinkles, but it visually looks weird to have this man want to date a woman young enough to be his daughter. I don't hate it though since if Danny makes his club a success and Mr. LeGrand marries Mimi, she'll be able to stop working. Since we don't know exactly what she does, we can assume that she's really only working so they don't starve as opposed to genuinely being interested in it.

Despite his father's wishes, Danny has his first show at the King Creole. But first we're treated to Forty Nina in Hollywood's tribute to Josephine Baker. It's so on the nose that not only is she French, but her song is literally called "Banana" and she has that same strip tease outfit with bananas on it. I highly recommend looking up Josephine's story as she did a lot more than just work as an erotic dancer. My personal favorite factoid was that she was a prominent black figure who aided the French Resistance during WWII. Anyway, Danny has his first performance at the King Creole. At first the crowd sits on their hands, but after "Dixieland Rock" it's hard not to get the club buzzing.

With Danny being a success, he tries to take things a little further with Nellie. He goes on a ferry ride with her so he can show her the old house his family used to live in. You really get the idea that this house is his motivation to work so hard. He wants to be a success so one day he can buy that house back. And this to me also confirms that whatever feelings he has for Ronnie aren't that serious. He never opens up to her about this the way he does with Nellie. If anything this is a tieback to the mindset people had where good girls are for serious relationships. Bad girls were for fooling around and with how they parallel Nellie and Ronnie it's obvious that both represent the two paths Danny can take. At his second show he sings "Young Dreams" and I love how it fits into what we've seen about Danny so far. The songs really add to the narrative as they reflect Danny's emotional state.

After getting an update on his father and seeing that nothing changed about Mr. Primont, he runs into Shark again. No harsh words this time, but a way to get Danny in with Maxie. Shark proposes that if Danny comes with him, he'll help Danny take care of Primont. This goes about as well as you think as Maxie turns Danny off with every sentence he utters. The way he has Ronnie show off her legs makes him feel uncomfortable and I get why. The objectification of her when she clearly hates it, is enough to make anyone feel gross. Even if he did have feelings for her, watching her do this knowing it's because Maxie is baiting him makes him feel sick inside. Leaving the apartment with no deal made, Danny sings "New Orleans" and I just love how with every song, the atmosphere around him seems to get darker. That indicates that while things might look good, we're actually being led to something more sinister.

That something sinister very quickly comes as Danny leaves ahead of his next show to call the plot off with Shark. As angry as he was with Mr. Primont, he knew that he couldn't go through with it. He realized that if this success lasts, he can get his father out of this trouble on his own. Things go from bad to worse when we see that instead of Mr. Primont, Mr. Fisher goes to take the money to the bank. Even though they saw that it was Mr. Fisher, they still go through with it. They were already in too deep to quit and knowing Maxie and Danny, this is exactly what they need to get Danny under his thumb. Danny meanwhile just runs away feeling guilty about it. Mimi sends Nellie to get Danny and bring him to the hospital where they find out there's a lot of pressure in his brain. To save his life, a specialized surgeon will have to be brought in and it's very expensive. I'm well aware that insurance exists and it would've covered a good portion of it since this was a life or death situation, but even then the bill for his eventual recovery would still be a lot more than what they can afford.

Enter the surgeon courtesy of Maxie Fields who is willing to pay for everything. Naturally Mr. Fisher lives and we get the most vulnerable acting in any Elvis movie. Danny reminds us all that he's only 19. While men were expected to be mature by then, from a modern perspective you get the idea that this is a boy. Danny age wise might be an adult, but experience wise and emotionally speaking he's still a boy. He very much does his best to act like an adult, but this was his breaking point. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually fainted because of how stressful it was to wait all those hours. Thankfully he's able to go to another show and sing "Hard Headed woman". It's amazing how light everything is now reflecting how Danny thinks everything will be ok. We're treated to the titular song, "King Creole" and Danny's on top of the world.

That is until Shark shows up. Knowing Danny's in debt to him, Maxie asks for him to be sent to the apartment. That's when we see the trap being laid up when Ronnie is shown in an attractive dress and Maxie's dead asleep. She even makes it clear that her job is to seduce Danny so Maxie can then present him with a bill for using her "services". Every scene with Ronnie is sad since it's obvious that she's being abused. This clearly isn't a situation where she can go to the police. She does fight back against Maxie, so fear isn't the reason behind her silence. Maxie wouldn't be doing this without fear of being punished if he genuinely thought the police would do anything.

Danny of course empathizes with her since she was once a singer like him and tries to give her some affection in spite of it being a trap. And of course, Maxie wakes up in time to see Danny. While Danny does evade the bill trap, Maxie succeeds in trapping him via blackmail. I mean if it was just "sign with me or I'll tell your dad about your involvement with the robbery" Danny himself made it clear that he doesn't care about it. However, Maxie ups the ante by saying "sign with me or Charlie's place'll be filled with stink bombs. Maybe even real bombs. Anything can be made into an accident after all". That's right we got a threat of terrorist attack if Danny doesn't sign. Even if it is a bluff, you don't mess around with innocent lives like that. The meme above summarizes my thoughts on the matter since no rational human being would be able to make a good decision in that situation either.

We return to the dark scenery as Danny makes his final appearance at the King Creole. "Don't Ask Me Why" indeed. I don't think Danny telling anyone now would be any good. All it would do is drag them all down. Can you imagine having to look your sister in the eye as she chews you out for betraying everyone? Insanity. And yet Danny does this because he doesn't want anyone else getting hurt.

This includes Nellie. He breaks things off with her but can't tell her why. You just feel bad because as much as it's a self sabotage, you can't really blame him for doing this. Things continue to get worse as his mute friend writes a note saying Mr. Fisher is talking with Maxie. While he doesn't know the situation, he at least tries to support Danny's career by pleading for Maxie to let him stay. He's worried that the loss of Danny would result in LeGrand's club closing. That would mean his daughter's future would be in danger too. After seeing Shark come in, Mr. Fisher says that he's going to go to the police. That's when Maxie let it slip that Danny was in on the robbery.

The outcome is when things officially get out of hand. The look on Mr. Fisher's face when he found out Danny would sink so low. He's so angry that he doesn't even say anything. He basically disowns Danny for this. With the agreement being broken, Danny has nothing to lose. He attacks Maxie with such a ferocity, that you think he could actually kill Maxie if he didn't get hit in the head with a chair. Interesting fact, that chair was real. It was simply made of balsa wood so it wouldn't be as painful. Walter Matthau who played Maxie once said in an interview that during a practice shot, Elvis actually vomited after being hit because he just had lunch. And when you hear the sound of him hitting Danny with the chair, it sounds so real that you forget you're watching a movie.

Danny of course recovers long enough to take out Maxie so he and Ronnie can escape. Maxie meanwhile, notifies Shark and his gang to attack Danny. Knowing that he's being followed, Danny tries to hide long enough for him to knock one of them out. Biding his time until Shark appears, the two scuffle with a knife. In a scene where you genuinely worry that Danny might die in this fight, the tension is through the roof. It gets so serious that while Danny does succeed in not dying but letting Shark stab himself in the chest by accident, the damage was done. Danny had been stabbed himself in the arm.

The cinematography of Danny trying to get back home is so beautiful. You know things are looking bad with how he stumbles just getting up the stairs. I was in total shock to see blood running down Danny's arm after Mr. Fisher turned him away. Based on the blood flow being that heavy that you see it already dripping down to his hand, you just know a major vein was severed. With the adrenaline waning, Danny starts to faint from blood loss. This is when you know if it wasn't clear earlier that this movie has teeth. It's not afraid to show someone die and also isn't afraid to show Danny almost die too. But this is when we get to see his fate turn around where as bad as things are, him choosing to be kind is being rewarded. Because we clearly saw that he wasn't completely uneducated, Danny's mute friend communicated to Ronnie that Danny was in trouble. If he didn't do that, Danny would've bled to death right in that alley because she wouldn't have known to look for him.

I don't fault Ronnie at all for not taking Danny to the hospital. While it was a big risk to not address his wounds as you have no idea how long Danny would last after passing out, going to the hospital would've made him an easy target for Maxie. Maxie already had one doctor in his back pocket, so he would've been untouchable and "made it look like an accident" when he would kill Danny. In Ronnie's mind, going to her hideaway was her best shot at saving him and giving them both enough time to recover. Danny was in no position to function so quickly after losing blood. We even get a cinematic shot that once they make it to her hiding place, he's sweating bullets and is so dizzy that he can't even see straight before passing out again.

After waking up, Danny realizes that Ronnie saved his life. They fool around for a while and at this point you just know that she's going to die. Every scene where she's talking about Maxie's abusive nature, you know that this story isn't going to end well. So I don't mind at all to have what feels like a moment of peace here because it serves a purpose. Ronnie and Danny would never get together even if she did live. She just wanted to know what it was like to have someone give her genuine affection. Even though Danny does feel conflicted, I don't think it's because he genuinely feels attracted to Ronnie. It's because he feels bad that she was in that situation and wants to comfort her.

Of course you have Maxie eventually find them. As confusing as that is, we just have to assume he had people follow her since it would've been very suspicious to have her disappear that long. She did say after that Danny was in and out of consciousness for the past 2 days. You know ahead of time that they couldn't just stay in that shack forever. Maxie with full intent on killing both of them brings a gun and starts to shoot at them. Danny's kindness is once again rewarded in a way as if his mute friend didn't warn him the best he could about Maxie, both him and Ronnie would've died. He even goes as far as to go up to Maxie to try wrestling the gun away. While he did try Ronnie gets shot in the process, but thanks to Danny's friend getting into the scuffle, Maxie fatally shoots himself by accident. Danny might have been saved but it was too late for Ronnie as she dies in his arms happy to know that at least for one brief moment she was loved again.

After Ronnie's tragic demise and Maxie's downfall, Danny is free to go back to the King Creole. Even though we don't know how much time passes, we don't need to for us to figure out that things have gotten better. Normally I would criticize something like that being resolved in a way that the audience doesn't get to see, but that isn't the case in this movie. Danny breaking things off with Nellie so he can keep her safe from Maxie is a justifiable action that she would easily understand. Her agreeing to wait for Danny to recover from the traumatic events shows that she's a level-headed woman. As for his father, Mr. Fisher almost had his son die. That's enough to erase anything that he didn't agree with. Unless he's inhumanly unreasonable, I don't think Danny explaining that if didn't sign with Maxie, actual acts of terrorism would've been committed would result in Mr. Fisher saying that he could've done anything different. Any normal human being would understand that this was a horrible situation that Danny had no way of preventing without completely throwing away his core values.

The bittersweet ending is very well balanced. Danny singing Ronnie's song "As Long As I Have You" makes for a nice tribute. I appreciate that the movie doesn't just time skip to Danny singing a musical number about how great everything is. It would be a severe case of emotional whiplash and would have gone against what the tone of the movie was. Danny went through a traumatic event most people can't even fathom happening. He should be allowed to grieve while also getting closure. Singing Ronnie's song on stage does both as it's making it so her song is heard and never forgotten. That being said, I wish we got to see what happened with Danny's mute friend. Knowing that he was only working for Maxie because he had nowhere else together really makes you wonder what will happen to him now that Maxie's gone. Either way, seeing Danny squint through the dark room as his father steps into the light is so beautiful. It shows that all was forgiven and his father finally approves of what Danny wants to do in life. Danny can finally have peace now that he has a support system who loves him.

This is the most emotionally complex Elvis movie I've seen that perfectly executed its vision. I have been waiting a full year since my Wild In The Country review to talk about why I didn't like Glenn's character arc. Danny is what Glenn tried to be. Danny is that troubled youth who makes bad decisions because there is no good decision to be made. There wasn't a single path Danny could take that didn't involve suffering. Even as far back as Danny sticking up for Ronnie wasn't an obvious choice to make. Sure not getting involved would've meant Danny wouldn't get into it with Maxie, it also would've meant that Ronnie would continue to be abused without ever getting a bone thrown to her. It wasn't until later on that he realized Maxie had an insane amount of power. Based on how Maxie operated, you already know that he's got the entire bureaucracy and law enforcement of New Orleans in his back pocket. Shark's gang being able to do as they please without a significant fear of getting caught under Maxie's command shows how Danny going to the authorities for help is completely off the table.

I know I had some complaints about some scenes not really making sense, but those are so easy to fix that I'm giving this movie my first 10/10. Those plot holes don't take away from the emotional impact of what we saw. The amount of songs felt natural as you can't have Danny working at night clubs without having him sing. The character interactions were perfect as you understand exactly what their motives are and have their actions reflect that. Shark looking like he's 35 doesn't matter either since the movie already introduced him as being an older brother of a boy Danny went to school with. Shark said he smokes and since we know smoking can cause premature wrinkling, I'll give him the benefit that he isn't more than 10 years older than Danny. I highly recommend watching it, but surprisingly to some as the last Elvis movie you watch for the first time. To me having it be first would give you an insanely high expectation for an Elvis movie. This movie best serves as leaving it for last as it perfectly captures why fans always talk about what could've been.

AN: Happy Birthday Elvis and RIP! Also shout out to @vintagepresley for writing a companion review of the book. I usually don't talk about the book when talking about the movie so it's nice to have the opinion of someone who read it. I can't wait for it to come out.

Tagging: @codalysssssworld, @presleysweetheart, @smokeymountainboy, @arrolyn1114, @peaceloveelvis,

@mercsandmonsters, @eapep, @atleastpleasetelephone, @without-him, @lucy114505,

@blighted-star, @rjmartin11, @elvisbdoll, @dragonkingsdaughter, @ifyouloveweedletsgosmoke,

@ilovequeen978, @fuzzymusic94, @halieghhh, @tacozebra051, @hooked-on-elvis,

@lola-1013, @father-of-2cats, @southcarolinawoman, @elvisflowerchild, @elviscinema,

@i-r-i-n-a-a, @jadeeloveselviss, @xanatenshi, and @thelonelyheart.

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas: Obscure Sondheim

To highlight how vast and varied Sondheim's roles and shows are, these five Divas have a singular Sondheim credit to their repertoire that are a little more obscure than most. So obscure that my dream of finding pictures to dazzle you all with was quickly shattered.

Bebe Neuwirth as Cinderella's Stepsister, Florinda, in a reading of Into the Woods for a 1994 movie that never came to fruition. This reading took place at director Penny Marshall's house and had a truly breathtaking cast: Robin Williams (The Baker), Goldie Hawn (The Baker's Wife), Steve Martin (The Wolf), Danny DeVito (The Giant), Carrie Fisher (Lucinda), and fucking CHER as The Witch. Bebe Neuwirth and Carrie Fisher as catty sisters tormenting Cinderella and getting their eyes pecked out. And then Cher trying to feed them to Danny DeVito. We were robbed of a masterpiece.

Judith Light as Joanne in a Reprise! presentation of Company at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. Though not known for her singing abilities, Judith was nevertheless part of an all-star cast for this two-week run in 2004. The only review I could find was...not favorable. It's been twenty years, and I, for one, think Judith Light deserves her chance at redemption.

Linda Emond as Mary in Merrily We Roll Along, 1988. The Seattle-based ACT company produced Sondheim's biggest flop musical through the month of May in 1988. Linda, then in her late twenties, played the female lead in a rare musical role for her. And I do have a picture thanks to ACT's fantastic archival system.

Pictured: Linda Emond (Mary) center, surrounded by Joseph Dellger (Franklin Shepherd) and Joseph McNally (Charley). And no, I cannot tell which man is which...

4. Susan Blackwell as The Giant in a 2019 one-night-only staged concert of Into the Woods. If you thought the recent Broadway revival was bare-bones, it had nothing on this staged concert at the Town Hall in NYC. There is one singular photo that includes Susan, and without knowing she was meant to be there, you'd never be able to identify her.

Pictured (L to R):

5. Paula Leggett Chase as Stella Deems in Follies, a one-night-only special event in Tangier, Morocco featuring a transcontinental cast of Divas. Since 2013 (excluding pandemic years), Rob Ashford has staged fundraising productions of shows such as A Little Night Music, The Crucible, and Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris. Confusingly, though Paula sang Stella Deems' song "Who's That Woman," she was credited in the program as Emily Whitman (presumably they just combined the roles for this production and gave them to the dancer in the cast?)

Pictured (L to R): The late Haydn Gwynn (Phyllis Rogers Stone, my beloved), Marisa Berenson (Solange LaFitte), Harolyn Blackwell (Heidi Schiller), Jenna Russel (Sally Durant Plummer), Paula Leggett Chase (Emily Whitman), Harriet Harris (Hattie Walker).

[gender-envy-tournament]

Gender Bracket #1

All were chosen randomly from submissions (With the exception of two of my personal favorites)

Pairs under cut

Reki Kyan (Sk8 the Infinity) vs. Hiyori Tomoe (Ensemble Stars!)

Kate Bush vs. Rantaro Amami (Danganronpa)

Papyrus (Undertale) vs. Gen Asagiri (Dr. Stone)

Rich Goranski (Be More Chill) vs. Danny Phantom (Danny Phantom)

Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII) vs. Fujimoto (Ponyo)

Dick Grayson (DC Comics) vs. Red Son (Lego Monkie Kid)

Danny Tanner (Full House) vs. Conner Kent (DC Comics)

Goro Majima (Yakuza) vs. Jacob Andrews

The Nameless Ghouls vs. Frank Iero

Joker (Persona 5) vs. Charlotte Wiltshire (Hello Charlotte)

Sal Fisher (Sally Face) vs. Howl Pendragon (Howl's Moving Castle)

Archibald Craven (The Secret Garden) vs. Bo Burnham

Lady Loki (Marvel Comics) vs. Joshua Kiryu (The World Ends with You)

James Kirk (Star Trek) vs. Eda Clawthorne (The Owl House)

Lee Felix vs. Donatello (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)

Shikanoin Heizou (Genshin Impact) vs. Beelzebub (Good Omens)

Moira (Overwatch) vs. Samantha Jones (Sex and the City)

Klavier Gavin (Ace Attorney) vs. Quark (Star Trek)

James (Pokemon) vs. Paris the Puppet (The Dummy's Dummy)

Venti (Genshin Impact) vs. René Gallimard (M. Butterfly)

Camilo Madrigal (Encanto) vs. Edward Nygma (Gotham)

Edward Teach (Our Flag Means Death) vs. Bowser (Super Mario Brothers)

Crowley (Supernatural) vs. Delirium of the Endless (The Sandman)

Princess Ozma (Oz) vs. Vanitas (The Case Study of Vanitas)

Kris (Deltarune) vs. Lily Houghton (Jungle Cruise)

Natsume Sakasaki (Ensemble Stars!) vs. Ranboo (@ranboolivesaysstuff)

Envy (Fullmetal Alchemist) vs. Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran High School Host Club)

Dan Heng (Honkai: Star Rail) vs. Jeff Satur

David Tennant vs. Harry du Bois (Disco Elysium)

Dr. Frank-N-Furter (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) vs. Link (The Legend of Zelda)

Tianyou Zhao (Yakuza) vs. @gender-envy-tournament (I got 10 separate submissions again)

The Spine (Steam Powered Giraffe) vs. Raine Whispers (The Owl House)

[hooked-on-elvis]

"Danny" (1958)

FROM THE "KING CREOLE" SOUNDTRACK ALBUM, RELEASED ON SEP. 19, 1958

ELVIS PRESLEY: (1) January 1958, during record session for the soundtrack to the "King Creole" film (Paramount Pictures). (2) "King Creole" photo shoot. Early March 1958.

Written by Fred Wise and Ben Weisman. Recorded for the motion picture King Creole. Recorded February 11, 1958 at Paramount Scoring Stage. Vocals: Elvis and The Jordanaires. Guitar: Scotty Moore, Tiny Timbrell. Bass: Bill Black, Ray Siegel. Drums: D.J. Fontana, Bernie Mattionson, Piano: Dudley Brooks. (Info: elvisthemusic.com)

THE RECORDING SESSION

Soundtrack Recordings for Paramount’s King Creole January 15–16 and 23, 1958 at Radio Recorders and February 11, 1958 at Paramount Soundstage, Hollywood. King Creole gave Elvis his most challenging movie role yet. Based on the Harold Robbins novel A Stone for Danny Fisher, it presented an opportunity to work with the acclaimed Hungarian-born director Michael Curtiz (whose work included Casablanca) and placed Elvis alongside accomplished actors such as Carolyn Jones [as Ronnie, Maxie's mistress], Walter Matthau [as Maxie Fields, the local gangster], and Dean Jagger [as Mr. Fisher, Danny's father]. The music was to be an integral part of this serious and rather dark story of a young singer (in the novel he’d been a boxer) trying to make it in the nightclubs of New Orleans. Traditional New Orleans music had its own very specific African-American roots, and Elvis always pointed to New Orleans R&B (Fats Domino was probably its leading exemplar) as instrumental to his development. But Elvis hadn’t gone over all that well in New Orleans when he appeared there three times in 1955, and the Memphis brand of rock ’n’ roll was very different from the New Orleans tradition. To help create an authentic Dixieland sound, Paramount hired some of L.A.’s best session players for the recording: a four-piece brass section augmented by bass player Ray Siegel, who doubled on tuba. Elvis’s own band was supplemented again by piano player Dudley Brooks, and by a second drummer at an extra recording date later when the complexity and variety of the rhythms proved too much for Bill Black and D. J. [Fontana] to handle. With fourteen musicians in the band, this was by far the largest group Elvis had ever worked with in the studio, but for engineer Thorne Nogar it would be business as usual. Elvis’s support team included Paramount musical director Charles O’Curran as well as Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who had just signed on as producers for RCA. As Elvis’s favorite writers of the moment they brought material to the session, along with other Elvis Presley Music regulars like Aaron Schroeder and Claude DeMetrius, who sent in two infectious rock ’n’ roll originals. The ever-dependable Ben Weisman and his partner, Fred Wise, came up with “Danny” as a proposed title cut, along with several other new songs.

Excerpt: "Elvis Presley: A Life in Music" by Ernst Jorgensen. Foreword by Peter Guralnick (1998)

The Dixieland-flavored King Creole sessions. On January, 1958 Elvis worked on the soundtrack for King Creole at Radio Recorders and at Paramount's Soundstage in Hollywood, CA.

LYRICS — "DANNY" (Fred Wise/Ben Weisman)

My name should be trouble My name should be woe For trouble and heartache Is all that I know But Danny, yes, Danny is my name My life has been empty My heart has been torn It must have been rainy, oh, yeah The night I was born Oh Danny, oh Danny is my name I'm so afraid of tomorrow So tired of today They say that love is the answer But love never came my way I'm writing a letter To someone I know So if you should find it, yes, And if you're alone Oh Danny, yes, Danny is my name Oh Danny, yes, Danny is my name

Elvis Presley as Danny Fisher in scenes from "King Creole" (Paramount Pictures, 1958), directed by Michael Curtiz.

[cadybear420]

Cadybear's MC-LI couples: The Ultimate Crash Course Masterlist (NOTE: List is subject to frequent updates)

As a corollary to my MC Crash Course Masterlist, I've decided to make a comprehensive list of all of my official MC-LI couples in Choices. I might also make some "profile/intro pages" for each of my couples, we'll see.

"Canon" Couples

The Couples that I have done official playthroughs for (or am well into a playthrough for) and are part of my personal canon. These are the main couples that you will see me post about the most.

DLS: Dick Ryder (m!MC) x Peg King (Hispanic Charlotte King)

Important Notes: - Dick and Peg marry after the DLS timeline, Dick happy to be the (step)dad to Yvette (and, of course, officially a DILF).

HSS Prime: Jordan Price (f!MC) x Julian Castillo

Important Notes: - Jordan does not start to feel attraction for Julian until much later into/after the HSS Prime timeline. Prior to this, she dates a prep boy named Danny who later moves away. - Jordan and Julian begin to date at the end of OG HSS Book 3. She's stayed in touch with the rest of her friends after she graduated, and confesses her feelings for him when she asks him to prom. - Their relationship definitely lasts a long time at the very least. They most likely do not get married, but do remain a couple.

HSS OG: Evie Ayana (f!MC) x Aiden Zhou

Important Notes: - Evie and Aiden share their first kiss at homecoming and confess their love for each other at prom. - The two maintain a very strong relationship following the OG HSS timeline. They get married after they both graduate college, it being an open marriage, and they eventually have kids. - There also exists a AU parallel universe in which Evie joined band and got even closer with Aiden while developing a talent at sax-playing.

HSS:CA: Cher Lee (f!MC) x Ajay Bhandari

Important Notes: - In Book 1, Cher did not have any romantic interest in Rory or Ajay. She saw Rory as a friend and didn't care much for Ajay. Rather, she had a bit of a puppy crush on Erin. - Cher does not take an interest in Ajay until the timeline of HSS:CA Book 2. - Sometime during Cher's sophomore year/Ajay's senior year, the two break up on amicable terms due to uncertainties about their relationship following Ajay's graduation. - However, they do maintain a strong friendship through the years. When they're a bit older and wiser, they start dating again and eventually marry and have kids.

ILITW: Jo Hunter (f!MC) x Lucas Thomas

Important Notes: - Prior to ILITW timeline, Jo has slept around with a handful of other guys in a series of one-night stands. But she's never had a committed relationship before. - Jo and Lucas date after the ILITW timeline, and maintain a long distance relationship while Lucas is in college. - They eventually get married, having become engaged by the end of ILW. It's an open marriage. They probably will not have kids though, maybe one at the very most.

ILB: Harper Addison Vance-Fisher (demigirl!MC) x Tom Sato

Important Notes: - Harper and Tom stay in an official relationship post ILB timeline, but they do not marry. They just live together in an apartment as a couple and the proud parents of Boo Boo, AKA the giant teddy bear that Harper won for Tom at Lake Day.

ILW: Cedric Zhao (m!MC) x Jocelyn Wu

Important Notes: - Cedric and Jocelyn start out as a friends-with-benefits relationship that eventually gains a romantic element too. - This relationship might get replaced with Cedric x Amalia, or maybe even an open/poly relationship where Cedric can be with both Joss and Amalia.

MAH: Peggy Stone x Tyler Woods (White)

Important Notes: - Peggy and Tyler begin dating with an open relationship by the end of MAH. - The two maintain a strong relationship post MAH timeline. Whether or not they marry is uncertain, but they do share a home after they both graduate. They most likely will have kids.

ROD: Adelaide Zhou (f!MC) x Colt Kaneko

Important Notes: - Addi and Colt have some romantic and sexual attractions for each other, but the relationship is nothing more than a brief fling and they do not become an official dating couple. They may or may not reunite years later, though.

RWB: Atticus St. James (m!MC) x f!Drew Young (White)

Important Notes: - Drew in this universe is pansexual. - Their relationship lasts for a couple of years, but I haven't fully decided their endgame.

WEH: Sage Amin (f!MC) x m!Dakota Winchester (East Asian)

Important Notes: - Sage and Dakota's relationship does not last, for obvious reasons. :(

Parallel Universe "Canon" Couples

The couples that are for my secondary MCs and are part of my personal canon for parallel universes. These are also couples I may post about a lot, albeit maybe not as frequently as their main-universe counterparts.

HSS OG: Alan Parke (m!MC) x Emma Hawkins

Important Notes: - This relationship might get replaced with Alan x Maria, or maybe even an open/poly relationship where Alan can be with both girls.

WIP Couples

MCs and Couples where I've more or less decided their romantic route/endgame, but they are still awaiting a playthrough before I can officially incorporate then into any aspects of my personal canon. I might still share with the occasional headcanon I come up with here and there, but I'll need more time doing their actual playthrough first in order to develop them better.

ATV: Jax Elara (m!MC) x Kepler

Important Notes: [None yet]

AME: Jamie MacLeod-Noor (f!MC) x Carson Stewart

Important Notes: - Unfortunately, Carson is not a LI option in the canon game. So in my playthrough, Jamie will end up engaged to either Adam or Derek, but then ditch whoever it is at the wedding for Slater. This will translate very differently in my headcanons. - Jamie has some attraction to Adam/Derek, but not enough for a committed relationship. She half-thinkingly accepts the proposal, but quickly realizes she does not want this marriage. - But when Slater flirts with her, she starts to figure out a way to get out of the wedding and snag Carson instead. She plays along with the wedding to reap the benefits of it, and leads Slater on in order to better plot her way out. - At the wedding itself, she ditches the groom. But much to the disappointment of Slater, she does not confess feelings for him. Instead, she finally confesses her feelings for Carson. - She and Carson then begin dating, and have a TV wedding for the fun of it. They live together in the fancy beach house (and there may or may not be a queerplatonic relationship with Jen too), and they might get married some years later.

BaBu: Jayden Cassidy (bigender!MC) x Myra Dixon

Important Notes: - The two definitely stay together after getting married. I haven't yet decided the names of their kids though.

BB: Jasmine Yin (f!MC)

Important Notes: - She's probably going to have relations with Adrian (white), Jax, and Kamilah. She might also develop some queerplatonic attraction to Lily. Whoever she will end up closest to is still being decided, but there's definitely gonna be a poly endgame. - She may also hook up with Drac and Priya. - In my headcanons, she will also have relations with Nikhil. - In my first playthrough, Jax is the one who died at the end. IDK how this will play out in my upcoming more official playthrough. But whatever the case, I might change it in my headcanons so that Adrian is the one who dies– both Adrian and Kamilah should have been eligible too, and I feel like it's more fitting for Adrian to die. IDK yet.

ES: Emilia Harris (f!MC) x Raj Bhandarkar

Important Notes: - Unfortunately, Raj is not a LI option in the canon game. In my official playthrough, I might have Emilia be a bit flirty with Jake, and maybe even get handfasted to him just to see what the route is like. But in my actual headcanons, it doesn't go past flirting and she instead gets in a relationship with Raj. - Her relationship might not last, because I will most likely be choosing the Vaanu ending for her.

ES: BJ Kingsley (m!MC) x Estela Montoya

Important Notes: - I might have BJ choose the Endless ending, meaning that his relationship with Estela should be able to last.

HSS OG: Violet Jones (f!MC) x Michael Harrison

Important Notes: [None yet]

HSS OG: Samara Al-hakim (f!MC) x Caleb Mitchell

Important Notes: [None yet]

TH:M: Otto

Important Notes: - She has had feelings for Ansel for a long time, and in my headcanons, she'll get to have hate sex with him in that scene in the wine cellar. Her official endgame however is still being decided. I'm considering a possible friends-to-lovers with Rye, but it's not certain yet.

TPA: Jane Bond (f!MC) x Callum "Booty Galore" Grey (Indian), m!Rowan Salazar, m!Lou Belrose, m!Alexis Reid

Important Notes: - Unfortunately, Alexis and Rowan die in the canon storyline. I may or may not rewrite this.

TRR: Lew [Last Name Pending] (f!MC) x Liam Rys (East Asian)

Important Notes: [None yet]

(Possible) AU Couples

Parallel universes in which MCs that already have endgame LIs in my personal canon end up pursuing different LIs. In some cases, if I like the AU couple better than the original planned couple, I might switch and make the AU couple the canon one.

HSS OG: Evie Ayana (f!MC) x Michael Harrison

Important Notes: - This will definitely not be taking the place of Evie x Aiden in my personal canon, but some of it will still be incorporated in the Evie x Aiden canon. Evie and Aiden do have an open relationship, so Evie will sleep with Michael every now and then. - In the AU parallel universe where Evie pursues Michael, their relationship might be more queerplatonic.

ILITW: Jo Hunter (f!MC) x Andy Kang

Important Notes: - This will likely not be taking the place of Jo x Lucas in my personal canon, but some of it will still be incorporated in the Jo x Lucas canon. Jo and Lucas do have an open relationship, so Jo will have some relations with Andy, Connor, maybe even Dan and Noah too. However, the relationship with Andy would definitely be the strongest of the outside relations.

ILW: Cedric Zhao (m!MC) x Amalia de Leon

Important Notes: - This couple has the possibility of replacing Cedric x Joss as the main route and endgame for Cedric. Though if possible, I would like to maybe go for a poly endgame.

Unserious Couples

The MCs and couples where I just did not take them seriously and really only exist for fun.

TNA: Eh IDC (f!MC) x Samuel Dalton (White)

Important Notes: [None]

Rewrite Couples

The MCs and couples that exist solely for me to rewrite their stories in my personal canon because their actual canon story is in my shitlist tiers.

TBB: Alyssa Larson (f!MC) x Cole Stone (Native American)

Important Notes: - These characters exist in my headcanons for the sole purpose of headcanoning that the baby is rescued from this awful couple and adopted by Evie and Aiden. I have yet to decide the name of the baby though.

[randomestfandoms]

Miraculous Ladybug Fancast

I’m embarrassed to admit how long I’ve been working on this list for (technically a few years, but I started really organizing it about a year ago), but this is my official Miraculous Ladybug fancasting list!  With extra thanks to @megdonnellys for being my constant sounding board and to @trying414​ for helping me choose a Luka and being the only reason that I found a Marc and Nathaniel, here we go!  

Feel free to use any of these ideas as they suit you, I’d love to be tagged so that I can see what other people do with this!

Natasha Liu Bordizzo as Marinette Dupain-Cheng / Ladybug

Ross Lynch or Danny Griffin as Adrien Agreste / Chat Noir

Timothee Chalamet as Luka Couffaine / Viperion

Zendaya as Alya Césaire / Rena Rouge

Jordan Fisher as Nino Lahiffe / Carapace

Sasha Pieterse as Chloe Bourgeois / Queen Bee

Saoirse Ronan as Alix Kubdel / Bunnyx

India Eisley as Juleka Couffaine / Purple Tigress

Elle Fanning as Rose Lavillant / Pigella

Ivan Mock as Lê Chiến Kim / King Monkey

Justice Smith as Max Kanté / Pegasus

Zoe Colletti as Sabrina Raincomprix / Miss Hound

Jack Mulhern as Ivan Bruel / Minotaurox

Danielle Macdonald as Mylene Haprèle / Polymouse

Cameron Monaghan as Nathaniel Kurtzberg / Caprikid

Lyrica Okano as Kagami Tsurugi / Ryuko

Logan Lerman as Marc Anciel / Rooster Bold

Diana Silvers as Lila Rossi / Voplina

Daniel Craig as Gabriel Agreste / Hawkmoth

Eva Green as Nathalie Sancoeur / Mayura

Robert Sheehan as Jagged Stone

Nathalie Emmanuel as Penny Rolling

Christine Baranski as Audrey Bourgeois

Blake Lively as Emilie (and Amelie) Agreste

[hollywoodfamerp]

Your stay at Villa Cora awaits...

Villa Cora is located in a centuries-old park that overlooks the Boboli Gardens, on the hills just outside the historical center of Florence. The villa is an aristocratic residence built at the end of the XIX century upon commission by Baron Oppenheim reflecting the architectural styles of that period. In 2016, Villa Cora became part of The Leading Hotels of the World, an international collection of luxury independent hotels.

Under the cut, you’ll find the list of all the roommates.

The roommates were done by a RANDOM generator. Unless we got a message from you telling us you wanted to be with a specific person or were not in the ships list - you were included in the generator. 

As we get more people into the roleplay, we will update the list. If you do not see your FCs name on this list, please message us POLITELY and let us know - sometimes a name gets missed getting put into the generator. We’re human and it happens! At the same time, if your FC is on their twice by any chance then please let us know. Again, mistakes happen. As we accept new applications and people come into the group before AND during the event, this list will be updated. Same will go for if people get unfollowed or ask to leave the group. Please be aware and mindful that this will get updated and your roommate may change!

In the mean time, please reach out to your roommate if you find that it happens to be a new connection! It’s a perfect opportunity to get some new interactions and connections blooming. After all, they WILL be sleeping in the same room together for a week. We can’t wait to see some new friendships and plots forming with this trip!

PLEASE BE SURE TO LIKE THIS POST WHEN YOU’VE READ IT AND SO YOU CAN KEEP IT CLOSE BY FOR CHANGES!

Demi Bennett (Rhea Ripley) and Ashley Fliehr (Charlotte Flair)

Fergal Devitt and Renee Young

Jordan Fisher and Billie Eilish

Bill Skarsgard and Ariana Grande

Kim Hongjoong and Diamanté Quiava Valentin Harper (Saweetie)

Romee Strijd and Pedro Pascal

Hwang Hyunjin and Bang Chan

Maika Monroe and Hero Fiennes-Tiffin

Harry Styles and Ronen Rubinstein

James Rodriguez and Taylor Swift

Park Seonghwa and Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (Megan Thee Stallion)

Danny Amendola and Olivia Culpo

Sarah Paulson and Jessica Lange

Xiao Dejun (Xiaojun) and Yoo Jimin (Karina)

Mark Lee and Lee Donghyuck (Haechan)

Min Yoongi and Kim Namjoon

Mila Kunis and Tyler Hoechlin

Candice Swanepoel and Tom Hardy

Justin Timberlake and Cara Delevingne

Sophia Bush and Travis Kelce

Sam Claflin and Emma Stone

Calum Hood and Dua Lipa

Lee Know (Minho) and Lee Felix

Takuya Terada and Kim Kibum (Key)

Josephine Skiver and Aaron Taylor Johnson

Beyoncé Knowles and Gong Yoo

Lee Taemin and Kim Jongin

Jake Gyllenhaal and Sara Sampaio

Alicia Vikander and Patrick Wilson

Jung Wooyoung and Choi San

Andrew Garfield and Lily James

Luke Hemmings and Ashton Irwin

Tom Holland and Natalia Dyer 

Akanishi Jin and Lee Sunmi

Sophia Bush and Travis Kelece

Chris Evans and Jade Chynoweth

Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke

Dylan O'Brien and Adelaide Kane

Keith Duffy and Sarah Drew

Leati Anoa'i (Roman Reigns) and Carrie Underwood

Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens

Jung Yoonoh (Jaehyun) and Lee Taeyong

Chace Crawford and Kaia Gerber

Jackson Wang and Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul (Ten)

Sebastian Stan and Margot Robbie

Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner

Colby Lopez (Seth Rollins) and Rebecca Quin (Becky Lynch)

Alycia Debnam-Carey and Jennifer Lawrence

Louis Tomlinson and Jade Thirlwall

Pamela Martinez (Bayley) and Mercedes Justine Varnado (Sasha Banks)

Lucas Wong and Kim Jungwoo 

Maisie Williams and Nat Wolff 

Melissa Benoist and Taron Egerton

Jonathan Good (Jon Moxley) and Alexis Kaufman (Alexa Bliss)

Damiano David and Finneas

Leigh Anne Pinnock and Liam Hemsworth

Julianna Margulies and Cate Blanchett

Tessa Thompson and Lupita Nyong'o 

Kim Jisoo and Christian Yu

Chris Hemsworth and Tatiana Maslany

Taylor Hill and Nick Jonas

Barbara Palvin and Lili Reinhart

Kim Minjeong (Winter) and Yuta Nakamoto

Dakota Johnson and Henry Cavill

Lucy Hale and Patrick Mahomes

Harry Kane and Lauren Jauregui

Benedict Cumberbatch and Bruno Mars

Lily Collins and Jinyoung Park

Tom Hiddleston and Jensen Ackles

Bridget Satterlee and Jacob Elordi

Debby Ryan and Anthony Mackie

Maude Apatow and Alexandra Daddario

Gigi Hadid and Florence Pugh

Madelyn Cline and Mazz Murray

Kang Yeosang and Han Jisung

Hailee Steinfield and Jeon Jungkook

Aaron Tveit and Perrie Edwards

Ana de Armas and Zoë Kravitz

Zendaya Coleman and Kim Taehyung

Ally Brooke and Chase Stokes

Elizabeth Olsen and Timothee Chamalet

Alexa Demie and Bella Hadid

Kristen Stewart and Emily Bett Rickards

Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Oscar Isaac

Becca Tobin and Oh Sehun

Kiernan Shipka and Lana Condor

Maia Mitchell and Saoirse Ronan

Normani Kordei and Ryan Reynolds

Hailey Baldwin and Changbin

Nikki Bella and Jessica Chastain

Jason Momoa and Zoey Deutch 

Meryl Streep and Anna Kendrick

Robert Pattinson and Dove Cameron

Sarah Hyland and Regé-Jean Page

George Mackay and Jesse Lingard

Lily-Rose Depp and Sydney Sweeney 

Shawn Mendes and Olivia Holt

Ashley Benson and Jasmine Tookes

Yang Jeongin and Maura Higgins

Johnny Suh and Jon Bernthal

Madelaine Petsch and Lim Jaebeom

Rudy Pankow and Selena Gomez

Steven R. McQueen and Hunter Schafer 

Cody Christian and Simu Liu

Lee Pace and Hilarie Burton

Camila Mendes and Bethany Joy Lenz

Katherine Mcnamara and Katherine Langford

Moon Ga-young and Blake Lively

Jonathan Daviss and Madison Bailey

Shay Mitchell and TBD

[dalekofchaos]

American Doctor Who fancast

If Doctor Who were American or had an American multiverse, these are the actors I came up with for The Doctors and The Masters

Inspired by this old Buzzfeed article and my own curiosity 

Before we get onto the fancast, I’d like to suggest what could be the American equivalent to The TARDIS Phone Box as a perception filter. What I think could be the American version is A dilapidated, blue garden shed with white trim, with maybe a weather vane on top that spins around. Double doors, a few frosted windows. Like so 

Art source

The Doctor

Vincent Price as The First Doctor

Dick Van Dyke as The Second Doctor

Christopher Lloyd as The Third Doctor

Gene Wilder as The Fourth Doctor

Mark Hamill as The Fifth Doctor

Rick Moranis as The Sixth Doctor

Sam Neil as The Valeyard

Robin Williams as The Seventh Doctor

Bruce Campbell as The Eighth Doctor

Harrison Ford as The War Doctor

Matthew Lillard as The Ninth Doctor

Keanu Reeves as The Tenth Doctor

Matthew Gray Gubler as The Eleventh Doctor

Bryan Cranston as The Twelfth Doctor

Tatiana Maslany as The Thirteenth Doctor

Donald Glover as The Fourteenth Doctor

Viola Davis as The Fugitive Doctor

The Master

Donald Pleasance as Delgado!Master

Roddy McDowell as Crispy Master

Leonard Nimoy as Ainley!Master

Gary Oldman as Roberts!Master

Kevin Michael Richardson as Macqueen!Master

Ian McKellen as Jacobi!Master

James Marsters as SImm!Master

Kathryn Hahn as Missy

Sendhil Ramamurthy as Dhawan!Master

Carrie Fisher as The Rani

Ian Holm as Davros

Frank Welker as the Daleks

Keith David as the Cybermen

Danny DeVito as Sontarans

Jack Nicholson as Omega

Orson Welles as Rassilon

Donald Sutherland as Time War Rassilon

Adam West as Ian Chesterton

Mary Tyler Moore as Barbara Wright

Sally Field as Susan Foreman

George Segal as Steven Taylor

Marlo Thomas as Vicki

Annette Funicello as Dodo Chaplet

Robert Reed as Ben Jackson

Thordis Brandt as Polly

Malcolm McDowell as Jamie McCrimmon

Sissy Spacek as Victoria Waterfield

Dawn Wells as Zoe Herriot

DeForest Kelley as Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart

Stella Stevens as Liz Shaw

Susan Sullivan as Jo Grant

Margot Kidder as Sarah Jane Smith

Gary Lockwood as SGT John Benton

Chad Everett as Captain Mike Yates

Michael Douglas as Harry Sullivan

Michelle Pfeiffer as Leela

Sigourney Weaver as Romana I

Jessica Lange as Romana II

Michael J. Fox as Adric

Jodie Foster as Nyssa

Karen Allen as Tegan Jovanka

Ron Howard as Vislor Turlough

Meg Ryan as Peri Brown

Molly Ringwald as Melanie Bush

Heather Langenkamp as Dorothy "Ace' McShane

Sandra Bullock as Dr. Grace Holloway

Kristen Bell as Rose Tyler

Donald Faison as Mickey Smith

Enrico Colantoni as Pete Tyler

Jennifer Coolidge as Jackie Tyler

Nathan Fillion as Captain Jack Harkness

Tessa Thompson as Martha Jones

Lady Gaga as Astrid Peth

Gillian Jacobs as Donna Noble

Alona Tal as Jenny

Jon Hamm as Jackson Lake

Rosario Dawson as Rosita Farisi

Cobie Smulders as Lady Christina

Gates McFadden as Adelaide Brooke

Christopher Lloyd as Wilfred Mott

Emma Stone as Amy Pond

Dylan O'Brien as Rory Williams

Gillian Anderson as River Song

Ruth Negga as Mels

Keira Knightly as Idris

Jason Segel as Craig Owens

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Clara Oswald

Ashley Johnson as Petronella Osgood

Rachel Weisz as Madame Vastra

Kristen Stewart as Jenny Flint

Dave Bautista as Strax

Michael Mando as Danny Pink

Chloe Grace Mortez as Ashildr

Josh Gad as Nardole

Zazie Beetz as Bill Potts

Maya Hawke as Heather

Neil Flynn as Graham O'Brien

Octavia Spencer as Grace O’Brien

Jessie T. Usher as Ryan Sinclair

Priyanka Chopra  as Yasmin Khan

Bill Hader as Dan Lewis

Michael B. Jordan as Vinder

Kelly Marie Tran as Bel

Laura Dern as Kate Stewart

Quei Tann as Rose Noble

Emma Myers as Ruby Sunday

[vintagepresley]

How I imagined Danny’s face in the book when he and Nellie lost their baby. Then the stupid guy from the government assistant place came and didn’t seem to give two fucks they just buried their baby. He was too concerned about where he got the money to bury the baby. So Danny flew into a rage and started hitting him.

[deke-rivers-1957]

Danny's Bio Card

Thanks for the feedback @arrolyn1114 and @vintagepresley! I became inspired to use a Mardi Gras color scheme. Plus the lights looping around the whole thing makes you think of the stage lights.

I actually used the book "A Stone for Danny Fisher" which King Creole was adapted from to find Danny's canonical birthday.

Let me see how you would interpret making a bio card.

Tagging: @presleyenterprise, @dragonkingsdaughter, @she-is-juniper, @azzypog, @p0lksaladannie, @gayforelvis, @ash-omalley, @mercsandmonsters, @dontcrydaddy, @animalloverthingsss, @thetaoofzoe, @presley72elvis, @areacodefan, @illtakeyouhomeagain, @myradiaz, @lookingforrainbows, @mydarlingelvis, @cherhorowitzes, @raelynndoyle, @leopardandstuds, @thedaisymaisy, @naughtyelvie-do-lally, @ab4eva, @just-another-boring-bisexual, @ellie-24, @ilivebecauseiamforced, @foreverl0cked, @tupelomiss, and @aliengoth3.

[jokerasylum91]

I envision at 2.46 the heroes are all down and then superman arrives at full speed and knocks steppenwolf on his ass/strikes a pose also the sprinkle of Danny’s Batman theme

[tuppencetrinkets]

Sorted screencaps from the following DC live action media:  Aquaman, Batman vs. Superman, Batman, Batman and Robin, Batman Begins, Batman Forever, Batman Returns, Batman: The Dark Knight, Joker, Justice League, Justice League: Snyder Cut, Man of Steel, Suicide Squad, The Dark Knight Rises, The Suicide Squad 2, Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984.  

You can find: Birds of Prey already sorted HERE and Season 1-2 & S3 E1-5 of Titans sorted HERE.

Aquaman

Jason Momoa - Arthur Curry - Aquaman

Amber Heard - Mera

Nicole Kidman - Atlanna

Batman vs. Superman

Ben Affleck - Bruce Wayne - Batman

Henry Cavill - Clark Kent - Superman

Amy Adams - Lois Lane

Jesse Elsenberg - Lex Luthor

Diana Lane - Martha Kent

Laurence Fishburne - Perry White

Jeremy Irons - Alfred Pennyworth

Gal Gadot - Diana Prince - Wonder Woman

Michael Shannon - Zod

Batman

Michael Keaton - Bruce Wayne - Batman

Jack Nicholson - Joker

Kim Basinger - Vicky Vale

Billy Dee Williams - Harvey Dent

Michael Gough - Alfred

Batman and Robin

Arnold Schwarzenegger - Mr. Freeze

George Clooney - Bruce Wayne - Batman

Chirs O’Donnell - Dick Grayson - Robin

Uma Thurman - Pamela Isley - Poison Ivy

Alicia Silverstone - Barbara Wilson - Batgirl

Batman Begins

Christian Bale - Bruce Wayne - Batman

Michael Caine - Alfred Pennyworth

Liam Neeson - Ra’s Al Ghul

Katie Holmes - Rachel Dawes

Gary Oldman - Jim Gordon

Cilian Murphy - Dr. Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow

Morgan Freeman - Lucius Fox

Batman Forever

Val Kilmer - Bruce Wayne - Batman

Tommy Lee Jones - Harvey Dent - Two-Face

Jim Carrey - Edward Nigma - Riddler

Nicole Kidman - Dr. Chase Meridian

Chris O’Donnell - Dick Grayson - Robin

Michael Gough - Alfred Pennyworth

Drew Barrymore - Sugar

Batman Returns

Michael Keaton - Bruce Wayne - Batman

Danny DeVito - Oswald Cobblepott - Penguin

Michelle Pfeiffer - Selina Kyle - Catwoman

Christopher Walken - Max Shreck

Michael Gough - Alfred Pennyworth

Batman: The Dark Knight

Christian Bale - Bruce Wayne - Batman

Heath Ledger - Joker

Aaron Eckhart - Harvey Dent - Two-Face

Michael Caine - Alfred Pennyworth

Maggie Gyllenhaal - Rachel Dawes

Gary Oldman - James Gordon

Morgan Freeman - Lucius Fox

Cillian Murphy - Jonathan Crane - Scarecrow

Catwoman

Halle Berry - Selina Kyle - Catwoman

Benjamin Bratt - Tom Lone

Joker

Joaquin Phoenix - Arthur Fleck - Joker

Robert DeNiro - Murray Franklin

Zazie Beetz - Sophie Dumond

Frances Conroy - Penny Fleck

Brett Cullenn - Thomas Wayne

Justice League / Justice League: Snyder Cut:

Ben Affleck - Bruce Wayne - Batman

Gal Gadot - Diana Prince - Wonder WOman

Jason Momoa - Arthur Curry - Aquaman

Ezra Miller - Barry Allen - The Flash

Henry Cavill - Clark Kent - Superman

Amy Adams - Lois Lane

Ray Fisher - Victor Stone - Cyborg

Jeremy Irons - Alfred Pennyworth

Diana Lane - Martha Kent

Connie Nielson - Queen Hippolyta

Amber Heard - Mera

Joe Morton - Silas Stone

Lisa Loven Kongsli - Menalippe

Man of Steel

Henry Cavill - Clark Kent - Superman

Amy Adams - Lois Lane

Michael Shannon - General Zod

Diana Lane - Martha Kent

Rursell Crow - Jor-El

Kevin Costner - Jonathan Kent

Laurence Fishburne - Perry White

Suicide Squad

Will Smith - Wade Wilson - Deadshot

Jared Leto - the Joker

Margot Robbie - Harleen Quinzel - Harley Quinn

Viola Davis - Amanda Waller

Ike Barinholtz - Griggs

Jim Parrack - Frost

Shailyn Pierre - Zoe Wilson

Jai Courtney - George Harkness - Boomerang

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje - Waylon Jones - Killer Croc

Jay Hernandez - Chato Santana - El Diablo

Cara Delevingne - June Moone - Enchantress

Karen Fukuhara - Tatsu Yamashiro - Katana

Adam Beach - Christopher Weiss - Slipknot

Alain Chanoine - Incubus

The Dark Knight Rises

Christian Bale - Bruce Wayne

Tom Hardy - Bane

Anne Hathaway - Selina Kyle - Catwoman

Gary Oldman - James Gordon

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - John Blake

Marion Cotillard - Talia Al Ghul

Morgan freeman - Lucius Fox

Michael Caine - Alfred Pennyworth

The Suicide Squad 2

Margot Robbie - Harley Quinn

Idris Elba - Robert DuBois - Bloodsport

John Cena - Christopher Smith - Peacemaker

Joel Kinnaman - Rick Flag

Michael Rooker - Brian Durlin - Savant

Viola Davis - Amanda Waller

Jai Courtney - George Harkness - Boomerange

Pete Davison - Dick Hertz - Blackguard

Steve Agee - John Economos

Jennifer Holland - Emilia Harcourt

Daniela Melchior - Cleo Cazo - Ratcatcher 2

David Dastmalchian - Abner Krill - Polka-Dot Man

Alice Braga - Sol Soria

Peter Capaldi -  Doctor Gaius Grieves - Thinker

Juan Diego Botto - Presidente General Silvio Luna

Storm Reid - Tyla DuBois

Wonder Woman

Gal Gadot - Diana Prince - Wonder Woman

Chris Pine - Steve Trevor

Robin Wright - Antiope

Lucy Davis - Etta

Connie Nielson - Hippolyta

Danny Huston - Lundendorff

Lilly Aspell - Young Diana Prince

Lisa Loven Kongsli - Menalippe

Wonder Woman: 1984

Gal Gadot - Diana Prince - Wonder Woman

Chris Pine - Steve Trevor

Kristin Wiig - Barbara Minerva

Pedro Pascal - Maxwell Lord

Robin Wright - Antiope

Conie Nielson - Hoppolyte

This content is free for anyone to use or edit however you like; if you care to throw a dollar or two my way for time, effort, storage fees etc you are more than welcome to do so via my PAYPAL.  Please like or reblog this post if you have found it useful or are downloading the content within.  If you have any questions or you have any problems with the links or find any inconsistencies in the content, etc. please feel free to drop me a politely worded message via my ASKBOX (second icon from the top on my theme!)

[lands-of-fantasy]

Batman 

Live-action movies and series + theatrical animated films from 1989-present (2023)

Breakdown:

Directed by Tim Burton, starring Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman:

Batman (1989)

Batman Returns (1992)

Main cast includes Jack Nicholson as the Joker (B), Danny DeVito as Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin (BR), Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle/Catwoman (BR), among others.

Directed by Eric Radomski and Bruce Timm, starring Kevin Conroy as the voice of Bruce Wayne/Batman:

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

Main cast includes Mark Hamill as the Joker.

Related media: Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1995).

Directed by Joel Schumacher:

Batman Forever (1995) starring Val Kilmer

Batman & Robin (1997) starring George Clooney

Main cast includes Chris O'Donnell as Dick Grayson/Robin, Jim Carrey as Edward Nygma/The Riddler (BF) , Tommy Lee Jones as Harvey Dent/Two Face (BF), Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dr. Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze (B&R), Uma Thurman as Dr. Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy (B&R), Alicia Silverstone as Barbara Wilson/Batgirl (B&R), among others. 

Schumacher’s movies are sequels to the Burton movies despite the tone changes and recastings.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Christian Bale:

Batman Begins (2005)

The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Main cast includes Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan Crane /Scarecrow (BB),  Heath Ledger as the Joker (TDK), Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent (TDK), Tom Hardy as Bane (TDKR), Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman (TDKR), among others.

Starring Ben Mackenzie as James Gordon and David Mazouz as (young) Bruce Wayne:

Gotham (2014-2019) developed by Bruno Heller. 5 Seasons

Main cast includes Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock, Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma/The Riddler, Camren Bicondova as (young) Selina Kyle, Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth, among others.

Directed by Zack Snyder, starring Ben Affleck:

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Justice League (2017) directed by Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon

Snyder was the director during principal photography, having been replaced in post-production. Whedon was hired and he refilmed some scenes, shot additional ones and left much footage out.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021)

Also known as The Snyder Cut (of the 2017 movie).

Main cast includes Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth, Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash (JL), Jason Momoa as Arthur Curry/Aquaman (JL), Ray Fisher as Victor Stone/Cyborg (JL), among others.

These movies are part of the DC Extended Universe movie series, which starts with Superman feature Man of Steel (2013). Batman makes a small appearance in Suicide Squad (2016), directed by David Ayer. See also The Flash below.

Directed by Chris McKay, starring Wil Arnett:

The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Main cast includes Zach Galifianakis as the Joker, Michael Cera as Dick Grayson/Robin, Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth, Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn.

Related films: The Lego Movie (2014) and The Lego Movie 2 (2019) also feature Arnett’s Batman.

Directed by Matt Reeves, starring Robert Pattinson:

The Batman (2022)

Main cast includes Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton/The Riddler, Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth, among others.

Directed by Andy Muschietti, starring Ezra Miller as Barry Allen/The Flash and Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne/Batman:

The Flash (2023)

Main cast includes Sasha Calle as Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, Michael Shannon as General Zod, among others. Also features Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Jeremy Irons as Alfred Pennyworth.

This movie is also a part of the DC Extended Universe movie series, taking place after the Justice League movie. 

********************

See also: Superman Projects

[camels-pen]

What Could Have Been

DannyMay Day 1 - Memories

Summary: Vlad’s greatest crime wasn’t trying to kill Danny’s dad, beating him up repeatedly, nor all the unwanted advances on his mom. No, it was showing the boy what a good parent looks like and filling him with yearning for something he can never have.

Or

After a knock to the head, Danny remembers he’s not Vlad Masters’ son.

(1st part of the Not Your Son series)

Ao3 link

~

He remembered his dad, beaten and weary, lying prone on the ground.

He remembered the old man who’s been trying to destroy them since they first met towering over him as he stood his ground in front of his dad, fists up and building with ecto-energy.

He remembered blasting the weapon away and the light from the nozzle intensifying as it fired, hitting the ceiling and causing large chunks of stone and the chandelier to start falling towards them.

The old man yelled at him to get away, but he ignored it, choosing instead to shove his dad clear. A large piece of rubble slammed into the back of his head and-

He remembered everything.

---

“Danny?”

“Danny, son, can you hear me?” He groaned in response.

“Ugh, what hit me?” he said, rubbing his head.

“The ceiling, and what was left of the chandelier,” a relieved voice answered him. It was softer than usual and for some reason he couldn’t place it.

“Well that explains the headache at least. You okay, dad?” Danny asked, looking first to Masters, then to Fenton. He blinked a few times then rubbed his eyes and sat up, turning his full attention to Jack. “Uh, why are you crying?”

Jack sniffled. “I’m just glad you’re back.” He gave him a once over before leaned forward to wrap him in a hug.

“I only left like, a few hours ago- and wasn’t Jazz supposed to pick me up?” It was then Danny noticed the burns and bruises covering Vlad’s body and his hands tied behind his back. He was also kneeling a ways away from them. “Uh, I see you and Vlad talked.”

Jack glared at Vlad, causing Danny’s heart to speed up. “Don’t worry Danno, I used the line from the Fenton Fisher; he won’t be getting away that easy. Not after what he did.” And it was like a switch was flipped, all his memories of the past three weeks flew through his head in an instant as his hands tangled in his white hair. Jack pulled away to stare at him worriedly.

“Danno?”

“The dance,” he whispered, gloved fingers dragging against his scalp as the headache throbbed hard, making him twist his eyes shut.

Images flashed through his mind. Sam, Tucker, and him, they were going to the dance for the free food and to secretly prank the jocks. They were having fun. Lots of fun.

But he… left?

Right, he wasn’t feeling well. Sam told him to text when he got home that night and then… nothing?

Furrowed brows gave way to wide eyes and Danny picked up Vlad by his collar, slamming him against the bookshelf.

“You used that freaky ring to control me!” Jack’s eyes widened as well and he put a heavy hand on the boy’s shoulder, injecting forced calmness into his tone.

“Danny, let me handle this. I can’t imagine what he might’ve done to you, but-”

“You don't get it.” Danny tightened his grip. “He didn't do anything besides screwing with my head, which is still crazy messed up, but….” Anger and disgust filled his expression, but also… disappointment. “He really did treat me like a son and he proved that if he wanted to, he could be a good person.”

Memories of Vlad patching him up after ghost fights, talking him through an anxiety attack, and helping out during attacks after work or otherwise sending duplicates when things looked hairy, and many more flitted through Danny’s mind. He tried his best to shove them down and ignore them, but to no avail; they just started bubbling up one after another, with no sign of stopping.

---

“Hey dad, don’t you think it’s weird there are less ghosts attacking than usual?” Vlad paused, hands hovering over the keyboard for only a moment before returning to his work.

“It’s just your imagination, Daniel.” Danny rolled his eyes from his spot upside down on the leather armchair, fiddling with a rubix cube.

“For the millionth time, it’s Danny. I’m a hard-working teenager and you should recognize the name I’ve built up for myself.” Vlad smiled, the half-rimmed reading glasses on his nose sliding a bit further down as he tilted his head to the boy.

“Well then, Danny, I’ve just about wrapped up here and I was hoping to break in the new training room.” The teen met his gaze. “Although I’m guessing you’re much too busy for that seeing as you’re always so hard at work. Shame." The cube fumbled to the ground as Danny scrambled to get up, shouting denials and chattering excitedly. The older man chuckled as he allowed himself to be yanked from his chair and pushed out of his office doors.

---

Danny grit his teeth. “The only thing you changed was that I was your kid; you could’ve done so much more, could’ve basically rewritten me however you wanted, but you essentially just changed my last name.” Danny brought his face closer to Vlad’s, letting his eyes glow a bright toxic green. “Why?” he whispered.

“I only ever wanted you to be my son. You, Danny, not whatever person you think I should’ve changed you into.” There was no fight in his voice and, had Danny not been filled with strong and conflicting emotions, he would’ve noticed that Vlad was completely limp in his grasp and hadn’t attempted to teleport away. Had he not been furious, he would’ve realized the implications in the older halfa’s words. His eyes drew to the floor. “There was nothing else I wanted more,” he said softly.

---

“What’s with this creepy red ring?”

“Something I took from a ghost hunter- be careful, Daniel!” Vlad slammed the display case back down, narrowly missing Danny’s fingers.

“What the heck?!” he exclaimed, drawing his hands away and glaring at the older halfa. For a moment, the man paused, but the lack of glowing green eyes sent a breath of relief rushing through him. At the boy’s questioning look, he cleared his throat.

“That ‘creepy red ring’ as you call it, is a powerful magical artifact and if it’s let out of that case, energy will billow out in a red mist and enslave every ghost and half-ghost who touches it.” Danny’s brows furrowed. The ring seemed familiar, like it might’ve belonged to Freakshow or his family, but that wasn’t right; the clown only used a staff and the young halfa had a feeling that it was familiar for another reason. “Promise me you won’t open this case again.”

Danny waved a hand, brushing away the odd feeling and dismissing Vlad all in one motion as he moved to the next display case. “It’s not that big a deal. I’m probably faster than that energy mist anyway so you don’t have to-” Vlad grabbed his arm and turned him around, gripping his shoulders tightly.

“Promise me, Daniel,” he said, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice. Danny nodded, a worried look settling on his face as Vlad searched his eyes. “Say it aloud... please.”

“I promise, dad.” Vlad sighed, relieved, and continued the tour of his underground museum. The younger halfa spared a lingering glance at the glass, before jogging to catch up.

---

“Nothing else?” Danny repeated incredulously, “You were still trying to kidnap mom and kill dad, weren’t you?!”

“No, I... no,” Vlad sighed and turned away. “After these past couple weeks, I realized that my obsession wasn’t about Maddie; she was just the first person it clung to because of my crush on her in college. It might’ve clung to Jack too, but I was still hospitalized and angry and wanted to blame my newfound pain and suffering on something, and since he caused the accident, Jack was my only outlet.” Vlad tilted his head a bit to look his old friend in the eye. “It warped my feelings into something much more dangerous and harmful to you and your family and for that, I’m sorry.” Jack clenched his jaw and stayed silent. Danny shoved him higher up on the wall as another memory flashed before his eyes.

---

“Say, Daniel,” At Danny's glare he corrected himself. “Danny, do you have any inkling as to your obsession yet?” The boy gave a thumbs up and Vlad, bewildered, motioned him to go on.

The boy swallowed his last bite of steak. “It’s protection. Though I can’t really protect everyone in Amity 24/7 and there aren’t always ghosts attacking, so I mostly channel it into helping people through, like, community service and junk.”

“Ah… I- I see.” Danny raised an eyebrow.

“It took me a month to figure out, remember? With the Lunch Lady?” Vlad mouthed the name to himself in confusion before absentmindedly humming an affirmative. “It’s been almost two years and Tucker still hangs it over Sam’s head; just last week she tried getting the school to replace the snacks in the vending machines with healthy stuff and he brought up how much of a mi-steak she was making,” he said with a grin. Puns came naturally to Danny, and though he tended to laugh at his own creative genius a lot in the beginning, it had toned down to a chuckle or two every once in a while. Sam and Tucker would always groan at him and his shit-eating grins while others only ever laughed at him rather than with him so he wasn’t prepared at all for the hearty chuckle that followed.

“Uh, dad?” he said, grin faltering a moment. Vlad wiped the corners of his eye and took a few breaths to calm himself.

“Apologies. It’s been a while since I’ve heard any non-threatening jokes.” Danny frowned.

“Right, the Fruitloop Fentons. Too bad they don’t come with a prize inside; I’d really prefer a mood ring to secret compartments with extra blasters.” Vlad chuckled.

“You and I both.” He waited for Danny to finish his drink and gestured to the cup. “Here, let me put these away and maybe you could tell me a few more of your famous puns?” The boy grinned wide and he immediately pulled out his phone to scroll through his notes app. Vlad smiled and stood from his chair, gathering their dishes and heading for the kitchen door.

“Y’know, you never told me what your obsession is,” Danny said, a hopeful tinge to his voice. Vlad paused in the doorway, a hand resting on the doorknob.

“Family,” he said grimly.

---

“Do you expect me to believe you?! After all of this?! And even if I did, what did you think would happen; that we’d give you an award and say ‘thanks for your honesty’?”

“I can't help what my obsession forces me to-”

“Oh, can it. We both know obsessions don’t force you to do anything. You chose this, Plasmius.” The pleading look in the man’s eyes did nothing to dissuade his anger.

“You know what happened to me.” Vlad locked eyes with Jack. “Both of you do.”

---

Silence filled the library, the crackling of the fireplace and the rhythmic sound of turning pages breaking it every so often. A bundle of blankets and pillows on the couch shifted and Danny’s face popped out, blinking away sleep as he craned his neck back to stare up at Vlad.

“Hey, dad?” The man glanced at the boy.

“Yes, son?”

“How come you didn’t tell the Fruitloops you were a halfa before they became ghost hunters?” He let his eyes rest back on the page, continuing his reading.

“I did.”

“Then-”

“Danny, the process of becoming a half-ghost isn’t slow by any means, as you well know.” He sighed. “Did you really think I needed several years to recover from something like that?”

“Then, what happened?” Danny asked in a soft voice. Vlad pursed his lips and set the book down on his lap, fingers curling into fists atop it.

“They told the nurses about my ‘delusions’ and I was sent to a psychiatric hospital.” His fists began to shake. “I confided all my deepest fears and existential crises to them, but because I was still figuring out my powers, they didn’t believe me. They thought I was crazy and as soon as I turned my back Jack-” he cut himself off, scrunching up his eyes as his mouth twisted into a frown. His voice shook as he continued. “Jack and Maddie told them everything.”

Danny shuffled up the mountain of pillows to lean over and give him a hug as his shoulders began to tremble. “I'm sorry Daniel- Danny; you shouldn’t have to hear this about… the Fentons. You shouldn’t be comforting me.”

“Hey, I dump stuff on you all the time, the least I could do is return the favor.” Vlad shook his head.

“No, no that’s not how parent-child relationships work; I’ll find a better way to go about dealing with my trauma. Maybe visit that psychiatrist ghost I’ve been hearing about.” Danny pulled back, leaning on an elbow to look at him in disbelief.

“Spectra? You’d be better off with Skulker. At least he’s not an emotional vampire." Vlad smiled.

“Do you have something against vampires?”

“Yes.” Vlad held his breath despite himself. “For starters, they don’t let me eat whole boxes of Oreos for dinner.”

The man leaned over to ruffle his hair. “And that won’t be changing anytime soon.” Danny reached up to swat the hand away, but he hissed when he moved too fast. Vlad pursed his lips and gently nudged the boy to lay down again. “I do appreciate your concern, little badger, but right now you should rest and try not to pull your stitches. Again.”

---

“Even after putting me in the hospital he- they continued to make me suffer.” Danny blinked his eyes hard, trying to stay in the present, while Jack averted his gaze as furious red eyes bore into him. Clear green eyes refocused on angry red.

“So?! Do you think that means you can get away with anything?! That the world owes you something?! Newsflash, Vlad, just because you went through hell doesn’t give you the right to make others suffer!”

“I’m not like others! My circumstances-!”

“We’ve all been through shit, you’re not special! And if you really wanted to stick it to them, why didn’t you use what you know about parenting to show them up or something?! Me and Jazz would’ve ate that shit up and you could’ve been a real member of our family. Like a fun uncle or something….” The anger in his voice tapered off and the boy sighed, the bags under his eyes seeming more pronounced and far too deep for someone his age.

“You had so many opportunities to change, Vlad, to make amends and be a part of our family, and you spit on each and every one of them and for what? To get your revenge and then disappear? For someone who’s always trying to lecture me about business logistics and hard decisions, you never bothered thinking long-term, did you?” And that, that left Vlad speechless. Because for all his planning and contingencies and well-timed ghostly interference at the Fenton house the past three weeks, he really hadn’t thought long-term. Didn’t care about what might come after as long as he could have just a few precious moments of quality time with the boy he so desperately wanted to call ‘son’. And now he was paying the price.

“But that doesn’t matter right now. Because right now you’re going to promise to leave me and my family alone for good.” A familiar look of anger crossed the older halfa’s face and he glared at the younger.

“Now see here, I may have been a little dramatic, but my obsession-”

“Let's get one thing straight dad-” Danny paused for a moment, ecto-energy unconsciously building up in his hands as he clenched them into fists. “Masters,” he spat the name with as much venom as he could muster, “if you don’t agree or break this promise in any way, I will personally hunt you down, shove you in a Thermos, and phase it so far into the ground you won’t be found for centuries.” Each threat was emphasized by a hard finger jab to the man’s chest, pushing him back against the bookshelf once more.

He got up close to Vlad’s face and reiterated, “So unless we approach you, stay out of our business, got it?”

Something in his face must’ve convinced him because suddenly the fight had left the red eyes and they turned back to a resigned blue. The man nodded silently, holding Danny’s gaze a moment longer and then Jack’s before turning to slowly phase through the wall. Once he had left the room, the older Fenton dropped his calm facade and grabbed his son in a crushing bear hug, blubbering on about how worried he was, his pride in his son for sending the other halfa packing with his tail between his legs, and how happy everyone will be to hear he’s alright.

“Thanks, dad. And yeah, let’s-” he choked back a sob.

---

“Dad?” he asked, blinking at the sharply dressed man sitting by his bedside. “What are you doing here?”

“The school called and said you collapsed. Oh Daniel,” he hugged the teen tightly, “I’m so glad you’re alright.” Something about the way he said it seemed off, but Danny returned the gesture. A long moment passed and Vlad pulled back. “So, who was it this time? Walker? Ember? Some new miscreant bent on world domination?” The way his eyes searched Danny’s was starting to unnerve him. He shook his head, averting his gaze and noting the dimly lit nurse’s office.

“I don’t remember. I think I might’ve just passed out in the hall,” he answered absentmindedly, scanning the room. A thick binder on the top shelf caught his attention.

“You have been looking quite worn out lately. Perhaps you should leave early tonight.” Danny glanced at the closed door then to the drawn blinds before going ghost and floating up to grab the nurse’s incident reports. He felt a pat on his leg and he looked down. “There’s no need for that, I’ve already taken care of it.” Danny hesitated before floating to the ground.

“And the nurse?” he asked, quietly.

“Strongly discouraged from performing any health checks because of your unique illness. Of which two of the symptoms are dizzy spells and a frequent nervous bladder,” Vlad said with a knowing look.

“Thanks, dad.” The boy smiled warmly. “And yeah, let’s-”

---

Danny hugged his dad tighter. “Let’s go home.”