#air max day 2017

[ricciardo133]

Shanghai 2017

maxiel, blowjobs, frotting, lingerie, dubious consent with alcohol use

-

Daniel smirks as he looks around the empty hotel room, sheets askew and wine bottles empty and floral perfume hanging in the air. His teammate finally had a hook-up on the road. Good for him, Daniel thinks. He's tempted to knock on the closed bathroom door and congratulate Max on losing his v-card, but Max is still in the shower. He can hear the rush of water and a soft, muted singing - Max blissfully unaware of Daniel's presence. Daniel already feels he is being slightly weird popping over from his suite to Max's through the unlocked connecting door. He's tipsy enough to linger but sober enough to not give his newly deflowered teammate a heart attack after a long race day.

He instead decides to be weird in an even less innocuous way by snooping around. Daniel glances around the hotel floor, seeing pillows, Playstation controllers, and a bright pink negligee lying amid a fallen duvet.

He picks it up and appraises the intricate lacework. The decolletage and bottom hem are lined with a thick, rosy fuzz, and the flowing tulle under the bustier is sheer, short and soft. He spots a matching pair of panties also strewn on the floor. He throws the negligee over his shoulder to assess them next. As he flips the delicate fabric around, he figures the girl Max fancied must have been about Daniel's size. He holds them to his hips as the bathroom door opens. Max jolts and grabs at the towel around his narrow waist.

"Jesus fucking Christ," he says as Daniel waves. "A warning next time?"

"You're the one who suggested having a celebratory beer after the race and getting some takeout. Although," Daniel smirks and wiggles his eyes, "maybe you ate out with someone else."

Max is already pink from the hot shower. Daniel had completely missed the sound of it shutting off. Max is dripping wet and enveloped in fresh steam and now sinking into a deeper flush as he looks away.

"She must have been a stunner. Sexy little number like this and she left it for you? Or did ya swipe these to sniff on the plane?"

"No way," Max says as he walks over to where Daniel stands behind the bed, reaching for it. "She gave these to me."

"Uh-huh and went home commando? Au naturel?"

"She had a coat." Max makes another grab, and Daniel savors the remaining inches he has on his teammate. He raises his eyebrows. Max scoffs.

"Don't look at me like that. You do it all the time."

"Yeah, emphasis on 'all the time.' This was your first, right?"

"No." He bites his lip. "Well, the first who I met...at a race."

"Verstappen, you dog," Daniel teases. He puts Max in faux headlock, feeling his well-worn band shirt get damp against Max's bare chest. Max laughs, going for a grapple and flipping them both onto the mattress. They roll onto their backs and laugh. Normal, Daniel reminds himself. This is definitely normal teammate behavior.

"Grab a beer and tell me about her."

Also a normal statement between two bros, he assures himself. Max sits up on his elbows, looking down at Daniel on the bed. Daniel feels his cheeks warm, either the booze or that always unnamed something that pools in his stomach when he sees Max in such an unkempt state - too raw and too bare. Moments after practice catching a hint of skin past fireproofs. Balaclava messy hair. Heavy breaths over gym phone calls.

"Ah, it's not serious. She's not, like, a girlfriend," Max says as he gets up fully. He walks to the mini fridge stocked with complementary beers to pick one for him and toss one to Daniel. He catches it as Max fiddles with his can's pop tab. "She was just visiting the circuit for the race."

"Hooking up with a Verstappen fan. From the Netherlands?"

Daniel swears Max can't get redder. "Uh, no. She was from Melbourne."

"Oh." Daniel nods, thoughts not thinking. "She must have a great ass. The panties, sheesh."

"No bigger than yours."

"Well aware of the size of my ass, Maxy?" Max tenses, bottom lip bitten. He's too easy to prod, too easy to fluster. Daniel still can't put any words to why he likes to rile him up like this, but it's just teammates bantering, right?

"You're right," Max says. "I know your ass is bigger. Wouldn't even fit."

"As if," Daniel says, getting up and feeling the room sway a bit as if he's still in the cockpit. He's just tipsy enough for this to feel like a good idea as he goes for his belt. "One way to test that."

Max is frozen, blue eyes wide. Daniel gives him a searching look like waiting for the lights to go out, and Max nods. "Y-yeah you...you can try them."

Daniel lets his jeans fall to the floor but pauses with his fingers around the waistband of his boxers. The few sober neurons that he has left bounce off one another. "Wait, I'll do a little reveal."

Max, still toweled and damp, nods again with his unopened beer can condensation slipping over his fingertips.

Daniel stoops for the lacy dress, and, with both in hand, he dips into the still warm bathroom and changes. Just normal, joking around, keeping it light as he pulls on the panties. He feels his cock stiffen. They're still a bit damp. He pictures Max's fingers rubbing over the thin fabric along her slit.

He swallows, pulling on a negligee for the first time in his life and appraising his appearance in the mirror. He cups his pecs in the slightly firmer ribbing of the bustier. It's surprisingly well fitting and cupping his small tits with an accentuating curve. The fuzzy trim is soft on his chest and thighs, his tattoo still visible through the sheer fabric. He spins his hips, letting the tulle tent out around him in soft swishes.

It's all so normal, just for a laugh, he thinks as he leaves the bathroom and strikes a pose. Max, still frozen in place, drops his beer and stares.

"Careful when you do open that one," Daniel says. "It's all shook up now."

"Daniel."

"You can say it. I'm hotter than she was, right?"

"Yes."

Daniel balks. He wasn't expecting an earnest answer, but Max is always so earnest, so open, so attentive, so present with him. He walks up to Max, putting his hands on his shoulders. He glances down at his half-naked and half-hard teammate.

That unnamed something. It's not normal. Letting his hands trail up pale, bare skin to rest on Max's fluttering neck is not normal. But he's buzzed and lonely and pissed some chick from Melbourne got to have him. To touch him and take him before Daniel.

"I can kinda rock any color but this rose is pretty divine," Daniel says. He knows he's saturating Max in charm. Max's eyes are glossy, full lips parted and eyes set on Daniel's chest. "Whatcha think? How's this ensemble suit me?"

"It's...good."

"Aw, just good?"

"What do you want me to say, Daniel? I can barely think. I just," he shakes his head. "You're...you're always very good looking, and now..."

Daniel moves Max's hands to his hips, fingers trembling on the sheer fabric. Daniel guides his hands along his frame, slipping over the soft material and up to the bra to rest on his tits.

"Is that how you charmed Melbourne out of these?" Daniel whispers into Max's ear. He loves it. Max filterless, gasping when Daniel's warm breath hits his neck. He's like a car himself, ergonomic buttons reacting to each press and pull so perfectly. "Most girls like to hear more than just 'good', Max. Or did you woo her some other way?"

"I gave her a blowjob, which she liked."

Now it's Daniel's turn to feel struck still. He pulls back and looks from bright blue eyes to plush lips. "You did?"

"Of course. Most girls really like it." He looks askance. "And guys, too. Or so I imagine. I mean, I like it too. Getting it and giving it."

"Show me. How." His voice comes out in fractals and his breaths fall to pieces as Max actually takes Daniel by the shoulders and pushes him gently onto the bed.

"Well, there are several ways to do it, but I spread her legs, like this," he says as he kneels and pushes Daniel's thighs apart. Daniel complies. He sits on the edge of the bed, staring down at Max's blonde damp hair as his teammate stares at his lace-clad cock. The alarm bells of not normal not normal not normal are far too drowned out by the rush of that nameless heat. His precome adds to the dampness of the fabric. Max's fingers hesitate along the top of his thighs, tips touching trimmed pubes.

"Then, I slipped these...off." He looks up. Daniel nods. Max curves his fingers under the lacework and slips the panties down his legs. There's a bit of a shuffle as Daniel gives a little 'hang on' as he kicks one leg up to pull them completely off, slightly bonking Max's head in the process. Max laughs, and Daniel feels unmoored. Somehow the awkwardness of undressing turns him even more on, like this is a real hook-up. Like Max did with Melbourne. He gasps as Max goes back between his legs.

"Of course, it's slightly different. With a cock." He's actually explaining the process now, like he would during a debrief. Daniel feels woozy, the tables so thoroughly turned that just the sight of Max leaning in closer makes him whine. Max looks up from where he was pushing the negligee up Daniel's thighs. "It's good," Daniel assures.

"Just good?" Max plays.

"Okay, listen, just-," he shudders as Max takes Daniel's length in his fantastically warm mouth. He gasps, hands flying to Max to gently comb through his hair and feel his head bob up and down as he takes him deeper and deeper. "Jesus. Jesus, Max."

He's good. It's maddening. His thick lips and tongue work with an unexpected ease as Max sucks and pulls. Daniel's guilty stray thoughts of Max's mouth, wide as he laughed, were right. He can really take a lot. Daniel's fairly large, but his teammate works him down to the base.

"Max," he breathes. "Max."

Max pulls off. "You can push," he says, a hand atop Daniel's to apply pressure to his head. "She really liked that, grabbing my hair."

"Did she?" Daniel says through a shuddering breath, thankful to get a second and not come immediately. He sucks in sharply as Max licks along the bottom from root to tip, tounging along the head. "Christ, Max. Why are you so good at this?"

"It's not hard. Well, you're hard, obviously. I mean it's not difficult."

Great. Gifted at driving and giving head. Daniel laughs but it breaks into a sob as Max takes another long lick around the circumference of his cock. "Max."

"Do you want me to keep going? With what she and I did?"

"Yes. Yes, please. Yes."

"I lifted her back, like this," Max says as he rises and gently slips his hands under Daniel's arms. Reflexively, he holds onto Max's bare torso as he lifts him with ease back to the headboard. Max then lies beside him. "Then she got...on top."

"Oh," Daniel says, his body understanding before his thoughts could catch up. He's up, a leg lifting to straddle Max's waist. As Daniel lowers, he sees the pink fabric spread across his thighs and up over his still hard length. Max keens as Daniel jerks forward with his hips, brushing Max's cock.

"Daniel," Max says. He places his hands on his waist, fingers twisting in the negligee.

"Did she ride you?"

"Yes."

"Did you come inside her?"

"Yes." Daniel bucks his hips forward again, and Max cries out. His grip hard in Daniel's skin. "But I won't- Daniel, fuck. I won't last that long now."

"Next time." Not normal. They shouldn't be doing this. Max leans up to face him and holds Daniel's cheeks. A nebulous, tenuous moment passes of just breathing each other's breath, hot and mixed with beer and mint. Max brushes his teeth in the shower like a weirdo. Daniel needs to taste it, leaning forward and breaking the seal of whatever this is, slipping his tongue into Max's warm mouth. Max kisses back, fingers lacing into Daniel's mass of curls with faint moans going straight to Daniel's cock. He can even taste himself on Max's lips.

"You look beautiful," Max whispers. Daniel shivers, flushed and unwound. "You do, Daniel. All the time."

"Max." He wants to joke. To say he knows. To make this normal but it's far too late. He mirrors Max's hands and holds his teammate's face in his hands. "Say it again."

"You're beautiful, Daniel." Daniel lets one hand trail down, freeing Max's dick from the bath towel. He shifts more forward to grasp them both, rubbing them off together. Max keens, forehead hitting Daniel's as his voice cracks. "You're beautiful. You are, oh God. Oh, fuck."

Max dips his head into Daniel's neck, gripping his shoulders as Daniel works their cocks. The precome and Max's still damp body and Daniel's sweat make slick sounds between breathy curses as Max's fingernails dig into his back as he comes, spilling over onto the pink fabric and making Daniel lose it right after.

They breathe heavy, fingers softening. Daniel feels lightheaded and languidly lowers off Max's hips to lay beside him.

"Then we..." Max pauses. "We cuddled a bit after."

"You know how to treat a lady right," Daniel says, still riding out the high as he turns and nestles into Max's chest. "Surprised she didn't spend the night."

"Had to catch a flight."

"Lucky ours is tomorrow, yeah?"

Max's chest rises and falls in a deep breath as he wraps his arms around Daniel. "Yeah, lucky us."

Daniel gets up, flips off the light, and goes right back into Max's arms. Max squeezes. It feels so good as Daniel, still damp and clad in tulle and come, burrows into Max's body. Sober Daniel can figure out whatever this means. Right now, it feels better than normal.

[talkdutchtome]

You Should Have Said No

chapter seven - enchanted

pairing . . . max verstappen x reader / pierre gasly x reader )

summary . . . when your fiancé cheats on you, you strike up an unusual friendship with one of his closest friends, who just so happens to have had a crush on you since he set eyes on you. chaos ensues.

inspired by the works of miss taylor swift )

genre . . . angst )

song . . . enchanted - taylor swift )

warning . . . cheating, mental illness, angst, eventual smut, poorly translated french and dutch, swearing, mention of parent loss, emotionally abusive parent, slight social media au, kendall jenner as fc (potentially more i’ll add as i go along)

a/n . . . so i took a bit of a hiatus, but upon returing i found i had written this chapter months ago and for some reason never published it, so here it is, more to come in the coming days )

Max Verstappen was usually a picture of confidence, there was very little that made him nervous; after all he spent his life driving at 200 miles an hour. Max was consistently cool, calm and collected no matter what he was doing, that’s just who he was. But as he stood in front of your apartment door, he felt a chill of uncertainty deep within. He had rehearsed his words a thousand times, but now, as he prepared to knock on the door, all eloquence seemed to escape him. Could he do this? Should he do this? Even though his friendship with you was still fresh, it had come to mean a lot to him, and if he did what he wanted to do, he was well aware that he could lose the newfound friendship. “It’s now or never” he spoke out loud to himself before finally gathering the courage to knock on the door. When the door swung open, revealing you stood there in your pajamas holding a rather large glass of wine, Max couldn’t help but second guess whether he should be doing this.  

“Hey Max, I-” you started, trying to find a way to apologize for kissing him and then completely ghosting him immediately following the kiss, but was interrupted by the Dutchman’s voice cutting through. 

“Wait, Y/N. Just let me get this out” His words hung in the air, heavy with anticipation, and you watched as he took a deep breath to steady himself. It was evident in the way his hands trembled that this was not an easy moment for him. Despite his anxiety, Max looked directly into your eyes, his sincerity shining through. 

“30th of September 2017. That is the day that you and I met, I remember it like it was yesterday. Pierre and I knew each other from karting but when he got his seat at Toro Rosso, and you came with him to the Malaysian GP, we met each other for the first time. When I saw you for the first time, I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my life, and when I got to know you, I realized that not only were you the most beautiful girl, but you were also the kindest and funniest girl too. But you were with Pierre.”  

For a second Max stopped, wondering if it was too late to run away and pretend that this never happened. He couldn’t bring himself to look you in the eye, afraid of what he would see. You were frozen, slowly taking in every word he said.  

“You were with Pierre, and I knew I needed to respect that. So, I ignored everything I knew I felt for you. I kept you at arms length as nothing more than Pierre’s girlfriend because I knew the more I got to know you to harder it would be to ignore how I felt. And I was right; because as I've spent more time with you, it’s made it impossible for me to pretend that this isn't how I feel. I know this is selfish of me, I know that the last thing you need right now is me making things more complicated for you after everything you’ve been through, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that kiss. I can’t pretend anymore. You deserve so much more than how Pierre has treated you.” 

Max's confession hung in the air, and as he finally looked into your eyes for the first time since he started speaking, his own were filled with trepidation. He feared that he might see disgust or anger in your expression, but what he found instead was a bewildered look, a mix of surprise and confusion. For a moment, silence prevailed as you tried to process the whirlwind of emotions that his words had stirred within you. Max, sensing your confusion, stammered out an apology. "I'm sorry, Y/N. I shouldn't have put you in this position." He took a step back, as if ready to retreat and give you space to collect your thoughts. "If you want me to go, just say the word." 

You shook your head, still unable to find the right words. "No, Max, please stay," you finally managed to say softly. "I just need a moment to process all of this." You motioned for him to come back inside, and as he entered your home, the air was filled with a sense of uncertainty.  

Max stood there, his gaze locked onto yours, and it was clear that he was waiting anxiously to hear what you had to say. You could see the nervous anticipation in his eyes, the way his fingers slightly trembled. It wasn't just your feelings that were in turmoil; Max's emotions were on display as well. 

"Max," you began again, your voice wavering with raw honesty, "I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel anything for you. But I’m just so confused." Your gaze dropped to the ground for a moment before returning to meet his earnest eyes. "I met Pierre when I was 13 and we’ve been together since, he was my first and only everything. So even though he hurt me more than I knew was possible, those feelings don’t just disappear” 

You continued, trying to express the jumble of emotions swirling within you. "I like you, a lot. And the time we’ve spent together has been great, but I'm in a place where I have no idea what's going to happen with Pierre. It wouldn't be fair for me to lead you on when I'm still grappling with my own emotions." 

Max nodded, his understanding gaze unwavering. "I get it, Y/N," he replied softly, his voice filled with empathy. "I don't expect you to have all the answers right away, and I don't expect you to suddenly be done with Pierre. But I also don't want to give up on the potential of what we might share." He took a deep breath, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "So, if you're willing, could we start by going on a date? No expectations, no pressure. Just two people getting to know each other better." 

Your heart swelled with a mix of emotions, but you needed to make sure he understood the complexity of your situation. You searched his eyes for any signs of hesitation and, finding none, you mustered a small, genuine smile. "Okay, Max," you replied, “If you’re sure you’re okay with me not really knowing what I’m doing, then I’d happily go on a date with you.” 

As Max heard your tentative agreement to go on a date, a radiant smile spread across his face, illuminating his entire expression. It was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and his eyes sparkled with genuine happiness and relief. His excitement was palpable, and it showed in the way he couldn't contain a small, triumphant chuckle. 

Max's voice, once tinged with nervousness, now carried a buoyant enthusiasm as he said, "Thank you, Y/N. I promise there's no rush, no pressure. We can take things as slow as you need. I'm just grateful for the chance." You truly didn’t know what was going to happen, you liked Max, but you loved Pierre. Things were pretty much as complicated as they could be, but Max had made you feel like it was okay that you were confused, it was okay that you didn’t know what you were doing.  

Content that you had agreed to go on a date, Max stood up to leave and as he reached the door, you noticed a moment of hesitation in his gaze. It was as if he was contemplating something, and for a brief second, you thought he might lean in for a kiss. Your heart raced at the possibility, but then you saw the doubt flicker in his eyes, and his lips curved into a warm, sincere smile. He decided to step closer and envelop you in a gentle hug. 

The embrace was warm and comforting, and as Max held you, you couldn't help but feel a wave of happiness wash over you. There was something undeniably exciting about the prospect of this new chapter, despite the complicated circumstances that had led to it. The mix of emotions that had coursed through you during the day seemed to have settled into a pleasant anticipation. 

As you climbed into bed that night, you were amazed by the unexpected shift in your mood. Instead of feeling worried or stressed about the uncertain future, you were filled with excitement and happiness. Max's genuine interest and the possibilities that lay ahead left you with a sense of hope and a newfound joy that you hadn't anticipated. 

Taglist - @lordperceval-16 @omarsiglia @tom-rec @hiraethrhapsody @barnestatic @ironmaiden1313 @dudenhaaa27 @aundercover @amalialeclerc @icarus-nex @reidsworld @simxican @idkiwantchocolatee @ruleroftheuniverse @faithm120601 @eugene-emt-roe @bicchaan @leclercdream @be-your-coffee-pot @pjofics @yunnie-f1 @girlintheredscarf @larastark3107 @rosalysaoirse @mycenterfold @janeholt3 @daddyslittlevillain @gaslysainz @princessria127 @laneyspaulding19 @fangirl125reader

[mythos-writes]

Olympian

Daniel Ricciardo x Gretzky! Reader

Plot: Daniel's girlfriend is an Olympian, but not in the sport that you may think... (This takes place at the end of the 2017 racing season + 2018 Winter Olympics)

Formula 1 Masterlist

Word Count: 2.1K

Warning: Swearing, Canadian slang, hockey terms, clueless Daniel and clueless drivers (except Lance)

It was the last race in Abu Dhabi. The long-awaited race was coming into place. Before the weekend started, they all decided to go out for a grid dinner at a restaurant. As the night went on, they started to talk about their winter break plans. Many go skiing in Europe, while others make stops at home to see family. 

“Danny, what are you going to get up to?” Max asked him. 

“I’m going to go home and visit the folks, and in February I’m going to PyeongChang,” he states, everyone’s eyes falling onto him. 

“Korea? What on Earth are you going there for?” Nicko asks, finishing off his Heineken.

Daniel and (Y/N) had decided very early on to keep a private and low-key relationship. With (Y/N) showing up to the Montreal and Austalia races and him going to her most important games. But he never really discussed his relationship with the young hockey star with the other drivers. They knew he was dating someone but they didn’t know who he was dating. Daniel wanted to gush about how his girlfriend is going to the Olympics and this would be the only time he would do it until they go full public with their relationship. 

“Isn’t that where the Olympics are this year?” Valtteri asks. This started to make many of the driver's mind race.

“Daniel, why are you going to the Olympics? Are you a super athlete and you never told us?” Seb asks in a joking way.

“Oh, I wish, but I’m more of a Summer athlete than a winter one. My girlfriend is taking part in the games and I’m going to support her,” he finally reveals. Many eyebrows were lifted at the revelation. 

“Oh? We didn’t even know she was an athlete. What sport does she play?” Lewis asks, him thinking he might make a change of plans to go also. 

“She’s playing for Team Canada’s women’s hockey team,” he states, catching the two Canadian driver’s attention. 

“What’s her name, I wonder if Stroll knows her,” Alsonso jokes, causing a couple of drivers to chuckle. 

“I don’t know if you would know her, but I would think you would know her father,” he says. 

“Oh yeah, and who would that be?” Lance asks, being a little cocky. 

“Wayne Gretzky,” he replies while taking a spit of his drink. Lance’s face fell like he was just told that his girlfriend was pregnant. 

“I think you broke him, mate,” Carlos says, waving a hand in front of the Canadian’s face. 

“You’re dating (Y/N) Gretzky?! As in Wayne Gretzky’s daughter,” Lance stresses, making sure he heard the Austrailian correctly. 

“Why are you so surprised that he is dating this person's daughter?” Pierre asks, not knowing much of anything about hockey. 

“Wayne Gretzky is one of the most famous hockey players of all time. He won 4 Stanley Cups, which is the trophy that the NHL plays for. He also broke every record set for points, goals, and assists. It's like him saying he is dating Pele's daughter!" he explains, blowing away many of the drivers. 

“If that is the case, how the hell did you two meet?” Seb asks the Austrailian. 

“They came to the Montreal Race a couple of years ago, and we ended up bumping into each other. We started talking and ended up exchanging numbers; the rest is history,” he explains.

“Wow, I didn’t know you had that much game,” Max says into his drink, earning a smack from the Australian. 

Race weekend came and went, and the travels of the drivers began. (Y/N) accompanied him to Australia to visit his family Australia, as a small vacation before all of her focus goes into the Olympics. It was one of the last days before she was going to fly back to Canada to get prepared for going to training camp. (Y/N) decided to take a step outside and enjoy the warm air.

As she sat on the deck, she was starting to feel the pressure that was being placed on her. She was ‘The Great Ones’ daughter, and Canada is a shoo-in to win gold this year. (Y/N) was so in her head that she didn’t hear the back door open, or notice someone sitting beside her. They pulled her into their body. Daniel’s cologne filled her nose, and she relaxed into his body.

“What’s going on in your head of yours?” he asked. She looked up at him a replied,” Everything.” Daniel lets out a breathy laugh, before placing a kiss on the crown of her head.

“Oh love, everything will work out in the end,” he replies.

“Yeah, I know, but what if people decide that I’m not as good enough? What if I can’t live up to the expectations of being Wayne Gretkzy’s daughter?” she spews out just some of the anxiety-filled questions. Daniel sat there for a moment, trying to formulate an answer. 

“Those are very common feelings to have. I know that these feelings are common for kids of sports stars,” he states while playing with her hair. “But do what I always say, Fuck ‘Em All.”

She looks up at him and smiles. “Thanks, Danny.” He leans down and kisses her lips. 

“Come on, let's get you back inside, it's starting to get cold out here,” he states, helping her up. 

“I love you, Danny,” “I love you too (Y/N/N)” he replies before placing a kiss against her lips. Before they could continue their moment, it was broken by a distinctive “EWWW” from a little boy. They turned to see Daniel's nephew standing at the slightly opened glass door. 

“Come here ya bugger,” Daniel says while he starts to chase the boy back inside, leaving (Y/N) behind, laughing at his antics.  

Time flew by, and before either of them knew it, they were in Korea for the fateful Olympics. Canada breezed through the round-robin rounds. They then fought their way through the quarters and semi-finals, leading them to the long-awaited finals. The United States of America vs. Canada. The well-known rivalry goes back decades. 

(Y/N) was listening to music while she was getting warmed up. A playlist that Daniel made for her. As she was stretching, her phone pings. She sees Daniel's picture pop up. It was a text. (Y/N) opens and smiles. 

DannyRic❤️

   You got this babe! Remember, Fuck Em All

“Awe, that’s so sweet!” a familiar French accent grounds her. She turns to see her friend Marie-Philip Poulin standing behind her.

“I see lover boy is taking the boyfriend role seriously today,” she states while sitting beside (Y/N).

“Yeah, he knows that I get in my head a lot when it comes to things like this,” (Y/N) states, fidgeting with her necklace that holds her hockey number and a little F1 charm. 

“You’ll do fine chérie. And if people start to question your skills, we’ll have your back to prove them wrong,” Marie-Philip says while wrapping an arm around (Y/N)’s shoulders.   

“Thanks, M.P. and I know that Danny would be beside you in that defence,” she says while returning the side hug. 

“Now, come on, the game is in 30min, let's start getting out gear on.” 

It was go time. (Y/N) had walked out onto this pad many times in the last two weeks, but tonight was different. It was for an Olympic gold medal. Marie-Philip Poulin was hyping the girls up, getting them ready to face the fierce rivals. As they skated out onto the International pad of ice, the cheers of Canadians and Americans shake the nerves a little. She looked up at the jumbotron and saw that the camera was on her dad. Daniel was sitting beside him, and they were talking. What shocked her was seeing some of the other drivers sitting beside them. 

Lewis Hamilton, Valtara Bottas, Max Verstappen, Sebastian Vettel, and Lance Stroll were sitting in the stands. They looked out of place, which made her laugh a little. She knew that if she had the TSN stream, the focus would be on her and her ‘cheer squad’. Sarah Nurse tapped her shins, getting her attention to set up for the start of the game. (Y/N) moved to the center ice for the face-off. 

As the game unfolds, the rivals play each other hard. There were hard hits and solid goals. (Y/N) scored one of the two goals for the Canadian team, and she could hear Daniel from the ice level. With the 110% effort that was brought by both teams, it lead them to a shootout. 

(Y/N) was the first shooter for Team Canada. She was getting ready to go, her nerves returning as a result. She looked up to where her squad was sitting and all she thought were Daniel's words to her. Fuck ‘Em All. She looked to the refs and gave them the nod, signalling to the refs that she was ready. The whistle blew, signalling for her to go. To (Y/N), it went deadly quiet. She blocked out all the fans, all the players yelling, everything. She skated down, went left to right, and then popped it over the blocker side of the US goalie. 

When the puck hit the back of the net, she tuned back in to hear the roar of the Canadian fans. She felt that all the weight is off her shoulders. Her work in getting Canada the win is done. But it wasn’t enough. The United States ended up getting the upper hand in the shootout and earning them the gold medal. (Y/N) felt defeated. She felt numb. 

They did the award ceremony, they consoled each other on the ice and in the changeroom. She would comfort them, just trying to be there for them. Her teammates would ask her how she was feeling and she would detour the questions. She got changed into some comfy, but still presentable, to walk out of the arena and back onto the bus to the Olympic Village. When they crawled off the bus, just wanting to get into their beds for the night, she saw Daniel and Wayne standing by the unloading spot. She gave them a small smile before walking into the open arms of her father. 

“I am so proud of you,” he says. Those words made her break. Tears started to fall and her body shakes in her father's arms. Daniel wanted to take her into his arms, but he knew that she needed it. 

“But we lost,” she murmured into her father's chest. Wayne moves her off him, so he can look at her properly. 

“It doesn’t matter that you won or lost. You went out there and showed the world how great you were. Unfortunately, shootouts are awful ways to end games, and they got the puck in more times. But you guys kept them in the game and made it such a great game. That’s what makes me proud of you,” Wayne praises. More tears fall on (Y/N)’s face, but now they were happy tears. 

“I love you, Dad,” she says, bringing him back into a big hug. “I love you to kiddo,” he replies while placing a kiss on her forehead. Reminders of when she would come off the ice upset from the game and Wayne comforting her exactly like this. 

“Now, I think someone is wanting to talk to you,” Wayne says while turning her to see a fidgety Daniel standing behind them. She giggles at his antics before thanking her dad again. Wayne walked off into the village, leaving the two love birds alone. Daniel opens his arms up, and (Y/N) falls into his arms quickly. 

“Sorry for not giving you guys the best performance,” she whispers against his Team Canada jacket. 

“Are you kidding, the boys first couldn’t believe that we were dating. Then they couldn’t believe that you had moves like this. Minus Stroll of course as you both are maple leaves,” Daniel states. Giggles erupt 

“If you’re up for it, the boys invited us to a restaurant just outside of the village and they would love to meet you. But if you’re not up for it, it is totally understandable and we can arrange something during the racing season,” he word dumps. 

“You know what, I’ve avoided meeting your fellow racers for this long, why not meet some of them properly,” she says with a smile. “And I could go for some good Korean food.” This causes Daniel to laugh. 

“Well, I’ll make sure Lewis pays then, come on,” he states while walking her towards the rental he got. 

(Y/N) felt disappointed that she didn’t get Canada the gold, but Daniel and her father made her feel that she wasn’t a failure, and she felt the most confident she had ever been.

[boxboxblog]

Ex Driver Profiles: Franco Colapinto

Updated December 2024

Name: Franco Alejandro Colapinto

Age: 21

Nationality: Argentine

Years in F1: Less than 1 (Williams Sept 2024)

Number: 43

WDCs: N/A

Driving Style: While not much has been seen from Colapinto in F1 yet, what we can gather is that he is an aggressive driver with strong defense, and solid overtaking skills. He has taken to the stress and pressure of F1 well, showing a cool head during races and defending well against F1 veterans like Sergio Perez. This shows a degree of adaptability, one that has been seen in his F2 career as well. A negative of his style is that his eagerness and aggression can lead to unnecessarily bold moves. In F2, for example, he is prone to receiving penalties. This eagerness can also cause inconsistency while racing.

History:

Colapinto came from a much more middle-class family than the average F1 driver. His carting career started at age 9, and he showed strong promise, winning the Argentine Championship in 2016 (Pre-Junior class) and 2018 (Sudam class), as well as the Buenos Aires Regional Championship in 2016 (Pre-Junior class) and 2017 (Junior class). Colapinto also won the gold medal at the 2018 Youth Summer Olympics. Due to this obvious talent his family sold their home in order to pay for Colapinto's debut in single-seaters.

(Colapinto during his karting days)

He debuted in car racing in 2018, participating in the final race of the F4 Spanish Championship. He had a stellar performance, and was able to sign a full-year contract for the 2019 season. That season he scored 11 victories, 13 podiums, and 14 pole positions. He took the title that year by winning the last three races of the season.

(Colapinto after winning Spanish F4_

Early 2020 he raced for the Toyota Racing Series, and finished 3rd in the standings, winning the rookie championship in the process. He also joined the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2020, and had a very positive year. He took two race wins that year and seven podiums, finish 3rd in the championship. This made him the highest placed rookie in the 2020 season, winning another rookie championship. 2021 saw him take part in the European and Asian Le Mans series, where he took 4th and 3rd respectively.

(Colapinto shortly before signing for Formula Renault)

His debut into F3 came in 2022, signing with Van Amersfoort Racing (a team that had once raced Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen) and came 7th in the standings, one of his worst championship results ever. He did have some positive results, with one sprint win and three podiums. He took part in F3 again for 2023, this time with a different team, and had a much more positive year, getting 4th in the standings by the end of the season.

(Colapinto after taking pole for Van Amersfoort)

Late 2023 it was announced that Colapinto would be graduated up to F2 for the 2024 season. He only completed the first half of the season, and gained one victory, before being promoted to the F1 Williams seat to replace Logan Sargent. Colapinto had a relatively strong first season (or half a season really), finishing in the points on a handful of occasions. he did have several crashes and DNFs toward the end, and finished in 19th. He does not have a seat for the 2025 season.

Major Races (some F3 and F2 ones too):

F3: 2022 Imola Sprint: His maiden victory in F3, Colapinto capitalized on the tricky wet conditions and displayed strong composure and race craft.

F2: 2023 Silverstone Feature: He fought tough battles in the midfield to come. Although he did not place particularly high, he showed he could fight against competitive junior drivers and hold his own to stay in the points.

2024 Azerbaijan GP: Only his second race in F1, Colapinto delivered a stellar performance on a tricky track. He finished 8th (ahead of his veteran teammate) and showed that he could handle the pressure of a F1 race.

2024 Singapore GP: Although Colapinto finished outside the points, he had a standout performance. He fought hard in the midfield (memorably being complimented by Perez for his defense skills) and handled the physically toughest race on the calendar with grace.

Cheers,

-B

[marswasnothere]

Maxiel idea - lycanthrope daniel and human max, 2017, 1158 words ripped straight from my discord messages to myself from nine months ago

Lycanthropy - werewolf-ism, used in cool werewolf films and shows, Lycanopathy - proper modern term for werewolf-ism, medical diagnosis, Lycaniasis - time during transformed wolf state, Anthroiasis - time during transformed human state, Lycanalgia - severe pain experienced during transformation, [Lyc-] - wolf [-an-] - human [-suffixes] - related to specific part of condition

Someone prompted it in the kinkmeme which I saw on Tumblr but with no date attached so i can't find it

But werewolf Daniel but he turns into a poodle

I don't know if they mean a full on poodle or a weird scraggly half man half poodle but I'm gonna choose the second to make it supernatural

And throwing in some puppy play when Daniels in his human form

Now the scene I imagined was Daniel shifting back into his human form, naked, under a blanket, with Max watching over him to make sure he's safe. He's never done it with someone to help him before, so he's a bit self conscious. Daniel shifts back, writhing on the floor, it's painful but it will end. He drops down, kneeling, taking a minute to just breathe and relax the aching in his bones.

His head itches. He yipes and whines, then tries reaching a leg over to scratch his head with his paw- foot. His paw, no, his foot. What? He can't reach and growls to himself. He's getting older, he can't stretch as much, curse this stupid fucking poodle. 

"Daniel. Daniel, hey, look at me!" Max says to him.

Daniel glances over, panting, leg half raised in the air. Max grabs his paw- hand. His hand? Max grabs his hand and aligns it with his own, stretching their fingers out in a rhythmic pattern.

"Daniel. You've shifted back. Human mode. You've got hands, see?"

Daniel stares at his hand. His tongue retracts back in his mouth and he drops his leg. He's in his human form, yes, that's right, he's human right now. Max hasn't seen that happen before. Daniel gets stuck in his doggy state of mind. His own brain restricting him from standing upright or speaking. It's probably just crossed wires, he usually needs half an hour to go back to acting like a regular human being. It's weird, but he's used to it.

Daniel covers himself up and apologises to Max, explaining what happened and how it just happens to him. Max found it scary. He thought Daniel lost all humanity for a second and would be stuck like that forever and ever. Daniel laughs.

"Not unless you want me to. I know poodle Danny is a bit easier to handle than regular ole me." Self deprecating jokes usually do good. But Max doesn't smile. Sort of. It cocks up in the corner, then he winces, and pouts, and smirks, and- there's a lot on his face. He's contemplating something

Daniel’s a black poodle

Werewolf genes or whatever runs in the family

Came from his grandad, skipped his mum, and landed on him

Everything was normal when he was born, until a month into being a tiny teensy baby, he became a hairless, eyes closed, tiny puppy and cried and cried for hours on end because his bones and skin hurt his tiny lil body and his mum called over a lycanopathic friend to help and everyone was exhausted by the end of it.

Ok yeah werewolves are distinguishable from regular dogs. Their breed depends entirely on their parents/ancestors breed and origin, not what country they're from. They’re gangly, they have longer limbs no matter what breed, and have eyes that look eerily human from certain angles. They keep their human intelligence, with a couple of dog-like instincts poking through, but they can’t communicate in spoken language. Their shifts follow the cycle of the moon, not on every full moon like people usually think, but still on cycle. Daniel always shifts two days after a new moon, just as a thin crescent appears in the night sky. Werewolves stay shifted for an average of 8 hours overnight. Some sleep through being shifted to heal from the pain of shifting, others stay awake fueled by instincts and hunting desires, only to wake in the morning extremely tired. All depends on the person, the breed,

There’s been handfuls of lycanthropes in any profession, formula one is no excuse. Most prefer to hide their status, taking suppressants if their shifts fall on race days, and staying far away from the media when their cycle catches up with them.

Daniel is no different. Despite being perfect pr material, Daniel keeps the gangly black poodle within him away from watching eyes. He takes suppressants when shifting falls of media or race days. The team knows, Sebastian knows, and now Max Verstappen needs to know too. He’s going to bring it up professionally to Max, explain everything and dispel whatever stereotypes Max probably believes in, when he can’t find his suppressants after a Grand Prix but the team doesn’t think anything of it, because he doesn’t need to do anything on Monday night. And Max wants to hang out. Well shit.

Michael usually helps him after he’s shifted, needing food that won’t make regular Daniel nor dog Daniel break out in an allergic reaction, letting him hop into the shower to pee and clean up afterwards, and keeping him trained up and entertained. Maybe this can be a teaching moment for Max.

Daniel opens the door to Max and welcomes him in, then sits him down to explain why he’s so jittery. He explains he’s a werewolf, a lycanthrope, and he’s going to be shifting tonight. Max will be stuck with dog Daniel for the entire night. Max takes it pretty well, bluntly asking facts like any good dutchman, and then takes Michael’s delivery of specialty canned lycan food for Daniel, a dog bed, and a handful of toys.

Daniel apologises that he’s going to have to get naked, to avoid ruining his clothes, in front of a 19 year old Max. Max is chill with it. As night falls and Daniel feels his skin start to itch, he hides under a blanket and strips off his clothes. Max, for some reason, folds them.

He lies on the floor, twitching and groaning, then grabs the blanket and stuffs a corner in his mouth as he screams. His shift takes full force and Max watches on in fear. Daniel told him to keep his distance, but he wants so badly to hug Daniel, massage his shoulders, ease his pain as his bones meld and change.

The lump under the blanket stops moving, then a black curly tail pops out from underneath.

“Daniel?” 

There’s a bark, and Daniel stands up. He shakes the blanket off and stretches, revealing a lanky black poodle. He looks up and Max and Max shudders. Daniel scoffs internally. First time seeing a real werewolf’s eyes? They aren’t the scary, cool golden slits like tv shows say.

“Okay… okay, cool. What was it, one bark for yes, two for no.” 

Daniel barks. “Of course. Cool.” 

Daniel’s tail wags. Max smiles. Daniel pads on over and sniffs Max, getting used to his scent to remind himself he’s in a safe space. Max reaches a hand down to pet him, then retracts, not sure if that’s a respectful thing to do. Daniel notices, and jumps up to nuzzle against him, prompting Max to pet him in return.

SOHEAH WEREWOLF DANIEL

I got a bit too into world building and making everything make sense and im seconds away from researching the cycle of the moon from 2017

But other than that

[vikenticomeshome]

Carl's Cool Kids and Hardee's Cool Kids Meal Toys (part 1/?)

Hello all,

Not too long ago, I made a post about the Cyberchase toys that were available from Carl's Jr. and Hardees back in 2003. This was a tiny part of the Cool Kids promotion that was shared between the two restaurants. The Cool Kids promotion itself lasted about 18 years, based on the archives that I have seen. It started with a "Cow and Chicken" promotion back in February of 2000.

The last promotion is unknown, as the links for November 2017 through April 2018 are missing their graphics, and their target pages are broken. The last one that has its image archived was an August/September 2017 promotion for "oddbods".

For the most part, I am going to stick to the "past promotion" pages, as those give us images and names for all of the products all in one image. If this is missing, then I will attempt to use the set of images from the "toy closeups" page. However, I will need to skip some of these promotions entirely, as I was unable to find images from them.

The year 2000

For February and March of 2000, we have a set of toys from the legendary old Cartoon Network show "Cow and Chicken". I remember watching this sometimes when visiting my grandma, who had cable. I don't really remember it though.

For April and June of 2000, was have "Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot". I have never heard of this before. It ran on Fox Kids in 2001, so I am a bit surprised that I didn't see it alongside other shows I watched back then.

For June and July of 2000, we get a version of Tom and Jerry that was airing on cartoon network. What can I say about these two that hasn't already been said? I remember watching a few incarnations of Tom and Jerry. I think this is the one with William Hanna and Joseph Barbara. It doesn't look like the Chuck Jones variant from what I remember.

For July and August of 2000, we get some superheroes from DC. One thing I notice about these toys is that they don't have a consistent art-style. Wonder Woman is a particularly obvious outlier. They don't seem to be associated with a particular cartoon incarnation.

For September and November of 2000, we have "Brothers Flub". My only opportunity to watch Nickelodeon was visiting my grandma. I don't think I ever saw this show. Apparently the brothers are space couriers.

For October of 2000, we get "Monster Buckets". This picture is grainy, so I cannot make out all of the art. I wonder if this was custom-made, or if this was pre-existing art.

For November and December of 2000, we get "Tiny Toon Adventures". I've only seen bits and pieces of this myself. I know it has a huge following that endures to this day.

For January and February of 2001, we got toys for "Godzilla: The Series". This is another one that aired on Fox Kids back when I watched that channel. However, I don't remember ever seeing this series.

For March and April of 2001, we got "Max Steel". I had never heard of this series before. Apparently, this kids gets attacked by the villain and nearly killed by nano-bots. In an effort to save his life, he is given T-Juice, which saves his life and gives him superhuman abilities.

For April and May of 2001, we get "Monster Rancher". This is not a franchise that I am familiar with, but it is apparently pretty big and ongoing.

For June 2001, we get Crash Bandicoot. He's kind of a big deal. And Spyro is here as well.

For July and August of 2001, we got Wallace and Grommit. This was before the "Curse of the Were-Rabbit" film, which was probably my introduction to the franchise.

And now, we reach a gap. In September 2001, there was a Nascar promotion. And then, in November and December of 2001, there was an "Olive the Other Reindeer" promotion. I couldn't find any official photos for these promotions.

2002

In January and February of 2002, we got Phantom Investigators. I find this promotion fascinating. The series only ran for 13 episodes, between May and August of 2002. These are probably the only toys that were ever released for the series. They may be the only merch of any sort released for the show. I need to sit down and watch it, as the art style is something really special.

For February and March of 2002, we get a Pokemon promotion with little cups topped with Pikachu, Totodile, Mewtwo, and Charizard.

For April and May of 2002, we get the legendary magical girl anime Cardcaptors, based on the manga Cardcaptor Sakura.

And now, we get another gap. I couldn't find any official images for the June 2002 Spider-man promotion.

For August 2002, we get some Digimon toys.

For September 2002, we get "Jackie Chan Adventures". I loved this show growing up. I didn't get to see it very often, but it was good.

For October 2002, we got some Spider-man Halloween buckets.

For November and December of 2002, we go back to the classics for Peanuts, specifically "A Charlie Brown Christmas".

2003

Before we get into the 2003 promotions, let's bring back Cyberchase for a moment. While surviving bags of the togs show that they were released at Carl Jr's and Hardees in 2003, we don't know exactly when they were out. They were never given a promotion of their own. Instead, they were the backup toys when the currently running promotion was sold out. I'm not sure why they didn't give Cyberchase its own promotion.

For January and February of 2003. we got a promotion for the original Ice Age.

For March and April of 2003, we got a promotion for Cubix. This was a South Korean production that got a 4-Kids English dub. I don't remember it.

For May and June of 2003, we get a promotion for Dragon Ball. I hope I don't need to explain what this is. It's kind of a big deal.

For July and August of 2003, we get a promotion for "The Martians".

Now, hold on a second, I don't remember a cartoon called "The Martians" from back then. And I cannot find a cartoon by that name. Wait a minute...

Yeah, I guess Carl Jrs. and Hardees weren't comfortable with the original title of "Butt-Ugly Martians", so they renamed it to "The Martians" and re-did the logo. I couldn't find anything on the Wikipedia page about the show being renamed for different broadcasters or countries, so this may have been just for this toy release. How bizarre.

For August and September of 2003, we get a promotion for everyone's favorite mummy movie.

[thundermansfanblog1]

Exploring My Fandom Journey: From Thunder Twins to Star Wars Day

My first fandom was The Little Mermaid, and it holds a special place in my heart. But in December 2017, I became multifandom, branching out into new worlds. I officially joined The Thundermans fandom back in December 2013. It took me a while to start my Tumblr blog because, honestly, I wasn’t really interested in Tumblr at the time. I watched the show with my sister, who was also a big fan. We both enjoyed it, and I was especially a fan of the Thunder Twins, Phoebe and Max, equally. I finally joined Tumblr in January 2018, though I had created a blog back in December 2015, which I ended up abandoning.

By 2018, The Thundermans had aired its final season and was off the air for years, with no further mention of it. However, I stuck with the fandom. Then, the show saw a resurgence on Netflix, and after the success of The Thundermans Return movie, a new series called The Thundermans Undercover was greenlit. That’s when I finally decided to commit and create my blog. It’s been a fun journey, and I’m excited to explore even more fandoms along the way.

I started my fan blog in May 2023, which, ironically, was on Star Wars Day. Before that, I had joined the fandom privately, mainly focusing on fanfics rather than blogs. At the time, I was more absorbed in writing and creating stories than in sharing them on social platforms. But eventually, I decided to take the leap and create my blog to explore more about the fandom and connect with others who share similar interests.

I also listen to Kira’s music and enjoy it, especially the song Sunday Best. Both Kira and Jack are great singers, and they sing the show’s theme song Livin’ a Double Life. It’s fun to see their musical talent shine through!

~ Deanna Winchester 🎤🌟

[bluejay-07]

Write a scene from "Emergency First Aid" in another character’s POV :)

8. What is your favorite line/section from "but you made an impression; sometimes i still feel the bruise"?

23. What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

for you my liege

8. What’s your favorite section from but you made an impression; sometimes i still feel the bruise?

Probably this paragraph—the whole of Espionage for the Linguistics Professor was built around this section, and I’m so pleased that other people liked it.

Out in the great tangle of timelines that formed the space-time continuum, there was a thread where Max chose River. There was a thread where Max got up from their chair and went down on one knee in front of them, and in doing so broke every solemn vow and oath of loyalty that they had ever sworn to the military—to Tharsis itself. There was a thread where Max pressed River’s palm to their mouth and said I love you, River Gale-Zhou; I swear to you that I will remain loyal to you ’til the end of my days, serve you wholeheartedly, obey your orders, fear no sacrifice, and lay down my life if and when necessary.

23. What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

Oh, so many. The one I really love right now is about January and River, midway through the preparations for River's election; they're trying to get each other alone all day, not even for anything other than getting to be human beings together rather than politicians. It's sweet and fluffy and comedic, which I think is a rarity for me.

Other than that, I also have a vague concept of a Max/River Temeraire AU, notes for a couple of fake Wikipedia pages, an extremely 2017 AU where all the Pulleyverse characters go to high school together, and one really depressing conversation between River and the Speaker of the House.

Write a scene from "Emergency First Aid" from another perspective.

The awful thing about Tharsis, in Max’s opinion, was how it split you in twain. You could be one thing in the privacy of your own home, but the cameras would enforce their own story—and that’s how you were known, for better or for worse. It made so many things rather difficult. “Max?” someone called from the corridor. “Are you in there?”  In any other circumstance, they would have panicked; barricaded the door, done their homemade stitches with their sidearm next to them on the counter. But a curious calm had descended over them when they picked themself up from that pile of glass—there was no panic, no emotion at all. It was just as well. If they wanted to keep up the facade of their perfect marriage, no one could ever know. The bathroom door creaked open—Max felt it before they heard it, the minute shift in the air pressure that signaled to Max's hyperaware brain, something is happening. When River entered the room, their face was full of worry. Max braced for impact; why would you let them do that to you, they would ask, and Max wouldn’t have an answer. When Aubrey got angry like that, they stopped thinking about consequences; they shouted and screamed and had even slapped Max around once or twice, but they never meant anything by it. Hitting back would have been like hitting a child—cruel and dishonorable. But that’s not what happened. Instead, they looked Max up and down—took in the blood, the shake in Max’s fingers, the equipment Max had busied themself with—and said, finally, “Are you…all right, there?” Christ. Max hoped River wasn’t worrying about them too much; Max just wasn’t worth it. “I’m not about to go into hypovolemic shock, if that’s what you’re asking.” “And other than that?” Max had to slam the lid on the emotions that welled up in their chest, then. “They’ll make me deploy anyways—liftoff is in eighteen hours. How much did you hear?” There was nothing for it; Max unzipped their fatigues, pressing an alcohol pad to the rupture in their shoulder. They had undressed in front of other people before, of course—one didn’t get through the military retaining any sense of modesty—but this was different from being in the locker room at a military base, everyone staring blankly at a wall and trying to get things over with. Max could feel River’s gaze on them, burning as it took in the shape of Max’s bare collarbone, the outlines of their tattoos.  “Didn’t hear much. Just shouting from my office—I was concerned. Came down when I heard the glass shatter.” Max flinched involuntarily. They had used to be good at compartmentalizing, damn it. “So you got the gist, then. I’m terribly sorry.” “You shouldn’t be the one apologising.” Just for a moment, something flickered in River’s eyes—a sudden grief, like a shadow over water. And why wouldn’t they be upset? It was their sibling. Max wouldn’t have believed any of the stories they could tell about Aubrey if River had told them any of it about Niko.  Christ, this was all getting so messy. They would have killed to protect River from all the terrible ins and outs of Tharsese politics—let them keep their hands clean of it all. But that would be doing them a disservice, and Max knew River would have bristled at the sentiment. They deserved to know. If they hated Max for it, it was nothing more than Max deserved.  So Max steeled themself, schooled their expression into careful blankness, and broke every solemn oath they’d ever sworn.

Y'all, this was so fun. Do we think I should do a full oneshot of Max's perspective? (Don't answer that. I just might.)

[vibrantpuppeteer]

So, We have set up a ranking system for our watch throw of the Precure series along with a key for remembering which emojis mean what. Feel free to use it as you please or edit the legend for your own tracking and ranking purposes. We will edit this post with updates as We watch and eventually rewatch. A blank version will be available for you to copy and paste to your notes app of choice below a cut. The seasons are listed by release year from 2004 to present day. Please enjoy if you do watch along, and please feel free to start with whichever series you find most intriguing. We did, and it has been exciting from episode 1!

Our list:

Futari wa Precure (2004)

Futari wa Precure: Max Heart (2005)

Futari wa Precure: Splash☆Star (2006)

Yes! Precure 5 (2007)

Yes! Precure 5 GoGo! (2008)

Fresh Precure! (2009)

HeartCatch Precure! (2010)

Suite Precure♪ (2011)

Smile Precure! (2012)

Dokidoki! Precure (2013)

Happiness Charge Precure! (2014)

Go! Princess Precure (2015) 💖 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Mahoutsukai Precure! (2016) ▶️ Episode 17 S1

Kirakira☆Precure A La Mode (2017)

Hugtto! Precure (2018)

Star☆Twinkle Precure (2019)

Healin' Good♡Precure (2020)

Tropical-Rouge! Precure (2021)

Delicious Party♡Precure (2022)

Hirogaru Sky! Precure (2023)

Wonderful Precure! (2024) [Currently airing]

You & Idol Precure (2025) [Next series]

Key:

[▶️] Watching currently

[⏸️] On pause (put the episode number after ⏸️)

[💖] Finished and L-O-V-E-D IT!!

[❤️] Finished and enjoyed

[💔] Finished, did not enjoy

[❤️‍🩹] Watched again, learned to like

[❌] Stopped watching

[♠️] Watched to end, hated it

[👑] Best series

[🗑️] Worst series

[⏪] Watch again soon

[⭐] Used for rating 5 is best, 1 is worst

[✨] Exciting from start to finish

Your list to copy:

Futari wa Precure (2004)

Futari wa Precure: Max Heart (2005)

Futari wa Precure: Splash☆Star (2006)

Yes! Precure 5 (2007)

Yes! Precure 5 GoGo! (2008)

Fresh Precure! (2009)

HeartCatch Precure! (2010)

Suite Precure♪ (2011)

Smile Precure! (2012)

Dokidoki! Precure (2013)

Happiness Charge Precure! (2014)

Go! Princess Precure (2015)

Mahoutsukai Precure! (2016)

Kirakira☆Precure A La Mode (2017)

Hugtto! Precure (2018)

Star☆Twinkle Precure (2019)

Healin' Good♡Precure (2020)

Tropical-Rouge! Precure (2021)

Delicious Party♡Precure (2022)

Hirogaru Sky! Precure (2023)

Wonderful Precure! (2024) [Currently airing]

You & Idol Precure (2025) [Next series]

Key:

[▶️] Watching currently

[⏸️] On pause (put the episode number after ⏸️)

[💖] Finished and L-O-V-E-D IT!!

[❤️] Finished and enjoyed

[💔] Finished, did not enjoy

[❤️‍🩹] Watched again, learned to like

[❌] Stopped watching

[♠️] Watched to end, hated it

[👑] Best series

[🗑️] Worst series

[⏪] Watch again soon

[⭐] Used for rating 5 is best, 1 is worst

[✨] Exciting from start to finish

[cnschedulearchive]

In the past decade, which year do you think was CN and AS Best year for their schedules? Same question for the worst.

Since 2015, whenever I started actually paying attention to these things (it'd take until 2017 for me to actually make this blog though), I'd say CN's roughest year was 2020. They had ZERO new shows save for ThunderCats Roar (which they buried instantly) and any momentum they had from the start of the year with Infinity Train and Steven Universe Future got thrown to the wind in favor of moving CN's entire slate of new originals like Fungies and Tig n' Seek and shows like Summer Camp Island and Infinity Train to HBO Max, where CN failed (and still fails!) to advertise them on-air, leaving only the social media to be able to promote them, and that doesn't do as much as you'd think it could. So CN didn't have much to premiere that year outside of TTG or Craig or whatever. I almost considered calling it quits before early 2021 and the shakeup Tom Ascheim was wanting to do.

CN's having a more interesting time nowdays, if anything I'd say 2024 seems to be one of the more varied years I've seen yet. 2022 had the anniversary, but there wasn't too much with the schedule until September that year. Things have been building up ever since, to the point where Regular Show airs for 2 hours a day and the Scooby-Doo Show from the 70s somehow has an hour on Sundays. It's an interesting time, interesting schedule.

Adult Swim's best year schedule wise is probably 2020. They still had Family Guy for guaranteed ratings success at peak hours but the limits they had on it, Dad, and Bob's encouraged them to experiment a lot. A lot of fun marathons happened that year, including a couple of viewer created marathons (yours truly got to schedule a Rick and Morty marathon, AnnieSchoolie got to schedule an Aqua Teen marathon, my friend coolkevin54 got to schedule a Cowboy Bebop marathon). Worst? Uhhh idk. 2022 was sorta bland. KOTH and Futurama flooded the schedule after coming back and DVR Theater was frequently gone entirely.

[denimbex1986]

'Andrew Scott’s success did not arrive overnight. His has been a slow and steady ascent from supporting player to leading man. But his status is now assured: at 47, the Irishman is among the most talented and prominent actors of his generation, on stage and screen.

Dublin-born and raised, Scott first took drama classes at the suggestion of his mother, an art teacher, to try to overcome a childhood lisp. At 17 he won his first part in a film, Korea (1995), about an Irish boy who finds himself fighting in the Korean War. By 21, he was winning awards for his performance in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night, for director Karel Reisz, no less, at The Gate. He arrived in London, where he continues to live, at the end of the 1990s, and worked regularly, with smaller parts in bigger TV shows (Band of Brothers, Longitude) and bigger parts in smaller plays (A Girl in a Car With a Man, Dying City). By the mid-2000s he was well established, especially in the theatre. In 2006, on Broadway, he was Julianne Moore’s lover, and Bill Nighy’s son, in David Hare’s Iraq War drama, The Vertical Hour, directed by Sam Mendes. In 2009, he was Ben Whishaw’s betrayed boyfriend in Mike Bartlett’s Cock, at the Royal Court. He won excellent notices for these and other performances, but he was not yet a star. If you knew, you knew. If you didn’t know, you didn’t know. Most of us didn’t know; not yet.

That changed in 2010 when, at the age of 33, he played Jim Moriarty, arch nemesis of Benedict Cumberbatch’s egocentric detective, in the BBC’s smash hit Sherlock. The appearance many remember best is his incendiary debut, in an episode called “The Great Game”. When first we meet him, Moriarty is disguised as a creepy IT geek, a human flinch with an ingratiating smile. It’s an act so convincing that even Sherlock doesn’t catch on. Next time we see him, he’s a dapper psychotic in a Westwood suit, with an uncannily pitched singsong delivery and an air of casual menace that flips, suddenly, into rage so consuming he’s close to tears. Such was the relish with which Scott played the villain — he won a Bafta for it — that he risked the black hat becoming stuck to his head. In Spectre (2015), the fourth of Daniel Craig’s Bond movies, and the second directed by Sam Mendes, Scott played Max Denbigh, or C, a smug Whitehall mandarin who wants to merge MI5 and MI6, sacrilegiously replacing the 00 agents with drones. (If only.)

There were other decent roles in movies and TV series, as well as substantial achievements on stage, and he might have carried on in this way for who knows how long, even for his whole career, as a fêted stage performer who never quite breaks through as a leading man on screen.

But Scott had more to offer than flashy baddies and scene-stealing cameos. His Hamlet, at The Almeida in London, in 2017, was rapturously received. I’ve seen it only on YouTube, but even watching on that degraded format, you can appreciate the fuss. Scott is magnetic: funny, compelling, and so adept with the language that, while you never forget he’s speaking some of the most profound and beautiful verse ever written, it feels as conversational as pub chat.

Another banner year was 2019: a memorable cameo in 1917 (Mendes again) as a laconic English lieutenant; an Emmy nomination for his performance in an episode of Black Mirror; and the matinée idol in Noel Coward’s Present Laughter at London’s Old Vic, for which he won the Olivier for Best Actor, the most prestigious award in British theatre.

The second series of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s phenomenal Fleabag, also in 2019, proved to a wider public what theatregoers already knew: Scott could play the mainstream romantic lead, and then some. His character was unnamed. The credits read, simply, “The Priest”. But social media and the newspapers interpolated an adjective and Scott became The Hot Priest, Fleabag’s unlucky-in-love interest, a heavy-drinking heartbreaker in a winningly spiffy cassock, and an internet sensation.

Fleabag began as a spiky dramedy about a traumatised young woman. Scott’s storyline saw it develop into a bittersweet rom-com, brimming with compassion for its two clever, funny, horny, lonely, awkward, baggage-carrying heroes, lovers who can’t get together because, for all the snogging in the confessional, one of them is already taken, in this case by God.

It was the best and brightest British comedy of the 2010s, and Scott’s fizzing chemistry with Waller-Bridge had much to do with that. The ending, when she confesses her feelings at a bus stop, is already a classic. “I love you,” she tells him. “It’ll pass,” he says.

Over the past 12 months, in particular, Scott has piled triumph on top of victory, and his star has risen still further. At the National, last year, he executed a coup de théâtre in Vanya, for which he was again nominated for an Olivier. (He lost out to an old Sherlock sparring partner, Mark Gatiss, for his superb turn in The Motive and the Cue, about the making of an earlier Hamlet.) For Simon Stephens’s reworking of Chekhov’s play, Scott was the only actor on stage. On a sparsely furnished set, in modern dress — actually his own clothes: a turquoise short sleeve shirt, pleated chinos, Reebok Classics and a thin gold chain — and with only very slight modulations of his voice and movements, he successfully embodied eight separate people including an ageing professor and his glamorous young wife; an alcoholic doctor and the woman who loves him; and Vanya himself, the hangdog estate manager. He argued with himself, flirted with himself and even, in one indelible moment, had it off with himself.

It’s the kind of thing that could have been indulgent showboating, a drama-school exercise taken too far, more fun for the performer than the audience. But Scott carried it off with brio. In the simplest terms, he can play two people wrestling over a bottle of vodka in the middle of the night — and make you forget that there’s only one of him, and he’s an Irish actor, not a provincial Russian(s). An astonishing feat.

For his next trick: All of Us Strangers, among the very best films released in 2023. Writer-director Andrew Haigh’s ghost story is about Adam (Scott), a lonely writer, isolated in a Ballardian west-London high-rise, who returns to his suburban childhood home to find that his parents — killed in a car crash when he was 11 — are still living there, apparently unaltered since 1987. Meanwhile, Adam begins a tentative romance with a neighbour, Henry (Paul Mescal), a younger man, also lonely, also vulnerable, also cut off from family and friends.

Tender, lyrical, sentimental, sad, strange, and ultimately quite devastating, All of Us Strangers was another potential artistic banana skin. At one point, Scott’s character climbs into bed with his parents and lies between them, as a child might, seeking comfort. In less accomplished hands, this sort of thing could have been exasperating and embarrassing. But Scott’s performance grounds the film. He is exceptionally moving in it. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor, losing to his fellow Irishman, Cillian Murphy, for Oppenheimer. Earlier this year, he made history as the first person to receive Critics Circle awards in the same year for Best Actor in a film (All of Us Strangers) and a play (Vanya).

Finally, last month, the title role in Ripley, a new spin on the lurid Patricia Highsmith novels. That show, which unspools over eight episodes on Netflix, was a long time coming. Announced in 2019, it was filmed during the pandemic, at locations across Italy and in New York. Scott is in almost every scene and delivers an immensely subtle and nuanced portrayal of Highsmith’s identity thief, a character previously played by actors including Alain Delon, Dennis Hopper, and Matt Damon in the famous Anthony Minghella film The Talented Mr Ripley, from 1999.

The fragile almost-charm that makes Tom Ripley such an enduring antihero is there in Scott’s portrayal, but so is the creepiness, the isolation, the fear and desperation. His Ripley can turn on a smile, but it quickly curdles. Filmed in high-contrast black and white, Ripley is a sombre, chilly work by design, but doggedly compelling, and not without a mordant wit. Again, critics swooned.

So the actor is on a hot streak. Later this year he’ll appear in Back in Action, a Hollywood spy caper, alongside Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx, above-the-title stars with dazzling, wide-screen smiles. But could they play Chekhov single-handed? They’ll need to be on their toes.

Before our shoot and subsequent interview, in April, I had met Scott briefly on two previous occasions, both times at fancy dinners for fashion brands. Compact, stylish, dynamic, he is impishly witty and charismatic: good in a room. Also, obliging: the second time I met him, he took my phone and spoke into it in his most diabolical Moriarty voice for a wickedly funny voice message to my son, a Sherlock fan.

At the Esquire shoot, on an overcast day in south London, Scott again demonstrated his good sportiness: dancing in the drizzle in a Gucci suit; generously sharing his moment in the spotlight with an unexpected co-star, a local cat who sauntered on to the set and decided to stick around for the close-ups; and entertaining the crew — and hangers-on, including me — with rude jokes. At one point, while for some reason discussing the contents of our respective fridges, I asked him where he kept his tomatoes. “Easy, Tiger,” he said.

At lunch the following day, upstairs at Quo Vadis, the restaurant and members’ club in Soho (my suggestion), the actor arrived promptly, settled himself on a banquette, and we got straight to business. It’s standard practice now for interviews published in the Q&A format to include a disclaimer, in the American style: “This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.” (Well, duh.) In this case, we talked for close to three hours. Inevitably, paper costs being what they are, and Esquire readers having busy lives, some of that verbiage has ended up on the cutting-room floor. But not much! I’ve tried to let it flow as much as possible, and to keep the spirit of the thing, in which we toggled, like all good performances, between light and dark, comedy and tragedy.

In early March, a month before this interview took place, Scott and his family suffered a terrible and unexpected loss: his mother, Nora, suddenly died. He went home to Dublin to be with his dad, Jim, his sisters, Sarah and Hannah, and their family and friends.

As an interviewee and, I suspect, as a person, Scott is thoughtful, convivial and solicitous: he doesn’t just answer questions, he also asks them. He is not above the occasional forearm squeeze when he wants to emphasise a point. He seems to possess a sharp emotional intelligence. Perhaps one should expect empathy in a great actor, but in him it seems particularly marked.

Before we began talking, there was some studying of the menu. Scott wondered, since I eat often at Quo Vadis, if I had any recommendations. I told him I had my eye on the pie: chicken, ham and leek. “Why would you not have the pie?” wondered Scott. A good question.

So, how was your morning? Where have you come from?

This morning I’ve been at the gym, Alex.

Are you working out for a specific reason or are you just a healthy man?

Just trying to keep it going. Exercise is so helpful to me. I don’t know if you know, but my mum died four weeks ago.

I did know, and I’m so sorry.

Thank you. So, yeah. Just trying to keep it going. They say your body feels it as much as your mind.

The grief?

Yeah, the grief. My friend said a brilliant thing last night. She’s been through grief. She said, if you think of it like weights, the weight of it doesn’t decrease, but your ability to lift the weights does. So, if you go to the gym and you’re completely unpractised you won’t be able to lift the weight. But the more you get used to it, the more you can lift. There’s a slight analogy to grief. I’m just learning about it.

Have you been through grief before?

Not really. A little bit, but not to this extent. And it’s a strange thing because, obviously, I’m in the middle of having to talk a lot [promoting Ripley] and making that decision of whether to talk about it or whether not to talk about it. I’m finding myself talking about it, because it’s what’s going on, and without giving away too much of it she was such an important figure. It feels right. It’s such a natural thing.

Is it helpful to talk about it?

I think it has to be. I feel very lucky with my job, in the sense that, all those more complex, difficult feelings, that’s what you have to do in a rehearsal room; you have to explore these things. So strange: a lot of the recent work that I’ve done has been exploring grief. With Vanya, and All of Us Strangers. So it’s odd to be experiencing it this time for real.

I wasn’t planning on making that the focal point of this piece, so it’s up to you how much you feel comfortable talking about it.

I appreciate that.

Was it unexpected? Did it happen out of the blue?

Yes. She was very alive four weeks ago. She just deteriorated very quickly. She got pneumonia and she just… it was all over within 24 hours.

What sort of person was she?

She was the most enormously fun person that you could possibly imagine. Insanely fun and very, very creative. She’s the person who sort of introduced me to acting and art. She taught me to draw and paint when I was really young —that’s another big passion of mine, drawing and painting. She was amazing with all of us. My sister Sarah is very talented in sport, she’s now a sports coach. And my sister Hannah was very artistic and she’s an actor now. So, she was really good at supporting us throughout all our different interests. What I say is that we’ve been left a huge fortune by her. Not financially, but an emotional fortune, if you know what I mean? I feel that really strongly. And once this horrible shock is over, I just have to figure out how I’m going to spend it. Because I think when someone else is alive and they’ve got amazing attributes, they look after those attributes. And then when they die, particularly if they are your parent, you feel like you want to inhabit them, these incredible enthusiasts for life. She just made connections with people very easily. I feel enormously grateful to have had her. Have you had much grief in your life?

My mother died, during Covid. She had been ill for a long time, so it was a very different experience to yours. But I think they are all different experiences, for each of us. I don’t know if that loss would be in any way analogous to yours. But like you, I love art and books and music, and that’s all from her. Last night, I watched a rom-com with my daughter, who is 14. And I don���t know if I would like rom-coms so much, if it wasn’t for my mum.

Love a rom-com! What did you watch?

Annie Hall.

Did she like it, your daughter?

She absolutely loved it. She was properly laughing.

Oh, that’s great!

And she’s a tough one to impress. But she loved it, and my mum loved Woody Allen. My mum can’t recommend Woody Allen to my daughter now, but I can, and that’s come down from her. So it goes on.

That’s what I mean. Your spirit doesn’t die. And I’m sure you went to bed going, “Yes!”

I did! It was a lovely evening, it really was. Tonight we’ll watch something else.

Are you going to watch another Woody Allen? Which one are you going to watch?

I thought maybe we’d watch Manhattan? More Diane Keaton.

Or Hannah and Her Sisters? That’s a good one. Insanely good. Yeah, it’s amazing that legacy, what you’re left with. My mum was so good at connecting with people. She was not very good at small talk. She was quite socially bold. She would say things to people. If she thought you looked well, she’d tell you. She’d always come home with some story about some pot thrower she met at some sort of craft fair. Being socially bold, there’s a sort of kindness in it. When someone says something surprising, it’s completely delightful. My mother sent me something when I was going through a bad time in my twenties. It was just a little card. It said, “The greatest failure is not to delight.” What a beautiful quote. And she was just delighted by so many things, and she was also delightful. And like her, I really love people. I really get a kick out of people.

I can tell.

But there’s a kind of thing, if you become recognisable, people become the enemy? And it’s something I have to try and weigh up a little bit. Because people are my favourite thing about the world. I think it’s part of my nature. My dad is pretty sociable too. And so it’s weighing that up, how you keep that going. Because certain parts of that are out of your control: people treat you slightly differently. But this phase, the past four weeks, it still feels so new. Just thinking about legacy and kindness and love and the finite-ness of life. All that stuff.

Big stuff.

Yeah, it’s big stuff. And it’s very interesting, talking about grief. Because it’s not all just low-energy sadness. There’s something galvanising about it as well. I don’t know if you found that, too?

One of the things about someone else dying is it makes you feel alive.

Yes, exactly. Even though we have no choice, it does that. It’s that amazing thing, the year of magical thinking.

[Waiter approaches. Are we ready to order?]

We are.

I think so. Are we two pie guys?

We’re two pie guys!

We’re pretty fly for pie guys.

Are we salad guys? Tomato, fennel and cucumber salad?

Yeah.

And chips, maybe?

Listen, you only live once.

So, the year of magical thinking…

You know, when you’re walking along, are you allowed to have a surge of joy? Or are you allowed to just stay home and… It’s extraordinary when it gets you.

Like a wave of emotion?

I had one on the rowing machine today. I’m glad of it, though.

That was sadness.

Just loss, yeah. Just loss.

So, there’s two ways to do this. You can choose. We can do the usual interview where we start at the beginning with your childhood and go all the way through to now. That’s totally fine. Or, I can throw more random questions at you, and see where that takes us?

Random!

Shall we random it?

Let’s random it.

OK. That means I might sometimes read questions off this piece of paper.

Reading takes just slightly away from the randomness of it, Alex…

That is a very good point. You are quite right. But I don’t read them out in order! They’re just prompts.

[Sardonically] Oh, I see!

Talk me through what you’re wearing.

Oh, this is so old. What does it say?

[I peer at the label on the inside of his shirt collar. It says Hartford.]

What colour would you call that?

I’d call it a bit of a duck egg, Alex, would you?

I’d go with that. And it’s like a…

Like a Henley?

And these [pointing to trousers]?

Mr P trousers. And a pair of old Nikes.

And sports socks.

When I am off duty, I think I dress slightly like an 11-year-old. You know, when you’re just plodding the streets, I wear, like, a hoodie and trainers.

And you have a chain round your neck.

This is a chain that I bought in New York. No, maybe I bought it in Italy. It was a replacement chain. I’ve worn a chain for years. Sometimes I like to have it as a reminder that I’m not working. When you’re in character, you take it off. Because when you’re in a show or a play, they sort of own you. They own your hair.

They own your hair!

Or sometimes you have to walk around with, like, a stupid moustache. Or, worse, chops. Actors fucking hate that. Like, nobody suits that, I don’t think. Right? I’m trying to think of someone who suits that.

Daniel Day Lewis, maybe? He can carry it off.

He’s got the chops for chops!

What’s something about you that you think is typically Irish?

It goes back to that people thing. When I go home to Ireland, I’m aware that people talk to each other a lot more. And I think there’s a sense of humour that Irish people have that I love. And I suppose a softness, too, that I love. Those are the positive things. And then the guilt and the shame is the negative stuff.

Catholic guilt?

Catholic guilt. I feel very strongly, though, that I’ve worked to emancipate myself from it. There’s a certain unthinking-ness to guilt. Your first thought, always: “What have I done wrong? It’s gotta be me.” That doesn’t benefit anyone. And with shame, I don’t feel shame anymore. I think I probably did before. But in a way, it’s an irrelevant thing for me to talk about now. The thing I prefer to talk about is how great it is not to have that anymore. Rather than how horrible it was. The thing I feel enthusiastic about is how there are so many beautiful and different ways to live a life that aren’t centred on the very strict, Catholic, cultural idea of what a good life might be. Namely, 2.4 children and certain ideas and a very specific life.

Are there positives to be taken away from a Catholic education?

The rituals around grief, I think, are really beautiful, having gone through what I’ve just been going through. And the community that you get in Catholicism. Because that’s what Catholicism is about, in some ways: devotion to your community. The amount of love and support you get is to be admired. It’s the organisation that has been the problem, not the values. Random question number 16!

When’s the last time you were horrifically drunk?

Good question! I was in New York doing press recently for Ripley. And I met Paul Mescal. He had a negroni waiting for me. Love a negroni. And then we went dancing.

Are you a good dancer?

I’m pretty good, freestyle. Slow on choreography but once I get it, I’m OK. I love dancing.

I love dancing.

Do you really? Do you do, like, choreographed dancing as well?

No! But I’m a good dancer.

Do you have moves?

Oh, I have moves.

Ha! I love that!

It’s so freeing, so liberating.

It totally is.

And it’s sexy and fun.

Exactly! It’ll get you a kiss at the end of the night.

It’s sort of showing off, too, isn’t it?

But it’s also completely communal. It connects you with people. Also, you can learn so much about someone by watching how they connect with people on a dance floor. How much of communication do they say is non-verbal? An enormous amount.

If you didn’t live in London, where would you most like to live?

I suppose Dublin. I do live a wee bit in Dublin. But one of the things I feel really grateful for is that I have sort of been able to live all over the place. I lived in Italy for a year, during the pandemic.

You were making Ripley?

Yeah, we were all over. Rome, Venice, Capri, Naples… A bit of New York. I’d love to spend more time in New York. I was very lucky recently to have my picture taken by Annie Leibovitz. We were outside the Chelsea Hotel, and this woman came up. [Thick Noo Yawk accent, shouting]: “Hey, Annie! Why don’t you take a picture of this dumpster? It’s been outside my block for two months! Take a picture of that!” There’s something about that New York-iness that I love. It still has such romance for me.

How old do you feel?

Really young. I don’t have an exact age for you. Thirties?

Some people feel in touch with their childhood selves, or almost unchanged from adolescence. Others seem to have been born an adult.

That’s really true. I think of playgrounds for children: you’re actively encouraged to play, as a kid. “Go out and play!” And I hate that at some point, maybe in your mid-twenties, someone goes, “Now, don’t play! Now, know everything. Now, turn on the television, acquire a mortgage and tell people what you know.” I have to play for a living. It’s so important, not just in your job, but in life. It’s a great pleasure of life, if you can hold on to that. Talking about my mum again, she had an amazing sense of fun.

She was a funny person? She made people laugh?

Absolutely.

That’s important, isn’t it?

It’s really important. I think having a sense of humour is one of the most important things in life. It’s such a tool. And you can develop it. My family were all funny. Laughter was a currency in our family. Humour is a magic weapon. It separates us from the other species. Like, I love my dog. I think dogs are amazing. And he can have fun, but he’s not able to go, “This is fucking ridiculous.” He’s not able to do that! So it’s a real signifier of your humanity, in some ways.

Also, being a funny person, or someone who can connect with people through humour, that’s how we make friends.

I think actors make really good friends. Because you’re in the empathy game. And because you’re making the decision to go into an industry that is really tough, you need to have your priorities straight: “I know this is tough, I know the chances of me succeeding in it are slim, but I’m going to go in anyway.” It shows a sort of self-possession that I think is a wonderful thing to have in a friend. Also, actors are just funny. And a lot of them are sexy!

Funny and sexy: good combination.

I know! Not that you want all your friends to be sexy, that’s not how you should choose your friends.

Oh, I don’t know. It’s not the worst idea.

It’s not. But I think it’s something to do with empathy. And it’s a troupe mentality as well. You’re good in groups.

It’s a gang.

I love a gang. Do you like a gang?

I do. Magazines are like that. A good magazine is a team, a great magazine is a gang. And the thing we produce is only part of it: you put it out there and people make of it what they will. The process of making it is the thing, for me.

Oh, my God. That’s something I feel more and more. Process is as important as product. I really believe that. You can have an extraordinary product, but if it was an absolute nightmare to make then, ultimately, that’s what you’re going to remember about it. You make good things that are successful that everybody loves? That’s lovely. But also, you make stuff that people don’t respond to. So, if you have a good time in the process, and the attempt is a valiant one, and there’s a good atmosphere, if it’s kind and fun, that’s the stuff you hold on to. One of the reasons I love the theatre is you don’t have to see the product. You just do it, and then it’s done. It’s an art form that is ephemeral. There’s a big liberation, too, in discovering you don’t have to watch any of your films if you don’t want to.

Have you watched Ripley?

I watched Ripley once.

And?

It’s a lot of me in it! Jesus!

Is that a problem?

I find it hard to watch myself. I do. There’s something quite stressful about looking at yourself. Have you ever heard yourself on someone’s answering machine? Horrific! You’re like, “Oh, my God, that can’t be me. How do they let me out in the day?” It’s like that, and then it’s your big, stupid face as well. Mostly, I have a feeling of overwhelming embarrassment.

On a cinema screen, I can’t even imagine. Your face the size of a house!

The size of a house, and there’s 400 people watching you.

Nature did not intend humans to ever experience this.

That is so true. It’s not natural.

I mean, even mirrors are to be avoided.

Maybe looking in the sea is the only natural way?

Well, Narcissus!

Yeah, true. That didn’t turn out well. I’d love for that to be a tagline for a movie, though: “Nature did not intend humans to ever experience this…”

But equally, nature didn’t intend the rest of us to gaze upon you in quite that way. We sit in the dark, staring up worshipfully at this giant image of you projected on a screen for hours. Is that healthy?

Without talking about the purity of theatre again, when you’re in the theatre, you, as the audience, see someone walking on the stage, and technically you could go up there, too. There’s not that remove. It’s live. There’s a real intimacy. That’s why I feel it’s the real actor’s medium. Your job is to create an atmosphere. I always find it insanely moving, even still, that adults go into the dark and say, “I know this is fake, but I don’t care: tell me a story.” And they gasp, and they cry, or they’re rolling around the aisles laughing. It’s so extraordinary, so wonderful that it exists. I really do believe in the arts as a human need. I believe in it so deeply. During the pandemic, our first question to each other was, “What are you watching? What book are you reading?” Just to get through it, to survive. It’s not just some sort of frivolous thing. It’s a necessity. As human beings, we tell stories. Expert storytellers are really vital. No, it’s not brain surgery. But, “Hearts starve as well as bodies. Give us bread, but give us roses.” I love that quote.

Tell me about playing Hamlet. Was it what you expected it would be?

It’s extraordinary. Loads of different reasons why. From an acting point of view, there’s no part of you that isn’t being used. So you have to, first of all, have enormous physical stamina, because it’s nearly four hours long. Our version was three hours, 50 minutes. And you have to be a comedian, you have to be a soldier, you have to be a prince, you have to be the romantic hero, you have to be the sorrowful son, you have to understand the rhythm of the language, you have to be able to hit the back of the auditorium — there are just so many things about it that require all those muscles to be exercised. You know, it’s so funny that we’re talking about this today. Because at the beginning of Hamlet, it’s two months since his dad died. His mother has already remarried, to his uncle! What are they doing? I mean the idea that next month my dad might marry someone else is so extraordinary! So, Hamlet’s not mad. Of course he would wear black clothes and be a bit moody. The more interesting question [than whether or not Hamlet is mad] is, who was he before? I think he’s incredibly funny. It’s a really funny play, Hamlet. And it’s a funny play that deals in life and death: the undiscovered country from which no traveller returns. It’s about what it is to be human. And what it’s like to be human is funny, and sad. The language is so incredibly beautiful and it’s also incredibly actable. And it’s also a thriller.

And a ghost story. It’s supernatural.

It’s a supernatural ghost story. And because the character is so well-rounded, I always think of it like a vessel into which you can pour any actor or actress. So, your version, the bits you would respond to if you were playing Hamlet, would be completely different to mine or anyone else’s. It can embrace so many kinds of actors. So Richard Burton can play it or Ben Whishaw can play it or Ruth Negga can play it or I can play it, and it’s going to bring out completely different sides. Did you do much Shakespeare at school?

I did. I studied Hamlet.

I remember Mark Rylance said…

[The waiter arrives with our pies and we both take a moment to admire them before breaking the crusts… The following passages are occasionally hard to make out due to enthusiastic chewing.]

You were about to say something about Mark Rylance. I saw his Hamlet in… must have been 1989, when I was doing my A-levels. He did it in his pyjamas.

I’ve heard. He came to see [my] Hamlet. He said, you feel like you’re on a level with it, and then in week four, you plummet through the layers of the floor and you’re on a deeper level. He was exactly right. Something happens. It’s just got depth.

Does it change you? Do you learn something new about yourself, as an actor?

I think because it’s such a tall order for an actor, it’s sort of like you feel you can do anything after that. Like, at least this is not as hard as Hamlet. You know you have those muscles now. We transferred it from The Almeida on to the West End. So, we did it loads of times. That’s a big achievement.

How many times did you play him?

One hundred and fifty. Twice on a Wednesday, twice on a Saturday. Eight hours [on those days]. Even just for your voice, it’s a lot.

We keep coming back to theatre. Is that because you prefer it?

It goes directly into your veins. It’s pure. You start at the beginning of the story and you go through to the end. When you’re making a movie, it’s a different process. Your imagination is constantly interrupted. You do something for two minutes and then someone comes in and goes, “OK, now we’re going to do Alex’s close-up, so you go back to your trailer and we’re going to set up all the lights and make sure that window across the street is properly lit.” And that’s another 20 minutes, and then you try to get back into the conversation we’ve just been having… And so the impetus is a different one.

The Hot Priest…

What’s that?

Ha! I watched Fleabag again, last week. It’s so good. But The Hot Priest, he’s a coward. He gets a chance at happiness with the love of his life and he doesn’t take it.

Well, not to judge my character, but I suppose there’s an argument that he does choose love. He chooses God. That’s the great love of his life. Whatever his spirituality has given him, he has to choose that. Is there a way that they could have made that [relationship] work? Of course there is. We’re seeing it from Fleabag’s point of view, literally, so of course it feels awful [that Fleabag and the Priest can’t be together]. But I think we understand it, the thing that is not often represented on screen but which an awful lot of people have, which is the experience of having a massive connection with somebody, a real love, that doesn’t last forever. I think somebody watching that can think, “I have my version of that. And I know that I loved that person, but I also know why we couldn’t be together.” And that doesn’t mean those relationships are any less significant. It just means that they are impossible to make work on a practical level. Not all love stories end the same way.

Annie Hall.

There you go! La La Land. Love that movie.

The Hot Priest is damaged. There’s a darkness there. Journalists interviewing actors look at the body of work and try to find through lines that we can use to create a narrative. It’s often a false narrative, I know that. However, that’s what we’re here for! Let’s take Hamlet, and the Priest, and Adam from All of Us Strangers, and, I guess, Vanya himself, even Moriarty. These are not happy-go-lucky guys. Ripley! These men seem lost, lonely, sad. Is it ridiculous to suggest that there’s something in you that draws you to these characters — or is it a coincidence?

That’s a really good question. I think it can’t be a coincidence. Like, even when you said “happy-go-lucky”, right? My immediate instinct is to say, “Show me this happy-go-lucky person.” With a different prism on this person, there would be a part of him that’s not happy-go-lucky, because that’s the way human beings are. If we could think now of a part that’s the opposite of the kind of part [he typically plays], a happy-go-lucky character…

How about the kinds of roles that Hugh Grant plays in those rom-coms? Yeah, the character might be a little bit repressed, a bit awkward at first, but basically everything’s cool, then he meets a beautiful woman, it doesn’t work out for about five minutes, and then it does. The end.

[Chuckles] OK, yeah. I’d love to have a go at that.

Wouldn’t you like to do that?

I would! I really would.

Why haven’t you?

I don’t know! It’s weird. That is something I would really love to do. Because I love those films. There’s a joy to them. It’s something I would love to embrace now. When I was growing up, as a young actor, I did want to play the darkness. With Moriarty, I was like, “I’ve got this in me and I’d like to express it.” And, conversely, now I think the opposite. I know that’s a little bit ironic, given I’ve just played Tom Ripley. Ha! But I have just played it, and I have spent a lot of time in characters that are isolated. And I was in a play [Vanya] that was one person. I don’t feel sad doing those things. It’s cathartic. But I would love the idea of doing something different.

Also, you don’t strike me as a person who is especially morose.

No! No, no, no. I’m not. But again, we all contain multitudes. My mother’s legacy was so joyful. Not that she didn’t have her soulful moments, because of course she did. I mean this as the opposite of morbidity, but it doesn’t end well for any of us, it really doesn’t. So bathing in the murkier waters, it’s wonderful to be able to explore that side of you, but also the opposite is true, the idea of joy and fun and lightness is something I’m definitely interested in. Like a musical! I’d love to be in a musical. I’ve just done a cameo in a comedy that I can’t talk about yet. It was just a day, with someone I really love, and it just lifted me up. But of course, there’s the stuff that people associate you with, and that’s what brings you to the table.

You played a baddie really well, so you get more baddies.

Yeah. You have to be quite ferocious about that. You have to go, “Oh, wow, that really is a great film-maker, that’s a lovely opportunity…” But how much time do you have left and what do you want to put out to the world? I feel like I want to be able to manifest what I have within me now. That’s a wonderful thing to be able to do. It’s such a privilege. And I feel so grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given. But why not get out of the hay barn and play in the hay?

Ripley has been well received. Do you read reviews?

I read some of them.

Why?

I’m interested in the audience. You know when people say, “You should never care about what other people think?” Of course I care what people think.

Ripley is excellent, but it’s quite gruelling to watch. Was it gruelling to make?

Yeah.

Because you have to inhabit this deeply unhappy person?

Maybe not unhappy. But very isolated, I think that’s key. It was hard. There was a huge amount of actual acting. Doing 12-hour days for almost a year. I’m not necessarily convinced you should act that much.

Ripley is himself an actor. He puts on other people’s identities because he doesn’t like his own. He doesn’t like himself. Some people think actors are people who don’t like themselves so you pretend to be other people, assume other identities. Or maybe it’s that actors are hollow shells. When you’re not acting, there’s no one there. No you. Sorry to be rude.

No, it’s not rude at all. I totally understand it. But I find it to be completely the opposite of what I’ve learnt. The essence of acting, for me, the great catharsis of it, is that you’re not pretending to be somebody else, you’re exploring different sides of yourself. You’re going, who would I be in these circumstances? Some of the darkest, most unhappy people I know are the people who say, “I don’t have an angry bone in my body.” Then why do I feel so tense around you? People who have no anger… I remember I used to have it with some religious people when I was growing up. People proclaiming that they’re happy or good or kind, that does not necessarily mean that they are happy or good or kind. That’s the brand they’re selling. I’ve always liked that expression: “fame is the mask that eats into the face.” How do you keep a healthy life when you’re pretending to be other people? You do it by going, “I’m going to admit I have a dark side.” It’s much healthier to shout at a fictional character in a swimming pool [as Moriarty does in Sherlock] than it is to be rude to a waiter in a restaurant, in real life.

You find that therapeutic?

Yes, you’re still expressing that anger. I think it is therapeutic.

So playing Tom Ripley every day for a year, were you able to exorcise something, or work through something?

Well, that’s why I found Tom Ripley quite difficult. He’s hard to know, and a harder character to love. If you think of Adam in All of Us Strangers, you go, “OK, I understand what your pain is.” What I understand with Tom, the essence of that character, is that he’s somebody who has a big chasm that is unknowable, perhaps even to himself. We’re all a little bit like that, we’re all sometimes mysterious to ourselves — “I don’t know why I did that…” — but to have empathy for someone like that is difficult. You know the boy in your class who gets bullied, and it’s awful, and you try and understand it but he doesn’t make it easier for himself? That’s the way I feel about Tom Ripley. It’s a thorny relationship. Your first job as an actor is to advocate for the character. That’s why I hate him being described as a psychopath. Everyone else can say what they like about him, but I have to be like, ‘Maybe he’s just… hangry?’ So you have to try and empathise, try and understand. When we call people who do terrible things monsters — “This evil monster!” — I think that’s a way of absenting yourself from that darkness. Because it’s not a monster. It’s a human being that did this. You can’t look away from the fact that human beings, sometimes for completely unknowable reasons, do terrible things. And that’s why it’s interesting when people talk about Tom Ripley. They say, “Have you ever met a Tom Ripley type?” The reason the character is so enduring is because there’s Tom Ripley in all of us. That’s why we kind of want him to get away with it. That’s [Highsmith’s] singular achievement, I think.

I find reading the Ripley books quite unpleasant. It’s a world I really don’t want to spend any time in. I read two of them preparing for this. She’s a great writer, but they’re horrible characters; it’s a depressing world.

I agree. That’s what I found most challenging. Where is the beating heart here? How much time do I want to spend here? And when you do, well, it took its toll. It did make me question how much time I want to spend with that character, absolutely. That’s the truth.

The way you play him, he’s very controlled. You didn’t play him big.

I think it’s important to offer up difference facets of the character to the director and he chooses the ones he feels marry to his vision. And those are the ones [Steven Zaillian] chose. And he executed those expertly.

Are you a member of any clubs?

Yeah, I’m a member of the Mile High Club. No, no…

That’ll do nicely.

OK, that’s my answer.

What’s your earliest memory?

Do they still have, I think it’s called a play pen?

Sort of like tiny little jails for toddlers? What a good idea they were!

I remember being massively happy in it. My mother used to say she just used to fling me in that thing and give me random kitchen utensils. I don’t know, like a spoon. I’ve always been quite good in my own company. I really remember being left to my own imagination and being very happy.

Do you live alone now?

Yeah.

Is that not lonely?

Of course I’ve experienced that but, ultimately, no. I don’t know if that’s the way I’m going to be for the rest of my life. But I certainly don’t feel lonely. I’ve got so much love in my life.

Would it be OK if you lived alone for the rest of your life?

Yeah. It would be OK. One of my great heroes is Esther Perel.

I don’t know who that is.

Esther Perel. She’s a sort of love and relationships expert, a therapist, and she’s a writer. A real hero, I think you’d really dig her. She talks about relationships and the mythology around them. The difference between safety and freedom. She talks with real compassion about both men and women; she talks about this idea of what we think we want, and what we really want. And how there’s only one prototype for a successful life, really, or a successful relationship. Which is: you meet somebody, da-da-da, you fall in love, da-da-da, you have kids, da-da-da. And that prototype just can’t suit every person in the world. There are some people who live in the world who might see their partner every second Tuesday and that suits them. And to be able to understand and communicate your own preference at any given time is really the aim. To be able to say, “At the moment I’m happy in the way I am, but maybe at some point…” I’ve lived with people before, and maybe I will again, but at the moment it feels right to sort of keep it fluid.

The difficulty, of course, with relationships, is there’s another person with their own preferences. Maybe you’re OK with every second Tuesday, but they need Thursdays and Fridays, too…

But isn’t that the beauty of love? That you construct something, like a blanket. You stitch all these things together. One of the things about being gay and having a life that ultimately is slightly different from the majority of people’s, is you learn that you can create your own way of living, that is different and wonderful. A homosexual relationship doesn’t necessarily have to ape what a heterosexual relationship is. That’s a very important thing to acknowledge. I mean, of course, if you want to do that, that’s brilliant. But you don’t have to. To me, the worst thing is to be dishonest or uncommunicative or unhappy or joyless in a relationship. It’s much more important to be able to have a difficult conversation or a brave conversation about how you feel or what you want. So many of my gay friends, I feel very proud of them, really admiring of the fact we have these conversations. It seems very adult and very loving to be able to acknowledge that the difference between safety and freedom can be real torture for some people. How do I love somebody, and still keep my own sense of autonomy and adventure? That’s a real problem. That’s what Esther Perel says. It’s one of the biggest causes of the demise of a relationship. That people coast along, they can’t have that conversation, and then the whole bottom falls out of the boat.

I wasn’t necessarily going to ask you about being gay. One tries to avoid labelling you as “gay actor Andrew Scott” instead of “actor Andrew Scott, who happens to be gay”. But since we’re talking about it already: because you’re famous, you become a de facto spokesperson for gay people. People look to you for the “gay opinion.” Are you OK with that?

I’ll tell you my thoughts on that. If I talk about it in every interview, it sounds like I want to talk about it in every interview. And, of course, I’m asked about it in most interviews, so I’m going to answer it because I’m not ashamed of it. But sometimes I think the more progressive thing to do is what you’re saying: to not talk about it and hopefully for people to realise that if you had to go into work every single day and they said, “Hey, Alex! Still straight? How’s that going?”… I mean, being gay is not even particularly interesting, any more than being straight is. But I understand, and I’m happy to talk about it. I suppose it depends on the scenario. I just don’t want to ever give the impression that it isn’t a source of huge joy in my life. And at this stage in my life, rather than talk about how painful it might have been or the shame, or not getting cast in things [because of it], actually, I’m so proud of the fact that I’m able to play all these different parts and, hopefully, in some ways it demystifies it and makes people — not just gay people, but all people — go, “Oh, yeah, that’s great that it’s represented in the world, but being gay is not your number-one attribute.” The problem is it becomes your schtick. Frankly, I feel like I’ve got just a bit more to offer than that.

Two reasons I think you get asked about being gay. One is just prurience — you’re famous and we want to know who you’re shagging — and the other is that identity politics is such an obsession, and so polarising, and we hope you’ll say something controversial.

I think that’s right, I think that’s what it is. But sometimes people think there’s just one answer, in 15 characters or less. That’s something I resist, slightly.

All of Us Strangers is about loads of things, about grief, love, loneliness, but it’s also very specifically about being gay. To me, anyway.

Yes, it is.

I thought, in particular, that the scene with Claire Foy, where your character comes out to his mother, was incredibly moving.

Isn’t it extraordinary, though, that you, who is not a gay person, could find that so moving? There’s no way you’d find that moving if it was only about being gay. I always say that coming out has nothing to do with sex. When you’re talking to your parent, you’re not thinking, “Oh, this is making me feel a bit frisky.” Anyone can understand that this is about somebody who has something within them — in this case, it’s about sexuality — that he hopes is not going to be the reason that his parents don’t speak to him anymore. And I think we all have that: “I hope you still love me.” And the great pleasure about All of Us Strangers is that it’s reached not just a particular type of audience, but all types of people. And I love they’re able to market it to everyone. Usually they do this weird thing where they pretend the film’s not gay…

Right. There would be a picture of a woman on the poster.

Exactly. Someone who’s playing the neighbour! But now you’re able to market a film with Paul [Mescal] and I, and the fact is that that’s going to sell tickets. I know there’s a long way to go, but that is progression. Before, that wasn’t the case. This time, no one gave a fuck. Nothing bad happened. The world didn’t explode. Family didn’t collapse.

Identity politics question: there’s an opinion now frequently expressed that gay people ought to be played by gay actors, and so on. What are your thoughts on that?

The way I look at it, if somebody was to make a film about my life — it’d be quite a weird film — would I want only gay actors to be auditioned to play me? I would say that I’m more than my sexuality. But there might be another gay person who feels that’s incredibly important to who they are and how they would like to be represented on film. How do we balance that? I don’t know. I don’t have an easy answer on that. I think it’s a case-by-case thing.

You’ve played straight people and gay people. You’re Irish but you’ve played English people and American people. I would hope you would be able to continue doing that.

The question I suppose is opportunity, and who gets it. It was very frustrating to me, when I was growing up, that there were no gay actors.

Well, there were lots of gay actors…

But not “out” gay actors. Now there are more. Representation is so important. So I think it’s complicated, and nuanced. And talking about it in a general way rather than a specific way is not always helpful. It depends which film we are talking about. Which actor.

You were spared the curse of instant mega-fame, aged 22. Would you have handled that well?

No. I think all that scrutiny and opinion, it’s a lot. Now I’m able to look at a bad review or somebody saying something really horrible about the way I look, or even someone saying really nice things about that, and go [shrugs]. Before, when that happened, it was devastating. But I survived and it was fine, and I got another job and I was able to kiss someone at a disco, so… Whereas if you’re 22 and you don’t have that experience behind you, you go, “Oh, my God. This is horrible, what do I do?” And also, there’s much more scrutiny now, so much more. I think that must be really hard. Social media is a crazy thing, isn’t it?

I think it’s a horrible thing, on the whole.

That thing you were saying about cinema, about how it’s not natural to see yourself, or other people like that… The amount of information that we’re supposed to absorb and process? Wow. You wake up in the morning and you’re already looking at it.

They used to say that the fame of TV actors was of a different order because they are in your home. People felt they knew the stars of Coronation Street in a much more intimate way, while movie stars, Cary Grant or whoever, these were much more remote, almost mythical creatures. People who are famous on Instagram or TikTok are in the palm of your hand talking to you all day.

And it’s so interesting what people on social media choose to tell you about their lives, even when nobody’s asking them any questions. Like, is that person insane? It’s a very dangerous thing. I find it troubling.

Do you think things are getting better or are they getting worse?

That’s such a good question. I have to believe they’re getting better. I don’t know what that says about me.

It says you’re an optimist.

I think I am an optimist.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever put in your mouth?

Fucking hell. Do you know what I don’t like? Any food that you don’t have to put any effort into eating.

Give me an example.

Custard.

Yes!

I don’t mind ice cream, because it’s got a bit of texture. But I don’t like mashed potato. I don’t like creamed potatoes, or creamed anything.

Risotto?

Absolutely borderline. So if it’s got a little bite to it, it’s OK. But baby food. Ugh! Makes me feel a bit sick.

What’s your favourite of your own body parts?

Ahahah! What do I like? What have we got? I don’t mind my nose? My eyes are OK. Like, my eyes are definitely expressive, God knows. Fucking hell. I remember I was in rehearsal once, and the director said, “Andrew, I just don’t know what you’re thinking.” And the whole company started to laugh. They were like “You don’t? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Because I think I’ve got quite a readable face.

Which is a tool for an actor, right?

It can be a tool for an actor. But you have to learn what your face does, as an actor. On film, your thoughts really are picked up.

What’s your favourite body part that belongs to someone else?

I like hands. And I like teeth. Someone with a nice smile.

Are you similar to your dad?

Yeah, I am. He’s pretty soft-natured, which I think I am, to a degree. He likes fun, too. And he likes people. He’s good at talking to people. He’s kind of sensitive, emotional. He’s a lovely man, a very dutiful dad to us, very loyal.

Would you miss the attention if your fame disappeared overnight?

I definitely think I would miss an audience, if that’s what you mean. The ability to tell a story in front of an audience, I’d miss that. Not to have that outlet.

Before you got famous, you were having a pretty decent career, working with good people, getting interesting parts. Would it have been OK to just carry on being that guy, under the radar?

Oh, my God, yes. Absolutely.

Would you have preferred that to the fame?

The thing is, what it affords you is the opportunity to be cast in really good stuff. You get better roles, particularly on screen. And I’m quite lucky. I have a manageable amount of fame, for the most part.

Some people are born for fame. They love it. They’re flowers to the sun. Others should never have become famous. They can’t handle it. You’ve found you’re OK with it.

Do you know what I feel? I feel, if I was in something I didn’t like, if I was getting lots of attention for something I didn’t feel was representative of me, I think I’d feel quite differently. I feel very relaxed, doing this interview with you today. I feel like, whatever you’re going to ask me, I would feel self-possessed enough to say, “Alex, do you mind if we don’t talk about that?”

Shall we leave it there, then?

Thank you. That was lovely.'

[cruger2984]

The Pretty Cures and its Saints MASTERLIST

As a Catholic myself and a Precure fan since day one (my friend introduced me to Suite Precure long time ago), I decided to make a masterlist of it. Listed here are the series that are in chronological order (show per the year of its airing).

2004-2005 - Futari wa Pretty Cure (Max Heart)

2006 - Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash☆Star

2007-2008 - Yes! Pretty Cure 5 (GoGo!)

2009 - Fresh Pretty Cure!

2010-2011 - Heartcatch Pretty Cure! + Suite Pretty Cure♪

2012 - Smile Pretty Cure!

2013 - Doki Doki! Pretty Cure

2014 - Happiness Charge Pretty Cure!

2015 - Go! Princess Pretty Cure

2016 - Mahou Tsukai Pretty Cure!

2017 - KiraKira☆Pretty Cure A La Mode

2018 - HUGtto! Pretty Cure

2019 - Star☆Twinkle Pretty Cure

2020 - Healin' Good♥Pretty Cure

2021 - Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure

2022 - Delicious Party♡Pretty Cure

2023 - Hirogaru Sky! Pretty Cure

2024 - Wonderful Pretty Cure!

[jules-has-notes]

2017 VoicePlay winter activities — ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

With a new year came new projects and collaborators, as well as several personal milestones for the guys.

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Auld Lang Syne

VoicePlay started the year on someting of a bittersweet note, finally making the offical announcement of Tony's retirement from the group. Fans had been remarking on his increasing absences from VoicePlay's content and concerts over the preceding year, so the formal confirmation that he had left was sad, but certainly less upsetting in knowing that it was an amicable decision.

Five years of frequent, extended travel had taken their toll. Tony wanted to spend more time at home with his family, and refocus his creative energies on new projects through PattyCake Productions, the studio he and Layne had been building over the previous year.

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On a happier note, Eli and Ashley entered the home stretch in preparing for their wedding.

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Hot and cold

As they said in the audition video, the remaining guys didn't let a vacancy disrupt their other plans. They continued to alternate between Erik Winger and J.None as their stand-in baritones as they hit the road almost immediately.

First they picked up Winger and headed south for a stylish wedding in the Florida Keys.

Then they scooped up J.None and returned to snowy NYC for the annual APAP conference after skipping it the year before.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by J.None 🧈🎶 🎙📝🎬🎹🎸📽���� (@itsjnone)

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Once they got home, it was time for some more rehearsals before they performed at a couple local private events and filmed their next video.

This song wasn't fast enough already, guys? Yeesh!

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Jacobson nuptials

And of course everyone gathered to celebrate at Eli and Ashley's wedding.

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From the road to the air

Toward the end of the month, Layne and Tony gathered up a few family members and friends and headed to southern Florida for their next PattyCake project.

When they got home, VoicePlay snagged J.None again and flew out west to "crash Eli's honeymoon" and headline the annual Napa Valley A Cappella Extravaganza.

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Part of the extended family

During their week at home between road dates, Earl got to meet Jodi Benson, voice of the animated Ariel, during a Nemo post-show meet and greet session.

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Round and round

The next weekend, the guys and Winger headed up to New Jersey for a show in Rahway with opening act Garden State Sound Quartet. The concert received some preliminary hype in the local press, and a very nice recap.

photos by Love Imagery, via New Jersey Stage ; and by Garden State Sound Quartet

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Then they popped home long enough to pick up J.None and Max Herskovitz for a five day trip to the Bahamas aboard the Disney Dream. While the other guys were at sea, Layne got into some tech geekery for an interview with Lens Depot as part of their customer spotlight series.

Once they disembarked, they bade farewell to Max and scooped up Layne for a quick jaunt to Maryland.

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Making a name

After a few quiet days at home, they met up with Winger again to sing the national anthem as the opening to Full Sail University's annual alumni Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

During a shopping trip the next day, Layne found a hat with surprisingly accurate embroidery. He joked that it "should have a question mark at the end", and his sister noted that a needle and thread could easily amend it. I'd argue that, like a lot of performing artists, they're more "situationally famous".

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Frozen treats

The weekend took VoicePlay (again with Winger) north to St. Joseph, MN for a show attended by several longtime fans and local gent Chris Rupp.

sleepy Layne, Paul, and Erik heading north very early in the morning

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Home time

Over next week, Layne, Tony, and Earl were busy filming PattyCake's next project, "Beauty and the Bieber", at several locations around Orlando. Meanwhile, Geoff and Kathy took advantage of the slight lull in their schedules and had a babymoon date night at a Take 6 / Manhattan Transfer concert.

But, of course, the VoicePlay momentum picked up again at their weekly planning meeting.

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Ahoy-hoy

The week after that, they gathered up J.None and Max again for another loop around the Caribbean on the Disney Dream.

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When they got home, they headed over to a local art school to perform at a fundraiser for their theater program. The lineup for the evening also included Brian Fortuna from Dancing with the Stars and Orshi Horvath, and a newly formed local boy band called the Beatline Boys.

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VoicePlay accompany Brian and Orshi for a dance

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Family time

The next few days were spent doing their own thing and marking some big milestones. Geoff and Kathy had their baby shower. Earl and Nick bought a new home.

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Back to work

The final weekend of the season was bookended by video shoots with new collaborators. Friday saw them team up with theme park pal Matthew Darren for a club jam mashup, while Monday brought a peppy breakup song with Broadway performer John Pinto, Jr.

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Once those were in the can, it was time to hit the road again, but that's a story for a another time.

[likeadevils]

2012 Lover Diaries Transcripts

Feb 2012

Holy Ground Lyrics

Mar 2, 2012- Perth, Australia

So here we are in Perth. It’s a beach town on the Indian Ocean and it’s beautiful. It’s 85º and sunny and yesterday I went to Cottesloe Beach – I’ve never seen water that crystal blue before. And white sand. There was this art festival going on, so there were all these sculptures set up on the beach. We laid our towels out and got tans and frolicked in the water. After our beach afternoon, we went to this restaurant right on the beach called Indiana. It was built in 1910 and looked like an old fancy hotel. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve been, with old world arches and moldings, antique tables and big french doors opening out to views of azure blue ocean. We sat there for hours drinking strawberry mojitos and eating calamari until I was so tired, I went back to my fluffy hotel bed and slept. I’ve been thinking a lot about getting older and relevancy and how all my heroes have ended up alone. I wrote a song on the plane ride from Sydney to Perth on the appalachian dulcimer I bought the day of my flight. I bought it because Joni played on most of her blue record. I taught myself to play ‘A Case of You.’ Anyway, I wrote a song on it called “Nothin New” and it’s about being scared of aging and things changing and losing what you have. It says “I’m getting older and less sure of what you like about me anyway.” And in the chorus it says “How can a person know everything at 18, and nothing at 22? And will you still want me … when I’m nothing new.” It’s a really vulnerable song, but I think it’s important to say.

Jun 10, 2012- Los Angeles, CA

I’ve been in the studio non stop. This week I was in with Max Martin and Johan Shellback, the guys I wrote ‘Getting Back Together’ with. The first day, I had to do this corporate performance for an arena full of managers. I played Love Story and Mean, solo acoustic and Justin Timberlake was MCing so he introduced me. Hilarious sense of humor. He was making the whole arena laugh. When I finished there, I got on the plane and this idea came to me “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22.” I wrote the entire chorus on the plane ride to LA. When I landed, I went straight to the studio and played it for Max and Johan. They loved it. I was so excited. I wrote 22 about how much fun I’ve been having this summer and this year in general. It’s so carefree and sounds like a summer anthem. I was floating on a cloud after we wrote it. The next day I brought them a chorus called 'Trouble’ that’s about how I should’ve known what I was getting into. We came back to 'Trouble’ and it turned out to be absolutely amazing. It’s so edgy and unexpected. It’s almost dub step. My friends love that one the most. I love writing so much. It’s the only thing that makes total sense to me. If I missed a day in the studio, I’d be so mad at myself. God I’ve been having such a beautiful life lately. I can’t believe it. It’s like there’s magic in the air. Friday was my day off. I woke up and went hiking. Then went home and showered. painted my nails, daydreamed about our trip for 4th of July. Taylor

Oct 17, 2012- Los Angeles, CA

This Love lyrics

(2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 & 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 & 2017)

[dystini]

Indycar Driver Lore

Indycar Driver Lore Masterlist

Jack Joseph Murray Harvey

Birthdate: April 15, 1993 Hometown: Bassingham, England Residence: Indianapolis Height/Weight: 5’10”/168lbs

Rookie Year: 2018

Team: Dale Coyne Racing

Follow him on: Instagram Twitter

Career Stats

2017 1 race w/ Michael Shank Racing w/Andretti Autosport, 2 races w/ Schmidt Peterson Motorsports - 28th Overall 2018 1 race w/ Michael Shank Racing w/ Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, 5 races w/Meyer Shank Racing w/Schmidt Peterson Motorsports - 24th Overall 2019 10 races w/Meyer Shank Racing w/Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports - 21st Overall 2020 Meyer Shank Racing - 15th Overall 2021 Meyer Shank Racing - 13th Overall 2022 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing - 22nd Overall 2023 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing - 24th Overall (Fired with three races left)

A two-time INDY NXT by Firestone championship runner-up,

Has lived in both the United States and France but has remained grounded in his sense of home – the small village of Bassingham in Lincolnshire, England.

Among the drivers who have won on both the oval and road courses at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with wins on both circuits in 2015 while racing in INDY NXT.

Has 10 racing championship wins in his career, including the British Formula 3 title in 2012.

enjoys baking, target shooting, watching Star Wars and Marvel movies and watching soccer and American football.

has been roped into collecting baseball cards and star wars trading cards

-big star wars fan

-bakes, and is known to make very good cookies

Iconic/memorable moments

Jack Harvey Takes Flight with Red Bull Air Race Pilot Kirby Chambliss 2022 PACE CAR LAPS // GRAHAM RAHAL AND JACK HARVEY Christmas Questions with GRAHAM RAHAL and JACK HARVEY! GRAHAM RAHAL and JACK HARVEY Answer Thanksgiving Questions! HONDA PACE CAR // HELIO CASTRONEVES AND JACK HARVEY TRACK WALK WITH JACK HARVEY // FIRESTONE GRAND PRIX OF ST. PETERSBURG Jack Harvey reflects on the time he lived in the IMS president's basement Jack Harvey Explains His Dislike For IndyCar Silly Season IndyCar Driver Jack Harvey Joins Us at Indy 500 Media Day Who is Jack Harvey? Motorsport101 Interviews… IndyCar's Jack Harvey! Indycar driver Jack Harvey trains at gym to be race ready Jack Harvey, Max Chilton, and Simon Pagenaud go skeet shooting Jack Harvey snatches last spot in the Indianapolis 500 from teammate | Motorsports on NBC Doug and Drivers: Jack Harvey Almost Didn't Want To Race in America IndyCar driver Jack Harvey shows off his RV at IMS You Don't Know Jack! Playlist Go BTS with Jack Harvey at our Hy-Vee Commercial Shoot! Colton Herta & Jack Harvey Are Pumped For "Kenobi" | Indy 500 Happy Hour

Sweet and kind, Jack often spends extra time interacting with fans at races. A huge Star Wars nerd, he was thrilled to meet Adam Driver when he was the honorary starter at the 2023 Indy 500. Jack loves baking, especially cookies.

Fanfic Lore

none

[sarkos]

Two years ago, Nautilus was big news. A vast, expensive Disney+ prequel to Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Nautilus promised to tell the early story of Captain Nemo as he embarked on an epic submarine adventure, seeking revenge on his former captors the East India Company. A colossal replica submarine was built. Several soundstages on Australia’s Gold Coast were given over to it. Hundreds of crew members were hired alongside hundreds of extras. Filming took almost a year. The Queensland government claimed that the series would inject A$96m into the local economy. It looked certain to be a hit; an exciting new big-budget spectacle, underpinned with contemporary themes, based on a legendary piece of intellectual property. Nautilus couldn’t go wrong. Except nobody is going to see Nautilus because, even though it has already been made, Disney+ has decided not to stream it. Clearly, this is unusual. The television industry has a long history of dropping previously announced shows for a variety of reasons – 2004’s animated Popetown was canned by the BBC after complaints from Catholics, 2017’s The Cops was axed after reports of creator Louis CK’s sexual misconduct came to light, and 2021’s Ultimate Slip ’N Slide was cancelled after the crew all came down with a highly infectious variant of explosive diarrhoea that can be spread through tainted water. But Disney+ has a different reason for getting rid of Nautilus: it was axed as a cost-cutting exercise. In May, Disney+ announced a content removal plan designed to cut US$1.5bn worth of content, meaning it substantially reduces the company’s value, giving it a lot less tax to pay. Nautilus is not the only victim: a live-action TV adaptation of The Spiderwick Chronicles was also completed and then axed. Disney isn’t the only network to abandon shows that have largely been made, with HBO Max cancelling the second season of feminist porn comedy Minx just as it was finishing production (only for Starz to buy it, saving it from never seeing the light of day). AMC has also deleted shows with completed and unaired seasons, such as the animated drama Pantheon and legal drama 61st Street, for similar tax purposes. It pulled the plug on its adaptation of Adrienne Celt’s Invitation to a Bonfire partway through production. One US sitcom, Chad, was pulled just hours before it was due to air on US network TBS. Shows are also steadily vanishing from streaming platforms. Earlier this year, Disney+ removed a range of high-profile titles such as Willow, The One and Only Ivan, Big Shots and The Mysterious Benedict Society. Nor is it alone. In a similar move, Warner Bros Discovery has also removed dozens of shows like Westworld, Raised by Wolves, Gordita Chronicles, Run and Love Life from its platforms to save money, as has Paramount+ with its Grease spin-off The Pink Ladies and Jordan Peele’s Twilight Zone remake.

The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace | Television | The Guardian