#and mari was heavily pregnant when they filmed this so she had to be filmed from the shoulders up

[beatleswings]

MARIANNE FAITHFULL ft. PAUL McCARTNEY performing "Yesterday" on the TV special, THE MUSIC OF LENNON & MCCARTNEY. 1965.

[jpmarvel90]

My Family

Masterlist Scarlett Masterlist

Relationship: Scarlett x Reader, Sister Lizzie x Sister Reader

Summary: Y/n is heavily pregnant and waiting for Scarlett to return home from filming. Left in the care of her sisters, Lizzie, Mary-Kate and Ashley, she's can't wait for her wife to come home so they can welcome this baby into the family.

Y/n’s POV:

For 2 years my wife, Scarlett, and I had been trying for a baby. Due to her filming schedule, we had agreed that I would carry the baby before she took some time off once I gave birth. The process was tough and with every failed attempt our hope began to fade. But thankfully, we were eventually successful, and we couldn’t wait for our son to make our family of 2 become a family of 3.

The timing wasn’t great as Scarlett had not long started filming Black Widow and was filming for a few months in Budapest. But we were making it work. Although I told Scarlett I was fine on my own, she had arranged for my sister, Elizabeth Olsen, to come and stay.

Between Lizzie and the twins, I never had time to myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love them, but I was getting fed up with being treated like an invalid. “Y/n, where are you going?” Lizzie asked as I stood up from the sofa. “I need the bathroom if that’s ok with you? This little guy is using my bladder as a squeezy toy!” I said, slightly annoyed whilst rolling my eyes.

“Hey! Don’t you roll your eyes at me. Scar will kill me if anything happens to you!” She scolded as I laughed, walking away. Lizzie and the twins were scared of Scar, not that I blamed them. But that was causing them to hover a bit too much.

The twins also made an effort to visit, which I loved. They were spending more time in LA as they wanted to be around for as much of my pregnancy as they could. Thankfully, Ashley helped me to be rebellious. She would often offer to “watch me” when MK and Lizzie had to leave. Not that I needed watching! As soon as they would leave, she would let me have more freedom.

My favourite day was when she took me to the beach. I love the beach. It was where Scar and I confessed our love to each other and was also where she proposed 4 years ago. We walked down the beach, just catching up on life. I was so proud of what the twins had done with the row, and I loved hearing how passionately she talked about it.

After we had walked for a while, Ash pulled out a blanket from her bag, and we settled down just watching the waves. We were sat in silence when I suddenly felt a slight pain in my stomach. I winced and sat up straight. “Shit, what’s wrong Y/n/n?” Ashley asked with a concerned look. I looked up at her and just smiled. "Here, give me your hand.” I responded.

She tentatively held out her hand, which I took and placed on my stomach. I watched as the frown on her face turned into a wide smile as the baby kicked. “Hey little man, I’m your Auntie Ash, your favourite Auntie!” She spoke, leaning into my stomach. “You won’t be if you get caught by Scarlett!”. The voice caught us both by surprise, and we turned around to see both Lizzie and MK stood there with their heads tilted.

“Shut up, you two, and come feel your nephew kick!” I said, ushering them over. Their demeanour changed in a heartbeat, and they excitedly ran over to us fighting over who could feel him kick. The three of them sat in awe, taking turns to feel the little guy kick. We enjoyed each other’s company before heading home.

I was seven months pregnant when Scarlett returned from filming. She was due back late at night, and I was determined to stay awake to greet her. She had only managed to get home for one weekend whilst she was away, and she refused to let me fly out to her whilst I was pregnant, so we had to settle for facetime to keep in touch.

I won’t lie, it had been tough. I love Lizzie, but when I was throwing my guts up in the morning, or having cravings, I just wanted it to be Scarlett that was with me. I knew Scarlett hated it too, she was missing out, but to me, all that mattered was that she was here when I gave birth.

I settled on the sofa and started to flick through Netflix to find something to watch. I was trying so hard to keep my eyes open, but sleep was winning. Before I knew it, sleep was taking over.

Scarlett’s POV:

It was 2am when I pulled up on the drive, finally home. I couldn’t wait to see my wife again. I had missed too much of her pregnancy and I was determined to make it up to her. As I opened the door, I saw that there was a light coming from the living room. As I approached, I saw the TV on and my wife asleep on the sofa.

I stood and admired her, taking in every detail that I had missed. She looked beautiful and I couldn't wait to hold her again. I gently sat next to her on the sofa and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, which seemed to wake her. “I’m up, I’m up.” She said, looking disorientated as she sat up. I smiled whilst her eyes flicked around her surroundings before landing on me.

She smiled widely at me before pulling me into a hug, her belly getting in the way. “Babe, you’re home!” she said, tears starting to fill her eyes. “God I missed you.” I said into her hair. Holding her tight. She pulled away and quickly attached her lips to mine. It was full of love, man I missed her lips.

I wiped away the tears that were falling down her cheeks, and she started to laugh. “Sorry, it’s the hormones, I’ll be yelling at you in a minute.” She joked. I laughed in return and moved my hand to her stomach, gently rubbing it. “Hi little guy, it’s your Mama, I’m home now.” I whispered to her stomach.

I suddenly felt a kick. It was the most amazing feeling I’ve ever experienced. I just looked up at Y/n and saw her watching me. “Say something to him again.” She demanded. I lent down to her belly again before addressing my son. “Is someone glad to have their Mama home?” I said and was shocked when he kicked once again. “He’s been quiet today until you came home. He must have been excited to have you home.” Y/n said, placing her hand over mine.

For the next few minutes, I sat talking to Y/n’s belly, still getting excited every time he kicked in response. I couldn’t believe that I had been missing this for the last 3 months. But I was so happy to be back where I needed to be.

I looked up and saw Y/n struggling to keep her eyes open. “Come on, let’s get you to bed. You shouldn’t have slept down here, it’s not going to be good for you or the baby.” I said, slightly concerned. “Look, I’ve had Lizzie and the twins on my back for the last 3 months, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t treat me like glass.” She responded, pulling my hand in the direction of the stairs.

I watched as she changed into her pyjamas and followed her into bed. I pulled her in close to me, helping her get comfortable. “I love you.” I quietly spoke. She pulled me impossibly close and let out a content sigh. “I love you too. I’m glad you’re back with us.” I smiled, knowing I was where I was meant to be. I was home.

The next two months seemed to fly by. I made sure to be there for her as much as I could. Lizzie kindly carried on staying with us so we could both be around whilst I finished up filming. Y/n was doing great, though her weird cravings and mood swings were hard to keep up with at times.

I had just got back in from work and had picked up ice cream at Y/n’s request on my way home. It had been a long day on set, and I couldn’t wait to cuddle up with Y/n and the bump. I went straight to the kitchen and grabbed two spoons and took the ice cream directly into the living room. We both sat on the sofa, taking it in turns to take a spoonful of ice cream.

Suddenly, Y/n sat up and held her stomach. I sat up just as quickly, my arm quickly reaching around her back. “What’s up babe?” I asked, my heart rate picking up. She looked at me without responding at first, her hand rubbing her belly. “Uh, it’s nothing, I think.” I watched cautiously as she started to sit back on the sofa.

Before we had time to relax, she shot up again, but this time, she grimaced in pain. “Shit…” She whispered. I watched, slightly stunned at what to do. She stood up to walk off the pain, and I was still rooted to the sofa watching my wife start to breathe heavily. She stopped suddenly in her tracks as I heard what sounded like water spilling.

She looked to the floor and then back up to me. “Babe… my waters just broke.” She said, oddly calmly. Those words pulled me out of frozen state, and I jumped up to her side. “LIZZIE! THE BABY’S COMING!” I yelled. It was followed by rushed footsteps down the stairs as Lizzie frantically ran into the living room.

“I’ll get the bag, you get Y/n in the car. I’ll text the twins on the way.” She said, running back where she came from. Y/n’s contraction past, and we slowly made our way into the car. Lizzie quickly following with our baby bag.

During the car ride, Lizzie had leant forward holding Y/n’s hand during every contraction that she had. Never making a sound at the undeniable pain she would have been in as her hand was crushed by her sister.

Once we arrived at the hospital we were taken into a private room whilst we waited for the time for Y/n to start the delivery. The twins had arrived half an hour after us and were trying to distract Y/n from the pain of her contractions.

Eventually the doctor came in and examined Y/n. “Ok Y/n, it’s about time to bring your son into the world.” He said with a smile. “Sorry, but we can only keep one in the room. You’ll need to leave.” He said turning towards Y/n’s sisters. They each came over and gave her a kiss on her forehead before making their way to the waiting area. “We’ll let our mum’s and the cast know.” Lizzie said as she left, giving Y/n one more teary smile before she left.

I took Y/n’s hand in mine and looked into her eyes. “You’re doing amazing baby, just remember the breathing exercises.” I started panting getting her to imitate my actions. She followed and kept eye contact until another contraction hit her. “ARGHHH. I hate you! Why did I agree to this?!” She yelled through her contraction.

I laughed which was the wrong thing to do. “Don’t you laugh at me! I’m pushing a fucking baby out of my vagina whilst you get an easy RIDE!!” She was hit again by another contraction. “Ok Y/n, it’s time to push ok. Deep breathes and push.” The doctor said.

“ARGHH” Y/n pushed and called out as she did. Her hold on my hand getting tighter. “Ok I can see the head. Keep panting and on the next contraction push again.” The doctor instructed. “Babe, I can’t do this. Please just make this end.” Y/n said, tears running down her cheeks. “You can do this my love. You are the strongest person I know. Keep going.” She smiles at me and nods as she pushed through her next contraction.

Her face has started to go pale, and her eyes are struggling to stay open. “I don’t feel so good.” She said barely above a whisper. I looked in the direction of the doctor, fear creeping through me. “What’s wrong?” I asked as I watched his own face grow concerned.

“She’s haemorrhaging. We need to get her to surgery as soon as we’ve got the baby out.” Panic filled me as I turned to look at my wife, tears filling my eyes. “Ok Y/n, I know you’re tired, but one more push and we can take over ok.” The doctor said, indicating for the nurse. “You’re ok babe, everything is going to be ok. You can do this, I’m right here.” I said, trying to convince myself more than anything.

With one last contraction, Y/n gave her everything as a baby’s cry broke out through the room. I wiped my wife’s head as she smiled at me. “Take care of him. I love you.” She whispered before her eyes closed. “Babe…Y/n? Come on love.” I said gently shaking her shoulders. “Wake up Y/n, you’re not leaving me!” I said getting more panicked. “Please help her!” I cried as a number of nurses came in preparing Y/n for surgery.

I watched as they wheeled her out of the room, leaving me on my own, terrified I was about to lose my wife. My state of panic was broken by our son’s cries. The nurse had finished swaddling him and picked him up. “Would you like to hold your son?” She asked, walking in my direction. All I could do was nod as tears fell down my cheeks.

I looked down at his tiny body and smiled. He looked like Y/n, but I was shocked when I saw he had green eyes, just like me. My heart was breaking. In front of me, I had the son that Y/n and I had always dreamed of, but my wife, the love of my life, was fighting for her chance to meet him.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by the door opening. “Scar, what is happening to our sister? They just rushed her off.” Lizzie spoke, her voice full of concern. “She uh, she was bleeding, and the doctor said she needed surgery….” I paused, trying to compose myself. “Then she…she lost consciousness.” I burst into tears as Lizzie and MK just stood there in shock. The two of them with silent tears falling.

Ashley walked over to me and pulled me into a hug, careful of the new baby between us. “She’ll be ok, she’s a fighter. Is this our nephew?” I nodded and admired our son once again. “Would you like to hold him?” I asked barely above a whisper. She smiled with teary eyes and nodded. I gently passed him over and watched as she cooed over him.

MK walked over and joined Ashley whilst Lizzie still stood planted in one place, in shock at the events that had just happened. I joined her and just pulled her into a hug as we both cried. Fear filling us, scared we were losing her.

For hours, we sat in the room, waiting for any news. MK has called our Mum’s who were making their way from New York. I sat with our son in my arms, unable to take my eyes off of him. “She told me to look after him, like she thought she wasn’t going to make it.” I said into the silence. “She can’t leave me. We’ve finally got the family we wanted. She’s my world, she has to be here for our son.”

Lizzie took my son from my arms as Ashley pulled me into a side hug. “Don’t think like that. Whilst you were filming, all she could talk about was her future with you and your son. She won’t give up on that.” Her words brought me some comfort. I rested my head on her shoulder, crying as we carred on waiting.

An hour later, the door to the room opened, and the doctor stood in front of us looking tired. “How is she?” We all asked in unison. “There were some complications whilst in surgery, and we had to resuscitate her.” I gasped, gripping tightly on to Lizzie whilst holding my son.

“Luckily we were able to bring her back and stop the bleeding. Your wife is a fighter, it’s a miracle she survived with the amount of blood she lost.” I felt a smile break out through my tears and looked at my son. “Did you hear that, Mummy’s ok. I bet she can’t wait to meet you.”

“When can we see her?” Lizzie asked. “They’re just finishing up in recovery and she’ll be brought back here shortly.” The doctor responded. “Thank you.” Was all I could manage to say.

A few minutes later, the door opened again, and Y/n was wheeled in. I rushed to her side and was glad to see that she had more colour in her face than the last time I saw her. Ashley took the baby and placed him in his cot before taking her place beside me, Lizzie and MK to Y/n’s right.

I stroked Y/n’s hair and placed a delicate kiss on her forehead. There were so many things I wanted to say. But before I could, she started to stir. “Y/n, hey. Thank God you’re awake.” I said, letting out a deep breath. Her eyes fluttered open and met mine, a smile forming on her face. “Hi Scar.” she whispered in a raspy voice.

Lizzie grabbed some water and helped Y/n to drink it. “Don’t you ever do that to me again. You are never allowed to leave me.” I demanded through a slight chuckle, tears filling my eyes again. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” She responded. I couldn’t hold back anymore and plant a loving kiss on her lips, conveying all the feelings that I have for her.

“Would you like to meet your son?” I asked in excitement. “More than anything.” She replied. I helped her to sit up whilst MK picked up the baby and placed her in Y/n’s arms. I watched the awe on Y/n’s face as she studied our son. “Hello my beautiful boy. I am going to love you with all that I have.” She spoke softly, holding out her little finger for him to hold on to.

“Have you got a name for him?” Lizzie asked. I looked at Y/n and she nodded with a smile. Allowing me to share the name of our son. “This is Noah Johansson.” I said proudly looking at the sisters for their reaction. “I love it.” Lizzie said excitedly bouncing on her toes. “You did good sis.” MK said rubbing her hand along Y/n’s arms. “But if you ever scare us like that again, I will kill you myself.” She said with a stern look.

“I just wanted to take the attention away from my son.” She joked causing us all to laugh. There was a brief silence whilst we all admired Noah. Then Y/n looked up at me with pure love in her eyes. “I love you so much babe.” I said leaning down to give her a quick kiss. “Thank you for giving me everything I’ve ever wanted.” I expressed.  Her smile grew impossibly wide. “I love you too my love and I’m so happy that I’ve got a family with you.”

[bitter69uk]

“She had a face that was so striking you had the choice of whether to call her beautiful or ugly. I happened to love the way she looked, and I was impressed by all the references she kept dropping to literature and politics. She talked constantly and she had the most tiresome voice I’d ever heard – it was incredible to me that one woman’s voice could convey so much tedium … We all loved Viva; we’d never seen anything like her, and from then on, it was just taken for granted that she’d be in whatever movie we did. She was funny, stylish and photogenic and she gave great interviews … And if a good way to get around the censors was to confuse them, then Viva was perfect for the times, because when she took her clothes off, there was always the question of whether her bony body was a turn-on or -off – the “prurience” was really in question there.”

/ Andy Warhol reminiscing about his leading lady Viva in his 1980 memoirs POPism: The Warhol Sixties /

Born on this day 86 years ago: superbly deadpan, often naked Warhol Superstar and long-term denizen of New York’s bohemian Chelsea Hotel (she now resides in Palm Springs) - Viva (née Janet Susan Mary Hoffmann, 23 August 1938)! I vividly recall watching her in Warhol’s perverse 1968 underground Western Lonesome Cowboys (pictured) at The Scala Cinema in the early nineties. (At the beginning, the theatre was full. By the bitter end, there was only a hardcore of us left!). Outside of Warhol’s films, Viva impressed me as the heavily pregnant groupie Kris Kristofferson picks up in Cisco Pike (1972) and I particularly treasure Viva’s cameo appearance in 1982 cult oddity Forbidden Zone, in which she delivers with peerless nonchalance the killer line, “See you guys later – I need to change a Tampax.”

[acrossthewavesoftime]

She may be losing this bracket drastically, but her great-great-grandmother Mary Baddeley, née O'Callaghan, was deemed the hottest woman in Boston, Massachusetts in the year 1775. And if you won't vote for Hermoine here, please do it for Mary, without whose turbulent life, there wouldn't have been Hermione:

Sadly, the dubious honour of appealing to the male gaze came with a fully-fledged sexual harrassment scandal, by the end of which she found herself under the personal protection of British General Henry Clinton, there to deal with the nascent American War of Independence, for whom she worked as a housekeeper.

By then, Mary, a ca. 19-year-old runaway from a respected family of the Irish landed gentry who had secretly married a carpenter-turned-soldier, was pregnant with her first child, which did not stop her employer from falling head over heels in love with her.

Sensible however of her recent experiences, he kept his feelings to himself, praising Mary for her managerial skills - she managed his finances more efficiently than he had previously on his own, to the point he retrospectively asserted that he thought "my all depended on her."

Separated by a war campaign in the Carolinas the heavily pregnant Mary could not follow Clinton to, and a baby, a shipwreck and a severe illness later, Mary had found Clinton's new address in New York, and asked if she could work for him again.

This time around, Mary, too, appears to have fallen in love with Sir Henry. Fascinatingly, from Sir Henry's memoirs, we know that he waited until she was comfortable with shows of phsical affection and that he respected her initial hard no to a sexual relationship; and he also loved her baby son, John.

Things came to a head when Mary caught her husband, who, or so Clinton's memoir makes it implicitly sound, may have been abusive to Mary, cheating on her with "a common strumpet": she packed her bags, took the baby and informed her husband that she was leaving.

Having told Clinton that she now felt no longer bound to honour her vows, they shared a bed together for the first time that night. Mary and Sir Henry never married, even when Mary was widowed, but had a loving relationship until his death, and five children together, the youngest of which is the ancestor of Hermione Baddeley and her sister Angela, plus John, Mary's son from her marriage, whom Clinton treated as a child of his own.

The children all received the hyphenated surname "Clinton-Baddeley", which Hermione dropped presumably because a shorter, and fairly unique surname has a nicer ring to it in a showbiz environment where marketing one's self is crucial. It's a bit of a shame, because especially when somewhat older, she really started to resemble her great-great-grandfather:

So, vote for Hermione Baddeley and the story of her great-great-grandparents that sadly has as of yet never been made into a film, but absolutely should be!

Propaganda

Hermione Baddeley (Brighton Rock, Passport to Pimlico, Mary Poppins)— An absolute mainstay of British films from this period. She’s an icon who never takes shit from anyone in any of her movies, dresses for the occasion, and has the best line delivery! Also she started out in silent movies, and was a close friend of Noel Coward. In a desperate attempt to appeal to a large tumblr fandom, I will also point out that her first husband and one of her children were both called David Tennant. You like that name, don’t you tumblr??

Glynis Johns (Mary Poppins, The Court Jester)—LISTEN, I'd let that woman's voice with all its gravely hoarseness (positive) wash over me all goddamn day, but if that's not enough she managed to play the straight woman to Danny Kaye's jester, all with her cleavage so plunging it might as well have been catapulted into the ocean right after Basil Rathbone

This is round 1 of the bracket. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Glynis Johns propaganda:

She walks the line between sexy and cute. Her best role for me is in "The Court Jester as Maid Jean. She's fantastic as the soft but tough captain of the outlaw band and she looks stunning in every gown she wears throughout the film. And of course we can't forget her iconic turn as the suffragette mother, Mrs. Banks, in Mary Poppins! Also shoutout to her distinctive and beautiful voice, kind of smoky and husky. Extremely hot and set her apart from many of her peers."

"Listen, listen. I was raised on Mary Poppins and "Votes for women! (step in time)" single-handedly taught me how to be a feminist. Also The Court Jester is one of my favourite movies of all time and she is UNBELIEVABLY gorgeous, charismatic, funny, and clever in it. She knocks several men out. Absolute icon."

"Like Bette Davis she has eyes to die for. Unlike Bette Davis you felt comforted by them, even when she was batting her eyelashes at you. Would glady go to Downing Street with her and throw things at the Prime minister"

"She had this wonderful wit and charm to her no matter the role and the most distinctive, striking voice!"

"She was amazing in Mary Poppins (the Suffragette song is severely underrated) and apparently she was Welsh? National pride! And she advocated for arts funding in Wales, which is very cool. Also, she died recently (RIP) making her one of the last survivors of the Golden Age of Hollywood, according to Wikipedia. Also also, she just has a cheeky energy I like? And her eyes are beautiful!"

"I mean, incredibly beautiful and talented, can do drama can do comedy. And she was a mermaid."

"I love Glynis Johns. Most of the reason is The Court Jester where she's a sensible and capable foil to whatever what going on with Danny Kaye at the time. She was also the first star I based an OC on. An OC that I still have to this day! Anyway here have some YouTube links love u bye"

Mermaid clip: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1jUEA03mYTk

Court Jester (sharing a bed trope): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d_qG9i054U

Court Jester (seducing the king): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-GuqFYElKg

"VOTES FOR WOMEN! Well, votes for this woman. Please."

Hermione Baddeley propaganda:

Propaganda for both Hermione and Glynis:

[pennyserenade]

FIRST LINE GAME

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line. Then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

tagged by my favorite domestic slut sister: @astroboots

PUBLISHED WORKS: 

scenes from a marriage (javi fic): The designs of misfortune carve themselves in the woodwork that is Colombia, marking and scarring a beautiful country for the sake of one man’s empire.

(a/n): i wrote this on a whim one night while just trying to write for the sake of writing and look where it’s got us.

freedom is just another word (frankie morales fic): Sometimes, Frankie could not stand himself. Really, despise himself. 

(a/n): i did this one because i’m cruel and a slut for angst

ungodly hour (agent whiskey fic): Her knees rest on his forearms, and she pushes his shoulders into the ground beneath him, earning a groan as his head bounces lightly off of the ground. 

(a/n): i wrote this one because i just wanted to write but i didn’t wanted to take a break from scenes. also, i was listening to the ungodly hour album and it makes me feel like a bad bitch so i had a desire to character a leading character that was one.

NOT PUBLISHED WORKS:

the world is yours (maxwell lord fic): Step ahead into the past. It was a meaningless, get-rich sentiment stamped on the box of each Polaroid camera they sent out, one that she’s seen a million times before but never felt the depth of until now; Maxwell has said it, willing away the accent she loves, and she knows that this is exactly what they’ve done: They’ve stepped back into a joyless, oppressive past in order to preserve some inkling of a meaningful future. 

(a/n): this will probably make a debut after i finish scenes and get somewhere with freedom. the step ahead into the past bit came from a poster at my work that i saw while i was on break. this is gonna be a fic exploring the beginnings of maxwell’s desire to be something, and i hope it covers the struggles he goes through a bit better than the film. also, i’m not gonna make him the villain as much as i am going to make him the anti-hero, because who can deny that michael corleone wasn’t a baddie once or twice hm ?

strobe lights (unpublished maxwell lord fic): It was a concoction of heavily artificial music--the sort that drips in materialism and would bling if sound was tangible--and Maxwell’s insistent stare that made her do it.

(a/n): this will probably never see the light of day because it has a no real meaning, but it’s older than any of the other stuff i’ve written for the p. characters. it was made before i created this blog, and just something that got the wheels in my head turning again.

scenes from a marriage (a very very early draft that i didn’t end up liking, javi fic): He had forgotten. Or she thought he had forgotten. She couldn’t be sure yet, but the hours kept ticking away, and he hadn’t shown up yet. Javier wasn’t ever the most timely man, but he was never this late.

a/n: what are my fics, if not angst preserving?

mama, you’ve been on my mind (a fic not belonging to the pedro fandom at all, but a story about two characters that my friend created): Something had gone taut inside of Henry the day he found out that Mari had gone missing. He’d worked hard to conceal it from Stella, expressing adequate amounts of concern and worry and frustration, but he never showed the absolute panic that rattled him to his very core. He didn’t want to upset her. Stella was a great woman, but no one could stand the shade of pale he would get when he was by himself, or the way he sobbed quietly thinking about her at night in the bathroom when he was alone and Stella was asleep. He hid it from her, something he had never, ever done with Stella, because he knew that this grief was more personal than he ever wanted her to know about.

(a/n): my friend gave me henry to write with her, and we attached pedro to his face to him, but the main story is about mari, a girl who henry had married when he was a younger. they divorced later on because they both came to the conclusion that mari loved women more than she ever would love him, but he never, ever stopped caring about her. mari eventually ends up getting murdered by one of her patients (she’s a therapist) because she rejects his advances, (but i promise the story doesn’t end there, because mari is very, very cool and my friend is such a bad ass writer, i just don’t want to give it all away). anyways, this takes place shortly after mari has gone missing. at this point, it has been about tenish years since henry and mari have split and he’s remarried to stella, a woman whom he loves dearly. henry and mari remained friends, and he’s not taking it well.

untitled mando fic: His first words to her had been these: It had to be done. They were muttered with such commitment and unwavering faith, she knew that he was a man who truly believed in whatever dogma he abided by. 

(a/n): this was the first thing i was gonna publish on here but everything i wrote felt odd and out of place, and i think i need a bit more time to set on this one before it goes anywhere.

let it be: (a story i was writing for a school contest but never finished): There came an awful, tightening sensation in the middle of her chest, so strong it felt like she was about to double over there, in front of all of these strangers.

(a/n): this was gonna be a story about a young woman who has just found out she was pregnant. i set it during the day that the beatles played there rooftop concert because i liked the idea of this young woman being surrounded by many people who’s eyes were glued to the sky because the beatles are playing their brand new fucking album, and she’s just coming undone. this is gonna expose me as a beatles stan and that’s okay.

diane’s a friend of mine (a story i didn’t remember writing until just now, doing this): It had all started with Diane, a woman who had loved him so passionately that he’d dated her twice. Diane was an intelligent woman with the tendency to date men who were far below her, and he wasn’t the exception as much as he was the rule. He remembered the way she didn’t mind his desire to be and do nothing on Sunday mornings, and the kind way she would trace his nose and smile approvingly before saying, “You’ve got the nose of greek gods, Francis.”

(a/n): this must’ve been written during my al pacino phase a couple of months back, and i think, as i scan over it, this is the story i wanted to write about an actor who has spent his entire life as someone else, just a plethora of different characters, so when he eventually retires, he begins to struggle with who he is. i think i wanted it to be told through the stories of women he’s loved during those years, because it’s the only time he remembers being himself. 

untitled roman sionis fic: roman sionis reminded frankie terribly of fredo corleone. he was void of that pure innocence—that essence of goodness that made fredo such a lovable character—but he had the stupidity. it was a stupidity that stopped him from being something more.

(a/n): i have written about thirty roman sionis drafts but none of them amounted to anything. i think the character is neat, and had a very big ewan mcgregor phase. 

an untitled fic set after the events of the panic in needle park, if anyone of you has seen that:  This is where I am. This is where my stuff is. The wind was biting this morning, reddening Bobby’s cheeks as he stood on the sidewalk waiting for Eileen.

(a/n): this was definitely during my al pacino phase, it’s about how bobby gets clean and has started life with another woman because he couldn’t stay with helen because they enabled each other too much. if i’m ever gonna do anything for any of you please let it be to turn you onto al pacino’s movies in the ‘70s. all of them are fantastic, and the panic in needle park the first installment. this movie lead to al giving his famed role as michael corleone later on, and it covers a lot of topics i didn’t expect, like drug addiction and poverty and i just think al pacino is amazing in it. i cannot believe that his first movie. here’s the link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watchv=0ahe2zepONg&ab_channel=JulienPinault. drug tw and needle tw.

okay i think that is all i have and i know it’s not twenty but i can’t find any more.

tagging: @mourningbirds1, @disgruntledspacedad and anyone else who wants to do it because i think you’re all neat and lovely. 

[mrsalwayswritex]

Heart to Break

A/n: Not my gif, my bad. So I pulled a few of these from my franken-prompt list, I was only able to credit two prompts but they are:

“Why cant you just look at me for one goddamn second!” from /melamemea “I can’t be mad that I gave you my heart to break.” from /ericks-mala-actitud

all prompts used will be bolded!

Pairing: Ben Hardy x Reader

word count: 3800

warnings: Cheating, Swearing

The moment you heard his name behind you, the urge to run away was stronger than anything you ever felt in your life. Your companion for the evening, your best friend Joe, heard it as well and his eyes softened quickly, his hand reaching across the table to hold yours.

“Do you wanna leave?” He asked softly, trying to meet your eyes, but you shook your head.

“No, I’ll be alright.” You gave him a weak smile, patting his hand with your other, “Thanks for being here with me.” You heard his deep laugh and your eyes closed on their own, drowning in the sound.

“Where is Marie?” You heard someone ask him, and you shook your head at Joe. You couldn't do this. It was not alright. “She stayed home tonight, told me to go out without her” You heard Ben answer, and your stomach turned. Home. 

Joe, sensing the panic that was rising, stood quickly, throwing down a few bills for the drinks and grabbed your bag, slinging it over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” He rubbed his hands down both of your arms, walking behind you as you shuffled towards the door with your head down.

Chancing it, you lifted your head in the direction. Bad idea. Your eyes locked with his and his jaw dropped, he pushed himself off the bar and took a step towards you but you held up your hand, waving him off. Joe put his hand on your lower back and halfway pushed you out the door. Once outside you collapsed heavily against the wall, unwanted memories flooding your brain.

-

Four Months Ago

You almost couldn’t contain your excitement. It had been weeks since you had seen Ben, him being off on location filming for a new movie. Tomorrow morning he would be home and you couldn’t wait! You had been to Ben’s apartment a few times since he left, mostly to relax in silence, but also when you missed him too much you liked to sleep in his bed. Today however, you were going over to set up the apartment in the cutest way, as you had some big news for him.

You shuffled down the hall towards Ben’s apartment door, struggling slightly with the large box you were carrying, setting it down outside of the door. Sliding the key into the lock easily, you pushed the box inside with your foot. The first thing that you noticed was that the lamp next to the couch was on. ‘Hmm.’ you shrugged, waving a hand at it, obviously you had left it on earlier this week when you came by.

Humming to yourself, you sighed happily as you looked around the comfortably decorated room. Ben had asked you to move in right before he left and you told him not until the two of you could live together, you would wait for him to come home. Tomorrow. Your brain squealed and you smiled at the box you had brought with you. Taking one final look around the room, you walked over and tore the lid off of the box.

That was when you saw the next strange thing. Ben’s soft leather jacket was hanging on the hook. You swore he took that with him when he left. Mind immediately losing it's train of thought when you see his sneakers as well. Once your brain clicked into place your heart soared. Ben was home early. Since you hadn’t thought to listen to the quiet apartment, thinking it to be empty, you assumed he was asleep, and crept quietly towards his bedroom.

What you heard coming from behind the door made you grin wickedly. “Oh, f-fuck yes.” Your hand flew to cover your mouth quickly. “Jus’ like that, baby” you heard Ben mumble softly, your hand on the doorknob, totally prepared to bust your boyfriend jerking off, a smile planted on your face. “Shit, Marie.” Your playfulness gone in an instant, blood turning into ice in seconds. Hand frozen on the doorknob, you put your ear to the door, hoping that your ears were just playing tricks on you.

Then you heard it. Moaning. A woman moaning.

The tears pooled in your eyes quickly, hand still covering your mouth.

Ben was cheating on you.

In the same apartment he had invited you to live in with him, weeks prior.

Ben was cheating on you.

Your other hand slid around your stomach, hoping to self soothe.

Ben was cheating on you, and you were pregnant.

Squeezing your eyes shut quickly, you felt the dam break as the tears flowed freely. You didn't know what came over you, what possessed you to do what you did next.

You turned the knob, pushing the door open in one motion.

Opening your eyes to see the naked back of Marie, Ben’s makeup artist, straddling your boyfriend’s hips, his hands gripping her hips tightly.

“What the-” Ben's voice shouted, you watched him peek his head around Marie’s naked form. “Shit.” He breathed out, recognition washing over him. “Y/n, wait..” 

Hearing him say your name broke you. A sob ripping from your mouth, keeping one hand around your stomach, other hand flying back to cover your mouth. Your eyes flicked back and forth between the man you love and his makeup artist. The one he told you that you didn't need to worry about.

Shaking your head quickly, biting back another sob, you ran towards the front door. Ignoring Ben as he screamed your name, hearing his footsteps following behind you, you still didn't stop. You didn't stop until you were staring at the box you had brought with you, filled with various decorations you had bought to reveal your pregnancy. Anger flared inside you and after ripping open the door harshly, you maneuvered the box into your arms, slamming the door behind you, catching a quick glimpse of Ben’s naked form before it closed.

-

Present

When your brain snapped back to the now, you were greeted with the worried eyes of Joe, crouching in front of you. His hands were on your shoulders, gripping tightly. “Y/n? Are you back with me?” When you blinked at him a few times, he let go of your shoulders, hands extending to help you up. “You kinda disappeared on me for a minute there.” He watched with a smile as your hand absently rubbed softly over your growing stomach.

“I'm sorry, Joe.” You sighed, smiling down at your belly. “We just got a little lost in thought.” Putting a hand on your lower back, you let Joe pull you up so you were standing. This belly of yours was growing more and more every day and making it increasingly difficult for you to do little things, like standing up on your own.

“How long has it been?” Joe asked quietly, you didn't need to ask him to elaborate, you knew exactly what he meant. “Have you seen him since?” You shook your head softly. “Does he even know?”

“Based on his face when he saw us walking out? He knows now.” You smirked sadly, secretly hoping that you had ruined his whole evening. “I haven't seen him since he was underneath his makeup artist.” You spat out, wincing slightly as you felt a sharp kick to your side. “Hey, your daddy is an asshole, it's best you learn that now, little one.” You pointed your finger at your stomach, feeling another kick in response. “Don't you talk back to me like that, I am your mother.” Joe laughed at the scene, laughter dying in his throat when the door opened and Ben walked out.

“Y/n?” He asked taking a step towards you, as if he was seriously questioning whether it was you or not. Scoffing loudly and rolling your eyes, you turned your back to him. “Please talk to me.” He pleaded, taking another step forward. Joe put a hand out to him sadly, stopping him from coming any further. 

“Hey, let’s take this slow, okay?” Joe whispered to his friend. You knew that you were being selfish, keeping Joe to yourself. You wouldn't have even met Joe had it not been for Ben.

Ben got angry at Joe’s reaction, pushing his hand away. “Why can’t you just look at me for one goddamn second!” He shouted at you, putting his hand on your shoulder and spinning you around to face him, but you kept your eyes to the ground. “Can you give us some space, mate?” Ben spit angrily at Joe who was indeed hovering.

“Y/n?” He leaned his head back towards you, waiting for confirmation before leaving you alone.

Still looking at the ground, you nodded slightly. “It’s alright, Joey. I'll be alright.” You whispered, “Just a few minutes won’t hurt.” Joe nodded his head and ran his hand down your arm before stepping back inside. “What do you want, Benjamin.” You sighed, finally meeting Ben’s gaze, but he wasn’t looking at your face, his gaze was fixed on your swollen stomach. You wrapped your hands over it, clearing your throat. “Well?”

“I think we have a few things to talk about, yeah?” He glanced at your face for a second, eyes dropping back to your belly. “That being one of them.” He pointed at it, “Is it mine?” He questioned softly and you scoffed. “Joe’s?” At that you let out a bark of laughter.

“Are you joking?” You looked at him amused, “I almost wish it was Joe’s, just so you could see how it feels.” You scoffed again.

“Do you hate me?”

You smiled at him sadly, reaching out to touch his coat collar before pulling your hand back quickly. Sad acceptance washing over you turned to anger quickly. “Did you at least think of me?” You asked him bitterly, snorting at his confused expression. “When you were having sex with her?”

“Don't be like that, this is hard for me, you know?” He grit back.

“You think that this is easy for me?” Raising your voice louder, taking a step back and gesturing wildly at your stomach. “I came over that day to set up the place so I could tell you we were having a baby. I wasn't expecting to see you and your goddamn makeup artist who,” Your voice went high pitched and mocking, “I ‘don't need to worry about, love” you mocked his accent and he flinched back. “But I'm positively delighted to hear that you two are happily living together now. Tell me, Ben, does she enjoy the place we decorated together? The couch that we bought and broke in all in one day?” The tears were threatening to escape your eyes again.

“Y/n, please don't be like that.” He huffed this time, you raised your hand to cut him off.

“So how long were you two a thing before that day, huh? Was I excited to tell you I was having your baby while you were off screwing her in what was almost our bedroom?” The thought came to you quickly, pushing the air out of your body. Ben shook his head.

“Just a few times before that, honestly.” He rubbed his hand over his face, looking back at your stomach. “We’re really having a baby?” He reached his hand out and you let him touch the growing bump, you watched his face light up when you felt the kick under his touch, and that made the tears slip out.

“No, Ben, we are not.” You spoke softly, taking a step back effectively removing Ben’s hand. He looked at you with a mixture of hurt and confusion. “I am. You have Marie.” 

Ben’s jaw dropped open, “You’re kidding me right? Are you seriously that mad at me that you would keep my child away from me?”

“I can’t be mad that I gave you my heart to break, Ben.” You touched his face sadly, walking over to the door, opening it to signal to Joe that you were done here. “I won’t keep them from you, but I also will not play happy family with you.” You looked at him sadly, rubbing your belly. “You lost that right.”

“Them?” Ben’s eyes widened into saucers. You nodded at him with a small smile. “Y/n, wait please, let me fix this.” He reached for you but as soon as Joe walked out of the building, Ben’s face softened. “Please,” He begged.

“There isn't anything left to fix, you made sure that you shattered it to pieces that day.” You linked your arm with Joe’s and he smiled at you, touching your stomach freely and you could see the anger on Ben’s face. “Goodbye, Ben.” 

“Y/n, please wait.” He begged again, but this time you didn't turn around, you walked with Joe away from the man you loved again. 

“So?” Joe asked you as you wiped your eyes on your sleeve. “What are you going to do?”

“I can't play house with him, Joe.” You sighed, “It’s up to him now, sadly. It's his choice on what he wants from here on out. He can be a dad, or he can be someone who gave me the best goodbye gift in the world.” You smiled down at your stomach again. “At least something good came out of it.”

-

Months went by, Joe by your side the whole time. Ben made his choice clear the day after you saw him at the bar. He called you at least once a day, his first call telling you that Marie was gone, done and over with. It’s a start, you had thought to yourself that day. Every day after he would call you, begging to come over and talk, and today was the first time you agreed.

You were just starting your ninth month of pregnancy and you were much larger than the last time the two of you had seen each other. Ben’s face broke into a huge grin when you opened the door.

“You look absolutely beautiful, y/n.” He breathed out, standing in your doorway, holding a large bouquet of carnations, your favorite of course. “Gosh, there really are two of them in there isn't there?” He chuckled, looking at your comically large stomach.

“Either that, or i'll be giving birth to a minivan.” You chuckled, grabbing his hands and putting them on either side of your stomach, watching his face light up at the kicks he was feeling.

“Do you know what they are?” He questioned, handing you the flowers and dropping to his knees in front of you, putting his face on your bump. He looked up at you and smiled when you nodded your head happily. “You do?” His eyes lit up.

“Ben, these babies are coming any day now, of course I know what they are.” You smiled at his waiting face, “Oh did you want to know too?” You asked dramatically, Ben shaking his head so fast that you had to put a hand on his forehead to stop him from giving himself whiplash. You grabbed his hand and placed it on the left side of your stomach, “This little one over here is our baby girl,” Putting his other hand low on your right side, “and this is our son.” The word our slipping out easily, and you knew Ben caught it.

“We’re having one of each?” His eyes shone with wonder as he looked up at you, hands still held under yours on either side. “And you said ‘our’, does that mean I can be a part of this?” He questioned slowly, his smile growing when you nodded.

“If you want to be, I'm gonna need all the help I can get.” You whispered softly, “But i'm not ready for us to be us again, I don't know if I ever will. But I want our babies to have both of us around.” 

Ben nodded slowly, processing the new information. “I swear, y/n, I will be here as much as you will let me.” As if on cue, you felt a wetness seeping down your legs and your eyes widened. 

“Well now seems to be the best time to be here Ben.” You waddled towards your bedroom. “Cause it's time.” Ben followed you confused, as you pulled off your wet pants. 

“Time for what?” He asked slowly, leaning on your door frame as you pulled your shirt over your head too, tossing it aside. 

You smiled at his ignorance as you pulled a long loose dress over your head, it had taken you what felt like twenty minutes to put those pants on, not doing that now. “It's baby time, Ben.” Your smile grew as you watched his face light up again, clapping his hands together. 

“Oh, OH! Ok! What do you need to do now? Do you have a bag packed? Do you need me to pack it?” He fired off questions, you raised your hand to stop him, laughing at the crazed look in his eyes.

“Relax, Benny, all you need to do right now is take me to the hospital.” You walked over and struggled to reach the straps of your bag. “I lied, I need you to pick this bag up then take me to the hospital.” You grunted as you kept trying to reach the bag. Ben was quick to run beside you, easily picking up the bag and slinging it over his shoulder. “Ok, shoes and hospital.” You nodded at him, Ben instantly running to your closet, you laughed again. “There is nothing in there that I can wear right now, Ben. Relax and help me to the damn car.” You slid on your sandals, the only thing that fit right now, and shuffled towards the door.

Ben held your hand in the car as another wave of contractions hit, yelling along with you when you screamed. Ben was trying to drive calmly but you knew that he had no idea what he was doing, it seemed like it was his first day driving and you had to laugh at him. He would look over at you and smile brightly and then start honking at the car in front of him.

“Relax, Ben.” You whispered again, rubbing your thumb over the back of his hand. “Wait, why am I telling you to relax? I'm the one having TWO babies..” Your laughter causes him to laugh too. When you finally reached the hospital, Ben pulled right up front, jumping out and helping you into the hospital and in no time, you were in a bed, machines being hooked up to your stomach. The moment the fetal heart monitors were on, Ben’s jaw dropped. 

“That’s them?” He took a step forward, hand hovering over your stomach.

“Well it's not yours, that's for sure.” You smiled at him, grabbing his hands and pushing them fully onto your stomach. “It would be a lot louder.” You assured the nurse with a laugh.

“How long have you two been together?” She asked with a smile and Ben looked at you uncomfortably, waiting for you to answer.

“Two years.” Your gaze locked on his, he smiled brightly at you, grabbing your hand and kissing your knuckles. 

“That's sweet.” The nurse cooed, explaining next what the plan was for this birthing process. You listened closely but you knew that Ben’s attention was on you. When she told you that she would leave you two alone, you looked at Ben.

“You meant that?” He asked nervously.

“Well we were together for two years, but it's too complicated to explain it, so I just went with it.” You waved him off, ignoring when his face fell a little. “We aren't going to magically get back together, Ben. You know that. But I do want you around, you can crash in the spare room at my place if you want, so you can be close to them.” Ben didn't say anything but nodded his head. “You knew the deal Ben.” You sighed, dropping your head back on the pillow.

“I know, I know,” He sighed, but he didn't let go of your hand. “I would love to stay with you, if you're sure.” When you nodded his smile came back slightly.

-

After what felt like hours and hours of pushing, the nurse was finally bringing over your new bundles of joy. “What are their names?” Ben asked you, wiping a tear from his face as you told the nurse to give one of them to him.

“Alexis and Benjamin.” You winked at him as his smile grew wider. “I had middle names picked, but I thought maybe you’d like to help with that part?” 

“Benjamin Wade.” He nodded his head and you smiled in acceptance. “Alexis Louise.” He tested, shaking his head. “Alexis Rose.” He looked at you again and you nodded.

“I love those,” You smiled at him, then looking down at the small baby in your arms. “Hello, Benjamin Wade, I'm your mama.” You cooed at the little boy you had created, “and this is your daddy.” You held up the bundle so that Ben could see his face.

“Alexis Rose, This is your beautiful mommy, and I am going to the best dad I possibly can to you and your brother, I promise.” He leaned forward and kissed the little girl on the forehead and your heart nearly exploded with the sweetness.

You loved the sight in front of you, and your heart swelled happily seeing a father and his daughter, but nothing you could see could remove the image of Ben and Marie. We can make this work, right? You asked yourself, tearing your eyes from Ben, you looked down at the small wide eyed baby in your arms. We can make this work for them.

Ben watched you holding his son, and when he looked down at his daughter, a fresh wave of tears flowed down his face. How could I have ruined this? He shook his head lightly, hating himself for what he did. Hated the fact that you two could be enjoying this moment as a happy family, but instead he felt like he was on the outside looking in. He looked at you fully, seeing your messy hair and smiling like he was looking at the face of beauty itself, I will fix this.

“I promise to make it up to you too,” He whispered suddenly, leaning forward and placing a kiss on your forehead as well. “I'm so sorry for everything, I truly am, and I promise to be by your side every day, for them and for you.” He sat on the edge of your bed, gripping your hand tightly in his, “I promise.”

[adrenaline-roulette]

MASTERLIST

Welcome one and all, to the shitshow MASTERLIST My requests are always open! Currently I write for Queen, the BohRhap cast, Six Underground, Jurassic Park, Until Dawn, Labyrinth, and Night at the Museum. Don’t see your fandom on the list? Hit me up anyways, I’ll happily try my hand at writing for other fandoms! 

Smut = 💋 Angst = 👀 Violence = 🦴

Brian May x Reader 

He’ll save every one of us -In Progress-  Summary: “If you want to kick something, feel free to kick our van, Roger’s been pissing me off all week.” Came a deep voice from behind you both. “I’m sorry Mister, but I have a strict no kicking stranger’s cars policy. You’ll just have to kick Roger’s car yourself.” “Is there any particular reason as to why Roger’s car should be the victim of such abuse?”

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five 👀 Chapter Six 👀 Chapter Seven

Is this just fantasy?  -Time Travel Fic In Progress-  Summary:  "Want me to bring back some ice-cream, and you can bitch about how horrible you day was?” The idea of ice-cream had never been more appealing. “I believe Ben and Jerry’s is on sale at the moment, I could really go from some chunky monkey.” “I never understood why you like that one so much!” “I try to convince myself that because it’s banana flavoured then it must be healthy.” “As a dietitian in training, it is my duty to tell you, that that is not by any means true.” “For a dietitian in training, you eat an awful lot of instant mac & cheese.” “Whoa now, there is no such thing as too much mac & cheese!”

Chapter One Chapter Two

It’s strange but it’s true -One Shot- Summary:  It’s 1984, Queen are filming the music video for I want to break free, though Brian hasn’t told his girlfriend about the whole cross dressing aspect of the shoot yet. What happens when she decides to show up to filming one day? “Roger…. What the actual fuck are you wearing right now?”

Chapter One 💋

Roger Taylor x Reader

Love of my life -One shot- Summary:  Roger Taylor's girlfriend is heavily pregnant, one night they decide to pick the perfect name for their unborn child, Though Roger has some seriously terrible suggestions. (Domestic Roger is my spirit animal)

Chapter One

Dining at the Ritz we’ll meet at 9 -One Shot- Summary:  “I’m telling the truth! I know what – Who I saw!” “Brian, just because the waitress and Roger’s friend have the same name, does not mean they are the same person.” “Friend? I think she’s a bit more than that.” “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean." “A friend who you will not stop talking about? A friend who you couldn’t stop grinning after she agreed to have dinner with you? Shall I go on?” “Freddie, I will kill you if you don’t shut up!”

Chapter One

Crazy little thing called love -One Shot- Summary:  “Turn around! Get your arse back in that fitting room right this second!” She yells, waving her arms above her head wildly. “Mary? What on Earth are you doing?” “Roger! The boys! They’re outside, they saw me and are coming in!” “Get rid of them! I don’t care what you have to do, but they cannot be in here!” You plead.

Chapter One

I’m in love with my car -One Shot- Summary: We all know Roger Taylor is in love with his car, but who is the song really about? Who do the metaphor's relate back to? "I’ve only just convinced myself not to walk back to London to see you after realising how long it would take me.” “You were going to walk back to London, just to see me?" “The thought did occur to me.”

Chapter One 💋

John Deacon x Reader 

A permanent deal -One Shot- Summary: “Right, just promise me this isn’t going to become the new look for the band alright? I mean, Brian’s got enough hair already, and I’m not entirely sure Roger can even grow facial hair.” John shrugs. “I don’t have that much hair.” “Bri, we could shave you and have your hair turned into costumes for the entire cast of cats!”

Chapter One

Joe Mazzello x Reader

Everybody walk the dinosaur  -Halloween One Shot-

Chapter One

Gwilym Lee x Reader

King of the pumpkin patch -Halloween One Shot- 

Chapter One

Ben Hardy x Reader

Let’s split up gang!  -Halloween One Shot-

Chapter One

Jet Lag -One Shot- Summary:  “I use a different name when travelling. One that’s less likely to have people catch on to it being me.” “What name do you use?” “Probably something stupid, like Dinkleburg Flapjack.” “I like to go by a name literally no one will ever now. Joe Mazzello is one of my favourites to use. Shockingly, no one’s ever heard of him?” 

Chapter One

Four x Eight (Reader) -Six Underground

Four Eighths  -Work in progress- Summary: A tech genius turned freelance hacker, turns to a life of crime in order to make ends meet, and to pay her bills. But what happens when she robs the wrong man? “You’re lucky I only shot your arm, I was half tempted to aim one at your leg too!” “Is that supposed to make me feel better? Do you expect me to thank you for only shooting me once?” “You’re sassy, I like you.”

Chapter One 🦴 Chapter Two Chapter Three 👀🦴 Chapter Four 👀 Chapter Five 👀 Chapter Six 👀💋 (Both are minor) Chapter Seven 💋 Chapter Eight 💋 Chapter Nine 👀 (Very minor) Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven 👀

Ahkmenrah x Reader - Night at the museum 

I am flesh and I am bone -Work in progress- Summary: At seven years old, you find yourself lost in the American Museum of Natural History. The magic of Ahkmenrah's tablet unfolds around you, and you find yourself living growing up amongst the people you had only ever read about! “Can I ask how old you are?” “At the time of my passing, I was nineteen. Though if you count my age by the years I have experienced, then I am a few thousand years old.” “So that means in twelve years, I’ll be the same age as you!” “Technically you are correct. There will come a day where we are both nineteen.”

Chapter One Chapter Two

Josh Washington x Reader -Until Dawn

I say no -Work in progress- Summary: Set after Hannah and Beth's disappearance, but before the return to the mountain.Straining your ears, you tried your best to pick up on what some of the surrounding people were talking about, though you were only able to pick up bits and pieces. “Washington sisters…” “-Police didn’t find any trace.” “Think Josh will come back?” “Hannah and Mike got cosy….”

Chapter One 👀 (Minor) Chapter Two 👀 (Minor)

Tim Murphy x Reader - Jurassic Park

Time of your life -One shot- Summary:  “Come here for a second.” “What’s up?” “Well, we never got a photo of us on our first day here, but I want to remember this. It’s a big deal ya know, the whole moving out of your family home and all that jazz. So, let’s get a photo now, we can show off my artistic ability in the process too.” “A perfect idea, I’ll grab my camera, and I’ll get the photo printed next time I’m in the mall.” “Welcome home Tim.”

Chapter One 👀 (Minor)

Jareth x Sarah - Labyrinth 

Absolute Beginners -Work in progress- Summary:  “Remember that chat we had the other day?” “You mean the one where we discussed whether pork was really a type of vegetable?” “No, not that o- Wait, when did we have THAT conversation?!” “Perhaps that was with my advisor Garret, not matter, please continue.”

Chapter One Chapter Two

[thewatsonbeekeepers]

Chapter 8 – Dream a Little Dream of Me: parallels with Doctor Who

What’s queer film and TV without a bit of Doris Day in your chapter title?

This was never intended to be a chapter by itself, but having seen @tjlcisthenewsexy’s fantastic video on Wholock parallels here X I had to start writing. Full credit for inspiration here to @tjlcisthenewsexy, who has definitely had many of these ideas independently, and I would fully recommend watching the video before you read this. I personally only really buy Moffat era Who as a direct parallel to Sherlock, largely because Moffat wrote both, but also because 2010-17 matches up exactly with our boys. Lots of people have drawn parallels between 2005’s Bad Wolf Bay scene (by Russell T Davies) and the tarmac scene – those parallels are definitely there, but I think they’re more due to common tropes in love-declaration scenes than from intent.

The Doctor Who episodes I’m largely going to be drawing on here are Amy’s Choice, Last Christmas, The Name of the Doctor and A Good Man Goes to War. Others will feature, but if you want a really strong grip on what I’m talking about, I’d recommend taking a look at all of these, or at the very least Amy’s Choice! But now – on with the show.

Time travel has always been possible in dreams. This line comes from The Name of the Doctor, which came out in 2013. The dream in question is a psychic telepathy connecting five of our main characters whilst they sleep, controlled by Madame Vastra. Much has been made of Madame Vastra being an explicit Sherlock mirror (X) with Jenny as her wife and explicit John mirror, so using a dream state to connect people across time should already ring TAB bells. But crucially, we’re not just focusing on telepathy here – we’re focusing on the ability of 19th century characters to use a dream state to connect with the 21st century. Given that we never see where River Song is connecting from, it’s safe to say that it is the 19th – 21st connection between the other characters that is important, like in TAB. The use of the word ‘always’ is really important here – it’s not saying that time travel is possible in dreams in the Whoniverse, but that it has always been possible. There’s an implication here that before time travel was invented, in a non science fiction world, dreams can still do this – and that’s what helps us to jump across to TAB.

In the dream sequence in TNotD, Jenny is supposed to lock up before they go into their trance, but she forgets. Intruders break in, but because Jenny and Vastra are unconscious they can’t defend themselves and so Jenny is murdered. This is the spur for everybody to wake up, to save themselves. Pretty much all of our dream states in Doctor Who are focused on the possibility of dying in the outside world, but TNotD is the one which articulates the problem of EMP theory most specifically. Jenny, our John mirror, dies because her protector’s unconsciousness means that she can’t protect her wife. (Vastra’s Silurian abilities very much put her into the role of protector here – she could save Jenny where Jenny couldn’t save herself, and frequently does.)

Between the time travel and Jenny, then, TNoTD is probably the best framework we get set up for TAB. This came out only a few months before s3, in which EMP began, so it’s safe to say that these ideas are well-formed in Mofftiss’s heads at this stage. However, if we jump all the way back to 2010 and Amy’s Choice, we can see that this has been in the works for a lot longer.

The first point of note here is the casting of Toby Jones as the Dream Lord.

Casting the same actor to play dream merchants, knocking characters unconscious and altering their memories and psyches? The universe is rarely so lazy. Other mirrors in this episode are easy to pull out. The Doctor and Sherlock have long been read as mirrors for each other – characters who have existed for a long time and are constantly evolving through adaptation, super-intelligent loners, but in case that wasn’t obvious, Moffat went to a reasonable effort to style them very similarly when both tenures began.

Both of these are very conscious remodellings of old characters. Much was made of Matt Smith being the youngest Doctor ever (26!), and Cumberbatch’s youth set him apart from the Rathbone/Brett image in everybody’s heads. There’s something young and modern here – but both still dress like they’re slightly ‘out of their time’, which of course they are. Coming to terms with modernity is the central challenge that Sherlock is going to have to face. And then, of course, there’s the hair – instantly recognisable to the character in both cases, yet remarkably similar.

If the Doctor and Sherlock are mirrors, Amy as the Doctor’s companion should be linked to John. Amy ran away on the night before her wedding, and whilst she is reasonably happy with Rory in the long term of the series, this episode is about her making the decision between domesticity and adventure – a pretty clear link to John in s3 and 4. This episode is particularly important for TST however, because Amy is heavily pregnant in the domestic dream – but she is far from enthused, torn between domestic life with Rory and wanting to run off with the Doctor. However, I grant the similarity with Martin Freeman isn’t striking.

Do note, however, the similarly uncomfortable dynamic in both of these photos – hilarious.

The parallel dream!verses created broadly represent John’s dilemma from TST, and if we followed Amy’s Choice as it seems on the surface, we would end up with a pretty straight reading of TST – John spends too much time with Sherlock, they’re all in danger, Mary dies and John is suicidal because of it. Broadly speaking, this works – Rory is killed in the dream (with a really nice visual parallel to TST) and Amy crashes a bus and kills herself because she doesn’t want to live without Rory. Amy picks the domestic sphere and although it takes several more series to play out in full, this is broadly the direction the series takes us in.

In both scenes, Sherlock and the Doctor are left standing off to the right, unsure of what to do – if you watch both scenes in parallel, it’s striking. There’s a great article here talking about how the angle demonstrates the Doctor to be powerless for the first time, amongst other things. X Amy asks the Doctor what is the point of him, and John’s declaration that Sherlock has broken his vow carries similar weight – they were supposed to save them.

The title of the episode is Amy’s Choice, and this, we’re led to believe, is the moment when Amy chooses Rory. I don’t believe this. The Doctor/Rory conflict goes on for a lot longer than this, and it’s far too early in their first series to resolve it. It would leave a lot of later episodes without nearly so much tension. It’s true that Amy does have some agency in choosing – the science is questionable, as the Doctor says they’ve all tapped into some space LSD equivalent from an unmentioned offscreen adventure which has induced a mutual psychic trance, which means that we’re not sure how much agency each of the characters has in this dream. It’s not seeded, and so it sounds like a fudge – deliberately. Because a pseudoscientific explanation like this can’t explain the Dream Lord himself, Amy and Rory point out, and the Doctor admits that the Dream Lord, the architect of the dreams themselves, was actually the Doctor’s psyche. The space LSD sounded like a fudge – and Amy and Rory expose that it wasn’t just a fudge on Moffat’s part, it was a fudge on the Doctor’s part.

And, crucially, what was the first thing the Doctor said about domestic!dream, long before he realised he created it?

“Oh, you’re okay. Oh, thank God. I had a terrible nightmare about you two. That was scary. Don’t ask. You don’t want to know. You’re safe now.” X

Later, when asked how he knew that the Dream Lord was him, the Doctor merely says that no one else hates him so much. Domestic!verse, then, is a manifestation of everything that the Doctor dreads – it’s his worst nightmare, being conjured by his subconscious. That nightmare involves Amy’s suicide, Rory’s death because the Doctor can’t protect them – this maps pretty neatly onto EMP theory and TST. Although John doesn’t kill himself, he is rendered suicidal in the domestic nightmare that is left behind. As the previous chapter discusses, Sherlock not being able to protect John is definitely a nightmare, but the nightmare also maps onto reality – John is suicidal, but he’s struggling to work out why, so he has to construct it through a heterosexual lens. John’s potential death and love for Mary are the two things that form the worst nightmare in both dreams, and the nightmarish sense is highlighted in TST by the deep waters metaphor.

At the very end of the episode, the Doctor’s reflection is still the Dream Lord, suggesting that this isn’t some psychic drug phenomenon, an explanation which was frankly crap. The Doctor’s dark side is still inside him. This feels like an allegory for mental illness, and mental illness crops up aplenty in Moffat’s depictions of the Doctor, particularly the later we get – the seeds of it are here. Again, although Sherlock is being killed rather than killing himself, we have seen the suicidal side of him before and it is made clear in TAB that his opinion of himself is low. EMP s4 is about him coming to terms with how he views himself, and the cognitive dissonance that we see in Amy’s Choice is a nice separation of the psyche in two that foreshadows the immense splintering that’s going to come in EMP, but particularly between John, Mycroft and Eurus.

Another nice parallel between s4 and Amy’s Choice is the idea of predictability. Way before we know that this is the Doctor’s dream, the Doctor displays a remarkable ability to finish what the Eknodines say before they do, an ability which becomes an obvious hint in hindsight. Moving over to TLD, Sherlock has similarly ridiculous powers to predict what other people will do; because this underpins TLD, it jumps out as being something that rings very false to me, almost like a parody of who Sherlock Holmes is meant to be, and so we should pay attention to it. An uncanny ability to predict what others will do – yup, that’s a dream world.

One key similarity that Amy’s Choice has with EMP theory is that a false dream premise is set up in both. Amy’s Choice suggests that there are two worlds, and only one is a dream; their survival depends on recognising which is the real one. This is, of course, a lie – both worlds are dreamed, and that false premise is created to trap them in the Doctor’s psyche, presumably until the Doctor dies (although the threat is never clearly explained). TAB sets up a real world in the form of the modern day and a false Victorian age, but the supernatural graveyard scene is the first hint that the reality/dream binary is not real, just like Amy’s Choice. This one scene is not an anomaly – the chronology of the ‘man out of my time’ scene coming after Sherlock gets off the tarmac suggests that such mixing is still going on, and we shouldn’t trust our senses. In case that point needed hammering any more, however, Steven Moffat gave us A Good Man Goes To War.

This episode is the culmination of a series in which Amy is actually an almost-person, and Amy has been dreaming all of their adventures with a flesh avatar actually having them with Rory and the Doctor. Here it is Amy, rather than the Doctor, who is dreaming, which is a little ambiguous, but there are two key aspects that parallel Amy’s Choice. The first is that, like Amy’s Choice, the flesh avatar/dream person threat doesn’t just go away. These words of Madame Kovarian are extremely important:

Fooling you once was a joy, but fooling you twice, the same way? It’s a privilege. X

Exactly what the Dream Lord does in Amy’s Choice. Furthermore, although there’s a later meta in blindness across Doctor Who and Sherlock which at some stage really needs writing, many people have made the point that Sherlock is associated with blindness throughout series 4, and so we should note that the architect of the dream people/flesh avatars is Madame Kovarian, better known (and usually credited) as the Eyepatch Lady. However, there’s one other key message they’re giving us, which comes at the end of the clip linked above – the baby’s not real. Both Amy’s Choice and A Good Man Goes To War feature Amy’s child, and in both cases the plot revolves around the emotional recognition that that world isn’t real. Given that we know that Amy is a John mirror, and that her choice between the domestic and the adventurous is consistently paralleled to John’s choice in Sherlock, this is a pretty huge indicator that something is up with Rosie even if we didn’t know it already. Indeed, the cot and mobile that the child has in Amy’s Choice are similar to Rosie’s. That baby never stood a chance.

The last episode I want to briefly invoke is Last Christmas. If we’re looking for dreams, this episode really goes above and beyond. The premise is that there is an alien species called the dream crab which latches onto your face and dissolves your brain whilst putting you in a dream so that you don’t notice. To make this more confusing, it often places dreams within dreams to confuse you – whilst you’re dying. This episode came out on Christmas Day 2014, so a year after series 3 aired but before TAB, so in Sherlock-time we’ve just entered the mind palace. The title, Last Christmas, is pretty helpful here I think – of course it has relevance within the episode, but this episode should also get us thinking about what was going on this time last year, when Sherlock was airing.

We’re no stranger to dreams within dreams at this stage, but it’s interesting how the saving-the-companion vibe is still going strong here. Ostensibly, that’s not what the episode is about at all – it’s a classic everyone-trapped-on-a-base-working-together episode, but the last five minutes tacked on the end suggests that it’s far more about the Doctor’s relationship with Clara, the episode’s companion, than one might think. In this clip (X) the Doctor thinks he’s broken out of the final dream but goes back to visit Clara and realises that she is now old, and that he’s missed her life. It culminates in him apologising for getting it wrong, for not coming for her in time, for failing her; we get more of this with Clara’s actual death later in the show, but given that it’s a kid’s show and Christmas, this scene is a touch lighter than that. It’s then that Father Christmas comes in to tell the Doctor that he’s still dreaming, he can still save her – and his first word when he wakes up is “Clara”. None of the others trapped in the dream have needed his help to wake from the vision and survive; Clara, who as the companion is our John mirror, specifically needs saving, and the Doctor needs to wake up from his dream within a dream to do that.

Nick Frost’s appearance as Father Christmas gave us all a good laugh, but he was also used as the indicator that the world we were perceiving was a dream world. This was made a bit of a joke of early in the episode – in a sci-fi world like this, are we seriously looking for what’s not realistic as the code to crack the dream? The exact same joke is made in Amy’s Choice, and here we’re hitting a pretty silly version of the show where they joke that just about the only character who can’t be real is Father Christmas. These hints about looking for what’s not real, though, should be taken as just that – hints. From the emergence of ‘something’s fucky’ theories early on in s4, this has been the abiding reasoning for the various forms of EMP theory that have sprung up, and they’re not wrong. However, if I had to put my money on a figure like Santa Claus, something iconic which functions as a kind of dream thermometer, I’d be guessing:

You were there before me. The fucky skull that glows, almost like a warning that this is too mad. Crucially, in Last Christmas they explain that Santa is a warning that your brain is sending you, picking the most unbelievable thing possible so that you know you’re trapped, dying in your brain. Santa Claus? Well, it’s a kid’s show, and it’s Christmas. But if I were picking a dream siren to tell me I was dying, I like to think that my subconscious would pick the glowing skull on the wall; without explanation, it’s an awful lot more direct.  

There is more reference than necessary made to dream crabs making one blind, and between Madame Kovarian and the blind Doctor in the later dream episode Extremis, there’s a lot more to unpack there, but I’m going to leave that for sometime down the line, or for someone else to jump into if they would like. I also want to throw out a thought I haven’t quite come to terms with yet – the elephant in the room in Amy’s Choice. Arwel Wyn Jones would be proud of the script for Amy’s Choice – twice, it mentions the elephant in the room, and so I feel I have to do the same. The first time, you could blink and miss it – the Doctor calls pregnant Amy ‘elephanty’. But the second time, we get this exchange:

DOCTOR: Now, we all know there’s an elephant in the room.

AMY: I have to be this size, I’m having a baby.

DOCTOR: No, no. The hormones seem real, but no. Is nobody going to mention Rory’s ponytail? You hold him down, I’ll cut it off? X

The elephant in the room – that the baby’s not real? Possibly, but not what we normally take it to mean. Rory’s ponytail also has not shaving for Sherlock Holmes vibes, but again it’s not quite concrete in my mind. These little bits at the end aren’t quite tied up, and I would love to hear what people have to say about them. That, however, is for another day! The next chapter in this series will be jumping back into episode-by-episode analysis with TLD – see you there.

[singofsolace]

Miranda Otto’s Filmography as seen through a specific lens

otherwise known as: I watched some of these things so you don’t have to. But more specifically, I want to share basic information about which of her films and tv series require trigger warnings. Honestly, I’ve never recovered from some of them (thinking about In Her Skin... but also Homeland... because what the actual fuck, Saul?)

This isn’t a complete list. It’s only 21 of over 60 credits Miranda has to her name, but I think these are probably some of her most famous roles. Please let me know what you think of these brief descriptions, and whether anything should be added or removed.

It should go without saying that there are spoilers below. Read at your own risk.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina:  Zelda Spellman

A powerful role, but be aware Zelda is abused, raped (implied), and violently murdered (twice)

Downhill: Charlotte

I love this woman with all my heart, okay? Miranda Otto is supposed to be playing the most heterosexual woman ever, and instead manages to make every single scene gay as fuck.

The Silence: Kelly Andrews

Gets her leg mutilated (also it’s implied that she and Kiernan’s character would be made sex slaves by this random cult that shows up... which is super tasteful and not at all disgusting)

Annabelle: Creation: Esther Mullins

Face mutilated, eventually murdered (I think? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this one)

24: Legacy: Rebecca Ingram

Powerful woman kidnapped, tortured, and violently murdered

Homeland: Allison Carr

Powerful woman violently attacked by her former lover in full view of her coworkers. Riddled with bullets while she is curled in a trunk.

The Daughter: Charlotte

I’ve made a whole post about how I think Charlotte was raped by her employer, and that it therefore shouldn’t be framed as a sexy affair… but here we are.

I, Frankenstein: Leonore

Powerful woman kidnapped and used as a bargaining chip. I’ve also made a post about this one, and how Miranda Otto claims this part could have been played by a man, but the blatant sexism around the kidnap and ransom—making a woman who is the leader of warriors powerless to fight back against her attackers, and having her rescued in a way that frames her as a damsel in distress (complete with bridal carry)—makes me believe that Miss Otto doesn’t notice just how much sexism was written into the role.

Reaching for the Moon: Elizabeth Bishop

While as a whole, this movie is beautiful and wonderful and one of my all-time favorites, we need to still acknowledge that Lota and Elizabeth were in an incredibly toxic relationship—which I actually think is great representation, because abuse doesn’t just happen between a husband and a wife, or a boyfriend and a girlfriend, it can happen to anyone with any partner.

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: Lydia Andrews

I unapologetically adore Miranda in this one. She is so convincing as the grieving widow that the plot twist caught me completely by surprise. This is perhaps the only role that I’ve seen Miranda play where a bad woman was brought to justice, but in a way that had absolutely nothing to do with her gender. Justice was neutral and exacted without prejudice, in this case.

In Her Skin: Mrs. Barber

This is one of the most upsetting and disturbing films I’ve ever seen. Miranda Otto is brilliant in it, but playing the role of a mother whose daughter went missing (and then was brutally murdered) definitely took its toll. I will never understand why the movie released an interview during which Miranda was clearly distraught. She breaks down into tears multiple times just trying to talk about this movie (which was a real-life murder case).

Cashmere Mafia (TV Series): Juliet Draper

Okay, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Juliet Draper. I would cherish her and dote on her for the rest of her life if she were my wife. But in the actual show, her husband is a serial cheater. When her friends find out about it, they don’t judge her broken marriage, but they do give her the courage she needs to leave him. They tell her she deserves more—and she does!! But in the final episode there is a pretty disturbing plot about a multi-millionaire who wants to buy not only her Hotel company but also her… which is exactly as bad as it sounds.

War of the Worlds: Mary Ann

Miranda Otto is heavily pregnant and glowing in a grand total of five minutes of this movie, but oh, what wonderful five minutes!!

The Lord of the Rings: Eowyn

This is the role for which Miranda is most famous. I have nothing bad to say about Eowyn, except that she ought to have been given more screen time, and that there shouldn’t have been that creepy plot about the King’s advisor or whoever wanting to have sex with her. It was incredibly unnecessary and frames Eowyn as a potential victim in the beginning, which was completely unnecessary in terms of character/plot development. 

Danny Deckchair: Glenda Lake

Glenda Lake is a precious cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure. Please for the love of Otto watch this film for baby Miranda in a sweet romantic comedy.

Julie Walking Home: Julie Makowsky

I don’t understand this film at all. It has one of the most absurd plots I’ve ever seen. Miranda’s husband/partner cheats on her and gets caught, and then he gets violent (in front of her children and multiple adult witnesses!!), and then their son gets cancer, and then she goes to Poland, and then a Healer tries to cure her son, and it works for a while, and eventually Julie (Miranda) has sex with the Healer, in order to teach him how to have sex? and then she gets pregnant by this man, and then her son’s cancer comes back, and then the Healer runs for the hills, and then her former partner takes her back so that they can all be a family again....?!?!?!?!

Human Nature: Gabrielle

This film made Miranda popular with a lot of creepy old men (okay maybe just Bruno Barreto based on this interview… (seriously I am so uncomfortable with the way he’s like… oh yes, I knew her from that film... and then later *places his hand on her bare knee/thigh* Lowell doesn’t give a shit about (Elizabeth/Miranda) being awkward! 

(the implication being that Lowell is only interested in getting Elizabeth into his bed...)

anyway… she plays a sexy French scientist, who isn’t actually French. There’s lots of lingerie, dancing, and kissing.

The Jack Bull (TV Movie) Cora Redding

Miranda Otto dies an incredibly violent death in period costume for no apparent reason besides generating male pain.

Dead Letter Office: Alice Walsh

Young!Miranda is so cute in this, but there’s a sort of ambiguously creepy older man-younger woman relationship… because Alice (Miranda) is looking for a father figure… and anyway I don’t remember this film well enough to comment more specifically, but I remember it being lovely except for the age difference between Alice and the guy in charge of the missing letters.

Doing Time for Patsy Cline: Patsy

I watched this purely for Miranda, and I do think it’s good, but only her part in it. Miranda plays the “busty bimbo with a heart” incredibly well. I remember being scared for her character, because her husband was a mean drunk/drug addict, but I don’t think any actual violence gets portrayed… but someone who has watched this more recently can correct me if I’m wrong.

Sex is a Four Letter Word

I only made it through half of this film before I turned it off. I wouldn’t watch it unless you’ve ingested/inhaled some substances and don’t mind people monologuing about their terrible sex experiences. 

...

Let me know if you’d like to know more about any of these films!

[celinecooperjones]

WIP Title Game

rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. send me an ask with the title that most intrigues you and i’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!

tagged by @northern-serpent

tagging @deargrilledcheesusyouredelicious & @halcooper (I apologize if either of you have done this already.)

I don’t think I have too, too many WIP’s but we shall see.

In order of most recently modified:

Illicit Affairs- AU mini fic, in which FP and Alice have never met before and he starts working at the same law firm as her. She hates him at first but soon realizes, maybe he’s not all that bad.

Two Pink Lines- the current fic im working on, only two chapters left in it. Set in season 3 but, (for the most-part), not canon compliant, Alice and FP have started up an secret relationship, and Alice accidentally gets pregnant. FP winds up in jail because he was framed for a crime he didn’t commit... or did he?

How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days- based off the movie, I was on a major roll with it but I just need to rewatch the movie to remember all the sabotages they do and I just don’t want to right now lol.

Chaperones- a oneshot taking place in my Northside Diaries series where Alice and FP are chaperones on Betty and Jughead’s school trip, all the while they’re secretly having an affair.

Don’t have a title for this one yet- I think it’s going to be a non-fanfiction story (shocking, I know), but I also could make it Falice? I don’t know I kinda wanna explore doing some original work, because I used to love doing that. Anyway, premise is, single mom, two young kids (I’m thinking daughters?), her daughters call the fire department because they got their kite stuck in a tree. And some sparks fly (ha, get it?) when the mom and the firefighter who answered the call, meet. But is she ready to date again?

How To Save a Life- I have absolutely nothing written for this, but it’s going to be based off the Denny & Izzy storyline from season 2 of Greys Anatomy.

Safe Haven- based off the movie. I had this idea of doing a series called “Falice Film Festival”, where I took famous movies and popped Falice into the starring roles, which is why there are so many movie inspired fics on this list.

Speaking of fics inspired by movies, I also had a “The Vow” esque Oneshot, and a “Dirty Dancing” au. The latter of which has nothing but the first one has a quote.

You and Me- All the times FP and Alice hooked up through the years. (It’s softer than it sounds lol.)

Rivermom’s Sex and The City- I don’t know what I have planned for this and I don’t know if I’ll write it but it just came to me when bringing SATC, and I thought it would be fun to see the Riverdale mom’s in that show. (And by the way here’s how I see them: Alice- Samantha, Mary- Miranda, Hermione- Carrie, Sierra- Charlotte.)

Here You Come Again (Again)- this isn’t what it will be called, I just don’t have another idea for a title yet. But it’s a sequel to my oneshot Here You Come Again, which accounts the events leading up to season 1 in my own personal canon. This one would focus on the events of season 1 (and possibly 2), and what happened in the scenes we didn’t see, like Alice dealing with the news of FP getting arrested, the Chic situation, and ya da ya da.

Baby Blue- Oh I have such a soft spot for this one I’m just completely stumped with it and haven’t touched it since March. It focuses on Alice’s life up until season 1 (y’all seeing a theme here?), and shows all the things that have lead up to her being the cold, closed off woman we met in season 1.

Parentdale- a script I’m writing because I want a Parentdale spin-off.

Curtain Call- famous Falice au fic! FP is a famous singer and runs into Alice at a cafe. She’s a songwriter and an up-and-coming musician, and the two of them embark on tour together.

Just Friends- Teen Falice fic that I think will be posted after I finish Illicit Affairs (mentioned above). Honestly just wanted another excuse to write a Fred and Alice friendship and I got a fun little idea for a fic, so stay tuned for that!

Who’s The Boss- based off the tv show Who’s The Boss, because I just thought it would be kinda fun. Might be a fic, might just be a long Oneshot, haven’t decided. I wrote the idea down last October though lol.

Jurassic Park 3 Inspired- I completely forgot I wrote this down and I genuinely do not think I will write it haha. It would of taken the general plot from Jurassic Park 3 (separated couple’s son goes missing, said couple goes to find him, fall back in love along the way), just minus the dinosaurs.

Bury The Evidence- I also forgot I wrote this idea down, but it’s a fun one. Falice have never met before, FP has just joined the Serpents and heads to the Wyrm to pick up his Serpent jacket. He runs into Alice, the girlfriend of the gang’s leader and hears strange noises coming from the office she was just in. When he walks in, he finds her standing over the gang leader’s body. And well... they’ve gotta bury the evidence.

Home- this one is one I’m just not sure about posting? FP moves to Riverdale after being discharged from the military. He instantly falls for his pretty blonde neighbour, but he suffers from PTSD and doesn’t want to let her into his life in fear of hurting her. Heavily inspired by the Owen and Cristina storyline in Greys Anatomy, but you know, not as toxic.

How It Began- A teen Parentdale fic I started years ago and have left untouched. I’ve gotten lots of comments wanting me to update but I just don’t like where I’ve taken the story so I think updating would entail a rewrite of the last chunk of chapters. Maybe some day though.

Ok so I definitely had more than I thought. Someone kick my butt and tell me to finish these because I forgot about most of them.

[traincat]

Hello hello hello, I was going thro CBR forum and I came across a good question. How good is MJ acting career? Is a famous actress or a newbie? How popular is Mary Jane Watson in-universe? Stay safe 👊

Thank you! Hope you’re staying safe, too. I’m in Jersey so we’re pretty much just in lock down mode. 

MJ’s acting career has its ups and downs due to, in my personal opinion, story beats requiring drama (Peter and/or MJ having Job Trouble) and also due to a large percentage of Marvel writers either not knowing or being uninterested in how fame works. Imho Mary Jane should be more famous than she’s usually depicted as -- for instance, I don’t think it should have been entirely possible for her to be as under the radar as she was during Back in Black, a storyline I otherwise love but that does depend pretty heavily on nobody recognizing Mary Jane’s face -- but how famous she’s depicted can vary by writer. I can do a timeline of her career, if that’s helpful. 

She works as a fashion model in her late teens through her early 20s; she’s enrolled at ESU during this period but doesn’t graduate and she’s making enough money modeling that she’s able to afford a fairly chic apartment. After her marriage to Peter, her modeling career is tanked by Jonathan Caesar, a rich man who kidnaps Mary Jane. After he’s imprisoned, he pulls string to make sure major clients won’t hire her. She floats the idea of opening her own model agency but later gets a job acting in the soap opera “Secret Hospital” as a character named Sybil.

(Web of Spider-Man #77) The role appears to have been fairly popular/well-known, and she’s a fairly recognizable New York face during this point. (This has its downsides, like when a stalker who gets obsessed with her.) She also has a couple of movie offers around this time. She takes some but refuses others, including a big action movie that would have required her to do a nude scene which she and Peter argued over. Eventually MJ’s soap opera appearances dried up, and at this point we meander our way into the Clone Saga. MJ gets pregnant and she and Peter move to Portland. She briefly works at as a maternity model back in New York. After she loses the baby, she re-enrolls at ESU as an undergrad, pursuing a degree in psychology, although she doesn’t graduate and instead chooses to go back to modeling.

(Sensational Spider-Man #33)

MJ’s renewed modeling career gains a lot of steam, but suffers major pitfalls in the form of money mismanagement and also the fact that she gets kidnapped and has her death publicly faked. It’s a long story. When she’s reunited with Peter and the world, there are rumors about her disappearance being a publicity stunt.

(ASM Annual 2001) Traumatized by her recent experience, Mary Jane separates from Peter and leaves New York for Los Angeles, where she embarks on what appears to be at the very least a moderately successful acting and modeling career. 

(ASM v2 #46) She stars as the love interest in the superhero flick Lobster Man but worries she’s only getting acting jobs because of her looks instead of her acting talents. Now reunited with Peter and living in New York again, she starts acting in off-Broadway plays in an attempt to gain recognition as a more serious actress.

(ASM #509) She’s also rumored by the tabloids to be having an affair with Tony Stark at this point in time when she’s caught going in the Avengers Tower late at night while she and Peter are temporarily living there after their apartment is burned down. It’s worth noting that both she and Tony have tabloid level name brand recognition at this point, so she’s fairly high profile at this point in time. This stage of her career comes crashing down in the aftermath of both Peter’s unmasking and Civil War. This the point where we hit the marriage deal with devil, where Peter and Mary Jane’s marriage is traded to Mephisto in exchange for Aunt May’s life and the restoration of Peter’s secret identity. There’s no good way to say that but that’s what happened. Mary Jane is back in Hollywood at this point in time, acting and dating a major Hollywood star. She’s fairly recognizable, at least partially still for Secret Hospital.

(ASM #561)

(ASM #605) Mary Jane has a couple of different jobs at this point -- she does some television hosting for a bit, and then owns and operates a night club, before ending up as Iron Man’s assistant because Bendis said so. In general this period is a little messy. Currently Mary Jane is acting again, starring in a superhero movie written and directed by Mysterio about Mysterio, in the Amazing Mary Jane #1-5 (the filming) and #6-? (current, the promotion). I have to admit I think I’d like it more if the comic seemed to actually want to be about Mary Jane and delve into her history It feels like a wasted opportunity, a far less well-written rehash of the Lobster Man plot instead of taking the opportunity to address that Mary Jane is 30-year-old woman in a hugely sexist industry obsessed with youth who is making what is at least a third try at becoming a major name in Hollywood. But then I guess we wouldn’t get to talk about Mysterio’s feelings and how he deserves to make a movie because he’s a man with an artistic vision half as much. You might be able to tell I haven’t really enjoyed this book so far. And that’s where we are currently in Mary Jane’s acting career. So she’s definitely not a newbie, despite how Amazing Mary Jane’s promotional material has been phrasing things as her “big break” -- she’s had at least several Hollywood break ins already, done theater work, and had a prolific modeling career. She is, if not a household name, than a recognizable face and name with some amount of a fan following at the very least. I hope that helps! 

[timeless-hollywood-classics]

Veronica Lake (born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman; November 14, 1922 – July 7, 1973) was an American film, stage, and television actor. Lake was best known for her femme fatale roles in film noirs with Alan Ladd during the 1940s and her peek-a-boo hairstyle. By the late 1940s, Lake's career began to decline, due in part to her alcoholism. She made only one film in the 1950s, but made several guest appearances on television. She returned to the big screen in 1966 in the film Footsteps in the Snow (1966), but the role failed to revitalize her career.

Lake's memoir, Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake, was published in 1970. Her final screen role was in a low-budget horror film, Flesh Feast (1970). Lake died in July 1973 from hepatitis and acute kidney injury at the age of 50.

Lake was born Constance Frances Marie Ockelman in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Her father, Harry Eugene Ockelman, was of German and Irish descent, and worked for an oil company aboard a ship. He died in an industrial explosion in Philadelphia in 1932. Lake's mother, Constance Frances Charlotta (Trimble; 1902–1992), of Irish descent, married Anthony Keane, a newspaper staff artist, also of Irish descent, in 1933, and Lake began using his surname.

The Keanes lived in Saranac Lake, New York, where young Lake attended St. Bernard's School. She was then sent to Villa Maria, an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, from which she was expelled. Lake later claimed she attended McGill University and took a premed course for a year, intending to become a surgeon. This claim was included in several press biographies, although Lake later declared it was bogus. Lake subsequently apologized to the president of McGill, who was simply amused when she explained her habit of self-dramatizing. When her stepfather fell ill during her second year[vague], the Keane family later moved to Miami, Florida. Lake attended Miami High School, where she was known for her beauty. She had a troubled childhood and was diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to her mother.

In 1938, the Keanes moved to Beverly Hills, California. While briefly under contract to MGM, Lake enrolled in that studio's acting farm, the Bliss-Hayden School of Acting (now the Beverly Hills Playhouse). She made friends with a girl named Gwen Horn and accompanied her when Horn went to audition at RKO. She appeared in the play Thought for Food in January 1939. A theatre critic from the Los Angeles Times called her "a fetching little trick" for her appearance in She Made Her Bed.

She also appeared as an extra in a number of movies. Keane's first appearance on screen was for RKO, playing a small role among several coeds in the film Sorority House (1939). The part wound up being cut from the film, but she was encouraged to continue. Similar roles followed, including All Women Have Secrets (1939), Dancing Co-Ed (also 1939), Young as Your Feel (1940), and Forty Little Mothers (also 1940). Forty Little Mothers was the first time she let her hair down on screen.

Lake attracted the interest of Fred Wilcox, an assistant director, who shot a test scene of her performing from a play and showed it to an agent. The agent, in turn, showed it to producer Arthur Hornblow Jr., who was looking for a new girl to play the part of a nightclub singer in a military drama, I Wanted Wings (1940). The role would make Lake, still in her teens, a star. Hornblow changed the actress's name to Veronica Lake. According to him, her eyes, "calm and clear like a blue lake", were the inspiration for her new name.

It was during the filming of I Wanted Wings that Lake developed her signature look. Lake's long blonde hair accidentally fell over her right eye during a take and created a "peek-a-boo" effect. "I was playing a sympathetic drunk, I had my arm on a table ... it slipped ... and my hair — it was always baby fine and had this natural break — fell over my face ... It became my trademark and purely by accident", she recalled.

I Wanted Wings was a big hit. The hairstyle became Lake's trademark and was widely copied by women.

Even before the film came out, Lake was dubbed "the find of 1941". However, Lake did not think this meant she would have a long career and maintained her goal was to be a surgeon. "Only the older actors keep on a long time ... I don't want to hang on after I've reached a peak. I'll go back to medical school", she said.

Paramount announced two follow-up movies, China Pass and Blonde Venus. Instead, Lake was cast in Preston Sturges's Sullivan's Travels with Joel McCrea. She was six months pregnant when filming began.

Paramount put Lake in a thriller, This Gun for Hire (1942), with Robert Preston as her love interest. However, she shared more scenes with Alan Ladd; the two of them were so popular together that they would be reteamed in lead roles for three more films. Both had cameos in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), an all-star Paramount film.

Lake was meant to be reunited with McCrea in another comedy, I Married a Witch, (also 1942) produced by Sturges and directed by René Clair, but McCrea refused to act with her again, reportedly saying, "Life's too short for two films with Veronica Lake". Production was delayed, enabling Lake to be reunited with Ladd in The Glass Key (again 1942), replacing Patricia Morison. The male lead in I Married a Witch was eventually played by Fredric March and the resulting movie, like The Glass Key, was successful at the box office. René Clair, the director of I Married a Witch, said of Lake, "She was a very gifted girl, but she didn't believe she was gifted."

Lake was meant to co-star with Charles Boyer in Hong Kong for Arthur Hornblow, but it was not made. She received acclaim for her part as a suicidal nurse in So Proudly We Hail! (1943). At the peak of her career, she earned $4,500 a week.

Lake had a complex personality and acquired a reputation for being difficult to work with. Eddie Bracken, her co-star in Star Spangled Rhythm, in which Lake appeared in a musical number, was quoted as saying, "She was known as 'The Bitch' and she deserved the title." However, Lake and McCrea did make another film together, Ramrod (1947). During filming of The Blue Dahlia (1946), screenwriter Raymond Chandler referred to her as "Moronica Lake".

During World War II, Lake changed her trademark peek-a-boo hairstyle at the urging of the government to encourage women working in war industry factories to adopt more practical, safer hairstyles. Although the change helped to decrease accidents involving women getting their hair caught in machinery, doing so may have damaged Lake's career. She also became a popular pin-up girl for soldiers during World War II and traveled throughout the United States to raise money for war bonds.

Lake's career faltered with her unsympathetic role as Nazi spy Dora Bruckman in The Hour Before the Dawn (1944), shot in mid 1943. Scathing reviews of The Hour Before the Dawn included criticism of her rather unconvincing German accent. She had begun drinking more heavily during this period, and a growing number of people refused to work with her. Lake had a number of months off work, during which time she lost a child and was divorced.

In early 1944 she was brought back in Bring On the Girls (1945), Lake's first proper musical, although she had sung in This Gun for Hire and Star Spangled Rhythm. She was teamed with Eddie Bracken and Sonny Tufts. The movie was not a financial success.

In June 1944, Lake appeared at a war bond drive in Boston, where her services as a dishwasher were auctioned off. She also performed in a revue, with papers saying her "talk was on the grim side". Hedda Hopper later claimed this appearance was responsible for Paramount giving her the third lead in Out of This World (1945), supporting Diana Lynn and Bracken, saying "Lake clipped her own wings in her Boston bond appearance ... It's lucky for Lake, after Boston, that she isn't out of pictures".

Lake had a relatively minor role in a film produced by John Houseman, Miss Susie Slagle's (also 1945), co starring Sonny Tufts; Lake was top billed but her part was smaller than Joan Caulfield. In November 1944 she made a third film with Bracken, Hold That Blonde (1945). She liked this part saying "it's a comedy, rather like what Carole Lombard used to do ... It represents a real change of pace".

Lake then made a second film produced by John Houseman, The Blue Dahlia (1946), which reunited her with Ladd. While waiting for the films to be released in 1945, she took stock of her career, claiming, "I had to learn about acting. I've played all sorts of parts, taken just what came along regardless of high merit. In fact, I've been a sort of general utility person. I haven't liked all the roles. One or two were pretty bad".

Lake expressed interest in renegotiating her deal with Paramount:

The studio feels that way about it too. They have indicated they are going to fuss more about the pictures in which I appear. I think I'll enjoy being fussed about ... I want this to be the turning point and I think that it will. I am free and clear of unpleasant characters, unless they are strongly justified. I've had a varied experience playing them and also appearing as heroines. The roles themselves haven't been noteworthy and sometimes not even especially spotlighted, but I think they've all been beneficial in one way or another. From here on there should be a certain pattern of development, and that is what I am going to fight for if necessary, though I don't believe it will be because they are so understanding here at Paramount.

Since So Proudly We Hail only The Blue Dahlia had been a hit. She made her first film outside Paramount since she became a star, a Western, Ramrod (1947), directed by her then-husband Andre DeToth, which reunited her with Joel McCrea, despite his earlier reservation. It was successful.

Back at her home studio she had a cameo in Variety Girl (1947) then was united with Ladd for the last time in Saigon (1948), in which she returned to her former peek-a-boo hairstyle; the movie was not particularly well received. Neither was a romantic drama, Isn't It Romantic (also 1948) or a comedy The Sainted Sisters (1948). In 1948 Paramount decided not to renew Lake's contract.

Lake moved to 20th Century Fox to make Slattery's Hurricane (1949), directed by DeToth. It was only a support role and there were not many other offers.

In 1950 it was announced she and DeToth would make Before I Wake (from a suspense novel by Mel Devrett) and Flanagan Boy. Neither was made.

She appeared in Stronghold (1951), which she later described as "a dog", an independent production from Lippert Pictures shot in Mexico. She later sued for unpaid wages on the film. Lake and DeToth filed for bankruptcy that same year.

The IRS later seized their home for unpaid taxes. On the verge of a nervous breakdown and bankrupt, Lake ran away, left DeToth, and flew alone to New York.

"They said, 'She'll be back in a couple of months,'" recalled Lake. "Well I never returned. Enough was enough already. Did I want to be one of the walking dead or a real person?"

She performed in summer stock theatre and in stage roles in England. In October 1955, she collapsed in Detroit, where she had been appearing on stage in The Little Hut.

After her third divorce, Lake drifted between cheap hotels in New York City, and was arrested several times for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct. In 1962, a New York Post reporter found her living at the all-women's Martha Washington Hotel in Manhattan, working as a waitress downstairs in the cocktail lounge. She was working under the name "Connie de Toth". Lake said she took the job in part because "I like people. I like to talk to them".

The reporter's widely distributed story led to speculation that Lake was destitute. After the story ran, fans of Lake sent her money which she returned as "a matter of pride". Lake vehemently denied that she was destitute and stated, "It's as though people were making me out to be down-and-out. I wasn't. I was paying $190 a month rent then, and that's a long way from being broke". The story did revive some interest in Lake and led to some television and stage appearances, most notably in the 1963 off-Broadway revival of the musical Best Foot Forward.

In 1966, she had a brief stint as a television hostess in Baltimore, Maryland, along with a largely ignored film role in Footsteps in the Snow. She also continued appearing in stage roles. She went to Freeport in the Bahamas to visit a friend and ended up living there for a few years.

Lake's memoirs, Veronica: The Autobiography of Veronica Lake, which she dictated to the writer Donald Bain, were published in the United Kingdom in 1969, and in the United States the following year. In the book, Lake discusses her career, her failed marriages, her romances with Howard Hughes, Tommy Manville and Aristotle Onassis, her alcoholism, and her guilt over not spending enough time with her children. In the book, Lake stated to Bain that her mother pushed her into a career as an actress. Bain quoted Lake, looking back at her career, as saying, "I never did cheesecake like Ann Sheridan or Betty Grable. I just used my hair". She also laughed off the term "sex symbol" and instead referred to herself as a "sex zombie".

When she went to the UK to promote her book in 1969 she received an offer to appear on stage in Madam Chairman. Also in 1969, Lake essayed the role of Blanche DuBois in a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire on the English stage; her performance won rave reviews. With the proceeds from her autobiography, after she had divided them with Bain, she co-produced and starred in her final film, Flesh Feast (1970), a low-budget horror movie with a Nazi-myth storyline.

After purchasing an airplane for her husband, André de Toth, Lake earned her pilot's license in 1946. She later flew solo between Los Angeles and New York when leaving him.

Lake's first marriage was to art director John S. Detlie, in 1940. They had a daughter, Elaine (born in 1941), and a son, Anthony (born July 8, 1943). According to news from the time, Lake's son was born prematurely after she tripped on a lighting cable while filming a movie. Anthony died on July 15, 1943. Lake and Detlie separated in August 1943 and divorced in December 1943.

In 1944, Lake married film director Andre DeToth with whom she had a son, Andre Anthony Michael III (known as Michael DeToth), and a daughter, Diana (born October 1948). Days before Diana's birth, Lake's mother sued her for support payments. Lake and DeToth divorced in 1952.

In September 1955, she married songwriter Joseph Allan McCarthy. They were divorced in 1959. In 1969, she revealed that she rarely saw her children.

In June 1973, Lake returned from her autobiography promotion and summer stock tour in England to the United States and while traveling in Vermont, visited a local doctor, complaining of stomach pains. She was discovered to have cirrhosis of the liver as a result of her years of drinking, and on June 26, she checked into the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.

She died there on July 7, 1973, of acute hepatitis and acute kidney injury. Her son Michael claimed her body. Lake's memorial service was held at the Universal Chapel in New York City on July 11.

She was cremated and, according to her wishes, her ashes were scattered off the coast of the Virgin Islands. In 2004, some of Lake's ashes were reportedly found in a New York antique store.

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Lake has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6918 Hollywood Boulevard.

[bitter69uk]

“She had a face that was so striking you had the choice of whether to call her beautiful or ugly. I happened to love the way she looked, and I was impressed by all the references she kept dropping to literature and politics. She talked constantly and she had the most tiresome voice I’d ever heard – it was incredible to me that one woman’s voice could convey so much tedium … We all loved Viva; we’d never seen anything like her, and from then on, it was just taken for granted that she’d be in whatever movie we did. She was funny, stylish and photogenic and she gave great interviews … And if a good way to get around the censors was to confuse them, then Viva was perfect for the times, because when she took her clothes off, there was always the question of whether her bony body was a turn-on or -off – the “prurience” was really in question there.”

/ Andy Warhol reminiscing about his leading lady Viva in his 1980 memoirs POPism: The Warhol Sixties /

Born on this day 85 years ago: superbly deadpan, often naked Warhol Superstar and long-term denizen of New York’s bohemian Chelsea Hotel (she now resides in Palm Springs) - Viva (née Janet Susan Mary Hoffmann, 23 August 1938)! I vividly recall watching her in Warhol’s perverse 1968 underground Western Lonesome Cowboys at The Scala Cinema in the early nineties. (At the beginning, the theatre was full. By the bitter end, there was only a hardcore of us left!). Outside of Warhol’s films, Viva impressed me as the heavily pregnant groupie Kris Kristofferson picks up in Cisco Pike (1972) and I particularly treasure Viva’s cameo appearance in 1982 cult oddity Forbidden Zone, in which she delivers with peerless nonchalance the killer line, “See you guys later – I need to change a Tampax.” Pictured: portrait of Viva by Richard Avedon, 1971.

[winchester90210]

The BH 90210 Rewrite. Bonus #2: The E! True HollyWood Story

Rewrite Masterlist

My work is not to be reposted and/or edited without my expressed written consent. (Reblogging is fine and encouraged!!)

Chapter Summary: E! News has made a documentary on you, following Shannen's. Although it may seem like the full story, remember-- media is still media and there's still things that need to be uncovered. Italics are the narration.

Warnings: mentions of drugs, addiction, sex, adultery, divorce, rumors, tabloids.

Word count: 2,500

A/N: Like the other bonus chapter, this isn't necessary for the rewrite itself, but will supply background knowledge for the reboot! Hope you guys enjoy :)

-

July 19th, 2008. E! True Hollywood Stories.

America's sweetheart. The girl who played with fire. An old interview of yours pops up on screen, from when you were promoting season 4 on 90210.

"Shannen's a lot more... headstrong than I am, for sure. She gets me in trouble from time to time," you laugh. Y/N Perry. She blew audiences away with her portrayal of Y/N Y/L/N on Beverly Hills, 90210. But she wasn't always the wholesome 90's starlet.

Jason Priestley, "Y/N was one of my best friends. I've never met anyone with a bigger heart." Her romantic and musical exploits made her a tabloid heavyweight. But her friendship with notorious bad girl Shannen Doherty was what made her a target. This is the story of Y/N Perry. The E! True Hollywood Story.

-

Y/N wasn't always the romantic we knew her to be, but that charming sparkle in her eye quickly became a trademark for her.

June 20th, 1972, Y/N was welcomed to James and Carol Clark's upper-class home.

A man, Kevin McLaren comes on screen with the title "Entertainment Journalist." He speaks, "Y/N was born into a catholic family in Columbus, Ohio, and they had her working in commercials by the time she was eight." Her family then located to Encino, California. From there she joined a Children's drama group where a talent agent immediately took notice. Not long after, she was introduced to TV star, Tom Selleck.

Mary Murphy, senior editor of TV guide, "Selleck sort of... discovered her. Her teacher at the theater group introduced them and he seemed to see something in her. He was her mentor, she really looked up to him. He even got her her first major acting job." She had a 3 year stint on Magnum P.I. as Carol Baldwin's spunky and outspoken niece. She later won the role of Diane Court in the 1989 classic Say Anything, opposite John Cusack which was what began her lift to stardom. The buzz from the romantic comedy hit veteran TV producer Aaron Spelling, who was currently auditioning actors for a new series.

Aaron Spelling, 1993, "We went through hell with casting. It took weeks to pick everyone out. Then, Tori came to me one night talking to me about the lead girl in Say Anything, Y/N Clark. She was telling me "She's perfect, you have to hire her." and I told her uh, we'll see." That show was Beverly Hills, 90210. And in February of 1990, Y/N landed the part of Y/N Y/L/N. But she had originally gone for a different part.

You, an Arsenio interview in 1995, "I was called in to read for Brenda at the beginning, Y/N Y/L/N didn't exist. I didn't get the part obviously, and I was totally crushed. But then a few weeka later my agent called me to let me know that they had written a new character, and they wanted me to play the part. This was after they had filmed the two part pilot, which was why I'm in the second episode." The cast included several unknown actors, including Spelling's daughter Tori, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Luke Perry, Jason Priestley, and established actress and Y/N's soon-to-be best friend, Shannen Doherty. The cast bonded immediately. And while Y/N would continue to become closer with the entire cast, she was instant best friends with Doherty, both of them bonding over their similar family lives and careers.

On October 4th, 1990, Beverly Hills 90210 premiered on the fledgling Fox network. The series clicked immediately with teen audiences, and so did the hot young cast. 17 year old Y/N Clark was center stage. She was a magnet for paparazzi, but she didn't understand how wanted she truly was until leaving a night club with Tori Spelling and Shannen Doherty one night, when they were immediately surrounded. The night was heavily publicized-- magazine covers and gossip columns.

You, 1992 at the red carpet with Tori and Shannen for the MTV Video Music Awards, "Just don't believe everything you read, tabloids are nasty and they only want to twist the truth and bring out the worst in people. They'll dig anywhere they can to get something that shows in the worst light possible." 90210 was becoming the most famous zip code in the country. You, 1992, sitting down for a casual interview on Howard Stern, "I don't think anyone expected the show to take off like it did. No one is quite used to it yet, at least I'm definitely not. On one hand, the attention is flattering and I'm grateful for all the love, but on the other... it's definitely a little scary." 90210 originally centered around the Walsh Family as they tackled their new surroundings. But as the show carried on, it turned into an ensemble show.

Mary Murphy, "They all had different opinions about the switch. Shannen was definitely happier when every episode was going to be about Brandon, Brenda, and Y/N. She didn't like the shift in attention at all, and she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. Y/N, though, wanted to keep to herself and was willing to go where the show took her, wherever that was." During the very beginning of the first season, Clark would become infatuated with castmate Luke Perry, but he immediately rejected her, due to her being barely 18 at the time. Things heated up later for her though, when she and Jason Priestley began dating near the end of filming the first season.

-

Tori Spelling, for the documentary, "Y/N and Jason were so crazy about each other. It was so sweet. If you ever look at behind the scenes stuff from the show, they're all over each other. I think their chemistry really translates on screen, and that's what made Y/N and Brandon so great."

You, the Today Show, "Our relationship was so wholesome. I was so in love with him. I had been eighteen for a while and he'd just turned 20 or 21, we were total babies back then!"

Jason, "I remember the night we got together. She'd been flirting with uh, Brian-- Brian Austin Green the entire night, it was a cast Christmas party and I was grumpy, unbelievably grumpy. And I couldn't figure out why. Ian Ziering had to pretty much spell it out for me because everyone else knew why and they were pretty fed up. I was head over heels for her from the start."

They would continue to date for almost five years. But romancing Priestley and befriending Doherty would prove to be an unlucky combination for her.

Joe E. Tata, 2001, "When the tabloids got ahold of her and Jason, they had a field day. They followed them on dates, to clubs. Everywhere." Shannen and Y/N continued to fuel the fire with non-stop partying and clubbing.

Kevin McLaren, entertainment journalist, "After working non-stop since she was a child and being 21 and newly exposed to things like drugs, alcohol, sexual freedom, she certainly fell prey to it all." 1993 was just on the horizon. But little did she know it would become her most dramatic year yet.

Charles Rosin, producer of 90210, "We do know, during 90210, when there was a lot of coverage on the tabloids that we had people in our own crew spreading stories and feeding them information."

Jason Priestley, 2001, "It was horrible. We felt so violated. I remember Y/N/N being absolutely destroyed. And that made me feel awful, because there was nothing I could do, nothing she could do. We had to sit there and take it all."

Clark would continue to be slammed with press, her partying habits only elevating as the tabloids became more and more vicious. Rumors of her being pregnant with other castmates babies, cheating on Jason Priestley, sex tapes, and an oxycodone addiction.

You, filming an MTV interview, 1998, "Media loves to make you and break you. They build you up, and they tear you down twice as hard. It's... ridiculous. But it comes with the job description, I guess. For a while I just felt like I couldn't do anything right." Her frequent club nights came to a crashing halt, as Jason Priestley became fed up with it, and managers and agents became worried of her further tarnishing of her good girl image.

Jennie Garth, "Her and Jason were a real fireball together. Jason adored her, so when he saw her start to spin out of control he gave her an ultimatum. Either she settles down and stays away from the party scene, or he leaves. She was crazy in love with him, so she had no other choice." But her image and her drama didn't stop her from bonding closely with yet another co-worker. Luke Perry. Despite being rejected early on, Y/N maintained a friendly close relationship with Luke and as those two became closer, so did their characters.

Heidi Parker, Playboy, "Y/N, Jason, and Luke were very close. Although Y/N got along with everyone, those boys loved her, and she loved them. It was a really strong, intimate friendship. Despite Jason and Y/N being in love, that didn't stop people from insisting Luke and Y/N were seeing each other. I mean, when you saw them on screen, it was completely electric and everyone caught wind of that. It spawned some awful rumors. This girl hadn't done a thing to anyone, but her mere association with Doherty was what dragged her in to begin with. Y/N was known for being a total sweetheart on set, yet she was still getting pummeled. It got out of control. Everyone who knew her loved her and everyone who read about her hated her."

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At the end of 1996, Jason and Y/N parted ways. After almost 5 years of dating, Y/N moved out of their shared condo and into a Beverly Hills apartment with Tori Spelling.

Jill Ishkanian, US Weekly, "Everyone was surprised when they split. They had talked marriage, they had talked kids. But she left him after they had gotten in a fight about Shannen. Jason did not want Shannen around as often as she was and Y/N wasn't willing to let Shannen go that easily. She was Shannen's main support system, especially with all of her relationship struggles. Two failed marriages, a handful of abusive relationships. Y/N was the only stable thing she had. So, she dumped him, packed her things and left." Y/N went on a few dates with Ian Ziering a few months after, but they quickly decided they were better as friends and they kept it professional from there on out.

You, late night with David Letterman, 2000, "Oh, everyone hooked up with everyone. I definitely wasn't one to stray from that. We were so young, everyone was so attractive on that show, I mean it was kind of inevitable."

Clark and Spelling would live together for two years, with Spelling being a shoulder to lean on during the fallout.

You, 1996, "Look, it's not a pretty scene for anyone and I really just need... privacy right now. It would be great if people could stop asking me about it." As the couple fought in real life, so did their characters.

Jennie Garth, "When Jason and Y/N broke up it was chaos. There was a good period where they didn't even want to be near each other, let alone make out all day at work, y'know? They weren't exactly fighting, but they wanted nothing to do with the other, they were miserable. Luke had been gone at that point and the producers were freaking out because they had planned out this whole thing with Brandon and Y/N and they had to scrap it, because with them butting heads it just wouldn't work. So they switched gears and had their characters fight too. I think it was just cathartic enough to get them close again." They repaired their damaged relationship slowly but surely, just in time for things to heat up with Clark and ANOTHER 90210 alumni.

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In the winter of 1997, Y/N and Luke Perry embarked down a romantic path, sharing their first kiss at Tori Spelling's casual New Years Eve party with their friends and families.

Tori Spelling, "When they started dating it was like everything fell into place. It dawned on everyone how perfect they were for each other, I know Jason wasn't thrilled about it, but we were all genuinely happy for them."

Jennie Garth comes onto the screen. "Luke and Y/N/N have always made sense to me. They're both very humble, well rounded people. And they always had this really flirty element to them from the start, I'm surprised it took that long," she laughs. A year and a half later, they tied the knot with a small private ceremony at their shared home in Beverly Hills, California. Costing only $20,000, it was the cheapest wedding of all of the 90210 clan's. And in June of 1999 they welcomed their first child, a baby girl, Sophie. Selling their 3 million dollar home, they moved into a 6 million dollar house outside of Hollywood, accidentally moving in next to none other than Jason Priestley.

Thankfully that caused no serious drama between the two families. But the finale of Beverly Hills, 90210 caused a stir that no one could have expected. Priestley made a surprise guest appearance that reportedly caused more drama off screen than on.

Jennie Garth, MTV, 2000, "It's so ridiculous. Everything was just weirdly timed. Jason being on the show had nothing to do with his divorce and it has nothing to do with Y/N's pregnancy, either. People love to make stuff up and cause drama that wasn't there to begin with and it's probably so exhausting for her."

Shortly after appearing on 90210, Priestley filed for divorce, ending his 8 month long marriage. Around the same time, the Perrys announced their second pregnancy. Tabloids began to say that Y/N had caused the divorce and that she was secretly pregnant with Priestley's baby.

Tori Spelling, "Those were so awful and so fake. Her son is a carbon copy of Luke, I'd be floored if Jason was the father..." "I think that part of Jason will always be in love with her... and that shined through in the finale a little bit and that's what people are picking up on. But her and Luke are soulmates. She has a good head on her shoulders, a lot of integrity."

Shannen Doherty, the Rosie O'Donnel Show, 1997, "Y/N's my best friend in the entire world, we went to Ireland together last summer and everything. Yeah, her and I have always been close."

Jennie Garth, "She's incredibly intelligent, super funny. Easily one of the strongest women I know."

Join us tomorrow when we air Tori Spelling: The E! True Hollywood Story. Only on E!

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Taglist: @be-patient-be-good @mpmarypoppins @bevelyhills90210 @blueoz @harleylilo88 @princess-ghost-alien @hueycat2004 @l4life

[severepersonacrime]

Sylvia Likens

This case covers yet another tragic death of a child, a young, sweet 16 year old girl, who will only be remembered for her untimely murder. Her name was Sylvia Likens and she lived the last few months of her life in misery, so much so that this inspired the film 'An American Crime', starring Ellen Page and Catherine Keener, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007. While heavily criticised on numerous points by attendees, it can be noted for it's sheer amount of disturbance in terms of portraying the events that led to this heinous crime.

Sylvia Likens was the middle child of Lester and Betty Likens, two carnival workers, on January 3rd 1949. She was born between two sets of fraternal twins, Diana and Danny being born in 1947 and Jenny and Benny in 1950. The family had a very unstable life and, to keep up with moving around the carnival for their parents jobs, were never able to properly settle down anywhere. On top of that, Lester and Betty started having financial and marital problems, causing them to separate for a time.

For a short time in the summer of 1965, Betty lived with Sylvia and Jenny, who was disabled due to catching polio as a young child, in Indianapolis, Indiana, away from the carnival environment. Shortly after, however, Lester got in contact with his estranged wife with the promise of potentially patching up their relationship. Needing some alone time, they got in contact with a local woman, Gertude Baniszewski, the mother of a friend Sylvia had recently made.

It was thought that the reason Lester asked her to take care of them was because he felt pity towards her. Gertrude had dropped out of school at the age of 16 to marry a man with a volatile temper, with who she had 6 children with: Paula, Stephanie, John, Marie, Shirley and James. They were married for 10 years before divorcing and Gertrude got involved with a younger man, 22 year old Dennis Lee Wright. Although he fathered her youngest and seventh child, named Dennis Lee Wright Jr. He was abusive towards her and they eventually separated also. Forced to raise all her children as a single mother, she would babysit and iron in order to raise some money, though this was never enough to feed her family. So when Lester Likens offered the opportunity to earn $20 a week by taking in Sylvia and Jenny, she was quick to accept.

For the first week of Sylvia and Jenny's stay, everything seemed to be normal. The conditions were cramped and food wasn't of the greatest quality, but that week essentially remained incident free. Paula was 17 and became a very close friend of Sylvia, Stephanie was 15 and her and Sylvia often sang together throughout that first week, John was 12, Marie 11, Shirley 10, James 8 and Dennis a few months old. However, the $20 that was promised to Gertrude came late. Unbeknownst to any of the Likens upon initially meeting her, Gertrude was struggling with depression and severe stress, as well as receiving treatment for asthma. So when the money arrived late, Gertrude felt cheated and she took her anger out on the girls, beating both of them with a paddle while screaming at them. A cheque had arrived the next day from Lester, but this didn't stop Gertrude's resent towards the girls as a result. In fact, nothing truly would.

Throughout the coming weeks, the relationship between Sylvia and Paula started to become strained. Paula had been seeing a married man and had realised that she was pregnant with his baby. Paula was too scared to tell her mother, despite the fact that she was her favourite child, but trusted Sylvia enough to let her know. During an altercation with this married man, Sylvia let slip that Paula was pregnant and others at their school overheard. This led to their peers spreading rumours around the school about Paula and soon about Paula and Stephanie both being prostitutes. These rumours eventually made their way back to Gertrude and accused Sylvia of spreading them.

Sylvia soon became the sole target of the abuse. She was humiliated for even the simplest things, including once having had a boyfriend and accusing her of things that she did not do. If Sylvia was even seen talking to a boy on any given occasion, she would be labelled as a whore or a prostitute, which only worsened the abuse. Gertrude would encourage her own children to hurt Sylvia, including burning their cigarettes on her arm, punching her, kicking her, pushing her down the stairs and was even forced to insert a coke bottle into her vagina.

This was not even enough for Gertrude, as she even invited many of the neighbourhood children over to partake in the torture, including Stephanie's boyfriend Coy Hubbard. She would be tied up, forced to eat and drink her own urine and faeces, using her as a dummy for judo practice, lacerating her, burning her body with scalding hot water or matches and rubbing salt onto her wounds. Jenny was unable to tell anyone about the ongoing abuse as she was threatened with the same treatment if she revealed anything. The girls also had barely any contact with their parents either, as Gertrude disposed of any letters that the girls received from them. People in the community knew about the mistreatment, but were scared to report it because of potential consequences they faced.

When Sylvia had to resort to stealing a gym uniform at school, Gertrude grew increasingly angrily and forbade her from going back to school. She was also whipped numerous times and kicked in the vagina. This constant abuse day by day caused Sylvia to become incontinent and urinated herself after being denied access to the bathroom. This was the last straw for Gertrude and Sylvia was thrown into the basement.

In the basement, Sylvia was nothing more than a caged animal used for people's amusement. She was kept naked and starved and often restrained, sometimes in a bath tub full of scalding water. Abuse of Sylvia became part of the daily routine in the Baniszewski household. Gertrude even started charging the neighbourhood children 5 cents to watch Sylvia be tortured, beaten, mutilated and burned.

On October 22nd, Sylvia was eventually allowed back upstairs after complying to the constant torture. However, she urinated again that night and the worst of the torture was to take place as a result. Sylvia was forced to masturbate with a soda bottle in front of Gertrude's children and was then stripped naked and restrained while Gertrude carved the words “I'm a prostitute and proud of it” onto her stomach with a hot needle, with other neighbourhood kid Richard Hobbs finishing the inscription. The S was then  burned with an iron poker into her chest. Gertrude's reasoning for this was that with this on her abdomen, no man would ever want to marry her and was forced to return back to the basement. It was at this point that Sylvia knew that she was going to die.

The next day, Gertrude forged a letter to Lester and Betty, saying that Sylvia had run away and framing a group of anonymous boys for the abuse. That night, Gertrude hatched a plan with John, which involved blindfolding Sylvia and leaving her to die in a nearby wooded area. Sylvia overheard this plan and attempted to escape the basement. Sylvia made it as far as the door, but due to her injuries, she wasn't fast enough and was caught by Gertrude. She was thrown back into the basement and beaten until rendered unconscious. When she woke again, she was unable to speak intelligibly and could barely move her limbs but this did not stop her from trying to get out of the basement again. However, she collapsed and was found by Gertrude, who crushed her head with her feet.  

On October 26th, Sylvia was found by Stephanie and Richard, unconscious and not breathing. Stephanie attempted to give her mouth to mouth, but Gertrude repeatedly insisted that Sylvia was faking it. Yet enough time passed for them to truly realise that Sylvia was dead. Richard Hobbs called the police on a nearby pay phone and Gertrude presented the forged letter as proof that the family had nothing to do with Sylvia's death. For a moment, they thought they had gotten away with murder, until Jenny came to one of the officer's and said “Get me out of here and I'll tell you everything”. Gertrude, the eldest three children, Richard, Coy and multiple neighbourhood children were arrested following this new provision of information.

The autopsy revealed that Sylvia had died from a brain haemorrhage, shock and malnutrition. Her nails had been bent backwards and most of her skin's outer layer had been peeled off. She had numerous bruises, burns, cuts, muscle and nerve damage. Her vaginal cavity was nearly swollen shut, but her hymen was still intact, disproving Gertrude's assertions that Sylvia had even had sexual intercourse or was a prostitute.

Only five people involved in Sylvia's death were tried: Gertrude, Paula, John, Richard and Coy. Gertrude pleaded not guilty to charges of first degree murder by reason of insanity and the attorneys for all of the minors claimed that they were pressured by Gertrude to partake in the abuse. The remaining children, various neighbourhood kids and the Likens were made to testify at the trial. The eye-witness accounts that were provided was not in Gertrude's favour, as many testified that they witnessed Gertrude beating Sylvia and that they were forced also.

Gertrude was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment; her plea of insanity was denied. Paula was convicted of second degree murder and was also sentenced to life imprisonment. While in custody, she gave birth to a daughter, called her Gertrude and gave her up for adoption. Richard, Coy and John were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 2-21 years in prison. The three boys were released on parole two years later.

In 1971, both Gertrude and Paula requested a retrial, citing bias against them due to intense media coverage regarding the case at the time. Paula pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and, due to the time she had already served, was released one year later. Gertrude's sentence remained the same and spent another 14 years in prison. However, she was recognised for her good behaviour and her maternal nature towards the other inmates, often being referred to as “Mom”. Her parole hearing was met with mass protests by various human rights organisations and the Likens family, to name a few. A petition went around the area, with over 40,000 people signing to keep Gertrude behind bars.

However, she was released on 4th December 1985, changed her name to Nadine Van Fossan, and relocated to Iowa. She remained there until 1990, when she died of lung cancer. Paula changed her name to Paula Pace and worked as an assistant for a school counsellor for 14 years, however she lied in her application and was fired when the truth was revealed. Stephanie also assumed a new name and is now married with children. John changed his name to John Blake devoted his life to ensuring that young criminals are able to get the help they need in order to turn their lives around – he died of diabetes at age 52 on May 19th 2005. Coy Hubbard became a repeat offender, even being charged with the murder of two men, however those charges were acquitted. He died of a heart attack at 56 on June 23rd 2007. Richard Hobbs died four years after his release from prison of cancer, at age 21. The Baniszewski house was demolished in 2009 after it remained vacant for years.

It is hard to say whether Sylvia and her family received true justice. After all, the main culprits were released for good behaviour before their sentences were truly over. Given the disturbing nature of the crime itself, it seems almost laughable that many of these people were able to live their life under new identity and start over when Sylvia was not given that same chance. The Likens have expressed outrage against these rulings but they have since been ignored. All in all, Sylvia Likens will be remembered only for her horrific death and not for the kind-hearted person she really was.

[blackkudos]

Solange Knowles

Solange Piaget Knowles (/soʊˈlɑːnʒ/; born June 24, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, model and actress. Expressing an interest in music from an early age, Knowles had several temporary stints in Destiny's Child, before signing with her father Mathew Knowles's Music World Entertainment label. At age 16, Knowles released her first studio album Solo Star (2002). Between 2005 and 2007, Knowles had several minor acting roles, including the direct-to-video Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006) and continued writing music for her older sister Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and for ex-Destiny's Child group members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams.

In 2007, Knowles began to record music again. Her second studio album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (2008) deviated from the pop-oriented music of her debut to the Motown Sound of the 1960s and 1970s. It peaked at number nine on US Billboard 200 and received positive reviews from critics. She followed this up with the 1980s pop and R&B–inspired extended play True (2012) on Columbia Records and her imprint Saint Records. Her third studio album, A Seat at the Table (2016) became her first number-one album in the United States. The album's first single, "Cranes in the Sky" won the Grammy for Best R&B Performance. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 100th most successful dance artist of all-time.

Knowles is heavily influenced by Motown girl groups and says that her first passion is songwriting. She is frequently compared by the media to her sister, Beyoncé, but Solange insists they have different aspirations and are musically different. Her other ventures include an endorsement deal with Rimmel London and a line of hip-hop-oriented merchandise for young children. On November 16, 2014, Knowles married music video director Alan Ferguson in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Early life

Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, to Mathew Knowles and Tina Lawson. Solange's older sister is singer Beyoncé. Her father, originally from Alabama, is African American, and her mother, originally from southern Louisiana, is Creole (with African, Native American, French, and 1/32 Irish ancestry). Her maternal grandparents are Lumis Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon, (a seamstress). She is also a descendant of Acadian leader Joseph Broussard. As a child, Knowles studied dance and theater. At the age of five, she made her singing debut at an amusement park. She began writing songs at the age of nine. At 13, she decided to pursue recording, but her parents initially advised her to wait. At the age of 15 Knowles replaced a departed dancer and performed with her sister's group Destiny's Child on tour. During the group's opening stint for American pop singer Christina Aguilera's tour, Knowles temporarily replaced Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland after she broke her toes backstage during a costume change. When Knowles was 16, her father, who was then also her manager, signed her to his recording company, Music World Entertainment, along with Columbia.

Career

2001–2003: Early career and Solo Star

Managed by her father Mathew, Knowles's first time into the music business was in 2001 as the lead singer, backed with Destiny's Child, on the title theme song for the animated television series The Proud Family. She also was a featured performer on "Hey Goldmember" for the soundtrack to the 2002 film Austin Powers in Goldmember, as well as a backup singer on the track "Little Drummer Boy" on her sister's group's 2001 holiday album 8 Days of Christmas. In 2002, she was featured on Lil Romeo's second studio album Game Time, singing portions of Luther Vandross-penned "So Amazing" on the single "True Love", and on Rowland's debut solo album Simply Deep, for which she also wrote the title track and "Alone". In 2001 she also appeared as Lil' Bow Wow's date in the music video for his single "Puppy Love". She also made an appearance on The Master of Disguise soundtrack and made cameos in Play's video for "M.A.S.T.E.R. (Part II)" featuring Lil' Fizz.

In 2002, she lent her voice for the character Chanel, the cousin of the protagonist Penny Proud, in the episode "Behind Family Lines" to the animated television series The Proud Family. In June 2003, Mathew Knowles excitedly announced that he was considering adding Solange to Destiny's Child when the group reunited in 2004, thus turning them into a quartet for the first time since short-lived member Farrah Franklin left in 2000. Mathew Knowles said he was testing the reactions, and, judging by what he had heard, "it seems like a good idea". Later in August, however, Beyoncé said it was only a rumor and Destiny's Child would remain a trio. Rowland added, "She's a solo star," name-dropping Knowles's debut album.

At the age of 14, Solange Knowles started working on her debut album Solo Star, which involved American producers such as Jermaine Dupri, The Neptunes, Linda Perry and Timbaland among others. The album is primarily uptempo R&B, although Knowles said there are pop, rock, reggae and hip hop influences. Knowles co-wrote and co-produced some of the 15 tracks in the album, including its lead single, "Feelin' You (Part II)". The song failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100, but reached number three on both the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales and Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart. Solo Star was released on January 21, 2003 in the United States, where it debuted at number 49 on the Billboard 200 and reached number 23 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Solo Star had a mixed critical reception: William Ruhlmann of AllMusic called it a "state-of-the-art contemporary R&B album", but deemed Knowles "lost somewhere in the mix". By mid-2008, the album had sold 112,000 copies domestically according to Nielsen SoundScan.

2004–2008: Films and Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams

In 2004, she guest starred in the episode "The Catch" of the sitcom One on One. Knowles appeared as a teenager in the 2004 comedy film Johnson Family Vacation, starring alongside American actors Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams and Bow Wow. She provided a song for its soundtrack—"Freedom", a collaboration with the Houston-based funk-jazz band Drop Trio. Although the reviews were generally negative, Knowles earned praise from Variety magazine: "Solange Knowles is nearly as dazzling as big sister Beyoncé and does little more than smile winningly in her first bigscreen outing." In 2006, she starred as a cheerleading captain in the film Bring It On: All or Nothing, the third installment of the Bring It On series, alongside American actress and singer Hayden Panettiere. What little critical reaction the low-budget, direct-to-DVD movie got was negative, and Knowles was described as an "affordable young starlet". Knowles uses her full name for her acting, rather than just the first name she uses when singing; for Bring It On: All or Nothing, she was billed as Solange Knowles-Smith, reflecting her married state at the time.

After the release of her debut album, Knowles started acting in films followed by a career break. While she was married, her family moved to Idaho, and, while staying there, resumed writing songs including the singles "Get Me Bodied" and "Upgrade U" from her sister's second solo album, B'Day. Knowles earned the R&B and Hip-Hop Song accolade for "Get Me Bodied" at the 2008 ASCAP Awards. She had also written songs for Destiny's Child, and members Rowland and Michelle Williams. In 2004, while pregnant with son Daniel, she made a cameo appearance in Destiny's Child's music video for "Soldier".

After the divorce, Knowles returned to Houston to begin working on her second album. Knowles renewed her management, signing a record deal with Geffen and a publishing deal with EMI. Knowles finished working on her second studio album in 2008 and titled the project Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams. It includes production by CeeLo Green, Soulshock & Karlin and Mark Ronson as well as an appearance by Bilal. A collection of 1960s and 1970s influenced songs, it is seen as a departure from her pop-oriented debut, with what Billboard magazine called "more of a modern twist on hip-hop and R&B flecked with tinges of blues and jazz". The album was released on August 26, 2008 in the United States. By December 2008, the album had sold over 114,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album was positively received by critics, some of whom considered it far better than her debut. The album's lead single, "I Decided", was released in April 2008, and reached the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart; Rolling Stone magazine labelled it her breakthrough single. In support of the album, Knowles began the Solange Presents Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams Tour in Britain in November 2008. Knowles also co-wrote "Scared of Lonely" and "Why Don't You Love Me" for her sister's third studio album I Am... Sasha Fierce.

Knowles announced, via her blog HadleyStreetJournal.com, that she would be releasing a series of mixtapes to coincide with the album. The first mixtape, I Can't Get Clearance..., includes the leaked track "Fuck the Industry (Signed Sincerely)". On this record, Knowles expressed her views on the current state of the music industry. The lyrics to the song name check some major artists such as Mary J. Blige, Ashanti, Keyshia Cole, and Beyoncé, although she made a point of stating that it does not have "a negative light to any of [them]". The mixtape was never released, but Solange released "Fuck the Industry (Signed Sincerely)" as a single in 2010.

2009–2014: True EP and Saint Records

In an interview with MTV in 2009, Knowles revealed that she was determining the type of sound for the follow-up to Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams. Knowles also parted ways with the Interscope-Geffen-A&M record label group. She would now release her third studio album independently. Early in 2010, Knowles traveled to Australia to work with Australian rock band, Midnight Juggernauts on her third studio album. Knowles had planned to release the album in summer as revealed on her official Twitter account in 2009. She also revealed on her Twitter account that she rented a house in Santa Barbara, California to get into a certain state of mind while writing and making music. On May 7, 2010, Knowles made a guest appearance on the popular children show, Yo Gabba Gabba! for a "Mothers Day Special" where she performed an original song called "Momma Loves Baby".

In an interview with Vibe on July 7, 2010, Knowles said she suffered "a little bit of a breakdown" while recording her new album: "I literally gave up my sanity for a while to do this record. [...] We literally were waking up in the morning and just making music all day and all night. [...] It just started to wear on me in so many different ways. I started having these crazy panic attacks." Knowles explained how she made sacrifices "mentally, emotionally and financially", and continued, "It's more than an album to me. It's a transitional time in my life." Regarding the musical direction of the album, she said the inspiration came from new wave and stated, "This is a dance record, but the lyrics can get pretty dark at times." The singer has also worked on songs with Chromeo and long-time collaborator Pharrell Williams.

In September 2012, Solange released a teaser video for "Losing You", which was announced as the lead single from her third studio album. This release marked Solange's first release as a signee of the independent label Terrible Records. The video was shot in Cape Town, South Africa in early September 2012. Knowles revealed in an interview that her mother Tina Knowles had paid for Solange and her friends to fly out and record the video as her birthday gift. On October 24, 2012, Knowles held a listening party in New York City for her EP True, released for digital download on iTunes November 27, 2012. The CD and vinyl was made available January 8, 2013. Following the EP's release, Solange appeared on the cover of The Fader magazine's 84th issue.

On May 14, 2013, Knowles announced that she had launched her own record label named Saint Records, which she will be using to release her third full-length album and future music projects distributed through Sony. Solange also collaborated with The Lonely Island on the song "Semicolon" which was featured as part of YouTube's Comedy Week and is featured on The Lonely Island's album, The Wack Album. On November 11, 2013, Knowles's record label released its first compilation album, Saint Heron.

2015–present: A Seat at the Table

On May 15, 2015 Knowles performed "Rise" for the first time at an HBO-sponsored event, which was inspired by police killings in Ferguson and Baltimore and the subsequent protests. In July 2015, Knowles announced that her third studio album was nearly complete. On her thirtieth birthday, June 24, 2016, she stated that she completed A Seat at the Table, her third studio album three days before her birthday, on June 21, 2016. The album was released on September 30, 2016, to widespread critical acclaim. It became her first number-one album in the United States. This made her and Beyoncé the first sisters to have both had US number-one albums in a calendar year. During the 2017 Roots Picnic Festival in Philadelphia, PA, Knowles performed a rendition of the sing-along from The Proud Family, the television series whose theme song she was featured on in 2001.

Artistry

Music and influences

Knowles cites as her influences Motown girl groups such as The Supremes and The Marvelettes, and Martha Reeves, lead singer of Martha and the Vandellas. She also listened to the music of English pop singer Dusty Springfield, and according to Knowles, her "greatest music influence" is her mother, Tina Knowles, who was a one-time member of the 1960s harmony group The Veltones, she is also heavily influenced by the late great Aaliyah, whom influenced A Seat at the Table. Knowles says her first passion is writing songs. Her early writings were vastly inspired by the writing style of French poet Paul Verlaine. She has been doing this since she was nine years old, and has collaborated with a number of songwriters and producers.

On her debut album, Knowles had no control over which kinds of music to produce, because "when you're 14, everyone else is older and more seasoned and you trust their decisions". Knowles was more concerned with pleasing her record label by submitting to their desires. Her musical influences were better expressed on Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, when she considered herself mature and was able to write and produce songs as she wished, without worrying about the expectations of others. Knowles's lyrics tackle relationships, world issues, and deceased friends, with her second album focusing on events in her life, such as marriage, divorce, and parenthood. The album touched upon a variety of genres including pop-soul, psychedelic soul, electronica, and R&B. Knowles's debut extended play True is a new wave album with Knowles stating, "This is a dance record, but the lyrics can get pretty dark at times." Knowles described the EP as "eclectic with 1980s references and African percussion influences." Sonically the extended play is influenced by the keyboard sounds and beats of early 1980s pop and R&B music. The extended play was recorded in five cities including Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Houston, New York, and on the German autobahn.

Aside from recording, Knowles occasionally paints as her hobby: "I think that painting, for me, is such an affirmative expression in that sometimes you don't know what the outcome is gonna be and each stroke and each brush for me is an emotion and, in the end, it comes out as a piece which is the most amazing thing. ... It definitely provides a different outlet."

Public image

Knowles has always been compared by the media to her sister, Beyoncé, whom she considers one of her role models. She has expressed her opinion of the comparison in the lyrics to "God Given Name": "I'm not her and never will be" – which was purposely set as the album's opening track to show their differences. In his review for the album, Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone magazine referred to the lyrics as a declaration of independence. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Knowles commented: "People think there should be this great rivalry between us, but there's never been any competition. There's a big age gap and we are two very different characters." Beyoncé was unwilling to bring her sister into the recording industry, reasoning that it "involves a lot of pressure". Knowles countered by saying, "It's good to have her advice, but we really have different goals".

In January '17, Beyonce interviewed Solange for "Interview" magazine and discussed the effect of "A Seat at The Table." Beyonce recalling the week leading up too the release of the first single. The sisters' exchange is a testimony on the heart Solange puts into her craft.

In recent years, Solange has also garnered considerable attention as a fashion icon. Her knack for bold colors, mixed prints and retro styles as well as her knack for glamorous, fashion forward looks in her music videography and public appearances has become integral to her current image. She has been photographed wearing Alexander Wang, Alexander McQueen and Chanel. The music video for her 2012 single "Losing You" featured a heavy demonstration of the contemporary sartorial movement throughout Africa, La Sape. Similarly, her decision to grow her natural hair initially generated strong reactions from the public. Since trimming off her straightened hair, her nostalgic and modern afro hairstyles have captured the attention of the media and the public alike.

Other ventures

Knowles has been promoting Baby Jamz, a hip hop-styled toy line for pre-schoolers. It was inspired by her son, Julez, who is fond of hip hop music. She is the executive producer of the CD, composed of updated hip hop inspired nursery rhymes, which is featured in all of the toys.

In 2008, Knowles was named as ambassador for Giorgio Armani's younger diffusion line, Armani Jeans. Armani said Knowles epitomizes the style, which is a "vision of a young, independent, casual lifestyle with a strong and cool, fashion sensibility".

Also, Knowles has been known for her work in the award-winning children's television show, Yo Gabba Gabba!. She performed "Momma Loves Baby" during the live performance when it toured the Dallas–Fort Worth area. She also performed "Mama Loves Baby" during a 2010 episode called "Baby".

In 2011, Knowles along with Alejandra Ramos Munoz and Zooey Deschanel, was announced as the new face of Rimmel London. In February 2012, Solange became Vogue.com's Today I'm Wearing guest blogger sharing a photograph of her outfits daily for one month.

In 2016 Solange is Michael Kors's new face for his fashion works.

House of Deréon

Knowles and sister Beyoncé model for their family's clothing line, House of Deréon, named after their grandmother, Agnéz Deréon. She also helped launch Deréon, a junior apparel collection and a sister line to House of Deréon. Both sisters model for Deréon, and are featured in most of Deréon's marketing campaigns. Together they were featured in a "Got Milk?" campaign ad, while still wearing House of Deréon.

Personal life

Knowles married Daniel Smith in February 2004 when she was 17 and he was 19. On October 18, 2004, Knowles gave birth to their son, Daniel Julez J. Smith, Jr. Knowles has partly expressed regret that she bore a child at an early age, but calls her son the greatest unplanned blessing. A song she wrote for her baby, "6 O'Clock Blues", was included on Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams. After Daniel Julez's birth, the family moved to Moscow, Idaho, where Knowles's husband continued studying in college. In October 2007, Solange confirmed in an interview with Essence magazine that she and Smith had divorced. They co-parent the child. After the divorce, Knowles and her child moved to Los Angeles, where they established their new home. In August 2013, Knowles announced that she and her son were moving to New Orleans, Louisiana.

On May 12, 2014, TMZ released security video footage of Solange physically assaulting brother-in-law Jay Z and being restrained by a security guard in an elevator at The Standard, High Line, in Manhattan, following the 2014 Met Gala. Jay Z remained passive and did not retaliate while Solange's sister Beyoncé, who was also present, did not react to either party throughout the altercation. The footage and story went viral, however the reason for the altercation remains unknown. Matthew Knowles, however, has hinted that the incident may have been faked for attention, saying: "So you sometimes have to ignite that tour. It's called a Jedi mind trick. The Jedi mind trick fools you a lot...all I know is the Jedi mind trick. Everyone's talking about it. Ticket sales went up. Solange's album sales went up 200%!" It is also rumored the cause to be Jay Z's infidelity, which Beyonce speaks about in her album "Lemonade".

On November 16, 2014, Knowles married music video director Alan Ferguson in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Discography

Solo Star (2002)

Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams (2008)

A Seat at the Table (2016)

Tours

Headlining

Solo Star Tour (2003)

The Art of Love Tour (2008)

Solange Presents Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams Tour (2008)

True Promo Tour (2012)

A Seat by the Table Tour (2017)

Supporting

Simply Deeper Tour (2003)

Wikipedia