#we also met Daniel multiple times

[reigningm4x]

Only update I’ll be posting for now is that I met Max early this morning. He was coming down the stairs with his dad and I asked if he can sign my hat, he said yup, signed it then I asked for him to sign a second one, and he said sure, signed it, was so sweet.

As I was shaking and freaking the fuck out after, a marshal who was standing by came over, and he was like “you’re lucky, you know. That doesn’t always happen” and then we had a solid 10 minute convo where he told us about how he’s known Max since Toro Rosso. How he’s one of the nicest guys, got into Red Bull and had a single focus and has since relaxed. How when his dad is around he’s a bit more tense, but that he’s so genuine. He said he doesn’t always talk to people when he’s stopping which is why he said I was lucky.

Feeling blessed on the eve of my 30th birthday.

[landopoet]

two prizes.

pairing lando norris x journalist!reader

warnings smut, oral (fem receiving), mentions of alcohol

synopsis that day was not the first time you and lando had met, and he helps you remember that

author’s note posting my older works, thanks to @clovermoters for the collage up top!

♯

Excitement pulsed through your veins at the mere sound of engines roaring.

The amount of people trying to push past you made you anxious, but you knew it was all part of the experience. Everyone was bunching up to watch one of the greatest events of all time— the Miami GrandPrix.

Once you make it through the crowd, avoiding elbows and shoulders of people much taller and energetic than you, the entrance that you need comes into view.

You weren’t just excited for the interviews you were going to watch up close, but also the entire concept of the race. The hustle of engineers in all these garages, working their hardest to get the drivers in and out of the pits with minimal time to waste. Not to mention the drivers themselves, having to sit in the cars for multiple hours over the race weekend with no complaints— they chose to do this, they deal with the consequences.

That’s exactly what excited you. The reasoning for their choice to do this, you wanted to ask each and every one of them why they wanted to do this, what was so interesting?

You guessed their answer would be the same as yours if you were asked why you became a sports journalist.

Keeping your amazement at bay, you observed the race, focused on everything going on even though it was a lot to keep up with. But that’s exactly what you were there for.

You were sitting in the grandstands, intently watching the cars fly past you, when your phone rang. The caller ID said it was your coworker who had also been at the race but disappeared about ten minutes ago.

“Hello?”

She sounded distressed when you heard her voice. “Hey, love. I was wondering if you could take over the post-race interviews?”

Today was supposed to be a sort of intern day for you, meaning you were just going to watch your colleague interview the drivers and better understand what the etiquette is for it. You hadn’t expected to have your first interview today.

“Uh, why?” You asked, in a whisper. “You know I’ve never interviewed anyone before, right?”

“So?” She seemed much more confident in you than you were in yourself. “You’ve studied journalism for a few years now, yeah? I don’t think you’d have taken an internship at SkySports for nothing.”

“I mean, I guess?” You shrug. “I’m not sure if I’m ready to speak to actual drivers, though. What if I make a fool of myself?”

“You won’t if you remember that they’re just people doing their jobs, and you’re doing your job by asking them questions.” She makes a good point and you sigh in defeat.

“Alright, I’ll do it. Send over the information you’ve written.”

“Sorry.” You hear her slightly laugh. “You gotta fend for yourself with that one, hun. It’s a cruel world we live in. Cheers.”

With that, the call ended and you were left with nothing but anxiety weighing on your shoulders. The rest of the race seemed to fly by in mere minutes, your mind too focused on the pressure of your first ever interview.

Well, not first ever.

You imagined the day would come sooner or later, so you’d practise a conversation with one of the drivers by speaking to yourself in the mirror. That, and watching multiple interviews through the years, soaking up every bit of information you could about the process of it.

Before you knew it, you were standing in a sea of people with their cameras, waiting for the drivers to make their way to you.

It wasn’t that nerve wracking when you actually started talking to them, and by the time you got to Daniel, you had lost all feelings of anxiety, instead laughing along to his jokes.

You thought so, at least. A feeling of intimidation crawled up your spine when your eyes locked with Lando Norris, a driver for Mclaren. You noticed the piercing look from across the room as he spoke to a different interviewer, his green pupils tracking your every move as you spoke to Oscar.

The interview with Oscar wraps up and he begins turning away from you. “Good luck on your next race!”

Oscar smiled at you as he walked off to somewhere you could only guess.

If you had been anxious before, you were probably five times as anxious now, because Oscar Piastri leaving the spot in front of you meant that Lando Norris would be replacing him. And, for whatever reason, he was making you incredibly nervous.

You looked down at the ground as Lando approached you, waiting to hear what you had to say. You couldn’t bear looking up at him, knowing he’s already staring at you. But it was part of your job and you had to stay professional.

“Hello, Lando.” You said, cheerily.

“Hi,” he grinned at you, sweaty and all, his dimples appearing for a split second. “How are you?”

“I’m alright, thanks, how was the race?” You asked with a smile, ignoring the butterflies in the pit of your stomach when he smiled at you again.

Lando’s green eyes studied your face, soaking up each detail he missed since the last time he had seen you. He knows you don’t remember him and he doesn’t need you to, it’s kind of nice to feel something without reciprocation from the other.

After a long while, Lando shrugged. “Yeah, uh, the race was pretty good, I mean, I got first place, so I’d say it’s good. Y’know, aside from Oscar’s incident, but that’s not something we can predict, it just happens.”

You watched intently as he explained the race, your eyes oddly drawn to his lips. The pattern at which they move, and the tempting way he pokes his tongue out to tap the corners of his lips, makes you weak.

This was horribly unprofessional of you, and you knew that, but the charms of this young british racer had worked their magic on you, and you weren’t strong enough to resist it.

You felt like it was just the two of you in the room and both of you were trying your damn best not to break, one for more reasons than the other.

“Yeah, it seems like it was a lucky race for you, the pace of your car was incredible to watch.” You pointed out, looking down at the race data on your clipboard. “The RedBull’s were a bit slower this race, do you think that gave you an advantage?”

“Well, they already win races left, right and centre. They have to be bad sometimes.” Lando stifled a laugh. “But, uh, I don’t know. I think it all came down to the car and my ability to control it. The pace was insane, honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to be faster than a RedBull.”

The joke made you giggle and you quickly hid your face by looking away for a mere moment, in an attempt to recollect yourself. Thankfully, none of the cameras were on your face.

“Or it’s just pure talent, I’d say.” You look back up at him, his eyes never once leaving your face. He’s so smiley and it’s contagious, so you can’t help but smile at him, too. “Any plans for the celebration? You must be feeling ecstatic about your first win, so I assume the celebration must be as big as this.”

Lando puts the tube of his water bottle to his lips and takes a long sip, eyes still glued to you. He wasn’t even blinking, far too focused on the shape of your lips and how good they felt that night. That one night you can’t seem to remember.

“I’m not entirely sure, if I’m honest.” He shrugs, tongue poking out to lick his bottom lip before he takes it between his teeth, biting back the widest grin you’ve ever seen on his face. “I still have to call my mum and siblings.”

“I’m sure they’re incredibly proud of you,” you smile, politely. He’s still intently looking at you, cheeks now burning red at your comment accompanied by his massive grin.

It was time to wrap up your chat with Lando, but, in all honesty, you really didn’t want to. You felt something brewing in your chest at the mere feeling of his eyes burning into you, and it excited you.

Still, you ignore it. You had to stay professional, even if it was all too much to handle. “It was lovely chatting with you, Lando. Congratulations and good luck next race.”

“Will you be interviewing me next time, too?” Lando asks, making no move to walk away just yet. His eyes narrowed onto yours when you looked back at him, an adorably surprised look on your face.

“Uh,” you look away for a moment, not sure what to say. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

“I look forward to seeing you again. Maybe.” He gave you another cocky smirk and nodded his head as a farewell, leaving you nothing but a blushing mess in the media pen.

After a plethora of interviews back to back, you were tired beyond words. Your feet were sore, your back hurt, you felt your eyelids close if you stood still for longer than two seconds. The image of your soft hotel bed made you motivated to keep moving through the building and find your way out.

“Oh, hey!” A familiar voice stopped you in your tracks. “Y/N, was it?”

Your eyes find their way to the person behind you and you’re happy to see that it’s Daniel. “Daniel! Hi, nice to see you again.” You extended a hand to shake and he smiled as he squeezed it.

“Was lovely talking to you earlier. You asked such great questions, honestly, it made me really think about my answers, y’know?” You hadn’t noticed how both of you started walking again and he kept up with your pace. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Oh, interviewing?” You ask and he nods eagerly, with the energy of a little boy. “This was my first official day of interviewing, actually. I had to step in for my colleague.”

“No way.” He muses, jaw slack and eyes glimmering with interest. “The way you interacted with me had me thinking you were carrying a load of experience.”

You stifle a laugh and watch the path ahead. “Yeah, well. I practised a lot in my room. You have race sims, I have a mirror and a hairbrush for a microphone.”

Daniel’s laugh echoed in the mostly empty area around you. “You’re funny, too.” He muses once again, shocked by how much fun you can be. “Listen, I know it’s not professional to ask this, but are you free tonight?”

“Oh, uh,” you look up at him and hesitate. “I’m not interested in-“

“No, no,” Daniel waves his hands in the air as if to stop the words spilling from your mouth. “God, no. I was going to ask if you’d like to come to the club later, all of the drivers are gonna be there to celebrate Lando’s win. It could be fun.”

You paused in your steps, brows furrowing as you felt a beam of energy climb up your spine. All of a sudden, your bed didn’t seem like the comfiest thing in the world and you were willing to exchange it for a pair of heels and a dress.

“I’d like that, yeah.” You smiled at Daniel and he reciprocated the gesture.

He gives you a piece of paper with something scribbled on it and you gladly pluck it from his fingers. “Shoot me a text when you’re ready, I’ll give you a ride to the club. Cheers.”

And with that, he disappeared into the car park, the only remainder of his friendly presence being his lingering smell in the air and the scribbled number on the back of a grocery store coupon.

“Thanks, mate.”

Lando’s hand felt heavy as he shook it with someone he barely knew, congratulating him on the win. He’s been stuck in this large group of people for way too long, desperately looking for an escape. And, eventually, he found it— you.

His eyes have been stuck to you for the past fifteen minutes, patiently waiting for the people to finish congratulating him so he could finally talk to you.

When the perfect moment arose, Lando swiftly shimmied between the dancing bodies and made his way to the bar. You were still sitting there, looking as beautiful as the last time he saw you, but now you were right in front of him and he didn’t know what to do with himself.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Lando’s voice startles you when he plops down in a bar stool beside you.

You smile at him, feeling the same anxiety crawl up your spine as the last time you saw him. “I’d say the same, but this feels like the perfect place for a race winner.”

“I honestly hated it before,” he shrugged, looking out into the crowd. “I used to party after a podium, second place being the best I’ve ever had.”

“But now you’re here as a winner.” You’re still looking at him when he turns back around. There’s something so nostalgic about the way he looks at you, almost as if you’ve already been there and seen him before. “A victory looks good on you.”

“Yeah?” He flashes a grin your way, raising a brow. “I’ll try to win more then. Maybe I’ll get to see you again that way.”

“I’m free whenever you want to see me,” you blurt. Lando’s eyebrows raise with surprise when you say that and he bursts into a small laugh when you start flailing your hands around in the air. “Sorry, that’s so unprofessional, I didn’t mean to–“

“It’s fine,” he assures you. “I was actually going to ask you if you wanted to get out of here. But that’s so unprofessional of me.”

“Mr. Norris!” You exclaim with a faux gasp. Lando watches with an amused grin on his face as you smile back at him. “I’d like that very much.”

It didn’t take long for both of you to swivel your way past the drunk people in the club and find yourselves in a cab. Lando’s hand made a home on your thigh and you didn’t mind. It felt warm, secure and turned you on when he inched it closer to the hem of your dress.

Time flew fast in the company of a race winner, especially one as charming and attractive as Lando. You didn’t realise how many hours had passed after you had left the club and, frankly, you didn’t really care.

The moments spent with him felt somehow nostalgic, as if you had felt this way before. But you’re sure you just dreamt it. There’s no way you’ve met Lando before and didn’t remember it.

It felt silly to think that, so you just ignored that thought and continued watching the intoxicating way his lips moved as he spoke. He’s been talking about something for the past five minutes and you didn’t hear a word of it, being far too focused on the pattern of his freckles, the dip of his nose and the gentleness of his eyes when he looked at you.

“What’s on your mind?” He asked, voice gentle and cautious.

You bit back a smile, eyes flickering between his eyes and lips. “You.”

The nostalgic feeling snuck its way into the back of your mind when he kissed you, his lips and hands feeling like a long lost home. You somehow already knew the melody of his breathing and the pattern of his hair, the familiarity of his kiss starting a fire in your chest. You felt the warmth of his lust spread through your torso, creeping up your neck, softly toying with the giggle in your throat.

Stars spackled on the inside of your eyelids and the harmonious sounds leaving your lips finally drew you back to that night.

Warm hands. Gentle strokes and soft kisses. Careful fingertips trailing their way down your hips. Lando’s tongue danced on your aching bud and you felt the whole world fade away. The mere touch of his fingers on your hips to keep you still reminded you of the last time.

“Mmh, fuck.” Lando hummed against you, the vibrations sending bolts of lightning through your veins. “So good. So fucking good for me, y/n.”

His tongue swirled around your throbbing clit, bringing you that much closer to the edge. The alcohol in your system mixed with the pleasure coursing through your body was a lethal combination. Your legs shook as you felt your walls close around nothing, Lando’s mouth attached to you as if he was a starved man and you were the first thing he could get his mouth on.

“I’m- I-” You couldn’t even finish your sentence before making a mess all over his goatee. He licked up every last bit of you, the sweet taste of you making a perfect combination with the aftertaste of whiskey in the back of his throat.

You stayed lying there, eyes fluttering closed and lips parted, deep breaths inflating your chest. Lando watched you, green eyes soaking in every inch of you— he wasn’t sure if you’d remember him this time, so he made the most of every moment spent with you.

After a while of him watching you, you felt Lando get up and come back in a few minutes, a damp towel in his hands. He touched your most sensitive parts with the weight of nothing, carefulness sewn into every movement he made. At that point, you were drifting in and out of consciousness, not fully knowing when the bed dipped under Lando’s weight again.

You felt his arms wrap around you and pull you in, the warmth of his bare skin heating your cheek. You were hesitant to speak, cautious as to not say something wrong. So, instead of speaking, you lifted your head and connected your lips with his again, the minty taste of his lips making you smile.

“It was you.”

Lando hummed into the kiss, as if to acknowledge that it was him, but also to ask what you meant.

You pulled away, fingers immediately making home in his curls. “That night.” A familiar look painted itself across Lando’s face. “I tried so hard to remember whose lips felt like home, and only the weight of yours reminded me.”

“You were thinking about me?” Lando inquired, brushing stray strands of hair away from your face.

You nodded. “Every day since that night.”

Lando smiled before kissing you again. “You never left my mind. I kept reminiscing that night, waiting for fate to magically bring us back to one another.” He whispered against your hairline, lips pressing soft, love-filled kisses against your skin. “Didn’t expect to win two prizes in one day.”

A small laugh slipped past your lips. “What a lucky man you are, Mr. Norris.”

“The luckiest.” He hummed. “Because I finally have you.”

[robinsegghead]

Danny's Daycare Part 12

[Master List]

Cookies, books, wallet, keys. Cookies, books, wallet, keys. Cookies, books- what was he forgetting? He felt like he was forgetting something important. It was an aggravating feeling considering there definitely wasn’t something else he was supposed to be bringing. Hell- the cookies were an above and beyond kind of thing- even if they didn’t feel like it.

Was there any such thing as above and beyond for the man who’d killed his murderer? Not just killed, nonchalantly- accidentally killed the clown. It was such an anti-climatic death there was no way the Joker wasn’t rolling over in his grave. Cookies were the least Jason could do to thank Danny.

Of course, Hood was also bringing him and his ... kids- food multiple times a week and checking in on Miguel and Santiago when they stayed in their own apartment. He’d made sure to drop by every night after Miguel’s kidnapping and on the third night (the night after learning about Danny’s death which- what the fuck?) after the incident, the boys had gone back to their own place. He’d stopped on their fire escape just to make sure they were fine and had ended up staying and talking with Miguel for a while.

The kid was great; he didn’t have any fear of the Red Hood- most street kids in Crime Alley didn’t- and they’d had a nice long chat. He hadn’t met Santiago yet so he wasn’t sure what to expect, but if he was anything like his brother, Jason was sure they’d get along great.

Still, he felt…. Underdressed? It was a strange sentiment but something was off, something was missing. Irritated by the anxious feeling clawing inside his stomach, Jason pushed away the thoughts and focused instead on something else- anything else.

Arriving at the apartment building he’d been to many times at this point (usually when Danny was at work), Jason parked his bike and headed up. He knew exactly where he was going but it was strange to go there from inside the building instead of through the windows and fire escapes. He knocked on the door he knew was Danny’s, and waited.

There was a loud noise inside (some kind of arguing?) before the door was flung open by a woman who looked exactly like Danny. 

“Dani!” Danny shouted and- okay- that was a weird sentence.

“So you’re Jason?” The girl- Dani..?- said accusatorily.

Jason didn’t know how to respond and instead offered up the cookies. “Yes..?” Okay seriously Todd, when did you start acting like such a coward? Clearing his throat, he tried again. “Yeah, I’m Jason, and you are?”

“I’m Dani- Danny’s younger sister and-”

“You’re both named Danny?”

Danny dug his fingers into his eyes. “Dani, can you please let him in?”

“Oh. Yeah.” She stepped aside and Jason stepped into the familiarly barren apartment. It wasn’t that Danny had no decorations, just… very few. A few pictures of his friends, a plant with a note next to it saying ‘do NOT kill this one Danny!’, and some random Nasa and space themed memorabilia. Actually most of that seemed new.

“Miguel! Santi! Jason’s here!” Danny called into the apartment. “They’re around here somewhere… You want anything to drink?” He took the cookies from Jason with a head dip and the feeling of Grateful-Nice-Happy washed over him which Jason did not know how to interpret.

Jason brushed it off. “Tea?”

Danny nodded and left to make the tea while Dani got comfortable at the coffee table in the living room. He chose to join her, placing the books he’d brought onto the table. “So Dani, your parents crazy or do they just really like the name Danny?”

She looked at him sharply as he started but softened by the end as if he’d almost offended her. “Ah- no, well yes- he’s Daniel, I’m Danielle, but neither of us like our full names-”

“That’s because the people who call us by our full names are all trying to kill us!” Danny shouted jokingly. Dani nodded sagely- wait- he was joking right?

“So we thought it’d be funny to both go by Danny. I’m Dani-with-an-i and he’s Danny-with-a-y.” She finished, going back to whatever she had been working on before, sticking out her tongue and squinting while writing something down.

“The venn diagram of people who call us by our full names and people who are trying to kill us is a circle, Dani.” Danny said pointedly, caming back into the room with a tray and placing it on the opposite end of the coffee table. That was a joke, right? (Knowing what he knew as Hood, he didn’t actually believe it was.) “Right, I’ve brought cream, sugar, and I didn’t know what tea you liked so I just made black but I have others if you don’t like it.”

“Black tea’s good.” Jason confirmed, adding a bit of sugar and milk to his cup and stirring.

“Sorry we’re late!” The front door opened. Jason thought they were in the apartment? “Someone didn’t wanna come.” 

Looking up, Jason watched as Miguel grumpily kicked off his shoes, dropped his jacket on the nearest chair, and headed to the kitchen, not even offering the living room so much as a hello. Another boy- who looked so much like Miguel but younger and with brighter eyes- hopped into the room and smiled at Danny. 

“No worries, Santi, this is Jason. He’s going to be tutoring you guys in English. Jason, this is Santiago.” Danny gestured between the two.

The boy examined Jason closely, clearly sizing him up, before untensing his shoulders and moving into the living space. “Hi.” He offered somewhat shyly.

Well that was fair, Jason would have been much ruder when he was Santiago’s age. “Hey kid, how’s it going?”

“Better before now.” Miguel grumbled, dragging himself into the room and settling into the armchair furthest from Jason.

Yikes, what crawled up his ass and died?

Looking towards the ceiling, exasperated, Danny sat on the couch- a central location between everyone else and Miguel. Okay. Well. That was probably his cue to start talking. Shit- what had he gotten himself into? He didn’t know how to teach! Even if he’d helped his siblings (not that any of them would admit to that- himself included) and been good at English in high school that didn’t mean he’d be a good teacher!

“Well, before we get into it, I wanted to see what you boys were comfortable doing. I’ve got these,” He rifled through the books he’d brought and pulled out two papers. “They’re writing prompts. After reading the excerpt at the top you write a standard essay and I’ll look over them afterwards to get a better idea of what you guys need help with. Sound good?”

Santiago eyed him warily but nodded slowly. Miguel gave him a blank stare until Danny sighed quietly, then the older boys face cringed slightly before blanking again.

Jason decided to ignore it and hand the boys their papers. “Take all the time you need but remember, I’m just trying to get a feel for where you’re at, it in no way has to be perfect.”

The boys worked for a while, each having moments of frustration. At one point Santiago stood up and went to the kitchen where he- Jason thought- paced for a few minutes before he came back, calmer, and finished the paper. Miguel kept squinting at the page, rereading lines, growing more and more upset until he finally gave back the paper and speed walked out of the apartment.

Sharing a look with Danny, Jason wondered if that was normal. Was he squinting because he didn’t understand the wording? Or maybe he had poor eyesight? Jason continued to contemplate what it could have been about while Danny followed after the older boy.

“Don’t worry about him.” Santiago said quietly, not looking up from the other school work he’d been doing while waiting for Miguel to finish his essay. “He gets overwhelmed. Thinks ‘e’s stupid er somethin’.”

Ah. Well. Jason understood that sentiment. He’d loved school, as a kid who’d never had the opportunity to go and didn’t think he ever would, going to school (especially college) had been Jason’s dream. That didn’t mean he thought he was smart enough for it. Alfred (and even Bruce) had been privy to some very embarrassing meltdowns about how stupid Jason thought he was.

(Was, past tense, because Jason certainly didn’t think that now. Even if Timbers constantly figured things out that Jason couldn’t possibly hope to figure out on his own. Even if Damian had a larger vocabulary and better grades than he’d had at the same age. Even if Duke had just graduated as valedictorian with honors while maintaining his daylight vigilante lifestyle. Even if every single member of his family was ten times smarter than he was- he was still smart. Yeah. No childhood insecurities had carried into adulthood here- no sir.)

“Well, I’m sure that’s not true. He just thinks that cause he’s from the streets. I thought I was stupid too when I lived on the streets.” Jason said nonchalantly, feeling Dani’s eyes on him. “So Santiago, I brought a couple of books- you can choose which one we start with and find something you might enjoy, how’s that sound?”

Miguel never came back. Danny did, with a poorly hidden frustration masked behind optimism. At least it didn’t seem like Santiago was able to pick up on Danny’s jitteriness or frustration. After the essay and picking a book to read (He’d chosen The Giver) Jason had given him a workbook and instructed him on how to correct the sentences in the module. Some were missing commas, some were missing capitalization, and so on and so forth.

Dani had long since abandoned what she’d been working on so Jason took a look. What? He was curious. She was getting her GED- something he’d considered on and off for years- and he just wanted to know what went into it. So he was curious, sue him.

Someone cleared their throat causing Jason to jump and look around quickly. Danny was jerking his head towards the kitchen and with a glance at Santiago, who’d apparently fallen asleep with his head on the table. Stealthily, Jason followed the man into the kitchen and checked the time on his way. Huh, he’d been here for almost two hours at this point- longer than he’d thought.

“Sorry about all that.” Danny spoke, quietly. “You want anything to eat? Drink? You’ve been here a while.”

Jason shrugged, feigning indifference. “I wouldn’t say no to some more tea.”

Danny nodded, putting the kettle on the stove and getting everything ready. “Your money’s on the table.” He gestured again with his head and Jason tried to ignore the way his hair fell over his eyes every time. “Miguel might take some time before he really participates in your lessons, I appreciate your patience.” 

Leaning against the counter, Jason shrugged. “Not a big deal, really. Reminds me of myself when I was his age- actually, he’s a lot less angry than I was at seventeen.” A lot less murdery too.

“Yeah… Me too.”

Whipping his head around, Jason caught Danny staring into one of the mugs he’d just put a tea bag into. His stare was thoughtful, considering, until he snapped out of it and looked up to meet Jason’s eyes and- oh god. He was staring. He couldn’t help it. He’d never seen blue eyes so dark before. Almost all of his siblings had blue eyes, but they were just… blue. Danny’s eyes were dark blue, reflecting the kitchen lights and sparkling like the night sky and they were perfectly framed by his long dark eyelashes and-

“Jason?”

Forcefully pulling himself out of whatever the fuck kind of trance he’d just voluntarily gone into, Jason tried to focus. “Sorry, what were you saying?”

Danny tilted his head. “I… wasn’t.”

“Oh.”

Their attention was pulled away from each other as the kettle started to whistle quietly. Danny turned it off quickly and Jason remembered the boy asleep in the other room. A mug of tea, with a little cream and sugar, was quickly pushed into Jason’s hands and he took it gratefully.

“Well, thank you for tonight. Hopefully next time goes a bit better.” Danny leaned against the opposite counter and lightly blew the steam from the top of his mug.

Jason nodded. “Well maybe whatever put Miguel in a bad mood today won’t affect him next time.”

Letting out a small chuckle, Danny shook his head. “I doubt it. I think it’s mostly me making him do school stuff. He… thinks he’s stupid. He’s not, but he’s not really good at school stuff and he doesn’t have the patience. Again, reminds me of myself in that aspect.”

Thinking for a moment, Jason cut in. “I think you should get him tested for dyslexia.”

Danny froze momentarily before looking up to meet Jason’s eyes again. “Why do you say that?”

“He was squinting at the page. Maybe he just needs glasses, but I noticed a lot of spelling errors when I glanced at his work earlier. It would explain his frustration with school stuff. Santiago has some interesting tics too and seemed…” He got angry at his next thought. “Scared every time I noticed him fidgeting or making noise.”

The man closed his eyes. “Yeah… I… noticed that too.” Jason noted the way the man’s voice cracked. “They don’t like to talk about their parents, from what I’ve gathered their dad was quite abusive.”

Jason and Danny shared a knowing look, each saying they understood. It wasn’t something he’d wanted to see in Danny’s eyes, but the longer Jason looked into them the more he got the idea that Danny’d been through more than he let on with his optimistic ‘I’m helping people for the sake of helping people cause that’s the right thing to do’ attitude.

“Well, things will only get better the longer they’re with someone who takes care of and loves them. Certainly helped me.” He added the last bit quietly. Danny hummed in acknowledgement, but not agreement. The realization that they were the same- that they’d had abusive dads (that they’d died), that they’d been angry teens, it had made Jason wonder if (hope) Danny had had a Bruce.

But his hum had been acknowledgement not understanding and not everyone was as lucky as he’d been. Sure, he and Bruce didn’t see eye to eye a lot of the time, they’d had their fights, he’d said bad things about Bruce (some of which he believed), but he’d had Bruce. Danny clearly hadn’t had anyone to help him out of his shitty home. Someone who believed in him and pushed him to be the best version of himself he could while also taking care of his emotional needs. 

Danny’d been trapped.

“I’m sorry.” Jason said before he could stop himself.

“Hm?” Danny looked up from wherever he’d been staring a moment before. “For what?”

Letting out a puff of air, Jason frowned. “I didn’t mean to… bring up any… bad memories.”

The man’s eyes softened and god how were his eyes so beautiful and deep? “Don’t worry about it.” He waved his hand casually. “It’s all in the past. Besides, I’ve got bigger worries now.”

“I guess you do.” Jason agreed. “But if you- uh, ever want to talk… I’m willing to listen.”

The look Danny gave him made him feel small. Not in a bad way- more like… he felt appreciated and he wasn’t exactly used to that. Like he’d done something worthy of Danny’s gratitude. “I’ll keep you in mind if I ever need to talk, Jason.”

Emboldened by the surge of positive emotions (a rarity for Jason), he smirked. “You can keep me in mind for more than that, doll.”

“Oh, we’re back to this, huh?” But Danny’s voice was only filled with mirth. “What else should I keep you in mind for then, Darling?”

Unwilling to back down this time- he was prepared for Danny’s flirting this time around- Jason looked the man up and down suggestively. “I can think of a few things, but I think I’d better take you to dinner first.”

“Is that right? Just dinner? Or were you thinking about dessert too?” Danny glanced between Jason's eyes and his lips, licking his own.

Fuuuuck this man was going to kill him.

Jason leaned forward. “I’m always thinkin’ about dessert, doll.”

Opening his mouth to respond, Danny’s smirk dropped quickly and Jason wondered if he’d said something wrong. Gearing up to apologize for crossing a line, he was interrupted as Miguel turned the corner and eyed the two of them warily. Studying Danny fleetingly, Jason wondered how he’d known the boy was coming in- even Jason hadn’t heard the door open or his footsteps. Though that might have been more due to the pounding of his heartbeat being the only thing he could hear.

“Miguel.” Danny greeted happily. “You want some tea?”

The boy looked between the two men before scoffing, turning on his heel, and leaving the exact way he’d just come in.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Danny seemed to be calming himself. “Sorry about that.” He started, still visibly calming down. 

“No worries, really. Teenagers gonna be teenagers, right?” Jason shrugged.

“Yeah I just didn’t think I’d have to deal with it at the ripe age of twenty-two- er… three, I guess..”

Jason tilted his head. 

“It always takes me a while to get used to saying a new age. Anyways, I should probably get Santiago to a bed and see what’s going on with Miguel today.” Danny scooped an envelope up from the table and offered it to Jason. “This is what I owe you, I hope tonight hasn’t completely deterred you from tutoring the boys.”

Taking the (ridiculously thick) envelope from Danny, Jason pocketed it. “Nah, it takes a lot more than that to scare me off. I’ll get out of your hair so you can take care of your- uh take care of the kids.”

Danny, who definitely didn’t miss Jason’s slip-up if his doubtful look was anything to go by, led him to the door and waited for Jason to slip his shoes on before opening the door. “I’ll see you Wednesday.” He saluted casually before walking away- why the fuck did he salute?!- and heard the door close behind him.

Taking a moment to relax (why had he been so tense?), Jason let out a deep breath. 

“Yeah, must be exhausted.” Jason whipped around to see Miguel crouching outside his apartment, twirling a pencil. The remark was sarcastic and followed up with an eye roll but Jason couldn’t help being a little happy the kid had willingly spoken to him.

Turning to face the kid fully, Jason tried to push out an aura of calm. “Not really. Why would you think that?”

Miguel rolled his eyes and stood up. “Don’t play stupid.”

“I’m not playin’, kid.” Jason shrugged.

“I’m sure teachin’ a idiot for two hours and then fallin’ all over Danny is exhaustin’.” Miguel spat. “So, you must be exhausted.”

Oh. Okay. So that’s what this was about. “It’s not nice to call your brother an idiot.” 

Affronted, Miguel sputtered. “What- I didn’- I would never- I meant me ya dumbass!” He hissed, seemingly aware that his brother was asleep in the other apartment and Danny had really good hearing which- wait was that another meta thing?

“You weren’t with us for two hours.” Jason shrugged. “Besides, neither of you are idiots.”

“Oh please- I was failin’ school ‘fore I dropped out, no way I’m gettin’ back in no matter how hard Danny tries.” Despite the venom it was said with, Jason could tell there was more sadness than anything else. He knew that feeling.

“Listen, Miguel-”

“Don’ act like we’re friends!” Miguel whisper-shouted across the hall, opening his apartment door. “An’ leave Danny alone- he ain’t interested in someone like you- he already has someone ‘e likes!”

And then he slammed the door, negating all his work to keep quiet, and likely alerting Danny to the argument and waking Santiago if he hadn’t been awake already. Jason hightailed it out of there not wanting to be caught still standing outside Danny’s apartment.

The ride back to his apartment felt longer than it was as he replayed the conversation he’d had with Danny through the lens of ‘him already having someone he likes’. It sure seemed like they’d been on the same page earlier. Jason hadn’t been too cryptic, right? Everyone knew what ‘dessert’ implied while flirting, right? He’d been the one to bring it up!

By the time Jason got back to his place it was almost nine which meant he’d need to start patrol soon so he definitely didn’t have time to be overthinking every expression and word that’d passed between the two of them. (He still did.)

“Jay! You made cookies and didn’t save me any?!” A familiarly obnoxious voice greeted him when he opened the door. 

Groaning inwardly, Jason scowled. “What are you doing here, Dickface?”

“Can’t a big brother visit his baby brother?”

Technically, Dick was in his Nightwing suit, so he probably shouldn’t be connecting them so obviously. But Jason had never given a flying fuck about B’s rules. “Not your baby brother.” Jason muttered, kicking off his boots and placing the stack of books he’d brought to Danny’s (Minus the Giver) onto the kitchen counter. “What do you want?”

Dick frowned. “You’re usually out by now, wanted to see what was up and then I found you made cookies and didn’t save me any!” 

There was no evidence that Jason had made cookies (he cleaned up as he went, thank you very much) but there was a lingering smell and when it came to sweets, Dick could always sniff out anything. “They were for a friend.”

His brother gasped. Great, now he’d done it. “A friend? You have a friend, Jaybird? Who is it? Why’d you make them cookies? Are they more than a friend?”

“Shut up, Big bird.” Jason grumbled, collapsing back onto his couch and closing his eyes.

The gasp his brother let out this time was louder than the last. “They are more than a friend! Little wing! Were you on a date?”

As if. Too bad Danny ‘already likes someone else’. Shaking away his self pity party, Jason reminded himself of Danny’s flirting. The things he said weren’t something you just said to anyone- right? Of course, they hadn’t known each other that long- sure, Red Hood had known Danny for almost two months, but Jason had just met the guy a couple weeks ago. Maybe Danny was just a flirt?

“Jayyy!” Dick whined. “Tell me about your friend!”

Burying his face into the crook of his elbow, Jason tried to ignore the man’s incessant whining. Until he couldn’t. It was just-so annoying. “Dick! Shut up!” Despite being thoroughly annoyed, Jason noted the distinct lack of green in his vision- something that definitely should have turned up by now. “He’s just a friend, the cookies were a thank-you, now get out of my apartment!”

Pushing the man towards his window, Jason begged whatever gods were listening that none of the other bats were listening at the moment. 

“Okayyyyy,” Dick whined. “But next time I come over you need to tell me all about your boy friend that’s not your boyfriend.”

“Get out!” Jason shoved him.

Falling onto the fire escape his brother grunted but finally took the hint, leaping off the landing and grappling away. Finally, some peace. He deserved a moment of peace and quiet, he’d had a long day- hell a long week. He’d wanted to visit Danny as Hood again, get some more answers, but every night had been filled with B&E’s, robberies, muggings, his own drug bust he’d been working on for a while, and a case Cass had asked him to help on.

He’d stopped by to see Miguel only once in the last week and hadn’t gotten the chance to stop by Danny’s before getting pulled away again. It had been a long and frustrating week. Tonight had been especially frustrating in its own unique way.

Gearing up, he pleaded with the same gods from earlier for one quiet night. Just one, just so he could ask Danny what the fuck he meant by- well everything he’d said.

He did not, in fact, get his wish.

Prev. Next

[devilsminion-armandaniel]

Interview can be read below as well.

As Interview with the Vampire flies head-first for season 3, one star of the show has teased his potential return for future seasons – and hinted that we could see a fan-favourite chapter from Anne Rice's books adapted.

Chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com about where he sees Daniel's journey going in future seasons, Field said: "I would love to [return].

I think there's so much to explore with Daniel Molloy, old and young. We’ve got so much literature in Anne Rice's wonderful books, certain chapters, certain things that can be explored, so I would be over the moon to explore it.

"Eric and I have discussed things about the character, which I know that we would love to talk more about or show more in an upcoming season, whatever that looks like. But Rollin [Jones, showrunner] is so amazing, I'm sure whatever he decides to do, it'll be great. And if that includes me, then, gosh, lots to happen maybe."

Field is no stranger to Rice's books and what the show's fandom is hoping for, adding that he would love for The Devil's Minion, the iconic chapter which details a romantic relationship between young Daniel and Armand, will be adapted.

"Look, of course, there is a very specific chapter, which I know a lot of people love," he pointed out.

When I've met fans, they've certainly discussed it with me, or just talked about it. And I read it multiple times. And it's truly amazing. So to take that at some point and intercut it, with whatever season happens, that would be amazing.

"But also, obviously Daniel’s memory pretty much is wiped out for a lot of what we've seen so far. But I think it would be interesting to see how he's still manipulated by them, and still very much drawn into that world. And you know, we've already seen that memory is a monster, as the tagline goes, and what happens further to Daniel, which he thinks is his life construct, really, possibly could have been the vampires the whole time. And that's awesome."

[logansargeantsbabymom]

A Love Worth Fighting For

Bodyguard!Lando Norris x Fem!Actress!Reader

CHAPTERS 3, 4 & 5

Genre: Forbidden Bodyguard to Lover

Warnings: Smut (Not yet), This is (MY VERSION of) a Slow Burn story!

Follow my instagram account (THATS STRICTLY FOR THIS BLOG) for updates on when i post and fun stuff like that!

Instagram

Chapter 3: Lando

From the moment I was assigned to protect Y/N L/N, I knew this job would be different. She wasn't just any client. She was one of the most famous actresses in the world, a superstar known for her roles in the Avengers movies and her solo Marvel films. But beyond the glitz and glamour, she was also a target. There had been multiple kidnapping attempts, and it was my job to ensure her safety at all times.

When I first met her, I was struck by her beauty and poise. She was everything I expected and more. But as the days turned into weeks, I began to see the real Y/N – the woman behind the fame. She was kind, compassionate, and surprisingly down-to-earth. And despite the walls she had built around herself, I could see glimpses of vulnerability that made me want to protect her even more.

But no matter how strong my feelings grew, I had to remind myself of my duty. My job was to keep her safe, not to get involved. And as long as I was her bodyguard, I had to maintain a professional distance, no matter how difficult it became.

Chapter 4: Lando

Y/N had a close-knit circle of friends, and one of her best friends was Daniel Ricciardo, a driver for Red Bull Racing. When she told me she wanted to attend one of his races, I knew it would be a logistical nightmare. But I also knew how important it was to her, so I did everything in my power to make it happen.

The day of the race was hectic, to say the least. Security was tight, and the crowds were massive. But Y/N was in her element, cheering for Daniel and mingling with other celebrities. I stayed close, my eyes constantly scanning the crowd for any potential threats.

As the race ended and we made our way back to the car, I couldn't help but notice the sparkle in her eyes. She was genuinely happy, and it was a sight that warmed my heart. But as we drove back to the mansion, I couldn't shake the feeling that this happiness was fleeting. The dangers that came with her fame were never far away, and it was my job to ensure she stayed safe.

That evening, as we were leaving things took a turn for the worse. A group of men, clearly intoxicated, approached us with aggressive intentions. They recognized Y/N and started hurling insults, their behavior quickly escalating.

I stepped in front of her, my body tense and ready to defend her at any cost. "Stay behind me," I instructed, my voice firm.

The men continued to advance, their intentions clear. But I wasn't about to let them get any closer. With a few swift moves, I managed to subdue them, ensuring Y/N's safety.

As the police arrived and took the men away, I couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. This was exactly why I needed to be by her side at all times. The world was full of dangers, and I couldn't let anything happen to her.

Chapter 5: Y/N

The next few days passed in a blur of interviews, photo ops, and public appearances. Lando was always by my side, his presence a comforting constant. Despite the hectic schedule, my mind kept drifting back to the confrontation at the race track. Lando's bravery, his unwavering dedication to my safety – it all made me see him in a new light.

We were back in my mansion, preparing for a quiet evening. I had invited Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, and Taylor Swift over for dinner. They were my closest friends, my support system, and I needed their company now more than ever.

As we sat around the dining table, laughing and sharing stories, I noticed Lando standing discreetly in the corner, his eyes never leaving me. It was like he was always on high alert, ready to jump into action at a moment's notice.

Taylor leaned over, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "So, Y/N, how's it going with your dashing bodyguard?"

I blushed, glancing at Lando. "It's...fine. He's very professional."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "Professional, huh? Is that code for 'I have a crush on him'?"

I laughed, shaking my head. "No, it's not like that. He's just...different."

Ryan chimed in, a grin on his face. "Different how? Come on, spill the beans."

I sighed, feeling the weight of their curiosity. "He's always there, you know? Always looking out for me. It's...reassuring."

Blake's expression softened. "It sounds like he cares about you."

I glanced at Lando again, my heart skipping a beat. "Maybe. But he's made it clear that he's just doing his job."

Taylor placed a hand on my arm, her voice gentle. "Just be careful, Y/N. It's easy to confuse gratitude with something more."

I nodded, appreciating her concern, but deep down, I knew that my feelings for Lando were growing stronger with each passing day.

After my friends left, I found myself alone with Lando in the dimly lit living room. He was standing by the window, staring out into the night. I walked over, my heart pounding in my chest.

"Lando," I began, my voice barely above a whisper. "I just wanted to thank you for what you did at the race track. You saved me."

He turned to look at me, his eyes softening. "It's my job, Y/N. I would do it again in a heartbeat."

I took a deep breath, my heart racing. "But it's more than that, isn't it? I mean, you could have been hurt."

He shrugged, a small smile playing on his lips. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

I stepped closer, my eyes searching his. "Why?"

For a moment, he hesitated, as if weighing his words carefully. "Because I care about you, Y/N. More than I should."

My breath caught in my throat. This was the moment I had been waiting for, the moment when he finally acknowledged what I had been feeling all along.

"Lando, I..." I began, but he held up a hand, stopping me.

"We can't," he said, his voice firm. "It would compromise my contract. And more importantly, it would put you in danger. My job is to protect you, not to be with you."

I felt a pang of disappointment, but I understood. He was right. Our relationship was complicated, and there were too many risks involved.

But as I looked into his eyes, I couldn't help but hope that one day, things might be different.

And with that thought lingering in my mind, I knew that this was just the beginning of a long, complicated journey. A journey that would test our resolve, our feelings, and ultimately, our fate.

---------------------

Feedback and Suggestions are ALWAYS welcomed.

Taglist:

[electronickingdomfox]

"The IDIC Epidemic" review

Novel from 1988, by Jean Lorrah. Sort of a sequel to her previous book ("The Vulcan Academy Murders"), the enemy this time is a strange virus that mutates really fast, and is decimating a colony with its increasingly deadly strains. Given the origin of the virus, and its ultimate cure, the main theme is the defense of diversity (racial or cultural) over segregation and prejudices. Which is, definitely, a very Star Trek theme, though the novel also acknowledges the difficulties in such a diverse society, and how fragile it can be.

Despite what the cover would suggest, Kirk, Spock and McCoy are mere secondary characters. Most of the story focuses instead on new introductions, like the Klingon Korsal and his sons, or the Vulcan T'Pina. Healer Sorel, his associate Daniel Corrigan, and the obnoxious Sendet return from the previous book. Sarek and Amanda are also there, though their presence feels more like fanservice this time, as there's no particular reason for them to figure in the story.

As for the novel itself, I couldn't really get into it. The narrative switches perspectives continually, so I found impossible to focus long enough on one plot thread to get invested in it. And didn't find the characters all that engaging. There's simply too many things going on at the same time, and even if all the subplots revolve around the epidemic, it's quite distracting. Your mileage may vary, of course; I'm just not a fan of this technique of "multiple threads".

This time I'm just going to give an overview of the separate stories of each character, with minimal spoilers, as they progress kind of independently to each other:

On the one hand we have Korsal, the only Klingon in the scientific, multicultural colony of Nisus. He's much more of an intellectual and pacifist than your average Klingon, and faces prejudice both from his fellow scientists and his relatives back at home. His two sons are half human, on top of that, so Korsal is worried about their future and the possibility of either the Federation or the Empire accepting them. Much of his story deals with the bonding between Korsal and his older son Kevin, as they try to help against the plague and a breaking dam, which threatens to flood the entire city. Korsal and his family also prove instrumental in finding a cure (though partial) for the virus.

T'Pina is an adopted Vulcan of uncertain origin, returning now to her native Nisus after completing her studies, and hoping to do something about the crisis. As Korsal, she also turns out to be a key to defeat the virus, but much of her storyline is mired by sappy (and kind of cringe) romance. As an aside, there's something about the way this author writes relationships that rubs me the wrong way. First, Amanda's statement that there's more differences between the thinking of males and females, than between humans and Vulcans. Or Kirk getting distracted by how attractive is a Starfleet female Commander, who's actually seriously sick, and trying to explain the dire situation to him. There's also a certain obsession to get every single character married at the end: a couple of widowed Vulcans that just met (and that haven't yet overcome their grief); or even Spock, who tells his mother about the "several suitable women he met", and his intention to marry upon leaving Starfleet (sure, Spock, keep telling us about your imaginary girfriends...). I know I'm nitpicking here, but all this made me roll eyes several times.

The medical team of McCoy, Sorel and Daniel (with occasional help from Spock) is tasked with cracking the virus' pattern of mutation, and developing a vaccine. The way they find the origin and nature of the virus is interesting, with actual analytical work. Though developing a cure turns out to be rather a matter of luck, and several happy (and unlikely) coincidences.

On the villain side we have Sendet, a Vulcan supremacist, who uses the virus to justify his views against mixed races. He and the other followers of T'Vet are being transported by the Enterprise to a different colony, since their views go against Vulcan culture. They cause a lot of problems in the ship. Problems that could have been easily avoided if Kirk had just... put them in the brig the first time.

Spirk Meter: 2/10*. When Spock falls sick with the virus, Kirk feels frustrated for not being able to see him. And even though he knows his presence wouldn't change anything, he still believes that Spock could somehow draw strength from his being there.

As for Spones, Spock insists on accompanying McCoy to Nisus, against Kirk's orders, and under the pretext of the doctor needing his logic. Spock feels also protective of him, telling McCoy to be careful around the virus. And Kirk comments that Spock and McCoy are "one of a kind"; which both quickly deny, in unison. Apart from this, much emphasis is put on the idea that Vulcans leave their katra to their spouses upon dying... Which has some "implications" for Spock and McCoy's later story (though I somehow doubt the author would acknowledge the parallelism).

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[variousqueerthings]

so i watched cobra kai

and i started writing a whole post about the good, the bad, and the "idk is this too personal an approach to the show?" and then got to a point and realised "nah, life is actually too short" so what im doing instead is just a little bit of what i feel upon its having ended, in a positive light:

i watched the karate kid movies because of this show and those movies and characters mean an awful awful lot to me. daniel larusso moving and having trouble fitting in and finding someone like miyagi who takes him under his wing, well... kid-me would've liked that to have happened. we all deserve someone like mr miyagi. and likewise mr miyagi was found by daniel (in fact, arguably, daniel is the one who initiates their relationship in multiple ways). it's never too late to face the things that have hurt you in whatever way that means. the past is not forever. good things can arrive at any point in our lives (sometimes in the shape of a mouthy italian kid)

cobra kai now is the place where i first became more embedded in a fandom. so far in my life ive never been as closely involved in a fandom as for cobra kai on such a long timeframe -- it may not seem long compared to some things, and i myself have other works that started far earlier and will probably last for a much longer time, but this show felt like being a part of a community and it takes a lot for me to feel close like that. i wrote a whole darn screenplay with a person i met because i started watching cobra kai. i made, i believe, some permanent fandom friends whom i am also watching other things with and simply sharing pieces of our lives with one another. i ran an event for four years (first year on my own, don't.... don't do that.... even though it was fun..... don't....) and i became way more confident in my fic writing. i was just more present and there is nothing so far that has compared, and even if something one day does, cobra kai fandom will always be the benchmark

as for the show itself, i enjoyed the themes it presented (including the ones id argue it had no idea what to do with). i enjoyed the characters, and i especially came to enjoy the new characters whom i initially wasn't watching for at all. they had something interesting to poke at, and they carried the legacy of the OG characters really well and im excited for them to have great careers. xolo mariduena, i cannot help but mention as a standout. feels like ive watched him grow up, it's proud picture-taking vibes all around

want to give a special shout-out to the woman/girls of this story, who i think have an awful lot of depth that has yet to be properly mined into and drawn out in transformative works. from sam -- who on the one hand remained throughout the clearest inheritor of daniel's major themes and came out of the story as someone who would have made miyagi proud (and certainly made me go "that's my girl!"), but who never got to explore the themes of (enforced) femininity and the boxes she was consistently (on a meta level) never given the opportunity to break out of -- to characters like carmen, who has so much past and character, but was ultimately pushed in her entirety into "you made me better and you'll be a great mother" as her sole purpose within the main story, to kim da-eun who was a standout of the latter seasons (in my top three reasons not to write them off) and whose story in no way feels finished, to zara, a villain who was never quite given the chance to be perceived as villainous as she really was (that narrative with robby was... yikes... but it could've been a really interesting exploration and it still can!) or on the flipside/additionally given more depth like her co-fighter axel was -- aisha (my sweet aisha), devon, tory, moon and yasmin (who personally became more interesting to me once we got to have more female characters on the show to contrast their presence, but who read to me like meta-level beards who deserve to be explored as doing... more), rosa diaz, amanda, cousin vanessa, laura lawrence, shannon, -- the kumiko, ali, jessica, and lucille cameos... im sure there's someone ive forgotten, but these were all very fun characters who all deserved a little-to-a-lot-more than what they were offered in the show. but im glad to have spent time with them. certainly they've made me think a lot more about the powers of lesbianism to straighten out (as it were) a narrative

im pleased i got to spend more time with kreese and silver. two of my favourite villains of all time. thank you for bringing TIG out of retirement like that. thank you for sexy old man kove. thank you for the toxic yaoi. these writers may not have known what they had, but we sure fuckn did!

i hope, more than anything else, that ralph macchio and billy zabka enjoyed this sojourn down memory lane. while it's harder for me to talk about their characters without a little bit of bitterness, because ultimately their original story was the one i felt got mangled in some of the choices of this show, they also got some really beautiful moments in there and im especially happy to have had their characters in the end of s6 getting to voice the baggage that they were carrying all these years. both ralph and billy did an amazing job in those scenes

and i'll leave it there, i think. im glad i watched it. i dont know if i'll find my way back to some of the energy that existed before, but whether it becomes something i don't really interact with again, or if i circle back around to some of the unfinished fics one day, was glad that i got into it to begin with, because of all the above reasons

[petercapaldi-press]

INTERVIEW

Peter Capaldi on Britain’s Real-Life Institutional Disorder Behind Apple’s ‘Criminal Record’

The 'Doctor Who' and 'The Thick of It' star plays a veteran cop who clashes with a newbie investigator ('The Good Fight' actor Cush Jumbo) over a cold case in the new crime thriller.

January 7, 2024 11:56pm

By Scott Roxborough

When Peter Capaldi flickers into view on the Zoom call, I half expect him to tell me to “F** Off!”

For TV viewers of a certain age, the 65-year-old Scottish actor will forever be Malcolm Tucker, the supremely sweary spin doctor in Armando Iannucci’s pre-Veep Brit political satire The Thick of It.

“It’s The Thick of It and Doctor Who,” says a charming (and clean-mouthed) Capaldi, about the roles he’s most recognized for (he played the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in the cult sci-fi series from 2013 to 2017). “Surprisingly, The Thick of It is still incredibly popular [the series wrapped in 2012]. People, generally very cool, smart young people, recognize me from that a lot. They generally just ask me to swear at them.”

Of course, there’s a lot more to Capaldi than Tucker and the Doctor. His scores of film and TV appearances include playing alongside Burt Lancaster in Bill Forsyth’s 1983 classic Local Hero, starring as Rory McHoan in the BAFTA-winning TV adaptation of Iain Banks’ Scots drama The Crow Road (1996), giving a delightful turn as the grumpy Mr Curry in the Paddington movies, and donning a spikey electrode skull cap to play DC comic-book villain The Thinker in James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad (2021). Behind the camera, Capaldi won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for his 1993 short film Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life, wrote and helmed the 2001 feature Strictly Sinatra starring Ian Hart, Kelly Macdonald and Brian Cox, and directed multiple episodes of the BBC 4 sitcom Getting On.

What Capaldi has never done, in his decades on screen, is play a cop. His role as Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Hegarty in Criminal Record, the new crime thriller, which drops on Apple TV+ on January 10, is his first time impersonating a police officer.

The series sees Capaldi re-team with his Torchwood co-star Cush Jumbo, best known stateside for playing Lucca Quinn in The Good Wife and spin-off The Good Fight. Hegarty is a veteran cop, one of the most decorated and respected members of the London Metropolitan police, the Met. Jumbo plays DS June Lenker, a newbie detective eager to prove herself. When an anonymous phone call raises questions about one of Hegarty’s old murder cases, the two are drawn into a confrontation, with Lenker doggedly questioning every aspect of Hegarty’s investigation, and the old vet determined to protect his legacy. While it has plenty of elements of the classic cop show, Criminal Record is no by-the-book procedural. The cold case investigation is the plot driver for a series more interested in examining issues of race, gender and institutional disorder in a politically polarized Britain.

“I’m a big fan of crime shows, but often, the leading characters at the end of the episode just revert to the way they were at the start, events have no consequences, they don’t change them in any way,” says Capaldi. “Here we wanted to show characters that are changed, where what’s happening in the course of the show has a real impact on their lives.”

Capaldi also produced Criminal Record together with his wife Elaine Collins (Vera, Shetland). Written by BAFTA-nominee Paul Rutman (The Virgin Queen), the series co-stars Charlie Creed-Miles, Dionne Brown, Shaun Dooley, Stephen Campbell-Moore and Zoë Wanamaker.

The Institutional disorder at the center of the series — in her investigation, Lenker is shown constantly battling bullying, misogyny and racism within the Met — is no invention. An independent government report released last year found London’s police force to be “institutionally sexist, misogynistic, racist and homophobic.” The report came after a police officer stalked and killed a woman in 2021 and another officer was sentenced to life in prison for a series of rapes and sexual assaults. The report said the Met must completely transform if it doesn’t want to be dismantled.

“There clearly are a number of problems, [the police] are unfortunately, recruiting people who are not suitable for that kind of work, and, clearly, there’s a funding issue as well,” says Capaldi. “[The issues] had a direct influence on how the show developed, because you can’t do a show about the police in London without engaging to some degree with those problems.”

But Criminal Record is more film noir than kitchen sink docudrama. The opening scene sets the mood. Hegarty, moonlighting as a limo driver/security detail, is chauffeuring a couple of VIPs. When the passengers ask him about his life, he begins to recount old cases of murder and mayhem in the mean streets of London.

“That actually happened to me and my wife,” says Capaldi. “We were going to some awards thing, the BAFTAs or something. You’ll get a lot of detectives doing the driving for these events because they’re trained in defensive driving and they’re security conscious. I often fall into conversation with the drivers. I asked him about himself and he revealed that he was a detective. And as we passed through these neighborhoods, he’d tell us what murder happened here, what crime went on on this corner or that. I just thought: ‘That’s a great opener for a series.'”

DCI Hegarty, a taciturn and withdrawn man of few words and many meaningful silences, is a new kind of character for Capaldi, who has become accustomed to doing more “front-foot” performances with figures like Malcolm Tucker and Doctor Who.

“I’m usually out there all over the place, trying to get people’s attention shouting and jumping up and down or whatever.,” he says, “As Doctor Who you’re giving these great long speeches about comic this and electronics that and you have to keep dancing all over the place to keep people interested. And with The Think of It, well, if Malcolm was angry, you knew about it. [Hegarty] is a very veiled character and it was very important to not let the audience really in to him. I hadn’t consciously done that before.”

Rutman’s Criminal Record script has plenty of twists and surprises but the show’s real tension comes from the cat-and-mouse game played between Capaldi and Jumbo and in the slow reveal of their characters, who are both fallible and flawed in their own ways. Their scenes together throw real sparks.

“We sort of mutually decided not to rehearse,” says Capaldi. “We didn’t improvise or anything because the scripts were really good and the words were important, they had to be delivered clearly. But whatever we did together we did for the first time on camera. That allowed us to respond in situ as opposed to practicing responses, which kept things tense. I loved doing those scenes, but they were exhausting because I wouldn’t know what Cush was going to do. And vice versa.”

The show’s cold case gets wrapped up in the 8-episodes of Criminal Record but a final scene leaves an opening for a possible second season. Capaldi refused to be drawn on whether this is the last we’ll see of DCI Hegarty.

“Who knows? We’re just excited that we’ve done it and it’s out there, it’s been a real journey getting it to the screen. Working with Apple has been great but it’s a whole new world,” he says. “When I was working with BBC or ITV, a show might get sold to Australia or Hong Kong or whatever. Now Apple just presses a button, and 130 countries all over the world get the show. Instantly. It’s a whole different ballgame for me. But I’m delighted, at my age, to still be part of it.”

[hwangjins00]

Johnny Lawrence and the self-fulfilling prophecy

so i've been thinking about this for a while and also because s6p1 just came out but i think that johnny is one of the best examples of a self-fulfilling prophecy in ck.

SO we've seen multiple times that johnny's been told he ruins people, by danial, robby, shannon, and carmen, even terry. And i'm not gonna disregard his actions, i agree that he has done a lot of stuff that negatively affected himself and those around him, not limited to becoming a functioning alcoholic, teaching kids aggression, drunk fights, being an absentee father, etc

BUT we also see him try a lot of times to get his act together and do better for the people around him, such as teaching miguel mercy, cleaning up his apartment and trying to limit drinking for carmen, and trying to get along with daniel for the sake of his students, but he's still criticized even for trying his best, the only character to consistently have been on his side through his highs and lows has been miguel.

out of all the characters the one who refuses to see johnny's change the most is probably daniel, and this is NOT a daniel hate post, i love daniel and he's one of my favourite kk and ck characters but that doesn't disregard the fact that he tends to have knee-jerk reactions and gets unbalanced easily when it comes to johnny. A lot of the characterization in the show can be attributed to writing choices but i'm going to try my best to not make that my main focus.

alright lets start!

when johnny first opens up his dojo its partly because of the anger he feels towards daniel for succeeding in life but mainly because he doesn't want miguel to keep getting beat on and miguel probably reminds him of himself before he met kreese. Daniel is the one to come to johnny and tell him to close cobra kai and this is completely valid seeing as how daniel's experiences with cobra kai were in his youth, however its also been 30 years and its reasonable to assume that johnny isnt still a high school bully. He tells miguel that if he doesnt leave the dojo he'll end up 'just like' johnny. Right off the bat we have someone insinuating that johnny is a terrible role model. Then when daniel starts training robby and discovers robby's homelife he goes to talk to johnny just to immediately turn on him the second he sees kreese, he doesn't talk to johnny to clear up the situation and he doesn't tell him about his son, and yes johnny has been a shitty dad but he deserves to know that his kid is going to be living with someone else (i honestly thought it was crazy that daniel never mentioned that he had johnny's SON IN HIS HOUSE??)

when robby takes sam to johnny's apartment when she was drunk daniel literally kicked down his door and got into a physical fight with johnny because he couldn't believe that johnny was being considered a safe space for his son to bring his crush to in order to sober up and wouldn't listen to johnny rationally asking him to calm down. and S6 SPOILERS but i think that out of the two of them johnny was trying much harder to be accomodating to daniel, he gave up the name cobra kai and eagle fang for miyagi do, worked kata into his teaching and geniunely tried to not be so hard headed and quick to fight. He tried to get a job (daniel making him switch from using karate as a job was honestly crazy, that was literally how he was paying bills and putting food on the table, johnny asking to be paid for his time and effort wasnt an insane ask especially considering that daniel owns multiple dealerships and chozen comes from a rich family as well, johnny is the only one that actually needed the dojo as a way to make money) and just overall be there, im not saying hes a great dad right away but its obvious that he's trying to be there for both miguel and robby without making either one of the boys feeling forgotten. (ex, telling them both he's proud win or lose, tying robby's headband, listening to miguel's college essay)

HOWEVER, it seems that no matter what he does, johnny is almost never seen positively by anyone other than miguel and devon. daniel switches up on him instantly (he drops people at the first sight of their flaws, as soon as johnny takes even a single step backwards instead of acting rationally and looking at the situation + offering support he tells johnny he'll never change and drops him immediately, he did the same thing with robby and doing that to a teenager dependent on you for food and shelter is honestly crazy), carmen has been pretty much sidelined due to the baby (i have THOUGHTS on this), kreese is his only supporter and he was literally tripping balls and snapped hallucination johnny's neck like a stale breadstick so johnny doesnt really have much in the way of a good support system

now for those that have somehow stuck around lol lets get to the actual point (i realized here that i literally just blabbed for so long without making my point lmfao)

a self-fulfilling prophecy is essentially: you become what you are told. if i told you everyday that you will never amount to more than what you are right now, ive 'prophesied' your future and to self-fulfil it you would just stop trying because you know that nothing you do will ever change my mind.

in a similar vein i believe that deep down johnny DOES believe that no matter what he does or how hard he tries he'll never be able to move past the image of him thats already been made up in peoples minds (society for all it talks about rehabilitation does not tend to actually support those who want to rehabilitate- more thoughts below) and so he goes through a constant cycle of disappointing those around him again and again because no one believes he can be any better and he's internalized that, i honestly have soo many thoughts about johnny's character in kk1 and ck and i would love to chat with anyone interested about it

re: society and rehab

so people talk the good talk about how rehabilitation is important and necessary, in the show daniel is able to form good friendships with both chozen and mike who were arguably much worse than johnny was to him (chozen fought in a literal DEATH MATCH against him and mike harassed him, dangled him off a cliff, forced him to compete in a rigged match where he pretty much just whaled on him on the mat), why was daniel able to forgive these guys but not johnny? my theory is that its because to him chozen and mike have their lives together and have also properly apologized for their actions (JJ&H im still waiting on that johnny apology where we address the 'you're alright larusso' line) meanwhile johnny has obviously gone downhill since HS, but daniel never takes his attempts to get it together seriously and along with a lot of the toxic ideals put into him by kreese, johnny doesn't take his rehabilitation seriously either, he can't afford rehab for his alcohol dependency (plus rehab isnt viewed positively by him either) and he doesnt have a very steady support system so that makes it even more difficult. unlike daniel he's never had a positive father figure in his life which makes it difficult for him to act as a father without fear of becoming kreese, i just wish that the show would take johnny's journey to becoming the man he wants more seriously

[secretsandwritinggs]

Guess the people on Tumblr know what they want: a third parter of the saga of the random Lawrusso family headcanons!

⚠️ | Before I begin these, I’m going to warn you right now that this is going to have some dark and heavy topics such as self-harm, depression and drinking, please keep this in mind. You have been warned so don’t get upset with me if you didn’t see it coming.

After snapping to everyone, Tory didn’t talk to anyone for a couple of weeks and just cried until she fell asleep.

Tory definitely blames herself for not preventing her mother’s death and not doing a better job.

Sam asks Johnny if both Tory and Brandon can come and stay with them instead of staying in their apartment.

He said they can, so she went over to Tory’s apartment to pick her up and found her almost blacked out while Brandon was in his bedroom coloring.

Johnny (with Daniel’s assistance) helps Tory with the frustration she has with her mother’s death.

Everyone in the family, except Tory, told Brandon what happened to his mother; it was too much for her to tell him, plus it was difficult to look him in the face at the same time.

Sam and Johnny went to check her later to see her disassembling a razor that they snatched from her hands and made sure she could tell them anything and they will understand.

She just trembled and shook as she began to cry when both Johnny and Sam joined her on the floor. Sam just hugged her tight as she cried and apologized for trying to hurt herself.

Sam suggested that she wash herself a bit before dinner, while she was washing, she almost made a hole in the bathroom wall by punching at it multiple times.

Sam went back to the bathroom so that she wouldn’t hurt himself or try to hurt herself eventually, getting into the bathtub with her (she’s in a bathing suit. she is not naked) and gently washed Tory while the two sat in silence.

Robby and Anthony have bonded really well with Brandon and have helped him to feel better after the news of his mother.

Tory by Sam and Johnny’s suggestion had decided to open up a little more, but she is taking it slow and with ease, although Brandon needs more time before he says something to these people he just met.

There are times when Tory spirals sometimes when she didn’t eat or shower or do much of anything for weeks on end and Sam is helping her to overcome it.

We are leaving the angst behind, now we are moving towards the fluff and soft bits. ☺️💖

Sam had braided Tory‘s hair a handful of times and Tory would keep the braid in for a couple days before removing it so Sam could do it again.

Robby finally realizes how close Sam and Tory are and exclaimed how surprised he was to see that they’re not killing each other with Miguel.

Miguel is just happy that Tory and Sam are finally getting get along well, although it scares Robby a bit because of how well they actually can and apparently they have a lot in common which they didn’t realize before.

Sam started teaching Tory Italian and Sam applauds her when she did well and Tory gets excited when she does.

Johnny had moved Tory and Brandon’s things to the Lawrusso’s house so that they wouldn’t have to walk there every day and they had become official members of the family.

They received their house keys from Robby who got pulled into a group hug with everyone.

Sam with Tory’s permission removed herself as a tenant at the apartment complex and officially moved her out although, Tory’s landlord wasn’t happy about the idea of her moving.

Sam and Amanda had went shopping with Tory so she could decorate her new room on the same day Robby, Anthony, Daniel, Johnny were taking Brandon for his new room.

Tory is more of minimal person when it comes to decorating her room while Brandon is more of maximal type of person.

Tory, who moved into Anthony’s old room, now shares a jack-and-jill bathroom with Sam.

Sam also tends after Tory and Brandon’s hair treatment also braids her hair most of the time.

Sam is not the only assigned cleaner of the house since now that she gets help from Tory occasionally Robby or Brandon.

Sam and Tory interchange clothes sometimes.

Sam bought a perfume that reminds Tory of her mother and gifted to her on Christmas.

The house is divided on what’s everyone’s favorite drink: Root Beer or Dr. Pepper, it’s 50/50

It’s the same thing for apple and orange juice

Tory sleeps in Sam’s bed whenever she’s have a night terrors, nightmares of her mother, or when she can’t sleep at all.

Tory had been added to the group and she wasn’t prepared for the madness that’s about to insure when reading the chat.

Robby and Anthony still steal chocolate out of Sam’s chocolate bowl now Tory does it too.

Parts in order: one , two , three

[kinja145]

The evil has been defeated ; the french translation of DLTD is complete !!!!!!!

It has been almost 9 years since I started it. I was in my first year of highschool when I started, I've gratuated, I went to university for 3 years, graduated again, and now I'm working. It has been a long, long thing to do. I did it with passion, but sometimes I feel like I wasn't as much implicated in the translation of some chapters compared to others, but I still loved it from start to end. Sometimes I wonder how I managed to stay so implicated and how I didn't just abandon the project ! But at the end, DLTD is always somehwere in my thoughts, I just can't escape it lol DLTD is a story, a fandom, I can't quite seem to leave. I've been way less into it these past few years, but everytime I came back to it, it felt like home and it still does. I think I've felt almost every emotion with DLTD, and I'm not just talking about the first part, but DLTD as a whole. I don't have the words to drescribe how much this story means to me, how it changed my brain chemistry.

I know the story isn't perfect, God knows I can tell that. But I just accept it with its flaws and kind of cringe parts that are so reminiscent of 2010s ! Without DLTD there is no drawings from me, or at least less, and probably not so much progression. So DLTD saved my imagination in a way, even tho time and energy is missing now that I'm working but I still love to draw for it. Thinking back on those 8 years, I'm amazed to see how obsessed I was with it. I did a comic adaptation of the first chapter, an ending, a parody I never finished with Daniel, dozens of fanart, a discord (that didn't really work but it's still out there !). I met lot of people, including my beta reader YuuKyun whom I haven't heard from for almost 3-4 years now. I really, really hope she is okay and will reappear someday. Big kudos to her, she was so helpful in the early years ! This translation wouldn't exist without @burakkuenjeru19. She is the reason I even started translating it. So kudos to her. She also listened to me yapping about DLTD for all those years, and yapped back so yeah, really kudos. This story has literally marked me. Even today, we still quote the lizard in the toaster from chapter 2 with my friends (iconic !), and more parts of the story. We had so so much fun reading the story together, giving each other a character to voice. We did it again a few weeks ago for old time sake, and it was still so wholesome !! The chapters aren't all out right now, but I'll start posting one chapter per day in december. Wich makes me think ; ever since 2016, I've always had at least 10 chapters of advance on the publication. I think I can take pride in that uwu As for DLTP, I don't know for now if I'll get to it. It's just a whole lot of work, way more than the first part. But I feel like I'll miss it so maybe there's a world where I start the translation of it too. I'm just not making any promesses !

And to end this post, I have to thanks the one and only : @hateweasel

I don't even know what to say to thank you, Hate. You brought to me and to many more people so much with your story and your imagination. Your interest for the surnatural stuck with me and you put it so well into the story, I just love the fact that you don't represent surnaturals as monsters. Yeah, they're people too. I just love this concept !!

I was so, so scared the first time I sent you a message here to ask the permission to post the translation. I think I read my message like 10 times to make sure that there wasn't any mistakes... And then, you helped me tons of time with words, sentences, and parts I didn't get. And you let me have so much liberty with the adaptation of the story in my language, it was really, really great from you, thank you !!

We started talking a lot at some point even with jet lag, and it was really great even tho we had multiple conversation at the same time lol

You made me discover a lot of things outside of DLTD with your blog too, and I'm thankfull for that too.

I just can't thank you enough, and I think everyone else who has read and loved DLTD can say the same. Thank you again, Hate (especially if you read all that) !!!

I'm going to keep on posting the last chapters, and then post drawings here and there I guess, now. Until then, farewell duckies !!

[dont-justdont]

here is a list of things that i so wish would happen in s2 of iwtv but im not really sure they will (im manisfesting it into being, sue me) :

- the europe trip before louis and claudia come to paris. i absolutely love that part of the book because in canon, louis and claudia do not know whether or not other vampires exist, and there's this desperation of are we alone in this world and can we go on knowing that? except in the show 1) claudia has already met killer so they know they're not alone so that desperation is not as palpable and 2) with everything that went down last episode and with rashid being armand i feel like it would drag things and not fit as well in the story to spend a whole episode before paris both for the viewers but in the perspective of story telling as a whole

- this does not happen in the books but just imagine : claudia and louis come into armand's rooms for the first time, louis is enamored with armand but claudia is looking around and armand has all these gothic horror looking things around including a pair of hands that kind of look like a statue but are also too gruesome and look too real to be made of rock and armand just says something along the lines of "you know how violinists can be" and changes the subject but i just want, no i need armand to have nicki's hands as a decoration somewhere i feel like he would definitely do that and it would just be a nice easter egg to put in the show (please mr producer please)

- lestat clutching claudia's dress in the theater after she dies and louis seeing him. THE DRAMA is just unbelievable and i absolutely love that scene, it's one of the things im mad they didnt include in the movie and i just hope with all my little heart they will include in the series. just imagine: feral louis who just got buried alive, armand in the back SATISFIED WITH HIMSELF (he is so manipulative i love him) and lestat just small and weak clutching a piece of claudia's dress while louis is both relieved but also terribly mad at lestat for being alive and just???? i love the entirety of this please make it come to life

- daniel fucking malloy requestioning the veracity of the entire story and just him being like was it raining louis?!? everytime louis speaks. i mean this is obviously going to happen but im so ready for it

- additionally, armand questioning daniel (cue devils minion? please pretty pretty please mr producer?) about the last years because i am convinced devils minion happened after the first interview but daniel doesnt remember/doesnt want to remember and i just NEED armand to torture him with that (not literally, or literally as well im not picky) and i need to see them together please

- lestat being seen through armand's perspective. now hear me out : sam has said multiple times that while he was playing lestat, he was playing him through louis' perspective of him, and he'd go like "nope that's not what happened" and bla bla bla. except now we get narrator!armand so im asking the question (and praying we get the answer) : what does lestat look like from armand's perspective? how does he act and how does that version of lestat contrast with louis'? DO THEY SEE THE CONTRADICTIONS BETWEEN THEMSELVES AND FREAK OUT ABOUT IT?!? (because i will) daniel you better call out their bullshit or i am coming for you

this is already a long post so ill leave this as is for now but i might (will) come back with more eventually, please tell me your hopes for s2 i cant wait!!!

[karmavongrim]

Hero's Rise fanfic idea

Not much of an idea but an actual story about Danny's new life in the Pokémon world.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1

All anybody needs is a second chance

Why is the world so unfair? It wasn’t fair! All it took was just one simple mistake. A mistake that any teenager could’ve made and yet when he does it, the entire world is put in peril. A mistake that his family had to pay the ultimate price for.

These are the thoughts of an injured teen kneeling in a crater of his latest fight with the most terrifying foe he has ever met. That day had started like any other, a teen worrying about an important exam that could effect his future. He’d thought of even just winging the whole test since he never got enough time to study thanks to his secret hero duties keeping him occupied even at nighttime, if not for the test answers he had picked up from the ground that was accidentally left behind by his English teacher. If only he would’ve known that his decision to cheat would cause for the literal apocalypse to happen then he would have never even considered doing such a thing.

No, that wasn’t true, he knew that this would be the outcome yet he still did it thanks to his stupid teen impulses. The master and lord of time himself had warned him personally of this but he still didn’t listen. And now he has nothing.

The scrawny fourteen year old stares blackly at the hellish inferno that had consumed all the ones he cared about along with a fast food restaurant they had been held captive in by his evil future self. His glazed eyes turn to a silver thermos that now housed said monster. He can’t bring himself to care that his baggy t-shirt and jeans are in shreds, and covered in blood and dirt. Nothing mattered to him anymore.

In a distance the blaring sound of multiple sirens can be heard even through the sound of roaring fire around him. So lost in thoughts he’s that he didn’t notice the world around him going deathly still and quit, nor the wisp of gold air escaping past his pale split lips. Not until a familiar, deep voice gently calls out to him.

“Danny.”

Danny blinks for what feels like the first time in a good while as he’s trying to process what was said to him and by whom. He didn’t move from his spot on the ground when a blue-skinned ghost moves in front of him, his purple cloak flowing along. His form ever shifting between that of a child, an adult and an old man, never staying as one for long. Seeing the ghost he can’t stop tears from rolling down his face as he demands.

“Why didn’t you stop this Clockwork?”

When the ever age shifting ghost says nothing he becomes angry.

“You are the master of time aren’t you? Can’t you just turn back time and let me fix my mistake?”

Clockwork regards the distraught boy silently for a moment.

“I won’t nor can do that Daniel, for multitude of reasons. You also seem to have misunderstood some things regarding me. I do not rule over time, I manage it. My duty is to take care of it, not to bend it to my will and do whatever I please with it. If I were to meddle more than I already have the consequences could be catastrophic. This was the most optimal outcome.” He calmly explains. The ageless being truly wishes that it wouldn’t have come to this, but he had no other choice. He had his limits and rules in place for a reason. This of course doesn’t sit well with the boy.

“O-Optimal outcome? Optimal outcome!” He screams with his hoarse voice. Danny was absolutely livid hearing that. He lets go of the thermos shaped capture device and wobbly lifts himself up.

“You are saying all this like it’s nothing! Like we are nothing more then pieces on a game board that can be thrown away!” He screams more as he unsteadily lunges himself at the ancient ghost who does nothing to stop the weak assault.

“Why did they have to pay the price for my stupid decision? Just take me instead!” He begs but Clockwork’s unmoved, so Danny continues to throw punches, ignoring how heavy and in pain his arms feel.

“You are the master of time! Just turn back time and let me fix this!” He begs again and still only silence greets him, so he doesn’t stop.

“Please! If they are taken away from me I’ll have nothing left worth living for. If you can’t bring them back then take me as well!” Third time he begs and bargains, and again nothing.

Danny collapses on to the elder who wraps his gloved arms to keep him from falling while being careful with his clock staff. With no more rage, all that is left was absolute sorrow and misery belonging to an orphaned child.

“P-Please bring them back. Please. I-I beg you, I’ll do anything.” He tries to beg feebly one last time as he lifts his head to look into Clockwork’s solid red eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Was the resolute answer he gets that shattering any illusions of this all being just a messed up dream or a sick joke.

That’s it then, he’s lost everything and there’s nothing he can do about it. Maybe his parents were right about Danny Phantom being a monster, they weren’t that far from truth looking at the destruction that Dan had caused… It would be better for everybody if he were to just-

“Don’t.” Clockwork’s stern voice rouses him from his spiraling dark thoughts, who’s looking at him with equally stern gaze.

“Do not think that taking your own life would atone anything. You must keep on living Daniel, for your family’s sake at least if not yours. Stay alive so that their memories may live on as well with you. They would want that and you know this too deep inside.”

Even though his speech ends in softer note it still stings a lot. He’s the cause of all of this so it would be only fair that he pays the price as well. But there seemes to be no way fighting the powerful ghost of time on this, no matter how hard he tries. Danny slumps further into Clockwork’s firm embrace as if it would help him somehow to escape the cruel reality.

Clockwork would let the boy get his bearings but this isn’t the place nor time for it. He shifts his free hand to soothe the messy black mop of hair as he continues.

“Unfortunately I can’t let you stay here. The future only holds terrible things for all if you do.”

Danny squeezes his eyes shut as he grits his teeth; even if Clockwork didn’t say it outright he knows what he means. What is he suppose to do then? There’s no going back and fixing this, nor is he apparently allowed to end his own misery. The only thing he can think of is to ask the one who knows everything.

“…What should I do?”

Clockwork lifts his staff as he suggests.

“Come with me and you’ll find out.”

Danny doesn’t think too long since he has nothing else to do or place to go. If he stays then he would be just put in foster care or adoption since he’s still a minor, and would end up with Vlad one way or another. Once felt connection to this town seemed to have shatter into pieces when his loved ones perished. He has nothing left to keep him there, so at a complete loss he agrees.

“A-Alright.” He mutters and takes the offered hand.

At his consent they are both along with the thermos transported away with a single wave of a staff, never to been seen by that world ever again.

Danny only opens his eyes when the feeling of momentary weightlessness ceases and he’s gently pried off by the older ghost. He is led to a purple bed of what seem to be a guest room from lack of personal touches in it. Once he’s made comfortable Clockwork doesn’t waste time in explaining.

“Like I said before, you can’t stay here. But there’s another way. I happen to have acquaintances who would be willing to foster you, the only catch being that they live very far, far away.” Danny’s getting a sinking feeling about where this is going so he has to ask.

“How far exactly?”

Clockwork stops, seemingly to give the boy a second to prepare himself before answering.

“In another world, in another reality.” He tells him truthfully. This gets a reaction out of the teen.

“What! W-Why so far away? What about my-” He stops himself from finishing that sentence. Tears once again start to gather and fall with earnest. What about his family. They are gone for good and he wouldn’t be able to live in Amity Park without constantly being reminded of his failures. Clockwork places a firm hand on the skinny shoulder to draw his attention away from his spiraling thoughts again. He hates the soft look directed at him. He doesn’t deserve it.

“This is why you can’t stay and why I’m offering you this opportunity, to heal and give you a second change at life, to move on.”

Danny shook his head violently. No, he doesn’t deserve any of this.

“H-how can I just move on from this!? From them! There’s no way- It’s just not right!”

He doesn’t deserve help. He doesn’t want it! He can’t continue on with his life when the others lost theirs. It wasn’t right. It wasn’t fair.

“I didn’t say that you should forget about them, but to accept that this is the unfortunate reality. The pain never goes away, it merely becomes easier to deal with in due time if you let yourself heal by at least attempting to forgive yourself. What do you think your loved ones would say to you right now? Samantha, Tucker and Jasmine? Your parents? Would they want to see you in this state?”

Danny winces and glares hard at the elder. He has no business to use his family against him like that! But now that the idea’s been planted, he wasn’t able to think anything else. What would they say?

He can definitely see Jazz and Sam scolding him for being an idiot, for ever thinking that they’d blame him, that they knew what they were getting themselves into. Tucker would reassure him that he wouldn’t forget them even if he found a new meaning to his life. Hell, he would even offer some ridiculous ideas to try out in the new world, like pick up some alien girls. He liked to think that his parents would wish the best of luck and happiness, to show the world what Fentons are made of.

He let his tears fall freely. The last thing he wants to do was to dishonor the ones he loved the most. He won’t do it, he’ll make sure their memories would live on, brighter than ever. He doesn’t want to disappoint them no matter what, even if it still left a sour taste on his tongue. Was he really allowed to move on with out them?

Clockwork decides it would be a good time to leave the boy to mourn in peace, yet he can’t help but lament quietly as he floats out of the bedroom.

“Oh Daniel, you think that you still have to pay for what had happened. Those who have passed have no need for tears, you’ll only end up drowning yourself in them. I truly hope that this will help you find peace of mind someday.”

The Observants have always told him that he cares to much for the young halfa, and every time he denies them even though he knows that they are correct much to his dismay. He’s cared for the boy even before he was born. He can see all of time: past, present, and future. All of it’s endless twists and turns. And out of all of them he enjoyed Danny’s the most. The person who said that time doesn’t have favorites was a liar.

Clockwork glides through the finding halls and corridors of his clock tower till he arrives at his destination. His viewing room, filled with screens, mirrors and cogs that hold within images of old and new, as well as those yet to come to pass or never will. He moves deeper and deeper till he came to a simple silver mirror, so unassuming and hidden away from any unwanted eyes.

Lifting his staff he gently taps it’s surface. It ripples like a calm lake disturbed and white figure manifestes in it.

A white equine like creature accented with gold, radiated majesty and power. Emerald crusted ring of gold attached to its abdomen outshines any crown a king could wear. It’s red and green eyes seem to glow when it notices the time master who has contacted it. And with a mighty voice they spoke.

“Clockwork, it has been ages since we hast last spoken. How hast thou been, those Eyeballs still causing trouble for thee?”

Clockwork lets himself chuckle, trust his friend to take a stab at his ‘coworkers’ just to make him laugh. Not that he’s any better.

“Well met Arceus, my old friend. As nice as it would’ve been for me to have only called you for pleasantries, we’re here to discuss some business.”

He leans on his staff as his friend could only sigh.

“We had a feeling this was so. Thou rarely contact us for any reason other.” Arceus laments and bores a tired glare at the cloaked man who in turn shrugs rather unapologetically.

“What is’t, now that thou summon us?” He asks in almost bored tone.

“I’m calling for the old dept.”

Clockwork states simply. Or it would have sounded simple to anyone else, but Arceus stills as their eyes blow wide open before they narrow in suspicion.

“What hast thou gotten into for thou to arriveth and claim due.” They demand and watch when with a wave of a staff, a hand mirror appears on the other’s unoccupied hand. They lean in for a closer look as a visage of an adolescent boy with midnight black hair becomes visable. This was not what they had expected.

“We fail to understand what thou crave us to try, other than it most like hath to try with thy human child.” They inquire in hesitant interest. This was Clockwork they were dealing with and should never be underestimated.

“He’s a child who’s been dealt an unnecessarily cruel hand in both life and death. He just a moment ago witnessed the loss of his friend and loved ones in the hands of his ultimate enemy.” He tells this as he looks at the image.

“E’en if that is the case, why hie so far for this one single being? There are many others whom suffer the like fate as him, if not worse. Time favors none, doth it not?” Arceus keeps questioning. It doesn’t make sense since they’ve seen countless beings succumb to many fates both good, bad and horrid. What is so different about this one?

“This world holds nothing but sadness and pain for him. In another timeline things would have gone so much more differently and he would have had his happy ending, but this timeline is unfortunately not it. He will never truly recover if he stays here were everything reminds him of his ‘failure’; he’ll keep dwelling deeper in his misery till it drives him over the edge. A change of scenery is what he desperately needs, so I’m finally asking for the favor that you own me. My request is that you take this child and allow him to build a new life for himself in your world.”

They hear and see the clear care their old friend holds for the child but they needs to remind him of the weight of what he’s asking of them.

“This is no bawbling crave Clockwork.” They press.

Clockwork fiddles idle with the clock that is embedded on top of his trusty staff as he conversationally mentions.

“Just like it wasn’t a small act I committed back then for you.”

He lifts his red eyes back at them, challenging the other to try and back down. Arceus knows a losing battle when they see one, besides they do own him big time. There’s nothing else for him to do than continue onward in valiant defeat.

“What is the name of this child?” They ask as they turn back to look at their future charge. The victorious smugness emanating from the other side of the mirror nearly causes them to roll their eyes.

“His name is Daniel Fenton but goes by his moniker Danny or Phantom depending on his current form. A bright young lad when given the chance, even if his grades might have taken a plunge due to his hero work.” Clockwork informs them.

Arceus watches in keen interest as they’re shown many of the boy’s ventures through the small looking-glass. They can’t help but laugh when he realizes how Clockwork sounds like when he talks about the boy, causing said ghost to raise his brown at him.

“And hither we thought thee were suppose to be impartial to all’s… Regarding the favor, all preparations shall be done ‘i no time.” They both discreetly snorted at the pun.

“We are content to receive him whenever seen meetest.”

Clockwork’s shoulders slump ever so slightly as he gives a grateful smile, which quickly turns to his usual smirk.

“Excellent, I won’t be holding you any longer then. Besides I need to prepare young Daniel for his departure, as well as some ‘guests’ to entertain when they finally decide to arrive.” He purrs but before the call was ends Arceus gives a final warning to their old friend.

“We hope that this doth not end poorly. If it doth, thy shall bear the consequence.”

At this threat the ghost only laughs.

“No need for worry. Knowing my Daniel he will do more good then harm. But then again, I know everything.” And with that final farewell the mirror returns back to its unassuming state. Clockwork creates a duplicate of himself and sends him away while making his way back to Danny.

Arriving at the bedroom door he knocks out of courtesy on it before entering to see the poor boy lying face down on the bed. Softly floating to the bedside he tentatively begins to pet his grimy hair. Danny stirs slightly but made no move to get away or to stop the hand on his head. Instead he starts to hiccup and tries to smother his sobs on the duvet.

“I’ll never see them again.” He cries.

Clockwork continues his petting as he lets the boy release his emotions.

“They’re never coming back.” He cries more and all the elder can do at the moment was to offer comfort.

“I’m sorry.” He says as sincerely as he can. He would’ve felt regret over the whole situation if he didn’t know that this needed to happen. It still doesn’t stop his core from breaking a little when he hears him say in such a small voice.

“I don’t want to be alone.”

Lifting his hand from the dirty hair he moves to shift it away from the boy’s face to reveal pair of red puffy eyes looking at him in complete loss.

“You won’t be for long. Here, lets get you cleaned up a bit and you can go back to rest a little while longer.”

Not having energy to argue he’s helped up from the soft bed and into a Victorian style bathroom. Clockwork helps him all through out the whole process of undressing and bathing since Danny doesn’t want to do much of anything in his current state. Being gentle with all the injuries, he’s placed into a tub and washed till water comes out clean. Helping Danny up once again he ignores the grimy rags that were the boy’s old clothes laying on the floor as he moves them both back to the bedroom where a set of new identical looking garments rest on the bed along with a black and white duffel back with Phantom’s logo on it. Danny, who’s bundled up in light purple towel, shows only slight interest in the assorted items before going back to being docile dead weight. He doesn’t react much either to being once again manhandled and laid back down to rest on the soft mattress. His eyes already closing shut when he was being tucked in.

Clockwork takes a second to look at the now peaceful form slumbering away, he deems him well enough to be left alone for the time being. After shutting the lights and closing the bedroom door behind him, he leaves to continue his many tasks still left unfinished.

It takes a good while for Danny to wake up and when he does, he’s feeling completely sore and tired. He looks around to see the familiar room and tears began to fall again.

It wasn’t just a nightmare then. They were really gone forever now. His talk with Clockwork plays around in his head, about how he should keep on living. But he doesn’t think he deserves a new chance, not that he had been given any other choice. He was going to be dragged towards a “new life” kicking and screaming anyway so what’s the point in even trying to fight back. What was there to fight back for?

Rolling his head to its side he was faced with the duffel bag he vaguely remembers seeing before going to sleep. And since it has his logo on it he could only assume that it was meant for him. He rolls to his other side and tries to ignores it to best of his ability. Few moments pass as he tosses around in frustration before he lets his curiosity win.

“Whatever.” He sighs and moves to sit and drags the full bag in closer to him.

Hesitating for a second, he grips the pull tightly and opens it. He only sees a glimpse of what’s inside but it’s enough for his world to come to a complete stop again. His hands start to shake uncontrollably as he carefully, oh so carefully pushed the opening wider to see if his mind was playing tricks on him. Only when his trembling fingers caress the items revealed inside does he believe them to be real and there with him.

Inside are meticulously placed items belonging to all his lost loved ones. He reverently takes them all out and spreads them neatly in front of him.

His mom’s red goggles glisten along with his dad’s favorite fudge spoon which sit right next to a giant pair of black gloves also belonging to his dad. To the right is his sister’s well loved teddy bear nicknamed Bearbert Einstein, which thankfully hasn’t gained anymore tears. Even his little lab coat was still on. Next is Sam’s much sought-after combat boots she swore to wear when she’d grown enough to wear them properly and beside them are Tucker’s trusted PDA and signature red beret which he owned multiple of. There are even two of his own favorite items from his room; a red toy model rocket from his childhood and vintage collector’s poster of Apollo 13. All the other irrelevant items such as the Fenton thermos, wrist ray, Fenton phones, Boo-merang and Fenton rod, some extra clothes and a memory stick he left inside the bag.

He places both of his hands to his mouth as he tried fruitlessly stifle a sob. Clockwork must have gathered all of them for him, and he would be forever grateful for it.

He takes his dad’s oversized gloves and fastened them on his much smaller hands. Mom’s goggles now hanged around his neck as he situates Tucker’s beret backwards on his head, and after putting on Sam’s boots he gently lifts Mr. Bearbert to look into his one remaining little eye. Hugging the bear tightly, he curls into a ball and he manages to catch a whiff of a painfully familiar sweet scent. It still smells like Jazz’s cheap candy perfume. He no longer hold back on his cries as he’s surrounded by the only things he still has left of his shattered life.

He didn’t know how long he had cried before he felt a hand landing on his shoulder. He only looked up at the new arrival when then hand squeezed in lieu of trying to get his attention. It’s Clockwork who’s gazing down softly at him.

“I thought you might appreciate to have some mementos of them to take with you.” He explains. Danny can only nod in utmost thanks, not trusting his voice to work at the moment.

He can feel his eyes starting to moisten up again but no more tears are left for him to cry. The hand on his shoulder continues to sooth him as he gathers himself up to sit, still clutching on to his sister’s bear for support. He’s offered a napkin to dry of his now wet face.

“I suggest that you pack your bag back up; it is time to leave.” The ghost encourages him and moves to stand by the bed’s side.

“Already?” He asks and winces at how his voice comes out. Clockwork nods.

“Unfortunately. Now come, I’ll help you if you need me to.” He says and gestures at the bag. Danny didn’t want to put away the items just yet and seeing how he’s hesitating the ghost continues to reason.

“The road to you destination is a turbulent one, it will be much safer to put them away for the time being and you can always take them out afterwards.”

He thinks about it only a second before caving in; he doesn’t want to loose any more things dear to him just because of his stubbornness. Carefully, one by one he takes the precious items and puts them away to safety of his duffel before zipping it up. Clockwork opens the door and gestures for him to follow which he dutifully does along with his bag.

Their walk is silent for the most part, not that he minds too much, it leaves him time to look at all the cogs, clocks and other glowing green metallic structures that litter the place. Makes sense considering who the owner is.

It’s probably because of Clockworks own influence or because their destination was that close by that they arrived to their stop faster than he thought it would take, and to his surprise and dread the room they enter was the viewing room he and his friends had broken into. The guilt that immediately starts to twist his guts make him look down at the ground and keeping his eyes only on the end of his guider’s cloak. He’s so focused on not seeing anything on the screens and mirrors that he pumps into Clockwork when he stops them at the very end of the cluttered room. Finally daring to look up he sees in front of them on it’s lonesome, is a person sized clouded mirror with ornate frame hanging on the wall, with stone steps leading up to it.

Clockwork turns to him and speaks as he gestures it.

“This gateway will take you to your the new world which hopefully you’ll learn to love and call home one day. There are things in that world that are similar to ours, but also things that you’ve never even imagined. Don’t worry, your new caretakers will share more information with you once there.”

He places his hand on his back and guides the hesitant teen up the stairs to his uncertain future. He pauses in front of the mirror and now that he stands so close to it, he can see that the glass isn’t exactly clouded but seems to have actual moving clouds trapped on the other side of it. He thoughtfully looks at it then at Clockwork.

“Will I ever see you again?” He asks after a moment of hesitation. The elder tilts his head to the side as if thinking before smiling enigmatically.

“Only time will tell young Daniel.” He simply states which almost makes Danny snort, but his slightly better mood is snuffed out when a promising grin takes over his aging face.

“Good luck.”

With this he pushes the fumbling teen into the mirror who embraces for collision but is shocked when he passes through the glass and keeps on falling. He screams.

Clockwork watches impassively as his short time charge leaves this world and into a new one. He glances at nearby mirror to see Fenton Works blow up to smithereens, leaving nothing to the unscrupulous vultures that would have used this tragedy to their advantage. Someone must’ve forgotten to change the Ecto-Filtrator, how unfortunate.

He silently counts down till the door to his work room slams open and three very loud creatures whom have once again barged into his domain uninvited, decide to make tier unhappiness known.

“You must have thought it really funny to leave us in a time loop at your front door!”

His lips twitch minutely as he regards them dully.

“Who knows, and did you really need to take out your frustration on my poor door.”

The trio float closer, all of them wearing identical white robes and black collard cloaks decorated with gold. Their heads were nothing more then a giant eyeball with no necks. Middle one closes in and points its sharp-nailed finger at him as it narrows its one eye.

“Were not here to play games, Time Keeper. Were here because of that hybrid you seem to favor.”

He raises an eyebrow and tightens his hold on the staff. The being notices this and wisely moves back to stand with his peers. Satisfied he turnes to look back at the many screens that kept switching from view to view.

“You won’t have to worry about him. He’s long gone.” He provides, which certainly caught their interest.

“He is? For good?” Third one askes, sounding a bit too exited.

“And he won’t be a problem in the future?” Second one askes more apprehensively.

“Yes. I trust you are satisfied now.” He near spits at the unwanted company standing behind him. Dressed in fine robes they look more like noblemen than officials, which irks Clockwork to no end. So high and mighty, it made him want to defenestrate a good few of them if it weren’t for the fact that they were needed in this anarchist paradise of a dimention.

“Where did you send him anyway Clockwork?” Pries one of them. He merely shrugs in response.

“That is none of your concern since he won’t be coming back. Now, care to observe the door. And don’t let it hit you on your way out.” He motions carelessly behind him at the exit.

As they turn to leave with indignant huffs, they do not notice the mysterious smile stretching on the time ghost’s face.

[f0point5]

I don’t want to bring up drama but I really want to know if you think the simply lovely thing is big deal or not because people are still talking about it on Twitter and I’m curious about your thoughts

Oh this is going to turn into a think piece lol.

Firstly, no, I don’t think it’s a big deal. I think unless Lando’s wins the next 30 races in a row, no one will ever remember that he once said simply lovely after winning the Dutch gp 2 years from now.

But I do get why people are talking about it now, because it’s yet another low EQ moment for Lando and people love to either hate or defend him to their last breath.

Look, I think it’s pointless to speculate about Lando’s intentions. We don’t know the guy. And that goes for people who think they “get” his humour as much as people who think he’s an ass. No one knows what he was “meaning” to do other than him. And it kind of doesn’t matter imo and here’s why.

If win a race against my friend, who is considered to be one of the best at what we do, who has had a hard time with negative media attention, whose achievement at this very circuit was met with a lot of criticism; if on top of this I am known for being “misunderstood” and “arrogant” and I’m aware that the thing I say get taken out of context…that all being the case, I wouldn’t say “simply lovely”. That is not who I am as a friend or a person, that’s not how I’d want my win to be remembered. A general cognisance of the context would tell me to make a different choice. So for me, regardless of the intention, ew.

I’d also like to point out that if it’s just a joke between friends, maybe say it to the friend who is in on the joke? Because saying “simply lovely, huh” to your race engineer isn’t a thing unless you’re bantering about that with multiple people.

We don’t know what Max thinks about it, and really he might be totally fine about it, or he might be silently seething about it or somewhere in between. Regardless, his and Lando’s relationship is his business. If that’s the company he likes to keep then who tf is anyone to say anything about that?

But we can say for ourselves whether that’s the company we’d keep in his position, or whether we find that distasteful.

As for Daniel stirring it…I said this elsewhere but as an outside viewer I’m glad he stirred it lol. Because I never like to speak when something’s pissed me off in case I look petty but I do like when other people recognise the thing. Maybe Max wouldn’t be impressed by Daniel talking about him and maybe Daniel should have just kept his mouth shut and been a bit more professional. But Daniel would know more about the spirit in which the comment was meant and how it was received than anyone on the internet. Daniel is also pretty close with Lando, he knows the “humour”.

But yeah I guess my final PSA is, even if it was meant as a joke, Max isn’t obliged to find the joke funny. Lando could have meant it with absolutely no negativity and Max could still say “I actually found it rude” and that’s okay. All these people like “oh it was obviously a joke” well maybe not everyone is laughing? We don’t know either way but “it’s a joke” it’s an exoneration in and of itself.

What it all comes down to, for me, is fuck the intention because we don’t know it. To me, the person I am, the fact that twelve seconds after winning your second Grand Prix the first thing that came to your mind was a joke about your friend? That’s the biggest dick ride in history honestly.

Statement made indeed.

[thesupreme316]

Is the Grass Greener on the Other Side? EP. 6

Summary: After meeting with Triple H, Y/N starts to evaluate her career and where to go next. So what happens when she meets with one of WWE's biggest competitors?

Word Count: 2.1K

Warnings: None I think, isn't proofread tbh

Notes: I FINALLY GOT INSPO AND TIME SO HERE IT IS

Links to other parts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

August 31st

“Ms. Y/L/N, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

You smiled as you sat down at the table, across from the other person. “Likewise. I’m happy to have this opportunity.”

“I know you and I am just happy to be in a room with such a legend in the making.”

“Mr. Kahn, I’m sure you are surrounded by legends in the making every day.”

“Well, yes to a certain extent; but none of them have the charisma and charm that you possess. And please call me Tony.”

Could you complain about life right now?

HELL NO

You had a lot to be grateful for like this meeting with Tony Kahn.

Everything was going great after the meeting with Paul. You started to feel like your old self again; you made your first public appearance at a fashion show, you started becoming an ambassador for multiple brand deals, you went viral for sitting next to Rihanna and then became the head ambassador for Fenty, and you were a single pringle.

But most importantly, you began to wrestle and train more. Almost every day, you got in the ring and you saw vast improvements even from the last time you stepped in the ring (which was two months ago). And because you were re-entering the public’s eye, your career and where you would end up as people noticed your contract was almost up at WWE (and the fact they haven’t seen you since July). Many companies have been offering you different amounts for you to sign to them.

Now you were here….at AEW…WWE’s biggest competitor since WCW….just “looking around.”

“Well, Tony, I really do appreciate this hospitality. It just softens the blow when it comes down to business.” You joked, making him chuckle.

“Of course. Well, I would say that we are just like everything you’re used to, but we both know that’s a lie.”

“How would you say that you’re different?”

“A big example is creative freedom; we barely use scripts, it’s just a basis and talent says what they want. Gimmicks, ring style, and creative ideas are mostly from the locker room and then are tweaked to make sure it’s okay with our sponsors. I also would say we have a great checks-and-balances system here as well.” You nodded your head as that was your main concern as you didn’t wanna throw out the things that brought you to your status now.

Since hearing that, your heart rate has decreased. You wanted to be yourself and not have to worry about lessening yourself to make others look good. “But I’m curious, since you’re a hot topic and agent, how much have you been getting offered?”

You discussed the amounts that you have been offered from Impact, AAA, NJPW, and Shimmer. Then, you told him about the arrangement that WWE (specifically Hunter) presented to you. Tony’s eyes went wide as he spoke up again, “That is really a good deal. I think William Regal received the same offer. It seems that they only offer that to those they must really like.” You giggled as he continued, “If you want, we can extend the talk to next week so I can give you a proper figure estimate. Until then, we can roam around backstage and meet the talent.”

“That would be great!”

For the next hour, Tony dragged you around backstage, introducing you to many talents that you haven’t had the pleasure of stepping in the ring with yet. You saw some old faces of people you’ve met and were friends with. Some were happy to see you, others not so much. Either way, you caused a wave backstage, you could even feel the tension to a certain extent. Eventually, Tony allowed you to roam by yourself as he attended to some business, which is how you started hanging out with Daniel (who was surprised) yet again.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me that you were coming here,” Daniel said playfully hitting your shoulder.

“Surprise? I didn’t want you to spoil anything, cause you know, you have a big mouth.” You said making him do a fake offended face. It was nice joking with him, it kind of helped relieve you of the stress and tension that you were feeling.

“How dare you?” He said laughing, he gave you a hug. You breathed in his cologne as he breathed in your perfume, both being delighted in the scents. You felt great being in familiar arms, especially of a man who you keep close to your heart. The same could be said for Daniel, he was legitimately grateful and glad to see you, as he normally is. “But I am happy you’re here. Now we can-“

“Y/N!” A voice from behind you cut him off. You broke away from the hug and turned around to see a fluffy-haired Hook with a wide smile walking up. Squealing you ran up to him and hugged him, excited to see him. “I heard that you were around, had to see it to believe it.” He said pulling away from you, allowing his hand to fall at your waist.

“Yeah, I’ve been sitting here catching up with Danny.” You smiled while motioning towards him. Daniel’s face became stoned real quick when Hook entered his view. His eyes traveled and landed on the spot where Hook’s hand was sitting on your waist. It bothered him. It bothered him that you are allowing him to touch you, let alone allowed your attention to go towards him. Daniel smacked his teeth in annoyance as Hook smirked.

“Garcia,” Hook greeted.

“Hook.” He responded.

Hook was loving this; he loved how jealous Daniel was getting and knowing he can’t do a damn thing about it as long as you were here. He loved that he was touching you like this and not him, no matter if it was a small gesture. “How are you, man?”

Daniel shrugged, not allowing his face to fall. “Good. How are you feeling?”

“Comfortable.”

“A little too comfortable,” Daniel said under his breath as Hook’s smirk widened. If anything, Hook tightened his grip around you before moving his hand further down to your hip. Daniel didn’t like that either, and he didn't like how you weren't doing anything about it, as if you were oblivious to everything. He cleared his throat, "So, how do you feel about your big match coming up?"

Hook shrugged and briefly flicked his eyes to you, "Nothing I can't handle."

"To be honest, I think it might be too much for you."

Your eyes widened, you didn't know what was going on but you didn't like the direction it was heading in. Hook squinted at Daniel, making his hand drop from your body completely. "What do you mean?"

"I just think you're biting off more than you can chew. Considering that you are just a rookie after all. Some prizes are just too big for you to win," Garcia said smirking as Hook was now stone-faced.

"Well then Garcia, what about your match?"

"Fine, I'm confident that I'm gonna win and everything that comes with it."

Hook chuckled, "Okay, but what if it's past your time? That you don't even have a chance anymore? Or that the opportunity for you has passed you by." He stepped closer to Daniel, who also stepped forward to the point that they were almost nose-to-nose.

"I still got my shot. I haven't failed-"

"Yet. That is until someone else better comes into play."

The tension in the air was becoming so thick that you couldn't even cut it….without a chainsaw. You couldn't even grab either of their attention as they were silently challenging each other. As the staring contest started between the two men, a stagehand came up to Daniel to let him know his segment was starting. Daniel, without any words, gave you a hug and left to go to the stage.

"What was that about?" You asked as Hook looked at Daniel's figure walking away.

"Don't worry your pretty head about it." Hook said, "Everything's gonna be okay."

September 7th

Today was a great Wednesday…a lot more fun and stress-free in comparison to last Wednesday. That's also probably because you were at a party. Not just any party, but Daniel's celebratory party for winning the ROH Pure Championship. It's been a long day for you as you were stuck in meetings all day, watched Dynamite backstage (which caused an uproar online), explored the locker room, and built and re-established bonds. You were tired, but you put that aside for Daniel because he deserves it; the title, the happiness, and everything else that came with it as he said.

But you still needed to try to get all your ducks in a row for the next major stage in your life. So you were, in the bathroom, on the phone with Mercedes and Trinity, catching them up on everything for the first time in a while.

"Well, this has been a very eventful month for you so far." Mercedes said, "But, hey, you deserve it. You're getting back on your feet and back out in society."

"You say that as if I've been isolated from society." You pouted.

"You basically have been, girl!" Trinity exclaimed, making you roll your eyes. "Now, go enjoy yourself at the party. You're supposed to be having a good time and here you are talking about work and stress. There will be a time for all that later."

Mercedes agreed, "Girl, go! I'm sure that Garcia would like to see you, especially with how you look right now." You were dressed in the best dress you could find with heels that hurt your feet so much.

You all exchanged goodbyes before hanging up. After fixing your makeup, you exited the bathroom to find your best friend on the floor like there was no tomorrow. His eyes lit up even more as he made eye contact with you. Daniel made his way to you, title around his waist and all. "Y/N! I'm so happy to see you! I thought I would have to cancel if I didn't see you!" Daniel said, having his words run together

"First Danny, congrats champ! Second, are you drunk?"

"Nope! Just buzzed, I think." He slurred and laughed, making you laugh. Daniel was so cute when before leaning down. "Do you wanna dance? It's boring without you on the floor."

Laughing, you took Daniel's hand as he lead you to the dance floor. The two of you danced to many songs, twirling and spinning around to the point Daniel gave Isiah his title belt to put away in VIP. You were having a great time, singing at the top of your lungs with him like old times, taking shots, taking various pictures and videos throughout the hour, and not once did you feel stiff or feel any tension. Soon the songs started to slow down, making the dance floor scarce. Daniel and you were still dancing as if no one was watching, but in the meanwhile, gradually getting closer to each other.

You wrapped your arms around his neck as his arms were wrapped around your waist, moving along to the beat. You were trying to look anywhere except for Daniel's eyes, which were glued on you. Soon, his hand lifted to your face, gently lifting your face up to him. As soon as you made eye contact, you could have sworn either Cupid shot you (and or Daniel) in the ass or you were drinking too much cause the way he was looking at you made you feel like you shrunk two sizes. Blushing, you were drawn into his beautiful brown eyes. You saw the same glint in his eyes that you saw when you first reunited. Despite the club having different colored lights everywhere, you could make out the emotions more clearly than ever before; admiration and lust.

As you looked into his eyes, you could feel those same feelings coming to the surface, or maybe it was the liquor coming to your mind. Apparently, that was clear to Daniel as well. "You are so damn gorgeous," Daniel whispered while looking back and forth between your eyes and lips.

"Danny, you're drunk." You said, trying to excuse his words and make the moment less

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I don't know a beautiful woman when I see one. One especially that makes me feel…I don't know how to describe it but just know that I love how you make me feel nonetheless." Daniel finished as he pressed a kiss to your forehead.

"And hopefully soon, you'll feel it too." He muttered in your hair.

Taglist: @triscillal @wwenhlimagines @hooks-martin @hookerforhook @sheinthatfandom @zatarias-pandora @jess95laugh 

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CATHERINE MARKS: BOYGENIUS, MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA, AND FINDING EMOTIONAL FREEDOM

by Daniel Gumble | 4/22/24

Award-winning producer Catherine Marks sits down with Headliner to reflect on a whirlwind start to 2024, the magic that went into boygenius’s the record, and how her enduring relationship with Manchester Orchestra has taught her the importance of unlocking true “emotional freedom”in the studio…

“It’s been a crazy start to the year,” Catherine Marks exhales as she joins us via Zoom from her London home on a bright, early-Spring morning in late March. “I keep thinking it’s September or something.” In reality, it’s a month to the day until the 2024 MPG Awards ceremony, which will see Marks fighting on three fronts for a trio of highly coveted gongs. This year she’s up for Producer of the Year (an award she won in 2018) and Mix Engineer of the Year, while the record by indie rock ‘supergroup’ boygenuis, produced by Marks, is shortlisted for Album of the Year. Taking place on April 25th at The Troxy in London, the night will provide the Australian-born, London-based producer a rare moment to reflect on what has been one of the busiest and most fruitful spells of her career so far.

In the first quarter of 2024, she’s been hopping between continents to work across a number of new records, while also squeezing in a visit to the Grammys and the Resonator Awards, where her work on the widely lauded the record was deservedly recognised. At the Grammys, boygenius won Best Alternative Music Album, as well as Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song for Not Strong Enough, while the band themselves presented Marks with the Powerhouse Award at The Resonator Awards in recognition of her work on the album. “I definitely felt like I was invited to the cool kids’ party by accident,” she laughs.

As those who have spent time with Marks will attest, she is excellent company. In conversation she is entertaining, thoughtful, and insightful, not to mention generous with her time, as evidenced by her almost apologetic disclaimer at the start of our conversation that she is battling through illness to talk to us. Still, she’s happy to speak at length about the year she’s had and what’s been keeping her busy in the first quarter of 2024.

“I started an album at the end of December with a band called Divorce and the day after we finished, I flew to LA, and the Resonator Awards were the day after that,” she says. “It was this intense period, and I don’t feel like I’ve really taken stock of that week in LA and meeting all those amazing people. And having already done a full album, it’s crazy! “It’s been a real whirlwind.”

The recognition Marks has received not just in the US but around the world for her work with boygenius certainly appears to have shifted the dial on her career. She was already a highly sought after, multi-award-winning producer and engineer, having cut her teeth with studio icons Flood and Alan Moulder and cultivating a client list that includes, to name a few, the likes of Foals, Alanis Morissette, Wolf Alice, Frank Turner, The Big Moon, and Manchester Orchestra, with whom she has become a regular collaborator.

We were both holding back tears… it was one of those magic moments.

However, when three of indie rock’s most celebrated songwriters, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus decided to join forced under the boygenius moniker, few could have predicted the extent of acclaim and success their debut album the record would achieve. Their self-titled 2018 EP was met with critical acclaim, but offered little indication that their first full-length release five years later would go on to top multiple charts, scoop a raft of awards, and make the upper reaches of countless 2023 album of the year lists.

The iconography of the trio also elevated the record beyond the realm of the side project. From the album artwork, through to their already legendary take on Nirvana’s 1994 Rolling Stone magazine cover, which saw the band kitted out in pin-striped business suits, everything about the project felt synonymous with a bona fide band, rather than something that existed on the periphery of each member’s full-time solo career.

“They wanted me to mix their first EP, but the timings didn’t work out, as I was working with Manchester Orchestra,” Marks explains, recalling the origins of her relationship with the group. “And they reached out to me because of my work with Manchester Orchestra. There was a lot of mutual love and respect for those guys. But I had a meeting with them via Zoom and that was the first time we’d seen each other’s faces, and that was when we spoke about making an album together.”

While the ‘supergroup’ concept that shrouds the boygenius project is something that Bridgers, Baker, and Dacus were acutely aware of, Marks says that there was no discussion of the matter in the studio. As she puts it, the sessions were very much akin to recording a band, as opposed to three solo artists coming together.

“I don’t think that the ‘supergroup’ aspect was ever a real consideration, as they are all just really great friends and love each other very much,” Marks affirms. “As far as songwriting is concerned, they had written individually but had also gone away to work on them together before we started making the album. They treated it very much like a band where three people were bringing songs in, and they were critiquing each other’s music and lyrics. There was a lot of collaboration.”

Despite the collaborative spirit that fuelled the sessions, the task of weaving a cohesive whole from three distinct creative voices was one that hung heavily on Marks’s shoulders.

“We all knew it had to be a cohesive album,” she states. “That was something that was on my mind, but I don’t think it was ever articulated. Somehow the aesthetic of the album feels really consistent, yet each of their individual identities still shines through. It weighed heavily on my mind, but through the power of magic it turned out to be a cohesive record [laughs]. A lot of the other collaborators and musicians that worked on the album also helped to create this consistent sonic thread that runs all the way through it.

“We spent the first three- or four-days doing pre-production and working out how wanted everything to feel, so we were collectively conscious of making sure there was a flow to the album,” she continues, describing how they set the tone for the sessions. “We had a ‘wall of dreams’ that we would throw ideas at and we would write down particular influences and then see if there were other songs that fitted that aesthetic. There were relationships and interconnections between each song. That’s something I do on other records too. But they were so militant I don’t think they would have let anything veer off track.”

They were the toughest customers I’d worked with. I underestimated the challenge.

When reflecting on the most memorable moments shared between herself and the band (“there are too many to mention”), Marks is reminded of an especially poignant moment shared with Dacus when working on one of the album’s many highlights, We’re In Love.

“Lucy and I arrived the night before everyone else to start work on the album, and she played me this song,” says Marks. “There wasn’t really a structure to it, but there was this stunning, gorgeous melody that I was so moved by. Throughout the course of the time we were at the studio she carried on working at it. I had been saying I think it absolutely needs to be on the album, but it doesn’t feel finished yet. So, she worked really hard at it and performed it for me, and I thought it was beautiful.

“Anyway, on the day that we ended up recording it, it was still light outside and it was just her and I in the studio, and she played it just on the acoustic guitar in the control room. I had a couple of mics set up, and there was this beautiful light streaming in, and you can sort of hear at the end she chokes up, as I did. We were both holding back tears… it was just one of those magic moments. It was all about the performance, not recording the guitar and then adding the vocals over the top. She just put everything into this performance, and it was magical. That’s a really strong memory. But there were so many of those moments.”

As to whether or not the sessions offered any indication as to the rapturous response the record would be met with upon release, Marks takes a moment to consider her answer.

“I mean [pauses] it’s been next level,” she says. “I knew it would be significant. There are moments when you think back and get butterflies, like, I’m really a part of something special here. So, there is a kind of instinctive but intangible knowledge that you’re working on something special. And they are incredible characters. They are three of the best songwriters that exist today, so something had to go right!”

In looking back at the process of making the record and the spotlight it has drawn towards Marks and her oeuvre, our conversation gravitates toward some of the other records that have moved the needle on her career.

“Every record feels like that,” she states. “One of the most significant moments was engineering the Foals record (Holy Fire, 2013) with Flood and Alan Moulder. I was known within the industry from assisting in studios, but the success of that record put me on a lot of people’s radars. It was the next step from engineering into production on a commercial level.

“And there have been moments like working on Wolf Alice’s first EP (Moaning Lisa Smile, 2014), The Big Moon’s first record (Love In The 4th Dimension, 2017). And all the work I’ve done with Manchester Orchestra. I love working with them, and it seems like every band I work with LOVES Manchester Orchestra. My relationship and work with them has allowed me to learn so much and has enabled me to work with so many other artists.”

Marks’s work with Manchester Orchestra has undoubtedly been one of the defining features of her career. After producing the US rock outfit’s fifth album A Black Mile To The Surface (2017), she has become a regular and much loved collaborator, yet the harmonious relationship that has flourished between band and producer since was initially born from more tempestuous circumstances.

“On the first record we made together we were really at loggerheads,” she reveals. “They were the toughest customers I’d ever worked with. I underestimated how much of a challenge it would be. It was their fifth record, and I thought they’ll be very well versed in the process of making album, and it’ll just be really enjoyable and different to a lot of the first album projects I’d been working on. But I was really wrong, because they were putting so much pressure on themselves to make it the best album, they’d ever made, otherwise they were going to stop what they were doing. I didn’t anticipate that. Also, they are really polite, so it took about two weeks to get to the bottom of what needed to be done, and that really opened the floodgates.

“The way we communicate is so much freer now, which means it’s more about the creativity and the collaboration rather than the psychology. There are no minds games or personality challenges, we just accept each other for who we are and want to make amazing music.”

As we bid our farewells and allow Marks to return to nursing herself back to health before another imminent trip to LA to produce the new Rise Against album in April and another Manchester Orchestra record starting in May, she is keen to point out that those early moments of friction can not only yield positive results but can be essential in unlocking a project’s potential.

“I actually encourage that kind of discourse in the studio,” she signs off. “I want people to feel free to be however they want to be in order to express themselves. There should be chemistry and conversation. And those little tussles you have can reaffirm what you believe in. Obviously, I wouldn’t encourage aggression, but frustration and anger can be a part of that, and there is something exciting about that level of emotional freedom.”

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