#this is a rehash of a pic i did last year :)!

[filibusterfrog]

oc movie poster Again

#my art #my ocs #drowning tw #this is a rehash of a pic i did last year :)!

[moonchildstyles]

rêvasser

élan part two: harry was too observant. y/n worried he could see the cracks in her walls.

wourdcount: 12.8k+

—————

Fran🫧

      send me a pic of your nails when ur done!!!! 

After answering with an agreeable response, (Y/N) flicked to an email from her stylist. Details were being rehashed over what she wanted to wear to the 132 Gala coming in the next few weeks, Dom again trying to push her in the direction of a darker outfit while she gravitated towards her usual palette of softer hues. Outside the window, glimmering buildings swept by with too many cars on the street and too many people, not paying attention, trying to cross the pavement. 

Harry was a silent wall beside her, quiet and stiff. Just like usual. This was the first she'd seen him since the pilates incident. Though he was in a substantially better mood than that last meeting, even giving her a slight smile when she climbed into the SUV beside him, (Y/N) still heard the round of reprimanding he doled out for her. 

She'd happily take Harry over her father, though. Now that, for the first time ever, he'd followed through on a threat (i.e. getting a bodyguard for her), there was a level of worry tied to any contact involving her dad. But, he hadn't called at all this week—not even a passive-aggressive text sent her way. When she had texted him that she finally RSVP'd to the upcoming Gala like he'd been hounding her to do just a week prior, he'd left her on read. While she much rather preferred this limited contact, she had a brewing worry that something worse was in the works if he was willing to ignore whatever information Harry had relayed or anything he'd read in the press.

But, she'd take what she could get. Focusing on the Gala with prepping and planning was something she'd happily let take her attention, even if the whole bodyguard/handler/professional babysitter thing was going to be hard to ignore given that Harry would have to accompany her to any and all events surrounding the event.

Though there was one thing her mother did instill in her before she divorced her husband and began jaunting around the world with (Y/N) left at home: Nothing could ruin a good nail appointment. Not even the presence of a bodyguard was an exception to that rule as far as (Y/N) was concerned. 

"Thank you, Sully," she chirped, stepping out of the SUV with a wave over her shoulder. Harry predictably followed right after her, the soles of his shoes patting against the concrete. "You don't have to come with me, if you don't want," she told him, stopping him before he could close the door behind and prompt Sully to leave, "It's kind of a long appointment, so if you wanted Sully to take you to get something to eat or whatever, I'm sure he'd be okay with that." 

While she couldn't imagine Harry taking her up on the offer, at least not after the clear line he made earlier in the week, she still felt it was something she should give as an option. Nail appointments weren't very exciting if you weren’t the one in the chair.

"No, thank you," Harry answered without a lag, closing the door behind him with a slam. He didn't even look at her as he spoke. 

Turning on her heel, (Y/N) took in a deep breath and moved on. Stepping through the front door held a moment of deja vu with the way Harry trailed behind her silently. The women manning the front gave her the same curious looks as the waitstaff at the brunch shop though they all treated her with more familiarity after coming to her regular appointments for almost two years now. 

"Hi! Welcome in, (Y/N)!" the same blonde woman that always greeted her said, her eyes floating above her shoulder to find Harry, "How are you?" 

The shining smile that earned her a top spot in the rumor mill bloomed on (Y/N)'s lips, "I'm doing perfect, thank you! You?" 

"Same as always," she chirped back, the same answer she always gave despite never detailing what the same even entailed. "You're in with Carlotta this morning, right?" 

"I am," (Y/N) beamed, stopping at the front podium with her designer purse hanging from the crook of her elbow. 

"She'll be right with you," the girl started, pointing in the direction of Carlotta's usual station over her shoulder, "You can take a seat at her station while you wait." 

"Got it, thank you," (Y/N) said, voice ever-pleasant and rehearsed. 

Taking the first step towards her chair, she saw the way the eyes of the other woman reached around and spotted Harry. He'd been seen at her side enough times to be recognizable to the right people, unfortunately. "Are we checking in for two appointments today or do we just have a friend tagging along?" 

"Just a friend," (Y/N) answered quickly. Hopefully the word friend would work through the media circuits just as well as everything else being said. 

Taking her seat at her usual station, (Y/N) made herself at home with a cross of her legs and her purse hanging from the hook drilled into the table. Harry pulled a vacant seat to sit beside her, taking the outermost side to leave her bookended by the wall and his body. Protector instincts, she figured. 

It wasn't long for him to begin to squirm, a fidget to his fingers. 

"Sorry," she whispered to him, pulling her phone from her bag to find the photo she was using for inspiration. 

A pinch appeared in Harry's brows. "What do you mean?" 

Keeping her voice low, she left her attention on her phone while she spoke, "I know it takes a bit to get used to knowing people are watching you, so..." 

It wasn't a surprise to feel others' eyes on her though it had been a while since her presence was notable to the staff here at her nail shop. The addition of a friend at her side was surely something that was garnering her more attention than usual, but Harry clearly wasn't used to it with the way he couldn't settle where he sat. While she was sure there were times that Camila and Monroe, his previous employers, were photographed with eyes on them, she couldn't imagine it was at the same level as she was currently going through. 

He'd get used to it. Maybe. 

Shrugging his shoulders, Harry swept his gaze around the room. "It's a little different, but I can handle it." 

She didn't doubt that. She couldn't imagine there was much Harry couldn't handle. 

Soon enough, Carlotta came out from the back with a fresh pair of pink gloves on, her usual smile, and big bouncy hair. 

"Good morning, honey! How are you?" she asked, brown eyes glimmering in the bright sunlight streaming through the sweeping windows. (Y/N) saw the second she seemed to register the extra guest at her side. 

"I'm good, thank you," (Y/N) greeted, stretching her hands out for Carlotta to have a look once she took her seat across. "How are you?" 

"Good," Carlotta sang, prying her eyes away from Harry to glance at (Y/N)'s nails, "What are we thinking for this set?" 

As much as (Y/N) was sure Carlotta wanted to ask about Harry, and why he was the first extra to ever come with her to an appointment like this, she kept her focus. She listened as (Y/N) went through and showed her the simple inspiration photos she had in mind from grazing through instagram. Glossy nudes with a sparkling French tip was the request at the moment, something easy before the elaborate set she would be getting right before the Gala night. 

The appointment went on as normal, Carlotta keeping her conversation to (Y/N) and the rapport they've built over the years. She was sure her tech was waiting for her to bring Harry into the flow, but (Y/N) didn't deviate from the route they'd already embarked on. Besides, Harry was much too involved in his brain and his job to be answering any kind of questions Carlotta may have wanted to ask. 

Despite Harry's perfect patrolling and the perfect distraction Carlotta was being, it wasn't long after she had started filing and shaping (Y/N)'s acrylics that there were titters and hushed whispers to be heard across the studio. Harry stiffened beside her, his jaw hardening as he scoped out the sound. 

Peeking around him, she saw a group of teenaged girls giggling around a single station as if they were waiting for their own tech to arrive. Two of them had eyes on her while the third was looking at her phone that had the camera conveniently facing towards where she and Harry were sat. The second they realized they were caught, the trio clammed up and looked away, phone disappearing under the lip of the table. Rushed whispers were exchanged between them though none of them dared to return her gaze. 

While (Y/N) was used to the treatment, something inside her ticked. It was another set of photos taken without her consent that would build towards another narrative that was anything but true. She was more than accustomed to that, this week had been enough already. More photos of herself was the last thing she wanted. 

Nonetheless, there was no way she could react other than with a smile and brushing off the moment. Still, she won't be called "kind" or "warm", she'll be called stiff. At least it wasn't "bitch", though.

When the girls caught her smiling, they gave her a small wave before erupting into more giggles in their corner of the studio. Harry barely held back his scoff as he watched the scene. 

Carlotta had gone quiet the second (Y/N)'s attention had shifted. They both saw as Harry shot a stiff look towards the girls, even when they were too caught up in themselves and whatever was going on in their phones to notice.

"Sorry," (Y/N) whispered, leaning towards Harry. She was hyper aware of Carlotta's quiet presence, but she couldn't forgo addressing the moment with the way Harry was reacting. "They'll be over it soon, it's okay." 

Harry only shook his head.

She wished she knew what was going on in his head. She wanted to know what he thought of that moment, what he collected from the way she reacted, or how much he was beginning to regret taking this job now that so many eyes scrutinized him. 

"Do you like this, or were you thinking a little bit sharper on the edges?" 

Carlotta's question pulled (Y/N)'s attention back to her nails, right where it needed to be. 

—————

"I'll be right back," Harry murmured, standing from his spot as he scoped out the bathroom. 

(Y/N) sent him off with a quiet okay, her attention placed on the sweeps of the small brush going across her nails.

"So," Carlotta nonchalantly mused, her gaze stuck on her work, "you know I don't believe everything I read, but I have to ask... Is that the guy?" Guiding (Y/N)'s hands under the lamp, Carlotta flicked her gaze up to look at her client through the fan of her dark lashes. 

With her back stiffening and lips thinning, (Y/N) didn't know what to say. Despite the conspiratorial smile on Carlotta's face, (Y/N) didn't feel like she was in on the joke. Her nail tech was one of the closest people to her in a funny way (nail appointments sometimes felt like therapy after a long week, and too many times had (Y/N) shown up hungover beyond repair), so it cracked at her shell just a bit to know that random stories could wriggle into the mind of someone who actually knew her. 

Shaking her head, (Y/N) gave her a mild smile. "It's not like that." She paused before offering up the rest of the story. "He's my new security actually." 

"Like a bodyguard?" Carlotta bubbled, taken aback as she paused in her line work of the French tip she was making. She seemed to mull over the possibility before nodding her head some. "I guess the stories have gotten a little out of hand, recently." 

"Yeah," (Y/N) offered lamely, "He'll at least make it sound a little bit more intimidating when I need photographers to get out of my way when I'm trying to get to my car." 

Swallowing around her dry throat, (Y/N) suddenly found it hard to speak about it all. Other than Francesca, most people didn't want to hear about how "hard" her life was; it was a joke, as if there was no way she could have anything negative happening. While in many ways that was true—she had a home, income that she never had to worry about, and the kind of time to indulge in herself that she knew many others didn't—but that didn't negate the fact that there were unique challenges in her life that wore on her. She hated to think about Carlotta listening to this and talking to her coworkers later about her spoiled client. 

Lighthearted as always, Carlotta's features lit up with a smile as she guided her hand in for the final round of drying. "I'm sure he will with those shoulders." 

Just in time, Harry returned with the conversation quieting then. Only a round or so more of drying with her hands under the lamp was needed before Carlotta was doing her ending spiel of how best to take care of the acrylics despite the fact (Y/N) was a longtime client with some of the best retention she'd ever seen (at least that's what Carlotta told her). 

"I love them!" she bubbled to her tech, standing up from her spot with her hands spread out to catch the clean lines of the French and crisp edges in the shaping. "Thank you so much." 

"Of course," Carlotta said, rounding her station to offer (Y/N) a loose hug, "I'll see you soon for your Gala nails, right?" 

"Right—hopefully, I'll have an idea ready then." A round of pleasant, albeit a bit forced laughter sounded between them. 

Goodbyes were shared before Carlotta went about cleaning up her station and (Y/N) and Harry were silently heading up to pay for the service. Only, (Y/N) was stopped with a rushed call of her name, the voice high-pitched and jittery. 

Stopping where she stood, Harry beside her ready to step in at a moment's notice, she turned to see that trio of girls, their own nails glimmering with paint and artificial length. They all looked at her with hopeful eyes and flushed cheeks. They were young—as young as (Y/N) was when she started traipsing around town by herself. She hoped they were being careful and looking out for one another. 

"Yes?" she pleasantly chirped, lashes fluttering in a quick blink. 

One of them dared to shuffle forward in her Prada sandals, sparkling iPhone clutched in her hand. "Can we get a picture with you?" 

Without a second thought, (Y/N) answered with an "Of course! What are your guys' names?" 

High on her attention, they flushed and giggled, hands shaking as they took turns to introduce themselves. The one with the phone in her hand—Izzy—was the ringleader it seemed, the most fearless of the trio though she seems just as incredulous to the fact (Y/N) was actually speaking to them. 

"You're, like, my favorite person on Instagram, bestie," Izzy chattered off, too-white smile beaming, "My parents hate that I follow you, but I don't care—I think your outfits are cute, and I can't wait until I'm old enough to dress like that without them telling me no." 

While the girls laughed and giggled, getting into position for the photo, (Y/N) tried to play along with a bubbling smile. It was more than uncomfortable to hear that these girls' families hated her, as well as hear about how much they couldn't wait to wear the same ensembles as she. At least, they were being nice.

Honestly, (Y/N) hadn't even thought that the outfits she posed in were something that should be reprimanded. She dressed in a way that made her feel pretty. She hadn't thought that the summer dresses she'd favored these last three months would be a subject of debate in households she didn't even know existed. 

Suddenly the off-the-shoulder bodysuit and pair of high waisted jeans she was wearing weren't enough. She wished she had pulled on a sweater despite the heat outside.

Nonetheless, (Y/N) just laughed along, playing the part long enough to keep them happy before retreating for the day. Taking the offered phone, she turned towards Harry with it stretched out towards him.

"Will you take a picture of us, Harry?" she asked, acknowledging him for the first time since he grew stiff when the girls had initially spotted them. 

"Sure," he answered gruffly, his gaze on her intense as usual though there was more curiosity than scrutiny this time around. 

The girls posed around her, arms around her waist and beaming smiles directed at the camera. Harry tapped the screen a couple of times while the girls giggled at her sides. The breakaway was seamless afterwards, Harry passing back the borrowed phone and (Y/N) slipping away from where she was swaddled between them. 

"It was so nice to meet you guys," she beamed, "But, we really need to head out. I'm sorry!" 

"Totally fine, thank you," Izzy spoke for them, bouncing on the balls of her feet, "Maybe we'll see you at our next appointment." 

"Maybe," (Y/N) laughed just before offering a wave as a final goodbye. 

Her smile stayed stiff on her cheeks as they walked away, though the girls must not have gauged their volume very well with the way she could hear them clearly over the growing distance. 

"That's her new boyfriend, Sydney! The one that she left Damien before, remember? He's the one in those pics from the other day," Izzy chattered off, much too loud to be appropriate in a place that would be considered a spa. And, because the subject of her gossip was within hearing range. 

It was an interesting thing to be a few teenaged girls' favorite villain. Even with the way they seemed to like her, they still would believe that she'd lie and cheat and fight like that. 

Harry was a solid, silent pillar beside her. He was a brick wall following wherever she went, only giving out a curl of his lips when he was acknowledged and he knew it was polite to do so. He stayed quiet up until he was escorting her through the plaza to meet up with Sully. 

"Do y'ever get used to that?" he asked, voice just a hair louder than the click of her heels over the bricks under her feet. 

"Hm?" she sounded, paying a little too much extra attention to the photo she was trying to take of her nails to send to Francesca. 

"Having people watch you all the time and take photos of you. Do you ever get used to that?" he detailed, casting his eyes around to where Sully could be waiting along the curb. 

Shrugging, (Y/N) tossed her phone into her purse. "I mean, kind of? It's been happening since I was in high school, but it's definitely been a little different lately just with... everything being posted about me and all." A beat passed once Harry spotted their car, the route changing as she followed after him. "I think I get it on the easier side, though, compared to others. At least people aren't attacking me or anything, right?" 

Harry's lips thinned at her words, jaw tight. "Right." 

Definitely the wrong thing to have said. 

Replaying her words with Harry's icy reaction, (Y/N) wanted to cringe. Why did she even say that? Of course he wouldn't think that was funny or even lighthearted when his entire job was to keep her out of harm's way. 

For a split second, she wanted to tell him about the letters and the photos she received. She wanted him to know that she knew that facet of her existence was serious—that she took his job seriously. But, that topic was more than off limits—something that would no doubt end in a phone call from her father and a one-way ticket to a Swedish cabin with no internet or link to the outside world for a minimum of six months. 

(Y/N) followed Harry to the SUV, silent as ever as there was no way to really recover from her slip. He held the door for her to slide inside before he came in next to her. 

Sully, the perfect breath of fresh air, twisted in his seat when they filed in. A broad smile could be seen under his moustache. "Let me see," he told (Y/N) offering a hand out for her. 

Happy to show off her nails, she gave her hand to him. "They're a different shape than normal, but I thought they would look nice with the French tip." 

"They're amazing," he smiled at her, the same response he always gave her when coming back from a nail appointment. "My daughter is going to want some just like that when she sees them on her phone." 

Settling back into her seat, (Y/N) smiled. "Let me know, and I can set up an appointment for her and everything. She'll just need to take care of them." 

"I'll tell her you said that," he told her before twisting back to face forward in his seat, "Anywhere else for the day?" 

From the corner of her eye, she could see Harry observing the moment. Just like usual.

She could go and start some prep for her Gala night outfit, take a look at Vivienne Westwood and Dior, but the idea of Harry being her only companion after her misplaced joke wasn't something she had much interest in. She, at least, needed Francesca for something like that. 

"Just home today, Sully. Thank you." 

Sitting in the back of the SUV, bench seat shared with Harry, (Y/N) felt exposed. She just hoped she was making the right moves under those watchful eyes. 

—————

Heaving a sigh, (Y/N) listened to Francesca with her phone pressed to her ear, her gaze cast across the New York skyline. 

"I'm sorry," Fran pouted through the line, (Y/N) practically able to hear the flutter of her lash extensions through the receiver. "If I had known, I wouldn't have promised I could make it." 

"It's okay, it's not your fault," (Y/N) soothed, chewing her bottom lip, "I can move my fittings to later in the afternoon, maybe? Would that work?" 

"You know how my mom gets when she comes into the city," Francesca sighed, sounding exhausted before the day had even started, "Her and her husband are back on that thing about me being a gallery owner, so you know they're planning on taking all day to make me realize how much of a dream it is for me—I just don't know it yet."

(Y/N) couldn't help the itty, bitty smile that touched the corner of her lips. How silly the two of them were; Francesca's worst problem is her mother wanting to gift a gallery to her, while (Y/N) squirmed at the thought of having a personal security guard follow her to keep her safe. 

Nonetheless, she did feel her heart deflate a bit knowing that her best friend wouldn't be accompanying her to something they both loved doing. As a bonus, Francesca would have also been acting like a buffer between she and Harry. Now she was going to be left with him sitting and brooding in the corner with his criticizing gaze while she twisted and turned in a multitude of mirrors.

"I'm sorry, (Y/N)," Francesca said again. 

"It's okay, don't worry, okay?" (Y/N) repeated, hearing the sounds of the city from her free ear as the morning rush began and wouldn't stop until late at night. "Tell them I said hi, and I'll send you pictures of my favorites. Maybe we can still do our alterations together if everything matches up?" 

"Yes, definitely! I'll see you tomorrow night and we can talk about it more then." 

"See you tomorrow," (Y/N) settled, sinking into her lounger, "Love you." 

"Love you, too, bestie!" 

With that, (Y/N) pulled the phone from her ear and ended the call. Out on her balcony, the morning chill touched at the bare slashes of skin revealed by the open, crochet knit of her cardigan. Despite growing up with a fear of heights, sitting up in the balcony of her high-rise apartment, it was easy for (Y/N) to luxuriate in the thin air and clear out her brain for even a moment. 

She was going to get through today. Even if she is photographed today, if she receives an intrusive letter, if another story is spun dragging her name through the rain and mud, she was going to make it through. Besides, she loved going to Fifth Ave; the fashion houses were her second home in the city. She couldn't back out on them now, not when her stylist pulled rank and ensured she would have a private fitting at Vivienne Westwood and a tour across an archive of Dior jewelry just for her. 

(Y/N) was just going to have to trust the opinion of sales people who worked on commission and were too scared to look her in the eye half the time. To be fair, they hadn't steered her wrong just yet, even if they never really looked at the way the garments fit her, just because that would require a longer than a single second glance at her. 

Taking in a deep breath, (Y/N) reminded herself: she was going to get through today. 

A buzz in her hand alerted her, taking her from the skyline and back to her phone. 

Sully👑

      I'm here and ready whenever you are.

At least she would get to see Sully this morning. It was always a good day when he was there to ground her. 

Trekking through the building, (Y/N) gave her usual smile to the uninterested doormen and avoided eye contact with the man who was tapping away aimlessly on his phone, another person waiting to be buzzed up, she was sure. 

Peering through the glass doors, she saw the SUV on the curb, Sully having made his way to sit just outside the entrance. He was stationed outside the car, his hand poised on the door handle to help her in. Even with the deep tint on the windows, she was sure Harry was waiting inside. A silhouette with too nice of a profile to be wasted on a security detail.

Sully's features softened into a grin when he saw her step outside of her building, his usual all black attire just as immaculately pressed as always. "Good morning, Ms. (Y/N)," he greeted, hand on the door to pull it open for her. 

"Morning, Sully," (Y/N) reciprocated, the long form of her cardigan fluttering behind her. 

Just as she suspected, Harry was waiting patiently on the bench seat of the SUV when Sully pulled the door open. He didn't look up as she slipped inside, crossing her legs once the seatbelt was secured across her form. 

"Good morning, Harry," she murmured in the quiet of the leather interior.

Glancing up at her from where he had been tapping away on his phone, Harry took her in in a brief sweep over her form. He brought his knuckle up to his nose, brushing underneath the tip. "Good morning." 

The sound of Sully's door slamming shut brought (Y/N)'s attention forward from where she was stuck on the flickering green of Harry's eyes. "Now to Ms. Francesca's apartment?" 

"No, actually," (Y/N) clarified, shifting in her seat, "Franny's mom is coming into the city today so she had to cancel." 

"Oh no," Sully genuinely pouted at her through the rearview mirror, eyes meeting hers, "I'm sorry, (Y/N). Straight to Fifth Ave, then?" 

"Yes, that's perfect," (Y/N) chirped, feeling Harry's gaze on her through the interaction, never once did the shift to Sully. "Vivienne first, please. Dior after." 

"Got it." 

Pulling away from the curb, Sully was the expert driver he always was, slipping them seamlessly into the traffic without so much as a jostle over the pavement. Cars were slow moving at this time in the morning, but she knew he would make quick work of the distance. 

"Jus' us today?" Harry piped up, his voice a low gravel that had (Y/N) pulling her gaze on her nails to land on him. 

Swallowing, she nodded. "Yeah. If you don't want to sit through all the dress stuff, though, I'm sure Sully can take you elsewhere while I'm busy. I can just let you know when I'm ready to move to the next spot." 

No hesitation before he spoke again: "No, thank you. I'll be staying with you." 

She didn't expect any other answer if she was being honest, but it was the polite thing to ask. 

With no room to argue, (Y/N) fell silent, leaving just the sound of distant car honks and the light radio melodies playing. The route to the Vivienne Westwood location on Fifth Ave was a familiar one, even with the traffic and swerving drivers it didn't seem so long from where (Y/N) sat. She gazed out the tinted windows, the world looking just a little bit blue. People in too high of heels to be walking on the crumbling sidewalks with brand name shopping bags tucked under their arms were blurs beside her as Sully toured them through the city, 

The car slowed when the storefront came into view, the elegant font of Vivienne's name bold over the crystal windows. 

Sully sent them off after helping (Y/N) onto the concrete, promising to return as soon as he received word that she was ready to move on. Harry was her silent shadow as she stepped over the sidewalk like a runway. The mannequins in the windows were corseted and perfect, standing on thick platforms with sparkling jewelry. An effortless smile stretched across her lips as she pushed the door open, the brassy golden handle warm under her palm from the New York heat. 

Her heels were muffled as she stepped over the eccentric carpet. (Y/N) swore she could breathe just a bit easier in here. Many of the shops along this Avenue were the closest thing to being at home, especially when she was growing up and itching to do anything but be at home with her parents. She had an abundance of nice memories tied to these stores and brands; summers spent with Francesca and a credit card, impromptu fashion shows with pieces that wouldn't go together on a runway. While there were more than a couple of workers that became annoyed with them after only a few minutes of the duo walking into the shops, these places were the easiest escape. 

Sweeping her gaze across the shop, she took in the elaborately dressed mannequins and clean shelving. Everything was lit up on display, highlighting the contrasting colors and the punk-inspired pieces that gave Ms. Westwood her name. Racks and displays were scattered throughout, leading the walkways like a twirling river of black and white streaks. (Y/N) gravitated towards the racks with the signature structured corsets of the Westwood brand, draping fabrics and glimmering pearls. 

The entire space was quiet, her stylist—Dom—having made his calls and ensured the space would be free of any other shoppers while (Y/N) was getting her fitting done. (He was a little paranoid when it came to others leaking looks and style choices when it came to events like this Gala. It had happened once a few years earlier with a different client, and he seemed to have never forgotten). That left the entire morning free for (Y/N) to try on all of the imported pieces they had picked from the archives and Harry to brood around her like a temperamental potted plant. 

It didn't take long for a familiar head of coiffed blonde hair to appear around the corner of a jewelry case. A too-white, too-straight, too-perfect smile was plastered across his face—the kind of smile (Y/N) was halfway sure was fake, but that was just commission-based customer service. 

"Will!" (Y/N) greeted with a matching smile, breaking the ice as she turned on her heel to face him fully.

"(Y/N)! How are you, my love?" Will bubbled, posh accent wrapping around her name. He was adorned in his usual all black suit, velvet accents lined throughout. The length of the flared pants made him look that much taller, long limbs strong. The classic Vivienne Westwood pendant had been refashioned into a broach he pinned to his lapel, chains falling from around the Saturn that glimmered like the gunmetal manicure on his fingers. Something shimmery rained over his eyelids, just punk enough to fit Vivienne but high class enough to please those that guarded Fifth Ave like a dragon's treasure. 

When Will approached her, hands delicately held out with his lips puckered, she didn't hesitate to turn her cheek and indulge in the air kisses he always made a fuss about. Though it made her cringe, like one of those girls she knew in private school that spent the summer abroad and suddenly started speaking in an accent and bringing up their travels at any given moment, she enthusiastically partook in the greeting. 

Best behavior was required in shops like this, the associates tending to be some of the worst gossips and best storytellings in the city. If she was anything but perfect, with the way the media was already latched onto her, it wouldn't take much convincing for someone like Will to sell a story to any publication. 

"I'm doing so well now! I was hoping I'd be paired with you for my appointment." 

He waved her off with an incredulous face. "Well, of course they'd pick me. They only give you the best, hunny!" 

A round of laughter erupted between them, something that sounded just as fake as it felt in her throat. Harry was notably quiet, watching everything unfold. He didn't bother to try and step in to introduce himself, observing as always. 

"Come, come," Will gestured, inching towards the grand fitting room plotted in the back of the shop, "All of these gorgeous archive pieces made it in last night, just for you! I shouldn't be surprised, you and Dom have such wonderful taste, but I just love to see it, really." 

Will chattered to her as he escorted them through, bubbling about how excited he was to show her the garments as well as see them on her. While she knew a portion of his personality was a customer service front, he was one of her favorites here. He was more positive than uppity, unlike most of the other sales people she'd run into during her time perusing this street. 

Making it to the large fitting room in the back, (Y/N) immediately spotted the white garment bags hanging from the single stall. It was a large room that could have easily fit in stall after stall, but instead was used as a luxury space for only a single patron. Plush carpeting was installed under their feet, black lightning bolts breaking up the creamy white. A shimmering chandelier hung above the circular dais situated in front of the three-sectioned mirror on the far end of the room, crystals dripping from the wrought iron branches almost low enough to graze the head of the person standing on the dais. Cozy chairs were pushed throughout, the space anticipating guests, along with the tray of champagne glasses and a chilled bottle awaiting serving. 

Finding a pause in the chattering, (Y/N) asked, "Are any of the girls helping today, or is it just us?" 

"Just us!" Will chirped, carefully uncorking the bottle of frosty champagne, "Dom made it especially clear that he didn't want anyone unnecessary to be here; he said he wanted to make sure no one could leak anything." 

"Sounds like Dom," (Y/N) sighed with an affectionate smile, dropping her purse onto one of the houndstooth printed armchairs. 

Harry found his own chair silently, sinking into the cushioning though he didn't seem to relax much at all. His gaze stayed alert, looking around the entire space—probably looking for any cracks as if a supervillain could swing through the drywall and take her captive. Or, anything (Y/N) could damage should she finally snap in his presence.

She wondered what he thought, not three weeks into the job without a single tantrum that she knew her father had prepared him for. Hopefully she was showing she wasn't as much of a problem as her father was convinced. 

Shrugging out of her cardigan, (Y/N) caught the way Will eyed Harry. He swept his gaze over, analyzing the same way Harry analyzed everything else. 

"But, I see you brought a friend," he tittered, looking at her with that sly gaze. Harry didn't even flinch at the first acknowledgment of his presence. 

Keeping her demeanor perky and bright, (Y/N) made a point to look confident—but not too proud. She didn't want to look like she was showing off a significant other, so she couldn't smile too much, but she still had to smile just enough not to look shy or smitten. She didn't want to give Will any reason to describe her as being "bashful, over the moon for her new man". 

"Yes, that's Harry," she gestured to him, Harry barely offered a small smile when he took a second to look in their direction, "He's my bodyguard" 

"Bodyguard?" Will asked, blonde brow raised in an arch. 

Sighing, (Y/N) politely took the offered glass of bubbling champagne from Will's hand. "You know how it goes sometimes," she started, sipping delicately from the flute for a chance to pause, "Photographers have been a little crazy lately, so I figured I might need a little extra help." 

"Oh I'm sure," Will bubbled, looking at her with a furrowed brow feigning concern, "With everything that's happened with Damien, I bet those paparazzi can't get enough of you." 

He eyed her the same way he eyed Harry, as if there were details he could glean from her with just a glance. He was hoping she would spill, give him something to whisper over. 

Shrugging it off as nonchalantly as possible, she took another careful sip of her champagne. "Anything for a photo, you know," she said, rolling her eyes as if being hounded for personal information and photos of intimate moments was nothing more than an inconvenience. "But!" she perked up, popping her hip with a spark to her voice, "I want to see what Dom picked out for us!" 

Hooked by her excitement, Will caught the giddy way she talked and reacted with his own enthusiasm. "Okay, okay, sit down and close your eyes," he instructed, waving her back into her spot, "Because, you are going to freak." 

Doing as asked, (Y/N) settled into her seat with her eyes fluttering closed. She could hear Will padding away, leaving her with just Harry though if she hadn't already known he was there, she would have assumed the complete silence meant she was alone. She couldn't imagine being so quiet all the time, alert and scrutinizing. She wished she knew what was going on in his brain. 

The zip of garment bags and rustling of fabric drew closer as the time ticked on another minute. With the way her heart peaked, her giddiness was no longer an act. This is the stuff that made these events worth it for her; she loved playing dress up as a girl, and this was just the same but even prettier, in her mind. She could pretend to be a real princess this way. 

"Okay"—a pause for dramatic effect—"open," Will said, a smile clear in his voice. 

Blinking her eyes open, (Y/N) saw the flash of pearl pink laid hanging in front of her. Will held the padded hanger up for her to take in the entire gown, his free arm behind the skirt to help put it on display under the light. The fabric looked like liquid pearl, tinted in a pastel, cool pink that glimmered with a golden sheen in the light. It shifted before her eyes, showing shades of silver and purple, metallic and pearl. A blend of everything pretty in the world, (Y/N) decided. The top was the signature corset that she loved from the Westwood designs, the neckline featuring a deep scoop to show off her chest, structured and tight. The skirt was a length that would drag behind (Y/N) as she walked, draping down from the corset with a thigh high slit up the side. The sleeves to hold it up were nothing but a three-tiered string of pearls, each loop bigger than the last to rest lower and lower on her arms when she put it on. 

While there was a small collection of garment bags hanging up behind Will, (Y/N) couldn't imagine looking at another gown after this. It was too beautiful—the perfect personification of her thoughts that she had jumbled together to Dom during a late night FaceTime. She couldn't have ever imagined her scattered thoughts coming together enough for him to know exactly what dress from the Westwood archive to request for her. 

But, this was exactly it. 

She almost felt as though she needed to wait, to make sure it didn't just melt off of the hanger and drip onto the floor. She wanted to ensure it was real before she became too excited.

"Dom picked a couple from the archive and a few from the most recent runway, but this is my favorite," Will told her, his tone conspiratorial like he was sharing a secret just for her, "I think it would look gorgeous with your coloring, too. And, I know you're a pearl girl, so." 

Standing from her seat, she abandoned her glass of champagne on the side table. She was sure her eyes were too wide on her face, taking in all of the gown as if it would disappear if she blinked too long. 

"Are you kidding?!" she bubbled, "I love this! I almost don't want to see the others, I love this so much." 

Will shook his head immediately. "No, no, no, we're playing Barbie today, you're still trying on the others. But, I'm happy we're on the same page with this one." 

In a split second, (Y/N) saw something flourish in Will's eyes. The corner of his lips quirked up, too sly of a curl to be innocent. He turned towards Harry, showing off the dress just as grandly as he did for her. 

"What do you think, Harry? This would look gorgeous on her, don't you think?" 

Harry, the master of nonchalance and being chronically unbothered, barely batted an eye when Will caught his attention. If not for the fact (Y/N) knew who he was and what his job entailed, she would have thought he was one of those people from Williamsburg, where it was cool to be uncaring. Fortunately, she knew he genuinely couldn't care less about what was going on in this fitting room as long as (Y/N) wasn't being assaulted or causing property damage.

His eyes fell over the gown, sweeping over the details in that scrutinizing way he always looked at his surroundings. "It looks nice, yeah. I don't know much about this kind of stuff, but 'm sure it would look nice on her." 

A beat passed. Will waited for more, waited for his digging expedition to come up with results. Harry only blinked. 

"Okay, well!" Will moved on, smile a touch stiff. He turned towards (Y/N) with those same bright eyes. "Let's get you all tied up into this, and then we'll see for sure."

(Y/N) eagerly allowed Will to usher her through the door to the changing stall, eyes flitting to the dress as soon as she could spot it in the mirror. He didn't waste a second before he started chattering to her about some drama that apparently happened when the garments were dropped off the night before, trivial things that were embellished for the sake of getting her to laugh. (Y/N) wanted to say she listened intently, enjoying the way he prattled on and told the story as if it were a myth, but she honestly couldn't spread her attention between him and the dress that was beginning to swath around her body. 

Her day clothes were dropped to the floor at her feet, leaving her in undergarments before Will helped her into the dress, the corset stiff with the boning straightening out her spine. The beginnings of the look came together before her eyes, the fabric forming around her body the tighter the corset was zipped. The skirt seemed to be dripping off of her body the way it moved under the light, molten and sticky. With the slit opening up as high as her hip, the pearl glimmer stood out against her skin. Will helped her push the straps of her bra down, sliding them into the sides of the corset to make it look that much more real. 

Times like these were the only moments (Y/N) felt as if she could be photographed—wanted to be spotted. She loved dressing up, she loved feeling pretty in her skin, she loved these kinds of special moments. It never got old to her, feeling the glide of silky fabrics on her skin, the glimmer against her skin tone, looking like the princesses she used to idolize when she was a kid. 

Twisting and twirling in the mirror, (Y/N) could feel the smile curling on her lips. 

"Well, what did I tell you?!" Will beamed, standing back in the mirror to meet her eyes in the glass, "Better than the runway, my love!" 

"You're so sweet," she told him, a pout on her lips as she matched his eyes in the mirror, "Thank you." 

"Let's go look in the big mirror, see it from all the angles," Will prompted, reaching his hand out to help her step off the circular, raised platform in the dressing room. 

(Y/N) followed him through the door, letting him take her to the three panel mirror at the head of the room. He held the skirt for her as she stepped onto the platform, her feet chilled through her socks once she was steady. He fanned the gown around her, the split showing off the stretch of her bare thigh. She stood tall with her posture corrected with the corset, but the confident tip of her chin had everything to do with the way she felt in the dress. 

Running her hands over the fabric, she followed the ripples in the pearl with her eyes. Seeing herself like this, she didn't care what her dad had to say about her, the tabloids, or the rumors. She liked what she saw in the mirror, and that was enough. 

"Do a spin, look at the back," Will instructed, hands clasped together with his own smile beaming on his features. When (Y/N) did as much, showing off the deep dip in the back that showcased the planes of her back and the seamless lines of the corset, his smile only widened. "Classic Vivienne," he murmured, impressed as if it were his own work, "What are you thinking for your hair?" 

Using her hands to loosely emulate the idea she currently had in her head, (Y/N) craned her neck as she looked in the mirror. "I'm not sure yet, but I think Dom had something vintage in mind. Big and drape-y to show off the dress, but I haven't talked to my hair stylist yet." 

"Jewelry?" Will asked, circling around her as if appraising a diamond.

(Y/N) launched into a description of what she and her stylist were thinking, imagining the Dior pieces glimmering against her skin and the way her hair would tickle her collarbone when she turned her head. She could already see the set of pearly nails that were going to be on her fingers, the tiny bag that she was planning on hanging from her elbow the whole night. Her bare feet shifted to be sheathed in the perfect pair of Manolo's she knew Dom was going to insist she wear to go along with the gown. 

Everything came together with each twist and turn of her body in the mirror, pearls and crystals sparkling in her mind.

Will chatted away to her, telling her something about how the skirt could be altered to lower the slit (something she was not interested in doing, honestly) and how glimmering crystals could be added here and there. She offered him a bubbly smile in the mirror, nodding along, though she might have been a little too absorbed with the way she felt in the gown to be paying any real attention. 

In the mirror, with a twist to show off the back once more, (Y/N) caught sight of Harry. Just as usual, he looked at her with those ever-observant eyes. Even from the distance he was sitting away in the long room, she knew he was watching everything. 

This time, though, he sat with his elbows crossed over his knees, leaning forward as if he couldn't see enough. A furrow of his brow shaded his eyes. Though he tended to keep his eyes latched to her anyway, he looked earnest this time; like there was more he was trying to find before him. 

(Y/N) swallowed. He hadn't even realized she was looking at him, she didn't think, at least with the way he didn't shy away when she found him staring. Or, he just didn't care. 

Maybe, she could argue, he found Will as a possible threat being so close and so touchy with her. That was his job anyway, see those kinds of possibilities where she normally wouldn't. And, he took his job seriously. 

"I know we've pretty much picked already, but let's take a picture and try on the others," Will propositioned, pulling her out of her head, "We'll send them to Dom and see what he thinks, right?" 

With a flutter of her lashes and her gaze disengaging with Harry's form, she straightened her falling smile. "Right! My phone's over there, if you want to take the pictures really quick!" 

With her phone in hand, Will began snapping photos of her, (Y/N) posing and smiling with every angle on display for her stylist to analyze later. The moment erupted into giggles as the posing became more ridiculous, Will fueling her with the ways he angled her phone and goaded her to get more and more wild. 

All the while, (Y/N) could feel Harry's eyes on her. 

She found she didn't mind having his eyes on her. 

—————

In front of him, (Y/N) twirled and twisted while her friend took photos of her. Harry watched the whole time, cataloguing the way the dress formed around her body, the silk sliding over her skin and glimmering under the light. 

Harry's chest felt tight. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. 

She looked gorgeous.

In the front of his mind, he knew well that he would do better to be paying attention to their surroundings, watching her friend's hands, anything that actually pertained to his job. 

But, he didn't. Instead, he watched his client. Even when she caught him.

—————

"Yes, sir, we're on the way." 

Harry's voice was gruff and low as he spoke on the phone, (Y/N) listening in from where she sat next to him in the SUV. She played with the slowly dulling edges of her nails, pretending as if she had no idea as to what her dad was saying and asking on the phone to Harry. 

She pretended not to catch the way he glanced at her from the corner of her eye, his gaze sweeping over her form before he was facing forward once more. "Yes, sir—she's dressed appropriately." 

(Y/N) had to tune it out then. She didn't care to hear more of the checklist Harry had to go through in order to approve her walking out of the house. She felt more than exposed; under a microscope with everyone awaiting her downfall. 

Not soon enough, it seemed the end of the phone call was finally nearing. Harry shifted in his seat as he spoke, giving a time estimate to their arrival before a mild "See you soon." left his lips and the call ended. 

Biting back a sigh, (Y/N) sunk into her own seat that much more. 

Of course, her father would call Harry over his actual daughter. She couldn't be trusted to give honest answers, obviously. Some days she felt disappointed over the way he acted with her, other days saddened for the little girl inside of her that ached for her parent's love, but days like this brought anger to the surface. She couldn't fathom how important he must think he was to believe he could speak to and about her the way he did.

Though the thought of looking at—let alone speaking to—him today was making her more than annoyed, she was already on her way to the country club and she couldn't back out now. At least she could eat as much as she wanted and buy just as many drinks all on her father's card.

He was going to be way too enthralled with his stupid country club friends—and Harry—to even acknowledge her, anyway. Whenever she was invited to see him on the green, she was meant to be nothing more than a pretty accessory, to show that he was a family man too, not just a ruthless businessman. She was there to be gazed upon by men way too old and way too married to be looking at her the way they did, but that was part of the reason she was called upon.

By the time the structure of the gated country club came into view, (Y/N) was already reading through the familiar menu in her head. She was going to buy the entire patio a round of drinks, she decided. Maybe even two rounds. 

Going through the gates, Sully pulled them to the front of the building. The golf course stretched for miles around the main building, perfectly green and manicured, gorgeously maintained attractions throughout the holes with fountains and elaborate sand traps. The perfect kind of course for people with too much money and not enough actual understanding of the game. Around the back were the tennis courts and pool, everything warm blues with mosaic tiles, waitstaff crawling all over the place to tend to every whim of the clientele.

The bistro was her father's favorite part, though. That was where the whiskey was served.

He only pretended to care about golf just so he could laze around the club and smoke cigars in the afternoon and drink whiskey with people too stupid to realize he only saw them as dollar signs. 

She could only hope he'd already had a chance to drink this morning with his friends, leaving him too sloppy to care if she snuck off to play some tennis or out to the koi pond in the garden. Maybe, Harry would even become too distracted with her father, too wrapped up in the schmoozing and drinks and promises, to follow her out. Maybe she could get a real chance to be alone this afternoon. 

Sully helped (Y/N) out of the car as Harry waited for her on the walkway, the grand building behind him full of warm woods and golden fixtures. Large glass windows almost filling the complete space of the walls showcased the inside of the villa, the view only obstructed from the amount of greenery planted outside, tall bushy trees and manicured hedges acting as shades. 

Keeping her tennis skirt from riding up her thighs, she used Sully's hand to steady her as she stepped onto the stone walkway. 

"Thank you," she told him, voice quiet compared to the nature-esque sounds that came from the club and the various activities others were partaking in. 

Sully nodded at her, gentle smile on his cheeks. "I'll be back soon. Do you want me to wait for your father's cue or yours?" 

"Mine," she answered immediately. If it were up to her father, she'd spend the entire evening here with no end in sight. It would probably turn into some unwanted date with a random man he thought would be good for her.

Sully's smile was understanding as he nodded to her. "I'll be here as soon as you need me." 

With that, she shared her goodbyes with her driver before joining Harry at his silent post a few feet ahead of her. He barely glanced at her before he started leading her into the club, opening the door for her to step ahead. He once again took the helm as he led her through the country club, (Y/N) standing back in favor of lagging behind. He might not know the club as well as she, but he at least knew where her father was expecting to meet them. This way, he would be the first person they saw, as well; that could buy her a couple extra seconds of being off before slipping into her role. 

Walking into the Bistro, (Y/N) was greeted with the familiar smile of the waitstaff that knew her well. They didn't stop them as she gave a small wave, already assuming she was there to meet her father at the most boisterous table in the restaurant.

It was easy to spot him in the otherwise polite eatery, other patrons quietly dining with fresh tans or aching sunburns from the time outside. Sidelong glances were sent in the way of her father's table, some envious, others annoyed. She could deeply relate to those who were fed up with his noise. He was always much more bothersome after a few drinks. 

Men gathered around him, clustered around his small table. (Y/N) recognized most of them. Some of them elicited a stiffening in her spine, her guard going up the much further in case their eyes wandered too close to her, others she knew as investors he most likely originally meant to meet here, and some she didn't know at all. It was still easy to suss them out, anyway; it was the giddy smiles on their faces and the way they barely drank, that showed they were people who had been fighting to be invited to the table and were way too excited to be in such a close orbit to her father and his friends. Gullible, the only way to describe them. 

Twisting her Cartier bracelet around her wrist, (Y/N) tipped her chin with faux-confidence and plastered her tabloid-famous smile the second they stepped into the dining area. Harry was still in the lead, glancing at her over his shoulder once he also spotted their intended table. 

Her smile didn't waver, ensuring he didn't catch any kind of reaction that could be relayed to her father. 

The second her father turned to face them, stopping his conversation short, she knew the whiskey in his hand was not the first of the day. His eyes were glazed and warm, less scrutinizing but still nowhere near kind. 

He lit up when he registered Harry's presence. "There he is!" her father shouted across the restaurant, a waiter's steps faltering at the outburst. 

Stepping just out from behind Harry, (Y/N) noticed the way her father's gaze didn't deter from her bodyguard; a man he had met for the first time only a few weeks prior. In some ways, she was relieved to be ignored—it was easier this way, she knew—but other parts of herself were sore from the sting of being nothing worth noting to her dad. 

Harry gave a small wave, still a touch too far away to give his own greeting back. At least he was being courteous of the other diners. 

"This is the Harry I was telling you all about," her father continued, much too loud for the space though no one corrected him, "He's my daughter's handler." 

Noises of recognition rattled around the table, some pretending, others giving knowing smiles. (Y/N) didn't dare to think about the stories he shared about her and Harry. He would no doubt be painted as a shining knight, clean and unwavering in control, while she would be left to be the troll of the story, the one being needing to be controlled. 

Once they were near enough, those surrounding the table stood to introduce themselves to Harry, offering hands to shake and exchanging pleasantries. Harry took it in stride, his deep voice sticking out from the too-excited greetings of the others. 

(Y/N) stood quietly behind. She could feel a pair of eyes or two falling upon her, but she was largely ignored in favor of Harry. 

It's better this way, she reminded herself. None of these men's attention was worth it. 

Feeling more like decor than a person, (Y/N) stood and watched as Harry was roped into the conversation, even taking a seat her father pulled up. All the while, her father sang Harry's praises, a hand clasped over his shoulder. Harry was just so smart, and qualified, level-headed and strong. (Y/N) had been so much better-behaved even—she might even be ready to be a wife instead of running around the city with her friends. Who knew it was a babysitter his wild child needed to finally calm down; another man to tell her what to do. 

That comment made her smile dip. She hoped no one noticed. 

The table erupted into laughter at his comment, jovially agreeing as if she wasn't standing right there. Harry was the only one to look at her from over his shoulder, a smile notably missing from his lips. He matched her eyes for a lingering moment before he dropped his gaze.

"Right," he said once he rejoined the conversation, the word missing the same enthusiasm the rest of the table held.

She stood for a moment longer, listening in as she fiddled with her bracelet, before she started inching away. "I'm going to go," she mumbled, noting the way no one seemed to look in her direction but Harry, "Probably get food or something." 

(Y/N) turned on her heel then, half expecting Harry to follow, though she was sure the bigger priority was to stay with her father than continue babysitting her. She could feel the eyes of other patrons on her as she left the table, but she didn't stop to reconsider before she was slipping out through the backdoor. 

The patio was bathed in bright sunlight, country club members lounging in the warmth with cocktails in hand while waitstaff meandered through the wrought iron tables. She didn't pay anyone any mind as she made her way through, giving smiles to those she made eye contact with before glancing away in favor of making as small of an impression as possible. Though it was generally frowned upon by the club to exploit its high profile members with covert photos or posting any details about the dealings within, that didn't mean it didn't happen. She knew more than a few times stories of her time at the club had been leaked to the press along with blurry photos, and she definitely didn't want that to happen again today with the way her father was shouting her business across the entire dining room inside. 

Stepping off the stone patio, she made her way towards the gardens. A short hedge "maze" made most of the garden, leading her through with flowers littered around the space, small fountains, and a koi pond glittering in the center. Other than the tennis courts, this was her favorite space at the club. 

The scent of the vibrant flowers beckoned to her, drawing her into the mini maze. A small smile took over her features, reaching out to caress the soft petals of the blooming roses. Fluffy bumble bees flittered between the blossoms, their tiny bodies covered in pollen as they went to each plant. A soft buzz filled the air as she walked, her careful footsteps over the plush grass adding to the delicate noise. It was easy to block out the rest of the commotion like this; the thumps from the tennis court, splashes from the pools, and the chatter from the patio all melted away. Trickling from the tiny waterfall fountains led her closer and closer to the center. 

Zagging through the maze, she felt the sun warming her shoulders around the straps of her tank top. That same warmth seeped through to her bloodstream, floating her to the clouds just a little bit. 

This was the first time she'd been out without Harry at her side. She'd almost forgotten what that felt like. 

To be fair, she was beginning to get used to the feeling of having an extra shadow following her everywhere she went. That unsettling edge she had tied to having a security detail had begun to dull, finally. She didn't completely mind knowing that someone had eyes on her at all times, whether he was checking for her safety or for her bad behavior to peak. It wasn't something she would consider a normal feeling yet, but she could get there.

Hopefully, though, she wouldn't have enough time to get used to him. Hopefully, he'd be relieved of his post before she got that far. 

With the lack of stories being printed about her, she even hoped that her father would grant her freedom sooner rather than later. The only things she saw about herself tended to be things about her summer outfits, or analyses of her instagram posts. Nothing major had been posted since Damien. She had to be on the right track if rumors about her were losing traction.

Falling back down to earth, (Y/N) grounded herself as she gazed down into the koi pond. The concrete barrier was carved with roses, the reliefs matching the actual blooms coming through in the hedges. The fish were graceful pops of color in the clear water, bright calico coral tones shining under the sun. Lilly pads with tiny flowers floated on the surface, allowing the kois to move like ghosts underneath. This was her favorite spot in the gardens, making it easy for her to sink to her knees with her hands perched on the lip of the barrier and gaze down at the creatures. 

That childlike urge in her to reach out and pet the fish rose, wishing she could treat them like pets. (Y/N) almost wanted to laugh at herself with the way she had to remind herself to keep her hands to herself. 

Suddenly the sound of footsteps sounded through the maze. They were close enough (Y/N) could hear the quick pace, the purpose someone would have to have to breeze through the leisurely maze like that. 

For a split second, her muscles tensed, her lungs squeezed. Her first thought made her want to run. 

The letters. 

Whoever wrote them didn't want to hide anymore. They waited until she was alone like this. They could do and say anything they wanted here. No one would even know with the cover of the hedges. 

Her heart raced in her chest when they grew close enough (Y/N) swore she could hear the sound of the grass crushing under the intruder's feet. Her breath caught in her throat. 

She whipped her head around just in time to see someone breaking into the clearing.

It was Harry. 

He had a scowl on his face, shoulders tensed, and eyes hard. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her sitting there in the grass, legs folded underneath her. 

(Y/N)'s hand fluttered up to her throat, a sharp exhale leaving her lungs. It was just Harry, he reminded herself. 

"Jeez, you scared me so bad just now," she breathed, sinking from how hard she had been tensed in wait. 

"Sorry," he said, lips thin as he shifted his gaze to the koi pond behind her. 

Though he looked just as closed off as he usually did, his demeanor matching his dark clothing, there was a bit more of an edge to his aura. If she didn't know any better, (Y/N) would think he was angry. 

He heard her say she would be out back, she knew that. He couldn't be angry at her when he didn't follow her out of his own volition. Right?

A slight pinch knitted her brows together as she looked up at him. "Are... Is everything okay?" 

Not shifting his gaze from where he had landed them on the blooms of roses in the maze, he gave her a curt nod. "Yes." 

"Okay," she said, unsure of what else to offer in the quiet of the maze. Awkwardly, she rose to her feet, brushing nonexistent dirt from her tennis whites. 

A beat passed before (Y/N) turned to face him once more, finding his gaze already on her. "You can keep walking if you want. I didn't mean to interrupt you," he said, his voice low as if to match the buzz of the bees. 

"Are you sure?" she asked, still catching the storm in his eyes even if it had settled some. 

Only a single nod was given in response. 

With that, (Y/N) was the one to lead him through the maze. Harry was a welcome ghost behind her, silently following. He didn't complain with every lingering step between the blooms, didn't bother her as she felt the softened rose petals, didn't push her through in annoyance of the bees flying around their heads. 

The second half of the maze seemed to relax him from the way she saw his shoulders relax, his gaze softening the longer they spent away from everyone else. She almost wanted to take him back to the beginning when they finally finished, the end of the maze opening up to a stone walkway that split with two avenues. One took them back to the bistro's patio, the other to the golf courses. 

"Are you hungry?" 

After the quiet that followed them through the maze, Harry's voice was a shock. 

"Yeah, actually." (Y/N) answered after a beat.

"C'mon," Harry said, gesturing for her to follow after him as he started down the pathway rounding back to the restaurant. 

The patio was just as bustling as when she had slipped through earlier, the expansive windows allowing her to peek inside and find her father still holding court. Pushing through the small gate that separated the space, the waitstaff turned to look at them from the pinched creak the iron hinge gave. 

A familiar woman smiled from where she stood at the extra hosting podium stationed outside. "(Y/N)," she brightly greeted her, "Are you dining with us after all today?" 

A short glance was spared in Harry's direction before (Y/N) was nodding. "Yes, please. Thank you." 

The familiar hostess quickly seated them, menus and glasses of water left on the table. The waitress would be only a moment away, they were told. The service was always on the quick side whenever (Y/N) was here; they knew good and well who her father was, and the club loved a generous member. 

Harry was quiet as they were waited on, looking over the menu as if it were a textbook to study. He didn't even look up when the fair-haired waitress made her way to their table. She introduced herself as Carly, though (Y/N) already knew her well enough from the last handful of times she had been dragged here by her dad.

"Before we start, were you wanting to open up a separate tab today, Ms. (Y/N), or put today's meal on your father's?" she asked, her smile bubbly as she relayed the same question they always posed. 

"On her father's." 

Flicking her gaze from the waitress, she saw Harry still looking at his menu as if he hadn't just spoken. That storm had returned to his gaze, a pinch appearing between his brows. 

Carly was silent, looking between the two of them. 

"On my dad's tab, please," (Y/N) confirmed, offering a soft smile before the silence had time to settle for too long. 

"Perfect," Carly answered, writing down whatever message needed on the pad in her hand, "I'll give you guys a moment with the menu and come back and take your order. Sound good?" 

"Sounds good," (Y/N) answered for them both, perfect smile on her lips until their waitress stepped away. 

Silence settled between the two of them, Harry still focussed on his menu. Though it was a bit bold for Harry to assume they were going to be dining on her father's dime, she couldn't deny it was a little funny. That was her own plan after all, she just hadn't anticipated his vehement agreement. 

Soon enough, their waitress returned. "Had enough time?" she posed, reaching to her apron pocket for her notepad.

Glancing at Harry, she saw the small nod he gave. "I think so," (Y/N) answered, already familiar with the menu enough to not have to glance through. 

"Great," Carly chirped, pulling her notepad out, "Any drinks? Starters?" 

Before she had a chance to order her raspberry lemonade, Harry piped up, "A whiskey on the rocks, please. And, the coconut mango cocktail." 

There was a beat that passed as Carly wrote everything down. (Y/N) looked at him with raised brows. That was not at all what she had expected; wasn't he still on the clock?

For the first time, he glanced at her over his menu, something loaded in his eyes as he tipped his chin towards the leaflet with all the drink specials printed. 

"And, for you?" Carly asked, facing (Y/N). 

"Um," she fumbled, "Can I get a glass of Chardonnay please? And the raspberry lemonade." 

(Y/N) didn't plan on drinking her wine, but felt as if she needed to match Harry in the ordering process at least. 

"Alright, I will get all of that going for you, and I'll be back to take your lunch orders." With that, their waitress left, her notepad snapped shut and her gaze just a touch wary between them. 

(Y/N) couldn't blame her. 

A moment passed before (Y/N) dropped her menu to lay flat on the table. Harry looked up at her through his lashes. 

"Are you really going to drink all of that?" Honestly, she wondered what a drunk Harry would look like. 

"No," he deadpanned, "But your father is still going to pay for it whether I drink them or not." 

The smile that tugged on the corner of (Y/N)'s lips was something that she couldn't help. It was out of character for the person she thought Harry to be—a loyal follower of her dad—, but definitely something she would have (and has) done herself. 

"Right," she answered, gaze shifting to the menu in search of the most expensive items she could spot. 

Maybe, Harry was closer to being on the same page as her than she thought.

—————

"Thank you, Carly," (Y/N) said as she signed the check, quickly passing it back to their server. 

"Of course," Carly beamed. Her smile only widened when she saw the three digit tip on the line for her. "Thank you, Ms. (Y/N)." 

(Y/N) didn't linger then, knowing Sully was up front waiting for them to be taken home. "Ready?" she asked Harry as she stood from her chair. 

"Ready," he answered, much more relaxed than at the beginning of their meal. 

Ignoring her father, (Y/N) left the bistro behind. He probably didn't even remember inviting her out for the day. It didn't matter, though, she thought. 

He'd remember the three extra appetizers and handful of drinks left untouched on their table.

—————

rêvasser is to daydream in french.

I know it's a little light on harry at the start of this story but more exciting stuff is coming!!!!! thank u sm for reading, sorry for any mistakes, and if you have any fun ideas or anything please let me know !

#writing #harry #harry styles #harry one shot #harry imagine #harry blurb #harry au #bodyguard harry #harry styles one shot #harry styles imagine #harry styles blurb #harry styles au #bodyguard harry styles #harry x reader #harry styles x reader #love on tour #pleasing #harrys house #as it was #satellite

[golbrocklovely]

I'm confused, what exactly did Stas do?

i made a whole post about this a while ago, but i'll rehash it as quickly as i can here lol

some of this is hearsay and some of this is actual stuff that happened, just fyi.

stas, at one point or another between 2021-22, had been in gcs with fans talking about colby. i had an anon on here years ago claim that she admitted to a group of fans that she was in love with colby. idk how true that was, so i deleted that asks. but that was at the very beginning of her coming around in the fandom. i've also had ppl claim that she was talking about snc/colby way back in 2019, which was the first time she came around but only briefly.

so you have the gcs, liking ship edits, posting content of her and colby behind a paywall (bc she knew ppl would sign up for it if there was extra content of him and her), answering questions about colby when fans would asks questions about him, ect. that was some of the initial stuff she did.

what became a problem was, especially in 2022 when the core four was a thing, she actively made it more and more apparent that she and colby were "a thing". problem is, he wasn't dating her. he was literally hooking up and hanging out with someone else for the past year and half, someone i've dubbed on here six flags girl. hell, there was even another girl in the mix, pumpkin girl. but she was only here for like a week or so.

he had been on and off with six flags girl throughout 21-22. he literally took SFG on a date WITH sam, kat, abbey, and stas. but stas was doing her damnest to make it seem as if her and him were having something going on. when they all went to europe, she posted a vid from his room, essentially making it seem like him and her were sharing a room (when they weren't bc her shit wasn't even in the room). and also, and this is something alleged that idk if it actually happened but it seems possible, that she was sharing where they were all going to fans on her subscription service which is why certain fans were able to find them easily while in europe. on top of that, her mom was also sharing stuff to fans on facebook (and insta i think) so fans were also able to use the pics she was posting to find them. and all of this is a huge safety risk, which is why i hold it as a main issue i had with her at one point.

the catalyst to what i think caused a rift between stas and colby to occur was malishkagate lol

during tomorrowland, a festival they were all at, colby posted a video of stas dancing and at the bottom it said "malishka" which means baby or babygirl in russian. thing to note about stas is she speaks russian. however, colby doesn't. so it's very obvious that she wrote out malishka on his snap and posted it. and when that got posted (on top of a pic that was on his insta story of her face zoomed in which clearly was taken by her) all of sudden a bunch of fans believed that they were now dating. mind you, they all have terrible cell service at tomorrowland, so most likely colby didn't even see how fans were reacting to anything until basically the next day.

and fans were LOSING IT on twitter. i'm talking ppl were congratulating them on "finally" admitting to dating. stas even liked tweets talking about the malishka thing. some fans were claiming that they "knew all along that they were dating and it was nice to finally see them admit it". and a good chunk of these fans were fans OF stas/were close to her.

mind you… none of that happened. colby never came out and said they were dating, but stas made it seem like that's what was happening, just in her own vague way. and also none of the fans that congratulated them ever took back what they said when it became extremely apparent that they weren't dating.

the almost last time colby and stas hung out was right before snc and kat moved to vegas and had just gotten back from europe. stas posted on her subscription service that she was getting ready for a date, and then later that night posted something with colby, or he posted something with her. however, they didn't go on a date. there was a whole big group of them that hung out (without kat and sam) so clearly… she lied, again, trying to make it seem like her and colby had something going on.

after that, it seemed like everyone kept their distance from stas. kat ignored questions about her, colby started removing comments about her (and shea) from his tiktoks, and stas started tweeting out vague things and saying she felt abandoned and also started up her poetry insta where she wrote about (most likely) colby. she hung out with colby and all of his friends on new years of 2022, and then a couple days later when it was their bday, since her and colby have the same bday, he went and hung out with shea while everyone else celebrated with stas. so….. clearly things were still muddy even then.

things seem fine now. they all seemed to be on good terms with one another. but yeah… she pushed too hard to make it seem like her and colby were dating or had something going on. my thing is, is it possible that something happened between them? sure. but it was also very obvious that whatever it was never got off the ground like she made it seem like it was. so it annoys me to this day how many of her fans and just fans in general take her side just bc she's the one that had feelings for him. he would have been an asshole to reciprocate feelings he didn't have. idk why ppl can't understand that lol

#ask #personal #tc4 #cb ll

[wafflesetc]

I’m extremely worried about what Gwen will do to Upstead later this season. I lost so much of my trust in her these last episodes. I want Jay to come back even if it’s only offscreen and them together, but she seems to go for dramatics now instead of in character. I don’t know what to think. Anything you can say to help ease my thoughts?

I apologize if this is a little longer than you thought you were going to get. I've also been sitting on this for a few days because I wanted the initial high/anger/confusion/just general wave of intake to be over.

This is slightly multi-layered and I think that it's important to take that into account when answering something like this. I can totally understand why you say you lost your trust in Gwen over these last few episodes. I'm inclined to agree to a portion of losing some distrust in Gwen. I particularly didn't love the airport goodbye scene with Voight. Of all the three of is final episodes, him saying he wanted to be like Voight to me was one of the most out of character things we've ever heard from Jay. @spiridakosstyle had a really great post about there here.

Now, I don't know what happened and I don't know how three episodes was decided, but they had 10 years worth of a character and 5 years of a partnership/relationship to wrap up. Gwen had to do that all while still maintaining the regular timeline for a regular season for the show. I'm not defending her, I'm just saying that there are a lot of factors into timing and pacing. Do I think they did it right? No, I don't think that it was paced right. The first two episodes were strangely paced to me with how the third episode went down. I still enjoyed the episodes, but I question some of the timeline choices that were made and why they were made.

I think the biggest factor in all of this to be honest is the fact that he's not dead- he is just, temporarily relocating. I made a long post on my mostly coherent thoughts on the episode. I am not going to rehash it in this answer, but I do suggest reading it. In short, aside from the fact I didn't love the pacing, I think Jay is on a journey of self-healing.

I put this in a tweet a few days ago, "Growth is hard, it always is—and in order for a relationship to grow, each person has to grow. Sometimes healing is a solo journey, having your person support you. It doesn’t mean they love each other any less. In the end, he’ll be stronger & they’ll be stronger."

I'm believing that's where they were going with the exit choice they made for him. I don't love the military exit... I would have preferred some sort of promotion or transfer. (I'm also still wondering why we didn't get the dress blues scene that were in the promo pics?) But... at the end of the day, Jay Halstead was a beloved and valuable asset for a decade. They spent half of his character arc involving Hailey into his work life and personal life on the show. I firmly don't believe they are going to do anything too drastic to the relationship.

With the show up for renewal next year and contracts of the cast in question, there are no doubt a lot of avenues that they can go down. While I am leaning towards the side Tracy is probably not going to renew, just given the scenario we've seen played out before our eyes and nothing actually factual from her or NBC/Wolf, she could chose to stay. Maintaining the marriage isn't necessarily that hard- a mention of a text here, ending her on a Skype/FaceTime with him, a mention of him to Kev or Ruz, etc. There are ways to keep him and them alive, without him being there. It's just a matter of continuance, and I'm ehh on that because the show doesn't have the greatest track record. But I will say, we've sing the ring on her hand in BTS. We've got no real reason to panic.

10 years of a character, 5 years of a partnership/relationship that was undoubtedly a HUGE draw for the audience- I don't see them being too dumb with something like that, that draws in the $$$$.

So as far as their relationship I hold on to this:

“Besides, I’m going where you go.”

“We’re good and we’re always gonna be good.”

“I’m not going anywhere Hailey, really I’m not.”

“Where you go, I go.”

These statements they have said to each other over the years are so powerful- Jay Halstead is a man of his word, he promised to love her in sorry & in joy... They are just more in an 'in sorrow' type of moment. I firmly believe they are going to be okay.

And as far as Gwen, I'm not gong to comment too much because all I know is I wouldn't want to be in her shoes. One character's integrity was more important than another one's on his exit and still having to please fans every week... It's got to be hard. So, time will tell.

#chicago pd #upstead #jay halstead

[mozillavulpix]

Also, I’ve heard someone complain that SH invalidates its premise-to motivate Gohan to train-when it reveals that Gohan has been secretly training. Apparently it undoes his arc or something? I dunno I thought the movie established early on that GOHAN DID NOT STOP TRAINING when he blocked Pic’s punch.

Likewise, I’ve heard people complain that the movie rehashed the whole “Gohan learns to train” beat, but, once again, I thought the movie established that he did not stop training. He simply let his battle senses dull, to quote a really awesome tweet, because he fails to anticipate a new threat, which is the main reason he did not train in-between Cell and Buu.

I dunno. I think the gods have cursed Gohan to be hated by the fandom.

oh, people have been misremembering whether gohan trains or not for years, I talk to my friend Erren about it all the time

The Super anime sometimes went out of its way to say that Gohan was still training at points. Even (something I had completely forgotten existed until someone liked one of my old posts on this blog) the DBS manga did in a bonus chapter.

But even then it's just like, whether or not Gohan is training and whether that actually affects if he's 'strong enough' for the current arc has no hard consistent rule between things over the last few years. You just have to actually pay attention to what the story says and not what your headcanon was saying on how strong Gohan should feasibly be.

And in this movie he was never 'too weak' to do something. Gamma 1 got him on the ropes for a bit, and then he gets the 'battle sense' back and goes Ultimate, and they're basically fighting evenly until they decide to stop fighting. Cell Max was strong, but he was strong on the level of "even with Goku and Vegeta that would have been a tough fight", so Gohan being a bit more trained wouldn't have necessarily changed that situation very much.

Basically, even if 'Gohan kept training to the level Piccolo wanted him to', all it would do is maybe make things a little easier. But it wouldn't change that much at the end of the day.

#gohan in super

[rptgossip]

You can do with this what you like but I highly suspect that the new rpc-home-truths is Nolan in disguise. Dude has been a problem in the tumblr rpc since 2015 stealing theme codes and original character ideas and plagiarizing other media sources for his “original rp” plots and claiming it all his own. On top of that he’s known for hella godmodding in threads, harassing and stalking his partners that he gloms onto because they have a male fc he’s super attracted to, blatantly ignores female characters because he’s not interested in m/f romance/smut, ignores rp lore, and has been kicked out of a few groups, like Empire and Corinth Bay to name a couple recent ones that I know of, for his behavior. He’s also been racist and misogynistic with the premade characters and lore he’s created in his own rps. And when he’s kicked out and called out for his shit? Gaslighting for days to paint himself as a victim. He’s still going on about drama from 2015 where he was 100% the aggressor and problem.

I know it sounds crazy and conspiratory. That rpc-home-truths talks a lot like how Nolan does, using “staff” as opposed to “admin” or “mod,” and I bet is about to rehash the whole shit he did from his perspective again. The blog just hid their likes but I saw a few pics of nearly naked buff dudes plus a photo set of Joshua Orpin, who is a fc Nolan has been using frequently since 2020.

Here is the link to his last-known rp blog from Corinth Bay: https://www.tumblr.com/callum-marcoh

His account where he continues rehashing his past problematic behavior from a victim narrative in novella format: https://zachnovak.tumblr.com/

And this thread has a pretty good breakdown of his behavior from a couple people in Corinth Bay: https://binxrps.tumblr.com/post/630553132533940224/wiscowrites-loganlcrmans-jayrpssometimes

Okay this is a lot. I have a lot of thoughts so i’m going to bullet point. But firstly do not send hate to this blog or any of the blogs mentioned above. That shit just keeps the fire going and responding to toxic behavior with toxic behavior gets no one anywhere. Moving on 

This guy has been called out many times over the years. I remember lurking and reading about him over and over again. In cases like these if you're the common denominator you're probably the problem. And you should probably start looking introspectively on what went wrong 

That 2nd link to his blog is wild…. I scrolled through a couple of pages and there's just straight up smut out there in the open? I know I just preached about being open to someone not knowing something but I think everyone should know what the read more button is and use it ? Like i’m all for smut but c’mon some of us rp at work and yes people should know the risks of doing that but the read more button is right there- and on a definitely more important note, it could be super triggering

At this point the proof is right there.  This isn’t a ‘witch hunt’ or ‘drama’ this is a person with some serious issues who should be avoided at all costs. And to have an rpc-home-truths defending them using that vocabulary is disgusting. The internet can 100% have an affect on people's mental health, and Nolan’s actions has affected many people .he should be named, shamed, and blocked

The last part is going under read more it because it discuss triggering topics which are all tagged below 

Speaking of rpc-home-truths its been really gross in their defense of Nolan. One of them posted a scenario that put out a scenario about s*uicide basically victim blaming the ‘mob’ or whoever is against Nolan, Except as an example she used her daughter. And to top it off put in the tags with no trigger warning or tags, and it is still up as of now. I find this disgusting, I am not a mother but why would you put that energy out into the world about your daughter?? Its gross and manipulative. And to not have it tagged? I feel like anyone rping who are decent humans know that has to be tagged. It should have never been posted in the first but at least tag it or warn people in some way so they can choose to ignore it. 

Call me a coward but I have blocked them already( and screenshotted the post in case they delete and act like that it never happened), they have a blog they can defend themselves on but how that was handled has given me enough information on who they are as people and I don’t want to see them or  interact with them.

#rpt #tw mental illness #tw suicide #suicide tw #I hope I tagged this correctly please let me know if I need to add more

[msgrumpygills]

Oh to be a fly on the wall. I saw the results of a poll naming Jensen Ackles sexiest man alive and immediately thought of Jared and Jen. I know all of these polls are basically silly b.s but thought it was interesting that the article mentioned how frequently this poll mirrors Peoples. I would love to have seen Jared and Jens reactions when they saw the words Sexiest man alive, Brad Pitt and Jensen in the same sentence. Yes it is a silly poll but since J and Jen might be the shallowest people alive it must have stung. Be interesting to know if Jared congratulated Jensen. The poll was based in large part on positive media comments in the last year.

I saw 1st page of Peoples article and had to laugh. Same pics we have seen for past year. Jared in the pool with kids was apparently the only pic they could find for caption doting dad. He also mentioned that he completely avoids the media and goes to bed at 9 every night. He did of course find the time to hawk products in the article. I swear you seriously can't make this stuff up. I would give an arm and a leg to see Jensen on cover as sexiest man alive, and be able to see J and Jens reactions.

I think Jared has dealt with Jensen always being the “better looking” one of the duo for years. I’m not saying Jared is ugly, but the majority of the fanbase thinks that Jensen is better looking. 

It says a lot about Jared and being a “doting dad” that the same few pictures need to be rehashed over and over again because he’s not around long enough to make actual memories. 

Gen doesn’t care as long as Jared comes home to her so she can post smug pictures with him like she won a prize. Keep it girl, no one wants to deal with him.

#submission #grumpy answers #anti jared padalecki #anti genevieve

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Kismet {4}

Henry Cavill x Famous OFC Aliya Taylor

Warning: Plot Heavy, Slow Burn, Mild Cursing, Flirtation, LOTS OF DIALOUGE

Words: 4k

Summary: Aliya is a singer turned model turned actress. Since she was fifteen, she’s been creating her empire in the entertainment world. As the daughter of a famous fashion model/designer and Hollywood director, you’d think life is easy for her, but her past has been anything but easy. Due to past trauma, she’s forever changed and no longer trusts any man that is not in her family and a select few in her team. She’s sworn off love and serious relationships and has planned never to fall again, but love isn’t something that can be planned. It just happens when it’s meant to. Can Aliya outrun a love that seems hellbent on holding tight to her, a love that is Kismet?

If you enjoyed this please LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG!! 😘  As always, thank you so much for reading. ❤️❤️

***Loosely Edited/Proofread***

***Interactive***

Previous Chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 |

-Aliya-

 You were groggy, and you knew why. Once you got in from your impromptu date, you were so aroused you had to immediately jump into the shower. You’d hoped the water would have helped alleviate the situation, but your multi rainfall showerheads only made your body more sensitive and hungry. So after as much resisting as humanly possible (two minutes), you decided to take care of it yourself. The only problem was once wasn’t enough, twice barely took the edge off, and by the time you made it to your fourth attempt, you were minimally appeased and still thinking about the man with the captivatingly blue eyes that were as deep as the ocean itself.

Sleep was not even an option, so you snuggled in bed wrapped in his sweater that cocooned you with his scent—a scent that you already loved. When you went through your phone, you nearly rolled out of your bed when you saw the four additions he’d added to your gallery. The four selfies were perfection. The lighting was on point, and each and every one of the photos showed how gorgeous he was. He had no bad angles, the sun loved him, the night loved him, and you were sure the rain, snow, sleet, and wind would too. No man should have that amount of gorgeousness. It wasn’t fair.

 After spending way too much time gawking at his pictures, you found the pictures he’d had most likely have seen. When you looked through them, you wanted to die. The pictures definitely didn’t leave much to the imagination. You wondered what he’d thought when he saw them or even if he had to do a little self-gratification when he saw them or even when he got home. For some reason, you’d wanted him to have been overcome with desire for you, even though you weren’t sure just what the hell you were doing.

As you sat at your table with your friends for brunch, you tried to ignore the flashes of cameras from the tables within sight of yours. It wasn’t something anyone ever got used to. You always felt like you had to be “on.”

 “It feels like it’s been years since we talked,” Amaya whined out as she gripped yours and Alicia’s hand. She was the dramatic one.

 “I know. It’s crazy how dependent we are on our cellphones,” you added.

 “Leece filled me in and told me everything,” Amaya began. She dropped her jaw and bugged her eyes for emphasis.

 “Everything?”

 “Yep, now for you to continue,” Amaya steered.

 You groaned and exaggeratedly rolled your eyes. “I’m too hungry for this,” you whined as you flipped through the menu. You were starving enough to eat the entire menu.

 “Welcome to Blue Café. My name is Will. What can I get you guys?”

 The waiter in a blue apron had a great smile and an even better head of curls. He definitely could have been a model.

 “I want something heavy. I drank a lot last night. Hmm, the split pea soup to begin, a cheeseburger with the works except for onions and mushrooms. Very well done, please and to drink ummm, a strawberry and mint lemonade,” you listed.

 “All right, and you, ladies?”

 Your friends ordered as you checked your phone to find Henry calling. It was at this moment you realized he’d programmed himself into your phone even with an ID pic. He’d really gotten comfortable with it. The amusement of his boldness had you smiling to yourself.

 “So?”

 Amaya’s voice had you putting your phone down after dimming the screen to give them your attention.

 “We had dinner,” you blandly announced.

 “So, you actually stayed.”

 Nodding to Alicia’s inquiry, you continued. “I did. He said if after drinks and appetizers I couldn’t stand him, then I could go.”

 “I guess you could stand him,” Amaya sarcastically slid in. You knew just what she was implying.

 “Guess so.”

 “How’d he look?”

 Your smile spread before you could stop it. “Amazing, gorgeous. I have no words for how beautiful this man is,” you practically screeched as you tried to wipe the stupid grin off your face. It was too late to, though, they’d already seen it, and you knew they were judging.

 “He’s not a piece of meat, Liya,” Alicia sarcastically chastised.

 “Uggh, are you sure because I’d say he’s prime grade A man steak,” you said. As soon as the words were out, your friends laughed loudly, bringing the attention of those around you. Even though you tried not to, you had to laugh as well.

 “He is fine. I’ve seen his movies. God him in spandex for Superman did it for me,” Amaya confessed.

 You didn’t blame her, that man in spandex would do it for any woman.

 “How was the conversation?”

 Practicing some etiquette, you cleared your throat and sat back. “Good. Flowing, no awkward pauses except the stares and dirty thoughts that had me sweating like a horny teenager.”

 Amaya snorted then fanned herself. “It would happen to me too.”

 “How was he?”

 Alicia always knew how to ask the right questions. You were convinced it was her superpower. You thought back to Henry’s smile and demeanor last night, and that had you smiling. “Eh-em, he was the perfect gentleman. He opened doors, pulled out chairs, was respectful to the servers, courteous, mannerable—he was good.”

 The two of them exchanged looks that said this questioning wasn’t anywhere close to finished.

 “What happened after dinner?

 “We went for drinks.”

 “Ooh, an extended first date,” Amaya sing songed.

 “Eh, this wasn't a date. It was an exchange of phones,” you clarified.

 “Did you get your phone?”

 “I did, after the bar. Turns out, he looked through it and saw my semi-nude,” you announced.

 “Which one?”

 After showing them the picture, they giggled. “Oh, the suggestive nude, nude,” Alicia joked as she rolled her eyes.

 “Yeah, now I’m weirded out. Not because I was pretty much naked but because he saw me pretty much naked and--.”

 “—There is nothing between you now, and that makes it much harder to ignore because you want to rip his clothes off,” Alicia filled in like the mind-reading Aliya whisperer she was.

 You rapidly nodded with your eyes widened; she got it. your laugh slipped out, and it made you feel like a raving lunatic. “Oh my god, this man has invaded me.”

 “Sounds sexy,” Amaya said.

 “It’s not,” you flatly corrected.

 “It can be if you let it,” Alicia suggested.

 You rolled your eyes again and fiddled with your phone. “Guys, he’s juggling two women.”

 “You don’t know that,” Amya blurted out, the first to come to his defense.

 “Explain two women blowing up his phone daily for a week and a half. Explain that. As a woman, I am not going to blowing up any man’s phone like that unless I’m sleeping with him.”

You looked between them and watched as they both came up with their defenses.

 “That could be anything. Sisters,” Amaya suggested.

 “He has no sisters, four brothers.”

 “Brother’s wives?”

 You narrowed your eyes and gave them the “do I look stupid” look, but they continued.

 “Assistants, he is an actor,” Amaya added.

 After kissing your teeth in the loudest way possible, you rolled your eyes. “Whatever.”

 “Ask him,” Alicia advised.

 “For what? There is no reason to. We are nothing to each other,” you concluded.

 The two of them sat there quietly, looking at you as if you were a bold face liar. You didn’t care. It was your truth.

 “When you got home, did you touch yourself?”

 Your jaw dropped as you gaped at her. “Shut up!”

 “Oh my god!” Amaya’s loud ass mouth brought all the eyes. You had to cover your face as they obnoxiously laughed at you.

 “Enough. We’re done rehashing this,” you grumbled.

 “Wait, one last thing. During dinner, did you ever get the impression that he couldn’t wait for it to be over or that this may be all about a conquest?”

 You knew what she was doing. Amaya was not as slick as she thought she was. You rolled your eyes again and sighed before you answered. “No.”

 “Okay.”

 That was all she came back with as if her hypothesis needed no further defense. They always ganged up on you, and it was clear where they stood in this new situation, and it wasn’t with you.

 Shopping followed your brunch, but that was cut short by the paparazzi hounding you after the third store you emerged from. Someone must have dropped the tip to bring them. It was a madhouse and an immediate good time killer. The three of you had to alternate your plan for a day of fun and finished it out with a drive to Santa Monica to enjoy the boardwalk. All in all, it turned out to be a really chill day, one that you’d needed more than you knew.

By the time you got back to your house, it was nearing six. Once in front of your door, your jaw dropped seeing a jaw-dropping floral arrangement sitting there. You didn’t know who it was from, but you had your suspicions. It took some strength, but you managed to get it inside to your kitchen. With it on the counter, you just stared at it. Under the light, it was even more beautiful than outside. After admiring the display for a few moments, you pulled the card from between the leaves and petals then read it.

 -Aliya,

I hope this finds you well. I had a great time last night, and it was because you trusted me enough to give me time to prove why I deserve your time. Hopefully, this is just the first of many dates.

 -Henry-

 What started as a straight face turned to a small smile, which led to a full-on elated, goofy grin. He was unpredictable for sure and so damn polite. Damn the British; you thought as you buried your nose in the bouquet. You moaned and inhaled the aroma of flowers that looked like they’d cost a pretty penny. He was definitely working overtime, that was for sure. The question you had now was what exactly did he want.

 Sighing, you took out your phone and opened up your messages prepared to shoot him a quick thank you text. With your finger hovering over one of the letters in your keyboard, you sighed again, feeling the overwhelming urge to call instead. After putting it on speaker, you sat in the barstool and waited two rings until Henry’s deep voice filled your kitchen.

 “Hello?”

 Your belly did backflips.

 “Hi,” you whispered.

 “Hi. How are you?”

 “Good.”

 You were desperately trying to recover from the unexpected reaction his voice had.

 “Glad to hear it. I called you earlier.”

 “Uh—I must have missed it. I was catching up with some friends.”

 “Okay,” he replied.

 Silence fell between you as each of you waited for the other to speak.

 “Um, I wanted to call and thank you,” you began.

 “For what?”

 “The flowers I’m looking at. They’re incredibly beautiful.”

 “Do you like them? The florist said the day after flowers should be subtle and sincere rather than flashy or extravagant,” Henry explained.

 You smiled wider as you checked the mental box for him being considerate.

 “Well, the florist knows what she’s talking about. They are perfect; you chose well.”

 “Good. I’m glad you like them.” He sounded like he was smiling as widely as you were.

 “How do you know where I live?”

 He paused for a few moments before he spoke. “I had your phone for twelve days. I probably know more about you than most of the world.”

 Those could have been the creepiest words you’d heard in a long time, and it was like your head was trying to figure out if you should take it as a red flag or laugh.

 “Have I freaked you out?”

 The way he said it sounded like he was finding amusement in it. You snorted and shook your head.

 “Why would you say that? Just because you went through my phone and figured out where I lived to send flowers? No, isn’t that what normal men do?”

 Henry’s laugh followed your words, and it drastically did away with any awkward tension that was in the air.

 “With you saying it out loud, I can see how you’d be freaked.”

 “To be honest, my initial reaction was shock, and then, strangely enough, it went away like this was everyday life,” you explained.

 “I’m really not trying to freak you out; I promise,” Henry pressed.

 “Then what are you trying to do exactly?”

 The silence returned, and you wondered if he would even answer the question.

 “Right now—I’m trying to ask you to have dinner with me tonight.”

 You put your head on the cold granite of your counter and sighed out.

 “We just had dinner last night.”

 “I’m told, based on human physiology, we actually have to eat three or more meals a day in order to sustain,” Henry explained.

 “Really?”

 “Yeah. Don’t shoot the messenger.”

 You smiled again and rested your chin in your palms.

 “Don’t you have things to do?”

 “I might, but I don’t care. I’d like to have dinner with you instead.” His conviction was so damn sexy. He wasn’t shy about professing his wants.

 “What if I have work to do and can’t shrug it off like you, Superman?”

 “I’m sure you can if you want to. Guess that’s the question. Do you want to? I take it you’re a woman who does what she wants when she wants no matter what. I doubt scheduling conflicts could keep you away from a dinner with someone you wanted to be at dinner with. Do you want to?”

 He probably did well in school with debate. He spoke beautifully and had a way with words.

 “I’m going to be at Taylor’s Steakhouse in Koreatown at nine tonight. I’ll wait until nine-thirty. Hopefully, I see you there,” Henry said before he hung up.

 Pressing your fingertips to your eyes, you groaned loudly. “Oh my god!”

 You stared at the flowers again and toyed with the petal of one of the blush-colored roses. The debate of the night wasn’t if you wanted to go or not. It was if you should or not.

 By the time you were dressed, it was close to eight forty-five. You were sitting in your closet in front of the mirror, still trying to convince yourself to go.

 “It’s no big deal, Aliya. It’s food, drinks, nothing more.”

 Your words sounded sure, but your face looked anything but.

 “Then why did you put so much effort in if it’s no big deal?”

 You sat there going back and forth with yourself like a crazy person. For every pro, you had you quickly came up with a con. It was endless. When your phone rang, you expected it to be Henry but were relieved when you saw it was your grandmother.

 “Oh my goodness, Gramaw. How did you know I needed you?”

 “I felt your distress. What’s wrong?”

 “I have a date, but I don’t know if I should go,” you blurted out.

 “Date with who?”

 She sounded shocked, and you didn’t blame her. It had been years since you’d spoken to anyone about a man, let alone a date. You spent the next ten or so minutes explaining everything to her, not leaving out one bit of information. You needed her to understand the situation now and give you the best advice.

 “Wow,” she uttered.

 “Yep.”

 “Why exactly are you debating going? It sounds like this has been decided for you.”

 “Uggh! Fate. I hate fate.”

 Your Gramaw laughed at you. She was one of those old souls who firmly believed in fate, destiny, and all the hoopla around it. You, on the other hand, had been disenchanted by it all.

 “Why do you hate fate?”

 “It’s always been hanging around me,” you whined. Again she laughed.

 “Oh honey, this is the first time fate has been anywhere near you. Other times has been sheer coincidence.”

 “So, you think this is fate.” You’d be lying if you said the thought hadn’t flashed across your mind. It had, but you would never admit that out loud.

 “It’s not for me to say. What do you think?”

 “I think this is very unwelcomed. I think I don’t have the time or the energy for this. I think I don’t want these feelings. I think—I’ve never felt anything like this. I think--e’s beautiful,” you finished with a sigh.

 “What is it that you want to do?”

 You groaned because if you knew the answer to that, you wouldn’t have been calling her. You cursed and dropped back onto the floor to lay there until you’d gotten your shit together.

By the time you got to Taylor’s, you were late. You were always late. The time on your phone said he would be leaving in fifteen minutes if he hadn’t just gotten fed up and left already.

 “Welcome to Taylor’s I’m Kimmie. Do you have a reservation?”

 “Um—well, I’m meeting someone here.”

 “Okay. What’s the party’s name?”

 You looked around, making sure no one was watching then leaned closer. “Henry,” you whispered.

 “Ha, yes, he did mention he was expecting someone. I should have put two and two together. He’s a celebrity, and you’re a celebrity. Duh,” she rambled. You didn’t know if she was anxious, nervous, or if it was her normal thing. She cleared her throat and spoke again.

 “Right this way.”

 It was like she was a completely different person. You followed her through the restaurant taking note of the exits. She lead you through a set of double wooden doors that led to a whole separate side of the restaurant. This area had its lights dimmed a little lower and looked more secluded. As you approached the table, you saw him sitting near a window sipping a drink. He looked nervous; it was adorable. You couldn’t help but smile. It was then he looked your way, and the moment it sank in, you saw him release a breath as if he’d been holding it the whole time.

“Enjoy your evening,” Kimmie muttered. It was then you realized you’d been standing in front of him, not saying one word.

 “You came.” He sounded surprised.

 “I’m sorry, I’m late. My Gramaw called, and I got caught up in conversation.” It wasn’t a lie per se. You didn’t need to tell him she had to talk you off the ledge.

 Henry stood and walked to the seat diagonal from him. “It’s okay,” Henry began pulling out the seat for you. You sat and allowed him to push it in for you. “Truth be told, I would have waited past nine-thirty,” He whispered into your ear, giving you a hint of his cologne and what he was drinking in that glass. Bourbon. As he walked back to his seat, you tried to keep your thirst under control.

 “Thank you.”

 “You look very fetching,” Henry added.

 “Fetching? Oh, the English gentleman is shining through tonight I see.”

 Henry smiled widely, showing off his perfect teeth. “I’m always a gentleman.”

 “Thank you. You look very striking,” you countered. He began blushing, and that blush had a shiver rushing through you.

 “Are you all right?”

 “Yes.”

 “Got a chill did you?” You could hear the cocky in his voice. The man had every reason to be.

 “Sure did. This is pretty impressive,” you said, motioning to your surroundings.

 “You’ve never been?”

 “No. I don’t venture out a lot. I find four or five restaurants I like and stick with them.”

 “So not so adventurous, huh,” Henry surmised.

 “I’m too busy really.”

 “Ah, the life of a mogul,” Henry teased.

 “I am no mogul.”

 “I think you are, someone important,” Henry concluded.

 “Oh, I think there is more to the definition than that.”

 “Maybe you’re right. What do you call yourself?”

 “Aliya,” you joked.

 “Cute.”

 “Thanks for noticing, you teased. “I don’t think of myself the way others seem to think of me.”

 “Welcome to Taylor’s. I’m Sam. I’ll be your waiter. Can I start you guys off with drinks?”

 “I’m ahead of you by one, catch up,” Henry said, raising his glass.

 “Um, how about a Negroni?”

 “Coming up,” Sam said before he walked away.

 “Another Guinness?”

 “No, Bourbon,” Henry corrected. The way he said it sound so prime and proper. He sounded better than James Bond himself.

 “Oh, Bourbon man too?”

 “Tell me,” Henry urged as he sat back in his seat.

 “Bourbon dry, hmmm. Only rich men drink it like that. Or men who come from money. They say the ice ruins the flavor of it, so they prefer to have it the way it’s intended. You’re sophisticated, fun, intelligent, and you value honesty and things right between the eyes. You don’t like games, and always know what you want. You might even be difficult and used to getting your own way and don’t know what to do when someone goes against it.”

 His smile was so telling. You’d gotten it completely right.

 “I do like getting my way,” he confirmed.

“I know.”

 “What about you?”

 “I usually get what I want. I’ve never had anyone not give me what I want,” you said. Henry laughed loudly.

 “I bet.”

 “What does that mean?”

 “Sadly, men do not know how to go against a pretty face,” Henry clarified.

 You stifled your laugh, letting out only a snort. “So that’s all you see when you look at me? A pretty face?”

 The waiter came back just in time with your drinks. Henry looked speechless. He asked if you guys were ready to place your orders, but neither of you had even looked at the menu. When he left promising to be back in a little while, Henry spoke.

 “I’m sorry if I offended you. I didn’t mean to.”

 “I’m not offended,” you said before you sipped your drink and moaned as the flavors filled your mouth. “This is good.”

 “When I look at you, I don’t see a pretty face.”

 “Oh no? So my face is ugly?”

 “No!” He cleared his throat, then began again. “You’re very beautiful.”

 “So just a pretty face then.”

 He looked so flustered you wanted to bust out laughing. The longer you continued this teasing, you knew you’d end up laughing in his face. It was cute how panicked he looked.

 “Aliya, you are drop-dead gorgeous. There is no lie about that, no mistaking it or looking past it. When I look at you, I see something I’m drawn to. There is something about you, this aura. I get the sense that you’re down to Earth, kind, smarter than anyone knows and deeply a good person.”

 As you sipped your drink again, you smiled on the glass. He had a way with words for sure.

 “You are good under pressure.”

 “Was that a test?”

 You shrugged with a smile on your face. “ If it was, you passed.”

 Again Henry laughed and shook his head; he didn’t look angry though.

 Throughout dinner, the conversation never stopped. You talked about everything from his family to acting and the experiences you both had in the industry. The longer you talked, the more you realized you had plenty of things in common. You laughed at all his jokes, but not because you felt like you had to, he was genuinely funny. Every time he spoke, you couldn’t keep your eyes off of his mouth, which led you to look at his neck and the peeks of hair on his chest. Your fingers tingled from the want to touch. You could listen to him talk all night. It was an exciting revelation, and you were interested in what other revelations you’d have before the night was through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***If you want to be tagged please SEND AN ASK SO IT WILL BE EASIER FOR ME TO KEEP TRACK OF. Thank you for reading!!!***

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TagList:

@dangerouslovefanfic @jamesbarnesappreciationclub @momobaby227 @naturalthrone22 @emjayewrites @chaneajoyyy @caramara3 @kikimiyazaki @sonjashuterbugjohnson @minton131 @aar-journey @sincerelyglowing   @theonewithherheadintheclouds @shar74nett @mrsbarnes-rogers @livinglifeformemyselfandi @night-of-the-living-shred @munteanhorewrites @kittykatlow @give-me-a-million-dollars-pls @simply-heaven @winchwm @maximumninjavoid @offrostandstarlight @angrybirdcr​  @maxcullen

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#kismet fic #henry cavill #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill x you #henry cavill x black reader #black fanfiction #angst fanfic #slow burn fanfic

[chrisevansluv]

before someone takes that dc hooking yo story seriously it’s always been a rumor bc he invited people out for lunch that’s all and that dc tea pages keeps talking about it at least once a month lol

Other anons:

"Sorry this will be a rehash of old topics but-

I just gotta laugh at this Tiktok crowd. They cannot make up something original.

Before anyone gets lost in the rabbithole,basically one 21 y/o DC intern got a bit obsessed with Chris after he n mark visited the offices and took pics with them. They bumped into or were invited to the same Burlesque club. Idk some of the burlesque performers and the chick tried to make it seem like Chris was into her. Fandom freaked out as usual,and some of the "fans" started accusing him of going after barely legal girls,how he's slimey n blah blah blah.

That girls basically was a wannabe influencer,apparently broke up with her boyfried and even went to Boston a few months later. Eventually gave up in her dreams to become Mrs.Evans,CE's sugarbaby or whatever tf dream she had and last year someone did a deepdive and found out she got back together with that boyfriend,they have a kid together now and yeah....that's it.

As with most celeb's,especially our man,these baseless rumors stuck even long after this shit happened and now tiktok's running with it lol.

There's some blog's that were active during the whole saga and said their bit but I just gotta say.......it was so much hoopla for some irrelevant person trying to use CE for clout(hah! what's new)"

"Not the old DC intern rumours 😂 TikTok always make these old rumours sound recent and this is why I no longer go on that app. The little kids on there are toxic af"

#cevansluv #DC #interns

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

Animaniacs Reboot Episode One

Fandom how we doin? Doin alright? Good!! We deserve to have a great reboot with these characters. I’ve been waiting for this day for the last two years of telling my friends who watched the original show (or even the ones that didn’t who were polite enough to lesson to me ramble). The best way to get my thoughts in order is-you guessed it!! A bulleted list!! 

- The Jurassic Park intro is still one of my favorite things that I have ever seen in any cartoon!!  

-Wakko and Yakko imitating each other is something that I never knew I needed in my life and I freaking howled with laughter hearing it!! 

-THE FREAKING OPENING SONG BEING SO SIMILAR YET KEEPING IT MODERN IS SOMETHING SO AMAZING!! The one thing that I didn’t get was Dot has wit, she’s cute they’re all witty. Though they are technically all cute!!

-Yakko’s little laugh seeing the water tower for the first time in 22 years was so cute okay? I love him, he’s my favorite of the group always has been and always will be. 

-There is a tad more sibling abuse this time around, I saw a lot of people hating on Yakko for smacking Wakko in one of the promos. To me it was more of a light bitch slap. It was more along of the lines of “Dumbass why didn’t you remember?! Do I have to do everything around here?!” 

- I already figured that Wakko left his sandwich there 22 years ago but watching him actually eat it was SO GROSS!! Like baby I’ll make you a much better sandwich just give me a few minutes. But him tripping the wires on his way back after doing that intricate “sandwich” dance was both hilarious and in character. 

- THERE LITTLE HUG I AM DEAD FROM CUTENESS!!! Also Dot breaking the fourth wall loved that

- Return of Frank Welker for Ralph!! He was always one of my favorites when I was a little kid with his bumbling idiocy. 

- I like the new CEO fine, she has room for development a little bit but her comedic timing was really good!! 

- Also Yakko calling Ralph “Ralphie” was adorable and nobody can tell me otherwise. 

- “I’m the eating stuff guy!!” Yes you are baby but Yakko is the knowledge boi and he needs to know everything (within the last 22 years that got a cackle out of me)

- Alright onto something that made me utterly lose my shit, the songs. Holy hell are these songs fantastic!! I love them so much, Randy freaking Rogell needs more love in the world as our resident song writer. Nobody writes songs for cartoons quite like he does. It’s still just as educational as it was 22 years ago and I love that this show is still teaching stuff to children with the same fast pace so at the end of the song you wonder if you learned anything at all or if you just loved the song. Also them being self aware about what year it was had me rolling on the floor. 

-ALSO BILL CLINTON STILL PLAYS THE SAX

- (A little side note I love these singing voices even 22 years later Rob still sings like a damn angel for Yakko, Tress is still adorable af for Dot and I still adore Jess’s Wakko in whatever quantity I can get him) 

- BRAIN INVENTED THE INTERNET?! WHY DIDN’T ANYBODY TELL ME THIS?! 

- Also Brain’s insults are still fire “Pinky I’d be worried this drivel is turning your mind soft but you can’t mash what is already mush.” I have always loved their dynamic ever since I was a little girl. Also I have missed “Pinky are you pondering what I’m pondering?” way too much. 

- “That’s nice Brain. I spent the last 22 years undergoing rigorous psychotherapy and realized that our codependent relationship isn’t based on a shared desire to conquer the world but rather my enabling of your systematic emotional and physical abuse.” Baby yes you are absolute right about that and you should say it

- “And do you know what most humans use it for? I do but I don’t think I can say it” WAS THAT A PORN REFERENCE?! 

- The bear on the phone in St Peterburg got a good laugh out of me not gonna lie 

- Opera cat was super cute!! I also loved the almost Grinch-like smile on Seth Myers 

- “Oh that’s a great photo so life like!! *Brain* Ring Ring *Pinky* Hello!! Brain’s phone *Brain* May I speak with the imbecile who ruined my plan? *Pinky* That’s me!!” As much as I hate Pinky abuse this was genuinely funny!!

- I love Yakko’s wide eyed face as he looks around taking everything in!! He’s so cute!!

- “I bet I can sing a bitingly satirical song about it!! Didn’t we just do that before Pinky And The Brain?” YES THIS IS THE HUMOR THAT I LOVE FOURTH WALL JOKES ARE THE BEST IN THIS SHOW

- Wakko’s hip bump with Raven was so stinking cute!! 

- “If you wanna make some easy cash just recycle and rehash” Disney the last five years anybody? 

- The harmonies are so beautiful on this song!! 

And now I’m done!! I hope that everybody enjoyed the episode as much as I did (And I took a lot of cute Pinky pics if anybody wants to use them as an icon)

#Animaniacs spoilers #Reboot #I’m sobbing #my hands hurt #Yakko Warner #Dot Warner

[seriouslyblacklikemysoul]

Until Forever - Sirius Black

MASTERLIST Warnings: My English,pics aren’t mine.  Word Count ~ 3k Prologue | Mercury | Delicate | Blue | Running | Aftermath | Stardust

Chapter 8. December.

           She had practiced everything she would say to him, rehearsing it like a play, going through all of his possible reactions and rehashing her speech to fit the situation, over and over and over again. But when he saw her in the hall between two classes, when she opened her mouth, all that fell out was crackling silence.

            It had been a bit more than just awkward; Remus was beyond competitive, trying to steal kisses of her when Sirius was watching. And Sirius was watching most of the time – he couldn’t stop pining after her and he knew it was all kinds of wrong.           There was something in the way she lied, he thought. She was staring straight into his eyes. He liked her lies – they brought the pain he was missing lately.  Of course, he was jealous that his best friend could have this moment while he was waiting for the ticking clock to burn. She had absolutely no problem admitting she had made a mess – coming to terms with it, that was a problem.

            December was upon them and she felt her heart longing for her family and friends – they would all get together, cook, eat, and drink, but mostly they would have fun. They had this tradition – each Friday of December they would have a movie night. And most of time, they didn’t even watch a movie; they were all there for the friendship. They used to have a chat called “Fam”, because they weren’t just friends, they were family, or a really small gang. She missed them like crazy.  She missed her life a bit more than she would admit – well, she had no one to admit that to. Reminiscing about her lost life wasn’t going to help her go back, but she couldn’t stop thinking about her friends and how wonderful it would be if all of this was simply a dream.            She no longer wanted to live inside a fairy tale. She wanted to return to her old life.  Maybe it was because she didn’t have her best friend telling her how stupid she was for actually being involved with any of them or how crazy it was … being in a relationship with Remus while she was pulled towards Sirius every breathing moment. She could use a girls’ night.…           Then again, she would be lying her ass off if she said she didn’t enjoy herself. Given everything, she was doing pretty amazing. It was just the guilt that ate her alive. It might have been a little heart wrenching but breaking down at 2 AM changed people. She became distant. She became doubtful. It created an emotional divide between her and everyone else. When she was slumped on the floor, paralyzed with grief, she begun to see through things. The Niagara of tears falling from her eyes, the lump in her throat, the pain pounding in her chest reminded her of the faces she wanted to see, the voices she wanted to hear, the caresses she wanted to feel. She would become isolated.           It was 2 AM, the world turned against her, the clock ticked louder than it used to as though to match the shrieking voices in her head. Those voices she wished would fall into silence for they driven her mad. She reached for her phone, to type a text, to try to dial a number, then realized she had no one – and no phone to do so. You begin to think of coping mechanisms. How would she get through this? Swallow a sleeping pill that didn’t work anymore? Seek the comfort of alcohol? Dance with her demons, let them tormented her until she became numb? She became lost. She didn’t know what to do. She pinched her skin to drive away the numbness. Everything became blurry. In a brief moment of clarity, he crossed her mind; she was tempted to talk to him.          She missed her friends and this unholy hour made her question the people in her life... Realizing just how much, hurt. Forcing her eyes shut and hoping in a peaceful slumber, she made herself fall asleep. Otherwise, she would have fallen apart.

             Waking up early had never been her thing - especially during winter time...But it was one of her favorite things. The frozen atmosphere stood still, waiting for the sun to rise, slowly, indolently; the sky was a pale, frosty, grayish blue and if she listened carefully, the silence was beautiful. As she approached the Great Hall, she heard the soft chatter and the distant yawing. She craved her hot cup of coffee and the delicious breakfast, without caring about her sad look or the fact that she had been avoiding everyone … a while.             She took her time, appreciating everything around her; the big, baroque fireplace, the tall walls that reached up to the ceiling, which was covered with floating candles and enchanted to look like the sky above – perfectly still and gray – the High Table, which was designed to house the entire Hogwarts staff – more than half of them were missing. From the architecture to the vibe, it had to be one of the most adoptable rooms inside the castle.            She sat down, smiling to them all, filling up her cup with freshly brewed coffee, with no interest of joining their conversation. She had to talk about her wants at some point but it wasn’t the moment – although, not receiving a message is also a message.            “You seem off” Peter commented later on, when she had made clear she didn’t want to participate in small talk. Forcing her thought back on track and her eyes to stop wondering around, she simply nodded. She felt off. Peter didn’t question her further, understanding her wish for peace and quiet. Sirius’ and Remus’ eyes met as they both looked at her – the silver eyed boy immediately averted his gaze back to his plate. That had to end at some point. To her disbelief, they hadn’t asked her anything, they hadn’t tried to talk to her and she felt rather grateful. How could she have justified that? ‘You know I miss my friends because I had a life before you? Or rather many years after you?’… no… Slowly, things had become too complicated and she had only her self to blame. Facing her demons had always been a challenge.             “… maybe you can join us, if you want to” she caught the last bit of James’ sentence, causing her head to raise instantly and her eyes to focus on him. She smiled apologetically as she hadn’t been listening, gaining an eye roll.            "I was saying that you are more than welcome to come with us - we have plenty of rooms and it will be fun. You know, for Christmas break... And New Year's party" James told her in the earnest and sweetest way possible. She was grateful for his invitation and friendship. He was the brother she was missing terribly. She thought about it for a moment. It would definitely be fun. But...           "Thank you, Jay. Since it's my first and last Christmas here, I would like to spend it inside the castle. I hear it's beautiful" she concluded. Otherwise, it would be too complicated... Not that now was easy, but she knew that being so close with them ... It could only end one way.           He agreed with her but two other people were harder to convince. She had yet to talk with Remus and she was fucking dreading it... And, as much as she wanted to, she couldn't talk with Sirius. She was a walking disaster.

      The small, fleeting moments that floated around her entire existence made the world seem distant in a way. She was catastrophically romantic but how could she be red in a world of black and white? She would be consumed either by her own façade or by her surroundings. In order to keep her sanity, she had realized that she needed to project a totally different image of who she was – she was balancing on very thin ice, trying not to fall right in the freezing sea of her lies.        She saw Remus eyeing her carefully as if he was trying to catch her lying. She wanted to have a proper conversation with him because she already knew where this was going but she knew that if she let him talk to her, she would back down. There was a certain truth in his words and at a time, for a time, it also happened to be true for her. But that was a lifetime ago. She had already chosen this path; she already knew the end and she craved a change. Maybe she was being selfish but prioritizing herself was a necessity at this time. And maybe things were simpler than all of the crap she was thinking.        Maybe it was just about smiling, smiling a lot, smiling well and wanting and feeling happy today, right now. Maybe it was just about knowing how to enjoy every moment she lived, thinking she will never repeat it again. Maybe it was just about enjoying each person she had around her at every moment of her life and knowing how to give them the best of her without expecting anything in return. Maybe, and just maybe, it was just about appreciating a little bit more every little gesture, every single thing she did every day, no matter how simple, and feeling like it was extraordinary, and learning to enjoy everything she held, because it sure wasn’t a little…         She met his eyes for the first time in days. Oh, crap. What a plot twist he was. And for a moment nothing else really even mattered. She lived in moments, nothing more. She owed it to them, but mostly to herself. She had to be honest. Some things were way too overwhelming for her to keep them secret.          Without much thought, she turned to Remus and begged him with her eyes for some privacy but as soon as his eyes found hers, she lost all her nerve and the guilt washed over her. Hopefully, all he saw was a rather perplexed look and a question.         “Are you coming?” Lily asked her with an eyebrow archer. She glanced her way, completely out of focus. The ginger-haired girl understood as she mouthed ‘Hogsmeade’ and ‘tomorrow’.         “Wouldn’t miss it for the world” she answered kindheartedly as she was already thinking about her first butterbeer.

         Sometimes things went wrong. People left. Hearts broke Stuff that she didn’t want to happen, happened. Experiences that were out of her control hit her like a wall, and there was nothing she could do other than accept this phase of life. In those moments, it was hard to believe that life would be okay again. Because how could it be when everything was going wrong. But things have to get better, didn’t they? Bad stuff happened in order for her to appreciate the good, and often things fell apart so that the pieces could join together in a new way—the way they were supposed to.         But sometimes things went wrong because she was trying so hard to push pieces that didn’t fit together, in order for life to make sense. But those pieces needed to fall apart. She needed to fall apart. Life needed to fall apart—so that it could come together the way it was meant to.        Her entire life in this timeline meant that she had to let go of all the things she thought of as given, her own and not there anymore. It was the hardest task she had yet to achieve. One thing that she had realized was that some of her older friends weren’t really all that great after all. And how did she realize that? Oh, it was simple. All it took was a walk to the nearest village.        Lily was the kindest and sweetest person, Alice was the most considering, Mary and Dorcas were the most free-spirited people she had ever met and Marlene was… well, she was pretty much like her. Even she had opened up to her; the blonde had let her do her eyeliner and as much as she wanted her to look like a panda, she was gorgeous. With the boys, though, it was different. James was her brother, Peter was – despite her desire to hate him – fun, sweet, shy. She wasn’t going to bother her mind trying to think about the other two.        She had never seen anything like it – or felt that she could freeze to death like that ever before. Hogsmeade was exactly as she had imagined but nothing like it at the same time. Covered in snow, she could barely see the sign of the Three Broomsticks but the entire village was magnificent and vivid. The pub was a rather small place but that didn’t bother her. Sure, it was probably packed but she would still enjoy a butterbeer and a firewhiskey – she was old enough for that.       She was pretty sure that Remus wanted this to be a proper date and that was why she never left Lily’s side. They had an honest talk the previous night – well, as honest as it could ever be. The most important things were left out and instead they had focused on her love life. Or how badly she had screwed it up.         The boys found a rather large but secluded table with a comfy couch and plenty of chairs. Lily and James scouted in, but she preferred the chair – something, she was sure, Remus took notice of. Once she saw Sirius taking out his cigarette pack, she realized it was okay for her to smoke inside but before she could, she found herself standing up and offering to get them drinks – Remus was glaring daggers at her.           The bar hadn’t enough drinks for her to be okay. After the nine butterbeers, she finally ordered hers, leaving both Remus and the barman startled.          “The strongest bourbon you have – and do keep them coming” she emphasized. Clearly, she had her share of drinks, Remus thought, just as she was avoiding him and a conversation. The barman laughed and told her that she wasn’t old enough, mistaking her for just another Hogwarts student.         “Look, I don’t have an ID but you can bet your ass, I’m twenty-two. Just ask her” she pointed at a rather amused Minerva McGonagall – which he did and got his answer, even though the professor gave her a stern look of disapproval. As they waited, Remus grasped the opportunity to talk to her.         “So, are you enjoying Hogsmeade?” he tried to stir up a proper answer but didn’t stick to it, as he cut her off.         “Screw this. You know what? I can’t do this anymore. You’re avoiding me and I’m pretending to understand why. So, please, tell me, because my imagination is making up things that are far worse than anything you’ll say” he whispered-yelled at her. Just in time, the drinks were ready and waiting for them to carry them to their table. She finally looked at him and saw how terrible this must had been for him. “When you get used to goodbyes, nothing really surprises you anymore. You’re not afraid that people might leave and you’re not holding on to someone because you can’t imagine your life without them. When you get used to goodbyes, you get used to being alone. You still feel sad or heartbroken but it never takes over your life, it never stops you from knowing you’re a person worth loving and it never makes you doubt yourself. When you get used to goodbyes, you get used to leaving too. You get used to walking away when you’re being mistreated. You know how to detach when things are no longer healthy for you. You don’t feel like it’s the end of the world if you leave even if you don’t know where you’re going or what’s going to happen next. When you get used to goodbyes, you get used to instability, inconsistency and uncertainty. Your life never really felt like a straight line, it was always zigzagging and twists and turns. Your life never really had one path but it was always a bunch of different paths that you had to explore all by yourself. When you get used to goodbyes, you get used to the pain. You learn how to live with it instead of avoiding it. You don’t let it consume you anymore. In a way, it trains you to face certain challenges alone instead of running away from them. It trains you to expect the unexpected somehow. It trains you that you can trust people and fall in love with them but that doesn’t mean they’ll stay and it doesn’t mean that they won’t move to another country and it doesn’t mean that they’ll always be by your side. When you get used to goodbyes, you learn that you can be as open and as vulnerable as you can be and it still won’t be enough. When you get used to goodbyes, you learn how to appreciate your own company and accept your flaws and your demons because no matter who’s sleeping next to you now, you could eventually wake up and find yourself sleeping alone and no matter how many beautiful promises you’ve heard, you know that some of them are empty. When you get used to goodbyes, forever is not linked to someone else, forever is linked to you and only you” she knew that it was what she wanted to confess. She knew it would end up in a goodbye soon enough. Instead she simply told him,

          “I will. Just not here”. She took a testing sip of her drink and rather impressed downed it immediately, as she ordered the second one. Maybe it wasn’t smart, but she had a bunch of friends in the next table waiting to have fun – and  if she wanted to survive the constant kissing and snogging and touching, she would have to be a bit tipsy.

 ___ Taglist:  @nadinissavage​ @mycobrakai1972 

#Harry Potter #sirius black imagine #young sirius black #sirius black fanfiction #sirius black #young sirius black imagine #remus lupin #young remus lupin imagine #young remus lupin #remus lupin imagine #remus lupin fanfiction #james potter #james potter imagine #james potter fanfiction #Lily Evans #lily evans imagine #peter pettigrew #the marauders #marauders era #marauders fanfiction #marauders imagine

[inmyarmswrappedin]

DRUCK reactions - s4 ep3

Featuring: the clip that made me infinitely more interested in the season.

Oops, I forgot to link to the Nadia clip twitter thread. It’s there now!

(Thanks again to @wodrueckts! 💛)

CLIP 1: What is this, a tent for ants?

LISTEN. Tua is already the smallest in the girl squad, and that tent doesn’t even look like she can lay fully stretched out inside.

I was so disturbed by this that I looked up 1-person tents, and they don’t look that small! They are longer and thinner.

Amira’s mom comes outside and she’s also disturbed, but not by Amira using a toddler-sized tent, but Amira going camping at all. She’s like, we’re going to have a conversation about traveling while hijabi, but Amira isn’t in the mood.

And her mood is further spoiled because Sam texts her hoping that she can hook her up with Mohammed.

Amira’s mom brings her some pepper spray, and holy shit! Is that legal in Germany? (Answer: yes, it is, but it’s sold as “animal repellent.”)

I’ve traveled on my own before but I’ve always stayed in B&Bs, hostels or hotels. Ngl I wouldn’t even couchsurf at a stranger’s without some kind of protective device, like a portable door lock. I would never carry a weapon because you never know if you’re going to use it properly in the heat of the moment, but something like a personal alarm for runners would work in a camping setting. Take care of yourself if you’re traveling on your own!

CLIP 2: Lemonade pining

Jonas is going on about supporting sea rescue efforts of African migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, a big topic last year because of the Salvini administration (in Italy) approving a law to fine migrant rescue ships. Salvini has been ousted since, and sea rescue has disappeared from the news what with 2020 being a dumpster fire and all.

Essam, high on power, demands that his slave Amira makes him some lemonade, but I already described my issues with this storyline last week. After threatening Amira with the ever classic sibling-on-sibling physical violence, Amira relents.

Mohammed comes in as Amira is sulkily preparing some lemonade for Essam, and he makes a flirty comment about Amira’s ice cold stare again.

The sweet thing about Mohammed is that he fully admits that he finds Amira intimidating, like he totally recognizes that Amira can be unapproachable when she wants to (even though Amira M. is also one of the friendliest Sanas), but like… For one thing he doesn’t neg her about it. He’s playful about Amira being scary, but he’s not trying to bring her down. And for another, Mohammed tries to find ways in which he fits into Amira’s life or can help her in some way.

This will keep coming up with them, but it happens here when he thinks of a way to prank Essam and, as a result, cheer Amira up.

Peep at the interaction between Amira and Mohammed when they come out with the lemonade. They don’t exchange a word, but they’re such a team.

CLIP 3: Beware bicyclists

Amira, apparently still on a high since the lemonade prank, is strolling down the street singing to herself, as I believe most of us have done at some point.

Jonas asks for Amira’s help with his solidarity party, further characterizing Amira as the one they all go to for help.

Sam also texts Amira. She’s found Mohammed’s insta, which makes Amira’s face fall for a moment… Even though Mohammed keeps seeking Amira out, it feels like Sam might be able to hook up with him through sheer force of will? Or maybe Amira is kinda hoping Sam’s crush goes away, but it ain’t.

There’s something really Formal about that family photo that makes it lowkey funny, like I can imagine that pic being one Mohammed’s family sends to their relatives (caption about family and all), instead of one would post on instagram. Somehow, you can feel Mohammed’s latent dad energy just waiting to be discovered.

Even though this wasn’t the way Amira wanted to come across that pic, Mohammed just looks so damn fine that she can’t help but zoom in on his face, a Druck classic at this point.

And she’s so focused on the thirst that she almost gets run over by an islamophobic bicyclist, who thoroughly spoils her day.

This is such a Northern Europe thing btw. I think each one of my friends who has lived in the bike using part of Europe for any period of time has a story about a bicyclist yelling profanities at them. It’s like they’re saving the planet with their lack of gas use so they have to be extra dickish to compensate for their do gooding.

Amira also looks around as this happens, maybe to see if someone else witnessed what happened (for support?).

Anyway, Amira is so angry that she double texts Sam (or possibly just texts? I checked a couple times and it isn’t clear that she sent Sam the text where she translates the caption about family) to be careful with Mohammed as Arabs will fuck you over. She does a double take to herself, like she’s checking with herself that this was appropriate, and seems to decide it is.

I really dislike the context here. When this happened on Skam, it was part of a larger conversation between Sana and Noora where it was clear that Sana was repeating stereotypes in order to discourage Noora’s interest. And even in that conversation, what Sana said is that Muslim guys will sleep with white Norwegians because they put out, but in the end they marry Muslim girls. So rather than saying, he’s gonna fuck you over, Sana explains how. What Amira tells Sam is so lacking in context, so random as a response to Sam asking what the caption says, and like… You kinda have to have watched the Skam scene in order for Amira not to come across like a total dick here.

It also makes no sense because Sana knew that Noora had been hurt in the past by guys using her for sex and then discarding her, but a no strings attached hook up is exactly what Sam is after. So like… How would Mohammed wanting just sex and nothing else fuck Sam over anyway?

CLIP 4: Sam is interested in getting fucked (over)

Amira and Sam are doing boxing intervals, and Sam is a bit taken aback by how intense Amira is at something Sam is presumably doing just for fun.

Now imagine they’d actually written a scene around that difference between both girls, instead of a brief subtextual moment for us to read into.

Mohammed comes in during a pause, which Amira is using to get a bit more practice in whereas Sam is showing off to Kiki (sensing a theme they could’ve explored, here).

It looks like he’s going to go say hi to Amira, but Sam gets there first and starts flirting with him, hair twirling and all. Amira looks upset and goes back to boxing.

CLIP 5: Nadia! [crowd cheers]

At this point when the season was dropping, I was, to be completely honest, a little bored. Like the clips were cute and all, but I wasn’t excited. (Of course, you have to keep in mind that this was in comparison to my excitement levels during Matteo’s season, where so much as a glimpse of David made my synapses light up.)

I loved this clip and immediately posted a full on analysis on twitter (which you can read here if you’re interested, but I’ll be rehashing most of it in this post), and it still holds up in rewatch even though they didn’t mine the Nadia/Amira dynamic for all it was worth.

So we open on Nadia and Amira and they’re already looking tense as shit. It doesn’t help that Amira’s mom seems, like, almost relieved that Nadia hasn’t totally cut ties with Amira lmao. And she’s like, “omg you must have so much to talk about!” even though we just saw them looking quiet and uncomfortable.

Amira is all, “never thought you’d be the first one to marry,” and to Nadia’s credit, she takes this comment, which could read as shady, as a friendly observation. She talks a bit about how Ahmed is not like the other dicks, but Amira isn’t convinced, and now she’s definitely shading Nadia.

She also gets on Nadia’s case about going to Dubai for their honeymoon, but Nadia doesn’t defend herself and just looks sheepish.

Kiki comes in with some vegan cupcakes that she made to thank Amira for her help last episode, and you can see how Amira is much more at ease with Kiki. Tbf they did see each other last week, whereas we know Nadia has been out of the picture for a while. Anyway Kiki seems to feel the tension in the air, so she tries to excuse herself.

At this point, Nadia finds her voice to ask Kiki to stay. Is it because she thinks that with Kiki around conversation will flow more freely? Or maybe because she’s hoping that Amira’s irritation will be redirected to this Alman?

After Kiki admires the vegan spread Amira’s mom prepared, we find out that Nadia’s intention is the latter. She all but tells Kiki that Amira told her Kiki was a racist piece of shit. So this is how Nadia gains the upper hand after Amira’s earlier comments.

Amira looks alarmed, but Kiki is like pfff yeah, I was so into Alexander Humberbumber that I might have been the worst s1 Vilde until Amber made her appearance, but now I’m getting dicked down by a good man and I see Amira for the Muslim goddess she is (I’m paraphrasing but not that much!).

Amira looks really touched by Kiki not just 1. Not picking up Nadia’s intention, but also 2. Swiftly clearing the air and complimenting Amira in the process.

Kiki figures out that Nadia is the friend who’s getting married and declares her love for weddings of all kinds but especially Bollywood-style ones. Nadia looks really amused at this and looks at Amira like, “get a load of this girl!” Amira looks a bit embarrassed.

Sidenote to say Druck started building up to Kiki’s love of weddings last episode when she was paging through a wedding magazine spread. Like, they really put in more work into this Kiki/wedding storyline than most storylines last week.

And when Kiki asks if Nadia’s marriage was arranged, Nadia makes fun of Kiki to Amira. Like I would love to say that Nadia isn’t being mean to Kiki, but she is, and the point is to bring Amira down a notch. Now Amira really does look embarrassed, because in some way she’s supposed to be responsible for Kiki not saying something islamophobic. Kiki isn’t Amira’s responsibility, and I’m sure Nadia would agree in other circumstances, but… That’s what Amira gets for calling Nadia out for the Dubai honeymoon!

But as the conversation goes on, it also kind of seems like Nadia takes a liking to Kiki? (I’m mostly assuming because Nadia later invites Kiki to that pre-wedding event.) They talk a little bit about Nadia and Ahmed, and Kiki’s like, “I want to go to a Muslim wedding so fucking bad, Amira, please!”  It’s like… At the moment Amira is the only single female friend Kiki has, but Kiki’s just like, can’t you just get married now though.

Amira’s like NO WEDDINGS, Australia first. And tension falls around the table again, because of course, Nadia didn’t know about this, but Kiki knew about it, so like… It’s just another way in which Amira has become a different person as far as Nadia is concerned.

Let us now talk about Kiki. Like I said, I really loved this clip. In general I love Skams clips where the dynamic feels so lived in and nuanced and multifaceted. This is the first time we see Nadia in the flesh, but we get so much information just from looks and tone of voice. Nadia’s actress and Tua El-Fawwal just rock this scene.

When it aired I took Kiki’s words at face value. Like, this was the way the writers had decided to resolve Kiki being a racist in earlier seasons, and I accepted it. It wasn’t until later that I read criticism of the scene and thought about it a bit more.

In Skam, Isak apologizes to Eva in three separate scenes. In s1, episode 10, she says to Eva, “I fucked up,” “[if I had known Iben was a psycho] then of course I wouldn’t have done it.” In episode 11, “I know it might be hard to believe, but I never wanted to hurt you. It just turned out that way. I’m sorry.” And in s3, “I just want to say sorry for that stuff last year. When I was ruining things for you and Jonas.” Like. You can say that Isak only said sorry because he got caught (though I personally believe he was genuine every time, if not entirely truthful), but the point is that Julie Andem thought it necessary, in order for Isak to remain a likable character, that he apologized three times.

The girl squad never apologized to Sana, they just showed up with the Los Losers van one day.

And while Druck also thought it was necessary for Matteo to be full of self-loathing over what he did to Hanna, they didn’t think Kiki needed to apologize on screen.

One of my least favorite Skams characters is Basile Savary, because he was a total creep to the point that, during s3, Skam France had to release a damage control text out of Lucas L’s POV because people were worried that he might have done something to Daphné while she was drunk. Basile was a creep who respected no boundaries (including dry humping Daphné against her will on social media, which played off as a joke!) until one day he wasn’t and became the perfect boyfriend. No arc where he learned to be a doper person, Skam France said, no we are not going to examine how nerds get away with being gross creeps.

And as much as I would like to say otherwise, Druck did the same with Kiki. Kiki was one of the most overtly racist Vildes in s1, was still making offensive comments about Amira’s and Sam’s hair in s2, and then… Season 4 rolls around and Kiki just says, “oh yeah I was a dick before but now I know Amira is a great Muslim.” Like… At least it didn’t happen from one day to the next, but no, there wasn’t an arc where Kiki is taken to task for her racism, nor a scene where Kiki apologizes to Amira.  

This is an issue specifically because Amira’s season hinges on the Kiki/Amira friendship, like they pretty much got rid of most other conflicts or didn’t explore them fully, choosing instead to focus on this dynamic.

And I don’t think it was because Lea and Tua are such good friends irl (which they are! Lea even attended Tua’s engagement party! I love them!), because like, Tua is also good friends with Carl (Stefan) and we never got an Amira/Stefan scene, did we? I think it was simply that this season was too packed with people of color, and either funk or the writers needed a white character to anchor the season.

I still love Kiki and Amira obviously, I ship them (in fanon) and I love their scenes, because I love Lea and Tua and their friendship, and their characters. All I wanted from s4 of Skam was Vilde supporting Sana in the way Sana had supported Vilde for three seasons, and Druck gave me that. But here’s one thing where the writers dropped the ball, and it’s a massive mistake because the emotional core of the season is this friendship.

This also made me think about how the change of writers resulted in character arcs being dropped left and right. Now that two writing collectives are about to pick up Druck’s next gen, I think there’s an idea that the change in writers in the first four seasons wasn’t noticeable, but honestly… It kind of was. I would argue that a lot of the things that were set up in s1 and s2 got dropped and didn’t go anywhere. To wit:

Hanna’s arc in s1 is trashed in s4. Jonas is set up with a redemption arc in s2 that isn’t explored past that season. The Winterberg of s2 has nothing to do with the s4 ship. Kiki is still being racist in s2 and a shining example of allyship in s4. The little depth that Sam had in s1 and s2 gets dropped. Amira’s delivery job… Enough said. The one character whose character arc through the seasons was done justice I would argue is Matteo. He gets a shift in characterization after s1 to make the storyline with David make more sense (more on this if I ever write Matteo’s season meta), and retains that characterization to the end. Of the minor characters, Carlos and Abdi also come out well. David gets introduced in s3 when Q3 took over the writing, so he wasn’t affected.

Anyway, this clip totally revitalized the season.

CLIP 6: Amira praying, that’s it, that’s the clip

Mohammed is at the door waiting for Amira, and when Amira asks him if Sam is already there, he says he’s not here because of Sam. And I’m like, does he mean that literally? Like Amira could’ve assumed Sam invited him to this party, but Mohammed did meet the squads last episode. Maybe he asked Jonas if Amira was coming or got himself invited some other way.

Amira’s like sure, and gets inside. And Mohammed looks at her in such a way that even I need to fan myself a little tbh.

Hanna compliments David’s design, and Matteo’s like yeah, David is great, but I’d rather shit on Stefan. Idk, I feel like the Matteo in my mind would want to hype David up a little more before moving onto shitting on Stefan, but it’s a small quibble.

Amira goes to help Sam in the kitchen, and they both have some trouble making German food. I can’t tell if it’s because they’re generally bad at cooking or this is a commentary on white people’s palates. Or Abdi’s palate since he’s still going on about hollandaise sauce.

Oh, Sam explains that she told Mohammed about the party and he got on board. So he is there because of Sam, kinda.

They also talk about Mohammed having the coolest insta (pro: Mohammed has at least one topless pic, con: Mohammed has a pic wearing flip flops with socks), and how Abdi doesn’t compare because he doesn’t have an insta (yet). I mean… Damn, Sam. You can’t argue with logic like that.

But Sam calls Amira out on being weird lately. Again, I really wish this conversation didn’t rely so much on subtext, so it could be properly developed. Also, a new version of Snow’s Informer is playing in the background during this conversation and I can’t help but love the mood whiplash of it all.

Then something confusing happens when Jonas introduces the music act and says they come from Lebanon and traveled to Germany by train and then the lead singer says they’re from Berlin. They’re called Feedback and I tried googling them to find out what that’s all about, but with that name I didn’t get any results about them.

At least this is the kind of band that would play at an event like this, like they seem good enough to do a performance, but not big enough that there’s no believable way Jonas could book them.

Amira and Mohammed have a ~Moment~ when the audio switches to the version of Sand performed by Lary, and the sexual tension is so overwhelming for Amira that she immediately leaves to get some praying done, in the privacy of the venue’s backroom.

This scene is so iconic and beautiful. That shot of Amira being lit from above, looking up with her hands held before her? Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, etc. The kind of sequence that needs both a Muslim performer and behind the scenes respect for said Muslim performer.

Amira overhears some argument as she’s folding the carpet she was using, and then she sees that Mohammed was blocking the door, so that she could pray in peace. Can we get a #notallmen here? Thanks. Again, Mohammed just finds little ways in which he can help and support Amira without being intrusive.

Mohammed compliments Amira’s friends for trying to help refugees (although sea rescue is more about migrants in general, rather than refugees). I think something that is lost in translation is that German is obviously not Mohammed’s first language, so I think this scene is more significant and subtext-laden for German speakers.

Amira is probably still smarting from her earlier run in with the racist biker, so she (who’s always said she wants to be Chancellor) says that Jonas will probably become Chancellor one day. Mohammed says no! Amira should be Chancellor, but Amira doesn’t think anyone wants that. 🙁 But Mohammed says he does, and he says “we” need someone who fights for “us” (which Amira probably interprets as “us Muslims,” but Mohammed might mean more like, “us refugees”).

Also, Mohammed thinks that Amira was trying to matchmake him with Sam, which we know it was more like the opposite, but it’s very in line for Mohammed to think Amira was trying to get rid of him.

Then Mohammed asks Amira for her phone and is all, “don’t you trust me?” and Amira’s like, “no,” which is hilarious. After a while, Amira wants her phone back and Mohammed notices Amira accidentally cut herself with the knife earlier. He puts a cute bandaid on it, and they have yet another Moment. They’re so into each other that Amira goes, “omg I love this song! Let’s go in!” But Mohammed is now sure his feelings are requited.

Social media

Kiki slept at the new apartment even though it’s falling apart, a sign that that she can’t stand being at her mom’s house. Later, Zoe texts her and Kiki says she’ll be available whenever Zoe needs her, but she also just… doesn’t want to live at her mom’s.

Matteo and David (but really just Lukas) attended the Berlin CSD (Pride) march.

Mia posts a pic of a cortado coffee, and I totally believe this was taken in Madrid. 👌

Carlos missed the Abiball because he failed his History resit, then he missed Jonas’ birthday because he was sick, and this week he’s visiting Brandenburg with Kiki, and what I’m getting from all this is that maybe Carlos’ actor had other commitments during this time lol.

Amira and Mohammed both post pics acknowledging their Moment under the lights/with the bandaid, showing Amira is getting more emotionally committed to this relationship.

Final thoughts

While I did have some issues with this episode, it was much more solid overall than episode 2. Nadia’s actress really delivered in her intro clip and I wish they’d explored that dynamic a bit more, but the character kind of takes a backseat after this. Although I don’t feel like Amira and Mohammed have a motif or object that they keep revisiting (like Jonas and Hanna with Hanna’s nose, or Mia and Alex with Hotel Hardenberg, or David and Matteo with the sandwiches*), I like their dynamic where Mohammed is supportive of Amira’s endeavors, which this episode solidifies. I also really love the significance of Amira getting to complete her prayer thanks to Mohammed. In Skam, Sana gets constantly interrupted until later in the season, where she gets to pray for all her friends.

[* I thought about this a bit more, and I think one motif Mohammed and Amira share is music, and singing to each other.]

I discussed this episode with Michi, and we came to the conclusion that the root conflict between Amira and Nadia is that Amira feels like that, to be with a man, is to compromise yourself and your principles. Nadia didn’t use to be the person who’d be the first to marry, or who’d go on a honeymoon to Dubai, and Amira sees that chance as Nadia losing sight of her ideals. But, in the last clip, Mohammed’s actions allow Amira to be who she fully is, and to finish her prayer. So the idea is planted, that Amira wouldn’t necessarily have to compromise her principles if she got into a relationship. Of course, Mohammed is probably one of the people who’d most compromise Amira’s ideals if she were to date him, but we’re not at that point yet.  

#druck #about druck

[klaineownsmysoul]

"I don’t think you have to 100% be a CC shipper to believe that M/iarren is an utter lie" Agree. And that lie is what confirms CC for me. It's clear as day that Mi/arren is PR. Why is that pairing so necessary if D is playing straight roles and C/D were drastically separated 5 years ago? A wedding is simply not required to hide that D had ONE homo-fling long ago. Give him another beard with more chemistry, but a wedding? A wedding only happens if they still need to hide something huge and real.

Well - whatever may have happened, I’m not sure I’d personally use the term homo-fling to describe it. If they were previously involved and even if that ended, it would still be odd to me that they can’t even manage to pose for a pic together at an event - as professionals, which they both are.  And they’ve said themselves that they’re friends and have a wonderful rapport together, so then what’s the reasoning behind their complete isolation from each other now? In D’s own words, “Chris and I are buds.”  So if that’s the case, then the opinion of a small group of people on the internet should have no impact on whether or not they hang out.  People are going to talk and speculate no matter what. It’s an unfortunate side effect of the social media world we live in right now. And there are always going to be people who take things too far or post wildly inappropriate comments online. That’s not something that’s unique to any one fandom. So to think that’s it’s a certain group of people’s fault that D and C can never be seen in public together is ridiculous. I wish I had that kind of power. 

I honestly think that part of the reason why people keep talking about this is because his team constantly keeps bringing it up in the most obtuse and obvious way.  There seems to be not a day that goes by without us getting a reminder that he’s straight and married and married to a woman and oh look - here’s a pic in case you forgot in the 5 seconds it took you to finish that sentence.  To prove my point - I opened up tumblr yesterday morning, and the first pic on my dash was one of him at the Gerber baby show with - you guessed it - the ball and chain.  And of course it was yet another pic shared from her oh so private unless it serves a purpose Instagram.  I think that’s why people react with “oh lord, FFS - we get it already, stop beating us over the head with it” annoyance at every turn.  If they had backed off on the throttle just a bit over the last 2 years instead of steamrolling us in M/iarren coverage, I think people would be a lot less fed up than they are now.  In the words of secret Disney fanboy Dean Winchester: “be like Elsa, let it go.”  If all this is legit, then you can just leave it be.  You don’t need to keep rehashing the same story over and over again.  The more you talk about it, the less people believe you.  You’re not going to convince anyone who hasn’t already downed the KoolAid and all you’re doing is turning people off.  But instead they doubled down on things and now we’re stuck with her trailing him every place he goes.  There’s a video clip out there from the DEH red carpet from a couple years back that really puts it all into perspective: he’s walking the carpet by himself (gasp!) and the cameras are snapping away and then all of a sudden, she scampers on over to him - the woman who didn’t want to be part of a public relationship and whose defenders claim is totes private about things - wearing what I can only assume is the latest in undercover fashion (a leopard print coat), assumes The Pose complete with smirk no doubt, and then is shooed away after a couple of snaps so he can continue on.  What.The.Fuck.  Why?  Why would any of that be necessary?  Why did he need to stop and take a pic with her in the middle of things?  Do they think we’d see a pic of him alone and not believe he was there unless she was velcroed to his side?  Her appearance makes it all worthwhile?  Nothing is real unless he has his “guest” with him?  Its so dumb and so stupid and yet another way his team insists on shoehorning her in where she doesn’t belong.  

To be clear: its not that he’s involved with a woman that bothers me.  I truly do not care either way.  Its this specific relationship and this specific woman that grates on me.  That does not make me a misogynist.  People really need to learn what words mean before they use them.  Why is ok for me to be a fan of D when I don’t really know him, I’ve never spoken to him myself, I’m basing my opinion of him on things he’s said or done and the way he presents himself but I’m not allowed to dislike someone for the same reason?  If there’s some secret humanitarian side to her, please - tell me.  Otherwise, I’m going to view the endless pics of her doing nothing but partying it up with her trashy friends and traveling the world on his dime while enjoying the designer perks that go with his hard-earned fame and continue to think she’s totally void of anything substantial.  And that this marriage is a complete joke.

[newagesispage]

                                                                            MARCH    2020

PAGE RIB

 The Stones are touring the U.S. again.

*****

Paul Reubens is touring with Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.

*****

Al Franken is touring.

*****

Keenan Thompson and Hasan Minhaj are bringing comedy back to the White House Correspondents dinner on April 5.

*****

Days alert: There is some casting news but most of this won’t show up until the fall. Word is a couple of newbies will be Remington Hoffman who will play Li Shin, son of Mr. Shin and Emily O’Brien may join the cast. Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) may be on her way back. Let’s bring the original Phillip back for her!!! Brandon Barash (Stefan) will return as well as Louise Sorel ( Vivian )and Alison Sweeney ( Sami). Judi Evans is headed back. Will she play Adrienne or Bonnie?? It looks like Casey Moss (JJ), Freddie Smith (Sonny), Chandler Massey (Will) and Galen Gering (Rafe) mill head out for awhile.

*****

It looks like Friends freaks will finally get their reunion on HBO. I am glad they aren’t bringing the characters back and are just getting together to talk about their time together.

*****

Downhill hit theatres on Valentine’s Day with Will Ferrell, Julia Louis- Dreyfus and Zoe Chao. The film was written and directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash.

*****

The more I see of it, the more I LOVE Stumptown, the best show that nobody seems to know about. Please renew ABC!!!!!

*****

So.. Rush Limbaugh got the Medal of Freedom.  Oh my.

*****

Shadow Inc. owned by former Clinton and Obama staffers made an app that thoroughly fucked up the Iowa caucus. It was good at calculating the results but not delivering them.  And hey.. Wolf Blitzer, stay off the phone with people that are trying to get those results. Let them just do their job!!

*****

Brooklyn 99 is back and Vanessa Bayer is there!!!

*****

Rod Blagojevich is out and hitting every show that will have him. Trump pardoned him along with 10 other criminals including Ed DeBartolo Jr., Mike Milken and Bernard Kerik.

*****

Forty thousand kids won’t get free lunch because Trump threw them off food stamps. The two usually go hand in hand. Getting food stamps automatically sets a kid up for the free lunch program.

*****

Over 1000 former DOJ officials have asked Bill Barr to resign.** 70 former Senators have written an open letter to congress to tell them they are not fulfilling their congressional duties.**” Yoo Hoo! Bush, Clinton, Carter, Obama, you’re up.” –Patricia Arquette

*****

Pete Davidson and Kaia Gerber have split.

*****

Indiana Beach is closing after 94 years.

*****

Denny Hamlin won the 2020 Daytona 500.

*****

Can’t we get some real gigs for Rainn Wilson and Curtis Armstrong? Ok, so Cyrtis Armstrong was on Stumptown so thank goodness for that! They can do better than Dominoes and Little Caesars ads. And how funny is it that Dominoes, known for its very Chrustian owners use a Risky Business ( a film about prostitutes) ad for their product. Hmm.

*****Hey.. Comics, quit bringing up Trump and his former womanizing. It didn’t work with Clinton and it won’t work here. People just don’t seem to care. Focus on the real damage he is doing.

*****

Scary Clown is working on opening nearly a million acres of land in Utah for energy exploration that had been a National monument. Redford and Romney can’t be happy about that.

*****

A new animated series from a brand new production company owned by Natasha Lyonne and Maya Rudolph looks promising. Look for The Hospital.

*****

Southern Illinois University is giving Bob Odenkirk an honorary degree.

*****

Ukranian immigrants Lt. Col. Vindman and his twin brother are out. Ambassador to the EU Sonland is out.

*****

The Democrats had a debate on Feb. 7 . At Andrew Yang’s first chance to speak, he rehashed his stump speech. I mean, c’mon give us something new. There really seemed to be a restrained nervousness on the stage that night. Klobachar seemed too needy but she got great reviews. Biden called Buttigieg ‘a friend ‘ a couple of times. Mayor Pete did quite well. ** Deval Patrick is out** Andrew Yang is out.**Michael Bennet is out** Another debate was on Feb. 19.** Bloomberg/Yang? Is this true?

*****

Check out the new series, Hunters. It is awesome, funny and terrifying!

*****

Dozens of Native American women and girls have disappeared from Big Horn county, Montana over the last few years. The victims were later found dead and Trump has put a federal task force together.

*****

Grassley and Wyden are trying to get lower prescription drug prices but Moscow Mitch won’t bring the proposal to the floor. Others are looking to get some traction on HR3.

*****

JSW Steel has sued the Trump administration for refusing to exempt it from paying the levies on slabs of steel that the company imports.

*****

64 women have filed sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuits against Mike Bloomberg. I’m not a fan of the guy but it does seem sort of coincidental.  It does not seem to matter cuz all his ads seem to be working, he is picking up steam. Tom Steyer is gaining a bit of momentum as well.

*****

The corona virus has brought us Covid 19. 600 people are being held in quarantine camps that the military has set up.  Italy has new cases and the disease is spreading. Scary Clown is trying to spin it all.

*****

ICE is being sent into sanctuary cities to cause trouble for immigrants.

*****

You have to check out Horse girl with Alison Brie, Molly Shannon and Matthew Gray Gubler on Netflix .

*****

Rapper Larry Sanders AKA LV is letting us in on a miscarriage of justice he has had to live thru. LV, best known for his work on Coolio’s Gangsters Paradise, was approached by police and later put on the Calgang database. The practice put about 80,000 mostly African Americans on a sort of gang list. In a 2016 audit it was found that there were many inaccuracies including the names of babes who could not possibly be gang affiliated.

*****

Nature does not need people. People need nature. –Harrison Ford

*****

The Clark bar is back. The roll out has started in Pittsburgh and will soon spread across the country.

*****

Scientists have found some turtle fossils that are the size of a car in South America.

*****

U can donate to the Trump campaign and may win a yaqut and hunting trip with Don Jr. The Beach Boys will perform.

*****

The Oscars were held Feb. 9. Brad Pitt and the production design team won for Once upon a Time in Hollywood. Woo Hoo! Word is that Pitt has hired a speech writer to write his acceptances. JoJo Rabbit won for adapted screenplay. Little Women won for Little Women and Toy Story 4 for animated film. Laura Dern won best supporting actress. Renee Zellweger and Joaquin Phoenix too home the top actor prizes. Parasite surprised everybody and won best pic and got Bong Joon Ho a best director statue. My best dressed were Billy Porter, Antonio Banderes and his date, Janelle Monae ( her opening seemed to make some in the audience uncomfortable), Robert DeNiro, Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Geena Davis, Regina King, Charlize Theron, Adam Driver, Joanne Tucker, Cynthia Erivo, Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman and Kathy Bates, I don’t know what Kristen Wiig and Idina Menzel were thinking. Wiig always has a unique style so I have to admire that. ** The ratings were down. I have heard people saying they just don’t watch award shows or late night shows anymore because they are afraid things will get political. Funny, that is part of the reason I watch!

*****

Tom Papa was pontificating about a real dog show that should have REAL dogs. It would make a great weekly show with people bringing on their dogs.

*****

The goalies of the Hurricanes were out of commission and David Ayres, the Zamboni driver was brought in to help and the won against the Maple Leafs. Woo Hoo!!

*****

Hooray for New Hampshire and their use of paper ballots. Things in the campaign got a little shook up with Bernie taking the top followed by Pete and Amy.

*****

2 years of research in Canada has brought the announcement of a new discovery. Skull fragments  that were cleaned and collected about 10 years ago have been named Thanatotheristes or the reaper of death. The discovery helps us all learn more about the early times of Tyrannosaurids, a sub group that includes T.Rex.

*****

New Jersey has a ban on self- serve pumps and another state is talking about getting in on the action.  The gas station attendant act has been proposed in Illinois.

*****

Van Jones was right when he said we shouldn’t give Trump any press coverage for a week. He would hate it. Trump loves the old adage of bad publicity is better than none because he just must have attention. It would never work for they just can’t resist.** Joe Mcguire is out after he warned of Russian interference. If you want to keep your job in this administration, do not tell the truth. Now at the Department of National Intelligence is Johnny Mcentee , a 29 year old former football player who worked on the campaign. He immediately called department heads and said he wanted lists of never Trumpers in their offices. ** And who is in charge of weeding out the people in the government who may be disloyal to Scary Clown? Well, it is none other than Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court justice Clarence. She calls it the list of snakes. Trump is now saying he even wants liberal judges on the Supreme Court to recuse themselves when it comes to “Trump related cases”. It just keeps getting worse.

*****

Trump had fun in India. He should, his business has 5 projects going there right now worth 1.5 billion.

*****

Harvey Weinstein was found guilty of rape and criminal sexual assault. He was not found guilty of all the charges that included predatory behavior.

*****

Andrew Yang is a new correspondent at CNN. He tells us that he is getting word from former donors that Bloomberg is calling those big donors. Allegedly he is telling them they do not have to donate to his campaign because he can afford his own campaign but he still won’t forget them. He would like them to save their money and not give money to other democrats running either.** And I am so sick of talking heads trying to tell us to play it safe. We are not as stupid as we look, thank you!! ** Now there is a firestorm about Bernie telling the world that the education program that Castro implemented was a good thing. I understand the anger and it could not have come at a worse time and he did it to himself. BUT..  We are adults and we have to be able to talk about things as they really are, not in sound bites. Castro sucked and history teaches us that bad people do good things occasionally and good people do bad things once in a while. ** It seems that everyone was in agreement that we would all gather behind the winner of the democratic campaign to beat Trump. Suddenly when it could be Bernie, everybody is bitching.

*****

This month held 2 more Democratic debates. The Nevada debate got pretty heated. I see that Mayor Pete and Bloomberg are lefties (left handed that is). Pete always looked poised and articulate which I appreciate and he got in a good one when he mentioned that the party should choose someone who is actually a democrat.  Bernie seemed a little rattled by that. Later Pete really dressed down Amy Klobuchar and made himself look like a dick. Joe Biden jumped in with his credits occasionally but often seemed a bit lost. He slammed back that they were all talking about the health care plane he helped to create and that he himself had dealt with the Mexican President. His name came up after it was mentioned that Amy could not remember the President’s name. The gloves were off with Bloomberg as Elizabeth Warren called him out on Billionaires and NDA’s. I loved the interaction but realistically Mr. Mike can’t just release people from agreements they made in an NDA, especially if it did not involve him. Bloomberg sounded pompous and clueless about the world outside of his company. He got a moan when he said he couldn’t exactly use turbo tax and when he said he may have told a few jokes that women didn’t like. He brushed off his taxes much like Trump does. The former mayor of NY called out socialists as communists. Klobuchar had the best comeback of the night when she was told her health care plan could fit on a post it. She proclaimed that the post it was invented in her state of Minnesota. Again, there were people shouting from the audience as Joe tried to talk. C’mon give everybody an equal chance.

*****

The South Carolina debate was fiery as well. The CBS debate was hosted by Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell. Bloomberg was booed right off the bat about Russia helping Bernie but he late had many cheers. He and Biden and Steyer had some real support there. Tom Steyer was actually quite impressive and seemed well spoken.  He was the only one who brought up the impeachment. He had a great point that we all know that republicans who did not convict Trump are complicit in the Russian meddling. Then he ruined it all by being alarmist with his fear. He warned us off the former republican and the socialists. I loved Bernie’s ideas about small business’s getting in on the marijuana business and not letting big corporations taking it over. He is also the only one in debates that I have seen consistently bring up Native Americans.  Biden again kept jumping in to tell us that he did this or that. Amy disagreed about a bill he claimed to have written. Warren said “dig in” numerous times. She went for the jugular with Bloomberg when she said a former female employee of his said to “kill it” in response to her pregnancy. He denied it but it sure is memorable. She did make great points that he has given much money to Linsey Graham’s campaign as well as other republican runs including against her. BTW he also gave 2.3 mil to Rick Snyder, the Gov of Michigan after the water crisis was well known.  I love that Amy is always saying that we shouldn’t fight amongst ourselves but she just does not have the votes so she needs to go. Bernie got some boos about guns for he seems the softest in that area.

*****

Joe Biden won the South Carolina primary in a big way.

*****

Dick Van Dyke, Sarah Silverman and Public Enemy among others will be at the Bernie Sanders rally in L.A. on March 1.

*****

Just think what the 400 million that Bloomberg spent on his campaign could have done for the debt of the average American.  Instead of a campaign for a presidency that he can’t win, he could have helped so many get a leg up.

*****

I don’t understand why “respected” journalists like Chuck Todd don’t throw W H reps off the set when they disrespect him or his colleagues with fake news jabs.

*****

Bob Moore of Bob’s Red Mill is giving his company away to his employees. Now, that’s a boss!!

*****

Bone, Thugs and Harmony have made a deal with Buffalo Wild Wings to rename themselves Boneless thugs and Harmony. The publicity stunt is to promote boneless wings.

*****

NASA is hiring.

*****

Scotland has made feminine sanitary products free!!

*****

Is this true? There were pigeons in Nevada with MAGA hats glued to their heads??

*****

The final Criminal Minds has aired. CBS often aired double episodes which made it seem like they really wanted to get rid of it. Kirsten Vangsness and Erica Messer wrote the final episode which seemed to give special attention to Penelope and Reid as they were the originals. The other characters seemed a little overlooked but they all had happy endings. Where was Reid’s new girlfriend?  I was hoping to see Shemar Moore but it was great to see Reisgraf and Howell which are old favorites.

*****

Animal Kingdom returns to TNT on May 28.

*****

So there is a bit of a mess with the Roger Stone sentencing. Trump is hopping mad about the long sentence recommendation, Barr is said to be pretending to spar with the Prez, the DOJ is backing down and people are resigning.

*****

R.I.P. Shirley Jean Cade, Robert Conrad,  Katherine Johnson, Lyle Mays, B. Smith, A.E. Hotchner, Bashir Jackson, Ja’net Dubois, Pat Agee, victims of the Molson Coors shooting and Orson Bean.

[louehvolution]

Relax no one hypes their singles until a week before

Anon,

It’s February. 2019. Louis hasn’t released music in over a year—the year in which his goal and dream was to release his album and tour it. This is not a single following another hit single, or a tour, or an album. It’s a single after being buried in XF for five months, following six months of forced inaction—Do you remember how 2018 started? Remember how MY got no promo whatsoever in the US and was blacklisted from radio in the UK? Remember how we essentially didn’t see Louis for months except in a couple of random pap pics and then stunting with Eleanor? Remember the months of tweets about how music was coming and he couldn’t wait to get back on the road [in June]? And then remember how there were rumours he was doing XF… and they were confirmed? Actually, he was more present at the start of last year since he was nominated and won an iHeart award, and for what it’s worth LTHQ participated in a few streaming parties.

Now coming out of that dismal 2018… what? LTHQ seems to have come back to promote XF—because that TV judge award nomination does nothing for Louis. The account hasn’t posted since and it’s been eleven (11) days. Why?

Louis’ IG account has been inactive since November 23rd, that’s more than two months now. His Twitter account for eighteen (18) days now, except to promote the XF award—it didn’t even acknowledge #LT2019 trending for hours—a hashtag which fans took to be about his music. What sense does that make?

It’s not just about hyping up a single. It’s about being visible, being present. And I don’t mean Louis being seen with Eleanor, or doing stalker service, or a random pap walk for an article in the DM to insult him or rehash the stunts. Or playing football on Jordan Green’s IG story either.

Louis should be on the radar as an artist, more so after being defined as a TV judge for months. The contestants on XF didn’t seem to view him as a current artist. Nile Rodgers tweeted about Liam as an artist, not about Louis. The biggest bit of press that mentioned his music in months were the Metro stunt articles for a fucking guilty pleasure celeb award.

Where is the relevant press? Where is the content showcasing him as an artist on his social media? Where is the cross promotion with other artists highlighting him, praising him for a change? Where is the industry buzz?

It’s hard for me to be relaxed seeing what happened last year. He didn’t get to release any music. He had to do XF—which wasn’t going to affect his music or change any timeline, remember? It’s been two months since XF ended and it’s not confirmed he won’t be returning this year.

Don’t you think Louis might want to have people hear some of the >100 songs he’d already written by December 2017; to sing his songs on stage; to talk about his music, and be talked about, recognised, as an artist? Instead of being reduced to a TV judge on Simon’s exploitative show—an abusive and toxic environment for him, which he has been dragged back into, never allowed to leave; to his past in 1D—without recognising the full extent of his importance and contribution to the band; to a boyfriend—Eleanor was around pretty much whenever he was seen in 2018, and January 2019 he was only seen with her on a stunt trip; and a dad—did you miss the articles about Freddie—and how come that gets hyped up?

I can’t relax while everyone is getting their fair chance to move forward with their lives and careers except Louis. I’m frustrated, aching for his music; and sad and worried about him.

#anon

[caroline18mars]

A Man On Fire - Chapter 2

'Beep' Harper sat up straight in bed, what? What? Owww headache, aw aw aw, she grabbed her head and slowly lowered herself into the cushions again, this hangover was gonna be brutal if the hammering in her head was any indication. Think of nothing, in fact let yourself slide into this refreshing and revitalizing little nap, you deserve it! You haven't got a massive amount of work to be done, oh no, little leprechauns are real, believe in their existence and they will do the painting for you, believeeeee! Her eyes shot open again, as a ringtone burst through her attempt at self-hypnosis, ignore it, ignore..it, it'll go away, she mumbled and quite content with her self-fulfilling prophecy, she leaned back as the phone stopped ringing, only to start up again 5 seconds later. “Why did I let him talk me into this?” she groaned as she got up to find the intruder buzzing and twirling around on her table, “Hello” she moaned in agony from her splitting headache. “Hey babe, it's me..Sean!” his quirky voice irritated her already, “Sean, hey, first of all, never call me babe, second, why are you even calling me?“. On the other side of the line there were a few seconds of silence, swallowing his dissapointment he stammered “well, I thought you would like to know that me and the boys just landed at LAX..” hearing him this way, made her cringe, she really didn't mean to rain on his parade, “anyway..how are you?” he barely dared to ask. “I'm ok, just a little hung over..” she said as she looked at her paintings “oh, I wanted to thank you for the webpage, I've got my first e-mail from a possible buyer last night” she quickly added, not wanting to sound like a total bitch. “That's fantastic news” she heard Sean get barely excited on the other side of the country, “It is, I just can't put a price tag on them though, so I was thinking..could you send me a list?” she bit her lip, she hated him having to help her with all this commercial and digital stuff. “Sure..yeah I'll send you the list by e-mail” he answered without too much enthusiasm, this was such a weird conversation “listen, I've gotta go now..guess you'll hear me when you'll hear me” by the end of that sentence, all kindness in his voice had gone, “yeah, ok..well..you have a great time, which I know you all will, just..take good care of yourself, you hear?” she quickly added, she wasn't good at goodbyes, not even when they were done by phone, they just made her feel awkward. “I will..bye” he sighed and disconnected the call, why did he even let himself think that she was actually gonna miss him? Or that she was even remotely interested in this big adventure that was about to start for him? All she could talk about was that damn work of her, nothing or no-one else mattered to her.

Jared opened his eyes, last night's conquest still next to him, what? Oh no no, this wasn't the deal, all those kind of women needed to leave before their scent could penetrate his sheets, he hated having to wake them up and tell them to leave, and with this one he didn't even remember a name, that's how uneventful last night had been. He pushed himself up from the bed and pulled the sheet away, the coolness of morning touching her naked skin woke her up “hey..” she mumbled as she squinted her eyes, “hey yourself, it's time to leave, I've got things to do, so I'm gonna go and have a cup of coffee and you'll be gone when I come back” he threw the sheet on the floor and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. He didn't turn around when he walked out of his bedroom, why would he? He had seen more than enough of her already, his phone vibrated back to life while he hopped down the stairs and into his kitchen, switching on the kettle he scrolled through his e-mails, until his thumb rested on the one of the painter he contacted yesterday, ah, maybe there was a price list that he added. No prices..goddammit, was he trying to stall things? He read the last e-mail again: 'what drew you to my paintings?', well that was easy!

From: BJLCubbins

To: HCDeRobiano

Subject: Re:re Paintings

That's easy, they're refreshing and original, ultraclean lines, depth and a little surreal! So, how about some prices, say I would start with the smallest of the whole collection? Surely you can give me an indication of the price range?

If you're not on social media, are you at least registered with any galleries? Are you based in LA? The reason I'm asking all these questions, is because I can't find you anywhere on the internet, what does HC stand for? Henry? Horatio?

Impatient Regards

BJL

Just when she was about to get back to work, that damn phone bleeped again, oh..another e-mail..her fingers nervously clicked and scrolled.

From: HCDeRobiano

To: BJLCubbins

Subject: Re:re:re Paintings

Thanks for the compliments! Am I based in LA? No painter or artists that respects him- or herself is based in LA, that city puts people to sleep, because it has no edge, no challenges, no electricity! That's why I'm living and working in New York, and no I'm not registered yet at any gallery, like I said my assistant is out of town, but if you want a price for N°1 (the smallest 'Baroque') you're looking at 500$.

Funny you should mention Horatio, because that is my Dad's name, and even funnier that you immediately think I'm a man, which I'm not by the way, but I'm guessing you are?

Regards,

Coco

Harper Coco was her real name, but she didn't really like Harper, she used to get bullied because of it at school, Sean somehow always called her Harper..and her Dad, even though she didn't know if he even remembered having a daughter, how long had she not spoken to him? 4 years? Ever since she decided that his aristocratic world was not exactly the one she wanted to live in and so she fled the nest as soon as she graduated from art school. Needing to push those bad memories away, she cranked up the music and crawled up her scaffolding, no external distractions allowed from now on, just the smell of paint in her nose, and some loud rock music in her ears was all she needed to forget about that ugly world outside.

From: BJLCubbins

To: HCDeRobiano

Subject: What?

Hi Coco,

Great name! I totally get your obvious connection to the fine city of New York, I used to live there a long, long time ago, but your prejudice with LA is a bit unsettling, yes it's the capital of fake on the outside, but it's got a vivid art scene as well, it's a lot more laidback in many ways, yes, but that doesn't mean it's got no soul, because it does! For example, the film industry where a new star is born everyday and then there's the music industry, did you know that a lot of the best songs in history were written in LA? this city pushes people to live their dreams, and I think I'm living proof of what this city can do to and for someone!

500$ for that small painting? Deal! I would like to see what you're working on right now, so if you could send me some pics, that'd be great, oh and tell that assistant of yours to get his shit together, artists shouldn't have to sell their own work on top of everything else. Just give me his number and I'll have a word with him if you want!

Gotta run, so send me your financial details and I'll get the money transferred.

Horatio? Really? Now, that's weird because I googled Horatio De Robiano (I take it that is your last name, right?), just to check what kind of people I'm dealing with here, but guess what? Couldn't find anyone by that name either, do you even exist or is all your work done by some bot? Wouldn't surprise me, given how perfect those lines of yours are and how sweet your colours, it's almost too good to be true!

Oh, and since we're on a first name basis already, I'm Joe!

Real life regards

Joe

Ok, so he wasn't completely honest, Joseph, Joe, who cared if it was his middle name? At least it was closer to the truth than Bart Cubbins, and besides it gave him a sense of freedom, like he could write whatever he felt, he could be himself in these e-mails, not the actor or the singer everyone expected him to be 24/7. All content with himself he sat down with his cup of coffee while in the corner of his eye last night's failure came walking down the stairs, “I'll go then..bye Jay..” she slowed her step as she walked past the kitchen, hoping for..hoping for what exactly? That he would've changed his mind? That he would offer her coffee or breakfast? Duh! As if! “yeah bye” he mumbled as he kept his eyes on his screen, goodbye and good riddance, note to self: check with Shayla about the non disclosure agreement!

The rumbling of her stomach broke her focus, usually she ignored it and just carried on but this time it wasn't just her stomach but her mind too that just wouldn't calm down, ever since that last e-mail where 'stranger' mentioned her father, her mind just kept rehashing those last few weeks and days that led up to her leaving with slamming doors. She leaned back a bit to turn down the blaring radio before she almost jumped down from the scaffolding to have a look, oh yes, yes, yes, yes, YES! Sharp lines, great colours, she grabbed a cigarette and lit it. The more she looked at it, the prouder she was of herself, don't get too euphoric yet though..oh what the hell, this called for a little celebration, besides she could do with some fresh air and with some distance from her work for an hour or two so she grabbed her jacket and her bag and hopped on out the door. The cold New York air hit her as she walked to that cute diner a few blocks down, half of New York was rushing to get out of the cold, while she only enjoyed it as it blew the tiny remains of her hang over away. Suddenly she felt a weird vibration coming from the bag on her arm, oh this was going to be perfect, hot soup, her favorite sandwich and hopefully a new e-mail to read from that mistery buyer, life just couldn't get any sweeter right now and her feet shared the same opinion as they picked up the pace so she could sit down and finally read what 'stranger' had written.

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