#also it's new to see david in a t-shirt

[elliseleven]

Rich Brothers appreciation post 19/∞

#those eyes... #also it's new to see david in a t-shirt #but tbf anything looks good on him #garden rescue #rich brothers #david rich #rich brothers ap

[denimbex1986]

'...“It’s fun playing bad, but actually he’s not,” the actor says, smiling as he reflects on his character, Crowley. “He’s a villain with a heart. The amount of really evil things he does are vanishingly small.”

...As it always has, “Good Omens” dissects the view of good and evil as absolutes, showing viewers that they are not as separate as we were led to believe growing up. Aziraphale and Crowley’s long-standing union is proof of this. The show also urges people to look at what defines our own humanity. For Tennant — who opted to wear a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Leave trans kids alone you absolute freaks” during a photocall for Season 2 — these themes are more important now than ever before.

“In this society that we’re currently living in, where polarization seems ever more present, fierce and difficult to navigate. Negotiation feels like a dirty word at times,” he says, earnestly. “This is a show about negotiation. Two extremes finding common ground and making their world a better place through it. Making life easier, kinder and better. If that’s the sort of super objective of the show, then I can’t think of anything more timely, relevant or apt for the rather fractious times we’re living in.”

“Good Omens” is back by popular demand for another season. How does it feel?

It’s lovely. Whenever you send something out into the world, you never quite know how it will land. Especially with this, because it was this beloved book that existed, and that creates an extra tension that you might break some dreams. But it really exploded. I guess we were helped by the fact that we had Neil Gaiman with us, so you couldn’t really quibble too much with the decisions that were being made. The reception was, and continues to be, overwhelming.

Now that you’re no longer bound by the original material that people did, perhaps, feel a sense of ownership over, does the new content for Season 2 come with a sense of freedom for you? This is uncharted territory, of sorts.

That’s an interesting point. I didn’t know the book when I got the script. It was only after that I discovered the worlds of passion that this book had incited. Because I came to it that way, perhaps it was easier. I found liberation from that, to an extent. For me, it was always a character that existed in a script. At first, I didn’t have that extra baggage of expectation, but I acquired it in the run-up to Season 1 being released… the sense that suddenly we were carrying a ming vase across a minefield.

In Season 2, we still have Neil and we also have some of the ideas that he and Terry had discussed. During the filming of the first one, Neil would drop little hints about the notions they had for a prospective sequel, the title of which would have been “668: The Neighbour of the Beast,” which is a pretty solid gag to base a book around. Indeed there were elements like Gabriel and the Angels, who don’t feature in the book, that were going to feature in a sequel. They were brought forward into Season 1. So, even in the new episodes, we’re not entirely leaving behind the Terry Pratchett-ness of it all.

It’s great to see yourself and Michael Sheen reunited on screen as these characters. Fans will have also watched you pair up for Season 3 of “Staged.” You’re quite the dynamic duo. What do you think is the magic ingredient that makes the two of you such a good match?

It’s a slightly alchemical thing. We knew each other in passing before, but not well. We were in a film together [“Bright Young Things,” 1993] but we’d never shared a scene. It was a bit of a roll of the dice when we turned up at the read-through for “Good Omens.” I think a lot comes from the writing, as we were both given some pretty juicy material to work with. Those characters are beloved for a reason because there’s something magical about them and the way they complete each other. Also, I think we’re quite similar actors in the way we like to work and how we bounce off each other.

Does the shorthand and trust the two of you have built up now enable you to take more risks on-screen?

Yes, probably. I suppose the more you know someone, the more you trust someone. You don’t have to worry about how an idea might be received and you can help each other out with a more honest opinion than might be the case if you were, you know, dancing around each other’s nervous egos. Enjoying being in someone’s orbit and company is a positive experience. It makes going to work feel pleasant, productive, and creative. The more creative you can be, the better the work is. I don’t think it’s necessarily a given that an off-screen relationship will feed into an on-screen one in a positive or negative way. You can play some very intimate moments with someone you barely know. Acting is a peculiar little contract, in that respect. But it’s disproportionately pleasurable going to work when it’s with a mate.

Fans have long discussed the nature of Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationship. In Season 2, we see several of the characters debate whether the two are an item, prompting them to look at their union and decipher what it is. How would you describe their relationship?

They are utterly co-dependent. There’s no one else having the experience that they are having and they’ve only got each other to empathize with. It’s a very specific set of circumstances they’ve been dealt. In this season, we see them way back at the creation of everything. They’ve known each other a long time and they’ve had to rely on each other more and more. They can’t really exist one without the other and are bound together through eternity. Crowley and Aziraphale definitely come at the relationship with different perspectives, in terms of what they’re willing to admit to the relationship being. I don’t think we can entirely interpret it in human terms, I think that’s fair to say.

Yet fans are trying to do just that. Do you view it as beyond romantic or any other labels, in the sense that it’s an eternal force?

It’s lovely [that fans discuss it] but you think, be careful what you wish for. If you’re willing for a relationship to go in a certain way or for characters to end up in some sort of utopian future, then the story is over. Remember what happened to “Moonlighting,” that’s all I’m saying! [Laughs]

Your father-in-law, Peter Davison, and your son, Ty Tennant, play biblical father-and-son duo Job and Ennon in Episode 2. In a Tumblr Q&A, Neil Gaiman said that he didn’t know who Ty’s family was when he cast him. When did you become aware that Ty had auditioned?

I don’t know how that happened. I do a bunch of self-tapes with Ty, but I don’t think I did this one with him because I was out of town filming “Good Omens.” He certainly wasn’t cast before we started shooting. There were two moments during filming where Neil bowled up to me and said, “Guess, who we’ve cast?” Ty definitely auditioned and, as I understand it, they would tell me, he was the best. I certainly imagine he could only possibly have been the best person for the job. He is really good in it, so I don’t doubt that’s true. And then my father-in-law showed up, as well, which was another delicious treat. In the same episode and the same family! It was pretty weird. I have worked with both of them on other projects, but never altogether.

There’s a “Doctor Who” cameo, of sorts, in Episode 5, when Aziraphale uses a rare annual about the series as a bartering tool. In reality, you’ll be reprising your Time Lord role on screen later this year in three special episodes to mark the 60th anniversary. Did you always feel you’d return to “Doctor Who” at some point?

There’s a precedent for people who have been in the series to return for a multi-doctor show, which is lovely. I did it myself for the 50th anniversary in 2013, and I had a wonderful time with Matt [Smith]. Then, to have John Hurt with us, as well, was a little treat. But I certainly would never have imagined that I’d be back in “Doctor Who” full-time, as it were, and sort of back doing the same job I did all those years ago. It was like being given this delightful, surprise present. Russell T Davies was back as showrunner, Catherine Tate [former on-screen companion] was back, and it was sort of like the last decade and a half hadn’t happened.

Going forward, Ncuti Gatwa will be taking over as the new Doctor. Have you given him any advice while passing the baton?

Oh God, what a force of nature. I’ve caught a little bit of him at work and it’s pretty exciting. I mean, what advice would you give someone? You can see Ncuti has so much talent and energy. He’s so inspired and charismatic. The thing about something like this is: it’s the peripherals, it’s not the job. It’s the other stuff that comes with it, that I didn’t see coming. It’s a show that has so much focus and enthusiasm on it. It’s not like Ncuti hasn’t been in a massive Netflix series [“Sex Education,”] but “Doctor Who” is on a slightly different level. It’s cross-generational, international, and has so much history, that it feels like it belongs to everyone.

To be at the center of the show is wonderful and humbling, but also a bit overwhelming and terrifying. It doesn’t come without some difficulties, such as the immediate loss of anonymity. It takes a bit of getting used to if that’s not been your life up to that point. I was very lucky that when I joined, Billie Piper [who portrayed on-screen companion, Rose] was still there. She’d lived in a glare of publicity since she was 14, so she was a great guide for how to live life under that kind of scrutiny. I owe a degree of sanity to Billie.

Your characters are revered by a few different fandoms. Sci-fi fandoms are especially passionate and loyal. What is it like being on the end of that? I imagine it’s a lot to hold.

Yes, certainly. Having been a fan of “Doctor Who” since I was a tiny kid, you’re aware of how much it means because you’re aware of how much it meant to you. My now father-in-law [who portrayed Doctor Who in the 80s] is someone I used to draw in comic strips when I was a kid. That’s quite peculiar! It’s a difficult balance because on one end, you have to protect your own space, and there aren’t really any lessons in that. That does take a bit of trial and error, to an extent, and it’s something that you’re sometimes having to do quite publicly. But, it is an honor and a privilege, without a doubt. As you’ve said, it means so much to people and you want to be worthy of that. You have to acknowledge that and be careful with it. Some days that’s tough, if you’re not in the mood.

I know you’re returning to the stage later this year to portray Macbeth. You’ve previously voiced the role for BBC Sounds, but how are you feeling about taking on the character in the theater?

I’m really excited about it. It’s been a while since I’ve done Shakespeare. It’s very thrilling but equally — and this analogy probably doesn’t stretch — it’s like when someone prepares for an Olympic event. It does feel like a bit of a mountain and, yeah, you’re daring to set yourself up against some fairly worthy competition from down the years. That’s both the challenge and the horror of doing these types of things. We’ve got a great director, Max Webster, who recently did “Life of Pi.” He’s full of big ideas. It’s going to be exciting, thrilling, and a little bit scary. I’m just going to take a deep breath.

Before we part ways, let’s discuss the future of “Good Omens.” Gaiman has said that he already has ideas for Season 3, should it happen. If you were to do another season, is there anyone in particular you’d love to work with next time around or anything specific you’d like to see happen for Crowley?

Oh, Neil Gaiman knows exactly where he wants to take it. If you’re working with people like Gaiman, I wouldn’t try to tamper with that creative void. Were he to ask my opinion, that would be a different thing, but I can’t imagine he would. He’s known these characters longer than me and what’s interesting is what he does with them. That’s the bit that I’m desperate to know. I do know where Crowley might end up next, but it would be very wrong if I told you.

[At this point, Tennant picks up a pencil and starts writing on a hotel pad of paper.]

I thought you were going to write it down for me then. Perhaps like a clandestine meeting on a bench in St James’ Park, but instead you’d write the information down and slide it across the table…

I should have done! I was drawing a line, which obviously, psychologically, I was thinking, “Say no more. You’re too tempted to reveal a secret!” It was my subconscious going “Shut the fuck up!”

#David Tennant #Michael Sheen #Good Omens #Neil Gaiman #Terry Pratchett #Ty Tennant #Peter Davison #Aziraphale #Crowley #Doctor Who #Macbeth #Ncuti Gatwa #Job #Ennon #Bright Young Things #Series 2 #Matt Smith #John Hurt #Russell T. Davies #Catherine Tate #Max Webster #Life of Pi #Sex Education #Billie Piper #Rose Tyler #BBC Sounds

[ladylooch]

How Country Feels - [Mack X David]

A/N: I am so excited to bring this to you today for many reasons. First of all, it’s Mack and David in Iowa. So we know it’s smutty and adorable. BUT! Mostly I am excited to give this as a gift to my bestest bestie @casualhilarity. You graduated!!!!! From your really tough 6 week training program and I am so so so so so so proud of you! There was never a doubt that you would be successful in this adventure. This step is just the beginning for you. I cannot wait to see what is next! In the meantime, please enjoy our thoughts on Iowa coming to life in the longest post I have ever made on Tumblr 🥹💜

Word count: 8.2k

Warnings: mentions of death, cancer, grief, smut (18+ content)

10,000 feet above Des Moines, Iowa, Mackenzie Hischier looks out the window as her plane begins to descend from her connecting flight from LAX. She has been flying across the world for almost 18 hours trying to get here. Queenstown, New Zealand was home for her the past three weeks. Her internal clock is all sorts of fucked up from the massive time swing she is going through, but she was able to sleep in sync with the Central Time Zone on her first flight. She is hopeful that will curb some of her jet lag. 

The landscape below is much different from the crystal blue water and rigid mountain peaks she came from. Instead, it is flat and vast, various different shades of greens and brows. It’s also windy. She scrunches her nose as the plane swings a bit to the left before continuing on at a smoother pace. There is not much out here to block the wind, but thousands of windmills dot the prairie below them to capture the best energy source nature can give this area. Mack has never been to Iowa, or the Midwest outside of Chicago, which doesn’t feel or look anything like what she is seeing. 

Shortly after landing, Mack walks out of the secure area, heading down to baggage claim 2. As she gets closer to the carousal, she sees a tall man with a thick black mustache, blue jeans, and a plain white t-shirt stretched across his broad chest. His hands are stuffed in his pockets as he leans against the wall by baggage claim 2, boot clad feet crossed over at the ankles. A worn, NYR baseball cap is on his head, hiding his green eyes that are devouring her even as they hide in the shadow of the bill. Mack can see the toothpick in his mouth as she gets closer. He pushes off from the wall, starting to walk towards her. Never in her life did she think she would do this, but her pace quickens and she hustles her ass across that tiled floor to be picked up by him.

“Hi!” She exclaims as she throws herself at him. He catches her easily, hauling her up his chest, both big hands clutching her ass.

“Hi honey.” He grins up at her. Mack licks her lips, then puts them on his. He squeezes her tighter into their kiss. “Mmm, missed that. Missed you.” He lets her slide down his body, Vans hitting the tile again. “Thought it was winter in New Zealand. How are you so tan?”

“There was so much sun! We got lucky pretty much the whole trip.” This trip was with two of her colleagues because it is a big feature with the magazine. Mack is grateful they had a photographer so she could focus more on the stories of the locals and less about getting the perfect shot for print.

“Good. Glad it worked out for you, baby.” He says, wrapping an around around her shoulders. “You tired?”

“Um, yeah. Don’t let me fall asleep.” She mumbles into his side.

“I won’t. You’re in Iowa now. We gotta work when we get back to the farm.” Mack’s eyes widen. She looks up at him with concern. David starts to laugh.

“I’m kidding. Work is done for the day.” 

“But tomorrow?”

“It begins all over again. Gotta feed the cows, let the chickens roam, check fence, and a thousand other tasks.”

“Hard working boy.”

“Yeah.” He grins proudly. The beeping of the baggage claim alerts them before the metal begin to turn. David sees Mack’s bag and steps forward, easily hauling it off. “Just this?” Mack nods. “Let’s go baby.” He holds a hand out for her to take. She laces their fingers together, surprised at how rough his hands feel. Her gaze travels up his arm to his bicep, noting it is rock hard and bulging even without flexing.

“How long of a drive is it?” She asks after they are tucked into David’s big, black truck. He whips it fast and easy out of the parking spot, then roars the diesel engine out of the parking ramp. 

“Ah, about an hour.” He tells her, sliding his hand over to cup her thigh. She weaves her fingers through his. He squeezes them tight. “Plenty of time for you to tell me everything about your trip.” Mack smiles, adjusting herself in the passenger seat so she can look at him while she talks. She loves talking to David. As great as everything else is with him, he is a great listener and always asks the best, most insightful questions about her work. She could talk to him for hours. When she is done, she switches the topic of conversation to him.

“Tell me about the farm. What can I expect?”

“Um,” He chuckles, nudging his hat up off his forehead to scratch an itch. “Well, it’s pretty quiet out there. We are about 15 minutes south of the town closest to us. It has been hot this summer, so I hope you got some summer clothes in there.” Mack does. She packed as accordingly as she could. “Hours are long. I’ll be up before you and come back around dinner time.”

“Oh, I thought you have staff?” Mack questions.

“I do, but someone needs to manage them.” David says. “My farm manager is off on vacation right now. Usually takes the whole month of August off and leaves it to me before he is back to managing it on his own when I head East.” 

“Oooo, you’re the boss.” Mack giggles.

“Yeah of the farm and you.” He quips. Mack rolls her eyes. He is not the boss of her, but he can keep pretending he is.

“Am I gonna see you while I’m here?” She jokes. David licks his lips and nods.

“Yeah, I’ll be able to step away. I have some things planned for us too. Figure I could take you back up to the state fair next week. Get you something on a stick.” Mack gives him a weird look. “You ever been to a state fair? County fair? Nothing?” Mack shakes her head no to both. “Holy shit.” He chuckles.

“At least I don’t think we did when we lived in Jersey. I don’t know that was a long time ago.”

“A fair is where you eat fried food, mostly on a stick, and play games to win prizes, drinks some beer or other frozen drinks to stay cool. Farmers and 4H kids bring their animals to the fair to be judged.”

“What is 4H?” Mack wrinkles her nose in confusion. David looks slack jawed at her. 

“Oh baby. It’s gonna be a whole different world here for you.” He laughs like it’s cute to him.  

Mack feels the first itch of apprehension tickle her spine.

She has been all over the world, but she may be completely out of her league here. 

- - -

The moment Mack steps out of David’s truck in the parking lot of the local watering hole, she can hear the consistent beat of the country song thumping in the tiny bar. David says its a bar, but to Mack it honestly looks like a shack she would avoid if she was alone. After getting a tour of the farm earlier, David informed Mack they were going to be meeting his friends for drinks. He has been talking her up all summer and they’re all eager to get a glimpse of this mystery woman who has stolen David’s heart.

Mack purses her lips for a moment, then looks down at her outfit. She is dressed in a flowing black, long sleeved top from Dior and Black frayed shorts from a boutique in Paris, paired with a Gucci belt. On her feet are black and white Nike Air Force ones. She has on various expensive, designer jewelry and a Prada cross-body bag her mom and dad got her for her last birthday. David had told her she looked good for where he was taking her. She feels very, very overdressed, like even her silk pajamas would be too fancy for this place.

“David.” Mack mumbles when she meets him at the back of the truck. He grabs her hand in his.

“What?” He asks. He is in dark jeans with a blue and white, light weight flannel. His sleeves are rolled up his forearms, exposing his tattoos and the tan skin from a summer of hard work. He took a shower and styled his hair perfectly with a crisp part and a perfect swoop.

“I am so overdressed.”

“What do you mean?” He asks. “You look great?” Mack doesn’t know how to tell him that she is pretty sure her outfit costs more than this bar does. “Don’t worry about it. You’re beautiful and sexy and you’re walking in on my arm. No one is going to mess with you.” Mack snorts and then starts to laugh.

“I wasn’t thinking that, but I’m trying to make a good impression.”

“Babe, they are going to love you. Trust me.”

Within an hour, Mack senses that isn’t going to be the case. 

She can feel the judgement. Detect the way it crawls over her body from his friends. The looks of “not one of us” and the whispers between the girls. She has been talked about enough behind her back throughout life to know when it’s happening right in front of her face. It started when she tried to order a Paloma. The bartender had looked at her like she grew a second head. She glances at David nervously.

“Curley, it’s tequila, grapefruit juice and lime. You got all that shit behind the bar.” David gestures to the wall of liquor. 

“You wanna come make it David?” Curley asks.

“Fuck. Sure.” David shrugs, going behind the bar and showing Curley how to put the drink together. “You think you got that for next time?” Curley did not look like he had it for next time, so Mack switches to tequila and soda instead. 

The conversation around her has centered on all things farm and rural life. What so and so is up to now. Who had a baby. Who just got divorced. Who was cheating on who. It all seemed very juvenile and uninteresting to Mack. David stayed out of it for the most part, listening along with Mack until his friends, Cody and Trevor, started talking Iowa Hawkeye football. Then she lost him to that.

Mack fingers the cocktail napkin that is soaked with condensation below her glass. It’s times like these where Mack feels so out of place in a country she is a citizen off. She knows this isn’t a full, direct correlation of America, but how can she be more out of place here than when she was in Tokyo last year? Or she can get down and dirty in the rice fields of Thailand and feel more connection with locals who don’t speak the same language than she can in the center of the country she was born in.

David’s lips on her temple break her internal discourse. Mack smiles at him. He rubs her shoulder as if to ask “you good?” She nods at him, smiling reassuringly. 

Dun, nu, nu sounds through the bar speakers, then the whole group slaps their hands on the table. “Woo!” They yell. Then Dun, Nu, Nu. Slap, “Woo!” The whole table erupts excitedly, as a man begins to drawl over the sound system. The table turns to look at David, screaming out the next lyrics, “You were raised on an asphalt farm!” Mack blinks, feeling lost. David tips his head back, laughing loudly.

“Davey! It’s your song!” A girl who Mack can’t remember her name, screams then chugs more of her Miller Lite. 

“Get up and swing your asphalt girl around.” Mack’s eyes widen. David chuckles, tapping her thigh assuringly. 

“No, we are good.” David knows Mack would rather be a metal sign on the wall of the bar than get up when no one else is dancing. Being on display is not her thing. She is grateful for that until she sees the sneering glares of the two women at the end of the table.

“Oh, she’s too good for dancing too.” Mack faintly hears.

Mack looks at David. She can tell he didn’t hear what she heard. Not surprising with how loud his other male friends are signing along to the country song. Mack looks down at the girls, noticing how they avoid direct eye contact with her. The blonde one puts her hand up to her mouth, whispering in the red head’s ear. Then they both giggle. 

“No, let’s dance.” Mack suddenly says to David. She isn’t going to let two, small town, hick bitches intimidate her. 

“What?” He responds, surprised. 

“Yeah, show me what you got cowboy.” She jokes as she stands.

The entire table sucks in a huge, deep breath.

“Oooooooo She is in trouble.” One of the boys mumbles. David gives her a sympathetic smile.

“We aren’t cowboys, honey. We are farmers.”

“What is the difference?” Mack scoffs, laughing, thinking he is pulling her leg. David winces slightly at the large yelp of the table behind him, then grabs Mack, pushing her towards the center of the bar.

“I’ll show you later.” He chuckles, kissing her mouth. 

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Ah, no. They’re just sensitive. Don’t quite understand how other people are outside of these state lines.” Mack gets quiet, retreating into herself again. David practically drags her around in a circle because she is shutting down internally. “Hey…” He trails off. “This is all new to you. It’s okay.” 

“They don’t like me.” She looks at the center of his chest as she says it, not wanting to see the confirmation on his face.

“Nah, they just don’t know you, sweetheart. A lot of layers to your onion.” David can twist into any which way that he wants, but they both know Mack is right. They don’t like her… right now at least.

When Mack and David head back to the table after their dance, the mood at the table has seemed to shift. Now, they all ignore her. 

“How is the herd looking, Trent?” David asks the guy across from Mack. David’s hand is around her shoulder, rolling his fingers in a circle over the thin material of her shirt.

“Should be a good year.” Trent says. “We really need it. Been hurting the last few.”

“Yeah, we all have.” David nods. “Weather has been shit. Can’t out work that.”

“We can sure fucking try tho.” Trent grins, then clinks beer bottles with him. David brings his over to clink with Mack’s glass. She does so. Trent sucks at his teeth, making a slight slurping noise after swallowing more beer. 

“Mack, where did you grow up?”

“In New Jersey before we moved back to where my dad is from in Switzerland.” He nods.

“You have a job growing up or anything?” David cocks his head to the side at Trent. “I’m just trynna find something to relate to her with.” He justifies.

“Um, no. My parents wanted us to focus on school.” Trent sighs like he is disappointed. 

"Must be nice to have a daddy who was able to give you anything you wanted. Didn’t have to work your way through high school to make ends meet.” 

“Trent, knock it off.” David snaps. “Mack knows what hard work is.”

“Does she? Cause the rest of us aren’t thinking she does.”

“Hey, don’t speak for all of us.” Cody snaps. “Drink your beer and shut up.”

“I’m just thinking that it must be nice to have an NHL daddy who can call in a favor to get you a job where you barely have to work as an adult too.” David stands up, chair knocking back to the floor. He reaches across the table to grab Trent, hauling him up to a standing position. 

“Apologize, right now, and I won’t smear you into the wood floor your daddy installed.” 

“I-I-I’m sorry. I think I’m drunk.”

“No shit.” David sneers, shoving Trent back into his chair. The rest of the table goes ghostly silent. Other bar patrons look over their shoulders at the group. Mack is flaming red over the embarrassment of the words thrown her direction and David’s intense reaction. She is equally mortified and turned on.

“I’m going to go to the bathroom.” Mack whispers as David kisses her cheek in reassurance. David gives her a sympathetic look, drowning apologetic eyes watching her as she heads to the back of the bar. 

Mack goes into the first stall, leaning her back into the tiled wall and covering her face. She sucks in deep breaths, trying not to cry. This night could not get any worse. She wants to leave so bad, but she has never been one to back down from a fight. She isn’t going to start now. She doesn’t want them having the satisfaction of seeing her rattled and vulnerable. No, she’ll throw her walls up and fake charm the pants off them. But first, she is going to grab some fresh air.

She heads through the double wood doors, walking down the parking lot, away from the posse of smokers out front. Her arms are crossed over her chest tightly trying to fight off the chill. She doesn’t understand how it can be so hot in the afternoon, but cool down in the evening. Another thing about Iowa she just “can’t understand”. Tears sting her eyes a bit. She feels dumb. Why is this bothering her so much? That guy is a douche. She knows who she is. She shakes off his words, running her fingers through her hair. Mack knows its because she wants to belong here with David. And from her perspective, so far this trip has been less than successful.

A big, heavy jacket comes around her shoulders. She looks to her right, seeing David. His eyes are boring into her, studying her face.

"Looking at the stars?" He asks her.

"Mhm." She looks up at the millions of little dots. Now this reminds her of being in the Swiss Mountains. The same sort of inky black sky dotted with delicate twinkles. He runs his fingers along her shoulder, resting on the back of her neck. He guides her into his side.

"Talk to me, Hisch." 

"I guess I don't have much in common with this version of you.” Her European accent drips into her voice. She is surprised to hear that. It only comes out when she is feeling emotional, creating a difficulty with keeping a Western dialect. David grabs the opening of his jacket on her, tugging so she turns completely towards him. He steps forward, crowding her space. He brings a big paw to her chin, tilting her face up to his.

“What version?” He asks, laughing it off. “Baby, I am who I am. No matter where I am.” He brushes her hair back behind her ear. “And you’re everything I’ve dreamed of.” Mack can see how much he means it. It’s in his touch on her cheek, in his gaze stroking along hers, in the sureness of his voice. She nods. He captures her lips. The kiss is soft, sweet sucks and gentle nudging of his tongue against her bottom lip. His other hand winds around her waist, pressing into her lower back to keep her tight to him.

David says the right things, but that kiss says more to Mack than his words ever could.

His lips on hers erase it all- the insecurity, the doubt, the not belonging, the not good enough.

He grounds her because he knows what she needs immediately, sometimes before she even knows. But tonight, it is his physical reassurance soothing her more than anything. He towers over her, shielding her from everything with his muscular body, and consumes her in a way that feels safe not smothering. 

"Just say the word and I'll go back in there to straighten Trent out." Truthfully, having him storm back in there would be so fucking hot. She would get to watch him teach Trent a lesson and get all hot and bothered between her thighs. 

“What is the other option?” She murmurs.

“I take you home. We can spend the rest of the night by ourselves.”

Mack contemplates what home entails. She wants him to hold her hand in his dark truck the whole way home. She craves for him to undress her slowly in that small house. His boots hitting the floor at the foot of the bed while he urges her to lay back so he can take his time undressing her. She needs his rough, calloused hands on her soft hips as he pulls her panties down her legs. Then she wants him soft and slow, gently thrusting deep into her in a missionary position as he irritates her lips with his mustache.

And that’s exactly what Mack gets. 

“You look so good for me, honey. So wet and soft and perfect. Take me so well.” He praises her from where he holds his weight above her. His hot breath dances over her face, coated in light beer and her from his previous perch between her thighs. Mack is blissed out, drunk on him and the stroking of him against the walls of her pussy. 

“David.” She sighs, collecting him to her chest. He presses his to hers and then rolls his tongue into her mouth. He gathers her moans, sucking them up greedily so they are only his tonight. He fucks her deeper, harder, perfect bucks into her wet heat. “Fuck you’re so good. So fucking good.” She cries.

“Yeah? Best?”

“Yeah!” She yells.

“Say my name, sweetheart. Say who makes you feel this good.”

“You! David!” She howls.

“Good girl. My girl.” He groans. Mack’s inner walls clench him, pulling him deeper with each flutter of her getting closer and closer to the edge. Her heels dig into his butt, forcing him to stay right fucking there. She turns her face into his neck, sinking her teeth into him as she comes. 

Afterwards, David plays with her fingers as she lays on his sweaty chest. He kisses her forehead, inhaling the scent of her deeply. He keeps his face there afterwards, as Mack starts to go limp in his arms. Her eyelashes brush gently against his warm skin. He shifts her hips a bit, turning to the side so she can lay more comfortable in the crook of his arm.

“Goodnight, honey.” He whispers on her forehead. Then kisses her a final time before leaving her to her slumber. 

- - -

Two weeks into her trip, Mack is still having some trouble adjusting to Iowa. Every thing is completely different here. The grocery store, the little town he took her into, the restaurant options and drinks, even the air is different! It’s laced with manure and dust, making her nose plugged up so she constantly has to drainage. Her eyes have been almost swollen shut every morning of that first week.

“Do you have allergies?” David had asked her. Mack didn’t think so, but she’s also never been to a place quite like this. After a few days of Zyrtec, Mack can finally breathe through both nostrils.

In celebration, and because she is admittedly very bored, she gets into the shower. It’s the only thing in the farm house that is modern. David likes to take long showers after working in the field all day to get clean and relax. He’ll bring a can of Coors Light in with him and have some alone time. Mack thinks is is adorable, getting to see his self-care routine in Iowa. He doesn’t do this after games in NYC, but she thinks that might be because his adrenaline is usually still roaring after hockey. His favorite post-game routing has seemingly been sex. 

After getting clean and putting on some light make up, along with a sundress, Mack got to work putting together a meal for them. She opted for easily transported items like chips, sandwiches, and cut up fruit. Then she made some lemonade from the cup of lemonade mix she found in the pantry. David loves Lemonade down here. She is starting to enjoy it too. This time she puts fresh strawberries in for a little extra sweetness. 

Mack glances out the front window to where two farm hands are working. She puts her feet in the cowboy boots David got her at the boot store in town when she first got here. They are more broken in now and are no longer hurting her feet, so she feels comfortable wearing them for today’s excursion. Then she grabs the basket and steps outside. 

Mack covers her eyes with her hand, looking out at the vastness of the farm. David took her on a tour her second day here, but she doesn’t remember anything. She worries about getting lost out there. She double checks that she has her phone. At least she seems to have good service here. 

“Um, hi.” Mack says nervously as she walks up to the two farm hands by the barn.

“Hi Mackenzie.” They greet her happily. Something about being the boss’ girlfriend she is sure.

“Mack is fine. Um, do you know where I can find David?” She holds up the basket with their lunch. “I want to bring him lunch.”

“Oh, he is in the far back 40 on the edge of the farm property.” One of them says. 

“Okay. And I can get there with that?” She points to the small utility vehicle they whip around on the front of the farm. 

“Yeah….” They trial off, giving each other a look. “Do you know how to get there?”

“I know everything branches off from this road, she points to the left. But after that I am a little lost.”

“I can take you.” The older one, who seems to be more in charge says. “We can take the truck.” Mack nods. “I can put that in the bed for ya.” He hoists it over into the truck bed, then they both get into the cab. 

“What is your name?” She asks once they start down the dirt road. Rocks kick up against the mud flaps and the underbelly of the truck, making her have to yell a bit over to him.

“Felix.”

“Nice to meet you.” She smiles politely. “Thank you for taking me.”

“Of course. Mr. David says you are our special guest. Can’t let you get lost out here.” Mack blushes, biting her bottom lip. 

“Oh I don’t know about that. How long have you worked on the farm?”

“About 25 years. I worked for Mr. Chuck before Mr. David.” Mack knows Chuck is David’s dad. She doesn’t ask, but wonders if he was there when Chuck passed away on the farm.

“That is nice. You must like it here?”

“Yes, they are fair to their workers and their families. Last year, my wife had cancer. The treatment was expensive. We had to travel up to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. But Mr. David paid for the whole thing and kept my job. My wife has now been in remission for five months.” Felix does the sign of a cross then kisses his lips in praise. 

“Wow.” Mack murmurs. David never told her that.

“He is special. Nothing like his siblings.” Felix’s face seems to cloud over. “We are happy he bought them out of the farm.” Another thing Mack wasn’t aware of. “He has made changes, some hard to learn at first, but all have been good. For us and him. More money and security. People on other farms around here want to work for him the most.” Pride swells in Mack’s chest at hearing that.

Felix turns to the right, heading away from the road and out for a few minutes. They come over a hill, down into a valley where Mack see’s David’s black truck. She frowns, realizing he is out here working alone.

“Is he always out here alone?” She wonders.

“No, just today.” He says. “It’s a hard day for him.” Mack furrows her brows, but nods along. He didn’t say anything before they left. He seemed normal too.The truck comes to a slowed stop. David is working along the fence line. He wipes his forehead with his forearm, looking up at the truck. He sees Felix, then grins huge when he sees Mack.

“Felix! Look at you bringing me pretty little things after busting me for that in high school.” Felix roars with laughter, his big chest shaking as he leans out the rolled down window. 

“This one seems a little less crazy.”

“Eh, you don’t know her like I do.” David winks. He tosses his tools into the cab of his truck. “Stay here, honey.” He says to her. Mack stays put, letting David come to her door. He opens it up, then gives her his hand to help pull her down safely from the high farm truck. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I brought lunch to you.” 

“Oh?” He wiggles his eyebrows, then drags his gaze along her body in her blue, linen sundress. 

“Actual food.” She fills him in. He quips a smirk at her, then leans down to kiss her. 

“Basket in the back, sir.” Felix says.

“How many times do I have to say not to call me that?” David rolls his eyes.

“How many times I gotta tell you it’s about respect?” Felix quips back. Mack smiles. She likes Felix a lot. She can see herself getting to know him more over the next few weeks. 

“Fine. Hey, when you get back up can you tell Becks to get to the N.E. pasture and start working some of the cows into N.D. pasture instead? I don’t think I’m going to get to that today.”

“You bet. I’ll have Reed go with him too. That kid needs to get the hell off my project.”

“He’s a little wild.” David acknowledges. “That’s why he is with you.” David reminds Felix who sighs heavily. “Look what you did with me.” He grins. 

Felix waves and drives off back to the barn after David hauls the picnic basket out of the back. 

“I brought a blanket too.” Mack pulls it out of her bag that she had slung across her shoulder. David drops the tailgate of his truck, then lays the blanket along the back.

“That’s good otherwise your thighs would be burning in that short dress.”

“Is it short?”

“Honey, you know it is.” He slaps her ass to prove his point, getting some of her bare cheek against his palm. Mack leans forward, feeling the fabric slide further up her thighs as she digs in the picnic basket. David runs his fingers up from her knee to cup her ass. He reaches for her arm, pulling her away from the food. “Want something else first.” He sighs against her mouth.

“What if someone comes to find you?” She weakly protests. She had this in mind for lunch too.

“They’ll call me.” He murmurs against her mouth. “Trust me, I don’t want any of my guys seeing you, honey. I wouldn’t take the chance if I didn’t think it was safe.” Mack nods, believing him completely.

He wraps an arm around her waist, pinning her tight to him. His hard cock protrudes from beneath his zipper, pulsing for Mack to touch. Her fingers, clutch the back of his neck, feeling his skin sweaty and hot beneath her fingers. He smells sexy like sweat and deodorant that works just as hard as her man. It’s hot, sexy as fuck to the point that Mack wraps her leg around his waist to grind against him.

David moves his mouth from hers and presses kisses along her throat. He sucks her skin hard into his mouth at the nook of her neck and shoulder, then continues down. Mack arches back, letting her head fall back so he can access her chest completely. His lips continue their path over the swell of her left breast, then he nudges the fabric to the side. Her nipple pebbles in the sunlight, pink and beautiful, just for him. He opens his lips, pulling it in. His tongue strokes over her sensitive peak, then creates a wet trail to the other one, grabbing it between his lips. He lets that one go with a final slurp, then goes back to kiss her mouth. 

“Mmm.” Mack hums. Her fingers go to his belt, working it apart. She pulls his hard length out of his jeans and underwear, stroking along his shaft, feeling the velvet skin tight in her hand. She works her fingers up to his head, stroking until his slit releases pre-cum. 

“Fuck.” He groans, breaking away from their kiss. David turns Mack, lifting her dress up over her ass and pulling her bare skin back to his. He works his cock between her ass, savoring how she grinds her cheeks against him while he holds her tight by her stomach. He kisses her shoulder, tasting her warm, vanilla skin. 

“Bend over.” He growls before she reaches between their bodies and holds his balls, stealing his breath. She rolls them over in her hand as she lays forward obediently. Her right cheek presses into the blanket she brought. David moves her dress up, pulling her thong underwear down for her ankles to hold. David strokes his cock as he puts two fingers at Mack’s entrance, testing her. She is soaked, almost dripping down those creamy thighs for him. He curses again, then plunges into her welcoming heat.

Mack’s arms stretch above her head, gripping the blanket in her palms. Her hard nipples stroke against the ridges of the truck bed with each direct thrust of him into her. David works his hands off her hips to the front of her thighs, keeping his hands there to protect her from the lip of the tailgate. His lips kiss her spine, then he get into position to fuck her hard and fast just like she begs for. The truck suspension squeaks from his powerful pumps.

“So good.” Mack calls back. She opens her eyes, taking in the surrounding Iowa wilderness, grinning at how sexy it is to be fucked by this man right here. Maybe she could be a country girl after all. She giggles.

“What?” He asks her.

“Maybe I am a country girl.” 

“By the time I’m done with you, you will be.” He laughs, slapping her ass with his abdomen with each drill of his cock into her. 

“Oh.” She groans, felling like a completely, coming undone mess at what he is doing with her. His unhooked belt slaps the outside of her thigh as it swings. She moves one hand from above her head, bringing it to her clit to roll it in rapid circles. “David…” She moans loudly, letting her voice go, carrying out across the field.

“Mmm, yeah. Let the world hear you baby. Let everyone know who’s pussy this belongs to.” He brings a hand under her stomach, arching her lower back and hips up so he can drive at a different angle. Mack’s eyes roll into the back of her head, almost securing to her brain at how incredible his cock feels pressing into her velvet circle. 

“Right there. Davey, please don’t stop. Never stop.” Mack wails. 

“Not until you coat this cock, sweetheart.” He assures her. “This what you wanted, huh? Made your man a little meal so he would stuff you full of his thick cock?”

“Yeah!” Mack admits shamelessly. “Ohmyg-“ Mack chokes on the last word as the intensity of her orgasm rips the breath from her lungs. 

“Oh fuck. Baby yes.” He moans, losing control at the hard flutters of her around him. “So fucking good, baby. Perfect for me.” His hoarse voice coos at her as he paints ropes of cum on her walls.

Their heavy breathing makes them hot, sweat beginning to bead along their spines as they lay limply against each other on the truck bed. Then, David straightens up, gliding himself out of Mack gently. She whimpers at the emptiness, wishing he would stay there for a little longer. He delicately drops her dress back over her butt after bringing her panties up into place. She turns, leaning on the tailgate as her legs shake. David tucks himself back into his pants, buckling his belt before focusing back on her. He grips her chin with his thumb and pointer finger, giving her a soft, wet kiss. 

“You are amazing.” He sighs. Mack grins into their kiss.

“You too. Never felt like this.” She whispers, holding him by the back of his neck against her forehead. Never thought she would admit things like this to someone either. But as per usually, David is scratching out all of her rules and rewriting new ones, like spending weeks in America’s heartland and turning down jobs from her editor.

“I’m starving. What did you bring us?” David asks, picking her up and setting her on the tailgate behind her so she can reach the picnic basket. She brought them turkey sandwiches with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and homemade pesto mayo she put together yesterday afternoon. All the flavors have marinated deliciously together, creating a flavor bomb in her mouth. 

“Holy shit. This is amazing. Thank you!” His genuine appreciation makes Mack’s chest warm. She smiles coyly, with her mouth full of food. He leans down to kiss her. Mack gently chews the rest of her bite, looking over at David who is devouring his sandwich is two more huge bites. She chuckles, then licks her lips before speaking.

“So Felix said today is a hard day for you?” Everything about David’s demeanor changes like a snap. His face darkens. He begins to fidget next to her, slightly pulling away as his body gets rigid. He sniffs, then takes a big glug of lemonade from the mason jar. 

“Yeah.” Mack hesitates, remaining quiet while watching him stuff some chips in his mouth. Then she puts her sandwich down on the plate next to her, turning to sit facing him. She puts her hand on his thigh, continuing to stay quiet until David sighs heavily. “My mom died ten years ago today.” Mack stills, then rolls her bottom lip into her mouth. 

“I’m so sorry.” David nods, clearing his throat.

“This date every year I come out here and fix fence and talk to her. Tell her about what I’ve been up to the last year. Cry a little bit. Then go clean off her and dad’s grave and put some fresh flowers down from her rose garden by the house.”

“That sounds like a nice way to honor her.” Mack murmurs, moving her hand from his thigh to his hand, lacing their fingers together. He brings the back of her hand up to his mouth, kissing along her knuckles.

“It is. Unfortunately, I’ve had ten years to get the tradition perfect.” He sighs. “Every year on this date though, it feels like it just happened.” Mack can imagine so. “Sucks.” He sniffs again. Mack rubs her thumb along the tendons of his hand.

“Will you tell me about her?”

“She was hilarious. Spunky as shit. Had to be with how crazy my siblings and I were in our younger days. We used to pretend to be super heroes and jump off the barn into the hay. It was all fun and games unless you were a bit off…. Or got pushed off like me.” Mack’s eyes widen. “But my mom was always watching out the window and would rip my brothers a new asshole anytime they were picking on me. She was strong and full of joy. She loved worked in her garden. A few of the plants have died off over the years cause of deep freezes, but most of those rose bushes are hers. I hire Felix’s wife to tend to them in the summer so they’re always taken care of. Mom would have wanted that, since she isn’t here to do it…” 

Mack squeezes his hand then brings her other hand up to run over his back. She rests her mouth on his bicep, continuing to listen while holding him. 

“I think that’s why it was so hard when she got sick.” His voices starts to get tight. Tears pinch Mack’s eyes. “That… but also she has missed so much. She didn’t get to see me graduate from high school or college. Didn’t see me get drafted or my first game in the NHL. At least my dad was there for those, but it wasn’t the same. He didn’t have the words like she would have when I struggled to stay up in the NHL those first few years or the way he rode my ass when I was home every summer to be a better farmer.” David shakes his head. 

“It’s like every year something happens that I’m sad she isn’t here for. This year, I’m sad she doesn’t get to know you.” Mack’s bottom lip shakes as two tears go down her cheeks. He turns his lips into her hair, then continues to talk against her head. “She would have loved you- strong, independent, sassy, and so pretty you could bring even the most stubborn man to his knees.” Mack smiles, cupping his cheek to hold him against her. “Those dimples… baby.” He sighs, “they get me every time.” 

“I hope she still likes me now… even from wherever she is watching over you.”

“I think so.” He smiles. 

“Could I go with you to their resting place?”

“Yes, of course you can. I just gotta check the rest of this fence and then we can go.”

“Thank you for telling me. I didn’t know…”

“I know. I’m sorry. I don’t like talking about it. Probably why Felix told you.” Mack nods, understanding that Felix was looking out for David too when he told Mack about today on the drive down. 

Mack and David finished their lunches and she helps him check fence. She walked the line with him and pointed out normal fence she thought looked bad and he taught her about what to look for instead. When they were done, they loaded up into David’s truck, then drove back towards the house.

The house is just comes into view when David peels off to the right and drives to an open unassuming field. There is no fencing, just in ground stones that mark the Carlson members that are buried on the farm. David grabs a bucket full of cleaning supplies. He gives Mack the flowers he picked earlier that had been resting in a bucket of water, then takes her hand to walk over to his parents grave. 

Mack begins to cry immediately, feeling so overwhelmed with sadness for David. And his parents. For everything they have missed. For the people she will never know. For all the moments that David will never get to have with them and how fucking cruel it is that he has to go through that for the rest of his life. All those happy days will have a shade of grey because of who is missing. It’s not fair. She wants to change that for him, ease some of that, but instead, all she can really do is cry sympathetically. 

When they get to his father, Charles E. Carlson’s headstone, David drops her hand and puts his work gloves on. He uses his tools to cut away the over grown grass and weeds. Then he grabs the soapy water and rags to clean the dirty away from the head stone. Mack kneels off to the side, by his mother’s stone, watching quietly, sensing her help is not wanted. This seems methodical and therapeutic to David.

He rests his butt on his heels while he looks down. He presses his palm on his dad’s name, then works his way to his mom’s and does the same thing. This time, wet tear drops fall from his eyes onto the dusty stone as he cleans the grime off. Mack swallows hard, new tears of her own falling down. David puts his left hand on his mother’s name, Beatrice. Mack reaches out, putting hers on top of his. David opens his right arm for her to slide into his side. Then he holds her close.

Mack doesn’t know, but while he holds her tight, David is telling his mom, where ever she is resting, that the girl in his arms is the one.

- - -

Mack can’t believe it is her second to last night here.

As different as it all was when she first got here a month ago, her and David have settled into a nice routine. Every morning starts early, with a romp in the sheets. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, always incredible though. After that, Mack wanders down in his shirt to make him coffee and some eggs to wolf down fast after his shower. She sits with him at the table as he tells her all the different chores he has for the day. She asks questions. He patiently answers. 

Then, after a long smooch with wandering calloused hands, he heads out to the field. Mack will meet him for lunch, or if it’s too hot, he comes into the kitchen to take a break in the air conditioning. They spend 10 minutes of his hour long lunch eating and the other 50 devouring each other. On the tail gate, on the kitchen table, on the kitchen floor, on the couch- wherever they can make it to before their clothes start falling to the floor.

David will return back to his chores, then come home around dinner time. Him and Mack trade off making dinner. He likes to grill for her as she tries different self- prepared marinades with fresh produce from the farm’s garden. Then they end the night watching the sunset on the front porch, which is where they are right now.

The porch swing sways gently from David’s light rocking. A calm, cooling breeze blows through the wrap around porch that hugs the white farmhouse his family built generations ago. Mack thinks about her flight in two days that is supposed to connect her with Newark before she will turn around in 24 hours to head towards Aruba. Dread pinches her stomach uncomfortably. She has started to fall in love with this place and all of it’s differences that she hated 4 weeks ago. David is staying here for two more weeks. He would be returning to New York a few days after she gets home from Aruba.

Mack looks down at his forearm across her stomach. Her fingers tips drag along his tanned skin, watching the goosebumps form on him from her touch. An emotional sigh falls from her lips. His lips touch her hair in recognition, fingers pressing deeper into her side.

“You okay?” 

“I don’t want to leave.” She confesses. He moves so her back falls across his lap. His other arm catches her head in the cook of his elbow. “Wanna stay here with you.” She whispers, reaching up for his face. 

“Baby, if you wanna stay you can, but if you need to go, that’s okay too. There is a whole life of yours outside of me.”

“I know. But it can wait until I’m ready to rejoin it.” David smiles down at her. His fingers run up from her stomach, along her left breast, to cup her cheek. Mack presses up to meet his lips. His hand tangles in her wild, country hair, gripping her tight to his mouth so he can taste her thoroughly. 

“You’re sure? I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay here.”

“I don’t.” She assures him, gripping his wrist where that hand still holds her face. His thumb rubs a track across her cheek bone, looking into her brown eyes. 

“Okay. Then stay. I want that.” He admits. “Was feeling really sad in the field this morning, thinking about driving you up to the airport.” Mack smiles, nodding in agreement. He pulls her up to kiss him again, then lets her head settle in his lap as she wiggles down. Her hair splays across his thigh as he works his finger prints gently into her scalp. Her eyes flutter, wanting to close and give into how good this feels. 

Mack loves the salty breeze off the ocean, the sand between her toes, and the way the pace of island life is unapologetically slow.

But not even that can compete with how good it feels here in David’s arms on his front porch swing.

More Mack & David can be found here.

#Mackdavid au #my writing #hockey fan fiction

[jqhotchner]

stars

nine

yn adjust the camera making sure it didn’t show her baby bump. she is about to do an interview discussing the album and fenty beauty. she didn’t need to world to see her bump just yet.

“rihanna! it’s so great to have you on the show!”

yn smiles. “it’s great to be here!” she states honestly. yn is really excited to discuss more about the album and she’s really excited to discus more about fenty beauty. she’s been working on her cosmetic line for a few years now! wanting everything to be absolutely perfect.

yn is now onto making her last name into an even bigger brand. she’s now getting into the fashion world and making sexy lingerie, bras, a few t-shirt designs, even making men boxers and everything you could think of. yn is ready for this new era in her life!

this just means she gets to be home more with her babies and her husband. she’d still travel here and there, but she’d be able to work from home instead of moving around too much.

aaron’s excited about that. he’d expressed he’s going to be putting in less hours as well! with derek and david willing to help out with more paperwork, he figured he could take advantage of that so he could get home to his family as soon as possible.

“so, we saw you’re currently married. congratulations are in order!”

“thank you!”

“how’s married life treating you? from our end you look absolutely stunning!”

yn blushes. “yeah, it’s been great! my husband and i got married two months back. we’re really enjoying married life. although if you talk to my mother she’d say we were already married. just made it official in the court of law.” yn giggles.

“mothers are always speeding up the process. id like to think mine just wanted me and my husband to give her grandchildren right after the wedding.”

yn laugh.

“how’s the album coming along? we hear this one’s gonna be the last for awhile.”

“yeah, im in the process of doing other projects. it just came down to wanting to spend as much time with the people i love, you know? ill get back into my music eventually. for now i think the fans will enjoy other plans i have!”

“like fenty beauty, correct?”

“yeah!”

“how long have you been working on your cosmetics line?”

“for about two years! i wanted it to be perfect and inclusive! so many different skin tones out there, you know? i have family members with darker complexions than mine. a lot of times they couldn’t find the right foundation or concealer. i wanted to make sure that everyone feels included. not left in the dust!”

“i understand that completely. took me awhile to find one that matches my skin tone even slightly. what else can we expect from fenty beauty?”

“it won’t just be makeup, it’ll also lead to having a better skin care routine. i just got a few family members into taking better care of their skin. you wouldn’t believe what most of them said they use for their skin.” yn shivers.

“well, i for one am really excited about fenty beauty and about this next album. when can we expect another single? and do you have a date for when the album is released?”

“the next single is out the twenty-second and the album will be released the eight of next month! along with a few other surprises!” yn winks into the camera.

“you heard it here first, folks! rihanna album will be released february eight! that was rihanna. thank you for your time, ri.”

“thank you for having me.” yn waves before shutting her laptop. she turns over and spots aaron staring at her. “what?” she blushed.

“just—you’re so fucking beautiful.” aaron kisses her shoulder.

“baby,”

“i mean it.”

yn leans over and aaron kisses her passionately. “how much time we got?” aaron groans.

yn turns to look at the clock. jessica currently has jack. she took him to the park to give yn alone time for the interview.

“twenty minutes.”

aaron smirks. “that’s enough time!”

#aaron hotchner x fem!reader #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x black!reader #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotch fic #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron hotch x reader #jqhotchner #jqhotchner masterlist #stars jqhotchner #aaron hotch fanfiction #aaron hotch imagine #aaron hotchner x female reader

[metalupyourazzzz]

Siren // Orm Marius

Orm Marius & my OC, Cora

Description: Cora is a young girl living off the coast of Amnesty Bay, Maine. She's known Arthur for years after he saved her when she washed ashore. After years of being tangled with the League of Assassins, Arthur comes knocking on her door, Orm in tow. He comes with news: David Kane is intent on destroying the world, and he needs her help to stop him.

Set during Aquaman 2

Status: Ongoing

Rating: Mature(some blood and gore, maybe some smut)

Can also be found on Wattpad: metalupyourazzz

Chapter 1: Take it Off

Years ago

A beach outside of Maine

Arthur stood on the white sand, panting.

“Again.” Vulko commanded, hands laced behind his back, “You’ll never claim the throne if you do not have proper training.”

“This is bullshit,” Arthur cried out, “I just want to meet my mother, my brother. I just want to see Atlantis!”

He shifted his weight, twirling his trident gently, scraping the end in the sand.

“Patience, my young prince, everything good happens with time,” Vulko stated, pacing around, sand kicking up behind him.

Arthur began to speak, when the waves crashed, and something washed ashore.

Someone.

He ran over to the huddled lump and the first thing he saw was the bright green of her eyes. She wasn’t breathing, yet her gaze pierced through him like a knife.

“Vulko?” He whispered as the man stood grimly beside him.

She started coughing, salty water spewing from her mouth, and she rolled over. She had a large gash in her forehead, and she slowly stood to her feet.

“Where am I?” She asked hoarsely, blinking the salt from her eyelashes.

“Don’t worry,” Arthur cooed, “You’re safe.”

Today

09:00 hours

Amnesty Bay, Maine

Cora wasn’t sure what woke her up first, the sunlight peeking through the thin, filtered curtains or the loud knocking on the door. Grumbling slightly, she peeled back the heavy blankets on her bed, and sat up, rubbing her temples. She hoped it helped rid last night’s tequila before she answered the door. A soft yawn escaped her lips as she picked up her phone, groggily scrolling through the 16 missed calls and various texts, all from the same number.

“Arthur Curry, you’re the reason I drink,” she mumbled to herself as she pulled her long blue locks up into a ponytail, quickly combing her fingers through her unruly bangs.

Stepping out of bed, she grabbed the nearest shirt and threw it on, padding across the cold wooden floors to the door. Slowly opening it, she stood somewhat dumbfounded on who stood on the other side.

“Hey squirt!” The tall Hawaiian yelled, picking her up in a tight hug, spinning her before setting her down.

“Arthur, always good to see your face,” she said through a forced smile, his loud voice cutting knives into her head.

“The place looks good,” he remarked, doing a 360 around her dinky studio. He looked a lot different than she remembered. He was more muscular, his hair was longer and more blonde, and he had a ridiculous spandex suit on. His eyes weren’t their normal brown, they glowed a dark gold color, and he had rings and bracelets adorning his arms and fingers.

“Arthur, what are you doing here?” She asked, walking over to her kitchen, pouring a steaming cup of coffee, “Last time I saw you, you had less clothes, and you were less…all of that.”

She finished her sentence with a small motion to his attire and big smile, “You still with the JL?”

He shrugged her questions off, “We are here, because we need your help.”

“We?” She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Arthur motioned to the door, and that’s when she noticed the other man standing there. He was shorter than Arthur, and from what she could tell, a lot different. He had no shirt on, tweed pants that hung low off his hips, and sandy hair that covered his face, alongside a rugged beard.

“Arthur why is Rob Zombie in my apartment?” She asked.

Arthur snorted, and she could’ve sworn she saw the other man roll his eyes.

“That’s my brother, Orm.” He whispered to her.

“Oh, the righteous douchebag that tried to kill humanity, gotcha.” She whispered back, before she turned to him, “C’mon sunshine let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Arthur if you haven’t forgotten we have better things to do.” The man said, “We have to meet my supplier.”

Cora raised her eyebrow, looking between the two. She shook her head, grabbing a chair and kitchen scissors, “Sit.”

Orm looked at her skeptically, “You’re surely not using those on me.”

“It’s either that or I shave you bald take your pick,” she snapped. He immediately sat down, and she draped a blanket over his chest.

“You still have suits here?” Arthur asked, thumbing through her record collection. He picked one up, and blew the dust off of it, setting it into the record player. Soon the hard melodies of ‘take it off’ by KISS started drifting through the room. The slow snipping of the scissors mixed with it as she worked on Orm’s unruly hair.

“Yeah, I’ve got supplies as well. The League brings me some every so often. I think it’s just an excuse for Talia to keep an eye on me.” She replied, letting out a small laugh. She gently pushed a lock of Orm’s hair out of his face as she worked on the front of his hair. His piercing blue eyes met hers, and she flicked her gaze back to what she was doing.

Soon enough, his hair was at a reasonable length, no longer covering his eyes. He was watching her as she moved, with a grim expression.

Filthy surface dweller, he thought to himself, touching me like I’m a peasant. Treating me like a peasant.

She moved quickly, shaving off his beard, leaving no trace of the torture of being locked in the Fisherman Kingdom. As she worked, she heard a small crash, and something tinkered across the floor, and Arthur picked it up.

“Cora?” Arthur asked, quietly. She looked over to see him holding a crown. One that brought her almost to tears. She dropped the scissors she was holding, and they skittered across the floor.

“A-Arthur, I can explain.”

She barely got her sentence out when he was standing in front of her. His once happy expression was turned to a grim one. His face contorted into an angry frown, as he put the crown almost against her. She trembled as she looked up into his eyes. The fire in them terrified her, it reminded her of the one wearing the crown. The day she never wanted to remember. The one that brought chills down her spine every second she thought of it.

“Cora.” Arthur whispered, voice shaking in anger, “Why the hell do you have my father’s crown?”

#orm marius #orm Marius Aquaman #aquaman #aquaman 2 #arthur curry #king orm #ocean master #league of assassins #oc #my oc stuff #my ocs #fantasy #atlantis #aquaman and the lost kingdom #aquamanthelostkingdom #the lost kingdom #orm marius x reader

[romirola]

Headcanons for the Shaw Pack Co-hosting a Red Moon Association Blood Drive

Another blood donation, another day I lowkey hope that the nurse who takes my blood is named Vincent, Sam, William, or variations thereof. I didn’t see any Solaires at the drive today, but I’m sure they were around somewhere.  

I’ve posted about my headcanon that Sweetheart donates blood both on tumblr and in a fic called Cross My Heart. Then, I ended up fleshing out a little bit more about vampiric blood drives that the Red Moon Association, a charity founded by William and run in part by Sam, in a fic called Packed with Love. In that fic, David expressed the Shaw Pack’s commitment to supporting the RMA’s mission to provide a constant supply of blood to vampires living outside of cornerstone cities who don’t have access to blood bags or live donation events. I started thinking about what that support might look like… 

David: David serves as the recovery area attendant. He ensures that after people donate, they feel well and are provided ample hydration (water and a variety of juices) and snacks (including pretzels, peanut butter crackers, fruit gummies, chocolate-chip mini muffins, and more.) David selects the options with care, always making sure that everyone will like something. Occasionally, donors get shy about helping themselves to food and drinks. David, however, is not shy about informing donors of the importance of eating and drinking afterwards. Likewise, if a donor tries to skip out before they recover for  the recommended 15 minutes, David will persuasively remind them to sit down and wait for their own good. If someone begins to feel faint or dizzy, David will be at their side and call over a healer/healthcare provider to evaluate. When there is a lull or a no-show for an appointment, David rolls up his sleeve and provides his own blood through the traditional donation method, even though he detests medical procedures.  

Angel: Angel volunteers to give blood, though as an informed unempowered person, they actually opt to provide a live feeding as their donation. They had a vampire phase when they were younger and never really got over it. Angel likes to assure the vampires, especially the ones who were turned recently, that the process can be enjoyable for the donor and that a vampire should never feel guilty for taking blood ethically, because that’s how they survive. Their friendly, extraverted nature not only helps the vampire who feeds on them that day, but also encourages vampires to return for future live feedings. Angel’s preferred biting spot in the left side of their neck. 

Asher: Asher is responsible for deciding on and distributing the incentive for donors. He takes this job seriously, spending hours designing an exclusive T-Shirt, a trendy thermos, a handy tote bag, or something else, plus a matching sticker set, that sports the Red Moon Association logo. Once he finishes creating the product, Asher also ensures that he orders enough items for every appointment (plus extra in case there are walk-ins) in every size available so all donors can feel excited to show off their new merchandise. Asher will also donate, as long as Babe reminds him to schedule an appointment in time. He is open to donating either through a traditional method or as part of a live feeding. 

Babe: Babe serves as the one who checks donors in when they arrive. Babe has the job down to an art. Armed with two touchscreens/scanners, their trusty calendar, a mug for of pens, a stack of informational pamphlets about donation options, best practices, and the RMA’s mission, Babe makes sure everyone knows exactly what is happening, when it is going to happen, and where to sit as they wait for it to happen. Like David, Babe will also donate via the traditional method to fill in any gaps, though sometimes, their high blood pressure level prevents them from donating. 

Milo: Once the drive date and time is set, Milo is the one who gets the word out to all of Dahlia. He designs and disseminates ads that promote the drive to reach potential donors and potential live receipts. He also keeps a listserv of all past donors and periodically sends email updates about the upcoming drive, which means that Milo must also be responsible for any questions people might have about donating or scheduling an appointment. For those not comfortable with technology, Milo also will schedule them for a donation on the phone and then manually input the information into the system. Milo has tried to give blood in the past, but after being turned away due to his hemoglobin levels repeatedly, he has realized that a successful blood drive requires all types of support, and that he plays an important role even without giving blood. 

Sweetheart: Sweetheart has been a regular donor since they began their career at D.U.M.P. to support the vampiric community, so they are a pro when it comes to hydrating and maintaining a healthy iron level pre- and post-donation. They always make sure to time their donations so that they will be eligible for the RMA drives that the Shaw Pack hosts because they love the chance to spend time with their pack while helping others. Sweetheart has a collection of incentive gifts they have earned over the years. They prefer to donate through the traditional methods, though if asked, Sweetheart will agree to a live feeding (preferably via their wrist.) 

Darling: Darling, too, is a frequent donor as they want to do all they can to support Sam’s work with the RMA. Darling has found that when they donate, they prefer to do so in their wolf form. They claim that being in their wolf form prevents any bruising, but Sam suspects they just like the chance to show off. When they finish their donation and can move freely about the area, Darling will often check to see if anyone is nervous or scared at the sight of needles/blood. If someone is struggling, Darling likes to offer their services as an emotional support wolf to help distract them until the donation is complete. Afterwards, they might shift into their human form for a moment to remind the donor that their fear doesn’t undermine the courage they showed by making the donation or the gift they’ve provided to vampires in need. 

Sam: Sam serves in a leadership position for the RMA, so Sam organizes the drive. He arranges for the proper funding so that empowered healers and informed, unempowered healthcare providers are present and fully staffed. Sam also oversees that the donated blood is delivered safely to wherever it needs to go and coordinates transportation so that vampires living in non-cornerstone cities can attend the drive to participate in a live feeding. It’s a lot of constant work, but nothing makes Sam happier to see everyone come together to help and to support those in need. 

#redacted asmr #redacted audio #redactedverse #redacted headcanons #redacted david #redacted davey #david shaw #redacted angel #redacted asher #redacted babe #redacted milo #milo greer #redacted sweetheart #redacted darling #redacted darlin #redacted sam #sam collins #redacted william #william solaire #redacted red moon association #redacted blood donation #redacted shaw pack

[emilykaldwen]

I was tagged by both @gwenllian-in-the-abbey and @theothermaidoftarth! Thank you!

Favorite Painter: Edmund Leighton/Edmund Blair Leighton (you'll see both names). Anyone who knows me knows how much I adore medieval romantacism we saw in the latter half of the 19th century/earlier 20th century. I had a poster of The Accodalde in my room for 25 years and only finally had to get rid of it. The new goal is to get a proper reproduction of it. I also really enjoy the work of John William Waterhouse and Edward Robert Hughes! However, my all time favorite painting, Cupid and Psyche is by Jacques-Louis David. (fave mytho couple, but again, if you know me that would be really obvious LOL)

Favorite Poet/Writer: Florine Stettheimer was both a painter and a poet and I was fortunate to see her exhibit at AGO in Toronto when I saw Del Toro's exhibit. She was a Jewish woman from New York City during the first half of the 20th century. I love her work. I also very much enjoy Keats and the first poetry book I owned was A Night Without Armor by Jewel (of 'Who Will Save Your Soul' Fame). Not something I appreciated at 10 years old but do appreciate her work when I got older.

Favorite Singer: Man, IDK. I listen to such a wide range of stuff, but you know what? I always love an Avril Lavigne bop.

Favorite Band: Also have no idea how to answer this. Tween Me was a Backstreet Boys girl, but I love Matchbox Twenty and The Goo Goo Dolls. Johnny Reznik was on repeat a lot.

Favorite Meal and Drink: All I drink anymore is variations on crystal light iced tea (post surgery I need some flavoring, I can't do plain water anymore). Old comfort food used to be mac and cheese but you know what? I love Gołąbki, which are polish cabbage rolls. With some good potatoes (mashed or not). A staple at family meals.

Favorite Outfit aesthetic/style?: So much like Doctor Who, I have a uniform of jeans and a t-shirt or leggings and a t-shirt but I really wanted to get into a more victorian aesthetic.

Favorite Item You Own: besides my desktop, my Tea Service Table Lamp (I did NOT pay $318 for it though, I think it was maybe $150)

Favorite Perfume: I'm so not a perfume person, but I love the scent of lilacs and citrus/bergamot scents. I do have this fantastic rollerball that inspired the perfume I imagine Abby wears.

tagging (if you'd like!): @acrossthesestars, @selfproclaimedunicorn, @jotterjots, @thesunfyre4446, @mihrsuri, @lullaebies, @theladyelizabeth, @arcielee, @toilandtroubled, @zae5, @murmel-malt, @aegonx, @bouncehousedemons, @starcrossedjedis, and anyone else who would like to!

[snugglebug-92]

I want Cole mcward with fluff prompts 5, 10, and 9

5. I thought you couldn't stand me.

9. Shut up and kiss me.

10. You're wearing my shirt.

You loved your job at Ohio State. You liked taking pictures and you had a passion for photography. You also however had a disliking for Cole. It was mainly because he didn't really like you. You thought he was attractive you guys had even gone on a date your freshman year but after winter break everything changed. Now you were well into your sophomore year and you stopped letting him bother you.

As Scooter skates over to where you are standing as you get iced by Cole. You shiver as your body is soaked by the ice melting on your skin.

"Go change into my extra shirt," Scooter says as you walk to the locker room. You grab the first shirt you see in Scooter's stall and slip your sweatshirt off replacing it with the t-shirt. You grab your media jacket and slip it on before heading back out. You take pictures of the boys as they skate around and upload them to your computer as coach talks to the boys. They all file off the ice except Cole. He skates 15 laps before coming off the ice.

"Sorry about him. I made him do laps to make up for it," Coach says before going to his office. By the time Cole is done in the shower, the locker room is empty. He walks to his stall in just a towel and puts his shorts on before coming into your little office.

"You're wearing my shirt," he says looking at you.

"No I'm not this is Scooter's, shit," you sigh as you go to slip it off. You throw it at Cole and walk into the locker room grabbing Scooter's shirt before slipping it over your head. Cole slips the shirt on and leaves you alone to edit the photos.

The next day at practice Cole leaves you alone which is slightly surprising. Maybe the 15 laps drilled some sense into him. As you are walking back towards your office he stops you and pulls you aside.

"I need your help," he sighs.

"And I thought you couldn't stand me," you laugh continuing to walk to your office. Cole follows after you and sits down in the other chair by your desk.

"Please," he begs.

"Cole we hate each other," you shake your head.

"Please,"

"No,"

"Please Y/N."

"What McWard," you snap. He flinches clearly taken aback and looks at you with your response.

"I don't hate you for starters and I need film," he says running a hand through his hair.

"I already sent film to Vancouver and a few other teams that we're interested in you. I don't hate you and I want you to succeed in your career," you respond.

"How did you?"

"BCC means blind carbon copy. I got the same email you did and sent the film," you smile.

"God I could kiss you right now," Cole says spinning around in the chair.

"Do it," you challenge.

"What?" he questions.

"Shut up and kiss me," you smirk and you can barely breathe before his lips are on yours. You tangle your hands in his hair as he picks you up and places you on the edge of your desk. The two of you make out while door David walks to the door seeing why the two of you got so quiet all of a sudden hoping you guys didn't kill each other. His eyes go wide as he sees Cole slip his tongue into your mouth and he shuts the door.

"So do we need a new photographer or a new defenseman?" Jake laughs wrapping his arm around the boy.

"Neither. They were being civil for once," David shrugs before leaving the boys to their own devices.

#cole mcward x reader

[glass-needles-and-futurisms]

I keep thinking back to Muse playing Survival at the closing ceremonies of the 2012 London Olympics, and I keep saying that one of these days I'm just gonna spew all my feelings about how it's not just one of my all-time favorite Muse moments, but also a hilarious, if perhaps unintentional, moment of social commentary.

I still remember our postgrad professor showing those same closing ceremonies in class, explaining the not-so-subtle propagandistic purpose the entire spectacle served on the global stage. (For those who don't know, the 2012 Olympics closing ceremonies were essentially a three-hour star-studded tribute to UK music and pop culture.)

Picture this: you just sat through about two hours of the UK's various national exports - One Direction, the Spice Girls, the Pet Shop Boys, George Michael, Ed Sheeran, Annie Lennox, erm, Russell Brand. You've just seen live performances of Bohemian Rhapsody, Imagine, Wonderwall, and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, alongside tributes to David Bowie and Freddie Mercury. And you still have Queen, Take That and The Who to go after this.

Interestingly, that class glossed over what an afterthought the Muse performance felt like by comparison. You could argue a lot of extenuating circumstances: the controversial reception of Survival as the official London Olympics theme song, the infamous NBC debacle where it inadvertently got cut from the US broadcast of the ceremonies, or the simple fact that this far into the festivities, a fairly straightforward stage performance* by a band with slightly less name recognition than Coldplay was pretty underwhelming.

* Not sure if this is common knowledge, but apparently this performance was mostly playback with the exception of Matt's vocals. Which also makes this an underappreciated entry in the annals of Muse miming shenanigans.

But something becomes very apparent once you actually reach this part of the show: Survival is fucking bananas. I'll never forget that one internet commenter calling it the world's most epic villain song that doesn't know it's a villain song. I mean, just look at the lyrics:

Life's a race / and I am gonna win

And I'll light the fuse / and I'll never lose

And I choose to survive / whatever it takes

You won't pull ahead / I'll keep up the pace

And I'll reveal my strength / to the whole human race

This is how the song starts! You can sort of see the logic behind making it the Olympics theme song. And then it gets weirder from there:

Yes, I am prepared / to stay alive

I won't forgive / the vengeance is mine

And I won't give in / because I choose to thrive

Yeah, I'm gonna wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin

Good grief. No wonder it's called "Survival". The song makes slightly more sense in the thematic context of The 2nd Law, the album it was released on. But on its own it's just.... yeah.

And this performance ramps up the insanity even more by just taking the piss. Between Matt Bellamy peacocking in a sparkly suit and Union Jack t-shirt, the batshit guitar solo, the pyro, the backing choir, and the fact that everything onstage (including the grand piano) is pretty much just for show (and wobbling like mad), Survival feels cheesy and irreverent in a way that makes you suddenly hyper-conscious of how tightly orchestrated everything else you just saw (including the Monty Python and Mr. Bean stuff) was. Remember that this was all broadcast to an international audience of millions.

Pairing the sheer pageantry of the ceremonies thus far with the actual lyrics of Survival kinda puts everything in an uncomfortable new light. Then it dawns on you that you pretty much just watched an accidental three-hour love letter to British imperialism. (Okay maybe that's overselling it a bit but it's still pretty funny.)

#muse #muse band #survival #the 2nd law #matt bellamy #olympics #P.S. I can't help but wonder how Dom and Chris feel being accomplices to all this

[denimbex1986]

'As David Tennant bursts back onto screens for Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary, he’s also made his solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community clearer than ever.

The 52-year-old star features alongside former co-star Catherine Tate as Donna Noble in the trio of Doctor Who specials from returning showrunner Russell T Davies. The cast also includes trans Heartstopper actress Yasmin Finney as Donna’s daughter, Rose.

Finney’s prominent role in Saturday’s (25 November) episode “The Star Beast” sparked fierce reaction with LGBTQ+ fans praising the inclusion and bigots (as usual) sharing their fury.

Tennant’s three-episode run – which has already involved a heartfelt conversation around correct pronouns – kicks off a new era of Doctor Who which promises major LGBTQ+ talent as Ncuti Gatwa takes over as 15th Doctor this Christmas.

From Drag Race icon Jinkx Monsoon to musical theatre star Jonathan Groff, there’s plenty in store for queer fans.

Throughout it all Tennant has remained a steadfast ally, so here’s five times the acclaimed actor has showed up for the LGBTQ+ community throughout his career.

David Tennant making waves with trans Tardis pin

In the lead up to the Doctor Who 60th anniversary, Tennant appeared on The One Show and The Last Leg earlier this month where the Scottish actor was spotted wearing a trans flag themed TARDIS badge as a small act of solidarity with the trans community.

Naturally, fan praised the actor for his initiative, but the wholesome saga doesn’t end there. The badge creator, Dr Jamie Gallagher, soon announced on Twitter that over £18,000 had been raised in badge sales and all proceeds would be going towards LGBTQ+ homeless charity AKT.

Humbly reacting to the joyous news, Tennant later said while he couldn’t take “any credit”, the badge perfectly “suits what Doctor Who is all about”.

It’s not the first time Tennant has showed his support through the medium of pin badges. Earlier this year eagle-eyed fans spotted him wearing a non-binary Pride badge on shows such Saturday Night Takeaway, The Graham Norton Show and This Morning.

Unapologetically standing up for trans children

In July this year, Tennant took his pro-trans message one step further during the press run for Good Omens season two.

In a viral image, fans caught a glimpse of him sporting a black t-shirt with a crystal clear pink hued slogan emblazoned on top. “Leave trans kids alone, you absolute freaks”. We love to see it.

The top, which comes from online store Crooked, caused a stir online with many fans flocking to social media to share their joy. Around a similar time the TV star was spotted wearing (yet another) badge with the pride colours and the words: “You are safe with me.”

The pin badge managed to rile up anti-trans activists Posie Parker and Graham Linehan who launched separate attacks on Tennant, insinuating he is a pedophile and “groomer”.

But this hasn’t deterred Tennant, who continues to stand up for trans rights.

Delivering an emotional speech during Pride month

During Pride month this year, Tennant appeared on the Ed Miliband’s Reasons To Be Cheerful podcast where he praised the importance and joy of Pride month in modern day Britain.

“Do you know what’s making me cheerful at the moment? It’s Pride month,” he told the podcast.

“The fact that Pride Month is existing and is flourishing and is something that’s happening at a time when the world seems to be getting in some corners worryingly intolerant and weirdly backward.”

As usual his words impacted LGBTQ+ fans who shared that his powerful statement moved them to tears.

“We can’t take our foot off the gas,” the actor continued. “We can’t expect that we will always travel in the right direction towards acceptance. We’ve all got to be fighting that fight every day.”

It’s a message echoed by his wife Georgia, who shared her solidarity with the trans community in October after an attack by prime minister Rishi Sunak. “To the trans community, I stand with you now and always. I, like you, am going nowhere,” she said in a post on X.

Spreading the message of inclusivity in his TV series Good Omens

Doctor Who is not the only sci-fi, fantasy world Tennant has inhabited this year. After four years, Prime Video finally dropped the second season of Good Omens which sees Tennant playing demon Crowley opposite Michael Sheen’s angel Aziraphale.

In a wild turn of events, after huge fan speculation, Crowley and Azirphale made their romantic tension explicit after sharing a dramatic kiss at the end of the season.

Although fans will have to wait until the (still to be confirmed) third season to find out if the loved up couple will finally get their acts together, Tennant has no doubt about the importance of inclusivity in the series, which he spoke about during an interview with the RadioTimes podcast.

During the interview, he explained that the show delivers a message for “this fractious moment” in society that earth can be “quite a nice place to live”.

“That’s why this show connected with a certain group of people,” he continued. “There is an inclusivity to the world view of Good Omens, there’s a joy in celebrating whoever you happen to be.

“And that’s something [creator Neil Gaiman] is very keen to communicate: a message of kindness and openness. That is why the tone of Good Omens is positive, open, joyful and fun.”

Once an ally, always an ally

Tennant’s allyship hasn’t just started over the past year.

As far back as 2008, during his stint as the 10th Doctor, he hit back against the idea that dressing flamboyantly and being called “gay” is an insult during an interview with The Telegraph.

A few years later, in 2012, he showed his support for a Diversity Role Models campaign tackling homophobic bullying.

“It is essential that young people have the opportunity to meet role models from the LGBT community to help break down the stereotypes and prejudice that lead to bullying,” he said at the time.

A decade later, it’s no surprise David Tennant has consistently proven himself as an LGBTQ+ ally, through and through.'

#David Tennant #Georgia Tennant #LBGTQ+ #Doctor Who #Good Omens #Crowley #Aziraphale #Neil Gaiman #This Morning #The One Show #Reasons to be Cheerful #Ed Miliband #The Last Leg #Dr. Jamie Gallagher #Tardis pin #Russell T. Davies #Catherine Tate #Donna Noble #Yasmin Finney #Rose Noble #Ncuti Gatwa #Jinkx Monsoon #Jonathan Groff #The Graham Norton Show #Saturday Night Takeaway #The Star Beast

[tzeming-janice]

Do toxic fans in some online spaces make it difficult to become or identify as a fan?

The study of fan culture has a long history, with academic origins linking back to Beatlemania and Star Trek in the 1960s (Rebels, 2021). The digital era has ushered in a new era for fan culture, allowing enthusiasts to create a constant stream of content centered around their passions. Despite being divided by borders and oceans, fans from all over the world have come together on social media to support their favorites' sportsmen, singers, actors, and franchises (Moore, 2023).

But the enthusiasm is frequently accompanied by bad behaviour that spreads like an unregulated infection across fan networks, giving rise to toxic fandoms. Taylor (2023) claims that most negative fandom behaviours take place on online places, especially Twitter.

Fandom culture turns toxic is due to negative decisions made by individuals within these communities. Toxic fandom in online spaces can indeed make it challenging for individuals to become or openly identify as fans as toxic fan actions encompass a range of behaviours, including but not limited to harassment, bullying, gatekeeping, entitlement, and bigotry. These behaviours not only tarnish the image of the fandom but also inflict harm on everyone involved, from the fans to the actors and the creative professionals working behind the scenes.

Understanding Toxic Fandom Dynamics

Possessiveness

Possessiveness among toxic fans means they believe they own the content they're fans of, acting as if it's exclusively theirs. They see it as their territory, unlike respectful fans who understand appreciation doesn't grant ownership. In Japan, toxic fans of pop idol girls exhibit possessiveness, stalking and harassing the girls if displeased with their choices. This possessive mentality leads to attacks and threats (Lefler, 2023).

Entitlement

Entitlement goes right along with possessiveness, as toxic fans believe they own what or whom they're fans of, expecting creators to fulfil their demands. For instance, they might insist on a specific romantic pairing in a show and send death threats if not met. In contrast, a good fan may express preferences but understands creators may not always comply. They acknowledge not owning the content and respect creators' rights to decide the creative direction. Sometimes, fans identify with likable but flawed characters as a justification for their own negative behaviour (Lefler, 2023).

Feeling of Superiority

Toxic fans often feel superior to less intense or casual fans, even labelling them as "normies" or "Muggles." Wearing a show's t-shirt without being obsessive is frowned upon. They perceive non-fans as unintelligent and shallow, unable to fully appreciate what they're passionate about. This sense of superiority is based on linking fandom to intelligence. In contrast, healthy fans accept diverse preferences, understanding that people enjoy different things. Ironically, the fans who boast the most about their intelligence are often the least intelligent among those who share the same interest. Despite being a minority, they tend to attract media attention (Lefler, 2023).

Toxic Fandoms on Creative Industries

No one sets out to make an inferior film or perform poorly. Everybody involved in these projects gives it their all, and they are typically ardent supporters of the project they are working on.

Criticizing their efforts without offering constructive feedback and highlighting positives can leave creators feeling demoralized. After fans criticized the 2023 film Shazam! Fury of the Gods and targeted director David F. Sandberg, he expressed a desire to distance himself from future superhero discussions due to the toxicity he faced (Moore, 2023). This negativity prompted other filmmakers to share similar feelings.

Toxic fandoms can seriously impact creators. Jake Lloyd, star of The Phantom Menace, retired from acting, citing public response and bullying as major reasons. Ahmed Best, Lloyd's co-star, faced emotional struggles after enduring years of attacks related to his character, Jar Jar Binks, in Star Wars films. He revealed feeling "alone" and contemplating ending his own life.

The Future of Toxic Fandom

Regrettably, fandom has become increasingly polarized by issues like diversity and representation, much like they have in many other areas of American and other communities today (Vinney, 2022). Because of this, it appears likely that some fans will persist in disparaging and provoking anyone who supports inclusivity, including other fans and media creators, by mockingly labelling them as "SJWs", which is social justice warriors.

However, it's important to keep in mind that while bad actors frequently yell the loudest on social media, and their negative behaviour is further amplified by publicity, the majority of fans are not toxic. Creating an environment that prevents individuals from engaging in toxic fandom is achievable (Nieto, 2023). Platforms and fan communities could work together to enforce rules against mean behaviour and create more positive spaces. Fans themselves may take the lead in promoting respectful interactions and inclusivity. Celebrities and media might become more active in discouraging toxic behaviour. The key to a healthier online fan experience will likely involve a combination of collective efforts from various stakeholders.

List of References

Lefler, R. (2023, March 18). What’s toxic fandom and what creates it. Reel Rundown. https://reelrundown.com/misc/5-Factors-that-Can-Cause-Toxic-Fandom-to-Arise

Moore, B. (2023, March 28). Toxic Fandoms: when passion turns to poison. Agents of Fandom. https://agentsoffandom.com/toxic-fandoms-when-passion-is-poison/#:~:text=Toxic%20fandoms%20arise%20due%20to%20negative%20choices%20made%20by%20the,gatekeeping%2C%20entitlement%2C%20and%20bigotry.

Nieto, A. (2023, April 12). To stan or not to stan: when fan culture turns toxic. Baylor College of Medicine. https://www.bcm.edu/news/to-stan-or-not-to-stan-when-fan-culture-turns-toxic#:~:text=%E2%80%9CPeople%20sometimes%20invest%20hundreds%20or,in%20toxic%20fandom%20is%20achievable.

Rebels, G. (2021, July 26). The power of fandom: what social media marketers can learn from teenage fans. Medium. https://medium.com/@goodrebels/the-power-of-fandom-what-social-media-marketers-can-learn-from-teenage-fans-63c0e184c8a7

Taylor, V. (2023, January 31). Toxic fandom: what is it. Medium. https://medium.com/change-becomes-you/toxic-fandom-what-is-it-c8c1520beb06#:~:text=In%20recent%20years%2C%20journalists%2C%20news,seen%20as%20inappropriate%20and%20unpleasant.

Vinney, C. (2022, January 19). What is toxic fandom. Very Well Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-toxic-fandom-5214499#toc-the-future-of-toxic-fandom

#mda20009 #blog #social media #fandom #toxic fandom #week 9

[ladylooch]

How does Connor and Lucie tell Stella she is pregnant and how does she react

They get her a big basket of all her favorite things like candy, juice, toys, hair binders and a set of new sparkly combs. Then they also get her shoes and clothes, including a Promoted to Big Sister T-shirt. Stella pulls that out of the basket first, tilting her head while she tries to read it.

“Sound it out, baby.” Connor encourages as he holds her on his thigh. 

“Bah-bah- ig. Big. S-issss-t-errr. Sister?” She questions, looking back at her mama. Lucie smoothes her shirt down and shows Stella her protruding bump.

“Thats your baby sister.” Lucie tells her. 

“Oh.” Stella looks at her dad. Then her mouth crumples up and she begins to choke on a little sob. “I don’t want it.” 

Lucie and Connor share a concerned look. Shit. They knew it was a coin toss, but they really were hoping Stella would be happy. 

“Baby, we love you so much.” Connor says to her, opening his arm to Lucie for her to sit on his other thigh. Lucie combs Stella’s curls back from her forehead. 

“I don’t want to be a big sister! Take it back!”

“Um, it doesn’t work that way, babe.” Lucie sighs. “The baby is coming.”

“Why didn’t you ask me!?”

“Because mommy and daddy chose to do this. We want to make our family bigger.”

“You don’t need another baby. Just me!” 

“Baby.” Connor sighs heavily, feeling dejected at Stella’s reaction. “This isn’t about you. We love you so much. You’re our perfect girl.” He licks his lips, looking over at Lucie. “But mama and I have always wanted more babies. You made it so fun for us to be parents! We wanted to add more fun to our family. We know this is a big change and maybe a little surprising too, but when you’re ready, we know you are going to be a great big sister.” 

Stella stares back at both her parents, shifting her blue eyes between the two of them until finally landing on her mom’s stomach. 

“Do you want to feel?” Lucie asks. Stella nods, then puts her palm on her mom’s stomach. It’s hard, not squishy like it used to be when she would lay her head on it. She kinda noticed that last night, but didn’t know what to make of it. 

“How did it get there?” Stella narrows her eyes. 

“Daddy and I made the baby together.” Lucie says without hesitating. They talked about this. She is taking the lead now. 

“How?”

“Daddy and mommy gave love to each other and made the baby.” Lucie states matter of factly. 

“Like a hug?”

“No, we shared a love that adults do together sometimes.” 

“Oh….” Stella contemplates. “Is the baby gonna live in there forever?”

“Nope. When she is grown and mommy’s belly is really big, then she will come out.”

“How?”

“Daddy and I are going to go to the hospital and they will help her come out.”

“Ohhhhhh. Where is her room gonna be?”

“Right next to yours! Maybe you could help mama pick out paint colors and some fun stuffed animals? Maybe we could go to build a bear…”

“Yes!” Stella bounces excitedly. “Can I make her the ballerina one!?” 

“Sure, baby.” Lucie smiles. “Can I have a smooch?” Stella nods, then puckers her little lips up. She kisses both of her parents, who sigh in relief as Stella stars to take off her shirt so she can wear her new one instead. 

Later that night, Stella Wood bounces over to her Auntie Mack and Uncle David’s apartment with her new shirt, excited about how happy they are to see her.

#lucie x connor #lio & lucie

[spacequokka]

Pairing: ceo!Baekhyun x Reader Genre: CEO AU Rating: G Summary: You don’t know the first thing about running a business, so you enlist the help of an investor to help you save it. Word Count: 1.3k I can explain Warnings: mentions a deceased parent

Inspired by this post. This is actually part of a larger work I’ve been sitting on titled Gossip Man. I’ve wanted to write something in the style of Kdramas (tropes and all). Depending on the reception, I’ll release it next year or so.

You fidgeted with your clothes, running your trembling hands down the front of your soft cotton t-shirt. Were you dressed too casually? Should you have picked out your job interview ensemble? The email hadn't given you any clue one way or another. You hoped it didn't matter — everything you had depended on this consultation. If it ended badly because you’d chosen denim slacks over the black pencil skirt, you’d seriously consider jumping from the nearest bridge. ‘Calm down, girl. Get it together.’ You inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly through your nose, summoning calm and control of your nerves.

You needed this consultation like you needed air. The old bookstore had meant the world to your mother, and you would do everything in your power to keep it open and operational. Okay, so maybe you didn't know jack shit about running a business. It was also possible that you used a little over half of your inheritance from your mother's life insurance policy to buy the bookstore from the lovely old couple who had put it up for sale. Just as it was more than likely that you would have to use the rest of your savings — all of it — to make the necessary repairs and update the place to be able to compete with other bookstores in the area that offered new modern services like online sales and ebooks. That's why this meeting was so life threatening. If the best investing company Seoul had to offer didn't see a way to save the store, all of your attempts to save it would have been in vain and would leave you in debt. Worst of all, you would lose the one thing your mother treasured and hoped that her grandchildren would be able to visit in the future. You wanted to keep the bookstore open as your way of honoring the woman who brought joy to so many others.

The front door opened smoothly, setting off a high chime of the wind catcher that hung near the door. This is it. You took another deep breath and turned around. A tall, slender man stood there with his hands in his pockets, eyes taking in his surroundings. He looked so out of place, all dressed up as if he were going to a cocktail party or some red carpet affair. He made the dusty, run down store look worse just by existing. As if he could hear your thoughts, his eyes fell on you expectantly, lips curved into a gentle smile. “Ms. Davids, I suppose?”

He extended his hand, but didn’t budge from his spot. Your jaw moved as you tried to find the voice to speak, to answer his question, but your brain had shorted out for a second. “Y-yes. That’s me. Call me _____, please.” You moved around the counter and took his hand, not too surprised by the strength in his grip. Of course, he’s strong. He probably can afford a gym trainer if his suit was anything to judge by. “I was under the impression the agency was sending over a woman, Mrs. Howard?”

Mr. Suit’s eyes were fixed on you now. “She was supposed to come, but I found myself with an open schedule this morning and decided to take the consult. She’s due to have her baby soon, so I thought she’d like to rest her feet.” He glanced at the store, then returned that piercing gaze to you. “Besides that, I’ve been keeping tabs on this shopping center.”

“Y-you have?” You swallowed hard and fought to stand your ground. It felt like he was crowding you, even though he was standing a bit more than an arm’s length away. His presence was so…overwhelming.

He nodded and took a step away from you, examining one of the bookshelves that stood near the register. “Of course. Real estate is one of my areas of expertise. The shopping center has always been a hot commodity since the university opened up. Personally, I’m impressed the owners of the various stores have been able to keep the corporate companies at bay.”

You fought to keep up your friendly smile. “We’re a family here. We help each other out. Selling out to those hounds wouldn’t help anybody.”

“True.” He mused, slipping a book off of a shelf and thumbing through its pages. “But then again, business has been down since the bidding war began, right? What happened to the couple who owned this store before you? The Choi’s?”

You looked down at the ground between you, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt. “Their health isn’t the best right now. With the cost of health care, they couldn’t afford to keep the store open. I bought it from them to keep it open and away from the bidding war.”

“I see. Smart decision, seeking help from an investment firm. My name is Byun Baekhyun, by the way.” He nodded his head towards you, stuffing his hands back into his pockets as he leisurely made his way through the store. You followed behind him, keeping your distance while wringing your hands with worry. He didn’t say much, occasionally asking questions about things he spotted, like holes in the ceiling, cracks in the wall. He even noticed things you hadn’t seen before or thought to look at. It was clear that an inspector would have to come out and thoroughly check the building out. By the time you’d reached the back of the store, the look on his face wasn’t promising. “Let’s sit down and talk about this, shall we?”

Baekhyun extended a hand to allow you to pass by him. As you did, his hand lightly touched the small of your back as he guided you back to the register and prompted you to sit down on the stool behind the counter. He stood in front of you on the other side, resting his elbows on the counter and clasping his hands together.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” You asked.

He exhaled hard and nodded. “Yeah, it is. I’ll be honest with you, _____. I don’t see how this place has been operational. There are a number of issues I can see, so there’s no telling how much more will be uncovered with a proper inspection.”

“I have money saved up. I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to save this place.” You leaned forward and looked him in the eye. “Please, this place means the world to me.”

He held your gaze for what seemed like forever until he stood up straight. “I’ll arrange for the inspector to come and assess the property. If the repairs needed are reasonable, I’ll have someone set up an appointment with you to get things going.” He looked around the store. “I can’t guarantee that things will go your way, though.”

You nodded, biting your bottom lip. “I understand.”

Baekhyun studied you a moment longer, then took a step forward and placed a hand on your shoulder. “This place has a lot of charm to it and it’s in a great location. Don’t lose hope just yet, okay?”

You looked into his eyes and were startled by the gentleness you found in them. You’d come across a slew of men in suits with kind smiles, offering to pay top dollar for the property if you and the other store owners agreed to sell. Baekhyun’s smile was the first genuine smile you’d seen in a while. You weren’t sure if you should trust him, but it wasn’t like you had much of a choice. “Okay.”

⟨⟨ Series ML || Group ML ⟩⟩

#exo-writers-net #exo ceo au #exo as rich kids #exo imagines #exo scenarios #exo drabbles #baekhyun x reader #baekhyun x you #ceo!baekhyun #look #i'm obsessed with him #kvanity

[christianbalefanatic]

Christian Bale Keeps Trying to Quit Hollywood

Christian Bale Keeps Trying to Quit Hollywood

He’s spent decades pretending to not be himself. Now, at 47, one of the world’s greatest actors speaks with rare candor about navigating a career he never quite chose and building a life he sometimes can't fathom.

BY ZACH BARON

PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREGORY HARRIS

October 5, 2022

Somehow, Christian Bale found himself shooting three different movies last year, but he hasn’t been on a film set in months, and he doesn’t know when he’ll be back on one, and this fact makes him happy. “I could just go forever not working,” he says. He’s a little late to meet me at this diner in Santa Monica that he’d prefer I not name because he and the director of one of those movies, David O. Russell, come here a lot to bat around scripts and people-watch. In fact, as we talk he keeps getting distracted by what those people are doing, various characters that he’s given names to, locals who frequent the place who he observes like old friends, people who don’t know who Christian Bale is and wouldn’t care if they did.

He’s wearing a dark, shapeless T-shirt and dark, shapeless pants and has enough of a beard going that he could play a Civil War general. From out of the beard peers, well, Batman. Patrick Bateman. A movie star’s face, familiar from 35 years’ worth of movies that have earned him four Oscar nominations and one win—for 2010’s The Fighter. Bale was 13 years old when he starred in Steven Spielberg’s Empire of the Sun, his first major movie role, a part he sought out and ultimately accepted because his family was in need. His life hasn’t been what you’d call normal since, but it wasn’t totally normal before either—his father, a former pilot and financial adviser, moved Bale and his siblings and his mother around the United Kingdom constantly, picking up and starting again. Bale resists self-reflection, but it’s not hard to see that kid in him still: drawn to extremes, transfixed by reinvention, motivated by fixing what happened to his family, and ambivalent about what he had to do and what he had to sacrifice in order to take care of the people he loved.

It’s also worth saying that he resists self-reflection in an absolutely delightful way. His accent is nominally Welsh, the voice more musical and mischievous than it tends to be onscreen, and in that voice he will ask you if you have children. He will ask you what your hopes and dreams are in life. He will seek out other things you’ve written and ask you detailed questions about them, all in the hopes of not talking about himself. Part of it, he says, is that he thinks that if people actually know him it will ruin whatever he’s trying to do as an actor; part of it, I think, is that he’s just genuinely not all that interested in the subject. What he wants, what he’s seeking, is obsession, or oblivion—the total erasure of the self. And let me say!…I recommend talking with people who are into oblivion. They are never once boring.

Because of all that, he doesn’t do many interviews like these, but the movies have added up, and so he’s giving it a shot. This summer he starred as the villain in Thor: Love and Thunder. This month he plays a one-eyed guy named Burt in David O. Russell’s wild new film, Amsterdam. And then at the end of the year he has a 19th-century murder mystery he shot with another frequent collaborator, the director Scott Cooper, called The Pale Blue Eye. “Which,” he says, about having three movies come out in the same year: “Nobody needs that. I don’t need it. No one else needs to see me that much.” And yet here we are.

Bale has lived in Los Angeles since the ’90s. But it’s a very specific Los Angeles. “You can live here and not be in the middle of the film community,” he says. “I’m not. I don’t have anything to do with it. I’m here because my wife is from here. If she wasn’t, we probably wouldn’t. But people sort of imagine film people swanning about, hanging out with each other all the time, talking about films, and that just makes me want to slam my head into the table.”

Christian Bale covers the November 2022 issue of GQ. Coat, $4,995, and shirt, $295, by Dolce & Gabbana.

Jacket, $6,950, and pants, $1,295, by Loro Piana. Shirt, $110, by RTH. Hat, $219, by Begg x Co. Watch, $25,900, by Vacheron Constantin. Necklace, $6,400, by David Yurman.

Well, there are actors who get into acting because they’re obsessed with movies and film people. My understanding is, that’s not your story, right?

Not true, not me, no. I’m a bit illiterate when it comes to films. I disappoint everybody with how little I know about film. I don’t think it matters. I don’t think you have to for what I do.

You’re not filming anything right now. Are you someone who is content to not work?

More than content: fucking ecstatic. I’ve always been bent on “When’s this gonna end? This has to end.” I like doing things that have nothing to do with film. And I find myself very happily not playing dress-up, not pretending to be somebody else for long lengths of time.

When you say things like “playing dress-up,” it seems like there have been times when you were almost…not embarrassed to be doing what you’re doing but—

Oh, no, flat-out embarrassed. Yes, for many years. Actually mortified. You know, I’m under no illusions either about the fact that the only reason I get noticed or feel useful in this world is when I pretend not to be me, right? Which is why doing [interviews] is such a weird thing because I’m like, “Wait a second. This is career suicide, doing this—”

Doing this interview is not career suicide.

Well, on the one hand I’m like, “Yeah, bring it on.” On the other hand I’m more like, “Eh, don’t let this be the reason.” So it’s a slow death. I’m having this very slow death in public.

But you’re answering a question about being interviewed. And I’m asking a question about you being comfortable identifying as an actor. You said, “Oh, I feel embarrassed.”

insanity of the job itself. I guess it’s the idea of what people think an actor is that’s embarrassing. I mean, how many useful jobs are there, really, in life, where you’re helping other people? Am I just creating more stupid background noise? But the acting itself, I enjoy how ridiculous it is. I love something that you can just go too far with. People are fucking fascinating. I love people, I love watching people, and I get to watch them in a way that would otherwise be perceived as verging on extremely bizarre.

When you say, “I love something that you can just go too far with,” I want to make sure I understand that.

Obsession, that’s what I mean. You get to obsess without people saying, “He needs to go in the loony bin.” Right? But, uh, is film what you love writing about? What is your thing? You know, This is what I wanna do…?

I’m doing the thing I want to do right now.

Do you have other ambitions?

This conversation is my ambition. You were saying that you anticipated having more time to make the three movies you have coming out this year, but then a pandemic happened.

We made Amsterdam right in the middle of the surge in LA. I believe we had something like 26,000 tests. Because I spoke with the COVID-safety expert, and they were breaking down all the scenes before filming in order to figure out when my mouth would be open, and saying, “Well, I see that you laugh in this scene” and then “I see you sing in this scene.” And I said, “Yeah, but I might laugh in every scene, or I might sing in every scene.” And, they said, “No, but that’s not in the script.” And I went: “No, this is going to change every day. We change every take.”

I did enjoy your singing in this film.

Oh. Thank you very much. I love singing. All I can promise whenever I do it is that you probably can hear I’m enjoying myself. That’s it. But, like Todd Haynes, for instance, I went in the recording studio for him for I’m Not There. And, aw, man, I had the best time. And I thought I nailed it. And then when I heard it, I was like, “Yeah, they got someone else in, didn’t they?” Maybe they hoped I wouldn’t even notice. They were like, “He’s so fucking tone deaf, he won’t even notice at all.” But, you know, I annoy my family enough by just singing all the time. Once I start, they have to say “Please stop” to me. Because I just love it.

I keep trying to ask you about the movies and we keep ending up talking about something else, like singing, which I suspect is somewhat intentional.

No, but it’s more interesting talking about other things other than stuff that I already know, innit?

Yeah, but I don’t know it.

Yeah.

Your last film before the three this year was 2019’s Ford v Ferrari, in which you play a very difficult race car driver. At some point the director, James Mangold, told you he was just asking you to play yourself, right?

I mean he was fucking with me a little bit there, I think, but maybe not. Though I’ve gotta say, it was our second film. We’re talking about another. We enjoy working together.

Vest, $6,590, by Tom Ford. Sweater, $995, by Ralph Lauren Purple Label. Pants, $1,500, by Greg Lauren. Watch, $75,900, by Audemars Piguet. Ring (throughout), his own.

So, you don’t actually regard yourself as difficult?

No. Not in the slightest. Absolutely not, no. I’m totally grateful and surprised that I get to keep working, right? And you have to maintain that gratitude. But within that gratitude, that mustn’t mean you let standards slip, right? It doesn’t mean you start going, “Oh, I’m so happy and grateful to be working at all, because I never expected this in my life,” which is all true. But that gratitude must turn into, therefore, “I must do things as absolutely well as I possibly can.” But you get passionate characters in the world of filmmaking, right? Because sometimes caring can come across as a certain way for people who might, uh, get a bit overexcited at times.

“I think some people mistakenly believe that I am a leading man, and it just keeps going and I don’t understand it.”

I was thinking that in some ways, the three movies you have this year—Thor, Amsterdam, The Pale Blue Eye—offer a vision of your career in a microcosm. Two are the kind of auteur-driven films we frequently see you in, and then one is a big franchise entertainment. I’m curious what draws you to the big mega-productions like Thor: Love and Thunder.

I was like, “This looks like an intriguing character; I might be able to do something with this, who knows?” And I’d liked Ragnarok. I took my son to see Ragnarok. He was climbing like a monkey all across [the seats] and then he was like, “Oh, I’ve had enough now, let’s get on.” I was like, “No, no, no. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.” I was just like, “I want to finish it.”

Some performers have gone into doing a movie like Thor and come away saying, “Great vibe. Loved the people. The green-screen acting is not for me.”

That’s the first time I’ve done that. I mean, the definition of it is monotony. You’ve got good people. You’ve got other actors who are far more experienced at it than me. Can you differentiate one day from the next? No. Absolutely not. You have no idea what to do. I couldn’t even differentiate one stage from the next. They kept saying, “You’re on Stage Three.” Well, it’s like, “Which one is that?” “The blue one.” They’re like, “Yeah. But you’re on Stage Seven.” “Which one is that?” “The blue one.” I was like, “Uh, where?”

I’m guessing there were no Method attempts to stay in character during this.

That would’ve been a pitiful attempt to do that. As I’m trying to get help getting the fangs in and out and explaining I’ve broken a nail, or I’m tripping over the tunic.

You play the villain in that movie. I feel like you’re more willing to play unlikable characters than some quote-unquote leading men.

Absolutely, yes. I’ve never quite gotten that thing from actors who I respect immensely who go like, “Oh, you gotta like your character.” And I’m like, “I don’t know if they’ll like him. I’m good not liking him.”

I wonder if this helps explain your longevity—what you do has never depended on likability.

Right. I’m always sort of confused when people are like, “Oh, I do it for my fans.” Oh, sounds so lovely. What a lovely person you must be, you’re doing it for your fans. Oh, wonderful. A big heart you must have. Well, why did you start, then? Nobody had fans at the beginning. I want people who do it for themselves. I don’t want to watch people who are doing it for me. I’m like, “How do you know what I want?” Like, surprise me with it, do it for yourself, I wanna know that this is everything to you. Like, be intense about it, go for it, do it for yourself.

Coat, $6,800, and jumpsuit, $3,600, by Prada. Boots, $499, by Le Chameau. Hat, $515, by Loro Piana.

Have you ever been drawn to the more traditional version of movie stardom?

Those are the people who actually are useful for being themselves. And then there’s people who are like me, who only ever found themselves to be useful to anybody when they decided not to be themselves, right? So, “just be yourself” is, like, the worst piece of advice you could give someone like me, because, you know, I’ve got a career because I ignored that advice and said, “No, be someone else. Be someone else.”

I suspect I know what your answer is going to be, but do you have a theory of why you’ve been so successful? Because you’re not a character actor, you do play leads in movies.

Zero strategy. I think some people mistakenly believe that I am a leading man, and it just keeps on going and I don’t understand it.

Some actors come into this business because they love movies. Some come into it because they love acting. Some come into it because they want to be famous, though they probably wouldn’t admit that. The interesting thing about you, I think, is that you’re none of those things, if I understand correctly.

Um, yeah. No. I mean, you tell me whatever you think I am, but no, you know.…

Well, my understanding is that you got into acting for other reasons that related to supporting your family.

And I’ll just nod. But, yeah. Look, me and a couple of friends, we were kinda doing these little skits. But every kid does. Every kid acts a little bit in that way. And then, just, I found myself in the position that family things…finding I can support the family through doing it: That’s why I’m doing it. And I do have an absolute love/hate relationship with it. And I think that is quite a healthy thing.

Have you ever tried to seriously get out of acting?

What does “seriously” mean? I had a couple of moments where I was like, “I never went to college. I have no education. I want to do that.” But it was short-lived. I do try occasionally and then, like, “Oh, come on.” This…I do…

You’re trying right now to say that you actually like acting?

Yeah. Yeah.

What were the family circumstances that pushed you into the industry?

Oh, different things, health stuff. Things like that. And factious Britain. That’s what it was as well.

Your dad, who was a pilot and a financial adviser, and later married Gloria Steinem—seems like he was an interesting man.

He was a character. Yes. He was full of adventure. He’s the only reason that I didn’t flinch in thinking this is possible. He wasn’t unrealistic, but he was like, “Unless you do just go for it, then of course it’s not [possible].” His influence is the reason why I never felt like, “Shit, I need to have a safety net.” He was a roamer. And he wasn’t in the right place. So we moved a fair bit. But you know what it was good for is understanding: Hey, even if you find yourself sitting in a truck, one week out of a house, where you’re having to go live on someone’s couch for a month, whatever… You go, “It will be all right.” You know? You sort it out. He was remarkable at doing that. And not being panicked about that sort of thing, which I think gave a reckless enough attitude that doing what I do didn’t seem reckless in the slightest. Oh, no work? Potentially no work forever? All good. Hey, it’s all going to be all right. So I think that definitely was the reason I have the attitude I do towards what I do now.

He died when you were still in your 20s. Did that leave a mark?

Of course. Of course. How about you? You have parents?

Shirt, $575, by Boglioli. Pants, $498, by Polo Ralph Lauren. Watch, $28,300, by Rolex.

I have parents. I also have a question for you about this, which is: Your father passes in 2003. Right around then you take some pretty extreme parts in films—I’m thinking of The Machinist, for which you lost a dangerous amount of weight, and then Rescue Dawn, which you shot with Werner Herzog in the Thai jungle. Do you feel like the two things were connected?

He certainly was never boring. And he certainly always taught me that being boring is a sin. And so maybe it did have some connection in there, you know? But I’ve always gravitated towards, you know, the fantastic dream that someone like Werner Herzog has, and how they go through it and the way they approach it and you just dig in. That reminds me of my father a great deal. Unorthodox thinkers who are going to go do it even if everyone is screaming that they’re absolutely crazy.

**You’ve supported yourself doing this for a long time, and I know sometimes you were barely getting roles, and then sometimes there were moments when you really were noticed as an actor, post–**American Psycho, for instance—

Which, by the way, that’s when I first heard of GQ. Right? As a kid, growing up in small towns, Wales, England, I didn’t know what GQ was. And so my first reference for it was that Patrick Bateman loved GQ. Right? And, and they would say things like, “Total GQ.” So I have this impression that GQ is by and for yuppie serial killers. And anyone reading this is a yuppie serial killer.

I’m sure everyone reading this appreciates that. That movie is successful in an iconic way that probably, for the first time up to that point, gave you some choices, right?

Well, in honesty, the first thing was that I’d taken so long trying to do it, and they had paid me the absolute minimum they were legally allowed to pay me. And I had a house that I was sharing with my dad and my sister and that was getting repossessed. So the first thing was: “Holy crap. I’ve got to get a bit of money,” because I’ve got American Psycho done, but I remember one time sitting in the makeup trailer and the makeup artists were laughing at me because I was getting paid less than any of them. And so that was my motivation after that. Was just: “I got to get enough that the house doesn’t get repossessed.”

For a second you were thinking of your career as “I just need to find a way to get paid.”

Yeah. It’s how I’ve supported people since I was 12, 13 years old. So it’s always been there, that element to it. There was never a moment where it was like, “I think I’d like to take four years off.” No. That just isn’t gonna happen. That’s not possible.

I’m surprised to hear that you were getting paid so little: Was that the nature of American Psycho or was it the nature of your position in the industry at the time?

Uh, it was the nature of me in it. Nobody wanted me to do it except the director. So they said they would only make it if they could pay me that amount. I was prepping for it when other people were playing the part. I was still prepping for it. And, you know, it moved on. I lost my mind. But I won it back.

One of the people who was briefly cast ahead of you in the part was Leonardo DiCaprio. I’ve seen it reported that you lost at least five roles to DiCaprio in the ’90s, including Titanic.

Oh, dude. It’s not just me. Look, to this day, any role that anybody gets, it’s only because he’s passed on it beforehand. It doesn’t matter what anyone tells you. It doesn’t matter how friendly you are with the directors. All those people that I’ve worked with multiple times, they all offered every one of those roles to him first. Right? I had one of those people actually tell me that. So, thank you, Leo, because literally, he gets to choose everything he does. And good for him, he’s phenomenal.

Jacket, $3,190, and pants, $1,690, by The Row. Shirt, $400, by Boglioli.

Did you ever take that personally?

No. Do you know how grateful I am to get any damn thing? I mean, I can’t do what he does. I wouldn’t want the exposure that he has either. And he does it magnificently. But I would suspect that almost everybody of similar age to him in Hollywood owes their careers to him passing on whatever project it is.

You broke in as a child actor and know as well as anyone how hard it is for young people to transition into being adult actors. Why do you think you were able to?

I think it hearkens back to that love/hate thing. Because I was never that kid that’s going, “Please. Yeah, I’ll do jazz hands.” I never was that. I often sabotaged things intentionally. I often just didn’t turn up, just was a no-show on stuff, on auditions and whatnot. Fucking awful at auditions as well, because it’s not how I work. I’m like, “I don’t know to do this right now, sitting here. I need to think.” But yeah, I always felt different when I would meet other kids who were doing it. I would sit there going, “Oh, fucking hell. I’m nothing like these kids, actually.” They wanted it, and I didn’t even know if I wanted it.

Eventually you moved to LA, though: How come?

I came here for work. And then I would always go back. But I never got any work back in England. And I’d always get work out here. And then I brought my dad out because, for his health, the climate and everything was much better here.

Did you socialize with other young actors or young Hollywood?

Nothing to do with it. Never met ’em. Never wanted to. If ever I found myself anywhere near it, I was like, “Nah, ah, ah, ah,” and then went the other direction. Oh, you know what? When I did Velvet Goldmine, we did all hang out. I was older by then. I was 23.

But Velvet Goldmine was a movie about a bunch of young cool people hanging out! The part required that.

Exactly. I just have found that there’s wonderful actors who chat and get to know each other and hang out and then act wonderfully. And I can’t do it. And that’s my own limitations with that. I don’t make it into a thing. I just sort of know when I’m going to not be able to separate the person from the character that they’re playing.

“Stay away from me, except for on the set.”

I’m literally like: “I can’t do this because I will be the worst actor you’ve ever seen if we keep on chatting.” You know, with Amsterdam, I had to say that to Chris Rock. I had to go there and say that to him. I fucking love his stand-up. And when he arrived I was like, “Ah, wow, great. Yeah, how you doing, man?” Chatting a little bit. And then I went to do a scene, and I went, “Oh, my God. I’m just Christian, standing here, being a fan of Chris Rock.” So I went to him. I went, “Mate, I got to keep my distance.” Have you tried swimming and laughing at the same time? I don’t know about you. I’d drown. I cannot laugh and swim at the same time. It’s that. So I had to, much as I would’ve loved to have kept on chatting and talking.

How did he react to that?

He went, “Oh, you’re pulling the asshole card. You’re going to be an asshole and not talk.” And I went, “Yeah. Sorry, mate.” And it was my loss, you know?

Now I’m imagining Chris Rock being mad at Batman. I wonder: What was it like to be at the center of something so big and culturally dominant as those three Batmanmovies you did with Christopher Nolan?

I always just felt like it was a thing that someone else did, really, in a lot of ways. I was like, “Oh, yeah. That thing happened over there. And that’s doing very well over there, I hear. That’s great.” And I’m going off to Ralphs, the supermarket, to get bananas.

Was there a part of you, when those movies really worked, that was worried that you’d be stuck being Batman forever?

Yeah, but I loved it. I loved that because I was like, “This could be it. I could never be anything but that.” And for a lot of people, I won’t. I was like, “Ah, maybe I’m going to be forced to go do something different. And maybe this fucking thing that I got forced into doing as a kid that I didn’t fucking want to do in the first place, I’m out. And I’m free.” And then it didn’t happen.

Christian Bale pulls up to the same diner in Santa Monica a few days later, a little late again, and says he’s experiencing déjà vu: “What did I say last time? I forgot my car by the freeway? That again.” Same booth. Same murky Los Angeles characters moving past the booth like sharks at an aquarium. Same Civil War beard.

“My apologies for bringing you here again,” he says. He tells me he thought about taking me dirt biking instead. “But I was like, you can’t talk with anyone when you’re doing that. You’re just going”—he mimes turning the throttle on a motorcycle. “Which maybe would be my dream.”

As it happens, he says, he used to race motorcycles himself. He holds out his left arm: “Metal, all metal, like 20, 25 screws all the way up and down.”

Your left arm is all metal?

No, the collarbone’s all titanium. [My wrist] looks like a bottle opener—if you were to open me up, there’s a big metal piece holding my wrist together, and screws in my knee as well for it. Which just shows my enthusiasm outweighed my skill. I stopped doing it after that. My daughter was very unhappy with the cost of the taxi to come to the hospital to pick me up. And, uh, told me no more spending the family money that way.

C​oat, $4,200, by Salvatore Ferragamo. Vintage shirt by Abercrombie & Fitch from The Society Archive. Pants, $498, by Polo Ralph Lauren.

Do you miss it?

Ah, yes, definitely. Yeah, it’s hypnotizing, it’s absolutely wonderful. I mean, look, I definitely know that nobody would’ve enjoyed it if there wasn’t an element of danger to it, of course. Um…but it’s just enormous exhilaration. Strangely relaxing and exhilarating at the same time. Hypnotizing in a wonderful way.

[Here, my tape recorder fails and he helps me find the iPhone app to record our conversation.]

Look in the Utilities section; usually it’s there, because I use it all the time.

What do you use it for?

Just talking to myself. Also dialect stuff. Or when I’m interviewing people. I realized that after we were talking the other day because you were at one point like, “Well, I’m not going to be the one answering questions in this interview.” And usually, that’s what I’m saying. That’s how I view my job. I’m like, “No, I’m the one who interviews and listens to people and then goes and does something. But I’m not the one who gets interviewed.” That’s why I’m always trying to sort of pretend like I’m talking about something but not really saying anything. But I’ve got hoards of wonderful recordings of all the different real people I’ve played. I’m still sitting on that. And then my kids as well.

How do your kids feel about you recording them?

Oh, they love it. There’s nothing better for getting people’s attention than imitating them, right? There’s definitely moments where they’ll be ignoring you completely, and then what you do is, you do an impersonation of them. And they are spellbound. You start pretending to be them, and everybody, they lean in. It’s the instant way of getting people’s attention.

That seems like a good move for a four-time Oscar-nominated actor. I’m not sure about it for myself.

Nah, anybody. Everybody loves it. Oh, you got to try it. Think about it. If I sit with you and you realize that I’ve studied you enough that I can actually imitate you, whether it’s a good impersonation or not, but I’ve looked at you enough that I can say, “You know, Zach, this is what you’re like, and this is what you did.” And I act it out. It’s fascinating to people. They kind of go, “Oh, my God, somebody paid that much attention to me?” I think that’s what is going on in their heads. But instantly, you’ve got their attention, and then you can say whatever you wanna say after that.

That’s a funny view of humanity, that we need to be flattered before we pay attention.

You want to be seen!

You told me this is the same booth you and David O. Russell sat in to work onAmsterdam. How did you guys first meet?

I did an audition for [Three Kings] where he didn’t even want me in the room. And I actually sort of insulted him. He knew who he wanted to cast for the role. But I think he was just being polite and seeing other people. So he was busy working away on a script or whatever, letting the casting director run the show. So I sat there like, “Oh, you’ve got nothing to say? You’re sitting there doing this strong silent thing, you’re gonna say nothing?” And so he kind of looked at me, and there was a little fire in his eyes, and he says to me, “All right, you know how I want you to do it? Remember Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone?” And he slaps his hands on his face, and does the big look, and he says, “That’s the feel. I want to get that feel from this reading now.”

Someone asking you to do an audition like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone**—that’s a “fuck you.”**

Oh, yeah. But I love him to death. And it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship.

Coat, $4,995, and shirt, $295, by Dolce & Gabbana. Necklace, $6,400, by David Yurman.

You said you guys collaborated on the Amsterdam script. You’re also a producer on the film. What does that mean?

I will qualify it by saying that, after David, I’m the person who’s been on the project longest. Does it mean I’m spending money on it? No. I’m not doing any of that. It’s more of a creative producer you would call it.

You’re a producer on The Pale Blue Eye too, right?

Again, very generously, Scott asked me. Which really comes from my working relationship with David and Scott. They both said, “Hey…yeah, have at it,” you know?

I —

Actually, sorry, sorry. I do just want to say, with David specifically, I went, “Mate, we have come up with something special. I want everything at my disposal to protect what you’ve created right now. I don’t want to find that we end up making a different film and you can’t tell me.” So yeah, I did actually say to him, “Mate, do it.” So I can’t actually say if he would have asked me or not.

Incredible.

Yeah, so I did realize that was my wishful thinking, that he would have asked. But he didn’t. But I hope I was a help and not burden to him.

“There is value in storytelling, you know? I’m going to sound like a total wanker, but the way I like to do it is, you try to destroy yourself in order to build up another character.”

The character you play in Amsterdam, Burt—that feels like a guy you can’t even write down, he’s so specific to you and your performance. I wonder where all these different guys come from. I know it’s the job, to play different parts, but that’s not what most actors actually do.

Well, there’s different approaches to this job, and each one is a good one. You get people who are just undeniably charismatic bastards, and you want them to do the same thing, and if they do something else, I get upset. I’m like, “I love you doing that one thing because that’s reliable, and that’s bloody entertaining.” And you know, that’s not how I do it, but I want all of it. I was thinking about your question about, like, “What the fuck did you do Thor for?” And—

That was not the way I phrased that question!

Well, that was the impression I was getting from the way you asked it. You were like, “Yeah, okay, what the fuck was Thor about?” But I love those films. I love them. There’s a mood and a time for every single one, and I do have a firm belief that every single kind of film can be done brilliantly.

For the record, the question was not “Why the fuck did you do Thor**?” It’s obvious that you, as a creative person navigating a creative career, would work with David O. Russell, who has already gotten you nominated for two Oscars.** Thor is less obvious.

Yeah, no. I genuinely love the films that David and I have made, you know what I mean? It’s the process of doing that because I’ve got no control over the rest of it. So it’s the process with David. Even though we’re not always having what people would term a pleasant day, but we both are absolutely there knowing that we’re totally clued into each other. And so we’re either sort of running down the beach, hugging, or it’s just not talking for weeks on end.

David is well known for having difficult sets: You mentioned Three Kings; that was a rough set for certain people. Huckabees was a rough set for certain people. American Hustle too. What is your experience of those environments?

If I can have some sense of understanding of where it’s coming from, then I do tend to attempt to be a mediator. That’s just in my nature, to try to say, “Hey, come on, let’s go and sit down and figure that out. There’s gotta be a way of making this all work.”

After American Hustle**, Amy Adams came out and said she cried many days on that set. And it’s been reported that you intervened on her behalf with David and were like, “Back off.”**

Mediator.

So that did happen? You’re nodding your head yes. Okay. Does that make you feel differently about the finished film, having seen that happen and having to intervene?

No. No, no, no. No. You’re dealing with two such incredible talents there. No, I don’t let that get in the way whatsoever. Look, if I feel like we got anywhere close—and you only ever get somewhere close to achieving; our imagination is too incredible to ever entirely achieve it—but if you get anywhere close to it, and when you’re working with people of the crazy creative talent of Amy or of David, there are gonna be upsets. But they are fucking phenomenal. Also, you got to remember, it was the nature of the characters as well. Right? Those characters were not people who back down from anything, right?

I had the experience of rewatching the film again and asking myself: Should my knowledge that Amy had a tough time with the director while making this affect my enjoyment of it?

No. No. And, by the way, that’s not me deciding for her, she’s told me that.

She said, “It’s okay, American Hustle can live on.”

Yeah. Yes. Absolutely, yeah.

What about you? How do you feel about how you handled it in retrospect?

I did what I felt was appropriate, in very Irv style.

​​Sweater, $3,250, by Loro Piana. Jeans, $1,550, by Balenciaga. His own sunglasses by Ray-Ban.

Your Irv role in American Hustle is comedic in a way that felt new for you.

No one had asked me for it before. So, suddenly, that happened. And people went, “Oh. Can you do that thing?” You occasionally get a role where you get to do something totally bloody different. And then that opens up a whole different menu, you know? It’s a breath of fresh air…. I think there’s also a certain amount of age that brings that out more, you know.

Last time, I asked you, do you have a theory of why you’ve been successful as a leading man. And you were very deliberately like, “I don’t.”

Well, one thing I definitely think is, I’ve never considered myself a leading man. It’s just boring. You don’t get the good parts. Even if I play a lead, I pretend I’m playing like, you know, the fourth, fifth character down, because you get more freedom. I also don’t really think about the overall effect that [a character’s] going to have. It’s for me to play around, much like animals and children do. Have tunnel vision about what you’re doing, not think about the effect you’re having. You know, I’ve learned some things, very basic—like I used to always turn away from the camera if I had a moment that I thought might be a bit embarrassing. And, you know, literally, the camera operator would have to say, “It was probably great, Christian, but we couldn’t see anything, because you keep turning your head away. Like, please, you’ve got to understand that while this might be a moment in life that somebody wants privacy for, on film, you got to let us in. All right?”

Are you talking about your own embarrassment or the character’s?

If you’re not playing an extreme exhibitionist, or perhaps someone who’s being insincere with their emotions, nobody tends to cry and turn to the whole room, you know? People recognize it’s a moment they’re having, and they cry quietly to themselves, and if you’re too aware of the camera, you turn away from the camera as well, because you go, like, “I can’t have them witness this either.” It’s just natural. Human.

You have to be 95 percent human and in character and 5 percent aware of—

We’re telling a story. And there is value in story-telling, you know? I’m going to sound like a total wanker, but the way I like to do it is, you fucking try to destroy yourself in order to then build up another character. Now, I’ve done many films that you’d look at and go, “Really? It was worth doing it for that piece of shit?” But you sort of try to destroy yourself so that you’re not bothered by humiliation anymore. You’re not embarrassed, because you are as much as possible—and I did begin the sentence with saying I’m going to sound like a wanker here—forgetting that it’s you, completely. Which actually brings me to quite a funny point, because I think, as you know, I don’t know when I last did a thing like this where I actually talk for any length of time, right? So I’m used to just ducking and diving and saying fucking nothing and pretending I’m saying something, and I’m not saying anything, and then it’s over, okay?

And after I last talked to you, there were a couple of things going on—a friend of mine was having a bit of trouble, he contacted me and needed some help and stuff, and I was thinking about that then, but then I also went, “What a terrible mistake I’ve made doing these interviews with Zach.” Like, “Oh, fuck. He deserves me to actually talk to him, and all I’m trying to do is just fucking say nothing, or just go, ‘Eh, I’ve said this before, let’s not say nothing new here at all.’ ” I love movies getting released theatrically, and I’m genuinely concerned that’s going to stop happening. The Pale Blue Eye has got the Netflix safety net. Amsterdam doesn’t. I’m going, “Oh, fuck.” People have always told me this kind of stuff helps. I never believed it. But, I was like, “Oh, well, all right.” I care. I care, you know? This is not the sort of life I get to lead playing characters. This is realpolitik world of like, “Fucking hell. I want to be able to keep doing this.” So, that was my original motivation. I went, “Yeah, all right. Okay. Maybe this is the moment for that.”

Regarding you and me—did you just tell me that you spent our last conversation trying to say nothing?

Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean?

I couldn’t tell if what you were saying is that you went home after the last one and were like, “Next time, Zach deserves the truth.”

You’re looking for something more. Not that it wasn’t the truth, but I was like, “Oh, man.” Yeah. I was like, “How do I do this but at the same time respect what you’re looking for?”

“I just don’t bother with that half-measure gear. I go, ‘Ah, nah, I’m good,’ or ‘Oh, really? Yeah, let’s go further than anyone’s gone before.’ It makes life more entertaining.”

Did you feel after our last conversation that you had successfully stymied me or avoided answering the questions?

It wasn’t that. It was territory I hadn’t been in for a long time, so I didn’t know what had happened. I was just going, “Oh, yeah.” I left kind of going, “What happened? Did I give him anything or was he like, ‘Fucking hell. There was nothing in there’?” And, by the way, should we be talking about other things? Because, I’m feeling like a very egotistical bastard.

You mean like things that are not Christian Bale?

Yeah. I don’t know, what do most people talk about? Because I feel like we’re talking about me a lot.

That is kind of the point of this exercise.

Yeah, but you can, you know, I don’t know. Is it rampant vanity going on here? I don’t know. I like being in your shoes. I like sitting down with real people and interviewing them, getting all the information, taking my tape recorder away, transcribing it, and then figuring out the character. I’m not used to someone else trying to do that to me.

I hate to break it to you but you’re a real person too.

What?!

Jacket, $3,490, by Fendi Men’s. Sweater, $1,790, by Tom Ford. Pants, $1,750, and boots, $1,590, by Balenciaga. Watch, $28,300, by Rolex.

I’m trying to think about what else we could talk about that’s not you.

Well, my interests and passions are still in the realm of me, right? For like 10 years, I’ve been trying to put together this... If I have my family history correct, one of my sisters was in foster care for a while—which should be irrelevant; you shouldn’t have to have a personal connection to care—but LA County has more foster children than [almost anywhere else] in the United States of America. And most people have no clue about that. And I came across an organization that was started after World War II in Austria. That’s SOS Children’s Villages, and I flew to Chicago and I visited them. And it’s a great organization that helps to keep siblings from being separated.

Which is a thing that apparently happened to you.

Apparently. It was an older sister. So, I have no memory, but if my family history is correct, yes. But I do want to say, actually, it shouldn’t matter. People should give a damn about kids because they’re kids, for God’s sake. Right? But I went, “All right, maybe I can buy a piece of land out here [to help start] Children’s Villages California.” I envisioned The Sound of Music and all these happy kids who’d come from trauma running around like, what are they called? The Von Trapp family? I’ve never seen the film. But then I learned I was desperately unrealistic with that. The whole point is integration into community. And so it took forever, finally, and I have wonderful partners, so we just purchased five acres and we are now building with the purpose of keeping siblings together. And if they wish to stay in that place until they’re 21, they stay there until they’re 21. So we’re putting this together now and I have to go into something which is unknown territory for me: fundraising. I’m not good at asking for help from anybody. I’ve got to learn how to do that.

Can’t you just invent a character that’s a very effective fundraiser and play that character?

Exactly. When I went through years where I wasn’t getting work, there were times when, you know, I was looking through like, “Oh, what’s my insurance policy, because the tree just fell from the neighbor’s yard?” And I was like, “I can’t read that.” But I went, “I will become a character who loves nothing more in life than reading insurance policies.” And I read it back to front, and then I called my State Farm representative and I went through it, and they were exhausted. They said, “We’ve never had anybody be this thorough with anything.” But, you’re exactly right. I have to become somebody who loves it, who loves doing that.

Listening to you talk about how deep you are in this project makes me wonder: Do you have a half-measure gear?

I just don’t bother with that half-measure gear. I go, “Ah, nah, I’m good,” or “Oh, really? Yeah, let’s go further than anyone’s gone before.” It makes life more entertaining.

Is that a taxing way to live?

I like being exhausted. I like to exhaust myself. I wanna be totally fucking used up, you know, by the end. It takes you to a place. You know what I mean?

Zach Baron is GQ’s senior staff writer.

PRODUCTION CREDITS: Photographs by Gregory Harris Styling by Mobolaji Dawodu Grooming by David Cox using Kevin Murphy Set design by Heath Mattioli for Frank Reps Produced by Patrick Mapel and Alicia Zumback at Camp Productions

#christian bale #christianbalefanatic #gq interview #interview #2022 #2020s actors #2020s icons #2020s hollywood #2020s photography #early 2020s #2020s movies #2020s films #2020s

[nothingunrealistic]

a rundown of all the shots from billions season 7 trailers that we haven’t yet seen (as far as i recall) in any episode, as of 7x11

Billions Season 7 Official Trailer

at 1:44, a shot of wendy and luke together in some outdoor location. my assumptions of wukey concretely Happening this season have largely hinged on this shot. this looks more like they’re dressed for winter weather, which we’re now getting out of as the action moves into late march / early april, so i wonder whether this was cut from an earlier episode rather than being saved for the finale.

Damian Lewis & Paul Giamatti on Reuniting for Season 7

at 0:16, chuck and axe together at prince capital, with axe wearing a metallica t-shirt. (though in this particular shot, damian at least does not appear to be in character as axe.) in 7x11, axe says regarding the axe global office that “It’ll do for now. Still have my eye on a different space for the long haul.” i think that different space may be mpc, axe’s once and future kingdom.

at 0:27, axe in a chair at axe global, again in that metallica t-shirt.

at 0:49, more of chuck and axe at prince cap, in character this time.

at 0:52, chuck and axe at prince cap again, with axe saying to chuck, “Don’t fool yourself. I’m not the same guy I was when we first met.”

Billions Season 7 Mid Season Trailer

at 0:17, taylor sitting at their axe global desk. they’re wearing the same outfit here as in the one shot of them in the 7x12 trailer.

in the elevator at axe global, presumably.

back to the mid season trailer: at 0:18, prince riding in a car. i’d guess this is the same car trip we see in the 7x12 trailer, presumably taking him to camp david.

same shirt, same american flag pin.

back to the mid season trailer: at 0:21, wendy, taylor, and axe walking out of an office at axe global, with axe leading the way and wendy stopping taylor from following him right out. taylor’s in that same outfit as before, and axe is in the metallica t-shirt.

at 0:24, prince angrily putting on his jacket, which bears an american flag pin. i think he’s wearing a different shirt than during the car ride, but the lighting makes it hard to be certain.

at 0:48, dollar bill & victor hugging, while ben kim & tuk hug behind them and philip & wags watch, all at prince cap. sure seems like what might happen if axe returned and reclaimed the place and brought wags and ben and tuk with him. and philip looks happy about all this!

at 0:48-0:49, axe and wendy in prince’s (possibly now axe’s again) office, as wendy steps toward axe. if the writers put this *and* that scene of wendy and luke in the finale things are gonna get real heated among certain segments of the viewership.

bonus: at 0:49-0:50, prince throwing the printer through wendy’s office wall. which we have seen before, but that last shot is a new angle, *and* we can see that 1) he’s in the same shirt as in that earlier shot of him putting on a jacket 2) he’s Not wearing a jacket here 3) both points also apply to two other shots of him from the 7x12 trailer

this shot where he’s in the car again and looking very unhappy.

and this shot where he’s storming out of the elevator, about to ask where wendy is, and carrying his jacket.

#billions #7x12 #wendy rhoades #bradford luke #chuck rhoades #bobby axelrod #taylor mason #mike prince #dollar bill stearn #victor mateo #ben kim #tuk lal #philip charyn #mike wags

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

Somewhat recently, the 1995 BBC New Comedy Awards appeared on YouTube, and I wrote a post in which I highlighted the main points that occurred to me as I watched it. Well guess what, everyone? Guess what? It happened in other years, and the 1999 ones are also on YouTube now:

I’ve seen this particular year for this particular award talked about before. I’ve seen David O’Doherty and Josie Long talk about this running joke about who beat who for comedy awards in 1999. Because in that year they were both finalists in awards geared toward new comics – So You Think You’re Funny, and the BBC New Comedy Awards. David O’Doherty won the former, and Josie Long won the latter, and I’ve seen them both amusingly hold their victories over each other twenty years later in ironic Tweets about it and things like that. So it’s very cool that I actually get to see the show in which one of those things happened, this being the one that was won by Josie Long. A version of Josie Long who would have been quite young, as I know she started stand-up as a teenager and these awards are only open to people who haven't been doing stand-up long (at least, not long enough to have achieved much).

So, here are some thoughts I have while watching:

- Host is Bob Monkhouse, who opens with his famous “They laughed at me when I told them I wanted to be a comedian, well they’re not laughing now” line. Looking very slick in his suit and tie, and comes out with a few slick one-liner jokes, interspersed as he explains the premise of the night. All done in a really professional way, full of humour but little irony.

It’s now a cliché that comedians will come out trying to look cooly causal in jeans and a t-shirt or whatever, I’ve heard people say it’s hard to stand out because “guys in t-shirts noticing things” are a dime a dozen in comedy, including on TV. But in my frenzy last year of reading all that Chocolate Milk Gang stuff, articles and interviews and anything I could find about that certain “new type of comic” emerging in the 00s, it struck me how much this was described as a novelty. That what made those people special was that they were not like their predecessors who wore suits and were slick and professional, they were nerds in t-shirts. Bob Monkhouse’s whole demanour does seem to highlight how much that really was relatively new at the time.

Not completely new, obviously. I think Bob Monkhouse represents the other extreme, not to mention an even older generation than the one that immediately preceded the Chocolate Milk Gang. Obviously not every pre-2000 comedian was Bob Monkhouse. Lots of them wore casual or just different clothes and were offbeat or whatever in their style. The CMG didn’t invent a previously unheard of way to do things, they just really committed to a direction that wasn’t so common back then. Took the type of thing that some people from the original "alternative comedy" thing might have been doing as rebellion, and made it the norm, and now it still is. If someone wants to stand out from the crowd today, they’ll have to dress in a suit and tie like Bob Monkhouse and tell a bunch of one-liners with practised professionalism.

At least, that's what I think. I don't really quite know enough to know what I'm actually talking about, but I'm interested in trying to work out what all those things mean, and seeing the way this is run looks like a pretty clear example of "Oh, that's the exact thing all those Chocolate Milk Gang articles are describing when the say they 'The CMG isn't this, they're different from the previous generations'." It's not just the clothes, either. I haven't seen Lee Mack wear many suits, but he's in that earlier style. It's the one-liner thing, the way that specific comedy style used to be in fashion and isn't as much anymore, but not just that (there are still lots of one-liner comedians too). It's the way that when Lee Mack's hosting something, he's smooth and professional and works a joke into every line. I don't know. I don't really know enough to know what I'm talking about.

- Judges: Richard Wilson (actor who’s familiar to me but I don’t know from where), Rhona Cameron (comedian whom I don’t know much about, which is odd considering that I’m quite familiar with pretty much all the other people in the category called “British lesbian comedian from that generation”), Peter Kay (probably don’t need to say more about him), Meera Syal (person in Goodness Gracious Me), and Patrick Kielty (guy I know a bit for, I don’t know, just being Patrick Kielty, he comes up when I’m clicking through YouTube recommendations of stand-up clips).

- Then there are various established (by 1999) comedians offering advice to younger ones. French and Saunders are mildly amusing about it. That guy named Arthur Smith. Harry Enfield looking unrecognizably young

- Evidence that in the 90s, there were definitely some comedians who weren’t just in a suit and tie all the time:

- Phil Kay looking, again, so young I would not have recognized him without the name at the bottom:

- Baby Ardal O’Hanlon:

- Baby Reeves and Mortimer:

- Second comedian on is a guy from Swansea who does a joke that I swear I’ve heard Rhod Gilbert do, about Terry Wogan and Pudsey the Bear. I’m pretty sure Rhod would have been starting comedy around this general time, so probably would have overlapped with this guy on the Welsh comedy circuit. Okay, who stole the joke from who?

- Three comedians in, all guys I’ve never heard of, but one thing that strikes me is the quality of this show is a fair bit better than the other one I’ve seen, from 1995. All three of these comedians have been decent, I can’t say the same for most of the 1995 finalists. I wonder if it’s a fluke, or if comedy was just getting bigger so fast in the late 90s that the bar for entry into the profession was raised significantly in four years.

- Oh my God! Baby Mel and Sue!!

I'd seen Baby Mel before (she turned up sometimes in French and Saunders things from that era, and I think was in The Vicar of Dibley), but Sue from that age doesn't look as familiar, even though I think she was in those French and Saunders things too. Maybe she wasn't in them as much as Mel was. Anyway... fucking hell. I'm having two separate reactions here. One is my usual reaction of: Oh that's adorable, look at the young versions of the comedians who are now less young and more famous! The other is a slightly less usual reaction of: You know how I sometimes had trouble focusing on Taskmaster season 15 because Mae Martin was so incredibly attractive? Well... that image of Sue Perkins is reminding me that this issue might crop up in season 16 as well.

- “And our next performer was lucky enough to get [words of wisdom] from her mom, who said, ‘Have a go, Jo.’ She’s doing her A-levels in her hometown of Orpington in Kent. Hoping to be top of the class, here she is: Josie Long!”

- I don’t know what I was expecting, I really don’t. I knew Josie Long would be a teenager at this point, since that’s the age she started comedy. I didn’t know what she’d look like as a teenager, but I was curious to see.

...Whatever I was expecting, it wasn't blond hair and a shirt that says "Keep Away From Boys".

Amazing, Josie. Amazing.

- Okay, I’m definitely going to cut that Josie Long video out and stick it in a different post, but for now I will say: That was fucking good. It was very good, for her age. Obviously with a teenage comedian there’s “good” and then “good for their age”, and I think Josie Long was legitimately both. Not, like, as good as she is now or anything. But good enough here to be better than just “good for a teenager”. To be honest, I think better than Kitson’s set from around the same age a few years earlier.

She had jokes. Classic, funny jokes, of the type that people on message boards several years later accused her of not having. She had them at 17! You can see that set was really carefully written and carefully rehearsed, which fits with the image of Josie Long as the overachieving student, would have practised the hell out of that before getting her chance to appear on TV. She also did a bit about drawing a tattoo on her stomach, which she did again in her 2008 Edinburgh show, as an actual adult.

...Surprisingly violently-themed set, overall. A fair bit of gruesome imagery in it. All quite funny, I see why she won. I really enjoyed that.

- Guy after Josie Long makes me think there is a correlation between wearing suits on stage and being all smoothly delivered one-liners. Also possibly a correlation between that and being shit (maybe not all of them are shit, but that guy definitely was).

- “Here’s a Dublin-based children’s book author who loves to hear the sound of laughter and know that he’s the cause. The brilliant David O’Doherty.” Wait, really? By 1999? I knew DO’D has written some children’s books by now, and I knew he did it early in his career. I think he’s said he did his first Edinburgh show in 2000, it went quite badly so the next year he just traveled and did other stuff and I think he wrote a children’s book then, then came back to Edinburgh in 2002 and it went better so he stuck with comedy. But I didn’t know he’s written a kid’s book by 1999.

Also, there may actually be something to be said for professionalism, because Bob Monkhouse pronounced his last name closer to correctly than most people do, I'm pretty sure. Definitely didn't put a C in there, the way a lot of British TV presenters do (I'm still not 100% sure on the exact correct pronunciation, but I know it's not "O-Dock-er-ty").

- Fucking adorable. Look at his little face.

- In case anyone was concerned about the lack of plastic keyboard in that previous screenshot, don’t worry, he has it with him:

He did a song that... I mean, it's probably fine that that song never made it onto any of his albums. And neither did any of the material from that set. Probably fine. There are little flashes of the David O'Doherty I recognize in this video, and a lot of flashes of something else that he was apparently trying to be at the time. He talks about kind of starting over as of Edinburgh 2002 when he worked with people he liked and figured out what he wanted to be and pretty much scrapped the few things he'd tried but disliked until that time... and yeah, that might be for the best. I'm definitely cutting out this video and putting it in a separate post too, though.

- They keep switching to the established comedians giving advice via videos between the finalists’ sets – here’s another new addition to those videos after DO’D’s set:

- Then they have a proper, non-comedy band come out, they’re legitimately very good at music. What the hell? What are they getting proper bands for? Bring back Bill Bailey.

- Then they intersperse shots of the judges talking about each finalist, with a quick clip of that finalist saying something about their own performance. Clearly, they were all just asked backstage to say something into the camera about what they were about to do, and all the others so far have made some kind of joke about the situation. Josie Long, meanwhile, went completely sincere, talking about just trying to get in the right state of mind and enjoy it and not be anxious. She always gives off the energy of the overachieving student, but it’s really coming out here, when she actually was a student.

- When commenting on her performance, almost every judge, including Rhona Cameron, focused their comments on how she was the only woman there, and she broke what you might expect from a woman (didn’t just talk about being a woman or whatever), and there’s a bit of a sense of “well that’s better than I’d expect from a woman”. Except – to his credit, and I wouldn’t have expected to say that – Peter Kay. Doesn’t necessarily mean much, obviously the TV version is just taking a couple of seconds from each judge, maybe it just happened to grab the gender-focused stuff from everyone else and cut Peter Kay off before he said “At least she didn’t bring up her period.” But still, that rather impressed me, that he commented purely on the originality of her surreal style (talking purely about her comedy style shouldn't be impressive, but it was compared to what everyone else said).

Am I hypocritical for complaining that they brought up Josie Long's gender, when I brought up how hot Sue Perkins is earlier in this post? That's a question I briefly asked myself, but the answer is no, because they're judging a comedy competition and I'm writing a Tumblr post.

- Rhona Cameron said she thought David O’Doherty was the best one, which I guess makes sense because he won a different new comedy competition that year with presumably the same material, so I guess something in it was worthy of a win. Though I have to say… she’s wrong. She’s just wrong, Josie was better. David O’Doherty is brilliant, and has been for at least 20 years. But this video proves I’m not sure he’s been brilliant for a full 25 years.

There were flashes of something good in his set, though. He had some creative and original (certainly original for the time, I think) ideas. You could see he could be good. But no, Rhona, he was not the best one.

- After all the deliberation, the judges declare that Colin Ward (the guy who went on after Josie Long, did a bunch of one-liners, and I specifically said he was shit) and David O’Doherty were the two runners up, and they struggled to pick a winner among those two and the winner. They might have been wrong to put Colin Ward up there with those other two, but I'd say history judged him correctly, as he's the only one of the three I haven't heard of.

- Genuinely fucking adorable, Josie Long after they've announced she's won:

She stops to celebrate briefly with DO'D before walking out on stage, also adorable. On both sides.

- Wow. And I thought Julian Barratt was not happy to receive his hug from Boothby Gaffoe when he won his competition in 1995. Josie Long has set a new bar for how much a winner of this competition does not want to have their hug from the host:

“Are they baby comedians, little tiny baby comedians? Oh, I love those little new ones. Little tiny new ones, they’re so sweet. They’re only about that big. You can hold them on your hand like that. Then they get bigger, bigger, bigger, and suddenly they’re Jack Dee!” – Dawn French, at the end

How fucking dare you, Dawn French? Don't you ever compare the likes of Josie Long and David O'Doherty to Jack Dee again. They've just done these impressive performances, they do not deserve to be insulted in this way.

...Okay, I've enjoyed this so much, I want to say more about it, accompanied by video clips of certain parts, but I really have to go to work, so posting this now but will come back with the cut-out clips soon. This was a lot of fun, I'm so glad I got to see it.