#(which is not to say the actress wasn’t good; she was; this is an issue with the writing/directing)

[latrodectal]

if i had a dollar for every time a winona ryder character was reworked in an attempt to make her more likable for a broadway audience i’d have two dollars, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it’s happened twice.

[house-of-lovin]

legally binded - 7

Jenna Ortega x F!Reader

masterlist | series mast. | prev. part | next part

Chapter 7: The Afterparty

Summary: After getting caught in some hot waters with the press, you are forced into an unexpected agreement with America's sweetheart, Jenna Ortega to save your career.

Warnings/Tags: dual!pov, famous!reader, actress!reader, mentions of substances, intoxication, mature language, real people. (do not read if any of these make you uncomfortable)

(this is all fiction!)

Note: so... lovely weather we're having. 🙂

Word Count: 4k+

“Where’s Y/N?” Enrique asked as the door of the van shuts closed, for a moment, the incessant sounds of camera shutters and the crowd shouting her name become muffled.

And in that same moment, Jenna feels like she can finally breathe properly through her own lungs. 

“Upstairs,” Jenna mumbled, leaning her expertly pinned hair against the headrest, and closing her eyes.

“I take it things didn’t go well?” He fiddled with his cap, frowning as he watched the young actress’ exhausted features.

Jenna hummed in confirmation but said nothing else, looking out the tinted window as the van started driving slowly. 

Staring up at the hotel, she scanned the various, nearly identical windows for your hotel room. Jenna didn’t even know if your room was facing this direction but she looked anyway, a wishful part of herself hoped to catch a glance of you.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be okay. You two will be okay.”

Jenna snorted, shooting her stylist an incredulous look. “I thought you were mad at her?”

“I’m mad at her for being stupid and for hurting you… even if she is a cutie.” He rolled his eyes, getting comfortable in his seat.

The actress laughed. “Don’t let her hear you say that, you know she has a massive ego.”

Enrique joined in on the laughter before his tone dropped, “You know Sarah and Liv are going to find out that the two of you didn't go to the same party…”

Right now, Jenna could care less about whatever kind of consequence she may get. The embers from her argument with you are still burning bright.

“That’s an issue for later.”

***

Jenna tried to make the best of a bad situation.

She really did.

Even though this wasn’t how she expected to spend the rest of her night — she somehow found a way to let loose. Maybe after she found a few familiar faces that pulled her in to dance, tipped back a few drinks and sang along as Janelle Monae performed for her after-party.

But even still, under the guise of alcohol and a good time. There was an unpleasant churn in her stomach whenever she allowed her mind to drift off to you.

“I’m gonna go to the washroom!” Jenna yelled through the music. Enrique nodded, continuing to cheer Janelle Monae on stage.

Laughing, she walked away while shaking her head; amused at her friend. Glad that he’s having a good time. One of them deserves to be having fun, at least.

As Jenna pushed through the heavy-panelled door of the powder room, she sat on the couch and placed her purse down. Grateful to be stretching her aching legs. 

She takes a second to breathe and in that moment, allowed herself to think about you; wondering which party you went to and who you were surrounded by.

And for a split second, that unpleasant churn in her stomach reemerged as her mind drifted to all the worst possible outcomes of what you could be doing tonight.

Are you safe?

Is someone looking out for you?

Jenna’s decided not to ask Link about you this time, deciding that you two do, in fact, need space for the time being.

She knows she should apologize for the way she acted all day, even all week. Jenna knows she was just projecting her unresolved feelings about you from Coachella and instead of just telling you that she’s been worried and just wants you to talk to her, to let her in. 

She decided to be petty and give into the heat of the moment, instead..

Jenna hopes the two of you can talk about it later tonight. But then she remembers the fact that you’re probably drinking, partying and doing god knows what else so that conversation and apology would probably have to wait until you’ve sobered up.

Standing, Jenna's decided she's had enough of wallowing in her own misery and walked over to the sink to wash her hands.

“Oh, hi!” A sweet-sounding higher pitched voice greeted her from behind after the sound of a door opening and heels clinking.

Immediately, she linked gazes with a certain Hailee Steinfeld through the mirror.

Jenna tried hard to school the surprise on her face.

“Hello…” Jenna smiled politely and glanced away, continuing to wash her hands.

“I’m Hailee…” The other woman greeted, sliding into the sink beside her, a pearly white smile on her full-pink lips.

“I’m Jenna, I would shake your hand but…” She gestured down to the running sink.

Hailee shook her head and laughed. “It’s okay, I’m glad to finally meet you! Can I just say how gorgeous you look! I thought your carpet look was amazing but this — you look stunning!”

“Oh! Uh— Thanks?” This time her surprise is hard to subdue. Feeling flushed under the weight of the other woman’s compliments.

She's never been great at accepting them. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you embarrassed,” Hailee smiled sheepishly. Her thick brows furrowing in her own embarrassment. 

The heat begins to crawl up her neck. “It’s okay! I— I appreciate it. You look gorgeous as well.” 

Taking the time to scan her, the younger actress has to crane her neck up to see Hailee’s face — it’s no wonder you ended up dating her. The woman is gorgeous. 

She tries to stave the green-eyed monster clawing at her chest at the thought of you two together because the woman standing across from her has been surprisingly pleasant.

“Please!” Hailee waves off, smiling softly, turning to wash her own hands.

Jenna allows the silence to take over the room, unsure of what to say next. After washing her hands, she turned off the sink and walked over to grab paper towels.

Hailee cuts in before she can think about it too hard.

“Hey,” The singer called out as Jenna was about to pick up her purse, “thank you... for looking out for her.”

“What?” Jenna turned, raising her brows in question.

Hailee sighed, leaning against the counter to face Jenna.

“I know Y/N’s not the… easiest. She tends to push people away. I think it’s just the way she’s always been. I’m not really sure. With the whole Vegas situation and these rumours going around about a possible arrest — which, you know, is bullshit, Y/N doesn’t do drugs — her first instinct would’ve been to run and push people away. But you’re still here… so something tells me you’re special.”

Jenna feels her heart drop at the other woman’s words. 

“Y/N can be reckless and cold at times, but I think it’s just an act," She continued; smile contorting sadly, “so she doesn’t actually have to open up to people… I’ve—uh, tried, so I kinda know.”

Jenna was stunned, unsure of what to say to that. Hailee made it sound like you were the one that got away or something. She also caught the openness that accompanied her tone, like the other woman had accepted the circumstances of the situation.

Like she just... let it be.

There wasn’t a lot of things Jenna was certain about but she knew she didn't want to feel that way about you, to just accept your coldness and inability to let people in.

“Anyways, she said you’ve kept her standing on her feet these last few months.” Hailee smiled softly, sincerity burning bright in her eyes. “So thank you, 'cause she deserves someone patient like you.” 

“Thank you…” Jenna finally managed to say despite the barbed wire feeling around her throat.

You really said that? Did you mean it?

If you did then she feels terrible.

“No, thank you, I was scared Link and Y/N were gonna grow old and still be living together. They’re weirdly co-dependent.” Hailee jokes, breaking the heaviness in the room.

Jenna couldn’t help the snort that leaves her mouth. 

And just like that, it felt like two friends enjoying an inside joke.

Jenna's laughter trails off before it turns to a heavy sigh as she grabs her purse. “So I should probably apologize to her, huh?”

The corner of Hailee's mouth tugs a small smug smile. “Depends on what she did… maybe let her sweat it out for a bit more then apologize.”

Jenna chuckled before nodding. “Noted… thank you, Hailee.”

Hailee nods, smiling softly as Jenna turned to walk out of the bathroom.

A surprisingly pleasant feeling appeared in her chest the farther she walked away.  

She felt a bit lighter after that conversation, which is a shock considering she just talked to your ex-girlfriend. For a moment, Jenna felt guilty for her earlier reservations about the other woman. Not wanting to admit that she had let her jealousy cloud her judgment of character.

Hailee had nothing but great things to say about her — and you for that matter. A testament to how, despite your hot and cold demeanour, there’s someone worth knowing underneath.

Ugh. She hated it when she was wrong.

But there was also that nagging echo in her head that had to admit that she was glad she was wrong about you.

I’m sorry for what I said. Can I come see you? Are you still at the other after-party?

Swallowing her pride, she hit send then walked back to the party to find Enrique, hoping she can distract herself as she waits for your reply.

20 minutes go by without a response and Jenna doesn’t know if she should start feeling annoyed or worried; the line between the two is thinning by the second, she concluded. She decided she leaned more on the latter and stepped away from the party once again. Roaming the halls before stepping out onto a secluded balcony; grateful for the warm night in the early May month. 

Pulling out her phone from her clutch, she called Link immediately, knowing that if anyone knew your whereabouts it’d be him.

“Hello?” Link answered breathlessly and in the background, the actress can hear sounds of traffic and people talking over one another.

“Link? Can you hear me?” Jenna spoke into the lonely night air.

“Yeah— yeah, sorry.” It sounded like Link walked away from the noise because when he spoke again, it sounded much clearer. But she immediately noted the urgency in his voice. “Hey.”

“Hey, I texted Y/N 20 minutes ago but she didn’t respond, is everything okay?” Jenna got to the point, chewing her lip.

“Shit—“ Link cursed. “Uh, about that.”

“Link, what does that mean?” Jenna felt every muscle in her body tense at his words, like before a big drop on a rollercoaster.

“We can’t find her.” Link confessed. 

Jenna’s stomach dropped. Yeah, except that rollercoaster has just derailed.

“What do you mean you can’t find her?” 

“We lost her. She said she was going to the bathroom but she never came back.” He recounted nervously.

“What—“ Jenna was dumbfounded, mind on overdrive as a sudden wave of coldness washed over her body as she processes what she’s just been told.

You're missing.

No one knows where you are.

“Are you looking for her now?” Jenna manages to ask, gripping the balcony railing for support. She thinks she feels a little light-headed but she pushes that thought away because you are more important, right now.

“Yes, of course. We checked everywhere. But uh—it’s been almost two hours since anyone’s seen her…” Link hesitated before confessing.

The last thing they need is for Jenna to start freaking out too.

Jenna’s stomach dropped again. This time she feels like she’s been launched off the rollercoaster entirely and is free-falling mid-air.

“Hey, hey, it’ll be okay. She does this, it’s kinda her thing. We’ll find her soon. Don’t worry.” Link reassured after Jenna doesn’t respond.

“When was the last time that she did this, Link?” Jenna asked shakily.

A beat passed before the man answered. “Vegas…”

“Shit…” They said in unison.

“What—what do we do?” Jenna asked.

“Just keep texting and calling her. I’m out looking for her right now, I have her entire security team with me.” He reassured her once again but she can still hear the trepidation in his tone.

“Okay…” Jenna trails off, not really sure if she’s actually listening at this point.

“Jenna— we’ll find her, don’t worry.” Link said with certainty but it didn’t ease the anxiety in her chest.

“I know…” Jenna mumbled, grasping her phone with a mighty grip and forced herself to take a calming breath. “Okay, okay. I’ll start calling her. Maybe I should go back to her room, in case she comes back?”

“Yeah, that’s a great idea, keep me updated Jen.” 

“I will.”

The line goes dead as Link hangs up.

“Shit.” Even with Jenna’s trembling fingers, she contacted your number with haste.

But the call never even rang. 

***

It’s past 2 AM and no one has still heard from you. 

She had left you a total of 26 missed calls and almost 50 text messages. That’s not even counting the ones she’s sent you through Enrique’s phone.

At this point, Jenna was ready to go to the police but Link advised her that they wouldn’t be able to do anything because it hasn’t been 24 hours yet. Your closest confidant also warned her of adding fuel to the fire with the press if headlines that you're missing are released.

The actress feels an excruciatingly sharp pain forming in between her brows; the early stages of a migraine, the longer she paced around your room.

“Where is she, Link?” She chewed on the bottom lip, anxiously. “What if something bad happened? She doesn’t have security with her...”

“Her whole team has been driving around the city looking for her but we already checked the other after-parties and she wasn’t there. I hate to say it, Jenna, but if Y/N doesn’t want to be found, you won’t.” Link sat down on the couch in the living room.

The wrinkled exhaustion and worry were clear as day on his face. Jenna sighed, sitting down beside him. “I know you tried your best. Thank you for looking…”

“Yeah… of course. How are you though?” He turned, scanning her equally exhausted features. 

“I feel terrible if I had just tabled it like she said–”

“Hey–” Link cuts in, shaking his head. “Don’t. Y/N’s gonna do whatever she wants, you can’t put this one on you.” 

Jenna nods unconvincingly, slumping against her seat. “What about you? How are you?”

He stared off, deep in thought. “She’s like my sister, you know. We didn’t have it easy growing up. I know she’s— stand-offish and hard to get along with at times…”

Jenna turned to face him at his sudden confession, deciding to stay silent.

“You can’t even imagine how many times I’ve tried to quit being her assistant.” Link chuckled, looking up at the ceiling. “But I could never really do it. ‘Cause even though she has these massive walls around herself and that annoying-ass nonchalant attitude. I know sometimes this job is a lot… even for her.”

Jenna huffed, slouching back into the soft couch, trying to be understanding. “I know… trust me I know the job, we all do–”

Link shakes his head. “You don’t. Not her story at least…”

Snapping her head to the side, she watches the assistant’s side profile, noting the deep wrinkle on his forehead. “What does that mean?”

She couldn’t help but ask.

He sighed, “It’s not my place to say but Y/N's been through some stuff. Stuff that you wouldn't wish on anyone.”

“What?”

He sighed again, debating if he should open the can of worms. “At the time, I was living with my grandmother. She’s the only family I have left, it’s probably why I can’t let go of Y/N too. The money I make from working with her, I send to take care of my nan… But even with all that, Y/N was dealing with her mom.”

“She told me she was controlling or something — wanted more money?” Jenna scrunched her nose in disgust at how someone can treat their own flesh and blood like that.

“She wasn’t just controlling, Jenna… she tried to sue Y/N over it. She tried to take away her right to make decisions over her own career and when that didn’t work she tried to get her to quit the industry."

Jenna’s stomach dropped. “What?”

Linked nodded, watching Jenna’s stunned reaction. “Yeah… Jake and Liv fought against it. It never turned into a legal case, thank god. The judge dismissed her claims but it really fucked with her head you know. That her own mother could do that to her."

Jenna stared off into nothing as she processed his words.

No wonder you’re so closed off and scared to let people in. She felt sick to her stomach thinking about what you’ve gone through and how, even despite all of that, you still managed to stay standing on your own two feet and carry on as if nothing happened.

She wonders how long it’s been since you’ve really let anyone in.

“I knew she’d been dealing with things… these last few months. She had a packed year last year and her schedule was only getting busier. She never outwardly said it was becoming too much but I could see it. It started small; missing texts, calls, alarms… then she wouldn’t come home cause she was partying all night… it got too much. I think that singer and his friends were taking advantage of her fame but she always brushed me off whenever I said something. We even got into a big fight before Vegas so I stayed with a friend for a couple of days to cool off.”

“Link…” Jenna trailed off, she heard the guilty tone accompanied by his words. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“No… I know. Y/N’s going to do what she wants, I’ve learned to accept it. It still doesn’t make me feel any better that she’s in this situation and that I could’ve done something to prevent it.”

Link cleared his throat, sitting up a bit. “Just saying… from Y/N’s person to the other – I get what you’re feeling. She’s definitely not the easiest but I don’t know… when she shows she cares, you know she means it.”

“You think I’m Y/N’s person?” Jenna asked shocked. “We barely know each other.”

Link rolled his eyes, sending her a flat look. “Yeah ‘cause you two communicate through silent looks and then don’t talk about your feelings. If you guys fix your shit then maybe you can be her person too.” 

Jenna opened her mouth for a rebuttal but the sound of something smacking against the wall interrupted her.

Immediately, the assistant and actress spring up, walking spritely to the foyer. When they round the corner, Jenna is torn between feeling relieved or furious.

They spot you, slumped against the wall nearly slipping on your own two feet, piss-fucking-drunk as you dropped the keycard to the floor.

“Are you fucking serious right now?” Link scoffed but briskly walked over to help you up, throwing your arm over his shoulder. "What the hell happened to you?"

“Sorry for being a disappointment, Dad.” You mumbled as Link dragged you down the hallway. Eyes barely opened and even then, Jenna can see the alcohol-muddled haze through your slow blinks. 

“What the fuck, Y/N?” Jenna echoed as she watched how you had to be carried, too drunk to do it yourself. 

It scared her, this was not a version of you that she liked. 

She doesn’t want to listen to that small voice in her head again, the one that’s saying you’re bad news. You’re a party animal, this is what you do. You’re reckless. But the other part of her wants to give you a chance to explain yourself, especially after what Link just told her – it’s hard to keep that sentiment when you act like this though.

“Oh hey, Jenna.” You waved as if nothing is wrong, toothy smile on your lips. “I tried looking for you at the party… then I realized we fought and that’s why you weren’t with me. Are you still mad at me?”

Jenna didn’t know what to say so she kept quiet and followed Link as he lead you to the bedroom, nearly throwing you onto the mattress. 

“Fuck, Y/N. You can’t keep doing this.” Link sighed out, taking a few steps back from the bed to scan you. 

“Who’s gonna stop me?” You snorted, sitting up to tug your shoes off, chucking them without care.

“Dude, for real? We spent nearly four hours looking for your ass. Do you realize what kind of trouble you could’ve gotten into if–” 

“–yeah, yeah,” You wave off and Jenna can see Link’s eye twitching and jaw clenching in anger. He knew better than to fight with a drunk person. Especially if that person is you. 

He lets out a deep breath, then turned to younger actress, “I can’t be around her right now. I’m sorry.” 

Then he walked away, slamming the door loudly behind him making Jenna flinch. A few seconds of silence pass without a single movement.

“What are you still doing here?” You asked in a snipped tone, breaking the quietude. Jenna doesn’t know if she should feel offended. 

Crossing her arms, she scans your dishevelled attire. Your tie is loose, buttons are undone, and dress shirt is half-tucked – in short, you looked like a hot mess. “I’ve been calling you all night, where have you been?”

“Phone died.” You yanked your blazer off, throwing it on the floor, “and out… drinking.”

“With who? By yourself or with someone?” Jenna asked, walking closer, and helping you take off your tie.

“Doesn’t matter..” You grumbled as she helped you, looking at a spot on the wall and Jenna clenched her jaw cause you were closing up again.

“Well, it matters to me,” She yanked the tie off your neck.

“Why?” You looked up at her.

“What?”

“Why do you care so much? I thought this was all just for the press?” You pushed off the bed, wobbling on your feet. Jenna took a few steps back but kept close, in case you needed help but you shrugged her attempts away.

She tried not to take it personally.

Jenna called after you but you ignored her and just stumbled to the bathroom. She trails behind, still keeping a close eye.

“No, seriously. You kiss me and let me stay with your family and then you shut me down? What kind of fucked up shit is that?” You spoke up, venom laced in your words.

Jenna knows it’s the alcohol talking. But drunk words, sober thoughts?

“Well guess what? Fuck that. I may be closed off but at least I don’t lead people on.” You seethe, stopping in your tracks to spin around and face her.

The anger in your eyes is not an emotion she had seen before. This was different than your other petty disputes and arguments. You meant it.

Jenna blinked, shaking her head furiously, “What? No! That’s not what I’m doing.”

“I don’t care! I’m over it. If you wanna believe the press over me like everyone else, go ahead. I’m fucking used to it.” You grumbled, turning away to keep walking but this time Jenna grabbed your elbow, stopping you.

“Can you just stop for a second and let me explain!” But you yanked back like you’ve been burned and Jenna thinks she can physically feel her heart splitting down the middle. 

“No, fuck that!” You yelled before taking a deep breath, using Jenna's stunned silence as a chance to keep talking. You looked deeply into her eyes and said the next words with pure conviction. ”I’m sick of trusting people and letting them in just to be fucking burned over and over again — After the Met Gala, I’ll go to Jake and Liv and tell them this is over. Next week, it’ll be three months anyway. Then, we’ll never have to see each other again.” 

There was no slurring in your voice or wobble in your stance as you said those words.

Jenna blinked back the tears forming in her eyes, clenching her jaw. Not recognizing this version of you standing across from her.

This isn’t the same person that treated her family kindly and won over their hearts.

This isn’t the same person that won over her heart.

So, she listened.

“Okay….” Jenna nodded weakly, then turned walking out of your room not being able to look into your eyes.

She missed the instant regret in them as you tracked her disappearing figure.

***

i told y’all this slow burn would be slowwwww.

***

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***

[queenshelby]

The Fourth Season (Rewritten)

Part One: Intro

Pairing: Cillian Murphy x Reader

Warning: Religious and Anti-Religious Themes

Notes:

Being obsessed with Cillian’s post Oppenheimer image, I have decided to rewrite this story as well and make it play during the filming of “Small Things Like These”…

I hope I still get some following and promise no further re-writes! Following my break from the fandom last year, I struggled a bit with finding my style and my head was a bit all over the place, so when I started this fanfic, I wasn’t planning it out properly. I do like the premise of it though and do not want to abandon it.

I also won’t rename it as “The Fourth Season” seems quite fitting considering that “Small Things Like These” follow a character leading up to Christmas.

Background

This fic plays in 2023 and, as usual, there will be an age-gap romance as Cillian is 46 and the reader is 25. I made her a little older than usual.

The reader comes from a strictly catholic family and, as a result, her family is appalled by the fact that the reader has taken a roll in this movie as it does not put the catholic church into a very good light.

For the reader, however, this is an opportunity not only for her career but also to get away from her family for a little while which is still in turmoil after the reader had separated from her high school sweetheart and husband James McCallum.  

As for Cillian, in early 2023, he is divorced with two young children. He has been single for three years and life was good. He finished filming Oppenheimer and took some time off before embarking in this passion project of his.

Six months ago…

Cillian’s POV

It was late July and the summer heat was scorching as Cillian walked down the pier in Dalkey with a fellow actor friend Matt Damon who, just like Cillian, had invested in the movie production.

The movie was said to be produced by Tim Mielants who also accompanied Cillian and Matt on their walk, and filming was scheduled to commence just after Christmas which left just one minor issue yet to be considered.

Whilst Cillian was staring the lead role of Bill Furlong, the woman who had been casted by Tim to play Bill’s wife Eileen had just pulled out, leaving this role yet to be filled with an affordable actress.

“You could ask Emily” Matt joked, seeing that both him and Cillian were close friends with Emily Blunt, but both of them knew that Emily would not be available for this role.

“I think we should concentrate on getting someone Irish” Tim told both Matt and Cillian who, by this point, had already come up with four unsuitable candidates for Tim to choose from.

“I think Matt was joking when suggesting Emily Blunt for the role” Cillian chuckled while adjusting his sunglasses and looking towards the horizon which prompted Matt to an idea.

“You know guys, I’ve seen a play last night at the Gaiety” he said before pulling out his phone and handing it to Cillian and Tim.

“The actress in that play was good and, when I say good, I mean really good. The play was called Dark Horizon and she played a widow named Siobhan who lost her husband at sea. Her ghost then plagued her until she was driven completely mad” Matt explained while showing Cillian and Tim the video he took from last night’s performance.

“She is good. What’s her name?” Cillian asked as he watched the video with an intention of his own to go and see the play.

“Y/N McCallum, aged twenty-five, from Cork” Matt said after pulling his phone from Cillian’s hand and opening the e-pamphlet which he had saved on his screen instead.

“She might be a little too young to play a forty something year old woman” Cillian chuckled while Matt put your name into Google.

“Make-up can take care of that” Tim said before continuing to read your agency profile and anything else that popped up in his newsfeed. “The bigger problem I see now is that she is married to James McCallum and working with couples on set might get a little annoying” Tim then pointed out, causing Cillian and Matt to furrow their eyebrows.

“Who is James McCallum?” Cillian asked as he could not remember anyone by that name

“He is in charge of logistics. You would have met him on the set of Peaky Blinders last year. He is thorough when it comes to staying within budget and organising essentials for the cast, which is why I hired him for the shoot” Tim explained and Cillian remembered him.  

“Fuck, I do remember that guy. He gave me a bible after he caught on to…you know…never mind…” Cillian said, aborting his sentence but Tim already knew.

“After he caught you and Sarah making out?” he thus said, causing Cillian to swallow harshly.

“Who is Sarah?” Matt wanted to know as he was not privy to this kind of onset gossip.

“His ex” Tim explained but Cillian shook his head.

“It wasn’t like that. It was just a fling. Nothing serious” Cillian pointed out but Tim couldn’t help but make another joke about it.

“Yeah, that’s why he gave you a bible, so that you could pray for forgiveness for your sins” Tim laughed before suggesting to see the play together with Cillian that night.

Your POV

Later that night, Cillian and Tim had indeed gone to see your play and the way you performed a troubled woman like the one on stage blew them away.

They were both mesmerised by your performance and ought to speak to you when you finished, which was something that you had not expected.

“This is a little weird but there are two men here to see you” one of the theatre clerks said after barging into the change room where you and some of the other actresses were putting on your regular clothes.

“That sure is weird” you joked, seeing that you did not usually get any visitors backstage.

“One of them is Cillian Murphy” the clerk then said and your chin dropped. You have heard of him, of course. Your husband had spoken of him in the past when working on set, although he did not have the nicest things to say about him.

“The actor?” you ought to clarify nonetheless, causing the clerk to nod.

“Yes” she said. “Do you want to speak with them?” she then wanted to know and, of course, you were intrigued about what they had to say.

“Tell them I will be just a minute please” you instructed the clerk who did as you had requested and, after putting on a jumper and tying back your hair, you met with Cillian and Tim in the lobby.

Both men greeted you professionally and with a handshake before telling you that they enjoyed the play and your performance.

“Thanks. I really appreciate it” you said before asking the men whether there was anything you could help them with and, when Cillian said that there was indeed something you could him with, you looked at him with some surprise.

“Okay, what is it?” you asked with a smile while struggling to focus. His eyes were really as blue as everyone had said and he must have noticed you starring at them by now.

“Well, we’ve got a role for you in a movie” Cillian said, causing Tim to furrow his eyebrows. Cillian was clearly more confident than he was and he would have approached this a little differently to say the least.

“And you want me to audition for it?” you queried, causing Cillian to shake his head.

“No, I want you to take it. Your performance on stage today was incredible and I would love to work with you” he responded, causing your chin to drop again.

“I have never been in front of a camera before” you explained but Cillian did not seem to care.

“There is always a first time for everything” he reassured you and you felt somewhat shocked.

“Well, I feel flattered” you said before asking Tim and Cillian for a script.

“I will send it to your agent tomorrow along with all of the particulars for production” Tim said just before shaking your hand and when Cillian said that he was looking forward to working with you, you could not help but chuckle.

“I didn’t say yes yet” you informed him. 

“I know, but I like being optimistic” he winked which left you and some other girls in the lobby somewhat speechless.

To be continued…

Please comment and engage. I love getting comments and predictions pretty please!

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Nicole's rant: The Venom Problem

Contains spoilers for Venom: The Last Dance.

‼️ This might be a controversial opinion but i’ll say it anyway.

let it be known i’d love to have just straight up 1.5 hours of raw footage of eddie and venom just hanging out doing stupid shit, just let tom hardy and his comedy shine. please. i wouldn’t be criminally offended if rhys ifans & the hippie family joined.

ps: i don't mean to hate anyone liking this movie. to each their own. if you liked it, then that's also fine. this is my opinion and you don't have to agree. i was raised on early marvel (the incredible hulk, blade, elektra, iron man...) so i'd say i can tell a decent superhero story from something utterly mid, if even that.

because… what in the fuck is venom: the last dance (2024)?

madame web (2024) war flashbacks hit hard with this one.

who wrote this? and who said it’s a good idea? WHY and HOW did tom hardy produce this?

COLUMBIA YOU HAD THE RIGHTS TO VENOM FOR 3 MOVIES.

i’m not sure if it’s copyright issues or something, but there’s surely SOME OTHER storyline that you could capture into the movie instead of whatever the last dance is.

not that carnage was any good, but a) woody harleson (we stan a king) and b) it’s not expected for every movie to be 10/10, mishaps happen. it was a fun little experiment and we get it. pop off, sister. atop, it was directed by andy serkis (we love a king).

BUT HOW DID YOU FABRICATE A SECOND CARNAGE?

because oh wait, you didn't. let there be carnage (2021) was so weird and bad it was actually endearing in a sense. it defo embraced the silly side and yannow what? looking back at it, i'll trade it for the last dance without a second thought.

first off: how does this have 81% on rotten? huh? pls give me the deets of your dealer because i need the shit you've taken before viewing it.

why open with a reminder that venom and peter parker ALMOST met in the MCU? why teasing with what could’ve been but WASN’T?

tom hardy doesn’t look like he wants to be there and covering it with having a “perpetual hangover” might be the best fucking bandage anyone came up with.

“i’ll consider going for playing venom again IF i get to fight spider-man” TOM MY BOY TELL THEM.

baron mordo was done dirty, yes, but THE UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS venom did to my boy Chiwetel? my boy looked like he’s forced to be there. 0 chemistry, 0 passion. someone give him a break.

whose idea was to cast Juno Temple? there’s not a single ounce of soul in those eyes. miss girl doesn’t change her facial expression once for the entire movie. at first, i thought they truly casted paralysed actress, which was one points i defended the movie with.

then i learned she’s not???

rhys ifans & alana ubach? 10/10.

every scene inside the laboratory was a mandatory chore.

didn't we forger something? like fucking anne for example???? and you give her what? a single name-drop. fuck off. (i'd yeet too after reading the script i think)

andy serkis dropped by for a guest appearance ig.

mrs. chen. how do i start?

i almost walked out of the theatre on that sequence. that’s my petty personal issue and i’ll admit as much, but WHERE did everyone put their brains? like that sequence doesn’t make any sense.

i mean ofc they can meet in las vegas. ofc, gamble. BUT THE REST?

does the main plot line even make sense? like are venom and eddie super special or can any of the symbionts make the key with their host??? (tbh that might be me zoning off and not the movie’s fault)

the movies’s 4/10 at best. eddie and venom scenes? 10/10. anything else? mandatory chore

at least agatha all along (2024) popped tf off.

[razorblade180]

Story Quest drama

Does anyone else find it incredibly weird how many Genshin fans are upset with Paimon and Traveler after Furina’s quest? Like the way people are cherry picking certain parts of scenes and misrepresenting the situation is astounding. I’m not going to pretend Paimon and Traveler didn’t throw a couple jabs but for the majority of back of forth is just banter and the common bluntness they bring. In no way were they trying to gaslight or manipulate Furina.

Furina said she didn’t want to join on stage. Paimon asked if there were any exceptions, and Furina say she didn’t want to leave an out for herself. Hearing that, they immediately pivot the conversation to asking her if she knows anyone who could help. That is literally workshopping a problem 101 and constructive problem solving. I don’t get why people are painting that as pressuring. They heard her stance and seeked a solution that respected her decision and allowed them to continue trying to help their employer.

Furina punches down on herself by saying she didn’t know anyone because they were probably happy she was gone; to which one of the dialogue options boils down to “that’s not a good to assume” because it isn’t. Paimon’s next question was if she had any idea, which causes Furina to get agitated before immediately apologizing because once again, Paimon’s question wasn’t in any way trying to get Furina to buckle. The two of them are essentially checking of a mental list to see where they should go to try solve their commission. Paimon even clarifies this with her before they part ways and Paimon says “Oh well. We have to respect her decision”

Even when they get back to the guild, Paimon tells them for personal reasons, Furina can’t help; as well as clarifying the misconceptions the actress had about Furina being rude. In no way were the duo planning on circling back or involving Furina any further and only gets roped back in after getting caught spying. Furina herself admits she just started drawing lines in the sand without hearing the situation before trying to apologize, to which Paimon tells her everything is completely fine and nothing that just happened was taken personally. You could argue Furina didn’t have anything to apologize for and that’s fine, but even in game, nobody was expecting one and told her everything is fine.

Tiny rant but it’s a bit annoying how people are quick to clip certain dialogue to paint them negatively, while completely ignoring the parts Paimon and the Traveler actively tell Furina she shouldn’t be so hard on herself, it’s okay not to force things, and talking about how she’s finally free to live how she wants. But they want clip the part where Paimon said she first thought Furina was diva; a sane assumption to have after she tried immediately getting them arrested on a ridiculous charge for the sake of hyping the crowd. Was it a little rude? Yeah. Has Paimon never called it like she saw it? No. We’ve heard Kaveh’s backstory and both her and the traveler still went “You should really try and get your life together before something happens” because it’s the blunt yet honest truth. If isn’t Diluc, Klee, Xiao, Ayaka, Yoimiya, Dehya, or Collei, Paimon will find an issue. The others can do no wrong. 💀

Anyway, I just think it’s a bit ridiculous how some people acting. Especially when several weeks ago Furina and “girl failure” was always in the same sentence while people applauded Arlecchino for dragging someone when ultimately she also didn’t know dick about the situation and basically did a gymnastics performance the way she jumped to certain conclusions. I love that people love Furina, but let’s not get crazy now when two people choose to approach her in a casual dynamic instead of super gently and emphatically. If anything, Furina is getting the normal human experience of having people that actually hate her in Poisson, the troupe idolizing her, Neuvillette and Navia being sweet, and the Traveler and Paimon being casual friends.

You know what’s actually insane!? Shenhe talking about her dead family and backstory then the scene ends with Paimon saying “cut the chitchat. We’re trying to win a contest.” THAT was actually out of pocket. 💀

[lemonhemlock]

Baela did not say she wasn’t suited to rule, where did you hear that?

Also why are people anti Baela and Rhaena out of jealousy? They barely have screentime, their likability isn’t coming from the writers preferring them. Phoebe gave off the most emotion from the premiere with not one line of dialogue but simply from amazing acting at the funeral scene. Same as the 2 min of screentime Rhaena has up until now, the frustration we know Rhaena feels for being overlooked is just amazing acting. Baela and Jace’s script is them speaking politically, but the actors just have good chemistry for their canon ship that it doubles as both an emotional bonding scene and a scene that furthers the plot.

she literally says "i am blood and fire, driftmark must pass to salt and sea". whereas i literally said that, judging by this, she thinks herself not suited to be the heir to driftmark, not to rule in general, topic on which we do not yet know how she appraises herself, but it does beg the question, doesn't it? if she doesn't see herself appropriate as the ruler of a land to which she is legally entitled, as corlys' oldest surviving heir of his body, then for which holdings exactly does she believe she would act as an appropriate ruler? she is even shown to know explicitly that jace (and, by extension, luke and joffrey) are bastards, because she asks him about harwin strong. the argument falls apart the minute you start examining the logic. even if we concede that baela might have the ambition to become the next queen of westeros after rhaenyra and would, thus, not be interested in driftmark, then why doesn't she suggest her sister rhaena as corlys' heir?

this is a huge issue in general with both baela and rhaena, and, as i mentioned in the tags, i was not even being anti about them, BUT. i simply have not found it productive to discuss this topic with their stans, because of their fundamental failure to accept this plothole (i can't label it otherwise) as a major flaw in their character construction (so i've observed, at least). that is why i am tagging like that. baela and rhaena remain very frustrating characters for me to engage with, even in the books, where these same elements exist, because

1. i have to explain away this gaping hole in their characterisation via doylist means (grrm wrote this story with a pre-determined ending and everything he incidentally created has to be misshapen in order to fit these story beats, organic development be damned)

OR 2. if we must use watsonian reasoning, then it must say something unsatisfying (for me, as a reader) about their passivity if they're so uninterested in becoming heiresses in their own right. i am not confident that i will see eye-to-eye on this issue with their fans or with tb in general.

needless to say that their actresses are very good - this becomes evident as soon as they receive more than two lines. that was never the issue. but, coming back to baela's line, you already know why they made her say this. they just introduced alyn as a character and gave him a sympathetic personality,* so they must somehow explain away why baela would be ok with her bastard uncle inheriting and not her or her sister. how convenient that she doesn't see herself as an opportune choice for driftmark because of some horoscope reason like being "blood and fire" instead of "salt and sea"!

*interesting choice, considering that he cheated on baela more than once during their marriage

[soyeonsbabygirl]

Then…Now

CW: Mentions of a mental Breakdown, Cheating, and overall very big issues that Jia has

-

Jiyoung had always believed she was a nice person.

She grew up with a good childhood, her parents loved her and they even let her go to New Zealand at one point for further studies. She of course knew they only said yes since Yeojin her oldest more responsible and mature sister was going, along with her cousin Jennie, even little Sooyoung was going with them which Jia didn't mind. She’d rather not leave Sooyoung alone anyways, even when Sooyoung left going back to China, Jiyoung still stayed with Yeojin and her cousin. Maybe she should’ve gone back with Sooyoung….maybe then none of this would’ve ever happened.

Jiyoung who was only 17, waited. Being in New Zealand gave her opportunities China wouldn’t have been able to give her. She wasn’t really as good as speaking Chinese like Sooyoung and her dad despite being Chinese-Korean. But that wasn’t her fault, Korean just ended up being her first language. She had been a big fan of few Kpop groups, often singing along to the songs she would hear Yeojin play.

She would spend hours trying to learn the choreography to any of the songs she would see, it was no secret she loved Kpop. Without her sister Yeojin, she would’ve never found out about Kpop. Jiyoung looked up to her older sister, she was proud of her for being accepted by an acting agency in Korea. Yeojin had always loved acting so she would be a perfect actress.

But really…..it was Yeojin that was perfect, gorgeous face, fluent in both Korean, Chinese, and English , naturally good at school, everyone loved her, hour glass figure, smart, responsible, and naturally mature. Jiyoung wanted to be like her, but her dreams were different. She signed up for dance lessons and eventually became top of the class, she taught herself piano as well singing along to it as she would create her own melodies.

Eventually she was spotted by a scout for SM, they encouraged her to audition. She was beyond excited which led to where she was now. SM had flown her out to Korea after she passed the audition in New Zealand, now it was time for her to audition in front of the CEO.

She was nervous but it was no shock she had passed with flying colors, within a month of being at company she had made it into SM rookies. Her parents were upset she hadn’t talked to them about this but still supported her nonetheless, she became friends with a girl who shared a name with her younger sister, as well as meeting a girl who had come all the way from Canada. She had noticed Seulgi before Seulgi had even noticed her, I mean when you’re in the same entertainment for 4 months you're bound to notice someone.

Jiyoung was especially known for a distinct feature, her long hair, her dance style, and creating her own songs. Every evaluation Jiyoung would pass. She felt like she was perfect…like her sister. Only thing is Jiyoung had a girlfriend. She met her through her cousin Jennie, Kim Minji. Minji was gorgeous to Jiyoung always knowing what to say and how she was feeling. She and Minji would often sneak out alongside her and Sooyoung the trainee who shared the same name as her younger sister who became her best friend. Minji was perfect, everything anyone could ever want in a girlfriend. But maybe she was too perfect…too perfect for someone like Kim Jiyoung.

After being the highest ranking trainee well known among SM rookies and practically the whole industry, you can imagine people’s surprise when Jiyoung left SM. The announcement made multiple headlines and no one knew why. People were bound to be confused when a girl who had been training for half a year and was rumored to debut as either a soloist or a girl group that SM had been wanting to debut all because of her, a girl who had wrote and produced so many songs for the already existing groups, a girl who had the best voice out of all the trainees in her training group and could easily hit whistle notes like it was nothing whilst still having a siren like voice. Rumors speculated which were so ridiculous they would make Jiyoung scoff.

If they had known that a month prior her and Kim Minji her girlfriend of 2 months had broken up, it was Jiyoung’s choice. Minji was too perfect for someone like her, the relationship bored Jiyoung or at least that's what she told herself. Jiyoung didn’t deserve Minji’s love. That was what she believed but she never told Minji that, only telling the girl she needed to focus on training the girl nodded understandingly and the two remained friends. Jiyoung tried to distract herself but she couldn’t. Everything felt like it was too much, when she ended up coming in second in her evaluation that was when she couldn’t do it.

Here she was now, looking in the mirror. She had dropped out of an entertainment that would’ve helped her to achieve her dreams, leaving her friends, and so many other things behind. She had already joined another entertainment and passed the audition, but no one knew that yet. Other than her older sister. The worst thing about this whole thing was what netizens said about her. She knew what netizens had to say about it since she would sometimes spend hours reading their comments, the positive ones supporting her were sweet but there were more negative ones aimed at her, those are the ones that caught her attention.

Those fucking bastards who had nothing better to do but comment on what Jiyoung decided to do with her life. Saying she had wasted her potential, calling her ungrateful, and so many other hateful words. Jiyoung looked at herself in the mirror not even realizing she was crying or when she grabbed the scissors. Everything was a blur but at the end of it, her long hair that she was complimented on for years gone now stopping at her shoulders. Now Jiyoung felt control.

SIXTEEN was a blur to her. She had gone on the survival show after her second year of being under JYP. Many netizens recognized her as the girl from SM rookies and were shocked at the 180 of her appearance. She became popular for her looks quickly. Her vocals paired with Jihyo, Sana, and a girl named Chaeyeon apparently brought many to tears.

People loved how she was able to create mainly her own material and execute it flawlessly. Her rapping also impressed people. Despite being more known for her vocals she was an amazing rapper. She would always rank first when it came to rapping on the show surprising many who only saw her as a vocalist. She had also started dating another girl named Yoo Siah around this time.

She didn’t know what it is but something about the girl attracted her, and she loved that. She had dated a Source Music trainee briefly last year for at least 3 and a half months. She couldn’t remember what was wrong with that relationship but both girls had mutually decided to break up. Which was good since the relationship bored Jiyoung by the 3rd month but again she still remained friends with the girl.

Jiyoung would watch as young girls got eliminated, some were the same as her younger sister Sooyoung if not younger. Jiyoung found herself wondering about her little sister who had also decided to become an idol. Jiyoung was angered by this screaming at her younger sister making the younger girl cry. Jiyoung didn’t mean to make the younger girl cry, she's her baby sister after all. She doesn’t want little Sooyoung to go through the same thing she did and what was worse was that Sooyoung was younger than her. Jiyoung apologized a few days later but made a mental note to look after her sister in this industry.

Jiyoung didn’t expect herself to cry as much as she did when she saw Momo someone she grew close with in the entertainment get eliminated. A river of tears made their way down Jiyoung’s face as she cried watching her leave, maybe that's why Siah broke up with her. Because she was too weak. Oh well. I guess Jiyoung was too weak for Siah to love her. Jiyoung decided she would use a different name as her stage name. She gave a slight smirk to the crowd making everyone scream as she prepared to speak. “I’m Jia, the 8th Member of twice.” Once again Jia had regained control.

The girls had just had a Japanese debut a month ago, Jia and Seulgi had been dating for 8 months now. Jia’s hair was long because Seulgi liked her with her hair long. They had been revealed after 6 months of dating, but neither cared. whoever the anonymous source was that got pictures of her and Seulgi making out needed a fucking life.

Jia loved the way Seulgi kissed her as if she was the only girl in the world. The way Seulgi’s hands would hold her waist pulling her closer. She got hate for dating Seulgi and being a lesbian overall but she didn’t care. She had Seulgi that was all she needed and cared about. Sure there would be days Seulgi would ghost her not talking to her for days sometimes weeks, but she trusted Seulgi. Seulgi would never hurt her.

She tells Jia all the time that she loves her, Jia really felt herself falling in love with Seulgi too. Seulgi had met Jia’s parents which her exes had never even come close to, her sisters though Sooyoung was nicer to her than Yeojin according to Seulgi, even posted her on her story. She truly was in love with her.

Though Seulgi would be on her phone for hours whenever they hung out and when Jia asked her about it, it would make Seulgi upset as if Jia was in the wrong for even daring to ask. “It’s like you don’t fucking trust me.” “Don’t you love me baby?” “if you love me you would trust me.” “I thought we talked about this. Stop being annoying.” Jia would apologize feeling bad for having upset her girlfriend. Even when Seulgi acted like this , Jia still loved her.

When Seulgi would ditch her to hang out with Joy or Irene she didn’t question it since it’s just group bonding. Besides whenever they had sex Seulgi was able to help Jia forget about it all. Possessive, loving, and rough sex was her favorite thing about Seulgi. Seulgi would come back from ghosting her or being late to a hangout or date and not even say a word immediately kissing Jia.

Hands trailing over her body as she flung Jia’s clothes off. She would run her finger over Jia’s spider tattoo on her lower hip. She would grope Jia’s tits that could barely fit in Seulgi’s hands from how big they were. No matter how Seulgi fucked Jia she would always mutter “I love you” and “you're mine” against Jia’s skin. Jia belonged to Seulgi, and Jia knew she was hers forever….

Jia’s blood ran cold as she opened as message from a random number. She watched video and it was clear who it was. Seulgi and Irene were fucking. their faces were in it, their moans were heard, along with Seulgi screaming Irene’s name. Jia couldn’t stop the screams and tears she let out as everything stopped around her. She fell to her knees having a full breakdown not even registering Jihyo and Nayeon comforting her.

They held her in their arms trying to calm her down which seemed to only make the girls screams worse. Chaeyoung had called Joy who was Jia’s best friend. Surely she could help calm her down right? when she answered she was on speaker and Jia heard the words she would never wanna hear from her best friend. “We’re not fucking friends. I was never her friend. She’s not worth it.”

Jia stopped crying briefly to stare at the phone in shock along with Chaeyoung, Momo and Sana who had just entered the room standing at the doorway, Jihyo and Nayeon whose faces were filled with anger as they stared at the phone in disbelief. After 4 seconds more tears fell from her eyes as she sobbed loudly, shaking slightly as well.

She couldn’t breathe and every touch despite it being comforting also felt almost like ice making Jia scream more. Tzuyu the maknae of the group who hated seeing Jia like this called her younger sister. Sooyoung arrived quickly rushing to her sister. Nayeon and Jihyo moved and Sooyoung held her older sister in her arms.

Jia’s screams and sobs could be heard throughout the whole dorm. Sooyoung who was only 18, had never heard her sister scream or seen her cry like this. Her screams and sobs were heard by everyone in the dorm as she clung to her baby sister being the only one to provide Jia with the comfort she needed.

It has been a month since Jia and Seulgi broke up. a month since Joy was no longer her best friend. Jia felt empty. She felt like no one could love her. Only person that did was Seulgi, she showed her the side of her no one else had seen. She loved her everyday and this is what she got in return? Fuck that. Fuck Kang Seulgi. Fuck Bae Joohyun. Fuck Park Sooyoung. She acted like a shitty friend from the start of her and Seulgi’s relationship anyways. She had turned cold and distant and barely making time to even respond to Jia’s call. The girls were about to have a Christmas comeback, Jia still had her long hair, the long hair that Seulgi loved her in. The same hair she would run her fingers through, the same hair she would tell Jia is when she looked her prettiest. Jia looked in the mirror scissors in hand, she needed to regain control. She cut her hair just above her shoulders slightly by 5 centimeters. She was not anyone’s anymore. She cut her hair severing Seulgi’s hold on her. She was no longer Seulgi’s Jia. She was Kim Fucking Jia and she belonged to no one but herself.

That was all then, but let’s talk about now. This was now: it had been 2 years since the breakup and Jia hasn’t dated anyone else since only having flings. She makes it clear what they are when she starts sleeping with someone and if they fall in love, that's their fault. That had nothing to do with Jia.

Some of them respected that, others disappointed, and then some would cry. She had just ended her recent Fling with Vivi from Loona 2 months ago. Nothing wrong with the girl, she just bored Jia and she felt Vivi falling in love with her so she broke it off before it could be anything else. Jia had made a huge name for herself in the industry.

She spoke 5 languages fluently soon to be 7, She was the 3rd most biased member, known for her producer skills, vocals, and rapping, people loved the way she danced claiming there was a certain sexiness to it, then there was her iconic “10 minutes” solo stage she did. She has the titles Nation’s Vixen, Women Attractor, China’s Golden Voice, and Daughter of YSL. She is known for being an ambassador for Ferrari, Jimmy Choo, and YSL.

Jia knew this and was proud of herself. She knew she was unlovable so she wasn’t perfect like her older sister but she wasn’t Yeojin. She was Kim Jiyoung. Despite all of this and the way Jia is……Nayeon, Momo, Dahyun, and Jihyo couldn’t help but be the first ones to fall for her.

-

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! We will see more of Jia since she is slowly becoming my new obsession more than Sooyoung. Feel free to ask me anything you have about Jia and this chapter.

[starsopinions]

Why I'm excited for The Marvels

The first real introduction I had to the MCU was in 2019, my best friend and I decided to go to the cinema. We weren’t sure what movie to watch but we eventually landed on Captain Marvel, I remember being hooked from the first second and being so excited when, at the end, the words “Captain Marvel will return…” appeared on screen. We left the theatre excited for the sequel which we promised to watch it together. I’m not friends with her anymore but I have to say that, less than a month away from the release of The Marvels, I can’t wait to finally see it and I don’t understand why there seems to be so much negativity surrounding the release of this, in my opinion, very promising movie. So here is why I'm excited for The Marvels!

The cast

Watching the trailer, the first thing that jumps out at me is the cast. The main cast consists of actors who have done consistently good jobs in the past. You may not like Brie Larson but there is no denying that she can act, which is further proven by her many awards, including an Oscar for best actress in 2016. Joining her is Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau who, I think we can all agree on, did an amazing job in WandaVision. And completing the trio is Iman Vellani who is playing Ms marvel. I know a lot of people didn’t like Ms Marvel as a show but I think many are disregarding the fact that the target audience was (younger) teens and not middle-aged men (that isn’t to say that Ms Marvel was perfect but I think it was a fun addition which added something new to the MCU). Besides, I think the problem in Ms Marvel definitely wasn’t Iman’s performance and if they fix the writing issues there is nothing wrong with her character. She is very charismatic and funny, and in my opinion, she is a joy to watch. I am so excited to watch the trio’s dynamic and chemistry!

And as if that wasn’t enough, acting alongside them will be Zawe Ashton. You may know her from Fresh Meat or Velvet Buzzsaw. We don’t know a whole lot about her character yet besides that she will be the antagonist. I think Zawe has a lot of talent and I’m excited to see more of her villainous side.

“throw-away villain”

A lot of people seem to think that this will be a boring, one-time/throw-away villain- kind of movie but I honestly think that that is just what the MCU needs right now. There have been so many big cross-over movies recently that deal with very complex issues (time travelling, the multiverse) that something small that focuses on the characters and story would work really well. Especially as it seems that Zawe’s character is going to be building on past villain Ronan (Guardians of the Galaxy), which gives her an already established back story so it doesn’t come out of nowhere which is often an issue with these one-time villains.

Recent MCU movies have been falling into the trap of building up lots of expectations, for them just to have a simple storyline. For example, everyone was expecting Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness to include loads of crossovers and references to other movies which made the reality so much more disappointing. I think The Marvels has done a really good job of building up realistic expectations while still making an exciting trailer. No one is expecting Wanda or Loki to appear in this movie so no one will be disappointed when it doesn’t happen. 

“The M-She-U”

I have been reading the comments on the promotion for the movie and a lot of comments say things like: “Ain’t no one watching this ms marvel Has become sadly feministic” 

and

 “I am willing to bet money this movie I’ll include nothing but horrible comedy, political takes, and sex takes” 

(yes, these are actual comments)(I’m not sure if I should correct the grammar or just leave it help)

These comments are commented by people who have seen as much of this movie as you and I, and that means they have seen a 2-minute trailer and you just can’t base a full opinion on those snippets of an entire, 2-hour movie, but let's address them anyway. 

“Horrible comedy” – To be completely honest, comedy is always a difficult topic because that is just such a personal preference. But based on what we have seen so far, it seems pretty funny and I hope they’ll be able to balance the serious tones and the comedy. I think to write off a movie as having horrible comedy purely because you think the trailer isn’t funny is shallow and kind of stupid. If one person doesn’t like something that doesn’t mean the whole world agrees with you. 

“sadly feministic”/”political takes” – I think it is weird to call any MCU movie “sadly feministic” because it is something that was lacking so much in earlier Marvel movies and their more recent works have started to include more female representation but that doesn’t mean the problem is suddenly solved. I do agree that some representation has been lacking in depth which makes it feel cheap but that’s all the more reason to be more feminist. But even without that, the trailers don’t feel like they are pushing a feminist agenda. They are just heroes who happen to be women and I, as a young girl, am really excited to see that on the big screen.

At the end of the day, anyone is entitled to their own opinions but the hate and negativity that has been surrounding this movie is absolutely insane. There are a lot of people who have decided that (without seeing the movie) they don’t like it and no one else can either. It is 100% okay to not like something but please don’t ruin it for other people. 

The cast and their chemistry have me really thrilled for this movie, I am very excited to see what Captain Marvel has been up to all this time. 

I will be there opening night with high expectations and a very large bucket of popcorn, I hope to see you there :D

[littlerosetrove]

I really enjoyed this episode! Without spoilers, it felt like the 911 that we all love a-la season 3 kinda feeling. The characters felt connected rather than disconnected like they were in season 6 and some in season 5. The 911 calls were the perfect length, nothing lingered unnecessarily, again unlike in season 6 where that was an issue. And I really enjoyed the theme of relationships, romantic relationships in particular, and examining if the relationship is healthy or perhaps going stagnant.

🌟 Now on to my Spoiler Thoughts for 7x1 in no particular order. 🌟

-Marisol was legit on screen for maybe 3 seconds, and Eddie even mentioning her was to say “oh I’m dating a woman.” We really got nothing from it beyond, to me at least, some cringe. That’s it. 😆 Bruh, this is really giving “yeah she won’t be around that long,” cause she wasn’t presented as particularly important. 

- Marisol was helping chaperone Chris’s date? Ngl that’s a bit weird if she and Eddie haven’t been dating long, but perhaps that’s just me. I’m so curious how Chris even feels about Marisol. Does he think, “Doesn't matter, she probably won’t stay”?? Does Chris only like Marisol because it seems to make Eddie happy, but that’s the extent? So curious.

- Omg Eddie wants Bucks to talk to Chris, a player apparently, because at one time Buck was one. Like father, like son. 

- Again loved this theme of couples just seeing if they’re doing well, are they stagnant, and just what’s important to them. 

- Oh gosh, Chris sees that no matter how nice or good you are, he thinks the girl will still leave. Like his mom. Godddd. </3 And this also shows that Chris still thinks highly of his dad. He sees that his dad is a good guy, but women in his life still leave. Goddddddd.

- Bye Natalia, you will not be missed. Buck and Natalia broke up off screen because “all she wanted to talk about was death.” And thus I liked Eddie’s comment to Buck, “Welcome back to the living.” Indeed!

- I’m into this exploration of Bobby and Athena seeing what they are “without all the chaos.” Poor Bobby he was trying so hard with Athena on this cruise, being so patient. And don’t think I didn’t miss his heavy implication of, “we can just stay in bed the rest of the time ;)).”

- Soooo much Eddie on my screen THANK GOD. 💕💕💕

- Sooo much Buck and Eddie! Together! Being friends and helping each other out in parenting!!!

- Hen being one hell of a captain. 💕

- All three parents - Eddie, Buck, and Shannon - sitting in the same spot on Chris’s bed. 🫠

- I’d been wondering for so long about Chris’s thoughts about Shannon. So he did recognize that she left. Based on him reading the letter and standing the picture back up, I’m guessing…. he’s at peace now about his mom? Or getting there??

- Honestly I loved the hot tub 911 call where Eddie was so compassionate about calming down the woman. It was a funny scene, but not cringey. Ryan and the actress played it with such sincerity that it worked. 

- This episode was definitely a good intro for new viewers. It shows the Buckley-Diaz family of it all, Buck and Eddie with a very close friendship, Hen in a captain role, Chimney and Maddie and their upcoming marriage talk, Shannon and who she is to Eddie and Chris, Buck is single, Eddie is dating but you really don’t need to know more about the who fghjhkb, and how close the 118 are. 

- There were quite a few callbacks to episodes in seasons 2 and 3, which was so neat to see. 

- Shirtless Eddie….  🫠 Buck saw it too mmmmm.  🫠 - Maddie and Chimney were so cute. =)))

- This whole pirates or whatever they are taking over the cruise ship story is fun! Can’t wait to see how it continues to play out.  - Eddie is a nester. Hmmmm. And Buck pointing out - something about he and Shannon barely dating before she got pregnant and boom! Marriage.

- Buck and Eddie being battle boyfriends. 😌💕

I think I got everything haha. Again, what a great start to the new season! I'm feeling good about what's to come. =D

[beardedmrbean]

Actually the actress Lupita Nyongo was offered a role in women king, but she when started researching her role. She was horrified and drop from the film. And she made a documentary on the Dahomey https://youtu.be/F7oeWZMwbvI?feature=shared

Oh yes I know about Islam role in the slave trade, but you know Muslims loved using the USA invasions as a blind spot on the evil shit they did. Not saying the west wasn’t in the wrong either.

I mean I was researching famous African kingdoms/empires. I realize many of them are Muslims

Which means if African Americans (90% are Christians) and these African kingdoms ever interacted= Crusade clusterfuck the black edition (sponsored by the CIA)

I’m 23, but it going to be a looong road for me to recovered. I mean white people (well mostly Americans as you still have to sideye the euros.) acknowledge what their ancestors did was bad. While Muslims and Africans act like “no no that was all white people fault”

I'm gonna have to stick this off to the side and give it a listen and a look as it runs,

Contents are turned off, gee I can't think of 843 different reasons why that's probably a good idea , lol.

I’m 23, but it going to be a looong road for me to recovered.

You're only responsible for you, and you're also self aware so not so long a road for you if you aren't already done with it.

My particular ethnic or religious group did bad things in the past and I acknowledge that and will continue to work to ensure that those things never happen again, and then find the method by which you can do that.

That's a template for everyone right there, or if you want to go the ultra cringe route you can do like these people, who I would actually contend are more racists than most klan members, but it's benevolent racism so it gets excused.

Sorry this made me laugh here, or I wouldn't include the caption

BBC - Devon - Abolition - Saying sorry for slavery

Group is called Lifeline Expedition, and they may finally be defunct since their website is gone, which is good because whole thing reeks of sadomasochism.

But the pictures are funny, if you're ever in the mood for high grade cringe look them up, I can see 2nd hand embarrassment from some of the people in Africa they're apologizing to in some. ____________________________

Solving racism is a lot easier than so many people make it out to be.

Step 1. Don't be racist

Step 2. Don't tolerate legitimate racism from anyone, (ironic is ok sometimes, just be sure it's funny)

Step 3. Profit

This simple 3 step plan works no matter what race you are and can also be applied to other issues in life like homophobia and sexism.

[where-fading-princesses-live]

Finally got around to watching Being the Recardos on Amazon Prime after procrastinating for months... ugh, why do I torture myself? I knew it was going to be God-awful.

I generally hate biopics. It’s just too hard to cram an entire person’s life in 2 hours. I much prefer to read a biography or memoir which offers deeper insight and can be thorough and detailed or watch a doc. Real stories are always more interesting than dramatizations. That being said, my main issue was with the casting. I just couldn’t see Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem disappear into the roles of Lucy and Desi. They looked NOTHING like them. I will give props to Kidman to at least nailing Lucy’s voice, but otherwise, her hair and makeup was atrocious and did not embody Lucy at all (it looks better on the obviously photoshopped poster, trust me... it looks like utter sh- in the movie). I generally like Bardem but he was miscast as Desi. So he’s got an accent so what? A guy who was shorter and didn’t speak in a deep baritone would have been a better choice. I would have preferred unknowns in these parts. When you use A-list actors who are supposed to be representing Icons, it’s hard to see them as the people they’re meant to be portraying because they’re too recognizable themselves. 

I also had issues with the actress playing Vivan Vance as well (too lazy to look up her name). She was about the right age as Viv maybe a couple years younger but much too thin and pretty. Viv was an attractive woman when she wasn’t playing Ethel (they always made her look frumpy and older than she was irl) but you have to keep in mind she wasn’t a pin-up girl, either and she wasn’t old but she wasn’t that young either. She was 42 albeit classy but still... the hair was all wrong and I just couldn't see her as Vivian. In fact, after comparing their pictures side by side I think Vivian was much more glamorous but she wasn’t supposed to look that glamorous as Ethel... they let Ethel be glammed up in the later episodes and this was an issue that cropped up in the movie but still. The actress didn’t even try to do her voice and sounded nothing like Vivian so she just didn’t do it for me. The only actor that completely fit his part was JK Simmons as William Frawley. Maybe he was thinner than Frawley but he got the voice and mannerisms down pat that if I closed my eyes I could totally see Frawley speaking. Now if only the rest of the cast was as good as he was, the movie would have been at least partly bearable.

I gather this movie was intended to be a low budget TV movie because that’s exactly what it felt like. No effort put into it all because it went direct to streaming. 

Also there were so many historical inaccuracies, too many to list off but purist Lucy fans would spot the inconsistencies from a mile away (the most glaring issue was how Lucy and Desi met on the set of Too Many Girls in 1940).

Honestly... the costume department couldn’t have done a worse job...

Was this supposed to be Lucy’s natural brunette hair? Cause no.... no it’s not. 

Sorry but Kidman just couldn’t capture her beauty at all... 

The Communist speech was also really cheesy... the audience reactions could not be more forced and you can tell when they were told to gasp and look shocked. If Desi’s speech was staged for the cameras I could forgive the forced reactions but it was not staged and the audience irl was not expecting Desi’s speech. If you look up the actual address Desi gave to the studio audience it was much less dramatic and easier to suspend one’s disbelief.

The film offered nothing new either... in fact the crappy 1991 TV movie Before the Laughter did a more entertaining job of capturing Lucy and Desi’s rocky marriage than this movie did. I didn’t care for Maurice Benard as Desi but Frances Fisher KILLED it as Lucy. It was not a great movie by any means but I’d rather watch that one any day over this hot mess.

The only thing I can say that was positive was that it was a wise choice to zero in on a single week of filming the I Love Lucy show as opposed to showing their entire lives and careers. we see parts of that but there was too much to show in 2 hours so focusing on a single moment in their lives and what led up to that was for the best so that it didn’t feel too rushed. Biopics work best when you’re focusing on just one thing. But that being said the movie still fell flat on its character development and there was no emotional connection to Lucy and Desi at all. In 2 hours I felt like I still didn’t really know who these people were. It was a very surface level movie with no real deep commentary or themes or anything. I also hated the fake interviews with the writers as the movie’s opening it was very weak and cliche. They were trying to push this movie as a docu drama but it wasn’t. It was just another bad dramatization of two Hollywood Legends with no new insight. 

But then I didn’t really expect it to be a good movie so can’t say it met my expectations or really disappointed me because I had none going in.

I’m definitely going to watch the far more superior documentary Lucy and Desi directed by Amy Poehler. Docs are always 10000x better than crappy biopics.

[everything-person]

Beetlejuice

I saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice last night and I have some thoughts that I’m just going to put here. Incase that wasn’t clear SPOILERS AHEAD.

First let me start off by saying I enjoyed watching it. I enjoyed seeing all the call back to the original movie. I enjoyed seeing Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara in their original roles in all their glory. I also enjoyed seeing Jenna Ortega and William Dafoe. I also was delighted to see Danny Devito make an appearance. And Bob I loved Bob. I enjoyed watching the movie.

Now that that’s out of the way.

I don’t think it’s a good movie.

I think it has the same issue Toby Maguire Spider-Man 3 had. It was too many plot points too many villains and all to come to an unclimatic end.

Most of the plot was predictable. When Astrid met Jeremy I leaned over to my friend and said it’s a shame he’s dead. The manager was only in it for the money gasp wow such shock 😒

The only thing that wasn’t the slightest bit unpredictable was what they were going to do with Beetlejuices ex wife Delores. And they didn’t even do anything with her. Also Delia was fantastically unpredictable and her death which was upsetting.

Then there was a pointless plot point of Beetlejuice obsessing over Lydia all these years and haunting her. They could’ve gotten rid of that entirely. Still make Lydia think she’s seeing him because she was traumatized by him but it never actually being him. And then after he finds out his ex wife is back sees Charles obituary and sees his in to get out. Like in the first movie.

Lydia and Astrid reuniting with Astrid’s dad was corny and cheesey and honestly didn’t add anything to the movie I wish they did a bit like what the musical did where they don’t actually see him and get closure through each other and accept that the dead parent is gone.

I also wish they let Winona Ryder do more with Lydia’s character. She is a great actress and she did well with what the story called for Lydia was a spaz. It just fell flat I wish they let her have a little more depth.

Beetlejuice though he was in the movie more than the first one didn’t feel like the same Beetlejuice. Like the first movie every time he was on screen he commanded attention from the audience he was wild. This one with everything going on he kinda was just another character. The singing was funny.

Oh and the baby 😖😬 I’m gonna be see that baby in my nightmares.

I just think if they put in a little more effort or gave it an extra 30 minutes it could’ve been a good sequel but as is Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in my opinion is a sequel you see once because you liked the first one and never watch it again.

[estellamiraiauthor]

Some thoughts on the Ken Hill Phantom in Tokyo—both the show itself, since I’d never seen it before (only partial recordings, never even a full video) and this particular production.

Apologies in advance that I do not know the names of much of the cast… only three cast members are named on the website. I guess you had to buy a program to get some credit for the others, which seems a little shitty… they all did a great job and I’d like to be able to give credit where it’s due… if anyone happens to have a full list, let me know and I’ll add that information.

So, overall thoughts… it was a lot funnier and more fourth-wall-breaking than I expected. Not all of the jokes quite landed (either with me or with the audience in general), but it wasn’t because they were especially dated either, which is always nice in an older show. Just some moments that were like “I know I’m supposed to laugh here, but the joke’s just not that good.”

The banter between Richard (the only new manager in this version) and the old manager, and between Richard and Remy (his assistant or manservant, who kind of fills the role that a second manager sometimes does) usually worked, and all three of them were talented actors. Richard is the former manager of a railway company in this version, which he brags about quite a bit, and I think it was an interesting attempt to showcase the difference between a businessman who really doesn’t appreciate or even attempt to understand opera at all, vs. the Phantom, to whom art should be everything… unfortunately I feel like overall, the Phantom’s characterization was a little weak, which really hurt the emotional impact of the second act. More on that later.

Jammes sort of fulfills the ALW-Meg role here, and this was an interesting character for me because she wasn’t really very good of a dancer? What she did, she did competently, but definitely came off as “actress who has taken ballet lessons” rather than professional ballerina. It also didn’t seem to be much of a singing role, so not a case of choosing a singer over a dancer… I suppose she was maybe supposed to be comic relief, but the actress played her pretty straight?

Paul Potts as Faust is one of the three credited actors, alongside the Phantom and Christine. I LOVED him on Britain’s Got Talent, and watched a few videos of more recent performances when I learned he would be in this, but I wouldn’t say I’ve seriously followed his career. I was surprised in general that the role was such a funny one, and that he was extremely funny in it, because the image I had of him was definitely “Super Serious Tenor”. He was extremely enjoyable, both as a singer and as an actor here. For those who are wondering, because I Googled the role and didn’t find much, “Faust” is essentially the “Piangi” character here, except we never learn his actual name (although we do learn Mme. Giry’s!). He actually had a bigger role than I expected based on his first couple of scenes, unlike poor Mephistopheles, who got killed off fairs soon, for the actor to return as the Persian!

The other major character we meet in that first scene is Raoul, who is Richard’s son in this version. The whole “Little Lotte lost her scarf in the sea” backstory never seems to have happened. Christine and Raoul are already in love from the first scene, but we never learn where or when they met. Interestingly, while the whole “Raoul as aristocracy would never be with an opera singer” issue is not addressed here, since he’s not aristocracy, he does bring up how inappropriate it would be for Christine to be alone with a man in her dressing room. (Not that that stops HIM from barging in!) This Raoul was Sweet and noble, and I really wish I knew the actor’s name because he was a beautiful singer as well.

Christine actually didn’t get a chance to sing until fairly late in the show, and I’m pretty sure the first time she really sings is at her father’s grave, not during a performance or rehearsal! Tayla Alexander as Christine was AMAZING. It’s nice in general to see a Christine who actually is an operatic soprano (although I know that’s not really the POINT of a lot of versions, and don’t mind at all when they don’t, it’s refreshing to see a Christine close to the Leroux character?) She was a great actor too, and this is definitely a Christine with agency. I thought it was an interesting choice to have her come straight out and say “I PITY you!” at the end… that IS possibly a bit of “datedness”? Leroux, or at least the translation I have, also says “pity,” but pity isn’t necessarily seen as an emotion people WANT others to feel about them these days… not sure if that’s an evolution of language/evolution of disability culture thing, or just that this Christine is brutally honest?

So I guess this brings me to the Phantom… he also doesn’t show up until almost the end of Act 1, which is a choice I respect… mystery is good for this character! But I also feel like less interaction with Christine ultimately just made him come off as a creepy incel? I have to say, I did not love Ben Forster in the role. I just went and Googled him because other than playing the ALW Phantom, I wasn’t familiar with him at all, and it’s not at all surprising to me that he got his start in JCS and Rocky Horror etc… I’m much more interested in seeing him in those roles, because he has this like… rock-n-roll twang? To his voice that just did not fit a mostly-Leroux-faithful, generally-period-appropriate Phantom. He was overshadowed vocally not only by Potts but by the woefully uncredited Raoul and the Persian, and if the Phantom doesn’t have the most angelic voice on that stage, it just doesn’t work. I’m curious to see him as the ALW Phantom now, because I surprisingly don’t hate SOME more rock-ish voices there (Paul Stanley isn’t my favorite, but he’s far from my least favorite)… Looking those videos up once I get home!

Since I’m going through all the characters, this version actually has Mme Giry AND the Persian, although Mme Giry is in her original role as box manager! Mme Giry was another great actor and singer, she had a few nice funny moments to break up the overall gravitas of the character.

The Persian… well, this gets into the whole weakness of the second act and of the Phantom character in general. The actor who played the Persian (as well as Mephistopheles) was great, and I didn’t really have a problem with HIS character so much as the needlessly convoluted backstory they gave him and the Phantom. Just about the ONLY sympathetic backstory we get from the Phantom comes from the Persian, and he’s actually pretty brunt about it, just outright calling him “disfigured” rather than a monster or a devil’s child or whatever… which yes, is correct, but it just feels like it’s never really communicated to the audience with any degree of emotion how the Phantom (who never gets a name here) has really been robbed by society’s fear of any chance to have a normal life.

Christine doesn’t have that moment where she sees his face and is initially horrified. She doesn’t see his face at all until the end, so never gets to speak sympathetically about him to others. The Phantom never talks about his OWN past. And what we get from the Persian is mostly about how good at torture he is, oh and that he killed their parents. Because the Persian is his brother.

And I just… that feels so unnecessary? And I think, throws something in there that doesn’t need to be, because is this story set in France, written in English, now commenting on the treatment of children with facial differences in Persia? I don’t really think so, I think it was just supposed to be a big reveal, but it really fell flat. And honestly, if the dude’s parents neglected and abused him… we’ve all been following the Gypsy Rose Blanchard thing for long enough to say, maybe not that it’s OKAY to murder an abusive parent, but it’s certainly a lot more sympathetic than the Persian makes it out to be.

So, in the end, the Phantom is trying to force Christine to marry him by… yelling at her and telling her Raoul is dead. There’s no scorpion and the grasshopper, no Raoul held hostage. If she says no, he’s probably going to kill her, but he’s planning to do that anyway, so it’s a little hard to say what either of them hope to get out of the situation.

And in the end I guess he repents and kills himself, and then all of a sudden all of these people who have been physically and psychologically tormented by him gather ‘round to sing about how he won’t die without a friend? And Christine says he was once her angel of music, but because we’ve never really seen them in the same scene before this, it’s hard to really feel anything about that.

The second act just felt like a huge disappointment after the first… and a lot of that just hung on the Phantom, both the way he was written and the way he was played and sung. I’m glad I saw it, and it’s really interesting to see the parallels either way certain scenes that probably inspired ALW. I was particularly glad to be introduced to Tayla Alexander. But I’m also not going to be going back, at least not during this run.

[transformerswoc]

ROTB and Black Women's Rep

I know there is a lot of negative talk/critique about the women in ROTB, but I wanted to just share as a black genderfluid person, how liberating at least it has been to me to see actual black women portrayed well in a live action tf movie. I understand to a lot of people, the antiblackness that was always a common staple in live actions transformers history, didn’t impact them but it impacted me. And it’s lack of black women, yet making black women (and people) caricatures at any chance they got, was also really upsetting to me. And the way women in the bay films were treated in general was bad.

Rotb was important to me as a black woman fan because for once, we got to see a whole female cast dominated by black women which is rare, if not unheard of for transformers live action media. And they were all given respectful narratives, not made into caricatures and given a chance to shine. A lot of people have made comments about how rotb’s portrayal of women was awful, or how women were failed, and I understand that perspective. I also do not think that by any means, ROTB was perfect in its portrayal of women.

What I do believe however, is that tf live action portrayals of women have come a long way since the bay films. But for people who are not black women, they may not understand nor care about the importance of for once, seeing black women and culture taken seriously on the big screen. The black female characters, in my opinion, were written well. They were given nuance, a respectful narrative and weren’t jokes, caricatures or canon fodder. Elena, the first black live action human, was a breath of fresh air away from what we were used to. She wasn’t white, shy wasn’t super skinny and she didn’t exist as a sex object or a point of romance. She was smart, she also showed us a very real example of microaggressions and racism black women need to face in the work place. Yet, that wasn’t made into a joke, and she was taken seriously by alien life forms when her white female boss ignored her.

And that’s  just something refreshing. We have a black human woman allowed to be flawed, and also allowed to have her subtle experiences of racism taken seriously without being demeaned for it, but we also see how she is integral to the plot, and how her presence was needed in order for the plot to move forward.

I wish we got more Arcee- but I love that she was humanized rather than just made into a joke or a sexual object. She was shown to be extremely intelligent, skilled, understanding, and she was a good fighter and more importantly she wasn’t a caricature. Her being a black woman didn’t dicate how the audience saw her or how she was written. She was written with so much respect and was over all and interesting character.

I could say the same about nightbird. Because not only was she a formindable villain, but she was played by a transfem afro Latina actress, one of my favorite actresses actually, who brought her to life and that was just refreshing to see. again, in media where black trans fems are usually made into cariactures or jokes, I love that nightbird was taken seriously as a villain and a black female character.

My point is that, just because there are issues with the writing of female characters, doesn’t mean you need to discount the actual importance of Black women in the show. I think a lot of people, who are not Black women, and who don’t actually think of or care about Black women’s issues, are quick to not consider how maybe looking at ROTB’s women intersectionally may add more avenues to the conversation of women’s representation. While I don’t think that the film was flawless in its portrayal of women, I think it’s a huge step up and I do think that in the future, things will get better. But for now, as a black fan and a black woman, I absolutely loved seeing and hearing women that looked and sounded like me on screen.

Now, again this doesn't mean that you can't critique the portrayal of women in ROTB, because I have a lot of issues with some portrayals, especially Airazor and even more so, I wish Arcee got more screen time. But at the same time, if you are critiquing the majority Black women, make sure you actually open your space for Black women to give their opinions on things without getting offended. Especially if you are white or non-black yourself.

As always, if you enjoy my blog, consider following my twitter and sharing this post there

[woomycritiques543]

My current thoughts on the Sallie Mae situation.

As someone who used to be mentally unwell for the past few years, I find that my past posts were written in a rush. I find that my past self wasn’t actually upset about the Sallie Mae situation, but rather how Erin Frost was being treated, the people that wronged her, and the fandom’s behavior towards the character and Ignis to be nothing short of disrespectful of the trans identity and not at all being done out of respect, but rather to have Sallie’s _____ define how they see her. Which is what concerned me and why I put that into the video in the first place. So to address the situation, I believe that it should be addresses according to the participants and what each of us should have done. So with that said:

Ignis.

1. Now that I am diagnosed, I believe that Ignis was actually someone both of good and bad faith, that she actually loved Sallie Mae and wanted to have good representation. But that after she said that “I did this for what the fans want.” I researched what those fans “wanted” and found nothing more than disrespectful presentations of the character that I ended up putting into my now deleted “Vivziepop Archive Extravaganza.” video. But that in itself just shows that the fandom was the one who wanted to be bad faith with Sallie Mae.

2. The reason why Ignis emphasized _____ now that I look back on it was because she wanted to make a point about transgender representation. Which now that I have space in my brain to better think things through, I think that this in itself is fine, it was just executed poorly due to the way that the other characters were drawn causing this to be emphasized in a way that was drawn differently from the other characters in a way that caused this to he executed as ___tishization. Even if the good intentions were there. So with Sallie Mae and both her and Sallie’s representation, Ignis was in good faith. I just wish that she was honest about Erin Frost’s posts, the merch that she was proud of instead of hiding behind non-__xual merchandising, and addressed the sitiation with Finn, Sallie’s brother, instead of ignoring the transgender community’s concerns and using the fact that she was a voice actress to avoid accountability for supporting Vivziepop despite what happened with Finn.

Erin Frost.

1. What I believe that Erin should have done differently is that she shouldn’t have just left her statement about Sallie Mae vague but instead should have made an explanation as to why she felt that what Vivziepop was doing with Sallie was _____tization. The issue being the difference between how Sallie was drawn compared to the other characters within the merchandising, and how that ended up causing the execution of a otherwise good faith decision to be done poorly.

Jayman.

1. Oh boy…. Jayman. What could I say about Jayman except that they purposely took Erin’s post out of context to make outlandish claims that used Erin’s vague wording to make her look “bad”, the dishonesty in how he presented his views on pretty much everything, what he ended up doing to other fans, how he treated me. Jayman was just an awful person overall, and im glad that he left the internet before he could have done what he had done to me to anyone else.

Myself.

1. For me, I feel like I should have further looked into the situation and explained myself better. But couldn’t have at the time due to my brain feeling cluttered because I didn’t have proper medical treatment. I should have kept the accountability for the fandom’s actions and Spindlehorse’s actions separate instead of grouping them together the way that I did.

I was too accusatory, I should’ve said that “Though Sallie’s brother situation isn’t your fault, that doesn’t mean that you should keep supporting someone you know wants to erase much needed representation of gnc.” but couldn’t say this at the time due to my past mental state being much less coherent.

2. I’ve realized why the past when it comes to this situation caused me so much pa^n. It was the fact that people kept taking Erin Frost’s word at face value instead of trying to dig into why she said what she said and trying to analyze the screenshots more than just face value. I was actually up^et about Erin Frost, not Sallie Mae. -and because of how I was at the time my thoughts were jumbled together so I took out my emotions about Erin out on Ignis, when I should have again, kept my thoughts about Sallie’s brother, Ignis, and Erin Frost separate.

The problem?

I couldn’t do it at the time. My brain functioned in a way that grouped things together into disorganized mush.

-and now that I know that I am mentally ill, it effects me even more that Jayman was such an able^st person and that Ignis let him get away with treating me the way that he did and let Vivziepop get away with everything else.

In all, I wish that I could do more.

I wish that I could make a proper video on Vivziepop like I had planned to, it’s just that due to personal and technical reasons such a video would be physically impossible to do.

So take this as a “My current thoughts” sort of thing since a proper video on either subject matter, or any more videos for that matter, wouldn’t be possible to do in my current state.

-and with that said, I wish you all a goodnight.

Take care. -RaySquid.

[peonylover2]

Now listen…

I have some good intuition on me 90% of the time and I don’t walk around suspecting people of things

Another thing is i have been in fandoms for 13 year. I know when something doesn’t smell right.

Last: pattern recognition

Now thats said… currently i live in the Henry Cavill fandom, mostly because I haven’t found a show worth while yet.

Been there since season 2 of the Witcher

I know how to spot an account that isn’t really a fan. The news there sound too much like someone is scripting it, how did YOU, a fan, hear about something that hasn’t been common knowledge in that fandom?

“ he asked that actress personally to be in his warhammer serie”

HOW DID YOU KNOW? Why is no one else talking about it then?

Also the elly conway=henry cavill post?

And the major tip off :

Same points repeated like you just using sentences we all know but not adding any personal opinion.

The comment section is dry but for pro-Natalia comments and ‘shitting on haters’ and the lovely marriage comments.

The behavior of the person posting, the content and the comment section is 🚩🚩🚩

Stop posing as a fan. Its demeaning

Update:

She is meeting the cast of argylle. BOY I WAS RIGHT.

Because obv, just because you post about henry and CONSTANTLY updating about the premier like its your JOB, AND the elly conway is henry cavill, with evidence… you posing. You work for them. Also idk if i said this already;

Not many comments on her page

Her reactions feel unnatural

Is the only person saying henry is elly. Which I don’t mind, would cheer him up for it, but its a dead giveaway.

Pro-natalie . Be real, where in the fandom did you see the support? The whole fandom has been dead.

I have been in the fandoms for 13 years, i know a dead one when i see it. The issue is with his alleged gf. If our hearts aren’t feeling well about something, we clock out and wait for the truth to come out. The only thing reviving this dead pigeon would him posting noting about work or natalie and being his old self. Or ditching her and going back to posting as himself.

No one is interested in an actor’s page when its only life updates, its bound to die.

There are obv some actors who post only work and occasionally a pic about their life, but IT FEEL GENUINE.

If the genuine intentions aren’t there… we will know. Also… does he know that some of us have clear-seeing? (Clairvoyance) or can read cards or have other gifts?

My gift is in relationships.. i know it won’t go well. Unless for some forsaken reason we find out the natalie wasn’t ever a bad person or even annoying but genuinely a very good person. BUT IDK… i am not the judge. But my intuition is telling me he has been corrupted and is only focusing on going higher/better with no regards to fans. He sees that his support isn’t from fans but industry. The plan a in acting of “ the fans would love me and that would get me the fame” went in flames.

Now its plan B, the people he works with. I mean come on, tom cruz and Beyoncé&jayz. The music industry is THE LAST thing you want an association with.