#Film Cooper my beloved

[reesemh]

sketchy thing while watching the Miranda allegations unfold

[outlying-hyppocrate]

i'm going to take a break now as i've basically been working nonstop for ???? four hours ?????? six hours ???????? and my voice is shot. this can be remedied by drinking green tea and watching the click {:

[fear-is-truth]

⋆౨ৎ˚ 𝐈𝐓 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 — nicholas a. chavez

𝓣ags ; actress!reader . not proofread . wc 1.4k

requested by — @chaimilkshake

꒰ after your breakout role, teen vogue invites you and your future co-star for an interview ꒱ؘ.

The set of Teen Vogue’s interview was bathed in blinding, fluorescent light, illuminating the sleek, modern chairs arranged under the cameras. Your fingers tapped anxiously against your thigh as you sat in one of them, trying to keep your nerves in check. This wasn’t just any interview—it was your first big one, and you could feel the weight of the attention on your shoulders.

You glanced across the room at Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who was seated in the chair next to you. He’s the rising star everyone’s been talking about since Ryan Murphy’s new docuseries blew up, where he played Lyle Menendez. The two of you were often compared, given your similar roles. In the film, you played Sandra Anderson, one of the infamous “bathtub sisters”—two teenage girls who orchestrated their mother’s murder, a case that horrified the nation. It was your first big role, and while the story itself was dark and intense, the critics had been praising your performance alongside your co-star’s. You’d both been dubbed the “female counterparts” to Nicholas and Cooper Koch, and while that comparison was flattering, it always felt a little surreal to you.

You had only ever done tv commercials before Bathtub Sisters. At 19, you were new to all of this, while Nicholas, at 25, was experienced, confident, and already beloved. And now you were about to share the spotlight with him, after the two of you had been cast as romantic leads in a new rom-com—a pairing that had already broken the internet—people were dying to see more of you together.

Yeah, no pressure.

“Alright, you two ready?” the interviewer — Maggie’s voice calls out from off-camera. You take a deep breath and nod, forcing a small smile. Nicholas glances at you, catching your eye, and offers an easy smile of his own. It helps ease your nerves a little.

“Welcome back, everyone! Today, we’re sitting down with two of Hollywood’s newest stars—Nicholas Chavez and Y/N, who recently broke the internet after being cast together in an upcoming rom-com. You might recognize them from their past roles as Lyle Menendez and Sandra Anderson. Welcome, you two!”

“Thanks for having us, I’m Nicholas Chavez,” Nicholas says smoothly, flashing a smile in your direction. You nod and wave shyly at the camera. “And I’m Y/N L/N.”

“So, this new rom-com,” Maggie begins, “How did it feel to hear that you were cast together? People have been calling you two the ‘next big thing’ after how viral the announcement went.”

Nicholas chuckled, glancing at you for a split second too long. “Honestly, I didn’t expect that kind of reaction. But I can’t complain—it’s been cool seeing people get excited. And, y’know, it’s pretty exciting to be going to work with Y/N. I’m really looking forward to it.”

You try to ignore the warmth creeping up your neck at his compliment. Stay cool, you tell yourself. “Yeah, it’s been…pretty surreal. I mean, this is only my second project, so to be thrown into something so big, it’s wild. But my friends and family have been really supportive.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet!” she gushes. “You two seem to have good chemistry, even off-screen. I can tell.” You shift in your seat, hoping your nervousness wasn’t too obvious.

“So, you both came from playing in darker, heavier roles—the Menendez brothers, Bathtub Sisters—and now you’re starring in a romantic comedy together. That’s quite the shift! How’s it been adjusting to such a different genre?”

“It’s been fun,” Nicholas replies. “I mean, the last project I worked on was pretty intense, and the same goes for Y/N. Jumping into something lighthearted was a nice change of pace. Plus, rom-coms? You can’t beat that.”

You nod in agreement, trying not to blink too much under the lights. “Yeah, definitely. My first film was so dark, and this…it feels like a breath of fresh air.”

“And how about the fan reaction? It’s not every day a casting announcement gets that much attention. People are already shipping you two.”

You feel your face flush at the mention. “I’ve seen some of it,” mentally reminding yourself never to google your own name again. “It’s kind of crazy how fast things blow up.”

“Yeah, it’s wild. People really get invested in this stuff. But hey, it’s cool seeing how excited they are about the movie.” Nicholas agrees.

“So, you guys have been compared quite a bit—being cast in true crime roles, playing siblings in intense, high-profile cases. How do you feel about that?”

Nicholas turns his head to look at you; silently waiting for you to answer first. When you smile back awkwardly, he speaks up. “I think it’s pretty cool. I mean, both cases are so infamous, and it’s wild how much people gravitate toward these kinds of stories.” He pauses, turning his head toward you again.

“But you guys really knocked it out of the park with Bathtub Sisters—I was blown away.”

Surprised by the sudden compliment, you blink, trying not to let it show how flustered you felt. “Thanks, that really means a lot. I watched Monsters too, and your portrayal of Lyle Menendez was just…” you pause, searching for the right words “…insane.”

“How do you handle that kind of pressure, especially you—” the interviewer nods toward you, “since you’re still pretty new to the industry?”

You shift a little in your seat, brushing a hand through your hair. “Uh, it’s pretty overwhelming at times, but it feels like a dream — getting compared to phenomenal actors like Nicholas and Cooper is a huge honour.”

Nicholas chuckles, leaning back slightly. “Hey, don’t give me too much credit. You’re killing it girl — I wasn’t anywhere near where you are when I started.”

His easy confidence makes you relax, and the interview continues smoothly, covering your upcoming rom-com and what fans can expect. Every so often, Nicholas gives you a reassuring smile, helping to settle your nerves

As the interview wraps up and the crew begins packing, the both of you are waiting for your cars outside the studio. The air is cooler now, with evening settling in, and you fidget with the sleeve of your jacket, still feeling a bit starstruck.

“You did great in there,” Nicholas says suddenly, breaking the silence. You turn toward him, genuinely surprised.

“You think so? I felt like I was rambling half the time.”

He laughs, shaking his head. “No way. You were cute and genuine—people love that.”

A smile creeps onto your face, and you feel a little more relaxed around him.

“T-thanks.”

Nicholas’s phone buzzes in his hand, and he glances at it quickly before slipping it back into his pocket.

“Hey, I know we’ve only just started working together, but… do you wanna grab coffee sometime? No cameras, no interviews, just hang out.”

You blink, caught off guard. He’s Nicholas Alexander Chavez. He could be hanging out with anyone, and yet, here he is asking you. Your heart does a little flip.

“Yeah, I’d like that,”

“Sweet,” he says, pulling out his phone and handing it to you. His fingers brush yours briefly, and the small touch sends a rush of warmth through you. You quickly type in your number, trying to ignore the way your cheeks heat up.

He takes the phone back, flashing a smile. “I’ll text you. Promise it won’t be one of those crazy-ass 3 a.m. texts.”

You laugh, feeling your nerves start to fade completely. “Good to know. I’d hate to have to block you.”

He raises an eyebrow, “Block me? Ouch. That’s cold.”

“Boundaries, right?”

“Fair enough.”

As Nicholas heads toward his waiting car, he turns back just before getting in. “Oh, and just so you know,” he calls out with a teasing grin, “I might text you at 2:59 a.m. Just to see if you’ll actually block me.”

You laugh, shaking your head. “You’re pushing your luck.”

“Hey, I live dangerously,” he replies with a wink before sliding into the car.

As he walks away toward his waiting car, you stand there for a second, feeling a little dazed. The whole day had been a whirlwind, and now it seemed like something even crazier was about to begin. Nicholas turns back just before getting into the car, offering one last wave before he disappears into the backseat.

Maybe Nicholas and you were going to be the next big thing—but off-screen.

MLIST

 fear-is-truth 2024 — all rights reserved. do not modify, repost, translate, or plagiarise my content.

[annepi-blog]

KlaineSecretSanta - Once Upon a December [1/10]

Welcome to my @klainesecretsanta2024 fic for the wonderful @little-escapist!

Your story 'Turn Into A Pose' is one of my all-time favorites, and I adore the music you used in it. Some of the songs were new to me, but they’ve since become part of my playlists! I hope this little story brings you some of the joy that your writing has always brought to me.

Your wish list was so inspiring that it inspired a multichapter fic featuring some of the themes you suggested: fan and celebrity dynamics, fake dating, a sprinkle of angst, and appearances from Mercedes and Cooper. I had so much fun weaving these elements together, and I hope it’s everything you were hoping for!

This story is my love letter to Christmas, to classic rom-coms and Hallmark movies. After the rough few weeks many of us have had, I hope it can bring some sweetness, light, and warmth to your holiday season.

Happy Holidays! ________________

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationship: Blaine Anderson/Kurt Hummel

Characters: Kurt Hummel, Blaine Anderson, Mercedes Jones, Burt Hummel, Carole Hudson-Hummel, Cooper Anderson, Pam Anderson

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Famous Kurt Hummel, Bookstore Owner Blaine Anderson, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Christmas, holiday romance

Summary:

Kurt Hummel, celebrated Broadway and film star, is used to living in the spotlight - but his recent breakup has left his reputation in shambles and his heart in pieces. Hoping to escape the chaos, he retreats to his parent's home in Ohio for a quiet vacation away from the cameras. Blaine Anderson, owner of a struggling independent bookstore, is barely keeping his beloved store afloat. With finances looking grim, he's desperate for a Christmas miracle to save his dream. When fate throws them back together after years apart, a publicity stunt seems like the perfect solution to both their problems. What could possibly go wrong?

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Barbara Stanwyck (Ball of Fire, The Lady Eve, Double Indemnity)—I hope someone else has submitted better propaganda than I because I don't want my girl's prospects to rest on me just yelling PLEASE VOTE FOR MY TERRIBLE HOT GIRLFRIEND. She is a delight in everything! She is often a sexy jerk! (It's most of the plot of Baby Face!) Even when she plays a "good girl" (as an example, Christmas in Connecticut, which more people should see) she's still kind of a jerk and I love her for it! She won't take men's shit and she sure wouldn't take mine!

Mae Clarke (The Public Enemy, Frankenstein)—she was in frankenstein. which i think is neat

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

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Mae Clarke propaganda:

Barbara Stanwyck propaganda:

"THE queen of screwball comedies. I adore her, I'd kill for her, I will cry if she's not gonna win this poll."

"listen ok she had awful politics she was a mccarthyist right wing wacko BUT she's so incredibly hot that i've deluded myself into believing i could fix her. if you see her onscreen she carries herself in a way that's just so effortlessly sexy AND she has just a stunning face. imo she was at her hottest in the 1940s but even as early as the late 1920s she had a rly captivating screen presence and just a beautiful face, and then post-1950 she was just irresistibly milfy so really she was just always incredibly hot. she was also an incredibly talented actress who was equally stellar in melodrama, film noir, and unhinged screwball comedy. the blonde wig they made her wear in double indemnity is notoriously silly looking but she still looks sexy in it so that's gotta count for something. i've watched so many terrible movies just for a chance at seeing her that i think her estate should be paying me damages."

"Not often thought of for her sultriness, Barbara Stanwyck was incredible in that she could actually choose to be hot if the role called for it, and then have a glow-down to look ordinary for another role. She wasn't the most beautiful or effervescent, but damn did she have rizz. Watch her with Gary Cooper in Ball of Fire teaching him about "yum-yum" or with Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve whispering huskily into his ear."

"THE leading lady of the golden age of hollywood. One of the only actresses to work independent of a studio, making short-term contracts that enabled her to make movies wherever she wanted. She had so much range, and could act in basically any genre. She's been rumored to be a lesbian literally since she was active in Hollywood; most notable is the rumor that she had a long time on-and-off relationship with famously bi Joan Crawford, her "best friend" for decades (They lived right next door to one another). She also lived with Helen Ferguson, her "live-in publicist" for many years. She was the quintessential femme fatale in Double Indemnity, and really pushed sexual boundaries in her pre-code films like Baby Face, and the famous screwball The Lady Eve, where she plays basically a downlow domme. Allegedly, when a journalist asked her if she was a lesbian, she straight up threw him out of her house. She even played a lesbian in Walk on the Wild Side"

"She is always the smartest woman in the room. Watching her play Henry Fonda like a befuddled fiddle in The Lady Eve was a highlight of my life. Femme fatale in Double Indemnity, comedy queen in Ball of Fire. She can do anything."

"She was part of my gay awakening"

"SHE'S A PRE-CODE QUEEN. She did everything, drama, comedy. The most beautiful woman in the world to watch weep. Beg for to step on you with those legs. Fun Babs story: Ginger Rogers was offered the role in Ball of Fire but said, “Oh, I would never play that part, she’s too common.” So they called Barbara Stanwyck and they said “We offered this to Ginger Rogers but she’s turned it down, would you be interested?” And she read the script and she said; “You bet! I LOVE playing common broads.” (Source: https://misstanwyck.tumblr.com/post/72996544180/barbara-stanwyck-photographed-for-ball-of-fire)"

[brucestalia]

talia al ghul: relationships // platonic ｡ﾟ•┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈• ｡ﾟ

this is the start of a 3-ish part series consisting of a collection of drabbles and headcanons exploring talia’s character in relation to relationships that canon (and fanon) have barely touched. ✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋅๑┈•✦

diana prince

i briefly mentioned this in a previous post, but let’s dive deeper. i’m a huge fan of museum curator mlle. prince, and talia, ever the patron of the arts, must have crossed paths with her during one of her many visits to paris.

ra’s al ghul might be an international eco-terrorist and cult leader, but he also operates under (and eventually abandons) the alias of henri ducard: eccentric billionaire and environmental activist. (yes, this is a nod to nolanverse ra’s. while i’m not a fan of how the al ghuls were handled in nolan’s films, there are a few elements i’ll be borrowing for my brutalia worldbuilding.)

following in her father’s footsteps, talia adopts the alias of henrietta ducard, a french socialite and heiress. of course, she knows diana—who wouldn’t know the wonder woman, teammate to her beloved and “aunt” to jason?

their paths cross at the louvre, where diana is overjoyed to host such a cultured guest. the two end up touring the museum well past closing hours, completely engrossed in their conversation. diana’s younger colleagues are far too intimidated to interrupt the two women who seem entirely in a world of their own.

oh, and jason? he 100% calls diana “dad” whenever he’s mad at bruce.

add in girls’ nights with barbara minerva and occasional appearances from the gotham city sirens, and you’ve got a dynamic i cannot wait to explore further. 2. the birds of prey; a) dinah lance

the “i’m married to a total himbo-billionaire” club.

their interactions mostly consist of knowing looks exchanged across lavishly decorated ballrooms during charity galas hosted by wayne enterprises and q-corp—always trying to outdo the other. they sneak out for smoke breaks, share a quiet camaraderie, and occasionally spar together.

considering the plotline about ra’s almost marrying black canary (or was that just a fever dream?), i’d say they know each other by association and share a mutual understanding. not quite friendship, but something close—born from shared experiences and a begrudging respect.

when it comes to training, with lady shiva now part of the birds of prey, i can see talia attempting to cooperate with the ladies. she’s clearly got a lot of history with the group, which brings us to the next duo: b) barbara gordon and helena bertinelli

talia can be good when she wants to be.

i like the idea of talia taking on a maternal role for cassandra during her time with the league of assassins. she has the capacity for genuine care, even in the shadowy corners of the league’s operations. similarly, i can see her stepping into a similar role for a younger helena kyle (or wayne), particularly if selina is no longer in the picture (possibly dead).

talia would likely oppose bruce’s treatment of the huntress, siding with the family members who sympathise with helena’s cause—especially during the events of the hush storyline. she could even act as a mentor of sorts, helping helena find her place in the dark knight’s world, while providing the kind of guidance bruce often withholds.

for all her similarities to helena, barbara stands apart in one key way: she grew up within the dimly-lit walls of the batcave, immersed in batman’s world. over the years, talia has quietly observed the commissioner’s daughter, often alongside one very pouty dick grayson. these observations, layered with her own sense of justice, only deepen her fury against the joker after the events of the killing joke.

barbara and helena are probably the first batfamily members to know whenever talia is in gotham—after jason and damian, of course. oracle’s network would almost certainly keep tabs on talia, especially during her prolonged, unexplained absences. 3. the gotham city sirens; a) pamela isley

ivy—or rather, dr. pamela isley—superpowered eco-terrorist extraordinaire, would have been a subject of keen interest to the league of assassins. from her controversial tenure at wayne enterprises to her involvement in woodrue's experiments, talia would have kept a watchful eye on pamela’s journey.

when isley became poison ivy, the demon’s head would have undoubtedly reached out to her. sharing similar values—and at times, equally extreme methods—talia and pamela would have initially maintained a professional relationship. however, the nature of their shared work, coupled with the undeniable chaos that is harley quinn, would have eventually evolved their dynamic into a close, if unconventional, friendship.

at some point, talia becomes an honorary gotham city siren. she doesn't hesitate to crash at harley and ivy’s place when things with her detective aren’t going so well. b) harleen quinzel

harley is one of the rare individuals (alfred being the other, obviously) whom talia would truly trust with damian. over time, harley earns the title of “aunt,” though it’s anyone’s guess which side of the family she’s from.

their friendship didn’t stem from any significant shared history, allegiance, or grand cause. harley just showed up one day, decided they were friends, and that was that. talia nodded hesitantly, chalking it up to just being the gotham way of things.

unsurprisingly, dr. quinn has tried (and perhaps succeeded?) in scheduling talia and bruce for marriage counseling on multiple occasions.

c) selina kyle

without bruce in the equation, talia and selina’s relationship becomes infinitely less strained. talia might envy selina, but only in the sense that love has been far kinder to her questionable morals with a partner like kate.

in this scenario, talia is definitely closest to selina—whether it’s due to genuine fondness or simply their frequent proximity is unclear. either way, they seem to understand each other on a level few others can, especially over shared indulgences, like extravagant shopping sprees.

the moment they move into wayne manor, it’s inevitable: the place will be overrun by animals of every kind, much to the amusement (or exasperation) of the other residents.

4. john constantine & zatanna zatara

i love the idea of melisande being homo magi, which would mean talia inherits that lineage as well. being part homo magi, combined with her access to the powers of the lazarus pits and mastery of incantations, would make talia uniquely positioned to bridge gaps between her world and the other side. talia’s connection to magic would make her better suited to collaborate with heroes like those in the justice league dark, creating opportunities for uneasy alliances and reluctant partnerships that bring out the best (and worst) in everyone involved, with her being someone who walks the thin line between antihero and ally.

5. lois lane and clark kent

double dates!! :D

lois would come to like talia a lot more after the unforgettable spectacle with president luthor, and clark would absolutely demand every last detail of his definitely-not-best-friend's relationship with talia.

after jason's resurrection, talia would entrust him to the kents' care, enrolling him in metropolis university before the big reveal to bruce.

additionally, damian and jon’s friendship (though damian insists it’s more of an alliance between the supers and the bats) would require them to meet up at least once a week.

✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦

[verdantcrimson]

Heaven and Earth / Epilogue

(Unproofread )

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[A few days later. During the filming of the ending video for ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth R’]

Keito: “♪~♪~♪”

Keito: Phew… Somehow, we managed to cross that precarious bridge.

Kuro: Still too early to be gettin’ complacent, danna. What we made this time was just a prototype.

Kuro: The real show starts now. If anythin’, things’re only gonna get tougher.

Souma: Hehe. Somehow, before any actual running has occurred, one already feels exhausted.

Keito: Things were truly very difficult this time around… However, it’s a relief that everything has fallen into place somehow.

Keito: All of the ‘Three Sages’ were convinced of the plan we presented and were happy to cooperate.

Keito: With the support of senseis, ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’ will continue to be— No, it will become, more than ever, a show that viewers will want to watch. 

Keito: An educational show beloved by all that allows you to learn history in a fun way.

Kuro: That’s the thing though. Even though ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’ s’gonna stay on, and it’ll probably be a great show that the viewers love—

Kuro: Oogami said it too. In the end, we ended up completely changin’ the contents of ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’.

Kuro: It’s like we’re tramplin’ on the wishes of Ieyasu-sensei, who said he didn’t want ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’ to change. I feel kind of bad about it.

Keito: You still understand nothing, Kiryu. You’ll have to continue your studies.

Kuro: Now why am I bein’ criticized outta nowhere?

Souma: Hehe. The person Ieyasu-sensei had the most profound interactions with was Kiryu-dono, who had been put in charge of him.

Souma: And so, from Kiryu-dono’s vantage, what has Ieyasu-sensei’s attitude been? Has he perhaps been lamenting the changes to ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’?

Kuro: …… No. In fact, he was so happy that the other sages were stunned.

Kuro: I get it. Seems like I was only lookin’ at the surface of things again.

Kuro: Suppose that’s the downside of havin’ been a delinquent.  People kept their distance from me ‘cause I intimidated them, and I used to keep my distance from them ‘cause I didn’t want to get involved.

Kuro: We haven’t changed ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’ at all.

Kuro: No, we haven’t changed what Ieyasu-sensei found most valuable, the essence.

Kuro: Sensei loves history. That’s why for all these years, even though he’s become a dodderin’ old man, he’s still researchin’ it intently.

Kuro: Sensei wanted to share that love he felt with everyone. So when he was younger, he made up his mind and teamed up with his buddy from the TV station to create ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’.

Souma: Indeed. It is just as what we discussed in depth during the prototype edition of the show.

Kuro: Haha. It was pretty interestin’, seein’ how the outrageous old man was outrageous when he was younger too.

Keito: Yes. People have history. And those myriad histories, that don’t appear in any textbooks, are just as worthy of love.

Keito: They are fascinating and brilliant stories that mustn’t be ignored.

Keito: We will continue to watch over them, as ‘Spirits of Light’. And we’ll learn all sorts of things through our amusing investigation and interpretation. 

Keito: What is history? What is life? Does good and evil, right and wrong, truly exist?

Keito: We are still young and inexperienced, so we can’t draw any conclusions yet. We don’t know what the right answer is.

Keito: The aged Ieyasu-sensei, and the talented Hideyoshi-sensei and Nobunaga-sensei, none of them would ever triumphantly claim to have “understood”.

Keito: We know very little about this world— about the heavens, about the earth, and about people. 

Keito: That is why we research, we learn, and we discover. With care, perseverance, bit by bit, step by step.

Keito: It’s what Ieyasu-sensei and his colleagues have done, and it’s what we will do from now on as well.

Kuro: That’s right. The reason Ieyasu-sensei was convinced was ‘cause we didn’t change the most important aspect.

Kuro: Even if everythin’ might’ve changed on the surface, the soul is the same.

Kuro: We’ll make the ‘soul’ we inherited from our senseis shine too.

Souma: Indeed. Let us shine so bright that even the sun would envy us!

Keito: Yeah. We’re AKATSUKI, after all.

Keito: Life is about learning everyday. Graduating from school doesn’t change that.

Keito: So we’ll keep learning, keep growing, and become fine adults.

Kuro: Followin’ in the footsteps of those senseis?

Keito: To learn from their good qualities, you know? There’s no need to imitate their flaws.

Keito: No. A lotus blooms from the mud, swallowing all purity and impurity.

Keito: Let us create an innumerable amount of such flowers, and make this world into something even more beloved. 

Keito: A hundred flowers, blooming in profusion.¹ That’s what AKATSUKI is.

Keito: “♪~♪~♪”

Kuro & Souma: “~......♪”

[END]

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Translation Notes:

百花繚乱 (Hyakka Ryouran) is a phrase that, while literally meaning 'A thousand flowers blooming in profusion', is also used to refer to a period of time, or space, where many talents 'bloom'. A familiar example of this would be the Renaissance era. It is also in the title of AKATSUKI's first ever song, 百花繚乱、紅月夜 (Hyakka Ryouran, Akatsukiyo).

[tiredlilguy]

The Flags Origin's HC's

because I think about them a lot. there's probably some things that don't make sense here, or rather "out there" takes, but since the Flags are all squished into 70 pages let me have this... also it's hc's, so all in good fun ^^ (chew on this while i continue working on requests in the mean time), also sorry this is kinda angsty

also if you want to see my other hc's then look here

Pianoman (my beloved):

came from a family who was already Mafia, his parents and the generation before them and so on so forth, were Mafia

wore a family ring that the oldest child wears as a symbol of his families dedication to the Mafia

sort of think of it like a generation by generation kind of deal: the oldest has to take up the "family business"

his family had different specialties in what they did, Pianoman specifically became an artisan in crafting supernotes, but his family all had their own different talents

because of his success of almost becoming a mafia executive, his parents chose to retire peacefully and take care of all of his younger siblings

his parents can retire peacefully out of respect with no harm because their legacy is so well-respected

he's the oldest in his family, since birth had to deal with the pressures of "being the oldest", which made him a perfectionist in his own craft

100% Japanese, mainly because the family just deals with generational upbringing; though if he married someone of a different ethnicity that was in the Port Mafia, then that wouldn't be a problem so long as his spouse is PM

when he died, the second oldest took his place, but not for a while because his family heavily grieved his death (but because of their legacy, still tried to make up for their loss)

Lippman:

was a child actor, spent a lot of time away from his family to do films/work on sets/etc.

his affiliation with the Mafia didn't happen until way later in his acting career

had a back alley deal with a man that involved blackmail in order for his cooperation - was saught out because he was so good with words (the Mafia found out he wrote a few of the screenplays himself)

could not hold a gun up until after his first year of being with the Mafia, was Pianoman's partner until The Flags were formed

half European, has an older sister; when his family found out he was Mafia, they sort of distanced themselves from him

often treats Chuuya like his own brother sometimes because of his situation with his family

when he died, his family didn't bother to attend the funeral; but one day upon visiting Japan, his older sister visited his grave and left a note

the clean up after his death was a mess... the Port Mafia was accused of killing him and Chuuya had to witness crowds of people false-blaming him for his own friends death

Iceman:

Italian, grew up in a Mafia family in Italy (his father was the don), but was considered the weakest link

still though, his family cared for him very deeply, and despite being Mafia, he always tried to do the right thing (didn't kill until he was with the PM)

at a younger age, he was more of an observer; would witness how his family/the people that worked for his family worked technique wise

his family actually didn't want him to be a mafioso, and was glad to know that he didn't have any particular interest in it either (they wanted him to live a normal life as a citizen)

one night, his home was bombed and his family, friends, coworkers all died in the explosion; he was the only survivor

was being hunted down because he was the only survivor, snuck into Yokohama and made a deal with a man to join the Port Mafia

(this is already in my previous hc's but) after the explosion, his ears were permanently damaged and he's slowly growing deaf: was teaching the flags sign language

he was really happy with The Flags, and at that point when they were fully established, he knew that if he was going to die, it'd be around them

Albatross:

Blasian; grew up in an average family, but he himself got interested in mechanics at a young age

his family didn't approve of his interests, saying that it was rather dangerous, but his father always indulged him

dad is a retired air-pilot and used to teach Alb a lot of what he now knows

in high school, had a job as a mechanic, but told his parents he worked in a library (they did not believe him, but they also didn't bother to check either); he also had pretty bad grades

the mechanic he was working for happened to be with the PM and offered Alb a job as his apprentice for a much higher pay

his mentor was getting quite old and wanted to retire, offered the job to Alb because he saw the potential that Alb had and wanted him to succeed

his mentor was sadly assassinated during a job, and so Alb became the Mafia's wheelman

Alb covered all of this up by confessing that he was a mechanic (but didn't tell them he was with the Mafia) and then got promoted to working for the government

when he died, his parents had to sort of bit by bit discover everything that was going on behind their backs (but they couldn't be mad)

Doc:

grew up in an orphanage and is completely unaware of his own family origins, but he's Japanese

was the orphanage nurses assistant and would often observe how injuries worked; eventually started taking care of his peers injuries himself

did quite well in the schooling that the orphanage taught, and they offered for him to take a test to go to med school (he succeeded)

had his normal doctor school in Japan at age 18, then after that was offered a full scholarship in North America to get his doctorate (we already know he graduated top of his class)

is not actually interested in God and if anything, wants to spite him: that stared his need to save people, but somehow ended up killing a few on the way (though not being caught)

when he came back to Japan to go find a job, he got a deal with the Mafia and took it because he thought "well, there's a lot of death in the criminal underground... so, yeah"

when he died, Chuuya didn't think anyone would come to visit, but upon visiting their graves the next day: he found piles of bouquets of flowers from the orphanage and his fellow classmates from the US

[madrigaljail]

Interlude

Would you like some celebrity AU in these trying times? Have some nonsense; don't worry about Eli, he's an OC, it's fine.

*

���Finally tonight, my producers won’t let me end the show without discussing the most compelling story in the nation, a tale of intergenerational drama which begs the question: which speaks to you most? Do you like a redemption arc, recognition coming after decades of struggle? Or a reward for raw, young talent the likes of which has never before been seen? These questions will possibly be answered Sunday night, when the Emmy Awards give a trophy to…a Best Supporting Actor in a Drama.

“On the one hand you have Bruno Madrigal, whose offscreen exploits have overshadowed his work for decades. In recent years, however, he’s become beloved by children as the voice of Hernando the Crab in the animated Shore Thing film series and attracted critical acclaim in indie films such as The Collaboration and onstage in an off-Broadway revival of Endgame. Now he’s nominated for his role as Oscar Ramos, a pedicab driver with a secret in AMC’s thriller Upper West. 

“Then there’s his nephew, Camilo Madrigal, who has veered away from the music careers of his mother and sister to follow - cautiously, we hope - in his uncle’s acting footsteps. He has more than a knack for it, given his star turn as nine different characters…or maybe it’s the same one in different phases, who knows what’s happening on Max’s scifi-horror hit Idle Hands? My nephew’s tried to explain it several times, but I’ve given up figuring it out.

“So, where do you fall: Team Camilo, or Team Bruno? Personally I think we as a society should have moved past these hashtag labels a long time ago, but if I were a betting man? I’d say the Madrigals are going to split the voters and we’ll get the winner we deserve, the venerable J.K. Simmons.

“That’s it for me this evening, stay tuned for the latest headlines on ‘Nightbeat’, and I’ll see you back here bright and early Sunday morning for ‘Mas with Guzmán’. Buenos noches.”

The news program theme music played, and Bruno would have continued mindlessly playing Candy Crush on his phone but-

“You know there’s a rumor you slept with that guy.”

Bruno glanced to his right. Eli was slumped the corner of the couch, smirking, light brown hair tousled and hazel eyes glancing his way with a mischievous twinkle. Bruno scowled.

“You don’t- that’s ridiculous. I can’t help it if people think we had chemistry or there were ‘sparks flying’ in that interview or whatever, but it’s all…fanflick?”

Eli laughed and gently kicked his shin, he retaliated by pinching his knee. “Fanfic, boomer.”

“Everybody really does forget about Gen X,” Bruno muttered, then shook his head. “Anyway. The point is I can’t believe people still think Pulitzer prize winning reporter José Guzmán would risk his journalistic integrity by hooking up with me.”

“Depends.” Eli straightened up to lean closer, waggling his eyebrows. “Is ‘journalistic integrity’ what he calls his-”

“Guys! I’m still right here!” 

They both cringed and glanced over the back of the sofa towards the kitchen, where Mirabel had taken over the island in a flurry of embroidery floss. She’d swiveled around on the barstool to give them a glare, but a smile still tugged at the corner of her mouth.

“Sorry.”

“Sorry, Mira.”

She nodded, satisfied. “Thank you.” A moment or two slipped by, a perfect pause, before she went on. “But you totally did hook up with him, right?”

Bruno blinked, turned back to the TV, and picked up the remote. “I am changing the channel. It’s a metaphor for changing the subject.”

Shortly after that Mirabel presented him with a baseball cap emblazoned with “#TeamCamilo”, and a black necktie which she’d decorated with symbols representing all of the Madrigal family…and a blue, pink, and white striped heart for Eli. Bruno happily wore both on the Emmys red carpet two nights later.

*

A/N: he did totally hook up with him. Celebverse!José is basically Anderson Cooper. Yes he does get stuck doing New Year's Eve with Andy Cohen still, it's fine. As for who wins the Emmy, it's been almost two years and I am still not sure.

[ihasafandom]

Carnage re-write P1

So I woke up today with Words in my head and instead of assisting with any of my ongoing fics my brain has decided to re-write Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage ://

So I guess we’re doing that. (Originally a quick outline; cleaning it a bit and posting on Feb 6 for @symbruary's Fix-It day)

Post 1/??

Previous / Next

The movie had pretty effects and a decent soundtrack and some good action, but what it lacked was the heart and comedy of the first film (and the good good deep Venom voice, why is he so squeaky and annoying now??? (T o T) )

I’m not a comedy-writing person, and I’m not gonna be doing an actual fic or screenplay for this, so I’ll be keeping to the heart part. What gives a piece its heart I thnk are its emotional throughlines. Each character and relationship having their own story where they change from how they are at the start to how they are at the end, and having that story be concretely present and observable as the movie/book goes on.

There were hints of that in Venom2 but a lot of them fell flat, didn’t go anywhere, or didn’t have a satisfying change.

For example: both Eddie and Venom are frustrated with their relationship for X reasons. They fight, they separate, they do things on their own, but when they come back together they haven’t resolved any of the reasons that they broke up in the first place. Everything’s just magically better for no reasons and we are supposed to intuit that they are good for eachother and that they have improved as partners but we never really see that happen. Just a forced capitulation on Eddie’s part and the same traumabonding and extreme circumstances that made them work as a team in the first movie.

Another thing that sucked was how they dumped the uniqueness of certain characters and plots and emotional beats from the first movie to retread the same old tropes from everything else. Dan was unique and widely beloved in my parts of the fandom for not being a jealous jerk. He admired Eddie’s journalistic work, he dropped his dinner to do doctor work without complaint, he trusted Anne, and he didn’t fall into the stupid romcom plots even when Anne brought them up. Focused, intelligent, useful, kind, caring. A breath of fresh air. Entirely unlike how he acted in the second movie.

So let’s fix that.

Situation at the start of the movie:

Eddie is depressed, frustrated, and stressed. He is not used to being the self-control in a relationship, and is trying really hard to keep to his morals. He also needs to make enough money to keep them in food and home. He is lonely; he misses Anne and Maria and people in general since a large part of his solution to Venom is isolating them in their apartment so that they don’t eat people and don’t look crazy in public. He is spending all of his time and energy either trying to do work or keeping Venom entertained, controlled, and fed. He also might need some mood-stabilizing meds, he seemed heckin ADHD and/or autistic in the first movie.

Venom is stressed, bored, and starving. It is not used to not being able to do whatever it wants (bar keeping its head down around other symbiotes higher on the pecking order), it is not used to having to cooperated with a host, it doesn’t understand Eddie’s morals, it doesn’t understand Earth, it doesn’t understand money, it doesn’t understand human relationships and society. It needs higher quality food (mammalian, more variety, more human-specific chemicals since it’s bonded with a human), it needs enrichment, it needs to understand more about what its new situation is.

They both need to communicate and understand eachother and learn to find a balance that will get them both what they need. They also need a support system and an income stream.

Post 1/??

Previous / Next

[eddieredmayneargentinablog]

New Video: Joel Grey and Eddie Redmayne Talk CABARET and The 'Emcee' Legacy

Last night, the company and audience of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club celebrated Broadway legend Joel Grey’s 92nd birthday on stage at the August Wilson Theatre.

By: A.A. CristiApr. 12, 2024, Broadway World.

Last night, the company of Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club wilkommened some very special guests to their immersive nightclub home!

Eddie Redmayne currently in previews as the ‘Emcee’ in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club celebrated Broadway legend Joel Grey’s 92nd birthday on stage at the August Wilson Theatre.

In the video Grey, who won Tony and Academy Awards for originating the role of the Emcee, reacts to the immersive new production now in previews on Broadway and its star Eddie Redmayne.

Redmayne described the feeling of performing for Grey and the show's composer, John Kander as "extraordinary, horrendously intimidating, as well, but joyful," and revealed a special moment he shared with the star during the performance.

Grey, who originated the role of the ‘Emcee’ on Broadway in 1966 and went on to star in the beloved film of Cabaret, took the stage as the entire cast, band, and creative team sang “Happy Birthday” while a custom cake, shaped like a giant pineapple, emerged from the stage.

During his speech honoring Grey, Eddie Redmayne said, “Tonight is an extraordinarily special night for us because we are in the presence of an extraordinary human being without whom none of us would be here.” After thunderous applause, Redmayne continued “Your performance in this part changed my life and it was one of the things that made me want to be an actor.”

The cast and Grey were also joined on stage by Cabaret composer John Kander.

Alongside Joel’s daughter Jennifer Grey and Kander, a star-studded crowd came out to fete the theater icon including Anderson Cooper, Candice Bergen, Jackie Hoffman, Jane Krakowski, Lin-Manuel Miranda, David Rockwell, and more. They were joined by numerous alum of Cabaret spanning the decades including Maude Apatow (Sally Bowles in London, 2023), Madeline Brewer (Sally Bowles in London, 2022), Joely Fisher (Sally Bowles on Broadway, 2000), Gina Gershon (Sally Bowles on Broadway, 2001), Mason Alexander Park (Emcee in London, 2023), Adam Pascal (Emcee on Broadway, 2003), Molly Ringwald (Sally Bowles on Broadway, 2002), Jake Shears (Emcee in London, 2023), and Brooke Shields (Sally Bowles on Broadway, 2001).

About CABARET AT THE KIT KAT CLUB

Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club is now in previews on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre (245 West 52nd Street). The production, directed by Olivier Award winner Rebecca Frecknall and designed by Tony Award nominee and Evening Standard Award® winner Tom Scutt, will have decadent twin opening night gala celebrations starting Saturday, April 20 and continuing into the following night, with the official press opening on Sunday, April 21. Tickets are on sale now at www.kitkat.club or via Seat Geek HERE.

In addition to Redmayne, Cabaret also stars Gayle Rankin as the toast of Mayfair ‘Sally Bowles, two-time Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth as ‘Fraulein Schneider,’ Tony Award nominee Ato Blankson-Wood as ‘Clifford Bradshaw,’ Obie Award winner and Drama Desk Award® nominee Steven Skybell as ‘Herr Schultz,’ Henry Gottfried as ‘Ernst Ludwig,’ and three-time Helen Hayes Award winner Natascia Diaz as ‘Fritzie/Kost.’

The cast of Cabaret includes Gabi Campo as ‘Frenchie,’ Ayla Ciccone-Burton as ‘Helga,’ Colin Cunliffe as ‘Hans,’ Marty Lauter as ‘Victor,’ Loren Lester as‘Herman/Max,’ David Merino as ‘Lulu,’ Julian Ramos as ‘Bobby,’ MiMi Scardulla as ‘Texas,’ and Paige Smallwood as ‘Rosie.’ Swings include Hannah Florence, Pedro Garza, Christian Kidd, Corinne Munsch, Chloé Nadon-Enriquez, and Karl Skyler Urban.

The Prologue Company, the dancers and musicians that welcome audiences to the club, feature dancers Alaïa, Iron Bryan, Will Ervin Jr., Sun Kim, Deja McNair and swings Ida Saki and Spencer James Weidie. The musicians of the Prologue are Brian Russell Carey (piano & bass), Francesca Dawis (violin), Keiji Ishiguri (dedicated substitute), Maeve Stier (accordion), and Michael Winograd (clarinet).

For this production of Cabaret, the creative team have transformed the August Wilson Theatre into the Kit Kat Club with an in-the-round auditorium and custom spaces which guests will be invited to explore during the Prologue, the production’s pre-show entertainment. After purchasing tickets, guests will receive a “club entry time” to allow them to take in the world of the club before the show starts.

Patrons can upgrade their experience at the Kit Kat Club with exclusive dining or drinks packages that allow them to soak up the pre-show atmosphere. These various upgrades offer unparalleled service and unique experiences in the heart of the Kit Kat Club. Drinks can be enjoyed before and during the show, while food will be cleared shortly before the performance begins, ensuring uninterrupted and unmissable views of Cabaret. For a complete menu and more information on the upgrade packages, please visit www.kitkat.club/upgrade.

[thatsparrow]

post-honor among thieves thoughts

a delight!!

truly, a fun fantasy film with all the right blends of serious stakes and goofy missteps that is so emblematic of playing dnd

one of the things I was most curious about going into it was—given that so much of dnd is a) collaborative storytelling and b) ultimately determined by dice rolls, how would those elements of unpredictability translate to a scripted story? (which I suppose is not new to dnd-based media, there have been novels and the 80s show, but those aren't things that I've consumed.) and like. yes the story was pretty predictable overall, but I did like that there were moments of abject failure scattered throughout that really captured the vibe of rolling a nat 1 (it was also very fun to half-watch it through a lens of, oh, this person would be rolling a deception check right now. this person is succeeding then failing on a bunch of acrobatics checks, etc.)

it is. so very fun to me that bards are categorically also spellcasters, and yet they did not let chris pine do one damn magical thing, that lute was a melee weapon only

michelle rodriguez barbarian my beloved (also like, in terms of balancing references to the game with still making the movie accessible, part of me was expecting/hoping to see some visual indication of her going into a rage, but I did like that they didn't tip the hand quite that much while still making clear during fight scenes that, oh, she definitely has some rage-fueled strength right now that is allowing her to yeet a dude across a courtyard)

seeing all the spells and wildshaping was incredibly fucking cool!! that may have been the bit I was most excited about, and it did not disappoint—doric's whole infiltration and then escape of the castle was so good. the displacer beasts. the mimics!

sir that's just a portal gun

the comp het was so funny. look, I really loved both justice smith and sophia lillis but cmon guys. there was nothing there

although speaking of, edgin and holga as determinedly platonic best friends raising a child together was an absolute delight—the bit when edgin says to kira like 'I'm not trying to bring back your mom but my wife' bc yeah!! kira's mom is already right there!!

halfling bradley cooper having a clear type of 'women twice my size who could break me in half' is so valid

god paladin regé-jean page be still my heart (although yeah, the paladin as a straight-laced LG humorless type is not the only way to interpret the class, but I thought it did make for a nice contrast w the rest of the party)

but also his armor! I thought the costumers did a great job of giving them all designs/looks that spoke to their classes. truly, the visuals of the whole movie were so cool—not just in terms of the aesthetics, but the framing and movement of the shots, too. very dynamic, very fun to watch

overall, a genuinely good time!!

[finniestoncrane]

I'll let my date decide I'm 22 years old. Pan. Genderfluid. Short and fat. I'm canonically autistic and canonically have ADHD (I'm sorry I like referring to it w=as canon). You already know that though. You already are SO FUCKING AWARE of my obsession with old monster movies. I mean... I didn't go on an hour long tangent about movie titles ibn a game, and are therefore copywrite friendly, and what films they could be meant to be for no reason. And you are so incredibly aware of the research I did for Gen-1 and Gen-2 synths, and me picking apart Nick Valentine's voice lines to determine anatomy of gen-2 prototype synths. I believe I've also told you that I'm still considering being an auto-mechanic.

What you probably don't know though is that I took an engineering class in high school and I kicked ass in competitions. Like there was this hydraulic robot arm made of wood, syringes, and plastic tubes. Despite the fact that the tubes kept falling off the syringes, my team got like... 2nd place in my class and 4th place schoolwide. There was also a competition for making a boat out of just cardboard and duct tape. Not to brag but our boat could hold 3 people (when it was only required that 2 people go in the boat) and we got the second fasted time schoolwide. We didn't even have paddles technically, unlike some groups who made carboard paddles. We had just a thick pieces of cardboard covered entirely in duct tape. Literally was my favorite class. This wasn't my decision cuz it was a group project but still.

In video games I am a sort of item hoarder because I'm terrified I'll need something later and then I never need it later. Not me having an inventory full of Junk in Fallout 4.

You are also probably aware of my insistence that ghoul cum is radioactive and how the terminal on the Prydwen proves this. Which is good for me and my item hoarding tendencies because I have so much RadAway. Cuz we all know that I'm a ghoulfucker. Also a robotfucker but that's a different story that started with Transformers and got me into cars because I wanted a way to fuck Transformers in vehicle mode because I'm just horny like that (affectionate). A weird hobby I also have is miniatures. I wouldn't call it miniature painting just yet because I have done a whole lot of not painting. I have paint for sure. I seem to be refusing to pick a color scheme and sticking with it. I have not bought primer yet. I have so many miniatures. I am preparing to get more because there's one of Cooper Howard and John Hancock and Nick Valentine and Sturges. But Sturges is in a different box from Hancock and Nick, and then Cooper is in a different one from everyone else. And the box Sturges is in is REALLY hard to find. And the box Cooper is in isn't technically out yet. Like... I already have Toad and Magento from Marvel Crisis Protocol that are unpainted. And then I have a whole bunch of Seraphons in a box that I cannot for the life of me pick a paint scheme for. And I don't even know why I bought Necrons. I don't know how to even play Wasteland Warfare. Or Marvel Crisis Protocol. Or Warhammer: Age of Sigmar. Or Warhammer 40k. I just like the models. Hell, I don't even know how to play D&D and have no one who will play with me as of right now. But I have 2 D&D books (one is official, the other one isn't) and a Fallout TTRPG pdf file with rules for how to play. It's not technically official but I think the guy got permission to make it. It was free. I was considering making a campaign for that based on where I live but then I realized I'd have to build creatures from the ground up, and find a way to play test them when I literally don't personally know enough people who even really care about Fallout in general. Also the terrain makes it hard to slap a vault anywhere.

zim my tiny beloved, i already knew who i would pair you with, but if i'd had any doubts this message would have sealed your fate because you know who else would have infodumped before explaining anything about themselves...? 💚🩷 🔞minors dni🔞 send a request • masterlist • kofi link • tag: finnie2k (to follow or to block)

Kent Connolly is literally the autistic mascot. He's the cutest, silliest, sweetest little guy, so that already tells me you'd be perfect for one another.

I think one of the best things about Kent, and you, is your ability to retain soooooo many details. You're both so passionate about learning everything you can about specific subjects, and you're both determined enough to learn everything you can.

I can picture you both either braving it to go out to the library or saving up your caps to pay for a mostly intact book that will answer a niche question you both had about Grognak the Barbarian.

You're both so brave too, willing to go through a lot for the things you love and for your happiness.

If there's one ghoul who will understand the need, and the joy, of infodumping, it is Kent. He'd be such a sweet listener, he'd ask informed questions, he'd participate respectfully in whatever lecture you were giving, and he'd do it all with the sweetest smile. And when you were ready to listen to him, he'd have a very well-written little speech all prepared.

I can't think of a happier way to spend your time in the wasteland than by sharing your interests, learning about each other and their favourite things, or just engaging in some paralell play, the autistic national sport.

And I know he'd write extra episode of the Silver Shroud for you if you just desperately needed more of that particular hyperfixation.

I just think Kent would be the kind of guy who would be appropriately impressed and appreciative of how much you know about Captain Boomerang and his entire family history, and the only person who could maybe try and know more than you on that subject.

[rageprufrock]

Just out of curiosity, now that things have developed, what is your current opinion of the BOC "crisis" situation? And what sort of action would you have advised in the face of a possible intentional smear campaign? Is silence still the best option, and does publicly bringing legal charges, etc. help or hinder in that case?

Not to mention you then have the incredibly public "surprise" announcement of another performer separating from the company ...

My instinct would be to say, "there is no crisis right now," because none of the noise actually breaks though to the signal ratio--like the production company is rolling along, concerts are happening, the movie is being filmed, etc. All of the other stuff is just that, noise, and irrelevant to them since the parties are no longer affiliated with BOC in a business capacity. This is where I'd counsel a client to practice forbearance: if you have the stones and the liquidity, you can grit your teeth and keep your head down long enough that you can get through almost anything. Most examples of this aren't great--see: any of the men who were rightfully canceled and now making their comeback after two or three years of silence--but this can also work well for people who just had a massively public disgracing and needed the zeitgeist to move on from having them be social media's main character of the day. (This is also why so much of the advisory on crisis comms is actually just to shut up, because doing so gives people the opportunity to forget about you, and someone else to put their foot in it and move the narrative along.)

But in truth, at this point, I don't think any of us know enough about what's going on to make any wise commentary--which is exactly as it should be. I should be forced to say, "who the fuck knows," when it comes to the inner workings of most things, because it's none of my business!

I'll say that Jeff leaving BOC was an interesting one, but that I most likely would have handled it the same way, and for a couple of reasons:

You can say you're a family, but this is still at its heart a business enterprise, and any one of them should be clear-eyed enough to look out for themselves first and foremost--people leaving to pursue their own projects or make transitions that make the most sense for them is inevitable, and we shouldn't act like it isn't.

That said, they're all trauma bonded from the whole experience of filming KinnPorsche, and clearly friends in addition to coworkers, and to have told them in advance of the show to give them private time to prepare would have seriously affected their performance at that final show, which I think would have been both a disservice to their fans but also unfair to them after all the work they'd put in.

Telling them several days or even weeks in advance--as surely this had been in the works for a while, with at least the seniormost members of the exec org knowing about the transition--wouldn't have worked either, because the more people know a secret, the less of a secret it is. Especially given the recent kerfuffle, it's critical to position it as a friendly departure, and to message it as a bittersweet but joyful next adventure, and not Jeff fleeing from the smoking remains of BOC. Given the timing of everything else going on, holding until it got the main stage at the closing event of their concert series makes sense: it feels deliberate, it feels intentional, it feels cooperatively planned, and it feels like they're sending off a beloved colleague and friend with all their best wishes, and on the biggest stage they can. It projects the right message.

All that said, no plan survives first contact with reality, so even if they've retained the most terrifyingly smart crew of publicists at this point, it still wouldn't protect them from the unexpected. In this case, the literal sweet baby angel child they're raising in that whorehouse being overtired and overamped and crying because his TV boyfriend is leaving and taking Barcode's coconuts with him.

[blogger360ncislarules]

No one was dreading the death of Young Sheldon patriarch George Cooper more than Lance Barber‘s TV daughter, Raegan Revord.

“I held off on reading [the script for Episode 12],” she tells TVLine. “It was probably 10 pm, the night before we were going to start filming the episode,” that she finally read through the last scene. “I’ve been very fortunate that I haven’t had a major loss in my life, so losing this beloved character, and losing the show as well, was like two losses at once, and it was rough.

“We filmed the scene where we find out that George died in two parts,” Revord explains. “We filmed up to the knock, and that was fine. We were having a blast. Then we did rehearsal for the second half, and I was weeping; I could barely say my lines. In that scene, [Mary, Missy and Meemaw] get to the door. They’re not bawling, they’re just wary, and I’m at the door, full-on shaking, sobbing…. You can tell that you’re seeing real, raw emotion in that scene.”

For TV brother Iain Armitage, openly sobbing wasn’t an option. “The thing about Sheldon is, it’s less of an external [reaction],” he points out. “For other characters, maybe that stone facade is crumbling from the outside, in; for Sheldon, it’s from the inside, out.

“In one of the first takes we did, I sat down in the chair the way they wanted me to, and I started to let my face fall,” the 15-year-old recalls. “Not quite cry, but I kind of start to get emotional. [Series co-creator] Steven Molaro said, ‘Don’t even do that. It is 1,000 times more heartbreaking if we see that Sheldon can’t even begin to imagine processing or understanding that to the point where he simply won’t. His mind won’t try. It’s almost as if he’s just heard them talking about the weather.’ I really liked that interpretation.”

Thursday’s series finale (CBS, 8/7c) consists of two, half-hour episodes, the first of which takes place almost entirely at George’s funeral. Everyone is working through the five stages of grief, including Missy, who is more angry than anything else.

George’s widow Mary (played by Zoe Perry) is also faced with a new and unforeseen reality. Not only has she lost her husband, but she’s about to see Sheldon off to California, where he’s set to embark upon his Big Bang future at Caltech.

“I don’t know that [Mary] is coping well,” Perry tells TVLine. “It’s a real struggle. She is all of a sudden a single parent… and as we talked earlier about her early crisis of faith [in Season 2], she has two directions to go, and I think we know where Mary ends up on The Big Bang Theory, so you get an idea of where she’s headed.

“You see these fresh wounds,” she says of Thursday’s double-header. “I imagine there could be something cathartic [in that] for the audience because these remaining characters are going to be experiencing a great amount of grief simultaneously with [them]…. I know that, regardless of how people feel about [the finale], I’m just really proud of how everyone showed up and gave it their all. It’ll definitely be powerful.”

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Barbara Stanwyck (Ball of Fire, The Lady Eve, Double Indemnity)—I hope someone else has submitted better propaganda than I because I don't want my girl's prospects to rest on me just yelling PLEASE VOTE FOR MY TERRIBLE HOT GIRLFRIEND. She is a delight in everything! She is often a sexy jerk! (It's most of the plot of Baby Face!) Even when she plays a "good girl" (as an example, Christmas in Connecticut, which more people should see) she's still kind of a jerk and I love her for it! She won't take men's shit and she sure wouldn't take mine!

Margaret Lockwood (The Wicked Lady, The Lady Vanishes)— Gorgeous feisty funny talented and the sexiest stubborn face ever committed to film. And if people haven't seen the original Wicked Lady they need to be introduced to a glorious poly highway romp of a film. When a woman outsneers James Mason you know she has sex appeal!

This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Margaret Lockwood:

Barbara Stanwyck:

"THE leading lady of the golden age of hollywood. One of the only actresses to work independent of a studio, making short-term contracts that enabled her to make movies wherever she wanted. She had so much range, and could act in basically any genre. She's been rumored to be a lesbian literally since she was active in Hollywood; most notable is the rumor that she had a long time on-and-off relationship with famously bi Joan Crawford, her "best friend" for decades (They lived right next door to one another). She also lived with Helen Ferguson, her "live-in publicist" for many years. She was the quintessential femme fatale in Double Indemnity, and really pushed sexual boundaries in her pre-code films like Baby Face, and the famous screwball The Lady Eve, where she plays basically a downlow domme. Allegedly, when a journalist asked her if she was a lesbian, she straight up threw him out of her house. She even played a lesbian in Walk on the Wild Side"

"THE queen of screwball comedies. I adore her, I'd kill for her, I will cry if she's not gonna win this poll."

"listen ok she had awful politics she was a mccarthyist right wing wacko BUT she's so incredibly hot that i've deluded myself into believing i could fix her. if you see her onscreen she carries herself in a way that's just so effortlessly sexy AND she has just a stunning face. imo she was at her hottest in the 1940s but even as early as the late 1920s she had a rly captivating screen presence and just a beautiful face, and then post-1950 she was just irresistibly milfy so really she was just always incredibly hot. she was also an incredibly talented actress who was equally stellar in melodrama, film noir, and unhinged screwball comedy. the blonde wig they made her wear in double indemnity is notoriously silly looking but she still looks sexy in it so that's gotta count for something. i've watched so many terrible movies just for a chance at seeing her that i think her estate should be paying me damages."

"Not often thought of for her sultriness, Barbara Stanwyck was incredible in that she could actually choose to be hot if the role called for it, and then have a glow-down to look ordinary for another role. She wasn't the most beautiful or effervescent, but damn did she have rizz. Watch her with Gary Cooper in Ball of Fire teaching him about "yum-yum" or with Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve whispering huskily into his ear."

"She is always the smartest woman in the room. Watching her play Henry Fonda like a befuddled fiddle in The Lady Eve was a highlight of my life. Femme fatale in Double Indemnity, comedy queen in Ball of Fire. She can do anything."

"She was part of my gay awakening"

"SHE'S A PRE-CODE QUEEN. She did everything, drama, comedy. The most beautiful woman in the world to watch weep. Beg for to step on you with those legs. Fun Babs story: Ginger Rogers was offered the role in Ball of Fire but said, “Oh, I would never play that part, she’s too common.” So they called Barbara Stanwyck and they said “We offered this to Ginger Rogers but she’s turned it down, would you be interested?” And she read the script and she said; “You bet! I LOVE playing common broads. [link]"