#People had seen her (the character and the actress) grow up over the years and when she decided she wanted to do a nude scene

[yelenasdiary]

could you do a florence one shot please 🙏

flo and reader are both actresses on a big film and do loads of pr and interviews together and in groups, they’ve also been seeing each other secretly since filming began. in all the interviews there’s a flirty undertone and enough comments that fans start to get suspicious.

Secrets Behind The Camera

Pairing: Florence Pugh x Fem! Reader

Summary: With a new Christmas romcom moving coming out starring yourself, Florence Pugh and a few other big names, the press tour brings to light a little secret you’ve been keeping from the world.

Warnings: None | 0.8K

AC: Saved this cutie for Christmas 🤭 I hope you enjoy! X 

Holiday Special Masterlist

From photoshoots to interviews to movie premieres, the world watched as your career as an actress only grew bigger and brighter. You were more than proud of how far you've come but more especially since the wrap up on filming your latest movie. Reflecting back on the last 12 months you've really learned a lot about the acting industry, things you didn't think you'd learn until many years down the track. As you look back at all the new memories and friendships you've made while being a part of this new film, a smile creeps onto your lips when you hear your girlfriend lightly knock on the bedroom door. 

"Good morning sleepy head" she smiles while holding a breakfast smoothie in her hand.

"I didn't sleep in that late" you replied, sitting up with your back rested against of the hotel's bedhead. 

"We have to be at hair and make-up in an hour" the blonde replied as she handed you the smoothie and placed a kiss on your forehead. 

You met Florence at a table reading for the movie, trying to keep your excitement to a minimum about meeting her, you accidentally spilt your bottle of water over your draft script and ended up having to share Florence's to avoid the bad impression on the others. Since then, the two of you naturally grew closer, your characters played best friends in the film and there was plenty of laughs shared on set. Florence asked you over to her LA apartment one night after a long day of filming. 

To your surprise Florence somehow had the energy in her to cook dinner for the two of you and since then, a friendship formed into a relationship. Nobody knew besides those closest to you and now that the press tour for the movie has kicked off, keeping the relationship on the low was only growing harder with each interview. 

The internet was flooded with speculation of you and Florence being a little more than friends, video edits of how the two of you would look lovingly at one another whenever one was answering questions or just taking a second to admire on when the other wasn't looking. It was safe to say that the two of you were Hollywood's new hottest topic. 

"Do you wanna go into together?" You asked, taking a sip of the breakfast smoothie.

"You really were tired last night" Florence chuckled, "we already made that plan darling" she added before walking over to her suitcase to begin packing her things. "I knew that" you playfully shook your head. 

----

"I have to ask, have you both seen the craze about you both online?" The interviewer asked as the interview began to wrap up. You looked over at Florence who had a cheeky grin on her lips before the both of you chuckled, "we have and we think it's lovely! When you get to work on anything you can this wonderful chance to meet new people and make beautiful connections! Y/n is wonderful to be around and has always had this way of bringing out the best in everybody around her" Florence replied to your surprise. Her answer quickly sent the nerves building up to fade away, the interviewer smiled and thanked you both before the two of you were able to wander back to the dressing rooms. 

Florence pulled you close from behind the minute the door closed before her, finally, the two of you were alone for a moment. "Your cheeks looked rather red before" she teased as she looked into your eyes. "It's getting a lot harder not to just kiss you in front of all those cameras" you admitted with a rather cheeky grin of your own. 

"But that would expose our secret" the blonde chuckled only for you to crash your lips against hers, "you bring out the best in me" you whispered against her lips before pulling away. Flo smiled softly as she brought a hand to cup your face, "and I meant what I said darling. You bring out a side of me I never knew existed" she replied before kissing you softly. 

The next morning you woke up to more notifications your phone had ever seen, friends that you hadn't shared the news with asking the question the rest of the world wanted to know. Playfully you rolled your eyes and ignored the question and placed your phone on do not disturb as you felt Florence wrap an arm around your waste while her eyes flickered open, "it's too early" she mumbled in her raspy morning voice that somehow had this hold over you.

"Shhh, go back to sleep baby, I'm not going anywhere" you replied in a whisper as you turned in her hold to face her, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear as you listened to her soft snores return. Your thumb stroking her cheek ever so softly as your mind wondered to the first day you met her and how nervous you were, Florence was right, working on this movie not only opened a door of endless possibilities for your career but you find a happiness you thought only existed in fairytales.

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[nsain25]

Defending Francesca..again

I love Francesca...she was Daphne without being Daphne and she had her own aura and charm and calmness.

But over the past 3 days, ever since ep 8 aired, a lot many people have been saying online that every single interaction that Fran had with the ladies of the Ton was simply because of her...preferences which became evident in the light of her stuttering in front of Michela Sterling (I could have said queer but then she might be Benedict to an extent i.e. like both genders so I am waiting till her season comes for confirmation and how her season would progress with the book plot) The most recent post I saw was Fran staring at Pen after the banns of the church reading...I mean..dude come on...Violet has not accepted John and she's just hurt why is John not getting the same respect that Pen is getting..I know I know that Pen knew Bridgerton for years and Fran also knows that..after all, she talked to Pen at Lady Danbury's ball because she wanted someone other than her family to talk to and Pen was there... Another aspect one brought up is that she was also seen staring at Miss Malhotra, one of the debutants in episode 1, after the Queen's presentation. I mean, the actress who played Miss Malhotra, Banita Sandhu, is beautiful but maybe, the reason Fran was looking at her was simply because this was the first time she was interacting with other ladies? Like except for her mainly, Pen, Kate, Edwina and her Aunt in Bath, she wasn't exactly seen with anyone else.. This post was not made to degrade Francesca as an individual or her choices or preferences. Rather it was made to pinpoint how we are so much into finding some sort of easter eggs that we are simply characterising a character without any valid context. Just because Benedict was shown bi in S1 and not in S2, we are so obsessed with having a queer character. For that please, first get Reynold and Brimsely together first. Francesca just got married and she just met Michaela and she is going towards her husband's house..is that not enough?

We know John dies okay? But it won't be until 2 years of their marriage ( as per books) so please allow Francesca to grow a little bit before her season comes, instead of taking the decisions into her own hands on how her character should develop.

Again I apologise for my words if they hurted anyone's sentiments but I think, in the wake of the change.org petition and Luke Newton's rumoured relationship, people are making useless assumptions about another character just for the sake of it

[zukosdualdao]

stage kiss

zutara month, day 8: actors au, @zutaramonth

summary: katara just needs to earn enough to make passage to the northern water tribe, so she begins working as a seamstress for an acting troupe in ba sing se. fine enough work in theory, until the leading actress is out sick and katara is asked to step into the role.

other notes: au in which the avatar never returns, and the war is still going on. katara is 16 and just left home, zuko is 18 and let go of his search for the avatar two years ago.

Katara doesn’t believe this is happening.

Well, alright, she mostly does, but. Come on.

All she’d wanted when she came here was to find work that let her earn enough to book passage to the Northern Water Tribe. She had known it would be difficult—her own tribe hadn’t had contact with them in many years, for much longer than she’d been alive—but she hadn’t expected there would be no official transport there when she got to Ba Sing Se. 

It had quickly become apparent that her options were to either book passage through a sketchy crowd of characters—sketchy mainly in that she didn’t like the way they looked her up and down, so she’d have to decide which ones she ‘trusted’ the most—or to… purchase a ship herself. And get a crew. And probably learn how to steer it.

She’s still figuring it out.

In any case, she had to earn one way or another, so she was relieved to find the acting troupe when she did, as the director seemed eager for a seamstress right away. Apparently, the last one had quit with barely a word.

Guiltily, Katara does not mention her plans to leave as soon as she has enough money to make passage.

It goes well for several weeks. A lot of the troupe is friendly, if a bit rowdy for her tastes—one earthbending boy has broken so many props she doesn’t know how he hasn’t been fired for it yet—but she’s met some really wonderful people too. Some of the girls her age have taken to talking to her about things like boys and far-off places they’d like to see and makeup and fights with their families, and it makes Katara feel a little choked up. She’d had Gran Gran, of course, and Sokka, and all the little kids she adored and the elders she respected, but she’d never really had someone who was a friend her own age.

The one person she hasn’t made much headway with is a boy a tall boy with dark hair and a scar that clearly came from a burn over his left eye. She’d come to understand quickly that most of the war refugees were blocked off in the lower ring, and they’re in a sort of in-between state, where artisans and food stallers live—it all makes her feel sick to her stomach if she thought about it too hard—but she can’t help but wonder if that’s how he got it. 

Zuko, the girls tell Katara his name is. He’s quiet and snappish and glares a lot, only seeming to come alive, to become softer, in those moments on stage when he’s being someone else.

Katara finds herself a little fascinated, despite herself, but it’s nothing to pay any mind to. In the weeks ahead, she’s just got to focus on her work.

It goes well. Until it doesn’t.

“Xiu Bao has fallen ill,” the director says as he implores Katara to take the lead’s place. “We would be ever-indebted to you.”

“But I’m not an actress!” Katara exclaims, feeling her heartbeat grow ever faster.

All she’d wanted was to learn waterbending. Now, she’s being asked to join an acting troupe. Temporarily. But still.

“It’s no matter,” he says. “You’ve seen the play many times over by now—and you don’t have to say the lines exactly,” he adds, a bit urgently. It is, after all, only a few hours until the show is meant to begin. “Just… to the best of your memory.”

Katara purses her lips. She’s not an actress, but her storytelling was well-regarded in a way that always made her proud, if a little squirmy—just like your mother, the elders in her village used to say—so maybe that could translate.

“And I’ll be paid?” she asks.

“Of course,” he assures her. “Yes—thank you, Katara,” he adds, turning heel before she can point out that she hasn’t technically agreed yet. 

Probably smart of him.

When she finds herself on stage that evening, made up and in Earth Kingdom robes, she tries to tell herself it’s just like telling a story. Mostly, it works. She remembers the lines surprisingly well.

Something else surprises her, too—the way it barely feels like acting as she stands across from Zuko. His role is still quiet, surly, a romantic lead of few words, but there’s a charm to him, an openness, and she doesn’t know where she possibly draws it from.

It’s near the end of the thing when she remembers with sudden clarity—they’re supposed to kiss here. 

How did she find herself in this situation?

When he strides toward her, placing his hands on her waist, Katara’s breath stutters, and that… that isn't acting.

He looks at her searchingly for a moment—does the scene always take this long?—and when she gives a slight nod of her head, he leans forward. Their lips meet, and it feels like the world around them just… stops. His lips are soft and gentle against her own, and from this close, Katara can tell he smells of firewood and cinnamon. 

When he pulls back, they rest their foreheads together. Katara breathes in shakily. Zuko is supposed to have a line, Katara’s pretty sure, but he's looking at her with a swell of emotion. The director clears his throat from the front row, and it's only then that Zuko remembers this fact as well.

Katara smiles to herself a little as the scene goes on. Maybe acting wouldn't be such a bad way to earn her keep and save for her travels while she stays here in Ba Sing Se.

[agentjazzy]

oh wow, it looks like Disney's Primos is coming out - I thought they shelved it!

I showed my parents the trailer, and they immediately said that the main character looks just like I did when I was little lmao, because it's true

Because, like, 1)I'm Chicane, and we have the exact same coloring, 2)I had short hair and braces from ages 9-11, 3)I had many many pairs of jean shorts, 4)glasses, lol, and 5)my mom shaved my unibrow every month when I was little

And then, of course, the premise - when I was 8 I had to live with my cousins for Summer (+ one month of school) before we moved in with my grandparents bc *~*technically we were homeless for several years*~*

How many cousins? Well, first with only 3, but then there were problems, so then we moved in with a different tía, who, at the time, had 7 kids.

(if anyone's curious, I have 20 cousins total, with 1 more on the way)

Being in single 3 bedroom house (with 2 makeship rooms in the garage) with 7 cousins, 4 adults, and my little brother was. Um. An experience.

But anyway, after I showed my parents the trailer, I told them this show was supposed to premiere a year ago but had controversies after the theme song dropped, then I showed them the original theme song to see if anything caught their attention.

And sure enough, absolutely nothing. My mom questioned the nickname Nachos, bc it can sound kinda iffy, but nothing else caught their attention.

(and oh, for context, they both grew up in LA, both growing up translating for their parents)

I showed them some clips of why people hated it, and yeah, they were confused bc they would say "oye primos," not "oigan primos." I guess my grandparents weren't concerned with teaching exact grammar at home, more concerned with making sure that my parents were learning english at school

everyone being mad at "terremoto heights" was um. weird. because we're constantly making earthquake jokes, because we're waiting for The Big One, which we know will inevitably screw us over and possible strand us without water and home if/when it comes. but we still joke about it, you know? my whole class made earthquake jokes, and my parents made earthquake jokes when they were in school and they lived through the LA quakes

it makes me wonder if Animaniacs released their "A Quake" song today, would people have been up in arms as much as they have for Primos?

but I guess changing it is fair, if Disney wants to have an international release. even if making earthquake jokes is part of SoCal culture.

they were really surprised about the nickname controversies, because here in SoCal, those nicknames are like. pretty common. yes, even the one that they ended up changing. it's almost as if words have different connotations in different places..........

ANYWAY the biggest thing is that they agreed that the voice actress was out of line (although they think it's obvious that the "shithole" comment was poking fun at trump and that that was being taken out of context in bad faith) but - and this is an inside joke I'm not gonna elaborate on - makes sense considering her name

(IF YOU'RE A MUTUAL OR A TRUSTED FOLLOWER, if you're curious about the joke, I WILL dm you to explain if you ask)

but yeah. it's obvious that this is Disney's answer to The Loud House and The Casagrandes - that being said, all the vitriol towards this shows seems very unfounded. this show just seems very Chicano, moreso than other things I've seen.

and like, as I've explained here, this show is very, heavily relatable to me specifically. none of my white friends understood the pains of living with a bunch of your wild cousins - but multiple of my Chicana friends did. at different schools districts even.

it's just... a lot of the things people are shouting is "bad representation" is literally just... my life. And, apparently, the creator's life, considering it's based on her childhood.

I think it's nice that she made a show about Chicano culture. It does suck that apparently no one knows or even seem to want to know what Chicano culture is.

I just can't help but to wonder if I ever make something about my life, my lived experience... will people call me bad representation? idk.

anyway, I'll probably check the first few episodes out. I'm not sure I'll watch the whole series, since, lately, Disney's shows have been kinda a miss for me. but maybe I'll be surprised. I'm willing to give it a shot

[docholligay]

I do think there are a handful of missteps in the show, admittedly, and one of them is that Claudia loses a lot of her resonance. I know, if I get murdered by the fandom over one thing, it will be this. I know she's a huge fan favorite. I don't even dislike her!

But aging her up compromised the tragedy of her situation, and honestly, made it a bit ridiculous. I know all of the extra-universe reasons she had to be aged up, but that doesn't change the question of what Claudia is doing in the story as she is presented.

We're asked to swallow this idea of being their daughter, of them using her to repair a marriage. The story of Interview With the Vampire is, in many ways, the story of both losing a child, and the tragedy of hanging onto a child. Claudia's tragedy is that she is frozen in amber. She can never grow up. She can never change. She is locked in that childish moment, seen as a child by her parents forever, and this is her great tragedy.

All of this becomes much harder to swallow about a fourteen year old, specifically given the time period in which she's turned. It's not that fourteen year olds were regularly running around by themselves, but in an edge neighborhood, in New Orleans, in the early 1900s, it's hardly out of the question. People would not have thought of her as a 'little girl'. So as soon as we enter into this, it's already become unserious. Her ruthless killing is not belied by a cupid-like look, because she is too old to look cupid-like. The way Louis and Lestat think of her is entirely out of their position and time.

I will admit to a piece of bias: I think Claudia is as close as Anne Rice ever comes to actually doing something really compelling with the narrative. In any of the Vampire Chronicles books. I think this tragedy of a child who did survive, a child who, unlike her own, will live forever, and the way she works through that as its own tragedy worse than death, and how CLAUDIA. HAS. TO DIE. Because that's what happened, and that's how it must happen, is probably the greatest literary stroke in any of the novels. So it pains me to see it essentially wiped away by child labor laws (The children yearn for the mines).

We have to deal with it, then, in these half measures. She's a child who can do nothing, she runs around on college campuses by herself, she will never be taken seriously and everyone sees her as a child, Madeline being attracted to her is no way unsettling or odd, etc. They try to make a big deal of her being a teenager forever, and always prone to irrational emotions, but she's written as one of the most reasonable people of season two. We are shackled to the Claudia of the books who cannot live with the Claudia of the show. Her character doesn't stand up to much scrutiny, we lose both its tragedy and its monstrousness and we are left with a pretty cool lady vampire in her own right, but someone who fails to deliver on the promise of Claudia's tragedy.

This isn't really her fault, but it becomes even more ridiculous with the actress switch in season two, who looks even OLDER than the original actress. I know that even Kirsten Dunst was too old, and where the fuck are you going to find a twelve year old like Kirsten Dunst again, who looked younger than she was and could act like a forty year old woman? But I do mourn the loss of a Claudia who was a tragic child, for a Claudia who is...inconvenienced. I would have preferred the ol Olsen Twins trick, having twins play a singular role so she could be actually a child, but we can't have everything.

(I will say a change with Claudia I HATED initially, that I came around to really liking, was having Lestat turn her after Louis' begging, and not having had Louis drain her in a moment of weakness. I love that moment in the books, and was SO disappointed that he just...saved her. Saint fucking Louis. But I came around to it, and I am so glad I waited for season two. I think they did a great job in the sketching of it.)

THIS IS THE ONE I'LL GET HATEMAIL ABOUT

[phantomoftheorpheum]

i am someone who feels neutral about claire! i don’t like/love her and i don’t dislike/hate her. you’ve hit the nail on the head with something that made me realize why i’m so neutral on her. she’s almost doesn’t feel real?

carmy (& the show as a whole) have this very romanticized view of claire. we are told that they are perfect for each other if carmy could just get his shit together. to me, where the carmy x claire stuff fails is that we simply haven’t experienced them having a lot of chemistry and compatibility in real time. in season 2 we’re just told how sweet they’d be because carmy had a crush on her growing up and she was a family friend. meanwhile, their relationship was portrayed as a negative distraction for carmy’s development of the restaurant. on that note, i do understand people comparing sydney & claire. in season 2, it was an - albeit one-sided battle between claire and the bear/sydney for carmy’s time and attention. sydney and carmy needing to go over menu options but he got too distracted by claire for example.

in season 3, we suddenly get all of these flashbacks of carmy and claire that we never saw originally and it feels a bit like retconning. as if they realized they hadn’t done enough to make us care about their relationship as we should. that’s how it might be perceived anyway. as i’ve seen people say, s2 claire was synonymous with childhood nostalgia but also panic, distraction, and frustration. but s3 claire is supposedly synonymous with peace. it feels like mixed messaging.

i love molly gordon as an actress but claire as a character is kind of just… there. she definitely feels like a place holder. probably to be young carmy’s ideal romantic partner. whether that makes sense thematically for adult carmy? idk. that’s where the confusion comes for me. i’m not sure where the writers are going or what they are ultimately trying to say. i want to have faith but i hope they stick a landing that’s not so dissonant as the carmy x claire relationship has felt so far - whether it ends or not.

Hi, fellow "neutral on Claire" viewer! Sorry this took me a minute to get back to, my internet router went out and it was a whole mess.

I've been thinking a lot about this since I got your ask, and the more I consider it, the more I think I do kinda understand Claire's purpose, even though I remain neutral on her character.

Anyway- yes, I don't think Claire feels real either! Not yet, anyway. And I am totally fine with that in season 2. Not only are we seeing Carmy reconnect with this crush he's had for years, but also it's the got the whole "new relationship" glow about it.

I think the purpose of Claire in season 2 is to show (and honestly in 3, though it's not as in your face specifically with her, but rather with how he has done nothing about what happened between them in the season 2 finale, despite having plenty of time and opportunity) how unbalanced Carmy is, how he doesn't know how to do anything well if he doesn't make that his entire being. In season 2, his relationship with Claire begins to thrive when he mentally and emotionally commits to it, but his relationship with the restaurant (and consequentially everyone there) falls to the wayside, and his behavior skews way too far in one direction.

Then, when he gets overwhelmed, predictably, with things not going well for him at the restaurant because he's been neglecting his responsibilities, he swings ridiculously hard the other direction (avoiding his relationship issues and not even being able to apologize, and becoming incredibly obsessive, over controlling, and dismissive in his work), and I think that is Claire's role in season 3, basically just existing in an unresolved romantic state, to show how, in every way, Carmy's new focus on the restaurant isn't healthy at all. He is too "all or nothing," too single minded.

While we know a few things about Claire, and we've seen a couple of scenes of her not directly through Carmy's POV, she has been a purpose, not a person, so far. And honestly, after thinking about it for a while, I'm okay with that. For now, anyway. Carmy's relationship with Claire is unresolved because Carmy's ability to find balance is completely unresolved. And since season 3 is only half of an arc, I think we need Claire, even if the ultimate resolution of the arc is that Carmy apologizes and they agree to go their separate ways. Claire is important because she is a physical & visual representation of Carmy's ability (or lack thereof) to balance his life, and how things resolve (or don't) with her in the future is a way to measure Carmy's progress (or regression). However, the choice to write season 3 as a "part one" type of deal makes Claire's purpose and role in this season a bit hazy upon first glance. It seems we're only being reminded of her in service of Carmy's arc, and not as a character in her own right. This is another reason I'm not the biggest fan of the structure of season 3 & 4, because season 3 is stuck with 95% of the setup, and barely any payoff, but I do wonder if this will feel better in hindsight when season 3 & 4 can be watched back to back.

If Carmy and Claire get back together in season 4 (or at the end of season 4 and assuming there is a season 5), then, imo, she has to finally become a person, not just a plot device and a symbol. We've seen what the romanticized version of Claire from Carmy's POV is, she's played her role as a casualty of Carmy's dysfunction, but if they resolve that arc with her back in Carmy's life and as a regular presence on the show, then we need to finally see who she is through a realistic lens. Until they either do that, or write her out due to her role being completed, I just don't feel like I have a way to judge Claire for Claire. I can only judge her as a plot device, and for that I think she's been serviceable, if unremarkable.

However, I do see what you're saying about how Claire is set up inherently against Sydney and the restaurant, because Carmy has been unable to split his focus in a healthy way, which means she was (unintentionally) in a tug of war with everything restaurant related. But I also think shipping culture has played a part in a lot of people disliking Claire. She's in the way of a ship that's super popular in the fandom (regardless of the show's intent), and that always comes with consequences. And I can even see how I'd be annoyed about this is if I cared more about romance in The Bear, because I've certainly been there with other shows, and it's hard to like a shallow (not in behavior, but in writing) plot device of a character that is not only in the way of your ship, but actively disrupting even the friendship of those characters. So like, I get it. I just don't have those feelings. And I also think it has caused some people to just flat out be unable to consider Claire's role in the story and Carmy's arc, and judge that for what it is, separate from shipping.

Anyway, I'm pretty open to different ways the show may choose to handle Claire, but I think they do have to choose. There's only so long she can be in the show before it has to make it clear if she exists only to play a role in Carmy's character development, or if she's an actual person with layers and flaws and depth of her own.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! It really did prompt me to consider Claire's character a bit more, so I appreciate it!

[castieelsblog]

Hello! So I'm in the PJO Fandom (have been for a couple of years) and I wanna talk about some of the characters that get hate or aren't understood. Starting with Bianca Di Angelo. There ARE spoilers to HoO and TOA, proceed with caution.

Bianca and Nico grew up in WWII era Italy and were brought to DC when Bianca was...10?? I think?? Whatever that's not the point, when they were brought to DC with their mom, Zeus had tried to kill them (because hades, Zeus, and poseidon kids were too powerful and Bianca was a hades kid) but he only killed their mom because hades had a barrier around the two kids. Fast forward to when we meet them, Bianca is 12 and Nico is either 9 or 10 (can't remember but that's not the point) and Bianca leaves Nico to join the hunters of Artemis. On the surface level, you might think that's a pretty shitty thing to do but let me put this into perspective for you: their dad is a God, meaning he can't associate with his kids directly and their mother died. Bianca had to become the sole caretaker to a hyperactive 9 or 10 year old boy for 70+ years. The ONLY reason she left was because she KNEW Nico would be safe at CHB (or as safe as you could be) she wanted to do something for HERSELF for once. It's not her being a bad sister, it's her wanting to finally do something for HERSELF. As an older sibling, I can understand her more than anything.

Next, Reyna. She grew up in Puerto Rico with her older sister and father, she was the first person in her family to be a decendant of Bellona, but her father became manic and she killed him. In doing so, all of her ancestors had gathered and called her a murderer-punishable by death at camp Jupiter. She and her sister fled Puerto Rico. Fast forward to current times, she's 16 years old and a commander of camp Jupiter. She's the one that brought peace between the Greek and Roman demigod camps. 16 and a commander. Why is she disliked so much? I think she's a badass person who shouldn't be treated like filth-from ANYONE, fictional or not. She's been through so much and yet you don't like her? Grow up.

Next is...well Jason AND Thalia Grace. Thalia and Jason were born a couple years apart (I not sure how many) to the Greek and Roman forms of Zeus. Their mother was a beloved actress who turned to the bottle because Zeus wouldn't notice her anymore. Jason was kidnapped by Hera when he was 2 and brought to Lupa. Thalia ran away from home. Fast forward to current time, she finally finds her brother again, but his memories are...well, they aren't in tact. Thalia is a hunter of Artemis and Jason is a child soilder. Thalia is forever 15 and Jason just turned 16 while on a quest to defeat Gaia. In which he nearly died. He hadn't seen his sister in YEARS and he couldn't even remember her because Hera had wiped his memories, can you imagine how they both felt? Thalia was so relieved to see him alive and he didn't even remember her face. They're both so complex and I WISH we saw them together more...instead Thalia will never see her brother again because he's dead.

Next, funshine bear personified: Will Solace. Okay, where to start with him...his mother traveled all over as a country singer bringing him along. When he was 9, monsters disguised as pigeons attacked him. He was brought to camp half blood, claimed by Apollo and then...well..hell broke loose. In the first war, he lost so many of his siblings it-hurts. The ONLY reason he's head of the Apollo cabin, is because the one before him died. He was only about maybe 11 or 12 when he was leading the main healing legion in the war with Kronos. He's lost so many people in his life, yet when people think of him they only think about him being Nico's boyfriend.

There's so much more and I could do a whole essay on this. ESPECIALLY Bianca and Rachel, but for now: please read their backstories before you say someone is selfish.

[jodiespolaroids]

New Jodie interview. Please someone drop the name of her pup.

It's behind a paywall, so if you want to read it, it's below the cut!

It was a gamble that few actresses would have dared to take. After four years making her name as the charismatic psychopath Villanelle in Killing Eve, Jodie Comer rolled the dice — and changed her life.

Having not acted on stage since she was 16, Comer risked her growing reputation to star in a one-woman show in the West End. Prima Facie proved a sensation and transferred to Broadway. And last year the Liverpudlian won the most prestigious theatre awards on both sides of the Pond — an Olivier and a Tony — and, aged 30, entered a new era. The Com-era, perhaps?

Today she is a fully fledged film star, taking her first leading role in The End We Start From — a smart, bold post-apocalyptic indie drama about a mother (Comer) and her baby (not Comer’s baby). The film already has nine nominations for the British Independent Film awards, and Baftas should follow.

Comer is in a car with a lively dog when we talk via Zoom. She is in a black hoodie, with her long blonde hair loosely tied, and seems extraordinarily calm — except when the dog leaps across the screen. Her Zen is worth mentioning because the last time I saw her was when she prowled the stage with fear and fury in Prima Facie, playing a barrister who defends men accused of sexual assault before she is sexually assaulted herself. One woman going full throttle in defence of all women.

“My sleep was all over the place,” Comer says of her stint playing Tessa. “It’s tricky when you do something emotional. You think, ‘OK, it’s not real.’ But there is some part that tricks your body into believing that what you’re saying and feeling is a real experience. It becomes important to take care of yourself. With theatre it’s kinetic. You’re sharing space with 900 people.

“It’s … it’s tough. But clearly something I love putting myself through.” She pauses. “Yeah, I underestimated Prima Facie. Totally. I just didn’t know what to expect.”

It was not her first ordeal either. She’s drawn to gruelling roles, from Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel, in which her character, Marguerite de Carrouges, was the victim of a rape, to Help, the bleak Channel 4 care home Covid drama. There was also Free Guy, a video-games blockbuster with Ryan Reynolds, but when I ask if Comer is tempted to pick something else fun as a break from Prima Facie, she explains that having a laugh is not enough.

“I like to be in a difficult place,” she says. “A place of self-discovery. Where I feel challenged. With Free Guy that part of me that comes away from my work feeling that I had to dig deep was missing … I came away thinking, ‘Wow, I’ve had so much fun.’ And that should be enough. But I like anything that holds a mirror up to this human experience. It’s just what I’m drawn to.”

Which leads us to The End We Start From. The film is directed by Mahalia Belo and takes place in modern-day London, telling the tale of Mother (Comer), whose waters break just as Britain experiences mass flooding. Metaphors à gogo, but the film works superbly as an intimate study of how an individual deals with a global disaster. How can a parent protect a baby as society collapses?

Comer is barely seen on screen without a baby. The crew had to use several because strict rules mean each infant can only work for 20 minutes at a time. (There are agencies that expectant parents use to sign their unborn child up to a film company.)

We all know an actor should never work with children or animals, but a baby is a whole other, wriggly challenge. Comer really does nothing by halves. How hard is it to act with one? “It’s such a lesson,” says Comer, who is not a mother. Did it come naturally? “Oh God, no!”

“The smallest baby was eight weeks,” she explains, smiling softly. “At first my hands were visibly shaking. My younger cousins have grown up now, so I’m not around babies an awful lot. It felt like a huge responsibility. I thought, ‘Wow, they’re so fragile.’ But I became more comfortable, sometimes to my detriment! There are scenes where we needed a baby to cry but I was soothing him instead. The crew would shout ‘Stop!’” She pauses. “I was kind of falling in love with them.”

The film shows the thrill of being a first-time parent much more than the panic. As prep for Prima Facie Comer watched cases at the Old Bailey. What did she do for this? “My best friend had a baby before filming, so I was able to ask personal questions,” Comer says. “I also spent time with midwives — there is a birthing sequence and I wanted to know about the physicality, where you feel pain giving birth. Having not had a child myself, I wanted women to see the truth in what they saw.”

It comes as no surprise that Belo was inspired to direct her first feature film after giving birth during the pandemic. “Your whole body gets taken over by this beautiful thing,” Belo says about being a mother. “Every part of your body is different from then on and it’s not only that — all your relationships are different too. You’ve got this other sound going on, that’s about your children. I wanted to represent that.”

The End We Start From is a film so clearly made by a woman who has young children, you can almost smell the nappies. Post-apocalyptic films usually star a man walking in a desolate landscape alone with his thoughts, and a dog. So it is quietly revolutionary to focus on a woman and her newborn.

“I think so,” Comer says. “What I love is that it’s a woman who is the everyday hero — we always see men with a superhero quality facing this situation. But here it is a woman many will feel they know. She’s not scaling buildings, or jumping over bridges. The story is deep-rooted in her psyche and emotion. It’s refreshing.”

The film also grapples with climate change. “Endless amounts of rain — I can’t see anything out of the window …” Comer says with a sigh as she looks out of the car at a very wet Britain. Belo, who lives in east London, made the film as her neighbourhood in Walthamstow suffered unprecedented flooding. When she consulted flood experts, their conversations were bleak. “Sea levels are rising, rainfall is becoming more extreme. We are an island; things are going to go wrong and we’re not prepared. We know what’s happening.”

For some The End We Start From will just be a stirring story of the lengths that we go to protect our children. Others, though, will locate an edge that is common to so much of Comer’s work. It is another entry on a CV that is trying to make a difference. Does she think that art can actually change anything? “Absolutely,” Comer says. “When I read the scripts they provoked an emotion in me that felt important. I felt engaged and that’s the biggest thing now, isn’t it? To keep people engaged in what you’re saying, and so that you can change things. I witnessed conversations around sexual assault when working on Prima Facie and saw subtle shifts within the law.

“Women and men were telling me what that play had enabled them to do, whether it was to seek counselling or have a conversation with their family. That may seem like a very small change but it is mighty in somebody’s life. You can see what a profound effect watching a piece of art has on somebody. That means a lot to me.”

This desperation to make stuff that really matters is why Comer stands out. She also excels in the 1960s-set The Bikeriders, about gangs and masculinity, out in the summer, alongside Tom Hardy. If you were to put her in a bracket of skill and achievement right now, you could say that she is where Jodie Foster was as she entered her thirties. They share the sass, steeliness and spark that Foster displayed in the controversial courtroom drama The Accused — which deals with the subject of rape — a sort of prototype Prima Facie.

[arcanemadman]

How exactly is Subhuman lyrical character assassination for Dante?

Ok. I'm not looking forward to writing this but…

So you've probably seen that there are some mixed opinions on this particular song, so allow me to clarify. I would like to preface this by stating that Subhuman is one of the few things in the world that I feel genuine hatred toward, which is either amusing to think about or outright pathetic. I actually can't listen to any part of the song without feeling anxiety or anger. As such, I have avoided listening to the song again.

First of, lets talk about the original version of the song. The original was sung by suicide silence, who at one point a popular deathcore band until the death of their main vocalist, after which they spiraled into disaster and alienating their fan base. Their version on the song, without exaggeration, sounded like pigs squealing. High pitched, badly mixed music by a washed out band who's new main vocalist also happened to be a pedo. These factors culminated into the song, upon being released, getting over 13,000 dislikes before the video was deleted from YouTube. Seriously, when people first did listens like you do they were, at best, laughing.

So they replace the vocalist, problem solved right? No. This is actually the second attempt by composer cody matthew johnson at a theme for Dante, the first being a remix of Devils Never Cry for Marvel vs Capcom Infinite, and is largely considered the worst and only bad version of the song. And when advertising this song on his website, he advertised it as the theme of "the foul mouthed anti-hero" Dante, AKA reboot Dante.

In other words, he made it for the wrong character. Johnsons reaction to the backlash was to throw a tantrum and saying he's "happy to stir the pot", ignoring the fact that the original version was actually painful to listen to (this isn't hyperbole, seriously don't take my word for it and listen to the original version and you'll get what I mean) and the fact that it was sung by a pedophile. Recently he also related the backlash he got to the abuse targeted at actress Lily Gao for her performance in the Resident Evil 4 remake, which is deeply insulting considering she was subjected to racist abuse and harassed off social media.

And even then, the song itself good for what it's supposed to be. As a character theme, it's character regression for Dante. It's an angry, spiteful song that goes on about how Dante struggles with this evil inside him, how he hates all demonkind and how he's a rage filled monster that tears through everything in his way. But that's not Dante. At one point, Dante did have anger towards demons and hate that part of himself, but his character ark in Devil May Cry 3 was accepting that part of himself and growing as a person. DMC3 is a prequel, mind you. In universe, he got over those feelings over 25 years ago.

When faced with demons, he often offers to show them mercy even if they don't accept, because he knows that just as any human can do evil, any devil can do good. He spares Trish in DMC1, a demon created for the sole purpose of killing him, and in turn she becomes his trusted friend. In DMC2, he refuses to let Lucia kill herself because her fear of hurting humans proves she's not a monster to him. In the anime, he's hired to kill a demon called Brad and instead finds him in a bar, talks with him to figure out what his deal was, and then helped Brad protect his human girlfriend and kill his demonic master. In fact, he's far more merciful to demonic enemies than his human ones, who he kills without ever offering mercy, because at its core those that give up their humanity are worse than those that never had it to begin with.

That's mainly it. The thesis statement of the entire series is this - The human ability to care for others, to love someone, be it family, friend, or romance. If you care enough to cry, THAT is what makes you human. Dante is powerful not just because of the demonic power of his father, but because of the human heart of his mother. He is the son of both Sparda and Eva, and he's proud of that. But the very title of subhuman contradicts the entire point of the series. It implies he is less than human, but he's not more human or more demon, he's both, and that's the point of him as a character. Vergil rejected his humanity, while Dante embraced it. He's reached an equilibrium in his soul and grown as a person, embodying both worlds as a devil with ability to cry. Subhuman doesn't focus on Dante's humanity at all, it's all about how he's inhuman.

You remember how in Devils Never Cry the harder and softer lyrics are separate and initially clash, representing his demon and human halves, but in the end they come together into a singular song, representing Dante's acceptance of both sides of himself. There's none of that nuance in this song.

And removing the character assassination, it's just not a good representation of Dante. As I said it feels angry and violent, but Dante is charming and stylish. Of course he does have some resentment to aspects of his life, at times wishing he could have a normal life, but he enjoys what he's got. With the other character themes, the lyrics feel like something the characters would say in battle; With Devil Trigger, I can see Nero smirking and shouting "Bang, bang, bang! Pull my devil trigger!" as he throttles his sword as his enemies charge at him. With Crimson Cloud, V talking in poetry all the time so "Saviour! Bloodstain! Hellfire! Shadow! Heaven on a landslide!" sounds like something he'd read out to himself as his demons tore up the battle. And with Bury the Light, Vergil would totally proclaim "I am the storm that is approaching!" before unleashing a devastating attack.

But with Dante, who taunts by throwing a rose at his enemies, laughing and pointing, and playfully beckoning at his enemies to keep trying their best, I can't see that person screaming at the top of their lungs in fury "YOU CANNOT KILL ME!" Dante isn't someone who feels the need to prove anything to himself or his enemies. It's part of his charm that powerful demons will fight him, expecting a respectful battle with the son of the legendary Sparda, but instead they get their ass beat by an idiot more interested in seeing what he can do with a hodgepodge of weapons than taking things seriously. And when he does get serious, it's more quite, closer to "you've got my attention and I'll make you regret it." It's too insecure. A better line would be something like "Just try to kill me!" but even then, it's still screaming. There's no subtlety here.

None of this is helped by the fact that the song is so plodding. The low BPM makes it feel plodding, and while I'm certainly no expert on music that sort of feeling hurts in a game as fast as DMC, especially for Dante, who while not as fast as Vergil is by far the most chaotic character to play as. Teleporting, swapping guns, swapping weapons, swapping styles, Dante has over 100 potential actions that can loop into each other freely. Subhuman doesn't capture how chaotic it feels to play as Dante. It's going for the power fantasy of Kratos, an unstoppable juggernaut as opposed to the power fantasy of a stylish showdown. You don't play as Dante to strike fear into demonkind, you play him to see just what bullshit you can get away with even in the most dire situations.

That is ultimately why Subhuman fails and betrays Dante as a character.

I'll admit, from my personal experience I tried everything to get myself to like the song. I listened to every edit trying to salvage it, every version that changed it up, all hoping that Dante would get the theme he deserved. But I think that's why I hate it so much now. I desperately wanted it to be good. But at it's core, the song is fundamentally flawed it what it sets out to do, represent Dante as a character, and it needed a full overhaul that was never realistic within the time frame of it being revealed to the public and the games release. Honestly, after what he did to Devils Never Cry they should never have given Dantes theme to someone as inexperienced as cody and his works before and since have been middling at best. But he was the real thing that killed subhuman for me. Anyone that listened to the original version knows it was BAD, but he acted like he was a visionary who was too smart for the rest of us and ignoring all criticism including, need I remind you, HIRING A PEDOPHILE. The recent thing with Lily Gao I find particularly infuriating because what she has been going through is unquestionably awful, yet he made it about himself. As if a white composer who complained about the whole thing on twitter suffered the same abuse as an asian woman who was chased off social media. That inability to self reflect on anything and blaming everyone that disagrees with you is just arrogance in the end.

I always get really angry whenever I think about this song. If I had the same passion for writing things I actually cared about I'd be an acclaimed author by now. I don't like how much I think about this song so much. As I said at the state hating a song this much is either amusing or pathetic. But Dante is a character that holds a certain importance for who I am so I care more than I should. I know not everyone had the same experience I have, or don't really care about the music so long as the game is fine, but the music in Devil May Cry has always been spectacular, and the character themes have been brilliant ways to prove who the characters are deep down. So for Dante, the face of the series, to be stuck with the worst one in the entire series in the grand return of the series until the next game comes around… it's fucking infuriating.

[boozles]

Boozle's Top Ten Actors 2023

As part of my 2023 review, I thought I would include my top ten actors of the year. (Lets be honest, I just love making lists, and end of the year lists are the best!)

In no order whatsoever...

(i) First Kanaphan Puitrakul I know, you're all shocked beyond comprehension. In all seriousness, though, First continues to blow me away with his acting. He really can play any part and he puts his everything into each role. It's been amazing the last few months to see people start to realise how amazing he is. A bonus is that he is a bloody lovely human being, too.

(ii) Force Jiratchapong Srisang I know there was a lot of discourse during Only Friends where Force (and Book) seemed to get a lot of hate, and I do not understand that at all. It was only this year that I discovered them because of A Boss and A Babe, and between that, Enchante and Only Friends...Force is a bloody fantastic actor! When he's on screen he commands your attention, and I cannot wait to see what is next in store for him.

(iii) Khaotung Thanawat Rattanakitpaisan I know, what a shocker, eh? Khaotung deserves all the recognition he has been receiving this year, he really does. This man puts his heart and soul and then a little more into every performance, and I am still not over Ray's therapy scene in Only Friends. I can't even find the words to completely explain how much I adore this man's acting, I just love him so much. I would really love to send a fruit basket to whomever made the decision to pair him and First together, because it literally may have been the greatest decision ever made in the history of acting.

(iv) Mark Pakin Kunaanuwit Mark really has been the stand out for GMMTV this year, hasn't he? Not only is he a precious wee bean, he's so bloody talented and we can't get enough of him. I know he has said he doesn't really want to play any big lead roles, but regardless, I hope we see lots more of him (after he gets some rest because he was super busy in 2023!).

(v) New Thitipoom Techa-apaikhun Gosh, he's a little cutie, isn't he? This year was the first I'd ever seen New in anything, and it was actually The Warp Effect that introduced me to him, and I just fell in love. There's just something about how New portrays emotions, especially sad ones? It's like he manages to change his aura and just really put out what the characters are feeling, and I'm looking forward to the rest of Cherry Magic, and Peaceful Property in 2024!

(vi) Jan Ployshompoo Supasap "Finally, a woman!" I hear you all cry as we pass the halfway mark of this list. I love Jan. Every time she pops up in a series I get all giddy because not only is she an amazing actress and singer, she's so funny! I think the first thing I saw her in was Tonhon Chonlatee, and I honestly think I wouldn't have made it through the show if it weren't for her. I think you can watch her series through the years and see her grow as an actress, and I'm so looking forward to seeing more of her in 2024!

(vii) Book Kasidet PlookPhol I know I already mentioned it with Force, but I really do not understand the hate both of these men received this year with Only Friends. Book has blown me away with his acting; it never feels like a repeat performance with him. I often think about how different Theo, Cher and Mew are and it blow my mind that the same person played all three roles. If you don't like Book, i honestly worry about your taste.

(viii) Mek Jirakit Thhawornwong I had to include my husband, Mek. The thing is, I think Mek is a fantastic actor, but GMMTV really did not treat him as well as he deserved. Star and Sky was a terrible series, but Mek really stood out to me (I only watched the show because it was the only series includied in Our Skyy 2 that I hadn't seen, and Mek was the only part of it I came out enjoying). 2023 has seen him mostly doing modelling and promo spots, but I am so excited to see him in Red Peafowl and My Stand In in 2024 (plus, it looks like we're going to get new music from his band, Saint After Six)!

(ix) Neo Trai Nimtawat I think I'm lucky that the first thing I saw Neo in was The Eclipse, because he said that beforehand he always felt like he played the class clown, whilst he got to actually show his acting skills in The Eclipse. Fast forward to Only Friends and he came out victorious with everyone being blown away by how versatile he is as a performer. I've adored him since he was Kanlong, and I hope he has a long and lucrative career.

(x) Tay Tawan Vihokratana When I first watched Kiss Me Again this year, initially it was because I wanted to watch more New, then this little terror just sideswept me off my feet. I won't lie, I still haven't watched 3 Will Be Free (I know, I know, I'll be fixing that in the New Year) so my experience with Tay is just his performance as Pete in Kiss Me Again & Dark Blue Kiss, and what we've seen of Cherry Magic so far...and I love him. The difference between Pete and Karan is enough to prove how fantastic Tay is as an actor, and I am so looking forward to Peaceful Property. It doesn't hurt that he has the most heartwarming smile that makes my legs feel like jelly.

Honorary Mentions: (i) Billy Patchanon Ounsa-ard (ii) Babe Tanatat Phanviriyakoo (iii) Silvy Pavida Moriggi (iv) Louis Tien Chiang (v) Bright Rapheephong Thapsuwan (vi) Nonkul Chanon Santinatornkul

[n-evermores]

“Besides, you’re still in love with your old girlfriend.”

Let’s talk about this trope. I see this often with older male characters, and my only question is why? It’s so tiring and honestly, a little silly. And this is not me trying to diminish real feelings that teenagers can have. Many people marry their high school sweethearts and live long happy lives together. But you also grow together and build a life with one another. It’s very different.

If my math is correct, Joy and Parker dated when they were 15/16 years old. They went their separate ways their junior year of high school so they were probably 16 when they broke up. Our brains don’t fully develop until we’re about 26. Parker and Joy, even at 21, would be very different people from who they were at 16, and even more so at 26. They’re like 60 now. It’s safe to say they are strangers at this point.

This trope is so unhealthy to me, and usually painted as romantic by writers. Him not able to have a healthy long lasting relationships with women because he’s still obsessed with his high school girlfriend is not romantic. One could argue it's toxic. Honestly he needs therapy because this has to be some form of trauma. Yet, the writers love using women for male pain, and this isn’t any different. You’ll never see them write a female character incapable of having an adult relationship because they can’t get over their old flame, because they don’t use men as plot devices like they do with women.

It’s like when ALL of Gibbs’ relationships and marriages failed because he couldn’t move past Shannon. I totally understand this for him because they built a life together and had a child, (but it’s still unhealthy) As we get older the way we love changes. We mature and so does the way we love and how we love matures with us. There’s no reason Viv had to compete with a ghost from his teenage years. It’s downright silly and kind of unrealistic if we’re being honest.

I love Joy as a character and I love the actress. I feel like the writers need an excuse to prevent Parker from being happy just as they did with Gibbs. And I hate that. A part of me wishes they used Joy’s actress as Viv (I wasn’t too fond of the actress they used. Perhaps it was the way she was written or portrayed, but I’m not a fan), and just gave us a slow burn of him getting back with his ex wife of many years. I feel like that’s the direction they were originally going in until they retconned it with the Joy plot line.

And when Constance broke up with Parker, I felt sad for him, and then suddenly she hits us with the “you’re still in love with your old girlfriend” line, and I just eye rolled so hard. Like why? It’s so stupid. It pulled me out of the story and I love Parker, I do, but it kind of ruins his character for me just a little. It’s just weird. Like you were a child when you loved her, you haven’t seen her since you were 16. Move on, my guy. Move on. I just know a man wrote this into his story, that or I want to know who’s 14 year old child went into the writing room and suggested it. Because it’s silly.

Also just to reiterate that they usually don’t do this with women: Joy herself is a good example. When Parker asked if she was over him, we never saw her response. Clearly, that conversation didn't go in his favor because nothing came from it. Most likely, she rejected him. However they did allow Jimmy to fall in love again and be in a healthy happy relationship after his wife died, but Parker can't get over a girl he dated at 16? It's just a badly written plot and a trope that needs to die. It's not romantic, its not cute. I'm not sitting at my tv and going, “awww, he's stuck in his past which is preventing him from having healthy long lasting relationship, so sweet and romantic.” Yuck no.

Also please note this is not me hating on Parker. He is one of my favorite fictional characters ever. I adore him. This is just me complaining about NCIS writers. I love the show to pieces, but when it comes to characters like Parker and Gibbs, they love to throw these toxic tropes at us. One of those tropes being unbridled anger = masculinity (hello old wounds.) Anyway. Rant over ha ha.

TL;DR: Unless you have an unhealthy obsession, real people don't stay in love with the person they dated at 16, especially after 40-something years. That person would be so far from your mind. It's unrealistic and I wish writers would stop using this trope to prevent characters from happiness or having any healthy long-lasting relationships.

[polniaczek]

since she’s probably the most controversial cast member.. what do you think about lisa whelchel? like do you like her or is she indifferent to you as a tfol fan? do you think she’s aware of jo x blair shippers? for me personally it’s hard not to like her because blair is my favorite character and i first watched the show without knowing anything about the actresses but i know she’s had some shitty opinions in the past… still i think she’s a nice person who’s not totally against the idea of changing her mind about certain things from what i’ve seen in the past years (specially since she got divorced) idk maybe i’m naive lmao

heh i actually sometimes forget that about lisa. i'm able to watch the show without thinking about it, fortunately. the stuff about her childrearing and the homophobia suck to learn about. what you've described is just the universal "i love blair but lisa what the hell are you doing" experience. i had it too. and she is 100% aware that people ship jo and blair (as were the folks creating the episodes after a certain point in the show, allegedly, so i'd assume nancy knows too but she'll probably never comment on it). i'm convinced that lisa is squicked out over jo/blair. in the interview she did on the view, sara gilbert asked her about them and/or jo being gay I don't remember and lisa's response was like :) no no jo married a man on the show :) and it's just kajsdjf;sldjf

having said all that, i do get a generally decent vibe from her?? the bar is low but she seems willing to learn and do better and doesn't seem like she's ever meaning to offend people which can't be said of some other homophobic 80s sitcom actors. if you ever watch her survivor season, it's like, oh okay you're probably a person with good intentions. i think she even won most likable or fan favorite or something. it's probably a combination of her being religious and growing up when she did and possibly like you said some stuff with her previous marriage. i'm happy for her if she's been able to unlearn any of the harmful things she once believed.

and then... some days i'm also thinking that while i've known about lisa for ages and i've had time to accept it, what do we really know about nancy ;-;

[thesunrisesss]

Have you seen the prequel movie? If yes🌹>>>

A. In your opinion, please rate TBOSAS movie with 1-10 scale.

(1 = I hate it, 10 = I love it.)

Things that you like :

Things that you don't like :

B. For people who also read the novel.

Your opinions about the difference between the book and the movie :

Thank you 🎼

@curiousnonny

Thank you so much for the ask!! Yes, I have seen the movie (twice lol). On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate TBOSAS as a 9, because a 10 to me would be a 1 to 1 recreation of the book. Compared to the rest of the film adaptations we have, this is the best one by far. I'll start off by breaking down the things that I liked most about the movie.

Let's start off first and foremost, Francis Lawerence was determined to fit everything cleanly into one movie. While most of us know that there was more than enough material to warrant two movies, if that happened, I believe that it would have suffered the same fate as Mockingjay Pt. 1 & 2. This is what he said during an interview that I think sums this idea up well:

"In an episode of television, if you have a cliffhanger, you have to wait a week or you could just binge it and then you can see the next episode. But making people wait a year, I think, came across as disingenuous, even though it wasn’t. Our intentions were not to be disingenuous." - Variety

So, would it have made more money in the long run? Sure. But would it make the fans happy? Probably not. Both he and Suzanne aren't just in it for the money. They want to both make something they're proud of, and something they know the fans will enjoy and I think that really shows.

Another great example of how they listen to the opinions of their fans is shown in their casting choices.

Back in 2012 when the movies first started being released, there was a lot of public outcry about not giving accurate representation to the characters in the books.

Listen, as much as I love JLaw, her personality, her acting ability, and the beautiful way she brought Katniss to life, she doesn’t look like Katniss as was described in the book. Suzanne is very intentional with the information she gives us. Katniss is a hunter, living in the Appalachian area, and has "straight black hair, olive skin, and grey eyes"; Katniss is coded as Native. Jennifer is not.

This can also be expanded into the representation of District 12 as a whole. While we're watching the events of the Reaping take place, nearly everyone in that crowd is white. If most of the people living in the district live in the Seam and look like Katniss, then where are they? Why do they all look like merchant children?

So, with that all being said, I am very glad that this time around they had a more diverse cast.

Here are the things that I picked up on myself: Clemensia is Asian, Coral was queer-coded, Bobbin was missing an arm, Tanner was missing an eye, Wovey had down syndrome and, Tigris is played by a trans actress (and was a huge fan of the original series growing up). I'm aware that there is probably a lot more I missed out on, but those are just the ones I picked up on on my own.

Another bit I loved was the character outfit choices.

Snow wore different colored roses to signify his mindset at different points in time. He wore a red rose during the reaping ceremony, red roses signifying passion and pride as he thinks he’s about to win the Plinth prize. When we see him at the train station he gives Lucy Gray a white rose, which signifies loyalty, purity, and innocence, as are his views towards her and the Games thus far. Then, during the start of the games he wears a yellow rose, which signifies friendship and luck, which represents how he feels about Lucy Gray.

Another thing that really stood out to me was the choice of character design. Of course, most of the attention is going to the Academy uniforms, and Lucy Gray’s reaping dress, but there’s so much more that we can pick up on if we look closely.

It was mentioned a TikTok, going over Tigris’s outfits, that the designer intentionally gave all of her outfits some kind of unfinished hem, as if she was still a work in progress. (I can’t find the original TikTok anywhere, I believe it was posted by Lionsgate, but it’s no longer there)

And Dr. Gaul’s outfits are phenomenal. I would say my piece about it here, but Leftie said it so much better than I could say it myself, so I will link it for you here: TikTok

Then, when it comes to the tributes, each tribute looked like they were all coming from the poor districts, but they all had something unique about them. Coral had a fish on her flannel representing District 4, fishing, Wovey had an outfit covered in buttons on her shoulders, and had a heart made of buttons on her pants representing District 8, textiles, 

There are also many things I liked about the little callbacks to the original trilogy, but don't have enough to say on it to write them their own paragraphs, so I will list them below.

The long shot on the bow and arrows on the Cornucopia, sitting and waiting to be used, because no one there is ready to take the first shot.

Lucky canceling his dinner reservations. “Two and a highchair”, I wonder who that highchair is for.

The mention of Katniss and being too early in the season. Need I say more?

I think these were all great choices because anyone who has been a fan of the series will know what they were trying to tell us, but it also blends in so well with the rest of the movie. I have no doubt in my mind that those who watched this movie as their first introduction to the series didn’t think any of those moments were out of place.

Now we’ll move on to the things I didn’t like, and honestly, I’m glad to say I don’t have many, so I will list them below:

Why is District 12 still so white? If the Seam is a large part of the population then why is everyone so gosh darn pale? Where are the people living in the Seam that all looked like Katniss and Lucy Gray??

Where is Clemmy?? I really wanted to see her act like a snake.

Where is Ma Plinth? She is such a huge character in the book and yet we don’t even see her face in the movie.

The interview between Lucky and Lucy Gray while at the zoo felt too fast, could I tell you how to do it better? No. But I do think that the pacing of it was a bit weird.

I really wish we saw a mockingjay pin somewhere, that would have been a nice call back.

The overall pace of the first half of the movie. They did really well getting in the stuff they did, but so much happened in the books that it felt like we were jumping around quite a bit trying to show us all the things that were necessary for the story.

Lack of Snow's inner dialogue. I understand why it wasn't included, but it really adds so much depth to his character that without it he just appears...normal. (Listen you can think Tom is hot all you want, but babe, respectfully, if you still think Snow is smashable after the movie ends I will personally give you my therapist's contact info)

For those who didn’t read the book, but watched the movie, I will leave you with this.

Snow is a sociopath. He doesn’t care about anyone but himself. He is hot and evil. That’s how it's supposed to be.

No, Snow and Sejanus didn’t kiss in the book either, I’m sorry.

Read the books. It brings so much more light and depth into the characters that you literally cannot do in any movie.

Listen to the audiobook. If you think reading the book will bring the characters to life, then this will make them feel like you know them personally. It's voiced by Santino Fontana (aka Hans from Frozen) and he adds so much to the story, minus the singing. You would think they would let a man who can sing sing the songs, but they don’t. I think it’s cause they’re scared of the edits we would create. (Btw, don’t support amazon by listening to it on audible. You can listen to it for free by either supporting your local library by using Libby or by listening to it on youtube)

Lastly, I’ll leave you with some things I'm hoping we will get to see at some point in the future.

Another book. I really hope Suzanne comes back with another addition to the series at some point. I know she only writes when she has something to say, so if she does, I'm really excited to see what she might come up with.

A TV series adaptation. Diverse and inclusive cast. One episode per chapter. One season per book. One bonus season where each episode goes over the games of previous victors. I would love to see Mags, Haymitch, Johanna, and Finnick’s games.

The extended cut. There is a 3hr 40min cut of the movie that we almost got, but didn’t, and I need to see it. There's currently a live change.org petition urging Lionsgate to release it. As of writing this, it has just over 12k signatures. If you're interested you can sign it here.

More interviews with Suzanne. Even if she doesn’t write any more books I really just want to hear more about what goes on in her head.

More people joining the HG community. It’s been a special interest of mine ever since the movies were first announced, so I’m super happy that it’s picking up steam and getting attention again!

[gacmediadaily]

t’s only fitting Jen Lilley’s University of Virginia story includes the type of fairy tale elements that are now staples of her movies.

Lilley is an actress who you’ve likely seen this holiday season if you have access to the Hallmark, Lifetime or Great American Family channels. Her filmography comes with titles such as “The Spirit of Christmas,” “Mingle All the Way” and, her most recent work, “A Paris Christmas Waltz.”

These are the kinds of cozy, made-for-television flicks typically featuring a young woman in a snowy setting who finds love in a quirky way as part of an inevitable happy ending.

The gardens at UVA hold a special place in Lilley’s heart. It’s there where the 2007 graduate was proposed to by now-husband Jason Wayne. (Contributed photo)

Lilley, you could say, was destined to be a Wahoo. She’s the daughter of UVA alumni who said she dreamed of being admitted to the University since she was 3. Once that goal was achieved in the early 2000s, the Roanoke native then literally stumbled upon her future career during a routine walk around Grounds.

“I found acting by happenstance at UVA because there were posters all over for an open audition for an independent film called ‘The Loss of Life,’” Lilley said. “I ended up booking the female lead opposite Alexis Ohanian.”

While Ohanian went on to found Reddit and marry tennis superstar Serena Williams, Lilley, who came to UVA with the intention of studying Spanish, found fame by continuing on an acting path.

She graduated in 2007 with a drama degree (with a minor in environmental science). But before leaving for Hollywood, she was proposed to by her now-husband, Jason Wayne, in a UVA pavilion garden after a symbolic dinner at the now-defunct Ludwig’s Schnitzelhouse Restaurant on Fontaine Avenue.

“My parents had their first date at the Schnitzelhouse,” Lilley said. “So it was special.”

Whether in real life or on a set, Lilley has long had a knack for playing a main character in a charming narrative. It’s a movie plotline that pairs well with Christmas.

Lilley has starred in nine Christmas-themed TV films since 2015.

“It’s so funny because they’re not highbrow movies,” she said, “but you’d be surprised that our biggest fans are people like homicide detectives and Supreme Court justices. With everything going on in the world – the uncertainty, the pandemic, the war, all of that – we’re like the mac and cheese of TV. We try to make people feel good.”

“A Paris Christmas Waltz,” which premiered on Nov. 19, is Lilley’s latest Christmas movie. (Contributed photo)

Lilley calls this genre, which has proven to be highly popular with viewers this time of year, “fairy tales for adults.”

“People just want to sit down with a warm bowl of macaroni and cheese and know exactly where the movie is going,” she said. “They can do their laundry and not miss a beat.”

A series regular on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives” from 2013 to 2016, Lilley took on consistent roles in Christmas films shortly thereafter. Her latest, “A Paris Christmas Waltz,” which premiered on GAC on Nov. 19, is a story set during Christmas week in France that follows the growing relationship of competitive dance partners.

The holiday season not only annually features Lilley in a variety of movies, but, since 2020, it’s been a time for her philanthropic side to shine. She’s the founder of “Christmas Is Not Cancelled,” a nonprofit organization that has helped nearly 100,000 children receive holiday gifts.

“My holidays are crazy,” she said. “I’m always making five to seven gingerbreads and having ugly sweater competitions. We’re always doing crazy things that raise money for charity, and we always have a goal of giving 25,000 toys to children all over the U.S. We give bikes, Legos, really cool toys.

Aside from starring in movies during the holiday season, Lilley, through her nonprofit organization, raises money to provide gifts for children. (Contributed photo)

“So my holidays are much more than you can stuff in your stocking. It’s much more than you see in my movies.”

In her festive movie debut, Lifetime’s “The Spirit of Christmas,” Lilley played a lawyer who travels to Vermont to close the sale of a haunted inn and ends up falling for the ghost of the man who mysteriously died there nearly a century earlier.

Lilley said if she were to write a UVA-themed Christmas film, she’d use a similar plot line that taps into the history of a location. She envisions a story around a female journalist tabbed to come to Charlottesville for a piece on Thomas Jefferson.

“It would be a little outside the box,” she said, “but you could be going back and forth from modern to old UVA. You wouldn’t have to change the setting. I think a time travel element around UVA would be really cool because the Grounds are just so beautiful.”

Asked for a hypothetical name for the film, Lilley naturally went with “A Cavalier Christmas.”

[fishylife]

Getting around to the variety series that was made for Creation of the Gods (Episode 1) (Episode 2) (Episode 3)

Episode 1

Deng Chanyu wasn't in the first movie so at this point we don't really have an idea of what she's like as a character. But her actress is here and she looks cool.

The actor for Nezha is so tall now lol. Them kids grow up fast.

Yu Shi struggling with the toy horse. The director (of the variety show) was like dude just walk but he refused.

Li Yunrui asking Wu Yafan how he wants to be introduced and Wu Yafan's all shy like "...any way is fine" and Li Yunrui just laughs because that's so cute haha.

Wu Yafan: Our director is a 第一乖寶寶 (#1 well-behaved baby)

LMAO apparently fans in comments call Wuershan 善寶寶 (Baby Shan). When Wu Xin was like "...can we call you that" Wu Yafan was like "YEAH WE CAN!"

Ohh the guy who plays Jiang Wenhuan (Huang Xiyan) is Taiwanese.

Wu Xin: Doesn't this place look like a station? Wuershan: If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have been able to tell. A man who says it like it is.

The entire cast was relatively confident about seeing themselves from five years prior but then we get flash forwards to them cringing so hard their souls leave their bodies lol.

Yu Shi was a basketball player lol.

Did Chen Muchi change his name? He introduced himself as Hai Liang.

Wow Wu Yafan is actually from a Shaolin temple.

They were all cringing at Li Yunrui's dancing XD But you know what I noticed? He was dancing to EXO Lay's Lose Control lmao.

Apparently some of the initial assessments were kind of odd and unusual ^^;; But I guess they were meant to kind of get the people to let loose.

So apparently Yu Shi was in a basketball ad and the casting directors wanted to find him but he didn't look at his dms, so they went through his team's leader.

I'm trying to understand the exercise that Liu Tianchi set for Yu Shi. I think he had to tell the story while putting the music stands, and while he did, she kept telling him to look at her. Wuershan said that that exercise was for evaluating concentration, in terms of whether you can tell a story/deliver meaningful dialogue while doing something else.

Liu Tianchi does seem like a pretty intense acting teacher from what I've seen of her, in both this clip and in the three-episode behind the scenes documentary ^^;;

Hou Wenyuan was going to audition for Meteor Garden but ended up also auditioning for Fengshen lol.

Oh wow Ci Sha is from Daliang mountain :o I watched a documentary on Daliang mountain so I recognize it. Ci Sha had auditioned for both Fengshen and an idol show, so his company asked him if he wanted to be an actor or an idol. He was attracted to the action of Fengshen so he chose that.

Huang Xiyan used to go by Huang Tingxuan.

Huang Xiyan's audition was so rough omg, two people held him down while he delivered his lines lol. And then while continuing with his piece he was so nervous that he was scratching at the carpet and was called out by Liu Tianchi ToT

So many of the guys are basketball players. I guess the casting directors want tall guys.

Li Yunrui had to deliver his lines over the construction noises which...he didn't lol.

Li Yunrui's fake basketball omfggg

They ran through a bunch of photos of people who hadn't made it through the audition and I think this is Wang Zhuocheng? And earlier there was an idol who'd auditioned too (and they were already an idol at that time).

So it sounds like the training camp was technically the last part of the audition.

Li Yunrui's nickname is 小林 btw. I initially though I remembered his surname incorrectly but no it looks like his nickname is not related to his name.

LIVE look at Li Yunrui's imaginary basketball ToT And then they had the other guys do it too ToT

Chen Muchi: I'll help you study for gaokao Someone else: Liu Han had 500 points at first, after (Chen Muchi's help) they only have 200 Savage X'D

Naran at this time didn't really understand Mandarin so she was communicating in English and then Na'ernaxi was trying to explain to her. I guess they're the only two women there. And so because of that they don't have to pick rooms.

Wu Yafan came with his mom. Everyone was like omg so cute <3

Look at the instruments behind them

Hou Wenyuan came on screen and everybody hyped him up XD Yu Shi called him a man who brought BGM with him and others were like 大哥來了! I guess he has a reputation of being 大哥 lol. They were commenting on his flashy jacket. And it seems like he's quite extroverted too.

So here are the room combinations. Not everyone is here though. Maybe there were a few different training camps.

Aw Naxi is the 樓長. I think she is older than most of the guys (being 27 compared to the guys who seem early 20s). So it makes sense she'd be more responsible I guess.

Li Yunrui and Huang Xiyan came a week later so they ended up being roommates.

The guys used to let Wu Yafan play on their phones :P

At least two witness testimonies of Yu Shi having a messy room lmfao. In his defense, his underclothes were on his bedside table to "dry" lol.

Meeting all of the trainers at dinner (y)

Schedule

5AM jog ToT I feel a little bad for Wu Yafan, he's just a little boy ToT

So the first trainer Wang Jinwu was literally a military trainer (and what a fitting name, 王金武) and the early morning training was military-style. Which was advantageous for Chen Muchi who was a soldier.

I feel bad for Naran because she's still learning Mandarin but still has to take part in all of the training ToT

Btw they all call Naran "Nana" :3

To be fair I think Wang Jinwu is fairly reasonable. When the trainees do anything that's not up to expectation, he tells them what he expects and then tells them not to do it the next time. He doesn't just yell at them without explaining his expectations.

Wu Yafan said that when he was at the Shaolin school he also had to wake up early and then run for 2km so he was used to that kind of life ToT

Episode 2

Naran is here!

One thing of note is that since a lot of these actors were unknowns before this movie, they haven't really developed variety skills. So the kind of comedy on this show is more down to earth.

Time for class!!!!!

Naran immediately felt cringe when she saw herself on screen lol. And everyone else was like you just gotta power through it XD

Lmao even Wuershan was like "er yeah now that I'm watching myself, the speech is a bit much." XD

LOL they're going to watch 300.

Naxi got picked to speak in class lol

Ci Sha was studying management in school.

I think this class is a sort of performance/acting class. Anyway they're practising tongue twisters, probably to improve their speaking.

Yu Shi reading the tongue twister from his book like an old man ToT

Huang Xiyan getting teased for his erhua lmao.

Yeah it kind of wasn't fair to Naran to study the same tongue twisters at that time (when she was still relying on translators). So the performance trainers spent one-on-one time to just train her pronunciation.

The way Yu Shi had a big smile on his face when he was just learning to ride horses and the horse was just walking slowly. That would probably be me though, horseback riding looks fun.

And then they had to practise riding together with others.

The MC asked if the actors ever through it was tedious that they had to spend so much time on the basics of horseback riding. Yu Shi said that when he played basketball sometimes he'd spend 1.5 hrs just practising basics without even touching the ball, so it wasn't so unfathomable to him.

A horse was purchased for each actor, and Naxi had two horses.

Swimming class next :3

Aw some of the trainees (including Chen Muchi and Yu Shi) couldn't swim so they had to start from the basics. Wuershan said that in the second movie there'd be battles in water.

Lol Hou Wenyuan "teaching" Wu Yafan to swim. He was just like "I'll hold you up and you swim, okay?"

The staff asking Wu Yafan if he's having fun

Chen Muchi bullying kids like 'let me have this' lol

LMAO their swimming competition XD Some of them just walked the whole way

Wushu lesson next!!

Li Yunrui: How come we can't see us :< Huang Xiyan: This was still before the 9th They did THIS MUCH in the first week.

They trained in boxing and sword arts and also just general fitness. Honestly the fitness part looks the toughest to me ToT I would fold like a wet noodle. The exercises they did to harden their abs like bro. They were all soooo tired T_T And they had martial arts lessons nearly every day, sometimes twice a day. Rough times.

The martial arts trainer was like "I'll give you a break, let's do stretching" and a bunch of them found stretching the toughest lol.

Hehe Sang Laoshi was nicer to Wu Yafan than the older guys. And all the instances of Wu Yafan 偷懶

The history teacher trying to engage Wu Yafan in the lesson by asking him how old he is. But otherwise everyone struggling to stay awake ToT

The history teacher asked the actors to read the passages in their home dialect, which for Huang Xiyan would have been Taiwanese but Huang Xiyan was like omg this is so difficult. But the history deduced that Huang Xiyan probably wasn't as good in Taiwanese.

Oh right Hou Wenyuan is from Shenzhen so he knows some Cantonese. His pronunciation isn't super good but he seems to know enough to keep reading.

I wonder if they know what roles they're going to be playing at this point.

The way Hou Wenyuan's jacket is always super flashy

Naxi always kind of leans into Naran when she's giggling :3

So they have 6 meals a day but they're smaller portions.

Lol the dudes have a group chat for sneaking out for late night snacks XD

LMAO the reason why Naxi knew what the guys ate during their late night snack that night was because she and Nana had snuck out to eat late night snack as well and bumped into them XD EXACTLY a case of "girl what were YOU doing at the devil's sacrament?"

At the training facility, Wu Yafan had a different meal plan with a wider variety of foods so the other guys would ask to borrow his card to get different food that would not have been allowed on their diet.

Performance time. I think this is basically their big evaluation and they could be sent home if their performance is not up to standard.

Teacher Zhou Mi told the trainees not to be too nervous because if they did anything wrong, it would be his fault, which drew laughs. But also Liu Tianchi said that it was a teacher's fault if they didn't teach a student well, which I think is a rather Chinese thing. Like how when kids do something wrong, it's their parents' fault for not teaching the child properly.

Twerking lmao

I agree that the dance looks odd but we can also see how physically demanding it is. And also it's easy to see when you're not doing the actions properly (especially with the bigger actions).

During the first martial arts portion with the weapons, Wuershan said that the point was for the trainees to be able to match each other's rhythm when clashing.

Now onto individual martial arts performances :o

Yeah so throughout the episode I saw another female trainee whom I didn't recognize, and I think basically she and Naxi were competing for the same position as Deng Chanyu. So they both trained in dual blades.

First evaluation after 6 weeks. Wuershan said that while there was a score, he was mostly looking at each trainee's capabilities and how much room they had to grow.

Yu Shi freestyle singing + guitar lol

Ci Sha takes 6-7 hours to get home because he's from a more rural area.

Lol Wu Yafan now old enough to join the group chat for the geges and jiejies.

Ci Sha had been training for one of the hostage son positions and only found out he would be Yang Jiang shortly before filming.

Yu Shi freestyle guitar again

Episode 3

Back from new year's vacation

Wu Yafan said that during the holidays he was doing homework (to make up for missed time at school) and everyone laughed.

Zhou Mi is kinda funny as an instructor though. I know he seemed really strict at first but now that we get to know him we see how he jokes around.

Ci Sha said that he celebrates new year at a different time as a member of the Yi ethnic group (Nov 20). So Lunar new year was just chillage time for him and he didn't make it all the way home.

I noticed this in the last episode but some of the music editing in this show isn't great. There were some scenes where people were talking and the background music was so loud. In this episode there was a part where the loud background music abruptly stopped, it wasn't even a fade out.

Yu Shi hurt his ankle playing basketball during his break and he was like 'nah I'm good to go now!' but apparently it was still hurting ^^;; Then they were playing basketball again and he hurt his other ankle.

Chen Muchi hurt his foot "break dancing"...I hate to laugh but the whole ordeal was kind of funny XD Like all the other guys were laughing XD First at transporting him out on the trolley and then the guys waving to him with a farewell song as he went to the hospital lmao

Bailiga had a cast on too??? Everybody is injured ^^;;

Nana has this fox stuffed toy :3 Btw they're all laughing at Sun Rui giving a fierce performance while on crutches

Even those who were injured kept up with training...this is The tough training montage

Sang Laoshi a dark horse in the gym? Like dude the speed at which he lifts the barbell was crazy.

Oh damn it's circuit day huh

Wuershan said that Sang Laoshi does the circuit with him ToT So it's like a "if he can do it, you should be able to too" kind of deal

The host was talking about Naran so she was like "me?" :3

Oh wow some clumsy editing but there was a shot of the folks laughing and Naran was not there, so they probably just took a laughing shot from last episode and accidentally edited it in here.

Oh my god this man XD He's such a big personality XD

WHAT apparently Hou Wenyuan's douyin was broadcast in Times Square ToT

Naran is cute haha

Wu Yafan always getting paired up with Hou Wenyuan XD They were saying how it was like he was babysitting

Oh interesting, so the purpose of this exercise was to more or less get an idea of a person's outline. Liu Tianchi pointed out that while some of the older guys were only pointing out their characteristics, Wu Yafan had painted a general picture, a muscular man with hair like feathers that was fierce.

The teachers watching Huang Xiyan's performance of a...piece of paper blowing in the wind X'D

So these guys were supposed to play "jiangshi" (which, by the way, their entire getup did make me laugh XD). I'm not 100% sure which definition of jiangshi they're going with but in this case they seem more zombie-like.

Oh damn we are getting strict Zhou Mi again!!!!!! Yu Shi couldn't recite a passage during their performance class and Zhou Mi was like "the way you're performing right now, do you respect me?"

Jing Niansong was working with Chen Muchi and Yu Shi on some skits and he was saying that he liked that they were starting to have thoughts on acting and performance. He didn't want them to be puppets, he needed them to be actors.

I've been thinking this since episode 1 but at some angles, Li Yunrui looks a lot like Zhang Yujian.

Training montage again!!

Naxi broke Zhou Laoshi's arm ToT

Li Yunrui never brought his room key card, it was always Huang Xiyan who did lol

[myucornerorg]

Thanks @real-life-senshi for the tag!

The Rules: Tag (9) people you want to know better and/or catch up with, then answer the following:

Four Ships:

Oh boy. TBH I'm not that into shipping really. I guess I have a few though.

Brainy x Nia (CW Supergirl): Definitely the beta couple of the last couple seasons of the show. I do kinda wonder how their relationship would've developed had Season 5 played out as planned (the ending of the season got kinda messed up due to COVID lockdowns, which is why the "beat Leviathan" plot got carried over to the beginning of Season 6). They got a fair amount of focus in Season 6, as they dealt with how Brainy's actions in Season 5 affected them (also they had to write Kara out for most of the season because her actress was on maternity leave, forcing them to instead focus episodes on the rest of Supergirl's team). I felt it was a strong ship, with two goofy, geeky people - one an alien genius who's not very used to having emotions period and the other a half-human, half-alien girl with dream-related powers - who both clearly like each other but don't know how to spit it out. The "Prom!" two-parter, where they go back in time to get DNA to help track down Kara, had them try to fit in in late-90s small town America, which was hilarious. Also, in general, even with all the hype over Nia being the first transgender superhero ever (she's also played by a real-life trans rights hero, Nicole Maines), aside from a little focus when she was first introduced, they haven't made it her sole defining trait, and have developed her beyond that, which I appreciate. I'm not sure their relationship had its full time to develop - towards the end it seemed doomed to fail since at some point Brainy was going to have to go back to the future time he came from. But in the finale he decided to "screw destiny" and came back for her, so they still have a chance!

Pokéshipping (Ash x Misty): From Pokémon, obviously. This is Pokémon's oldest ship and I have stood by it for years (to be fair, I haven't seen enough of the anime to justify the other Ash ships anyway). But then I'm biased, since Misty has long been a favorite character of mine from Pokémon. It's been cool seeing her come back in more recent seasons and still have a dynamic with Ash. It started with him accidentally frying her bike with Pikachu, and her tagging along to make him pay her back, but they ultimately developed a strong friendship, which I think is only rivaled by his friendship with Dawn probably. Of course, since I ship them, I wish there could be more - and there are songs showing Misty has feelings for him ("Misty's Song," "He Drives Me Crazy," "I've Got a Secret" from Pokémon Live). The second movie also teased the idea, though Misty strongly denied it. As for Ash, we have no idea how he feels. But let's be fair, he barely acknowledged Serena's feelings, and hers as far as I can tell were WAY more obvious than Misty's (Serena pretty much started traveling with Ash cause she had a crush on him). So I'm guessing he's just completely oblivious. He'd have to grow up a lot to realize how Misty feels. And now Ash's time in the anime is basically over. Though, they did leave things pretty open-ended with him, so...

Yowzah (Doctor x River Song): This is basically my main ship from Doctor Who (though I do also support Tenrose). For this ship, I usually define it as Eleven x River specifically, since they interact the most. Though their relationship is crazy complicated, their banter is always fun to see when they do meet. Because I didn't watch Doctor Who quite in order when catching up on old seasons, I actually saw their romance in basically chronological order - starting with Series 5-7 and ending with 4, where Ten meets her but she ends up dying - which somehow made it even more poignant. I did appreciate that before Steven Moffat left, he resolved their whole thing by having Twelve finally take River to Darillium (the last place River saw "her" Doctor before traveling to the Library and meeting Ten), and having Twelve come to terms with her being gone. While there are still Big Finish audios coming out to flesh out River's personal canon, I consider her timeline with The Doctor finished, and I don't expect her to show up again (although, they brought back Jack Harkness, so I guess no one's safe). I don't feel like there's any sort of future they could give them - "The Name of the Doctor" already showed River post-death. I suppose they could delve into their past still, especially if they keep the Timeless Child plotline when Russell T. Davies takes over again. I'd kinda love for River to meet the Fugitive Doctor. I feel like they would be BFFs in a heartbeat. At any rate, River is a fun character, and for now I've been indulging my interest in this ship via the Eleventh Doctor fanfic I've been working on for years (I have an idea for a ship fic with them too).

Mamoru x Hina (PGSM): So not sure this is even a ship but decided to add it anyway. When it comes to Sailor Moon, I'm typically in the Usagi x Mamoru camp pretty strongly. Especially in the manga, where their relationship really gets some deep development (it gets development in the anime too, but not in the same way I feel like). But the live-action series Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon just didn't do their relationship justice. I get that they had limited episodes to work with, but they could've done better. They also tried to make things more dramatic by revealing Mamoru was engaged, right at the point of the show when Usagi was starting to think maybe he wasn't so bad after all. And then try to twist the knife even more by making Usagi realize that "OMG this guy's girlfriend is actually NICE." Hina, meanwhile, didn't get much development beyond being the "other woman" who clearly loved Mamoru more than he did her. That she was the "childhood friend" in this scenario probably didn't help either (anyone who's watched/read enough shoujo knows that the "childhood friend" rarely wins in a love triangle). She did at least respect that Mamoru had a lost past he was trying to find clues to, and tried to be supportive as much as she could. And when Mamoru got cut off from a call with her when Kunzite attacked him, she seemed genuinely upset. (She also got upset when she found Usagi's handkerchief in Mamoru's dresser, but that's more like a "OMG are you cheating on me?" kind of upset). Ultimately she saw the writing on the wall and broke up with Mamoru. I mean, sure, if the show was going to follow the original Sailor Moon plot, Mamoru and Usagi were going to have to end up together somehow. But instead of trying to create a genuine love triangle with actual drama attached, they had Mamoru in a relationship he didn't really care about and Usagi, as much as it pained her, willing to honor that relationship. Thus they started to kinda reluctantly become just friends instead. But while it can be argued they did develop some feelings for each other eventually, their whole romance seems to be based on the fact that they loved each other in their past lives, and fate is doing its darnedest to bring them together again. Except that in the past that caused the destruction of the Earth, a fact that initially no one remembers except Sailor Venus, Zoisite, and Kunzite, which is why those three are pretty strongly against Usagi and Mamoru getting together (Beryl also tries to split them up later, either personally or through her "shadow" Mio, since the Beryl/Serenity/Endymion love triangle is also still a thing). Then they get separated since Mamoru goes to study abroad in England, and then later lets Beryl capture him to save the Shitennou, causing all this angst where Usagi tries really hard not to make the Silver Crystal activate, as this would not only make her hardcore "I don't care about anything but my prince" Princess Sailor Moon side come out, but it also inadvertently powers Queen Metallia, neither of which is good for the safety of the Earth. Even once Beryl is defeated and Usagi and Mamoru are *finally* set to get married, it's clear Mamoru is not that enthusiastic about it, which is what leads to Usagi breaking things off and Mio showing up and being like "I'M BAAACK" and kidnapping Mamoru to be her groom in her circus-inspired base. So...anyway, it's just hard for me to ship Usagi x Mamoru in PGSM for these reasons, so I lean more toward shipping Hina with Mamoru. After all, the short "Hina Afterward" made it clear that she still thought about him after they broke up.

Last Song: Not a song per se, but...the Suzume soundtrack on Spotify. It's actually quite a good soundtrack. Sadly, they didn't include the songs Serizawa plays in his car during the road trip part of the movie (probably for copyright reasons), but I found a couple Spotify playlists people made of the songs he plays: this one and this one. One of them is "Rouge no Dengon," the opening song to Kiki's Delivery Service, which I recognized immediately when I first heard it as that's my favorite Ghibli film.

Currently Reading: This translation of Virgil's The Aeneid, translated by David Ferry. It was the one recommended by Blue of the YouTube channel Overly Sarcastic Productions in his Virgil video, so I figured it had to be good. Now, being a mythology buff, I knew something about the Aeneid going into this (I also watched OSP's video covering it), but I'd never read it in verse before now. And it is actually quite good. Sure there are boring lists of people at times, and Virgil spends like 10 stanzas describing the decorations on Aeneas's shield in great detail, which I could care less about. While I definitely had to consult the list of names in the back a few times to know what stuff was, the text was otherwise quite understandable as is, which isn't easy with old texts like this as far as I can tell. Ferry does a good job making it readable but not TOO modern. Would recommend.

Last Movie: The anime movie Suzume, directed by Makoto Shinkai, who did Your Name and Weathering With You. As I mentioned in this post, it's REALLY GOOD.

Craving: I'm looking forward to the game Hogwarts Legacy. The Switch version got delayed till July and it bugs me a lot. Also, this game called Sea of Stars is finally coming out soon that I backed on Kickstarter. I've never backed a video game on there before, so that's exciting! Besides that...I bought a TON of 3DS and DS games in my pursuit to get the games I wanted before the 3DS eShop shut down a couple months ago, so looking forward to those. In the process, I found out my DS Lite can still read GBA cartridges, allowing me to replay old favorites like Kim Possible 2: Draaken's Demise and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as well as games I missed (like all of the Gen 3 Pokémon games - if I can track them down - and Tales of Phantasia, which I just recently found out even HAD a GBA version).

As for non-gaming things...I haven't been to Disneyland in years, despite living less than 2 hours away from it. Sure, as an autistic person, theme parks can be kind of a nightmare, but I really love Disney movies. Also, I haven't been there since before the Star Wars land was completed, so I really want to go there and see that, as I'm also a big Star Wars fan.

Also I do miss doing covers on my YouTube channel, I'll admit. I'd also like to do more collabs, but the SeraMyu cover community seems kinda dead now, especially since our sort of Fearless Leader (and the one who encouraged me to join in the first place) @sailorzakuro seems to have moved on.

Tagging: @ainomessage, @fyeahsailormoon, @glitzyglee, @galaxia-gorgeous, @gracemyhearto, @kosmosinusa, @katieban-kaiteiban, @love-boat, @sailormoonsub