#and that’s totally fine tbh!

[for-a-longlongtime]

I love all of y’allz optimism, and I still expect the ‘twist’ will be that she either gets with her ex or does this dramatic ‘I decided to focus on myself and I’m not continuing with either of these guys’ which will be touted as a twist. Dakotas character seems to deal for a very major part with the money aspect re: relationships, so I can see it being phrased as ‘omg the twist is that when she has the chance to bag the unicorn that she decides to not go for it because money isn’t everything!’. Am I wrong? I’d love to be! And I would like to have higher expectations, esp because it’s indeed A24 and Celine Song and Pedro —- but see, the casting of Dakota and Chris leaves me extremely skeptical about it truly being a movie with a surprising twist. (Yes I’m prejudiced, I’ll fully own up to that)

Materialists was touted to be inspired by movies by James L Brooks as Broadcast News and Terms of Endearment, which I haven’t seen — but based on the synopsis, those two movies only have as a twist that it’s not ‘a happy ending’ but still a romance movie tho (and with a ‘triangle’ for Broadcast News. Let’s be real, anything like a triangle is often already presented at WOW LOOK AT THIS TWIST). Yes I’m also thinking of Challengers, written by Celine’s husband.

@oliveksmoked you know that I would go hard for a movie that has a polycule, but once again here to me it’s like… I could believe this if it wasn’t Dakota and Chris, but since it is, my expectations are simply very low. And while I would absolutely eat up a fic like this, especially if it’s written by you, also because I think there will be nuance to it — I actually fear for a movie where this is Harry’s “dark secret”, because I simply do not trust a fairly mainstream movie to handle that in a proper way.

I feel like the biggest giveaway is Chris’ character talking about “I see you with wrinkles on your face/when you’re older and with kids”. Not to mention he’s portrayed as a ‘young type’. Meanwhile we don’t hear shit about Harry’s wishes to have kids — so I’m fully expecting a ‘this unicorn of a man can and will give you everything you want, materially and emotionally, except for kids’ angle that’s going to make her pick her ex because “we may not have a lot but we’ll have each other and our kids”. Or she decides that instead of ~~~choosing a man she will choose herself and stay single in the end~~~.

Again- I SO hope to be wrong. But I’m highly skeptical that will be the case. I also feel like it’s possible that we’re holding out for a ~revolutionary twist~ because we’d like to think that’s the kind of movie Pedro would do so there must be something special to it, since we don’t expect him to do a romcom. But hey, I think it’s safe that many of us never expected him to do a Marvel franchise either, you know? (And I’m not even criticizing him for that, I’m just saying - just because it’s not the typical kinda movie for him, doesn’t mean that it’s not just a typical kind of romcom).

I’ll throw in one more thought. When my wife and I had watched Freaky Tales (she loved it too btw) and drove home, she asked me “Why has Pedro never done a movie that’s all about him as a romantic love interest? You know, him as a leading man, but then clearly about the relationship of him and his partner” (yes, she’s seen Strange Way Of Life, but I’d argue that is very different than the ‘leading man with love interest’ role that you generally see in more mainstream stuff). So then I told her what we know about Materialists and she was like “yeah that’s totally what I mean, where he’s like a catch for the female lead etc and you get to see him in romantic situations and with a sex scene or something! Cool, so I guess that’s coming up”.

So — a romcom (even if that isn’t very ‘twisty’) would make enough sense for Pedro to do simply because it’s not a genre he has explored yet. And considering he’s probably at the height (only so far, I bet there’s tons more to come) of his popularity this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was just as simple as ‘Pedro Pascal playing the ideal man in a romcom’ as a major selling point for this movie. 🤷‍♀️ Because you’ve seen the response to it so far; the majority of people is eating it up, as romantic comedies are popular with a large segment of cinematic audiences, and I can’t even count the amount of women that I’ve seen say something like “omg obv one would have to pick Pedro!” - meaning, they have opinions about this and are invested, which means that the movie is already attracting audiences.

Also, doesn’t A24 often work repeatedly with the same actors? It may be part of a ‘package deal’ of things he’s doing for/with them, also because Eddington is an A24 movie too. I’m still hoping for him to work together with Halina Reijn (who wrote and produced Baby Girl) in a nineties style erotic thriller tho. GIMME THAT, I’ll inject it right into my veins because I bet it’ll be fab.

I’m Calling It Now…

Y’all out here writing these sweet and fluffy fics about a rich and loving Harry Castillo like he’s the “unicorn” they make him out to be in the Materialist trailer.

The trailer continuously emphaszies how he’s the perfect catch. Almost too perfect. I’m calling it now. There is something WRONG with him. I don’t know what it is - maybe he’s a con artist, an identity thief, or he has someone locked in his basement. I’m not sure…but I feel like a major twist is coming.

Or, it’s the only logical explanation my brain can conjure up to justify that someone would choose Chris over Pedro. Whatever… I’m sticking with it.

I’m mean look at this face. It just screams SNEAKY LIAR. 👀

EDIT: Adding...maybe his name really is Randy. Maybe Harry is his fake name. The one that he stole from the guy that's locked in his basement. Also, as @iknowisoundcrazy kindly pointed out, it's an A24 movie. They aren't exactly known for sweet and fluffy happily ever after type movies. 👀

Not that any of this matters…I still wouldn’t turn him away.

Ruin my life, sir. Please.😮‍💨

💜Mysty

[elialys]

THE NEWSREADER | 3.03 | Helen x Dale - "Why wouldn't you tell me?"

[a-most-beloved-fool]

I'm thinking about Gillian Taylor, lesbian (in my heart), standing on that stolen bird-of-prey on their way back to the 23rd century, and trying to figure out the correct way to (tactfully) ask if Kirk and Spock are gay.

Back in the 80s, she'd just assumed that they were gay. I mean, dressed like that? She'd also, however, assumed that they were on drugs, probably a hallucinogen of some kind, which - turned out to be not quite true. So, really, anything was fair game, now, and she no longer knew if they were gay. Maybe that's just how men in the 23rd century were with each other.

She tried to watch, to analyze their actions objectively, but with how busy they were making sure that the ship didn't explode, they weren't really interacting all that closely with one another, and she truly couldn't tell.

So instead she just stood there, next to Admiral Kirk, trying to find the right words to use, words which wouldn't be heard as an insult if she was wrong or if the 23rd century was no more enlightened about these sorts of things.

And then Dr. McCoy walked in and, casual as you please, said, "Jim, where the devil has your husband run off to?"

Husband. He said the word so easily, like it was - normal. Like it was safe and accepted, for a man, an admiral, even, to be gay. He didn't even glance at Gillian as he said it, never even seemed to consider that someone might react poorly. Maybe no-one ever did, in the 23rd century.

Everything sort of faded out of focus for Gillian, after that. She didn't hear another peep until McCoy, concerned, put his hand on her shoulder, and asked if she was alright.

She just smiled in response and told him that, yes, she was doing very well.

Because if Admiral Kirk could have a husband... that meant that she could have a wife.

Oh yes, she thought she'd be quite happy in the 23rd century.

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

was rereading the convo dirk has with dave and was captivated by the subtle work done to indicate how very much this was not actually a good or productive convo for dirk, and a capstone on the toxic mess that is him and hal

in the exact same conversation that dave is explaining, and dirk is seemingly accepting, that beta!dirk/bro should not have been allowed near a child, dirk chooses to bring up hal. and he does it to be really shitty.

DIRK: Creating him was an interesting exercise I guess, but over the years I came to see his development as one of my biggest mistakes. DIRK: He sort of turned into a monster. But I could never bring myself to get rid of him, or even really blame him for being an asshole, because he wasn't actually that different from me.

like... hal is dirk's younger brother/kid, right?

that's part of the reason that when hal starts using a different color, it's dave's red. in one part, the orange/red split is evocative of dave/davesprite, casting dirk/hal as foils, but... i don't think the lil bro/"kid i'm responsible for" vibe is unintentional, either. especially when paired with the fact that the brainscan is of 13-year-old dirk, and that the words "nascent" and "emergent" are used to describe hal's consciousness, all implying an element of youthfulness or childishness to him that isn't applied to dirk.

hal is fully sapient, has real feelings (by dirk's own admission, too), and is also, like, completely his own guy. he's not a dirk splinter, he's a computer housing a dirk splinter, and he and dirk only think they're the same guy because their individual issues happen to perfectly align in the worst possible way.

so if you look at their relationship through that lens instead - a frankenstein/frankenstein's monster scenario (which is also directly and intentionally an exploration on parenthood) at best and dirk Pretty Much Actually Just Making A Child at worst - doesn't it become really fucked up that Dirk tried to kill him?

Doesn't it become really fucked up that Dirk is outright calling him a "mistake" and a "monster"?

the other really interesting thing here is when he talks about Jake - specifically, the way he chooses to "make it up to" jake. which is to say, he doesn't.

DIRK: I wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to avoid me as much as possible. DIRK: I'm sure that's for the best. DIRK: I think I need to stay out of his business for a good while, so I don't risk poisoning another innocent kid's life.

This isn't a solution. Hell, this isn't even an apology. This is just self-isolation, self-punishment, more of Dirk's martyrdom complex and teen boy diva bullshit.

yes, dirk hates himself, but the actual toxic loop he's stuck in is one where he doesn't address any of his problems. he identifies what his issues are, he feels really bad about them, he can enunciate them very clearly to other people, but then, instead of fixing them, he inflicts punishment on himself and then calls it a day.

We know that this is a bullshit thing to do to Jake because we know the situation from jake's side of things.

GT: Do you think you could relay the same sentiments to dirk? GT: I was thinking about all the stuff he said to me while we were all telling him to dance. GT: And yeah i was really being a prick when i ran away to lomax. GT: He was right about everything. I should have come clean about wanting some space.

jake wants reconciliation! jake wants to address the fact that he failed and apologize! jake wants to be friends again!

self-punishment is not a solution, and while I don't think dirk is entirely cognizant that he's doing it, by venting to dave - who literally has no idea what's been going on in dirk's group - he's able to frame the story - ahem, control the narrative - to justify his own shitty choice to not actually improve as a person, but instead to wallow in his own self-inflicted misery. If he'd said what he did about Hal to Jake, Roxy, or Jane - all of whom recognized hal's personhood and emotional reality to some degree, and spoke with him extensively - how would they respond? If they knew he'd tried to kill Hal, how would they respond?

The answer to that is why he doesn't tell them, and has got to be ticking in the background to explain why Dirk chooses to isolate himself from them. Put simply, I think the reason why he seems to think his friends never know the worst of him is because he deliberately avoids showing them. If he showed them, they wouldn't stay quiet, and if they didn't stay quiet, he'd actually have to... do something about it, instead of just indulging in some self-punishment and walking away feeling like the problem was solved.

and i think part of why he's so terrible to hal is because, on some level, he recognizes that he does kind of owe it to hal to be better. because, you see.

Hal is his kid.

hal's existence, hal's circumstances, and hal's suffering are a direct result of dirk's decisions, and hal is taking him to task for them. the things dirk really resents about hal are less the ways that hal is a reflection of dirk, though that's in there too, but the fact that hal is asking dirk to take responsibility. actual responsibility. that hal keeps confronting him with the fact that he's the one who caused hal's plight, he's the one with the power to fix it, and he's the one choosing inaction and avoidance.

TT: I'm guessing she's touching base to remind me about the party tomorrow. TT: I don't know what to tell her yet. Or Jane, for that matter. TT: It could get pretty awkward. TT: I have no idea if Jake will be there, and I'm not about to write another cringe-inducing message of desperation for him to ignore. AR: Would you like me to calculate the probability of his attendance? TT: Fuck no. AR: Are you sure? AR: My probabilities are extremely precise. TT: Your probabilities don't mean dick. AR: I could hack his chats, and determine what his plans are. TT: No. Don't do that either. [...] TT: Just don't do anything. Seriously. TT: No hacking, no calculations. Do absolutely nothing.

That's why Dirk takes such exception to the AI thing, too.

AR: In any case, my use of the responder responder is ironic. TT: It's not ironic. TT: YOU were ironic when I made you. TT: Then you became self-aware, and ruined irony forever.

then you became self-aware - in other words, "then you became a free-thinking entity and those jokes became reminders that your situation is fucked up, and i'm the one who put you in it". in other words, "and then you were born, and i had to be responsible for that". because, after all, the AI jokes that dirk hates so much? those aren't a reflection of dirk. that's all hal, baby. dirk can't use his "i hate you because i hate myself" excuse on that.

now i don't want to make it sound like i'm saying that dirk is a monster or anything. he does care, very fucking deeply, about his friends. and i think this conversation was genuinely very cathartic and helpful for dave. and it is, genuinely, very tragic that he does actually hate himself to the point where he finds it difficult to believe that he can get better, or even that he deserves to get better.

but those feelings have transformed into a vastly more harmful attitude of wilful, obstinate refusal to change, and even outright resentment and fear towards those that would ask him to. it's subtler than some of the others, but his convo with dave really highlights that dirk has not finished developing as a character yet. and i think it's really neat.

[chinzhilla]

Marc Natarit as Pond and Poon Mitpakdee as Sand in Perfect 10 Liners, coming October 27th

[httpiastri]

yet again missing your oscar hand dumps 🙃

my sincerest apologies

[kerizaret]

Pair 3/5 — Queen & King of Hearts ♥️

[practicefortheheart]

I'm replaying Lucio's route to get his reversed ending, but I do not see the appeal. How can you be into this self-absored whiny brat who uses the word "oopsie" repeatedly? It's such a contrast with the Lucio we see in other routes (especially Muriel's) - and I wished his route was darker and more complex and he would be different from his original self (who has...no redeeming qualities, come on) due to his experiences.

[crmediagal]

I finished A Court of Frost and Starlight last night...and I have a lot of feelings. Putting them under the cuff and just gonna generalize the biggest peeves I had below...

Can the Inner Circle be anymore insufferable? They probably can…but they really gave me the ick in this book, even more than the others up to this point.

Feyre talking about how many Illyrians died in the Battle of Hybern or how many families in Velaris are displaced and homeless after the war…but then she keeps flexing about the endless supply of money she and Rhysand have. And doesn't even think about giving any of it away to those in need? Oh, and she's gifted another house at the end of the book?! The utter lack of self-awareness is gob-smacking and just makes her and Rhysand all the more unlikable.

My biggest pet peeve of all in this book: Feyre treating Lucien like actual garbage and Rhysand saying he "can't forgive him [Lucien]" for what he did to her UTM. I'm sorry, what kind of gaslighting is this?! Lucien?! Lucien did nothing but try to HELP Feyre every step of the way UTM and was even willing to let Rhysand turn his mind to soup rather than give up her name, and that's when she was still human! The gaslighting by the characters and author in these books over other characters' actions continues to drive me insane. Where did that assassination of Lucien's character even come from?!

Oh, and we can't forget Rhysand visiting Tamlin twice, who is CLEARLY deeply, horribly depressed - he's unkempt, not eating, barely communicates, and even asks for forgiveness at the end - and Rhysand just keeps verbally kicking the guy again and again. It was so unsettling and uncomfortable for me to read someone verbally abusing someone suffering this badly. If I had any more reasons to dislike the fandom's favorite High Lord, there it was. He's grotesque towards others' pains and faults but can't look in a mirror. Ever.

There really wasn't much to like about this book, and it's a shame because the after-war reprieve could have been a lovely, cozy read. It was interesting getting other characters' POVs, too…but they all are so infuriating and self-righteous that it made the experience very un-enjoyable for me.

I'm basically hanging on to this fandom for Lucien's and Elain's POVs…and praying that their storylines are upheld, not gaslighted, or sh*t all over.

[taudad]

Folks, my wife has asked to play the Space Marine 2 board game with me tonight 🫡

With the Emperor’s Grace hopefully she’ll enjoy it more than she expected and I can convince her to try the 10th Ed starter set with me next

Courage and Honor!

[bonebabbles]

Whatever ASC was trying to do, it sure did succeed at making me absolutely hate RiverClan

[cold-black-and-infinite]

Trent in the '90s: "Yeah I'll say that in an interview"

[rotting-inkblot]

I wanna write a stalker!barry or stalker!rafe fic and i cant decide which one i want lol- do i wanna write stalker!barry following after Rafe and being my fav horny bastard creep, or do i wanna write stalker!rafe watching Sofia through cameras and tapping her phone to watch her screen activity? decisions decisions.

[journey-to-the-attic]

there's a moment in lesson 45 of nightbringer where mc falls off a thing (again?? is this foreshadowing?? i'm going to rule-of-three this and wait to see if it happens again) and satan tries and fails to grab their hand to catch them, but now i'm imagining the same thing happening with satan and ik except he does succeed, but it's her right hand and the prosthetic just POP comes straight off

[idontmindifuforgetme]

I’m finally biting the bullet and contacting a therapist today after being ambivalent ab it for so long… this hellsite has its many disadvantages but one thing I can say is it has truly helped me be less scared of pursuing therapy. Silver lining etc etc

[jinstronaut]

solo stan behavior is so