#and though he is not my favorite director I’ve ever worked with

[lindsey-laufeyson]

Distractions- Chapter 10

Distractions Masterlist

Pairing: Reader x FWB!Tom Hiddleston

Series Warnings: SMUT, fluff, angst, friends with benefits

In all your years working in film, you couldn’t recall a single production that you weren’t looking forward to wrapping. And yet, here you were, the last week of filming, and you didn’t want it to end. Why would you? You’d never had this much fun on any other set before, the reason for which was currently in your bed, snoozing next to you. But it wasn’t just the fact that you were secretly sleeping with the star of the film, though that was a large part of it, you’d admit. 

Tom’s seemingly endless positivity as well as his intense passion for his craft was infectious. Practically everyone agreed that Tom was one of their favorite actors they’d ever worked with. So you knew that anyone you worked with going forward would pale in comparison. 

Your biggest concern, however, was how much time the two of you would be able to make for each other once you weren’t on the same schedule anymore. After all, you were both workaholics, not to mention Tom would have more opportunities to make other friends, so the possibility of the two of you drifting apart was very real.

“You okay?” Tom’s sleepy mumble pulled you from your thoughts. 

You turned onto your side to see that his eyes were still closed. “I’m fine,” you whispered. “Go back to sleep.”

He blearily opened one eye to look at you. “Your tossing and turning says otherwise.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No need to be sorry,” he replied with a yawn while he draped his arm over your waist and began lightly tracing patterns on your back. “What’s on your mind, Sweets?” Recently he began occasionally shortening ‘sweetheart’ to ‘Sweets,’ something you’d only heard him do with you.

You sighed, instantly feeling relaxed by his touch. “Just the fact that we’ll be wrapping soon.”

“Don’t remind me,” he groaned as he pulled you closer. “What on earth am I going to do without you putting your hands on me all day everyday?”

“I think you’ll survive,” you teased him. “I’ve got to give someone else a chance, haven’t I?”

He chuckled. “I haven’t even got my next project lined up and already you’re trying to pawn me off on someone else.”

“You were going to get bored of me eventually, Tommy. I’m only preparing for the inevitable.”

“How could I possibly get bored of you? There hasn’t been a single dull moment since this production started, for better or worse, and that’s largely because of you.”

“Well, unfortunately, it isn’t up to you or me whether we work together again or not.”

“I mean, I could potentially influence a director’s decision…”

“Absolutely not. You know the rules, Hiddleston. No professional favors.”

“Only joking, darling,” he defended. “But are you sure you’ll have time for me once you’ve started working on another film next week?” 

“Well, I’ve got to have some way to relieve tension after a long day, haven’t I?.” With a devilish grin, you leaned in and kissed him slowly and sensually.

“Unless you start a fling with one of your new clients,” he teased you once your lips parted.

Your mouth fell open in an incredulous gape. “I am nothing if not professional!” He gave you a skeptical look. “You are the rare exception.” When he opened his mouth to speak, you immediately added, “and if you mention Trevor, I will knee you in the dick!”

“I was simply going to say that I’m honored to be your rare exception.”

“Mhm. Sure you were.” You rolled your eyes. 

“So what exactly is bothering you then?”

You sighed. “Just anxious about starting a new job, I guess.”

He brushed your hair behind your ear and then slid his hand down your neck to your shoulder. “While I completely understand, I also know that you’ll adapt seamlessly to whatever is thrown at you. I mean, you had to deal with me of all people, so your next clients should be a breeze!”

“You know, you might be right. I’ve never met anyone who touches their hair and face more than you do.”

“Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with liking to touch and be touched,” he said, dragging the back of his index finger lightly across the skin of your breast and over your nipple.

“No, I suppose there isn’t,” you replied with a smirk. You bit your lip while your hand traveled down to his half-hard cock. “And here I thought you were still sleepy.”

“Well, we have to find some way to tire you out, now don’t we?”

…

The week flew by, and before you knew it, you were getting ready for the wrap party. Given how the last party went, you and Tom had decided that this time, neither of you would flirt with anyone, and you’d politely shut down anyone who tried. 

You were just putting on your earrings when you heard Tom pull up to your house in his jag. You quickly grabbed your clutch and met him outside. 

He was leaning against his car when he saw you walking out in your navy blue sundress with a plunging neckline. He raised his eyebrows as he looked you up and down. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you’re going to have to go change.”

“What?” You looked down at your dress in confusion. “Why?”

“Because we agreed that we didn’t want anyone else flirting with either of us,” he began as he walked toward you. “And yet here you are looking absolutely irresistible.” 

You put your hands on your hips and smirked up at him as he approached you. “I’m sorry, but I get dressed up for me and no one else.”

“Well, if you won’t take that dress off then I guess I’ll just have to do it myself.” He gave you a sly smirk before taking your hand and leading you toward your house.

You giggled as you tried pulling him back toward the car. “Thomas William! We are going to be late!”

He let out an exasperated sigh and turned around to let you drag him to the car. “But that dress is coming off the moment we get back to my place tonight!” 

“Whatever you say, Tommy.” You winked at him as you got into the car.

…

When you arrived at the party, everyone was in good spirits, clearly excited to be finished with production. Tom, of course, was immediately summoned by several people to join them. He looked over at you as if he was torn between socializing and spending the whole night with you. 

“Go mingle,” you told him. “I’ll be at the bar with Kaitlyn.”

“Fine, but remember, darling,” he leaned in close and lowered his voice. “Tonight you're mine.”

It sent a shiver down your spine and heat to your core. “Oh really? Because I think you’ll find it’s the other way around,” you replied, and with a wink, you turned and headed to the bar, knowing he’d be watching you walk away.

“Well, don’t you look like a snack,” Kaitlyn said as you walked up to her. “Who are you hoping to go home with this time?”

You rolled your eyes and shook your head. “No one. I am not having a repeat of last time.” You sat down on the bar stool next to her. “Can’t I just look hot for the sake of looking hot?”

“Absolutely, you can!” Kaitlyn replied enthusiastically, raising her drink to you. “Though I do hope you’re prepared to be hit on at least once or twice tonight.” She giggled and took a sip. She was tipsy already.

“Then I hope whoever does is prepared for rejection.” You turned to the bartender who had just approached you. “Aperol Spritz, please?” 

“Are you certain there’s absolutely no one here who you’d spend the night with if he asked?” While taking another sip of her drink Kaitlyn raised her eyebrows while her eyes darted in the direction of where Tom was standing and then back to you. 

You scoffed. “Oh come off it, Kait. How many times do I have to tell you that we’re just friends.”

“As a person with the ability of sight,” she emphasized dramatically, “you cannot tell me you don’t want to climb that tree.”

That made you laugh. “Just because you fancy him doesn’t mean everyone else does too.”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“You’re right, I am, because it’s a silly question.” Again, you turned to the bartender who handed you your drink. “Thank you so much.” Kaitlyn opened her mouth to speak but you stopped her. “Look, Kait, can we just drop it? I just want to have a fun last hurrah with everybody tonight, alright?”

“Fine,” she reluctantly agreed, like a child who’d just been told by their mum that they couldn’t have the candy bar they wanted.

…

After a couple of hours of socializing, swapping stories from on set, and occasional stolen glances between you and Tom, the pair of you ended up in the middle of a circular booth with Warren sat next to Tom, and Kaitlyn next to you.

“Ooh! Let’s play Truth or Dare!” Kaitlyn suggested excitedly.

“I dunno, Kait,” you hesitated. “Isn’t that game more for children and American frat boys? Not to mention we’re in public.”

“Oh come on! Live a little!” Warren chimed in. “Besides, if you don’t want to do something, all you have to do is finish your drink instead!”

You looked to Tom for back up. “Could be fun,” he shrugged. You raised your eyebrows at him, surprised he was on board with this idea. 

With a sigh, you conceded. “Alright, fine. But the minute it gets weird, I’m out.”

“Yay!” Kaitlyn cheered and clapped her hands. “Who wants to go first?” She looked eagerly around the booth. 

“I have one,” Warren said casually. “Tom, truth or dare?”

“I suppose. I’ll have to say dare,” Tom replied confidently.

“I dare you to deliver a toast to the whole room,” Warren began. 

Tom scoffed “Easy enough.”

Warren held a finger up, “But you must work the word ‘dildo’ into your speech.”

“I’m so glad we can play this game as mature adults,” you commented sarcastically. 

Tom thought about the challenge for only a few seconds before getting up to stand on his seat and deliver his toast, and it was magnificent. The entire room was captivated by the eloquence of his moving yet, at times, rather humorous speech. You even saw a few people tear up. The most impressive part to you, however, was how seamlessly he worked in his challenge word where you’d least expect it, and without anyone even batting an eye.

Warren stared at Tom in awe as he sat back down. “Are you just effortlessly good at everything?”

“Annoying, isn’t it?” you said, pointing your beer bottle in Warren’s direction. He nodded in agreement. 

Tom waved him off. “I’m rubbish at loads of things– maths being just one example– but the oral arts are kind of my specialty.”

While you almost choked on your beer and subtly kicked him under the table, Warren just laughed. “I‘ll bet they are!” 

Kaitlyn blushed. “Shall we continue our game?”

“Alright, Kait,” Tom said. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” she responded without missing a beat. “I have nothing to hide.”

“If you could go home with anyone in the club tonight, who would it be?”

Kaitlyn turned bright red, “Erm, on second thought…” and downed the rest of her drink.

The rest of you laughed and cheered her on as she chugged. Once she finished, you nudged her with your elbow. “Nothing to hide, huh?” You gave her a cheeky wink as she scowled at you. 

“Fine then,” she said, regaining her confidence and looking smugly at you. “Truth or dare?”

You smirked, knowing that if you said ‘truth,’ she’d ask you the same thing Tom had asked her, and you wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. “Dare.”

“I dare you to kiss someone at this table.”

Warren and Tom both oohed scandalously, but you were unphased. Oh, innocent little Kaitlyn. You were willing to bet that she thought that Tom would be the clear choice, given that Warren was gay and you and Kaitlyn were both straight, but you were more than prepared to throw her for a loop. You looked round the table, as if you weren’t quite sure what you would do. Then, without warning, you kissed Kaitlyn full on the lips, being sure to show her what an amazing kisser you were, no matter who was on the receiving end. When you finally pulled away, she looked like a deer in headlights. You tipped your beer to her. “Ask and you shall receive, m’lady,” you boasted before taking a swig.

Tom and Warren both laughed, but you felt Tom’s hand briefly give your upper thigh a firm, lingering squeeze before retracting. Somehow you could tell that it wasn’t so much playful as it was possessive. It made you wet, and you weren’t wearing any panties. You crossed your legs and cleared your throat. 

“Where did you learn to kiss like that?” Kaitlyn asked in awe.

You smiled proudly. “Loads of experience, my dear.”

“I believe it’s your turn, darling,” Tom interjected with what almost sounded like irritation.

“Right. Kaitlyn, truth or dare?” 

Her expression turned from awe to indignation. “What? But no one’s had a go at Warren yet!”

“You’ll have no complaints from me!” Warren assured with a chuckle.

Kaitlyn huffed. “Fine. Dare.”

“I dare you to finish one of those abandoned, half empty drinks over there.” You pointed to the vacant table across the room. 

She looked at the drinks in question with a grimace, which quickly turned to a look of determination. Then she stood up and made for the abandoned table.

“Atta girl!” you encouraged her.

When she reached her destination, she casually leaned against the high top table while she scoped out her options. 

“She’s not going to do it,” Warren said.

“Oh have a little faith, will you?” you chided him.

Sure enough, Kaitlyn chose her chalice and downed it in one gulp, wincing as she swallowed. You all cheered as she walked back to the booth. When she sat back down, Tom reached across you to give her a high five. “Well done, Kait!” When he settled back down, he draped his arm across the back of the booth behind you and you could have sworn he’d moved a little closer to you. Smooth, you thought. 

And on you went with the game, telling juicy, innocuous truths and doing silly little dares until Kaitlyn decided to switch things up a bit.

“I have a dare for all of us!” Kaitlyn announced. “Though maybe it would be considered a truth… Not sure. Anyway! Let’s do a round of Fuck, Marry, Kill!”

“Who are our choices?” you asked.

She looked at you as if it were obvious. “The people at this table, silly!” You wondered if she’d gone from tipsy to drunk at this point.

“Do you think that’s wise?” Tom asked Kaitlyn.

“It’s all in good fun!” she replied. “And I already dared you all, so you play or you drink! I’ll go first.” She looked around the table as she contemplated her answer. “Well, if that kiss was any indication, I think I’d fuck Y/n, marry Tom– because I think he would make the cutest hubby–” Yeah, she was drunk. “And kill Warren because I can’t fuck him or marry him, no offense.”

“None taken,” Warren replied.

“Who’s next?” Kaitlyn asked excitedly.

You sighed dramatically, “If I must.” You proceeded with the first thought that popped into your head. “Fuck Tom– because why not–” you began, hoping to sound as flippant as you intended. “–marry Warren so we can fuck whoever we like with no complicated feelings–” You and Warren high-fived. “–and kill Kaitlyn for making us play this horrid game.” 

“You bitch!” Kaitlyn gasped playfully.

Tom raised his hand slightly. “I’ll go next, if I may.” Suddenly you found yourself very curious and a bit anxious for his answer. “Between the three of you, I’d have to say, Fuck Warren– could be fun,” he added with a wink.

“Yes, Daddy!” Warren responded seductively. 

Tom chuckled as he continued. “Marry Y/n– because she’s my best friend, obviously– and kill Kaitlyn.” He turned to her. “Sorry love, but you were the only one left.”

While Kaitlyn looked thoroughly disappointed, you and Tom just laughed, though you felt something in your stomach that you couldn’t quite place. Meanwhile Tom’s ears, cheeks, and chest were bright red. Was he embarrassed? Whatever it was, it was pretty damn adorable.

“I guess that leaves me,” Warren said, pulling you away from your thoughts. “I mean, obviously I’d fuck Tom, but then I’m out, because whether I marry Y/n or kill her, Tom would kill me either way.”

Tom laughed. “Oh, I would absolutely kill you if you killed Y/n, but why do you think I’d kill you if you married her?”

Warren looked skeptical. “Are you saying you wouldn’t?”

“Not at all,” Tom replied, only semi-convincingly. “In fact, I’d give you my blessing.”

“Looks like we have a wedding to plan,” you joked as you raised your beer bottle. “To me and Warren!” Tom and Warren joined in your toast, while Kaitlyn still sulked.

“Are we just going to ignore the fact that all three of you said you’d kill me?” she interjected. 

You put your arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “Aw, darling, you know we all love you. It’s just a game! One you made us play, I might add.”

“Can we just go back to Truth or Dare?” she pleaded. 

“Alright,” you conceded. The two men groaned. “But just one more.”

Kaitlyn immediately perked up. “I have one for you and Tom, actually.” Uh oh. “Truth or dare?”

At this point you didn’t know which would be worse. “Dare? I guess?” You looked at Tom for confirmation and he sheepishly shrugged. Then you looked back at Kaitlyn, wincing in anticipation for what was to come.

A devious smile stretched across her face. “I dare you to kiss each other.”

“Must you be so adolescent?” you complained, though, admittedly, you kind of saw this coming.

Before she could respond, Tom swiftly grabbed your face and kissed you hard on the lips. Your eyes went wide as soon as your lips made contact, but you quickly melted into it. Well, if you were going to do it, you might as well make the most of it and give everyone a good show. You climbed on his lap, his hands moving to your waist, and the two of you continued to snog shamelessly. All the while, not only were Kaitlyn and Warren clapping and cheering, but you realized the entire crew had stopped what they were doing and joined in the applause with various whoops and wolf whistles. Some shouting “Fucking finally!” while others gave you the classic “Get a room!” Without missing a beat, you and Tom both flipped everyone off without even coming up for air. 

When your lips finally parted, you did so with an exaggerated bravado, before turning to Kaitlyn. “There,” Tom said between panting breaths. “Happy now?”

She let out a squeal that made you and Tom flinch. “Are you kidding? You guys are the most adorable couple I’ve ever seen!” 

You let out an irritated sigh. “Yeah. Not a couple.” You looked down at Tom. “And I think that’s our cue to leave. Shall we?” 

“Right behind you,” Tom said as you climbed off his lap.

“Noooo,” Kaitlynn whined. “You can’t leave now!” 

You gave her a commiserative look. “Sorry, Kait. This was loads of fun, but I’m tired.” She folded her arms and pouted. “Make sure she gets home safe, yeah?” you told Warren before you and Tom made your way toward the door. 

“Oi!”  Warren called as he caught up to you. You and Tom turned around. “So how long have you two been shagging then?”

You both feigned confusion. “What? Pfft. That’s just… we totally aren’t…” you both stammered incoherently before quickly giving up. “Since the beginning of production,” you admitted in defeat. 

“I knew it!”

This time your confusion was genuine. “How?”

“My ex and I used to kiss the way you lot just did.”

You and Tom shook your heads. “Like Y/n told Kaitlyn, we’re not a couple,” Tom explained.

Warren chuckled. “A couple of idiots, more like,” he said, almost to himself. “Have a goodnight you two!” And with a wave he turned and walked back over to Kaitlyn.

“What the bloody hell was that all about?” you wondered aloud as you watched Warren walk away..

“I don’t know,” Tom replied. “But I’ve had a semi since you got off my lap, so I’d really like to get back to mine so we can finish what we started.”

You snickered and gave him a playful shove before quickly walking out the door with him at your heels.

…

During the entire drive to Tom’s place he kept his hand on your thigh, like he needed to be touching you at all times, staking his claim. It was only making the heat in your core worse, and you found yourself getting wetter by the second. Finally, when you arrived in Tom’s garage you went to open your door, eager to get in the house, but Tom stopped you. 

“Stay right there, darling,” he told you. He got out of the car and walked around to your side to open your door for you, holding your hand to help you get out and stand up. As soon as you were standing and the door was shut behind you, his fingers tangled into your hair, bringing his lips to yours in a feverish kiss. You both sighed and whimpered, desperate to satiate the hunger you’d felt for each other all day. He pressed your back up against the car in an attempt to deepen the kiss, his fingers digging into your hips. “You won’t believe how many men I caught staring at you tonight,” he panted between kisses. “It was infuriating.” 

“Is that why you did Kaitlyn’s silly dare and kissed me in front of everyone?” you asked as he began kissing your neck. 

“I had to show all of them who you belonged to tonight now didn’t I?” He lifted his head and smirked at you while he slipped one hand under your dress, his fingers grazing against your slick inner thighs until they found your naked slit, dripping with arousal. He tilted his head as his mouth fell open and his jaw jutted forward. “Had I known you weren’t wearing any panties, we would have left the party hours ago.”

You felt his middle finger glide through your folds and ghost over your clit, ushering a gasp from your lungs. Then you smiled. “And spoil the surprise? I think it was far more satisfying this way.”

Suddenly he crashed his lips against yours, your tongues tangling frantically. Reaching down between your bodies, you clamored to free his cock from his slacks. Once you’d done so, you slipped your hand in his pocket and pulled out the condom, effortlessly tearing it open and rolling it on without even looking. Tom then grabbed your legs and hoisted them up, hitching them over his hips before thrusting into you. The sound of panting, grunting, and moaning filled the garage as he rolled his hips relentlessly into yours. Your fingernails clawed at the back of his shirt, while he gripped your ass with one hand and fondled your breast with the other. Your moans grew louder with every thrust, his length gliding in and out of you at an angle that felt so incredible, it quickly sent you over the edge. He pressed his forehead to yours and gave a few final thrusts as you both came at the same time, gasping and moaning in time with each other.

After he stilled, you both stayed there for a moment, nothing but the sounds of your heavy breaths lingered in the air. Finally, he gently let your feet touch the floor again before resting his hands on your waist and lightly rubbing the tip of his nose across your cheekbone and temple. 

“I thought you said my dress would come off the moment we came back to your place,” you said, still catching your breath.

“Well, technically, we’ve not gone in the house yet,” he countered. “And I couldn’t have possibly waited another second before I had to have you.”

“That’s rather fortunate, because neither could I.” You giggled as he kissed you again, this time more slow and sensual. When the kiss ended he looked a bit dazed. 

“Now off you pop to the bedroom, Sweets. I’m nowhere near done with you.”

Taglist: @chronicallybubbly, @the-princess-of-loki, @princess-ofthe-pages, @darcylikesloki, @kikster606, @foxherder

[the-curse-of-neoclones]

Moderneopets Artist Mistreatment

Edit as of 11/16/23 10:40 AM NST:

Removed names where I failed to do so before. I'm very sorry to the affected parties, this snowballed so far out of my intended scope.

Edit as of 11/16/23 5:30 PM NST

Please see this post for a small update.

As of 11/16/23 10:10 PM NST, Hazer the site owner has formally and publicly apologized to myself and Velu, the other affected artist. As far as I'm concerned he has officially handled the situation as best as he could, and I hold no further qualms with Moderneopets. I hope to hear of its management continuing in this direction.

The following post is left up for archival purposes only.

*****

Hello, I’m wren. I'm an artist responsible for some of the pet assets on the neoclone, Moderneopets. I'm just going to get into it.

Hazer was extremely lucky to somehow cultivate a dense group of largely professional artists to work together to make assets for his site. When it comes to his own management as a site runner, he’s largely hands-off of the art department, which is a good thing! If he can’t be active in the art panel enough to know what goes on in there, he shouldn’t be running it— we have many strong, capable artists on the team who are passionate about recreating the neopets style, who work together on every pet that has been released ever since critique became a requirement. 

It makes sense that, with a project this large, Hazer should have to designate moderators to enforce rules when he is absent. Choosing to bring on moderators was also a good decision. Unfortunately, he chose poorly. 

Art panel issues should have separate Art panel moderators to take care of them. People who are not overburdened with generic moderation duties from the many other channels of the server, for example. In the same vein, artists should not be moderators. When an artist has an issue with another artist, who happens to be a moderator (which has happened many times, with many people— If the mods actually open threads for all complaints they receive, they should have evidence of this & if they don’t they are not being truthful), the artist would likely not feel comfortable approaching that same artist-slash-moderator to complain about what happened. It breeds an aura of fear and discomfort any time there is an issue with an artist/mod, and that is why the two moderators on the team should have to choose one or the other if hazer wants to cultivate a healthy atmosphere in his panel. 

I’ve created many pets for this website. Neopets has been a passion of mine since the third grade. I’m also one of those professional artists I mentioned— my work is also art, industry or otherwise. I care about breaking neopets down into their core, recognizable shapes. I care about keeping them on-model and in the spirit of the original TNT art team, with improvements made where I and the other panelists think they make sense. I have redlined for other artists to an even greater degree, just as other artists have redlined for me and helped me finalize each pet into something simply good: something that made sense to get put on a little passion project website for other people with a similar passion to enjoy. I found the panel to be a community of likeminded artists with which to discuss our favorite childhood petsite while we made art for a clone, as if we could pretend we were making art for neopets-dot-com. It was nice. 

It wasn’t perfect, though. In fact, shortly after I joined in 2021 I took a hiatus because the art panel was fairly dead. I came back a little while later to see we had several new species, as well as an art director, and lots of activity! That was very exciting. Over the next year I would reach out to the panel or, if nobody was sure of how to proceed, I would reach out to the art director to propose ideas for how to make the panel a little more functional; quality of life updates, if you will. I don’t take credit for all of these alone, there were other artists with similar ideas all communicating to the director in private, but some examples: 

A designated “collab” zone where artists could seek out other artists to complete pets with. 

“The Purge,” in which the team was whittled down to ~25 current, active artists to refresh the team and allow for new artists to join. 

“The Approval System,” which I first sat down with in my workshop (public to all artists) to hammer out the details with as many other artists as wanted to give their input— a method for pitching new ideas to eventually break through the “new species/color freeze” that had been plaguing us.

Speaking on the approval system: like most things that required Hazer’s direct input in the art team, it was left without response for a very long time. Artists with ideas for custom species or colors would occasionally murmur about their excitement for the system to get a look-over by hazer, to see if our approval system pitch would be approved. But hazer is busy, as we all know, and the pitch sat for a while. We had new & returning artists on the team to keep everyone busy. 

What I would expect from a years-old panel of artists, when new additions arrive, would be some manner of tutorial. New artists would need to know the pipeline (here’s your workshop, you can post WIPs and anything else in there; here’s how you ping for critique, here are the spaces in which to ask for it; make sure you always ping before your work is submitted on-site), and there would likely be some acclimating on both sides. What I did not expect (but should have), was pushback from new artists on things that hadn’t had pushback in a long time. Why can’t [x] color be a posechange? Well, we’ve created many already and none of them were posechanges. Why can’t I use colored lineart? Well, that isn’t in line with the style standards set by this color; see, nobody else is coloring their lineart. 

Suddenly there was a divide between veteran artists, the director, and the new blood. The divide felt greater when Hazer came to his new artist’s aid to say, approximately: “Eh, if someone wants to go above and beyond and make better art, they shouldn’t have to adhere to the guidelines.” Then he threw the art director under the bus for not somehow knowing that his intentions were always to keep the panel loose and unstructured. But don’t worry, that isn’t the first bus and won’t be the last.

My personal investment in the panel waned around that time. I think a structured “work” environment with easily accessible rules and deadlines is necessary to any project of this size. If we didn’t want to enforce color standards, nor prioritize certain colors for release, and anyone could just submit whatever Nice Art they wanted, why not open it up so any user could submit pet art? Why have a panel at all? Isn’t Hazer taking any opportunity to dunk on Leopets because he wants his site to be better? How is this different? 

But I stuck around. This was a hobby I really enjoyed, after all, and I really believed it could get better. It had a good core, and despite my grievances with individual artists, none of them were bad people. 

But I noticed some trends. New artists would receive feedback that they didn’t agree with and retaliate by bringing in their emotions or personal preferences. Any disagreement where multiple veteran artists stepped in to say their piece would escalate to the point of very long messages on both sides, and would need to be left to hazer to give a final input. Often he didn’t come around to it, because he’s busy, as we know. I didn’t step in to every argument; they became cyclical after a while, and I didn’t have the time or energy to spend simply tapping the proverbial sign (or style sheet). I would try to give positive suggestions when I could, for example: I don’t think this color needs another alt for just one single design, but we did talk about eventually making this color that your design would fit into really well. 

I’ve done my time having arguments on the internet. I really just want an art environment where the rules are set and people actually enjoy following them, because I do— I see art rules as helpful guidelines at best and obstacles to cleverly navigate at worst, which is still fun. But of course not everyone is going to feel the same way, that’s normal; that’s life. 

On 11/9 I was given this message by Hazer: 

It reads:

Hello wren,

I am reaching out to you today to inform you that effective immediately you are being dismissed from the Artist and Consultant Panels. This decision has been reached through discussions and based on repeated offences in the form of user harassment and subjecting the panels to a toxic atmosphere, after multiple reports and concerns brought up to us by other users.

While we understand concerns regarding panel management, there is a distinct difference between criticising and condeming the way the panel does things and criticising and condeming users that are on the panel, and we believe this line has been crossed one too many times, further supported by concerns brought to us.

We appreciate the passion and drive of our team—all of them—and we understand you have been very passionate about the panel. Given some of the messages we see, we have also concluded that due to things in the panel not working out as you have wished, it has caused you much stress and upset as well, which we do not want. All in all, we've decided that the atmosphere of the panel and your own enjoyment of the website are hampered by your presence on it. Because of this, we have decided it is best to have you part ways with the staff sections of the website.

Effective immediately after this message, we will be permanently removing you from the panels. While normally we do a temporary removal, in this case we've seen that your compatability with our management and handling of the panel will not improve, and it will just bring stress to both sides.

We understand you have put a lot of passion into the projects you have been working on for release in Moderneopets, and in lieu of that, we offer you the option of having the project(s) still be released even after dismissal. Rewards will still be granted for releases per usual, and credit will still be given. If you decide, due to dismissal, you do not want your unreleased work to be released on Moderneopets, simply state it as such, and we will discard all progress on projects you have been working on to respect those wishes.

This decision is final and will not be revoked.

Best wishes to you,

The Moderneopets Team

[end caption]

My response:

It reads: 

No warnings huh?

[end caption]

Hazer didn’t have an answer for me. I was already removed from the panel. 

This came as a shock. I’d been there for over two years, I felt I had a good rapport with the other artists, I felt I’d been a helpful and active addition to the team. Like I said, I’ve done my time having arguments on the internet… what toxic behavior? Discussions over style guides? Giving redlines to people with permission? Working with the whole team to bolster several new color releases? I had an entire species that Hazer wanted ready to go since March— I just pushed through the Swamp Gas release, I just created the Mystical alt? 

No warnings?

Let me reiterate: I have never been spoken to by any staff about my behavior. Hazer, his then-four moderators— none of them have ever been in my DMs to issue a warning. I have spoken TO the mods about others’ behaviors, and nothing ever came of it. The one time (and I mention this for full transparency only) the art director came to talk to me about something I said, it was stated clearly that it was not a warning, and even so I adjusted my behavior around said issue accordingly. And that was well before the purge. 

But, don’t take my word for it. Here it is from hazer himself, speaking over his mods who were busy telling the rest of the panel that they always issue warnings: 

It reads:

No in this case I do agree that this has been an abrupt situation and I understand the blind-sided-ness of it. No official warnings were given out regarding the actions that resulted in the removal of artists today and that’s on fault of myself and deebs not working things out properly despite the moderation team bringing issues to a us a few times – also due to our lack of availability recently.  [end caption]

So… What happened? Well… here it is from Hazer, in longform: 

For those who use screen readers, above are several enormous discord screenshots; I've placed it in a paste bin here: https://pastebin.com/dHLiBRTF

Two other artists immediately stepped down. Hazer admits here in his message that he and the mods had multiple tickets opened about my behavior, that they had known they wanted to remove me. They never gave a warning, never talked to me until the moment of my dismissal, but they had known it was coming for months? 

Why did Hazer and his gang of mods let me continue working on art for their panel? Why did they let me work so hard to pull Swamp Gas together for an official release? Why did they let me put together a whole custom Alt and workshop it for so long? I’ve been active this whole time. Why did you let me keep working if you knew you wanted me gone? 

I am a professional artist. My work is art. Hazer made the knowing decision to exploit my time and effort for his website. He’s not paying me, he’s not paying any of us. It’s volunteer work. But I did not volunteer to be mistreated like this. To not even be given a chance to defend myself. To him, artists are disposable. To him, if someone has worked on your team for years but speaks up when your friend tries to overturn the system, even civil discussion is cause for disposal. Civil discussion negates years of effort, passion, time and care. 

I didn’t have to make art for you, Hazer. And you don’t deserve the team you have. How many artists have voiced their discomfort with your actions? How many artists are taking a break from the panel because of how you handled this? Ah, wait, you wouldn’t know… you’re busy. 

Hazer and his mod team are just another corrupt group of individuals unfortunately heading what could have been a fun and promising petsite. Everyone who speaks praise of modneo does it by and large because of the new and unique art. Hazer was extremely lucky to cultivate a dense group of largely professional artists to work together to make assets for his site. 

If Hazer wants to show any sign of his potential to be a better person, I believe he needs to formally apologize to his site for the misuse of his power and the mistreatment and exploitation of artists on his team. He needs to apologize to you, the players of his game, the subscribers to his patreon, for allowing this to happen under his watch and under his word. You know you fucked up, hazer. You shouldn’t have sided with your friend without any actual evidence of misconduct. You shouldn’t have spoken about me like I was a toxic, subhuman hindrance to your art team. You shouldn’t have treated me like that. I didn’t deserve it. None of us did. You can apologize to me and the other lost artists publicly.

[mrs-johansson]

Strangers in the night - Scarlett Johansson x Fem!Reader

Part 20:

“Today we are joined by an amazing actress, director, and screenwriter. You’ve seen her in films like Red Sparrow, Lady Bird, and the Divergent trilogy. Please welcome, Y/n Cole,” called out James Corden and I walked out from the back.

I sat on the sofa and before we started he introduced the other guest. Ellen fucking Pompeo. “Oh my god hi,” I stood up and Ellen spread her arms with a wide smile. “Hi!” She said and we hugged. “I am fangirling, so sorry,” we all sat down. “I’m guessing you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan, Y/n,” started James. “Are you kidding? I live and breathe by Grey’s Anatomy,” I said and the crowd laughed along with Ellen. “It’s season 15 now, who is your favorite character at the moment?” “Ugh… I looove Meredith,” I glanced at Ellen and she smiled. “I truly think since Derek died, she’s a better character in general. I love Jo, oh Amelia, she’s the best. Alex is one of my favorites too, along with Bailey. I can’t choose!” I sighed and shook my head. “Do you watch the show often?” Asked James. “Oh yeah. Very often. Actually, I made my girlfriend watch it with me, so we started at the beginning,” I said, already nervous about what was coming now that I mentioned Scarlett. James saw the opportunity and with a smile, he started talking. “Now that you’ve mentioned, you just went public with your girlfriend who’s none other than Scarlett Johansson,” he said and the crowd erupted in cheers and I just shyly smiled. “I was genuinely surprised when I saw your post. I haven’t heard any rumors or that kind of talk around the two of you,” he said. “That was a struggle, believe me,” I chuckled, and then so did the crowd. “We did our very best to lay low at all times. And we just shot Jojo Rabbit so it was very important for us not to look like we’re just trying to promote the movie, so we just laid low for a while now.” “But you’re happy?” Asked James and I smiled very widely just knowing how happy I actually am. “I can’t even describe how happy I am. It just feels… right,” I explained even though I could barely put my feelings into words.

***

“Please water them Scar, they're gonna die if you don’t,” I basically whined as she helped me move my suitcases into the car outside. “I will water your plants every day,” she let the suitcase over to my driver who put it in the truck. “Thank you,” I said and he sat behind the wheel. “Have fun and text me when you can. I’ll bring Rose when I can,” Scarlett took my hands. Smiling cutely. “I will. I’ll miss you but it’s gonna be fun when I come home,” I smiled and she nodded. “It sure will.” “Okay, I need to leave. I love you,” I gave her a long kiss before pulling her in a hug. “I love you too.”

I got into the car and we made our way to the airport where I got on the plane and took off to Massachusetts.

On the plane I’ve read the script multiple times, memorizing my bigger parts.

When I touched down I checked into the hotel and because we have a tight schedule, the table read was just 2 hours after my landing.

Getting all my essentials for the rest of the day and I was at the office in no time.

I don’t think I’ve ever been so comfortable going into a new project. I’ve worked with the director before, I’ll have Flo there and Timmy, and the only thing I was nervous about is Meryl Streep. I don’t think I need to explain that.

I walked into the room and I spotted Florence right away, who was speaking to Emma Watson and Eliza Scanlen. There was Greta Gerwig at the front table talking with probably the producers. I didn’t see Timothée anywhere so I quickly texted him but then I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. I turned around and I was faced with the icon herself, Meryl Streep. “I didn’t mean to scare you, sorry. I just wanted to say hi, before we start,” she said and I was just standing there, my mouth dry. The next thing I know something just hit me in the back. Like a crumpled piece of paper. Quickly cleaned my throat and answered. “Sorry,” I chuckled. “It’s so nice to meet you. I’m such a big fan of yours, but I’m sure you get this from everyone,” I mumbled, trying to not faint. “Oh well, it’s not the same from everyone, so thank you. But, I must say I’m also a fan of your work. Red Sparrow was amazing,” said MERYL STREEP. I can’t wait to tell my dad about this. “Wow, uhm… thank you so much. It means a lot,” I smiled and with a hand on my shoulder once again she stepped away and went over to Greta. Timmy literally jumped to my side and I’m sure he heard everything because he had a big smile on his face, his eyebrows almost meeting with his hairline from the excitement. “That was siiick,” he whisper-yelled and shook me by the shoulders. “I just can’t believe that happened,” I said. I spoke with everyone a little, and I was really excited about this movie.

After we all got our seats, Greta spoke a few words and we started.

We had such a great time. Everyone was laughing and when something emotional happened we all paid attention to those who were in the scene.

Around 8 pm we finished and it was amazing. We all had great chemistry with each other so I think this is gonna work out really well.

“Do you guys want to go have dinner? I know a great place,” I suggested and most of them accepted the invite.

Timothée, Florence and I got into one car and Emma, Eliza, James and Laura into the other one. Laura needed a little convincing to tag along because she said “I’m too old to go with all of you”, but she’s way too cool not to come with us.

We all fell into conversation pretty quickly as we got to the restaurant. Everyone was talking to someone and I think everyone felt comfortable with one another. “So you get to experience both Noah and Greta’s directing methods, that must be interesting,” I said to Laura who was sitting next to me. “Yeah, it’s so fun. Both of them are so different but I’m sure they’ll have some similarities.” “You guys shot the whole of Marriage Story on film, right?” “Yes, but I’m sure Scarlett told you all about it,” she smiled cheekily. I smiled shyly and nodded. “She did, yeah. I love the story so much, it’s just so full of love and your character just seems so fun and cool,” I said. “It is an amazing story. Noah did such a great job with the script. But let’s not talk about work in off time too, I could barely get Scarlett away from her phone while working,” she bumped her shoulder to mine and I just smiled. “I uhm… we talked a lot that time yeah,” I said and Laura smiled knowingly. “Ah well her smile was different. She was happy and glowing. I think you surprised everyone, but I could tell it’s genuine. I’m glad you have each other.”

***

“Hello?” Heard the voice over the phone. “Scarlett? Baby, hi,” I mumbled as I saw her beautiful face on the screen. “Okay, you’re drunk. First day went well then,” she chuckled adorably. “It was so fun! Oh my God, Meryl Streep is amazing. She said Red Sparrow was amazing. Funny because I’m naked in that one,” I said while taking my dress off, but I accidentally stumbled onto the couch. “Careful there.” “I’m fine,” I threw the dress on the floor and made my way to the bed. “Take off your makeup before you go to bed, baby,” said Scarlett over the phone. “I don’t want to though,” I whined as I sat on the fluffy bed. “You’ll thank me tomorrow.” “Fine,” I sighed and moved to the bathroom. “How was your day?” I mumbled as I fidgeted with my skincare bag. “It was good. We had some reshoots for Endgame so it was fun,” she said. “Oh don’t tell me any spoilers or I’m gonna cry,” I started to take my makeup off. “I won’t, I won’t. I think you’re gonna like it though.” “Yeah? I’m sure you’ll look hot in it so I’m not worried,” I smirked at the screen and she just laughed. “I’ve never seen you this drunk before, how much did you have?” “Just a couple glasses to be honest,” I shrugged. “Aha, I’m not so sure about that.” “I’m telling you, it wasn’t a lot.” “If I text Laura, are you sure she’s gonna say the same thing?” I glanced down at the phone and a smile pulled on my lips. “No.” “Yeah, that’s what I thought, but I’m glad you’re already having fun. I’m sure it’s gonna be a great shoot.” “Oh my god, yeeees. I love everyone so much,” I threw the makeup wipes in the trash and rinsed my face with cold water before going back to the bedroom. “Take a painkiller in case this all goes to hell. And drink a lot of water.” “I’ve been drunk before, I know how this works Mom,” I chuckled. “I just want to make sure you’re okay, baby.” “I know, I know. Thank you for that,” I blew a kiss towards the screen. “Always. What’s the plan tomorrow?” She asked. As I could see, she was just lying in bed with glasses and a big sweatshirt on. The TV reflected from her glasses making it a bit difficult to see her eyes. “Rehearsals for the next week and just after that we start shooting. But I can’t waaaait, I’m so excited for this one. I just know that it’s gonna be so so good and fun,” I laid down in bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. “I’m excited for you and to see it. Have you done a period movie yet, I don’t think so, right?” “Not this old, no. The latest was the Gatsby I think,” I yawned while trying hard to focus on the conversation. “You should go to bed, Y/n,” Scarlett said as she got up from her bed. “I really should but I love talking to my girlfriend, she’s kinda fun you know,” I rolled over to my stomach, trying to get comfortable. “Yeah? Well, your girlfriend is not going anywhere so you can speak to her whenever you’re free.” “I know,” I said slowly, just looking at the screen and admiring how amazing she was. “I love you,” I said, still feeling the booze. “I love you too, you drunk. Go to bed, honey. Text me when you wake up, okay?” She said softly with the cutest smile on her face. “I will. I love you.” “I love you too, sleep well.” “You too.”

***

All the cast members filled up the room as we were waiting for Greta. Florence on my right side and Timothée on the left. Sunglasses on both of their faces, sliding off their chairs, heads tilted back. “How are you not dead?” Murmured Timmy as he pulled the hood of his sweater over his head. “I have an amazing girlfriend who takes care of me. And you crazy people just downed every glass you found on the table,” I gave him a bottle of water. “Thanks.”

“Alright everybody, I hope you had a good night's sleep. Today is like to go through some of the bigger monologues so we can work on those if it’s necessary,” Greta explained and as I looked at my friends, I quietly chuckled. “Today’s gonna be fun.”

[soulspeaksfashion]

Robert Wun "Time" FW24 Couture

view collection here.

this review is being converted from a short form instagram story segment on my close friends. i’ll be adding more of my opinions tho ;)

the collections description: (this was taken from this vogue article) Robert Wun celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his label with a couture show called Time today. He said he wanted to reflect on “why I’ve been doing this for so long, why I still want to keep doing it, and for how long.” He used these questions as a starting point for a collection of one-of-a-kind extravagant showstoppers. “I asked myself why I do fashion, and what does time mean?“ Did he find an answer? “Yes, I did. The answer is to accept that one day everything ends—and that’s okay.”

my overall rating: 9.7/10

i watched this show months ago at this point and honestly the mere thought of it brings tears to my eyes. this show is gorgeous. the pieces are beautiful. like beautiful isn’t a strong enough word. i truly envy the people who were privileged enough to see this in person for the first time. you can watch the show here! i deffo recommend it. it’s actually sickening. the textures, the colors, the concepts, the weathering that comes with time. its all done sooo well. this is what i want in fashion. especially when it seems like everything has already been said and done, robert has a beautiful perspective.

(click keep reading for all images i included!)

♱ ───────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────── ♱

loved!!

im not even exaggerating. fireeee (its ice -keyboard spam-). i love the texture of this orange-red dress, the way the gold parts catch the light. the leaf motif is sooo perfect. cherry blossoms!! i actually really like the construction of this particular dress. the sheer pink. its almost symbolic! (it deffo is).

category: cunt. i love the veil/shawl/cape situation on the white look. not the hugest fan of the draped skirt but, it works here and i like the black silhouette at the top. i love velvet. i have nothing more to say. this colorful number. god the back of this is actually giving me peacock vibes. i love the gradient of the shoes/tights. very pretty.

show stopper. this is probably one of my favorite looks to ever walk a show. its so gracefully. like the physical manifestation of a deity, of the universe. it's sooo graceful. beautiful.

not my favorites (being very nitpicky)

i do enjoy green screen queen. ms. shigo. mother earth if you will. this section is just a wee bit boring. still very elegantly made. i'm pretty sure i understand the concepts. i just think they could've been a bit more hard hitting, the skeletal look especially. compared to prior looks, i'm not as wowed.

again, not too wowed. very basic pieces. nothing screaming couture here.

♱ ───────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────── ♱

moving into my thoughts while watching:

transcript of my story: “i absolutely hate to be that person [shakes head no] i’m gagged. first of all his mind. the creative director (rbert wun) whoever’s creating these designs, this is gorgeous. these dresses are gorgeous. gorgeous. why do i not see more of him on the red carpet? this is what we need.

even if i was exaggerating, who’s going to stop me!? like this is handmade {just based on my knowledge of how beading works, i could be wrong}. this beading, a machine couldn’t do that. i think that’s really what’s getting me, probably thousands of hours probably went into making this and its so beautiful, you can tell that someone really loves their craft. this is gorgeous. the pictures are not doing it justice. y’all need to go watch this for yourselves. beautiful."

venue: 2.6/5 the venue is pretty basic, though i did like that they used projectors/screens to emulate/display snow, fire, butterflies. that was a nice touch that really immersed me in the video. though i'm not too sure how it was in real life.

casting: 5/10 i think some models were better than others. but there was not a jarring difference in walks or anything.

♱ ───────────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───────────── ♱

SUSTAINABILITY:

my sustainability rating is currently based on transparency and accessibility of currently available information: 1/5

there is no information about what the maison is doing to practice sustainability.

[whileiamdying]

David Lynch, Twin Peaks Creator and Mulholland Drive Director, Dies at 78: 'There's a Big Hole in the World'

The director was a four-time Oscar nominee By Victoria Edel Published on January 16, 2025 @ 01:28PM EST

David Lynch in 1984. PHOTO: DE LAURENTIIS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP/RGR COLLECTION/ALAMY

David Lynch has died at the age of 78, his family announced on Thursday, Jan. 16.

"It is with deep regret that we, his family, announce the passing of the man and the artist, David Lynch.  We would appreciate some privacy at this time," read a message on Facebook. "There’s a big hole in the world now that he’s no longer with us. But, as he would say, 'Keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole.' "

"It’s a beautiful day with golden sunshine and blue skies all the way," they added.

Lynch, who would have turned 79 this Monday, Jan. 20, was best known for creating the 1990 TV series Twin Peaks. The show spawned a 1992 feature film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, and a 2017 revival season. A four-time Oscar nominee, he also directed films including The Elephant Man, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive. He was known for his distinctive style that became described as “Lynchian.”

Lynch was born in Missoula, Mont., in 1946 and grew up in Spokane, Wash., and Boise, Idaho. His father was a forest research scientist, and Lynch spent much of his childhood outside, exploring. Those same mysterious Pacific Northwest woods would eventually inspire Twin Peaks.

When he was a teenager, the family moved to Alexandria, Va. He had "a kind of happy persona” there, he told PEOPLE in 1990, but soon learned “all the thrilling things happened just after school or between classes. It added up to some sort of pitiful joke — so constricting it would drive you nuts. It inspired me to try to break rules. Behind it all, I was getting it together to be a painter.”

David Lynch in 1984. KOBAL/SHUTTERSTOCK

Lynch went to Philadelphia to study art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and there he began experimenting with film and animation. "I loved Philadelphia," he said in 1990. "The most corrupt, fear-ridden city I've ever seen. It's one of my major film influences."

In 1975, he released The Grandmother, a 35-minute blent of live-action and animation about a lonely boy whose dead grandmother comes back to life. It earned him a spot in the American Film Institute's Center for Advanced Film Studies in L.A. He spent the next five years working on his feature debut, 1977’s Eraserhead. To support himself, he held a series of odd jobs, including a paper route.

"$9.80 a night was not a thrilling rate, so I was pretty depressed," he said in 1990. "But I worked it to where I was shooting the route in one hour, almost to the second — a totally efficient hour. You learn to fold, bag and drive at the same time."

"I got an awful lot of pressure to abandon Eraserhead and do something worthwhile," he added. "I just couldn't. It was frustrating, but also beautiful." Eraserhead had a small opening, but gained interest as a midnight movie and ultimately became a cult favorite. One fan was Mel Brooks, who hired Lynch to create a film about Joseph Merrick. That movie, 1980’s The Elephant Man was a hit and garnered eight Oscar nominations, including best director and best adapted screenplay for Lynch.

David Lynch (right) directing Dean Stockwell and Francesca Annis on the set of 'Dune'. NANCY MORAN/SYGMA VIA GETTY 

Next he directed an adaptation of Dune, released in 1984. It received mostly negative reviews upon it release, though it went on to be a cult favorite. “It was a heartache for me. It was a failure, and I didn’t have final cut,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2020. “I’ve told this story a billion times. It’s not the film I wanted to make. I like certain parts of it very much — but it was a total failure for me."

He released Blue Velvet, starring Isabella Rossellini, in 1986. The erotic thriller was criticized by some for being too violent, but he received a second Oscar nomination for best director. "When people first meet David, they expect him to be neurotic and crazy and sick, but he's not," Rossellini, who was romantically involved with Lynch at the time, told PEOPLE in 1990. “It's just that he looks at life in a different way.” He said of his creative inclinations, “I'm in love with ideas, and I'm out there trying to catch them.”

His next major film was 1990's Wild at Heart, starring Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern, who had also appeared in Blue Velvet. She told PEOPLE in 1990, “David's greatest gift is that he sees making a movie like a trip to Disneyland." Lynch described Wild at Heart as a “violent comedy, a love story in a twisted world.” He explained, “Wild at Heart goes to extremes — it's not a film for everybody. But as shocking as some things in it are, they're based on the truth of human nature, and there's a lot of humor and love wrapped up in that.”

Kyle MacLachlan (left) and David Lynch on the set of 'Blue Velvet' in 1986. EVERETT/SHUTTERSTOCK

Twin Peaks also premiered that same year. "Working at this speed is unusually intense, but I really like it," the director told PEOPLE. “It gets kind of crazy.” The mystery TV series reunited him with Dune and Blue Velvet star Kyle MacLachlan. 

Set in the titular, fictional Washington town, Twin Peaks explored the mystery of who killed Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), though the surreal series came to mean so much more to fans. Not that Lynch was forthcoming about any of the ideas he intentionally incorporated into his work. "I never talk about themes," he said in 1990. "No way. A film should stand on its own. People talk way too much about a film up front, and that diminishes it."

MacLachlan praised Lynch as “a sound, mood and rhythm director. David hasn't forgotten the images, fears and desires you have when you're 10 or 18 or 25. They're so pure, these images, that they have a lot of impact.”

David Lynch in 1986. BONNIE SCHIFFMAN/GETTY

"I like things that go into hidden, mysterious places, places I want to explore that are very disturbing," Lynch said. "In that disturbing thing, there is sometimes tremendous poetry and truth." The combination of violence, surrealism, mysticism and blue-collar life would come to define the “Lynchian” aesthetic.

Twin Peaks aired for two seasons on ABC. It was an instant success when it premiered; PEOPLE included Laura Palmer on it annual list of most interesting people at the end of 1990. But the second season was derailed when ABC executive Bob Iger made Lynch reveal in the premiere who had killed Palmer, a mystery the director had wanted to save for the end of the series. Ratings declined, Lynch was unhappy, and the show was canceled.

In 1992, Lynch visited the story again in the prequel film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. And he returned for a third season of the series, which aired on Showtime, in 2017. “I called all the regulars — or most everyone — and I had a chat,” Lynch told Deadline in 2018 about bringing the cast back together. “These people are like family, so it was so beautiful calling them and talking to them again and getting together like for a family reunion.” He guessed that 99 percent of the surviving cast was happy to return. Dern also joined the show for the third season. 

Lynch felt season three was more comparable in quality to the first than the second, which he did not like. He received nine Emmy nominations for his work on Twin Peaks.

David Lynch in 2015. GLENN HUNT/GETTY

Lynch directed four more films: 1997’s Lost Highway, 1999’s The Straight Story, 2001’s Mulholland Drive and 2006’s Inland Empire. He received his third Oscar nomination for best director (and fourth overall) for helming Mulholland Drive, which followed an aspiring actress in Los Angeles played by Naomi Watts. It was originally conceived as a TV show.

“It was a closed-ended pilot, and then the ideas came to make it into a feature,” he told Interview in 2012. “I was meditating, and all these ideas just flowed in, in one meditation — all the ideas to finish that into a feature.” In 2019, Lynch received an honorary Oscar for his contributions to film.

Lynch never gave up his early love of painting and continued to create visual art throughout his life. In 1994, he published Images, a book that featured painting, photographs and images from his films. He was also involved in several music projects, including working on the scores of several of his films.

In 2006, he published a book, Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity, about transcendental meditation, and in 2018, he published Room to Dream, which was a hybrid of memoir and biography. He directed music videos for artists like Moby, Nine Inch Nails and Donovan, as well as many commercials. He also portrayed director John Ford in Steven Spielberg's 2022 film The Fabelmans.

David Lynch receiving his honorary Oscar in 2019. MICHAEL BUCKNER/VARIETY/PENSKE MEDIA VIA GETTY

Lynch was married to first wife Peggy from 1967 to 1974. They shared daughter Jennifer, who also became a director. Jennifer told PEOPLE in 1990, “He was not your normal dad, but he's been the best dad he could be, and we've had a blast.”

From 1977 to 1987, he was married to Mary Fisk. They shared son Austin. From 2006 to 2007, he was married to Mary Sweeney, with whom he shared son Riley. In 2009, he married Emily Stofle, who appeared in Inland Empire and the third season of Twin Peaks. They shared daughter Lula Boginia. Stofle filed for divorce in 2023.

Looking back on his one-of-a-kind career, Lynch was mostly content. “Well, I'm sort of proud of everything except Dune,” he said in a 2020 YouTube video. "I’ve liked so much working in different mediums. It’s not a thing about pride, it’s more like the enjoyment of the doing, enjoyment of the work."

He added, "I’ve just enjoyed working in all these different mediums, and I feel, again, really lucky to have been able to enjoy those things and be able to live."

[thebroccolination]

Be My Favorite - Intro

WELCOME TO KEY’S SUMMER FIXATION SERIES. \:D/

Hello! I’m Key, and I’ll be your Be My Favorite historian and enthusiast.

I’ve been really excited for Be My Favorite ever since the series was first announced in December of 2021. The premise grabbed me right away since I’m a big fan of time loops (please watch Triage if you haven’t already, I’d say it’s the strongest BL series to date), and Krist’s one of my favorite actors, so it was an instant five stars of anticipation for me. Then in September of 2022, Gawin (another favorite of mine) was cast, and I had a dream casting I think I might have joked about once. (So I did this, you’re welcome.)

Whoever cast Gawin, I’ll send you a basket of whatever you love and aren’t allergic to.

THE CASTING HISTORY

Be My Favorite had a rocky road to casting.

From what I’ve been able to follow, it was initially meant to be a KristSingto comeback vehicle. (Their last BL together was the SOTUS Our Skyy episode in 2018.) However, in 2022, Krist tentatively told fans at a fan meeting that Singto’s schedule didn’t work out with filming. Seeing as GMMTV didn’t want Krist acting in BL series without his brand partner, I think they knew Singto wasn’t planning to renew his contract, so they cast Mike instead. Personally, I was excited to see Krist step outside his comfort zone with a different actor, and he’s close to Mike, so I figured it’d be a good match. I was also happy for Singto, because he’s wanted more independence in his career. He’s into photography and directing, he’s made his own studio, formed his own fan club in Japan, etc. (I think it’s likely he and Krist will work together again, though. They’re still very close, they play video games online with their friends from university fairly regularly, and Singto went out of his way to organize a KristSingto concert in December of 2022 through his Japanese fan club. KS used to hold their GMMTV-sponsored concerts there annually before the pandemic, so I think it was both a “final chapter” to one part of their lives and evidence that they can collaborate again if they want to.)

I didn’t have strong feelings about Mike’s casting. I haven’t seen him in much, but I liked him in the teaser, and he’s already close to Krist, so I was on board. After seeing Singto improve through his series with other actors (something he might have had to fight for, but that’s pure speculation), I was just excited for Krist to get the same opportunities.

And then…Gawin. [seventeen sparkle emojis]

As I said on Twitter the day Gawin’s casting was announced, “I could not be more pleased and delighted that I’ve built a reputation for myself that makes people think, ‘Krist and Gawin? QUICKLY, LIGHT THE FIRES AND TELL KEY,’” because I woke up to not one but three separate friends letting me know about it.

I went from excited to feral in the four seconds it took my brain to go from, “This can’t be real,” to, “Finally, bizarre breaking news that isn’t actively traumatizing.”

Truly, I have to hand it to Krist, because he's wanted this project to do well from the start, and he's stuck with it and worked hard on it through potentially three scene partners. And he really seems to have grown and learned from Gawin, so good on him.

THE WRITER/DIRECTOR

My one worry was that I haven’t enjoyed most of Jittirain’s adaptations.

But then I found out that the director, Waa, directed The Gifted and also has screenwriting experience. Krist has worked with Waa before and speaks highly of his process. There are a lot of scenes in the first episode of BMF that seem very clean and well edited, so I have hope.

On top of that, I’ve also seen fans mention that Be My Favorite is “inspired by” Jittirain’s novel, not adapted from it, which I think is a crucial distinction. (I don’t know the source for that, but I want it to be true, so I’ll believe it for now.)

Krist has said that they changed a lot from the novel, and based on what I know, the first episode has already departed quite a bit, so I have put my faith in Waa.

POSTPRODUCTION

For many reasons, some series just get the short stick with the amount of postproduction and budget they get. Some series are still filming as they start airing, some have budget cuts during production, etc.

Filming for Be My Favorite began on November 19th, 2022 and wrapped two months ago on March 24th. That same day, Waa shared on Twitter that he’d be starting work on intense editing right away. That was a great sign to me. With filming complete and two months of postproduction, he was almost certainly able to do a cleaner job than if he’d had to struggle under continued filming and simultaneous editing while the show was airing.

Also, BMF definitely seems to have money behind it. For example, this upgrade from the trailer to the first episode. In the trailer, as Kawi makes his first trip to the past, there's a bright, swirling glow around him.

When the episode aired, the effect looked a lot cleaner and had scenes from future episodes woven in.

Also, I loved this transition shot with the blurry background, and the dandelion seed floating across the screen was a cute detail, since that's the flower in the time loop globe.

Little things like like this tells me they’ve had the time to do this series well, and that there's a lot of love and effort going into it.

THE ACTING COACH

This February, the acting coach for BMF did an interview (1 & 2) that I really enjoyed. She said she’ll be sharing a video of their workshop now that the series is airing, so I’m keeping an eye out for that.

THE ACTORS

Like I said, I love both of them. I first watched SOTUS and the Kiss series in 2020, so I became a fan of both right around the same time.

In April of 2022, I made a top ten list of what I thought were the best acting performances up to that point. Krist was on it, and so was Gawin. I admire both of them a lot, and I think they’ve both improved tremendously over the years.

Krist, from what I can tell through interviews, leans toward method acting. For example, in the scene I included on my list above, Arthit was apparently meant to cry a few lines later on, but Krist lost it earlier than scripted because in order to channel the emotion he needed for the scene, he imagined how he’d feel when Singto followed through with a long-time dream of studying overseas. It ended up one of their strongest scenes together because it was genuine.

Meanwhile, Gawin was interviewed in November of 2022, and while I think the whole interview is a great read, I wanted to emphasize this part:

“When I prepare for a role, I really have to dig into the story of the script,” [Gawin] explains. “Sometimes they do the last scenes of the series on the first day of being on set. So, you have to be really prepared with the entire story. You’ve got to know the whole thing, what emotions that character went through, and the changes with that character.” 

I think part of what makes Krist and Gawin a good combination is that they’re strong actors with different energies who might just have different ways of preparing for a role. I’d love to hear both of them talk in more detail about their processes, but it seems to me like Krist looks inward for personal experiences to connect with the character, and Gawin creates the character he’s playing based on research.

Another interesting point is that In that same interview, Gawin says he thinks Saifa from Enchanté most resembles his personality (easygoing, music lover, etc.), but he got his start as Mork from the Kiss series (attitude issues, perfect sasspot, etc.). Meanwhile, Krist had an easy link to his first major role, Arthit, in that he’d also been head hazer in university. So Krist started his career able to access a common point with his character, so that might’ve influenced his approach to future roles. Whereas Gawin started off with a character completely unlike himself, so he started from a place of more emotional detachment and probably a more research-oriented approach.

Also, they just seem to have connected on a personal level.

Working with someone so different gives actors the opportunity to learn from each other. When interviewed, Gawin said he and Krist discovered they have a lot in common, and it seems like they bonded over music and spent a lot of time on set singing together. (Their harmonizing is genuinely beautiful.)

Krist’s OST for the series is one of my favorites and Gawin has a ballad coming up later in the series, but I hope they give them a duet at some point. (It’d be a huge missed opportunity if they don’t.)

CATS???

One of the sponsors for the series is fucking Wiskas.

This could just be because Krist is their brand ambassador. (The man has four cats. He has an army to feed.)

OR there is a feline presence in the show. If this is true, I will die, because Triage, series of my soul, also had cats in it.

Listen, I will send TWO baskets of whatever Waa likes if he's enabled me to make the "if I had a nickel for every time there have been cats in a Thai BL time loop series, I'd have two nickels. It's not a lot but it's weird that it happened twice" joke.

CONCLUSION

Big fan! Love it all! (PLEASE CATS.)

I’ll leave this here as an introductory post, and I’ll make separate posts for my individual episode thoughts using #key watches bmf.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Verity Den

Verity Den plays a soft-focus, trance-state shoegaze with glimmers of Zelienople, Bark Psychosis and Movietone. The band, out of North Carolina, is comprised of Casey Proctor, Trevor Reece and Mike Wallace, all three of the DIY veterans who formed the band in early 2023. Reviewing their 2024 self-title debut, Jennifer Kelly wrote, “Though their album is enjoyable as rock, it is very clearly not just that; it pools and looms and gently probes improvisatory effected guitar zones that sit pretty far from conventional song structures.”

Casey Proctor “Chant Arabe” (Anonymous) from Suzuki — Piano School: Volume 1

I started taking Suzuki Method piano lessons when I was five years old, and “Chant Arabe” was one of the pieces in Volume 1. During my first recital, my teacher exclaimed how I connected with that piece more than the others, saying that some people can emote ominous (minor-key) music more effectively. It was an early realization that I might be one of those people, and I still enjoy listening to and writing with those tonalities.

Mahavishnu Orchestra — “Meeting of the Spirits”

Every Sunday morning for a solid five-year period when I was a kid (like 7-11), my dad would blast “Meeting of the Spirits” while making breakfast. Undoubtedly, I was influenced by all the music he listened to, but that song in particular is probably the reason I went on to listen to other prog bands from the 1970s and later bands like Meshuggah and Animals as Leaders. We weren’t a religious family but during that era we were attendants at the church of prog rock.

Young Marble Giants — Colossal Youth

The first time I heard a Young Marble Giants song it was Hole covering “Credit in the Straight World.” I didn’t “discover” that it was a YMG song until later and then finally listened to the entirety of Colossal Youth. Front to back it’s a perfect album. It has minimal instrumentation, but it’s completely engaged and never boring. Alison Statton’s lyrics are nuanced and poetic but very punk. I don’t know how to make music that sounds like that, and I haven’t heard anyone else do it.

Mikhail Kalatozov — Letter Never Sent (1959)

Letter Never Sent is my favorite film. Beyond it being one of the most beautifully shot films I’ve ever seen (Sergey Urusevsky is the cinematographer and it’s in black and white), the subject matter feels like it’s personally tailored to me in a few ways. It’s about a group of government-funded geologists who are sent to Siberia to find diamonds. Their expedition is interrupted by a forest fire that cuts off communication with rescue crews and disorients them into a survival situation. Much less dramatically… I worked for the US Forest Service for 12 years, building and maintaining trails in the front and back country, almost majored in Geology and was a certified wildland firefighter for a few years. Also, honorable mention, from the same director… Salt for Svanetia (1930) is fantastic cinema and one of the earliest ethnographic films ever made.

Trevor Reece Roedelius — Wenn Der Südwind Weht

Right before the pandemic, I wasn't playing much “rock” guitar or listening to most of my long-time go-to-records. Leaning more towards experimental, drone and synth-based music. A friend put this Roedelius record on my radar around that time and it inspired me to record some questionable but exciting stuff at home. A classic record and always there to help.

Alex Chilton — Like Flies On Sherbert

Alex Chilton & his weird friends making a mess in the studio.

Bill Daniel — Who Is Bozo Texino? (2005)

I first saw this film during a screening tour through the south around 2006. I was somewhat new to town, wandering around and only cared about making art. Highlighting old outsiders making their mark and telling stories through a grainy film collage felt new but familiar. The ethos of this film is one that I still relate to today.

Mike Wallace Allen Toussaint — “Southern Nights”

A totally transporting song, Toussaint showers you in layers of piano and keys, the percussion chirps along like crickets at night and that perfect, unhurried hook. It really captures a certain kind of feeling, that particular humidity, the sun going down over the field. It's strange though because I didn’t hear this song until I was probably 25 or something, so I didn't have a memory of listening to it as a kid or something, but like a lot of songs, it became like a lens to look back on that, maybe memories I wish were there in some way. I guess it taps this strange kind of nostalgia whose origin is hard to locate and also comes with its own load of complications. That’s a part of the Southern experience, too, in a way that's unique to this part of the country. Memory and history are omnipresent, written and rewritten. I don't even hate the Glen Campbell version of this song. That’s its own type of “Southern Night.” Sometimes it's like that. I didn’t always embrace being from the South, but nowadays I’m into it and I know that when I’m living somewhere else someday, I will finally get to have that feeling of honestly missing a place and wishing I was back home for just a night.

Grouper — “Alien Observer”

This is the first Grouper song I heard and I remember feeling just stunned by it. It has this depth of interiority and a meditative cycle that’s like breathing. I think this song really struck me because I encountered Liz Harris/Grouper at a transitional period. After the end of a long relationship, I was living for a little bit with several people in a house in Greensboro, NC called Hellraiser Haus, named because some scenes from Hellraiser 3: Hell on Earth were supposedly filmed at the church across the street. It was a show house and the people I lived with were great, but I was kind of struggling with what was next and who I was in the wake of everything kind of disintegrating. There was something so bleak and comforting in this song, I really did kind of feel like an alien, observing myself, kind of detached. A few years later I saw her play kind of a large theater in Raleigh for this festival Hopscotch, and waking up several minutes after she had finished, kind of disoriented and crunched up in the seat and thinking I just saw one of the best shows of my life.

Wong Kar-wai — In the Mood For Love (2000)

What more can be said about this movie that hasn't already? Wong Kar-wai is a master, and a really singular stylist. I never tire of watching this one, but I rarely put it on, it's just really worth savoring. It's also one where one’s feelings may change over time in relation to the basic plot points. Maybe you recognize yourself at different points or scenes than you did before, or see a new detail in a gesture or glance, like every moment’s a prism and would mean something different if it was just slightly turned. Being in a state of longing can really feel awful, but there can also be a kind of solace in there. Even once it's over, you can return to it sometimes, to remember. I mean just see it; this isn’t making any sense anymore!

[project1939]

Day 51- Film: Sudden Fear 

Release date: August 7th, 1952. 

Studio: RKO 

Genre: Thriller/noir 

Director: David Miller 

Producer: Joseph Kaufman 

Actors: Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame 

Plot Summary: Myra Hudson is a wildly wealthy and successful playwright. As her latest play nears its opening, she fires the lead actor, believing he isn’t right for the part. Their paths cross again later, and still feeling guilty, she has drinks with him. Romantic sparks fly, despite the fact that he is much younger. They marry, and Myra thinks she’s finally got it all. But one day she hears something incredibly disturbing when the Dictaphone in her office unintentionally records her husband talking to another woman. Is her beloved husband going to murder her? 

My Rating (out of five stars): **** 

Oh my god, I loved this film. I can’t believe I’ve never seen it before. It’s already in my wheelhouse, being a noir with a female protagonist, but it also stars Joan Crawford. Mildred Pierce is one of my favorite movies, and I loved her in The Women. When you see a film with Joan Crawford in it, you know there will be drama in all its trashy Classical Hollywood best. 

The Good: 

Another female led noir! As I just wrote, I love the rare gems where we get a noir told from the perspective of a female protagonist. This one didn’t disappoint. 

Joan Crawford. I wrote in my notes as I was watching this film “Crawford acts the shit out of this, in all the best and worst ways!” She sometimes almost chewed the scenery, but it was always campy fun when she did. She could also just be genuinely moving. At times I felt more sincere empathy for her than I ever remember feeling in any of her movies. 

The turn about halfway through when Crawford takes control. I loved this! I was expecting the second half of the movie to be like the poster- Crawford huddled in terror. But then everything changed, and she took things into her own hands. She wasn’t going to sit back in fear, she was gonna damn well do something! I was rooting for her every step, before it was even clear what her plan actually was. 

Gloria Grahame. I liked her a lot in Macao, and I really liked her here too. She’s captivating to watch, because even though she is undeniably beautiful, there’s something kind of unique about her look and her voice. She’s perfect playing jaded bad girls. 

Jack Palance. He was believable and cast well. Myra had fired him because he wasn’t classically Prince Charming handsome. He is definitely attractive, but in an edgier rougher kind of way.  

I liked that I was always somewhat unsure of where things were going. It took awhile before the audience had enough information to understand what Myra’s plan was, and I also didn’t completely anticipate the ending. 

I liked the extended use of fun old technology, in this case, with the Dictaphone. It was analog in all its glory. 

The final shot of Crawford. The look of determination and relief on her face was perfect- I literally cheered out loud. 

The Bad: 

The beginning was a little slow. It took a good 45 minutes before things kicked into gear. I didn’t get bored, but I think it would have worked better structurally to trim the first half a little. 

Not much chemistry between Palance and Crawford. Maybe that was a little intentional, so we know something’s not quite right, but I’m not sure I liked it. 

I didn’t buy Myra/Crawford as a hugely successful playwright. She didn’t talk with any real wit, and none of her friends did either. I can’t fully explain why I felt this, but I wasn’t convinced. 

I spent the last hour screaming into my notepad- CALL THE POLICE! I don’t fully understand why she didn’t, except that it would have stopped the movie much earlier. 

[denimbex1986]

'Oppenheimer was one of the most anticipated movies of the summer. This primarily began when it was announced that Barbie and Oppenheimer would be released on the same day, which is what sparked the trend of the summer: Barbenheimer.

I, of course, saw both movies. Barbie first, and then around two weeks later, I saw Oppenheimer. Admittedly, it took some convincing before I was allowed to accompany my family to the theater due to it being rated R. To be honest, while I absolutely adore the Barbie movie, I think Oppenheimer took me by surprise and became my favorite of the two.

The movie was genuinely extraordinary from both a film and storytelling perspective. I’m not a movie connoisseur or particular expert in deciding what makes a great movie, but Christopher Nolan, the director, really made the story feel personal in a way other directors can’t. For every troubling moment and dramatic climax, you feel as if you are there with the characters, experiencing everything they are. I don’t understand a thing about quantum physics, but this movie made me feel like I was right along with them as a scientist struggling to make the puzzle pieces fit.

To even begin to explain the astounding directing, though, we have to begin with what is at the heart of the movie: the story.

Oppenheimer tells three stories in one, each separated by a distinctive filming style; the first of which begins with J. Robert Oppenheimer, portrayed by Cillian Murphy, sitting in a conference room in the midst of a hearing for his supposed ties to communists. It is primarily used as a plot device to explain the events going on in the main storyline and to clear up confusion. This part of the story is distinguished by the wide-screen perspective, where there are the typical black bars on both the top and bottom of the screen. The wide-screen point of view is meant to represent the subjective view we, as the viewers, are seeing it from, and this again contributes to the audience being almost a part of the movie.

The next is the crux of the film: the making of the first-ever atomic bomb. This storyline is identified by the full-screen perspective and is filled with so many close-ups that I feel like I’ve seen every single imperfection on Murphy’s face. This core plot comes from this, where we see flashbacks to what led up to the atomic bomb and the process that would elicit the creation of it. This story is raw as we see the struggles and mistakes Oppenheimer makes on his track to making history. We see how he brings quantum physics to America, how he meets his wife, and how he deals with the pure, unadulterated guilt of realizing he, in part, caused the death of entire cities of people. This helps us understand his motivations and struggles, therefore making him a multi-dimensional character that the audience can care about.

The third and final story perspective is the story of government official Lewis Strauss, played by Robert Downey Jr., in his attempt to become a member of the U.S. Senate. This story is characterized by the black-and-white perspective, which is told by Strauss. It tells a tale of jealousy and disdain that, over the years, bubbled to the surface, and the story is eloquently done in a way that you don’t quite see how it all adds up until the end. It plays a significant role in leading the audience to see an outside perspective of Oppenheimer’s work and how the odds were stacked against him in several ways.

Each story plays a unique role in the film and is executed in an indicative manner that allows the audience to piece together the puzzle of the story and makes the ending all the more enjoyable when the viewers can feel as if, in a way, they figured it out themselves.

However, the film can essentially be split into two sections: the before and after of the first explosion of the atomic bomb. After the first explosion, the movie shifted, and the rest felt as if it were almost an entirely different film, similar to what Nolan did in one of his other films—The Dark Knight. It shows not only the action but the consequences of the massive discovery that would forever change war. The second half shows the story of a once-beloved man admired for his scientific achievement now being shamed for the very same one and the immense guilt he grapples with having to know what he’s created.

The film is multi-faceted on an astounding number of levels. Every character has a motivation and both an internal and external conflict that makes the story all too real while showcasing both an entertaining movie and accurate history.

Another unexpected but astonishing part of the movie that I haven’t seen anyone talking about is the soundtrack. I find myself listening to it over and over again, and I’m listening to it right now as I’m writing this because the music is so quintessentially accurate to each specific moment in the film, and listening to it transports you into the movie. It’s done in a way that whether the music is blaring loud or merely a whisper, you notice it. It is impossible to ignore in the most immaculate way as it perfectly ties together the entire movie. I wholeheartedly believe that without this specific soundtrack, the movie would have been nowhere near as captivating as it was. Ludwig Göransson composed all of the music for the movie, and he flawlessly tied in notes of music from the movie’s time period with a twist that makes it a bit more modern and authentic to the telling of the story.

Oppenheimer is about a dark period of time; it tells the unfortunate story that led up to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By default, we are supposed to think of the scientists and military officials involved in the project as inhumane or evil in a way for working on the bomb that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. Still, this movie finds a way to humanize each and every one of them by seeing some of the more specific motivations for each person, even if only on a surface level. Although it was a horrible thing to have happened, looking back on history allows us not to repeat our past mistakes. Oppenheimer perfectly walks the line of telling history in a fascinating way while also not romanticizing a tragedy.

If you are considering seeing Oppenheimer in theaters, do it. The film tells an accurate and monumental moment in both American and world history while telling it in a way that intrigues and pulls you into the story. Every moment felt as colossal as the explosion because of the elegant storytelling and directing, and we can only hope this will lead to more films like Oppenheimer coming into theaters.'

[jssicamandy]

ENJOYED THE DELIGHTFULLY DECEITFUL

One Kim Dongwook after another Kim Dongwook. This is the drama I watched right after finishing My Perfect Stranger. I also love Chun Woo Hee’s performance ever since I watched Be Melodramatic and it was one of my most favorite drama ever. Actually I was not looking for a complicated drama so I was doing other things while watching the drama but then I got hooked. They really were building the climax as things get to the end. 

I was completely clueless to who the president is, even though when I got first glimpse of his character I know that he is so suspicious lol. Every characters got their time to shine and I really love it. Maybe because of how fast the story is going or because there were quite a lot of them, the way the characters doing things were kind of tasteless and robotic for me, maybe because the director or the writer feels rushed. 

These are the actors that makes this drama interesting. I love how they act and I love seeing new faces like Yoo Hee Je and Lee Yeon, I will find another works of them and watch If I got interested in the topic. This is the second time Yoon Park works together with Kim Dongwook since You are My Spring, and I love seeing familiar set in a new drama lol. I also being giddy with Sojin(of Girl’s Day), I’ve seen her on My Sh**ting Star and the characters that she played always shining.

I don’t expect them speaking about sympathy-empathy values and of giving other chances and trying to trust others too as the end note though. It was amazing how Kim Dong Wook got 2 dramas released in the same month and it was great how the two of them got good results. 

[alister312]

2, 5, 6 for the fanfic asks!

y’all asked these similar asks back to back so i decided to do them both at the same time! thank u both @danilazuli and @knightinink <3 ask game can be found here

2) Do you read/reread your own fics?

Definitely. While I do sometimes write fics for others (as gifts or requests), mostly I write what I write because it’s stuff I want to read. I see a need (me wanting certain content) and I am filling it. Also, rereading your past work is very crucial to improving as a writer. I’d say it’s second to getting feedback from others.

5) What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write?

I’ve written a ton in my idea notebook but one of my favorites that I think I’ve talked about before is an impastor creek fic. The basic premise is that Craig is corrupt pastor and when Butters, the choir director, finds out, he summons an imp (Tweek) to get rid of Craig. There was also Pip, a devoted member of the church and a big believer in Craig, and Christophe, the church groundskeeper who knew all about the corruption and was super disillusioned and hateful of the church/religion because of it. I thought at one point about maybe putting Gregory in there as a higher church authority figure who suspects something and comes to see what’s going on? I have no idea how the plot would actually go though. It’s just various cool concepts floating around my head that I don’t think will ever really come together.

I’ve also always really wanted to write an intense political intrigue gregstophe fic but I don’t wanna do the research that would require lol

6) Are there any fics from others you reread all the time?

I’ll be honest, not really 😅 I mean, I reread all of effingbirds’ stuff obviously and stuff my friends have done but usually I prefer going out and reading new stuff. At the moment I’m mostly reading through the gregstophe fics on ffn with the occasional pop in ao3 tags of certain ships and scrolling through.

11) Do you have specific playlists for writing fics?

Sort of! I have this playlist of various show/movie/video game OSTs and sometimes I’ll click on whichever I feel like listening to. It’s not an always thing but if I want something to listen to in the background, this is it. Music with words tends to be a bit distracting to me.

[what-gs-watching]

"So you love me...you just don't want me."

So, I’m not really sure what I’m doing right now. Random things that don’t seem like enough? Moping my way through and spending a lot of time on the couch? My weird season of life just gets weirder because I’m just letting it.

I had lunch with a couple of my engineer friends the other day and when trying to explain what I am doing I said, “I’m binging Dawson’s Creek…” and one of them just shouted “WHY” and honestly, that’s a really good question.

It’s so bad you guys. It’s so bad and I can’t look away and at this point I’ve almost finished it, less than two seasons to go, and I just keep thinking “WHY” but every ‘why’ right now is complicated. ‘Why’ is complex and I’m trying to not look at it too closely.

Dawson’s Creek started in 1998, friends. I was like, 11 years old. And it was one of my favorite shows. I very vividly remember watching it on tv, calling my sister with my live reactions  during the commercial breaks while she was away at college. 

What I’ve realized watching it now though, is that the idea of binge watching truly has improved television SO, SO much. 

Dawson’s Creek is SIX seasons of drama upon drama upon drama upon drama. Like, every episode has ten thousand different plot points because they were only coming once a week and then the seasons were spread out and MAN they were working so hard to keep people engaged with the show. And I can see with clarity now that that is not the way to tell a story.

Which is kind of hilarious, because a huge part of the show was the fact that Dawson was desperate to be this great director and create incredible movies that people resonate with. They spent so much time on that plot point, not to mention how the entirety of the show ends, but jesus, the pacing of the entire thing is absolutely out of control. Too much story, you guys, and none of it makes a true lick of sense when you get down to it.

I’m so thankful our viewing habits have changed. I’m so glad they don’t really make shows like this anymore.

If you aren’t a thousand years old like I am, Dawson’s Creek is a show about 4 friends (eventually more) growing up in a fictional town  on Cape Cod, centered around Dawson’s absolute batshit crazy relationship with his best (girl) friend Joey. 

11 year old me was obsessed with the idea of falling in love with your best guy friend you’d known your entire life. It seemed like the best thing that could ever happen. I shipped the shit out of it, and watching it again now I think this show probably influenced me in ways that weren’t actually good for me, but what’s there to do about that now? 

With fresh and very disillusioned eyes, it’s super clear right off the bat how toxic Dawson and Joey’s relationship really was. I've been sitting on my couch yelling about how much of a creep Dawson truly is as a character - he becomes weirdly obsessed with Jen, the new girl in town and assumes he loves her after like a day and throws it in Joey’s face constantly? He only realizes he might love Joey after he sees her debase herself in a beauty pageant because she wants the scholarship money? He freaks out when the new kid kisses her and doesn’t let her explain her side of things? He doesn’t respect her newfound art passion and is reticent to her changing in any way, at all? He forces her to turn her dad in for drug dealing without just talking to her about it before going to the fucking cops?!

Sure, they’re supposed to be 15, 16 etc but like, stop giving these children such weird character flaws. I remember the whole shtick about the show was that they were supposed to be such enlightened teenagers that analyze things to death (which they even say in the dialogue, like way too much) but they still made such weird, backward choices. 

The one part they do get kind of right is the love affair between Pacey and Joey (this is of course where my love for Joshua Jackson comes from). It’s like the one relationship in the show that isn’t weirdly toxic from the start - they’re friends who annoy the shit out of each other and then they start helping each other and it grows progressively (as much as it can in a season, ya know) and it’s mostly sweet. He challenges her and he supports her but watching it now, she does keep herself away from him a bit.  

And then they do my man Pacey really dirty, and it ends toxic as fuck (though maybe it always was?!), because that seems to be the entire show’s aesthetic. 

I’m also not really even going to mention that someone thought in 1998 that it was totally fine to use ‘female teacher sleeps with her underage student’ as an acceptable plotline. I STILL can’t believe that. I struggled to get through the first season, it was so painful, but I wanted to get to Pacey and Joey. 

And I just watched their breakup and now I can’t remember why I wanted to get to Pacey and Joey. I absolutely thought the two of them were the HEIGHT of romance when I was 13. And yeah, running away for a summer on a sailboat together is still something my younger self(and let’s be honest, my regular self) wished she could do, but still, it just wasn’t what I remembered. Mostly, I’m just thinking that all relationships are fucked in some way and there’s no way around it. 

Well. Maybe the point of me inexplicably doing this is that sometimes things should stay a hazy nostalgic memory, instead of being revisited. Or maybe it’s that some things just age absolutely terribly. Or worse still, it’s to get me to think about the ways things I’ve subjected myself to have affected me in my life - but that’s not something I’m interested in right this second. So pick either of those first two. 

Basically, I don’t really suggest going down this rabbit hole. Unless you desperately want to feel really weird about teen angst for no reason. Or you’re desperate for something that is VERY a-moment-in-time-that-doesn’t-need-repeating. Or you’re Gen Z and doing it ironically because you want to see where that Dawson crying meme comes from (it’s almost worth it), but be warned, it might fuck with who you are as a person. Or maybe it won’t, you kids do seem tougher than we were, at least. 

I don’t know. I’m gonna finish it, but I can’t tell you why.

[mesaylormoon]

Poor Things: A Review

I had high expectations of Poor Things upon hearing it was meant to be an arthouse film featuring stars like Willem DaFoe, Emma Stone, and Mark Ruffalo. The teasers were refreshingly mystifying and revealed very little about the movie’s subject matter. Adding further to the picture’s credibility was the endorsement of one of my favorite movie critics. Awards season hyped the film even further, and I was anxious to see it at the Tower Theatre this week…

Pros:

* The camerawork and cinematography are exquisite in this film and perfectly reflect the experiences of the main character. To paraphrase another critic: Yorgos Lanthimos uses contrasting black-and-white/color frames, exaggerated focal lengths, dramatic camera angles, and a Steampunk-inspired aesthetic to create the contradictory world the characters live in

* Dafoe, Ruffalo, and Stone submit decent performances

* The narrative is filled with cliches (likely purposefully so), but director Lanthimos also carefully laces the movie with several refreshing plot elements. As a result, he brilliantly departs from narrative convention in a way that reflects his storytelling prowess

* The Frankenstein-inspired premise will delight fans of fantasy and science fiction alike

* A discordant score can be heard throughout the film and it illustrates the excited, confusing feelings of the protagonist

* The main character, Bella, is provided a very interesting backstory and is the most complex female lead I’ve seen in years. Bella is many things: emotional, loud, aggressive, curious, sex-driven, cold, calculated, opinionated — the one adjective you cannot use to describe her is “kind.” Kindness is a beautiful trait for movie characters and people to have, but Bella may be the only female protagonist I’ve ever seen who does not show the gentleness associated with other likable characters in the media. This detail alone adds so many layers of depth to a seemingly one-dimensional main character

* The dialogue is, at times, very witty, raunchy, and even funny. Some of the best lines in the movie seem to provide insight into Lanthimos’s sense of humor, and it would be great to see this material more often. It is also eloquent and thought-provoking without being confusing.

* The ending is surprisingly satisfying

Cons:

* Many unchallenging themes regarding women and sex are woven into the text of Poor Things. I love seeing “risqué” subjects like sex in film, but the conversation regarding the topic is so present in modern filmmaking that any statements made about women and sex just seem a bit pandering, passé, or even cliche

* The tone of Poor Things makes the film a relatively unpleasant viewing experience throughout

* I love that this film had the courage to depict an abusive relationship and themes addressing ableism, but both subjects were handled in an almost ignorant manner that I felt were never fully examined

Verdict: I’ve heard Lanthimos’s work is often difficult to understand and, in many cases, flat-out disturbing. For the most part, these descriptors do not apply to Poor Things. This is a relatively palatable movie and it will find its audience with the people who can appreciate the abstract nature of its themes. If you love fairy tales, fantasies, or science fiction, and want a familiar, but refreshing take on a story that has been told and retold throughout time, Poor Things is the movie for you.

Unfortunately, for me, this film is only decent at best. I saw it once, but can’t see myself watching it again (though, that might change someday). The disturbing tone and oft-discussed sexual themes kept me from enjoying the movie as much as I could, and I generally don’t appreciate narratives inspired by science fiction. (This is purely a matter of taste, however).

Despite these problems, Lanthimos offers moviegoers a treasure chest of great storytelling for a broader audience to enjoy his work past and present.

[astranva]

Did Joey get asked about bsgf!yn during his Jimmy Fallon interview 🫣

have you watched the interview? you remember the bit where the moment joe sat, jimmy told him that he met his sister backstage? yeah no, instead, it was bsgf!yn.

“i wanna thank you for being here, but i also wanna say how cool it was to meet you girlfriend, by the way, backstage,” jimmy said.

“my girlfriend’s here,” joe nodded with a smile.

“y/n,” jimmy said.

joe nodded again, “y/n,” he repeated, “it was just her birthday.”

“it was? happy birthday, y/n, she’s sitting backstage,” jimmy pointed behind him as the audience cheered, joe grinning as he looked at them while clapping. “there was a cool story back there she told me about-she-she chooses your outfits?”

“she chooses my outfits, yeah,” joe nodded with a smile, motioning towards his suit, “she has the best style i’ve ever seen so she’s always mixing and matching my outfits, like wear this with that, and no, not this shirt because it’s too much for the vest, stuff like that.”

“that’s so cool, but-she’s basically your stylist? even though y/n’s a creative director, right?”

“yeah, she is.”

“and she’s crazy talented,” jimmy’s eyes widened, “so we were-we were all talking backstage and then someone told me that she was-she was the supervising creative director on so many of my favorite shows-i think everybody’s favorite shows,” he said.

“yeah, she’s incredible,” joe shook his head, a proud smile on his face, “euphoria, the queen’s gambit, throw in some black mirror, and she’s worked on so many movies,” he said, “she’s-she’s really talented.”

“and she’s so young, too,” jimmy pointed out, “with the movies she worked on and all the tv shows, i thought she’d have to be at least, what? 35? but she’s younger,” he said, “how did you two meet?”

“we met back in 2018,” joe said, “y/n used to work at 21 laps entertainment, and it’s-it’s stranger things’ production company. so there was this big party happening, or like some sort of a gala they were hosting, and sean brennan, who’s the supervising art director of the show, introduced me and the cast to y/n,” he explained, “you know, like, this is y/n, y/n, this is joe, and he was like, y/n’s insanely talented and praised her so much so then we started talking about her work and then she was like ‘i love your show, i binge watched it the other day’ and you know-”

“was it-was it friendly or were you two flirting?”

“i was flirting,” he pointed at himself with a small chuckle, “she was seeing someone at the time and-she kept respectfully rejecting me,” he laughed along with everyone else, “and diverting the conversation to talk about the show and sean, but i had no idea she was seeing someone so i thought, alright, i have no game,” he slapped his thigh, “but yeah, at some point she had to-she directly told me she was seeing someone,” he laughed.

“nooo,” jimmy laughed, “man, that’s embarrassing.”

joe nodded, “i was very embarrassed. but then i apologized and she was-she’s a very sweet person so it wasn’t awkward or anything. then we didn’t really see each other for a couple of years then we met again through some mutual friends.”

“that’s when you both finally got together?”

“no,” joe chuckled, “remember the person she was seeing?” he asked, watching as jimmy nodded, “yeah, they were together. my chances were gone,” everyone laughed, jimmy covering his mouth in shock, “yeah, fate wasn’t really working in my favor.”

“you’re kidding,” jimmy said.

“no, i wish,” he laughed, “but, seriously she’s the sweetest person so i was okay with having her as a friend. she’s not-like, she’s not someone you’d be okay without having in your life. you gotta make room for her,” joe said with a smile, “but yeah, things worked out at the end.”

“so wait, let me get this straight,” jimmy put a hand up, “you’ve basically had a crush on her since 2018?”

“since 2018, yes,” joe nodded.

“but you only got together this year,” jimmy added as joe nodded, “and how does it feel to finally be with your crush?”

joe gave a sheepish shrug but with a smug smirk, he opened both arms, “i’m a happy man-i’m a happy man.”

[mx-drumbot]

surprising no one, i’ve become obsessed with the Black Phone. so here are my headcanons about each of the babies.

Finney

aside from seeing ghosts, he hallucinates after getting out. mostly phones ringing but also the sound of a belt snapping together. sometimes he sees blood dripping from walls or broken glass on the floor

he has the same hair as his mom, his dad doesn’t know how to take care of it. that’s why his curls are so undefined.

he started playing pinball after recovering. he hasn’t quite been able to reach Vance’s high score, but he’s getting close

he loves Star Wars and somehow convinced Gwen to dress up as Luke and Leia with him. (he called that Vader was both of their father’s too)

he learned how to speak spanish from Robin’s family (and constantly watching Robin’s mouth when he talked). the first time his extended family visited for a birthday party, they all thought Finney was just a really pale latino

he and Gwen have sleepovers every thursday night where they go down the events of their week and eat copious amounts of junk food

he works on the Hubble Space Telescope as an adult.

Robin

he cries to Selena’s music, especially after he realized that he had feelings for Finney

he has ADHD and that’s why it’s so difficult for him to focus on a teacher that talks too fast

he has comorbid autism too, and his special interest is slasher movies, his favorite will always be the original silent horrors, but he’s a big fan of jump scares

the only jewelry (aside from friendship bracelets that Finney makes him) that he’ll wear are his confirmation chain and the small gold ring he got from his grandfather

he has just a fuck ton of siblings, as well as a twin sister who is exactly like him. he gets along with all of them and they all look out for each other

if he had survived, he wanted to be a stuntman or a director. no one ever explained to him that he could be both

he insults people in spanish but says it in a nice way so they think he’s saying something sweet. sometimes he does it just to make Finney laugh.

Vance

AUTISM. THIS MAN IS SO AUTISM CODED

pinball and silent movies are his special interests. he steals pinball machines that arcades throw out and has seen every charlie chaplin movie ever made

he goes out of his way to feed stray dogs, stray cats, and he always makes sure to let ducks/geese pass. he also stops his car to help turtles get across the road, but only if no one is around

his dad fucked off somewhere after the first time he got arrested, his mom does her best but she’s practically always gone at work. he doesn’t resent her but he hates his dad

if he had survived he would’ve started a shitty punk band where he made music about his trauma. he only likes loud noises when he’s the one making them

he has really bad sensory issues and wears the same clothes for days on end, if anyone brings it up, he gets a nice stim moment out of beating them up

when he was younger, his mom called him little wolf because he would bite people if he was given the opportunity. she still calls him that if he’s sick or injured while she’s around

Griffin

loud af because he was half deaf. his mom was born deaf and his father lost his hearing because of genetic condition that ended up killing him, but he’s half deaf because he was hit by a baseball when he was three

not even the cia could get this out of him, but he so badly wants to be like vance. he thinks vance is the coolest motherfucker ever

his younger brother is in one of Gwen’s classes and both of them are just absolutely terrified of her. his brother has a little crush on her though

he really wanted to ask Finney if he could check on his mom, but he could only repeat himself, it sucked

he loves comedies, anything satirical or sarcastic is his absolute favorite though. this man would eat up twitter and tiktok

if he had survived, he would’ve become a middle school history teacher, mostly because he loves teaching ancient egypt and other ancient civilizations

he loves kids, he only has a little brother but he hangs out with his brother’s friend group more than anyone his age

Paperboy

(to preface this, headcanons. thank you) it prefers it/its pronouns mostly because it really never felt quite human. not in a kinnie way, just in a neurodivergent way

its dog’s name is cain. one because he attacks other dogs, but only of the same breed and two because it thinks that naming a canine, cain is really funny.

it loves sweet things. milkshakes, candy, baked goods? all of that, those are basically its favorite food

if it had survived, it would’ve become a journalist. it really liked reading the newspaper and doing the crossword

it once slept outside for a week after an argument with its mom. cain slept next to it to keep it company.

Paperboy knows that it probably shouldn’t steal things from places like Walmart and Walgreens but at the same time, it’s never been caught.

its dad was a greaser in the 50s and it absolutely idolizes that aesthetic, like it thinks the 50s were the perfect time period

Bruce

his mom is a teacher and he takes naps in her class when he has free periods and no homework

he idolizes bruce lee and is always super happy when someone points out that they have the same name. action movies are his favorite

he has pretty good grades, but he would drop anything for a baseball game, he knows he’s good and he loves winning. he’s played on four travel teams

his family isn’t religious, so the first time he ever celebrated christmas was with his baseball team. he bought them all gifts and kept the gifts that they game him in his bedroom

if he had survived, he would’ve wanted to go pro in baseball. he might’ve been able to. his backup plan was marketing, mostly because he’d be able to talk to a lot of people

he was homecoming king at his school, partially because he’s a class favorite and partially because no one ran against him

he has a pet goldfish that is his best friend, her name is goldie but his parents just call her fish

Gwen

she learns how to better control her talents and becomes a detective. she names her detective agency after her mom

her favorite color is purple but she never wears it, she claims that the rarity of it is what makes it so special

she leaves her hair in braids for no more than six hours, she’s seen how long it takes for Finney to make his hair look decent, she has no desire for curly hair

her favorite hobby is creative writing. after Finney went missing, she stopped writing. mostly because she only wrote horror stories.

her dad tried to force her to learn to play piano, but stopped after she figured out how to do the talking piano illusion and made it call him a bastard

she tries not to be super protective, but she always asks her friends if they want her to walk with them when they go somewhere. especially if it’s a day where she’s nervous

she absolutely hates spending more than two hours alone, she always wants someone to talk to, usually that person is one of her friends or Finney

[project1939]

200 Films of 1952

Film number 159: Lure of the Wilderness

Release date: July 16th, 1952 

Studio: 20th Century Foz 

Genre: drama/adventure 

Director: Jean Negulesco 

Producer: Robert L. Jacks 

Actors: Jean Peters, Jeffrey Hunter, Constance Smith, Walter Brennan 

Plot summary: While looking for his lost dog in the remote swamps of Georgia, Ben comes across a father and daughter who have lived hidden away for almost a decade. Jim, the father, was accused of a murder he claims was self-defense, and he won’t go back to town until he can get a fair trial. Ben is recruited to help, despite the objections of Jim’s wild and untrusting daughter Laurie. 

My rating (out of 5 stars): ***¼  

Who knew the swamps down in Georgia were so soapy? Because this was essentially a soap opera/romance novel disguised as an adventure film! After only about 10 minutes, I was writing “so over the top!!” in my notes, and for the next 80 minutes it never relented. The acting was over the top, the music was over the top, the preposterous story was over the top... but I smiled the whole way through. It was good campy fun. (some minor spoilers) 

The Good: 

Walter Brennan. He’s a great character actor, and he put his skills to good use here, even if he did get a bit melodramatic at times. But literally everyone in the film did! 

Jeffrey Hunter. Damn he is something beautiful to look at, and he looked so much better without the army buzz cut he had in Red Skies of Montana. He was one of the worst offenders when it came to overemotional acting, but I found that entertaining for some reason. 

I liked Jean Peters more in this than other things I’ve seen her in. 

The story was pretty crazy, but it was always interesting and clearly told. 

It was so campy! I loved it. That was seriously my favorite part of the entire movie. 

The events were well plotted with an effective pace, which made it easy to get invested in. The minutes ticked by quickly. 

I liked Careless the good ol’ hunting dog. I’d run into a dangerous swamp to find him, too. 

No way! This movie also had a pet racoon named Henry?! The pet racoon in Red Skies of Montana was named Henry too! 

The Bad: 

The crazy preposterous story. Yes, it was both a good and a bad thing to me! 

The way one of the bad guys was dispensed with at the end. That was the fastest quicksand I’ve ever seen! It reminded me of the witch’s death in The Wizard of Oz! 

The scene where the bad guys held Ben underwater to torture him into talking. It was traumatic to watch, and all I could think about was waterboarding, which was nightmarish. The whole sequence made me so uncomfortable; I almost had to fast-forward it. 

The bad guys had no character traits besides “bad.” They were one-dimensional to say the least. I still actively hated them, though! 

The music was composed by Franz Waxman, a Hollywood legend known for exceptional work in films like Sunset Boulevard, Rebecca, Rear Window, A Place in the Sun... Here the music went off the rails with everything else- it was almost histrionic. Sometimes it sounded like a Stravinsky imitation, and then it would suddenly veer into schmaltz. Other times it just sounded like the music in a TV western.  

The acting was as affected and stagy as the story and the music. 

“Let's cram in any animal we can!” The swamp was basically a zoo- we saw snakes, panthers, alligators, owls, deer, otters, a bull... It started to feel unrealistic, and it reminded me of The Jungle. In that film the plot kept coming to a halt for animals to either be pointed out or to fight with each other. This wasn’t that bad, but it was reminiscent of it!  

Jean Peters had such an amazing makeup kit for someone living in a desolate isolated shack in the middle of a swamp! She miraculously managed to always have full eye makeup, lipstick, blush, foundation, and perfectly groomed eyebrows! Her Pa must have taught her, of course!