#but the quotes he gives about friendship to journalists

[bekolxeram]

During this hiatus, other than rewatching S7 for cute moments that we missed and coming up with headconons and new fic ideas, may I suggest going back to actually read/watch/listen to interviews with the cast?

Certain more dedicated members of the fandom tend to overfixate on one single sentence or even word the cast uttered and ignore all context around it. Sure, some of them might came into it with an agenda (like many journalists did sadly) and confirmation bias took care of the rest of it, but at the same time, who has time to read pages of disjointed chat with actors improvising answers without full knowledge of the production side of the show?

I've seen people proving Eddie's queerness by this quote from Lou's interview with the Hollywood Reporter in April:

This alone has been interpreted all sorts of ways, from Ryan not accepting this storyline (which doesn't make him homophobic btw, he could've simply not seen Eddie's story going this way, or he thought he wasn't equipped to do this storyline justice), to Buck's LIs not agreeing to come back because of scheduling conflict, to the writers just thought it was more appropriate for Buck to be queer.

I'm not here to speculate anything, I'm just going to point out earlier in the same interview, Lou also said he always knew this storyline would be with Oliver:

I don't know what's going on here, Lou might have insider information, but it also could be him just speculating over Tommy and Eddie's quickly formed friendship. To my knowledge, Tim has never confirmed that Tommy's queer storyline would be with Eddie before it supposedly fell through. In fact, Tim did say once it felt like Buck's story:

And then there's Lou's supposed dislike of filming make out scenes:

I do agree with him that gratuitous scenes on TV are unnecessary. I can't even count how many times I'm watching TV with my family when a graphic sex scene comes on unprompted, and my family members and I have to try our best to pretend we don't see it. But he also said that he didn't like it only when it didn't add to the story. Like we saw in 7x06, Lou gladly rubbed his face into Oliver's because this is how Buck came out.

There's also the part most people skipped through when Lou talked about the 7x04 kiss:

Lou (and everyone involved in the storyline) doesn't want Tommy to seem predatory. I have no idea if it's a reference to a possible earlier version of the script with an Eddie bi awakening instead of a Buck one. What I'm getting is that Lou and Tim tried to avoid playing into the stereotype of gay men hanging around knowingly straight men just to get into their pants.

And boy was Lou right. If they went for a full make out scene, the fandom discourse would've been so different. Naysayers wouldn't have been latching onto bachelor party costume or daddy issue joke. It would've led to much more serious allegations.

I'm happy it all worked out in universe as well. As we've seen from the past 7 seasons, Buck has no problem getting sexual partners. In the past he tried having physical relationships with women in hopes that it would lead to an emotional one, he also tried intentionally holding off intimacy just because he thought it would get in the way of boding with someone on a humanly level. This is the first time someone picked up Buck's (unintentional?) flirting, decided to break the ambiguity (landing it like a good pilot), gave him a brief peck to test the water, and then left to give Buck time to process his feelings.

Not only was it okay for Buck, it left him wanting more.

And lastly there's the allegedly "Tommy is just Buck's gay mentor to test thing out with" thing:

But earlier in the interview, it was established that Lou said it as a response to why the other shippers should still embrace Buck and Tommy's relationship. He didn't actually know what would happen in the future:

[patroxlos]

home base . ch3

"friends who believe in mpreg" - 2.7k words

ultraman: rising (2024). kenji sato x reader

master post. ao3 link.

previous: ch2. "friends who reconnected and who certainly don't want to be more"

next: ch4. "friends who sleep on call with each other"

Kenji endures an awkward interview with sports journalist Ami Wakita.

And is it monsterfucking if you're kind of into Ultraman?

A/N: So my dad accidentally bought me a coffee float instead of the coke float I asked him to get me. I ended up caffeinated at 11PM and began writing this in jitters. it's nearly 3AM. This is unedited and unfiltered which means: my writing is gonna be so unserious you will sit there and ask yourself "Is this writer different from the one who made the last two chapters?"

Hoping you can keep up with all my pop culture references. Motsubishi is such a silly little name. I was workshopping other company names like "Soni," "Yomaha," etc. but Motsubishi is giving Mob Psycho 100 brand parody.

Also, I refer to Ami as 'Ms. Wakita' connotes that she and Ken are still not that close, but as you would be able to tell while reading, they are begrudgingly becoming fast friends.

---

“Absolutely not.” Ken denies it immediately, with a slight aggression. “There’s no lovechild to speak of. We are just friends.”

Ami Wakita flinches a bit at his tone. “Woah, they weren’t kidding when they said you’re a bit defensive about her.”

“Who’s they?” He huffs, taking a bite from a strip of tonkatsu to calm down. He was glad that it is just him and Ms. Wakita in the restaurant at the moment. He would not want anyone to overhear their conversation about you. 

“Your friendship with the Motsubishi scion has been well-documented since the start of your professional career. Rumors about your couplings have been circling since before,” Ms. Wakita points out.

“No comment.” His media training kicks in with his mouth full.

She rubs her temple a bit. “What did I say about you showing a little vulnerability?”

“I didn’t even say anything about my dad before you psychoanalyzed me!”

“Well was I wrong?”

Damn, she’s good. “...I thought you were a sports reporter.���

“Reporting on the players’ personal lives is a big part of it,” she coolly responds. “You should read my articles on Ohtani’s translator embezzling his funds, or the Yuki Tsunoda puppy interview I produced.”

“This isn’t about puppies though…” His shoulders are tense. “She’s just been my friend for as long as I can remember. Her family has always been good to my family– especially to my mom–and I know how much they value privacy. She is at a really crucial point of her career working to inherit one of the biggest conglomerates of the world. She and I definitely wouldn’t risk a secret pregnancy.”

He is impassioned when it comes to you.

“Woah…Can I quote that?” Ms. Wakita glanced down at her phone recording their conversation.

He deflates. “Yeah yeah sure whatever. You’re right, this isn’t the first time someone has made up stuff about us. Lovechild is new though. The last time it was an arranged marriage.”

“If it helps, online reaction has always been generally positive at the idea of you two coupling up,” she tries to be helpful. “Both of you are celebrities in your own right. You’re both young, wealthy and attractive. It fulfills a lot of people’s fantasies. The engagement rumors came about only because you two have been publicly attached to each other for so long.”

It does help. A bit too much. His heart picks up. Of course Ken has read all the comments whenever those articles came out over the years. You visit him in L.A. whenever you could, and those visits helped a lot with maintaining your friendship. There are multiple photos of you attending his career-defining games wearing his baseball jersey— the oversized look making you seem like his perfect WAG sitting beside his mom.

Ms. Wakita reads this on his face, clear as day. She figures that he is telling the truth about you and him never ever being romantically involved, but there seems to be something additional brewing on the surface. Putting on an unassuming tone, she asks “So I guess that’s it? You both can’t imagine being involved?”

He leans back on his seat, confidently answering “Yes, we both think it won’t work out long term—”

He proceeds to unlean as the realization causes him to hunch over. Oh fuck. Oh fuck. Oh fuckity fuck. She really can get the devil to confess his sins.

She tries not to look too thrilled about his slip up, which he can commend her for.

“W-What I mean is that neither her nor me— it’s not happening. It never happened,” he stammers. He needs a new media trainer.

“I’m sure you recall that there have been photos—”

“Of her at my games? Of course she was, haha!” He did NOT need her to mention their other photos right now.

Please don’t.

Please don’t. Please… He is supposed to be moving on. Which he has!

“—that pop up over the years of you two being overly familiar.” She finishes.

God kill him. “All alleged. They’re too blurry to be sure it is us.”

“...Some looked like pro shots to me.”

Ken nearly slams his face on his tonkatsu.

“The one where you’re both getting smoothies at Erewhon was cute?” She sounds honest, and she is. She isn’t even going to report on this. It is already evident that the gossip is a sham, but she cannot help but want to tease the baseball player a bit, now that they are sort of becoming acquainted.

He sighs. “Thanks. It was the Ken Sato wheatgrass and bone broth blend. She didn’t like it.”

He remembers that day. You made a face when he tried to get you to take a little sip, so he blew some raspberries against your cheek and maaaybe just a little on your neck as you both stood in the parking lot; you were shrieking for him to stop as his smoothie-covered lips smothered your skin. All friendly, of course.

“Where did the lovechild thing even come from?” Ken thinks aloud. “She looks too great to be pregnant.”

Ms. Wakita, known single mother, asks “...Do women not look great pregnant?”

“Oh you know what I meant,” He snaps as she covers her mouth with a napkin to laugh.

She stops the recording on her phone to slide him the online tabloid article. Allegedly, he and you fought about him being an absent father at the restaurant last night as you have endured your pregnancy all alone. The story ends with a sweet coupling at the parking lot before you left on separate vehicles, a marker that neither of you planned to get married, or a possible abortion in the near future. What. 

“You have a thing for parking lots?” She tries to joke.

His eyes nearly bulge at one line. “‘ The Motsubishi scion ate for two as she devoured a Yakisoba platter all alone—’ It was a decently sized portion for a reasonable price! And I definitely am not an absent father!” He says the last bit with a bit too much vigor.

“I didn’t write it,” She tries to keep his emotions in check. “...I did nearly believe it for a moment though when you called me last night. Was it an hour or two after you met up with her at the yakisoba place?”

He admits that if he was in Ms. Wakita’s place, he would’ve also thought he was secretly raising a child. He wonders whether the Baby is awake right now, terrorizing Mina. “Totally unrelated events.”

“And the apparent baby book purchases in your credit histo— how did a gossip mag get that information?” She marvels as she scrolls through her phone.

He doesn’t know what’s worse: the world finding out that he is raising a giant baby lizard in his basement or people thinking that he’s an absentee like his own dad.

A red blinking light catches Ms. Wakita’s eye. “Are…you gonna get that?”

Not hearing her at first, he runs a hand through his face. God he really did not want to imagine your reaction to this news article. He promised you that it would not be weird. The past is past. If your friendship is already in danger, this might ruin things even further. Oh he can already hear the alarm bells ringing in his head—

Or from his watch?!

“Hey, you don’t have a kid growing in you right now, do you?” Your assistant asks you as she glances at your stomach.

You were both in one of your sleek city limousines on the way to a late evening banquet, where you are due to give a speech. The traffic jam in front of you stretches a kilometer. You follow her gaze. “I thought this suit was slimming.”

She passes you her phone. Huh. ‘Motsubishi Scion Gets Impregnated by Famous Baseball Star.’  You pass the phone back to her. “I don’t want to see the kind of porn you’re looking at.”

“Young Master, it’s an article about you and Ken Sato.” Your assistant was not in the mood for your jokes right now.

You just shrug, taking your phone out to send a few quick texts to Ken. You are sure he probably heard the news by now, and he will definitely agree with you that it is as hilarious as it is ridiculous. “It’ll blow over.”

As you look back out of your window, you’ve already forgotten about it. Seems like a slow day for the newsroom.

At the horizon, you see a PacMan proudly sticking out from the top of a building get knocked down by some beam of light. You yawn and stretch back out on your seat. “Can we go any faster? I want to get this banquet over with.”

Your driver sighs. “This new kaiju attack is impossible ma’am. Apparently, it is just running around without any clear direction.”

“Well I don’t think a monster would have access to KoogleMaps,” you reply wryly.

It was going to be a long night. You begin to settle in for a nap while people are exiting their cars and running out into the streets. Their screams of terror sound muffled inside your bullet-proof vehicle.

“Should we get out too?” Your assistant nervously asks.

You lift up your foot and rest it on your knee. “I’m wearing So Kates. I don’t think I can run either way.”

As you say that, your security detail at the front of the limo begins getting out. Ugh, Tokyo is the worst… You need to fly out soon. He opens your car door and extends a hand out. “Let me carry you, Young Master. Better to evacuate now.”

“Must I?” You groan in frustration.

“We can skip the banquet and take you home,” he compromises. Begrudgingly, you step out of the vehicle just in time for the pinkest…chicken lizard to pop up at the corner of the street.

Immediately, you are swept off your feet as your security detail rushes to escort you and your assistant away from that thing as fast as possible, the wind is knocked out of your lungs. You peek over the shoulder of your bodyguard for a better glimpse at the chirping beast.

You lock eyes with it.

Big mistake.

Because why the hell did it flitter with excitement and began chasing you?!

It keeps chirping, and… burping?... as it hobbles and stomps over cars. Your jaw drops as your limo is flattened like nothing. And for some strange reason, the monster’s eyes are solely trained on you.

Did I do something to piss it off? You ask yourself as it gets closer. You know you can be a bitch but you would remember if you told it to fuck off. No, this monster is chasing after you like it knew you. There was no aggression in its oddly proportioned body, like you are being chased by that grotesque baby in the Tin Toy Pixar short. There is no moral compass behind those beady little eyes, just the pure pleasure-seeking nature of baby hedonism.

It gets closer, and your bodyguard’s legs can only run for so long. He screams bloody murder as he feels himself get picked up, you along with him, by the beast. You hear another scream that sounds like your own voice as you feel yourself get ripped from your bodyguard’s grasp. The monster puts him back down on the street, his landing relatively gentle.

You are being shaken like a rattle now in its claws, its gurgling filling your ears. “Oh my god.” You feel yourself getting sick from the nausea. You never thought you were going to die like this. Your legs flail in the air helplessly but your So Kates stay on, pinching your toes like you are about to give them the best shoe advertisement Louboutin can ask for, with how it feels glued to your feet.

The ground rumbles as if a giant springs through the streets. Your life does not flash before your eyes, but you can hear it in your ears— a very clear ring of Ken shouting “Baby! Put down the human!”

…

Huh?

You felt your body decompress as the monster’s grip loosened. Air returns back into your lungs, but you don’t find yourself returned to the ground.

Instead, you are being lifted up way higher into the sky as you lay on the palm of Tokyo’s hero: Ultraman.

You hiss as your eyes burn from the blinding lights of Ultraman’s unblinking lenses. “Are you okay—?” He says your name with a rising panic. You can swear you saw his chest light threaten you change colors. He is cradling you against it.

You did not know Ultraman can be this friendly with Tokyoites. You struggle to regain your ability to speak, a bit confused and frazzled from everything that just happened in the past minute.

The hero takes this as a bad sign. “Oh god you’re hurt.” There is an ache in his words that shakes up your own core. No one has ever sounded this worried for you.

Man is he bright . You try to shield your eyes from his light. You are brought up close to his face as he inspects your body. “I– I’m fine,” You manage to rasp out. You are initially not sure he heard you, but the evident sag of his colossal, broad shoulders affirms that he did.

You have never gotten to observe the hero this up close. Despite the unemoting face, you find his body to be an open book as it trembles with the fear of losing you. Even if he must be like this with every other citizen in need of saving, you cannot help but feel a little special.

“I was so worried— wait here for help.” He lowers you on top of a roof building, his fingers shaky, worrying about dropping you. You shakily slide off his palm, patting down your suit. You stumble a little on your stilettos, and instantly his massive hands crowd you once more to hold you up. " Please be careful."

“Ultraman!” You shout as you push away his fingers. “I’m okay, thank you!” You point towards the Tokyo Tower, where the baby-like kaiju was already climbing up. “You gotta deal with that first! Leave me, I’ll be alright."

“Huh? Oh, yeah, god… ” The hero curses, getting ready to sprint towards the tower. “Be a good girl and stay put, yeah?” He says to you before running off.

Your feet wobble on your heels as you nearly keel over from the adrenaline coursing through your body. That… you are never leaving the house again during a kaiju attack. Though… you watch as the slim figure of Ultraman begin to climb the tower after the kaiju. Maybe it won’t be that bad next time.

Later that evening in the Ultrabase, Ken excuses himself from the company of his father, Mina and the baby as he heads towards the bathroom for a long-awaited shower. His muscles ache with every step, and he is tempted to pass out on the cold floor— wouldn’t be the first time since getting this newfound responsibilities.

This is getting too overwhelming. He still cannot believe he felt so cornered against the wall that he had to call his dad for help like some kid. If only you saw him now. You were oddly closer to his dad than he was.

Oh shit, you.

You, who he left stranded on some random building.

He quickly fumbles for his phone, eager to call you to see if you’re alright.

Shit , he feels some tears of frustration welling up in his eyes. He is fucking everything up. He is a bad son, a bad father, a bad friend.

Ken opens his messaging app, and he first sees the texts that you sent earlier in the evening.

…

[YOU]

Hey bbgirl.

You pregnat? Pragnent?

My mom is gonna hand you a stack of 20M yen just to stay away from me. Are u g to take it so we can split it after? LOL

Not rlly in the mood to be ur baby daddy atm. get a DNA test before i send child support.

SENT LINK: Motsubishi Scion Gets Impregnated by Famous Baseball Star.

Bc if one of us left that restaurant pregnant it definitely would not be me

A/N: Ultraman fine as hell have you seen his waist?

This chapter was supposed to go A LOT differently from how it ended up being. It was initially supposed to be an extended conversation between you and your assistant about your past...whatever you had...with Kenji during your visits to L.A. But I actually really like writing Ken POV because him and I are pretty similar?

[stripedstarsblueflags]

Goodbye to a World

reading between the lines of the various goodbyes and dismissals to logan sargeant

Pt. 1: Williams App

full series

i don’t have to say a whole lot about the end of july. the wait is over! our second seat for 2025! carlos’s video which was professional and respectful and obligatory. williams garage’s video, which was appalling and shameful and disgraceful. we remember, we were there. something to recall, though– you guys remember how there was NO logan announcement? like NONE? we scoured social media like we were stalking our ex and there was nothing?

so we though– or at least, so i thought. i didn’t find the official logan departure announcement until weeks later, and i’m going to have to do this off the top of my head since in the past few days it’s been taken down, but i finally fucking found it– it’s in the williams app. hard to find because you have to scroll through five or six videos first, all under the category:

every time i genuinely think okay, this time it really can’t get worse, we smash through rock bottom like it’s a chassis in australia and hit another. even looking at this old screenshot makes my blood boil. i’m not going to be very coherent so let’s just break this down and phrase all the fuck-ups in a list:

- the only way to find the message is if you have the app. if you PARTICIPATE IN MORE TEAM MARKETING/PROMOTION PLATFORMS. you have to have an account, too. sainz gets eight posts on every single social the team can admin at once, including links, but logan’s post is essentially an easter egg.

- logan’s goodbye post isn’t its own post, it’s included in the sainz category. he doesn’t even get to be an individual figure leaving the team; he’s an event, he’s a side effect, just a domino tipped by another much more important decision. the end of his entire future is a footnote. it’s causation. it’s collateral.

- his cute lil article? it’s titled Thank you, Logan: His Williams Journey. it’s not even titled about logan. it’s williams saying “hey! look at us lovely guardian angels 😌 see how we took this poor little bird under our wings 😊 we’re so philanthropic and generous 😊 read along and find out all the amazing things we did for our little buddy!” it’s promo. it’s propaganda. in the midst of their announcement that he’s being kicked to the curb they take the opportunity to pat themselves on the back for everything they’ve done for him. it’s not enough to bury him alive, they had to dance on his grave too.

- i think there’s a good chance a robot wrote this. either that or they picked the most unoriginal journalist they could find.

that’s just humiliating. a thirteen year old on wattpad describing someone’s eyes as cerulean orbs makes a more captivating point than this.

- james consonants has one quote in the article. he’s the only one who’s quoted. the rest of it is about logan’s carer in junior series with williams driver academy. the last sentence is:

this is going to be more relevant in the posts ahead, when jv pops off once again. but can i also say how revolting it is that the message comes from james? when logan gets dropped early the wording gets a little different, but in the initial announcement (if you can even call it that) it’s all about james. what james has to say to logan specifically. williams’ whole thing is that they’re a family team, birds of a feather that stick together, they have each other’s backs and love and friendship and lalala all that bullshit. one would THINK it would be in their best interest to remember who they are. but nope. instead we get james making a point to single himself out so that he alone gets to show off how kind and forgiving and gracious he is to logan and the lack of a team statement gives the implication that the rest of the team didn’t even care. didn’t even notice. of course that isn’t what’s directly communicated but how sloppy and careless can you get with the wording that that message can even be interpreted IN THE FIRST PLACE?

all in all, williams is telling the world:

logan is not even worth effort. it’s not enough that they’re going to abandon his strategy, give him the shittier car, ice him out in his own team, not give his car any upgrades until over halfway through the season… they’re going to make sure we know that he isn’t even worth good writing. the lack of respect and decency and acknowledging someone as a human being with a sentient presence in the world is so severe that even on the fucking internet, where all they literally have to do so much pr and image management, they don’t have the words.

williams is making sure we all know: logan is so worthless he’s not worth taking the time to say that he’s worthless. they talk about underperformance, and this is the way they treat their team members. their fucking drivers. the faces of the brand.

it’s almost comical. it’s unbelievable. if someone was writing this in a story and i was proofreading, i’d tell them to tone it down, because at this point the antagonist is becoming too villainous to be believable; they’re a caricature, a parody.

but no. this is actually happening.

(to be continued)

[wyrmfedgrave]

Pics: HPL denigrates Walt Whitman!

1. Lovecraft's Weird Tales poems - collected!

2 thru 4. Walt Whitman, considered one of the U.S.'s most important writers. Certainly one of its most influential.

5 & 6. A quote from Whitman & a quote about him...

1912: "Walt Whitman" fragment.

Intro: An unfinished poem putting the "Father of Free Verse¹" down. Or, so Howard hoped²...

Bio: Whitman was an American journalist, philosopher, novelist, essayist, poet & Civil War nurse!

Walt's major works are described as a mix of transcendentalism³ & realism.

Whitman is best known for his book of poetry, "Leaves of Grass", which celebrates nature, love, democracy & friendship.

Walt also worked as a school teacher, printer, newspaper editor, carpenter & civil servant.

Plot: This isn't any kind of a balanced job of criticism. It's mostly HPL's take- down of Whitman & resembles a modern rap battle in style.

Except that it's all one sided⁴.

Mostly, Lovecraft describes Walt as a writer who "delights... rakes (&) warms (up) swine."

Walt, Howard states, has "sunk to the level of the beast, (his) wit run wild."

Continuing in this way, HPL decries how Whitman's "rough brain... play(s) the brute alone."

And traces these "gross thoughts (to) Adam's beastial child⁵!"

Then, Lovecraft further puts down Walt's talent as mere "fevered fancy (that) shuns... measured pace⁶."

And traces this to Whitman's "copies (of) Ovid's filth⁷, without (any) grace."

Then, Howard really gets personal...

Claiming that Walt was "void of (any) shame", "adverse to culture" & "never knew the pleasures of the mind."

Ouch...

The most telling put down has to be how Whitman is "strange to human- kind⁸."

Notes:

1. Free verse is poetry with no classical structure or rhyme. It's different from prose due to its rhythm, 'heightened' language & word placement.

2. When it 1st came out, Walt's work was considered obscene! So, the prudish HPL wasn't alone in his criticism.

But, it's strange to see Lovecraft defend the same establishment that didn't understand what Howard himself was doing.

3. Transcendentalism is an American philosophical school concerned with pantheistic mysticism.

Though Whitman was a bit of a religious skeptic, he was into pantheism. This is a belief of "God being in everyone & everything."

4. Or, as David Howard put it, "That's the most bizarre bit of poetry I've ever read. Lovecraft criticizing Whitman in the style of Pope!"

But, actually, Howard criticized most of the fiction of his day, blaming consumer capitalism for corrupting literature itself!!

And, Lovecraft looked down on most professional writers. All because they wrote of 'mere' human interactions - something that he wasn't interested in doing or reading about.

5. This is a reference to Cain, who - in some Hebrew legends - becomes a beast & is hunted down to death.

6. HPL hated Whitman for giving free verse respectability.

Howard didn't approve of anyone defying the classical standards that he, himself, strongly supported.

7. Ovid's 'filth' must describe one of the Roman poet's main subjects - sexual passion.

As we have already seen (in an earlier post), Ovid also wrote on mythology & the sorrows of exile.

8. Walt's poetry was, at 1st, unpopular. His celebration of sex & exploration of taboo subjects led to the censorship of his work.

It's not just that Whitman's free verse was seen as too radical. "Leaves of Grass" also contains some overt sexual & homoerotic references.

Mild in our porn obsessed, modern world. But, it led to "Leaves" being banned from libraries, schools & book stores!

Weird Bits:

1. Walt's work was used, by socialists of the time, as evidence of the sexual depravity of capitalism!!

2. Whitman's work got a very different reception in Europe - where he got more respect than in the U.S.!

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

I often think about the Taylor swift quote "famous people stay the age they got famous" (I'm paraphrasing here). In some ways i feel harry hasn't had the chance or the opportunity to grow and mature at the normal phase, especially in light of him saying the two months or so he stopped during covid was the longest he has been in one place since 16.

I feel you can tell in the way he talks about himself in interviews. The Rolling Stones interviews are especially easy to compare, the last two interviews he said almost identical things about his last two albums (they're honest, they're free, THIS TIME he doesn't care about commercial success even if he obviously does).

In the way he speaks about his friends it's especially apparent. This being largely based on my view that he isn't the best friend. With not having too many friends he's able to keep over time, the Adam thing, expecting people to be able to drop everything to live in a studio with him for months when he and his friends are getting older and having kids. And the way he speaks about his friends seem weird to me? They allow him to be vulnerable and free etc etc, and this is somehow new to him at the age of 28 when it seems more like a minimum requirment?

Idk I'm rambling, but thoughts?

I think there are all sorts of ways that Harry has been shaped by his experiences and has had options for growth and development cut off.

But we don't know him. We don't know how he relates with his friends. We're certainly not in a position to understand or diagnose anything about those relationships.

Those profiles tell us far about how he navigates being a public figure and what he feels safe (or the far larger category what he doesn't feel safe) telling us. They don't tell us how he navigates his personal life or his relationships or what he actually thinks and feels about making music.

In short - big picture I think you're right, but profiles are sources for what people are prepared to say to journalists, what a journalist observes, and what a journalist is able to convey to the public. Treating them as anything more and trying to understand someone's life from them is leaping to conclusions with no evidence.

[humansofnewyork]

Yesterday I shared the story of Ghanaian photographer Paul Ninson. For anyone who didn’t have time for all twelve chapters: Paul had a child at a young age, and taught himself photography to support his daughter. There were few resources available to him. As Paul explained, ‘It was hard for me to find a single photography book in Ghana.’ Paul was also frustrated that most photojournalism in Africa was being done by foreign journalists. When Paul was given the opportunity to study in America for a year, he began collecting photography books to bring home with him, so others would have something to study. This quickly evolved into a spiritual mission of sorts. He networked with booksellers. He received donations from private galleries and collectors. And he’s now managed to collect over 30,000 photography books, enough to build the largest photo library in Africa. Which is exactly what he intends to do. And we are currently fundraising to help him. Paul has assisted me several times over the past two years, and we’ve become very close. One of the first things I noticed is that he takes his religion very seriously. One of his core beliefs, which I’ve heard him say over and over, is: ‘Givers never lack.’ Paul was struggling hard in America. But no matter what I gave him, he’d give much of it away. He’d use the money to buy books for the library. He’d send it to people back in Ghana. He set up a community fridge in Brooklyn and kept it stocked. Paul always felt commanded to pass along whatever he was given. To quote another of his favorite sayings: ‘We must be channels of blessing.’ This is the kind of person that we’re investing in with our fundraiser. Paul is going to help untold numbers of people with his library, because that’s what he cares about more than anything else in life. I’m very grateful for his friendship, and the example he’s provided me over the past two years. I’d love nothing more than if we could be a ‘channel of blessing’ for him, so that he can continue to help others. We’ve raised $750,000 so far for Dikan Center. Thanks to everyone who’s contributed. If there’s anyone left who would like to support, you can do so here: https://bit.ly/letshelppaul

[ticiie]

week 19: public coming-out

prompt from the off-season winter sport challenge

characters: Gino Caviezel, Marco Odermatt

length: 1284 words

author's note: the prolog aka pt. 1 can be read here

I meet Gino in a rooftop-bar close to the main station. The sun is shining and he’s already helped himself to an iced coffee. We haven’t seen each other in person in a while so when he spots me, he gets up and gives me a short hug. It’s obvious that he’s in an intense training state which is why I’m even more happy about our meeting fitting in his tight schedule. His first race of the new season is due in 3 months. Ever since he gave his debut in the world cup, I had gotten several chances of spending time with him, and over the years it grew into a professional friendship. He’s no longer the impatient kid I got to know so many years ago. The man that is sitting in front of me looks content. Arrived. 

“So, tell me, why am I here?”, I ask after a bit of small talk. The mood changes and suddenly, I don’t know what to expect. Gino had asked me to meet him here today, it had been his idea so I assume it must be important. 

“I’ve come clean about a lot of things recently. Stuff that I have been dragging around for a very long time but never had the courage nor the energy to tell anyone”, he starts. I swallow. “And since you are perhaps one of the only journalists I actually trust, I wanted to tell you.” 

“You’re starting to scare me. Don’t say this is you telling me you’re retiring?” 

He chuckles and shakes his head. I sigh in relief. 

“It’s not about the sport, at least not in general.” 

---

Night has settled across the valley, yet the temperature refuses to drop. Gino is leaning against the banister of the balcony, his gaze fixed to a point in the distance that had been swallowed by the darkness a few minutes ago already. He’s clutching his cell phone with both hands. Unnecessary, considering the fact it was still half an hour until 11pm. Until the interview and his personal statement would go online and with it, the reactions would come in return. His heart skips a beat. Gino is so lost in his thoughts he doesn’t hear the sliding door behind him open. Marco takes a stand next to him. Neither of them says a word but Marco eventually releases Gino’s cramped fingers from the phone. He tosses it on the chair closest to him and replaces it with his own hands. Gino turns towards Marco reluctantly. 

“It’s going to be okay”, the younger one whispers. “You’re a role model. And I'm proud of you.” Gino forces himself to look at his boyfriend who rewards him with a gentle smile and a soft kiss to his lips. 

“I hope you’re right.” 

---

One week later, Gino finds himself sitting in front of a giant mirror and swarmed by a young woman who’s trying her best to make him look less like a walking corpse. The past days haven’t been the easiest for Gino and it got visible in the dark shadows beneath his eyes, the pale skin and the fingernails chewed to the blood. Through the speaker, a cold voice announces the show would start in 30 minutes and that all guests should please gather by the side entrance in 15 minutes. The makeup artist notices Gino tensing up. She catches his gaze in the mirror. 

“Are you nervous?”, she asks. 

“Can you tell?” 

She laughs and while she continues to bring the length of the hair in the back of Ginos neck into line, she says: “I think you’re doing an amazing job. You can be proud of what an impact you’ll have, not just on your sport but on every other as well. You’re a role model.” 

Her words loosen the knot in his chest a little. “You’re quoting my boyfriend with that.” 

“Well, your boyfriend must be a very smart man then.” 

She squeezes his shoulder for a second and Gino appreciates the comforting gesture. The moment gets interrupted by a knock at the door and second later, the host of the show steps into the dressing room. He’s dressed in a perfectly fitting suit, the grey hair combed back, just like the public knows him. 

“Hello, Gino! Welcome and thank you so much for taking your time.” His smile is of honesty and Gino is more than glad that he gets to do the talk with him. 

“Thank you for having me.” 

“We wouldn’t want to miss it. Did they talk you through the questions already? Is it okay or do you need us to change something?” 

“No, don’t worry, it’s perfectly fine. I don’t want to cause any more work than necessary. I’m happy I get to do it like this.” 

“Very well then. I’ll see you in a bit.”  

Rainer leaves the room again and Gino tries to calm himself by taking a few breathes. If only Marco was here. They had talked about it right when Gino had gotten the invitation from the national television and they had agreed on it being too risky. Of course, Gino understands. Still, Marco’s presence would certainly make Gino feel a little less out of place. He pushes the thoughts about his boyfriend into the back drawer of his head and focuses on the task in front of him. It’s the first time he will talk about his coming-out while facing a camera and he assumes everyone would be feeling a bit nervous in a situation like that. His phone starts to vibrate due to a call coming in but Gino ignores it. He doesn’t trust his voice enough to make an appropriate impression. It’s probably just Marco anyways and if it’s that important, he’ll leave a message, Gino thinks. The makeup artist then announces she’s done with her part and Gino thanks her, gets up and follows the directions through the seemingly endless hallways of the studio like he was being told earlier this evening. It’s fine, he tells himself. You’re doing the right thing. 

“Hi, Gino, this is Curdin speaking. Mauro gave me your number; I hope it’s alright. I read the article and I just wanted to tell you that you can be really proud of yourself. And if you ever need help or just someone that listens, don’t hesitate to call me. As long as there’s still so little of us, we should try and be there for each other. Anyways, that’s about it. Congratulations and have a good evening.” 

---

The media’s interest in Gino doesn’t ebb away after his appearance on TV, but he starts to grab a hold on it. It gets easier to ignore the unkind comments on his social media accounts and to focus on the ones that tell him to keep going, to stay true to himself and to not let anyone get into his head that he’s worth any less. Marco helps Gino as good as he can, which is not easy considering that he decided against coming out as well. Gino would never even dare thinking about pushing Marco to that step. But every now and then, he’s able to tell that Marco is struggling. He tries to hide it, especially in front of Gino, but the older one still notices. It’s the chewing on his thumbnail and the nights he spends wide awake, going through stats and training data from former pros. Both of them are helpless in their own ways and both of them hate it equally. The only thing they can do is telling the other that yes, it’s going to be harder for a bit longer. But eventually, it’ll all be worth it. 

[queerlennon]

Lesley-Ann Jones Is Untrustworthy

So I’ve seen some people in the fandom reading and citing Lesley-Ann Jones’ biography The Search For John Lennon recently and to be honest it’s concerning to me. Lesley Ann Jones has proved in the past to be an extremely untrustworthy source for info about the people she writes about. I understand that it’s exciting to have a book about John that’s not written by the typical “Lennon biographer” type (aka an ageing straight man) and for said book to also promise to shed light and focus on his bisexuality but, if we’re going to analyse John respectfully and accurately, it’s important to identify sources that are biased and untrustworthy, even if they’re technically within our favour. Especially when it relates to his queerness. And seeing as LAJ doesn’t have the best record when it comes to writing about rockstars’ sexualities in a respectful manner, it’s best to treat her words with caution.

Info about exactly how she’s a bad source is under the cut

Firstly, it's key to talk about LAJ's journalistic background when discussing what sort of writer she is: she's worked for papers such as The Sun, The Daily Mail, and The Mail On Sunday. Essentially, the bulk of her work has been for tabloids and traditionally the writing style for those kinds of publications place an emphasis on sensationalism and gossip. Now obviously that doesn’t discredit her work immediately, authors are usually able to write in more than one style so it doesn’t necessarily mean the tabloid style is going to carry over to her biographies; but it’s good to keep in mind when discussing and analysing the legitimacy of the narratives she creates and the stories she recounts in her work. 

LAJ has received criticism in the past, particularly from the queen fandom of often overexaggerating, or just straight presenting false information in her bios about Freddie Mercury. She is the champion of the claim that Freddie was bisexual and not gay. Her evidence for this is over-exaggerating and (seemingly intentionally) misinterpreting the nature of the relationship between Freddie and his friend, Barbara Valentin. LAJ claimed that the two had a relationship and even lived together:

“Barbara was very open with me about the sexual relationship she had with Freddie.”

(x)

(x)

However, no-one in Freddie’s life has ever corroborated that Freddie and Barbara were anything but friends. As for the claim they lived together, according to Peter Freestone, an extremely close friend of Freddie’s:

In the event, Freddie never actually lived there although Barbara fulfilled a huge role in Freddie’s life at that time... Freddie became very disillusioned when with more and more frequency articles were appearing in the German press’s gossip columns... about the relationship between him and Barbara... After one article claiming to have knowledge of him and Barbara getting married, Freddie... concluded that it could only be Barbara who was providing the information.

(x)

This exaggeration of their relationship and the insistence LAJ has on presenting Freddie as bi because of it has attracted criticism from queen fans for obvious reasons. For one, it’s borderline homophobic to essentially lie about a gay man having a relationship with a woman while downplaying his relationships with men. No, she’s not portraying him as a straight man, however it’s still erasure of the specific struggles Freddie would’ve faced being a gay man in his time, therefore those who want to analyse him would be missing some of the picture when trying to understand him and his life

LAJ’s research methods are also... questionable. This is a post from Crystal Taylor (one of Roger Taylor’s roadies) about her methods for her David Bowie bio which, if to be believed is particularly concerning.

(x)

LAJ is also known to greatly exaggerate her own relationships with her subjects. She often claims to have been friends with the people she writes bios about (coincidently the people she does this with are dead.) Back in the day she would meet with artists while on tour so the idea is convincing enough. However besides her word there’s nothing to suggest that she had close friendships with Freddie or Bowie, two people she claimed to be good friends with. There’s also this comment from Brian May which actually goes against the idea that she was close with Freddie:

(x)

So with all of this in mind, let’s look at the quote from The Search For John Lennon that’s been circulating around Beatles tumblr:

That Bowie worshipped Lennon is no secret. He'd banged on about it often enough. The ex-Beatle had gone to his hedonism. They'd met in Los Angeles, during John's Lost Weekend. I lunched from time to time with David in New York while working there as a music journalist, before he married Iman. He lent me his house in Mustique, to write the first draft of my first biography on Freddie Mercury.

The crazy pair went out to play, according to David, when John was on yet another break from May and far away from Yoko. They genderbender-ed about, John indulging again that 'inner fag' of his. What larks.

They later 'hooked up': 'There was a whore in the middle, and it wasn't either of us,' David smirked. 'At some point in proceedings, she left. I think it was a she. Not that we minded.' By the time they made it back to New York, the ambisextrous pair were 'lifelong friends'.

I’m suspicious of this story for several reasons but first I want to make it clear that none of them have to do with John having sex with men or being bisexual. I’m a very firm believer of John’s bisexuality (my username is literally queerlennon lmao) but once again I think it’s good to examine the legitimacy of sources, even when they favour our position.

Firstly, LAJ’s source for this story is the claim that David told her, which considering I can’t find any info about them being friends besides her word, combined with the fact that she’s lied about having close relationships in the past raises a lot of flags.

But even if we assume LAJ isn’t lying and did know Bowie, the quote is still suspect, particularly the line “John was on yet another break from May and far away from Yoko.” According to May in her book Loving John, her and John had only one break from their relationship (the phrase “yet another break” implies multiple) that lasted a week, and for the entirety of that week, John was with Yoko. (x)

Finally, the language LAJ uses to describe John and David’s sexualities not only puts me on edge but very much makes me question her intention. Phrases like “the genderbender-ed about,” “indulged his ‘inner fag,’” and “ambisextrous,” all come across to me as fetishisation. Bisexuality is already very highly fetishised and sexualised and LAJ is most definitely not concerned with deviating from that representation. That phrasing combined with the way she also discusses Freddie’s sexuality, where she’s alleged highly sexualised claims about him having threesomes:

And quite often that involved other people as well. Other men, other women. There would be a number of them in the bedroom at any given time. In fact they were raided by the police once and the police stormed in and they found more people than they were expecting to find in the bed that morning.

(x)

— leads me to believe that LAJ is an author less concerned with exploring John’s sexuality as apart of his life, something that made him who he was, and more concerned with including details about “bisexual threesomes” as shock value, as a sensational point she can use to to promote her book in press tours and interviews. Like a tabloid writer. And this sort disrespect representation of John’s queerness, imo isn’t that much better than the biographers who dismiss or underplay it. I totally understand that for a lot of us, finding out new info about John’s queer identity is exciting, especially for those of us who are queer and identify with a lot with John for that reason, myself included. But we shouldn’t be giving credence and legitimacy to someone who firstly, isn’t trustworthy and secondly who’s reason for talking about it is gross and exploitative at best and biphobic at worst.

tl;dr, LAJ is an incredibly untrustworthy source of info and in her own over exaggerations, treats discussions of queerness in an extremely problematic and exploitive way so please take anything you read from her with a massive grain of salt.

[wenellyb]

stop deluding yourself and your followers. Mackie is quite clearly anti sambucky and it’s what drove so many people away from the ship (the only ones left are the cishet girls with a gay fetish and their head stuck up their ass)

Hello Anon,

Below my replies, I'll make it "short" and develop this when I have more time.

1) Stop deluding yourself and your followers.

Done, you have it! I'll stop it.

2) Mackie is quite clearly anti sambucky

Here's the link of a Tumblr post with the audio from that interview where Anthony talks about Sambucky.

Tell me where is the part where you can tell he's anti-Sambucky?

I'll wait and listen. You can even reply to me on anon. But let me know the exact part where you can tell Anthony is anti-Sambucky?

Because the part where he is talking about male friendships is a reply to another question from the journalist, who asks about male friendships and the journalist is the one who says they are rare in the superhero context.

The only thing he said about Sambucky was laugh and then say he doesn't follow fandom stuff.

So where did you get to that conclusion?

Anon, I'm not a categorical person, I'm really interested in dicussing when it's done properly (politely), so I have no problem admitting it when I'm wrong, but I would need more than two sentences on Anon with no context or explanation.

And I will also need to know that you are someone who has all the information they need to make a judgment. Someone who hasn't only read the headlines and top tweets, but also read the article and listened to the audio.

I read the transcripts, and listened and what I hear is that what Anthony Mackie said was put out of context and wasn't about Sambucky. Let me know if you understand something else, after listening to the audio?

I just don't understand, I give all these links and arguments and explanations and then you come in my ask box with no counter argument, no evidence, nothing, and you expect me to believe you??? How does that work?

If Anthony is anti-Sambucky, ok, I'm not saying you're wrong, but what did he say to make you believe that? What quote?

And also if you have time to spare, you can read my post HERE.

3) it’s what drove so many people away from the ship

That and it's also because the show is over. I think there are several factors.

4) the only ones left are the cishet girls with a gay fetish and their head stuck up their ass

I'll adress this part later because it's a quite interesting topic but I don't have the time to adress it now!

Besides, you formulated this in a very rude way whereas it's an important topic to be discussed and that should definitely be adressed (the fetish part, not the head stuck up the *ss part lol)

[formulatrash]

Hi hazel. Have you talked/interviewed/interacted with mick schumacher? I just feel like for a person with a very famous last name, I literally have no idea about who he is as a person. I mean I know we will never know these drivers for real, but at least with others (like lando, max, lewis, george, etc) I have a general idea of what their vibe/personality is. With mick… I have nothing. He’s just there like🧍🏼‍♂️. I dont want to call him boring but he comes across as one. 😭 Do you think it’s a schumacher thing? Or a prema/ferrari driver academy thing? I feel like he’s very media managed/coached. I dont even think he has close racing friends? I mean I know he is friends with callum but I feel like it’s not as strong as callum’s friendships with other drivers. You know how Lando is? Like obviously we dont know who Lando is in real life but we know his what his vibe/personality is. That’s why it’s easy to root for him/empathize with him. It makes him familiar. I dont get the same from Mick. He is a stranger with a capital S. He’s gives me “strictly coworker energy” if you know what I’m saying. I just feel like he keeps a distance between him and other drivers. Not necessarily bad tbh. It’s just sad. He’s seems like the type of person who comes to work and then goes home immediately when it’s done. He does not hang out or tries to get to know you beyond “coworker.” Like if you were his coworker, you would only know him as Mick the man who works in the same place as me. Nothing beyond that. I dont know if that makes sense. Sorry if this is annoying. I just want to know your opinion on him or if you have an insight on who he is as a person. This is not a negative criticism against mick by the way. I’m just genuinely curious. I hope you are well Hazel. Take care.

I think something it’s important to remember is that Lando has been around for three seasons now - Mick has only done 9 F1 races, I don’t know that we had that much of a grip on the 2019 rookies by that point, really. I was working in [REDACTED] and I definitely don’t feel like I knew much about George or Alex or Lando at this point in the season.

That being said, Mick is very carefully guarded about his private life. To my knowledge, he’s good friends with a lot of drivers and especially the ones he’s raced against in junior series but he has developed under a scrutiny and media attention very few other drivers face.

Growing up the son of Michael Schumacher meant he got very shielded from the media, which is the right thing for his family to have done. He still is, to some extent, even within the F1 circus and that’s good for Mick not having the pressure of his dad’s achievements over him constantly. 

I haven’t really ever regularly interviewed him and as a member of the press, I’m one of the people he’d be most carefully media trained and curated away from. I think if Mick decides at some point that he wants to be more open then it’s not a case of his family closeting him away, just giving him the option of making it a decision, rather than something that is by default invasive to his life.

My impression of him is that he’s very sweet and sincere and isn’t exactly a closed-off person but has also been asked shitty questions about his dad every time he was interviewed. Like when Phil Duncan asked him what he thought his father would think of his F1 debut and Mick demurred the question as personal, which he has every goddamned right to.

The first time he did a press conference as part of the Grand Prix circus, making his F2 debut, he was asked the worst things about his dad. I actually can’t find the quotes now and tbh I’m glad because the level of invasion journalists seemed to think was acceptable, including asking about Michael’s condition, was absolutely horrifying. 

Mick couldn’t even win the F2 title in his own right without Ross Brawn comparing it to Michael’s victories.

So of course, Mick is careful to protect himself and his family from that, as much as possible. I’m sure there will be plenty of cute content from him, though - Haas are doing stuff with Nikita, after all, when Mick is considerably easier to sell. There was always sweet stuff with him from Prema and FDA when he was in junior series. 

But yeah: it’s only been a few races. There’s that parasocial element of perhaps not feeling like we “know” Mick, the same way we “know” Lando or whoever but that’s kind of just an extended headcanon delusion, innit. Which, like anyone in the public eye, he’ll probably eventually have woven around him. 

[crutchie-with-a-y]

What the Newsies do for Valentines day

(this is for like in modern day high school)

Jack-Always paints/draws personal individual Valentines for all his friends, referencing inside jokes or, and these are his favorite, he’ll paint something having to do with their dreams, like Race wants to be a dancer, so he’ll paint a theatre, Katherine wants to be a journalist, he’ll pait an office door that says something like New York Times Senior Political Correspondent. 

Sarah-She’ll make little gift bags with notes, chocolates, condoms, lil sutffed animals, stickers, etc. 

Race-always buys cheap valentines from target with like kittens on them, and then rights super cringey pickup lines or suggestive jokes on them

Katherine-she’ll write little poems for everyone about themselves, complimenting them.

Davey-he’ll find little exerts from books that remind him of everyone and then make copies

Crutchie-gives a little mason jar to each person with a bunch of reasons why he loves them

Albert-Finds a picture of his favorite memory with everyone and writes a little note on the back

Les and Smalls-Les and his mom make chocolates and Smalls makes little paper boxes for them

Specs-Bakes heart-shaped sugar cookies and does ornate icing decoration

Elmer-Always gets everyone a little bottle of bubbles

Romeo-With his name, the day of love is his specialty. Keying into his name again, he likes to give out Valentines with handwritten Shakespeare quotes

Jojo-Orders custom stickers to handout

Finch-Makes a short playlist for everyone

Mush-Makes bouquets of paper flowers

Henry and Buttons-Makes insta-style edits of everyone with their favorite song

Tommy Boy-Really into friendship bracelets, he starts them months in advance.

Sniper-Makes paper heart chains out of newspaper

[handlewithkara]

Versus a depowered “human” Kara ending

I know that people have put forth the theory for why they think that the show will end with Kara giving up her powers and becoming “human”. I thought I would lay out my reasons why I don’t think it will happen. For this I will use a mixture of spoilers, discussion of themes and yes of course you can’t avoid personal preferences. 

First let me say, I don’t blame people for this speculation and that it makes the stupid or bad fans. I can see why looking at the evidence could make them come to that conclusion (for example with quotes like “Melissa:  What she stands for and always fighting for what's right, and leading with your heart and compassion and finding your family and holding on for dear life. “ or “ it's a lot of exploration of power and what it means, how do you wield it well, how do you wield it for the wrongs reasons, and what happens when you do on both sides of heroes and villains. “ or “The more Kara matures, the more she's grappled with her power and what it means to carry the powers that she has on Earth and her identity as either an alien or human, or where she belongs. Those are things we're really exploring this year with her. And what makes you strong? What makes you feel empowered? Those are things we're looking at this season across the board for all the characters. But with Kara specifically, this season is going to be more of a self-exploration, looking in the mirror and [contemplating] what her power means because it's almost limitless and it makes her so strong on Earth. Where does she draw the line? How does she reconcile that with her humanity?”), I’m just going to share why I don’t think it will be the ending the show goes with. 

Things we know about the ending - quotes: 

Quotes from Melissa:

-  they pitched me the end, and it's really lovely. It's a great ending. I feel fantastic about it  

-  "Story-wise, it's really lovely the capacity in which [James, Winn and Mon-El] return."

-  She said she would be willing to put on the Supergirl costume one more time to convince [her son]."If he asks, I would do it," Benoist said. "Something tells me he probably won't. [He] might be embarrassed." 

-  Of course, I’m not going to give anything away, but I am very happy with the strength and the empowerment that comes with the way we’re ending the series for Kara.

- it’s our heartfelt wish that her legacy echoes the central message of Supergirl: embrace the hope, the inspiration and the supwerpowers that live within yourself

Quotes from Chyler: 

- Question: Are you content with where Alex’s story ends? Chyler: It’s bittersweet. [..]  It’s going to be a “to be continued” kind of thing. It’s understanding that, OK, they’ve reached a certain point in their life where it’s almost like the audience can hopefully give them permission to imagine them having some time to be happy and it not be dire straits all the time. There’s always going to be bad guys.

Things we know about the ending from behind the scenes pictures: 

- Alex and Kelly will have a wedding and very likely Alex will finally get to adopt a kid like she has always wanted. 

- James, Mon-El and Winn are back for the finale and take part in the big battle. Kara is still flying in that battle. 

- A part of the battle is the people of National City rising up and helping out. 

- There is a scene where Andrea and Lena create something dedicated to William Dey. There is a scene of Nia posing with a flag and Kelly is present. 

- Alex will appear in the Flash crossover which is set after Supergirl concludes, potentially together with Kelly. Kara/Melissa won’t take part. As per her quote Melissa very likely doesn’t plan on playing Supergirl any time soon. 

The feminist message of Kara giving up her special powers

To me, there has always been a feminist message in women having powers and getting to use them. If you compare it to how how the journeys of Kara’s male colleagues have gone, traditionally they have gotten only more powerful over time, such as with Oliver dying and returning as an almost all powerful being. 

To me the message of taking the most powerful character in the Arrowverse who happens to be female and telling her “you have to give up your powers for the greater good” seems just kind of wonky to me. Not that it couldn’t be done at all, but I find it at least somewhat questionable rather than “I heard it and I got it immediately”. (is it really a great example of strenght and empowerment for Kara to give up her special powers? Is it really a lovely occasion for Mon-El, Winn and James to return to watch Kara give up her powers? As opposed to the occasion being that all of Kara’s friends, all the people she inspired to be heroes, powers or no powers get together to help her defeat the baddies) 

Especially since in the context of the show, these powers are an inherent part of Kara, just like they are for Nia and J’onn. And the show has consistently shown as the powers also being something that give Kara great joy (particularly flying). 

Diversity versus hegemony

Supergirl has always used aliens as a metaphor for immigrants and bringing up various aspects like suspicion against aliens, their rights as full citizens etc. 

It seems to me that for the way the show has used this metaphor the more suitable message would be aliens and humans living in harmony with each other and the aliens can keep having their powers. To resolve this conflict by Kara just “becoming human” seems like an odd fit for me compared how the show has handled this topic so far. 

Especially considering how Melissa has recently frequently brought up season 4 and citing that she liked it precisely for the political storylines it had. That being the very same reason where Kara contemplates embracing her heritage in public. 

There has been a lot of moaning about the potential implications of “giving up your life for a dude”, but I would bring forth, isn’t “giving up your heritage, giving up an integral part of yourself for anybody” still a pretty wonky message (presuming that the end would be something like “Kara gives up her powers for Alex, so she can be human with Alex, since the sisters are the heart of the show” [as it does not appear that Kara gave her powers up to defeat the big bad, since she still seems to have her powers in the big battle, so it would have to be what... Kara asking Nyxly or Myxy to take away her powers?], it just seems to me that in such a scenario, wouldn’t the greater love be where the other person doesn’t need or want you to give up such a huge part of yourself and instead loves you the way you are?

To me it just seems like the more uplifting message would be if aliens can keep their powers and still be accepted for who they are. 

Powers are used to bring down the big bad

Having a badguy with the power to do everything at the snap of a finger would be an excellent setup for Kara to lose her powers. But if the message of the show is supposed to be that no-powers is as good or even better than having powers, wouldn’t you expect that be reflected in how the big bad is handled? If the end of Kara’s story was that she gives up on having superpowers and focuses on being just a journalist, wouldn’t you expect then that journalism is what brings down the badguys? Wouldn’t you expect a big battle where Kara does not have powers but beats the badguys anyway to show off that powers are not needed at all even when facing down the biggest bads? 

Instead it looks to me like Kara still very much has her powers in this confrontation (we see her doing a superhero landing) And she is still wearing her superhero suit. Again if the central message of the show was wouldn’t it be more powerful if the big final battle would feature Kara facing the badguys down in her human, reporter outfit? 

Kara wouldn’t leave her friends

I find this claim strangest of all. Because Kara has left her friends before. She left to live on Argo. And if you look at those episodes, she did not come back because she missed her friends so much and realized she could not live without them. She realized she did not like it there, that she didn’t fit in there because even in a mostly peaceful world where Kara has no special powers compared to everybody else Kara could just not stop superheroing and she returned because earth was in danger. 

Back in season 3 when Kara tried to leave, all the people in her life were arguably in a way worse condition than they presumably be at the end of season 6. In season 3 Alex was still alone and still saddened by her breakup, just on the verge of taking steps towards her goal of motherhood. At the end of season 6 she will presumably be married to an equally heroic partner with the adoption she has been craving going through. 

In season 3 Lena was still clueless about the inner workings of superheroics, by the end of season 6, Lena is in the know, part of the team and has forged a lot of new friendships and might presumably even get more active powers of her own and it stands to reason by the end of season 6 Lena will be truly free of her family influence. Nia has grown into her own powers. Compared to the last time Kara left, everybody is in an even better shape.  

Would Kara really stop being a physical hero if she lost her powers? 

One component of the speculation is that whatever the ending is, it must provide an explanation for why Kara isn’t taking part in crossovers. Yet... Alex has no superpowers and she is still a hero. And every time Kara lost her powers in canon, she still kept on being a hero. So even if Kara gave her powers up permanently why wouldn’t she just join Kelly and Alex in being a technology based hero? 

I find it much harder to believe that a Kara who stays would sit by idly while Kelly and Alex put themselves into phyiscal danger. To me, a setup where Kara is still a superhero, just physically elsewhere and trusting Alex to hold down the fort just works a lot better than Kara not joining physically when she is basically around the corner and the show has plenty of technology lying around that would allow her to stay a physically active hero. 

It just seems odd to me that she couldn’t do both yet at the same time Alex presumably stays active as a hero. So is staying a vigilante superhero something worthwhile (even as you can have a positive influence on the world as a social worker or a reporter) or is it not?  If it’s not worthwhile, why is Alex still doing it and if it’s worthwhile and Kara’s beloved sister is doing it, why would Kara stop doing it, when in the past, she has always shown herself to still act heroically even when she had no powers? 

Is being human is better than having powers, shouldn’t J’onn and NIa (or Mon-El for that matter) give up their powers too? 

If the core message of Supergirl is supposed to be that not having superhuman powers and just acting with human empathy and ingenuity is better, why don’t J’onn and Nia give up their powers? if let’s say sacrificing powers was a requirement to defeat the big bad, wouldn’t that also affect J’onn and Nia? 

Yet when Nicole Maines was interviewed and asked how she would like Nia’s story to continue after Supergirl she talked explicitly about wanting to develop Nia’s powers more and how she wants Nia to become even more powerful. Something that seems kind of at odds if she just comes off a show where the presumably celebrated end is the main character losing her powers. 

If Kara has lot her power, why isn’t she present right there in the front line in those scenes with Andrea, Lena and Nia? 

If the aim of the show is for Kara to become “human” and focus on her work as a reporter and the various way that humans can inspire each other and lift each other, wouldn’t you expect Kara to be part of it? To either cover it as a reporter or to even be part directly when for example sort of inspiring organization is being created? 

Kara not being in those scenes to me makes more sense if she either isn’t there and these scenes communicate how various other characters carry on her mission OR if she at the very least still has her powers and flying over them in a way that is added as CGI later. 

Anyway, these are the reasons why I personally find it rather doubtful that the show will go with a depowered or “human” Kara ending. 

I personally lean towards what I call a “Graduation” ending, an ending where Kara looks down with pride on all heroes she helped inspire and moves to some other location to be a hero there or hone her heroing there, feeling safe in the knowledge that she is leaving the protection of earth in capable hands and that her message is still being carried forth by the people she has inspired. 

Another option of course could be that she just stays as a superhero as before, and they just don’t care to have any particular explanation for why she isn’t taking part in crossovers. 

Maybe the strength and empowerement could come from full circle from the pilot in her standing tall as a powerful hero with a army of people she inspired behind her and finally being open about her secret identity, as an alien (as mirror to Kara revealing her powers to the world in the pilot, it is Kara revealing her identity to the world). 

In the end, it be will a question of personal preference and we’ll probably have to agree to disagree which ending seems more likely and just a couple of months from now, we will see what the show goes with, what they felt was more suitable and what Melissa thought made a “lovely” ending for Kara’s character. if Kara “turn human” in the end and Melissa is happy with it, whatever. I can live with it. But with the things are now, I’m skeptical that that would be their ending. To me it would just seem like an odd fit with the overall messaging of the show (yes even with all the talk about human hearts, but what does it say about the rest of the characters who are also aliens?) and a rather dubious place to leave the character in and imo doesn’t really provide a lot of advantages to Kara keeping her powers and staying in town when it comes to explaining her position vis a vis the rest of the Arrowverse. 

[rhysismydaddy]

Upcoming SJM Works...

I have three fics started, and I don’t know which one to work on first, so comment down below your choice (posting in the next couple days) and let me know if you wanna be tagged in any. I know the synopsis are trash, but I promise the fics aren’t. Hopefully.

__________________________________________________________

After Midnight (Feysand)

Synopsis: After a tumultuous, heartbreaking relationship, Feyre Archeron turns to online dating for a break from normalcy. Or rather, to Velaris Nighttime Ventures, the most exclusive, high-dollar escort system around. She needs to ease back in to intimacy, so this seems like the perfect idea. But what happens when her escort turns out to be someone she can’t get out of her head? Someone who seems to understand and appreciate everything about her? 

POV: Rhys’s

Quote: “I remind myself once again that she's paying me to be here. I don’t deserve her. I shouldn’t enjoy it like this. Shouldn’t think about her all the time. Shouldn’t crave the taste of her skin. But, gods above I did.”

 Getting Out Alive (Nessian)

Synopsis: As an investigative journalist, Nesta is beyond used to being in uncomfortable situations. But when she ventures to Hybern to write about the dictatorship and unstable government, uncomfortable quickly morphs into deadly. She’s stuck in the middle of a civil war between the government and a group of rebels fighting for equality. It’s the story of a lifetime, so she’s not exactly thrilled when a Marine shows up to “save” her. He’s desperate to get her home, she’s desperate to expose the truth. Who will win? 

POV: Nesta’s

Quote: “If he were anyone else in the entire world, she’d have killed him days ago. But there was something about him and his determination to save her that made her pause, even consider liking him. Until he opened that fucking mouth of his, that is.”

Naughty Neighbors (Elriel)

Synopsis: Elain’s stuck in a dead end relationship, bored beyond belief with her life. When she befriends her brand new neighbor, it’s like taking a breath of fresh air. But with each day of friendship, she grows more and more drawn to him and the past he’s desperate to escape. His smile is all she thinks about, invading her head at the most inconvenient moments. He’s made his intentions with her perfectly clear, but she’s determined to resist his charms. She won’t allow him to turn her calm, quiet life upside down. Right?

POV: Elain’s

Quote: 

“I’m not taking you to bed while you belong to another man, Elain.” 

“I don’t belong to anyone.”

“Maybe not your body,” he agreed, placing a wide hand on her chest, right above her heart. “But I want this to be mine. And you’re going to give it to me.”

[cloveroctobers]

• TALIA NASCIMENTO•

IG info/bio: @/callmetalia333 | 524k followers | Journalist | TALIA. but u may have formerly known me as user: brdf0rdsvasquiff—rip!!!1! so don’t even think about it 😌

(23) 25 going on (26) years of age

I’ve read a canon that her name is just Talia and not short for anything & I agree with that + she’s always quick to correct someone if they get it wrong too

Her hometown is Watford, England

but she was originally born in Maidenhead in the backseat of a car during a severe rainstorm

Nonetheless watford taught her all she needed to know when it came to music

She found her first love when she heard the sound of music soundtrack for the v first time as a young girl but is often nervous to admit that?

her father is Brazilian and is a firefighter

her mother is Bulgarian and works as a secretary in a elementary school

her mother is more traditional than her father when it comes to their cultures

I originally felt like she gave only child vibes but I can deff see her giving off big sis energy since she did mention she has a younger brother

V protective over her little brother

there’s a three year age difference

her parents have separated multiple times before which caused a riff in the family dynamic

The constant coming and going from her dad became quite irritating

And Talia was the most vocal by wanting them to figure it out and NOT get a divorce

Which led to talia’s commitment issues when it came to relationships herself

was born with blue eyes yet they shifted to brown once she grew

“Tom-boy” growing up & still is

netball was her sport and man was it something to see her play?! She was quick on her feet and can definitely shoot far-range with ease

Always down for contact sports too

She lost count how many bruises and scrapes she would come home with much to her mother’s horror but she would always brush it off—it was never that big of a deal to her

yet she takes time in healing her scars with homemade treatments or purchases from beauty stores when she wants to show her legs off

she didn’t get into “girly” wear until recently, she never thought too much of her body or when she started to get curves...she always hid that behind big tee’s, fitted jeans, and kicks—that’s what she was used to

she’s got broad shoulders and toned arms

had thick bushy brows that almost formed a uni brow growing up

her mother used to have her hair always plaited since she is very superstitious, believing that “the devil lives in the woman’s hair”

yet talia’s hair texture was much different than her mother’s, maybe due to the fact that her mother always had her hair up and out of the way? Talia’s hair is much bigger, heavier, and naturally curly

+ her mother used to say some harsh things in Bulgarian about her hair — that says a lot when you’re taught to hate your hair trust!!!

when she got a little older and able to manage her own hair + afford it, She learned how to love it herself and that’s all that mattered. Her hair became v important to her, it was her source of comfort

that’s the only thing she’s high maintenance about tbh

she spends a lot of money on her hair but devacurl can still piss off

diffusing is one of her fav things to do to her hair—besides washing it, and deep conditioning, after a night of letting her hair air-dry

loves rose jam

has a embroidery machine, along with a collection of her work but only one piece is showcased in her flat. She didn’t want her place to look completely like her bába’s (Bulgarian: grandmother)

her closet is filled with many Havaianas, they’re all piled up in a wicker basket and ready to tumble over on her top shelf... if she moves one of the ceramic pots her mother left in her flat for luck, that whole shelf might come crashing down

Swears drinking guaraná the next morning cures any hangover you may have

commonly sleeps in big t-shirts and panties or not or booty shorts depending on her time of the month—it’s freeing to her

Has torn her achilles due to whatever contact sport she decided to join in on during a beach vacation with her mates

has a touch of arthritis in her shoulder

this is where her love for massages came from due to injuries she’s faced

+ It’s always a good sign when you can make someone else feel better ya know?

She’s been told she’s great with her hands ;) it all takes practice

bi mami *cringe* but she likes what she likes, and feels what she feels

she kinda has a type but doesn’t want to admit that

her mother doesn’t understand this but her father easily accepted her preference/orientation

her little brother was the first she came out to, “alright!...you still suck”

always wants to fix situations WHEN it comes to HER friends but is oblivious when it’s come to her own issues whether its in relationships/friendships +

was called out by one of her friends who she often argues/butts heads with from time to time “you’re always sticking your nose in people’s business but can’t solve your own shit!”

maybe it’s the journalist in her? she’s not afraid to ask questions or look at things from a outside perspective

her group of friends are all from different ethnic backgrounds to Indian to Ethiopian

has been in and out of relationships...maybe had one stable relationship? Outside of mc but that relationship failed after a year and she feels it has something to do with her parents and how she watched their relationship unfold but won’t openly admit that

Doesn’t like to argue in relationships and often is a little undermining with how she responses to her partner’s feelings...she’s trying to be better at being understanding and listening, her mother is like this with her father

Aquarius girl + Scorpio moon + Taurus rising

loves the water + watching water sports rather than playing them since she almost drowned once by letting her confidence get the best of her

used to be a directioner and isn’t ashamed to admit that!

take me home album stan 100% bitch there’s no point in arguing!!! Buh bye!!!

She is ashamed however to admit that she used to write for them, mostly ziam fics with a touch of Harry thrown in the mix as well...take that how u will

has a few merch pieces as well, they’re mostly loungewear + that powdery perfume they dropped. YES she still has it, no she won’t sell it to u

still supports them on the low since you know, she’s a music journalist and reviewing songs is what she makes a living for so why the hell not? They will always hold a special place in her heart. She grew with those boys

she’s not in denial like Hannah that they’re get back together

If someone wants her to film a reaction vid to zayn’s new album or release a written review? She WILL. Her top 3? 1. When loves around ft Syd 2. Outside 3. Unfuckwitable

If someone wants to hear her thoughts on Harry’s mv’s + breaking down his lyrics, she’ll tell you what you NEED to know whether U agree or not she don’t give a damn lol

Can throw hands and stomp a bitch out if she needs too. Has gotten kicked out of clubs/bars for defending her friends mainly not because someone chatted shit to her, that’s whatever but once you cross her friends? It’s on

Allegra got lucky 🦶🏼☕️ and Lucy

remained super close with jake and tim as expected...Rohan’s cool too ofc! but she’s not here for their rapping shit sorry. She’ll hit them both with a quick side eye and snarl if they start or if jake wants to recite some poetry. She’s outta here

Talia hardly had issues making friends easily with the boys it was always harder with the girls :/

they hang out all the time!

she actually became close with sammi as well, which was nice to have another girl friend around even tho they weren’t together in the house long like the others. She’s spontaneous, cute, resourceful, and kind so talia had no issue reaching out to her first to see what she was about outside of the show

don’t even ask her about what she thinks of the new seasons, she’s not here to chat shit and have her words twisted like she’s watched many of the cast deal with. If you want to talk about the over kill use of pop as the soundtrack for each season, then yeah she’ll talk to you about that

doesn’t use social media much, she finds it funny how whenever she does pop back in people are begging her to post SOMETHING so that they know that she’s alive

Pretty private

she also can’t grasp why they want her to do the bussit challenge? Lmao like hey don’t get her wrong, some of them were pretty great but she’s barely got a bum to bounce and little booties matter ofc!!! but she can’t see herself doing it unless she’s drunk off her arse!!!

maybe mc can convince her...for the fans duh!!! “Give the ppl what they want! Talia! It’s not like you won’t be around music!” “I’ll think about it...nah.”

she’s been busier since the show, able to tour more and WRITE which is what she loves to do

Her secret pleasure is watching those nurse shows and firefighting shows in her free time and those singing shows you already know that’s a given

Wanted to be some form of a nurse growing up but knew she could help people in another way

*inserts* “music Is The best Medicine” overused but true quote here!!

I feel like she’s a r&b lover

listens to those hour long rain sounds on YouTube to help herself fall asleep

she‘s not the best cook but she’s a foodie and she’s down to try new food always

occasionally her and Tim are jake’s Guinea pigs when he’s whipping something up for his menu 

and hates eating the same things all the time unless it’s breakfast! There’s not too much more you can do with that

that’s also her specialty, making breakfast for u in bed

Morning afters with her are intimate but humorous. She’ll poke fun if you’re both looking crazy, always joking and in the best mood whether things got physical or not she’s just happy to have you here 🥲

I think her love language is quality time

if you’re playing her route and Lucy is the ex, and you’ve decided to fully commit to each other I deff see Lucy still trying to pull some shit outside of the show just because she feels like she can but once Talia see’s that it’s really starting to get to you despite how much you try to brush it off or snap at Lucy or even Talia!!! Talia is on Lucy’s ass in seconds! She doesn’t need a ex to ruin her possible future , “you’re not gonna fuck up this good thing I’ve got just cause you’re flimsy at relationships babe, so go be a cunt somewhere else or you’ll be sorry. I promise.”

anthem: Snow Tha Product — Shut up

[wickedpact]

anyways @ THE ANON THAT ASKED ABOUT THE GREG RUCKA PODCAST TRANSCRIPT: i did it

Long Ass Post under cut

(literally not kidding there’s an hour long podcast worth of transcript under this cut)

Mimi: Hi I'm Mimi Chan, welcome to culture chat, thanks for joining the conversation. Hi everyone, happy Friday. You might want to watch The Old Guard movie on Netflix before listening today.  You can also read my film review to get hyped up for viewing – which is linked here.

Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández‘s The Old Guard comic has been adapted to film that is available for viewing on Netflix.  As the writer of both the comic and screenplay, Greg brings insights on the movie and the decisions behind some of the deviations from the comic.

For fans of the comic, have no fear, the characters and story follow pretty closely to the original.  I am fortunate that I developed a friendship with Greg during our weekly conversations and felt comfortable asking candid questions about the adaptation.

Greg shares insights about the film that prompts a discussion on how the film speaks to the crisis our country is currently in amidst the covid19 pandemic and the lack of accountability from our government.

The Old Guard, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, is available on Netflix now starring an amazing cast including: Charlize Theron and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

For those that don’t already know: Greg Rucka is a New York Times bestselling author of hundreds of comics and nearly two dozen novels. He has written for film, television, and video games. His career has included critically acclaimed and Eisner-winning work in both the creator-owned and work-for-hire arenas.

I’m loving these conversations and hope you are too.  If you are, please rate my podcast on your platform of choice.

Finally, if you would like to support with a donation, you can become a patron of the show by visiting my website or Patreon.com. For comments or suggestions, please email me at mimi@culturechatpodcast.com or reach out on social media @sifumimichan. Now on with the show! 

 [the phonecall starts]

Mimi: Hello, hello, Greg Rucka!

Greg: How you doing, Mimi?

Mimi:  Great since last week, um, I'm great also because I got to watch The Old Guard!

Greg: [BIG GASP] You did?

Mimi: I did, I did! Apparently I qualify as a real journalist to Netflix. [laughs]

Greg: [also laughs] Right, you sent the media inquiry and they said ‘sure’!

Mimi:  I said, ‘you know, what? It would be great if I actually saw this before talking to Greg, and then I could really have a conversation.’ And I was like, ‘wait, why don't I just check if I can?’ And then naturally--

Greg: Lo and behold!

Mimi: Yeah, if you ask, uh, you know,? That’s when things get done.

Greg: [finishing her 'if you ask' thought] --you shall receive, yeah.

Mimi:  That's right, that's right.

Greg:  It's interesting to me because I know that for some people... you know, they had no problem getting access...

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: And then, you know, the friends and family screenings were a freaking nightmare to arrange.

Mimi:  Oh really?

Greg: And they were like 'oh no you can only give it to only like seven people'

Mimi: Yeah.

Greg: And it's like 'oh hey dudes calm down' but, you know, uh, it won't matter come midnight tonight--

Mimi: That's right!

Greg: --Everyone's gonna have access!

Mimi: That's right. so I was so excited to be able to watch it and, um, man-- I almost feel bad talking to you right now because I feel like you must be really kind of exhausted from talking about the film --as much as you love it! I just I can only imagine that it's been hour after hour after hour of inquiry, so I feel a little guilty.

Greg:  There has been a lot of talking about the movie, yes. There has not been a lot of talking about the movie with you, however, so that that does distinguish it.

 Mimi: Ah, you are too kind to me, too kind to me. So, first of all-- and you're gonna have to sit here and just take it -- I'm just so unbelievably excited for you and a huge congratulations-- I mean-- I already knew from the trailer, that it was going to be a quality and just an intense and well-written film, because you wrote it. But, upon watching it --you know, of course, you know, Oscar [her bf or husband maybe?] got to jump into my media pass. He was privy!

Greg:  I was gonna say, did you say 'you can't come in here while I watch it', you know?

Mimi: I mean, you know-- he's not gonna tell anyone. But we were, we were completely enamored. We were super super excited, and it wasn't just an action film, you know. I think beyond that, what you and Gina brought to it was just-- the strength of the characters, which is something you and I have discussed so much, and how that is what drives a story, and so beyond it being a good movie I just really feel like you were able to tell the story that you conveyed-- not only in the comic, but, you know, come to life. And so I'm, I was, I'm just so excited for you.

Greg:  And I'm delighted to hear it

Mimi: I have been reading reviews-- I wrote my own little review-- you know, since I got the access and all, I felt like obligated but, um, obviously, I'm not the only one with this opinion. You must feel-- I guess validated is the wrong word, because I think, you know where you stand with your work, but it must feel really good being your first screenplay.

Greg:  I-- wow. um. Hm. I -- so Netflix sends, um, an email like on average once a day, sometimes it's been twice a day, with sort of like 'here's the press round up'!

 Mimi: Yeah

Greg: And so I’ve woken up the last couple days to 'here are the reviews!' and I immediately delete. Right? Because I don't want to see them, um... and that's just me, right. That’s just me trying to negotiate how I feel about... reviews and my relationship with them. And, it isn't the most mature way to deal with them, I am the first to admit, um, but I-- for better or worse, I'm in a place where I feel like, well if I invest in a review --that is a positive review-- the amount of work... um... the amount of work required to do the due diligence on the reviewer and also on then, say, negative reviews is such that I just-- I'm not going-- I can't devote it.

Mimi: Right, mm-hm, yeah, it's a rabbit hole.

Greg:  So some of the reviews-- and all that said, some of this stuff is getting to me anyway, right, I mean, I got-- you know people text me and 'oh look here's a review' and it is gratifying as hell. Uh... at the end of the day --and I learned this with my novels pretty early on, is that at the end of the day, you know, a great review is wonderful, and it'll make you feel good about yourself, and maybe it'll sell more books... but at a certain point in -- and you know this-- you've experienced this... as you make the thing, and then at a certain point it goes into the world and all you can do is be like... you know, ‘are you wearing clean underwear and hopefully you'll find a safe home’ [<-- he’s talking like he's the story's mother with that statement]. You know, hopefully-- hopefully there will-- there are people out there that will embrace. So the extension of that is that... Netflix reaches something like 130 million plus households around the world. alright, Um, I'm pretty sure out of a theoretical 130 million people who might see the movie, uh, you know -- I would be surprised if, you know, 30 percent of them didn't-- you know-- couldn't stand it. I wouldn't-- I wouldn't be surprised. Right? There are going to be people who are going to see it and it's not going to be their thing.

Mimi:  Yeah

Greg: they're not-- it's not going to speak to them-- they're not going to like the choices that we made-- that they're going to be offended, or just bored or whatever. And... Can’t do anything about it!

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: All I can do is stand beside the work that we've created and say I am proud of what we did here, and I feel that we, um, we honored the source material, and --I believe -- in many ways improved on it.

Mimi: Yeah and that's something I definitely want to get into. I mean my take was obviously-- I'm a fan of your comics, so I know the comic, I know the story, and the immediate thing as a comic book quote unquote fan is like: you're comparing, right, you're comparing the story, you're comparing the characters-- and, you know, when I wrote my little review I thought about what I could say, you know, I could I could criticize action, I could talk about this... but I really feel -- and this maybe, it's because you and I have been talking for like 11 or 12 weeks straight now, it's literally like... the perfect story at a time when we need it most.  I think there's strong women, there's a diverse cast, and ass kicking to greedy individuals of the world is exactly what we need right now!

Greg: Like oh yeah, there's some lovely wish fulfillment. Yes, you know, it's like 'oh, you know, rich selfish pharma asshole? Yeah oh no you got an axe in your head! Too bad!'

Mimi: I know! I was like, ‘so Greg, so Greg!’ and-- you know, we've talked about this before like now that I'm reading your novels and your prose, it's, it's I hear you speaking to me in my head even though usually it's an audio book-- and so even watching the film Oscar and I immediately were like 'I wonder what pharma did to piss him off recently' and, you know, so it's just it's so great--

Greg: Exist!

Mimi: -- to be able to kind of watch it-- [laughing] Exist, right right.  So, um, so let's talk about--

Greg [gearing himself up]: Let's talk about insulin prices maybe, uh, you know, I mean. Doesn’t take much--

Mimi: Yeah and you and I discussed this, uh, previously as well that you do feel that at the end of the day you wrote a better story, and I already put a disclaimer at the top of this podcast that yeah--

[Both at once] total spoiler alerts big spoiler alerts!

Mimi: --but there's no way I'm not going to talk to you about it! Which is, um, you know, the ending obviously is so, uh, different than what was laid out in the comic. One is, uh, Andy is still bleeding! What the hell! [laughs] so that's the first thing. But my big takeaway and the thing I loved, and I think that was probably a decision by both you and Gina, um, was Nile really becoming kind of the heroine and finding herself in her own, but also really the one to bring everyone back to what was purposeful and what was meaningful-- finding that why, you know, and I think that was a really really powerful choice and I actually really enjoyed that choice. So I was wondering, um, you know, for you of course knowing the story already, and then going 'okay here I am going to adapt' it like at what point did you realize like-- that was something that needed to change?

Greg:  Well, um, I mean if people have been listening to interviews some of this is going to sound a little repetitious. I will say that, you know, the first draft of the screenplay I did with, uh, Matt Grimm(?) as sort of my producer in quotes, at Skydance and when we finished it-- or when I finished it-- and he had given me all the notes and I’d done revisions, and we put it in front of Don Granger(?) at Skydance-- and Granger came back with three notes. And I have dealt with a lot of Hollywood types and in the main-- most of their notes are crap. And Granger has yet to give me a note that wasn't spot dead on. And the biggest of the three was, um, you know, he said-- I really like-- it's really good-- he says ‘Nile has no impact whatsoever on this plot. Um, if you remove her the story changes, but the plot doesn't’. And I sat there and I went-- you know, bewildered -- and I sort of looked at the source material and I was like 'you are absolutely correct. You are absolutely 100% correct'. So the big thing that happened between the first draft and the second draft was that I thought of the second draft as-- this is the Nile draft-- like the first draft had been the Andy story. And then the second draft was me going, ‘okay you have the Andy story, now what is the Nile story? Really really take a look at that and figure out how to bone it up’. So and I honestly think that in large part it was the execution of that, uh, was one of the things that Gina responded to so strongly when she was given the screenplay. And then when Gina came aboard, there was just consistent work in fine-tuning not just Andy and Nile but everybody else's stories throughout the work. But it was, um, it was absolutely, you know, I mean-- it was-- it was-- it was malice of forethought. It was-- it was 'Nile has to be able to shoulder this and we need to serve her well'

Mimi: Yeah and--

Greg:  Andy was never the question, it really was: can we do right for Nile?

Mimi: Yeah no and that really definitely shines through. And I think there's that says so much about you as a writer, as a screenwriter, as a storyteller, because there are a lot of people, um, that would not be able to have that humility in writing and maybe take that feedback and criticism. because, you know, this was not like you adapted someone else's comic, like this was already your comic, you know, so they're basically giving you notes on what's already your story-- and did you find that aspect of it, uh, challenging or was it just kind of second nature-- because I know you as a person, so I know that you would take criticism well, if it is well meant and if it was constructive. but at the same time when you're in it though, and you've put so much work into those drafts--  it's not like 'oh let me just write this' and it takes five minutes, you know? You put so much into it. So how's that process for you?

Greg: You know, it was not-- it wasn't as difficult as some people seem to think it might have been. And maybe it's simply that I'm at an age where I'm able to look at my work with some degree of objectivity and I, long ago, past the point of believing that, uh... that that the work can't be improved. and I went into the process eyes very wide open, you know, I think one of the reasons Skydance was willing to let me write the drafts was because I made it clear up front that I understood... The movie was not the comic. It needed to be a different thing, and one of the things that they were adamant about were the things that I kept. Now, I had a conversation with Granger once where I said 'I'm kind of surprised nobody ever came to me and said ‘you got to get rid of that armored car sequence' and he looked at me and he said 'if that hadn't been in there I would have wanted to know why, and I would have made you put it back. That’s one of the things that we bought' for instance. So I think, you know, if there was anything to recommend me, it was that I entered the process... fully aware that this had to be a different animal.

Mimi: Yeah, yeah.

Greg: And that was liberating. And there are certain things-- for instance, you know, um, in the comic book there's the sequence in the Paris safe house on the stairs in the apartment. And when Charlize came on one of the first notes was 'we're gonna have to change that sequence'. Because in recent memory Charlize Theron has done a pretty intense action sequence--

Mimi: Yeah.

Greg: --coming down the stairs in an apartment.

 Mimi: Atomic Blonde, yeah

Greg: You got it! And it was like oh that-- that's a gimme. And the result of that was the discovery of Goussainville right, which is this real town 30 minutes outside of Paris that is a ghost town; it's been a ghost town since the early 1970s.

Mimi: Wow, yeah it was a beautiful location

Greg: Yeah and-- and the place is real, and they didn't shoot in Goussainville. They shot-- they shot that at the same place where they shot the medieval castle flashbacks. 

Mimi: Okay. 

Greg: That's all the same estate.

Mimi: Nice, nice.

Greg: It's about an hour outside of London. Which gives you an idea of the magic--

Mimi: Of the magic of movies yeah! And do you feel like maybe because your experience as a comic book collaborator... like you have to collaborate. I’ve learned about this a lot more as I’ve spoken to so many creators -- like you and Michael for instance-- on Lazarus, like the way you collaborate, it's not 'I write you draw, period' like-- you-- there's a lot of back and forth, a lot of questioning of your decisions and-- ‘arguing’ may be the wrong term, but, you know, there is a lot of, uh, collaboration in terms of Michael giving you feedback and vice versa, and not feeling like 'oh you're stepping in my territory'. Do you feel like that is probably something that maybe even conditioned you for the screenwriting process?

Greg:  I think so. If -- I mean-- I don't wanna-- I don't wanna pat myself on the back over much. But I do think that I am, um, I think I'm certainly a willing collaborator if not always a good collaborator on projects. Um, that if the people I am working with... want to engage that collaboration, I tend to respond to it very well. Um, and I think that's something that absolutely was learned through comics. And I can think, you know, immediately of Gotham Central which doesn't exist if Ed Brubaker(?) and I don't learn how to work together with Michael Lark(?) very quickly and very adeptly--which to this day, is one of my favorite collaborations in comics ever. I don't think you get to work, like, 52 for DC, um, if you don't learn how to collaborate, and to collaborate well.

Mimi:  Exactly.

Greg: Which isn't always which isn't always saying 'yes and' sometimes you have to put your foot down and say 'no but'

 Mimi: Yeah.

Greg: Um, and there were plenty of arguments to be had, you know, in the process of this. Um, but most of those arguments frankly didn't occur until really late in the stage, and they were always focused to the same end. It was never-- that-- there was never an argument about, um-- there was never an argument about intent. there was always an argument about 'what's the best way to do it' right, 'what's the best way to execute' and, you know, I lost as many of those as I won, and... In the end... it seems to have all worked out, because, you know-- it is by no means a flawless motion picture. But I think it absolutely is a successful film. I think it does, it does, it tells its story well, it is moving, it is exciting, it is fun, it has a heart to it...and it leaves you with some questions! And they're not just plot questions-- that-- it leaves you with some stuff that if you are inclined to think about, there's a lot there's a lot to unpack.

Mimi: Absolutely. Yeah. I mean... the question, of course, that whole immortality-- like some people immediately will be like 'of course I’d want to be immortal' I'm like 'but would you want to watch everyone you know die?' and then 'all right would you be alone' and, you know, of course Booker's-- you know, um-- punishment, have you, of being alone quote unquote for a hundred years... I mean a hundred years, you know, you think-- that's a long time.

Greg:  Right.

Mimi: And so, uh, I do have to ask though what's up with Andy! Like --you're-- you left us in such a --in such a state! Oscar’s like 'you have to ask Greg what's going on with Andy' or do we not-- we cannot go there?

Greg: Look, the film has a very obviously-- very obvious 'in case of sequel break glass' scene. Right, I mean-- and that's how I've been referring to it.  The 'emergency sequel' button is right there. And all they have to do is go 'beep' and you have your entree into another story. Um, the question about Andy really is whether or not the immortality is the thing that matters, right. Where she is left at the end of the film, I think, asks some really cool questions about who this woman gets to be moving forward. Um, and should we be able to do a sequel, you bet your ass we're going to interrogate the hell out of that. Um, but... one of the things that I particularly like about the movie-- and I say this with the, you know, 'in case in case of sequel break glass' proviso, is that the movie doesn't need a sequel. The movie has an ending, it is a complete work. It does not say, uh, 'unless there is a second story this story doesn't have merit or value or mean anything'.

Mimi:  Right.

Greg: It stands absolutely on its own.

Mimi: Yeah.

Greg:  Um, should there be an Old Guard 2, then I suspect an Old Guard 2 is gonna be arguably contingent on making an Old Guard 3. That, once you enter into a second part you are actually saying 'we are we are talking about, uh, a collection, we're we're talking about a completion here' and that movement in that structure is in act 1 and act 2 and act 3. But as it stands now as you walk away from it-- all right, so maybe Andy's gonna die. You know, maybe the next day she crosses the street she's hit by a truck.

Mimi:  I'm gonna guess no on that!

Greg:  But maybe. Or maybe, maybe she gets to go for 50 years, you know, and die of old age. Finally.

Mimi:  Right, um, and I liked what she said, when there was that realization point by others that, you know, she was possibly losing her mortality and she said 'it doesn't matter, we go in the same way, and we come out the same way, as we always did' so nothing changes.

Greg: ‘This changes nothing’

Mimi: ‘This changes nothing’. And that really resonated with me because you kind of go ‘okay it's not about the immortality or the magic or the fighting or any of that', you know, it's like, who she is and what her purpose is has been-- you know, it was just I thought it was really--

Greg:  Well and I think thematically right, um-- hold on a second sorry-- um, I think, um, thematically that that is the crucial thing right? Um, it is an issue of -- okay at the end of the day... you can strip away the whole immortality of this movie and it's still saying the same thing. And it is saying that how you live your life matters. And the decisions you make, and the choices you make, and the ways you... choose to help people, matter. And they matter beyond an accounting you will ever be privileged to see. And the... obvious and I suppose easy, um, analogy for that right now is the act of wearing a mask in public. 

Mimi: Yeah.

Greg: Your decision to wear a mask in public may save the life of somebody literally on the other side of the world.

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: And that may be the person who will cure cancer, I mean, to draw it really big.

Mimi:  Yeah yeah that's the ripple effect.

Greg:  Right yeah, we don't know the value of the life. And I’ve talked about this as well but, you know, if you use the good place, um, term of moral desert--

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg:  --if you're trying to live your life in search of moral desert then-- you-- that's a fine reason to do good things, but it is a flawed motivation. That the motivation needs to be 'we do the best we can and we try to help others because that is what we should do'. And what the film is able to say 'is these people have been around long enough that it is possible to see it'

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: But that isn't the reason you do it, right. And Andy says --and I think this is important she says that to Booker-- you do it on faith. You know, she says to Booker, 'have a little faith, Book'. Um, that she has come through all of this with this reaffirmation, that there is that... there is a worthiness to the effort itself. That we engage in the struggle for the sake of the struggle. And I can't think of anything frankly more resonant in July of 2020 than that right now. We are living in a time, in a place that is genuinely the worst it has ever been in modern history. I mean it genuinely is.

Mimi: Yeah.

Greg:  We're looking at this-- this makes the start of World War II look like a fucking picnic. The crises that the world is facing and the bad actors who are attempting to keep it going, who are actively fighting attempts to fix it, uh, is staggering. We are facing a banality of evil at this moment that is incomprehensible, if you really start to think about it. And it is on every fucking level, you know, it's it is from foreign students we're going to kick out of the country--

Mimi:  I know that's infuriating.

Greg: The only reason to do that is to kill higher education, at a time when higher education is its most vulnerable. It’s the only reason to do it.

Mimi:  Yeah, it's all insidious

Greg: That is-- that is a-- that is a direct, direct attack on the intellect of the country. It is it is an attack trying to make the United States dumber, because the stupider we get the easier we are for these fucking fascists to control. Right, we have-- we are at war with Russia, but we have the GOP and the president refusing to admit it, because they work for Russia.

Mimi:  Yeah yeah.

Greg:  Right, but we are at war with Russia right now. All right, there's no question. We have a president who is actively promoting a white supremacist agenda, because he wants a race war, because he wants a civil war, because that way he won't have to lose the election and he won't have to leave, because if he leaves he's going to get raped to death when he goes to prison.

Mimi: Tell me how you really feel, Greg!

Greg:  We are-- we are literally at a staggering crisis.

Mimi:  Yeah yeah no, and when you're explaining all of those things about the film that was exactly what I was thinking was, well and that is why it's so frustrating when something as simple as, I hear people say ‘well I don't believe I should have to wear a mask' that's why it's so infuriating-- [they talk over each other a little]

Greg: --selfish thing to do

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: It is a staggering selfishness. I-- [mocking] 'oh it's hard for me to breathe wearing a face mask' it's like, 'you're the same guy who won't wear a condom because it doesn't feel good!’ you know, and it's like-- and-- I’ve got no tolerance for that, I literally have no tolerance. You know, you can't do-- it's funny, you're asking ER people to do it 24 hours a day.

Mimi:  Exactly

Greg: They seem to manage it!

Mimi: Have you seen, uh, Jon Stewart lately, he's been doing a lot of interviews and there was this one where he's like 'yeah, I mean what happened to wearing a mask as like a sign of a medical professional? So the next time you go to surgery you're to tell your surgeon 'don't you dare wear a mask, get that liberal shit away from me, because I'm an American, I don't need your mask--'

Greg: '--I don't need you I’ll take those dreams(?)--'

Mimi: Yeah yeah

Greg: It's bullshit, it's selfish bullshit, and it's propaganda.

Mimi: Yeah right.

Greg: And it comes down from, you know, it comes down from, you know, the hissy fiddler in chief.

Mimi:  Yeah. Lack of leadership.

Greg:  Exactly.

Mimi:  I'm living in it in Florida, too. Let me tell you that that trickle down is no joke, here.

Greg:  I hate to tell you, Mimi, but [sarcastic] thank you, Florida. You know. Florida: the reason why the rest of the country can't have nice things.

Mimi:  I know! Florida wins, every time it's so embarrassing!

Greg: I would be, I would consider moving [if he lived in Florida], simply because I would be infuriated.

Mimi: I know and, you know, I thought about it in 2016, but then I thought ‘I will stay and fight!’ because of you! You’re the one that wrote at the end of Lazarus to stay and fight, and now it's your fault that I'm staying! [Both laughing] 

Greg: But see and here's the thing, right-- we can, we can rag on Florida, easy target, the fact of the matter is there are plenty of Floridians who are wearing masks and looking around and being like 'what the hell is the matter with you guys'.

Mimi: Yes! So we're trying! We’re trying!

Greg: And this is the other thing the vast number of people who are trying to do right, the people who do have empathy, the people who do care, we outnumber these guys! But the problem in being in a situation where we're all in it together is it doesn't take many people who say 'I'm not in it with you' to fuck it up for everybody else. That’s the problem. And then that is tied to the fact that those of us who do look at one another with empathy are resistant to-- for instance, taking a baseball bat to the people who are ruining for the rest of us. And this is one of the things frankly that we need to get over. We need to get to a place where it is not-- it is not tolerated. We need to get to a place where-- and the starkest example is this, you know, if you're going to pull out that racist bullshit somebody needs to hit you. There was a time when racists were scared and the reason they were scared was because they got punched in the mouth. And we stopped punching Nazis in the mouth!

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: we've stopped punching Nazis in the mouth! And we have spent way too long right now trying to reason with people when they are working from a place that defies reason. If you start your argument with 'you don't have a right to exist'. I'm not going to convince you! I have no obligation to convince you! None! None whatsoever! You look me in the eye and you say 'because you're Jewish you should die,' I get to say, 'guess what, here's the baseball bat'. That does not engage me. I will engage you about policy decisions.

Mimi:  Mm-hmm yeah.

Greg: You know, Mark is fond of saying-- I remember he said 'I missed the days when I used to be able to argue with my republican friends about policy'.

Mimi: Yeah yeah I know.

Greg: You can't do that anymore, now it's about ideology and it's not even valid ideology. It is a demonstrably invalid ideology and we know it.

Mimi: Yeah yeah yeah the moral compass has been completely destroyed.

Greg:  And we know how that happened and we know why that happened.

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: And we all know that Mark Zuckerberg is not doing anything to fix it, because Mark Zuckerberg is a chicken shit.

Mimi:  Oh you mean 'Mark Zuckerberg, comma, the known pedophile'? Who doesn't believe in checking facts?

Greg: Yeah. I'm talking about Mark Zuckerberg, who was recently seen having sex with dead goats.

Mimi: [laughs] That one, okay got it. [laughs again, pause] so, uh……... The Old Guard... I'm just kidding!

Greg: No, but, okay but to bring it back around, I think that... look, there's one of the things that I love about the movie, and I think Gina and especially Charlize's performance, carries is the melancholy of it. But to end the movie on this note that Nile brings. This grace note that is, I think, it's not a call to arms, but it is an affirmation of what we can do. It doesn't matter, it literally is-- take away their immortality, the message is the same. and I'll take that message right now, man, without hesitation.

Mimi: Yeah it's true, she made the choice to get into the fight and to, you know, back up her team, her new family basically is what it is and, um, I would be amiss if I didn't talk about my unbelievable love for Nicky! [pause] and Joe! I, oh my god, [fangirling intensifies] so I loved it as much in the comic, but seeing it on screen... There was just something very magical for me, especially, you know, the scene in the truck and Joe does his 'my boyfriend' speech. you know, I-- oh my gosh. I think I rewound and rewatched that part because it was just so beautiful and so perfectly executed and, um-- that relationship to me, is just that's what I need right now. Like I need to believe in love, and I need to see, um, the happy parts of the film.

Greg: Marwan killed that, but I gotta tell you, one of my favorite moments is the moment when they're in the lab and, uh, and Nicky being like, 'much as I like watching you sleep...' and just the warmth between them on that and, you know, 'I’ve been thinking about Malta' and 'which time in Malta' and--

 [both, very cutely] 'Ah that time in Malta!'

Greg: Yeah and I just, you know, Luca and Marwan. I look-- the casting on the movie is superlative. I just --I cannot imagine how they could have cast better. But the genuine friendship between Luca and Marwan, behind the scenes. They were, you know, they were going out and drinking at night, and Leandro has a photo of the two of them, uh, between setups outside of the soundstage at Shepparton, and they're kicking a soccer ball back and forth! They just, you know, they just loved each other as people. 

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: You know what I mean? They were tight.

 Mimi: Yeah yeah it translates! It really, it really translates on film. Like it's, you know, obviously maybe they're not like in love and like this couple, but you could see there's this chemistry, and they're friends, and there's a love for one another and, um, oh gosh it really translates. And so yeah-- I oh-- I just want to take Nicky home with me.

Greg: There is a shot-- it's one of the last--it's the last, I think, solo shot on Luca and it's the moment when he's looking at the sociogram, and he's just got his head cocked to the side... and it is... it's one of those things that you can only do in film, right, because it's --literally the camera, he is looking past the camera at this thing that the audience isn't seeing, and all it is him looking at it, and it's not like his he's doing facial calisthenics or anything.

Mimi: Right yeah

Greg: And I look at that shot and I just adore him-- and I can't even tell you-- I don't know if he was acting. It looks like acting to me!

Mimi: Right yeah Luca did such a spot on--

Greg: But that look in that moment. And me-- I just go-- like oh my god. He is so good.

Mimi: Yeah yeah.

Greg: He is so good.

Mimi: So let's talk a little bit about being on set because I know that you, uh, of course it's Stump Town but you weren't as involved in it the way that you were with this film being the screenwriter... um, you know, what was just kind of some memorable moments for you or what challenging moments even?

Greg: Challenging moments? Okay, um, this is gonna get me in trouble. I’ll tell you-- so I’ll tell you a couple of my favorite stories. Um, challenging was-- there were a lot of night shoots. And it was roughly, you know, I mean we're talking on the ninth, and I think I got back from England almost a year ago tomorrow, right. And I had been in England for about four or five weeks working on the film. And, a lot of those were night shoots on location. And that meant that you would, you know, end up going out during the day and you would have to wait until full dark in England, in summer. So there was literally shooting on the shortest night of the year, you had three and a half hours of darkness in which to shoot. And it gets a little bit of a grind.

Mimi: Yeah.

Greg: You know, you're out there, and you're tired, and it is late, and it is cold, and there are only so many, you know, Americanos you can get from craft services (?) [laughs] yeah, um, and that was... that was exhausting. Um, I will tell you the best day I had.

Mimi: Yes.

Greg: Um, and this is going to piss people off, if they ever hear this and they won't so. Um, Mark Evans is this wonderful wonderful man, who was the producer on the movie. He was the guy on the ground. And when I arrived there had been, um, I mean-- so the long and the short of it is this:  I got fired from the project in January of 2019. They brought in another writer for about six to eight weeks, they fired that writer. They brought in another writer, uh, and at that point Gina was re-engaging me. And then I ended up, by the time I was back out there, I was rehired on the production. But in that interim of like two and a half, three months, there had been different scenes and variations on the script. And so when I arrived the draft was this Frankenstein thing that was some of my original stuff, and some of the stuff Gina had done, and some of the stuff the last writer had done, and then the stuff that I had been doing throughout May and into June before I got there. And we ended up, um, on this day and it was super hot, and it's the sequence when they are filming-- it's the sequence outside of Andy's mine. And it was the arrival at the mine and then it's the scene with Andy and Nile outside of the mine. And those were shot at a quarry, um, in or near... I want to say Sussex.

Mimi:  Okay.

Greg: So it's about an hour and a half outside of London and it is already scorching hot as we're headed out there. And we all know it's going to be all day, because we're going to have to, um, set everything up to then shoot dusk as dawn, right?

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: So I'm staying at this hotel and they have a driver, you know, the driver was assigned to me and I forget his name-- he was lovely, it was this great guy, and these guys are all interesting anyway, like the set drivers-- there's a whole discussion to be had about these guys. This guy is terrific, and we're driving down and we're talking, because I like talking to these guys, and, you know, I'm not going to be able to write in the car because I'll throw up everywhere. And he tells me that, oh yeah, you know, his parents moved down here and this and that, and I knew going out that day that Mark and I were going to spend the day in a trailer trying to compile everything into one collective draft. And I already wasn't looking forward to that, because I’d be like 'I'm gonna be in a goddamn trailer all day doing that. I don't wanna...’ [grumbles].  But I said to him 'wait a minute you're from around here?' he says 'oh yeah, you know.'[pause] '...you know, any good pubs?' and he says, 'uh, I do, yeah, there's a great old pub I can think of' and I say 'okay'. So we get to the location, and we are in the middle of nowhere because it's a FUCKING quarry.

Mimi:  Right.

Greg: And base camp where they put the trailers is literally a mile from where they're shooting.

 Mimi: Okay

Greg:  Right because you have to go up this hill and up these little roads to the quarry. It’s an old quarry. and I get there, and nobody's around, and one of the assistants says 'oh Mark's over there' and I go okay and I go to Mark's trailer and I knock on the door, and I open the door, and he's sitting there. And it's not glamorous. Understand these are not the movies star trailers, these are not airstream trailers, these are absolutely no frills-- like there-is-a-bathroom-and- two- tables trailers, right? There's nothing sexy about them. This is not--I know what people think of when they go oh 'you're in a [noises]'. No! This trailer-- I mean Charlize may have had a glorious trailer--

Mimi: Right, this was not Charlize's trailer

Greg: Yeah Kiki might have, you know, I don't know--

Mimi: This is more like a middle school trailer.

Greg: Exactly. The example is this is the kind of trailer that they bring to the elementary school when they've run out of classrooms, right

Mimi: Right.

Greg: Right and so Mark's sitting there. And he's-- and the thing about Mark is he's got so much energy, and he says 'Rucka!' and I say 'Mark! ...let's go to a pub.' and he goes '...can we do that?' and I say 'do we have to be here today to do this? There a reason you have to be here, in this trailer, to do this work?' and he goes '...let's go to a pub!'. So we find the driver, and I say to him-- I think his name was Steve-- and I say 'Steve, can you take us to that pub?' and he says 'yeah!'. So we get in the car-- and we drive, and it takes about 20 minutes, and about 15 minutes into the drive Evans is looking at me like 'this is not go-- I thought it was nearby'. And, you know, its like-- it is nearby, but these are little narrow roads --

Mimi: Right right.

Greg: --the driver had to orient... and we finally get to this place-- this beautiful old pub up on top of this hill--

Mimi:  Wow.

Greg:  --in Sussex, on the hottest day of the year so far, underneath these trees, at these benches-- and this is an old pub, like they closed at like two and didn't open again until five and we got there at like 1:30. So we got there, we get lunch, we get a plate, and we sit out there and we work until like 5:30-6. And about halfway into this Mark's like 'we're gonna get in so much trouble for doing this'. It’s my favorite day on this set right now. literally lo and behold by about the time five o'clock, six o'clock, rolls around he's starting to get calls from his assistant being like 'they want to know where you are'.

 Mimi: Right. [jokingly] 'We’re working offset!'

Greg: And we did! We got it all compiled and then we drove back to location and-- we were there when they did the actual shooting and everything. But that was, and will probably be to the end of my days, one of my most favorite film experiences, which is the part of making the movie where we got to go 'we get to go do this now'

Mimi:  Yeah yeah.

Greg: You know, and that was, it was a treat. I loved it.

Mimi: I love that, yeah. And it's so great because you needed some creativity. Like a trailer just doesn't do it, so I thought that made it a lot of sense. How much fun, though, because I often hear that when people are filming in different places, you don't get to explore in the way that you would like to. So it's nice that you kind of were able to take a mini break. A one day break.

Greg: But it really was --and I do kind of mean it-- was a present.

Mimi: Yeah.

Greg: I have photos from time on set, and there's a shot... the house that was used for Merrick’s apartment, is called the jura house, and it's apparently owned by some Russian oligarch, and it's a very shi-shi, fancy, you know, 800-architectural-awards house.

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: And I have a photo of Evans and me-- I think Leo took it --and we're literally sitting on the floor, in the basement, which is where all the monitors were set up, as they're filming upstairs... backs to the wall, each of us with our laptops on our knees, each of us using these, uh, rifle bags that have been doubled and tripled over as pillows. And that's the experience on The Old Guard. It’s literally [?? I’m not sure what he said, ‘doing our best’ maybe ??] and, um, yeah, so yeah.  It is a remarkable-- and you know this, you made a movie-- it's a remarkable amount of hard work. You come out of the experience going-- and I’ve said this before-- once you are involved in the making of a movie, you can never walk away going 'god how do they manage to make such a bad movie?' The question is always 'how did they manage to make a movie?'

Mimi:  Yeah.

Greg: The mere act of forcing this kind of bizarre storytelling into creation... is it's staggering. It defies any realm of logic... the precision required, the commitment required, the attention required, to create something that's going to exist on somebody's eyeballs for a second or two or three. Shot by shot. You know, um, it's insane.

Mimi:  Yeah it is, yeah and there's so many moving parts, you know, and you're such a huge part of this one and so I'm so excited to see how well it came together. and it-- from what you could see, because you were saying 'oh, you know, everybody was close on set they were playing soccer and all these things' and it's like, you can see that it's a film that has, you know, cohesion. like it's very well put together, like you could feel that everything was in its place, like I could see you got along with Gina, I could see that, you know, you could see each part was where it needed to be, because seeing sets that fall apart-- and you-- it isn't a question of how movies fall apart and they don't, you know, go from one process to another, there's no, um, you know, synergy between the people working. But it really really did come together and I'm super super excited for you, and excited for the sequel! My my only thing--

Greg: Potential! [sequel]

Mimi: Potential! Oh I think I think that, uh, viewers are going to want more. like I said, it's a film that we do need right now and I think it's a refreshing, uh, type of thing where we can kind of just take a moment away and be lost in a film. I think that's a gift, because I find that that doesn't happen as often as I'd like it to these days! Uh, but, um, but yeah the casting, everything was beautiful, and I'm so happy for you, as a writer but also as a filmmaker now. My only quarry, my only disappointment is I was not around to, um --especially since there could be a sequel-- to at least audition for Qynh because I know there's some awesome sword work that could be coming in the future! And I'm so like-- but I'm super excited because Veronica, you know, the little we did get to see of her, she did a fabulous job! But I was like 'man I would have liked to throw my hat in for that one'. [laughs]

Greg: Gotta talk to your agent!

Mimi:  I know!

Greg: I didn't have anything to do with casting!

Mimi: I know, I know, I know. No, but it's super exciting to see kind of that how it all comes together. Especially reading it, right, because of course like I said, I've read the rest of the comic. I know the new one just dropped!

Greg:  Yeah, issue five will be out next week.

Mimi: That's very exciting! So yes so, uh, listeners go ahead and grab that! Get the whole thing though, so you could see it from beginning to end! Because, uh, it does kind of complement seeing the movie, you know, it complements it. You get that backstory, you kind of get the feeling for the characters in a different way, and like you said they're different mediums. Um, but both really amazing stories, and a lot of fun to, um, to be a part of. And to experience so super exciting [they both make weird excited noises] so, uh, hopefully we'll talk again next week, I know you have been going crazy with all these interviews but, um, everybody go and watch The Old Guard right now! Because it is available, you can turn on your Netflix and you don't have to wait, it's right there!

Greg: Right there!

Mimi: Right there for you!

Greg: In fact you won't even have to search for it!

Mimi: No, it's gonna be number one!

Greg: It's gonna shove it in your face!

Mimi: Yeah it'll be recommended for you, and, um, I also, uh, you know, as a filmmaker. I know that you guys don't need as big of a push because it's Netflix and all but, you know, give it a little rating! Go on to imdb and give it some love. Um, because why not? [laughs] Alright Greg, I don't want to take up much more of your time, I think you need to unwind and enjoy this. Congratulations on your film and, uh, we're super excited for it!

Greg: Thank you Mimi!

Mimi: That's all for today's episode! Thanks for listening to culture chat and hope you enjoyed the conversation.

[murdershegoat]

al hanisim (regarding the miracles)

(also on ao3 // ko-fi)

lena had clocked her the moment she walked in.

the only other woman in a suit, her masquerade mask a light blue, complimenting the deep navy she wore. her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun, and lena could see her impressive jawline from the back of the room.

that was fifteen minutes ago. 

now, lena stands next to the drinks table, and her eyes follow the woman wherever she goes. in another lifetime, perhaps, lena would have the courage to go and say hello. 

she’s still not sure why she decided to come to the local JCC’s purim party; jess is the only person in national city who knows she’s jewish. maybe it’s because purim has always been her favourite holiday, or maybe it’s because she’s missed all of the bells and whistles of a jewish holiday. who knows. but when she had seen the masquerade theme for the purim party, she knew she had to go; it gave her the perfect anonymity.

oh shit. the cute blonde is making her way over to the drinks table, right where lena’s standing. shit shit shit. 

fuck. now she’s standing right next to lena, pouring herself a diet coke. up close, lena can see the way her suit strains against her biceps, the confident smile on her face, the bright blue eyes that peek out from under the mask. 

lena feels shockingly inadequate standing beside this woman.

‘cool party, huh?’ she says, and lena’s sure she’s not talking to her, because why would she be???

but there’s nobody else standing with them. so she must be talking to lena. impossible.

‘pardon?’ lena says, ignoring the way her voice cracks like a thirteen year old boy’s. 

‘it’s a cool party,’ she repeats. ‘masquerade theme feels more grown up than last year’s theme, and less.... culturally appropriative.’

‘i didn’t come last year,’ lena confesses. ‘i... i don’t have much time for this sort of thing usually.’

‘well i’m glad you decided to come this year,’ the woman says with a confident, flirty smile. ‘it means that i get to talk to a beautiful woman all night.’

‘oh, uh, hah-’ lena can feel herself blushing. thank god for the mask. ‘you think we’re gonna talk for the rest of the evening?’

‘at least, i hope we will.’ she holds out a hand expectantly. ‘i’m kara.’

lena hesitates for just a moment. ‘kieran.’ she shakes kara’s hand.

‘so kieran, what do you do when you’re not at purim parties?’

‘i, uh, i work for the family business.’

‘cool. i mean, super vague and not at all helpful, but still cool.’

a beat. kara sips her drink. lena panics.

‘i’m not good at this,’ she blurts out. ‘small talk. speaking to women. any of it.’

‘i’m not that great at it either,’ kara admits. ‘but... i saw you and i needed to try my hardest. but let me make it easier on you. i’ll talk, and if at any point you decide you want to interject, please feel free.’

kara takes a deep breath. ‘like i said already, my name’s kara. i’m a journalist at catco, i’m a virgo, but i also have no idea what that means. i have an older sister, her name is alex and she refused to come tonight. i don’t have any pets, but i used to have a cat. if i had a dog i know exactly what i would name it but it’s a secret because i can’t have you stealing the best dog name of all time. what else... my favourite food is potstickers and also my adoptive mother’s pecan pie. my favourite romcom of all time is when harry met sally even though i disagree with it’s main thesis regarding the friendship between men and women.’

‘i’ve never seen when harry met sally,’ lena jumps in. she doesn’t know why she chose that specific thing. she has thoughts and comments on almost everything kara’s said so far.

‘wow. okay. i see.’ kara says, a frown on her face. ‘side note: how much are you enjoying this party?’

‘infinitely more since you showed up.’

‘in that case, follow me.’ kara takes lena by the hand and leads her to the food table. she loads up two plates with various snacks and gives one to lena. she takes her by the hand again, and this time they leave the party room and go up the stairs to the second floor. 

‘you’re not luring me to my death, are you?’ lena asks her.

kara laughs. ‘when’s the last time something like that happened to you?’

lena wants to say ‘two days ago’ because it’s true; supergirl had managed to save her before her kidnappers had gotten more than two blocks away. but that sort of stuff only happens to a luthor, not to a nondescript kieran.

‘.... just a hypothetical.’

they end up sitting at the very top of the stairs. kara whips out her phone and pulls up her netflix app and loads when harry met sally.

‘we’re just gonna... watch the movie?’

‘you haven’t seen it, i’m due for a rewatch, and it’s a way i can spend time with you without forcing you to talk or listen to me ramble.’

‘i... i like listening to you ramble,’ lena admits, once again very thankful for her masquerade mask as she blushes underneath it. ‘and i would very much like to keep spending time with you.’ she reaches into her bag and pulls out her airpods, offering one bud to kara.

they sit, thighs pressed against each other, watching the small, barely cracked screen on kara’s phone. slowly, rests her arm on lena’s thigh, and lena presses her body closer to hers. it feels as though they’re slowly melting into one another, finding warmth and comfort and maybe something more. time flies by and lena’s torn between loving the movie and loving the way kara quotes the whole thing, as though she’s singing along to her favourite song.

things are cut woefully short about fifteen minutes before the end of the movie, when her bodyguard louis appears at the bottom of the stairs. 

‘ms. luthor,’ he calls out, and lena feels her heart sink as kara jolts away from her. ‘there’s been an incident at the offices. you’re needed there immediately.’

lena doesn’t even turn to face kara. she stares straight ahead and very softly she whispers,

‘i’m sorry.’

and then she leaves.

///

she’s balls deep in work. lex had ordered a little drone strike against lcorp the night before and she had been up early that morning to hear the megillah being read for the second time in about twelve hours. so now she’s dealing with what feels like a million problems and on top of it all, she can’t stop thinking about kara. she knows her last name is danvers because she had googled it at some point in the drive from her apartment to the office. she has her email address sitting in front of her, and as she works, she works up the courage to send her a message.

‘ms. luthor?’ jess pops her head in the door. ‘you’ve got a visitor.’

‘jess, do i look like i can handle a visitor at the moment?’

‘that’s what i told her, but she’s... too insistent. she also says she knows you.’

‘again, jess, is there anybody in my life that you don’t already know?’

‘that’s what i said but she says she knows you. her eyes are disgustingly blue and she’s blonde--’

‘kara.’

‘so i should send her in?’

‘fuck.’

she barely catches the smirk on jess’s face as she retreats from the room with a loud ‘you can come in now!’

kara shyly steps into the room. she’s no longer got a mask or suit on, but she does don a pair of thick glasses and buttoned shirt tucked into a pair of chinos.  she still looks spectacular. maybe even more so, now that lena can see her face.

‘hey,’ kara says. 

‘hi,’ lena says, shutting her laptop. 

‘i’m sorry to barge in like this, but things ended weirdly last night and i wanted to make sure you were okay because i saw the thing about the drone attack on the news this morning and--’

‘it’s very kind of you to check up on me,’ lena says. 

‘well it’s not completely selfless,’ kara admits. ‘i also just really wanted to see you again. OH! and i brought this with me.’

she holds out a wicker basket. 

‘a bottle of wine and some homemade hamantaschen. half of them are strawberry jam and the other half are nutella. mishloach manot. for you.’

‘i... i can’t remember the last time somebody gave me mishloach manot.’ she stops for moment. ‘i want to apologise for last night. i... i felt like i was lying to you, and it’s left me feeling quite guilty.’

‘not lying,’ kara says. ‘hiding your true self. it fits in with the spirit of purim. but it makes more sense now why you couldn’t really tell me anything specific about yourself.’

‘oh no, that’s just because i forgot how to speak. you... you make me very nervous, kara.’

‘ditto.’

‘for what it’s worth: i’m lena. i’m also a virgo, and that genuinely means nothing to me. i have one sibling, he bombed my building last night and somehow that’s not the worst thing he’s ever done to me. i don’t have any pets, but i’m quite fond of the succulent that lives on my kitchen bench. my favourite foods are sushi, but only from this one tiny place in metropolis, and also macarons from a very specific bakery in paris. in terms of national city, my favorite food is probably the avocado toast at noonan’s. up until last night, my favourite romantic comedy was sleeping with other people but now i think it might be when harry met sally, even though i haven’t seen the whole movie.’

kara smiles broadly, and it makes the room brighter somehow. suddenly her head cocks to the side, not unlike a dog, listening to a sound that lena cannot hear.

‘rats, i’ve got to run... look. i don’t wanna be too forward, but um, my friends and i are having a seudah tonight and you’re more than welcome to come.’

‘i don’t think i’ll be finished work in time,’ lena offers as an excuse, frankly terrified of meeting kara’s friends. ‘but maybe we can hang out again later this evening? finish the last bit of the movie?’

‘it’s a date,’ kara says, and lena blushes, this time without the protection of a mask. it makes kara smile even more.

‘i’ll leave my contact info with your secretary.’

‘goodbye, kara. i’ll see you tonight.’

‘and if you finish work early, you’re more than welcome to come to our seudah.’

and then kara’s gone, and lena can feel her heart still pounding wildly in her chest and for some reason she’s already making plans in her head, to push around some meetings and pick up a couple of bottles of wine to take to kara’s party.

she picks a hamantasch from kara’s basket and takes a bit.

it’s fucking delicious. 

that seals the deal.

‘jess,’ lena says, pressing the intercom.

‘meetings pushed, scheduled blocked off, evening cleared. your suit’s also been dry cleaned if you want to wear it again. you’re welcome.’

and though it’s only in its very beginnings, lena feels eager to see where this thing with kara will lead. it feels important and fun and special. 

damn, she loves purim.