#choices dakota

[hudders-and-hiddles]

(re)watched in 2024: Ripley

[a-cat-in-toffee]

friendly neighborhood ghost included in house purchase !

[aboyisagunasterisk]

the scott pilgrim adaptation where he lives flops but the adaptation where he dies wins a critics choice award

[mammalsofaction]

First Impressions

Yall still remember this ask?

Sorry I made this sad, nonnie. The ep made a fool of me, maybe i will write fluff instead soon. But thank you for getting me to watch the show! This is for you!

Rating: G

Relationship: Balthazar Cavendish/Vinnie Dakota, Heinz Doofenshmirtz/Perry the Platypus

Add Tags: Break up arc, SQUARED, me approaching a gay couple, so who leaves and who is the one left behind?, based on the ep First Impressions on MML S2, Count me among the ranks of MML S3 activists, ambiguous perry, ambiguous perryshmirtz, ambiguous Dakavendish, if you're able to catch the reference in one of the lines Dakota says, hi hello i know what you are, sulking at a diner talking about stupid boys who never communicate

"Well?" Dakota asks reasonably.

"Well, what?" Heinz says, once the waitress moves away after taking their orders.

Dakota looks mildly exasperated. "Your first meeting? You were just telling me about how you first met Perry right around the corner of the old ice cream parlor. How did you meet?"

Did he say that? Was that what they were talking about? He doesn't quite remember saying that, but then again he says a lot of things he doesn't quite give conscious thought to, and to be fair hardly anyone was listening. At least, he used to think so. It had different, with Perry, who's whole job had been listening (and doesn't that still leave a bitter taste in his mouth), but it had shortly led to a wealth of surprising cast of characters who continue to surprise him by how much they cared. It's a bit off putting. He doesn't know how to feel about it.

Dakota-or, Vinnie, really-he was listening. He seems like the listening type. The listening half of his duo situation, which is probably the only reason they're still getting along despite similarities in dealing with impulse decisions and general chaotic fuckery.

The question, at least, reminded him of what he constitutes as one of the sweeter, better times of his past, the milestone that changed his life. Inarguably for the better. And the memory is distant enough that it outbalances the bitterness with the sweet.

"Oh, well," Heinz starts, darting a glance right out the window where he can see-yes, there, the cheery yellow sign on the corner by the parlor. "Right there, see?" He points, and Dakota humors him by looking, though Heinz knows he doesn't see anything. No phantoms of platypus agents pass. "It was maybe, what, 5? 6 years ago? I had only just started my evil career, and it must've been more successful than I thought. I had just finished taking out my passport photo and I saw a glimpse of him, a shadow behind the mailbox. I realised I was being followed and, well. You know. I'd gotten the email about the permanent nemeses assignation the week before and I'd learn since then Perry the Platypus really did actually know how to be sneakier. I had no evil schemes for the day, just errands, and he tailed me all day. I wouldn't know his face until he actually showed up to thwart me the day after, so I suppose if you were splitting hairs we formally met the day after but. Yknow. We both disagree. That was the day I met Perry."

The happiest day of my life, he had told Peter the Panda, years before. He had taken one of his first copies of his photos from the aforementioned day and hung it up the wall to commemorate. Peter had kicked a hole straight through the nose, but Heinz had patched it up with tape and hung it back up anyway. Heinz had seen Perry hang it's frame back up carefully, whenever they've accidentally knocked it down since, and he knew the man understood it's unspoken significance. He'd liked the photo. He appreciated the sentiment.

He used to at least. Before the sinkhole. But they've had better photos since. Photos where they were together. Perry was a menace about photo memoirs, so it wasn't a total loss.

Perhaps it would've been easier if it was.

Vinnie's face twitched, as it often does whenever Murphy and Friends were reminded of his previous career. Heinz gets the feeling they never quite believe him, or they felt it was very unlike him. "God, I forget about that. He was your nemeses? I thought you said he was your partner."

"Same difference." Heinz says, as the waitress returns with their order. He took no time before doing the taste test, and while the fries is sure to lose their crispness soon enough (he can tell, more of a reason to go through them as soon as possible), their dipping sauces made it more than worth it. Vinnie indulged a bit more slowly, and when Heinz turns to look, the man looks expectant. Skeptic.

"Is it?" He asks, and Heinz, for some reason, bristles.

"It is." He insists, and before he could stop himself, he hears himself say, "He's the most important person in my life."

Vinnie's eyebrow twitches sharply, before it comes back down, and he turns to frown at the fries in thought. Heinz doesn't like the look of it, but at least it wasn't judgemental. Vinnie digs into the fries, and he doesn't look at Heinz as he asks; "How does that work? Is he your enemy, your friend...?"

"He's my nemeses." Heinz repeats himself, then shakes his head. "We fight against each other, with each other, for each other. He's my...he was my friend. He was my best friend. He was....he was my rock. He....his whole job was to stop me from, sure, taking over the tri-state area and my somewhat successful evil endeavours, but he does so many things for me, and off the clock we hung out. He picks my Vanessa up from her club activities after school and takes her shopping, and we do bowling on Thursdays. We meet each other weekly, almost daily, for the last 5 years, and he…he knows everything about me.”

He sees me, Heinz doesn't say, by some miracle. I see him.

“Vanessa,” Vinnie echoes, and points at him with a dripping fry. “Your daughter.”

“You've met her.”

He has. He and Cavendish had spotted them walking together outside the Googolplex mall last week on their weekend together, and she had been happy, excited to meet his new friends. Other evil scientists, she's said, didn't count.

This was, of course, before their—Vinnie and Cavendish—little tiff. He's not surprised he remembers; Vanessa was naturally very memorable.

“So an enemy,” Vinnie says, and it takes Heinz a moment to realize he's talking about Perry. “But an enemy of 5 years, which sort of made him…a friend?”

“Well I…,” Heinz trails off, staring thoughtfully into the nearly depleted basket of fries much like Vinnie had not two minutes ago. “I suppose so.”

The sentence felt simultaneously true even as it was…outrageously simplified. Much like how one could say that penguin was a sort of bird, but the sentence could lead into outrageous assumptions if specifications were not extrapolated on. He is my friend, Heinz wanted to say, but could he? Friends trusted each other, didn't they? Friends stuck around. Friends stayed, they were there when you needed them to be. Friends didn't need monetary incentives or manipulative moral obligations to hang out with you, and for the last couple of years, he had thought Perry had ticked all of those boxes for him, that they ticked all of those boxes for each other. Friends believed in you, and Heinz had thought Perry had believed in him.

More fool him, Heinz supposed.

“So. That's how I met Perry the Platypus. How'd you and that fussy old guy meet?” He asked, in semi-honest curiosity, but mostly to change the subject.

“Cavendish.” Vinnie corrected.

“Sure. What's your story? Was it a misfits stick together sort of story, or-?”

“Something like that. It was, god, a long time ago. In the future. A bit hard to count your ages and cycles when you travel through the time space continuem for a living, but both of us were freshly graduates from the Academy, and we were sitting in for the last stage of testing before we got offical time travel licenses, which had been a sort of driving test…,”

[somewillwin]

Kofi request of Dakota x Mc ♥️♥️

Kofi

[profeminist]

"North Dakota on Monday adopted one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country as Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed legislation banning the procedure throughout pregnancy, with slim exceptions up to six weeks’ gestation.

In those early weeks, abortions would only be allowed in cases of rape or incest, or in medical emergencies. After six weeks, rape and incest victims cannot get abortions. Abortions to treat some medical emergencies, such as ectopic pregnancies, are allowed at any stage of pregnancy."

"After six weeks, rape and incest victims cannot get abortions."

Read the full piece here: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-north-dakota-six-week-ban-2bccde2925d30dd4772aaed84f3c2d98

U.S. readers, register to vote here

GET ANGRY, STAND UP: In Oklahoma, a woman was told to wait until she's 'crashing' for abortion care

[bleekbacchanal]

Elle Fanning In Alexander McQueen spring/summer 2023 Ready-To-Wear.

[lover-also-fighter-also]

Just have to rant right now...so hear me out.

There are books in choices that are hard coded to female MCs. While for some books it seems reasonable (like Bachelorette Party, The Royal Romance), there are some books like Bloodbound for which the reason for it is soo silly, or female gender coding was done unnecessarily.

Take for example, With Every Heartbeat. Don't get me wrong, I loved the book and it gave The Fault in our Stars vibe, but I feel the option to have a Male MC should have been there. I mean if they can make Dakota gender customizable, why can't MC be too?

[cadybear420]

Dark Pact: Dakota Winchester and Sage Amin's Silly Little Ghost Movie 👻💙

AKA the screenshots from the game of their film. It's like 50 screenshots total, so I'm going to make it a reblog thread with indicators about whether or not it's at the end

[denimbex1986]

'Even for an actor as skilled as Andrew Scott, playing a character as infamous as Tom Ripley poses a serious creative challenge. Since the release of Patricia Highsmith’s now canonical 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, the elusive, murderous grifter has become a fixture in the cultural imagination. He’s headlined multiple novels and movie adaptations — meaning that almost everyone is acquainted with at least one incarnation of Tom Ripley.

Even so, in writer-director Steven Zaillian’s eight-episode miniseries Ripley, the Irish actor manages to deliver the definitive portrayal of the literary schemer — a sociopath who is an expert at self-preservation, a man seemingly driven by overwhelming desire, envy, and greed. As Scott developed his approach to the tight-lipped character, he says it was vital to forget about Tom’s formidable reputation and focus instead on how such a man might realistically move through the world.

“I think what’s gripping about the show is that we see the logic of what he has to do to survive, and each episode leads us in a very particular way,” Scott says. “We spend time with the character when he’s doing these things and [see] how much of an expert he isn’t. Sometimes what he’s really talented at is being able to think really, really quickly.”

Scott clearly knows a thing or two about talent: His was obvious from the moment he began his career on the Irish stage, though global audiences only learned of his gifts when he made his showstopping — and BAFTA Award-winning — television turn as Sherlock Holmes’s brilliant nemesis Moriarty in the BBC hit Sherlock. The actor’s subsequent portrayal of the sensitive (and yes, sexy) priest in the second season of acclaimed series Fleabag then launched him into a new stratosphere of stardom, earning him a Critics Choice Award and two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. “Particularly in L.A., people just shout, ‘hot priest!’ at you all the time when you’re crossing the street,” Scott says. “It’s extraordinary.”

The Olivier Award-winning actor has further burnished his credentials with singular, riveting work on both stage and screen. Last year alone, he starred in Vanya, an impressive solo adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya at London’s venerable Old Vic Theatre, and earned rapturous reviews for his role as a lonely screenwriter in the sensitive and stirring drama All of Us Strangers. Now, Scott’s unforgettable turn in Ripley has critics again raving over the actor, who gives his Tom an eerily placid demeanor that surely conceals an inner raging tumult.

That facade proves indispensable to the character when, in the series, he’s hired to travel to Italy to convince the errant Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) to return to New York to helm his father’s company — under the mistaken pretense that Tom is Dickie’s close college friend. Upon arriving in Europe, however, the amoral Tom is staggered by the scion’s privileged, romantic way of life, and disguises his true aims to live for as long as possible in his new host’s shadow.

“One of the reasons that I love the character: He’s got this huge appreciation for art and Italy and food and culture and nature,” Scott says. “I think that’s something that the other characters take for granted. I was just seeing his appreciation for life and the arts. He’s never been exposed to that kind of beauty before.”

Krista Smith: Ripley is so gorgeous — it just washes over you. It’s my favorite kind of viewing experience, where I’m rooting for the sociopath at the same time I’m terrified of him.

Andrew Scott: Steven Zaillian has done a great job of replicating what Patricia Highsmith herself did, which is to make you root for somebody who’s doing these terrible things. The big challenge for me was to make the audience feel what it’s like to be Tom Ripley rather than to be a victim of Tom Ripley. That’s quite an unusual thing to surf because I’m required to love him, protect him in the way you do with all your characters. But it’s difficult with Tom because, even in beginning to talk about the character, I have to protect his secrets a little bit. You don’t want to overexplain him too much.

That’s especially difficult when the camera is trained on your face for eight full episodes, I would imagine.

AS: Yeah, that was challenging. I don’t feel like there could be a bigger part on television than Tom Ripley because he’s just there the whole time. He’s a loner character [so the question is]: How are you able to convey what he’s feeling without a lot of talking and not a lot of deep relationships? It’s quite rare for a limited series like this to focus so much on one character. And as an actor, it’s quite an unusual thing to do.

It was challenging to be with somebody who’s quite opaque as a character, to spend so much time with him. There was an awful lot of internal work, but it’s such a great privilege to get to play this character.

It’s fascinating to watch how Tom is viewed by both Dickie and his girlfriend Marge, played so marvelously by Dakota Fanning. So much tension and jealousy and suspicion develops among them. What was it like to work through all of that with Johnny Flynn and with Dakota?

AS: Johnny is an absolutely gorgeous, warm person and with Dickie [and Tom], there’s a sort of love between those two characters that we were reluctant to define too much — whether it’s romantic love or whether Tom wants to just occupy his space. To me, their [scenes together are] love scenes in a way because if you don’t have love at the heart of it, we don’t fully understand why Tom does what he does and why he’s so enamored by Dickie. Marge, she’s suspicious of Tom. We had really good chemistry, Dakota and I, and we enjoyed the scenes because we have to do so much without saying anything. We have to sort of say, “I cannot bear you,” but do it with a smile.

You shot in some of the most amazing locations. Italy itself is really a character here. How did physically being in those breathtaking environments fuel your performance?

AS: We shot in Venice during the pandemic — when I think about it, it lent a real feeling to me and to the character because I did feel isolated. I [remember] walking to the set through Piazza San Marco [in Venice at] six-thirty or seven in the morning. It was so extraordinary because this would usually be one of the [busiest] tourist spots in the world, and it was completely empty. It was unique, and sometimes quite sad in some ways. But you find your joy. We went to so many different places — Capri, Palermo, the Amalfi Coast. And we shot in a place called Atrani, which is the tiniest village. The experience of being in Italy, particularly on the coast, it’s sort of transfixing. You’re walking up these incredibly steep stairs . . . I love the [scenes with Tom climbing the stairs]. He’s experiencing life for the first time in a completely different way, and his confidence grows really, really quickly.

So, I want to take you back to the early days of your career. You were one of those kids who was shy and maybe did a drama class to see if that might work for you?

AS: Yes, exactly. I used to act a little bit as a kid, not much, just in commercials and little theater things. There’s a myth with actors, that they’re extroverted. I was a really shy boy, and the acting really helped me to sort of overcome that.

Then you go to college and immediately drop out. Why?

AS: When I was about 18, I went to the Abbey Theater in Dublin, which was an incredible learning ground. That’s why I dropped out of college, to go and actually do the thing rather than study the thing. I spent a few years at the National Theatre in Dublin as a really young person — it was extraordinary when I think about it, playing these amazing parts in the Abbey. I moved to London when I was 22, and I was auditioning a lot. It’s a big, big journey. My inspiration has always been good writing. I don’t believe you can make a great film or TV series or play if you don’t have a great script, so that’s where I’ve always gone. That means doing things that maybe don’t hike up your profile; I’m always happy to play supporting parts if the writing is good. So, it’s never been about trying to play leading roles necessarily, but in the past few years, that’s what’s happened.

Can you recall a film or a play that maybe informed who you are now, the kind of actor you became?

AS: When I was 17, I made my first film, which was a tiny Irish film called Korea, and there was an actor in it who was, to use that beautiful expression, a journeyman actor, called Donal Donnelly. He had a huge amount of theater credits and film and television credits but was not a particularly famous actor. What he was was a very kind actor. By looking at him, seeing what way he talks to the crew and what way he talks to the other actors, I learned how to behave on a set. That’s something that I’m always so grateful for.

I love hearing that. So, coming off of this very challenging, very intense production, what’s next? What are you excited to tackle?

AS: I want to do something funny, and I want to be in a musical. I’d love to be in a really well-written rom-com. I’m putting that out there and sort of hoping that manifests in some way. I had to sing onstage for the first time in Vanya, in a very small way, but I really loved it. It’s extraordinary to sing, isn’t it? It’s about confidence and it’s about really listening.'

[spawksstuff]

The De Completionist Checklist Part 13

1963

Note on the dates: I will mostly be going by when a show/movie was shot rather than its release date. Variety Magazine will be given first priority.

My score: 6 / 7

Need To Find:  The Gallant Men – A Taste of Peace

Favorite Movie: Gunfight At Comanche Creek

Favorite TV Show:  The Virginian – Man of Violence

Favorite Scene: Besides the obvious trek across the river in Man of Violence, the fight scene in The Dakotas with Jack Elam

[wilderness-king]

Once Madame Web comes out on dvd, it’s over for you bitches

[bstvst]

would anyone be interested in a fic that's a continuation of With Every Heart Beat, but it turns into an AU of Red Carpet Diaries, like, we became an actress because of Dakota? I'd write it if even 1 person would read it because I'm self-indulgent lol.

[aworldoffandoms]

I read With Every Heartbeat again....and I'm sobbing.

Still such an amazing story with well-rounded and relatable characters as well as beautiful, emotive writing.

I loved it then and I love it still.

Dakota Winchester is an inspiration.

[r41ny-days]

Just finished ep 9 and I love it

Vyn in detention be like

Istg Vyncent is so funny. Like this guys idea to prove he has powers is to flash a knife. Yes, a fucking knife. And can we talk about his side quests??? They are just so ridiculous. Don't know if they were joking when they said that a pop up appears in his vision when he "acquire" a quest, but if not, it's a big ass hc for me

Charlie acting out Will stalking Dakota and Doug in the lickithy thigny straight up killed me--- him drawing a broken heart or a frowny face while just being drenched in water (that he could easily dodge) is just shdhcscosdnvoiwnijkdsco

Also, Dakota speech on "liars and what they get" gave me goosebumps. He knew that Doug was lying, but still give him a final threat just to be sure

[darthmatthewtwihard]

Madame Web was even better the second time.