#just fan of purple and think she's a great actress

[probably-writing-x]

Blushing Boy

Drew Starkey x Reader

Summary: There were few things that made Drew Starkey lose his confidence, in fact, perhaps only one could truly ever do it; you. He didn’t know how, or why, but you just seemed to have that goddamn effect on him.

Warnings: Nothing besties, just fluffy as heck

Author’s Note: Thank you so so much for the love on my other post, I just had to post this one too !! Please please send in any requests you have my angels <3

Not my gif

You were just about nearing the end of press for Outer Banks Season 3, and all bases had been covered - you’d done interviews to see how well you knew your cast mates, ones looking at scenes from the show, and, of course, the puppy interview. Today was your last day, though all of you were split up in different places, on different projects, and so the last day of interviews would be done over zoom. This was your first experience working on the show, having come in to play Rafe’s love interest as the start of the season. Thankfully, the fans had fallen in love with you, and especially with your storyline with Drew. So much so, in fact, that they’d started to ship you two as actors as well, adoring every moment that they saw you spend together. The two of you were just friends, but you can’t say you didn’t find it amusing whenever theories were made. And, being honest, some of the edits did make you two look cute.

That was your side of things, anyway. Drew had fallen for you at the same rate that Rafe had fallen for your character. He wanted to see you every morning you started work, waiting to catch sight of you on set. He wanted to film all of his scenes with you, watching in awe whenever you acted. He was mesmerised whenever he saw you at events, amazed by you from the red carpets to the earliest of mornings. Drew felt like a schoolboy around you, stumbling over his words, blushing at prolonged eye contact, ears pricking up at the sound of your name. And it only got worse the more he saw of you.

“Okay, thank you guys all for joining me today,” The interviewer begins, smiling widely into the screen, “We’ve got Madelyn, Chase, Madison, Rudy, Jonathon, Carlacia, Drew and (Y/N), the cast of season three of Outer Banks, now streaming on Netflix. How are you guys doing?”

“I’m good,” Madelyn smiles.

“I’m tired, I flew back from Paris today and I’m so jetlagged,” Madison laughs.

“Okay, we’ll start off with a question for Chase, how has it been with the new additions to the cast this season - with Carlacia and (Y/N). How does that fit in with the dynamic of you guys working together?”

Chase leans closer to his microphone and speaks, “You know I think we got really lucky again to work with another great group of people, we all get on so well and these two just fit in perfectly with that, and it makes it so easy to go to work when you’re with such a good bunch.”

“Amazing, and (Y/N), what was your experience like being on set?”

You shift in your seat, glancing at all of the faces on screen, “Like Chase said, it was just ideal getting to work with everyone, it’s like being on one long holiday all working together, you’re out in the sun everyday, you’re on the water, you’re doing stunts, it was just such a great experience. And I was so lucky to get to share the screen with Drew, he makes it so easy to come into work everyday and, I mean, it’s not exactly hard to pretend to fall in love with him.”

You glance at him on the screen and the way his eyes seem so transfixed as you speak, like he holds onto every syllable one at a time. He’s wearing a purple t-shirt that brings out his eyes and his hair is messy in that sort of perfect way it always was.

“And Drew, what was it like to be working with (Y/N) so closely?”

“Yeah, I mean,” He coughs over his words, “It was great, (Y/N) is just perfect to work with, I couldn’t have asked for anyone better. She’s so talented, and kind and supportive as an actress and she just made me want to get up every day and come into work.”

You’re sure your cheeks heat with the vulnerability of what he has said. His are bright red too, and you’re relieved for a moment to share the same feeling even across the screen.

A few more questions are asked, Rudy explains about how many injuries he managed to pick up on set and Jonathon tells an embarrassing story about you and Madelyn from the wrap party. And then attention falls back to you and Drew.

“So, whilst I’ve got you guys here, I have to ask Drew and (Y/N) about the rumours that have been going around about you two, can you tell me anything the fans will want to hear?”

You laugh, slightly allowing yourself a bit more time before you figure out what to say, “You know, these things are inevitable when you play a couple on a show. But I think we take it as a compliment if anything, at least it was convincing enough for people to believe us, you know? Right Drew?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Drew chuckles dryly, “I’m just glad they know that we don’t hate each other.”

“Are you blushing Starkey?!” Rudy exclaims, coming closer to the screen.

Drew laughs and looks away, biting the tip of his tongue between his teeth, “Shut it Pankow.”

Everyone laughs but it’s as if you can feel all eyes on the two of you, and in that moment, all you want it for him to be there with you to share the attention. For him to be close enough that your hand could brush his, your eyes could focus solely on Drew’s, your laugh in rhythm with his. And, in that moment, perhaps for the first time, you realise that maybe those edits had realised something before you had.

“Okay, well it’s been great speaking to you guys, thank you so much for joining me,” The interviewer finishes up, closing off before telling you that you’re all done and you can log off from the call.

You shut your laptop and pull out your phone to see notifications already bursting through. They’re all from the groupchat you had with the other girls.

Oh my god did you see his face?

Are you kidding me rn??? That boy is in love with you

I’ll never forgive you if you don’t date Starkey fr

You laugh, fingers hovering over the buttons as you try to figure out a response. You wanted to tell them that they were being stupid, that there was no reason for them to think like that. But you can’t bring yourself to lie to them.

You swipe away from that chat, scrolling the short way down to where Drew’s chat with you was. The last thing he’d sent you was a fan made video of the two of you, a video from set where he had you on his shoulders in the pool and both of you fell under.

When you go to text him, he’s already typing.

And this time, you’re the one that’s blushing.

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

Is there a comprehensive list of actors GRRM cites as faceclaims or is it all in disparate blog posts?

Most of it isn't in blog posts at all, it's things GRRM's said at conventions or interviews. (Note for anyone going "Them, really?", check the dates and what the actor looked like at the time.)

So, a quick list:

Sandor Clegane: Ron Perlman

Cersei Lannister: Nicole Kidman

Jaime Lannister: Cary Elwes

Tyrion Lannister: Peter Dinklage

Tywin Lannister: Kurtwood Smith or Robert Duvall

Renly Baratheon: Adrian Paul (also for young Robert)

Arianne Martell: Apollonia Kotero

Nymeria Sand: Janina Gavankar

Daenerys Targaryen: Tamzin Merchant

And sources:

November 2000, fan con report: "Pearlman, from BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, would be great for Sandor. Best guy for Tywin: the father on THAT 70s SHOW and who was the father of the kid, who shot himself, in THE DEAD POETS SOCIETY (I think I spelled it all right)."

December 2003: "...I have a few people in mind. I think Nicole Kidman would be good as Cersei. I always liked Ron Perlman, the actor I worked with on 'The Beauty and the Beast’. He would be great as Sandor Clegane. Ron is very good in heavy make-up and he’s also a big, strong kind of guy. He has a great voice that he can do all sorts of wonderful things with. I think he would be terrific as the Hound. For Jamie Lannister, a couple of years ago I would have said Cary Elwes but he might be too old now. I don’t know…"

c. 2006: "Myself, I'd love to see Tywin played by Kurtwood Smith (as in DEAD POET'S SOCIETY) or Robert Duvall (THE GREAT SANTINI)."

July 2006, fan con report: "On being asked about "the casting game" (picking actors to play the characters), he said the only one who he would definitely choose was Ron Perlman to play Sandor "The Hound" Clegane because of Perlman's aptitude for acting through prosthetics."

February 2007, fan con report: "When asked about ideal casting choices, he formally endorsed the idea of Nicole Kidman playing Cersei. He says she has the perfect look for her. But it would never work, because where are you going to find a guy that looks like her to play Jaime? I really got a kick out of that. He also said Ron Perelman would be perfect as the Hound -- but I am pretty sure I had hears or read that somewhere before."

date/source uncertain, but c. 2007: "Adrian Paul and I actually worked together once, long before the Dreamsongs audiobook. Wonder if he remembers. Back then he had a great look for Renly…but of course, that was twenty years ago."

February 2008: "Much as I *cough* admire Salma Hayek, I picture Arianne as looking more like Appollonia Kotero, as she was around the time of PURPLE RAIN."

November 2008, Elio Garcia: "George has said in the past that Adrian Paul is Baratheonish in looks (years ago he said he could see him for a young Robert or Renly)"

May 2009: "Playing Tyrion Lannister will be Peter Dinklage, who was almost everyone's "dream casting" for the role (he certainly was mine)."

August 2009: "I know my readers play the casting game. Well, confession time, so do I. Ever since I began A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE (way back in 1991, thought it wasn't until 1994 that I got writing in earnest), there was always a little part of me that would watch every television show and movie with one eye looking for actors and actresses who might work as my characters.

And so there I was, watching THE TUDORS (which I have VERY mixed feelings about, I confess), when Tamzin Merchant came on screen as the fifteen year old Katherine Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife. I sat up at once, thinking, "Hmmm, she could be a good candidate for Dany.""

July 2011, Janina Gavankar: "George just told me I look like Lady Nymeria." (additional link 1) (link 2)

[artsywriter25]

Let’s talk about the Kung Fu Panda 4 Trailer 

Okay, we finally got the trailer after waiting for so many months! 

First things first, my reaction to the trailer. I thought it was decent, I didn’t react too much but that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. I couldn’t stop smiling seeing Po again, I was expecting to see more but this is just a tease. There probably is more that they can’t show us just yet. I watched this trailer multiple times. I’m gonna go on and talk about the things I like and things that I didn’t like. 

=

The Pros: 

- The animation looks great as always. I was hoping they add in the hybrid animation but the one they’re using is still amazing. 

- Po is now using his jade staff to make combo moves which is awesome and I can't wait to see the creative battles. 

- I like Zhen so far and Aquafina’s voice fits her. I know people are saying her design looks weird but I think it looks fine, and I have liked Aquafina since seeing The Farewell. 

- The Chameleon looks beautiful! If you pause during her transformations she actually looks scary. DreamWorks made a frecking chameleon scary, how do they do that?!

- I like how they kept the animals at their accurate heights like it took me the fifth watch to realize how small Chameleon was compared to Tai Lung yet she took him down easily. 

-Speaking of Tai Lung, he is so back! The fact that he is on the poster could be hinting at a possible redemption arc so for those die-hard Tai Lung fans out there, I’m happy for you. 

-I’m also happy they even got Ke Huy Quan to join the cast. I grew up watching The Goonies and after seeing him in Everything Everywhere all at once, I said that he should be in a KFP film and I’m glad he is.

The Cons:

- The jokes are okay, the only one that made me laugh was Po choking on the flower petals. I hate fart jokes, I know that’s what made DreamWorks famous like Sherk but it doesn’t fit well with KFP. Hopefully that’s the only one and there are not too many gross jokes. 

- I like we’re getting new characters but I’m afraid they won’t be complex characters with arcs of their own but just there as comic relief. 

- I’m already annoyed by those crazy rabbits. 

- Tai Lung cannot catch a break. First, his chi was taken from Kai and now the Chameleon took his chi, I hope he doesn’t end up as a punching bag for the rest of the film. 

-I noticed there is a lack of a color theme, I had always theorized it would be purple but I keep seeing gold, green, and white. That’s not a good sign.

- Okay this is just my nick-pick but I was shocked to find out they got Viola Davis voicing the villain. I like her in some movies but she gives me this impression of those actresses with big egos. Honestly, her voice is nice but I need a full clip of her to get a full impression. 

- Lastly, there is no Furious Five. I saw how the fandom is freaking out about this, but I think they are in the movie, just not for long. While I’m sad we don’t see them, the reality is there really is no other purpose for them but to help Po. I still think they may show up at the end for the final battle. I don’t know what the actors are doing right now, but Seth Rogan came out with his movie this year, TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, so he’s probably busy writing the sequel. As for Tigress, I won’t be surprised if she doesn’t have speaking lines because Angelia Jolie is too busy dealing with her personal issues and her divorce right now. 

=

Okay I got the pros and cons out of the way, now I want to talk about what I think may happen in KFP4. There are some things I’ve noticed in the trailer and I have too many theories and so many questions running in my head and I need to write it out. 

So Po’s Jade staff is definitely going play an important role in the story, it seem to have a connection to both the living world and the spiritual world. My guess is the Chameleon wants the staff for a higher purpose of her plan or she needs it to travel to the spirit world herself. We can see her summoning spirits over to the living world, capturing them, and literally eating their chi away. Chi is what helps the spirits stay in living world but Tai Lung’s chi was taken and we don’t know how this will affect him. He may be stuck there until he can get his chi back. 

I noticed in one shot of the trailer there are these strange boxes in the room where Tai Lung was fighting and I realized those are cages. The Chameleon is probably planning on keeping the villains as prisoners to take more chi from them. Knowing Po, he’s going to see this as wrong and wants to save the villains. I know it’s a stretch but I think it could happen. It would be so cool seeing Po, Tai Lung, Shen and Kai working together to take down the Chameleon.

But the question is what is her motive in all this? Why does she say to Po ‘we are not so different you and I’? If she is a powerful sorcerer then why does she need his staff? They better not say that she was never taken seriously enough, there’s gotta be more to it.

And there is Zhen, who I want to know the most. I’m sure they would show some flashbacks to her story and show why she became a criminal. For some reason, I keep thinking she maybe leading Po to a trap, which I hope that’s not the case, but she seems to know more than she lets on. Po didn’t know who the Chameleon was until Zhen explained to him and she knows where she lives. I hope she doesn’t end up being a backstabber because this character is supposed to be the next Dragon Warrior, it would be hard to forgive her if they went that route. 

But these are just my theories and questions that I have. There’s really nothing else to say other than despite my cons, I’m still hyped to see this film and praying to god this will be still good. They may put up another trailer later on, if it’s good enough I’ll write my reaction to it too.

But tell me what you guys think? 

[fleetstreetpies]

Trapped in the Death Note Fandom, or The Concept of Dead Fandoms (More Below The Cut)

The severe entrapment has led me down the path of becoming a Misa Amane cosplayer, and, while this is great, nobody fucking gets it. Nobody except my beloved older audience (thirty somethings mostly) recognizes the look, if nothing else; even then the recognition is still pretty spotty. I even have a full character voice for her that is an uncannily good impression of the dub. And yet, most of the youngers (15-23, or my peers) do not recognize her. They perceive me as just “a cute girl at the con who doesn’t know anime at all but is probably just here with her partner”.

I am not just some cute girl at the con. If I were a cute girl at a con, I wouldn’t be a purple-haired nonbinary dumbass; I’d be a cute girl. Not that complicated. But that isn’t the point.

The one specific model and actress with BLONDE HAIR AND BIG EYES AND A CREEPY CUTE STYLE should be really recognizable, given that Death Note is a more popular Old Guard fandom.

But as it stands not only do we need enrichment in our enclosure, we need others to understand that there are other enclosures that are not Demon Slayer, BNHA, JJK, and SpyxFamily or something (I’m still kinda stuck in 2007 wrt anime but I’m digging myself out of that hole and need help figuring out what’s popular). All of these are decent media!! Do not mistake me!! But there are SO many good “older” anime series to watch too, and I highly recommend watching some!!

I think both of these groups can and do (and should) exist, and that we should learn from each other.

I was born a decent bit before the “renaissance” of the mid 2010s (in America) and grew up in this weird gap before things from the Old Guard (Death Note, OHSHC, etc.) started to go quiet and become “dead fandoms” (although fandom never truly dies) but while the New Pantheon (again, in America) was becoming a thing.

I grew up watching parts of the Old Guard shows when my mom would sometimes secretly help me consume very limited amounts of fiction! I don’t know how she did it, but she did! So I, and a few others grew up in this very weird little gap zone between the two main waves of the aughts and tens. Everything was fair game, and everything was a free-for-all. Fandom back then was different. I saw how mom’s friends interacted.

I’m glad to see that fandom is even still alive, even if differently than how very young me remembers it. But that being said, we shouldn’t let fandoms “die”. There is no such thing as a dead fandom, only a dormant one, and crossing paths, communication, and helping each other find what works best for them is what keeps ALL fandoms alive. I recently started watching SpyxFamily with a friend, to whom I then recommended Ouran High School Host Club (they like more lighthearted things on a general level but know I tend to prefer grittier with one or two exceptions). We each rather enjoyed the other’s show of choice, and have been watching them on our own. I learned from them, and they from me.

So grab that dusty manga or dvd box set off your mom’s shelf, or go on crunchyroll, or pirate it. No matter what you do, just add some enrichment to your enclosure.

It’s okay to embrace change.

Maybe then you’ll recognize model and actress Misa Amane.

Note: I use loose terms to describe the progression of anime fandoms in America over time that others might not use, and they are defined here (all years are spitballing estimates):

Elder Gods: “worshipping the elder gods” refers to watching/being in fandoms for anime from the 80s-about 2000. The elder gods are small but mighty. I worship one of the elder gods (Cowboy Bebop). I’m terrified to touch some of these fandoms because while I’m fucked up I know some of these are FUCKED UP.

The Old Guard: approx. 2003-2010. Includes old favorites like Ouran High School Host Club, Fairy Tail, and Death Note.

The renaissance: 2014-2020. Young anime fans might know BNHA, Chainsaw Man, SpyxFamily, JJK, and Demon Slayer. Some are from a little bit after my general window, but do strongly pull from the renaissance fandom popularity.

??? What comes next? A revival of the old fandoms? Some new thing? You decide!

Love being a Death Note fan in 2024. We're trapped here. We can't leave. I cosplay Matt a few times per year, during convention season. Someone at Anime Boston thought I was Hawks from MHA. I told her I was Matt from Death Note. I don't think she recognized the name or the character. There still isn't an official US production of Death Note: The Musical. People are still making "Imagay" jokes and acting like it's peak original humor. We're trapped here. We're banging on the walls of our cage, demanding enrichment in our enclosure.

[femme-foucault]

Okay, a slightly more detailed "review" of Wicked:

For some context, I was OBSESSED with Wicked in 2011. I am still a massive musical theater geek and I do partially credit Wicked for being instrumental in that, but today, I wouldn't really put Wicked in my Top 10 favorite musicals by a longshot. That being said, I thought the movie was a really good adaptation of the stage play! Even though it's not my favorite play, it is so easy to mess up a stage-to-screen adaptation that I can appreciate it when one is done well and I think fans of the Broadway show will like it. In general, if I had to list positives, negatives, and neutral comments:

Positive:

The casting was spot-on. We all knew Cynthia Erivo would be good -- or at least, anyone who saw her perform at the Tonys 2016 (the year Hamilton won pretty much everything EXCEPT Lead Actress in a Musical bc Erivo won for The Color Purple revival), but I knew some people were really skeptical about Ariana Grande's casting. But I thought Ariana Grande was an excellent Glinda both vocally and in terms of her comedic timing. I don't enjoy her music but she's always been a technically gifted singer with a wide range so I'm not surprised she pulled it off. Vocally, the only cast members who I think kinda Les Mis 3012'd it were Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh, who are not great singers, but their acting fit the characters in other ways (especially Yeoh at the end) and they don't have any big, technically difficult numbers in this movie so it was fine. I hadn't seen the guy who plays Fiyero in anything before (apparently, he is in Bridgerton, which I haven't seen) but I thought he was GREAT. Dancing Through Life was absolutely a highlight.

Not really related to the movie, but one of the reasons I go see movies at Alamo pretty exclusively is I hate to be in a theater and someone starts talking or uses their phone but I knew this was going to be a kid-friendly screening and I was fine with it, since I knew this was a PG movie. Actually all the kids were perfectly well-behaved -- much better than a lot of adults, actually! -- and the one time any of them made noise was at the end of the movie, the children in the row in front of me clapped and it was really cute. Absolutely an improvement. Fortunately, no sing-alongs.

There were some creative reframing choices of the musical numbers for the film. I disagree with the claim I have heard in a few reactions or reviews "It's just a film version of the stage play." No -- because if it were just that, it wouldn't be good. The movie was good (for the most part) about incorporating elements from film language when needed, like the use of montage in "What Is This Feeling?" or the creative blocking involving the circular bookcase in "Dancing Through Life." It's hard to keep a film musical as visually interesting as a stage play in the same way because I think stage audiences are more likely to just pay attention during really dance-heavy musical numbers, for instance (it's just more impressive when world-class singers and dancers are on stage in front of you in the same room) while film has to find a way to frame it. For the most part, I think the movie succeeded.

Oz looked great in terms of the production design and costumes. It wasn't always filmed excellently (more on that) but the aesthetic of the film was really unique and strong.

The sound mixing on the singing and score was better than the trailers made me think it would be. Something about the trailers sounded vaguely autotuned to me. Perhaps it was because the songs in the trailers were made into melodies for the trailer when they weren't necessarily in the same key in the musical. But actually, watching the film, the cast's vocal quality was good.

Negative:

The cinematography is, unfortunately, not good. It's not current Marvel-movie levels of bad, but it was a bit jarring in a scene like No One Mourns The Wicked in particular that everything was so bright and aesthetically washed out. Some of the scenes set in visually darker places, like the scene(s) in the Ozdust Ballroom or "I'm Not That Girl" were more saturated and looked better. But it seems an odd choice for a movie that is set in the same world as The Wizard of Oz, one of the most famously literally technicolor movies ever and one in which color schemes play a large part in the world building in both the movie and play, would be so...colorless. No One Mourns the Wicked was the biggest causality for me because even though I am lukewarm on the musical as a whole, I love that scene and song.

Nessa is still a nothingburger of a Disabled McGuffin Character. Yes, I know she has more to do in the second half, and I loved the detail about her being annoyed at able-bodied people doing "well-intentioned" things against her will, like pushing her wheelchair when she didn't ask, but if you are going to drag this movie out to the length of the original play and only tell half of it, could part of it go to fleshing her out more?

On that note, the pacing. The movie did a weird thing where it would drag out a little more of any beat that was initially in the musical a bit longer or interrupts musical numbers instead of letting them flow. Sometimes it worked -- the longer version of Dancing Through Life that changed locations in a way that can be done in the film but is hard to do on stage -- worked, but it really threw off the pace in Defying Gravity in particular.

That pacing also highlighted one of the reasons I don't care for the play as much now as I did when I was like 18 -- the characters aren't that deep or realized. Elphaba has always been a character who actually doesn't have too much to her on paper and it's always been up to the actress playing her to find those layers on her own. And in fairness, Erivo definitely does it and does it well. But the lac of depth in pretty much everyone save Glinda starting Act II is noticeable when the pace is slowed down.

Neutral:

And on that note, I realized watching this film how many of my actual issues with Wicked are about the second act. The first act of the musical is actually pretty tight and well-paced on stage and even when dragged out too much here, it made me appreciate Act I of the musical more. We'll see how they do with the sequel. Though, to me, the second act is where the musical fails by trying to link the story too much to The Wizard of Oz in a way the novel didn't and I think was unnecessary. For me, the bulletpoint description of Wicked as "Oh it's a prequel to the Wizard of Oz" (though that's an oversimplification) was enough to get butts in seats and by Act II, the audience doesn't need anymore because the connection has been astounded. We didn't need to know the origins of the Scarecow, Tinman, or the Cowardly Lion, especially in how forced it was. Actually, it kinda makes it worse that The Scarecrow and The Tinman knew each other and had met The Cowardly Lion before they ran into Dorothy because that takes away some of the charm in those relationships in the original in a way that doesn't contribute much to Wicked. Not really relevant to this movie, but worth noting.

Anyway, yeah, it was very good though! I'm curious as to what people who normally aren't musical theater people or those unfamiliar with the play thought about it.

[finelinevogue]

Hello! For the continued part of the blurb in which Harry and YN get casted together; this is the reminder :))

Also here’s a thought about it:

Maybe since like Harry met Olivia on DWD, when Tangled started they're like broken up and so so to make it more realistic (It was more of a suggestion but just do you, your readers would love it either way) :))

Have a great day!!!

yes we will definitely continue this!! okay let’s go;

First day nerves were always the worst.

Whether it was first day of school, first day of a new job, first day at university or, in your case, first day on set, you always got a really bad case of the nervous butterflies. It was just unnerving having to meet new people and try and fit into the way everything worked around here. You were a very social person when you came out of your shell, but you could be a hard one to crack if you weren’t with the right people. Luckily for you this set definitely had the right people. After briefly meeting him on the red carpet for Don’t Worry Darling and then having him text you afterwards, you have to say that now working with Harry Styles seemed like a dream. His music and his charisma shaped him into someone you really liked and really wanted to know more about. He was your all time crush and unfortunately, for you, he’d probably gathered that by now - what with your blushing interview over him.

The weather was beautiful and the buzz on set was amazing. Everyone was rushing around and trying to busy themselves until filming started at 8am. You had just been in hair and makeup and were on your way to set now. The movie wasn’t being filmed in its’ complete order, so the first scene that you were filming was where Flynn climbs up the tower and meets Rapunzel for the first time. Where Harry meets you.

You couldn’t quite believe you were actually here. You were a Disney princess, and your favourite one at that. The purple dress was everything you’d imagined and you felt like a dreamy cloud in it. Your flip flops and robe covered most of your outfit though, to keep you warm until you were needed on set. Instead of going straight inside the filming building, you sat outside on a nearby bench hoping to calm your nerves.

To keep your mind preoccupied you went over and over your lines in your head, cursing yourself when you messed up over something so small. Your fingers picked away at each other, damaging the nail-art that had only recently been put on.

“You’re going to cost the makeup department a fortune if you keep doing that.” You didn’t need to look up to know that it was Harry who was approaching you, but you did anyways. He looked beautiful. His hair was styled the same way as Flynn Ryders and you could see the outlines of his costume underneath the coat he was wearing.

“Oh, sorry.” You laughed nervously, putting your head back down to stop him from catching your blush.

“Hey no need for apologises. Just wanted to make sure you were okay.” He spoke honestly and you felt the warmth of his words spread over your body, like butter on toast.

“Just really nervous.” You admitted shyly.

“Can I…” He pointed towards the bench space next to you.

“‘Course, yes.” You patted the space encouragingly and watched him pull the trousers up from his thighs to sit more comfortably. God, those thighs. You cleared your throat to detach the dirty thoughts from the back of your mind.

It was quiet until he spoke again. “What’s your favourite Disney movie?”

“What?” You asked confused and Harry repeated the question as calmly as he did last time. You expected him to start giving you words of advice, not asking you your favourite Disney movie. “Oh, um, Tangled of course.”

“You know you don’t just have to say that because you’re the lead actress in the movie.” He nudged you with his shoulder, making you laugh as you swayed away and then back to him.

“Yeah I know.”

“Pity.”

“Why?”

“Just would’ve taken you for more of an avid Lion King fan.” He joked, his dimpled smile boasting its’ way onto his cheeky face.

“I am, actually. I just, there’s something about Rapunzel that draws me to her. I don’t know whether it’s her childhood was similar to mine—”

“Wait you were abducted by a weirdly attractive evil woman who claims to be your— wait! So you’re a princess?” Before you can answer he knelt down before you, capturing your hands in his - neither of your missing the tingles of passion when your skin touched skin - and holding them tightly, whilst he began speaking again, “M’lady, forgive me for being so simple.”

“Harry! What are you doing, y’fool?” You laughed at him, trying to get him to sit back next to you as you’d drawn the attention from a few crew members.

“I’m grovelling at the feet of my future Queen.” He said so matter-of-factly you almost, nearly, truly believed him. Chuffing actor.

“Get up you oaf!” And he did with a little more persuasion. “What I meant was that my childhood was quite isolated and lonely - I didn’t have many friends at all.” You spoke from the heart, not expecting Harry’s eyebrows to furrow with confusion or for him to look so sad.

“I’m sorry.” You knew he meant it.

“At least I have Flo, though, now.” You smiled at the thought of your amazing best friend, whom also happened to be Harry’s most recent co-star. Their performances in Don’t Worry Darling were second to none and you were so proud of Flo for delivering such an awe inspiring delivery to her character Alice.

“And me. Don’t forget me.”

“I could never.” You turned to look at him, unprepared to find him staring back at you with hearts in his eyes. You blushed and had to look away, but you rested the side of your head on his shoulder out of natural instinct. It felt right and it felt comforting. “Thank you, though Harry.”

“Always.” He rested his head back against yours, both of you just watching the busy people prepare for your first scene. The nerves had gone though, now, and you were feeling more at peace with yourself - and with him. “Oh and Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“I think that you’re drawn to Rapunzel, because she embodies your courage, kindness, beauty and compassion.” Your heart swelled at his words. You never thought someone could think of you this way, let alone Harry. You pushed your head tighter against his shoulder, wanting him to wordlessly know that you were really grateful for him.

“Smooth, Harry!” He laughed with you, “How long have you been rehearsing that?”

“Too many other lines to remember to be learning them ones too. That, Y/N, was all ad-lib.” And your heart swooned a little more again. He was just so perfect and he made you feel safe. There wasn’t a good enough phrase or word in the English dictionary to justify how good of a person he was or how much he meant to you.

“You’re too good.”

“Too good to maybe ask you out for a drink after today?” You brought your head away from his shoulder in shock from what he just asked. Harry, the Harry Styles, was asking you, Y/N L/N, out for a drink. What?

“No, I think i’ll let you take me out for a drink.” You smiled at him, admiration sitting heavily in your eyes that there was no way he could miss it.

“Yeah?” His eyes glinted back at yours.

“Only if you stop with the compliments, i’m so bad for accepting them.”

“Hmm, no can do.” You rolled your eyes and reached over to take his hand in yours and he instantly linked his fingers with yours. It felt right. Warm. Safe.

“Fine, but don’t be alarmed if I just jump you for being too nice to me or something.” Your words came out faster than your brain could process and your eyes widened once you realised what you’d just said to him. You’d just threatened to jump Harry Styles. Fuck sake. And now he wad laughing, at you or with you you didn’t know.

“Alright, but you don’t be alarmed if I do nothing to stop you.”

Now you understood why he didn’t need to ask what was wrong or if you were okay, his presence was comforting enough to make your nerves dissipate and focus on the only thing that now mattered; him.

[thevindicativevordan]

What's your opinion on the DCAU Superman? Tim Daly or George Newbern?

Daly over Newbern for a lot of reasons, mainly that Justice League Superman sucks.

Have an interesting relationship with this series. Namely that it was my introduction to the character and his wider mythos. I grew up watching this on TV, for some reason I never got any BTAS episodes. So this definitely helped make me into a Superman fan. My parents have told me that it was because of watching this series that I demanded Superman pajamas which I always tried to wear since they came with a little cape on the back. Thought the Saw movies were about Toyman because of how similar the two looked to me. Seeing John Henry Irons in this probably encouraged me to read Reign of the Supermen down the line. In short this series was a big influence on me growing up. Yet I have to say, I don't think it's the gold standard for Superman adaptations anymore.

Now Superman: The Animated Series brings a lot of ideas to the table. Some of them I like and some of them I don't, but it's important to be fair to Timm and Dini about one thing: they were working under the restrictions of Post-Crisis DC. The rules of that era had a number of restrictions that they had to work around, such as bringing in a Kara Supergirl who couldn't be Superman's cousin or from Krypton. So even though a more "grounded" take isn't to my taste, I don't hold that as being "bad" necessarily. Do think that they should've gone with their initial gut instinct of nerfing him back to Golden Age power levels (they seriously considered having this incarnation unable to fly). Clearly they were more interested in quasi-realism, and I do think Superman can work in that mindset. Just needs to be reset to what he was at the very beginning when he dealt with "real" problems.

Revamping Superman more to Timm's liking in Gods and Monsters resulted in a Superman that I enjoyed more because you could tell there was much greater enthusiasm for the character. Their approach to Superman in STAS felt like a compromise between stuff they wanted to do, and stuff they felt like they had to include in order for it to be a Superman show. The results were a mixed bag.

What I Liked About DCAU Superman

There is actually much that I think the creators did well. Superman himself is solid if rather flat characterization-wise. Daly does a great job at voicing a Superman who is cast in the Byrne model. As Superman he is suitably heroic and courageous. As Clark Kent... he's basically the exact same personality-wise, just a little more subdued. Not my favorite take on the divide between the two, but well-done here. There is some slyness to his Clark that I love, such as his "confession" to Lois about his secret identity. I love that bit, very cheeky and deadpan as befitting Superman's sense of humor. Have to say though, I think Daly's post-STAS return to the character is a lot better. He's got this warmth in movies like the Superman/Batman team-ups and Justice League Doom that feels much closer to my ideal voice for the character. It's because of those movies that I hear Daly as the voice of Earth 0 Superman in my head when I read his dialogue. While they didn't portray Superman as smart as I would have liked, he's not a complete idiot either. He breaks out protective suits when he has to face Parasite, Livewire, or Joker. Of course the suits get shredded but at least the creators didn't force him to be a moron to make their plots work, and JL has episodes like the one where he's flung into the future and loses his powers to show that it's not the powers that make him Superman.

Delany is fantastic as Lois Lane, she's the voice I hear for Earth 0 Lois. Great for all the usual reasons an actress portrays a great Lois (DCAU Lois is snarky yet compassionate and fiercely committed to her pursuit of the truth), the largest contribution to the wider mythos DCAU Lois made is I think she started the trend of Lois having purple eyes. Really like that attribute, it's a real shame we don't get to see this Lois and Clark get hitched. Does DCAU Lois ever even learn his secret? I don't think so but I could be misremembering. Only misfire is that Timm and Dini needed to assert their self-insert's alphaness by having her get into a fling with Bruce. Yes I recognize it was probably a play on Delany also voicing Phantasm, but if you don't think Timm at the very least had a hard-on at the idea of Batman fucking "Superman's girl", you clearly haven't been seeing the DC movies he makes once the restrictions are all off (and the fuckery was always there just low-key like the Bruce/Babs romance).

Rest of the supporting cast vary. Jimmy had one cool moment that I remember when he was leading the Resistance to Lex and Superman in Brave New Metropolis. Otherwise he was just Superman's Pal in a rather nondescript fashion. Love the mullet though! Perry was there but not really relevant. Ma and Pa were wise and old, clearly cast in the Byrne/Donner model. Jor-El and Lara were cool, the DCAU was the first to have Lara be the one with the S-curl right? I love that so kudos to the DCAU for putting forth that idea. Kara In-Ze was a great way of getting Supergirl while still paying lip serve to the editorial rules of the time. John Henry Irons rocked as Steel, damn shame he didn't get more to do because I loved him. Bibbo was cool. Dan Turpin and Maggie Sawyer were great, probably the best supporting cast members outside of Lois. Really bold of the creators to sneak in Maggie's girlfriend/wife (even if she couldn't be acknowledged as such due to the censors) in the scene where Maggie is in the hospital. Seeing Turpin die hit especially hard, Superman failing to save someone? That blew my mind!

Now the villains were usually pretty great. Clancy Brown as Lex Luthor and Michael Ironside as Darkseid are absolutely up there with Hamill Joker in terms of being the definitive voices for the characters. DCAU Lex pretty much set the bar for the modern Lex Luthor, combining the best of Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis into one take. Lex is a scientific genius who used his brains to get rich and has crafted a public persona of being a philanthropist. More or less, if you're wondering how we went from Byrne's older Kingpin lite Lex to modern young Lex, the DCAU is what facilitated that change. Darkseid is phenomenal here, cunning and threatening. Whenever he showed up you knew shit was going to get serious. Kirby's New Gods probably get their best showcase here in the DCAU, on account of Timm being a Kirby fanboy. New Genesis gets to show up and actually be relevant! Kudos to the creators, they did a good job with the Kirby creations. STAS is definitely what cemented Darkseid and the other New Gods as being part of Superman's world in popular perception.

DCAU revamped Metallo, Toyman, and Brainiac, and I thought all of those were well done. Making Brainiac a Kryptonian AI built by Jor-El was actually a really neat way to connect Superman and Brainiac together! Morrison's idea of "Brainiac" being the Kryptonian internet equivalent that Jor-El built in the New 52 which merges with the Collector of Worlds feels like it had its roots in DCAU Brainiac. Maxima was a much better character here than in the comics, which is kind of crazy given it's Timm. The new villains they created were usually cool, I've written before about Livewire and Volcana. Lobo was great, such a piece of shit in an entertaining way. You could tell he really got under Superman's skin which is exactly how it should be. Bizarro was great, much better handling of the "clone" take than what Byrne did.

Overall the best summary of the series is that it's more consistent than Batman: The Animated Series. Nothing in STAS is as bad as I've Got Batman In My Basement or the Catwoman episodes, but there's nothing quite on the same level as Heart of Ice. Not to say there aren't some GREAT episodes though. The Late Great Mr. Kent for example is absolutely worthy of the accolades thrown it's way. Weird to say, but it's STAS that technically started the shared universe even though BTAS came first. Other heroes with powers first made their debuts here: Flash, GL (albeit Kyle not John), Aquaman, etc. It's this show, not BTAS, that really has a bunch of plot points come back in the JL seasons. Batman may have kicked the DCAU off but Superman is where the real building blocks got laid.

Also I'll throw one point in Newbern's favor here: I like that Superman's temper is portrayed as his fatal flaw. I like that he struggles with it over the course of Justice League. Wrath is what I consider to be Superman's Deadly Sin (like Pride is Batman's), and this incarnation of the character definitely showcases that.

What I Didn't Like About DCAU Superman

Alright so what went wrong? Well you may have heard that DCAU Superman is a jobber. This is very, very true. I'm not someone who really gives a shit about if Superman can push a planet or if he struggles to lift a car. Power levels aren't the most important thing to me, I'm fine with a weaker Superman who needs to wear a space suit out in space. But I need him to not constantly be flopping on the floor after he gets hit by a light breeze. Early seasons of JL really didn't know how to handle the cast, and it's something they got better on over time. There's one huge jobbing moment that I'll talk about later because it's the perfect encapsulation of how this guy went wrong.

Some of the villains I didn't like. Heresy to some but I don't like Gottfried's voice for Mxyzptlk. Gotta admit that's a me thing since I don't think Mxy just being a nuisance is the best use for him. Jax-Ur and whatshername were lame. Again the creators had to work under Post-Crisis rules so I don't hold it against them, but those two really should've just been Zod and Ursa. They're clear stand-ins but lack either the hamminess of the Donner takes or the nuance of later versions. Luminous is an interesting concept, a villain who manipulates light is a great challenge for Superman, but the execution feels undercooked. If I were to use Luminous it would basically be taking the name and the powerset and changing everything else.

These are all sort of minor nitpicks, nothing dealbreaking right? When it comes to the non-character aspects of Superman, I try to be more flexible. But there's a serious problem with this take on Superman that is baked into the show, and it's something that entirely lies in the opinions of the people handling Superman.

The fundamental problem of DCAU Superman is simple: the showrunners don't know what the appeal of the character is. Timm and Dini truly just don't know why people like him. They understand that people do like him, and they try a variety of methods to make Superman appeal to kids, the Superman fans that already exist, and themselves, but they just can't do it. Fundamentally they see the character and his world as lame. As an example Timm has made a lot of comments about how Superman's Rogues Gallery sucks which piss me off. It's not that I disagree that his Rogues couldn't be better, look how many posts about his Rogues I've written where I've "fixed" them to my liking, but Batman's Rogues weren't all awesome from Day 1 either. Timm knows this, look at Mr. Freeze! That's a character who sucked so hard he shows up in Limbo (place where all the uncool and forgotten characters go) in Morrison's Animal Man run! Hard to believe but he was a terrible character that people thought was lame before Timm and Dini reinvented him, and gave him a cool new design for the DCAU.

James Gunn isn't a big fan of Superman either, but he took Bloodsport, revamped him, and now people like Bloodsport! So I don't have much sympathy for Timm when he whines about stuff like that, it's clear he simply didn't want to put forth the effort. No reason "weak" Rogues such as Terra-Man for example couldn't have appeared in the DCAU and been revamped. The Legion of Superheroes cartoon did exactly that! Hell Timm and Dini did do a good job with Metallo, the idea of him losing all physical sensation as a result of his new body was an inspired change! I like that idea a lot personally, so they did have it in them to revamp the villains they didn't like into something cooler. There was a passion and excitement present you could see in the work on Batman, a desire to touch on every aspect of his Mythos possible, that just wasn't present in STAS.

One truly bitter fruit of DCAU Superman is that he's the start of all these fucking evil Superman stories nowadays. Darkseid mindcontrols him and sets him loose on Earth at the end of STAS, something that is admittedly well-executed, but results in him being a grumpy asshole for most of JL. Turning evil twice, TWICE, of his own free will in alternate universes, the main nailbiter of the Cadmus arc is whether mainline Superman is a big enough asshole to break bad due to Lex Luthor's goading like Justice Lord Superman. Brave New Metropolis Superman tossed morality in the trash after his Lois died, and main universe Lois has to point out to him that fascism is bad. Hell main universe Superman needs the same damn talk in JL, Lois has to explain to him that people don't like the League throwing it's weight around with zero restrictions. His response? "We come on a little strong sometimes, but it's for the peoples own good". Remind you of anything? Maybe two very high profile takes on Superman in film and video games? It's easy to tell that the heads were far more interested in the idea of Superman going bad then they ever were in a baseline take on Superman.

To be fair to Newbern, he plays that really well which is why he's such a good fit for Injustice. But his take is far too grumpy and bitter to work on a heroic Superman, which is why I'm always going to pick Daly over him for a more straightforward take. He just can't sell Superman as a good guy underneath all that anger to me, which can be blamed in part on the writing I suppose.

"But Vordan," you cry "you hypocrite, didn't you say you liked that Newbern played Superman as having a temper? Didn't you say Wrath is his Deadly Sin?" Yes I did, but here's the thing: that shouldn't fucking overshadow compassion as his main attribute. Love the Hulk, but Superman isn't the Hulk. If you're going to play up Superman's anger issues we need to see more of his compassionate side also, otherwise we end up with DCAU Superman: An angry toddler essentially who can barely control himself. He's an incredibly bitter dick throughout JL, and the heads just flat out refused to showcase him as anything but that. The best illustration of this is the contrast between what the "iconic moments" are for the two headliners of the DCAU: Batman and Superman.

Batman's iconic moment is his comforting of Ace. This is a beautiful moment that truly captures Batman's character. For all the talk of Batman's ruthlessness and preptime, he tosses aside the weapon and instead chooses to take a gamble on Ace's compassion. Why? Because this Batman wants to help people. He wanted to help his Rogues get better, it wasn't just about glorifying in the brutality of what he did. He wanted to protect people, to help others overcome their trauma in a way he could not. To be there for Ace, a child, in her darkest moment was exactly what Bruce crafted Batman to be.

This moment of compassion is what sticks with you even though we know Bruce is going to end up a bitter old man dying alone because he drove everyone away. It makes that ending feel sad instead of well-deserved because Batman wasn't a dick at the start. Slowly over time as things got worse and worse, he became what he is in Beyond, but the old Batman is still there. Understanding that Batman is more than just being dark and edgy is why DCAU Batman is so good.

Superman's iconic moment is the "World of Cardboard" speech and then punching Darkseid. People gush over this, but what exactly is it if you analyze it? Basically it's a speech where Superman talks tough, throws a punch... and still loses the fight. A jobber to the end, he has to be bailed out by Lex Luthor after Darkseid uses the "Agony Matrix" or whatever the fuck it's called. While hilarious that Superman gets taken down by "magic electricity" essentially (God is that fitting), this is such a frustratingly perfect encapsulation of the DCAU take on him. Superman screams about how ANGRY he is ALL THE TIME, how he just wants to SMASH, and now he's going to SMASH REALLY REALLY HARD!!!!! Except they can't even let him accomplish that, the cool moment is immediately undercut by him jobbing because the writers would probably die if they didn't remind you that they think Superman sucks.

Compare the two and you tell me, who comes off better? That Batman is by far the more popular of the two should tell you what the kids growing up watching the show thought anyway. Now we get stories about how Superman is one bad day from losing it, and I don't think that's at all disconnected from how the DCAU portrayed him. Not enough humanizing moments, not enough stuff where Superman gets to show how much he cares for the people he protects. The writers are too busy pushing back against the idea of him as being "corny" (something they probably think is true themselves) and trying to make him darker that they end up breaking him essentially. Truthfully it's Batman who is the guiding hero of the DCAU, with Superman as the loose cannon who fucks everyone over.

Ultimately the DCAU did a lot of cool storytelling, but that it's take on Superman himself went south is a dealbreaker for me. Characterization of Clark is the final arbitrator for me in terms of whether I like a work or not, and this take just doesn't do it for me. That DCAU Superman was basically the last major focus on Superman in animation has definitely played a role in his fall-off. Thankfully we're getting a new animated Superman show which doesn't appear to have Timm or any of his cronies involved. Hopefully that will be a much better showcase of Superman and his world.

[izzyrmiller]

Six females who helped me embrace my weirdness

I was 11 years old when I watched Kate Middleton get married to Prince William. She floated down the isle of Westminster Abbey looking effortlessly radiant – a vision of beauty and femininity.

Its fair to say not many of us will ever be able to relate to the likes of Kate Middleton, or any royal for that matter, but 11-year-old me watched the royal wedding and believed whole heartedly that this was the definition of the “perfect woman”.

It’s not just the future queen that gave me and many others this false ideal, there are a list of women who meet the criteria of “cookie-cutter” perfect. Yes, we as the public don’t really know the personalities of any celebrity, but it’s fair to say there’s a long list of famous faces who do a great job of making people feel well, like shit.

If you are anything like me, you may have spent most of your youth wondering why you were a bit different. Having stunningly beautiful and put together women gracing our TV’s, magazines and social media feeds likely adds to these feelings of inadequacy.

There are however an army of women I idolised growing up because they made me realise that there is much more to being a woman than beauty and elegance and that actually, it’s cool to be a bit of a weirdo.

From 90’s wild-childs to pop princesses, here is a list of six females who wear their weirdness with pride:

1. Björk:

Kicking off this list of quirky queens, is Icelandic singer Björk. There is no denying the talent and genius of this singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, actress and DJ who has blessed us with tunes such as “its oh so quiet” and “venus as a boy”. Björk’s music videos and lyrical content are odd and eccentric, which match her public image. If there is anything she has taught us, it’s that when you apply your eccentricity to your art, the results are beautiful.

2. FKA Twigs:

FKA Twigs really does encapsulate the essence of femininity whilst also embracing her differences. I remember walking to school as an angsty teenager with Twigs’ debut studio album LP1 plugged into my earphones, thinking I was the coolest kid going. I would watch interview after interview, in awe of how unusual and complex she was yet still so charming and elegant. Her most recent album, Magdalene, is a reflective and beautifully crafted piece of work that Twigs wrote during her public breakup from Robert Pattison. Not only is Twigs an incredibly gifted artist, but she has also become a voice for women who have found themselves victims of domestic abuse after she bravely opened up about her abusive relationship with Shia LeBeouf.

3. Whoopi Goldberg

I had to include Whoopi on this list. One of my favourite movies growing up was Ghost, not just because I had big fat crush on Patrick Swayze (me and everyone else), but because nothing made me hysterically laugh more than the iconic scene where Whoopi Goldberg’s character attends the bank in an attempt to impersonate someone and withdraw funds from her account. Whoopi Goldberg’s gift is that she can provide comic relief to any movie yet still deliver gut wrenchingly sad performances, watch the colour purple to see what I mean. The reason she has made this list is because she helped me understand that I do not need a significant other to be complete. Whenever I find myself feeling down about being single, or in a state of rumination about how I will probably end up alone with 12 cats, I remind myself of Whoopi Goldberg’s iconic answer to the marriage question; “I don’t want somebody in my house”. Same sis.

4. Courtney Love

I think I was probably introduced to Courtney Love through my love for Nirvana. Although Cobain had been dead for 5 years by the time I was born, I had grown up a fan of his which ultimately led me to become a fan of Courtney Love. Not only is Love the definition of rock chick but she was also the first female celebrity I knew of that was a known neurodivergent. Her beauty and ownership of her sexuality was very liberating for me as a young woman and even to this day I admire her frankness and passion for getting the truth across. Her band “Hole” also has some absolute bangers that I would highly recommend you give a listen.

5. Grace Jones

The honourable Grace Jones may have a bags of talent, a face to die for and overall star quality, but she represents a whole lot more. I had always been interested in the idea of androgyny growing up but could never quite muster up courage to attempt it myself… until I began obsessing over women like Grace Jones. As so eloquently put by Jean-Paul Goude for Vice in 2012; “she’s feminine, no doubt about that, but I’ve always thought she was far more beautiful without the artifices she’s employed to make herself more feminine”. I personally think we have Grace Jones to thank for empowering women to embrace their androgyny, as well as the tune that is “pull up to the bumper”.

6. Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is often called “the most beautiful woman in the world”, and there is no doubt that she does in fact look as though she’s been crafted by angels, but when I think about Angie, I think about the 90s chick who wasn’t afraid to be her weird and wonderful self. The media liked to romanticize the wild-child days of Angelina Jolie, honing in on the blood vial necklaces, the unexpected relationships and so on, but for me Angelina Jolie was a young woman who did not care to live up to the expectations put upon her. She spoke up for what she believed in, she did what made her happy and didn’t give a fuck what anyone else thought. Nowadays, Angie still makes headlines regarding her incredible humanitarian work. In the Summer, following the devastating scenes of refugees fleeing Afghanistan, Angie joined Instagram promoting her work for the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency. Queen shit.

I could go on and on rambling about female icons who aid in making us realise that we don’t have to be the picture of femininity and grace to be respected, in fact, if I have learned one thing from this, it’s that you can embrace the femme side of yourself whilst also unleashing your inner freak. Today, we have the likes of Doja cat, Meghan the stallion, Christine and the queens and a wealth of actresses, social media influencers and more famous faces instilling into young people that it’s okay to embrace your difference, speak up for what you believe in and be a bit weird.

[magnificent-monsters]

My thoughts and opinions on the recently released Monster High: The Movie pictures

Starting off with our main wolf, Clawdeen, I wanna say that her look is really great and stays true to the vibes that Clawdeen had in the original animations.

It feels like something she would have designed and wore in the og show and I really think it suits Miia Harris!

She has a confidence and sass that is perfect for someone playing a character like this.

The only thing that really bothers me is that I’m not a big fan of the purple hair, it makes the whole thing feel very disconnected from how Clawdeen typically is portrayed.

Other than that, I think she is perfect for what I feel like the movie is going to be!

Next in this lineup is Frankie Stein, who looks amazing from head to toe! The entire costume is exactly what I imagined her looking like in a live format.

From the pops of color in her various accessories to her getting to have her trademark stitches, this is the perfect outfit for the daughter of Frankenstein.

Ceci Balagot seems to be able to pull off the super sweet personality of Frankie in the perfect way while still bringing a fresh new take to her story.

Ceci has a very charming feel to their portrayal and while I don’t normally like Frankie all that much, I truly believe they will rock as Frankie and perhaps change my mind about the character..

The one thing I don’t like for Movie Frankie is that she doesn’t appear to have the signature bolts in her neck but other than that, I’m very excited to see what she is like in the film!

The next ghoul we have Is our favorite vampiress, Draculaura! She looks very cute and modern in her outfit while still having the flair of cartoon Draculaura.

The various shades of pink used throughout her costume are so pretty and the earrings with her initial are iconic

Nayah Damasen has the potential to be an amazing version of Draculaura that has a lot more seriousness to her character than we’ve been able to see in the cartoons.

I do, however have a few more nitpicks about Draculaura than I did with the first two ghouls.

Foremost, while I do like the split-dye of her hair, I do wish that they had put it into her famous pigtails, even if they were lower down on her head or turned into Wednesday Addams-esque braids.

I also think making the choice to make Drac interested in witchcraft makes her feel like a new character rather than a- forgive the pun- revamped version of a character we know and love.

But digressing from all that, Nayah is looking to be a wonderful actress for our best vampire girl!

Next, We have the one and only Cleo De Nile! Wearing clothes that look very reminiscent of her “Boo York, Boo York” clothes, I think she looks very pretty and semi-regal.

I actually think she looks like a mix of Evie from Descendants and Nefera than herself, but I actually like it and don’t think that it’s necessarily so much of a bad thing for a live movie.

The champagne colored jewelry and strappy details make up for that by adding a very Cleo-like feel to the outfit.

Jy Prishkulnik definitely seems like she has the attitude to be a very good adaptation of Cleo, adding a bit more of a grown up sensability to the character than we’ve had before.

I don’t like that she doesn’t have a lot of bandage wrap imagery but that is a very minor thing to not have.

I can’t wait to finally see more of Jy as Cleo when the movie comes out!

And finally the last of the Ghoulfriends for the moment, Lagoona Blue. I’m just gonna come out of the gate and say that this looks nothing like Lagoona should.

Besides the fins on her legs and the fish scale print on the shorts, this does NOT resemble Lagoona in any way, shape or form, and it makes me sad to see  (even though I don’t like Lagoona at all.)

I was really hoping that the live Lagoona would be as sporty and energetic as cartoon Lagoona is and possibly get me to like her.

Seeing as we have yet to see anything of Lagoona in the teaser trailers so far, I’m hoping that Lina Lecompte’s performance of her makes up for the crummy costume design.

For the first of the other characters revealed, we have the Manster himself, Deuce Gorgon! He looks super cool and trendy.

While I am a little disappointed that he doesn’t have any true gorgon details to his costume besides his eyes and a few little flesh colored scales, I think the entire look is actually very well suited to Deuce’s personality.

We haven’t really seen much of Case Walker as Movie Deuce, but from the snippet we got in the teaser, I think he will be just as laid back and chill as his animation counter part.

The next Manster we have is our fiery friend, Heath Burns! He looks very similar to the animated Heath but still different enough to look new and stylish.

The way Heath looks in this picture makes me think that he will be framed as more of an antagonist rather than the goofball we’re used to which would be an unexpected but not terrible idea, per se.

This is the only teaser we have of him so far, but I think Justin Derickson could be a really neat Heath under the right circumstances.

We now move on to the first of the Monster High Faculty, Headless Headmistress Bloodgood! This look is perfect for a live adaption of Bloodgood, from her hairstyle all the way down to her boots!

She truly looks like the horse-riding principal we all love and it’s so refreshing to see.

I believe Traci T. House will be so good as the Headmistress and will be sort of the wise woman in the Ghoulfriends’ lifes.

Last but not least, we have the all new character, Mr. Komos! I like the typical, teacher-y sweater-vest and the fun checkerboard socks that he wears.

Komos kind of reminds me of Dracula in the 2016 reboot series and it honestly works for this adaptation of Monster High.

He could have done with a couple more monstrous features than just the horns, but other than that, I think he’ll fit into the MH universe very well.

Kyle Selig and Mr. Komos could turn out to be a good addition to the overall lore and feel of Monster High.

And with that, so ends my thoughts on the first bit of teaser images for Monster High: The Movie! Despite some of the flaws it has with costuming and characterization, I think that the film will be fun to watch and think that it could become really popular!

[rhymingteelookatme]

A Slapdash Review: Wooden Overcoats s4 e10 Live

Firstly, audio was super quiet despite my computer volume being up to full blast; what gives, King’s Place? Hm. And the stream cut out in the middle of the Georgie/Jennifer scene; boo upon that tech failure. I had to refresh the page and sign in all over again before the show went on. 

But still!! Seeing everyone was so beautiful!! DKB all snazzy in his red jacket, Ciara in her gorgeous bright yellow floral blouse, Tom wearing that nice dark purple sweater under his black blazer etc. [More under the cut.]

Somewhat to my disappointment, at no point was the opportunity taken to do a live full-on-mouth kiss in any of the places we could have had one; however I appreciate immensely the kiss-on-temple between the Mayor and Wavering :D and the little substitute dialogue in place of him phoning his twin! “You’ve always been right honorable to me.” ^________^ oh my sweet, dear hearts.

Annnnd.... :3333 the Look with a capital L :3333333 between Beth and Tom after “Wouldn’t you say.... Eric?” Delicious, delicious, what a feast, utterly glorious! Also I just want to say how delightful Beth’s expressions were throughout the whole evening. Complete perfection. (Were her boots flat or heeled? Is she genuinely just that stunningly tall? I kept trying to check the heels but I never quite could make up my mind.) 

Felix Trench’s Face gets its own paragraph because my god. My. God. I realize those of you who’ve been watching the live streams all along probably knew about how wonderful that face of his is, and all the magnificent things it can do, but like!!!! I was Not prepared!!!!!!! Sir you are glorious and also are we the same height? 5′5″? Are we both short kings?? Come and join me for a pint then, come on! (well, mine’s a pint of soda; I don’t drink alcohol)

Emily Stride read such a wonderful Madeleine, and I had no idea it was her til they did the credits at the end. She did her own squeaks and all!! So lovely!! Not to mention the immense satisfaction of hearing her as Marlene in person, ahha ^_^ “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right...” (And the rest of the cast acting as said clowns/jokers, save Tom of course) Superb indeed! 

Pip Gladwin :D :D :D :D the man’s a treasure!! Mime-waving the cigar with Rudyard and Wavering; bouncing (well, jumping) in the ‘bouncy castle’ for all he was worth!! And then Ciara joining in and aaaah it was perfect ^_^ And cueing the audience to stop cheering and let him actually shout “We’re a town!” before moving back from the mic so we could continue said cheering along with the others onstage.... beautiful. ^_^

Everyone dancing to the disco :DDDDDD Beth just kinda shaking her fists like she had invisible maracas! And Tom joining in with her!! A dance at last for my Antigone, glory be and the saints be praised :33333333 

LIVE HUGS LIVE HUGS LIVE HUGS YESSSSS ^_^ and live handshake for Rudyard and Eric!! ANd a REAL BOX OF MEMENTO MORI :O I was wondering about that red rectangle under Rudyard’s seat the whole time, and then that’s what it was and I was thrilled! Did I hear right at the end there- was that a fan-made thing?? I do hope so; that makes it even better!

Also can someone reply to this and give me the name of the actress who appeared as Marjorie and Jennifer, and Miss Scruple, and briefly Vivienne Templar? Because she was utterly marvelous! So was the actress appearing as Zoe, which, my word, what a great performance :D I loved that they gave her lines in the backstory sequence as well! I’ll have to go back and watch it all over again, I suppose. I know their names were read in the end credits along with everyone else, but I wasn’t watching alone- had a friend sitting with me here in my dining room- and I think we were too busy exclaiming about Emily not being Belinda, and we trampled aurally over some of the credits. Shame upon us. 

Those are my thoughts just off the top of my head- I’m sure I’ll have more upon subsequent viewings. Bravi, bravi, bravissimi to everyone!!!

Edit: I did my sleuthing. Brava to Lucy Farrett as Marjorie/Jennifer/Miss Scruple/Lady Templar, and to Kudzayani Chiwawa as Zoe Adeyinka!!

[bewitching-elizabeth-olsen]

Press: Elizabeth Olsen, Much Like Wanda Maximoff, Comforts Herself With Classic TV

W MAGAZINE: For W’s second annual TV Portfolio, we asked 26 of the most sought-after names in television to pay homage to their favorite small-screen characters by stepping into their shoes.

WandaVision was the first television show produced by Marvel Studios, and any gamble Disney+ took to make the series happen immediately paid off. At one point during its nine-episode run, WandaVision was the most popular streamed show in the world (beaten only recently by another Marvel series, Loki). The suburbia-set series received critical acclaim, snagging 23 Emmy nominations—one of those for Elizabeth Olsen, who was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her performance as the titular Wanda—and convinced even the biggest Marvel skeptics to buy into its delicious plot.

It might come as a surprise, then, that Olsen doesn’t really watch that much contemporary television herself. But who could blame the actress, when most of her time is spent filming scenes for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Wanda Maximoff (also known as the Scarlet Witch), a wielder of chaos magic who materializes in the small town of Westview—first as a 1950s-era housewife married to a humanlike robot named Vision (played by Paul Bettany), then as a ’60s housewife, then a ’70s housewife, and so on. When the actress does watch television, though, she prefers to get into some of those older shows, like Murder, She Wrote, which she chose to re-create above, and, of course, episodes of ’90s sitcoms like Full House, of which there was no dearth in the actress’s childhood.

My contract with Marvel was done. Kevin Feige, who runs Marvel, had me come into his office, and he pitched me WandaVision. I loved the concept of it, but I was terrified of a new streaming service—that is now Disney+.

Did you know the entire concept going in, or was it revealed to you over time?

He told me that he wanted to create a story about Wanda Maximoff manipulating reality to mimic the sitcoms that she grew up with in order to comfort herself. He wanted it to be kind of trippy, for it to feel like a sitcom, but twisted, kind of Twilight Zone-y. That reminded me of Twilight Zone: The Movie, where there’s a boy who is obsessed with television, has a horrible family, and he conjures up a bunny that kills his whole family. It’s really wacky. I just thought, It would be incredible if we do anything that’s a piece of that.

Were you personally a fan of I Love Lucy and other old sitcoms?

Yeah, I watched Nick at Nite all the time. I loved I Love Lucy, Laverne & Shirley. I didn’t like The Brady Bunch, but I loved the Brady Bunch sequel movies. That made me excited to get to reference The Brady Bunch [in WandaVision].

Did you shoot the episodes in order, or did you go back and forth between the 1950s and ’60s?

We tried to film everything in order. The exteriors, though, we hopped around. Our fences, the color of the houses, the flowers all look different from decade to decade. Luckily, it was pretty contained, but it really was sad to wrap the sitcom. We wrapped it when Paul and I and Kathryn [Hahn] and Teyonah [Parris] were filming the ’70s opening montage to the Brady Bunch theme, and that was how he wrapped it—in six bizarre outfits, with a pregnant belly on a tandem bike.

Did you keep anything from the set?

I’m not a keeper, because I feel like I’m not allowed to [keep things]. I feel like everything goes into some box that they hide from everyone, then maybe eventually they’ll retire and reuse shit. I have no idea.

I thought you might keep Wanda’s apron!

That would have been a really impractical apron. It was made out of gauze. Anything would bleed right through it.

Do you have an understanding of women in each decade now? Did you have to wear the undergarments and the whole nine yards?

Yeah. I loved the undergarments. It’s all helpful for the time, for the character, for how women move, how they talk. The shoes were the worst. I did wear vintage period shoes. And that’s awful. My feet don’t even like heels, let alone heels that have quite literally no support.

Is it difficult to have kissing scenes with all the purple paint on Paul Bettany when he’s dressed as Vision?

It’s really hard. It comes off on me, even though they try as much as they can to powder him. They have to powder his hands all the time, because if he wants to touch my face… They have to be on top of us for those scenes. It’s really not practical.

So which character did you decide to play for our portfolio?

I decided to be Angela Lansbury [as Jessica Fletcher] in Murder, She Wrote. I asked my friend Clayton Hawkins, who’s a hairstylist and great with wigs, if he could get a cheap wig and wrap my hair. And that’s what we did. I was watching Murder, She Wrote in London a lot.

During lockdown?

I was filming there, and in and out of lockdowns, but filming through lockdowns as well. And that was one of the things that would be on the television. I think I never really sat down and watched Murder, She Wrote until then. It’s fabulous. Great guest stars, great whodunits. My favorite moment is when they solve it and play it out for you in the solving of the mystery and going backwards. It’s just delicious, and it feels good to watch. There’s a great horse-racing episode that I loved, because I love the racetrack.

Did you have a TV show you loved growing up?

I never did Dawson’s Creek, I never did any of those shows. What did I watch, though? I loved Family Matters, Step by Step, The Torkelsons. And I loved Full House. We had all the VHSs, and it was very easy to watch at my house.

Did you have a crush on John Stamos?

Yes.

Who was your cinematic crush when you were growing up?

Frank Sinatra. I didn’t know they were old movies that I was watching. So when you say “TV shows,” what I consumed as a child was all old musicals, like Oklahoma!, Guys and Dolls, Carousel, West Side Story. I loved classic musicals, and I was in love with Frank Sinatra. I would do scenes with him in my bathroom, which then turned into scenes with George Clooney as I got older and I realized Frank Sinatra was an old man. I was like, Well, maybe if I get older, I can at least work with George Clooney, as his daughter’s friend or something, and then we have a thing.

What was your first red carpet look? Was it for Martha Marcy May Marlene?

Yeah, Cannes was my first red carpet look. I was in the Row. I was in a black Row skirt and a lace top, and I didn’t have an undergarment on. I didn’t know that flash photography at night was going to be my enemy, and my publicist worked really hard to try and remove those pictures from the Internet. [Laughs]

Do you have a secret skill?

You know what I’m really good at? Removing stains. I believe I can remove a stain from anything.

How did you learn to remove stains?

Probably started with my mom, who’s a soaker. That’s kind of the first rule: patience. And then, because I cook so much, I think I just had to learn. I’m pretty “woman of the house” handy.

I thought you were going to say that your secret skill was that you can sell real estate. Because when I first met you, you had a real estate license.

I did. It’s definitely expired. I got my real estate license because I didn’t want to work in a restaurant in New York as a summer job. So I thought, I’ll work in a real estate office. I was dealing with my sister’s friend who was a realtor, and I dealt with his rental clients. And I would mispronounce streets in New York all the time, because I had just moved there.

Press: Elizabeth Olsen, Much Like Wanda Maximoff, Comforts Herself With Classic TV was originally published on Elizabeth Olsen Source • Your source for everything Elizabeth Olsen

[supercharmed-forever-mine]

Today I will be addressing SuperCorp and some of the issues that have been floating around about fandom. And I will be saying some stuff that both is for it and could be used against it even though I am ultimately a super big supercorp fan. Like it says in the tags you're free to express your opinion but they will not be changing mine but I am always open-minded to opinions that can actually be explained and eloquently expressed (receipt's needed) and aren't just basic. Also just so what is noted I have been a part of this fandom since the first episode I have literally shipped Kara with everyone from Lucy to Cat even James.But Lena has just stuck out the most for me but I'm Equal opportunity.

Number #1, Lena's character in no way shape or form has ever been xenophobic she has never once shown any hate towards aliens her problem with Kara in season 5 Wasn't because she was an alien it was because she was a "Super" like Kara could have been a flying purple fucking octopus from the planet of shzjxfdf and Lena wouldn't have gave two fucks but no she was a "Super"but let's dig deeper on that point if we really look at why she was mad it wasn't even the whole alien aspect it was because she wasn't told and no I don't think she's entitled to it but I do think it played into the fact of a trust issue she has with the fact that people would think she would be just like Lex if she had been told Sooner. Which is disproved in 5x13 (also personal note: I also think she wouldn't have reacted half as bad if Kara had just told her that night at game night or the next day when she wanted to probably still would have been pissed but not to the same extent). But okay with that being said I do disagree with the kryptonite entrapment torture scene and basically half the s*** she did in season 5 it was shown that she truly can tap into her Luthor side and be dark when wanted but fortunately she does always return to the light and in all fairness it has been shown several times that Kara has a dark side of her own that could rival the luthors.

Number #2, I do disagree with the abuse of actresses and actors just because of a ship and or character they play don't blame them it's just a job they have I think Melissa and Katie do a beautiful job of bringing Kara and Lena's characters to life couldn't imagine anybody else playing them.

Number #3, I also will say about the reason bombarding of comments on Nicole's social media at least I saw the video via tiktok in that video was fucking hilarious I love Nia, Dreamer,and Nicole in general she's funny and beautiful and is an advocate for everything good in life and well it is normal to even ask other actors if they have the scoop on anything it does not mean we need to be bombarding them in videos on something relating to their character or their love of something a simple comment or so maybe but what I saw NO.

Number #4, The William of it all well I think though his character seems like a nice gentleman he also seems to be bland as hell also I did not know he was a POC to be honest I thought he was a tan white man and we'll be doing further research on people in the future as I can learn from my ignorance also but unrelated I did not know that the woman who played Maggie was apparently just a tan white woman I thought she was of some sort of Hispanic descent but apparently not according to various things I've read on here tonight... But anyways back to William I feel like a lot of people might have perceived him as a white man therefore that might play into the whole scenario of people hate that they just want two white woman together when it proves if she was a man they wouldn't give two f**** about it whether that's true or not I don't know but mine two cents.

Number #5, I will never bash someone for being for or against a certain ship and or character and well I am allowed to certainly disagree with their opinion all opinions are valid because we all see the world a different way some see it bright and shiny and others like I'll admit myself see it through the glasses of trauma. And I think that's why we all have the opinions we do most of the time when you like a shipper character it's because you relate to them somehow even if it's the most minor thing to someone else it might be huge for you. You never know what the person on the other side of the screen is going through in those characters or ship or fanfiction might have literally saved their lives.

Sidenote: Like okay personal story I was been both mentally and sexually abused as a child so I relate to both Kara and Lena respective childhood trauma so that draws me to them. And I kind of see them both as the opposite attract trope (two side of the same coin) because well we never fully get over trauma Kara had a great support system with the Danvers whereas Lena didn't get that with the luthors I mean sure she had Lex at first but even that was only to a certain extent because of his psychopathy that was starting to manifest he couldn't perceive human emotions the same as Lena who in my opinion is just a big mushy nerd who can be a badass when needed as evident by the season 6 episodes after she's quit L-Corp she's constantly trying to help out inventing new stuff and she's wondering how Nia's suit works and it just shows that she just has a curious mind and also she looks happier even with the guilt she feels over Kara's phantom zone incident when Nia called her a part of the family that smile could lit up a city all she's ever wanted is to belong and I can relate to that therefore to her.

Number #6, I feel like this should have been addressed in earlier number but as far as sexuality goes I would want to believe Kara is pansexual because of everything I've ever read and saw I don't believe she perceived sexuality like humans do because of her Kryptonian upbringing for the first good chunk of the life. Like even though she says she's not gay in the first episode, A. It was the first episode so they didn't even know where the story was going in future seasons if they got them also that means maybe she just didn't perceive herself as the Earth's definition of gay. B. Even in the first season she made a comment about how she bought Lucy was gorgeous and hell she would date her. C. She made some comments about Irma and other woman that don't sound totally heterosexual and don't get me wrong women can admire the beauty and intelligence of other women without it being sexual but as a bisexual woman it just struck a cord in me you can tell the difference when it's coming from a straight woman mouth. Now on the subject of her and Lena strictly I do think there are instances of "queerbaiting"because just because you perceive they haven't been promised to us doesn't mean that some of us haven't picked up on things or the fact that they're simply queerbating because somehow they do hype up Kara and Lena to keep a nice chunk of the audience who ships them mainly those of the gay variety interested in the show which is also considered queerbaiting. Also the fact that they've been called sisters or family or my personal favorite "that's what friends are for"doesn't mean crap because honestly at this point the overuse of friends just sounds more like they're trying to convince themselves than us.*** Also I don't know about you but even on the basic level of things they've done I've never shown half those feelings towards my friends and the ones I have it's because I started to think of them as more than friends.

Now with Lena's sexuality no they have never shown her as anything besides straight canonically but don't get me wrong she totally sends off that college experimentation vibe especially with Andrea for some reason but that may just be me.

Number #7, my main point is let's just be kind to one another because guess what there is toxicity from every ship in a fandom there will always be shitty people on both sides and then there will be those of us who just want to see the characters together for one reason or another and yes I'm not afraid to admit that part of my reasons I want to see two gorgeous woman kiss sue me LOL.

Number #8, the conclusion of my rant is that how about we leave the hating to the ones who want to do that and the rest of us like adults or whatever your age is in the fandom that has any type of maturity behave because I truly do wish the best and in the end well I hope they end up together I'm realistic that they probably won't especially due to the CW Network motto of "homophobia and racism"because they've already broken up several good gay and interracial couples on that show. But at the end of the day my true wish is just that all of the characters end up happy and healthy.

Best of luck to all shippers out there anti and supercorp and or any other couple alike may we try to make it out of this with a modicum of sanity and even if they fail us we always have fanfiction thank you and good night.

[heartbreakgrill]

Best Friends; Matthew Gray Gubler

a/n: THE AMOUNT OF SERATONIN THIS GAVE ME WAS INSANE IM CRYING OMG

description: you’re a makeup artist and mgg is just...outgoing.

K BUT IMAGINE BROS

You’re just a regular ol’ makeup artist (and in this fantasy world, makeup artists are TRAINED TO DO MAKEUP ON POC BECAUSE THEY ALREADY SHOULD BE). It’s season 13 of Criminal Minds and this is your first time working on set because the show you’d been spending the majority of your career on just ended.

You had met the cast and crew at the start up party a few weeks ago, but this was the day. The pressure was on. (Not really, it’s just makeup lol). Anyway, so you’d already set up in the makeup trailer alongside the other artist. Today, scenes were going to be filmed just in the Bureau, so no gore. You doubled checked your list just before 5 am, ready to cross off each actor and actress you were assigned.

“You nervous?” You heard the other stylist, Henry, ask you.

You turned to him, setting down your clipboard. You leaned against the counter and crossed your arms over your sweatshirt clad shirt. You were dressed down because it was so early- a Disney sweatshirt, jeans, slip on Vans, and your glasses instead of your contacts.

“Yeah, a little bit,” you chuckled.

Henry grinned at you, “Don’t be, hun. They’re all really great people.”

“I know, it’s just- I just feel awkward at first, grabbing people’s faces. I know I’m trained for it, but it takes a bit to settle into with new people,” you explained yourself, wiping your sweaty palms off on your jeans.

Henry opened his mouth, but a series of knocks resounded off of the door. You both turned towards it before Henry said, “It’s time.”

You giggled at his dramatic spectacular, turning to wash your hands as Henry let in the first cast members. Aisha and Joe stepped into the trailer. They greeted you with open arms, wide smiles, goofy jokes and polite goodbyes. You felt giddy, high, almost, when they walked out the door.

“So?” Henry asked as you both began to disinfect your areas.

“I feel so much better,” you grinned, folding a towel in half.

The rest of the cast flew past, already making great companionship with you. Henry, too, continued to get to know you between eyeshadow brushes and hairspray. Finally, the last person knocked on the door. It was nearing 6:30 AM, and you were somewhat tired. You yawned into your palm, sighing gently as Matthew Gray Gubler walked in.

“Hello, lady and germ!” He bounded to his chair, the biggest grin on his expression, a coffee cup in hand, and the other shoved into his character pants.

You jumped somewhat in surprised and he laughed at you. “You’re new.”

“Yeah, hi, we met at the party, Y/N,” you reached out your non-yawn hand and shook the one he pulled from his pocket.

“Ah, yes, I remember well. You were wearing very pretty eyeshadow. Green, right? It reminded me of Elpheba, but it definitely brought out the flecks in your eyes,” he rambled on, unashamedly and confidently.

Additionally, he barely made eye contact, it was more here and there as he busied himself with sitting down and crossing his legs. When he was settled, he met your eyes firmly and looked you up and down.

“Except now your wearing glasses.”

Henry laughed at your deadpan expression. Matthew chuckled lightly, too. Henry spoke, “She’s new, remember? Very talkative, but new. And tired, I guess.”

You nodded slightly, “Yes to both. Overwhelmed a little. I like the effort, but I’m not used to your energy. Give me ten minutes, and I promise I’ll get distracted from doing your makeup because I’ll be exchanging sarcastic remarks.”

“Only my character is a profiler, but I can see it,” Matthew spoke and took a sip of his coffee. He then reached to set it down on the makeup counter before hesitating. “Do you have a coaster?”

“Wait, yes, I do! I made sure to bring some just in case. At my old job, we constantly had people leaving rings of coffee on the counter.” You rushed over to your tote bag, which was set on the couch. You rummaged through it as Henry spoke to Matthew, messing about with his hair.

You found the coasters your sister had hand-painted, which ranged from pumpkin to dinosaur designs. You held them out in front of Matthew, who pulled his head from Henry’s hands to look at them.

“Oh, my Gosh! Pumpkins! Defintiley pumpkins!” He pointed excitedly at the coaster in your right hand.

You giggled and set the coaster onto the counter. Matthew thanked you as you politely took his cup and placed it on top of the design.

“I take it you’re a fan of Halloween?” You spoke as you set the others down beside your makeup supplies.

You sat down in the seat beside Matthews, awaiting him as he got his hair done.

He hummed in response, “It’s my favorite holiday.”

“My birthday is two days prior,” you bragged lightly.

Matthew gasped, turning his head to you. “No way! Oh, we are so totally throwing the best Halloween slash birthday party bash this year, then.”

You flushed at his excitement. “You barely know me.” You laughed somewhat.

Matthew shrugged as Henry frustratedly pulled his head back forward. “Stop moving!”

“We’ll be best friends by then, I guarantee it,” he stated.

“Really? Well, shouldn’t best friends know each other’s favorite colors. Favorite foods, movies...”

“Purple, everything except for plain bread, Hocus Pocus...or-“

“No! No ‘ors.’ Final answers only,” you adjusted your glasses and leaned forward.

He looked at you from the corner of his eye and smiled like he had been played. “Hm. Okay. Hocus Pocus it is then.”

“Of course it’s a Halloween movie,” you giggled.

Matthew grinned at that. “Let’s year yours, then, bestie.”

“Okay...” you sighed, tapping your chin, “pink is my favorite color. I love sushie and every other food, but specifically Chinese food is my favorite. And...I can watch Edward Scissorhands like it’s nobody business.”

“Ugh! A classic! I love that film!” Matthew exclaimed.

You nodded enthusiastically, “Yes! I’ve loved it since i was literally a child. My mom says it’s creepy, but I disagree. It’s beautiful. The themes and symbolism are beautiful. Ugh, plus that ice sculpture scene? Unbeatable. Winona Ryder does such a wonderful job portraying innocence which turns into wicked obsession... and Johnny Depp is just gorgeous...”

You trailed off as you realized you were rambling and Matthew was staring at you with sparkling eyes, a slack jaw, and the lightest imprint of his dimples.

“Sorry,” you scratched your leg, practically falling in on yourself.

Matthew scrunched his nose as Henry sighed. “All done. Your turn, chica.”

You stood from your chair and brushed your hair behind your ears. Matthew took your spot, wriggling in it. “Thanks for making it so warm.”

You smiled as you washed your hands. “You welcome.”

Henry touched your shoulder to gain your attention. “I’m going to go get coffee. Want some?”

“Uh, tea, please. Green, with two sweet n low packets,” you listed off.

He nodded and turned to leave. “Thanks so much!” You shouted as he left.

Matthew watched you through the mirror as you began plucking through your materials. You got to work, feeling all flustered now that you were up in his business.

When your hands moved to his face, he hummed. You furrowed your brows and pulled back somewhat.

“Sorry. Your hands are pleasantly warm. I knew that they would be because you’re just very bubbly, but it was still surprisingly wonderful,” he folded his hands in his lap.

“I like the way you talk,” you blurred out. You pursed your lips and looked away from his eyes, continuing to work on his foundation.

“I like the way you blush at everything,” Matthew echoed.

You blushed again. “Sorry. I’m just-“

“Not very outgoing. I can tell.”

“I thought you weren’t a profiler?”

“I’m not. But I’m super duper outgoing, so I can tell when others aren’t. You’re bubbly, but it takes someone who shares your personality to get it out of you,” he rattled off as if he were an expert.

“You seem to know me very well now,” you laughed gently.

“Guess were best friends already, then.”

You leaned back, propping your hands on your hips. “I think we’re, like, soulmates.”

Matthew quirked a brow, “I guess so? But why do you think?”

“Look at your sweatshirt,” you tugged on your own.

His eyes flickered from yours to his. His eyes widened and his jaw went wide. “Oh, my gosh! No way! We have to document this moment on camera.”

“Really?” You giggled as he stood, towering over you.

“Yes! Henry, come quicker!”

The door had swung open when Matthew stood, and Henry ran up the steps. “What’s wrong?”

“You have to take our picture,” Matthew exclaimed, swinging his arm around your shoulders and holding you flush against his side.

Henry looked you up and down and finally noticed your sweatshirts. “Oh, my God, you’re, like, totally mean to be. Let me get my phone.”

After a photo session consisting of many different poses (silly faces, Matthew squishing your cheeks, tugging you onto his back, nearly falling over as he swung his leg into your arms) you finally got him sat back down in his chair.

“Let’s tackle these eye bags.”

TAG LIST: @mantlereid @boxofteenageideas @dinosaursandsocks @ashhdaniellee95 @stephaniemelville-blog @zhangyixingxing1

[brianconnollyandsweet]

An interview to Brian Connolly published in FAN magazine, May 1974

TRANSCRIPT:

When we asked ourselves who we could possibly get to talk about The Sweet, we didn’t have to think too hard. Who better than Brian Connolly, the handsome singer who was there at the beginning of it all? Brian, as ever, was only too willing to help. One of his hobbies is chatting, and as one of his favourite topics of conversation just happens to be The Sweet… he was delighted to oblige.

Brian starts by telling us about Mick Tucker.

“As you know, Mick is the drummer and, as far as we’re concerned, one of the best in the business. It’s only the heavy rock drummers who get the praise heaped on them, but Mick could hold his own in any company. His full name is Michael Thomas Tucker, and I’ll get it in before you can, yes, he has sung for his supper!

“Mick was born on July 17, 1949 [actual year of birth was 1947] at the Central Middlesex Hospital outside London. I remember him telling me that he joined his first group at 14, a Shadows type band. Then he got into a Beatles type group. Obviously a great believer in doing his own thing at the time was our Mick! Anyway, he left school to become a car salesman, which he did quite successfully until he swapped his showroom for showbiz and joined me in a group called Wainwright’s Gentlemen.

“Now that was some group! It was a seven-piece soul band and among its members were Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, who went on to find fame and fortune with Deep Purple. But getting back to Mick, he’s got a very wide taste in music, ranging from Tony Bennet to Argent.

“As regards his appearance, I’d say he is about six feet tall, weighs ten and half stone and has a thing about colourful clothes. Like myself, Mick is a keen swimmer and when we’re away from England on tour he keeps going on about wanting to fly home for a decent pint of beer. He sounds like a record that’s stuck, but we know what he means.

“It goes without saying we reckon he’s a great mate and about as natural as they come. He hates conceit and affected people and makes sure his [illegible] half size doesn’t go up.”

Now it’s Steve Priest who comes under the Connolly microscope.

“Steve is quite a driving force behind The Sweet and drags reserves of energy out of his body when the rest of us have just about had it. He lays down a thumping bass and you don’t have to listen to our records that closely to know how much we like to feature a heavy bass [illegible].

“He was born Stephen Norman Priest on February 23, 1950 [actual year of birth 1948] in Hayes, Middlesex. He’s five feet seven inches tall and weighs nine and a half stone. Steve is another who started in a soul band, which of course were all the rage in the early 60s. During the day he worked as a solicitor’s clerk then switched to car electronics. At night he was with his group, [The] Army, and joined us full-time when he was made redundant at his day job.

“I bet a bloke was never so glad to lose his job.

“Steve is very into songwriting and helps us a lot when it comes to writing stuff for our albums. He enjoys heavy sounds like Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, but there is a more gentle side in his taste and I’ve known him to be knocked out by tender ballads.

“Talking of taste, he shows it in his favourite actress, Raquel Welch. Steve raves about her when all she does is stand there and look marvellous. He’d go mad if she won an Oscar!

“He’s a bit of a TV addict and isn’t too choosy about what he watches. He says it’s for relaxation anyway, so if a programme is bad or just plain boring, his mind goes blank or he falls asleep. So, the goggle box is doing him some good. But on the other hand, he sets his lively mind to work by doing crosswords, and he’s pretty quick too.

“For some reason, he figures his lucky number is seven, but I’ve never seen it work for him. Steve likes the colour blue, to match his eyes, and would like to have tons of money because he hasn’t found a single advantage in being broke. He’s not alone in that. He says his ambition is to go into record production, but to tell the truth I can’t see him being one hundred per cent happy a back-room boy.

“It would be a matter of months before he missed the applause and the audiences. Steve is a natural show-off, and I mean that in the nicest possible way.”

What does Brian have to say about Andy Scott?

“Andrew David Scott is our great lead guitarist and as you might guess from his middle name, he’s Welsh. Andy was born in Wrexham in North Wales ten inches tall and topped the scale at exactly ten stone before his Sunday lunch!

“Andy has only ever had one ambition and that was to get to the top in his career, and we’re knocked out for him that he’s enjoying a great run because he’s had one or two disappointments along the way. In 1966, he joined a new group called Silverstone and was successful at an audition for TV’s Opportunity Knocks. They were so good they appeared on the show six times.

“Sadly, nothing much went right for them after that, and Andy and his brother joined a singer called Gus Eadon to form The Elastic Band. Then, as they were beginning to get somewhere, Steve Ellis left Love Affair and Gus was chosen as his replacement. The Scott brothers were then joined by a pianist and for six months they backed [The] Scaffold.

“Andy’s next big chance came with Mayfield’s Mule. There was a lot of talent and money in and behind the group, yet still they failed to make it. From there, Andy joined us, and it’s been up-hill all the way. He likes modern jazz and groups like Deep Purple. His favourite [illegible] folk include Gene Hackman, Richard Roundtree [?] and Glenda Jackson.

“He’s the real soccer nut in the band, and Andy’s ambition is to fly a plane single-handed. Unless he promises to use his other hand as well, we’re sticking to the train!”

Brian didn’t know we wanted him to talk about himself as well, but after a bit of gentle persuasion and a threat to let Mick do the job for him, he relented.

“Bit embarrassing, this,” he began. “You probably know I was born in Hamilton, outside Glasgow in Scotland on October 5, 1949 [1945 actually], came to London when I was 12 and the same year made my television debut on The Carroll Levis Talent Show for kids. I was always interested in music, especially when rock ‘n’ roll came along, but I doubted my ability to make a successful career out of it.

“I then had a spell in the Merchant Navy because I thought I would like the life and see the world. All I saw were harbour towns in the east of England. Anyway, I played with a few groups before meeting up with Mick in Wainwright’s Gentlemen and going on to form The Sweet with him.

“I’m five feet eight inches tall, weigh just over nine and a half stone, and have blue eyes and blonde hair. My favourite color is purple, and lucky number [is] five although I couldn’t give you a logical reason why. I enjoy target shooting, playing records and talking to people with bags of personality.

“I suppose I’m even-tempered, but I feel sorry for the people who do feel the lash of my tongue when that temper goes. I show no mercy! I don’t have many close friends, just the group, my family, and one or two people not connected with the business. All in all, I love my work and still can’t get over the fantastic success we’re enjoying.”

[reallyhardy]

regent’s open air theatre LSOH (2018) breakdown

act one. herein, two years later, i try to remember as much as i can about this production with the help of gifs i took from the trailer and shutterstock images. let’s go!

THE BEGINNING. i went to see a matinee so it was daytime, but the stage set was all black-and-white very newspaper aesthetic. my sister and i were very close to the front, five rows back:

and here we are, excited for everything to begin. (note my giant tooth earrings. was really hoping they’d catch matt willis’ eye.) soon enough crystal, ronette and chiffon took the stage for the prologue, belted their faces off and got me hype from the first moment. their costumes were kind of punky, street style (my favourite look was on the girl with the green jacket and shiny leggings:)

skid row was great. the grey set really highlighted the colourful costumes, and for this first number the set stayed black-and-white so the only colour were the main characters and urchins, and the ensemble wore black-and-white costumes.

and i remember being so thrilled by the costumes - in this photo seymour is wearing yellow socks but by the time i went to see it they were pink (to match audrey’s hair!) and audrey is wearing fluffy slide slippers in the promo photos but when i saw it she wore a pair of blue open-toe kitten heels.

once the song ended we got to see some character personality: marc antolin as seymour was adorable. he was (for most of the first act at least) very goofy and beamed a lot, he had a very cute smile. his voice was quite high and nasal and silly and i honestly had a really big crush on him. jemima rooper as audrey was equally sweet and adorable - she had a cotton candy pink wig and started off in kind of a sexy-ish outfit, with a sheer off-shoulder top over a bra. her eye makeup was light blue (and the bruise bright purple) and she was really short compared to seymour. mushnik was super tiny and greasy looking.

every interaction seymour and audrey had was just! so cute. at the start where audrey and mushnik discuss orin (the ‘you don’t meet nice boys on skid row’ conversation,) seymour is stood behind them kind of goofing around and he flips his shirt collar up pretending to be orin and acting macho but at the end of the scene audrey goes quiet and carefully fixed his collar back down before she left and it was!!! emotions.

da doo i can’t remember anything about how things looked :( during grow for me it really highlighted how…cute seymour was. he beamed the whole time, and the plant puppet in its baby form was fantastic, (the pod head at the top opened up and had little human teeth lmao) and they used like… household objects painted green for plants. the roses were red toilet brushes:

with red ink on them so when seymour touched the bristles there was visible blood on his finger which was fun. lots of attention to detail in this production.

seymour on the radio i think happened off-stage? so we just hear him being interviewed while we watch mushnik and the urchins listen to the radio together. the choreography during you never know was really fun too, with seymour and the urchins dancing together, seymour did a lot of hip wiggles and kept trying to stop audrey ii from trying to bite at the urchins as he danced. one of the green ping-pong balls fell off the puppet but nobody slipped on it so it was fine. also GOD the voices of the urchins were just so good in this one.

somewhere that’s green is a song that makes me cry most of the times i listen to it or watch any versions of LSOH, but this is the first time i’d seen a version where audrey was also crying. during this number the actress climbed up onto the top of the mushnik’s store prop and she still had the bright purple black-eye makeup on as well as the cast on her arm so she looked so beat down and sad and it was just toward the end of the song at ‘i’m his december bride’ where her singing started to break down and she started crying, and covered her face by the time she got to ‘far from skid row’ with her voice breaking oh my god the tears were flowing VERY much from my eyes.

and as a note the actress did not have this beautiful wig on when i saw it, she wore one with much less volume - it could have been the same wig just styled differently, (tucked under/trimmed to be just sort of...round?) but it was just... so much less cute lmao, you can just about see it here in this cast mirror selfie:

anyway. then it was time for closed for renovation! this one was fun, audrey and seymour i think were just...arranging plants and other things? the ‘mushniks’ shop prop might have expanded a bit? they turned it around?

there were some cute little dancey bits with the three of them together:

then audrey & seymour talk a bit. audrey gives seymour the kind of advice that she also needs to be taking herself -- seymour asks audrey if she’d go shopping with him, and then orin arrives on the scene.

dentist was amazing. i’ve seen a lot of bootlegs of kind of lackluster orin scrivellos but… well, me and my sister decided we were absolutely going to see this production when we found out matt willis was playing the dentist. (we were big busted fans lol) he wore this insane painted leather jacket with this tooth-themed biker gang design (he and his backup dancers all had hell’s teeth on the backs of their jackets) and his dentist coat underneath had the sleeves ripped off to show his tattoos… they gave him white foundation to make him look i guess more ill/joker like? it totally worked. he honestly kinda stole the show and he totally exceeded my expectations (which is saying something because my expectations were that he’d be perfect for the role and that i’d enjoy his performance thoroughly!!!)

then he comes into the shop, comments on the plant, poses around, treats audrey terribly. and not only does he abuse audrey in front of seymour who iirc was watching horrified (as you would) but also poor seymour gets his junk grabbed twice by villains in this production too lmao, orin grabs and squeezes seymour’s junk while he’s yelling at audrey. it’s a theme i guess???

(hell of a promotion image, that one.) then orin and audrey leave and it’s time for mushnik and son. they did a lot of the usual ‘awkward-tango’ choreo and it was just excellent really. there’s nothing i didn’t enjoy about the number, plus mush was quite a short guy but had a real big voice.

you get a good view of all the fun things they used to represent plants here too: cleaning brushes, feather dusters, hairbrushes, a small fishing net, a bubble wand...

so feed me was great because it starts off of course with the plant puppet prop:

but then by the second verse (when it comes to ‘does this look inanimate to you’) they opened up the puppet’s leaves like a mouth and audrey ii in drag queen form emerged (to thunderous applause). [i found a short clip someone got on instagram a while back, you can watch it here!] she was holding a microphone in her hands so when it came to seymour’s responses she held out the mic to his mouth and it was :’) really funny. and seymour gets his junk grabbed again:

because he can’t catch a break. staging wise i think i remember this was very bisexual - it’s important to note that the first wig audrey ii wears strongly resembles the wig that OG audrey wears - and at times during this number audrey ii acts quite flirtatious with seymour and he seems receptive to it and has to visibly shake himself out of it.

audrey comes back for her sweater (iirc it was a VERY jazzy 1990s looking one in aqua green and pink) and seymour and audrey ii make up their minds about what to do with orin.

so seymour heads out - the dentists chair was just a beat-up shopping trolley with various things stuck on (see there’s what looks like a plunger, wrist restraints too lmao) and orin had a bunch of bloodied weapons such as a power drill instead of a dentist drill:

anyway i usually don’t enjoy now(it’s just the gas) as a number when i’ve seen it in bootlegs but again matt willis had tremendous feral energy and he pulled it off. plus the gear was quite retro-futuristic very cool looking:

it was also especially funny just after ‘now’ because after seymour runs off with orin’s body in the trolley he comes back in with it all chopped up and he was pushing dismembered limbs (the arm was even painted with matt willis’ tattoos and nail polish which was a GREAT detail) into the windows of the prop mushnik’s building that audrey ii was inside of, and he even threw up into the audience which was :’) gross but funny. it was yellow. i didn’t see if it splashed anyone.

then... intermission. will continue this in [part 2, which is here!]

[lady-griffin]

Raven Fancasting

Sofia Carson

Sofia would do such a fantastic job playing Raven. She has a very engaging presence on screen and that would translate really well to Raven’s character. I can see getting at (what I think is) the essence of her character. When you first get to know her, she is not the easiest to get along with (mean, dangerous, closed-off). She comes across as very confident and prideful. But once you peel back the layers, you see a more vulnerable person who is driven by her desire to protect and care. Someone who wants to be with other people and doesn’t like being isolated, but has no idea how to even go about approaching others. I just think Sofia would really nail the many contradictions of Raven and she would just knock it out of the goddamn park. Also she would bring something new to the character and even a bit of fresh air.

Camila Mendes

Camila would be great as Raven. I think she could really nail the confident and severe side of Raven, as well as the more vulnerable sides to her. She could really pull off the witchy and occult vibe needed for Raven; but more importantly, even when she has a minor role, like in Palm Springs, she grabs my attention – and that’s a much-needed quality for any actress who would play Raven.

Dove Cameron

Dove would make for a great Raven. She’s an actress who can hold the audience’s attention and I think can easily play a character who has many layers and sides to them. Also, I love that smirky, smile of hers, it just screams Raven to me. I don’t have much more to say, other than, she looks great with purple hair.

Amber Midthunder

I have not seen Amber in anything, but the second I saw her she shot to the top of my list. This is solely based on looks alone and usually that wouldn’t be such a huge factor, but she looks like Raven. The second I saw her I thought “Raven!” I just really want to see her play Raven. Overall, she looks like she could be a very good mix of OG Raven and the more gothic Raven from the 2000s and onward.

Edit: I somehow overlooked that she played Kerry Loudermilk in Legion; I feel especially silly since one of the pictures I used for her is from a Legion Red Carpet event. So yeah, I remember enjoying her scenes greatly and was intrigued with the character she played and how she protrayed Kerry. I would love to see her play Raven, I think she could do more than just a great job. 

Isabelle Fuhrman

I haven’t seen her in a whole lot, but from what I’ve seen, Isabelle can definitely do Raven justice. I think she can easily play the eerie, creepy and intense parts of Raven’s character no problem. And I don’t have any reason to believe she wouldn’t be able to nail the softer sides to Raven as well.

Adeline Rudolph

While Adeline’s role in The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is rather minor, from what I’ve seen I think she could be an amazing Raven. She has a very dynamic and engaging face. I simply kept coming back to her photos and she stayed at the top of my mind while I was looking at other actresses. I really think she would just nail the mysterious, alluring, and even dangerous aura of Raven. Also, she’s got the creepy witch aspect down pact.

Teagan Croft

I think Teagan is a very good actress. Is her Raven my favorite Raven of all time? No. But that’s not because of her. She does a great job in Titans and I think she could do an even better job, if the show itself wasn’t such a mess. I love Raven’s season two look. Overall, she does a great job of portraying this young, emotional and vulnerable Raven and her scenes (especially with Ryan and Anna) are some of my favorite.

Anya Taylor-Joy

While she is very pretty, Anya can easily (very easily) have a creepy look and atmosphere about her and if that’s not Raven, then I don’t know what is. I think she can definitely play the many facets of Raven, while never letting us forget that Raven is otherworldly.

Naomi Scott

I just think Naomi could do a really good job as Raven because she is such a talented actress. I don’t know, there is just something about Naomi playing Raven that intrigues me.

Elizabeth Gillies

Is Elizabeth on my list because of Jade West from Victorious? Absolutely. 100% yes. Overall, Liz really has nailed down playing the mean, sarcastic character who you can’t help but like and enjoy – and I think that talent is very applicable to Raven. 

Hailee Steinfeld

Rowan Blanchard

Isabella Gomez

Elle Fanning

Isabela Moner

Lilimar Hernandez

Lola Flanery

India Eisley

Lulu Antariksa

Jacky Lai

Starfire