#look he is PERFECT FOR GINA QUOTS

[twopoppies]

There’s definitely something else behind these larry denials” because every single time they happen, the biggest tabloids/websites talk about it.

You have billboard posting on IG two posts about this larry denial, then enews, pagesix, popbase. They never mention Louie.

And it’s not because he mentions harry. He mentioned him in the past even about his haircut or when he talked about harry and AI when harry shaved his head. And these same tabloids didn’t post about larry. But then louis denies larry,..they mention it. Isn’t it weird; Gina?

Sorry for my English.

Your English is perfect, love.

I mean, some of this has to do with the media. They want clicks because clicks = money. Sadly, Louis being on tour is not going to get a ton of clicks outside of his existing fandom. But a mention of Harry Styles, who’s much more of a household name at this point, and a denial of a “gay sex scandal” will likely generate a lot more interest. Thus, a lot more money.

Which isn’t necessarily pointless for Louis. But I don’t think any of the outlets even mentioned Louis’ music or that he was on tour. So, if you only read the quotes and don’t see/hear his body language and tone of voice, he just comes across as kind of a homophobic dick. And then that’s the impression left with the GP. That, and curious people looking into Larry and finding a lot more than they bargained for.

[istherewifiinhell]

and what is tf without its duplicitous little guys...

[ID: Starscream framed in the doors of the decepticon base, others looking on. Caption boxes: As Starscream departs, his fellow decepticons look on many thoughts pass through their minds… Thoughts that go unsaid for now, thoughts that will smoulder, thoughts that say Starscream was right... Treacherous thoughts! And Starscream smiles! END]

its tfuk storyline THE ENEMY WITHIN, which spans from no 13 to 17! dang. spring 1985. this posts a bit beefy but also deeply silly :D 👍

Script: Simon Furman art: John Ridgeway (13) Mike Collins (14-17) Colours: Gina Hart Letters: Richard Starkings Editor: Sheila Cranna Original Series Edits by Shelia Cranna and Ian Rimmer, editorial notes and assistance by James Roberts, Collection Edits by Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon, Collection Design by Shawn Lee

Well. its time i enter the den of that snake who haunts my tf experience, simon furman. and as i still dont have digital remastering to complain about. may i just say. i cannot stand getting so much preamble about how great these comics are, how legendary this writer, how influential this run is, etc etc before youve even let me see a single line he wrote. and i find this a perfectly tf fan style behaviour... that and gushing rapid fire and at length about future plot points, that i, as first time reader. HAVE NO FUCKING CONTEXT FOR. keep it real tf fandom.

context, production and continuity notes only please, if there was any interesting quotes from creatives, process notes, art details and lore fuckery to be explained, might i suggest. AFTER THE FUCKING COMIC.

[i walk off stage grumbling] turtles wouldnt treat me like this-- ALRIGHT START THE SLIDE SHOW

[ID: Megatron and Starscream yelling at each other. Megatron: My orders will be obeyed without question, Starscream. I will not tolerate these attempts to usurp my authority… Starscream: Ha! There comes a time when even the mightiest rulers must be challenged. Megatron. Your plan to wait and observe is both weak and stupid… We must strike now and destroy utterly our enemies, the Autobots! END]

calibration check: COMPLETE

[ID: Ravage skidding to a stop, outside the Decepticon base. Its a graceless and very cat like pose. He's thinking "...Outside! A barren, featureless desert and I'm being chased by someone who can become a fighter jet! This may call for a major reassessment of my loyalties!" END]

god SOMETIMES hes a funny cat....

[ID: Action panel, Starscream streaking low. Trailing end of his sentence "...Gone?" Ravage is popping out from ground calls out "Surprise, SUCKER!" END]

and hes got JOKES?

[ID: Starscream standing on a rocky cliff, facing away, musing to himself "Hmm, a pity. Ravage would have made an excellent ally. Still, I must thank him for one thing..." END]

this is just here cause...damn if i cant hear that in perfect screamer voice. 👍

anyway brawns been in a workplace accident

[ID: Pov shot, in a wobbly line style, as if the viewer, Brawn's, vision is swimming. Prowl, Windcharger and Bee are standing over him. Bee: Brawn..? Brawn? Look! He's opening his eyes. He's all right. Soon have him back to work! END]

shaking my head. someone get the union rep. also i just realised that isnt prowls torso. thats windcharger??? whys he uncoloured lol.

and he nearly kills a coworker and gets outta dodge

[ID: A hole in a metal wall, warped and torn. Brawn silhouette seen walking out of it, to the wilderness outside. His unusual and blocky toy model shape adds to this tableau. END]

this image. is so beautiful. your laughing, he almost killed someone and your laughing? i am... im imagining the little asscheeks, u know like the meme?

end disc 1. (no 14)

[ID: Large dramatic illustration of Ravage, crawling through the desert, one injured leg leaving a trail behind him. He yells "STARSCREAM! I'll see you destroyed for this! I'll make you suffer for daring to attack me and for not making sure that you'd finished me off!" END]

HOT CAT. special delivery did anyone order the image of the hot cat.

[ID: Megatron appearing before Ravage, wreathed in a beam of light. Ravage looks up and is stunned in the corner. "M-Megatron?" Megatron: We have returned just in time-quickly, Ravage, which Autobot did this to you? Ravage: N-not… Autobot… was… END]

i love this panel. its like hes the patron saint of furries. mother megsy comes to me. WHO DID THIS TO U. booktok ass.

anyway we got two bots on a rampage

[ID: Caption box: The traffic cop fled, but already Brawn had turned his attention to the car. Brawn speaks to the car "Well? You're free! Off you go, then…" A beat panel, as the car obviously does nothing. A close on Brawn's clenched fist, which is very simple/abstract. He rages "You ungrateful imbecile! If you won't take that brand of freedom…" Driving his fist down into the car, crumpling it. "TAKE THIS!" END]

damn king. okay. i love his little fist. i love they drew the fuck outta this fucking THING

[ID: A stylish illustrated panel on a human fighter pilot, completely obscured by the large visor and oxygen mask on their helmet. Outside the cockpit glass, and reflected in their visor Starscream is flying pass, seeking missiles trailing him. The pilot screams "NOOO!" END]

GOD DAMN. also. [pattern recognition activates] fdghjd the way only three fingers are visible on that hand, and how thick they are. turtle hand.

(no 15) oh rampage over. bummer!

[ID: Caption box: …Plunging the unprepared Starscream into a wild tail spin! Over the desert, he's spiraling downwards, tail wings on fire, streaking smoke behind him. He yells "Screee! S-sensory overload! C-can't handle it!" END]

cheers mate.

[ID: A sleek silver robot, the ancient Cybertronian "Tornado". The design has a mix of boxy transformer legs, hips and chest, but shapely arms, waist and calfs. He's on the ground, propped up on his arms, twisted at the waist, and legs stretched across the page, very vintage scifi cover style. END]

HEY WHOS THIS LEGGY NOBODY. WHAT. WHYD YOU DRAW HIM LIKE THAT

[ID: Megatron on the video screen at the Autobot base. Megatron: So you see, it seems we have a mutual problem… Do you not agree with the simplicity and neatness of my solution? Optimus: Perhaps, but it remains to be seen if Brawn is willing to participate in such a trial… END]

what the fuck is wrong with you two... skype ur enemies!!! i do like that toy model oppie looks like hes permanently squinting in suspicion

theyre pitting their loose canons against each other... (hmm. phrasing.) anyway brawn is healed of his work place accident rage imbalance but they dont. trust him now? and megs just wants screamer dead lol. this optimus is a lot more... cryptic, or. not harsh persay. just cuts the bullshit. interrupts people. gives orders. the fact that he becomes less friendly and chatty when not usamerican... IS. pretty funny.

(no 16) normal duel to the death things

[ID: Brawn taking cover in the desert, as Starscream flies above. Brawn thinks "What does it take? I'm running out of ideas and stamina - If i don't finish this soon, he'll nail me for sure!" END]

mm hmm. have you tried switching positions

[ID: Brawn collapsed on his front, propped up on his arms, at the mouth of a cave. Starscream flying above calls out "And now I have the pleasure of finishing you off!" END]

oh! okay looked like it worked

(no 17) happy endings for everyone (?)

[ID: Caption box: But no hint of emotion is shown by Optimus Prime - His expression is unfathomable. Dark and moody close-up on Optimus, who, naturally, doesn't have much of a face to emote with anyway. END]

i mean... i should think so. ive always said that about him

[ID: 1. Starscream goes down in fire and smoke, Ravage, in the small bottom corner, thinks "HA! 'Highflier!'" 2. Megatron laughing heartily, eyes closed and grinning widely, "Hahaha's" written behind him. He says "Forgive my exuberance, Ravage but this little episode has resolved itself so neatly. We have destroyed an Autobot; taught Starscream the error of his ways, and given you your revenge on him." END]

and hes STILL got jokes. you know what. this is a beautiful friendship they crafted. the ruler and his loyal spy. a spy who tells shitty jokes and the jovial plotter. okay. cute. fun. extremely funny that sounders isnt relevant to it in the slightest, also.

[ID: 1. Mirage and Brawn propped in a doorway, at the Autobot base. Mirage holds up Brawn by an arms and around the back, Brawn leaning on the doorway. Two Autobots in the fore are in shock, one asks "B-but Brawn? We saw..?" Mirage replies "You lot going to stand there stammering, or are you going to give us a hand?" 2. Brawn now seated, leaning back, Mirage leaning forward, a hands tenderly resting on Brawn, as they look at each other. Various Autobots looking on. END

gee mirage how come u get all the minibot baddies... why the fuck is this so tender......

anyway this is a little. meandering. and strange. probably not as. completely off the wall out of no where evocative moody dream like emotional drama. as man of iron. but still leagues better than 1-4. lol. and they gave me a lot of vectors for robot yaoi. apparently.

[maddieladner1999]

Hsmtmts s4 e5 thoughts

Ok I know from promo pic we’re getting EJ yay!

Ricky is looking for EJ omg

Richard Bowen! Elton John! I love the name usage

There already doing the musical? That was fast

Kourtneys mom is so supportive!

EJ is an RA? I guess he’s paying his dues somehow since he’s cutoff

Acapella group? Love that

Birkenstocks EJ really?

Miss jenn called EJ I should’ve known

Ginas trying to find time to be in the musical

I really hate the G-Force nickname

“No is a complete sentence” yas girl quote the olsens

Ok so there filming all the scenes in a day?

Ooh it’s duet time for caswen

Throwing in some piano too? This is perfect

There so close to each other. I need them to kiss

Kourtney might be interested in Lewis collage after all

This montage of scenes is looking good

Quinn is posting to insta? That may not be good

Big red is back!

Big red is the one who seb cheated with? What?

It’s time for a chat between EJ and Ricky finally

I knew it’d be about existential problems

“We were at a Harry styles movie” lol

Bi origin story I like that

Ashlyn is coming out to big red now how cute

They did have a great breakup

Miss jenn and Carlos watching sad movies together is something I didn’t know I needed

Harper definitely helped out Kourtney with the school thing.

Ginas mom watched them today? Fun!

Is anyone showing up for rehearsal?

Oh no now Carlos knows it was big red and he’s still upset

Ashlyn is calling Maddox but Madison answered

Ricky and EJ had dinner together cute

Tough love time go EJ

An EJ and Ricky hug yes!

He’s giving Ricky a guitar?

Gina’s mom likes Mack more than Ricky

Kourtneys praying for college and a choir group comes in?

It’s giving the break up episode of glee right now

Ricky was bringing chocolates to Gina then saw Mack there no.

And he called EJ after omg the development

She told her mom it’s ok!

Second chance instrumental in the background?

No the musicals cancelled?

[ultratoastyart]

Doflamingo Donquixote, human form of the ✨💯✨ emoji

[liquid-luck-00]

Siblings

Bio!Dad Bruce

Day 3: Siblings

@biodad-bruce-month

First ~~~ Previous ~~~ Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Mari had agreed to go to Gotham after Gina, Tom, and Sabine's funeral. And now I am sweating bullets, not for how she will react, oh no I am far more worried about how the boys will. Maybe having a civilian in the manor will curb some of their unsavory habits.

When I asked Mari and she agreed I could tell this was going to be eventful. She asked if she had any siblings.

"Biologically, legally, or emotionally?" I responded completely serious, "There is a difference."

She thought for a moment before saying "Legally because I already know I have a biological brother" she stated with a smile.

"How did you know that?" he asked her.

"DNA testing project for an ethnicity and ancestor report." Marinette said casually, "So how many siblings legally?" she pushed.

He sighed "Seven but it might as well be eleven with how often Barbara, Stephanie, Jon, and Roy are at the mansion."

"Can you tell me a bit about them. Maybe even the measurements!"

After he had given enough information to spur her creativity, Mari could only be described as a tempest of creative energy.

By the time we were to board the jet to Gotham there was a suitcase filled with only gifts, he had lost count after the sixth gift, but she still added some more. By the time they landed she had a rough idea of what she was getting herself into.

To his shock the boys hadn't tried to figure out where he was and that in itself was a blessing. The boys knew that she existed but were never interested in finding her and to quote Jason 'Save her from the insanity that surrounds this family.' Yet he was about to change that.

He had told Alfred that someone would be staying in the manor but to only leave a car at the airport and he would drive them in. Thank god at least one person listens to him.

The ride to the manor was silent conversation wise. But the constant scratching of a pencil as Mari designed inspired by Gotham's architecture filled the quiet.

---

Before leaving Paris, Mari found out she has seven siblings, 1 biological and 6 adoptive and 4 practically siblings, she will have to figure that part out. Bruce told her all about them and got her their measurements and that includes the one of Bruce's butler/father figure and his fiancée Selina. So in one suitcase there were 13 individually wrapped gifts that even Bruce didn't know what they were. The Miracle box, disguised as a sewing caddy, was among her things, but the horse miraculous and Kaalki were in her purse along with Tikki.

Oh kwamii how am I going to keep this secret if I’m going to be in another country along with being in a house with more than a dozen other people.

Once touching down in Gotham she began sketching, one because she was nervous and two Gotham's architecture was gorgeous. She didn't even realize that they had arrived at the manor until the engine cut.

"Let's introduce you to everyone" Bruce stated with a sigh and a small smile. They left the bags in the car and walked up the steps. As they neared the door they heard it.

"Get back here Todd" one extremely angry voice sounded.

"Dick HELP ME" another voice yelled.

They opened the door and there was quite the scene. Who she believes is Damian is chasing, who she is mostly sure is Jason, with a... is that a katana? And who she is certain must be Dick is trying and failing to stop Damian. In fact he is now also being chased. She looks over and Bruce is sighing looking completely done and with someone next to him.

"Hello and welcome to Wayne Manor." the man states, Alfred if she had to guess.

"Hello Alfred I presume” Mari greets him.

“That would be correct Miss…” Alfred responds.

“Marinette. Um this normal?" Mari asks.

"Unfortunately” Bruce states in a resigned tone.

"Huh" is all she says as she formulates a plan. The boys haven't noticed them yet so that is a plus, but what to do. Then she got an idea so she sprang into action. She watched for any pattern in the chase and when she found one she hid. She was next to the stairs in the perfect position to pounce. By this time Bruce and Alfred were watching her curious to what she was planning. She never left her hiding spot, but when Damian paused to look for Dick and Jason near her she moved. She took the katana and replaced it with a bouquet of flowers and went back to standing between Bruce and Alfred still holding the blade.

"How did you?" Bruce questioned her but she just gave him a smirk and spoke loud enough to get not only Damian’s attention but Dick and Jason’s who were hiding behind the couch.

"I thought you didn't tell them I was coming and here is Damian with flowers. Or wait who is the lucky person?" This got everyone's attention in the manor, if it wasn’t already.

“What the?" Damian stared at the flowers in his hand, while Dick and Jason came out of hiding.

The three boys were looking between her, holding the katana Damian was previously chasing them with, and the flowers in Damians hand. Then they began to stare between her and Bruce before finally someone spoke, "Seriously Bruce another one" Jason, yup definitely Jason, was the first to respond.

"Nice to meet you too" Mari replied. When she looked at Bruce he was still in shock but was now sporting a smirk. "Jason right"

She was holding the katana in her left hand while pointing at Jason with her right hand, he was tall and his build was most like Bruce he had blue eyes and black hair but had a white streak in the front, he nodded acknowledging she was right.

She then continued "I'm going with Dick, right?" she moved on and the oldest, who again only nodded his head, he looked the most like Bruce with his black hair and blue eyes but he was leaner.

"And your Damian" she finished with those in the room, he had tanned skin and green eyes that were complemented by his black hair.

"Is that my katana?" Damian asked, his voice seemed to be a mixture of disbelief, anger, and dare she even say awe, and all eyes seemed to focus on the blade in her hand.

"Yes" She responds with a smile.

"Honestly Mari how did you do that?" Bruce asked her once again.

"You learn to take objects off of an Akuma if you get caught up in too many attacks." she shrugged. She moved towards Damian and handed back his sword. "I'm Marinette by the way."

"Seriously B your missing for two weeks with no notice and come back with your Daughter. Who I might add was able to take Demon spawns sword without him noticing. Why wouldn't you warn us you were coming back with her! Or I don’t know going to find her at all!” Another person walked out into the hallway. Honestly he seemed ready to fall asleep and was holding a huge cup of coffee, he then turned towards me. He also had blue eyes and black hair but it was the longest of the boys. "I'm Tim, nice to finally meet you" he stated with a smile before turning back to Bruce with a slight frown.

At Tim's appearance and statement Jason and Dick burst into confused screams and wild gestures in Dick’s case, while Damian stood there analyzing her before giving a nod of his head. Bruce looked done but it was Alfred who spoke. "Perhaps it would be best to discuss this over lunch along with everyone else?"

"That would be best. Thank you Alfred." Bruce responded. "In the meantime why don't we you get settled."

With that Bruce and her walked back to the car to get her bags. Jason and Dick followed them out, and helped to get her things. Alfred led the five to a room where she began to put things away, only Jason stayed to help her finish her task.

---

The day had started as normally as any other in Wayne Manor, but no one, and I mean no one was ready for this tiny little french teen with the biggest blue eyes to get the drop on any of them. Let alone be able to take Demon Spawns sword without him noticing.

To say Jason was intrigued was an understatement. Seriously how did she do that, because he sure as hell isn't believing that excuse, like what the hell is an akuma attack. Bruce, Dick, and I helped her bring her bags into the room Alfred prepared. He was the only one who stayed to help her. One because if she could get the drop on the Demon then he had to win her over as a pranking ally. Two she was his sister now and he isn't as bad as everyone makes him out to be.

While helping her set up her room he found it, it was a suitcase filled with wrapped boxes. Now if she is my sister then let the blackmail material begin, but not without some teasing thrown into the mix.

"What's with the presents in the case Bluebell," Jason asked, throwing in a nickname to see if Marinette would have any type of a reaction. Because who packs presents unless it was a distraction or trying to hide something.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she said with a smirk and heat tilt. Well not the reaction he had hoped for.

"So what was that thing you said archery attack was it?" this got a reaction, but not one he was expecting.

"You don't know about the akuma attacks?" she was a mix of fear and surprise and he was unsure how he was supposed to react to that. Lucky for him as he was about to speak Tim and Dick came in and told them lunch was ready.

---

Jason not knowing about akuma attacks was odd and she didn't know how to react to his question. He was about to respond but Dick and Tim came in, and told them lunch was ready. They walked into the dinning room and inside were too many faces. She recognized Bruce and Damian. Tim, Dick, and Jason walked in with her.

"We're here" Dick dramatically announced, and all of a sudden all eyes were on her.

"OMG she is so cute!" a blonde yelled "Are we sure she is yours Bruce."

"Yes Stephanie. I am sure" Bruce answered almost amused. "Why don't you introduce yourself before you suffocate her."

"Ya, Ya," she waved him off "I'm Stephanie Brown" she stated as she continued to hug her.

The introductions included Stephanie, Cassandra or she said Cass, Duke, Roy, Barbara, Selina, and Jon. During lunch they asked her about herself she stayed in the realm of civilian, but Jason again brought up the akuma attacks so she explained a bit about the Paris situation and referred to them to Aurore's blog 'BugOut'.

She figured out the meaning of her practically siblings

Jon was Damian's best friend as Roy was Jason's because of this they spent large amounts of time with the family . The blonde who tackled her, Stephanie, was dating Tim and Barbara was a close family friend to everyone.

Afterwards she ended up giving everyone their gifts and Damian challenged her to a spar. The fact that no one, except Bruce having a partial reason, had any idea why she could hold her own was priceless. Seriously everyone's jaw was on the floor and Bruce looked like he was plotting something but it seemed to quickly leave his thoughts. All in all it was a good first day with her new family.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Tag list:

@mochinek0 @justafanwarrior @abrx2002 @ranger-gothamite @fantasiame @moonystars14 @mochegato @bigbeautifulandfullofsugar @maribat-is-lifeblood @iglowinggemma28 @miraculous-ninja @talutah0 @vixen-uchiha @danielslilangel @witchsblackfox @pawsitivelymiraculous @lizziejay @marinettepotterandplagg @colorfulmongerpsychicranch @dast218 @sassakitty @miyla-lokidottir @lilkymilky

[pebblysand]

[THOUGHTS ON PEAKY BLINDERS, EPISODE 1 SERIES 6, “BLACK DAY”]

In no particular order, just as i’ve had them. obviously, spoilers ahead.

first, the scene in the mud. we all know there is a lot of symbolism in peaky around mud (“don’t bury me anywhere there’s mud, tommy”) and for a show that loves itself so much (not saying this in a bad way, just that the stephen knight clearly thinks about his show a lot), i doubt tommy’s return to the mud, in the first scene, was unintentional. personally, this scene specifically reminded me of series two, “i almost had fucking everything!” scene. in the end, he did have everything, then, and it all went downhill from s3 onwards. in series 2, you could see that tommy wasn’t afraid of dying, but he definitely did not want to. now, he’s pulled the trigger himself. it really feels like the series has come full circle, in a lot of ways.

was i the only who thought however that lizzie’s little tirade sounded a tad ooc? like, would she really say that? part of me wondered if she was really there, or if it was part of a kind of adrenaline-fueled dream if that makes sense.

the ira thing had me a bit disappointed. i thought we were done with the ira. i mean, i loved that plot early on, but how many times can they recycle it? also, it didn’t answer the question as to who is the rat. or is it just a fact that the thing with the football player wasn’t a red herring? cause if that’s the case that’s… strangely dumb for such an intellectual show.

on a bigger scale, i’m confused as to what tommy’s business is exactly, now. the show and that ira scene in particular seems to hint that he works for them? at least in some capacity? since when does tommy shelby have a boss?

polly. just polly. i’ve nothing else to say.

no red right hand in this episode. i don’t know what i think about it.

this post. i mean, my pants were wet. it was like, perfect french, with just a tiny hint of brummie. i don’t know. this man does things to me. also, no pigeons were harmed in this episode.

it’s “sain pierre ay meeklon”. that’s the right pronunciation. you’re welcome.

i used to like michael. now i just roll my eyes every time his face comes up.

i listen to the bbc’s podcast on peaky blinders and one of their hosts made me laugh out loud yesterday morning, talking about how tommy and his sobriety is like vegan people who can’t stop telling everyone they’re vegan every five minutes hahaha. i’m loving it though, it was a good idea. he should have cut down on the smokes too. i do wonder if he’s going to start drinking again, though. he looks rather tempted.

talking about drinking, arthur’s situation is comforting me in my theory that arthur was the rat. it’s the guilt that his actions led to polly’s death that’s eating at him, i’m telling you.

i don’t know how i feel about the whole opium/uncle jack storyline. we’ll see. i can’t say i’m sad to see michael locked up indefinitely.

i really enjoyed the gina/tommy scene. i liked the way they had her pressing his buttons with her uncle’s accomplishments: direct line to the president, respectability… all the things tommy wanted and never truly got. the fact that he’s still telling lizzie he wants out is … sad, at this point.

i really think tommy’s relationship with his children is interesting. i’ve seen a lot of commentary on the romani dialogue, but i’ve just rewatches s3, and it’s really the bit of dialogue before that that had me intrigued. in s3 (and s4?) tommy really seems to have been a good father to charlie. he’s caring, holding him, playing with him. in the abduction scene in s3, the women even comment how nice it is to see a man caring for his son, etc. obviously, that went down the rails somewhere around s5 because by then, charlie pretty much hates him, and ruby is scared of him. in this series, i found it very interesting that lizzie tells ada about the distant “hello lizzie, hello children” quote, but still, a couple of frames later, you have tommy going on about how much he loves ruby, how much he just wants to sit there and hold her. i feel like there’s no real conclusion on this point as of yet, but i like the contradictions in this.

everyone online is going cray trying to figure out what the romani meant. it seems that the general consensus is that “tinka/trinka” means “little girl” and “o beng” means devil (i.e. tommy, per gina & michael’s conversation). there’s debate on “mora” though loads of laying speakers will tell you it more than likely means death. the people of the internet are thus worried ruby is going to die, but honestly i’m not seeing it. they’ve killed polly and john, i don’t reckon the man can survive the death of his daughter. it’s a threat for sure, and was an excuse for him to get back to england. but to me, that’s it. also, it’s so interesting how much tommy still believes in “gypsy witchcraft” considering how far we’ve come and how he once said religion was just a foolish answer to a foolish question.

i know michael was created and shaped after michael corleone, and it pains me to think that one day, he might succeed tommy.

that’s it, those are my thoughts. thanks for coming to my ted talk. feel free to tack on your own to this post. no one i know is watching this season yet, and i need to talk about it lol.

[rinisbowen]

I have a theory based on that behind the scene picture of Gina, Kourtney, Carlos and Ashlyn all riding in EJ’s car to camp. I think the reason why Ricky isn’t with the rest of the gang is because it looks like EJ’s car only fits five people so Ricky might be driving by himself to camp or he goes to camp last minute with Big Red who was able to take some time off work to go to camp last minute.

hi! thanks for the ask anon, i love thinking about the possibilities based on our limited bts content haha. we're all gathering as much as possible :)

i agree that ej's car only fits five people, so it makes sense ricky wouldn't be in it for that reason, however i do think it goes beyond just that. also lowkey ej's car from season 1 when we see it is so different to the new one which amuses me. i know it's just a continuity thing that won't likely be addressed but- still funny. like ej's big black minivan/suv type thing vs. this little blue deal... can you tell i don't know how to describe cars? that is so entirely not my forte.

i think that chances are ricky will go by himself, or with his dad, or even his dad and miss jenn like i said if they want to make it extra complicated for him...

in theory he could also drive with nini and drop her in la on his way to camp. i doubt this is what they'll do, because logistically i don't know geography of where camp is but i feel like camp would be more north than la so it makes sense for ricky to get out first (and lbr to show he's not as far along his path it would sorta make sense for him to get out first, but i also think the scenes following him to camp would be a great way to like- really start camp in full swing. bc the others will def arrive first. but realisticness of the idea aside, i think it would be a perfect opportunity for them to have their last talk... potentially ever- and would be a great way to like- end it as it began- but with ricky going to theatre camp like nini did, and nini doing something she wants to do like when she'd gone to theatre camp before. they're going on their journeys separately now, and to have them go together follows from their childhood friendship, the paths they've taken up until now together, and then they go their separate ways. and maybe someday they'll see each other again. to quote the lovely hsm2- "we might find our place in this world someday, but at least for now... i've gotta go my own way".

they could also just do a scene very similar to the flashback in 2.02 with ricky and nini in her bedroom getting ready to say goodbye before she goes to yac. but this time it would be for her to go to la to work on her music and him to camp and without the kissing this time... but i think the driving is a great way to use the metaphor most effectively lol... like i say- i think the best extension of the metaphor is nini driving on past camp like- driving off into the sunset type of thing... but idk. bc for one thing in my head ricky's def the driver of the two and also i think it makes more sense to see him arrive at camp and that be like- the arrival moment. also him having to drive on without her... is a powerful visual just as much as her driving on without him is. because she's more ready for it, so if that's actually her last scene that's a great last scene for her, that confident moment as she goes to her bright future, but if we're going to see some of her in la (i think we will at least a little bit), then we can watch ricky drive on without her and then we can see his fractures too, so idk which is more impactful really. it just depends on how they want to play it.

another person he could go with, beyond nini or his dad or going alone, which i think him going alone and him going with nini but then making the end of the trip alone are the most powerfully symbolic narrative-wise (for the latter, like up to this point he's always had her but now- that's gone and he's all by himself sort of thing...), is that he could go with lily. i know no one in the fandom probably wants to see this, but it could be interesting anyway. i don't know if i buy this as super realistic either- but it's not something i see as out of the question. it's weird because to start i was like there's no way lily's not at camp. it doesn't make a ton of sense to me for them not to like- use her for all she can do drama-wise. she brings a lot to the table, both in terms of ricky and in terms of general conflict options. like they had ricky call her... at the end of season 2, and had her steal the harness and they're just going to do almost all of that over facetime or something? idk it just feels silly to me. feels like it could be handled more dramatically in person. but anyway- now i'm feeling more on the side of lily's probably not going to camp. so in that sense, it doesn't make sense for her and ricky to drive to camp together. but- if we put her and ricky in the car together and say she is going to camp- it really will add to the way she contrasts with nini in pulling him towards theatre and stuff, and the ways they handle that. also just contrasts between them and then like- ej and gina as a couple and that whole car full of likely jolly people vs. ricky and lily who are probably quieter / less upbeat.

--

but to say that he's alone solely because ej's car only has five seats isn't quite enough explanation for the situation. the ehs kids KNOW there's only five seats in that particular car. and unless ricky only decides to actually go to camp last minute, they know there's six of them (or more for those who still think seb and big red might be coming as campers). and that would be incredibly on brand for him to be fair, considering he keeps being late to his auditions, and i don't want to rule it out as a possibility... despite the fact that logically, you have to be registered for a sleepaway camp pretty darn far in advance... plus his dad cannot possibly afford to pay for a summer camp and then ricky not go.

so like if they know there's more than five of them, and the plan is carpooling as a group since they're all going to the same place, the best move would be to either a) take a car that seats at least six people, or b) take two cars and split up the group.

i've seen people say well no one in that car really cares at all about ricky or doesn't like ricky- so why on earth would they want to ride with him? i've seen ashlyn and carlos as like- somewhat exceptions in some of the things that make this point, but yeah. i've also seen some comments along the lines of 'it's what he deserves for hurting gina' but that's another conversation i really do not care to get into. what we 'deserve' is... complicated imo. but i guess a lot of people in this fandom also do like the idea of ej committing physical vio.lence against him over it so- i suppose i shouldn't be surprised. i'm largely anti- physical fights of any kind.

to the first point though- carlos and kourtney aren't really all that close with ej / ashlyn, aka the car owner and his cousin who would be going with him by default either. ej and kourtney bonded a bit in season 1 presumably while he was with nini. kourtney's probably a bit closer to ashlyn due to their whole tercet thing, but that also lasted all of one episode, then kourtney was mostly back to just being friends with nini more or less. carlos probably connects back to this the most through gina... not ashlyn or ej. gina's kind of by default going with them for two reasons, a) she lives with ashlyn so duh, and b) she's potentially ej's girlfriend by this point, or they're at least like on their way to that. for carlos and kourtney- there's no like reason they had to go with them. it was just a fun group bonding roadtrip type of ordeal. i don't think they intended to exclude ricky, i don't think it was originally planned for it to be all five of them together either, i think it was more of an oh we're so excited to go together and carlos was sorta like ooh i'd love to go with you / similar for kourtney and yeahhhh.

to close, i absolutely do think this is an entirely intentional move by the writers / production to make it clear just how alone ricky is or at least feels going into this season. it honestly doesn't matter if he is being intentionally iced out so much as if he feels isolated or appears isolated. the point is that ricky is not in a good place mentally / emotionally at the moment. the point is he's not set up for the awesome summer with an awesome group of friends the way the others are. it's a clear visual contrast. there's a reason they're having this fun group roadtrip moment and he's not a part of it. because literally- if they wanted to, the people responsible for this stuff could've used a bigger car. ej's original car probably seated 7 or 8 just based on what it looked like. i'm not saying the characters are doing it intentionally, i'm saying that it's an intentional production decision.

[redheadedteatotaler]

Little bits of this and that to discuss...let’s get going. 

Update: The A03 link should be fixed now. Thanks to trueromantic1 for the heads up! 

Ryan at RK Outpost discusses Star Wars continued backlash and embarrassment as part of his livestream earlier today: 

The Western Journal caught up to Kevin Sorbo at CPAC recently, and it seems that the upcoming movie with Ben Shapiro isn’t the only thing Gina’s in talks about working on...

I want to preface this by stating that I normally stay as far away from Mike Zeroh as possible (as do most of Gina’s fans, he’s well known for being one of if not the most unreliable reactor when it comes to news), I simply wanted to include these as a way to draw attention to him and what he does. 

So, earlier today he posted this: 

In this one he claims that his sources have told him that Cara Dune is indeed going to be recast. I don’t buy it....why? Because after an hour of searching, he was the ONLY person I could find who has “sources”, who has made this claim. That alone makes me have serious doubt. Not to mention, the comment section gives you a really really good idea of how fans will react. As bad as I hate Darth Kennedy the Hypocritical, I can’t see her shooting herself in the other foot. 

The other big reason? Three hours later, he posted this one:

He’s been reporting the EXACT SAME INFORMATION about her firing for weeks now. I’m guessing he’s been called out (he was called out in this video, someone pointed out how the leaks have been faked for years between him and Doomcock), which is why he posted the whole thing about Cara Dune being recast. 

Simply put....Zeroh is at the bottom of the food chain when it comes to news, and his sources are most likely found in his head. In other words he makes things up for popularity’s sake. 

A trio of new works hit A03 today.

@wolfy22bookie​‘s latest creation, The Perfect Flower is as fluffy as a dandelion.

@name1name1​‘s latest work is a Boska piece titled Just A Beer.

@ladymarinenc​ steps into the CaraDin fan fic realm with her first ever piece called A New Normal. 

I’ve been talking about spotlighting the CaraDin shippers who are writers once a week, and I need your help to pull this off. I just realized that everyone on the ship list may not necessarily write, and this is where you come in. Out of all of us in our little group, how many Tumblr’s are also writers? 

For the spotlight, here’s how things will work. I’ll assign each writer a number Each Wednesday I’ll use a generator to choose a number at random, and then contact that writer to fill out the little questionnaire. I’m well aware that everyone’s got a busy life, so said writer will have until 8pm Central Time on Sunday to get their responses back to me, to be featured in the Monday update. Not gonna lie...I did pull a couple of these questions from the latest “ask” list that’s going around.

If you are a writer, and do not wish to take part, please do not hesitate to let me know. While I think shining a spotlight on the amazing talent that exists in our group is a good idea, I do not want to put anyone on the spot. 

For this update, I used my own writing to give you guys a feel of what it will look like. If there’s something I don’t ask the writer that you’d love to know and think others would too, let me know. 

Pen Name on A03: prettypinkliquid

Link to Works: http://www.archiveofourown.org/users/prettypinkliquid/

Do You Have Work Available Anywhere Outside of A03? Yes, my Gina actor fic can be found on my blog. 

Ships: CaraDin, Riletty, Cannic

CaraDin Moment That Made You Say “I Ship It”: The fight in Chapter 4 piqued my interest, but “I Won’t Leave You” is where I jumped onboard. 

Favorite CaraDin To Read: Domestic fluff

Favorite CaraDin To Write: Slightly angsty but fluffy domestic pieces

How Long Have You Been A Writer? Since I was nine. 

Does Your First Fic Still Exist? No, that poor thing is long gone. 

What Fandom Is It From? Days of Our Lives

Research or No Research? Depends on the subject. In some cases I prefer to make things up as I go, particularly if it’s a heavy subject.

What Is The Hardest Part About Writing To You? Actually sitting down to write. 

Where Do You Seem To Get Your Best Ideas? Work. It never fails.

Random Quote From a WIP: “In other words I should expect to be a grandfather again by the new year,” --Greef Karga, speaking to Cara.  

Not Gina related, but this Mandalorian fan edit by Trinity Studios is worth watching. 

Till next time! 

[legionnaireslover]

And the Haters are at it again...

Trying to convince everyone within earshot that BC is about to be replaced as Doctor Strange.

Gator posted an "anon" comment about actors being replaced by Disney/Marvel. They ended the post with...

"

And of course Gator posting this is to shore up the Hater narrative that BC's marriage is ruining his career! But looking closely at the examples given in the post and it's easy to see just how stupid and flimsy this whole "he can be replaced if he doesn't stop "The Sham" narrative is.

I'm not going to post the actual anon screed (it's VERY poorly written) but I will go over the actors cited by this "anon" as ones dumped by Disney/Marvel and you can decide if their problems are comparable to Ben's situation.

First we have Letitia Wright. The anon introduced the post with a article from "D-listed" gossiping about the possibility of LW being replaced Michaela Coel in the Black Panther sequel. Not that she HAS replaced LW but that they think she might. Reasons... well for one thing LW apparently went on an anti-vax, anti-science rant on Twitter and then deleted said offensive material but not before it was seen by a LOT of people. To quote from the speculative piece -

"As you may recall, last December Leticia squandered much of the goodwill she earned playing the smartest scientist in all of the MCU when she shared a bat-shit video from self-proclaimed profit Tomi Arayomi in which he “questions the legitimacy of the COVID-19 vaccination, appears sceptical of climate change, accuses China of spreading COVID-19, and makes transphobic comments.” After sparring a bit on Twitter with folks who thought it wasn’t so cool for the person playing the smartest scientist in all of the MCU to be spreading antiscience religious doctrine, Letitia completely deleted all her social media. While Variety says that Letitia is among the original BP cast members who “will likely reprise their roles,” TMZ is not so sure."

So, she posted a religious cult-like rant from a transphobic, anti-science, anti-vax, racist, climate change denier and got enough blowback that she pulled out of her social media account and even with ALL THAT it's only rumoured that she will be replaced! Does BC's actions in the last 7+ years sound anywhere close to this type of behaviour?

Next we have other examples the anon listed to support the argument that BC is on thin ice when it comes to his career with Disney.

1) "They replaced that chic on the Madalorian". Anon means Gina Carano who was fired by Lucasfilm because of her outrageous behaviour on her social media account.

To quote from a Collider article -

"The former MMA fighter has been stirring up controversy on social media for quite some time now, including but not limited to transphobic tweets, mocking the wearing of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and spreading misinformation about voter fraud. Fans of The Mandalorian have routinely been calling for her to be fired, and Lucasfilm finally made the decision Wednesday evening — although THR reports that the studio has been “looking for a reason to fire her for two months.”

So, she had been displaying behaviour that went completely against the philosophy of the company and doing it for some time. As a spokesperson said "her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable."

Is this person's behaviour comparable to how BC has comported himself?

2) "they replaced Terrance Howard in Iron Man 2 with Don Cheadle." And then this "anon" goes on theorize that it had to do with salaries . But when you look at this Terrance fellow, what pops up? Well, according to Wikipedia...

"February 2009, it was reported on The Smoking Gun that Howard was arrested in 2001 for a variety of charges related to a violent attack on his estranged first wife, including simple assault, terrorist threats, harassment and stalking. According to police reports, he arrived at her house after an argument on the phone, forced entry into her home by breaking in doors, and chased her into the backyard where he punched her twice in the face with a closed fist. The violent attack ended when Howard's brother stepped in. In 2002, he pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace"

it goes on to say "In a September 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Howard admitted to hitting his first wife in 2001 saying, "she was talking to me real strong, and I lost my mind and slapped her in front of the kids."

All this was coming out just before his salary was chopped by Marvel to a minuscule amount and he was replaced when he left Iron Man 2.

So again, how's BC's public reputation stack up to a person convicted of attacking a woman?

Not even close I would wager!

BC has a near sparkling reputation when compared to the likes of these replaced actors! Sure he's had some minor bumps (he isn't perfect) but he's NEVER publicly embarrassed the company making his movies! He's NEVER been convicted of beating on a woman!

He is a kind, generous, non-scandalous celebrity who works hard, stays out of social media scraps and is constantly praised by all who have worked with him. He's a committed father and husband and holds the values that many forward thinking, intelligent people do.

Other than the Haters (and occasionally their gossip mouthpiece "Enty") there's RARELY been even a whisper about him in the gossip rags ESPECIALLY since his marriage to Sophie! Why? BECAUSE THERE'S NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT! NO SCANDAL! HAPPILY MARRIED FAMILY MAN!

End of story!

So why would Marvel be looking to dump him? ANSWER: THEY WOULDN'T!

[wickedpact]

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

Long Ass Post under cut

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 [the phonecall starts]

Mimi: Hello, hello, Greg Rucka!

Greg: How you doing, Mimi?

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

Greg: [BIG GASP] You did?

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

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

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

Greg: Lo and behold!

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

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

Mimi:  That's right, that's right.

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

Mimi:  Oh really?

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

Mimi: Yeah.

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

Mimi: That's right!

Greg: --Everyone's gonna have access!

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

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

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

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

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

Greg:  And I'm delighted to hear it

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

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

 Mimi: Yeah

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

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

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

Mimi:  Yeah

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

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

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

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

Greg: Exist!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mimi: Yeah and--

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

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

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

Mimi: Yeah, yeah.

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

Mimi: Yeah.

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

 Mimi: Atomic Blonde, yeah

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

Mimi: Wow, yeah it was a beautiful location

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

Mimi: Okay. 

Greg: That's all the same estate.

Mimi: Nice, nice.

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

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

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

Mimi:  Exactly.

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

 Mimi: Yeah.

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

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

Greg:  Right.

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

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

Mimi:  Right.

Greg: It stands absolutely on its own.

Mimi: Yeah.

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

Mimi:  I'm gonna guess no on that!

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

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

Greg: ‘This changes nothing’

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

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

Mimi: Yeah.

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

Mimi:  Yeah yeah that's the ripple effect.

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

Mimi: Yeah.

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

Mimi:  I know that's infuriating.

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

Mimi:  Yeah, it's all insidious

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

Mimi:  Yeah yeah.

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

Mimi: Tell me how you really feel, Greg!

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

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

Greg: --selfish thing to do

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

Mimi:  Exactly

Greg: They seem to manage it!

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

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

Mimi: Yeah yeah

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

Mimi: Yeah right.

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

Mimi:  Yeah. Lack of leadership.

Greg:  Exactly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

Mimi:  Mm-hmm yeah.

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

Mimi: Yeah yeah I know.

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

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

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

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

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

Mimi: Right yeah

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

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

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

Mimi: Yeah yeah.

Greg: He is so good.

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

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

Mimi: Yeah.

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

Mimi: Yes.

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

Mimi:  Okay.

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

Mimi:  Right.

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

 Mimi: Okay

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

Mimi: Right, this was not Charlize's trailer

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

Mimi: This is more like a middle school trailer.

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

Mimi: Right.

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

Mimi: Right right.

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

Mimi:  Wow.

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

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

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

Mimi:  Yeah yeah.

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

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

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

Mimi: Yeah.

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

Mimi:  Yeah.

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

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

Greg: Potential! [sequel]

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

Greg: Gotta talk to your agent!

Mimi:  I know!

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

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

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

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

Greg: Right there!

Mimi: Right there for you!

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

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

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

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

Greg: Thank you Mimi!

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

[welllpthisishappening]

We’re watching the Blues white vs blue scrimmage and I’m so excited hockey is almost back! I think this calls for a Blue Line re-read because it’s so, SO good and I’ve read through everything on ao3 at least 5 times. 💙

This makes me the absolute happiest! Thank you for reading! And then reading again! I am unreasonably excited about the start of the season and the length of Chris Kreider’s hair and I was going to post a quick Blue Line one-shot here, but it was basically just original characters in that it was literally just Matt Jones being an idiot while meeting his future wife, so I wrote something else this morning and winning the Stanley Cup would mean they’d have to change their before-the-season starts ritual. Anyway, here’s like nearly 4K of everyone ragging on each other just before the season after Blue Line, while Emma and Killian try to figure out where they can make out without anyone noticing: 

————

“Still looking?” “Yup.” “What she look like?” “Like the actual description of her face?” 

Something dug into the bottom of Emma’s shoulder blade, and it took her far too long to realize that it was the jut of Killian’s chin because even the idea of Killian crouching behind her so as to avoid the overall force of Regina’s glare was something that hadn’t even crossed her mind. Until it was happening, apparently. “She’s staring,” Emma muttered, “got that little pinch between her eyebrows that always shows up when she’s—” Killian groaned. Directly where his mouth was resting, which was also on Emma’s back and likely just above the ‘o’ in his last name, if her knowledge of the jersey she was wearing was any indication. Maybe in between the ‘j’ and the ‘o,’ actually. 

“You’re ridiculous.” “Me?” Killian countered, and Emma wished she hadn’t already finished that first glass of wine. Blurry thoughts bounced across her sleep-deprived brain because there was only one more sleep ‘til Christmas, or whatever Kermit sang in The Muppet Christmas Carol. Presumably Christmas. And not hockey. Or the start of the hockey season. 

Splotches of ink still dotted the sides of Emma’s right hand, the product of dragging that same hand over forms she had to sign and other plans she had to approve, and the blue carpet wasn’t coming until next week because the home opener was actually three games into the season, which was not as comforting or stress-reducing as she thought it should have been and she simply did not have time to mitigate an argument between her boyfriend and his agent. 

Even when that boyfriend was very good looking. 

In his Christmas sweater. 

The traditions of hockey players continued to boggle the mind. Emma’s, specifically. 

If she drank any more wine, she was going to fall asleep standing up. “Yes,” Emma said, “you, but only because you’re the one currently trying to burrow your way into me. With your chin.” Humming in confusion, he lifted his head, and that wasn’t really a mistake, per se — but it did leave his soft exhale brushing against the side of Emma’s neck, and that sort of guaranteed that goosebumps appeared on her neck and she should have been more annoyed. By Killian’s immediate laugh. Of the vaguely victorious variety. 

“What do you think about the sweater?” “That you’re fishing for compliments.” “I think I make Locksley’s stitched-on face look very good. Doesn’t get stretched out at all—” Killian ignored Emma’s groan, pressing a kiss to the exact spot her shoulder met her still goosebump-covered neck, and it was the wine’s fault. For the state of her increasingly wobbly knees. “—Which is more than I can say about his current face.” “Oh, that’s rude,” Emma argued. “And I’m not entirely sure it even made sense.” “Are you Locksley’s self-appointed defender, then?” “Are you the single most superstitious player in the entire National Hockey League?” That kiss came with a graze of his teeth and a noise Emma immediately regretted making. Something like a squeak bubbled out of her, flinching in the sort of way that only ensured she was even closer to Killian, and stepping on one of his toes would have detracted from the overall romance of the moment. 

“You can’t do that sort of thing in public, Swan,” Killian chided, and he really did have very good reflexes. Spinning her, Emma’s hands flew to his chest — pointedly ignoring the stitched-on face of Robin Locksley — and he didn’t move. Didn’t stumble or come anywhere close to falling. Just arched his left eyebrow and had the gall to smirk at her like they weren’t in a restaurant filled with their friends and teammates and—

“I’m not taking the shirt off, Gina,” Killian yelled over Emma’s head, “so you can stop whatever you’re doing with your face.” “Trying to turn you to stone,” Emma mumbled.

“Last I checked, she’s not a Greek myth.” “Far as you know.” He moved. Shook really, once his laugh started to echo between Emma’s ears, and they definitely had more pillows in their house than blankets, but the sound of Killian’s obvious and consistent joy was oddly similar to the softest piece of fabric Emma could imagine. Like it was capable of wrapping around her, warm without being suffocating, just this steady presence that didn’t weigh down on her and made everything feel like—

Home, she supposed. 

She was so happy; she was positive it simply poured out of her at this point. And the sweater really did not look half bad. Fit very well, at least. 

“This worked last year,” Will called, shuffling between Roland and Henry. Several wads of napkins littered the floor by their feet, a makeshift hockey game that, as far as Emma could figure, had ever-evolving rules and a tendency to knock chairs over. Roland’s jersey wasn’t quite as long as last year, the hem stopping well before his knees. 

Henry still had a twenty on his back. 

“Still looks ridiculous,” Regina countered. Her wine glass was also empty, sitting closer to Robin’s chair than she had been ten minutes earlier. “Do you think you should send them an email?” Killian’s eyebrow dropped. Pulled low in perfect tandem with the other one, Emma’s head tilting with her own sense of confusion. 

Something slammed rather loudly into one of the walls. Eric might have been doing shots behind the bar.

“What?” “An email,” Regina repeated, “to whatever website makes that monstrosity, so you can let them know that they should get more creative and offer more wardrobe choices to—” “—Idiots?” Robin quipped. 

“Professional hockey players.” Ariel clicked her tongue, ignoring her husband’s objections when she jumped onto the edge of the counter. Only a matter of time until several kids tried to follow suit. “Is your husband not a professional hockey player, Gina?” “Yes.” “Oh, that was far less of an argument than I expected,” David mumbled, stepping next to Emma, and he couldn’t quite bump her shoulder when she was still standing so close to Killian. “And kinda rude,” Will added, “all things considered.”

Regina shrugged. “I cannot possibly overstate how much I hate that sweater.” “Take it up with Banana,” Killian said. “Her gift; makes it her problem. All I am doing is—” “—Wearing it?” “And wearing it well,” he promised. If Emma’s cheeks turned red, no one mentioned it. Which might have been one of the nicer things anyone on this team had ever done for her. “Plus,” Killian continued, “Scarlet’s right. This worked last year. If you want to risk tradition and potential—” A chorus of jeers greeted his near-jinx, complete with pointed fingers and one of Ariel’s legs kicking out like she had any chance of actually reaching Killian. Or wouldn’t be annoyed by whatever harm she could possibly inflict on his upper thigh. 

Regina looked very pleased. “This does not mean you won, Gina,” Killian said, but she only shrugged again, and the first blast of Arthur’s whistle was as shrill as any sound had rights to be. 

More cries bounced off the walls and the balled-up napkins, Arthur’s hand resting on Gwen’s shoulder because at some point in the twelve seconds between the first whistle blast and everyone regaining their ability to hear; he must have decided that standing on a chair was actually a good idea.

Killian’s entire body shook behind Emma’s. 

Getting rid of the goosebumps would be something of a rather large miracle. Especially if he kept his arm around her waist like this, fingers splayed over her stomach. 

“Are we ready yet?” Arthur barked, only to be met with murmurs and more confusion, and Emma didn’t think much before accepting the glass Mary Margaret was practically shoving into her hand. 

“Is there a reason for the collective?” Robin asked. “Did you mean to include yourself in that? Are you not ready for your own speech?”

Arthur was not as good at glaring as Regina. No one mentioned that. No one had to, really. He took a deep breath before he started. “Day before the opener. We know what we did last year, and I want to be the first to tell every single one of you that I don’t give a flying fuck—” Another round of loud objections rang out around him, Arthur not quite able to wave them off because his balance really was awful, and Killian had to let go of Emma to haul Roland up his side. “—Anyone asks you about last year,” Arthur pressed, entirely unperturbed by the frustration of his team and their assorted families, “and you better tell them you don’t give’a shit about it.”

Emma tried to cover one of Roland’s ears. The other one was pressed against Killian, so she couldn’t really do anything about that. “Does he think you haven’t been quoted—like, all off-season?” “The ultimate idiot,” Killian grinned. 

“Is this over yet?” Will demanded. “I’d like to know when I can boo without threat of interruption.”

Belle kissed his cheek. 

While Ruby mumbled curses under her breath, all too aware of just how many people had asked about the Cup run and would keep asking about the Cup run and her job was not going to get any easier if the professional hockey players in that restaurant refused to answer questions all season.

“Nothing that happened last year means anything this year,” Arthur said, but it was starting to sound a bit like a proclamation or maybe an affirmation, and Emma was terrible at yoga. Never had enough patience for it. “So we are playing for something brand-new, and you better not start by screwing it all up on Thursday.” He nodded once. Glanced around because Emma knew he was waiting for some sort of reaction, but the only reaction he got was Will’s promised boo, and that was more than Arthur deserved. Especially when he knocked over the chair while getting down. 

“Tell me he’ll be better with fans,” Emma said, and Killian had to shift Roland, but then he was the one doing the cheek kissing, and the quiet guarantee of absolutely, love was nice until he added—

“Can totally beat him up if he’s not.” “You’re a violent guy, Cap.”

Nosing at the side of her jaw did not impress Roland at all. Fair, really — but then Roland was on the same counter as Ariel, her sliding down the makeshift wood to get an arm around him and her phone already out and ringing, and Will stopped boo’ing. 

To announce, in no uncertain terms, “It’s time! Leader better not screw things up, or I’ll walk to Colorado and kick him in the shins.”

“What a threat.” Robin groaned, but his phone was making noise too, and neither Elsa nor Liam were doing a very good job of sharing space in the frame. Anna was waving with both her hands, already talking a mile a minute with her sister and they were all wearing team-branded merchandise, as the ritual dictated, but this also felt like the first legitimate time Emma was part of the ritual and all three Vankald and/or Jones faces beamed when they noticed her. 

“A,” Will sighed, “you’re supposed to tell us before the taxi squad gets on the call. Then we can prepare and we don’t have to go through this every year.” Anna’s eyes noticeably thinned. “What is this, exactly?” “The gossip wheel you’ve got to run through before we can—” “—Emma’s wearing KJ’s number again!” “We live together Banana,” Killian reasoned, and the jump in Emma’s stomach was undeniable and even more uncalled for. She also hoped she didn’t mess up the ritual. 

“Still.” “Expand on that for me.” Will might have snarled. “We do not have time for this.”

“Are you an actual adult participating in this situation?” Ariel challenged. “Because I am not getting that right now.” Careful to stay out of Regina’s eye line and certain that Roland was at least momentarily distracted by another plate of onion rings, both of Will’s hands moved when he flashed specific fingers. Ariel nearly fell off the counter, she laughed so hard. 

Elsa and Anna were absolutely having their own conversation. 

And Killian kissed Emma’s hair that time. 

“Also,” Elsa added, “should we be collectively annoyed by the taxi squad marker? That’s kind of—” Her voice dropped “A dick move, right?” “You’re a picture of parental responsibility, El,” Killian said. “Buy new clothes.” “See,” Regina cried, arms thrust nearly above her head in what wasn’t quite celebration but might have simply been her innate desire to be right at all times. “Liam, you’re going to have to say something different now, you realize that?” None of them had, quite clearly. Soft gasps and quiet oh’s echoed around their spot at the end of the bar, but Liam’s chin was doing something as well. So maybe it was just genetic. Jutting out, the confidence practically dripped off him, which would have been a disgusting thought in any other situation, but there was something to be said for constants and stability, and not one of them had so much as thought the phrase back to back all offseason. 

“Your lack of belief is disappointing, Gina.” “I’m just covering our bases.” “Wrong sport,” Liam laughed, grabbing the stick that had been leaning just out of frame and it took some finagling to hold it out in front of him. Without also knocking the phone over. He nearly knocked the phone over three different times. 

Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose. “Alright,” Liam started, and Emma didn’t think she imagined the way Killian stood up a bit straighter. Robin and Will, too. “Wait, wait, shit, sorry Rol—no, but how many years is this?” “Oh my God,” Ariel grumbled. “This is kind of messing it up.” “Leader, do you not know how to do math?” Will shouted, grabbing more than one of Roland’s onion rings. Like he needed something to occupy his hands with. 

Blotches of color appeared on Liam’s face, Elsa’s head shaking back and forth now while several different grown adults tried to do the most basic math problem, and no one else heard Killian at first. Emma did. Presumably, because she was almost standing on his sneakers. 

His arm was back around her waist. “Nine years,” he repeated. 

Liam hummed. “Yeah, yeah, that’s right.” “I know it is.” Nothing about those words was enough to immediately catch Emma short, but the fingers pressed against her might have started pulling on her shirt ever so slightly and whatever look Elsa and Anna shared as soon as she circled her arms around Killian’s middle wasn’t important. Now, at least. Emma had every intention of getting them to give up whatever they knew later. 

They definitely knew something. 

She’d worry about that after the home opener. “Alright, alright, alright,” Liam chanted, the stick back up and Will’s salute lacked any sort of legitimate respect. “Nine years ago now, we all stumbled back into this stupid city and laced up skates and tripped over ourselves on the ice.” He had to glance down. Reading it off an index card, then. Emma’s heart gave a small, but sure tumble in her chest. “And we were God awful. Terrible. Embarrassingly bad. But, as with most things, we figured it out. We stopped tripping over that giant emblem at center ice and we didn’t stutter during post and we actually started scoring goals.”

The stick was starting to shake. Retirement affected forearm strength, it seemed. 

“And we inexplicably won a first-round series and made the backpages of tabloids and then something kind of incredible happened.” Emma waited for the tension, for the sound of Killian’s knuckles cracking, or the exchange glances between Robin and Will. None of it came. It was stupid to think it would. And Liam was far from done. “Down two games in Pitt—” “—Oh my God,” Ruby hissed, “who calls it Pitt?” Liam ignored her. “A two-game hole, and totally fu—messed up media in Los Angeles, but none of that mattered because you guys kept scoring goals and the entire Kings organization is a black hole of talentless idiots.” “This is scathing, Leader,” Will said, “truly. Did you practice this?” “Yes,” Elsa said before Liam could open his mouth again, and Emma’s neck was going to give up sooner rather than later. Emotions twisted between the muscles there, another weight that somehow made it easier to breathe, like they had anything to do with her lungs, but none of her cared and all of her wanted. This, specifically. “There’s more though, Scarlet. Stop interrupting.” He saluted again. 

“Getting everything you wanted’s kind of a weird thing to wrap your head around, but that’s because this isn’t everything. Not yet. Somehow you guys are still capable of scoring goals and—y’know, your quotes leave a little to be desired.” “Here, here,” Ruby murmured. 

Liam might have been the best at glaring. Like, out of all of them. “But that just means the pressure’s on. Vankald cliché requirement; patent pending.” None of the boos that garnered had much bite to them. “Keeping the tradition alive is half the fun of hockey, this dumb sport with weapons on our feet and in our hands and it’s up to you guys. All over again. Start of the season, fresh slate, knowing you can do it because you already have. You ready, Rol?”

Roland nodded more than once, enthusiasm in every jerk of his head. “To the Cup,” he shouted. 

“To the Cup,” the crowd repeated, not much enunciation between the lot of them when both of the phones had a slight delay and there was a baby crying in Colorado. Still, neither Elsa nor Liam moved and the shot glasses Eric put down were rather quickly grabbed. So as to avoid Arthur’s ire. 

Alcohol burned the back of Emma’s mouth as soon as she tilted her head, shivering against the strength of whatever it was she just drank. If she cried, she was going to be really annoyed with herself. 

And the restaurant never got too loud, or too warm, but Emma’s heart stayed at its above-average rate for the next two hours, making the prospect of walking out the door and standing at the edge of the sidewalk all the more appealing. Especially when she remembered how—

It took him two minutes to follow her. Give or take. 

“Feels like we’re in a time warp,” Killian said, leaning against the side of the restaurant while Emma desperately tried to temper her own emotions and she had more emotions than she knew one person could be capable of containing. 

“No dancing, though.” “Banana and I went to a midnight showing of that on Halloween once.” “Seriously?” “Mmmhm. Have I mentioned that I am ridiculously in love with you yet, today?” Her head fell. Neck finally giving up, Emma’s cheek twisted on top of Killian’s shoulder, and his sweater, and if there was a quota for kisses pressed to the crown of her head, he was certainly trying to reach it. Competitive weirdo. “I don’t think so.” “Idiotic.” “Eh, we’ve been busy.” “I love you,” he said, and she smiled. Wide and easy and so goddamn happy, it only occasionally felt like a massive joke. And it still wasn’t enough. As selfish as that might have been, but Liam was definitely right and this wasn’t the end, might have just been another point on a circle and hints of wholly enjoyable déjà vu. “Is this the part where we talk about dating some guy on a team?” Left eyebrow, that time. Perfectly arched while his ability to smirk continued to infuriate Emma just a little, whatever sound she made when he ducked his head and caught her lips somewhere between joy and laughter and the seemingly perpetual talent to make her swoon wherever she was standing. 

They’d definitely gotten better at kissing in the last year. 

A fact Emma had every intention of pointing out — once she was done sticking her tongue in Killian’s mouth. Or trying to get her fingers under his sweater, his soft hiss at the lack of temperature in her fingertips some kind of victory she’d think about until the home opener and possibly until the All-Star break, and the overall arch of her back wasn’t particularly comfortable. But then her hips bumped Killian’s and that drew another sound and made champagne bubbles of the far more metaphorical variety explode in the general vicinity of her heart. 

One of her feet left the ground, not doing much to help her balance, but Emma had already spent too long considering the pros and cons of balance and she scratched at the back of Killian’s head. When her back pressed into the wall, threatening to scratch through her jersey and his fingers weren’t as cold as hers, because he might have just exuded heat, which likely wasn’t a sign and she wanted it to be a sign and—

“I love you,” Emma breathed, harder than she wanted. The force of his answering smile could have melted ice. In several prominent arenas across North America. 

“You worried?” “Very vague question.” “Swan.” “No,” she said, pleased to realize she meant all three letters. With just about everything in her. “Coming out here was—” “—We could have just made out in the restaurant.” “Pushing me up against a wall probably would have gotten us kicked out.” “Which would have led us here and then home, so,” Killian shrugged, “I fail to see the problem.” “You want to go home?” His eyes closed. His smile didn’t waver. Just pressed into the side of Emma’s neck and under her jaw, scruff, and strands of hair that were a little longer than they’d been last season, and she felt him inhale. Like he was trying to breathe her in, or possibly them. The specifics didn’t matter. They were something of a package deal now, anyway.

“Did you cop this jersey from equipment?” Leaning back was impossible with the wall behind her, but Emma was something of a glutton for emotions now and inherently greedy. Killian’s eyes noticeably darkened when she moved her tongue. Directly across her teeth. “Nah, I own this.” The thump of his forehead falling to her shoulder was the most satisfying sound she’d heard in two weeks. Bar none. 

“We’re leaving now,” Killian said. “Now.”

“You don’t want to—” Lacing his fingers through hers, he didn’t quite tug her back down the alley, but it was awfully close and Emma was glad she’d thought to bring her phone with her. “They’ll figure it out.”

She hoped they did. 

Checking her phone was somewhere near the bottom of the list she had absolutely no intention of making that night, opting instead to leave a trail of clothes back to their room and she couldn’t wear the jersey to the game. They made out in the hallway outside the visitor’s locker room, though. So Emma figured it something of a wash; and the first win of the season. 

[twopoppies]

Hi Gina! I wanted your opinion on this. Okay so i know how everyone is confused about the bbg push recently when he can end it with just one statement on twitter but i think it going to be dna and Custody battle. i recently observed that so many solo louies on twitter and ig believe that he's a dad and the argument they give is that louis will never lie to them and it's disrespectful to assume and thats almost like half of his fans! That's why to make it look organic the tommo fam is highly involved this time. It doesn't make sense if someone is screwing him over because they have been doing this build up since a long time now( arcade vid, Daisy's comment, fan video call, christmas drama) and they are doing it very willing and sisters are also continuosly talking abt it(also it for clout). And how Briana's fam is so silent which is VERY unusual, i mean if it was someone fucking louis over the jungwirth fam wouldn't stay silent, THEY WANT CLOUT. And see how the arcade vid was sent to a larrie acc and this video call was done to a larrie as well! I think they have to build up good father imagr before ending for the fans that think hes father to make him look innocent and not loose half of his fans because even after ending the non larries are not gonna accept the idea of him with harry. And i know you'll call me to too optimistic but this shit has to end sooner or later! If it end sometime this year before lt2 it's a perfect time he left syco, new album, promo. And also the rebbeca vid on 1d youtube channel, inhaler quote, faith in future,etc it's too much! And Louis is being too positive right now! But then again it's just a theory so🤷

Sorry i know its toooooo long but correct me if I'm wrong. Also please ignore any grammatical mistakes. Also I'm really excited for tour!!

Hi darling. I don’t know. Honestly, anything could be happening. But, to me, ramping it up to end it makes no sense at this point. There’s just no need for it. The fandom doesn’t need a reminder. Not even the people who think he’s really a dad need one. IMO it just makes the lie even worse to play pretend after 4 years of no contact, only to turn around and say “I’m so sad to find out he’s not my son after all.”

Just end it. It’s so repulsive from every angle.

[victimhood]

My TOG cast and crew movie reviews

Ok so watching TOG revived the part of me that LOVES indie-ish/European Arthouse films and I blitzed through a bunch with more to come! Idk who this review serves but I just had to explode in writing or...the feelings would go nowhere.

Love and Basketball

My movie rating: 4 / 5

Favourite parts: the conflict between a tomboy sports loving protagonist and a conventional homemaking mother. To sound cliched, this is the sort of thing only a woman filmmaker can bring out in her films. There’s so much nuance and tension expressed in all the individual women in the film and where that lies in the enforced dichotomy of woman/not a woman--thereby highlighting that IT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN A DICHOTOMY all of these are in the broad spectrum of womanly behaviors bc they come from women!!! The ending where a husband supports his wife in HER basketball game? LOVE THAT. Music choices are also A++ in this film.

The film also provides some insight into respectability politics--here we have an NBA player who wants his son to do something more conventionally “respectable”. I am not American nor am I Black so someone with more insight would be able to speak to this better, but even so as an audience I could feel it!

TOG cast rating: none, bc it’s the director!! This is Gina Prince-Bythewood’s breakout film but you can palpably feel that she poured her heart and perhaps some of her life experiences in this film!

Martin Eden

My movie rating: 3.5 / 5

Don’t understand the movie, slightly put off by the Nietzschean individualist philosophy. Doubly so after I read that the author of the book (Jack London) is a socialist?? (FTR so am I so like...I’ve had enough of white male indivudalism!!) Stuff like that always reminds me of (500) Days of Summer which is anti-manic pixie dream girl and yet is beloved by aspiring MPDG-philes. Here is a quote from the author himself: London wrote, "One of my motifs, in this book, was an attack on individualism (in the person of the hero). I must have bungled it, for not a single reviewer has discovered it."

Though I have not read the book, I hope the movie is a little more pronounced, in the unraveling of the eponymous protagonist. Luca gives an impressive show of his Acting Range as the protagonist moves through life and goes through a whole bunch of political beliefs in reaction to the situation around him.

I love movies that show the impoverished side of Europe though. The movie does a good job of showing the class conflict within society--at the end of the day, the Martin Eden that has risen through the social ladder is a self-despising man. The bread mopping scene is great, and truly, there is no love for Luca Martinelli like the camera’s love for Luca Martinelli. I love Luca’s bad teeth in this too. Dental health is possibly one of the most obvious, yet most unremarked markers of social class. Nice detail.

TOG cast rating: 5/5 Luca really carries this film on his broaaaaad shoulders. Thank you Luca. Thank you Pietro, for making a movie that lingers so lovingly on Luca’s face, inspiring many a writer to pen horny paeans to the Roman nose and the Byzantine eyes. I even saw one about the lop of hair over the eyes. Yes….watching Luca is a very physiological experience.

They Call Me Jeeg (Lo Chiamavano Jeeg Robot)

My movie rating: 4 / 5

Ok this movie is quite male-gazey in the conventional action movie way. Moments where the damsel is in distress are filmed in a somewhat titillating manner. That aside, the damsel in distress does get a moment of glory, though it shortly precedes her death. The hero of the film I also found not too groundbreaking. He starts out as a thief but is given superpowers, and he’s mostly a sad loser who watches too much porn in his free time, though the damsel’s belief in him helps turn him around to the greater good. The story moves at a quick pace and with twists and turns at each corner which help the enjoyability rating.

Really, the standout of this movie is the villain. Fabio (Lo Zingaro) is fantastically deranged, in a style that surpasses the Joker. The only thing I truly have to say about this movie is that the moment where Lo Zingaro barges in on the hero and the camera POV switches from third person to first person and the hero is on the verge of fainting but all he sees is Lo Zingaro saying “Ciao”.........reader, I am speaking from the afterlife. Again, truly, there is no love for Luca Marinelli like the camera’s love for Luca Marinelli. My heart stopped when I saw Fabio’s face in such a tender, loving proximity...and yet...he is deranged...he wants to kill you….TAKE ME NOW FABIO I AM YOURS *lovelorn Victorian sigh*

Perhaps I might issue a CW that there is a trans character in the film. The character doesn’t appear for too long, and I think the portrayal is mostly neutral to borderline negative for playing to stereotypes. The damsel in distress’s story carries a huge TW for sexual abuse and incest.

TOG cast rating: 5/5 just for that 1st person POV scene alone--that was life changing. I did not expect to be greeted so intimately by a completely deranged motherfucker. I want it as my phone wallpaper.

A Bigger Splash

My movie rating: 4.5 / 5

I loooooooved Bigger Splash so much?? But this is because I love Tilda Swinton and I love Ralph Fiennes. While watching this, I don’t know why, but I just kept thinking, aaaaand this guy is also Voldemort (Fiennes). I love the implausibility and yet here we are.

Matthias is so boyfriend-shaped in this movie, I wanted to snuggle up against him and have him care for me. He’s a wonderful boyfriend, and Ralph Fiennes’s character truly, is the Most Annoying Mansplainer type ever, like, you’ve probably met that type, who thinks he’s slick and loves the sound of his own voice and I 100% related when Matthias’s character just...has had enough of Ralph Fiennes’s character. But oopsie, the rest is a spoiler.

THE SOUNDTRACK IS AWESOME also it’s got St Vincent covering the Rolling Stones and St Vincent is the lesbian guitar hero of your dreams, please give St Vincent more love.

TOG cast rating: 5 / 5 Matthias is butt naked in the opening scenes of the movie, and then he appears full frontal nude later on. But mostly he just looks so snuggly like a big boyfriend hoodie.

Rabat

My movie rating: 4 / 5

Wow ok I LOVED THIS ONE A LOT. Idk what I was expecting, but it was a beautiful, beautiful ride. It’s a perfect expression of the “roadtrip story” form. It’s got the adventure, the hijinks, the conflict and the “transformative growth” that comes out of the conflict. It’s about the MENA immigrant experience in Europe, and though from a different community as someone who’s had the immigrant experience myself I loved the part where they talk about people back home thinking they’re rich for having moved abroad. Yet--in many white-dominated countries, non-white immigrants live under an incredibly bulletproof glass ceiling and moving “upward” in society is a pipe dream. I loved when the main character Nadir mentions his dad’s taxi being a reliable source of income for the past 15 years. I think it’s such a warm and human film played by very warm and human characters, and [mild spoiler] I CACKLED SO MUCH at how Nadir “resolves” the question of marriage--I can’t go into too much detail bc the movie builds up to this but I LAUGHED SO MUCH. It’s the blend of total inappropriateness delivered in the most sincere package played to perfection.

TOG cast rating: 3/5 criminally underused Marwan bc he is not the main character. Marwan is a womanizing, alcohol-loving Tunisian friend in this story who buys a...bootleg? Hugo Boss suit for 200 Euros and then rips it up to form shorts bc the weather is too hot. The story implies he has a more complex backstory re: his relationship to his father as well as having impregnated a girl and escaping paternal responsibility for that but doesn’t give us much more. At one point, one character remarks that he would do “horrible” things (implying sexual interest) to Marwan’s character and ALAS I MUST AGREE.

...AAAAAND we’ll have more to come!! I promised a friend to watch Beale Street together so it’s gonna take a while for that to happen thx covid.

[wheel-of-fish]

By the Numbers: Ben Crawford, Ali Ewoldt, Jay Armstrong Johnson

By the Numbers:  The Ben Crawford/Ali Ewoldt/Jay Armstrong Johnson  Stream, August 22, 2020

[long-awaited submission from Aldebaran; I’m putting it behind a cut]

Oh my gosh, an epic stream deserves an epically long and epically late By the Numbers!  Come with me back in time, all the way back to two weeks ago, which in pandemic days is a month and a half.  Before we were treated to  Giant Ivan and Tiny Tamara in Moscow, there was The Swagger, The Disney Princess and The Bot…

This was a fantastically fun boot to watch as part of a group of enthusiastic Saturday Streamers!  Plusses included an earlier-in-his-run Ben “The Swagger” Crawford as the Phantom, with the spotlight on his booming baritone voice, and Ali “Paris’s Sweetheart” Ewoldt as an enchanting Christine.  And—Jay Armstrong Johnson (we’re pretty sure) as Raoul.  Or some semblance of Raoul.  Something was up with Raoul in this performance and the consensus was there may have been robotics involved. I won’t say more here; the streamers have it covered below and a fantastic set of memes by Onthevirg/faunaproductions caught tons more great moments.   Very very nice filming job by a master who clearly knew the show well and anticipated major moments and character moves in a smooth manner.  Not a bot though.  As far as we know.  And featuring an AIAOY– let’s just say that has to be seen to be believed.    

Some stats on the stats:  An asterisk * indicates a recurring category.  All numbers are accurate except where they are not.  I was tempted last week to resort to making crap up for this recap, but resisted the temptation.  I will occasionally add in a missing letter or two.  If a person’s train of thought is split up, I will ignore intervening commentary and put that thought back on track.  Occasionally, by design or by mischance, a comment or two will be moved slightly out of original chronological order.  Or wildly out of chronological order to cater to a theme.  Or a whim.  Only when it’s funny.  There is also no clean way to say the word “organ” which pops up a lot in this stream. (See what I mean?  It can’t be done.)

*Suggested names for this boot: The Animatronic Boot, The Better Than Cooper Boot, The It’s Alive! Boot, Robot Roll Call Boot (Okay, nobody suggested these.  It was me.  I suggested these)

*Statistician’s Favorite Boot Name:  mechanical hands down, The RaoulBot Boot

*Wow, we like to talk about Phantoms:  It has become clear to me that we like to talk about everybody.  And everything.  Phantoms, Christines, Raouls, Mandalorians.  Here are most of the people mentioned in the stream.  There is no context.  Just like a real stream!!!

John Riddle (9), Gina Beck (8), Ramin (6), Rob Houchen (2), Ethan (1), Eiji (1), Uwe (3), Jordan Craig (2), Sierra (1), Steve Barton (3), David Shannon (2), Norm (14), Earl (1), Cooper (2), Darua (4), Thiago (11), Rachel Barrell (1), Meghan Picerno (2), Cherik (19), Pedro Pascal (1), B*rbour (7), Eva Tavares (4), Ted Keegan (5), Maree Johnson (2), Quentin Oliver Lee (1), Jeremy Hays (1), Ben Jacoby (3), Andrew Keenan Bolger (1), Greg Mills (1), Michael Maliakel (1),  KKA (8),  Jordan Donica (1), Kyle Barisch (8), Andrew Ragone (3), Paul Stanley/Stankey (3), Hannah Gadsby (2)

Residual Stolle Thirst:  Residual Stolle Thirst from the stream a week prior to this one, plus Mr. Stolle’s appearance as Passarino AND the Conductor in this boot resulted in >32 mentions.  There may or may not have been comparisons between his Raoul and this boot’s Raoul.  I certainly wouldn’t put it past us.

Epithets for Ben Crawford:  Ubiquitous mentions of Crawdaddy and The Swagger.  More personalized and clearly personal epithets:  Big Ben—ktarinajones, BENBENBENBEN—whereisthepersian, OH HELLO VOICE—butdreamsofbeauty, my horny bastard and I love him—ktarinajones

Epithets:  reader’s choice as to which Phantom(s) the following apply to (no one in this stream):                                                        Fuckface McGee–therosenpants                                                      Sir Scruffsalot—snows                                                                    Voldemort—Benny-Lynne                                                                  Traschcan–therosentpants

Antici_____pation:

I can’t wait for jay                                                                                I honestly thought they’d slapped a human face on a robot and called it a day—angedelamusique

Let’s all just have fun trying to spy hints of actual emotion in Jay’s Raoul—GlassPrism

Oh there will be memes.  Ben Crawford is a walking meme and there will be a robot on stage—ktarinajones

Oh boy, here we go—GlassPrism

We love a trainwreck:

I love this stream crowd because you all show up for trainwrecks just as enthusiastically as you do for good actors—wheel-of–fish

We love a trainwreck!—butdreamsofbeauty

we’re ready—angelofthelake

trainwrecks are v satisfying—christinegrrl

We’re here with roses, we’re here with rotten fruit, we’re versatile!  A good tirefire is a marshmallow roast–snows

Debut of RaoulBot:  Before the show even began, JAJ’s Raoul had a name:                                                                                       

RaoulBot—ktarinajones at 20:01:33 (historic occasions get timestamps!)                                                                                     

wait they can’t moisten the raoul if he’s a robot, can they?—butdreamsofbeauty

they can oil him—ktarinajones

oil the raoul, perfect—butdreamsofbeauty

He has a silicone exterior—Benny-Lynne

wd-40—wheel-of-fish

How do we know he is waterproof?  Let’s see if he sparks when he hits the Raoul Hole—Aldebaran

Earliest Meme Generation:  Our intrepid memester Virg had material for a meme within 8 minutes 27 seconds of the start of the stream.

Love is in the Air:  There was a lot of love in this stream

Ali Love:  >32

Laird Love:  28

Carlotta Love:  20

Filmer Love: 5

Extreme John Riddle love: 2

when there’s video of John Riddle the filmer can have a kidney if they want—ktarinajones, seconded by christinegrrl

And then there was Jay:

Oh he did a head nod.  Well done.—Bozzleboz

At least Jay doesn’t shoot a policeman—PureAnon

Several head turns in succession there.  Getting ambitious.–Bozzleboz

Illumination!:  Auction Raoul set the tone for the evening to come, and the chandelier seized the moment to shine.

OMG, his jaw moves just like a real person….or a nutcracker—Aldebaran

His batteries are running down.  Maybe they will wire him for the new electricity.—Aldebaran

Robot Raoul is using all the electricity—Aldebaran

That chandelier isn’t rising—Ladyrock18

It’s not rising because they have to unhook the cables that power Raoulbot—DocTy

The chandelier shows more emotions than Jay as Raoul—Maze-zen

Erik made a Raouldoll to add to his collection?—Benny-Lynne

The chandelier shows the full range of human emotions.  That is why it was cast.—haunted-hideaway

The chandelier is more expressive than this Raoul—Carole

The chandelier can actually sing in morse code—DocTy

Meanwhile backstage Raoulbot is recharging in his alcove—Aldebaran

If you listen closely you can hear diesel generators in the background recharging the batteries—DocTy

C’mon guys, he’s solar powered—ktarinajones

is that why he stops working in the dark during AIAOY–christinegrrl

Statistician Aldebaran wonders if she will be able to handle viewing Cherik:

Oh I finally finished the 90’s miniseries!  I have thoughts!—Abberina

Abberina do you have thoughts other than “I hurt, I am in pain”?—snows

@snows the ending was WILD—Abberina

Abberina, I spent the whole day lying and crying after the 90s miniseries, are you allright?—Carole

“Wild”??? How are you still living!  That ending!  Gghh!—snows

Do you need something?  A glass of water?  Therapy?—Carole

My heart hasn’t recovered yet.  And I watched it 4 years ago.–Carole

Christine Who?:  One would think that Christine’s debut in Hannibal would have the streamers’ full attention.  But no.  All eyes were on Raoul in his box.  Or maybe just unpacked from the box he came in.

can it be? can it be a robot?—christinegrrl

can it be chreeeestineeee—butdreamsofbeauty

engage clapping program—Aldebaran

clap beep boop clap clap—angelofthelake

beep boop clapping action beep boop—Jadowdra

EXECUTE EMOTION—missbuster

Stache or cache?:  Once we were beginning to get an idea of the limits of Raoulbot’s programming, we turned our attention to his most character defining feature—the mustache.

omg mustache—MelancholysChild

His mustache is a little full for me.  Oh well.  I guess that’s where he hides his secrets.—haunted-hideaway

wowWWWW—put that boy in a floofy shirt and stick him in the pirates of the caribbean ride at disney, damn—snows

it’s where he hides his processer—therosenpants

haunted he needs something to cry into—ashadeintheshade

That is not a mustache, that is fiber optics—Aldebaran

although he is stiffer than the other robotic pirates—snows

Haunted, his secret is his charger entrance—Carole

You keep your secrets then, Raoul—haunted-hideaway

Autocorrect Follies:

Pinging = Piangi–Bozzleboz

Paul Stankey = Paul Stanley—IamErik771

Ironic Statement is Ironic:

I always forget there’s an elephant–yiks

Cooper finds a role:

[as Buquet appears] oh hey look it’s cooper!—snows                                                                                                                                    finally a role for cooper, buquet all the way—Aldebaran                                                                                                                                ohh wait sorry it’s the other scruffy creepy nasty weirdo—snows

*Best from Onthevirg’s Mom:  “like stolles passarino cooper should always be buquet—it’s a fitting role”

Joseph Buquet job  performance review:

DO YOUR FREAKING JOB BUQUET.  –madamefaust                                                                                                                                I’ll never get over that line “i promise i wasn’t doing my job!!!!!”—butdreamsofbeauty

The Boy Ain’t Right:  Little Lotte made it very apparent that Raoul may have been compromised.

Don’t make fun of him, you guys.  The tiny alien in his head driving his body is doing his best, ok?—haunted-hideaway

li tt le l ott e—tearoses

So….Erik’s looking like an awesome choice right about now…–HerbalPath

Usually i’m r/c  but uh not today—yiks

His hat is just an excuse he’s going to recharge a bit—Carole

That was almost threatening how he said little lotte—Ladyrock18

*Vintage MadameFaust:                                                                   Don’t quote me too much, my knowledge is based on judicious use of Wikipedia;-)

[inspired by Raoul’s Little Lotte performance]                                    CHOCOLATES 

HUMANS LOVE CHOCOLATES                                                                                                                                                                    *Biggest Organ in Paris:  The mirror scene included a thunderous organ accompaniment.  It took me ten minutes to write a non-filthy sentence that conveyed that information while containing the word “organ.”  The Saturday Streamers were fired up!  Except for a certain statistician–

WOAH—therosenpants                                                                    THAT ORGAN—PureAnon                                                                ORGAN—haunted-hideaway                                                              Wow—DocTy                                                                                      ORGAN!—butdreamsofbeauty                                                          did you hear that??????—therosenpants                                          organ—DocTy                                                                                    Orrgannnnn—Xyloghost                                                                    that roused me from Lore Olympus—therosenpants                          ORGAN!—Jawodra                                                                          What’s with the loud organ?—maze-zen                                            organ AWESOME—snows                                                                THE ORGAN WAS PERFECT—whereisthepersian                          I loved it!—MelancholysChild                                                            Is that new? that’s BADASS–snows                                                  Organ <3—Carole                                                                          The organ is loud because Ben is loud—PureAnon                          Erik is playing his pocket organ–Abberina                                        It’s the phantom of the phantom of the opera—wheel-of-fish

Oh God now I have to count Organ mentions (>20) and everyone is going to judge me—Aldebaran

*What scent are the Phantom’s candles:  Previously established in the official “Love That Lair” candle line, in addition to  Vanilla Brown Sugar, Cucumber Melon, Tobacco Spice, Underground Despair, and Hopeless Mist, the newest entry unveiled for this stream was Sepulchral Solitude, a light and airy blend of ennui, nihilism and condensation, perfect for occasional bouts of midnight composing.

*The Phantom’s pillows mentions:  2

obligatory pillow mentions, they are a nice colour scheme–missbuster

Baritone Love Fest:

we! love! a baritone! phantom!—butdreamsofbeauty

Baritones are the best!–PureAnon

Yes!—JacobZ

Yes to baritones.  To whatever they ask.—Aldebaran

baritones are incredible—angelofthelake

I like em big and boomy—Bozzleboz

yes they are—MelancholysChild

The deeper and boomier, the better—PureAnon

*Erik has Skillz:

Okay so Ben just flipped through about six alternate personalities in a single line, and that’s impressive—snows

his voice is like chocolate sauce—Benny-Lynne

His voice is so deep I wanna scuba dive in it—Benny-Lynne

The Swagger at Rest:

Sir must you spread your legs so—snows

snows yes he MUST—ashadeintheshade

nice stance—MelancholysChild

Oo.  Manspreading—Bozzleboz

but like… the good kind–snows                                                       

Sweet Music’s Throne:  Ben’s nascent aggression came out in his organ playing.  The INSTRUMENT!

OMG HIS KNEES This is really funny to me—madamefaust

He is def using his knees a lot—christinegrrl

Oh he’s….trying to play the keyboard—missbuster

He’s putting his back into that organ playing, there—haunted-hideaway

he’s definitely a more aggressive phantom I think—wheel-of-fish

A good squat workout I guess?—christinegrrl

Lift with your knees man—haunted-hideaway

The key to being an organist is all in the lumbar–Jacobz

Ben’s stance remains a source of….let’s call it concern.  Yes, concern:

He’s got good stance—ashadeintheshade

why are his legs SO far apart though—butdreamsofbeauty

because they’re so loooong—missbuster

power stance—MelancholysChild

is he riding an invisible horse?—jadowdra

And, inevitably, boner mentions: 5 (You know who you are.  Good thing, because I was watching Ben.)

The Phantom is pleased to announce:   boner mentions are ummm holding firm

Christine makes questionable choices:

oh she looked down—christinegrrl

she totally looked down and then bolted but let’s be real WHY RUN—snows

Boner-adjacent vocabulary:

Horny and variants (>17)

Lusty (2)

Organ—THE INSTRUMENT!!  (>20)

Christine does not stan a crafty Phantom:

he’s doing so well then he has to bring Barbara into it—Virg’s mom

SEE?  I MADE THIS FOR YOU?

OOPS

THAT DID NOT GO TO PLAN—haunted-hideaway

Strange Ships:  The debut of a long overdue category highlighting all the really random ships that are proposed during a given stream.

Erik/RaoulBot—haunted-hideaway

Andre/Carlotta–????

Barbara/severed Hannibal head—????

Christine/Luigi—ashadeintheshade

Barbara/new and improved sexbot from LND—Onthevirg

RaoulBot/Barbara—DocTy {streamers were split here that Barbara shouldn’t settle versus OTP}

Yes, I know, it’s a great disservice to Barbara but still, maybe they can bond over replacement parts—DocTy

Only in this streams I walk away with either a new favourite actor, a fanfic recommendation and/or a new pairing to ship—Jadowdra

*Education of the Innocent:  Several seminars were held this stream.  First,  a wide ranging and frank discussion of historically accurate ballet rats, pimping and ummm social diseases.  We segued from a dissertation on our own Madame Giry as a probable pimp to the topic of the hierarchy of French Royalty.  These topics heavily featured our resident history buffs therosenpants, angedelamusique, PureAnon and madamefaust, with varying degrees of participation in the pimping and social disease discussions.  Second, a discourse on “the catch” and variations, the catch being allowed in London and not on Broadway due to union rules.  A variant unknown to me, the “half catch” was mentioned.  Third, a sadly eye-opening (for some) discussion of the “horsey dance”:

Look, Norm was directed to do the horsey dance.  Anything is possible on Broadway.—madamefaust

sorry a HORSEY DANCE—butdreamsofbeauty

HORSEY DANCE???—onthevirg

horsey dance…??—angelofthelake

ah yes the ever classic jumping up and galloping horsey dance—madamefaust

It was more of a forceful trot during ‘Order your fine horses’ in Final Lair—madamefaust

faust you can’t just drop that in chat and not explain yikes—butdreamsofbeauty

someone link the gif—andgedelamusique

[fatefully the gif was linked]

thanks, I hate it!—butdreamsofbeauty

OH I thought that was a JOKE, that was REAL?—ashadeintheshade

oh noooo I saw that in like a compilation of funny phantoms and i thought it was a joke oh no—ashadeintheshade

The Horsey Dance claims more victims–Aldebaran

STYDI Sound effects:

[the Phantom collapses]

plorp—wheel-of-fish

plorp—MelancholysChild

Now I want to hear his palms squeak on the ground—madamefaust

I’m Jewish and I don’t approve of this level of ham Curse youuuuu—JacobZ

Prior to Il Muto the organ makes another appearance.  The INSTRUMENT!!!:

Organ boop!—Bozzleboz

Organ again.  Oh God now I said it.—Aldebaran

Aldebaran, you can’t escape the organ.  The Phantom’s organ WILL find you.—PureAnon

this Erik is so extra he took the organist’s place in the orchestra—DocTy

Il Muto Pillow Mentions:  1

Fascinating discussion about which is worse/better, bad actors or boring actors:

It’s the old argument between what’s worse bad or boring—GlassPrism

is it better to burn out or fade away—wheel-of-fish

Is it more fun to watch an Uwe or a Thiago—GlassPrism

Thiago activates my RAGE setting.—madamefaust

AIAOY is never make me watch this again:  Words cannot capture AIAOY.  Nevertheless we tried. Here are selected comments.

EXECUTEEMPATHY2.0—missbuster

Maybe there is a rat driving him by his mustache like in Ratatouille.  Raoultatouille.—missbuster

turn.her.90.degrees—Aldebaran

if she shakes him, I bet we can hear him rattle—DocTy

Raoul.exe has stopped working—christinegrrl

he bluescreened—butdreamsofbeauty

error 404—angelofthelake

can you even play Doom on this Raoul?—Jadowdra

Does he even like her?—madamefaust

He’s just staring into the abyss—angelofthelake

Why did no one tell him that wooing does not involve low-level dread—JacobZ

<10> no more talk of darkness GOTO20—snows

<20> forget these wide eyed fears GOTO30—snows

his wooing program has bugs–Aldebaran

YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN MY ARCH-ENEMY THIAGO–madamefaust

are they actually kissing?—madamefaust

now you must place your face upon her face and remain still—butdreamsofbeauty

this is depressing—virg’s lil sister

It’s more fun to suffer as a group—wheel-of-fish

Prevailing Theory:

The Phantom clearly switched Raoul with a mannequin—Maze-zen

Fondly Remembering Christian Lund during this AIAOY:  4

Fondly Remembering  “the Boop” during this AIAOY: 5

*Requests for AIAOY Kiss replay:  0

Priorities Straight:  Host Fish caller for dog pictures on her blog during the stream, resulting in the following mentions

Dogs (35, may need to be adjusted as one of Flora’s dogs is large enough to count as two), Goats (6), Cats (9), Rabbits (5), Chickens (3) Regular non-Cherik deer (1) Pig (1) Cherik deer (9)            actual human children (1)

The Masquerade, or as some wags had it due to the mannequins on the staircase, the de Chagny family reunion:

Let’s see the robot try to dance—katarinajones

dance.exe—whereisthepersian

dance.exe failed to start—phantomofthebasement

He is going as a robot to the masquerade–Aldebaran

People gonna trip over his charging cable—whereisthepersian

Relief is the wrong emotion to feel when the Red Death arrives:

Why at a costume party is everyone afraid of a costumed man?  How do they know to be scared?  Do they hear the background music?—JacobZ

It’s his authoritative stance—madamefaust

Christine’s reaction maybe?—ktarinajones

I think they’re afraid he’s going to drop another chandelier on them.  Which, valid.—madamefaust

They saw the bead work.  They know who it is.—haunted-hideaway

*Sad comment is sad:  commenting on the ornate bow on the score for Don Juan Triumphant

He wraps it up like the present he never received.—haunted-hideaway

*Fathering Gaze lyric: 1

*That staff tho:    

“I’m going to a graveyard.  I should take my shooty stick with the skull on it!”—haunted-hideaway

We passed the Point of No Return long ago.  From the auction, in fact:

his accent, lol–ashadeintheshade 

Accent—Bozzleboz

itsa me…—Aldebaran

ITSA HIM—madamefaust

I hate you all—wheel-of-fish

And Ben plays videogames backstage.  His inspiration is literally Super Mario.—madamefaust

That was some nice cup stroking—GlassPrism                   

The Raoul Hole holds no dangers for Raoulbot:

Oh no he’s going to rust and shut down in the lake—wheel-of-fish

They spray him down and moisten him before he jumps in, otherwise he’ll just float on top—haunted-hideaway

Raoul’s wifi is down once more:

Is the boat stuck?  Oh, there it goes—madamefaust

The radio signals running Raoul confused the boat—Aldebaran

The organ makes a return in Down Once More:  The INSTRUMENT!!!!:  2

Veil Fluff Mentions: 2

he didn’t fluff the veil—ashadeintheshade

I like the veil fluff–ashadeintheshade

Veil Yeet Mentions: 11

The Kiss.  An actual human kiss, unlike AIAOY:

ohhh he bends into the kiss—Aldebaran

Aw he’s TRYING to figure out how to kiss—Flora-Gray

He done touched a lady.—haunted-hideaway

That was a good kiss—Abberina

Bozzleboz breaks me, as the Phantom approaches hanging Raoul with a candle:

I burn him now, yes?–Bozzleboz

The Phantom breaks us:

oh god.  He just broke me.—Bozzleboz

ohhhh poor angel—Aldebaran

aw erik :(–angeloflake

he’s so resigned:(–Benny-Lynne

we love an exhausted depressed sewer man—butdreamsofbeauty

This Phantom survives just so he can go disassemble Raoul—Aldebaran

Looks Like We Made It:

Time to go plug Raoulbot in for the night—angelofthelake

Performance Comparisons for Raoul/Career Suggestions for Raoul, You Decide:

Nutcracker—Aldebaran

Mannequin Bride—coroaline

Tin Man—christinegrrl, yiks

Edward Scissorhands—GlassPrism

Calculon from Futurama—IamErik771

C3PO—wheel-of-fish

Automaton—ktarinajones

Dalek–missbuster

Cardboard Cutout—haunted-hideaway

Hat Stand–Bozzleboz

*Things I wish I had said:            

Christine in Final Lair:  She has to go put Raoul in a bag of rice but she’ll be back—Benny-Lynne

*Statistician Aldebaran’s two favorite personal quotes:  

little known fact, the red scarf is actually a fanbelt from Raoulbot

19 years on the score, 1 year on the bow

Phew!  See you shortly with the By the Numbers of Moscow from LAST week!!!  Aldebaran

[glassprism]

What are some of your favorite video recordings of Phantom? (Sorry if it's been asked a million times, I'm just too lazy to look it up lol)

I’ve made a list of recommendations, which I thought about linking, but those were more about exposing fans to different versions and was also based on what had already been gifted. But my actual favorite videos are ones that I’ve thought about, opened up time and again just for my enjoyment, or otherwise made an impression on my opinions about the show.

1988, Tokyo, Ichimura/Nomura/Yamaguchi - The most old-school of the productions, retaining many of the quirks that were removed or changed in just about all the other productions (e.g. Christine’s dancing, the last verse in ‘Wishing’), proshot... and also features Ichimura, who is basically a Japanese clone of Michael Crawford (and voice of Mewtwo!), plus a sweet Christine and Raoul in Ryoko Nomura and Yuichiro Yamaguchi.

1995, London, Freeman/Washington/Bowman - Ethan Freeman provides the least campy, most realistic, and most Leroux-accurate interpretation I’ve seen yet. Every time I want to remind myself as to just how creepy the Phantom can get, I open up this video.

2000, Mexico City, Vasconcelos/Terrazas/Joel - Oh gosh, Saulo Vasconcelos’s hands! If I want to see just what happens if you give a talented performer huge creative freedom in the role, I watch this. Also, just a super fun production overall that seems to have really let their performers experiment.

April 25, 2000, Hamburg, Bourg/Kelly/Gonyea - The video with Olivia Safe is more common, but my favorite of the Christines who have performed opposite Ian Jon Bourg, another favorite Phantom who is just so consistently good, is Alison Kelly, who plays her Christine quite intelligent and rational.

November 19, 2003, US Tour, Little/Vroman/Gleason - When I want to remember how freaky Brad Little can get (”you try my patience”) but also how much chemistry he can have with a Christine, I watch this video.

March 2, 2005, Broadway, Panaro/Hanson/Cudia - Just quoting myself from another post: “This is a video to watch if you want to see a great trio of actors whose interpretations fit together almost perfectly - Panaro providing the slightly nutty Phantom, Hanson a traumatized, child-like Christine, and Cudia her protective guardian.” One of the first videos I really watched and reviewed, and still one I have very fond memories of.

January 2006, London, Carpenter/Barrell/Shannon - Every time I want to cry about the Phantom, or about Earl Carpenter’s Phantom in particular, I watch this video. I almost always find some new detail I missed on a previous viewing.

April 6, 2006, US Tour, Mauer/Southard/Weitzer - As mentioned here, this was one of the first videos I ever watched, and the cast solidified a lot of opinions I still have now regarding the Phantom, Christine, and Raoul. But also it’s such a well-captured video, catching so many details the cast threw in.

July 1, 2006, US Tour, Cudia/Wills/Monley - A video I watch for the astounding pairing of John Cudia and Jennifer Hope Wills, who I think had only worked together a few weeks when this was filmed? It sure doesn’t show, because their interpretations mesh so well. Another video that really made me appreciate the characters, especially Christine, because of all the work the actors put into their roles.

August 18, 2010, London, Shannon/Beck/Bailey - Beautiful video, beautiful production, and features one of my favorite Christines. Like the Carpenter video, I regularly open this up just to bask in Gina Beck’s acting.

March 9, 2013, Broadway, Stolle/Hill/Mills - Completely changed my opinion on Jeremy Stolle’s Phantom, and showed me how an actor can use restraint and subtle changes in his voice to do wonders with a character, and made me love Samantha Hill’s Christine and Greg Mills’s Raoul. But also, very fond memories of watching this video being streamed for the first time and observing the absolute thirst in the viewership.

April 11, 2014, Hamburg, Arnsperger/Brons/Wuchinger - A funky cast and one I kept thinking about long after the video was over, particularly Lauri Brons’s quirky, crazy-eyed, willful Christine. But also a very well-filmed video that really showed off the consistently good Hamburg revival production.

March 7, 2015, Moscow, Ermak/Kotova/Zaycev - To quote myself again (because I’m getting a little tired): “This video is not just one of the best of the production itself, it’s probably one of the best Phantom bootlegs period - great filming with tons of closeups, almost no obstruction, basically the full show, and a terrific cast. It used to be really rare but it’s getting pretty common now.” Also, featuring Tamara Kotova, a stunningly perfect Christine.

March 2019, London, Thaxton/Mathieson/Taylor - And another quote: “Probably the best video to come out of London in almost a decade, so it gives a great look at the London production as it is now. It also has a fantastic cast: David Thaxton is a very solid Phantom while Kelly Mathieson’s Christine is an absolute standout.” Beautiful details all around in this video.

March 2019, Copenhagen, Kofod/Glosted/Lund - Pretty much the perfect bootleg, the perfect production, and the perfect cast. Everyone was pouring their all into their roles, the energy is intense, the performances are fantastic. Watching this may have singlehandedly ruined my first live viewing of the show, because I kept comparing it back to this video. (But whatever, it was the restaged tour.) One of the few, or only, videos on this list that I don’t watch too often, just to preserve the magic.

[the-scooby-gang]

Scoob! movie: The Brazillian Dubbing, the tribute to the original voices and the care.

By Brazillian Scooby fan, Gih Catherine (that’s me!)

This is a long one folks, so buckle up!!!

When the Scoob! movie was announced, the Brazillian fans had a pretty simple image on their head: Mckeidy Lisita as Shaggy, Reginaldo Primo as Scooby, Peterson Adriano as Fred, Fernanda Banonne as Velma and Flavia Saddy as Daphne. 

As it has been since the original voices --- Luis Manuel (Fred), Juraciara Diacovo (Daphane), Nair Amorin (Velma), Mario Monjardim (Shaggy) and Orlando Drummond (Scooby) --- retired in 2013 (except Luis Manuel, he retaired from Fred in 1998)

(Fun fact: If you search Orlando Drummond you will find these two awesome facts ---> He is 100 years old and he is in the Guinness Book for dubbing Scooby-Doo for 35 years! A Legend)

But them came the announcement that there were going to be changes to the   voices for the movie (and the movie only) as a form of tribute to the original voice actors.

Fernanda and Flavia remain with Velma and Daphne --- They were chosen by the OG voice actresses when they retired after all.

Fred is going to be voiced by Felipe Drummond and Young Fred is going to be voiced by his yourger brother Eduardo Drummond (Both are Orlando’s greatsons. The greatsons of the Scooby Voice are now voicing Fred.  A subtle homage to Frank Welker double dubbing duty, Fred and Scooby )

But what about Shaggy and Scooby? No one was sure whet they were plannig for the boy and his dog. Who could possibly be choosen for the roles?

But what happened was a wonderfull surprise. 

They called Mario Monjardim and Orlando Drummond with the following request: For the first theater release of an animated Scooby Movie, they had free hand to choose who was going to dub their characters!! 

Drummond choose Guilerme Briggs, who is know to be one of the few capable to flawlessly replicate Drummond’s Scooby voice and one that WANTED to voice Scooby for a long time!

He is also the voice of my entire childhood anyway. He can add Scooby to his repertoire. As a treat.

From Briggs Twitter: “We will imitate the voices of our masters in their characters, under the direction of Flávia Fontenelle. With that, we will fulfill an old personal wish of Drummond and Monja, who wanted me and Fernando to replace them as Scooby-Doo and Shaggy when they retired "

But for real,  even Reginaldo Primo -- the current Scooby voice -- was also responsible for the choosing of Briggs for the theatrical release.

Quote againg from Briggs Twitter: “I also leave here all my affection, respect and admiration for my colleague and friend, voice actor Reginaldo Primo, the current voice of Scooby-Doo in the animations, who was one of the responsibles for this dream to have been realized"

Can you imagine wanting to voice a character for so long, just for the current voice actor to go to you and go “My friend, you wanted to voice this dog for nearly 10 years now. Drummond gave his blessing, lets do this!”

Look at Briggs (50) and Drummond (100). This is the smile of a man realizing a dream.

And Shaggy?

Mario Monjardim choose Fernando Mendonça.

Fernando Mendonça had already previously worked with Monjardim because he, hold your socks now, ALREADY WORKED AS SHAGGY!!

Thats right! To be precise, Fernando Mendonça is Shaggy’s singing voice!

Mckeidy Lisita (current Shaggy) was also helping Mendonça with the role. He, Mendonça and Monjardim apparently would have entire conversations as Shaggy so Mendonça could perfect the linguistic mannerisms that Monjardim established for BR Shaggy in 1969!

Briggs (50), Monjardim (85) and Mendonça (30) on the studio.

The power of love and care, My guys, gals and non-binary pals!

This post served two purposes: 

1) Brazillian Scooby history and the care and love we have over here with Scooby-Doo

2) A contrast to whatever the hell happened in the American dub.

This was my long convoluted -- and i hope educational -- way of me saying that if there were footage of Matthew Lillard and Will Forte screaming themselves hoarse in a car in the studio parking lot, Grey DeLisle giving Amanda Seyfried some tips, Mindy Cohn and Gina Rodrigues having a chat Or you know, informing them that they would not  be voicing the movie, because from what i saw, no one aperantly bothered to say anything to them things would have been waaay different.

i cant say if Zack and Frank didn’t have chats, maybe yes maybe no, but you get my point.

This was brought to you by The-Scooby-Gang. Thank you for staying for my TED Talk