#paramount studio apartment

[rose-tinted-kalopsia]

≡;-꒰ 𝐑𝐀𝐅𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐋 ꒱₊˚ ପ⊹ I  𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍

╰┈➤ ❝ rafayel x afab!reader | smut nsfw 18+ mdni

tags : softdom!rafayel, hints of switch!rafayel, reader is hesitant with intimacy, descriptions of self-esteem issues and general insecurities, mentions/implications of toxic relationships, implications of dubcon (not with rafayel), praise and reassurance, kissing and making out, heavy petting, first time sex (with each other) (no virginity loss), masturbation (f), oral (m. receiving), vaginal sex, cowgirl and missionary positions, unprotected sex, creampie, soft sex, use of pet names "cutie" "princess" "baby", references to card "fiery undercurrents", lmk if i missed any tags !! ((unedited))

wc : 7.9k (help me)

youtiful masterlist

a late birthday os for our favorite deep sea painter! ✨

You jumped at your phone, nearly gasping at the caller ID that flashed on your screen.

"Rafayel!"

Your grip on your phone was tight, held against your ear with an immediate burst of excitement.

It had been days.

You knew how it was, of course—an artist's inspiration was often sporadic and fleeting, and you'd even lost count of the number of times Rafayel had told you that. How essential it was to grab the spark of creativity before it you lose it; how paramount it was to focus on your flow before it disappeared... It was ingrained in the forefront of your mind, by now.

And even more than that, if Rafayel had always been one to speak of the elusiveness of inspiration, then Thomas had always been one to insist you leave him and his stroke of genius alone whenever he called for it.

You didn't understand much about the world of artists, so it was natural for you to take their words to heart, but it hadn't been easy.

Rafayel, being Rafayel, would always send you texts and updates, never failingly missing a single day... But it had been days since you'd last heard his voice at all—much less seen him. Now, marking a week sinve you'd been to his studio at all, you were pacing back and forth in your apartment, wondering how long you had to wait, and if maybe you should take a chance and visit him yourself—

But you didn't want to be selfish.

In fact, you quite despised being needy at all—with a quiet laugh, you thought, that was usually the role that Rafayel would play in your relationship. You wouldn't think to take it from him.

Yet, now, your phone rang, and the ever-familiar sound of his voice brought on a wave of butterflies in your stomach that had your mood lifting in seconds.

"Heeyyy there, cutie!"

In the background, you could make out the faint sounds of metal against concrete in the background, and your ears perked.

"Is... that your ladder? Have you finished your painting?"

"Yeah! It really took a while, this one... But Thomas'll be happy to know that it's finally finished! ...That is, if I could get ahold of him..."

You carefully sat on the edge of your bed, swinging your legs in sheer happiness at his little ramblings.

"...And, actually, I kind of need your help."

You blinked.

"Hm? Help? With what?"

"Well, you know how I told you it's been kind of a while since I last cleaned this place...?"

"...Yes..."

"Are you free now?"

"Rafayel, you can't mean...?"

"Yeah! Can you come over and help me clean?"

You couldn't believe his first thought with this call was to ask you for your cleaning services. You strained to hear the familiar tease in his voice, even waited for a moment for some kind of "Just kidding!" or whatever else that could tell you he wasn't being serious—

You felt your eyes narrow in disapproval when you found nothing.

"Rafayel, I'm not your maid, you know."

Not even an "I missed you", not even a " Want to hang out later?".

"Yeaaahh.... But you're my bodyguard, right?" The hopeful tone in his voice now would have made you laugh.... In other circumstances.

"What does that have to do with anything?!" There was a laugh, then, on the other side of the line, and you huffed. "Rafayel, don't joke with me—"

"Look! I told you, right? Thomas won't answer me, and, seriously! The studio's a mess. I really need some help... Please?"

He was laughing completely now, and the sound brought over that same, very familiar ripple of butterflies, despite all the odds.

You caved.

"This is labor abuse, Rafa. Of your own girlfriend, might I add!" You hmphed, but stood up from your bed, haphazardly gathering your things into a purse and walking out of your flat. "Fine. I'm on my way there."

"Oh, you really are the best girlfriend I could ever have wished for! Thanks, princess! See ya!"

Not even a "stay safe"!

You wondered if this was what Rafayel felt whenever you were late to receive his calls or to reply to hia texts, and you sighed.

Is he just trying to get back at me...?

Regardless, he made up for his actions by immediately twirling you over with a kiss the minute you knocked on his door, and you smiled.

"Nice to see you again, princess," he grinned.

You thought you could never have wanted to see his smile as much as you did now—

But you couldn't bring yourself to admit that to him.

"Would've been better if you said that when you called me, huh?" You rolled your eyes playfully, shoving him aside and scanning the space in front of you.

He hadn't been lying.

Paint had been scattered around, well past the patches of safety paper he usually had lying all over his studio. While you were used to seeing the place mostly messy, anyway, this seemed a lot less like the organized mess you were used to. What's more, the painting wasn't even in this room anymore, and god knows where he'd put it now to dry.

You turned towards him with the raise of an eyebrow.

"Geez, Rafayel... This place looks like it's been through a hell hole. What were you doing?"

"Painting."

He shrugged, ever nonchalant and casual, only as if stating the obvious—that clearly being so engrossed in your painting would result in such a mess, and that clearly—he handed over a bundle of cleaning supplies—this was a very normal way of greeting your significant other.

You sighed.

You supposed, nothing was ever truly normal with him, anyway.

By the time you had finished, the sun that peeked through his windows bathed his studio into a golden glow. You settled onto the couch beside him, silent as he rubbed soothing circles into your shoulder, your head resting contently on his shoulder.

"You're rich, Rafayel," you mumbled, a little tiredly. "Why can't you just hire a maid if you don't want to clean things yourself?"

"And where do you think I'd find one I could trust enough to let near my paintings?"

The scoff in his voice made your lips quirk into a smile, and you tilted your head up to look at him.

...Ah.

Your breath caught in your throat when your eyes met, the gentle mix of red and purple hues in his eyes once again having you transfixed. His hair was slightly unruly from the work you'd both done, but the sunset rays streaming in from the window had little specks of sunlight painting his tresses in such a way that had you utterly mesmerized.

He chuckled slightly.

"Cat got your tongue, princess?"

You could barely bring yourself to mumble a response when he leaned in, shifting your positions just enough to have you lying on your back against the couch. Half of his weight rest over you, and you could feel it; his heartbeat against yours. You could almost amazed feel at the comfort in your synchronicity.

He sighed, brushing your hair out of your face. "...Why haven't you been to the studio?" he mumbled.

His words pulled you out of your reverie, and immediately, you felt your heart sink.

"...I thought... I thought you'd be busy..." Your voice came out meek, already searching his eyes anxiously. "Thomas told me not to disturb you, a-and I thought, maybe, you didn't want to be interrupted? I know how hard it's been for you to finish that painting..."

You swallowed thickly.

"Yeah, that might be true..." Rafayel nuzzled your nose affectionately, succeeding in soothing your nerves down to a certain degree. "But what if I wanted to see you, too?"

"...You... You usually just ask..."

Your words were met with silence, and you squirmed under the intensity of his gaze.

"Rafayel—"

"But you can't expect me to be the one asking for you all the time, right?"

Something at the back of your mind told you he didn't mean it that way, but his words stung nonetheless. The disapproval in his pout made your stomach churn. The atmosphere had, to you, become a little weightier, and your chest felt heavy with guilt.

You promised you wouldn't make him wait... But didn't you, in the end? Some useless game of seeing who'd cave first?

Your gaze shifted away from him, and you played with the hem of your shirt.

"Sorry, Rafa, I didn't mean to upset you... I-I don't know much about art, and I didn't want to bother you, and—god, actually, maybe it was stupid of me to just rely on Thomas' words instead of asking you, I'm such a terrible girlfriend—"

Tears began to well up in your eyes as you spoke, but before you could proceed any further, you felt the soft sensation of lips upon yours.

You blinked your tears away rapidly, refocusing to meet his, parting your lips slightly in shock when he pulled away.

"Don't say that, princess." He shook his head, and there was a ghost of a smile on his face. "You're not a terrible girlfriend. You're perfect, actually, and... I'm partly to blame. It was wrong of me to test you like that... You're right. I should have just asked."

You drew in a breath.

Perhaps, it was because your roles had been reversed today; perhaps, it was because you'd been so anxious to see him again that even the slightest signs of any conflict had you feeling like walking on eggshells. But it was rare for you to see him take the situation at hand so maturely, and it did well for the tenseness in your shoulders to melt away.

He moved his hand back into your hair, soft, gentle strokes, if only to soothe you further away from your worries.

"...Well, actually, maybe we both are a little stupid. I... kind if made the studio messy on my own."

Your ears perked up with that, and you looked at him curiously.

Rafayel laughed.

"It wasn't that bad when I'd finished! And I wasn't lying, I had been neglecting the studio, I just..."

When his voice trailed off, you found the courage to speak again.

"Did you.... Make an excuse to bring me here?"

He smiled, bringing his lips over to the top of your head, another one on your temple, and then another one over the corner of your eye.

"Yeah," he whispered. "I missed you a lot. I guess I just got creative... A little too much, anyway."

His lips were on yours again the next second, soft pecks that made your heart soar with glee. You wrapped your arms slowly around his neck, barely registering the way he'd pulled himself over you, feeling safe under the weight of his body—you liked this. And you missed it, being close with him, having a few moments to yourselves just to revel in each other's warmth.

With half-lidded eyes, he pulled back for air, panting softly over your skin.

"...You really could have just asked me," you whispered, gazing into his eyes and allowing yourself to get lost in them once more.

He let out a soft laugh. "Hm, yeah. Buuuut, maybe I thought this would be more interesting... And maybe, then, you could stay the night, too..."

His eyes flickered closed as he ran his hands through your hair once more, bringing a lock up to his face and letting out a sigh.

"You used that shampoo again."

You faltered slightly at his words, but he pressed you against the couch, capturing your lips into a deeper kiss.

...That shampoo.

You knew exactly what he was referring to.

The last time he'd noticed this scent on you, the way he'd pressed his lips against yours had been anything but innocent—it was one of the first times the both of you had made out together, the hairdryer and towel that had started the whole ordeal then long-forgotten beside you. The mere thought of that night brought an undeniable flush to your face, an all-too-familiar tingling sensation breaking throughout your body.

And you knew what he was insinuating. Even as he continued to kiss you, and even as you felt yourself easily melting into him the way that you would.

His hand began to roam your body, slowly stroking down your sides, making their way to your thigh and inching closer, closer, to the heat of your clothed core—

Your breath hitched.

You couldn't control it.

It was like instinct, whatever this conflict of mind and body really was—

You immediately reached out to grab his wrist, and his reaction was immediate. In an instant, his lips were off of yours, and he froze in place, wide eyes searching yours.

"Shit," he whispered. "Princess, I'm sorry— Did I— Did I go something wrong—"

Though breathless and panting, your lips quivered, and your grip on his wrist tightened.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Slowly, you felt him peel himself off of you, sitting up carefully... And you took in a deep breath.

"R-Rafayel, I..."

The waver in your voice and the alarm that had found its way into your eyes weren't missed by him, and you turned your head. "I'm sorry," you swallowed thickly. "I... I don't think i can do this right now..."

You felt feeble and small as you moved to draw your knees up to your chest, almost as if with the intention of hiding yourself away. "I... M-maybe, just... Not tonight...?"

When you sneaked a glance back up at him, you could see it. That glimmer of hurt in his eyes, perhaps just barely there, but more noticeable to you than anything else. You were also made painfully aware of the sun that had set, the studio now darker into the night—a cold draft blew in through the windows and made you shiver, and now, you felt incredibly small.

Rafayel, however, gave you another soft smile, gently moving to sit with your legs over his lap, resorting to holding your hand in his gently.

"Okay," he said.

And it was so simple the way he accepted your rejection, so devoid of judgement, that it made you feel...

Guilty.

Even guiltier than you already were to begin with.

"...I'm sorry, Rafa, I—"

He shook his head, giving your hand another squeeze.

"No, that's... Well, also on me. I should have asked you about this first, too..." The regret in his voice made you want to hit something. "It's okay. We don't have to do anything today. I'll wait until you're ready, princess."

...He'll wait?

Quietly, you moved to crawl back towards him, snuggling into his chest.

This wasn't the first time he had tried to go further with you. That night, after drying your hair, had been one of such times, and it wasn't as if you didn't want to take the next step in your relationship.

In fact, you wanted it just as much as he did.

You've fantasized about it for nights on end, laying on your bed, fingers playing with your clit and imagining how well his hands would have worked you, how well his cock would have stretched you out and filled you up far better than your fingers ever could. You lost count, how many times you'd come undone, alone on your bed, having his name spill from your lips as you did.

You wanted so badly for him to ravage you.

But thinking of it was incredibly different from having the situation at hand right in front of you.

You were nervous.

There were so, so many things that could go wrong from just exposing yourself to him as you would have if you did go that far—just as so, so many things had already gone wrong the last time you had, with other people.

You buried your face into his chest, pressing against him, drowning yourself in his warmth.

"...Are you mad?" You whispered.

"Me? Why would I be, when you're cuddling me like this so tightly?" The playfulness in his voice chased enough of your worries for you to let out a little laugh. "Just so you know... I'm perfectly fine with this."

You shifted, tilting your head to look up at him.

Rafayel gently poked at your nose.

"I can't be mad at you, princess, just because you said no to me. There are other ways for us to be affectionate, and I don't need to have sex with you, you know?"

"...But you want to?" Your voice remained meek, still very obviously wanting to hide yourself back into his shirt. And you would have, if he hadn't pried you away, hands firmly over your arms, leaning down to study your gaze.

"R-Rafa—"

"I want to, princess, but only if you want to. And I need to make that super, suuper clear to you, because I won't be forcing you into anything you don't want. 'Kay?"

His words sent a flurry of comfort into your stomach.

"...But... But what if I make you wait too long? You dislike waiting... A-and it's normal, anyway, right? For couples to have sex? If we don't, then..." As you spoke, you noticed a frown frown gradually form over his face, and you faltered.

"You... You expect me to leave because of this?"

You turned your gaze away in silence.

"Princess... You... May I ask where that's coming from? Do... Do you feel unloved with me? Am I doing something wrong?"

It was like a trigger—the way his voice dropped into a soft whisper, his hands falling back down to take yours in his, lacing your fingers together.

He was so gentle with you.

You felt the unwelcome sting of tears in your eyes, and you shook your head—"N-no," you whispered, squeezing your eyes shut. "You've done nothing wrong, but... But you're so—so nice to me, Rafayel..."

"...Baby? Of course I'm nice to you! Aren't you my girlfriend?!"

The nickname switch made your heart jump, and you nuzzled yourself further into his embrace.

"...I don't deserve you."

A pause.

You felt as if you could drown in the silence, even though you knew that he was just thinking of what to say.

"I'm sorry, I just made things worse—"

"...Deserve me? There's... there's nothing for you to say that—princess, that's my line, you know. You deserve everything—every little good thing out there, and so much more than me."

"But—! You—you're so good to me, and I'm—! How many times did I disappoint you? This whole week, and even just now, and—"

You felt yourself sniffling, and Rafayel once again brought you to look up at him. You chewed on your bottom lip, a flash of insecurity in your eyes that made him sigh softly.

"No, no, no... Don't cry, princess... Nothing's going to change just because of this, yeah? You know I love you. And nothing in the way that I love you is tied to... whatever ways you'll allow me to love you. I get it, you know? If you're not ready to go there yet, then that's fine. I promise. I don't make promises without reason, princess."

His gaze, now, was firm, and his words were warm. Genuine—like he always was with you. In the silence that followed, you felt yourself calm down slightly, your breath easing, the tears in your eyes blinked away in your insistence not to cry in front of him.

And more than anything, you found thr conviction in his words to be something you could... Trust.

You took in a deep breath.

"I've... I've done this a couple of times before," you spoke, slowly, quietly. "It's been a while since the last time, but— it's— it's just scary, Rafa."

Your voice trembled, and you hung your head.

"And I feel like it's so silly to be scared of it. It's always so obvious that I am, because I get too focused on trying to relax that I never really do, and then in the end I can only ever make up for it by letting them finish. So I— I don't know. Everyone says that couples always do this, like it's supposed to be a staple... Or else, what are they for, right?"

You let out a dry, sarcastic laugh, but it almost came out as if you were scolding yourself.

"Wait—hold on. You... You've never orgasmed?"

You blinked in surprise this time, looking up at him with a confused frown. "Huh? Only on my own, I guess... Never with them, no, but—"

"Oh, princess..." he began, almost like a whisper. "You've never enjoyed it, have you...? To call it a staple... Gosh. It's not something necessary to maintain a relationship, let's get that out of your pretty head first."

You watched him bring his hand over to the side of your face, a gentle caress.

"I don't know if humans really do think such fickle things, but I wouldn't leave you just because you won't go further with me. I want you to be ready before we go there. Okay? God, who have you been with?! They sound like the worst kind of humans!"

Despite yourself, you laughed at his indignation, watching him fall back against the couch with his arms crossed.

"No, seriously, baby—doesn't it sound wrong to you?! You know, I wouldn't have stopped until you came. In fact, I bet I could make you feel so much better than they ever could—" He paused, ears turning slightly red in telltale embarrassment. "...Sorry. I'll be totally patient, I really mean it. I was just, you know... saying..."

You giggled.

Rafayel was always cute when he was embarrassed, even if just a few moments ago, he'd so obviously reduced you to just a puddle through his kissses alone.

But his words, once again, made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. When you looked at him, his eyes were as gentle as the waves of the ocean you'd grown to love almost as much as him, and you couldn't help but feel... safe.

You'd never really felt safe before—not with anyone else.

Any time you opened up about this, your previous partners would have scoffed in your face—would have told you there couldn't have been a basis for what you felt, and that there was nothing more irrational than all of these needless worries of yours.

It was silly.

You had always believed that.

Yet you couldn't help feeling the way that you did.

Whenever you experienced sexual intimacy with anyone else, though you had let it happen in the end, you had never... associated it with anything special. Like you'd said, it only ever felt a mandatory part of any relationship. It was like going through the motions, and then you'd find out that you'd been a terrible experience—no matter how pretty they said you were, no matter how much you'd always be told that they were looking forward to it.

You were disappointing.

That was what conclusion you'd come up with, after several times of the same result.

And you always envied your friends, too.

Whenever the topic came up, they'd speak of how magical it was—how sweet, and how loving, and how good it felt... Yet you'd felt none of that. If there was anything good you associated with sex at all, it had been you—by yourself—in your room.

You really didn't know how to reconcile all of these feelings together—

And, yet, Rafayel had been the very first one to let it slide in a way that put your feelings first.

You promised him you wouldn't make him wait...

Yet here he was, adamant on letting you do exactly that.

You looked up at him, again, listening to him guide the conversation elsewhere, talking about how his week had been, and how painful it had been to get that painting done.

"You haven't seen it yet, have you? Hmm... I'm thinking if I should show you. I guess my girlfriend can have early access to it before the exhibition, right...?" He had one hand resting on your back, the other brought up to his chin in thought. "What do you think? Do you want to see it now?"

You stared, silently, as his eyes were back on yours.

That familiar, adorable tilt of his head, the inquisitive gaze in his eyes bringing that familiar shine to it that you loved, loved, loved, so very dearly.

You watched a small smile form on his features, and he pulled you close enough to have your foreheads touch.

"Hey. What's on your mind, cutie? You're spacing out again. Everything okay?"

God. You really loved him.

Even the simplest phrase had the butterflies in your stomach fluttering around almost mercilessly, and if you hadn't known better, you thought you were very likely blushing in that moment.

"Just you," you spoke, softly, quietly, barely even registering that you'd spoken so honestly in front of him before you recognized the look of surprise on his face. "Shit—I mean—"

"Nuh-uh, no take-backs! I like it when you're honest," he cut you off with a laugh, placing a quick peck on your lips.

Though he didn't say anything more on the subject, you knew he was thinking it—even if you'd tease, endlessly, of Rafayel's own clingier habits, you knew that in the end that you could easily eat your own words.

Rafayel was so good to you.

Sometimes you'd think he was too good to you—too good for you.

But admitting it out loud was always so difficult to you; your honesty of your own overwhelming feelings for him often more than you could speak to him yourself.

He reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind your ears.

"Maybe we should go to sleep, yeah? It's pretty late. You've worked hard!"

Slowly, you moved to straddle his lap, and then buried your face into his neck.

"...Princess..."

"...Are you really okay with this, Rafa?"

"Me? I told you, I'm perfectly fi—"

"I just—I could make you feel good, at least..."

Maybe you'd let him consume your thoughts more than you'd intended, or maybe the guilt was simply eating away at you, having never been truly placated. You didn't know which side of emotions you were acting upon, and perhaps, it seemed as if he'd sensed that.

"Baby... No. We're not going to do it tonight. I want you to set your mind straight first."

"But—"

"No buts!"

He lifted you off of his lap, another firm shake of his head. "I want to ease you into this. And that means I won't be taking any pleasure for my own just yet, because I want you to feel good."

"...Wh- What do you...?"

He smiled, before poking your forehead.

"I mean, I want you to be comfortable around me first, before you even think of trying to give me an orgasm." Rafayel gave your hand another squeeze. "I'm hoping I can at least show you that it's not supposed to be a bad experience. So we'll sleep on it first, clear our heads, take things slowly... Then we'll see how things go from there. 'Kay?"

"Rafa..."

"Baby, relax. No rush. I'm not going anywhere."

Rafayel was always so good to you.

Even through your biggest insecurities, there would be no exception.

It had been quite some time since that conversation, and, sure enough, he had been adamant on taking things slower with you. You could feel it, how he'd constantly hold himself back with you. The way he would be sure not to take it too far when he kissed you, always respectfully lifting you off of his lap whenever he felt like it would get too much if you continued...

He took things step by step, just like he said he would. From kisses, to slowly dipping his hands beneath your clothes—You had found, over the past couple of days, how warm his hands were around your breasts, cupping and kneading them like a perfect fit. It was comfortable. And it had become almost a staple to your cuddling sessions over time.

Those nights in his bed slowly, slowly became less than innocent as weeks passed by.

And then one other night, you'd finally gained the courage to let him go even further. His fingers were long, able to reach deeper inside of you than you ever could, and the stretch in your walls felt more than welcome after so long. It was just as you'd fantasized—he'd buried his fingers knuckle-deep into your cunt, slow thrusts gradually picking up the pace until you were trembling around him, his arms holding you safe as you released. Even now, when you thought back to that night, you felt tingles all over your body. It was the first time anyone had made you cum, the first time anyone had bothered to cradle you in their arms afterwards, the first time anyone had cleaned you up without you having to do it yourself—

You hadn't known that this could really feel so intimate.

So loving.

That Rafayel could ease all your worries away, so... naturally.

It had gotten to the point that you began to notice a boldness in both of your actions—you were growing more comfortable with him, like he'd intended you to, and now, you found yourself gladly on your knees, feeling the drag of his cock against the walls of your mouth.

He'd gotten you to cum from his fingers and his mouth multiple times over the past few days, and you had promised him—promised him—that you were only returning the favor because you wanted to. Because through the past weeks, Rafayel had been gentle with you, and patient—always asking for your consent, never pushing you to do anything you didn't want to, never even giving a thought to his own pleasure as long as it meant focusing on yours.

And this, you thought to yourself with a smile, was now a reward for for him just as much as it was for you.

Your eyes closed as you swirled circles over the tip of his length, taking your time with him as he often did with you. Your tongue ran up and over his cock, wetting him fully becore taking him in again, keening at the way his hips would stutter and his moans would reach your ears in a well-received melody.

"Fuck, yeah—Just like that, princess—" Rafayel's words were broken, his eyes half lidded as he watched you work him. "So good for me, baby—ngh, shit—"

You found his praises go straight to your core, eager to please him, eager to hear more. And in effect, your pace quickened, bobbing your head up and down his shaft, stroking and sucking him with a new hunger. His hands tangled in your hair, the sensation more than welcome as he guided you into a rhythm, hips bucking upwards to meet your mouth.

"So, so good— Feels so good, princess, don't stop—"

Another tug on your hair had you moaning against him, feeling him throb in your mouth at the extra stimulation.

He was close.

Determined to take in the sight, you watched, fondly, as his head fell back into the pillows, the skin of his thigh hot to the touch, your eyes drawn to the way his mouth hung open, his own eyes squeezing shut.

"Shit— M'gonna—! Gonna cum, baby, pleas—"

He arched his back, his hands fleeing from your hair to fist into the sheets beneath him. It hit in an instant, then—the sheer intensity having rendered him silent, mouthing curses, eyes still shut as streaks of cum shot out of him and onto your tongue.

You were familiar with the taste; warm in your mouth, and salty—thick. There was a certain discomfort to it, swallowing every last drop, but it couldn't compare to the thrill of it. Having Rafayel finally cum in your mouth, finally come undone for you... Your eyes locked as you released him with a wet 'pop', licking your lips and then hastily wiping your mouth with a little smile.

"Damn... That was..." He was breathless, chest heaving, barely moving to allow you to climb back up on the bed and reach for the bottle of water on his nightstand. "You're really... Really good at that, princess."

Feeling warm at another word of praise from him, you exchanged the bottle for the washcloth beside it, and crawled over to gently pat him clean.

"...Baby, I can—"

"If you won't let me do it when I finish, then I won't let you, either."

Your gaze was firm, and he laughed.

"Well played. My habits are growing on you, huh, cutie? That's good."

He pulled you up into his arms for a kiss, and you snuggled into his embrace. The heat from his skin was comforting—another thing you'd slowly gotten used to, having your activities now easily practiced without the need for any more clothes on.

"...How are you feeling? Was that okay?" He mumbled into your hair as you buried your face into his chest, lifting your leg over him as if to draw him even closer to you. You nodded quietly, and a soft sigh escaped his lips when you brushed your wetness against his still-sensitive cock. "Princess... Did sucking me off get you all wet?"

You could hear the laugh in his voice, and you whined.

"You— you made me wait to do that!" You protested, and you didn't need to look up to know he had that ever-present smirk on his face. "...I wanted to make you cum, too..."

He only replied with a chuckle, trailing his hand down your back to settle upon your waist. "I know. And thank you, by the way. Your mouth feels heavenly. Did you know that?"

You swat at his arm playfully. "Rafayel!"

"What? I'm only saying the truth! And, anyway..." You squealed when he leaned over to nip at your earlobe, completely sure of how flushed you were in that moment. "You're drenched, so which one will it be? My tongue? My fingers? My thigh?"

When you didn't reply immediately, he gently gave you squeeze. "Or do you want to sleep it off? We don't have to do anything if you—"

"N- no!"

You looked up, pouting, and found that the mirth in his gaze had melted away into one of pure adoration.

"I... I think..." You gulped, your eyes traveling downward to where you rest over him.

Your heart beat wildly in your chest.

You would have been lying if you said you hadn't been thinking about it on a constant—how he would feel inside you. And though you'd thought about it generally before, you found yourself warming up to the idea. Craving it, even, in a way you hadn't before.

You raised your head to meet his eyes again, holding your breath as you moved to straddle him, sliding your folds over his cock gently.

The moan that he let out was music to his ears, but when his hands gripped your waist tightly, you stopped.

"Fuck, wait—are you sure, princess?"

You smiled slightly at that.

Truly, Rafayel had been nothing but gentle with you; nothing but patient.

You nodded.

"I-I mean... Only if you want to? But you just came, right...? S-so, maybe not... Sorry, I don't mean to be needy, you can just—"

"Hey, hey. Deep breaths for me first, baby, yeah? Relax."

Immediately, his hands were rubbing soothingly into your sides, and you fell forward onto his chest, holding him close.

"Don't you worry about being needy with me, I don't think I'm any less needier than you, anyway," he laughed. "I want this. I really want this. But, princess... I need to know that you aren't forcing yourself into it."

You remained silent, only managing a nod.

"Look at me?"

Compliant, you raised your head once more, and Rafayel reached over to thread his fingers through your hair. He smiled.

"Verbal consent, princess. I've given you mine. Now, I need your confirmation before we do anything. Have you decided? Do you want me?"

Your heart swelled in your chest.

You didn't know how Rafayel could be so selfless with you.

None of the others you've been with would ever treat you this way, and it was... new.

It was true, what he said—it wasn't a secret to you how much he wanted you. Though he wouldn't say it, so determined not to make you feel pressured, you'd see it in the way he looked at you. The way he touched you. Even the way he spoke with you—always the more vocal one in terms of clinginess, even though you, yourself, secretly enjoyed his attention.

You'd understood from the start that he was doing his best to stay firm in his self control just for you, and it made you feel warm—Loved. Appreciated.

Even now, as you were sitting on his cock, readjusting your position only to have it poke against your back—he was patiently waiting for your answer. He was waiting for you to be sure about this.

You thought it ironic, almost.

It wasn't as if this was your first time, and yet... you'd never experienced someone be so gentle with you.

With another determined nod, you sat back up, placing your hands on your lap.

"Okay," you said, and took a deep breath. "I'm sure, Rafayel. I want you."

You swore you could feel the way his cock twitched at your words, and couldn't help the way your lips quirked into another smile.

He read your expression, and laughed. "You really drive me insane, princess."

His hands remained firm on your hips, gently lifting you off—"Do you want to stay on top? Set your pace for me?"

"...Um... Do you?"

"Baby, don't turn this back to me! Doesn't matter what I want right now, I wanna make this about you. In case you haven't noticed, I'd be more than happy to take you in any way you want me to."

You almost rolled your eyes, shaking your head. "...Okay, then... I'll try it like this. But, Rafayel, sometimes it's concerning how much you pay attention to my needs..."

"Me? Concerning? Says the one who's had some of the worst sexual experiences on the planet!" He scoffed. "Listen, princess. I say this a lot, but you understand, right? I'm not in this relationship for your body. I'm not using you for your body. I love you, because you're you, and not just so I get to fuck you some day." He paused, then, and you saw a flash of contemplation in his eyes, "...Which miiiight be today, but that's besides the point."

You laughed, this time, and perhaps in any other situation, you'd playfully hit his chest, and tell him to stop being so silly. But the lighthearted atmosphere was welcome, and you felt your shoulders slump in some sort of relief.

"I know, Rafa. I..." You bit your lip, steeling yourself, willing yourself to say it. "I... I-I love you, too."

Immediately, you watched his eyes widen, a certain shine in them that almost could have made you melt.

"...Seriously?" he whispered. "You mean it?"

You flushed at the way he sounded so much in disbelief, despite what you were about to do. But, perhaps, you understood the shock that he displayed. While he would often use the words around you—having made it clear that they were his feelings, and that you didn't have to reciprocate them immediately—you had yet to say it back.

You did love him.

Of course you did.

And you have, for a while now.

But it wasn't easy to speak these feelings out loud; wasn't easy to make yourself so affectionate and so vulnerable around him. At least, not as easy as it has been for him. It had been long established that Rafayel was the more expressive one—though he would tone things down with playful jokes and banter to match your pace of things, you knew that his feelings had been nothing but genuine for you.

And you'd always struggled to make sure that he knew you felt the same, but...

You nodded.

You could do it, this time. Give back all the love that he'd always given you.

Slowly, you reached behind you to guide his cock to your entrance, letting out a slow breath at the feeling of his tip—hot, and wet, and stiff—prodding your hole.

"I love you," you whispered, feeling confident, now, as you spoke.

His fingers dug into your skin as he gasped, finally having you slowly lower yourself down onto his cock. "Fuck," he muttered. His eyes closed—you could tell he was fighting the urge to thrust up into you. "You feel so... so..."

A loud whine rattled past your lips when he finally pressed all the way inside of you, so big, and so filling, like nothing else you've ever had before.

"Shit," he continued to curse under his breath. "So—so good, baby."

His hands, shaky, massaged your hips in reassurance, eyes opening to reveal a hazy glimmer of lust that you had yet to see on his face before. The image before you made you shiver—every ounce of self control was slowly slipping away from him, and he was trembling with the little bit of patience he still had left in his body.

"M-move," he whimpered, looking up at you with pleading eyes that made you gasp. "Please, princess—please—can you do that for me?"

Your jaw clenched, and you obliged—how could you resist?

You rocked your hips slowly, at first, getting used to the feeling of him in side you. And, you found—you were enjoying this. Whatever you'd imagined could never compare; he felt good inside you. Every sensation you felt of his cock against your center was pleasurable, every moan that fell from his lips having you swirl your hips with a need to hear more.

You bit your lip when he slowly began to rut his hips up to meet your pelvis, now finding the strength to guide your hips gently up and down his length—

"Fuck, baby, don't hide from me, please," he moaned, eyes locking with yours with an air of desperation. "Haah—Let me hear you—hear how good it feels—'s it feel good, princess?"

You found yourself obedient.

As his tip knocked up against your sensitive spot, a loud moan spilled from your lips—immediately, you rest your hands on his chest as your head hung, feeling yourself bounce to his rhythm, hips moving in sync.

"F-feels good, 'fayel— Ah—!"

"Yeah? Like that, baby? That spot, huh?"

You grinded down on his cock, eyes screwing shut at the sound of your arousal slicking around him. His words guided you through your motions, whisperes of praise and reassurance that had you soaring—and you could feel it. The tightness that had gathered in your stomach, slowly, slowly building into something more—but so far away, so unobtainable, that it had you whining.

"R-Rafayel!" You cried as you leaned forward, burying your face into his chest. Even as he planted his feet on the bed and thrust up into you, picking his pace up a little and grunting into your ear, you shook your head— "M-more, please— I— I can't—"

"Oh, fuck, princess—"

He groaned when you clenched tightly around him, and with quick movements, he had you lying on your back, caged between his arms as breathless pants fell from his lips.

"I—fuck, baby... Are you okay with this? I'll—Shit— Sorry, I m-moved—"

He'd snapped his his hips back into yours the minute you wrapped your legs around his waist, but when he looked at you, your own eyes filled with a desire that dared to rival his own, he let out a slow breath.

"...Okay?" he whispered.

You nodded. "Please."

Rafayel laced his fingers through with yours, holding them against the pillow. At your consent, he resumed his pace, fucking deep into your cunt with thrusts so precisely rubbing against your spot that you closed your eyes with another loud moan.

"Ah, Rafa—Rafayel, s-so good—"

Any thoughts of holding back your sounds were lost in the pleasure raking through your body, feeling the way his cock would brush against all the right places. So thorough, and so loving—and so, so good.

Rafayel was making you feel good.

Better than you've ever felt—better than your fingers, and better than his, and you thought—

Fuck.

You wished you'd gotten to do this sooner.

"P-princess," he whimpered, hips stuttering as he pressed his forehead against yours, drowning a myriad of moans of your name with the way he kissed you. So needy with his touches, you melted into him like you always did, easily following his thrusts and receiving everything he could give you.

"Princess—are you—are you safe?" he breathed.

You could feel the way he tensed inside you, his hips slowing slightly into a pace that had you whining as he waited for your reply.

"Can I... Can I cum inside? If—If you—"

It almost seemed like he could barely form coherent words, and you smiled slightly. Your arms wrapped around his neck; "I'm safe," you mumbled. "Go ahead, Rafa."

The moan that he let out sent a shiver down your spine, and then his lips were on your neck, kissing and sucking—you didn't even mind, anymore, whether or not he'd be leaving marks on you by the time you were done. Groans spilled from his lips between his kisses, and you felt yourself moaning along with him. The pace he'd set picked up, no longer as gentle as you'd started with, but you found that it was more than welcome.

"C-Cumming," you shut your eyes, breathing out his name in endless chants into his hair. "Cumming, Rafa, I—!"

You felt it.

The throbbing of his cock as he spilled rope after rope of cum into your cunt, just in time with your own release. Your nails dug into his scalp as you clenched sporadically around him, throwing your head back with a drawn-out moan of his name, feeling yourself drown in the sheer intensity of it.

"Rafayel—!"

"Fuck—Fuck—Take it, princess— Shit—" He hissed into your neck, pumping his cum into you, moans falling back into whimpers.

A moment passed after, and you smiled contentedly as he hugged you, pulling out of you but still so determined to keep you close to him.

"...R- Rafayel?" You whispered, soothingly stroking his hair. And only then did he look at you.

Your breath caught at his expression.

Tired, undeniably, but so... tender.

"Hey..." he mumbled, slowly moving up to give you a quick kiss. "Can you say it again?"

"H-huh? Say what...?" You felt your face grow even warmer at the mere thought of all the things you'd possibly moaned in the midst of your lust.

But he only smiled. "What you said, earlier. Say that you love me."

A giggle bubbled at your throat, and you pushed him onto the space next to you—

Naturally, he only pulled you back against him, arms wrapping around you, tucking you under his chin.

"C'monnnn, baby. Please?"

It was so hard for you to say no to him like this.

You turned around to face him, placing a kiss on his cheek.

"I love you, Rafayel," you mumbled with a smile.

His expression relaxed.

"...And, thank you. For always making me feel so loved. I've never... I've never thought it could feel like this, a-and..."

"Did you like it?"

"More than liked it! I... I enjoyed it. Really. Thank you."

He grinned, then, gently setting you down on the bed and placing a kiss on your forehead. "Then, mission accomplished! So... Let's clean you up before we sleep, yeah? We can have another round in the morni—"

"Rafayel!"

"I'm kidding!"

⁺₊ / an: holy shit this took an eternity to write??!?!?!! nearly 8k words, what do u know... all this love for the birthday boy, this is an insane amount of special treatment for rafayel fr 🍰

© rose-tinted-kalopsia. all rights reserved. do not: steal, copy, repost, reupload, modify, or claim any of my works as your own, regardless of credit given. absolutely do not use my works for AI training and other related purposes.

[thefirsthogokage]

Fuck AMPTP and the bullshit going on. I'm tired, might not do this well:

(link to article in above picture) From The Article

Receiving positive feedback from Wall Street since the WGA went on strike May 2, Warner Bros Discovery, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount and others have become determined to “break the WGA,” as one studio exec blatantly put it.

To do so, the studios and the AMPTP believe that by October most writers will be running out of money after five months on the picket lines and no work.

“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline. Acknowledging the cold-as-ice approach, several other sources reiterated the statement. One insider called it “a cruel but necessary evil.”

The studios and streamers’ next think financially strapped writers would go to WGA leadership and demand they restart talks before what could be a very cold Christmas. In that context, the studios and streamers feel they would be in a position to dictate most of the terms of any possible deal.

[Image IDs: Twitter thread by David Slack posted July 12th, 2023 that reads in totality:

And right on cue, here’s the inevitable Deadline article claiming that the AMPTP and their CEO bosses are ready to wait us out and let us “go broke.”

They’re not. They can’t. This studio propaganda, and here’s why.

In the increasingly mega-merged and hedgefundified Hollywood, these companies live or die on their quarterly earnings reports. It only takes one bad quarter for their stock price to plunge, putting the company and the CEO’s job in jeopardy.

But their stock prices are holding steady, right? Right. For now. Because our industry is a pipeline that starts with writers. The TV and movies they’re releasing now are shows we started making for them 4-12 quarters ago. But what happens when that pipeline runs dry?

What happens is they run out of product. No new shows in streaming to drive and sustain subscribers. No new shows in broadcast and ad-supported to bring in ad revenue.

No shows, no money.

No money, bad earnings report.

Bad earnings report, bye-bye stock price. Bye-bye CEO.

After 70+ days with no writers to create their product for them, the pipeline is running dry.

Their stock price isn’t tanking yet. But if they don’t make a deal with us, it will.

And they know it.

If they make a deal soon, they might be able to weather it. Stretch out releases. Rush some new stuff through.

But the longer they keep us out, the longer that pipeline runs dry, the more unavoidable a catastrophic dip in new high-quality shows becomes.

And they know it.

So yeah, the studios are planting articles in the trades that make it sound like they’re so determined not to pay us the 0.02% of company revenues we’re asking for that they’re willing to hold out forever.

Bullshit.

I’m sure the AMPTP bosses would love to break our union. But they love their jobs more. They love money more. They can’t make that money without us.

And they know it.

Ignore the trades, walk the line, stand together, and win. #WGAStrong

/End ID]

Bonus: John Rogers' Reaction

[Image ID: A tweet from John Rogers that he posted July 12th, 2023 that reads:

I was trying to be cool and professional about this strike, but this AMPTP “we want to drive them to homelessness” shit means I’m going to be dug in at WB Gate 4 like Hiroo Onada. They’re gonna have to send @ellenstutzman with a bullhorn to order me out of the bushes.

The second image is Ellen Stutzman's Twitter bio that says:

Cheif Negotiator for WGA MBA, Assistant Executive Director, Writers Guild of America, West; Cornell ILR and UCLA Anderson alum. Views are my own.

/End ID]

EDIT: Please see the update on this HERE

[dduane]

“Receiving positive feedback from Wall Street since the WGA went on strike May 2,Warner Bros Discovery, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount and others have become determined to “break the WGA,” as one studio exec blatantly put it.  

“To do so, the studios and the AMPTP believe that by October most writers will be running out of money after five months on the picket lines and no work.

“‘The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline. Acknowledging the cold-as-ice approach, several other sources reiterated the statement. One insider called it ‘a cruel but necessary evil.’

“The studios and streamers’ next think financially strapped writers would go to WGA leadership and demand they restart talks before what could be a very cold Christmas. In that context, the studios and streamers feel they would be in a position to dictate most of the terms of any possible deal.”

[pinesource]

Steve Yockey, co-creator of the Max series “The Flight Attendant,” is joining Starfleet as the new screenwriter for “Star Trek 4.”

Story details remain under a powerful cloaking device, but Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot still intend the project to be the final chapter for the cast that rebooted the franchise in movie theaters with 2009’s “Star Trek,” including Chris Pine (as Capt. James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (as Cmdr. Spock), Zoe Saldaña (as Lt. Nyota Uhura), Karl Urban (as Dr. Leonard McCoy), John Cho (as Lt. Hikaru Sulu) and Simon Pegg (as chief engineer Montgomery Scott). (Variety first reported the news in its cover story on the future of the “Star Trek” franchise.)

Bringing the cast back following 2016’s “Star Trek Beyond” has proven trickier for the studio than finding an altruistic Ferengi. At least three previous attempts fell apart for various reasons, most recently with director Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) and screenwriters Lindsey Beer (“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (“Captain Marvel”) that the studio had slated to open in late 2023. When Shakman left the film in 2022 to direct “The Fantastic Four” for Marvel Studios, however, Paramount pulled it from its slate and sent it back to spacedock.

[wanderingelvis]

Reader has major wardrobe malfunction with her bikini bottoms in public. Reader whispers her problem to Elvis. His eyes go wide as he tries to figure out what to do about the problem. Maybe reader is trying to hold them to cover herself and elvis tries to fix them but he makes it worse and they just fall off. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t slightly enjoying the situation as he helps shield reader from others

I love this! I'm picturing Blue Hawaii Elvis for this! 🌺

🧚🏻 Masterlist 🧚🏻 word count: 1,838

pairing: elvis presley x f!reader

You and Elvis weren't dating but you both had unspoken feelings for each other. Right now, the official line was that you were just both good friends and co-workers.  You were an up and coming actress, on the rise and getting more notoriety and bigger roles. You were pleased that all your hard work in the movie business had paid off but you were becoming increasingly reclusive, wary to trust a lot of people after pictures of you changing on set had leaked to gossip magazines as well as things you'd said in confidence to various people had spread like wildfire. It was the ugly side of fame, one that you hadn't really been very prepared for.

It was the ugly side that Elvis knew all too well. He too, struggled to trust many people other than his Mafia and a few other close and very personal friends.  That's how you grew closer to him, anything you and Elvis spoke about was always kept between you two, even if it was just something as simple as what you were planning on having for lunch.  Elvis' friendship and company was always very welcome and the chemistry between you two was palpable - even the studios and audiences had noticed it. Everyone loved you two together, the way you'd bounce off each other in a conversation, or quietly giggle together between sets or the on-screen interactions that would have audiences desperate for more. You and Elvis had been contracted by Paramount Pictures for a three-movie deal, where both of you would be the main protagonists, falling in and out of love, three times over. You didn't mind, Elvis was the biggest star on the planet and to be chosen to be his leading lady was an incredible honour.  Your latest project was set in Hawaii, on tropical beaches where you and Elvis currently found yourselves, in between takes. You were dressed in a cute bikini number, bright yellow which complimented the glowing tan you had. The only difficulty of the whole get-up was the strings that kept coming undone, no matter how many times you tied them, tighter and tighter.  It was about the seventh time that you fumbled about with the bikini bottoms strings, undoing them and pulling at them again. This time didn't quite work in your favour however, as the elasticine snapped back on your fingers, tearing the threads and breaking the fabric, causing the string to completely fall apart and snap.

"...Fuck." You whispered, your cheeks beginning to burn up as you tried to wrangle as much of the string as you possibly could, but the bikini bottom was snapped and there was no way you'd be able to keep it tied.

You began to chew your lip cutely, looking up and around for the only person you really trusted to help you in such a vulnerable position.

You shuffled as subtly as you could towards Elvis who was stood near the back of the beach, studying his script. You felt embarrassed and humiliated, but desperate, knowing you needed his help.  You lightly tapped his arm, not wanting to draw anyone else's attention your way. Elvis turned, raising an eyebrow and looking at you coyly as his eyes raked up and down your  bikini-clad body.  You gestured for him to lean down, which he did, allowing you to step on your little tippy-toes and lean up to whisper into his ear, shyly. "My bikini, um, my bikini bottom is broken I think." You said with a wobbly, soft voice. Elvis drew back from you, seeing your hands, balled up as little fists, trying to keep the material together and in one-piece so that you wouldn't end up flashing anyone. A smirk appeared on Elvis' face, that shit-eating grin that would make you roll your eyes.  Elvis took his large hand, brushing his fingers across your bare thigh to move your hands ever so slightly, so that he could inspect what was wrong. Tingles travelled through you as his hand grazed your hot skin, you swallowed as you looked down at your feet, trying to keep your composure. Elvis leaned back down to you, pushing your hair gently over your shoulder, tucking it behind the shell of your ear which sent shivers down your spine. "Baby, if you want me to take off your clothes, all ya needed t'do was ask." He whispered, cooly. You jolted back, giving him a light smack on his upper arm. "Elvis, no, I need your help!" You lightly scolded, making Elvis chuckle fondly down to you. 

"M'nervous it's gonna snap, I can't shoot the next scene like this." You said quietly and Elvis instantly felt bad for messing with you, sensing how worried you were.   "I'm sorry doll, I'm only teasin' ya. Now, let's see what's wrong, hey?" He said as you nodded eagerly.  Elvis knelt down slightly, his eye line perfectly aligned with the side of your hip, dangerously close to your crotch. Reluctantly, you let go of your bikini bottom straps, allowing Elvis' large hands to take them from you. 

He tried to you tie them back up again, but after snapping, there just wasn't enough string, causing the string to pull and pinch your soft skin, making you yelp and wince a little in pain. 

"Shit, sorry honey." Elvis hushed, gently kissing the spot on your hip, smiling up at you. You couldn't help but blush and smile back.  Elvis really had a number on you. He was gentle, protective and caring but he was also powerful, dominant and brash, and you were completely obsessed. You found that he was the person you'd always turn to whenever you were at work with him. You wouldn't confide in your assistant, any of the costume team that you used to be very close to, no, it was only Elvis.  You'd actually spoken to him about it a bit. You'd shared your anxieties and fear of this growing fame, and only he could really relate and understand where you were coming from, and he helped. He'd promised you that he would keep all your secrets, even if he teased you about them.  "Hm.." Elvis mused quietly, glancing at your bikini bottom, where a small, wet patch of arousal had formed. The intense mix of excitement and nerves must've gotten to you as Elvis noticed the slick coating the elastane material.

"What?" You asked, not yet catching onto what Elvis had spotted. "Been into the sea for a dip recently, sweet thing?" Elvis asked.

"Um, no, not since the first scene." You shook your head, a little confused. "Why?"

Elvis smirked. "Nothin' darlin', just that these lil' panties you got on would suggest otherwise." Elvis said.  You're cheeks turned a deep shade of pink, realising what Elvis had meant. Your mind had just drifted as Elvis touched you innocently, you couldn't help it but by God, you were embarrassed now. "I, um, I-" You stammered, feeling like your whole body was on fire. You held your cheeks in your hands, trying to gather your composure. 

Elvis rubbed your thigh soothingly in an attempt to reassure you. He wasn't stupid, he knew the effect that he had on you and he loved it. He wouldn't humiliate you though, he just loved to make you squirm and get all flustered and hot, he just wished he could do it in the privacy of his bedroom.

"S'okay honey," Elvis cooed. "Y'know, this happens to a lot of the ladies I talk to," Elvis teased you, knowing he was being an ass. "Shut up, Elvis." You giggled as he winked up at you, making you feel better.

Elvis kept fiddling with the straps, muttering profanities as the elastic would snap his fingers every now and then until he cursed a little louder and a sudden breeze could be felt across your lower area. You froze, knowing exactly what had happened. Elvis' eyes widened as he was staring straight at you, bare and exposed.  Panicked, you crouched down to Elvis' level, cowering over with your legs tightly shut. Your heart was pounding as you looked around, praying that no one from set would turn around, fortunately, Elvis was shielding you as he was crouched in front of you, but if he moved, you'd be done for.  "Fuck, baby, I don't know what happened, they just snapped and dropped." Elvis said.

Elvis sighed, cooing at you as he noticed the pool of tears forming in your eyes. "Oh baby, it's okay." Elvis said, trying to comfort you. 

"No one can see me, Elvis, I swear, I can't risk anyone seeing me like this, please." You said, your voice cracking.  Suddenly, a usually confident, composed and bubbly girl was vulnerable, nervous and desperate for Elvis' help. "Here," Elvis said, unbuttoning his shirt. Your eyes widened at his bare chest before you averted your eyes, quickly wiping the tears from your eyes. 

He held the shirt open in his arms for you to crawl into, wrapping it around you lovingly, as if it were a towel and you'd just had a bath. He adjusted it ever so slightly to fit your frame and completely cover your most intimate areas. He tied a knot into the side of it, making sure that it wouldn't drop from your frame as soon as you got up. 

Elvis uttered little whispers of reassurance to you as he fixed his shirt around you, trying to soothe your racing mind, praising you for staying so calm and letting him help you. His words helped, they comforted you and helped you concentrate and level your breathing. "Now, I'm goin' to pick you up and take you to my trailer, okay little lady?" Elvis said, waiting for you to nod, letting him know you were listening. "And if anyone says anythin', we're goin' to tell 'em that you twisted that little ankle of yours, okay?" "Okay." You nodded, liking the idea. "Good girl, c'mon now." Elvis said, scooping you up in his arms, bridal style with his shirt covering your modesty. "I could get used to holdin' you like this, y'know?" Elvis said, making you giggle furiously and instantly feeling better. "There's that smile I've been missin'." Elvis said fondly, starting to head towards his trailer. "EP! We're nearly ready for you!" The director yelled. "Just takin' Y/N to the nurses station, she gotta nasty twist in her ankle." Elvis called back, making you giggle again, thankful that you had Elvis. It wasn't long before the pair of you arrived back at the trailer with Elvis placing you down gently on the couch.  "Thank you, Elvis." You said softly, breathing a sigh of relief, trying not to let the embarrassment of the whole event get to you too much. "Are you gonna tell anyone about this?" You asked quietly, nervous that you'd become a funny anecdote at a Memphis Mafia dinner. "Our secret, little one." Elvis said, holding out his pinky finger for you to take. "Our secret." You agreed, the both of you staring at each other, knowing that things had changed between you both now. But really, neither of you minded. Not one bit.

[lesbianrobin]

Seeing as it's Black History Month, I'm gonna take a break from your regularly scheduled girlblogging to be a film nerd and beg every single person reading this post to go and watch Within Our Gates (1920).

Within Our Gates is a feature-length silent film written and directed by black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux and it is a miracle that we have it today. The film was believed to be lost for years until a SINGLE surviving print was found in Spain, translated back into English, and recut to match the original as closely as possible. (This is actually not uncommon in the realm of old film a lot of lost films get found in random closets but ANYWAY.) The film tells the story of Sylvia, a southern schoolteacher who travels up north to raise money to keep her school open. It explores how her life and family have been affected by racism, abuse, and sexual violence, as she falls in love, works to save her school, and grapples with her place as a black woman in the antebellum south. If that's not enough to get you interested, the film is also kinda batshit. There are shootouts! Affairs! Someone gets hit by a car! It's wild and dramatic and incredibly engaging.

You've heard of Birth of a Nation, right? Maybe you've even seen it. That insanely racist piece of film history premiered in 1915. Oftentimes people will defend D.W. Griffith and the film itself as being "a product of its time." Well, Within Our Gates premiered in 1920, and it is a product of its time. It depicts white mob violence against black Americans, and how that violence destroys innocent lives and rips families apart. It is written and directed by a black man. All of its lead actors are black. It is an absolutely heart-wrenching, moving, and intelligent film, produced on a shoestring budget, that explores what it meant not only to be a black American in 1920, but what it meant to be a black woman. Different characters have different approaches to coping with racism and strategies for protecting themselves. It's complicated, and upsetting, and one of the most impactful films I've ever seen.

If you can spare an hour and twenty minutes, if you happen to have access to the film through a streaming service (in addition to being FREE ON YOUTUBE, I believe it's on Amazon Prime, Paramount+, MGM+, and some Hulu plans) or an institution (you may have access to Kanopy or a similar platform via your local library or university), it's worth a watch. Play whatever music you want in the background if your version doesn't have any added! Even if you can't watch it for whatever reason, I'd encourage all of you to look into Oscar Micheaux and the history of "race films," films created outside of the Hollywood studio system by and for black Americans.

Don't buy into the false narrative that the only black representation in historical film was minstrelsy and Griffith-style garbage.

[alaffy]

Only Murders in the Building, Ep. 4x01 – Once Upon a Time in the West (Spoilers)

This will be a quick post. Sort of.  ’As this is the 4th season, their first episode is pretty standard at this point.  We’re introduced to the new main guest characters, and we start the mystery.  And if you’ve seen the preview for this season, you know that Paramount is interested in doing a movie based on “Only Murders…” and the three main guest stars are playing themselves and have been hired to play Charles, Oliver, and Mabel in the movie.  And the majority of this episode is setting up this premise; as the three are flown out to Hollywood to meet with the studio.     

And, before I get to the mystery, just a couple of things of note that are important, or probably will be important, to the rest of the season.  Oliver’s play has closed as the funding has been pulled.  Loretta goes to Hollywood to start filming the show she’s been promised.  She does ask Oliver if he would consider moving to Hollywood as well, but obviously that’s not going to happen.  So, they’re not writing her out of the series, exactly, but I don't expect to see her in most of the episodes.

The second important thing is that Mabel, at first, holds out on signing a contract.  She’s given some advice, and she makes a deal with the studio, but we don’t know what the deal is yet.  I’m sure that will come in later.

So, let’s get to the important part.  The episode starts a few hours after season 3’s end.  The trio are finishing up recording their podcast when the lights go out.  They mention that that hasn’t happened since the building was forbidden to use the old incinerator.  Charles, Oliver, and Mabel go up to Charle’s apartment and Mabel sees a bit of blood splatter on the stove.  But what we don't see is Sazz is body. Or any evidence there was a body, bar that one tiny blood splatter.  As far as they know, Sazz just left the party.  At first, Charles isn’t too concerned.  However, when Sazz hasn’t texted him back by the next day; he starts to worry. 

This is where we find out that they are being invited to Hollywood and Howard comes to Charles’ apartment with his new dog.  Gravy.  Well, that sort of her name….Anyway, the dog goes crazy inside the apartment and Charles mentions he can hear a strange sort of whistling.  At that moment, Sazz texts Charles back saying that she had to leave as she’s needed as a stunt double to Scott Bakula. 

Forward a bit, the trio arrive in Hollywood and go to Sazz’s apartment; there’s a stack of packages and no answer.  Forward to the end, Charle’s sees Bakula at the party and mentions Sazz.  Bakula says that he’s worried as Sazz was supposed to be his double, but never showed up.  The trio go back to Sazz’s apartment and break in.  We find out that Sazz has a number of items on her desk that seem to be about Charles (maybe?) and Charles mentions that Sazz has had a number of bone replacements because of her career.  Most of the replacements are made of metal from Bolivia or Bulgaria (can’t remember which). 

At this point, Charles gets a call from Lester.  Lester tells him that he can’t replace the window in Charles' apartment until the next day.  Charles is confused as to why a window needs to be replaced.  Lester says that he had a note from Charles saying the window was broken.  Charles asks if the hole looks like a bullet might have come through and Lester says it’s possible.  Meanwhile, Mabel gets a text from Howard (he wants to start a animal podcast with her).  Mabel says he spelled Gravy’s name wrong.  Turns out it’s Grave-y, the dog was a cadaver dog.  The three of them realize that the need to get back to New York.  Charles tells Lester not to touch the window.

So, they go back.  They see the hole in the window and the blood on the stove.  Charles texts Sazz's number, letting whoever know that he’s on to them.  Howard brings Grave-y, who leads them to (long story short) the incinerator. Charles sees a lot of ash inside.  He reaches in and pulls out metal bones.  Just then, the persons text back, letting Charles’ know that they’re not his friend.      

So, it does seem like maybe this person is after Charles. But this show is known for it's red herrings. And it could be this person does hate Charles, but Sazz was still their target. As for the things on the desk, we just get a glimpse. I'm sure they'll be shown in more detail next episode or two.

[fans4wga]

Support Entertainment Workers On The Strike Line

"Roughly 172,000 entertainment workers are currently striking, and many are walking picket lines across Los Angeles this summer during an historic heat wave. For the first time in over 60 years, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild/ American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) are on strike at the same time, essentially halting entertainment production as members seek a fair contract. Picketers outside production giants like Amazon, Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Brothers are braving blistering conditions 5 days a week this summer in order to make their voices heard demanding higher wages, calling out unfair streaming compensation packages, the lack of regulation around the use of AI, and many more unjust grievances.

Regarding the timeline for a resolution, one studio executive was quoted as saying, “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses.” Right now, this strike is the front line of the labor movement.

You can find a picket line here: https://www.wgacontract2023.org/strike/picket-schedules-and-locations

The Plan

Community Solidarity Project is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that works to support organizations and campaigns in their work for justice and empowerment through event production, logistics management and donation gathering. As the entertainment industry, which is at the heart of Los Angeles, walks off the lot in the name of just and modernized working conditions, our organization is a grassroots partner to striking members in the struggle for workers' rights in 2023.

We are working alongside Strike Captains to mobilize and allocate community resources to support members on the line. With all eyes on Hollywood, consistently strong and well-populated picket lines are a crucial component to showing the media and studio bosses how much public support there is for workers' rights.

The Programs

We have partnered with local grocery stores as well as Best Food Trucks to bring weekly donations of water, sports drinks, fresh fruit, and lunch to a minimum of four picket lines for an initial period of 4 weeks, with the potential to go longer if the strikes continue.

Water, sports drinks & fruit: This effort is already underway, with resources being delivered to four strike lines weekly starting the week of Monday, July 17.

Lunch from Best Food Trucks: This partnership enables us to regularly bring high quality lunches to picketers on a reliable schedule.

Financial Goals

In order to sustain these efforts, we need to raise a minimum of $3200 per week. Here's how those numbers break down:

$6/lunch x 100 people x 4 studio locations = $2,400/week

5 cases/water + 5 cases/sports drinks + 2 cases/fruit x 4 locations = $800/week

As this effort grows, we could aim to cover 10 separate strike lines, 5 days a week! But to get this off the ground, we need to start with the first week at the $3200 mark, and then the first month at a minimum $12,800. By that time, we hope to be exceeding our goals and growing the amount of coverage this effort can sustain.

Historical Significance

Since the mid-1800s, Los Angeles has been a Union Town. At that time, workers in professions such as baking, cigar making, metalworking, printing, and carpentry organized themselves to demand better conditions and fair wages from bosses. Filmmaking began to unionize in the 1890s when IATSE - the International Association of Theatrical and Stage Employees - formed in response to worker exploitation in that industry. Within a few short decades, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) all took root in Hollywood in order to protect the labor and talent upon which filmmaking and entertainment are built. Today, those labor organizations are rising up again to protect the workers in a modernized entertainment industry.

Support the labor movement today in a uniquely Los Angeles way, by providing much needed sustenance to striking entertainment workers."

[hooked-on-elvis]

Halloween party + [BRIEF ROMANCES] Elvis and Joan Bradshaw: Hurt and vengeful EP?

Article: MAY 9TH, 1959 – THE BUFFALO EVENING NEWS – NY | Note: At the time this article was published, Elvis was in Germany on his Army duties... and the newsmen gossiping about his previous long gone [maybe even forgotten] love life! I guess they ran out of topics. | Pictures: Elvis and Joan Bradshaw.

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Elvis met Joan Bradshaw in early 1957 at Paramount studio, where she had a bit part in his film "Loving You". 

It's said EP was really enchanted by Joan's charms, but she played hard to get. Not because she was making a type or anything, as far as I know, but because she knew plenty about Elvis' womanizer fame. "If he want me, he will sweat!" Well, Elvis did date Joan for a short period in 1957, according to reports. It was a brief romance. I don't even know if it was a public thing because, oddly enough, I didn't found any pictures of them together (at least not until now) other than during one single event they attended in 1957.

Anyway... one day, while they were dating, Elvis without a warning went to Joan Bradshaw's apartment. He found her with a new guy friend there, if you know what I mean (no, I don't mean they were doing "it", I just mean Elvis knew he was a date for her, not just a friend). EP was pissed, possibly even hurt. Joan told him the truth, "We weren't going out steady and you didn't asked me out today so..." but Elvis didn't took it in a stride, no, sir.

You must remember Elvis as Vince Everett on "Jailhouse Rock". There's a scene where he went to Peggy Van Alden's (Judy Tyler) apartment to ask her out on a dinner date to celebrate Vince's record newest selling success, "Treat Me Nice". Peggy was already set to a date with another gentleman that evening. Vince says "But I already made reservations..." and she answers, "Vince, you should've made reservations with me. I still have a life of my own, you know? (...) I will not be subject to your beck and call." Well, it turns out sometimes Elvis' characters confuse themselves with the actor's real life persona - or the other way around (maybe they created his characters inspired on Elvis himself?... IDK). EP was indeed that type of guy who wants his lady to commit to him mind, body and soul. His ladies had to drop their lives on the spot and run to him whenever he felt like (better yet if they never left his side, specially in the 70s). Some of them dropped their lives to be accompanying with Elvis Presley 24/7, specially because the times were different - not all the ladies worked outside their homes and this also explains why Elvis felt like his lady should be at his beck and call, considering he was a Southern guy, raised under pretty conservative grounds, but not all of his ladies accepted that "condition" to be his girl, such as Joan Bradshaw clearly didn't. That begins to explain why Elvis didn't see a future dating any Hollywood starlet at all (I straight link this Joan Bradshaw event with what happened between Elvis and Ann Margret in the 60's).

Well, after finding out Joan was dating other guys at the same time she went out with him, EP left her apartment and the things were definitely over between the two, but there was one last thing to do: On his way out, it's reported Elvis destroyed the landlady's garden with his car wheels. Joan had to pay for the damage the day after when she was notified about her visitor's antic.

Was EP a vengeance kinda of boy in the 50's or maybe Joan said something to him that really pissed him off real big? There's ways and ways of breaking delicate news, right? I don't want to blame her at all, saying it was her fault Elvis acted vengeful towards her, this is all on him. They really weren't going out steady, therefore both were free to do as they would. I'm just... imagining why he was SO angry if he was never like that in public (sure, he had his temper tantrums here and there, but out of public eye).

Elvis and Joan Bradshaw: October 31, 1957 - Elvis spent Halloween 1957 in Hollywood. Elvis attended a Halloween party in Hollywood hosted by clothing designer Sy Devore.

As I told previously, Joan had heard plenty about EP's womanizer ways. Like during that Halloween event: As far as I learned, Joan Bradshaw was Elvis’ official date for the evening — although he went there with his Memphis Mafia usual crew (the guys even said Elvis was hating this party and called it a night not later after they arrived there - about just 1 and half hours - just because he didn't like the ''Hollywood types" and their parties. EP preferred having his private parties at his homes and invite just the people he really liked. Fair!). Having been Joan Bradshaw Elvis' official date for this party or not, they were going out around the same time. In spite of that, is reported that Elvis spent most of the night with a Las Vegas showgirl named Jay Wyman. That pretty much explains why Joan didn't gave her heart away to Presley. There were (many) girls EP easily broke hearts (Yvonne Lime, for instance, there's a heartbreaking love story with him but that's another topic).

There you go, another EP story. I found it interesting and liked to share it with you. As a fan, I like to know everything there is to know about our favorite guy, and no, I don't look at it with judging eyes or anything. Things happen for a reason and there's explanation behind every action, so... This is just another piece on the gigantic puzzle it is Elvis Presley's life. Every single piece of this puzzle helps us, fans, to know better who he was as a human being - even tho I don't think there's a single answer. He was a complex fella, our little boy.

Sorry in advance if I may didn't cover the full chain of events concerning Elvis and Joan Bradshaw. If I missed something, I will edit this article.

— Lamar Fike's accounts on that October 31, 1957 Halloween party, as published on "Elvis Aaron Presley: Revelations from the Memphis Mafia" by Alanna Nash [Chapter 10].

Elvis and (I believe) this Las Vegas showgirl, Jay Wyman.

The second picture is the wonderful Dolores Hart (Elvis' leading lady on "Loving You" and "King Creole"). She always had this angel smile, this loving aura, this girl-next-door, little-sister vibe with her, didn't she? She was dressed as Sputnik when the other girls looked so provocative at this party, like... She is the most! Hahaha. Totally "good Cady Heron" from "Mean Girls" vibe. I really love Dolores. ♥

[gay-jewish-bucky]

Hollywood Studios’ WGA Strike Endgame Is To Let Writers Go Broke Before Resuming Talks In Fall

Receiving positive feedback from Wall Street since the WGA went on strike May 2, Warner Bros Discovery, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount and others have become determined to “break the WGA,” as one studio exec blatantly put it. To do so, the studios and the AMPTP believe that by October most writers will be running out of money after five months on the picket lines and no work. “The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline. Acknowledging the cold-as-ice approach, several other sources reiterated the statement. One insider called it “a cruel but necessary evil.” The studios and streamers’ next think financially strapped writers would go to WGA leadership and demand they restart talks before what could be a very cold Christmas. In that context, the studios and streamers feel they would be in a position to dictate most of the terms of any possible deal.

[drtanner]

Receiving positive feedback from Wall Street since the WGA went on strike May 2, Warner Bros Discovery, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount and others have become determined to “break the WGA,” as one studio exec blatantly put it.  

To do so, the studios and the AMPTP believe that by October most writers will be running out of money after five months on the picket lines and no work.

“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline. Acknowledging the cold-as-ice approach, several other sources reiterated the statement. One insider called it “a cruel but necessary evil.”

It's more essential than ever that we continue to support the striking writers, and all striking workers. The studios whose money is made off the back of their labour are fully intending to starve them out in order to avoid paying them what their work is worth.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

The Strike Is Over! SAG-AFTRA & Studios Reach Deal On New Three-Year Contract

Dominic Patten And Anthony D'Alessandro

November 8, 2023 4:39PM PST

After 118 days of the actors guild being out on strike, SAG-AFTRA and the studios have reached a tentative deal on a new contract that could see Hollywood up and running again within weeks.

The strike will be over as of 12:01 am PT November 9, we hear. Culminating a very dramatic day of studio earnings results and deadlines, the actors guild’s 17-member negotiating committee unanimously voted to recommend a tentative agreement to the SAG-AFTRA board.

Coming just less than a month after Writers Guild members overwhelmingly ratified their own agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, SAG-AFTRA’s deal is the culmination of the latest round of renewed negotiations that began October 24. Indicating the seriousness and stakes of the negotiations, Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Disney’s Bob Iger, NBCUniversal’s Donna Langley and Warner Bros Discovery’s David Zaslav frequently directly participated in the talks.

The tentative agreement follows the studios responding on November 3 to the guild’s last comprehensive counter with a self-described “historic” package. That was succeeded less than 24 hours later by an expanded group of studio leaders — including execs from Paramount, Amazon, Apple and more — joining the Gang of Four to brief SAG-AFTRA on the AMPTP’s new offer, which was said to include big gains in wages and bonuses as well as sweeping AI protections.

We didn’t just come toward you, we came all the way to you,” Sarandos told guild leaders Saturday before SAG-AFTRA brass began digging into the fine print. Further talks between the two sides began earlier this week as the guild poured over the studios’ latest set of proposals.

Now, if all goes as planned and the board signs off on the deal, eligible members of the 160,000-strong actors guild will vote soon to ratify the new agreement. Also, with SAG-AFTRA pulling the plug on the strike just after midnight and before the ratification vote is completed, people could be back to work soon and production restarted quickly.

Exposing many of the shifts and divisions in the industry over the past decade, today’s tentative agreement comes at the end of a long road filled with diversions and potholes.

Overall, the six months of Hollywood strikes is estimated to have cost the Southern California economy more than $6.5 billion and 45,000 entertainment industry jobs after production ground to a halt with the WGA hitting the picket lines in early May and SAG-AFTRA following in mid-July. On an individual level, the labor action garnered passionate unity among guild members. At the same time, a fact not lost on the studios and their strategy, many guild members have suffered crippling financial hardship, as have below-the-line workers, going months without work.

After calling the strike July 14, it took the guild and the studio CEOs’ Gang of Four around 80 days before their first official face-to-face talks at SAG-AFTRA headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard. For all the optimism and momentum coming out of the completed WGA deal, those new deliberations between SAG-AFTRA and the studios that began October 2 blew apart on October 11, with the AMPTP leaving negotiations early after the guild tabled an alternative to its contentious revenue-sharing proposal. A few hours later, expecting more scheduled talks the next day, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland received a call saying deliberations were “suspended.”

“Last night, they introduced a levy on subscribers on top of [other] areas,” Sarandos said the next day at an industry conference, calling the proposal a “bridge too far” and blaming the guild for the talks ending. Later, SAG-AFTRA accused the studios of “bully tactics” and using the “same failed strategy they tried to inflict on the WGA.”

On October 18, after Netflix stated in its Q3 earnings report that talks were “ongoing” and Sarandos said the guild “really broke our momentum” towards a deal, Crabtree-Ireland called BS. “The best way to reach a deal and end this strike is for him and the other CEOs to end their walkout from the bargaining table and resume negotiations,” the SAG-AFTRA national director and chief negotiator told Deadline. “We have been and remain ready to continue talks – every day.”

After an appreciated but DOA bid by George Clooney and other A-listers to intervene in getting talks restarted, it looked like the actors strike would pass the 100-day milestone with no end in sight. Then, on October 21 , after Drescher hit out at the “AMPTPs strategy of non-negotiation” and “a blatant propaganda attempt to discredit union leadership and divide our solidarity,” Bob Iger made a call to Crabtree-Ireland and asked to start a new round of talks.

At 3 p.m. PT on the strike’s 100th day, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP put out a joint statement that they were heading back to the bargaining table on October 24 at the guild’s headquarters. That first day of negotiations between the parties was “not great,” according to a well-positioned source. As the studios put forth a new offer they hoped would end the stalemate over “success-based compensation,” the guild proved unmoved, but also open to further discussion.

Although the parties had agreed to meet on October 25, the guild asked that morning to take the day to go over the studios’ proposal of increased bonuses based on the success of streaming shows and movies and a further rise in minimum rates. “It’s a step in the right direction and the negotiating committee is taking the time to do a deep review,” a guild source told Deadline.

The two sides sat down again face-to-face around noon on October 26 with Crabtree-Ireland telling Deadline he was “cautiously optimistic” about deliberations with the studios. The guild slide across the table a self-described “comprehensive counter” that attempted to move the two sides closer together, sources said. As open letters from both supportive and impatient guild members flew around town, the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating committee were back in active talks on October 27. With both sides taking October 30 to be “working independently,” virtual deliberations bled into the weekend with the parties trying to bridge their differences.

On Halloween and in the early days of November, the parties met again. As the parties got “closer and closer,” as a guild source told Deadline, on issues, Crabtree-Ireland and Lombardini continued conferring directly, with breakout groups of lawyers and other specialists huddled in search of a deal – successfully we now know. Followed by two days of consultation by the guild, the November 3 delivery of the studios’ response to the guild’s latest counter and SAG-AFTRA’s November 6 counter response saw the two sides find an AI compromise and began moving things into what we now know was the final phase.

It took an unexpected strike by actors guild (who many studios execs thought were bluffing despite an overwhelming strike authorization mandate), a lot of moving pieces, guild solidarity, and some hard negotiating sessions to get there.

The actors union joined the WGA on the picket lines when it went on strike July 14, creating Hollywood’s first joint strike in more than 60 years. There were a lot of hot summer days when the labor battle remained at a stalemate.

But things shifted after Labor Day. The WGA reached a deal with the AMPTP on September 24 after five months on the picket lines and a final five intense days of deliberations that included the CEO Gang of Four for most of those last sessions. The WGA leadership approved the tentative agreement and ended the strike at 12:01 a.m. PT on September 27. WGA members ratified the deal by a wide margin October 9.

As exclusively reported by Deadline on September 26, the studios and SAG-AFTRA intended to ride the wave of the WGA deal to set meetings within a week or so on their own talks. However, as the goodwill of the WGA’s successful negotiations faded into bitter public call-outs from leaders on both sides, many feared, even with a new round of talks, the actors strike could last well into the holidays, ruining any chance at a partial broadcast networks season and hobbling the 2024 movie slate.

That catastrophe seems to have been averted now.

[popculturebuffet]

Transformers ONE Review: Autonomy is the Right of All Sentient Beings (Comissoin for Brotoman.EXE)

Hello all you happy autobots! This reviews one i'm excited for. See I was hoping One would be good: Rise of the Beasts was a disapointment having some good spots (the soundtrack, Anthony Ramos) but falling into the trap of trying to cram 80 tons of plot into two hours while not developing the robot cast enough. I mean it didn't have robotic gay jokes, racisim, robot testicles, or Optimus Prime gleefully murdering people, instead at worst being an asshole, but it didn't quite reach the heights of Bumblebee , not really taking in it's lessons of "less is more" and "Maybe people like characters"

Thankfully Transformers One takes the later to heart: Transformers One succesfully combines the spectacle people want from robots punching each other on the big screen, with a deep and personal character story of two robots who were like brothers whose ideologies drive them apart. One delivers both huge robot spectacle but grounds it in characters you care about. I'm a more casual fan of the franchise, haven't seen g1 , but I can't be happier as a fan of both transformers and animation itself to see this film and hope it does well over time. The first trailer REALLY didn't help but word of mouth probably will.

So while that's the most I can give without spoilers, I invite you to join me under the cut as I dive into WHY this film is so great, it's characters, ambiguities, great design choices, and the mistep or two. let's call him act 1 bumblebee. It's all under the cut with FULL SPOILERS. Seirously the film relies heavily on a twist about halfway in that while experinced fans and those experinced with fiction can probably see coming, though the marketing did a good job not telegraphing it, is still not something I want to be a dick and spoil outright So join me under the cut, till all are one.

What's Old is New:

Transformers One is the first animated transformers movie in decades: While I really CAN'T explain the 90's as Beast Wars seemed super popular when I was a kid, from the 2000's onward Hasbro largely dubbed anime of the transformers, and once we got to the live action films in the late 2000's through the 2010s Paramount made so much money hand over fist with each entry despite being "they gave devistator truck nuts" levels of baffling and "what seems to be standard micheal bay" levels of racist, they likely felt no need to inovate. If the movies are making them enough money to scrooge mcduck every time one comes out, there's no real reason to fight that if your a studio executive. The cartoons could simply take a queue or two from the films, as both animated and prime did and still make them money.

One comes in during this cash flow: looking into it on wikipedia, I genuinely tried looking elsewhere and couldn't find much, One came about after Age of Exctinction, with Parmount setting up a writers room to pitch sequel ideas. The films title animated nature and basic premise as a prequel came from that.. then as far as I can gather sat on the shelf as they still had binload of money.

Then the last knight happened ,an incoherent mess that had Anthony Hopkins have violent sexual tension with C3PO yet did nothing with it, so naturally it failed at the box office. This lead to Bay steping back from the franchise as a director

And lead to One being dusted off after Bumblebee's success. While the live action films continued with the ehtastic Rise of the Beasts and a GI Joe vs Transformers movie on the horizon, it's clear Parmount saw two things: putting all their transforming eggs in one transforming basket probably wasn't the best idea and animation was making bank post spider-verse. So One was dusted off. It just needed a director. Weirdly despite expresssing intrest in doing it Travis Knight, director of Kubo and the Two Strings, Bumblebee and longtime Laika animator, wasn't tapped.

Instead Parmount went with long time pixar animator and Toy Story 4 director Josh Cooley. And cooley ended up being the perfect man for the job: he looked at the script and while he liked the concept he'd been pitched, a prequel focusing on a younger optimus and megatron and their brotherly friendship destegrating into a forever war, he found the script was a bit lighter in tone and wanted to get a tone.

Cooley was a fan of the G1 Cartoon, and in one interview recounted seeing the film as a kid and being blown away by the scope opening on unicron eating a planet. He loved the spectacle of it and wanted to bring that to one, comparing it to epics like ben hur or the tend commandments; big bombastic stories with a very human core, a relationship breaking down at it's core. Cooley also had a great approach to adapting it:he clearly loves the franchise with his reaction to various animators and storyboarders sneaking in their faviorite autobots for cameos simply being

Cooley knew how to adapt the film: honor it's legacy, with plenty of nods to transformers history, but not be beholden to it going for a style that was a mix of g1 astetics but with an art deco sensiblity. Notably his decision not to have orion pax wear the optimus mask a ton was for good reason: instead of just being change for change's sake, it was to let him emote more. It's the same reason Peter Cullen wasn't chosen: Cooley utterly adores cullen but got that this optimus.. isn't him yet. The films about Optimus growing into being a leader and thus needed another tone. More on that later but these interviews gave me even more respect than the film itself already had, showing a man who knew how to adapt something well.

Visually the film is a treat: the animation is done by industrial light and magic, who did the films and who have only done three animated films. To my suprise i'd not only seen them all but one of them wasn't the clone wars. You'd think but no, Lucasfilm outsourced. No instead they did the animation for Rango, also with paramount under nick and Strange Magic, and both films have some impressive animation. I mean the designs for strange magic are questionable, as are a lot of things in that very dumb very fun movie, but it's clear they were just as good at making a fully animated world as they were making animated parts of a live action one. It's been almost a decade since strange magic, but they haven't lost a step.

As a result One looks gorgoeous: we've seen pre war cybertron before, but the big budget means we can see it as a gorgeous gleaming futuristic city with icacon, it' sbucolic surface and it's full glory once the planet is restored at the end. It adds emotoinal weight as the war will likely leave this planet a ravaged cold wreck as usual, but we ge tto see that beauty first. Even with the unlimited budget of comics the cybertron of the idw comics, while not bad looking is a pretty generic city. Here we get a gleaming metropolis that fully takes adantage of the fact some of it's citzens can transform, cramped quarters and mines. It makes cybertron feel truly alive and fils me with the kind of joy and wonder I missed from sci fi. This big colorfulspectacle that dosen't shy away from darker themes or moments, but despite the darkness of it's world, the corruption, the lines, and the tragic destiny that awaits there's a sense of hope. I loved Dune Part 2, still one of my faviorite films of the year and one of the best films i've seen, but it also follows it's characters tragic downfall as he's forced on the path of the chosen one wether he likes it or not and no matter how many genocides he's going to do walking that path. It's nice ot have a thetrical space where you can have a tragic yet hopeful story abotu robots in the same space as a tragic tale of a charsmatic leader's villian origin story. That I can have the kind of fun and thrill I had with star wars before disney decided to make the most pandering film in existance with rise of skywalker and still make no one happy, be a kid again for 90 minutes while still having the intresting stories nd characters that engage me as an adult is nice.

We Were Closer Than Brothers

This quote's been glued to my brain since I first read it in Powers of X, this perfect summation of the disolution of xavier and magento's friendship and why the two were forever at odds. There's a simple gap in who they are, who they want to be that can't be crossed.

And it's that kind of eternally recurring conflict that drives the film. It's one I never realized just how common it is yet so timeless and malleable it's been done a lot. In addition to x-men, both in the comics and the reboot/prequel films, Nartuo and She Ra and the Princess of power both tell the story of two people who are closer than family, but whose lives, egos and core beliefs pull them apart. Granted only one of these takes the obvious route of "and now kiss" but I digress. This is a tale as old as time, the tale of two people who genuinely truly love each other, as family or more. ANd it's one that works really well with these two characters.

This isn't the first version of Transformers to have Optimus and Megatron as former friends: The War for Cybertron Trilogy and Prime both use this idea, as we discussed earlier this month Transformers Cyberverse teased it and the IDW comics i've covered had something close to this: the idea that Pax agress with Megatron that cybertron needs to change and for the better.. but they simply can't agree.

One however gets the time needed to really dig into this: the two aren't just friends.. their best friends. Possibly more but that's left open for interprtation. And in the good way not "QUICK WE NEED TO MAKE THE FILM LESS GAY BECAUSE WE WANT MORE MONEY BECAUSE THAT'S HOW WE THINK THAT'S WORKS. "cooley saw the two as brothers , while it's just as easy to see the two as having feelings for one another. I tend to go towards the latter, with B-17 like he tends to do repressing it and the point being moot by the end as that bridge is burnt beyond recognition.

Transformers One sti feels queer coded, something I noticed pointed out on tv tropes but is hard to ignore once you notice it: it's a story about two young robots one whose proud of who he is and wants to buck the corrupt system they were both born into , the other who keeps his head down and mouth shut, both of whom find out a part of them was kept form them by said system and are allowed to be who they are. It's really not hard to read into that, especailly when the main antagonist is literally stealing a part of who they are. Which is not subtle but the fact a family film is saying this at all and in a way that's hard to ignore is fucking amazing.

Circling back to that first part it's how the two react to the world they live in that defines Pax and B-17 long before they become the bots we all know and love. The world of cybertron is one where a good chunk are seemingly born without cogs, forced to work in mines or other hard labor for hours on end, and all for the glory of their leader Sentinel Prime, played by John Hamm in glorious smarm. The queer coding is hard to tell if it's intentional.. but the film's commentary on how soceites are often built to keep one class, often containg people of color, queer people and others society deems "other", down to profit the rich.

It also shows how those in power create cults of personality: Sentinel gets all this hard work by projecting a show of being this loved glorious figure, going on quests for his people every few days. John Hamm does a damn good job showing just WHY cybertron hangs on his word. In the IDW continuity, Sentinel really didn't hide what a bastard he was beyond what he had to. Here... they all love him and he leaves the dirty work to his minons. They get to bully the lower class and do whatever they please, and he gets the adoration while likely condoning their bullshit because he's just as much of a monster as they are, he just gets to hide it.

It's their reactions to this inequality that define our heroes: Orion is a dreamer. You've seen the type in animation before: he wants a better world, keeps striving and wants his big shot at being someone. But One nicely grounds this: where his now.. is a dangeorus life of mining being bullied constantly and where his heroic act of saving a coworker get shis boss Elita One demoted. It's a world where he can't even look at the past glories of cybertron and it's 13 primes without having to dodge security. Orion senses something is off and that the world can be better. He's an optimist.

What I like though is this isn't without consequence: elita did get demoted and resents him for it, B-17, his best friend, quitely resents him for having to bail him out. He has the heart of Optimus Prime, wanting to try for the best for everybody and wanting to take B-17 with him as he gets up in the world... but he lacks the patience he'll gain in time, rushing into things, dragging others with him and generally not thinking before he acts. His actions get a friend demoted and later get him and his best friend sent to the depths.

B-17 on the otherhand.. just wants to keep his head down. Respect authority even if it's unfair, slowly get promoted.. work his way up. The thing is... the system isn't really BUILT to help bots. At most he'll be leading a shift. And while there's nothing wrong with that, as there is in real life blue collar work, he also wants to ignore that there's something.. off with the world. That maybe he dosent' HAVE to be a miner if he dosen't want to or wait centuries to get promoted. He's quick to see the benefits when Pax drags him into thei iacon grand prix.. but just as quick to panic, worrying any slip will get him sent back down. He's resigned that their stuck where they are. And look i'm not saying class disparity is easily sovled in the real world. It's not. But you can still fight for change where you are.

Eventaully though Optimus finds his shot, one that Megatron tries to resisit.. but ultimately can't: what seems to be the matrix. Taking along Elita, who gets dragged along and only agrees if she can arrest their asses if this fails, and B, a bot they find in the depths of waste management, our heroes trek heroically across the planets dangerous surface and duck a quintesson ship.

And the World Screams, Kiss Me Son of God

And it's here.. where the film gets flipped on his head. Now i'll grant the twist isn't super groundbreaking. Having the seemingly nice authority figure turn out to be an asshole is old hat, the film's marketing tried at first to hide the fact Megatron would turn evil till they realized they kinda marketed it bad, it's pretty easy to suspect sentinel. It dosen't help on my end that the previous versions I know are a genocidal racist monster man whose horrible managing of cybertron helped create the decepticons, and a smug prick who needs to be thrown into the sun.

But it works well as Sentinel Prime.. works as a symbol for systemic corruption. The primes were 12 noble people chosen by primus for their character and who ruled justly. Now granted it is iffy having your creator god whose also the planet pick your rulers, but Pax's ascendance later makes it very clear Primus choose not just by destiny but by character. Sentinel claimed he was one and the last survivor after they beat out the quintessons. One's universe uses mostly chunks of the g1 backstory: Primus created transformer kind and became the planet as in the comics, but the Quintessons are still key, just as adversaries rather than a monsterous race that created the transformers as slaves before they rebelled, though still keeping parts of that in spirit. The 13 primes from war for cybertron and prime are added in creating a perfect precursor.

Sentinel however betrayed them, selling them out to the quintessons to become god emperor of cybertron with the mining class born entirely of his own greed, stripping them of their t cogs and indocrinating them. And tha'ts what makes this scary: part of why Sentinel's plan works so well.. is indocrination. To most of Cybertron this is just how things always were. The few people who know gladly keep up the lie. By creating a system he can control, sentinel has guaranteed few will rebel because they have no reason to doubt him. Like any good dictator he's set himself up as the be all end all and as a god unto himself so his people don't question and those like optimus who do are struck down.

Even when Alpha Trion last of the primes played wonderfully by Laurence Fishburne tells them all of this and in a truly beautiful and horrific sequence shows it to them using some dust he controls, only pax and Bumblebee truly digest it. It makes sense for both. Pax has ALWAYS questioned his place in the world so while he's mildly skeptical at worst, for him, someone whose broken into the archives to learn, constantly pushed against the system, finding out "Oh your life is a lie".. is freeing. It's finding out the horrible sytem that hates what you are is wrong. It's where the queer coding comes in finding out no your not wrong.. it's the people who said you not being you were horrible. For Pax this is what he's always wawited for: a mentor who truly respects all he did to get here, a purpose in freeing cybertron, a true world.

For B when we meet him he's spent his life being constantly kicked down rungs for his screw ups, abandoned by Cybertron to it's depths and happy just to have friends. Finding out "oh yeah your leader is a lie and you get to be badass now" is just.. nice. B is just kinda there for the ride. Honestly Bumblebee is just kinda there in the movie. Keegan Michael Key does a great job as the character especially in the second act when he gets to react to the more horrific things going on , but for the first he's just the annoying comic relife. The Badassatron gag gets old FAST and the trailers did not help. The trailers also didn't help focusing entirely on the comedy, which helps offset things and makes the more dramatic and often violent second act work. We get ot know these characters and there world... then see what happens after the curtains lifted and they see what there world always was.

This plays into Elita who i've glanced over, and who dosen't take it well, having to see Sentinel directly selling out to the quintissons to belivie it. Elita did her job, played the system, tried to get out.. and finds out it was rigged the whole time. Elita as we see her is tough, but fair.. wanting to arrest our heroes when they escape to the surface.. but willing to go with them when stranded as if they ARE right she gets what she wants and if their wrong they've agreed to be arrested anyways. Yet when her world turns upside down her response to it is shock.. then acceptance. The world is bad, how can we fix this? She goes with Optimus plan, though dosen't go loyally pointing out it MIGHT not work.. but it's their best option: expose sentinel to the public and hope it turns them.

This... is where D-16 shifts entirely. And his actor Brian Tyree Henry is easily the standout of the cast. No question. We see D-16 as someone who truly belivied in the system and the primes: he's a huge Megatronius Prime fanboy, who in most realities ends up being a tratiorus monster and basically satan.. but here.. is a good person and the strongest of the primes. He respected sentinel, utterly in awe to help him find the matrix, which was said to be lost. So instead he finds out everything he belivied in is a lie and takes it hte hardest: elita was annoyed with the system enough it took light convincing, pax was never for it and B is just happy to be included. But for D... this was everything. This was his LIFE. He rages at Pax for taking them on this adventure, for everything he loved and worshipped being relveaed a lie. Finding out what his life was, or rather what he likely expected it was but refused to admit to himself breaks him.

And that.. unleashes his rage. You get the sense D-16 has a lot of supressed anger: constantly having to tow the line, to clean up after his best friend, to keep his head down.. and finding out it was all for nothing and said friend is the reason he knows this.. unelashes every rage. Every thought he had to keep in every bit of it at once... and he wants Sentinel dead: not brought to justice, not heroically brought down for corruption: DRAGGED THROUGH THE STREETS IN CHAINS TO THE DEPTHS OF THE MINES AND TORN APART. Orion wants justice, he wants revenge.

The film also does a good job not making d-16 just.. evil. He's full of rage, he lashes out at orion.. but you still side with him despite knowing where this angers gonna take him. The system is broken, horrible and nightmarish. Like the IDW megatron, D-16 has EVERY reason to think it needs to burn. Yet you get why Pax wants the softer touch at first: he dosen't care about sentinel fuck that guy but burning it to the ground gets other people caugh tin the fire. Neither is entirley wrong: sentinel probably does need to die, but a brutal execution dosen't help anyone. And as pax can do doing so won't fill the void in his chest. Getting the t-cogs for the literal voids in their chest dosen't either.

The film dosen't entirely stop the lighthearted stuff: We get that great seuqnece form the trailers where our quartet try to transform and end up stuck mid way. It's both a neat idea, as i'ts essentially waking up a whole part of your body you could not use, and fun, based on Cooley's own experinces as a kid where for the more complex transformers they'd end up in a half transformed pile.

But the core is clear... and while the divide between D and Pax deepends as we meet the High Guard

Choked Out

So our heroes are kidnapped by the High Guard, the future decepticons. The High Guard were the primes loyal and noble enforcers but have spent the last however long it's been turned into a rebellion against sentinel, barely scraping by. Granted their also lead by Starscream which has never gone well and there's no giant gun to shoot him with nor volcano to throw him in so their kinda stuck.

I do love Starscream here played by the one and only Steve Buschemi who gets Sceamers smugness and arrogance right while adding in a dash of bloodthirst and class. The High Guard has devovled into a might makes right hellscape. And it's this hellscape.. that finishes creating megatron. I belivie had b had time to process or think , he MIGHT of not become megatron. It's likely why Alpha Trion still trusted him.. though as Brotoman pointed out when we discussed the film it could just as easily be that trion didn't care and wanted b-16 to go on a blood rampage. This still puts him above the G1 version whose only menoring to optimius was bringing him back form the dead like jesus after four robots from the future wondered in.

But the high guard share his views: wanting to burn it down, wanting to use brute force, resenting the rest of cybertron. It's all there. And the high guard are the army he needs to pull off his goals, as he's grown to resent optimus and Bee and Elita are firmly on his side.

So in a fit of Irony it's starscream who helps fully cement the creation of megatron. Megs is annoyed at their postering, doing seemingly nothing and done with their shit. He plans to just fuck off if their not going to do anything. Starscream as usual for him takes this as a challenge. And as usual across space and time megatron's response is exactly as good for starscream as you'd expect.

Megatron fucks him up so bad his VOICE changes. Yeah in this continuity Starscream's whiny voice.. is because megatron choked him out. And Starscream was into it asking for more. Was it a love of violence or is starscream discovering he's a sub?

But it's the point to me where D-17.. is gone. He hasn't turned full villian yet.. but he's found himself surronded by likeminded bots whose reaction to them choking out tehir leader is FUCK YEAH! YOU GET EM MEGS. I grant spending at least a decade around starscream is probably a lot for anyone, but it's still nicely horrifying and I like this barbarian portrayl of the decepticons: that they too started from a good place but having to constantly fight while being seen as traitors and being isoilated casued all their warrior instincts to go to a whole lord of the flies situation.

Megatron dosen't get to bask in his new horde or a nearly destroyed starscream who only lives because Orion is there.. and D makes it VERY clear this won't happen again. The mercy thing. Instead Sentinel kidnaps most of them with only Orion and Elita escaping.

You've Found my Breaking Point, Congradulations

So our two heroes are now seperated.. and while it was clear what path B-17 was on, it's Orion's turn to cement his. Oriion.. is not doing so good

He feels this is all his fault, that his constant diving into stuff hurt people and while before he was able to brush it off, the elita one situation REALLY wasn't his fault, enlisting megatron in the race was an attempt to help them, and even ending up in the cybertron's bowels, he figured Sentinel would come from them. Every reckless action and unintended consequence was just a step up. And he wasn't entirely wrong, his actions were well meaning.. but it's here he finally gets the downside and what makes his earlier character work: that relization that yes, he meant well, yes he wasn't wrong.. but he was still dragging everyone along with him when they kept telling him no and while in the long run, even with what he's about ot become, d-17's better for it, Orion finally gets that he can't just keep assuming people will be better off or he knows what's better.

Granted he takes this as

But Elita has changed. She's seen the good that's happened from it and encourages pax... she also rubs in that she's smarter than him, true, but also that as annoying as he could be to her... he had one thing she didn't, that d-17 didn't... hope. He never gave up, just fell into the system. He never stopped beliving in a better world even after finding out it was a lie. He dosen't try to stop sentinel just because "what else am I going to do" or "revenge" he's doing this because he WANTS a better world for everyone. To lift people up. He dragged d-17 into this not because he was blind, but because he wanted to help him. He wanted them both to see the sun. To build tommorow together. And maybe make out a little. His methods weren't great, but he was always trying to do the right thing.

So with that Pax isn't back to his old self he's better, and thinks out his plan for a second.. and it's a brilliant one, for once not just winging it but thinking it out: they need to take down sentinel. They can't broadcast his misdeeds for now, but they can at least stop him. They dont' have enough of an army as only half the guard escaped, so it's time to split up: Elita will lead the rest of the elite guard to free their captured brethren, Orion will go rally the miners who already trust and look up to him. Shockwave asks "Wait why would I do that" and get sa cup of punch in the face as his answer, while Soundwaves like "eh why the fuck not. " I do love shockwave in this film, he's just a pathetic butt monkey aand sounds like bluster blaster. It's glorious.

Meanwhile Megatron gets some MORE trauma. He refuses to bend the knee for Sentinel. Sentinel's plan is to frame the guard as destrutive rebels and megatron as one. And he has a chilling line I love: "The truth is whatever I say it is: it's the truth and i'ts chilling and Hamm does a fantastic job going from egotistical ass to chilling dictator at the drop of a hat, never dropping the smarm. Sentinel is the perfect vilian for this film: a legit threat and meance.. but also someone clearly there to be the starter villian: someone who unites our heroes at first but gets the fuck out of the way for the emotional climax. It makes the whole 'Oh no the heroes idol is evil" twist we've seen a lot. A lotttt, go down smother as while he's evil enough that his final takedown is satisfying, he's not so menacing or compelling you feel he's wasted. He's just comeplling enough

He's also a massive dick and upon seeing Megatron's sticker, he's been wearing a decal of megatronus, he rips it off.. and fucking BRANDS megatron. Yeah there's.. some racial stuff buried in here that as a white dumbass i'm not qualified to talk about. But it is brutal as hell.

SO while Team Elita crashes a train into a buildling to start the climax, because Elita is the best and I wish I had more to say about her other than she's the most badass one there is and Scarlett Johnasen is having a LOT of fun playing her, Orion goes to inspire a line of cameos. There are a LOT with Ironhide and Arcee being the most prominent.

The Miners are chafing under the strips not helped by Dreadwing, their supervisor and the dickbag who demoted Elita earlier and who in general is a bullying asshat. So naturally Optimus easily deals with him with a punch to the face. It's a nice moment that says a lot with just one punch: Optimus has problems FAR BIGGER than one petty asshole and has grown, literally and metaphorcially past him.

Orion having a t-cog and easily taking out the local bully is enough to get everyone to listen and he gives his first true rousing speech, revealing the truth, admitting they dont' have much reason to belivie him, but beliving ther'es something better.. there has to be and Sentinel has no right ot take it: So with mining equipment and jetpacks, our hero leads the future autobots. AI am a bit iffy about all the autobots being in one group and the decipticons in another, but the sequel could help flesh it out and I get they only had 90 minute sto pack a lot in. One is VERY overstuffed and takes place over maybe two days tops. A lot happens.. but it all feels resonable and well set up: D-17 changes entirely but it's hard to say megatron wasn't lurking under the surfance and a LOT of trauma in less than a day didn't change him. Likewise Optimus and Megatron rising as leaders.. makes perfect sense; The Guard had spent years hiding and stewing and suddenly a new kid comes along with more o fa vision than ducking and weaving and easily chokes out the guy who was likely only leader because he killed a few people who said no to that. He then refuses to bow to sentinel despite knowing what this might means an dkeeps getting up.

Meanwhile Optimus leads not through badassery.. but hope. He puts his dreamer nature to good use and instead of inspiring his troops thorugh violence, inspires them. And because Oriion was already a decent guy who instead of being seen as a weird outcast, was seen as a guy who did what they wished they could, a nice turn of that usual "never accepted weirdo" thing we get, because he was simply a good perosn.. people listen.

So here comes the climax.

Throw My Better Self Overboard, Shoot At Him When He Comes Up for Air

So we get our big climactic battle as our untied rebel forces eat the rich while Elita squares off with Airachnid. I hadn't brought up Airachnid because her plot relevance for most of the movie is to stand around and look menacing, being Sentinel's liutiennt. And I like how they went for something diffrent: true to the name she's part modern helicopter, part spider and usies her spider legs to brutally tear into foes, leaping on them and tearing them to shreds. While the rest of Sentinels mooks, various mass produced drones ala the ones Megatron has in prime, go down easily when fighting Alpha trion she took him down and let sentinel finish him off later because of course he wanted to gloat.

So while the final battle goes down to the two female robots of importance duking it out, it still works as it makes sense: Elita has quickly become the autobots bruiser and Optimus second in command, and Sentinel is busy gloating to his captives. Rather than the cliched "well the women must fight because a man punching her would be too mucH" it feels like a fight between each sides seconds that's also brutal and well done.

Orion however has a plan and while he and an ungreatful B-17 fight Sentinel, who reveals he took Megatronius cog, he has elita grab airachnid as she showed off her creepy camera head before... and thus he realizes she has incriminating footage. So while Bumblbee finds he has knife hands and helps clear the way, our heroes team up.. kinda.

I also have to give it to the fighting here: Something Cooley made sure to include was transforming. In most continuites the transforming is used maybe to ram a fucker and most fighting is as the robots. Here ther'es a lot of transforming in combat: Ariachind uses her alt mode to gain advantage as it can fly nad elita's can't. Sentinel uses his massive jet form's firepower to even the odds before diving back into bot mode. D-17 RAMS into the fucker with his tank mode, uses it frequently for blasting and easily switches back into combat. It's fluid, gorgeous and really takes advantage of the trasnforming to turn every fight into a spectacle.

While D-17 fights Sentinel, Orion inacts his plan: hyjack the radio tower and er.. slam Airachnids face into the console therebye getting the footage he needs.

Sentinel's outed as a bad guy, everythin'gs fine? right? right? Right D-17.. whose inching towards sentinel and... oh... oh no.

So Orion rushes to prevent his friend from doing a murder, whiel Sentinel pathetically crawls away. He begs him not to do this, that this isn't the right way.. but it won't work this time. Pax says the wrong thing: "Don't be like sentinel". He threatnes pax to move and pax instead jumps int he way.. and is shot , barely alive. And thus.. two bots die... D-17 throws Orion Pax into the core of the planet "I'm done saving you". One wanted war, to keep raging forever against a planet that wronged him the other wanted to fix tha tplanet and restore it. In the end it was two roads that simply HAD to diverge but damn do they make it painful. You see just how much these two meant, how much good they acomplished..b ut ultimately B-17 can't let go of his rage and pain.. and he shoudln't.. not entirely. He can still feel hurt and rageful.. but it's in trying to tear the rest of the world down where he failed.

Sometimes the world DOES need to burn, but if you don't think about the people who get hurt, then your in the wrong.

Where You Go Once You Arrive, Where We Go Once We Arrive

The next scene.. is the films best... a truly striking back and forth series of cuts as we see the true ascendance, the birth of megatron and optimus prime given all the gravitas 40 years of stories, conuities and tellings of these two's clash.

Megatron gives a firey horrifying speech as he rips Sentinel in half. The film is unflinching with hit's violence. It did have to cut around things.. but all that did was have cooley let your mind fill in the gaps. For a family film, this is fucking brutal, and it all crecnedoes with a bot getting ripped in half. likely being robots gave them some leeway, but it's still horrifying to see. I don't feel bad for sentinel he fucking deserved it but Megatron giving him a mortal kombat fatality then going on to scream about he's going to burn iacon down, destroy every last person loyal to sentinel to burn the world no matter who gets hurt... it underlines Optimus point. While Sentinel defeintly deserved to die, this dosen't fix anything. This dosen't change iacon for the better, it just replaces a tyrant who made the trains run on time and again deserved his mortal kombat fatality, with one who thinks he's doing the right thing while killing as many people as he has to to do it. Neither version of this is good but Megatron is too blinded by trauma to see that and thus has become something almost as bad as what left.

Thankfully as Megatron rises... so too does another. As he falls into the core, his body dead.... Orion Pax meets the primes, all 12 showing up.. with Alpha Trion himself anointing our hero. This could easily be iffy: chosen one narratives aren't nearly as common these days for a reason and this is the same year where Dune Part 2 showed just how bad that could go based on a book all the way back in the 60s, just taking out the racisim and sexism.

So instead Orion Pax becomes robot jesus this time not because destiny says so.. but simply because he acted well. He acted nobly, selfishless and laid his life down and thus he not only rises from the dead but gets an upgrade: a cool ax ehe does the thor thing with , which had to be intetional, able to take out a hudnered bad guys with swords or at least all three main decipticons with only megatron giving him trouble.

So before our climactic breakup, le'ts talk about primus. Some consider the idea Primus is a two faced prick: he made the matrix of leadership, the source of cybertron's energon in this continuity and why they have to mine without it, not feel so good and go away into dust robbing sentinel of it.

Me... I think it wasn't the smartest move given Sentinel then created a slave race to do the job and it didn't really stop him.. but my take is that it was all primus COULD do. Primus did create the primes to guard cybertron, but that was right after becoming the planet and space god. My honest interpretation, one backed up by talking to brotoman is that primus isn't as fully cognizant without the matrix. In the war for cybertron duology, Primus created the matrix as a way for it to be with the rest of cybertron kind as it really coudln't commuincate outside it's core. If eel that's the same here: that it can only do so much and without the matrix as a conduit, all it could do was thrash blindly, hence the storms of the surface and the mines shifting horribly. THe mines woul dbe closer to cybertrons core, giving him more dexterity. Prime fell directly into a shaft leading down int oCybertron's bowels and into it's core, which gave Primus a chance to look him over, see what he did. If you notice primus doesn't even talk directly. He has to use alpha trion's ghost. Primus transformation into cybertron likely put him beyond most cybertronians and unlike say Unicron if he shows up, please let him show up, he can't go back and forth.

Now that's just my interpretation but it's something I like about the film: the world's well built and set up.. but it dosen't explain everything. It leaves some ambguity: where the primes as perfect as they seemed or was sentinel right to resent them, even if

Did Alpha Trion know the risks he was unleashing with megatron? We don't know, and tha'ts okay. And yes the sequels probably will clear some of this up if we get them, but it's still something really neat to think about.

For now we get an awesome fight with Optimus ending the thing by slicing Megatron's fusion canon. He commands him to leave: he tried to conquer cybertron, killed a man and broke Optimus' heart in the process. Megatron bitterly leaves setting up a sequel that please please please god let us have some form of sequel, and takes the gaurd with him.

This leaves optimus in charge, and their paths set: Optimus turns the miners into the autobots and gives them their cogs back, restoring cybertron.. and Megatron... brands his new peeps the decepticons. THey are not being being decieved and they will open cybertrons eyes and close optimus'. It's a truly painful but well done ending with both rising : Optimus prepares to hold off the quintsions.. and Megatron prepares to do what he planned to do in the first plac.e. burn it down. They were close but now... the war begins.

The One and Only One

Transformers One is a masterpiece, well worth a look in theaters. I'ts a feast ofr the eyes. But it's it' semotinal core that makes it: following two young men as one goes from reckless dreamer to real leader, with his voice lowering the right octaves, and the other going from a stickler for the rules to a radical planning to kill as many people as he has to to save cybertron from hitself. One is a heartfelt epic, with eye popping colors, great social commentary and a hell of an emotional core. This is the best of the transformers films i've seen, probably not a stretch to say the best given it lacks robot testicles or a man waving around a piece of paper saying he can fuck teenagers, but still a truly great film I hope Paramount gives a sequel even if it dosen't do gangbusters. In a year with maybe three animated films i've wanted to see theatrically, this was a welcome treat and is one of the best transformers stories. Go see it, thanks for reading and remmeber you can win if you dare.

[ptbf2002]

Everyone Hates Miraculous Tales Of LadyBug And Cat Noir

because of that shit, i stopped watching Disney Channel nowadays, proving that miraculous became Disney Chamberlain Cash Grabbing Machine. Marinette is the Mary Sue in this show. miraculous ladybug is keeps on milking the show all over again. it's also like Star Vs. The Forces Of Evil, which was fallen apart and turned into a romantic drama. because of only focusing on Star Butterfly And Marco Diaz. over a stupid Starco. Starco now became my guilty pleasure. i mean seriously?! what in the name of Mickey Mouse is going, airing Miraculous all over again?! this is ridiculous! Disney Channel was like a masterpiece that made a lot of great shows, such as, The Replacements, American Dragon: Jake Long, Recess, Kim Possible, Lilo And Stitch, House Of Mouse, Phineas And Ferb, Kick Buttowski and etc. even great live-action shows like The Suite Like Of Zack And Cody, Jonas, The wizards of waverly place, zeek and luther, aaron stone, K.C Undercover, and others. and now it's nothing but filling up Disney Channel with stupid Miraculous shit. this is why i stopped watching Disney Channel nowadays, and this is why i should move to Disney XD since i want to watch good Disney shows, or watch Disney+. i mean why would Disney has acquired Mediawan and The ZAG franchise, i almost feel embarassed

Original Templates:

https://www.deviantart.com/zmcdonald09/art/Who-Likes-or-Hates-Miraculous-Ladybug-1037238627

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Credit Goes To @Tagirovo

SpongeBob SquarePants Belongs To Stephen Hillenburg, Rough Draft Studios, Inc. Carbunkle Cartoons, SEK Animation Studio, Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. United Plankton Pictures Inc. Joe Murray Productions Inc. Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Nickelodeon Productions, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Nickelodeon Group, Nickelodeon Networks Inc. Paramount Kids and Family Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Viacom International Inc. And Paramount Global

Mickey Mouse (2013) Belongs To Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks, Paul Rudish, Mercury Filmworks, Disney Television Animation, Disney Channel, Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Inc. And The Walt Disney Company

The Looney Tunes Show Belongs To Leon Schlesinger, Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising, Sam Register, Spike Brandt, Tony Cervone, Yearim Productions Co., Ltd. Toon City Animation Inc. Lotto Animation, Inc. Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. Crew 972 Ltd. Warner Bros. Animation Inc. Cartoon Network, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Oggy and the Cockroaches Belongs To Jean-Yves Raimbaud, Big Star Enterprise, Armada TMT, Digital Emation, Inc. Neon Pumpkin, DongWoo Animation Co. Ltd. Gaumont Multimedia, The Gaumont Film Company, Xilam Animation, France 3, France Télévisions S.A. CANAL+ Family, CANAL+ S.A. Groupe CANAL+ S.A. Vivendi SE, Gulli, Canal J, Metropole Télévision S.A. And Groupe M6

The Simpsons Belongs To Matt Groening, Anivision, DR Movie, Film Roman, LLC Hanho Heung-Up Company, Klasky-Csupo, Inc. Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. Toon Boom Animation, Toonzone Entertainment, Wild Horse Animation Group, Gracie Films, 20th Television Animation, 20th Television, Disney Television Studios, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Entertainment, FOX Broadcasting Company, FOX Entertainment, FOX Corporation, And The Walt Disney Company

The New Woody Woodpecker Show Belongs To Walter Lantz, Bob Jaques, Kelly Armstrong, Big Star Enterprise, Inc. Studio B Productions, Inc. DHX Media Vancouver, WildBrain Studios, DHX Media, Ltd. WildBrain Ltd. Duck Soup Studios, Mercury Filmworks, Sunwoo & Company Co., Ltd. Walter Lantz Productions, Universal Cartoon Studios, Universal Animation Studios LLC, Universal Television LLC, Universal Pictures, Universal City Studios LLC, NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, NBCUniversal Media Group, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, And Comcast Corporation

Pink Panther and Pals Belongs To Blake Edwards, Maurice Richlin, David H. DePatie, Friz Freleng, Toon City Animation, Inc. DQ Entertainment Animation Studio, DQ Entertainment International Limited, Desert Panther Productions, Mirish-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng, Rubicon Studios, Rubicon Group Holding, MGM Worldwide Television Distribution, MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. MGM Holdings, Inc. Amazon MGM Studios, Amazon, Inc. Cartoon Network, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Hilda Belongs To Luke Pearson, Mercury Filmworks, Atomic Cartoons Inc. Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. Nobrow Press, Flying Eye Books, Silvergate Media Limited, Sony Pictures Television Kids, Sony Pictures Television Studios, Sony Pictures Television Inc. Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Sony Entertainment, Inc. Sony Corporation of America, Sony Group Corporation, And Netflix, Inc.

Animaniacs (2020 Reboot) Belongs To Tom Ruegger, Wellesley Wild, Steven Spielberg, Digital eMation, Inc. Saerom Animation, Inc. Snipple Animation Studios, Tiger Animation, Titmouse Animation, Inc. Tonic DNA Animation, Toon City Animation, Inc. Yowza! Animation, Giant Ant Animation, Studio Yotta, Birdo Studio, Flystudio, Screen Novelties, Amblin Television, Amblin Entertainment, Inc. Amblin Partners, LLC. Warner Bros. Animation Inc. Hulu, LLC. Disney Streaming, Disney Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Danger Mouse (2015 TV series) Belongs To Brian Cosgrove, Mark Hall, Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment, CHF Entertainment, FremantleMedia Kids & Family Entertainment, Fremantle Limited, Boulder Media Limited, Boat Rocker Media Inc. CBBC Production, Windmill Lane Studios, CBBC, BBC Television, BBC Worldwide Ltd. BBC Studios Ltd. And British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trolls The Beat Goes On! Belongs To Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Erica Rivinoja, Matthew Beans, Hannah Friedman, Sam Friedman, Digital emation, Inc. NE4U, Inc. DreamWorks Animation Television, DreamWorks Animation LLC, Universal Pictures, Universal City Studios LLC, NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, NBCUniversal Media Group, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Comcast Corporation And Netflix Inc.

The Loud House Belongs To Chris Savino, Jam Filled Entertainment, Boat Rocker Media Inc. Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Nickelodeon Productions, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Nickelodeon Group, Nickelodeon Networks Inc. Paramount Kids and Family Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Viacom International Inc. And Paramount Global

The Casagrandes Belongs To Chris Savino, Michael Rubiner, Miguel Puga, Jam Filled Entertainment, Boat Rocker Media Inc. Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Nickelodeon Productions, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Nickelodeon Group, Nickelodeon Networks Inc. Paramount Kids and Family Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Viacom International Inc. And Paramount Global

Magiki Belongs To Eryk Casemiro, Cyril Deydier, Pegbar Animation, Animasia Studio, Rainbow S.P.A. Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Paramount Global, DeAgostini Publishing Italy S.P.A. DeAgostini Editore S.P.A. DeAKids, DeA Junior, DeAgostini S.P.A. DeAPlaneta Kids And Family, DeAPlaneta Entertainment, Télé Images Productions, Zodiak Kids Studios France, Zodiak Kids & Family, Banijay Kids & Family, Banijay Entertainment S.A. Banijay Group N.V. Ketchup TV, KidsMe S.R.L. Gulli, TiJi, Metropole Télévision S.A. Groupe M6, Frisbee, Switchover Media, Discovery Italia S.R.L. Discovery Networks Italia, Discovery Networks EMEA, Discovery Networks International, Discovery, Inc. And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Amphibia Belongs To Matt Braly, Saerom Animation, Inc. Sunmin Image Pictures Co., Ltd. Sugarcube Animation Studio, Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. Disney Television Animation, Disney Channel, Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Inc. And The Walt Disney Company

Harvey Street Kids/Harvey Girls Forever! Belongs To Alfred Harvey, Emily Brundige, Dave Enterprises, Digital Emation, Inc. NE4U, Inc. The Harvey Entertainment Company, Classic Media, LLC, DreamWorks Classics, DreamWorks Animation Television, DreamWorks Animation LLC, Universal Pictures, Universal City Studios LLC, NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, NBCUniversal Media Group, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Comcast Corporation And Netflix Inc.

South Park Belongs To Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Bardel Entertainment, Inc. Titmouse Canada Animation Inc. Titmouse, Inc. Celluloid Studios, Braniff Productions, Parker-Stone Productions, South Park Studios, MTV Entertainment Studios, Comedy Central, Comedy Partners, MTV Entertainment Group, Paramount+, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Paramount Streaming And Paramount Global

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Belongs To Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Andy Suriano, Ant Ward, Digitoonz Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. Flying Bark Productions Pty. Ltd. Studio 100 N.V. Mirage Studios, Image Comics, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Nickelodeon Productions, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Nickelodeon Group, Nickelodeon Networks Inc. Paramount Kids and Family Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Viacom International Inc. And Paramount Global

Atomic Betty Belongs To Trevor Bentley, Mauro Casalese, Rob Davies, Olaf Miller, 2 Minutes Animation, Hong Guang Animation (Su Zhou), Caribara, Atomic Cartoons Inc. Thunderbird Entertainment Group Inc. Breakthrough Entertainment, Télé Images Kids, Télé Images Productions, Marathon Media, Marathon Animation, Marathon Productions, Marathon Media Group, Zodiak Kids, Zodiak Kids Studios France, Zodiak Kids & Family, Banijay Kids & Family, Banijay S.A. TELETOON, TELETOON Canada, Inc. Corus Entertainment Inc. M6 (TV channel), Metropole Télévision S.A. Groupe M6, TÉLÉTOON+, CANAL+ S.A. Groupe CANAL+ S.A. Vivendi SE, Phil Roman Entertainment, Breakthrough Distribution, Cartoon Network, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. WarnerMedia Entertainment, WarnerMedia Studios & Networks, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, AT&T Inc. The Hub, Hub Network, Discovery Family, Hasbro Entertainment, Hasbro, Inc. Discovery Networks U.S. Discovery Networks International, Discovery, Inc. And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

The Owl House Belongs To Dana Terrace, Sunmin Image Pictures Co., Ltd. Sugarcube Animation Studio, Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. Disney Television Animation, Disney Channel, Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Inc. And The Walt Disney Company

Sonic Prime Belongs To Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, Hirokazu Yasuhara, Joe Kelly, Joe Casey, Duncan Rouleau, Steven T. Seagle, Jam Filled Entertainment, Boat Rocker Media Inc. Flixzilla Aura, Sonic Team, SEGA of America, SEGA Corporation, SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc. Man of Action Entertainment, WildBrain Studios, WildBrain Ltd. Netflix Animation Studios, Netflix Worldwide Entertainment, LLC, And Netflix, Inc.

Cleopatra in Space (TV series) Belongs To Doug Langdale, Fitzy Fitzmaurice, Titmouse, Inc. Inspidea Sdn. Bhd. Digitoonz Media & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. DreamWorks Animation Television, DreamWorks Animation LLC, Hulu, LLC. Disney Streaming, Disney Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company, Universal Pictures, Universal City Studios LLC, NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, NBCUniversal Media Group, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, And Comcast Corporation

Avatar: The Last Airbender Belongs To Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, DR Movie Co., Ltd. JM Animation Co., Ltd. MOI Animation, Inc. Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Nickelodeon Productions, Nickelodeon, Paramount+ Nickelodeon Group, Nickelodeon Networks Inc. Paramount Kids and Family Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Viacom International Inc. Paramount Streaming, And Paramount Global

The Legend of Korra Belongs To Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, Studio Mir Co., Ltd. Pierrot Co., Ltd. Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Nickelodeon Productions, Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Group, Nickelodeon Networks Inc. Paramount Kids and Family Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Viacom International Inc. And Paramount Global

The Curse of Molly McGee/The Ghost and Molly McGee Belongs To Bill Motz, Bob Roth, Mercury Filmworks, Disney Television Animation, Disney Channel, Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Inc. And The Walt Disney Company

The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Belongs To Bruce W. Smith, Ralph Farquhar, Snipple Animation Studios, WildBrain Studios, WildBrain Ltd. Bar Productions, Disney Television Animation, Disney+, Disney Streaming, Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Inc. And The Walt Disney Company

Hazbin Hotel Belongs To Vivienne Medrano, Bento Box Animation, Princess Pictures, SpindleHorse Toons, Bento Box Entertainment, FOX Entertainment, FOX Corporation, A24 Television, A24 Films LLC, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios, Amazon Content Services, LLC, And Amazon, Inc.

Unikitty! Belongs To Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Ed Skudder, Lynn Wang, Renegade Animation, Snipple Animation Studios, Rideback, Lord Miller Productions, VERTIGO Entertainment, LEGO System A/S, Warner Bros. Animation Inc. Cartoon Network, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, HBO Max, WarnerMedia Direct, LLC. Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming and Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Star vs the Forces of Evil Belongs To Daron Nefcy, Mercury Filmworks Toon City Animation, Inc. Rough Draft Korea Co, Ltd. Sugarcube Animation, Disney Television Animation, Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Inc. And The Walt Disney Company

Rocko's Modern Life Belongs To Joe Murray, Animal-Ya, Klasky-Csupo, Inc. Pacific Rim Productions, Inc. Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. Wang Film Productions Co., Ltd. Sunwoo Entertainment, Co., Ltd. Shanghai Rainbow Animation Tama Production, Wang Film Productions Company, Joe Murray Productions Inc. Games Animation Inc. Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Nickelodeon, Nickelodeon Group, Nickelodeon Networks Inc. Paramount Kids and Family Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Viacom International Inc. And Paramount Global

Angry Birds: Summer Madness Belongs To Rob Doherty, Scott Sonneborn, Yowza! Animation, Kickstart Entertainment, CAKE Entertainment Ltd. Rovio Animation, Ltd. Rovio Entertainment Corporation, SEGA Corporation, SEGA Sammy Holdings Inc. Sony Pictures Television Studios, Sony Pictures Television Inc. Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. Sony Entertainment, Inc. Sony Corporation of America, Sony Group Corporation, And Netflix, Inc.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Belongs To Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder, Natacha Bustos, Jack Kirby, Steve Loter, Jeffrey M. Howard, Kate Kondell, Flying Bark Productions Pty. Ltd. Studio 100 N.V. Cinema Gypsy Productions, MARVEL Animation, Inc. MARVEL Television, MARVEL Studios, LLC, MARVEL Entertainment, LLC, Disney Television Animation, Disney Channel, Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Inc. And The Walt Disney Company

Family Guy Belongs To Seth MacFarlane, Digital eMation, Inc. Film Roman, LLC, CNK International, Grimsaem Animation Co. Ltd. Sunwoo Entertainment, Co., Ltd. Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. Rough Draft Studios, Inc. Toon Boom Animation Inc. Yeson Entertainment, Yearim Productions Co., Ltd. Fuzzy Door Productions, Inc. 20th Television Animation, 20th Television, Disney Television Studios, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Entertainment, FOX Broadcasting Company, FOX Entertainment, FOX Corporation, And The Walt Disney Company

Teen Titans Belongs To Bob Haney, Bruno Premiani, Glen Murakami, David Slack, Sam Register, MOI Animation Co., Ltd. Lotto Animation, Inc. DongWoo Animation Co. Ltd. DC Comics, Inc. DC Studios, DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation Inc. Kids' WB! The WB, The WB Television Network, Inc. Tribune Broadcasting Company, LLC. Tribune Media Company, Nexstar Media Group, Inc. Cartoon Network, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

My Life as a Teenage Robot Belongs To Rob Renzetti, Rough Draft Studios, Inc. Frederator Studios, Frederator Networks, Inc. WOW! Unlimited Media Inc. Kartoon Studios, Inc. Nelvana Limited, Corus Entertainment Inc. Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Nickelodeon Productions, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, Nickelodeon Group, Paramount Global Content Distribution, Paramount International Networks, Paramount Domestic Media Networks, Paramount Media Networks, Inc. Viacom International Inc. And Paramount Global

Ninjago Belongs To Thomas Sørensen, Tommy Andreasen, Thomas Kristensen, Simon Lucas, Nelson LaMonica, Menelaos Florides, William Stahl, Scott Godon-Decoteau, Maarten Simons, Michael Svane Knap, Toby Dutkiewicz, Brian Nielsen, Lars Danielsen, Tommy Kalmar, Cerim Manovi, Robert May, Heidi Rathschau Nielsen, Kevin Burke, Chris "Doc" Wyatt, LEGO System A/S, WILFilm ApS, WildBrain Studios, WildBrain Ltd. Cartoon Network, The Cartoon Network, Inc. Warner Bros. Discovery Networks, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, Warner Bros. Television Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Lego Monkie Kid Belongs To Simon Lucas, LEGO System A/S, Flying Bark Productions Pty. Ltd. Studio 100 N.V. WildBrain Studios, WildBrain Ltd. Tencent Video, Tencent Holdings Ltd. Youku Tudou Inc. Alibaba Group Holding Limited, iQIYI, Baidu, Inc. 9Go! Nine Network, Nine Entertainment Co. Holdings Limited, Cartoon Network (Australia & New Zealand), Discovery NZ Limited, Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific, Turner Broadcasting System International, WarnerMedia International, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight Belongs To Mitch Watson, Peter Hastings, Technicolor Animation Productions, Mikros Animation, Dave Enterprises, Stellar Creative Labs, 88 Pictures, DreamWorks Animation Television, DreamWorks Animation LLC, Universal Pictures, Universal City Studios LLC, NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, NBCUniversal Media Group, NBCUniversal Media, LLC, Comcast Corporation And Netflix Inc.

Hailey's On It! Belongs To Devin Bunje, Nick Stanton, Saerom Animation, Inc. Rough Draft Korea Co., Ltd. Disney Television Animation, Disney Channel, Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, Disney Enterprises, Inc. And The Walt Disney Company

Bravest Warriors Belongs To Pendleton Ward, Breehn Burns, Will McRobb, Chris Viscardi, Portfolio Animation, Portfolio Entertainment Inc. 9 Story Media Group Inc. Frederator Studios, Frederator Networks, Inc. WOW! Unlimited Media Inc. Kartoon Studios, Inc. Nelvana Limited, Corus Entertainment Inc. YouTube Studio, YouTube, Google LLC, Alphabet Inc. TELETOON, TELETOON Canada, Inc. VRV, Crunchyroll, LLC, Aniplex, Inc. Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. Sony Group Corporation, Disney XD (Canada), Disney Branded Television, Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, Disney General Entertainment Content, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Disney Entertainment, The Walt Disney Company Cartoon Network (Japan), Discovery Japan, Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific, WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks Asia Pacific, Turner Broadcasting System International, WarnerMedia International, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. WarnerMedia, And Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

[film-classics]

Claudette Colbert - The Perfect Star

Claudette Colbert (born Émilie Chauchoin in in Saint-Mandé, France on September 13, 1903) was a French-American actress who became one of the few major actresses during the Golden Age of Hollywood who worked freelance, independent of the studio system. With her impeccable makeup, trademark bangs, and stunning legs, she became known as "The Perfect Star" during her heyday.

At three years old, Colbert emigrated to Manhattan in order for her parents to pursue more employment opportunities. She studied at Washington Irving High School, which was known for its strong arts program and made her stage debut at the historic Provincetown Playhouse. Intending to become a fashion designer, she attended the Art Students League of New York. While studying, she appeared on the Broadway stage in a small role in The Wild Westcotts (1923).

After appearing in plays in Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, and Connecticut and the London's West End, producer Leland Hayward casted her in her first film role in 1927. The following year, she signed with Paramount Pictures, where she made films in both French and English.

Colbert's career was boosted when she played the supporting role as a femme fatale in Cecil B. DeMille's historical epic The Sign of the Cross (1932). In 1933, Colbert renegotiated her contract to allow her to appear in films for other studios. This resulted in her most memorable movie, the screwball comedy Columbia Pictures' It Happened One Night (1934), which won her Academy Award for Best Actress.

In 1936, Colbert signed a new contract with Paramount, making her one of Hollywood's highest-paid actress. Colbert spent the rest of the 1930s alternating between romantic comedies and dramas. Still, she found time to volunteer with the Red Cross and participate in the Hollywood Victory Caravan during WWII.

In 1940, Colbert was offered a new contract with Paramount; she declined and continued to work as a freelance artist, securing roles in several prestigious films and television broadcasts in her later years, even winning a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Series in 1988. Colbert also intermittently appeared in Broadway productions, most notable in The Marriage-Go-Round, for which she was nominated for a Best Actress Tony Award.

After retiring from acting in 1987, Colbert divided her time between her Manhattan apartment and her 18th century beachfront home in Speightstown, Barbados, nicknamed Bellerive, where she passed away at 92 years of age after suffering from a series of strokes during the last three years of her life.

Legacy:

Won the Academy Award for Best Actress for It Happened One Night (1934) and nominated two more times: Private Worlds (1935) and Since You Went Away (1944)

Is the only actress to date to star in three films nominated for Best Motion Picture in the same year: It Happened One Night (1934), Cleopatra (1934), and Imitation of Life (1934)

Won the Photoplay Awards - Best Performances of the Month in 1933 and 1943

Won the 1951 Golden Laurel for Top Female Dramatic Performance for Three Came Home (1950)

Nominated for the Tony Award Best Actress for The Marriage-Go-Round in 1959

Listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America’s top-10 box office draws in 1935, 1936, and 1947

Was Hollywood's highest-paid actress in 1936 and 1938

Named the 14th top money-making woman in the US in 1937 and the 6th in 1938

Won the Sarah Siddons Award in 1982 for The Kingfisher

Received the Film Society of Lincoln Center Lifetime Achievement Award in 1984

Won the Drama Desk Special Award in 1985 for Aren't We All

Received of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor by the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation in 1986

Won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series and was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1987)

Was the recipient of the 1989 Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award

Presented with the Donostia Award at the 1990 San Sebastián International Film Festival

Named the 12th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema in 1999 by the American Film Institute

Inducted in the Online Film & Television Association Hall of Fame in 2010

Honored as Turner Classic Movies Star of the Month for June 2021

Hosted a number VIPs at her sprawling oceanfront Barbados vacation home, including President Ronald Regan and First Lady Nancy Regan, Frank Sinatra, Mia Farrow, Princess Margaret, W. Averell and Pamela Harriman, John and Drue Heinz, Bill and Babe Paley, and Slim Keith

Bequeathed $100,000 in trust to UCLA Medical Center

Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6812 Hollywood Boulevard for motion picture

[dweemeister]

By Josh Rottenberg

July 9, 2024

(Los Angeles Times) — Legend has it that the iconic star-crested mountain logo of Paramount Pictures was born in 1914 from a simple napkin doodle by co-founder W.W. Hodkinson, inspired by his childhood memories of the majestic peaks in Utah. The fledgling company’s name, the story goes, was taken from a sign on the side of an apartment building. From such humble origins, the oldest film studio in Hollywood would come to be known as the Mountain.

In recent years, this once-grand peak has seen more than its share of erosion, as Paramount has fallen behind its studio rivals and struggled to adapt to the advent of streaming. Still, with a historic lot in the heart of Los Angeles and a stable of hit franchises, including “Mission: Impossible,” “Transformers” and “Star Trek,” the Mountain remains a vital piece of Hollywood real estate worth billions, part of a media empire that also includes CBS and such cable networks as MTV and Nickelodeon. In an era of increasing consolidation, the question was not so much whether Paramount would be sold but when and to whom.

With the newly announced acquisition of Shari Redstone’s holding company National Amusements Inc. by tech scion David Ellison‘s Skydance Media in a $8.4-billion deal, the Mountain is coming under new management. Now, Paramount Pictures will embark on the next chapter in its storied history at a time of deep existential anxiety and uncertainty for the movie business as a whole.

“Given the changes in the industry, we want to fortify Paramount for the future while ensuring that content remains king,” Redstone, chair of Paramount Global and chief executive of National Amusements, said in a statement announcing the deal Sunday. “Our hope is that the Skydance transaction will enable Paramount’s continued success in this rapidly changing environment.”

* * *

Opinion from yours truly: "Content remains king." Empty corporate speak, most likely. Most of the conversation has been surrounding on how Paramount can double down on franchises (I love Star Trek and soccer, but having Trek and soccer be the backbone for a streaming service you hope to rival Netflix and others is just asking for disaster) rather than create anything original.

Nevertheless, this was a far better outcome — Paramount's financial straits were such that someone needed to buy it out — than the alternative (Sony purchasing Paramount). The Skydance purchase of Paramount ensures audiences and creatives in Hollywood don't lose a major American studio, another outlet to take creative talents to. If Sony (which owns Columbia) had purchased Paramount, it would have been a similar situation to Disney's purchase of Fox. In that scenario, Paramount would almost certainly lose its major movie studio status, face devastating layoffs (far more than what is likely heading Paramount's way very soon), and would become subordinate to Columbia within the same corporate family.