#which isn’t really relevant here but it’s so funny because strictly speaking this is not allowed but they just did it

[ineffabeatlemindpalace]

Today’s shift having been the last before the new year was… interesting.

[inventors-fair]

Building Around Them: Named Common Winners ~

Congratulations to @bread-into-toast​, @genericaura​, and @spooky-bard​ for winning this week’s contest!

@bread-into-toast​ — Mighty Puffbonder

There might be a list of “creatures we feel bad casting a removal spell on” somewhere out there, and congrats, you’ve added another one. Checking Ikoria, there actually aren’t a whole lot of creatures that would be affected by this, since unlike Zirda, you have to control the creatures; but this isn’t really a card made strictly for deck smoothness and there could be a lot more on a return to Ikoria that could interact with it, so heck, there you do. Frankly, I think that you could have even put the Brushwagg onto the battlefield! But I get ahead of myself.

This card was made for a greater environment around it and at the same time affects limited in a fun, playable way. You get the kid a Brushwagg, then you pump the Brushwagg, then you give the mouse a cookie, or something like that. Boom, totally works! There might be an incredible amount of Brushwaggs going around, and with an R/G trample build, there’s lots more to consider than just funny-creature-go-brr. I think this card’s cute, great, good for limited, fun to play with in constructed, and really speaks to me.

@genericaura​ — Breadmancer’s Oven

I think all the pieces of this come together quite well, like a recipe for gingerbread, minus the animation. I’ll also start off with the fact that until now, I didn’t notice the wording bump, so just FYI, after searching for Gingerbrute, the text should read: “...a card named Gingerbrute, put it into your hand, then shuffle.” Commas and all. But considering that Gingerbrute is—well, actually a good card, this card just becomes that much better. The name could use some work, but I’m really enthralled with the mechanics and feelings moreso. Hence why it’s here.

Hasty payoffs, for one, are awesome, and the last trigger is really funny to me in limited but also plays off of the Food aspect well. You eat a magical pie, and there you go, you have the energy to go out into battle! That alone from a mechanical perspective makes food relevant in other cases outside the BG archetype, where maybe it didn’t see much support, but it doesn’t have to, because you’re also playing off of other life-gain questions. This card has nothing to do with its limited archetypes and frankly I think that’s fine. It would never happen as long as Knights need a niche, but sooooo whaaaat. It’s FUN. Swinging in with a nigh-unblockable 3/1 Gingerbrute is also fun but in a way that’s only fun for you. Which counts.

@spooky-bard​ — Gnarl Haunt

What IS tapping at the window. It’s ya boy, the monstrosity! This card is elegant in a number of ways. The searching for the flashback, the minor deck-thinning that leads to searching that leads to graveyard-filling, the defensive capabilities if you play this untapped in the late-game to get a creature off of it afterwards then hold back a blocker—you get the idea. Really darn good. Most people aren’t going to snap up the Taps, but if you can get one of these or somehow two, it makes Tapping at the Window that much better.

Yeah, no, it’s just a great uncommon! The name’s fantastic, too. It’s self-evident that the other side of the window tells all the story that you need to tell, right? Innistrad’s tree spirits may just be trees to some, but this one’s ready for vengeance. I’m trying to find a way to flavorfully justify the deathtouch, but I guess it’s just the fact that once things get haunted, it gets deadlier, maybe. It doesn’t really need that justification, who am I kidding. The card’s just plain nice as it stands and that’s what matters. Clearly you understand what makes these limited interactions fun. Oh! Ha, imagine if a new player opens a booster, they see the Tapping, and then they see this and have the moment of “Lol I knew it wasn’t just a tree.” Pretty great stuff.

Runners soonish, commentary later! Congrats again, folks. @abelzumi​

[semper-legens]

21. The Queen of the Damned, by Anne Rice

Owned: No, library Page count: 506 My summary: The Vampire Lestat issued his summons, and oh, the vampires came. And one by one, they fell, at the hands of the Queen of the Damned. Akasha is awake, and the dark powers of the vampire are swirling around the world. But the Vampire Lestat and his loved ones must stop her, before she rules the worlds of the living and the dead... My rating: 3/5 My commentary:

Okay. So. This is probably going to be the last Interview with the Vampire book I read, because this just got batshit in a way that isn’t personally fun for me to read. I did ultimately enjoy the book overall, but I don’t really have an interest in carrying on with them. This doesn’t really have the Gothic horror vibe of the earlier two books, it’s more of a neopagan witchy thing going on. Which is in fairness also my jam, but...eh. Wasn’t really into it. It was a bit of a slog to get through, if I’m entirely honest.

One thing I’m learning about these books is that they’re 90% exposition and backstory. There’s not a whole lot of forward motion - the entire first section is dedicated to what other people were doing when Lestat was at his concert in the last book. Oh yeah, we get other people’s POVs here. Lestat opens this in his usual I-have-no-idea-if-this-is-intentionally-funny way, admits he needs a broader scope for this one, and introduces other third-person narrators. Which is interesting, and honestly felt a bit strange, given the previous books’ first person interview structure. It wasn’t bad, it was just...different.

And then there’s the aforementioned weird neopagan stuff. So, the Big Good of the book, Maharet, is basically a classic Celtic neopagan imagining of a pre-Roman witch. Red hair, green eyes, witchy powers. Except...Maharet is apparently from somewhere in the Middle East? She mentions being near Jericho and Ninevah. But she and her sister are ambiguously described as white, and so it seems are the Ancient Egyptians who become the first vampires - Akasha, Enkil, and Khayman. Who are evil, or at least morally ambiguous. It seems that your skin whitening and becoming more like stone over time is a vampire thing? This whole thing rubbed me up the wrong way, if I’m honest. It had this racial overtone that was uncomfortable, not helped by the fact that there’s like one dark-skinned black vampire mentioned, and one who’s not all that relevant to the plot. It was also a departure from the strictly-vampire mythos of the earlier books, adding spirits and ghosts and magic and psychic dreams. Which...isn’t really what I wanted from my vampire book, if I’m honest.

But yeah, these books are kind of full-on, and I’m getting a little sick of the heightened prose and dialogue prevalent throughout. Everyone speaks in the same flowery, stilted prose that gets kind of boring after a while. It’s very wordy, there’s a lot being said and not strictly a lot happening. I just...zoned out after a while. So, yeah, not carrying on with this. But it’s been a good rice, Anne Rice! I can see why people are insane about these books for sure.

Next up...I am so sorry.

[thespoonisvictory]

would love to hear your opinion on the future of the dteam career wise!

ok, this is going to get a bit critical at times (not too bad just my honest opinion), so read at your own risk bc I know some people don't like career speculation

first of all, the dteam isn't going anywhere for a hot minute. regardless of what I say here. this is all theoretical, years-down-the-line, nonsense rambling.

second of all, this probably isn't gonna be accurate lmao. this is just a guess based off what I've watched and seen, but people are unpredicatable.

third of all, this is kind of with the assumption that the dteam doesn't stick strictly together for all content and more analyzes them individually. not saying they're gonna stop being friends lmao

anyway.

sapnap immediately strikes me as the least sustainable content creator out of the three, sorry bb. he's struck me as someone who kind of stumbled into fame, is happy to ride it out, but hasn't really established a brand that's going to last. he doesn't have an identity out of the fandom like dream and even george do, nor has he really branched out and built friendships that are as marketable. yeah, there's karlnap, but that doesn't hold a candle to the marketability of dnf or even georgebur /p at this point. he has the feral boys, but they don't stream or make content consistently enough to really count. sapnap hasn't really innovated or made new content unlike others, and I think he's fine with that, but it doesn't bode well for when the dteam just as itself doesn't pull in as many viewers.

his failed attempt at rebranding and clear interest in games like csgo over minecraft show that his 'stan' audience isn't really compatible with the content he wants to make. when minecraft inevitably goes through a dip again, I think he's gonna dip with that. long term, he'll probably just be a chill smaller csgo-esque streamer, but that's a while off.

george immediately strikes me as the most sustainable cc. people just- really like him, because he's a likable guy lmao. he's bland enough to be really palatable and marketable for pretty much everyone (not a bad thing), but has enough personality and charm that people stick around. he's surprisingly funny, with a dry sense of humor, and does well in social situations as long as he's not being yelled over (@ feral boys)

not only that, but george is also branching out in his own content stuff in that his solo streams have been equally as well received. as shown by like every interaction with sbi and co, he has an amazing dynamic with them that I actually prefer to the dteam a lot of the time. he has a naturally good sense of humor that’s only improved with the time, and doesn’t rely on a game nearly as much.

dream... is a wildcard. obviously he’s gonna be able to retain popularity for a longggg time with that many young subscribers and viewers, so this is more about his relevancy.

first of all, if he’s gonna last, mans needs to stop getting himself involved in controversies. stop venting on the internet, stop responding to haters with no credibility, and stop employing teenagers for god’s sake. tommy is pulling more twitch viewers than him at this point and hasn’t had a tenth of his controversies; it’s not inherent to large creators to have this many problems.

also, he needs to stop relying on minecraft, or at least this avenue of minecraft. manhunt is already starting to dry out, as entertaining as it is, and dream hasn’t lined up anything new in its place, despite his efforts with stuff like the one where he just has to outlast. his reputation as one of The Best is also quickly fading as speedrunning drama has tarnished his reputation, and his mcc stats don’t hold a candle to people like pete. he needs a new niche, and I don’t know where he’s gonna get that from.

irl content is an obvious avenue, but unless he feels like face revealing anytime soon that’s pretty much done.

however.

dream, if nothing else, is innovative and calculating. he got popular so fast for a reason, he’s basically a picture perfect cc in terms of drive, personality, and editing. speaking of which, his editing is interesting enough that he can elevate most content with it tbh. essentially, he’s incredibly talented, and I think so long as something else doesn’t strike him down he’ll probably figure something out.

tl;dr: george is the fan favorite for finding success after the dteam dies down, but dream is innovative enough that I trust him to figure something out. sapnap’s lowkey screwed lmao

(send thoughts on this if you want)

[commentaryvorg]

If you could change anything from Kaito's character arc in V3, what would you change?

Honestly? The short answer is nothing.

Kaito's character arc is fantastically crafted. There are so many tiny, seemingly-innocuous lines and moments that actually serve a vital purpose in either showing us what's going on in Kaito's head despite him never talking about it, or in pushing his arc along further, all of which I had so much fun talking about throughout the commentary. Granted, a lot of it is subtle and difficult to spot - but then it should be, considering how much Kaito tries to hide his issues. When you look for it, though, it is very deliberately there and not meaninglessly ambiguous at all. There's not a single part of Kaito's arc where I'm thinking “this was written badly”; even his phobia, as much as I'm sad that it gives Kaito less screentime and less being-himself in chapter 3, serves multiple purposes for the story and for Kaito's arc. Kaito's writers are the best and I adore how much care and attention they put into writing him.

I've seen a fair few people, presumably fans of Kaito, say “Kaito deserved better”, and... they're wrong. Well, unless they mean it in a purely in-universe sense, in which case of course he did, but then so did everyone, that's kind of the point. But if they mean it in an out-universe sense, in that they think Kaito deserved a better story for how good of a character he is? No! Kaito's story is amazing. He is the best-written character in this game and got absolutely everything he deserved, narratively speaking. I genuinely believe this with all of my heart. If other people don't see it, then they aren't looking hard enough - which is understandable, but also a shame when those people are fans of Kaito who presumably want to enjoy his story as much as they can. I just want to take all of these people and show them my commentary so that they can realise just how good Kaito's arc really is and love him even more like he deserves. (And I am endlessly thrilled that the commentary does seem to have had that kind of effect on some people!)

Obviously I would also love to see a story in which Kaito learns that it's okay to show weakness to his sidekicks, completely untangles his horrendous double-standard for heroes and begins to have healthy, mutually-supportive relationships with his friends. But... that was never this story. This is a story in which Kaito's messed-up view of what it means to be a hero literally gets him killed while all but destroying his sense of self-worth in the process, yet he still manages to keep fighting and make at least some kind of difference for his friends anyway, because he still is a hero despite what he might believe about himself. And that's also a fantastic story to tell!

It's kind of like something I've also considered about Ryoma. It would have been quite possible to tell a story in which Ryoma overcomes his issues and finds a reason to live and survives, and I'd have loved a story like that with him, because Ryoma is great and deserves to be happy. But the story of how he didn't manage to overcome his issues and tragically died because of them is also a compelling story that it's possible to tell with Ryoma's character - and, well, someone had to be chapter 2's victim. With characters as ripe with potential as Kaito, or Ryoma, or really any complex and well-written character in anything, there's so many different and equally compelling stories that could be told with them. But you can't tell all of those stories at once, and that's okay.

(That's why it's great that we have fanwork, to explore all of those other possible stories that couldn't be told in canon!)

With all that said, since this is about Kaito, you know I don't want to just leave it at the (very elaborated-upon) short answer. So here's a few things I thought of anyway that I might want to change if I could - all of which are really very minor nitpicks that barely matter in the grand scheme of things.

The absolute first thing I'd do is remove those four-ish lines in which Kaito is vaguely sexist in a way that is provably out-of-character for him. Gone. Expunged. Never there. Suddenly, magically, there is no longer a portion of the fandom that believes that Kaito is supposed to be sexist, and we literally only changed like four lines of his dialogue. Funny, that.

I'd also want to slightly change the parts where Kaito freaks out in a too-extreme way over ghosts once his phobia's been revealed. Not only is it not really quite in character for him to overreact that badly when he'd be doing his best to hide it, it also comes across like Kaito's phobia is being played for comedy. Which it shouldn’t be. He is literally mentally ill; that's not a joke.

These are the only two aspects of the way in which Kaito's written that I find actively bad in any appreciable way. And, yeah, they're really minor things that don't have anything to do with his actual character arc. That's kind of my point here!

...Though, admittedly, the part where Maki punches Kaito after he clings to her during his phobia-overreaction does actually play a small role in his character arc in that it seems to shift him into beginning to freak out more about his physical illness instead. Hm. Not sure what I'd do about that.

In terms of things I might change that are more meaningful and relevant to Kaito's arc, as I've said, there's really nothing that's actively bad at all. Rather, we're just getting into things where I'd maybe want to add a little bit more on top of what's already there.

Kokichi Doing The Thing in trial 4 - aka, repeatedly heaping insincere praise onto Shuichi in what's really a transparent attempt to jab at Kaito's jealousy and inferiority complex - should have continued for longer than it did instead of being weirdly confined to one specific quarter of the trial. There are plenty of moments after that that would have been perfectly good opportunities for it! And yes, this is absolutely part of Kaito's arc, shush. Not that this would have significantly affected how Kaito would respond or make his breakdown any more spectacular than it already was, mind you, because Kokichi's jabs at Kaito were not nearly as important as Kokichi wanted them to be.

Then there's the part in chapter 5 where, after being kidnapped and offscreen for a while, Kaito has evidently become okay with Shuichi being more of a hero than him and can just be openly proud of him again. There's no specific evidence indicating why this happened, even though it's a pretty important shift for Kaito. This was the only part of Kaito's arc that I speculated about in the commentary without having anything concrete to back up what I think went on there. So if possible, I'd like to add some hints at that.

...That's easier said than done, though, since Kaito gets so little screentime at this point in the story for unavoidable plot reasons, is still not willing to directly talk about his issues, and was never even really consciously aware of his toxic double-standard for heroes that was the root of this whole problem that he's finally begun to fix. It's entirely possible that this is something the writers already wanted to hint at more than they did, but they just couldn't find a way to plausibly do so in that situation. This also still wouldn't be me changing anything about Kaito's arc, just making part of it a bit more easy to notice and figure out.

Lastly - though this isn't even strictly part of Kaito's arc - I'd love to have Shuichi acknowledge more than he does that Kaito had been suffering, and for him to reflect on that and wish that Kaito hadn't been so selfless (just like he did at one point with Kaede!). Obviously I wouldn't want to make him more aware of it for most of Kaito being alive, because that'd change too much and because Shuichi's obliviousness is part of the excruciating tragedy of it all. But after hearing at the end that Kaito really was sick and dying all along, and that Kaito was jealous of him, Shuichi should have been able to recognise at least some of Kaito's vulnerability in hindsight. Having some reflection on that at the end of chapter 5 or at some point during chapter 6 would be lovely to underline and draw attention to what Kaito's story was really about from Kaito's perspective. It might even prompt more of the fandom to actually realise this and notice what an amazing arc Kaito had, which sure would be nice.

...In fact, there's a very small window of time in which Shuichi could have plausibly acknowledged this kind of thing a little more than he did while Kaito was still alive to hear it and potentially benefit from it. So, actually, now that I think of it: the one change I'd make that'd have any real impact on Kaito's arc at all? It'd be this.

[ill-be-istj-if-no-one-else-is]

typing help needed: i get rly obsessed with things & have to know everything abt them (astrology, cats, certain fictional characters, etc) & constantly bring them up in conversations. speaking of which, i only really initiate conversations when there’s something specific i want to talk about; i don’t talk to people just for talking’s sake. i’m ambivalent about spending time w ppl. i could go months w/o seeing ppl as long as i could text them & most people are boring to me anyway, but there are types of ppl whose company i never get tired of. i love being around funny, ambitious & intelligent ppl who tell it like it is. really emotional & soft ppl annoy me. stupid ppl annoy me but also amuse me. what annoys me most is when ppl waste my time (n i lowkey feel guilty abt this ask bc it’s so long & unorganized i’m sorry i tried). i’m constantly tempted to prank people/provoke fights but i’m scared of getting in trouble. academic & financial success are extremely important to me. i’ll sacrifice anything for straight As. i put 100% effort into everything i do as long as i’m interested in it (chores? hell no.) but lose steam quickly and slack off when a project is near completed. still, i do whatever i need to to outperform my classmates. the thought of working a 9-5 office job fills me with unimaginable dread because i hate rigid schedules & having to see the same boring people/place every single day. i want to write/draw for a living and/or be a professor, don’t rly have a plan tho i just take opportunities as they come. i live to entertain. i love wearing weird/flashy clothes that attract attention. i’m “the funny one” and “the creative one” in my friend group. i’m an open book in that i’ll answer p much any question honestly. but the intimacy of romantic relationships is hard for me. i hate feeling vulnerable and i’m terrified of rejection. i’ve never confessed romantic feelings to anyone, but i’ll do crazy things for “love.” i got myself a full ride scholarship to a private high school just because someone i liked was going to go there & then did the same thing for a different person for college. i’m confident & insecure at the same time, like i know i’m smart & capable but i worry that other people won’t see that. i have terrible fomo and i feel like i’m losing a race against everyone else my age. i’m pretty opinionated when it comes to politics & v vocal when i disagree w someone unless they have power over me in which case i bitch about them behind their back. i love a good fight but tap out when people refuse to listen to reason. i have over 20000 accounts blocked on twitter. i wish ppl were less sensitive bc i hate trying not to make them upset. i don’t want to make them upset but i hate that i have to act fake nice in order to do that. it happens a lot in my classes when we critique e/o’s work like i have nothing positive to say to u i’m sorry. i’m a deeply angry person but i try to hide it bc despite wanting to not care abt what people think of me i often do & i’m scared they’d hate the real me. anyway i think i’m an NP but no idea about the other 2 letters & enneagram i have no clue i feel like i don’t fit neatly into any of them. thanks in advance for reading all this hogwash !

okay before I read this...how are you getting around the character limit per ask? I’ve seen this a couple times but very inconsistently but anyway I might need to reframe my ask limit as a character limit (which this is technically under although I can’t believe I’m saying this, but much as I hate copying and pasting each part of 7 asks at least that method has paragraph breaks).

Anyway, ESTP, enneagram 3.

- a lot of the “I wish I could be more chaotic but I’m worried about getting in trouble or being seen as less than impressive” stuff here is very in line with how an Ne or Se-dom 3 acts

- hating routine, grabbing opportunities effectively but for impulsive reasons, and putting effort in based solely on interest or succeeding against certain metrics (rather than say, general obligations) are all very Ne or Se dom as well

- the specific examples you gave of seizing opportunities, the fact that you gave specific examples in the first place (this is a good thing; a lot of questions I get have me like....concrete examples? spare a concrete example for the sensor?), the 3-ness of it all, and the fomo all sound far more like high Se than high Ne to me. The focus on external metrics and the weird flashy clothes also have me thinking high Se.

- the caring to the degree you do about other people and their opinions of you is definitely part of 3 (especially since a lot of it is about not getting into trouble or having good grades) but also pretty clearly the Ti-Fe axis; this isn’t strictly being impressive via competence the way many Te-doms do it, but through interpersonal tracks as well.

- the part about arguments is 100% high Ti. I have no idea how you blocked so many people on twitter or why and frankly I’m not sure how that’s relevant, but one of the greatest hallmarks of high Ti and especially aux Ti (it’s the extroversion) is loving arguments and even starting them but the second someone else doesn’t engage with the rules (which can be valid, like being reasonable, but can also include the other person pointing out this is legitimately a matter of opinion) leaving or getting frustrated or doubling down in weird ways.

[disfordevineaux]

Chase x Julia (Chasulia) Headcanons

Part 1

Requested by @mimeless​ & @cyborglovesong​

Height difference. Enough said. 5′11 vs 5′2

Chase will do something, impulsive, against Julia’s wishes which will cause them both to get into trouble by Chief. Julia is already in lukewarm water with Chief (let's not even get into Chase’s stance with Chief, he’s basically just a tool to her at this point let’s be frank) and is devastated by this: ‘I’m not angry, just disappointed’ lecture they will both receive.

Following this will be the moment she does ‘snap’. It will be a cataclysmic event in which Chase is thrown down a flight of stairs breaking every bone in his body, metaphorically speaking of course. He will be put in his place and forced to stay there and reflect on his actions. The dynamic is forever changed, Julia has asserted her dominance as the bigger brain and it has terrified Chase.

Chase does take the time to officially apologise for his previous transgressions in a formal way. During the time before, he briefly touched on the notion of his wrongfulness towards her character but never completely said ‘I’m sorry’. He would sometimes trickle in a ‘well, you know I’m wrong so-’ or an ‘I guess you were correct all along-’ here and there. Her forgiveness (but insisting that she will not forget) soon weighs upon his good conscious and good-natured soul and devises up a script of repent he will definitely butcher upon presentation. Julia will be touched simply by the effort he put into trying to do the right thing and mend things as he bumbles it and makes sure he is aware of her appreciation and acceptance of his apology. On conditions.

Once Julia officially takes the lead in their partnership, people often mistake Chase for her assistant and or bodyguard because of how he is now forced to step back from the situation and mill about, shadowing her.

Julia begins to match Chase at his own ‘sass’ game and starts peppering in quick quips whenever she can. At first, they aren’t always the best but with enough practise and dedication, she is incredibly good at taking a jab at him.

Chase is very good at giving Julia compliments riddled with unintentional insults - a Complisult, Part insult, part compliment. Reference: Britta from Community.

‘‘You should stop taking slander from people Miss Argent, you deserve better than disrespect from those below you. Someone as ‘self-declared’ intelligent as you should be able to come up with something witty in the moment. You can practise on me if you need. I have thick skin.’‘

Chase does not have thick skin.

Julia will comprise a list of things Chase must and mustn't do for them to be able to work together without complications and for his own safety. All copies are laminated (waterproof) and she even made a mini one for his wallet. The main point on the list he will attempt to revoke will be: ‘Chase shall not drive any ACME vehicles unless given express permission from Julia Argent.’

Chase will always hold the umbrella between them when they need to share one on a rainy day because he always forgets to bring his own. He tells Julia that she should walk a little faster when he holds it above them both and Julia retorts that he should simply walk slower, as it’s not like he ever has anywhere important to go, being him.

Chase unintentionally memorized Julia’s coffee order, hot and cold. He insists it’s because she always makes him go and get it but that is only a small contributing factor.

On that note, Chase will sometimes volunteer or suggest to get her a coffee, even when he doesn't want one himself. He just sometimes feels like being nice, only to Julia because she always is nice back.

Chase becomes oddly willing to share his food with Julia or even go get her food and make sure she’s happy with it. He is the one who will send the food back at a restaurant if it wasn’t what she asked for. He tells her that life is too short and pain-ridden for settling for subpar food and that he is happy to make sure she is free from that.

They both agree that marriage is completely overrated. Chase insists it’s a financial scam used by the property market and bank organisations to force money stricken couples into overspending and gathering unneeded debt to commit to the social norms of companionship, as well as the source of overpopulation. Julia sees marriage more of a poor means of expressing one's true love but can see where Chase is coming from. Chase insists it’s a money-laundering scheme set up by patriarchal ideals no longer relevant in society and that it has nothing to do with love, just money.

Long stakeouts often consist of simple conversational fillers that turn into a critical analysis of the society and the poor way it operates, in Chase’s opinion. Julia just enjoys the stimulating, rather educated conversation, even if he often unravels once Julia puts her very unerring 2 cents in about how the world isn’t all bad.

Julia is far too nice in Chase’s opinion. Especially in regards to him. He will often state how if he was her, he would have been much harsher to himself. Julia finds this self-reflection a welcomed sign and in a moment of teasing, she then comments that he’s right and that she will be much harsher and unforgiving to him from now on. This wasn’t the desired outcome Chase was hoping for and ultimately regrets ever saying something.

Chase will fight anyone who disrespects Julia even to a minute degree. He jokes, in an unusual way to outsiders that insulting Julia is ‘his and only his job.’ that it is a ‘privilege, not a right’. At first, Julia didn’t find this funny but after an uncomfortable interaction with a slightly sexist and condescending governmental man, witnessing Chase sucker punch him right in the face in broad daylight allowed her to fully understand and appreciate the point Chase was cryptically trying to convey in a really bad way.

Julia insists that she can fight her own battles, like a functional adult. Chase says that he never said she couldn’t, that throwing that hot coffee over the rude officer and shoving the snobby personal assistant who said Julia looked like a knock off career barbie doll into the lobby ornamental fish pond was strictly based upon personal previous gripes with said individual.

When given the chance to relax and not feel like he is being rivalled, (why does he feel this way? Toxic masculinity forced upon him throughout his entire childhood he still can’t seem to shake or get away from, that’s what) Chase is endearing with his loyalty. It’s the best way he can show affection, romantical and non-romantical.

After screaming it far too many times, Chase has been banned from saying ‘LA FEMME ROUGE’ ever again and Julia stipulated that if he even murmurs it in his sleep she will take legal action against him for every penny he has. Chase at first took this with a grain of salt and yelled it as loud as he could laughing in defiance as she grimaced. The next day, Chase had a young man ask if he was in fact, ‘Chase Devineaux’ while waiting in line for coffee. Once he said yes, all the man said was say; ‘you’ve been served’ and handed him a formal document to say he is being sued by Julia Argent. Whom had, overnight, copyrighted the saying: ‘La Femme Rouge’ and is formally suing him for unlawful use of her saying in a public space. Chase no longer questions Julia’s intentions from this day forward and is equally terrified and in awe of her follow-through.

Julia has also banned Chase from using puns or wordplay in lieu of Carmen Sandiego’s name. With the previous threat having substance he does not test it. Chase still tells Julia for someone whose passion is history and literature, she lacks the theatrical flair that comes with it and thought someone like her would appreciate the wordplay, especially when it comes from someone whose first language isn’t English.

It’s safe to say that Chase becomes additionally thoughtful in his actions, more so because he doesn’t want to upset Julia by making an easily avoidable mistake. He wasn’t completely devoid of forethought, he just didn’t take time out for it, now he does.

There weren’t many instances before where Chase smiled, not being a cocky smirk. His genuine small smile is a welcomed thing they both enjoy at the right time.

It doesn’t take Julia very long to figure out that mints were a substitute for his cigarette addiction he later tells her is a ‘European thing’ when really it’s something he started doing at 14 to 1) look cool and 2) because he liked it. Now it mainly quells the stress that pools inside him. It started out with more mints and no cigarettes, then slowly adapted to all cigarettes and no mints. She makes an effort to always have some with her so he doesn't smoke as when he does because his clothes reek and also because it’s incredibly unhealthy. It’s especially apparent when they are in close quarters for days on end. Julia comments on how diligent he is on his appearance and insists that smell is a part of that too. Chase tries to deflect the awkwardness of Julia’s care and comments: ‘’Didn’t know you were so focused on my looks Miss Argent, I’m flattered.’’ Although, this comment immediately backfires as Chase found that this just made himself feel horribly more awkward with what it may imply.

Julia never thought or expected that Chase could talk with a hushed voice or even in a warm tone about normal things. Seeing him casually, sitting comfortably slouched as if relaxed in his car seat is humbling, comforting and humanising. It reminds her that he is, in fact, just another person trying to do their best at whatever they can.

Chase slowly comes to expect and enjoy Julia’s informational talks and explanations. When actually listening, because he has to now, he understands their relevance to the case on hand and finds it like watching the history channel on TV, except the presenter isn’t an unattractive 80-year-old man with an unbearable cockney accent. Her voice is oddly pleasing when not forcing himself to be angry at every second of his existence. He notes that she is a very good speaker.

Julia teaches him to slow down and Chase guides her on taking what’s rightfully hers.

Chase is a good shot. He is the type of person who is better with their hands than their mind. For some reason, it’s the one thing he doesn’t brag about when he really could be, as he is a really good shot. Julia learns of his skill and implores him to teach her. Absolutely vexed at the idea that he can finally teach her something he accepts. He teaches her well and with great success until they are kicked out of the shooting range because Chase decided to show off. He shot down every lane hitting each target in the head, chest and groin perfectly exclaiming that you get ‘triple points’ for combos. The manager of the range and other customers found this incredibly insensitive but with how joyful and upbeat it made him, seeing him smile with genuine happiness, Julia couldn’t help but laugh along too, accepting the lifetime ban from the range with pride.

[warwaged-archive]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm. tagged by: @theharellan ty so much! tagging: if you read this entire post I’m tagging you

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated 

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. Velanna is minor enough there isn’t a lot of talk about her either way (and I get it, given she’s a dlc character from Origins it’s understandable not as many people even know her), but I definitely see more dislike towards her than appreciation.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. Honestly do not know! I have seen Debates about her personality and actions, but I don’t recall seeing people comment on her looks.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. Not particularly as far as I’ve seen, though I haven’t seen people say she’s weak either. Tbf given her introduction has you investigating murders that no one seems to think were caused by a single person and she literally turns a forest against those who pass through it, I think it’s hard to deny she is strong, though.

Are they underrated?  YES! / NO / IDK. Like I said, there’s very little talk about her at all, and very little appreciation. Velanna deserves more love c’:

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO. She isn’t relevant for the story of any of the main games, given she isn’t even in any of them askdjfnskndf She is relevant to Awakening’s story, given she causes some trouble on the road to Amaranthine, and that’s how you meet her. You can kill her on that encounter, though, so for the rest of it she’s not essential (but killing her is boring guys why would you)

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. In a way, since she’s causing some of the problems the Warden-Commander has to solve. Other than that, it truly depends on how you play it.

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO. Nope. Just a Dalish gal who became a Grey Warden.

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. I lean towards neutral because Velanna isn’t a widely discussed character either way, but I would say it leans towards bad. Many people dislike her actions, and many more dislike her for her harsh ways towards the PC in the beginning (a non-dalish PC, that is). Velanna is very opinionated and angry and a lot of people seem to think that makes her annoying. A bad take imo but I think that’s pretty obvious dkfasndkfjanskdfjn

How strictly do you follow canon?  — For the most part I follow it, only expanding it for what we haven’t seen and filling the blanks. 

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  I don’t know how to sell her to others so I will just talk a bit about what made her interesting to me. When you meet her, she’s so angry she’s been terrorizing the road and nearby villages so much people don’t even know what (what, not who) is responsible for the bloodshed. If you don’t bother to get to know her, it’s easy to think she’s just the anger, but if you do, eventually you learn a lot that might not justify her actions but makes them understandable, and that she’s so much more than Angry™. Velanna cares so much! For the Dalish, and preserving their magic and culture; for her clan, in spite of the fact her sister was the only friend she ever had; for her Keeper, even though they parted on bad terms; for Seranni, even after she chooses to leave with the Darkspawn instead of leaving with her. She’s outspoken and a great defender of her people, but not in a blind or arrogant way, and not in a way that causes her to inherently resent humans (it’s not history that causes that, but her own experience with having humans act violent against her clan and prefer to destroy the land to drive them away than attempt peaceful coexistence). She’s not driven by personal retribution, but by a relentless pursuit of justice that indeed is twisted into something more akin to vengeance. She acts on anger but she learns to be better. She’s been an outcast all her life, well before becoming the only Dalish in her group of Wardens, and she learned to be harsh to defend herself. She’s not easy to love, but she’s capable of loving deeply, and her loyalty to those dear to her is unwavering. She can be harsh because she’s so used to keeping people away in self defense, even if she’s lonely, even if it’s clear all it takes to get past that is treating her with kindness and respect. Velanna has a good heart, but that doesn’t mean she’s only capable of good.

In game, her growth depends on the PC of course, but the way I see it (and write her) there is no reason why her connections to other characters, such as Sigrun and Nathaniel, wouldn’t be just as important for it. They allow her to see beyond her anger, to move past her resent, and to stop judging people as if they were all equally bad. She goes from someone terrorizing humans in a forest and nearby road to someone who selflessly stands to defend them, even should it cost her own life. She goes from joining the Wardens as a means to finding her sister to actually taking on the role and its duties, not just as in fighting the darkspawn, but in being a protector.

And the way she values history, but not just the actual facts, the tales and legends and culture, how she understands their place as something of great importance definitely helped a lot in endearing her to me. According to Velanna, "Stories connect us to our past. They shape a people in profound ways. Without them, we are lost.” and I think about that a lot you know? It really gets to me c’:

Also she’s an awesome powerful mage who could and has killed a man (uh many men actually) but who blushes and stutters if you call her pretty because what are compliments she is not prepared to deal with those

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  — Velanna killed people so she’s evil and deserves no forgiveness ever (which isn’t always similarly applied to other characters BUT ANYWAYS). She’s angry and mean towards the protagonist and because of that she’s not cool. She’s whining about the Dalish all the time too so she’s just annoying. Also I never tried to talk to her and often don’t even leave her alive after the Wending Wood. aidsnfkajsdnfkjn seriously though, I can see why people might not like her, as she isn’t made to be likable initially and you gotta get past that to get to the more interesting bits. Velanna is indeed very much tied to her Dalish background, as it is not only her culture and origin, but also a great motivator for her actions, and often even the means through which you get to know her, so if you’re not interested in the Dalish I guess she wouldn’t be an interesting character (but imo, it’s only natural her culture is so important to who she is, given her background and her own feelings about her people. she’s so proud of her heritage, even if being part of that people makes her a target for no other reason than prejudice. even then, she’s so proud of it and so ready to fight for and defend her people and speak and stand for them! I just love her a lot but ok I realize I should be talking about why people might not like her so let’s get back to that). She’s not funny, she’s not friendly, and she’s actually rather angry and outspoken, and I feel like that ends up pushing her to the more ‘controversial’ side instead of being part of the popular or likable characters.  

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  Literally just played Awakening and ended up like OH I WANNA WRITE ONE OF THEM and I wasn’t sure about who. It wasn’t clear to me, at least, so I ended up thinking about them and at first I was like hm maybe Nathaniel, but it didn’t feel right even though he was the first one I thought I wanted to write. So I thought about Velanna, and the more I thought about her the more invested I became so I was like yeah that’s the one and added her here aksjdnfkjasndf

The first thing that got me really invested in her while playing was the conversation you have with her when you gift her the diary. I just really love her talking about the Dalish and preserving what they have and how important and meaningful stories are. That said, the moment I met her in the Wending Wood I immediately wanted to get to know her. 

I’m just a big fan of elves in case you guys haven’t noticed yet asksjnfsjkdnfkdjfn

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  replaying DA, but specially Awakening, Dragon Age content in general, discussing her with others (talking about my muses is always very helpful to me in that sense), and honestly, others being interested on her too. Discussions about the Dalish or headcanons or other people discussing Dragon Age and their respective characters also help my motivation too tbh! I’m always the slowest to answer to anything, but that’s just how I always am. Those are all things that keep my love for her alive, and thus great part of my inspiration for her.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO / I TRY!

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO / SORT OF? when the inspiration hits I literally cannot shut up

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO. I’m usually more about them 5 page headcanons and threads and ask answers than drabbles 

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO. she lives in my head rent free (as do most if not all of my muses tbh askdfnaksdf)

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO / SORT OF?

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO / SOMETIMES. Depends but not usually askndfkajs

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO / SORTA.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  Depends on what that criticism is and if I asked for it? aksjdfnkjfn I do ask about my portrayals sometimes, and in that case I’m open to constructive criticism --- if there’s something you think I could do better and you can explain why in a nice way, I’ll definitely listen (though I may disagree, so there’s that). But if it comes down to rudeness or ‘you’re not writing her like I think she is’ then well that’s not my problem, I write her how I understand and interpret her. 

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  I LOVE THEM! Send me questions about my muses literally any time I absolutely love them!! 

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  Depends, again. I’m not against discussing it, hearing what other people have to say and why they disagree (and if they say they disagree, I’d probably want to know why), but ultimately, again, it’s my portrayal so it might just be a case of seeing things differently. Like I said, I don’t mind discussing it, though. 

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  As to this, I just honestly expect people to act the same way I act when I disagree with someone’s portrayal, which is just moving on with my life and not interacting kasjafksdnfjk

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  Depends. They don’t have to like the character, but if it influences IC interactions or if it’s just people who hate a character getting off of bashing them through IC interactions even if it doesn’t make sense that’s a no for me. I don’t like seeing people hating on characters I love, but people are free to do post what they will. If there’s a tag and I can block it that’s fine by me, if it isn’t tagged I’m likely to unfollow.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  If it’s done politely I don’t mind. English is not my first language and learning about errors is a way to improve, to me.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  I think? For the most part? I do tend to get defensive over characters I love and asks that aren’t clear in tone and come across not so nicely (OOC asks, I mean), but other than that I think I’m pretty chill? Idk though you guys tell me aksnkajdsfnkjan

[jamesginortonblog]

On the day I meet James Norton the front page story in The Times is about an English police force taking bribes from a crime syndicate. The foreign pages are full of slippery promises from the American president about confronting Russian and Chinese “meddling”. The day before, a report has surfaced about a Saudi prince who, though leading an austerity drive in his country, has been found to be the owner — through a series of shell companies — of the world’s most expensive house, in France.

McMafia, Norton’s new eight-part BBC thriller — filmed in 11 countries, featuring as many languages and based on the journalist Misha Glenny’s non-fiction book about the extraordinary global reach of organised crime — may accidentally be the world’s most relevant bit of TV drama.

“It’s bizarre,” says the 32-year-old, best known for his two most divergent roles, the crime-solving, jazz-loving, smouldering vicar Sidney Chambers in Grantchester and the dangerous psychopath Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley, as we sit down in a heroically anonymous room at a London PR agency.

Norton’s McMafia character, Alex Godman, was created by the writer Hossein Amini (Drive) as the focus of the central human drama on which hang versions of the terrifying global machinations described in Glenny’s book. Godman is the son of an exiled Russian mafia boss, raised in Britain and running a hedge fund. He struggles to escape the grip of his family’s murky past while he’s constantly pulled at by the undercurrent of violence and corruption that flows rapidly, dangerously, just beneath the surface of his world. (From one brooding Russian to another — Prince Andrei in the BBC’s War & Peace was good practice, it turns out.)

Flitting between London, Mumbai, the Czech Republic, Russia, Israel, Egypt and elsewhere, the sometimes hard-to-watch series exposes the interconnectivity of international organised crime and how, even lightly, it touches all of us.

“I’ve never been on a job like it,” Norton says. “Usually what happens is that you feel you’re trying to keep up with current affairs and make it as relevant as possible. In the first week, we were filming in London and all the stories about Trump’s [alleged] collusion with Russia during the election were breaking. We have FSB agents in our show who are working for the state but also facilitating the gangsters, and so we suddenly felt like the zeitgeist was chasing us.”

Since the end of filming, he says, the Paradise and Panama Papers scandals have broken, “and with all the stuff with Trump and Putin and Sessions and Comey, people want to know what high-level corruption looks like. What we hope is that this show is both a great piece of drama, but also that it captures the appetite for people to know why the hell there is such a small minority who are stupidly wealthy.” That seems to extend to the cast: “We had Russian actors on set railing at Putin in Russian and the director was going, ‘What the hell are they saying?’ ”

McMafia may have the most international cast the BBC has assembled. And what a cast. Viewers familiar with Bollywood will be thrilled to see Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a Mumbai fixer (“He had two assistants with mirrors either side of him, checking every angle,” Norton says), while fans of Russian cinema will be elated to find Aleksey Serebryakov (Leviathan) and Mariya Shukshina, often described in the West as the Russian Meryl Streep, playing Alex’s parents, Dimitri and Oksana. If you saw Bridge of Spies, or Deutschland 83, or you happen to be Georgian, you’ll recognise Merab Ninidze, oddly appealing here as Vadim Kalyagin, Dimitri’s old rival. The Brits aren’t shabby either — Juliet Rylance plays Alex’s English girlfriend, Rebecca.

Most of the actors (150 with speaking roles) use their own accents and many their native languages — the show switches seamlessly, and constantly, from English to subtitles, an “encouraging” sign, Norton thinks, that producers and channels are finally wising up to the fact that audiences don’t want to be patronised.

“We had no British actors doing dodgy Russian accents,” Norton begins, then realises that’s not strictly true — “Oh actually, I dug myself a hole there, didn’t I.” Alex, fluent in Russian, occasionally switches languages. “I had to learn it all phonetically. When I was being spoken to in Russian, I had to learn their lines in English so I knew what I was reacting to, and I had to learn my lines in Russian so I could answer them.”

Alex’s father mostly speaks Russian, while Alex battles to answer him in English as a way of asserting this new identity — a scenario lifted from Amini’s experience, Norton says. “Hoss is from Iran, and he said it was the same thing with his parents. They would be like, ‘Speak in your mother language!’ and he’d be like, ‘No! I’m speaking English.’ ”

For Norton, walking on set every day “and having a new brilliant actor from a different part of the world, I felt way out of my depth” in having to be the fulcrum of the story that links them all. But it was also, apparently, a riot, particularly with the Russians.

“They come in and there’s no airs and graces, no polite, English, ‘do you think we could change this line?’ Aleksey is just like, ‘This scene, no drama, it’s shit, we want drama!’ and the director, James Watkins, and I would be like, ‘Um, OK, let’s try it …’ Four out of five times what he offered was just way too big and ridiculous, but then one out of five was extraordinary.” (Norton does Serebryakov in a heavy Russian accent. I can’t tell whether it’s any good, but it is very funny.)

It’s been a glamorous but gruelling few months of filming, so Norton is chuffed to be back in London — he grew up in North Yorkshire, with his parents, Hugh and Lavinia, both teachers, and his sister Jessica, now a GP, but has been based in London for ten years — and performing at the Donmar Warehouse. In the New York writer Amy Herzog’s play Belleville he plays Zack, one half of an American couple in Paris (his wife, Abby, is played by Imogen Poots), battling to keep the lid on a wriggling bag of secrets and lies.

They’re an extreme pair, but, Norton says, “One thing about Belleville is how well observed it is and how much you can recognise yourself and your own relationships in the play. We’re all going, ‘Oh God, which one am I?’ ” Though it’s high drama, it’s a true portrait of the struggles of millennials, he thinks. “It tells the story of two people in their late twenties, who have been fed this narrative that they have to lead this life, have a house at this point, kids by this point and money in the bank, and the truth is there just aren’t enough houses, there aren’t enough jobs, there isn’t enough money — or there is but it’s Alex Godman who’s got it.”

Norton has also recently started doing a bit of work with the charity JDRF, which focuses on research in type 1 diabetes in children. Norton has the condition, as do his mother and sister. He was 22 when he was diagnosed; his mother (like Theresa May) was in her fifties, but his sister was only nine.

“It’s a totally manageable condition, but it’s particularly hard for kids,” he says. “But it’s fine. You lead a normal life. One thing I don’t have in my life is a routine, so I do have to be on it a bit, but no more than anyone else. In Belleville, you don’t know this [when you’re watching] but there are Lucozade bottles everywhere. There’s one in the fridge, there’s one in the bathroom, the bedroom, off stage. If I’m feeling a little bit low, I have a sneaky sip.”

He lives in Peckham, southeast London, alone now because his flatmate, a friend from school, has recently gone to live abroad. He’s local to me, so we briefly discuss our favourite restaurants, but agree not to mention them, not so much because he doesn’t want people coming up to him, but “because otherwise I might not be able to get a table’’.

People will come up to him regardless, which he’s fine with, even though the rumours about him becoming the next James Bond are swirling again. He makes a valiant effort not to roll his eyes when I bring it up. “There isn’t anything to say, it’s very flattering, but … people love to speculate about it and it’s such an important part of our cultural heritage, and so it’s lovely to be in that conversation but beyond that … anyway I selfishly love Daniel Craig as Bond, so I don’t really want him to stop.”

He tells me he’s single: “Jessie Buckley [his War & Peace co-star] and I went our separate ways in the summer, and it was all fine.” As you might expect, it doesn’t last long — shortly after we meet he’s snapped in London snogging his Belleville co-star Poots. “It’s not the easiest job when it comes to a relationship,” he says. “The play finishes on the third of February and I’ve no idea where I’m going to be on the fourth.”

That’s the best and worst part of the job, he admits. “I love that nomadic, unpredictable lifestyle; I get a real thrill from it. I know some people would hate it — I haven’t committed to a holiday with friends for the past six years, I just jump on them at the last minute. I missed seven weddings the year before last. That’s the cost. But it’s so exciting. Right now I’m very happy to be muddling along.”

As Amazon (in a deal with BBC Worldwide) gears up to premiere McMafia in more than 200 countries, I’m not sure that’s what I’d call it. Hurtling might be a better word. McMafia starts on BBC One on New Year’s Day at 9pm. Belleville is at the Donmar Warehouse, London WC2 (020 3282 3808), until February 3. jdrf.org.uk

[helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog]

Rita Moreno Is Playing a Dream Role 70 Years into Her Career (Exclusive)

After West Side Story won her a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for her lead role as Anita in the 1961 musical, Rita Moreno was sure she'd end up in film after film, thwarting Latin stereotypes in Hollywood. But even as the first Hispanic woman to earn an Oscar, the work offered to her was scarce and conventional, leaving the legendary actress crushed when the promising rush of stardom proved not so promising anymore.

Now, at 86, Moreno is having the last laugh, as the adored and very funny abuelita Lydia on Netflix's multicam family comedy One Day at a Time. The timely Latina-led update of the classic sitcom, which premiered in 1975 on CBS, is helmed by Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce, while the series' original creator, the now-94-year-old Norman Lear, executive produces.

The show is centered on a Cuban-American family living in Los Angeles, the Riera-Alvarez clan, including Lydia's daughter, Penelope, played by Six Feet Under alum Justina Machado, and her grandchildren, Alex (Marcel Ruiz) and Elena (Isabella Gomez) – as they work through a variety of hot-button issues relevant to today's gender paradigm and sociopolitical climate. Penelope is a divorced single mom and Iraq war veteran with PTSD, for one. But with plotlines including Elena's coming out, depression, gender stereotypes, immigration and religion -- and that's just season one -- One Day at a Time isn't afraid to speak its mind with ample heart and humor. Season two furthers its topical commentary by broaching gun control, nonbinary queerness, racism and Lydia's lack of U.S. citizenship.

One of only 12 performers with a coveted EGOT (an Emmy, GRAMMY, Oscar and Tony), Moreno recently opened up to ET about playing the kind of authentic Latina role she could only dream of after West Side Story. During the conversation, Moreno also reflected on how the beginning of her career left her "heartbroken," the current state of Latinx representation on screen, and how One Day at a Time is helping to break ground for Latinx actors.

ET: Why does a Latina-led One Day at a Time feel particularly important right now?

Rita Moreno: Norman Lear seems to have a clock in his head or something. It just seemed the right time. And it’s interesting, because there have been some other Latino-based shows, but there have also been some not-so-good Latino-based shows. Obviously, I'm not gonna mention anyone, because everyone needs their job.

What makes one Latinx show better than another?

Ours is authentic, ours is so respectful of the culture. We don't mess around. And my character could very easily be a Looney Tune and, in fact, we're always very, very mindful of that -- I'm certainly very mindful of that. And she can be theatrical and she can be dramatic, but Looney Tunes is definitely not a part of this series. I think it's extremely important to stick to what Latinos as Latinos recognize and laugh at.

The other great part of this show is that a lot of people who are not Latino are loving it. It's so universal -- that's the word that Norman keeps using. It's a family. And though some problems are strictly related to being Latino, many other issues are not. I mean, in the first season, we had a marvelous show about the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. It really took the VA to task without pointing fingers in any way, and it was hilarious. It was also very serious -- [Penelope] had her shoulder injury from the war and she couldn't get anybody on the phone. I thought it was a tour de force for Justina.

How did this season's racism-centric first episode resonate with you?

Oh, are you kidding? We loved it. One of the most wonderful touches that nobody has ever addressed in these kinds of shows is the fact that Alex is getting picked on because his skin is darker than his sister's, and their mom points out the difference in hue. I don't think anyone has ever even touched that.

The second episode addresses gender neutrality both in terms of the Latinx community and the LGBTQ community. I imagine that's been a lesson for a lot of people the way it was for Lydia.

Oh, absolutely. And you know, I love that there's just a bit of racist in Lydia. When she says, "Oh, no, no -- we're Spanish," and her granddaughter says, "Mom, we are all colors." But I say, "We're mostly a Spanish." Which to her means white. So, I love that she has this prejudice, because it makes her very real.

What are some of the hot topics covered on the show that have been personally important to you?

Last year, we talked about Lydia’s citizenship and her lack of citizenship, and the whole family was absolutely shocked that she was not a citizen. This time, not only does Lydia become a citizen, but also Schneider [the family’s Canadian landlord, played by Todd Grinnell] has become a citizen, which I thought was kind of neat. And, oh, God -- there are so many hot topics and I can't remember half of them because I'm 86.

The show challenges many stereotypes. After West Side Story, you were seeking to do the same, but studios were offering you a lot of stereotypical Latina roles.

Actually, I wasn't offered a lot of them -- I was offered some. There was such a dearth of roles. After winning those two awards, I was absolutely heartbroken. I couldn't believe it. I really thought, "Wow, an Oscar and a Golden Globe, what could be bad? My career is made."

The lack of roles -- what do you chalk that up to?

Oh, the same usual kind of thinking: "She's Latina, she played a Latina, and here are some gang movies if you want to do that." And I said, "No, I do not." Nothing came. It was just really, really absolutely devastating. It was hard to believe. I mean, how naive of me, but who knew?

So how did being cast on One Day at a Time feel?

Oh, my goodness, I can't even find the words for it. I'm so proud to be a part of it. I feel privileged to be working with Norman, whom I dearly love. He and I have a creative love affair going on, in the sense that he just thinks I'm the bee's knees and I thinks he's the cat's meow. We're the two old farts on the show, and I call myself the "fartette."

I wanna be a fartette when I'm 86.

No -- a fartette is a girl.

Oh, I don't care. We're all about gender-nonconformity here now, aren't we?

[Laughs] That's great. You've learned from the show!

This season's finale was really emotional. Was it a difficult day for you on set?

Not at all. No! It wasn't difficult. I did nothing but lay down!

Emotionally, though?

It was very hard to listen to some of the monologues -- it was hard to listen to Justina. But you know, she always kills me under any circumstances. She's just one hell of an actress and probably the best acting partner I've ever had. She's just sensational. And the granddaughter, Isabella Gomez -- her thing was very sweet and sad and moving.

Do you think this show will hopefully open the doors for more Latinx actors?

I think it will, it absolutely will. Gloria Calderon is doing her own show for a network [the upcoming History of Them on CBS with On Your Feet! star Ana Villafañe]. And you know, we can use two on the air! That would be nice.

We could use Rita Moreno on both, too.

I'll be sure to tell her that! [Laughs] So, it's terrific. Whenever we can we use Hispanic actors -- not just Hispanic, but black actors, East Indian actors, every kind of nationality, whoever is good for something gets the part, no matter what the nationality.

What are your thoughts on the diversity reflected in this year's Oscar nominations?

Viola Davis put it so succinctly when she said as long as there aren't roles for us -- meaning all nationalities -- there will be no awards possible for us. A lot of people say, "Well, why aren't you getting awards?" Well, you have to have the roles first. It's not just one-sided. You have to get the roles. And now I think the Hispanic community has to really start pushing and taking some very much-needed lessons from the black community. They really did it up. They did it up just fine. We have to start doing it, too. We have to unite more and we have to pull for each other more. Did you happen to read the very angry piece that John Leguizamo [creator and star of Latin History for Morons currently on Broadway] wrote for Billboard? He's one angry Puerto Rican. He was talking to his own people, [saying that it's] nice to say, “Well, I’m lucky to get this part,” but you’ve gotta do more than that as a Hispanic person. So I'm hoping that's gonna start to happen very, very soon.

At the SAG Awards in January, when you presented Morgan Freeman with the Lifetime Achievement honor, you were given a standing ovation.

That was so moving; I started to cry. That was astonishing -- who would expect something like that?

What's it like to be acknowledged in that way by your peers 70 years into your career?

Oh, that's why I started to cry, because they are my peers. And it was also my peers who helped vote for me when Morgan presented the award to me [in 2014]. It's just fantastic. What went around came around.

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