#loretta isn't learning

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Marlene Dietrich (Shanghai Express, Witness for the Prosecution, Morocco)—Bisexual icon, super hot when dressed both masculine and feminine, lived up her life in the queer Berlin scene of the 1920s, central to the 'sewing circle' of the secret sapphic actresses of Old Hollywood, refused lucrative offers by the Nazis and helped Jews and others under persecution to escape Nazi Germany, the love of my life

Mary Philbin (Phantom of the Opera, The Man Who Laughs)— I must simply say I love Mary Loretta Philbin. She was known for her, in the words of Wikipedia, ethereal screen presence. In fact, Pat O' Malley says it best, "If I were superstitious I would think that the spirit of some great tragedienne of a forgotten past slipped into Mary's soul when she heard the camera begin to click." I first saw her in the Phantom of the Opera adaptation of 1925, where she plays a very interesting rendition of Christine Daae (I would argue a foundational performance, since this was the first mainstream portrayal of the character outside of Gaston Leroux's 1910 book) opposite Lon Chaney as the title character, and I Loved her performance, and ofc developed a bit of a crush on her. After her years in Hollywood, she stopped acting in 1930 and lived the rest of her life in relative peace. One fact that always stuck with me was the fact that later in her life, she very rarely made public appearances, but did in fact do so in order to attend the Los Angeles opening of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. And if all that isn't enough to convince you, look at a photo of her. She is really, stunningly beautiful.

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Marlene Dietrich:

ms dietrich....ms dietrich pls.....sit on my face

its marlene dietrich!!!! queer legend, easily the hottest person to ever wear a tuxedo, that hot hot voice, those glamorous glamorous movies…. most famously she starred in a string of movies directed by josef von sternberg throughout the 1930s, beginning with the blue angel which catapulted her to stardom in the role of the cabaret singer lola lola. known for his exquisite eye for lighting, texture, imagery, von sternberg devoted himself over the course of their collaborations to acquiring exceptional skill at photographing dietrich herself in particular, a worthy direction in which to expend effort im sure we can all agree. she collaborated with many other great directors of the era as well, including rouben mamoulian (song of songs), frank borzage (desire), ernst lubitsch (angel), fritz lang (rancho notorious), and billy wilder (witness for the prosecution). the encyclopedia britannica entry im looking at while compiling this propaganda describes her as having an “aura of sophistication and languid sexuality” which✔️💯. born marie magdalene dietrich, she combined her first and middle names to coin the moniker “marlene”. she was a trendsetter in her incorporation of trousers, suits, and menswear into her wardrobe and her androgynous allure was often remarked upon. critic kenneth tynan wrote, “She has sex, but no particular gender. She has the bearing of a man; the characters she plays love power and wear trousers. Her masculinity appeals to women and her sexuality to men.” in the 1920s she enjoyed the vibrant queer nightlife of weimar berlin, visiting gay bars and drag balls, and in hollywood her love affairs with men and women were an open secret. she was an ardent opponent of nazi germany, refusing lucrative contacts offered her to make films there, raising money with billy wilder to help jews and dissidents escape, and undertaking extensive USO tours to entertain soldiers with an act that included her a playing musical saw and doing a mindreading routine she learned from orson welles. starting in the 50s and continuing into the mid-70s she worked largely as a cabaret artist touring the world to large audiences, employing burt bacharach as her musical arranger.

First of all, there are those publicity photos of her in a tux. Second of all, I have never been the same since knowing that she sent copies of those photos to her Berlin lovers signed "Daddy Marlene." Not only is she hot in all circumstances, but she can do everything from earthy to ice queen. Also, she kept getting sexy romantic lead parts in Hollywood after the age of 40, which would be rare even now. She hated Nazis, loved her friends, and had a sapphic social circle in Hollywood. She also had cheekbones that could cut glass and a voice that could melt you.

Her GENDER her looks her voice her everything

“In her films and record-breaking cabaret performances, Miss Dietrich artfully projected cool sophistication, self-mockery and infinite experience. Her sexuality was audacious, her wit was insolent and her manner was ageless. With a world-weary charm and a diaphanous gown showing off her celebrated legs, she was the quintessential cabaret entertainer of Weimar-era Germany.”

The bar scene in Morocco awoke something in me and ultimately changed my gender

"Her manner, the critic Kenneth Tynan wrote, was that of ‘a serpentine lasso whereby her voice casually winds itself around our most vulnerable fantasies.’ Her friend Maurice Chevalier said: ‘Dietrich is something that never existed before and may never exist again.’”

"Songstress, photographer, fashion icon, out bisexual phenom (notoriously stole Lupe Velez and Joan Crawford's men, and Errol Flynn's wife, had a torrid affair with Greta Garbo that ended in a 60-year feud, other notable conquests including Erich Maria Remarque -yes, the guy who wrote All Quiet on the Western Front- Douglas Fairbanks Junior, Claudette Colbert, Mercedes de Acosta, Edith Piaf), anti-Nazi activist. Marlene was a bitch - she had an open marriage for decades and one of her favorite things was making catty commentary about her current lover with her husband, and her relationship with her daughter was painful- but she was also immensely talented, a hard worker, an opponent of fascism and the hottest ice queen in Hollywood for a long time."

"She can sing! She can act! She told the Nazis to fuck off and became a US citizen out of spite! She worked with other German exiles to create a fund to help Jews and German dissidents escape (she donated an entire movie salary, about $450k, to the cause). She looks REALLY GOOD in a suit. If you're not convinced, please listen to her sing "Lili Marlene". Absolutely gorgeous woman with a gorgeous voice."

Gifset link

"Bisexual icon and Nazi-hater. Looks absolutely stunning in the suits she liked to wear. 'I dress for the image. Not for myself, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men'."

"would you not let her walk on you?"

Mary Philbin:

She is hot?

Shes just so cute

Mary Philbin started acting after winning a beauty contest hosted by Universal Pictures and went on to star in a number of films, including one of the most iconic silent horror films of her era, "the Phantom of the Opera". She also gave a sweet, heart-wrenching performance in "The Man Who Laughs" alongside Conrad Veidt.

[dragon-communion]

Alright I have this theory about Miquella, Malenia and Trina that I need to float out there.

When we find her, Malenia specifically states that she was dreaming. She has in fact been dreaming.

I dreamt for so long. My flesh was dull gold... and my blood, rotted. Corpse after corpse, left in my wake as I awaited his return. ... Heed my words. I am Malenia. Blade of Miquella. And I have never known defeat.

It's hard to say whether or not Malenia was in communication with Miquella via dreams. I do think there's some meat to the theory that she split herself, however, very much the way Miquella and Marika did.

Malenia budded off daughters in Aeonia, and I think that in the same way Trina represents Miquella's love and Radagon might be Marika's sense of loyalty, Millicent could literally be Malenia's dignity.

There is something I must return to Malenia. The will that was once her own. The dignity, the sense of self, that allowed her to resist the call of the scarlet rot. The pride she abandoned, to meet Radahn's measure.

-Millicent

Considering how relatively willingly Malenia bloomed for us, I have to wonder if she did indeed literally lose her restraint.

And she had so many splits.

By the time we get to her, Malenia has rotted the entire Haligtree and she seems to be a hollow shell of herself, repeating who she is and what she stands for like a mantra until we make her desperate. She is frozen in time as that woman who bloomed in Caelid, I think, just a fragment made of raw determination to win at any cost.

It's also notable that the Scarlet Rot isn't just painful, it might actively cause nightmares.

Everything is as you said. Since inserting the needle, the scarlet rot has ceased to writhe. Even the nightmares have abated...

-Millicent

Malenia might've been experiencing Rot-induced nightmares for a few hundred years until we got to her.

Miquella's textual motivation for moving proverbial mountains all throughout his life was curing his sister. While he struggled to uproot it at the source, they did find several stopgap treatments: wearing Miquella's unalloyed gold, which conferred a limited amount of his own immunity onto the bearer; and the Sword Saint's flowing water techniques.

I think Trina, as Miquella's love and an aspect of his own affinity for forgetfulness/oblivion, might've become the saint of sleep specifically out of Miquella's urge to soothe his sister's unquiet dreams. She eventually expanded and gained more autonomy, moving on to the Cleanrot Knights, then the merchants and albinaurics. It's hard to say when the albinaurics were brought to her attention, but I think Miquella had a lot of dealings with Ranni, Rykard, and maybe even Iji.

(Side note: could the mirrorhelm have made Iji immune to Miquella's charm?)

Torrent's whistle in particular is delicate goldwork that I think is heavily implied to be Miquella's handiwork. Of the smiths and engineers in-game, I think Miquella's skill at making outright automail had to take at least some inspiration from Rykard's machinery, and a lot of the weapons associated with the Haligtree take inspiration from Carian weaponry. The Miquellan Knight's sword is basically a Carian sword with the glintstone switched out for Haligtree bloodstone amber. Why is that?

(Additional side note: I think Loretta might've been Radahn's teacher in the art of horsemanship and archery, considering she's the only other Carian character heavily associated with horses and archery. It'd provide a good reason for why her albinauric identity was a huge secret. And, once Radahn left for Sellia to learn gravity magic/get a new mentor, that gave her the free time she would need to champion the albinaurics and investigate the Haligtree.)

Either way, Trina would have had front row seats to the treatment of the albinaurics as servants and worse, and there's a chance that that was when she had her first encounter with the Flame of Frenzy.

Miquella's approach to excising gods was scientific, but I think Trina attacked the problem from an ideological angle. It's actually a pretty good idea, since the gods in Elden Ring seem to be ideologies made physical. Frenzy is despair- so those afflicted with Frenzy must be given hope, and they were given a "holy land" in the form of the Haligtree. And we can in fact still find their hope in the Apostate Derelict, Philia's promise of being able to birth albinaurics, in very close proximity to the largest amount of Trina's Lilies in the game.

Tl;dr: I think Trina is a saint of sleep specifically because Malenia was afflicted by Rot-nightmares, and Miquella wanted so badly to help her that he budded off an aspect of himself that could.

[guildtree]

Gray-haired, all of five feet tall, and in her mid-50s, Rhea Ingull isn't what most people expect of an Ebon Vanguard warrior, especially in plainclothes and with her scars covered by a mesmer illusion. It's an open secret that she's the bastard daughter of the head of House Ingull, one of Ebonhawke's most influential noble families, who left home and joined the Vanguard when the birth of her legitimate half-brother meant she'd never see a scrap of inheritance. In her youth she was a metaphorical as well as literal firebrand, who won renown by killing the old Ash Legion imperator in a gambit so risky it could accurately be called a suicide mission. She lost an eye and gained a streak of white hair thanks to Malice Swordshadow, a tribune at the time, but came out alive and with the new nickname of the Badger thanks to her stocky build and sheer determination. It's the Old Badger now, much to her chagrin, and her reputation has shifted to that of a brutally intelligent and ruthless tactician. She likely saved Ebonhawke multiple times in the decade of so before the peace treaty, simply by out-thinking Bangar's brutal offensives and being willing to do whatever was needed for the sake of her city. After losing her lower right leg, she has officially retired, but that hasn't stopped Commander Samuelsson from bringing her in for "unofficial counseling," and Ebonhawke understands that should the city be under siege again, she'll be there drafting the war plans.

This decorated and brutal military history is balanced by a shockingly maternal outside life. Unable or unwilling to have biological children, Rhea has instead adopted a veritable menagerie of kids - a norn she found on the streets, Loretta, a runaway sylvari daughter, and an abandoned asura son. She loves all her children dearly and raised them kindly, even if they did learn basic combat techniques alongside their ABCs. Most strangers who meet her outside of the military think of her as a kind old lady - those in the know see her as the embodiment of the warrior-poet: speaking several languages, possessed of a great knowledge of literature and music thanks to her noble upbringing, and sometimes a little too wrapped up in the philosophy around war and death. She keeps herself sharp and presentable at all times, and whether it's navigating high society as a captain or cursing out new recruits as a drill sergeant, she always carries herself with intention. She was married once, before her husband succumbed to alcoholism, and now she lives with her younger children and the one living member of her old squad, Captain Phillips. History will remember the two of them as brothers in arms, or very good friends.

Rhea also had one other adopted child a long time ago, Laurel, who went missing in action and is now presumed dead. Whether her first daughter's death was her own fault depends on how you see it, and maybe more importantly, who you ask.

[potterandpromises]

Possible season 4 victims but it's only characters I personally think might be foreshadowed to die

In Only Murders in the Building character deaths tend to be foreshadowed in some way (although not necessarily to the victim's identity, often it's to the manner of death.) Examples include Sazz talking about the chatter on her ham radio in season 3, the broken elevator in season 2, dialogue relating to cold cases in both season 3 and season 4, and so on. Of course these things may be foreshadowing something other then the character's untimely demise, or may not be foreshadowing anything. That's the fun of it!

Propaganda:

Loretta:

Zach and Oliver talked about his wedding venue as setting the tone for their marriage; they're getting married in the courtyard of the Murder Building.

Both Mabel and Charles have had someone close to them (their oldest friend, albeit estranged on Mabel's part) get murdered. Oliver has not yet had that.

Jan:

She's still loose in New York, not Florida, doing god knows what or killing god knows who. Chekhov's gun applies.

Teddy:

Several times, Zach, who's playing Oliver, has been described as Greek. Meanwhile Oliver has twice this season broken into an Irish accent while talking to an Irish person, emphasizing that he is Irish and not Greek. This references the season 2 plotline re: Teddy being Will's bio father and Oliver lying about being Greek, etc.

In 4x09 Mabel says: ""We're the most listened to murder podcast on the Upper West Side that's sponsored by a deli chain." They were sponsored by Dimas Delis (Angel Inc) in season 1, and apparently still are, somehow.

In 4x09 there's a TV broadcast shown about "Nicky "the neck" Caccimello, the Dry Cleaning King of Brooklyn" who has ties to a crime family, and has gone missing. Teddy has been described as "the deli king" and is part of a two person crime family. There could be a plotline related to organized crime, and their murders could be related in one way or another.

See second point about Loretta—it also applies to Teddy.

Lester:

See third point about Teddy. Lester is seen with dry cleaning in season 1 (possibly multiple times, although I don't recall.)

Nicky "the neck" Caccimello, the Dry Cleaning King of Brooklyn:

He has gone missing and the show went way out of it's way to tell us that. He could turn up dead in the Arconia and the next season could simply be about his murder.

Counterpoints:

Loretta:

It might be like, way too sad to kill her off at this point, given that she's marrying Oliver and has only just reunited with her son.

There's likely not as much to learn about her as there has been with previous victims—she already had a secret explored re: Dickie, and it isn't clear that she has more.

Jan:

Season 4 had a Charles-centric victim, and I'm not sure they'd want to have two in a row.

Teddy:

He hasn't actually been in the show since season 2, just indirectly referenced.

Lester:

After a season about the theater and a season about Hollywood movies... would they really have a season about dry cleaning?

Nicky "the neck" Caccimello, the Dry Cleaning King of Brooklyn:

See point about Lester.

Might be seen as a kind of emotional downgrade to bring in an unknown victim right after Sazz.

[meriwetherwrites]

some meta on the depiction of trauma in TV and fanfic

Taking a break from writing to do a little musing. The effects of trauma are a running theme in my fic.  You’ll see it in just about everything I write about Tim Gutterson, but it creeps in when I’m writing Kirk, Bashir, Chakotay, Loretta McCready, and even Alex Krycek too, when I can justify it.  I am not a trained psychologist by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s something I’ve studied to a certain extent and something that I think some TV shows really fail to explore adequately when they decide to give a character a particularly traumatic background.

It’s a trope, at this point, for a law enforcement character to have had an abusive childhood and/or military career. That’s unsurprising, because it lets the TV show’s writers get away with having the characters do pretty outrageous things sometimes and then blame it on that backstory, and by the time it happens, often we’re rooting for it (consider in Justified when Raylan shoots his abusive father in the leg—if you didn’t cheer, you probably at least thought about it).

Traumatic experiences fundamentally alter people’s brains, and people find a whole lot of healthy and unhealthy ways to deal with it.  There’s a lot of research showing that trauma in childhood has particularly powerful effects—the ACE (adverse childhood experience) score is one way of measuring the effects of certain types of trauma, though as this article notes, it doesn’t account for many other types of trauma or instability.  Dissociation, hyperarousal, and hypervigilance are very common results of certain kinds of trauma (one reason that it’s so sad in Harry Potter when Mad-Eye Moody is always shouting “Constant vigilance!”) because those are adaptive skills that people have to develop when they’re in chronic traumatic situations, and it’s very hard to let go of them when you don’t need them anymore.

I’m pretty relaxed about the different terminology I use in fic, often because the characters themselves are going to have their own attitudes toward PTSD/however they interpret their own responses to their experiences, which isn't always to call it PTSD or even acknowledge it as anything other than maybe having a drinking problem. But I try to be careful about two things:

(1) not letting people off the hook for being assholes, even when it’s an understandable learned response to trauma they’ve experienced

“Funny,” Loretta says. “Sure seems like you’re out there waitin’ on somebody comin’ out to tell you how it ain’t that bad what you said, don’t you worry about it, like you’re the one been done wrong somehow.” Tim stiffens. “Never said anything like that.” Loretta looks pointedly at his hands and he realizes he’s going through the automatic motions of fixing up his coffee with some whiskey. “Jesus, what do you want, I’m just clearing my head. I got plenty of food in my stomach to soak it up.” Loretta’s expression breaks some, worse than he’s seen it before. “Like I said, neither of you’s my brother or my boyfriend or my daddy, that I oughta trouble about either of you. So you go on ahead and just sit outside, until you got Jimmy twisted up enough, feelin’ bad for how sad you are, that he comes out to make you feel better over everythin’ you said.” Fuck, he feels like she just reached into his guts and twisted them herself. “You ever,” he asks, and his voice is raw. “You ever worry you’ll turn into your old man?” She looks at him awhile. “No,” she says at last. “Maybe you oughta worry about it more.” 

(hooked on being low, chapter 7)

and (2) not giving in to the impulse to have quick fixes/cured by the power of love:

“I’m not gonna just—get better,” Tim tells Raylan, when he breaks away for a breath. “You know that, right? The shit that’s in my head don’t go away.” “I know,” Raylan says, and then, stronger, “I know, Tim.” He slides his fingers into Tim’s newly-shorn hair and kisses him again up against the bathroom wall. Arlo’s old room is just on the other side of the wall, but it’s empty, he reminds himself. Tim emptied it out for him, and now there’s nothing there at all—no monster, no ghost, no remnants. Only the smell of fresh paint. Tim grips at his shoulders, hands still wet, and Christ but Raylan’s wanted this bad since the last time he touched Tim, and the time before that, and the time before that. “I’m not gonna just fall asleep together and wake up cuddling,” Tim says, and his voice gets rougher when Raylan pulls their hips together. “Prob’ly never.”

(other things than smart, chapter 6)

Unless it’s a specific plot point, TV shows tend to smooth over the PTSD that characters would experience as a result of the things that have happened to them.  That’s understandable, because if people in episodic television actually reacted the way that normal humans would to everything that happens to them, it would make adventure television very depressing and not very interesting to watch (Battlestar Galactica walks this line, sometimes).  But fic is a great place to explore that, because a character can have what’s basically a Heroic BSOD or a series of recurring episodes that really does inconvenience everyone and effectively shut down the progression of the other storylines for as long as you need.

My Justified series older and further away is probably the most extreme example of this, since the fulcrum fic (hooked on being low) involves Tim basically having a total breakdown post-series and spending months on leave, mostly drinking and lashing out at people before starting to get his shit together gradually.  (You’ll probably see me discuss the events of this series more in the future, because it’s one of my personal favorites).

[fatphobiabusters]

Brooms by Jasmine Walls and Teo DuVall

[PHOTO ID: The title Brooms is in white all capital letters set against a night scene with a full moon. The cover features two shoulder up illustrations: one is a biracial woman looking away with long black hair and a large earing, one is a Black woman looking forward with a blue collared shirt and a purple biller har, one smaller shoulder up illustration of a Black man with a white collared shirt.

Two full body illustrations on brooms. One of a Chinese woman riding the broom like a surf board wearing a blue handkerchief, white t shirt and blue skirt the other is a Black woman in a yellow dress with one leg up in a stirrup and one arm out with a glow.

And two waist up illustrations of biracial sisters one in pink with glasses and braids and one in purple with her hair up.

Next to the girl in pink and the woman in yellow are the author, illustrator, letter setter and colorist names, in large text: Jasmine Walls, Teo DuVall then in smaller text: Bex Glendining & Ariana Maher. END ID]

Image from Goodreads

Overall rating: 10/10

I can't do a traditional pro cons list because I can't think of a thing I would have wanted different, outside of topics I cant "review" of course (more on this later). However before we get too far I need to lay out the setting so you know what you are getting into! This is a graphic novel about magic realism set in 1930s Mississippi. It follows women (and two girls) of color and their attempt to make cash doing illegal broom racing to make their lives, well easier for one, but also safer.

This isnt a utopia, magic is woven into the racism of the era. No slurs are used but subtle racism is depicted. There is a hierarchy of legality of who can use magic and what kind. It's a underdog story of solidarity and love, it has that "one last job and we retire" energy. While the young girls learn to harness their magic the police patrol, they are supported by a type of found family along side their blood family.

There is a happy ending I will at least spoil that much.

The blending of era and magic is lovingly crafted. For instance one character, Loretta, works as a laundress, she, like a lot of women in the time and place struggle with money and finds work where she can. Magic here isn't like the cheat code for easy living, she cant just magic the cloths clean and mended. It's a muscle to train and partner with not a deus ex eject button for every little thing. Each character reveals so much yet so little of themselves to us and there is an epiloge of sorts that delights the mind to want more of these characters. So I guess my point is, yes magic but also hardships and I've never seen it done like this before.

So all that said let me pull back on all the other things about this story and answer the question...

Hows the fat rep?: The characters come in many sizes, Loretta seems to be the biggest of her friend group. Her weight is never mentioned, no jokes about how a fat person could ride a broom! She's got a loving husband (no jokes about the size difference!) Billie Mae is the second biggest of the main cast perhaps more musclar than fat but is distinct imo in body shape and build and its my review so...she's different from Loretta, Lor is femme leaning and Billie is butch and here too there are no jokes it's simply a part of her design, shes the only woman on the team to wear pants. There are background and unnamed fat characters! You'd be suprised how hard that is to find.

This is very much a situation where weight is not brought up, it exists as a thing and thats it. And I appreciate that because fat peoples lives shouldn't be all about our weight, we deserve to exist with hobbies and interests and jobs.

Additionally: You might have seen that trend where people list off rep of a book and don't even mention the plot? Well I hope my introduction was enough to cover story and such because this comic has: visible and invisible disability rep, sapphics, a trans main character, and remember how I gushed about unnamed characters? There's also physical disabilities. The attention to detail while designing otherwise nameless characters is appreciated.

My limits as a reviewer:

I can't say if there good enough representation for Black women btw. For me this was obvious but I'm adding it just in case.

A main character is Deaf and due to the limitations of the medium the artist and writer had to imply signs. Consideration for the eye line of this character is given, she will bump and nudge people to turn towards her so she can read lips. I cannot say if this is a good compromise or not.

The issue of cultural appropriation could be had. It is mentioned that the author worked with the language experts from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, and in story residential schools are mentioned and briefly depicted. Was this respectful or enough research I cannot say.

You mighy find additional concern with the trans rep, it is mentioned that an outside source was consulted to bring authenticity. Related, a person was consulted about the Cantonese depicted. Was this enough I cannot say.

Individuals will each have their own feelings about own voices vs researched stories. There's no one perfect answer but I can only provide the info that's in the book to help you make informed decisions.

On Goodreads

[jodiesjamiez]

hey just wanted to ask how or why exactly has Loretta so easily forgotten forgiven issues between her and Tommy and how he treated her I get the dad's letter but still feels slightly sudden she has softened I guess? Also accepted the situation rather quickly ..also Tommy baited her to go talk to that detective and then killed him and blamed her for killing him what was he exactly expecting? usually he isn't unnecessarily violent so I am thinking why would he create that situation for himself given the potential for fallout given the hassle, for controlling and checking Loretta ? might as well have stoped her just before she entered the office take the docomument from her do whatever, why make it messy? , he doesn't realises but he does acts irrationally n not as calculated when it comes to Loretta. The way things escalated between them previously it's a little suprising that Loretta is all in with hi I will a good wife bcz tommy's expression etc hasn't changed so exactly what has changed when it comes to how Loretta feels and thinks about Tommy ?

Major spoilers for Daffodils (dark!tommyxoc) below the cut,

excuse the gif, I just don't want a mountain of text on my page lol, and who doesn't love Cillian smoking...

Loretta’s emotional pivot is not meant to be a complete forgiveness. When it seems like she’s “softened,” what’s actually happening is more complex: she’s adapting.

She's learned that resistance costs her more than it protects her, and right now her strategy has shifted. She hasn’t truly forgotten how Tommy treated her. That trauma is still there. But she’s emotionally exhausted and trying to find something to anchor herself to now that everything else she put value in (her authority over the girls, her independence, even her control over her body and choices) has been stripped away in previous arcs of the story.

And yes, her change is partly trauma-induced. She has moments of clarity and resentment still beneath the surface during her time in America, but now she’s keeping them to herself as they are not productive to dwell on. It's not that she trusts Tommy either, yet it’s that she understands him. And in a twisted way, understanding him makes him more predictable than the world outside. That’s what she’s clinging to.

Her father’s letter didn’t erase what Tommy did, but it shifted her lens. She’s seeing the wider cost of holding on to the past. It’s not total forgiveness, it's just a reprioritization of energy. She could fight him every day, but that wouldn’t change her current circumstances. She’s still guarded, but she's choosing a path that keeps her safer and less fractured. Being “on his side” like he has been asking of her for the past few chapters…

As for the lawyer's death, Tommy could have stopped Loretta outside the office, taken the document, and handled things cleanly. But he didn’t. He let her walk in there because, on some level, he wanted her to feel the danger of what crossing him meant. It was reactive, controlling, and messy. Totally out of character for calculated Tommy, but completely in character for Tommy-when-it's-personal. With Loretta, Tommy is no longer fully strategic; his obsession makes him volatile. He believes he’s still in control, but his actions betray him. He didn’t anticipate that the man she’d meet would be Section D, or that he’d be armed, or that Loretta’s life would be threatened. That wasn’t part of the plan. Tommy expected to intimidate her, not risk her. But that miscalculation is telling. 

So you’re right about him acting irrationally. He was blinded by the need to reassert dominance, to punish and scare her back into place, and in doing so, he exposed just how unlike himself he becomes when it comes to Loretta. What he intended as a warning escalated beyond his control, and even afterward, he refused to acknowledge how deeply misjudged it was because doing so would mean facing the uncomfortable truth that with Loretta, he’s no longer operating from clarity, but from impulse.

And didn’t create the situation, he misjudged it. Killing the man was a reaction to a threat Tommy hadn’t foreseen. And despite what it may look like, taking a life is never something Tommy does lightly, as you mentioned. 

And it’s important to keep in mind that Loretta and Tommy were apart for six months after the incident with the lawyer. She didn’t just fold overnight; she crossed an ocean to escape the fallout, to grieve, to think, and to breathe without being under Tommy’s watch. That time apart was a clean break. And during that time, she had her space to reconsider what she wanted on her own terms.

The marriage gave Tommy a legitimate out. Loretta didn’t walk blindly into it. She knew the stakes, and he explained them clearly to her. She understood that whatever safety or power this gave him, it gave her something too: a claim, a name, and a kind of authority she hadn’t held before. I do admit, it’s a little harder to get a full sense of Loretta’s mindset in that chapter since it was told from Tommy’s point of view during the prison wedding. We see how he’s processing it and his desperation, but we’re not fully inside her yet. So it makes sense that it’d feel a bit sudden unless you’re carrying her emotional arc from earlier chapters forward.

Loretta’s adaptation into the role of a wife is more about restoring a sense of control and purpose that’s been missing from her life for a long time. She doesn’t necessarily feel safe or understood, but she does feel anchored, and that’s something she’s craved. Managing Arrow House gives her structure. It’s a world she can organize and maintain. She’s good at running things, and domestic life gives her back a version of the authority she once had.

And of course, being a Shelby wife carries a kind of social and political weight. It puts her in proximity to power, and Loretta has always been drawn to power because she’s spent a good portion of her life at the mercy of others. From the very first chapter, her weakness has been that deep, desperate longing to matter in a world that keeps telling her she doesn’t. Now, despite herself, she’s found a version of that. There’s irony in it because she didn’t ask for this outcome, and yet it suits her. She has standing now. This doesn’t mean she’s fully at peace. But for once, she’s not chasing scraps of dignity. And even if it came through a man, through a flawed and volatile arrangement, it’s still hers to manage.

Loretta doesn’t trust easily, but she does adapt, and she knows how to make uneasy situations work in her favor.

[ckerouac]

So I have to say that after the first two eps of Justified: City Primeval, I love what the inclusion of Willa brings to the story.

She's exactly who she should be - a sheltered middle class white girl who takes joy in being a little shit. Because she's 15 and every 15 year old has the spirit of a little shit. You're pushing against boundaries because that's what you do at that age. I don't know if that's Vivian's natural pitch to her voice or a choice, but I love that they're going with such a high pitch because it really emphasizes that she's a child.

And her being a child is so important to the story and what we get to learn about Raylan because this is the first time in the series that we're getting to see Raylan from the eyes of someone who cares about him but doesn't know him. Yes, he's her father and they very clearly have a relationship from the very first scene in the car (the teasing about texting, the 'we don't have to tell mom' suggested in a way that that's worked before and she's a bit of a daddy's girl, the good natured sulk of a kid that's not uncomfortable with that parent, and the lack of worry of her face when he shoots out the truck tire because she trusts her dad to take care of her). But how many of us actually knew our parents when we were teenagers? We didn’t.

Raylan, for good or for ill, and for reasons justified or not (see what I did there?) has a lot of anger inside him that gets shoved down. We know this. And everyone who we meet in Justified already knows this about him. You have folks who knew him growing up, knows his family situation, or was a direct cause of a lot of that trauma - Arlo, Helen, Boyd, Ava, the Bennets, etc. You have folks who work with him and know the man who shot Tommy Bucks at lunch for reasons justified or not - Art, Rachel, Tim, the Dixie Mafia, the Detroit Mafia, etc. And then you have Winona, who knows him well enough to be married, divorced, and then co-parenting with him. The most outside view we get of him is Loretta, who is also a child but a child who has a wildly different set of experiences than Willa and is not surprised when violence comes to her door.

Which leaves Willa as someone who very obviously loves her father, but the father who is dry humored, stubborn, a little indulgent, etc. Raylan was confronted with his past in Justified and what it did to him, and he's very obviously keeping that from Willa. When they're talking about what route to take home on their road trip, she suggests going through Harlan because 'that's where we come from, right?' And he deflects because he doesn't want to show her that part of him and his history. (This is yet another little point I love that shows that even if Raylan isn't the custodial parent, they still have a great relationship because Willa constantly uses 'we' instead of 'you' and I love that they do that here. And he's going to be blaming himself hard for not getting back to the hotel sooner, which I am here for that guilt).

We get to see Raylan as Willa sees him.

And when Raylan is absolutely beating the shit out of Clement outside the hotel, we are cheering because this asshole threatened Willa, and he needs to stay away, and we want Raylan to defend his daughter, and we want to see that anger slip through, and we want to see it, and we want him to do it, and we want...

And then we turn around and realize that Willa is seeing her father for the first time as the angry man we all already know he is, and that we enjoy him being. And it fucking hurts. Because we have to confront that this is not a good thing we want him to do and to be. Because here is the only person who never saw him as 'the angriest person I've ever met' like Winona says in the pilot, watching him beat a man on a sidewalk in what looks like to her a complete unprovoked situation.

So what happens now? How is her innocence about her dad broken? And how does Raylan deal with the one person who never knew him as that Givens boy from Harlan seeing what he’s willing to do?

I love that we get to see that. I can't wait to get that answered.

[sacredhyacinth]

Hey Elle! Quick question about Organa’s old language! (I promise I’ll stop asking questions soon I’m just incredibly curious and lore analysis is sorta like my online job at this point)

Considering the bm gang are all Organa natives(besides Sasha) do they all know the Organa language? Is it something taught in school?

And also, I’m assuming Roman and Raquel also had to learn it when they created the museum?

The Organa Alphabet isn't used as often on the Island anymore, It's more like a dead language than anything. Though it is taught by a select few tutors like Mrs. Bernadotte, Loretta and the gang's tutor. Roman and Raquel had to decipher the language themselves using old texts found around the island and temples.

[darkfictionjude]

Etymology nonnie here!

God, I'm utterly astonished about the story between Clark Gable, Loretta Young and the daughter Judy. I didn't know much about Gable other than his role in Gone with the Wind, so I didn't expect to find this.

So, it you are taking inspiration from that story, and MC is technically "legitimate"... I hope I'm not getting this wrong, but does this mean that MC would be adopted by their (white) biological parent? Or do you have something else in mind?

I almost regret asking the other ask, because now I need answers and to think about this, and have nothing to grasp on. Just speculation. And if there is something that is true, is that speculating about something you are excited about can be detrimental to your enjoyment of said thing. So I also have to measure myself when it comes to this.

Also, following from the story of Judy Lewis... Will our MC be subjected to surgery to change one very identifiable feature? After all, Judy got her ears pinned back so her resemblance to Gable wasn't so obvious. So it would stand to reason to suspect something similar could be done to our MC. Even more so, as you mentioned, if MC has certain unmistakable POC features they and their employers would want to disguise or get rid of altogether.

This also makes me wonder about our MC's name. I always assumed MC could have an original name and a stage name (like Marilyn Monroe, for example). But given the story you took inspiration from... It would make sense for MC maybe been given a name that would make sense from their POC origin from the parent who isn't white (so, for example, a Latina mother calling her child María or Arturo, to just choose any name), and then is adopted by the white parent and given a "white" name that gets used in their Hollywood career (maybe a transformation of the original POC name, if applicable, so in my example María would turn to Mary and Arturo to Arthur).

Of course that's assuming the white parent adopted MC.

I cannot wait for more information in this IF. Any new thing I learn the MC I had in my head changes ever so slightly. And I'm sure once you release the first demo, I will end up making a completely different MC to what currently I'm conceiving in my mind. After all, it's a rather common experience for me that the MC I had originally in mind before trying an IF changes once I play, as actually experiencing the IF begets a completely different character.

MC name? That’s assuming that the other parent that’s not white — or in case of a white mc — just the other parent, is as involved in their life as the primary parent. But also who’s the primary parent? 👀👀👀

[maineshewrote]

I-just-started-s4e8-thoughts:

So I take it in this episode we're solving Dudenoff's murder by focusing on the Westies, who probably didn't do it, with an Oliver Putnam side quest of how to (panic and) plan a wedding.

I would have never thought seeing Paul Rudd in an episode's opening titles would bring me so much joy.

Watch out, we're getting another power cut in this episode. Probably with the incineration of Dudenoff, who by the way has got so much class for sending his invitations via raven. Seriously, the opening titles are so informative.

I think it's so stylish that the actors are dressing like their characters all throughout the season now.

I adored the twist in the comedic cliché of we-need-to-come-up-with-anything-but-that and then someone coming up with exactly that, except! it's not that. They're on the Arconia set, aren't they?

Charles's low-key fury at how wrong they got his apartment is on point.

Look at the painting! "Mean, cold meat." The way I cackled.

But did y'all notice that all of Loretta's lines on the phone were from her previous appearances on the show because Meryl was not part of this episode's cast? (Example: Loretta's, "I can't believe we're here," is from Sitzprobe.)

Going by Galifragilistic's theory of the wedding setting the tone for the marriage they want, Oliretta should get married at home, because all they really want is to be together, go back to their funny little apartment and fall asleep in each other's arms.

The bigger surprise here was learning that Oliver's front door actually locks.

Yep, called it. Incinerator power cut. The note was definitely left by the killer and not Dudenoff.

"Dead men don't send ham." Am I crazy or is everything a movie pun? This time on Steve Martin's "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid".

Beautiful and tragic story with Dudenoff. I'm not even mad it wasn't a murder (and that I was wrong about the note to Helga), this is so much more poetic and so very fitting for an artist like him.

And they brought back "Here's Looking at You" from season 2, that's so sweet.

Oliver, you old romantic. That monologue was so touching, finally we're back to canonically tender Oliretta.

Lovely to hear them using the phrase "found family" that the fandom has long identified with the main theme of the show.

Finally!! I was going to complain about the serious lack of Gut Milk this season. At least they mentioned it.

Don't you dare! Glen is definitely not involved (or, at least, he isn't guilty). Glen is precious.

[lorianbladeoflothric]

18?

18. it’s absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on…

Frankly, the npcs outside of the god-divorce family tree. I've been playing through and like, really looking at everything and trying to do every quest and there are a lot of cool smaller stories and interesting characters.

I love Roderika and Hewg, I like Maleigh Marais, I like Gideon a lot more than I used to once I learned his whole spymaster deal instead of just knowing him as That Guy In The Library Who Hates You, I'm literally writing a fic about Millicent's sisters (and her ofc, but like nobody's sleeping on Millie) , oh and I think my friends would disown me if I didn't bring up Loretta.

Like I don't expect these characters to get a shit ton of recognition bc there isn't a lot to them, but idk if it's just me but I rarely see fanart/fic for the less important characters.

[blogger360ncislarules]

Wedding bells are ringing again for Jesse and Becky!

John Stamos and Lori Loughlin paid homage to their iconic Full House characters at a live event, looking back at their season 4 wedding. The reunion was hosted by fellow Full House alumni Andrea Barber and Jodie Sweetin as part of their rewatch podcast, How Rude, Tanneritos!, on June 5 at the iHeartRadio Theater in Los Angeles.

Stamos, who played Jesse, and Loughlin, who played Becky, were joined by some fun surprise guests. Series creator Jeff Franklin, Scott Weinger (Steve), and Marla Sokoloff (Gia) all joined in on the fun as they looked back at Jesse and Becky's 1991 wedding.

Loughlin, 60, plunged into wedding memories, revealing that Becky's elaborate headdress originally belonged to Loughlin's aunt.

"Funny thing about that headdress, that headdress belonged to my aunt. That was her headdress from her wedding. She gave it to me, and I used it," she shared.

Despite it looking bulky, Loughlin says the elaborate piece "wasn't that heavy."

She also confirmed that she used her own wedding dress from her 1997 wedding to husband Mossimo Giannulli for the episode.

"When they came up with the wedding episode, I recently got married, and I remember I went to Gina and Roberta, and I said, 'Well, we could.' And actually, it was Gina's idea, our costume designer. She said, 'Do you want to wear your own wedding dress for the episode?' And I thought that would be so amazing, and so that's how it ended up on the show."

Laughing, Loughlin noted that "It was thrashed by the time it was over. I'm running the streets of Culver City driving a van."

"But that's how it came about. It was really Gina, our costume designer's idea, and I just thought it was great."

Stamos recalled the parachuting scene in the episode. "My favorite part of that was I asked my friend Kin Shriner — who was from General Hospital [and] played Scotty Baldwin — and he played Sheriff Harold, and he comes out with a bullhorn... The Sheriff of Tomato Country coming out, eating a tomato with salt on it."

He also touched on the use of "Forever," explaining, "That song is really beautiful. It’s an underrated Beach Boys song that Dennis Wilson sang, and they never... it just kind of sat there."

"Dennis passed away. Then that's when I started playing, but I knew that he loved that song, and I don't think it ever got the attention that it deserved. So I was grateful that I got to do that for them," he continued.

"It's a beautiful song about unrequited love, and I do it now in the live shows, and I show a video [talking] about Bob [Saget] a little bit, just about telling people that you love them, that you care about them, because tomorrow's never promised. And we learned that with Bob, unfortunately," Stamos noted.

In the episode, a slideshow showing each character throughout the years plays. Loughlin says the baby picture used for her isn't actually her.

"It was him, but it was not me. The toddler picture was me, but the infant picture is not... I couldn't get to them fast enough or something. I didn't have it. Didn't have an actual infant picture, so they used somebody else's child."

Loughlin also shared, "Both of our moms were extras," in the episode. "I love that they were, and your mom was the best extra. She was so into it. Loretta gave it her all. And my mom was like, 'This is terrible,' not feeling the whole way."

"My mom was a bit of a ham bone. I don't know where I got it. That made it very special."

Barber, 48, and Sweetin, 43, played neighbors Kimmy Gibbler and Stephanie Tanner, respectively, on Full House. The onscreen friends have remained close in real life, reuniting to launch their rewatch podcast of the show in 2023. They also reprised their roles on the Netflix spinoff Fuller House, which ran from 2016 to 2020.

In the original Full House, running from 1987 to 1995, the romance between Uncle Jesse and Aunt Becky was a major plot line.

Becky was first introduced as Danny Tanner's cohost on Wake Up, San Francisco in season 2. Jesse was immediately smitten when he saw her, but Becky wasn't ready for a relationship, so the pair decided to remain friends.

Of course, the story didn't end there: Becky and Jesse got together at the end of season 2. They got married in a two-part episode in season 4 and had twin boys in season 5.

Stamos revealed in his 2023 memoir, If You Would Have Told Me, that his relationship with Loughlin was once on the “precipice of turning romantic.”

Stamos said he and his onscreen wife had “sort of true friendship that’s supposed to be the foundation of a great, lasting relationship," while shooting Full House.

While Stamos went on to marry Caitlin McHugh — who made a brief appearance at the event — and Loughlin married Giannulli, the pair continues to have a great friendship.

Since the end of Fuller House in 2020, Sweetin and Barber have kept the Full House nostalgia going with their retrospective podcast.

"Full House was our childhood for eight years, eight very formative years. And so getting to relive those memories, things that we haven't thought about in 35 years, I expect it's going to deepen our bond even more than it already is," Barber said ahead of the podcast's launch in 2023.

"At least I hope so. Or maybe we'll hate each other at the end of this. I don't know," she jokingly added.

[potterandpromises]

OMITB 3x06 liveblogging (some negativity this time around):

Oh so maybe Loretta did write fucking pig on Ben’s mirror. I was of the opinion that he wrote it himself.

Joy left President McKinley and only President McKinley ijhgfdftghyj

Pretty telling that the ‘future starts haunting you’ bit was said while Tobert was in the shower and Mabel was alone. This relationship is not good.

Good on Charles and Oliver for not letting Tobert come with 👍 (he was fine in 3x03, I found him irredeemably sleazy in 3x05.)

Charles, I promise your ex's fish is not all you have in life. The trio? Lucy? Investigating this murder perhaps?!

Charles is gonna kill that fish.

I really don’t think Tobert thinks Jonathan did it. I think it’s an excuse to be closer to Mabel, perhaps for an as yet unrevealed motive other then the obvious.

Another reference to a mother. What is that, 936?

What did I say about the fish...

There’s no way you grab a guy’s medication out of his hand and don’t come out looking like the asshole.

Oliver’s face the moment he (possibly?) starts to suspect Charles did it.

Mother reference number 937.

Oliver, you’re making the wrong choice.

Okay, how long was Brozos on? I assumed it ended in like the late 90s/early 2000s. Was the Chipotle app thing a reboot idea??

Oliver is pissing me off this season. He’s always been selfish but it’s never been this pronounced. I guess I would’ve hoped he’d have learned something by now. Like I know in real life growth isn't linear, but this feels like a backslide from season 2 and it isn't very satisfying to watch.

Mabel wearing a sweater the same exact color as the one she wore in 2x07. Mabel wearing blue in general this episode and next episode. Theo’s coming. I haven't been this excited for an episode of television for shipping reasons in yearrrrs.

[sitcom-thoughts]

i'm trying to "solve" this season of only murders in the building!

tag is #taylor watches omitb

Only Murders in the Building spoilers for all seasons below the cut! (current as of season 3, episode 5)

i had a week where i did a bunch of research on how murder mysteries are written so now i feel qualified to try and solve this season before the final episode (even tho i'm not qualified at all)

my main suspect atm after watching episode 5 is Loretta, and i'm also sus of Dickie (but we haven't really had enough info about him yet). I've honestly been sus of Loretta for a few episodes now and the evidence keeps building.

I've obviously ruled out Joy (i ruled her out pretty quickly as having another one of Charles' partners be the killer would be a bit tired), as well as Bobo and Ty. Tobert I'm like 99% sure is okay because they've also done the 'mabel's love interest is sus' storyline.

I'm on the fence about Kimber, she doesn't really seem to have a strong enough motive or connection. The hanky thing was resolved and we learned more about her and her business in a previous episode. The only thing I can think is if she needed Ben's sponsorship because her beauty line is failing, so his endorsement would boost her brand. He then refused to do it, she killed him so that the play would get a bunch of press and thus give her beauty brand advertising through the tragedy. That still doesn't feel like a suuuper strong motive but I'm not completely ruling it out at this time.

Maybe Loretta and Kimber worked together to kill Ben??

right now the most solid theory i have is that during the footage where it seems Ben is talking to someone in his dressing room i don't think he's actually talking to anyone, my theory is that he's talking to a plate of cookies that weren't supposed to be there. Someone has put the cookies in there and poisoned them knowing Ben isn't able to resist eating them (as we were shown in ep 1).

anyways, i think that's all my thoughts for now, it's almost 11:30pm so i gotta sleep

[reba-stein]

.

Reba scoffed. She saw the appeal of it, the amusement and the advantage of plastering everything under the sun with a grinning witch, make a buck selling it and call it a day. Still, when she thought of the old Salem witches, people who were just like her sister Dinah, like Loretta and Ophelia, persecuted, hunted and executed, just to have their history turned into a tale for tourists –it made her teeth grind. She sighed and looked down at the cold ground. "Yeah, big cities... They've got their things." Sometimes, admittedly, she missed New York; she missed the delis, the noise, the nightlife, the scene. Then she remembered that what she actually missed was the people she knew, and then she thought about something else to avoid getting sad.

"More than a phase," she agreed as she dropped the ashes of her cigarette. "It was just how I lived, how I managed my life, how I managed balancing everything... I know it was not the healthiest choice. But hell, it was so much fun," Reba said with a smile. "Now I'm smarter, and it's just an hour or two, a little drink and a little smoke. No harm done by it." She had done enough harm already.

Knowing she had the potential for harm, though, didn't mean she expected that from the other doctor. "You mean... You hurt others?" she asked gently, brow slightly furrowed, as if she couldn't quite believe that from Brook. "... I know what you mean. I know what that's like –at least to some degree. The... The regret—" The word came out of her mouth like a sigh of thin smoke. "... You just learn to live with it. Yes, you make something new, and... You manage." Reba managed to chuckle. A few seconds passed, and she cleared her throat and leaned towards Brook. "But the –the issue is really the dosage, though, isn't it? In my experience, trying to go cold turkey from your poison of choice just doesn't work." She nodded towards her cigarette. "You got to choose what to keep in, and what to leave out. How to manage, and how to keep yourself sane. Otherwise, you're just a relapse waiting to happen." Was this medically sound advice? Probably not. But it was what worked for Reba –at least, what she liked to believe was working for her.

.

"Rings a bell," Reba nodded. "Salem –land of magic, mystery and witchcraft, or so I've heard. Have you charmed any patients there, cast a couple little spells?" she asked with a wink. "I know I would, if it made things any easier." Her first assumption was that people were generally more rude in big cities –judging from personal experience; then again, she hadn't had the specific experience of being a renowned surgeon in a place like Boston. All Reba knew was that, having only had short-term, low level jobs before finally landing in Cardinal Hill, small-town folks could be more patient and understanding. It was one of the reasons she had liked the town in the first place.

Reba raised her eyebrows at what almost sounded like a threat. Once again, a long, slow drag. "... Alright, Brook." She wasn't going to let him win, much less to even entertain the idea he could manage to make her change her mind.

"Hm. I'd be hard-pressed to call my wild days a 'phase'..." She crossed her arms, still holding up the cigarette, and gave him a look over. "You say 'really', but I wonder. No cool scars, no embarrassing tattoos? Nothing to show for it? I mean, whatever happened, you seem to be doing just fine for yourself now." Reba did have a cool scar to prove her point, but not one she could show him.