#and then there's showrunner's comment for this scene...

[acecroft]

Knock, knock! Who's there? Butter. Butter who? Well, you butter get out your umbrellas 'cause it is about to goddamn rain. THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY 1.02

[jimmyspades]

"Look alive!" THE BLACKLIST 10.13 "The Sicilian Error of Color"

[metabolizemotions]

They only fetishize queer people. Especially our pain. We are not real, entire human beings to them. The celebrate the straight couples - their relationship, intimacy n all; fetishize the bodies of queer men; n fetishize the idea of queer women.

The extent to which they tolerate our sexuality is the short snippets in promo clips. They only want to exploit our online engagement. Ironically our viewership might be bringing in the ad buyers who r trying to erase us.

They try to erase the specificity of the "queer" part, but only use the pain, the convenient stereotypes, the virtue-signaling part to gain brownie points n for good drama. They joke about cultural appropriation n did exactly that during the pride episode with the straight couple's proposal. Same-sex marriage. What are you talking about? It's about queer hate n straight allyship.

They capitalize on the "women" part, to further fetishize our biology. So if it's 2 women in a relationship - it's double the drama about making babies, bad genes, n jokes about hormones n our body parts. But it's 2 women, how can they possibly manage w/o "big, strong, sensitive", straight men with good genes to contribute n overflowing empathy to deal with them being emotional n hormonal?

It's 5b, it's pride, it's the burning man all over again. First they elevate Jack, now Beckett. Pride was about cheating queer men n high queer woman. An intimate scene of Marina must be minimized n hidden among the others' or edited to death in a montage. It's as scary as a man burning to death.

The fact that they haven't even shared a proper kiss this season through any joyful or emotional moment... They just come up with more ways to obscure the kiss, if any. Bad lighting, bad angles n bad editing are prerequisites. They r also written into the script.

Of course they make an important life decision in the NICU, n it's completely inappropriate for a married w|w to share a quick kiss - which we saw via the back of their heads. Unlike a gay man having sex with an ex at the funeral of the ex's dad - while cheating on his partner - twice. Perfectly lit with no obstructions of course.

Even in their ugly kitchen they're assigned, with a perfectly good scene setup, nope. Too brightly lit for queer woman - save it for a long morning kiss b/w gay men in their nice kitchen.

Emotional scene about Carina's fertility issues and reciprocal IVF - okay a kiss allowed grudgingly - but just 0.5 sec. Their lips touched. You get the idea. Why are you fans so demanding? Time is reserved for the 101th proposal of the straight couple n their extended kisses. A proper Marina love scene? You perverts. More explicit sex scenes b/w straight couples are needed.

I don't want to rehash about Jack. I've said plenty about Beckett. Just that men's mistakes are dismissed and minimized. It is not enough to show every painful step of Maya apologizing and making amends. Maya and Carina must also be used to make the audience sympathize with Jack and Beckett. It is a deliberate yet thoughtless choice to use Carina's SA trauma to sympathize with Jack. Just as it is to use Maya's family trauma to sympathize with Beckett. Esp the context of the shot. It is esp violating. They might as well just get Jack to show up for this. They never really got it, did they?

However one chooses to justify these choices, it's not only unnec but wrong to include the men. Esp not Beckett - the man who bullied her for months till her breakdown. Even if he never apologized and they insist on using Maya's pain to make him look good in his redemption arc, idc at this point, but this is just not the time.

If it must be a man, get Travis. Make it a conversation b/w queer people, about queer hate, about their families. Travis sympathizing with Maya, about a journey he wouldn't know about. Way better than jokes on hormones with the guys. A cheap way to get a laugh at an arduous process. I thought we left 5b n mocking queer women behind.

It could have been one beautiful scene with Andy and Vic. They haven't had a proper one since s1 & 2. They would have understood about Mason, if not for their long friendship, there's 703. It could have been about the pain women go thru - Andy and Vic about their abortions or Maya about experiencing what Carina underwent... The show really isn't big on female camaraderie.

But it should really be Carina. Among all the scenes of Carina in the station bathroom - which have been a lot - this is probably the most appropriate if they must set it there. Definitely more so that her own insemination, which was ridiculous.

These are moments that they should only share with each other, privately n intimately. These precious moments that are dwindling - few n short to begin with. It's not irl, it's one scene in an ensemble show. They sure could have romanticized this. It doesn't even have to be half as dramatic as a regular scene of their golden couple. D & S will create magic.

Esp in this episode, there's so much to unpack. With everything they've been thru on their own, the ending could have been about them at home, checking in n sharing their day. Talking about the lawsuit, the hate on queers, their brothers, the boundaries they had to set with their families... Doing the trigger shot together - esp after their emotional scene in 705 n to cap off the morning scene. A perfect setup for their emotional n physical intimacy.

But of course it didn't happen. Other important moments in their lives about their new home n new baby were also short parts of wordless montages. They are even less important than scenes of the others having drinks n sex.

Queer women just don't matter.

[charlie-rulerofhell]

Daemon‘s fighting skills

"We wanted to show Daemon‘s fighting style. His dynamism and his ability to move and think on the run."

[perseruna]

heyyyy do you have any details/sources for the ca*ill being a jackass thing? ngl i watch twn for yen and jaskier so i was already planning on continuing to season 4 but i'd love some reasons to be actively excited for the actor switch. but i haven't kept up on the behind-the-scenes stuff so i'm kinda lost on that front if you're up for sharing any of what you know!

okay guys buckle up this is THE anti henry cavill megathread xoxo

First of all him dating a teenager as a 33 year old fully grown man literally gross and disgusting.

Also as this quote implies they started dating a year prior and only went public when she was 19 so they supposedly started dating when she was 18.

His entire dating history is a MESS. Sure the women he dated are not him, but he chose to date them, I wouldn't even associate myself with people like these let alone be in a relationship with them. He dated the infamous transphobic TERF Gina Carano, albeit before her loud controversy, but I doubt her harmful views were any different back then. His current gf has a history of doing black face.

His "Me Too" comments.

His comments on the Me Too movement are literally so vile. If you don’t want to be called a rapist, just don’t rape women, it’s literally as simple as that. They’re even more foul because they’re promoting the idea that women lie about their abusive for fame, promoting that harmful rhetoric especially in our times is incredibly dangerous.

Now onto his on set behavior.

We can't talk about his set behavior without mentioning the deuxmoi set leak. Here's the transcript of it:

[Transcript:

There’s something I really really wanted to read to you guys--it has to do with why Henry Cavill left The Witcher. I know that was something that you guys were super interested in when it happened, and I just recently got this message. Somebody was like “Hey, do you want to know what really went down?” And I was like “Sure!” So let me just read it. It says:

“At the beginning of the show, Henry was good to work with. A lot of difficult demands that made people feel like he wasn’t a team player, but that’s not unusual for a really big star. Though in TV it truly usually doesn’t happen until the second season. But in season two and three something shifted and he became really impossible for women to work with, which is always a big problem, but even worse here because the showrunner is a woman. He would try to overrule her and try to get changes made last minute across the board without her knowledge, which, if you know anything about showrunning, is completely fucked. The showrunner has to sign off on every miniscule detail down to the buttons on a costume. Female writers and directors were suddenly being completely ignored on set, unable to do their jobs. Every department head was complaining. He started making comments—it wasn’t a sexual thing, he wasn’t grabbing anyone or being lewd, but it was disrespectful and toxic all the same.

“He is deeply addicted to video games, to the point where it was like working with any other addict. He was distracted, he was late, he was obsessive, and a lot of people think the misogyny came from gamer world. Video game bro language is not how you talk to coworkers, and he wouldn’t stop. Someone on the show compared it to watching someone get brainwashed by QAnon, like his whole personality shifted. Eventually his disrespect escalated. He would rewrite scenes without even alerting the other actors in the scenes until it was time to shoot. He decided that he didn’t want any romantic scenes at all—no kissing scenes, no shirtless scenes, et cetera. He wanted complete control of storylines but really had no idea of the limitations of TV, structure, budget, et cetera. He formed a weird alliance with one writer who was also a gamer, who eventually got fired after multiple HR complaints were made and after that writer left, Henry did anything he could to hold up production and cause problems.

“Eventually top brass at Netflix was tired of him costing them money with delays and HR investigations and the showrunner was asked to construct a potential exit for him. Netflix reached out to him personally and he was given one final warning, and violated that warning with an email he sent to the entire writing staff right after that meeting. That was it. It’s very disappointing.”

End transcript.]

Now believe me or not, but I know from a really good source that the leak was indeed real.

There's a lot of patterned behavior that tracks with what we know of him and his past controversies.

After that leak came out, there was a lot of people from different places coming to comment that ‘yes’ they’ve heard a very similar story adding a little bit more details of their own.

this quickly deleted tweet from one of the writers/producers:

there were rumors about him being an asshole to Anya specifically.

He went on record that he doesn't "understand" sex scenes. Which I know the sex discourse is rampant nowadays and each to their own, but he specifically signed up for a role that requires those scenes and then refused to do them and was allegedly nasty to Anya about it and with the way he talks about women...

Also it’s important to touch upon the “writer he had a weird alliance with” that man in question is Beau DeMayo of the recent fame of getting fired by Marvel from X-Men ‘97. He was previously allegedly fired from The Witcher for being emotionally and physically abusive. And he allegedly got fired from X-Men for being abusive as well. One of The Witcher writers tweeted this after Beau smeared them for “disliking the books” Beau was literally the first person to start that narrative.

The fact that it was HIS idea not to say lines of his dialogue in S1 and instead grunt. To the point that Joey had to take Henry’s lines and make it his own, so the plot would make sense, he talks about it in this interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Oyh0t117t0U&, and then once S2 press arrived Henry was talking about how he was trying to fight the big bad writers to give him more lines. Ridiculous.

Everyone is already pointing out that the cast looks so much happier without him, and it’s very true. Henry was never present on close to any BTS pics from filming the previous seasons, or on any cast dinners or birthdays. He wouldn't even do any shared interviews with the other three mains but only had solo interviews which to me was giving disrespectful like you're an ensemble you’re not the only lead here. It felt like he was above them to sit down and answer questions with them. When they were doing press junkets in Brazil and Poland Anya, Joey and Freya would always arrive together and leave together with that man leaving all the events early and by himself. And like people who post quotes from the cast about him being perfect from press junkets as “proof” are insane to me like Obviously they’re going to say nice things about him, not only they're newcomers, and he's an established industry name, but they’re doing PRESS for a show that he’s a STAR of (well, was lmao)

The fact that he never defended Anya from the racist trolls, even though most of them were HIS fans. Like she had to go through so much and that man couldn’t make a single comment about it as a leading man BUT he could make a whole IG post because people were being mean to his gf and calling her out for doing blackface.

And sure people might say that a lot of these are unverified sources, and I’d get it if it was a singular case, but there are a ton of these accounts that all match each other. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

[gentlereverie]

It's a shame how Cressida was treated at the end of season 3. I'm honestly so disappointed that the writers took the time to expand Cressida into a very sad, relatable, and sympathetic woman, who shows growth and furthers Eloise's character, only to throw it all away in the last four episodes.

Cressida's whole arc this season is that she's an old maid, unlovable, and can't find a husband. Her future is incredibly bleak: an impending marriage to a man three times her age, social isolation, and being outcast from everything she knows. Cressida is a woman with no real friends, a scornful mother, and a downright horrific father, so she tries her best to claw her way out of her predicament with the old husband. Albeit, not the best way, but not a despicable one.

Instead of receiving any sympathy, she's used as comedic relief, berated for "not being clever" by her mother and many other characters (which I found so out of character because Cressida has always been sharp and observant, ever since season 1 when she was Daphne's pseudo-villain. Cressida even discovers LW's identity in a single day which took the Queen herself three years.)

Then, at her lowest point, Cressida is blown off and later disparaged by Eloise once she reconnects with Penelope, for no real purpose or reason. Eloise calls Cressida a "viper," when Cressida was there for her in her loneliness, when no one else would speak to her.

Cressida never gets a real chance to talk to Eloise or truly anyone about her feelings, her fear- besides Lady Cowper. The scene where Cressida breaks down, telling her she's scared, was heart-breaking. How are we supposed to cheer for this? (For Penelope's sake? I don't think anyone good would wish for the punishments Cressida received for trying to save herself!)

Cressida's mother even comments on how Eloise abandoned her in her time of need. Eloise Bridgerton (at least the one I thought I knew from the first half of the season, the woman who calls upon Cressida because "she did not seem herself") would never do this. They wrote her and Cressida to have truly connected. Sure, maybe it begun out of spite, but nowhere did they show us the friendship "falling apart" as Eloise randomly claims to Penelope near the end. It felt as though there were several episodes missed. Though- to be honest, Eloise has felt out of character for a long time in this show. (I do blame a lot of this on the very rushed pacing, and the showrunner being heavily biased toward Penelope.)

[lullabyes22-blog]

As Arcane S2 rolls around the corner, please remember...

That however beautiful this animated endeavor is, it remains the property of corporate giants like Riot, and streaming platforms like Netflix - both of which are notorious for

a) jumping that shark on successful premises due to a superabundance of bad suggestions trickling down to the creative depts in the form of Insipid Emails from Corporate

b) milking successful premises past the point of exhaustion due to their own success and leaving their twitching, feeble, barely-breathing remains to die an unceremonious death in the shadows of media obscurity, and

c) replacing their successful creators with less creative ones to save costs, because they don't understand the value of the creative input behind the show's success.

Please consider supporting the mobilization of workers/creatives on all shows - not just Arcane - to stop corporate meddling in the form of budget cuts and unfair wages, while their CEOs + board members continue to take home billions.

Please consider both petitioning and demanding that platforms like Netflix grow a spine and phase out the 'all episodes released at once' model, which actively harms the actors, animators, writers, costume designers, set departments, VFX experts and everyone else that worked hard on the series, by cheating them out of the right to receive paychecks and residuals over the lifespan of the show, instead of the cheapened instant gratification of a single deposit.

Please consider calling out Netflix on the need to have more episodes released per season on their shows, so writers, voice-actors, sound engineers and many others will have a steady stream of payments instead of an unpredictable one, and to give the characters, and the writers who wrote them, some breathing space instead of cramming all the plot points into 9 or 10 episodes.

Please remember that the creatives are often the public face of a franchise, and are often thrown into the line of fire when narrative decisions are made behind the scenes - decisions that they do not necessarily agree with, and are often not in control of, but are forced to sell anyway, lest they be replaced.

Please remember that hateful, threatening, and abusive behavior is not what we should be about as fans - and that the creatives who work on these shows/projects often read our comments, and feel the weight of our expectations and emotions.

Please consider supporting your creatives and showrunners as individuals, not just as "the person who makes X".

Please consider getting LOUD AF on Twitter/X about the bungling of character arcs via hashtags - and directing the vitriol @ the company producing the show, not the poor creators - because corporate runs numbers on that kind of stuff, and if there's a perceived furor about certain narrative directions/plotlines, they're less likely to ignore it and more likely to cave, because of the bottom line.

Please remember that a majority of dismal creative choices have come as a result of corporate/big tech pushing the button on creative decisions - and that, in order for us to be heard, we have to use our collective voice to push back, and keep pushing back until the message sinks in.

Please remember that beyond protecting a beloved series, it's about fighting to protect the people behind it, the same way they fought for the integrity of the story, and the characters, in their telling.

And, while we're at it, please support people within fandom spaces - like fanartists and fanfic writers - who share their labor of love for free, and don't get paid a cent, except in goodwill and appreciation.

Remember that fandoms are, first and foremost, a community.

It is not about content, but people.

Let's be good to each other, and to the creatives, and keep fighting for them to be treated well by the companies and executives who make money off their labor, and profit off our love.

<3

Some sources for funding. Feel free to add more.

The Animator Dormitory Project 2023

Grants for Writers in Need

Pen America

Entertainment Community

[canonicallyobserving911]

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Buck & Eddie: “3 minutes and 17 seconds”

In the 6x13 “Mixed Feelings” sneak peek video, Eddie corrected Chief Miranda Williams about the amount of time Buck was dead after he was struck by lightning in 6x10 “In a Flash”.  She said, “So three minutes...huh” and Buck replied, “What’s that?” Then she answered, “That’s how long you were dead” but Eddie corrected her and responded, “Three minutes and seventeen seconds”.

Since Eddie’s response to her comment was very specific, I got curious and timed the entire length of The Shooting from start to finish which was exactly 3 MINUTES AND 17 SECONDS (the scene with Hen calling Bobby to tell him Eddie had been shot was removed because it happened simultaneously while the firetruck was enroute to the hospital, therefore the time allotted for it doesn’t count). Starting the video with the bullet hitting Eddie’s shoulder and ending it when Buck responded, “No” to Captain Mehta after he asked him if he was ok, the amount of time that elapsed was exactly 3 minutes and 17 seconds.  I added a timer to the video to illustrate it.  

Reminder, in 4x13 “Suspicion” and 4x14 “Survivors” Eddie was in and out of consciousness when he got shot and Buck went into a catatonic state of shock so neither one of them would have known the amount of time it took to get Eddie to the hospital.  The only person who was aware and alert the entire time was Captain Jeshan Mehta. Also Buck told Eddie “We’re just minutes away, we’re so close” when they were in the back of the firetruck but he didn’t say the exact number of minutes that remained until they made it to the hospital.

Eddie’s comment further parallels The Shooting with The Lightning Strike since the total amount of time that elapsed from both of them being injured to them making it to the hospital was 3 minutes and 17 seconds.

I mentioned in a previous post that Buck and Eddie were no longer being paralleled with the other ships on the show, i.e., Madney, Henren and Bathena because they’re now being paralleled with each other in every way possible including their injuries and it’s happening quickly.

Will they become a CANON couple before the end of season 6?  Only the showrunner(s), writers and producers know the answer to that question.

[lookingfts]

This will probably be the only "rant" I do following season 3, but it's something I've been thinking about all day, just seeing some of the comments here on Tumblr. You may disagree with me - that's alright.

I do not and have never agreed with the stance that the show "hates" Kanthony or that the showrunners are against the characters or the actors. You may believe that if you wish; I simply think it makes no sense for the showrunners to actively sabotage their own work, and Jonathan and Simone have clearly launched into thriving careers.

What I really want to say is: we, as the fans, do not own the characters. I, as a fic writer, do not own the characters. To say that the people in charge of canon do not "understand" the characters is very odd to me. They literally define the characters. You may think they write the characters inconsistently, which is reasonable, but ultimately, the show's writers (and Julia Quinn, if you're looking at book canon) are the ones who say what the character is or isn't, what they do or don't do. Whether you agree with their choices or not, those people on screen ARE the characters.

As fans, we borrow the characters. We create different versions of them in our heads and explore them in different contexts. We create headcanons. And it seems to me that a lot of the frustration about S3 comes down to unfulfilled headcanons. The show is under no obligation to show us certain scenes - it's entitlement to think otherwise.

I've gotten quite a few comments on fics with some variation of "you care about the characters more than the show does!" There are a MILLION reasons why that might ring true. One being that I only care about Kanthony and don't concern myself with any of the other characters, which the show is not able to do. Another being that I don't have to take into account actors' schedules, production logistics, budgets or any other of a billion considerations for the show itself. A third being that I can write from the character's POVs and get into their heads, which is also not an option in TV.

It's fine to get disappointed that something you wanted to see wasn't included. I have scenes I would have loved to see. But my personal wishes not being met are not the fault of the show.

It's fine to say that Bridgerton has less-than-stellar writing. I would argue that it always has, and if you are still shocked by that after season 3, no you're not.

It's fine to want more of the characters you love. But be reasonable about all of the logistics that might have been behind certain decisions, and do not confuse what you have built up in your head as the only "right" way to tell the story (there's no such thing).

And for the love of Tumblr - if you say you're done with the show or you're going to leave the fandom, just do it. Don't drag on the misery.

[angelcatsiel]

The way Jodie Whittaker and her era of Doctor Who gets treated by both fans and the BBC really pisses me off. The way it feels like even the BBC is just trying to erase her and pretend she never existed. The change of clothes when she regenerates, and how all anyone talked about afterwards was David Tennant's return. The fact that the regeneration scene won an award, and the official Doctor Who instagram going 'David Tennant has won an award!'. The comments on that post, 'finally, now we can get back to GOOD doctor who!'. The fan page I just saw on facebook taking a quote out of context and falsely claiming that the timeless child arc had been 'scrapped'.

She had so much to contend with, being the first female Doctor, the change of showrunner, the at times mediocre writing (I agree there was some bad writing in her era, but I do think it's overhated and there are still some great stories in there), but she was fucking brilliant. She was the Doctor just as much as every other regeneration, and she always seems so passionate and excited about the show and her role. She deserves so much better.

[815superwolf]

why is jensen ackles so toxic?

i have been a supernatural fan for over ten years and i have known for a while that jensen has never been a fan of destiel, which would be completely fine if he didn't always react uncomfortable and downright disgusted every time someone mentions it and / or the possibility of dean being queer. i have seen him become very defensive and even hostile when asked questions about these things at conventions. to this day jensen (& jared) STILL vehemently call castiel's confession "platonic" and "brotherly" while the writers, showrunners and misha explicitly called it a romantic confession of love.

my problem with jensen's behaviour is that it seems to be rooted in very toxic masculinity and the fragility of it. he has called emotional writing "unmanly" and "effeminate" and "something dean would never say to another man"; he was glad that dean didn't share many scenes with castiel in season 9; he desperately wanted destiel "to go away" and something else that really irks me: so many times when destiel was talked about, he brought up wincest, as if that is in any way the same. he seems to associate queerness with unmanliness, weakness and something to be uncomfortable about.

i can understand that destiel extremists have insulted his wife, insinuated ridiculous things happened between actors etc but this is no excuse for his downright homophobic comments and behaviour. he can also imagine dean however he wants and i know he thinks he understands dean better than anyone but it's so sad to me how much he seems to limit dean in who he could be TO OTHER PEOPLE. who does it harm if a bunch of bi people see themselves in him and his behaviour? i thought jensen understood just how much dean hid from everyone. it makes me sad that he seems to want to forbid other people from interpreting dean differently than he does.

he should really take some time to reflect if dean winchester's non-canon sexuality is really worth coming across homophobic for.

EDIT: i'm not saying jensen can't have his opinion on dean and his sexuality or anything like that, i just wish he didn't react with disgust at other opinions.

[thebluemallet]

Predictions for Bridgerton Season 3

We're only a few short weeks away from the premiere of season 3 of Bridgerton, so here are some of my predictions for things I think could happen.

1- Peneloise won't reconcile until the last episode

Obviously, Eloise hasn't forgiven Penelope since the previous season. And it will be an uphill battle to get these two on speaking terms again. Eloise is definitely the kind of person to hold a grudge so she'll be the one kicking and screaming all the way up to the reconciliation. And Penelope won't be too keen at first, either. I think the show will milk the estrangement between these two all the way to the final episode at the latest, episode 7 at the earliest.

2- Benophie Will Be Next Season

Some people have speculated that Philoise will be the next Bridgerton couple, but I think it will be Benedict and Sophie. I don't think Eloise is there with her character development yet to seriously consider marriage. But Benedict might be.

3- Francesca Will Feel Some Pressure From Queen Charlotte

This isn't that groundbreaking of a prediction. Queen Charlotte has put some pressure on the romantic leads to choose a specific person for the first two seasons. With Daphne, it was the prince. With Anthony, it was Edwina. And if the promo photos are anything to go by, she has a specific suitor in mind for Francesca. But Francesca may have her own ideas on who she'd most like to marry.

4- Violet: Captain of the Polin Ship

This isn't really a prediction. This was pretty much said in an interview. Once Violet is clued into what's going on between Colin and Penelope, she's going to be feral for them. She'll be the one making the t-shirts and cheering from the sidelines. Hell, she might even lock the carriage door herself if she thinks it'll speed things up.

5- Cressida Uncovers Lady Whistledown...Because of Eloise

Do I think that Eloise is going to just come out and tell Cressida who is behind Lady Whistledown? No. Or at least, I hope she doesn't. If she really wanted to expose her ex-friend's secret identity, she would have already done it. For whatever reason, it seems as though Eloise is keeping the secret. HOWEVER, I do think that she'll make enough not-so-subtle comments that Cressida will figure it out for herself.

6- Colin Finds Out Penelope Is Whistledown In Episode 4

We know that we're getting The Carriage Scene in episode 4 and book readers especially will know that The Carriage Scene immediately follows Colin finding out that Penelope is Lady Whistledown. I think it's pretty likely that Episode 4 could still play out this way. And their expressions in those leaked clips allude to them having an emotionally turbulent time in that carriage before they start getting down to business.

7- ...Or Does He????

I can see the showrunners making things even more dramatic by delaying the Whistledown reveal to Colin. Maybe the raw emotion on their faces in the carriage is because Colin yeeted himself inside to beg Penelope not to marry Debling and he confesses his feelings instead. Maybe things start getting hot and heavy from there.

And then they're very hastily enaged.

But if Colin is still in the dark about Lady Whistledown, I can see the revelation happening a little later--most likely the very next episode--and oh, boy that emotional gut punch would knock the wind out of me.

[showmey0urfangs]

Louis and Armand

I've noticed something about scenes of Louis and Armand:

In many of their scenes together, they often have Armand standing over Louis. It is especially significant because before the Armand reveal, Rashid is supposed to be Louis's servant, so his domineering position would be considered odd given his station.

Armand also puts his hand on Louis's shoulder when Louis is upset, in what could be seen as a comforting gesture but also as a means to restrain him.

He is often shown looking down at Louis or Louis is looking up at him like in the scene from the 70s flashback. Louis's deference is further emphasized by the dialogue because in this scene Louis is asking for his approval/permission to take Daniel home. It's subtle, but it's definitely hinted at that Armand has the final say on what happens. The way he responds with - “Go ahead, have your fun” sounds like a parent allowing their kid to go play outside with their friends.

Even in the scene when Louis says Armand is the love of his life, Armand is standing over him despite the two being of similar height. Armand is standing one step above him, which lets me think it was a conscious decision by the showrunners to have him towering over Louis.

I'm not one of the — Armand has Louis trapped in a tower and has brainwashed him— believers, but I agree that the show used this framing as a visual representation of their relationship dynamic—Armand plays the servant but really he is the one in charge, and for all of Louis's grandstanding and intimidation tactics, he is not as powerful or as in control as he tries to have Daniel/the audience think.

But rather than this pointing to Armand being a controlling jailer, my theory is that what Armand says in episode 7 is true—that Louis is so far gone that he is no longer capable or willing to take care of himself so Armand had to step in to make sure that Louis feeds, gets enough rest and doesn't do stupid self-destructive shit like yeeting himself in the midday sun.

It makes their "love" story even more tragic imo because Armand is putting in all this effort to care for a man who ultimately doesn't love him and is still pinning over his toxic ex, which is very typical Armand behaviour really. The guy is the king of unrequited love and century-long pinning.

Anyways, thank you for coming to my ted-talk let me know what your theories are in the reblogs/comments.

[ktempestbradford]

There is so much to talk about with this article. So much. In this post I want to focus on a specific part of it: the reactions of Lindelof and Cuse to what the writers and actors experienced. Here are several quotes [emphasis mine].

“What can I say? Other than it breaks my heart that that was Harold [Perrineau's] experience,” replied Lindelof, who said he did not recall “ever” saying that. “And I’ll just cede that the events that you’re describing happened 17 years ago, and I don’t know why anybody would make that up about me.”

Lindelof told me he didn’t remember any negative incident with an editor, adding that he seeks out input from collaborators and that he’s “never threatened anyone’s career.” Lindelof also said he had no recollection of anything Hsu Taylor said about events connected to “Ab Aeterno.” He said she was a “great writer who executed at a high level” and he’s “stricken” that she was made to feel the way she felt at that time.

Regarding the other allegations leveled at him and the show, Lindelof said he had no memory of the incidents and comments I related. He told me he was “shocked and appalled and surprised” by the incidents I described to him, and said more than once that he did not think anyone was making anything up. “I just can’t imagine that Carlton would’ve said something like that, or some of those attributions, some of those comments that you [shared]—I’m telling you, I swear, I have no recollection of those specific things. And that’s not me saying that they didn’t happen. I’m just saying that it’s literally baffling my brain—that they did happen and that I bore witness to them or that I said them. To think that they came out of my mouth or the mouths of people that I still consider friends is just not computing.”

I'm not going to quote Cuse's responses here because they all boil down to: "I don't remember doing/saying that" or "Nuh uh, that didn't happen!" which is... certainly a choice.

You're going to see a bunch of people siding with and empathizing with Lindelof and praising him for saying that what happened was wrong, etc., and I will push back every time I see it because of all those instances of him saying he doesn't recall and doesn't remember. I don't think he's lying. I do think it's indicative of an ongoing problem with him as a writer and showrunner and it needs to be called out.

I'm going to tell you a story that explains my point. Also putting it and my conclusions under a cut as this is long. Please do read.

Many years ago I became friends with a white woman writer in the SFF community who lived in NYC during some of the time I did. She knew many of the writers and editors in our community who also lived in NYC or nearby. At the time, the majority of these editors were white and most were men. She became particularly friendly with some of them.

A couple of years into our relationship we were at ReaderCon together. One day at the hotel bar I was sitting with this woman (we'll call her Karen for the purposes of this story) and two other BIPOC male authors who had both published multiple books at this point and were people that Karen felt were impressive and important. During the conversation someone (probably me?) brought up the online conversations/debates/fights currently happening about representation in the SFF genre and the way certain editors were part of the problem. I want to say this was even before RaceFail happened.

Karen revealed that she'd been talking to important people like Gordon van Gelder about the things I'd been saying online and how, well... the things I was saying were just crazy. Crazy things! I was acting so crazy.

I don't remember the exact phrasing, but I remember the repeated categorizing of me/my words as Crazy.

I also don't remember exactly what I said in response. I do remember how I felt in my body at that moment. I was suddenly flooded with, I think, adrenaline or something and I wanted to run away because otherwise I was going to start throwing things. I couldn't believe this person, who claimed to be my friend, was saying this to me.

I also remember that I felt trapped because I was in a booth and the two other writers were on either side of me so I couldn't just get up and leave. It turned out I didn't need to do that. Because immediately both of them were like: Hold up. Hold the EFF up.

They both pointed out to Karen that the things I brought up in those online discussions were real issues that did need addressing and that I wasn't crazy and the only reason she thought so was because I was a Black woman and when white people or even people perceived as being white said the same thigs I did, people in the community listened, so what the heck was even wrong with her.

I just sat there, pretty quiet, still trying to calm myself down while this all happened and also felt so very grateful for how these two guys (also friends) stood up for me without hesitating, without equivocating, without giving Karen an inch to continue to talk about me in such a way. I don't even know how that conversation ended or if I even talked to Karen again at the con. I did decide right then that I was going to pull back from our friendship because of it.

A year or so later I ended up having to have a conversation with Karen because of some nonsense she pulled at WisCon. In that conversation I mentioned the discussion we had at ReaderCon and how that truly affected my view of her, a person who was supposedly my friend and who constantly tried to say she was an ally to BIPOC. And that's when she said: What discussion?

At first I wasn't sure if she was feigning ignorance or not. The more we talked, the more I realized she wasn't. She didn't remember the incident. And in that talk I realized why: It didn't have that big of an impact on her.

Even with her being essentially told off by the other two, for her, having conversations where she casually parroted some white, male editor's racist and misogynistic view of me was of little note because she and the other people she spent a majority of time with were doing it all the time. It was just a Tuesday for her. And so after ReaderCon when she continually asked if I wanted to hang out or go on writing dates, she did so as if she had not said some absolutely egregious stuff to me weeks before. Again, to her: a Tuesday.

Having had more experience in life with certain kinds of racists, sexists, ableists, and bigots in general, I can say that this phenomenon was not specific to Karen. It is endemic with a certain kind of person who is devoted to the status quo/dominant paradigm.

So when Lindelof says that he doesn't remember doing and saying these things, he's probably not lying. Because for him, it was business as usual, a Tuesday. Normalized on a number of levels. He was a fish in water and the water was composed of racist, sexist a-holes doing whatever they wanted because no one above them put a stop to it. And that is a problem even 20ish years later.

That Lindelof had to be told he did these things and that he, in all this time, has not reflected on them, not realized on his own that what he did was terrible, apologized, and worked his butt off to not only ensure the shows he runs do not have this atmosphere but to also throw every bit of work that he can to those writers (not necessarily on his shows, but others) is proof that it continues to be a problem. And that he has a lot of work to do to atone for all these things he can't remember--starting by doing a real deep dive into why he can't.

Cuse can't be saved. I suggest we introduce him to a nice oubliette.

[eleanor-bradstreet]

Thoughts on Bridgerton season 3

No one asked, but putting it out there. (Written after viewing part 1.)

The Good

Polin - it’s their season after all. There is plenty of them and a lot of scenes pulled right from the book. I don’t think Colin/Newts is all that charismatic or great at acting tbh, but Pen/Nic is carrying the season. Seeing through her eyes, there is a compelling story of self-acceptance, struggle and romance. I was whooping whenever she got steamy with her man.

Debling - wonderfully acted and such an interesting addition to the ton, I love this character. He is so kind and honest, he deserves the world.

Francesca & John - Hannah Dodd is doing a wonderful job. We get to see the one and only shy Bridgerton, which is novel. Her odd chemistry with John is magical and I am already fucked up about them. I’m more invested in them than Polin 😅

Eloise - we are seeing more facets of Eloise which is wonderful. That she is willing to look deeper at peoples’ true character - including Cressida and Pen, though the reconciliation with Pen isn’t finalized yet. Cressida also makes Eloise check herself, her assumptions and privileges which is crucial for her development. She’s growing this season.

The Cowpers - redemption arc for Cressida incoming! We are learning that her bitchiness stems from a competitive nature, which she feels she must have to secure a good match thanks to pressures from her awful parents. This is interesting in its own right but please please please have Sophie also being mistreated in their household. That would be the bow on top.

Marcus Anderson - hello handsome! He is wonderfully acted and immediately has a warm spark with Violet. The mystery is built as to why Lady D is so aggravated by him. What has he done in the past that makes her wary of him?

The music - great instrumental covers of on-point pop songs and revisiting a few tried and true Bridgerton original themes.

The Bad

Kanthony - But only for part 1. I'm guessing they had to work around JB's busy shooting schedule, but it sucks they found a lame way to essentially write them out of episodes 2-4. I'm happy to see from the trailer there will be more of them in part 2.

Benedict - for fucks sake, he does nothing. Season 2 might as well not have happened. Not only is he not sad nor frustrated with Anthony about art school, he has no introspection or personal development in part 1. He’s just shoved in the background again, making sassy little comments and fucking a random lady. Where is this ‘crucial role’ the showrunner mentioned? What ‘comes to a head’ for him as Luke keeps alluding to? All of his material must happen in part 2 because there is nothing in part 1.

The fucking Featheringtons - I know the entail is a plot line set up by season 2, but getting into microscopic detail about the sex lives of the elder two Featherington sisters is not the comic relief the show thinks it is. It actually makes me nauseous. The whole ‘race to produce an heir’ could have been a single line explanation from Portia and screen time with the Featherington couples could have been spent on more Benedict.

The sex - part 2 better be mind blowing because Nicola’s claim that Polin has ‘won the steamy battle’ is unfounded based on the first four episodes. Okay we’ve got Anthony and Benedict each with a scene between the sheets kissing ladies but not a single Bridgerbum to be seen. The claims of ‘threesomes’ and ‘lesbian sex’ are extremely generous. It’s 5 seconds of Colin kissing sex workers and them peformatively kissing each other. I know we have the mirror scene coming in part 2 which threatens to blow the roof off anything Saphne and Kanthony did but thus far, I am unimpressed. It feels more buttoned up than ever.

Now, I have also watched part 2 in its entirety. Without spoiling any details, see below the cut for a general note.

Part 2 contains some MAJOR twists that I feel are going to fracture the fandom. Brace yourselves.

[bucksboobs]

Not to break the delusion of the anon claiming sexual harassment but Tim literally said Buck was changing the conversation to flirting with his comments. But what would the showrunner/head writer know😂

I’m sorry but it’s so insane someone had to ask Tim Minear what the intent of that scene was considering it’s plain as daylight to anyone who understands how conversations work.