#between script and execs and so on

[wistfulwatcher]

i've been trying to stay positive about yjs all season because i desperately wanted to keep loving it but after last night's ep i just cannot pretend it's well-written anymore. that was the most nothing, poorly-paced episode i think we've gotten, at least for an ep that should be a CRUCIAL turning point. there was virtually zero exploration of the worst choice the teens make in 96 (the ritual discussion should have been a fucking bottle episode, tbh, with all that should have gone into it), and too much time spent recapping what we already knew in 21 (without it actually meaning anything/changing the characters when they learned). oof. just truly disappointing tbh.

[onlycosmere]

*In response to a meme about a tv show adaptation of a book being written by a writer who had not read the book*

Brandon Sanderson: I have a fun story here. Early in my career, someone optioned the rights to make one of my stories (the Emperor's Soul) into a film. I was ecstatic, as it's not a story that at the time had gotten a lot of attention from Hollywood.

I met with the writer, who had a good pedigree, and who seemed extremely excited about the project; turned out, he'd been the one to persuade the production company to go for the option. All seemed really promising.

A year or so later, I read his script and it was one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. The character names were, largely, the same, though nothing that happened to them was remotely similar to the story. Emperor's Soul is a small-scale character drama that takes place largely in one room, with discussions of the nature of art between two characters who approach the idea differently.

The screenplay detailed an expansive fantasy epic with a new love interest for the main character (a pirate captain.) They globe-trotted, they fought monsters, they explored a world largely unrelated to mine, save for a few words here and there. It was then that I realized what was going on.

Hollywood doesn't buy spec scripts (original ideas) from screenwriters very often, and they NEVER buy spec scripts that are epic fantasy. Those are too big, too expensive, and too daunting: they are the sorts of stories where the producers and executives need the proof of an established book series to justify the production.

So this writer never had a chance to tell his own epic fantasy story, though he wanted to. Instead, he found a popularish story that nobody had snatched up, and used it as a means to tell the story he'd always wanted to tell, because he'd never otherwise have a chance of getting it made.

I'm convinced this is part of the issue with some of these adaptations; screenwriters and directors are creative, and want to tell their own stories, but it's almost impossible to get those made in things like the fantasy genre unless you're a huge established name like Cameron. I'm not saying they all do this deliberately, as that screenwriter did for my work, but I think it's an unconscious influence. They want to tell their stories, and this is the allowed method, so when given the chance at freedom they go off the rails, and the execs don't know the genre or property well enough to understand why this can lead to disaster.

Anyway, sorry for the novel length post in a meme thread. I just find the entire situation to be fascinating.

[talesofdecorum]

Even though I've assumed Rio has always been the other parent for Nicky, I couldn't help but feel super emotional at Jac's confirmation and here is my two cents as to why...

Studio heads don't take risks and will often do what is tried and true and that meant playing it safe, and not offending anyone by never really confirming or denying certain relationships or their backgrounds. It isn't the same but I remember the days of swanqueen and supercorp

So I think Jac and Kathryn has talked in depth about her character's relationship with Rio and Nicky and both of them approached the story line with the assumption that Rio is the father

HOWEVER, Jac has to toe this very delicate line of appeasing the studio execs by not outright saying it because there will be too many questions and notes that it'll never fly, so she doesn't say it. actually shes adds in the script for Agatha to say Nicky is 'made from scratch', so you can possibly assume Agatha is the only parent. Throughout the show, they've insinuated as much as they can without outright stating that they're a family. Get as much past the studio and hopefully the audience can read between the lines.

But NOW? with the massive success of the show and knowing that studio execs probably won't have much to say since confirming it won't affect future storylines (assuming Nicky is really dead), Jac says it and confirms it. out loud.

It was all intentional. Casting a kid that looks like Aubrey, having Agatha give birth near a river (rio), having Nicky say "my 'mother' needs me home", showing how unphased Nicky was upon seeing Rio, Rio asking Nicky to kiss Agatha twice before leaving and Rio being offended with Agatha walking the road with another woman's kid. It was all intentional

It's so unexpected and I assume why Kathryn looked so emotional. Because they've had to quietly navigate this tricky line of telling the story they want to tell but also pacifying the people above. Jac did it!Not only are these two characters queer but she's also saying that they love each other so much they have a kid together. The how isn't important, it just is.

And that is such a power move

[jackoshadows]

Brandon Sanderson on why TV adaptations of fantasy works end up being so different to the source material:

I have a fun story here. Early in my career, someone optioned the rights to make one of my stories (the Emperor's Soul) into a film. I was ecstatic, as it's not a story that at the time had gotten a lot of attention from Hollywood. I met with the writer, who had a good pedigree, and who seemed extremely excited about the project; turned out, he'd been the one to persuade the production company to go for the option. All seemed really promising. A year or so later, I read his script and it was one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. The character names were, largely, the same, though nothing that happened to them was remotely similar to the story. Emperor's Soul is a small-scale character drama that takes place largely in one room, with discussions of the nature of art between two characters who approach the idea differently. The screenplay detailed an expansive fantasy epic with a new love interest for the main character (a pirate captain.) They globe-trotted, they fought monsters, they explored a world largely unrelated to mine, save for a few words here and there. It was then that I realized what was going on. Hollywood doesn't buy spec scripts (original ideas) from screenwriters very often, and they NEVER buy spec scripts that are epic fantasy. Those are too big, too expensive, and too daunting: they are the sorts of stories where the producers and executives need the proof of an established book series to justify the production. So this writer never had a chance to tell his own epic fantasy story, though he wanted to. Instead, he found a popularish story that nobody had snatched up, and used it as a means to tell the story he'd always wanted to tell, because he'd never otherwise have a chance of getting it made. I'm convinced this is part of the issue with some of these adaptations; screenwriters and directors are creative, and want to tell their own stories, but it's almost impossible to get those made in things like the fantasy genre unless you're a huge established name like Cameron. I'm not saying they all do this deliberately, as that screenwriter did for my work, but I think it's an unconscious influence. They want to tell their stories, and this is the allowed method, so when given the chance at freedom they go off the rails, and the execs don't know the genre or property well enough to understand why this can lead to disaster. Anyway, sorry for the novel length post in a meme thread. I just find the entire situation to be fascinating.

[nubiawrites]

chapter 3

Pairing: Aaron Pierre x Black Original Character

Warnings: Slow burn. Kissing. Thigh riding. Dry humping. 18+

Summary: Upon finding that the development process of her script moving along, Iriye gets more than one greenlight when Aaron and her go over the script.

Notes: Remember how I said this was a slowburn? It still is but you get a little treat for being patient. If you want to be tagged to be notified, like, reblog or reply to this. Let me know what you think!

MASTERLIST

It had been a trying three weeks, waiting to hear what the studio would say about the latest draft. But Iriye was more worried about what the woman in front of her thought than a bunch of studio execs.

Iriye paced a little as she watched Tamara read the last few pages of the latest draft of the script. For as long as the two had known each other, her friend still reading anything of hers filled her with nerves, excitement, and wonder. Not out of fear but knowing that whatever she wrote was safe with her friend. 

“How do you do it?” Tamara asks, putting the pages down. Iriye smiled at her, shaking her head.

“You’re flattering me too much,” Iriye took a sip of her water, her friend moving to sit up.

“It’s never too much flattering when it comes to you. As someone who remembers the short film scripts you were begging your professor to accept when you had the chance to write anything, I have always known how talented you were and how you would keep growing in that,” Tamara spoke into Iriye. “You are magic. You’re that girl,”

Iriye giggled. “Okay, I believe you. But tell me again, one time for the one time,” She joked. Tamara shook her head. 

“You’re an alien superstar. Especially after all those notes those white people gave,” Tamara shook her head. “That’s two hours of my life I will never get back. Two hours I could have spent looking at self-tapes for actresses,”

“With great power comes great responsibility. RIP Uncle Ben,” Iriye chuckled.

Tamara chuckled just as Nelly came into the office, practically bubbling with excitement.

“We got it!” Nelly practically screamed. “Did you check your email?”

Iriye pulled up her phone and braced herself as she clicked, seeing an email from Davis.

“The execs are very impressed with this draft. We’re sending it over to talent,” Iriye read aloud, the biggest smile taking over her face.

“We going to Hollywood, y’all!” Nelly yelled out. “Let me get the bottle of champagne we’ve been saving,”

“Not so fast! We’re not greenlit yet,” Tamara pointed out before Nelly could run to their mini fridge.

“And you’re not allowed to pop any more bottles within a twelve-foot radius of us. I’m almost lost an eye,” Iriye reminded. “But did you lose one?” Nelly said. “If I can’t do that, what can I do?” 

“You want to send over the script through the studio system to Aaron,” Iriye asked. “I know you love any interaction you can have with him,” She teased.

“You say that like I’m not passing notes between you and him,” Nelly admitted.

“Passing notes?” Tamara chuckled. “I need to hear more,”

Iriye rolled her eyes before settling back on the sofa in Tamara’s office.

“You want the truth or what I'm reading between the lines,” Nelly sat beside Iriye, sending her a playful side-eye.

“Anything you have to say for yourself, Iriye?” Tamara asked. Nelly pretended to hold a mic toward Iriye before the latter swatted it out of her face.

“It’s nothing! He asked for my number when we had lunch,” Iriye mumbled.

“You guys had lunch together? Where the hell was I?” Tamara asked. 

“Having lunch with some film bro,” Nelly shot out. “What? I manage your calendar,”

“It was just the both of us discussing film stuff. He wants to work with us,” Iriye shrugged. “It was friendly but professional. Trust me,”

“Then why did he say in his email to call any time?” Nelly mentioned. “I think you two forgot I was cc’ed on that email,” 

Iriye shook her head. “I’ll go send that script,” she said, trying to leave, but Nelly pulled her back down to sit.

“Aaron is fine. You can admit that right,” Nelly asked.

“She can. She's just trying to be professional,” Tamara chuckled.

“Aaron is handsome. There, I said it,” Iriye huffed, seeing the twinkle in the two other women’s eyes. “And he smells good, too,” She said before she rushed out of the office. Hopefully, that would tire them over, even if she heard Nelly’s calling out the word bitch.

After calling it a short day at the office, Iriye had gone home and spent the rest of her afternoon vibing to music as she looked over other scripts she had put on hold when tackling the feature Lanoire Productions wanted to take on first with their deal. Paradise Lost. A black rom-com with influences of the nineties and two thousand films that bonded Tamra and herself into a sisterhood. It wasn’t a dream deferred any longer. 

Just as Iriye was laughing at a line she wrote in a pilot, her phone began ringing. She looked over to see an unknown number appeared on her screen. Lowering her music, she hit the talk button, preparing to tell them they had the wrong number.

“Hello?” Iriye asked, holding the phone to her ear.

“I’m guessing you didn’t save my number,” Aaron spoke through the phone, his voice running over Iriye like scotch.

“I swore I did,” Iriye lied. She had been distracted, her brain trying to come up with excuses. “Are you calling to give me shit about it?” A deep chuckle rolled through Aaron’s chest, sitting in the seat in his trailer. “I come in peace as I always have. I got the script, and I wanted to see if I could come over to the production office to talk to you about it,”

“Too bad I’m not in the office,” Iriye admitted. “I gave myself the rest of the day off,”

“Good for you,” Aaron stated. “Since I got the script, the execs are ready to go. You should be proud,”

“I am. Thank you,” She said. “But I can’t celebrate until they give us the green light, which means attaching some talent. And from what I’ve heard, you got some competition,”

“Competition? If you don’t want me, say that,” Aaron stated.

“Boy, stop,” Iriye let out. His chuckle rang through the phone. “Shouldn’t you be shooting something right now,”

“Lucky for you, I wrapped for the day,” Aaron said. “I’m about to pack up and head out,”

“Lucky for me?” Iriye rolled her eyes at this man. “How so?”

“Well, I wanted to talk more about the script. I read it during lunch, and I wanted to discuss it some more,” 

Iriye sat up, moving her laptop off of her lap. “You read it during lunch? You must have had a long lunch,”

“I’m a quick reader when something captivates me,” Aaron admitted. “I want to discuss this more because I have so many questions. Maybe I can pick your brain over dinner if you’re up for it,” He asked as he smoothed out his pants leg and waited for her to say something.

“I hate to admit it, but I’m already lounging around. I don’t think I can get myself together to go out,” 

“Then I’ll come to you,” Iriye chuckled at Aaron’s words. “Send your address. I’ll pick something up and bring it over,”

“Aaron,” Iriye breathed, looking at her place. 

“Have you eaten?”

“No,” Iriye admitted.

“Send me your address. And if you have any allergies,”

“I don’t,” Iriye bit her lip. “Check your phone. And honestly, please do not bring anything healthy. I earned it today,”

“Got it, Miss Edwards,” Aaron spoke, his deep voice making Iriye’s stomach nervous. She said goodbye and hung up, her head falling to the back of the couch. 

“What the hell,” Iriye spoke aloud. She moved to get up, figuring he would be here within the hour. Iriye wasn’t playing when she said she had been lounging around, wearing booty shorts, no bra, and a baggy shirt. 

Iriye went to her room and stripped her clothes to change into high-waisted jeans and a concert t-shirt, tucking it into her jeans to make A Victoria Monet concert t-shirt look more hip.

She went to her bathroom, pulling her goddess locs out of her ponytail. She shook her locs out and grabbed her makeup bag, looking in the mirror.  If her mother could see her now, trying to make herself up for some man she hardly knew… she would at least be proud.

Iriye put on some mascara, forgoing foundation because she wasn’t about to do all that for an hour with Aaron. They were going to eat—that was all—eat and talk. She found a lip gloss that was not too much and swiped it on her lips.

She looked at her reflection; her brown skin still looked good from the skincare routine she did earlier after she watched her face. She looked at her foundation; Fenty-four twenty would have to wait.

Iriye quickly swept her place to make sure it looked good, stacking books she had strewn around and fluffing the throw pillows. As she moved to put her shoes on the shoe rack, she nearly tripped over them.

After more nervous tidying up, she went to the little bar cart in her kitchen and decided she needed a shot of something strong to quell the nerves. She grabbed a glass and poured a shot. 

It was a matter of time before there was a knock at her door, and she headed to the door, shaking the nerves out, and opened it. 

“Hey,” Iriye breathed, seeing Aaron standing in her doorway, hoodie and glasses on. He had to lean down some to come into her doorway. 

“Hey,” Aaron put his backpack down, and Iriye took the two takeout bags from him. “I got Chinese. It felt like a safe bet,”

“You made a good choice, Mister Pierre. You might earn that conversation about Paradise Lost after all,”

Iriye placed the bags on her coffee table, trying not to watch as he turned to take his shoes off, his ass hugged nicely by his khaki pants.

I am no better than a man. Iriye headed to the kitchen to grab some forks and plates. When she returned, she saw Aaron pulling out all the take-out containers, so she moved to sit by him.

“Is this all for me?” Iriye joked.

“For us. I didn’t know what you wanted or liked,” Aaron stated. A genuine smile came over her face as she looked at him.

Once they finished their feast, Aaron pulled the script and a journal out as Iriye moved the take-out containers out of the way. 

“I hope you know you’re not getting any of that kung pao chicken leftovers to take home,” She muttered.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, love,” He stated, and Iriye had to ignore the nerves he was causing. Aaron opened his journal as Iriye returned and peeked to see what he had written.

“That’s a lot of notes,” Iriye chuckled. He let her see more of it, and she caught a whiff of cologne again, clearing her throat. He looked over at her, his greyish-green eyes bright and beautiful. “Okay, hit me with it,”

“Isaiah is probably the most raw character I have ever read in a script before,” Aaron started. “His passion. His being. Everything about him… I was hooked within the first few pages. But by the end of Act One, I was rooting for him,”

As he spoke, Iriye was caught in his words about how he could grasp the character entirely. It was hard enough to focus on his actual words when she noticed how sharp his jaw was or the veins on his hands. 

“But this character… he’s so lived in. So real. You really outdid yourself, Iriye,” Aaron praised.

“Thank you,” Iriye felt the wall she was desperately trying to keep up with him coming down a little. But she needed to put some space between them. “You want a drink?” Aaron relaxed back on the couch as she moved away from him.

“Yes, I’ll take whatever you’re drinking,” Aaron said.

Iriye headed to her bar cart and began making them a whiskey sour, feeling like she could kill even more nerves with liquid courage, especially if he were going to seduce her with how insightful he was in talking about Eric and the story of Paradise Lost.

Iriye brought back their drinks, and Aaron thanked her as he took his drink.

“Cheers to you and this getting greenlit,” Aaron held his glass up to hers. She tapped her glass to his and took a sip; the liquor burned, making it slip easily down her throat. 

“Like I told Nelly, we’re not greenlit until talent gets attached, and the execs are cool with it,” Iriye explained. 

“You’ve been saying that for weeks. It’s going to happen, Iriye. I always keep my word,”

Iriye just shook her head at Aaron’s words, watching him take another sip and lick the liquor off his lower lip.

“Can I admit something?” Iriye asked. He nodded. “I went down a rabbit hole of your previous roles,”

“Oh. I wasn’t expecting that,”

“Neither was I, but if anything, Nelly is to blame,” Iriye pointed out. Aaron chuckled. “She sent me a clip from Foe, and I have Prime, so I decided to watch it,” He nodded along, listening to her. “That’s the only one I watched. I didn’t want to get you even more stuck in my head,”

“Can I admit something?” Aaron responded. “Nelly sent me the short films you and Tamara have made. I wanted to know more. So she sent me a few,”

“Of course she did,”

“Nelly is always at the scene of the crime,” Aaron chuckled, Iriye joining in. “But I can tell why she is so passionate for Lanoire. For Tamara. For you. You’re an artist. You care about your work. It’s breathtaking to me. You’re breathtaking to me,”

“Breathtaking on paper. We gotta see it on film now,”

“You will. I already told my team I want to sign on for Paradise Lost,” Aaron stated. 

“Stop playing,” Iriye shook her head, taking another sip of her drink.

“I’m serious, Iriye,” He replied.

Iriye blinked twice at Aaron, looking at her with a slight smirk on his face. His smile grew as Iriye realized he wasn’t joking. She downed the rest of her drink and stood up, needing to pace and calm down.

“You good?” Aaron watched in concern.

Iriye just continued pacing as she heard his words. 

“No, not really,” Iriye stated. Aaron got up and moved to her, stopping her so she could face him. He saw her deep brown eyes, a sense of fear running through them as he moved to cup her cheek, her so aware of his rough hands on her cheeks. “What are you getting out of this?”

“A chance to bring something beautiful you created to life. The script is something I’ve never gotten to do before. To be a part of that would be an honor,” Aaron said, his thumbs stroking her cheeks softly, and she felt herself calming down.

“You’re nothing like I expected,” Iriye closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and smelling his cologne invading her senses.

“Good,” Aaron tilted her head. Iriye opened her eyes, seeing him staring her down intensely. She was so drawn to him as he surrounded her senses.

Iriye saw the thought flicker across Aaron’s eyes as he looked down at her lips and felt him lean close to her. His head touched hers, her hands traveling up his arms to grasp him.

“Aaron,” Iriye breathed and he pulled her close. “We shouldn’t,”

“We shouldn’t what?” Aaron repeated, tempting her to say it. 

“This… We can’t do this,” Iriye trailed her hands to his on her cheeks. She was trying to find the urge to pull away, but it went all out of the window as he was warm and present with her.

“What’s stopping you?” Aaron brushed his nose against hers softly. “Give me three good reasons,”

“One, you’re tipsy,” Iriye pointed out.

“I only took one sip,” Aaron said, one of his thumbs slowly reaching her chin.

“Two, we don’t know each other well,” Iriye stated, not even caring if his thumb traced over her bottom lip.

“I want to get to know you. I’ve been showing it for the past couple of weeks,” Aaron reminded her. With every email and chance, he had to chat with her. 

Iriye had to keep a clear mind, but it was hard when he was so close to her. Her hands trailed down to his side, resting there to try and focus herself.

“Three, we’re going to be working together now. So, it would be completely unprofessional. A total conflict of interest,” Iriye was trying to stay firm in her decision, but it was going out the window as he pulled her closer. Her body was pressing against all the sinewy muscles that made Aaron.

“It would be wrong,” Aaron nodded. “Does this feel wrong?” He pulled back, his hands moving from her face to her waist, where they stayed politely, brushing against the little sliver of skin between her shirt and jeans.

Iriye was ready to say fuck it so badly. He hadn’t kissed her, frustrating her as much as it turned her on.

“No,” Iriye admitted.

“As much as I want you to kiss me first,” Aaron’s hands went to squeeze the softness of her sides. “I don’t want to compromise your resolve. So if this helps,” He leaned down, and those full bow-shaped lips pressed softly against hers.

Iriye was shocked. How could he be so tender, his lips pressing softly against hers? He was waiting for a reaction because he got one from her. She kissed him back.

The softness that was shared between them was beginning to become intoxicating. Aaron trailed his hands up her arms and placed them around his neck. The movement had her breast pressing against his hard chest, and though she wasn’t trying to make it sexual, a sensual whimper escaped her.

To her surprise, Aaron pulled away first. He took a deep breath as Iriye realized she was in a daze, her arms around his neck. She was about to unwrap herself from him when he stopped her.

“No,” Aaron breathed, the command light on his tongue. He pulled them back to the couch, moving to sit. He pulled his hands off of her body to take his glasses off, setting them on the coffee table. But Aaron again placed his hands on her hips, looking up at her. The hues of his eyes darkened with lust, and she liked it. Liked him having to look up at her from her seated position.

“What do you want right now, Iriye?” He asked her. Talking was too much for Iriye. She needed to show. She let her legs slip between his as he sat on the couch, straddling his thigh some before leaning down. She used one hand to hold onto the back of the couch while the other hand trailed over the nape of Aaron’s neck. She softly dragged her nails and heard a groan vibrate through his chest. “I’m going at your pace,”

“I want… if I do what I want right now, we’re going down a road we can’t come back from,” Iriye whispered. “But I want to. I really want-” Before she could even say another word, Aaron took control and pulled her down till her jean-covered core hit his thigh. “Aaron,” She gasped.

“We’re already here. Trust me, I don’t think I wanna go back now,” Aaron stated. Iriye raised an eyebrow at him. “Take what you want from me,”

Iriye swallowed as she settled onto his thigh. His thigh was muscular and pressing against the seam just right. She gave an experimental rock of her hips, a breathy gasp coming out as Aaron held her hips still in his hands. She felt a bit uncoordinated as she still had one leg pressing between his crotch while the other was on the couch. She paused for a moment, pulling back before she properly straddled him.

“Is this okay?” Iriye let her weight rest on Aaron, and he let out a groan as her center met his. God, it shook her to the core.

“Yeah, much better,” His British accent became more assertive in his voice with those words. Iriye watched him as she rolled her hips forward, seeing the breathy groan he let out. She discovered he was vocal quickly as she began a pace, moving her hips deliberately to see what sounds he made.

When Iriye knew she was doing something right as she ground on Aaron, his hands would flex or grasp her hips.

“Stay right there,” Aaron begged. Her face was pressed against his temple as she ground, the pressure delicious as it caught her clit, and she felt her core growing wet.

“Yes,” Iriye whimpered. His right hand trailed up to cup her ass cheek, and she looked at him shocked. He pushed his hips up against her as he pulled her down onto his throbbing bulge through his khakis.

Iriye had to suppress the cry that left her lips by kissing him, and the two of them began to move their hips in sync, their kisses matching just as close. Her hands moved to cup his neck and cheeks as she worked with him to dry hump him. But there was nothing remotely dry on her side.

Aaron licked the seam of her lips, and Iriye gave him entrance, his tongue licking the roof of her mouth. 

“Shit,” Iriye moaned into his mouth. That movement alone made her wonder what it would feel like to have him doing that to her lower set of lips. He pulled away with a grin.

“It feels good, doesn’t it,” Aaron trailed his lips down her chin and neck. She nodded, letting her nails dig slightly into the nape of his neck. She felt him retaliate with a nip to her neck and her breast pressed into his chest, nipples starting to strain her bra. “God, this isn’t even enough,”

“I know,” Iriye moaned, riding Aaron a little faster as she wanted to chase the feeling deep inside her. One that would quell her momentarily with a release. Aaron kept up with her pace, cupping her ass cheek harder as he moved her more.

“You’re right there, aren’t you?”Aaron grunted against her neck. Iriye nodded. “Take it. I know you want to. Use me,” He leaned back, studying her face. He wanted to take in every sign of her impending pleasure. Seeing he was serious, Iriye rolled her hips even faster. 

Aaron’s moans and groans just served to turn Iriye on even more, especially feeling his bulge against her core. She rode him harder, her clit catching on the inseam of her jeans, and she pressed her head into his neck as she felt the telltale signs. She was close and about to cum in her jeans from dry humping. As immature as it probably was, this was the hottest thing to happen with the opposite sex and her in a while.

“Just like that, Iriye,” Aaron groaned. 

“Aaron…” Aaron gripped Iriye’s ass harder and whined. It took him lifting and gripping her ass so close to her core, causing her to cry out, her body shaking as she came. She didn’t even have time to cry out fully as Aaron pressed his lips against hers and ate up every single whimper and moan. She was sensitive, but he helped her by keeping moving till the waves subsided and the tingle in her stomach subsided.

Iriye felt the kisses Aaron and her share become pecks and his length hard against his pants. 

“Fuck,” Iriye said as she realized he didn’t get off. “I didn’t mean to be selfish,”

“I wanted you too,” Aaron said, his voice deep and strained. She kissed him again before hiding her face on his shoulder.

As the haze of lust came down from her, Iriye had to ask her: What the hell did I just do?

@bluewatersfairy @coquitobby @honeysilkandcinnamon @insaneevanity @meleekabenjamin @theogbadbitch @slowlysteadycoffee @ashanti-notthesinger @thisbeautifullifeofmeandyou @mysticalbiscuitalien3 @irishmanwhore @alonahh @grooveoftiro @gabriellalover @ovohanna24 @ticalsstallion @strawberrymoon45 @hi888888sworld @msuncensered @yurfavdealer @honeys-archives @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @theunsweetenedtruth @blackpinup22 @niggaronnn @aritannahrocks1300 @htnqueen305 @333symone @appelle-moi-si-tu-te-perds-numb6 @bombshellbre95 @wildwomanalereyia @teenage-aria @skvrpion @absentmindeddreamer @blackpinup22 @liv10002 @styleismyaddiction @jungwonsgfs @hooliemooliedonutshawp

[mountainsoftreatos]

Getting delulu again because Exec Producer Ian Weinreich said Neflix greenlit scripts for DBDA S2 before S1 released and that S2 is written. And George said in a Cameo that he knew what the future held for interactions between Edwin and the Cat King (before backtracking and saying he didn't know lol) which makes me think the main cast has either seen the S2 scripts or been told the main plot points. So does this mean that when George and Jayden talk about Charles leaving the door open for a future romantic relationship that they're not just speculating because they were told Charles left it open or because they like to ship their own characters. But because they KNOW the Charles × Edwin dynamic turns romantic in S2 ???????

[the-mpreg-guy]

You are kidnapped by CW execs, hold on a gunpoint and asked to write a script for Supernatural season 16. What's gonna be the plot?

They don't even have to kidnap me to do this, I'd do it for free. I'd pay THEM to let me do it.

Dean and Sam are still stuck in one of Chuck's mindgames and that he has Jack stashed away somewhere. Dean poking at the walls parallel universes in SPNWN was the beginning of him figuring out that there's something amiss, and Jack's ooc behavior regarding it. Is like. The final nail in the coffin (no pun intended).

The first half of the season would be Dean and Sam splitting up in Heaven to connect with previous spn characters who have died. Sam finds Mary, Bobby, Ellen, Jo, Ash, and then has a sideplot where he runs into Jess and gets closure regarding that. Dean runs into Charlie, Victor, John, and Kevin (to name a few). I really really would love some satisfying conflict between Dean and John, and I would like Sam and Mary to actually Interact and have opinions about each other.

The end of the first arc is Dean finding Jack, so we can get some delicious interactions between the two of them (pls let Jack actually have a Reaction to Cas being dead), and so that they can go absolutely balls-to-the-wall crazy by agreeing to the same stupid, dangerous plan to open the Empty and get Cas back.

Anyway, part 2 of the season is the gang all getting together, dodging Chuck, who starts bringing Angels back to go after Dean and Sam. Dean tells Sam that the plan is to open the Empty and dump Chuck in there, but doesn't mention that he and Jack are also going to jump into the Empty to save Cas (bc Sam would stop him and also I love it when Dean lies to Sam's face). The plan goes stupid bc Sam figures out what's going on and all three of them end up in the Empty.

I don't have exactly any set ideas for how the rest of this happens, but I need them to interact with Crowley and I need Sam and Ruby interactions. Somehow they do a Chuck/Cas Empty swap and get Cas back. I would introduce a new mechanic that the only way to get Cas out of the Empty is to wake him up (the Empty actually gets him to sleep) and so they have to go through Cas's mind to wake him. Jack gets to use his powers and like beam Dean into Cas's mind and I get a self indulgent sexy recap of every single regret that Cas has ever had flashing in front of Dean's eyes.

Anyway something something Dean finds Cas in the barn where they met on earth, something something Cas tells him to leave him there and then obviously Dean gets to say "don't you think you deserve to be saved" and it's vomit inducing. Just as Castiel wakes up, so does the Empty and shit hits the fan.

Cas tries to play mr self sacrifice to get everyone out, but Dean won't let him bc he's sick of that shit. The portal Jack opened is closing, but last minute Dean grabs Cas and their soul/grace interact, recharging Cas back to full power and he flies them out.

Something something, Chuck gets chucked (lmao) into the Empty, something something, Michael/Adam was involved this season, something something either Michael, Amara, or whoever the fuck is in charge of Heaven and not Jack because he deserves to be a normal person without that insane responsibility.

Dean retires and opens a bar, Sam continues hunting and expands the hunter network (and Samwena canon bc istg 🔫), Cas and Jack dont hunt, dont not hunt, but do a secret third thing (commit funny felonies).

Also Destiel canon sex scene. If Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins can hump on stage in front of us, they can take their pants off for a pg-13 sex scene on my monster show.

That's the BROAD strokes of what I would want for a s16. If we're pretending that there are more seasons after s16, then all of that would go a little differently and I wouldn't have Dean quit hunting.

Alternative answer is that I'd submit Shal's s15 finale fix-it fic for a supernatural movie directed by Jensen Ackles.

[horse-girl-anthy]

essay titled "How I read Revolutionary Girl Utena" under the cut

I think that I've stuck with Ikuhara shows for so long because of the sense of confusion they cause in me. I find them bewildering, bewitching; like many of my other favorite pieces of media, they are in some ways ungraspable. RGU is so generative because you can never quite put your finger on it, it always rewards further consideration. and to even enjoy the show, you have to create some kind of schema of understanding. you have to connect the dots and create a picture of it.

I've talked about this before, but maybe I've never fully articulated how I ended up where I did, so here goes. my schema of understanding for RGU is very heavily influenced by my view that it is meant to be read as a piece of fiction; that it is, in a way, more than a story. this is true of all fiction to some degree, but RGU is one of the most insistent on being understood as a human-created narrative. more often, fiction asks you to suspend your disbelief--RGU says disbelieve everything you see. the show's execution constantly reminds the audience that it's an illusion being put on by a creative team. that led me to wanting to know more about the creative team and how the show was made.

Be-Papas did not set out to make a radical show. it ended up turning out that way more or less because the team fostered a spirit of true artistry, and because they faced little to none of the usual TV exec interference.

the hand of the writers can be felt throughout the entire show. obviously there's third-wall breaking moments, but even more than that, it's in the way the show plays out. due to how prevalent this is in Ikuhara works, I eventually stopped looking for a normal "why" answer to any question in his shows. it's often most useful to answer that strictly in terms of a writer, rather than acting like the shows have a "reality" of their own. or maybe it's better put that the "reality" of the shows arises from understanding the relationship between creator and viewer, story and audience.

I just started rewatching RGU, and I think that this approach is especially needed for the early show. so much about it feels canned, scripted. everything that happens could be out of a generic shoujo, using tropes as shorthand. Utena has fangirls, Touga is the playboy, etc. Anthy in particular should be seen in this light. in his interview with Takemiya Keiko, Ikuhara talks about how Anthy was originally conceived versus how she turned out:

– But, you made Anthy with the intention of her being a popular character, right? Ikuhara: We couldn’t. We had to abandon that idea in the process. I wonder why it ended up that way? I guess we got tired of currying favour with the viewers. We completely stopped.

in the first episodes, Anthy is written to be a "fan favorite" character. she's the victim, she's sympathetic, she's cute, she's subservient--almost a waifu! but they ended up dropping that, going in a new direction. I don't think it's only in the later episodes that the writing diverges, I think it was built in from the start. Anthy is like an eerie parody of the "shy quirky bullied girl." then in the later arcs, the show begins to pull that stereotype apart and examine it, dive into its dive into its depths and look for a truth.

but when it comes to the moment-to-moment writing of the show, this background needs to be kept in mind. in a way, early Anthy should be read differently from later Anthy. first of all, the scenes where she's meant to evoke pity, where the writers are trying to curry favor with the viewers, should be taken at face value. the show is only ever operating on the level it is presenting itself as; it's the entire picture which makes up its meaning, not the individual parts.

early Anthy is overall a fairly simplistic character. they hint at her inner depths, at her sinister side, but her relationship with Utena is, at this point, at a very early stage. Anthy is genuinely surprised by Utena's nobility; she reacts to her like the little girl she is. aside from the unguarded moments we see from her, though, Anthy is a stereotyped, strange, emotionally distant character. there was always something a little off about her, and when you look back with hindsight, you can definitely tell she's deeply traumatized. she looks out at the world with alien eyes, eyes that know suffering better than anyone else in the world. but at the start, the truth about her is buried. she's so far gone that she no longer even knows that she's suffering; she has become insensitive. and her true self is buried at the center of the earth, hiding from the world so she can never be hurt again.

to further clarify what I mean, I'll discuss two different early Anthy scenes.

when Utena defends Anthy in episode 1, Anthy reacts in this completely amazed way. I don't think an emotion like this is ever presented to the audience that we are supposed to doubt. the show is characterized by aritifice, but not by deception. there is no hidden secret to this image, or really to any moment in the show. each scene is communicating exactly what it seems to be. if the meaning is ambiguous, then that ambiguity is the point, but often it's not even that.

in episode 12, we are directly told that Anthy has grown attached to Utena and does not want to be separated from her. to cope with having to continue to the obedient Rose Bride despite having desires, she retreats utterly into a place deep inside herself. even when staring at the handkerchief Utena gave her, she shows no emotion. watching Utena fight, she is distant, cynical, almost sleepwalking. but then she wakes up on seeing Dios's nobility in Utena. again, all of this is readily apparent and directly communicated to the audience.

later on in the show, Anthy begins to fracture into increasing complexity, taking on more and more symbolic weight and always unfolding a new side to her personality. but it's not really the case that all those parts of her are simply hiding at the start of the show; they haven't developed yet.

episodic media, especially when created by a whole team of people, changes a lot in production. RGU is one of the most successful pieces of episodic media because it leans in to the ongoing process of TV. speaking of Anthy, Enokido said:

...Even us creators can’t understand Anthy’s inner thoughts (*note: naimen = inner feelings, interiority, true self). We created her while in search of that.

the show itself plays out like a search for who Anthy truly is (who all the characters are). watching, it feels like you come to discover that as the show itself does. RGU is very much a series which rewards rewatch, but it's not necessarily helpful to impose what eventually occurs on to the first episodes. rather, it's the process of development the show undergoes which should be examined. the heights that RGU reaches are to be found in that process of moving from stereotype to truth. in Adolescence, Anthy is presented as, on the surface, an entirely new character, and yet she feels right. this is because, by the process of watching RGU, you learn who she really is, and then when you see her in the movie, you know she is acting, for the first time, as herself.

[ragnarockz]

your royal highness, your writings for maya mason didn't stray away from my mind recently. here i am, not trying to sound desperate, but would you be so kind to ruin me with another maya mason one-shot?

and hear me out, i’ve got this idea brewing—maya being utterly obsessed with this character (an actress), full-on hopelessly smitten. but then, she finds out the actress has an insanely graphic sex scene in this movie. the moment maya finds out, possessiveness and jealousy eats her alive, and, well... she decides to take matters into her own hands. 😏🤝

😏😌💛🔒It would be my pleasure (heh) and highest honor to do so my faithful reader!

(gif by gifsbykat)

Maya had glanced over the script a few times, especially the scenes that had Aiden Holt typed in. Maya had followed her for a while now; usually screening her work as an actress. Aiden took jobs that were out of the box and a little bit on the riskier side. She definitely had a name attached to her; a label that some would shrink away from. Holt basically leaned into the adult entertainment side; daring to dip her toe into something a lot more riskier. The script that had graced Maya's desk a few weeks ago was certainly more than a toe dipper.

Marketing execs weren't necessarily needed to show up to shooting sets and locations but Maya, as brash and mean as she was, basically bullied her way onto set to see Aiden in action. There was something about her; a way that she carried herself so seamlessly. Not pushing to a feminine or masculine audience; Aiden made her raunchy scenes enjoyable for everyone. Everyone, without a doubt, included Maya herself.

She was surprised they hadn't crossed paths earlier. None of the stupid and useless parties she attended had Aiden as a guest. She definitely ran with a different crowd; darker and more hush-hush. If it wasn't for Maya's stubbornness and obvious attraction to the actress; she wouldn't have barreled her way onto set that evening.

Maya clutched her copy of the script in her perfectly and freshly manicured orange nails. Of course; she had to impress the actress. She wore a chocolate brown ribbed tank top with a tan pushup bra underneath. Dark printed jeans and her classic and iconic brown Gucci sneakers. She wanted her hair slightly out of the way for this; just in case things went her way. Faux undercut with the sides slicked down; gold clips all on her right side with the left bare. Casual yet deadly; comfy yet sexy. At least ten pounds of gold jewelry dripped from her and the Louis Vuitton bag slung over her arm. She was dressed to kill and impress.

She found the room that was being used to film in; walking past the cast and other crew members until the array of cameras got her to where she needed to be. Aiden was bent over a black leather couch with the other main actor waiting behind her. Aiden was smiling as she listened to the director re-read the scene to her. The male actor Maya had already forgotten the name of, looked bored out of his skull. Maya puffed her cheeks and pouted her lips out in dissatisfaction. Imagine getting to do one of the hottest sex scenes in Hollywood with one of the hottest actresses of modern times and you look like you couldn't give a rats ass.

Maya blew out a loud, annoyed breath which caused the cast and crew to look in her direction. Some of them knew who she was and gave her an eye roll and not much else. Truth be told, a lot of them were scared of her. Her presence wasn't really meant to be questioned or challenged. She was simply just allowed to exist in the same space.

"Look at this fucking idiot...standing there with his useless dick between his legs..."

Maya mumbled under her breath as she found a space to take up space; not blocked by anyone or anything so she could watch the scene unfold as the marker came down and ACTION was shouted.

She clutched the script in her hand, gaze never leaving Aiden. She watched her in full attention and soaked everything up that she could in respectful silence. God, she thought, she looked even better in person. Her hair was short and slicked back for the scene. Maya could see the muscles rippling under her arms and legs; an athletic body that was neither super feminine nor masculine. She held her own in the scene and was obviously the attention grabber. Maya was smitten even if she wouldn't allow herself to realize that. Of course she had followed Aiden's career and of course she got a flutter in her lower abdomen whenever she saw a new movie she was in; a new Instagram photo of her at some shoot or talk show or panel. She was very much in the public eye and maybe even, secretly, Maya wished she had her alone and in the private eye of only hers.

The scene unfolded as the male actor made his move. His hands raked up Aiden's legs; the back of her thighs. It was rough and clumsy and not necessarily hot. Maya scoffed under her breath with caused a few crew members to shoot her a nasty look. The scene was all wrong in the sense that it wasn't sexy enough; pleasurable enough. She shook her head and looked away; felt her face burning with...anger? Disgust? If she could only push that asshole aside and show him how real foreplay was done...

Maya waited for the loud CUT so she could make her move. She found the director easily enough with his stupid chair that had DIRECTOR on the back of it. Other than that, she would have picked that prick out a mile away. He looked like the type of asshole who would have casted that lousy male actor and thought he was the hottest shit since sliced fucking bread.

She waited for everyone to bustle around before she pushed her way up to the scene director; almost hitting him in the head with her purse and the script. She bent down low enough to meet her mouth with the side of his ear. He turned his head to acknowledge her. She hoped that Aiden was acknowledging her; daring to dip herself lower so she could stare at her chest. She prayed that the push up bra was doing its fucking job.

"You gotta get someone to show that lame excuse of a cock and balls how to really spice up the scene. It looks like he's trying to knead wet dough over there! You really want that to be the most depraved sex scene in Hollywood right now?! You'd let a pro show that asshole how it's done."

The director turned his full attention to Maya; obviously knowing who she was. 99 times out of 100, her word was law and something nagged in his mind that she was right about this. The scene was missing something that really punched up the raunchy level he was trying to achieve in such a short scene. He threw up his hands and spoke loudly so that the actor and Aiden could hear the change,

"You get in there then and show him how it's done and don't make this a waste of my time."

"Wouldn't count on it."

The words dripped out of her mouth as she shoved the script into her bag and dropped it by the directors chair. She clapped her hands together to get the actor and Aiden's attention. Aiden, was already focused on Maya since she had walked into the room. She knew instantly who the woman in brown was. She had paid even closer attention when Maya had bent forward and gave her a peep show.

Maya was by the couch in second and basically pushed the actor out of the way. She didn't have time for him. This was her moment; her and Aiden's. She gave Aiden the sweetest smile she could muster as she bent down again to be somewhat level with Aiden's face; wanting to give her the proper attention she deserved.

"I'm gonna show this useless sack of scrotum how to properly fuck you; that ok, Sweetheart?"

Aiden smiled just as sweetly and held back her laugh. She knew Maya was...ecentric; outspoken. She did not care how she spoke or to whom. She was large and in charge and did not care who heard her. If she was in charge, it was her and only her.

"Show him how it's done, Ms. Mason."

"No, Sweetheart...you can call me Maya. He can't."

She flicked her gaze up and shot daggers at the actor before turning her attention back to Aiden. Maya's hand came up to caress Aiden's face gently before standing back up to take her place behind Aiden.

"Watch and fucking learn. Or don't. They can always find a better replacement who knows a fucking thing or two about doing this properly."

She barely looked at him as she pressed her palms flat on the back of Aiden's thighs. They were right above the crease of her knees; the tips of her nails gently scratching against her skin. She already felt goosebumps on her palms. Aiden was already reacting to her touch. She bit her lip and tried to keep her cool. She didn't want to blow it for Aiden or, she rolled her eyes, the director.

Maya's hands slowly moved up and then in. She gently grabbed the inside of Aiden's thighs and made sure to keep pressure. She watched in admiration as Aiden reacted to her touch; watched as her ass lifted a little higher off of the couch. Maya smiled proudly to herself. Aiden was asking for it, begging for it with just her body language. She was asking for more, much more.

She could feel the heat from Aiden's pussy. Felt the slight tense of her muscles as she anticipated Maya's touch. Maya chuckled silently under her breath as her mind melted. This was something she had thought of, dreamed of. This was something she had fantasized about; sat in her bed at night and jacked herself off to. She was touching fucking Aiden Holt between her legs and was about to trace her folds and clit with her fingertips.

Maya shuddered before she bit her bottom lip and locked the fuck in. She had to give Aiden something to really remember her by.

Fingers melt folds and she instantly felt Aiden relax against her fingers. She heard the soft moan and felt the shudder; watched as Aiden lifted her lower back up once more. Oh, Maya clued in as the world around her fuzzed out of existence, she wants my fingers up her cunt.

She gave what the up and coming actress was begging for, what the scene had called for. Maya played up her acting and non-acting skills as she expertly slipped two of her fingers into Aiden. She heard the woman moan low and loud; causing everyone in the room to stop in their tracks and stare. The room was suddenly filled with the sounds and instant smells of sex. Maya was more than a loose canon; untamed. She took what she had and ran with it and didn't hold off. Her fingers pumped quickly into the actress and hoped that that dumbass somewhere beside her was feeling bad.

She hoped that lame excuse for a fucking actor was feeling just as small as his dick was.

"You like that, Baby? That feel good, Angel?"

Maya whispered as her breath tickled her bottom lip that quickly curved up into a smile. Aiden was at her beck and call; grinding her hips back to her fingers. She was the one fucking know; trying to take more of Maya inside of her. She was quickly addicted and needed another hit. Then another. And another. Her knees were hitting the side of the couch and the sound of Maya's fingers fucking and the bang of bone to couch filled the room.

"That's it, you sweet fucking thing come on...show me how much you love these fingers..."

A instant loud moan from Aiden as she pushed her hips back as far as she could and a shiver ran up and down her spine. Her head hung down; the crown of her head touching the seat cushion. Maya felt Aiden's muscles contract and spasm around her fingers before they relaxed and a warm, wet gush crowded around her fingers. Maya chuckled and then sucked in her breath; relished in having Aiden fucking Holt cum on her fingers. Her metaphorical dick felt huge right now.

She waited for Aiden to finish chasing her orgasmic high before slipped her fingers out as gently as she could. She didn't want to leave Aiden sore or in a sour mood. This could be their deal breaker for working together again in the future. Maya held her two wet fingers up as she rubbed the left side of Aiden's ass cheek; soothing her as she got herself back up and not totally bent over the arm rest.

The room was silent and Maya expected to hear a pin drop. She turned her head to look at the director who sat there with his eyes basically bulging out of his sockets. Maya smiled triumphantly as she gave him a slid nod of her head and moved out of the scene. She picked up her purse with her dry hand and pushed her way back through everyone and out of the set.

Hollywood was pitch black now; evening had turned into night. Maya breathed in deeply as she turned her head left and then right and then left again. She bit her bottom lip before realizing the coast was clear. The still wet fingers felt like they burned with neglect and Maya, without thinking too much, gave them all her attention. She brought them up to her mouth to lick them clean.

[homosexualslug]

some highlights from the yellowjackets q&a I went to yesterday, hosted by pete chatmon (who is also the director of 306) and featuring the showrunners ashley lyle and bart nickerson, courtney eaton (teen lottie), warren kole (jeff), and jeff byrd (executive producer and also the director of Ep 203 and 305):

ashley & bart came up with the show a little randomly. since they're both husband & wife and a writing duo apparently they would pitch each other show ideas all the time that would go nowhere. ashley specifically remembers the idea of "plane crash, girl's soccer team, cannibalism" happening while they were sitting in a parked car. once they added the adult timeline to the idea, they both were sold on it. ashley liked the idea of doing "my so called life" meets "twin peaks"

the final show pitch was about 30 mins and pitched to several networks. ashley was so sure after the showtime pitch that it was a bust and that the exec didn't like it at all. It turned he was just squinting because he had the sun in his eyes from the window. also, apparently the exec who helped greenlight it is also the one who greenlit twin peaks so full circle moment for sure!

courtney eaton says she is an overthinker and talked about how the biggest challenge when it comes to playing lottie is to shut her brain off since 1) she wants to maintain that vague mystery where we're not sure what's going on with lottie whether it's real or supernatural and 2) since she knows so much about what happens to her in the future and adult timeline, she doesn’t want it to impact her performance too much.) When simone was cast the two went out for dinner to get to know each other to see what connections they could make between each other's portrayals

approving director's cuts of the episodes in season one was really hard since no one had seen the show or knew the tone yet. apparently ashley took an edible gummy before she reviewed every director's cut of an episode back then to help her get in the mindset (too real of her, tbh)

they tend to overshoot nowadays since they like being able to cherry-pick scenes, so some director's cuts of episodes can be 10-20 mins longer the aired version. 

apparently the simone & sammy scene was always intended to be that short, don't know if we'll be seeing much more or either of them the rest of this season either sadly

they do plan a lot of the foreshadowing but admit there are sometimes happy accidents. one of their favorite unintended foreshadowing moments someone pointed out online is that when liz phair's "supernova" plays in the pilot, we see jeff sneaking out of the house just as the line "walk in clouds of glitter" plays

the 306 episode filming went all night, until it was nearly morning. Courtney joked that all-night, on-location shoots help them get in the mindset of the yellowjackets (that they lose their minds a little after midnight) so she enjoys it. they talked about how different it is to shoot on-location too vs. on a soundstage like they did in season two with the cabin (soundstage is less muddy and gross, but also requires a lot more acting for the suspension of disbelief that they're still in the wilderness)

The s2 wrap gift from Courtney, Sophie and Steven was a deck of cards that said "fuck this cabin" on it lmao

the Repo Divorcees commercial in Ep 306 was a writer's room joke that came from the fact that they all watched trash reality TV. they had a day-long shoot for the commercial and even filmed an intro for the show, they got really into it

warren does adlib some jeff lines or deliveries. one last episode was the "are you sure?" after shauna tells him about lottie.

the danny mears guy (that lottie jokes dumped mari for their own cousin) was actually named after one of their producer's assistants and is a real guy. he didn't know about the joke until they aired the episode.

also I was NOT able to get good photos of them RIP, but at some point they had screenshots of the director's marked up 306 script onscreen:

[that-left-turn]

It seems to me like norman was vocally pro caryl around season 2/3 and then became vocally anti caryl after Melissa won her Saturn awards for seasons 4 and 5 and became a main cast member.. and then became vocally pro caryl again after she got paired with ezekiel.. and then he's anti caryl after they break up and has been ever since - even more so now that he's got "his own show".

Do we have any good idea of who was behind the leah story and the connie shipbait? Even though they used both to give caryl parallels, those seem like the main obstructions in season 10 for driving caryl forward. I wasn't actively shipping them then, but I felt the show was starting to push caryl towards canon, but then when leah popped up, I was like 'oh... ok??? I guess I was wrong then, stupid me'. As for connie, I thought it was to show "it's not like that", but it was never made fully clear. I wonder what the motivations were really behind introducing those two characters as ships for daryl.

BASICS

Each character arc and the emotional arcs which involve one or more characters are laid out in pre-production, so the season is fully plotted before any scripts are written. There are zero surprises in screenwriting: each episode has a treatment, which details every scene and that's the basis used for writing the screenplay. The individual episode writers have no freedom to deviate from the plot, so it's very different from writing a novel or fanfic.

LEAH

The Leah arc was supposed to further Caryl's emotional arc, but a lot of plotlines were dropped or shortchanged in S11 because of things going on BTS. S9-10 were very deliberate and intricately plotted with a myriad of little beats throughout the seasons which were supposed to lead to a bigger picture reveal in S11, like how Daryl's facial scar factored into Caryl's relationship. If the showrunner is a good plotter, the groundwork for seasons to come is laid early, giving the audience plenty of puzzle pieces.

Unfortunately, Leah's arc was both stunted and misappropriated into a Maggie revenge plot which had zero payoff because viewers had no emotional investment in her entourage of redshirts. We don't know exactly how the Leah arc would've played out if the original vision had been followed, but it's clear from the pieces we do have that it would've led to Caryl canon so no, you weren't wrong or stupid. Leah was intended to be a foil for Carol and a catalyst for Caryl. I'm unsure of how sound this particular plot twist was, considering how easily something like that can get ruined when dealing with recalcitrant execs, but Kang is a detail-oriented writer, so as a viewer, I was willing to make a leap of faith with her.

SHIPBAIT

As for Connie, my guesstimate based on productions I've worked on, is that the network wanted to tease the possibility of 'something' to draw a larger share and to drag out the will-they-won't-they for Caryl (which doesn't work in today's TV). Sometimes, showrunners get notes where they have to make the best out of a situation they disagree with and Connie was never intended to be anything other than shipbait. The showrunner did her best to incorporate the studio notes into a storyline which would service the emotional arc she was actually trying to tell: Caryl thinking they aren't good enough or deserving of each other.

A good writer doesn't want to manipulate the audience. It's dishonest storytelling and it's not how you sustain and grow your viewership. You have to give clues along the way that will reward observant fans, even though the narrator might be unreliable. It's about building momentum and anticipation. If you do, a lot of the marketing will be self-driving at that point because of fan engagement.

If the Leah storyline hadn't gotten diverted, the use of Connie as a plot device in Carol's emotional arc would have been made clear. We never got any resolution to her self-loathing or the conflict between her and Daryl, and that's why there are still so many question marks surrounding the connection these two characters had to Daryl.

AUDIENCE RECEPTION

AMC has always wanted to sell the show to absolutely everyone and as long as there's a large ensemble cast, that might work to some degree, but it's not a long-term plan for sustained viewership and when the show is skimmed down to a handful of characters with the focus on two leads, it's no longer viable. The core emotional drive has to be the relationship between those two characters, no matter the nature of said relationship or whatever the external plot might be.

TBOC did everything to diminish and downplay Caryl's ties to each other and that was the biggest failing of the show. The hokey cult with its underdeveloped messianic plot and the fudged pseudoscience of the super walkers would've been forgiven and forgotten if Zabel had nailed the central message the season started out with, 'to find home is to find each other.' You don't need to be an amazing writer to write a show that people will enjoy, but you do have to respect your audience for them to stick with you in the long run.

[autumnwoodsdreamer]

Got a new favourite way to remedy the Ahsoka show!

(I’m putting this under a cut so if you enjoyed the show, you can just scroll on in peace)

I’ve tried a bunch of different methods (like pretending that’s not Sabine, just someone who happens to look sorta like her and has her name to it’s all an alternate dimension to World Between Worlds shenanigans to just outright ignoring the show’s existence altogether and holding onto the animated show as the only lore that matters).

And yes, okay, none of this terribly matters in real life, it is just a show, I have touched much grass recently, but there’s so much I like in the Star Wars Universe, enough that it keeps me wanting to make art and write fics and explore the characters and the worlds and the stories, but sometimes, in order to enjoy the parts I like, I find I have to come with ways to deal with the parts that aren’t so great. Ignoring them works to a degree, but when it’s constantly popping up, affecting the rest of the story, and you can’t read a single Wookiepedia article without being brutally reminded that, yup, this is canon now and there’s nothing you can do about it, I find I have to get creative. So I’m just having a bit of fun here, don’t mind me.

Okay, disclaimer all aside, my new favourite method is to accept it as canon, but! It’s a show in-universe.

It’s an “inspired by true events” type of series produced by some company in Corellia or Coruscant (somewhere very, very far away from Lothal). They decided, after the war, to make a film about the suddenly popular rebels and latched onto the Ghost Crew, because, hey! They had two Jedi on their team!

But there are some details you obviously couldn’t get from whispers on the street, like Ahsoka being alive or Jacen’s very existence. So where, oh where did they get all those bits of insider information?

From our loveable sell-out, Hondo Ohnaka, of course.

(He just contributed a few details and skipped away some credits richer, he didn’t see the final script because Hondo Ohnaka may be a pirate but he would never approve of such character assasination of his friends!)

It explains why Sabine is so wildly out of character, why her Mandalorian skills and heritage are for the most part erased (because they couldn’t be bothered to hire a Mandalorian consultant), why she’s suddenly wanting/training to become a Jedi (because Jedi are becoming quite popular thanks to all the stories of Luke Skywalker), why all the Force stuff is just downright weird and she can use the Force at all, why she doesn’t seem to know how to wield a lightsaber despite her training with THE Kanan Jarrus (because the writers didn’t know she had any training with him, didn’t even know about the Darksaber stuff), why she spent a decade doing pretty much nothing when Rebels Sabine would’ve continued in the fight against the Empire AND protected Lothal, why she doesn’t have a jetpack (wasn’t in the budget) and why Clan Wren is just written off as dying in the Purge but it’s never touched further on (they didn’t want to go too far with the Purge stuff because, again, they didn’t have a Mandalorian consultant).

It’s why Zeb never shows up (the Lasats are all out in Wild Space; they couldn’t find any locally to portray him and their proposal of shaving a Wookie and dyeing him purple was deemed insensitive by the studio execs).

It’s why Hera doesn’t act like the Hera we saw in Rebels. It’s why Ahsoka is nothing like the more hopeful, more helpful Rebels Ahsoka (and why her lekku and montrals are so teeny-tiny). It’s why Thrawn is such a pale reflection of any other version of Thrawn.

And a little further with this, it’s fun to think of how the more true-to-Rebels versions of the characters would react to the show.

Sabine couldn’t watch anything after the Ezra reunion because it’s a nice lie, imagining him safe somewhere in another galaxy, living amongst cute turtle aliens, but she’s still searching for him in her reality and she doesn’t even know if he’s still alive. (And she can’t stomach the second-hand guilt she’s feeling at the whole endangering the entire galaxy for a mere chance to see him again thing—she would never do that; she knows he would not want her to do that for him).

Hera is the only one who has watched it entirely (partly so she can tell the others what to expect because of course people are gonna talk about it).

Ahsoka refuses to watch it (mostly for the Clone Wars flashback scenes—she does not need to relive that, and she’s made her peace with Anakin’s betrayal; she doesn’t want to see the weirdly forgiven version the show purportedly portrays).

Chopper is impressed they got a droid that looks so much like him (he’s a very old model), but he insists that had he been there in those situations, people would be getting shocked left, right and centre.

TL;DR: The Ahsoka show is a show in the Star Wars universe (and just that).

[wot-tidbits]

Brandon Sanderson on his first experience with the process of adaptation as author:

"I have a fun story here. Early in my career, someone optioned the rights to make one of my stories (the Emperor's Soul) into a film. I was ecstatic, as it's not a story that at the time had gotten a lot of attention from Hollywood. I met with the writer, who had a good pedigree, and who seemed extremely excited about the project; turned out, he'd been the one to persuade the production company to go for the option. All seemed really promising.

A year or so later, I read his script and it was one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. The character names were, largely, the same, though nothing that happened to them was remotely similar to the story. Emperor's Soul is a small-scale character drama that takes place largely in one room, with discussions of the nature of art between two characters who approach the idea differently.

The screenplay detailed an expansive fantasy epic with a new love interest for the main character (a pirate captain.) They globe-trotted, they fought monsters, they explored a world largely unrelated to mine, save for a few words here and there. It was then that I realized what was going on.

Hollywood doesn't buy spec scripts (original ideas) from screenwriters very often, and they NEVER buy spec scripts that are epic fantasy. Those are too big, too expensive, and too daunting: they are the sorts of stories where the producers and executives need the proof of an established book series to justify the production.

So this writer never had a chance to tell his own epic fantasy story, though he wanted to. Instead, he found a popularish story that nobody had snatched up, and used it as a means to tell the story he'd always wanted to tell, because he'd never otherwise have a chance of getting it made.

I'm convinced this is part of the issue with some of these adaptations; screenwriters and directors are creative, and want to tell their own stories, but it's almost impossible to get those made in things like the fantasy genre unless you're a huge established name like Cameron. I'm not saying they all do this deliberately, as that screenwriter did for my work, but I think it's an unconscious influence. They want to tell their stories, and this is the allowed method, so when given the chance at freedom they go off the rails, and the execs don't know the genre or property well enough to understand why this can lead to disaster."

This quote is made 5 days ago.

I am sure I do not need to spell it out how this quote can very specifically to be connected to one other certain TV fantasy adaptation to the point it explains the situation pretty much verbatim.

SOURCE

[nattaphum]

Man Suang Press Conference [08/08/2023]

Interviewed: Pond (Exec Producer and CEO of BOC, Nat (Director), Mile, Apo, Tong, Bas, and Kru Ning (Script Writer and Acting Coach).

Q. What is Man Suang and how did it start?

Pond: Man = human, Suang = heaven; together heaven x human such as entertainment complex. Man Suang represents an entertainment complex where anyone can be anything. People chosen to be in Man Saung are carefully selected. Within the equality in Man Suang, it also represents the landscape of the real world. The Man Suang production is really brought together by people's love of art and the dream to create great production and quality work that also at times does not match the budget or traditional work culture. But the crew and everyone really have the same the dream and is willing to do what it takes to make Man Suang on the scale, goal, and vision we have.

Q: Why did this project require 3 directors?

Nat: i knew about KPTS and Kru Ning as an academic working on project that is being appreciated by the mass. And knowing Pond, who has the same goal, as a director, my role is to facilitate the process as it should be done on this scale.

Kru Ning: i works with Kru Bua on the script making. We both played a role in chosing the actors and actresses who will be in the film despite the actors' busy schedule. The challenge is bringing out the potential of all actors.

Pond: having three directors i was often told that it would’ve been a problem, but i’ve been through it on KPTS already. The three directors worked because we all respect each other. I represent the newer generation, Nat represents the experienced director, Kru Ning also represents the knowledgeable person. The key to successful work is that the younger is respectful and the seniors are not egotistic.

Q: Why choose this time period (between Rama III and Rama IV) as the setting?

Nat: This is the period where foreign powers start coming into the kingdom and has a rich history.

Q: What do you expect from this film seeing the anticipation?

Nat: i didn't expect this much reception, but also i believe we’ve done our best to meet the expectations. Thai period film is something not everyone would choose to do, but we gave it all.

Kru Ning: i expect that this film will inspire the new generation of film makers to also create period films or pick up pieces of history as their work.

Mile, Apo, Tong and Bas introduce their characters

Mile: I play Chat as a person caring for others. He came to Man Saung because of something that happened in his life. He's the 'leather man' the person who works on leather for drum. Meet different kinds of people, the very good and very bad.

Apo: I play Khem. I believe that in any generation or anywhere there’s who wants to step up and grow in their work, like Khem. He is a peasant that wants to have a better life, so he wants to use the dance that he likes as a stepping stone. Something made him enter Man Suang. For me, with any kind of role, I will believe in the role and the character. What is difficult, is imagining the character within the constraints of the time period. What he can and cannot do in that time period/culture. And the dance was a challenge. I told myself that I can do it since the mental training merges with the physical training to practice and learn the dance.

Tong: I play 'Hong'. The challenge of the role is also imagining the character in the time period and what the character can or cannot express. Even though in Man Suang you can be anything, there's still things you cannot be or tabooed. But we are lucky to have a great team who helps us. The script was redone multiple times.

Bas: I play Wan, who is best buddies with Khem, like we go anywhere together. I'm also a peasant, so the character background is at the lowest social ladder. Even the smallest mistake means death.

Q: How does working on KPTS influenced your work on Man Suang?

Apo: Going to events overseas, in France, in events with A-listers is kinda a private event. So going to closed events, where people live as the elite as their normal life helps me understand how it's like being Man Suang. Imagine myself as a small person going into private world of elites.

Mile: Starting of with KPTS makes me feel this big fulfilling energy when seeing fans or people who just started watching KPTS. Such show opened me up to opportunities of intertwining social culture issues, and Man Suang is doing the same. KPTS is a BL in a small group, but Man Suang will open up to more people.

Q: Let’s talk about the production standard that Man Suang set.

Pond: It's something I'm really proud of where we have set hours, everyone on set is treated equally in things like catering. Sometimes it becomes over budget but everyone on set is treated equally. Equality is something that we can easily talk but difficult make happen, but they tried it on this set, and it works. I want to make it the standard.

Q: Let’s talk about the support from the Ministry of Culture. Pushing Thai soft power.

Pond: i want to start with thanking Srichand because they represent Thai culture as well. Thanks to Srichand for collaborating and supporting us. Man Suang has a distinct culture footprint and Thainess that the ministry should support. So proud to be selected and that tax payers' money are being used to support Thai people work and art.

Interview with Ohm Cocktail

Both Pond and Ohm know the 28 Orchestra Band and they reached out to Ohm saying Pond has a project. Ohm likes historical stuff and was excited about the work. After knowing the overall scope of the project, and seeing the anticipation it was quite challenging, he hoped the idea will come to him, until he got the original script. But the script doesn't have the plot so it's hard to understand the story. He couldn’t understand the emotions until he saw the teaser. The overall theme is about going into a location hiding your identity in order to find something, that is an intriguing plot and good substance for the song writing.

END OF CONFERENCE

Translation provided by mileapo_sp 💜

[mileapo’s cut with eng subs here]

+ bonus:

[nubiawrites]

chapter eight

Pairing: Aaron Pierre x Black Original Character

Warnings: Slow burn. 18+. Smut. Sex.

Summary: As Aaron and Iriye's connection grows, old flames and new obstacles find their way between them.

Notes: I really love this chapter. But I'll let you guys be the judge of that. Comment, like, reblog, or send me asks. I want to hear your thoughts because I love responding.

MASTERLIST

Rules were simple enough to follow. Little things two people agreed on. Iriye and Aaron had decided to come up with that while spending a weekend at hers. 

“I like this. Us,” Aaron breathed against Iriye’s ear, him the big spoon around her as they cuddled on her couch, her TV playing a rerun of whatever TBS had to show.

“Oh, do you? I couldn’t tell,” Iriye replied, though she could feel his ever-growing length against her backside. “But I agree. I like my weekends with you,” She admitted, facing the full lips, trimmed goatee, and blueish-green eyes that had captivated her. 

They spent five weekends in a row at the others’ place, finding themselves wrapped up in each other. There was the occasional late-night run for groceries or anything they both craved. Glasses and a hat on for Aaron while Iriye did most of the picking out of things.

“I like seeing you during my weekdays,” Aaron spoke, pulling her in by her chin and throat for a kiss and her moaning into his mouth.

“You might get annoyed with me when we have to be around each other,” Iriye stated.

“I just want to kiss you even more.” He pecked her lips once again. “Maybe we can sneak into your office-”

“Where Nelly and Tamara could walk in at any time,” She pointed out.

“Or my trailer.”

“Let’s give a PA a show.”

“Your mind is in the gutter, love,” Aaron chuckled. 

“You’re not supposed to shit where you eat,” Iriye turned to face him fully, her hand trailing her fingers across his chest. “We’ve been seeing each other for a month, officially,”

“Two and a half but whatever you say,” Iriye raised her eyebrow at Aaron and he kissed her again. “I get you’re nervous,”

“I’m not," Iriye retorted.

“Okay, you’re not nervous. So what’s going on?” He asked, rubbing her side softly. She hummed at the touch.

“I just don’t want things to get too… complicated,” Iriye stated, the vulnerability feeling like it was choking her. “I like that it’s just us. That only we know. That we can just be Aaron and Iriye,” 

Aaron nodded along as she spoke, taking it in. But Iriye could see there was something else.

“I don’t want you to overthink this,”

“I’m not,” 

“Relax your brows then,” Iriye playfully brushed her hand over Aaron’s face, an inkling of a smile appearing from him. “We’re in pre-production for Paradise Lost and you’re on Lanterns still. I just want the both of us to be able to focus on our respective jobs when we’re at the lot. But when we’re not there, we can just focus on each other,” Aaron thought it over.

“We both can agree on that,” Aaron stated. “The lot is off limits.” He held up his hand for a pinky promise. “Deal?” Iriye returned her pinky giner to intertwine his.

“Deal.”

The rules were definitely broken. But Iriye liked to think that Aaron started it. 

Aaron had finished with filming, and Iriye was still on the lot, working on some things. It was an innocent meeting under the guise of discussing Paradise Lost. Even if Nelly gave Iriye and Aaron a knowing smirk as she left them alone in the production office.

Iriye kept things professional as she sat across from him on the couch in her office. They reviewed her changes to the Paradise Lost script after some execs had some minor notes. She was focused, but Aaron was focused on something else entirely.

At first, it started with Aaron wanting to make sure he got Iriye’s exact thoughts down for his journal, copying her notes verbatim. He had moved closer to her side of the couch, but she paid it no mind. But then his hand went across the back of her chair as he leaned in, and she caught a whiff of his cologne, causing Iriye to hum softly.

“You good, love?” He asked, smiling at her.

“Fine,” Iriye refocused. 

But it didn’t stop there. Aaron’s hand brushed against her back. His leg bumped into hers as he focused. His cologne was intoxicating her senses. If anything, he was walking temptation. But the real kicker was when he licked his bottom lip. It was over. Iriye was a goner.

With the door to her office locked and the blinds down, Iriye was in Aaron’s lap, crying to the heavens as he lifted her up and down his length. Her nails dug into his shoulders every time he made sure she reached the base of his length, whines and cries escaping her. A grin was on his face as she watched the faces and sounds she made as she was packed to the brim with his thick cock, moaning and groaning in response to her. 

Watching Iriye while Aaron fucked her was becoming a favorite past time of his. Seeing how she gave all of herself over to feeling. How she wasn’t shy about saying what she wanted. About letting him know when something was good. 

“Fuck Aaron,” Iriye moaned into his ear, her tongue moving to lick at it before she playfully bit it. That earned her a smack to her ass.

“You’re so wet. What made you so wet, baby girl?” Aaron teased, not letting up on fucking her on his length. He was playing with her under the guise of being calm and controlled.

“You…” Iriye moaned, her body trying to hold on, but the feel of his length inside of her was so good.

“I’m making you feel this good,” Aaron groaned. He slammed against her G-spot, and Iriye could swear she could die happily at just the feeling. “Answer me, Iriye.”

“You’re making me feel this good, baby.” Her bra-clad breasts were bouncing in his face, her shirt long gone. He let his tongue slither across the skin, a hand coming up to tug one of the cups out of the way and pull a perky brown nipple into his mouth. “Aaron,” She cried.

Aaron could feel her walls tightening around his length as he continued to fuck her and suck at her breast. He moved to her other breast, and Iriye whined.

“Fuck, you’re so tight love,” Aaron groaned into her breast, sucking on the nipple before biting teasingly. “You’re gonna make me cum,” Iriye squeezed her walls around him and that earned her a hard thrust up from him. 

“Right there,” Iriye cried.

“Wrap your arms around my neck,” Iriye followed his directions, Aaron drilling up into her and making cries and moans escape her body. 

“Oh god!” She cried out, her face pressing against his as she let him fuck the life out of her. His lips pressed feverishly to her skin as he continued his thrusts. Her nails dragged down his scalp, grasping onto him and his body as his stamina kept him fucking his length inside of her. 

“God, your pussy was made for me, Iriye,” He whispered into her shoulder. “Fuck baby,”

Iriye whined out as she felt her walls tightening around him even more. He thrust against her g spot a few more times, pulling more cries from Iriye.

“Just like that! You’re fucking me so good,” Iriye whined. “You’re gonna make me come,” Aaron pulled back to watch her face.

“Come for me,” Aaron slipped one hand from her ass, his fingers finding her clit and circling it to match the pace he was setting inside of her. Iriye had no room to go against him as she was helping him fuck her on his length, her hips meeting his as chased that end. “Iriye,”

Iriye cried out as she felt the waves crash down on her, Aaron still fucking her through it. Her hips bucked as her orgasm were intense, pussy clenching around him as she trembled in his arms. Aaron continued pounding his length into her, groans against her skin. 

Iriye kissed every patch of Aaron’s skin she could get to, their lips finding each other’s as Aaron cried out, his end hitting him hard as he gave into his orgasm, shooting into the condom he wore. Hearing him cry out her name into her mouth just made Iriye want to go again.

Chest heaving, Iriye buried her face into Aaron’s chest once she pulled away and she felt relaxed, her pussy still spasming ever so often around him.

“Didn’t expect that when I came in here for a meeting,” Aaron chuckled, placing kisses on her shoulder. Iriye pulled back to look at his handsome face and playfully rolled her eyes.

“Lies,” Iriye shook her head. Aaron placed a hand to his heart.

“I’m innocent,” Iriye just chuckled.

“Nothing about how you just fucked me is innocent,” Iriye pulled back, seeing her juices coating his condom covered length. “Glad to know these aren’t just for show,” She playfully squeezed his shoulder. Aaron chuckled, leaning in to kiss her softly. 

“Well if you’re in the mood for not so innocent fucking, we should probably go back to my place,” Aaron stated, his hand rubbing her bare thigh. 

“You’re absoutely correct, Mister Pierre,” She said in her best British accent. “How did I do?

“Eh,” Iriye playfully smacked his chest before he pulled her in for another kiss. 

“Let me go to the bathroom and freshen up,” Iriye moaned as she slid off of his length and found her panties and jeans. Iriye looked back at Aaron adjusting himself before heading for the bathroom.

Once she was freshened up, Iriye walked back to the production office but was surprised when she saw a familiar face about to reach for the handle to the Lanoire Production Office.

“Jay?” Iriye said, seeing the taller Black man at the production office door. Jay turned back to her and smiled, a smile that once had Iriye clenching in excitement now had her feel with sadness and dread. 

“Hey Iriye,” Jay tried to reach in for a hug while Iriye held out her hand, the two laughing at the awkwardness of the exchange.

“Didn’t think we would be like those white folks in a meet cute,” Jay stated.

“Well things are different now,” Iriye replied.

“Right,” Jay adjusted his backpack strap.

“Were you here for Tamara?” Iriye asked. “She left an hour or so ago,”

“Nah. I was coming by to check in on you,” Jay ran a hand at the back of his neck. 

“I don’t think it’s proper ettiquette to check in on the person who broke your heart, Jay,” Iriye stated.

“Yeah but we were friends before we were lovers, Iriye,” Iriye softened a little. “I miss my friend,” She could see the honesty in his eyes.

“I missed my friend too,” Iriye said. “But I meant it when I said I think I’m better off with having a friend than a boyfriend months ago,” 

“Yeah, it’s for the best.” Jay stated. “And look what the focus got you. Congratulations to you and Paradise Lost. You deserve everything and more, Iriye,”

Those words sent her replaying through her mind the last time they spoke, how things were left off. Before she could respond, the door to the production office opened and Aaron stepped out into the hallway.

“Hi,” Iriye said, trying to remained composed in front of both Jay and Aaron for two different reasons.

“I’m going to head out, but thank you for staying to talk through the script again,” Aaron said to Iriye, a mischief in his eye before turning his attention to Jay. “I’m Aaron.” He offered his hand to Jay.

“Jay Johnson.” Jay shook Aaron’s hand, a smile coming on his face. “My buddy works on Lanterns.”

“Cast or crew?” Aaron turned the charm on, and Jay returned the smile, Iriye trying to eye the situation carefully. 

“Crew. He’s on the best boy side of things. But he’s enjoying it,” Jay stated.

“That’s good to hear.” Aaron nodded. 

“Aaron is going to star in Paradise Lost.” Iriye gave a small smile over to Aaron, trying to keep it polite. 

“Tamara told me. You’re doing it, Iriye. I’m happy for you.” Jay had rose colored glasses on, and Iriye was nervous about Aaron witnessing it. “You have a future Emmy and Oscar winner writing you into her world, Aaron.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity that she wants me to be a part of the cinematic world she’s created,” Aaron was trying to follow Iriye’s lead. Her poker face was good, and she noticed that about her when they were around others. “Well, I’ll leave you two to it. Nice meeting you, Jay,” He turned his attention to Iriye. “I’ll see you at the chemistry reading.” Aaron nodded before heading out. 

“He’s really that tall in person,” Jay said, straightening to his full six-foot-tall height. Iriye rolled her eyes. 

“I really should get back inside, Jay. It’s been a long day, and I gotta finish up some stuff,” Iriye stated.

“Yeah, I’ll let you go.” Jay leaned in, and Iriye hugged him, trying to keep it friendly while knowing that the feeling was something she would eventually get used to. Not being as close as they once were. A platonic love she felt for him instead of the romantic one he felt for her. When they pulled away, Jay left, and she was stuck with what it meant that she didn’t feel anything for him.

Iriye made it to Aaron’s place in record time, grabbing the overnight bag she had packed in case she would stay at his. She entered the building, made it to his door, and knocked. A minute later, Aaron was opening it up, and he pulled her in, kissing her properly once she was in.

“How are you feeling?” Aaron asked her as she entered.

“I’m fine,” Iriye said, dropping her bag by the door and kissing him softly. “You up for round two?” Iriye ran her hands over his neck and shoulders. He walked down to the couch and pulled her legs onto his lap.

“I meant about you and Jay,” Aaron said with a soft tilt of his head. Iriye looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

“What do you mean?” Iriye wasn’t trying to play dumb, but she didn’t want to dig into her ex and the drama that came along with it. 

“You two are exes. I’m good at picking up on things like that.” He began removing her shoes, his hands moving to massage her feet. “Want to talk about it?”

“Aaron, you don’t need to be jealous of him,” Iriye flipped the script.

“I’m not. I have no reason to be," He stated. “I don’t want to push you, but I feel like you’re holding back with me.” Iriye moved her legs from his lap, sitting back against the couch.

“I’m not holding back. We’re both busy people. We haven’t even defined what this is,” Iriye ran a hand through her goddess locs, untangling some of her hair.

“Then let's have that talk.” Aaron turned towards her. “I like you. I like being around you. Spending weekends and weeknights with you over the past two months has been something I look forward to.”

“Aaron-“ Iriye sighed.

“Let me finish,” Aaron demanded. Iriye raised a brow at him before relaxing. “I want whatever you want from this. From me. For us. The ball is in your court. You make the choices. I want you.”

Iriye looked Aaron in the eyes, seeing the pupils of blue and green mixing as he stared at her. He was too gorgeous to be real. Her hand went to his cheek, feeling the light stubble on his chin. 

“I like us just figuring this out,” Iriye stated, stroking his chin. She leaned in to kiss him softly, her eyes shutting at the feel. She pulled back after she felt his tongue lick along the seams, begging for entrance. “None of that. We got the final chemistry read with Vivian tomorrow.”

“I know,” Aaron continued to kiss her, pulling her in his arms and leading her to his bedroom.

Two rounds later, Iriye laid out across from Aaron, both of them naked as the day they were born. His fingers traced the back of her leg, and she hummed softly, her eyes trying to fight sleep.

“What’s your biggest fear?” Aaron asked her, his fingers massaging the cramp he had caused from her third orgasm. 

“Hmm?” Iriye opened her eyes to look at him, the moonlight peeking in from the window, hitting his skin.

“Your biggest fear?” He asked, Iriye pulling the pillow closer to herself. Tiredness was seeping into her bones, especially as she felt Aaron crawl closer to her, kissing up her body. Iriye took a moment to try to gather her thoughts, Aaron’s kisses distracting her.

“People leaving,” Iriye whined when she felt him stop kissing her. “Don’t stop.”

“Why so?” Aaron reached her eyes, and she was overcome with shyness. The intensity of his gaze was getting to her, but she couldn’t escape it.

“Because you can never make them stay,” Iriye stated. “I wasn’t enough to make them stay.”

Iriye blinked several times, trying to fight the urge to sleep. She heard Aaron whisper words softly to her.

“I’ll stay, Iriye.”

Morning came, and Iriye shared the shower with Aaron, kisses shared between lovers. It was early, but she would take all the time she could get with him. Once they were dressed, more kisses were exchanged, and they went their separate ways.

Iriye couldn’t keep the smile off her face before the chemistry read. As she settled at video village, where she had her headphones, she saw the camera focusing on Vivian Kincaid.

“She is something.” Nelly handed Iriye a coffee, and Iriye thanked her.

“Maybe, but that something may not work for our film,” Iriye stated. She watched as Tamara set Vivian and Aaron up for their scene.

“You’re right. But they do look good together?” Nelly remarked.

“What?” Iriye raised a brow at Nelly.

“I’m kidding. I’m kidding,” Nelly said as she sat beside her as Tamara returned.

“You guys ready?” Tamara stated. Iriye nodded, putting her headphones on.

Iriye watched as Aaron ran through the scene. Vivian could hang with him, but little things were still missing. 

Tamara called cut, taking a moment to think before she turned to Iriye.

“Can you give her the note?”

Iriye straightened up and tried to get through this without any interactions. But she had a role to play: the writer.

Iriye got up and approached Vivian as the makeup artist touched her face. Vivian smiled softly.

“I’m Ir-”

“I know who you are. Iriye Edwards,” Vivian shook her hand, a graceful smile coming onto her face.

“Oh, we’re on a first and last name basis,” Iriye was intrigued.

“I’m sorry. I just went down a rabbit hole after I read the script. When my manager got their hands on it and sent it to me, I knew I had to be a part of it.”

“Interesting,” Iriye stated.“Well, I just wanted to give you some insight.” She stated.

“Anything and everything is welcomed. Can I admit something? I’m nervous. Aaron is intense.” Vivian explained.

“Don’t I know it,” Iriye chuckled, knowing she had to get the woman to relax. “But he’s not Aaron. He’s Isaiah, and you’re Nora,” She said. “You’ve read the script. You know this character left and right.” 

“I do. I read the script so many times. I know everything.”

“Good. Now throw it all out the window,” Iriye could see the contemplation on her face. “You’re in your head. You need to be more present. Nora is a wildfire. She knows what she wants. She’ll go to all ends to do it. Now, show me who you believe Nora is and make me believe it.” 

Iriye watched Vivian take a moment to ground herself before walking away. Iriye smiled at Aaron as she caught his eye, him returning it. She settled back at video village, Tamara smiling.

“Not you trying to take my job,” Tamara teased.

“Me direct? Never,” Iriye chuckled. She watched Aaron come into focus as the camera operator took him in. Iriye took him in, and even through the monitor, he took her breath away. 

“Okay… action,” Tamara called.

All the executives were glued to the screen, and the moment was electric as Vivian followed her suggestions. Iriye could admit that both Aaron and Vivian looked good together, and the words and characters she created came to life. But it went to another level with Vivian grabbing Aaron right before her last line. She pulled him close, and both drew into it, Vivian kissing Aaron.

“And cut! We’re gonna take a ten,” Tamara called, going over to Vivian and Aaron.

And while everyone clapped, Iriye felt something she had never felt before: jealousy.

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[bmgmw]

Do you think Bobby is really dead or it’s all a fake out

I flip flop on this every day lol

But currently, I’ve landed somewhere in between. As in it could go either way.

I think Tim really is that dumb and decided he randomly wanted “realism”, so he wrote a script that kills Bobby off. From what I’ve read in interviews, the cast and rest of 911 team were upset about it.

From Tim’s Variety interview: “Nonetheless, “9-1-1” showrunner Tim Minear said he needed the outcome to be “unambiguous.” I had to convince everybody about this,” Minear told Variety. “The network was not like, ‘Yeah, get rid of him, it’ll save us money.’ It was nothing like that. I had to pitch this at the highest levels and just walk through the whole story and try to infect them — funny choice of words, given the storyline — because, as I pitched it, you could understand, as a writer, how suddenly the whole world felt more alive. It felt more real because this thing had happened.””

So Tim had to pitch and get approval from execs. At the end of the day, ABC is a business. Given the fact Peter did not want to leave the show, I’m sure execs knew killing Bobby (regardless of storyline), would be a gamble. So I find it hard to believe they would let Tim take such a large gamble with potential viewership/financial consequences without have a safety net plan in place.

For all his talk about it needing it be unambiguous, Tim still left room for ambiguity should they need to pull a S7 Emily Prentiss from Criminal Minds. Body bag closed up and being carried by who knows which gov agency, no time of death called by medical professional on screen, closed casket next ep (and I think due to the contagion aspects, I doubt family would’ve been allowed to see the body prior), weird ass white flash after chimney got the antidote….etc etc

So yes I think Tim killed off Bobby, but I still believe there’s a slight chance they could Emily Prentiss it if there’s a big enough drop in viewership ($$$) and execs push for that