#but pr can unsettle the audience

[swanqueendaughter]

911 BUDDIE THOUGHTS

So after the last episode of 911, I need to speak out:

1. I'm so sick of people who write that using buddie scenes to promote an episode is the norm of media production, not queerbaiting. Of course, Buddie's fandom is the most numerous, it can be seen from any social networks and comments, so this step is quite dirty, but of course effective for promotion.

2. I've been watching this series for the last 7 years since season 1, but I wasn't buddie shipper until season 7. I mean, I caught a certain vibe in seasons 2-3, but only 7.04 made me consider this pairing seriously. The whole episode was literally saturated with Buck's jealousy of Eddie. And no, fans of Buck and Tommy relationship, we're not delulu. Buck literally tells Maddie when they have lunch at the call center that he was jealous and wanted to get EDDIE's attention. However, in the last scene, he really tells Tommy that he wanted to get his attention, which of course does not fit into my brain, but the kiss and the arc of bi-Buck really distract my attention from this mess. I would also like to highlight the scene in the gym where Tommy wasn't even there and the scene where Buck pushes Eddie on the basketball court. Can you imagine that Buck, our sweet kind-hearted Buck, is pushing his best friend for the guy's attention? No way. What I see is an incredibly jealous friend who is seething with indignation that Eddie is trying to replace him in his opinion. And the scene with Tommy, where he assures Buck that no one is going to replace him, especially since Christopher wouldn't allow it? The whole arc comes down to the fact that no matter how selfish it is, Buck wants to occupy all areas of Eddie's life (his free time hanging out as best friends, being part of his family with Christopher and being number 1 for his child).

I mean, this whole arc has only two readings - the first is Buck, who is not aware of his feelings for Eddie, being burdened by his heterosexual role and their friendship, chooses to turn his attention to a more accessible option - Tommy, who has a similar background and interests with Eddie. The second is, of course, buddy's queerboating,  writers/producers might well have no desire to lose some of the conservative audience by making Eddie queer character. So in this matter, maybe Oliver/Buck was just lucky to pull out a successful plot straw (I mean, at least for media PR), while Ryan/Eddie (who originally should have had a love line with Tommy) got an unenviable plot with Marisol. 

3.I can't help but speak out about this absurd Eddie/Marisol arc. I mean, it hardly seems to be successful in any way, not even for buddie's shippers. This is literally Cap saying that love can be met by chance, implying his relationship with Athena. Eddie listens to him and, as if trying to copy this scenario, "falls in love" with the first girl he sees. It's absurd.

4.Eddie definitely has a problem with relationships with girls. There is a clear feeling that he chooses them relative to their qualities, and not the special bond they share. He married Shannon because she got pregnant, and the opinion of religious parents played a role. Over time, Eddie could love the idea of their small family, because Shannon was a good woman, but she was not Eddie's partner, so as soon as the first difficulties arose, Eddie ran away, instead of somehow solving the problem, and then Shannon ran away. Sad.

Eddie and Shannon's attempt to rekindle their relationship was doomed from the very beginning, and I think when Shannon realized the dysfunctionality of their marriage, she asked for a divorce. Thanks Shannon!  

Anna was just another girl who met Eddie's criteria, an ideal potential wife and mother for Christopher, but who did not have an emotional connection with him. And although the screenwriters tried to fool us with a picture of the perfect happy couple, albeit slightly unsettled Eddie, as a result it turned out that he did not develop the slightest feelings for Anna. I mean, he had a panic attack at the thought of Anna as his wife!! What a shame!

5.I understand that some people have been watching the show for so long that they start to forget the plot of the first seasons of the series. However, I advise you to review the flashbacks with Tommy in order to form an opinion about him not as Buck's love interest. but behind the beautiful picture there is a completely faded and indifferent character to the fate of the team members. His evolution after he changed jobs and came out of the closet is pretty ridiculous. Yes, I see a handsome, confident man who has done just one good deed so far. But I still have no idea where this evolution comes from. Does coming out make you a different person? Doubtful. Lou is a wonderful actor, but I don't share Tommies's admiration as a character. He's cool and confident, but there doesn't seem to be anything behind that facade.

6. Buck and Tommy. The sexual energy between the characters, which is useful for creating spectacular passionate kisses and perhaps something more, is undeniable. I like to see Buck exploring his sexuality. But as for the emotional component? An absolute hopeless abyss. The scene with the costumes for the bachelor party was quite revealing. Is it possible to fill it with a decent emotional component? With the good work of the screenwriters, yes. But the truth is that good true canonical engames click right away (Madney, Cap and Athena).

7. Should we expect a Buddie canon? I think season 7 can be considered the last to summarize this issue. Remembering such series as Castle, Bones and the Mentalist, the pairs of main characters did not become canon right away, where by season 4-6. Perhaps the pair of Jane and Lisbon was the longest in this matter, and the most controversial according to the reviews of the audience (meaning that not everyone believed that there would become canon couple). They only got together in the season 6 finale. This is also season 6 for Badie, so I think everything will be resolved this season. Waiting for the canon in season 8, unless a direct indication is given in the finale 7 (awareness of the feelings of at least one of them)!would be absurd. I'm not calling on buddies's entire fandom to quit watching the series (although in the case of outright queerboating of this fandom, it would be fair), but I would urge my sensitive friends to stop deluding themselves at the end of this season.

7. To sum up, I would advise the screenwriters to start writing good love lines for Buck and Eddie, if they are at least as capable of it. Because what's happening on the screen right now is pretty disappointing.

[whatamessofthoughtswithjess]

Just some random thoughts I’d like to mention:

ADHD chaotic word vomit commencing in:

3……2…….1……. 💥

1. Fandoms can be extremely toxic. Like SCARY TOXIC! 🥴

2. PR Tours aren’t geared towards the established fans. PR tours are to engage new viewers. PR tours are created to sell the story being told. If you’ve got a romance show that’s trying to sell a story of “friends to lover’s” the PR tour will lean into the natural chemistry between the leads, they’ll create an atmosphere to enhance the chemistry, and they’ll use whatever techniques necessary in order to sell the story.. to bring in new audiences.

3. We all fell for the #Polin PR tour. Nicola and Luke have unsettling chemistry & Shondaland knew this as well. They also knew how much they could play off of their chemistry and bring in a large viewership. 2.3 billion minutes watched the first week alone? The PR tour paid off really well for them. I can’t even be mad at them at this point. You can’t say it wasn’t smart financially.. even if it was quite shitty to play with the hearts of Polin fans.

4. Luke and Antonia didn’t deserve the hate that was and continues to be thrown at them. They’ve been linked together for over a year now. He never hid her existence. The fandom chose to ignore her existence. That’s on the fans.. not Luke.

5. This one is going to piss a lot of folks off. Sorry not sorry. Luke Newton doesn’t owe the fandom anything. The “he has yet to claim her” comments are ridiculous. This man has been seen with her on multiple occasions, he has travelled with her, he’s been papped multiple times with her, he brought her to both Bridgerton premieres. That is claiming her. He doesn’t have to post her on his professional instagram just to appease his fans. He owes you nothing regarding his private life. Stop with the entitlement. It’s icky.

6. It’s never okay to bully anyone. Ever. The bullying against Antonia and now Jake Dunn is GROSS! It’s even more gross watching grown ass women bully a 23 year old young lady. It’s giving “I’m jealous” vibes. Do I like the way Antonia has acted towards the fans? No. She’s been a petty Betty at times.. however.. I can’t say I wouldn’t have been myself. That young woman has watched thousands of people publicly ship her man with his costar. She’s been bullied non stop & ridiculed for her body, her looks, her work, everything. I’d be acting a bit petty too if I were in her shoes. Grace is free & showing grace isn’t hard. She is human like the rest of us.

7. Now let’s talk about Nicola Coughlan and Jake Dunn. The absolute bullshit hate comments being left on Jake’s instagram are absolutely ridiculous. This man has done NOTHING WRONG except for crush any insane delulu you have in your mind. If you have something negative to say about this man? Do it in your private spaces & don’t take it to this man’s social media. Do you truly think Nicola will have any sort of respect for you by saying such hateful and nasty things to someone she clearly cares deeply for? Newsflash! She won’t. She’ll probably dislike you greatly for such vile behavior. Grow up. It’s legit that simple.

8. Like with Luke, Nicola owes you nothing regarding her personal life. Who she dates, spends her time with, chooses to love is no one’s concern but her own. She deserves to be able to live her life with who she wants and how she wants without fans acting the fool.

9. We don’t speculate on people’s sexuality. That’s gross behavior. That’s extremely disrespectful and invasive. Touch grass. Oh and did you know that you can tell your friends you love them without being gay? Shocking, right? Who knew? 😉

10. Stop. Full Stop. With stating your personal delulu opinions as facts. The biggest reason why this fandom is so toxic and drunk on delulu is because so many larger creators have planted false information in their minds as facts.. now they can’t see past the delulu & anything that goes against what they’ve convinced themselves of in their minds is false.. regardless of the receipts that are dangling in their faces. Please stop. It’s time to come back to reality.

11. Bullying one another for different opinions is TOXIC AF! There is no reason for people to be bullied off their own platforms because you don’t agree with their views. Take that toxic behavior right on out of here.

12. Colin Bridgerton is the BEST of the Bridgerton men.. apart from Edmund Bridgerton of course. You can’t convince me otherwise.

13. The best Bridgerton characters are as follows in this specific order:

Penelope Bridgerton

Lady Agatha Danbury

Queen Charlotte

I can’t be convinced otherwise. I stand by these choices.

14. Daniel Radcliffe will always be Harry Potter. I don’t care who they cast to play him in the new HBO Max series. Daniel is Harry. Point. Blank. Period.

15. Draco Malfoy deserved better.

16. Cats are the superior pet.

17. Shrimp is GROSS. You can’t change my mind.

18. I could have fixed Anakin Skywalker. 😅

19. Heck I could have fixed Kylo Ren too.

20. Pumpkin spice is trash. Apple cider is where it’s at. Fight me. 🍏🍎

Chaotic enough for you? I know it was for me. I’ve been wanting to get some of those thoughts out of my head. What better way to do that than here? Welcome to the asylum y’all. Enjoy the chaos! ✌🏻

[byrdtrollsunoreversearchive]

What does damage control even look like at this point?

"Damage control goes like this" He says.

Setting down a small mirror in front of him.

"I've already lost the PR battle. There's nothing now I could do or say that would sway the general public out of Rollyn's favor. Her fans, most lowblood audiences, I've already lost them. I've thought about it every which way, and I'm not going to tarnish her reputation by revealing what she said to me. I can't tell the truth. So that's over. It's done. I have to play the bad guy. I can work with that. I hate to say it but this incident might have even swayed some higher ups in my favor. Having a model girlfriend and not treating her great? Not a dealbreaker for most highbloods I encounter and work with."

He sets down a tiny dracula figurine, continuing to think with his hands.

"...What other trolls in the business wont like is I got my ass handed to me on a silver platter by some random civ. I had a good reason not to attack Sereni back but they don't know that. And also. Before now, the wider public didn't know about my powers and now they will. I'm confident Sereni and Rollyn have already goneto the web or the press about the memory erasing. Suddenly, this card that has been in the mafia's back pocket of having a convienant memory eraser has gone public. Midas will not be happy about this. It'll have people asking questions. Digging around."

"I have to find a way to get tens upon millions of Rollyn's fans, curious onlookers, and rival gangs of my scent."

"At the same time, I've got to retaliate against Sereni in some way that makes my peers respect me again. While at the same time not actually hurting her physically or mentally because she's one of Rollyn's friends and she didn't honestly do anything wrong. She had every reason to suspect me for some kind of abuse and there was nothing I could do to dissuade her."

Sunset stares at the things he's set down, and lets out a long, resigned sigh.

"I'm thinking. I make some social media posts. I get one of my computer people to go back through and make me a nice digital trail of breadcrumbs for Rollyn's fans to 'discover' some kind of fake crime. That I will blame the memory erasing on."

"Something low impact business wise but highly emotional and scandalous enough to captivate the press circuit. It's got to be well hidden enough that I don't look like an idiot, just a very meticulous sociopath, but still open enough to be found in the first place. It's also got to make the gang look good, or at the very least powerful. This is the story we need to sell the press."

"Then, at the same time, I make a different, seperate trail of breadcrumbs for Sereni specifically. That implicate Rollyn in some kind of fake crime she's 'forgotten'. Something Rollyn would realistically back morally but would get her in trouble with the fleet if it went public. I then blackmail Sereni with this, threaten to go to the fleet etc etc, force her into conceding into some kind of smoke and mirrors public defeat at my hand."

Sunset describes to you, like a man who has thought up of a meticulous, smart and well fashioned plan, and is deeply unhappy and unsettled about every single part of it. He could care less about wider alternia. But he cannot describe to you, how much it hurts him to know that Rollyn specifically will likely remember him for the rest of time as one of the worst people imaginable. He is backed so throughly into a corner there could be no choice but doubling down. The kindest thing he thinks he can do for her is to respect her wish not to mourn his loss, and this would certainly leave her not mourning him.

But he can't imagine it would make her happier, imagining him to be some kind of monster. Living a double life like this, it's got to tear a person apart. It stretchs him like a rubber band pulled taut at the best of times. That constant facade. That never ending fear. It's probably at this very moment, that Sunset decides, he can never 'date' again. Most certainly not hold quadrants with anyone he actually cares about. He wanted so badly to live in that fantasy where he meets a cute girl at a pulmonologist and falls in love just like a regular troll. But this world where a relationship between him and Rollyn, away from the prying eyes of the press and coworkers and fear and terror is just that. A fantasy. And it has become what he always knew it to be from the beginning. A liability.

"I don't wanna do it" He says, his voice cracking. "I really fucked up" He wheezes. "How selfish of me. To toss and turn in the grave I dug for myself and not even be able to lie in it. What was I thinking! What was I thinking! I risk my career- my life- my plan- for what? Just to leave Rollyn worse off than she ever was before meeting me? Just to rebreak her heart she can't even remember is broken? I should have never dated her in the first place. I'm smarter than this. I risked it all and for what. To try and ward off some run of the mill loneliness?"

He laughs, bitterly, the way a troll does when trying not to cry.

But the sobs catch up to him anyways. Violently overtaking Sunset's body. He covers his face with his hands, curling up and holding his body close like a young boy well used to weathering this kind of pain.

[prwirenow1]

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[sasster]

🗣 redivi + thread?

Send me a (🗣️) + two muses on my blog, and I’ll make them have a conversation whether they know each other or not!

--

You must have done something to earn Overseers ire that he sent you to make an audience with Duxile and Ofidis while you were planet side. Not that you have any issues with Thorezille, it is a very lovely place, the residents are always quite nice when you come through for scouting, though you get the idea that some of them can’t seem to decide if they preferred Overseer over Marauder or not. You’re told that the latter comes to hand-select his picks. That’s not shocking, his lusus runs the place after all, he gets first pick. It is unspoken, but the entire fleet knows it.

Anyway, tangent.

It’s not like you don’t like it here! The patrons just skeeve you out a little bit. Especially the one with the teeth. Thankfully, he is absent for this meeting, and instead it is just you sitting across from the Provider. The last time you were here, lords it must have been about 15 sweeps since then, it was Faithful that sat across from you. His sickening customer service grin, as you refer to it, made your stomach do cartwheels. Then his manner of speech – No one who looks that unhinged should be anywhere near as well spoken as him. But he was nice! He was cordial.

Anyway! The Provider. Someone would have to provide a great deal to earn that as a title, wouldn’t they? Well, he’s old enough that they were probably still handing them out for any old act. The man is a fossil. You stifle a giggle at the thought.

The sound causes him to tear his eyes from the docket you’d prepared. He smiles politely.

“Did you say something, Ms. Faelum?” Oh. You clear your throat and straighten a bit. Geeze, even your commanding officer doesn’t refer to you by your surname. You’ve been Thread for a very long time.

“Oh! No, just something caught in my throat.”

He nods slowly, eyes darting quickly to the glass of water sitting in front of you, before focusing again on the documents before him. Right, the glass of water he’d offered you as you entered. A gracious host he is, after all. You pick up the cup and take a sheepish sip from it before setting it back on the table.

How embarrassing!

“Uhm, anyway.” You break the silence again, this time with purpose. “So I’ll just uh.. Give you the names on our updated list, some of the information we have from General Pravus’ last visit, but they like to know that the information is still relevant. I’ll just say the name and you just have to tell me their role in the community, if there is already a plan in place for them to serve, or some other third thing.”

The Provider nods again, this time setting the document to the side. His eyes fix on you, perfectly serene. It is kind of unsettling how gentle this man is, right? “I am told General Viroil is interested in trolls with mutation for this round.

“That’s what I heard!” You tap on the screen on your right arm, it brings up a little hologram list. “We’ll just do some confirmation on ones that were unclearly marked, and then we can talk about the others. Ready?”

Another affirmative nod.

“Eslioh Ariale?”

“Enlisted. We have half a sweep left with him before he leaves..”

You indicate such on your list. “Laiyla Ermivu.”

He frowns. “They have terrible post-traumatic stress disorder. They would be no good on the front lines, I’m afraid.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” You briefly wonder how a lifelong resident of Thorezille found a way to get PTSD. But, that’s not your business, Thread. “Perine Mollet?”

“Cannot spend much time out of fresh water, a full day max if I am recalling correctly. There is no way the fleet can accommodate this type of disability.”

“Wow! That’s weird!”

He gives you a look, his brow furrows.

“I mean. I’ve never heard of anything like that…” Sheepish again. He does not say anything.

It feels bad to disappoint him. “Uhm. Last one..” You scroll to the bottom of the list. “Oh! A new edition. Marqez Tsakal?”

“Ah Marqez.” The Provider smiles again, this time the light catches on his fangs, he must like this guy. “Medical exemption, as well.”

You nod, once again indicating it in your list. “You really know your people. Let me see if I missed anyone – Oh! Soniel Axetol?”

“She is an educator, though if she shows interest in fleet life she is slated for the Marauders crew.” Of course she is. “She may track you down to get a look at your enhancements, however. They are remarkable. Your eyes as well?”

You shyly flex the fingers on the hand you are using to scroll through the list. “Oh! Thank you! No one really notices the eyes compared to the bright white arms.” You are filled with pride, actually. His kind words make you relax a little, even. “Made them myself!”

He raises his eyebrows, clearly impressed. “All of it?” The tone of his voice catches you off guard, he genuinely sounds impressed. Maybe he isn’t so bad after all.

“Yeah! Fleet tech, though. Obviously. I couldn’t afford much on my own without it.”

“Shame, I can only imagine what you will have done for yourself provided with unlimited resources and creative freedom.”

“My entire body would be cybernetic, Provider.” You say this very seriously, it gets a refined chuckle out of him.

“Soniel would really like you.”

You clear your throat again. “I’ll look out for her.”

“She will find you on her own.”

“Ominous!”

That makes him laugh again. You feel good when you make him laugh.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

oliver said that by the end of the season buck will realize what he wants in a relationship and partner. unless the next two episodes are gonna be heavy bl episodes(i highly highly doubt it considering she's not in any of the PR's)when the past 2 episodes he's been essentially a husband and father to eddie and chris, then it's gotta mean eddie and chris make him realize what he wants, cause he wants them.

Hey Nonnie

I honestly don't know why we're still talking about Lucy as a potential love interest - there is literally nothing that has happened in the show post kiss to suggest that is where we're going with her - if anything they're using her to show just how much Eddie and Bucks relationship is not just friendly or work partners. Just Because we don't see Lucy in the promos doesn't mean she's not going to be there and I would always take interviews with a grain of salt - they can straight up lie in interviews or twist what they'r saying to make it seem like one thing because they don't want to reveal the important stuff. they're not going to come out and say that Buddie is happening - they're just going to let it play out on screen and use the interviews to obfuscate things - Buddie going canon is going to be big news - why would they spoil it? the other thing is that AK has stated in interviews that she gets to work with various members of the team - including with Bobby - it has never been explicitly stated that she was Bucks new partner and that she would only be working as a partner to Buck.

The contrast with the Buckley Diaz scenes and those with Buck and Lucy and Buck and Taylor are words away - they are shot in very different manners - from lighting to camera lenses and angles and actor blocking - they look and feel very different.

Also Just because Buck realises what he wants in a romantic relationship and partner it doesn't follow that he's going to end the season in one - him realising what he wants can just mean him choosing to be alone and end things with Taylor because he realises that its not serving him or his mental health well. It also doesn't follow that Buck gaining this understanding means he's suddenly going to jump into a relationship with Eddie - Even if Buck realises that Eddie and Chris are his family and that Eddie is his soulmate and the love of his life, it doesn't necessarily mean that Eddie is ready to take that next step, or indeed that Buck is. We don't know what else is going to come out of the next 4 episodes nor do we know what the plans are for S6.

I recommend just sitting back and enjoying the ride because although 5a wasn't the best and things felt off (including some poor choices about the use of certain characters) the writers have clearly been building towards something and in many ways 5a unsettling the audience has made Eddies breakdown, Maddie's PPD and the fallout from both things even more compelling. I choose to trust in the writers and all the creative teams who put the show together - they do a wonderful job and leave lots of breadcrumbs and easter eggs for us to spot and enjoy - its what makes watching the show so much fun!

[duskholland]

The Fame Game (Part Three) || Tom Holland

Summary ↠ Sleepovers are supposed to be fun, but perhaps not when they include your fake boyfriend. 

Word count ↠ 4.5k

Warnings ↠ Alcohol, some bad language, Tom’s shirtless? And also a lil bit jealous

A/N ↠ I decided that Y/N is in Stranger Things because... Joe Keery. You’re welcome. This was a fun part to write! Thank you so much to everyone that’s been loving on this series - makes my heart very very happy to know it’s being read and enjoyed :’) Please let me know what you think of this part! (This picks up directly after part two just with a pov shift)

Series masterpost

THREE: What’s Mine Is Yours (Y)

The studio lights burn your eyes painfully, and your throat has been stinging distantly of tequila ever since you took the first shot. 

Jimmy’s been sending you question after question, analysing and picking apart every aspect of your ‘relationship’ with Tom for the past five minutes. So far, you and Tom have answered with your stories aligned, and you thank yourself for having the stroke of genius to go over some essential details with him before the show. If you’d just come out here and winged it, as he had foolishly suggested, you know you would’ve tripped up by now. 

It’s all going as expected, until near the end of the interview when Tom’s words split through the air and shock you completely:

“Well, chemistry is a very important part of any relationship, Jimmy, and you know what they say: enemies make the best lovers.”

Enemies make the best lovers..?

Even as the conversation moves on, you feel the words lingering in your mind. Tom’s been playing the role of your doting boyfriend very well all evening, but there has been something a little too earnest about his eyes and his remarks, and it’s left you feeling… odd. Exposed, perhaps. He’s out here claiming that enemies make the perfect foundation to a loving relationship, and though you’re almost certain it was a throwaway comment, you can’t stop yourself from over-analysing it.

“Well, thank you to both of you for joining us tonight,” Jimmy says finally, dragging you from your stupor. “It’s been a pleasure, as always. I wish the happy couple all the best!” 

You’re nestled up very close to Tom on the sofa. His hand is on your knee, and you’ve got your arm wrapped around his side. You hadn’t discussed any of this beforehand, but you’d followed his lead when he’d first stretched out his palm. Casual displays of intimacy, according to your PR team, are everything, and it’s been almost nice to have his fingers resting on your leg, acting as a grounding presence. Any time you said something a little risky, he’d squeeze your knee - and you likewise would use your hand on his side to pinch him gently, like a reminder to stop talking whenever he came close to slipping up. 

“Thanks, Jimmy,” Tom says. He looks around to face you, his brown eyes warm and round. “We’ve had a great time.”

You nod along and pull your hand away from Tom’s side as you sit up a little straighter. “Yeah, it’s been amazing.”

Jimmy throws out a few final farewells, and the audience descends into applause. As the bright sign that reads LIVE flickers out, the cameras stop rolling. Almost immediately, you feel lighter. With a loud groan, you stretch your arms out behind your head and collapse back into the sofa, your posture sagging. Besides you, Tom mirrors you, his legs spreading and his knee knocking against yours as you glance over and share a cautious smile.

“That went well, didn’t it?” You ask quietly. Jimmy’s wandered off, and around you, people are rolling up cables and wires. You can feel the eyes of some of the audience on you, so you reach down to play with his hand. Tom lets you fiddle with his fingers, and you gulp as you draw your fingertips across his soft skin.

“Yeah,” Tom agrees. His eyebrows furrow together as he looks at you curiously. “What was the question you answered with Harrison?” 

You scoff. “That’s a secret.”

You’d almost died when you’d read the card. As much as you’d disliked the prospect of doing a shot, the question had read ‘Which of Tom’s friends would you consider dating?’. Though you feel no romantic attraction towards Harrison, he’s the only one of Tom’s friends you know. You couldn’t admit it to Tom live, because PR would have had your head, but you don’t particularly want to fess up now, either. 

Tom’s always been a bit weird about your friendship with Harrison, and you don’t want to add more strain to your relationship. Maybe a month ago you would’ve loved to have another thing to rub in Tom’s face, but now things are changing. Your relationship is beyond twisted as it is, and much to your surprise, you no longer feel the burning need to exacerbate that - not now you know you’ll be tied to his side for the next five months. For all you thrive off Tom’s discomfort, it’s starting to take a toll. 

Tom pouts, but there’s an intense heat to it. “Tell me.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

You roll your eyes. “What was your first question?” You return. “The one that you replied to by saying I’m stubborn?”

Tom groans, and the illusion of him being a doting, sweet boyfriend shatters. A part of you is relieved he’s back to normal as he glares at you. Tom has been too nice to you this evening, and it was becoming a little unsettling.

“I won’t tell you mine unless you tell me yours,” he barters. Tom looks down at your joined hands and loops your fingers together, leaning in closer on the sofa so he can drop his voice. The strong waves of his cologne drift out over you, causing your mind to spin. “Oh, come on, girlfriend, we were getting on so well, just tell me? Please?” He even flutters his eyelashes.

You chuckle in the face of his charm. “No way.”

Tom pulls away, his jaw flexing. He drops your fingers dramatically. “Fine. Be like that.” He stands up quickly, but then he pauses and begrudgingly offers you a hand, his eyes skimming the busy room. He, like you, seems to recognise there is a time and place for your petty bickering. “Let me escort you backstage,” he says, voice dry and monotonous. 

You sigh heavily. “You’re so annoying,” you tell him, accepting his hand. He helps you up with a strong grip, your fingers tangling together easily. “I almost bought the act that you were actually a decent guy tonight, y’know?”

Tom keeps your hands together as you slowly walk backstage. “I almost bought yours,” he returns, his voice quiet. “I suppose we’re both good actors, aren’t we?”

You set your mouth in a firm line. “I suppose we are.”

You don’t see him for a while, and for that, you’re very grateful. For a few weeks, it seems PR are satisfied with a few teasing tweets here and there, and you enjoy the freedom of living Tom-free again. It really is quite disruptive, having to parade around with him, and lie when your friends and family question you about him. It’s quick to grow tiresome as you have to explain, over and over, that, no, you don’t hate him - love just happened!! Yeah, he’s great! Oh, you always thought there was something going on between us? Haha. Hah. That’s so funny. 

It’d be so much easier, you think, if you and Tom got along better. But you know the only way that’ll happen is if one of you apologies to the other, and you’re still too fucking angry about everything to let your walls come down. Your history spans three poisonous years, and you aren’t willing to start lowering your defences for fear of him using that against you. You’d rather suffer through several more months of torture with Tom than show any sort of regret or remorse. You will not be the first to place your cards on the table, which lands you in a difficult position because you know he isn’t the type to concede either. You’re so similar it almost hurts. 

About a month after the show, you’re on set when you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket, and you pick up the small device to see Rebecca’s name flashing over the screen. With a sigh, you quickly answer. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi Y/N, it’s Rebecca. I hope you’re doing well.” There’s a brief pause, then, “So, we need you to do something for us tonight.”

You reach up to pinch at the bridge of your nose. “Always straight to the point, aren’t you?” 

Your PR manager laughs. “Time is precious,” she reasons. “Anyway, we’ve been monitoring your socials. People find it odd that you’ve not posted anything with Tom, and we’ve realised that there is a shortage of photos of you both together.”

You hum. “Yeah, I don’t think we’ve ever had a photo together where it looks like we actually like one another.”

“Exactly. That’s a problem.”

“Great.”

“We’ve been in contact with Tom. He’s going to pick you up once you’re done on set, and then come and stay the night with you. You’ll be spotted entering your apartment together, and he’ll be seen leaving in the morning. Whilst you’re together, if you can try and take some photos, that’d be great. Try to build up a backlog of different shots, so you have some in reserves for the future.”

You throw your head back, biting back a dramatic groan. “He’s coming over tonight?” You clarify.

Rebecca sighs. “Yes, Y/N. Is that okay?” 

“I suppose.” 

“Perfect. He’ll pick you up from set at 5.”

The line disconnects and you put your phone away, trying not to think about how easily your quiet evening plans have been whipped away. You’re called back to set almost immediately, and that provides you with a perfect distraction. You slip on your mask, sinking into a different character, and you let all your worries and irritations fade away.

When Tom rocks up to set, you’re still filming. You catch him from the corner of your eye as you act opposite your co-star Joe Keery, carrying your banter perfectly. You love Joe - love the fact that both of you are wearing matching sailor costumes and somehow manage to rock them, and that your scenes always flow together very nicely. You’re having a great time together, and you feel sad when the director calls out a final Cut! and the cameras stop.

“Great scene, Y/N,” Joe compliments, reaching out to pat your shoulder. 

You smile back at him, nodding lightly. “You too!” You say. “I’m going to miss filming with you.”

Joe nods, whipping the sailor hat from his head and running a hand through his long hair. “Me too,” he agrees, mouth curving into a frown, “Who else would dress up in these stupid costumes with me and not make fun of me?”

You laugh, but before you can form a full reply, you feel a figure lingering behind you. You tilt your head and see Tom there, and then feel his warm hands slip around your waist. It all happens so quickly - one moment he’s whispering hi, the next his fingers are wrapped around you and yours are on his shoulders, then he’s kissing you quickly. It’s just a peck, but it completely blindsides you, and you’re still recovering when he pulls back and looks at Joe.

“Hi, mate, I’m Tom,” he greets, his voice artificial and loud. “Y/N’s boyfriend.”

You look between them, your heart hammering in your chest as you retract your hands and let them fall to your side. Tom immediately links your fingers together.

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard a lot about you,” Joe replies, eyeing you sceptically. He raises his eyebrows slightly as he accepts Tom’s free hand, and they shake slowly.

“All good things, I hope, eh?” Tom replies, glancing over to you. You raise your eyebrows, trying to figure out what he’s doing, but he just grins slyly in response.

“Eh, sure,” Joe says. Your friend rocks back on his feet, and you’re briefly reminded of the many, many occasions where you’d stormed onto set and ran your mouth about Tom. “Well, I’m gonna go now. See you tomorrow, Y/N.” He raises a hand.

“Bye, Joe. Have a nice night.” 

As soon as Joe’s slipped out of sight, you turn your attention to Tom.

“What are you doing?” You ask him, voice higher and quieter than usual. You pull your hand from his grasp, and it drifts up to your mouth, to where your lips are still feeling the aftershocks of the kiss. You stare at him through wide eyes. He’s in a lovely blue denim jacket today, and it contrasts brightly against his short styled hair and his deep brown eyes.

“Greeting my girlfriend?” Tom replies. He looks a little bashful as he folds his arms across his chest. “Is that a problem?”

Fuck, you hadn’t missed him at all.

“You kissed me,” you state. 

“Briefly,” he agrees, “We’re in public, Y/N. It would’ve been weird if I hadn’t done anything. Plus…”

“Plus?”

Tom grimaces. “It felt a bit odd to see you so close to him.” He pauses, his face the picture of discomfort. “I didn’t like it.”

“You have got to be kidding, Tom,” you mutter, eyes widening. “Are you seriously being like this because I touched his arm? He’s my friend, dickhead.” You scrunch up your nose, eyeing him sourly. “You don’t have any right to act territorially, Tom. We aren’t actually dating.” 

“Right.” Tom tentatively reaches up, and you let him place his hand on your cheek. It feels almost like an apology, and you find the lines of irritation melting from your face. As his fingertips gently trail across your cheekbone, your lips pull into a small smile. “I’m sorry if I took you off-guard,” he says, surprising you completely. You’d never thought you’d see the day he owned up to one of his actions. “I won’t kiss you again unless we talk about it first.”

You swallow drily, trying not to enjoy the way it feels to have his touch skating over your face so smoothly. 

“Good,” you agree. You rock back on your feet and sigh defeatedly. “We should go.”

It’s a little after 7pm by the time you get home. You make light, superficial conversation with Tom in the car as you put up with his chiding remarks about your driving, and by the time you walk through your front door, you feel frazzled.

“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting visitors,” you mutter as you walk into your living room and take a view of the mess. 

“It’s fine.” Tom places his bag down on the sofa and looks around, greedy eyes taking in the details of your apartment. “It’s nice here.”

“Thanks.” You look around at your apartment, smiling quietly to yourself. The building is in downtown LA, right in the centre of things, and it wasn’t at all cheap, but over the years you’ve spent hidden away within the walls, you’ve made it feel like home. You’ve added character by tacking up a variety of posters, plants, and other fun keepsakes. “Do you want to order food? I don’t really want to cook.”

“Yeah, sure.” Tom pulls out his phone and glances up at you, face illuminated by the screen. “What do you want?”

“Thai?”

He pulls a face. “How about Chinese?”

You scrunch your nose up. “Thai?” You try again.

Tom bites his lower lip, his fingers moving over the screen. “Is it nice?” He asks you. 

“You’ve never had Thai before?”

He looks up at you, shrugging haplessly. “Nope.”

“Yes, it’s nice.” 

Tom surprises you by holding out his phone. “Pick something for me?” He asks. “Something good, though.”

You chuckle softly, accepting the phone and scrolling through the app. “I can’t promise you’ll like it, but I think you should.” You add a few things to the order before tossing it back. You dig your hands into your jean pockets and hesitate. “I’m gonna take a shower. Do you want me to show you the guest room?” You ask, eyeing up the hefty bag Tom had brought with him. 

“That would be nice.”

You’re quick to show Tom his room, and then you’re off through the shower. You’d been called to set for 7am, and the hot, pulsing water soothes away the tired ache in your muscles. The scent of fresh lavender clings to your skin as you dry yourself off and then collapse into a loose pair of leggings and a nice hoodie. You feel more like yourself as you stare into your reflection in the mirror now. You love acting, and you love being someone else, but you feel safest as you are right now: bare, authentic, yourself.

You’re so relaxed that you almost forget Tom’s staying over until you walk into the living room and see him sprawled out on one of your sofas, phone in hand. He cranes his face back to look at you as he hears you, his eyes drifting lazily over your figure.

“Food will be an hour,” he tells you sadly. 

“Great,” you grumble. You walk into your kitchen, looking over at him from across the open counter. “Do you want any wine?”

“Fuck yeah.” 

You snicker as you start to pour out two glasses of rosé. “So how do you want to go about taking these photos?” You ask tentatively. 

“Well, they made me bring a few different outfit changes,” Tom starts, speaking slowly, “So I guess we should just… Move about a bit and take some pictures together.”

It’s awkward as you walk back into the living room and hand him his wine glass. “Cheers,” you mutter, tipping the rim of the glass against his. A piercing ring fades across the room, and you share a despondent look with Tom.

“Cheers indeed, love.”

It’s uncomfortable until the wine kicks in, at which point the staged photographs come together a lot easier. 

You start off with a few simple candids around your apartment. You take some of Tom pretending to make some tea, and then of him standing out on your balcony overlooking the city. He changes out his shirts and hoodies every few shots, as instructed by PR, so you’ll have a more comprehensive selection of photos to post in the future. It grows quite amusing after a while as you both try to out-Vogue the another, and once the air is full of your endless laughter, you find yourself relaxing. 

When he’s satisfied with the number of candids he’s got of you, Tom suggests you get a little closer and try to get some more intimate, couple-y pics, “‘for the ‘gram, yeah?” This is when you run into a problem.

“I haven’t done this in so long,” you find yourself admitting as you sit beside Tom in your bed. You’ve slipped into a pyjama shirt, and Tom’s settled beside you. 

“Had an incredibly handsome actor in bed with you?” He returns, eyes sparkling mischievously. This evening he’s been very cheeky with you, and you have to admit you’re warming up to it. 

“Haha,” you say drily, rolling your eyes. You puff up your pillows and settle against the headboard. “Taken any photos with a romantic interest,” you clarify.

Tom pulls off his shirt easily, balling it up and throwing it across the room. You startle at this sudden action, your eyes drifting down to the defined lines of his abs. Tom is stacked. His lips curve into a smirk.

“Well, today’s your lucky day,” he teases, causing you to scoff. He opens up his arms, and you settle into them gently, aiming for a sleepy, lazy, we-woke-up-like-this vibe. Your head finds his chest, and your cheek presses against his warm skin comfortably. “Smile.”

He takes a few photos of you together, posing as a lovestruck couple, and as the seconds pass by, you melt further into him. You hadn’t realised how cold you were until Tom opened his arms and let you in, but now it’s as if you were freezing before the first touch. He’s got his hand resting on your side, and you feel his mouth linger above your forehead, hesitating. 

“Can I kiss your face?” He mumbles softly, “Might make it look more realistic.”

You hum quietly, closing your eyes as you wrap yourself further around his torso. “Sure. Can I kiss your chest?” You ask boldly, spurred on a little by the woozy heat that smothers your mind.

You hear Tom’s breath hitch, and find yourself holding yours until he mutters, quietly, “Yeah.”

You let him have his fun first, and try to remain as nonchalant as possible as you feel his lips fluttering out across your forehead. He leaves a delicate trail of kisses from temple to temple, caressing your skin slowly, softly, with his warm mouth. You realise with a soft epiphany that you don’t mind being in this position: Tom’s peppering your face in gentle kisses, holding you close in his bare arms - and it’s quite nice. And maybe… Maybe he’s quite nice, too. Sometimes.

Tom’s hand smoothes over your hair, and you tilt your head until you’re able to scatter a few short kisses across his chest. You can hear the small clicks coming from his phone, and you really drag it out, enjoying the press of his supple pale skin against your mouth. It warms you up, sets a tingle flaming through your lips. 

“There,” you say, finally dragging yourself away from him. “Do you think we’ve done enough?” 

Tom hums, watching you closely as you sit up from his chest. His arm retracts from your side, and the air between you clears. “Yeah. I’ll send them to PR and see what they say.” He messes around on his phone for a few minutes, but you stay exactly where you are - shrouded in duvet and blankets and lingering near his body heat. Your eyelids flutter shut as you relax, your peace lasting until he asks, slowly, “When was the last time you dated anyone?”

You pry open an eye, looking at him curiously. “Eh, it’s been a while. Almost a year since there was anyone serious.” You look up at him, your head resting easily on the pillow. “Why?”

“Just realised I don’t know that much about you, really,” Tom replies. He slips down the bed until he’s lying beside you, and both of you move onto your sides to face one another. He looks quiet and unassuming like this - tufts of brown hair pushed messily around his forehead, with a warm expression hanging from his lips. It’s an odd look to be directed towards you. 

“Yeah,” you hum. You let a small smile find your lips. “I don’t know much about you either.”

The sheets rustle as Tom moves a little closer. “Do you… want to know more about me?” He asks gently.

You swallow. You can taste the wine on your tongue, and you wonder why you can only seem to get along with him when you’re tipsy. 

“Yeah,” you admit. “Maybe it’d be easier to do this if we weren’t always so…”

“Horrible?”

You bite your lip as you nod. “Yeah. We can be pretty mean.”

“Why do we do that?” Tom muses, his cheeks nice and flushed.

“I don’t know.”

Tom reaches out beneath the covers, and his hand finds yours softly. He links your fingers together, and you look into his eyes intently. You find only warmth and sincerity staring back at you. 

“Maybe we should try to be less hostile to each other,” he suggests. 

Briefly, your mind rewinds to that day at the park, all those weeks ago, and how Tom had dramatically announced that the thought of being your friend repulsed him. It surprises you to hear this change of heart, but you realise you’re in the same boat. A lot has changed since then. 

“Okay,” you find yourself agreeing. “I’d be down to try that.”

“Okay.”

You share a small smile, and it seems to last a lifetime. For a while, it’s just you and Tom, buried in your bed together, hands clasped, breathing in sync, and it’s nice.

Eventually, food comes, and you convince Tom to watch one of your favourite films in your living room. You settle on separate sofas, but you’re able to make some light-hearted conversation. He even jokes around with you. It feels nice - but also too good to be true. 

As you sober up, you find yourself looking at him sceptically. No matter how welcome the thought that things between you are slowly mending might be, you don’t trust Tom, and that’s not about the change overnight. He’s an actor, and you wouldn’t put it past him to be pulling your leg - drawing you into this rouse, only later to turn around and pull the rug from beneath you, and laugh at you for believing that he’d want to be your friend. Your perception of him has been skewed so negatively for so long that it’s hard to believe he’s actually being nice - even if on your end, the softening is genuine. 

But you let yourself believe it, just for the night. You throw popcorn at him, and laugh together, and finish the bottle of wine over dinner. 

“Goodnight, Y/N,” Tom calls out, resting up against the door of the spare room. He’s caught you coming from the bathroom. He’s shirtless again, grey sweats hanging low from his hips, and you can’t stop your eyes from shamelessly tracing the curve of his v-line. “Not going to give your boyfriend a goodnight kiss?”

You roll your eyes, but you find yourself walking over to him. “You’re so fucking cheeky, Tom,” you mutter, amused. You press your hand to his shoulder and lean up to kiss his cheek. “Goodnight,” you say, eyeing him firmly.

Tom’s eyes dance with a thousand different emotions, and he dives in to kiss your cheek in return. “Night, love.”

You raise a hand in farewell and turn away before he can see the huge, embarrassing grin on your face. 

When you wake up, it’s to silence and a slightly sore head. Your clock reads 8.22 AM, and you amble towards the kitchen. 

You decide to extend towards Tom an olive branch - a cup of tea - to solidify your newfound… friendship? Amicable arrangement? You don’t know how to label it other than a loosening of your mutual disdain, but you know that whatever the dynamic was last night, it’d been nice. The idea that there’s more to him than the cocky, fronting mask he sometimes wears is pleasant. 

So you make him a cup of tea, and then tentatively walk across to your spare room. You knock quietly, hear nothing, and then gently push your way inside.

The room is empty. Tom is gone. He’s left the bed unmade.

“Fuck,” you mutter to yourself, scrunching your eyebrows together. You glance around and notice he’s taken all of his things, and then walk back into your room to check your phone - no new messages from him.

You sit down on the edge of your bed and sip at the tea you’d painstakingly poured for him. 

Maybe it was too good to be true, and you’d just been stupid to think one tipsy evening together was the start of something new. He’s clearly undergone no change of heart if he’s managed to waltz out without as much as a text goodbye. You feel stupid and angry, but above all disappointed. 

Because for a moment - a brief, hopeful moment - you’d imagined being Tom’s friend, and the prospect had made you feel happy.

↠ NEXT PART

please let me know what you’re thinking!!!! ask box is open :D

taglist can be found in the series masterpost, which is the pinned post at the top of my blog

masterlist linked in my description

[ainosk8]

not an adam fan omfg....society is doomed. i can’t imagine being a fan of a predator personally

hi! 🤡

lol yes there are a handful of us adam likers! I assume when you say pr*dator you mean of the s*xual variety and not a beast of prey, in which case I disagree with your reading of the character. I also would not want to be a fan of a pr*dator!

TBH I do think there was a little mishandling of the way Adam’s fixation on Langa is portrayed in the show, because while I do not read him as being s*xually interested in Langa, I think it is an easy conclusion to come to. I don’t want to necessarily invalidate your reading, because I’m a firm believer that art is subjective and whatever the art moved in you is just as important as the intention of the artists. But I will offer my own perspective.

I truly feel like Utsumi wanted to show Adam as a character who has an unhealthy attachment to the idea of an “Eve”, finding someone on his level of skating to be his perfect partner and restore the one good relationship he ever had in his life (his friendship with Tadashi). Because of Adam’s deep seated issues around “love” stemming from his childhood abuse, he warps this desire for companionship into a quest for a romantic partner. It’s definitely something that is supposed to unsettle us as an audience (which is somewhat problematic in the tradition of campy gay villains in cinema), but I also think a close reading of the show betrays any notion of Adam sincerely being interested in Langa “that way”.

The final two episodes are the clearest example of this. Adam has been obsessed with the idea of skating with Langa all season. Then at the end of ep 11, Tadashi tells Adam he is dropping out of the race, so the final beef will be between Adam and Snow. Yay! He’s getting what he wants! He should be thrilled, right? Cue the blue-tinted shots of rain falling down his face like tears while Adam emphasizes his loneliness.

Adam is getting what he said he wanted, but it isn’t really what he wanted after all. For all his “courtship” with Langa, as soon as he has the chance to skate with him, he turns the “wedding” into a “funeral”. In ep 12 he exchanges his Matador of Love outfit for some Jack Skellington shit. Gone are all his little heart accents, leaving him with a broken heart and empty ribcage on his skateboard and the back of his costume which literally has the heart cut out of it.

I don’t think we are supposed to assume that Adam is just really into the Corpse Bride and this is all romantic for him. When Tadashi pulled out of the race, he felt devastated and abandoned for a second time. He’s heartbroken! Now that his own forced marriage is looming in the near future, the tournament is ending, and he knows he is going to suffer the consequences of the political collusion he was pressured into, he feels like he has nothing left. And on top of that, Tadashi won’t even skate with him.

In the race itself, it’s only when Langa reaches out to Adam in a way that reminds him of Tadashi that he begins to let his guard down, symbolized by the mask falling off. 

This is the turning point for him. It was never about Langa, or wanting to marry him or whatever. This whole thing has been about Adam missing the connection he felt with someone while skating, having fun with someone who wants to have fun with him. When he’s racing Langa he’s remembering skating with Tadashi, and how good it felt to have something joyful and uncomplicated in his life. Not everything is about “winning” or succeeding, or bringing honor/prestige to his family name. Some things can just be for him, because he enjoys doing them. It’s the opposite of what his aunts drilled into him as a child, physically and emotionally, which is why it’s been so hard for him to understand.

In the end, he voices his change in perspective. Adam tells Tadashi that skating with Langa reminded him of what he felt when he was first learning to skate with him.

It all comes back to Tadashi for Adam. 

My read on Adam in the beginning of the series is that he hadn’t been skating for a while (people at S point out that he hasn’t appeared for some time) and obviously his relationship with Tadashi was fractured around Tadashi not protecting him from having skating taken away, so he isn’t going to just ask Tadashi to skate with him. He sees Langa’s good ass skate skills but also how much fun he has doing it, and it reminds him of how he felt when he was first learning how to skate with Tadashi. Possibly his first (or even only??) happy memory. So naturally, he wants to skate with this new guy, who gives him Tadashi feelings but doesn’t have the baggage of Adam and Tadashi’s relationship history. And it just goes from there, ending up with Adam realizing that he wants Tadashi to be with him for life.

That all doesn’t make it less ~weird~ for Adam to shove roses in a teenager’s face, but it does point to the whole creep vibe he has towards Langa as being less an authentic representation of his feelings and more a contrivance by the writers to showcase his complicated feelings about love, skating, and ultimately Tadashi. It’s a narrative choice, and I do think it could have been executed in a way that left less room for misinterpretation. But I really do stand by this reading of the series.

So yeah! Obviously, you are entitled to your opinion. I’m not someone who wants to say mean things to people because they feel differently about a TV show than I do, though I may be in the minority lol. 

Either way, I’m very open to discussion if you want to message me off anon :)

[kimberlyannharts]

seeing the fandoms’ general reactions to the omegas is....interesting, especially with this latest issue showing them knocking out zedd with one hit from a zord and boxing him up (lots of words under the cut)

there’s a big discussion on twitter rn about #45′s events and i’m starting to see more people echo the thought that the omegas are being put on too big of a pedestal, and i think the straw that broke the camel’s back was them taking out zedd so easily  

like the omegas taking out dayne was one thing - sure the end of the fight was a little anticlimactic since they took him out in like...five pages when he was built up as a sincere threat over four issues, but in fairness they DID surprise him when his strength was in silently observing and preparing.  and besides, he’s p much goldar-level in terms of power and status 

but taking out ZEDD??  the fandoms’ favorite villain, one they’ve been asking for his comic introduction for years??  he finally gets the spotlight to encounter some rangers (ONSCREEN, since his previous victories and introductions were skipped over in GGPR) and he.....gets knocked out with a zord in one punch and put in a dumpster, the same fate he gave rita.  five issues into his run in the comics, not counting GGPR.  in comparison to rita, by her fifth issue, she had succeeded in her mission of recharging the chaos crystal and bringing in the black dragon.  while rita obviously lost many times over the run of the comics, she always had an air of dignity and menace that lasted right up through zordon and crueger being wary about asking for her help in shattered grid (heck she would have even DEFEATED DRAKKON if not stopped by zordon and crueger wussing out and finster-5′s ambush).  meanwhile zedd almost gets immediately knocked down a peg by being shown hey, if you just hit him really really hard with a giant metal fist he’ll get knocked out no problem.  i’m neutral on zedd tbh but i can definitely see why this is the point where people would put their foot down compared to the omegas’ previous victories    

i feel like the comic team wanted the zedd knockout and containment to be a WHOA THAT’S SO UNEXPECTED AND COOL moment but it was just too much, too fast, for the audience (especially an audience like the PR fandom) to fully accept.  it was like “WOW I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY DID THAT” and more “....i can’t believe they did that” 

 i’m trying not to judge too much since we know Big Shit is gonna happen these next few issues with a supposed mass-prison breakout (tbh something like zedd rallying the freed villains and making them into an army or something would be AWESOME) and the repercussions of this move seems to be like it’ll be a big discussion point later on, but until we get more to work with people are gonna stay unsettled

[promiseimnotacop]

tungle.hell is seriously non-functional site, the block is near meaningless as the person can still see any of your posts, there are horrific and unsettling ‘communities’ of pr//oana, literal n//azis, tr//adwives, tr//ucrime and every single seemingly innocent or theoretical or fandom based discussion/DiscHorseTM has at one point or another turned into a vile harassment campaign but despite all of this i come back to it again and again and i think genuinely one of the big appeals is there like....isn’t the pervasive celebrity culture of other formats??

like there are plenty of tumblrs that have a big following or that create posts that go semi viral regularly but that’s more because they are creating content the website as whole or their cultivated audience wants to see. Name like one actual celebrity on tumblr. 

The closest I can think of is back in the hayday obama’s tumblr and the denny’s tumblr or debatably john green (maybe that’s why we take the piss out of him)

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

LONDON. She is our new international big star in the film world.

Now Rebecca Ferguson will scare the life out of the movie audience in the sequel to the classic “The shining”.

- My character Rose the Hat attracts children by being nice and beautiful … before she kills them, says Rebecca and laughs.

Noomi Rapace has made some twenty films after the Millennium films took her abroad, not all of them have been so good. Alicia Vikander has her Oscar and “Tomb raider” franchise, but there have also been some flops along the way. So the question is whether or not Rebecca Ferguson, 36, is the hottest female star of Swedish film right now in Hollywood.

In just a few years she has played major roles against Dwayne Johnson, Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Hugh Grant, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, Michael Fassbender, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Chris Hemsworth, Jason Momoa, Timothée Chalamet, Stellan Skarsgård and Josh Brolin.

When we meet at the luxury hotel Rosewood, she is groomed by I-don’t-know-how-many PR people. Time to advertise “Doctor Sleep”, which is based on Stephen King’s novel that was published six years ago.

In the new movie, the guy who survived his dad (Jack Nicholson) at the desolate Overlook Hotel in the Rocky Mountains has become a middle-aged sober alcoholic, played by Ewan McGregor. He still has supernatural abilities. A crazy sect is looking for him and children with the same abilities. It is led by Rose the Hat, played by Rebecca Ferguson.

- Her special qualities are that she and her group expose children and other people with these magical abilities to horrors, which causes them to emit a form of steam, which they in the sect then suck in, it is like their food. - Rose attracts the children by being kind and beautiful, getting the children’s confidence, it’s almost like she’s rocking them to sleep … before she kills them.

Scaring children on film became much tougher, purely emotional, than she had expected.

- The child actors learn their lines and say them in a very honest way. There was one, I do not want to reveal who, who went so deep into his fear that when I looked at him, I could not hold back tears. It was pretty hard to hold back tears when we were about to take the stage, with both faces in close-up, because I saw the fear. And the actor was about as old as your son, right? - Exactly the same.

Rebecca Ferguson made a first breakthrough around the Millennium change, when she was 16-17 years old in the TV 4 soap “New Times”. Then she engaged in other things for a few years, before running on Richard Hobert at a flea market in Simrishamn, where she lived with her partner and her then 4-year-old son Isaac. A week later, she had been given one of the lead roles in his film “A One-Way Ticket to Antibes”. This led to the starring role in acclaimed British television series “The White Queen”. The English language is not a problem for Rebecca, as her mother comes from there. Hollywood has never stopped chasing her ever since. And private life also looks different. Rebecca is secretive about her new husband, just saying that he is an Englishman, is called Rory and is an entrepreneur. Together they now have the daughter Saga, a year and a half.

- I live in London, we have a house in Ridgmont a little outside the city. Then we just bought a farm outside Simrishamn. I travel there as often as I can. Isaac, who is now 12, lives in Simrishamn with his father. Isaac goes to school there and has his friends there. He feels better there than traveling with me all the time. When I’m not filming, I can be there for several months at a time. Now during the fall vacation, Isaac comes to New Orleans, where I will do the next movie.

Despite her star status, few people recognise her if they meet her on the street.- It is perhaps because I like to change looks from film to film. And I have no interest in being a celebrity, even though I think it’s just fun and nice if and when people say something nice or want to take a selfie. I thought most people would recognize me from the “Mission: Impossible” films with Tom Cruise, but most people actually mention “The greatest showman”.

There Hugh Jackman plays the circus director PT Barnum (1810-1891) and she is Jenny Lind (1820-1887), the singer who Barnum launched as The Swedish Nightingale. Rebecca has two great song numbers in the movie. - People say they’ve learned the songs and they like how Jenny Lind is in the film.

Are you nervous about how “Doctor Sleep” will be received?  This is surely your biggest movie role so far? - Definitely, otherwise I’ve played second fiddle against for example Tom Cruise or Michael Fassbender. Have been involved in helping to support them. But nervous … well, I very rarely feel nervous about how films are received. - And that’s Ewan McGregor’s picture on the poster … (laughter).

What were your thoughts on him before you met on set? She giggles a little before answering: - I think I was a little, a little in love with him when I saw “Moulin Rouge!” And the TV series “Lipstick on your collar”, I loved it. - He is an amazing actor when it comes to being normal and simple. Then he can go into the dark at the same time, as in “Trainspotting”, but I do not know if he carries any darkness within him. He doesn’t give away as much, he is very private, which I respect.

As you reading this, she is in New Orleans recording “Reminiscence” against Hugh Jackman and Thandie Newton. - It’s a dark love story. Very intimate relationships. Hugh and I have talked a lot about taking our roles to a new level, where we have never been.

When will we see you in a Swedish movie again? - When a good script comes along. When you make a big movie you get in well with cuddling, so I don’t have to make some movies for the money. A director that I really liked offered me a role, but it was sci fi, I don’t want to do that anymore. And a female director (Lisa Langseth) who is going to do a series for Netflix wanted me, but I want to make a movie for the cinema. After all, I’ve only did it twice in Sweden, Mani Masserat Agah’s “We” and then Hobert’s film.

Facts:

Rebecca Ferguson on… … her relationship with Stephen King: - I love Stephen King. His environmental descriptions and character descriptions are so raw and spot on. Rose the hat really comes to life when you read about her, she is absolutely crazy. … her relationship with the movie “The Shining”: - I was not born when it came. It was then that the film was always on the wallpaper as one of the best that has been made. I was 15 when I first saw it. Then I looked at it before this shoot, it’s really unsettling. … she will return to the role of Ilse Faust in the “Mission: Impossible” films for a third time: - No idea, I don’t know. Haven’t heard of Tom (Cruise) for a while. Don’t know if they have any script, the filming seems to be postponed one month at a time, Tom is busy with “Top Gun 2”. And Hayley Atwell seems to have joined. … what it was like to have Hugh Grant as a lover of “Florence Foster Jenkins”: - It was fun, he’s an interesting guy. How to describe it … he has his moments of peculiarities. But also with joy and he is in some way very correct and quite charmingly nervous. … Tomas Alfredson’s “The Snowman”, widely regarded as a big flop: - I love the production. Tomas has my full support. I feel he didn’t get free reins to create the movie he wanted to do. I don’t know what Jo Nesbø (author of the book) stands for, but Tomas thought that “the book is already created, why should I make that version?”. … Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming sci-fi movie “Dune”, 35 years after David Lynch flopped with the same story: - I don’t want to call Lynch’s movie failure, just extreme and absurd. I play a concubine and Denis has really created a movie that works well for our present-day society. And just how Stellan Skarsgård’s role looks… Denis has really pulled everything to the extreme. Who doesn’t want to be in a movie like this?

[enemymine2000]

Bucklemming are at it again or so current interviews indicate. *sigh*

Of those who are beyond casual viewing I’m still more on the “hey, I’m along for the ride”-train, so I don’t know the in and outs of whatever knowledge fandom has accumulated about the whole production over the years. And mostly I don’t care, because well, I like the show, I like some of the meta and otherwise I don’t need to know.

But what I don’t get but care about is the whole Bucklemming effect (Singer included). In case of Singer I have the visual proof that he simply is not the director he should be according the near reverence he sometimes seems to get. I mean, need I say more than freeze frame and wire fights at this point?

So I don’t get it, why he has so much impact on the show if he doesn’t seem to be able to make an effort.

And whenever I see the name Eugiene in context with Supernatural I automatically get the creeps these days. Don’t know about her writing partner, only that he does seem to be more of the same or he would not do the thing with her. Eugiene totally rejects the reality of the show and substitutes her own. She never cares about the established lore only her vision. No research, no care about the end product, as long as she can push through whatever fad she wants this season. Like Nick - because let’s face it, her going on and on about wanting Lucifer back because he was oh, so redeemed in her eyes is the only reason anyone would have revived his meatsuit.

Because the lore was very clear about what happened to Nick even back in season 5. You let in an archangel, you ride a comet, you burn out - in Nick’s case literally, because he simply was not the true vessel. Lucifer left Nick for a nice Sam suit and even if Nick’s soul was still in there somewhere the body was damaged beyond help - the only reason it held together as long as it had was the constant healing being done by Lucifer.

So, I somewhat could get behind Crowley obtaining what was left of the body, fixing it up with some demonic engineering, but Nick still occupying that vessel?! No. Boy was dead on arrival. Tethered to his body as long as Lucifer was riding him, probably because of the pesky little consent rule, but once Lucifer jumped ship the tether would have been gone. So would have Nick.

I know that now that Nick is back people are discussion the consent issue again, because well Crowley shoved Lucifer back into the Nick suit, so since Nick is now alive and relatively well he must have been there to give consent again. Or something like that. Originally - back in season 12 - I thought that Crowley could shove Lucifer into the Nick suit because Lucifer already had been given consent once and Nick never rescinded that. And now the body was emtpy anyway.

We know that angel rules are bendable at best. The Sacred Oath was definitively made up by angels themselves and interpreted as they saw fit - because let’s face it Chuck himself did not care about it or he wouldn’t have this nice little anecdote about Mary pretending nothing ever happened between them (and Christianity never would have happened) or his ill-fated relationship with Becky. Cas fell in pretty much any way imagineable or is assumed to have done by the entire universe (and alternative ones), still he was Chuck’s favorite. Nephilim are said to rip everything apart and yes, Jack opened portals to different universes, and still the waitress nephilim hadn’t been on anyone’s radar but Metatron’s - and he needed a nephilim dead for the spell to close Heaven’s gates. Gadreel could trick Sam into giving consent, without Sam even knowing that he was being possessed.

So what I’m saying is that we only know that consent needs to be given once and that probably enough force of will of the original body owner can force an angel out again. But we don’t know that if consent is never rescinded a body could not be repossessed at any time. We don’t know if the origical owner still needs to be inside. We only know that the body should be functional - see Rafael’s original vessel. See a fixed Nick suit. As demons like Ruby have shown us a functional body can be a braindead one. Braindead equals no soul inside - which is why Cas had been considered braindead that one time he sigiled himself across the country and woke up in the hospital. Okay, demons don’t have consent issues. But we don’t actually know if the same is not true for angels. We only know that angels believe to have to ask for consent beforehand. So it could actually be more of another angel code of conduct thing than an actual universal rule. Like the Sacred Oath. I mean if consent truly was an issue for angels, Michael should have been expelled from Dean’s body the minute Dean realized that Michael was going back on the deal. Instead we just accept that he needs to extent great force of will, to practically battle him within his mind if not given outside help by whatever the rest of TFW come up with.

So, yeah, I could totally suspend disbelief for Lucifer being shoved back into a previously used and now empty meatsuit. Braindead and already well-worn, improved by demonic engineering to actually hold up now.

I could also suspend disbelief (and have to because, well, duh, the show went there) that Nick’s suit somehow made it out fully functional even after the ganking of Lucifer. I can however not suspend disbelief that Nick somehow was inside all those years. That he survived the apocalypse, that he further suvived the years in storage for Crowley’s plotting, that he survived the engineering process which took him apart on a molecular level to improve every single cell in his body to hold the actual devil imprisoned, that he survived the subsequent repossession including Lucifer’s need for torturing everything and everybody he could get his hands on - which during his imprisonment would be Nick only - and then on top of it all survive an actual stabbing event with an archangel blade that was enough to kill Lucifer. As I said the body I could get behind. It was reinforced by measures beyond my imagination, so stitch it up, hook it up on some machines and it would be functional for another use. Maybe the body is actually non-killable now. Who knows. But Nick - guy’s been dead for 8 years. Don’t know where his soul went and don’t care. As tragic as his life story was, he let in literal Satan. So, I’m not bummed about his fate either way. But now thanks to Bucklemming we have to deal with a walking, talking Nick. Because they just wanted Lucifer - or at least Mark P. - back in some capacity. I hope to everything holy that this doesn’t turn out to be actual Satan again, because that fucker should stay dead. He doesn’t even deserve a sleeping place in the Empty. Actual Satan can not be redeemed and has done nothing ontoward luckily. Sadly Bucklemming don’t think so. They think he is just misunderstood, just want their pet-devil back and forge familial bonds with his son. Or some other nonsense. Because Lucifer never cared about Jack. All he cared about was the potential power he could gain from having an archangel-nephilim at hand. Lucifer always wanting to upstage his father and with Jack at his side he might have had comparable power levels at his disposal. He actually stated as much at the end of season 13. Like in actual text. So no, hard pass on Lucifer redeeming himself.

But Bucklemming have a hard-on for the guy. And for reasons I don’t get, they actually have the power to go against the book again and again and simply write their headcanons into actual canon. Even though the actual showrunner has wildly different visions. Aided are Bucklemming by director Singer, who doesn’t care for doing his research about motivations, who is totally okay letting actors who admit to not knowing the over-all story until way after the fact ad-lib to their heart’s content and shuffle lines around, even when that would make those lines OOC. The same director who has now canonically and meta-wise contradicted himself with lazy freeze frames. (Thanks “French Mistakes”.) Whyt do those three have on the rest that they can run buckshot over the product as they wish, without a care if they hurt the product or not. And they do hurt it. They make it inconsistent, they make it look ridiculous on screen and in pr. Oh, thankfully the rest of the writers know their craft and seem to actually care so it always somehow worked out in the end. But the seasons are now shorter, the percentage of Bucklemming has risen and inconsistencies have shorter time to be retconned. So, yeah, this is going to hurt, won’t it?

[elizabethrobertajones]

How after the mixtape are Dean and Cas' romantic feelings not considered canon? That shit was not subtext and even if you disregard the Mary and John Led Zepplin connection, mixtapes are almost exclusively romantic in fiction not to mention the whole returning one as a break up and framing of the scene. I just don't understand how even to the GA that was ambiguous. Honestly these moving goalposts are very confusing to me. Aside from PR not mentioning it I don't get what more the show needs (1/2)

to do, to establish that yes it’s written as romantic but that they are not in the being together stage. We don’t know what will happen in the future but to me 12x19 pretty clearly showed that at least at that point in their relationship, that’s where they were at. I wondered if you had any thoughts on it because it’s been nagging at me for a while? (2/2)

I mean, yeah, I have a LOT of thoughts about it because it was a sea change in the way Destiel presented, for me. There’s been MULTIPLE moments which took it up another notch, at pretty regularly spaced intervals through the show. I know my personal limit, when bingewatching 4-6 for the first time after an unintentional break from the show, was 6x20. Everyone who got into the ship without being prompted has a a moment along the way, whether it was considering all the ship teasing seriously, or thinking something about the narrative, or whatever, got to that moment where they actually hit the goalposts and started taking it seriously. 

I think several of the past moments that I find really important are also statements of intent - 9x18 for me was when I went from casual viewer and while I believed in Destiel I also saw it entirely as a subtextual creation that was not sort of… for serious consideration as a narrative tool/character endgame the show would ever even nod towards at the end of the day… to definitely thinking they were at the very least intentionally building their story with these blocks, and that it was worth investigating and exploring… That was Metatron asking us to consider the subtext and how it was a part of the story. That it wasn’t something that passes by like that but that there is an awareness and that it can and will give the story meaning. The episode being so full of strong Destiel subtext, it put me firmly where I am now in meta fandom with an overnight transformation >.> 

And 10x05 was the other one where there was a serious goalpost, where “Destiel” was said in text and a pseudo Destiel depiction happened on screen… To whatever degree it was jokey or wish fulfilment or could be interpreted this way and that as a statement to how Destiel stood in the text, it gave it a weight and presence it hadn’t had before. Even though fans had had a name for it all along, there’s something very important about naming the thing within the story and even having Sam sound out different versions of the name with pedantic detail. Between that and “I’ll just wait here then” it really established Destiel in the subtextual building blocks of the show in a fascinatingly meta way. 

Then for all the random canon events of maybe extreme shippiness, it was 12x19 that for me was a real SHIFT when it came to perceptions and presentation in the story, because of course even on the surface level it’s an extremely romantic trope to give a mixtape, and ignoring all the other analysis of the scene which only makes it worse, it betrays an enormous amount of emotion and care between Dean and Cas, in a way that’s coded strongly to our cultural perceptions as a romantic gesture having passed between them. Which means it’s another goal scored when it comes to… upping the ante of not-quite-canon-ness? 

I sort of feel like Cas’s death and return and all the connected stuff from the moment he’s stabbed through Dean saying “I do” and hugging him under the romeo+juliet glowing neon cross was either a further upping of the ante, or just showing us how to play in the rules which now exist post-mixtape, where this is the level of implied canon it’s at now… 

I mean I honestly keep saying and I mean it that pretty much since the mixtape or 12x23 I’ve been quite lost about how to handle Destiel in the sense that these were goalposts I didn’t even know I would expect the show to meet, or that if they did it would be the implied canon ending of the show where it gives us an equivalent gesture and leaves us to wonder what it was about. Instead it happens at this point and we’ve got over a season of Dean n Cas portrayed as exasperated husbands and all my interest and expertise in lawyering subtext to prove how gay it is has been left behind in its wake, so I’m just here to enjoy myself and see how it pans out now, because I set my own personal goalposts of what I assumed the show would do much lower than what Dabb set? Like, the reverse problem of people who keep moving them rather than examine the subtext and see what it says fairly without trying to lawyer their way out of what all these implications are instead. :P

But at least the mixtape made it very clear to me that you can now sort out the people who will NEVER accept something as good enough proof that the show even has romantic subtext for Dean n Cas and refuse to understand why people see it or ship it. To discount that entire conversation and the clearly expressed feelings of concern for each other, regardless of shipping, in order to claim that they don’t mean that much to each other and it’s ooc to suggest otherwise, means they’re doing the harder work when it comes to interpretation and THAT is a flipping of the stances from pre-mixtape where plausible deniability and doubt and stuff all mixed together to make it at least an awkward sell to people who hadn’t thought of it that way yet, and empowered people who wilfully didn’t want to see it. 

The Cas death arc just gave us more fodder for where shippers do less work than people who actively want to deny that Dean cares. 

But for general audiences, I think it’s quite easy to get stuck at the stage where I was pre-9x18 where Dean n Cas might even seem to be somewhat a ~confirmed couple~ except that people will lend it no credit to intent or their importance to each other in the emotional endgame, just for reasons of it not being done, or not thinking it’s possible, or in general not putting in the attention and time to piece together the relationship that a definitive canon statement would cause them to do a double take on. And that even if they then say they knew it all along, because many of these goalposts are unmissable in some senses, the credibility lent to the ship is fully missable without knowing to give it. Which is the whole problem, really. 

I’ve known the show long enough to feel its old school bones pretty deeply so I feel like that affects my personal perspective on… owedness of canon or where I started to take it seriously, and how much of the old gods of TV vs new gods possibility I would casually see in its genetic makeup. So 12x19 - being written by the new gods of TV - took the show a step further as Dabb seems to be the first showrunner of that generation of TV writers vs the ones who would play the subtext game forever - and that’s really unsettling to me. In the sense that there’s some sort of storytelling subversion thing going on here and my understanding is still kinda maybe rooted in an older postmodern take than what might end up being labelled something entirely new by future scholars… And a lot of that to me is in expectations and tropes no longer being what they were and I end up thinking of all the factors from the mass-saturation of media vs everything having to be new and individual to be considered worthy, to the effect of the internet, and the political climate in America, and the world the younger millennial writers grew up in (and we can see that literally warring with Buckleming’s old school writing in the show), and not just storytelling but representation of all walks of marginalised life coming into it, and it’s all a bunch of stuff that probably soon there’ll be a bunch of interesting scholarship on, but in the mean time we’re all riding the wave and in my personal experience I feel like we don’t even know what our surfboards are any more. 

I mean 12x23 seriously knocked me into orbit when it came to my understanding of the show, and I haven’t recovered yet. And since I spend a lot of time over-thinking as a matter of course, this is a tiny percentage of the ridiculous musings I have on it all and why I can’t just get mad at it for goalpost issues, and why I feel people lag behind and stuff. I feel like WE are lagging behind, even the people who claim to know everything about the show and analyse it all the time, and the best we can do is take it as it comes and see… But this is very much an utter fascination with watching Dabb era shed Carver era’s subtext cocoon and start testing its bizarre, mirrored, fractal wings.

[aion-rsa]

How The Empty Man Became the Ring Video of Streaming

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Have you seen The Empty Man? For a while there, Fox was probably hoping you would. Probably when it acquired the rights to the graphic novel from Boom! Studios. Probably when it gambled millions of dollars on David Prior’s big-screen horror debut. Probably before it knew that The Empty Man would be the last film to accidentally feature the original 20th Century Fox logo. Probably way before some very particular world events affected the global theatrical release schedule as we knew it.

Probably before all of that.

Have you seen The Empty Man? Prior and the former executive vice president of production at Fox, Mark Roybal, really wanted you to. The pair knew they were embarking on delivering a unique and ambitious horror movie, and Roybal was its studio champion – instrumental to getting that important initial greenlight. But during the final week of production when filming had to be halted due to bad weather, Roybal was out at Fox, and the behind the scenes struggles to get the film finished and released began.

A rushed test screening cut, negative audience reactions, a tax rebate panic, and studio nerves would be just some of the debilitating factors that would keep The Empty Man on the shelf for years, with Prior – a long-time David Fincher collaborator – still determined to get his film out into the world. Unfortunately, when it was finally unleashed during the “release something! Anything!” content chaos of 2020, there weren’t many people willing to give it the time of day, but those who did knew exactly what the film’s future would be.

“Years from now, we will no doubt look back on an entire generation of great films that were lost to the ever-shifting chaos of the industry over these past few years,” wrote Leonard Zelig at The Fincher Analyst. “What does feel safe to say is that when we are discussing the great works lost to this strange time, 2020’s The Empty Man will be in the conversation.”

Have you seen The Empty Man? If you have, the plot is tough to describe. If you haven’t, it’s a little easier when your only frame of reference is the film’s trailer. Knowing nothing else, perhaps you’d say it looks like another Bye Bye Man or Slender Man. A throwaway creepypasta movie.

If you blow into a bottle when you’re on a bridge, you summon the spooky Empty Man? Ok, sure. Teens in danger? Obviously. But very few people who see the trailer get what they expect from the movie. Very few people who saw its piss-poor Rotten Tomatoes or audience score got what they expected. The Empty Man sits and waits, like a strange skeletal creature in a mountain cave or a random videocassette with no label, ready to be explored and discovered by a new person who has no idea what they’re getting themselves into.

Have you seen The Empty Man? On paper, perhaps you shouldn’t need to. James Badge Dale (Iron Man 3, Rubicon) leads the cast as James Lasombra – a grizzled, depressed ex-cop who is barely going through the motions of what you might call “living.” A family tragedy has left him a shell of his former self, but when a friend comes to him for help with finding her missing daughter, he becomes entangled in the world of a very weird cult that seems to have sunk its hooks into a gaggle of local teenagers. Lasombra then sets out on a mission to try and get to the bottom of it all. That sums up the movie well enough.

Have you seen The Empty Man? If you have, you’ll know that the plot summary above doesn’t do the film the least bit of justice. Cosmic horror, a 22-minute cold open you’ll never forget, imagery that will haunt you forever, philosophical questions of deconstruction, nihilism, the nature of religion and being, simulacra and simulation, and what lies beyond the veil are just some of its themes, and form just the tip of the iceberg. Those themes are just starting to inspire endless conversation – and a burgeoning stack of essays – among those who have seen the film and have realized that it was misjudged many times by people who really should have known better on its rocky road to their screens.

“The story lying beyond The Empty Man’s gorgeous anamorphic frames is also akin to a kind of koan,” mused Adam Nayman for Notebook at MUBI. “If a great cosmic horror movie gets (barely) released in the middle of a global pandemic, and nobody sees it, does it really exist?”

Have you seen The Empty Man? Now that the film is streaming globally on the likes of HBO Max in the US and Disney+ Star in the UK, the number of people who have is only growing. It is finally starting to find its audience.

Quickly becoming an internet talking point, the movie’s spread often feels like that of the strange, disturbing video from the Ring franchise. The only way to lift the “curse” of having seen The Empty Man is to desperately find someone else to share it with. “You’ve gotta watch The Empty Man!” If there is such a thing as an instant cult classic, The Empty Man has managed to become one by way of its disastrous release, the quality of its genuinely unsettling visuals, sound design and themes, and its subsequent wide streaming availability.

“I’m glad that it’s slowly being revived and spread through my little corner of the internet,” wrote Jen at Cinema Etc. “I can’t wait to see revival screenings of this come up. The great thing about this film is that it exists in a place beyond comprehension. I heard about it. Then I saw it. Then it found me.”

But it didn’t need to be this way. In the last gasp of the ’90s, The Blair Witch Project found a wicked strategy to get around the Hollywood PR system by laying the groundwork for its release using a cheap website, a fake documentary and some message boards, using whispers of the film’s mythology to drum up anticipation ahead of the world discovering its ground-breaking (but not entirely original) shaky-cam genre pleasures.

If Fox hadn’t lost interest in promoting The Empty Man all these decades later, the studio could have had a whale of a time setting tongues wagging on social media by commissioning weird tie-ins and appealing to fans of “elevated horror” – though we’re always reticent to apply that phrase.

What kind of treatment would a company like A24 have given this movie? You can only wonder. Instead, The Empty Man’s champions will have to use social media, blogs, and whatever else is at their disposal to push for a comprehensive physical home release package as a kind of consolation prize.

And that’s assuming they can get enough people on board to accomplish the task. There have been plenty of people watching The Empty Man via streaming this summer who won’t hesitate to tell you all the movie’s perceived failings. For every viewer that gets caught up in its psychological web, there are five who turn it off after the film makes its first handbrake turn 22 minutes in.

Have you seen The Empty Man? It’s throwaway creepypasta. It’s a Fincher-esque noir detective movie. It’s a waste of time. It’s a mind-bending rumination on what it means to be hollow and fill the void. It’s garbage. It’s a masterpiece. It’s way too long. Actually, the running time flies by. You’d rather swim in shark-infested waters than see it again. You need to share it with a friend. You’d never recommend it to anyone. You’d recommend it to everyone.

Ultimately, The Empty Man is what you make of it and what it means to you, and if it has burrowed deep inside your mind, the only way to cope with the questions you now have is to make someone else watch it.

Have you seen The Empty Man?

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from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2UCsxlu

[fumpkins]

Google 'stole my video', says film-maker Philip Bloom

Image copyright Philip Bloom

Image caption Footage filmed of tourists caught up in a snowstorm was among that used by Google

Google has enraged a leading film-maker by using his footage in a corporate video that later leaked online.

The technology company used material from more than half a dozen of Philip Bloom’s films to make a provocative presentation about ways it could exploit users’ data in the future.

Mr Bloom makes a living from selling rights to his footage, among other activities.

Google insisted that it took copyright law seriously.

It said that the “thought-experiment” video had been intended to be seen by only a handful of people.

It was made in 2016 by the head of design at X, Google’s research and development division.

Google added that the executive had now been reminded about its strict copyright rules.

Image copyright Sarah Seal

Image caption Mr Bloom has worked with Star Wars creator George Lucas among other celebrities

However, despite being aware of Mr Bloom’s claim since last Friday, the technology company declined to say whether it now intended to make a payment.

“My footage is represented online by two major stock-footage companies. And I license it for all sorts of projects and uses, from commercials to broadcast to corporate films,” said Mr Bloom.

“A fair amount of my footage has been licensed for internal use only, so to hear Google not state that they will compensate me for its use is very surprising.

“Google via their YouTube platform are pretty strict when it comes to copyright breaches, so this is rather hypocritical of them and most certainly does not set a good example.

Image copyright Philip Bloom

Image caption Footage filmed at Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway was also used in The Selfish Ledger

“They have used 73 seconds of my footage from seven different videos without permission and they know they are in the wrong… so therefore I expect to hear from them regarding compensation.”

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, reported a $12.6bn profit in its last financial year.

Slow-mo snow

The corporate video – titled the Selfish Ledger – had already provoked controversy after The Verge news site published a copy of it last week. The website described it as showing an “unsettling vision of Silicon Valley social engineering”.

This helped bring its existence to Mr Bloom’s attention.

Image copyright Getty Images

Image caption The X laboratory is the division behind Google’s Loon balloon trials and helped create its self-drive cars

Mr Bloom – a former camera operator for the BBC, Sky and CNN – has a high profile on social media, where he offers film-making tips.

His YouTube channel has more than 168,000 subscribers and may have been the source for at least some of the copied footage, which included slow-motion video of a snowstorm in New York.

One US-based intellectual property expert said Google might find it hard to defend its behaviour, if the matter were to come to court.

“It just looks bad from a PR perspective for a big company that deals with copyrighted material every second of every day not to respect someone else’s rights,” said Jennifer Van Doren, from the law firm Morning Star.

“Even if the video was for internal use, the film-maker still has the right to stop its use or require payment to prevent it being copyright infringement.”

US law does allow a “fair use” defence to permit unlicensed use of video in some circumstances, but Ms Van Doren said it was typically limited to education, news reporting and criticism of the material itself.

Common problem

It is not unusual for the media industry to avoid copyright payments where they are due.

Image copyright Philip Bloom

Image caption Footage Mr Bloom filmed to promote the charity Shelter UK was also used

Film editors, for example, commonly use soundtracks lifted from other films without permission until their own scores are ready, and these can sometimes be played to test audiences.

Mr Bloom has previously complained of his footage being “nicked all the time”, including one instance when an online reviewer had used his images in a title sequence used for multiple videos.

But Google has long faced accusations of failing to do enough to respect others’ intellectual property – whether it be scanning books, presenting others’ photos or “enabling piracy”.

And Mr Bloom has signalled he intends to chase the matter up in this instance.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionWATCH: Mr Bloom tested a variety of drones for the BBC in 2016

“This is a good opportunity for people to realise that you can’t just download someone’s content from [YouTube] without permission or licensing – even if you own the company like Google do,” he said.

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The Logan Paul YouTube controversy and what we must always anticipate from web platforms

New Post has been published on https://takenews.net/the-logan-paul-youtube-controversy-and-what-we-must-always-anticipate-from-web-platforms/

The Logan Paul YouTube controversy and what we must always anticipate from web platforms

Final week, Logan Paul, a 22-year-old YouTube star with 15 million-plus subscribers, posted a controversial video that introduced these questions into focus. Paul’s movies, a relentless barrage of boasts, pranks, and stunts, have garnered him legions of adoring followers. However he confronted public backlash after posting a video wherein he and his buddies ventured into the Aokigahara Forest of Japan, typically known as the “suicide forest,” solely to search out the physique of a younger man who appeared to have just lately hanged himself.

Reasonably than turning off the digital camera, Paul continued his antics, pinballing between awe and irreverence, exhibiting the physique up shut after which turning the eye again to his personal response. The video lingered on the physique, together with close-ups of his swollen hand. Paul’s reactions have been self-centered and merciless.

After a blistering wave of criticism within the remark threads and on Twitter, Paul eliminated the video and issued a written apology, which was itself criticized for not hanging the suitable tone. A considerably extra heartfelt video apology adopted. He later introduced he could be taking a break from YouTube. YouTube went on to strip Paul from its top-tier monetization system, and introduced yesterday that Paul would face “additional penalties.”

The controversy surrounding Paul and his video highlights the plain want, now greater than ever, to rethink the general public duties of social media platforms. For too lengthy, platforms have loved beneficiant authorized protections and an equally beneficiant cultural allowance: to be “mere conduits” not chargeable for what customers submit to them.

Within the shadow of this safety, they’ve constructed baroque moderation mechanisms: flagging, overview groups, crowd employees, computerized detection instruments, age limitations, suspensions, verification standing, exterior consultants, blocking instruments. All of them interact in content material moderation however should not obligated to; they do it largely out of sight of public scrutiny and are held to no official requirements as to how they achieve this. This wants to vary, and it’s starting to.

However on this essential second, one which affords such a transparent alternative to essentially reimagine how platforms work and what we will anticipate of them, we would wish to get our tales straight about what these expectations needs to be.

YouTube weathered a collection of controversies final 12 months, a lot of which have been about kids, each their exploitation and their vulnerability as audiences. There was the controversy about well-liked vlogger PewDiePie, condemned for together with anti-Semitic humor and Nazi imagery in his movies. Then there have been the movies that slipped previous the stricter requirements YouTube has for its Youngsters app: beginner variations of cartoons that includes well-known characters with weirdly unsettling narrative third acts.

That was shortly adopted by the revelation of total YouTube channels filled with movies of kids being mistreated, frightened, and exploited — for example, younger kids in revealing clothes restrained with ropes or tape — that appear designed to skirt YouTube’s guidelines towards violence and little one exploitation.

Simply days later, BuzzFeed additionally reported that YouTube’s autocomplete function displayed outcomes that appeared to level to little one sexual exploitation. (For those who typed “methods to have,” you’d get “methods to have s*x along with your children” in autofill.) Earlier within the 12 months, movies have been excluded from the extra restrictive Youngsters mode that arguably mustn’t have been, together with movies about LGBTQ and transgender points.

YouTube representatives have apologized for all of those missteps and promised to extend the variety of moderators reviewing their movies, aggressively pursue higher synthetic intelligence options, and take away promoting from among the questionable channels.

Platforms like YouTube assert a set of normative requirements — pointers by which customers are anticipated to comport themselves. It’s tough to persuade each person to honor these requirements, partly as a result of the platforms have spent years concurrently promising customers an open and unfettered taking part in subject, inviting them to do or say no matter they need.

And it’s tough to implement these requirements, partly as a result of the platforms have few of the normal mechanism of governance: They will’t hearth content material creators as in the event that they have been salaried producers. The platforms solely have the phrases of service and the suitable to delete content material and droop customers. On high of that, financial incentives encourage platforms to be extra permissive than they declare to be, and to deal with high-value producers in another way from the remaining.

Incidents just like the exploitative movies of kids, or the deceptive beginner cartoons, benefit from this method. They stay amid this huge vary of movies, some subset of which YouTube should take away. Some come from customers who don’t know or care concerning the guidelines, or discover what they’re making completely acceptable. Others are intentionally designed to slide previous moderators, both by going unnoticed or by strolling proper as much as, however not throughout, the neighborhood pointers. These movies typically require arduous choices to be made about the suitable to talk and the norms of the neighborhood.

Logan Paul’s video or PewDiePie’s racist outbursts are of a distinct kind. As was clear within the information protection and the general public outrage, critics have been troubled by Paul’s failure to think about his accountability to his viewers, to point out extra dignity as a video maker, and to decide on sensitivity over sensationalism.

The truth that he has 15 million subscribers, numerous them younger, led many to say that he (and, by implication, YouTube) has a fair better accountability than different YouTubers. These sound extra like conventional media issues, specializing in the results on audiences, the duties of producers, and the legal responsibility of suppliers. This might simply as simply be a dialogue about Ashton Kutcher and an episode of Punk’d. What would Kutcher’s, his manufacturing staff’s, and MTV’s accountability be if he had equally crossed the road with one in all his pranks?

However MTV was in a structurally completely different place than YouTube. We anticipate MTV to be accountable for a lot of causes: It had the chance to overview the episode earlier than broadcasting it, it employed Kutcher and his staff, and it selected handy him the megaphone within the first place. Whereas YouTube additionally affords Paul a technique to attain thousands and thousands, and he and YouTube share promoting income, these provides are in precept made to all YouTube customers.

YouTube is a distribution platform, not a distribution bottleneck — or it’s a bottleneck of a really completely different sort. This doesn’t imply we can’t or mustn’t maintain YouTube accountable. We might determine as a society that we would like YouTube to fulfill precisely the identical duties as MTV, or extra. However we should take into consideration that these structural variations change not solely what YouTube can do but additionally the rationale for implementing such requirements.

Some argued that YouTube ought to have eliminated the video earlier than Paul did. As greatest as we will inform, YouTube reviewers, on first look, didn’t. (It appears the video was reviewed and was not eliminated — we all know this solely based mostly on this proof from Twitter. If you wish to see the true vary of disagreement about what YouTube ought to have achieved, simply learn down the prolonged thread of feedback that adopted this tweet.

Paul did obtain a “strike” on his account, a form of warning. And whereas many customers flagged the video as objectionable, many, many others watched it, sufficient for it to development. In its PR response to the incident, a YouTube consultant stated it ought to have taken the video down for being “stunning, sensational or disrespectful.”

However it’s not self-evident that Paul’s video violates YouTube’s insurance policies. The platform’s rule towards graphic imagery introduced in a sensational method, like all of its guidelines, is purposefully broad. We will argue that the rule’s breadth is what lets movies like this slip by, or that YouTube is rewarded financially by letting them slide, or that imprecise guidelines makes the work of moderators more durable. However I don’t suppose we will say that, on its face, the video merely did violate the rule.

And there’s no easy reply as to the place such strains needs to be drawn. Each vibrant line YouTube would possibly draw shall be plagued with “what abouts.” Is it that corpses shouldn’t be proven in a video? What about information footage from a battlefield — even footage filmed by amateurs? What about public funerals? Ought to the prohibition be particular to suicide victims, out of respect?

From the feedback from critics, it was Paul’s blithe, self-absorbed commentary, the tenor he took concerning the suicide sufferer he discovered, as a lot as exhibiting the physique itself, that was so troubling. Exhibiting the physique, lingering on its particulars, was a part of Paul’s informal indifference, however so have been his inconsiderate jokes and exaggerated reactions.

It might be affordable to argue that YouTube ought to enable a tasteful documentary concerning the Aokigahara Forest, involved concerning the excessive charges of suicide amongst Japanese males. Such a video would possibly even, for academic or provocative causes, embrace photos of the physique of a suicide sufferer, or proof of their deaths. In truth, YouTube already has some movies of this kind, of various high quality. (See 1, 2, three, four.)

If that’s the case, then what critics could also be implying is that YouTube needs to be answerable for distinguishing between the insensitive variations from the delicate ones. Once more, this sounds extra just like the sorts of expectations we had for tv networks —  which is okay if that’s what we would like, however we must always admit that this is able to be asking rather more from YouTube than we would suppose.

Is it so sure that YouTube ought to have eliminated this video on our behalf? I don’t imply to suggest that the reply is not any, or that it’s sure. I’m solely noting that this isn’t a straightforward case to adjudicate . One other technique to put it’s, what else would YouTube should take away, as sensational or insensitive or repellent or in poor style, for Paul’s video to have counted as a transparent and uncontroversial violation?

As a society, we’ve struggled with this very query lengthy earlier than social media. Ought to the information present the coffins of US troopers as they’re returned from warfare? Ought to information packages present the grisly particulars of crime scenes? When is the sometimes too graphic video acceptable as a result of it’s newsworthy, academic, or traditionally related? Not solely is the reply removed from clear however it differs throughout cultures and intervals. Whether or not this video needs to be proven is disputed, and as a society, we have to have the dispute; it can’t be answered for us by YouTube alone.

This isn’t to counsel that platforms bear no accountability for the content material they assist flow into. Removed from it. YouTube is implicated — it affords the chance for Logan to broadcast his tasteless video, assist him collect thousands and thousands of viewers who can have it immediately delivered to their feed, design and tune the advice algorithms that amplify its circulation, and revenue enormously from the promoting income it accrues.

Some critics are doing the essential work of placing platforms below scrutiny to raised perceive the way in which producers and platforms are intertwined. However it’s awfully tempting to attract too easy a line between the phenomenon and the supplier, to color platforms with too broad a brush. The press loves villains, and YouTube is one proper now.

However we err once we draw these strains of complicity too cleanly. Sure, YouTube advantages financially from Logan Paul’s success. That by itself doesn’t show complicity; it must be a function of our dialogue about complicity. We would need income sharing to come back with better obligations on the a part of the platform. Or we would need platforms to be shielded from legal responsibility or obligation it doesn’t matter what the monetary association. We would additionally need equal obligations whether or not there’s income shared or not. Or we would need obligations to take care of reputation slightly than income. These are all doable buildings of accountability.

It’s simple to say that YouTube drives vloggers like Paul to be an increasing number of outrageous. If video makers are rewarded based mostly on the variety of views, whether or not that reward is monetary or simply reputational, it stands to motive that some video makers will search for methods to extend these numbers.

However it’s not clear that metrics of recognition essentially or solely result in creators turning into an increasing number of outrageous, and there’s nothing about this tactic that’s distinctive to social media. Media students have lengthy famous that being outrageous is one tactic producers use to chop via the muddle and seize viewers, whether or not it’s blaring newspaper headlines, trashy daytime discuss exhibits, or sexualized pop star performances. That’s hardly distinctive to YouTube.

And YouTube video makers are pursuing a lot of methods to hunt reputation and the rewards therein, outrageousness being only one. Many extra appear to rely upon repetition, constructing a way of neighborhood or following, interacting with particular person subscribers, and the try to be first. Whereas overcaffeinated pranksters like Logan Paul would possibly attempt to one-up themselves and their fellow bloggers, that’s not the first tactic for unboxing vidders or Minecraft world builders or style advisers or lip syncers or tv recappers or music remixers.

Others, like Vox’s Aja Romano, see Paul as a part of a “poisonous YouTube prank tradition” that migrated from Vine, which is one other technique to body YouTube’s accountability. However a style might develop, and a supplier making the most of it might look the opposite means and even encourage it. That doesn’t reply the query of what accountability they’ve for it; it solely opens it.

To attract too straight a line between YouTube’s monetary preparations and Logan Paul’s more and more outrageous shenanigans misunderstands each of the financial pressures of media and the complexity of well-liked tradition. It ignores the teachings of media sociology, which makes clear that the connection between the pressures imposed by business and the inventive selections of producers is complicated and dynamic. And it doesn’t show that content material moderation is the suitable technique to handle this complicity.

Paul’s video was in poor, poor style. And I discover this complete style of boffo, entitled, show-off masculinity morally problematic and simply plain tiresome. And whereas it might sound like I’m defending YouTube, I’m undoubtedly not. Together with the opposite main social media platforms, YouTube has a better accountability for the content material it circulates than it has to this point acknowledged; it has constructed a content material moderation mechanism that’s too reactive, too permissive, and too opaque, and it’s due for a public reckoning.

Content material moderation needs to be extra clear, and platforms needs to be extra accountable, not just for what traverses their system however the methods wherein they’re complicit in its manufacturing, circulation, and impression. Even so, content material moderation is an excessive amount of modeled on a customer support framework: We offer the complaints, and the platform responds. This can be good for some sorts of issues, however it’s proving inadequate when the disputes are ethical, cultural, contested, and fluid.

The accountability of platforms is probably not to merely average “higher”; they might must facilitate the collective and collaborative deliberation that moderation actually requires. Platforms might make areas for that deliberation to occur, present information on complaints so we all know the place our personal issues stand amid everybody else’s, and pair their choices with explanations that may themselves be debated.

Previously few years, the workings of content material moderation and its elementary limitations have come to gentle, and that is excellent news. Nevertheless it additionally appears we’re too desirous to blame all issues on content material moderation, and to anticipate platforms to show a superbly honed ethical outlook each time we’re troubled by one thing we discover there. Acknowledging that YouTube is just not a mere conduit doesn’t suggest that it’s solely answerable for all the things out there there. After a decade of embracing social media platforms as key venues for leisure, information, and public trade, we’re nonetheless struggling to determine precisely what we anticipate of them.

This essay is tailored from a submit at Tradition Digitally.

Tarleton Gillespie is a principal researcher at Microsoft Analysis New England, and an affiliated affiliate professor within the Division of Communication at Cornell College. His e-book, Custodians of the Web: Platforms, Content material Moderation, and the Hidden Selections that Form Social Media, shall be revealed in Might 2018 by Yale College Press. Many due to Dylan Mulvin for help within the writing of this text. Discover Gillespie on Twitter @TarletonG.

The Massive Thought is Vox’s dwelling for sensible dialogue of crucial points and concepts in politics, science, and tradition — sometimes by exterior contributors. You probably have an thought for a bit, pitch us at thebigidea@vox.com.