#mostly indulgent dont expect any real plot

[luckyxmisfortune]

heard of the new farmer?

◇ • ☆ • ◇

[chronically-a-bacteriophage]

Hi I saw you posting about podcasts and I hope it's okay to ask you for a very specific recommendation 😳 I've recently finished the Magnus archives and it reawakened my love for enemies to lovers and I've been trying to find another podcast that could scratch my itch 😭 i am open to any genre i just want characters (preferably queer) who have something wrong with them and their social skills but they have to work together/get put in situations and they kind of grow fond of each other, it doesnt have to be the main plot and they dont actually have to end up together I love vibes/tension too!

I hope it's okay to ask this very specific self-indulgent question and I hope you have a nice day 🌻🌷💖

HELLO! First of all- thank you so much for asking me!!!! I love talking about and recommending audio dramas so thank you for givinge the opportunity!

Just to let you know - I can't do horror so I don't know what the enemies to lovers is in tma, and so my apologies if my recs are not in line with that, and also they won't be horror. So, with that said, here they are, in order of what I think is most like what you are after!

Wooden overcoats! A delightful sitcom about rival funeral homes! The protagonists certainly are not socially adept, which kinda forms the basis of the plot? The rivals are put in a lot of situations together, and very much grow fond of each other. Its mostly headcannoned but the vibes are indeed there!!!

New years day! A yearly audiodrama about two magicians who meet every 13 years (i think). Definately queer and enemies to lovers. The something wrong with them is not in the social department, but something os very wrong. Its a very slow burn though and episodes come out yearly so i doubt it will fill your need on its own!

The strange case of starship iris! A disclaimer - I did listen to this over the course of 2 daysish so I remember very little about it, but I think it has almost everything youre after. I cannot give a summary because of the lack of memories, but I do remember absolutely loving it so would highly recommend regardless!

Oblivity! A british scifi sitcom. It has the vibes, maybe the real thing I dont remember! (Im starting to feel rather ill so its going to be briefer from now on but if you have any further questions ill answer them later)

Inco - Ive only listened to the first few eps but I got the sense that it may have been going towards lovers?

Cabin pressure - more unspoken fondness than overt, amd people headcannon the lovers part. Its hard to find though - I think its on archive.org and some eps are on ytube, or buy it as an audiobook from spotify/audible/etc if you have the means and the inclination.

EOS 10 - I dont remember this very much at all but its the kind of thing I would expect to have what youre after.

I hope this has helped!!!! Let me know if youbahve any other requests/questions!

@vetchtibbles might have some recs to add? (/no pressure though)

[stiltonbasket]

Twelve Moons and a Fortnight wrap-up Q & A!

(brief note that this post does contain spoilers, so don’t click past the cut unless you’ve finished reading!)

__

1. Hi Stilton! I love you and TMAAF! The way you write the letters really feels organic and like people writing letters to other people in a time where communication wasn't instantaneous and thats a pet peeve I have with some fics that treat letters like text. I don't know if you've been asked this but what's your inspiration for the letters? Did you just make them up as they are? Did you look at old letters and studied the tone? @iwillbetrash4eva

I made the letters up as they are, but it was essential for me to keep in mind that the characters are all highly educated, and that Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian, and Nie Huaisang in particular are very accomplished in the arts. Letters written by someone who composes music and poetry in their spare time aren’t going to be the same as emails and text messages written for the sake of raw information transfer, so I made sure to incorporate that into the letters; they’re written on pretty paper, usually in the sender’s best calligraphy, and it takes time to sit down and write them, so there’s an aspect of aesthetic reflection there that we rarely notice in modern communication.

I also felt that the characters would include snapshots of their lives and feelings while writing; this was more important with Wei Wuxian, since he throws himself so deeply into his daily life, but I also had to remember how important the past is to all of the characters and how enmeshed it is with their relevant current events. Ultimately, each letter serves as an extra look into the characters’ state of mind, which is something the narrative might not give us. 

2. What was your favorite scene in TMAAF, and which OC was the most fun to write? @keela1221

My favorite scene was Wei Wuxian’s departure from Lotus Pier in chapter 46, especially the part when everyone chased after him! I planned it several months in advance (sometime last summer, I think?) so finally getting to write it felt amazing.

Surprisingly, my favorite original characters to write (besides the main additions of Xiao-Yu, Yu Zhenhong, and Li Shuai) were the Jiang juniors. They love their Wei-zongzhu so much ;~;

3. What made you think of writing this fic? And would you consider a special epilogue because I don't think 50 chapters were nearly enough for me.❤ @avezevin

I think I just wanted to speculate about what cultivation politics might have been like after Jin Guangyao died, and TMAAF was born! And I most likely will be posting an epilogue, since I realized that the Zhenqing wedding works best as a coda instead of as a fic of its own.

4. what's your research process for tmaaf? the worldbuilding is so detailed!!

I read posts on tradition and culture and use them as sources if the chance ever comes along. A significant portion of the lore was entirely made up, but @light8828 helped me with some of the language, and offered so much guidance on cultivation worldbuilding <3

5. I really like the way you write the dynamic between Wei ying and lan zhan with their kids in all your stories. Xiao-Yu is a very lovable character and his relationship with his parents is something I go back to read many times. What do you use as inspiration when writing his, or any of his siblings, relationship with their parents?

Real life, I guess. Some of my older friends have recently had children, and they’re very good parents. :3

6. Where will you be going with the series? I need to prepare myself for heartbreak if the end is approaching, (its ok if you dont know tho! Idk is an optimistic answer, its just that you seem to have many things plotting away in that brain of yours)

Up next, I’m going to finish all the fics in the series that are still in progress, and then I’m going to write Lan Xichen’s fic, maybe a fic from Wen Qing’s point of view, a fic focusing on a reincarnated Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen, and a fic from Jin Yun’s POV focusing on his relationship with LXC and the latter’s death and ascension. This doesn’t count all the fluffy wangxian oneshots still bubbling on the back burner, so I expect this series to keep me busy well into 2022. *sweats*

7. TMAAF Q&A: when did you decide you were bringing wen qing back? what led you to making her return a result of the soul-summoning array, rather than having her have survived by some other method? @mischief7manager

I decided that Wen Qing would be returning sometime between chapters 12 and 15, since that was when I knew I wanted her to be the one to cure Wei Wuxian. And as much as I liked the idea of Wen Qing surviving, I didn’t want her to be imprisoned for the 16-year interim; it was important that she appear in TMAAF as she was before her death rather than having over a decade of character development off-screen. But she wasn’t a fierce corpse that could just be put to sleep for all that time, hence the soul-summoning.

8. For the Q&A: Stilton, how did you come up with such an adorable perfect little child like Xiao-Yu?? You write him so well it really does seem like it’s a child talking!! @whereisyourcahier​

He’s partly based on a real baby I know. :P It might sound impossible, but he’s even cuter than Xiao-Yu is.

9. Thank you for doing this Q&A! Was Xiao Yu always part of the story? (Ilhim so much!!)

He was! I always wanted Wangxian to experience parenthood together, so Xiao-Yu’s entry was planned long before he actually appeared in the fic.

10. how did you deal with any writers block that came up?

By reading comments!! I have all of you to thank for that <3<3!!!!!!

11. What was the process for plotting each arc of tmaaf? & when did you decide on what the storyline was going to be? Did you know when you started or did you incorporate stuff as you wrote?

I hashed out the whole plot at once sometime last May, and that was when I laid down the rough storyline. The overall plot was finalized by the time chapter 18 went up, though I did add further details as I went along. In particular, the mini-arc of Wei Wuxian investigating the Yangshuo plague was mostly written on the fly.

12. how long have you been planning the wen qing lang xiyan reveal? has it been something set in stone from the start?

I’ve been planning it since last April, though the exact circumstances weren’t clear until around August or September. Originally, Jiang Cheng was going to ask “Lang Xiyan” to marry him after her mourning period was over, only for her to reveal herself as Wen Qing before accepting, but I soon realized that this wouldn’t fit either of their characters. Wen Ning recognizing her was the only way the reveal made sense (both emotionally and logically) so I had to find a reason to bring him to Yunmeng at exactly the right time.

13. I just want to ask two little things (well three). Where we will be able to read the wedding of baby Zizhen and A-Qing? Will there be Chengqing? And with the last question, if it's yes, will you write a one shot, drabble or something like that?? 🥺🥺🥺

I’m going to post a 51st chapter to TMAAF with the Zhenqing wedding as an epilogue, and Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing are married by then! Wen Qing will most likely be getting a fic of her own, focusing on the time between her revival and her engagement to Jiang Cheng.

14. I just finished reading your fic and let me tell you it's one of the best I have ever had the pleasure to read :) For someone who wants to start writing, how did you start the story? Did you wrote everything with a little scheme or you just leave your brain to work in the document?

I wasn’t planning to write fic for MDZS/CQL at all, and then I randomly ended up outlining, drafting, and posting the first chapter of TMAAF within the span of around two hours. When starting a story, I think it works best for me to just let my brain work in the document without worrying too much about how it might turn out--outlines and schemes tend to come later, after I’ve gotten a feel for how the characters act and laid down some dead-basic worldbuilding.

If you’re just starting out, make sure you’re having fun and that everything you write is as self-indulgent as possible! Enjoying the process is the most important thing, worrying about all the specifics can come later. <3

[cosmic-affinities]

First line game- WIPs

I saw this thing where you post the first line of all of your WIPs and I decided to expose myself and the sheer amount of WIPs I have, its mainly Bakudeku but I do have a few Drarry ones as well. If any of my shitty descriptions excite you drop a comment and it will get bumped up on my list of what to finish first (I won’t be posting any of the bkdk ones until the first one on this list is finished being uploaded, I have a promise to a friend that I must uphold) 

Along with that if you see the ones that have ‘(working title)’ next to them and you have a better idea for the title leave it in the comments! I give them all working titles so I dont have to click through a bunch of stuff named ‘Untitled Document’ on my docs.

Last thing, I’m posting this as a sort of accountability along with the ‘game’ so I will try to update this as each of these gets finished, if you are interested in being a beta for any of these feel free to send me a chat or post it in the comments (some of them are already beta-ed so I may or may not need another)

1) Fantasy Meets Reality- Bakudeku on AO3 “Midoriya! Bro, open up!”Izuku woke with a start, there was a voice outside his door and he was too tired to recognise it.“Izuku, what’s going on? Why aren’t you opening the door?” A second voice called out.To prevent any further yelling and knocking Izuku stumbled out of bed to his door and opened it, he did not expect to see Kit and Kirishima waiting on the other side.

This is the start of chapter three (Chapter one and two are already posted!) A quick run down, this fic has the bakugou from the fantasy AU (the end screen of the stain arc) come into the real world, i named him Kit to differentiate him from Kacchan. Basically Kit comes into the regular world and Kacchan has to see him and Deku interact!

2) Know Him Well (working title)- Bakudeku

“Dunce face, don’t you understand the concept of personal fucking space? Take a damn step back, you're basically slobbering on the damn nerd.” Katsuki pulled lightly at Kaminari’s collar, silently pulling him away from Izuku.

This is going to be a oneshot get together fic that shows how well Katsuki and Izuku know each other. Basically senarios present themselves to our main idiots where the rest of class A slowly realises that these two know each other surprisingly well, including mutual pining and some medling from their respective squads.

3) A Week (working title)- Bakudeku  A week.

Katsuki told Izuku how he felt and then ignored his existence for a week.

He kissed Izuku and decided to act as if it never happened.

This is a one shot based on a twitter thread I read that did not end the way i wanted it to so I asked permission to rewrite with a happy ending and they allowed me to. It is an angsty get together fic with lots of underlying and internalised homophobia and fear of what getting together could mean for our two aspiring pro heroes. Erasermic is a reassuring presence and a slight plot device.

4) Truth (working title)- Bakudeku  “Hey be careful there! You don’t want to fall over!” Izuku chuckled at the child he was holding onto, at least some good came out of his detour through the park.

“Oh my goodness sir! Are you ok?” A worried woman rushed over, seemingly more worried about the green haired stranger rather than the small child.

This is a one shot in which Izuku gets hit with a truth quirk and has to stop himself from being too forthcoming with everything he says. Get together fic that will hopefully give you second hand embarassment.

5) Izuku Withdrawl- Bakudeku 

“In addition to your normal schedule this week, you will also be paired up with someone from this class to work with a support course student to update some of your gear. This is as much an assignment for you as it is for the support course, when you become a prohero you will need to be able to communicate what types of upgrades you want for your costumes, if you can’t you will be stuck in broken or subpar gear which will only hinder you in fights. You will find your partner from your class and the support student you will be working with posted in the common area of your dorm and outside this classroom, now class is dismissed.”

This is a oneshot in which the pair get (purposely) hit with a quirk that makes it incredibly painful for them to touch, Bakugou plays it off as if it would not be a problem until they find out how often they truly casually touch. The quirk will wear off in (reportedly) 3-4 days and by the end everyone is noticing the increasingly irritable Bakugou snapping at everyone who dares to bring it up and the increasingly hurt Midoriya (makes more sense withing the confines of the fic) and get together that is truly painful for everyone involved.

6) The Frenchman and the Parselmouth- Drarry

 “Draco, darling, come help me with the laundry!” A voice echoed throughout the big house.

This is a multichapter eighth year drarry fic in which the two are roommates who create a tentative friendship until one morning Harry hears Draco speaking french (as you probably guessed from the title lol) and has a gay panic. The ensuing gay panic leads Harry to enlist the help of his favorite professor Remus Lupin (who also happens to be with his god father because fuck canon Wolfstar is alive and happy together) to try and figure out his own feelings and how to make them obvious to Draco. I really love this story and it will definitely be finished eventually but it needs so so much work because it started as a convoluted headcanon and then one major scene in the begining was changed (actually is in the process of being changed) and so it needs quite a bit of TLC before it is anywhere near ready to post. Let me know if this (shitty) description excites you and maybe it will get bumped up on my list of what gets finished first.

7) Loathing.... Right?-Drarry(with a hefty side of pansmione and blairon) on AO3

Draco woke slowly, later than normal, he and Pansy had stayed up a while longer, he wanted to avoid seeing Potter for as long as possible. As his eyes adjusted to the light in the room, Draco looked around, his eyes landed on Potter’s sleeping form, for a moment he allowed himself to indulge and raked his eyes over the fit body asleep across the room. He knew he shouldn’t be allowing this to happen, but Draco couldn’t help himself, this is the only time he let himself feel so strongly. The only time he let hope sink in, when Potter was unconscious and serene, unaware of the brooding next to him.

This is the begining of chapter four as the first three chapters are already up on AO3. This fic is (another) eighth year Drarry fic in which they are roommates, roughly based on the song ‘What is This Feeling’ from Wicked (mostly in the first three chapters tbh, if you listen to the song you’ll get why it doesn’t last for the entire fic) This fic has the golden trio paired up with the slytherin trio as dormmates and they all come to terms with their surprisingly more than friendly feelings towards their respective roommates, defintely focused mainly on Drarry but you still get quite a bit of the other two ships as well, I’m working hard on chapter four but I’m having a bit of a block at the moment 

[jackedspicer]

a shameless fusion of jack spicer and my self insert. im thinkin the wu itself has a reversed palette of the ring of nine dragons or somethin like that, although i still dont know what to call it

theres info about them under the cut! it’s a ton of rambling, so beware

for context, my self insert (syd/sydney) is a comic relief side character i eventually gave in and cooked up. she’s almost like sokka from atla in that she doesnt have any special powers of her own and often is the voice of reason - shes also SUPER ditzy, goofy, and... well, the rest is self explanatory, since shes just. Me.

the character shes most closely affiliated with is jack - i havent thought of all the details, but theyre buddies! i dont even know how they met. regardless, shes frequently shown chilling in his basement and goofing off with him. shes occasionally involved in plots here and there and eventually winds up playing a part in jack’s future redemption a while after they get close. she’s neutral-good and participates in shen gong wu stuff very rarely - mostly because shes disapproving of his ~evil~ intentions.  their dynamic feels almost like a campy sitcom, like “My Mom Friend And Me” or “I Didnt Know My Best Friend Was An Evil Genius” ... imagine hes building a giant death ray and i just walk in there like “Tsk! What did i tell you about annihilating the human race!” and i drag him offscreen by the ear. it’s a lot of fun

ANYWAYS... ON TO THE FUSION. they find the Ring Of Whatever The Fuck and give it a whirl. to their surprise, synchronizing comes naturally, and they find out they like being fused. all the self loathing gets cancelled out by the force of Mutual Platonic Love and they stay together for quite a while. the ironic thing is, theyre some of the few people that can successfully USE the darn thing, but theyre totally harmless and not menacing at all like other potential fusions could be. when fused, jack and syd form Jackney!

- as you would expect theyre pretty dumb. just real fuckin stupid

- theyre the ultimate slapstick character. literally 99% of what happens to them is for a joke

- they have four arms because they love to create things - whether it’s robots, self indulgent fanart like this, or anything in between. More Arms Means You Can Churn Out More Bullshit

- about the arms. they all can act separately, but most of the time, one arm on either side will be leading while the other will be clinging to it - two arms can often act as one just because of how touchy they are. the set on top represents syd's while the set on the bottom represents jack’s. in my brain it’s a close bffship where they’re both INCREDIBLY physically affectionate, and that resonates in how their arms are almost always paired. come on. who isnt starved of the human touch

- the red eye represents jack's, the green one represents syd's, and the brown one is both. if one component is taking more control than the other within a moment, then one of the personalized eyes not in use will close.

- morally, theyre somewhere in the neutral zone

- theyre kinda WILD... loud, impulsive, zealous, hotheaded - the whole package.

- contrastly, theyre also paranoid and neurotic. and they cry ALL THE TIME.

- they have a high self esteem and will do whatever it takes to stick up for themself; their own wellbeing is their top priority. take a wild guess why i decided on THAT one

- theyre a GREAT dancer

- almost everyone is at least mildly annoyed with them. like. at first, everyone else is grossed out by the mere concept of having to share a body with jack, so, naturally, theyre REALLY put off by jackney. especially because theyre essentially a huge mass of sweat and teenage hormones. the ick-factor subsides, but no one stops rolling their eyes when they burst onscreen with some dumb shit to say

BONUS: their favorite song is unbelievable by emf. it captures both my funkiness and his edginess

[orionsangel86]

The Man in the Mask

It's certainly no secret that one of the biggest themes in season 13 so far has been about villains/ monsters in disguise.

In case you haven't noticed those villains were:

13x01: Becky Angel (can't remember her name) disguised as a drunk girl at Pirate Pete's

13x02: Asmodeus disguised as Donatello

13x03: a wraith. (A creature that disguises itself as a human - his true face revealed by mirrors and seen by the psychic)

13x04: the Shapeshifter disguising itself as lost loved ones and the Empty entity disguising itself as Cas.

13x05: the ghost Doctor in his plague mask. Hiding his face.

13x06: the ghoul disguised as an old western cowboy.

Now thanks to @neven-ebrez we have at least some idea that this is connected to Cas. I figured I would write something speculative on this topic as I have no doubt that some of you guys will be freaking out about this.

It's been a highly volatile summer on tumblr in meta communities surrounding anything involving Cas so I've been keeping my mouth mostly shut on the matter but *shrug*.

Let's start with the obvious. Is this Cas *our* Cas? I still think it is. I think it would be very strange if the empty entity decided to follow Dean around and indulge in his cowboy "fetish" last episode. (Unless Bucklemming have truly lost the plot and Dabb let them off their leash of course).

Could Cas have bought the Empty entity back with him? It's possible. He could have unwillingly hitched a ride with Cas and be with him right now but keeping quiet for the time being. This theory would make sense regarding the disguised villain theme, though I still don't think this quite works with last episode.

I also feel as though it doesn't make sense for a creature who just wants to sleep to follow Cas to earth to cause havoc. It doesn't fit his MO.

The other option which I kind of hope is the one they are going with is that Cas is in some way still controlled (albeit unknowingly) by Jack. So many of us have been desperate for an explanation to what the hell happened to Cas at the end of last season and 13x06 in my opinion called back to that with Cas's conversation with Jack. Cas still sees himself as Jack's guardian and believes the line that Jack will do great things for the world. This could all be true and good sure, but the conversation did nothing but make me think of that whole peace and paradise bullshit that has never been a good thing on this show ever. As soon as I heard that conversation my heart sunk. Imo Cas still wasn't himself. Jack still holds some influence over him.

This is definitely a volatile topic between me and those I speak to regularly who are totally against this view point, but I still feel like the set up, framing and everything else at the end of season 12 was supposed to tell us that this was brainwashing. I had hoped that it would be revealed in 13x04 that Cas's death had broken him free of that, but that didn't happen.

Now it seems that someone somewhere is wearing a mask still. A facade. The mystery surrounding Cas at the end of season 12 hasn't yet been revealed and imo it fits. Does this mean Jack is bad? Or intentionally manipulating him? I don't think so. I think that whilst still in the womb he latched on to Cas because he was scared and wanted protection for him and his mother. He chose Cas, because Cas was desperate for a purpose and feeling lost and was inherently good which Jack sensed. I think that Jack somehow reached into Cas's angel wiring and tweaked some things. Hence all the references to season 4. He's back in that mode of believing in paradise and having blind faith that the angels were installed with in the beginning. Cas isn't himself exactly (but still outwardly himself and believes he is himself) but his overriding function is Jack's protection above all else no matter what - which could be a very bad thing for the Winchesters if Jack unintentionally calls upon Cas to help him (the way the twig people seemed fine until the witch called upon them to do her bidding in 12x20). (Thanks @elizabethrobertajones for chatting this through with me the other day - I know you hate spec so feel free to ignore this wild post no one asked for).

I dont think that Cas would hurt the Winchesters, but I find this concept very interesting in the way it calls back to previous arcs for Cas involving brainwashing and things being done to him without his knowledge. Events that pretty much always culminated in Dean snapping him out of it because of *reasons*. Another arc like this for Cas whilst repetitive, if done from a slightly different angle could be the final prompt he needs to realise what he wants, needs, and who he is.

Then again I may be totally missing the mark here and have no real expectations that this is the case. It's just the option I hope for the most.

Either way whatever we get tonight and going forward, (however nonsensical in the bucklemming episode) I am sure that we will all be driving ourselves mad about whatever is going on with Cas and his character arc. We know that Cas, in whatever form, teams up with Lucifer (and that form of Cas knows Lucifer killed him ruling out an au Cas) so my belief that this Man in the Mask stuff relates to Jack is further heightened for this reason. For Cas to want (however reluctantly) to work with Lucifer, I feel his motivations would have to be majorly skewered away from sanity. Having this *must protect Jack at all costs* system override in place makes perfect sense in this case.

Having said all that it is a bucklemming episode. So "making sense" is generally unlikely in any case.

I guess we'll wait and see. But fellow Cas!girls, try not to worry TOO much. Our angel always bounces back eventually.

Enjoy tonight's episode. Hopefully it will give us some of the answers we seek.

[viralhottopics]

Susan Sarandon: ‘Its an easy place to put your frustrations, to blame me’

The actor discusses playing Bette Davis in the new small-screen drama Feud and why shes tired of people criticizing her for refusing to support Hillary Clinton

Susan Sarandon is here to talk about a much-publicized feud between two successful women. But, as the Oscar-winning actor and activist had made crystal clear the week before I spoke to her, during a tense interview on MSNBCs All In, shes not interested in talking about that feud.

Rather than yet another over-analysis of her role in Hillary Clintons shock election loss, shed rather turn the discussion to talk of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, two women also pitted against each other, this time in 1960s Hollywood. In Feud: Bette and Joan, the latest FX show from Ryan Murphy, creator of American Horror Story and American Crime Story, the intricacies of their famed battle are brought to vibrant life with Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford and Sarandon playing Davis. Its a fun, snappy eight-episode behind-the-scenes reveal (the next season will focus on the feud between Prince Charles and Princess Diana) and provides a worthy reminder of the destructive influence that meddling men had in tearing the two women apart.

This is a really blatant example of trying to control two people by making sure they dont join forces, she tells me on the phone, dog yapping in the background. I think that mentality and lack of imagination you can see in all the reality shows. Thats the entirety of their plots: just turning women against each other and getting them drunk so that something dramatic happens, even if its a fight over nothing. Its always easier, I think, to suck people into drama when its negative as opposed to something thats constructive.

Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis and Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford in Feud: Bette and Joan. Photograph: FX

If thered been a Real Housewives of Hollywood in the early 60s, Bette and Joans on-set sparring while making Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? would have made for a ratings magnet. There was a pay dispute, nastiness in gossip columns, petty pranks and even physical violence. But over 50 years later, the business is different: studios no longer own stars in the way they once did and women are making headway towards equality. Competition is not what it once was.

I think that happened just in my generation, Sarandon says. I see examples of actresses just a little bit ahead of me who really saw women as their enemy and had no intention of forming any kind of alliance. Now, thats certainly not true. You might be envious of a part you didnt get but its switched to understanding that you need women as allies and that were stronger together, not divided.

Its an ethos thats been reflected throughout her career, with roles in a number of Bechdel test-smashing films, including The Witches of Eastwick, Thelma and Louise, Little Women, Stepmom and last years acclaimed comeback vehicle The Meddler. Shes also been keen to work with more female directors, having recently worked with a set of them on the production of Feud, but one area of equality that shes less sure about is that awkward matter of who gets paid what.

I dont think it matters that Jennifer Lawrence is paid 70 times more than what I am, she says. Its a business that is so subjective and I feel so lucky to be able to earn a living, and this is why to go after pay equality is a really chancy subject because if Tom Cruise has a leading lady thats in the movie as much as he is, should she get the same amount of money if shes been in the business a shorter amount of time? And should a character actor thats been in the business for 50 years not get paid more? Its a sin what happens to these supporting actors through the years where they can barely exist on the pay they get. Theres no equity in terms of value, and who knows how these decisions are made. So you cant apply that to feeling unfair because the whole fact that actors get paid as much as we do is ridiculous. I mean, what a fabulous life. I cant bitch about whatever my pay level is. I dont focus on that.

Susan Sarandon in The Meddler. Photograph: Sony

But as content as Sarandon seems, theres no denying that shes been frustratingly absent from the spotlight in recent years. Shes not stopped working but more often shes been taking on small, little-seen roles. Its not simply a dearth of scripts for women of a certain age in the industry, its also Sarandon being understandably picky. Unlike many other Oscar-winning female actors, shes resisted the urge to take on thankless roles in franchise fodder. She chose not to play the doomed female president in last years Independence Day: Resurgence (When I read the script, I couldnt understand what was going on) and the only sequel youll see her in any time soon is John Turturros Big Lebowski spin-off (something she calls a crazy film that she still cant believe they got the money for).

After the success of Thelma and Louise, many thought it would be a game-changer, showing Holly-bros that theres a sizable audience for a film about female friendship but as Bridesmaids has since shown, these hits are often seen as unlikely exceptions and fail to cause the seismic shift predicted. I think that a woman can look at a story that has a male protagonist and can identify that she could do that or be in that situation, she says. But I think its harder for male executives to imagine that anybody is really gonna get into a female lead because its hard for them to imagine. I dont think its meant to be a mean thing, I just think its a lack of imagination.

Its meant that, while shes starred in a number of aforementioned female-fronted films, shes still been paired mostly with men throughout her career. Its been a generally harmonious time, but Sarandon recalls the closest shes got to having a Bette v Joan situation. There was one gentleman, she says. He hadnt really done films, I dont think, and he was in the midst of a very successful TV run and was a heart-throb. There were definitely some problems and hed developed some habits, because in the atmosphere where he was working, he wasnt used to women challenging him in any way and was spoiled by the rules that they set up. At one point, they allowed him to leave on my reverse at the end of the day, so I was suddenly expected to do my lines with the script supervisor and him gone for my close-up.

She wont give me a name but she counts it as a rare occurrence. I dont thrive on tension or any kind of aggression, she says. But its an unavoidable part of the job, especially, depressingly, for a woman who chooses to speak her mind. While men might still be seen as brave and refreshing, women who speak out are still often painted as difficult or bitchy. Sarandon knows this all too well.

I think it is more annoying to have a woman with opinions for a lot of people, she says. I couldnt give you any solid proof that has hurt my chances in the business. Today in the New York Times, they were talking about the Academy awards and the fact that I was one of the people who didnt get a nomination for The Meddler, and [it] mentions that it might have something to do with the Clintonized Hollywood, when I supported Bernie Sanders.

Bernie Sanders and Susan Sarandon in April 2016. Photograph: Brian Snyder / Reuters/Reuters

Which brings us to the elephant in the room (or over the phone). Sarandon was a vocal supporter of Sanders as he ran against Clinton to become the Democratic pick for president. When he lost out on the nomination, she expressed her frustration and publicly endorsed the Green candidate Jill Stein instead, stating that she did not vote with her vagina. She had previously called Clinton more dangerous than Trump.

I have had a huge amount of backlash, she says. Theres been a really strong blame for a lot of things that are obviously not my fault.

A cursory scan of Twitter shows a stream of bile all the way from the Will & Grace star Debra Messing to the author Kurt Eichenwald. Sarandon remains defiant, unapologetic and frustrated with Democrats who suggest that shes let the party down.

Theres no valid argument, she says. Its just an easy place to put your frustrations, to blame me. I mean, if you read the list of people who voted Hillary Clinton and then I think its me and Viggo Mortensen on the other side. Youd have to be delusional to actually think that Beyonc and Jay Z and George Clooney and Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep, and the list goes on, were actually overpowered by the two of us.

But shes unperturbed, still hyper-aware of the daily failings of Trumps government. And despite resistance, shes continuing to show up at Democratic events, such as a recent anti-Trump rally in New York. Im focusing on reaching out and forming a coalition not only with all of Hillarys people but with people I know that voted for Trump, because we have serious work to do now, and we cant indulge in blaming or depression or any of those things, she says. There isnt time any more to look back. We have to look forward.

Feud begins on FX on 5 March at 10pm with a UK broadcaster yet to be confirmed

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from Susan Sarandon: ‘Its an easy place to put your frustrations, to blame me’