#netflix doesn’t want to promote it so I will

[sunny-rants]

OK PEOPLE, IT’S OUT!!!

please go watch The Swimmers on netflix, it’s an incredible true story about the refugee experience, and the first major movie I have ever seen that accurately represents arab women

[perseruna]

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

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

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

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

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

His "Me Too" comments.

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

Now onto his on set behavior.

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

[Transcript:

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

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

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

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

End transcript.]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[juuuulez]

📰 | richie jerimovich x reader ; “Princess,” part two.

📖 -> part one.

info: Richie Jerimovich x reader, no use of (y/n), allusions to sex, kissing, smoking weed, alcohol consumption, overall generally pretty fluffy, Richie wants what’s best for you, king of self control bro is trying so hard.

omg this has been sitting in my drafts for like a week SORRY. but anyway i think this was sweet and is so richie’s growth and awareness era i think he’s trying so hard and is doing an amazing job.

let me know what you all think 😝😝

The floorboards are cold, where you’re sitting against Richie’s door, waiting for him to return from work. 10pm sharp? Yeah, right. Though, you’ve never known Richie to be a punctual man, so it doesn’t bother you that much. Anybody else, and you would have left. But maybe you’ve missed Richie more than you’ll let on.

The 6 pack of beers has already diminished, a half-drunk bottle nursed in your hand, the liquid warming with the air. Heavy footsteps are heard from the stairwell, promoting your head to tilt towards the corridor.

10:23pm, there he is.

Before he’s even approached you, he’s apologising, fumbling with a set of keys inside the pocket of a leather jacket. “Fuck. I’m so sorry, princess,” Richie is cursing. “Carmy was bein’ a massive bitch, and apparently there’s a gas leak ‘n—“

The rambling stops, Richie assumably coming to his senses as he eyes you, sitting on the floor, drink in hand.

“Doesn’t really matter, does it?” He relents, sounding uncharacteristically guilty.

So you simmer on the thought, rolling it around like a pearl, sucking on the inside of your teeth. Finally, you come to stand, not reaching anywhere near Richie’s height.

“Mr. New York?”

A grin breaks out on Richie’s face at your clarification, tone questioning despite the fact that you’re sure, that you remember all of those little conversations. About a dozen people, only made real in your brain, courtesy of Richie’s overzealous descriptions of every little problem in his life.

Sure, he was just your dealer. Just a guy you hooked up with occasionally. But that doesn’t mean you didn’t listen, right?

“Good fuckin’ girl.” He grumbles in approval, a spare hand coming to rub the back of your neck. It’s an intoxicating movement, makes your body warm and fuzzy, a pleasant shiver running down your spine.

Richie unlocks the door, the jangling of keys sounding through the hallway. Always the gentleman, he holds it open for you, a smug grin on his face.

“Already made a dent in the beer. Couldn’t wait,” You muse, fingers hooking into the cardboard handle of the 6-pack. “Y’know, this better be worth it.”

“You’ll be right.” Richie dismisses, his eyes following your form as you saunter into his apartment, already so familiar with the place.

He dumps a plastic bag down on the floor, the clutter making an indistinct noise you don’t care to expand on. The beers are placed on the table, and you’re quick to settle into his couch, shoes discarded and knees tucked to your chest.

“So…” Richie begins, coming to stand next to the couch. “Did you want some food?”

Your gaze flickers to him, soaking in how he seems to be a little nervous, a little hesitant. So different. “You know what I’m here for, Richard.”

“Jesus Christ. Don’t call me that, it’s weird.” He outwardly cringes at your words, retreating further down the hallway to retrieve the subject of the night.

In your eyes, it was a little amusing. He’d changed, certainly, but you understood why. Maybe Richie’s party days were over, but you’re certainly weren’t.

Your hands find the TV remote, switching it on. It’s been left to Netflix, some kids cartoon looping in the background from when Eva was here, the colours bright and characters animated. Clicking your tongue, you call out to Richie. “Big fan?”

He comes down the hall a few seconds later, nodding towards the TV. “What, of Adventure Time? Fuck yeah. Shits awesome.”

It makes your face split into a grin, a notion he catches onto. Richie leans down, sitting next to you with a joint poised between large fingers, which you eagerly take. Fetching the lighter, you spark the flame, taking a deep inhale to burn the bud inside.

The lighter falls from your hands, Richie scooping it up to light his own cigarette.

“Blazing tonight?” You ask him, a curious lilt to your voice. It’s not often he doesn’t jump at the opportunity.

“Nah,” Richie waves his hand. “Not much, at least.”

Rolling your eyes, you relax back into the couch. “Party pooper.”

Regardless of the quip, Richie’s big hands find your legs, wrapping around your calves and pulling you further down the couch, so you’re lying on your back, and your legs spread across his lap. They rest there, warm over your jeans.

The joint doesn’t last long, you’re antsy to get it through your system. The next one is cradled a little slower, where Richie even takes a few drags, though you can tell he isn’t hungry for it like you are. Cartoons buzz in the background, a distant noise, and the beers quickly disappear leaving you in a giggly stupor.

You end up in a new position: Richie is lying on the couch, his firm chest against your own, with your chin propped up against him. There’s a grin on your face, chewing down on chapped lips, looking as pleased as a goddamn cat. His hands are planted on you, warm over your back, holding you firm and close. Your fingers fiddle with the gold chain around his neck, tugging and twisting it absentmindedly.

Then, his mouth is warm on yours. Hot tongue sliding against hot tongue. It’s unclear who initiated it, but that doesn’t matter, because he tastes like mint gum and nicotine. You probably taste like weed, but Richie doesn’t care, for it’s easy to get lost in the sensation of you. Like a familiar pattern, someone he can come back to when all else fails, someone who he doesn’t need to try for. You’ll always have him.

Your hands travel down the expanse of his torso, finding the band of his sweats. The fabric is soft and you savour the sensation for a moment, every piece of stimuli feeling that much better, like a prickly fog has overcome your mind and makes your body tingle. You press further, dipping your fingers under the band, which makes Richie grunt into your mouth.

“C’mon,” He mumbled against your lips. “Hands off, sweetheart.”

It takes so much effort to pull away, faces inches from each other. And fuck, your eyes are red, glassy and lidded as you stare at him with a mix of satisfaction and tired lust. It’s sleepy and quiet and feels perfect.

“What’s up?” You ask him.

But he just shakes his head, blue eyes still studying you. “Nothin’ s’up.”

You’re sceptical, of course, because when has Richie ever refused sex? Not with you, at least, and certainly not like this. The thought doesn’t simmer long in your mind, because the grin is soon returning, with a poorly suppressed giggle as you shift a little atop him, pressing your hips down against his own.

“I can feel you.” You tell him, utterly amused by the notion of his arousal beneath you. The sweats do little to contain it, and you can tell that Richie finds the situation enticing, his length hardening slowly under the heat of your clothed body.

The giggles don’t stop, seeming to have hit at the worst possible time, but you feel completely smitten. Your head ducks down against his shoulder, to which Richie pats over your hair, holding you close. He’s breathing steadily, one… two… three…, all in an effort to not flip you into the couch and fuck you right there.

“I know, baby. It’s ‘cus ya fuckin sexy,” He mumbles into your hair, which only provokes another round of snorted giggles from your form. “Trust me, I’d give the world to fuck you right now, princess. You wouldn’t be able to walk for a goddamn week.”

You look back up at him, still smiling and happy, albeit a little sleepy. Everything is blurred and fuzzy, and you can imagine how good the sex would feel right now. “Then do it.” You urge him, tongue darting out to wet your lips, despite the dry state of your mouth.

And it’s so goddamn hard to resist. Because right now, it’s all Richie wants to do. But there’s this stupid voice in his head, telling him no: that’s a terrible idea, he can’t do you like this anymore. He doesn’t want to be the person you come to for drugs or sex. That’s not healthy, and it won’t stop if he keeps indulging in it.

Even if he can feel your clothed breasts against his body, and his dick twitches with each of your words, cursing his mind for being such a massive cock-block.

“Hey, you can barely keep your eyes open.” He points out, brushing back your hair to get a better look at your face. It’s true, you’re drunk and high, drowsy eyes blinking up at him with a smug little grin.

You must know that, too, for you rest your head back down on his chest. If he won’t fuck you, at least you’ll probably have the best nap of your life like this. His heartbeat is audible from this position, and you press your nose closer into his shirt, inhaling a deep breath of musk and man and smoke. “You’re just lucky this is really good weed,” You mumble with a deep sigh, “But you owe me a lay.”

“I know princess,” Richie agrees, his voice low and so close to your ear, the only thing you’re truely aware of anymore. “Maybe.. maybe I’ll take you out, huh?”

The suggestion has his mouth going dry, and not from the weed. It’s slightly timid in the way his tone drops an octave, a tad quieter, simultaneously hoping you’re too stoned to remember but also lucid enough to answer honestly.

“What, like a fuckin’ date? Gross.” You shoot back, the words crude and playful. Your discontent is betrayed by the grin on your face, nose scrunched up in amusement, to which Richie pinches at your ass through those jeans.

“Not gross. I’d be a goddamn gentleman.” He pressed back, conscience lightened at how easily you take the suggestion. His hands soothe the curve of your back, following a trail up your spine, and back down.

It’s calming, and with your eyes closed, it feels like you’re near floating. The distance between you and Richie is nonexistent, like you’ve melted into him, a heaviness over your mind that feels like a weighted blanket.

“M’kay,” You manage to mumble with the last of your awareness. “I’ll hold you to it.”

And he lets it go, for now. Because that’s a positive answer, and you’re practically falling asleep. Richie is glad you can’t see his smile, how happy that idea makes him, the mental image of taking you out like a regular couple. Maybe he’ll wear his nice dress shirt, a tie if you’re lucky, and take you to some restaurant. Bore you with his stupid stories and have a glass of wine, and then, take you home… give you the night you deserve, something calm and loving and (most importantly) sex you’d actually remember in the morning.

You fall asleep on his chest, dreaming of the same thing.

[chirpsythismorning]

Surfer Boy number update!

Now when you call, the recording comes instantly saying ‘the phone number you just dialed is available. 2499.’ And then cuts off.

Initially, I thought this meant that Netflix just stopped paying to use the number for promotional purposes and so now it’s available for someone to use, and I’m still partially leaning towards that.

However, there are a few things that intrigue me about this.

For one, all the other numbers ST used up to this point remain active, despite them all arguably being well past their need for use.

Murray’s number is still active, despite it being revealed way back in 2019 when s3 premiered and it appeared on the show, with the message still being him on his answering machine, hinting at the s4 plot. And Yuri’s fish fry is also still active, which is another number used for s4 promo sometime in early 2021.

Then there’s the number that appeared in s4 when the Cali gang called Nina, which currently still has the war games sound effect when you call.

The surfer boy number on the otherhand, was revealed in late 2021, which is when the surfer boy van made its first appearance in the Cali teaser that dropped. And for a very short time after that, the message was a birthday jingle, only for it to switch to Argyle explaining the ingredients of pineapple pizza (using colors of the rainbow). And now this.

So apparently it’s important enough to warrant them changing it several times, which in and of itself is a contrast from the others that were revealed and just stayed how they are. Not to mention, the fact that they used it for a birthdaygate Easter egg potentially, reads to me like this number is very much on their radar and it’s unlikely they would just throw it aside.

What confounds me most though about the surfer boy number presumably being dropped for promo while the others weren’t, is that the surfer boy number actually has a lot more longevity to be acknowledged in the narrative, with the van likely making a return in s5.

And not only do we see it repeatedly in s4 whenever the van appears, but the van is also used heavily in merchandise that is still coming out.

So wouldn’t you think out of all the numbers, this is the one they would want to keep active given that fans are still being reminded of it? Wouldn’t it be weird to distribute surfer boy van merch en masse, knowing the number would be called by people curious there’s an Easter egg waiting on the other end of the line? Because that’s generally been the trend up to this point?

Another thing about the message itself, is that I’ve never heard it before in everyday life? Most of the phone messages out there in the states are instantly recognizable to the average person who has spent time on the phone and they all go somewhere along the lines of disclosing that the number is unavailable, even when it’s not in use. The voice here also doesn’t resemble the usual voice you hear whenever you call a number that’s not in use.

It’s honestly also odd to hear a message say that a number is available, because that’s something I’ve personally never encountered. I even tried to look up on it to see if this message is common and maybe I’m just out of the loop, but every search led me to results saying the most common message is to say that a number is unavailable, again even when it is available for use.

And lastly, the most odd part of this new message is the four numbers at the end unprompted.

2499

The only connection I could find to this number is that it appears to be a slight mix up of the last four digits of the surfer boy number.

Original number: 805-45-PIZZA aka 805-457-4992

So is 2499 some sort of acknowledgement of the number itself? And if so, why wouldn’t it just be 4992? Why would it use those same exact numbers, but pull 2 from the end and put it at the front of the other three numbers? And then just end the message there?

It’s so odd to me.

While it could be nothing, I honestly don’t think it makes sense for Netflix to drop the Surfer Boy number altogether, given that they’re making the choice to not drop all the others. They could easily drop the previous ones and save some money if that’s the issue, but apparently it’s worth keeping them. And so why not keep the one that is still likely to be referenced going forward?

Regardless it’s likely that if Netflix still has access to the number, the message is bound to change again. So we’ll have to stay tuned for if and when that happens…

Edit: I FORGOT! There was another message for the Surfer Boy number, which preceded Argyle’s Pineapple pizza message. I only remembered after googling the number’s digits and coming across someone composing it. Still not sure what to make of it. Still so fucking odd…

[thebroccolination]

I never hold budget issues against a series that was made with love.

Sound engineering issues abound in most Thai BL series. I don’t have industry experience, but I think a lot of those issues stem from a very short postproduction window. Most series are filmed over a few months and then they’re put together in even less time—usually while the series is airing. Nuchy, director of Not Me, was editing some episodes the night before they aired. Not because she wanted to, but because she was under a strict, tight budget and didn’t have the time to do it any earlier. She’s gone into minute detail about the budgeting issues they faced, and it’s nowhere more obvious than in how the writing unspooled toward the end of the series—where they had episodes cut mid-production and didn’t have time to course-correct or edit or reshoot properly.

Meanwhile, shows on Netflix or Amazon or Disney take much longer to film, and postproduction takes even longer. Spending hours picking through each minute of footage for accidental clothing noises or unexpected sounds or muffled voices or echoing rooms takes budget. So does paying everyone to come back and reshoot a scene when you can’t remove those sounds.

Recently we found out that Prem wanted to add a pool-related scene to the end of Between Us because he thought it would enhance the story, but the production had already wrapped filming at the pool. So Prem offered to pay most of the cost of renting that location again because the production just didn’t have the money to do reshoots on a whim. Prem understands that and still wanted to shoot the scene because Between Us is a passion project about characters he loves. And New, the director, covered the rest of the cost as well as the cost to hire everyone back for that one scene.

Like most series, there have been sound issues in Between Us. But I’ve noticed more of them in the past few episodes than in the first five, likely because they had more time to work on those. During the homophobia scene in episode seven, Boun’s mic was under his shirt, so when he hugged Prem, his dialogue was muffled. The fact that they kept that take doesn’t mean they’re lazy or they don’t care—I have no idea how many other takes they had, or why they couldn’t use a boom mic instead, or what other technical issues they were having. I suspect they didn’t have the time or resources to correct it.

What I do know is that there has been a metric ton and a half of love put into this series by every person involved, and for me personally, that’s all I want from any series. A series can be as well-produced and dazzling as can be, but if there’s no heart in it, my interest in it plummets like a rock. I’ve dropped better funded series because they’re flashy and pretty but there’s no heart in them. They’re purely a vehicle to launch their actors into the larger marketing scheme.

So, y’know. Win’s changing roots, sound issues, etc., none of it makes a dent for me, and it’s why I never mention them even though I’ve noticed. That’s surface-level stuff that doesn’t make a significant difference to me. The acting, the story, and the character growth—that’s what I came for, and I think that’s what they’re excelling in. Boun and Prem have loved WinTeam for over three years, and it’s clear from their every scene together that they committed every iota of feeling to their performances.

They could have dropped Between Us at any point. Their popularity was skyrocketing before they even started filming, and the only reason they were only playing side characters in other series for so long was their commitment to Between Us. They love the story and the characters so much they both agreed to effectively put their careers on hold. They kept their popularity on a steady increase by doing promotional, sponsored work while they waited for their passion project.

It’s passion that I love. I’ll always love a story told with sincerity over a series that took thousands or millions more and lacks emotional depth. Everyone’s priority is different, of course, and some people value both production quality and emotional depth equally.

I’ll always look the other way with production shortcomings if the people telling the story are telling it with their whole heart.

[sorchathered]

Sacred New Beginnings

Chapter 2-Illicit Affairs

Pairing-Bradley Bradshaw x reader, Jake Seresin x reader

Warnings- Drinking, language, smut

Summary- I started writing for chapter 2 last night and somehow decided to do a backstory for you all instead. I didn’t really proofread so don’t kill me, just wanted to get this out asap!

Song inspo- illicit affairs- ts, babe-sugarland

7 months ago

They’d been running night maneuvers all week to prep for the mission, members from dagger and the golden warriors hand selected by Warlock and everyone was wrung out. It was long nights that sometimes bled into afternoons pouring over schematics and flight plans and then simulating the terrain, Stormy and Jake had been holding it together as best they could but he could tell she was drained; her smile hadn’t reached her eyes in a few weeks and he was worried. He caught Rooster around 9 am Friday morning in hopes that he could get him to take her out over the weekend, get her to relax so she’d be refreshed on Monday, and it had seemed like they were on the same page, Stormy needed a break and Rooster could take care of her better than Jake could. But when Friday night rolled around and he joined Coyote for drinks at the bar he found Bradley drunk at the pool tables with Phoenix no sign of you to be found.

He walks over to the group seriously annoyed, they had just talked about this so why the hell was Bradshaw here instead of doting on y/n?!

“Hangman! We were just talking about how we needed a team to play against, how about you and Javy join us?” Phoenix was definitely tipsy, Bradley had told her he needed a drink or ten with his best friend and she was more than willing to help out.

“Bradshaw, where the hell is Storm? I thought we talked about you wining and dining her this weekend?” Jake said with a sharp edge to his tone and Rooster flushed from the mention of your name.

“Not that it’s any of your business bagman but I’m handling things just fine, I picked her up dinner and she was watching Netflix in the tub when I left. She doesn’t need a babysitter, just needs some sleep and I don’t know what me being here is going to do to help with that”

He had the gall to scoff and roll his eyes, did he seriously not want to spend your one weekend off wrapped up in you? Jake couldn’t think of anything better and he wasn’t even allowed to feel that way, Rooster had you naked in his bathroom and he decided the hard deck was a better idea?! Unbelievable.

Meanwhile in your shared home you had taken a nice long bath and eaten the Chinese food Bradley ordered for you but you still couldn’t shake the anxiety thrumming through you. You knew you needed to sleep but instead you were in the living room folding your shared load of laundry and drowning out the warning bells in your head with trashy tv. Bradley had been distant lately but hell so had you, you two were on week 3 of opposite shifts while you trained for this mission and it had been all stolen kisses and text messages, sometimes missing each other completely before you had to head to your respective places. You had such an ache in your chest, you hadn’t been intimate in weeks and you missed his touch, he had assured you he would spend the whole day with you tomorrow but that you should go home and rest and he would be back after some downtime with Natasha. Nat was in a VERY committed relationship with one of the air traffic controllers on base and Bradley being a man solidified that he definitely wasn’t her type, not that you’d ever worried about the two of them anyway. But something felt wrong, ever since you’d been chosen along with Jake to fly with this new ragtag crew there had been a shift. You knew he was upset he didn’t get chosen but he had assured you he was happy for you, knew that if everything went well this could mean you finally getting promoted to lieutenant commander and being able to make a name for yourself. He’d been chosen several times for missions you didn’t get to join in on and never once had you wavered in your support for him…was he shutting you out? Had you done something wrong and didn’t realize? You had worked yourself into a panic now, tears pricking your eyes and breaths coming shallow and you were suddenly startled with the blaring notification of a text on your phone.

Bradley stumbles into your home around 12:15, reeking of cheap bear and cigarettes. You had finally given up and went to bed at 11 and he couldn’t be more grateful that you weren’t waiting up for him tonight. You’d left his laundry folded on the couch and with guilt sinking into his gut like a rock he made his way to the guest bathroom to shower so he wouldn’t wake you. He had fucked up royally today, when Jake suggested that the mission was burning you out he should have felt sympathy but he couldn’t conjure the emotion if he tried. He should have been the one flying this mission, he would never complain about being burnt out on it especially knowing what this could do for your career. He felt like you took it for granted, so after Jake had headed home for the day he made his way to Admiral Cyclone’s office. He still didn’t know what he was doing it was like he was on autopilot as he stepped in and made his case. You were burnt out and fatigued and that made it all the more dangerous for everyone flying with you. It only made sense for him to suggest you be asked to step down and Bradley to take your spot so you could recoup. It felt like he had blacked out for all of it, before he knew it he was at the hard deck and several drinks in to a strong buzz. He could barely look at you before he’d left for the evening, just suggested you rest up and he’d order you dinner before he slipped out. Jake had been annoying the shit out of him about you, how he should have been doing more and deep down he knew it was true; he’d betrayed you today and let his anger take over but he was still so deep in it he didn’t even care. So when Mirage slipped in behind him in the men’s bathroom after he had been flirtier than usual he didn’t stop her. He’d let her kiss him, warnings going off in his mind that he should stop but it felt too good at the time. She inflated his ego, told him how badly she’d wanted him, how he was so hot and talented and when she ground herself on him he let instinct take over, bending her over the sink and pulling a condom from his wallet; the ones he only ever used for hookups like this with you. He’d fucked her hard and fast, reveling in her praise and came hard, the thought of you not even close to the forefront of his mind. As he pulled out and helped her get dressed the door creaked open, he didn’t even notice it at first until Mickey exclaimed behind him. Fuck. He was so, SO screwed.

Jake Seresin Masterlist

Tagging-

@attapullman

@mamachasesmayhem

@bobgasm

@floydsglasses

@pinkdaisies1106

@mygyn

@angelbabyyy99

@roosterforme

@nouis-bum

@purelyfiction

@86laura11

@djs8891

@shanimallina87

@jessicab1991

@its-the-pilot

@dempy

@dizzybee03

@the-aspiring-fanfic-writer

[lou-iz-stat]

While listening to the new podcast that Jacob Anderson was on I seriously got emotional about it. And it was not because of what he said about letting Louis go for a little while.

It was because when Jacob as talking about the other roles that he has had and how usually when he ends a role he doesn’t ever want to celebrate them but with Louis and Interview with the Vampire he decided to do something different. When he took the rocks from the Dubai set and scattered them where he felt most comfortable really felt like for once he was celebrating the work of the past two seasons.

And on top of that it really expressed to me how special IWTV as a show and story is. I know a lot of people have their favorite shows that they obsess over but this show really is something else. Like even Jacob says he is not really a spiritual person and neither am I but this show is so extraordinary that it just feels not of this world. And I don’t mean to sound so sappy or cheesy about this. I mean think about it there have been so many hurdles that this show has had to go through throughout the production of both seasons but it is still such an incredible and transformative show. And on top of that every single person on that set has nothing but great things to say about it. Even Luke Brandon Field who plays young Daniel even said it was his favorite set to ever work on. I can continue on and on including Jacob and Sam finding each other as platonic soulmates through this show. Every single person that has had a hand in the show just loves it so much like it’s not just a job for them but actual art. Frankly the show should not have worked with how many problems it initially had but because everyone loves the source material so much and what they are doing so much that it is almost if all that love was able to create a show like no other.

The last thing I want to bring up is that the show would not be what it is without amc. I know a lot of people take issue with the way that amc handled the marketing and promotion of season 1 and for the most part I can agree with those criticisms but I still would not want any other studio to have taken this story on. We can be frustrated with amc all we want but we have to acknowledge that if this show went to some other streaming giant like Netflix or Max the show would not have been this amazing. AMC, being that it’s a much smaller studio feels to me that they are much more closely connected to their shows. There always seems to be a sort of distance from the big studios to their shows considering they make so much content. And I am praying that I won’t regret when i say this but I just feel like AMC is in it for the long game. And if I do end up being wrong and the show does end up getting cancelled I seriously don’t know what I am going to do with myself.

Even as I type all this out I’m getting teary eyed just thinking about everything. Also I’m sorry for being so dramatic about the show but it really is the most important piece of media that I have ever experienced and no matter what happens in the future it will always be my favorite thing ever.

[bisexual-detectives]

I've seen a lot of "fanfiction is only tolerated because it's not monetised" takes recently and they're completely missing the point of why IP owners tolerate fan works.

Fanfiction inherently breaches copyright, whether you make money off of it or not. The reason why copyright owners tolerate fanfic is not because fanfiction writers don't make any money for writing it but because fandom is insanely profitable for IP owners. Fandom gives the original works value those corporations could never dream of creating on their own. Why is Skyrim the one video game that won't die? Because Bethesda enables and encourages modding, releasing modding tools and even enabling mods on playstation, something basically unheard of. This allows gamers to change anything they don't like about Skyrim, personalise it to their preferences and add endless new content so it never gets boring.

Fanfiction does exactly the same for other mediums: it lets fans fix whatever they perceive as mistakes, personalise the content to their preferences and it adds endless new content. If you watch an obscure TV show that doesn't have a fandom, how invested are you going to stay long term when there are no gifs for you to reblog and no fics to read? And in contrast, how invested are you going to stay if you watch a different show which has endless fan content to consume?

Fan works keep media relevant, generate free promotion and create deeply invested consumers. Why can Bethesda keep releasing full price Skyrim reworks for every conceivable platform - that people keep paying for? Because mods keep people invested in Skyrim. Why are people buying stupid official merch for ancient franchises like Harry Potter? Because fandom keeps those franchises alive.

Fandom is only "non profit" for the fans. For IPs, fandom is free labour that generates absurd monetary value - that's the real reason they allow or even encourage it. Disney and Netflix won't suddenly start going after AO3 because some people made $15 on kofi lol AO3 is making them way too much money. Also, going after fandom in the age where internet fandom drives media consumption would be a PR disaster. Harry Potter was the first big fandom to be born into the internet era and Warner Brothers learned very quickly to stop cease and deceasing fansites when the fandom boycotted their HP products in return.

Don't delude yourself into thinking that multi-billion corporations wouldn't have fanfic sites shut down in a second if fanfic was inconvenient for them in any way. They allow fanfic because it's fucking profitable for them and they don't care if fan writers make some change along the way.

If you want to learn more, here's a video essay about copyright and fandom I co-wrote and here are the academic works we used as sources: "Exploiting Fandom: How the Media Industry Seeks to Manipulate Fans" and "Fandom as Free Labor".

[anonymoushouseplantfan]

What do you think will happen with Netflix? Strike is over - will they produce that romcom they bought?

Just a reminder - the strike isn’t over yet. The writers’ strike (WGA) has ended but the actors’ strike (SAG-AFTRA) is still very much ongoing and picketing productions. And Meghan is (or was) a card-carrying member of SAG because of Suits so anything she does production-wise is considered scab behavior. Big no-no if she still has delusions of Hollywood grandeur.

That’s why everyone made such a fuss when Patrick posted those Suits photos. It violated strike rules and why his apology specifically mentioned the strike - they can’t promote any current, ongoing, or future union production, and Suits was union. Even the rumor that Meghan’s team made him pull those pics down play hand-in-hand with the strike. Yes, she may not want reminders of what she promised everyone (she did sell us Rachel Zane the Duchess), but it also gives her a cover story that it’s in support of the strike which neutralizes earlier gossip that she didn’t care about the strike and was scabbing by pushing ahead with Netflix.

Meghan never cared about union membership until it blocked her from getting what she wanted - remember the “I’m such a fraud” moment from a convention? That was because she lied about being union and forced a production she was in to Taft-Hartley her - which means the production basically had to fast track and sponsor her union membership or else she could shut the whole thing down. This is her MO - breaking rules and boundaries to get what she wants. We saw it all the time in the BRF, from spending Christmas and doing major engagements with senior royals before the wedding and crashing events she wasn’t supposed to be at (eg the POW investiture celebration) to violating dress codes.

Anyway. I digress. The actors’ strike isn’t over. The writers strike is so Netflix can have the writers work on the script but they won’t be filming or casting until the actors’ strike is over. And if Meghan knew what was good for her, she’d stay away from Netflix until the actors have a deal. But she doesn’t so she’ll scab because it’s all about her.

Thanks!

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

It was said that at the Palace the Sussex’s churning dozens of unthought out ideas before breakfast was a nightmare at the staff, who had to basically put these plans ‘on the back burner’. Since the move to America we basically have ‘Harkles Unplugged’ she comes up with an idea ( ok scratch that copies someone else) and then rapidly puts it into the public domain, but nothing has been thought through, effectively mapped out, or given any sort of context. So it quietly goes away when her inflated vision doesn’t pan out immediately, and rather reflecting she moves on to her next huge idea. It’s Groundhog Day with every rebrand. What I genuinely don’t understand is Netflix, surely they can see whichever grand promises were made to produce decent output, hasn’t materialised, why haven’t they ditched them?

The way their Netflix contract is set up is that Netflix gave them a pot of money to produce and develop their own content for first right of refusal. So anything the Sussexes developed using Netflix's money and Netflix cameras, they had to pitch/promote to Netflix first. If Netflix declined, then they could shop it somewhere else - which is what happened with Pearl.

There's probably still some money in the pot that Netflix doesn't want to throw away and that's what they're spending for the cooking show and the polo doc.

[nanowrimo]

Unlocking the 8 Secrets of Web Novels

If you’re looking to try something new this Camp NaNoWriMo, why not a web novel? Participant Eitan Estheim talks about what a web novel is and how to get started on your episodic writing adventure! The act of writing has been with us for a long time, but that doesn't prevent us from learning different ways to approach it, especially when we take advantage of the new technologies that are emerging.

Web novels (and their variants) are original stories that are published on the internet in chapters, instead of offering the finished product from the beginning. They resemble self-publishing because the author takes care of the entire process (writing, editing, publishing, promotion), and fanfiction because they maintain close contact with the readers.

Generally, authors usually offer their content for free on the internet. However, some authors will publish in advance on Patreon to offer incentives and get monthly paid subscriptions as if it were the Netflix of books.

I've been doing this for a while now and, although I don't have the impact of other writers, that hasn't stopped me from learning a lot in the process. With this in mind, I'm going to tell you what I’ve learned, both on my own and thanks to others.

1. Choose where to publish your web novel. Nowadays, there are several platforms such as Wattpad, Royal Road, Tapas or Kindle Vella, among many others. Some are more suitable for romance and contemporary stories, while others highlight fantasy or litRPG. Keep this in mind before deciding where you want to start.

2. Be prepared. Unlike other ways of publishing a book, a web series requires regular updates. This means you need to create content frequently. As a result, many authors choose to have several weeks of chapters prepared. This ensures they can continue publishing while writing the next chapters, along with all the additional tasks that this entails.

3. Be realistic with your time. Referring to the previous point, we need to take a moment to consider everything we must do: write new content, make sure it's in good condition for publication (editing), promote on social media, etc. Many of us have jobs and responsibilities, so we must be aware of how much we can accomplish each day.

4. Every story is unique. What works for one author may not work the same for another. Some decide to publish short chapters from Monday to Friday, while others prefer to do it once or twice a week. Consider your situation and learn as you go to figure out what works best for you.

5. Take care of yourself. If you push yourself too hard, both in external obligations and in your own projects, you will reach a point where you will exhaust yourself (and that's if you're lucky). Just like in life itself, prioritize your physical and mental health, fulfill your responsibilities, and give yourself the opportunity to write under the best possible conditions.

6. Share your story. Maybe you're like me and prefer to dedicate your time to writing, planning, and editing because that's what you enjoy the most. It's understandable, but how will you get others to read your work? Get moving! Use social media, Facebook groups, and other methods because if you want others to value your work, you must make them aware of it.

7. Find your balance. Just like in any other writing project, there will be times when you write less and dedicate more time to editing or preparation. You may have periods where you write less, but that doesn't mean your productivity is lower; it just means there are other equally important tasks you must perform. Finding the right balance will allow you to progress in your short, medium, and long-term projects.

8. Take care of your readers. Remember what I mentioned about Patreon? It's not only a way for authors to receive some compensation for their work, but they also offer incentives to their followers. Most choose to offer chapters in advance, but they can also provide exclusive access to Discord/Guilded servers, EPUB/PDF files to continue reading on other devices, unlimited scenes, and a variety of other things. Just think about what you would like to have as a reader, and I'm sure you'll come up with many ideas. All of us here know how complex and exhausting writing can be, regardless of the project we're working on. However, it's equally rewarding to see our story taking shape and sharing it as if it were our own TV series. You just need to mold it in the way you desire and keep on writing!

Eitan Estheim, a passionate web serial writer hailing from Spain, is a humble virtuoso of storytelling. From an early age, armed with nothing more than a trusty notebook, Eitan embarked on a literary journey fueled by lots of chocolate. His insatiable thirst for knowledge knows no bounds, as he tirelessly hones his craft to captivate readers. Eitan's web books, spanning fantastical realms and heartfelt LGBT dramas, written in Spanish and English, mark the beginning of his promising writing career. Follow his journey on Patreon! You can also visit his website, Tumblr, Instagram, or Pinterest. Photo by MART PRODUCTION from Pexels

[denimbex1986]

'It’s one of those odd April days in Los Angeles, the type that locals know well: Hours after noon, the sun still seems ambivalent about whether it wants to make itself known. An outsider wouldn’t think it possible for the gleaming capital of show business to feel so grayed out. But if you grew up on an island where colorless skies are the norm, it might feel familiar.

“It’s like, Will I? Won’t I?” the Irish actor Andrew Scott quips as he settles into his chair on the rooftop of the Edition Hotel in West Hollywood. He’s been in town promoting his Netflix series “Ripley,” which launched a few weeks ago, and the foreboding weather seems apt. On that limited series, the Italian vistas seem as unsettled as its antihero’s soul. The show’s vibe is “almost like L.A., what we’re looking at here now,” Scott says, as I begin to regret not bringing a jacket to our alfresco lunch. “It’s cloudy. I come from a place where the sky is normally like this.”

Scott’s “Ripley,” an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel about a grifter whose 1950s Euro-trip comes with a body count, is morally cloudy, too, and glamorously gloomy besides. Unlike the 1999 film “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” which placed an uptight Tom Ripley (then played by peak-heartthrob-era Matt Damon) amid the rustic charm of Italy and drew its charge from the contrast, this year’s version is a blunter object. Speedo-clad Damon romped through the Italy of your dreams; the baggily attired Scott staggers through a nightmare.

Written and directed by Steven Zaillian and likely to place Scott in contention for a limited-series lead-acting Emmy, it’s mesmerizing but cool to the touch, using Oscar winner Robert Elswit’s stark black-and-white cinematography to depict a landscape as forbidding as its central character. That may account for why the series got off to a slow start on Netflix’s weekly viewership charts. But “Ripley” has also attracted the kind of positive notices that suggest a potential long tail, especially as Emmy season looms.

The series was a crucial test for Scott, who, at 47, has proven himself a shape-shifter. The out gay actor, who in 2019 stole scenes as the “Hot Priest” on the second season of “Fleabag,” and who had an awards-season run for his lovelorn role in last year’s “All of Us Strangers,” knows how to win hearts. Even playing the villainous Moriarty opposite Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes on the 2010s BBC “Sherlock,” Scott became known for his loopy, outsized line readings. So what would it feel like to play a tamped-down sociopath?

But Scott didn’t see Ripley that way. “I found an enormous amount to like,” he says. “There’s something about that character that, I think, a lot of people see themselves in. And I think it’s to do with being an outsider.” Tom Ripley, plainly gifted, lacks the social connections of the wealthy American expats he meets (played here by Johnny Flynn and Dakota Fanning as layabouts and occasional boors). His flashes of rage — forcing him, later, to methodically dispose of multiple corpses — exist for Scott as a sort of frustrated creative impulse. “He probably is more of an artistic sort, but he doesn’t feel he’s got the class to call himself that.”

There’s something about Ripley, in other words, that’s tortured — a trait Scott can conjure with ease. On “Fleabag,” his unnamed Catholic clergyman struggled through a crisis of faith-versus-lust that was both funny and painful. In “All of Us Strangers,” his conflicted gay writer goes on a dreamlike journey to re-encounter his late parents, forgiving both them and himself for past miscommunications while falling in love with a character played by Paul Mescal.

“Fleabag” cut against, and “All of Us Strangers” leaned into, Scott’s rare status as a gay leading man. “And not afraid to talk about it and be open about it!” marvels Andrew Haigh, his “All of Us Strangers” director. There’s little Scott isn’t open about: In a wide-ranging conversation, he volleys back his answers with the relentless self-examination — and the fleeting tearfulness — of a person who’s spent time in his feelings.

It can be hard not to conflate the characters he’s played with the sense that Scott is Hollywood’s new prince of heartache. In fact, he has a direct line to the queen of such matters. “Taylor’s new album is sensational! I texted her yesterday to say how amazing it is,” Scott says about “The Tortured Poets Department,” which came out three days before our conversation. Taylor Swift, he says, is a friend, and he beams with vicarious pride about her 31-track magnum opus: “I think she is just a force of nature, just an extraordinary human, and this album is really, really amazing.” His favorite song on it, for the record, is “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” a ballad that begins with quiet heartbreak and builds toward a dramatic excoriation.

But Scott is perhaps being modest. Some believe that he is as much to credit for the title of the album as the men Swift sings about. Consider the explosion online after a 2022 Variety Actors on Actors conversation between Mescal and Joe Alwyn (who was dating Swift at the time, and is thought to have inspired a few songs on the album) in which they discussed their membership in a group chat called “Tortured Man Club.” Scott, they said, had initiated the chat.

“Let me tell you what that is!” Scott says. Just before Alwyn was to appear in the TV adaptation of novelist Sally Rooney’s “Conversations With Friends,” Scott — Alwyn’s co-star in the 2022 film “Catherine Called Birdy” — set him up with Mescal, of “Normal People,” another series based on Rooney’s work. “So they were about to play these tortured characters, and I had played a tortured character in ‘Fleabag.’ It wasn’t about our own characteristics!” The chat quickly died on the vine, he says. “I think there were three texts, like, ‘Hey, guys.’ You know those groups that you set up, and they just collapse.”

Short-lived or not, the existence of the chat had taken on a second life ever since the announcement of “The Tortured Poets Department.” And the whole incident speaks to Scott’s easy way of connecting people.

“He’s a great guardian of actors, if you’re lucky enough that he admires you or has respect for you,” Mescal says. “He’s got an overseeing quality, in terms of understanding that good art and good actors are hard to come by.”

Mescal, 28, and Alwyn, 33, feel in a sense like peers of Scott’s. “Fleabag” Season 2, which brought Scott to a new echelon of fame, was just five years ago, and in conversation, he has a Peter Pan energy: raffish, barking laugh and eyes that seem to twinkle with each new disclosure. And yet Scott makes for a notably older Tom Ripley — a character written by Highsmith to be just past college age.

“It was just a beautiful film,” Scott says of Anthony Minghella’s 1999 adaptation. “The idea of approaching that again, one of my first questions was ‘OK, who wants to do a carbon copy?’” Scott gestures at what, in the dim light of the patio, appears to be his delicately lined face: “Jesus, look at my age!”

Scott’s take on the character reads as more experienced, and wearier. More tortured, over a longer timeline. Scott can relate. Our conversation is the final stop on a lengthy press tour, which came on the heels of promoting “All of Us Strangers” during Oscar season; he flies back home tomorrow. Before that was “Ripley”’s long road to the screen: After some 162 days of principal photography from summer 2021 to spring 2022, the series, which had been made by Showtime, bounced to Netflix amid a fire sale at the Paramount-owned cable network.

Following “Ripley,” “All of Us Strangers” and his solo show “Vanya” on London’s West End last fall, Scott is on a career high, and he’s become a red-carpet fixture as a fashionista. (His all-white tux-and-tee combo as a nominee at this year’s Golden Globes deflated the pomposity of the event, while looking dazzlingly fresh.) “It’s a way of having fun, being creative — going, OK, well, this is a bit of a laugh.” Scott stammers, but goes on: “My mother was a very stylish, creative person, and it’s something I’ve always been interested in. Why not just have a bit of fun while we’re here?”

Scott has brought up his mother a few times before I get the chance to offer my condolences. She died unexpectedly on March 7 — less than a month before “Ripley”’s premiere. “It came very suddenly to our family,” he says, “and it’s landed in the middle of all of this stuff. Her spirit is so alive in me in the immediate aftermath of her death.”

There are painfully mixed feelings at play: Scott is proud of the work he’s done (and duty-bound to promote it), while part of him is elsewhere. Talking about his mother is a way of keeping her close. She was an art teacher, “and her way of dealing with people was so kind, but she wasn’t very good at small talk,” Scott says. “She connected with people in a very particular way. What I was taught was the idea of being authentically yourself.”

Which extends to Scott’s self-presentation. In our meeting, he’s neon-bright, wearing a teal crewneck sweatshirt under a fuzzy cardigan the precise shade of cerulean that Miranda Priestly popularized. “People say that they look back at photographs and cringe,” he says. “Who cares? It’s about playfulness. It’s about going, How would I be if I wasn’t scared of criticism?”

“Ripley,” in its ambiguity, is a show unafraid to trigger debate. Among the choices Zaillian (best known for his Oscar-winning screenplay for “Schindler’s List”) made was a greater fealty to Highsmith’s text. Minghella’s film untangled her complications: Tom lusted after Dickie (played by Jude Law), and he had to destroy what he could not obtain. Here, though, Tom seems repulsed by Dickie, even as he admires his lifestyle and easy way of being. Tom doesn’t seem to fit into any identity at all, leaving some viewers to wonder whether he’s even gay in this version.

“Everything that I feel on that subject is in the show,” Zaillian says when asked to clarify Ripley’s sexual orientation. “I don’t like to do anything overtly; I think subtlety is best. It’s not that I’m trying to hide anything, but I think it’s all there.”

Scott is willing to go a bit further. “I didn’t want to diagnose him with anything in particular,” he says. “I don’t think he would be comfortable in a gay bar or a straight bar. I think his sexuality is elusive to him.” What he does to Dickie is an expression of frustrated heartsickness, perhaps. “I think he has a feeling of love for him. Sometimes it could be sexual. Sometimes it could be fraternal. And sometimes it could just be amicable.” What was a quarter century ago rendered as an outright homoerotic story here gets into levels of confusion that feel more challenging, more novelistic. “If she was alive today,” Scott says of Highsmith, “I’d love to ask her a bit more about that.”

Highsmith, whose own relationship with her lesbianism was complicated, likely wouldn’t recognize the world through which Scott strides. Indeed, he has previously expressed his dubiousness about language around sexuality — specifically, the term “openly gay,” which he derides. “It’s wonderful to be able to talk about sexuality in an open way,” Scott says. “But I do feel sometimes, other people — and by other people, I mean straight people — don’t have to explain or talk about their sexuality every time they go to work.”

Scott, thus far quick-witted and voluble, has begun to weigh his words carefully. “The idea that I’m being defiant by just being exactly who I am … Be open about it? Why wouldn’t you be open about it?” The distinction between disclosing one’s sexuality and not isn’t lost on Scott, and he doesn’t mind it — that’s what, to him, the word “out” is for. “But the word ‘openly,’ for me, just seems a little loaded.”

The actor’s newfound prominence as a gay leading man is both a turning point for our culture and a fact that might seem to lend him special access to certain characters. In his first conversation with Haigh about “All of Us Strangers,” “he understood so deeply what that character needed to be,” Haigh says. “You want someone to connect to the character on a personal level. And I don’t think Andrew is afraid of that. In fact, it excites him, and he wants to embrace how he can make it personal.”

And yet Scott resists the idea that the story is solely one for gay viewers: He remarks that just today, he received a note from a friend who watched with his wife, and was moved. “A lot of this stuff has really affected me in my own life growing up — God knows I didn’t have a lot of gay content,” Scott says. “We live in an identity-politics era. We’re separating each other more than we need to. This hysteria about your sexuality and how that is something that is only understandable to people who belong to the same tribe as you — it just doesn’t seem truthful.”

Part of Scott’s response might be a desire to sidestep misreadings of his intentions with “All of Us Strangers” and “Ripley.” In both projects, he plays a character who has experienced some version of same-sex attraction; in both, his character also seems miserable. “Sometimes I find it hard when you’re doing press,” he says, “because I feel so joyful and so emancipated. It seems like I always want to talk about the difficulties that I have with being gay, when actually, it’s the greatest joy of my life.”

His presence on the celebrity circuit, though, suggests that culture is still figuring out how to treat an out star at Scott’s level. At this year’s BAFTAs, a red-carpet reporter for the BBC asked Scott about Barry Keoghan’s genitalia as seen in the film “Saltburn,” implying that Scott and Keoghan (who is dating the pop star Sabrina Carpenter) had been intimate. Scott quickly walked away. “It was awkward,” he says. “It was a little bit weird. But I got an apology from the journalist. I think it was a series of unfortunate events. And I totally accepted his apology.”

Scott doesn’t dwell on the incident, saying, “I wouldn’t want him to suffer any more.” But the story resonates with a general sense that Scott’s work, or his public self, is held to a different standard. The understandable excitement around Scott booking massive jobs — and his experience of being the “first” or “only” in many professional settings — feels strange from the inside. “What is the best thing that we could do?” he asks me. “I don’t have the definite answer. Would it be unusual for us not to mention my sexuality at all?”

Well, yes — but we move on. The moment Scott’s experiencing is the culmination of an incremental build, after an initial leap of faith. He’d dropped out of Trinity College in Dublin (alma mater of Irish artists such as Oscar Wilde and, more recently, “Normal People”’s Rooney and Mescal) after six months to pursue theater. “Sometimes you shouldn’t have a safety net,” he says. “If you have a safety net, you’re going to be really, really safe.” Early screen roles included appearances in “Saving Private Ryan” and “Band of Brothers.” The parts gradually got bigger — his performance in the 2014 drama “Pride,” about the gay-rights crusade in Britain, is a fan favorite, and he was an appropriately sinister opponent for James Bond and MI6 in 2015’s “Spectre” before playing the lead in a 2017 London staging of “Hamlet.”

But it was “Fleabag” that lit his career aflame. Scott calls Phoebe Waller-Bridge “one of my main homies” and, to the extent that the Hot Priest phenomenon has followed him, says it’s all for the good. “It hasn’t prevented me from playing any other characters. And I just feel so proud of the process and the product.” Would he return to a hypothetical “Fleabag” Season 3, if Waller-Bridge asked him to? “Of course I would,” he says before unleashing one of those great Andrew Scott guffaws. “But she’s not going to!”

It’s hard to overstate the impact Hot Priest had, turning what had been in its first season a charming critics’ favorite into a world-devouring, Emmy-sweeping hit on the strength of Scott’s chemistry with Waller-Bridge. (Scott was not himself Emmy-nominated for “Fleabag,” but was the following year for an episode of “Black Mirror.”) Sad-eyed yet smiling, H.P. forges a deep understanding with Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag: They both know that they want to be together, and they both know that they cannot.

Which makes “Fleabag” an intriguing counterpoint to Ripley, a character who pushes his way past every limitation he cannot hack his way through. The monochrome look of the show turns Scott’s eyes into vampiric black pools of need; over eight episodes, we witness Ripley’s lower-class life and high-class ambitions, and his willingness to turn to violence to bridge the two. There’s an unholy gnarliness to Ripley that Scott sells well.

“Ripley” is a double risk, as Scott knew when he took on the role. The series updates — by more closely following Highsmith’s tricky, nasty novel — a film that’s widely beloved, and does so with a leading man whose reputation is for suffering sweetly. “I’m just concerned about how it would be perceived, how it would change things for me,” Scott says. He acknowledged that fear — then let it go.

“When I played James Moriarty, I was younger than people wanted the character to be. And they’d go, ‘I wanted the character to have a beard and wear a top hat, and this little fucker is now playing it like this, and I don’t want that!’ The biggest challenge for you is to put your dukes up and go, Sorry, but this is this.” Risk — in comparison to what Scott calls “cynical and unconfident” compromise — works.

His co-stars have noticed the chances he takes. “Technical brilliance is one thing. And then there’s this other part of Andrew that is incredibly raw in his performance,” Mescal says. “You could sit around and talk to actors about their lives all day — they love nothing more than talking about themselves. But Andrew lets an audience into the corners of themselves that we don’t talk about.”

Sam Yates, the director of Scott’s 2023 “Vanya” — which won an Olivier Award for best revival in April — describes the places Scott would go onstage as “trancelike.”

“How do you go through that without a level of someone else taking over?” Yates says, adding that Scott “is being led by a certain degree of technique, but by a huge degree by his aliveness to his own emotions. He would surprise himself constantly onstage.”

He seems to surprise himself in conversation, too, returning with frequency to a subject that’s evidently joyful to recall and painful to discuss. Previously this season, while being interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” his voice got tight when she asked him, seemingly not knowing the answer, if his parents were both still alive. Now, though, his mother feels like the third person at our table under a gray L.A. sky.

“You keep your Irishness alive by telling the story,” he says. “Thinking about my mom recently and talking about her — it was really important to me, in the eulogy, to celebrate her.”

I remark that his mother — her artistic sensibility, her impatience with pleasantries — feels very present to me. He pauses, seems to shudder slightly. Like a sudden storm, tears are rolling down his cheeks, and he takes a moment to speak. When he finally does, his voice is steady.

“It’s a really funny thing, to be honest,” he says. “I can’t disappear the fact that this has happened in the midst of all this. The juxtaposition of these two extremes in my life where all these projects are coming out, and I’ve had to be much more public-facing than I usually am, at a time when I’m going through this extraordinary personal loss.”

He begins talking more rapidly, becoming more animated as he wills himself out of crying. “I’m not even sure if it’s the right thing to do, but you have to tell your own truth. My job is to understand what it’s like to be a human being, and I don’t like perpetuating the myth that we’re all perfect. That you have to be a movie star.”

Scott’s production company, he tells me, is called Both/And — he notes the slash in the middle. “I’ve always believed that things are always both something and something else. It could be the happiest day of your life, and you’re hungry. You’re at a funeral, and you have a laugh. There’s always something else.”

I can relate: I’m pleased to be connecting, but sorry that I upset him. And so I apologize.

“No, no, listen! I’m upset anyway!” he says, then lets loose another hearty laugh, loud and rich enough to crack the tension of the moment. In its gusto and its surprising timing, it does feel like a laugh at a funeral, but sometimes those are the kind one needs.

“Ripley” may represent the greatest challenge this versatile actor has experienced — he’s at the center of each of its eight episodes, and nothing happens without him.

“We would do what we could in our time off, but I know it was really taxing for him,” Fanning, Scott’s co-star, says. “We found a lot of common ground, because we’ve both done this for the majority of our lives. We approach work in a very similar way — there’s a time and place to be serious, and there’s a time you need to tell some stupid joke. And we did that too.”

The presence of co-stars was a balm, but Ripley, necessarily, is alone a great deal. “Spending a lot of time with a character who is solitary when I was feeling solitary myself was quite tough,” Scott says. “I love that about my job — that you can go into a particular world — but it was very different from what gives me joy. It’s the sheer stamina that was needed: It’s a lot of acting.”

The show’s two bravura set-pieces involve the disposal of bodies. “It was important to me that this character was not a professional killer,” Zaillian says. “And so we have to see him think each one through. And Andrew can bring us into his thoughts and feelings.”

Scott, compact of frame, lugged his fellow actors (rather than dummies) as much as was feasible: “I remember doing a long take, seven or eight minutes, me just trying to lift something up, and Steve just let the camera go as I struggled, and didn’t cut.”

He doesn’t linger on this aspect of the shoot. Easily able to access heartache and joy, he tends to stop short when specifics about the work come up. “It goes into a sort of PR-speak,” he says, “where you have to tell people how much suffering you’ve been through.” He draws an analogy of a host throwing a dinner party: “If you spend the whole night saying, ‘Well, I couldn’t find any organic chicken, and the vacuum wasn’t working’ — they’re like, ‘Just give me my fucking dinner!’”

“He’s aware that his work isn’t for him,” Mescal says. “You’re providing a service to an audience. Nobody really gives a fuck about your process, and if they do, they’re boring.”

Elsewhere in our conversation, Scott edges up to describing his method for finding Ripley: “I’m always really interested in the vulnerability of people. What’s the thing they’re unconfident about? What are they hiding? It was hard to access that.” What he found, in the end, was less “a biographical sort of solution,” he says, than an absence — of the ease it takes to get through life. “Not everybody is charming and capable and socially adept and sexy. You have to advocate for people who don’t have it easy. That’s what made me have some degree of affection for him.”

Affection, even on a dark project, is what it’s all about. “He’s a big advocate for play,” Mescal says. “He takes the work very seriously, but he wears it lightly. And that allowed our chemistry to be pretty playful and organic.”

On “All of Us Strangers,” the pair, already acquainted, bonded deeply. “It developed into a genuine love between them, and you can still see that now,” Haigh says. “I felt like I’d been a dating agent, and I brought these two people together.”

The film, shot quickly after “Ripley”’s protracted production, helped Scott emerge and reset after playing Tom. “Sometimes a change can be as good as a rest,” he says. “Although, I have to say, I do need a rest now.”

I have one last question before I let Scott go. He’d said he wondered how “Ripley,” with its grand ambition and with Scott at the center of the story, might change things for him. What kind of change would he want?

It turns out the real question is what kind of change doesn’t he want. “You want to keep your life,” he says. “I like my life. I don’t want people to become the enemy. Because I like people.”

He lets out a sigh. “I’m glad to be wrapping up the promotion aspect of it, because it’s been quite a big journey, and obviously, I need to go and be with the people I love.” He smiles, and his eyes turn down slightly. “So it’s just time for me to exit stage left for a little while.”

I turn my tape recorders off; Scott has given me enough. But he waits a second, his gaze once again as eager as during the formal part of our interview: What had I meant when I used the word “obversely”? (I’d said that the Hot Priest persona seemed like a gift, but — obversely! — potentially limiting as well.) He usually uses the word “conversely” to describe what he thought I meant.

We both look up definitions on our phones, and conclude that the two words mean the same thing: two feelings coursing at once, in seeming opposition to one another. Like the lovability and loathsomeness dueling within Ripley; like happiness and sorrow in a single charged moment. Both/and, or something like that. Words are funny things! And isn’t it amazing, Scott muses, that we can use language to communicate what we’re feeling. What an invention. What a gift. He grins. And if there’s another feeling behind it, both the smile and something else, the sun is suddenly shining too brightly for me to see.'

[leavesdriftinginthewind]

Don't get me wrong, I adore E x Wednesday (I cried when they hugged), but...I feel like the popularity of the ship could risk Weyler. Again, I LOVE their friendship and I would pick romantic E x Wednesday ANY DAY over X and Wednesday, but I just feel like Weyler are better suited because of their shared darkness and unspoken understanding.

I hope they don't do what a lot of popular shows do these days and rewrite things just to make the fans happy. 🫠 I mean, I might get over it since it would be great representation and that's a win, but...an OTP is an OTP so...😔

Hello anon!! I get the concern, but I am genuinely not worried about the writers changing their game plan just because of some fans, for a number of reasons.

First, in the one interview I saw circulating where they were asked directly about the possibility of romantic wenclair, they did a CLASSIC PR move of saying “well anything’s possible” before spending loads of time talking about how Wednesday and Enid’s FRIENDship is something that’ll be at the core of the story and that they want a positive female friendship in the show to set a good example for their daughters. They also emphasize friendship with the rest of the Nevermore kids, which is really reading to me like they have no intention of turning any of Wednesday’s school peers into a romantic interest right now (if ever).

Secondly, the writers have consistently spoken on how Wednesday was attracted to Tyler’s dark side and that it’s very on brand for her to be into him. They’ve also confirmed that they will be exploring Tyler’s true feelings for Wednesday in s2, and stated that Tyler has a “primal attraction” to her. They very much intend on furthering Wednesday and Tyler’s intertwined story, which bodes well for us!

Third, Netflix is just making it look good for us! Weyler has gotten so much promotion in their posts about Wednesday across their global accounts, and posts with Weyler have also gotten them some of the highest impressions on social media. And just today, Netflix Turkey posted on their story that their fave couple of 2022 was Weyler, and the official Wednesday Instagram account pinned a comment that said “I loved Wednesday and Tyler together” beneath a post that really has nothing to do with Weyler besides Tyler (well, Tyler mid-transformation) being in it.

Along those same lines, plenty of people are pitching for Tyler’s redemption arc and getting them back together. Weyler edits across social media platforms have been getting MILLIONS of views and hundreds of thousands of likes, if not millions. I think it’s super easy to forget that the very vocal fans in fandom spaces are not always (if ever) the majority, especially with a show that’s racked up as many viewing hours as Wednesday has. Just from existing online it seems like a fair bit of the general public REALLY liked Wednesday and Tyler, and are hoping he gets redeemed and they find a way back together. Between the writers discussing plans to have them continue to explore their feelings for each other and the narrative in s1 already heavily implying there’s something special with those two, I think we’ll be okay!

ALL that said, if for some reason Weyler doesn’t end up together, I would HOPE they’d go the Wenclair route. Either that or Wednesday ends up single. Really not a fan of Xavier at all, as a character or as a match for her. But I feel like Tyler and Wednesday have a FANTASTIC shot at being THE couple of the show, so don’t stress too much!

[whowantsnachos]

school’s over for me, but i definitely think one of the highlights of the year was writing a short essay on this poster of frank castle for daredevil s2 for my AP lang class and getting 100% lmao

(essay below if you’re interested lol)

Movie Posters: The True Mastermind or The True Downfall?

In the past decade, the echo of complaint that there’s nothing to watch on TV has become monotonous. You may find yourself scrolling through streaming services to find a new movie or TV show to watch, rather than the ones you’ve already seen a hundred times. You want to find just one thing that catches your eye in the myriad of options, but before you know it, half an hour has gone by with no such luck. The clear answer as to why lies in the mundane poster previews for these films. However, there have been some recent outliers. For example, in 2016, Netflix released the second season of the series, Daredevil, along with several promotion posters. One of these posters depicts Frank Castle, also known as The Punisher, holding a gun in one hand and Daredevil’s mask in the other. Taking a closer look, this pose resembles the painting, David with the Head of the Goliath, created by the Italian artist, Caravaggio. This depiction of Frank makes his characteristics and motives establish a darker, but more current representation of David’s story in the Book of Samuel in the Bible.

In the Book of Samuel, David, a young Israelite, is chosen to face the Goliath, an enemy of Israel, with no armor and only brings a stick, sling, and stones. David ends up defeating Goliath and beheads it with its own sword. Frank, like David, wants justice by defeating his enemies. He arrives in Hell’s Kitchen to get revenge on groups that he believes were responsible for the deaths of his family. From the start, he demonstrates that he has a clear motive of what he wants, and he prefers to tackle his obstacles directly. However, for him, this means getting rid of criminals off the streets permanently. Unlike many Marvel characters, Frank doesn’t have any special suits, technology, or magic to meet his goals. Rather, he relies on himself and his own military training, similar to David bringing very little to defeat Goliath. Along with this, both men represent the idea of wanting to fix broken dynamics in their current setting. David wants freedom for Israel, and Frank wants to fight against the idea of living passively against injustices. In the poster, Daredevil’s mask taking the place of Goliath’s head represents the idea of defeating the injustices that Frank believes Daredevil maintains by not permanently getting rid of crime. By using these parallels, the viewer can recognize the darker tone of the show and the motives behind Frank’s character, while still being intrigued by how the story will progress.

Nowadays, this kind of imagery is not as prevalent as it used to be. Within the past year, many posters all follow the same superficial formula: the main characters standing around each other, not looking at the camera, while a blown up image draws your eyes to the center. Because this pattern has been done so many times over the years, all of the films start to blend in with each other, losing the audience’s interest. With the decrease in these new changes, it is evident, now more than ever, what once was a sophisticated representation of film has now turned into a cash grab.

[honeym4rk]

skinship - facewash

in a relationship where your boyfriend finds physical affection rather awkward, you’d best believe it would’ve taken some time for him to warm up to the idea of skinship- skin to skin, a hand on his, cheeks crashing together as close as possible. but the patience comes at a good cost- mark has several ways to close the distance between you. 

previous (backaches)

the first time mark stays the night with you he brings with him everything he needs for his skincare routine. it’s so endearing, seeing how much stuff he packed for just one night- like an excited child at a sleepover that doesn’t know exactly what they need. it’s an obligation to take care of his skin, but definitely isn’t one he follows very well, always accidentally falling asleep anytime and anywhere without having washed his face. mark tries his best nonetheless.

you’re getting ready for bed now and you stand side by side in front of the bathroom mirror. your faces are bubbled, hands rubbing over the skin with cleanser- and the way mark looks with his cute my melody headband pushing his fringe out of the way almost sends you into laughter.

what does send you into a giggle is the way mark attacks his face, spreading the soap with the palms of his hands all over his cheeks, his forehead and chin in a fervent up and down motion. it’s a clear contrast to your careful ways with your exfoliating brush, ensuring you get every inch of your skin. when he’s done he splashes water at his face just as roughly, hands skimming the temples and neck to get rid of any soap. 

and then he raises his head from the sink and you see the cute frown on his face, water dripping everywhere all over your rug, and he runs his fingers over his eyes to wipe the water off of them. 

when he pats his face dry and starts slathering his face with creams and moisturisers in the same slapdash manner, you begin to chuckle again.

“what’s so funny?”

“nothing, it’s just that you’re so… rough when you wash your face. the soap is on there for like, 2 seconds max.” 

“really? everyone washes their face like this at home. maybe except for doyoung hyung. he has that brush thingy that you’re using.”

“you should try it! it feels really good on the skin, especially when it digs into the sides of your nose. i think it makes the facewash cleanse better. has to do something with the pores.”

mark doesn’t really like taking it slow with his skincare routine. it would just be a waste of time- there are already 4 things he needs to apply onto his skin, and he has to wait a while in between them, and before all of this he needs to shave, too…..it’s just too much effort, really.

you do try to get him to believe otherwise, saying that it’s really good for his skin, yada yada, promoting that it’s super important to take proper care of the most delicate organ on your body. he notices that you have at least twice the amount of skincare products as he does, and that, without fail, you truly dedicate at least thirty minutes a day to washing your face. it’s incredible, and he doesn’t understand how you have the patience for it. 

he now does try to massage the products into his face every once in a while. but only when you’re around. it still takes way too much time. 

one night, you come home from an intense day at school- he heard you talk about it- you had just spent the last night cramming for your exam this morning, and then you still had yet another study group session over lunch, and then you had unbelievably long conference to attend, and now you’re back home, ready to crash onto your bed.

but that doesn’t happen. you lay down on the couch as you promise yourself that you just want a few minutes to rest, and fall into a heavy slumber. 

mark arrives at your place with the promise to finally watch that movie on netflix you’d been eyeing, and he enters to see you fast asleep in your outside clothes, one leg hanging off the couch, airpods still in ears. 

“babe?” he calls out, walking over in confusion as he probes at you, poking into your sides, shaking you awake, but you’re knocked out cold. this never happens. he knows you care too much about your skin and about hygiene to fall asleep haphazardly like this. 

“she can’t be….” mark panics for just a second before he places a hand on you to confirm that you’re alive and breathing. phew. he stands around in aimlessly wondering what to do, until he decides to take you into his arms princess-style and haul you over to your bed, gently landing you on the soft surface.

he removes your airpods, and heads into the bathroom to wet one of your face towels and bring out your little basket of face products. 

mark brushes the hair out of your face, and begins to wipe at your skin with the towel, and applies some of the cleanser he always sees you use.

honestly, he’s not sure how he knows the exact order and steps of your skincare routine, but his hands constantly gravitate towards the next product once he’s done with the previous step. and he is so, incredibly gentle, using only his index and middle fingers to spread the creams onto your delicate face, moving slowly so he doesn’t accidentally hurt you, or wake you. 

he uses the little brush you use to exfoliate, walking back to the bathroom multiple times to wash the towel that cleanses your skin after each soap he uses, and takes note of the oils and creams you complain are expensive and uses those very sparingly. 

and when he’s done, mark kisses you goodnight at the top of your forehead. there isn’t a grain of annoyance that you couldn’t watch that movie, or that he just spent half an hour cleaning your face, only the genuine wish that you sleep tight with sweet dreams.

and then when you wake in the middle of the night, groggy, you wonder where you are and why your face doesn’t feel like it’s heavy with the layers of face oil and dirt that’s accumulated from the day. your hands fly to your face, grieving the routine you missed, only to realise your skin feels smooth and soft. you sit up, panicking at the thought of “oh, shit, mark!” and you fly to the living room to search for your phone, only to see his long limbs sprawled on your couch. 

as you stare at his peaceful figure you can only wonder how you're so lucky to have come across someone so undeniably thoughtful. it makes your heart swell, makes you want to pack every ounce of love you have in your blood into a box just for him. and still, that probably wouldn't feel like it would be enough to express your ineffable gratitude for every inch of his being.

next (lightswitch)

[benjinoff13]

A few days ago I was in the car with my mom and a friend who also loves warrior nun, my friend and I were talking about kty and how awesome it is that she’s doing all those interviews to promote the show while netflix won’t spend a single cent on promotion

We also talked about alba and how we admire her passion and commitment to the show and the fans despite her being less vocal about it than some of the other cast members considering what she’s been facing in her private life

My mom heard a lot of things she didn’t understand so we started to explain the situation to her, we explained that shows (on netflix) that have minorities in the lead role often don’t even get a chance to develop nicely despite their obvious succes and that this is primarily the case with queer female characters and sapphic couples (mind you I’m not out to my mom but I think she knows, we don’t talk about this subject a lot but I needed her to understand)

Then we started discussing whether we thought a renewal was realistic, I told my friend I was carefully optimistic, I knew netflix’s trackrecord with shows like this but I also knew how succesful season 2 was, I considered the 99% and 100% on rotten tomatoes, I considered the amount of weeks it spend in the top 10, I considered the fact that even season 1 reached the top 10 again because so many people started watching it and I thought there was no way in hell netflix could actually be so stupid and cruel to cancel this show

Then I read simon’s tweet last night and I know it sounds dramatic but I actually felt my heart break, I was watching tv with my dad and went upstairs without saying a word, I sat in the dark in my room alone for what felt like hours, I cried, I punched my wall (still hurts like a bitch), I texted my only friend who could possibly understand what I was feeling and then I stayed up for most of the night not being able to fall asleep

This morning I woke up and immediately felt nauseous because of the cancellation again, after hours I went downstairs grabbed my coffee and told my mom what happened, I said

“Remember when we were in the car a few days ago and we talked about that netflix show I love and how shows with minorities in the lead role don’t often get a fair chance”

She said yes and so I told her about the cancellation, I told her it’s the best rated netflix show ever on rotten tomatoes, higher than the crown, higher than stranger things, and that the reviews and viewing numbers were unexpectedly high and she responded by asking why netflix would cancel this show because I told her netflix only cares about money and warrior nun seems profitable, I explained to her that there’s two women who are in love with each other and one of them is the main character, last season this wasn’t the case and then we got a season 2, now their love for each other is confirmed and netflix cancelled the show even though season 2 was way more popular and successful than season 1, to which she responded the following

“It sounds like discrimination to me, it’s almost like there’s someone at the top at netflix who wants to stop all these shows because they don’t want to make stories about gay people”

This is my CATHOLIC mother, my mother who really doesn’t understand queerness, who sometimes still says things about being queer that piss me off so much I consider packing my bags but she understands this

This is obvious to her

It’s obvious to fucking everybody

If you don’t see the problem you’re either in denial or just plain stupid

I am pissed beyond belief, I will never ever forget this