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gaykarstaagforever · 3 months

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St. Elmo's Fire (1985)

I've always heard nothing but bad things about this movie, how it is a self-indulgent soap opera about awful 1980s people who never pay for their gross behavior. Everyone says the only good thing about it is the John Parr theme song, which is barely in it. And that wasn't even written for it, it was a triumphant pop-rock anthem written to celebrate a kickass wheelchair athlete.

Which is painfully obvious. Then John Parr just worked the name of the movie into it and shrugged. And everyone loves it. But not the movie, which was financially successful because it had members of the smooth and sexy Brat Pack in it, but critics and studio heads hated it then, and many people hate it now.

I, on the other hand, genuinely really liked it.

For all his many shortcomings, Joel Schumacher knew how to put a good movie together in 1985, and he did here. Technically speaking, it's fine. Artistically shot, well paced, the performances are all high-energy and affecting, and even the screenplay is solid, minus a few lazy strolls into trashy melodrama and plot contrivance. But the characters are well-constructed as unique individual people, the occasional jokes are funny, and everything for the most part feels real and earned and insightful.

So why do people hate it? The simple answer is the same one Joel Schumacher apparently got from reluctant studio heads: these people are fucking awful. They're stupid and selfish and cruel, and when that inevitably blows up in their faces, they pout and whine and throw temper tantrums and beg for money. They're well-off white kids from Washington DC who just graduated from Georgetown, and instead of taking advantage of that, most of them are drug-addled mopes for whom the entire world being open to them is STILL not enough.

And I agree with this character critique. These people suck. The whole movie is them ruining the lives of everyone around them with their bad behavior. I have known people like this, and I don't anymore, because they are frustrating and destructive and what they do puts an unfair burden on everyone else.

...But the movie knows this, and that is, in fact, sort of the whole point? Sure, they don't end up dead or in jail, so maybe they don't get the full brunt of what is coming to them. But they're also all 22 years old. Speaking now as a 42 yo man, people who are 22 are stupid baby-things who ruin everything they touch and will absolutely hate who they were in 10 years. That's called growing up, and the entire point of the movie is to show a small part of that process. They DO learn. They DO grow. Not a lot, but a little. And that's how it is, and was, if you were 22 in 1985.

I don't understand why anyone would hate this. You can hate them, if you want. They're detestable. But a lot of privileged people in their 20s are. And while that doesn't absolve them of their shitty behavior, it's kind of unreasonable to not expect this shit from these kinds of people. They are products of where they come from, and now as legal adults, they have to work through that themselves and come out the other side as better people. It's a gross, stupid, weird, terrible process, and the movie shows a glossy, sappy Hollywood version of that.

And it's not bad, for what it is. I don't know if I'd put it on a Top Movies list or even ever watch it again, but it does what it does well. I even kind of fell in love with these big dumb idiots by the end, because as they learn lessons, they become better people. Or at least, differently bad people. But they are still in the middle of that process. I'm not hostile to it or them, or the movie, about it. I don't know why anyone would be.

It IS a movie from 1985, so it has a lot of "movie from 1985" problems. Sexism, treating stalking as a cutesy sitcom plot with a resolution that rewards the stalker, some SA stuff played for laughs, not quite knowing what to do with the women characters that isn't them constantly talking about the male characters, some awkward stuff about one character maybe being gay that seems like it could get interesting, but then the movie remembers it's 1985 and reveals he is super-straight actually, whew! But, honestly, for this era, it is very mild in this regard. I kept expecting it to go dark and problematic and it mostly doesn't (aside from the goofball "I kind of like being stalked" nonsense). For a movie from 1985, it is very watchable and only mildly offensive to 2024 sensibilities. That alone is a rarity, and a big mark in its favor.

Plus it is fun as a fictionalized snapshot of what wealthy white young adults in Washington DC were up to in 1985. Lots of people in their early 20s smoking like chimneys and desperate to get married immediately to people they barely know. Kind of wild.

Also, while these people all have bachelor's degrees, the ease with which they lose and get new high-paying jobs, seemingly without their degrees even being taken into account, is a shocking vision from the past. Sure, some of this is just unrealistic Hollywood guff. But not all of it. They really would just hire you for the modern equivalent of $1500 a week back then, because you seemed cool and your friend called and said yeah, you totally are.

Computers were only starting to be a thing back then. No one could verify anything, no one kept records of anything, and every job a machine does now was something 4 people needed to do in 1985. What a time.

And these idiots STILL whine and moan and never appreciate it! While doing cheap and plentiful cocaine. Ah, the 80s!

...Also, Young Rob Lowe.

Jesus.

...Also, Jules's insane ugly pink neon gay-ass apartment. That I want to spend the rest of my life in.

I'm not just doing a slur. It being designed by her gay designer neighbor is plot-relevant a couple of times.

Also, this poster...

The bar they hang out at is called St. Elmo's Bar. The St. Elmo's Fire thing (the real phenomenon) is from one scene where a character uses it as a metaphor to make another character feel better about how screwed-up their lives are. Arguably he was inspired to do this because they go to that bar a lot, but the connection isn't firmer than that.

The bar is not called St. Elmo's Fire, is my point. So the heat this summer would be at St. Elmo's Bar, not St. Elmo's Fire. Which isn't a place.

This is a poster for the movie! Did they not watch it first? Yes it matters!

And here, finally, because I have to:

youtube

HA HA! I GOT YOU! THIS IS THE DAVID FOSTER LOVE THEME!

...Which is way more prominent in the movie, and is honestly way more its actual theme. You will note how it fits the movie tonally a lot better than that driving synth-rock song about a cool guy in a wheelchair.

#st elmo's fire #1985 #80s movies #movie review #joel schumacher #brat pack #Youtube

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destinyc1020 · 7 months

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Hi 👋🏽 lurker here. I love your page but honestly feel too grown to comment on tumblr most of the time 😂

just wanted to chime in to say the biracial/black women convo is important and I really appreciate your perspective. I’m around Zendaya’s age, (slightly) older and I’m also a (biracial) light skinned black woman. Same foundation shade as Zendaya actually 😂. I can tell you this discourse was not a thing growing up. We were black, considered black by society, etc. it wasn’t until the past 5 years that I’ve seen people feel the need to distinguish us as “biracials” and honestly it has been a little hurtful and neglects our experiences as biracial black people. Yes we have privilege, absolutely. Now that I live in a city, I feel that more readily. I was also raised around a lot of white people so I can adapt fluidly in white spaces, which has been immensely helpful in my career. But all grass isn’t always greener on the other side, if that makes sense.

For example, I grew up in a rural sundown town. Guess what? I was the only black person many of them had ever seen, and on top of that being biracial made me, and I quote, an “abomination”. Can’t tell you how many times I heard that growing up. And I imagine even in hollywood there are remnants of some of that (less harsh) sentiment there. Is Zendaya privileged and does she have access to more roles because she’s lighter? Yes. Is she still probably fighting off “stereotypical” castings, being met with executives who say “a black star won’t make us money in China/Korea/europe/whatever”, is she offered less than her white counterparts, probably also yes. I think it’s important that we can acknowledge that Zendaya (and light skinned black people) is more privileged but I get so salty when I see people try to strip her of her identity or overly criticize her because she’s “not black enough”. I feel like the discourse around biracial people in particular has been on fire in recent years. I can understand the frustration people feel with society around light skinned folks and I absolutely admit that some light skinned folks abuse their privilege or don’t give back, but the discourse is really stripping us of our identity as BLACK people. I’m a black woman, society sees me as such and I am PROUD to be a black woman. Having one white parent doesn’t erase that from my identity.

hopefully people don’t take this the wrong way, but thanks again for your take. Love your blog!

First off, thank you so much for your sweet and kind words about my blog Anon. 🥰 I appreciate it!

I also wanted to say thank you so much for providing your views and your input as a biracial black woman. As a monoracial black woman myself, I can't personally know first-hand how it feels or what biracial black women experience in this country. It's nice to hear the "other side of the coin" for a change.

You and I are probably around the same age, and you're right, growing up there wasn't such a huge demarcation line btwn who is "black" and who is "biracial". Back then, everyone was just considered "black" if you have "one drop" of black blood lol. 😂 But over the past few years or so, there's really been a strong desire for some to classify. I get it... I think biracial black women (especially) do get a bit more favorable treatment in society and people tend to treat them differently, and they're deemed more "beautiful", etc. Not always, but a lot of times the underlying current is there, and it can be frustrating for those of us who are monoracial black to constantly see society uplifting ONE type of beauty over the other. I can see why some want to "clarify" or put certain people in a box.

I think everyone's experiences might be unique just simply due to their skin tone, or even how someone looks, attractiveness levels, size, region of the country they're living in, etc. So, there are a LOT of factors, so I totally get it.

With that said, I totally agree that while it is definitely frustrating to see certain ones in the "Black Community" being given opportunities more than others, at the same time, we really don't know what some of these "lighter-skinned" actresses have had to endure, what they're being told, or how they can be made to feel like an "other" or a "token" for some of them. 🤷🏾‍♀️

My main gripe with Hollywood is that it seems as though monoracial YOUNG black women are constantly being ignored in the industry. 😔 Growing up, I used to at least be able to name some popular monoracial black women who were famous/popular. We at least had Keke, isn't Raven black? lol..... But now days?? It's very hard to even see monoracial black women (young) who are given lead roles in mainstream films.... We're RARELY playing the lead, or even the love interest. 🥴

A lot of roles meant for "black women" are going to biracials lol. Again, I'm not mad (I love to see a fellow woc getting some shine), but it would just be nice to see some black women onscreen who look more like ME, and who are around my age. Yea, it's nice seeing Lupita Nyong'o (for example), or Angela Bassett (who I LOVE!), Kiki Layne, Janelle Monet, etc.... but every now and then, it would just be nice to see some younger monoracial black women who look like myself on the major screen again. 😔 Anyway, let me stop rambling....

#sorry for the dissertation #good points!

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sweetbillwriting · 1 year

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This Is Bad, Billy - Prologue

Description: 1961. Joanie is a dreamer. She dreams of Hollywood, fashion and handsome men. Her favorite is the actor Billy Skarsgård. When she works as a volunteer at the hospital she meets him in an unexpected way and comes closer to him than she thought was possible.

Characters: AU Bill Skarsgård, here called Billy. He's inspired by real life Bill but also the character Clark Olofsson in the Netflix series Clark. The rest is my own characters.

Setting: This story is set in the 60s L.A and a smaller town close to L.A.

Warnings: 18+, historical preferences, mental health problems, mental illness, abuse, drugs. More warnings will come in later chapters.

Notes: New story! Thank you @b-afterhours my mentor and best supporter. If you like fics set in the past you should really read her stories.

Joanie is a candy striper, that is a hospital volunteer that had more simple tasks and it was often young women.

This story will be about mental illness and can be triggering. I don't want to step on anyone's toes and I have a mental Illness myself so really, don't want to hurt anyone. People with mental illness was treated really badly in the 60s and got treatments without scientific proof.

Thank you for reading 🩷

1961, May

"Joanie! Joanie!" My mother called for me even if I just sat a few steps from her.

"Yeah?" I said dreamily and looked up from the newspaper I was reading. It looked like I was educating myself but in reality I just read the gossip section. Gossip about beautiful singers and handsome actors. They looked at me with broad smiles and perfect hair and I loved them all.

My mother sighed deeply with a hand on her hip and wooden spoon in the other.

"Have you listened to anything I've said?" I furrowed my brows and looked around in our kitchen. Was she trying to set me up? Had she spoken? I didn't have a clue. I had just looked at Billy. Tall, handsome Billy in a tailored suit on the red carpet.

"Ehh…" I looked down at my voluminous skirt and tried to come up with a good answer but my head was blank.

My mother sighed again and turned her back at me. She was trying to teach me how to cook and wanted me to write notes and do tests she organized for me. It was silly, all of it, as if there was science to make dinner. I knew she was afraid I wouldn't get married because I was a bit unorganized and just as much of a dreamer as my father. Men being dreamers was endearing, women who were… Hopeless. That I had had a job as a candy striper, a hospital volunteer, made my mother proud, maybe there was hope for me. My father was proud too but he had higher hopes for me than becoming a good housewife. Why didn't I try to become a doctor, just like him? Between them it was I, who hadn't a clue what I wanted to do with my life other than kiss handsome men and wear pretty dresses. Like the one that was on display in Victoria's Wedding & Partywear. It was strapless and made of light pink satin with white lace. I wanted to wear that while fooling around with a man like Billy. Maybe I would even let him lift the skirt.

I had disappeared in my thoughts again and once again missed what my mother said.

"Hm?" I said and looked at her confused.

"When does your shift start?" She asked again and both of us looked towards the clock on the wall. In 30 minutes. I would be late again.

"Ehh in an hour, best to make myself ready," I lied while rushing out from the kitchen. My mother looked at me from behind and shook her head. She probably understood that I lied but didn't have energy to comment on it.

I changed into my white dress at home to save some time but saved the apron and hat to put on at the hospital. I always received too much attention with them on, both the attention you’d want and the kind you didn't want and my mother didn't like when the young men whistled at me on the street. I didn't really like it either because it made me feel so exposed but also because none of the men looked like Billy anyway. If there was a man that would whistle at me he would look like Billy.

I stressed toward the bus and tried to enjoy the little walk to the bus stop in the evening sun, soon I would be in the light corridors of the hospital and lose sense of day and night. I missed the bus by just a few minutes and was forced to wait alone while the sun slowly went down. A car honked at me and I got so scared I dropped my handbag. The boys in the car laughed when I was forced to run after my lipstick tube that rolled away on the street in front of me. This was not a good day and I worried I would miss Dr. Fredricks line-up. Every night shift the doctor in charge would place the nurses and candy stripers in a line to see if we looked respectable and say what our assignment was for the night. In the beginning he had a good eye for me because of my father and I would receive fun duties like visiting patients in the night to give medications or fixing them breakfast. With time though, he had given me worse and worse assignments because I was often late or seemed to think of more important things than doing a good job. This night would probably be another night of scrubbing toilets or taking care of the laundry, that would have all kinds of questionable stains on them. I sighed loudly when I sat down inside the bus and looked down on my loafer-style flats. They were new and expensive and some of the other girls had looked at them with envy when I, the doctor's daughter, strutted in too late to my shift. I knew they were spitful when they saw me rub a big brown red stain on a sheet.

By some sort of miracle I succeeded in almost coming on time to Dr. Fredericks line-up. Everyone looked at me with annoyance when I stood in the back trying to put on the hat with fumbling fingers.

"Joan Woods!" Called the doctor with a loud raspy voice and pretended that he didn't see me in the back, probably to make me even more ashamed.

"Yes sir," I said politely, putting my hand up. He gave me a look, a bit longer than the others got and smacked his lips.

"I have a special assignment for you today."

I furrowed my brows but didn't say anything. A good girl knew when to be quiet. I wonder if it was my dad who had fixed something up for me. Maybe he has heard about what awful assignments I got and called some hot shots. My dad was a heart specialist, much more important than Dr. Fredricks.

When everyone got their assignment and walked away quickly in their white low pumps I stood behind, confused but not nervous. I was a Woods’. Nothing would happen to me. Dr. Fredricks looked me up and down when he walked up to me, playing with the stethoscope around his neck.

"Late, again," he just said.

"I'm sorry sir, I missed the bus," I said with a curtsy and looked down at the floor.

"Mhm… Oh well, I have an assignment for you. Fitting to… A doctor's daughter," he said with a smirk. His teeth were stained with nicotine. My dad said nicotine was bad for you but Dr. Fredricks always smoked heavily, sometimes while he met patients.

"Yes, Dr. Fredricks," I nodded.

"The psychiatric ward needs some help tonight, just help with checking the patients and I think you're the right girl for that job. I think you will fit in," he said with a smirk and shook his head. I looked at him with big eyes but didn't dare say anything. Why would I be the right person for that job? I was nineteen and didn't even know what mental illness really was. It must have been a punishment. Maybe I would even get killed.

×××

The psychiatric ward was adjacent to the regular hospital but in its own building. While standing outside of the gray building in my uniform I thought about why it stood away like it was. Probably because there was a high risk the patients would kill people. Because they had such strange behaviors like throwing feces and licking the floors. I swallowed hard. I didn't want this, I just wanted to go home to my bed with the new rose sheets and my collection of porcelain dolls. My secret collection of cut outs from the newspaper of handsome celebrities and the latest vogue. I made a sound of irritation and panic before walking into the ward. I was met by the smell of disinfectant and plastic floors. When I came up to the little reception area a woman with a similar hat as mine sat bent down, reading a newspaper. It was shockingly silent, especially because I had thought I would meet screams and fights. I walked up to the little window and while she opened it she looked at me tiredly.

"I was sent here by Dr. Fredricks? My name is Joan Woods.” I said with a polite small nod. The woman was in her forties but looked older because of her ladylike manners. She snarled her mouth and looked me up and down.

"I thought he would send a nurse," she said, looking at my striped apron. I didn't say anything, just looked down and waited for an order.

"Oh well… I guess it will do, we just need help to check the patients so they are all in their beds. Most of them are locked in but they are creative…" she said with a bored expression as she stood up from her chair. "I will get Nurse Larsen, she will show you what to do," she said, walking away from the reception area on short legs. She had a similar dress as my own but I could see that it sat a bit too tight in the waist. Nurses didn't earn a good income and she probably couldn't afford to buy a new one.

I stood awkwardly and waited by the reception. There were just some green plastic chairs to sit on and I didn't dare to sit down on them, they looked dirty and I wondered who had been sitting on them before me. A tall slender nurse with pinned up brown hair walked up to me with a small smile.

"Woods. Rupert Woods' daughter?" She said and looked me up and down.

"Yes, Joan," I said with a small nod. She smiled a bit bigger.

"We will be kind to you, I promise. My name is Annike Larsen, I am the nurse in charge tonight. We have 16 patients for the moment with different diagnoses but you will not meet any of them directly," she said while she started to walk through the long corridor and I followed her. It felt calming she knew who my father was and that she was so kind. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard, especially if I wouldn't have any contact with the patients.

Annike gave me tasks such as fixing the flowers in the common room, filling their carriages with supplies and washing the dishes from earlier. They were easy tasks and I could dream about dresses and becoming a bleached blonde. I had seen in Vogue that the dresses were just becoming shorter and I giggled at the thought of having a tight dress that ended at my thighs.

I stood in the reception room wiping off the reception's windows and singing "Let's Twist Again" to myself when the entrance door opened. I had hoped that no one would hear me singing but I worked better if I could sing and dance to myself.

"Let's twist again like we did last year…!" Sang a man behind me and my cheeks became flushed like fire. But it wasn't just a man coming in through the doors, there were many feet and when I looked up I saw both cops and male caretakers around a tall man. The singing man. He was in handcuffs and they shoved him forward violently. He was almost a head taller than some of them and his brown hair was pushed back greasy and messy from his face which was bleeding from the brow and his lower lip.

"Yeah, yeah Billy. We hear you. Stop singing now so they don't gag you," joked a cop and shoved him so hard he was close to falling. The man looked up at me and smiled a handsome, broad smile even if his face was bloody it was him. It was Billy Skarsgård. The Swedish Hollywood actor. The tall, handsome man from the tabloids. My heart beated like a drum in my chest out of excitement even if I was meeting the man in the psychiatric ward in the middle of the night.

Billy laughed loudly but I didn't know at what and the cops laughed at him while pushing him hard. He answered by jumping at one of them even if he was in handcuffs and one of the cops hit him in the face harshly. Even more blood streamed from his face.

"Don't be cocky now! Mr. Hollywood! Mr. Cuckoo!" Another cop joked as they all laughed. Billy laughed too but with a deep sigh. I looked at him, so broken and abused. This wasn't at all the Billy I've seen in the movies. What had he done to be treated like that? I watched his back clad in a black leather jacket and wearing black pants. People had written that he was a bad boy but never really said more than that. Maybe this was the way Billy was bad, he was a loon.

#bill skarsgård #bill skarsgard #fan fiction #writing #story #bill skarsgård writing #bill skarsgård fanfiction #2023 #clark #clark olofsson #60s #1960

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kajaono · 1 year

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While talking about Ilsa in the newest MI movie I heard the argument multiple times: „authors are not obligated to write for their audience. Stop complaining.“ if you really think like that you have a really romanized view of Hollywood and being an author in general. Being an author is a job. Of course authors have creative freedom but they can also not do everything they want. Do you think RTD brought Rose Tyler back at the end of season 4 because he wanted to?! No because the studio told him to do it.

I guess what people actually want to say is: „a movie doesn’t have to please the audience.“ which is a HUGE difference compared with the statement above.

The point is: I do not expect a movie to please all my wishes. If it happens that is amazing but if it doesn’t happen, I am also cool with it. That’s the risk of being a fan.

BUT: an author still writes for his audience, in one way or another. Because every genre has a specific audience, and every establish franchise has a specific audience that an author has to please somehow. An author can not suddenly write a idk romantic comedy for his action audience.

Look at Loki. Marvel always wanted to get rid of him, again and again and again. They tried it one last time with Infinity War. But fans were so upset they had to bring him back once again and now he even has his own show

Or this tiny dog from Scooby doo. the audience hated him so much that the network had to get rid of him pretty quick.

The audience has a certain influence on what is presented on screen and imo that is good. If we wouldn’t Hollywood and storytelling would never change and evolve. If you publish a story you will always have audience feedback and if you are writing for a big studio you have really strict regulations. And the studios pay really close attention to Fan wishes, because that’s how they make money eventually

Does it feel like a cheat code? Definitely but sometimes you have to use companies greet to establish a certain influence.

But why is that relevant you might ask? First at all, I totally get that some people are totally okay with not having influence all, and that’s okay. But if we would never raise our voice gays would still be buried, women would still be replaceable sex object, people of color would be still villanized and men wouldn’t be allowed to show vulnerablity.

I like the certain influence we have and sometimes I have no problem to use it. Not to influence the course of a story but to spread awareness how we treat certain groups of society. If you like that or not is a completely different discussion imo.

So CMQ killing of Ilsa and insisting that she is dead for real is such a weird movie. Idk if it is was his choice or if the studio came up to him and asked him to write a new female character, that could eventually replace Ethan as the lead of MI. Whatever it was I think they underestimated the fan reactions when they decided to kill off Ilsa. Because when you look at the recent promotion for MI7 Ilsa is suddenly everywhere. I am going bold for a moment and would say they heard us. At least the marketing department.

And I am pleased. Write what you want CMQ but please free us if the boring trope of replaceable women in action movies. And I will keep on being loud about that. No matter what some people might say about that.

#Ilsa Faust #mission impossible #mi7 #mission impossible dead reckoning

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hrh-the-royals · 1 year

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Day 2; The Royal Ladies step out again for an evening out

Windenburg Times

Earlier in the day, Queen Julia, Queen Roa and Crown Princess Eleanor stepped out for a day-visit to a locally re-opened community garden. They made royal watchers and fans delighted and also showed off the full force of the leading royal ladies.

(Pictured above, from left to right; Duchess of Rocksavage, Crown Princess Colette, Duchess of Albany)

Tonight, we saw our other royal women stepping out to view a performance at The Royal Academy of Music. Crown Princess is said to be known as a lover of music and often attends festivals and performances held locally in San Sequoia. Duchess of Albany also shone tonight, some say due to the glow the Duchess has to her. Rarely, is she seen be dolled up and Hollywood's like, tonight, she dazzled.

“Miliana wanted to make sure she could match up to the star power of the other women. Normally, she’s a normal lady, as normal as one can be. As a second wife, she simply wants to put her best foot forward and supper not her only husband but Crown Princess Julia. That being said, tonight, she wanted to match up to the two and show her pride.” A friend close to the Duchess told us.

After a lovely round of performances, the trio made their way to to the reception area.

It seemed as if the three ladies got along well together. A source that attended a reception spoke to us. “Noelle, she knows how to work a room. It was easy to see that she was able to turn up the charm. She and Colette seemed to get along really well.”

“I thought it was amazing meeting Miliana, I think she really does have that royal air around her. She took time to speak with as many people as she could. Colette was lovely as well, she’s a very lively and charming woman. You can tell the those two ladies really are of a different set.”

After the trio talked to the crowed, they stayed to mingle, have dinner and enjoy drinks. The students of the Academy also performed more fun and up-beat songs as opposed to the performance.

After the performance, the ladies did a small walk-about for those that waited. “Their royal highness were a tad late. There was a small traffic incident that set them behind. They didn’t want to throw everything off schedule too much so they skipped the walk about. Before they left, Crown Princess Colette set up a small walk-about for those who were still behind, you could tell the crowd was excited.”

“I was about to leave when I saw a some reporters gathering. I asked and they confirmed the royals were about to come out, I’m so happy I stayed behind.”

“I think Noelle is really charming. I think that’s why she’s such a threat to them. It also seemed like Crown Princess Colette had taken a liken to her. She came over to us and even let us take a picture of her Noelle. Honestly, the way the media and the royals treat her, I feel like she doesn’t deserve it.”

After the walk-about ended, the ladies returned to the palace in blacked out cars. The outing as been considered a success, mainly due to the Duchess of Albany in some circles. “The Duchess really brought the regal flair that was needed to the event. Crown Princess as always been known as a fun and easy going woman. The Windenburg royals are more reserved, cool and soft spoken. Noelle seems to be still having a hard time separating Hollywood from Royals but Miliana was a perfect picture of grace.”

Comments

miliana really was dazzling

they should’ve just wrote that NOELLE ISN’T NASTY in bright red letters, it’s too obvious at this point

honestly, someone can’t being charismatic that being said, noelle should’ve offered to sit this one out.

i didn’t think there could be two types of commoners but there is, eleanor comes from a normal background but compared to noelle, she really is a windenburg rose

i think crown princess colette was the best dressed...she looked so cool

did anyone see how noelle was hanging onto colette? she uses people and throws them away, didn’t anyone see that article that was posted today....she cut off her friends...no family...

the royal family should speak out, the way noelle is talked about on tv is awful

it’s obvious that the media are pissed she hasn’t spoken to them privately or hosted a reception. and it’s obvious the family is on it, who gets upset someone having natural charisma?..[DELETED]

#hrh.wettin #hrh.sorensen #sims 4 royal #royal sims 4 #royal simblr

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moosecow · 2 years

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Yeah, apparently, no on agrees with me on this, but…I’m done. I can already see the trajectory that TLOU HBO is going.

First they straight up, NERF, Tess’s character. This was a woman that was so terrifying that she can get people to stand down just by walking up to them. This was a woman that held her cool, knew the terror of the world, and choose to go out GUNS BLAZING, in the game. This was the character that saved your ass in the early stages of the story. This was a battle hardened woman, one that Joel respected, even if he was too broken to admit that he had feelings for her.

And what did the HBO series do? Nothing. Tess does nothing. She doesn’t shoot a guy in the head, no mercy, because he stole their guns. In the tunnels, in HBO TLOU’s first episode, she acts as though she’s never seen an infected before. Doesn’t this woman repeatedly go outside to smuggle goods? When it’s her turn to die, she freezes. SHE’S LITERALLY SURROUNDED BY WEAPONS and instead of picking up some grenades, blasting, shooting, fighting back. She freezes.

This is the woman who, in the game, in her dying moments, told Joel that she will NOT ever turn into one of those things. She was afraid, but she went to death like the warrior she was.

In the HBO series? She just stands still. Are you kidding me? She bosses Joel around sure, but there aren’t any moments that show us how badass and straight up TERRIFYING she is. Sure Robert is afraid of her, but we never get to see why. We never get to see her shooting skills, her battle worn ruthlessness, her fighting back against the infected (except for that one scene where it quickly flashes back to Joel and Ellie).

And the GODDAMN DISRESPECT! That infected kiss, was absolutely unnecessary. That isn’t a PEACEFUL death. My ass. That’s a woman, absolutely terrified, getting assaulted right before she dies. That’s not Tess. Game Tess would never have put up with that shit. And it’s such sexist shit! It didn’t gross me out, it didn’t make the infected anymore terrifying then they already area. We already had enough examples of how horrible they were.

All that scene did was piss me off. I can understand shortening the story, I can understand nerfing Tess and not allowing her to shine because of time constraints. But that kiss scene, was nothing more then creepy male gaze further reducing Tess to no more then a one note sacrifice to further Joel’s development. If Tess were a male character, she would NOT have been treated that way. She would have been be ripped apart after making a grand last stand. I would have preferred if she were ripped apart. THAT would have been terrifying. To know that the infected would still violently maul someone, even if they’re calm, or already one of them.

This scene, basically tells me that TLOU HBO is getting the hollywood treatment. Where they DON’T know how to write women, or make compelling drama without relying on shock factor (which to me is a lazy way to get your audience to care).

I’m done. I already had nitpicks with the series, like the lack of spores, how some of the acting is not as good as in the game, Ellie and Marlene not being familiar with each other, but unnecessary, sexual assault of a woman on screen, for no more then the shock factor, is a deal breaker for me.

And yeah, I know Neil Druckman is one of the primary show runners of The Last of Us, HBO, but newsflash, every author has their bad creative decisions. If you enjoy this show. GREAT! I am sincerely happy for you. But I was under the impression that the Last of Us, treated its female characters with respect.

#the last of us hbo #the last of us #tlou tess

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adamwatchesmovies · 1 year

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Book Club: The Next Chapter (2023)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

I wish I liked these Book Club movies more. No, wait. Let me change that to “I wish these Book Club movies were better”. It’s a treat to see actresses who would normally get relegated to the role of “the protagonist’s grandma” in a main role. Nonetheless, I have the feeling most viewers will recognize Book Club: The Next Chapter as the kind we'd dismiss altogether if it featured performers in their 20s and 30s. Why should we make an exception because the cast are Hollywood veterans?

When Diane (Diane Keaton), Sharon (Candice Bergen) and Carol (Mary Steenburgen) learn that Arthur (Don Johnson) and Vivian (Jane Fonda) are finally get married, the girls decide to go on a bachelorette party tour of Venice.

Production snapshots during the end credits make two things pretty clear. 1) The cast and crew had a great time making this movie. 2) They had a particularly good time making it in Venice. The shots of Italy are not quite as egregious and commercial-y as you’ve seen in other films, but come on, we all know this was sort of a working vacation for everyone. The ladies get to wear some beautiful wedding-themed dresses even though there’s no reason for them to - except Vivian, of course. They tour museums, get wined and dined... all of which are realistic things for them to do on a vacation, but it's still a vacation.

All the ladies get their own little stories. They range from the semi-dramatic to the romantic and the goofy. The recently-retired Sharon catches the eye of Ousmane (Hugh Quarshie), who all but serenades her in a scene that’s fun until it ends with a lame recurring gag. It involves a police officer (Giancarlo Giannini) the women constantly bump into - even when they leave the city he’s patrolling and travel hours away. It’s not nearly as corny as Diane’s story, which involves her dead husband’s missing ashes.

I’m not sure which of the women gets the worst sub-plot. Vivian’s journey is the most realistic. She's firmly established who she is. Now, she’s having reservations about changing it all by tying the knot. There’s actuallly something there. Too bad it’s frequently buried beneath lame gags. In one scene the ladies’ car breaks down in the middle of the road and Vivian thinks the police officer who shows up to help is a stripper. Does she think her friends are putting her through The Game? As if anyone would purposely fake engine troubles in the middle of the countryside so this hunky guy could show up on-cue. It makes no sense.

Similarly, there’s a single gag involving Carol that completely ruins her story. She used to have the hots for this chef (her diary describes how much she wanted to put his meatballs into her mouth, which should give you an idea of what the writing is like). When they reconnect, they flirt. He shows her this old van in his garage. In the next shot, it’s rocking like there’s something naughty happening inside but then we see that they’re just vigorously kneading bread. Firstly, that's been done a thousand times. Secondly, she’s married. Was the idea of them getting it on spontaneously despite her being married supposed to be supposed? Was the intent to horrify the audience and they *psyche!*? I’m guessing the movie just didn’t think things through, that it never even ocurred to writer/director Bill Holderman (who co-writes with Erin Simms) that a rocking car gag was anything but mandatary.

While the actresses in Book Club: The Next Chapter raise the material, they can only do so much. Like its predecessor, this film is firmly aimed towards a specific audience of older viewers who want to see a comedy that's a little racy but not too racy. Even for them, this is a letdown. (Theatrical version on the big screen, May 12, 2023)

#Book Club: The Next Chapter #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Bill Holderman #Erin Simms #Diane Keaton #Jane Fonda #Candice Bergen #Mary Steenburgen #Giancarlo Giannini #Andy Garcia #Don Johnson #2023 movies #2023 films

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amtrak12 · 1 year

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Lucifer Rewatch Liveblog: 1.05

I took my dog for a walk AND I ran OUTSIDE (which is much harder than on a treadmill) so I’m super tired and don’t know how coherent I’ll be. But I need a hyperfixation fix so let’s liveblog S1 ep 5 of Lucifer!

I have no fucking idea what episode this will be. Not the one where Maze meets Trixie because I know which ep that is. But could it be the ep where Dan meets Maze? :O

Let’s find out.

Oh I missed my blorbos over the past week. And I have a five day weekend thanks to holiday (today) and vacation (Monday and Tuesday) so lots of time for full Lucifer eps!

>>> ... Okay I have a vague memory of a designer shoe episode.

>>> "No sharp objects until we find out why." -- ROTFL Maze going full parent bodyguard mode there :P

>>> Really it's so boring that "reflection of your desires" always means sex. And always Hollywood thin women sleeping/wanting to sleep with Lucifer. You are a show about the devil. BE GAYER! (And not just gayer sex. I mean gayer everything! Give me more diverse desires!!)

>>> *snort* Dan always knows Lucifer's around before Chloe does.

>>> Dan: You need to stop hanging out with Lucifer. Chloe: Already did. Dan: *points at Lucifer behind her* Nope.

>>> Makes me giggle everytime lol

>>> Still so foreign to me for them to have a lieutenant/boss. In later seasons, you'd think Chloe and Dan (and Ella) just ran the department by themselves

>>> "I'll never get elected without support from the minority communities." -- Fairly certain that's never been obstacle before in becoming chief of police but okay.

>>> "My job's gonna totally get me killed." -- No, siding with Lucifer during an angel war to be the next God will, though. Sorry.

>>> Okay but I do adore that Chloe does in fact always drive. For the rest of the series. You know who didn't do that? Warehouse 13. And SUSPICIOUSLY Myka stopped driving when the show went from canon to those OOC and terrible videos written by fan wannabes. (And yes, I’m including S4 in there.)

>>> LMFAO!!! THAT'S WHY SHE SLAPPED HIM??? I've seen it in fanvids and had no memory of its canon occurrence.

>>> "So you want to feel new things?" *slap* - fucking hilarious. I'm dying.

>>> Okay I'm pretty sure the pig dies. :( RIP Pig Diddy.

>>> The only memory I have of a cop bar isin fanfic. But it was S1/early S2 era fanfic, so this is probably where the author pulled that from.

>>> Anthony Paolucci? No, no, no. That's Jack from Prue's old auction firm. #Charmed

>>> Is this the first time they said Malcolm Graham's name in the show? Does this mean we’re out of the character introduction stage and into the season plot stage? Always a good transition for a show.

>>> (Like both stages are super important. I’m not knocking the character introductions. It’s also just really fun to watch the show leave the intros and start walking on its own two feet.)

>>> "On behalf of myself and only myself, I think you're a sack of ass." *punch* -- He’s actually speaking for me too here. *shouts* Punch him harder, Lucifer!

>>> Oh Maze sends Amenadiel over to Linda? Well, then she really only has herself to blame for them sleeping together in S3, doesn't she? lol :P

>>> "I know Krav Maga!" -- LOL Okay Linda. I'm sure a bad guy would be real scared by you shouting that.

>>> "I have a key." ... "Yeah, let me start over." -- Yeah maybe you should there, Amenadiel LOL God I love his early days of pretending to be human. He's so bad at it!

>>> “Jealous of a mortal woman?" -- Maze, honey, you're jealous of a lot of people, so yeah probably.

>>> Ugh, I was so close about this being the episode where Dan meets Maze. They bumped shoulders but alas, no more.

>>> "Chloe is the mother of my child" -- I mean, she's also just Chloe who deserves not to get hurt/killed on her own merit but whatever. I'll blame the writers for that one.

>>> "Quite condescending if you ask me." -- Yeah, me too, Lucifer.

>>> "Act like a child, get treated like a child." / "Isn't it illegal to leave your child locked in a car?" -- ROTFL that was fantastic, both Chloe locking him in the car and Lucifer’s immediate follow up retort. Absolutely no hesitation from him. Love it.

>>> Is that a granny square door curtain? What weight yarn did they use? Surely it had to be weight 3 or lighter, right? Weight 4 would be too heavy to hang in a doorway. It would stretch too much.

>>> Yellow Viper -- Hold on the ending of this episode is coming back to me now. Isn't he helping kids get out of the gang now? Or was there a double twist with him? It was something like that.

>>> Yep. RIP Pig Diddy. :/

>>> "They really don't make bad guys like they used to." -- He means that literally, Chloe. He’s had every bad guy (and every person who simply felt guilty for something) in Hell with him since the beginning of time.

>>> "A fluid exchange." -- LMFAO Amenadiel, you really have no idea what words are coming out of your mouth, do you? ROTFL

>>> "If there's one thing the Devil knows it's that people need to take responsibility for their own bad behavior." -- Yet another blatant statement of what the end game is.

>>> "Yes, people do need to take responsibility for their own bad behavior." -- And that's the journey we take to get to the end game, and Lucifer not grasping Chloe’s implications there is why that’s the series journey.

>>> OMG there was a parallel 'Chloe shoves Lucifer down and lies on top of him' scene to the S1 finale’s 'Chloe shoves Maze down and lies on top of her' scene?? I had no memory of that, but of course that was a parallel. Everything in this show is a parallel.

>>> "Your bartender's a ninja? Of course, she is." / "Yeah." (casual and smiling)

>>> "Ass saved. You're welcome -- his ass. Not yours." -- Just give it a few more months to a year, Maze. You'll be blowing up cars on Chloe's behalf.

>>> GOD, they really do have some juicy Chloe/Lucifer conversations in S1, don't they? 'Addicted to creating chaos and seeing where the chips lay' -- which Lucifer obviously didn't like but he could laugh it off and then Chloe came for the jugular: "It's like you have a god complex." OOPH! That one hit Lucifer hard. That was both meaty and juicy. Delicious.

>>> "I saw your Marine tattoo." and thus knew exactly what it meant. AND YET, neither you nor Lucifer noticed the scar being badly hidden by Pierce's Marine tattoo and so didn’t realize he was CAIN????

>>> (admittedly, Chloe had no possible way of knowing that in S3, but I'm still blaming her and everyone else for Cain.)

>>> I abhor Cain

>>> THREE! Chloe has played Lucifer THREE separate times now and he still hasn't learned ROTFL. Like ‘oh yeah, I’m totally interested in having sex with you -- SIKE! and it gets him everytime!!! #dumdum

>>> Also, good for her for leaving him there! lol

>>> Maze is now stalking Chloe. Debates killing her. Imagines about 13 different ways she could do it without making a sound (and another dozen that are messier and rougher that would let Maze vent some of her anger) -- and then leaves without harming a hair on Chloe's head. God, I love Maze.

>>> Also cool that that's the first time we get to see her demon face. I like her demon face a lot.

Good shit! Good shit! Good shit! S1 is way better than my first impression of it was. Like, it's still ranked fifth when ordering the six seasons by favorite. But it's fifth favorite now instead of second least liked!

Be prepared for more liveblogs over the next few days since I'm on a long weekend! Catch you next time!

#I also need a break from Dreamlight Valley because I burned through the star path and the Easter event doesn't start until tomorrow #and I'm not touching Nala's next quest until I have confirmation that the bug is fixed #because I am not getting a mustache stuck on my character's face. I will lose my mind (negative)#Amber watches Lucifer #OMFG I"M SO ANNOYED AT TUMBLR!!!!#I can't figure out how to make line breaks in a bullet list stick so I'm crafting my own version of bullet points with >>>#and the quote block to try and make this list of thoughts more readable #it turned out ugly as fuck!#but it is more readable with the line breaks #ugh

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blackgirlsuperherorants · 3 years

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Stuckys, we need to talk. Like, seriously.

I understand you're upset that Stucky is not canon in the MCU, but you have got to stop yourselves from using that fact to shit all over Black characters just because of their newfound proximity to Bucky Barnes. Seriously. No, seriously. I'm going to call a bunch of you out, now, but I hope you listen and take heed.

1) This isn't about queer representation for you. It's about Chris and Sebastian being hot white men and you wanting to see them make out on screen. And that's literally fine, who doesn't want to see that? But you need to start admitting that's what it is. Because if it wasn't about that, and it was really about queer representation, so many of you wouldn't be calling Sam Wilson "sloppy seconds", and y'all wouldn't treat both Sam and Anthony like an afterthought. Even with a lot of y'all becoming Sambucky shippers, you're doing it under the guise of Sam being some sort of consolation prize because Bucky can't have Steve. Sam has no agency, and also is treated like he isn't as good. Literally, I saw a TikTok with some girl pretending to be Bucky and Sam, and having Bucky literally tell Sam he's sloppy seconds because he can't have Steve. Literally yikes, guys.

Also, it's always girl fans who do this. I'm not saying there aren't any, but I never see gay men who are MCU fans shipping in this toxic way. And I definitely have seen gay men ship Stucky, but I swear to God there seems to be a clear difference in the way they ship vs the white girls who clearly just want to watch Chris and Sebastian make out. Literally every toxic Stucky I've ever seen who does stuff like this is a white girl. I'm not going to say no gay men are toxic fans, because there probably are some, but the amount of fans I see shitting on Sam who are white girls far outweighs any toxic Stucky gay man. Like I always say on here, Stucky is an obvious ship and I understand why people ship it, but it never had to be canon and treating it like it's the end all be all, and especially shitting on other ships like Sambucky, is really weird and, again, makes it obvious that it's not really about queer representation for you.

2) Bucky is allowed to flirt with Sarah Wilson. The same girl I saw saying Sam was "sloppy seconds" also said Bucky was only flirting with Sarah because she's an "extension of Sam", and because Kevin Feige won't let Sambucky happen so Sarah is the stand in. How insulting and sexist to insinuate that a woman is simply an extension of her male family member. No matter how you meant it, that's a really sexist notion. I've seen people make funnier jokes, like Bucky can't decide which Wilson sibling he likes, or he's going to become a Wilson one way or another. Neither of those jokes takes autonomy and humanity away from Sarah. ALSO, Sarah is a dark skinned Black woman being portrayed as desirable to the white boy fave on a major TV show that is part of the biggest film franchise in the world. I'm not sure if y'all know how much colorism effects Black women, especially dark skinned Black women. Hollywood almost never casts dark skinned Black women as desirable love interests. Especially one that isn't super modelesque with basically European features and bone straight hair. This is a positive thing for representation of dark skinned Black women, and I KNOW you've seen how happy Black girls were just seeing that 2 second interaction. How dare you reduce it to being there because Marvel stole your Stucky, and especially not because she's simply "an extension of Sam." At this point, there's no clear indication that Sarah and Bucky will literally happen, but goddamn, you can't let Black girls be a love interest for just one second? Even if you like "queer Bucky", bisexual men exist, damn. Sticking Bucky with Sharon for no reason, like they did with Steve, would have been weird and bad and you would have been more valid for questioning Marvel's motives for doing it, but letting Bucky be himself and flirt with a cute girl on a boat for 2 seconds isn't a bad thing. And if Sarah does actually become his girlfriend, it's an absolute win, and you need to let Black girls have this.

Like, I get Stucky, and I also understand wishing Marvel would just finally let any main character be actually queer. I seriously understand. But can you complain about that without shitting on the Black characters and the fans who are happy about them, right now?

I never was a fan of Stucky, because I don't think you have to have romantic feelings for someone to care about them that deeply, so I don't understand the Stucky shipper assertion that Marvel somehow stole something owed to them... but I also do understand why you ship it, and it's honestly not a bad ship. You guys just take it too far and make things uncomfortable for everyone else. And, as I've been saying for years, sometimes you make it lowkey racist. People have been shipping Stevesam since CA:TWS and you guys have downplayed it the entire time, and even used Sam as Steve's stand-in for Bucky in your fics and all of that. I remember reading fics tagged Stevesam where Steve would be having sex with Sam and then reminiscing about how it was with Bucky and wishing he were still with him, and y'all literally never saw how gross that was. Using Sam like a consolation prize. Now Steve is gone and you're still treating him like that.

And Sam and Bucky have never once treated each other like a stand-in for Steve. They treat each other like individuals with autonomy, and they even care for each other on the level that the other person needs it. It's actually really fucking good, the canon version of their relationship that's unfolded with the show. If y'all could let go of Steve for a second, literally, you would see how great Sambucky's dynamic is and that neither of them would ever see the other as "sloppy seconds" or some kind of consolation prize. It's gross.

Also, I hope Sarah gets that super soldier dick just to piss y'all off.

I'm done.

#TFATWS #Sam Wilson #Bucky Barnes #Sarah Wilson #stucky #sambucky #shipping #mcu #marvel #stevesam #also if bucky was in wakanda for two years #you know he was gettin that wakandan goodgood #whether it was men women or enbies #he was enjoying some beautiful wakandan people #so you best believe he's definitely attracted to gorgeous ass sarah wilson #not because she's an extension of sam either #he can't decide which wilson sibling he likes #because he's a bi disaster #thank you for coming to my ted talk

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writer-monster · 3 years

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11 reasons why cap 4 should reintroduce Bucky Barnes as the love interest, an essay

to start this off, i am not writing this essay from a shipping place nor do i believe that this would have any influence at all over the upcoming movie. i expect nothing. this is simply something that i would personally like to see. (of course no hate to anybody who thinks differently)

here are 11 reasons why i think making Bucky into Sam Wilson's love interest in Cap 4 would be a good move for Disney.

1. on the Chinese film market - and why it's an irrelevant argument against the inclusion of homosexual themes in Cap 4

the Chinese film market is something that has been blamed for a lack of diversity in Hollywood films a lot lately. many people claim that this market with a lot of buying power has been responsible for the lack of gay and black representation in particular within Hollywood films.

and we have certainly seen Hollywood treating it as such, going so far as to cut gay scenes from movies for their Chinese releases, and vastly minimising John Boyega's (a black actor's) presence in the Chinese poster of Star Wars The Force Awakens.

[image ID: on the left is an image of the American poster for Star Wars The Force Awakens, featuring John Boyega prominently on the right-hand side. And on the right is the Chinese poster for the same movie, in which John Boyega is barely visible.]

so we know at the very least that Disney believes this through their own actions and efforts to self-censor for the different markets.

but Captain America 4 is a black-led movie, don't you forget. and Disney can't minimise Sam Wilson/Anthony Mackie in the movie or the poster because it's his movie and his poster. and no amount of creativity in the editing room can change that (thank God!).

so if by their own argument the film is already going to be either banned, panned or slammed in China... then what do they have to fear from making it a gay movie too?

2. oh, the queerbaiting

queerbaiting is an unusual cultural idea. and sometimes i find myself thinking that the term is far too easily used, but then all of a sudden i will stumble upon a movie or show that is so quintessentially cruel and overt in it's... well... queerbaiting that i will start to wonder what the hell kind of a bizarre relationship all these straight people seem to have with their friends. take Troy and Abed from Community or John and Sherlock from Sherlock as the perfect examples of this. (in which my reaction to the show's creators saying the show wasn't gay was to ask so then why did you make it so gay?!)

i felt that Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in tfatws were getting quite close to this level of queerbaiting.

there was the field scene, the couple's counselling scene, the boat scene, the couple's counselling scene, Bucky going with Sam to face Karli when she told Sam to come alone, the couple's counselling scene, ALL the staring scenes, Sam checking out Bucky's ass here as they said goodbye, the "i would move in with him but" hidden scene, "Uncle Bucky" showing up at the cookout scene, the romantic walking off together into the sunset together ending scene, and the couple's counselling scene. did i forget anything? but i mean seriously, the couple's counselling scene!!! that thing they did with their legs and their crotches while staring deep into each other's eyes, would any straight guy willingly do that? do straight guys crotch-snuggle now?

[image ID: an image of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes during the therapy scene with the quote, "Isn't anybody going to drag me into impromptu couple's therapy and slot my legs firmly between theirs before staring deeply into my eyes?"]

(yeah i stole this image from a buzzfeed article on the fan reactions to the couple's therapy scene. but given that they stole 80% of the content of that article from fandom tumblr, i think it's pretty even-steven.)

there's also the fact that people started talking about bisexual Bucky Barnes a lot after the tiger pictures line, and the lead writer Malcom Spellman responded to the talk of Bucky's bisexuality with "just keep watching". well we watched, Malcolm. but it's beginning to feel like you were just jerking us around.

3. the writing

seriously though, what else is Bucky Barnes doing right now in the MCU? his only remaining connection to anything going on right now is through Sam. there is literally nothing else established that's left for him to do that doesn't involve Sam. he moved to Louisiana to be closer to Sam (canonically), he hangs out with Sam's family (canonically), and Steve is presumably gone and is definitely not coming back for more adventures.

he has no villains or loose ends left. he has no other superheroes that he appears to be in contact with. he has no girlfriend or potential love interest, or even other friends or family. he is living in a tent that he has secretly set up in Sam's backyard and is mysteriously appearing from the bushes when it's time for dinner like a stray cat.

in my opinion there is no other meaningful and pre-established progression for Bucky's character that wouldn't just feel cheap.

plus, i don't think the general audience would be all that surprised if they kissed. i think a LOT of people picked up on all that tension. i think a lot of straight people picked up on all that tension too.

4. the chemistry between the actors & the chemistry between the characters

the original pitch for tfatws was essentially just this, it was the chemistry between Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie and their respective MCU characters of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson.

now obviously Anthony and Sebastian are simply friends, and i wouldn't mean to imply anything more. but they are also not their characters.

Sam and Bucky's scenes together before tfatws were both limited and short, and yet audiences still fell in love with the dynamic between the two characters.

in interviews, these two actors are constantly slipping into character and flirting with each other and frankly it's adorable. plus it's really entertaining. i'd love to see that dynamic, unfiltered, in a movie.

because believe it or not the flirting is actually even more open in their interviews than it was in tfatws. and i'm leaving some links as proof.

this here is known as the "married" compilation

and here's a "lucky dip" selection of interviews - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

and here's Anthony trying to get Seb to take his jacket off.

i'm just saying, why not let their chemistry shine? these two are so talented and so entertaining, especially when you put them in a room together. and can you imagine how absolutely hilarious and brilliant it would be to watch them navigate being a couple?

(and for those who bring up the "friends would be uncomfortable pretending to be dating" argument, i'm not here asking for a sex scene or anything. i don't think anyone would expect them to show any more intimacy (physical or emotional) while playing a couple than what they've already shown together in say... tfatws or in their own interviews. not that i actually expect anything regardless.)

5. if they were a man and a woman they would've gotten together in tfatws

i have no more to add here. just that... yeah, they would've.

6. and i'm not talking about the comics here, i'm talking about the MCU.

i understand fully that none of what i'm saying here falls in line with these characters from the comics. but the mcu itself doesn't fall much in line with the comics either, and these two characters especially are very different from their comics counterparts.

i'm not asking for these two to get together in the comics. tbh i don't think that it would work.

but the mcu Sam and Bucky are different and closer than their comics counterparts. they've got different histories, different backstories, and a very different dynamic. please rest assured that i am only talking about them in the mcu.

7. Bucky Barnes is believably bisexual. and Sam Wilson has never been proven to be straight in the mcu, nor has he had a love interest.

(now please continue to keep in mind that these points only stand for the mcu versions of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, and not at all for their comics counterparts.)

Sam Wilson has never had a love interest, which is crazy because have you seen that man! he has had two blink and you'll miss it moments of verbal expression of attraction to women, both in TWS. and that's the extent of it, through his entire history in the mcu.

Bucky Barnes has had a number of surface-level female love interests, but none of them even came close to the level of connection and chemistry that Bucky shares with Sam.

and i'm sorry SarahBucky fans, but i just don't think there's very much to their relationship either. i love Sarah, i really do. but it's Sam who shares all the meaningful moments and history and chemistry with Bucky. and i don't see what making her into a love interest would do for Sarah's character either, what would that add to her story?

[Picture ID: Bucky at the cookout with Sam, Sarah, Cass and AJ. Bucky and Sam are looking at each other and smiling.]

and also there is the whole tiger pictures thing... again. which does strongly suggest that Bucky is bisexual whether this was intentional on behalf of the writers or not.

8. it's representation... AND it feels natural

marvel hasn't had a lot of queer representation that's been noticeably present in the MCU at the time of writing this.

there have been a lot of failures so far, from the bisexual erasure of Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok to the wlw erasure in Black Panther.

there was queerbaiting almost identical to the bisexual Bucky baiting for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. when asked if he had considered featuring a gay hero in gotg2, director James Gunn stated that "We might have already done that. I say, watch the movie." after the movie's release audiences were understandably confused about the lack of queer representation. To which the director followed up his comments with, "But we don't really know who's gay and who's not. It could be any of them."

there is also Loki, considered by most fans after the airing of his six episode series on Disney+ to be both a poor attempt at both genderfluid representation and bisexual representation. with both attempts being summed up fairly well by the term "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". (also it's just terribly written and Loki doesn't wear any interesting clothes! fanficcers are a Goddamn blessing in this hard time!)

and let us not forget that Andrew Garfield was apparently FIRED for pushing for a bisexual spiderman. a bisexual spiderman within an interracial mlm relationship no less.

so for all these failures, marvel, why not allow us queer fans this? two brilliant and heroic men in a loving interracial relationship. two heroes that we can look up to.

now, one of the biggest detractions from the argument for representation is the idea of "forced diversity". and some poorly written characters certainly do end up feeling forced into the narrative. take Iceman in the comics for example, with Jean Grey just straight up suddenly telling him he's gay. like, marvel, sweetie, that's not how this works! and i don't know a lot of queer people who thought much of that "representation".

but the crux of the "forced diversity" argument is almost always that it feels unnatural within the story, right? and i don't think that anyone could say that about MCU Sam and Bucky ending up together, given these characters' existing chemistry and their history. they've both played characters in gay relationships before so we know that it's not outside of either actor's wheelhouse. and y'all know that Anthony and Seb can act, people. if it's in the script i believe that they'll make it seem like the most natural thing on earth.

9. it'd be a nice change

there's been an ongoing meme lately about "Disney's first gay character", the joke being that they continually announce gay characters without really ever including gay characters in their films.

this is to the point where Disney has formed a reputation amongst queer audiences of being homophobic.

if Sam and Bucky were to become a couple, then Disney could have its first actual gay character within a gay relationship. AND have him be in the lead of his own movie, no less.

it's also worth keeping in mind that there's likely an overlap between the people who were outraged by a Sam Wilson Captain America, and the people who'd be outraged by a gay Captain America. and if they were already not seeing the film, then i don't think much is gonna change that.

queer audiences would definitely love it, and the media attention would be guaranteed to be huge. i mean, simply look at the amount of media attention mere rumours of a character's queerness gets you and multiply that by a canon confirmation of said rumours.

but i'm pretty sure that Disney already knows this.

10. and yet, in truth, it's not about the representation

in truth i've never felt that i had any trouble relating to characters of any sexual orientation, race, gender, sex, body type, etc. (although that is not to throw any shade at all on people who do wish to see themselves represented) but for me, i think it's more about the story than the packaging.

and yet, a love story is still just a story. straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial. when two characters have chemistry and history and have sacrificed for each other time and time again, and they also can't keep their hands or their eyes off each other, then i'm pretty sure that that's a love story.

straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial, it shouldn't be about these simple labels. it should be about how well written the relationship is. it should be about chemistry, and history, and sacrifice.

because i'm fucking sick of all the hollow, forced romances in media no matter the genders of the participants. i'm sick of lazily written, shallow relationships where any two people sharing the same space for any extended period of time will simply fall in love. it's boring, it's repetitive, and as a writer myself it drives me up the wall!

romance stories suck! and everyone knows that romance stories suck. between twilight, and most of the entire YA genre, and love triangles (so boring), and romance used as poorly-written throwaway subplots in Hollywood movies, the world is in agreement that the romance in western media is simply dreadful. and yet we still want love stories. it's an entire genre that sits at the heart of the human experience (<3), and yet one which so few of today's best known writers seem truly able to capture.

i don't think that i'm the only one who feels this way, either. i suspect it's actually a large part of why fandom is so romance-centred in the first place, that we're all just starving for a good love story.

(btw i think fandom has a reputation for being something that as a whole that it is not. it has this reputation for straight up demanding things and harassing people until they get their way. while unfortunately there are a few people who do this, they're fucking annoying and i swear that they're far from the majority.

in my experience fandom is mostly about writing a five thousand word story at three am while drunk off your ass because it might make someone whom you've never met smile, editing it in the cold light of day, and then posting it. expecting nothing. sometimes getting nothing. and sometimes getting someone send you kudos or a comment so heartbreakingly wonderful that it makes you smile in return.)

11. so once again, it is all about the writing.

i want to see Sam and Bucky get together in the mcu, not because they would be a gay couple but because i genuinely believe that their story has potential to be an amazing love story.

and i know the mcu isn't about the romance. it's why in my personal opinion we haven't gotten a lot of good canon romances besides Peter Quill and Gamora. and i don't think that the mcu should be all about the romance either. i fucking love the action and the fighting scenes. i love the comedy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier had no romance and it was a fucking treasure, it was an amazing spy-action-thriller and it made my little gay heart dance. Thor Ragnarok had no romance, and it was an utterly brilliant comedic spectacle action film. not every movie needs romance.

but mcu Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were doing couple's therapy and fixing a boat and walking off into the sunset together in tfatws. they were inseparable on the battlefield. they've got a dynamic. it's beautiful, it's romantic, and it's gold.

a budding relationship between them in the next movie would be a good way to explore both characters more without the narrative feeling too stilted and separate. at the end of tfatws, both Sam and Bucky fans found that their respective fave felt somewhat underutilised and that their characters were underexplored.

now, that problem would be even more difficult to remedy in a movie, because the plotline of a movie needs to be really tight to work (giggity). and we know that the central conflict of the movie is gonna be action-based (which is good), but we still need each character's personal journey and growth to tie into the main conflict. (which is another issue that some fans found with tfatws, that these characters didn't really feel connected to the action-based plot on a more personal level.)

if Sam and Bucky are already in a relationship, however, this whole dynamic changes. first, their relationship has already been set up for nicely since TWS and through tfatws and they would officially be the best-fleshed-out couple in the mcu. but most importantly, a relationship gives them a perfect vehicle to explore both of their pasts comparatively and connect them personally to the action-based plot.

do you want to establish that Sam is a little too trusting and naïve? then establish this through his relationship with Bucky, and through showing his placing his trust in Bucky. (rather than through having him sympathise with a villain who threatened to murder his sister and his nephews).

perhaps you want to show Bucky recovering from his trauma? show us how comfortable he is with Sam. they get along, they're enjoying each other's presence, we see more of Sam's life and of his family, and then let Bucky tell Sam something that's raw and dark and honest about his life as The Winter Soldier. something about a memory, one that he only just recalled. he's opening up. and maybe what he tells Sam is even something that sets up the future action-based conflict, to ground that in something real.

you want to explore that Sam has trauma too? do this through Bucky. he tells Bucky a story about his time in the military. in the form of a flashback, he shares his own story of loss to evoke before the audience the shared theme of feeling at fault even when you're simply a helpless bystander to an act of pure destruction.

then, action sequence! and it's directly connected to Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier. explore the grief of someone whose life the Winter Soldier tore apart manifesting into a villain perpetuating the cycle of pain. establish your villain.

Later, Sam is dragged into battle against this villain for protecting Bucky. But Bucky doesn't want Sam to protect him. He feels guilt for what he can't control and he doesn't want Sam getting hurt because of him. Bucky reminds Sam that he has a family, one who needs him and who loves him. He tells him to go home.

Sam reminds Bucky that he's a part of that family. And that sure Sam's a hero and his job is to protect anyone and everyone, but that he's doing it because he wants to. It's not simply to prove that he can, or to prove that he's not a bystander (this connects to Sam's trauma here), but that he's doing it to help people.

and this gets Bucky thinking about who he is and what he's doing here. is he a hero who stands by Sam's side? or is he an ordinary man who stands aside? or perhaps, does he stand alone? what does he stand for? Maybe Sam knows. But does Bucky?

Sam and Bucky fight off the villain again, and for the first time Bucky meets this adversary face to face. And Bucky recognises this villain, and has a flashback to the genuine pain that he inflicted upon them in the form of the Winter Soldier. Bucky freezes mid-fight, he almost dies, and Sam has to save him.

Sam chews Bucky out for almost getting killed because he was afraid for him. but Bucky takes this the wrong way and goes off to fight the villain alone, or perhaps to die alone, he's not quite sure.

He puts up a half-hearted fight. He apologises for what the Winter Soldier has done, and he waits for the killing blow, when Sam swoops down and he saves him. He asks Sam why he saved him and Sam calls him a moron. And then, Sam asks him what sacrificing himself would solve. He tells him that you can't choose your past but you can choose your future (connecting to his own experience of loss and guilt and grief). And that no matter what Bucky Barnes still has a future, whether that's as the Winter Soldier or the White Wolf or just some dork with a day job. And that he has a future as a part of Sam's family too.

Sam fights the villain, and it's toe to toe. He delivers a few good blows, but receives a fair few himself. And then the villain tears off his wings, first one and then the other, in a manner reminiscent of what the Winter Soldier did to him in TWS. Through Bucky's eyes there's a flashback to highlight the parallels. Sam gets back on his feet and he fights his best fight, but is now losing.

And then the heavily injured Bucky steps up and fights by Sam's side, and only together do they take down the villain.

"So... I inspired you, huh?" Sam teases with a smile, utterly exhausted. "With my heroism and-"

"You inspired me." Bucky said, equally exhausted. "Let's leave it at that."

Together, Sam and Bucky go back to the safety and warmth of their family. Sam fixes his wings. Sam goes back to being Captain America. And Bucky... he's around, but it's unclear what he's doing.

That is, until the very end. When Sam is in a fight, and suddenly Bucky shows up and helps him out.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.

"I've made up my mind." Bucky says. "I'm the Winter Soldier. But now I'll save lives, Sam. Now, like you, I'll be a hero."

Sam smirks. "So does this make you my sidekick, then?"

Bucky smiles. "C'mon, at least make me a partner." He says.

"How about co-workers." Sam says (in flashback, he remembers back to the death of his last on-the-job partner).

"How about friends." Bucky says, with a wry look.

"Bucky... I don't want to see you put your dumbass self in danger." Sam says.

"Oh, and it's ok for you to go running off into danger on your own all the time?" Bucky asks.

"Yes." Sam says stubbornly. "Absolutely it is."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a dumbass?!"

"Sam, if you think I'm not gonna be watching your back for the rest of time... then you're the biggest dumbass I know. And I don't care if you need me or not, I will be there for you."

"Because Sam, you're more than Captain America. You're more than a good soldier. You're a good man. And I think sometimes, the world forgets what the difference is."

...or something like that.

(i only spent like 15 minutes on that. you know if i were actually writing this movie i would come up with something much better. and if anyone from marvel is seeing this, yes i can come work for you. i will make the time, let's do this thing right!)

finale

at the end of the day, whether or not the mcu chooses to make Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes a couple, it's their decision. and they don't owe me anything.

i'm just some random person on the internet. who thinks that Captain America 4 should #givecaptainamericaaboyfriend

#givecaptainamericaaboyfriend #meta #analysis #captain america 4 #caatws #fatws #tfatws #captain america #cap 4 #sam wilson #bucky barnes #sambucky #marvel #mcu #mcu phase 4

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destinyc1020 · 1 year

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Destiny as a fellow woc I noticed a peculiar theme when it comes to Z discourse on Twitter. Sorry in advance if I ever overstep as I'm not black but it seems like being biracial puts you on a uncomfortable position (or maybe it's just Twitter spaces I don't know lol) I've read people complaining that Z should never be refered as black cause she has a white mom or that the only reason why she's accepted in wider spaces is because she's light skin (I agree with discussions about colorism cause in my own community we struggle with views on light/darker skin complexions) but I also noticed how they also criticize Z's decision to go for white women roles saying she's only pandering to garn "simpathy" from the black community because to them she feels "more comfortable" with her white side only cause she's dating Tom taking aside how her closest friends and team are all black and how openly she's talked about growing up in Oakland and being problack. Sometimes I feel they are overly judgmental towards Z like damn if she does or damn if she doesn't. But I don't think I have any moral authority to call anyone out for that as I'm not part of the community. Have seen the discourse? What fo you think of it? Sorry for the long text tho 😔

Thanks for your ask Anon, and no worries about the length. Who am I to talk lol? 😅

Anyway.... To avoid going into some back and forth debate about this topic again on my blog (I've already discussed this a few times before), I'll just say this:

Twitter is unfortunately Twitter 😒🙄

The topics of being "black", colorism, and all of the implications in btwn all of these things regarding skin tone, historical treatment, etc. tend to be a very (how shall I say) complicated topic in African American culture 😬👀

I can't argue with what someone identifies themselves as. If Zendaya says she's "black", then she's "black" 🤷🏾‍♀️ Maybe she just feels more welcomed and embraced by those people on her "black" side?? Who knows?

With that said, I don't think we can just fully brush under the rug the difference in how some women who have two black parents, and perhaps darker skin are treated in society, vs their lighter-skinned/biracial (those with parents from two different racial groups) sisters. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Those are my views in a nutshell.

I don't wish to go into all of this again, cuz I know delving TOO deep into this topic will just cause a lot of arguments and drama in my inbox, and I'm really not up for that today....or ANY day really. 😩

All I'll say is that it's COMPLICATED. And Twitter is dumb. Also, Idk what on earth her dating Tom has anything to do with anything.... 😒🙄

If Z prefers white women roles, then let her have white women roles lol. I'm pretty sure Marie is written as "black" in the script since it was basically written for her lol. So, she doesn't just do "white women roles". Some are mad because Tashi is written as a "black woman", and some feel that Z took the place of a "real black woman" in the role of "Challengers". 🙄

Again...people are gonna complain about ANYTHING these days.

I honestly don't care. I'm happy for ANY woc who gets good roles.

I don't have to knock down Z for the roles she gets. I can still wish for great roles for my fellow darker-hued sisters in Hollywood w/out putting down Zendaya (who's more fair-skinned) in the process. JMHO 🤷🏾‍♀️

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actingwithportals · 3 years

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Since we’re talking about the deplorable Portal movie again, I’m gonna drop my two cents into why this bothers me particularly, on a personal level, in what a Portal movie might do to the story. (Buckle in, this is a long post.)

(Also, for anyone who doesn’t know the “Portal Movie” has been in production hell for literal years and it feels pretty unlikely it will escape that anytime soon, if the movie does eventually get made at all, so this is a mostly theoretical discussion but one I think is important nonetheless.)

(Also also I’m going under the assumption of a Portal movie following the characters and story we already know from the games as opposed to giving us new characters and plot and just centering it around the concept of Portal. This is also theoretical and isn’t confirmed that that’s how an actual Portal movie would go.)

So, I think the objective biggest concern to have with what could possibly go grossly wrong with a Portal movie is the Hollywood need to whitewash characters of color, aka Chell in this instance. Plus how they might handle her muteness, how they would handle her as a woman protagonist, how they would handle GLaDOS as a woman antagonist, and the overall themes of Portal that ultimately centers around these two women characters who both experienced abuse, either from each other or from Aperture itself. But there are people who are more informed to speak on those issues than I am, so I’m gonna leave that to them and talk about something that I’ve got the experience to discuss instead.

My boy Doug Rattmann. (note: I’m schizophrenic.)

In the event of a Portal movie that follows the main storyline of the game(s), Rattmann isn’t likely to be a character we actually see (outside of potential flashbacks), but his presence would be made known because his presence and influence in Aperture are both very integral to the story and Chell’s ultimate success. It’s very likely he would get brought up, even if just by showing us his murals and referencing who he was in life and the role he played as an Aperture employee, and as the only person to survive GLaDOS’s attack that put the facility into the position Chell wakes to find it in.

And I don’t trust like that. I don’t trust that filmmakers with the motivation of fame and financial gain will take a character like Rattmann - a schizophrenic who throughout most of his relevance to the main story is unmedicated and in the midst of a very severe psychotic episode - and treat him with care and respect and sympathy.

We see how movies treat mentally ill people, especially those of us with “scary” illnesses like schizophrenia. We see how we’re constantly reduced to being “crazy and unhinged and morally dubious because the voices in our heads tell us to hurt people”. We see how we’re used as jokes, as villains, as “pathetic” fodder to get killed off for shallow sympathy and shock value, and you know what? I don’t anticipate Rattmann would get a much more nuanced approach from a JJ Abrams film than... that. It’s hard for me to imagine he would be presented to the audience as anything much more than the “crazy ps*cho” who survived because of his paranoia (because “a broken clock is still right two times a day”) and wrote some funny iconic line on the walls in his madness such as “the cake is a lie”. That’s what I fear we’d get, because I know that’s how most of the world sees us. Because that’s how people see me when they learn I’m schizophrenic.

The Lab Rat comic did something that’s rarely seen in a lot of mainstream media I think. It gave us a schizophrenic protagonist who we as the readers got to see both in a successful career - medicated and well and seemingly having an average life despite where he worked - and in the midst of what was a very frightening psychotic episode, because medication was not available to him and he had no other option but to let things progress to that point. And he was Still a hero. He was Still sympathetic. He was Still treated with respect and as someone we were meant to root for and connect with. His humanity wasn’t taken from him, and in fact it shone through clearly. Because psychotic people are still people even when we’re experiencing psychosis.

And, you know, let alone the fact that the comic didn’t drop him into the trope of becoming a violent or otherwise “evil” person when he was unmedicated. He retained the same morals he had when he was medicated - the paranoia didn’t take that away from him. I like to think that my paranoia doesn’t take that away from me too.

I just.. I don’t feel good at the thought of something so beautifully done, something that we almost never get, being reduced to bad tropes for the sake of suspense and theatrics and a good buck. I mean, it might not happen; I might just be critical and overthinking. But it usually does, and I’m usually not. There’s endless evidence in media to support this pattern, and I think it’s a valid concern to have.

I don’t think people can’t be excited about a Portal movie - I know that I would be over the moon if a Portal movie came out that did the source material justice. But people are going to have concerns due to the fact that many things in these games were done with a lot of nuance and care, and it’s hard to believe something like this could be repeated, especially when copied over to a new medium. I mean, as it was recently pointed out to me even Valve themselves dropped the ball by lightening Chell’s character model between P1 and P2. The source material itself still does have its faults despite its successes, so who’s to say people can’t be worried that a movie would do something equally egregious or worse?

Portal means a lot to me. It has for many years and it will continue to mean a lot to me for a long time to come. The validation I found in Rattmann’s character at the exact moment in my life when I needed it most is not something that just happens any day. So I’m going to be critical, I’m going to be skeptical. I’m happy for people who are excited, but please don’t tell me or others that we shouldn’t be concerned.

I’ve got this one really incredible schizophrenic rep that Portal Lab Rat gave us. I’m allowed to fear that getting taken away.

#portal #portal 2 #doug rattmann #ableism

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