#the actress playing the actual devil woman is killing it

[darkpoisonouslove]

How can you be so good at acting nervous/distressed but be absolutely terrible at acting actually, severely upset?

#erda #og post #i don't understand it #she throws in so many little fidgety and anxious gestures but when she has to weep in devastation it falls flat #like??? i don't? get it????????? #girl how? #btw side note but everyone is being overdramatic when angry and shaking their fingers threateningly in other people's faces #you might want to tone that down #otherwise all of you are mostly fine #the actress playing the actual devil woman is killing it

[hamliet]

Oshi no Ko's Angel of Light: Kamiki Hikaru

So, I wrote a review of Oshi no Ko previously, just not on this blog. I talked there about the meaning of Hoshino Ai as a name (it's literally hoshi no eye, Ai spelled in katakana to reinforce that it's a loanword, meaning starry eye, and of course, eye/ai is a homonym for love) and how Oshi no Ko uses wordplay and puns to introduce its themes.

Naturally, I wanted to talk about the other parent, whose name is just as significant.

Kamiki Hikaru is literally "god of light/shining god." Well, okay, sort of. It's technically "kami of light," and kami doesn't translate super well into English. It's often referred to as a god in Shintoism, but it's not quite the western perception of a god. Spirit is another popular translation.

Of course, this references the supernatural themes of the story, as well as Hikaru's role. See, "angel of light" is what the Christian Bible calls Lucifer, the Christian devil. Pretty fitting for Hikaru's role in the story as the main villain.

But wait! There's more! Lucifer itself, as a name, refers to the planet Venus, known as the morning star. Which, of course, is the "star" we see in the story associated with Ai.

(Yes, the story is very much using distinctly Christian allusions alongside Shinto ones.)

Hikaru, like Lucifer, is known to, well, want everything for himself. That doesn't mean he wants all the worship of the world like Lucifer literally did according to mythology. No, instead it's far more insidious but no less disturbing: he sees himself as entitled to dictate how the world runs. He decides whose life is worth living, and makes others pay for mistakes of people they don't even know. He's playing God, in other words--exactly what Lucifer did to fall from heaven in Christian mythology (it's not actually super biblical hence why I'm using "mythology").

Lucifer is also called "Satan" obviously, which literally means "accuser" in Hebrew. That's kind of the perfect summary for what Hikaru sees himself as: he's visiting his hatred of an abuser he has every right to hate on everyone and everything that remotely reminds him of her.

The thing is, as said above, Hikaru does have the right to hate Airi, just like Aqua has the right to hate him. But following the path of revenge is Not The Way.

So, is Hikaru Satan?

No. He's a person.

The Path To Hikaru

Hikaru is not all that different from the other characters we know and love--Ai, Ruby, Kana, Akane, and especially Aqua. Fitting since they're all idols of sorts (yes, Akasaka is constantly using religious references to add social commentary to the idea of an "idol" as a false god/object of worship). They're also all actors.

Hikaru is what Aqua risks becoming. No, seriously. Hikaru was traumatized as a child via rape that led to the creation of a life.

As a result he's pretty anti-life as a whole, and especially anti-woman. He's constantly seeking revenge on women, hence his murder-happy spree. The problem is that he's not seeing these women as individuals: he sees everyone and everything as a representation of Airi, the person who assaulted him.

Also, society as a whole's attitude towards male victims of sexual assault, especially male victims of attractive women, means that Hikaru would not be seen as a victim. One of OnK's major themes is how messed up society is and how it dehumanizes people via fitting them into roles, and this is a perfect example of the harm that can come from it. Hikaru would be seen as a boy, and all boys clearly want sex. A famous actress slept with him? Lucky him! Even though this never came out publicly, Hikaru absolutely knew this was the case and it certainly plays a role in his grudge against the world.

Even though Airi is dead (probably as a result of him provoking her husband by revealing that he wasn't the father), he still isn't satisfied. No, Airi is still everywhere. Killing the perpetrator, making them pay, did not erase his trauma.

If Aqua kills Hikaru, his trauma will likewise not be erased. Not his trauma as Gorou, not his trauma as Aqua. Hikaru's death will fix absolutely nothing in his life besides stopping more murders, but there are ways to do that that, y'know, don't involve killing. If Aqua kills Hikaru, he will lose the best part of Gorou (valuing life) and the best part of Aqua (the future Ai wanted for him, a future with Kana and Ruby).

Aqua, You are Your Father

Aqua, you are your father. It's almost like the entire series has been trying to give you this message and you keep ignoring it. (By the way, because I know I'm going to get asks about this, I am NOT saying Aqua and Hikaru are moral equivalents. Not at all. I'm just saying that Aqua is walking a path that will end with him being just like Hikaru if he doesn't get shoved off said path.)

From being the violent stalker who attacks someone who has never felt loved in his first acting job after Ai's death to scenes like this:

The story is asking Aqua to take a good long look at himself, and he's trying desperately to avoid doing this. Why? Because he's also playing God, same as his father, same as Satan in Christianity. He thinks he is responsible for everything; a natural, childish attitude that people grow out of as they age.

Of course, Aqua is not nearly as toxic in this as Hikaru--he's not attacking innocent people--but the root of this is still a belief that he somehow controls what happens, when he doesn't. He doesn't at all.

Aqua, too, is just a person.

But Aqua struggles to understand what it means to be a person, to be Hoshino Aquamarine.

He struggles to see other people as people, too. This ranges from sabotaging Ruby's auditions to how he treats Akane to his protecting Kana without considering what she wants. It's been brought up multiple times in the story so far:

Aqua also fundamentally does not see Ai as a human being, either. Unlike Ruby, who calls Ai "Mama," Aqua only ever calls her "Ai," her persona. Aqua and Ai are foils to Kana and her own mother, in that Kana's mom lived through Kana only to abandon her, and Aqua is living through his mom... but ignoring what she would actually want.

(Ruby isn't flawless or perfectly healthy, and the story certainly doesn't frame them as good twin bad twin, but Ruby's overall worldview is absolutely more in line with what the story wants to endorse.) That's why we have lines like this, where Ruby reveals that she has a healthier view of their mother than Aqua does. She knows Ai was flawed.

This is extra notable because he has 0 problems calling Hikaru his father. It's almost like Aqua is drowning in self-hatred, in feeling unloved, in the idea that he brings bad luck just by existing.

He'll call out Ruby for her negative traits, but Aqua thinks he deserves them. Aqua dehumanizes himself, the same way he dehumanizes Ai, and he has to see both his mother and himself people before he can step off this path.

Essentially, what he tells Ruby here is exactly what he needs to realize, but he has not done so.

The root of Aqua's God complex is that he cannot move past his trauma. It's actually psychologically realistic that a child who experienced such an event would be stuck in a childish mindset wherein they feel guilt for not being able to save their mother.

But it's not just Ai that Aqua couldn't save. It's Sarina, too. She is the one who introduced him to Ai, after all. He didn't move on from her death in his past life, either, which can probably be traced back to his own tragic birth circumstances--the idea that he only brings death, because his mother died giving birth to him. Gorou even states that he became a doctor to help people like his mother, but the point is also that he wanted to bring life, not death.

Except, he isn't God. Neither Gorou nor Aqua are. He can't save Sarina, and that isn't his fault. But Sarina ends up okay as Ruby, not through his own intervention. Aqua couldn't save Ai, but that's not his fault.

The point I'm making here is that Aqua needs to heal the hurting child within him. The story has also brought up the theme of children suffering at the hands of the entertainment industry numerous times:

His path towards healing would involve taking a long look not just at the hurting child in himself, but the hurting child in Hikaru, too. Which is not the same as excusing. After all, we already saw what happened with Aqua thought his dad was dead: despite the supposed justice and his proclamations about being free, he was still every inch the trapped, terrified, traumatized child afraid to live. Killing Hikaru won't be any different.

Becoming Human

So, is there hope for Aqua?

Yeah. A ton of it.

Despite the tragedy of Ai's story, every other arc has ended optimistically. The story's optimism, also, is fundamentally rooted in humanity. Every character, even the ones who seem like exploitative jerks like the producers who edited Akane to look bad and the self-centered mangakas, end up having their thoughts and motives explored, and we see where they are coming from. Not only that, but they have the best of intentions.

Frankly, this is true to life as well. Precious few people see themselves as the villain. Almost everyone thinks they're doing the right thing. It's very human.

The end of the reality dating show arc is kind of what I expect in the end here. There, all contestants came together and pooled their unique individual talents to exonerate Akane. I would expect Ruby, Miyako, Kana, and Akane (who herself has finally realized that she can step into her own personhood instead of trying to be Ai/whatever Aqua needs and vowed to stop him) to come together to save Aqua from himself.

Aqua is incredibly loved, and he doesn't seem to understand this. Love is what enabled Ai to die smiling. A lack of love, feeling undeserving of love, is what torments Sarina/Ruby, Aqua, Kana, and more. The bastardization of love is what torments Hikaru.

Love allows someone to be themselves, truly, to individuate. This is what Aqua needs to learn:

He also doesn't need to earn the love of those around him, nor the love of Ai. She loved him just because he was her son, and all she wanted was for him to be happy and to live.

Imo, it's pretty unlikely Akasaka plans to end the series with Aqua becoming Hikaru 2.0. My guess is that Hikaru will be stopped because of Aqua, and he'll even likely die, but not at Aqua's hand. I suspect Akane, Ruby, and especially Kana (the one person Aqua has consistently placed above Ai) will help save Aqua from himself.

#oshi no ko #onk #oshi no ko meta #aqua hoshino #ruby hoshino #ai hoshino #hikaru kamiki #kana arima #akane kurokawa #onk theory #onk meta

[zimtphilosoph]

or Read On Archive of Our Own (AO3)

Earl Grey and Sweet Vermouth

Vermouth caught the apple in mid-air on her way up to the kitchen's peninsula. “You're throwing apples at me now? I guess the shotgun would clash with the apron quite a bit.”

Meandering over, it became apparent the woman fell almost two inches shy in height to the man in the apron.

Glancing up to the nearing actress, Okiya caught the overt smugness in a mildly amused smirk, which brought an infuriating dimple to the woman's cheek.

“Isn't it theatre custom to throw edibles in follow-up to an ill performance.” Okiya stated.

“Ah, so the music didn't suit your taste, Rye. I see.” Vermouth's fingertips strayed along the edge of the countertop as if still following the grand piano's dulcet sway. Before the actress settled on a bar stool vis-à-vis, one leg absently crossed over the other, a mellow hum still under her breath.

Okiya observed the woman's unusual light-hearted demeanour. This was Sweet Vermouth, not the aloof and callous one he'd been acquainted with. The infuriating woman, who didn't shy away from standing atiptoe with his koibito-san. This time, however, Gin had taken a hollow point closer to heart. Almost succeeding in killing Vermouth in the process.

“No. It did, actually. But it wasn't the first time I heard you play.”

“Not the first?” For the better it might've been, she'd opted to sit abreast the peninsula beforehand. The thought of what Rye might've witnessed on that solemn evening she'd played Chopin's Nocturne only further stoked her unease.

“Eat up. I initially throw the apple for you to actually take a bite, seeing as you're hypoglycaemic. If the migraine is the to go by. You squint your eyes markedly as the light invades, and your movements are more deliberate. I can assure you, it's neither poisoned nor rotten.”

Vermouth glowered and gave a disparaging scoff at the not quite late FBI agent but took a crunching bite of out of the fruit nonetheless.

“I might've to reconsider.” Okiya's gaze strayed over to the kitchen door and the adjacent parlour. “On the Rotten Apple front, that is.” The sly bastard, he must've ascertained whether matriarch was well out of earshot. Yukiko's late castigation ostensibly still fresh on his mind, then concluded. “A tamanegi suits you just as well.”

Vermouth, who still manducated on the honeycrisp fruit, choked awkwardly on the latest bite she'd taken.

That woman's stroke of ill luck enriched Okiya's cup of Earl Grey considerably.

“It seems words can kill you just as easily, woman. If I'd known before, it would've saved me a round of bullets.”

But contrary to his words, Okiya opted to place another cup of Earl Grey in front of Vermouth, who scowled and in a bid to quell her late conundrum deigned and took a sip, endeavouring to preserve a soupçon of dignity.

A tad more forceful than strictly necessary, the actress clinked the cup back onto its plate. “I abhor you.”

“The feeling is mutual, I can assure you.”

“So a tamanegi. Do tell. To be bested by a woman. Surely it must've made you cry, Rye?” Vermouth crooned in low contralto and cocked her head, idly resting her chin in her palm.

Okiya scoffed. “I've known your worldview to be severely compromised, but that's twisting the truth rather grotesquely. I scarred you quite well in New York, Silverhair. Whilst our shootout at the harbour parted with you fleeing with tantei-bouya. And on a final note, I could've ended you on the rooftops of the Mōri Tantei Jimusho.”

“I know. Lucky me, that you abhor our dear Gin even more. I actually felt your bullets passing.”

“I remember you meandering down from the rooftops at your own leisure. It's fortunate that my finger is not itching to put a bullet between your eyes.”

“Ah yes, I see the moral high ground yawning.” The bitterness behind her words seemed almost astringent.

“Yawning indeed. But Gin, you're not. You've got the devil's luck. You almost died at his hand this time.”

“My my, the almost part, I see. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint, Rye. The kitten told me you and him had a little spat after Angel and I fell. Is he... dead?”

There's a strange depth to the actress's voice. One that gave Okiya pause.

“No. Although he shall be licking his wounds. He played a lone hand this time. I don't suppose That person would connive even his third in command such an agenda.”

#dcmk #meitantei conan #detective conan #akai shūichi #okiya subaru #vermouth #kuro no soshiki #culinary references #dcmk fic #dcmk fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #unbeta'ed #zimtescapism #my writing

[thegreymoon]

Black Wedding

Moving on to the last episode!

With that said, I googled this show today and, apparently, there is a second season coming out this year, which means that this one will probably end on a cliffhanger and nothing of consequence will be resolved 😢 Now, while I did enjoy this show immensely, I am very sceptical that it can hold out for another 10 episodes. Most of the fun here was the character expositions. The demon hunt itself has been very boring (and the "black wedding" and Vlach witchcraft turned out to have absolutely nothing to do with the actual plot) so I am not convinced they have enough here to keep me hooked for another season.

But let's see. So far, this drama has exceeded all my expectations (which were admittedly pretty low to begin with) and it might just continue to do so.

***

I take it the exorcism didn't go well?

Having the kid go full evil and not being saved would be a very appealing twist, ngl, but I doubt they had the guts to go there.

***

I knew he was just a lackey.

Such a beautiful man but such a pathetic character. It kills all the attraction.

Anyway, he's reporting to a woman? Is this Vesna? Or someone else? Am I wrong about the aunt?

Lovely puppers, though. Pity they mutilated their ears.

***

LOL, she's losing her everloving mind.

Much scarier than demon masks and poor attempts at CGI.

***

Is this a dead body?

Father Tihon's dead body?

***

LOL, she's speaking in tongues now.

I am so unable to take this seriously.

***

I think the only possession/religious horror movie that ever truly scared me has been The Skeleton Key. Truly unparalleled and terrifying. Everything else is just play-pretend in comparison.

***

I love that the best insult even a demon can come up with for a woman in this show is "whore" 🙄

***

LOL, here comes this moron to ruin the exorcism.

***

LOL, he literally rescued the devil 🤣🤣

I love it, it couldn't have happened to a more deserving asshole.

***

LOL, did you come to kill the child, or did you too come to rescue the devil from exorcism?

***

LMAOOOOOO

Shouldn't have interrupted that exorcism, eh? 🤣🤣

I am having so much fun! This is why I always cheer for the devil in these things.

***

Is Saruman genuinely here to really fight the devil?

Like... him not turning out to be an actual force of evil would be the biggest plot twist of all for me in this show.

***

LMAO, if you are the one with the brain cells here, then neither God nor the devil can help us 🤣🤣

***

I knew he would return home to find her dead.

I just imagined it would be self-inflicted.

***

Vesna?

Seems a bit too young, though. But she might have sold her soul in return for eternal youth or something, idk.

***

NOOOOO, LEAVE PETAR ALONE

***

WTF. Didn't they say the devil skipped her?

***

OMG IT IS VESNA!

THE SAME ACTRESS AND EVERYTHING! AGED NOT A DAY IN 50 YEARS!

And I was wrong about the aunt 😔

***

So, he is a devil worshipper too.

***

So, she's been the Black Duke all along?

Disappointed. I had hoped Ida would be it.

***

WAIT, SHE BECAME A NUN?

Smh. Let women be sexual and feminists and atheists and NGO activists without confining them to a nunnery in the Year of Our Lord 2024 😭

*** The goddamn doctor is also devil worshipping 😒

***

So... another mass shooter?

***

WTF SHE'S ALIVE???????????????

***

Anyway.

Yeah, nothing got wrapped up. Yeah, massive cliffhangers abound. Second season is inevitable 😔

#crna svadba #black wedding #bw spoilers #bw ep10

[kaypeace21]

The 4 ‘Nina’ references in Stranger Things ( s4)

I found this very fascinating ....

#1.  In the Hnl teaser (the one before the brenner teaser) we hear a song from the play. "Nina, ou La folle par amour” (Nina, or The Woman Crazed with Love) 

Nina deals with amnesia caused by a psychotic break over the (perceived) death of her lover. She also had a controlling father (who tried sabotaging her relationship). And we have the plot line of her loved ones’ death being faked (unbeknownst to her). Also the obvious “only love makes you that crazy”. 

so 

-Hopper’s death being faked

- mental health issues

-repressed memories of tra*ma

-problematic dads

-love that makes you "crazy'

#2 In the ( technically cannon) book “Will byers’ secret files” we see a reference to the soviet psychic Nina Kulagina.

-Nina is also a RUSSIAN NAME - so maybe the “Nina project” is just the codename for the Russian’s version of the prior usa's ‘project’- relating to the demogorgan/upsidedown. And is an easteregg.

- We also see a possible connection to Nina & the “electric-girl”(chrissy)-cause the electric girl’s powers’  are perceived as demonic. Again s4 will have the christian satanic panic. Chrissy means "follower of christ". Chrissy may be like carrie whose mom equates her powers to the devil. And chrissy like Carrie probably lights her ab*ser's car on fire (except accidentally). There's more reasons I think she'll light the car on fire but I'll save it for a diff post.

- But chrissy &Nina can be nicknames for Christina. And NINA can mean "fire" and i do believe chrissy may have some form of pyro/electrokinesis . And accidentally light her ab*sers' car on fire. Or maybe like alexi wanted to do- stages her death by starting a car fire. One s4 film a teen girl stages her d*ath and runs away to escape her ab*sive family.

- Also,unrelated, EL is compared to the orphan, Anne of Green gables . And NINA (is a Russian diminutive form of Anne). So chrissy/El will most likely parallel/be character foils as well.

#3 In bts pics of Hawkins high: we see a poster for monologue auditions- one is for the play “ the seagull”. It's famous monologue is performed by the character  Nina (I believe Chrissy will be playing Nina in this scene). Since nina/chrissy are nicknames for Christina.

 The monologue is of a girl describing her ab*ser, herself as a seagull , her mental health, & being a poor actress... the pain on stage would be Chrissy’s actual pain rather than simply acting

The rebel robin (st novel) had Robin at the skate rink (like s4 el) and a play audition (like someone else in s4 , probably). When she auditioned she related too much to her character, and everyone thought her emotions were superb acting- when her emotions were real. And then she had a panic attack, and fainted on stage .

Backstory of play : Konstantin romantically into Nina shows up to give Nina a gull that he has shot. Nina is confused and horrified .Trigorin sees the gull that Konstantin has shot and muses to Nina on how he could use it as a subject for a short story:

"The plot for the short story: a young girl lives all her life on the shore of a lake. She loves the lake, like a gull, and she’s happy and free, like a gull. But a man arrives by chance, and when he sees her, he destroys her, out of sheer boredom. Like this gull."  

Also in Spanish Niña can mean "little girl" (like Nina the " young girl" in the play).

The seagull motif reminds me a lot of Jonathan’s rabbit story. He liked and thought of himself as the thumper rabbit character and was forced to kill said rabbit. And we see a dead rabbit/hare in s4. Also, brenner tried to make El k*ll a cat. And the seagull motif was in s3- we see the seagulls in Billy's happy memories representing a time before he was corrupted by his dad. AND we see a seagull painting (at Lonnie's) that jonathan walks past in s1.

I feel like at the very least this monologue may be recontectualized to symbolically represent different forms of parental ab*se.

This play immediately reminded me of some of the movies said to inspire s4 . tw: s.a (skip to #4 if you prefer).  in forrest gump- Jenny (who is poor) was se*ually ab*sed as a very young girl by her father. As a child she runs away into a field-away from her alcoholic father yelling at her -there she prays that she can "be a bird so I can fly far far away” .Jenny as an adult struggles with this unresolved trauma- being with ab*sive partners, doing dr*gs, and having su*cidal thoughts . She as an adult when contemplating su*icide, jokes 'you think i can fly like a bird ?’ while looking down at a bridge.

The film "blackswan" was confirmed inspo for s4 of st: NINA Sayers in a play, is playing a swan (bird). The balet is also supposed to represent aspects of her life: she's struggling with her mental health, and it's alluded to , that her parent was se*ually abusive in the past .

In one st s4 movie "book of Henry"- it has CHRISTIANA (cough formal name for chrissy)do a dance that represented her sadness over her father's se*ual abuse of her.

So I think that may be what this seagull Monologue may be recontextualized to represent (or at least something akin to /relating to ab*sive parents). In the carrie novel- her dad was also a r*pist. And in the s4 movies hellraiser 1-2: KIRSTY accidentally lit her sex*ally abusive uncle on fire (who liked to be called "daddy"). Similar to jonathan lighting the demogogan (called "deep father" on fire in s1). In s4 films- hellraiser 2 & dream warrior: characters named kirsty/Kristen are sent to psych hospitals and have ab*sive family.

I believe her & Jonathan will parallel- and so we should pay attention to Chrissy’s environment /headspace for insignts on Jonathan as well.

Also (maybe a coincidence) there's the famous fiction book called christy. (Christian) Christy is based on a real woman named lenora . Hmmm you mean like lenora hills (where jonathan & El live) coincidentally- lenora is a version of the name elenor & jane (is a feminine version of the named jonathan). Aka all 3 may parallel!! Just in different ways...

#4 the literal meaning of Nina

*Nina can mean“enclosure of fish.” Which is interesting cause Creel means “fish trap”.

*The demogorgan (deep father)” feeds” /eats  his victims. Like deer *cough Jonathan's hunting story refernecing bambi. And we see during the dinner seq at the Creels is when (possibly possessed) Victor - the dad  (or some supernatural force) attacks the family (who have a fish related name). I also believe the son's name may be gil (nickname for William/like a fish gil). THE rabbit, seagull, and FISH immagery COULD be a clever way to connect the theme of ab*sive fathers .

#jonathan byers #el hopper #will byers #stranger things #jim hopper #joyce byers #byler #stranger things theory

[deviliciousdev]

✨MBTI Types as Movie Characters🎥

The Analysts🔍🧠 (NTs)

-------------------------------------------

ENTJ, The Commander

Miranda Priestly // The Devil Wears Prada

One of my favorite movies. The Alpha Bitch, Editor and Chief of Runway, played by the always incredible Meryl Streep, is definitely an ENTJ. She's ambitious, intelligent, and a strong, but suave leader who values efficiency and expects people to be at their best. All stacking up to create a chic as all shit powerhouse of success. Some find her cold and even heartless, but as we see later in the movie, she's actually a sensitive person who secretly doesn't like her ice queen reputation, but deals with it as a part of having haters. Another very ENTJ aspect to her character is the fierce love she has for her family (especially her daughters, whom she'd kill for) and her closest friends. Lastly let's not for get her smooth talking ability to burn people with some seriously clever and iconic lines.

Bonus:

ENTP, The Debater

Wade Wilson // Deadpool & Deadpool 2

In my opinion, hands down the best superhero movie(s). Played and directed by Canada's Golden Boy, Ryan Reynolds, Wade Wilson, the lovable and hilarious antihero, known by his alias Deadpool, is a classic ENTP. Yes his trademark blunt wit and chaotic style alone give off serious ENTP vibes, but what really sells his character as The Debater is his determination. No matter if its something small like being screwed on an unfair coupon policy, a deep meaningful principle, or fighting for someone they love, either their determination wins out or they'll die trying. This characteristic is actually the driving force of BOTH movies. In the first installment we see Wade fighting to save the love of his life from his old nemesis (in typical superhero fashion), but Wade's ENTP-ness gets a huge boost in the second installment where we see him fight to protect a mutant boy, he barely knows, who he first meets at a mutant reform school, which lets be honest is just an allegory for conversion therapy camp.

Bonus:

INTJ, The Architect

Clarice Starling // The Silence of the Lambs

Award winning, continuously suspenseful, and tastefully creepy, this horror thriller is one the best. Jodi Foster won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as FBI Cadet, Clarice Starling. A more underrated INTJ fictional character, but a perfect fit nonetheless. The mere fact that Clarice is not even an actual agent yet and is already pulled onto a serial killer case, by the head of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit (now the Behavioral Analysis Unit) is a clear mark of an INTJ. The Architect's famous organized intellect trait is the catalyst (the reason she was chosen) for Clarice's decent into the madness of the Buffalo Bill Case. Tasked with interviewing psychiatrist and serial killer (with a genius level IQ) Dr. Hannibal Lecter aka Hannibal the Cannibal, to get his view on the case. Clarice keeps completely calm and focused as Lecter attempts to manipulate and rattle her. Not only solving the breadcrumb puzzle Lecter sends her on to find Buffalo Bill, but at one point even being a step ahead of the genius psychopath. And let's not forget her super INTJ moment in where we see her her breaking down next to her car and crying from the immense stress she's under, to immediately compartmentalizing and getting a 10/10 score at the FBI shooting range.

Bonus:

INTP, The Logician

Alice Kingsley// Alice in Wonderland (2010)

One of my all time favorite movies, Tim Burton's 2010 continuation to the original story, (written by Lewis Carrol and made into a Disney animated movie) takes Alice's character from a simple curious little girl to a deeper young adult character. Mia Wasikowska plays a nineteen year old Alice who finds herself (to her chagrin) at her surprise engagement party where a boring and utterly obnoxious young Lord is to propose. After several awkward interactions: from her crazy Aunt, to her aristocratic future mother in-law, and finding her sister's husband with another woman, she ends up in front of the entire party being proposed to. And in true INTP fashion she makes a faint excuse and physically runs from her problems. Eventually falling down the rabbit hole, a good metaphor for the chaotic inter working of an INTP's mind, she finds herself in a place called Underland. Alice's personal objective in the movie (unlike most who's objective would be to escape the weird world) is to discover if she's dreaming, going mad, or if she's actually been there before, stopping every now and then to do a few rebellious acts to help her friends. There were many characters I've seen for the INTP, all are well thought out and accurate, however I think Logicians can relate the most to Alice's need for independence, intense curiosity, loath for societal expectations, awkward but confident demeanor and increasingly out of the box thinking.

Bonus:

[note: stay tuned for the intuitive feelers and more]

#mbti #fictional mbti #mbti characters #intuitives #thinkers #nt things #entj #entp #intj #intp #miranda priestly #wade wilson #clarice starling #alice kingsley #the devil wears prada #deadpool #the silence of the lambs #alice in wonderland #estj #estp #istj #istp #enfj #enfp #infj #infp #esfj #esfp #isfj #isfp

[ceriseeclipse]

Dark Skies

The Signs’ Face Claims

I had this idea for a while: Personification of the signs. I always wanted to write a story that presents the signs as people, with the same features and personalities that the signs are said to have, living their lives, interacting with each other. Here are a few ideas for each character, if I get to the actual story, the characters will develop a lot of course. Please inbox me your feedback, if you would be interested in a story as such. 

Here’s an idea for the face claims. (the actors’ actual sun signs don’t have anything to do with their roles):

Henry Cavill as Aries, the impulsive soldier.Strong-minded and brave, but a hot-head, which makes him dangerous in a fight. He often throws caution to the wind and goes straight to the point, which he may regret later. He lives for today, is initiative and ambitious, lacks certain gentleness, humility and sense of social act, hurts people without even intending to. He’s restless, vital and always looks for new challenges and adventures. Deep-set eyes and dark eyebrows give him the severe, serious but handsome look. He’s not into love, but does like sex. He rarely gets attached to people, only lives for war and winning battles.

Zoë Kravitz as Taurus, the confident, self-sufficient, but sensitive girl. You can rely on her, she’s honest and respects good manners. Patient and cautious, she knows what she wants and won’t let anyone stop her. She keeps her feet firmly on the ground, doesn’t like to dream or wish, she strongly believes that if you want something enough, you have to go and get it. She’s practical and responsible, but easier to break than she’ll ever show. She loves strongly, and passionately, has a big, loving heart, but knows when to let go, she doesn’t put herself down for anyone. Her doe-like, big, brown eyes will make you trust her with your life. She is exactly who a woman should be, if you could say that, confident, strong, independent and intelligent.

Tom Hiddleston as Gemini, the sweet and funny, blonde, curly-haired sunny-boy. He can seamlessly change everything, from style, ideas to work or partner. He is easy to adjust to significant changes. Surrounded by a little nervous energy, he is brilliant but sometimes emotionally unstable. Being bisexual, he likes to sleep around with different people, but doesn’t really mean to intentionally hurt anyone, he just expects other people to take life and relationships as easily as he does. He’s humorous, energetic and cheerful, but doesn’t let anyone see his sensitive side, that’s why his mysterious way seems very attractive. 

Andrew Garfield as Cancer, the typical sweet boy, who likes to play with fire and often gets burned. He can go from being in a great mood to suicidal thoughts in a second. His heart is easy to break and he doesn’t know how to get over it. Trying to bring an order to his chaotic feelings, he starts writing. For himself at first, but that’s how his talent as a writer gets discovered. It helps at first, but his vulnerable nature wants him to take revenge on those who hurt him, which starts to destroy him slowly. 

Madelaine Petsch as Leo, the Queen Bee in Louboutins. She likes expensive clothes, always looks flawless and knows it. She appears even more confident than she actually is. As a struggling actress, her life hasn’t been the easiest. Trusting and a little naive, she’s often been used and lied to. She likes to manipulate people, but sometimes ends up being manipulated herself. Trying hard to hide her generous, forgiving heart, she thinks that the key to success is heartlessness and diamonds. Her brutally honest personality gave her the name of a “bitch”, which she enjoys at times, it gives her a painful kind of satisfaction to be hated, but admired at the same time. Her long, red hair perfectly matches her ever-red lips and green eyes, that roll so often. She enjoys her naturally good looks and knows how to use it for her best. 

Jamie Chung as Virgo, the beautiful healer. She’s a doctor, she lives for helping people. But the sad truth is, she doesn’t always know how to help herself. Being a gorgeous, strong woman, she is full of insecurities, no one can understand. She is ready to sacrifice herself for others, even people she doesn’t know, because her own life doesn’t mean anything to her. Attentive, with great analytical skills, she seems to see everyone's personality through, she sees when somebody’s hurting, when somebody's lying, her eyes don’t miss out on anything. She loves to bring order into the chaotic life, and tries to make the world a better place by being considerate and organized. Being wealthy, she doesn’t like expensive and unnecessary luxuries. Taurus is her soulmate, but unfortunately, there are many struggles that come in their way. Their love is beautiful and innocent, but leaves them both heartbroken, more than once. 

Shay Mitchell as Libra, the girl next door. She has always been a girl who went by unnoticed. A wallflower kind of girl as they say. She never minds, she doesn’t like to show off, doens’t like to shine. Simple clothes and sneakers, ponytail and barely any make-up, that is her every day look. She has a soft personality and knows how to handle troubles, a diplomat, religious, fair, justice has always been important to her. People usually think that she is a depressed teenager, but that isn’t true, life is going as she wishes it to go. She doesn’t like to be pushed, pressured, she prefers to leave responsibility to others. Sometimes, she feels a little basic, that’s all. But the girl will find her place in this world very soon. 

Michael Ealy as Scorpio, the blue-eyed devil. Despite what people said, he isn’t all that bad. The often call him “the evil eye”, if your eyes meet, you always move first. He can kill you with a look, undress you with a look, send you to hell with only one look. He’s never easy, everything is important to him and he takes everything seriously. All around him is black or white, nothing in between. The only people he can call friends seem more like loyal servants. It feels like he never tells the truth, he’s mysterious to a fault and will never tell you his opinion about anything. Don’t do him wrong, he will never let you leave with it. He scars a lot of people. Not always intentionally, just by being himself. 

Will Smith as Sagittarius, the short-tempered cop. He’s charismatic and respectful, a real fighter for justice. Straightforward, he will shoot arrows, he can’t leave anything unspoken. If you’re in the wrong, he’ll make you crack. He does have strong relationships with people, but only the ones who deserve it in his opinion. Quite tolerant, he will accept a lot of your flaws, but never cross a line, he can cut you out of his life in a second. He’s living on the edge, taking risks, jumps into danger, whether it’s about work or love. Being short-tempered, he gets angry fast, screams, even gets physical, but calms down fast and often regrets it. He does have a good soul, but not many get to see it. Mostly, all they see is a man fighting for the good in any possible ways.

Keanu Reeves as Capricorn, the lone wolf. He never really needed anyone. He was fine being alone. Growing up in an orphanage, he was used to it. Not knowing love, no one to care about. But still, he got through, fought for his degree, became a teacher, not even knowing what for. He doesn't really fall in love, he doesn't really get attached, he doesn't really need it. His good looks and seemingly cool nature attracts a lot of people, he’s interesting, mysterious behind closed doors. But no one really knows him, not even himself. At times, it feels like he's ready, to be a part of the world, to take care of people, but he struggles to believe that anyone would put up with him. He always was so ambitious, so determined, but he came to a point where nothing makes sense anymore. That's the moment he meets him. Better said, he reads his book. A book about retaliation.

Margot Robbie as Aquarius, the sharp-tongued beauty. She grew through struggles and insecurities, which turned her into this perfect human being. She was abused, betrayed and had to fight to survive, just to become a brilliant thief. She’s a woman who gets what she wants, with her intelligence and incredible looks. She considers herself a visionary, she has her ambitions and desires, she’s close to the spiritual world and has a great imagination. Overly dramatic at times, she knows her worth, and knows others better than they know themselves. People bore her quite easily, she expects mystery and entertainment from others. Sexually passionate, she suffers from lack of permanent feelings. Her life has to be a never-ending adventure. 

Jared Leto as Pisces, the lost soul. He'a a musician, struggling with drugs and alcohol abuse. His curious and creative mind can't manage between his will to get inspiration and his addictions. He always needs more, whether it's whiskey, love or music, he can never stop. At times, it feels like he's at the end, that he can't do it anymore, but only one shot, and he's back, writing, singing, playing guitar. He falls in love with creative souls like himself, struggling, even dying. For him, it's always over. Every day, can be his last and all he does is singing, dreaming, he always took the path of least resistance.

#astrology #horoscope #zodiac signs #writing #story #book #characters #personalities #face claims #rp #aries #taurus #gemini #cancer #leo #virgo #libra #scorpio #sagittarius #capricorn #aquarius #pisces #jared leto #margot robbie #keanu reeves #andrew garfield #henry cavill #shay mitchell #michael ealy #will smith

[trashyeggroll]

Why We Don't Need A Xena Anytime Soon

submission from anon under the cut!

anon, one time i asked the tag who they would cast as callisto in the reboot and almost got chased off this site witch pitchforks

i really like all the points you hit on, and i'm here for it--i think xwp is an artifact of its time, and attempts to reframe it in a different context is just... not gonna be the same thing

as a franchise, it's also got so much cultural foundation, look at my mans karl urban in star trek, celeborn is borias in lotr (also feat: blonde karl urban), and so many costume designers/special effects teams that largely did move on to lotr roles, like goddamn

You know for as cool as it would be to see now because they would totally go hard on Xena/Gabrielle...I'm actually glad a XWP reboot hasn't happened yet. Please allow me to explain why. First and foremost, the majority of TV writers do not seem to hold the skills needed to write Xena they way she truly is - she is a VERY violent person so not get that wrong, but she has the ability for good also. She is not going to spend 3-5 episodes being guilted over killing someone if they deserve it and it would better everyone else (see Green Dragon), she will murder them and explains to you for a half an episode why she was right and then move on and it's on you to accept it or not because she's made her peace. She is someone who understands the multiple ways you can hold power over others and yourself and ways to exercise both each day. She's gruff but also has a soft spot in her! She is extremely layered and I don't think again 99% of writers today could do her justice the way Rob and company did her. Secondly, while most pitches assure the upfrontness of Xena and Gabby I feel like that's kind of their one horse being focused on and the series was more than just the one big relationship. You also need to tell us how ancient lore will play in and if you're going more realistic (grittier) or keeping the campy with some light grit nature. Are you going to explore the layers to situations or just have cliche good and bad guys? Are those who are from the original series going to be in the original key or some over the top version? Yeah Callisto is crazed with grief and so she is prepare to murder everyone and anyone but she's not crazy; Xena killed her family and burned down everything she had ("Hercules" Terminator storyline is not cannon to XWP), she's got a right to be upset with her and thus begin her quest to bring her down reputation wise and eventually physically. On the topic of Callisto, and by extension Xena, how many actresses can really balance what Hudson gave us with the crazy eyes but sane tone to what she was saying? I'm not saying it can never be done I'm just saying it's going to be hard to find an actress who can do that line well. The same for whoever would play the iconic title anti-hero because Lucy has become SUCH a legend along with the character I would not envy who has to fill those shoes. At best you have like a handful of actresses now who could probably do this but they will be older actors and we all know they'll want someone who's in their 20s for a reboot because honestly if anyone over 30 was in the role just get Lucy back. Ha It makes me wonder how all the characters would be treated - would Ares be some masognistic villain to show he's bad or would they actually have him clearly horny for Xena yes but it's because he knows she can do things and she happens to be a woman and he likes women so it's a turn on you know? Would Aphrodite be some comedic ditz only or actually allowed moments of emotional intellect where her words save the day? Does Hades always double cross the main characters because he's "the devil" or do they have him like the original where he will work with you if your pitched deal is a good one for him/he owes you a favor? Would the reboot balance both comedy and drama or be one or the other mainly? Would it be action heavy because it's an action genre type show or would they allow for character exploration like the original did at times? The original "Xena: Warrior Princess" balances everything so well that I think it's almost impossible to redo now and have it live up to the original. If they went homage versus reboot that would serve them better I think if they could pull off a repeat of the series. I also don't think it'll happen because while Hollywood loves to copy things now days, so in that respect they'd jump all on it, XWP came out in the mid 90s when shows were kind of doing original content and Hollywood right now especially feels allergic to originality so for all the pitches made to have the series return I don't think it will ever happen really; even if it did

it wouldn't be a network show like the original and that then means things like Showtime or HBO or even SYFY would say no because they're into their own original products and SYFY has the rights to show the original episodes so it's just cheaper for them. Is there room with a homage to improve the series legacy? Sure! We could have an actual good Rift where instead of fighting over kids behaving badly we get Gabrielle having to come to terms hardcore with is Xena someone she really wants to be with when she sees her dark side; take the Green Dragon event again - Gabrielle did not support Xena killing him because of some old debt because she knew it would set Xena back on her redemption path and she really believes theirs other ways than killing so you could have Xena tell her the truth or Gabrielle just feels it and it's like "Is this who I really want to follow? Is she really trying or is this violence who she really is?" and you could drive that into Najara's plot where she's the "good Xena" but Gabby realizes she's doing it for the wrong reason and at least what Xena did helped arguably for awhile so it's the lesser of the evils and they reunite and you can explore how you don't always agree with others but it doesn't mean you can't love them still. It's the old "I don't agree with your choice, but I don't hate you" thing. You could even make it over Callisto and how Gabrielle can understand her rage but say Xena isn't that person now and Callisto says something like "Is she?" when Gabby says she's a good guy who's changed before adding "Or is that just the person she is when you're looking?" and so each time Xena does something questionable Callisto's voice chimes in her head to a point where you reach a Green Dragon situation and Xena still does what she does and Gabby has to come to terms with it. Maybe this is a redo of her spiritual journey minus the Christian visual representations and in the end again she goes back but she understands a bit more of the person she thinks she loves then so she isn't as much of the puppy/desperate to leave girl we first see. That's a way better Rift than rape baby killing people and Xena flipping because Gabrielle wouldn't let her kill what she thought was a helpless child! Could a homage give us an actual battle of the gods if they repeated the Twilight arc? Yes. That plot was pushed into too few episodes for it to be presented the way it fully needed to based on lore. Would an homage now give us in your face, clear as day Xena/Gabrielle? Yep! This is only good though if it's not the only thing the show is brining to the table because there is more LGBT representation out there now so it's not like they would be the go to place like they were in the 90s. Could a homage give us a better ending? 100%! I love what you put out there over all Xena team but that end has issues to say the least; I don't care if you kill Xena, I debate to this day if death isn't her actual redemption for all that's happened, but if you kill her be in the Greece area and for a plot we've seen coming for awhile or whatever the series end season has been on not some random new story that's set thousands of miles away! 😡 So yeah I'm not saying a "reboot" doesn't have merit or a place in TV future I'm just saying the original did a lot so well it's going to be hard for a homage to really do the legacy justice without true care for the product. You can't just hire any old random group of staff members to do a series like this and have it be what it was...the original was so well done because the crew cared - from the stunt teams to the writers and actors, they literally put all their hopes and dreams into this and it shows the passion. Xena is not some girl trying to be a male hero - she's jacked physically because she's on a horse most of the time and that works your thighs, she swings a 20lbs sword 90% of the time and if you do that you two would probably have arm muscles, and she's tall because genetics. She's broody not because that's a male only trait, she's broody because some of her actions

are bothering her now and she's not sure how to fix them because people hate her for what she could do and thus don't give her a chance without Gabrielle to hype her up first. Just because society has tried to genderize certain traits because the majority of one sex does them doesn't mean the trait itself is a gender; Xena is not trying to be some stoic male lead you envision now, she's just badass like that because it's who's she always was. The show is not some comedy with beats of drama trying to be cute, it's a drama which at times had comedy because if they didn't laugh at somethings which happened they'd die from stress. Don't get me wrong, personally, I am a fan of a grittier Xena because it might explore even more character aspects but it can't be HBO After Dark levels of just violence and despair either because that's not honest to the source material. If it was all comedy or all drama it would feel like something was missing. You can't just set up a plot like Callisto and have it either fade into the background or be wrapped up in 2 episodes...well maybe you could wrap it up faster than the original did but you'd miss so much and yeah I just don't know if a creative team today could do justice to the original. "Xena: Warrior Princess" is such a lightening in a bottle show and it doesn't get the respect it deserves because most just see the camp and thus tragically miss the level of depth these characters had...they miss the nuance performances some of these actors gave; they down rate it on LGBT scales for being subtext which is to a point fair but when you think of all they achieved during the 90s to show as much as they did...there's couples now which could do more on shows and do less! Forget the LGBT stuff all together even for a moment and remember a white female title lead character's other big love on the series which she literally went to Hell to save was a black man...not a lot of that happening in the 90s folks! They crack comments about the stunts...I'm sorry tell me again how realistic it is on your show that a car flips 20 times after hitting a rock or how it's totally believable instead that 5 bad guys would stand around waiting to jump into a fight with the hero one by one instead of just shooting him. Some people want to dismiss the series a just a lesbian show forgetting how it showed young women you can stand up too and your opinion matters just as much...the series showed women getting sh*t done because women too can get sh*t done. Xena didn't defeat Ares regularly because that's just how the show went, she did it because he thought with his d*ck at times and she used that to her advantage because while she's physically gifted she also knows the value of mental strengths too and she thought her way out of things also. Gabrielle especially was a mental escapist for trouble showing there's more ways than just punching to achieve goals; this was another level of diversity the series offered watchers! XENA is so much better than people give it credit for and I would want any reboot or homage to only come out if it put as much passion into the project as the original did, bare minimum I'm going to need you to show up with 98% care and passion because it's a reboot not a repeat so this allows them to change some things such as being open with X/G but on the whole almost coping the original wouldn't be too bad a path. Again edit some things to go better such as the Rift but yeah the original is a classic for a reason and it's not just because a bunch of lesbians keep talking about it. Xena is 25 years strong because it treated female characters with respect and allowed them to effect things not just stand in scenes and say a line or two to suggest they're tough, it shows a layered anti-hero who you could argue may really be a villain at the end of the day people still aren't sure because the writing was that good and complex and showed the reality of a human being who went through those things and depending on where you stand in relation to them she is one or the other or maybe even a bit of

both...I can't tell you a male or female character like that now that brings that level of debate to them, and it's still strong because the creative team believed in their vision for the characters (instead of going out of their way to no homo the series they got more blatant and just clever in how they hid it so it go on screen without censors shutting them down; instead of dressing Xena up in a dress to show she's a woman they kept her exactly how she is because she is a woman an a piece of clothing does not define her gender)! There's SO much to explore still today with the original and be thankful for and inspire to with it soy yeah if they bring it back I'm going to need them to do it with the right mindset or I'll keep just enjoying my DVDs thank you. Long post I know but it kept coming out the more I wrote until I finished. 🙂

#submission #xwp #xena #long post

[laresearchette]

Monday, January 17, 2022 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: 4400 (Showcase) 9:00pm SUMMER HOUSE (Slice) 10:00pm

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

CRAVE TV FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK

NETFLIX CANADA AFTER WE FELL PLAYING WITH FIRE

NHL HOCKEY (SN) 1:00pm: Red Wings vs. Sabres (SN1) 3:00pm: Wild vs. Avalanche (TSN2) 4:00pm: Habs vs. Coyotes

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN4/TSN5) 1:00pm: Hornets vs. Knicks (SN NOW) 2:00pm: 76ers vs. Wizards (TSN4/TSN5) 3:30pm: Bulls vs. Grizzlies (TSN2) 4:00pm: Habs vs. Coyotes (TSN4) 6:00pm: Bucks vs. Hawks (SN/SN1) 7:30pm: Raptors vs. Heat (SN1) 10:30pm: Jazz vs. Lakers

THE SMURFS (Disney CHRGD) 5:30pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Little blue people embark on rousing adventures as they battle the scheming Gargamel.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN (TSN/TSN5) 7:00pm: First Round Coverage (TSN/TSN5) 3:00am (Tues): First Round Coverage

BECOMING: MICHELLE OBAMA IN CONVERSATION (BET Canada) 7:00pm:  Fireside chat moderated by actress Yara Shahidi, featuring former first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama; joined by an intimate group of college students for a question and answer session.

MURDOCH MYSTERIES (CBC) 8:00pm: After Murdoch arrests a man for trying to kill a woman he claims is a witch, the man dies mysteriously while in custody.

THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (CBC) 8:00pm: Mayhew meets Christine Moffat who has letters that Romaine has written proving that she went to the Cross Keys hotel at Blackfriars to meet Max, Christine's ex-lover.

THE QUEEN OF SIN (CTV2) 8:00pm:  After a chance encounter with a charismatic stranger, Posy Pinkerton seizes the opportunity to experience one last fling before settling down with her fiancé, but her fling may actually be a deal with the devil.

MARY MAKES IT EASY (CTV Life) 8:00pm:  Baking may be a science, but it doesn't need to be complicated; Mary's recipes show some simple solutions for enjoying baked goods at home.

NFL FOOTBALL (TSN3) 8:15pm: Cardinals vs. Rams

FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK (Crave) 9:00pm: The story of a Filipina American garage band that morphed into the ferocious rock group Fanny, which almost became the female version of the Beatles.

TRANSPLANT (CTV) 10:00pm: Rania's arrival triggers unwanted memories for Bash; Mags can't win her new boss' approval.

THE GOOD DISH (CTV Life) 10:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): Daphne Oz, Jamika Pessoa and Gail Simmons serve up sizzling bacon-wrapped dinners, play their version of "Spin the Bottle" with Brian Balthazar, and show how they cook for their families at home.

MARRIED TO REAL ESTATE (HGTV Canada) 10:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): First-time buyers who are obsessed with getting a midcentury home in the perfect Atlanta suburb are running out of options and time; Egypt and Mike find a dated property to renovate into the vintage dream home they have their hearts set on. HIGHWAY THRU HELL (Discovery Canada) 10:00pm: Jamie Davis Heavy Rescue's "A" team, Adam Gazzola and Kevin Ritchie, spends a busy morning clearing spun-out semis off the Coquihalla Highway; a multi vehicle pile-up closes both northbound lanes.

WALL OF CHEFS (Food Network Canada) 10:00pm: An unconventional pairing of cherries and halibut has the chefs questioning one home cook's ability to please a crowd, and Chef Jae-Anthony Dougan spices things up with the Caribbean flavours in his fridge.

#cdntv #Cancon #canadian tv #canadian tv listings #murdoch mysteries #the witness for the prosecution #mary makes it easy #transplant #highway thru hell #wall of chefs #nhl hockey #nba basketball #tennis #nfl football

[praphit]

WandaVision: When you can’t let go of that robo-lovin.

So, I just finished watching "WandaVision", and I must say, right off the bat 

- I LOVED IT!

Disney Plus is finally paying off. I'm in the group of peeps who got DP, not for the mouse, but for the ones whom the mouse is in bed with, and most recently on Mickey's playtime Marvel List - Wanda Maximoff and her robo-boy toy VISION... or is that “THE Vision”? - that seems kinda ostentatious, but whatever.

When I first heard that Wanda was getting a series, I said "Who cares?" I don't care bout no Wanda! What has she been other than a weird pest?

Let's review:

She tried to kill the Avengers, she accidentally injures and kills innocent people, she was getting in the way, so Tony Stark had to get his CPU (Vision) to babysit her, she falls in love with the CPU - can we talk about how strange this is? I didn't say wrong, just different, cuz honestly, we may be headed there soon. That movie "Her" might be a reality with how tech is going these days.

But, imagine I come to your home and fall in love with your laptop (which messes everything up for you with all your devices and your social media), THEN (as Wanda did with Vision), I run off on some romantic journey with all of your devices. Imagine how Tony would have felt, if he was still with us.

She had one job when it came to Thanos, and it ended up not mattering.

Then, went full rage on the wrong Thanos.

Idk if that’s a look (Thanos) pain, release, of he’s listening to his jam. Kinda looks like he’s saying “JESUS”. But, Wanda is pissed.

Wanda: "You took everything from me!"

Thanos: "Lady, I don't even know you!"

I didn't care about Wanda. But, damn, Marvel is so good that in one episode they made me care; one trailer, really.

If you had not seen the trailer for this series, you might be confused by the first episode. 

You might even ask yourself - "What the bleep is this nonsense?!" We want heroes vs villains. We want super-powered explosions. We want capes, ridiculously tight clothes, bulky armor, and anything else that makes no sense to fight in.

You're giving me "Bewitched"?

I DID see the trailer, so I knew going in that it would be a slow burn with some nostalgia, some quirks, and some eeriness; right up my alley.

The change in Tv decade styles btw *chef kiss*

I figured that they'd be trapped in some mysterious, magical world - which they are...

Unless you're super geeky with the funny books, there's no way you'll see what's coming in this mystery.

And it IS a mystery, not only to the audience, but for the characters involved in this show. Don't nobody know what the hell is going on.

But, LaWanda and Vishawn 

(sorry, I just wanted to use this pic - Ha! Y'all are crazy.)had help figuring things out:

Rambo

Yeah, it's actually Monica Rambeau, 

but... admit it, some of you kept thinking about Rambo too, right?? No offense to this actress, but I'd rather see old man Sly play Rambo, and HIM be in this mysterious WandaVision town. Let's get Disney a lil bloody. Wishful thinking, I suppose.

Marvel WILL BE venturing into multiple universes soon, so perhaps Rambo finds his way to team up with The Punisher? Huh?? YEAH!

But, no... Rambeau (meh No personality, but whatever).

Randall Park - 

He's that person we all know who has made us laugh so much in life, that they don't even need to say anything anymore; you look at them and laugh. I love this dude!

Kat Dennings - 

I remember liking her more in the Thor movies.  I found her annoying, this time around.   She joins the mystery to figure tech stuff out, and she's a doctor or something (don't you forget it!). She also asks the team she just meets to get her some coffee, and acts like they're disrespecting HER, by their lack of response. I know she's a doctor and all, but damn! Imagine some electrician comes to your place to serve YOU, they're condescending to you, and then  they ask you for some coffee. Get the hell outta here!

Oh, and there's a dude named “Director Dick”. That's my name for him, but the name fits.

The people in this town are acting out as if they've been scripted for some show. And all of these characters, AND US, get to figure it out together - through antics from different times in Tv culture. 

Times sure were different back in the day:

No social justice issues implanted or cursing or sex or drugs... now, I'm not saying it was a better time, just a different one :) A time when dad jokes ruled! Simple times! Ignorance was bliss. But, it kinda wasn't - not really.

It's like having an animal die on your property somewhere, and it starts to stink. You COULD find the truth of the stench... or light candles everywhere. Some really strong candles - maybe some of those Gwyneth Paltrow candles.

Though the stench might get covered up, the problem is still there. At some point, your kids could find the dead rotting animal... maybe start playing with it... you get the point.

In this show, the townspeople's minds have been taken over by someone or something, and it's torturous for them. So... bliss on the surface, but... not so much, going deeper. I tell you all of this, plus great production in each epi, a good slow-burn mystery, and fun with comic characters in a way we haven't seen before on screen, and hell yeah - Grade: A series.

Now... spoilers.

You might want to leave now.

People, Wanda is the villain here. I'm not sure if that's the message the writers are trying to convey or not, but I don't care; she is the clear villain here.

Here’s Wanda reading some Hell book, conjuring some dark spirits - nbd.

We are rooting for her throughout this show; even after we find out that she has been (even if not maliciously) controlling every one, we still root for her.

I'm not saying that's bad, but we can't forget about what she has done! Remember, I said that the mind control was torturous for the townspeople.

There's a very emotional moment at the end of this series between Wanda and Vision, and between them and their kids (yeah, they have kids... that's a whole other thing). This moment is well done and touching. There's even a bad ass fight between Wanda and the "true... villain"? - of this story. I'll get to her in a sec (There’s a badass Vision fight scene as well).

I loved all of that! But, at the end of the day...

I know Wanda is grieving and all, we all grieve, but we all don't, in our grief, take a whole town hostage, torture the people, all while playing house with our family. That's kinda sick, no??

Are we doing a girl-power thing? or a “witches are people too” thing? or “but she’s doing it all for her family” thing (yeah, they’re not actually real, but whatever)? I don’t know.

I'm not sure that we know what a villain is anymore. It used to be clear - the guy with the beard was the bad guy, or the guy wearing the black outfit was the bad guy, or the people who aren't Americans are the bad guys :)

But, movies like "Joker" and "Deadpool" and Harley's joint have confused some.

Who else would be the villain? There's a character, the villain (i guess), a witch named Agatha Harkness, played by Kathryn Hahn

Here she is saying “I’m the villain? Really? What about her?!!”

   - she's excellent btw; def the highlight of this show; her and Paul Bettany's hair game.

But, let's compare:

Agatha: 

betrays her coven back in the day, sure, but why you bringing up old shit? 

She allows Wanda to play out this fantasy for a while, and even played along. She could have just killed her when she was ignorant; that's what I would have done. She eventually shows Wanda the truth (granted, she then wants Wanda's power, but hey, everything has a price. And for all we know, she would have used all of that power to... cure the worlds diseases or something... though prob not:). Annnd maybe she killed an imaginary puppy. Convo for another time: if you kill something that's not real, does it matter??

That's it!

She didn't (like Wanda): abduct a town, torture its people, bring Vision back from the dead (kinda), endanger soldiers who were just doing their jobs, create weird fantasies (And did she have sexy time with previously dead, fake Vision? This thing gets even weirder if she did. But, let's not go down that path.) Oh, and she magically punted a black woman (Rambo) the length of a football field just for her asking Wanda some questions.

When the townspeople finally regain their minds (Lord knows how long it's been), they look at her with disdain, and I don't blame them.  And what does Wanda do?? - shrug, put on a hoodie, and fly off - to break into somebody's home and read some devil book.

Where’s cancel culture in this universe? 

I know she made us feel, but I ask again, who's the villain here?

Still Grade A stuff for me (again, I loved this!), but c'mon, people.

We get a glimpse of Captain Marvel 2 as well. My fingers are crossed. I actually liked the first movie. But, many others did not, and one of the reasons - Captain Marvel doesn't have much of a personality, and another - she's too powerful (no risk).

So, to answer the critics, we have Monica Rambeau - another ridiculously super-powered hero, with no personality. So, two unrelatable characters flying around in space, as Sam L Jackson tries not to curse. But, if Marvel can make me care about evil ass Wanda, I'll still hold out hope for Capt Marvel 2.

#wandavision #john praphit #praphitproductions.com #wanda maximoff #elizabeth olsen #paul bettany #praphit #bewitched #disney #Marvel Comics #Movie Reviews #comicbooks #cancel culture #witchcraft #kathryn hahn #rambo #captain marvel 2 #action #mystery

[thatgirlwritingficsatnight]

Odi et Amo II

Odi et amo. Quare id faciam fortasse requiris? nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior  

Catullus, 85

After a few years of working in the USA for Disney and playing the role of The White Fox in Marvel Cinematic Universe you came back to your motherland - Korea only to be greeted with hatred and contempt. To make things harder for you the universe sends you the most irritating neighbour ™. Will you be able to find your happiness and  accomplish your dream of becoming loved actress in Korea without complying with standards of patriarchal society?

pairing: Park Jinyoung x reader

genre: actor au

warnings: angst, foul language (please don’t read it if you’re not old enough)

words: 5764

A/N: It was supposed to be published last week, but I was unhappy with it and ended up rewriting it/adding some things. Sorry! (*_ _)人 P.S Sorry for my grammatical errors! Enjoy!

Chapter I

***

Currently sitting in front of your manager you eyed him. He seemed tired and you felt a pang of conscience it was probably because of your tweets last night and you wouldn’t even think of meeting him if you weren’t in dire need of getaway from the uncomfortable conversation with your neighbor. You didn’t meet in your agency’s building since both of you despised the place even though it was a new and flashy building made out of something that looked like a white marble. Both of you agreed on meeting outside it, so you were sitting in the café nearby while wondering how did your shitty boss manage to rent it. Last time you’ve been here, it was a few rooms in shabby, old building. You shivered while imagining going in, that place had an evil aura even from across the street.

"Where did you get all that money to rent it?" you asked.

"We actually bought it." 

"Well, business goes well then."

"Actually we are only able thanks to your movies. Don’t tell Kim Pd-nim I told you, he thinks you'll become arrogant."

"I already am." You smiled coldly.

"That's what I told him."

Your manager had a sarcastic smirk on. Both of you and hated your CEO and even mentioning him would bring up unpleasant memories. Kim Sanghoon was one of those bosses who wouldn't even think about trying to help idols and stars that were bringing him money. No matter what it was — crazy fans destroying your life, death threats, your collapsing mental health he didn’t care. Once you were attacked by media and netizens you were on your own and if it was too much for the company your contract was terminated. You often wondered when would you become too much for them to handle.

"How do you feel?" Your manager caught you off guard, even though you had known each other for a long time there was an unspoken rule between you not to talk about other things than work.

"Honesty..I'm fine I don't understand why everyone asks me that." You huffed a bit irritated and run fingers through your hair. 

"Well it's just.. I know it was important to you and you worked hard to earn the hearts of your Korean fa..."

"I'm fine." you didn't manage to hide irritation in your voice. You were not used to talking about it and you didn't like it one bit. Besides what were you supposed to say anyway? No one else was as hated as you. Of course there were idols and stars that were occasionally criticized but not one of them was constantly a target of such hatred. Even when you left there were still death threats send from your motherland to you, nothing changed. Not to mention no one else got such welcoming on the day of return to their home. It was unfair, stupid, infuriating and saddening. And yet you couldn’t understand what people were expecting of you? Both Mark and your manager knew you, or so you thought. What were you supposed to do? Cry? You wouldn't cry, that was what weak people do, that would show you actually care about what those assholes think about you. You were just fine. Ok. Neither sad nor happy. You'd endure whatever you had to but you won't conform to their image of idol and woman nor will you show any sign of weakness. You'd rather stay hated than do that. Your manager sighed and it pulled you out of your thoughts.

"Well then. If you're okay then I'm glad. So just as I told you I have this drama for you if you're interested." You weren't the slightest bit. Frankly you'd rather stay in bed for the next three months jobless than play some crazy villain or villainous second female lead. Then again you felt bad about the amount of work he probably had because of you. You looked him in the eyes and answered with a sigh.

"I can't promise anything but I can at least listen what it’s about.." Your manager seemed surprised, but he didn't wait long, perhaps in case you'd change your mind. He took out some papers and handed them to you. You cringed on the sole title "Love is your destiny" — it sounded sappy. 

"So it's a love story between fallen angel and this human..." he started.

"Angels...so who do they want me to play? Satan? Devil? Succubus?" You browsed through pages to find the villain.

"You'd know if you'd let me finish." You sent him a small apologetic smile. "They want you to play the main role." You stared at him confused before you burst with laughter.

"They want me to play cute girl in love with the angel?" The idea of you playing the sweet female lead was absurd, not that you weren’t able to do it, you were a good actress it wouldn’t be a problem for you, if anything it would most likely be a challenge for the audience.

"No, no! You'd play the angel. See this is drama with strong female lead. The origin of your character is fascinating. You had to watch the mistreatment of a woman extremely devoted to god. The lady prayed, but she still got beaten, almost killed even. Moreover, you had to be the guardian angel of her torturer — the aggressive husband. You pleaded to god, you asked him to let you guard her instead, but he didn’t agree and forbade you from intervening. One night when the husband got drunk, he beat her unconscious and you were sure he’d kill her. You decided to save her, you kill her husband and this is the moment when you fell. That's when you became deviant and promised yourself you'd help those who were denied it. You’d protect them and avenge them. Fast-forward a thousand years, and we are in Seoul and you meet a man, a painter..." He was so excited you almost didn't understand some words because of the speed. He was waiting for your response but you were too occupied with reading what he handed you. Once you finished it you looked at him with a mix of surprise and excitement.

"It's like it was made for me.." you said with bewildered tone.

"That's because it was made for you. The screenwriter wrote it with you in mind." You looked like a cartoon character, eyes wide, mouth in a shape of letter "o", once you heard him.

"Me?"

"Yes. She is apparently a big fan."

"And tvN is ok with that?" You furrowed your brows confused.

"Perhaps they aren't. But it is co-production with Netflix, and they pushed for you since you’re popular worldwide." 

Your heart fluttered and the tips of your fingers tingled from excitement as you rummaged through the pages once again, not only it would be showed in TV during the prime-time but also streamed on Netflix weekly.

"The screenwriter and producer kept calling me since yesterday as soon as it was known you came back. They almost cast someone else. They were sure you're staying in the USA. Isn't it amazing?" He was as excited as you were and you felt some remorse for being so rude to him before. You gave him your warmest smile, one you usually used only around Mark and your family.

"It really is. Thank you and I'm sorry for being rude earlier." He was clearly uncomfortable with your apology, red spreading on his cheeks as he waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah don't mention it. Does that mean I can call them and say you are interested." You looked at the pages in front of you once again and smiled broadly before simply saying.

"Yes!"

Jinyoung was still amused you threatened him in his own café. He couldn't focus on the book he had in his hands anymore as he chuckled replying your angered and irritated expressions in his head. It was fun to tease you because you reacted so well. He could tell you could be great friends if you'd let him. He smiled to himself mouthing your own words "bloody Y/N". He was truly shocked that he met you here of all places and found it rather amusing when you yelled in English and caught his attention. He felt some disappointment upon seeing a half naked man talking to you from the screen of your phone but the feeling disappeared as quickly as it came up once your friend ended the call. Jinyoung wouldn't call himself a noisy person, but he found you interesting, and he wanted to know who it was and what kind of relationship you had although he rarely cared for stuff like this... His thoughts were interrupted by his ring-tone, BamBam's face illuminated the screen. He sighed but answered it anyway.

"Skrrrt, skrrt!"

"Ah yes, good morning to you to Bam." Jinyoung said in amused tone.

"Oh, hyung you seem in good mood. What you're up to?"

"Reading, thinking."

"Sounds boring wanna hang out?"

"Actually I wanted to ask you about something." Jinyoung ignored his question once he remembered how obsessed with celebrities and their styles Bam was.

"Shoot."

"Do you know any celebrities under the name Y/N." BamBam laughed wholeheartedly.

"That's very funny hyung."

"What do you mean?"

"OMG you're not joking! Are you living under a rock, hyung? Y/N is like the hottest actress ever. Her style is chic and comfy and artsy it's really cool, and she actually doesn't have a stylist, she does it on her ow..."

"She is an actress?"

"She is the actress! She played the White Fox in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Lol, you call yourself an actor and you don't know the most popular Korean actress abroad."

"You know I don't like those superheroes movies. Besides why didn't I hear about her Korean career if she's so good?"

"You are so old it scares me sometimes. Well you should know her from internet. I think it's national sport to hate her or something. She just came back, and they're already frying her online not to mention the media and dating rumors."

"Dating rumors?"

"Yeah she dated few actors. I think Seojoon hyung dated her and Changwook hyung even almost proposed. The media made her to look like heartless vixen though. I mean they never liked her but her last ex gave a very unfavorable interview to dispatch and after that she became villain number one. She left shortly after."

"Mmmm... I see." Jinyoung only started his career four years ago so it shouldn't be weird you've never met before. He was also the type of person who couldn't care less about internet gossip and gutter press or dispatch. He sighed. Suddenly your angry reaction made much more sense and Jinyoung didn't feel as good about it as he did before. He scolded himself for being too frivolous and selfish. He just wanted to see your reactions - it was cute and funny...

"Why did you ask? OMG you've met her didn't you. I'm so jealous. What was she wearing? Was it Gucci? I heard she likes it."

"Ok Bam. I have to go. Thanks for the talk."

"Wait, so you wanna hang out?"

"Last time when you asked me to hang out I had to shop for 4 hours with you."

"Well... I am your stylist. Besides, it was fun, come on." 

"I think we have different definitions of "fun""

You woke up to no noise pleasantly surprised. It seems that Sunday's were free from renovation and thanks to that you could sleep in. You stretched out and grabbed the phone to check the time. It was already past eleven. You smiled to yourself and fell to bed lazily. Soon you wouldn't have time for lazy days like this as the production team was supposed to finish up casting for the drama by the end of the next week. You thought about picking some groceries, maybe cooking yourself some food and enjoying the day with a book or perhaps some video games. You took shower and put on some comfortable clothes — beige cardigan you stole from Mark clearly too big for you and some black trousers pairing it up with brown coat. You left the apartment and as soon as you did the irritating voice in your head reminded you about your debt. Hesitant at first you shook off the feeling quickly and knocked on the door. This time you were prepared for teasing, you were expecting it even so you wouldn't be caught off guard. At least that's what you were telling yourself. Your neighbor, however, didn't act the way you expected him to. Instead of smirking at you and teasing you or straight up mocking you, he seemed nervous. He had deep purple bags under his usually sparkling eyes. Perhaps he didn’t feel well... you wondered whether you should ask him if he needed some help. You decided it would be extremely awkward and so you cleared your throat and spoke up — softness now somewhere in your voice.

"Is that bad time? I can come later I just wanted to give you back your money.."

"N-No." He started nervously "I mean no. It's fine. I'm actually glad you're here. Would you come in?"

You didn't want to come in and it must have shown on your face since he continued.

"Come on. I don't bite." He smiled warmly and it seemed much more normal than the timid self he showed you seconds ago. And so you came in curiously looking around his own apartment. It was a mirror image of your own in terms of room placements — a hallway leading to living room with opened kitchen. You came into the living room and Jinyoung rushed after you quickly turning the TV off. You didn't pay it any mind since you were looking around and taking in how different was his home compared to yours. It was very modern and yet it kept the homey feeling. Yours on the other hand, well it was raw yet full of stuff? Mark would probably call it unfinished and cluttered. Your neighbor sat on the other side of the couch leaving quite a lot of space between the two of you and run a hand through his hair. He wore a cardigan very similar to yours both in color and style in fact it could be the very same brand and style it’s just neither of you noticed it.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to apologize." He responded quickly and gained a surprised look from you.

"Apologize?"

"Yes about yesterday…I shouldn't have said those things in public I could say I just didn't know about your situation but it’s no excuse. I’m truly sorry." he paused. "You don't have to be stressed about press or rumors though. It is my café and my staff, so they won't talk about it with anyone I took care of it." You took back everything you said, you weren’t prepared for meeting him, especially not getting apologies from him. On top of that he was the owner of your favorite café...

"I… it's fine." You said confused and tried to act as normal as possible while being very aware of your palms spread on your thighs. They were unnaturally clammy. It was a surprise to you, you rarely got any apologies and you were expecting some more teasing not something like that. Your eyes were everywhere except on him and you were screaming at yourself internally to say something, anything, but nothing was coming to your mind. Once again you lost your ability for forming witty sentences around him or in that case any sentences. There was awkward silence between you and you immensely regretted coming to see him today. You weren’t used to this. Somewhere in your belly you could feel as if butterflies - or rather moths — yes, moths of anxiety were fluttering their wings desperately trying to get into your chest. You never felt like this before. You tried to avoid looking at him but your own eyes betrayed you and fell on Jinyoung only to find out he was enjoying your anguish. His brown eyes were glimmering and his lips formed half smirk that he tried to cover with his left hand in a gesture of propping his head up. Immediately irritation came to you burning all the fluttering wings in the pits of your stomach. A frown formed on your face and you send him a glare. Wondering how could you be so stupid and fall for his act.

"You're really cute when you're shy or embarrassed." He chuckled now mocking you openly.

"I can't believe I took your apologies as sincere." He chuckled again clearly pleased with how you responded.

"They were sincere. I just enjoy teasing you."

"Could you stop? That's inappropriate you don't even know me."

"What do you mean we are neighbors and soon to be friends." He smiled broadly and for a second your mind travelled somewhere else simply admiring his beauty. You cursed his handsome face it could blind and charm everyone really. You wanted to leave, no you needed to leave. It was stuffy in here.

"I'm here for a reason." You reminded him, he was watching you with amusement. It felt almost as if a cat was observing you.

"Ah right... money." his tone seemed inattentive somehow. "I don't need it. Let's say it was a part of my apology."

"Just give me your account number and take the money."

"I don't remember it." You were getting more irritated every minute you talked to him.

"You don't remember your account number?" This man was unbelievable. He shrugged.

"You can send it to me through KakaoTalk if you really want." He smiled and took out the phone from the pocket of his pants. 

"Fine. Just give it." Not wanting to spend any second longer here with him, you scanned his qr to add him quickly and transferred the money.

"Done. Now if you excuse me."

"Of course." He smiled again and you felt mocked by the sole action of his lips shooting upwards. He walked you to the door and watched as you slipped on your shoes. You tried to look as cold and dignified as possible but still tripped over the doorstep. He caught your arm firmly and straightened you. Your heart was beating so fast and hard all you could hear was blood pumping in your ears in fact you were sure he could hear it as well. On the other hand whose heart wouldn't when you almost fell face first, right…? Right? It surely wasn't because of his warm breath now tickling the crown of your head, nor the dangerously beautiful eyes... you absolutely regretted coming here today. It was foolish of you to think your cursed neighbor wouldn't shake you up today. And he was still holding you — how awkward is that; and you felt fine with being hold like that — what on earth was wrong with you? You started to think that maybe it would be better if you'd actually fell and hit that stupid head of yours.

Jinyoung was having very dangerous thoughts. The kind he didn't have in a very long time. He wasn't prepared for this kind of proximity. He was already shaken up yesterday by your touch and closeness he only held your hand for a second or two. Maybe he didn't show it but he was. Honestly he wasn't even into PDA or flirting with someone or even thinking of flirting with someone. Yes, he liked teasing, and he teased you but it was in a FRIENDLY manner. Well it was safe to say he didn't have friendshippy type of thoughts right now. Jinyoung reacted automatically upon seeing you fall he just grabbed your arm and pulled you his way. He was still holding your now tensed muscles, but he couldn't let go of you. He was in trance. Your warmth radiating onto him, the way the smell of your shampoo was tingling his nose, your huge doe-like shocked eyes, parted lips, soft pink on the apples of your cheeks. He was wondering how badly would you kill him if he asked to kiss you right now. He was seriously considering it worthy asking even if you were to pull out his tongue like you threatened yesterday. He didn't ask though, the rational part of his brain finally letting go of you. His own feeling were mess, but he did what he knew best — he masked his emotional disarray with some more teasing hoping you wouldn’t notice.

"Falling for me already?" He smirked even though internally he was screaming and already thinking of confiding in Jackson to get himself calmed. He was clearly the one falling and he was panicked. You rolled your eyes on him seemingly gaining the composure while he was getting stunned even by such simple gesture like this.

"You're way below my standards." You seemed annoyed. He smiled again although he wanted you to leave quickly and leave him alone with his feelings, so he can sort this out. Your eyes narrowed at him even more.

"I need to go now."

"Well, have a great day."

"Right, you too." You were so cold Jinyoung almost chuckled at it because it almost wounded him, and yet he liked it. He enjoyed teasing you too much. You were already walking to the elevator, but he couldn't help himself.

"Oh, and try not to fall when I'm not around to catch you, Y/N." He laughed and you were already frowning at him absolutely mad which made his heart skip a beat, you were really too cute when you frowned. Jinyoung closed the door before you could say anything or worse before he did. He realized he was in deep shit. He tried to think reasonably. He probably just had a crush because he spent a whole night watching movies and dramas you were starring in, he might have also accidentally watched all of your interviews and went to sleep at 6 still smiling to himself from that interview where you had to answer questions about your body in preparation for your role in that Marvel movie. The reporter wouldn't stop asking about your body and making comments on it even though you were clearly uninterested in the topic which you finally cut with your own questions. "Are you looking for some weight loss tips? You look great. Seriously what is it about? Are you trying to fit in my suit?" The last question was asked with whole whisper theatrics and Jinyoung laughed at loud at five am hoping he didn't wake you up through the wall. The suit in question was extremely fitting white leather catsuit. It wasn't the only interview in which you showed off your wits, eloquence and badassness, or how Bam would call it "swag". You were also the most attractive actress he had seen. Of course, you were also attractive when you weren't acting but on the screen... you were amazing. So Jinyoung tried to calm himself down rationalizing his earlier thoughts as simply being starstrucked. That’s what fans felt towards their idols, he was simply charmed by his own new idol. Yes that was it — that’s exactly the type of thoughts some fanboys or fangirls would have. He called Jackson anyway, he knew the designer was the right person to talk to in situations like this. 

Twenty minutes later Jinyoung regretted ever calling his best friend.

"OH MY GOD YOU ARE SO IN LOVE WITH HER!" Jackson basically yelled to the phone. Jinyoung groaned and massaged the space between his brows. 

"Were you even listening? I'm just a big fan."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night man. I’m a big fan of Christian Dior and all I can think of is making out with him." 

"Don’t compare it, he is dead!" Jinyoung yelled and his friend filled his ear in response.

 You were regretting not taking the car for shopping. The walk did help with your racing heart, and helped ease off your mind but it turned out the supermarket isn't that close any more when you have to drag home ten bags of food and products. Thankfully a convenience store was on your way so you could make a stop there maybe you'd be lucky enough to see Seoyun, buy her coffee and have a chat. You knew it was stupid, because she could've just feel obliged to say she is your fan but you still wanted to tell her about your new upcoming role. Sadly she wasn't there and so you just made a stop and sat on one of nearby benches. Massaging your palms that had those harsh red lines imprinted in them now thanks to the bags. You could swear you heard the sound of released shutter and so now alarmed you looked around but it seemed you were the only person here. You sighed, how paranoid have you become that you started hearing the cameras when there was none. Then again you were extremely lucky dispatch and paparazzi haven't found you yet. Just before you left to the USA, your ex gave this interview and your life became hell. You didn't have a day without paparazzi running after you or spying on you. The memories came to you not without acrimony and hurt. Your ex, an actor just like you, used you to create scandal and gain some popularity. You could remember how enraged and morose it made you. You didn't date anyone since then even when Mark tried to introduce you to some people. You intended on staying that way. You didn't need anyone, you had Mark, and he was enough for you. Just you and your best friend. You weren't sure how long you stayed like this, deep in your thoughts. You moved only after you fingers became stiff from cold. Somehow you managed to carry the groceries back home. You were so tired that you just counted it as your training today. You checked the time and it was one PM, perfect time to call your bestie.

"Markiee!!" You whined as soon as his face appeared on your screen.

"Y/N-ah. I miss you." He was wearing some blue hoodie this time.

"That's my line. Do you have time to talk?"

"Bruh, for you? Always. What's up?" 

"I am going to star in a drama!"

"What? I thought you hate those." He was genuinely shocked.

"I know, I do. But this one is different. I'm not playing the villain I got female lead, and she isn't some damsel in distress she is a badass character!" You almost screamed and he chuckled.

"Woah. Someone's excited. I'm so proud of you. So who is getting the privilege to be cast with you?"

"I don't know yet. I'm supposed to meet the cast next week." He nodded his head and smiled. "Anyway what are you up to?"

"I was actually thinking of playing Among Us and streaming wanna join?" He grinned.

"Absolutely, prepare to get wrecked Tuan." You used to play together at least once a week when you were in the USA, his fans loved you and shipped you even though you both told them you were just friends — it is some rule in the internet though, to ship close friends.

Few hours later you were once again killed as the first person, this time by Mark.

"YOU GONNA REGRET IT WHEN WE’LL MEET TUAN. I SWEAR I’M GONNA WHOOP YO ASS..." You screamed on top of your lungs and Mark laughed wholeheartedly, while his chat filled up with hundreds of LOL’s and LUL’s.

"You guys she threatens me. Someone make a clip and send it to the police once they find my dead body." He kept laughing and you couldn’t help but laugh as well. His smile and laugh were just too contagious.

"You really put our friendship to test lately Tuan, here I was foolishly trusting you when you killed me in cold blood. " You stretched and your stomach rumbled reminding you that you haven’t eaten yet and it was already around four pm.

" Hey don’t hate the player, hate the game. "   He shrugged and winked, while you rolled your eyes.

"Okay Mark, I gotta go and eat. It’s already afternoon here."

"Sure, chat say bye to Y/N." They did as he asked and it was soon filled with many hearts and goodbyes. "Love you Y/N! Call me soon." He grinned and you smiled warmly.

"Love you too Mark. Bye guys!" With that you logged off the discord, and switched off his stream. You make your way to the kitchen and took out the ingredients for kimchi jjigae you bought before. You carefully read the recipe opened on your phone and began cooking. You had to make anchovy stock first so you grabbed some dried anchovies, kelp and slashed the daikon in cubicles — it looked quite awkward as each cubicle was different size but hey it was you eating it not some kind of culinary critic. You added water and left it to boil deciding to take care of the rest of ingredients. You cut some kimchi and ate some as a snack and reward for not ordering food today, sliced some green onions, cut the pork and the tofu as well. By the time you were done it was time to strain the broth and add the rest of ingredients. It had to cook so you decided to watch some TV in the meantime. You turned it on, it was some kind of reality show where idols were supposed to camp in the wild for a few days. The idols clearly didn’t feel like being there and the fact you knew neither of them didn’t help. You dozed off before you noticed, your eyelids getting as heavy as iron. The smell of burning woke you up. You shot upwards from your couch and rushed to the kitchen, bumping into a coffee table on your way there.

"FFFFFF-UUCK." you hissed, when your shin pulsed with pain. You quickly grabbed the pot with stew to get it off the fire, forgetting it would be hot as well. You hissed in pain and let id drop on your marble floor which was now covered in burned kimchi and some other things. "Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fucking shit." You cursed as you tried to navigate to the sink to ease off the burn with some cold water. The cold water did help and you sighed with relief only to later follow it with a sigh of resignation. You had to clean up this mess. It was when your phone barked — a new message. You checked it.

From Unknown number: Are you trying to burn down the whole building?

You furrowed your brows confused, wondering if it was one of those jokes or spam messages you heard about.

To Unknown number: Who’s this?

From Unknown number: Guess.

You huffed in disbelief.

To Unknown number: Ok, enjoy being blocked.

From Unknown number: Wait!

From Unknown number: It’s Jinyoung.

To Unknown number: How did you get my number? Never mind I’m blocking you I’m too busy to deal with you.

With that you put the phone back in your pocket and began cleaning up. You finished in no time now tired out by scrubbing. You sat on the floor and took out your phone to check it out. From Unknown number: Don’t block me what if you need my help one day.

To Unknown number: With what exactly?

From Unknown number: What if you get stuck in your bathroom and need someone to let you out?

You rolled your eyes and saved his contact

To Devil: There is at least 7 billion more people I’d rather ask to help me

From Devil: Ok then what if I get stuck in the bathroom and need your help.

To Devil: I’d leave you there

From Devil: Heartless

To Devil: Better tell me how did you get my phone number

From Devil: You gave it to me when you scanned my kakao code

You were bewildered, was that his plan from the very beginning or were you just paranoid? You were either prejudiced or he was in fact the devil with angel's face.

To Devil: Did you lie about not remembering your account number?

From Devil: Maybe

You couldn’t believe it, the audacity, the smugness. You could feel irritation building inside you but you decide to let it go when your stomach rumbled at you aggressively. After eating you took shower, read a few chapters of The Vegetarian and fell asleep.

Next week passed quickly but in the feeling of anticipation as you were supposed to meet the rest of the cast as well as the scriptwriter and director at the meeting on Friday. You kept calling your manager throughout the week trying to find out who could they be, but he didn’t know anything or didn’t want to tell you. And so you spent the week on training, running, reading and occasionally calling Mark to express your impatience and excitement. You didn’t meet your irritating neighbor even once this week — something you counted as blessing or perhaps a sign that the universe finally turned your karma around. It was finally Friday and you were already sitting in the meeting room waiting for everyone to come in. You smiled at the young man sitting next to you, he was really cute and had this mole under his right eye it added to his charm. He was about to introduce himself, when someone came through the door and greeted everyone cheerfully. You couldn’t believe it. You were cursed, actually cursed.

"YOU?!" was all that left your mouth upon seeing him entering the room.

#jinyoung fanfiction #jinyoung fanfic #jinyoung angst #Actor!Jinyoung #jinyoung x reader #jinyoung x you #jinyoung fic #park jinyoung fanfiction #park jinyoung fanfic #park jinyoung scenarios #park jinyoung imagines #got7 fanfic #GOT7 fanfiction #got7 fic #got7 scenarios #got7 imagines #GOT7 #got7 jinyoung #got7 park jinyoung #park jinyoung #jinyoung #jinyoung scenarios #thatgirlsfic

[skullhaver]

It's 2021, and I'm watching Buffy for the first time.

The Virgil on my Buffy journey is my long-distance girlfriend, who has loved the show for years. We just finished season 4, and I wanted to write about my favorite episodes so far. I suspect some of my faves are beloved by most fans, but others are weird, personal picks. Buffy fandom, please don't come for me.

I thought this post would be short but I was wrong.

Hono(u)rable Mentions: "Band Candy" S3E6 and "Halloween" S2E6

Both these episodes have fun premises where the Scoobies run around Sunnydale after it was upended by zany, chaotic dark forces. "Band Candy" is fun for devil-may-care teen Giles. "Halloween" is fun for 18th-century-ditz Buffy. These are both very good, and are the sorts of episode I can imagine happily rewatching in the future. I just have more to pontificate upon for the other episodes on this list.

10. "Ted" S2E11

I can’t say I enjoyed this episode, but it did take me for a wild ride. Probably nobody else has strong feelings about this weird story where Buffy's mom dates a stereotypical cheesy family man, who turns out to be a controlling abuser, who turns out to be a robot. I remember shouting at the screen, "Did Buffy just kill a human man?? Is it okay in the moral logic of this show for Buffy to kill a human if he's a direct physical threat to her??" I knew Buffy would have deeper stories than the monster of the week formula we'd seen so far, but this early in season 2, I had no idea when or how that would happen. This was the episode that finally taught me that Buffy is largely not interested in moral ambiguity, or in exploring what it means to be good or bad. Except for season-defining exceptions like Faith and Angel, evil characters are simplistically, essentially evil. But it was wild to believe for a moment that Buffy murdered her mom's abusive boyfriend and would have to live with the consequences.

9. "Helpless" S3E12

When Buffy tries to be genuinely scary, it succeeds with aplomb. The premise of this episode is dumb and contrived ("Giles has to remove Buffy's powers without her knowledge for a seeeecret test by the Watcher's Council") but the chase and fight in this episode are some of the most tense and spooky scenes of the whole series so far. Buffy's vulnerability makes the stakes feel real in a way few other episodes manage. And Buffy's victory is all the more satisfying because she can't punch her way out of this problem, she has to be smart and creative. The fridge horror, of course, is that Giles would endanger her like this in the first place, but that gets sorted out over the emotional arc of the next few episodes.

8. "I Only Have Eyes For You." S2E19

Another spooky episode, this one a classic ghost story of forbidden love ending in murder - but with the twist that the ghosts possess people's bodies to have them reenact their final moments. I love stories about breaking a doomed-to-repeat cycle. I love weird shit like the snakes manifesting in the cafeteria. And I really loved the choice to have Buffy and Angel come to understand their feelings about their own relationship by embodying these ghosts - especially how they embodied different genders than their own to better fit the "roles" of the haunting story, thus subverting the expected pattern. I found this episode clever, poignant, and effective.

7. "Who Are You?" S4E16

"Faith and Buffy switch bodies" is a wild premise, but the real joy of "Who Are You?" is watching Sarah Michelle Geller being an extremely talented actress for 45 minutes, portraying a totally different character. Watching Faith confronted by kindness and love from Buffy's mom, Riley, and her friends, then getting launched into an existential crisis over it is so great. Also, I just dig a good church fight.

6. "Hush" S4E10

As stated above, love an episode that reminds me that these people are talented actors! Featuring demons that render all of Sunnydale unable to talk, we get to watch great physical comedy right next to tense, silent fight scenes. The visual creepiness of the Gentleman and their straight-jacketed weird little helpers is hard to beat. "Hush" is such a clever episode that it ascends monster of the week status to become almost Twilight Zone-esque. Also, for the first time, Buffy sees Riley doing his Initiative thing, and Riley sees Buffy being the Slayer, but they can't talk about it?? That's good shit.

5. "The Wish" S3E9

Both "Something Blue" and "The Wish" feel like the writers decided to use fanfic premises on their own show... so obviously I like them a lot. But getting to watch a dark timeline AU with interesting world-building and attention to detail, a hilarious and horrifying Cordelia POV, AND a smirking kinky vampire Willow? Hello?? And the fact that the Wishverse comes up again in "Doppelgänger" (another truly fun episode) only improves my opinion. I imagine this is the kind of episode fans simply love coming back to.

4. "Restless" S4E22

This David Lynch-ass dream sequence was a weird choice for a season finale, but an extremely ambitious and cool episode. I should say up front that I love David Lynch-ass dream shit. There were creative and well-executed scene transitions as characters moved seamlessly from one dream room into another. Several memorably neat shots - Willow running between endless curtains as she tries to get onstage, Buffy alone in a vast desert with a weirdly high camera angle. And I got myself all excited thinking that the First Slayer would maybe become a different kind of antagonist - maybe not even fully revealed in this episode, or maybe an Id-like aspect of Buffy herself. But I forgot Whedon gonna Whedon, so the First Slayer had to be someone Buffy could punch in the end. And the First Slayer is sadly yet another primitive-themed, emotionally-stunted character of color for this show. Most of her lines in this episode are literally voiced by a white woman speaking for her, and of all the dumb quips to make, Buffy had a line about her hair being unprofessional? Also, I'm a lesbian, so the fact that the most explicit act of intimacy between Willow and Tara this show has allowed us to see occurs in Xander's horny dream sequence... it’s unforgivable, Joss. This episode was one of my favorites ever, deeply marred by some bad writing choices.

3. "Lovers Walk" S3E8

Spike, perhaps the best non-Willow character in this show, is back in Sunnydale, a hilariously heartbroken mess of a man, hell-bent on getting his former girlfriend Drusilla back. (Drusilla left him for a fungus demon.) So Spike breaks into a magic shop to get ingredients for a love spell, where he runs into Willow, who is getting ingredients for a de-lusting spell, because she is worried she and Xander will be too thirsty to behave appropriately in public with their actual partners, Oz and Cordelia. This is a hilarious moment just to exist. This is all the episode needed to do to satisfy me. But the fact that Spike then kidnaps Willow, and it ends with tragic stakes of everyone's relationships coming apart, not to mention me genuinely thinking Cordelia was dead for a minute there - wow. Chef’s kiss. The episode is balanced shockingly well between Spike being an ominous villain, and being the sort of lovable semi-evil (more gremlin-like) side character he'll become in season 4. What a wild ride.

2. "Graduation Day" S3E21-22

I'm counting this two part season finale as one because it's my list and I'll do what I want. "Graduation Day" feels like a quintessential Buffy episode executed to perfection. It has Buffy reaffirming her position as a moral heroine, sacrificing her own blood to save Angel's life even when she thought she had to kill Faith to save him. It has Buffy and Faith (or Buffy/Faith, as I prefer to think of them) getting to square off in a dramatic, tough fight. It has a lot of Mayor Wilkins, a character I truly adore for some reason. Nothing like a public administrator who plays mini golf in his office, wants you to chew with your mouth closed, and will kill a graduating class of high schoolers to gain immortality. The catharsis of the whole school getting to fight back against evil, instead of just Buffy against the world - a real joy. This episode misses the top spot for two reasons. "A special vampire poison and the only cure is the blood of a Slayer" is too contrived for me to let slide, and also I had to see Cordelia and Wesley kiss.

1. "Becoming" S2E21-22

Buffy’s season finales really do have good stories and satisfying payoff. First off, Buffy starts this episode by punching a cop and fleeing from the law. Later, Spike also punches a cop. A.k.a., Buffy said blue lives don't matter. Second - I haven't gotten a chance to comment on this yet, but all throughout season 2, evil Angel is such a joy to watch. As regular Angel, David Boreanaz makes exactly one face ("I am a kicked, angsty puppy") and bless his heart, it gets so tiresome. As evil Angel, he is so expressive, dynamic and terrifyingly creative in his badness. And I love his weird threesome energy with Spike and Drusilla. But also, it's so hard to watch Buffy suffer as she deals with her evil boyfriend doing evil things. Her ultimate choice in this episode, to kill Angel even as Willow's spell restores his soul, gave me some real big feels! Also, this episode marks the first moment of Willow doing big, plot-shifting magic on her own, solidifying her transformation from computer nerd to witch! 

Also, shout-out to the many good smaller moments in this episode: Spike making awkward small talk with Buffy's mom, Buffy constantly dunking on Principle Snyder, and Giles being tortured by visions of Miss Calendar (RIP Miss Calendar, I was your biggest fan.)

"Becoming" is an excellent season finale and the kind of Buffy episode I imagine I will want to re-watch in the future just for nostalgia's sake.

#buffy the vampire slayer #guess i will tag this and just engage in pvp if it happens #buffy fandom in 2021 i don't know you but please be nice #this was fun to write #i guess i do like this show!

[t-lostinworlds]

The Devil All The Time: A Review That No One Asked For

Well, I don’t know why I’ve been putting this off but here I am 48 hours later. Though the fact that I’m still thinking about the movie two days later is proof how long it stays with you right after you watch it. By all means, I’m not an expert reviewer aha so this maybe all over the place but: It is a good movie. It wasn’t perfect of course, the flow could’ve been a tad bit better, and the narrator threw me off sometimes, a few missing bits in terms of the characters but it’s still good nonetheless. I do want to point out that the movie wasn’t as dark and brutal as how the book went. It wasn’t a graphic or gore as I’d expected it because some critics did overplay it. So, if you’ve read the book, the movie will come off as a much lighter tone. Also, if you watched GoT, then you’ll be fine with the gore. But with that said, there are still triggering scenes so people should still be mindful when watching. A couple of changes but that’s a given with every book adaptation but there were a few that I thought was better in the movie than in the book, which I will get more into in a sec because I’ll try and keep this other half spoiler free.

The visuals, the cinematography, it was beautiful. I loved how everything looked on screen, scenery, colors, lighting, the whole lot. The music and the little added touches of sound effects was just so spot on that you just feel more on edge as the movie goes, like little ticks here and there. Now, the cast, whew. Nobody fell short with their performance. Some might have smaller screen times than others but still, nobody was lackluster or pushed to the side and they gave their best with the material they were given. Although, I may be biased but from what I’ve been seeing around I think we can all agree that Tom Holland struck out the most (I’ll gush about him more under the cut aha).

Long babbling short, I loved it. Right after I finished watching, it truly did feel like I went running lol, like I got so into it that those last few moments (or every intense scene for that matter) that it had me at the edge of my seat. But I also wanted to watch it again soon after. It may not be for everyone’s taste, although I am interested to see what the people who haven’t read the book thought of it because I do see how it can come off confusing in some parts. I already knew what was going to happen and some background on why it happened so it was easy for me to fill in the missing pieces. But with that said, it’s still a good adaptation and it stayed as true as it can get to the books. 8.5/10 would recommend watching, with caution of course.

a more detailed (specific scenes, characters, actors performance, and more) rambling below the cut aka spoilers ahead!!

I’m going to start off with Willard Russell who was played so well by Bill Skarsgård. I haven’t seen anything else of his before but he was so good in this movie. His interaction with Haley Bennett's character Charlotte was different from the book but I'm not mad on how it played out in the movie either. It was a cute and a little awkward interaction which was all good. Charlotte is exactly how I thought of her, a sweet, beautiful, caring lady and Haley played her just as well. Especially with the scene where she and Arvin were singing together, that was just the sweetest thing.

But back to Willard (Bill) and all his interaction with little Arvin (who was also so great btw), it was just damn. For one, in the truck after he beat the living daylights out of those men, that switch of him being out of breath and angry and him teaching Arvin about those bullies and finding the right time and him saying, "there's a lot of no good sons of b*tches out there." to when Arvin asked him if it was more than a hundred and he chuckled as if he didn't almost just killed a man? And then suddenly he was back to this loving father who cares so much about his family and would anything to protect and defend them (sounds familiar right? Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.) Although I will say that Willard is a much horrible person in the book than he was in the film. The prayer log could've gotten more… bloody and gross as time passed by. And the thing with Jack Russell (Arvin's dog, who wasn't actually a jack russell but oh well), they changed it so that he was with them longer so it did have more weight if you put it that way since Arvin has grown to love Jack, so killing him off screen was still going to be heart breaking. But in the book, it was a stray dog that wandered into their place and Arvin fed him, named him but on the same day, as soon as Willard got home he shot the dog right in front of Arvin. Now that would've been much crueler and could've showed just how far gone Willard is with his whole "faith" and how desperate he was on saving his wife who he's so in love with but damn, the things love can make people do. Or, they could've added the part where Willard killed the lawyer and poured his blood on the prayer log because that for me was a turning point in the book where I went, Willard has lost his freakin mind with the sacrifices. They did show the lawyer in the movie that's why I was a bit confused when it didn't happen but you can't cram anymore into a 2-hour movie. To conclude, this movie made me want to watch more of Bill for sure, but I'm too scared to watch IT (im a coward) so looking forward to what he does in the future.

Next I want to talk about are Helen, Roy and Theodore. Mia Wasikowska was great. She had so little screen time but whenever you see her on screen she just embodies Helen so well. Helen didn't have much to do in the book either aside from the fact that she was supposed to marry Willard and then didn't because Willard went off with Charlotte and Helen went to marry Roy which was kind of the starting to point as to why everything in their life has gone to hell, and then be a sweet mother to Lenora. But besides that, Mia gave her best and served the character well in my opinion. Theodore on the other hand could've done so so much more. Given that he was the driving force that made Roy kill Helen. If ever I haven't read the book, it would’ve look rather random how suddenly he wanted to try resurrection. Roy and Theodore's relationship could've been explained more, specifically Theo's feelings because that was why he pushed Roy to do it. Now, Harry Melling as Roy Laferty was great. The scene with the spiders and then the emotions you see in his face and his eyes when he tried to resurrect Helen? Remarkable. The slow realization that it wasn't working, the shift on his face was so clear and that momene where it crosses his mind that he just killed his wife it was just, Dudley Dursley who? Though his death came earlier than I expected, and they changed quite a lot and it felt so random how he just left Theo in the car and went on a hitchhike when in the book, Theo died first that's why Roy decided to try and go back to his daughter. But his death scene was still intense, and the fact that his last word was Lenora? His daughter? Amazing.

So, now we see Carl and Sandy Henderson, who showed immediately how crazy they were when they killed Roy (who wasn't their first kill but). Both Riley Keough and Jason Clarke were fantastic, and they really did bring the uneasiness so well on screen. And I love how you can actually see how Sandy change from the first time we see her to the last, like it looked like Sandy was played by two different actresses so huge props to Riley for smashing that role from innocent sweet girl to this troubled serial killer. Although I wished their story was showed better, more so Carl than Sandy because out of the two, Carl was much, much sicker in the head than Sandy. He was the one who'd constantly look at those horrible photos and do…stuff, which was so sooo gross to read I feel sick just thinking about it. But Jason Clarke did a great job at portraying Carl's creepiness as much as he could, like I couldn't bear looking at him on screen without grimacing.

Lee Bodecker. Sebastian Stan did a great job a making him insufferable that's for sure. I always love how the moment Lee is on screen Seb is just gone. He just never failed to feel like this weird and corrupt cop or sheriff. Although I will say, his and Sandy's relationship could've been showed better because I have seen where people didn't realize they were siblings until the end. But I do like how you see that Lee doesn't really care that much for Sandy, I mean he does, but not as much. His mind has always been about being re-elected and having these stories about Sandy won't make him look good does it? Though his emotions in the end when he was in that car with Sandy was really spot on.

Emma and Earskell, I won't really dive into much because there's really isn't much to say than they were both great. They both made Arvin and Lenora feel like they do have a family and that they weren't alone, like they just came off as kind people on screen. But gosh Emma, that woman deserves a proper vacation for everything that she's went through. But Lenora, oh gosh, her story and how it ended was the most painful to read and watch. She was just a sweet innocent girl who got bullied and she deserved none of that. Eliza Scanlen was just wow. I loved her in Little Women, loved her even more on here as well. And her chemistry with Arvin (Tom) in the movie was just amazing, like they bounced of each other so well and you can see with just one look how much she admires Arvin. But the last scene where you can see her face, that split moment when she paused and then slowly smiled as she thought how her grandma won't be ashamed, and that she will take care of her baby and give it the life that it deserves but then she slipped and that made the scene even more heart wrenching. Let me tell, I screamed "Nooooo!" when I read it in the book and I screamed just as loud when I saw it on screen despite already knowing how it ends.

That f*cking rev. tergaryen what's his face. I couldn’t stand him in the book couldn’t stand him just as much in the movie which says a lot on how great of an actor Robert Pattison is. Each time he's on screen I emotionally and physically just can't stand him. Mind you I watched all his scenes with the Reaster girl and his wife with a proper scowl and kept looking away. But his scene with Lenora in the car I was peeking through my fingers because I can't sit and watch it fully because it was just so disgusting to watch. Robert Pattison played him so well that even his voice was just so creepy like dude, shut up. And when he was manipulating Lenora, rambling about his freakin delusions? Ugh I really wanted to punch the screen, big kudos to Rob for bringing that disgusting character to life. And well, I'll say he did get what he deserved in the end so.

Last but definitely not the least, Tom Holland as Arvin Russell. Gosh, where do I even start with this lad? This boy has range I can tell you that. I'm going to be talking so much about him so haha sorry but he was just amazing and I need to point out so many things. First scene was his birthday, and you can see how he seemed like just a normal, happy boy celebrating with the people the he loves but the moment Uncle Earskell handed the gun and mentioned that it was his father, his whole mood changes, his whole face fell and the look in Tom's EYES, his eyes does so much to portray his emotions and goodness he's so freakin amazing at switching from one emotion to another in so little time. To be honest, Arvin in the book is much more cold and harsh, even when it's towards Lenora and his Grandma. Hell, he makes sly digs at Lenora in the book which is more of a way to make her see how cruel the world is, sorta a tough love kinda of thing. He's just not that affectionate, with how he grew up, it's a given.

But Tom brought so much more depth to the character that even I didn't see as much while reading the book. Which is why people are so drawn to him, it makes him easier to sympathize and like in the movie, all because Tom added even more layers (i need my onion emoji dammit). I mean, Arvin is complex as is in the book, a lot colder for sure, but with how Tom portrayed him you just get to think so much more on what could possibly be going on in Arvin's head. You can just see all sorts of emotions the character goes through, from being rash, to angry, to hatred, to fear, to sadness, to vulnerability and these emotions happen so close to each other that the switch is just incredibly impressive. When he charged towards those bullies to protect Lenora? This is where you can see that when he's filled with rage, he sometimes doesn't think things through. It was three against one with guys much bigger than him, it was obvious he was never going to win but he still did so anyway because he loved Lenora, he'd do anything to protect and avenge her, why? It's what his father taught him. It's what he saw when he was a kid, that no matter if it’s a violent act, he'll do it for the people that he loves. Like i said in the beginning, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

There so much like father like son moments in this film, which didn't even come off forced because I've seen in an interview where Bill and Tom read their lines together despite not having a scene together and oh did it pay off because you can see a little bit of the Willard you see on the first bit of the movie in Arvin all throughout, which is again, a testament to how great these actors are. Also, Tom's scenes together with Eliza are just wow. It's incredible how much they contrast each other but still be connected in a way, like Lenora is this sweet innocent girl who's kind hearted and is willing to forgive her father for whatever he could've done while Arvin, gosh, every mention of his father his face always falls stoic and it's so amazing to see Tom play that emotion so well with so little movement like a clench of his jaw or his eyes. Their relationship was just so wholesome. Even with that scene in the meat shop where Arvin was teasing his grandma, it was such a sweet moment to see that side of him because in the book, the interaction was just plain he said, she said which I interpreted as being nothing more than a casual conversation but in the movie it was more light-hearted which is so interesting given the a few moments later, you see Arvin's rage again and he was already in fight mode when that preacher insulted Emma's cooking (which was a so not okay that freakin imbecile) which again, slowly opens the doors to how far Arvin will go for the sake of protecting and avenging the ones he love. Also, the fact that they changed who found Lenora's body to Arvin instead of Earskell was far better. My heart freakin broke for that boy when he was screaming as he tried to keep her up in hopes that he could still save her. Thomas Stanley Holland man, that scene was just wow, it was a lot to take in. But that change only added as to how he was going to handle the preacher later in the movie.

What did impress me the most was the quick switch Tom makes with his emotions. First off, that moment with those bullies. He was relentless with how he handled them, just full on anger and hatred like when he beat those boys best believe I kept flinching because it looked painful as hell. And then he says, "I'll kill you." (with that thunder sound which was a really nice touch), and this is where you just see how he's someone you shouldn't mess with who can potentially do so much more damage (which he does). But the moment he gets in his car and closes the door? You see nothing but a kid who's downright scared of what he just did, he knew it was somewhat wrong, like he couldn't actually believe he did that in the first place but as he'd said, he did it because had to and felt like it was the only way, which is again, a callback to what he saw with his father with them 'bullies,' it drilled on him how that's the only way. But my goodness the way his hand shook, his breathing, the fear in his eyes, and then when he wiped the blood on his hand then that flashback with Willard? Yes yes yes, another like father like son moment.

It's the same thing with the way he handled the preacher, it was much more different in the book but I liked this version better. There's just something poetic about it being in the church all while Arvin confessed the preacher's sins for him, it was just amazing writing. But the way his hands shook when he was standing the first time he enters? Like he could’ve done it right then and there but he can't because he's scared. I mean the way his voice was breaking with that sinner line (which was so funny how they made it seem so badass in the trailer) he was trying to get himself together, like the way he was breathing so shakily shows his nerves and his fear. But as he reiterated all the disgusting things the preacher did, you see that rage bubble inside him, you see him slowly grow more confident because his fear was now replaced by anger. And once that his rage was at full capacity, the moment they started talking about Lenora? (Tom and Rob's exchange was amazing btw) He was able to shoot him down with one hand, shaking gone all because he was angry. But as soon as he's dead and the anger subsides, the fear is so quick to consume him, you see it the moment he sits down. And again with his eyes you see it all in his eyes, just Tom Frickin Holland everybody. That exchange was easily the best one.

As for his interaction with Carl and Sandy, his expressions in the back seat as he slowly realizes what was going to happen to him, it was just amazing. This is where you see more of Arvin actually being smart, he's a bit rash and compulsive sure but he is definitely smart. But now, you don't see his anger because he doesn't know this people, the only thing he knows is that they were trying to kill him. So notice how he shot Carl with two hands this time? and how he was shaking exactly as he pulled the trigger? Same with Sandy? Compare that to how he handled the preacher. Also his fear when he thought he got shot? The utter panic was just, though he did puke in the book which would've showed just how much he didn't like what he just did and how he felt so wrong. Same with his interaction with Lee, he knows how asses his situation and damn, I don’t know if its sheer dumb luck or this boy just got incredible aim, I mean he's practiced in the books and he's gotten good but you don't see it in the movie though. But still the same, you see more of him being regretful which just shows how complex he is as a character. And Tom showed all these emotions so freakin well without saying much at all. You just see it, which shows just how talented he is.

Everything somewhat came full circle in the end, he buried Jack's bones which what he's been wanting ever since. And he also buried the gun, which was somewhat him saying how he's had somewhat a closure with his father and that he's putting it all in the pass. And then we end the movie with him trying not to fall asleep which honestly what it felt like after watching the movie. I needed a breather. That last shot was so calming though it does make you wonder where he goes on from here.

My goodness I could go on and on about Tom's performance and I definitely missed so much more but I feel like this is long enough lmao. Also feel like i’ve missed a few moments in the movie as well. Now I hope people will see what good of an actor he is and to show that he's more than just playing Peter Parker. Right, that's enough. I'm going to say how many words in total this was but, it's a lot.

And that is it for The Devil All the Time. A very good movie, would want to watch again but damn, I feel like I need a nap because what a movie indeed.

#well damn #a testament to how much i talk #but please do talk to me more about it #my inbox is always open <3 #i'd love to share points and exchange opinions #the devil all the time #movie review #movies #tom holland #bill skasgård #robert pattinson #sebastian stan #eliza scanlen #haley bennett #jason clarke #riley keough #harry melling #mia wasikowska #tdatt cast #tdatt #movies: my review #arvin russell #willard russell #lenora laferty

[nahimjustfeelingit-writes]

Imagine:

Actress/Reader has to do a sex scene with Erik and they both get turned on heavy.

“Relax, Y/N. You are a super star actress who has worked her butt of for this role.”

Y/N was in hair and makeup currently for her role in a new movie called Lethal Lust. This was day five on set of the new movie she was starring in. It’s an action drama about a woman who falls in love with a Mercenary. She’d never acted in a rated R film with tons of nudity, and other graphic depictions. She was surprised she even got the role during open auditions. Supposedly the leading actor, a guy by the name of Erik Stevens was behind the entire ordeal. He wanted the perfect leading lady to be his love interest. His best friend was the director so it only made sense.

This would be Y/N and Erik’s first ever scene together. The scene is set in Erik’s home. It’s supposed to be titled “make a movie” so from what Y/N read within her script, she’s supposed to put on a little strip tease for Erik in front of a large projector screen playing a rather pornographic scene. This was completely nudity, no PG13, all tits, ass, and maybe a peek at her vagina if you had a good eye. Y/N didn’t understand why all the sex scenes had to be filmed first. Her PR team felt that this role would be a break out for her from all the roles she was so comfortable with doing. Rom-coms, crime dramas, family films, even musicals.

“It’s not like you’re actually having sex with the guy. Close your eyes.”

Y/N closed her eyes so her hair/makeup artist could apply the last bits of her eye shadow. Her hair was silk pressed, she wore a see-through black robe and after this she would have to get her body rubbed down with oil to give herself a sexy sweaty look. She had to wax her entire body too.

“It’s Erik fucking Stevens we’re talking about,” Y/N’s older sister and manager said, “He’s known for being the sexiest man in Hollywood right now. And there are rumors flying around about how well hung he is.”

“Oh yeah,” Y/N’s personal stylist chimes in, “A super model chick I know said he has a third leg. She had to reschedule a Dapper Dan photo shoot because he fucked her so rough and good she couldn’t even get out of bed.”

“Damn, he’s making bitches bed ridden?” Y/N was definitely curious now. She tried not to get involved with those kinds of things but she wouldn’t lie and say that Erik Stevens wasn’t a sexy man. She conversed with him in passing like at red carpet events but never any full on conversation. She knew that would happen now with the press tour and script reading on top of being in almost every scene together. She was known for being the sweet girl but this role involved her being a sexy “devil in a red dress” type. All that shy shit was out the window with this.

“Okay, you’re all set babe.”

Y/N opens her eyes, admiring the sexy Smokey eye and nude lip look. Her hair was pressed and almost touching her waist; a change up from her usual curly fro. She even liked the kinky spiked leather choker around her neck.

“Beautiful, now lets get you oiled down and headed over to the scene.”

Y/N took one last breath before standing, following everyone out of her personal trailer and to the scene. She had to be quick so that fans who crowded around outside wouldn’t take pictures of her. With a long black fluffy robe on and an umbrella over her head since it was drizzling. She made it to the set, greeting the director; a director she adored. Her name was Lia Smith and she was a genius.

“You ready?” Lia knew Y/N was nervous about this but she had faith that she would do well.

“Yes, as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“You need a little drink to get you loosened up?”

Y/N noticed the drink table. Nothing there was beginner friendly, all strong.

“Erik especially likes his Hennessy before filming sex scenes and action scenes. He says it gets him in the zone.”

“No thanks, I’m cool.”

“Oh, Miss Y/N!!” Y/N looked up to see her stylist waving her over to get oiled down.

“Looks like it’s about that time. I’ll see you in there girly,” Lia gave Y/N’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before walking away with the camera crew to make sure everything was ready to go.

Y/N walked over to her personal team, the stripper heels on her feet already a pain. She followed them into the “movie room” for the scene, the lights low and a red hue surrounding them. The large screen was being tweaked by the camera crew, Lia in the corner talking closely to producers. The floor was covered in plush red carpet, a personal recliner chair facing the screen that Y/N assumed was for Erik himself. She made herself comfy in the corner, allowing her fluffy robe to be removed showing off the see through black one. No bra or panties on at all. The oil girl came over, removing her robe to apply the grape seed oil to Y/N’s beautiful brown skin. Y/N held her hair up, trying her best to look around her in case she caught sight of Erik coming in.

“Hey, E, it’s about time you showed up,” Lia teases.

Y/N looked towards the entrance to the “movie room” Erik himself walking in with black slacks, a white dress shirt half way buttoned and his tie undone. His hair was freshly re-dreaded, shape up and all with his glass of Hennessy in hand. He wore a pair of gold rimmed glasses, and Y/N especially loved the intellectual look for the scene. She was warming up and it wasn’t just the oil on her skin. The minute the oil girl went down to do her thighs, Erik’s eyes fell on hers. He gave her a lopsided grin before allowing his eyes to take in her nude frame. Y/N blushed, looking away from him to calm her over growing nerves. She was about to do a sex scene with Erik Stevens. They were going to fuck on that couch or maybe the floor. Who knows.

“All set.”

She was finished, her body shining and looking rather delicious. Y/N grabbed her sisters hand, giving her a look that she may not be able to handle this.

“Stop it, be a big girl. You are an actress and you can slay any role.”

“He’s just so...intimidating...and sexy as hell.”

“That’s the fun part. Use that sexy side of yours to drive him crazy. Make it believable.”

There was no need to fake a fucking thing because she was already horny and they didn’t even get started yet. She placed her robe back on, her sister giving her a final thumbs up before exiting the room right along with everyone else except for the director, producer, Erik, and herself. Once those double doors closed, Y/N got into positon, placing herself in front of that screen. She spoke a few lines to herself, shaking out her hands before turning towards a seated Erik Stevens. He looked to be having a brief conversation with Lia.

“First time is always the scariest, right Erik?” Lia spoke allowed since Y/N was looking at the both of them.

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” He turned to Y/N giving her a warm smile, “I remember my first sex scene. I was real nervous but that shit landed me a fucking Oscar.”

“I don’t know if I’ll get an Oscar for this but, we’ll see,” She timidly smiles at Erik.

“You’re an amazing actress, sweetheart. I’d bet my fucking money you’ll get an Oscar for this role. They will eat this shit up. Y/N, Hollywood’s Good Girl turned Freaky Girl in new Rated R Action Drama.”

“Really?” She liked the way he called her freaky girl.

“Hell yeah,” He licks his lips, “you ready to show me what you can do? Prove to me that I picked the right girl for my leading lady.”

Lia gave Y/N an encouraging smile.

“Okay.”

Lia gets herself ready to film. Y/N goes to stand in the doorway of a fake entrance to the “movie room” trying her best to appear sexy while Erik focused on the pornographic scene on the screen in front of him. His head resting back and eyes purposely low.

“Take one, Make A Movie Scene, Action.”

The sound of a woman’s moans filled the room, Y/N opens her robe, stepping closer so Erik could see her within his peripheral. He allows his eyes to lazily fall on her before they became fiery and intense, his drink brought to his lips. Y/N did as she was supposed to do, lick her lips and stare at him with a starving need. Erik tilts his head at her, the golds in his mouth causing her to let out an airy sigh. That wasn’t in the script at all, but Lia liked that a lot.

“I thought you said you would never fuck with me? Lola?”

Lola was Y/N’s name for the role.

“I guess I changed my mind...you sparked something in me, Jason.”

She slowly and seductively ran her fingers up and down the opening of her sheer black robe.

“So, all that bad guy shit doesn’t matter to you anymore? Remember, I’m the man who tried to kill you.” He twirled that glass in his hand, Y/N’s eyes falling on the screen like they were supposed to before going back to Erik’s.

“But did you kill me? If you wanted to...”

Y/N walks further into the room, a switch in her hips and a flame in every step she took. She was really a dangerous woman now. Erik has this impressive glint in his eyes. She must be doing really really well because supposedly Erik was known for yelling out “cut” if the shit wasn’t genuine.

“You would have put a pillow over my head and placed a bullet in my brain while I was sleeping.”

The movie on the projector was reflected on her skin. Erik allowed his eyes to watch the movement of the pornography actors bodies across Y/N’s skin.

“See something you like, bad boy?” Y/N takes her hands, running them through her hair.

“Hmm, very... nice,” He spoke in a low dark tone that had Y/N making those sounds again. Erik was loving the fuck out of her little whimpers. This shit was unscripted and sexy as hell. He just knew Lia and the rest of the crew in the room were squirming in their seats.

“Take off that robe, now.” His idea was to attempt to place fear within Y/N but her job was to be turned on by it. And boy was she turned on. She allowed her hips to move, her fingers pulling that robe off her oily skin, allowing it to pool around her ankles in those heels. She kept her eyes on Erik, no matter how hard it was. He was biting his lip now, an eyebrow raised up at her as if to say, “so this is what Miss Y/N got going on? This is Hollywood’s sweetheart, huh?”

She allowed her hands to run from her neck, over her breasts, and down to her thighs. She let out a shudder each time her hands trailed over her skin.

“I wanna be your bad girl, Jason, you’ve changed me,” she whispers.

“You sure you’re hearing yourself, beautiful?” Erik lifts his white dress shirt, showing her the two pistols he had on his hips, “This aint a game, love, this is real.”

Y/N slowly and sexily walks over to Erik. She places her ass on Erik’s lap, turning sideways, moving her hips over him. Erik grunts, his hands on her hips.

“Let me feel your guns...”

She reached back, allowing her fingers to touch the cool metal. A moan escaped her mouth, Erik’s eyes sharply focusing on her. She was really moaning from touching the guns on his hip. He would have said “cut”only because she was turning him on so damn much that he might fucking loose it. Erik Stevens never broke character in the middle of a scene.

“I should have given myself to you sooner,” Y/N looks down at him over her shoulder, that jet black straight hair swaying across her bare back, “you’ve killed so many men for me, Jason...”

“That’s because no matter what, your special to me, love,” Erik places his lips on her exposed neck, “You’re turning me on more than this movie.”

“Yes?” She says in a honeyed tone, turning to straddle his hips now. Her tits were in his face, her hips grinding into his. She was way pass shy now. All she wanted to do was nail this scene and blow Erik Stevens away. So far so good because he could not keep his hands off of her. Y/N was beginning to wonder if it was all still acting at this point for him. It damn sure wasn’t for her. Y/N was hungry for him. To take it a step further, Y/N grabbed one of Erik’s guns from his hip, bringing it to her mouth and licking it before sucking on the barrel. The camera was zoomed in on the both of them, catching every single moment.

“Fuck,” He hissed, his eyes brows knitted together with so much need for Y/N. Erik takes the gun from her mouth, replacing it with his mouth. The kiss was so delicious, it had Lia biting her nails and the camera crew shifting to calm down the growing erections or wet pussies they had from the sexy actors. Y/N sucked on Erik’s lower lip before taking it between her teeth to pull on.

“Mmm,” He slaps her ass. Right then and there she knew that he had to be just as turned on and not giving a fuck about the script. He wasn’t supposed to slap her ass, just caress it.

“Do that to me again, Jason. Mark me...make me yours.”

Now, his teeth were on her neck. She had her head thrown back, soft and longing sighs escaping her mouth. Erik had his hands on her breasts now, caressing them.

“You’re mine. Nobody will ever fuck with you again,” He places one of his hands on the back of her head to make her look at him, “no one. I mean every word.”

“Show me,” Y/N takes the hand from her head, trailing it down between her legs, “touch me, please, I wanna be your bad bitch.”

The kissing intensified. Erik was supposed to rest his hand over her mound while Y/N fake moved her hips against him but she was pressing his fingers into her opening. Erik froze for a second, allowing her to take over his mouth with her lips. When she finally released her lips, he brought his lips to her ear.

“You really want me to finger this wet pussy? You’re so damn wet, Y/N.”

No one else could hear that but her. The others took it as another sexy nonscripted act. Y/N moved her pussy over his fingers, moaning a yes that gave him the answer he needed. Erik has his fingers deep in her pussy. Three fingers deep. His erection was fucking hurting in his black slacks. If she let him stick his fingers inside of her then she would let him stick his dick in her.

“I need you,” Erik was giving her desperate kisses along her neck, “I need to fuck you.”

“Take me, take me now, Jason.”

Erik picks Y/N up from the couch, placing her on the carpeted floor, he kneeled over her, ripping his clothes off, buttons flying and that body presenting itself to her.

“Jason,” she moaned, “please, Jason.”

He was fully nude now, Y/N’s eyes able to make out the third leg he was known to have. She took in a sharp breath, her mouth parted and her hands reaching out around his neck. The shadows of the room were purposely set so that only the side of her body and his was seen thrusting into eachother. They were so hungry for eachother Lia tried to strain her eyes to see if she could actually catch them feeling on eachother, and she did.

“Holy shit,” She shared a look with the producer who was sweaty and breathing irregularly. Y/N was jerking Erik’s dick. He was thrusting his hips into her open hand, his lips and teeth all over her. They got good shots of them for the scene and Lia was proud to admit that this was definitely the best sex scene she ever filmed. This was the first time her actors actually touched eachother forreal. To the outside world it would be seen as fake, but within this room, it’s all too real. The moans, the desperation, the touching. She was surprised neither one of the broke character.

Y/N threw her head back when Erik slipped inside of her. She was so fucking wet that he didn’t need to eat her pussy. They had such a short amount of time to get things done he had to feel her wrapped around him. He was up on his hands, looking down at her. They both moaned together, one after the other. There was no need for the oil, the sweat on them both were real.

“Lola,” He whispered before taking his tongue to drag up her neck. Y/N grabs the back of his head, Erik’s hips snapping into hers harder and harder. At this point it was an actual porno. Her pussy engulfed his enormous dick. She couldn’t say that she was cumming but she did let him know with her soft moans and the scratches she applied to his back. Erik brought his lips to her ear again.

“You are so damn tight, I can’t believe you’re letting me take this tight puss in front of them. You ain’t no sweetheart, baby girl, you’re a nasty bitch.”

She froze under him, Her orgasm crashing down on her, Erik was right behind her. His balls were slapping into her ass, the entire room aware now that they are actually fucking. Erik could make out moans around them from the others. Thank God for sound and visual effects because if not everyone would hear his nuts slapping her ass at the Premiere.

“Fuck, you’re squeezing my shit.” He whispers to her.

Erik lets out a sexy award-winning grunt, his forehead falling to hers. They stared into eachothers eyes like actors usually would in an intense romantic scene. They fell into another passionate kiss, all tongue and definitely not scripted. Y/N and Erik hand so much chemistry you would think that they would walk out of here holding hands.

“Cut!” Lia called out. Everyone erupted into applause, Y/N and Erik still trying to catch their breaths, both of them kissing and not exactly getting up. She could not look away from him. They literally just fucked eachother while filming. If somebody told Y/N around 5 am that she would be having sex with Erik Stevens she would have laughed.

“I-I don’t even know what to say right now.”

“You don’t have to say anything at the moment, Y/N,” Erik reassures her. He lifts from her body, reaching out to help her up. Once they were both standing robes were shoved into their hands and their backs faced eachother while their separate PR teams came in to cater to their needs. The first scene of the day was over. They had an action sequence that envolved a car chase in the afternoon and then right after a shower scene with more sex. Y/N could feel her heart skip a beat. She just knew that they would fuck again in the shower. She would be fucked against the shower wall with her legs around his waist.

“How was it?!” Her sister asked, ushering her away and out the door to her trailer. She didn’t even get a chance to properly tell Erik goodbye. She could feel his cum between her folds and on her inner thighs. She really wanted to praise him properly for giving her such good dick.

“It was better than I expected. I nailed it.”

“Yes!!!” Everyone around her cheered. If only they knew the extent of her words.

“One sex scene down, three more to go.”

And that didn’t even include the kissing and saying I love you. Too bad she was supposed to be killed off in the end. That would really pull some heart strings. For now, she just wanted a shower, and hopefully figure out a way to get a hold of Erik’s personal FaceTime. She needed to talk to him. Fuck it, who was Y/N kidding? She wanted to set up secret meetings for the both of them. They would be filming on and off for three months, might as well make the best of it.

#killmonger imagine #killmonger x reader #killmonger fanfiction #black panther killmonger #erik killmonger #nahimjustfeelingit-writes

[imjustthemechanic]

The Price of a Soul

Part 1/? - Agent Russel Part 2/? - The Letter Part 3/? - Miss Lake Part 4/? - The Stewardess Part 5/? - An Assassination Part 6/? - Fallout Part 7/? - Face to Face Part 8/? - Deals, Details, and Other Devils

Peggy finally asks about the coordinates, and gets an offer she cannot possibly accept.

-

Peggy showed her badge at the police station, and they let her inside.  She descended the stairs, and asked the man standing guard over Lake’s cell to step outside for a moment.  It all gave her a terrible sense of déjà vu.  This was exactly what had led up to facilitating Dottie’s escape, wasn’t it? Except this time it was going to be different, she told herself.  This time, she had no use for the woman behind those bars except for satisfying some curiosity.  Once she’d established to her own satisfaction that she wouldn’t be able to get any answers, Peggy could go back to her hotel and maybe even sleep for once.

Lake was lying on the cot with no blanket over her, curled up and facing away from the bars, her back gently moving as she breathed. The shackles were lying in a heap on the floor.  Nobody had tried to enter the room to replace or remove them, which was probably wise, but they did draw Peggy’s attention to the fact that Lake was not attached to the bed.

Signs had suggested that the girls in training in Siberia were always handcuffed to their beds at night.  Similar marks on the bedposts had appeared in every room they knew Dottie to have stayed in.  Peggy had spoken to a psychologist about this, and he had agreed with her initial hunch that the handcuffs represented a perverse form of security.  If the girls’ keepers shackled them to their beds, it meant they weren’t going to have to up stakes and flee in the middle of the night. With the cuffs on, any surprises would be real surprises, not sudden training exercises.

Lake had shown she could get out of the cuffs easily, so the fact that she hadn’t bothered to put them back on suggested that she was expecting something to drag her out of bed that night. Something that would happen so quickly, she might not have time to bother about her handcuffs.

If she thought that something would be Peggy breaking her out, she was going to be sorely disappointed.  Peggy rapped on the bars.

“Miss Lake,” she said calmly.

Lake rolled over and sat up.  “Yes?”

At least, Peggy thought, it was good to know this woman hadn’t been sleeping like a baby while Peggy herself lay staring at the ceiling. She stepped back to be out of arm’s reach.  “Was anything you told me this afternoon true?”

“Truth is a matter of circumstance,” said Lake.

“No, it isn’t,” Peggy said.  “When I say…” she thought for a moment, and chose a random historical event.  “When I say William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus, that’s true. It happened.”

“He said it happened,” Lake countered.  “You’ve only got his word for it.  Maybe he found it in somebody else’s notes, somebody who never published it, then located it again and took the credit.”

“Details,” said Peggy.

“The devil’s in the details, Peggy,” said Lake.

“I know,” she nodded.  “Now… perhaps you can give me some details about this.”  She held up the sheet of paper, still covered with fingerprint powder, but with the numbers and the drawing still clearly visible. “Those are your fingerprints.  You put this in my purse.  That happened, no alternative scenarios possible.  What is it?”

Lake looked as if she were considering several possible answers, and Peggy thought that if she said it was a piece of paper she would reach through the bars and strangle the woman.

“It’s where the Valkyrie crashed,” said Lake. “You already figured that out.”

“Why did you give it to me?” asked Peggy.

“Because I wanted you to have it,” was the reply.

“Why?” Peggy insisted.

“Because I think that’s what Captain America would have wanted.”

She was probably right – he probably would have. Peggy was on a short list of people Steve would have trusted to memorialize him without trying to make use of his earthly remains.  Of course, Howard Stark would also have been on that list, and that hadn’t turned out so well.  For a moment Peggy wondered how Lake could have known that, but then she remembered the films.  Everybody who’d seen those knew that Steve carried a picture of Peggy in his compass.  Once Lake had determined that she was a real person, not an actress, it would have been an easy conclusion to come to.

“How do you know that’s where he is?” Peggy asked.

“Because I’ve been there,” said Lake.  “I’ve seen it.”  She stood up.  “The Valkyrie came down with the port wing lower than starboard.  It hit the ice, broke through it, and tore off.” She used her hands to suggest the motion.  “The fuselage rotated away, crashing through the ice as it went, until the starboard wing got caught on the rocks at the edge of the island and stopped it.  The cockpit filled with water immediately and the windows popped out, forcing the pilot out of his seat and out of the airplane. His body settled back on top of it as the water froze again.”

“He wasn’t wearing his harness,” said Peggy.  Of course he wasn’t.  He never did.

“He’s lying on top of the plane,” Lake said, “with his eyes shut, like he’s sleeping.  He must have been knocked unconscious immediately.  I don’t think he felt a moment’s pain.  His shield is on one arm,” she assumed the same position, “and a fist in the other, as if he’s clutching something.”

The bloody compass.  Lake’s descriptions were so vivid, Peggy could almost see the crash happening in slow motion in front of her eyes.  She wanted to believe it had happened that way… the devil was giving her the details with a smile on his face.

“Who knows about this?” Peggy asked.

“I do,” said Lake.  “And you do.”

“Who else?”

Lake shrugged.  “The Inuit who live around there probably know.  They’d have seen it come down and they might have investigated, but I doubt they’d disturb it once they realized he was dead.  The ice would protect him from wolves or bears, and as long as a corpse isn’t going to be scavenged, they’re not worried about it.”

Peggy nodded slowly.  It was all so believable, and yet the only way to know if any of this were true would be to travel fifteen hundred miles and look for herself. How convenient.

“Let me guess,” she said.  “If I let you out of this cell, you’ll take me there.”  Except that Lake would almost certainly vanish post-haste and never be seen again.

“You don’t need me for that,” said Lake.  “You have the coordinates.  You can go on your own.”

“And leave you here unsupervised?”

“I’m in jail.  What can I get up to?”  Lake’s face was the picture of innocence.

“Miss Lake, the more you imply that you want me to go elsewhere, the more certain I become that I need to stay right here,” Peggy told her.

“That’s up to you.  But be careful what you do with that page,” Lake said, nodding towards the paper.  “It’s not that hard to figure out what it means, and there are people who would kill for it.  And I told you twice now, call me Kay.”

As Peggy walked back to her hotel in the darkness, she murmured the numbers on the page to herself over and over. Seventy-four.  Forty-seven.  Thirty-five. Ninety-five.  Twenty-five.  Three. She repeated them until she was absolutely sure she could never forget them, that she’d be reciting them under her breath on her deathbed if she lived to be a hundred.  Then she burned the page, and flushed the ashes down the toilet.

She climbed back into bed and shut her eyes, and realized that she actually did feel sleepier now.  The encounter hadn’t taught Peggy anything much, but she did have an inkling of what Lake might actually be trying to accomplish.  She wanted to ruin Peggy’s reputation, and possibly the entire SSR’s.  She wanted them to mount a very expensive expedition to the arctic and come back with nothing, having wasted valuable time and taxpayer money on a tip they knew wasn’t trustworthy.  They would look like fools, and people like Masters would turn it into a public scandal and shut them down.

That fate was easy to avoid, though – all Peggy had to do was never tell another person about it, ever.  She’d already told Agent Russel, but he hadn’t seemed very interested at the time and by now had probably forgotten all about it.  As long as Peggy didn’t remind him, it ought to be fine.  Or perhaps she ought to have a word with him about it, just in case.  Surely of all people, an FBI agent could keep a secret.

Nothing in Peggy’s world was ever that simple, of course, but this was early days.  There was still time to keep a lid on it if she played her cards right.

- 

Between her bout of insomnia and her late-night interrogation session, Peggy slept late again, though not so late as yesterday. It was around ten thirty when she woke up, and the first thing she noticed to her great relief was that her face was finally starting to feel better.  When she looked in the bathroom mirror, she found that the redness had faded quite a bit, though she was still quite puffy.  Washing stung, but it wasn’t the agony it had been twenty-four hours earlier.  She almost looked like a human being again.

“Seventy-four,” she said to the mirror.  “Forty-seven.  Thirty-five. Ninety-five.  Twenty-five.  Three.” The numbers must be a red herring, but Peggy didn’t want to forget them.  Just in case.

She still didn’t wear makeup, but she stood a little taller as she walked to the SSR, and the sun wasn’t as painful as it had been. A couple of the ladies on the switchboards said good morning to her, and mentioned that she looked much better today. Peggy thanked them, and took the elevator up to the SSR.

There was a nasty shock waiting for her there.

A large table had been placed in the centre of the room. There were papers strewn over it and coffee mugs and half-eaten pastries around the edges, but most of it was taken up by a large map of the United States with a series of pins in it. Peggy had a similar one in her apartment in Los Angeles, chronicling Dottie’s known movements.  This one had more pins, and standing at the head of the table, talking to Thompson, was Kay Lake.

She was no longer in her gray prisoner’s uniform. Instead she was wearing a white jacket with black polka-dots and a black skirt with white ones.  Her hair was done and she was wearing makeup and gloves. The women’s straw hat hanging off the corner of one of the chairs must also be hers.  She looked up as Peggy walked in, and smiled.

“Good morning, Peggy!  You look like you slept well!” she said.

“Good morning, Kay,” Peggy replied.  “So do you.”

“Morning, Marge,” said Thompson.

Peggy took a moment to picture herself standing alone in the bombed-out ruins of Coventry Cathedral, screaming at the top of her lungs. Once she had at least imagined indulging that urge, she said, “Jack, may I have a word.”

“No,” he said.  “I took your recommendations into account and came to a decision.  I think you’re letting a personal feeling of rivalry with these women cloud your thinking, and I want to remind you, you don’t even work for the east coast office anymore.”

“I see,” said Peggy stiffly.

Thompson looked around.  “Would you excuse us a moment, gentlemen?” he asked.  “And Kay?”

Various heads nodded.  Lake flashed a dazzling smile and said, “of course, Jack.”

“Thank you.  Carter?” Thompson waved for her to follow him.  She did so, but she was seething.  Everything he’d just said and done had been designed to humiliate her: refusing to talk on her terms, dismissing her concerns, accusing her of bias, and then forcing her to talk privately on his schedule.  He’d better have something to say for himself, or she was going to head straight back to California.  Frankly, there was probably nothing Thompson himself would like better.

In the office, Thompson shut the door, and then turned to face her.  “I know you don’t think I know what I’m doing, but I do.  Before she left that room we got prints and mug shots, and they’re on their way right now to every border crossing, air- and seaport in the country.  If this goes wrong, she’ll have nowhere to run, and she knows it.”

“Does she,” said Peggy.  She left off the question mark on purpose.

“These girls’ whole schtick is we’re supposed to underestimate them,” Thompson said.  “We think they can’t be that dangerous because they’re women.  So turn that back on her.  I’ve got two CIA guys in that room undercover and there’s another pair of them watching from a car across the road.  If she moves we’ll be ready, and until then, she thinks her feminine wiles have worked.”

“So that outside was for her benefit?” Peggy asked suspiciously.  It would certainly be enough to convince most people that Jack Thompson didn’t care what a woman thought.

“Yes,” said Thompson.  “Now, if you don’t want to help, I’ll call Daniel and you can go back to California.  If you do, your job is to hang around and question everything I say so I can tell you not to be paranoid.”

“Business as usual, then,” Peggy remarked.  She glanced through the window to the main room… Agent Russel was there, standing against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, looking like he wanted no part of this fiasco.  Lake was laughing at something one of the other men had said, for all the world having a marvelous time.

“I’m not going to stay just so you can pretend to bully me,” she decided.  “I will call Daniel myself.”

#fanfic #captain america #agent carter #peggy carter #steve rogers #steggy #fix it fic

[myhauntedsalem]

Ghosts of Hollywood

Marilyn Monroe The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard is said to be the current residence of several ghosts of popular film stars. Marilyn Monroe, the glamorous and funny star of such pictures as Some Like It Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, was a frequent guest of the Roosevelt at the height of her popularity. And although she died in her Brentwood home, her image has been seen on several occasions in a full-length mirror that once hung in her poolside suite. The mirror has been relocated to the hotel's lower level by the elevators.

Montgomery Clift Another respected star who died before his time, Montgomery Clift, was a four-time Oscar nominated actor who is best known for his roles in A Place in the Sun, From Here to Eternity and Judgment at Nuremberg. His ghost has also been seen at the Roosevelt. According to some of the hotel's staff, Clift's spirit haunts room number 928. Clift stayed in that suite in 1953, pacing back and forth, memorizing his lines for From Here to Eternity. Loud, unexplained noises have been heard coming from the empty suite, and its phone is occasionally found mysteriously off the hook.

Perhaps it's fitting that the Hollywood Roosevelt should be the stirring place of celebrity ghosts since it was the site of the very first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929. In fact, the Blossom Ballroom, where the ceremony was held, has an unexplained cold spot - a circular area measuring 30 inches in diameter that remains about 10 degrees colder than the rest of the room.

Harry Houdini Houdini is best known as a magician and escape artist, of course, but at the height of his fame he was also drawn to Hollywood, where he made a handful of silent films from 1919 to 1923. With such titles as The Man from Beyond and Haldane of the Secret Service (which he also directed), the films were not regarded well enough to give him much of a Hollywood career. Houdini's interest in the occult was well known, and although he earned a reputation as a masterful debunker of séances, he earnestly sought contact with those who have passed on to the other side. Shortly before his death, Houdini made a pact with his wife Bess that if he could, he would return and make contact with her from the other side. Perhaps he truly has attempted to return. Some claim to have seen the ghost of the great Houdini walking around in the home he owned on Laurel Canyon Blvd. in the Hollywood Hills. Film historians Laurie Jacobson and Marc Wanamaker, in their book Hollywood Haunted, dispute this story, saying that "Houdini most likely never even set foot in the Laurel Canyon mansion he is said to haunt."

Clifton Webb Clifton Webb was a very popular star of the 1940s and '50s, earning two Oscar nominations for his roles in Laura and The Razor's Edge. He may be best known for his portrayal of Mr. Belvedere in a series of films. It's not too often that a ghost haunts the place in which the person is buried, but this seems to be the case for Webb. His ghost has been seen at the Abbey of the Psalms, Hollywood Memorial Cemetery, where his body is interred. But it seems to be a restless spirit, as his ghost has also been encountered at his old home on Rexford Drive in Beverly Hills.

Thelma Todd Thelma Todd was a hot young star in the 1930s. She was featured in a number of hit comedies with the likes of The Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, and Buster Keaton. But that all ended in 1935 when Todd was found dead in her car, which was parked above the café she owned on the Pacific Coast Highway. Strangely, her death was ruled an accidental suicide, but many suspected murder and a coverup by powerful Hollywood figures. The building that once housed the café is now owed by Paulist Productions, and employees have reportedly witnessed the starlet's ghost descending the stairs.

Thomas Ince Ince is considered one of the visionary pioneers of American movies. He was one of the most respected directors of the silent era, best known, perhaps, for his westerns starring William S. Hart. He partnered with other early Hollywood giants such as D.W. Griffith and Mack Sennett, and founded Culver Studios, which later became MGM. Ironically, Ince's death overshadowed his film legacy. He died aboard William Randolph Hearst's yacht in 1924, and although the official record shows the cause of death as heart failure, the hot rumor is that he was shot by Hearst in a fit a jealousy over Hearst's wife, Marion Davies. Ince's ghost - as well as several other ghostly figures - have been seen in the lot that was once Culver Studios. Film crew members have seen the specter of a man matching Ince's description on several occasions; in one instance, when the workers tried to speak to the spirit, it turned and disappeared through a wall.

Ozzie Nelson Ghosts and hauntings are the last thing that come to mind when you think of the perpetually cheerful Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. The couple, with their real-life sons Ricky and David, were stars of the long-running sitcom "Ozzie and Harriet," noted for its good-natured, gentle humor. Yet poor Ozzie doesn't seem to be as contented in the afterlife. Family members, it is said, have seen Ozzie's ghost in the family's old Hollywood home, and it always appears to be in a somber mood. Perhaps he's unhappy about how another Ozzy and his family have gained notoriety on TV.

George Reeves From 1953 to 1957, George Reeves was TV's Superman. Reeves had been around Hollywood for a while, playing bit parts in such films as Gone with the Wind and dozens of B-movies, but it was "The Adventures of Superman" on TV that brought him fame. Reeves died of a gunshot at his home in 1959. The official cause of death was suicide, but that conclusion has been hotly disputed, with some believing that Reeves was murdered. Whether it was suicide or murder, Reeves ghost has been seen in his Beverly Hills home. A couple claims to have seen the ghost of Reeves - decked out in his Superman costume - materialize in the bedroom where he died, after which it slowly faded away. Others believe that Reeves succumbed to the "Superman curse," in which those associated with the fictional character over the years allegedly have met with disaster or death. But is there really a curse? 

More Celebrity Ghosts

Rudolph Valentino - This silent film heartthrob has been seen in the bedroom and stables of his old Hollywood home. Jean Harlow - The spirit of this blonde bombshell is said to haunt the bedroom of her home on North Palm Drive, where her husband allegedly used to beat her. Mary Pickford - This legend of the silent era - actress, writer and producer - was co-founder of United Artists with her husband Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin. Comic Buddy Rogers, who lived in the house Pickford once owned, saw her ghost appear in a white ruffled dress. Grace Kelly - Princess Stephanie of Monaco believes that the ghost of her mother, Grace Kelly, helped her write a song from the spirit world.

Celebrities Who Have Seen Ghosts

Nicholas Cage - This Oscar-winning actor (Leaving Las Vegas) refused to stay in uncle Francis Ford Coppola's home after seeing a ghost in the attic. (Cage was also cast as Superman in director Tim Burton's film project, which was never made.) Keanu Reeves - The star of The Matrix films and Devil's Advocate was just a kid in New Jersey when he saw a ghost that took the form of a white double-breasted suit come into his room one night. He wasn't imagining it; his nanny saw the phantom, too. Neve Campbell - She's been in more than her share of paranormal-themed movies (The Craft, Scream), but she's had real-life encounters as well. A woman was murdered in the house she now lives in, and friends have seen her ghost walking around. Matthew McConaughey - This popular actor (Contact) says he freaked out the first time he saw the ghost of an old woman, whom he calls "Madame Blue," floating around his house. Tim Robbins - Robbins, who was nominated for an Oscar in Mystic River, didn't see ghosts, but strongly felt their presence when he moved into an apartment in 1984. Following his instinct, he moved out the next day. Hugh Grant - British romantic comedy lead Hugh Grant (Love Actually) says he and friends have heard the wailing and screaming of some tormented spirit in his Los Angeles home. He even speculates it might be the ghost of a former resident - Bette Davis. Dan Aykroyd - The Ghostbusters star (and Oscar-nominated for Driving Miss Daisy) has long had a fascination with the paranormal. He believes his home, once owned by Cass Elliot of The Mamas and The Papas, is haunted. "A ghost certainly haunts my house," he said. "It once even crawled into bed with me. The ghost also turns on the Stairmaster and moves jewelry across the dresser. I'm sure it's Mama Cass because you get the feeling it's a big ghost." Sting - Rock star Sting (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) and his wife Trudie have seen ghosts in their home. "I was absolutely terrified," he said. "I now believe those things are out there, but I have no explanation for them." Jean Claude Van Damme - The Belgian action star (Timecop), also known as "Muscles from Brussels," swears he saw a ghost in his bathroom mirror while he was brushing his teeth. Richard Dreyfuss - He won an Oscar for The Goodbye Girl, but at one time had a cocaine problem. Visions of a ghost, he said, helped him kick the habit. "I had a car crash in the late 1970s," Dreyfuss said, "when I was really screwed up, and I started seeing these ghostly visions of a little girl every night. I couldn't shake this image. Every day it became clearer and I didn't know who the hell she was. Then I realized that kid was either the child I didn't kill the night I smashed up my car, or it was the daughter that I didn't have yet. I immediately sobered up." Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman - This Hollywood couple was forced to flee their "dream home" in Sneden's Landing, N.Y. when it became all too apparent that it was haunted. They still are reluctant to talk about their frightening encounters. Belinda Carlisle - This pop singer and founding member of The Go-Gos, who appeared in Swing Shift and She's Having a Baby, says she saw a "misty shape" hovering over her as she lay in bed one night. She also says that when she was 17, while nodding off to sleep in a chair in her parents' home, she levitated and had an out-of-body experience. Elke Sommers - This German-born actress, who appeared in the 1966 film The Oscar, claims to have seen the ghost of a middle-aged man in a white shirt in her home in North Beverly Hills. Guests in her home have also seen the specter. So much paranormal activity was reported in the house that the American Society for Psychical Research was brought in, and which verified the unexplained events. The severely haunted house was bought and sold more than 17 times since Sommers vacated it, and many have reported ghostly phenomena. Paul McCartney - Ex-Beatle and Oscar-nominated songwriter ("Live and Let Die") says that he, George Harrison and Ringo Starr sensed the playful spirit of John Lennon when they were recording Lennon's song, "Free As A Bird" in 1995. "There were a lot of strange goings-on in the studio - noises that shouldn't have been there and equipment doing all manner of weird things. There was just an overall feeling that John was around."

#Ghosts of Hollywood #paranormal #ghost and hauntings #ghost and spirits