#Betrayal costars

[kapicryst]

Why do you betray yourself again and again?

#costar quotes #costar #quotes #costar qotd #betrayal #why do you betray yourself?

[impala-dreamer]

Trouble On Set

A Short Story

~Jensen and Jared have a habit of messing with costars, but what happens when one of them fights back?~

Jensen x Reader (ish), Misha, Jared / Dean x Carrie, Sam, Castiel

2,963 Words

Warnings: Pranks and Drama and Adult Behavior. Fluff.

Impala-Dreamer’s Masterlist  ~  Patreon  ~ Published Works

Dean raised his hand once more, ready to strike, and Carrie cringed in fear, shrinking down into a tiny thing, like a flower retreating from the frost.

“Please, don’t!” Her voice was weak and trembling just like her fragile frame. Blood trickled down from the cut on her lip, bruises blossomed beneath her smooth skin.

Dean froze, his fist hovering in the air above his head. He caught his breath and crumbled inside, green eyes going wide with sadness. “I- I didn’t mean to…”

Sam rushed past his brother, nearly knocking him to the side as he fell to his knees to check on Carrie. She lunged forward into his big arms, finding a bit of comfort as they wrapped tight around her.

“It’s OK,” he whispered, “I got you.”

She looked up from Sam’s shoulder to Dean, her eyes huge with shock and betrayal. “Dean, I-”

A loud, blistering pop of air ripped through the room, accompanied by a rotten smell so foul that Carrie could not hold back her disgust.

“Dean, I- I-” The smell permeated her senses and her gag reflex activated. “Oh god-”

Jared laughed, his giant body shaking, still wrapped around Y/N. She gagged loudly and tried to pry herself out of his grasp.

“Cut!”

“Oh my god!” Y/N held her breath and shoved at Jared’s chest, finally pushing him away.

Above them, Jensen looked down with a wicked smile. “Jesus, dude, what’d you eat!” He waved a hand in front of his face as the smell finally reached him.

“You’re disgusting,” Misha added, standing off to the side on his mark. “So gross.”

Jared stood up and shrugged as he adjusted his jeans, yanking them up back into place. “Hey! Shit happens!”

Jensen burst into a loud cackle that bent him clean in half. “Did you shit yourself?”

Y/N tried to stay calm, keep herself professional, but the smell seemed to be getting worse. “Wow.”

“Think something died in your ass, dude,” Jensen went on, hands on his knees as he laughed.

Jared took it all in like he was winning an award, smile beaming as the crew reset.

“OK! Settle! Let’s go again.”

Dean raised his fist high, his jaw twitching with anger.

Carrie shrank down and away, terrified and aching from his previous blow. “Please, don’t!” Her voice trembled, her hand shot up to hide her face from his wrath.

Dean froze, his fingers unfurling as he looked down at her, pain and sadness filling his freckled face. “I- I didn’t mean to…”

Carrie stared up at him, tears flooding her pretty eyes.

Jensen licked his lips slowly, seductively, and raised an eyebrow at Y/N.

Sam rushed past Dean and dropped down to his knees next to Carrie. She fell forward into his big arms as her breath became labored with heavy sobs.

“It’s OK,” he whispered, “I got you.”

Jensen bared his teeth and ran the tip of his tongue across the edges, licking his chops like a wolf as he stared at her.

Carrie looked up from Sam’s shoulder and a tear fell from her eye. “Dean, I-”

Again, Jensen used his tongue, this time flickering it quickly between his teeth, then rolling it suggestively. He smirked as Y/N shivered, distracted by his movements.

“Dean, I-”

Another slow, long roll of his tongue.

“I, uh…”

“Cut!”

Jared leapt to his feet and went over to Jensen, continuing a conversation from before the first take. Misha pulled out his phone, and Y/N simply stayed on the dirty studio floor, wiping real tears from her face with the hem of her shirt.

“You OK?”

Blue eyes were wide with genuine concern, but Y/N waved Misha off. “I’m fine. Thank you.” Her smile was weak but managed to help calm her frustration.

“OK, people. Let’s go again! Take ten…”

And so it went.

After five days of filming the first of her seven episode run, Y/N had messed up nearly every shot she was in, whether by design or fear of having it ruined. Jared and Jensen were terribly wicked, making her break constantly, tripping her, making faces at each other or her, farting- it was almost unmanageable. Through it all, Y/N tried her best to stay calm and keep going. It was a huge thing- landing a spot on such a great show, but she didn’t know if she could do it for much longer. The frustration was boiling up inside of her, and- not to mention- she felt unwanted and severely disliked. Everyone always talked about how nice Ackles and Padalecki were to guest stars, how playful and loving the set was, how the cast and crew were like family. Y/N sure as hell wasn’t feeling like family. More like the black sheep no one wanted to talk about. Or to.

Dean raised his hand once more, ready to strike, and Carrie cringed in fear, shrinking down into a tiny thing, like a flower retreating from the frost.

“Please, don’t!” Her voice was weak and trembling just like her fragile frame. Blood trickled down from the cut on her lip, bruises blossomed beneath her smooth skin.

Dean froze, his fist hovering in the air above his head. He caught his breath and crumbled inside, green eyes going wide with sadness. “I- I didn’t mean to…”

Sam rushed past his brother, nearly knocking him to the side as he fell to his knees to check on Carrie. She lunged forward into his big arms, finding a bit of comfort as they wrapped tight around her.

“It’s OK,” he whispered, “I got you.”

She looked up from Sam’s shoulder to Dean, her eyes huge with shock and betrayal. “Dean, I-”

Jensen looked up at the ceiling, refusing to meet her gaze. He puckered his lips as if whistling, completely ignoring her.

“Dean-”

He tongued his cheek and sighed, seemingly annoyed by her acting.

“I… um…”

Y/N cleared her throat and grit her teeth, determined to make it through the take.

“Dean- I’m so sorry.” Carrie let loose a stream of loud tears, pouring them into Sam’s shoulder. “I’m sorry!”

“And...cut! We got it. That’s dinner, people.”

Y/N stepped out into the cold Vancouver night, totally uninterested in dinner or anything other than collapsing into her bed back at the hotel. She needed a shower, a drink, and a call back home to her best friend. The job she’d been looking forward to for weeks had turned out to be a nightmare.

Finally alone, she closed her eyes and lifted them towards the dark sky, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. Things were not what they had seemed.

Boots echoed behind her and Y/N startled, turning to see Jensen walking towards her, a kind smile upon his plump lips.

“Hey.” He stopped a few feet away and tucked his hands into his pockets, rocking back on his heels nervously.

Y/N’s anxiety spiked and her stomach tightened. “Hey.”

He licked his bottom lip slowly, green eyes flashing over her face. “Great job today. Made it through that scene nicely.”

Confused, Y/N swallowed down her annoyance and nodded. “Thanks. You too.”

“It’s not easy to cry like that,” he complimented, voice smooth and sweet. “I’m impressed.”

Her eyes narrowed on him, not sure what was going on. “Thanks?”

“Really,” he pushed with a smile, the apples of his cheeks burning pink under the lot lights. “You did great.”

Y/N couldn’t respond; her thoughts twisted in utter confusion. She stared at Jensen as if he were some alien being sent to drive her insane.

He tipped back on his boot heels and took a deep breath, prepping for something. He cleared his throat and locked his knees. “So anyway… I was wondering if you… wanted to come get a drink with me? We’re pretty much done for the day. I think they’re just reshooting Jared’s scene with Misha next, so you and I could sneak away.” He held his breath and dug his front teeth hard into his bottom lip, waiting for her answer.

It was not what he expected.

Y/N’s jaw dropped and she blinked furiously at him, stunned. “Excuse me?”

Jensen laughed timidly. “There’s a bar we like to go to downtown. We can… go hang out? Get a buzz on?” He shrugged and smiled.

Y/N snapped. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

He jolted. “What?”

“I said, are you fucking kidding me?” she spat, turning towards him with rage pulsing from her form. Jensen took a step back but she came closer. “You… you have been fucking with me all fucking week!” Her voice echoed down the alleyway, giant metal buildings amplifying her rage like a blow horn. “You’re so mean! You… you and Jared have been fucking up every take for me! You tripped me twice, I slammed into a wall yesterday; you’re making disgusting remarks and faces at me while I’m trying to cry. You’re ruining this for me!”

Jensen’s hands lifted from his pockets to surrender, his palms facing her in the dark. “Whoa. It’s not… we’re not-”

“You’re not? You’re not! You’re gonna get me fired! Do you even care about anyone but yourself? This is a huge deal for me and you’re going to ruin it. I’m gonna get fired because you can’t keep be fucking professional and Jared can’t stop eating burritos for lunch!” Y/N caught herself, gasping for a breath while her pulse raged in her ears. “Fuck!”

Jensen shook his head in shock and lowered his hands. “Y/N, it’s… really not what you think. Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

“You’re sorry? Oh, he’s sorry!” She spun around, telling the world. “He’s sorry he’s going to get me fired, everyone! Jensen Ackles is sorry! That makes it all better!”

He stood, dumbfounded and guilty, his shoulders falling low, his eyes filling with hurt. “Wow. I’m… really sorry.”

Y/N took a deep, shaking breath and turned her eyes away, not wanting him to see her cry. “Yeah. Thanks for the apology.” She crossed her arms and spun on her heel, turning her back on him. “Think I’ll pass on drinks.”

Jensen tried to say something, to find some way to smooth things over, but his voice died in the back of his throat, his mind empty and unsure. “Yeah,” he mumbled, backing away. “OK.”

She heard him walk away and she did the same, stalking towards the parking lot.

From the shadows, a dark figure emerged, black hair a mess, trenchcoat flapping gently in the breeze.

“You know he’s just fucking with you.”

Misha’s voice called to her and Y/N turned to see him leaning against the corner of the building, clearly having heard and seen everything.

“You usually lurk in the shadows like that?”

He laughed and shrugged. “No, but I’m usually in the right place at the right time.”

Y/N shook her head. “Not me. I’m clearly in the wrong place, wrong time, wrong profession.”

Misha pushed himself away from the wall. “Nah. You were really good today.”

“Was I?” she snit, sarcasm coating every inch of her. “Sorry. I’m just- they’re torturing me and I don’t know why.” Her voice cracked. “They fucking hate me. What did I do?”

He laughed.

“Oh, that’s funny to you?”

He shook his head. “They don’t hate you, Y/N.”

She huffed. “I highly doubt that, but thank you.”

Misha came closer and lowered his voice. “You know, they only torture those they like. Especially Jensen. He’s only like that with people he… really likes.” He emphasized the last like as if he were the grade school gossip and Y/N scoffed.

“Yeah, right.”

He grinned and shrugged. “Believe me or don’t, but it’s true. At least with you around, I’m getting a break.”

Y/N’s shoulders scrunched up high as she processed the new information. “He… likes me?”

Misha nodded. “Yup. He’s like a kid on a playground,” he told her. “If he dips your pigtails in ink tomorrow, don’t be upset. It’s like his mating call.”

Y/N cracked the first smile in days and hummed devilishly. “Hmm…”

“That’s a scary hmm,” Misha laughed.

“It is,” she agreed, turning to meet his gaze. “Maybe we can use this,” she said, lowering her voice to a harsh whisper. “Maybe we can prank him back.”

He laughed. “Yeah, that never works. I’ve tried.”

Again, Y/N’s brain turned in circles as her plan pieced together. “Hmm…”

Misha leaned back and watched her think. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”

Carrie walked into the kitchen, her face covered in bruises; a tiny butterfly bandage above her eyelid holding together a deep cut. She tiptoed down the steps and skirted the perimeter, eyes ever on Dean who sat alone at the table. He nursed a beer, two empty bottles haphazardly lined up next to it.

“Rough night?” she asked, her voice cracking with nervous emotion.

Dean didn’t look at her. He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long sip, his eyes closing as the brew flooded his tongue. He came up with a heavy breath. “Rough life.”

She nodded and took a step towards him. “Yeah. I don’t doubt it.” Bare feet were sticky on the tile as she went to him, stopping at the edge of the table. “Do you wanna-”

“Talk about it?” he snapped, cutting her off, looking up with pained, red-rimmed eyes. “No. Do you?”

Meekly, Carrie shook her head. “No.”

She started to turn, meaning to leave him alone to wallow, but Dean’s hand shot out to grab her wrist, pulling her down to him. He looked up, a little drunk, mostly guilty.

“Why are you still here?” he whispered, tears choking his deep voice.

Her bottom lip trembled as his grip tightened. “W-what do you mean?”

Dean sat up, drawing closer to her, gaze digging into her soul. “Why are you still here? I almost killed you.”

She swallowed hard and leaned down, breath passing over his lips like a warm breeze. He closed his eyes but the kiss never landed. She pressed her cheek to his and whispered in his ear. “Because I can’t leave you…”

Dean’s eyes welled with tears.

Y/N’s whisper continued as the camera zoomed in over her shoulder on Dean’s reaction. “Because all I can think about is taking you out back and sucking your big, juicy cock over and over until you die of dehydration.”

Jensen choked on his own spit, so shocked by her words. He coughed to clear his throat and the scene was dead.

“Cut!”

Y/N pulled back and stared down at him, daring him to say anything. Jensen was stunned, looking up with wide eyes.

She winked.

He shivered.

“Back it up! Reset!”

Carrie tiptoed down the steps into the kitchen, bruised and battered from the night before. She saw Dean and shivered, body tensing up as she walked the edges of the room

“Rough night?” she asked, voice shaking.

Dean ignored her and lifted the bottle to his lips. “Rough life.”

Carrie took a step towards him. “Yeah. I don’t doubt it.” She floated towards him, nervous but needing to help. “Do you wanna-”

“Talk about it?” he growled, looking up at her.

Y/N let her eyes go soft and parted her lips. The tip of her tongue shot out to slowly drag across her bottom lip. Jensen swallowed hard.

“No,” Dean snit. “Do you?”

Carrie shook her head. “No.”

She started to leave but Dean reached for her wrist, pulling her down to him. He looked up and gasped.

Y/N puckered her lips into a perfect circle and Jensen couldn’t think of anything else but her mouth wrapped around his cock.

“W-Why are you... s-still here?” he whispered, chest heaving, eyes gazing over.

Carrie’s lip trembled “What do you mean, Dean?”

Y/N spoke his name with half a moan and Jensen squirmed in his seat, feeling his dick grow.

“Uh…Um...Why? W-why are-”

“Cut!”

Thrice more, Jensen mucked up the scene. Staring at Y/N, he couldn’t get any words to properly form, let alone a tear to fall. She licked her lips, batted her lashes, sucked her fingers, moaned in his ear. The closer they got to finishing the scene, the harder she teased him, and in the end, he could barely stand.

Dean stood quickly and Carrie backed away, afraid he would strike her again. Her wrist was snagged in his hand, his grip unbreakable.

“Let me go!” she demanded, twisting in his grasp.

Dean walked her backwards until she hit the countertop, her breath pushing out in a shocked huff.

“Dean!”

He kissed her silent, releasing her hand only to hold her cheeks, push his breath into her, his pain, his guilt.

“I’m sorry.”

She licked his kiss from her lips and closed her eyes. “I know.”

“Cut! We got it!”

Jensen dropped his hands from Y/N’s cheeks but didn’t back away right away. She bucked her hips forward and he groaned deep in the back of his throat. He was hard against her, his erection straining in his jeans.

The crew carried on their business and slowly, Jensen backed away, clasping his hands in front of his crotch.

“You figured it out,” he said with a faint laugh.

Y/N tongued her cheek and looked away, over his shoulder. “I had a little help from an angel,” she confessed.

Jensen dropped his head. “Damnit Misha.”

Y/N lifted her eyes to his. “Damnit, nothing.” She cocked her head and leaned close. “Wanna go get that drink now?”

Jensen’s lips puckered and he let out a slow breath. “Hell yes.”

2023 Forever Tags (Always Open! Send an Ask!)

@aditimukul @agirlwithdemonblood @akshi8278 @alwayskeepfightingsweetheart @babysimpala @beardburnsupersoldiers @charred-angelwings @chenshemesh1 @cosicas-cuquis @djs8891 @deans-baby-momma @deanwinchesterswitch @deansyahtzee @feelmyroarrrr @foxyjwls007 @hobby27 @iamsapphine @idreamofdeanie @ilsawasanacrobat @impalaspixie @iprobablyshipit91 @jackles010378 @justcallmeasmodeus @kazsrm67 @kittenofdoomage @k-slla @leigh70 @lyarr24 @mariekoukie6661 @maggiegirl17 @pandaxo79 @peachy-vans @pizzagirlxnsfwx @rachiem4-blog @roseblue373 @sacriceria @samwellwinchesterthebrave @sexyvixen7 @spideysimpossiblegirl @spnexploration @stevekempscocktails @the-wounded-healer05  

#spn rpf #spn fanfic #jensen ackles x reader #fluff drama pranks set life #one shot

[munsonxmayhem]

Learn to trust, again.

Joseph Quinn x Fem!Actress!Reader

(Requested by: @jajqtfjplgop-obsessed67)

Warnings:

- angst

- fluff

- kissing

- smut

————————————————————————————————————————

The walk to set was a short one, but it gave you the unwanted opportunity to think about what had happened. You were currently filming the movie “Make Up,” playing the lead female; Ruth. A couple months prior you’d found out your boyfriend of a couple years was cheating on you. It was a messy breakup, and one you never thought would happen. You’d given him your love and trust completely and he’d take it all and ran off with someone else.

As you get to set, you immediately head to your trailer. “Hi, (Y/N)!” You’re greeted by a very energetic costar. “Hi, Joseph.” You sigh, sitting in your makeup seat. You’d gotten to know Joseph over the weeks you’d been filming together. He’d been very welcoming to you, even if you were less than so with him. After the break up, you’d gotten very cold to the presence of men. He understood and was helping you move past it.

“You alright, darling?” He says quietly, reaching over and placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. You shrug his hand off, nodding your head. You’d noticed in the last couple weeks he’d been flirting with you, and you’d be lying if you said you didn’t like it; you seen how nice he was, how attractive he was.. I mean how could you not? But in light of recent events, you were very wary of it, and had no trust in his intentions.

Filming your scenes were particularly difficult for you, because of your past with getting cheated on; you didn’t particularly like being the one that did it, even if it was just acting.

After the final scene had finished, you made your way to the beach just off the set. You sat in the sand, looking out at the ocean, the moon was the only light you had. You put your head in your knees, letting a few tears fall as the memories raced through your head.

“You’re cheating on me? Are you kidding me?” you toss the phone onto the couch next to him. He picks it up tentatively, before scoffing at the image; it was a photo of him all over a girl outside of a club, holding her, kissing her. “That’s not what it looks like.” He gets up, tossing the phone back on the couch.

“Really? So you’re not kissing her?” Your eyes are stinging with tears, face burning from anger, heart breaking with betrayal. He rolls his eyes, “It was one kiss! It’s not a big deal, I do it for movies all the time.” He tries to deflect. “That’s pretend! Your job! How could you do this to me?” You plead, finally letting the tears fall.

“I just.. It hasn’t been the same, lately. You’ve been so busy filming, and I’ve been lonely, you know?” He groans, hands running through his hair. “Then you should’ve told me! Not ran off and cheated on me.” You flail your arms in disbelief. He stands quietly, a blank stare on his face. “Do you not love me anymore?” You get out, voice cracking. He sighs, looking down at his feet. “I don’t know, (Y/N).” He states.

“Then maybe you should leave..” You whisper out before you can stop yourself. “Maybe I should.” You grab your phone off the couch angrily, “Then go! Get your shit and go!” He shows no emotion on his face as he turns away from you, heading to the door and leaving; for the last time.

Tears are now streaming down your face as you recall your last moment with him, he came when you weren’t home and took his things. A fire burning in your chest at the thought of all you’d given him, just for him to do that.

“(Y/N)?” A voice, followed by approaching footsteps in the sand break you from your thoughts. Wiping the tears away quickly, you snap your head up. “What?” You reply, anger evident in your voice as you glare up at a wide eyed Joseph standing next to you. “I-Uh.. Are you alright?” Concern laces his voice as he slowly takes a seat next to you. You shake your head, letting out a sarcastic, breathy laugh. “No, actually. Far from it.” He nods his head, understandingly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” His voice is soft, and empathetic. You sigh, looking over at him with a softer expression than before. You feel a tear make it’s way down your cheek, “How can people just.. cheat? How can someone claim to be in love with someone for so long, and then do that?” Your voice breaks as you speak. Worry fills his eyes as he looks at you. “I don’t know.. Truly, I don’t. I’ve never understood it, myself. It has to be something inside them, you know? Something broken. But it’s never the other persons fault. No one should ever cheat, ever.” He tries to comfort you.

You look back out over the water, shaking your head at the thought. “Yeah.. well. I don’t know why they need to break me because they’re broken.” You state, blandly. “Hey..” he places his hand on your shoulder, and this time you don’t shrug it off. “You’re not broken, okay? I know you have a hard time trusting, but you’re not broken. You’ve just got to learn to trust, again.” He tells you, his thumb rubbing soft circles into your shoulder.

“Feels impossible..” You look down. “I can help you, if you’ll let me.” You look at him, and he’s looking into your eyes; the most sincere eyes you’d ever looked into.

——————————————————————————

It’s been a year since then, Joe had made it his mission to restore your ability trust, and he’d managed to do so. You’d given him a chance to prove to you that not all men are like your ex, and he did just that. Since then, you’d both gotten roles in Stranger Things, and he still proved to you every day that he loves you.

“Alright! That’s a wrap!” The director calls, the season officially wrapped up. You smile widely at your fellow costars, all of them on your set joining in for a giant group hug. “Cast party tonight, (Y/N)! Don’t be late!” You hear Maya call as she exits. You search around for Joe, but he’s nowhere in sight. He’d wrapped up his scenes last night, so you weren’t sure if he’d be there.

You’re heading for your trailer to change out of costume, and take off the dirt and grime they’d put on you in the makeup trailer. You gasp when you suddenly feel someone wrapping there arms around your middle, lifting you from the group. “That’s a wrap!” You hear the all too familiar british accent from behind you, immediately relaxing a bit. “Joseph! Put me down!” You giggle and try and free yourself. He laughs heartily, placing you back on the ground.

Turning around to face him, his big brown eyes are shining with love, and excitement. A huge, breathtaking grin across his face. “You’re that excited to be done with filming?” you chuckle, wrapping your arms around his waist. He shrugs, “Something like that.” Before he puts his arm around your shoulder, walking you to your trailer.

“What time is it, babe?” You call to him from your trailer closet. “7:26” he tells you as he walks up behind you. You sigh in frustration, rummaging through your limited selection of clothes. “How about this one?” You hear him say from behind, you turn to him with a questioning look before you spot a box in his hands. “What’s this?” You give a slight pout, as you take the box. “It’s a gift.. Because I’m so proud of you.” He smiles down at you as you take the top of the box.

In the box laid the prettiest dress you’d ever seen, it was a long, red, satin dress with thin straps. You beam up at him before setting the box on a chair and wrapping your arms around his neck. “I love it, Joe! Thank you.. You didn’t have to get me anything.” He chuckles, his arms wrapping around your waist. “I know I didn’t, but I wanted to. You deserve it. Now hurry up and put it on, we can’t be late.” He places a small kiss to your lips and gives your ass a light slap as you take the dress.

Stepping back into the room, he looked at you with pure awe. His jaw dropping as he scanned you, completely. “You look absolutely stunning, my darling.” He coos, and you look down; a blush spreading across your face. He holds his hand out, looking at you softly. “Ready?” You nod, intertwining you fingers with his.

When you get to the party, it’s packed with all your cast mates, and crew. When they finally spot you and Joe, they yell excitedly, running over to you. “Hey! You’re right on time!” Maya yells, enveloping you in a giant hug. You laugh, “First time for everything I suppose.”

After taking a bunch of photos, and doing small interviews, the cast finally gets to do their own thing. Standing next to Maya and Natalia, you glance around. “Where’s Joseph?” You nudge Maya, she shrugs. “I’m sure he just went to the bathroom.” You trust him, but you can’t help to have those thoughts of ‘what if?’ racing around the back of your mind.

“Maybe I should go fi-“ You’re cut off by Maya shushing you and grabbing your hand, she leads you to the rest of the people. “Hello, can I have everyone’s attention?” You spot Joe, standing in front of everyone, with a mic in hand. Everyone surrounds him on the floor, quiet. You make your way to the front, confusion written all over your face.

“Alright, so I’m not really sure how to start this but uh.. I guess I’ll start by having you-“ He points in your direction. “-Come up here, love.” He gestures you forward. Shyly, you make your way to the floor next to him. “What’re you-“ He cuts you off. “I wanna say, (Y/N).. It’s been over a year since I met you and I’m so glad that I did. Back then you’d just gotten out of a relationship, and you were quite resilient on not being in another one. Rightfully so. By the end of our filming process, I had convinced you to give me a shot, and I am so, so glad that you did.” You smile, and tears are threatening to spill from your eyes.

You glance out at the crowd, and they’re all looking at you both with such adoration. “I couldn’t picture my life without you, and I can’t recall a time when I wasn’t in love with you. You’re beautiful, talented, smart, everything I’ve ever dreamt of having and more. You are everything to me, (Y/N) (Y/L/N). I’m never letting you go.” With that, he gets down on one knee, opening a small box in his hands. Your friends join you in the gasp that leaves your lips, your hands covering your mouth. He looks up at you, big, doe eyes locked with yours.

“(Y/N), I love you, more than I’ve ever loved anyone. Or anything. Will you marry me?” You can’t hold back the tears anymore as you nod your head, enthusiastically. “Yes! Yes of course!” You both ignore the camera’s flashing and the lights on you as he smiles widely, taking your hand in his and sliding the beautiful ring onto your finger.

He stands, your hand in his before you fling your arms around his neck, tears rushing down your face. “I love you so much” You sob into his neck as he holds you tightly. When you both break apart, you see the tears in his eyes, filled with both happiness and pure admiration. You two make your way off the center floor into the group of teary eyed friends. They all give you their congratulations, hugging you both.

After a few drinks and dances, the party is over and you two make your way to the hotel, hand in hand. When you walk in, you notice the rose petals surrounding the bed. “Oh my god, Joe..” You say in awe, you turn to look at him and he smiles. “I love you so much..” You lean up and kiss him. You make your way to the bed, slipping off your painful heels, and rubbing your feet softly. Joe joins you, pulling off his jacket and tossing it on the sofa. He looks at you lovingly, “Feet hurt, baby?” He coos, and you nod. He sits next to you, pulling your feet into his lap. He rubs them gently as you let out a sigh of relief. You bring your hand up, admiring the beautiful ring on your finger. Then glancing up at the even more beautiful mad that had given it to you.

“Thank you..” you whisper out, and he looks up at you from your feet. “For what, my love?” He speaks quietly, raising an eyebrow. “Everything. The dress, the ring, the love you’ve given me. I know it wasn’t easy, putting up with me.” You refer to the trust issues you’d had. He shakes his head, giving you a soft smile as he continues to massage your aching feet. “There’s no need. I didn’t do anything that I didn’t want to do. I love you, that’s the explanation for all of it. You deserve everything and more, and I’m so happy you’re allowing it to be me that gives it to you.” You smile down at him, “I love you.”

You take your feet from his lap, before standing. His eyes follow you across the room. You carefully unzip the dress, letting it pool at your feet. You glance at him, and his eyes are wide, jaw dropped. His eyes trail down your body at the red lace set you’d wore underneath. “Like what you see, handsome?” You smirk, taunting him. He nods, still in awe. You saunter over to him, purposely swaying your hips a bit.

You place your legs on either side of his hips, straddling him as you wrap your arms around his neck. He looks up at you as his hands find their place on your hips. “Hi..” You whisper, a small smile on your lips. “Hi.” His eyes are big, pupils dilating as he looks into yours. You lean in, eyes fluttering shut as you kiss him gently, his lips immediately molding to yours. Without breaking the kiss, you unbutton his shirt; sliding it from his shoulders and tossing it on the floor. He sighs through his nose as you trail your hands across the bare skin of his chest and shoulders. His fingers pressed firmly into the skin of your hips.

You swipe your tongue across his bottom lip, and he parts them. His tongue comes out to greet yours, making the kiss more passionate. You let out a soft moan as you softly grind your hips down against his growing bulge. With that, he lifts you as he stands, turning around and laying you on the bed. You look up at him as he undoes his button and zipper, letting his pants drop to the floor. You sit up, reaching behind you and unclamping you’re bra. He watches you intently as you toss it from your body, chest on full display.

He drops his boxers before climbing back onto the bed, slotting himself between your legs. You instinctively wrap your legs around his waist as he leans in; kissing you deeply and passionately. You guys have had sex before but this was different, this wasn’t rushed, or fast. It was slow, and loving.

He places kisses from you neck, down your chest, all the way down to your panties. He pulls them down slowly, before placing soft kisses to the inside of your thighs. You sigh loudly, eyes fluttering shut. You gasp as you feel his lips on your clit; sucking it lightly before licking a stripe between your folds. Your hands immediately find themselves in his hair as he laps his tongue against your clit.

“Taste amazing, my love..” He coos against your clit. You moan softly at his words. He brings a hand around, pushing his middle finger into your soaked entrance. “Joe, yes..” You whimper out as he keeps a slow, steady pace inside of you. His finger curls expertly inside of you, as his tongue massages your clit. The pleasure building quickly as his fingers and tongue work their magic on you.

“Joe..” You whisper, and he hums in response. The vibrations against your bundle of nerves causing you to clench around his finger. “Oh my god.. close.” You whimper out. He continues what he’s doing but you stop him, “What’s wrong, baby?” He asks, gently easing his finger from you. “Need you inside of me.” You look down at him, and his worried face turns to one of happiness.

Within seconds he’s back on top of you, kissing you passionately as your hands snake their way around his neck, into his hair. He pushes his tip against your entrance, pulling away and searching your eyes with his. You nod, wrapping your legs around his. A groan leaves his mouth, and you whimper loudly as you pull him into you. Your legs pushing against his ass as you guide him. “Fuck..” He sighs as he bottoms out in you, forehead pressed against yours.

He slowly starts thrusting, like his finger, he keeps a steady pace; not rushing anything. He wants to savor this moment. You hold him close, hands flat against his shoulder blades and his arm wrapped under you. He switches the angle of his hips, before he starts thrusting slow and deep, hitting all the right spots inside of you. You moan against his neck, and he pants into yours. “So good, baby.. so good.” You urge him on, eliciting a quiet moan from him. His arms keeps you tight against him as his hips connect with yours.

You start feeling the familiar burning in your stomach, and a loud whimper escaped your lips. He knows the sound and speed his pace up just a bit, keeping his thrusts deep. You’re a moaning, whimpering mess and this only brings him closer to his release. He removes his arm from beneath you, reaching down and pressing his fingers against your clit. Your eyes squeeze shut, “Oh my god.. oh my god..” You pant out against him. “You’re so beautiful.. my beautiful girl. Fuck.. I love you so much.” His words push you over the edge, vision blurring as you come undone beneath him. You cry out an ‘i love you’ as your body shakes. You clench around his cock as you feel the pleasure radiate through your body. Your high triggers his, and his thrusts get sloppy. A breathy moan leaves his throat as he fills you up completely, his release coating your velvet walls.

He collapses on top of you, breathing as heavily as you are. You caress his head as he places gentle kisses to your neck. He weakly lifts his head up, his lips pressing firmly to yours. You smile against his lips, before he slowly eases out. Dropping down next to you, his arm pulling you into his chest.

With tired eyes you glance up at him, his flushed skin, sweat glistening beautifully over his fair skin, chain hanging on his neck perfectly, lashes fluttering against his cheek. You smile as you take it all in. He finally opens his eyes, looking down at you and pulling the sheets over your bodies. “I love you, Joseph.. I can’t wait for you to be my husband.” You coo against his chest. He smiles softly, “I love you, more.. my wife to be.” He states, rubbing circles against your back as you both drift off into sleep.

#joseph quinn x reader #joseph quinn #joseph quinn smut #joseph quinn x y/n #joseph quinn x fem!reader #eddie munson

[jalwyn21]

Yes, I'm glad to see Tom H doing so well now. But bloody hell, it took him years to get here. That is not fair. - yeah, it was so disheartening. So many people dropped him and for what? Bad PR from her? I guess a good way to figure out who your real friends are. I was so glad when he did Betrayal. I actually flew to London to see it. It was phenomenal. And then I learned later he had fallen in love with his costar and things just started to look up. Apparently last year two stans approached him and his fiancé at a play and asked for a picture only to start singing that song. 6 years later and he’s still facing the bs. That’s the thing. They never truly escape. But I guess the best revenge is living well, which he is. I doubt he even thinks about it. It has been great seeing him regain the respect but fucking hell, he should never have lost it. And it took way too damn long. I’m not really a Joe fan but he seems like a stand up guy and I hate seeing this awful pattern repeating time and time again. I hope maintaining a dignified silence works well for him but sometimes I just wish he’d SPILL. I know dude has stories. But like all the exes, I doubt he gives a shit anymore.

Apparently last year two stans approached him and his fiancé at a play and asked for a picture only to start singing that song. 6 years later and he’s still facing the bs.

Bloody hell!!! That is appalling! 🙀🙀🙀 Swifties are despicable! The scum at the bottom of a bog! 🤮🤮🤮

This reminds me of those swifties who met Joe back in June, asked for a selfie and then told him their favorite album is lover 🙄🙄🙄 And they were proud of it too 🤮🤮🤮

And I know Joe doesn't care about her anymore, none of her exes do, but still the harassment is appalling !

#free joe alwyn #nonnie #q&a #joe alwyn #jalwyn #joealwyn #anti taylor swift #toxic swifties #shit swifties say #toxic taylor swift #tom hiddleston

[peachy-deaths]

Hello!!!!

I was wondering if you could do something where y/n is just as famous as Elvis. Maybe she also acts and has a intimate scene (like kissing) with her costar. How would he react. Would I be want her to quite acting?

you belong to me: yandere Austin!Elvis

{this is kinda short but I felt like it fit better than headcanons. I hope you enjoy this and it's close to what you wanted! the reader is referred to with she/her pronouns. disclaimer(s): typical behaviors that come with yandere content, toxic controlling behavior, manipulation, and abuse. I don’t condone any of these behaviors, this is strictly for fictional entertainment.}

it wasn’t wise to hide stuff from Elvis, (y/n) knew this but her passion for her craft clouded her vision, naively convincing herself that she could prevent him from finding out. the world forcing reality into her face as she watched the man’s tantrum destroy her small trailer the movie studio had provided while he yelled a stream of swears and words of betrayal. 

“I can’t believe ya’d do this to me! were ya just gonna not tell me and make a fool outta me?!” (y/n)’s trembling form flinched when he paused his tantrum to face her, words getting caught up in her throat as she tried to figure out how to deflect his anger off of her, all she could do was shake her head slowly and move her mouth like a fish out of water.

“ya love him? were all those tabloids right? you some cheap whore getting involved with your costar?” “no- Elvis baby it ain’t like that!” it only took two long strides for him to reach her, his hand grabbing at her jaw, the cold metal of his rings digging into her cheeks as he made her look at him “it ain’t?..leave the show then” “wh-what i-i can’t do that- if I leave it-it’ll ruin my career-“ his grip tightened around her jaw causing her to sound slightly muffled as she tried to ramble out a defense.

tears ran down her face, blackened with the mascara and eyeliner the makeup crew had put on her at the beginning of the day. she looked a mess, makeup and hair ruined from this ordeal. his blue eyes softened, like a switch flipped in his head allowing him to see her distressed state “oh darlin’..don’t cry” the sudden attitude switch was unnerving. Still, she had grown used to it, leaning into his hands slightly as he wiped the tears “I know it ain’t your fault baby, I shouldn’t blame you” his hands slid across her face, resting on the back of her neck as he placed a soft kiss to her lips.

“I’ll get them to take the scene out or-or get a stand-in for me” she sniffed out causing Elvis to give her a grin “thank ya darlin’..god the thought of someone else gettin to kiss ya it- it lights this fire in me. you’re my mine, understand?” she weakly nodded, eyes closing as she let him support her head, her eyelids tightening when he kissed her again “i love ya sweetheart” “I love you too” she didn’t need to see him to know that smirk of his was plastered across his face.

#yandere elvis #austin!elvis #austin!elvis x reader #yandere!elvis x reader

[justzawe]

I remember just before the betrayal days when Zawe and Tom did that reading together and I thought "theyd be cute together" and then betrayal happened and I immediately went "Oh yeah, they are together alright"

I don't know what it was, I just saw it immediately. I love them, they're so lovely!

It was so obvious because Tom wasn’t acting like usually does with his female costars. He’s always super friendly and giggly with them, and he wasn’t like that with Zawe. The haters took that as “wow he hates her so much 😈”, but it was the exact opposite lmao

[georgiapeach30513]

Who is calling that parking lot scene cringe???!!

It was less cringe to ME than Scarlett and Adam screaming at each other in marriage story. (Which also got comments for being cringey but somehow also got them Oscar noms LOLOL)

In fact, rewatching it now makes me really realize how well directed and delivered that scene was. If the whole movie moved that way this would have been a real awards contender. Chris’s anger and frustration and hurt and betrayal was felt in that scene.

Such a damn shame. I’m legit upset lol.

Emily and Chris need a do over - I hope somebody can give it to them because they do have chemistry.

Oh, I saw several people calling that scene cringe. I think that was one of the most raw emotional performances he’s ever given. Chris does have his holdups in performances, and usually it’s those emotional moments. But he did it here! His voice cracked and it was amazing.

I wish the script would have been better. I guess that’s the hard part of taking a completely factual book and making it “entertainment”. There was a disconnect. They didn’t know how to make us like Liza.

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, Chris was the best part of Pain Hustlers.

And yes, while I’d love to see Chris and Emily work together again, he’s one that gets too comfortable with costars. Let’s move on to new ones and not get stuck in a Scarlett and Ana rut.

#pain hustlers

[insanityclause]

Growing their family! Zawe Ashton secretly gave birth to her and fiancé Tom Hiddleston’s first child, Us Weekly confirms.

“Tom and Zawe are loving being new parents and are filled with joy,” a source exclusively tells Us. “They have been having the struggles of new parents and aren’t sleeping much but are thrilled.”

The Velvet Buzzsaw actress, 38, first announced she was pregnant in June at the Mr. Malcolm’s List premiere in New York City. Though the Loki actor, 41, stars alongside her in the film, he was not present for the event, so she walked the red carpet solo in a floor-length gown that showed off her growing baby bump.

The Captain Marvel 2 star’s appearance came only two weeks after Hiddleston confirmed the couple were engaged, telling the Los Angeles Times in June that he was “very happy” after popping the question.

The pair first sparked engagement rumors back in March when Ashton was seen wearing a diamond ring 2022 BAFTA Awards. That same month, Us confirmed that Hiddleston had proposed after three years of dating.

The costars were first linked in 2019 following their work together on the West End’s production of Betrayal, only to spark even more speculation when they both transferred to the Broadway version of the play three months later. A source exclusively told Us in November 2019 that the England native and Wanderlust alum “are crazy about each other,” adding that the duo are “truly past the honeymoon phase and “looking to build a long-term future together,” while focusing on their careers.

“They love the finer things in life,” the insider told Us at the time. “They also love to let loose and rock out with friends, whether it’s at a house party or heading to a local bar or restaurant.”

In September 2021, the pair made their official red carpet debut during the 74th annual Tony Awards when Ashton showed up to support her beau, who was nominated for Best Leading Actor for his role in the drama.

Before his relationship with the Josephina star, Hiddleston was previously linked to Elizabeth Olsen, Susannah Fielding and Jessica Chastain. The Thor: Ragnarok actor also made headlines in September 2016 for his whirlwind romance with Taylor Swift, which lasted three months before the two called it quits.

In August 2019, Hiddleston opened up about his newfound low-key approach to his romantic relationships following his high-profile romance with Swift, 32. “I’m protective about my internal world now in probably a different way,” the Avengersstar told the New York Times. “If you go through life without connecting to people, how much could you call that a life? Because you have to fight for love. You can’t live in fear of what people might say.”

#Posting the article so you don't have to click #tom hiddleston #zawe ashton #baby ashton-hiddleston

[buff-borf-bork]

just a short bit in the actors au!

Cheese and Pico. Pomeranian's, beloved by the cast, soft, cute, endlessly sweet. Vicious demons sent from the depth of hell itself to end Nick. It becomes a group effort to help him bond with the cuties, but can they do it in time to make filming not be it's own personal hell for him? an unused idea for the @swwsdjfanzine That's A Wrap!

Creamy brown tufts, big sparkling eyes, the picture of blissful peace. Little angels. The two Pomeranian's lounge around the cast, Pico resting in Jack's lap, Cheese turning in circles between Shaun and Ian for pets they’re both happy to supply. Moonpie gives a chirp from her spot on the dresser. 

Shaun leans against the bed, crossing his arms behind his head, “man, this bedroom set is cozy .”

Nick taps away at his phone, following where Ian tells him to meet them, sending a cat meme on his way. He turns the corner of the false wall to the bedroom set and--

Snap. A force of gnashing teeth and primal hatred.

Jack holds the growling, twisting pom, stopping him an inch away from Nick's face. A strangled sigh escapes Nick as Shaun holds Pico back by his collar, the dog struggling against him, blood lust of a fighting hound compressed into its tiny form.

As Nick supports himself against a wall to recover from his mini heart attack, Shaun stares dumb founded, “What did you do to these guys?”

“Nothing, they just despise me!”

”Isn't there some old myth that animals can sense your true nature or aura or something?“

Shaun snorts, ”Wow Ian, maybe your character's betrayal angle suits you better than we thought! That was brutal.“

“Ah, no, I didn't mean anything by it, you just reminded me of it, really!”

”I remind you of people who are so awful they have bad 'auras'?“

”That’s not what I meant and you know it!“

Picking up Pico, Shaun brings the pom over to Nick, “You just need to bond with 'em a bit, feed them a treat or something.” Bringing the dog closer to Nick does not quell its mission of destruction towards the man.

Jack soothes Cheese by blocking his view of Nick with his body, the dog relaxing a bit instantly. Jack suggests, “Well, Cheese is named Cheese, so maybe?”

Digging into his bag, Ian pulls out a stick of cheese, “Here.”

Nick accepts it with a concerned look, ”why do you have sticks of cheese in your bag?“

”It came with pepperoni.”

“It wasn't wrapped?”

 Ian huffs, “just try to give him the cheese.”

Cheese snarls at the peace offering, but as his nose picks up the smell Cheese’s yips turn into malicious snuffling. The bites start vicious but quickly calm down as Cheese's body relaxes and he eagerly eats the stick from Nick’s hand. Mirroring the pom, Nick's own posture relaxes until he gets the nerve to try petting Cheese. 

Cheese allows this.

Nick attempts the same process with Pico who, once lost in dairy bliss, loafs to enjoy his meal.

For one pure moment, Nick is at peace with his furry costars, basking in their plush comfort.

“What do you mean you gave them cheese?”

“It’s name is Cheese, I thought he could eat cheese!”

The dogs handler looks at him incredulously, “You meet a dog named chocolate, are you gonna feed it chocolate?”

“I’m sorry, I’m just trying to bond with them.”

Pico lays on his side in the soft bed, twitching with his tongue lolling as he pants. The vet brings Cheese out, whining in their arms. Noticing Nick, Cheese growls as best as he can through his pained whines. The guilt in Nick is edged into anxiety as the look in Cheese’s eyes is that of utter loathing, curbed only but the creature's dairy induced suffering.

Across the room Jack pulls his head out of a trash can filled mostly with sticky Popove’s Yogurtopia cups. He gasps for breath while watching the poor pups rest in their fluffy beds, being carefully groomed by their handler. A set assistant gets his attention, telling him where he needs to be next. He musters up the most polite smile he can for them and and watches the dogs again. He sighs, “oh, to be a lactose intolerant dog.”

“Yeah… Sure.” The assistant does not sound sure, they do however sound like they have somewhere to be as they tap their toes.

He chuckles to himself, “I’d be a jack russell.”

He breaks into a bigger fit of giggles, both at his own poor pun and knowing from the look on their face, he’s making the assistant suffer with him.

Still, he steals a longing glance to the sweet comfort the dogs get for their illness before squaring his shoulders and plastering on a smile. A little yogurt hasn’t killed him yet.

“Aw, who’s an itty bitty little bloodthirsty mosnter sent from hell to torture me? You are!”

“Guess I did tell you what you said didn’t matter as much as the tone…”

Nick continues to babble to Pico with Ian’s supervision. Between the two dogs, Pico will at least take his time before lunging at Nick. Seeing no sign of aggression, Nick slowly gets closer to Pico with his palm up. Pico seems relaxed to Nick’s eyes, watching him approach, licking his lips and yawning.

Nick stops talking in anticipation as his hand inches ever closer to Pico. Ian looks up from his script to check in on the sudden silence, jumping at the sight, “wait, don’t, those are signs—”

Nick doesn’t scream as Pico’s teeth latch into his hand. Just a short, choked gasp.

“Of aggression in dogs.”

The parking lot is empty, perfect for plan S.

Before Nick stands Shaun. In his hand he swirls a spray bottle as he sports a devious look on his face. The bottle is whirl-pooling with a mix of water and coffee coloured dog fur.

“Just stand still Nick, after this the dogs'll love you.”

Behind him, Jack with a practiced friendly smile that says he just wants to help you, Nick. Ignore the sinister energy coursing just beneath the surface, like the clouded spray bottle of his own. His recipe, water mixed with high quality dog food, stolen from the handlers trailer.

“This is for the best Nick, just let us help you.”

Nick glares at Jack over his shoulder, “did you just use your Sunny Day voice at me?”

He chuckles sheepishly, “maybe?”

Shaun takes the opening and spritzes him with the homemade odour. As Nick turns in shock and disgust, Jack does the same, the duo quickly coating Nick in the stench stew. He drips onto the concrete, wrinkling his nose with no escape from the scent. He glares at the duo only pretending to try and hide their laughter.

“It’s perfect, this bodes smell for you.”

“I know the situation stinks, but you’ve got this.”

“You can speak their language now, I’m pretty sure their dog breed is Stench.”

Shaun wheezes, “that, that one was bad Jack, stench?”

“It’s supposed to be a pun on French, like–”

“Shut up. Sorry, but shut up,” Nick interrupts, holding up a finger to silence them while he listens closely. “Are you guys hearing that?” 

They all strain their ears. In the distance, barking.

Shaun tilts his head, “sheesh, sounds like the production next door’s recording for a rabies attack.”

Jack looks at him, raising an eyebrow, “next door? They sound further than… Are they getting closer?”

Nick’s blood runs cold, “you don’t think?”

“No way, their trailer’s on the other side of the building”

The yips and growls grow closer, they can make out more and more of all the vicious intent behind the beast's voices.

Across the parking lot two silhouettes back-lit by the horizon jerk into view. The figures almost writhe in vitriol as they approach. Nick’s eyes widen as the caramel tufts become visible, giving him a warning to run. He can only hope that being able to make out the fur and snarled faces doesn’t mean it’s already too late.

Nick runs circles around the parking lot, weaving between cars with the prayer that they’re not small enough to just dart under the vehicles. He finds his car and wrenches on the door, but of course it’s locked. He manages to hop on top of it, Pico and Cheese nipping at his heels. Luckily too short to hop up with him.

“Hey, the trainer could use you to train their jumping height!”

Nick shoots Shaun a glare as he unlocks his car and begins the ordeal of trying to get in from the top without the dogs getting him. Jack and Shaun watch from the sidelines, too busy recording to be of any help.

He manages to hook the toe of his shoe under the door handle enough to open it. The dogs hop and snap, incidentally tumbling into the car. It’s a golden opportunity. With the dogs safely away from the door, he slams it shut, trapping the poms inside. He hops down, throwing his hands in the air victoriously.

Shaun and Jack run up, peeking through the windows. Shaun looks between Nick and the car worriedly, “I don’t think you can do that man. Can’t just leave dogs in a car.”

“No worries, I’ll get somewhere safe and call their handler to come pick them up. I’m not a monster.”

 Jack cups his hands on the window to get a better look inside. Sweat drips down his neck. “Nick? I don’t think you thought this through.”

“Huh?” Nick looks through for himself and it’s carnage. The poms leave nothing untouched in the car as they tear his things apart, the glove box open with its contents splayed about, the seats torn, teeth marks on the wheel. Nick whimpers a cry as he slides heartbroken against the car to his knees. Shaun pats his shoulder as Jack runs to get the handler.

Nick listens to the crew and directors talk about the possibility of just Photoshop masking the dogs in, or green balls on sticks. He sighs, leaning back in the chair, draping an arm over the back of it. His eyes closed, he feels something land in his lap. Taking a peek, it’s Moonpie curled up on him, purring away. She brings a small smile to his face as he gently pets her. The dogs may have put him in the cat house, but with Moonpie, it’s alright here. 

#i hope its funny anyways #i may not be the queen of comedy but hope people at least get a giggle or like a nose puff💀 #sdj #swwsdj #sunnydayjack #nick herraras #posted this months ago #but forgor to link this post to the actual fanzine 💀 like i did in ao3

[bellarkeandclintashaandsuch]

I don’t know why, but I’m becoming very against actors in BL pairing up multiple times, and specifically against this in gmmtv actors and shows (not for like sequels but for new things). Before I loved seeing the same actors playing new dynamics (not just in BL).

And I still think that’s fun. But maybe the more I know about the BL industry, I just feel like it’s intentionally fanning the flames of obsessed (in a bad way) fans who think these actors are dating. Not to say that that would be impossible. People who work together do sometimes date. But certainly not every onscreen couple is dating off screen. And I don’t like the idea of the actors having to pretend or not have to hide if they are dating someone else. And it just seems insidious that management companies stop actors from dating whoever they want, at least in public, but want fans to think they’re dating their coworker. And that’s totally fine if you want to ship real people or if you wonder if or think they are dating irl. That’s not just a BL thing. That’s basically all of celebrity. As long as you’re not trying tear down real people for not believing the same or harassing the actors if they show that they aren’t dating the person you want them to or making it weird for the actors.

And not to completely change my line of thinking, but maybe I’m just greedy for new on screen pairs? I don’t know. I just know that I wasn’t planning to watch Moonlight Chicken because I’ve learned that I can’t handle stories that mostly revolve around cheating. But the idea of that show throwing First and Khao’s characters together because they were a couple in The Eclipse and have another upcoming project together irks me. I just really don’t like the idea of First’s character getting cheated on and then throwing him with the character who’s in love with someone else. That just feels like a betrayal of their hurt. (Check me making up this whole story based on the pilot trailer from like a year ago 👀 oops. I haven’t even seen the official trailer). Anyway. They should throw everyone for a loop and have Mix’s and First’s characters reconcile and stay together. Or give First and Mix a show. And for the love of God, when will Khao and Earth get to play a couple? And not to be hypocritical within a single post, but I would also would love Earth and White to have another show together 🥺 Or have a spin off of Theory of Love. (And for that matter, when will White get to be the main character again?) Maybe I just like time between when actors work together. Then it feels like a bonus reunion instead of like, these two can only work together now. Would also love Neo and Phuwin to play a couple again (or a spin off for their characters in Cause You’re My Boy).

Or maybe it’s because I’m quickly becoming more of a multishipper. Like that flowers for whatever show. Not BL and I didn’t watch because of the love triangles, but through tumblr osmosis I liked Dew and Tu in that and wish they had their own show now (their beverage commercial mini show notwithstanding). Also Nanon and Jimmy would be great. Or Jimmy and Ohm. Or the actors who played the two guys who hated each other in Enchanté that i thought were in love. Or Jimmy and Drake. Or Nanon and Chimon. Chimon and Phuwin. Perth and Pond? Or maybe I just subconsciously like to be mad about ships. I don’t know. Would love to see Gun with Mond (although did he leave gmmtv? I didn’t see any new shows for him. Doesn’t matter. I still want it). Not gmmtv, but also Apo and Bible anyone? Oh, another hypocrite moment, but Tong with his costar from Second Chance the Series (I think his name is Fluke). That’s mostly because that show was so short and I want more. Or the bully in that show that’s now a bully in Never Let Me Go and the guy he bullied. I think they could play an on screen couple well. Anyway. The possibilities are endless, so why limit ourselves, is what I’m saying. Unless I personally want those actors to work together again. Then let’s go ahead and limit ourselves. It’s okay.

Also, I’m over here like, hmm I just don’t want to ship real people. While at the same time going, I hope these people are actually friends irl and chat sometimes and also maybe do a BL together 😂😂😂

#thai bl #I don’t know #this is all just incoherent rambling #maybe I just don’t like the idea of actors feeling like they can only succeed if they work with one specific person #hmm #that’s probably it #and yet I would watch anything max and tul do together #maybe that’s because I don’t know anything about whatever studio they work for #if they do have a specific studio #whereas I hear about gmmtv all the time #in my mind max and tul are just out in the wild making decisions for themselves 😂 #or maybe if I’m not satisfied with the story I want them to work together too #like toru and first #y destiny was too short #and I didn’t like the end of their story in war of y #so I want them to have a full show together #anyway maybe I’ll wait until moonlight #chicken is out #and then binge it so I can skip what I don’t want to see #not trying to rain on anyone’s parade #just tossing thoughts around

[lookwhatilost]

(This is a high effort Facebook post I made in December, 2021. I never posted it here, but I figured you guys might enjoy it, so here it is)

I remember seeing this in the checkout line at Winn-Dixie when I was around 7 years old. And this was 2002, so, like the height of Friends. I remember thinking it was kind of intrusive, albeit I was way too young to articulate it properly.

Tabloids and celebrity and our relationships with them have changed a lot in the past two decades, but a version of that cover has been a mainstay for a while – speculating about Jennifer Anniston specifically getting pregnant. And I'm not exaggerating here. A while back I remember sitting in a waiting room and seeing an issue of In Touch with a picture on the cover of her and Brad Pitt that said: "Brad and Jen: Wedding and a Baby!" and all I could really think about was "How is this still a thing?"

Jen's story really had it all, didn't it? Heartbreak. Secrecy. Sex. Betrayal. But it had something else outside of it: Us Weekly and all of its copycats. Brad Pitt leaving Jennifer Anniston for Angelina Jolie would have been a huge Hollywood scandal no matter when it happened, but it became an even bigger one because it was turbo-charged by a new kind of media outlet. The tabloids transformed Jennifer Anniston into a literal cover girl for our angst, anxiety, concern, and distain about and for single and childless women. And, at 52 years old, Jen is still that cover girl. What is going on? Why is this still going on? Why is this still happening?

So, Friends is still popular today since it's been given a second life through streaming services, but it stands to reason that Jen would probably be just as famous as her costars had she not began dating Brad Pitt. But to really understand her public persona, the history of Us Weekly is pretty important.

People Magazine was the original personality journalism success, and Us was launched around 3 years later to ride its coattails. But People's coverage is, you know, more authorized. If they're running a story, they're doing it with the subject's cooperation – they sat for the interview, they posed for the photo. It's all very above-board. But since this was the benchmark for personality journalism, the Us editors noticed there was a hole in the market and took a page out of the book from European celebrity gossip weeklies. Magazines like that depend on newsstand sales, so, catchy and salacious covers, and there's more of a profit incentive there because they make a lot more money than subscribers do. Us switched over to this kind of model in 2000. Copycats started popping up in the following years, and by the mid-aughts, the US went from having no magazines that were quite like Us Weekly, to having a lot of magazines like Us Weekly full of... What, exactly? True stories, or kinda sorta maybe true stories?

While I was researching this, I was pretty shocked to learn that Us Weekly had a fact checking department. If they're relying on other people's journalism or reporting they aren't sure about but supports their story, they use words like "reportedly" or "allegedly" but if they run a story saying something Definitely Happened, it's because the magazine has multiple sources telling them that it has. It's not that everything they publish is true, but there's at least a kernel of truth involved.

You can probably liken the business model here to that of a soap opera. Sure, every now and then someone will get married or cheated on or come back from the dead, but there's also a lot of time where nothing Huge is happening and it still needs to be compelling to the person watching it. Tabloids need to do the same thing with their headlines.

So just to recap here, you have this new and massive business model where you need to drum up headlines that elicit emotional responses in prospective readers. And then you have Jennifer Anniston, a well-beloved, relatable celebrity and one half of Hollywood's pre-eminent golden couple, who's already a tabloid fixture, who millions of Americans feel very strongly about.

So, Brad and Jen separate in 2005, and photos on a beach in Kenya of Brad and Angelina Jolie and her young son, which confirms all the speculation about something going on between the two of them. And what's important to clarify here is that there couldn't be a bigger difference in the public perception of Jen and Angelina. One is America's sweetheart, the other is the woman who wears blood vials around her neck.

Two competing narratives emerge about this: One being that Jen was a sympathetic victim who had her husband stolen from her by a femme fatale, the other being that she was career-obsessed and didn't want children, so Brad left her for someone who did. She dismissed the latter in a Vanity Fair interview (it's still their best selling issue) by saying she's never stated she hasn't wanted kids: "I did, I do, and I will". And inadvertently birthed the only character she's played that's as famous as Rachel Green – Sad Jen.

Sad Jen is a version of Jennifer Anniston who, in spite of being rich, successful, and beautiful, is perpetually lovelorn and depressed, a forever victim who can't keep a man or have a baby. She's the perfect tabloid figure who readers can easily relate to – who hasn't had a heartbreak? – and wish for her happiness while her problems made them feel better about their own.

Jen, for what it's worth, doesn't really comment on this because whenever she does, it ignites even more speculation about her. So she doesn't do it very often. And that kind of contributes to her unknowability. We feel like we know her because we know Rachel Green so well, but when you actually think about her personality, she's a bit hard to describe. Hard to pin down. Like she's an enigma, a blank canvas for us to project on. And the tabloids did just that. Sad Jen completely permeated the culture.

As the years went on and Jen dated other men, got married, and did everything that looked like moving on, Sad Jen still kept selling magazines. If Jennifer Anniston is happy, there's no drama. No story. Nothing to be curious about. And, like, it doesn't really matter how woke our society gets, people are always going to want to know when women are going to have babies.

Jen's tabloid persona completely eclipsed Jen, the actress, and Jen, the real person. Sad Jen is a deeply retrograde concoction. In creating her, the tabloids were sending a message to women that was loud and clear: You need a man and a baby to be happy. But it needed saying so loudly because it was at odds with a real woman, with what Jennifer Anniston was actually doing after her divorce – dating, delaying or deciding not to have children at all, doing what made her happy and fulfilled. If celebrities are avatars for our issues, the cultural concerns that are in the air, Sad Jen isn't simply some antifeminist poltergeist. She's a proxy for all our complicated, contradictory, and changing feelings about women. She was such a powerful character for so long not because our ideas about what women ought to do are settled and decided upon, but because they're so... not.

I should probably lay my cards on the table and say that I doubt Jennifer Anniston and Brad Pitt are going to get back together and have a baby. The reason that cover grabbed my attention was because it seemed so patently bogus, fanfiction prompted by the fact that, for the first time in more than a decade, they're both single again. Generally speaking, I find tabloids very unseemly and feel uncomfortable pinning that on any one person, type of person, or entity. When it comes to tabloids – readers, writers, editors, publishers, celebrities, publicists, marketing departments... They all play their part. We all play our part. There's enough ick to go around.

For serious news outlets, every error hurts their reputation, but no one expects a tabloid to be right all of the time. In fact, a tabloid only has to be right some of the time to give its material a whiff of "could this be true?" especially if you really want the story to be true. And the tabloids, except for People, are all owned by the same company, A360 Media, the creator of Star and the National Inquirer. They do still have reporting staffs that break real, truthful celebrity news. In Touch, for example, broke the story that George and Amal Clooney were having twins, and ran an interview with Stormy Daniels about her affair with the president years before any other outlet.

One of the reasons for these ever more fanciful covers may be a reflection of what's happened to the tabloid business. Since their heyday in the aughts, tabloid sales have fallen off because of the internet, where you can get all the gossip you want, 24 hours a day. Tabloids sell on newsstands in the low hundred thousands these days. But the business model is still reliant on catchy covers, so they keep amping them up. And the people who still buy celebrity magazines grew up with Jennifer Anniston, which is probably why Jennifer Anniston is still a permanent fixture on their covers. A cover about Brad and Jen getting back together is as amped up as possible. A greatest hits reel. A reunion episode of a favorite TV show in which the heroine is finally happy. What this means, though, is that Jennifer Anniston is probably not the tabloid icon she once was, but that tabloids are getting more desperate than they once were.

Jen has gotten unlucky twice. First by getting so spectacularly divorced while the tabloids were rising, and then still being a going concern as they fall. Still, over the years, Sad Jen has largely been canonized as an antifeminist projection, one that doesn't have much of anything to do with the actual Jen. And you could argue that Jennifer Anniston has gotten some benefit from her tabloid coverage, even though I'm sure Jen would disagree with me on this one. She's a middle-aged actress whose most famous work is more than 15 years behind her, and that's in part because the public is so fascinated with her.

I think if you're gonna make some kind of positive case for the tabloids, beyond just accepting that some version of them will always exist, it's that they, and gossip more generally, are a mirror who shows us who we really are, warts and all. What we really care about, what speaks to our brains and hearts. If that's true, the Sad Jen's existence doesn't just tell us about our rigid expectations of women, it tells us something more expansive with our relationship with the truth, which is that when the truth is as propulsive as a great story, we'll take the truth. But when the truth gets gnarly or pedantic or plotless or dull, we'll take the story, even if it's no longer true.

[tomhiddleslove]

Tom Hiddleston with 'Betrayal' co-stars Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox, and director Jamie Lloyd at the 74th Annual Tony Awards at Winter Garden Theater on September 26, 2021 in New York City.

#Tom Hiddleston #Zawe Ashton #Jamie lloyd #Charlie Cox #Tony Awards 2021 #Betrayal #Betrayal Broadway #red carpet arrivals #hiddles #twhiddleston #bow tie tom #hiddles suit #Winter Garden theater #September 26 #hiddles 2021 #Betrayal costars #Theatre tom #harold pinter play #new york city

[greenorangevioletgrass]

I just found out that Charlie Cox did a play on Broadway… currently thinking about costar/actress!reader sneaking into his dressing room before the show and helping him get rid of those pre-show jitters, if you know what I mean

bestie yes he did Betrayal with tom hiddleston, they dressed up as loki and daredevil for halloween and everything 😭😭

ugh the stage manager is talking over the PA system like “10 minutes til places” and he’s just slowly but intensely fucking you from behind while your breath fogs up the mirror, goddddd 🥵🥵

#ask ava #charlie cox smut

[daydreamrry]

so did the sun article mention her or not? i saw someone say whenever it’s a n article from his team it never mentions her, unlike from her team. //

I was the anon that wrote that and I didn’t notice it at the bottom lol but I’m also not convinced Harry’s team approved that part. Back to the SEO post another anon linked to… what if the Sun added that part in just to boost their own SEO ranking. Editors can change pieces so I bet the Sun added that in. PR doesn’t completely control what is written they just heavily persuade and guide the piece. (I work in PR)

Here’s a prime example what I meant tho. This is an example of something Harry’s team sent in:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.capitalfm.com/news/harry-styles-nick-kroll-dont-worry-darling-gifts/

Notice how it was posted in March of this year but no mention of Holivia just Olivia as director briefly? This publication posts super positively about Harry in general and has done a lot of articles detracting from Holivia. Everyone wants to hate on his team, but hear me out on this theory.

I think his team has been actually working really hard to keep Harry’s brand as disassociated from her as possible while the stunt continues. That’s part of all the winning of awards (not to say he didn’t earn them but a lot of awards are political, esp. Grammys) and why Liam and Ed keeping bringing him up, that’s why Lorde talked about him, and Joshua whoever Olivia Rodrigos ex, and why Jen Aniston wore the same suit as him for People, why Courtney Cox covered his song. Yes all these people get clout from his name but think about how many random people have been talking about him lately??? Why?? Image restoration. All of these people have done nothing but say amazing and positive things about him. PR people talk a lot and it’s not a stretch that they’d be involved somehow in all these random positive mentions. It’s their job to find these connections and positively promote their clients. Why do they care so much about his image?? HS3 baby!! Harry wants to be and his team wants to market him as one of the greats of his time (Grammys, high profile articles with RS and famous music journalists, placement on 500 best albums and 500 best songs?) More than anything Harry wants critical acclaim for his music. They do not want it cheapened by being tied to Olivia. The article today proved it to me. They laid out that he wrote it before her and they will continue to say that and steer album marketing as far from as they can strategically. Think about it. How much press has Olivia gotten not tied to Holivia and how much press has Harry gotten not tied to Holivia? Exactly!

Theory continued: I also think his team reads these blogs and they know that we all think it’s PR. I think maybe they are the ones leaving some of the “it’s PR” comments on the DM and other Holivia articles not the GP. (Go look up what they did for Eroda and all the fake Twitter accounts they made for that marketing push) If everyone thinks the relationship is fake even if stories say otherwise, this angle is better because he didn’t really break up a family/date her anyway. Olivia still gets name recognition and tabloids get clicks. That’s why I think we see Harry being so over it. At first his team wanted to sell the it’s real thing to water down the home wrecker narrative they’ve worked so hard to clear (why he wasn’t looking horribly miserable although still strange in the January photos) but they noticed we weren’t buying it. Now they’re purposely seeding doubt and straight up disconnecting him publicly from her as much as possible. They’re the ones that fed that Page 6 article about him singing about his ex in front of her. They’re trying to make her look bad guys! Why? It’s better for Harry that we’re thinking poor Harry caught up in this stunt with such an annoying person. It’s actually sort of hilarious. And real tea I think Jason’s team is doing the same thing so I doubt there’s any real bad blood between Jason and Harry bts or any of their shared friends. That’s why the subtle shade with the kids and Jason before the Emmys and the classic doodle line. Like damn. She’s probably on the phone so much talking to her PR team about how to salvage any of this and it sells her girlboss image. He’ll still make fun of the situation on SNL but I bet Olivia comes out looking the worst. The only confusing part is Jeff? Why would he hype Olivia on the teaser Instagram story hmm? Why not Harry? Well he’s not gonna tag them both in the post and honestly I think they’re trying to distance Harry from the movie some too bc it’s tainted by her and the stunt. I’ll stand by Harry’s core team who’ve been around being loyal to him. I think tommy is dancing with Olivia like that bc he knows fans will capture it and she’ll look stupid.

I know this is a lot and sounds sort of crazy. I’m not a Larry or any of that but literally this whole thing has been so strange and this is the only explanation I can’t come up with. This is the first relationship I feel is a stunt truly without love or at least some romance involved. I don’t know what happened between them but that weird dancing video and the yacht pics really cemented it as being off for me. I don’t think Harry’s innocent or any of that either. I know he has flaws but I can’t for the life of me wrap my head around why someone who was so horribly paraded through the press with 1D would find themselves in this position again when he hasn’t had anything like this in the press for like 5 years? I know there are some pieces still missing like why did this all start in the first place?? I don’t think Harry would willingly tarnish his image even for a movie role. I don’t believe they were even seeding Holivia back then. I think they had him photographed with Flo stating they were just friends and the article about him being single to get ahead of any costar romance narratives. This was supposed to be a serious project for him. Something else happened that sent us all careening down this path to Holivia hell and it probably involves betrayal of some sort which is why he made that weird statement “thanks to everyone who has my back” at the brits. I’m convinced that DWD was supposed to be a movie to show he has acting range and that’s why he took the role, but it’s become some weird death trap.

link

#holivia #holivia stunt #fauxlivia #theories

[justzawe]

Zawe Ashton Is Having Fun Playing the Villain

The actor gets candid about playing a vengeful society lady in Mr. Malcolm’s List and the lead villain in the Captain Marvel sequel.

After watching her latest film, Zawe Ashton’s father turned to her in shock. “He looked at me and said, ‘You’re smiling,’” she recalls over Zoom. She laughs, relishing the memory. “He just wants to see his little girl show some teeth and not be depressive, or druggy, or on the verge of a nervous breakdown.”

Not that she has a problem with that summary of her roles. “Look,” she deadpans. “You have to have a lane, right?”

Ashton’s lane has been filled with a range of deliciously dark characters, even though she is, in real life, contagiously ebullient, always one smile away from laughter. Ashton first broke out onscreen in the 2011 series Fresh Meat (created by pre-Succession Jesse Armstrong) as Vod, a metal-loving drug dealer, following that up over the years with roles as a tough aid worker in The Handmaid’s Tale, and a chicly downcast art gallery assistant in Velvet Buzzsaw. On Broadway, she costarred in a production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, acting alongside Tom Hiddleston, her future fiancé. (The couple is now expecting their first child together.) Then there’s her work as a writer, penning plays like for all the women who thought they were Mad and the superbly titled fiction-as-memoir Character Breakdown. If her career alone was a facial expression, it would be an elegant scowl.

But she’s changed course with Mr. Malcolm’s List, a frothy, Regency-era rom-com now playing in theaters. Ashton plays Julia Thistlewaite, a lady hoping to win the heart of the titular Mr. Malcolm (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù), a rich and respectable suitor. But when he rejects her for not meeting all the necessary criteria on his list, Julia decides to get even. She coaches her friend Selina (Freida Pinto) into being Mr. Malcolm’s perfect match. Once Mr. Malcolm falls in love with her, Julia plots, she’ll have Selina reject him.

Ashton, as her father aptly noticed, plays the antagonistic role with comedic verve, far and away having the most fun of anyone onscreen. But she also grounds the role with a palpable vulnerability that trembles underneath her pithy punch lines. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Ashton talks about crafting the part of Julia, why she almost walked away from acting entirely, and her upcoming role in the Captain Marvel sequel, The Marvels.

Vanity Fair: Were you interested in doing a Regency-era project before this? What was your interest level in the genre?

Zawe Ashton: It’s such a good question because it encapsulates both the passion that I have for this style of film, but also the sadness that encapsulates my experience of this genre from an actor’s perspective. There’s been a lock and key around this genre. It’s felt so exclusive for such a long time. So my interest level is high, but it’s always been tinged with a question as to why myself or my contemporaries would never be called to take it up.

You saying there’s been a lock and key around the genre is so apt. But there’s now this wave of very cool, inclusive takes on regencycore, between The Personal History of David Copperfield and Bridgerton—

We love regenycore as a term, don’t we? [Laughs.] My sister introduced me to it and I was like, Yes, I’m going to use this!

It’s so good! I was going to ask if you had been aware of this wave, but clearly you were.

Absolutely! You know, the call for historical accuracy is bent all the time in these period pieces. All the time! Whether it be music or costume or hairstyle or types of language, or even the score. Some of those instruments didn’t exist yet. There’s been this lie that you are sitting down to watch a documentary every time there’s a period piece on and that’s just very much not true. You’re sometimes watching actors from America or Australia portray British monarchs. And yet, the historical factuality is really called into play when we’re suddenly trying to inject the genre with people of color.

As soon as I saw Jodie Turner-Smith on a 50-foot poster as Anne Boleyn [in the 2021 miniseries Anne Boleyn], I was like, Yes! Something internally releases. I can’t necessarily put my finger on what that is, but it’s a feeling of expansion.

As a Black woman, I know that feeling you’re talking about. And now you’re a part of this new wave.

And also, I’m an antagonist in this movie. I love that! It’s not me knocking on the door with a bonnet, or serving the tea. I’m driving the antagonistic element of that storyline, with two other people of color in proximity as the romantic protagonists of the movie. And that, to me, is where our film is popping off.

You mentioned previously that you had a really short amount of time to lock into character. Where do you start in your prep process to become Julia?

I arrived in Ireland two weeks before the movie started. That was two weeks in quarantine in Dublin, the fair city that was so good to us. I had to dive straight in and find the recognizable parts of this character that I could imbue with truth and meaning from my own emotional store. She’s someone who’s four seasons without a match. Early on, Emma and I talked about, is she the Regency Bridget Jones? This is a really interesting place to find a single woman.

Once I’d started to build her emotional world, there was the period to contend with. I started to read Jane Austen’s letters. They just opened the door into the reality of a high society woman at this period of time. But that wasn’t satisfying me on a real gut level…. I realized I’ve been so saturated with period dramas with people who don’t look like me. I [was] like, Am I trying to embody something that is culturally not specific to me? Am I essentially trying to play this as a white actor that I’ve seen in a movie? That was a big question to come up against. I’d had an experience at drama school when we were doing farce—which is a wonderful era of theater, of course—but it was in this really terrible scenario. There were seven people of color in my year at drama school, and we were told that we all needed to think of ourselves as white in order to partake. Moments like that are so deeply fracturing and scarring. There was suddenly this big knot that I needed to work through that had accumulated in my gut and in my heart. I started to just read the character aloud and do my physical work with the help of a wonderful historian. I started to do my vocal work on with the help of a wonderful dialect coach. And the more I started to physically embody, [the more] I was like, This is an immigrant story. This is how I feel in my moments of having to assimilate to a dominant culture.

I can see that as a layer of the character.

Yeah. That’s when I started to come alive and I knew I could imbue lines with something that gutturally felt completely connected.

I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but that seems healing for yourself, especially your past self in drama school.

It was extremely healing. I spent a lot of that lockdown crying, in a good way. I was messaging Freida like, Are you getting this? This is therapy! We had wonderful conversations. Like, look, I’m a biracial woman in this, you’re an Indian woman—what are we really drawing from here? I was like, let’s put Pride and Prejudice and the machinations of that to the side for a second. I brought to the table my love of Bollywood movies that we can think about as inspiration. There are these epic movies of marrying out of your class. This is already in our lineage. We didn’t need to watch it in a Jane Austen-inspired way in order to understand, but reconnecting with that was a real unstitching.

It’s a powerful reframing as well.

A true reconnection. And I’m so aware that some of my Caucasian contemporaries can have these conversations and just talk about the joy of wearing bonnet. [Laughs.] I can also talk about that! Because I had immense joy putting the bonnet on.

I mean, she’s Regency Bridget Jones! There’s levels here.

Yeah! I was living my ideal rom-com life here as well, you know? There’s so many intersections in this film.

You’re also in the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel. Can you talk about what it was like joining the Marvel universe, and if you had any preconceived notions that were either dispelled or affirmed about it?

I’m still terrified to say anything because I didn’t even know [the casting news] had come out! I’m in such a bubble. [But] first and foremost, where these films [Mr. Malcolm’s List and Captain Marvel] are twinned is that I had been moving away from acting for a while. I didn’t see the pendulum swinging hard enough and thought my time can be better spent behind a computer or potentially behind a camera. I went unrepresented for a while. While I was on Broadway, I really cleared the decks. I needed to reenter the business in a very new way. I [told] my team that I wanted to be of service to first-time female directors. Specifically, first-time female directors of color. Don’t throw me into a bunch of auditions. Set me up with Zooms where I can understand how I, in the sea of people that they might want to choose, can help to understand them or enable them.

One of the first people that I was set up on a Zoom with was Nia DaCosta, and we vibed really hard. Actually, we really geeked out on Jane Austen and Persuasion. She’s such an unbelievably intellectual and intelligent woman. I’d loved Little Woods, her first film, and knew that she had Candyman coming up. We signed off after a couple of hours going, Let’s do something, even if it costs like five [cents] to make. Then [later] she called and asked if I would do her new movie. I was like, yeah, absolutely! Where are we [going]? In the backwaters of somewhere? How small is the budget? And it was this follow-up to Captain Marvel, which had not been on my radar at all. [Laughs.] The expectation was just to fulfill Nia’s vision. I honestly have had the best time doing it. I genuinely have. My respect for everyone involved in these movies has gone through the roof, in a very nuanced way.

I love the intention of working with female directors. Now you have back-to-back projects with them, between Emma and Nia.

I love the idea of being part of the formative experiences of anyone who’s lingered in the margins and is stepping into these spaces. We’re aware of how wrong and abusive these spaces have been for people in the margins for a very, very long time. You can show someone at the beginning of their career that it doesn’t have to be like that. You can help someone develop their relationship to the culture of filmmaking. It’s hard work. But it never needs to be detrimental to your physical or mental health.

Was there anyone like that for you at the start of your career?

No, there wasn’t. That’s why I want to be that!

What was so brilliant about seeing Regé-Jean Page in Bridgerton was that he’d had a non-speaking role years ago on a show I did called Fresh Meat. He won’t mind me saying this but we just fell into conversation. I could tell that he was a hard worker. I could just tell. I was out of drama school and had been in a very disempowered place for a very long time because of that institution and, subsequently, the institution of film and television-making. And I just said, look, let’s swap numbers. Update me with where you’re going. He did, and I think I was one of the first people to write a visa recommendation letter for him when he wanted to move to the states. Ten-plus years later, we ended up next to each other at a dinner for BAFTA. And I just said, I’m so proud of you. And he was like, Thanks for being there at the beginning. That’s what happens if you give someone an hour of your time, or some kind of cushion. You go away and forget about it, and then you turn on Netflix and there they are in their most empowered state.

You influenced part of the trajectory of his career.

As soon as I saw him at the dinner, I was like I’m here to take full responsibility for everything that’s happening in your life. [Laughs.]

You’re like, “You know Regé Jean-Page? That’s all me.”

That’s all me! [Laughs.] Oh, dear.

But it is really, really wonderful to have these two films with that intentionality running through them both. That makes them feel successful ahead of premieres and whatever comes next. (x)

#zawe ashton #vanity fair #interview #article #mml promo #the marvels #mr. malcolm's list

[tyrannosaurus-trainwreck]

The one thing I don’t really understand about the whole Joss Whedon thing is takes like this:

The community’s sense of shock and betrayal could be seen in part as an indictment of the culture of fandom itself. “As fans, we have a bad habit of deifying those whose work we respect,” Kurtz, the comic-book artist, told me. “When you build these people up so big they have nowhere to go but down, I don’t know why we’re surprised when they turn out to be fallible humans who fall.” (from the Vulture article making the rounds)

Literally all Whedon had to do was produce the work he produced and be an okay dude.  That was it.  This is not some unscalable peak, some unfordable river, some impossible dream. 

Like, yes, please, by all means stop acting like an artist’s output is any indicator of their personal worth, their personal morality, whether or not they’re a decent person, etc.  There’s not actually any kind of correlation between the two, it’s a bad idea in general, there’s no real upside to it, blah blah blah.

But can we, for the love of all things holy and un-, not then turn around and act like “Don’t be an active shitheel” is an unreachable standard of behavior?  Can we save the “fallible human” speeches for shit like needing to go to rehab, or having an affair with a costar and getting divorced, or handling your money so badly that you do a lot of shitty projects because you need the dough, or being Perfectionist McGee to the point where it makes you kind of difficult to work with, or putting your career ahead of your family? Notably: things that tend to blow over quickly in terms of needing the “fallible human” speech, since the reasonable fans settle down post-revelation and the unreasonable ones burn their swag and move on to their next idol.

Whedon could be described as going down--in a very gentle, controlled descent toward a very soft landing on a very high plateau--prior to it becoming extremely common knowledge that he’s a raging asshole, but it was largely because he hadn’t updated his writing in two decades and people were getting tired of seeing the same things out of every new Whedon project even as the cultural milieu drifted farther away from anything that gave those things relevance. 

People got less and less forgiving of certain tropes Whedon leaned on as they aged poorly, sure, but he still enjoyed broad acceptance as a ‘90s dude-feminist who’d done groundbreaking work and then gotten lazy.  It wasn’t even that inexplicable, given the slacker ethos popularized just as he was starting to take off--one of the primary benefits of Making It was supposed to be that you could do what you were interested in doing with people who were more friends than coworkers and still get paid. (Further illustrating the concept: 90% of Adam Sandler’s filmography, practically everything directed by Kevin Smith since 1997.)  And probably most people would have said that his feminism seemed sincere, if shallow and dated.

All that would have been required to maintain that whole perception was, again, to not be an active shitheel. 

Especially at the level he hit after Buffy was a huge and obvious success, where if you have relatively decent intentions, you don’t even have to be like “Wow, my interpersonal skills in this regard are subpar, I should work on that!” You can just hire people to handle stuff you’re not great at. “People get upset when I forget their birthdays, I’m shit at remembering birthdays, somebody place an ad for a PA to remember birthdays for me.” is a perfectly acceptable move for a rockstar showrunner to make--but it does require you to care that people are getting upset and want them to be happy instead.

Practically none of the stories that gained any traction were of the “he could be a thoughtless dick” or “he was an exacting director” stripe, though.  The stuff that stood out to people--the stuff they’ve been putting on social media and telling reporters about--has all been about incidents where he was really clearly out to hurt someone.  Because they disappointed him, because he could, as a warning to everyone else in the room, whatever, everyone’s on the same page that it was done deliberately.

See also, sleeping around.  Would literally anyone have ever cared about who he had consensual sex with if he’d a) not been married to someone to whom he’d promised monogamy and b) excluded employees and teenagers?  Probably not!  And that’s still an absolutely enormous pool of potential sex partners!  But you do have to want a lot of sex with hot women instead of wanting to emotionally abuse hot women willing to have sex with you.

The bar is just so goddamn low.  Trotting out the fallible-human thing when people tunnel under it really doesn’t help.