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dissecting-bollywood · 4 years

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10 Queer Characters/Couples in Indian Media

A topic that has been taboo in Indian society forever now, homosexuality is now prevalent and more talked about than ever. There have been many forms of normalization the Indian audience has been exposed to, such as literature, social media awareness, and of course, Indian Media. In celebration of Pride Month, I’d like to stray away from the more dehumanizing and embarrassing portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters and instead focus on the more positive and realistic portrayals of them. So here are 10 queer characters and couples in Indian Media (keep in mind, I probably missed some queer Indian characters, so please don’t @ me. These are some of my personal favorites and most of these movies are available on online platforms)

*minor spoiler for Kapoor and Sons*

*THIS WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE BLM PROTESTS. DONATE TO THE MOVEMENT OR SIGN PETITIONS*

1. AMAN-KARTHIK IN SHUBH MANGAL ZYADA SAAVDHAN

Probably the most recent one on the list, SMZS took the internet by surprise with the great representation. Starring Ayushmann Khurrana as Karthik and Jitendra Kumar as Aman, the movie showed a healthy relationship between the two and made their personalities deeper than the typical gay man stereotype. Although the movie did have a story structure similar to the modern situational comedy movies (i.e. Dream Girl and Badhaai Ho), this movie is a fun ride and an important step towards LGBTQ+ acceptance in Indian cinema. SMZS is available of Amazon Prime.

2. SWEETY-KUHU IN EK LADKI KO DEKHA TOH AISA LAGA

Proclaimed as the first mainstream Bollywood movie to showcase a lesbian love story as the main focus, this movie was bold for many. Starring Sonam Kapoor as Sweety and Regina Cassandra as Kuhu, their chemistry on-screen was lovable and so was the innocence of their intentions. Sweety’s journey of acceptance of her identity is one that many could empathize with and the movie overall was visually pleasing to look at. In technical terms, I found the movie slightly bland but that doesn’t make me disregard the impact it has had in queer love stories in Bollywood. Watch it on Netflix.

3. SHABNAM MAUSI IN SHABNAM MAUSI

Rolling backwards in time to 2005′s, Shabnam Mausi is about the real-life Shabnam Bano, the first transgender woman to become a political activist. Played by Ashutosh Rana, this movie was incredibly risky for obvious reasons. At that time, transgender women were ostracized by society and for a fairly famous Rana to take up this role was daring. Even though the movie had exaggerated many events that took place in Bano’s life, Ashutosh Rana’s great performance can’t be ignored.

4. RAHUL KAPOOR IN KAPOOR AND SONS

2016′s Kapoor and Son’s was an emotional movie centered around a family and their troubles. The oldest son Rahul, played by Fawad Khan, for most of the runtime is portrayed to be the perfect child but towards the end, it is discovered that he is a closeted gay in a relationship. Fawad Khan is charming and effortless as always and he bought a sense of rawness and authenticity to his performance. His subplot is just one of the many brushstrokes that make this movie the way it is. Available on Netflix.

5. RADHA-SITA IN FIRE

Both Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das were proven brave for taking up the role of Radha and Sita, especially considering the negativity surrounding LGBTQ folks at 1996 India. The movie was unjustly marred with controversy and hate by conservatives, but almost all critics hailed this film as gutsy and path-breaking, which it was in many ways. Along with portraying a lesbian love story in the forefront, the movie also portrays unhappy marriages and age gap relationships well. Catch this one of YouTube.

6. LAILA-KHANUM IN MARGARITA WITH A STRAW

Laila is a teenager with celebral palsy and Khanum is a blind Pakistani-Bangladeshi. The two extremely daring roles were carried out to near perfection by Kalki and Sayani in this gem of a movie. The chemistry between them was impeccable and the moments they have together will definitely make you tear up. This movie was path-breaking for portraying characters with disabilities in a good way and (of course) tackling the subject of sexuality with nuance. Catch this heartfelt movie on Hulu.

7. PROFESSOR SIRAS IN ALIGARH

Aligarh is a biopic of Professor Ramchandra Siras, a former professor at Aligarh Muslim University who was caught getting intimate with a rickshaw puller, causing him to get suspended. Siras is a character easy to empathize with and everything that Bajpayee emoted was very praiseworthy. You could really feel Siras’ pain and struggle through the screen. Despite the movie being moderately successful, Bajpayee’s performance didn’t go unnoticed and he went on to win a Filmfare in Best Actor (Critics) category.

8. SHILPA IN SUPER DELUXE

The only regional character in this list, Shilpa played by Vijay Sethupathi is a transgender woman who comes back to her childhood town to meet her family and child she left years ago. Although she is a small part of this 3 hour long movie, she is easily the most iconic character and her conversations with Rasukutty seems very genuine and wholesome. Her storyline was engaging and when the sad and unfortunate incident happens to her, I couldn’t help but shed a tear. Definitely one of my most favorite characters in South Indian cinema. Watch this masterpiece of a movie on Netflix.

9. NIKHIL-NIGEL IN MY BROTHER... NIKHIL

Nikhil Kapoor, played by Sanjay Suri, is a competitive swimmer who has a hard time with accepting himself when he has HIV and Nigel D’Costa is his supportive boyfriend. Much like Shabnam Mausi and Aligarh, the movie is based on the real life Dominic D’Souza, who was a well-known AIDS activist. Certainly another brave attempt to normalize gay portrayal in the silver screen during challenging times, the movie was received well worldwide and deservedly so. The movie featured great performances from everyone and the ending carried so many mixed emotions that it was just beautiful. Available on YouTube.

10. KARAN MEHRA IN MADE IN HEAVEN

One of my personal favorites in the list, Karan, played brilliantly by Arjun Mathur, is a wedding planner along with Tara Khanna. He is a well-fleshed out character with a great personality and I think 50% of my most favorite moments are with him in it. The web series manages to show the nitty gritty situations gay people faced before the court’s decision on Section 377, from the parents’ reactions, to facing society’s stigma. I found myself sobbing and smiling along with him throughout the series and I am interested as to what is planned ahead for him. Please watch this series on Amazon Prime its very good.

NOTE: IN THE LIGHT OF THE RECENT PROTESTS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY, I’D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO SAY THAT MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY. I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND THE PAIN AND STRUGGLE YOU GO THROUGH, BUT KNOW THAT I WILL FOREVER SUPPORT THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT AND I URGE ANYONE READING TO CLICK ON THE LINKS ABOVE TO MAKE DONATIONS OR SIGN PETITIONS. #BLACKLIVESMATTER AND #ACAB

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multiverseofimagines · 5 years

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for the song lyric thing, could you do 8 w richard madden?? 💗

prompt 8; “ We’re such a Mess Together, You make me lose My Temper.”

Prompt list

a/n ; pls request more richard im so in love with this mans. also idek what this is, this is a lil angsty and mentions smUt. Also I’m so sorry if this isn’t what you wanted I got so carried away.

warnings; angst, some dom!richard, sex mentions 😤 Age Gap (18+)

You watched Richard tentively flirt with some random woman at Elton’s huge cast dinner, celebrating the success of Rocketman, the biopic based upon Elton Johns’ life. You had been one of the movement coaches, helping all the boys learn how to not only sound like their characters but walk and have mannerisms like them. This led you to have many ‘private sessions.’

None of your lessons with the other boys had been anything but, professional or friendly. But, Richard, he was a different story. He had you absolutely wrapped around his finger; quivering at every touch he gave you. You could hear his voice in your head as you watched him and the woman whom you had seen at least once on set flirt with eachother.

“ darling, you’re fucken’ drenched.” He would whisper against your ear biting and sucking at the lobe, making you go absolutely mad. Running a long finger along your slit.

You shot daggers at the two, his hand running along her back, bringing her to the back garden, where most of the party really was. You couldn’t help but tear up a little. How could you be so stupid? Falling for a man much older and successful than you. Foolish.

You were about to let all of your tears out before you felt a hand on your shoulder, it was Charlie. “ You alright y/n?” He asked you, concerned as he saw a small tear leave your eye, rolling down your cheek.

“ yeah, no, I’m alright.” You smiled, wiping the tear away quickly.

“ You don’t look alright, love.” Charlie gripped onto your shoulder, “ lets go somewhere to talk.” You nodded following his lead to a random room in Eltons’ massive mansion.

Charlie was definitely your cast best friend. He was the youngest adult working on the set, aside from you. And despite him being in a relationship, you didn’t feel uncomfortable spending so much time with him as you did Taron and Jamie, both being in long term relationships.

“ So, what’s wrong y/n.” He asked softly. Both of you sitting down on the neatly made bed. The room looked as if it was for a guest, nothing seemed touched, and it was absolutely spotless.

You just shook your head at Charlie, “ it- it’s Rich.” You shrugged. Charlie nodded, instantly knowing what it was.

You had spoken to Charlie before about your massive crush on Richard, and Charlie understood but both of you agreed that the age gap might be too much for him to handle. “Hey,“ he grabs a hold of your hand, though it was in a friendly and comforting way, “ I know, its hard. He’s one of the most famous actors right now, and if anything came out about you two, it could ruin his career.” Charlie’s eyebrows knitted together, thinking of what he had said, “ but if you actually fancy him, proper like... I say.. go get him love.” Charlie turned to you, giving you a simpathetic smile.

You leaned over giving Charlie a kiss on the cheek. “ This is why you’re my best friend.” You then heard someone’s throat clearing, You and Charlie’s attention turned to the door. Richard.

Richard stood, leaning against the door frame, awkwardly looking at Charlie and You. “ Am I interrupting something?” His scottish accent, thick with annoyance. Charlie immediately got up, “ Nope, nope.” walking past Richard and leaving.

Richard walked into the room, shutting the door behind him and locking it. You knew exactly what was coming. “ How fucken’ dare you. I leave you alone for less than half an hour-“

Richard inched closer to you, looking at you with lust and anger within his eyes. “ mind telling me what the fuck that was about, dear?”

“ Rich, we were just, talking.” You assured, looking up at him as he stood, now inbetween your legs. “ just talking aye?” Richard bent down, meeting your level, wrapping his hand around your throat, squeezing at the sides. “ You don’t talk with you’re fuckin’ lips dear.” He bit down on his lip, before kissing you hard, hand still wrapped around your throat. You moaned into his mouth as he kissed you passionately, but with anger. That’s when something came over you, a wave of confidence, almost feeling insulted.

You pushed Richard off of you, your hands pushing on his chest, making him slightly fall back. “ y/n?” His tone came down ten notches, looking at you with worry, eyebrows knitted together. “ Don’t, y/n me Richard. You fucked off with some random girl and then expect me not to hang out with Charlie? When You know damn well that I have absolutely no interest in him! God bless his heart, but Richard, who have I seen everyday since filming? Who have I given up everything for ? And during filming, risking my fucking job! And for what? To have you fuck off and then get posssesive !? No fucking way.”

Richard was taken a back by your words, standing completely still and in shock for a good second. You got up off of the bed. Making your way towards the door, but stopping in front of him, to say something.

“ I’m done-“ and that’s when it happened, before you could utter another word, he grabbed your cheeks with his hands, pulling you into a kiss, and though you were angry, you still kissed back, unable to control yourself. He didn’t kiss you with anger anymore, it was passion filled, as if he was attempting to prove a point. Soon enough though, you both pulled away, forheads resting upon one another.

“ you make me lose my temper, ya know.” You barely whispered, almost as if you’d lost all the air in your body from the kiss.

“ We, are such a mess together,” he began, grinning. “But you are the only One I want.”

#richard madden #richard madden imagine #richard madden smut #rocketman imagine #rocketman #the bodyguard #prince kit #GOT #David Budd #David Budd Imagine #smut #imagine #imagines #headcanon

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p4nkow · 5 years

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You take my breath away - part IV

It’s been sooo long but finally here it is! I’m pretty sure the reader now hates me but damn, I’m a sucker for angst

Part I, Part II, Part III

Summary: reader has always dreamt of being an actress and she gets the chance of a lifetime when she’s cast as Dominique Beyrand in the infamous biopic about the legend himself, Freddie Mercury. But what will happen when she gets to know better the man who plays his love interest in the movie, Roger Taylor? Will Ben and Y/N’s story be as lucky as the one of characters they portray or will they be starcrossed lovers? Because it happens that things might get complicated because of Ellie, Ben’s long-term girlfriend.

Enjoy and pls, please!, let me know what you think. Here’s some visual evidence ;)

March 20th, 2019

You couldn’t stop looking at the script, reading the lines over and over as you tried to catch its essence. But God knows where your mind was — you were so bloody nervous about this. You belonged to theatre, that’s where everything’d started and your heart belonged to the stage. You’d been lucky enough to be cast in a Hollywood movie and you will be forever grateful for that chance, but Broadway? Oh man, there was no way you’d make it.

Callie — your manager — had informed you of the chance to play the role of Satine, the female lead in the new adaptation of Moulin Rouge. Just by reading the script you were simply amazed by it. But at the same time you were terrified.

You were torn between giving it a chance and trying not to think about how humiliated you’d have felt whether you wouldn’t make it. Let’s be honest, making it in Broadway was simply impossible.

As you tried not to think about it, you decided to take a look at the clothes Callie had sent you for the upcoming press tour to promote BoRhap. Soon enough interviews, conferences and meetings would be starting and you had no idea how to handle all of that.

You were lost in your thoughts when you got a notification of a new message and you couldn’t help but smile by reading who it was from.

Ben had texted you “You busy?”

You bit your lower lip, typing without hesitation “Nope”, and not even a few seconds later your phone was ringing – Ben was calling you.

“Hello, Jones”, You said by picking up the call. You really tried to get rid of the silly smile that stuck on your face but you failed.

“Hey, wifey.” His deep voice made your heart skip a beat. God, you missed him. You hated the fact that even if the two of you lived in the same city you barely had the time to see each other. “So, are you busy?”

You sat on the couch with a deep sigh, now curious because of his question. “Nope, I’m just enjoying the fine art of doing literally nothing.” And by saying so you put away the script with a guilty look.

“Sounds fun”, He said with a chuckle. “Is it too bold of me to ask to hang out together?”

A shiver of excitement run down your spine just at the thought of it. “Anything in mind?”

“I just got out of the gym and while walking home I saw this video library – I immediately thought of you and so I bought an old DVD of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I know how much you love musicals.”

You let out a little squeak of excitement at his words but then your mind immediately went to the thought of a very sweaty Ben after a hard workout. You bit your lower lip and tried to focus back on the subject of the conversation. “Yes!”, You replied with maybe too much excitement.

He burst out into laughter and you leaned against the backrest of the sofa, eyes closed as you thought of him. “Gimme half an hour.”

“Shall I order some pizza?”, You suggested.

“I could bring it.”

“All you have to bring here is your ass and that DVD, Jones. Hurry up”, You joked and after ending the call and ordering some pizza you rushed to put your place in order.

You picked up all the tees and jeans you’d forgotten all around the flat, alongside with all the shoes that had been forsaken in the most remote places. When, fifteen minutes later, you were satisfied with your cleaning job, you went to your room to get a look at yourself in the mirror.

Sweatpants and a giant, blue hoodie – which were really comfy, to be honest – weren’t the right choice to impress Ben, so you went for a grey sweater and black yoga pants. Casual and not bold at all.

The pizza guy arrived even before Ben and you were tempted to eat all by yourself when you heard the doorbell for the second time in ten minutes.

“Sorry, I’m late”, He immediately said by giving you an apologetic look.

“I’m glad you made it ‘cause I’m starving, Jones.” You stepped aside to let him in and by doing so you gave him a better look. He was wearing a black tee, matched with the sweatpants, and a blue hoodie half-opened. He was also wearing a beanie and it looked so damn good on him. Pity that he took it off as soon as he stepped into the flat.

“’m sorry, it took me longer than expected. Here it is.” He extended you the DVD and you grabbed it, walking towards the TV while saying “Take a load off. Mi casa es tu casa.”

“Gracias”, He quickly replied and you grinned at him.

“Any news?” You asked while inserting the DVD on the player, giving him a quick look from above your shoulder.

“Joe’s coming in a few weeks.”

“Oh really?” You grabbed the remote control and stood up, reaching him in the sofa.

You sat right next to him and he smiled at you, his green eyes lighting up by doing so. “Yeah, coming for the interviews.”

“Oh right. I’d forgotten it.” You struggled with the remote control but somehow you managed to play the movie.

“There’s more”, Ben said, his eyes fixed on yours. He looked deadly serious and you gave him a worried look.

“What it is?”

You noticed the bob of his Adam’s apple and he slip his fingers through his hair still half-wet, taking a deep breath before replying “I’ve finally received the offer for that movie I auditioned for.”

You parted your lips in surprise, the corners of your lips lifting in a proud smile. “And that’s amazing! Why are you saying it like you don’t like it at all?”

“The filming won’t take place here”, He started and he didn’t look away from you not even for a second.

“Oh”, You softly replied, nodding slowly. “And where is it gonna be?”

“Mainly LA but also Italy and United Arab Emirates.” He was waiting for your reaction and you forced yourself to smile at him.

You cleared your throat and grinned at him, even if you were still processing what he’d just told you. You won’t be seeing him for months. “That means you’re going to facetime me while drinking some bloody good wine in a breath-taking Italian city.”

Your words made him smile and the knot on your throat seemed to disappear slowly. “I will”, He replied while nodding, but you could tell he was still nervous about that. “But I will miss most of the BoRhap press tour. Shooting starts in June.”

You placed a hand on his arm, smiling again as you tried to reassure him – the little line between his brows made you realise that this situation concerned him so bloody much. Of course you were a bit disappointed – you were eager to start the press tour just to spend more time with him, but what could you do?

“And that’s okay. It ain’t a big deal, Ben. Y’know, we’re gonna make it without you, too”, You tried to joke.

“I know”, He replied with a small laugh, placing his hand on top of yours. “But it kills me not being with the boys. With you.”

“Ben”, You whispered, meeting again his gaze. You relaxed your features and placed a hand on his face, gently caressing it. “Maybe I'm going to pair up with Joe”, You joked.

“Huh?” He asked with a devilish grin and you smiled. Maybe it was because of the movie or because of the entire situation, but you felt too bloody bold.

That's why you placed a knee on the sofa and you managed to sit on his lap under his surprises gaze. His brows were lifted and he had a half-smile on his face as he put both his hands on your hips.

“Should I worry?”, He asked with a hoarse voice. You leaned towards him, his face a few inches from yours as you replied with a soft whisper “And why should you?”

Your hand, which was placed on his shoulder, slipped on his clothed chest — you could still feel his toned muscles from above his tee.

“Y/N.” You ignored his questioning tone and without moving your gaze from his you unzipped his hoodie with slow movements. From the look on his face you understood that the totally knew what you were up to. And he didn't want you to stop.

“Ben.” Your voice was low and your breath was starting to get heavier and heavier. His hands moved from your hips to your thighs and thanks to the thin fabric of your pants you could easily feel the warmth of his touch on your skin. You wanted more. “Why you should worry about me and Joe?”, You repeated.

“Because”, He started, leaning towards you. His lips were almost touching yours as you slowly removed his hoodie, sliding it from his shoulders and letting it fall to the ground. “You're my girl.”

His words sent shivers all over your body as your grin became a proper smile. His hands were again on your hips, lifting up your sweater and revealing your bare skin, which he gently caressed.

His calloused hands due to his hard work went up and up in your chest, caressing your chest from under your sweater as you bit your lower lip. His green eyes never left yours and you felt your emotions amplified under his staring gaze. “Am I? Your girl?”

Even though his gentle touch was making you feel like Heaven, you tried to stay focused — you raised your arms when he completely lifted your shirt, getting rid of it and dropping it to the floor. There was only your bra left to cover your chest and you felt yourself blush under his staring.

He looked at you like you were Aphrodite and he was Mars, like you were the only woman in the world. His lips were so close to yours that you could feel his breath on you, sending shivers down your spine. “'f course you're my girl.”

And let’s just say that the movie was long forgotten — you had better things to do. A few hours later you were laying on the couch, his legs intertwined with yours as he played with your fingers. He was spooning you, his chin placed on your shoulder as every now and then he placed kisses on your arm.

“Do you have any news?” He suddenly asked in a low tone and you were about to panic. You didn’t know why you wanted to hide the Broadway-thing so bad, but that’s exactly what you were doing. And guilt was eating you alive when you replied “Nope.”

April 15th, 2018

Lucy was the only one to know about the audition — you needed someone to share the weight of that thing and thankfully she was still in London. She’s been very supportive since the very first moment and she was always there when you had mental breakdowns because you didn’t nail a note or because you didn’t feel good enough for the role.

You were terrified and anxiety was eating you alive during the drive to the audition and Lucy noticed it. She placed a hand above yours, which was nervously sliding up and down your thigh, and gave you a supportive smile. “You’ve got this”, She whispered in her sweet voice.

“What if I screw it up?” Your whispers caught Callie’s attention, who tried to remain focused on driving rather than trying to understand what the two of you were saying.

“You’ll be amazing. And if” She added, underlining the ‘if’ by saying it louder. “If you don’t make it, with a huge if, there are plenty of other roles and companies.”

“I know”, You whispered back. “But it’s Broadway!”

She pursed her lips and inhaled deeply. “Did you tell Ben?” Her question didn’t surprise you at all — she knew that there was something up between the two of you and she didn’t really understand why you wanted it to be a secret.

The truth was that you didn’t know either. You should’ve been proud of it — you were about to do an audition for Broadway, freakin’ hell! But the idea of seeing Ben’s pitiful look after telling him you didn’t make it was probably the reason why you kept it a secret. You didn’t need anybody’s pity.

And Lucy wasn’t surprised when you shook your head ‘no’. “Y/N!” She said your name as a reproach and you sighed deeply.

“I know!” You replied in a whisper and Lucy gave a quick look at Callie. “I will, okay? But only if I make it.”

She gave you a death stare and you felt so bloody guilty under her stare that you had to look away. When Callie told you “We’re almost there” by giving you a look through the back mirror, your heart sank. Anxiety was eating you alive and you gave a long look to Lucy seeking for her support. She grabbed your hand and gave you a little smile, sign that she still supported you even if she didn’t share your thoughts about it.

When five minutes later you got out of the car, you mentally repeated the lyrics of the song you were going to perform in order not to overthink about the audition. The room was full with people who looked exactly like you and that sight brought back the memory of the day you auditioned for the role of Dominique.

Nothing was the same since that day — not only you’ve had a chance to play a strong, independent woman but also you’ve been lucky enough to have such a wonderful cast to support you. Moreover, being cast as Dominique gave you the chance to meet Ben and you will be forever grateful for that.

You were lost in your thoughts and in the memory of that day when you heard someone calling your name. “Y/N?” The voice of the woman was familiar but yet you didn’t recognize her until you moved your gaze to corner of the room where she was sitting.

To say that you were shocked was and understatement. Ellie was looking at you with her big, green eyes and a grin on her face. Her hair was darker and shorter than you remembered and that’s probably why you didn’t recognise her at first.

“Ellie?” You raised your brows in surprise and she waved at you as a sign to approach her.

“Oh, it’s so nice to see you! It’s good to see a familiar face!” Her tone was cheerful but you didn’t like at all the look on her face. She was up to something and you could tell it by the way she narrowed her eyes.

“Yeah, it is”, You murmured, faking a smile. You quickly looked away and cleared your throat. You suddenly realised that with Ellie there, auditioning for the same role, there was a chance that Ben’d find out about this from her.

“Did you prepare both of the songs?” You moved your gaze back to her by hearing her question and you faked a tight smile. You slowly nodded, reciprocating the politeness.

“Yeah. I loved working on them.”

“Oh, it was so fun working on ‘The show must go on’. And I bet that for you it was even funnier, being in Bohemian Rhapsody and everything.” You were going on a dangerous ground and you didn’t like it at all. It just worsened the situation. All you wanted to do was to call Lucy and get the hell out of there.

“It really was, yeah.” She should’ve understood by your answers that you really didn’t want to talk about it. But she didn’t.

“And what does Ben think about it?” You forced yourself to look at her nonchalantly and you faked a smile.

“He’s very supportive, y’know. He’s very excited.” Geez, you were a terrible liar. Terrible, terrible liar. Guilt was already eating you alive.

You moved your gaze to the door of the auditioning room, which swung open as a girl walked out. You were now more nervous than ever and you were starting to get sweaty.

“Good, yeah. He’s always been very supportive, even with me. We had this ritual of watching a musical whenever one of us had an audition.” She lowered her gaze and smiled before going on, as if remembering something dear to her. “Our favourite was The Rocky Horror.”

It was like receiving a punch in the stomach and besides the initial hurt and anger you felt something completely new to you – jealousy. You were so bloody jealous that you’d even stopped thinking about the audition.

You just gave her a quick nod before looking away from her, clenching your jaw as you tried to ignore her. You were nervously tapping your feet on the floor and you wished you’d told Ben. You needed his support and you regretted not telling him more than anything.

“Ellie Wright.” A woman was standing right in front of the auditioning room and she gave a quick look at the waiting room through her glasses as she called Ellie in a loud voice. She squeaked in excitement and gave you a quick look before standing up. She followed the lady in the room and you sighed, more nervous than ever.

You unlocked your phone and you scrolled through your contacts, looking at Ben’s for a few moments. You were unsure whether to call him or not, given that you definitely needed his support. But there was a chance you wouldn’t have been cast as Satine and you hated when people looked at you with pity. And you really didn’t want to go through that.

So you locked your phone again and you put it away. Ellie got out of the room ten minutes later with a giant smile on her face and an hour later the woman called your name.

It was your turn.

South London - May 7th, 2018

Normally you hated your birthday – you were firmly convinced that it was just a day like the others, but your mom always insisted on celebrating it. And so you always indulged her, with birthday cakes and everything.

But it was different this year. Ben’d insisted for you to go to his place and have lunch with the rest of your cast mates before going out for the night. Given that you hadn’t seen Joe, Gwil and even Rami in weeks, you’d gladly accepted his proposal.

That’s how you ended sprawled in his couch, chatting with the boys while sipping a glass of wine. “So, a few weeks back I met this girl”, Joe started and you exchanged an amused look with Ben, sure that he was about to tell an absurd story of his.

Gwil narrowed his brows and looked at him with interest and Lucy was softly giggling due to something that Rami’d told her.

“And somehow we ended up talking about Star Wars.” Ben sighed at Joe’s words and you chuckled. His hand was resting on your thigh, gently caressing it with his thumb. And it was the nicest feeling ever. You placed your head on his shoulder and he slipped his fingers through his hair, pushing some locks of hair out of his face. “And she said she liked the Star Wars prequels better than the originals!”

“Disqualifying”, Ben murmured under his breath and Joe looked at him with a horrified look. “Exactly!”

“It should’ve been a dead giveaway, man.” You moved your amused gaze to Rami and Ben turned his head towards you to place a soft kiss between your hair.

The boys knew you were a thing and it wasn’t a problem for you to be this close in their company. “You’re so beautiful. Absolutely stunning”, Ben whispered in your ear and you grinned at him.

“You really think so?”, You whispered back and he just nodded, his green eyes fixed on yours as the boys kept talking about the Star Wars trilogy. You but your lip, blushing a bit under his staring gaze and he grinned at you. “Don’t blush, love. There’s no need. Well, not after everything we’ve done.”

“Ben!”, You said in a little too loud tone and he softly laughed. By giving a quick look at the room you noticed you’d caught Lucy’s attention and she just smirked at you, as if knowing exactly what you and Ben were talking about.

You were about to reply but you’ve been interrupted by the doorbell. Both you and Ben turned towards the door and then he said “I’ll go get it.”

And you watched him standing up and walking towards it, closely following his movements while taking another sip of whine. And you almost chocked by seeing Ellie at the door, holding a leash.

You couldn’t hear what they were saying nor you couldn’t understand why she’d brought Frankie with her and you were more than surprised to see Ben nodding towards you.

Ellie’s eyes met yours and she waved towards you and she gave you a sign to join them. You exchanged a confused look with Lucy, who was also looking at them, and you placed your glass on the coffee table before standing up.

You cleared your throat, trying to get rid of the knot in it, and you smiled once you’d gotten to Ben’s side. He surrounded your waist with his arm and you gave him a surprised look before looking at Ellie.

“Hey”, You said with a polite smile. Her smile was the fakest you’d ever seen but you didn’t say anything about it.

“Happy birthday! Ben just told me you guys were celebrating.” She vaguely nodded towards the living room and you nodded.

“Oh, thank you. And yeah, it’s also an opportunity to spend some time with the boys, y’know.”

“Yeah”, Ben softly murmured and nodded at your words. Ellie moved her gaze to him and the look in her eyes completely changed the moment she handed him the leash, Frankie wagging her tail at her feet.

“A friend of mine told me you still haven’t got the call from the company so it must be a good sign. They rejected me but there’s still hope for you.” It was like receiving a punch straight in the stomach.

You parted your lips in surprise but you still managed to fake a smile, forcing yourself to just nod at her words. You couldn’t bring yourself to say anything but you could easily feel Ben’s questioning gaze staring at you. It didn’t take him much to do some math and get what Ellie was saying, so he bent down to pet Frankie as you said goodbye to Ellie.

You closed the door with a weight in your chest and you leaned against it, arms crossed and brows narrowed. Ben let go of Frankie, who went straight to the living room where the boys were laughing out loud. Ben stood up and rubbed his chin, avoiding your gaze. You could easily tell he was mad by the way his jaw was clenched and his features tensed.

“Ben?”, You said in a soft voice, trying to catch his attention. He was simply standing right in front of you, a hand placed on his hip as he heavily breathed.The moment you’ve feared for weeks had arrived and you had no idea how to handle it.

“When were you going to tell me?” His voice was low and hoarse.

You sighed deeply but you didn’t look away from him, not even for a second. When you finally met his gaze you couldn’t even read the look in his eyes — it was full of different emotions. “I was gonna tell you if I’d have made it.” And it was the truth.

But Ben didn’t seem to believe. “Yeah, right.”

You narrowed your brows at his tone and you shook your head in disbelief. “I didn’t want me— us, I didn’t want us to be under any illusion.”

“What was she talking about anyway?”, He asked as if he’d completely ignored your words.

You cleared your throat and looked away from him. “Moulin Rouge.”

“South London theatre?”

And he knew what your answer’d have been just by meeting your gaze once again. “Broadway.”

He let out a laugh in disbelief and he seemed hurt by your lies. “Broadway”, He repeated in a low voice, shaking his head. “Did the boys know about it?”

His assumption pushed you to take a step towards him. “What? No!”

“Not even Lucy?”

You bit your lower lip and looked away from him, silently giving him the answer he wanted.

“You guys okay down there?”, Rami asked out loud to catch your attention. You looked away from him but Ben turned towards the living room and gave him a little nod.

“You always say that we need to be more present in each other’s life and all that shit and I have to find out that you auditioned for Broadway — Broadway, for fuck’s sake! — from my ex girlfriend!”

“I already told you I didn’t want us to be under any illusion!”, You tried to justify yourself but Ben was fuming.

“But Lucy knew”, He said in a louder tone, catching his guests’ attention. He swore under his breath and looked away from you.

“I needed her support.”

“Yeah, but not mine”, He quickly replied. You tried to take a step towards him but he backed away. His rejection hurt you and he noticed it, but he didn’t do anything about it.

“Ben, you know that’s not how it is.”

He spread his arms wide open as he said “That’s exactly how it looks to me!”

You looked away as you felt your eyes becoming glossy at his words and you cleared your throat. “Oh don’t you tell me about need if you’re clearly with me just to forget about her.”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Now he was mad, his accent heavier as he looked at you in disbelief.

“I’m not that stupid, Ben!”, You spat, throwing your arms in the air. “I know the way you look at me and sure as hell I know the way you look at her!”

His brows have never been more narrowed and his lips were parted in disbelief at your words. “Are you serious right now? Jesus, I can’t fuckin’ believe it!”

The boys had noticed that something was wrong and they’d moved to the back garden without you noticing it. “Yes, Ben. I’m bloody serious right now. You told me all that shit ‘bout you being over her and me being your girl but it’s all bullshit, Ben. Bullshit!” You were now shouting, gesticulating as tears of anger ran down your cheeks.

“Y/N”, He softly said and you sobbed, looking away from him. Well, that little spat escalated quickly in a huge, painful fight.

“Y’know what, Ben? Looks to me that you’re desperately trying to recreate that lovely fairytale you were living with Ellie. But guess what? I’m not Ellie, I’ll never be her. I deserve better than this.” You words were nothing but a whisper by now and they’d crushed both you and Ben.

He moved his gaze to the floor and you heard him sniffing, but he didn’t say anything. And you realised you were bloody right.

You shook your head in disbelief and you quickly walked past him in order to go get your purse in the living room. There was no way you could stop the tears and you hated that feeling. When you went back to the front door, Ben was still standing there. He hadn’t moved at all and he was looking at you with his big, green eyes.

The way he whispered your name gave you goosebumps but he said nothing to make the situation any better, and that’s why you walked away.

Taglist: @caborhapch @ohtheseboysilove @classy-fangirl @royalblueviper @rogers-weirdo @geek-and-proud @mrsbenhardyx @julessbrown @the-little-warbler @beyrxnd @benders-diamond-earring @radiob-l-a-hblah @luvborhap @mrsmazzello @orchideax @gardengirl-18 @dearestdeaky @brianandthemays @ixchel-9275

If you wanna be added in the taglist just tell me

#ben hardy #ben hardy x reader #ben hardy fic #bohemian rhapsody #Bo Rhap #BoRhap #borhap imagine #roger taylor #roger taylor fic #roger taylor x reader

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newagesispage · 4 years

Text

JUNE 2020

PAGE RIB

FX and Ryan Murphy will bring us season 10 of American Horror Story next year. The cast includes Mac Culkin, Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson, Evan peters, Billie Lourd, Lily Rabe and Finn Wittrock. There will also be a spinoff called, wait for it, American Horror Stories. Woo Hoo!!

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Reno 911 is back

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I happen to have a clementine in my butt. –Jimmy Kimmel

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NASA got their dragon launch. It is unfortunate that they had to compete with the current cycle.

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Sam Springsteen (son of Patti and Bruce) has been sworn in as a Jersey City firefighter.

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Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood is great. I don’t know how to feel about the fast and the loose and the nice made up endings like Once upon a time in Hollywood. Will this be a trend??** Another great one on Netflix is, Have a good trip.

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Are there biopics in the works for Michael and Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, the Bee Gees and Bowie?? That is the word.

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Days alert: Look for Lani to become pregnant. Eli and Justin are both thinking marriage. Claire is back which will bring Shawn and Belle back. Gabi may be kidnapped. Word is that July will have a wedding every week that will lead to a funeral. Allie Horton is all grown up and heading back with a secret. Will she be like Mom, Sami?? Brady thinks that ruining Titan will get back at Victor. Sonny and Will may get a chance at another child. Eve may be back later in the summer. And, C’mon Xander, do something wonderful to get your woman back. Lucas may be on the way back and Orpheus is leaving. ** Judi Evans (Adrienne) had a serious horseback riding accident on May 16. She had broken ribs, a collapsed lung and 2 chipped vertebrae. The good news was in the hospital they discovered a blood clot so the whole thing saved her life.

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Morton Buildings is being sued by 2 women for harassment and discrimination. One incident claims an employee said, “God created women by lining up all the men and castrating the stupid ones.” Another lawsuit was filed in 2009.**Thanks for the tip, Di.

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If you expect elementary school children to endure the trauma of active shooter drills for your freedoms, you can wear a mask to Costco. –Sara Elizabeth Dill

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House republicans have sued Pelosi to block proxy voting.

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Seth Rogan, Steve Carell and Ben Schwartz are donating funds to bailout Minneapolis protestors after the death of George Floyd.** The country has been turned upside down as another cop kills another black man. No need to rehash, we have all seen it. I wonder if those four horrible cops are proud of what they have done to their city. Could we finally have a tipping point in this time when racism is spotlighted with our racist President? After many incidents in just the past couple of weeks and everyone on edge with coronavirus, it has boiled over. Scary Clown threatens to start shooting as Minneapolis burns down. Burn down a police station, get a cop arrested (finally)? Seems worth it to me. The way the killer looked into the camera as if he was just so proud is gonna stick with us as it should. ** A CNN crew were arrested live on the air but released later after Jeff Zucker spoke to Gov. Walz.** Liberate Minnesota was the Trump tweet, well, they are working on it.** I am hearing people saying in all sincerity lately that it is time for the humans to go, we are ruining each other and the planet.

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If you have not seen the Killer Mike speech from Atlanta, you need to check it out.** Netflix, Hulu and Paramount are taking a stand and showing support for the Black lives matter movement.

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John Cusack put out video of police coming at him with batons and pepper sprayed him as he protested in Chicago. More than 1000 were arrested and it continues.** In Flint, Sheriff Chris Swanson and other police put down helmets and joined the protestors. Police in Schenectady took a knee and joined the march. The behavior is spreading and look what a difference it makes, could they be starting to get it?

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Never thought I’d say this but in light of everything that is happening, the DNC made a big mistake in not backing Berne Sanders. –Pete Buttigieg ** Ok, first, of course he is right but you helped set this all in motion. It is a bit late for that …or is it? Biden is not the OFFICIAL nom, the deal is not done yet. Will Bernie jump back in the race?? Perhaps we will soon see BERNE FOR PRESIDENT again.

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American carnage was a self -fulfilling prophecy, alas. –Susan Glasser

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Scary Clown 45 has designated Antifa a terrorist organization. ** There is no legal authority for designating a domestic group, any such designation would raise significant concerns. –ACLU

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In any season, police violence is an injustice, but its harm is elevated amidst the remarkable stress people are facing amidst covid-19. Even now, there is evidence of excessive police initiated force and unwarranted shootings of civilians, some of which have been fatal. –American Medical Association.

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Washington Week had a great discussion about how all the ills in US history have played out in 2020. Impeachment, pandemic, depression and civil unrest are all here at once.

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Word is that Trevor Noah has been proven much more popular than the other late night hosts since they have been at home.

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I predict the picture of the upside down flag with the backdrop of the burning liquor store will be the lasting image of the Trump Presidency.

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This is the Presidency George Wallace never had. –Max Boot

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Spanish flu, Polio, Aids, Covid-19: Why don’t people get any smarter? The masses (and sometimes those in charge) can get it wrong over and over again. From Dr.? Phil and Dr Oz and their cavalier attitude toward death to Rosie wanting her son to take a leave of absence from the grocery store, we just do not learn. Even before that, I can’t forget the woman who wanted to change her vote after she found out Buttigieg was married to a man. Is she even a dem? Do your research people! Respect others, people!! Have compassion, stop being so selfish and use your brains!!** Puerto Rico was a pre curser to the pandemic response.

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Amy Cooper Chris Cooper? WTF? Another liberal who is not really liberal.

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Crime in general is down and police shootings are up. And yes, now the opportunists are out of control and anger is boiling over but protests against police brutality causing police brutality is WRONG!

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Check out the book, What makes a marriage last, from Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue.

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Ben Taub, Barry Blitt and Colson Whitehead have won the Pulitzer Prize.

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Word is that Nick Cage will play Joe Exotic of Tiger King fame. Of course he will.

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I refuse to wear a mask because God did not have us born with one.- Nino Vitali** How many people have you heard say, “The President isn’t wearing a mask, so I don’t have to.”

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It looks like Apple will partner with Paramount for Scorsese’s adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon.

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Oh my: Scary Clown is having a twitter feud with twitter! He has to, of course, lash out and now signs an executive order targeting social media. He is going on about section 230 which gives immunity to social media companies against being sued over content. It could curb liability protection. Experts say it will only encourage lawsuits because he does not want to be edited.

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If Native American tribes were counted as states, the five most infected states in the US would all be native tribes. –Nicholas Kristof

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Did ya see that Jeff Epstein doc from James Patterson. It is lays blame in all directions. Why does it seem like all these old guys on there with all that money have such yellow teeth?

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Lindsey Graham is urging Federal judges in their mid to late 60’s to step down so they can fill the spots with republicans.

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Richard McGuire tried to live at Disney World in a zoological park that was closed down.

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Caterpillar, Levi, Black and Decker and others have cut jobs but gave millions to shareholders.

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Axl Rose and Steve Mnuchin had a twitter feud.

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China announced plans to introduce a National Security law in Hong Kong. The law enables mainland Chinese National security agencies to operate in the city for the first time. Using a rarely used constitutional method, they bypassed Hong Kong legislature. Since the former British colony became a semi-autonomous region of China more than 20 years ago, they have manages its own affairs. The law will affect media, education, politics and international business. Many acts will now be criminalized. Hong Kong is party to international treaties guaranteeing civil liberties that China is not. The U.S. is urging Bejing to reconsider. Pro- democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong were tear gassed as they yelled, “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times.”

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The Michael Flynn charges were dropped.

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Holyoke soldier’s home in Massachusetts lost 70 souls to Coronavirus. AP photographer David Goldman got a projector and cast big pictures the vets onto the homes of loved ones. Each one had a story including one vet who was sent to Nuremberg to guard Nazis. He claimed to have filled Hermann Goring’s glass with toilet water.

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The swimming Dinosaur, Spinosaurus has been getting a lot of attention. The Sahara desert which was once massive rivers kept the first intact aquatic dinosaur. With a snout, teeth and jaw like a croc, it is so far the only known kind of dinosaur that lived in the water. The 50 foot long bizarre fin-like tail is like a giant paddle. Paleontologists encourage others to have a look at other fossils to see if there are more.

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Octavia Spencer is said to have been telling everyone she is a year younger than she is. She is turning 50.

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The $69 million ventilator scam. Really? The White House heard from a guy who told them he could supply the product so the WH told NY to order them and stood behind the guy but it was a scam. Scary Clown sure loves his shady people, intentional or not.** A Florida woman, Rebecca Jones claims that she was asked to fudge the numbers to make reopening look better. ** Georgia moved their dates around on a graph to make their cases seem flattened. ** For 17 months, Florida investigated voter fraud for Trump and Gov. Scott. They found NOTHING!!

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Amazon stock price is up 25% yet they have become notorious for the terrible way they treat their workers. Bezos is set to become a trillionaire.

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We have to remember that order comes from chaos. True enhancements can come from large scale crisis. What will we learn from this one? This is a warning!!** Universal health care? No more buffets? ** Prices will probably go up everywhere what with the closings and all the extra cleaning. I hope this means that hotel bedspreads will be cleaned after every stay. It looks like there may be no cocktails or food on planes.

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Take a virtual tour of the statue of liberty. All the fun without all the swaying.

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Local PBS stations are making it easier to learn. Students will be able to put on a channel for lessons that does not need cable or internet. Woo Hoo!!

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Insiders say that Trump threatened to sue his campaign manager because he did not agree with his assessment and the poll numbers in a 2 day rant.** Just one more example of Scary Clown double talk. Then: Less testing, less positives. Now: So much testing is a badge of honor.**Doctors without Borders are now here, not the third world countries that they usually help, it is US.

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Haven’t we had enough of powerful men being accused? A female Dem candidate would have been nice and Bernie did not seem to have any baggage that way either.

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Will the Senate see fit to ok some more stimulus $? 4 trillion to prop up Wall Street seems per the usual. Enough for them, let’s take care of those small businesses and those really in need.

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Thao and the get down stay down is one of the best in this internet entertainment era.

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Check out Stars in the House with Tony Shalhoub and others.

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The Detectorists on Acorn TV is a great little show!!

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Happy Day! There is a new season of At Home with Amy Sedaris!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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It looks like Pier 1 will permanently close as well as JC Penney, J Crew, Sears and Neiman Marcus.

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Check out the wonderful, This is about Humanity!!

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Have U seen the trailer for The King of Staten Island?? OMG Pete Davidson, Steve Buschemi and Marisa Tomei , just to name a few!! I can’t fucking wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Bill Maher looked really high on his 5-22-20 show. This working from home makes him much more mellow!!

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3 Russian doctors treating coronavirus have fallen out of windows in about a weeks time.** Russia boasts that it has more ventilators per capita than the U.S. After they made fun of us, on May 22, the first shipment of U.S. ventilators headed to Russia. They are a gift from Trump and the U.S. taxpayers. –Julia Davis

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State Department Inspector General Steve Linick is out. Was he investigating Pompeo? Trump never knows anything about any of it. Why are all the protectors of the rule of law thrown out? ** Was Pompeo throwing lavish foreign policy dinners with Reba, Dale Jr. and the owners of that horrid chicken sandwich place? ** The clean water rule has been suspended which cuts protections for most of the country’s wetlands.

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The market facilitation program has been helping small farmers over the last few years in a $28 billion bailout. Trump’s sanctions brought this on and the corona virus has made it worse. Mostly the money has helped bankers and bigger farms. Much like the stimulus $ that was earmarked for small business, there are loopholes that screw up the ‘rules.’ The cap is not being followed like they may say because the $ is going to “investors” in the farm and often not the actual farmer who works on a smaller scale. A small farm run by family members may not get the bailout. It seems to be more important to get a good lawyer who can manipulate the paperwork. Sad that taxpayer $ is used this way.

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Just in time, the Space Force flag and plans for the super duper missile have been unveiled. WTF??

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Paula Poundstone is a woman I knew I liked. She was recently talking about not liking couches. I thought I was the only one, People are always telling me how much they love their couches and I don’t get it.

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Jeff Gibbs and Michael Moore are upset after Youtube pulled their doc, Planet of the Humans. After 8.3 million views, there was a copyright claim by Toby Smith of about 4 seconds of footage. Now , this is not the first time that Moore has had problems with content in one of his movies. Many have claimed there is a lot of fiction in this latest venture. I think I would just remove the possible copyright infringement and move on. It can now be seen on Vimeo.

A Florida law that restricts felon voting is found unconstitutional by a federal judge.** The RNC filed a lawsuit against California to stop mailing ballots to registered voters.

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R.I.P. Little Richard, Roy Horn, Jerry Stiller, Sam Lloyd, Ann Sullivan, Mike Cogswell, Michael Keenan, Shirley Knight, Irrfan Khan, Hana Kimura, Forrest Compton, Jimmy Cobb, George Floyd, Ken Osmomd, all the corona victims, Lynn Shelton, Richard Herd, Larry Kramer, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Anthony James, Fred Willard and Carolyn Busch.

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theonewiththefanfics · 5 years

Text

80s Retro (one-shot)

Requested: @rockyroadthepastryarchy (hope I did the fluff justice, cause I no longer have any clue how to write things apart from angst and smut, apparently :D)

70s Vintage (one-shot)

70s Bling (one-shot)

70s Glam (one-shot)

Synopsys: Roger has been married to the Reader since forever and when ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is finally underway, she can’t help but reminisce of the past.

Pairing: Roger Taylor x f!Reader

Genre: pure fluff

Warnings: swearing, alluding to sexy times and drinking

Word count: 2085

When they had first met the actress that would play Y/N in the new Queen biopic, the woman was completely star-struck and a blubbering mess. But Roger Taylor, oh he was a different story. His jaw had hung open, for she was a complete carbon copy of the love of his life. His gaze had looked her up and down, completely missing how the real Y/N passed him by, slapping him over the head. “Keep gawking like that and you’ll be sleeping on the couch,” she said, sauntering away, one of the movies PA’s running after her and showing her to the Live Aid stage. Roger had to take a few seconds to snap out of the moment, only to see the actress smirk at him. “I’m going to take your reaction as a compliment, mister Taylor, but I do believe you should run after your wife. From what I’ve read she’s quite the woman.” “That she is.” And with a loud "Wait, honey!" Roger rushed to Y/N’s side. “ ‘M sorry,” he quickly pecked her lips, beard scratching her chin. “It’s just… for a second it was like I was transported back in time…” “What? You saying I don’t look as pretty as I used to?” her eyebrow was raised, but there was that devilish glint in her Y/E/C orbs that told him- she was just teasing. “Actually, the opposite. You look more beautiful with every day that passes.” Y/N hummed, feeling Roger’s arms weave around her waist, so, she leaned back and rested her head against his shoulders, a finger tracing the line of a tattoo. When he had first brought up the idea of getting a sleeve Y/N was pissed. Not because she didn’t like them, the woman herself had a quill wrapped around her ankle, she was mad because she’d been deprived of that look for more than thirty years of their relationship.

“How dare you!” Y/N had emphasized each word with a hit of a pillow. “Why couldn’t you do it sooner!” Roger had been laughing throughout the whole thing, a hand sneaking underneath her assault, and grabbing at Y/N’s knee to pull her towards him, and ultimately make her flop down onto the bed. “Do you know, how much sex you’ve missed out on?” He was hovering above her, a palm pushing a strand of Y/H/C hair away, grey weaving through it. “Then we have to make up for the lost time, don’t we?” When his voice dropped down to a husk, usually Y/N would melt. But not this time. “Do it on your own, Rog,” Y/N said and pushed him away, walking to sulk in the guest bedroom. “Thirty-seven fucking years and now he decides to make me lose my mind! I’m not as flexible as I used to be, you wanker!” Roger had fallen asleep with a wide grin on his face. “You know, I’m glad they’re recreating Live Aid,” Y/N’s voice brought him back to reality, the grip around her middle tightening. She’d always been a feisty woman, so the fact that he could call her his, and have been able to share his life together since 1979, was astonishing to him. “Yeah?” Roger pecked her temple as Brian walked up to the two and the BoRhap guys nervously trailed behind him. “And why is that?” “Cause you got me bloody hammered before the show,” she smiled, embracing Brian and standing next to the man as one by one they introduced themselves to her. Ben, who was playing Roger in the movie, was absolutely shaking from how nervous he was, so Y/N hugged him a bit longer. “You’re gonna be amazing,” she whispered to him. Pulling back, she looked at the four men gathered there. “You’re all gonna be fantastic and if Freddie could be here, I know he’d say the same.” “Actually,” Brian piped up, a too happy of a look on his face, “he’d be asking why Melinda is here,” he gestured towards the Y/N of Bohemian Rhapsody. That made the real one choke on her coffee and snort it through her nose. Rami instantly was by her side, offering a tissue as she, Bri and Rog laughed. “So, the legend is really true- you were drunk while they performed the most iconic concert in history?” Joe asked as a stylist poofed up his wig a bit more. Y/N smirked and nodded. “Also, Rog shagged my brains out five minutes before they had to go on stage,” she winked at Ben. “Couldn’t feel my legs, nor walk to the car afterwards.�� The guys’ mouths all hung open and they turned redder with each passing second. “Honestly, Y/N, can’t you keep at least something private?” Roger exasperated, watching Brian as he fixed Gwilym’s wig. When Y/N had first seen the actor in the full get up, her eyes almost had bugged out of her head and the cup of tea, she had been nursing, had shattered on the ground. “That bad?” Gwil had nervously laughed as Y/N came towards him and poked his cheek. “Holy shit, it’s real,” she’d whispered, causing Roger to cackle, who had been watching the whole scene unfold. She’d turned to him and in a conspiratory tone stated, “I told you, Rog, cloning exists! Years ago! And now they got your DNA from one of the groupies you once shagged, and the apocalypse is starting now. Holy shit, he’s Brian!” And that had eased all of the tension there could possibly be, for everyone had the approval of the three most important people. Throughout the filming, Y/N was on set constantly. Not only had she been close to the band and still was, but she had also been best friends with Freddie. “Honestly, darling,” he’d said to her years ago as both sat on the steps of the Garden Lodge, Delilah rubbing her head up and down Y/N’s thigh. “If I didn’t have Mary and Delilah here, you’d be the love of my life.” “Oh, shut it Fred!” she had laughed and placed her head on his shoulder. “We both now, Delilah has you wrapped around all her tiny paws.” And he’d hummed in agreement, watching the sun rise with his best friend dozing on his shoulder. She hung out with all of the guys as much as possible, giving a third-party opinion and directions, for how the band used to act, and some little things that each did, either when nervous or when playing their instruments. At that moment, Y/N was relaxing in one of the seats, after having shooed a fifth PA away by saying, “Love, you brought me a cup ten minutes ago.” The young woman had bashfully smiled at the legendary woman and Y/N had just waved her off, telling, “Go. Relax. I see how all of you run around like chickens without heads. You must be exhausted. And if anyone gives you any shit, you come and talk to me. Immediately.” The PA gave Y/N a look of pure relief, before peeling away to take a nap in some corner. She smiled, thinking as long as the girl pulled through the hectic life that was being in the entertainment industry, she had a bright future ahead of her. “They really don’t do you justice in the movie,” Ben’s deep voice came from Y/N’s left and she smiled at the boy. Well, man, but he was the baby of the cast and she just couldn’t stop herself. “You know, I helped with the script revisions.” “Then you’re too modest, cause with everything that we’ve read and filmed, it truly doesn’t let your heart shine.” Y/N threw him a wink. “You already get to make out with young me as young Roger. No need for flirtin’. Besides… this is about Freddie and Queen. I was and still am just lucky to call them a family.” A fond look came over her face as the memory of their most recent Christmas came to mind. All of them, Deaky and Veronica included, had gone out to a market, intended on buying their grandchildren and each other presents, but a few cups of beer and mulled wine later, they’d ended up stumbling around London and wreaking some havoc. Y/N was surprised nothing was in the press the next day, for it was an adventure worthy of the front page. “Can I just say, Ben, you’re nothing like Roger, when he was young,” Y/N returned to the present day and sipped on her still warm coffee. Immediately at the comment, she saw the young man’s face fall. “Oh, no, honey, I didn’t mean it like that. Trust me, it’s a compliment.” “What’s a compliment?” Roger’s voice invaded the pair’s conversation, as he plopped down next to his wife, draping an arm around her shoulders. “I was just saying how different Ben is from you when you were young, and how that is a good thing,” she emphasized the last bit, hoping to ease the young actor’s nerves. Roger put a hand on his chest in mock hurt. “How is that a good thing?” “You were a bloody self-centered, egotistical asshole who only cared if he had a hole to put his dick in by the end of the day! And contrary to you, Ben is the sweetest, kindest most humble person I’ve ever met.” From the corner of her eye, Y/N saw Ben blush at the compliment and she threw him a wink. “Hey!” Roger tapped Y/N’s shoulder. “No flirting. He could be your grandson.” “What can I say? He just makes me remember the good old days before you became a shrivelled prune,” the woman said, snuggling closer to Roger’s side who fondly smiled down at her. “If you don’t mind me asking- how come you two have worked so well over the years?” said Ben with awe in his eyes, as Roger lovingly stared at Y/N who snorted. “You two come from completely different worlds.” And it was true. She was a world-renowned novelist and Rog was a rock-and-roll drummer. Y/N had actually been the one to achieve fame half a decade before Queen was even on the map, but she never had and still didn’t care about recognition. “Cause I call him out on his bullshit. And also, we broke up one time, so it wasn’t all roses…” she answered, mischievously looking at her husband. That took Ben by surprise. “Wait you broke up? How come no one has ever spoken about it?” “Well, cause it was only two days. And it wasn’t a breakup,” Roger exasperated, rolling his eyes. “Of course, it was!” Y/N exclaimed, sipping on her coffee. “You were just being petty,” he pinched her cheek, and she swatted at his hand. “Petty or not, I threw you out of the house and didn’t speak to you.” Ben was watching the interaction, heart swelling at how the two acted. “Would you mind, if I ask- what happened?” And the grin that appeared on Roger’s face was nothing else but shit-eating. “Yes, dear. Why don’t you tell Ben, why you decided to throw a fit and have me stay at Fred’s?” Y/N shrugged. “He looked hotter as a chick than I did.” Ben spluttered the tea he was drinking. “Wait, what?” “When he came up with the idea for ‘I Want To Break Free’ I was all for it, ya know. Supporting my man and such. But when I saw him as Rogerina… wearing my blouse, which by the way was my only good work blouse and you smeared it with red lipstick, I threw a fit. How come, he gets to look like that and I don’t? I simply couldn’t allow it.” “But-“ Ben couldn’t contain the laughter that bubbled past his lips. “Are you joking?” Roger shook his head, pecking Y/N’s temple. “Not one bit. Came home that evening to find a bag packed and her sulking on the couch. Said to leave and come back when I figured my shit out and when she was once again my first priority.” “Ever since that day, he’s forbidden to wear my clothes. Or women clothing in general,” Y/N smiled placing the finished coffee cup on the table. Ben chuckled hearing that. “Well, I do hope that when we start filming the scene, where I have to be in Roger’s position, you don’t evict him again.” “Who knows,” Y/N smirked. “It might bring back too many painful memories and he might just have to stay at Bri’s.”

Tags: (crossed out wouldn't take): @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64 @supernaturalbaesduh @breezy1415 @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sea040561 @staryeyedgirl @deathbyarabbit @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91 @dalilx @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns @averyrogers83 @in-the-end-im-still-trash @gallifreyansass @dewy-biitch @avxgers @unlikelygalaxygiver @sweet-ladyy @16wiishes @wanderingsami @desir-ae @thiccio-and-thicciet @roseslovedreams @vesoleil @gloomybisexualemo @kostyaownsmyheart @perriwiinkle

A/N: so, I guess I’m being nice and not breaking y’all hearts for once :D

P.S. what did ya think?

P.S.S. if you wanna be tagged in anything, my tags are always open, so just drop a message :)

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perlukafarinn · 4 years

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Movies (I saw) of the 2010s, ranked

Because I had lots of better things to do but no inclination to do them.

As I went through all the new releases I watched this decade, a few things came to mind:

I missed so much! Most recently, I still haven’t seen Parasite, The Lighthouse or The Irishman. I’ve also seen only one of Disney’s live action remakes, two out of four Star Wars films of the decade, and I’ve missed quite a few of Marvel and DC’s outings. My tendency to mostly watch older films came to bite me in the ass here. But c’est la vie, there’s only so many hours in the day!

A huge part of my viewing history took place during film festivals, so festival movies are way over-represented here. I’m not mad about it.

There’s not too many outright bad movies on my list, because I tend to avoid movies that look bad or like I might not like them (shocker, I know). Even the ones in my bottom ten aren’t as dreadful as I was expecting.

There’s no way I can rank all these films numerically! What about movies that I can tell are good but just aren’t for me? What about movies that are bad but enjoyable? How can you compare tired Oscar-bait with soulless blockbusters? It’s impossible!

Hence these categories. I’m doing a top 10 worst and best, and the categories go roughly from worse to better movies, but otherwise this isn’t based on quality so much as what clever category names I could come up with (or couldn’t, as the case may be). I’m also listing the movies within each category alphabetically because that’s even less ranking I need to do.

Buckle up, this is over 6000 words...

Oh, and if you don’t feel like reading the whole thing I still encourage you to reply with your own favorite movies of the decade!

The Worst Exactly what it says on the tin. These movies aren’t just unenjoyable or disposable, they are actively unpleasant to watch.

American Hustle (2013) Wait, this got how many Oscar nominations again??

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) This movie is so bloated and yet they couldn’t find any time to actually develop most of the main characters? I had such a bad time watching this one, I ended up skipping out on the last part of the trilogy.

Hurricane Bianca (2016) This looked like it might be enjoyably bad but it wasn’t. I still love Bianca Del Rio, don’t get me wrong, but her humor is not the kind you build a whole movie around, yet alone two. And yet…

Hurricane Bianca: From Russia With Hate (2018) Yeah, I watched them both. I’m a simple woman: I see Katya in a trailer, I watch. I really shouldn’t have bothered, this one is even worse.

Iron Man 2 (2010) Superhero fatigue got me bad in the past few years but even before then I hated this movie. Literally nothing enjoyable here, I was aggressively bored while watching. The Lack (2014) This is a movie about women, written and directed by a man, called “The Lack”. You might think I’m being uncharitable to say this movie is entirely about penis envy but the writer/director himself confirmed this at the Q&A I was at. This is why Q&As are always a bad idea, people!

Left Behind (2014) This one tips into “enjoyably bad” at times but in the end, it’s still two hours of your life wasted on a movie meant to make its Evangelical viewers feel vindicated in their horrible beliefs. Morgenrøde (2014) I have a fairly high tolerance for slow movies but this movie is sloooowwww and literally nothing happens in it. This is the movie that taught me not to trust it when festival brochures use the word “contemplative”.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) Just dreadful. This is the worst kind of film in my books: the kind made to follow a trend, not to tell a story.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) It’s been eight years since the fourth PotC movie came out?? God, it’s been a long decade.

The Utterly Disposable I didn’t exactly have a bad time watching these but they left no impression on me.

Alex Strangelove (2018) Netflix has released so many unremarkable-looking teen movies this decade. This is one of the few I bothered to watch and it’s cute enough, I guess.

Fyrir framan annað fólk (2016) I am Icelandic but I don’t watch a whole lot of Icelandic movies and I feel kind of guilty about that. Not guilty enough to give a boring movie a pass, though.

Ghostbusters (2016) This super did not need to exist and not even my love for Kate McKinnon makes it any less disposable.

The Great Gatsby (2013) At least it’s pretty.

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) I remember this getting a few laughs out of me but that’s about it.

The Imitation Game (2014) I think I just… don’t like Beneditch Cumberbatch? Sorry. This movie is the perfect expression of the bland, middle-of-the-road biopic, with the added mishandling of the subject’s sexuality.

Isn’t It Romantic (2019) I love a good satire but this ain’t it, chief. This movie isn’t doing anything that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend hasn’t done 100x better.

John Carter (2012) If you’re gonna throw this much money into something, you could at least hire a charismatic lead actor. Then again, it seemed to work for Avatar. Magic Mike (2012) I did like that this sexy stripper movie kept showing how unhappy the main character is doing what he does as if that wouldn’t totally ruin the fantasy.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (2016) Watched this on an airplane, which is fitting. This feels like a quintessential airplane movie; it’s mildly entertaining but ultimately disposable enough that it has completely slipped your mind by the time you reach baggage claim.

Paul (2011) Occasionally funny, I think? Barely remember it tbh.

Planetary (2015) There’s some interesting points buried in here but the movie’s too busy trying to look important to actually get them across effectively. Also feels surprisingly padded for just 80 minutes. Valentine’s Day (2010) Taylor Swift was actually kind of funny in this, which was a pleasant surprise. Zero impact otherwise.

“I Have No Memory of This Place” Movies I literally could not remember watching until I had read the entire synopsis, but for one reason or another was not comfortable calling “disposable”.

Bobby Sands: 66 Days (2015), The Departure (2017), Hell Is Empty: All the Devils Are Here (2016), Innsæi (2016), Last of the Elephant Men (2015), Late Summer (2016), Speed Sisters (2015), Una (2016), The War Show (2016) Lumping all of these together because they’re all festival movies I have hardly any memory of and that I may have in fact fallen asleep over.

Incendies (2010) Chalk this up to me seeing it almost a decade ago. When I finally remembered it, I could vaguely recall finding it affective. Probably due for a rewatch.

Prisoners (2013), Rush (2013), Warrior (2011) Around 2012-2014 I was working my way through IMdB’s top 250 list and I saw so many forgettable movies about men committing various violent acts. Literally can’t remember a single thing about these movies.

I’m So Sick of Superheroes Dear God Make It Stop I’d probably like some of these more if not for superhero fatigue but that is the trade-off for total global dominance. A couple of superhero movies did escape this category and you’ll see them later on my list.

Thor (2011), Iron Man Three (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Captain America: Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Ant-Man (2015), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Lumping all of Marvel’s movies in this category together because I don’t really have a lot to say about Marvel anymore. Special mention to Winter Soldier for being the movie that soured on me the most and to Age of Ultron for in hindsight being the beginning of my superhero fatigue.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Boy, this trilogy ended on a sour note. Man of Steel (2013) Confused story structure aside, this movie is utterly grey and joyless. It’s also army propaganda!

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) The only reason I watched this was because it was on IMdB’s top 250 list. Peter Dinklage was good in it, if I recall correctly.

Don’t Like This Nope.

12 Years a Slave (2013) Very uncomfortable to sit through, which I get was the point, but I’m not sure it was the right choice. It honestly feels like misery porn.

Black Swan (2010) I’ve long made peace with the fact that Darren Aronofsky will just never click with me.

The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) This movie is exhausting to watch because of the near constant country music playing. Loudly.

Kate Plays Christine (2016) This is a movie about a really interesting topic but instead of the real tragedy that actually happened it chooses to focus on an actress’s fictional struggle to connect with her role. I think the movie wanted us to think the struggle was real (heh) but for that they would’ve needed a better actress. La La Land (2016) I love classic musicals and I really wanted to like this movie but in the end I just couldn’t. As a movie it’s okay but it’s not a good musical and the whole white savior of jazz thing was……….. an odd choice.

Last Days in the Desert (2015) I’m a sucker for good, thoughtful religious films. The idea of Jesus and the devil being played by the same actor was intriguing to me and I liked that the devil wasn’t evil so much as just tired. But ultimately, this movie felt a little too cold for me.

Magic Mike: XXL (2015) I have no idea why every critic on the planet seems to love this movie. Strippers aggressively thrusting their crotch in your face is not sexy, it’s uncomfortable!

A Silent Voice (2016) Melodramatic and not in the fun, over-the-top way.

Vonarstræti (2014) It’s good but it’s just not for me.

Wir Monster (2015) I saw this at a Q&A screening and decided I didn’t wanna stick around after the credits rolled. On my way out, I tripped and almost fell onto the actors as they were walking past me. That experience had a way bigger impact on me than the movie itself. Make of that what you will.

Guilty Pleasures/So Bad They’re Good An enjoyably bad movie is a better watch than a middlingly competent one.

#REALITYHIGH (2017) Incredibly clichéd and tries way too hard to be “hip” or “lit” or whatever it is the kids were saying back in 2017. Don’t care, I’ve seen it four times.

Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016) The first Bridget Jones is a highlight of the genre. The second one is just bad but the third tips over into enjoyably bad. I also loved having Renée Zellweger back on my screen!

A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish (2019) Recently watched this with my sister while baking and wrapping Christmas presents. It’s a terrible movie but we had fun (mostly by making fun of it).

Descendants (2015), Descendants 2 (2017), Descendants 3 (2019) I’m not apologizing for this even though I feel like I kind of should.

The Kissing Booth (2018) This movie is like a 13-year-old’s first fanfic come to life so of course I’m gonna love it. Even if the love interest is incredibly unappealing.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012) Who would’ve thought at the start of the decade that Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson would turn into indie darlings starring in one critically acclaimed film after the next? I love that for them.

Oscar Bait but I’m Not Biting Not sure the Oscars weren’t a mistake tbh.

The Artist (2011) I kind of enjoyed this but ultimately it’s watered-down Hollywood history made appealing to modern audiences and its aim is far higher than its reach.

Birdman (2014) It was a fun watch but it left no impression.

Darkest Hour (2017) Technically a good movie but such obvious Oscar bait I just couldn’t fully enjoy it.

The Help (2011) Let’s leave the white savior narrative behind in the 2010s, shall we?

The King’s Speech (2010) I love Colin Firth. I barely remember this movie.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) Don’t love that the racist cop is the most fully fleshed-out character in this movie while the black characters are all unnamed extras.

Whiplash (2014) It’s just drumming, J.K. Simmons, it’s not that serious.

I Feel Like I Should Like This More This category is mostly three camps, as you’ll see.

120 battements par minute (2017), 69 Minutes of 86 Days (2017), Fire at Sea (2016), I, Daniel Blake (2016) All important movies with a worthy message that I just couldn’t connect with on a personal level.

Adieu au langage (2014), Before We Vanish (2017), Bridesmaids (2011), Jagten (2012), A Separation (2011), Timbuktu (2014), Transit (2018), Winter’s Bone (2010) Critically acclaimed, maybe it’s just me?

Her (2013) The rest is all movies I expected to like more than I did. I’m not sure what didn’t click with this one. It’s been a while since I saw it.

Get Out (2017) I wasn’t gonna watch it because I don’t really watch horror so when I finally caved, I knew pretty much everything about it. Watching a movie the first time knowing everything that happens in it and after seeing it dissected for months on end by every critic on the planet does take a lot of the enjoyment away, as it turns out.

Gone Girl (2014) Really thought I’d love it. It’s good just didn’t click with me.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) It’s pretty. Liam Neeson is always fun.

Pacific Rim (2013) Mako is great and I enjoy the chemistry between her and Raleigh but ultimately this one just kind of slipped out of my mind as soon as I’d seen it.

Toni Erdmann (2016) It’s too damn long!

The Tree of Life (2011) I just watched this the other day so it’s very possible my opinion will change. I was expecting to love it but I… didn’t. It felt like this movie was trying too hard to be profound and important, at the cost of actually saying something, well, profound and important.

No Strong Feelings One Way or the Other I actually have nothing to say about any of these movies and most of them are good but they had to go somewhere.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Boyhood (2014), Brave (2012), Creed (2015), Django Unchained (2012), Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010), Flavours of Youth (2018), Frozen (2013), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012), Interstellar (2014), Intouchable (2011), The Jungle Book (2016), Monsters University (2013), Rogue One (2016), Schaste moe (2010), Shutter Island (2010), Three Identical Strangers (2018), To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018), Undir trénu (2017), Wreck-It Ralph (2012)

Middling Festival Fare I have nothing to say about these either but I couldn’t lump them in with the others. I mostly liked them more than the movies in the previous category and they took bigger risks. Some of them might even be great, just very much not my cup of tea.

3 Tage in Quiberon (2018), Acid Forest (2018), Amateurs in Space (2016), Barakah Meets Barakah (2015), Der Andständige (2014), Disappearance (2017), Dreams by the Sea (2017), En fremmed flytter ind (2017), Føniks (2018), The Girl Down Loch Aenzi (2016), God Exists, Her Name is Petrunija (2019), Gods of Molenbeek (2019), Jag är Ingrid (2015), Já, Olga Hepnarová (2016), Looking for Oum Kulthum (2017), Mister Universo (2016), Neruda (2016), The Raven and the Seagull (2018), Rester vertical (2016), Slow West (2015), Sugar Coated (2015), Summer Survivors (2018), Tickled (2016), Worldly Girl (2016)

Maybe Not the Best But a Lot of Fun Better than those guilty pleasures but generally pretty flawed. Austenland (2013) A very cute little romcom. Extra points for Jennifer Coolidge, the most underrated character actress of this century.

Baby Driver (2017) I feel like revisiting this one might not be as enjoyable for reasons that have nothing to do with the film’s quality but I had fun watching it in the theater.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) I was a fan of this franchise from the start so even though this movie is kind of dour and dark, it was still a blast to watch. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) Do I love every choice this movie made? No. But I saw this at a midnight screening, in full cosplay with my friends, in a theater packed with fans. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

I, Tonya (2017) For a movie that contains so much abuse and such a bummer ending, it’s surprisingly entertaining!

The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) Lego Batman is my favorite Batman.

Nothing Like a Dame (2018) I just really love Maggie Smith.

On - drakon (2015) This movie feels like it was pitched as “Twilight but with dragons!”. It’s fun, though, and it’s got an interesting aesthetic and a proactive heroine who gets herself out of trouble with ingenuity and bravery.

Sing Street (2016) I love the soundtrack to this movie and the characters are incredibly endearing. The story is very simple in not a great way but it doesn’t need to be deep to be enjoyable.

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) I like that they skip the origin story for once and keep the scope of it fairly limited. A very nice little slice-of-life teen movie combined with a superhero flick. Tom Holland is a good Spider-Man. Would’ve been better without Iron Man tbh. Star Trek Beyond (2016) I feel like they got the characters right here, which was a problem for the first Star Trek of the rebooted trilogy. It’s a fairly inconsequential movie but it’s a blast.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan so I don’t have a lot of opinions here. It’s fun! Not a lot more I want from Star Wars. Ultimately didn’t intrigue me enough to wanna see the rest of the trilogy.

Ten no Chasuke (2015) This movie is a little weird, a little goofy and a lot of fun. I like the guy who just constantly lives through different movie plots because the angel writing his life can’t think of anything original, that tickled me.

Good Movies I Don’t Have a Clever Title Here They’re good movies, Brent.

Barbara Rubin and the Exploding NY Underground (2018) An enjoyable, well-made documentary but considering its subject matter disappointingly conventional.

Black Panther (2018) This movie could have been much better had it not been under the constraints of the MCU. Still one of the best offerings of the genre this decade.

Boy Meets Girl (2014) We need more movies like this. Not just for representation (although that is important) but also because cinema needs a greater variety of stories than are currently being told.

Brooklyn (2015) The scope of this movie is very small but the characterization is nuanced and every aspect of the film goes towards furthering that.

Bugs (2016) The focus of this movie is split between its very interesting subject matter (the use of bugs as food around the world) and the chefs we’re following around who kind of seem like dicks and honestly drag the movie down a lot.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Steve Rogers is one of my favorite MCU characters, purely on the strength of this movie. In a world where no one seems to know how to adapt Superman to film, it’s nice they got this one right.

Cloud Atlas (2012) This movie has such lofty ambitions and I admire it for that, even if the execution is off at times. But the use of yellowface is..... bad. It’s very bad and the directors should have known better.

Cold War (2018) I love the music in this, which is good because it is near constant.

Damsel (2018) I love a deconstructed western and I love Robert Pattinson. It’s a shame that the female character at the center of the story wasn’t better developed, considering how much screen time she got.

Damsels in Distress (2011) This movie is quirky and cutesie, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea (and usually isn’t mine) but I love it. Some solid acting goes a long way.

Der kommer en dag (2016) This movie is two hours of children suffering yet it comes across as so optimistic? I think it’s the space race stuff. Who doesn’t love the space race?

Frantz (2016) I am always down for stories that reckon with the effects of WWI.

Future Baby (2016) There’s a scene in this movie where a surrogate mother gives birth and it is both very graphic and heart-wrenching. If the rest of the movie were more like that one scene, it’d be on my shortlist for the best of the decade.

Fyre (2019) How was Fyre Festival a real thing that happened?

Girls Don’t Fly (2016) Girls don’t fly because the man training them to be pilots is a dick and treats them horribly. It’s a bummer but important to uncover.

Hidden Figures (2016) Kevin Costner’s character needed to be written out - black stories that don’t involve “good” white people are both possible and necessary. But I adore all three main actresses and they do some amazing work.

Hjartasteinn (2016) The subject matter is cliché but it’s handled beautifully.

The Lego Movie (2014) Everything is awesome! Everything is cool when you’re part of a team!

Journey to the Shore (2015) I honestly wasn’t sure how to feel for most of the run time of this movie but by the end it got me.

On Body and Soul (2017) This movie feels like a dream and I mean that in a good way.

The Salvation (2014) Have I mentioned that I love deconstructed westerns? Mads Mikkelsen is always on point, even with garbage material, but he’s got some good stuff to work with here.

Searching for Ingmar Bergman (2018) This movie made me more interested in its director, Margarethe von Trotta, than Bergman himself. Everyone should check out The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum!

The Shape of Water (2017) This movie is very much like a fairy-tale, which means it’s not particularly nuanced or complicated, but it is beautiful.

Still the Water (2014) This movie starts with a cow being graphically slaughtered and yet the only word I can think of to describe it is “gentle”. But maybe skip the first five minutes if you’re sensitive to blood or animal death.

Studio 54 (2018) How were the 70s even real?

Sumarbörn (2017) It’s a rare feat to get such good acting out of child actors.

Thor: Ragnarök (2017) The best MCU movie. It’s a lot of fun without once losing its heart, which is a rare thing for Marvel (just google the words “bathos” and “mcu”, other people have covered this already).

Warm Bodies (2013) The cutest rom-com of the decade features a zombie as its main lead. I’m not mad about it.

Wild Tales (2014) The dissonance between the realist shooting style and the cartoonish violence often results in some excellent dark humor. The rest of the time, it just feels kind of off.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Jordan Belfast is both a lot of fun and utterly despicable and the movie is not afraid to go as balls to the walls as it needs to.

The Young Karl Marx (2017) So like... Marx and Engel were into each other? At least a little, right?

Great Movies Also No Clever Title

Andið eðlilega (2018) Okay so I don’t watch a lot of Icelandic cinema but from what I have seen, I am incredibly encouraged by the direction it is heading. Call this exhibit A.

Ága (2018) This movie is very slow and not a lot happens but that’s kind of why it works so well. It hooked me in and had me genuinely interested in every uneventful scene.

Brecht’s Threepenny Film (2018) I walked away feeling like I’d understood maybe one third of this film but it left me with a feeling of exhilaration that’s hard to define and that few films manage.

Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010) Adèle Blanc-Sec is like Tintin and Indiana Jones combined except way better. In a just world, she would be a much more popular character and the reported film trilogy would have actually happened.

En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron (2014) This movie is delightfully weird and messed up. Nothing more to say here.

The Favourite (2018) I was honestly expecting to be let down by this movie after all the overwhelming praise but as it turns out, it deserved all of the accolades and possibly more.

Gravity (2013) This movie was kind of marketed as “realistic sci-fi” and while I can’t say it felt particularly real, the emotional arc sure as hell did.

Inception (2010) The complexity of this film was vastly over-hyped but it’s still the best work I’ve seen by Nolan (though to be fair, I still haven’t seen Dunkirk). Kreuzweg (2014) The film is composed of just fourteen still shots, representing the Stations of the Cross. That could have come across as really gimmicky but it works because the shots are well staged and the material is just that good. Loveless (2017) This is the bleakest, most depressing movie I think I’ve ever seen. The Martian (2015) The best thing about this movie is the way it shows the world coming together just to save this one guy. International cooperation is the future!

Paradies: Liebe (2012) This is a movie about sex tourism and it is as unpleasant to watch as that sounds. But it’s also incredible.

Paradies: Hoffnung (2013) The third in Seidl’s paradise trilogy (I missed the middle part, don’t remember why). Just as messed up as Liebe but mildly more palatable.

Une nouvelle amie (2014) I saw this movie with my dad, which was kind of awkward, but that doesn’t take away from its beauty. We really do need more stories like this.

Tale of Tales (2015) I am always here for a fairytale adaptation, particularly ones that stick close to the dark, gruesome, humorous tone of most traditional fairytales.

Welcome to Norway (2016) This movie is just really, really funny.

White God (2014) If you’re sensitive to animal abuse then this is not the film for you. The dogs in this movie actually won the Palm Dog Award and it was well deserved. They’re very good dogs! Tom of Finland (2017) How refreshing to see a movie about a historical gay person that isn’t all death and tragedy! It does have some of that, unavoidably, but it’s also a lot of fun and ultimately is a celebration of a very important sub-cultural figure.

Vinterbrødre (2017) I wasn’t expecting a movie set in a mining community to look this beautiful.

Wonder Woman (2017) The best superhero movie of the decade, despite the slightly messy third act. It’s such an earnest, hopeful movie and unlike most films of the genre, it’s not afraid to take itself seriously or to come across as cheesy. Superheroes are cheesy! That’s one of the best things about them!

Amazing Animation I don’t like animation being singled out from live action as if it’s somehow less, but I wanted to highlight how many excellent animated films were made this decade.

The Breadwinner (2017) I’ve seen this film’s production company, Cartoon Saloon, been called the Irish version of Disney but Disney has never made anything half this daring. Coco (2017) The ending made me sob like a little kid. This movie doesn’t get enough credit for being one of only two Pixar films this decade to live up to their early work.

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) The flight scenes in this movie gave me actual vertigo and I loved it.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) The rare sequel that’s actually better than the original! For all the franchises that exist out there just to continue milking that cash cow, it’s nice to see something get continued because the filmmakers had more stories to tell.

Loving Vincent (2017) This movie has been criticized for a weak plot, to which I say: it’s an animated movie made up of oil paintings! Do you really care about the plot? Sometimes the spectacle is all you need, especially when it’s something that touches you as deeply as Vincent van Gogh’s art does.

Moana (2016) Moana’s scenes with her grandmother and Te Fiti are up there with some of the most emotionally evocative stuff to come out of Disney studios. It’s a pity the rest of the movie couldn’t quite live up to that.

Rise of the Guardians (2012) Mostly, this movie just looks incredible. I am also an eternal sucker for Chris Pine, even if his voice sounds weird coming out of a teenager’s mouth.

Song of the Sea (2014) This is the most beautiful animated film I’ve ever seen outside of Studio Ghibli’s best, both the look and the feel of it.

Tangled (2010) I know I sound like an old fogy but this movie would’ve been much better if it had been traditionally animated. Still pretty good!

Toy Story 3 (2010) It’s been nine years since the third Toy Story came out?? Christ, this decade.

Your Name (2016) I really should be watching more anime.

Zootopia (2016) Disney’s best work since Treasure Planet, which is an underrated masterpiece. It’s almost worth the resurgence in furries (jk furries, you’re okay).

This Is Why You Guys Should Be Watching Documentaries Because documentaries are a seriously underrated art form.

Ama-San (2016) This is the kind of cinema vérité filmmaking I live for.

Behind the Curve (2018) The existence of flat earthers remains baffling (well, maybe not that baffling when you look at the rest of our society) but this documentary is excellent.

Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016) This is a documentary about a cache of lost silent films that were found in the 70s and most of the movie is silent, with information being conveyed through text and images. It’s these kinds of choices that elevate a good documentary beyond just educational programming.

Exodus: Where I Come From Is Disappearing (2016) Absolutely heart-wrenching. It’s difficult to watch but the issues it discusses shouldn’t be looked away from.

Foodies (2014) There’s a foodie in this movie who rates his food on looks before he even tastes it and a chef whose signature dish is a dessert called “sex on the beach” which includes a very realistic-looking used condom. I wanted those two to meet but they never did and that is my one criticism of this film.

Free Solo (2018) I developed a fear of heights after watching this movie.

The Great Green Wall (2019) I had never heard of the great green wall before seeing this movie. It’s so surreal to get a window into a society where no one is arguing about climate change because they are already undeniably feeling the effects of it. And by strange, I mean incredibly sad and upsetting.

How to Let Go of the World: and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change (2016) Speaking of climate change. This movie takes on climate grief and shows why you can’t stop at that, why you need to push past it and keep fighting. I’d argue The Great Green Wall actually does that same thing and better but it’s still a very necessary message.

Into the Inferno (2016) Werner Herzog is just. The best. Especially his documentaries.

Kismet (2014) This movie examines how art affects people by way of one of the least respected art forms out there (soap operas). I just really love that premise and the execution is even better.

Merchants of Doubt (2014) Honestly fuck every single person making money by hastening our descent towards climate catastrophe. Good movie, though.

My Scientology Movie (2015) This was the first Louis Theroux movie I saw and it’s a great one to start with. For all they’ve been treated like a joke, Scientologists are actually pretty scary.

The Other Side of Everything (2017) The personal is the political in this film. What an incredible look at the ways our past shapes our present and future.

Pervert Park (2014) This movie fucked me up.

The Prison in Twelve Landscapes (2016) The conceit of this film is looking at the US prison system indirectly by keeping the camera outside the actual prisons and off actual prisoners. It works incredibly well, just astounding documentary film making.

Push (2019) Just when you thought you couldn’t hate the rental market any more!

Safari (2016) Fuck trophy hunters.

The Silence of Others (2018) I didn’t even know about the Spanish 1977 Amnesty Law until I saw this movie. Maybe that’s just my own ignorance but I feel it shows how necessary documentaries like these are.

Tower (2016) I cried like a baby watching this movie. Using rotoscope animation to tell the story of the 1966 shootings a the University of Texas was I think an excellent choice and made for a unique documentary.

Visages villages (2017) Agnès Varda is possibly my favorite director and it hurts to leave this one off the “best” list (call it an unofficial #11). Still not sure I shouldn’t have swapped out one of the actual top ten for it.

Welcome to Sodom (2018) The world is so fucked up.

It Stayed With Me Movies that left me reeling and that I couldn’t get out of my head for days after watching (call all of them an unofficial joint #12).

The Act of Killing (2012) Speaking of fucked up! It is absolutely surreal seeing these mass murderers try to justify their actions to the interviewers. “I was just doing my job” is no excuse and trying to use it as one is actually reprehensible.

Arrival (2016) I didn’t actually see it until this year and I felt it couldn’t possibly live up to the hype but it did! It’s reminiscent of Interstellar in that in this ‘hard’ science fiction story the ultimate solution is based on an emotional revelation but Arrival pulled it off much better. The Congress (2013) This is basically two movies in one; one is fairly grounded sci-fi and the other is just a straight up acid trip in film form. In any case, Robin Wright is absolutely flawless.

Carol (2015) Cate Blanchett please date me. Grüße aus Fukushima (2016) I’m always gonna be a sucker for a movie about women connecting and helping each other through trauma.

High Life (2018) I saw this one knowing nothing about it and ngl it shocked me a bit. The way it incrementally got more and more fucked up made me feel a bit like a frog being slowly boiled alive. November (2017) The atmosphere this movie creates is unreal. Maybe not the strongest characterization but it balances a feeling of magic and wonder with just utter bleakness and it left me reeling. Paterson (2016) I can’t even fully explain why I loved this movie so much or why it stuck me. Mostly, it’s just so damn cozy. The Square (2017) I mean, that scene with the ape man was fucked up right? Tangerine (2015) I don’t think filming on your iPhone is the future of cinema or anything but it does show how accessible filmmaking is slowly becoming. Also, that scene of Alexandra performing Toyland is one of the best musical moments in cinema this decade and that is not up for debate. Team Hurricane (2017) I’ve never seen a movie with an aesthetic like this before (it’s very vaporwave) but this film is about and was mostly shot by a group of actual teenage girls. It’s a little melodramatic in places but at the same time that feels very sincere and the girls all clearly have a lot of talent and a lot to say. Varda par Agnes (2019) This movie probably wouldn’t have stuck with me so much if Agnès Varda hadn’t died earlier this year. She is a truly unparalleled figure in film history.

The Best According to me, anyway. But I’m right.

Cameraperson (2016) This is a different kind of documentary filmmaking. What it most reminds me of is Beaches of Agnès (no, I’m never done talking about Agnès Varda) but even that is not a perfect comparison. It’s deeply personal while also covering an insane variety of topics. Embrace of the Serpent (2015) This movie feels like a dream and I mean that in the best way possible. At turns beautiful, brutal, and absolutely baffling. The Florida Project (2017) I’ve seen this movie criticized for glorifying poverty and I can’t discount that opinion. For my part, I thought this movie did an incredible job balancing the world as seen through the eyes of a carefree child enjoying her summer and the dangerous, precarious reality of living in poverty. Inside Out (2015) When Pixar gets it right, they get it really right. The Love Witch (2016) I just really, really love witches. The best looking live action movie of the decade. The fact that writer/director/editor/producer Anna Biller hasn’t made another film since is an actual crime. Melancholia (2011) No movie has ever hit me this hard in such a visceral way; I was miserable for days after seeing it. Lars von Trier is an asshole but he knows how to film depression. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) Believe the hype, it is actually perfect. And I don’t even like action movies! Moonlight (2016) It’s rare to see a movie this deeply, devastatingly human. The final two shots of the film, paired together, are literally the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in a theater. Kona fer í stríð (2018) The best Icelandic movie that’s been made yet. Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir is a national treasure. Shoplifters (2018) I mean, who’s expecting a movie called ‘Shoplifters’ to be so devastating? It’s such a painful film but it is also heartwarming and intimate. Un couteau dans le coeur (2018) This movie is strange and funny and violent and gorgeous. I’ve never had such a good experience at a film festival as I did the two times I went to see this movie.

#well it's done #this was mostly written for an audience of one aka me #but hey this took a while so do check it out if you want

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benhardyorbust · 5 years

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Just a Little Fun pt 1

A/N: This started off as a one shot inspired by break up with your girlfriend, i’m bored by Ariana Grande, HOWEVER, it turned into something a little more, so I am going to do a part two!

1.5k words

“CUT! THAT’S A WRAP FOR TODAY!”

The cast of Bohemian Rhapsody quickly fled the set to hair and makeup. You stayed behind to talk to another one of the PAs.

“Mia, what do you think of the actor playing Rogah Taylah?” you say, in your best British accent.

“Honestly? Total babe, and he’s actually super nice. Usually when actors are that good looking they are huge jerks.”

“I totally agree,” you say, stealing a glance at him talking to a tall blonde woman, “there is just something about him! Too bad he’s taken.”

“Yeah, she’s been on set since we starting filming like two weeks ago. And they are so cute together.”

The two of you sigh, stealing one last glance at the couple and get back to work.

You are grabbing some last minute props needed for tomorrow’s scenes when you run into someone.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry I didn’t..”

You look up to see that you have just run into the man you and Mia were just talking about.

“Sorry love! Didn’t see you there! I don’t think we’ve met yet, I’m Ben,” he says holding out his hand.

“Hi! I just started yesterday so you probably just haven’t seen me yet, I’m y/n,” you say shaking his hand.

The second you two touch there is, a feeling. You can’t quite figure out what is is, but it’s there. You can tell he feels it too, he definitely flinched.

“Well I guess I will be seeing you around! Now, if I don’t get this wig off soon I am going to freak out. Bye y/n!”

“Bye...” you say watching him walk away. He looks back at you, and you quickly try to make it look like you’re busy.

You sigh, it’s going to be a long shoot.

The next day you arrive on set before the cast does, or you thought. When you walk up to the coffee machine you found yourself face to face again with Ben.

“You’re here early!” he says while pouring himself a cup of coffee. “Want some?”

“A PAs work is never done.” you say back laughing as you hold out your cup. “Why are you here so early? Isn’t your call time at like noon or something?”

“Yeah... between you and me my girlfriend and I got into a pretty big fight last night and I just had to get out. Figured I would come to set early and hang out with everyone.”

“Oh man, that sucks I’m sorry! If you don’t mind my asking, what were you fighting about?”

“Not to sound uh... full of myself or anything... but since I have gotten these more popular roles, I’ve started to get more fans. Being on a soap opera in the UK is one thing... being in a biopic about the greatest rock band of all time, and playing the playboy drummer, is a totally different thing. You know? She is just having a hard time dealing with the fame I guess.”

“Oh man, I’m sorry! I’m sure it is hard to adjust but she will come around.”

“Yeah...” he says trailing off and taking a sip of his coffee. “What about you? What does your boyfriend think of your debut role as a PA on the set of Bohemian Rhapsody?”

“I actually don’t have a boyfriend,” you say with a soft laugh. “But my mom thinks it’s really cool.”

He quickly looks you up and down and bites his lip a little. You pretend not to notice.

“Really? A girl as talented and beautiful as you is still single? Interesting,” he says as he starts to walk away. “I’ll see you around Y/N.”

Oh my GOD, you think. What the hell just happened? You walk to the PA break room to find Mia to tell her about what just happened.

“Mia! You will never believe what just happened,” you whisper-yell.

“What?”

“I was at the coffee machine and ran into Ben. He told me about how he had a fight with his girlfriend last night. And then, he asked me if I had a boyfriend and I said no he totally checked me out and bit his lip and said and I quote ‘Really? A girl as talented and beautiful as you is still single? Interesting.’‘

Mia gasps.

“Shut up! You’re kidding. Do you think him and his girlfriend will break up?”

“Uh.. I don’t really think so. It sounded like they just had a little fight. I don’t think anything would really happen between us even if they did.”

“You never know until you try, right?” Mia says, looking at you with a devilish grin.

“Mia! I can’t just break up Ben and his girlfriend. They are a happy couple and I have no business getting in their business.”

“I mean, you don’t have to actively try to break them up. Just like... you know. Show him what is out there, waiting for him. Flirt with him -- but subtly. Maybe dress a little sexier from time to time. Maybe even try to see if you can be one of those extras that gets to be all over him, you know? Then you have an excuse to touch him and there is nothing anyone can even do.”

“I actually don’t hate that idea. It’s kind of brilliant. A little harmless flirting never hurt anyone, right?”

“Of course not! There’s no reason to have a little fun on this shoot.”

“You’re right! I’m gunna do it. I’m not doing it to break them up, but just to have a little fun.”

“Yeah! You go girl!”

The next day you show up to set around the same time you did yesterday. You actually managed to put on some makeup, run a brush though your hair and put on a cute outfit.

You walk up to the coffee machine and lo and behold, Ben is there yet again. You muster up all the confidence you can and walk up next to him.

“Fancy seeing you here,” you say as you hold out your cup to Ben, who is pouring his own cup.

“Wow, two days in a row. How did I get so lucky?”

“Man, I don’t know. There are people in this set that would kill to be in your position right now.”

“Well, I rather like the position I’m in right now,” he says putting the coffee pot down and facing you, only a few inches of space between you.

“So... now that I am emotionally invested, did you patch things up with the girlfriend yesterday?”

“Well, we got in another little fight last night. Actually it was bigger than a little fight but, I don’t know my career just seems to be a really big strain on our relationship and I feel really bad, but I’m also like living my dream, so it’s hard to not feel terrible about the whole situation.”

“Wow, Ben I’m sorry. I know it’s not my place to really offer you any advice but, people grow and change. This is the direction you are growing in, and she might be growing in another direction. Just some food for thought.”

“That was great advice, thank you y/n.”

“Anytime,” you say walking away.

Over the next three weeks, you and Ben meet each other at the coffee machine every morning before shooting starts for the day. Every day he comes back with a new fight that his girlfriend and him had the night before. He also comes with flirty one liners and questions for you about your life, and you return the favor.

You can feel yourself really falling for him, and actually hoping that maybe they will break up. You don’t do anything, deliberately, to break them up. You just keep meeting him for coffee every morning. You flirt a little but it really means nothing, you’re just having a little fun. You two also flirt a little around set, but nothing major. It’s all just in good fun. If they break up they break up, if they don’t at least you got to practice your flirting a little, with a hot British boy no less.

Around the one month mark of filming, something weird happens.

You go to the coffee machine and Ben isn’t there. You brush it off and figure he probably just has a later scene than usual.

A little later in the day, people start to wonder where Ben is because he is an hour late for his scene.

“Y/N, do you know where Ben is?” Garret, a PA asks you.

“No, I haven’t see him yet today, I’m not sure where he could be.”

Within a few seconds, Ben is running onto the set.

“I’m sorry I’m late, I know I know. I have literally never been late to set before,” he says running over to hair and makeup.

You notice that his eyes are puffy, he looks like he’s been crying.

“Y/N, you should go ask him what’s wrong,” Mia says.

“Why me?”

“You’re the one who has become best friends with him over the last month.”

“Ugh, you’re right. I’ll go see what I can find out.”

You walk over to Ben and sit on chair next to him.

“Hey are you okay? You’re usually three hours early, not an hour late.”

“Um, yeah I’m fine. Well, not really. Kat left last night, we uh, broke up.”

“Oh no, really? I’m so sorry Ben,” you say as you reach out and touch his shoulder.

He takes your hand and holds it in his. The feeling you had when you first met is back.

“It’s okay, you were right, we were growing in different directions. This is where I’m meant to be and she couldn’t handle it.”

“Oh my gosh, I hope I’m not the reason you broke up.”

“Well, I can’t say your advice didn’t influence me, but it was time. We both knew it, neither of us wanted to act on it though.”

“Oh well, I mean. I’m sorry that I had anything to do with it,” you say, even though you’re not really that sorry. As much as you hate to see him hurting, you are glad that maybe you two will have a chance.

“It really isn’t your fault at all. It was time.”

Just in time, you walkie goes off.

“Y/N we need you on set!”

“Coming!” you say into it. You turn to Ben, wave and run off.

Part 2

#ben hardy #ben hardy x you #ben hardy imagine #ben hardy cute #ben hardy x reader #ariana grande #break up with you girlfriend im bored #bohemian rapsody movie

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dudedrops319 · 4 years

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Dooley Noted - A musical journey through the mojo of a Toledo bluesman

(original version can be seen at https://toledocitypaper.com/feature/dooley-noted/)

Dooley Wilson is frustrated.

It’s 9:57 am on a cold Saturday in December and he is supposed to start playing at 10 o’clock. He has only just now stumbled out of the Toledo tundra into the cozy confines of the Glass City Cafe, which has booked him for its popular Bluegrass Breakfast music series.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he cries out in the direction of restaurant owner Steve Crouse, who assures him everything is fine. Wilson looks pained as a brief flash of flame passes over his smoldering dark brown eyes. No, it’s not fine. He was scheduled to start playing the blues at 10 sharp, and now he’s going to start late. And a professional should always be punctual.

Undaunted, he swallows his disappointment and, within 10 minutes, he has everything set up at the front of the restaurant which serves as the stage. Upending his battered Cunard Queen of Elizabeth canvas bag, he sorts through the contents— Halls menthol cough drops, a bottle of slippery elm supplements (“Just in case my voice goes out”), a bottle of Deja Blue water, a glass vase that serves as a tip jar and a power strip.

He plugs the power strip into his amp, a well-loved 1965 Fender Bandmaster. And then out comes the artisan’s tool— his Jay Turser electric guitar. It doesn’t have a name or anything; it’s a utensil to serve the stew of blues (“It’s a cheapo guitar, but it’s MY cheapo guitar,” he muses). He’s almost ready. He asks, and a cup of hot black coffee is delivered. After the obligatory microphone check, he sits on the edge of a worn tan suitcase and readies his guitar. It’s time to go to work.

Soon the Glass City Cafe fills with the sound of the blues— and Wilson is lost in ecstasy. He’s sitting atop the worn tan suitcase, choking the guitar neck, his angular carved-in-stone features a mask of concentration, fingers and knuckles gnarled from a lifetime of plucking strings. There’s no setlist, no backdrop, no real plan. Just a working man with an instrument sharing the gospel of what he believes is the greatest music that exists. Wilson plays the blues as if his life depends on it.

And maybe it does.

From C.J. to Dooley

Dooley Wilson does not take toast with his mozzarella cheese omelet, favoring potatoes instead. Sitting in the Glass City Cafe months later— this time as a patron— he is a bit more relaxed than he was when he played here. He still doesn’t smile much. Wilson isn’t grumpy, he just carries himself with an intensity that’s disarming. You get the feeling that he doesn’t want to be here. That’s because he lives to do one thing: Play the blues. And when he’s not playing the blues, by gum, he wants to be playing the blues.

But for now, he’ll tell his story. Now 45 years old, he was born C.J. Forgy, in West Lafayette, Indiana to James and Sandy Forgy. His parents split when he was two years old and he went to live with his maternal grandmother in Maumee. An only child, Wilson describes himself as an “artsy kid” who spent hours in his room drawing and writing.

“Everyone thought I was going to be a visual artist,” says Wilson, taking a sip of his coffee. “But along with writing, over the years I’ve let those skills atrophy,” he says, with a regretful sigh. “But I don’t know; I’m thinking about taking up drawing again for its therapeutic value.”

So what sparked his obsessive devotion to the blues? It started as musical hangups often did in the ‘80s— with a cassette. At 15, Wilson, who was teaching himself guitar and whose musical tastes at the time ran towards Led Zeppelin, walked into Camelot Music in the now-long-gone Southwyck Mall and spied a tape from Columbia Records called Legends of the Blues Vol. 1. There was something about that tape that spoke to him.

He picked it up and looked at the back. As-yet unfamiliar names like Bo Carter, Blind Willie Johnson, Charley Patton, and Leroy Carr stared out at him from the tracklisting. Robert Johnson— he knew that name from an interview he’d read with Jimmy Page and he was fascinated by the infamous story about Johnson reputedly getting his blues talent while making a deal with the devil at a crossroads. Maybe it was the ghost of Johnson himself speaking to Wilson that day in Camelot Music. All he knew is that he had to buy it.

When he got home, he popped the tape into his boom box, and something in the universe shifted. At that moment, C.J. Forgy ceased to exist and the bluesman named Dooley Wilson was born.

“That anthology started this mystique and passion I had for this music,” says Wilson, in between forkfuls of omelet. “It just spoke to my angst-ridden soul at the time and I had never heard anything so authentic, so human, so real. Take Son House’s song ‘Death Letter,’ which is on that anthology. It’s taken from his 1965 Columbia session and it’s just this amazing song about how a man gets a letter saying that the woman he loves is dead. It’s just…” Wilson often trails off when he talks about the blues; yet another reason why he’d much rather play you a song than talk about it.

From that fateful moment, the blues wasn’t just a preferred style of music to listen to or to learn to play… it became, at that time, a life choice.

“I decided I’m going to devote my life to being some kind of bluesman like Fred MacDowell or Son House,” says Wilson. “It became much more important to me than making a living. If you weren’t dead and black, I couldn’t be bothered to listen to you.”

Henry & June

By the way, where did that name Dooley Wilson come from? Wilson smiles broadly with a touch of sheepishness. He was setting up one of his earliest gigs, at the famous East-side haunt Frankie’s, and his buddy Lance Hulsey (currently the leader of Toledo rockabilly outfit Kentucky Chrome)— who Wilson played with his first band, a heavy metal project called Harlequin— said that the promoter needed to know what to call him… and C.J. Forgy didn’t exactly sound bluesy. So the young musician, right there, decided on the name Dooley Wilson in homage to the actor and musician of the same name, famous for playing the character Sam in Casablanca. Dooley Wilson is now his legal name. He cashes checks with that moniker.

With a new name under his bluesman’s belt, the then-recent Maumee High School (Class of 1992) graduate needed a band that would let him explore the blues the way he wanted to. The result was Henry & June, a heavy blues ensemble that Wilson formed with his good friend Jimmy Danger. They got the band name from a recently released biopic of Henry Miller, one of Wilson’s favorite authors.

“I was obsessed with the blues at that time, but I’m still incapable of playing it correctly,” says Wilson, draining his coffee cup. “I was really struggling to learn how to play blues the way it was meant to be played.”

But even as he worked to unravel the mysteries of Deep South blues, Wilson was experiencing something unexpected: Success. Henry & June had released a single called “Going Back to Memphis” on Detroit label Human Fly Records, and the song was attracting a lot of heat. The popular band The Laughing Hyenas— which featured former Necros member Todd Swalla, who would go on to play with Wilson in his later outfit Boogaloosa Prayer— were big fans of the song and were trying to get Henry and June signed to Touch and Go Records. Some cat named Jack White, who had a little band called The White Stripes, also was a big Henry and June fan and began covering “Going Back to Memphis” in concert.

“We were kind of a hot, cult thing on the scene in Detroit,” says Wilson, thanking the Glass City Cafe waitress as she refills his coffee. “Jack White wasn’t the only cool person in Detroit who knew who we were though, of course, he became the most famous one. Judah Bower of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion put out a cover of the single on his side project called 20 Miles. I heard The Von Bondies used to cover ‘Going Back to Memphis.’ It’s a really fun, simple, dumb song.”

And then right when things started to go well for Henry & June, it all went wrong. The blues were supposed to feel like freedom and suddenly Wilson and the rest of the band began to feel decidedly trapped.

“Jimmy in particular felt like things were getting stagnant,” says Wilson. “Things were going good for us but it started to feel like we were just going through the motions. It was creative claustrophobia.” And so the band, at its peak, unceremoniously broke up.

“We were just dumb kids. We had no idea what we were doing with our little garage band. Looking back, that may have been the worst decision of my career. But when you’re young and dumb, you don’t realize that; you just think ‘Well, I’ll just do the next thing that comes along.’”

Today, Henry & June is fondly recalled as an early part of the Detroit music resurgence of the latter 20th Century. While The White Stripes, Kid Rock, The Detroit Cobras, and various Detroit rappers, from Eminem to Insane Clown Posse, put the Motor City musically back on the map, Henry and June remains a small part of that legacy. Copies of “Going Back to Memphis” routinely go for more than $100 on eBay, and the song was recorded live by The White Stripes for their DVD concert film, Under Blackpool Lights.

And no, Wilson hasn’t received any royalties. It all worked out for the members of Henry & June, though. Drummer Ben Swank is now the top A&R guy at Third Man Records, Jack White’s label. The band did a well received reunion back in 2010 in Toledo and everyone is still cool with one another. But in rock-n-roll and the blues, time waits for no one, so Wilson was off to new projects and new adventures.

And those adventures would lead to him nearly lose his mind.

On a wing and a Boogloosa Prayer

Brushing off the ashes of Henry & June, Wilson decided to further buckle down and get more “authentically bluesy.” He quickly formed a new band with Ben Swank and guitarist Todd Albright, that went through various names such as Dime Store Glam and Gin Mill Moaners. They sat in for many nights at the long-gone-but-never forgotten Rusty’s Jazz Cafe.

“I was spending all of my disposable income on that watered down whiskey at Rusty’s,” said Wilson. “Rusty’s was an amazing little place.” After a while though, he got restless and decided he would get as real as the blues could get and move to New Orleans.

“I wanted to see if I could live as a street performer,” said Wilson. “I had this rather naïve idea that I could possibly make a living at it in that town. I suspected it was the place on Earth where you might encounter people doing this kind of music.”

So Wilson moved to New Orleans, virtually homeless, busking on the streets of NOLA. Meanwhile, The White Stripes were starting to get their first big taste of international notoriety and began introducing “Going Back to Memphis” to a whole new audience due to their frequent covering of the song in live gigs.

“There I am trying to get lunch money down in New Orleans, and suddenly The White Stripes and the whole Detroit thing started to blow up and I’m trying to be Mr Authenticity down in effing New Orleans,” says Wilson, shaking his head incredulously. “My career is awful. I always zig when I should have zagged.”

But New Orleans proved to be an artistically fruitful time for Wilson. He met true, dyed-in-the-wool blues players who were playing incredible music from their souls. Nobody had record deals or anything that could get in the way of making direct, honest music. Many of these men and women were homeless or living off the grid; something Wilson describes as “an anti-American dream.” He talks enthusiastically and excitedly about that time in his life.

“These were some of the greatest living blues artists. There was a guy named Augie Junior who was simply incredible. I had never heard anything like him. There was this woman named Lisa Driscoll who played the washboard. People called her Ragtime Annie. And…”

Suddenly Wilson stops in mid-sentence and a hollow expression crosses his face. He stands up, sets his coffee cup down, excuses himself with a hurried “I’m gonna step out for a minute” and before uttering another word, he’s left the Glass City Cafe. A few minutes pass and he returns, wiping his forehead.

“I’m sorry,” he apologizes, sitting back down. “It’s just…it’s hard talking about this. I just got a little overwhelmed talking about some of my departed friends.”

He steadies himself with a sip of coffee that’s starting to go cold, as he’s eager to move on to talk about his other great band, Boogaloosa Prayer. Formed after moving back to Maumee fresh off a year in New Orleans, Boogaloosa Prayer, which Wilson says “was one of the best things I ever did artistically” came after stints in short lived bands like The Young Lords, and The Staving Chain.

Boogaloosa Prayer, an aggressive blues rock outfit featuring in part his old friend Jimmy Danger and Maumee drumming legend Todd Swalla, garnered quite a devoted following, playing in both Toledo and Detroit. The band had momentum behind them that recalled the Henry & June days. Then one hot summer night in 2006 at the now-shuttered Mickey Finn’s Pub, Wilson’s demons got the better of him.

Sporting a shaved head and a sickly frame that was skinny even by his normally lithe, sinewy standards, Wilson cracked onstage during the show. He ranted incoherently, couldn’t perform any songs, and couldn’t remember any lyrics. To everyone who was there, it was a harrowing experience.

Today, Wilson is reluctant to talk about the incident but he acknowledges it happened.

“I can say that I had a horrible psychotic breakdown and it had an impact on my life,” says Wilson, a bit guardedly. “At the time I had several severe emotional stressors in my life. A toxic woman in my life was stalking me. I had a business deal that was crushing me under the pressure. Plus, Boogaloosa Prayer was breaking up at the time because Swalla was moving to California. It all led to that time in my life.”

Following his breakdown, Wilson spent some time in a psychiatric ward, and lived in his aunt’s attic as he attempted to rebuild his fragile psyche. He eschewed traditional psychotherapy and refused meds because he’d seen too many of his friends “get hooked on those damned things.” Through a lot of hard work, meditation, and support from his friends, Wilson says he “totally got well again” and he hasn’t had any mental health issues since— thank goodness.

“Losing your sanity really puts a damper on your life.”

Still walkin’ down that road…

Wilson now lives in what he calls “a shack,” though it’s actually a carriage house out on a property in Maumee. The place smells of incense, a bit cramped but cozy abode, filled with guitars, amps, books on Buddhism, and novels by Charles Bukowski. Exactly how you would expect Wilson to live. This is not the living quarters .of a typical 45 year old, but it is definitely the home of a bluesman— and that’s all Wilson ever wanted to be. He plays gigs around the region and works as a “factotum” (his term) helping out family members and friends with projects. He’s completed an album and is currently trying to figure out how to release it. Love? Not interested.

“I have the kind of personality where I just do better alone,” he says simply. He may be alone but he’s not lonely. He has the best friends in the world in his life, even if most of them are dead. Son House. Sonny Boy Williamson. Bo Carter. All those great blues artists of yesteryear he counts as his personal friends, and by playing their music and his own songs inspired by their influence, Wilson is a happy man.

On that cold December day at the Glass City Cafe, Wilson utters a line that captures his essence: “Oh, I’m Dooley Wilson. Don’t mind me.” But, about that, he’s wrong. Mind him. Pay attention to Dooley Wilson. Pay close attention.

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avi-daragon · 5 years

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20 Random Questions

I was tagged in this post by @marianrios33 because she made me open a Tumblr account and insists on me posting something. I told her I would, eventually, but she is the kind of person that sits in your ear and screams loudly into it until she gets her way, so I better not ignore this any longer.

1. any favorite tv shows? There are so, SO many, but here are few that come to mind: Game of Thrones (regardless of the ending), Breaking Bad, American Gods, The Man in the High Castle, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Haunting of Hill House, The OA, Brooklyn 99, My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist... and the Chernobyl miniseries rocked as well.

2. fave songs at the moment? Movement by Hozier, Talk is Cheap by Chet Faker and almost every song by LP, but I particularly love Tokyo Sunrise.

3. favorite movies you’ve watched recently? Rocketman (awesome mix of biopic and musical), I am Mother (gotta have me my good sci-fi) and it’s not that recent, but I really enjoyed the conclusion of M. Night Shyamalan’s hero trilogy, Glass.

4. are you usually late or early to events/work? Recently I have been quite punctual to work, but despite my best intentions and hardest efforts, I am usually late to everything else.

5. favorite drink/foods? Tacos and soup (I LOVE soup!) as a meal, coffee, chai latte, and whiskey, as drinks, and last, but certainly not least, tiramisu for dessert. YUMM-EH!

6. movie title that best describes your life? Insomnia (new first-time mom here).

7. city would you most like to live in? Galway, or any Irish town.

8. what age do you wish you could permanently be? Perhaps mid-twenties, but I really wouldn’t like to be stuck at any age.

9. fictional place you would most like to go? A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

10. how do you relax after a hard day of work? I don’t. But if I could, I would probably take a record-breaking nap.

11. tv show or movie you refuse to watch? Anyone in which a dog dies, especially Hachi: A Dog's Tale.

12. what are some small things that make your day better? New and awesome movie trailers, unexpected messages, good books and anything new my baby learns to do (he’s only 4 months old, so everything’s basically new).

13. what is the most impressive thing you know how to do? Bullying students until they love me (right, @marianrios33?)

14. game or movie universe would you most like to live in? I feel I’ve answered this before, but I’ll go with the game part of the question and answer unequivocally Hyrule.

15. if all jobs had the same pay and hours, what job would you like to have? I love teaching, but I would also love an animal related job, like dog walking (no joke) and cat cuddling (dead serious).

16. what is something that is considered a luxury, but you don’t think you could live without? I could do without most luxuries, but I don’t think I’d fare well without my insulin pump.

17. what do you have doubts about? Being a good enough parent (as in I doubt there is such a thing).

18. what irrational fear do you have? I fear watching horror films and being traumatized, regardless of the fact that when I watch them the only remaining feeling is MEH.

19. what would be your spirit animal? Red panda (we look AND move the same).

20. three interesting facts about you?

1) I get pissed off when people say I should be happy that I had a son (and not a daughter) so I can inherit my love for Star Wars (I cannot fathom how they miss the fact that I am indeed a Star Wars loving woman).

2) I can read a novel in a day, but it can also take me months to complete another. It mainly depends on how much I am invested in it, or how bad my depression is.

3) I watched The Last Jedi 10 times at the cinema, and countless times at home (I don’t care about the popular opinion, I LOVE that movie and find the script near perfect).

Extra fun fact: It really bothers me that this quiz has no capital letters.

I have no one to tag, so this is the end of this Quiz. Thanks @marianrios33 for pushing my hand and helping me to get into Tumblr. Oh, and also, for being a great friend!

#haventdoneoneoftheseinyears quiz teachinglife

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taronegertonthewelshboi · 6 years

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Early morning ~ Taron Egerton

Taron Egerton x Reader

Requests open

Inspired off of the recent on set photos of Taron as Elton John.

A/N: This is the first original imagine i’ve written for Taron. I really hope you enjoy it. To those of you that have requested don’t fret i have them all in my drafts and am slowly but surely getting through them. Thank you for requesting by the way, it is really sweet of you :)

Quiet peace. The only sounds being that of the soft breathing of her asleep. Although Taron knew he would have to get up and leave the calmness of his trailer to begin another busy day on set, he wanted to spend as much time as possible just admiring the view of his significant other cuddled up in bed being oblivious to the world around her.

Glancing over at the small alarm clock sat on the bedside table, he figured that he could get away with spending a few minutes still next to her. He shifted his body to lay closer to hers, pulling her figure against his so he was spooning with her. Taron’s arm laid across the dip in her waist whilst the other reached under her pillow. He breathed in the scent of her shampoo, relaxing him and giving her a small squeeze.

Unbeknown to Taron, She had awoken the moment his body made contact with hers. She loved moments like these when he would cuddle close to her in the early morning to avoid having to face the day. Y/n had come to visit him on set for a few days mostly to give him support but also to witness the filming of the biopic. However she knew that soon should would have to depart from him too and head back home, leaving Taron to finish filming. Therefore meaning she was too hesitant to face the day and was more than happy to spend the morning in bed with him.

She brought her hand down to link with his and lifted it up towards her mouth so she could kiss each one of his knuckles. A small hum of appreciation sounded from behind her making her smile. Tarons head moved to rest against the side of her neck, returning the kiss she laid on his hands on her neck. She tilted her head to give him more room.

“Mmmm, good morning gorgeous.” He spoke against the warm skin of her shoulder.

“Good morning, someone’s woken up feeling all lovey?”

He nodded while holding her tighter. “Well when you wake up next to a beautiful woman you are more than likely to shower her with affection. It is the gentlemanly way after all.”

“It is highly appreciated, but shouldn’t you really be getting up and ready?”

He groaned and burrowed his head into the pillow. “I guess, but i don’t want to yet.” His voice came out muffled.

She giggled at his response, she did love sleeping in, but early mornings with him were better.

#taronegerton #taron egerton #taron egerton imagine #taron egerton fanfiction #taron egerton x reader #Kingsman #rocketman #fanfiction #reader insert #taronegertonthewelshboi

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that-shamrock-vibe · 5 years

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Movie Review: Tolkien

My Level of Enjoyment:

It is slightly unclear if I am the right audience for this movie. I do know of all six movies that Tolkien's work is based on, however, I have only ever seen the Lord of the Rings movies and not the Hobbit movies.

I am however a fan of biopics and Nicholas Hoult and both are what intrigued me here and both did not disappoint.

I took so much away from this movie possibly more so than I did Bohemian Rhapsody because, as a fan of Freddie Mercury and Queen, I've done my research and the movie simply added layers to that research.

With Tolkien though, as I mentioned before, I have never been a huge fan of his or his work. Not because I don't like him or it because I love the type of fantastical world he created with Middle-Earth akin to Game of Thrones, but because, as was commented on quite candidly in this movie, the story and films are long!

I mean honestly I have sat through the Lord of the Rings trilogy once one weekend solidly, and by the end of Return of the King I had forgotten the majority of what I had just seen because all three movies melded into one for me.

I have never seen the Hobbit movies either. which this movie ends with him starting to write the one book the trilogy is based on, but the one great takeaway of this movie for me, is by the end I wanted to go and watch all six movies just to see this incredible man's mind unlocked.

Themes:

I think there are two great themes in this movie that resonate with the type of writer Tolkien is, the first is the meaning of language.

There are numerous definitions of what language actually means spread throughout this movie, not just in sounds and ideas but also in the cacophony and beauty behind them, first mentioned by Edith and later with Professor Joseph Wright.

My favourite line in this movie is probably Professor Wright saying “language cannot be stolen only influenced”, because it is true that while every civilisation and culture has its own dialect and way of saying these words, the actual meaning and definitions all are the same at the base heart of them and therefore language does not belong to anyone and therefore cannot be stolen.

The second is this idea of fellowship, which obviously goes on to be a great influencer in Tolkien’s work. But this idea of friendship and the feeling that one small group can change the world, maybe not as a whole but make one small impact such as Tolkien’s writing or Geoffrey’s poetry. I mean it’s obviously not fighting a war but it is still bringing about a small amount of joy in life.

Cast:

This is definitely one of Nicholas Hoult’s best roles in recent years. As mentioned with The Favourite, Hoult is one of those actors who I will watch a movie just to see them in.

He is definitely an actor akin to Jamie Bell or Thomas Brodie-Sangstar who peaked as a child actor but has still maintained modest success in his later years.

I don’t think he’s the type of actor who needs a major blockbuster or successful franchise in his filmography to be a star but he does have a great resume behind him already; be that About a Boy, Skins, X-Men, Mad Max: Fury Road or this, every role does have a sameness where you can tell Hoult is comfortable with the possible exception of Fury Road but each have an understated quality to them that I believe is missed in favour of other bolder actors.

I thought the supporting cast was also very good; Lily Collins was great as Edith Bratt and actually reminded me of Emma Watson or Felicity Jones, the latter of which is ironic as there were likens to The Theory of Everything in this movie but of course Collins was not nearly as dramatic here as Jones was there. But that’s due to story not acting.

The other three members of the fellowship I felt were also well acted, both in child and adult forms. Geoffrey Smith’s actor, both of them, were very good at portraying a young man in the early 20th Century who was clearly dealing with his romantic feelings for Tolkien but not being able to express them because he knew they’d be unrequited. I really loved that dialogue between the two the day after Tolkien had his alcoholic breakdown and it seemed as if Tolkien knew Geoffrey liked him and for them both not to even react to that made this a subtle but great influence for the LGBT Community.

Other actors were fine and did their jobs, I thought the man playing the priest and the woman playing the boarding house caretaker were fine. Although for them to say that any part of Birmingham is civilised I had to laugh at being from Birmingham myself.

Sir Derek Jacobi portraying the professor was a great full-circle moment as his friend and colleague Sir Ian McKellen is famous for being Gandalf in Tolkien’s stories, I know this wouldn’t be the case but I would love it if the professor is who influenced Tolkien in creating Gandalf just for that connection.

Recommendation:

So yeah, if you’re into Tolkien’s work this is definitely a movie for you, if you love biopics you’ll love this, if you want to see Nicholas Hoult as the leading man he should be you’ll enjoy this. I wouldn’t recommend seeing this if none of those checklist options apply to you but if you are curious then check it out.

I rate the movie an 8/10, it was a great depiction of J.R.R. Tolkien’s history, it was a great cinematic interpretation of how he got his ideas. Like I said, this movie made me want to watch all six Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movies just to get some of the references.

So that’s my review of Tolkien, what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Movie Reviews as well as other posts.

#tolkien #jrr tolkien #nicholas hoult #the lord of the rings #lord of the rings #the fellowship of the ring #fellowship of the ring #the two towers #return of the king #the return of the king #the hobbit #edith bratt

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thordodaday · 5 years

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☕️ + the way society treats artists (all kinds of artists like musicians, actors etc)

Ok, I’m ready to tackle this answer. This is difficult for me to answer because in some ways I think society holds them to a different standard,but in other ways, they hold them to the same one and in both ways I don’t think it’s a positive or good thing.

I come at this perspective as a sexual abuse survivor-with PTSD so my view is I don’t want to say skewed but it is different. I am also a white, liberal fat straight(ish)(kinda asexual too) so while I understand that my whiteness does give me privilege and I GET THAT-trust me I do-and that even though I have been treated unfairly because I am fat, I understand that it is not the same as what a fat POC experiences or someone from the LGBT community experiences. I just want to put all that out there up front because I am AWARE that our experiences shape our opinions and perspectives on things so that being said...here goes...

To a degree, overall white men-even white men in the entertainment industry-actors musicians,etc get treated with the same privilege as regular white dudes-they’re treated “better” (for lack of a better way to explain it) However-that doesn’t mean that every white guy in the entertainment industry needs to be hated on either just because he is white and makes a mistake or might say something or do something dumb/bad/insensitive,etc. I am going to paraphrase something Zendaya said in an interview because I love it. She talks about two different types of ignorance-the kind you just simply didn’t know something and can learn from and the willful type-where you just don’t care/aren’t willing to learn. These are the issues.

Because I defend Chris Hemsworth a lot, I’m going to use him as an example. And I will use the “NYE” picture as my first example. I defended him then and I stand by it. He is Australian. He hosted a party. They had a “cowboys and indians” theme. Insensitive yes. But, typically something only people who grew up in America would know. I was not aware of the racial issues in Australia until I became a fan of Chris and learned about his country-and I am STILL learning about how deeply ingrained racism STILL is in my own country. He issued a very sincere heartfelt apology, he learned from his mistake. He should be forgiven. He probably didn’t understand how insensitive it was to host a party like that. That doesn’t mean he is racist, it doesn’t mean he’s stupid. It means he didn’t know something and he learned about it. People should not continue to hold that against him because his actions continue to show that he is a decent man. And his choice to play Hulk Hogan in a biopic have NOTHING to do with this and to try to make a comparison and bring up old shit is just bull shit.

Now, I will use an example of someone else I WAS a fan of to try to show a different side. Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys was accused of rape about 20 years ago. I WAS a huge fan of BSB for a good portion of my life and hearing this broke my heart. Rape is not always a stranger shoving someone into an alley. MOST of the time, it’s someone you know-and it’s because the person does NOT understand what consent it. I will not go into the details-because you can read those on Melissa’s blog (the woman who accused him)But he basically didn’t listen to her telling him No repeatedly. His response to it was not to listen to what she had to say and apologize-but to accuse her of lying. His wife, his fans then continued to bully her and harass her online. And now, BSB are on the radio and were nominated for a Grammy. THAT is how society treats white men who don’t deserve any accolades.

CHRIS doesn’t deserve to get the hate I see about him and Nick doesn’t deserve to get the praise and protection that I see him receiving. So really, it’s all fucked up and none of it makes any sense to me.

I don’t know if I really answered the question or if I just caused more confusion, but it’s a confusing topic and one that I spend a lot of time mulling over myself.

But it’s why I protect Chris so much because I believe to the core of my being that he is a good man and yeah, I suppose I could be wrong-I was wrong about Nick Carter and the rest of the Backstreet Boys too who call sexual assault survivors liars, but I refuse to think I’m wrong about Chris so until I’m actually proven wrong about him-where he actually says something or does something that shows me he’s not a stand up guy, then I will continue to support him.

Anyway, *shrugs* I guess, that’s all I got.

#hemswhxre

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janiedean · 6 years

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(1) Can I just say I hate all this Freddie Mercury biopic wank with a passion? Like, this hellsite went from "Queen is one of those boring 'classic' bands all whites are obsessed with bc they won't even consider new music by diverse artists u.u" to "WWRY is clearly a song about rebellious queer youth, cishets don't touch Queen u.u" after someone pointed out Freddie's ethnicity and sexuality, to "why aren't they making Freddie gay in the biopic!!!11" and... whatever they're whining about now.

(2) And I HATE looking at all this bs and thinking "fake fans", bc I'm pretty damn sure that by most standards, *I* count as a "fake fan", too. I mean, most stuff I know about the band's history is actually stuff about Freddie, thanks to a few documentaries centered around him and my mom, the long-time fan with a big crush on Freddie who introduced me to Queen when I was a kid. Hell, I couldn't even name all their albums or anything needed to be considered a "true fan". But ppl on here... ugh. (3) It's like they're really embarrassed bc they were called out on mistaking "woke" stuff for "unwoke" stuff, and now they have this desperate need to prove their ability to discern wokeness by getting offended about something they don't even care all that much about, as loudly and dramatically as they can.

HAHAHAHAHA.

okay so, tldr: I hate this discourse and I honestly hope that it dies within two weeks out of the biopic for a whole lot of reasons amongst which the ones you said, but like, this discourse actually highlights a shitload of issues with the usual tumblr discourse which I will gladly go into now because I’m fucking tired and this movie isn’t out yet.

now, premise: while I don’t think that true fans are a thing - at most there’s casual fans or in-depth fans but I mean, a fan is a fan so I don’t believe in the *fake* fans thing..... the problem here isn’t that they’re fakes. it’s that they aren’t fans. period.

other premise: from what you’ve said you’re a casual fan which is normal and you DON’T count as fake I mean if you like them and listen to them and know something it’s basically being a casual fan same as I am with idk the rolling stones, I like the famous stuff, I have the fundamental records and I like them when they’re on but that’s it.

but, yours truly is a Not Casual Queen Fan in the sense that a) I got into them when I was seventeen and I’m thirty now so thanks it’s been a while, b) I own all the records, c) I own a decent portion of roger taylor’s/brian may’s solo records (and I have listened to all of them that I couldn’t buy), d) I went to see them live once (k it was with paul rodgers but nvm guys not my fault if I wasn’t born in time for freddie) and I love queen’s music and I’m also fucking cishet and you know what? these people Are Not Fans and they should stop pretending they are and just stop making themselves look like assholes.

SPECIFICALLY:

the movie’s not out yet and I’ve had to see FIFTEEN ‘FRIENDLY REMINDER TO ALL CISHETS THAT FREDDIE MERCURY WAS GAY (at least a couple said he was bi and they were less asshole-ish) AND POC AND IF YOU DON’T KNOW YOU’D BETTER LEARN NOW HAHAHAHA YOU THOUGHT HE WASN’T. spoilers: every fucking casual queen fan who has bothered to buy three records knows that. yes, also the cishets. like, as someone who went from VERY CASUAL (ie: I know three songs) to NOT CASUAL in the span of two months I can 100% assure you that before getting into queen the usual preconceptions are that freddie was gay and that queen = freddie + three other people. the first three things you learn when getting into queen are (more or less in order but it can change) that a) the band was actually brian may + roger taylor first, b) that roger brought freddie in because they knew each other already, c) that mary austin was a fundamental person in freddie’s life and that she was also brian may’s ex and knew him first before they got together, d) the members’s backstories including where freddie was born, so like...... this idea that CASUAL CISHET FANS wouldn’t know that freddie was a) not heterosexual, b) poc is just something a NON-FAN would say because guess what, most queen fans even at a casual level are 100% aware that freddie was a) not heterosexual, b) not ethnical british. and saying that OMG CISHETS DON’T KNOW it’s ridiculous because guess what, everyone knows and if they have no idea they do, though luck, we did;

(spoilers: I also am 99% sure that those ppl have no idea that roger and brian actually sing on the records and composed a shitload of the music and queen =/= ONLY FREDDIE but okay)

they have no idea that rock music in the 70s/80s was not so heteronormative and was not the cishetmalething they think it is. like, please look at led zeppelin (ie THE PEOPLE WITHOUT WHOM YOU WOULDN’T HAVE HEAVY METAL) and tell me they were heteronormative. like, you saw robert plant? yeah, me too. and the thing was that queen were revolutionary in the sense that they brought an operatic/theatrical approach to the music that no one tried before but guess what, the point is that they made it sell. the thing that I would like tumblr Woke People to grasp is that what made queen groundbreaking as far as Wokeness goes is that they managed to sell and become the monster-moneymaking group they were (while keeping things quality) with a frontman who was Not Heterosexual, Did Not Try To Pass For Heterosexual One Day In His Life and Never Shied Away From It. like, idk if people are aware that while the scene was way less heteronormative than they think it still wasn’t the most openly talked about topic around (I mean guys elton john did marry a woman at some point X°DDD), but going around in the seventies flaunting your non-heterosexualness around and selling millions of copies making your stage persona a selling point of your music wasn’t exactly common. like ffs one of the most famous queen songs has a video where for 3/4 of the time they’re in drag and the other part has freddie performing with the royal ballet (and guess what the song was actually written by john deacon and the idea of doing the video in drag was roger taylor’s and none of them as far as we know is Not Heterosexual, but never mind giving the rest of the band some credit when it came to Not Caring About Heteronormativity) and fine, that video was banned/controversial, but it still was a huge british hit and it’s in the top five queen songs Everyone Knows. and tbh I’m terrified of that video being shown in the biopic (which it should since the works was from ‘84 and they stop at ‘85) because I’m 100% sure that those people have no idea it exists and when they find out how long is it gonna take them to decide that IT’S PROBLEMATIC? I mean, Woke Kids on here think the rhps is problematic, I’m shuddering at the thought of what they’d think of the i want to break free video;

actually a lot of us cishet queen fans might have had a wake up call including, er, finding out certain preferences, thanks to either their music or their shows or their videos (*cough* I 100% assure you that watching roger taylor in drag was what made me realize crossdressing was my thing for good like I knew before but I didn’t actually put two and two together until I saw that video and went like ‘............. AH WELL SHIT THEN THAT’S IT FAIR ENOUGH’), and a lot of us cishet queen fans who weren’t, like, strictly playing to heteronormative rules back in the day found a lot to relate to in their music even without being queer ourselves and guess what I’ve never met a single queen *fan* who could give less of a damn about freddie’s ethnicity or orientation (as in: everyone was a-okay with it) regardless of their background. that was what made them groundbreaking and extremely important as well, because they managed to be that kind of record-selling records-breaking band while not shying away from having a Not Heterosexual frontman AND Not Heteronormative Heterosexual Band Members Who Also Didn’t Give Two Fucks About Their Lead Singer’s Sexuality so going like OMG NOW WE’RE GONNA TEACH YOU THAT FREDDIE WASN’T HETEROSEXUAL BECAUSE WE’RE WOKE is ridiculous because dearest susan, we already knew and we already were woke about that and to us he was the frontman of a band we liked for a bunch of reasons;

also I don’t think people realize that freddie was a role model/example for the entire next generation of rock bands frontmen even in genres that had zilch to do with him - I mean guys AXL ROSE had a hero-worship for freddie and sang bohemian rhapsody at the freddie memorial concert WITH ELTON JOHN and grn really aren’t the same exact sphere as queen jsyk, but if you look at axl on stage esp. when he was younger? guys. it’s obvious. like you can see the influence. but lmao, now ALL the very cishet(-ish) singers who OPENLY SAID FREDDIE INFLUENCED THEM DIDN’T KNOW ACCORDING TO TUMBLR DOT COM?

LIKE, fuck’s sake, one of freddie’s major accomplishments in that sense was to ending up being a role model for younger singers in a genre where heteronormativity is way less common than everyone thinks BUT where not many people esp. back in the day would be open about their sexuality because it still was a taboo-ish thing -- like, gender roles were a lot more blurred but you wouldn’t hear many of those people admitting openly they were bi or gay or Not Heterosexual and the entirety of the rock scene especially mainstream but also not was entirely fucking aware of it, do these people think THE FANS wouldn’t?

also, we will rock you was WRITTEN BY BRIAN MAY AND IT WAS ABOUT A FUCKING ENCORE WHERE THE FANS SURPRISED THEM AT ONE SHOW IN LIKE MID-SEVENTIES which already shows that They Know Nothing because if they think freddie wrote all the queen songs then it’s already obvious they have no fucking clue about how queen worked as a band because all the members contributed something (guys john deacon wrote at least two of their major hits, roger taylor sang on all the records along with brian may and if you hear the back harmonies on ‘39 he goes way higher than freddie and a part in seaside rendezvous has both him and freddie mimicking other instruments with their voice and you wouldn’t know if no one told you first, brian may wrote a SHITLOAD of music for queen and it was an all-four effort, not just freddie + three other generic british dudes for fuck’s sake) so like, anyone saying that is already giving ample proof that they have no idea;

now of course you can interpret it as whatever the hell you want, but assuming that all of queen’s music that might relate to queer issues was written by freddie ABOUT QUEER ISSUES (this when freddie’s main topic of interest was... not really discussing his sexuality especially in the seventies like again, I want to break free is one of the queen to-go songs everyone brings up when it comes to that topic and IT WAS WRITTEN BY SOMEONE ELSE and the video concept was THANKS TO SOMEONE ELSE) just shows that a) you don’t know shit about the band’s history, b) you’re not a fan because you didn’t even bother to look it up on wiki, c) you’re trying to look woke at all costs;

they have NO FUCKING CLUE that most people in the 70s/80s/90s in the business were NOT politically correct according to their standards LIKE LITERALLY NO ONE WAS;

goes unsaid they probably haven’t listened to one full queen album from beginning to end not even the greatest hits.

tldr: I hate that they don’t seem to realize that things existed before 2005 and that music in the 70s/80s COULD and WAS diverse and *woke* already before they were even born, I hate that they decided that ALL CISHETS DIDN’T KNOW when thank you I think even my damned parents know and they don’t listen to rock music, I hate that they decided that queen APPARENTLY DIDN’T HAVE A FANBASE BEFORE THEM (lol) or that that fanbase didn’t understand them (triple-lol), I hate that they’re reducing freddie to his sexuality when he didn’t want that in the first place, I hate that they’re falling into THE MAIN MISCONCEPTION AROUND ABOUT THIS BAND as in THAT IT WAS FREDDIE + THREE OTHER PEOPLE and not an all-around group effort of people who were friends and deeply loved/respected each other and put the same share of work into it, I hate that they moment they see the movie and are introduced to the actual music/the actual story they’ll MOST LIKELY find problematic things to wank about because like hell they wouldn’t and I hate that they’re basically pretending to give a fuck about a band that I love and have loved dearly in a very non-casual way when they actually fucking don’t.

fucking hell please never let anyone make a biopic about either springsteen or led zeppelin or other people I actually like because this is bad enough, I don’t even want to think of what tumblr ppl would say if they knew anything about any rock artist of medium-large fame back in the day. peace.

#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #queen for ts #let's see how fast wank arrives #I HOPE IT DOESN'T #god i hate this discourse BURN IT #lgbt for ts #haljathefangirlcat #ask post

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