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rsfaa · 7 months

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Todd White: Unveiling the Human Spirit through Art

Enter the world of Todd White, an artist whose distinctive style and down-to-earth personality have earned him an international reputation that continues to flourish. Born in 1969 in Texas, Todd White's artistic journey began in humble roots and led him through a remarkable career in the animation industry before he emerged as a renowned artist with a unique perspective on the human experience. In this blog, we'll explore the extraordinary path of Todd White, an artist whose work captivates and delights, revealing the profound stories that lie beneath the surface.

From Humble Beginnings to Hollywood

Todd White's life story is one of resilience and creativity. Raised in modest circumstances, he embarked on a journey that took him from his Texan hometown to the bustling heart of Hollywood. In his twenties, he found himself working in the animation field, contributing to character development at some of the country's most renowned production studios. Notably, he was part of the lead team behind the international sensation, SpongeBob SquarePants.

Distinctive Style

During his time in Hollywood, Todd White began to carve out his unique artistic style. He delved into experimentation with both style and concept, a journey that ultimately led him to his current artistic method. His approach to each piece is methodical, beginning with the naming of the work. He then visualizes the faces and personalities, and as a storyteller, he develops each person's narrative. He doesn't start painting until he can fully conceptualize the story within his mind, and his work always conveys the essence of that story directly—no extraneous details make their way to the canvas.

The Power of Hands

Hands play a significant role in Todd White's work. He has a deep appreciation for the expressive power of even the smallest hand gestures, recognizing their ability to amplify an actor's performance. In his words, "Everyone's hands are full of personality," and they reflect a subject's state of mind almost as vividly as facial expressions. Todd's observant eye for detail extends to his people-watching habits, where he constantly observes figures, faces, and features. He even records ideas for his next work on napkins and tablecloths in various situations.

Revealing Inner Feelings

Todd White's paintings have an enchanting quality that often evokes laughter and invites viewers to return for repeated viewings. By uncovering his subjects' deepest feelings, he creates scenes that convey timeless attraction and intimacy. His characters, though adorned with exaggerated features and textured skin, reveal truths—both their own and ours. Todd's subjects may come from the everyday world, but his unique perspective transforms our perception of people and the roles we play in each other's lives. He delves into the nuances of body language to capture the subtleties of what individuals reveal and conceal.

International Recognition and Prestige

Todd White's artistic brilliance has not gone unnoticed. In 2007, he was chosen as the Official Artist of the GRAMMY® Awards, an event that stands as the world's most prestigious in the realm of music. In 2009, Todd was invited by Warner Bros. to contribute to a major design exhibition commemorating the 70th Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz.

His collaboration with Coca-Cola in 2010 resulted in limited edition bottles and cans, featuring his unique box signature—an unprecedented acknowledgement of a fine artist by Coca-Cola. In 2011, Todd White was honored with the Diana Princess of Wales Gold Medal, one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious accolades. He received this award after generously donating his portrait of the Princess to the Diana Awards charity. With only 11 recipients to date, Todd stands as the only American to be honored with this prestigious accolade.

Following a series of record-breaking shows in the UK, Todd White returned to the United States to even greater acclaim. Today, he stands as one of the world's most collectible and successful living artists, a testament to his unwavering dedication to revealing the human spirit through his exceptional artistry. If you are interested in Todd White art or paintings for sale, check out Royal Street Fine Art, or call 970-920-3371.

#art for sale #fine art #art #artwork

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writingismadnessinmymind · 1 year

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The History of Gwydion Mabinogi

Based loosely on the Welsh lore of Math fab Mathonwy (first half) Friendly reminder to read it in the context of history and weird tales. This plays around 400 A.D. and, thus, rape and patriarchy are common things. I do not support this behavior at all.

Picking up the pieces of a life once divine Now I pray for our existence while I waste away the time I take pause to search for reason as I plan for my escape And then I down yet another drink cause most times it makes me think … … Of you I can hear your voice, I can feel your pain Seems we’ve traveled so far and now we're back here again It's an only life in a lonely world In the end we all get what we deserve Oh, if I could break these chains and leave this place unscathed I’d pray the scars would fade away in time and that someday You’ll feel my pain, my pain Lost in all the changes, I confess to being confused For the time is unforgiving, to all those who waste it Chose the right path of destination Only truth can set you free, and like an archer I pierce your veil so that you can be revealed by me I can be alone. I can hold my own Since you chose to abandon us for places unknown I have had my fair share of ups and downs Throw stones inevitably hit the ground — Darkhaus, Feel my Pain What makes a man what he is, or better, what he pretends to be? Most will respond with ‘experiences’, ‘education’, or ‘character’. And they aren’t wrong. But many forget that the environment plays the most important role. Where did we grow up, under what circumstances and conditions? What duties were assigned to us that would not have been experienced elsewhere? What expectations do others have of us? All of this plays a major role in our personality development and is reflected in our behavior later. We act and respond instinctively as our judgment dictates. Refusing or suppressing our response to it is all the more difficult the more memorable an experience has been. It is easier for a trained eye to recognize such reactions because they’re difficult or impossible to control.

Gwydion has always had a talent for seeing exactly what his opponent thought or desired. He studied his fellow human beings far more dearly and attentively than the documents which had been submitted to him for studying. Even his cunning brother Gilfaethwy had other things in mind than to study and was not sorry to drive his teachers with pranks to insanity, while only their sister Aranrhod devoted herself grateful to the lessons. Unfortunately, she was the least blessed with intelligence, so her teacher always had a hard time inspiring the three for the lessons and keeping them in a good mood.

It had always been common knowledge that, above all, the fairy folk were inclined to excessiveness and not to scholarship, something about which Math, king of Gwynedd and uncle of the three siblings, desperately wanted to do something. His nephews, so he had promised his sister Dôn, should once become great rulers and understand something of their craft and the history of their people. Just as his niece was to become a respected and educated woman by the side of a wealthy man.

But over the years, not much changed in the circumstances. Gideon and Gilfaethwy grew up to be handsome men, who roamed the country in the name of their uncle, respecting law and order, while Aranrhod spent her time at the court, secretly making love to one of the servants. However, the two men often understood something different under 'law and order' than the old gentleman had thought. They took whatever they liked, drank, and scuffled with the compatriots, leaving mostly annoyance and fear in the villages, because if anyone ever opposed them, then Gwydion insisted to brag about the magical powers he had discovered during his youth. Math, who was tied to the court at that time thanks to an old curse, unless a war was declared, got none of this.

One day, Gwydion and Gilfaethwy had just returned from the south and sat at the table at court, Gwydion nudged his brother, who was looking sicker and sicker for the last few days. He knew him too well to understand that this wasn’t a physical ailment, but something else.

“Boy, what's wrong with you?”

“Why? What do you see in me?”

“I see that you lose your good looks and your facial color. So what's wrong with you?”

“My dear brother, it won’t do me any good if I admit to anyone what is wrong with me.”

“What is it, my friend?”

“You know Math’s special trait that every word, as soon as it is spoken, is carried to him by the wind.”

“Well, then don’t say anything else. I know what it is: you want Goerwin.”

Gilfaethwy sighed deeply and lowered his eyes.

“Don’t sigh, that won't help you get her” Gwydion put a hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly, the famous sparkle that bespoke a new plan appeared in his eyes.

“I'll ensure you that she's going to be yours. Be it Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth got to war for it.”

And that was how it came that Gwydion cheated Math into believing that he could bring him a new breed of animals that the Lord of Powys, Prideri, son of Pwylls had been given a few days ago. Gwydion and Gilfaethwy traveled to the Court of Powys, veiled by a spell, and in turn had Prideri persuaded to close a bargain, tempting him to swap the animals for enchanted goods, revealing themselves worthless the next day and infuriating the entire court of Powys. Prideri knew immediately who had to be responsible because no one else in the country had the impudence and the power to give him the runaround like Gwydion had done. Thereupon Prideri had his whole army saddled up and called for war against Gwynedd. Math was forced to leave the yard and leave Goerwin at the court.

This was the moment the men had been waiting for: they sneaked back to the yard, Gilfaethwy took Goerwin, and Gwydion took pleasure in her maid, and there was no one who couldn’t get wind of it, but no one dared to intervene for fear.

The next day they hurried to the front of the war, where dozens of men had fallen until Prideri and Gwydion finally decided on a duel to spare the rest of the men. The ground under their feet was already soaked in blood, making smacking noises as they steeled themselves for battle. It was clear that Prideri didn’t have many chances against the mighty Druid, as they once entitled him. And Gwydion knew that as well. A confident smile crept to his lips as the blades collided, and he sneered at his counterpart.

As expected, Gwydion defeated Prideri, and so his land went into the possession of the Mabinogi. The country was in mourning and Math was angry with his nephew when he heard from Goerwin what had been the cause of all the deaths. He sent for the men and let his full wrath on them. A thunderstorm was still to be heard up to the gates and across the sea to Ynys Môn.

“What pain and what shame have you brought over our house? Only for your insatiable craving for the female flesh you have claimed hundreds of men’s lives! Like the beasts without reason and understanding you have acted, as beasts, you shall live henceforth and satisfy your lust!”

Math rose from his throne, and before one of them could oppose him, he turned Gilfaethwy into a hind and Gwydion into a stag. “Go out and live in this form, with the desires of the animals. You are to father a progeny and you will bring it back here in a year’s time!"

A greater humiliation could have befallen neither of them, and since Math was one of the most powerful druids in the area and none of them could do anything about it in their present form, they followed and went out into the forest, where they spent a year as a stag and a hind, and returned the following year with a fawn, which Math took, turned it into a boy, and baptized it. Gilfaethwy and Gwydion were still not released from their punishment, Math was still angry with them and so he turned the hind into a boar and the deer into a wild sow so that they performed the ritual again and return in the coming year with a shoat which Math also took. But still, the anger was not extinguished and he turned them again: The boar became the she-wolf and the wild sow the wolf.

When they returned with the wolf cub the following year, Math finally released them from their shame and turned the men back into their human form. Humble, they were shown to their three sons, but inside the anger was smoldering stronger than ever and Gwydion had made it his goal to wreak revenge on his uncle one day. But first, it was up to them to help Math find a new maiden. They suggested Aranrhod, who still claimed to be one, but when Math tested her, the opposite was true: she gave birth to two sons, one of whom was so inconspicuous that Gwydion pulled him aside unnoticed and secretly raised him up. Aranrhod was so humiliated that she denied maternity and even forgot her second son.

Gwydion couldn’t understand why she was so curt with the children, he wished for himself that he could’ve seen his sons grow up. So he cared for the nameless boy until he had become a handsome man before he showed him to his mother, who still wanted to know nothing about him and cursed him. The boy was disappointed and Gwydion didn’t want to let this happen. He loved the child as much as his own son, and once again consulted his talent to trick his sister into giving the boy a deserved reputation.

After all, Lleu Llaw Gyffes, with the help of his uncle, had gotten everything that a son of the court deserved: weapons, money, property, and a beautiful woman. But she did not remain faithful to him, cheated on him with the Lord of another Cantrefi, and Gwydion helped Lleu to avenge him on both until one could rightfully call the property his own.

Gwydion had waited up to that point, now it was time to take his own revenge and get rid of Math. With the help of his brother, he lured Math into a trap from which he could no longer free himself. In any case, the fairy was far too old for his taste, and Lleu a much better ruler. He himself had no intentions to ascend the throne, so he let his foster son rule over Gwynedd. Aranrhod had also caught up with her fate and she died of an by that time incurable disease without giving birth to another child as a successor. Her firstborn had also died at the hand of another man, leaving Lleu the last rightful heir to the throne.

After Lleu was finally crowned and Gilfeathwy remained at court as his advisor, Gwydion decided to leave the country and travel because his help was no longer needed. He was convinced that the world had more to offer and so he toured countless countries in the East. He did not want to stay in Cymrw (Wales), where he was known everywhere, the infamous druid! Here suffering, there an emergency. They always wanted something from him and asked him for a favor. And he didn’t fit a throne. It wasn’t easy as a descendant of Túatha Dé Danann. Worry was one of the few goods that people never seemed to run out off.

Gwydion traveled far and much. But he visited a few places again and again because he had fallen in love with the people and their ways of living. These included, among other things, a minor village in Hungary, in the south of Lake Balaton, and Bydgoszcz in northeastern Poland. Later, however, he was drawn north again: a half-dilapidated village on the southeastern shore of Lough Corrib in Ireland was the last stop he had made. However, one should not think that these places were chosen solely because of the environment and the population, no, rather it was a secret brotherhood, whose original members could be traced back to these places.

In his search, he had met with like-minded people in these places, who also expected more from the world than it seemed to offer. They wanted to explore the secrets that frightened mankind due to superstition and they did what they wanted. Laws never mattered. It serves one right who does wrong, which meant more to the four than anything that some gentleman had written on their papers.

Gwydion lived with his friends in the lap of luxury, as you might say, but it always drew the attention of jealous fellow citizens or the suspicious authorities to them. Fighting broke out and not often it ended in a squad standing in front of his house, which wanted to arrest him. But Gideon was famous for his sharp wit and masterful rhetoric. Often they could be fobbed off or deceived by magic. But if that didn’t help, he preferred to play off the lords and kings against each other, so they disposed of themselves.

But not only hostile-minded ones frequented Gwydion and his friends. Even those who were of his kind, as they said, wanted to belong to him and his brothers. It all started when he was back in Hungary and was greeted by a dozen of people instead of only his friend, who revealed to him that with the help of their powers, he had managed to come a bit further in their research. Gwydion was very upset at first, for they had actually sworn to keep silent, but when he saw that his friend was serious, he condoned the work. And so the other brothers followed soon as well. Especially in Ireland a big community and new rites awaited him.

“Who are all those people?” He asked, turning to Áernóch. “There was nothing of the sort in your last letter! We’re not the welfare or any coven, my friend.”

“Gideon, please!” He struggled to get his discovery across to him.

“These men come from another coven whose founders have delivered a great battle. All of Galway had been shaken by it!”

Now Gwydion listened as well with rapt attention.

“Whole Galway, you say?” His gaze swept toward the crowd of black-robed figures. He stepped up to one of them and planted himself in front of him.

"Look at me and tell me, what's your name?"

“Múhnaí, sir,” he replied, raising his head so that light fell on his pale features, bringing out the sunken cheeks.

“And tell me, Múhnaí, how is it that you and your brothers stand here and not with your Master?” He leaned forward, his hands clasped behind his back. “After all, I don’t want to know any apostates under my protection.”

His threatening attitude didn’t unsettle Múhnaí. After all, he was used to nothing else by his last masters.

“Lord, with good grace, but none of our masters is alive anymore, they both fell and the connection was lost, we searched, but the innermost ones must have disappeared with the corpses, they left us behind.” Múhnaí fell silent. Surely he wouldn’t beg or anything like that, but he very much hoped that he would be accepted, for what he had heard behind closed doors about the Brotherhood was no less tempting than the secrets that had been decided in his coven.

Gwydion also remained silent and straightened up again to full stature. Thoughtfully, he went back to Áernóch, but he kept the group in view out of the corner of his eye. He didn’t quite trust the whole thing. First, he wanted to put the men to the test, not that they went after him and subsequently delivered him to the supposedly disbanded coven.

“Ah, yes, I still have a question: what are the names of your masters?” He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“Lord, we don’t know that, only the innermost have known this.”

“I see, what a pity. I would have loved to know more about them, but you can’t probably tell me more, now go away. I have more important things to do.” A derogatory hand movement followed and the men hurriedly followed, nobody was keen to detune the mind of the potential leader in advance.

Áernóch waited until his friend and he were alone before he spoke. He already felt that the mind of his counterpart was boiling inside, but on the outside, he couldn’t see any emotion. He played the perfect façade, perfection learned over centuries.

“Gywdyon,” he used the name only when they were among themselves, otherwise that would only have led to problems of understanding and unintentional investigation, “let me ...” He was silenced with a sinister piercing look. Okay, maybe he should now watch what he was saying.

The next moment Gwydion pushed him against the wall and pressed his hand at Áernóch’s throat.

“I think, my friend, I should refresh your memories of the Code a little, what do you think?” A vicious glint flared up in Gwydion’s eyes, clearly showing how close he was to the edge of losing his mind. Áernóch grabbed Gwydion’s hand, choking and trying to free himself from his grip, but it had been superhuman forces that were in play. “Please,” he pleaded in his thoughts and let his partner overhear, “I know the Code, but these men strive for the same goal, and the more they are, the greater we may accomplish. If I had told you about them, you would have rejected them from the beginning, you know that!”

The power of the voice subsided and Gwydion felt life gradually leave Áernóch. Therefore, he loosened his grip, but only so much that Áernóch could gasp. He then raised his free hand and pressed it to Áernóch’s right half of face, so he started screaming and writhing in pain. The smell of burned flesh came up and Gwydion pulled his hand back. Satisfied, he looked at his work:

Áernóch was now branded with a secret sign that was to be recognized only by members of the Brotherhood as a sword rune. For others, it only seemed like a burning mark by a fireplace poker.

Áernóch fell to his knees in pain, holding his face and moaning. Gwydion showed no sympathy but looked down spitefully at his friend.

“For now, let this be a lesson to you, Áernóch, and now get up, we have a lot to talk about.” He held out his hand to help him get back on his feet. Áernóch reached for it after some hesitation. He knew that Gwydion wanted to teach him just a lesson. He didn’t take pleasure in any further glee. Still, it had been a violent shock that he was sure not to forget so soon.

After a lengthy discussion, Gwydion decided he would actually give the men a chance to prove themselves. But they should also show him their new loyalty and their skills. Whether they shared his beliefs, then it would turn out. But in his opinion, people were just a mendacious pack anyway, with no sense of honor or respect for their world. Therefore, he did not expect too much from these people. Maybe they would do well as guinea pigs if he was lucky.

And now, centuries later, sitting in his small apartment, in a strange land, he stared at the sea and still commanded these idiots - at least those who had not proved utterly useless while he was so close to his destination. One of the two formerly believed coven masters, who were apparently resurrected from the dead with the help of his descendants! These damned fairies, they kept babbling, but then, when he wanted to know something decisive, they remained silent. He growled low and looked at his phone, which was muttering at that moment. Another call. Áernóch. Gwydion sighed and answered it, how much he wished at that moment to drink a Guinness with his faithful follower ... just for the good old days.

#original story #original fiction #background story #welsh #welsh witch #celtic #celtic mythology #irish mythology #mabinogi #mabinogium

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just2bubbly · 3 years

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Sometimes Love Stays

Masterlist

TLC Ship Week 2021!

*written for tlcshipweek2021- kaider for the prompt 'In another life'

@kaiderforever

Summary

"Hmm.."

"Do you?"

"Wish you happiness? Yeah, Kai, I do- with all my heart."

"I wish you were happiness!"

Sometimes love becomes stronger overcoming the obstacles thrown along your path, but when the obstacles never end and you become tired enough to want to stop, will 'Love' help overcome the new problem or would it be succumbed to obstacle?

When their future doesn't play out as they want to, will they dare to take a chance or lose everything without trying?

Reading an article, Cinder is thrown back into the past, trying to figure out if the choices she made were right.

A look at Kai and Cinder's relationship through newspaper article fragments.

Ship: Kaider

Words: 3.2k

Genre: Angst

Prompt: 'In Another Life'

Note: A Canon Divergence AU from Winter- major character/ relationship reflection. Bold contexts are newspaper articles!

Cinder's Perspective:

"Sometimes love stays."

The article read and Cinder could not bring it upon herself to understand the implications of those three words. She considered it was the most preposterous sentence to start a piece of news informing about a break-up. Her mind could only fathom that a hopeless romantic had written this article, one who most certainly believed in unrequited love and stuff- That she could be sure from the very first line. "Many times love seems to not reside in a relationship as the lovers struggle to continue to live together after years of togetherness, but this does not appear to be the case in the infamous royal courtship that lasted for over 10 years but was suddenly called off 2 years ago- Yes, we are talking about no one but The Emperor of Eastern Commonwealth and The Queen of Luna- " Cinder seemed to convince herself that she was only reading it because it was the most trending news on Earth. Yet it was no new news to her or even anyone on Earth and the saint forsaken rock Luna as well. The article had become famous only for its illustrating language and artistic words that seemed to give the entire ordeal a new look. Hence, after having ignored, overlooked and unseen the article, its rumours and the stink eye that her aristocrats sent along her way. She finally decided to read it and fucking get over it- just like she got over him. It was fucking simple until it was not. "The infamous break-up of The Emperor of EC and the Queen of Luna happens to be no news to us. It has been two years since the two royals called off their relationship in the name of diplomatic and personal reasons. However, it appears that the years apart have done no good to their awkward and unresolved heartfelt tension." She wondered which newbie journalist had decided to write about this- about them, the two lovers madly in love with each other, stubborn enough to put others above themselves and naive enough to let it all go. She could feel her body going stiff as she tried to muster up the courage to continue reading. Her mind going numb just like it always did when thoughts of Kai resurfaced. The memories and the murmurs, their banters, his adoration all seemed to drown her with misery- one where she could not shed a single tear but only carry the overwhelming weight of the past of what they had- of what they had lost. It had been good- going at first with the frequent comms in their free time, flying kisses from literally two different worlds, exchanging gifts thanks to the Rampion, jumping at the first chance to meet each other. They were happy and yet they were not. With near to 10 years into being the Queen of Luna, she had thought that maybe she had given her bit to the moon, and now she could step down from her role and convert Luna into a republican state. She had planned her future, their future, the future of thousands of people and had acted accordingly to liberate Luna from the clutches of a single person, forgetting about what the people would have to say about it? Apparently, Lunars loved royalty more than equal representation! Consequently, when she had put the matters of 'abolition of monarchy' to vote she had been made a fool in her own court with the outcome - her vote against all of them. When she had demanded an explanation out of Iko for such a bizarre scenario. She had acknowledged, "They seem to like you as their Queen. It is clear they don't want you to step down!?" "But what about equal representation?" "Cinder you are already giving it to them!" "And what about the aristocrats- Don't they want more say in the administration?" "They do want it but not with the responsibility. Thus they have started preaching about royalty and stuff..." she trailed. Dumbstruck, she had thought how can one gift someone freedom when they don't want it? That's where things started looking down. This made all her plans go downhill. Because hadn't she planned that she would step down, abolish the monarchy and turn it into a Republican government? Hadn't she decided she would be free to live her own life on Earth?

Hadn't she wondered how she would travel with Thorne on Rampion- be truly free for once in her life before having to settle down? Before having to go to New Beijing.

Hadn't they planned that they would stay together- and with every passing day weren't they coming near to achieving their intention to constantly stay together and make up for all the physical affection they had been deprived of over the years? Wasn't it what their future was going to be off? With this new hurdle, plans had to be changed and when she had mentioned this to Kai, he was grief-stricken. Even then, they came up with alternatives, for at that time it was clear- they wanted to spend the rest of their together. They had discussed spending their time between Earth and Luna, tackling the barriers of distance and royalty. It's not like they did not try, it's just that every time they strived harder to stay together- fate made it impossible to. A year later, the realization dawned upon her. It had really taken a long time but it had finally crashed- the full reality of their long-distance engagement relationship, that maybe it was taking a toll on them. That maybe they would not survive through all the distance separating them. She had been avoiding thinking about it lately but she knew even if they tried it was not going to work out, that sooner or later they would have to call it off. 'Call what off?' She had asked herself, wondering how things were going to change. 'All of it' a tiny voice in her mind replied. The engagement, the relationship. Everything. That night she decided against comming Kai, instead, she confronted Iko speaking of her troubling thoughts aloud and from the dark blue, somewhat grey colours of her eyes, Cinder understood how truly sorry she was.

She sat in the arms of Iko, wanting to whine, yell and cry. However, the cruel fate left her with a throbbing sensation in her head and an itchy feeling in the throat. She wanted to see Kai, but she had not the heart to tell him the truth. She presumed he already knew what was troubling her- troubling them. She had not the courage to see the sorrow on his face, so she pretended that everything was fine even when it was not. She smiled and teased him at all the opportunities she could possibly get knowing very well that one day that they would have to stop. One day he would have someone else do that to him. Therefore the next time she had gone on Earth she had confessed it to him. He had listened patiently without a word and had calmly accepted it. The unforgettable silence that followed would haunt Cinder forever. She thought they had fooled themselves enough trying to make the impossible happen, justifying their actions as a result of love. In the end, he had sighed, tears reflecting in his copper-brown orbs and croaked, "I guess this is the end?" She had nodded failing to meet his eyes. "Sorry, Kai", she had uttered, feeling every ounce guilty and sorrowful. They had stood like that for a long time, feet shuffling- gazes never meeting each other until he was called. He did not shed a single tear before her. On her last night at the Palace, she felt a sort of Deja-Vu for all the things around her. Her thoughts roamed around only a single thing- 'After today, this place would no longer be home'. He had come to her room that night and once they had gotten over the awkward small talk of the breakup, he had launched at her and hugged her till her bones crushed. "I love you," he whimpered. "Don't forget it- don't forget it, Cinder. Even when you go to that fucking rock in the sky." And Cinder could feel something warm- not inside her but on her shoulders.

Kai's tears had been falling on her shoulders and she had chanted sorry all the time they stayed like that.

'What do you do to calm two heartbroken souls?'

He was in her arms hearing her speak, though her words were not soothing, they did not reduce his grief like they ought to. They were bitter truth of their future, their fate. They were apologies for what they had lost. Her words were not comforting. She was not going to tell him how they will be fine when she knew they would not. There was no point lying- telling him nicely painted lies of their future when their present was broken like that. She had no idea how but they fell asleep together, a mess of tumbled limbs on the carpet for the last time. And when the streaks of sunlight fell over their sleeping forms, it was not out of hope.

"It seems that it's over for the two royals, one of them the Queen of Luna and the other The Emperor of Eastern Commonwealth. Queen Selene, 26 and Emperor Kaito, 28 called off their relationship yesterday. Emperor Kaito in his latest press speech stated that "Myself and Queen Selene are no longer together- we have parted ways on good terms. However, we are no longer involved," when one of the reporters asked if there was any wedding to be expected soon. The Queen of Luna also addressed this in one of her official posts, saying "It's been great 10 years with Kai but we can no longer stay together," with a bittersweet smile. The two refuse to brief about this. It just seems like just yesterday they were THE happier and attractive couple dancing at the Annual Peace Ball and -well now they are not, we are sure their fans all around must be heartbroken but worry not you can catch up on their relationship through the years-" Two months later, they formally announced their break-up. They called off everything- all of it just like she had thought. The world did not know- they did not know how Kai had gone down on his knees and she had said yes before he could even ask. How she had pieces of her never- going to happen wedding vows drafted somewhere in her brain. It was only them, Torin, Iko and their friends who knew the disaster of grief they had unrolled in their life. He had refused to take the ring back, "Keep it to remember me by." He had insisted and she had not-so jokingly replied, "I don't need jewels to remember you by." Returning to Luna had been the harder task, She-They had cut off all ties except maybe friendship (?) but things were going to be different- they are different.

It felt hollow for months later, she drowned herself in work to forget about the messy-haired boy, to forget that there was no one waiting for her comms now, that she did not have someone to whisper 'I love you's too', to kiss him and be found by someone, no reason for Thorne to shout 'Get a room.'

She had for the first few days been hopeless- locking herself up, both metaphorically and literally only to realize that Kai had been an integral part of her daily schedule and world even from thousands of miles away. The breaks that she once looked forward too, taunted her of what she had lost- so she was hell-bent on working the day without breaks. She forced her mind to not stray around to the boy on Earth. The only moment she had let her guard down was when Thorne was visiting- because he was her BFF and wasn't he the one who teased her all along about Kai and his heavenly copper-brown eyes? Wasn't he going to be her rock where she had lost her anchor? At the sight of his friend's dark circles, thinner than the usual frame, Thorne and Cress had bear-hugged her and the only thing that she felt was it felt good to be embraced by someone other than Iko. 'I'm so sorry, Cinder', Thorne had said and she had croaked, "Don't be sorry." She had cracked that day.

"I DON'T WANT PITY THORNE, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR HOW PEOPLE THOUGHT WE WOULD GET MARRIED AND LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER. I DON'T WANT THE MEDIA TO TELL ME HOW WE LOOKED GOOD TOGETHER. I FUCKING HATE LUNARS TELLING ME THAT THEY HOPE I FEEL BETTER. AM I NOT IN THIS CONDITION BECAUSE THEY CHOOSE TO BE SELFISH? THORNE, I WANT TO CRY AND MY STUPID CYBERNETICS WOULD NOT EVEN ALLOW BE TO CRY FOR MY EX-FIANCEE." She might have been a bit tipsy to blow up like that but she was past caring. She had been pretending that everything was fine while she was falling apart inside. "What sort of cruel joke is this? Haven't I already endured enough? I don't want anyone's fucking apologies. I don't want that crap, I- I want K-Kai."

She yelled as her face echoed pain. "Do I not deserve love, Thorne?" She had demanded, looking very vulnerable. She never said a word after that. The next big blow came when she had attended the world leader summit. Thankfully, it was a virtual thing or she could not have gone through the entire ceremony without a mental breakdown. She had felt the air knock out of her lungs at the sight of Kai after six whole months. He looked paler than normal, his always messed up hair looked neatly fixed in place with layers of hair gel. And his ever blinding grin present at even stupid meetings like this was now merely his lips pressed together in a thin line.

How was Kai who was her joy in human form suddenly became the picture of grief? She wondered how she looked to him if even he was out of breath at the sight of her- realizing how she was drifting away from the main reason she was attending the summit, she forced herself to look at anywhere but him. That night she slept thinking about how she was not the only one suffering. "-The Emperor of EC starts a new journey in his life at 30. However, there are no wedding bells in the air as of now, making the world and the EC anticipate the future of their Emperor and their nation. At 30, the Emperor not committed to anyone nor having any living heir had caused multiple questions to be unanswered about the legacy after him. Hopefully, he will find his partner to secure their future until then we wish him a Very Happy Birthday!" Marriage. Wedding. Love. Hadn't it been what they had lost? She knew this was going to happen. Then why did she feel like drowning all over again? Why did her heart shatter yet again? He was no longer hers to worry about...Was he even part of her world anymore? She knew it very well that he was supposed to marry someone. He must marry someone and have an heir to the Commonwealth. Cinder was asked to do the very same thing. They were monarchs who had to keep their legacies alive. The next time she was invited for the Annual Peace Ball, Kai had cornered and said, "They want me to get married." "Tell me you are saying this because you want the ring back." She had jokingly said, swallowing the sadness and jealously that threatened to submerge her. Her mind asked if he would go down on his knees at the Ball just like he had done for Levana. But that was just her stupidity, misery and desperation mixed together. How was her tyrant aunt going to manage her marriage with Kai by living on Luna along with her sinister motives?! "Cinder" "Kai", she pleaded, underlying the please without saying it. She averted her eyes and nonchalantly asked," Have someone in mind?" "No", he replied without a beat, making her at ease but what he said next crushed her healing heart again. "But I have someone in my heart." She could not stand around him without wanting to kiss him senseless. Therefore, she said, "I wish you happiness, Kai." And tried to walk away until he questioned, "Do you?" "Hmm.." she replied, looking back at him. "Do you?" He repeated. "Wish you happiness? Yeah, Kai, I do- with all my heart." "I wish you were happiness!" Looking at his lean frame dressed in the colours of EC she dared to speak, "I wish that too." She had not returned after that episode but maybe she would have to. Soon. "The Emperor has been sighted with Chen Daiyu, daughter of Chen Zian, the Chief Commandant of Light Chariot, she is an activist working towards the liberation of perils faced by cyborgs in modern society, along with being a psychotherapist by service. It's not the first time that they have been seen together making people hope that it's not the last. There are rumours about their courting with no confirmation from any one of the two-It appears the Emperor has finally moved on from his last date with Queen Selene. Only time will tell if the Emperor has found his Empress or not." She could not blame anyone. They were just pressing time trying to avoid some inescapable future- yet why did her mind ask if he had learned Chen Daiyu's favourite flowers? or Did he hold her as he had held her once? Wondered if he explained to her why there was a cyborg's foot in his room? She was cursing goddamn every star because it was not just him but even she was looking into suitors!? She had gone on dates with a few, noticing how one of them grinned like Kai with a dimple on his left cheek, how someone scratched their necks when they were flustered or how some of them had a struggle keeping their hair in place- without wanting to she was searching for Kai everywhere in them. None of the two was married yet. It was okay to imagine about him for a while. It was okay for grief to overwhelm her. Maybe that's what she needed to

move on from her past.

Had they moved on? Had they stopped loving each other? 'NO!'- she shook her head violently to no one in particular.

She loved him even now. There will always be some part of her mind that will love him. Maybe it was treasuring their memories while making new ones. Two years later reading an article about them, she thought if maybe she had tried harder, would they be together? Alas, there was no point fantasizing when both time and distance had separated them? Could they start from where they had left? Or would they be two broken pieces no longer fitting?

"Sometimes love stays," The article read again. "But lover's don't." Maybe if distance, time and qualms of royalty were not preventing them then things could have been different, their lives could have been different. Perhaps in a life with different circumstances, they would have been together unlike this one- where they had briefly touched, in another life possibly their tale could have had a happy ending. Maybe if she was Cinder and not Queen Selene Channary Jannali Blackburn of Luna, and if he was just Kai and not Emperor Kaito of the Eastern Commonwealth then they would have made it till the end.

But they were not and that's what mattered. __

A/N: We are done! :)

I know you would likely want to hit me right now since I promised certain someone that there would be no angsty fics for at least a few months and yet HERE I AM!

I have kinda portrayed Iko in this really bad, so sorry about that! And you have no idea how much frustrated I was that Cinder could not cry, like crying is such a essential part of human behavior and having to describe her grief without tears was certainly a challenge. I hope I did her character well- You guys have no idea how much break-up articles I have read just to get the news articles right. I might as well do a course on journalism later ;)

Was that a bit too much angst? and yeah in this fic they are secretly engaged!

This was written for the TLC Ship Week, the word prompt for this one was 'In Another Life'. However, I had already planned it beforehand with no idea of how the ship-week was going to give me the perfect opportunity to post this. I know I'm cruel right?

This idea had been going a lot in my mind since I made @salt-warrior write her fic 'Anyone Else', and read the fic 'After' on AO3, along with 'Once' by @/betaluz. I just thought that maybe Cinder failed to get past the boundaries of royalty on Luna and converting it into a Republican, wondering if that happened what would happen to her relationship with Kai. Hence, this sudden angsty take.

Tell me which is your favorite part from this?

And don't worry I have more angst lined up for you! <3

Taglist: @cinderswrench @gingerale2017 @linhcinder686 @shellyseashell @ladyvesuvia @shelbylmkaider @levanariddle @cindersassasin @kaider-is-my-otp (Tell me if you wanna be added/removed)

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slythraco · 3 years

Note

Hello there can you please do a Tom Felton x reader imagine where they’ve been dating since they worked together on the Harry Potter movies and all of their old co stars are there and he proposes? Thank you so much

Author’s Note: aaaaaah my first request ! i’m so excited !!! ok calm down bro :’D I put my heart into it ! i hope you’ll like it ! Let me knooow (I excuse myself if there are some mistakes, English is not my mother tongue...don't hesitate to point it out to me so that I can improve !)

Warnings: Maybe one or two swears ? Otherwise it’s just major fluff

Details: The text parts in this resolution are flashbacks ! And Lucy is the name of your character in the Harry Potter movies

Word count: 3.6K

Masterlist

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"Babe ! I'm ready !" You shout from your bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror for the last time. Tonight was a big night, you and the entire cast of the Harry Potter saga reunite to celebrate the 19 years of the franchise.

Your head is spinning when you think back, 19 years old ! You were only 11 when you first appeared, you made amazing friends and you met you awesome boyfriend, Tom Felton, there too. You guys have been together for a while now but you’re still in love like the first seconds after admitting your feelings to each other.

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷

"Go !" Shout David to indicate you to start acting, what you had to do was easy, look around you, looking scared then see Draco in the other side of the hallway and then run to jump in his arms.

This is what you did, as soon as you catch Tom's gaze, you felt weak, you knew he was acting his role but you couldn’t help but find him way too much attractive with his messy grey hair and the fake dust on his face who could resist him ?

"Draco !" You screamed before running towards him as fast as you can, him meeting you halfway. You quickly warp your arms around his neck as he slips is owns around your waist. "I thought you were..." You said in a whisper like your script told you to do it. "I'm right here Lucy...don't worry" he gently rubs your back as if to reassure you, or at least reassure your character.

You slowly raise you head to look in his intense gaze, his gaze that suddenly disarms you. A strong urge to kiss him takes you by surprise, your eyes capsizing between his eyes and his lips. But you weren't supposed to do it, all you had to do was saying one last line before the scene ends.

You tried to fight back that urge, but you lost when your lips finally crashed on his. Surprisingly, he leans into it. You put all the love you had for Tom into it, for all these years you thought of the exact moment you'll have the power to kiss him.

Your embrace was passionate but not rough, it was delicate, as he put his hand on your cheek like he wanted to never let go of your lips, you realise that this kis isn't between Draco and Lucy but between Tom and Y/N.

After a few seconds, Your lips are finally unhooked, to your great misfortune. Tom places his forehead against yours while you are both out of breath.

"Cut !" Your director screamed, but you were still looking into each other eyes like nothing around matters. The hands of David in you arm brings you back to reality as Tom steps back. "You guys, what a surprise !" The director said, suddenly you realise what just happened, 'I'm dead' you thought to yourself. "David...I'm so sorry !"

David looks at you, confused. "Y/N what are you talking about ! It was amazing ! That kiss was...WOW ! It's perfect, we don't even need to do another take ! Good job Y/N !" And he leaves, like nothing happened. You then look at Tom, he looks as confused as you. You don't really know if he kissed you back for the scene or if he actually wanted to kiss you.

"Tom...I-" He cuts you before you can say anything else. "If you knew since when I waited for you to do this" You eyes widen when you hear his words. "W-what ?" You mumbled.

"You finqlly kissed him !" You heard a voice behind you, Emma was standing right behind the camera pulling her thumbs up at you, which made you both laugh. It was the beginning of a long adventure.

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷

Tom enters the bathroom, he can't help but smile when he sees you in your little red dress. It was a pretty basic one, but it suit your forms beautifully. You were putting your last coat of mascara while he stands behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist. "You look amazing my love" He whisper against the skin of your neck, making you shiver. He plant a kiss right behind your ear, making you heart skip a beat, he knows damn well all the weak spots on your body. "Tom..." you moan very slightly, bitting your lips as you look at the reflection in the mirror. God he looks so sexy in his 3 pieces suit. "Mmmh..?" He just said as a response. "We're gonna be late..." You complain.

"I'm sure they'll understand..." You giggle when you hear him, but you stop his kisses by turning to face him. "No ! There's no way I'll let you ruin my hair and makeup after I spent 3 hours making it !" You say authoritatively while looking him straight in the eye. He places his warm hands on your hips before sliding them slowly on your ass. "You'll look beautiful anyway Darling." He whispers before bending over to place his lips on yours, kissing them with delicacy but hunger at the same time.

You hands find their way to his neck, putting your body closer to his. Before you have the time to do anything, he grabs your thighs and lift you up to put you on the sink, letting a little cry of surprise coming out your mouth. He massages you thighs and hips, pushing his body between your legs. But he suddenly breaks the kiss. "Okay...let's go now before I can't stop myself." You giggle a little bit before jumping of the sink, you pull on your dress to put it back in place. You chuckle when you see that Tom has lipstick on his lips.

"Tom, come here" He turns to you and you wipe the lipstick on his lips with you tongue. "Remind me to not kiss you tonight." He said, a teasing smile on if face. "You're not gonna last 10 minutes without kissing me !" He looks at you, with a defiant look in his eyes. "Wanna bet ?"

"Okay, i bet a restaurant that you will kiss me before the end of the night !" At this point, Tom already knew he would lose but little did you know. "Deal !" You both laugh as you finally leave the bathroom and head to the front door of your house.

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"Okay love...you can open your eyes now !" Tom said, impatient for you to see your gift.

It was the anniversary of your second year as a couple, Tom wanted to mark the date. You slowly open your eyes and you face a little case wrapped in a gift wrap paper, you eyes widen for a second. "What is it ?" You asked, curiously. "Open it !" He said, excited. You gently rip the wrap paper and discover a little box made out of wood. Your eyes quickly met his before you open it. "Come on !" You giggle, his excitement is probably bigger then yours and it's really adorable to see. You finally open it, in it, a small key attached to a tag. "A key..? Mmmmh...It's the key to your heart because i stole it a while ago !" He laugh as he come close to you. "Read the tag darling..."

You as he says and pick the tag to read what it says. '21736 Dumetz Rd, Woodland Hills, CA 91364'. You place your hand on your mouth when you realise what it is. "Tom..." He looks at you with a proud smile, you can't help but jump into his arms and let a few tears drop on your cheeks. "How...how did you remembered ?"

Indeed, you talked to him about this house a few month ago, you only said that you liked it, in total innocence without imagining buying it for you. "I called the owner as soon as you talked to me about it, i was looking for a way to upgrade our relationship to another level. I-" He stops for a second, cupping your face in between his hands as you place your hands at his both sides. "I mean, you already spend most of your nights at my house so it won't change a lot but just the fact that..." he takes the key in his hand and slightly shake it in front of you. "This, I put your name on the contract, it's OUR house. And I can't wait to live the rest of my life with you in it."

Let's face it, you were crying like a baby, this man, 'he's going to be the death of me' you thought. You pull him to hug him, you hug him so tightly you wonder if you're asphyxiating him. "I love you so much Tom...you can't even imagine" He lays a gentle kiss on your forehead. "I love you too Y/N, more than anything." He said in a whisper. "I bought you a fucking t-shirt !" You said before slightly laughing. "And I'm sure I will love it !"

˚ ༘✶ ⋆｡˚ ⁀➷

"Be a good girl, Willow !" You said as you rubs the head of the black labrador. Tom smile as he opens the door. "Let's go !"

You turn around and finally leave the house, Tom takes your hand and you walk towards your car. "I can't wait to see everyone ! I've missed them to much !" You cheers, jumping around, all excited.

•••

After what felt like ages to you to get there, Tom finally knock on the door of the giant house of Emma. She was hosting the party for tonight. The door opens on Jason Isaacs, your fictional step-father. "Ah father !" Cheers Tom before lean into his arms, you follow the gest right after him. "Enter kids !" He said, you follow behind Tom who still had his hand in yours.

Suddenly you heard cheering at your right. "Heeeyyy ! The lovebirds are here !" Matthew screamed, making you laugh a little. You turn and see everyone, Emma, Rupert, Daniel, Bonnie, Matthew of course, Jason, Natalia, EVE-RY-ONE. A big family reunion.

Matthew quickly runs into us, each of us hugging each other quickly. "Hey Matthew, can I talk to you for a sec ?" Tom asked, you grinned a little, why does he wants to talk to him, in private ? Weird. Tom sees your interrogative gaze, He turns to put a kiss on your cheek and whisper something in your ear. "I won't be long I promise, go join the other I'll be right back" You nod your head, still a little suspicious. "I love you" he said before disappearing with Matthew in the garden.

You turn to the group, sitting in the living room, eating a bunch of amuse-bouche. You hug everyone, until you find Emma. "Here, this is for you" You hand her the bottle of wine you were holding since you arrived. "Oh thank you Y/N !" She kiss your cheek and invite you to open it in the kitchen. So you follow her.

"Soooo...how is it going with Tom ?" She asks curiously, of course she would ask you. She's always been supportive of your relationship with Tom, your number one fan. "Still amazing !" You blush a little. Emma pour the liquid in two fancy glasses while your looking at her. "Aaawww...you guys are just too cute." You roll your eyes at her remark.

Helen (McCrory) enter the kitchen and you smile at her. "Helen ! Want a glass ?" Emma asked. "With pleasure ! You were talking about Tom aren't you ?" You nod a 'yes' in response. "Tell me all about it !" Helen, queen of gossip, you giggle on the inside. "Well, I was telling Emma, that he makes me really happy and that I'm very lucky to have him in my life !" You bit your lips, looking around you, hoping to see Tom coming back. "Good...is he good in the sheets though ?" Helen asks like it was nothing. Leaving an Emma dead of laughing. "Helen !" You shout, in shook but you can't help but start laughing too.

"I'm joking darling don't worry ! For how long have you been dating ?" You take a deep breath, thinking about it. "Almost 10 years !" Helen's eyes widen when she heard you. "Wow ! It doesn't make me feel any younger ! I still remember your early days !" You giggle, It's true, a long time had passes but it's still like your first days.

Emma hands you the glass filled with wine, you take it before raising it to the air. "Cheers ?" "Cheers !" "Cheers !" We all said as our glasses collided.

•••

So far, the party is going good, you were now all sat in the dining-room, waiting to eat. It's been like an hour, and Tom hasn't came back yet. Which makes you kinda nervous 'where the hell is he ?' You tough to yourself. And just when you were about to go look for him, you feel a hand on your shoulder. "Hi love !" He said cheerfully. "Sorry for being that long, Matthew just broke up with his girlfriend I had to pick up the pieces." He sigh as he sat beside you. All of you worries disappeared, but quickly replace by worries for your friend. "Oh...this is sad...is he okay now ?"

Tom nods as he puts one of his hands on your thigh, caressing your skin with his thumb to reassure you. "Yes ! Don't worry !" You smiled and you finally get to enjoy the moment, your lover is finally here with you. Your boyfriend bite his lip while pushing a lock of hair behind you ear. "Hey...can we forgot that bet ? I really wanna kiss you right now" He whispered, you giggle a little bit, you knew he wouldn't win this one. "Do you really think I'll give up so easily ?" Tom sighs at you response. His back it the chair behind without stopping to look at you.

"Oh fuck it..." He quickly said before grabbing your head in his hands and crushing his lips on yours. You smile against them, you've been apart for an hour and you already missed him so much. "Hey, get a room you two !" A well known voice stops you. You turn your head and see Daniel giggling. "Jealous Potter ?" You shout at him, making Tom giggle. "Totally !" He said mockingly, you roll your eyes before putting your attention on your man again.

•••

You've just finished your meal, it was really good ! You really enjoyed it but something was off. Tom was off, he was less joyful, less goofy, in normal times he'll always be the one to make jokes, especially with his friends from the cast. So you couldn't help but being worried for your boyfriend.

You gently put your hand on his knee to have his intentions. "Yes, Darling ?" He asks innocently. You look in his beautiful eyes that still have this incredible effect on you. "Love are you okay ?" He tilts your head at your question and put his arms behind you on top of your chair. "Yes sweetheart, why that question ?" You loin at him sadly, what is he trying to hide from you ? You know more than you know yourself. "Tom..."

Your gaze make him understand he has to stop lying to you but he couldn't tell you the truth. "Alright, I'm just a little tired, but that's all, I promise." He leans to kiss your cheek has you sigh on relief. "Okay, we won't stay for too long then" You smiled at him. "But Y/N..." You cut him. "Shht ! Don't complain ! You need to rest." A tiny smile appear on Tom's face while he's looking at you, thinking on how on earth did he got so lucky to have you in his life.

And suddenly he tought to himself: 'What the hell am I waiting for ?' He quickly kisses your lips and thanked you. "I'm gonna get us some drinks, you want something ?" He asks as he gets up. "No thanks love !" You smiled and watched him leaving.

•••

A few minutes later, Jason enter the dining room. "Well, well, well, my dears ! Emma and I prepared a little surprise in the living-room, so if you could get you ass up and go there it would be really nice of you !" You laugh at the finesse in his words while you get up, followed by the other, again, Tom disappeared.

You sat on the gigantic couch, next to Bonnie and Evanna, you three discuss for a while before the big tv turns on. You frown slightly, the surprise begins but Tom is not there yet !

A bunch of photos and videos from the cast back on the set pops up on the screens, you laugh at some of them. It become quite emotional at some point, a video a baby you and baby Tom responding to question for an interview, reminding you off how far you've known each other.

Then the video comes to an end, Emma appears in front off the tv while everyone is cheering, including you.

"Sooo...before we end that little reunion, someone wants to say a few words." Emma looks straight into your eyes, your feel nervous all of sudden, 'was i supposed to say something' you tought. But Emma explains herself quickly. "Look at you right Y/N !"

You hesitate a little bit before turning your head, you see him standing there. He smiles before walking towards you and take your hand to make you get up. You frown slightly, 'what is going on ?' You thought.

"Y/N...My love...My darling, I-I don't even know where to start. When I met you, we were only kids but, we got along right away. I found in you a best-friend and 6 years later, I finally got the guts to tell you what I was really feeling for you."

You listen to him, drink his words, trying to keep your tears to yourself as he still holds your hand tightly.

"Since then, my life took another turn, I knew that whatever would happen to us I'd do everything I can to stay the reason why you're smiling ! I understood what love was thanks to you, it didn't took me long to realise I wouldn't survive a life without you. That's why..."

He lets go of your hand to dive his hand in the pocket of his suit, he gets out a little black box and you understand what's about to happen. You smile broadly, letting tears flow down your cheeks. Everyone was looking at you two but at this exact moment all you could see was him.

He bends down and puts one knee on the floor and opens the little box, revealing the magnificent ring in it.

"Y/N Y/L/N would you do me the honour of becoming my wife ?" He asks, looking directly at your eyes. You don't even need to think about it. "Yes ! Of course I want to be your wife !" You shout, a incredible smile appeared on his face while the others behind you starts to scream and applauding. Tom gets up, take the little ring and manage to slip in through your finger despite your both trembling hands. As soon as the ring is on your finger, you take Tom head in your hands and kiss him with all your love, his arms slips around your waist and he holds you as strong as possible before lifting you up.

All the others join you into a big hug, your feet rest ont the floor and you quit Tom's arms just the time to hold everyone in your arms. The other girls literally scream looking at your ring. "I'm so happy for you two !" Emma shout, holding you tightly against her.

•••

The end of the evening was coming, a lot of the guests were already gone now. You spent the rest of it, either cuddling with you fiancé, already fantisising on your wedding or showing your ring to the womens here who couldn't stop greeting you two.

But for now, you were about to leave, you took Emma into a hug one last time and finally followed Tom outside the house. "What an evening !" You said grabbing his hand.

Once you finally reach your house, you're greeted by Willow who was jumping everywhere. "Heeeyy ! Willow look at this !" You crouch down to show her your engagement ring as if she could understand what it is. Tom giggle behind you, he couldn't stop smiling, seeing you that excited and happy to be his fiancé made him the most happiest man alive.

You get up, and turn to him, a disappointed look on your face. "She doesn't care !" You have a sulky face as your arms go around Tom's neck, his naturally go around your waist to keep you close to him. "Too bad, we'll have to choose another bridesmaid !" He said jokingly before kissing your soft lips, you giggle a little against them as the kiss become heated.

He leaves you lips only to places other on you cheek, sliding to your jaw to finish on your neck. "What if we celebrate our first night as an engaged couple ?" He whisper against your skin. "I've been wanting to tear that dress off you since the first second I saw you in it." He says in the hollow of your ear, giving you shivers down your spine.

Your soft moan gives him the answer he needs, he pulls the zip of your dress and lifts you up in less then a second. He takes you to your dorm and with that, you spent your very first night as engaged.

••••••••••••

#tom felton x reader #tom felton fluff #tom felton #tom #tom felton imagine

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nesta-stan · 4 years

Text

Acosf Theory: Nesta being kidnapped by the Mortal Queens will be a major plot point.

We all already know that the queens are going to play a major role from the synopsis. I think that specifically it will be the youngest Queen who will act as Nesta's main antagonist. She is the perfect character to act as a foil for Nesta.

Lets start with the younger queen herself.

"And the youngest two queens … One was perhaps a few years older than me, black-haired and black-eyed, careful cunning oozing from every pore as she surveyed us.

"The youngest queen, the dark-haired one, smiled slightly. Arrogant youth"

Here we see a few similarities between Nesta and that Queen. She is arrogant, "Cunning", proud, and about the same age as Nesta. They were both made into things they didn't want to be. To the Queen, Nesta has everything she wanted; she got the youth the power, and the money.

“The youngest one—that pinched-faced bitch—went into the Cauldron first. Practically trampled the others to get in after it saw what it did to you and your sister.”

Stone screamed beneath twin sets of talons. “But the Cauldron … Oh, it knew that something had been taken from it. Not sentient, but … it knew. It was furious. And when that young queen went in …”

The Ravens laughed. Laughed as the slope leveled out and we found ourselves at the bottom of the library.

“Oh, it gave her immortality. It made her Fae. But since something had been taken from it … the Cauldron took what she valued most. Her youth.” They sniggered again. “A young woman went in … but a withered crone came out.”

And from the catacombs of my memory, Elain’s voice sounded: I saw young hands

wither with age.

“The other queens won’t go into the Cauldron for terror of the same happening now. And the youngest one … Oh, you should hear how she talks, Nesta Archeron. The things she wants to do to you when Hybern is done …”

The Queen is angry at Nesta and Nesta is angry at the Queens. I'm going to be honest, when it comes to SJM's main villains like the king of hybern they seem to be one dimensional but this Queen's circumstances can be what forces Nesta to look further at her own. This Queen is what Nesta might have been. She might even be a deciding factor on who Nesta chooses to become.

Why this would make Nesta going to the Illyrian mountains make more sense

"She wasn’t stupid—she knew there had been unrest, both in Prythian and on the continent, since the war had ended. Knew some Fae territories were pushing their new limits on what they could get away with in terms of territory claims and how they treated humans."

These are Nesta's thoughts before going to see her sister in the sneak peak. I, and a lot of others, have never been able to wrap our heads around how the Illyrian mountains could ever be a good place for Nesta. Yes, a lot of people use the excuse "it's for her healing" but there is never any reasoning behind why illyria?

The mortal Queens know about Velaris. If Feyre and the inner circle have caught on to a plan to kidnap Nesta, than it makes sense that they would try to hide her away somewhere safe. Especially since she is basically helpless on her own. Cassian is the only character, besides Feyre, that cares about Nesta's well being and Illyria is filled with soldiers ready to fight at a moment's notice, while Velaris isn't. It is also where she can train. This threat has probably made Feyre realize how defenseless her sister is and to give her a fighting chance, she forces Nesta to train.

Now, let's talk about the "Ally" the synopsis mentioned. I think it's the Illyrians. That's how she still ends up captured. They betray Cassian and offer his mate to the mortal Queens. Though we all refer to this as Nesta's book, it's Cassian’s too. The Illyrians are closest to his heart. So it makes sense that they are included in his Arc. He has long been bad mouthed and treated as lowly for his status but he never stopped loving his people. Instead he internalized it, but what happens when the woman of his affections suffers because of that hatred? It would be the perfect tool to force Cassian to self-reflect on who he is and what he stands for. Can he choose between his people and his love?

This ties in with the snow queen theory

I actually first thought of this when reevaluating the theory that the story that will work as an inspiration for this book is the Snow Queen by Hans Christian Anderson. There are three versions of that story that all could potentially tie into to Acofas. The original, Frozen, and the 2002 movie remake.

Frozen because it is the tale of two sisters coming together after years of estrangement. (Feyre and Nesta obviously).

I put the 2002 version in their because in that version of the story has "Lady's" portraying and ruling over each season. Their is a spring witch, summer princess (cresseida) , Autumn thief, and then the snow queen(Vivian?). Meaning more characters might play more roles in this story. I did see alot of wanting Nesta to travel to the other courts.

Now for the original, which probably looks like it has the most connection to Acosf. The story is short and easy to find online. In short, it's about a girl Named Gerda who goes on a quest to find Kay, her childhood friend. A magic mirror created by the devil , that I'm not going into detail much but it's basically the Ouroboros, is shattered and falls into the eyes and heart of young Kay. (Snow Queen also speculated to have a shard in her heart) This makes him cruel to his sister like friend over the next year till he is kidnapped by the snow queen.

This story ties in for multiple reasons. I think hear the mirror is replaced by the Cauldron. Both the Mortal Queen and Nesta were made and neither or happy about it. This being the "glass shard that froze their hearts." And the Mortal Queen being the Snow Queen who kidnapped Kay, or Nesta. Also, Kay is cruel to Gerda for a year before he is taken and it's been a year since the war.

Now let's look at this Quote.

“Little Kay was quite blue, yes nearly black with cold; but he did not observe it, for she had kissed away all feeling of cold from his body, and his heart was a lump of ice. He was dragging along some pointed flat pieces of ice, which he laid together in all possible ways, for he wanted to make something with them; just as we have little flat pieces of wood to make geometrical figures with, called the Chinese Puzzle. Kay made all sorts of figures, the most complicated, for it was an ice-puzzle for the understanding. In his eyes the figures were extraordinarily beautiful, and of the utmost importance; for the bit of glass which was in his eye caused this. He found whole figures which represented a written word; but he never could manage to represent just the word he wanted—that word was “eternity”; and the Snow Queen had said, “If you can discover that figure, you shall be your own master, and I will make you a present of the whole world and a pair of new skates.” But he could not find it out.”

I always interpreted that if this was going to inspire something in Acotar it would be Metaphorical. That the injuries Kay suffers would be how Nesta let herself fall apart and the puzzle that he needed to spell eternity for could be how Nesta still doesn't know what to do with her immortal life.

But what if it's literally? What if the Queen captures Nesta and tries to use her powers to fix her. The Queen was also granted immortality. What if Kay figuring out how to spell eternity is Nesta figuring out how to fix the young Queen. And the injuries are of being black and blue are from the queens torchering her?

Sjm's habits.

Sjm always has a habit of making her characters go through even deeper shit, once they finally healed. It would make sense that she would throw us another curve ball like this. She did something similar with Aelin in Koa, and she has reused some points before. Like Aedion and Lysandra taking Nessian's "till the next life".

Also, alot of people don't like Nesta and having even worse charecters be introduced to make the others look better is so in Sjm style. Just in the way that Tamlin and Eris make Rhysand look like a Saint, having the mortal Queen be the "bad" version of Nesta would help people see her in a better light.

I tried to look at this in the way of, What will make these Charecters question themselves and their motives the most. This was my conclusion.

This is just what I came up with, if you have any differing thoughts or ideas I would love to hear them.

@heylittlemissy @sjm-things

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dweemeister · 3 years

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The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

In these days of social isolation, domestic distractions, and pandemic, rare is the feature film that I watch at home in one sitting. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp might have confused me in its opening half-hour but, in the end, commanded my attention for all of its one hundred and sixty-three minutes*. It is a film made during a time of crisis now fading from living memory, from British filmmakers reveling in their work’s Britishness. During Colonel Blimp’s wartime production and release, Britain was under existential threat from the Nazis, despite the opening of the North African front and apparent British victory in defending its airspace. A gentleman's war this was not, if ever such a thing existed. British cinema reflected those beliefs of the nation staring down its own annihilation, as the industry set to work on patriotic, if not propagandistic, movies.

There is no denying that Powell and Pressburger’s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp has elements of propaganda. The film, so resistant to any categorizations by genre (including comedy, drama, epic, romance, war), has no qualms that Britain is fighting a just war against Nazi Germany. But there are moments that must have given British Prime Minister Winston Churchill – who attempted to halt Colonel Blimp’s production and distribution – pause. Powell and Pressburger raise questions towards the justifications and necessity of past British wars, the idea of warfare as a noble exercise, and introduces a “good German” character. Colonel Blimp’s genre-bending and provocative queries into Britain’s militant soul represents the most breathtaking balancing act in any of Powell and Pressburger’s movies.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp takes place over three time periods, each in a different setting:

Boer War (the common name for what is technically the Second Boer War): 1902 in Berlin, far from the violence in southern Africa

World War I and between the World Wars: from November 1918-1935 between the Western Front and postbellum Britain

World War II: from 1939 through the Battle of Britain (1940), mostly in the London area

The film begins near its chronological conclusion, when the rotund, mustachioed, Major-General Clive Wynne-Candy (Roger Livesey; whose role is modeled off of the “Colonel Blimp” comic strip character’s appearance and mannerisms) is surprised to be “captured” by Lieutenant Spud Wilson (James McKechnie) during a premature training exercise. Candy, who is trying to enjoy his afternoon at his favorite Turkish bath, is outraged at Wilson’s disregard to the exercise’s rules, and fisticuffs break out. From here, Colonel Blimp flashes back to Candy’s service in the Boer War and sticks to a strict chronology. Then-Lt. Candy is in Berlin, on leave from his service in the Boer War. There, he has a series of misadventures (and a love triangle) involving Edith Hunter (Deborah Kerr in one of three separate roles she plays) and an officer from the Imperial German Army named Theo Krestchmar-Schuldorff (Anton Walbrook). All three become friends while in Berlin; Theo and Edith become engaged shortly before Candy must leave Berlin.

We never see Edith (who stays in Germany with Theo) again in Colonel Blimp, but Theo – even though his time with Candy was relatively brief – remains friends with Candy. That friendship, however, conflicts against and interweaves into his German patriotism. Theo’s patriotism is not unconditional: he believes fervently in the aims of Imperial Germany in World War I’s immediate aftermath, but flees Hitler’s Nazi regime for soil his wife once called home. Taking account of all English-language cinema, he becomes a rare “good German”. In a person that a xenophobic British person might consider the enemy, we see a man heartbroken for the fate that befalls his native country and the violence waged against his adopted one.

Take the cruelly ironic scene of Theo visiting Candy after being released from a prisoner of war (POW) camp, as he ingratiates himself with Candy’s British dinner guests. Candy’s friends remark that British hospitality and organization must have eased the lives of the POWs, and the insinuate that British-German tensions shall soon wane. Germany will soon recover from the war, the dinner guests maintain. Notice Anton Walbrook’s physical acting here, acting as a man too polite to belabor his fellow guests with his sadness for his country and the anger of their presumptuous predictions. The Austrian actor, perhaps best known as Boris Lermontov from The Red Shoes (1948), provides a stupendous performance, most likely the widest-ranging one of his career. He inhabits his character’s contradictions of all three eras: the martial rigidity and playfulness of his Boer War-era youth, the defiance and disappointment following the Great War, and the sadness and pent-up fury of his elderly years. This is quite demanding for any actor, let alone someone who is nominally in a supporting role. Yet, a particular interview scene might represent the best piece of acting in any Powell and Pressburger picture. Walbrook performs spectacularly, with never a wasted motion or a dull moment from him.

Personal change comes much more slowly to Lieutenant-later-General Candy. This is as much for the purposes of the film’s chronological drama as it is a product of World War II-era remembrance. At this time in British filmmaking, one could not make narrative art deemed too critical of Britain’s bloody past – whether colonial or against its European rivals. For a film that engages so vigorously in a discourse concerning jus in bello, it portrays zero wartime violence. Meditations of war arrive solely in conversation, never action. In Candy’s indefatigable Britishness, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp affirms his views that the Boer War and World War I were and are just conflicts, fought justly. He does not thirst for violence, nor does he dismiss the traumas war brings to combatants and civilians alike (he may downplay those traumas, though). Candy’s flawed introspection and stubbornness are endearing, at first. As time progresses, those qualities come ever into conflict with the changing nature of warfare and the contexts of the war currently waged. Britain is and will always be above committing war atrocities, Candy believes (you can roll your eyes; it is the least you should do after reading those last few words), and Nazi Germany’s tactics will never succeed in the face of Britain’s upstanding military. Such thinking was outdated even then, and only through his friendship with Theo does he consider how wrong he is.

Roger Livesey might not have been Powell and Pressburger’s first choice as Candy (that would be Laurence Olivier, who probably would have made Candy a more sophisticated character), but he embodies a contradictory gruffness and gentleness that weaves between military and civilian life. Those qualities are on full display when Livesey captures the attention of Deborah Kerr’s characters. In addition to Walbrook’s turn as Theo, Livesey and Kerr offer wonderful performances that cement the film’s Britishness. Through the three eras covered in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Candy’s relationship with these women evolves as he ages, as the nature of the Britain’s conflicts make romance unwise. Kerr’s three characters might have different life interests, romantic inclinations, and temperaments, but their similar appearances – no coincidence, as the viewer later learns – anchor Candy to a perpetual past.

The striking Technicolor photography from Georges Périnal (1930’s Under the Roofs of Paris, 1948’s The Fallen Idol) with assistance from Jack Cardiff (1947’s Black Narcissus, 1951’s The African Queen) and production design from Alfred Junge (Black Narcissus, 1953’s Knights of the Round Table) makes The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp one of the most arresting Technicolor productions ever. The vibrancy of the colors leap from the screen – even the gray interiors of modern buildings and the browns of the World War I trenches and wooden panels of Candy’s estate. One crane shot of Candy and Theo during their first encounter – a swordsmen’s duel inside a cavernous hall, away from the freezing storm outdoors – and the fade into the shot of a building model gives the film the feel of an oral history where the most dynamic moments can never be truly captured. Those moments of action blur into Candy’s memory, as tangible now as the buildings inside a snow globe. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp might not have the dedication to visual leitmotif as The Red Shoes does, but its visual interest outstrips all but the most masterful Technicolor pictures of the 1940s.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was cognizant of the buffoonish Colonel Blimp and, in addition to Lieutenant-later-General Candy, believed the characters were modeled after his appearance and behavior. Furthermore, considering how Powell and Pressburger imbued Theo with such humanity, Churchill – who had only read of the filmmakers’ preliminary plans for their film and never saw any footage – believed that The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp would only undermine morale for the war effort. In response, Churchill directed his Minister of War, Sam James Grigg, to suppress the picture to the extent that he could. Grigg denied Powell and Pressburger access to matériel, but the filmmakers had friends in the correct places to procure military uniforms, vehicles, and weapons necessary for their production. Despite Powell and Pressburger’s resourcefulness, Churchill succeeded in preventing the international distribution The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp for at least one year after its 1943 release. The film’s American debut would not occur until March 1945. For the American release, the film lost thirteen minutes of its 163-minute runtime; television screenings further reduced the work to ninety minutes up until the mid-1980s.

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp might not seem like accessible viewing. This is a tale of an aging British military officer clinging to the ideals of his militaristic youth, long after when such ideals had purpose, let alone meaning to the young people of his present. It is rooted deeply into early twentieth century British culture, with an opening that might only serve to confuse a new viewer as it transitions to flashbacks. However, like any Powell and Pressburger film (and this might not even be the duo’s best work), there is much to offer. This is a love story, with love shown in various forms: for the first true love of Candy’s life, for the man who should be his enemy, for country. The genre gymnastics on display – a war film with nary any war violence; a romance without torrents of romance; a comedy without boisterous belly laughs – allow any caring viewer to witness General Candy grow into his times, all while retaining traces of a self that no longer is. That growth is subtle, but enveloping. His story feels like the origins of present-day Britain, its empire slipping away, wresting with a world no longer bowing in deference. As we must guard against the unexamined life, so too, Candy realizes, must he.

My rating: 10/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp is the one hundred and sixty-fifth feature-length or short film I have rated a ten on imdb. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog (as of July 1, 2020, tumblr is not permitting certain posts with links to appear on tag pages, so I cannot provide the URL).

*The longest film I have seen in one interrupted sitting at home was Lawrence of Arabia (1962), in all its 227-minute glory.

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

#The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp #Powell and Pressburger #Michael Powell #Emeric Pressburger #Roger Livesey #Deborah Kerr #Anton Walbrook #Ursula Jeans #James McKechnie #Georges Perinal #John Seabourne Sr.#Jack Cardiff #TCM #My Movie Odyssey

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triniteis · 2 years

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CHARACTER SHEET.

repost, don’t reblog.

BASICS.

FULL NAME: claudia seraphina white. NICKNAME(S): trinity, trin, clauds, the woman in black. GENDER: transgender female, she/they pronouns. AGE: verse dependent. 28 in main verse. ZODIAC: virgo sun, libra moon, scorpio ascendant. SPOKEN LANGUAGE(S): english ( native ), french + louisiana french, spanish, german, mandarin, russian. knows pieces of most other languages.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

HAIR COLOUR: black. EYE COLOUR: blue. SKIN TONE: fair. BODY TYPE: endomorph, slender frame, broad shoulders. HEIGHT: 5′8 ( 174 centimetres ) VOICE: general american accent with occasional hints of lower louisiana, lower than average pitch. DOMINANT HAND: left, but has trained to be ambidextrous. POSTURE: often stiff, hands held behind back, chin held high. SCARS: none inside of the matrix. outside, a few small burn marks on her hands and one across her stomach where she was struck with sharpnel shortly after being unplugged. TATTOOS: one, a triangle between her shoulder blades. BIRTHMARKS: none .

CHILDHOOD.

PLACE OF BIRTH: new orleans, louisiana, united states of america. SIBLING(S): none. PARENTS: harrison ‘harry’ white ( father. ) anne-marie white neé beaumont ( mother. )

ADULT LIFE.

OCCUPATION: verse dependent. primarily the second in command of the nebuchadnezzer. secondary, investigative journalist and hacker. CLOSE FRIENDS: morpheus and the nebuchadnezzer crew. RELATIONSHIP STATUS: verse dependent. main, in a relationship with neo. FINANCIAL STATUS: traditionally from a wealthy background but sitting on the poverty line after leaving home. now money doesn’t typically affect her. DRIVER’S LICENSE: has a full motorcycle license. CRIMINAL RECORD: extensive — charged with pretty much every major breach of computer law and offenses under the espionage act.

SEX AND ROMANCE.

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: biromantic. SEXUAL ORIENTATION: bisexual. PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE: likes being cared for, but ultimately doesn’t have a preference. she responds to her partner’s needs. PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE: dominant. LIBIDO: fluctuates but generally lower than average. TURN-ONS: smokers, people with tattoos (especially arms and chest), stomach kisses, dirty talk. TURN-OFFS: any kind of bondage, chasers, purposefully being a fuckwit. LOVE LANGUAGE: physical touch, acts of service. RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES: small gestures, unconscious touch, lowering her guard significantly.

MISCELLANEOUS.

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG: their law, the prodigy. brand new city, mitski. HOBBIES TO PASS TIME: keeping either her mind or body occupied. completing repairs on her gear or the ship, occasionally training in the construct. MENTAL ILLNESS(ES): ptsd, insomnia. LEFT OR RIGHT-BRAINED: left. PHOBIA(S): insects. SELF-CONFIDENCE LEVEL: generally carries herself with a lot of confidence, however very little reflects internally. her confidence comes across more as disinterest or stoicism.

tagged by: @ironmaidan mwah! tagging: @axeattitude @mxtrices @fedyazavr @dyavovich and anyone else who hasn’t done this yet but wants to!

#// 𝙾𝙿𝙴𝙽 𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙴: study.#tag games tbt.#blows her a million kisses 💚💚

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letterboxd · 3 years

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In Focus: The Truman Show.

Inspired by Letterboxd data that revealed it to be a lockdown favorite, editor-at-large Dominic Corry looks at the ever-evolving importance of contemporary masterpiece The Truman Show.

It has long been apparent that The Truman Show is an unnervingly prescient film. The story of a man who becomes aware that his superficially idyllic life is, in fact, a live-streamed television show has gone from being high-concept to every-day.

Thanks to the three Ps—the prevalence of mass urban surveillance, the proliferation of reality television and the pervasiveness of video in social media—the notion of cameras filming our every move is no longer a paranoid fantasy, but real life. The twist being that, for the most part, we all willingly signed up for it, and did all the filming ourselves. As Yi Jian saliently observes in his review: “Not to get all ‘we live in a society’ on Letterboxd but I know a person or two in real life that would actually give anything to trade lives with Truman, it do be like that sometimes”. It indeed do, Yi Jian.

So it’s something of a cliché at this stage to point out how we are all living in some version of the The Truman Show, and you don’t have to be a member of the royal family to feel that way. Yet, somehow, the film has become even more pertinent over the last eighteen months. And it’s a pertinence reflected in the massive uptick in viewership for the film as seen in Letterboxd activity.

During the month of February 2020, the last moment of the Before Times, The Truman Show had a modest 1,235 diary entries. That number tripled in April of that year, by which time the seriousness of the pandemic had become clear. And by July, deep in the worst of the pandemic, Truman fervor peaked, with a further 178 percent leap over April’s numbers, firmly placing it in the top 200 films watched by our members in a year of lockdown. (By the way, ‘diary entries’ mean activity where the member has added a watched date; many thousands more also marked Truman as ‘watched’ in those dark months, but didn’t specify a date.)

It’s not difficult to imagine why we might become more interested in revisiting this eminently re-visitable film. During lockdown, social media—including Letterboxd—took on a greater presence in terms of how we communicated with each other. We got used to seeing footage of faces more than actual faces. We were all the stars of our own ‘Truman Show’, and simultaneously the audience of everyone else’s ‘Truman Show’.

Christian Torres boiled it down effectively when he wrote: “Now every movie I see seems to be related to my life in quarantine. I am Truman and I want to escape.” And Sonya Sandra eloquently captured the film’s increased contemporary significance in her review: “This is a real-life daylight horror film. The best kind. Even more relevant in 2021 than ever. We are all Truman, we all want to find what is real in our fake lives filled with media, capitalism and ideology. And it’s our job to fight the storm and get to the truth of it all. Nothing is real, everything is for profit, and everyone is selfish. Go out and find what is real, because it’s definitely not here.”

With its deft, dazzling blending of the profound and the humorous, the optimistic and the cynical, it’s difficult to think of anything released since The Truman Show that comes as close as it does to being a modern-day Frank Capra movie. It’s hopeful, but has its eyes wide open. There’s a darkness in the themes of the film that is never replicated in the colors on display.

While everyone involved delivers career-best work, we must principally credit the triumvirate of talent at the center of the film: director Peter Weir, screenwriter Andrew Niccol and star Jim Carrey.

Star Jim Carrey and director Peter Weir on the set of ‘The Truman Show’ (1998).

Weir is a director who inspires much online love whenever his name is mentioned, but he isn’t really mentioned all that often. Or at least as often as he should be. The Australian filmmaker has delivered masterpieces across multiple genres, and it’s extremely sad that he hasn’t directed a movie since 2010’s not-quite-true World War II drama The Way Back, arguably one of his lesser works. That’s also, insanely, one of only two movies he’s made since Truman, the other being Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the wide and rabid affection for which regularly kicks up on Twitter (not to mention demand for a sequel).

Weir doesn’t do many interviews, and while this 2018 Vanity Fair article marking Truman’s twentieth anniversary has many quotes about the film’s modern relevance, Weir doesn’t offer any commentary to that effect, presumably preferring to let the work speak for itself—though in this 1998 interview he did talk about the relationship between the media, the general public and the people we become fascinated with, as a “complex situation”.

The Vanity Fair article does, however, reveal a fascinating ‘what if’ scenario relating to Christof, the god-like director of the in-movie TV show played by Ed Harris, who offers up a pile of pretentious auteur clichés: mononymous, beret, etc. (beyond the whole god thing, that is). When Dennis Hopper, originally cast in the role, wasn’t working out, Weir considered playing the role himself, which would’ve added yet another meta layer. It brings to mind how George Miller styled Immortan Joe (played by Hugh Keays-Byrne) after himself in Mad Max: Fury Road, or how Christopher Nolan’s haircut shows up in most of his films.

Ed Harris as Christof in ‘The Truman Show’ (1998).

And, at one point, it could have gone mega-meta. Weir, in the 1998 interview, talked about a “crazy idea” he had, a technical impossibility back then but easily achievable with live-streaming now. “I would have loved to have had a video camera installed in every theater the film was to be seen [in]. At one point, the projectionist would … cut to the viewers in the cinema and then back to the movie. But I thought it was best to leave that idea untested.” Imagine.

Weir also played a role in helping to shape the originally much more overtly dark screenplay into the cheerier (on the surface at least) shooting script, which is solely credited to fellow antipodean, New Zealand-born Niccol, also a producer on the film. Both men have done the majority of their work in America, but it’s tempting to credit the film’s tone-perfect sense of heightened Americana to the degree of separation offered by their foreign provenance. In any case, it’s clear that open-air mall designers were paying attention.

Niccol’s original screenplay made his name in Hollywood, and revealed a storyteller excited by big ideas. He moved into directing with the smaller-scale Gattaca, released a year prior to Truman (itself delayed to meet Carrey’s availability). Niccol’s subsequent filmography includes several legit bangers (Lord of War hive step up!), and his endearing dedication to lofty allegories in a genre setting makes him an increasingly rare breed in Hollywood.

Like Weir, he is not the greatest fan of giving interviews, but the Vanity Fair piece quotes him making an interesting point: “When you know there is a camera, there is no reality,” thereby making Truman “the only genuine reality star.”

It’s a sentiment echoed by MusicMoviesMe, who writes that “‘Truman Show’ beats all other reality shows out there like Bachelors, Survivors and Kardashians. Come on, when you know there’s a camera at your tail, there’s no reality. So yes, Truman beats all reality shows out there bar none!”

The role was perfectly suited to Jim Carrey’s affected mannerisms, and his status as one of the world’s biggest stars meant he could relate to Truman more than most people. Then, at least. Nowadays, of course, we are all Truman.

“It is always incredible to see how far The Truman Show was ahead of [its] time,” observes The Closer79. “In a world where celebs are monitored 24/7 and we are showered with unnecessary private information on the web, where talent-free wannabes become famous and where you sometimes [wonder] what kind of surreal show society you are in—Truman and his fake show life cleverly have anticipated all of this. Only Truman knew nothing of his luck and he was granted an escape from his glass prison. We don’t really have this possibility… Aren’t we all Truman? Sometimes even voluntarily…”

Austin Burke concurs: “I have always known that I really enjoyed this film, but I had no clue that it would hold up so well years later… Could this be because the strange world that he finds himself in is far more similar to our world today? Possibly, but the idea and themes are so much more relevant now compared to when this originally released.” And while DallasFrance is conscious of piling on about the film’s prescience, his review highlights how there really is no limit to the film’s meta qualities:

“Instead of writing a review about how this film predicted social media, or how we’re all Truman, or yadda yadda yadda, I’ll instead fixate on the miraculous fact that two absolute legends were cast as primary viewers of the Truman Show:

1. The old lady from The Running Man who starts betting on Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger). ‘He’s one bad motherf*cker!’

2. The villain from The Karate Kid Part II:

‘Live or die, man?!’ ‘Die!’ ‘Wrong!’ *hooooonnnkkk*

I’ve never seen either of these actors in any other roles. With the second one, I felt like I was watching a character from my childhood watch a character from his childhood come to realizations about the characters in his childhood. So actually… the movie’s really about me.”

Never change, LB membership.

We are all generally pretty aware of how ahead of its time The Truman Show was, but that doesn’t lessen its impact. Maddie’s review shows that there’s always some new angle to consider: “Imagine being an extra in this movie… You would be an extra, playing an actor, playing an extra. Think about that long enough and tell me that doesn’t make you want to walk into the ocean.”

Kev goes even further: “Watching other people watch somebody else while also watching that person while also watching the person watching over that person is a great reminder that watching is weird, and to be watched is to not own yourself. Don’t watch, don’t try to be watched. Just live.”

Or perhaps Will encapsulates the film’s ability to present an ever-evolving message best, writing that, “clearly, this is video proof that we live in a simulation.” Beyond mere prescience, The Truman Show is a telling mirror to whatever era it is viewed in. Its message will continue to evolve.

Now that we’re finally (touch wood) emerging from the pandemic, it will be fascinating to see what The Truman Show has to say about its audience and the world they live in, in years to come. Rest assured, it will be well-documented by you, the Letterboxd audience.

Also: can Peter Weir please make another movie? Like, seriously.

Related content

A Meta-Reality: Robert’s list of layers of film in life and life in film

Follow Dom on Letterboxd

#the truman show #truman #peter weir #jim carrey #andrew niccol #letterboxd #lockdown #quarantine #coronavirus #pandemic #movies #comfort films #comedy #truman show

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noosphe-re · 4 years

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‘The Future of the Future’ by JG Ballard

One of the most surprising but barely noticed events of the period since the Second World War has been the life and death of the space age. Almost twenty years ago to the day, 4 October 1957, I switched on the BBC news and heard for the first time the radio call-sign of Sputnik I as it circled the earth above our heads. Its urgent tocsin seemed to warn us of the arrival of a new epoch. As a novice science fiction writer, I listened to this harbinger of the space age with strong misgivings — already I was certain, though without the slightest evidence, that the future of science fiction, and for that matter of popular consciousness in general, lay not in outer space but in what I had already christened `inner space', in a world increasingly about to be remade by the mind.

None the less, I fully expected that the impact of the space age would be immediate and all-pervasive — from fashion to industrial design, from the architecture of airports and department stores to the ways in which we furnished our homes. I took for granted that the spin-off of the US and Russian space programmes would transfotm everything in our lives and produce an extrovert society as restlessly curious about the external world as Renaissance Europe.

In fact, nothing remotely like this occurred. Public interest in the space flights of the 1960s was rarely more than lukewarm (think, by contrast, of our powerful emotional involvement with the death of President Kennedy and the Vietnam war), and the effects on everyday life have been virtually nil. How many of us could name, apart from Armstrong himself, a single one of the men who have walked on the Moon, an extraordinary achievement that should have left a profound trace upon the collective psyche? Yet most of us could rattle off without a moment's thought the names of lone transatlantic sailors — Chichester, Chay Blyth, Tabarly, Clare Francis ... Looking back, we can see that far from extending for ever into the future, the space age lasted for scarcely fifteen years: from Sputnik I and Gagarin's first flight in 1961, to the last Skylab mission in 1974 — and the first splashdown, significantly, not to be shown on television. After a casual glance at the sky, people turned around and went indoors. Even the test flights taking place at present of the space shuttle Enterprise — named, sadly, after the spaceship in Star Trek — seem little more than a limp by-product of a television fantasy, More and more, the space programmes have become the last great period piece of the twentieth century, as magnificent but as out of date as the tea-clipper and the steam locomotive.

During the past fifteen years the strongest currents in our lives have been flowing in the opposite direction altogether, carrying us ever deeper into the exploration not of outer but of inner space. This investigation of every conceivable byway of sensation and imagination has shown itself in a multitude of guises — in mysticism and meditation, encounter groups and fringe religions, in the use of drugs and biofeedback devices — all of which attempt to project the interior realm of the psyche on to the humdrum world of everyday reality and externalize the limitless possibilities of the dream. So far, though, the techniques available have tended to be extremely dangerous (drugs such as LSD and heroin), physically uncomfortable (the contortions of classical yoga), or mentally exhausting (the psychological assault course of the suburban encounter group, with its staged confrontations and tantrums, its general hyperventilation of the emotions).

Meanwhile, far more sophisticated devices have begun to appear on the scene, above all, video systems and micro-computers adapted for domestic use. Together these will achieve what I take to be the apotheosis of all the fantasies of late twentieth-century man — the transformation of reality into a TV studio, in which we can simultaneously play out the roles of audience, producer and star.

In the dream house of the year 2000, Mrs Tomorrow will find herself living happily inside her own head. Walls, floors and ceilings will be huge, unbroken screens on which will be projected a continuous sound and visual display of her pulse and respiration, her brain-waves and blood pressure. The delicate quicksilver loom of her nervous system as she sits at her dressing table, the sudden flush of adrenaline as the telephone rings, the warm arterial tides of emotion as she arranges lunch with her lover, all these will surround her with a continuous light show. Every aspect of her home will literally reflect her character and personality, a visible image of her inner self to be overlaid and enhanced by those of her husband and children, relatives and friends. A marital tiff will resemble the percussive climax of The Rite of Spring, while a dinner party (with each of the guests wired into the circuitry) will be embellished by a series of frescoes as richly filled with character and incident as a gallery of Veroncses. By contrast, an off day will box her into a labyrinth of Francis Bacons, a premonition of spring surround her with the landscapes of Constable, an amorous daydream transform the walls of her bathroom into a seraglio worthy of Ingres.

All this, of course, will be more electronic wallpaper, the background to the main programme in which each of us will be both star and suppotting player. Every one of our actions during the day, across the entire spectrum of domestic life, will be instantly recorded on video-tape. In the evening we will sit back to scan the rushes, selected by a computer trained to pick out only our best profiles, our wittiest dialogue, our most affecting expressions filmed through the kindest filters, and then stitch these together into a heightened re-enactment of the day. Regardless of our place in the family pecking order, each of us within the privacy of our own rooms will be the star in a continually unfolding domestic saga, with parents, husbands, wives and children demoted to an appropriate supporting role.

Free now to experiment with the dramatic possibilities of our lives, we will naturally conduct our relationships and modify our behaviour towards each other with more than half an eye to their place in the evening's programme. When we visit our friends we will be immediately co-opted into a half-familiar play whose plot-lines may well elude us. Even within our own marriages we will frequently find ourselves assigned roles which we will act out with no rehearsal time and only the scantiest idea of the script — on reflection, not an unfamiliar situation. So these programmes will tirelessly unfold; a personalized Crossroads or Coronation Street perhaps recast in the style of Strindberg or Stoppard, six million scenes from a marriage.

However fanciful all this may seem, this transformation of our private lives with the aid of video-systems and domestic computers is already at hand. Micro-computers are now being installed in thousands of American homes, where they provide video-games and do simple household accounts. Soon, though, they will take over other functions, acting as major domo, keeper of finances, confidant and marriage counsellor. `Can you afford the Bahamas this year, dear? Yes ... if you divorce your husband.' The more expensive and sophisticated computers will be bought precisely to fulfil this need, each an éminence grise utterly devoted to us, aware of our strengths and weaknesses, dedicated to exploring every possibility of our private lives, suggesting this or that marital strategy, a tactical infidelity here, an emotional game-plan there, a realignment of affections, a radical change of wardrobe, lifestyle, sex itself, all costed down to the last penny and timed to the nearest second, its print-outs primed with air tickets, hotel reservations and divorce petitions.

Thus we may see ourselves at the turn of the century, each of us the star of a continuous television drama, soothed by the music of our own brain-waves, the centre of an infinite private universe. Will it occur to us, perhaps, that there is still one unnecessary intruder in this personal paradise — other people? Thanks to the video-tape library, and the imminent wonders of holistic projection, their physical presence may soon no longer be essential to our lives. Without difficulty, we can visualize a future where people will never meet at all, except on the television screen. Childhood, marriage, parenthood, even the few jobs that still need to be done, will all be conducted within the home.

Conceived by artificial insemination, brought up within the paediatric viewing cubicle, we will conduct even our courtships on television, shyly exchanging footage of ourselves, and perhaps even slipping away on a clandestine weekend (that is, watching the same travelogues together). Thanks to the split-screen technique, our marriage will be witnessed by hundreds of friends within their own homes, and pre-recorded film taken within our living rooms will show us moving down the aisle against a cathedral backdrop. Our wedding night will be a masterpiece of tastefully erotic cinema, the husband's increasingly bold zooms countered by his bride's blushing fades and wipes, climaxing in the ultimate close-up. Years of happy marriage will follow, unblemished by the hazards of physical contact, and we need never know whether our spouse is five miles away from us, or five hundred, or on the dark side of the sun. The spherical mirror forms the wall of our universe, enclosing us for ever at its heart ... — JG Ballard, The Future of the Future, Vogue, 1977 (A User’s Guide to the Millennium)

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sinagrace · 4 years

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Iceman’s been back on my mind lately. It started with the internet rumor that Shia Labeouf was being considered to play the role of Bobby Drake in a Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the X-Men. My DMs and @Mentions on social media were a mixture of intense reaction and then asking my take on who would make a great Bobby Drake (for the record: in my head I always saw him as a younger Antoni Porowski with a theater background, ‘cuz playing the funny guy with a vulnerable streak requires serious acting shops). My mind went back to the time of BC, when I was doing a lot of touring, and answering this very question because of my work on the Iceman book at Marvel. One thing led to another, and I decided to take a trip further down memory lane to look at my favorite volume of the series: Amazing Friends. Now, I know I’ve spent equal amounts of time publicly stating what a gift working on Iceman was, while also calling out the challenges that came with the experience, but the third volume really was a pure blessing. I was able to take every valuable lesson I learned as a writer, and apply it to telling a story that would be interesting to one person: Me. I’ve been a lifelong X-Men fan, I live and breathe comics, so my own expectations for a return to the series seemed like the only ones to really worry about meeting/ surpassing. The first two volumes had been so bogged down by rotating editors, complex continuity, company-wide events, multiple artists… The third volume was my chance to focus on what an Iceman series was outside of so much context. All that mattered was challenging myself to do an X-Men story that focused on the aspects of the franchise I felt were valuable and relevant, meaning: excuses to have Emma Frost be an asshole and finding an opportunity to make fun of Kitty Pryde’s haircut. Before moving on from Marvel, Axel Alonso made time to call me for a pep talk about the series. I wanted to get the series extended, and he wanted to help me succeed with the ten issues he could commit to. First, he offered an eleventh issue to give me more time on the stands. He took a look at everything I had planned, and basically told me to restructure with an eye for ramping up the pace. My writing background comes from prose and essays/ think pieces… both of which are methodical and provide some allowance from the reader to really take your time and set up the world before diving into the meat. That’s not the case with comics. You gotta work fast. Especially in today’s market, there is less and less room for a retailer to say, “give it two volumes, because shit starts really coming together by the third trade.” That was literally my speech for hooking people on such iconic series as Invincible, Fables, and Strangers in Paradise. Nowadays, every single issue is not a brick to be laid down as foundation so much as a bullet in your gun. Conflicting imagery, but that’s the point. Axel told me to think about the Big Moments in my life and sort out how to inject the mutant metaphor into it and make the most compelling comic book story I could. This was epic advice that I took with me into the new arc, but I struggled a bit with what could be bigger than the “coming out” storyline in volume one. Love was off the table because I wanted to keep Bobby single and ready to mingle. Death was off the table too, because my editor felt like we’d done enough with Bobby’s parents in the first two volumes. Upon looking at my own life, and considering the stuff me and my friends were dealing with, I landed on something a bit more reflective than LIFE or DEATH. I wanted to focus on that moment when a gay guy looks outside of himself and realizes the folks around him may not have it so easy. After everything we’ve been dealing with this summer, Iceman’s “big issue” of the arc feels oddly prescient. Bobby Drake had to reconcile his accidental complicit role in keeping the Morlocks down, and he has to investigate new approaches to being a better ally to those who don’t want to or can’t live under the protection of the X-Men. I used the Morlocks to allegorically speak to the issues that the trans/ NB community face today. Considering that trans folks are facing higher rates of homelessness and murder than other members of the LGBTQIA+ community, all I needed to do was find a perfect villain to treat the Morlocks as “lesser-than.” Cue Mister Sinister, who I wrote as particularly Darwinist with a major flair for interactive theater. While Amazing Friends definitely is the most fun I’ve had working on the book, it was also full of the heaviest shit I’ve written about. I’m so grateful that my editor let me use Emma Frost for a story about the trauma of gay conversion therapy with her brother Christian, but I’m still annoyed he wouldn’t let me put her in a sickening Givenchy outfit for her reveal. Similarly, creating the Madin character required that I chat with several mental healthcare professionals and members of the NB community to respectfully portray them as a resilient and fleshed out hero. I included personal lessons that I learned from years of the therapy (the sandcastle / sea image, a Jay Edidin fave moment). My editor and I weren’t always aligned, but we definitely were on each other’s side. He understood what I was trying to do and asked questions when something flew over his head, and he even had the good instincts to stop me from going too heavy handed with the ending. My original idea for the arc’s finale was to have Bobby become permanently scarred in his fight with Sinister, where he’d have a cool ice gash running across his face or something, a la Squall from Final Fantasy 8. The goal was to show Iceman stripping himself of his ability to pass as non-mutant to save the Morlocks, but the Mutant Pride fight scene being a stand-in for the Stonewall Riots kind of already made enough of a statement. Plus, no one in editorial wanted to deal with remembering to track his scar in other books. At first I tried to balk at his point of view, but when I looked over my original notes for the series, the point was to focus on optimism and hope. Giving Bobby a permanent scar and emphasizing the notion of sacrifice was too bleak a message for a series wherein the hero carbo-loads hoagies while riding an ice scooter and mutant drag queens emcee local festivals. Of course, the crowning achievement of the series… my mutant drag queen :) I’ve witnessed a lot when it comes to the world of pop culture and myth-making, and I 100% believe that you can’t plan the success of something. I’ve seen bands forced into breaking up because labels spend six figures failing at making listeners connect with an album. I witnessed firsthand how The Walking Dead was built from relatively humble beginnings as a buzzy cable drama into a literal international phenomenon over the course of its first three seasons. Everyone hopes for the best, but you never know how something will land with audiences. When the Shade character took off, I was truly astounded. Things I posted on Instagram while half-asleep became official quotes on major news sites. Queens and cosplayers were interpreting her like Margot Robbie had unveiled a new Harley Quinn lewk. The impact was so legit and immediate that we had to jump in and give Shade a proper Marvel hero alias, to truly welcome her into the X-Men canon. Hence the name change to Darkveil. (Funny story: I tried to fight hard for Madame X as an alias, but CB didn’t want another Agent X / “X-Name” character. Three months later, Madonna announced the Madame X album. Phew!) There was a time where I felt uncertain that the folks in charge at Marvel would bring Darkveil into any stories outside of the ones I wrote. My understanding was that Hickman was like the Cylons and had A Plan-- one that didn’t include her character. I made peace with my contribution to the Marvel Universe being contained, but then someone on social media pointed out that Darkveil showed up in an issue of Marvel Voices. After breaking down and reading Hickman’s House of X, I saw that his Plan was one of endless possibilities, and that he was moving EVERY character into new and dynamic places. I have hope now that he sees the possibilities with Darkveil, and takes advantage of her and all of her many body pouches. Amazing Friends really is my favorite thing I’ve done for the Big Two. I made a lifelong friend out of artist Nate Stockman (DC, please hire us for a Plasticman book), and I got to run a victory lap with the most encouraging and supportive readers out there. It was worth every dreadful conversation, every shitty thing a person said to me online, and all of the fun nonsense that goes into being creative for a living. Being stuck at home in quarantine has given me a lot of time to reflect on the gift that my career to date has been, and I feel so grateful to be where I am today. Other people may groan when they have to talk about something they’ve moved on from, but not me. I made people happier, I got to work with my favorite characters at Marvel, and and I'll say it again: it’s a frickin’ gift to make people move from your work. So, I will engage every tweet or message asking me my thoughts about who should play Bobby Drake in the Marvel Cinematic Universe… I’ll just never have a good answer.

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ryttu3k · 3 years

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Thoughts on His Dark Materials 2.05, spoilers for the whole trilogy!

jfc you ever see a character so magnetic... If Ruth Wilson doesn’t get an Emmy and/or a BAFTA I’m gonna riot (and unfortunately, that’s likely since SFF rarely gets big results in the award shows). Like how are you literally making me sympathise for Mrs Coulter. How. Because, yeah, she loves Lyra. She loves her so much that it informs every one of her actions in Amber Spyglass, including that one. But god if Lyra had accepted...

Also found it fascinating how Mrs Coulter was given three foils in this episode. Three direct comparisons! With Lyra - she even openly says how alike they are, with Lyra later denying that they’re anything like that - that she had not liked herself when she had Pan attack the Golden Monkey (subtitles used the non-canon Ozymandias name for him from the... stage show, I want to say? Or radio play? One of those. Pullman didn’t like it much, I believe, and I agree - I like that he doesn’t actually have a name, and someone in the sub pointed out it basically meant Mrs Coulter isn’t on speaking terms with her own soul).

Regarding Lyra: really enjoyed saying she’d rather be like Ma Costa or Lee. I just had this great image of her going, “I’d rather be like Ma Costa... or Lee Scoresby... or Iorek... or Mary Malone... wow, what the fuck am I bothering with biological parents for?”

Second foil - Mary. The sheer fascination mixed with absolute envy that Mary had these opportunities that she was denied. Like damn, what kind of a visionary would she have been in our world? ...Probably terrifying since she’s an Objectively Shit Person (how was it phrased? ‘Cess-pit of moral filth’? I doubt that’s just due to the world she’s from!), but still! And their reasons for wanting to help Lyra - Mary’s from curiosity and fascination and wonder, Mrs Coulter’s from... I guess possessive love.

Copypasting an entire comment here by GunstarHeroine from the subreddit:

SO MANY THINGS stood out in tonight’s belter of an episode, but Marisa Coulter’s meeting with Mary Malone and her subsequent Blue Screen Of Death on realising the reality of the patriarchy was something I will not forget.

Look at her. Look at her eyes, listen the words she uses. Marisa is absolutely fucking full of blinding rage at the truth she’s suddenly been hit in the face with. All her life she has been better, clever, smarter, and stronger than the men who dominate her society. And she has been forced to kowtow to these pissants, these simpering dull crude oppressors, slaving constantly in labour and cunning to secure the meagrest of breadcrumbs of respect and recognition in her academic and political fields. She has been forced to swallow the bitter pill of being ineligible for a doctorate, despite the undeniable superiority of her work. She has had to submit to her papers being published under the names of male peers and them taking her rightful credit. She has had to smile and simper and be agreeable and claw her way to power and respect through the utmost ruthlessness and cunning - and even though those things were always in her nature, the mental and emotional toll it’s taken on her is crystal fucking clear. She’s destroyed her own soul to rise to her rightful place.

And then she steps into another world and meets Mary. A doctor in her own right, with academic research in her own right, with her own brilliance in her own right. No fuss. No compromise. Just recognition on the basis of merit. And she realises, in that moment, what has been kept from her all her life, and how incandescently fucking furious she is.

Marisa Coulter is one of the greyest characters I've ever seen, and her handling in this adaptation is masterful. The way you can simultaneously despise her cruelty and feel desperately furious at what she's been forced to endure. Amazing.

And third foil, Boreal. Just flat-out calling him out on his greed. ngl I laughed when Will sliced the statue in half. Also his opening monologue about how there’s too little faith and too much consumerism... he says, from his Tesla, before they go to his mansion full of expensive items.

lmao god I can’t wait for *** ******* ** **** ***.

Speaking of Mary - she’s been told her role! I wonder if non-book readers have worked out who Lyra is yet, if Mary is the serpent? I want to say that’ll be in episode 7, not 6, since it’s just before the camp is attacked.

Also thinking that episode 6 will have Mary encounter the Spectres while passing through Cittagazze - in the book, it just says ‘you will be protected’, so it’ll be really cool if it confirms either of the two main theories, which is either a) the angels are protecting her (which would also be a fantastic way to introduce the angels in general, especially Balthamos and Baruch!), or b) the spectres recognising her as the Serpent and being fucking terrified.

Saw a preview image of Mrs Coulter surrounded by spectres and that’s gonna be a sight.

Want to kick Boreal somewhere uncomfortable after he hurt Will. Pretty sure Lyra did too. Leave him alone you bully!!

Side note, I am so amused they’ve made Pan’s new battle form a wolverine. And it’s still completely narratively appropriate! Like, yeah, it’s a reference specifically to Dafne Keen’s last major role, but also, the wolverine is the largest and strongest member of the mustelid family! It’s completely in character for Pan to use it!

Mrs Coulter and the Golden Monkey - li’l seatbelt was cute as hell. Rest was depressing as fuck. Daemons are souls, they reflect the human they’re attached to, and goddamn but you can learn so much about her by looking at him. The self-loathing - off the charts. The silence - she’s completely shutting herself off. If her daemon speaking reveals anything about her, then she has to cut herself off at all costs. Physically hurting him is literal self-harm. Just. Ouch.

The preview for next week showing Lee and John is giving me a heckin’ frighten. I’m sure they’re going to save Alamo Gulch for episode seven but I don’t want it to happen ;_;

Finally, on a meta note, it’s really fun watching all this come together for the non-book readers! Like someone on the sub was excitedly talking about a part in the opening credits where you see angel wings coalesce out of Dust. And that was a beautifully subtle note from the very start of season 1 that book readers picked up straight away, but now it’s all coming together for the non-book readers, and they’re going, “Wait, that’s not just cool imagery, that’s actually a depiction of canon!” Because yeah I do know the books, so I’m having quite a different experience to those who haven’t read them, and it’s just really cool seeing the non-book readers have these pieces falling together.

#his dark materials

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captains-log-reviews · 4 years

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Wendy (2020)

After my initial review of the well-known Disney version of Peter Pan, I decided to drastically depart from the traditional and go for a retelling that is a bit more (okay, a LOT more) AU for my second review. Wendy (2020) is still fresh in my mind, so it seems like the perfect time to write up a review for it.

**WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS.**

Overview/Summary:

I’ll be honest...I don’t typically like AU stories that significantly depart from the canon time period and/or location. I’m a sucker for period films, and the Edwardian London setting is, for me, almost as essential to the magic of Peter Pan as Neverland itself...so I went into Wendy with fairly low expectations, and I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I ended up liking it.

Wendy starts off in a small town American cafe sometime in the recent past (1950-1980-ish??) where we are introduced to Angela Darling, single mom and owner of the cafe, along with her three kids--Wendy and her twin older brothers, James and Douglas. Right off the bat, anyone who is familiar with the original storyline will recognize that this retelling takes a major departure from Barrie’s novel. Many of the characters we think we know are almost unrecognizable, while others (notably John and Michael, Tiger Lily, Tinkerbell, and Mr. Smee) sometimes have similar stand-ins but are ultimately missing entirely from this tale. That seems like a recipe for disaster at first glance, but the film handles the characters that it DOES have so well that the oversight can be forgiven.

Wendy and her brothers initially get the idea of Neverland in their minds after one of their friends, Thomas, disappears one day after hitching a ride on a train with a mysterious young boy named Peter (wonderfully portrayed by the ten year-old Afro-Caribbean actor, Yashua Mack). Instead of worrying about her friend, Wendy makes up fanciful stories about what Thomas might be off doing without them...but she remains fascinated by the train and the boy she saw until one day, she and her brothers decide to hitch a ride themselves. Upon arriving at the island, Wendy and her brothers are introduced to a slew of lost boys and girls and are surprised to find that their friend Thomas has not aged, though it has been a few years since they last saw him. The other children, many of whom have taken on new nicknames, have apparently never seen identical twins before and are particularly intrigued by James and Douglas, who they collectively label as, “Two-Boy.” The first half of the film (about an hour) is mostly spent on this introductory part of the story with the kids exploring their new home and generally having a good time. It’s all fun and games until they explore a shipwreck of the Mañana (a symbolically interesting name if ever there was one) and Douglas has a serious accident and is presumed dead. And THIS is where the real story begins.

“This is the story of Two-Boy broke apart,” Wendy tells us. “All that was left was a half. His heart cracked right down the middle...and all the joy spilled out.”

Heartbroken at the loss of his brother, James begins to age at an alarming rate...starting with his right hand. Worried about what will happen to him if he continues to age, James decides that the best course of action to stop his rapid aging is to cut it off...a task he assigns to Peter, as the leader of the children. But the aging doesn’t stop and James, needing medical care, is taken by his sister to the colony of “The Olds”--a shantytown on the outskirts of the island “where Lost Boys go when they’re REALLY lost.” The next time we see him, James is an adult, forging a crude prosthetic for his missing hand out of pieces of scrap metal. This “Hook” is a far cry from the elegantly dressed, suave captain we are used to; he’s old and ragged and broken...and despite my attachment to Hook’s original design, the raw emotion we get from the actor(s) portraying James in this film is flawless.

James, having become an outcast, decides that he and the other “Olds” need to use one of the children as bait to capture and kill the Mother--a magical whale that is the source of the island’s power and the protector of the children--to avenge Douglas (who was not protected) and to become young again themselves. Wendy’s pleas to her brother and her determination to see the child he was behind the man he becomes is devastating. “James, tell them to stop,” she cries. “James, you’re GOOD. BE GOOD!” And perhaps even more heart-wrenching... “James, you gotta remember who you are. Do you remember home? Do you remember Mama?” To which he quietly and tiredly replies, “...That was a long time ago.”

Douglas, of course, eventually turns up unharmed...and still a young boy, though his brother--in his grief and anger--has become an old man. The first time they see each other again after the accident, Douglas is shocked...and James is deeply hurt. More determined than ever to capture the Mother, he moves forward with the plan...but the moment he strikes a seemingly fatal blow to the creature with a harpoon, even he knows that he has done something very, very wrong. With a rousing chorus of “I love my mother!” reminiscent of the famous “clap your hands if you believe in fairies” scene, the kids (and the adults, too) cheer on the Mother until she is revived and rejoice at her coming back to life. Only James, sitting quietly off by himself, remains silent throughout the affair until, in one of the most poignant moments of the film, Douglas slowly makes his way through the water to his brother and takes his one remaining hand. “I can’t go home,” James reminds him. Pressing their heads together, Douglas quietly replies, “I know.”

As the adventure comes to a close, Wendy and Douglas are left with the dilemma of what to do with their brother, who can't return to the "real world" but has also been banished from the camp of the Lost Boys and Girls. But then Peter gets an idea and, with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, proclaims that Two-Boy is his "greatest enemy." “Two-Boy is dead,” Wendy proclaims, standing in front of her brother. “All hail Captain Hook!” James, understanding the game, smiles and raises the claw. And so the story of Pan and Hook ends...or rather BEGINS.

What I Liked:

There was so much of this film that I loved. The subtle details like the watch James is shown wearing in a scene shortly before he loses the hand, his broken reflection in the glass at the camp of “The Olds,” the symbolic meaning behind the name of the ship... It’s super well done.

The setting threw me for a loop initially but ultimately ended up leading me to feel personally connected with the characters in a way that I hadn’t before. I grew up (and still live in) a small Southern town, and I’ve met people like Angela. They were my friends’ mothers growing up. They’re my clients and coworkers and who some of my friends grew up to be now. The cafe could be one right down the road from my parents’ house. My brother and I grew up on a lake, and one of my best childhood friends and his brother (my brother’s age) lived nearby. The scene of James and Douglas catching turtles and exploring down by the water in their hometown reminded me of the days when we’d all go looking for minnows and turtles and toads in our backyard...and watching James grow up into the sad, cynical Hook from that boy who reminded me so much of my best friend really hit me hard.

James’ character as a whole was a breath of fresh air. Though the film is titled, “Wendy,” it’s really James’ story that drives the plot. It’s not often a film takes the approach of giving us a detailed backstory for Hook (books are a different story, but...), and the fact that they not only made him the real focus of the story but also made him incredibly human and sympathetic without demonizing Pan was unexpected but appreciated. Often, in making the villain likable, authors and filmmakers fall into the trap of feeling like they must, in turn, make the “hero” out to be a terrible person (as in Maleficent, where King Stefan’s character assassination was absolutely brutal and painful to watch). Instead, what we get is a lonely little boy who covers up his sadness with mischief and mayhem and a broken man who disguises his pain with bitterness...and Wendy sees past both their guarded exteriors.

This Wendy isn’t quite the proper young lady of Barrie’s fairytale, but she, like James, has the same heart as her original counterpart. One thing I love about Wendy in nearly any version is the fact that she alone seems to see the hidden grief both Hook and Pan have and acts accordingly; she mothers Peter when he needs her without condoning some of his more morally questionable behavior and sympathizes with Hook but ultimately isn’t afraid to stand before him with her head held high even when he threatens her and the boys. She’s a compassionate character, but she doesn’t allow anyone to take advantage of that and walk all over her. Indeed, she defies anyone who tries to. This Wendy is much the same. She calls it like she sees it. When James is hurt and possibly dying from blood loss, she goes against Peter’s wishes and takes her brother to the camp of “The Olds” so he can have proper “grown-up” medical care that the kids can’t offer. Once there, she isn’t afraid or repulsed by the old men and women but instead tries her best to bring out their inner child and remind them of things that once made them happy. When Peter claims that her brother has become evil and betrayed them by growing up, she blatantly calls him out on his own guilt—“You cut off his hand, you a**-face!!” (I almost choked with laughter at that one!) I’ve always thought that if anyone of the original characters could reach the goodness in Hook, it would be Wendy. This film, in making her his sister, really showcases that, and it makes for some incredibly touching moments...particularly at the end of the film when James finally re-embraces his inner child and takes on the role as Peter’s “enemy,” the legendary Captain Hook (though he’s just “Uncle James” to Wendy’s daughter).

What I Didn’t Like:

I suppose my only real complaint, if you can call it that, is that I miss a few of the more traditional elements of the storyline. There are some iconic moments that, because of changes to the story, we don’t get in this film like the fight scene when Tiger Lily is captured and freed. We also lose the crocodile in this version, which takes away some of the fear that is usually present in Hook and which I honestly consider as much a part of the character as his anger and sadness. The film as a whole doesn’t suffer for the changes that were made, however, and I can live with them because of how well done everything else is.

Would I recommend it?

If you’re a die-hard stickler for canon or favor one of the characters who doesn’t appear in this version, this might not be the film for you. BUT if you love Hook’s character and are willing to be a little open-minded, definitely give this one a shot. I had pretty low expectations going in, but having seen it now, I’d add it to my list of favorite Peter Pan retellings.

Overall Rating:

I’m taking off just a little because I miss some of the traditional characters and elements of the story, but overall it’s a beautiful film with a lot of heart. 4.5/5 stars

#wendy 2020 #wendy film #benh zeitlin #wendy darling #peter pan #captain hook #film reviews #movie reviews #captains-log-reviews

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thiswasinevitableid · 4 years

Note

#7 with Sternclay, for the prompts?

Here you go! I went NSFW

#7: I’m assigned to write a piece rounding up all the bad press that you, a famous celebrity, have been getting and you show up in my office and demand me to write a retraction and get the ‘real’ story”

Barclay is so excited; he’s going to be spending two weeks on the Dual Mesa set, writing an exclusive behind the scenes story that’s sure to give the magazine a big sales boost.

“Ah, Barclay, come in.” Ned Chicane, the show’s director, ushers him into his office, “I assume they told you we will be leaving to shoot on location tomorrow?”

“Yes, I, uh, I’m really honored that you chose Q to run your story; your cast is so diverse, it really resonates with our readers.”

Ned waves a hand in faux-humility, “Why create a show with paranormal elements that simply recreates homogeneity? However, my dear boy, you were not chosen by me.”

“I requested it.” Barclay turns as a tall man with dark hair enters the office, and has the sudden urge to hide under the nearest table. The man currently staring him down with bright blue eyes and a mild-yet-clearly displeased expression is Joseph Stern, star of Dual Mesa and subject of a very unflattering article Barclay published a week ago.

“Look, Mr. Stern, I-”

“Quiet.” Stern holds up his hand, “I asked Ned to give Q a boost by granting access to the shoot because I think the magazine does excellent work. I asked for you to give you a chance to prove yourself.”

“Excuse me?”

“Your writing is quite good, but clearly your research and fact checking needs some work.”

“Just because you don’t like it-”

“I don’t, but that’s not the issue. You published things that are patently false and easily provable as such. For instance, the claim that I got this role by sleeping with the director has two major flaws; one, Ned is not my type.”

“There’s no accounting for poor taste.” Ned says, clearly unbothered,

“And two, Mr. Mosche would break my fingers if I tried to fuck his husband.” He points to the corner of the room where a large, tattooed man sits reading.

“Right you are.” He looks up long enough to reply.

“And anyone on set could have told you that. Whatever your sources were, you didn’t do due diligence. So you’ll be trying again.”

“Look, buddy, where do you get off giving me orders?”

“By being the star they’d have the hardest time killing off.”

“And by raising good points.” Ned stands, “asking for a flat retraction would reflect poorly on the show, as it would look as if we were trying to hide the truth. This allows you to correct misconceptions as well as get exclusive looks at next season.”

“You’re literally a paid actor, how the hell do I know you aren’t faking these two weeks?”

“You won’t be spending all your time with him; you’ll be interviewing others as well and have opportunities to observe him without him knowing.” Ned pats Barclays shoulder, “but he will be responsible for introducing you to the rest of the cast”

Barclay glances at Stern, who lifts an eyebrow with a smirk.

“So. Have fun with that!”

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

The introduction the next day goes as well as trying to light a match in a hurricane. Stern is polite and professional when Barclay arrives, introduces him to the cast and the main crew without mentioning the article. But it’s clear Barclay’s reputation precedes him.

“You really got Joe figured all wrong.” Duck Newton, who plays good-hearted Sheriff Frank Roosevelt on the show, pulls Barclay aside as Stern and co-star Aubrey Little (who plays Lucille, a plucky young woman with a dark past) get ready to shoot.

“So everyone keeps saying, but I didn’t make that stuff up. It turned up when I researching him.”

“Don’t mean someone else didn’t just pull it out of their ass.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Barclay sighs, rubbing his forehead.

“Look, all I know is Joe’s been nothin but kind a professional to me. I’d even call him a friend. Know he can come off as intimidatin and rigid sometimes, but he’s a good guy.”

Barclay hears variations of this sentiment over and over during the next two days. It’s part of why he’s currently sitting inside his motel room not far from the main set, eating dinner alone. Indrid, the costume designer had actually invited him to eat with a few members of the crew. Barclay demurred. If the bulk of the people on set think he’s a jerk, he doubts they’ll be that open to getting to know him. Plus, he’s kind of humiliated at how little actual evidence he can find for the claims against Stern, and doesn’t want to give the other man a chance to gloat.

There’s a knock on the door, and he opens it to find the last person he expects, or wants, to see.

“Good evening, Barclay.” Out of costume, Stern almost looks ordinary. There’s still the unfair symmetry of his face, the way he makes jeans and t-shirt look somehow sophisticated.

“Uh, something you need from me?”

Stern looks past him to his cobbled together dinner; Barclay’s a good cook, but the damn room doesn’t have anything more than a microwave.

“The chance to buy you an actual dinner.”

Barclay’s about to point out that he’s not eating in the commissary tent because of Stern when the actor adds, “please?”

He grabs his wallet and joins Stern in the still-warm evening air, following him into the few blocks that make up downtown Sagebrush, the former mining town that makes up much of Dual Mesa’s background. He expects them to stop at the Mizpah, the sole fancy hotel and restaurant, but Stern guides him past it and into a kitschy diner.

They study their menus in silence, the pleather booths squeaking awkwardly whenever one of them moves.

Barclay orders the burger plate that comes with a slice of pie and Stern, surprisingly goes for an omelette off the all-day breakfast menu.

“Barclay I, well, it’s obvious we got off on the wrong foot. I want you to know that as much as the article upset me, I don’t want you to be miserable while you’re here. No ones going to shun you for what you wrote.”

“Pretty clear they’re all on your side.” Barclay sips his water, meeting Stern’s gaze.

“There don’t need to be sides; you want to write an accurate profile of what it’s like on set, and I want to not have my name dragged through the mud anymore. Those come out to be the same thing.”

“You seem real fucking confident.” Barclay narrows his eyes.

Stern’s hackles go up, but then he sets his hands on the table with a measured breath, “I don’t pretend to be perfect, Barclay. I’m aware, well aware, of my flaws. But none of those flaws match what you wrote about me. I’m not asking to look untouchable in your piece, I’m asking to look like myself.”

Barclay looks down, spots him nervously shredding his napkin. As he’s thinking, a teenager in a tricolor tank-top approaches the table.

“Um, sorry, but are you Joseph Stern? The guy who plays agent Hooper?”

Stern smiles, genuine and reassuring, “I am.”

“Could I, uh, get a picture? Like a selfie?”

“Of course.”

Barclay watches Stern pose with the kid and compliment his pride shirt, before waving goodbye as he scurries back to his table to show his friends the photo.

“That doesn’t bother you?”

Stern shakes his head, “It happens pretty often, especially in town where most people know what I look like in my street clothes, so I’m used to it. Besides, for a lot of these kids there’s more than just the celebrity angle. I can count the number of gay, trans, Asian-american actors on T.V when I was kid with one hand,” He holds up a fist to indicate a zero, “if the price of being that person for kids now is posing for some pictures, I’ll pay it any day.”

Warmth blooms in his chest, the sincerity making him want to trade a truth in return, “Yeah, I remember looking for guys like me and not seeing them. I’d just pick a character I liked and kinda projected. Except the X-Files; then I just had a huge fucking crush on Mulder. Oh, thanks.” He smiles at the waitress as she sets his food down.

“I know that feeling. Somewhere there are pictures of me dressed as him for a Halloween party.”

“Heh, I haven’t dressed up for Halloween in ages.” Barclay munches on a fry, “Last three times I went as Bigfoot. It was an easy costume and kept my face hidden.”

“That’s a shame for the other party-goers.”

Barclay coughs, choking on his fry, as Stern blushes, shoves a piece of toast into his mouth, and changes the topic to books.

The next day, when Barclay arrives on location and everyone is milling about getting ready to shoot, Stern pats the chair near his own and talks with him until he’s needed on camera. Over the next week, Barclay finds himself next to Stern more often than not, comparing notes on the mystery novels they’ve been passing back and forth, or explaining his job moonlighting as a cookbook editor, or listening to the actor describe his travels to the locations of famous cryptid sightings. What surprises him most is how charming he finds Stern when he’s nowhere near a camera. On set, in character as Special Agent Alex Hooper, he radiates the quiet charm that makes his character so beloved. When they’re alone it’s different, a little less polished and little nerdier, and rather than captivating him it makes Barclay want to protect him.

It turns out that slips of the tongue happen to Stern a lot, at least when he’s around Barclay. “Sec” routinely becomes “sex” and comments about Barclay’s size and strength come often, Stern always sheepish afterwards. As if his attention is something Barclay may not want rather than something he craves like a four-course meal.

When he starts daydreaming about asking Stern back to his motel room after one of their now-regular dinners together (that Stern always pays for), he knows he’s in trouble.

“Helllloo?”

He jumps, chuckles in surprise as Aubrey finishes waving her hand in front of his face, “Sorry, was thinking about dinner.’

“I was saying thanks for coming out while we shoot this. I know how hard it can be to pull away from your ‘muse’.” She wiggles her eyebrows and Barclay feels the blush overrun him.

“Don’t worry, I’ll let him figure it out on his own.” Aubrey winks, the groans, “aw fuck here he comes.”

Robert Hayes, who plays the recurring role of Hooper’s supervisor, appears in the grove where they’re shooting a scene with just him and Aubrey. Barclay steps out of frame, Aubrey hissing “don’t leave me” as he does.

“I can’t believe Ned is letting Indrid do more alternative looks for you.”

“It works for Lucille.”

“It would work better if she was more conventionally attractive.”

Barclay growls under his breath; how dare this guy talk to his friend that way?

“Well, obviously not, because the audience likes me like this. And they have opinions worth listening too.”

The tension remains throughout the shoot, Barclay tensing every time Hayes opens his mouth. He pretends to be busy when the actor comes over to join him.

“I’m glad you’re planning on expanding your take-down of Stern.”

“I never said that. I’m writing about the new season of the show.”

“If you want more information about what he’s really like, I’ll be happy to chat with you in private.” The older man pats his shoulder and heads off to his trailer.

Barclay waits until he’s gone, then goes to look for Ned. He has a hunch the director might like to know about Haye’s offer.

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

“...guess Ned put him in his place.” Stern finishes adjusting his tie as the scene sets up, “Sounds like he wanted his character to become the eventual lead, and thought shit-talking me would be the way to go.”

“I’m glad it’s sorted out.” Barclay pretends to be studying his notes so he doesn’t stare too noticeably at Stern’s ass.

“Me too. Thanks, Barclay.” Stern steps onto set, and as Ned begins running through the scene with Stern and the actor playing his (unbeknownst to him) alien lover, Bee, Barclay wishes he’d chosen to be elsewhere. Because this is a sex scene. With Stern. That he will be watching.

No, damn it, he’s a professional. His butt is staying in this chair.

He makes it through the several takes of the dialogue just fine, starts sweating a little when he kissing begins. Stern’s kisses strike a balance between tender and passionate, perfectly in character, and Barclay would give his right arm to trade places with Bee.

The action moves to the bed, Stern caressing his lover as they unbutton his shirt.

Okay, now he’d give his right arm and leg to be the one beneath him.

He reminds himself this airs on TNT, not HBO, so it can’t get much more explicit.

Sterns whole body drips with soft dominance as he pins Bee to the bed, cooing that he’s never seen a finer sight.

Fine, his right arm, leg, and any non-vital organs, he’ll trade them all in a second to hear Stern say that to him, even if it’s only pretend.

He doesn’t make it through the second take of the bed scene, hurries away as quietly as unobtrusively as he can. There’s no way he can make it to his motel like this, cock pressing so hard against his jeans he’s afraid he’ll end up with a zipper mark. And the bathrooms aren’t exactly private. He does have the key to Stern’s trailer, the actor having given it to him in case he needed somewhere air conditioned to rest from the heat. The trailer that is very nearby.

Does he dare?

The question hardly registers before he’s at the door, unlocking it and ducking inside before anyone sees. He leans against the counter with a groan, unzipping his pants and praying the pre-cum that immediately streaks his hand hasn’t made a noticeable spot in the denim.

He fumbles around to find some tissues, not wanting to face the humiliation of Stern walking in to find him cleaning cum off of his cabinets (he does actually want that humiliation, and badly, but not without Stern’s consent).

The strokes are hard and fast, his eyes shut so tight he sees static as he imagines Stern behind him, saying how much he wants him, how needy he is, how he’ll take care of him. He grits his teeth, breath leaving him in faint hisses and stifled moans until the temptation to say Stern’s name overwhelms him.

“Joe, Joe, fuck, Joe.”

“Yes, big guy?” A voice purrs in his ear as hands bracket him against the counter.

“Fuck” He tries to freeze, finds he’s shaking too much from want and worry to do so.

“You forgot to lock the door, silly boy. I, however, did not.”

“I’m, I’m sorry, I just needed to, fuck, I didn’t mean for you-”

One hand leaves the counter, strokes the base of his neck and toys with his hair, “what about this suggests I’m angry with this, um, development?”

Barclay whimpers, feet unwilling to turn and look Stern in the eye.

“Should I stop?” The tease goes from his voice.

All he can do is whimper again and shake his head.

The hand leaves his neck, slides down Barclay’s arm to rest atop his hand on the counter. The other takes it’s time snaking down his stomach and hips.

“Poor Barclay, no wonder you had to leave.” His hand nudges Barclay’s aside, takes it’s place around his cock, “you can probably see this thing from space. I’m taking this as a testament to my acting skills.” A laugh as he kisses Barclay’s neck, stroking him slowly.

“Please don’t say this is acting too.”

“It’s not.” A kiss to his cheek, a twist along his cock, both making him weak-kneed, “do you know what I was thinking about during that scene? I was thinking about you, what you’d look like if I fucked you. It’s only a quirk of anatomy” he grinds against Barclay’s ass, “that means I didn’t have a noticeable reaction on camera.”

“Fuck, Joe, more, please I need more of you, all of you, I’m so fucking close.”

The hand on his cock pulls away, “not just yet, big guy. Do you want me to fuck you?”

“Uhuh.” He whines, pushing his hips forward to bump his cock along Stern’s hand.

A light smack on the ass, “behave. Take everything off and wait for me on the bed.”

“Uh huh.” He turns, only for a hand to firmly grasp his chin and force him to stay eye to eye with Stern.

“Try that response again, big guy, with better manners.”

“Y-yes, s-sir, I, I understand.”

He’s yanked into a demanding, possessive kiss, Stern stroking his cheek approvingly when he releases him, “Good boy. Is this alright?”

“Yes, yesyes, Joe, please, I love it, don’t stop.”

“I won’t, unless you say so. Promise you will if you need to?”

“I swear, cross my heart, babe, please.”

A loving laugh, coupled with a peck on the lips, “bed.”

Barclay strips so quickly he loses his balance, landing on the bed as he fights to pull off his pants. He tries to calm himself by folding his clothes and setting them aside, certain that if he gets more excited he’ll become the first confirmed case of human combustion.

“Hands and knees, please.”

“Oh fuck me.”

Stern is standing by the bed, naked from the waist down save for a strap-on, but still in his special agent clothes from the waist up.

“Do you like the suit, big guy?”

“Yessir.”

“Good to know. Maybe next time I’ll wear the whole thing while I fuck you. Now” he climbs onto the bed, “try to relax for me.”

A condom-covered finger presses against his ass as soon as he’s on his hands and knees, Stern working him open efficiently yet gently until he’s begging for more. Stern ruffles his hair, and then the toy is pushing into him. It’s narrow, so the stretch isn’t too bad, and for a moment he wonders if it will even do much for him.

“Let me see, if I just-”

“FUCKfuck” The curve of the toy finds his prostate.

“That’s part of why this is a favorite of mine, it’s so effective” he thrusts harder, “at finding the right spots.”

“Mhhhmmmmm” Barclay bites the pillow to muffle his moans and growls, wiggles his hips as Stern finds his pace.

“The other reason I like it…”

“SHIT, babe, baby, ohfuck that’s good.” The toy vibrates, sending heat all through him, “fuck, I’m gonna come in like th-thirty seconds from that.”

“Thirty seconds? Let’s see if you’re right, big guy.”

“GaaAAHfuck, Joe, yeah, yeahyesbabeyes.” He gives up on being quiet as the actor rams into him, drops to his elbows when the intensity makes it impossible to anything other than moan and and grunt and take it.

“That’s it, good boy, let’s see just how hard you are for me” Stern pants as he reaches around, teasing the head of Barclay’s cock, “perfect, you’re doing wonderfully, fuck” a groan of gratification as Barclay spurts across the bed, “messy, god I love making you come apart, even I might make you clean that with you tongue later.”

“Oh god.” Barclay moans, drool staining the pillow, as Stern loops an arm tightly around his waist and grinds, the toy still bumping and rumbling inside his ass.

“Nnn, Barclay, yes, hold out just a little longer, let me get off on this perfect ass.”

Barclay whines, sensitivity overloading his circuits and driving him wild.

“Just a little more big guy, fuck, fuck, lord almighty I’m close, c’mon, you can handle it, you can be good and take me as long as I need.”

“Yes, yes, wanna take you, wanna be yours, wanna serve you.”

“Fuck” Stern doubles over, hips working frantically, “that’s it, good boy, if you’re in this bed you, fuck, your only job is to please me.”

“Yes” Barclay sobs just as Stern moans into his shoulder. When he pulls out, Barclay flops, limp, onto his side.

“You with me, baby?” Stern wiggles out of the harness, lays so they’re face to face and cups Barclay’s cheek.

“Mmhmm. Fuck” he pulls Stern into a hug, “I can’t believe we just did that. That was fucking amazing.”

“Didn’t take you for the sub type.”

“Everyone always wants me to be big ‘n dommy. Don’t wanna. Wanna be someone’s good boy.” He’s slurring, mind still a bit foggy.

“You can be mine. In, um in not just a sex way, although it can be just a sex thing if you want it to.”

“Nope” He cuddles him closer, then it hits him, “you’re asking me to be your boyfriend?”

“Please?”

“Yes. Yes. Yes” He kisses him after each answer, making them both laugh.

“It won’t fuck up your work?”

“I’ll ask Mama what she thinks, we might need to transfer the rest of the article to Thacker. Uh, maybe this is silly but, uh, can I take you to dinner? My treat?”

Stern kisses him, stars in his eyes and a hundred watt smile on his face, “that sounds perfect, big guy.”

#sternclay #meet ugly #agent stern/Barclay #celebrity AU #prompt fills

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recentanimenews · 3 years

Text

FEATURE SERIES: My Favorite One Piece Arc with Daniel Barnes

I love One Piece and I love talking to people who love One Piece. And with the series going on 23 years now, there is a whole lot to talk about. As the series is about to publish its 1000th chapter, a true feat in and of itself, we thought we should reflect upon the high-seas adventure and sit down with some notable names in the One Piece fan community and chat about the arcs they found to be especially important, or just ones they really, really liked.

Welcome to the next article in the series "My Favorite One Piece Arc!"

My next guest in this series is Daniel Barnes, writer for the Aggretsuko comic, and his original graphic novel The Black Mage. For my chat with him, he chose the Marineford arc, in which Luffy drops into a World Government headquarters in a desperate race against time to save his "brother" Ace from execution.

A note on spoilers: If you haven't seen the Marineford arc yet, this interview does contain major plot points. Watch the Marineford arc starting RIGHT HERE if you'd like to catch up or rewatch!

Dan Dockery: Let’s say that for some reason, I get to the end of Impel Down, just before Luffy & Co. drop into Marineford, and I’m like “I’m done. This is it. I can’t handle any more One Piece.” In one sentence, what do you tell me to keep me going?

Daniel Barnes: Why are you stopping before you reach the payoff of everything you’ve read so far?

I like that! How long have you been into One Piece?

When I first started consuming One Piece in earnest, ironically enough, I was in the Navy at the time. It was 2014, and up until that point, my only exposure had been the 4Kids dub on FoxBox.

Nice. I love a good FoxBox reference. Was it recommended to you? Because I know that, when a lot of people start One Piece, it’s like “FINE. I’ll watch One Piece. You’ve convinced me.”

I don’t consume anime as voraciously as I did back then. Back then, I was an anime vacuum, but I was also in this weird spot where I was semi-depressed. But someone told me, “You gotta try One Piece, it’s the best.” And my first reaction was “Umm, the art style’s kinda weird, though.” But they told me “You’ll get over it,” and the thing that made me finally take that leap was Gurren Lagann, which also had an unusual art style and then became one of my favorite things ever. So I figured I should at least give it a shot.

That’s something I’ve heard a few times. Because in other big series like Naruto and Bleach, the character designs are much more proportionate and straightforward. And I felt the same way...until I watched it, and realized the art style is PERFECT for what it is. So, Marineford is pretty much the halfway point of the series, with characters returning from all over the place. Were there any that you were excited to see come back?

There’s a few of them. I always love it when Mihawk shows up, but I think the big one is Whitebeard. Because up until this point, he’s just sitting around and you know he’s a big deal but you’re always wondering why he’s a big deal. And then you find out in Marineford. I enjoy seeing characters that are kind of defined as the “power ceiling” in an anime universe get to do stuff, and it was cool to see him make the entire world quake.

I think I called it in an article a “Be Quiet, The Parents Are Talking” character. You’ll go through Luffy getting new power-ups and increasingly strong villains and these seemingly insurmountable admirals with their elemental powers and then Whitebeard comes in, and he’s leaps and bounds above everyone. And like you said, for the most part, he’s just sitting down beforehand.

Yeah, he’s sitting down drinking a giant gourd of sake. His name is Whitebeard, but he doesn’t have a beard. Got a real Hulk Hogan vibe to him. Who is this guy? But then you finally see him after all this time, and that’s the magic of One Piece. You see all of these things over the years and you wonder what part they’ll play and then it finally hits you and their role and strength becomes clear.

Marineford, obviously, is all built around Ace. And what you get out of the arc probably depends on how much you enjoy Ace’s character. How did you feel about him? Did it make you emotional at all? I know he has the one scene with Garp where they talk about finding your purpose in life, and that really got to me, even though I’m not the biggest fan of Ace.

Okay, I think Ace looks cool and I think he has good powers, but I didn’t really care that much when he died. I didn’t really know him enough.

Were there any characters that you did get attached to or like a lot in Marineford? I know you said you liked Whitebeard and Mihawk, but who was your Marineford MVP? Who shines brightest among all those crazy diamonds?

Okay, so the cop-out answer is probably Luffy. He’s one of the weakest characters there and he manages to survive and he plays such a big role by rallying everyone despite being constantly outmatched. So, objectively, Luffy. But maybe I give it to Coby, because Coby stands his ground against Akainu. He gives you hope that maybe the Marines can change their ways one day and when he refuses to move in front of an Admiral, I thought that was a real stand-out, awesome moment.

So Ace dies, Whitebeard just wrecks Akainu and throws him into a pit, and then, out of nowhere, Blackbeard shows up. Whitebeard beats up Blackbeard and Blackbeard’s forces kill Whitebeard. What do you think about Blackbeard as a villain? Because he’s so unlikeable. He’s underhanded, he whines whenever he gets hurt, he’s super pompous. He has cool powers, but there’s nothing cool about who he is.

He’s super interesting, to me. He has a mystery around him with his two Devil Fruit powers, and he doesn’t really fit into any shonen villain stereotype. He’s an inverse of Luffy, but not in all of the super obvious ways. When you first see him in Jaya, you see him start with basically nothing, and you watch him work through the system and the powers that be, just like Luffy. They’re both trying to achieve the same thing and reach the same goal. But Blackbeard’s methods are different.

Yeah, Luffy will punch you in the face, while Blackbeard will stab you in the back.

And getting to see that evolution is great, because they easily could’ve just said, boom, here’s the next big bad guy and given him to you without context. But it’s like I said about One Piece earlier, where it shows you stuff over time and gets you to look forward to what will happen with it later. That’s Blackbeard’s whole appeal.

You talked earlier about Coby standing up to Akainu, ready to die for his beliefs. And then Shanks comes and stops the war. How did you feel about that? Because we’re all still waiting to see what his deal is (which as you said is a big part of the continuing appeal of One Piece,) but were you hyped to see him show up?

I thought it was cool, because One Piece has done a good job of establishing him as an awesome guy. He’s a lot like Zero from Mega Man X, where he shows up at the beginning, they imply how powerful he is, they make the main character want to be as strong as him, and then they take him away and only show him sparingly. So whenever Shanks drops by, he's been handled so well that you’re just on the edge of your seat wondering what he’s gonna do.

So, after the war is over, Jimbei has to remind Luffy that he still has things worth fighting for. And then, the timeskip. Were you aware that a timeskip was coming?

Oh yeah. It’s kind of hard to exist on social media and not get a bunch of these little hints about what’s gonna happen. But that was my goal with One Piece for a little while: I’m gonna get to the timeskip. I have to get there. It’s coming, I know it’s coming, I don’t know when it’s coming, but I just have to reach it.

There are so many big moments in this arc, but looking back at it, are there any moments that stand out as prime One Piece to you?

The obvious one, for me, is when Luffy goes Third Gear and punches the giant out of the way. That’s so cool and such quintessential One Piece. A giant on an arena made of ice and a rubbery kid inflates his fist to make it huge and knocks him around. It’s so weird and it works.

ONE PIECE LIGHTNING ROUND!

Favorite One Piece character?

Usopp.

Favorite One Piece villain?

Crocodile.

Favorite One Piece arc?

Sabaody Archipelago.

Which Devil Fruit would you eat if you had the choice?

Bellamy’s Spring Spring fruit.

If you had to live on any island in the One Piece universe, which would you choose?

Does the Gran Tesoro from the Film: Gold movie count? That one’s pretty dope.

Favorite One Piece fight?

Luffy vs Blueno, when he first reveals the Second Gear.

One Piece moment that made you cry the hardest?

When the Franky Gang beats up Usopp and Nami finds him and Usopp is like “I’m useless. I can’t do anything.” Whenever Usopp gets beaten up, his nose gets all crooked and he loses teeth. There’s so many cartoon-ey visual indicators for Usopp in pain. It got me.

One Piece moment that made you cheer the loudest?

When Luffy punches the Celestial Dragon in the face. It’s so cathartic.

Stay tuned for the next installment of "My Favorite One Piece Arc" as we speak with One Piece Podcast Co-Host and storyboard artist Steve Yurko about his favorite One Piece arc: Baratie!!

Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

By: Daniel Dockery

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

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ofravensandgenesis · 4 years

Photo

IT IS FINISHED no seriously, this took ages. First couple of days were fine and motoring along with progress, then I was laid out for a week-ish with health problems. Then once I was well enough again I was back to being fixated on finishing this piece of my lad Joshua here for another handful of days, so I’m super glad this is done now. More talk about the painting, details and process under the cut:

Art Entry 01, Joshua Rook, Junior Deputy of Hope County. Regarding the painting’s execution, stylistic choices, practiced methods, and speculation on further experimentation for skill and stylization. _____________________________ Honestly I thought that the uniform’s large swatches of green fabric would be more difficult than it actually was. Turns out that was the easier part compared to the shoulder patch and metal badge. x’D The metal badge design is based off of and inspired by a custom-ordered cosplay badge design I found while looking for references, in this post here (link,) from v-i-d-e-n-o-i-r’s blog and Far Cry 5 cosplay. There are some differences in the painting’s rendition above, namely I flattened the middle section and made it all concentric polished metal instead of painted and the great seal rendition in the middle doesn’t have silver lineart either. Those choices are as much for aesthetic reasons of eliminating the blue ring so it was all a fairly simple mono-material-looking surface as it was for simplifying having to forego painting the foreshortening that a spherical dome might entail. Also just because the rest of the metal turned out looking good enough that an additional bit of shiny metal seemed like it’d fit right in for this. That being said, the badge design that inspired this one is rad and awesome looking—and I totally didn’t realize it wasn’t quite like the badges from in-game assets until after I’d painted it. x’D So, I decided to stick with this one since it’s simpler and has cleaner lines, and less engraving to pick out highlights on. Metal is very hit or miss for me to get right, so I’m very pleased with how this one came out! :D I think I did well on that one. The shoulder patch originally I was looking at real world references and ended up changing the shape once I actually looked at in-game references on Staci and Joey—who I discovered have slightly different details on their uniforms, like the font for their name tags—Staci’s has an old-timey-looking-font with serifs, Joey’s is a non-serif more modern-style font. Some pictures have them having different buttons on their uniforms either in color or shape (the former being exported assets, the latter being in-game gifs/screenies/etc.) This is also how I learned that the little landscape with the shovel, pickaxe and plough/plow are part of the great seal of Montana. I had no flipping idea that was what it was, looking at the patches in-game. The cosplay community does some great work for that, for which I’m grateful. I ended up looking up references of what the state seal’s design was so as to see the smaller details, and to find out what the motto meant ”Oro y Plata,” meant, leading to etymology googling adventures from there, as usual. All important details to paint though I think here, since Joshua’s deputy uniform is symbolically significant to him and will remain so throughout his story as part of his internal conflict for a couple of reasons. One thing I knew I should’ve done from the start, and reminded myself to do, was the fact that I should paint all skin sections at the same time, so as to ensure they all came out the same shades. I did not do this. x’D I’ll have to actually try to do that next time honestly. Same with the hair sections, while I like how they came out, I do feel the differences between the three major segments in terms of brushwork is not as coherent as I’d like, even if beard hair is not necessarily similar in how it lays to scalp hair, particularly with length and such taken into consideration. Still, not bad. Could’ve used more refs for the backlighting and figuring out how the highlights would fit best on the ponytail, but I think the hair curves turned out nice there in particular. Overall, Joshua’s hair ended up messier than I’d thought with how the locks all end up looping this way and that across his head, but it does actually fit him well as a character for his hairstyle to be messy and loosely held together, but functional. It did end up longer than I’d intended, so we have him likely ending up with a nerdy Jesus hairstyle when it’s down. x’D (Thanks to @undead-gearhead for that mental imagery, I shall take great amusement in that should I get around to drawing Joshua with his hair down.) Aside from that, I think I’m slowly improving on figuring out how to paint glasses, though I’m thinking in the future I should test more layered reflective light on them or something where the frames are in contact or close to skin, particularly around the glasses’ bridge across the nose and such. Then there are the other deviation details added—like using dark green instead of the black for the uniform accents. The faded black looks great in-game, but I do think the buttons pop more against dark green instead for this painting. I’m a little bit surprised how well the button-placket section came out, Clip Studio Paint crashed when I painted the first rendition of it, sadly losing all that work. I thought it’d be okay but turns out it didn’t quite get to auto-save that recently enough, but the second go around turned out quite well I think, possibly better. I was originally planning to try to put more textured brushwork across the flat sections of the uniform material, but decided to skip it for speed—I’ll test that elsewhere perhaps, though I think it came out well with the watercolor brushes layered on top of one another like that as is. Among the other smaller details, there’s some tweaks and such for how Joshua’s eye shape, eyebrows, nose shape, hairline etc came out compared to references of Greg Bryk in his role as Joseph Seed. I think Joshua did come out looking like he’s obviously related to the Seeds as I was hoping for, but I’m kind of on the fence that people would look at him and automatically assume it’s Joseph specifically that he’s descended from. I hope so, but either way, that’s how he’s written in-fic. x’D Overall, I would consider this painting a success, though as usual I do wish it’d been faster to finish. I do think this was good practice for detail work, and metal shading, also: buttons. Still haven’t figured out how to paint lips with more pink or red tones, I don’t like the way they look when painted sadly, unless it’s lipstick. That may end up being a stylistic element perhaps, along with how I paint the lines for fingernails and other such details. Fun fact: I have to leave the shading on the eyes for last, or else my brain goes “The eyes are done! We’re done! Call it a day.” I’m not sure why, but so far, leaving them as flats until the end seems to work a treat for keeping me focused on finishing the rest of the work with less mental dissonance. Now if only I could figure out why despite knowing I should do all the exposed skin portions at the same time, I don’t follow through on that naturally as far as inclinations go. Maybe it’s a layer organization thing and perception of wanting, say, the cloth to be done first before working “down” to the hands and such in the sense of working from the head down? I’ll have to think on that some more and test things in the next painting. Perhaps color coding the order of layers to paint will help? CSP does have a nice layer-icon-color function that I’ve dabbled with here and there. There are so many brushes, I really do need to test out more of them, I use, what, four or five total, but primarily somewhere around two or three. Hm, but what to do with texture, and how to utilize it so? Hmmm, as far as personal appeal for methodology goes, I might prefer to use textures in select pieces for more emotional emphasis? If I can figure out how to do that in a messier speed-paint style of things. Rougher textures for conflict, for example. That sounds like an interesting idea to explore, I’ll have to remember that for a later piece. Maybe more heavily textured brushes will also help with the mental itch to refine things to a cleaner-level of refining instead of leaving it in a more organically rough state. Hm, maybe it’s a “mental texture” aversion or something, as far as an interplay between the brush’s texture and the flow of the linework/brushstroke. Perhaps more uneven brushes echo that in a complimentary fashion to better allow less mental discomfort for me personally when trying to paint in a faster, looser fashion? Honestly, very tempting to go try that out sooner rather than later on some art ideas I have, but I’ve been missing my writing very much of late with two time-demanding paintings back to back. So, ideas for a later time to experiment with.

#Far Cry 5 #FC 5 #Far Cry 5 AU #FC 5 AU #deputy joshua rook #my art #ofravensandgenesis's art #art talk #chatter #writing about art #writing about fanart #queue

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