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blackswaneuroparedux · 3 years

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The Scots Greys and the turning of the tide at Battle of Waterloo

They never consider the situation, never think of manoeuvring before an enemy and never keep back or provide a reserve. They’re charging at everything!

- Duke of Wellington reflecting on the charge of the British cavalry after the Battle of Maguilla in 1812

The Duke of Wellington was never pleased with his cavalry. In Spain he condemned them for “charging at everything”, getting cut up in the process or finding themselves on a distant part of the battlefield, horses blown, at the very moment they were needed elsewhere. So at Waterloo the Iron Duke intended to keep the mounted arm on a tight rein.

It was, after all, the first time he would actually face Napoleon in the field, and the situation was not auspicious. He had been taken by surprise. He famously learnt of the sudden appearance of the French on the border with the Southern Netherlands (now Belgium) at the Duchess of Richmond’s ball in Brussels on 15 June. “Napoleon has humbugged me, by God!” The following day his Prussian allies were worsted at Ligny. Hs own troops, rushed forward to nearby Quatre Bras, were badly mauled. He was on the back foot.

But his capacity to anticipate setbacks paid dividends. Some weeks earlier he had chosen a piece of ground on which to make a stand if the French were to come. The ridge of Mont St Jean, a mile south of the village of Waterloo athwart the main road from Charleroi to Brussels. The ridge ran north-east to south-west for about three miles, two-thirds of which Wellington was able to occupy with infantry and artillery. To support these he would post two brigades of light cavalry on the left (east) flank and three on the right. Two brigades of heavy cavalry, including the Scots Greys or, as they were then more properly known, the 2nd Royal (North British) Dragoons, would be in the centre. And to each of the cavalry brigadiers, as well as to the Earl of Uxbridge (later Marquess of Anglesey), the commander of the Allied cavalry and his second in command, Wellington gave strict instructions not to leave their positions without his express order.

The Duke was essentially a general who preferred to choose his ground, make the enemy attack him and then use the superior musketry of his infantry to defeat them. He intended Waterloo to be just such a battle. In addition, for the first time he had the benefit of a strong force of heavy cavalry inclusing the Scots Greys – bigger men, bigger swords, bigger horses – to counter the French heavy cavalry or break up an assault that threatened to overwhelm his infantry. And, indeed, the charge of these two brigades, best known perhaps for Lady (Elizabeth) Butler’s 1881 painting Scotland Forever! depicting the Scots Greys galloping wildly at the French, would be one of the critical actions of the battle, even, some argue, its turning point.

The Scots Greys had been formed in 1681 from a number of independent troops of dragoons (originally men who dismounted to fight with the musket, rather than fight from the saddle with sword and pistol), and known as The Royal Regiment of Scots Dragoons. The “grey” of their later title may at this time have referred to their uniform, for it was not for a dozen years that this changed to red, and there is no record that the Scots Greys used grey horses exclusively.

However, when inspected by King William III (William of Orange) in 1693 it was noted that the Scots Greys regiment were all mounted on greys. Soon afterwards they were being referred to as the “Grey Dragoons” or the “Scots Regiment of Grey Dragoons”. In 1707, after the Act of Union, they were restyled “North British”, as the parliamentary union envisaged Scotland to be. Not until 1877 would their nickname be made official. They became the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), inverted after the First World War to The Royal Scots Greys (2nd Dragoons). They kept this title for 50 years until amalgamating with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of Wales’s Dragoon Guards) to form the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys).

When Napoleon escaped from Elba at the end of February 1815 to begin his “Hundred Days”, the ill-starred attempt to retake the French crown and continue his imperial ambitions, the Greys were one of a number of regiments rushed to Belgium that had yet to fight “Napoleonic” troops. Indeed, by the time of Waterloo few Scots Greys had seen battle - and they were keen to make up for it.

Their moment came in the early afternoon of 18 June, when it looked as if Wellington’s line at Waterloo would break. The Comte d’Erlon’s corps of three infantry divisions, some 14,000 men, with 6,000 cavalry, assaulted the Allied left wing and centre, which was held by Dutch-Belgian brigades and Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton’s 5th Division, the latter experienced Peninsular troops.

As d’Erlon’s men ascended the slope towards the sunken road that ran the length of the ridge left of La Haye Sainte, driving back the British skirmishers and reaching the thick hedge that fringed the road, Picton’s men stood up, formed into a four-deep line to guard against cavalry attack, advanced and began volleying.

However, the French deployed unusually quickly into line and returned fire. Picton himself was killed after ordering a counter-attack in language profane even by his own legendary standards, and soon his troops were giving way under the pressure of numbers. At two o’clock Napoleon appeared to be winning the Battle of Waterloo.

But Lieutenant-General the Earl of Uxbridge was a cavalry commander of genius. Earlier estranged from Wellington on account of eloping with the Duke’s youngest brother’s wife, he had been disbarred from service in the Peninsula after brilliantly covering Sir John Moore’s gruelling retreat to Corunna. But his cavalry coup d’oeil had not deserted him, nor his moral courage. Despite the Duke’s orders that none of the cavalry was to quit the ground it had been posted on without his express will, Uxbridge ordered his two brigades – the Household Brigade (1st and 2nd Life Guards, Royal Horse Guards and 1st (King’s) Dragoon Guards) and the Union Brigade, so-called for its English, Scots and Irish regiments (1st Royal Dragoons, 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons, and the Scots Greys) – to charge in support of the hard-pressed infantry.

With a combined strength of nearly 2,500 sabres and led by Uxbridge, the heavies advanced. The Household Brigade was first into the charge, sweeping back the cuirassiers guarding d’Erlon’s left flank. To the Household’s left the Union Brigade surged through the lines of red-coated infantry in the sunken road, where some Gordon Highlanders grasped their stirrups to get at the French, and at the foot of the slope routed the two advanced infantry brigades of General Joachim Quiot’s division, the Royals, capturing the eagle of the 105th Ligne while Sergeant Ewart of the Greys, 6ft 4in tall and a master swordsman and rider, captured the eagle of the 45th Ligne.

Only two eagles were captured that day.

As with the Household, however, the officers of the Union Brigade were finding it difficult to rein in their troops, and the heavies lost all cohesion. With many casualties and still trying to reorder, the Greys now found themselves before the main French lines, their horses blown, though some galloped on to attack the guns of the Grande Batterie. This was too much for Napoleon, who had hitherto left the conduct of the battle to Marshal Michel Ney. He promptly ordered a counter-attack by two cuirassier brigades and Baron Jacquinot’s two Polish lancer regiments (a charge also painted by Lady Butler).

As Major-General Sir William Ponsonby tried to rally his brigade he was captured by Jacquinot’s men, whereupon several Greys galloped to their brigadier’s rescue but the lancers at once killed him and three of his would-be rescuers, who could do nothing to overcome the lance’s reach. The rest of the heavies might also have been speared or sabred had it not been for a counter-charge by Major-General Sir John Vandeleur’s light dragoon brigade and two of Dutch-Belgians from the left flank, who had also disobeyed Wellington’s orders to stay put.

The charge saved the remnants of the Household and Union brigades but their casualties had been heavy, including the Greys’ lieutenant-colonel, James Hamilton, who was killed. The official recorded losses for both brigades that day were 1,205 troopers and 1,303 horses, an extremely high proportion.

However, 14,000 French troops of D’Erlon’s corps had been committed to the attack on the Allied centre at a cost of some 3,000 casualties and irrecoverable time. It was four o’clock before they were ready to advance again, by when, with the Allied line holding along the ridge and Prussian troops beginning to arrive on the field from the east, it was be-coming clear that Napoleon had lost the battle, although there would be another two hours of increasingly desperate, bloody but futile French attacks before Wellington judged it the moment to signal the whole line to advance.

The Scots Greys would later incorporate the image of the captured eagle in their cap badge, and Sergeant Ewart would be commissioned as an ensign (second lieutenant) in the 5th Veteran Battalion of Infantry. The following year he was invited to a Waterloo dinner in Edinburgh, where Sir Walter Scott asked him to speak. But Ensign Ewart begged that he might be excused, saying, “I would rather fight the Battle of Waterloo over again than face so large an assemblage.”

The Battle of Waterloo, the culmination of more than twenty years of fighting in Europe and across the globe, was one of the greatest military defeats in history. Within a matter of hours it would not only result in thousands of deaths, but also in the destruction ofa well-experienced army.

The role that the Scots Greys played in the Battle of Waterloo was, perhaps something of a surprise. Although they had had a long and relatively distinguished history, having fought in many battles from the time of William III in Holland, the group tasked with fighting at Waterloo, the majority having little or no battle experience, proved themselves to be more than adequate on their day. Through sheer courage and determination they entered a bloody battle against all the odds.

Historians continue to debate whether the Scots Greys was the actual turning point of the Battle of Waterloo with as much vigour as they debate the late intervention of Blucher’s Prussians. Be that as it may it remains undeniable that the number of losses, in proportion to their numbers, was very high, yet the impression they made on the battlefield at Waterloo was, and still is, deep and forever remembered.

#scots greys #waterloo #napoleon #eagle #history #british army #war #military history #napoleonic warfare #britain #france #prussia #regiment #duke of wellington

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autumnblogs · 3 years

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Day 32: Through the Looking Glass

https://homestuck.com/story/4116

So right out of the gate, we learn a few things about the Scratched version of the universe, aside from the obvious fact that the new heroes are the previous guardians. Everyone is a little more mature, and identities are a little more fully-formed.

Jane’s name is already set in stone. Notably, the definition between the audience and Jane is also a little clearer here than usual - the Narration implies a distinction between us and Jane. Could be because we’re not controlling her yet - but as we get into Act 6, we will find a lot of cases where audience participation happens as part of the mechanic of narration, and this distinction will be called to a lot more.

More after the break.

https://homestuck.com/story/4117

So let’s unpack Jane’s interests and relation to pre-established parts of the Homestuck Universe, and see if we can’t start making guesses about Jane.

First thing’s first is that while we could read Jane’s affinity for these mustachio’d funnymen as being purely an attraction, she roleplays like John does - as a bit of a prankstress herself, and one who dons a fake mustache for one of her disguises, Jane roleplays as these men immediately suggesting to us that she looks up to them, and wants to be like them, rather than that she’s attracted to them.

(Though she certainly could be.)

Second thing is that Jane’s position as the Heirress parallels her not to John, but to Feferi. Like Feferi, Jane is a sweet girl who is the heir to a position of abominable power, and because she is beholden to the shape of that power, as long as she remains wedded to that shape, she will not only struggle to do anything productive with it, but in the course of the story, be subverted into a villain, at least for a little while, and it’s clear from the way that Crockertier Jane’s situation is communicated to us that she is an accomplice to her own brainwashing, and that the actions she takes in that form are meaningfully hers.

On another note, I think it’s interesting that on this side of the scratch, the Condesce has reimagined her empire as a megacorporation.

https://homestuck.com/story/4120

What do we learn about Jake right out of the gate? He likes movies - adventure movies. Jake, like Tavros, the other page, loves to bluster about subjects that he actually has relatively little affinity for - and in both cases, their lack of affinity can largely be described as performing their culture’s ideal of public personhood - warrior virtue. While Jake has all of the outward signifiers of masculinity, and is actually a pretty brave and technically skillful fighter by the standards of the real world, up until the Hopesplosion, he is outclassed by a lot of his friends, and ultimately, the cases where he most embodies warrior-manhood, Jake is being forced into it by someone who wants to take advantage of him.

We benefit from most of this knowledge with hindsight. It’s not actually there in this opening section, but the main thrust of Jake’s interests is his love of adventure and his love of wrestling, and I’m principally interested in Jake’s physicality in addressing his interests - he’s a very physical kid.

https://homestuck.com/story/4121

We’re hot off the heels of Terezi’s fake choice, and a lot of conversation about free will and fake choices in Act 5 - and here we’re presented with one almost immediately. We can pick either option, but the outcome will be the same whatever we do.

https://homestuck.com/story/4124

I’ve always thought the Condescension’s relationship with Jane is deeply fascinating. There is something about the prospect of cultivating an heiress, someone to take over her legacy, that brings out something tender and maternal in her, I think, even if it only manifests in a twisted way. She’s a bit of an enigma to me.

https://homestuck.com/story/4126

Well, Jane is certainly interested in Foxworthy, so I rescind my earlier comment.

We’ve barely been introduced to her and she pretty much immediately starts showing off her paternalistic disdain for rural and vulgar people through the narrative’s language, and her nostalgia for Problem Sleuth characterizes her enjoyment of its sequel.

Jane has an aristocratic mentality, and conservative leanings in the media she appreciates, and the way that she appreciates it. If Andrew’s commentary that he continued to examine the themes he started with Feferi in Jane, I think what we should take away is that Feferi’s concern for the lowly comes with a heaping helping of...

Wait for it.

Wait for it...

Condescension.

https://homestuck.com/story/4127

Jane’s disdain for the vulgar - low culture, low classes - also shows itself pretty quickly. In stark contrast to the other two leaders - John and Karkat - Jane isn’t much of a movie watcher at all (Jake gets that attribute in his session) and her attitude toward’s Jake’s movies is one of snobbery. Both of the other two movie watchers have a playfully self-deprecating attitude toward their own bad tastes in movies, but they still enjoy those movies sincerely.

Her relationship of passive-aggressive one-upsmanship also distinctly recalls Rose’s relationship with her mother, suggesting that Jane shares some of the underlying pessimism and mild hostility that Rose struggles with.

Also, as a symbol Swanson is a representative of the sort of anti-government animus that characterizes the politics of Trans-Mississippi America outside of the heavily populated West Coast, where the wedding of big business and state planning have created a lot of disaffection toward the distant and disinterested corporate landlords and bureaucratic apparatuses that govern huge tracts of federal land and private property in the west. Pawnee Indiana may not actually be on the other side of the Mississippi from Washington, but having grown up in Montana for at least a part of my childhood, Swanson’s politics are immediately recognizable.

Unfortunately, this anti-state animus has manifested not in the form of a renewed commitment to emancipation, but to the uniquely American, get-off-my-lawn form of Right-Wing populism practiced by the short-lived Tea Party, and smug “It’s just basic economics” Reagan-worshipping conservatives.

What I’m trying to say is, Jane would probably be a Ben Shapiro or Steven Crowder fan in the modern day.

https://homestuck.com/story/4136

Jane’s skepticism prevents her from listening to her friends when they tell her about the extraordinary things that they do, but it’s also not exactly a kind of scientific skepticism, and more of a dogmatic realism - she has a narrow vision of what the world is like, and is dismissive of ideas that are outside of her bubble.

Quick Note that while Jake makes only an off-handed remark about it here, he is sensitive to the hostile, toxic relationship between the AR and Dirk in a way that neither of the girls really is, and while that may seem uncharacteristically emotionally intelligent of Jake, I think he’s a lot more aware of his surroundings than he lets on.

https://homestuck.com/story/4142

Now as long as we’re talking about Right Wing Populism and comparing Jane to John there is an extremely potent assertion.

The USPS, and the idea of privatizing it, is as much a symbol of the war of corporatists and authoritarians against social democracy as anything is, and because of the way John is associated with Mail in general as a Hero of Breath, Jane is almost immediately setting herself up as a foil to John.

https://homestuck.com/story/4144

Calliope is so cheery that it’s easy to take everything she says in stride, and yet, with all the horrors Sburb has to offer, in terms of the way it destroys planets, and traumatizes its players, her optimism toward the game is at least disquieting.

Sure, the Null Session isn’t going to destroy the kids’ session, but her language is contrasted against both Kanaya’s and Karkat’s when they berated Aradia and Jade respectively. Both Karkat and Kanaya rue the effects of the narrative on their lives, but Calliope is a superfan.

https://homestuck.com/story/4156

I know I’m spending a lot of time ragging on her here, but like, as long as I am; Jane is sure openly hostile to her best friend, in a way that comes as kind of surprising even given the precedent that we have to work with.

https://homestuck.com/story/4160

Poirot is from Belgium.

I wonder if Andrew or Jane is the one committing that error?

https://homestuck.com/story/4168

Jake is full of little contradictions like this. Likes Adventure, terrified of monsters. Not even ambivalent about them, certainly not excited by them. It’s like the opposite of how little kids are usually super into Dinosaurs.

https://homestuck.com/story/4171

So what is the deal with Jake and his fascination with Blue Women? Aside from the metaphysical connection with Vriska and Aranea (and to a lesser extent, Jake), like... what’s the meaning of it?

I think a possible answer to the question lies in the process of the initial portraits becoming blue - leaving them out in the sun to fade - and the relationship between that, and the way in which he likes mummies and suits of armor, and so on and so forth - and even his stuffed trophies.

Maybe this suggests that Jake is, on principle, far more comfortable with the idea of a thing, than with the thing itself. Jake’s Blue Women are comfortably static. They have ceased to change a long time ago, and now exist, preserved in perpetuity, without the need to worry about adapting to suit them.

https://homestuck.com/story/4175

While a lot of Jake’s guesses are incorrect, he’s still clearly spending a lot of time pondering over the mysterious time shenanigans - he just hasn’t quite put it all together.

https://homestuck.com/story/4177

The same way that Dirk’s fastidious organization is equated to his complicated and demanding modus, and the way that John being a big impulsive himbo is equated with his inability to manage his fetch modus, constantly getting distracted from his goal by the card on the surface, Jake’s Modus has an enormous capacity, but most of it is preoccupied inefficiently.

https://homestuck.com/story/4184

The Autoresponder continues the conversation that Andrew has with the audience about the distribution of the self - Dirk does this more generally, but the particular thread the AR tugs on is the question of where a person’s self really stops - just as the question lingers in the air because of John’s disposition toward Davesprite, the question of whether the AR is really a separate person from Dirk, or a part of him, is posed continuously just by the fact that it exists.

https://homestuck.com/story/4192

To be fair to Dirk, who I will have a lot of kind-of-sympathetic-antipathy for, I had forgotten that it is, in fact, the Autoresponder who sets up this particular challenge for Dirk.

The parallels between Dirk and English are nevertheless being set up through this conversation nevertheless - by sending him the parts and getting him to assemble the robot, Dirk makes Jake complicit in his own humiliation, even as he attempts to build Jake up into an ideal partner.

https://homestuck.com/story/4196

Already we’re seeing indications that this segment of Homestuck will deal with different themes of growing up than the first half. Which is already kind of obvious, but we’ve moved decisively out of Part 1: Problems, and into Part 2: Feelings. The second half has moved out of the territory of other humans and their emotional situations as somewhat idealized problems (somewhat) and into this situation where everyone is a moving body, complicated and the characters are each others’ biggest obstacles, and their own biggest obstacles. That’s a bit of a reductive way of describing it, but I think it rings true.

https://homestuck.com/story/4256

While I am willing to concede that Dirk is not literally responsible for siccing the Brobot on Jake today, he more or less assents to AR’s sexual harassment and physical abuse of Jake.

In addition to his vicarious physical abuse, Dirk’s persona as the Prince of Heart calls him to suppress the uniqueness of the people who are around him, moulding them like clay into shapes that better resemble him. Jake and Jane need to be more like each other in his eyes - which is to say, they both need to be more like Dirk.

We also get some insight into Dirk’s sense of humor here - it’s not just about the irony. I think there is an extent to which at the base of the thing, Dirk’s sense of humor is about simultaneously denying and affirming a thing’s meaning - making fun of it while cherishing it. Having a thing be incredibly silly - while also being incredibly serious business. He cherishes the absurd.

I wonder if he’d like Kojima’s stuff.

https://homestuck.com/story/4257

The way that Dirk identifies with logic and reason recalls the sort of “enlightened by my own intelligence” New Atheist jerks who were known to prowl the internet in the early half of the decade, and to some extent, still do. Like Libertarians, these folks have often in the present day gotten caught up in Right Wing Populism. Maybe it’s something about the way that Right Wing movements increasingly identify as a part of counter-culture even though they advocate reactionary policies.

https://homestuck.com/story/4273

This is extremely silly, but Jake is in mortal peril all the time, and I expect even at the best of times he might be uncomfortable being touched.

https://homestuck.com/story/4284

Here we shall pause.

Sorry for the late post. Early work was quite busy, and once the rush was over, it was already quite late.

So the first Act of Act 6 has been very informative! Compared to the first Act of Homestuck, we’ve been introduced already to all our Dramatis Personae!

Tune back in tomorrow to here Cam Say,

Some variation on Alive and Not Alone.

#commentary #liveblogging

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stingslikeabee · 3 years

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Yakuza verse

Melissa (Mel) Drysdell was born in the US –however her life was only partially lived there, since her father was in the army and the Drysdells moved frequently as a result. Belgium and Kuwait were two countries where they spent considerable time – and the fact that her mother was a novelist meant that, fortunately, they remained together all over the globe.

She was 17 when they moved to Okinawa, in Japan – and shortly after she turned 20, enough to be of age locally, Melissa decided to stay there – tired from the country-hopping, she just felt like trying to grow some roots herself somewhere for a change, even if the rest of her family returned to the US where she hardly had friends or felt connected to anymore.

Plus, she had somehow adapted to Japan – the food was good, the country was clean and safe; and once she mastered enough of the language, she did just fine. Melissa only failed to realize that, as a result of her past moves, she had studied everywhere and nowhere – the paperwork to legalize her diplomas was impossible. It left her with a few choices to support herself – but even the modelling and occasional photoshoot jobs weren’t enough to keep herself afloat financially and she ended up lured by the hostess work.

It was an attractive profession – no previous experience required, no formal qualifications needed and the ‘no touching’ policy gave her peace of mind. Moving to a bigger city with a larger nightlife scene was necessary, but she did struggle – particularly at the beginning. However, being strong headed meant that admitting defeat to go back home was not an option, so Melissa stayed – despite the language barriers that diminished over time, and mostly the persistent bias against her foreign ways.

Over the years, these aspects improved – Melissa was particularly successful at her job with a specific niche of clients who were delighted by being entertained by a western woman who could speak the local language, and her behavior and attitude were regarded as good qualities rather than undesirable traits in these situations. Hostessing worked well enough for a number of years – it provided her with an apartment, investments, a comfortable lifestyle for someone with no kids or family and the gifts from her loyal customers were always a nice bonus.

But eventually age caught up with her – it was a business where not many could remain once they were not as youthful as they had once been. The long hours and the drinking were always additional issues to be dealt with, and the next rational step seemed to go to the backstage instead. She had built a solid network, and her deeds with businessmen and organized crime patriarchs offered her a consistent demand for beautiful and energetic girls for all sorts of parties. Why not becoming the owner of her own club?

And that was what she did – Melissa become the proprietress of a small yet refined club which came to be known as the ‘Honey Bee Inn’. Her main goal was to provide her loyal fanbase with unparalleled customer service – the sort of tailored experience that big clubs could no longer handle on an individual basis, but keeping the same luxury that the top clubs emanated. She crowned herself the queen of a nightlife spot and ensured to keep working so her patrons could always felt like they were the revered and esteemed guests of a royal court – her own.

Note: Long story short - the Yakuza verse is loosely based on Yuki’s storyline (from Yakuza 0 to Yakuza Kiwami 2). Dates were left vague on purpose so this can be adapted to accommodate basically all sorts of characters and plots from the actual franchise or with related verses, including the location of the club (but by default it is assumed to be in Tokyo / Kabuki-cho (or Kamurocho) rather than Osaka).

The main differences are in the sense that she remains named Melissa; she does not have family issues (but rather chose to live apart) and has infrequent contact with her parents and/or sisters, but loves them dearly; and she also does not have any sort of local rivalry against other clubs, owners or hostesses - she always had a very specific niche while working as one, and the transition to owner was considerably easier in this verse.

She doesn’t have specific deals or partnerships with the Yakuza - she’s aware of the patriarchs and has worked with them and their man on a routine basis, but they are just regular customers to her and she tends to keep out of family feuds and any other internal clan clashes.

#ooc!#new verse #v: Yakuza #this was in the works since FOREVER #glad to have it out #also the HBI as a hostess club in modern day Japan #how easy was this one #I should have finished it much sooner

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buzzdixonwriter · 3 years

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CASTLE KEEP: An Analysis

Few movies resonate as deeply with me as Castle Keep.

It is truly sui generis.

It’s a deceptively simple story: In the waning days of WWII, eight walking wounded American soldiers occupy a castle in Belgium, a token sign of force as the war rages past them. The castle belongs to a noble family who owned it for generations and stocked it with a vast collection of priceless rare and irreplaceable classical art. The current count wants to keep his castle and his collection intact, but he also wants a son to carry on the family name and tradition. He is, unfortunately, impotent. And even more unfortunately, the castle is located in the Ardennes forest, on the road to Bastogne…

Now, those raw elements are more than enough to fuel a perfectly good run of the mill WWII movie, with plenty of bang-bang-shoot-em-up and some obligatory musings on the meaning of it all.

And I’m sure that’s the way they pitched Castle Keep.

But director Sydney Pollack and screenwriters Daniel Taradash and David Rayfiel (adapting the eponymous novel by William Eastlake) delivered something far more…well…phantasmagorical is as apt a way of describing it as any.

Because despite being solid grounded in a real time and a real place and a real event, Castle Keep moves out of the realm of mere history and into a much more magical place.

Not so much fact, as fable.

And as fable, it gets closer to the Truth.

. . .

Before we analyze the movie, let’s set the contextual stage.

First off, understand the impact WWII movies still had on audiences of the 1960s and early 70s.

For those who lived through the war years, it occurred scarcely more than 20 years earlier, a period that seems like forever to teenagers and young adults but flies past in the blink of an eye when one reaches middle age and beyond.

Not only were WWII movies popular, they were relatively easy to make. A lot of countries still used operational Allied and German equipment up through the 1960s (Spain’s air force stood in for the Luftwaffe in 1969’s The Battle Of Britain), and for low budget black and white films or pre-living color TV, ample archival and stock footage padded things out.

Most importantly, WWII was a shared experience insofar as younger audiences grew up hearing from their parents what it was like, and as a result there was some degree of relatability between the Greatest Generation and their children, the Boomers.

But the times, they were a’changin’ as Dylan sang, and the rise of the counter-culture in the 1960s and the civil rights, feminist, and ant-Vietnam War movements (and boy howdy, is that a hot of history crammed into one sentence but you’re just gonna hafta roll with me on this one, folks; we’ll examine that era in greater detail at some point in the future but not today, not today…) led to younger audiences looking at WWII with fresh eyes and to older film makers re-evaluating their own experiences.

So to focus on WWII films of the time, understand their were 3 main threads running through the era:

The epic re-enactment typified by The Longest Day (1961), The Battle Of The Bulge (1965), Patton (1970), and ending with A Bridge Too Far in 1977

The cynical revisionism of The Dirty Dozen (1967), Where Eagles Dare (1968), and Kelly’s Heroes (1970)*

The absurdity of How I Won The War (1967) and Catch-22 (1970)

Castle Keep brushes past all those sub-genres, though it comes closest to absurdity.

. . .

While released in 1969, Castle Keep started development as early as 1966 (the novel saw print in 1965). Burt Lancaster, attached early on as the star, requested Sydney Pollack as director.

Pollack, an established TV director, started making a name for himself in the mid-1960s with films like The Slender Thread and This Property Is Condemned; he and Lancaster worked together on The Scalphunters prior to Castle Keep.

While his first three films were well received, Pollack’s career really took off with his fifth movie, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? and after that it was a string of unbroken successes including Jeremiah Johnson, The Way We Were, The Three Days Of The Condor, Tootsie, Out Of Africa, and many, many more.

In fact, the only apparent dud in the barrel is Castle Keep, his fourth movie.

Castle Keep arrived at an…uh…interesting juncture in American (and worldwide) cinema history.

The old studio system that served Hollywood so well unraveled at the seams, the old way of doing business and making movies just didn’t seem to work anymore.

Conversely, the new style wasn’t winning that many fans, either.

For every big hit like Easy Rider there were dozens of films like Candy and Puzzle Of A Downfall Child and Play It As It Lays and Alex In Wonderland.

As I commented at the time, it seemed as if everybody in Hollywood had forgotten how to make movies.

It was a period rife with experimentation, but the thing about experiments is that they don’t always work. While there were some astonishingly good films in this era, by and large it’s difficult for modern audiences to fully appreciate what the experimental films of the era were trying to do -- and in no small part because when they succeeded, the experiments became part of the cinematic language, but when they failed…

Castle Keep is not a perfect film. As much as I love it, I need to acknowledge its flaws.

The Red Queen brothel sequences feel extraneous, not really worked into the film. Women are often treated like eye candy in male dominated war films, but this is exceptionally so. Brothels and prostitution certainly existed during WWII, servicing both sides and all comers, but the Red Queen’s ladies undercut points the film makes elsewhere.

Their participation in the penultimate battle shifts the film -- however briefly -- from the absurd to the ridiculous, and apparently negative audience testing resulted in a shot being inserted showing them alive and well and cheering despite a German tank blasting their establishment just a few moments earlier.

Likewise, an action sequence in the middle of the film where a German airplane is shot down also seems like studio pressure to add a little action to the first two-thirds of the movie.

Apparently unable to obtain a Luftwaffe fighter of the era, Pollack and the producers opted for an observation aircraft, then outfitted it with forward firing machine guns, something such aircraft never carried.

Once the airplane spotted the American soldiers at the castle, it would have flown away to avoid being shot down, not return again and again in futile strafing runs while they returned fire.

It’s action for the sake of action, and like the Red Queen scenes actually undercuts other points the film makes.

. . .

But when the film works, ah, it works gloriously…

Pollack used a style common in films of the late 1960s and early 70s: Jump cuts from one time and place to another, with no optical transition or establishing shot to signal the jump to the audience.

Star Wars brought the old school style of film making back in a big way, and ya know what? Old school works; it was lessons learned the hard way and by long experience.

Still, Pollack’s jump cuts add to Castle Keep’s dreamy, almost hallucinogenic ambiance, and that in turn reinforces the sense of fable that permeates the film.

For as historically accurate as Castle Keep is re the Battle of the Bulge, as noted above it is not operating in naturalism but rather the theater of myth and magic.

Pollack prefigures this early on with a dreamy slow motion sequence of cloaked riders galloping through the dead trees of the Ardennes forest, jumping a fence directly in front of the jeep carrying Major Falconer (Burt Lancaster) and his walking wounded squad.

It’s a sequence similar to one in Roger Vadim’s "Metzengerstein" segment of 1968’s Spirits Of The Dead, and while it’s unlikely Pollack found direct inspiration from Vadim, clearly both drew from the same mythic well.

The sequence serves as an introduction to the count (Jean-Pierre Aumont) and Therese his wife (? Niece? Sister? Nobody in the movie seems 100% sure what their relationship is, but she’s played by Astrid Heeren) and the fabulous Castle Maldorais.

The castle is fabulous in more ways than one. While the exterior was a free standing full scale outdoor set and some large interior sets were built, many of the most magnificent scenes were filmed in other real locations to show off genuine works of art found in other European castles.

This adds to the film’s somewhat disjointed feel, but that disjointed feel contributes to the dream-like quality of the story.

. . .

As mentioned, Maldorais is crammed to the gills with priceless art, and the count doesn’t care who prevails so long as the art is unmolested.

The same can’t be said about Therese, however, and as the film’s narrator and aspiring author, Private Allistair Piersall Benjamin (Al Freeman Jr.), notes “We occupied the castle. No one knows when the major occupied the countess.”

The count, as noted, is impotent. To keep Castle Maldorais intact for future generations, he needs an heir and is not fussy about how he obtains one. Therese’s function is to produce such an heir, and if the count isn’t particular about which side wins, neither is he particular about which side produces the next generation.

Despite being the narrator and (spoiler!) sole American survivor at the end of the film, Pvt. Benjamin is not the focal character of the film, nor -- surprise-surprise -- is Lancaster’s Maj. Falconer.

Falconer is evocative of Colonel Richard Cantwell in Ernest Hemingway’s Across The River And Into The Trees, in particular regarding his love affair with a woman many years his junior.

Falconer wears a patch over his right eye, the only visible sign of wounding among the GIs occupying the castle.

Several military movie buffs think they found a continuity error in Castle Keep insofar as Maj. Falconer first appears in standard issue officer fatigues of the era, but towards the end and particularly in the climactic battle wears an airborne officer’s combat uniform.

This isn’t an error, I think, but a clue as to Falconer’s personal history.

An airborne (i.e., paratrooper) officer who lost an eye is unfit for combat, and if well enough to serve would be assigned garrison duty, not a front line command.

Falconer figures out very early in Castle Keep the strategic importance of Castle Maldorais re the impending German attack and very consciously makes a decision to stand and fight rather than fall back to the relative safety of Bastogne.

Donning his old airborne uniform makes perfect sense under such circumstances.

If the count is impotent invisibly, Falconer is visibly impotent -- in both senses of the word -- and sees his chance to make one last heroic stand against the oncoming Nazi army as a surer way of restoring his symbolically lost manhood than in impregnating Therese.**

. . .

Before examining our focal character, a few words on the supporting cast.

Peter Falk is Sgt. Rossi, a baker. Sgt. Rossi’s exact wounding is never made clear, but it appears he suffers from some form of shell shock (as they called PTSD at the time).

He hears things, in particular a scream that only he hears three times during the movie.

The first time is after an opening montage of beautiful works of art being destroyed in a series of explosions. When a bird-like gargoyle is blow apart, a screech is heard on the soundtrack, and we abruptly jump cut to Maj. Falconer and Sgt. Rossi and the rest of the squad on their way to Castle Maldorais.

For a movie as profoundly philosophical as Castle Keep (more on that in a bit), Sgt. Rossi is the only actual philosopher in the group. His philosophy is of an earthy bent, and filtered through his own PTSD, but he’s clearly thinking.

Rossi briefly deserts the squad to take up with the local baker’s wife (Olga Bisera, identified only as Bisera in the credits). This is not adultery or cuckoldry; Rossi sees her bakery, knocks, and identifies himself as a baker.

“And I am a baker’s wife,” she says.

“Where’s the baker?”

“Gone.”

And with that Rossi moves in, fulfilling all the duties required of a baker (including, however briefly, standing in as a father figure for her son).

The baker’s wife is the only female character who displays any real personal agentry in the film, Therese and the Red Queen and her ladies are there simply to do the bidding of whichever male is present.

This is a problem with most male-oriented war films, and especially so for late 60s / early 70s cinema of any kind; for all the idealistic talk of equality and self-realization, female characters tended to be treated more cavalierly in films of that era than in previous generations. Olga Bisera’s character appears noteworthy only in comparison to the other female characters in the movie.

Pvt. Benjamin, our narrator and aspiring author, is African-American. There is virtually no reference made to his race in the film, certainly not as much as the references to a Native American character’s ethnicity.

Today this would be seen as an example of color blind casting; back in 1969 it was a pretty visually explicit point.

Again, it serves the mythic feel of the movie. At that time, African-American enlisted personnel would not be serving in an integrated unit.

While Castle Keep never brings the topic up, the film -- and Pvt. Benjamin’s narration -- indicates these eight men are bottom of the barrel scrapings, sent where they can do the least amount of damage, and otherwise forgotten by the powers that be.

With that reading, Benjamin’s presence is easy to understand. As the apparently third most educated member of the unit (Falconer and our focal character are the other two), he probably would not have been a smooth fit in any unit he’d been assigned to.

Whatever got him yanked out of his old company and placed under Maj. Falconer’s command probably was as much a relief to his superiors as it was to him.

Scott Wilson is Corporal Clearboy, a cowboy with a hatred of Army jeeps and an unholy love for Volkswagens.

Volkswagens actually appeared in Germany before the start of WWII but once Hitler came out swinging those factories were converted to military production. Nonetheless, the basic Beetle was around during the war, and commandeered and used by many Allied soldiers who found one.

Clearboy’s Volkswagen provides one of the funniest bits in the movie, and one that plays on the mythical / surreal / magic realism of the film. Clearboy’s obsession is oddly touching.

Tony Bill’s Lieutenant Amberjack tips us early on to the kind of cinematic experience we’re in for. Under the opening credits, Amberjack is asked if he ever studied for the ministry; Amberjack says he did.

“Then why aren’t you a chaplain?” -- and Amberjack bursts out laughing.

Amberjack does not go with the others to the Red Queen -- “That’s for enlisted men” -- and while he enjoys playing the count’s organ, by that I mean he literally sits down at the keyboard and plays music.

But as we’ll see, Castle Keep is not the sort of movie to shy away from sly hints. Amberjack’s specific “wound” is never discussed, so it’s open to speculation as to why he’s assigned to Maj. Falconer’s squad.

(Siderbar: Following a successful acting career, Bill went on to produce and direct several motion pictures, sharing a Best Picture Oscar for The Sting with Michael and Julia Phillips.)

Elk, the token Native American character in every WWII squad movie, is played by James Patterson. Elk doesn’t get much to do in the film, though Patterson was an award winning Broadway actor. Tragically, he died of cancer a few years after making Castle Keep.

Another character with little to do is Michael Conrad’s Sergeant DeVaca. Most audiences today remember him for his role in Hill Street Blues.

Astrid Heeren (Therese) gets a typically thankless role for films of this type in that era. She possessed a beautiful face that’s so symmetrical it gives off an unearthly, almost frightening vibe. A fashion model in the 1960s, she appeared in only four movies -- this one, The Thomas Crown Affair, and two sleaze fests -- before quitting the business.

As noted above, no one is ever quite sure what her exact relationship to the count is. Towards the end it’s speculated she’s his sister and his wife, but since the count is impotent, does that really constitute incest?

Whatever she is, it’s clear the count considers her nothing more than an oven in which to bake a new heir, and in a very real sense she possesses less freedom and personal agentry than the ladies of the Red Queen.

At least she survives at the end of the film, pregnant with Falconer’s child, led to safety by Pvt. Benjamin.

Finally, Bruce Dern as Lieutenant Billy Byron Bix, a wigged out walking wounded who is not a member of Falconer’s squad.

Bix leads his own rag tag group of GIs, equally addled soldiers who proclaim their newly found evangelical fervor renders them conscientious objectors. They wander about, singing hymns and scrounging for survival, until the penultimate battle of the film.

Falconer, trying to recruit more defenders from the retreating American forces, dragoons Bix and his followers into singing a hymn in the hopes of luring some of the shell shocked GIs back to the keep.

Bix agrees -- and is almost immediately killed by a shell, not only thwarting Falconer’s plan but also raising the question of whether this was divine punishment for abandoning his pacifist ways, fate decreeing Falconer and his squad must stand alone, or pure random chance.

Dern, as always, is a delight to watch, and he and Falk get a funny scene where they argue about singing hymns at night.

. . .

So who is our focal character?

Patrick O’Neil was one of those journeymen actors who never get the big breakout role that makes them a star, but worked regularly and well.

He worked on Broadway, guest starred on TV a lot, starred in a couple of minor films (including the delightful sci-fi / spy comedy Matchless), but spent most of his movie career supporting other stars.

Castle Keep is his finest performance.

He’s supposed to be supporting Lancaster in Castle Keep, but dang, he’s the heart and soul of the film.

O’Neil plays Captain Lionel Beckman, Falconer’s second in command, a professor of art and literature whose name is well known enough to be recognized by the count.

Besides Falconer, Beckman is the only character explicitly acknowledged as having been wounded; this is revealed when Falconer mentions Beckman won the Bronze Star (the second highest award for bravery) and the Purple Heart.

Beckman is enthralled by Castle Maldorais; he and the count strike up a respectful if not friendly relationship.

He sees and appreciates the cultural significance of Castle Maldorais’ artistic treasures and futilely tries to share his love of same with the enlisted men.

He also understands how little Falconer can do at the castle to slow the German advance, and makes the entirely reasonable suggestion that perhaps it would be best for the squad and the castle to retreat and let the treasures remain intact.

Lancaster reportedly wanted to make Castle Keep a comment on the Vietnam War, but the reality is there’s no adequate comparison.

History shows the Nazis were a brutal, aggressive, racist force determined to conquer all they could and destroy the rest.

Beckman is not a fool for wanting to spare the castle and its art, and that’s why he’s vital as the film’s focal character.

He sees and feels for us the horror at what appears to be the senseless waste about to befall the men and the castle. His voice is necessary to express there are ideals worth fighting for, and there are times when not fighting is the best strategy.

But Maj. Falconer is shown as a good officer. While he maintains an aloof attitude of command, he’s interested in and concerned about the men under him, he’s willing to be lenient if circumstances permit, and he keeps them openly and honestly informed at all times of the situation facing them.

He figures out the meaning of the flares seen early in the film, anticipates what the German line of attack will be, but most importantly realizes more will die and more destruction will occur if the Nazis aren’t resisted.

He and Beckman’s difference of opinion is not simplistic good vs evil, brute vs beauty, but a deeper, and ultimately more ineffable one over applying value in our lives.

Falconer and Beckman represent two entirely different yet equally valid and equally human points of view of when and how we decide to act on those values.

Falconer by himself cannot tell the story of Castle Keep, he needs the sounding board of Beckman, and only Beckman can bridge the gap between those opposing values for the audience.

. . .

Before we go further, a brief compare & contrast on an earlier Burt Lancaster film, The Train (1964).

It touches on a theme similar to Castle Keep: As Allied armies advance on Paris, the Germans plan to move a vast collection of priceless art by rail from France to Germany. Lancaster, a member of a French resistance cell, doesn’t see the military value of stopping the train, but when other members of his cell decide to do so in order to save French culture, he reluctantly joins their efforts.

The film ends with the train stopped, the French hostages massacred, the art abandoned and strewn about by the fleeing Germans. Lancaster confronts and shoots the German officer responsible then leaves, dismayed and disgusted by the waste of human life over an abstract love of beauty.

The French resistance fighters who died trying to stop the train did so of their own fully informed consent; they knew the risks, we willing to take them, ad faced the consequences.

The civilian hostages massacred at the end had no knowledge, much less any say in the reason why their lives were risked. Lancaster, in successfully derailing the train to prevent it leaving France, also signs their death warrants when the vengeful Nazis turn on their victims.

The Train proved a critical success and did well at the box office, yet while it raises a lot of interesting points and issues, it ultimately isn’t as deep or as humane as Castle Keep.

The Train ends with a bitter sense of futility.

Castle Keep ends with a bittersweet sense of sacrifice.

. . .

All of which brings us to the screenplay of Castle Keep, written by Daniel Taradash and David Rayfiel off the novel by William Eastlake.

I read Eastlake’s book decades ago and remember it to be a good story.

The screenplay kept the basic plot but built wonderfully off the complexity of the novel, reinterpreting it for the screen.

It’s one of the few cinematic adaptations of a good literary work that actually improves on the original.

Taradash was a classic old school Hollywood screenwriter with a string of bona fide hits and classics to his credit including From Here To Eternity (1952), Picnic (1955), and Hawaii (1966). He also scripted the interesting misfire Morituri (1965), about an Allied double-agent attempting to sabotage a German freighter trying to get vital supplies back to the fatherland.

I suspect Taradash was the studio’s first choice for adapting the book, and as his credits show, an eminently suitable one.

But when Pollack came on as the director, he also brought along David Rayfiel, a frequent collaborator with him on other films.

Rayfiel’s career as a screenwriter was shorter than Tardash’s but more intense, vacillating between quality films and well crafted potboilers. Rayfiel and Pollack doubtlessly shaped the final form of the screenplay, and despite what appears to he studio interference, turned in a truly memorable piece of work.

As I said, Castle Keep is truly sui generis, but there are other films and screenplays that carry some of the same flavor.

The Stunt Man (1980; directed by Richard Rush, screenplay by Rush and Lawrence B. Marcus off the novel by Paul Brodeur) bears certain similarities in tone and approach to Castle Keep. It represents an evolution of the cinematic style originally found in Pollack’s film, now refined and polished to fit mainstream expectations.

True, it has the advantage of a story that hinges on sudden / swift / disorienting changes, but it still managed to pull those effects off more smoothly than the films of the late 1960s did.

As I said, some experiments work…

Castle Keep’s screenplay works more like Plato’s dialogs than a traditional film script.

Almost every line in it is a philosophical statement or question of some sort, and underlying everything in the film is each character’s quest for at least some kind of understanding if not actual meaning in life.

As noted, Sgt. Rossi is the most philosophical of these characters, though his philosophy is of a far earthier, more pragmatic variety than that of the count, Falconer, or Beckman.

All the major characters have some sort of philosophical bent, even if they’re not self-aware enough to recognize it in themselves.

The dialog is elliptical, less interested in baldly stating something that in getting the audience to tease out its own meanings.

Pollack directs the film in a way that forces the audience to fill in many blanks.

Early in the movie, Falconer and the count find themselves being stalked by a German patrol. They take refuge in a gazebo, duck as the Germans fire the first few shots --

-- then we abruptly jump to the aftermath of the firefight, with Falconer and the count standing over the bodies of four dead Germans.

Falconer, seeing they’re all enlisted men, realizes they wouldn’t come this far behind enemy lines without an officer.

There can be only one destination for the officer, one goal he seeks…

Pollack then visually cuts away from Falconer and the count to Therese in the castle, but keeps the two men’s dialog going as a voice over.

In the voice over, we heard Falconer stalk and kill the German officer as he approaches the castle…

…and without ever explicitly stating it, the audience comes to realize the count and Therese are not allies of the Americans, that they are playing only for their own side, and that their values are alien to those of both the Allies and the Germans.

The count is using Therese -- with or without her consent -- to produce an offspring for him, and if the Germans can’t do the job, let the Americans have a go at it…

This theme provides an undercurrent for Beckman’s interactions with the count. Beckman would like to believe the count’s desire to keep the war away from Castle Maldorais is just a desire to preserve the art and beauty in it, but the count’s motives are purely selfish.

He doesn’t desire to share his treasures with the world but keep them for his own private enjoyment.

The works of art are as good as gone once they pass through Castle Maldorais’ gate.

Later, at the start of the climactic battle for the castle, the count is seen guiding German troops into a secret tunnel that leads under the moat to the castle itself.

Falconer, having anticipated this, blows up the tunnel with the Germans in it. Through Falconer’s binoculars, we see the Germans shoot the count in the distance, his body collapsing soundlessly into the snow.

A conventional war film would show his death in satisfying close up, but Pollack puts him distantly removed from the Americans he sought to betray, and even the Germans he inadvertently betrayed.

It shows him going down, alone, in a cold and sterile and soundless environment, his greed for beauty scant comfort for his last breaths.

The film portrays the Germans as mostly faceless, seen only in death or at a distance, rushing and firing at the camera.

The one exception is a brief scene where Lt. Amberjack and Sgt. Rossi patrol the forest around the castle.

Amberjack, playing a flute he acquired at the castle, catches the attention of a German -- a former music student -- hiding in the nearby bushes.

The unseen German compliments Amberjack on his playing, but says if he’ll toss him the flute he’ll fix it so it plays better.

And the German is true to the word. Unseen in the bushes, he smooths out some of the holes on the flute and tosses it back to Amberjack.

Amberjack thanks him --

-- and Sgt. Rossi shoots him.

“Why did you kill him?” Amberjack demands.

“It’s what we do for a living,” says Rossi, ever the philosopher.

. . .

Castle Keep isn’t a film for everyone.

It offers no pat answers, no firm convictions, no unassailable truths.

It’s open to a wide variety of interpretations, and the audiences that saw it first in 1969 approached it from a far different worldview than we see it today.

It isn’t for everyone, but for the ones it is for, it will be a rich meal, not a popcorn snack.

Currently available on Amazon Prime.

* I’d include M*A*S*H (1970) in this group even thought (a) it’s set in the Korean War and (b) it’s really about Vietnam. Except for the helicopters, however, M*A*S*H uses the same uniforms / weapons / vehicles as WWII films; for today’s audiences there’s no discernable difference from a WWII-era film. It was a toss-up between putting this in the cynical revisionism or absurdity class, but in the end M*A*S*H is just too self-aware, too smirking to fit among the latter.

** Falconer’s relationship with Therese and (indirectly) the count and the castle also harkens back to a 1965 Charlton Heston film, The War Lord, arguably the finest medieval siege warfare movie ever made. Like Falconer, Heston’s Norman knight must defend a strategic Flemish keep against a Viking chieftain attacking to rescue his young son held hostage by the Normans; complicating matters is Heston’s knight taking undue advantage of his droit du seigneur over a local bride which leads to the locals -- whom the Normans are supposed to be protecting from the Vikings -- helping their former raiders. Life gets messy when you don’t keep your chain mail zipped.

#Castle Keep #Sydney Pollack #Burt Lancaster #war #World War II #movies #movie stars #philosophy #morality #ethics #art #beauty #Daniel Taradash #David Rayfiel #screenwriting #writing

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blogswithbecky · 4 years

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Get To Know Me

Are you named after anyone?

Nope. My full name is Rebecca, but I usually go by Becky or Bex. My parents just chose the name because they liked the name, I think. I've never really discussed it with them to be honest.

When was the last time you cried?

I think it was a few day ago, but at the time of writing this I'm watching 'Formula One: Drive to Survive' on Netflix and it's almost got my like seven times already.

Do you have kids? If no, how many do you want?

I'm only sixteen, so don't have kids, but I do really want to have around 4 kids in the future and I keep having dreams about having babies and it's making me really want a child. But I'm just too young.

If you were another person, would you be a friend of yourself?

I'd like to think I would because I think I'm quite fun to be around, but I really like to find out what people thing about me when they first meet me and they always think I'm a bit of a b*tch. So in reality I don't think I would be.

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

Yes. All the time. It's hard to get a serious answer to anything from me and I'm scared that one day I will be in a 'boy who cried wolf' situation and will probably end up getting myself in some trouble

What's the first thing you notice about people?

Their body language and posture. I studied psychology for my GCSEs (that I was supposed to be taking this year) and body language was one of the things we learned about, so I always use that to determine someone's attitude towards me.

What is your eye colour?

My eyes are blue with the slightest hint of green/brown in the middle.

Scary movie or happy ending?

Literally both. My mood changes so much honestly so I just go for what I feel like at that certain moment in time. Sometimes I want to have sleepless nights after watching a scary movie or I want to cry myself to sleep at how lonely I am. It really all depends.

Favourite smells?

A fun fact about me is that smells mean a lot to me. I hold certain special memories to a lot of different smells the same way that a lot of people do to music. It's a hard question, but if I had to choose I would probably choose the smell of my childhood teddy that I literally take everywhere with me. So when I'm away from home I feel relaxed an calm with the scent of the people I love always being with me.

What's the furthest you've ever been from home?

The furthest was about 3 1/2 hours away by plane with my family, but last year I went on a school trip to Belgium and France, so that's the furthest I have been without my family.

Do you have any special talents?

I'm probably the least talented person you will ever meet.

Where were you born?

I'm not going to say exactly where, obviously, but it is somewhere in south Yorkshire and it is absolutely terrible and the sooner I can get away from this place the better.

What's your zodiac sign? Do you believe in it?

I'm on the cusp between Capricorn and Aquarius so I relate to both A LOT (my birthday is 20th January) and yes I do believe in it. But to be honest I believe in a lot of weird things. I legit have my own theory of the world is evolving so believe me when I say my mind is a weird place.

What are your hobbies?

Writing. Reading. Writing. Reading. (and crying over random videos I find on the internet and also the 'Quarterback' episode of Glee)

Do you have any pets?

Yes. I have two cats. One called Charlie and one called Oreo. AND THEY ARE THE CUTEST THINGS EVER!

Do you have any siblings?

Yes. I have one younger sister.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Anything to do with writing. I just love it so much.

Who was your first best friend?

I have two. My mum and my sister.

How tall are you?

5'7 almost 5'8.

What is the least favourite thing about myself?

Don't really have anything for this question. I'm a very positive person and hate thinking about the negative aspects of my life.

Funniest moment throughout school?

Every single science lesson without fail.

How many countries have you visited?

I'm counting England because I'm like that, so: England, Scotland, Wales, Spain, France, Belgium. So 6.

What was you favourite/worst subject in High School?

Favourite: English. Worst: Maths (because I'm absolutely shite at it)

What is your favourite drink? Animal? Perfume?

My favourite drink is water because it's the only thing that allow myself to drink, apart from one day a week that I can drink what ever I want, so on the day it's Pepsi max (Pepsi is way better that coke, just saying). I physically choose a favourite animal as I love each and every one because they all have a purpose on the earth as do we. My favourite perfume is one I got for my birthday and it's from Hollister, but I can't remember the name of it for the life og me.

What would you (or have you) name your children?

I have so many baby names in my notes on my phone and I love all of them so much. So my kids are going to end up having really long names or I'm going to have to have like 50 kids. But some of my favourites are: Aurora, River, Willow.

What sports do you play/have you played?

From year 7 to year 8 I played netball, but I quit because I hated my teacher and didn't play any other sports since apart from in PE (ew) and stuff.

Who are some of your favourite youtubers?

I love: Kendall Rae & Eleanor Neale (true crime), Dylan Is In Trouble (movie commentary) and the Sidemen and their individual channels.

How many girlfriends/boyfriends have you had?

A big fat 0.

Favourite memory from childhood?

I don't really have just one favourite, but as I'm getting older I really value the times where I could just be a kid without having any big responsibilities.

How do you describe your fashion sense?

Comfy.

What phone do you have?

iPhone XR in white.

Tell us one of your bad habits!

I don't actually think I have any habits let alone bad ones, but everyone in my family hates when I tell them random facts about random things.

3 things that upset you?

All kinds of inequality, trophy hunting and people who judge others for no reason.

3 things that make you happy?

There are too many things that make me happy and they can get very deep so I'm not going to list any because I don't want to be here all day.

How is your relationship with your parents?

Great. We do have our arguments, but what family doesn't.

What's on your mind?

How I'm going to travel around Europe when I'm 18.

What's your talent?

Writing, I guess.

One word that describes you?

Ambitious.

What's your favourite quote?

Don't have one.

Are you an extrovert or introvert?

I'm that in between one that I've forgotten the name of.

Are you left or right handed?

Right, but I want to be ambidextrous.

Do you consider yourself a good cook?

Yes, I cook a meal for my family at least every week.

Does your name have a special meaning?

No. But apparently I was born to travel based on a thing I found when I searched what my name meant.

If money were no object, what would you get for your next birthday?

Travel the world.

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Paris for the main part of my life then somewhere in the south of France for the later parts of my life.

What's your favourite thing to have for breakfast?

Crumpets and a cup of Yorkshire tea.

What's your favourite gadget?

My phone. It's my tech baby.

What's your longest relationship so far?

Never had one.

#blogger #blog post #get to know me

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itsalliepg · 5 years

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What Happened In Vegas - Drake x Erika (MC) - Part 3

SUMMARY: Drake and Erika (MC) are ready to tell their friends about her pregnancy, and find someone from the gang’s past. How Erika will react?

PAIRING: Drake x Erika

RATING: Teen

WORDS: 1599

NOTE: English isn’t my native language. I write to practice and learn, so please sorry any mistakes. I hope you like it, and if you do, I’d appreciate if you like/comment/reblog!

Click here to read Part 1 Part 2

Tagging @cora-nova @texaskitten30

The next day, Erika swayed between the peaceful calm and the nervousness that could make her explode. Drake was relaxed, making jokes and kissing her often, so she could tell he was excited in his own way. And that was what she could hold on to. His happiness was her happiness. If he was smiling, so was she. So, nothing could ruin it. Nothing.

Not even Maxwell when he saw them coming to the palace. Erika flinched when she saw him rushing to her and Drake and wrapping his arms around the couple.

_My OTP! How I missed you both! – he said, his usual grin on his face.

_Ugh, Maxwell, be careful! – Drake was worried that this might be too much for Erika. They should tell soon.

_Sorry, you know I can get carried away when it comes to my best friends!

_Oh, believe me, Maxwell, we know that – Hana approached the group and hugged Drake and Erika. The women pulled back exchanging a knowingly look. Hana was the only one who knew the reason for this meeting.

_I’ve said so much fluff makes me nauseous – Olivia’s voice came from behind Erika, who pulled her into a tight hug – I missed you too – Olivia patted Erika’s back, an uncomfortable but happy smile in her face – hey, Drake – they shook hands.

_It’s nice to see you, Olivia – he said respectfully – so, what are we waiting for to get in?

_Hana and I were waiting for you, so nothing! Let’s go! – Maxwell said, cheerfully. Erika couldn’t tell if she was pleased or annoyed. She didn’t dislike Maxwell, but his presence reminded her of things she wanted to forget.

When they entered the hall, they found Liam talking intently to a young woman with long light brown hair and blue eyes. Her fair skin further emphasized the red lipstick. Liam and the woman turned to the group when they heard their footsteps.

_Hey you guys! Perfect timing! Look who’s visiting us! – Liam pointed the woman and she smiled.

_Beth! – Maxwell bounced and rushed to her, then pulled her into a tight hug – how long!

_Oh, Maxwell, I missed you too – Beth returned the hug, giggling. When Maxwell finally left her, she greeted Hana – always radiant, Hana. It’s amazing seeing you again.

_And you, Beth! I can see that Belgium has done well for you! – Hana complimented.

_And you fashion sense never changes – Olivia said as she hugged Beth.

_Same about you, Olivia – when Beth turned to Drake and Erika, the Duchess of Valtoria noticed the surprised expression on her husband’s face.

_I can’t believe…Freckles? – Drake grinned, but Beth grimaced.

_Ugh, Walker! Nobody calls me that for years! – Drake ignored her discontent and hugged her.

_What are you doing here? – Drake asked – I thought you’d be in Brussels now, like, forever.

_Well, my father needs me here in Cordonia now – she saw Erika and held out her hand – hi, you must be Duchess Erika. I’m Elizabeth Roffinteau, but you can call me Beth – Erika shook Beth’s hand – congratulations on the wedding. Drake invited me, but I was busy with business issues.

_Oh, Drake told me about you – Erika smiled – your father is Count Benedict Roffinteau, owner of Roffinteau Engineering, right? – Beth nodded slightly – Drake told me you are his right hand in the company, so you couldn’t come to our wedding.

_Exactly, and I feel so sorry. Drake Walker getting married was something I never imagine would happen. I admire you, Erika, for melting Mr. Grump’s heart – Beth chuckled and Drake rolled his eyes.

_As you can see, Freckles loves to make fun of me.

_That’s why I like her – Olivia winked.

_So, what is the news you wanted to tell us? – Maxwell asked and turned to Beth – this meeting is all Drake and Erika’s idea! They said they want to tell us something!

_Oh, so I can see I chose the right time to visit Liam – Beth smiled, and Erika noticed her smile was languid, as if she was trying to charm anyone looking at her.

_Okay, let’s do it – Drake took Erika’s hand –you want to tell or can I tell? – he asked, and Erika knew exactly what to say when she saw the sparkle in his eyes.

_You can tell, Drake, I know you’re crazy to do that – Erika kissed his cheek and he took a deep breath.

_Okay – he looked at his friends, grinning – Williams is pregnant. We’re going to have a baby!

_OH MY GOD! – Maxwell shouted – Bartie will get a cousin! – he was the first to react. It made Erika feel her stomach tie in a knot again. But no. He wasn’t the father.

_Congratulations, you too! – Liam greeted – you must be very excited.

_Of course we are! – Drake kissed Erika on her forehead.

_Erika doesn’t look very happy… - Beth noticed, and Hana’s eyes widened. In fact, Erika was strangely quiet. And her stomach again reacted, this time she felt a chill that almost made her gasp.

_No, uh, I’m just surprised by this news…I’m still getting used to the idea of being a mom. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to, but I had no idea it would be so fast… - Erika explained, almost stuttering.

_Oh, that I agree – Olivia interrupted, to Erika’s relief – and, congratulations. I hope your baby takes after you, Erika, in looks and personality – she chuckled and Drake rolled his eyes.

_Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny, Olivia – he said.

_Well, I really admire you, Erika. I’m curious to see what Drake will be like as a father – Beth smiled languidly again, this time looking at Drake. Erika couldn’t explain why, but she didn’t like it. The friends greeted the couple, and the duchess just wished that this would be over quickly. She thought she was fine with that, but she wasn’t. Not when Maxwell was around. When the cook announced the lunch was ready, the group sat at the table and talked animatedly while eating. Erika chose her words prudently, afraid of letting something slip. Hana, sitting next to her, discretely squeezed her hand, showing that everything was fine – so, uh, tell me about yourself, Erika – Beth said – I know you were a waitress in New York, and now you’re a duchess, I imagine your life in America it was nothing like this.

_Oh, yeah, you can say so – Erika answered – I thought it would be difficult at first, but I found amazing friends and the love of my life, and now our kid – she kissed Drake’s hand.

_I can say my life has changed too since I met Williams.

_And I can see Drake still has the habit of calling people by their surnames and nicknames he created himself – Erika looked at Beth’s face and noticed she actually had freckles on her fair skin. The makeup tried to disguise, but they were still there.

_She had even more freckles when she was a child – Drake snorted – she looked like a dalmatian.

_Shut up, Drake! – Beth laughed, and the rest of the people at lunch joined her – he never changes, Erika, I should warn you.

_Oh, how long have you known each other?

_Actually, since we were six – Liam answered – her father is a great business partner of the Cordonian crown, and her family has always been here for meetings and dinners.

_I’m the older sister, I have two younger sisters, Danielle and Catherine – Beth told – and we spent our childhood and some teenage days here with Liam, Max, Livvy and Drake. My parents also know Hana’s parents, they’re old friends. Then, when I was sixteen, my father wanted me to be his partner in the company, so he decided to invest in my education. We moved to Belgium, where he was born, and where our company’s headquarters is located, and the next eight years were basically school-work-home.

_Don’t tell me you lived in Brussels all this time and find no time to have fun! – Olivia startled.

_Of course I did! Dad wanted me to be one hundred percent focused on my work, but if you know me, you know I can make my will prevail – Beth smirked again, winking at Drake. Erika found this awkward, and uncomfortable.

_Yeah, she really knew how to make us play the way she wanted. We used to argue sometimes about that – Drake said.

_Yeah, he and Beth hated each other at first. After a while, they became friends – Liam told Erika – looks like you and him when you first met – the king giggled, and Erika nodded in agreement.

_I know. Drake may be rough, but he’s actually a sweetheart – Erika smiled at her husband and he leaned in to a quick kiss.

_That’s true, well said – Beth agreed.

_If you say so – Olivia shrugged. The friends laughed again. The rest of the lunch was focused on Beth’s life in Belgium. Erika would be mad at that, because her baby, the heir, should be the main target of the conversation that day. But she was relieved they were talking about something else, so she could keep Maxwell from celebrating about the baby, and Erika also could avoid the feelings it would bring. But until when would she live like this? She was supposed to be happy to be a mom, and want to talk about it all the time. That way, she would raise suspects. Like Olivia, who didn’t buy the excuse Erika gave when she was asked if she wasn’t excited about the baby. She noticed something was really wrong with Erika. And by Hana’s eyes, Olivia could tell she knew something too.

#the royal romance #drake walker #drake x mc #drake x erika #fanfic #choices fanfic #choices #playchoices

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bensboynton · 5 years

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Good Enough b.h; Part 1

Requested: no

Word Count: 3.1k

Warnings: swearing, unedited.

“Will I ever be good enough for anyone?”

“You’ve been good enough for me since the beginning.”

In which a singer tries her hand at acting, and ends up with a lot more than she bargained for.

A/N: this is my first attempt at a longer fic, forgive me if anything is inaccurate/grammar mistakes/mistakes in general it’s 1 am and i haven’t slept in the past 28 hours and i just wanted to get this up. – “You got the part.”

“What? Wait, is this a joke? Are you serious right now?” your lungs didn’t seem nearly big enough, as you desperately gasped for air. You couldn’t believe what you were hearing.

“I’m completely serious! You landed the role. You’re Mary Austin. How does it feel to be able to say that? You’re Mary fucking Austin.”

Your heart was pounding in the chest as you were on the phone with your manager, Anthony. This was it. This was your big break in the industry. You just landed the role of the woman who stole Freddie Mercury’s heart.

You had been wildly successful in the music industry for almost five years, as you were about twenty-two shows away from finishing your second world tour for your sophomore album. And while writing music, performing said music, wrapping your tongue around unfamiliar languages and your mind around foreign cultures satisfied you, you always yearned for more. And that’s what led you to acting.

At first, it was an idea you had late at night. “What if I started to act?” But you shot the idea down yourself. You convinced yourself it’d be a distraction. Your manager would never say yes, it’d be too much work for you to handle, you wouldn’t be good at it. Not to mention the extra stress that would’ve been added to your already quite strained schedule. And on top of that, most singers never made it in the acting industry. But once the seed of this idea was planted in your brain, it began to grow. It soon became all you could think about. So, after a few extremely long phone calls with your manager and a few meetings in the city, you managed to set up your first audition. And the rest is history.

At first, you did a few commercials for some popular brands. Some advertising videos, skits for Facebook and Instagram, a few small parts in tv shows and smaller movies here and there, but nothing too major. However, when you heard a murmur through the grapevine about the part of Mary Austin in a biopic about Queen? For a lack of a better way to describe your emotions, you just about shit your pants.

Queen has been one of your favorite bands your entire life(thanks to your father), and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Freddie Mercury and Queen were your heroes. Freddie was the main reason you decided to start writing music, and that beautiful man made you fall in love with the art of performance. You took inspiration from him in almost every single aspect of your life. You couldn’t just let an opportunity like this pass you by.

You had submitted an audition tape to the producers one day after a particularly tiring show in Belgium, following a two-week crash course with a dialect coach practicing your British accent. You quickly ran through a few lines of the emotionally extensive script, submitting your video a few moments later. And about four days following the submission of your video, you got a phone call from your manager telling you that you did, indeed, land the part. And you were ecstatic. You were even more elated when you received a similar phone call informing you who got the part of Freddie Mercury; one of your good friends, Rami Malek. You screeched so loud one of the people in the hotel room next to yours came over to ask if you were all right. But you were far better than just “all right.”

You had met Rami backstage before an interview you did with him on Jimmy Fallon’s show, and you two exchanged phone numbers and the rest was history. The both of you were best friends for a while; practically inseparable. The both of you were hanging out at least every other day before distance slowly caused you to drift apart. But a gap between you wouldn’t really be any interference since you’d be working on this movie together. Problem solved.

And so, after a few headaches and way, way too many phone calls(all of which were extremely unnecessary to you), you rearranged the final three shows of your tour to leave you right smack dab in the middle of London, right where you needed to be to begin filming this movie. Everything was beginning to fall into place. – You slowly stretched your arms up over your head, arching your back and cracking your neck. Today. Today was the day you finally got to begin shooting Bohemian Rhapsody.

You had been waiting for this moment for what felt like an eternity. When you heard the news of your success at landing the role as Mary, time started to pass by as if it was in slow motion, and days started to drag on as you waited for shooting to begin. You could only reread the script so many times before it became so mind-numbing it made you sick to even look at it.

Throwing on a pair of jeans and a black turtleneck, you looked at yourself in the hotel mirror. The bags under your eyes were slightly apparent, and you made a note in your head to try and cover them up before leaving your room and checking out.

You grabbed your cellphone and unplugged it from its charger, typing in your passcode and pressing your boyfriend’s contact. The phone rang for a while, but no answer. Your heart sunk slightly at the sound of his voicemail.

“Hey, Y/BF/N. Just wanted to call and say hey before I head to set. I hope your tour is going well, I love you and can’t wait to see you. Talk to you later.”

You sighed gently as you hit the circular “end call” button and set your phone down. No more time for being sad over the strange lack of contact with your significant other. You had a movie to film.

You checked over your room quickly, just to be sure you had packed everything. After all, having all of your clothes would be imperative for the lengthy stay in your new trailer.

Hearing the news that you got to live in your very own trailer while on set was weirdly exciting for you. It felt like a rite of passage, almost like it validated your acting career in an odd way.

Wheeling your two extremely full suitcases behind you, and your backpack sitting gracefully on your shoulders, you slowly but surely made your way to the lobby of the hotel you were staying in. You swiftly checked yourself out and made your way to the notably empty parking lot. Made sense that it would be empty. After all, it was almost 5 am in London.

A black SUV was awaiting you near the doors, ready to take you to your new home for the next few months. Saying you were excited was an understatement.

Making small talk with your chauffeur for the morning, Todd, you admired his thick British accent. You appreciated his unique pronunciation of the words you knew and the few pieces of British slang that were unfamiliar to your remarkably American brain. Hopefully you’d start picking up on those sooner or later. You pretended to be mildly interested in Todd’s ranting about his three children as you lazily twisted your hair around your index finger, head rested against the tinted window. But to be honest, your mind was elsewhere.

You began nervously biting at your already extremely bitten nails as you neared closer and closer to the filming location, thoughts beginning to race through your mind. What if the cast didn’t like you? What if you embarrassed yourself? What if you suddenly forgot all your lines? What if you were so bad at acting they fired you on the spot?

Your worrying was cut short as the short and stout driver with grey stubble pulls onto a gravel road, pulling up to a security gate. He rolls down the window and tells the woman standing in the tiny concrete building to the left of the car something about dropping you off, but you aren’t paying much attention. You’re too busy watching the busy hustle and bustle up ahead, of tons of people with jobs and places to be and things to do. It seems as if everyone is running out of time, due to the quick pace that they’re all walking. The driver pulls up to an average sized building with two very heavy duty black doors.

“I’ll drop you off here, and then I’ll run your bags to your trailer if that’s all right with you Miss Y/L/N.” Todd’s voice snaps you back to reality. “Yes, that sounds great. Thank you, Todd.” he nods as you slowly clamber out of the car, adjusting your purse on your shoulder and walking into the building. You can feel your heart beginning to speed up its rhythm in your chest.

You walk up to the shiny black desk in front of you, about to ask the friendly looking receptionist where you’re needed before an enthusiastic voice echoes through the lobby.

“Y/N!” you turn around to see none other than Rami Malek standing before you. You grin as you run straight into him, your chin resting on his shoulder and your arms wrapped around his neck. You pull away as he gives you a quick peck on the cheek. “Long time no see, ay?” you hum, looking at the familiar man as he grins and looks down at his shoes. You admire the small crinkles in the corners of his eyes. Oh, how you missed him.

“You know, I almost cried when I heard you got the part.” He spoke with an eloquence unmatched by anyone you had ever met before. His voice sent shivers down your spine. “And why was that?” you inquired, as he slowly brought his eyes back up to meet yours.

“Because I knew I couldn’t do it with anybody else. It needed to be you. I just had this feeling, you know? And with our friendship, I knew our chemistry would be good. I was just really excited.”

You felt heat rise to your cheeks, as you tucked a piece of your soft hair behind your ear. It was strange, with Rami. You hadn’t heard from him in months, yet the conversation flowed with ease, almost as if you last talked two days ago.

“You should’ve heard me when I found out you were Freddie.” Rami cocked an eyebrow at your statement as he offers his left arm. You accept his invitation, interlocking your right arm with his as you start walking alongside him, “I was screaming bloody murder. The hotel sent someone from the front desk up to check on me,” Rami let out a loud chuckle, shaking his head as he glanced at you, a twinkle in his bulbous orbs.

You’d be lying if you said you didn’t feel something for Rami when you first met him. I mean, who could blame you? A fashion-conscious, well spoken, educated man? In this economy? A rare occurrence, at best. You started to fall for him when your friendship was at its peak, but it just doesn’t feel the same now. Besides, you now have a loving boyfriend, and Rami has an absolutely beautiful girlfriend. No need to “mingle” with any of your castmates.

You continued your walk down a particularly long hallway with locked arms in silence. But, it was a comfortable silence. That was your favorite thing about Rami. No matter what, he always made you feel at ease. You finally reached a certain door that Rami stopped at, taking a deep breath and looking at you.

“Ready to meet the rest of the band?” you nodded quickly, trying to gather yourself to make the best first impression you could. It was almost as if Rami could sense your nerves.

He gave your arm a comforting squeeze, a slight grin causing the left corner of his mouth to curve upwards into a smile. As you said, he was always able to calm you down. He pushed the door open, and it was almost as if the sound erupting from the tiny room slapped you across the face. Rami grinned at you sheepishly, an apology already bubbling at his lips before you walked swiftly into the room.

“Guys, can you all shut your traps for two goddamn seconds and meet Y/N?” Rami’s voice carried, and suddenly the volume level in the room decreased dramatically. Three unfamiliar eyes were suddenly trained on you, and you sent them a nervous smile, tucking your long hair behind your ear, twisting it around your index finger. This was something you tended to do when you were nervous.

A particularly tall man started walking toward you, a big smile on his elongated face. You imagined him with a mop of curly hair, and immediately knew that this must be the man playing none other than Brian May.

“You must be Gwilym, right?” you smiled, reaching out to shake his abnormally large hand, “I’m Y/N.”

“Amazing to finally meet you, Y/N. Rami has told us loads about you.” you smiled up at him, as you were about 6 inches shorter than his towering figure. He made small talk with you, asking about your flight to London and if you had any trouble arriving on set.

“Oh. My. God. It’s you. It’s really you. I’m in a room with THE Y/N. Wow. I might pass out. Am I dreaming?” a man with curly hair joked, his thick sarcasm lacing his words as he turned to the man next to him. “Pinch me. Wake me up from this dream. It’s too good to be true.” you laughed, shaking your head as you looked up to meet his eyes as he started walking towards you. You curled your finger around a strand of hair as the stranger walked towards you.

“And you must be Joe!” you held out your hand, only to be engulfed in the slightly taller man’s arms. “You’re my new best friend, and best friends don’t shake hands. We hug.”

And although Joe was joking, you clung to his words for a few seconds. It warmed your heart to think that he was already so accepting of you. “This is my other best friend, Allen. Sorry new bestie, you’re going to have to share me. I have a lot of best friends. But there’s plenty of this,” he points at himself, “to go around. I promise.” you giggled, lightly hitting his forearm with the back of your hand. It’s actually quite insane how comfortable you felt around him already, despite you knowing him personally for approximately a minute and a half. You looked up, swiftly scanning the room to look for the final member of the main cast you haven’t had a chance to meet yet. Gwil must’ve seen you look around because he did the same thing. “Has Anyone seen Ben recently? Or did he sneak off for a smoke again?”

“He left about ten minutes ago. Either taking a really, really, nice shit or went to smoke. I’ll let your beautiful minds decide what you want to believe,” Joe’s comment left the entire room laughing lightly under their breath as they returned back to whatever they were doing before you had walked in.

You had been sitting on the couch for about twenty minutes, talking to Joe and answering his many questions about your childhood, career, upcoming music, college and, strangely, what movie you would choose if you could only watch one for the rest of your life. You saw how he could potentially come off as nosy to a high-strung individual, but to you, he was just curious and always had a desire to learn more. You admired that about him, as you were very similar.

The door of the tiny room opened, and a man with fluffy, slightly untidy blonde hair briskly strolls into the room, slipping off the brown leather jacket snugly hugging his muscular shoulders. Your eyes followed him for a split second and it took everything in you to tear your eyes away from the Greek God that just waltzed into the room.

“There he is! My boyfriend. I missed you SO much.” Joe grasped his chest, motioning at the man to walk over. The mysterious man shook his head and let out a soft laugh, his head down as he typed furiously into his phone. You stood up quickly, smoothing out the front of your shirt. Joe gestured to you, and his eyes swept over you quickly, causing a small bout of butterflies to swarm through your empty stomach. You swore your heart was beating so loud, everyone in the room could hear it echoing in your chest.

“You must be Ben. It’s really nice to meet you, I’m-” you began to introduce yourself to the unreasonably attractive man, holding your hand out before he interrupts you. “Y/N.”

“Y-Yeah that’s me.”

The way your name rolled off his tongue sent shivers down your spine. It caught you off guard. His green orbs that glimmered with a tinge of blue slowly met yours, and he smiled sheepishly, before breaking the eye contact and dropping your hand. There was an awkward silence that fell between the two of you, even amidst the chatter of the room. Ben opened his mouth like he was about say something, before a familiar voice interrupted his train of thought.

“Hey hey hey, let’s not get too comfortable over there. That’s my boyfriend. Back off Y/N!” Joe spoke from across the room, sarcastic anger dripping from his mocking words. Ben rolled his eyes, mouthing a “sorry” to you before walking away from you, aimlessly making his way to the other side of the room.

You were left alone, and you rubbed the back of your neck with your right hand. It wasn’t normally like you to act so awkward and secluded around someone, especially someone you didn’t know.

But, nevertheless, you could finally check one thing off your list of worries. The cast was absolutely amazing. Now all you needed to stress about was actually filming the movie.

But little did you know, that would soon become the very least of your worries.

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eurosong · 5 years

Photo

Hey there, folks! I recently saw @serhat2019 posting threads comparing 2019 with 1999 and 1989. I love comparisons going back into the classic contests, though for me, 1989 and 1999 are each the weakest contest of their respective decades. It got me wondering which songs I’d prefer if I included all the decade-ending years. So, here we are! Of course, I removed the countries with just one song, but here’s my comparison of those with 2 or more songs across ESC history. Gold means I think it’s the best for that country over the decades. Silver is like an honourable mention because I like it a fair bit. Red is for when I particularly dislike a song.

Albania - 2 decent efforts but I much prefer Ktheju tokës. Keep keeping your songs in your beautiful languages, Shqipëria. Armenia - A real tough choice as these are two of their best ever songs. At the minute, my mind is constantly singing Walking out oooooo, so I give it the edge. Austria - Austria is one of many countries I feel end decades on a lacklustre note. Limits is the best of the bunch for me. Azerbaijan - The second best Azeri song for me (top is Skeletons) versus one of the shriekiest. No contest... Truth. Belarus - Not much of a choice. I go for Like it even though I don’t... like it... much Belgium - 6 decades, 6 songs and none get my heart racing. Door de wind and Like the wind are pleasant enough. This year’s is too. The one with the most character of the bunch for me is Hey nana. Croatia - Slim pickings - 2009. Cyprus - Not a fan of any of their decade-ending songs. The first is the least tragic for me. Czechia - I didn’t hate Aven romale as much as many folk did, but I prefer FoaF. Denmark - I like this year’s song, but even better is the iconic Tommy Seebach. Estonia - Storm is dire sub-Avicii stuff. Diamond of night was one of the few nice songs in a woeful year. But I’m going with Rändajad of course, probably Estonia’s best. Finland - Of course going here with Katri Helena, one of the many often undeservedly forgotten queens of ESC. France - the only one of this bunch I don’t like is this year’s obnoxious ode to self. Je suis l’enfant soleil was a fierce return for AMD. J’ai volé la vie is one of the very few occasions where I’ve been able to stomach a child performing in main ESC. But I have to go with Un jour, un enfant, one of the best winners ever for me.

Germany - Miss Kiss Kiss Bang made me swing, Dschingis Khan made me dance, but I’ve got to pick Heute Abend..., which charms the hell out of me 60 years later! Greece - This year’s is one of my favourite entries from Greece in a while. The cheery Sokrati gets an honourable mention. Hungary - Credible versus cringe. 2019. Iceland - The best Icelandic song ever for me was 1989. Such a strange musical procession, such poëtic lyrics, such an undeserved nil points. Ireland - Sadly my dear Ireland often ended decades on underwhelming notes. 22 is the best of the bunch for me. Israel - Can one not pick Hallelujah here? I hope not. Italy - in most occasions while doing this, if a country had a lot of entries, the lower the probability was that I’d pick this year. Italy is one of the few exceptions. I adore Soldi above the 4 others, though they’re mostly very nice entries. Latvia - Nice, laidback, rainy song versus a pretty dire outing in 2009. 2019. Lithuania - Strazdas is one of the few songs I like from ‘99 and the best of the three. I wish they’d return to their national language! Luxembourg - Statistically, one of my favourite countries ever at the contest, but they didn’t do much justice to themselves in the ends of decades. I prefer the quirky Monsieur. Macedonia - Both decent but not spectacular. Both a bit old-fashioned. I prefer the rocky one. Malta - One of Malta’s best versus 2 of their worst. Chameleon any day of the week. Moldova - Extremely dreary song this year, especially when compared to the dynamic Hora din Moldova! Monaco - 1959. I didn’t like any of the three though Montenegro - You know a song is bad when you prefer Heaven over it, but the Siegel penned Abba-ripoff of 2009 is indeed worse than D mol. Netherlands - Arcade is nice. De troubadour is iconic. But Een beetje is one of the greatest winners evah! Norway - Going for another oft forgotten ESC queen. Anita Skorgan with the groovy Oliver. Poland - Poor choice. Going with this year’s for being the most traditional. Portugal - Adore Telemóveis... but for the minute, it has to take runner-up status to the stunning and equally passionate Desfolhada. Romania - Easy pick for the dark 2019. Russia - Scream is nice enough. Ironically, Scream, despite its scary name, nowhere near scared me as much as Mamo did. Serbia - Serbia doing what they do best in 2019 vs a weird entry in 2009. Taking the former. Slovenia - Easy pick for the divinely introspective, intimate Sebi. Spain - A bunch of decent songs from my country of residence... Su canción was lovely til the wee anklebiters started singing. Nacida para amar is an epic... but I have to prefer a song that I will be singing for the whole day now. Desde que llegaste, ya no vivo llorando EY vivo cantando EY vivo soñando EY <3 Sweden - Judy min vän is great and the lyrical content is very unusual for ESC. I like Too late for love, one of Sweden’s best efforts for years even if it is half-plagiat. But the easy winner here is the song I feel is Sweden’s best winner ever in 1999. Switzerland - Some very beige offerings plus the smugness of 2019 and the oddball earworm annoyingness of 1979. I go for 1969 as the most benign. Turkey - I have to go for 1989, back in the glory days of Turkish différence at the contest. UK - Say it again was probably the most underrated UK song of the 90s. Sing little birdie was really charming. Got to go for Boom bang a bang though, an eternal earworm!

#eurovision #esc 2019 #eurovision song contest #classics #opinion #eurovision 2019

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yuvilee · 5 years

Text

22nd October 2019 Student-led seminar 1

Text: Lefèvre, P. 2008, The Congo drawn in Belgium. The Representation of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi in French-language Belgian Comics, in McKinney, M. (ed.) History and Politics in French-Language Comics and Graphic Novels, Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, pp.166-185.

Table of content:

Introduction: A Short Biography of the Author Main part: Tintin - An unexpected Ambassador Belgium's ninth form of art - Lefèvre's antagonistic examples A Better Representation in Contemporary Narration My personal conclusion Notes: Books and articles Picture(s)

About the author: Pascal Lefèvre, born April 15, 1963 in Belgium is a renowned Belgian comics historian and theorist. His doctorate in 2003 was about 'Willy Vandersteens Suske en Wiske in de krant' (1945-1971) which made him the first to receive a doctor's degree in comics in Flandern. Not only does he publish analytical historical essays and books but he also creates comics himself. He was a researcher with the Belgian Comics Center in Brussels and thus contributed to diverse exhibitions and documentaries.

Tintin - An unexpected Ambassador

Sindika Dokolo(1), a collector of contemporary African art, recently held the exhibition 'InCarNations - African Art as Philosophy' in Brussels, Belgium until the beginning of October this year, with classical and modern pieces chosen from his personal collection. In doing so he is raising a number of questions that do not fade in relevance, such as who gets to portray African art and culture? On this basis for discussion, Belgium is working on its colonial past, of which there is a lot in Belgium and its former colonies, as Pascal Lefèvre delineates in his tract.

Even in the so-called 9th form of art, a similar discourse, tailored to the medium and the narrative, is continuously present.

A more recent example than the one from Great Britain cited by Lefèvre is the controversy that was rekindled in Sweden in 2012. For a long time it dominated (social) media and even spread to media abroad, like The Guardian(2). Its emerged from Hergé's comic ‘Tintin in the Congo’ that was to be removed from a YA (young adult) section in a library due to its naïve and openly racially portrayal of the indigenous people of Congo as they appear cliché and thus suggest an anti-African stance(3).

Hamelberg describes In an interview with The Guardian the problem as

‘(...) there are several layers that are problematic, (...) there are the early books that are blatantly and openly racist, like ‘Tintin in the Congo’. (...) there were things that would have been considered racist today but that were quite normal in Hergé's time.’(4)

In my opinion, Hamelberg has certainly addressed an important point with this statement since the first comic publication of Tintin was in a different time and era. Nonetheless, it is important to process and learn from the past just like France tried semi-successfully with a law in 1949.

Should young readers be denied this critical argument in order to protect them, to present them with a perfect world and shielding them from reality? In my opinion, this discourse should rather be actively encouraged and supported by guardians.

Belgium's ninth form of art - Lefèvre's antagonistic examples

In my point of view, Belgium has produced a large number of fantastic comic artists and boasts openly with its long-established comic culture - yes, they call it culture. Some other more conservative nations, in my opinion, are still having a hard time accepting this, even in the 21st century. That's why I was very pleased to see The New York Times revive their bi-monthly best-seller list for graphic novels due to high demand by readers after taking a 2-year break(5).

The reason why a discourse seems to me more important than ever becomes clearer when Lefèvre compares Hergé's ‘Tintin in the Congo’ with, for example, ‘Blondin et Cirage’ created by Jijé. Here we have a boy and his adoptive brother as equal protagonists - but Cirage is depicted with clown lips that are strongly cliché-oriented and for me, at first glance, appear as a shockingly racist illustration.

There is a striking dissonance between the representation and the narrative, which portrays heroes that are needed nowadays.

But why is the imagery still so caricatural?

A possible aesthetic and representational solution, in my opinion, can be to replace humans with animal shapes, which can be used as an indirect depiction of the problems of racism without resorting to real stereotypes and clichés.

To this point I would like to mention ‘Blacksad’(6) which is similar to ‘Maus’ by Art Spiegelman(7). This graphic novel takes place in an alternative universe similar to an exaggerated post-war period in the USA where Nazi-like propaganda and racial discrimination is omnipresent. The main character, a detective in the guise of a black cat, is confronted with the very same problems of our reality but avoids most of the stereotypes associated with the depiction of human characters.

Above: Blacksad: Arctic Nation, Page 5

A Better Representation in Contemporary Narration

As an illustrator, I am often faced with the question of how to create cliché-free and ethnically correct representation in my stories. Is there ‘the’ right way? I believe not. But there are approaches to different comics, graphic novels, children’s books, and other media such as movies that can be analysed for its reason for success.

Looking at more recent depictions of Afro-ethnic protagonists and their approaches, I would like to talk about Marvel's ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’(8) from 2018.

The young protagonist Miles Morales is not the first black Marvel character but the first Spider-Man with an ethnic background, as you might imagine it to be a familiar representation of the typical New Yorker.

But has this raised negative headlines? On the contrary I believe. Many reviews of large-scaled and well-established newspapers spoke of this at most in a side note(9). The focus in media reviews was on the narrative, the humour, the ingenious and particularly refreshing animation, and especially the fact how effortlessly the very message comes across that everyone can be a Spider-Man(10).

In my opinion, all those awards(12) such as a Golden Globe were justified for this comic book adaptation. The humorous and encouraging portrayal of an (almost) everyday hero depicts effectively a positive role model, which just happens to be black-skinned, without that fact ever becoming a central topic.

As an artist of narrative stories it is important to always keep this message and task in mind. I always need to think about this as an illustrator while creating my stories, be it a graphic novel, a comic book, or a children’s book. At the same time, I need to be able to talk to my publisher about the best approach and their ethical stance.

What emerged in France after 1949 to be negative self-censorship, I now have to see in reverse as a task to actively counter, to examine my art for equality, gender equality, diversity, and ethnic correctness.

But what are those rules exactly? Are they written down somewhere like the French law mentioned above? Unfortunately, I will never get ‘the’ ultimate correct answer to this question, while my art is at the mercy of many viewers and views.

My personal conclusion

I need to keep the above considerations in mind when creating a narrative to address children and young adults as my target audience. For myself, I see three options:

I do not have to get involved in the discourse and could avoid it altogether. As a responsible artist and adult, I could provide material for educational purposes along with my own work.

The clear opposite would be to create work that decidedly enters the discourse and actively participates in it, which requires a strong voice and a broad-based argumentative basis.

Or I could try the middle ground to go alternative routes such as animal representations to express an opinion but simultaneously avoid direct, confrontational depictions.

All of these options could work or backfire. Due to new media and especially social media, the audience is potentially larger and opinions (whether qualified or not) spread faster than in Hergé's time. See #TintinGate(13).

Although Hergé is put in a bad light here, I will remain a fan of his comics, because even this type of art must exist as part of our culture in order to encourage a discourse, like the one right here, and to serve as a cautionary tale and exemplification.

Notes:

Books and articles

Bozar, 2019, InCarNation - African Art as Philosophy, Bozar, viewed 19 October 2019, <https://www.bozar.be/en/activities/154489-incarnations>

Palme, J. 2012, Tintin racism row puts spotlight on children's literature, The Guardian, viewed 19 October 2019, <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/15/tintin-racism-sweden-row>

Chukri, R., 2012, Vad handlar Tintin-gate om?, Sydsvenskan, viewed 19 October 2019, <https://web.archive.org/web/20121010041224/http://www.sydsvenskan.se/kultur--nojen/vad-handlar-tintin-gate-om/>

cf. Palme, J., 2012, Tintin racism row puts spotlight on children's literature, The Guardian, viewed 19 October 2019, <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/15/tintin-racism-sweden-row>

The New York Times updates and expands its best-sellers lists 2019, The New York Times, viewed on 19 October 2019 <https://www.nytco.com/press/the-new-york-times-updates-and-expands-its-best-sellers-lists/>

Guarnido, J., Canales, J. D., 2004, Blacksad 2: Arctic Nation, Dargaud: Paris. Also available online in english: https://viewcomiconline.com/blacksad-vol-2-arctic-nation/

Spiegelman, A., 2003, Maus : a survivor’s tale. London: Penguin.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2018, Blue-Ray, Sony Pictures, Hollywood, Los Angeles, directed by Ramsey, P., Persichetti, B., Rothman, R.

cf: Scott, A. O., 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verseʼ Review: A Fresh Take on a Venerable Hero, The New York Times, viewed on 19 October 2019 <https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/movies/spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-review.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fa.o.-scott&action=click&contentCollection=undefined&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=94&pgtype=collection> Here the only reference to his ethnicity is: ‘But we haven’t seen a Spider-Man like Miles onscreen, which is to say a Spider-Man who isn’t white.”

cf: Loughrey, C., 2018, Spider-Man into the Spider-Verse review: It makes the case animation beats live-action for comic book movies, The Independent, viewed on 19 October 2019, <https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/spider-man-spider-verse-review-live-action-marvel-comic-book-movies-soundtrack-a8679761.html>

Bramesco, C., 2018, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse review – a dazzling animated caper, The Guardian, viewed on 19 October 2019 <https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/nov/28/spider-man-into-the-spider-verse-review-a-dazzling-animated-caper>

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was awarded with (samples): Best Animated Feature at the 91st Academy Awards, 2019, Best Animation at the 76st Golden Globe Awards, 2019, Best animated Film at the Critics’ Choice Movie Award, 2019, Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form), Hugo Award, 2019, 46th Annie Awards, won in 6 categories, BAFTA Award for Best animated Movie, 2019, Best animated movie, at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards, 2019, Best animation Movie at the Producers Guild of America Awards, 2019,

#TintinGate: cf. Palme, J.

Picture(s):

Guarnido, J., Canales, J. D., 2004, Blacksad 2: Arctic Nation, p. 5, Dargaud: Paris.

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anniversary-magazine · 6 years

Text

In Conversation with Ben Storms, the Belgian Designer Giving Lightness to Marble

A couple of months ago in Antwerp, our team met with designer Ben Storms. His studio was, at the time, still in construction. Surrounded by some of his most innovative pieces, tending to defy gravity and traditional perceptions of matters, we took the time to reflect on his creative process and the way he became a master of novelty in marble design.

LV : I'd like to revisit your childhood and try to explore how, as a child, you developed your interest, and perhaps your skills and craftsmanship, at an early stage in your life, to forego your career.

BS : Well, it's quite simple. My father was a self-made man, meaning that he never went to school, but he had always shown interest in construction work. So at an early age, he started a business out of re-purposing old buildings' materials. His father (my grandfather) was already building houses and my father was working with him, so he never went to school. But then, an architect with whom he worked with later developed an interest in old buildings’ materials, so my father started a business out of this experience. That's the environment I grew up in. We had a big yard next to our house with all these materials piled up on pallets. This was me and my brother’s play yard, in which we played between all these old materials. Also at a young age, we started working with our father, helping in the family business, working with our hands, and with those old materials. I think that those experiences were a big part of my development. When I grew a bit older, I also took courses in stone cutting, and started doing just that in the company, through weekends and holidays as a student.

Then at university, I studied art history, while taking a lot of other courses in sculpting, woodworking, stone cutting, and others. At the end of my studies in art history, I took a one-year course in design. For me, everything came together during that year: my interests, which I had developed in the family, the knowledge I had in marble and natural stones and my university studies themselves. It all came together to the functional design pieces that I create today in a way. Before that, I was searching a lot to find what I wanted to do with my life. You know?

LV : Sure!

BS : I was trying to find different ways. When you're taking a course in sculpting, and then you go to stone cutting, and then to woodworking, people around you start questioning your ambitions and your understanding of those fields…

During that time, I was also studying art history with my nose in the books, which was a totally different thing, but in the end, with what I'm doing now, it's all connected.

LV : Do you feel like your work today resonates with your dad's work in any way?

BS : Oh, I think it resonates mainly in terms of his search for developing techniques in a different way, trying to find his own language in finishing a piece or a material. That’s something I saw my father do, but he wasn't doing it as a designer. He was just looking for certain patina for example.

LV : I know you work with marble a lot, and that you have great connections with marble producers. Were those connections coming from your dad?

BS : Yes, my dad had them already. Actually, one of those companies still exists now. It was bought by my brother, who is continuing that family marble business. So when I need to cut or do any processes with marble, which is done using big machines and special tools, I go to my brother’s.

Furthermore, a lot of the new relations that I have now with marble providers is mainly due to the fact that they appreciate my work. It's quite easy for me to get access to them, where it would normally not be so simple to buy smaller amounts of rough stones, as it is normally sold at an industrial scale.

For the Belgium black marble, for instance, it took me a couple of years to be able to reach the owner and make my orders. It's very difficult to get. A lot of people in Belgium would even tell you that this marble doesn't exist anymore.

“What I find very interesting in all these old materials is that, since it’s been used for such a long time already, if you can find a way to use it in a different way, it will stand out and be unique.”

— Ben Storms

LV : What's the story behind the Belgium black marble?

BS : Well the Belgium black, it's very difficult to excavate. It's a very expensive stone. The guy that owns it, he also owns the Belgium gray marble, which was used a lot by my father in the past. He always said that he was one of the first to put it back on the market, but I don't know if that's true. So there was that connection already. My brother also had a connection with this marble producer.

Yeah, and after a couple of... I don't know, maybe after one year, I was able to buy his black marble and start working with it. It takes a lot of time and a lot of talking to gain access to it you know…

I don't know how to explain it. It's difficult sometimes. Sometimes I can get it, and then a few months later it gets more difficult. For me, it's annoying because my clients need to know if they can get it or not. This black marble is quite exclusive...

There is also another type of marble that I use, the Saint Anne marble, which is also from Belgium. The producer’s quarry was closed a long time ago. You cannot get in there anymore. My brother was lucky to be able to buy a leftover stock that they found underneath a big pile of dirt.

The prototype of the “Inhale” coffee table for instance, was made out of this Saint Anne marble. For me, it's fun to do this, to use those materials, because they are so exclusive and hard to find. They are beautiful stones!

It's so interesting. We have a heart for it. We're very happy if we can find these kinds of special things. But maybe for the audience it's not so interesting to know this story, but I'm very into it.

LV : In previous interviews, you mentioned about the process of working with different stones, working with marble, and using those materials to achieve mind-bending results, so that they don't seem to be as heavy as they really are. Could you put us back in time, when you created your first piece using marble, and tell us how you approached this project? What was your main idea behind it?

BS : My first piece would be the In Vein trestle table. This was my end project in a one year's design course. I chose to work with marble, because I grew up with this stone and so I had more knowledge about it.

Then, I basically summed up different characteristics of marble, just easy things that everybody understands: it's heavy, it's cold, sometimes it's kitsch, it breaks easily, etc. I compiled 25 different characteristics associated with marble.

Then, I looked for ways to do something different with it, because what I find interesting in these very old materials is that, since they have been used for such a long time already, you can find new and creative ways to use them, to make them stand out.

The first things I was thinking of would be very heavy. I wanted to use the mass and the weight and the monumental aspect of stone, a piece of about 10 tons. But the teachers wouldn't allow me, although they liked the idea. At first they said, "Okay, if you're going to do this you’ll automatically pass the course, because this is a good idea. You can make it, but we're just the first month in the course, so try to come up with something different for now." Only then I came up with the idea of a trestle table. Therefore, I went for the opposite idea: to make the marble appear super light.

So I went for a trestle table, because it's the mother of all tables. I also had the idea of using it as a double function, where the back of the table would be a mirror. I thought I could polish the back of the table to get a mirror look, and then I thought of making it look like a blown up mirror.

About three weeks before the end of the year, I started making crafting the piece. At first I did some tests, small scale, and then I built the table. The first prototype still exists, so it all worked out from the first attempt, which was fantastic.

LV : Amazing…

BS : Yeah, because all the materials and techniques used to make this piece are quite expensive. I was blowing the metal myself, but cutting the marble was done by my brother, and he wasn’t working for free of course, so those things were quite expensive for a student. But anyway, I took the challenge. It seems like it worked out well, because I'm still getting orders for this piece now.

“I’m mostly inspired when I have the time to let my mind wander and just dream away.”

— Ben Storms

LV : When a new client comes in and he wants you to create something new and different for him or when you think of a piece that you want to create for yourself, do you start on a blank page or do you you always have an idea in advance of what you want to create, such as notes from previous ideas which you could revisit?

BS : Well, it's been a long time since I created something new actually. Which is annoying me a lot. But so I'm basically working on those two projects, so the trestle table and the coffee table most of my time right now. I'm now trying to reorganize myself, so that different tasks that I do I'm just a one-man show right now, but are going to be done by somebody else, so I have more time to create new stuff.

But to answer your question, I think ... The two pieces I did were just for myself, so it was not an assignment. I could do whatever I wanted, which I like a lot. I have different things in my mind now that I want to create in the future, so mostly it's just an inspiration that I get, sometimes when looking at art, sometimes just something else, not design, but just when I have the time to just wander and dream away, like in my head. That's mostly when it happens.

I have clients now that ask me to make something special for them, something new. That's something new for me also, but I feel that it's not easy, because they want something and they give you carte blanche, but still they have somethings that they want in there, so you're a bit restricted. When I'm a bit restricted I feel it's more difficult, you understand?

LV : Sure!

BS : It’s actually the last item that I created. In this case, for instance, the black marble mirror seems blown, but it’s not. Because of the look, you don’t make the connection to marble anymore, as it looks like something that has been blown with air pressure. I like these kind of illusions a lot, basically tricking people to think what they see is impossible.

LV : You mentioned earlier that you approached your first project by identifying a group of words which would guide your project’s direction. Is this a process that you often go through, or do you approach each project differently?

BS : No, the first piece, the trestle table, my starting point was just marble, just the one material. Then I summed up the words that are usually connected to that, like all the characteristics of the material. I then looked for a way to do something different with it, I wanted to go against the characteristics of marble.

Again, I made a lightweight marble table, which doesn’t normally exist. Two people can easily carry it, it’s only four millimeters thick which is also something that you don’t have with marble. Then the marble rests on trestles, also something you don’t do with marble plates because it would normally break.

So, there I just wanted to go against all the usual characteristics and then I searched for the right way and form to do that.

For the second piece, the Inhale coffee table, I was just looking at a remnant piece of marble; the Saint Anne that I was talking about earlier. It was just right in front of me and I loved the shape of the natural, rough side of the stone. I wanted to use that rough side as a coffee table. I started to think of a way to lift it up and balance it straight.

I wanted to make it seem almost invisible in the back and underneath, like jelly. After a while I remembered the first test I ever did to make this type of metal - to blow metal pillows.

It just clicked with me, that I could blow a metal pillow underneath the stone and it would take the shape of the stone and be balanced. The polished reflective object would just seem to disappear.

Just like that, I had my solution and I finished it the day before a fair in Belgium. The trestle table took me almost a year to develop and then the coffee table was just an instantaneous idea coming to life.

I never work on the computer. I have my schedule book, which is mainly filled with ideas, more written ideas than drawings. But, once I start a project, I will start in the workshop making it and testing the material. I will try to make it on scale, one to one and try to make it as if the first piece is going to be sold. I always try to get it right the first time around.

“I like these kind of illusions a lot, basically tricking people to think what they see is impossible.”

— Ben Storms

LV : I also wanted to ask you a question about BRUT collective (Bram Vanderbeke, Cédric Etienne, Charlotte Jonckheer, Linde Freya Tangelder & Nel Verbeke). Have you known them for a long time ? How did you come about deciding to create the Antwerp Six of design?

BS : I’ve actually known Nel Verbeke for a long time. We were both into design and used to work together. She came to me once with the idea of forming this group of designers which would help each work towards collective objectives. I liked the idea. I knew she was involved in the industry and I trusted her, so I instantly said: “Okay, I’m in!” I was following my gut feeling, which is something that I always do.

Although I knew that I didn’t really have time for a collective, as I’m very busy with my own business, finishing all my projects and orders, I still went for it. It was a good choice. I didn’t know all of them. I saw a few things from Braam, who recently finished its studies at the Eindhoven Design Academy, I think. I’ve met Charlotte before, but didn’t know a lot about her. The design scene in Belgium is very small, so we all knew about each other, but didn’t really know one another.

I think it works perfectly, the way we communicate and our set-up, pictures, everything is fantastic. Do you like it?

LV : Yes, absolutely. That’s mostly why I’m asking, as I’m curious to hear your side of the story.

BS : I was actually thinking of doing something like that before, but I never had the time or the right people to do it with. So, when she called me and came up with that very same idea of working together, doing a fair and ultimately being stronger because of that, I think that’s why I immediately agreed to do it. That’s the way to go in the beginning.

LV : In the ideal world, if I could relieve you of all your current work and projects and you can start the day tomorrow with nothing new on your plate, no deliveries, due dates, nothing… What kind of project would you be most excited to work on?

BS : Oh my goodness, that is such as difficult question - the absolute dream scenario! I would have the time to do something that is most likely in my head right now. Most probably something sculptural and probably with marble.

LV : Would you go for a bigger or smaller scale project?

BS : A bigger project, I think. Something connected to architecture. It would still be a functional furniture piece, but sensible to its location and surroundings, as if it was becoming a part of it. It would still be a very individual piece, so you would see that it’s a piece on it’s own, but would only fit in that position, in that architecture.

It would also be a bit of a scale work, so it would lean more toward the sculptural again. I think it could be many different things…

All images by Alex Lesage — threefold.

#Ben Storms #Antwerp #Designer #BRUT #Collective #Belgium #Featured #In Conversation

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