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pip-or-something · 3 years

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last twilight in phuket analysis

on growing up

1. hokkian mee

teh making hokkian mee seems very symbolic of growth here. throughout part 1 he’s always saying his mom will make it for them, but this time, his mom isn’t around, so he makes it himself

2. the loss of the private beach

@liyazaki pointed out that they have to make room for themselves in the public beach and that’s brilliant and i love that take and i think it’s important and correct! carving out your spot in an unfamiliar place is definitely a part of the learning to be an adult vibes

my focus in this scene was a bit different initially but still in support of that same positive change. i noticed that it is oh-aew who’s most bothered by their private beach being closed and not teh. remember when teh couldn’t even admit to himself that he wanted to be close to oh-aew? and now he’s holding his boyfriend’s hand in public! now they’re hugging on a public beach, and he’s emotionally aware enough to comfort oh-aew! *hugs teh*

3. the closing of funan tutorial school

funan tutorial school was this place kind of like their beach - the two of them knew it inside and out, so there were spaces that felt like just theirs. it’s a short scene, but that shot of them being locked out through the inside is really showing that they’re now on the outside of phuket - or at least they feel that way. i also think that scene is one of the many hints that teh, even though he’s mostly comforting oh-aew in this, is also unsettled and upset by the upcoming change.

the view zooms out after that, though, showing that they’re part of a much bigger word - rather than being locked out, it gives us the perspective of looking inside from a place of greater freedom

if we want to get really abstract, it could be symbolic of the kind of inward self reflection that occurs when we see that the world is much larger than we thought

parallels

1. this scene

has a backdrop with the same very distinctive teal color that we saw at oh-aew’s house in itsay

the scenes ultimately are like the same thing but they play out differently. the same because it’s always been oh-aew making teh come to him but now they’re actually talking like teh’s asking why and oh-aew is telling him to come closer and when teh doesn't want to do something he just explains why instead of forcing himself and it ends up being cute instead of angsty i’m so proud of them!!!

on top of that in the itsay scene they were deliberately hidden behind that staircase and now here they are out in public and teh’s shy but it’s okay because they understand each other now! and by this i mean teh understands himself enough to communicate that and not overstep his own boundaries and oh-aew understands because! again! talking!

2. the dancing around each other at the beach scene in part one

vs. the dancing to each other here

the connection here is pretty blatant in my opinion but the change is sort of subtle. in itsay, they ended up falling on top of each other, but then oh-aew essentially said he was hoping to run into teh, and this happened:

here, we have a role reversal where oh-aew is chasing teh, and when he gets there, they stick together

i just can’t get enough of teh being open to vulnerability here! and in public nonetheless!

i’m refusing to delve into too much color theory here but i mean-- in itsay we had the blue scene and the red scene and here there both blue and red scenes alksdjflaksjflkjaslkdjf

maybe the most important thing i have to say

at the beach, teh says “there may be lots of changes,” empathizing with and validating oh-aew’s sadness and fears, which is lovely because, wow! teh experiencing and expressing emotion fully? again, ✨ character growth ✨

and then there’s this thing: we know that teh is a problem solver. i know that he is because my brain works that way, too, and sure enough, i think he found a solution

when he says “i love you” he doesn’t just leave it at that. he says “i’ve never told you, not once” and he very effectively reminds oh-aew that not all change is bad

ahhhhhhhh everything in this series is so deliberate

barely coherent thoughts

i can’t believe how nostalgic this made me??? about a place i have never been??? the music and the locations and just!!! it hasn’t even been a year since itsay and i’ve rewatched it too many times to count but it feels like ages and it feels like coming home

twilight literally means half-light so as usual the nadao team is super on point with their titles - i mean it’s the perfect middle between the sun and the moon, the perfect compromise

the shirts and their colors are so unsubtle i love it

lkalkjsdfalkjasdf the blanket in the first scene i’m Suffering - i caught myself looking for yongjian on the wall lmao

did they not show them playing in the water because pp is scared of it because if so: that’s really considerate and cute and appreciated

i looked it up and lavender roses symbolize enchantment and love at first sight which is very cute and also feels like it demands growth, which would be fitting in terms of everything else i said. they also happen look very similar to genetically engineered blue roses which are actually super interesting to read about and symbolize the unattainable. so that’s very much in line with our title :’) in this case, rather than the romance specifically, it would be more likely to symbolize the inability to truly revisit the past, if that’s even what they’re going for

teh said i love you while oh-aew was filming them helpppppp i bet did that on purpose so that oh-aew will have it with him at all times when they’re apart [queue intense sobbing]

i think teh also needed to hear oh-aew say “i love you” here too and i have a lot of thoughts on how teh was dealing with all of this but i can’t figure out how to put it into words??? i wanted to peg him as someone who doesn’t do well with change but i think it’s more like he dislikes being in control and i confused the two because there tends to be overlap and here i think there’s multiple things happening. he’s mostly in control of the change, he’s always wanted to go to the city for university. but i don’t think he expected the emotion that is coming with it (and i really fully believe he’s experiencing the emotions for himself, too, not just empathetically with oh-aew). he seems to be handling the emotion pretty well? he’s not telling oh-aew anything outright but i don’t think he needs to, he’s expressing himself a lot more here than he ever did in itsay and oh-aew still read him like a book then

anyway i feel like we’re going to get a focus on oh-aew in this second part (it’s what i’m hoping for!) but i want to remember to keep an eye on teh and his progress as well because it might be more subtle but i am sure it will still be there

#last twilight in phuket #ipytm #i told sunset about you part 2 #itsay 2 #I Promised You The Moon #bkpp the series #Billkin putthipong #PP Krit #i wanted to gif things but my internet is too weak for that here #so pictures and links it is #oh-aew #teh #teh x oh aew #ipytm side story #side story uhhh this is my life now thanks #phuket i will miss you </3 #oh this is a stupidly long post bye

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 4 years

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Diary of the Writing Raven; Birds of a Feather

For the 1100+ follower milestone, here is the next part of the cursed raven’s story!

This time, we revisit entries in Miss Raven’s diary. A familiar face assumes prominence on the stage--what role will he play in this story of ours?

Part 1 l Part 2 l Part 3 l Part 4

Day 47

I feel like I am being watched.

Uncle says I am just nervous and excited from the ceremony yesterday.

I am not so sure.

Day 48

I ran into that weirdo again today.

The weirdo is named Rook Hunt. He also calls himself the Hunter of Love...? I do not understand what that means.

He said that he will not be fooled again by Mon-sure Mastermind’s tricks again. He said he knows I am a bird, and he will chase me to the ends of Twisted Wonderland to see me in flight.

...Scary.

He shouts many strange words and chases me around. I managed to narrowly miss him by diving into the bushes. He was distracted by some students with animal ears--and I was able to run all the way home safely.

I suppose it is good to be curious, but...Mister Rook is too curious...!!

Why couldn’t I have run into Mister Jade instead?

Day 51

Uwaaah, I saw a very pretty upperclassman today! He had golden hair, violet at the ends.

The pretty upperclassman snapped at Mister Rook and told him to stop scaring me.

I am thankful, but...it seems like that upperclassman was scanning me all over. Judging me silently. I wanted to disappear into my clothes.

Before we part, he tells me that my ponytails are not symmetrical. He adjusts it for me and sends me off.

Mister Rook’s friends are strange people, too.

Day 56

Another run-in with Mister Rook. They seem to happen every day now, though they are not always...eventful.

He says I am too formal, and that I can just call him “Rook”.

He would not stop pestering me until I agreed.

He gave me a toothy grin when I, at last, relented.

What a troublesome man.

Day 57

Ever since I tried Flounder’s Blue, I have been sampling new foods and drinks.

Today, I got a cup of caw-fee.

Silly me, though...I tripped and spilled it all over a Savanaclaw student. He was so angry. He threatened to gobble me up.

I was trembling and sobbing when the Savanaclaw student yelped. Rook had a tight grip on his trail and kept tugging it, saying weird things until he scurried off.

I thank him.

Day 60

It feels like I see Rook around every corner. He does not always approach--sometimes, he is just content with watching from a distance, or he gives a small wave.

Jade has noticed too.

He asks if Rook makes me feel unsafe..

Rather than feel unsafe, I am a little curious as to why Rook is...well, Rook. He is certainly an odd fellow, but when I think back to a few days ago, I can’t help but think he has a good heart.

I do not think he means any harm.

So I tell Jade I am fine.

Day 66

Rook smelled funny today.

He says there was an accident in the Science Club, so he will reek of tomato and basil for a few days. That hunting trip he was planning is cancelled; the smell will alert too many animals of his presence.

I tell him that he reminds me of the pasta served at the Mostro Lounge, and he laughs.

How he is able to stay so cheery is a wonder to me--but it is not a bad thing, I suppose.

Day 72

Rook tells me of a carny-vale in the nearby town, and says I must experience it for myself. I was curious, so I followed.

There are so many bright sounds and sights. It smells like something fried and sweet.

We ride the spinning tea cups and the carousel. They make me feel like I’m flying once more.

I’m no good at any of the game booths, but Rook is. He has impeccable aim and strength. The game booth runners cry and beg him to not run them out of business.

Rook just smiles and asks them for their best prizes. He has no use for most of them, so he dumps his prizes onto me with a part on the head.

My arms are too full to hold any food, so Rook helps feed me. He stuffs funnel cake, cotton candy, and candied apple into my mouth.

The last thing we do for the day is the ferris wheel. We go up and up against the sunset.

In the dying light of day, I realize something.

Rook has very pretty eyes, too.

Day 80

The pretty upperclassman came up and introduced himself.

Vil Schoenheit, Pomefiore’s dorm leader.

The queen.

He remarks that my pigtails are not asymmetrical today, and that I am a fast learner.

“You must be, little Shetland potato,” Vil comments, “if you are to deal with my huntsman.”

Day 84

...Rook was carrying a Pomefiore boy over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes.

He says that it’s his job to capture runaways, in service of his queen.

...I wonder how much he gets paid to do this?

Day 85

I told Rook about my hiking trip with Jade!

He seemed very interested, listening intently and nodding while I spoke.

Rook says that he, too, is a fan of the great outdoors, and that we should go on a camping trip together sometime.

I look forward to it.

Day 90

Today is the promised camping trip with Rook.

The weather is getting chillier, so he reminds me to dress warm. He will take care of the rest of the preparations. After all, he has had much more experience with these sorts of things.

I’m still cold, even when I show up in three layers. Rook tuts and throws his jacket over me, despite my protests.

He guides me through the forest, pointing out tiny things I would not have noticed on my own. That bunny’s burrow, those squirrels storing nuts for the upcoming winter, the rustle of the leaves, the trickle of water, how the sunlight filters through the trees...

Rook has such a poetic way of speaking.

He reminds me of a prince in a fairy tale.

Day 94

Rook told me that he has noticed that my speech has improved. He is proud, puffing up like a proud father. He spouts some nonsense about how “mon petit oiseau” (he helped me with the spelling) is becoming such a refined young lady.

I told him that his own manner of speech is far prettier than mine.

Rook just laughed and offered to help me improve more and more, if I wish.

I should pay a visit to Pomefiore, he said, and the queen will welcome me with open arms.

Day 95

Pomefiore is...beautiful. Violet tapestries, crimson curtains, and gold decorations dripping from every available crevice. And everyone is just as beautiful as their surroundings, skin like glass and eyes set in jewel-colored shadows.

I expected nothing less of the oldest dormitory at Night Raven College. The castle is steeped in years of history.

I was offered tea and a three tiered stand of snacks. Vil introduced me to a boy named Epel, who squirmed in his seat with discomfort.

He made us hold our tea cups all funny and barked at us to exchange words. Rook stands at his queen’s side and just...smiles at us as we suffer.

After that, Vil shepherded us to a large table, where two sets of cutlery were laid out.

I’m drilled for hours on end, until I can differentiate the several different variants of spoons, forks, and knives. Epel, too.

I am told to return every few days, to join Epel for his lessons. “It would do him some good to have someone to go through the motions with,” Vil insists. “It gives him some much needed...’encouragement’.”

More lessons for me.

...Somehow, I feel like Rook has me caught in a snare.

Day 100

Vil quips that we are learning ballroom dancing today.

I do not see the practical use of such a skill, but he will not take no for an answer.

Epel and I mutter apologies as we link hands and step on each other’s feet. Then the queen has us take turns spinning around with Rook.

He is very graceful on his feet--far more than myself or Epel. I’m nervous when my turn comes up, but Rook reassures me that it will be fine.

His arms form a cage to keep me from stumbling.

He clicks his tongue and says I need more practice.

Day 102

We focused on the arts today. Vil was busy with modeling (?) and told us that Rook would be our instructor. He says that the arts are his best subject, so please leave everything to him.

Rook shows us fruit bowls and pictures of scenery (he says he took the photographs himself)! Then he sets out canvases and paint sets and tells us to follow his lead.

His voice is a soft murmur as he beats his paintbrush against a blank canvas, breathing color into an otherwise lifeless world.

I do my best to do as he says.

Rook glances over--and he tells me, through a blinding smile, that my painting needs some work.

I have to agree.

Day 110

Epel is with friends today.

Rook takes this opportunity to grant me a language and writing lesson. He knows that I like writing, so now is as good of a time as any.

Rook hovers over me at a desk and suggests ways to make my writing sound...fancier.

I practice writing sentences like...

You are the light of my life, the lark’s birdsong in the still morning.

You are as lovely as the petals of a rose, lush and delicate and breathtakingly beautiful.

You are the moon and the starlight, twinkling in the depths of the darkness and guiding me to salvation.

I ask him what the point of these phrases were--and Rook answers, “For when you wish to woo whomever has captured your heart!” He makes it sound so easy.

He teaches me a few basic phrases of his flowery language, too.

I tell him merci.

Day 117

The queen puts books on my head and tells me to walk without dropping any of them.

Rook holds my hand and helps me keep balance.

It is warm, and comforting and supportive, just like Jade’s.

Then Vil whips out a pair of odd shoes, with stick-like things instead of a flat sole. He calls them heels and urges me to put them on.

I fall on my face, and Rook has to help me up.

On my second attempt, he catches me. He tells me I have the grace of a newborn fawn--that is to say, none at all.

Still, I feel safe in his arms.

Day 133

It is cold, and snowy.

Rook drags me outside anyway. He says exercise will do my frail little body some good.

But...no matter what I activity I do, I am miserable at it. Snowshoeing, ice skating, sledding. I am horrible at all of them, and more.

We settle for building a snowman.

I try to make it look cute.

Day 140

The cruise ship is boring. The beach is boring. It’s mostly older folks like Uncle sipping on tropical drinks and sunbathing.

I wish I had someone to talk to.

Of course, Jade would be nice and set my heart at ease...but Rook would be able to make even something as mundane as this fun.

I can already hear him shouting in my head about the clear blue waters, and the amber sunlight, and the snow white sand.

Look at me, I’m beginning to speak nonsense.

Well, nonsense it may be, but it is interesting nevertheless.

Rook is...interesting.

Day 149

There are lots of seagulls here.

...They remind me of Rook.

I am not quite sure why.

Maybe it is the incessant cawing.

Though...that is charming, in its own unique way.

Day 155

Rook brought back a souvenir from his home land--a bright blue feather on a beaded necklace. He says it is similar to the one the young prince of his country wears.

It turns out, he is from the Afterglow Savannah! What a surprise; I thought he would be from the Land of Pyroxene.

He regales me with stories of his adventures, of the many hunts he embarked on and his trophies.

His eyes are like emeralds, shining with excitement.

Day 167

I saw a play with Rook.

It told the story of two lovers whose families detested one another. The actors all speak quite frivolously, just like Rook. I can see why he would like this kind of thing.

My favorite part...it was the balcony scene.

The male lead cannot stand to be apart from the female lead, and so he sneaks into her garden at night. He summons her to the balcony and makes a vow that he will, no matter what, find a way to be with her.

...The play ends with death.

I cried a little, and Rook let me lean against his shoulder until I stopped.

Day 170

I penned a little story based on the play.

This one has a happy ending.

I want to put some hope into the world.

Day 185 (Continued)

I asked Rook if he was excited for Valentine’s Day, if he was expecting any gifts.

He gave me a mysterious smile in response and said, “Ah, that is for me to know and for you to find out, mon petit oiseau.”

I wonder what he means by that.

Day 186 (Continued)

I will give Rook some chocolate, too!

As thanks for being my friend.

Day 197 (Continued)

I made little heart-shaped bon-bons for Rook.

Perfect for the Hunter of Love.

Day 198 (Continued)

I want to curl up and die, diary.

Rook saw me crying today, under the shade of the great apple tree that towers in the school courtyard.

He asked me what was wrong, a concerned look on his face.

I snapped at him, told him to leave me be.

...But rather than bombard me with questions or annoy me with overly embellished words...

...Rook sat next to me silently. He held my hand until I stopped crying.

Then I spilled everything. I don’t know why I did. I...I guess I wanted someone to know of my story.

Starting with my arrival at Night Raven College. Ending with Jade’s betrayal.

I told Rook the tale through my tears and disgusting sobbing. It was absolutely pathetic, but...he listened patiently.

When I finished, he told me something.

“Mon petit oiseau, I would never lie to you.”

And I believe him.

Day 200

I cried again.

Stupid Leeches.

Day 202

I am scared of Jade.

I say as much to Rook.

He makes a joke about sharpening a harpoon and going eel hunting.

...At least, I think it is a joke.

Day 215

Rook now greets me as soon as my classes let out. His smile and laugh are reassuring to see.

He makes sure I get home safely, and without being accosted.

I cannot say merci enough.

Day 227

...It is ironic.

The man I once ran from is now the one I willingly go to for shelter, and the man I once went to for shelter is now the one I run from.

What a strange reversal of fortune.

Day 228

I feel eyes on me again.

...Leeches, most likely.

Day 230

Tomorrow is another day.

I will stay at Rook’s side.

It is the only place I feel safe beyond Uncle’s attic.

Day 231

I can trust him.

I can trust Rook.

He will tell an ugly truth right off the bat.

He values honesty, integrity--like me.

And birds of a feather must flock together.

#Rook Hunt #Jade Leech #Dire Crowley #Epel Felmier #Vil Schoenheit #twst #disney twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland #angst #PLEASE STOP READING A PERSON'S DIARY #Tale of the Cursed Raven #Raven Crowley #twst oc #twisted wonderland oc

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mayquita · 4 years

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Colin O’Donoghue on Playing Heroes and Villains in ‘Wizards,’ ‘The Right Stuff,’ and ‘Once Upon a Time’

From the creative mind of Guillermo del Toro and executive producers Marc Guggenheim and Chad Hammes, the final chapter in the Tales of Arcadia saga sees its characters go on an epic time-travel adventure in Camelot. Wizards follows Douxie (voiced by Colin O’Donoghue), a 900-year-old wizard-in-training who, along with Jim (voiced by Emile Hirsch), Claire (voiced by Lexi Medrano) and Steve (voiced by Steven Yeun), must ensure that good prevails over evil, in the escalating conflict between the human and magical worlds.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, Colin O’Donoghue talked about being a part of the Tales of Arcadia world, why he was so delighted to get to voice an animated character, what he loved about his character’s journey, getting to revisit Camelot, and what the voice recording process was like. He also talked about why the upcoming Disney+ TV series The Right Stuff appealed to him, whether he was personally satisfied with the ending of Once Upon A Time, and the great time he had playing Captain Hook.

Collider: When this whole project originally came your way, did you know that Trollhunters would only be one part of this whole Tales from Arcadia world, and that there would be also be 3Below and Wizards?

COLIN O’DONOGHUE: I did. I understood that would be the case. I came in, in the second season of Trollhunters, and I knew the character would also be in 3Below. I was in the background, and a character that made people go, “Who is this guy? Why is he there?” I think it’s really good that was teased. It’s worked pretty well, and he was a lot of fun to play. Especially in Wizards, it was really great fun.

How did you get involved with this project? Was this something that you had to go through an audition process for?

O’DONOGHUE: What happened was that they reached out to my agents about it. It was a few years ago, so I can’t remember if I had to do a quick voice recording, just so that they could hear it. But I think that they’d seen Once Upon A Time and had heard my voice. I was stoked. I was delighted to get the offer. I couldn’t wait to do it. I was gonna go study animation in college, so I’ve always been fascinated with the whole process and I’ve always wanted to do an animated film.

This character definitely goes on a big journey in Wizards. What was it that you most responded to, with his story? What did you love about the journey that you got to take with him, now that he’s at the center of the story?

O’DONOGHUE: I loved the relationship with Merlin, and with Archie, as well. I thought it was fun to see him try to be this apprentice wizard, who so desperately wants to become a master wizard and prove himself to Merlin, and getting to see how he progresses, or if he’s even able to do it or not. That was something that I was really happy to explore.

What was it like to find and establish Douxie, in the beginning, in just these little bits, and then really get to dive into him and get to know him so much more, over this season? Did you always know who he would be, at the end, or were there things that you really got to learn about him, along the way?

O’DONOGHUE: I knew that he was a wizard, and I knew that he was quite a powerful wizard. It was just so much fun, having these tiny little things with him that made an impact with people. And then, to really get to do everything that I did on Wizards was fantastic because he really is a great character to play, and a lot of fun. And also, the writing on this show is just so great to get to live with for awhile and really explore.

It definitely seems a bit tricky to explore the origins of the entire mythology of the trilogy while also taking these characters on their own new adventure. How did you feel about the way that it all tied together and the way the story ends? What was your reaction to finding out how things would all play out, by the end of it?

O’DONOGHUE: I was amazing. Whether it was on this or on Once Upon A Time, I’m always amazed at how writers, especially in fantasy, keep track of everything, let alone tie it all together. I’m always amazed that they’re able to do that. And in Wizards, they’ve really done an incredible job of blending the three series together into this one final thing. I just think it’s so smart and so clever, the way they do it. I couldn’t do it. That’s why I’m an actor, and someone else is writing the show.

I was very impressed with how we get to see some of the past characters and we get to see the mythology of Camelot. Pulling all of that together was really impressive.

O’DONOGHUE: I was excited to get to go to Camelot again. We did a season of Once Upon A Time in Camelot, so it was fun to see the version of Camelot that they did in Wizards.

What was the recording process like on this? Were you always in a booth alone?

O’DONOGHUE: I was always alone. I live in Ireland, so most of what I did was done in a recording studio in Dublin. Sometimes, if I was in L.A., I’d go in, but it was always on my own. It’s interesting. It takes a little bit of getting used to because nobody is really feeding you lines. You just say each line, and take a stab at what you think the other character would be saying or reacting to. But I really enjoyed it. Once you get used to that, then it’s really a lot of fun. You get to really ham it up. Maybe a lot of people would say that I’m a ham, but you try to be a little bit more subtle, so it’s fun just to be able to go for it, in animation, because they animate it over the top lines.

Do you know what the time span of work was that you did on this?

O’DONOGHUE: No. It’s been a while. I can’t remember when we recorded the first recording for the first episode of this. It must be a year and a half ago, maybe. I’m not entirely sure. I was in Florida shooting The Right Stuff for five months last year, so it might even be two years. I’m not entirely sure.

Were there ever any major changes, along the way? Did anything change, while you were doing the recording of it, or did everything stay pretty close to the scripts?

O’DONOGHUE: I think everything stayed pretty close to the scripts, if I remember rightly. I don’t think there were any major changes. I might be wrong in this, but when the script was locked, it had gone through so many iterations, at that point. Because they’re creating everything, and every blade of grass, once the script is locked, that’s it. There can be an additional line sometimes, or you might have to do an alternative line, but in general, the script is pretty much locked.

When The Right Stuff came your way, what was it that most interested and excited you about that project?

O’DONOGHUE: I knew the book. I’d read the book, and I’d seen the movie. I’d actually had a meeting at Appian Way, a couple of years ago, and randomly, they gave me the book before there was ever a script, just to have a read of it. And it was one that I really wanted to do, but I was doing Once Upon A Time, at the time, so I didn’t know if I’d be free for anything. Getting to play Gordo Cooper, one of the Mercury Seven, was just amazing. Also, that time period in American history, and the style of it, being from Ireland, that’s America to me, with a ’59 Corvette, Coca Cola bottles, and that kind of style of buildings. And the pilot script was just absolutely fantastic. It was incredible. It was an amazing opportunity to get to play somebody who’s a real-life hero.

Is that the kind of project, as an actor, where it’s hard to get out of your own head? Especially when you’ve read the book and seen the movie and you connect to the project before you even go do it, is it hard to then deal with the pressure you put on yourself?

O’DONOGHUE: I didn’t have a huge amount of time to think about it because somebody else had been cast in the role and they fell out of it. I had a day and a half to figure out what I was going to do before I was on a plane to Florida. It was good ‘cause then I didn’t have time to put pressure on myself. I didn’t have time to panic about what my Oklahoma accent was gonna be. It was actually good, in that respect. So, I wasn’t really nervous about it. I knew the cast was amazing, and I knew the quality of the script and that Appian Way was involved. I was just really excited. And because I played Captain Hook for so long on a show and became so recognizable as that character, it was great to go do something completely different, in a completely different genre and style. I had to shave my beard and look completely different. And then, I got to play an astronaut and test pilot. Who doesn’t wanna do that?

After being on Once Upon A Time for so many seasons, and now having had some time and distance from the show, how do you ultimately feel about the ending and the send-off that your character got? Is it something that you feel personally satisfied and happy with?

O’DONOGHUE: Yeah. The end of Season 6 did exactly what I thought they should do to close off the story of all those characters in Storybrooke. And then, it was fun in Season 7 to get to explore a completely different version of Hook and such a different character. At the end of it all, it was important for Regina to get some sort of redemption. That was always the way that the show should finish. I’m also glad that Eddy [Kitsis] and Adam [Horowitz] had the opportunity to actually finish the show the way they wanted to finish it, and the way that they had seen it. The show wasn’t canceled before they had a chance to finish it.

Captain Hook must have been such a fun character to get to put your own stamp on.

O’DONOGHUE: Yeah, my version of Hook was the first time that he wasn’t an older, villainous, mustache-twirling kind of guy. As soon as I put on the black leather trousers, the coat, and the eyeliner, that was it. You become Captain Hook. It was fun to do that, and getting to play so many different variations of the character, over the year. That was the good thing about Once Upon A Time. There were so many different realms and time periods that they were in and out of, so it was great. He was a great character to get to play.

Wizards is available to stream at Netflix.

#colin o'donoghue #colin interviews #colin other works #wizards #the right stuff

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masterhandss · 3 years

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(I am sorry for adding another, but this one is a bit less specific) thanks to the Otome game’s artwork for the pirates and clear imagery of Silva’s flintlock pistol. Guns exist, gunpowder exists. That is chaos waiting to happen. What do you think could happen with that new bit of info for the crew, especially in terms of Geordo’s fire magic. Or just general h/c and potential drama.

It’s okay, thank you for all your asks! I have a lot of asks and questions to answer and I’m trying to get through all of them (really slowly), but i’m really happy to see yours and everyone’s ideas and headcanons!

thanks to the Otome game’s artwork for the pirates and clear imagery of Silva’s flintlock pistol. Guns exist, gunpowder exists. That is chaos waiting to happen

I’ve seen a few people talk about the implications and world building that comes with the knowledge that guns exist. I’m pretty interested in it and its one of the reasons why i’m excited for the nintendo switch game!

My personal interpretation of this information is that, yeah guns and gunpowder do exist, but its only currently exclusive to one country. Quid, from what I translated, is the country of engineering. I’m not the smartest potato of the bunch but I know that probably doesn’t really say anything about the country’s weaponry, but i’m assuming that Quid is the most technologically advanced country.

I’m more of just accepting and assuming the fact that only Quid (and by extension, the Weiss Pirates who I assume are from Quid) have guns because yknow, each country is known for something. Sorcier has Magic, Lousabre has high crime rates, Etran has trading, Xiarmah has eastern culture and etc. In order to have Quid stand out as well, it’s gonna need something of its own so advanced technology and weaponry sounds good to me.

I know realistically it doesn’t make any sense, because that would mean Quid has the military prowess to take over any country they want, because they have guns and maybe even other forms of firearms, but there are lots of series where each country/region/island has different extreme levels of weaponry but can exist just fine (like Granblue Fantasy and Fire Emblem Heroes. For the latter example, FEH just introduced a new arc where a country with advanced tech and guns have just been introduced the other day, so Book V of feh may have influenced this interpretation). Some countries still use swords and magic, and some countries have guns and robots but can coexist just fine (don’t ask me how gsjdgf).

In addition to this, I’m gonna assume that guns have only recently been invented and is either still in its production/experimentation stage and the Weiss Pirates stole guns from a cargo, or they are just about to be shipped out and introduced to other countries before the Weiss Pirates stole guns from a cargo. I don’t like the idea that the Weiss Pirates themselves invented guns because that would make them too much for a powerful threat, and I don’t think the writers of the hamefura game would bother to write them as that much of a big threat.

I guess unlike most, I’m not the type the analyze historical periods and world building implications of stuff like this, but I tried ahahaha.

I guess I just know so much fantasy series where swords, magic and guns (and even robots) can coexist, that the idea that we have some in hamefura doesn’t even surprise me at all.

What do you think could happen with that new bit of info for the crew, especially in terms of Geordo’s fire magic

If the otome game is gonna seriously address the implications of Quid having advanced form of weaponry, then damn we might get a short arc of them trying to stop a possible war ahahaha. Hamefura’s magic is very weak (I can make a long ass essay just complaining about the existing magic system based on what we know from the series so far) so I’m not really sure what to think of Geordo’s magic when compared to guns and other forms of firearms. There’s a lot of debates between “technology vs magic” and the winner of that usually depends on who is asking.

On the scale of power, I think Geordo probably has no match against a gun or a make-shift bomb/bazooka. Magic activates really slowly in Hamefura so Geordo’s strength (or at least the levels I’m personally imagining) isn’t really much in battle even if it is. I mean we know he can burn a man alive as he implied in LN8 and that would give magic the advantage in terms of power (magic can possibly be equal when it comes to area damage than a bomb/bazooka but that only depending on the magical output), but again he really lacks in terms of speed. Unless Fire Magic has a spell where they can make fire balls rain from the sky? Fire magic seems like it only manifest through the hands so I’m just imaging Geordo with flamethrower hands.

I might not be giving Magic a fair fight here because I may or may not be exaggerating in my head how weak magic is in hamefura. I’d love to revisit this question again when we get more insight about how magic works in the series, like whenever Vol. 10 rolls around.

I’d love to see the crew’s reaction to seeing a gun for the first time. A “what the hell is that?” line from either Alan or Keith would make me a happy champ kshdfdsf. Plus points if Katarina immediately identifies it as a gun before anyone else in the ship are even told what the weapon is.

I’d be really sad if the upcoming otome game doesn’t touch up on the guns though. Somehow I feel like the artists/writers didn’t think too much of it and just added guns to complete the full pirate aesthetic.

Or just general h/c and potential drama.

Going back to where I said “I wouldn’t like it if the Weiss Pirates invented guns themselves”, there’s also the possibility that guns are treated in the same way as they are in “Dragalia Lost”. Since we know in hamefura there was a Golden Age of Magic in the past, where magic is so common that even Dark Magic is normal to see, then maybe there was also a point where technology was also advance before their ancestors decided to abandon it in order to maintain their roots with nature and magic.

This is just a random idea of mine, but it would be cool if Katarina and Silva can bond over the existence of his guns. Silva seems like he might be a “robin hood” kind of character to me. Katarina will obviously freak about guns at first, but she would chill with it when she finds out that the Weiss Pirates aren’t bad people. Unlike others, she isn’t as afraid because she used to live in a world where guns are more common (though that doesn’t mean she isn’t afraid of guns). Maybe Silva’s pistol is a gift from a family member or from his ancestors, and when he realizes that Katarina isn’t freaking too much about the gun, he can give its backstory. I don’t know, something like “this gun only shoots down evil! This bullet kills so that the people/public can live another day!” or something like that.

There’s most likely not gonna be a plot like this in the nintendo switch game but hey, it works if they want to treat the gun like an artifact rather than a new invention.

I don’t know if I gave a satisfactory answer here, but I tried gasjhgsj I’m writing this late at night so I might rewrite this if I can think of anything better to say in the morning :DD I’m not a smart bean either so I’m so sorry if my answers sound so dumb gfsjhgf

Thank you for the ask!

#mh ask #my next life as a villainess #hamefura #hamehura #bakarina #destruction flag otome #katarina claes #silva #hamefura silva #the pirate who summons trouble #hamefura game

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tabloidtoc · 3 years

Text

Entertainment Weekly, May

Cover 1 of 3: The 2021 Oscars Issue -- Viola Davis

Page 2: Contents, the other covers with Chloe Zhao and Regina King

Page 6: Cold Open -- a bunch of random jibberish I can't even begin to classify

Page 16: The Must List -- The Underground Railroad

Page 18: The Department of Truth, The Mosquito Coast

Page 19: The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave, Together Together

Page 20: Jakob's Wife, Frank of Ireland Q&A with Brian and Domhnall Gleeson

Page 22: Role Call -- Josh Duhamel

Page 23: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, Resident Evil Village

Page 24: My Must List -- Brian Tyree Henry

Page 27: Oscars 2021

Page 28: The Race Is On

Page 29: Dick Johnson Is Dead

Page 30: The Powerhouse -- with her record-breaking best actress nod for Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Viola Davis proves she's Oscar royalty

Page 33: Riz Ahmed -- the Sound of Metal star on inhabiting a demanding role, and how the film uses sound to take the audience on his character's harrowing journey

Page 34: The Revelation -- Right after winning an Academy Award for her acting, Regina King directed her debut feature film, One Night in Miami to three Oscar nominations. Is there anything this woman can't do?

Page 38: The Front-Runner -- Chloe Zhao has already made Oscars history, now the Nomadland director is poised for a triumphant finish

Page 41: Carey Mulligan -- the Promising Young Woman nominee reveals how she broke the film's tension with costar Bo Burnham by singing a rendition of Paris Hilton's Stars Are Blind

Page 43: Original Screenplay -- The Trial of the Chicago 7

Page 44: Around the Table -- Making History -- how four of this year's Oscar-nominated films radically confront and reframe Black history in America -- Judas and the Black Messiah, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, One Night in Miami and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Page 45: Maria Bakalova -- how the Bulgarian breakout unleashed her inner wild child and found her character's heart during a pivotal scene in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm

Page 46: 5-Minute Oral History -- West Side Story -- in honor of its 60th anniversary, stars Rita Moreno and George Chakiris look back on their 1962 Oscar wins

Page 49: Daniel Kaluuya -- the two-time Oscar nominee on the power and responsibility of taking on revolutionary icon Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah

Page 52: Fire Starter -- how Angelina Jolie blazed a trail with Taylor Sheridan for the upcoming firefighting film Those Who Wish Me Dead, her first action film in more than a decade

Page 56: Romancing the Screen -- record breaker Bridgerton proved the power that love could have on the small screen. By satisfying audiences' pent-up lust, it became a cultural phenomenon: spawning a TikTok musical, landing star Rene-Jean Page an SNL hosting gig, and catapulting Julia Quinn's 20-year-old source material to the top of the New York Times best-seller list for the very first time, but will the Bridgerton Effect make Hollywood finally fall in love with romance novels?

Page 60: Demi's New Groove -- after detailing her harrowing 2018 overdose in a recent documentary, Demi Lovato returns with a newfound sense of stability and her first album of new material in four years

Page 66: Stand Up & Step Up -- For EW's Around the Table, Chloe Bennet, Dianne Doan, Daniel Dae Kim, Hari Kondabolu, Olivia Munn and George Takei discuss the rise violence against Asians, their experience as Asian artists, and how Hollywood can help crush stereotypes and be more inclusive

Page 70: News + Reviews

Page 71: TV -- whatever happened to the Men of Tomorrow? Everywhere you look there are supermen behaving badly. Is this a bold new era in superhero storytelling or cheap cynicism on steroids?

Page 77: Movies -- Bad Romance -- Amanda Seyfried and James Norton talk about their tragically doomed marriage in Things Heard and Seen

Page 78: Women Who Kick Ass -- Jodie Turner-Smith -- she's got a juicy role opposite Michael B. Jordan in Without Remorse and will lead Netflix's upcoming The Witcher prequel. Meet Hollywood's most exciting new action star

Page 79: Childlike Wonder -- David Oyelowo goes behind the camera for his mystical directorial debut The Water Man

Page 80: Three provocative new indies explore the beauty and pain of contemporary romance -- Monday, Hope, The Killing of Two Lovers

Page 81: My Favorite Shot, Oscars edition -- Tom Hooper in The King's Speech -- the filmmaker revisits a scene on the tenth anniversary of Speech's four Oscar wins, including Best Picture and Director

Page 82: Parental Guidance -- your crib sheet on the best entertainment for kids, from toddlers to tweens -- Q&A with Danny McBride -- the Righteous Gemstone shines in The Mitchells vs. the Machines as a luddite dad trying to save the world and his family

Page 84: TV -- First Look -- Never Have I Ever -- the comedy's second season is bringing in the big guns, casting Common as Nalini's love interest

Page 85: License to Thrill -- after smashing the charts with Drivers License, Olivia Rodrigo is ready for her High School Musical: The Musical: The Series character to follow in her footsteps in season 2

Page 86: Cruel Summer

Page 87: The Transformation -- Oh, Boy! It took five years, but Nasim Pedrad's new TBS comedy Chad has finally made it to TV. Here, Pedrad details her transformation into an awkward 14-year-old boy

Page 88: The Nevers

Page 89: First Look -- Solos -- from creator David Weil, this futuristic anthology series explores the depths of human connection through the lens of eight remote characters

Page 90: First Look -- Hacks -- after four decades in showbiz, Jean Smart is living out some Hollywood dreams in her new series

* Strike a Final Pose -- FX is about to say goodbye to its her-story-making Pose. Here's why season 3 offered a proper ending

Page 91: Global Viewing -- these three series all debuting on Earth Day offer new insights into nature and science, with a little help from David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg and Sigourney Weaver: Life in Color with David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World, Secrets of Whales

Page 94: What to Watch

Page 98: Music -- Hungry Heart -- after a devastating 2018, Eric Church left Nashville and made his favorite project ever which is the three-part Heart & Soul in a restaurant

Page 100: Bebe Rexha

* My Hometown -- Saweetie by the Bay -- the My Type rapper makes hella sure to add a little bit of California into everything she makes

Page 101: Greta Van Fleet

Page 102: Jhay Cortez -- meet the 28-year-old who co-wrote Cardi B's I Like It, and whose sophomore album Timelezz drops later this year

Page 104: Books -- Seoul Food -- singer-turned-author Michelle Zauner, who goes by the moniker Japanese Breakfast, paints a vivid portrait of identity, loss, and a mother's love in her memoir Crying in H Mart

Page 106: Pop Culture of My Life -- Leslie Jordan -- the actor and Instagram star is releasing a new essay, How Y'all Doing? Here, he divulges his own Southern charm

Page 108: The Air Up There -- with Great Circle, best-selling novelist Maggie Shipstead puts a smartly feminist spin on the old-fashioned adventure tale

Page 109: A Lot Like Love -- in the short-story collection Love in Color, British-Nigerian author Bolu Babalola smashes the patriarchy of the classic folktale

Page 111: Broken Horses: A Memoir by Brandi Carlile

Page 112: The Bullseye

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nearlymanaged · 4 years

Text

3. Lily, Lupin, and Lilacs

Remus made his way to the sixth floor all by himself before Ancient Runes lesson. He’d spent breakfast being entertained by Peter, who had turned into a rat to freak out some first years by going for a swim in their cereal bowls. The performance was cut short though when they noticed a couple of teachers eyeing them from across the Great Hall. James leapt to his feet, grabbed Wormtail, and hurried out of there, yelling something about his ‘poorly behaved pet’.

The lesson had been going on for nearly five minutes when the classroom door flew open and a very flustered Lily Evans burst in, muttering apologies and something about having overslept and how it had never happened before. She went for the nearest seat, which happened to be right next to Remus, and pulled out her things very slowly, trying not to make any more sounds.

Professor Argyle stared at her blankly for a moment and Remus was sure Gryffindor was about to lose ten points, but instead… “Make sure you go to bed at a reasonable time tonight, Miss Evans. Mr. Lupin, could you kindly share your notes with Miss Evans…” And she proceeded to teach the class.

Remus pushed his notes closer to Lily so she could copy the five or six sentences they had been instructed to copy by professor Argyle. “Thanks,” she whispered, scribbling frantically.

About halfway through the lesson, Remus started hearing a strange muffled gurgling sound. The classroom was filled with the scratching of quills on parchment, so it took him a couple of minutes to realise that it was Lily’s stomach that was growling greedily. “Hungry?” He whispered, stifling a laugh.

“Hmpf… I can’t even concentrate on this. Is that ‘leech’ or ‘cockroach’?” She squinted at a rune in a paragraph they had been instructed to translate.

“Leech,” Remus whispered and bent over to retrieve something from his bag. “Here.” He pushed half a bar of chocolate across the desk. “Also, I have no doubt that you know this, but that should be ‘lake’, not ‘puddle’.”

Lily seemed to be taken aback briefly, but then she gave him a genuine smile and breathed ‘thanks, Remus,’ before breaking off a piece and shoving it in her mouth. They had always been friendly with each other. Incidentally, only when James wasn’t around. Or Snape, for that matter. And now that September was drawing to a close, they had started exchanging little interactions here and there more frequently. It was only natural, since some of the classes they had both picked up for their sixth year only had small handfuls of students, none of whom were James or Snape.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you be late for class,” Remus whispered brightly, watching Lily eat the last crumbs of his chocolate, even licking little specks off her fingers once it was all gone.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been late. I just had so much homework yesterday and it got so late and… I need to revisit my homework planner.”

“Yeah, it’s been a long month…”

Just then, the bell rang throughout the castle, announcing the end of the lesson. Both Gryffindors started packing their things and Lily was the first to reach the door while Remus was still fiddling with the zipper of his bag.

“Well?” He heard her say and looked up to see her waiting for him in the doorway. “Let’s go, I don’t want to be late again!” And they left the classroom together to head to a double Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

* * *

Sirius was eyeing Remus, who was curled up in one of the armchairs with a thick, dusty book. Black had just made himself comfortable in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room. James was servicing his broomstick in anticipation of the upcoming Quidditch season, and Peter was still working on his Potions essay (James’ freshly finished one lying in front of him). It was one of the quieter evenings, the likes of which occurred more frequently since they had started their sixth year.

It had been a whole month since the beginning of term; a whole month since Sirius was reunited with Moony. A whole month since he had been having these new, curious feelings for him. He kept telling himself that it would go away eventually, but there was a part of him that didn’t particularly care for that to happen. He had spent a whole month relentlessly staring at Moony and he could not think of anyone or anything more beautiful, and he had never thought that about anyone for a whole month straight.

He had always liked Moony’s scars; not the pain that they were born out of, of course. But he always liked the way that they looked, as if counteracting how much Remus himself hated them. Sirius remembered the first time he heard his friend call them ugly, back in their second year, and he couldn’t believe his ears. He thought they looked cool; they bore witness of Remus’ strength and resilience. But now he thought they were beautiful -- maybe he had always thought them beautiful?

Throughout the past month, Sirius had been catching himself wanting to wrap his arms around Moony at the most random moments. Or hold his hand. Or kiss him. And then he’d wonder if he would realistically ever be able to do that. He wanted it all to go away, but he also...didn’t. Deep down, more so than that, he wanted to know if there was any chance at all that Moony could like him back. So far, his inventory of clues was that Remus wasn’t girl-crazy, but that could have easily been attributed to him being a bit of a bookworm. A lot of a bookworm.

But then, there was this vague feeling, which Sirius couldn’t put into words, that him and Moony had always had a different kind of...chemistry; different from him and Prongs or him and Wormtail. If only there had been a way to explore that without putting their friendship at risk...

All of a sudden, Sirius’ whole body perked up with a brilliant idea, and before he could question its brilliance further, the words slipped out of his mouth.

“You guys know I’m bisexual, right?” Sirius’ eyes lingered on Remus for just a moment longer before he casually looked down to inspect his fingernails.

“Er...you’re what?” James looked at him puzzled, as if he’d just been woken up from a nap.

“Bisexual, Prongs,” the Black replied with an exaggerated sigh. “Means I swing both ways.”

“And...have you?” Peter asked with some kind of a mixture of awe and confusion.

“Have I what?”

“Snogged a boy?”

“Not yet.” Sirius’ gaze flickered over to Remus for a split second; the werewolf was still adamantly staring at his book but Sirius could see that his eyes were fixated on a single spot on the page.

“How do you know then?” Peter asked and James shuffled his stare from him back to Sirius.

“How do people know they’re straight before they get to snog anyone? Or how does Prongs know he wants to spend the rest of his life making sweet love to Evans without having so much as accidentally bumped elbows with her?”

It seemed to take a second for James to register the answer but then he shrugged and nodded. “Fair enough.”

“So… Has anyone in particular caught your eye?” Peter asked and Sirius restrained himself from looking at Remus.

“Nope, no one in particular.”

For a little while, no one said anything, blankly staring at one another as if confunded. Then, Peter went back to his potions essay and James resumed polishing his broom handle.

“So?” Sirius’ voice was tinged with annoyance now.

“So what?” James asked without looking up.

“You lot okay with that? Any thoughts? Feedback? Anything?”

“‘Course we are okay with it!” Peter affirmed.

“Now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense,” James mumbles casually, and Sirius was about to inquire further about that statement, but then he realised that Remus was still frozen in the same position, still pretending to read the same page.

“Moony?”

“What?” He answered rather quickly.

“Any thoughts?”

“Of course I am okay with it, Sirius,” he punctuated his irritated response by closing his book with a thud.

“Sorry we’re not more shocked, mate,” James shrugged.

* * *

James did his best to keep his focus on professor Slughorn, but his gaze would inadvertently land on the side of Lily Evans’ face time and time again during that day’s Potions lesson. And then, once in a while, he’d look over at Snape; he couldn’t help but wonder why Lily and him weren’t friends anymore. He was happy about it, no doubt; but curious nonetheless.

Even with those distractions, James had to admit that it was an interesting lesson. Slughorn was telling them about the strongest love potion in the world, Amortentia. There was a whole couldronfull of it and James was quite aware of the fact that everyone in the classroom was leaning forward ever so slightly, trying to get closer to its intoxicating scent (which, apparently, smelled of different things to every single person).

A couple of the students jumped in their seats at the sound of a loud knock on the door. Slughorn stared at it for a second and then shuffled over to open it. James looked over at Peter and both grinned when they heard the sound of Sirius’ voice.

“Sorry, sir. Professor McGonagall sent me to get Potter. It’s about Quidditch…”

“Right now? In the middle of the lesson?”

“You know how she gets just before the season starts, sir,” Sirius’ voice carried a note of very well faked innocence.

“Ah yes, I daresay, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of Minerva and the Quidditch cup…” Slughorn wheezed and then mumbled something about ‘insufferable’ and ‘fury’. “Very well then, just make sure to get today’s notes from one of your friends, James.”

James scrambled to his feet, shoved all his stuff in his bag, and rushed out of the classroom. They had done this sort of thing so many times, and had planned so many different, slight variations of it, that he wasn’t worried about getting caught at all anymore. He grinned at Sirius and both started down the corridor, to wait around the corner. If James wasn’t much mistaken, Peter was about to use one of those fake blood capsules from Muggle jokes shops that Remus had introduced them to a while ago.

Sure enough, no more than five minutes later, Peter appeared with red paint down his front. The brilliance of this particular trick was that Slughorn tried to magic Wormtail’s supposed nosebleed away, but since his nose wasn’t really bleeding, the spell didn’t do anything. Pretty quickly, Slughorn gave up and sent Peter to the hospital wing.

“Why did it smell like coffee, lilacs, and Moony in there?”

There was a second’s pause and then James turned to Peter, shock and curiosity mirrored in his face too.

“What?” Sirius lifted his hands in a brief shrug when his two friends exchanged very eloquent and very obvious looks. Then he explained rather proudly: “I’ve been able to pick up even the most subtle scents a lot more since I’ve started casually transforming into a massive black dog. Was Remus here already to get you out of Potions?”

James, and by the looks of it, Peter too, knew that the cauldron full of Amortentia was seated nearest to the door, and the only scent that Sirius could have possibly been picking up was that. And it smelled like Moony to him.

“No er…” James shook his head as if waking up from some kind of a trance. “Yeah, Merlin’s beard, that’s incredible! That you can smell things like a bloody dog now!”

“Yeah… Completely!” Peter agreed. “Incredible!”

“Come on, you must have noticed things like that too since last year?” Sirius shrugged again and his two friends exchanged looks, again. “Anywho,” he rolled his eyes, probably thinking that they were trying to mess with him. “Shall we make a quick stop at the kitchen?”

#wolfstar #wolfstar fanfiction #remus lupin #sirius black #james potter #peter pettigrew #marauders #fanfic #hogwarts

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prettywordsyouleft · 5 years

Text

No Spell Needed

Summary: Jinyoung had learned early on that you were a witch. But even he was surprised when you tried to cast a love spell on him.

Pairing: Park Jinyoung x reader

World: Love Spell universe

Genre: witchcraft au / fluff

Warnings: none

A/N: I have actually lost count how many times it’s been requested that I return to last year’s Spellbound story Love Spell. And although I’ve already written a Hogwarts au with Jinyoung this week, since it’s the 2019 version of Spellbound, we’re here revisiting an oldie but a goodie.

I don’t think it’s entirely necessary to read Love Spell first, but I do recommend it. You can read Love Spell HERE

Word count: 3091

[Frightful October Masterlist]

You were so unlike Jinyoung that he was instantly drawn to you.

Whilst he was practical, steadfast and logical, you were unrealistic and quite often off with your thoughts in another dimension. In fact, after a month of friendship with you, Jinyoung had even contemplated if you were from another world.

It was then when he found out you were a witch.

Not that it was something you were announcing for everyone to hear, no, you hadn’t actually told him you were one. And before he met you, Jinyoung had been the type of person to believe such things only existed in books. Fantastical novels that were created for entertainment purposes and not written from true anecdotes of people who had lived with magic for centuries. Yet here you were, carrying around a spare wand in your pencil case. And when you weren’t paying enough attention to your studies in the library one evening as you dozed off over your laptop, your bag had slipped onto the ground from your lap and spilled out its contents, including what appeared to be a very convincing witches manual.

It would be just like you to carry it around like that.

Of course, Jinyoung didn’t believe in you being a witch immediately. Even if things did connect, he wasn’t about to admit that everything he knew was a lie and that next he’d be meeting a vampire. He needed more proof than a book that looked as if it had been handed down the family line over generations and a wand in your pencil case. Some people had peculiar habits and you could have a hidden interest in bookbinding and making fake wands for all Jinyoung knew. He hadn’t known you before university, and since then, he couldn’t quite put his finger on pinning down your personality any further than being slightly eccentric.

One of the many charms that had attracted him to get to know you better.

It was when you were watching a movie with him that he found out that you were an actual witch. Too engrossed in the film than your surroundings, when the movie got to a part that captured your heart, you weren’t prepared to move on from it right away. With a small chant under your breath, the projected film on the large cinema screen instantly moved back, replaying the scene. Whilst it didn’t seem to bother the few others in the room, thinking it was a glitch, Jinyoung had heard you. He was certain you had spoken some foreign language quietly to yourself, then the movie jumped back. And the satisfied expression on your face only left him staring at you, perplexed.

He remained that way until the movie was finished.

“Did you enjoy it?” you asked happily, getting to your feet and heading out into the foyer. Jinyoung didn’t answer, still trying to wrap his brain around what had happened. You reached out for his wrist then, and he stared at you wide-eyed, your smile draining away along with the colour from your face.

“Oh, uh– I’m not feeling well!” you excused hastily, dashing off to the bathroom and left him waiting fifteen minutes for your return.

When you stepped out into the sunny Sunday afternoon together, Jinyoung proposed a question that sounded unfathomable for him to ask. “Are you a witch?”

“Ha-ha, do you uh, believe in them?”

“I believe in you to tell me the truth,” he responded and like a deer caught in headlights, you froze and then suddenly began to move, well, your mouth anyway.

“Did you hear the enchantment?! Oh, I’m sorry, it’s just that I got really excited and it’s so easy to do it! I have a bad habit of rewinding to my favourite parts at home too and my mother is always scolding me for it and-”

“You’re a witch?” he repeated and you nodded once. Jinyoung took in a deep breath and then nodded as well. “Okay, I believe you.”

And just like that, you settled right back down.

Although you would tell Jinyoung now and then of your skills, and he would listen to you, he would often chide you for not using your witchcraft on a productive level. “Are there any concentration spells, Y/N?”

You perked up immediately, bobbing your head up and down energetically. Arching an eyebrow at you and then pointing to your term paper notes across from him, your bubbly mood dampened down. “Maybe you should brew one for yourself.”

“I’ll get this done, don’t you worry! I’m just a little preoccupied researching something else.”

“Which is?” he wondered, not lifting his eyes from the textbook he had returned to. Most of the time, the things you would tell him would only leave him confused and since he had no understanding of the wizardry outside of Harry Potter and what little he had learned from you, Jinyoung wasn’t very forthcoming about learning of it. After all, he wasn’t the one with the powers here, and if he learned more about potions and enchantments, he would no doubt wish to perform them himself.

Which, he kind of had no ability to do so.

And that’s why he left you to your craft alone, supportive, but not active. He often got a headache trying to keep up anyway.

“Oh, it’s just something my Grandmother is helping me with,” you answered vaguely and he nodded, going back to his studies where newts and rabbit feet weren’t something he had to consider.

It was a month later when Jinyoung became concerned with what you were concocting. You had become rather frazzled – more than usual – and shut off from him. Your usual banter was missing from every situation, and you looked far too exhausted for a first-year college student.

Your exhaustion answered some of his questions.

“Love spells?” he murmured to himself as he glanced at his recent history search, glancing at you slumbering on the library table, your breathing steady and mind unaware of what clue you had given him. Smiling, he cleared it from his browser, waiting over several weeks for some tell-tale sign that you were trying to give him an elixir of some sort. But he couldn’t tell the difference at all.

Feeling a little miffed that you weren’t trying to work your magic on him; Jinyoung turned his attentions back to the upcoming calculus exam. It was his least favourite subject and yet it was one he shared with you, hoping due to your avid potion brewing that your neglected studies would send you his way.

He was right, the pair of you studying on his bed until you your head lolled onto his shoulder, now asleep with the even tone of his explanation. Smiling, he watched you for a moment before resting his head on yours.

Jinyoung was almost asleep when he heard you murmuring under your breath. Blinking away his dreams, he listened to your words. “Must get his blood.”

“Who’s blood?” he asked you, hoping you would reply.

“Jinyoung’s,” you breathed, nestling into his shoulder further. “For the spell.”

“You need my blood?”

“Mm, it has to work. The book said it would.”

Glancing at your bag on the floor, Jinyoung noticed it looked heavier than usual. Sliding himself out from his position on the bed, he made sure you were resting comfortably before tiptoeing over to his desk. Reaching down for your bag, he watched your sleeping form intently whilst retrieving what felt like a thick textbook.

He had been right, though it appeared to be one for witches and warlocks only. Curiosity beckoned him forth and after staring at the leather-bound cover, he opened the book.

It was more than he could have ever expected.

There was a love spell for everything, from making someone love you so much that they couldn’t see the rest of the world to removing memories of past lovers; this book was no joke. The spells were well versed, scripted in the finest handwriting and illustrated with rather in-depth diagrams. He was amused by the notes in the margins from past witches, explaining what happened if the ingredients were off by even a smidgeon.

If anything, the book was highly entertaining and by the time he found the spell you were working on, it was early morning.

“Oh no,” he heard breathed from across the room and Jinyoung cocked his head to the side, taking in your dishevelled appearance.

He then nodded. “Oh no, indeed.”

“How did you find that?”

“You mentioned it in your sleep to me,” he told you pointedly, flipping the page for effect. Admittedly, Jinyoung was feeling anxious, wondering if you were actually serious enough to go ahead with making your talisman. He had studied a great deal of your realm overnight and one thing he had learned quickly into the book was the risks that were involved. He couldn’t believe you were this desperate.

“Jinyoung, you shouldn’t be reading this,” you mentioned as you attempted to retrieve the spellbook but he pressed it back down into the table.

“And you should? These seem pretty intense.”

He stared up at you, wondering just how clueless you could be. He loved you; he had figured that out long ago. And whilst he wasn’t all over you like some college couples, Jinyoung had believed he showed you enough affection for you to pick up the hint.

Clearly not, since you needed his blood apparently.

Now feeble, you lowered your gaze from his. “I’m sorry if you just give me the book you won’t have to worry about it again.”

“Have you actually tried these?” he questioned, sighing when your silence answered him. He chuckled dryly. “Y/N, some of these require things from me!”

“Like hair,” you agreed and Jinyoung connected the moment from the other week when you had claimed there was a bug in his hair, yanking out a few strands in the process. You were remorseful, and yet he couldn’t help but continue, wanting to see just how far you were willing to go.

“Or worse, there’s one here asking for my blood! Would you have gone that far?” Gesturing to the book, he feigned concern when you coughed. “You need my blood?!”

“I didn’t want to hurt you. Just give me the book, Jinyoung and I’ll go home.”

He tried not to smile. “And do what; concoct more spells to make me fall in love with you? Unbelievable!”

His posture changed when tears welled in your eyes, his heart tightening with your emotions. “I promise I’ll stop. It hasn’t worked so far, so it’s pointless to ask you to give me anything more.”

“You love me that much, huh?” he asked softly, wanting to reach out and confess that he felt the same. But he knew with how charged the atmosphere was with your current mortification, that you wouldn’t believe a word he said. So he unbuttoned the cuff of his shirt, sliding it up his forearm. “Just blood?”

“What?” You head snapped up as you stared at him, and he proclaimed how ridiculous this was, just for your benefit. Holding out his arm, you instantly grew hopeful. It took all of Jinyoung’s effort to not kiss you right there and then. “Why are you offering?”

“I want to see if it works, if you can make me fall in love with you with a mere spell.”

“But what if it really works? What will you do then?”

“Be madly in love with you, isn’t that obviously the goal here?” He was getting impatient with how hesitant you were being, groaning at your unhurried movement. Reaching for a pack of darning needles on his desk he had found earlier, he pricked the top of his index finger. You gasped and he gestured for you to make a move, in which you finally did. He shouldn’t have been as surprised as he was to see the prepared talisman you pulled out of your bag, guiding his finger onto it. He watched as you shared your own blood on the yellow parchment too, reaching out for the finger you had now abandoned with your high interest on the paper, sucking away at it to stem the blood flow.

Maybe it had some power, after all, he was feeling rather giddy from the reaction he had to your bleeding finger.

Uttering some words with your hand on the talisman, Jinyoung looked between you and the spell, completely unimpressed. He knew it was because he was already in love with you, but he had been somewhat interested to see if there would be even the slightest of magic to occur in front of him.

“Is that it?”

“Do you feel any different?” you asked, hopeful and Jinyoung shrugged.

“Hm, let me see. My fingertip is tingling, should it be?”

“Honestly, Jinyoung, I knew I shouldn’t have listened to you just now, after all-”

Your disappointment was too much to handle and he reached out to encircle your waist, bringing you into his lap immediately. Gazing into your eyes, he sighed softly as he reached to run a thumb over your lower lip. He wanted to kiss you more than anything now.

“Are you sure the spell didn’t work?” he murmured, heart racing with how quickly you succumbed to the lightest of touches. If all this spell work didn’t already show him enough, Jinyoung was certain you were just as crazy about him as he was for you. “You’re so freaking adorable, you know that? How long have you been trying to make me fall in love with you?”

“For several months now,” you admitted slowly and Jinyoung was surprised. He hadn’t expected it had been so long. For a moment, he wondered just how many spells you had cast upon him. And then he smiled, soaking you in as you watched him carefully.

Gingerly, you cupped his cheek within your hand and he nuzzled into it, delighted to finally see you genuinely smile.

“It’s worked.”

He laughed. “No, it didn’t.”

“What?” You were confused, especially when his statement didn’t match the gentle kisses he left upon your wrist. Your smile disappeared entirely. “Don’t mess with me.”

“I know exactly why your little love spells haven’t worked, not a single one of them.”

You rolled your eyes, far too frustrated by his hot and cold game with you. He gripped onto you, shaking his head at your moment of flight.

“I can’t do this right now, Jinyoung. I think we’ve both had enough of all of this. I’ll just get on my way-”

“A spell can’t work on something that’s already naturally happened, right?” he stated, having read so in the book earlier on. Still, he wanted the clarification from you, holding onto your chin and seeking out your gaze once more.

“Why would someone use a spell if they already love them? Jinyoung, I-”

“Exactly what I want to know. Why were you trying to make me fall in love with you, when I already am?”

He didn’t allow your next sentence to form, kissing you immediately. His lips pressed to yours, languidly moving against your frozen ones, trying to thaw away the ice and bring you into the moment with him. As soon as your eyes closed, passion erupted and he was certain this moment would replay over and over in his thoughts for the rest of his life.

You poked him in the chest when the kiss was over. “You, you like me?”

“Why do you think I invested so much of my time with you? I was instantly attracted to you.”

“So all this time…?”

Jinyoung nodded, smug with satisfaction in fooling you. “You were so blind to it that for a while I thought you would only see me as your friend forever. But then when I caught wind of your love spell research, I started to find myself curious if it was more than one-sided.”

“Wait a minute, you knew?!”

“Of course, I did. You might be a witch but you’re not very good at hiding yourself, at least not from me.” Ignoring the doubt he had momentarily put weight into, he moved on with evidence about using his laptop that one time.

“You let me suffer all this time, completely desperate to find a way for you to love me and you already did?!”

“I wanted to see how far you were willing to go,” he answered, following you after your sudden departure from his lap, getting up off the chair and approaching you with another smirk. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting you to get this invested. I’m honoured, you much really love me, Y/N.”

“I cannot believe you, Park Jinyoung!”

“And I’m not sure I trust you with all this magic either,” he admitted, casting his eyes towards the book he had perused all night. “But there is one thing I’m glad about.”

You stared at him apprehensively and Jinyoung felt his chest swell with love for you. Eyeing your mouth, he moved even closer to you. “Your lips tasted as sweet as I hoped they would.”

He kissed you again, smiling when you sighed in content against him, wrapping your arms around his waist. If Jinyoung had any magical abilities, he was hopeful it laid within his mouth. You definitely looked under his spell when you pulled away after two more kisses, giggling all of a sudden.

“You love me. I don’t have to smite anyone for taking you from me after all.”

“Oh my god,” he muttered, his own joy drying up at your ridiculousness. Jinyoung shook his head a few times. “I must be crazy to be in love with you, but I’d be even crazier without you.”

You beamed a bright smile up at him and Jinyoung didn’t care anymore if you were that eccentric girl who had her head up in the clouds. Or the one who dedicated yourself to things that he wouldn’t prioritise first. You were a whirlwind of the unexpected, and he was excited to see what you would come up with in the future. He faltered then, staring down at you firmly. “Just promise me one thing.”

You surprised him with a brief kiss, now grinning giddily up at him. Jinyoung almost forgot what his train of thought was then. Maybe the talisman did have some power.

Though he was certain it was just your effect on him.

“What?” you prompted.

“No more spells, let’s just let our love grow naturally, okay?”

_________________

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ears-awake-eyes-opened · 4 years

Text

Valentines in Tibet: Celebrity is as celebrity does

(Newtina ❤️. Thanks @possibility-for-joy for the dialogue prompt, which inspired me to revisit Chamber of Secrets which was a muse for this one-shot. Writing this has been something different for me — fun and hopefully not too contrived. Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone.)

***

February 14, 1990; International Task Force Headquarters in Tibet; International Confederation of Wizards Summit regarding prevention of Muggle sightings of Yetis

***

“Orchideous,” with a whisper, Newt conjured a tiny flower in Tina’s palm.

“It’s beautiful.” She breathed in the flower’s fragrance and filled his hand with hers. For more than sixty years she’d been holding his hands. When their fingers entwined, it always felt like the first time.

“I appreciate you coming with me,” he continued to speak softly, “I recognize that the Tibetan Plateau is far removed from a typical February get-away.”

“When have we ever done anything typical? Besides, it would have been difficult to say no to a personal request from Albus.”

Years ago the professor invited the Scamanders to please use his given name. Tina took to it readily, but Newt still felt more comfortable with the age old formality of ‘Dumbledore.’

“Since the delegation is so small, he appointed someone to oversee the summit in his stead, but he wants us to keep an eye on Lockhart and make sure the Task Force receives accurate information.”

“Having read Lockhart’s books, I admit I’m curious to meet him,” Tina said, “Where is he anyway?”

“Perhaps waiting to make a grand entrance. Based on Skeeter’s reporting of him in the Daily Prophet, that seems his style.”

“You’re still reading that rubbish? I thought we were using Queenie’s subscription to line the Kneazles’ litter boxes.”

“You sound like me, Darling. I can’t seem to help myself. It’s like a train wreck — difficult to look at, yet more difficult to look away.”

Newt and Tina had already taken seats near the podium while most of the delegates and Task Force members milled about the room engaging in conversation. A fire burned in the hearth. The temperature outside was below freezing, and Newt’s bones ached a little. Some days he felt his age.

Tina caressed his palm as they waited. She felt so good, so good to him always.

The Acting Supreme Mugwump, Babajide Akingbade from Uganda, connected briefly with them on his way to the podium. “It’s wonderful to see you, Mr. Scamander, Mrs. Scamander. The Confederation is honored to have you travel so far to share your expertise.”

Newt reluctantly disengaged from the softness of his wife’s caress to shake Akingbade’s extended hand. “It’s good to see you too, sir. I’m happy to help.”

Akingbade greeted Tina with the same expression of gratitude.

“You received the agenda?” he asked them.

Just then, the door burst open, and Gilderoy Lockhart stepped inside with a flourish of his cloak. His personal photographer followed close on his heels.

“I apologize for my delay,” he announced to the room, flashing a broad vacant smile and extremely white teeth, “My publisher insisted I make a brief stop at the capital city to take photographs for inclusion in my upcoming autobiography... Magical Me.”

He paused for a moment to smooth his hair and adjust his lilac-colored ascot. Tina rolled her eyes. “Is this guy for real?” she whispered to Newt.

“I’m not sure yet.”

Akingbade greeted Lockhart and pointed him to his seat on the opposite side of the podium. Lockhart caught sight of Newt and Tina and approached, snapping his fingers, “Photographer! One with the Scamanders.”

Lockhart positioned himself behind Newt and Tina, and placed his hands on their shoulders. “Fellow heroes,” he spoke of Newt and Tina without actually saying hello. The camera flashed. “Fame is a fickle friend, ...unless you work at it, of course.”

He slapped them on the shoulders and winked at Tina. She feigned a cough to conceal emerging laughter. Newt watched with keen interest as Lockhart made his way to his seat.

“Everyone, please be seated,” Akingbade announced before diving into the Summit.

“Thank you all for being here. The Task Force has called our attention to Yeti activity which over the past year has become an increasing threat to Clause 73 of the Statute of Secrecy. In lieu of continuing to fine the region. the Confederation has responded by convening this meeting with two experts, Newt Scamander and Gilderoy Lockhart, who each have extensive experience observing and interacting with the Yeti. Our goal is to develop improved strategy for the Task Force to prevent the Yeti from revealing the Magical World. Our first speaker...”

Lockhart stepped up to the podium. “Allow me to introduce myself.”

The Acting Supreme Mugwump stepped aside.

“Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League, inventor of Occamy egg yolk shampoo which guarantees locks of luminosity, and, thus far, three times winner of Witch Weekly’s Most-Charming-Smile Award. But I don’t talk about that. ...I didn’t tame a wild Yeti by smiling at him, now did I.”

He removed his cloak and tossed it into the audience. The witch who caught it blushed noticeably.

“We’re just going to listen to this idiot?” Tina muttered under her breath with fists clenched, “He uses unhatched Occamies to make shampoo?!”

“It appears we don’t have a choice right now but to listen.” Newt covered her hand with his and stroked her knuckles with his thumb. “It’ll be alright. It’ll be alright.”

Occamies had been in some respects the beginning of everything for them. An Occamy hatchling had been the first magical beast that Tina had ever held and looked at with wonder. She was very protective of them.

Lockhart continued, “Can everybody see me? Can you all hear me?” He glanced around the audience to ensure nobody’s view of him was obstructed. Nodding heads assured him.

“The books I’ve written detail my encounters with dark creatures and provide instructions on how to safely repel them: Gilderoy Lockhart's Guide to Household Pests, Break with a Banshee, Gadding with Ghouls, Holidays with Hags, Travels with Trolls, Voyages with Vampires, Wanderings with Werewolves, Marauding with Monsters, and Year with the Yeti. The latter may be most relevant to our task at hand, but I’m sure you’ll find the others thoroughly enjoyable. They can all be purchased through Flourish and Blotts.”

A wizard on the Task Force raised his hand and asked, “In your year with the Yeti, how did you tame them? They’ve been pushing at our borders. They devour everything that strays into their path, including Muggles. The only thing that’s been working to repel them is fire.”

“Well it was simple really. I gave them head colds, and they returned to their ice caves. For full details, see my published work.”

Realizing this discussion was going nowhere, Akingbade stepped up to the podium. “Thank you, Mr. Lockhart.” Several witches and a couple of wizards initiated a round of applause. Lockhart took a bow before returning to his seat.

“Now, Mr. Scamander, can you please offer us further enlightenment?” Akingbade asked.

Newt stepped to the podium. His silver hair reflected the firelight. How attraction could grow finer with time, Tina didn’t understand, but it was the case with them nonetheless. She loved to watch him work, in all of his capacities.

He looked at her before beginning his speech. Her eyes were reassuring, eternally reflective of the fire within her spirit, ageless in a world growing old.

“Hello. As we talk about the requirements of the Statue of Secrecy, we must not forget the primary intention of Clause 73 which is expressed in its introductory language, ‘Each wizarding governing body will be responsible for the concealment, care, and control of all magical beasts, beings, and spirits dwelling within its territory’s borders...’ The word there that I haven’t heard mentioned yet today is CARE.

“We have a responsibility to care for these creatures and consider their needs along with our need for secrecy and Muggle safety. Without the protection of this Task Force, Muggles would hunt the Yeti. Some already claim to. The Yeti would soon face extinction.

“During my time studying the Yeti, I observed that individuals have seasonal migration patterns and often must travel long distances to hunt and forage or else suffer starvation. Many also travel far to seek out mates. This ensures a genetically healthy population. Please consider the Task Force may be too severely limiting their natural range, and the Yeti are merely pushing those borders in order to survive.

“Also, consider the possibility that Yeti unrest is mirroring recent civil unrest in the region. My wife is more versed in Muggle politics. Tina, can you explain.”

Tina looked to Akingbade who nodded. She said, “When monks in the Drepung and Sera monasteries started protesting for the independence of Tibet, the Chinese government halted reforms and started an anti-separatist campaign. Last June, thousands of students demonstrating in Beijing with a hunger strike, sit-in and occupation of Tiananmen Square were massacred by their government. Muggles of the region are wanting more freedom, fundamental liberties, and so may be the Yeti.”

Newt added, “Also, with the exploding human population in the region and worldwide, more communities are pushing up into the mountains which are the Yetis’ homeland.

“Safer measures can be taken besides flaming torches to force the Yeti into reserved areas too small for their hunting, foraging, and reproductive needs, then slaughtering those that continue to venture beyond the boundaries set by the Task Force. Broader boundaries, wider use of protective enchantments, a larger Task Force including intensive training in memory charms...

Lockhart jumped in, “I have exceptional talent with memory charms.”

Newt ignored him. “Our responsibility to ensure the Yeti’s concealment, protection, and vitality is not simply dictated by this Confederation and Clause 73 of the Statue of Secrecy. ...We know it in our hearts. There is a strange beauty and resonance with these creatures. Though savage and untamable, they are an integral part of the ecology of this region. They have a right to the fundamental nature of their existence. ...Each of you must know that. In your hearts, you must know.”

The room was silent. Hearts and minds were opening. Newt’s means of gentle education was one of his most unique gifts, honed throughout his lifetime.

“That’s all I had planned to say.”

Akingbade began, “Thank you, Mr. Scamander, Mrs. Scamander—“ when he was suddenly cut off by a cacophony of hooting and screeching on the roof. A wizard opened the door and at least a hundred owls swooped in, dropping pink and red envelopes in the vicinity of Lockhart.

“Ah,” he said, “This happens to me every Valentine’s Day. Celebrity is as celebrity does, you know.”

Tina’s earlier question rang through Newt’s mind along with the incessant hoots and screeches. We’re just going to listen to this idiot?

They looked at each other. Tina’s eyes were burning with annoyance, a look which Newt unfortunately knew quite well. They had listened long enough.

“Well, we must be going now. Tina and I have another engagement. You’re welcome to contact us with further questions ...that is, when the owls are available again.” The birds continued to swoop overhead.

He held Tina’s hand.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“After putting up with this, Love, the choice is all yours.”

“As I said before, when have we ever done anything typical? The day is still young. Let’s get out of here.”

She apparated them to their next adventure.

#old newtina is my heart #newtina #newtina fanfiction #newt scamander #tina goldstein #gilderoy lockhart #fantastic beasts #valentines day #valentines #harry potter #chamber of secrets #occamy #dialogue prompts

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duhragonball · 4 years

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Potpourri

I’ve been thinking about various storytelling things, not really Dragon Ball related, but I figured I could write them all down here and make something out of it. Yeah, like an old school Livejournal post, except I can’t write a sassy message in the read-more cut.

Okay, first, I’ve been watching a lot of AEW Dark episodes on YouTube, because AEW puts out a new one every Tuesday and it’s easy to fall behind on them. So it’s like reliving wrestling angles that I watched on AEW Dynamite back in June and July. One of these angles was a world title match between champion Jon Moxley, and “The Machine” Brian Cage, who debuted by winning a ladder match in dramatic fashion, along with his new manager, Taz.

Taz does a lot of the color commentary for these episodes of Dark, and Cage debuted around the release of Episode 35, so after that, Taz started using his announcing job to promote the upcoming title match and gloat about how his guy Cage was going to destroy Jon Moxley and win the title. Taz’s main argument was that Cage is absolutely jacked, which made him a success before, but now he’s got Taz coaching him in all the cool stuff Taz used to do in ECW: suplexes, submission holds, etc. Taz sells you Brian Cage’s world title victory like a lawyer presenting a case to a jury. At the center of Taz’s argument was his claim that Cage was simply too big, too strong, and too prepared for Jon Moxley’s finishing move, the Paradigm Shift. Taz predicted that Mox wouldn’t be able to apply the Paradigm Shift properly, and even if he could hit it, it wouldn’t be enough to stop Cage.

The plot twist came from real life, when Moxley had to stay home because his wife contracted COVID-19. There was a lot of speculation that he might get sick, and even if he didn’t, that he wouldn’t be able to appear for the title match. Fortunately, it didn’t come to that, and the match was simply postponed an extra week. During that time, Taz accused Moxley of ducking Brian Cage, which I wasn’t crazy about, since I didn’t like coronavirus being used in a wrestling angle. On the other hand, it did give Taz a couple of weeks to run down the champion unopposed. At one point he reintroduced his old FTW title belt and gave it to Cage because the world title match had been postponed. Good stuff.

So finally, Moxley comes back, and he did one promo before the title match, and this was his chance to respond to all the shittalking Taz had been doing. It was brilliant, because for weeks, Taz had been declaring victory, and he shut it all down in one quick segment. He brought up Taz’s claim that the Paradigm Shift wouldn’t work on Cage, and Moxley just said “well maybe I won’t try to use my finisher on him. No, instead, I’m going to target his left bicep, which was surgically repaired last year, putting Cage out of action for several months.”

And just like that, the tone of the show changed, where suddenly it looked like Cage might be in trouble, because his camp only seemed to have a perfect game plan, and here was the champion announcing his own counter-strategy in advance. “You talked shit about my wife being sick, so I will reinjure your arm.”

And it was awesome. At one point Moxley went for a pin, and Cage kicked out, only for Moxley to reverse the pin into a submission move on the arm. There were points where it seemed like he couldn’t decide which arm to target, and eventually I realized he was going after both of them, switching from one to the other as needed. It’s smart, because if you go after the good arm, he’s gotta use the vulnerable one to fight you off, and by doing that Cage basically handed it to Mox for his next hold.

Finally, Moxley had Cage trapped in an arm hold, and the whole time he was looking Taz in the eye, basically waiting for a submission or a ref stoppage, and Taz had no choice but to throw in the towel to save Brian Cage’s career. It was a beautiful finish because it sewed up the whole story. Cage never tapped out, so he still looks like a relentless badass, but Taz had to let discretion be the better part of valor. He mocked Moxley for playing it safe when his wife got sick, so Moxley forced Taz to make the same choice. Great stuff.

Second. I’ve been reading Darth Vader comics since Marvel started publishing new Star Wars stuff again. Disney bought Marvel and Star Wars, so it was only a matter of time before the comics began to reflect this. The smart thing they did was to give Vader his own title, which I like because I’m not that into the adventures of Luke and Han.

The first Vader series was twenty-odd issues featuring his fall from grace after the Death Star’s destruction, and his rise to command of the Imperial Fleet. Basically it charts Vader’s career between Episodes IV and V, though there’s plenty of room for other side-stories.

The second series flashed back to the final scenes of Revenge of the Sith, and tracks Vader’s actions before A New Hope. It doesn’t cover the entire period, but it hits a lot of the important notes. How he got his red lightsaber, how he trained the Inquisitors and hunted down the surviving Jedi, and how he built the castle on Mustafar seen in Rogue One. So it handles everything important Vader was known to have done between Episodes III and IV.

The third series, currently ongoing, starts right after Vader’s final scene in Empire Strikes Back, and I would assume it’s going to lead him right up to his arrival at Death Star II in Return of the Jedi. I’m really into this, because I feel like this is an especially overlooked stage of Vader’s career. Starting out, it seems to be mostly about Vader investigating how his son survived Padme’s death, as he seeks revenge against anyone who hid the boy from him. Of course, nearly everyone involved in that cover-up is already dead, so I’m not sure where this is going to lead.

All three volumes of the Vader title focus on the utter futility of Vader’s quests for power and revenge. His hunts for Jedi survivors was just something for him to do in his spare time, since the Jedi were no longer a threat to him. His castle on Mustafar was designed to give him special knowledge of the Force, but it only revealed truths that he already knew, or had long since rejected. His plot to regain the Emperor’s favor after Yavin was very satisfying to watch, but also pointless: The Emperor needed him too badly to dispose of him, and Vader’s still a patsy whether he’s the #2 guy in the Empire or the #5 guy in the Empire. And now this new series sees him chasing ghosts, trying to make sense of Luke’s refusal to join him. He wants some sort of answer to his dilemma, but the only answer he’s ever going to find is the one in ROTJ, where he sacrifices himself to kill the Emperor, the one thing he cannot bring himself to contemplate until the time comes.

What saddens me, a little, is the realization that there doesn’t seem to be anywhere else for Marvel to go with the guy. We’ve got an arc of Vader between Episodes III and IV, an arc between IV and V, and now V and VI, and that’s it. The only way to do another Darth Vader series after this would be to go back and cover one of those three periods of his career. And I’d be up for that, but the three series Marvel has done seem a little too decisive for this. Like they purposely planned these comics because they weren’t going to revisit the character again for a while. At least, not as the star of his own feature.

I guess I could deal with that. Maybe Marvel could finally get around to exploring the Sith career of Count Dooku between Episodes I and II, or work out some loose ends with the Emperor between Episodes VI and IX. The main thing that’s been on my mind about Vader, though, is this idea that the character could just be done, and laid aside.

This is something I’ve often observed about Cell and Frieza in DBZ. I still think it’s dumb how they brought back Frieza after Trunks killed him, because there really wasn’t anything left to do with the character after he got turned into a cyborg and instakilled. There’s nowhere to go after that. His character arc was to start as the Final Boss of the entire Universe and then to get reduced to a pathetic, minor threat. You can bring him back, but your only choice, dramatically speaking, is to reset the character, which means putting him back on the same track he’s already covered. There’s no way to bring back Frieza and not have it be a retread of stuff he’s already done once before.

Cell might have some interesting applications beyond his original story, but he’s too much of a slave to his purpose. His job was to carry on Dr. Gero’s revenge scheme, and that all ended when the saga ended, so he just seems out of place whenever he appears after that. This is why I’m glad Toei and Toriyama haven’t brought Cell back, although at this rate it feels like it’s only a matter of time. The thing is, if they brought him back, what else could they do with him?

With Darth Vader, all of his most important moments have already been covered in the movies, so all that’s left is to produce some side-story content. The old Expanded Universe tended to steer clear of Darth Vader, probably out of respect for George Lucas’ prequel plans. Later, the Clone Wars projects gave us more Anakin Skywalker than anyone knew what to do with, which is basically Darth Vader content, but not quite. That’s why I dig these Marvel books so much, because there’s never been such a sustained effort to tell a Darth Vader story like this. But once it’s run its course, the only way to keep using the character would basically be to start over. I have a hard time seeing Marvel do that. They’d have to get a new writer to retell those years like the first set of comics didn’t happen. That could be very entertaining, but it doesn’t sound likely to happen.

I’m not terribly worried about getting my Darth Vader fix in the future. They’ll keep making stories about him long after I’m dead. It’s just that I’ve been thinking about the limits of what you can do with one character. I’ve long thought that you can always find gaps in the narrative that can be filled in with new stories, but maybe that isn’t true. Maybe at some point, for some characters, there’s a finite amount of things to do with them. You look at all of the Anakin Skywalker Clone Wars stories, and I’m sure someone could write a few hundred more, but would it really accomplish anything that hasn’t already been covered? Is it possible to “use up” a character? I probably won’t know for sure anytime soon.

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ewoodx · 4 years

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ETHAN WOOD SEASON 2 !!

[GREGG SULKIN , MALE , HE/HIS ] do you hear [PHENOMENAL BY EMINEM ] coming from the beach ? oh, that has to be [ ETHAN WOOD] . they are a [ TWENTY TWO ] year old [PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYER ] from the outer banks, and they’ve been living there for [TWENTY TWO YEARS ] . they were chosen to be on the show because they are a [ KOOK] , but really , I heard it’s because they can be [ ILL TEMPERED & DEMANDING ] . if you get to know them though , they’re pretty [PROTECTIVE & ENERGETIC] . they might become a quick audience favorite due to their [ SIGNATURE SMIRK, PRETTY BOY CHARM & RIPPLING PECTORALS]

Hello lovelies! I’m Ally && this is the updated bio for Ethan Wood, your favorite arrogant, frat star with a hot temper && a secret heart of gold..I promise ;) Shoot me a message if you’re interested in plotting.

STATS;

Full name; Ethan Alexander Wood

Age; 22

School; UNC

Birthday; August 19th

Height; 5’11 but he’ll tell you he’s 6ft

Parents; Olivier and Daphne Wood

Siblings; two brothers: Julian (older) & Damian (younger)

Occupation; Striker for Inter Miami CF

Location; the eight, OBX and Miami during the soccer season

Sign; Leo

(+) ; protective & energetic.

(-) ; ill-tempered & demanding

Sexuality; heterosexual

Pogue or Kook; Kook

Character Inspiration; zach siler (she’s all that) chuck bass (gossip girl), mickey milkovich (shameless), damon salvatore (vampire diaries) tim riggins (friday night lights) asher adams (all american) billy hope (southpaw) joe kingman (the game plan) maui (moana)

EARLY YEARS;

Ethan Wood was born and raised to do one thing and one thing only: play soccer. Being the middle child of legendary University of North Carolina starting forward Olivier Wood and renowned athleisure wear designer Daphne Wood, there was only one path for this budding young soccer prodigy. And it was to follow in daddy’s footsteps donning the prestigious Carolina blue and white of his father’s alma mater.

His childhood was pleasant, raised on his family’s estate in the coveted Eight and filled with family getaways and father/son trips to UNC/Wake Forest rivalry matches. Matches that he hoped to one day play in. Young Ethan was a natural talent and he picked up the game rather quickly, spending every free moment practicing in the yard or scribbling down strategies. He wanted nothing more than to make his father proud and carry on his legacy.

HIGH SCHOOL;

Ethan was sent to one of the finest private schools on the island that money could buy. Of course, he wasn’t there for his grades and what he lacked in brains, his skills on the field made up for. He made varsity soccer his freshman year and then went on to become captain during his senior year, reveling in all the perks that came with being a star athlete: parties, hookups, popularity. As Ethan’s athletic abilities along with his ego continued to grow, so did his competitive edge, arrogance, and hot temper which is known for getting him into trouble on and off the pitch. He’s no stranger to an alcohol induced bawl and struggles to keep his temper under control.

COLLEGE;

It’s no secret that in the OBX money talks and Mr. Wood had deep pockets. A library donation and a legacy later, Ethan finally realized his dream and secured a spot on his beloved UNC soccer team. His temper being the reason for the trouble in the first place. It didn’t take long for him to become the frat star worthy of his reputation. Sure, he had to overcome those pesky freshman years, team hazing, and locker room banter, even spending the half a season on the bench for his hot headed temper. Nonetheless, he managed to make a name for himself even if slightly tarnished.

SEASON ONE;

Fresh off his college graduation, Ethan returned to the Outer Banks with his sights set on playing professional soccer in the upcoming season. Before entering the real world in the fall, he joined the show for one last hurrah and boy did he get what he signed up for. The summer was filled with all sorts of shenanigans, parties, booze, and hook-ups.

Ethan rounded out the first season of OBX rather unscathed, save for a secret hook-up and an unlikely friendship that he formed with a pogue. He gained some notoriety from the show and it was a perfect launch for his new life in the public eye.

POST SEASON ONE

Ethan started footy training in the fall after the reality show ended, and he currently plays for Inter Miami CF, a team owned by David Beckham himself. He took up residence in Miami for the soccer season (come visit him !! or come to one of his matches) and traveled the country with his team becoming the soccer star he always wanted to be. His rookie season was one for the books, and if you thought his ego couldn’t get any bigger, check again.

In his off time, Ethan maintained his growing popularity by making appearances at all the Miami hot spots and keeping up a rather impressive social media presence, constantly posting his fitness routines and workouts in addition to his nights out. This earned him a reputation off the pitch, and his name managed to find its way into the local papers and magazines. He did his best to keep in touch with his friends from the show despite his busy schedule, and even visited the OBX whenever he could.

With his first professional soccer season in the books, Ethan couldn’t resist returning to the reality show for another summer, much to his PR team’s dismay who are working to clean up with reputation, not add to it.

POGUES VS KOOKS

Ethan got into his fair share of Pogues vs Kooks scuffles back in high school. Nights filled with stupid boyish banter, booze, and blows. He likes to think he’s above all the rivalry now— playing pro ball and all— but sometimes he still struggles to truly let go of the past and be the bigger person. He’s an athlete though and though, and rivalries are all just a part of the game.

WANTED CONNECTIONS;

the rival; To say Ethan is competitive is the understatement of the century and he and this person have a rivalry for the ages. The two don’t like each other and this person never fails to get under Ethan’s skin. It could have even started back in school and carried over to now. Perhaps the reason Ethan had some trouble getting into UNC for soccer? Bonus points if they have to put all their differences aside and work together at some point for a common goal. [OPEN]

the hook-ups; Ethan really isn’t the type to stick around after a hook-up and is usually out before the sun comes up, never wanting to get attached. If anyone wants to give him a much deserved slap upside the head, let me know! [OPEN]

let’s make ‘em jealous; There’s no denying that Ethan and this person have chemistry. They are super flirty and all over each other, but in reality it’s all a rouse. They aren’t really into one another and are merely using each other to stir up some drama, cause a scene, and make the ones that really do catch their eyes jealous. [OPEN]

the real bros; for those looking for a second muse, Ethan has two brothers xD. Julian and Damian (names can totally change!) He has one older brother who rejected the athlete/UNC/kook life leaving Ethan with the pressure to fill daddy’s soccer boots. They had a fall out and their relationship is shaky at best. Ethan also has a baby bro who he is definitely closer with. They get on rather typically through harmless banter and school boy shenanigans. He also has an innate protectiveness over him because he is older. [OPEN]

the tutor; Ethan isn’t the brightest bulb and only maintained good enough grades to stay on the soccer team. Though he was never the easiest student, Ethan has a great deal of respect for this person and appreciates all the work they put into him. Not to mention, is their BIGGEST hype-man if he ever runs into them outside his coursework. [CLOSED]

the workout partner; being a professional athlete means that Ethan is very into keeping in shape, even when he’s hungover. This could go two ways:1.) These two bonded over their love of the gym and they push each other to bring out the most of one another. It could even be a bit of rivalry, too! 2.) Ethan took this person under their wing (a trainer of sorts) and is helping them work out and keep healthy during the show. [CLOSED]

the almost maybe; Ethan isn’t really into the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing, a big supporter of the motto: no strings, just sex. But this one girl somehow managed to wiggle her way into his GASP, heart. To say it scares the shit out of Ethan is more than just an understatement and even though sparks flew Ethan isn’t sure he’s ready to give up his soccer star lifestyle for her just yet. This could be a new relationship that manifests on the show or one from the past that he is forced to revisit now that they are sharing a summer house together. [CLOSED]

the role model; Ethan didn’t really have many positive role models to look up to growing up, mainly just his father and his toxic masculinity. This person helps Ethan balance all that out and helps him deal with all those pesky emotions he was taught to keep suppressed inside in order to “be a man.” This person also keeps him in check and isn’t afraid to give him a much needed smack to the upside of the head when necessary [CLOSED]

Totally open to anything !! && would love to get Ethan into some more drama this season xD Basically building him up, so I can take him down. Whoops!

Shoot me a message if you’re interested in plotting.

#outer.intro #s2.outer.intro #s2

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dccomicsnews · 4 years

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Review: THE FLASH #750

[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]

Writers: Joshua Williamson, Geoff Johns, Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, Marv Wolfman, Scott Lobdell

Artists: Rafa Sandoval, Stephen Segovia, Scott Kolins, Francis Manapul, Riley Rossmo, David Marquez, Brett Booth, Norm Rapmund

Colours: Arif Prianto, Michael Atiyeh, Ivan Plascencia, Alejandro Sanchez, Luis Guerrero

Letters: Steve Wands, Rob Leigh, Joshua Reed, Deron Bennett, ALW’s Troy Peteri

Reviewed By: Derek McNeil

Summary

The Flash #750: Beginning: “The Flash Age”! The story we’ve been building toward since issue #50 comes to a head! While a supercharged Speed Force wreaks havoc on Barry Allen’s life, a new threat appears on the horizon in the form of the deadly Paradox. Destined to destroy the Flash’s legacy, Paradox sends his herald, Godspeed, to trap the Flash family! Plus, in this special anniversary issue: tales from across the generations of super-speedsters by an all-star lineup of writers and artists!

Positives

In honour of the 80th Anniversary of the title, DC has reverted back to legacy numbering. Thus, The Flash #750 hits the stands this week instead of the expected 89th issue of the series. “Legacy numbering” means that if the title kept the same incremental numbering through every relaunch of the title, then the number would have naturally progressed to issue #750 with this very issue.

This covers the tenures of DC’s primary three Flashes, Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, and Wally West, and appropriately, all three are well represented in the six stories included. As the current star of the title, Barry merits three stories, while Jay and Wally each get a single, yet important story each.

This first, and main, story is the first chapter of regular series writer Josh Williamson’s “The Flash Age”. I really liked this story, as it mostly gives a break and allows us to catch up with the current status of Barry’s world and the people in it, before pushing into the next big conflict. This makes the story a nice jumping-on point for new readers as well as providing a neat wrap up of the previous story arc.

Most importantly, it shows that Barry and Iris are back together and that their relationship is as strong as ever. In fact, things seemed to be going so well, that when Iris said, “I have something to talk to you about. A surprise”, I was expecting that she might propose to Barry.

Positives Cont.

Unfortunately, this is where the impending conflict cut into the story. Godspeed interrupts this moment, taking Barry to face Paradox. Paradox then gives Barry a choice between giving up being the Flash or fighting for his life against Godspeed. This is where the story leaves off, giving us a rather effective cliffhanger to bring readers back for the rest of “The Flash Age”.

I also love that this story includes several instances of Central City’s citizens showing their gratitude to the Flash for saving their lives or helping them in other ways. It’s a nice touch for an anniversary story. Plus, it provides a nice counterpoint to Paradox’s claims that Barry has been endangering everybody by the effect his powers have had on reality itself. Hopefully, this will help Barry realize that the good he has done outweighs any damage he has caused.

In the second story, Geoff Johns bring us an interesting little tale featuring Captain Cold, set during Wally’s tenure as the DCU’s primary Flash. In this story, we see that what Wally assumes that Cold goes on a rampage for the sole purpose of infuriating Wally.

However, the story shows us that the “rampage” came about unintentionally. Cold merely stumbled into the midst of an armed robbery when shopping at his local corner store. Through a series of misunderstandings, he finds himself in the middle of a confrontation with the Keystone City Police. While this doesn’t excuse Cold for his crimes, this does show how easy it is for events to quickly get out of control for a villain in the DCU.

Positives Cont.

The next story, by Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato features Barry examining the question of whether the Flash has to be Barry Allen. He does this by using a previously unseen power to send his consciousness through other timelines where somebody else became the Flash instead of him. In each timeline, he finds that someone admirably fills the role of the Flash. He arrives at the moral of the “Even if it doesn’t have to be me… I”m glad that it is”

However, I have to wonder why the examples of Wally and Jay aren’t enough evidence that that someone else could serve as the Flash other than Barry. I would have thought either would be proof enough to settle the question.

Marv Wolfman, the man wrote the story of Barry’s death in Crisis On Infinite Earths, returns to the character to tell of an interesting encounter between Barry and the Mirror Master. The interesting conceit of this story is that the Mirror Master’s mirrors in the story enact various transformations upon the Flash’s body. These transformations allow artist Riley Rossmo to revisit some of the bizarre transformations over the years, such as the time Abra-Kadabra turned Barry into a walking wooden puppet.

Next, regular writer Joshua Williamson gives us a story of Jay Garrick, set in the title’s inaugural year, 1940. The story centres around an encounter between Jay and the Thinker. However, the most intriguing bit of the story is when a mysterious figure, presumably the Reverse Flash, whispers in Jay’s ear, “They’ll forget you Jay Garrick. I’ve seen your future…”.

Positives Cont.

This seems to be setting up a future storyline involving Jay and the Reverse Flash, which is further borne out by the blurb at the story’s end. This blurb promises, “To be continued in The Flash in 2020″. Unfortunately, this seems to imply that we won’t see the followup immediately, but it is coming relatively shortly.

Also, I noticed that the image on that page also shows Wally and Bart. I hope this means that we will be seeing a full reunion of the Flash Family when this story continues.

Finally, the entire creative team for the Flash Forward miniseries returns to provide an epilogue to that miniseries. Writer Scott Lobdell continues where that story left off, creating a bridge between it and the upcoming Generation Zero: Gods Among Us and subsequent Generation One to Five specials.

While little is known about this upcoming event, it has been speculated that it will involve a major shift in DCU continuity. That speculation seems to be borne out in this story, where Wally, now wielding the power and knowledge of the Mobius Chair, exams the current state of the DC Universe’s continuity.

It has been my theory for a while now that the time itself is unravelling in the DC Universe, and this story confirms that. Wally looks through his own personal timeline and sees that multiple contradictory events seem to concurrently exist in the current continuity. The original Silver Age origin of the Teen Titans happened as Wally remembers it, but the New 52 Teen Titans also exist as the first group to call themselves by that name.

#gallery-0-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

The Flash #750 1940s Cover

The Flash #750 1950s Cover

The Flash #750 1960s Cover

The Flash #750 1970s Cover

The Flash #750 1980s Cover

The Flash #750 1990s Cover

The Flash #750 2000s Cover

The Flash #750 2010s Cover

Positives Cont.

I must also interject that it’s great to see that Wally remembers the original Teen Titans costumes, and not the New 52/Rebirth re-imagined versions of the original outfit – even down to Robin’s short pants.

Wally confronts Tempus Fuginaut about the state of the DCU, stating, “Everything. Time. Space. Reality. It’s all broken. It all risks collapse”. And if there is any doubt about the severity of the situation in the reader’s mind, the story itself drop many significant keywords that indicate big reality-changing events in DC history: “Crisis”, “Flashpoint”, “Doomsday”, “Rebirth”, and others.

Truly, the DCU is reaching an important turning point. But there we are given ample reason not to dread this. When Fuginaut asks if Wally is up to the task of repairing this damage, Wally West, the DCU’s symbol of hope and rebirth replies, “My name is Wally West. I’m the Fastest Man Alive. I sit on the Mobius Chair. The power of a God races through me. So yeah. I got this”.

This speech gave me chills and reassures me that whatever the Generation special lead to, it bodes well for the future of the DCU.

Besides the amazing lineup of artists in each of the stories, there are also fine selection of pinups, as well as the multitude of gorgeous variant covers. I love the look of the decade covers. Especially, with the care taken to match the title logo and DC symbol for each time period. DC does pull out the stops to make sure these anniversary events look truly amazing.

Negatives

However, there is a nasty side to all these variant covers. This is a book with a $7.99 cover price. But with ten different covers (including the blank cover), that’s almost 80 bucks. Now I didn’t mind this when Action Comics and Detective Comics reached issue #1000. That’s a once in a lifetime milestone. Now DC is doing the same for Wonder Woman and The Flash reaching #750, which is a bit much, but okay. But DC has announced similar 80th Anniversary events for Robin, Catwoman, The Joker, and Green Lantern. That’s one or two of these expensive specials a month. Such a cash grab is excusable when it is once in a blue moon, but DC is venturing into the realm of highway robbery. Please, DC! Have mercy on my bank account!

Verdict

Review: The Flash #750 Review: THE FLASH #750 Writers: Joshua Williamson, Geoff Johns, Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato…

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vmheadquarters · 5 years

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When the Veronica Mars fan-funded film was released in 2014, no one could have predicted it would help to usher in a trend of revivals and reboots and remakes that would come to dominate Hollywood. And certainly no one could have predicted the series, a neo-noir about a teenage private detective in its original form, would be returning again five years later, this time as an eight-episode limited series on Hulu.

And yet the show's refusal to accept defeat feels like a perfect encapsulation of the spirit of Veronica Mars herself. Brought to vivid life by Kristen Bell, Veronica always gets back up. She plays by her own rules, never allowing herself to be content with or conform to the status quo. She's never what you expect, and she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to. Along with her sparkling wit, these are her most admirable traits. But as with any revival, one has to wonder what the end goal ultimately is.

The feature film funded by fans through a Kickstarter allowed series creator Rob Thomas to craft an ending where there previously wasn't one. A parade of familiar faces, it was heavy on the nostalgia but light on the intricate, well-paced mysteries that originally set the show apart. This new chapter in the Veronica Mars saga doesn't serve the same purpose. It's not a trip down memory lane or an extended coda; it's an opportunity to test the waters and find out whether or not Veronica Mars still has life left in her. The world of television has changed a lot since the series first debuted on UPN, and although audiences might not have been ready for her then, they very well may be now.

Hulu is referring to these eight new episodes as Season 4 rather than simply a limited series, and while that doesn't necessarily mean anything, we can't discount the fact this is the second time the show has returned from the dead or that Bell, whose NBC series The Good Place will be ending after this upcoming season, and Thomas have both already expressed an interest in continuing Veronica's story beyond what we see here. The stakes are infinitely higher now than they were five years ago when the film hit theaters. The new season has to appeal to longtime fans as well as potential new ones. This ultimately means the overarching mystery at the heart of the season has to be strong enough to carry the weight and then some. The story has to push Veronica forward in a meaningful way. And for the most part, it succeeds.

When the show returns, Veronica is still working alongside television's No. 1 dad, Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni), as a private eye in her hometown of Neptune, California. She and Logan (Jason Dohring), who is still in the military (and remains incredibly handsome), are still together and have adopted a dog named Pony since we saw them last. They're happy and stable, but Logan's job often takes him away suddenly for weeks or months at a time. While he's constantly moving, Veronica is more or less standing still. And she appears completely content with her life. But when a series of deadly bombings hit the town during the month-long celebration of spring break and threaten the city's tourism industry, and thus the livelihood of Neptune's quickly disappearing working class, Veronica dives headfirst into solving the case.

The class divide of Neptune, with the working class pitted against the town's rich elite, was built into the foundation of Veronica Mars, but when Veronica was in high school, it often played out through Veronica's status as an outsider. She didn't fit in with the popular crowd, known as the 09ers, because of Keith's wrongful accusation of the Kanes in the wake of Lilly's (Amanda Seyfried) murder. But she also didn't fit in with the working class because of her former association with that same rich crowd. In 2019, with Veronica now in her 30s, the class warfare manifests itself differently. Veronica and Keith are still hustling to make ends meet as private eyes — Veronica is hesitant to take any job that won't pay them well and drives up their retainer whenever she can — but a pointed C-plot also finds Keith, who is still struggling in the wake of the car accident that occurred in the film, attempting to navigate our country's broken healthcare system as a member of the have-nots. It's familiar social commentary for the series, but it's perhaps even more relevant now than it was in 2004.

So when bombs start going off, putting many of the businesses that rely on local tourism in jeopardy, like a rowdy nightclub owned by Kirby Howell-Baptiste's Nicole, Veronica naturally starts digging. Technically she and Keith have been hired by the family of a congressman whose brother was injured in one of the bombings, but Veronica is interested in the case for other reasons too, namely Matty (Izabela Vidovic), the daughter of a divorced single father who dies in the first explosion. The show takes every opportunity to remind us Matty is a lot like a young Veronica, for better or worse.

The ensuing investigation, which plays out over the entire season, puts Veronica on a collision course with Penn Epner (Patton Oswalt), a local pizza delivery guy with a true crime obsession, as well as a few familiar faces from the original series. They include Weevil (Francis Capra), who's back in his criminal element after being framed by the sheriff's department in the film and taking an out-of-court settlement in Mr. Kiss and Tell, one of two canonical books published after the film; Leo (Max Greenfield), who now works for the FBI and continues to have sparks with Veronica; Vinnie (Ken Marino), whose office is a strip club because that's the logical next step after a van; and even Liam Fitzpatrick (Rod Rowland), who's still a scumbag and may or may not be involved in planting the bombs. Eventually, the case leads Veronica to none other than Big Dick Casablancas (David Starzyk), who seems to have suffered very little from his time in prison. Now cozied up to a man he met on the inside, Clyde (the always excellent J.K. Simmons), he's attempting to transform Neptune from a wild spring break destination into an elite and idyllic seaside community only the rich can afford.

This is a Veronica Mars that is both familiar and new. As Bell and Thomas promised, the new season is a different beast from the show that initially ran for three seasons on UPN and The CW in the mid-2000s. It's been described as more adult and as "hardcore So-Cal noir," and although it's difficult to imagine a scenario for Veronica that is worse than her own rape and the murder of her best friend as a teenager, the series somehow manages to go bigger and darker and create a more dangerous atmosphere, complete with increasingly dire consequences. In the process, it also evolves into a show about Veronica's emotional stagnation.

A running thread this season finds Logan pushing Veronica to go to therapy so she can hopefully begin to cope with her trauma rather than continuing to ignore it. He credits his therapist with helping him manage his anger — Logan might have evolved and matured during his time in the military, but he's still Logan — but Veronica repeatedly refuses, insisting she's fine. Of course, anyone with a working set of eyeballs can obviously see that Veronica is not fine, that she's been hardened by everything that has happened to her over the years and still suffers from the trust issues that have plagued her since her high school days. It's not entirely clear if Veronica is even happy working as a P.I. in Neptune or if that's just what she thinks she should be doing. All the same, Logan is determined to help Veronica, and after seeing plenty of men on TV struggle in this same way, seeing Veronica face these challenges instead is a welcome role reversal that still feels completely in character. In fact, everything that occurs between Logan and Veronica throughout the season is well done, completely thought out, and true to both characters.

But for all the good, and for all the fun it is to return to Neptune and watch Veronica continue to be smarter than everyone around her, the new season isn't without its faults. A major twist near the end of the season feels like it belongs in a different series entirely, like it was added more for shock value than anything else, and I worry about its lasting implications and how it might affect the possibility of another season. If it's an attempt by Thomas and the writers to convince Hulu to grant the series more episodes to explore the aftermath, it's a big swing, and not one I am sure will pay off.

It's unfortunate that one bad decision in a sea of good ones can so easily color the rest of a finished product, but there's a very good chance that is exactly what will happen for many fans. If they can get past it, there absolutely could be life left in Veronica Mars. For most of the season, the show is a lot of fun, balancing its well-honed sense of humor — many times at the expense of fan-favorite character Dick Casablancas (Ryan Hansen) — with Keith and Veronica's powerful family dynamic and a sometimes predictable but nevertheless engaging central mystery. There were many times throughout the season I found myself wishing Kristen Bell would never stop playing Veronica, that we never stop getting to spend time with what might be one of the best and weirdest supporting casts on TV after FX's Justified (another series I would kill to revisit in the future). And to an extent, I still feel that way; Veronica is one of the most competent characters on TV. After 15 years, she's now an old friend, and I'd rather spend time with her than most anyone else. But after these eight episodes, I also won't be surprised if this is the end of her story, and if it is, it's a somewhat disappointing one.

All eight episodes of Veronica Mars debut Friday, July 26 on Hulu.

#veronica mars hulu revival #vm spoilers

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chpinthestacks · 5 years

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In the Stacks with Lara Mimosa Montes: Wild Style

A few years ago, I attended a screening of Charlie Ahearn’s hip-hop film Wild Style (1983) as part of the Walker Art Center’s Downtown New York: 1970s and 1980s Art and Film series. The film, “a hybrid of a narrative musical and documentary,” follows Zoro, played by graffiti legend Lee Quinones, as he weaves his way through the various hip hop, break dancing, and Bronx DJ scenes in early 1980s New York.

Wild Style captures some of the funky tensions of the time period. For instance, if you were a “successful” graffiti artist in the 1980s, you were, like your peers, probably working your ass off to get your name out there, but not necessarily your face because anonymity back then was definitely an asset. However, if you worked hard and were good at what you did, then you were also probably a hot commodity, sought after by the vultures of the art world, journalists, toys fucking with your shit, the cops, and the MTA. My favorite scene in the film is when Zoro and his friends arrive at a party in Manhattan populated by rich art patrons and the like; one character, Neil, says he runs a museum called “the Whitley” while Blondie’s Rapture is playing in the background; another guy in a suit misunderstands rap music as “rat” and asks Zoro if he works in the dark, how can he see what he’s painting? While this scene is more fiction than documentary, I love the way it posits everyone as a potential insider or outsider, depending on who wants what from whom in any given exchange.

Wild Style, directed by John Ahearn, 1983. Japanese chirashi movie mini poster, 2015. Wild Style mural by ZEPHYR, Revolt, and Sharp.

Following the Q and A with Ahearn that night, I got the impression that there were still a lot of positive feelings and happy memories surrounding the project. The affective glow that emanated from the collective viewing and discussion of the film, coupled with a revived general interest in that particular cultural moment (ie. the short-lived Netflix original flop of a show The Get Down), stayed with me. I mean, to what extent is wildstyle —the term given to describe a particularly complex and difficult to decipher style of graffiti writing—part of my inheritance, my culture, its art history? Given graffiti’s ephemeral nature, I felt intrigued by the possibility of researching this form in its early years from the 1970s-80s. What I came to know and appreciate was, yes, the many works given to us by a generation of gifted writers, but also the work done by artists like Charlie Ahearn, Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant, Martin Wong, among others. Without them, I’m not sure how we would remember those early days of the graffiti movement. So, for those wishing to go a little deeper down the rabbit hole, below is a brief survey of some of the landmark texts that document this vibrant period in Bronx history; it is by no means comprehensive—these just happen to be some of my current personal favorites . . .

Subway Art by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, featuring Dondi, first published in 1984.

“The bible of the street-art movement,” Subway Art was the first published book of its kind to document graffitti. Featuring full-color photographs by Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, the book contains many masterpieces by artists such as Blade, Lee, Seen, and more. A beautiful print collaboration between the two foremost photographers of the movement, you can really appreciate Cooper’s and Chalfant’s distinct approaches to shooting the trains. Also, if you’re as excited as I am for Chalfant’s upcoming exhibition at the Bronx Museum, Henry Chalfant: Art vs. Transit, 1977-1987 which opens later this year, now is as good a time as any to revisit this seminal work.

Style Wars, graffiti by NOC 167,1981. Photo by Martha Cooper.

Style Wars, directed by Tony Silver and co-produced by Silver and photographer Henry Chalfant, released in 1983, is a classic—the documentary features many a baby-faced graffiti artist such as Dondi, Skeme, Kase 2, interviews with MTA officials, Mayor Ed Koch, various masterpieces, and more. If you want to know what these young writers were up against in terms of public opinion and the MTA, definitely start here. Plus . . . Skeme’s mom: God bless her, wow.

City as Canvas: New York City Graffiti from the Martin Wong Collection, edited by Sean Corcoran and Carlo McCormick, New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2013.

I had no idea that the artist Martin Wong was a known collector of graffiti art until I had come across this book, published in tandem with the Museum of the City of New York’s exhibition City as Canvas, and yes, I am very sorry I had not seen this show back in 2014 before I left New York. For those skeptical of graffiti’s transition from subway to canvas, this book really made me rethink my assumption that graffiti is graffiti because it lives on in the streets and on the trains but never in a gallery. In addition to color images of works on canvas, archival exhibition shots, and some recollections contextualizing Wong’s relationship to the graffiti community by artists Lee, Daze, and Charlie Ahearn, also featured are images of drawings from various artists’ blackbooks: gold.

Tag Town: The Evolution of New York Graffiti Writing by Martha Cooper, Poland: Dokument Press, 2007.

Before there was wildstyle, there was tagging. Some cool shots of tags by Taki 168, Julio 204, Barbara 62, and even Basquiat, among others. Another great monograph by Martha Cooper, who in an interview said, “I shot tags because I wanted a record of them. . . mostly I just wanted to study what they looked like and to allow others to study them in the future. I was using my camera as a very efficient tool to make a record of something that would otherwise be lost.”

Classic Hits: New York’s Pioneering Subway Graffiti Writers by Alan Fleisher & Paul Iovino, Poland: Dokument Press, 2012.

Classic Hits features photographs by Alan Fleisher, Robert Browning, and Jack Stewart. Filled with an assortment of early masterpieces by writers such as Stay High 149, Blade, Super Kool 223, and others, alongside artists’ recollections. I like this book because it showcases an earlier generation of graffiti writers from the 1970s before things really got wild. Similar to Cooper’s Tag Town, I was able to gather from this one a more expanded appreciation for the evolution of the form.

Dondi White Style Master General: The Life of Graffiti Artist Dondi White, by Andrew “ZEPHYR” Witten and Michael White, New York: HarperCollins, 2001.

OK, so graffiti legend Dondi wasn’t born in the Bronx—he was definitely a Brooklyn writer. Nevertheless, his influence on the larger writing community was so profound, his relevance cannot be understated—it went to the Bronx and beyond. Includes black-and-white and color photographs, early sketches, never before seen collage works as well as works on canvas, and reminiscences by the artist’s friends. Unlike some of the other texts on this list, this one is unique insofar as it’s a book assembled by another well-known graffiti artist, ZEPHYR, alongside Dondi’s brother, Michael, so the insights and anecdotes presented here, especially those from Dondi’s closest friends, really provide a window onto the world of the artist. RIP Dondi, you gave us so much.

#lara mimosa montes #chpinthestacks

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rajpersaud · 4 years

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How To Think Like Shakespeare - Scott Newstok discusses his new book

Scott Newstok teaches literature of the English Renaissance as well as film, rhetoric, education, lyric poetry, and the humanities. In 2012 Professor Newstok received the Campus Life Award for Outstanding Faculty Member and in 2016 he received the Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Teaching. Before joining the Rhodes faculty in 2007, Professor Newstok earned his doctorate from Harvard University, taught at Oberlin College, Amherst College, and Gustavus Adolphus College, and held the Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Humanities at Yale University Library′s Special Collections.

Dr. Newstok has published five books: a scholarly edition of Kenneth Burke′s Shakespeare criticism; a collection of essays on Macbeth and race (co-edited with Ayanna Thompson); a monograph on early modern English epitaphs; an edition of Michael Cavanagh's Paradise Lost: A Primer (CUAP 2020); and How to Think Like Shakespeare (Princeton, 2020). Newstok′s work has been recognized by grants and fellowships from the American Philosophical Society, the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Institute for Research in the Humanities, the Marco Institute, the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Humanities Center, and the Newberry Library.

Newstok is the Founding Director of the Pearce Shakespeare Endowment and is a board member of Opera Memphis, Beth Sholom Synagogue, and the Libertas School of Memphis. He previously served as Co-Director (with Dr. Judith Haas) of Postgraduate Scholarships, Humanities faculty member of the Rhodes Board of Trustees, President of Rhodes′ Phi Beta Kappa chapter, and trustee of Humanities Tennessee, the state chapter of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Prof. Newstok's Website

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Book projects

Orson Welles, Shakespeare, and Race, supported by a fellowship from the Folger Shakespeare Library

Duluth in Mind, on the place of the Zenith City within the American cultural imagination

Twinomials: "Residual Bilingualism and Philological Citizenship in English Renaissance Literature," supported by a fellowship from the American Philosophical Society

Books

How to Think Like Shakespeare: Lessons from a Renaissance Education (Princeton University Press, 2020).

"Insightful and joyful, this book is a masterpiece. It invokes and provokes rather than explains. It reminds rather than lectures. It is different than any book I have ever read. And it works. Drawing on the past in the best sense of the term, it reminds us that we are part of a long tradition. Few books make the case for liberal education as creatively as this one does."—Johann N. Neem, author of What's the Point of College? Seeking Purpose in an Age of Reform

"Ranging widely from the classics right up to the present with apt quotations, all in service of ideas we lose at our peril, How to Think like Shakespeare winningly blends respect for tradition with thoughtful steps toward a more equitable society. It is the work of a Renaissance man in both senses."—Robert N. Watson, author of Cultural Evolution and Its Discontents: Cognitive Overload, Parasitic Cultures, and the Humanistic Cure

https://lithub.com/5-shakespeare-scholars-on-the-past-present-and-future-of-theater-amid-covid-19/

5 Shakespeare Scholars on the Past, Present, and Future of Theater Amid COVID-19

In Honor of the Bard's 456th Birthday

By Literary Hub

April 23, 2020

It’s strange to think that on the day we began contemplating a roundtable to mark William Shakespeare’s 456th birthday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo created a containment zone in the city of New Rochelle, formerly the epicenter of the state’s coronavirus outbreak. We were on the eve of the pandemic declaration and approaching the day Broadway would go dark for the first time since 9/11. It became apparent that just as the death toll would rise, so too would there be consequences for the social and cultural fabrics that bind us to one another.

Briefly, the prospect of a conversation centered on the Bard seemed, at best, like a convenient escape. But the following discussion, between five scholars who have devoted their careers situating Shakespeare alongside issues of performance, education, identity, partisanship and more, feels uniquely primed to our moment. It is an essential guide to the possible futures of our collective engagement with theater.

Scott Newstok (author of How to Think Like Shakespeare) moderated this discussion with Emma Smith (This is Shakespeare), James Shapiro (Shakespeare in a Divided America), Jeffrey Wilson (Shakespeare and Trump), and Vanessa Corredera, who is currently at work on a book about adaptations of Othello. I hope you gain as much from their vibrant dialogue as I did.

–Aaron Robertson, Assistant Editor

Scott Newstok: I suppose we have to start with our inescapable moment: social distancing policies have led to cancellations of public gatherings, and we’re now all teaching remotely. Artistic companies have gone dark; some worry whether they can survive the coming months.

Are there any precedents for this fraught moment in theater history—whether in the UK, the United States, or elsewhere?

James Shapiro: If plague closures in Elizabethan and Jacobean England hold any lessons for us, it’s that theater is precarious, actors and companies are vulnerable. Many wonderful companies will go under, as talented ones did in Shakespeare’s day. Airlines are sure to get a bailout; I doubt that theaters will, though they will need it just as badly.

Jeffrey Wilson: English theaters closed due to plague outbreaks between 1592 and 1594. So Shakespeare, as he was launching a career in drama, took some time to write poetry. That poetry was very dramatic, and his later drama very poetic. A lot of teachers with campuses closed due to the coronavirus are undergoing a different shift. They’re wondering how their physical classrooms will transfer into online settings. I’ll be very curious to see, six months from now, how our experiences with online teaching transfer back into our physical classrooms.

Emma Smith: It’s hard to imagine an equivalent. I’ve seen people comparing the situation in the UK to the situation during the Second World War, only for our seniors to say that they spent much of the war in theaters and dance halls. I’ve been interested to revisit the old chestnut about early modern companies releasing scripts for publication when the theaters were closed, in light of the National Theatre London and the Royal Shakespeare Company releasing their live screenings during the lockdown.

Vanessa Corredera: I share concern over the vulnerability of the arts during this time, especially since the powers that be (at least for the moment) do not seem interested in what would be a modern version of patronage—by that I mean extending monetary and structural support to the arts. I also think our current situation continues to spotlight issues of access and theater. For instance, many people (my family included) cannot access Shakespeare on the stage on a regular basis because of prohibitions ranging from locale to time to finances.

All of sudden, out of necessity, artistic institutions are turning to streaming, for which I and others are very grateful. This decision opens up a new audience for these performances. What remains to be seen is not only which institutions will be able to weather the storm, but also, how the effects of

their changes in mode inform their decisions regarding audience and accessibility moving forward.

JS: I’d only add that King James I provided Shakespeare’s company with “a gift” in “the time of infection” when theaters were closed in early 1604, and then again in 1608, 1609, and 1610. We’ll see if the governments of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson will be as generous to the arts.

JW: Vanessa makes such a good point—this difficult episode has shown that artistic institutions have the desire, ingenuity, and infrastructure to use technology to make art freely accessible to people who aren’t able to make it to a show in New York or London. And wouldn’t it be wonderful to see initiatives like those continue after the current emergency subsides? But that costs money. I suppose the question is: Would it be possible to develop a born-digital version of the Public Theater’s Mobile Unit? A Digital Unit?

JS: I work at the Public Theater and am closely involved with the Mobile Unit, which has had to put its upcoming and dazzling production of

Cymbeline on hold. I can tell you that there are no plans for a born-digital version of the production, which tours prisons and other facilities in and around New York. But one thought I’ve had of late—as odd as it might sound—is to enlist actors who have already had the virus and have developed immunity so they can rehearse and create a taped version of a production and be poised to perform publicly once a vaccine makes it possible for the rest of us to attend shows safely.

JW: Perhaps one historical analogy could be the world wars of the 20th century. A Google Ngram suggests that Shakespeare’s popularity declined—along with interest in other arts, I have to imagine—during the wartime years. But then the post-war periods saw big rebounds in interest in Shakespeare. Perhaps some post-war theaters might provide models for how today’s theaters can respond to the inevitable thirst for art, reflection, and human connection that will come after social distancing subsides.

ES: That’s so fascinating that interest in Shakespeare declined during those periods. I think that streamed theater productions will be wonderful for those who already include Shakespeare in their cultural life. For new audiences, it might not be as easy to make a space for those amid all the other digital offerings.

Most likely begun in the plague-free summer or autumn of 1605, King Lear was almost surely not written during an outbreak of plague.

SN: You all have probably seen social media posts along the lines of “When Shakespeare was in quarantine, he wrote King Lear” (some citing Jim’s The Year of Lear). There’s cold comfort in recalling that some artists have flourished during prior outbreaks. What other kinds of solace can we derive reading Shakespeare now?

JS: It’s maddening that my book was misread in that way. Most likely begun in the plague-free summer or autumn of 1605, King Lear was almost surely not written during an outbreak of plague (though Lear horrifically calls Goneril a “plague-sore”). What I actually wrote was that the return of plague in late 1606 led to theater closures, and a remarkable season at the Globe—that included

King Lear, Macbeth, Volpone, and The Revenger’s Tragedy—ended prematurely, once weekly plague deaths rose to above 30 or so.

That said, all of Shakespeare’s Jacobean plays, from Measure for Measure through Coriolanus, were written during or not long after yet another outbreak of plague, which struck London repeatedly (if not always as punishingly) from 1603-10.

ES: It’s interesting that “solace” hasn’t really been what we have looked for in Shakespeare—or in literary texts more generally—for some time. I remember A.D. Nuttall saying something in the preface to Why Does Tragedy Give Pleasure to the effect that we used to praise work by saying it was comforting, but now the greatest praise is to say it is discomforting, or something similar.

And now that we need solace, perhaps we will need to return to some less disquieting interpretations of the plays. The great solace I think we could get is the solace of concentrating over something knotty and rewarding. Most people I know feel their ability to focus has been really challenged by the current circumstances.

VC: While I love Shakespeare, I don’t think his works are particularly unique in their ability to provide solace, at least not any more so than other literature that may speak to our affective needs right now. If we are even seeking solace—which Emma interestingly challenges—the beauty of Shakespeare’s language might provide it, but so might the familiarity of the barnyard animals as I read Charlotte’s Web each night to my son, or the complexity people experience upon finally reading that long novel they’ve been putting off.

SN: All of you have worked with digital mediations of Shakespeare, whether Emma’s podcasts, Jim’s recorded lectures, Vanessa’s scholarship on Serial, or Jeff’s extensive online resources. What’s one bit of advice you would offer about teaching remotely?

ES: It doesn’t need to be perfect. And it doesn’t need to be synchronous—that adds stress with technology. Recording things people can play in their own time has worked for me.

VC: I agree with Emma. Also, since we lose community by being asynchronous, lean into online experiences that help form virtual communities. Encourage students to engage with these digital meditations of Shakespeare—like Patrick Stewart reading Shakespeare’s sonnets—and then participate in an online forum, thoughtful debates in comments, or a Twitter discussion (like #ShakeRace).

JW: Vanessa’s point about the possible loss of community is so important. It’s been a big challenge for me. I’ve tried to think very deliberately about how to maintain those connections that students make in the little conversations before class, and the fun we have when we jump into an impromptu performance of a scene. They’re called “plays” for a reason: this is supposed to be fun. I’ve found it vital to spend valuable class time developing those moments and using things like group chats to keep the energy of the course strong.

SN: Parents are improvising schooling at home. Any suggestions for helping children engage with Shakespeare beyond their conventional classrooms?

ES: I admire anyone who is improvising schooling as well as everything else right now, and I’d say, do what’s fun. That might be watching movie versions, or acting out scenes with Lego figures, or learning speeches to show off. I think we need to take whatever advantages there are here, but not to be overambitious!

VC: As someone trying to homeschool and work right now, helping children engage with Shakespeare is not really on my radar! That said, my kindergartener is now around my work much more, which gives me an opportunity to explain who Shakespeare is and what he wrote or to pause a movie or clip and explain more about Shakespeare when he asks about what I’m doing.

JS: One of the initiatives we’re undertaking at the Public Theater is the Brave New Shakespeare Challenge. Every week a new passage will be posted, and we’re encouraging everyone—starting with schoolkids—to share a link with their performance of that speech, poem, or scene. It’ll be fun, and a necessary break from the boredom of quarantine.

VC: James, this sounds like a great initiative!

SN: Shifting gears, Shakespeare is, exceptionally, the only author named in the Common Core. As secondary school curricula increasingly focus on contemporary prose, Shakespeareans find themselves in a discomfiting position: we teach a figure who is sometimes the solitary pre-20th century poet on the syllabus. Which of Shakespeare’s peers do you wish were assigned more often? (I, for one, love assigning Christopher Marlowe’s deceptively simple “

Come Live with Me” ballad.)

It’s impossible to know what the world will be like in a year or so, once we’re all vaccinated for coronavirus. But it seems likely that theaters will suffer, schools and universities too.

ES: I also love “Come Live With Me”. Texts I enjoy—and my students too—include revenge tragedies by Thomas Kyd (The Spanish Tragedy) or Thomas Middleton (Revenger’s Tragedy). John Webster sometimes makes it onto our high school curriculum in the UK—some A Level students here study Duchess of Malfi.

JS: Emma’s list dovetails with my own. I’d only add John Donne.

VC: Some of my non-Shakespearean favorites to teach are The Spanish Tragedy, almost anything by Marlowe (last term, it was Dr. Faustus), The Duchess of Malfi, and Elizabeth Cary’s The Tragedy of Mariam. I wish they were taught more so that we could see the different ways authors in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras approach the same topics (revenge, race, gender, etc.), as well as identify the ideological and social concerns to which they return.

SN: Vanessa, you’re writing a book that examines adaptations of Shakespeare’s Othello. How did Shakespeare’s “Moor” come to be “American,” yet also “Global”?

VC: In an essay on teaching Othello, Francesca Royster notes that it has become the play for thinking about race and Shakespeare in America. I think that’s because Othello taps into long-standing American stereotypes about black masculinity that a wide range of scholars on race in America identify. The work of Joyce MacDonald, Ayanna Thompson, and Robert Hornback, for example, shows how burlesque and blackface versions of Othello were key to reifying these stereotypes of black masculinity during Reconstruction. Othello is angry (the Brute), he endangers and then murders white femininity, and by the end of the play, he threatens the white social order (the Nat). I’m interested in thinking about what has to happen to Othello to make it an anti-racist play.

In Citing Shakespeare, Peter Erickson also calls Othello Shakespeare’s global emissary, pointing to the way the play and character speak beyond America. Issues of race, otherness, religion, and anti-blackness aren’t distinctly American problems.

Ambereen Dadabhoy’s and Dennis Britton’s respective work, for instance, aptly highlights the importance of religion, specifically Islam and issues of conversion, when intepreting Othello. I don’t want to suggest that Othello’s narrative is universal so much as it’s easily adaptable. As Kim F. Hall remarks regarding Othello, “one of the gifts Shakespeare gave us is the ability to use his texts to talk about the modern world,” including issues of race, sexuality, and status that appear in the play.

JW: Vanessa, if you were to swap a scholarly hat for a creative one, how might you do Othello to achieve that anti-racist aspect that you describe?

VC: I get asked this question so often, and I think I always provide such haphazard and inadequate answers. My responses reveal my vexed relationship to this play. The most hope for an anti-racist version of Othello, I believe, remains with creators willing to let go of Othello almost entirely. One example is Keith Hamilton Cobb’s American Moor. In the play, the unnamed African American actor auditioning for the role of Othello weaves together the threads of Shakespeare and authority, race in America, and the problems with American regional theater (among other topics) into a provocative, hopeful dialogue with the director he’s auditioning for, and the audience itself.

SN: Jeff, I know that in addition to your recent book Shakespeare and Trump you’ve been thinking about Shakespeare and stigma. Where do you find overlaps across your projects?

JW: Literary works create contact zones for conversations spanning the centuries from the early modern period to today. Shakespeare—as both written text deeply shaped by the classical tradition, and living performance often acted and adapted today—is the most obvious example. Under a banner of better living through historicism, I study the past to better understand today’s ethical and political questions. Sometimes that means historicizing the modern manifestations of early-modern literature, as in Shakespeare and Trump. Other times it means using modern ideas to unpack early-modern texts and traditions, as in the “Stigma in Shakespeare”

project.

VC: Jeff, could you speak to what you see as at odds between historicism and presentism in Shakespeare studies?

JW: Perhaps it goes back to Ben Jonson’s statement that Shakespeare was “not of an age, but for all time.” Shakespeare’s works—as both very old printed texts and plays often performed today—call for both historicism (“of an age”) and presentism (“for all time”). A historicism that doesn’t account for the present is as limited as a presentism that doesn’t account for the past. And this dynamic, which grows organically out of the multi-temporality of Shakespeare, provides a model for other fields of humanistic scholarship.

SN: Jim, you close Shakespeare in a Divided America with a guarded statement about Shakespeare’s future, which, you write, “seems as precarious as it has ever been in this nation’s history.” Have the crisis developments allayed or amplified your fears?

In times of crisis, we tend to neglect Shakespeare’s poems in favor of his plays, which (rightly or wrongly) appear more readily amenable to contemporary concerns.

JS: It’s impossible to know what the world will be like in a year or so, once we’re all vaccinated for coronavirus. But it seems likely that theaters will suffer, schools and universities too. Colleges will close, faculties will likely be downsized. When that happens, the study and performance of Shakespeare will suffer too. It would be nice to imagine people emerging from self-isolation eager for culture, but without government support, it’s likely that few companies will be back on their feet anytime soon.

VC: I agree that it would be great if people emerge eager for culture, and I think they might! But if economic resources aren’t evenly distributed, and there’s no reason to think they will be, then the divide in America may only deepen, and the arts will be affected by that.

JW: Jim, more broadly, could you predict the future for us: “what’s past is prologue,” etc. How might some of Shakespeare’s plays interact with the issues likely to exacerbate partisanship in America in the coming years—climate crisis, automation, tax code, public education, etc.? Any Shakespearean resonances you see?

JS: I recently taught the opening scene of Coriolanus to my Columbia students and I couldn’t help imagining, while doing so, a grim future in America in which—given the scarcity of resources—protests and violence were once again a defining feature of our culture. Anyone who imagines higher education and the arts in America won’t be diminished for years to come will have to persuade me otherwise.

SN: Emma, Shakespeare’s works seem prone to being “weaponized” in the US cultural sphere. Does such weaponization function differently in the United Kingdom?

ES: I learned so much from Jim’s book, and as I was reading it I wondered whether things would be similar in the British context. It’s been interesting to see in recent years the role of performed Shakespeare in ideological debates about so-called “color-blind” casting, or in arguments over casting women in male roles. Because it touches on ideas of cultural propriety, the question of who gets to perform Shakespeare may be our version of the weaponization that Jim interrogates so brilliantly.

SN: In times of crisis, we tend to neglect Shakespeare’s poems in favor of his plays, which (rightly or wrongly) appear more readily amenable to contemporary concerns. Let’s conclude on a lyrical note: what’s your favorite Shakespearean sonnet, and why? What do you cherish about its formal details?

ES: Confession time: I find Shakespeare’s sonnets alienating. Difficult, yes, but that’s not the problem. To me they are just a touch onanistic—solipsistic, rebarbatively masculine. The space I find for myself or for alternative voices in Shakespeare’s plays I struggle to find there. I’ve been rereading Venus and Adonis, and thinking about it as the signature work for Shakespeare during his own lifetime.

JW: I do a PSA in my classes every Valentine’s Day: be careful giving your beloved one of Shakespeare’s sonnets

because they’re a lesson in toxic love. Nowhere is this better captured than in the lines that open Sonnet 138: “When my love swears that she is made of truth, / I do believe her, though I know she lies.”

That also captures the follow-the-leader partisanship we see right now in America, and later in the sonnet Shakespeare gives a good gloss of the audience that enables post-truth politics: “Simply I credit her false-speaking tongue: / On both sides thus is simple truth suppressed.” The closing couplet is a searing takedown of willful self-delusion—whether it’s in love or in politics: “Therefore I lie with her and she with me, / And in our faults by lies we flattered be.”

VC: At the risk of seeming much more sentimental than Emma or Jeff, I have a soft spot for Sonnets 29 (“When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes”) and 73 (“That time of year thou mayest in me behold”).

I remember reading these sonnets in one of my first college English classes and being struck by the beautiful language of love and community in Sonnet 29, and the stunning imagery in Sonnet 73. As a novice major, I was excited that I could understand that symbolism! I’ve come a long way in my training and thinking, but those sonnets stay with me for very affective reasons.

JS: The Public Theater initiative I mentioned earlier just posted Sonnet 29 as its first selection, with Phylicia Rashad reciting it in English, Raúl Esparza in Spanish, and Steve Earle doing a beautiful musical version. If anyone is interested, add your own version!

Check out this episode!

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