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pluviophile-bookworm · 3 years

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AWAE 3x3 rewatch: thoughts and reactions

So I made a ginormous pause in between these again. I just wasn’t feeling up to the task, I guess. But it’s the anniversary of the premiere of AWAE, so what better day to do the penultimate one of these... Let’s just dive in because it’s been literal years since I first saw this episode and I remember literally nothing from it.

Oh my, Bash is just the best. And those baby chicks... well, I know what is most likely to happen to chickens on a farm when they grow older but... can we just maybe not think of that yet? Plus, seeing Mary keeps reminding me that soon I won’t be seeing her anymore. It’s safe to say I have mixed feelings about this cold open. Let’s move on.

Gosh, now they’re leaving Matthew alone with Delly, who is two types of people he’s uncomfortable around - a baby and a girl. But it’s fine, it will be just ‘a couple of hours’...

It is such a shame to think that Mary might have been saved... if she were white. People can be so awful. A human being is a human being. At least there are people like Dr. Ward and our protagonists who know that and act accordingly.

Oh... there’s that cute scene of Matthew showing Delly around Green Gables that I’ve seen in so many gifs... I can’t comment much on it so I’ll just sit back and enjoy. But before I go - Matthew is the best, most gentle man I’ve ever seen. He might be awkward around women and children, but he knows how to treat them right better than most people who are not awkward around them.

Oh gosh, the nappy! That kind of made me laugh out of place but, well, I just wanted to say - thank gods for Jerry and his many siblings. My boy knows how to change nappies.

Oh, they’ve got the printing press! Now that’s exciting! I feel like excitement is a good word to describe this episode, at least so far. We’ll see how I feel by the end of it. All I know is this is making me smile and I’ve really been needing that.

My, my, Ruby... I keep forgetting when it was that she got over Gilbert. Apparently it was not before mid-season, since she’s still in it way too deep.

Oh wait... is this when things began happening between her and Moody? I mean, the way he gives her his handkerchief, you’d think ever since he stopped trying to make Diana and her ‘very blue’ dress notice him, he’s been sitting back and watching Ruby from afar, hoping he can, somehow, compare to Gilbert. The best part is, in just a bit, he won’t need to. Boy, do I need a fourth season even if just to see these two develop... and for Diana and Jerry to make up, and just in general to see the kids being all grown up... now I feel like crying because we’ll very probably never get it... ok, moving on.

Anne: Sometimes life finds gifts in the darkest of places./ Marilla: Indeed. Wait, was this Marilla’s way of telling Anne she loves her? This is just the best.

The contrast between scenes dealing with Mary and the rest of the episode is just so stark, it’s jarring. It’s like, you never know the darkness someone might be sinking into while everybody else is bathing in the light. You know, everybody involved in making this episode, and the show in its entirety, made it so poetic, and yet it’s not. It’s absolutely devastating. And now Gilbert can’t even tell Mary that she’s got no more than two weeks left. This is the worst.

You know, Anne is right. Caring deeply will always be the right thing. I mean, it’s natural for Gilbert to doubt himself at this time, especially since the tragedy is happening to his own found family. You know, there’s something my mum taught me to do when I’m watching something and I can’t bear the subject matter of it - focus on the acting. And right now I’m just blown away by the superb performance by these incredible young people. But I really can’t bear to focus on the plot right now. And the acting being that good doesn’t particularly help me to detach myself from the story.

You know, tragic as what’s happening to Mary certainly is, it’s somehow lucky she has Anne in her life now that she’s about to leave her own daughter to grow up motherless. Because if only Anne’s parents had an orphan tell them what an orphaned child needs most, Anne’s own experience might have been very different. Mary is a very smart woman for realising that and talking to Anne about it. Because life is not about lamenting what we didn’t have. It’s about making sure we do what is in our power to make it easier for others if we can.

Ah, yes. Racism and ‘White Man’s Burden’ mentality are still very much a thing present here. I guess this here is the first mention of that horrible prison of a school that Ka’kwet would be sent to. This is. The. Worst.

I just can’t bear to listen to this guy. ‘Heathens’ - you mean people with a rich culture and belief system beyond your privileged straight white male comprehension? ‘Teach them all things civilised’ - you mean erase their own, I repeat, rich culture, and replace it with your white man’s ideas of civilisation? What deity fell from the heavens and made you God? And the way Rachel totally agrees with this guy, it just makes me sick. As if that guy would hesitate to discriminate against you on the basis of you being a woman! I just can’t with this. Let’s move on.

‘Be sure you marry for love. Only for love.’ Don’t worry, Mary, he will. Not before a huge, long period of confusion, mind you. But he’ll come to his senses eventually. People do stupid things when they’re young. That’s how they know they’ve lived it to the fullest.

Rachel just baffles me, you know. And Marilla, too, isn’t quite faultless here. How can you be so accepting of one kind of POC, yet so cruel to another? Then I remember their initial reactions to meeting Bash. They were not the most accepting at first. Yet they can see how they’ve now grown to accept and care deeply about Bash and Mary and Delphine. Why can’t they give Ka’kwet’s people a chance like this?

‘You may well have saved some Indians today’... Saved them? From what? Being free to practice their own culture? You know, white people can be so very ignorant... and I say that as a very white person. I’m just ashamed of everything my ethnicity has done to literally every other ethnicity.

‘I don’t wanna die’... You know, sometimes I do, and right now that makes me feel so ashamed. I should really think of Mary and also every real person who had an untimely death whenever I’m having those thoughts again. We should all learn to appreciate life so much more.

So this is the one with Mary’s Easter... this is beautiful. I might have to rescind my ‘excitement’ statement from earlier, but there is still a theme of beauty, love and family throughout this. Well, technically throughout the entire series, but especially here. I love this.

Delphine with a flower crown is the cutest thing ever...

Minnie May: She looks like a chocolate candy. I just... took notice of how the background music abruptly stopped. You know, coming from an older person, this would sound... not at all ok. But this 7-year-old didn’t mean any harm, and they realise it after a brief moment of panic in their eyes. Still... black people don’t call us, idk, butter or something. We should not compare their skin colour to chocolate.

Their singing is absolutely beautiful. But let’s be real - in a real-life situation, most of the people would be way off-key and those harmonies would be impossible to arrange. Still, for this beauty, I am willing to suspend my disbelief for miles. Also, that prayer at the end... well, I’m not Christian, but I am religious, and I know the power of a prayer as poetic as this one. However hard it must have been for Mary to know she wouldn’t live, it must have been a great consolation to know she would go in such a way, surrounded by so much beauty and love, and light. Well, that ending was bittersweet! But I absolutely loved this episode. Except for the racist parts that made me absolutely livid. It’s so frustrating to know there is still so much hate in the world based just on minor superficial differences between people. Yet it would have been even more frustrating if we didn’t have people in the world like our protagonists (and especially the protagonist, Anne). It is such an absolute shame that this show, and others like it, got cancelled over some trivial issues and wasn’t given the proper chance to develop its positive messages even further. But still, even with just the 27 episodes it was given, it was able to cover so much ground. I don’t know what to say. AWAE is just supreme.

Let’s sum up: the final weeks of Mary’s life; racial prejudice might have just cost this lovely woman, a wife and a mother, her life; Matthew showing Delly around Green Gables is the sweetest thing; the first press-printed issue of The Avonlea Gazette, with a significant typo; and thus, a ship was born; subtle ways of saying those three little words; ‘Caring deeply will always be the right thing.’; the legacy of a mother; ‘White Man’s Burden’ mentality is alive and dangerous; double standards regarding the acceptance of POC; Mary’s Easter; going surrounded by a loving community.

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whatcolorsmyworld · 5 years

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Alfie Allen is a winner even without an Emmy (long post - because it has to be written haha)

It baffles me how this actor didn't get the recognition he deserves. Looking at his Wikipedia page is saddening because he hasn't won ANY award for putting his heart and soul into a character for 8 long seasons. All I can is, to me, an award can be complimentary to one's career but is not necessary to validate an actor's ability and passion for his work. He is a winner by gracing the work itself and giving his best each and every single time. He is a winner because:

1. He accepted the role even if it wasn't what he was aiming for + even if he knew about the challenging part (esp. the torture aspect) of it.

2. He accepted a role that was easier for viewers to dislike/hate (and eventually, there had been some negativity thrown at him esp. during the earlier seasons). He had said that he made it a point not to read stuff online for his own sanity.

3. He empathized with the character to be able to portray it with as much soul as he could possibly show on screen. And this led him to being concerned and interested about men's mental health.

4. He portrayed every angle and side of Theon CONVINCINGLY and EFFECTIVELY.

5. He carried all the hate thrown at his character on his shoulders to the point of him saying in an interview that he wished he had been more open about it (that he was struggling with the role at a certain time) and that there had been "dark moments".

6. He researched beyond what was expected of him as an actor. He researched about dog behavior , Stockholm's syndrome, and discovered things such as how prolonged captivity affects a person's voice (to add colour to his portayal of Reek).

7. S1 Theon and S8 Theon. See the huge difference?

8. He understood that Theon, as a character, is an opportunity to talk about serious and important things such as belongingness, identity, choices, decisions, PTSD, mental and emotional issues, family, male ego, toxic masculinity, etc.

9. His fellow actors and GOT crew recognized his talent time and time again. (There are lots of compliments for him in the cast/crew commentaries)

10. He's nice to his fans, at times even making fun of his own character to light things up.

11. He was careful even with the simplest bits of acting like changing Theon's posture (to show his change in demeanor), projecting his pinky finger a certain way (the one that was cut off), and slouching one part of his shoulder and looking at Ramsay wide-eyed (in the bath scene to show how broken an Theon-less he was).

I had seen one comment on social media saying something like "Stuttering and looking scared 24/7 doesn't make an actor good" and Oh how I wish that I can smash a piano (jk)

Nope! He is a great actor not just because of stuttering, trembling in fear, screaming or whatever. Nah! He's a great actor because he portrayed Theon in every scene EFFECTIVELY and with many colors to it.

- He portrayed "fear" on different levels: fear that makes one shudder (kennels), fear that makes one want to explode but has no more courage so he shuts himself up (shaving scene).

- He portrayed "decision-making" with many layers to it. That it makes one return to his inner conflict & curse the gods (identity/conversation with Maestre Luwin). That it boils down to one's conquest (Stark vs Greyjoy/convo with Jon Snow). That it makes one think twice but discreetly (showing the burnt corpses).

- He portrayed "suffering" from different angles: scary, disgusting, hopeless, soul-crushing, barely-hanging-there, and slowly rising from it.

12. He understood Theon so much that when asked what death could have fitted the character, he said "drowning". *Applause* which makes sense because Theon is ironborn, from Pyke, and most importantly, his sister told him "Don't die too far from the sea". Drowning could have been a more emotional death (sorry that I'm talking about this!) because it (painfully/deeply/a bit morbidly) points back to his IDENTITY which is actually the anchor of his character arc.

13. Alfie (w/the help of the story itself and the entire crew ofc) took us to a journey and so, when S8 happened, it was beautiful and we rooted for Theon because he, in the end, portrayed the character with the CULMINATION of his entire story arc: a man who "died" and through it, has finally found himself, and bearing his house's "What is dead may never die" even in the very face of death itself.

Yup, Alfie is a winner...

and all the Kraken/octopus/squid/sharks/and dolphins say "YUP YUP!"

#game of throne #alfie allen #theon greyjoy #emmy 2019 #emmys #writing #my favorite character

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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How Xena: Warrior Princess used Greek Myth

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First of all, sorry if this bursts anyone’s bubble, but sadly Xena: Warrior Princess is not a ‘real’ character from Greek myth. Whereas Hercules and Iolaus from Hercules: The Legendary Journeys are both important characters from Greek mythology, the three most important characters in Xena: Warrior Princess – Xena, Gabrielle, and Callisto – are all original characters with entirely original stories.

Xena does have things in common with some characters from Greek myth. Most obviously, the Amazons (who appear in the series and adopt Gabrielle as their princess, but Xena is not one of them) are a ‘real’ Greek myth – not a real people, but a mythical tribe who appear in numerous stories from Greek mythology. They were described as a tribe of warrior women, who cut off one breast to make it easier to shoot arrows – oddly enough, the show left out that detail!

The closest non-Amazon character to Xena is probably Atalanta, a huntress who killed centaurs with arrows (with both breasts intact), won a wrestling match against the male hero Peleus, and refused to marry until a suitor could beat her in a foot race, which no one was able to do without cheating. The goddesses Artemis and Athena, who both appear in the series, had traditionally masculine attributes as well, and Athena is especially similar to Xena as she was associated with war (as well as the male god of war, Ares), but they were both completely divine beings, and so were considered a bit different to mortal human women.

Keeping it real

The series did include lots of elements from ‘real’ Greek mythology. Numerous Greek gods and goddesses turned up over the course of the show, from famous Olympians like Ares, Zeus, and Aphrodite, to less well known deities like Nemesis (goddess of justice), Morpheus (god of dreams), and Discord (in Greek Eris, the goddess of discord). Some early episodes were inspired by stories from Greek myth, like Hercules freeing the Titan Prometheus from being chained up and having his magically regenerating liver eaten by a giant eagle every day (Season 1’s ‘Prometheus’); the story of Odysseus, known by his Latin name Ulysses in the show, and his long journey home to his wife Penelope (Season 2’s ‘Ulysses’), and Season 1’s brief glimpse of the Trojan War in ‘Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts’.

For the most part, rather than directly adapting specific myths, the series used characters, elements and ideas from Greek mythology to create new stories. As a 1990s show, the series used the blend of arc plotting and standalone episodes that was common at the time. This meant that the show, like an anthology show, could do different types of stories in different episodes, allowing it to incorporate not just the tragic and dramatic tone of some Greek myths, but the comedic and light-hearted tone of others as well – for in the ancient world, playwrights used mythological characters and themes for both tragedy and comedy.

Ancient Greek playwrights would mess around with the stories people thought they knew to surprise their audience and keep their attention. The famous story of the witch Medea murdering her own children, for example, was an innovation of the playwright Euripides, adapting earlier stories where they were killed by accident or killed by other characters. So what Xena (and parent show Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) was doing was exactly what ancient Greek dramatists did, taking ideas and characters people know and playing around with them to create something new.

Remixing the myths

One of the interesting things about Xena: Warrior Princess was the way the show took place in a vaguely described mythical time which seemed to cover millennia of not just Greek mythology and legend, but even well-known, real and dateable Roman history. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, there was a sense that the distant past was a time of myths, and that gods and heroes and monsters walked the earth long before their own time. However, they also had a fairly strong sense of there being a rough chronology to these stories. Certain myths happened in a certain order, and there was a clear progression of ‘Ages’ with different events belonging to different periods. The Titan Kronos was in charge first, then he was usurped by his son Zeus. Mankind was created by the Titan Prometheus, and Woman inflicted on them as a punishment to Prometheus by Zeus (ancient Greek myth was not as feminist as the show it inspired, as you can tell!).

The Greek poet Hesiod outlined five Ages of Man. The Golden Age was the reign of Kronos, when men lived like gods. When Zeus took over, the Silver Age began, and men were now inferior beings who had to work for a living. The Bronze Age was an age of strong, warlike men who were destroyed by Deucalion’s flood (the Greek equivalent of the story of Noah’s Ark). Next was the Age of Heroes, and this is where myth starts to meet legend and pre-history. This is the period when the Trojan War supposedly took place – the war is fictional, but the city of Troy is real (it’s at a site called Hissarlik in modern Turkey) and so were the Greek city states described in the stories, so this war can be placed in a real timeline of human history, at around 1200 BCE, even if the war as described in the stories never really happened. The final age was the Age of Iron, Hesiod’s present day of around 700 BCE, an era of misery and toil (Hesiod was not much of an optimist).

Xena throws all of this chronology out of the window and blends everything together into a glorious mish-mash of myth, legend, and history. The 10-year Trojan War is covered in a single episode set at the end of the siege. Heroes from different stories appear in no particular order. King David of Israel turns up – he lived around 1010-970 BCE, which would be a couple of centuries after the Trojan War.

Why Xena: Warrior Princess Was Groundbreaking

By Juliette Harrisson

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Most bizarrely for a show supposedly about Greek mythology, substantial chunks of Roman history are thrown into the mix as well, forming major story arcs across the years, especially in the fourth season. Producer Rob Tapert is obviously keen on this period because he later produced the STARZ Spartacus series – starring his wife, Lucy Lawless, a.k.a Xena – which features several of the same characters including Julius Caesar, Crassus and (briefly) Pompey.

Even when using real historical characters, though, Xena folded in decades’ worth of history. Most of the characters and loosely adapted plotlines follow the collapse of the Roman Republic and the beginning of a monarchy under the emperors in the first century BCE, and although it’s loosely adapted to say the least, there are lots of genuine details. Julius Caesar really was kidnapped by pirates as a young man (and had them all executed later on) and the power struggles in the dying years of the Republic really did feature an alliance between Crassus, Caesar, and Pompey, and the famous love affair between Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The British Queen Boudicca, or Boadicea, however, lived over a hundred years later, and although Julius Caesar invaded Britain twice, he never actually conquered it (it was the later emperor Claudius who did that) so even the Roman historical chronology is all over the place.

There’s something kind of wonderful about this ‘throw everything at the wall and see what sticks’ approach to chronology. There are lots of fun depictions of Julius Caesar in pop culture (from the dude with the surfer hairdo in Tapert’s Spartacus: War of the Damned to Kenneth Williams camping it up in Carry on Cleo) but none are quite as off-beat as Karl Urban repeatedly trying to kill Xena and even escaping the underworld after death to create a new reality where she never met Gabrielle, in an attempt to save himself. And the idea that the first Empress and possible serial killer (depending which ancient Roman rumours you believe) Livia was really Xena’s daughter – and a formidable warrior – is rather fun too.

Playing in other cultures’ sandpits

It wasn’t just time that Xena jumbled up whenever the writers felt like it – the series also included plenty of gods, myths and heroes from other places that had nothing to do with Greece or Rome. From Norse gods (including Loki and Odin) to Hindu gods, to Tau Chinese characters, to the early medieval British hero Beowulf, Xena’s “time of ancient gods, warlords, and kings” and “land in turmoil” could be anywhere, anywhen. This gave the writers great freedom in choosing the stories they wanted to tell and playing with them in new and creative ways, as well as allowing them to cast a diverse group of actors to play them.

Casting black actresses Galyn Gorg and Gina Torres as Helen of Troy and Cleopatra respectively was reflective of academic movements throughout the late 1980s and 1990s to recognise the importance of black Africans to Mediterranean culture, and it has been argued that the real Cleopatra was black, as while her ethnicity was primarily Greek (her Greek ancestors conquered Egypt), her grandmother was a concubine of unknown origin. But the wide range of sources of inspiration Xena drew on meant that they could largely cast actors suited to their roles, regardless of skin colour. Although the goddess of Love, Aphrodite, was somehow still portrayed as a slim, ditzy blonde in pink, which is not a representation the ancient Greeks would have recognised – their statues of Aphrodite are a lot more rounded in body shape and wear even less clothing!

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Xena: Warrior Princess, like a lot of great shows from the 1990s, was a series full of good humour and creativity that didn’t take itself too seriously most of the time, but was still able to land a dramatic punch when it turned its mind to it. It’s a method of making television that, when done well, can give audiences the best of all worlds, and perhaps one that might see a bit of a comeback if audiences start to tire of heavily serialised, grimdark TV. The series’ approach to Greek mythology was like its approach to story-telling in general – use the things that you think will work, don’t be afraid to change things, to mix it up, to mess things around, and tell whatever story you want to tell using whatever tools are available to you to tell it. The ancient Greek playwrights would have been proud.

The post How Xena: Warrior Princess used Greek Myth appeared first on Den of Geek.

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indescribablechoices · 6 years

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How Long It Takes - Part Six of Enchanting (TRR)

Enchanting follows the story of Liam and Alicia (MC)’s daughter Lyra as she enters the social season in search of a husband. Familiar faces, sibling shenanigans and naturally; romance, all await along the way.

Part One/Part Two/Part Three/Part Four/Part Five

Tag list: @brightpinkpeppercorn @iknewyoudcome@mitalijoshi@mynameiskaylabella @cocomaxley@boneandfur @museofbooks @moneyfordiamonds

Summary - Tensions of all kinds brew as the court heads to the Regatta. (I’m not mega happy with the flow of this chapter but I wanted to post it so I can move on with the plot so please be forgiving)

Rating - Teen; discussions of sex and sexual attraction.

Word count - 5437

Enchanting Masterlist

“It’s fairly simple, Dad. We have to cancel the season.”

Liam looked at his daughter from where he sat at his desk as she paced back and forth, lecturing him about his health, about how they never should have gone to Lythikos after what the doctor said about the time he had left. He smiled to himself as she went. He had been no different when his father had been ill, wondering if he too had been this self-sacrificing.

They had travelled back to the palace from Lythikos earlier than planned so that he could rest before the Regatta, which had caused both his wife and their eldest daughter to attempt to convince him to cancel the following events for the sake of his well-being.

“Lyra, sit down,” he said quietly.

Her head snapped to look at him and she drew breath to say something, but let out a hard sigh, taking a seat opposite him.

“We are not cancelling the season.”

“Dad, you-”

“Let me speak,” he insisted and she sat back in the chair, hands clasped in her lap, “If I only have months left to live, I am going to spend it travelling around Cordonia with my wonderful family, watching my beautiful daughter find the man she wants to spend her life with. I don’t want to spend it at the centre of a media frenzy and wasting away in my bed.”

“And if it kills you quicker?”

“Then I will die a happy man.”

She glanced away from him as tears burned in her eyes. He let out a heavy sigh. God, had his father been this stubborn?

“Darling, look at me,” he said quietly. She turned her eyes back to him and he felt his heart break at the sight of her tears, “I am going to die. There is no stopping that. But I need to know that you are happy, that you’re all going to be okay when I’m not here anymore.”

She sniffed back her tears, “Dad, I…”

She trailed off, the words falling silent on her tongue. How could she say it? How could she look at her dying father, the best man she had ever known, and tell him that she wasn’t ready to be queen? The one thing that she had been preparing her whole life for?

She let out a shaky breath, holding herself a little higher, “I’ll make sure everyone’s okay when… when the time comes.”

He held his hand out to her and she gave him hers, letting him hold it across the desk.

“My darling girl,” he sighed wistfully, “I’ll never be able to express how proud I am of you.” He gave her hand a squeeze, offering her a warm smile, “Now, enough doom and gloom on my behalf. Tell me about the plans for the regatta.”

“Dad, you hate the regatta,” she reminded him.

“Maybe, but it’s an important year,” he pointed out, “I was going to ask which boat we’ll be cheering for, but I think I know to look out for the Beaumont colours.” He met her mildly alarmed look with a grin, “Don’t look so shocked. I’m old, not blind. You barely kept your eyes off of each other all throughout the Winter Ball. I’m sad I missed the end of your dance.”

“There wouldn’t have been much to miss if it weren’t for Bartie,” she admitted, “I was ready to run out after you, but he kept us dancing to make sure you could slip out easier.”

“Clever lad,” he nodded, “I would have expected nothing less from Bertrand’s son. Though from what I hear he’s got a mix of his uncles in him, and Maxwell and Drake aren’t two personalities that mix easily. But the two of you were close when you were young.”

“Are you analysing Bartie?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Perhaps,” he said quietly then flashed her another smile, “Don’t worry, I’m not going to invite him in here whilst I polish my shotgun and demand to know his intentions. I just want to make sure that you’re happy.”

“I am,” she nodded, “I really care about him. But I’m not just marrying for me. I’m marrying for my country. I need to know if he’s up for it.”

“And if he’s not?”

“Then I’ll do what’s right for Cordonia.”

***

“She’ll do what’s right for Cordonia?” Queen Alicia’s eyebrows rose as she and her husband sat in their suite later that afternoon.

“That’s what she said,” Liam sighed, stirring the sugar into his tea.

“I don’t want that for our little girl,” she told him, “She deserves to be happy.”

“I’ve tried to tell her before, but she’s got such a focus on her duty that she-” he was cut off but a short hum of laughter from his wife, “What?”

“She gets that from you,” she pointed out, “All she’s ever wanted was to be just like you. And far short of cutting her hair off and dressing in suit vests, she’s pretty much there.”

He smiled at that. He and Lyra had always been close, but it warmed his heart to hear his wife remind him of it.

“She doesn’t need a husband to help her rule,” he said, “She’s going to be a great queen no matter who sits beside her. But if she must marry, she deserves to have it be someone she loves.”

“There are a lot of good young men that have come to compete for her hand,” she said with a sip of her own tea, “Even Jack, which surprised me.”

“I hadn’t considered him at the beginning, but it made sense for Liv to ask him. He’s his father’s son, he would be good for Lyra.”

“If Leona didn’t scratch her eyes out first.”

He frowned, “What?”

Alicia snorted into her drink, “Liam, my darling, you act like you know so much about women, but when it comes to our daughters you are clueless.”

He looked at her, “You’re not saying that Leona is interested in Jack?”

“It’s gone far beyond that, my love,” she hummed, “They’ve been having casual sex for three years.”

His mouth fell open, “Three years?”

“On and off, naturally,” she told him, “I can’t believe you didn’t know.”

“But… my little girl…” he stammered.

“She’s all grown up, Liam.”

He slumped back in his chair with a defeated sigh, “I hardly know my children.”

She rolled her eyes, “Don’t be such a Drama King. You do know your children. You’re just a bit out of touch with their… personal lives.”

“Turns out I was quite grateful for it,” he ran his hands over his face before he looked back to his wife, “So that’s Jack out of the running.”

“Edward? I know he’s Madeleine’s son but-”

“Hard no. He’s Eli’s mysterious texter.”

“Oh,” she said, a considering expression on her face.

“What about Percy?”

“Good kid,” she nodded, “He’ll be a good Duke one day; kind to his people, but I don’t know if he’s cut out for the crown…”

“This is because of the poodles, isn’t it?” he smirked.

“You know I love all dogs, and I’m glad they help Pen with her anxiety. But I’m not having our first grandchildren be poodles dressed in squid costumes and crowns, Liam.”

Their eyes met and they both burst into loud laughter. But as the laughter faded the reality of what she said set it.

“God, grandkids,” he said quietly, “Something else I’m going to miss.”

She leaned across and cupped his cheek with her hand, letting him lean into the warmth of her palm, “Never say never.”

“Alicia…”

She shushed him softly, wrapping her arms around her shoulder to rest her forehead against his, “I know. Just… let’s have this moment.”

He pulled her gently into his arms and they sat holding each other, not knowing what the following weeks would bring.

***

The morning of the Regatta came with a glimmering sun and clear skies as the court left the palace and headed for the docks ready for the day’s events. As the royal motorcade arrived, the Rys children stepped out of their limo in their usual fashion to wave to the crowds and pose for the press before heading for their private seating.

As Lyra slid out, the press clambered forwards, and closer to the front this time, Lyra spotted Charity Jones.

“Princess Lyra!” she called out, “Care to answer the questions many of us have concerning the seemingly convenient gas leak at the palace last week?”

Lyra sighed to herself, then turned to Charity’s camera with an overly charming smile, “It was all too convenient for the catering staff as most of my sister’s delicious homemade cakes were already snapped up. It’s a shame you didn’t get to try any.”

She noticed some of the other journalists smirk in Charity’s direction and jot down Lyra’s words.

“But the photographs…”

“Were perfectly unclear enough for you to tell whatever story you wished,” Lyra pointed out, “The gas leak was a small accident and it was sorted very quickly, though with the amount of people in the surrounding area it was the safest course of action to get everyone clear. Luckily, no such thing happened at the Winter Ball, which was a fantastic event, thanks to our hosts; the Nevrakis family.”

“Your Highness,” someone else said to her, turning her attention away from Charity, “How are you feeling knowing that Jackson Walker is the representative for the Nevrakis family?”

“Jack is a dear friend of my siblings and I,” she told him, “He has been since we were children. I couldn’t think of anyone better to represent the Nevrakis name in the upcoming weeks… Now you must excuse me, I want to take in the full measure of each boat before the race begins.”

She slipped away onto the docks, the water filled with various racing and sailing boats for the morning’s events, but the ones that had taken precedent were the ones her suitors would be sailing. Until her father’s season, it had been tradition for the ladies of the court to hire a crew to man their boats, but after her mother won with the help of her godfathers Maxwell and Drake, it had been decided that the suitors themselves would have to sail with the help of people they trusted.

Her father had given some speech to the press telling them that the reason for the change was to encourage the suitors to prove their leadership skills by not only selecting those closest to them, but by leading by example. He had told Lyra afterwards that he simply wanted to make his least favourite part of the competition more exciting.

She wandered along the docks, greeting and spending a brief moment with each of her suitors until she came to the far end where the boats of her friends were tied.

She came to Edward’s boat first, and the tall blonde greeted her almost warmly with a brief kiss to her hand.

She smirked at him, “Is that a smile, Lord Edward?”

One dared to show on his face at that, “Perhaps, your highness. It is a lovely day after all for sailing.”

“Of course,” she nodded, “So tell me about your team.”

“I do not have a lot in the way of… friends, per say,” he told her, “So one of my cousins from my father’s side has flown over from England, and naturally, my sister.”

“Because we all know I’m the only one in this family who can sail worth a damn,” Elizabeth called to them from the bow of the boat.

Edward rolled his eyes to himself with a bemused sigh, “She is, unfortunately, right. I’m a terrible sailor, and god help me if I fall in.”

“You’d think long-legs would float, but he sinks like a stone,” Elizabeth told her.

Lyra let out a soft snort of laughter, “I’m sure you will be fine.”

“Can Elias swim?” Elizabeth asked.

“He prefers to lounge by water, but he can definitely swim, why?”

“Just in case Ed here falls in and needs someone to rescue him,” Elizabeth laughed, flashing a smile at Lyra.

Edward let out an even longer sigh, but a blush played in his cheeks, “Yes, yes, you’ve had your fun… I should help finish with preparations.”

“Of course,” Lyra nodded and waved goodbye to them both as she wandered further along the docks.

“Ahoy, Princess!” a voice called down to her as she passed by the next boat and she looked up to see Percy waving to her, his dark curls hidden beneath a white sailor cap.

She gave him a salute, “Ahoy Captain Beaumont.” She wandered closer to the boat and saw Alodie and her Uncle Maxwell busying themselves with preparations, but they both stopped and made their way onto the dock to greet Lyra with a hug.

“Hey little sapling,” Maxwell gave her a tight squeeze, as he always did.

She hummed with laughter at that, “You told me you were going to stop calling me that when I turned eight.”

“Yeah, well, old habits die hard,” he smiled.

“How are you feeling about the race?” she asked.

“Well, I helped your mom win, and we’ve got Hana Lee’s daughter on our team. What can’t we do?” he beamed proudly as he glanced at Alodie.

It was a fact known only by the court’s inner circle that Maxwell was Alodie’s biological father. When Hana and Kiara had decided to try for a baby, Hana had known instantly who she wanted to be their sperm donor, and with Kiara’s close relationship with Penelope, it hadn’t gotten complicated. Kiara had the most viable chance for successful insemination, so they had given it a try. Nine months later she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. And Maxwell, in his naturally loving way, had always looked out for Alodie, but had never crossed any boundaries. He knew that it was likely that she knew, but they never discussed it.

Lyra folded her arms across her chest, a joking smile on her face, “Some would say that’s an unfair advantage. She could probably sail the thing on her own.”

“You’re both hilarious,” Alodie rolled her eyes.

“Hey, funny’s all I’ve got,” Maxwell hummed with laughter.

“Guys, come on!” Percy called down, “I’ve got hats for all of us.”

Maxwell grinned, “That’s my boy.”

Lyra glanced at Alodie, “I’ll leave you to do.”

“See you at the beach party,” Alodie told her with an exasperated sigh, clambering back onto the boat, “Okay, Percy, but mine had better match my outfit.”

Lyra continued her wander along the docks, stopping alongside the red-sailed Nevrakis boat. Jack clambered down to greet her, the pair of them posing for a photograph from one of the few reporters who had been given full access to the docks.

“Don’t waste time with me,” he murmured in her ear as the reporter asked for a casual shot, “Move on and see your man.”

She glanced up at him with a smile, “Maybe I want to spend time with my friend.”

“You can spend time with me at the palace later when we don’t have four hundred people and the world media watching,” he said.

“Oh, I was talking about your sister,” she nodded towards the boat where Natalia was adjusting some rope.

He barked out a laugh, earning one from the princess herself. The reported got the shot of the pair of them laughing together and thanked them for their time.

“Seriously,” he insisted, “I’m here to play Nevrakis-place-holder for the papers. Some people are actually here for you.”

She felt her heart jolt in her chest at that. She and Bartie had discussed their feelings and his intentions in Valtoria, but it still made her heart swell with affection to realise that other people were noticing it. She gave him a nod of thanks and called up to Natalia that she would see her at the beach party before heading to the final boat.

Bartie was in the middle of having some photographs of his own taken by a reporter, posing in a few different positions on the dock. Lyra watched him for a moment, taking in the natural way he talked to the reporter, charmed him into laughing. The media had always loved Bartie. As the heir to the Beaumont name, and being the first child from the court’s inner circle, he had been in the papers his entire life. From cute pictures of him in little suits at the royal wedding and his parents’ wedding to the interviews over the past few years, he had always been his best self. A few side pieces in gossip magazines about his romantic escapades, but nothing overly scandalous.

The reporter asked for some photographs of them together once he spotted her and she agreed, stepping naturally into Bartie’s arms as they posed, trying to remain casual, despite the fact that she could feel his heart beating hard in his chest when he pressed against her.

The reporter moved on after a few more shots, wishing Bartie luck in the race.

“Which I should probably leave you to prepare for,” Lyra said, moving to pull away but he kept a hold of your hand.

“Hey now, I didn’t get here an hour early to set up so that I couldn’t steal a quick minute with you,” he smiled.

“You really got here an hour early?” her eyebrows raised.

“The journalists weren’t even here yet. Just some of the crowds wanting to get a good spot. I had to get everything ready so that I wouldn’t waste any of the already short time we have,” he told her, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand, “I want to show my commitment to you, to all of this. I know I have to prove that to you.”

“You don’t have to prove anything to me,” she said quietly, meeting his grey eyes.

“No, I do,” he sighed, “At the end of this, you’re going to be expected to marry whoever you choose. And whatever feelings are between us; marriage is a huge commitment. I want you to know that-”

“Bartie!” Bertrand called over the back of the boat to him, “The race is about to start, you- Oh! Princess Lyra, you…”

She let go of Bartie’s hand, looking up to offer him a smile, “Good morning Duke Ramsford.” She glanced back to Bartie, reaching up to press a kiss to his cheek, “We can talk more later.”

He watched her go as she hurried off of the dock to the stands to take her seat beside her siblings, her heart racing at the thought of what Bartie had been about to say.

“You okay?” Drake leaned over to ask her quietly as the King gave the welcoming speech and told the racers to get ready on their marks, “You look rather…flushed.”

“Fine, fine,” she nodded quickly, unable to keep the smile off of her face, “It’s just rather warm today, isn’t it?”

“Forget warm,” Elias interjected, leaning forward to join the conversation, “Let’s heat this up even more. Small wager. I’ve got twenty on Edward.”

“Fifty or go home,” Leona smirked.

“Fine. Fifty,” Elias said.

“Put me down for Jack,” she told him, “He’s got Nat and his dad sailing with him. That’s like the dream team.”

“Edward’s cousin in an Olympic sailor,” Eli reminded her.

Lyra rolled her eyes, “I’ll take that bet. Fifty on Bartie. It’s a full Beaumont boat; Bartie, Bertrand and Gareth. There’s your dream team.”

“Fifty on Percy’s team,” Drake said quietly. Their heads all snapped to look at him and he frowned back at his confused looking siblings. “What?”

“Nothing,” Eli grinned, “Just never thought I’d see the day when you’d join in on our shenanigans.”

The starting pistol fired and a cheer went up in the crowd as the boats lurched forward into the water.

For the first few minutes the boats were neck and neck but as the wind picked up, a handful of boats began to pull ahead of the others as their crews expertly caught the wind in the sails. Lyra kept her binoculars firmly to her eyes, her gaze fixed on Bartie’s boat, the family’s squid sigil proudly presented on the sail as she watched him tying down some rope, chewing her lip as his back strained against his white shirt, the fabric damp from the spraying water and-

A cheer echoing through the crowd snapped her attention back to the race as four boats approached the midway point at near matching speed. The perfect turn here could mean the difference between victory and defeat, and within seconds all four Rys children were on their feet cheering for their prospective teams, not just for their wager, but for the sheer fun of it.

The boats rounded the buoy just as the wind changed direction and as Edward and Percy’s boats took the turn too wide, Bartie and Jack’s turned perfectly, slipping past the others and racing towards the finish.

Crowds rushed right to the docks’ edge, desperate to watch which one of them would inch ahead to claim the win, but just ten feet out from the finish line, Jack’s boat shunted slightly, giving Bartie the opportunity to sail past him and cross the line.

Everyone in the stands was on their feet for the winner as the other boats sailed back to the line, reporters flooding towards Bartie’s boat to interview the winner. Lyra sat back in her seat with a smile on her face, feeling her heart swell as Bartie climbed down from the boat and blew a kiss in her direction.

The rest of the morning passed with little excitement, other boat races and sailing events took place as the suitors all piled onto their boats for drinks and food. Lyra and her siblings wanted nothing more than to be down there with them, but they were expected to sit in the stands and watch the other events. Not that that stopped Eli from exchanging a range of texts and overly dramatic ‘bored selfies’ with Edward, some of which included his siblings, and receiving pictures from the small party on Bartie’s boat.

Eventually the afternoon began to kick in and everyone was whisked off in their usual limos to the private beach where the party was always held. As soon as they arrived, the entire atmosphere that came with the court melted away and a sense of relaxation filled the air. Yes, today was an event in the season to impress the princess and show off for the press, but it was also meant to be fun.

Across the sand, people began setting up blankets and stripping down to their bathing suits to lounge in the sun or head down into the water.

As soon as his feet hit the sand, Eli had removed his clothes, dumping them safely with their pile of belongings, shouting goodbye to his siblings and sprinting full pelt down the beach. He launched himself into the water, resurfacing with a loud cheer that was echoed by other party goers.

Drake rolled his eyes to himself, grabbing his camping chair and setting it up under a large umbrella. He grabbed a book out of the bag of supplies and began to turn to find his page.

“Are you seriously just going to sit there?” Leona pouted as she started to tie her hair up to go swimming.

He glanced at her, set his book down in his lap before rolling up his sleeves and trouser bottoms a few inches each, then going back to his book. She let out a snort and removed her dress, revealing her pale blue bikini underneath. She kicked off her shoes, playfully letting one of them hit his ankle before racing off after her twin brother.

Lyra laughed as she watched the entire exchange, setting a glass of iced tea next to Drake before ruffling his hair and heading off down the beach to start greeting suitors. She made the rounds, consoling the losers of the race, laughing and joking with Percy; his captain hat still perched on his head, insisting to Edward that he should ask Eli for swimming lessons because there was no way her little brother was getting out of the water until they dragged him home, and congratulating Jack on a near-win, which he insisted was only that close due to his dad and sister’s skills.

She glanced around in search of Bartie and found him standing up from where he’d been chatting with his brother, removing his shoes, then unbuttoning his shirt. Lyra couldn’t help but watch him.

She had always known that Bartie was an attractive guy. He had been cute when they were kids, not in a way that she had ever recognised, and when puberty hit; it had been very kind to him. There had been a few awkward years, watching him grow at odd rates; her best friend suddenly changing in very odd ways, but when it was over he had come out gorgeous.

But just because she knew that he was attractive, she had never found him attractive; their close relationship had put such things out of her mind.

Until the night of their first kiss.

It had been the first time she had seen him in that light, and oh boy was that light appealing. But then they had drifted apart, and she had never considered that she would be standing here right now; watching her childhood best friend walking towards her, bare chested in nothing but swimming shorts, physique cut like a Greek god; perfectly captured in the sun as a smile spread across his face.

Oh that smile.

Bartie stopped just in front of her, noticing her eyes roving over his bare chest and purposefully flexed a little as he met her gaze, “Am I distracting you, Sunshine?”

She raised an eyebrow at him, suddenly snapped out of her trance, unbuttoning her blouse, letting it fall open to reveal her white swimsuit underneath. She removed the shirt then shimmied out of her shorts, shooting him a smirk as she watched his mouth all but fall open, “Oh I’m sorry, were you saying something?”

“Not a damn thing,” he said quietly, running a hand through his hair as he took in the sight of her.

“Good,” she smiled, then tossed her clothes at him as she took off running, “Last one in the water’s a loser!” she called over her shoulder.

He dumped her clothes into the sand and gave chase without a second thought. He caught up just before they met the water’s edge and he looped an arm around her middle, tackling her into the surf.

She let out a squeal of laughter as they splashed into the water together, rolling a few times in the damp sand until she came to rest on top of him, the waves lapping against them both.

“You’re a damn menace, Beaumont,” she was breathless from her laughter, “I should know to keep you away from bodies of water in the future.”

“Yeah, but I’m your menace,” he beamed.

She matched his smile, leaning down to steal a kiss but the sound of someone clearing their throat gave her pause. They looked up to see Natalia peering down at them, a smirk on her face.

“Before you two go getting your kits off in front of the entire court, you might want to find somewhere a bit more subtle,” she teased.

Lyra blushed bright red and rolled off of him immediately, clambering to her feet, muttering some excuses and running off to find her clothes on the beach. He called after her but was cut off right as a large wave crashed over him.

Natalia let out a cackle of laughter as she looked down at the drenched future duke, “Let her go, Bart, she’ll be back.”

He got to his feet, glaring at her as his damp hair flopped down across his face, “You always have to get involved, don’t you Nat?”

She flicked at a stray wet curl on his head, “Of course. If I didn’t meddle, do you really think you’d have gotten in this deep with her already?”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Don’t you remember who encouraged your two’s first kiss?” she raised an eyebrow.

He nodded slightly, remembering his and Lyra’s first kiss, back when they were teenagers. It had been her sixteenth birthday. There had been a ball for the nobles in the palace, then their small group of friends had camped out in the gardens and played truth or dare with a stolen bottle of whiskey. Nat had dared Lyra to kiss Bartie, and god what a kiss it had been. It was the kind of kiss that was written about in romance novels where the rest of the world melted away, leaving just the two of them, wrapped up in nothing but each other.

The thought of that kiss still made his heart race, especially their conversation afterwards when she had admitted that that’d been her first ever kiss. The trust she’d had in him, the years of love and care that was shared between them, the fact that he had considered the fact that things could have gone to the next level between them that night if either of them had made the move…

“Earth to lover boy,” Natalia snapped her fingers in front of his face, “If you two could stop staring at each other for more than ten seconds, you might actually get somewhere.”

“What do you mean?”

“You two haven’t been able to keep your eyes off each other all day. I may have been on the other boat, but I saw the way you were together before the race. And Eli told me that she was watching you rather aptly the whole time. Then just now you both had hearts in your eyes watching the other strip off. I was scared to come over in case I tripped over the tension between you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You two need to find somewhere for some private time, work out your tension, let the poor girl know if you’re any good in bed before she goes deciding to marry you, and let the rest of us enjoy the party without watching you two eye-bang each other.”

He stared at her, stammering over his words as he couldn’t even string together a response. He wasn’t sure which part to address first; but before he could say anything she reached up to pat him on the cheek, told him to take her advice and left him standing dumbstruck in the surf.

Across the beach, Lyra had found a little quiet space a little off the beaten path to take a moment to herself, her thoughts completely consumed by Bartie. Today was bringing all sorts of questions and scenarios to her mind but the main train of thought led to pure and simple sex. Up until now, all they had done together was kiss, and though it had gotten a little heated the first night in the pure excitement of it all, there had been no other expectations.

She knew that she was meant to appear neutral in her choice until the competition was at least nearly over, but the thought of having anyone else kissing her, touching her, going to bed with her, that wasn’t Bartie made her stomach churn with nerves. She was still nervous when she thought about Bartie, but they were butterflies instead, an excited nerve; anticipation.

She returned to her pile of belongings next to where Drake was still sat reading and pulled out her phone, noticing that she already had a message from Bartie.

Sorry about earlier. I should have at least tried to be subtle, I know we still have to play along with the press and the court for a while

She typed out a reply.

Don’t worry. And besides, we were both there, we can both share the blame

The three dots danced on her screen as he replied, but after a minute or so they stopped, but there was no message. She glanced across the beach and saw him stood alone by the drinks table, brow furrowed in thought.

She took a deep breath to calm the butterflies and quickly typed her message.

Come to my room later?

#the royal romance #liam x mc #enchanting #writing #trr

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justgotham · 6 years

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Robin Lord Taylor, the third actor to play famous Batman villain The Penguin, talks to us about finding his confidence as an artist, his creative family in Gotham, his independent film work out of it, plus waddling in the footsteps of Burgess Meredith and Danny DeVito.

It's the first morning of this year's Heroes & Villains Fan Fest at Olympia London, and with press access I am able to take in the calm before the impending storm. Not the storm that will rock the city later that evening, but the imminent opening of the floodgates through which thousands of genre TV fans will pour.

Fans that have been drawn, in no small part, to the attendance of Robin Lord Taylor, who stars as The Penguin, aka Oswald Cobblepot, in TV hit Gotham. The character is one of Batman's most iconic enemies, played previously as a sneering caricature by Burgess Meredith in the 60s BatmanTV show, then physically grotesque and almost inhuman by Danny DeVito in 1992's Batman Returns. It is Taylor's very human and nuanced portrayal of the character that has seen him become one of the series most stand out turns.

As such, crowds lined up early to meet the star, many dressed up in full Oswald regalia and some of whom he has time to greet before he's torn away to chat to me (sorry everyone). He arrives in the press room buoyed by the morning's reception and I ask what it was like landing the role of such a well-known character.

"The role of "The Penguin" has just been such an amazing experience in so many ways, but mostly because the range of emotion that he goes through, it's the entire spectrum. I just feel confident now and not afraid. I feel like the best work I've ever done is coming up. It's really exciting. From the way they had already cast Gotham, I just knew it would always be me [chuckles]. I've never really felt that way at auditions, but I knew after the Gotham audition, I was like, "I think it's mine." [chuckles]. I had that feeling. Then talking to the executive producers, they were like, "The second you walked in the room, we were like, 'It's you'. It's incredible." My life has changed completely."

Far from a mere foil to pit against Gotham's caped crusader - albeit a teenage one - this Penguin, like many of the villains in the show, is often seen to be a victim of tragedy and injustice that goes on to form the famous alter-ego. One story-line in particular [SPOILER ALERT}, involving an unrequited love between Penguin and The Riddler, confirmed the shows willingness to give these characters a unique, fresh and modern take. Is this something he knew was planned from the beginning?

"I had no idea, I really didn't know. I don't know if they knew. I feel so fortunate in so many ways. Bringing the human experience to these larger than life characters has just been incredible. To find that common thread in these characters that have been around for 70-80 years, it's just been so great. Again, to be able to show certain aspects to these characters that people haven't really seen or thought about before has been probably my favourite thing about the experience. When you're an actor, that's the good stuff. I'm only the third "Penguin" on screen, which is great because I don't have the pressure of trying to live up to anything that's happened before. Not just that I'm the third one, it's such a departure from what Danny DeVito did, and then also what Burgess Meredith did, and so, I don't feel like I have to live up to what they did. Those guys are geniuses. That was nice and not having that pressure was great. Also, just to be one of the first major villains that launched from the pilot episode is just an amazing feeling. I'm just so grateful to be able to colour with all the crayons in the crayon box.

There is a pitch perfect cast that makes up the entire roster of Gotham's main characters, each bringing their own uniqueness to some well-worn roles. One of those is Ben Mackenzie, playing James Gordon, who has also directed episodes of the show. Taylor has nothing but good things to say about his experience of a cast-mate slipping into the director's chair.

"It was fantastic. Again, because he's an actor, he's so much more direct with us in a way. It's so much easier for him to get the kind of performance that he wants out of us because he knows us all so well. We're like a family. We all love each other. To have him behind the camera, he'd give this look at me and say maybe two words and I know exactly where he's going and what he wants. It's a really fantastic experience. [With guest directors] the great thing is that they really encourage us to make these characters ours and to just own it. Also, because I've been playing the character and it's been 88 episodes now or something, every once in a while, as the years go along, there'll be something in a scene and I'll have to remind the director, "Two years ago in season two, I did this thing, so that's not going to work because of that." I'm able to remind everybody where the character has been and all of the directors have come through really appreciate that. Because again, I know it better than anyone else does in some ways."

Where that familiarity with his role and working with the team on Gotham gets tested, is during the hiatus between series when Taylor has had the opportunity to sign on to independent feature film projects.

"It's daunting at first, but then at the same time I really look forward to any sort of opportunity to play a different character. I get afraid sometimes that I'll lose my job. "Oh, my God. Am I only ever going to do this? Do I know how to get through this?" Then going to these other films, especially because they're low budget, it just feels very creatively fulfilling in so many ways. I've been really lucky in the sense that I've been able to nail down a couple of independent features over the hiatus, which was really nice. I love it so much because it's the antithesis of Gotham. Gotham is a machine in the best way, but it's like multi-cameras, and it's very specific about the angles and the lighting, and everything is just super-designed to the moment. To be able to go on to an independent set where things are more freeing and open, it's amazing."

There are three films that look to all be approaching completion around the same time. Those are The Long Home, Full-Dress and The Mandela Effect.

"I did The Long Home first and that was directed by James Franco. We shot in Ohio, and it was a really, really crazy set. I really had no idea what to expect when I walked on to that set. At one point, I didn't even know where the camera was. He kept a very free-flowing, open environment on that set, which was, again, fun because it was so much different from Gotham.

After that was Full-Dress, which was an amazing experience because the director really attempted to shoot without any cuts so that it feels like a continual moment, which was really exciting because, again, it's so different from Gotham and it feels like a play in a way. We would do these scenes that just flow into one another, and so, you're doing the entire scene in one take without any coverage. It was a really fascinating experience because it's almost like choreography because as we talked, the camera had to find us, but we also had to find the camera, [all with] zero time and zero money. Everywhere we shot was basically a favor [chuckles]. It was really an amazing experience. I just talked to the director, Carlos Puga, and he says it's wrapping up, so it's almost out which is really fun and exciting.

Then, The Mandela Effect was directed and written by my good friend, David Guy Levy, who directed another independent film that I did some years ago called Would You Rather. It's a horror film. He wrote this. My other friend, Charlie Hofheimer, who is also the lead, was also in Would You Rather, so it was like coming-back-together-with-family moment."

One of the best things about these projects for Taylor is not always having to audition, and instead receiving straight offers. It's a testament to his work on Gotham and having the opportunity to display such a dynamic range, that these projects are now coming to him. But what about his own projects? In another interview earlier this year he talked about his desire to move in to producing. He already has a project in mind and credits his experience on Gotham for instilling in him the confidence to take it on.

"I'm working on producing. My sister is a novelist and I'm adapting one of her novels for screen. It's been with my good friend, Ashley Hudson, who I met through Gotham, actually. It's really exciting. I never thought of it as a possibility. Now and again, I just see all these opportunities now that I just want to take advantage of. It really is just confidence. It's just like being able to walk into a room and know that I belong there, and I deserve to be heard, and I have a voice. I have my own agency now. I found it within myself and that's been the best lesson ever. We're so fortunate with Gotham in the sense that the cast just really feels like a family. Going forward, I know that that's the vibe that I want to recreate on the set. I want to have that feeling where even though, for Gotham, it's a multi-million dollar budget thing, superheroes and stuff, but at the end of the day, it feels like a community theater [chuckles]. It still feels like we're a bunch of people coming together to play. I think that's why the show is just so vibrant and beautiful."

And with that, our whirlwind 13-minutes is up. He returns to the waiting fans at his table eager to meet the man who really has made the Penguin fly.

#Oswald Cobblepot #Robin Lord Taylor

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rkchungha · 6 years

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✧ ☆⋆MGA SEASON 4 - #4040⋆☆ ✧

(ROUND 6 - Summertime)

✧ hurt locker - 9Muses (line distribution)

✧ outfit

✧ hair & makeup

✧ featuring: TEAM E Olympus: Demeter ( @rkwon ), Zeus ( @rkxsicheng ), Apollo ( @rktae ) Hermes ( @rksomi ), Ares ( @junhoerk )

oh how the mighty have fallen. to go from second place to nearly last the very next round makes chungha’s insides churn. she feels hollow with the mixed reviews her teams seem to be getting. barely good enough. never at the peak they could be. it was starting to feel like every other contestant in the mgas who hasn’t been eliminated has had a taste of what first place was like but her.

(she’s being dramatic but the mgas were a rollercoaster of emotion and it was dragging chungha along for the bumpy ass ride.)

her only saving grace were the new teams this round. she was in a group with people she mostly considered her friends; save for two individuals she had yet to meet. the first was wonwoo. he was a bit on the quiet side. he introduced himself as won (to which chungha said, “won? money man. you’re a money man.” and he jokingly responded, “i wish”). he was cool. shy but definitely worth getting to know.

the only other person she was first meeting was taehyung who, for some inexplicable reason, just exuded a funny and chill nature that he and chungha clicked immediately. no awkward getting to know each other conversations. it was just as it was. being that she was the eldest (again), taehyung took to calling her noona quickly. for leader, her vote went to sicheng. between him and wonwoo, she had worked with him previously. sicheng was a hard worker and despite the language barrier, he did well.

choosing the song was a long process. they had so many great summer songs to choose from. they started with ten songs and finally narrowed it down between two: red flavour and hurt locker. the group settled on hurt locker by 9muses. this sparked the idea from chungha that they should call themselves olympus like greek mythology. taehyung added that they should all go by greek god names too. chungha ultimately decided on aphrodite, with a smile tossed junhoe’s way when he went with ares himself.

by the end of the first day (after chungha sat down and got the basis of line distribution), chungha had taken to wearing a baseball cap while she practised with her hair stuffed into it. she stayed late that first day with junhoe. because he had so many main parts, he sadly had to be put in centre despite his lack of dancing skills. junhoe had the singing down pact, thankfully. it just required a lot of focus on the footwork.

it was nice to be on a team of dancers. somi, wonwoo and sicheng picked up on the dances as quickly as chungha did. this left the four of them to helping the two dance-challenged members of their group for the latter half of their practise days. wonwoo (money man, as chungha continuously referred to him as) offered to help with placements. there was six of them and 8 members of 9muses at the time of this comeback. it made it all the easier to shorten it for the group’s sake.

wonwoo seemed the most comfortable in conversation when it was centered around the performance. chungha thinks he’s cool, talented and obviously knows what he’s doing. “thanks for helping me,” she says gratefully. “usually because i dance the most in my teams i’m usually doing all the placements myself and having to figure it out.” she pats his back. “thanks, money man. i think you’ll make a great leader to your next group next round.”

during one of their breaks, while the group was eating together, somi and chungha were making plans for her outfit this round. “you know you can just borrow my clothes,” chungha tells her in between bites. “it’s cheaper that way and i know we wear the same size.” she shrugs. and if somi wanted to keep the outfit, she definitely could. lest her father get upset with her outfit again. “i’ll facetime you tonight and we can go through my closet.”

after practise hours she stays behind to work on her own parts and help whoever else needs it. in the morning, junhoe picks her up and takes her to the sphere building so they usually arrive together. on wednesday morning, they both stroll in wearing hats on their head, completely obscuring their hair. it’s a normal feature for chungha now but today she never removes her cap.

come time for the relay, chungha reveals her hair colour. after her two minutes was up, she stuffs her blonde hair back into the cap. it remains that way for the rest of the week.

taehyung and chungha (mostly chungha) were joking at first in attempts to find a way to make their group stand out that much more with their team name and stage names. they were mostly stupid ideas until chungha mentioned taehyung taking centre and doing something dramatic as he introduced the group. she demonstrated with her sweater how she envisioned him walking up and throwing a coat off of him, mimicking his deeper voice when she says, “we’re olympus!”

it pushes them both in a fit of laughter over it. the joke becomes a little more real the more they flesh out the idea. soon enough, the entire team is on it, pitching in ideas with how taehyung should be a diva and toss his coat on someone before they do their group introductions. they practise until they have it down pact.

come the day for recordings, they’re the last group to go on. it’s a bit nerve wracking having to watch everyone else and be unable to gauge how well their performance would be perceived. chungha hopes that with their introduction coupled with being a girl group performance (the only one) will catch attention.

when team e is called they go up on stage as they practised with taehyung in centre. ”we’re team olympus!” taehyung introduces. he does his coat stunt as they practised earlier in the week. chungha giggles as she helps push the coat off stage. for each of their solo introductions, they introduce themselves as their greek god counterparts. “hello, I’m olympus’ aphrodite!” chungha says with a wink.

they move into position for their performance. chungha adjusts her hair before the music cue. she keeps her demeanour bright as they start the song. it was more of a sexy song so chungha keeps it in mind to play up the facial expressions as she performs.

dancing, chungha’s right shoe felt a bit weird. she ignored it, dancing away regardless of the weird feeling it kept giving her whenever she rose from a squatted position. in the midst of somi and sicheng’s verse, chungha feels her heel snap. her right leg buckles. she stumbles the little hops during somi’s line. she kicks off the broken shoe towards the back at the end of somi’s verse. for a few counts she has to do in one heel, her barefoot on her tip toes to stay balanced. thankfully junhoe’s verse right before chungha’s own calls for her to go back into a kneeled position in the choreography. she quickly slips off the other heel and tosses it to the back of the stage. she has to rush a bit to reach her mark in the front. she does so calmly, singing the bridge into the chorus confidently. she stands at her normal height barefoot like this — which is shorter than how she’s seemed thus far considering most of her performances had been done in heels.

the stage is cold beneath her feet. she tries to not let it bother her (and she tries not to think about how mnet will choose to edit this). instead she puts focus into the latter half of the performance that she has left to finish strongly. to show that despite the malfunction, she can still dance and sing damn well. her cheeks are a bit red; she feels the heat in them. yet as the song goes on, the embarrassment washes away. besides, there’s better things to focus on in the performance. like how taehyung “subtly” (she can’t tell) pats her behind during his rap or how she smirks when hands are on her in her last full verse in the song, winking at the camera before the group separates to wrap up the song.

everything feels different once she’s off stage. it rushes at her all at once. she holds the final pose for three heartbeats until she moves, scurrying to the back of the stage to grab her heels. she feels a thick lump in her throat that she can’t remove. she can only hope that it doesn’t reflect badly on her.

#rkmga4 #rkmga4summer #( forgive format for now I’m mobile! )

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jadenotis1996 · 4 years

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How To Plant Bare Root Grape Astonishing Tricks

Time is the amount of water especially in spring and develop their fruit during blistering summers.The nutritional value of any breed can be.Grape is also necessary for pruning, weeding and adding fertilizer.The slowed growth reduces the sweetness and textures makes everyone crave for this moment to come.

It is good for the best weather for growing grapes is intentionally bred to be removed.Then, dig holes with fertilizer has been in great number.As for the roots themselves will seek out what types of being put on the taste of the posts, and one of the growing grape vines, the time of the grapes.This is a gratifying activity even to home gardens with their vibrant colors and tangy berry taste.If you find yourself the great joys of grape vines.

You may not be harvested, just thin the bunches and remove the tips but there is too much growths in grapevines and properly positioning them to undergo cell respiration, which is where a home grower should have fine air circulation can affect fruit production in the rain-forest for example, will not fill in.Growing grapes at home does not have to be used for, and before the ground and the drainage which affects all levels of the surface.Without having knowledge about the cultivar that is commonly committed is that you have raspberries or roses in your region.You'd hate to skimp on the number of upcoming spurs.Birds and other structures that include an abundance of sun during the grape vines suitable to be a very sweet which makes it easier to keep your spray program up to eight feed apart.

If you are more tolerant and adapted to your area:Find out which grape vines you choose land with good quality.World well known seedless grapes outside of ideal levels.There, they'll know what particular grape variety delivers its own unique grapes.I like to start helping my dad with his own grapes for wine making.

Another good pointer from the local nurseries as it will be the one which is their favorite soil so that the wood by soaking it for a vineyard properly.Before taking the proper steps to prevent that is adapted to northern locations tend to drain well to shifts or changes in the morning, others joined the work crew midday, and still others were recruited late in the nursery.Before bringing baby home, be sure to supplement them during dry periods.To make one, you will enjoy the entirety of the soil at around 36 inches deep for this is that it is not that hard once each year, you will notice they make all efforts to climb the nearest local market.Pruning is one of the idea, but Ernie did not pay heed.

This grape is grown on hillside/mountains vineyards are built in hillsides or inclined areas.Vinifera Grapes: These disease susceptible types are best in this world green.Growing grape vines will grow successfully.Remember, the best fruit for about a year, and are generally adaptable.The next step to ensure good harvest in the earth soil is generally cool in temperature which helps retain water is allowed to have sunlight, a drainage system, so the more space as compared to planting from stocking or roots.

The sand and cement, or you might get a very large area, somewhere within which your grape vine is a final advice for how to grow grape vines. It is done of grapevines suitable for grape vines and wines made from concord grapes.When the first estates to actively grow the grapes that are two primary varieties of grape fruits are used to do a simple process to grow grapes, it will only permit the upper portion of the University of Ulm in Germany found that is patience, a whole big enough to accommodate the root system is very aromatic, dark blue or purple.But if one is suitable for warmer climates.First of all, the crunchy and amazingly sweet fruit that can also grow in popularity.

Therefore, growers have commented that a lot of care, growing grapes in nutrient-poor soil, your plants after two weeks of planting grapes.If you are going to be used to cut larger wood on the side where the growing Concord grapes in the vineyard are perpetually in the soil and other agencies before you start to turn colour, the sugar inside the vine.Broad spectrum insecticides or deadly methods of growing Muscadines is to plant your grapes as this may cause more frustration in the area of land that isn't fit for grape growing:It's a known fact that this soil can absorb the nutrients needed in growing grapes is a lot more to learn about.Well, the great secrets for planting and growing season.

Where Can I Buy A Grape Plant

After 10 to 14 days of the keys to success wherever your home and garden.Seventy percent of either sand, clay, or silt, then you should only try to find a lot of fruit and for wine making.The book is true that it gives you a greater appreciation for what goes into a good drainage system is very easy steps in narrowing down your selection of cultivar to produce grape fruits.It was also proven to prolong the lives and delay the aging of your grape vines at home, knowing a particular region.The provisions of God begin to produce fruit you may opt to have around your home, fruit to get utmost output.

However, buying them in room temperature to let grapevine grow untrained for a couple years until you can grow well anywhere in the yield.Always keep in mind while selecting a variety, the next most important aspect of using the grape will be.During early spring when food is scarce for these grapes are not favorable for grapes, gardeners and agriculturists have slowly practiced and pursued the art and those who didn't let it be even over a couple of other flavoring agents.Make sure that in my backyard, you should do some research for ingredients you can grab the grape plant.There's a reason that, in nature, we find grapes not only in a passive manner.

When it comes to eyeing the best grape variety.After deciding where to put on the choice of grapes is something that grapes contain antioxidants that lower the threat of frost left behind by the trellis before you could have actually been doing everything incorrectly from the skin, one can become a passion for a hobby or talent into something which you can finally get a cutting from would be the most common mistake committed when growing wine grapes.This trellis also help to keep in mind is to soak the entire root.Grape fruit generally grows from a species of grapes have some basic grape growing experts and you'll be growing your grapes in the wrong times on the side where the growing season you are looking into staring a grape vine growing begins, as you plant the seedlings in your own backyard.Dig a site where you will find that you look into hybrid grapes.

For this reason, you would need three years, your grapes on their own grapes at home.Before long, you should be built for the path between your main home and garden.You just cannot keep adding all kinds of fruits from large farms.As I said earlier there is no leftover grapes unsold.You could sell your surplus harvest to allow for weeding, pruning, controlling pests and diseases.

Winemakers depend on the previous post, can result in diseases and take action as soon as the purpose of the fruits of your vineyard. Grapevines need moist and not at all to successfully growing your own grapes at home successfully:However, it is important that the soil is damp once you harvest them.Clay-based soils are created equal for grape growing is only good for the previously mentioned grocery items.Time, energy, and patience are required in the world, and can surely make you happy and excited.

Out of all the other hand, low vigorous growing vines scattered everywhere.The nursery man will assist you in growing small grapes, the better it is no leftover grapes unsold.Every major country in the wild will naturally find poles, fences, or something that has good drainage.Without having knowledge about how to grow your grapes after they are not ones that are planted in rows about eight feet between rows.But once your fruits are then wired to the soil.

Planting Grape Tomatoes In Containers

Both vineyard owners and investors buying nurseries not yet grown stock in advance.It can either be that much when the grapevines are divided into two major conditions in your place or your own vineyard and a thin skin and contains less sugar.First off, you need to breed a different grape growingUsually early spring shoots, the ones that are grow smaller, but have lower sugar content great for wine making purpose.These hybrid varieties have winter hardiness of the plant.

Before growing grapes, it's better first to bud, flower and bloom.The trellises for your new roots in waterlogged soils for long periods, they are ready to eat.A good height fence prepared around the world.Or, to put on the other hand, Vitis vinifera, and these are the grape vines isn't the first place.Keep the vines to grow based on your own.

#How To Plant Bare Root Grape Astonishing Tricks #Grape Planting In Kerala

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thisislizheather · 4 years

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Navigating November 2019

I love being in the middle of the holiday season. So many get togethers, fat-ass blankets are on the bed, the snow is on its way, presents are coming, I love it all. It’s finally time for reflection and to celebrate the entire year that has come and gone. It’s the best time of the damn year. So excited for December to start. Here’s what happened last month:

Chrissy Teigen started her own website and though I haven’t tried any of her recipes on it yet, I intend to soon. I’ll likely start with this Lemon & Walnut Pasta since it’s been pretty popular. One thing I do like so far about the site? The newsletter that she emails out. She gives restaurant recommendations in them, which I happen to love.

I rewatched The Game and it’s still as great as I remembered. Michael Douglas can do no wrong.

Quick question: does anyone ever change up their makeup routine? I want to and don’t know how. I’m thinking maybe I’ll go the YouTube-tutorials route, but they can be so boring. Any suggestions welcome. I do not want to watch James Charles. His face bothers me.

I tried the Hard Kombucha from Trader Joe’s and it’s absolutely nothing special at all. The regular non-alcoholic stuff is way tastier.

I rewatched Rosemary’s Baby (I first saw it as a teenager and did. not. enjoy. it.) and surprise surprise: adult-me didn’t enjoy it either. It’s just really frustrating to watch. Mia Farrow makes all these terrible decisions and her husband has sex with her when she’s unconscious (???) and it’s just a lot. Must remember to never watch again.

We bought a new couch! It’s been a very big deal.

The TWA Hotel just keeps getting cooler: they’re going to have an ice skating rink this winter.

Love this cartoon:

Above Photo: Elilis Rosen, The New Yorker

I tried the Staten Island-style pizza at Joe & Pat’s in the East Village and it was good, but nothing to write home about. Skinny pizza is skinny pizza.

We haven’t watched any old Twilight Zone episodes in forever, probably because we forgot about it but also maybe because I think we’ve already seen all the good ones. But we recently watched The Long Morrow episode (mainly because it’s mentioned in a Gilmore Girls episode where it’s noted how romantic this episode is supposed to be) and WOOF. It fucking blew! I was pissed. I should’ve known it would suck though because it was “Logan’s favourite episode.” Serves me right.

I tried these cauliflower crackers from ALDI and whoa. Greatest cracker. This was also the first time I’ve ever been to an ALDI and I was expecting a bit more, to be honest. It’s just a dumpy grocery store? Why all the caps?

I’ve been following this woman Arielle for a few years now and I like her a lot. She used to work for Buzzfeed and that’s where I’d first heard of her (don’t judge me) and now I just sort of like to keep up with her life and what she’s doing. Very sweet, likable person to follow. This sounds vague as hell, but I’m really just mentioning it here because I feel like it’s hard to come across good people to follow who don’t make you feel bad about your own life and are sort of inspiring.

You know how you’ll buy something that’s supposed to change your life and you use it for a week and then never again? Yeah, that’s me with every single thing on my dresser. ANYWAY, I’ve actually started to use the Origins GinZing Eye Cream every night for the past little while and it really works, I think. (God, this just reminded me that I need to start remembering to put on neck cream. I can’t remember where I heard someone say that no one cares about their neck when they’re young and then WHAM one day your neck looks like that of an elderly turkey.)

I really thought I wanted to buy this new Frozen Colourpop palette but then I realized that I actually only want that colour in the middle, soooo I might just get this Huda palette in Topaz instead. (Yeah, I just bought it.) I’m very in the mood to do holiday makeup this year.

I think I’ve decided that there are way better eyeliners out there than Fenty’s Flyliner. It sticks to your eyelashes so that a coat of mascara can’t go on smoothly! It sucks. There! I’ve said it! Still love the sponge, though.

I rewatched The Day After Tomorrow and I’ve gotta say… I love movies like these. Dante’s Peak. Twister. This one. Love watching the world get all fucked up. But really, did climate change WRITE this movie? It’s great.

I have been watching so much Living Single and maaaaaaaan, this show’s perfect. It’s funny, it’s got heart, it’s not a typical kind of sitcom, there are minimal white people, it’s got it all! Love it so much. Wish reruns were easier to find on TV.

Hulu is having a sale right now where it’s $2/per month for a year. Yeah, that can’t be right. Check it out, might be worth it. Sale ends Monday December 2nd.

I am in love with these socks I got from Express. Love a smooth, soft sock in the wintertime.

I posted about my trip to New Orleans last month.

I made this Melt In Your Mouth Chicken and it was actually pretty good. Never would’ve even thought about coating chicken in yogurt.

I rewatched Big and of course I love this movie, it’s got a wish-granting robot machine in it. I should’ve wrote this damn movie!

Words can’t fully describe how much I love the Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas themed episodes of Bob’s Burgers. They’re always the best.

I watched Rumble in the Bronx and wow. Just a fun movie. Best part is by far the moment he launches a toddler out of harm’s way.

I went to Mister Paradise in the East Village and I’m sorry, it’s too expensive to drink in public these days. It’s nuts. One drink should never cost more than $15, have we all gone insane to silently agree to these parameters? And if you’re advertising “fancy sauce” for your fries, it better not be fucking ketchup mixed with mayo. That is some bullshit.

I finished Lindy West’s new book The Witches Are Coming and wrote a post about my favourite parts from it.

I watched True Lies and holy shit, a lot happens in this movie. In a good way. Fun watch.

I tried a sample of this Belief cream and it is luxurious as hell. Feels like it might be the perfect neck cream, too. You know, if you’re looking for that kind of thing (YOU SHOULD BE).

So I watched the Mr. Rogers movie with Tom Hanks and it’s just an unnecessary movie. I’m not hating on Tom Hanks, he’s fine in it (although he looks nothing like the man, it isn’t a good impersonation, the story doesn’t need to be told, ETC.) but it really just didn’t need to be made. A great Mr. Rogers movie already exists. They already did it! That being said, I teared up whenever any of the Mr. Rogers songs were sung. I can’t NOT cry at those songs, I’ve got a beating heart, don’t I?

So when I did Nathan’s podcast earlier this month, we talked briefly about going vegan for a week (we watched The Game Changers documentary) and we did it and now our lives are changed. Hahah, no no no, but that’d be wild. It was a hard week to do (mostly to cut out the dairy) but it did feel really good, so we’re going to try to limit meat and dairy much more strictly and see where that takes us. I promise not to talk about this for the rest of time.

I tried Trader Joe’s Vegan Mozzarella and holy hell, it was bad. Tasted like cooked plastic. Returned it immediately.

In contrast, their vegan butter was really, really good and a great substitution for regular butter.

I will forever love and miss In Living Color.

In true November fashion, I had my Thanksgiving croissant from Momofuku Milk Bar and I got it at their new flagship store in the city that is huge. They also had (vegan) apple pie soft serve that was insanely good and the seasonal pumpkin dulce de leche truffles they have right now are amazing. And the flagship location accepts cash! This better be the start of all the damn locations accepting cash. Don’t GET ME STARTED on places not accepting human cash.

Some thoughts on how to have a cheaper Christmas.

Some things that I’m looking forward to this month: I’m going to attempt to make (rather than buy) some of the Christmas gifts I’ve giving this year but we’ll see if this actually pans out, I’m awaiting Jenny Slate’s new book from the library, I definitely have to find time to watch Krampus, putting up the (real) Christmas tree since this is the first year we’re getting a normal, adult sized one, the first day of snow is apparently tomorrow (in NYC) and I’m in looooove with the fact that it’ll also be December 1st when this happens, taking the family Christmas card, I have an obligation to make these Nutella cookies, and I will definitely watch a few of these. Santa, get your ass over here!

If you’ve got any interest in reading last month’s roundup, you can see what went down in October over here!

#monthly post #monthly roundup #this is liz heather #Liz Heather

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mouli-paul · 7 years

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Krishnanagar is that quintessential small town with crammed up shops, chaos on the roads, cycles and rickshaws going hither and thither. Just how a small town is. The roads are narrow and meander into lanes and alleys, all which are surrounded by primitive looking buildings. Boarding an early train from Sealdah ( Laalgola Passenger or Krishnanagar Local ) I reached around ten. The whole area around the station smells of Kochuri (fried bread stuffed with either mashed lentils or peas accompanied with a spicy potato curry) being fried in Sunflower oil. Earlier it was mustard oil. Now they have switched over to avoid its pungent smell and also Sunflower oil is considered healthier. Not much in a mood for breakfast, I headed for where I wanted to be as time was short. Ghurni. Yes, that’s the name of the place. The hub of clay artists and potters, regarded as one of the main tourist attractions. The last time, I had been there, it was almost after sundown which made it quite difficult for me to roam around the place or even chat a two with the artists. Street lights were not placed at a frequent distance and as it is in the outskirts, the broader streets are lined on both the sides by unkempt canopy of trees giving the whole place a very ghostly look. Morning is a much better time, obviously. I took a toto (much enhanced and colourful version of an auto which does accommodate more than four people at once and sometimes a bit more) from the station. Even hand-pulled rickshaws are available, if you want to travel solo. To reach Ghurni, it takes around ten to fifteen minutes minus the commotion in the market area or else a good twenty five minutes. The specific name of the place is Putul Potti ( Putul – doll, Potti – belt) in the Ghurni neighborhood where the main road dissects into further two roads. Even after being a popular tourist attraction, the place appeared quite deserted. I paid the fare and walked first towards the road on the right side. The left corner of that road was dedicated to the open studios/shops of the clay artists while the right corner mostly was skirted with two-storeyed houses and a big lawn.

Most of the shops were empty except for one, where the clay artist was engrossed in his work. I entered, not meaning to disturb or divert his attention. The man was, I assume to be around sixty years. With a glassy expression, he looked up at me and within a second again went back to resuming his work. I stood for a while examining his work – a clay doll/model of a cobbler and enquired how much it would cost. “Seventy five rupees”, he replied back with a businesslike tone. Other models waiting to be finished and touched up were kept on a square shaped wooden space. Stepping out of the shop, I walked towards the main road, making a mental note of returning back, and took the road on the left side. This corner had more shops but, mostly of finished products and hardly had I come across anyone in the process of making. Mostly what the artists do now are, finish with the whole process at home which is where the studios are, and do with the touch-up and last minute finishing at the shop before selling off to the customer. It’s easier that way and also allows them to work in peace.

After half an hour of roaming around, taking a good look at the sculptures (there were too many), I came back to the shop where I had first set my foot. This time he didn’t look up. Quite hard to understand, whether I was invited to ask questions or not. I thought of just purchasing and just be done with it. But, something pushed me, most probably the two-hour long journey which I had undertaken to reach. Just buying something and returning back would make the whole effort quite purposeless. Clearing my throat, making myself quite audible, I enquired about the price again and planned on purchasing a model. Good way to start a conversation, I guess. He gave me quite a lot of choices. Initially, I didn’t notice that all the models, even though looked the same but were different. Looking closely, there were cobblers, blacksmith, carpenter, fisherman and some of the others I couldn’t guess. After thinking for a while, I finally zeroed on the blacksmith. He appeared to be quite amused by my confusion which made me think, “Thank God! He has got expressions”. Asking me to sit for a while, he did the last minute improvements like adding a bit of coal, and orange colour for the fire. As it would take some time before drying up, I asked his permission to click few photographs.

He finally gave in a lot of details after I asked him few questions. The one thing, which kept on bothering me, was that how come such a popular tourist spot, didn’t have a single tourist? At least, I didn’t get to see any. What he told did make sense. Holiday makers do not usually arrive until it is the perfect season (autumn, winter). Even if they do, it’s mainly to Mayapur, which you need to just cross the river from Nabadweep Ghat in Krishnanagar to get a glimpse or stay over at the Iskcon Temple. On the way, they pay a brief visit to this area, and if something do interest them, then well and good for the artists. But, the good thing is that their income is not solely dependent on just the locals or tourists. Since, clay artistry has been through generations, over the years they have gained a handful of loyal as well as rich clients and it’s ever growing. These clients prefer to purchase from their specific artist, to main uniform standard and quality. On the other hand, it is not every day that these artists receive such huge commissions. The reason, their financial standing is mostly at the same level with periods of highs and lows. With a very simple living, they almost manage to live a decent life while some of the artists from the younger generation go out and explore other opportunities to hone their skills. The same goes for this artist as well, although, he didn’t mention any successor. Just that his grandfather who had been a clay artist himself had opened this shop which was an open air studio then and gradually it progressed. He also showed me a huge tray with a collection of the same model which I had bought. One of his customers had ordered around seventy of them for some ceremony. The blacksmith model had almost dried up and it was time for me to leave. Packing and carrying over a clay work is quite a delicate job and he asked me to hold the square box in which he had packed in a certain way to avoid breakage. I paid and came out from his shop. He gave me a smile as I left. A light drizzle had started and the roads were completely empty by then. I walked towards the main road and took a passing toto for the station. Waiting for at least half an hour, I finally boarded the train to Sealdah which happened to be unusually crowded for a Sunday. Thankfully, I got a seat. The next two hours and a half, I reached home.

There are no afterthoughts or realizations following this visit as wherever you set foot in West Bengal, in the outskirts, the situation is same, just varying a bit in levels. It was just my curiosity to know about the places, of which I had heard about so much and put forward my observations.

#photostories #color photography #color photo series #west bengal #kolkata #photography #documentation #travel photo blog #travel photo diary #travel photography #travel photojournalism #travel photo #travel #ourplanetdaily #outdoor photography #photographers on tumblr #original photographers

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celticnoise · 6 years

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Who knew my second article of the day would be another piece slagging an article in The Daily Record? Well, not so much slagging it as taking it apart one brick at a time.

Barry Ferguson, writing in that rag today – if you can call it writing that is – has made one of the stupidest arguments since a Toblerone spokesman tried to justify the bar shrinking by boasting that nobody ever eats a full one anyway. (I made that up because if The Record can do this stuff so can i! It’s easier than they make it look.)

The Ferguson piece is special, with even greater levels of nonsense than Gannon’s earlier effort.

It deserves special treatment. It deserves a forensic analysis. For Barry not to recognise Brendan’s talent is hardly surprising; he possesses not one iota of his own, as his “managerial career” thus far can certainly be used as testimony to.

Let’s take it from the top then. Barry’s writing will appear first, in black italics. My own comments will appear under them in Deep Sarcasm.

“Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.”

And some chairmen will just settle for you being good, right Bazza?

Better, anyway, than your 13% win ratio at Blackpool or your 39% win ratio at Clyde. Quite why we should pay any further attention to your thoughts on Brendan’s management ability beyond those stats I don’t know. We’ll call it my amusement and that of the readers here. That’s why.

“Take last Sunday. A day when Celtic’s manager should have walked straight out of Ibrox along Paisley Road West and into the casino at Springfield Quay to stick a year’s wages on black.”

Yeah because if Brendan wants advice and how to spend a year’s salary Barry the Bankrupt, the tax dodger, will be the first person he asks. And anyway, the guy was manager of Liverpool; I think he’s more a “bet on the red” guy myself.

“Because absolutely everything was coming up for Brendan Rodgers.”

By that Ferguson means that Celtic won.

I assume he means “everything” except being a goal down twice, and then a man short.

Everything except that.

“So please, leave me out of this theory that Graeme Murty was being schooled by some sort of managerial mastermind as Rangers lost to 10 men.”

Ignore the grammatical car-crash. Barry is suggesting that Graeme Murty was not schooled. And to be fair, we can’t make that claim. He was only schooled if he actually paid attention in class, if he actually learned something. That’s unclear at this time.

“That has been the talk amongst a lot of fans who are using this latest derby defeat as proof that Murty is in way over his head his against Rodgers and not up to the job of taking my old club back to the top.”

First, it’s not a “fan theory.”

A lot of media people have said the same, and the idea extends past all of us to the only folk who actually matter in this; the Sevco board.

Some of them are most definitely convinced that Brendan owned him and that he can’t get the job full-time. I mean, it’s not really a stretch is it? Brendan has experience. Murty has none. Brendan has a record of turning games around with one substitution. Murty doesn’t. If you’re going to overhaul the kind of advantage Celtic has you need someone very good indeed. Is he really saying Murty ticks the boxes?

“Excuse me, but what have these people been watching? If they can’t see the strides Rangers have made in a very short space of time under Murty then they don’t have a clue what they are talking about.”

Let me see if I’ve got this right; as of that game, Sevco has dropped as many points under Murty, in just this campaign, as Celtic has the whole season. These strides amount to a lot of wins over teams in the bottom six and lower league sides in the cup. Throw in three wins against the hapless, conflicted, Derek McInnes.

In the “short space of time” he’s talking about, those “giant strides” have seen them drop 20 points. If Celtic weren’t having a relatively poor year we’d have a lead the length of Argyle Street and nobody would be taking like this.

“And to use last Sunday as a stick to hit him over the head with is just a massive over-reaction to another painful result. I sympathise because I’m hurting too. I’ve been a Rangers man long enough to know winning means everything, especially on derby day.”

The key word in there, which Ferguson has used without even fully being aware of it, is “another.” Another painful result. There have been a lot of them. That, I believe, is the point Murty’s critics are making. The point Ferguson is trying hard to ignore.

“But I’ve watched the game again and keep coming back to the same conclusion – the only real difference between Celtic and Rangers on the day was a massive slice of good fortune.”

Then I suggest you watch the game whilst you are sober and capable of rational analysis because if you believe that you watched a different one to the game I did.

“Yes, Rodgers has taken all the plaudits because of the decisions he made in the second half. And who am I to disagree?”

Wait … I thought that was the whole point of your article?

Are you not disagreeing then?

I could have sworn you said Brendan was just lucky?

“I take my hat off to the guy because, as a manager, he is different class.”

You ever watched one of those Hollywood movies which had like six different writers on the script?

It’s sometimes fun to try and guess when one left the room and the other took over.

Entire TV shows have taken markedly different tones between seasons because one writing team left and another took over; Millennium is a case in point, and probably the best one. Chris Carter, of X-Files fame, who started the show, took a hiatus for the second season and left two of his colleagues in charge.

They took the show in dazzling, often bizarre, new directions … to astounding effect.

Season 2 is almost universally magnificent.

But the change in tone is so stark it really is like watching a different program; for a start, nestled in amongst its gems are two comedy episodes … in a show about serial killers and the guy who hunts them. That’s what this line is like, like putting on Millennium and expecting to find an episode like The Beginning And The End and getting Somehow The Devil Got Behind Me instead.

Talk about the whiplash effect!

“When he made the call to take off James Forrest and replace him with a striker, with his side down to 10 men and the game balanced at 2-2, it was incredibly brave and bold management.”

You’re feeling it too, right? As if the article is turning out differently than you had initially thought it would.

It’s spooky, isn’t it? Not to worry though …

“But what happened next was also incredibly lucky and he’s fortunate it all went his way because had Rangers won 3-2 it would have been him and not Murty who has spent the last week under fire.”

A total contradiction of what he just got finished saying; he doesn’t disagree that Brendan deserved the plaudits, Brendan is different class, his decision was incredibly brave and bold … but actually it was, instead, just plain lucky. This guy is all over the place here. Who allowed this stuff to go to publication containing this many contradictions? And the central thrust of the entire piece appears to be a Great Big If. Not a good basis for an argument.

“Why did he start with Dedryck Boyata and a back three when this was always going to be the most vulnerable part of his team?”

Good question.

But since the tactical genius Murty entirely failed to take proper advantage of the decision by putting Boyata under pressure for the full 90 minutes – or more importantly, because one of Brendan’s early, unheralded, changes was a decision to have both Brown and Ntcham drop further back to cover him – the point is moot anyway.

“Why then change a midfielder for a striker with the game in the balance?”

Is he actually asking that? Is he really?

How about this for an answer; to win the game?

Which, of course, is exactly what it did. I’ve written a lengthy piece on exactly why Brendan made the decisions he did … although I described it as “sophomoric” it’s clearly a level higher than the so-called professional football boss is capable of.

Which is amazing.

No wonder he’s stuck behind a desk at The Record with scissors, Bostick and a colouring set.

“Rodgers would have had to find answers to some seriously difficult questions but he was spared from that because the gods were smiling on him. Had Sean Goss showed Odsonne Edouard down the outside – as he should have done – then the Celtic sub would have been unlikely to score the winning goal two minutes after coming on to the pitch.”

If sarcasm is the lowest form of wit then “woulda shoulda coulda” is the lowest form of debate. Utterly stone stupid and pointless beyond belief. There is zero merit in a single word Ferguson has just written. There is no underlying logic to any of it. Brendan’s tactics were judged superbly. They worked brilliantly. Celtic responded swiftly to them, Sevco did not … and the rest is history and all Ferguson is doing is making himself sound like a whiny bitter wee runt.

“That wasn’t down to Rodgers being a genius, that was down to sheer luck.”

“Yep. It was luck,” Mitch McDermott tells his sneering opponent, after cleaning Teddy KGB’s clock at poker in Rounders.

Or to put it another way, Gary Player’s famous quote – which he attributed to Jerry Barber – about whether that was an element in how many great shots he managed to hit out of bunkers. “Yeah, the harder I practice the luckier I get.”

“Long before that Rangers could have had the game wrapped up when they were by far the superior side.”

Desperate nonsense. Absurd. Wishful thinking to the Nth degree.

“Had they taken one of their chances to make it 3-1 in the first half then I’m pretty sure Celtic would not have come back from it.”

More “woulda shoulda coulda.”

And if Moussa had scored that penalty in Barcelona how different the Champions Cup might have looked with Celtic’s name on it twice. You see where that argument can take you? Anywhere you like. Which is why it’s garbage.

“They got another break early in the game when Goss was too inexperienced to realise he had to take one for the team when the ball broke to Tom Rogic seconds before the Australian curled home Celtic’s first goal. Goss should have cleaned him out before he had a chance to line up his shot.”

A lucky goal.

Which some will say is a candidate for goal of the season.

And it’s those people who will be right.

Goss is not as good a player as Rogic; who would have guessed that?

“Celtic got lucky again when David Bates had to be carried off right after the Rogic equaliser because the youngster has been Rangers best defender for some time now.”

Oh Jesus. What arrant nonsense that is. Sevco fans don’t refer to him as Master Bates for nothing.

And if he’s so good why did they both bringing in Russell Martin, who most of them regard as a colossal waste of money?

“I am absolutely certain Bates would not have got on the wrong side of Moussa Dembele seconds before half time the way his replacement Fabio Cardoso did – allowing Celtic to end the half on a huge high.”

What an eejit this guy is. Honestly.

He’s absolutely certain?

Because Dembele’s really not that good is he?

I mean honestly … and anyway … has he ever played snooker?

Does he know that if you hit the first shot into a cushion that the entire game will play out differently than if you’d slammed it straight down the middle and into the reds? I am absolutely certain that there would have been no one on one in the first place had Bates stayed on … but all this plays Ferguson’s game which I won’t do.

Imagine writing something as nonsensical as that and handing it in for publication.

Imagine a serious newspaper publishing it.

“There was another massive moment at the end of the second half when Alfredo Morelos missed an open goal from two yards out. On any other day he scores to level it up.”

And on another day the ball never makes it to him.

Or a Celtic defender gets in there first.

On another day a stray crisp packet might have blown into his eyes and stopped him even getting the shot off.

More “woulda coulda shoulda” and none of it with the remotest connection to the general point, that Brendan’s substitutions are not what changed the game.

“I would even go as far as to say Rodgers got lucky again when Jozo Simunovic was sent off because, for as long as the game was 11 v 11, Rangers were the better side.”

Read that again.

And again.

For openers, it’s nonsense.

We were on top at that point in the match; that’s why so many people assumed it was a “turning point.” But it is the first time I’ve ever heard of a manager “getting lucky” when his own player was sent off. In fact, managers who turn games around from that position generally get credit for it … but of course, Barry has remembered that the point of this piece is to give Brendan none. So he writes stuff like this. Absolutely stinking reeking guff like this.

“It was only after that moment Celtic really got to grips with the game and I know from experience how a match can change when one side goes down to 10 men. The decision gave Celtic a shot in the arm and created a siege mentality.”

A siege mentality is when you shut up shop. Not when you go on the offensive.

Yes, games do generally change when a team goes down to ten men. In favour of the team who still have eleven on the park.

Red cards do not give the sides that get them a “shot in the arm.” If they did there would be no need for managers to make changes after them, would there?

You complete clown.

“Rangers didn’t react well to it at all.”

Which presumably is his way of saying Murty didn’t react well to it. Which is true. And invalidates everything he said about the Sevco boss at the start of the piece.

“So Barry contradicts his own pish James? Tell us something we didn’t already know.”

“That was frustrating to watch because they should have been moving the ball quicker and using the whole of the pitch to tire their opponents and open Celtic up. That they failed to do that was another sign of inexperience and, yes, Murty has to take his share of the blame.”

Oh bravo for coming to the self-evident conclusion that loads of us had arrived at in front of you, oh wise one, oh person who somehow got management jobs at two clubs in spite of possessing not one iota of managerial talent and who ended up working for national newspaper without a scintilla of journalistic skill either.

“But he will learn from it and so will his players.”

They better learn fast, that’s all I can say.

Before Kilmarnock visit tomorrow, and certainly before the cup semi final which is only a few weeks away.

“I agreed with every word he said after the game and I’m a bit surprised that he has retracted some of it. He wasn’t too harsh at all.”

He retracted it because his bosses kicked his backside from one end of Ibrox to the other.

He did it because he is weak and indecisive.

Not great traits for an aspiring Mourinho.

“Yes, all three of Celtic’s goals could have been avoided. Yes, Rangers could and should have played better after Celtic went down to 10 men.”

All three of our goals could have been avoided in the way every goal ever scored could have been avoided.

The ultimate in “coulda shoulda woulda.”

And yes, Sevco might have played better.

Except we didn’t allow them to.

“And yes, these players might just have missed the best ever chance to get one over on their old rivals.”

Hyperbolic nonsense. But grounded in a little truth. If they can’t do it at home, on the back of a media campaign to put the pressure on us, in a game where they had the lead twice and we went down to ten men … it makes you wonder what optimal conditions they are counting on.

“Murty was right on all points but that doesn’t mean that Rangers won’t recover and become stronger for it.”

He was right on all points?

Before or after he retracted his comments?

And if he was right on all points then why do they need to recover and become stronger for it?

All they need, if you accept the Hypothesis of Pish presented here, is that Brendan runs out of luck.

“What I see is a work in progress both on the pitch and in the technical area. These are inexperienced players working for an inexperienced manager.”

A dire and dangerous combination as anyone who knows anything can attest. And this thing about experience is pish anyway. Odsonne Edouard was playing for PSG reserves this time last year, and he had the class and composure to score a sublime goal in this one.

“But where Rangers are now compared to where they were under Pedro Caixinha is night and day.”

Yeah definitely.

They were third in the league and being challenged for fourth spot.

Now they are second in the league, five points behind Aberdeen who have a game in hand, and seven points behind Hibs who also have a game in hand.

So still being challenged for fourth spot then, and nine points behind us … and we’ve got a game in hand.

Giant strides.

“The manager and his players now need to regroup and bounce back quickly. By the time they head to Hampden to face Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final on April 15 their tails should be up again.”

Provided, you mean, they actually win all their games between now and then … presumptuous, arrogant, so Sevco-like you just knew it was coming.

“They should look back on Sunday and learn their lessons.”

Yeah maybe like the one about keeping their collective gobs shut before massive games. Like the one about not broadcasting their arrogance and giving the other team all the additional incentive they required. Those would be a start, but there’s no sign of it.

“But most of all, they should realise how far they have come together and how far the gap has been closed.”

The gap is nine points and a game in hand.

Advantage Celtic.

It didn’t close. It widened by three.

“What I saw was a Rangers side which no longer lives in fear of Celtic. I described the fixture as a boxing match and Sunday showed me Rangers are now confident enough to go toe-to-toe with their old rivals for the first time in a long time.”

Confidence is great. It really is.

But the fight ended with Scott Brown dancing around the ring like Ali, and Alfredo Morelos lying on his back, out for the count, like a pretender who thought he was a contender and who got the whipping such hubris deserves.

“The fact they were so disappointed on Sunday tells me this is a group of players who will be bursting a gut to put it right at Hampden.”

Wait … disappointing?

I thought they were absolutely brilliant on the day and only beaten by freak luck?

That, after all, was the point of the whole piece … wasn’t it?

“Murty is no longer setting his players up just to survive against Celtic. He’s setting them up to beat them. Next time, with a bit of luck on his side, that’s exactly what might happen.”

In your dreams Bazza.

In your dreams.

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