The Soulsborne fandom after that Polygon article about Malenia was released…

hello❤ I had a really bad day today and I was hoping if you could write about loki comforting the reader and taking care of her? lots of fluff please-

“Darling, if you plan on spending a long time in this tub I suggest you don’t do that.” He whispered in your ear, his breath tickling you in all the right ways. “I figured you’d want a quiet evening.” 

“But what if I want you to take me to bed and ravage me? That may help with my stress.” You whispered, continuing with your ministrations. Your hand moved over his legs, up his thighs and higher.

Wreck of the Day

Word count: 1,169.

Warnings: Nudity, Implied sex.

It had been an absolutely horrible, terrible day. From the moment you began walking towards the train you needed to catch for work, you realized you should’ve stayed in bed with your handsome and warm boyfriend. You forgot your tennis shoes that you normally wore to walk to the train, and instead were forced to walk to your station in your cute heels that were normally reserved for the office. While you were making your way up the steps, that same heel caught and you fell onto your knees causing you to rip your stockings and skin your knee.

Then you’d made to work, and spent your day dealing with needy clients who just couldn’t seem to be pleased no matter how hard you tried. You worked through your lunch break on a project that you were sure would please your boss, only to meet with some of the harshest criticism you’d ever received. By the time you were finally on your way home, you sent Loki a paragraph long text about how terrible your day had been and how you just wanted to crawl under the covers and go to sleep. You were thankful that the train ride back to the apartment was uneventful. You had a few moments to relax and just listen to your music, taking a few deep breaths.

You made it back to the apartment, standing outside and getting ready to put the key in the door when you heard the familiar classical music drifting through the air. Loki was cooking, and whatever it was smelled amazing. The music and the cooking seemed to happen simultaneously in the home you shared. You had truly never thought of it as a home until Loki had moved in with you; until then it was just a place to rest your head between your work schedules. Who’d have thought your college internship at Stark Industries would’ve led to a relationship with the God of Mischief?

The smell of something wonderful cooking wafted over you when you stepped into the apartment and found your house fiancée had taken this evening to a whole new level. Rose petals were scattered across the floor, he started a fire in the fireplace and lit just about every candle you owned causing them to light up the living room against the setting sun. “Welcome home, my Love.” Loki poked his head out through the kitchen entry-way. You stood on your toes, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “This is beautiful, Loki. Thank you. What’re you making? It smells divine.” He grinned. “This is just the beginning of the evening, Sweetling. I have a whole evening planned. I wanted to make sure you had a better end to your day than the beginning.”

Loki had taken it upon himself to make your favorite meal; Stir fry. He cracked a bottle of wine, and the two of you sat across from each other enjoying the meal. Truth be told, you did enjoy having something of a ‘house husband’. But Loki stepping in to join the Avengers made you proud and nervous, sometimes you dared not ask the details of what they were doing for fear your heart would stop every time he left the apartment. But he couldn’t exactly get a ‘normal’ day-job, could he? Would the God of Mischief, a frost-giant and former Prince of Asgard do? “Everything good, y/n?” Loki asked, his foot sliding up the side of your leg under the table. “Yes, everything’s wonderful. You’re quite the cook.” You smiled, he was proud. “I needed to find something to do during the day while you’re gone.”

You both finished your meal, and you started to collect the plates and tried to start the dishes. Loki moved behind you, his hands falling to your wrists. “I’ll take care of it. Come, your relaxing evening isn’t over yet.” He led you by the hand down to your master suite and the bathroom. Your favorite part of the master bathroom was the giant tub. Loki had drawn you a bath, more candles and soft music. The rose petals floated on the water along with a bath bomb dancing the surface of the water. “I also brought you desert.” Loki held out a bag of Reese’s Peanut Easter eggs, causing you to laugh heartily. This man knew you inside and out. You wrapped your arms around him, squeezing him tightly. “Loki, you’re so wonderful.” He kissed you passionately, his hands squeezing your waist.

He tried to back away, to leave you in solitude. But you caught his hands. “Loki, stay with me. This is wonderful but only if I can have it with you.” You added, and he seemed shocked by that. “I assumed you would want sometime alone to decompress.” He chose his words carefully. “No, you put all this effort in to make this a better day for me. Stay, you should enjoy it with me.” He helped you undress, instead of using magic he did it by hand. His fingers brushed against the skin of your chest and your stomach as he unbuttoned your blouse, he slowly rolled your stockings down your legs and pressed a kiss to the inside of your thighs. The only magic he used was to spell your hair up off your neck.

When you were both undressed, he climbed into the tub and offered you a hand. He helped you into the tub before he sat. He sat down, and you sat between his legs. You enjoyed the feeling of your back against his chest. Your head lolled back against his shoulder, and he began brushing the washcloth over your body. “You make me feel like a goddess, Loki.” You whispered, tilting your head ever so slightly to press your lips against his neck. You could feel him tense underneath you, you could feel his body respond to your lips. “Darling, if you plan on spending a long time in this tub I suggest you don’t do that.” He whispered in your ear, his breath tickling you in all the right ways. “I figured you’d want a quiet evening.”

“What if I want you take me to bed and ravage me? That may help with my stress.” You whispered, continuing with your ministrations. Your hand moved over his legs, up his thighs and higher. “I didn’t think that would help your stress, lovely. But now that you mention it.” He lifted you, the water running off the both of you. He didn’t seem to care that water was dripping all over the floor. You laughed, clinging to him as you were sprawled across the bed dripping wet. You were so blissful that you didn’t care. “Everything I needed to help me get through this horrible day is in my arms. The rest is just a bonus.” You pressed your lips to his letting those words soak in with him. “I love you, y/n. Not that I’d wish it on you, but maybe you should have bad days more often.” 

Please consider supporting the starving artist/social worker if you’re able. :)

Chateau Quarantine

                 Sophia Coppola smokes a cigarette while she waits for an omelette she has no intention of eating.  It’s a gloomy marine layered morning, you can barely see across Sunset. She’s been in lock down for three weeks and while she normally loves the moody, brooding decadence of the Chateau Marmont, its elite solitude is giving her a bit too much time to reflect. She thinks about the concept of crying as she watches a long torso-ed model skinny dip in the pool from the penthouse. There are no rules anymore, not that there were many in the first place. The hotel was shuttered to the public as of three weeks ago, and those who were already there could stay indefinitely. Sophia lives alone in the tower suite with the three bedrooms and the wrap around porch, known by some as “the Deniro”, but Robert himself couldn’t tell you why. Any legends or gossip about the Chateau were just bread crumbs to keep the public hungry and mystified. The real Chateau for the privileged few who used it, was an unceremonious respite for excessive loneliness, addiction, and often not great sex. The Chateau had a reputation: look but don’t fuck. Everyone’s genitals were rendered useless from anti-depressants.

               She thought she would be filming by now. Her cast is stranded too, with little guidance other than “we’ll wait it out.” The film she wanted to make stars Hugh Grant and Ewan McGregor as two estranged brothers coming together for their father’s funeral. Iman was set to the play the mysterious woman who shows up at the funeral who they then realize was their father’s mistress. It was going to be a slow movie about the brothers coming to terms with their father’s death and equally so falling in love with the woman he hid from them. All this would be suggested through intimate long takes, and funny, stylish, improvised montages. Always subtle and romantic without the sap, this was the tight rope Sophia liked to balance on.  At the end of the movie, both brothers are mildly changed, but not entirely. She has a sweet spot for the immovability of people’s psyches, particularly men. 

Sophia watches impartially, as the naked model floats on her back in the calm pool. It is so cold and early to swim, is she on drugs or is everyone at this place even more numb than they think? She wondered if her film was too male, too disembodied from her personally to mean anything.  Tapping into the male gaze, was an ability she was born with. Her father’s point of view was all she interacted with as a kid, and the underside of his specialties became her focus: the lost parts of men when they are too weak to hold up the heavy crown of their egos, who they were when they could let themselves feel outside of their work. But given the state of the world, and the molasses nature of time during lock down, Sophia started to question if what she always found to be her strength was just simply trauma. Was her whole profession a way to resolve some genetic creative stifling that took place in the shadow of her dad? Surely her body of work contains more than that. It’s not all a selfish attempt at repair. Is any art not selfish? "Maybe I should make a different movie, something that everyones gonna like for once.” She thinks to herself.  Thank God, her goat cheese omelette has arrived.

             Later on, the gothic lobby is empty besides the cast of her film and the elegant model behind the reception desk standing like a hollow sculpture, frightened by the chaos that lurks outside. Ewan McGregor, drunk off of five Marmont Mules, is showing Hugh Grant an app that maps the stars and constellations. Ewan has gone on and on about a camping trip he took around Scotland and how amazing the stars were, but when pressed for details about where exactly he was or what he saw or what year he did this, he can’t seem to remember anything at all.But that doesn’t dampen his excitement about the app. “See, that, there is Orion’s belt!” Ewan enthusiastically points out, his cute smirk displaying his bottom row of sweet corn kernel teeth. Ewan just recently learned about the stars. Until the age of 47, Ewan had been referring to them as “night freckles.” Many think this is why he didn’t have a fun time acting in  Star Wars, space simply befuddled him. Hugh and Ewan are dressed exactly the same: navy blue beanie, black jeans, a tight blue thermal, and desert boots- the actor man uniform they give you after you play opposite Nicole Kidman or Renee Zellweger.

“That’s brilliant,” says Hugh Grant completely perplexed by the app and confused at Ewan’s rambling. Hugh sticks a handkerchief up his nostril with his pointer finger and wiggles it around somewhat violently. Iman clocks this with a blink of disgust, her silk, gold blouse  glistens with god-like royalty in the amber glow.  “Can you turn your face away? That’s how the virus is spreading.” Her voice is deep and she rarely uses it because it changes the direction of the wind and messes with the tides.  “Aw, fuck me. That’s right, isn’t it?” Hugh Grant turns away and starting blowing his nose and coughing obnoxiously. Hugh is acting like a resentful brat because he knows he wont be able to have Iman. He decides he’s gonna pick a fight with Sandra Bullock via face time later to blow off steam. Iman is thinking she was right all along, she should never have agreed to this. She was already sick of the “beanie twins”. 

Hugh had been rattling on about how the movie needed a sex scene or at least a sexy scene and went on to say that Sophia had some sort of block. Iman felt that both Ewan and Hugh, however innocently, were exploiting their acting roles to gain real life experience, and there was no way in hell, she was going to kiss either of them.  Her kiss would make them immortal and Iman knew their souls needed more lifetimes to grow. Plus, she liked the script the way it was- underwritten and open for interpretation. Her character is symbolic of the side of their dad they didn’t get to meet-  spiritual, graceful, embodied. It was a soulful choice not to show any nudity or sex, one that could lead Americans to try to use whats left of their iPhone stolen imaginations.

                Meanwhile Michael Cain, who was supposed to play the dead father, is staring at the beautiful Victorian tapestry hanging behind her. “It’s like it’s right out of the Cloister’s.” Michael says under his breath. Michael is sweet, Iman thinks as she watches him stare at the tapestry with wonder, his mouth agape, and a lil warm milk spilling out of his left eye. Iman and him have known each other for years and he always reminded her of her husband: his fierce devotion to his craft, his rigorous intellectuality that does a bad job hiding an animalistic sexuality. Both men contained so much and no one can handle a man like that besides a mystical siren like Iman. 

Hugh and Ewan’s chatter dies as their drinks empty. “If I were to be honest with myself…” Hugh begins. “Better later than never…” Michael Cain interrupts without cracking a smile,  a dryness a la Maggie Smith. In fact, fuck, this was Maggie Smith. No one had realized. Hugh winks at Michael/ Maggie and continues. “ I don’t think were going to be filming any time soon, folks. I think we are being held hostage a bit by Miss Coppola.” Ewan stares off with a thinking face like no one has  ever had a deeper thought before. “That is interesting to think about. There is some kind of bratty assumption that all this will fade away soon enough. And we’ll be back on set. But what if it’s not for another year or so?”  Ewan is really getting worked up “What if we live here for the rest of our lives!!” His eyes are big and dazzling, it’s like he’s thinking of the most ideal outcome for the rest of his life.

               Suddenly, Sophia joins them at the table. “There they are, my little hunchbacks!” This is what Sophia affectionately calls her actors, the origin is unknown. Sophia has a strange new confidence around her. Usually, when she walked into places, she would feel like a Nat Sherman cigarette, like only some select tall New Yorkers in the back would still appreciate her. “Hello, love! Someone slept well.” Maggie Smith as Michael Caine chirped. Even when Maggie-Michael said something sweet, it still felt like someone was aggressively tickling your ribcage. 

          “I have news.” Sophia sits down, and smiled large and toothy, a stark contrast to her usual chic, despondent stare,  a look only afforded  to artists born with trust funds. “We’re not making the movie.” Hugh taps the table. “Well, I believe I won that bet.” Ewan’s jaw drops, destroyed. “You mean we cant live here together forever?” He runs his hands through his hair, petrified. Iman is quiet, which can mean many different things and all things at once, she is eternally the glory of God, a forgotten pyramid at the bottom of the ocean that if unearthed would explode us into 5D ascension. 

 “We are making a better movie! A super hero movie!!” Sophia exclaims. Sophia gets up close in the faces of her cast, pitching them on her new idea. “It’ll be a real heroes journey- good guys versus evil! Fun CGI! Sexy starlets and fun on trend jokes!” She turns to Michael Maggie, her mouth inches away from their milky eye, and says- “And much much more!” Sophia climbs up on the table now. “The adults will love it, as well as the little ones!” She does an Irish jig and starts spinning around and then poses with her arms up as though at the end of a musical.  It was not fun to watch.  Iman cuts her off-“I don’t trust what is happening.This is not reality. This is delusion. A karmic spell.” The power of Iman’s words blows the power out of the Chateau, pipes burst, the fire alarm goes off, and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte in room 304 stops jerking off for a second. Sophia is still catching her breath from her presentation, her sweating, arms stretched to the ceiling. She gulps as her eyes meet Iman’s. “Why don’t you just write from my character’s point of view?” Iman says as softly as she can without causing chaos.   Sophia freezes. Her whole body calcifies and turns to ice, then crumbles onto the table. Ewan and Hugh watch in absolute horror as Iman drops some of the ice into her water. She knows she shouldn’t have said yes to this project and looks on lovingly at Michael/ Maggie who has dozed off. 

so two questions (love your work for the record. you've become one of my primary inspirations over the years! thank you for exposing us to your talent :D ) with the issues surrounding social media at the moment - cancel culture, censorship, algorithm issues etc. How do you feel this is currently affecting current and upcoming talent? Do you think it will get better or worse and why? for my second question - how can one have a relatively humble career in freelance without the social media fame?

Thank youuu!!

Okay, okay, question one: First up regarding the censorship I can’t really say very much since I’m not doing any photography with nudity or any pornographic artwork. I know non sexual artistic nudety does sometimes get flagged, but usually those decisions get gevised if you ask. It’s annoying, but nothing career deciding. I also started sharing my artwork on a website where pornographic (and gore) content was always inaccessible to minors, so this whole thing doesn’t seem particularly outlandish to me. You’ll find your audience, but have to sell ‘under the counter’, you know? Cancel culture on the other hand … it doesn’t really affect me because I’m not usually spreading my opinions far and wide on the internet and my artwork isn’t exactly divisive. Now back in my youth on Animexx (that German website with the adult filter. Where every artwork you uploaded had to be approved by a human being by the way.) I did write and post some questionable things. Hell, I did a whole comic based on a super cringeworthy premise which was rather ableist and contained at least one rape joke. There’s a reason you won’t find it on the internet anymore. I didn’t see it as problematic when I was 15, despite people gently trying to explain to me why it was (In hindsight I understand and am grateful for those folks. But they were patient. they were adults talking to a child. You know.) There’s a lot of stuff I thought was cool and edgy at 15 or even 18 that would make me take a serious double take nowadays. I’d like to think I’ve grown since then. I’d like to think I’m still growing and I’m very aware that a lot of what I think now might have to be seriously re-evaluated a few years from now. Heck, sometimes I catch myself saying stuff and realize it’s messed up a second later.So I’m a bit afraid for young artists out there getting torn apart over stupid (and also harmful) things they say and create. Or artists getting torn apart other stuff they said or created years ago. Like, call them out, yes. but. People can grow. Especially teenagers are not exactly the product of an environment of their choice. It took some depression and alienation (it was horrible, but also, ah, character building?) from my friends to realize some of their jokes were not actually funny and being a sadist is not a cool thing to call yourself. Like the human brain isn’t done rewiring until your mid to late twenties. Let people evolve.  On the other people growing up more involved in social media and ‘cancel culture’ might be used to being smarter about what they say and maybe also a tiny bit less ignorent because they have reason and all the options to educate themselves? There are a lot of pretty amazing teens around. Maybe I was just super slow. (Sometimes I try to imagine being on Tumblr earlier in life and it’s usually a mix of ‘I would have been a better person and all those mental health resources would have helped me so much’ and ‘Nah, I was a brat and would have been eaten alive.’ It’s kind of like people are complicated.)Algorithm issues are horrible, they’re even making a difference for established artists who rely on social media to sell their stuff. BUT. If people do great work and share it, it usually still ends up getting seen.Also, it’s all already different from when I started out. If I was 18 years old today I might look at this ancient 25 year old lady and tell her to stop whining because she can’t deal with all that modern stuff. I don’t want to underestimate the young folks. They’re often underestimated. (Yes, I think teenage me was often horrible and stupid and arrogant, but in other matters pretty smart and actually funny and capable. It’s like you can be a lot of things. Like I’m still all those things and others.)I have no idea what is going to happen. I guess it can always get worse. But if it does get worse we don’t really need to bother with the social media for promotion any more and can go back to blogging on our websites again.It’s doubtful Zuckerberg is going to make Facebook or Instagram ‘better’ again. If anything there’s probably be something new. I mean Patreon and Twitch are already kind of new developments and they work great for some folks! That’s lot of income they wouldn’t have had otherwise! There’s always some good, some bad happening. You get what you get and then figure out to make it work for yourself :/I’m going to let this stand as an answer to your first question because I can already feel myself contemplating in the back of my mind if I actually agree with myself on everything said so far. It seemed right at the time! I’m not doing this ‘opinions on the internet’ game very much for a reason :DQuestion number 2: THIS IS EASY!First up, you can have a great career in freelance without social media fame. Not speaking from experience, but it’s possible. (’fame’ I consider something like 100k plus Instagram/FB or anything followers)Social media fame is important in two cases: When you make most of your money selling small products (say prints, books, but also membership stuff like Patreon) and need to reach a huge audience to sell enough to live on. (because maybe 5% of your audience actually buys things.) And when you actually want to make money being an influencer. There are times where clients hire you as an illustrator AND some sort of influencer because they want to make use of your fan base, but that’s like back in the old days when a famous artist gets hires because they’re already well known to the fans/bring their own fans to the product. That would be a nice position to be in, but it’s not exactly standard procedure.When you’re a freelance illustrator you’re not selling small things to a huge audience. You want a few hopefully high paying jobs. Most clients hire you because you’re good and reliable and fit their budget. They need the art. Not your fans. They don’t care about your fans.And you know, most social media followers will not want or be able to hire you for a 300,00-10.000,00 USD (or more. I guess if you go into advertising you can get more.) job. You need to be more selective. Do the networking thing. Be seen by the right people. How? Well, do your research! Look at who might need your work and send them nice e-mails, postcards, whatever. Have a nice portfolio website. If they’re part of a community, become part of that. Now, social media are still useful for let’s say art directors to find you. But having a small artists all working in the same genre as you do the chances that if they share your work an AD also working in the same genre might be following *them* and see your artwork like this is much higher than if folks not in the ‘business’ share your work even if there is a higher number of them. It’s quality vs quantity thing. One reason I like Twitter is because a lot of writers hang out there. Writers might not be responsible for chosing cover artists (most of the time), but self publishers are. And do like doing cover artworks for self publishers. And writers are friends with other writers and other artists and editors and publishing people and so on and so on. So no, no social media fame needed to succeed, BUT try to be known in the right circles. And be nice and reliable so people hire you again and tell their friends. It happens.  Also, yes I’m definitely procrastinating right now. I should be working on the table of contents for my mermaid book.

Artist Feature:  Maha Alasaker

Artist Maha Alasaker shares with LFF about her current series, HIDDEN DESIRE around the Arab female body, collaboration, feminism and more...All images (c) Maha Alasaker.

Where are you from?

I am from Kuwait, I lived in NYC for six years and recently moved back to Kuwait three months before the Pandemic.

What is your impetus for creating?

Through my artwork, I’m trying to have a deeper understanding of myself. My artwork attempts to engage with issues of identity and culture. I’m curious about the meaning of being a female based on my upbringing.

Hidden Desire, 1

Tell me about your latest work and why it’s important to you. What do you hope people get out of your work?

Giving the current situation with COVID19, everything now is paused. Yet I will be talking about my latest work, HIDDEN DESIRE, which talks about the ownership of the female body. I came to the realization that my body belongs to my family's honor. As a woman who grew up in the Middle East, my freedom has always been limited by the traditions and norms of my homeland, Kuwait.

In this body of work, I explore the freedom of the Arab female body, but without showing nudity. A HIDDEN DESIRE allows me and other women in the Middle East, to speak from within the limits of tradition and religion, and in so doing to create a dialogue with these very limits themselves.

I always remember what Maya Angelou said, "Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women" and that what kept me moving forward. I even hand-embroidered it on my t-shirt, as a reminder of why I am doing what I am doing. I am trying to open a discussion with my community, men and women. I want to challenge their beliefs and reflect on it.

Hidden Desire, 2

Does collaboration play a role in your work—whether with your community, artists or others? How so and how does this impact your work?

I love collaboration, I believe that it does bring extra surprise to the final work, I also like the challenges of working with other artists with different mediums.

Last year I published my first photo book Women of Kuwait. In this work, I photographed 25  Kuwaiti women in their homes in Kuwait in the most intimate space, their bedroom.  When I decided to make the book, I knew that I needed voices for my portrait to tell the full story of what does it mean to be a modern Muslim Arab woman. So I collaborated with a talented writer and poet Nada Faris, and she did a great job. The work transformed with her talent in creating intimate stories about each woman. When you read it, you discover that you also went through similar experiences. I feel like being a woman is a global struggle.

Considering the political climate, how do you think the temperature is for the arts right now, what/how do you hope it may change or make a difference?

Artists making changes through their expressive creative work, they are producing work on the spot and using social media as their exhibition to show the world what do they stand for.

Hidden Desire, 3

Artist Wanda Ewing, who curated and titled the original LFF exhibit, examined the perspective of femininity and race in her work, and spoke positively of feminism, saying “yes, it is still relevant” to have exhibits and forums for women in art; does feminism play a role in your work?

My work is about women and being a woman, and yes I agree with Wanda that it is still relevant.

As a woman born and raised in Kuwait I had to accept cultural norms and traditions without question. That never resonated with me. I was always amazed by the impact of culture and religion on members of my society, especially fellow women.

Hidden Desire, 4

Ewing’s advice to aspiring artists was “you’ve got to develop the skill of when to listen and when not to;” and “Leave. Gain perspective.” What is your favorite advice you have received or given?

To understand that fear is an idea, not reality; that I am stronger than my fears.

-

www.mahaalasaker.com

instagram

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Les Femmes Folles is a volunteer organization founded in 2011 with the mission to support and promote women in all forms, styles and levels of art from around the world with the online journal, print annuals, exhibitions and events; originally inspired by artist Wanda Ewing and her curated exhibit by the name Les Femmes Folles (Wild Women). LFF was created and is curated by Sally Brown Deskins.  LFF Books is a micro-feminist press that publishes 1-2 books per year by the creators of Les Femmes Folles including the award-winning Intimates & Fools (Laura Madeline Wiseman, 2014) , The Hunger of the Cheeky Sisters: Ten Tales (Laura Madeline Wiseman/Lauren Rinaldi, 2015 and Mes Predices (catalog of art/writing by Marie Peter Toltz, 2017). Other titles include Les Femmes Folles: The Women 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 available on blurb.com, including art, poetry and interview excerpts from women artists. A portion of the proceeds from LFF books and products benefit the University of Nebraska-Omaha’s Wanda Ewing Scholarship Fund.

Current prompts:

What does a womxn mean to you/your work?

Home Studios: Show us where you create!

https://femmesfollesnebraska.tumblr.com/post/614036096689504256/new-series-call-home-stud

Either Bucky or Tony is very shy when thi gs turn towards cuddling,kissing,nudity,sex and the other helps them overcome it

As usual, please remember that unanswered prompts aren’t bad prompts. Sometimes, our authors/artists just don’t get inspired, and after a certain amount of time it makes more sense to post them as unanswered.

If anyone wants to fill one of the unanswered prompts, go right ahead. And if you send us the link to it once you’ve posted it, we’ll even share it here on the blog!

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Imagine: Tony and Bucky come out publicly after being together for years and they gotta deal with the backlash from public figures. But then a couple weeks later same-sex-marriage is legalized and fluff because Bucky proposes?    

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out of all of the Avengers Tony is actually the most health conscious. when the others moved into the tower they thought he wasn't taking care of himself but he actually takes good care of his body. and for a good reason, his immune system is all shot due to the reactor so when he starts showing symptoms of a bad case of the flu and he Bucky take care to make it so it doesn't get bad. however it sneaks up on him and hits him like a freight train, 103 degree fever, and all.  

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Somehow I can't stop imagine Tony as a Despicable Me dad. Only that the minions are his boots and those cute flying batteries from his sorcerer supreme alternative-self. And I can't stop thinking of Bucky as a teacher to those children that gets somehow sucked up into the world of this very strange and crazy man and can't help fall in love with first his children and than this strange guy and his even stranger companions.      

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(Mind the cut, mobile users!)

Imagine a parent trap-ish AU where Bucky's kid and Tony's kid are friends at school (their age is up to you :) and they're total besties and they know their dads are totally into each other even though they won't admit it, so it would be super awesome if their dads get married and they become a family right?? :DDD

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Hello lovelies, I love the work that you all do, I was hoping you could do a story where tony has asthma due to the fact part of his lungs were taken out to make room for the reactor.  Bucky freaks out when he learn that he has asthma and starts to mother hen Tony. How tony react is up to the writer.            

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how about a The Martian AU? Bucky and Tony are apart of the Hermes crew and were sent to Mars along with the others ( Steve being the commander ). Tony and Bucky were already a couple when they left earth and Bucky planned on asking Tony to marry him when they got back but then Tony is lost and presumed dead. then they find out that Tony is not dead but surviving on Mars like a badass, they get him back and Bucky finally gets to propose. Tony says yes of course!            

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Tony suddenly loses all of his money (only for a short while) And he gets super sad and scared, because he just knows the Avengers will now leave him. They have no more reason to stay right? They don't like him, so now they have the perfect opportunity to leave. He can't provide for them anymore. Who cares that he loves them so much? But to his suprise the moment they find out they just start helping and when they realise what he had thought they start hugging and telling him that they love him.   

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Hi first I want to say how grateful I am for all the amazing stories all the authors write, I can't get enough of them. (Imagine that when Bucky loses control of the Winter Soldier,he seeks physical challenge not trough fight but trough sex,for some reason he keeps finding Tony for that,but when he comes to he doesn't remember that. So tony thinks bucky only wants sex. I know the matter of consent is unclear here so I would understand if you decide to ignore this)       

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(part 1) AU where Tony is still a child when the Winter Soldier kills his parents. Because Bucky is brainwashed, he has to follow the order to kill them, but instinctively tries to hurt as few people as the orders let him (like shooting through Natasha and letting her live in MCU). Tony is in the same car when his parents are killed, but doesn't see much. afterwards, Bucky gets Tony out of the wreckage and to safety, and takes care of him until emergency services arrive, and vanishes. (part 2) Over the years, Tony may start to notice strange things happening around him that prevent him from being hurt in accidents.

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Everybody adores Tony. That means everybody wants Tony Time he and Nat watch ocean documentaries, cuddling. Steve and he draw together, Tony blue prints, Steve, usually another teammate. He bakes with Clint, science time w/ Bruce, falling asleep on Thor as he tells stories about the stars. There is always some sort of cuddling involved with Tony Time (Tony loves it) and Bucky gets the least and is grumpy about it cuz he loves Tony and wants to hold him all the time and Tony is oblivious of this.

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Imagine Bucky being the only one on the team able to handle things to Tony. Maybe the team (or pepper) realize before Tony, and Bucky not understanding why it's a big deal (or on the contrary Bucky being really proud and happy, he is the only one).... Yeah anything about Tony trusting Bucky to handle him things... Thanks!!! You guys are doing an amazing job and all your fics and drawings are beautiful!            

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My last Prompt of 2015 goes to you lovelies! Bucky is tired of  his dads (the howlies), Steve, Natasha, Sam& even Clint! giving him grief over being single every effing holiday. (They just want him to be happy, but damn.) This weekend is the annual 4th of July get away to the family cabin. Well this year he's bringing his fiance! Okay fake-fiance. Tony the sexy mechanic, he flirts with on the way to work. Only he hasn't exactly asked Tony yet.. Oops! Thank you for all the lovely fics this year!   

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Can you do one where Tony is sent back in time and falls in love with Bucky and when he comes back to the present he falls in love with James ( the name Bucky prefers to go by after regaining his memories) as well? 

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Tony takes his baby daughter to an art gallery (at the insistence of Pepper), and Bucky is there to support Steve. In front of an ambiguous piece of modern art, the baby points to a splotch in the painting and deems it "poo." Unfortunately this gets Tony into a bit of fuss with the artist, and that's when Bucky decides to help the gorgeous man he's been eyeing all night instead of the art.   

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Tony and Bucky got together but maybe it was at a bad time, where one or both of them are emotionally or perhaps physically vulnerable, so it's mostly arguments and they break it off but after a couple of years of angst and avoidance, they decide to try again   

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Imagine medieval au where King/Prince Tony and King/Prince Steve are arranged to be married but Tony fell for Steve's royal knight and best friend Bucky instead (despite them arguing a lot) 

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Maybe Avengers using pick up lines on Tony or Bucky for Bucky or Tony?

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Avengers being mean shits and flirting with Tony just to make Bucky jealous, cause they are so done with his pinning.      

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Tony is acting just fine ang happy, but then something triggers him, so he runs to the lab. A little bit latter JARVIS ask Bucky to go to the lab. When he gets down there he find Tony in the middle of a panic attack. Fluff angst ensues.      

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Imagine Tony being totally annoyed with having to help with the whole de-program Bucky shit. Really he just sits there and reads a Russian dictionary out loud and looks if Barnes reacts ... well Tony is annoyed until he finds the one phrase a young HYDRA recruit planted in the Winter Soldier programming for shit and giggles, the one that no one at HYDRA ever found out about, the one phrase Bucky has no bad memories of - the instand-orgasm-phrase!   …lol   

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Imagine prince Anthony is betrothed to somebody that he has never met and he does not want to marry so he runs away you can have this go anyway that you want     

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Prompt: Bucky has a talent for making good coffee. Amazing coffee, really. Tony, as everyone knows, has a coffee problem. (And if that makes for a great excuse to spend more time with Bucky, well...) (Basically, fluffy coffee-themed shenanigans? Please?)

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Bucky works at an animal shelter, tony finds a stray dog and they hit it off during the check up so tony actively seeks dogs around the city's streets in order to bring  them to him to spend more time with him     

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Prompt: Winter Soldier goes to kill the Starks, but (Hydra) Tony is with them. "Mission compromised. Report to handler Stark for punishment".     

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Bucky and Tony start a relationship post cacw. Tony doesn't tell Bucky that he and Steve had a relationship because he is afraid he will be like Steve and choose everyone over him       

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Post civil war Tony no longer trusts the team. He pretends like everything is normal only trusting Bucky even more so than he did the team before. The team realises how bad they fucked up and they can't fix it.     

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Oh man I'm so pumped prompts are open again okay so I've been dying for a Mr and Mrs Smith au with these two! But instead of two organizations its Iron Man doing his own thing vs Hydra (who Bucky thought was doing the right thing) ft Avengers trying to bring them both in (on the team or to jail no one is sure). Thanks!  

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"The Last of Us" AU, where someone (Tony or anyone else) is immune to the cordyceps infection and the other person(s) tasked with the job of taking them to wherever they're going to create a cure.  

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P1 Can you Write one about Tony who is blind from birth (Whether the team knows or if its a quiet afair is yours) but still manage to fall in love with Bucky voice and Bucky doesn't understand why Tony never see him but gets a gloom face when he talk P2 when in reallity thas's Tony's face of trying not to show how that voice makes him feel Thank you Btw your blog is amazin & there isn't enough words to say how much we love you! & how we wait for 11am to read all of you or how many times we read u

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Can we get a sequel to the prompt where Tony is sneaking around so Bucky follows him and finds that he volunteers to work with kids (sciencing). Maybe where they do adopt Bruce after their heart to heart.    

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Hello, how about young (18-19) Tony being Ironman and an avenger and lots of UST between Tony and Bucky. And the team finds out that Tony has been trained as a spy and that he sometimes works for SHIELD. Cue badass Tony and worried/protective Bucky.         

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its 10:02 pm dark/chilly/woah!!

Welcome to “8 Questions with….”

Before the cheetah and I teamed up to become the best film reviewers ever,I used to just use films as white noise (I have shared this story in a past blog). Around 2015ish I started to actually WATCH what was on my screen and one of the early films I did take a interest in was a movie called “The Hit List”.  I bought it because it had former teen star Joey Lawrence on the cover looking very dapper and with a very cute blonde. Now I’ll be perfectly honest here,I wasn’t expecting much because I had never seen anyone cast Lawrence in a serious way. But to my pleasant surprise,”The Hit List” was really good and Joey Lawrence was easily the best thing about the film,up to that point,I can say its the best thing he has done and I was really impressed with him. I looked at who the director was to have that much faith in Joey and had gotten such a good performance from him. I saw the name Minh Collins and then promptly forgot it. Now its 2020 and a young PR guy named Phil Herman pings and wants to know if I am interested in talking to a director of a new horror film called “Clown Fear”. I type up Clown Fear up in IMDb and see Minh Collins name,when I looked him up and saw his credits and “The Hit List”,I was pretty pumped. Hell YES,I would love to talk with Minh. I knOw that this man has skills and more importantly,he was into taking chances with his casting choices. To be able to get the best out of a cast is never a easy job for a director and I’ve seen that enough while reviewing movies. Minh Collins is such a director and I really enjoyed putting his 8 Questions together and even more happier that you get to read them……so let’s get going,shall we?  

      Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your latest project ,”Clown Fear”?

   Hi, my name is Minh Collins. I’m the writer/director of the new horror film “Clown Fear”. This movie was inspired out of frustration while casting another action film called Asphalt Jungle. I had funding in place for that movie but needed to cast a name actor. My team spent about a year in preproduction and were on the verge of signing a big star, but it wasn’t meant to be, because at the last minute we had scheduling conflicts. I was then informed at that time of Lionsgate opening slots for their horror films in the coming year. I immediately switched gears and started writing the script. I knew casting for a horror film would be much easier because I didn’t need to rely on a name actor to greenlight my project. By the way, here’s a great story of how I cast all the female leads in my horror film. I was at a bar in North Hollywood while having drinks at a friend’s birthday party. I was talking to a group of ladies and one thing led to another when someone suggested we all do a film together. It was all talk at the time while under the influence of several cocktails, flash forward a year later we started principle photography on Clown Fear. I kept my word and hired all the girls for the movie. I truly love the casting process on this project because it was so much easier to not rely on one actor to greenlight my project. My producer Asif Akbar and I made all the decisions and as you can see, most of the cast are friends that we have worked with on past projects. There are so many amazing talents in LA.

 What was growing up in the Collins home like? Did you always love films even as a young child? Were you parents very artistic and did they encourage you to express yourself?

Growing up in the Collins home was pretty normal. My family loved sports and my brother and I were athletes. We lived in Ventura near the beach so I participated in Jr. lifeguard every summer, played youth football during the fall and little league baseball in the summer. My dad was very involved with us kids and coached our team until we went on to play in high school. Pretty much year round sports for us, so I had aspirations of playing professional sports but an injury while playing on the varsity football team at Buena High School was a setback. My parents wanted us kids to be doctors or a lawyers so being artistic was not encouraged in our household. Growing up, my hobbies were photography and painting.

 When did you know you wanted to get into the film industry and and how did you end up behind the scenes when so many want to be in front of the camera?

While working at U.C.L.A. medical center, I learned about the film industry. My first job was doing background on a T.V. commercial. The first time I stepped on the set, I knew I wanted to direct. I quit my job and started working as a P.A. on the U.S.A. network show called Pacific Blue.  Even back then, I never had any aspirations of being in front of the camera.  I did appeared in a small role in Star Trek Voyager years ago where I played an alien.

   What was directing your first project like? What were three things that prepared you the most for directing? Should new directors do short films as a rule?

I directed my first short film back in 2004. It was a twisted comedy call “Gratuity”. It’s available on Youtube if anyone would like to visit my very first film. I had such a fond memory of that project and also learned so much. This was back when digital was just emerging as the new media and everyone shot in 35mm. I remembered the Canon XL1 was the rage but I didn’t like the looks of it at the time. So I decided to go with the Panasonic HVx 100 that gave the movie a closer to film look. We shot the short in 2 days at the old Holiday Inn on the beach in Ventura. That film led to acquiring funding for my first feature film “Hit List”. So, yes I truly believe directors should do short films. It’s the best way to show investors a sample of their work. I don’t know if I have three things that prepares me to direct a film. It’s more like 100 things but here are three very important things to me. 1. I believe a director needs to have a vision. Without a vision then it’s very hard to convey what is needed from the cast and crew. 2. A director needs to know his/her shots. Either a storyboard or a shot list. 3. This is the one that I believe should be the most important, a director needs to know how to work with all type of different personalities on a set.

 What is the biggest difference between being a film director and a producer? Which hat do you prefer to wear and why?

This is a great question! I prefer to being a director than a producer. The director has all the creative control of the film. Of course things can change in post but I like to also work with my editor to finalize the final product. On this project, we had an extremely short shooting schedule and it was up to me as the director to capture all the shots. I needed to be 110% prepared with my shot list because there’s not enough time to try and figure things it out during the shoot. I like to describe the role of the producer as someone that creates the atmosphere for the director to paint his art.

What was the genesis of “Clown Fear” and why do you feel people are so scared of clowns? How did you draw Grindstone and Lionsgate into the project?

I’ve touched on how the concept of “Clown Fear” was inspired earlier but as why people are afraid of clowns. Hmm? It’s an enigma to me. Everyone has phobias and coulrophobia is definitely a very interesting phenomenon. I’m not afraid of clowns, but I have a theory why. I believe it stems from childhood when parents have a clown at their children’s birthday party. A kid’s first association at the age of five of some weird clown makeup person could be extremely scary on a child’s impression.

   Going into this project, I knew we had a good chance of getting Grindstone/Lionsgate to look at the script. Of course there were no guarantees of them picking up the distribution. I’m glad we were able to finish the deal once we were done with the film.

 How hard is it to co-write a script with another person? Walk us through a typical writing day and tell about your process.

The writing process was very tough because I knew we had a short window to turn it in for approval. I was finishing my documentary at the same time with my producer on a documentary film “Rocking The Couch”. We spent about twelve hours each day for two weeks straight editing and at the same time I would be writing.

 What is the line between “horror” and “torture porn” and how does a director decide when enough is enough in terms of violence?

There are many horror films that I considered torture porn. For me, it’s when the nudity and sexual content stops being a part of the story. I try to stay within a certain criteria for “Clown Fear”. We were able to get the “R” rating through the MPAA board. If it doesn’t pass with the “R” rating then we would have to re-edit the movie to meet the criterias. Fortunately, we passed with the “R” rating the first time through but I knew we were well within the criteria. Each pass can be extremely expensive due to re-edits and re-submissions. Grindstone/Lionsgate would not accept our film if it got an “X”.

 What is the health of the indie horror industry in your opinion?

I believe indie horror industry is doing well in today’s changing market. There was a recent article in Forbes about the horror genre still being the most lucrative for investors. The reason is due to a horror films can be produced at a low cost and there’s a constant demand for new contents from horror fans.

 What three actors have you enjoyed working with the most and what makes them so great to work with?

You guys really ask tough questions. I really enjoyed working with so many actors over the years. I had such a great time working with Joey Lawrence on “Hit List”. Joey and I had the same understanding of the script and we saw his character in the same light. When the lead actor is easy to work with then it makes my job a lot easier and we can focus on being creative. I love working with Darcy Demoss on Clown Fear. Darcy was such a great person to collaborate with on this film. It’s nice when someone is a pro at what they do, then it’s easy to mesh the role into one vision. The other actor that I enjoyed working with is Marv Blauvelt aka Tiny Clown. In life, sometimes being in the right place at the right time is what it takes to get that break. This was the case with Marv, I had problems with the lead actor on the first day of filming and decided that it Iwasn’t going to work out. I had kept Marv on standby and decided that day to do a last minute replacement. Marv gladly dove into the lead role of Tiny Clown and never looked back. He had a lot of energy and passion for the part but just needed some direction to create the persona that made the character come to life. I loved what he brought to the table and there were times I knew it was too over the top and curved him back. I prefer to work with someone that is enthusiastic with a role than someone thinking they are above it and will just go through the motion.

 What scares you?

Well, for one I was never afraid of clowns until we filmed this movie. LoL! I don’t have coulrophobia if that’s what you’re thinking but I have respect for them now. There were so many “fires” during the filming of this movie. We had so many things that went wrong that it became a standing joke with my producer and I. We blamed it on the “Clowns” as if they were playing jokes on us. So after all the craziness that happened, I now believe there was a real clown entity that was there playing a role with the entire production. It’s like the clown spirits watching us, so now I understand why people have a fear of clowns.

 The cheetah and I are flying over to watch your latest film but we are a day early and now you are playing tour guide,what are we doing?

I’m going to run you both by my town of Hollywood Florida. It’s the best hidden gem of the east coast. Most tourists will visit Miami or Fort Lauderdale but nestle between these two cities is my little town of Hollywood Florida. It’s a quaint beaches community with great restaurants and bars on the ocean front. Beautiful sunsets on the intercoastal waters and the best film festival in the state (Hollywood Florida Film Festival). https://www.floridahollywoodfilmfestival.com/

I like to thank Minh for taking the time to talk with us about his craft. “Clown Fear” is out now and can be found at Wal-Mart,Best Buy and other large retailers. While you’re at it,snag a copy of “The Hit List” off Amazon or EBay,you’ll be glad you did!!

Thanks to Phil Herman as well…..this was a lot of fun!

As how you can follow Minh’s next move…….

You can follow him on his IMDb page. You can follow him on Twitter. You can also follow Minh on his InstaGram page.

Thank you for reading and sharing Minh’s interview with your friends and peers. If you’re new to the blog and the “8 Questions with….”series,you can catch up here. Feel free to drop a comment….

8 Questions with………..film director/producer Minh Collins its 10:02 pm dark/chilly/woah!! Welcome to "8 Questions with...." Before the cheetah and I teamed up to become the best film reviewers ever,I used to just use films as white noise (I have shared this story in a past blog).