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lordoftherazzles · 2 years

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hiiii razzle!!!

for the Sickeningly Sweet Romantic Cliches could you do "having a dream about them" please??? i'm so excited about this event!!!!

Awww yesss! More Bookbinder//Songwriter worthy prompts!! I had two different ideas for this one and decided to go the more spicy route. It's not super spicy, but you can just...imagine what happened afterward, ehuehuehue.

Thanks @sunnyrosewritesstuff for convincing me that my last two prompts were smut worthy lol

-> Sickeningly Sweet Romantic Cliches Bingo

Just another day, another book sale, and perhaps Bilbo would work on rearranging the shelves. It was one of those boring Wednesdays at Bag End Books that Bilbo so loathed, but it also gave him time to reorganize, as well as jot a few ideas down for the short story he had been working on during his free time. It was just that slow time of year, but there was bound to be a burst of energy within the shop in due time. Belladonna was planning a book club, and even trying to get some small authors in the shop to speak to other aspiring writers or just fans. Anything to bring more publicity to the little bookshop on the corner.

It didn’t help Bilbo’s bored mind at the moment as he sat at the front desk on a stool, scribbling away words with one hand keeping his head propped. That is until the little bell over the door sounded off with a light chime, and instantly Bilbo’s heart went into a flutter.

Pushing his glasses up and lifting his gaze to meet Thorin walking in with a paper bag in his hands, one grin was met with another.

“Delivery for Baggins, straight from the kitchen of Radagast’s, no soggy fries included,” Thorin announced as he plopped the paper bag on the counter, careful to avoid Bilbo’s notebook. “Slow day?”

“Absolutely,” Bilbo chuckled, reaching for the bag and instantly fishing out his box of hot food and starting to pluck away at some seasoned fries before humming in delight at the taste. “My hero,” Bilbo sang softly, resisting the urge to slap Thorin’s wrist as he dared to take a part of Bilbo’s food, but it was probably a fair trade. Thorin saved his afternoon with an unexpected box of food, and Bilbo allowed him a fry or two.

“Do you need help with anything? I’m picking up the boys from daycare today, so I have a little time to kill before I need to set off,” Thorin placed his hands at his waist, looking at the shop in all of it’s…very wordy glory. It was different each and every time. Books shuffled around, a few shelves moved to different walls, it always kept you on your toes, which was probably a good thing from a customer point of view.

“Give me something to think about for the rest of the day,” Bilbo started, tapping his pencil against his notebook as a clear indicator that he was looking for a story. Or maybe it was only clear to him. “I have another…four hours of this nonsense before closing.” He sighed, until Thorin slipped the notebook away, and earned a food sputtered huff in response. “Hey! That’s not ready for reading yet…or reading at all!”

“Sounds to me like you’re hiding something, what have we got here.” Holding the notebook out of reach and relaxing against the counter, Thorin immediately began to skim, occasionally lifting his eyes to watch Bilbo’s face turn redder than the ketchup in one corner of that styrofoam to-go box. “Mm, spicy romance. What’s the problem with it?”

“It’s just…I’m struggling with some of the descriptive words. I feel like my brain just shut off entirely…”

“You could always cut the scene?”

“But it’s a groundbreaking moment for my characters! I can’t just…cut the scene,” Bilbo whined, stuffing another fry into his mouth and fiercely tapping the eraser of his pencil against the counter. “Some days I just can’t think. Like, I know what I want to write, but putting it on paper is hard.” It was a typical case of being uninspired, and Bilbo hated those small droughts when it came to his creativity. His life had been so full of wonderful things lately, but no great words were put on paper. “Maybe I’ll just scrap this one.”

“Don’t scrap it. I know when I get into a funk about lyrical writing, sometimes it’s best to step away and return to it later. Find something to inspire and motivate you, or allow others to do that for you,” Thorin smirked, giving the pages another once over before snapping the spiral notebook shut. “It’s very good, but it does lack some emotion in there.” Thorin was rounding the counter, tapping his fingers against the countertop before ending up right at Bilbo’s side. “Think of our first time, what did you feel? What sounds do you remember the most–”

“Your big moans wrapped around my name–”

“Bilbo, focus.” Thorin sternly nudged his elbow into Bilbo’s. “Remember the feeling of touch, of warmth, and convey that onto the page. Your readers will gobble it up, or at least I will.” A wide grin stretched across that bearded face before leaning in as if to press a kiss to the side of Bilbo’s mouth but never making it that far. “Think about the soft moments, that feeling of intoxication when you’re just so close, sharing air and your head spinning.”

And Bilbo’s head promptly began to spin, a light blush coating his cheeks as the tapping of his pencil began to slow.

“Remember the sparks rolling up your spine.”

Those sparks were rolling up Bilbo’s spine right about now as a small sigh escaped his lips and those notes for his short story were long forgotten. “I remember.”

“And if thinking about that doesn’t motivate you and your words, perhaps I just need to remind you about those feelings in real-time. Fresh motivation and inspiration to help fuel the rest of your day,” Thorin teased, pressing a kiss finally to Bilbo’s mouth, feeling the warmth of Bilbo’s skin beneath his lips and finding himself proud to send the other man into a near puddle with just a few words.

“Thorin…I’m working–” Though Bilbo had no desire to fight Thorin’s train of thought.

“You did ask me to give you something to think about for the rest of the day.”

Bilbo puffed out another sigh, one of want and desire as Thorin sank to shift beneath the counter, hidden from view, getting his hands on Bilbo’s belt buckle and zipper.

—-------

“Bilbo?” Thorin hummed against the back of Bilbo’s neck as they were all snuggled up in bed, just as they were more often than not when it came to the midnight hour. “You’re talking in your sleep, love,” He continued to murmur, pressing a kiss to the exposed skin just above the collar of Bilbo’s t-shirt. Though it wasn’t so much talking that Bilbo had been doing to stir Thorin awake as it was those little huffs and hums that sounded far too erotic for Thorin to sleep through.

“Hm?” Bilbo stirred, barely audible as he felt those tender gestures against the back of his neck, and goosebumps began to roll across his arms. “You’re...cruel.” He sighed longingly, tiredly, but also a small dose of agitation to his voice. “I was having a good dream.”

“I could tell.”

To say that Bilbo was pouting would be an understatement, but he couldn’t exactly be mad, what with Thorin continuing to press kisses to his skin, and even move a bit so that he could properly graze his teeth against the skin at the crook of Bilbo’s neck. More of those lovely little hums escaped Bilbo’s lips as he sank into Thorin’s warmth, little sparks rolling up his spine just like his dream.

“What’s better? A dream or reality?”

“Hmm, dream-Thorin brought me food...which definitely sweetens the pot…”

“I’ll make you toast.”

It wasn’t quite french fries and a burger, but it was still exciting all the same, especially for the wee hours of the morning. “I don’t know, Thorin, you just might have to convince me a little bit more.”

“It would be my pleasure.” Or rather, Bilbo’s. Yanking the covers up over their heads, earning a small squeal of delight from Bilbo, Thorin had every bit of confidence that he could compete easily enough with a dream, for those little hums and sighs that had woken him up in the first place were nothing in comparison to the sharp sounds he could yank from Bilbo even through a small fog of exhaustion.

He’d certainly give Bilbo something to think about for the rest of the day–and the day hadn’t even started yet.

#mysandwichranaway #the hobbit #thorin oakenshield #bilbo baggins #bagginshield #thilbo #razzledrabbles #razzywrites #modern!au #razcliches #fic: bookbinder//songwriter #it's not all that spicy #but it leads to spicy

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astrovian · 3 years

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the official ranking of RA photoshoot outfits (pt. 1)

as @dykethorin said when I first proposed doing this particular ranking, “Some real Decisions™️ were made” with these shoots y’all

all photoshoot outfits (for part one) under the cut

the official ranking of Daniel Miller outfits here

the official ranking of Adam Price outfits here

the official ranking of Claude Becker outfits here

guys, I’m crying with laughter

hey quick question: what the fuck was this photoshoot??? (and also I need current RA in these poses)

it’s real nice to see a fun, loosey-goosey RA (before he established himself in the broody-character archetype) but there are so many questionable fashion choices here

when I started this list I had two options:

1) allow some leeway to the older photoshoots because, let’s be real, the early 2000s were an atrocious time for fashion that a lot of us would most rather forget we participated in

2) judge them by today’s standards, which is harsh but some of these outfits deserve it

naturally, I chose option #2

It’s so hard to even pick where to start. the too-loose pants? the ill-fitting suit jacket? The untucked dress shirt that is for some god-forsaken reason undone in two separate directions??

I have chosen one thing that sums the outfit up as a whole: what monster decided to put the shirt collar over the suit jacket????

the jazz hands scream “hey I’m a FUN guy” but the suit screams “I’m the yo-pro asshole at the office who is so unreliable you’re pretty sure some nepotism must surely have had an influence during the hiring process”

I originally said ‘I guess we should be glad there’s no surfer necklace’ but then I had the horrifying realisation that it’s a 50/50 shot as to whether that would improve this outfit or make it worse. and you know when there’s even slimmest chance a surfer necklace could improve an outfit somehow that it’s time to take a good hard look at yourself

1/10 just because this photoshoot made me genuinely laugh out loud

wait I’m sorry, what-

how on god’s green earth is this the same photoshoot (?) as guys, I’m crying with laughter????

the great thing about these lists is that you are getting my genuine reactions as I progress down the images. I had no idea this was the same photoshoot (?) until approximately 10 seconds after writing guys, I’m crying with laughter

this perfectly encapsulates the duality of man – one moment it’s all goofy jazz hands and the next it’s a hunk-of-the-week moment

this man and guys, I’m crying with laughter are the equivalent of looking at pictures of yourself in high school vs. in your 20s/30s/at your prime. the whiplash is insane

and why is he in front of barred windows?? it appears they were afraid of what would happen if this hunk escaped into the general population

I still can’t believe they kept the collar over the suit jacket though

I’m so conflicted guys, the urge to numerically rank this terrible outfit is strong but uh… as per usual shirtless ones aren’t fair/10

revenge of the killer surfer necklace

do you ever look back at a specific moment in time and are so thankful that someone took one tiny action? one small thing they did in the heat of the moment that probably seemed innocuous at the time but had far-reaching consequences? for example, it might something as simple as deciding to take a umbrella on a bright sunny day only for it to be extremely useful on the way home when the weather turns

this is how I feel about the person who decided RA could leave that top button closed for this shoot

if you squint, you can see the surfer necklace under that top button. and thank god you have to squint

this is such an early 2000s look though. that shirt by itself is fine and would actually look killer with a properly fitted suit nowadays. it’s the shirt dress and loose denim look with makes no sense to me

2/10 for a pretty uninspiring early 2000s outfit

revenge of the uh…

from the same shoot as revenge of the killer surfer necklace this loses .1 of a mark for adding a jacket, while pretty innocuous, to an already busy outfit

1.9/10

were we really that afraid of legs?

why were we, as a society, so obsessed with loose, ill-fitting pants? why were we so desperate to conceal legs from the general population? what secrets were we trying to hide? I understand the comfort factor on the hand, but on the other did anyone actually have eyes

the sneakers/suit combo I can definitely live with. but those pants (that I’m convinced must be pyjama pants in another life) turns it all into a sloppy, blurry mess

2.7/10

is it a bird? is it a plane? no, it’s… a floating RA?

what is it about photoshoots in the early 2000s where they just make no damn sense. it’s my opinion that the theme/concept of a shoot should not overshadow the subject, and that’s the correct opinion (as well as being the exact opposite as to what’s happening here)

maybe there was a hint or reason as to why floating wizard RA exists in the article that this shoot presumably came with, but I don’t get it. clearly I’m far too literal of a person and need to embrace my inner artist

looks pretty, still weird

moving on the entire point of this post, the outfit, I uh,… oh god

I’m pretty sure this the same (and similar, if not) outfit RA wore in the North & South behind-the-scenes, and how we as a society went from John Thornton’s stiff collar and top hat to this is amazing

maybe we were so obsessed with period dramas back then because it was a nice alternative to indulge our eyes in when we had to face the harsh, cold reality of modern fashion at the time

anyway – trust me, while I am all for a man in a necklace, let’s pray surfer necklaces never come back 2.9/10

I genuinely was looking up “pinstriped jacket jokes” because I couldn’t think of anything off the top of my head but then I realised I don’t need a joke here because pinstriped jackets are a joke all by themselves

I feel like there may be a situation where pinstriped suit jackets might grow on me, but this is not that situation

also I don’t really know where I stand on the belt, but I certainly think I’m leaning towards the ‘why’ part of the scale. if you’re gonna make a belt that prominent in a photoshoot, at least make it a fun belt

3/10

I’m noticing a trend in these photoshoots and it’s these horrific backgrounds

I will admit that the non-patterned suit jacket is going with the jeans a lot better here. but now that my attention isn’t focused on that, all I can see are the dress shoes. WHY DID YOU PUT DRESS SHOES WITH STRAIGHT-LEGGED JEANS???

please someone I am begging you, can we as a society get to tapered jeans already

3.3/10

did RA genuinely ever get put into any clothes that actually fitted him properly at this point in time?

look, I know I’ve been picking on the bootcut jeans & loose attire that plagued us in the early 2000s (or 2006, to be specific to this photoshoot). what can I say, it’s the low-hanging fruit. or loose-hanging, as the case may be

I do appreciate that rich brown leather jacket and that smile. but that’s where it stops. someone take dress shirts and dress shoes away from bootcut denim PLEASE

3.5/10

this is the bad-boy from your hometown in every rom-com ever

as with well this in an interesting development that I can’t say I disapprove of below, the lower rating is simply because from what we can see, it’s just a plain shirt. however, that dipped v-neck? mm-mmm

look at that smirk. this man knows what he’s doing to us, dammit.

why do you persist in hurting us this way 4/10

well this in an interesting development that I can’t say I disapprove of

god bless the person who said we need this shirt wet and clinging and only half-soaked

I’m so sad that I have to give this such a low ranking because uh… we’ve established I have a weakness for those biceps

this does also get bonus points for the creativity of “only this portion of your shirt needs to be wet for your close-up” but at the end of the day it is a solitary grey t-shirt even if it is floating in an attractive sea of muscles

4.5/10

the photographer really said ‘who gives a crap about the clothes’, huh?

an interesting shirt! but as much as I love RA’s face, we should be able to see more of the shirt (and the outfit) because uh… it’s hard to make a judgement call on a photoshoot outfit without that

also, it’s just so hard to concentrate on some of these with RA staring into my soul like that

*sigh* 4.6/10

hello sir, are you as kinky as your shirt?

this is one of the few occasions on which I will give the bootleg baggy jeans a pass. interesting choice to go shoeless for all outfits in this shoot – but the way the shirt is all crumpled is annoying me an incessant amount. I am begging you, someone pass this stylist an ironing board PLEASE

4.7/10 for a crinkle-cut RA

all that’s missing is the beer cans

I’m not sure of the short sleeves here. I think with the shirt open as well my brain doesn’t know where to look

HOWEVER, this is an RA from the early 2000s that I can get behind – largely because he’s not drowning in his denim

the nice, plain belt which matches with the shirt? excellent

interesting choice to go with the bare feet – this entire look (and the quality of that concrete floor) screams ‘we’re chilling at a summer party in your parent’s basement in the early 2000s’ if not for one thing – that couch is way too nice looking. am I being too pedantic about this? no. If you’re gonna go for the whole basement party look, you need a couch that’s falling apart and has at least one questionable stain on it

that being said, I would hang out in this man’s basement

it’s a shirtless one so once again, I cannot give a numerical answer/10

I’m not sure if this man is dangerous or is just an idiot

they may have been wanting RA to embrace his inner Daniel Miller here but that is NOT a jacket that should have its collar popped or if it is, it definitely should not be popped that much. just turn the intensity of that pop down by… at least 35%

this look is telling me to embrace my inner lacy, ruffled collar that men in England used to wear around the 1500 - 1600s. I hate it and refute it with every part of my soul

this is what happens when you embrace your inner Daniel a little bit too much 5.6/10

the return of the leg monster

not much to say about this except once again we are terrified to put RA’s legs into well-fitted pants. what secrets are hiding underneath those voluminous billows? will we ever know?

5.8/10

the one that crushed my hopes and dreams and then spat on my corpse

so I admit it, I got really excited because I thought that this was a leopard print shirt and I was like “this is something I did NOT know that I needed until right now”, even if I would argue that it could have been nice in a little bit of a brighter colour. no matter, I thought it was a nice subtle addition to this plain suit and was just very excited at the prospect of RA rocking leopard print even though I almost always hate leopard print in single every form it comes in

and then. upon zooming. a disappointing paisley. sorry, paisley lovers. I hate it

I would also argue here that the pocket square would have been nice in a plain, bright colour rather than another patterned item thrown into the mix. come on stylists, stop letting me down with your pocket squares

also if there is a point where a suit can be too shiny, I think we’ve found it. I could wax floors with that fabric and I’d rather be thinking about RA’s talent & good looks rather than imagining him being used as a human mop

the hand porn is uh… strong with this one 6/10

the hand porn one

the ring is a nice subtle touch but I can’t decide where I stand on this tie. for me, the checks are just a *wee* tad too small. so small that it I’m scared it will turn into one of those optical illusions with a number in it if I stare at it the tie for too long

the pocket square could also have not tried so hard to blend in with the rest of the suit jacket. give me some colour, baby!

Richard really needs to put his hand down so I can actually concentrate on the clothes 6.5/10

I’m just dotty for this one (I’m so sorry y’all)

so suave. so shiny. I wanna stroke that fabric so bad, it looks so soft

the dots bring a nice yet understated touch to a monotone outfit and GOOD LORD those thighs

they just had to pose him like this to torture us, I’m convinced. also they call him a “commanding gentleman” in the subtitle which is really just unnecessary to verbalise when he’s sitting like this

Someone put me in a rom-com with this man 7.2/10

the modern magician (at least he ain’t floating this time)

I know that the hat should be the focus of this shoot but I can’t get over those shoes

tangentially related, I have never understood why they make men’s dress shoes so excessively long and pointed. these certainly aren’t a good example of this but uh… I don’t understand why men’s dress shoes are clown shoes

I think part of what’s throwing me off is the sockless look. normally I can handle (and even love) it with some shoes but there’s something about the hem of those jeans and those shoes that turn them into slippers when worn sockless

I love the two-tone scarf but what really excites me is the plaid shirt that we can barely see. I’m eternally sad that they had RA hid it in this pose. and also, come one. you could’ve at least gotten a chair with an actual back to it. that can’t be good for his back at all

the one bonus of this outfit is the hat because when do we ever get RA in hats?? and hats that aren’t baseball caps?? a nice, rare touch. but also one which hides most of that face so…

can we talk about the fact that my gut tells me those jean cuffs have been deliberately turned up at the front and all I want in life is to reach into this image and flip them down 7.5/10

*pterodactyl noises*

holy macaroni. that demin shirt. and this shirt’s even a nice lighter denim colour??? and the v-neck?? SIR

I know he’s worn some faux-denim shirts in the last few years (see: Uncle Vanya rehearsal pics) but as outerwear? knocked it out of the park in this one

also I know this is a shirt not a jacket, but this shirt made me think about how I never realised how much I needed RA in jean jackets until today

It could be argued that a nice crew neck cut would work slightly better than the v-neck but that’s really a personal choice

a lovely respite for my weary eyes 7.7/10

a truly, truly blessed image. the sort of image that would bring you endless good luck

I know I’ve given a lot of pants crap on this list but these. these are the ones. these are doing the lord’s work for sure. and god bless the person who decided to shoot from this particular side angle.

and then the shirt?? I’m honestly afraid it may rip if he moves. I could leave or take the tie though. it’s not adding a whole lot to this outfit and I would much rather that shirt be uh… open at the top for a glimpse of uh… well. you know.

this RA outfit laughs in the face of all those early 2000s RA outfits 8.1/10

me running to open my phone every time an RA-related notification pops up

my only sadness is that this shoot was in black & white. we need more action-shot RA shoots!

also the subtle plaid?? *chef’s kiss*

well, I said ‘my only sadness’ but is it also me or are both ends of that tie strangely square? that is throwing me off from an otherwise spectacular photoshoot outfit, I won’t lie

8.5/10 for a man of action

this is what we all like to think we look on the way to work. hate to break it to ya - we don’t

god, that wind-ruffled hair. the rustic look provided by both the suit material & the photo editing. that stare over the top of that coffee mug. the casual ‘I just picked up the paper on my way out this morning’

words fail me

would it be weird if I said I would pay money to be able to run my hands through anyone’s hair that looks as soft and wind-swept as that 8.9/10

the comfiest RA

I love. love. love this outfit, especially the sweater. the pant colour goes extremely well with this one and I’m so glad they didn’t just stick him in jeans. the is the softest, comfiest RA and I love it. this is an RA who you can simultaneously share a beer and takeaway with at home, cuddling up on the sofa while you watch a film, as well as an RA who will take you out to eat fancy pasta at an upscale restaurant.

the choice of sitting on a stool is also great. my only real gripe here is the watch (and even that’s a minor one, really). the watch isn’t THAT bad, but it’s chunky face reminds me slightly of the watches boys in my class would wear in middle school. the watch could be a *wee wee tad* slicker, but really, I’m nitpicking here (and this is the only time I will admit to it)

the more I look at it, the more this becomes one of my fav RA pics. the slight smile. the relaxed pose. the hint of hand porn

weirdly, for some reason this picture gives me the exact same comfy and ‘just chilling out’ feeling as when I hear the song “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer 9.5/10

#richard armitage #yes this is a multi-part one because uh... there's a lot of photoshoots guys #also yes most of the early 2000s ones ended up at the bottom and I refuse to apologise for that

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ruakichan · 3 years

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Self-vent ahead!

I hate being “a creative.”

I’ve been drawing for about thirty years, most of that in fandom, and it’s utterly, hopelessly de-motivating to see that nothing has actually come from all that time. (Is this my mid-life crisis lol?) No improvement, no following, I couldn’t even make money off my work if I tried (still living off my savings right now, for those that are aware I quit my job during the rona shutdown), no sense of lingering pride or accomplishment when I manage to squash down the loathing enough to finish a piece. I’ve watched my artist friends rightfully gain traction and blossom, while I shrivel.

All those pretty little puff pieces you see about how “work hard to improve!” have absolutely no idea what it’s like to be in the stratum known as complete banal mediocrity. You hit a wall that no amount of “working hard” can overcome: the wall that separates the talented from the hacks.

And squished right against that wall are the mediocre: good but not good enough. Only noticed because maybe they fill some niche until someone better comes along. They throw themselves against that wall in hopes of overcoming it, but never look up to see how high it really is.

A bad artist will always improve. A mediocre one just suffers diminishing returns.

My best friend, with good intentions, got me a very nice Cintiq for Christmas. He spent a lot of money he really shouldn’t have. He’s a “creative” too, so he understood some of what I was going through, and thought this would cheer me up, give me a boost. Thought maybe it was my outdated tools (over a decade old) was holding me back.

I accepted it because he was very proud of his grand gesture, but I wish he didn’t. I feel obligated to use it, to draw, to be continually disappointed, to continue to disappoint others. And on the rare occasion I do something I am pleased with the final product of, I hate it so, so very much the next day, and the masses agree, as the reception is silent.

Being an artist inherently has a streak of exhibitionism: what you draw is a reflection of your thoughts and perception of the subject matter, and when you post it publicly, you are asking for validation of that image. Being able to appeal to a broad spectrum of people is a talent on its own: any popular meme or illustration becomes that way because people go, “yes, I can relate!” in some fashion. Empathy is incredibly important in any creative work.

But when the reception is silent, it’s hard to tell where it is you failed: the subject matter? the appeal? the skill level? everything? Do I fail at connecting with people despite being able to do it very well IRL? Is my art style just that unattractive? Is it my skill level, flat and uninspiring?

I know what I hate about my work (everything), but I don’t know what causes others to recoil from it, except to maybe give a pitying glance over but not enough to go ‘yes, I can relate!” and share it with others. So I can only assume it’s for the same reasons why I hate it: everything.

Perhaps my loathing for my art comes through in the image, which in turn elicits a similar reaction in others. I feel ‘this is ugly’ and others pick up on that and react in kind. There’s something to be said about how people can pick up on your body language and confidence in face-to-face conversation; perhaps this is the same with art. But what about the work I do that I’m proud of, which gets even less reception?

During the initial drawing process, I do very much love art. I do like the act of ‘creating.’ I’m happiest during this point; I like brainstorming or daydreaming, doodling and laughing at my own bad jokes. But the longer I stay with a piece of work, the more critically I look at it, and the more ashamed I am of wasting my time with something that no one can love, not even me. There’s a lot of work I just never finished; there’s a lot of work I just flat out deleted from existence. I’ve been trying not to do this; try to at least post something, finish something, acknowledge that even flawed things have merit, but holy hell, it gets so depressing seeing these malformed things out there in the wild, even if no one else sees them.

When I was first starting out, I didn’t have these sort of thoughts, eagerly, lovingly drawing, proud of every single doodle, sharing them with anyone that would cast a glance my way. When you’re fresh and naive, you don’t realize how personal art is until you get rejected enough to start to become self-aware of your own flaws: like how children can be so unabashedly carefree while adults are acutely self-conscious.

Lately, I hate admitting I draw. I don’t like sharing my art freely. Even the brief moment I got validated—being a winner in some contest for some game—I immediately wished I could take that image away so people wouldn’t see it cause I threw it together to get the participation prize. “This isn’t representative of what I can do!” ... but maybe it is. After all, it won, where others I labored over haven’t.

Social media definitely hasn’t helped in this day and age, where you’re aggressively bombarded with how well you succeeded or failed. I shut down my Twitter for this reason; it was absolutely soul-crushing to see anything I do die in the ether, because I wasn’t good enough. All these followers, but no response? It’s better just to hide them under the bed, than look at your own failures.

So now I spend a lot of time going “why bother” when it comes to creative endeavors as I try to come to some final acceptance of my own mediocrity.

Why bother?

The images are prettier in my head. They don’t need to be realized because I can’t convey them in a worthy manner that people would want to see. If after nearly 3 decades, I haven’t been able to surmount that wall, I need to accept that this is the end of the road.

Why bother indeed? There are many more talented, able artists to provide beautiful works. I want to freely consume them without thinking about where I failed. I can only look at art in areas I don’t draw in; it’s the only way I don’t immediately want to break my own hands.

Anyway, long vent, but it’s been building up since I got that Cintiq. I don’t talk about this much because people hate hearing about it. They don’t want to see your anxieties. You have to be *~strong~* and *~confident~* as an artist, and it’s “”””””cringe””””””” to have any doubts about yourself. They don’t want to see “I’m not happy with this, but here it is” attached to something you did. They call it “fishing for compliments,” without realizing there’s a lot of baggage attached to a lot of artwork that they, as the viewer, don’t see.

That when artists post art, they are literally putting themselves up on display. They wonder where they can improve in their work, they wonder about the reaction to their art. These things don’t exist in a vacuum, independent of each other. Art is inherently exhibitionist.

It’s why I’m the least suited for it, and I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self to go collect stamps or something. What a waste of a life.

#personal

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x-reader-theater · 4 years

Text

Hold me Tight, for the Days are Long {5}

Relationship: Geralt of Rivia X Male!Disabled!Reader

Summary: Pain is only temporary, especially in the company of those you like.

Warnings: Cursing, Graphic Depictions of Violence

Word Count: 1866 words

A/N: So, guess who’s been dead? Me, that’s who. I had a very very bad illness that just wasn’t going away but I’m not dead anymore! Tomorrow I should be posting the conclusion to this series but don’t expect anything else from me in a while. I just started up school again which means I don’t want to write anything for myself. Pretty much all my creativeness is going towards school work. I guess I can reveal that I’ve had ideas for a third and final story, I don’t think that’s a secret. I’ve probably seen it before. Anyways, please like, reblog, and comment! I may not reply but I always read every single comment and I look through the tags of reblogs so if you say something, I’ll see it! Without further ado, here’s chapter 5 of Hold me Tight, for the Days are Long

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Chapter 5: Just Tell me You Arrogant Prick.

Your fingers come back to you first. Your entire body is tingling, except for your fingers. You feel them moving, cracking from their lack of use. You have no idea how long you've been out to elicit that reaction.

Next are your toes. You feel them wiggle, not within the confines of your boots, but against a blanket or a sheet of some kind.

Then, your ankles and wrists, up through your arms and your legs to your hips and shoulders. You feel your whole right arm spasm and you almost think your left arm should as well. That's when you remember what happened you groan in pain as flashes of it come back to you, one by one.

You hear something moving beside you and a very recognizable, deep voice. While being recognizable to you, you can't quite place it.

"[Y/N]? [Y/N], can you hear me?" the voice calls out. You feel whoever it is grab your hand. They're not soft, like you're expecting, but rough, calloused, and so achingly familiar.

You groan again, not in answer but in pain. Your eyes shoot open as your hand grabs for your side but you squeeze them shut again once the light and pain hits.

Another hand holds down your silver arm, as well as the one of flesh attached to you. You struggle, tossing yourself side to side on the bed you're on, trying to throw your assailant off you, but it's no use. They're stronger than you in a lot of ways. And, your side in killing you right about now.

So, you stop. You go limp. And you let your eyes flutter open.

Leaning over you, his long white hair hanging around his face, let out of its' signature half-up look, is Geralt. His yellow eyes are wild, undone, and, even, a little bit nervous.

Scratch that. A lot a bit nervous.

"Geralt?" you manage to squeak out. Your voice is gone. Without any water, you can barely hear your voice through the cracks.

Geralt lets go of your left arm and places his hand on top of his other, which is still holding onto your hand. "[Y/N]..." His voice is soft, softer than you've ever heard it. It's kind, kinder than you think he's ever been in his entire life. It's also so… perfect.

You smile something small, like a secret held between the two of you, and say through cracked lips and shaking voice, "It seems I was the damsel in need of rescuing, Geralt."

He laughs at that, almost certainly thinking back to when you saved him before, all those years ago in that cave. It felt like a lifetime ago.

And honestly, it was.

You were a different person then. And so was Geralt. You wanted things so badly in your life and Geralt showed you the truth. But you also brought out a side to him he doesn't show much anymore. There was a playfulness to him that he hides away. Maybe it got someone hurt. Maybe it got him hurt. You don't know. But that playfulness is gone. Replacing it is a hardness in his eyes you've never known before.

But you can't say you haven't changed. Your own playfulness is diminished. You've found a path you wish to stay on, something you make good money doing and even though you haven’t had your hardships, you're still alive to tell the tale. You know you would be dead without Geralt there to save you, and your heart clenches at that. And it's at that moment you realize you are so incredibly, hopelessly in love with Geralt of Rivia.

And that scares you.

"Could you get me some water?" you ask quietly, and Geralt just nods and gets you his waterskin, pouring it into your mouth when your arms don't move like you want them to. Your mind is sluggish as you drink your water, but just as soon as it's given, it's taken away from you. You sigh contentedly and say quietly, "Thank you, Geralt of the Witchers," before your eyes close and you're asleep once more.

You don't hear what Geralt says to you before you drift off into your dreamless sleep.

You wake up slowly this time, but you can also feel your whole body again. Not just the pain but also the way the scratchy blanket feels on your skin, how the bedroll you're on presses up against you, and against the ground. It's not comfortable by any stretch of the word. But it's livable.

You start to sit up with a groan and Geralt reaches out his hands to help you. You feel them, on the small of your back, on your right forearm. You look around then back up into his eyes. You smile at him and say quietly, “Thank you.” He just smiles and nods. You look around slightly, still trying to get your bearings, and you say to Geralt, “Where’s Jaskier?”

“Right here,” Jaskier says from behind you. You go to look but hiss in pain when you contort your body. He sounds bored like he doesn’t want to be here.

You let Geralt help you turn around so you’re facing him. You ask him, “How are you? Didn’t get caught up in the fight I see.” It sounds snarkier than you intended, and you just hope he doesn’t take it the wrong way.

Your hopes don't come true.

"Yes well, we can't all be stupid…" he says. Geralt growls and goes to say something, but you hold up your hand. His mouth closes.

"No. We can't. Even I'm not that good. Did you hear my rib when it cracked?" you ask. You see him start to relax a bit, his walls falling slightly. "You're useful Jaskier."

He smiles at that. "I applied your healing salve to your ribs…"

You smile. "So that's why I was so numb when I first woke up!" you exclaim. "Thank you, Jaskier. You've done more for me than you'll know."

You know it won't repair your relationship with him, what little you had in the first place, but it's a start.

"I need to get back into town, collect onna payment I'm owed…" you say, moving to get up slowly. Geralt doesn't let you. His grip on your arm tightens.

"Do you really think this is a good idea?" Geralt asks quietly.

You shrug. "Don't really have much of a choice, now do I?"

Geralt leans in close, his nose so close you can feel him exhaling through it. "But you do. Run away. Forget this life. Don't hurt yourself anymore."

You look at him. You don't say anything. You just watch his eyes. His yellow eyes that had encapsulated you all that time ago. Now, they seemed dull. Without life. Uninspired. He doesn't have the motivation for life anymore. He's living life just like you.

"And what about you? Huh? Why haven't you run away?" You move closer to him, if that's even possible. You feel the breath from his lips on yours. You squint your eyes as his get wider. "What about you? Why haven't you done anything? Why haven't you left?"

"Because I'm a Witcher. I can't just walk away!" he exclaims.

"And neither can I," you say calmly, sitting up more, meaning you get even more in Geralt's face. "I'm already too deep in this to let go. Same as you." You reach out a place a hand on his arm. "But there's no way I'm leaving you again."

Geralt just watches you, not saying anything, not doing anything. There's something in his eyes you haven't seen in a very long time. It's something you yourself have lost sight of. You thought you would never see it again.

You see hope.

"Oh my gods," you hear Jaskier groan next to you two. "Just kiss already!"

Geralt blushes slightly and looks away, something you definitely have never seen before. But you don't let him slip away. You turn his face and kiss him. Not hard. There's no lust behind it. It's soft. Sweet. Hopeful.

You pull away and he says softly, "We'll go back into town tomorrow."

You smile and kiss him again.

Your ride into town is quiet. Peaceful. Jennis is trailing behind you as you ride with Geralt on Roach. You saw how jealous is made Jaskier, and you just looked at him apologetically. It was the only way to aspease Geralt right now. The town itself isn't large. The amount of people in it you could probably count up to.

Geralt stops in front of the pub and he slides off. He holds his hand out to you and you take it. You slide off Roach and land on the ground hard. You grab your side and hiss in pain as pressure is put on your wound. Geralt puts an extra hand on you but you wave it away. You can do this yourself.

"I'll be out in a moment," you say gently to Geralt. He goes to protest but you cut him off. "Don't follow me. I promise I'll be alright." He just nods.

You walk into the Pub, not even looking behind you as the doors close behind Geralt and Jaskier. You walk across the wooden floors, your boots hitting the ground in uneven steps. You hold your side as people look over at you for a moment before turning back to their drinks, partners, or sorrows. Sometimes all three.

You slowly but surely make your way to the little dark corner in the wide reaching room. You push past those in your way, hissing in pain as a few knock into your sides. But you keep on moving, ever determined. Finally, after what felt like hours but was probably only a minute, you sit down across from the mysterious person who commissioned you all those days ago.

"It's done," you say quietly, placing a hand on the table and leaning forward. There's pain in your voice but you hope your determination masks it, if at all slightly.

You can just barely see the figures lips as they're pulled into an impressed smile. "Good. Here's your payment. As promised."

They set a large sack of coins on the table and you reach out quickly, snatching it. You place it in your satchel next to your side and look up at the person sitting in front of you.

You go to get up, but they grab your wrist. At least, it feels like they're grabbing your wrist, but they haven't moved their actual hand. You look at them in shock but all they say is, "Be careful. You don't know how much it would break him if you left."

You wrench your hand free and turn, confused and angry at the person for holding you, and you walk out. But not before catching a glimpse of long dark brown hair fall out in waves from the hood.

You walk out to Geralt who looks like he's been shaking to go after you, but you place a hand on his shoulder and he immediately stops moving.

"Let's go."

#Geralt #geralt of rivia #witcher geralt #geralt x reader #geralt x you #geralt x male reader #geralt of rivia x reader #geralt of rivia x you #geralt of rivia x male reader #geralt of rivia x male!reader #male reader #Jaskier #jaskier dandelion #dandelion #the witcher #geralt of the witchers #my work #My writing

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maxismatchccworld · 4 years

Photo

Hey you lovely Simmers! It is time for our new Spotlight of the Month. Please give a warm welcome to MLys aka @mlyssimblr. 😊

Hello!

I’m MLys, I’m a 27 years old French simmer and I’ve been sharing maxis match custom content for The Sims 4 for three years.

I’ve discovered the game with The Sims 1 back when I was 9 and I immediately fell in love. I still remember when I’ve unwrapped the base game and Vacation EP at Christmas! Thereafter, I’ve been a huge Sims 2 player (gameplay wise it’s still my favorite of the franchise), skipped The Sims 3, and out of curiosity and nostalgia, came back to the game with The Sims 4 without a lot of expectations. I just wanted to play time to time in my corner, mostly as a builder, and didn’t have any intention to start a blog and create CC.

The need of creating my own custom content quickly came up because I felt frustrated to not find the items I needed to design my builds the way I imagined them. I already downloaded CC as a kid, and was sooo obsessed about it back then! I ingeniously wished I could be able to do the same and run my own sims download website, but it wasn’t easy to find proper tutorials in French (and I most likely wasn’t mature and skilled enough ahah) so I had no idea how all those things worked. I just accepted that it was some computer magic. Several years and more experience later, that sweet memory contributed to make me want to give it a try and take my revenge!

Into the Simverse!

Pic: Exhibition set (Part 1)

My Exhibition set, specially made for the museum I was building, was the first CC I completed and shared on my blog. The set was very simple, but it was already foreshadowing what I would particularly love to do ever since: trying to expand the lore of the Simverse! As it can be deduced from this set, I was very inspired by the creative @femmeonamission’s Great Art Serie and the principle of only using resources from the game. Simlish fonts weren’t enough, I wanted to embrace the fact that the Sims live in a similar but alternative world to ours, with its own peculiarities and silly historical background.

Pic: Sim’Pop culture Tucked-in Tee

I’ve started to become a build mode catalog and Sims Wiki nerd, trying to collect Sim cultural references from all the games and brainstorm head canons that I could exploit for my builds backstories and CC design. I just need a consistent universe!!

I loved to imagine swatches for my tucked tee, which illustrates that approach pretty well. The TS4 concept artists have created so many cute and creative little gems in the game that need a second life, like the base game paintings and the movies from the Movie Hangout SP.

An other example is of course my baby Pufferhead Stuff, that was initially supposed to be a tiny set inspired by a base game poster, but that ended up being a liiiiittle bit more ambitious, whoops. I spent an outrageous time working on all the details I could think about to make the pack cohesive and refer to Harry Potter without losing the maxis match spirit. I am so so touched when I see simmers considering some elements from Pufferhead as canon in their game! During the process, I genuinely thought that I spent a useless time on things that most simmers would barely pay attention to, such as the Harnock sorting test, so it was really rewarding to discover that people actually appreciated the effort!

(If you like Simverse headcanon CC, my simblr crush @bottsbotts had also made a very creative set inspired by base game posters!)

Pic: Pufferhead Stuff Pack

We do love collaborations

The second part of the Exhibition set that I’ve made with @aroundthesims has a very special spot in my heart. I’ve been a big fan of Sandy’s work since day 1, and downloaded everything she did. When I’ve started to share CC, I needed to fangirl in her DM to tell her how she inspired me. It must sound silly, but when she proposed to collaborate, I felt so crazy happy and proud! If mini-MLys playing sims in her bedroom full of dolphin and HP posters had heard about that, her brain would have been like “Can’t… compute…”

Pic: Exhibition set (Part 2) / Screenshot features items by Sandy and me

I can’t introduce myself either without talking about my friends from The @Plumbobteasociety! They’re the first friends I’ve ever made online and I love them (I’ve even met some irl!). Working on Cottage Garden Stuff with them was a blast. There was a real team spirit and it definitely made me progress. Never I would have been able to work by myself on Pufferhead without the Cottage Garden experience and without their support!

Pic: Cottage Garden Stuff pack / Screenshot features items by @magnolianfarewell @femmeonamissionsims @teanmoon @nolan-sims @litttlecakes @simlaughlove and me

There is something very fulfilling in collaborating with someone that got skills that you don’t have, and managing together to create something cool. I had that feeling with those projects, but also with the talented @illogicalsims who accepted to make the render of Pufferhead. It really was out of my current ability and his final render is fully part of the identity of the pack and I’m sure contributed to valorize it, so I can’t thank him enough for that!

Other stuff

“Sorry, I’ve been quite absent recently…”

I update my simblr very irregularly, and my content can be quite random. To be honest I don’t feel like I have produced that much? I really wish I did! I have so much ideas condemned to stay in my notebook forever… RIP. Here are my favorite editing and building projects:

31 years of Simblreen (2017)

The Windenburg Old Town Square

Forever grateful…

…Like for real. I don’t try to be mushy or something. That simblr really helped me at times when I needed it. I definitely have a creative profile, but without a specific goal in mind, I tend to want to do and learn so much things at the same time, that I end up feeling overwhelmed and uninspired, and don’t practice anything. And then I feel frustrated and can’t manage to have a consistent hobby. When I started the blog, I totally underestimated all the various skills it would actually make me work on: 3d modeling, texturing, editing, illustration, storytelling, my English… and even video editing for the Pufferhead trailer! I admit that I haven’t talked about that blog to a lot of my irl friends, because I’m afraid they wouldn’t understand that it’s not “unworthy”. And well, I myself also devalue a lot what I produce in general. I’m working on feeling more confident and share with them all the good memories and touching moments I have from my simming experience! All the adorable support I’ve received here through those last 3 years really really helped for that, and I can’t express how much it means to me <3

Thank you Kerstin for the Spotlight (and aw sorry for the delay) ! Especially for the month of my birthday, such a cute coincidence :)

Thanks for reading, have a great week, and happy simming everyone!

#s4cc #s4mm #ts4cc #ts4mm #maxis match #thesims4 #s4 spotlight #mlyssimblr

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theartoflovingthomashunt · 4 years

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HWU101: A Transfer

Masterlists: [Hollywood U] || [Red Carpet Diaries] || [Baby Hunt] || [Love & Scotch HWU/OH] || [#HollywoodHacks HWU/LH]

Characters: Alex, Thomas Hunt, Addison Sinclair, Holly Chang, Mike Tanner, Ben Park (#LoveHacks)

Series Background: This takes place in my current Hollywood U AU a couple of years before Love & Scotch. It also is set before the #LoveHacks Choices series.

Hunt and Alex are dating openly. He had his tenure stripped and they are both on probation, but they are in the clear. With the success of Permanent Wound and the press from outing Richard Sheridan and The Silver Circle, Alex is in high demand. She wants to produce her first movie and Hunt has agreed to direct (coming out of retirement). Now if only they can agree on it!

(This starts off with the canon storyline of them moving forward with Centaurus Lost, but it falls apart at the start of this and moves on with an original story.)

Chapter Synopsis: Hunt agreed to come out of retirement to direct Alex’s first solo-produced film, Centaurus Lost, but the production is going anything but smoothly. Will things change with the arrival of new student, Ben Park?

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

“Cut!” Hunt shouted. His fingers dug through his hair as he turned away trying to gather his thoughts. “Get out! All of you! OUT!”

“Professor?” Addison questioned, looking up from one of the actors, whose costume she was adjusting. “We still have two more scenes to shoot today.”

“Leave! That includes you, Miss Sinclair. I know how you feel about following directions, but just this once do as you’re told,” Hunt grumbled. “Everyone out! This isn’t working. I need to think.”

“Let’s wrap for today,” Alex stepped forward attempting to calm the cast and crew of Centaurus Lost. “Get some rest and be back tomorrow ready to pick up where we left off.”

“It’s okay,” Alex continued, noting the looks of uncertainty on the faces of those around her. “Go! Enjoy the beautiful afternoon.”

Alex helped the crew clean up and put the equipment away for the day, her gaze shifting to Hunt. He continued pacing off to the side, deep in thought.

“Hey.” Alex ran her fingers up Hunt’s back, once everyone else had left. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Hunt shifted away, Alex’s hand falling beside her.

“This film isn’t working.” Hunt’s scratched his jaw thoughtfully. “Miss Chang and Mr. Tanner did not stop bickering about the script all day. Every time we went to shoot a scene, one or both of them, decided there should be changes. They both have some ideas of merit, but right now, they’re hurting this film far more than helping it.”

“Thomas,” Alex breathed. She attempted to move closer, but he avoided her once more.

“I walked away from directing once because studios fed me uninspired projects. I refuse to compromise my artistry or ethics,” Hunt ranted, his gaze stern and unrelenting. “As I said, the project has to be right for me and this one isn’t working.”

“Let’s just talk about this,” Alex suggested.

“I know how much you wanted this to work… You’re the producer, find some way to fix this!” Hunt paused for a moment before continuing. “Or... I’m leaving this production.”

Alex felt her eyes misting at his tone. “Fine!”

“Alex,” his voice was softer now at the hurt in her eyes. He moved closer.

She shook him away. “Compartmentalize. I know.”

He nodded. “Go fix this. Convince me why I should take a chance on this film when so many facets of it are falling apart already.”

Alex turned and walked away. She didn’t dare look back. The past few days had been a strain between them. Even if they had agreed not to bring work home, it was hard to turn her feelings on and off. It was one thing when she was just balancing Professor Hunt, with boyfriend Hunt, now she also had business partner and director Hunt to keep separate.

She knew before she could fix the film, she had to save the screenplay.

Alex texted Holly and Mike. “Campus Brew. 30 minutes. This is not an option. Be there or you’re out.”

“Nice try, sweetheart. You can’t make my movie without me,” Mike replied.

“Whose movie?” Holly answered. “I believe I’m the lead writer. My name is first on the script.”

“Relax, Pixie Dream Girl. No use getting mad and looking all hot when I’m not there to see,” Mike argued.

“ENOUGH! Act like professionals. Show up for this meeting. Or breach your contracts and be out. I’m serious.”

No wonder this film was sinking. These two were never going to play nice, which is why she had chosen a public venue for their meeting, at least that would force them to keep it together to some extent. (She hoped.)

Alex stormed into the coffee shop, barely looking up from her phone as she followed the heated text exchange from her screenwriters. At this point, nothing short of an epiphany would save the film and she knew it. Hunt was right.

“Ahh!” A deep voice startled her as she bumped into someone, scattering their books and papers all over.

“I’m so sorry! I wasn’t even looking.” Alex quickly apologized. “This is all my fault.”

“It’s okay, Jesse Quick,” He chuckled more to himself than anything else. He adjusted his glasses.

“I’m not sure who Jesse is?” She looked at him curiously. “I’m Alex!”

“She’s just..." He paused, noting how Alex’s red shirt hugged her petite figure and the way her brown hair appeared windblown from seemingly rushing off, perhaps to save Central City. His mind had already begun sketching her before he could stop it. Everywhere he looked he saw inspiration. He quickly shook the thoughts from his head as he noted the change in her expression. "You just kind of remind me of a character from one of my favorite shows.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She smiled softly.

“You should! She’s great.” He bent down to pick up his fallen papers.

“These are amazing,” Alex marveled as she helped collect his scattered sketches. “You’re very talented… I don’t think I ever got your name.”

“I’m Ben, Ben Park,” he repositioned his books and sketches in his arm so he could shake her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Ben. I don’t think I’ve seen you around campus before,” she noted. She would definitely remember a face like that.

“It’s actually my first day,” Ben admitted. “I just transferred from Grantmore University.”

“In that case, can I buy you something to drink? It’s the least I can do for running into you,” Alex suggested.

“You don’t have to do that,” he replied.

“I want to,” Alex insisted. “I can offer you some tips about classes and any professors you may have–if you’re interested and have a few minutes.”

“I don’t want to intrude, you look like you have a lot going on,” he smiled shyly.

“I’ve got a few minutes before my meeting. You’d actually be doing me a favor, keep me busy until then?”

“Okay,” he agreed.

“Great! So tell me more about yourself, Ben. What are you studying? Please tell me you’re here as a graphic artist, because if not you need to change majors ASAPs,” Alex laughed, she didn’t mean to come off so insistent, but she meant what she said. She ordered coffee for the two of them.

“I am.” Ben blushed at the compliment. “I’m also looking into the writing program.”

“Oh, do you want to be a screenwriter?” Alex questioned. “I’m actually meeting with two screenwriters in a bit if you want to meet them.”

Alex hesitated after she made the suggestion. Perhaps Holly and Mike were not the best exemplars of the program… at least, not at the moment.

“I’m more interested in writing a graphic novel.” His fingers grazed a sketchbook, that he held tightly. “I’ve written drafts of a few ideas, but…”

“Do you mind if I take a look?” Alex asked cautiously. She knew how temperamental some writers could be about their unfinished work.

“They’re probably not good,” he shook his head, considering her request.

“You got to start somewhere, right?” Alex offered.

Ben reluctantly handed her his sketchbook containing his draft of an outer space superhero adventure.

Alex leaned back in the armchair in the coffee shop and began flipping through his draft. Page after page, her expression changed as the story hit highs and lows. She followed the characters through joyful, devastating, and humorous moments. “This is really good, Ben.”

“You don’t have to say that,” he took his sketchbook back.

“I mean it. It’s really good! You should definitely look into the writing program. Clearly you have a talent for it too!” She encouraged him.

Alex and Ben continued drinking their coffees while Alex waited for Holly and Mike to arrive. Her mind had lightened with seeing the joy in his eyes as they talked about his creations, it was a lovely sight. One she had almost forgotten about while on the set of Centaurus Lost. No, it wasn’t just joy, it was passion. Passion for his creations, that’s what was missing on set. She just needed to figure out how to inspire Holly and Mike to that level of creative passion. If the screenplay had heart, the rest of everything would fall into place.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Perma tags: @lilyofchoices ; @simplymissjulia ; @mfackenthal ; @the-soot-sprite ; @virtuallytakenby ; @zeniamiii ; @kaavyaethanramsey; @choicesobsessed; @xjustin-ethansgirliex

Thomas Tags: @alleksa16 ; @flyawayboo ; @alj4890 ; @twin-skltns ; @ab1901 ; @riseandshinelittleblossom ; @hopelessromantic1352 ; @thearianam ; @trappedinfandoms; @zodiacsign1 ; @curiouslittlefreak ; @sharrybh20 ; @awkwardambition ; @jodibo ;

#thomas hunt #thomas hunt x mc #hollywood u #ben park #lovehacks #holly chang #fan fiction #hollywoodhacks #hunt x alex #alex hunt #alex spencer #hwu #au

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nickysurfer28 · 4 years

Text

Summary: the Halloween masquerade ball is turning into something interesting...

Word count: over 1k

Characters: Dr.Nicky Ransom x Chris Evans ,Judith,Denise Ames (cousin), Tim (hot high school teacher/neighbor)

Warning ⚠️: 18+ adults only.

Chapter 7:

Between your patient load and spending every free moment monitoring Denise’s recovery, the next two weeks pass in a blur. In no time at all, Halloween is upon you. You look at your masquerade invitation again, nervous excitement bubbling up inside you.

I never expected to set foot in a place as fancy as the venue they booked, much less attend a ball there! I hope everyone there is.. super creative. Which mean I can’t show up in something uninspired. I need to look absolute best for this masquerade!

Though admittedly, the swanky venue isn’t your only motivation.

I haven’t seen Chris since we almost kissed the other week. The way he looked at me.. just thinking about it makes my skin tingle.

And you have been thinking about it. A lot.

I want Chris to see me in a costume that makes me look...like modern princess.

You slip into the gown and smile at yourself in the mirror. You turn this way and that, admiring the way you sparkle with each movement.

Perfect.

You grab your purse and head outside to meet your date.

“Happy Halloween,Nicky!” Tim answered.

“Happy Halloween,Tim!” Nicky answered.

Tim is your neighbor, and he’s had a crush on Denise for years.

What can I say? Judith inspired me to do some well- intentioned meddling of my own now that Denise is better. Time couldn’t buy his ticket fast enough once I told him Denise would be there!

“Let me guess. You’re ...The Dread Pirate Roberts?” Nicky answered.

“Aw, man he does have a similar costume, doesn’t he? No, I’m Zorro. “ Tim answers.

“Oh! I totally see it now.” Nicky answered.

You laugh, linking arms with Tim.

Soon, you’re at the Barbary Towers Hotel just as the bulk of the guest are arriving.

“This place is wild! I feel like I’m walking into “The Great Gatsby.” Tim answered with shock.

“Do I need to give you and the Gilded Age Hotel a moment alone? Nicky answered.

“No, I’ll be okay.” Tim answered laughing.

You and Tim enter the hotel and ascend a vast marble staircase. Your jaw goes slack as you step into the room.

I’ve never seen anything so glamorous in my life!

Then, you see him across the room.

Chris’s bright blue eyes pierce you even for a distance. It’s hard to even notice the crowd around you with him right there.

You expertly navigate the shallow stairs leading into the ballroom and step gracefully onto the brightly polished floor. Chris smirks at you in approval, and you feel yourself flush.

“I feel like I’ve stepped into a fairytale.” Nicky answered blushing.

A guest nearby hears you.

“It’s magnificent, isn’t it? Did you know these are all the original fixtures from 1901?” Party guest answers.

“Oh man really?” Tim answers in amazement.

You survey the gleaming ballroom with newfound wonder.

“So in a way, we really are stepping into the past.” Nicky answers.

“Exactly!” Party guest answered. “Pardon my enthusiasm. I’m a historian.”

“No explanation necessary. This place is amazing.” Nicky answered.

They grin at you before then making a beeline for a cluster of other guests nearby. You overhear him speak.

“I was just speaking to the most beautiful and elegant young woman. She’s quite extraordinary.” Party guest answered.

Is he talking about me?

Your eyes find Chris again. His eyes are still on you.

“Nicky!” Judith squeals.

Judith intercepts you, her voluminous gown, rustling across the floor.

“Judith... you look amazing!, Queen Elizabeth I, right?” Nicky answered.

“I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to be a queen for an evening!” Judith answers. “And you, Nicky! You look absolutely divine! I love this modern look on you. I dare say a certain someone won’t be able to keep his eyes off you.”

“Thank you.” Nicky answered.

Judith’s eyes land on Tim.

“And who is this handsome young man?” Judith answered.

“Judith, this is my neighbor Tim Reynolds. Tim, this is Judith Fortier. She’s Denise’s landlord.” Nicky answered. “Judith, Tim is...an English teacher. He works at the high school by my house.”

“Oh, isn’t that lovely . Good teachers really are worth their weight in gold.” Judith answers smiling.

“I believe the children are our future.” Tim answers.

“If you break into song right now, I’m pretending not to know you.” Nicky answers.

“Yeah, nothing to worry about there!” Tim answered smiling.

Denise bounds you to the three of you, smiling brightly.

“Nicky! Judith!” Denise squeals.

With keen eyes, flushed cheeks, and glossy hair,Denise is once again the picture of youthful good health.

I can’t believe how quickly she bounced back. It’s almost as though the last few weeks never happened.

“And Tim! I didn’t know you’d be here! Are you Zorro? Denise answered.

“Good eye! And you’re female Robin Hood?” Tim answered smiling.

“You’re the only person who’s guessed right!” Denise answered smiling.

“Well, Ms. Hood , shall we rob from the rich and give to the poor?” Tim answered with a grin.

“Or we could just dance.” Denise answered with a smile.

They walk off arm in arm, leaving you gaping in disbelief.

Wow. That was a a lot easier than I thought.

“You knew exactly what you were doing, didn’t you, you sly little fox?” Judith answered with a smirk.

“I....learned from the best. You’re inspiration to would-be matchmakers everywhere.” Nicky answered.

Judith throws her head back and laughs.

“Just doing my part,honey!” Judith answered smiling.

Seeing Denise so healthy and carefree makes you feel lighter than you have in weeks.

“This is shaping up to be a good night, Judith.” Nicky answered smiling.

“Come on! Let’s work the room a little.” Judith answers.

Judith takes your hand and leads you around the ballroom. Within 20 minutes, she’s introduced you to a wide array of donors,artists, and other members of the Dreamseekers Foundation.

Gorgeous ballroom,great catering, and Denise totally hitting if off with a good guy? Can a night get any better?

It can, you realize with a jolt.

But where did Chris go?

You crane your neck, trying to catch a glimpse of his tall, lean figure amid the sea of bright costumes.

“Looking for someone?” Judith answers.

“Yeah, where’s...Chris? I was expecting to see him.” Nicky answered.

“I got here fashionably late, I’m afraid.” Chris answers.

“Chris!” Nicky answered in shock.

“Oh, and would you listen to that! I swear I hear someone calling my name.” Judith answers pretending to be surprised.

She winks at you before melting into the crowd.

Subtle.

You turn back to Chris and you feel yourself flush.

No one man should be allowed to be that handsome.

“I didn’t know you’d be here tonight.” Chris answered.

“Judith invited me. I don’t usually attend things like this.” Nicky answered.

“Did she mention I’d be here?” Chris answered with a raise brow.

“She did.” Nicky answered blushing.

“Hm.” Chris answered.

Chris steps closer to you, a charming smirk on his face.

“And why did you decide to attend this particular event, Nicky?” Chris answered.

You shallow as he draws nearer. Something about him is so intoxicating tonight.

“Chris, I came tonight....to see you.” Nicky answered blushing. I know it’s silly, since we barely know each other. But I’ve missed you.”

He gives you a smile that makes your heart race.

“I’ve missed you, too.” Chris answered. “And thank you for all the updates on Denise’s recovery. I’m touched that you thought of me.”

“Well, I figured she wasn’t going to do it.” Nicky answered.

“You figured correctly! After the third “I’m fine,” I learned to stop asking.” Chris answered.

“She likes her independence that one.” Nicky answered “ thank you again for...everything.”

“The feeling is mutual.” Chris answered.

He gives your hand a squeeze.

“You look .... absolutely stunning.” Chris answered.

“Thank you.” Nicky answered.

You blush, almost giddy with happiness as the band strikes up a waltz.

“And you look...handsome.” Nicky answered.

“Thank you.” Chris answered with a smile.

Chris smiles, holding out his hand to you.

“May I have this dance, Nicky?” Chris answered.

“Chris... I’d be delighted.” Nicky answered.

You take his hand and he leads you onto the dance floor. Your heart flutters as he positions himself with one arm around your waist and the opposite hand in yours.

“Full disclosure: I have no idea how to waltz.” Nicky answers blushing.

“Just follow my lead.” Chris answered.

He guides you into a surprisingly simple step pattern, quietly counting out the steps for you as he leads.

“One...two..three. One...two...three...” Chris answered.

I still feel so stiff and awkward, but Chris? He’s so light on his feet, like he’s been dancing forever.

“You know how to waltz? When did you learn?” Nicky answers.

“As a boy. My mother insisted.” Chris answers.

“Not the extracurricular most parents stress nowadays.” Nicky answered.

“Ah, well. She was a little old- fashioned.” Chris answered.

You laugh as he twirls you.

“You seem to take after her in that way.” Nicky answered with smile.

“Yes. I guess I do. She always...”Chris answered.

Something odd flickers in his blue eyes. He trails off and shakes his head.

“She was always what?” Nicky answered.

“Never mind. I don’t want to waste your time with my reminiscing.” Chris answers sadly.

You look into his bright blue eyes, noticing a hint of openness and vulnerability that isn’t usually there.

“Chris...you could never bore me. I want to know more about you.” Nicky answers.

“You do.” Chris answered.

“I do.” Nicky answered.

You feel his grip on your waist tighten a fraction as you glide around the dance floor.

“You’re far too generous,Nicky.” Chris answered warmly.

“I’m not. If anything, I’m selfish.” Nicky answered smiling. You’re an amazing man, Chris. I want to get to know you better. So, why don’t you tell me about your mother, if you want. You said, “she always...”?

He shakes his head in disbelief, but the smile on his face is genuine.

“You continue to amaze me, Nicky. “ Chris answered. “I meant to say that she always has us practice dancing, even though we hated it. We much preferred playing outside or even reading to dancing.”

“We?” Nicky answered.

For a fraction of a moment, Chris freezes, his steps faltering for a breath before he continues to lead you.

“Ah. My brother and I.” Chris answered.

“You have a brother?” Nicky answered with shock.

Grief flashes across Chris’s eyes.

“As I said when we first met, Nicky. Amy family I have is dead.” Chris answered sadly.

“Oh. Chris .... I’m sorry.” Nicky answered sadly. “I didn’t mean to overstep.”

“You didn’t. Don’t worry.” Chris answered. “Still want to know about me?”

“More than ever, honestly.” Nicky answered.

He smile softens. Then, his eyes glint mischievously.

“You know, at the time our costumes were in fashion, the waltz was considered a scandalous dance.” Chris answered with a smile.

“Chris...are you coming on to me?” Nicky answered. “Because that sounded like coming on to me.”

Chris laughs. Then, the music stops, and he gives you a deep bow. Then, another song comes on, darker and more mysterious.

“Care for another dance, Nicky?” Chris answered. “I can teach you more about the more...salacious points of the waltz.” Chris answered with a smirk. “What do you say?”

“Teach me everything you know.” Nicky answered.

Chris smirks wide and pulls you flush against him as he begins to lead you in the dance once more.

“You see, at the time, couple’s dances were still very new thing. A gentlemen had to take a great care to keep his partner at a respectable distance.”

You flush, acutely aware of the warm press of his body against yours.

“I notice you don’t seem to be trying very hard on that front.” Nicky answered.

“Nor are you resisting me as a lady should.” Chris answered.

“I... can’t help it.” Nicky answered blushing. “You’re too irresistible, I guess.”

His grip tightens around you, strong and almost possessive.

“Shall we be daring, Nicky , and fly in the face of convention?” Chris answered with a smile.

“Who needs propriety?” Nicky answers.

“My thoughts exactly.” Chris answered.

He holds you closer, his body flush against you.

Best. Halloween. Ever.

A big, goofy grin creeps onto your face, and you lay your head against his chest to hide it. The shift in position seems no deterrent to Chris, who continues to lead you gracefully across the floor.

I could stay like this all night.

But all too soon the song ends, and with it your dance. You mourn Chris’s warmth as he steps away.

“Thank you, Nicky.” Chris answered.

He presses a soft kiss on your cheek. Just as he looks about to say something else, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn around to see...

“Mind if I cut in?” Mystery guest answered.

Tags: @denisemarieangelina @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @pine-fresh-kirk @jtargaryen18 @patzammit @daliaevans @waywardodysseys @what-is-your-plan-today @thatgirly81 @katiew1973 @kellyn1604 @kailyndavillier @mizcaptainphoenix @deidrashouseofpain @denissjmaddox @wintrcaptn @captain-rogers-beard @captainevans @captainsamerica @brilliantkey @branflakes82 @bellaireland1981 @nomadevans82 @artisticrogers1972 @captainchrisstan @captainchrisfics @captaincrazyexlover @nbarnes @trishevans @shotsbyshae @worksby-d @kirstie-evans-writes @shreyaaaaaaaaaaaa @chris-butt @shortacouplebuckys @littlefiercequeen @southerngracela @kelbabyblue @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @star-spangled-beard-burn @princess-evans-addict @shadowcatsworld @twittytelly @comebackandhauntme21 @jms358 @artemisrogersbarnes @mery-be @americasass91 @amazonx @thatsxamericasxass

#princeofdreams chrisevansfanfic

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goldkirk · 4 years

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Hi, do you have any advice for creating in the current everything? I have some fics and other projects due soon and I can't find a way to make myself write or make anything.

This is a fantastic ask and I am a person with a lot of thoughts and opinions and YES I do have some advice, for two separate situations at the moment, I GOT YOU.

Option A: You have some deadlines, but they’re self-imposed or can be shifted without a lot of pain.

Option B: You don’t have any deadlines for writing/art/etc. but want to do it anyway and feel stressed about the way you’re struggling to do any of it.

Option C: You have deadlines that are for school work or employers that are rigid and important and approaching somewhat rapidly and you are Becoming Stress Itself, and no, you still cannot seem to get the thing done, oh god.

For Options A and B:

Shift them. Shift all of them, overestimate how long it will take you to get them done, and do what you need to do or talk to whoever you need to talk to to shift them, and then if you DO get them done before that, fantastic! and if you keep struggling, you have less stress and more time to handle it.

For Option C:

Talk to the people who are imposing the deadlines, or your clients if you’re a freelancer, and be honest with them that you are having a very hard time and ask what can be done. The WORST that can happen is you walk away from that conversation/email/whatever with the exact same situation you walked into it, and anything else will be an improvement. I know it’s scary. Have the conversation anyway. Admit that you’re struggling, ask if deadlines can be shifted or lessened, and if there’s anything that’s disproportionately stressing you that you can unload, it might be a good time to back out of that commitment. HOWEVER, especially if these are all things that you really do WANT to get done, you CAN if you’re willing to push pretty darn hard in every moment of ability you have, which is going to drain some energy from other parts of your life right now. But it’s your life and your choices of balance and you’re allowed to portion your mental energy as YOU need, okay. You’re the only one who can make the calls for yourself, and you will be okay.

REGARDLESS:

Sit down, breathe a lot for a while, and talk to yourself about creativity right now. Tell yourself these things: the world is complicated and scary right now, life seems unstable, and I am okay but my brain has less capacity than normal because of these unusual circumstances outside of my control. I am allowed to be struggling, and many, many other people are going through the same thing as me right now. It is okay that I can’t find my writing, my art, my music, my movement right now. It’s enough that I’m waking up and making it through each day.

THEN you live by this rule: I will have moments of feeling like I can reach my creativity, and I will throw myself into them and milk them when they hit, and those will feel good. But the rest of the time I will take each moment throughout my days right now that I can even slightly string a few words together or lay down a few lines for art or do one little bit of whatever I’m working on, and despite how flat and uninspired and painful it feels to force it, that is now a tiny bit more that IS DONE. IT’S PUT DOWN. IT’S SCRATCHED OFF THE LIST. Perfection is pointless. Done is good. ANYTHING is helpful. Two words are helpful. Creating an art file is helpful. Practicing one bar three times is helpful. Tiny, tiny little bits are easier to force out than overwhelming yourself just thinking about the Whole Thing you need to get done.

Self care is critical. You have to make your body as nice a place to be as possible and give your brain and heart as much fuel and space as you can because they’re struggling with capacity and not up to the usual loads right now. Hydrate like mad. Eat regularly. Take moments whenever you can to put on a little lotion, to take five minutes and stare at plants outside, to sit in front of an open window and just listen, to peel a stack of potatoes, to knead dough, to color in a coloring page, to clean up your space and make your bed and braid your hair and feed a pet and change into a different shirt and make yourself a tea or coffee or whatever you like. Do those things all the time and your brain will start thanking you here and there with some better periods of flashes of creativity.

Chop out as much time on social media, articles, news sites, the radio, TV, newspapers, etc. as possible. Literally quit looking at ALL of it for an entire day or three if possible. It makes a huge difference. Not even email headlines, don’t look at them. Let your brain get into a space where it can mostly forget anything is even happening, and turn your life into a bubble for a couple days. It helps a lot. You’re not doing anyone a disservice by blocking out the situation, you’re helping yourself function better for a bit and giving your poor subconscious (and conscious) a bit of a break from the constant influx of tiny bits of information and a lot of anxiety and Wondering and Worry.

tl;dr - breathe, build in space for your brain, be gentle and compassionate with yourself, lighten your load if possible, and sieze every tiny moment you can. two words, one line, one chord, etc. is a million billion times more helpful than none, and they add up a lot at the end of a day or week. Progress is what matters, and at the very least you’ll have something to show that you’re really trying if someone doesn’t believe you. Don’t beat yourself up about dealing with this. You’re doing your very best and NO ONE is allowed to demand more from you than that. Breathe. Take care of yourself. You’re making it through each of these hard days, you’re doing great. <3

#anonymous #coronavirus #politics and current events #katie answers asks #Anonymous #when you need a little help

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rosedavid · 5 years

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37, 50, and 56 :). you can pick one or do all three! whichever works better for you. i love your writing!!!!

37. “Can I kiss you?”

50. “I think you’re beautiful.”

56. “It brings out your eyes.”

thank you so much!!! I will try to do all three lol :) hope it’s okay

…

There’s a lot of minute details about Cyrus that TJ hasn’t noticed until now. They’re in the park, lounging on the itchy, fresh-cut grass in the late afternoon after school. Cyrus leans up against the base of a prodigious oak tree, orange leaves lightening as they spiral toward the sky. He looks completely content as he relaxes there, lips part on reflex and hair ruffled slightly by the breeze. It takes a few beats until Cyrus notices TJ’s gaze upon him. His own eyes flit over to TJ, lips quirked upward in amusement.

“Why are you staring at me?” he wonders, pulling his legs up to his chest in an almost self-conscious manner.

TJ, not usually the type for seriousness, would usually play off the answer with a joke. But today, TJ just feels so serene, as if the clouds have parted for the first time in months, sun shining exuberantly around them.

“I think you’re beautiful,” TJ admits softly, like an echo of the trees above them. Cyrus’s face turns as vivid as the colors surrounding them, and he quickly goes to duck his head. His fingers pluck scattered dandelions, unsure what else to do with them.

Then, before TJ can stop his train of thought, he blurts out, “Can I sketch you?”

This catches Cyrus’s interest again. “You sketch?”

He shrugs. “A bit, in my free time. I’ve been feeling kind of uninspired lately, but you’re always inspiring to me.”

“A-are you sure? Isn’t there something better you could draw?”

“Better than you? No way.”

Cyrus’s blush only intensifies, but he nods in agreement to TJ’s proposal. TJ reaches for his backpack thrown off to the side. He finds the sharpest pencil he can, along with a plain, white sheet of paper in his sketchbook for an empty canvas. He always carries it around with him in his bag just in case. Thankfully, that came in handy today.

“Do I need to do anything?” Cyrus asks, biting his lip.

“No, just be yourself. Relax.”

“Myself isn’t relaxed,” Cyrus jokes nervously at him.

“I know.”

Then, he starts sketching. TJ’s sketched Cyrus many times before, mostly for memory. Never has he sketched Cyrus like this before, with the boy right in front of his eyes. He outlines the familiar shape of Cyrus’s face, neck leaned back against the tree again. While he draws, his pencil carries the uniqueness of Cyrus’s face onto his canvas. There’s a lot of things that TJ never noticed to include in his past drawings, such as the lighter pieces of hair sprawled throughout his brown hair. The speckled sunspots just barely visible along the apples of his cheeks. The freckle below his lip. The scar along his chin. The honey pools that light up the darks of his eyes in the sunlight.

“The sun really brings out your eyes,” TJ whispers, mostly to himself, but Cyrus catches his sentence.

“My eyes?”

“Like dark gold in the sun.”

TJ never thought of himself to be a poet, but in this moment it feels more like reality. Cyrus just brings out the creativity in him, the inspiration, the motivation. TJ could spend all day describing Cyrus, studying him, drawing him, loving him.

About ten minutes later, TJ puts the finishing touches on his sketch. Noticing him slowing down out of the corner of his eye, Cyrus sits up straighter.

“Can I see it?” he asks curiously.

TJ nods, scooting over until both their backs rest against the tree trunk. Cyrus leans over, hair brushing against TJ’s cheek as he looks down at the paper. He doesn’t say anything for a bit, making TJ worry that there has to be something wrong, something that Cyrus doesn’t like about it.

“I-I’m not a professional or anything,” TJ stammers out, trying to rectify the situation.

“Are you sure?” Cyrus murmurs. “Because this is beautiful. I can’t believe you saw this in me.”

“This is you, Cyrus. You need to give yourself more credit, sometimes. You’re really special.”

“You’re really special too, Teej.”

Cyrus leans up to meet his eyes, then reaches up to tuck a loose strand of hair back behind his ear. His thumb strokes TJ’s cheekbone as he goes. Then, with a breathy exhale, Cyrus finally asks with strain, “Can I kiss you?”

Not trusting himself to say anything, TJ nods enthusiastically, meeting him halfway. Cyrus’s hand cups his face as they kiss, the only thing keeping TJ from floating away. He melts into the feeling of Cyrus’s lips captured with his own, feeling as weightless as a leaf fluttering off the highest branches of the oak trees above.

#tyrus #andi mack #tyrus fic #andi mack fanfiction #tj kippen #cyrus goodman #andi mack fanfic #tyrus fanfic #fanfiction #tj x cyrus #cyrus x tj #fluff #prompts #answered #asks #anonymous

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mystixxspirit · 4 years

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The level of fear, uncertainty, and anger we are currently facing is worse than the majority of us have experienced in our lifetimes, we are facing a global crisis not only physically, but also mentally, emotionally & spiritually. COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on every aspect of our existence and with every life that is claims, another dangling thread of hope diminishes entirely. The collective is rapidly descending into chaos, with an array of absurd behaviors that on first glance, would, of course, make us assume the world is ending. Stockpiling toilet rolls, blasting Sally from next door all over social media because she's been out 3 times this week and never comes back with any shopping, being zonked on a screen 20 hours a day because "there's nothing better to do", making sure there is always have a shopping bag in your pocket when you go out for your daily exercise in fear of being questioned.

FEAR, one of the largest psychological factors we face in these unprecedented times, something so powerful, that when faced and embraced for what it is, can contribute unfathomably towards a heavenly shift in our own inner world & the world surrounding us. Now, let's quickly clear up what is meant here by FEAR; False Evidence Appearing Real, so for example; amongst many reasons, some people are pushed to panic buy because in some minds projection of the future essentials are going to 'run out', the virus will be so lethal we won't be able to keep shops operating, or simply put, things will never get better. Let's be brutally realistic, the probability of those things actually happening is incredibly slim.

The world is not ending, however, the threats we are facing are still very real, dangerous and well yes, they are extremely frightening. However, our downfall as a society will be our inability to distinguish against rational fright; a reaction to the chaos we are faced with and; an illusion presenting itself as a threat. I'm not saying this pandemic is an illusion and we do not need to take precaution to protect those at risk, neither am I trying to downplay the severity of the situation, I'm merely trying to bring attention to the invisible FEAR machine that many of us so easily fall victim of and how it causes us unnessecary problems and keeps us enslaved in a repetitive cycle.

Humanity has a choice, we can paralyze ourselves in the endless stream of what ifs, or we can ground ourselves in the present moment and seize the moment for what it really is; a well needed global break. A period to put life on hold, to reflect, be still & look inwards, an opportunity to connect with ourselves and our own personal wisdom.

This is not as easily said than done for a lot of people who are suffering and truth be told, we have ALL lost something due to this disaster, been affected by it in some way, and we are allowed to grieve. We are allowed to feel confused, sad, isolated, lonely, broken, lost, angry, scared, worried. But we must not allow ourselves to be consumed by these emotions, let them run our state of being. Instead, we must acknowledge their root cause, the anxieties and underlying beliefs attached to them and know that this too, shall pass. After all, our lives are merely a fragment of time, experienced on a rock hurtling through space amidst vast nothingness.

Everything exists within a state of duality, negative can not exist without positive, even though there doesn't seem like a lot of positive going around currently, there is, so much potential for good to shine. The world is healing. The planet itself is breathing properly again for the first time in any of our lifetimes. Billions of usually very busy individuals globally are faced with a rare opportunity to actually rest and heal themselves, to reflect inwards and actually spend quality time with themselves.

Many of us have been blessed with a well-needed break. It's up to those who aren't the wonderful keyworkers keeping us all together, to honor the people who are under an insane amount of pressure right now, by making the most out of this in whatever way they can. Whether this is as simple as just taking the time to count your blessings, appreciate who you are or spend 5 minutes looking inwards, we have so much time on our hands right now to do us. Whatever that may be, whether you're creative and have some projects you've always wanted to start but never had the time to get round to it, or maybe you had a faint idea for a business or endeavor you'd like to start you could finally start making plans for, or even if you could really do with a total break from life and decide that this time is specifically for that. It's up to no one else but you how you spend this time, not your boss, not your TV or social media feed and most definitely not a parasitic illusion presenting itself as part of you.

When you think about it, would it really be so bad if things didn't go exactly back to how they were before? We weren't really living our best lives, we have been destroying the planet for material gain, slaving away at poorly paid, uninspired jobs, whilst corrupt governments justify yet another poor decision that has resulted in the death of thousands. Billions, of us galivant excessively around the planet, consume processed food & factory-farmed animals, purchase £50 products made by children in dangerous factories for pennies and partake in countless more environmentally damaging 'luxuries', entirely oblivious to the true extent of damage these activities are having on our own wellbeing and the giant rock we call home; Mother Gaia.

We as a species are being presented with an opportunity to go inwards, to explore our minds and the fabric of our very being, and inwards to society, uncovering and bringing light to the very problems that have contributed towards the crisis we are currently facing. Because let's face it, our planet needed this pause more than anything. We are in the midst of the Sixth Mass Extinction and it's undeniable that the damage we are continuously causing and making very little attempt to prevent, is irreversible. If we really care about all life on this planet, then something has got to change, and it already has. Can't you feel the peace in the air as the crisp, clean air sends tiny shivers of hope through your nostrils? Howabout the beauty of a TRULY clear blue sky without the scattering of chemtrails? Or the view of the big cities without the overhang of thick, deathly smog?!?!

Our external world is shifting. We are the key to grounding and stabilizing the Earth and empowering her, and all those that want the best for her and ALL of her inhabitants, in unconditional love and integrity. We owe it to existence itself, to be our most honest, loving selves, to embrace our inner truths at all times. And right now, we all share a worldwide inner truth that is screaming in desperation for our honor, the need to rejuvenate and nourish our home, if we don't, when do overcome COVID_19, how long will it be until something else, potentially something even worse, plagues our planet?

In times of chaos, we are all forced to go through a big change in how we perceive the world and ourselves. When we're faced with an issue larger than ourselves, it's easy to crack open, but sometimes a beautiful thing can happen, we can blossom open and allow all the wonder and light from the depths of our core to flourish, thrive and grow using the uncertainty as a lever for spiritual healing & growth. We have no choice but to look within and what better time than now? Imagine how much of a better place the world would be if we all emerged from this with a firmer understanding of ourselves, the errors of our past and what we could do collectively to fix whatever is broken. A great awakening. We may not be able to change the tragedy of the past, but we sure as hell can visualize, spread the word of and fight for a better future.

Life as we've known it is over. But this doesn't have to be a bad thing. I, amongst so many others, do genuinely believe that with the power of love, empowerment of peace and devotion to individuality, we are capable of creating a shift in our collective consciousness, bringing light into the lives of those that need it most and uniting us in ways we could have never previously even imagined.

My heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathy is with everyone that has lost a loved one or has felt the effects of the virus. Love & Light to all,FAB xx

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tiesandtea · 4 years

Text

Interview with Artmagic from July 2012 for Spindle Magazine

By Amy Lavelle on July 12, 2012. Archived here.

Doors close; windows open etc. One of the many valuable lessons to be learned from the Sound of Music and when Suede’s door closed, another window of shining opportunity opened in the form of Artmagic: the new project and meeting of minds of Richard Oakes and producer, now vocalist, SeanMcGhee (Imogen Heap, Britney Spears et al.). Then yes, Suede’s door reopened, but fear not, that won’t be affecting the duo.

We caught up with them for a chat/‘peak behind the magic,’ if you will.

Full interview under the cut. Teaser:

SEAN: Please don’t call us “indie”. Do we look like skinny 18 year olds? I was never skinny, or young. This policy will continue. RICHARD: Please do call us “indie”. It’s funny to watch Sean’s reaction!

SPINDLE: Before you hear Artmagic’s music, it seems at first like an unlikely pairing; how did you form? What’s the story behind Artmagic? SEAN: I was a big admirer of Richard’s work and was curious that he’d seemingly disappeared when his other band split. Here was this enormously talented guitarist and writer, suddenly off the radar. I must have been in a fearless, bolshy mood, because I just decided I wanted to write with him. A friend of mine was egging me on, and it turned out that he knew Richard’s brother. So I was able to get in contact and arrange to meet up. We wrote our current single, Forever In Negative on the very first day of working together; once that was under our belts, we both knew this wasn’t going to be a one-off. RICHARD: We exchanged show reels via our manager Charlie in late 2007, but we didn’t actually meet until July 2008, and started writing straight away. Not really the traditional way bands form – meeting at art school, sharing a squat etc… But right from the off Artmagic was never going to be a typical rock ‘n’ roll outfit. I think of it as a project, rather than a band, with none of the clichéd behaviour, image or attitude. Sean doesn’t model himself on his influences, and this definitely attracted me to working with him. SPINDLE: Why the name? SEAN: It comes from something film director John Waters said about modern art; he noted how it lets you take seemingly unrelated everyday objects and, by using them in the right way, turn them into something meaningful. Art, he said, is magic, like alchemy – transformative. And I loved that, immediately, because song writing is art. We take disparate fragments and craft them into the whole. I’m not afraid to appear pretentious when I say that. I’m get exasperated by the clichés of rock, so framing what we do in artistic terms suits me much better than relying on tired posturing. RICHARD: Sean chose the name, my input was a shameful zero! My past career has left me with a strong ethic that the only thing that matters is the music; everything else is secondary. It’s easy to spot the bands in the past who have concentrated on name, image and impact first… and then forgotten about the actual music. SPINDLE: Obviously there were a lot of expectations for the band; were you at all apprehensive putting new music out there in the beginning? SEAN: Not at all; the moment we released the I Keep On Walking EP was when Artmagic became real, and I think we were both hungry for that moment. I can’t really imagine what expectations people had, but I hope we confounded them by giving them a moody song cycle about 3 unwillingly intertwined lovers. I’m immensely proud of it, and I think it was a gutsy way to lead off. RICHARD: Releasing your work to the world is always exciting yet daunting, no matter what you believe the expectations to be. I’ve had reviews of my past work that have ranged from glowing to utterly awful, and I’ve learned to take both with a pinch of salt. The most important thing is that people get to hear it; I believe there will always be someone in the world whose life is touched by it, and that’s the whole point. SPINDLE: How have you found the reception so far? SEAN: Gratifying. It’s thrilling, really, that we’ve already got some very passionate fans and it’s very exciting when we do shows and we can see the audience getting it. Obviously some people have had difficulty moving beyond our previous work, and get upset or confused because it doesn’t sound the same, but you can’t please everyone, and I wouldn’t want to anyway. Pleasing ourselves is the first priority, and will remain so. RICHARD: I believe we’ve attracted the kind of people who like music in the same way we do. When talking to someone at a gig you can instantly tell if they’re there for the right reasons, a genuine open minded love of music as an art form, or whether they’re there just to stare at you. People who have the usual prejudices won’t appreciate what we do, and I have no interest in playing to them. SPINDLE: Sean, how was it making the transition from ‘behind the scenes’ as it were to taking the mic and being at the forefront? SEAN: Artmagic happened because we realised that no-one else could sing these songs we were writing – they were too personal. That, and Richard’s support, gave me the confidence to be the man to sing them. Doing so was both the realisation of a long-held ambition and a serious challenge. But that’s a good thing, because anything that’s easy to do is generally not worth doing at all. SPINDLE: Richard, after taking time out of the spotlight following Suede’s split, how was it releasing new music? Is it something you’ve been working on since the break or did you take time away from it all? RICHARD: I did take some time out to move house, but I had been working on a whole load of music, some of which became the backbone for the album, for a couple of years before I met Sean. The intensity of being a Suede member for so many years cast a long shadow over my work, and it took me a lot of soul searching to realise exactly what I wanted to do with my career. The one thing I was certain of was that I didn’t want to simply join another band, or have a new band formed around me. I wanted to just write and write, and when I met Sean, that’s what we concentrated on. I threw a lot of (probably very confused-sounding) music at him, and he was able to pinpoint the underlying emotions and feelings, and turn them into very personal songs. SPINDLE: How does the creative process as Artmagic differ from previous projects for both of you? SEAN: The process is both the same and different. I’ve written with a lot of people over the years and I’m past being tentative; you have to fearlessly throw down your ideas and say, “what about this?” to get a song happening. Truly poor songs get written by the disinterested or uninspired. That is never an issue with Richard because he’s always got something great up his sleeve, and that means I have to respond in kind. That’s not always been the case for me in the past, so I relish it. RICHARD: The biggest difference for me is that Sean invites me to be involved when he writes the melodies, there is no separatism. This was never the case in Suede; almost all co-writing would be done alone, often even by post. It just goes to show how many different ways there are to write a song. We have a few that have come out of spontaneous jamming round at Sean’s, but they’re a world away from the traditional band rehearsal room jamming! Something that rarely works well. SPINDLE: Have you faced any major hurdles so far as a band and if so, what? SEAN: Not really. Any musician who has a career is living a charmed life, and they know it. Never mind the endless whining we hear, saying how hard it is. It should be hard, because that weeds out the faithless. I’m a true believer in Artmagic specifically, and music generally. I crave widespread appreciation for Artmagic, because I think our work deserves it. RICHARD: The only hurdles, the only hoops we’ve had to jump through have been self-imposed, in the writing and recording. We set ourselves a high standard, and despite having no corporations breathing down our necks, it was hard work, but the end result was all the more satisfying. SPINDLE: What’s next?

SEAN: Touring and festivals in July, more touring in September. Our second single Down In The River comes out in October. We’re working hard to give Become The One You Love its due, and once that’s done and dusted we’ll start thinking seriously about album two. We already have some songs in hand, and some very interesting ideas about how to approach the process differently next time around. But I don’t want overthink it; better to run on instinct.

RICHARD: Live appearances in the many different guises of the band, up and down the country. I’m especially looking forward to the album release gig at St Pancras Old Church on 9th July with the whole band. But I can’t wait to start writing again – I believe that is the most important part of our job. Creativity will outlive industry. SPINDLE: Anything else to add? SEAN: Please don’t call us “indie”. Do we look like skinny 18 year olds? I was never skinny, or young. This policy will continue. RICHARD: Please do call us “indie”. It’s funny to watch Sean’s reaction!

#artmagic #richard oakes #sean mcghee

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yumeka36 · 5 years

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Thoughts on The Lion King remake

I saw The Lion King remake this weekend and…I can’t say I was terribly disappointed because I had such low expectations to begin with. I saw the initial bad reviews, including a video review by one of my favorite critics, and the trailers, which of course emphasized the main problem with the movie: the intent on making the animals completely realistic made it so they can’t show facial expressions, which just doesn’t work for an epic story where all the characters are animals and the charm comes from the emotion it invokes. Even though the characters are animals, the story itself is very human, so how can you make memorable, impacting scenes when the characters have same generic faces all the time? Sure, good voice acting helps to a point, and while the acting in this movie was overall fine, it’s just not enough to make up for a 2 hour lack of visual emoting. It made me think of older movies like Homeward Bound that starred real animals with actors providing their voices and why that worked better: it’s probably because Homeward Bound and similar movies used real animals, who actually have more expressions than this Lion King remake would have you believe, but mostly because they take place in human settings (with some human characters to pad emotional scenes) and the animals’ stories are much more animal-centric, focused on things like finding their way home as opposed to Lion King that deals with human-scale issues like ruling kingdoms, family death and betrayal, self-guilt, romance, etc., all of which require expressions and emotions to leave an impression. So how can I feel anything for Simba when he has the exact same look on his face when Mufasa dies as when he’s stalking a beetle?

So despite this glaring flaw in the remake that a lot of movie critics have pointed out, why do audiences still seem to like it? Why did the people at the theater I went to (and I’m sure many others) applaud at the end, and even during certain scenes? It comes down to one primary reason, which is also the main reason Disney keeps dishing out these remakes: nostalgia. Nostalgia is a very powerful thing in the entertainment industry, especially nowadays as my generation seems particularly drawn to it. As long as pleasant nostalgic feelings are invoked, it makes people extremely forgiving of and even blind to a movie’s other flaws. If scenes and music make them remember something good from the original work, they’ll associate it with this work too and therefore think this work is just as good, even if underneath the nostalgia lining it’s just an uninspired, and in Lion King’s case, emotionless, remake. These people tend to think of movies as easily digestible entertainment, but for people like me who see them as forms of art that should be scrutinized and inspire critical thinking no matter what the genre, it becomes a lot easier to see the uselessness of this remake. Of course there’s no right or wrong way a creative work can make you feel, and if nostalgia tripping is your thing, that’s great. But for me, with the exception of Aladdin, I haven’t been impressed with any of the Disney remakes I’ve seen, but the others at least have human actors to carry the emotions of the story, while Lion King’s perpetually neutral-faced characters can’t.

So was there anything redeeming about the movie? While nothing was enough to override the lack of emotion as described above, I guess there were a few things I liked: -The new renditions of the songs and Hans Zimmer’s amazing score were nice to relive (though they cut down Be Prepared for some strange reason…and why did Can You Feel the Love Tonight take place during the day?) -The CG technology used to create the movie was of course impressive -Some of the minor changes/additions they made compared to the original, like making Shenzi the leader of the hyenas, the new scene of Nala sneaking away from the Pride Lands, the relationship between Scar and Sarabi, and some additional dialogues that explain things better, like the hyenas over-hunting and lions using the gorge to find their roar -I guess some of the humor from Timon, Pumbaa, and Zazu was a little funny, but again, when all the characters have such soulless faces, it’s hard to get invested in the jokes too

What I think Disney should have done with these remakes is make some live-action and some, such as Jungle Book and The Lion King that have mostly animal characters, 3D animation. Not the photorealistic type they’re using but their regular animation, like what’s used for Tangled and Frozen. I’d love to see The Lion King with that style over this visually restricted version any day. I went into the movie theater imagining that I’m going to see “The Lion King documentary” starring “real” animals reenacting The Lion King story with people in the background providing voices and music. That way I wouldn’t expect quality character expressions and emotional performances…and yeah, with that mindset, I got what I was expecting. Like most of these remakes, I’m sure people who see this new Lion King will wear their nostalgia goggles and think it’s good for the moment, then forget about it soon after, and anytime they’re in the mood for Lion King again, will watch the original animated one every time.

*Crossposted from my main blog, Yume Dimension*

#disney #disney animation #the lion king

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pass-the-bechdel · 5 years

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Marvel Cinematic Universe: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, twice.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Eight (34.78% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Fifteen.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

Neither characters nor plot are engaging enough to hold strong interest, making the film feel longer than it is, plus there’s one character in particular whose behaviour seriously rankles. It’s not a terrible movie, but it is thoroughly uninspiring.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Liz manages a brief pass with her mother before the dance. Liz says goodbye to Betty.

Female characters:

Betty Brant.

Liz Toomes.

Michelle.

Marjory.

May Parker.

Karen.

Mrs Toomes.

Pepper Potts.

Male characters:

Adrian Toomes.

Mason.

Peter Parker.

Happy Hogan.

Tony Stark.

Jason Ionelli.

Ned.

Flash.

Abraham.

Mr Delmar.

Gary.

Steve Rogers.

Coach Wilson.

Shocker.

Aaron Davis.

OTHER NOTES:

Ah, here’s Peter’s video log from Civil War, where he has no idea why he’s even there and it’s completely irresponsible and inappropriate for Tony to have brought him in on something catastrophically dangerous with no preparation and none of the knowledge necessary to make an informed decision! I hate it. This makes me extremely hate Tony. I know I mentioned it already when I reviewed Civil War, but it’s super-true and not going to change any time soon.

See, this thing where Peter is sacrificing academic and social experiences to hang out for Tony’s promised phone call? That’s on Tony. You can’t just rope a kid into your bullshit and then kick him back out into the world with a vague false promise and no follow-up of any kind. That’s not how kids work. It’s not fair to people in general, but it is especially not how kids work.

Peter having to run because he’s in the suburbs and there are no tall buildings is probably the best gag in this movie.

The inclusion of that little detail about the Washington Monument being built by slaves. Mmmhmm.

I find the plotting of this film very dull and predictable, like ‘oh, and now we’ll have another action set piece, now some cutesy highschool stuff’, etc, and as such I feel it drags excessively and I’m just sitting here waiting for each bit to be done with so that we can get to the next, so that it can be over too, because I’m not attached enough to any one or thing that’s happening for the predictable beats to hold internal interest. That said, the Washington Monument piece is pretty good.

The ludicrous ferry accident, not so much.

Tony shows up, lot of shit-talking, blaming Peter for not magically intuiting information which Tony didn’t give him. Urgh. I deeply, deeply hate this version of Tony.

Toomes reveal is the most inspired choice of the film. Keaton kills it on Toomes’ own revelation of Peter’s identity.

This movie sure does go on.

This ‘screwed the pooch’ joke makes me want to bleach my ears. Also, this whole Avenger/press conference business is still Tony completely failing to appreciate how he’s upended this kid’s life; the right thing to do in this situation is not to lean into it and go ‘ok, but what if I upended it...more?’, just like the right way to deal with it was emphatically not to just kick the kid to the curb to figure things out for himself after that initial upending. I imagine I would have enjoyed this film sooo much more if I were not raging at Tony throughout.

Ok, let me just purge on the Tony thing before I go any further, otherwise I’m never gonna be able to focus properly on the rest of the movie. I hate what they’ve done with Tony. That’s obvious. I really, deeply disagree with it. Tony was a hard character to get to like, but the Iron Man films did really solid, intelligent work at achieving it despite the many and sundry hurdles, and the key to that was the fact that they had Tony, consistently, recognising the ways that his actions hurt others and then making the effort to fix that and fix himself, not just blowing it off, making some flashy gesture or throwing some money at the problem and then breezing on out like everything’s fine and none of it’s on him. The Avengers films - particularly Ultron - did significant work at tarnishing the character development of the Iron Man films, and then Civil War came in and - amidst the many, many sins Tony committed in that movie - handed the introduction of Spider-Man over to Tony in an act of incredibly irresponsible and reckless child endangerment, which this film proceeded to double-down on by having Tony completely fail to be a reasonable, thinking adult at any point. Frankly, I don’t feel that Tony’s initial decision to involve Peter in Civil War is forgivable, there’s no walking that back, but the least he could have done is to recognise that fact and make appropriate amends, which - as above - does not mean ignoring the kid any more than it means pandering to his hero complex. It makes me feel really, really old to be saying it, but Peter is a minor, he doesn’t have a strong perspective on the world yet, but he’s also old enough and wise enough that he can’t just have people throwing rules at him and expecting obedience; he needs to be treated with the respect of having things explained, but he also needs oversight because he isn’t mature enough to make choices without it. He needs guidance. That’s the position which Tony actively puts himself in and then fails to follow through on, and it leaves Peter feeling that he has to prove himself, that he has to further endanger himself in order to win the mentorship that Tony promised. As a character response and an emotional position for Peter, that’s great story fodder and logical follow-on from his introduction, and I can’t fault that. For Tony Stark though, who manages to both start and end this movie without actually learning anything, it makes me infuriated beyond belief.

THAT SAID, let’s segue to the natural place: to Peter. The good news is, if this film gets only one thing right, it’s that very precise balance of Peter’s age, with all its accompanying tumult; Peter is mature enough to feel like he’s in control of his life and choices and capable of taking on new, big, adult things, but not mature enough to realise the limitations that come with his age in terms of experience and worldview. He has that ‘teenagers think they know everything’ factor, but without it being conveyed as either too arrogant or too whiny to be palatable. It’s a tough ask for teen characters, generally, as the creative forces behind them are almost invariably adults (and usually have been for quite some time), and it’s hard to recapture the mentality of a teen once you’ve grown beyond that mentality yourself. When Peter declares that school doesn’t matter anymore because he’s ‘probably never coming back’, he’s gonna become an Avenger and that’s his whole life plan right now, no real details, no clarity in what exactly that means for his day-to-day life or where he gets his income or how things might go in the long term, that’s a classic teen moment for him: his future is a concept, all of its parts internally encompassed, and it’s not just that he dismisses the questions, logistics, and concerns that an adult would know to raise, it’s that these things don’t even occur to him in the first place. Peter is in this middle-position, the transition from child to adult, and he’s not as far through that transition as he thinks he is (teenagers never are). Altogether, I may not be enamoured by this film, nor am I especially compelled by Tom Holland’s take on this character (he’s not bad, he’s just...not that enthralling, either), but the particular pitch of Peter’s mentality is spot-on without being, in itself, just another tromp through dull and overwrought teen-angst cliches.

The rest of the movie, on the other hand...I feel kinda bad about spending that over-long first paragraph railing against a certain billionaire who could have done us all a favour and not been in this film (or at least, not as prominently), giving Peter more of a chance to explore his spider-self and what it means to his life on his own terms, instead of being so heavily influenced by how he fits into the wider universe, and then maybe we could have fleshed out more of Peter’s normal life in order to make all the extraneous pieces of this story more meaningful, and less, y’know, extraneous. As-is, I don’t feel like I’ve got a lot to say about it, it’s fairly generic and unremarkable, and while there are some good set-up pieces - Toomes’ whole descent-to-criminal-enterprise-due-to-economic-pressures thing has great narrative potential and scope for reflection upon capitalism in the real world - the story never explores any of those pieces enough to even half-ass a real analysis of the idea. Toomes is rendered a mostly stock villain, the same as Liz gets little to make her more than a bland Love Interest, May is an interchangeable maternal figure, and Ned - while fun and easily a highlight in a cast that’s hardly vying for the title - is also a bit of a heavy-handed stereotype sitting in the comic relief/sidekick chair (the fact that he essentially references this in-story, fourth-wall-denting style, does not make it less uninspired). And I’m not sure how we’re supposed to see Zendaya’s MJ as anything other than a gimmick at this point, kinda seems like she was literally only there so that her preferred name could be used as a weightless ‘reveal’ at the end. Like I said up in the notes, I found the movie to be excessively predictable in a bad way, bringing me out of the viewing experience to count off the minutes and story beats, and as such, even though this is not the worst film Marvel has churned out to date, it is one of my least favourites. I know there are a lot of people who loved it, who love Tom Holland’s version of Peter Parker and found this movie light and fun, and it’s not that I can’t see where they’re coming from with that...I guess it’s just that whatever parts of the story are self-contained are so recycled from so many other films of this ilk, I can’t find anything to attach to, and then the rest of the story which could have been spent making something a little more interesting from those basic, predictable bones, instead is wasted on an over-emphasis on placing this movie into the MCU’s larger framework (an ironic waste of resources since you can easily skip this film without getting confused watching the next MCU movies with Spider-Man in them, Infinity War and Endgame). Anyway. I fear I’m just gonna start repeating myself for lack of anything else to say; I don’t care for this movie, it had at least a good little piece of heart in it but it wasted too much time on things which did not enhance this story or the wider universe anyway, I hate Tony Stark now. The end.

#Marvel Cinematic Universe #MCU #Spider-Man: Homecoming #Bechdel Test #female representation #Spider-Man

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thenerdparty · 5 years

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Spider-Man: Far From Home - Film Review

Written by Shawn Eastridge

I never thought I’d ever say this, but I’m starting to think Spider-Man might be too good for Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. No. Scratch that. I know he is. And Far From Home, the latest entry in this franchise, proves it once and for all.

I was willing to give Spider-Man: Homecoming a pass. Despite being relatively shallow, it’s light on its feet, has a great villain in Michael Keaton’s Vulture and contains a strong emotional beat for Spidey near the film’s climax. Far From Home has none of this. In fact, Far From Home is one of the blandest entries Marvel Studios has yet released. Instead of seeking out opportunities to deepen Peter Parker’s character, Marvel Studios has relegated him to cleaning up the mess Avengers: Endgame left behind. When a Spider-Man film makes you long for the emotional depth of Spider-Man 3, you know there’s a problem.

Following the shenanigans of Infinity War and Endgame, Peter is understandably ready for a vacation. His upcoming summer class trip is the perfect opportunity to do so. Not only will he and his best bud Ned get to take in a number of scenic European views, but Peter will get a chance to spend quality time with his crush MJ. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll finally get the chance to tell her how he feels. Peter even goes so far as to leave his Spider suit behind, determined to enjoy this time off to the fullest.

Naturally, things don’t work out that way. Before long, Nick Fury arrives to pull Peter off of the sidelines and back into the superhero-ing world. Quentin Beck, a superhero claiming to be from another dimension, has arrived in the midst of a number of Elemental monster attacks. These Elementals, comprising of - you guessed it - water, fire and earth, destroyed Beck’s Earth. Beck is now determined to protect Peter’s Earth at all costs, but he and Fury will need Peter’s help to do so. That is, if Peter is up for the task.

Right from the get-go, Far From Home casually dismisses Endgame’s dramatic heft in favor of a quick laugh. While I understand the need to establish a different tone from Endgame, the offhand way Far From Home makes light of Endgame’s superb conclusion further emphasizes how little director Jon Watts and this creative team cares about making anything that happens here feel significant in any way. At every turn, Far From Home attempts to distract the audience from its glaring insignificance by going the route of comedy. Every action sequence is punctuated by some half-assed punchline or an overriding sense of artificiality - Flash Thompson live-blogging on his phone; the teachers making some kooky comments about how they’re all going to die. There’s no sense of danger. No suspense. No stakes. None of it feels remotely believable.

To be fair, the emphasis on humor is a common complaint lobbied at the MCU. Here’s the thing, though: while humor plays a large role in these films, the humor enriches the already present emotional stakes and characters. For the most part, we’re laughing with our heroes, not at them. (Thor: Ragnarok is the argument to the contrary, but the big difference between that film and this one is that Thor: Ragnarok is actually funny.) Far From Home can’t seem to differentiate between those two things. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if the jokes didn’t feel so forced and awkward.

And, hey, speaking of forced and awkward, how ‘bout those action sequences? With the exception of one genuinely impressive Mysterio-inspired acid trip, every action scene feels lackluster and uninspired. It’s like the studio handed director Jon Watts a shot list and storyboards without taking any input from him. “All you need to do is show up on set and say, ‘Action!’ Whatever unique sensibilities or voice Watts brought to the table with Homecoming have all but vanished in Far From Home.

Actually, you know what it reminds me of? Marc Webb’s short-lived Amazing Spider-Man series. No, hear me out real quick. Neither of those movies are particularly good, but which one feels more like the product of the 500 Days of Summer director? The first one, right? And which one feels more like a studio-mandated, computer-generated crapshoot? (There’s only one guess left here, people. You can’t go wrong)

Far From Home is the MCU’s equivalent of The Amazing Spider-Man 2. It’s louder, more colorful and ultimately emptier than its immediate predecessor. I guess it’s fitting that Mysterio would be Far From Home’s main villain. A character that specializes in crafting intricate illusions to hide how insignificant everything is? Sounds about right, doesn’t it? Jake Gyllenaal takes on the role with manic enthusiasm, but the character’s motivations are flimsy and dull. Once again, we have a villain hellbent on getting revenge on Tony Stark, and once again, we have Spider-Man cleaning up a mess Tony Stark left behind.

Great.

Things don’t fare much better with Peter’s personal relationships either, in particular, the romance between Peter and MJ. The two of them are all awkward pauses and nervous tics. It’s adorable, make no mistake, but like most of Far From Home, it feels artificial. We never get the sense that there’s a real connection between these two because Watts and screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers (the same writing pair behind the dull beyond all reason Ant-Man and the Wasp) never take a break from telling jokes to offer up a single moment of sincerity. Tom Holland and Zendaya have great chemistry, but there’s no substance to their interactions. The rest of the supporting cast are simplistic types, barely memorable. Even Ned, one of Homecoming’s highlights, is left on the sidelines with little to do.

What’s really disappointing is that Far From Home contains the set up for what could have been really great Spider-Man story. I love the idea that Peter just wants a break from all the crazy superhero duties. He just wants a vacation with his friends; he wants to spend time with the girl he’s crushing on. Doesn’t he deserve a break? It’s in the execution that this film fails.

Many of Spidey’s best tales deal with Peter’s struggle to balance his personal life - money woes, girl troubles, job issues, etc. - with the responsibility of being a superhero. It’s what makes this character so special. He carries a significant weight and the responsibility of being Spider-Man puts a damper on everything in his life. Sam Raimi’s trilogy understood this perfectly. It’s why those films still hold up so well. Even Spider-Man 3, as stupid as it is, had its heart in the right place.

The problem with the MCU’s version of Spider-Man is that it seems to ignore the emotional depth of the character in favor of a quick laugh and light-hearted adventures. Peter’s struggles never evolve beyond the surface level. There’s no sense of responsibility or obligation, nothing personal that seems to motivate Peter’s decision to be a hero. Marvel Studios is so concerned with making Spider-Man light and fun, they’ve forgotten to provide any meaningful emotional stakes or the slightest bit of complexity to the character. Other than a brief conversation in ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (which, by the way, remains the MCU’s best interpretation of this character to date and ISN’T EVEN A SPIDER-MAN MOVIE), we don’t have a strong sense of who Peter is or why he does what he does. As far as I can tell, Peter wants to be Spider-Man because he wants to live up to Tony Stark’s legacy. His entire motivation is reliant on another character. This robs Peter of a personal motivation and, as a direct result, reduces the character to a pale imitation of his true potential.

And, look, I get it. The Uncle Ben stuff is well-tread territory. I’m not saying I need the same angsty overtones provided by the Raimi/Maguire trilogy, but the way these films bend over backwards to not mention Uncle Ben is borderline parodic. Here’s the thing: you don’t have to show Uncle Ben’s death or have it take precedent over the story to show its impact in Peter and Aunt May’s life.

Instead of taking advantage of the chance to deepen the relationship between these two, to show how they’ve tried to move on in the wake of Ben’s passing, life seems pretty peachy-keen for the Parkers. They don’t seem to struggle with any money woes, illnesses or anything else that could potentially offer these films an ounce of significance. Uncle Ben provides the core motivation for why Spider-Man does what he does. When you take that out of the picture, what else is left? I mean, they don’t even acknowledge the fact that Peter has had two, count ‘em, TWO, father figures taken from him in the span of, like, a year. Come on, people!

And at the center of all of this, fighting to overcome the film’s lack of identity and overarching blandness, is Tom Holland. Holland is a remarkable, gifted young actor. He’s nailed this character and has proven time and time again he has the chops to pull off a far more meaningful interpretation. I wish the studio was willing to meet him halfway. To watch him give his all in a film that doesn’t remotely deserve his talents is a depressing experience.

That’s really the best way to describe this film. ‘Depressing.’ Far From Home reduces Spidey to a C-list member of the MCU’s expansive ensemble. His entries in this franchise feel more like financial obligations than attempts to tell meaningful stories. I wouldn’t care as much if it was another character getting lost in the corporate chaos, but this is SPIDER-MAN we’re talking about. He’s one of the most complex and beloved characters in the history of storytelling. The source material is overflowing with great stories that have meaningful emotions and stakes and this is the best Marvel Studios can come up with? As portrayed here, Spider-Man is no longer a character that can stand on his own. He’s just a fly trapped in someone else’s web.

FINAL RATING: 2 out of 5

#Spider-Man #Spider Man #SpiderMan #Spiderverse #Far From Home #MCU #Marvel Cinematic Universe #Marvel Studios #Avengers #Tom Holland #Zendaya #Jake Gyllenhaal

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