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conradscrime · 3 years

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The Infamous Case of The Zodiac Killer

January 29, 2021

This has to be one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the history of true crime. Right up there with the Jack the Ripper and The Black Dahlia cases, the identity of the Zodiac, a serial killer who terrorized California in the late 1960’s remains unknown, though there are some very likely suspects that do fit the description of the killer and his MO.

Like with all the unsolved mysteries I cover on here I want you guys to tell me who you think is the most likely suspect, who do you think the identity of the Zodiac is?

On the night of December 20th, 1968 two high school students named Betty Lou Jensen who was 16 and David Arthur Faraday, 17, went on their first date. The couple visited a friend first, before going to a local restaurant and then decided to drive down Lake Herman Road instead of the city limits of Benicia. Around 10:15 pm David parked his car in what was known as being a “lover’s lane.”

After 11 pm the bodies of Betty Lou and David were found by a woman named Stella Borges, who lived nearby. The Solano County Sheriff’s Department was called to the case and conducted an investigation but there was nothing to go off of, there were no leads. A man named Robert Graysmith using the forensic data that was available from the scene suspected that another car had parked next to the couple’s that night. Whoever was driving that car exited out of their car, walked towards the couples car and ordered Betty Lou and David out of the car. Betty Lou appeared to have exited the car first, and when David was halfway out the person shot him in the head. The killer shot Betty Lou 5 times in the back as she tried to run away. Her body was found 28 feet away from the car.

Before midnight on the night of July 4, 1969 Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau drove four miles away from Lake Herman Road, where the first murders took place. They drove to the Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo to park. At one point a second car drove up to the couple and parked beside them but then quickly drove away. This is very suspicious to me because what would be the reasoning for this? Did the Zodiac contemplate whether or not to kill this couple? Very suspicious.

About 10 minutes later the car pulled up again, this time parking behind the couple. The driver exited the car, approaching the passenger side door of the couples car. The killer was holding a flashlight and a 9 mm Luger. The killer flashed the light into the eyes of Darlene and Michael and then proceeded to shoot them, firing his gun 5 times. The killer then walked away but heard Michael moaning in pain and returned to shoot each victim twice more. The killer then drove off. Miraculously, Michael Mageau survived the shooting, however Darlene passed away.

The craziest part of this shooting is that around 12:40 am on July 5, 1969, so very shortly after the attack a man called the Vallejo Police Department to report the shooting and confess to being the killer. The killer also confessed to the Lake Herman Road killings that happened 6 months prior. The police did trace this phone call to a phone booth at a gas station at the Springs Road and Tuolumne, which was only a few blocks from the Vallejo Police Department. Because Michael survived he was actually able to give the police a good description of his attacker. The killer was described as a white male with short, light brown curly hair, about 26-30 years old, 195-200 pounds, possibly more, 5 ft 8 inches tall.

So you would think great, the police now have a good description of the man responsible for the murders so it will be easier to solve. Super wrong.

If you know anything about serial killers you know that most of them are extremely egotistical, and love to take credit for their work. In doing so, a lot of these killers like to taunt the police, and intrigue the media, make it a fun game to catch them and one of the main ways to do this is to send letters.

Three letters were sent to the Vallejo Times Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Francisco Examiner on August 1, 1969. All of the letters were pretty much identical, with a psychiatrist describing the letters as written by someone who you would expect to be “brooding and isolated.” Each letter talked about the two murders and included one third of a 408 cipher which the killer claimed if it could be deciphered his identity would be known. The killer wanted each letter to be printed on the front of these newspapers, threatening to kill more people if they did not obey.

The San Francisco Chronicle published the cryptogram on page 4 of the next day’s paper. However, the police weren’t exactly sure if the letter was written by the murderer and wanted him to write a second letter with more facts to prove he was the killer.

On August 7, 1969 another letter was received and started with, “Dear Editor, This is the Zodiac speaking” which was the first time the killer used a name for himself. The letter was responding to the police asking for a second letter with the Zodiac including details that were not released to the public yet.

The next day, August 8, 1969 a couple living in Salinas, California named Donald and Bettye Harden cracked the cryptogram that the Zodiac sent. In the message the Zodiac referred to “The Most Dangerous Game.” The Zodiac also discussed how his reasoning for killing people was to “collect slaves for the afterlife.” However, there was no name given to identify the Zodiac’s true identity, as was promised because the killer said if he gave away his identity it would slow down or stop him from collecting slaves.

The murder took place on September 27, 1969 college students Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were on a picnic date at Lake Berryessa when suddenly a man approached them. He was white, about 5 feet 11 inches, weighing over 170 pounds with combed greasy brown hair. He was wearing a black executioner’s-type hood with clip on sunglasses over the eye holds and a bib that had what was later known to be the zodiac’s symbol in white. Can I just point out that I love that they used the word bib? Like this motherfucker was really walking around with a bib on.

The man came up to the couple and was holding what appeared to be a .45 caliber. The man spoke to the students telling them that he had escaped from jail in either Colorado or Montana (which I don’t understand why he didn’t know especially since he was probably lying). A police officer later believed that the man was talking about a jail in Deer Lodge Montana. The man told the students he needed their car and money to go to Mexico.

The man then demanded Cecilia to tie up Bryan with a plastic clothesline before he planned to tie her up as well. The man then checked and had to tighten Bryan’s bonds because Cecilia had tied them too loose. The man then stabbed both of them repeatedly, with Bryan suffering 6 wounds and Cecilia 10. The man then left the scene, walked back to the couple’s car, drew the zodiac symbol on the car door and then proceeded to write the dates of the other Zodiac murders.

In the evening the killer called the Napa County Sheriff’s office from a pay phone to report the crime and admit that he was the one responsible for it. The pay phone the killer used was found with it off the hook minutes later at the Napa Car Wash on Main Street by radio reporter Pat Stanley which was fairly close to the sheriff’s office. The detectives were able to get a still wet palm print from the phone but could never match it to anyone.

A man and son who were fishing found Bryan and Cecilia and contacted the park rangers for help. When police arrived Cecilia was still conscious and able to provide them with a description of her attacker. The couple was taken to the Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, but sadly Cecilia went into a coma during the ride to the hospital and never regained consciousness. She died two days later on September 29, 1969, however Bryan fortunately survived and was able to tell his story to the public.

On October 11, 1969, a white male passenger entered a cab driven by Paul Stine at the intersection of Mason and Geary Streets in San Francisco asking to be taken to Washington and Maple Streets in Presidio Heights. As they were driving the passenger shot Stine once in the head with a 9mm, took Stine's wallet and car keys, and tore a section of Stine's bloodstained shirt. Three teenagers saw this passenger and called the police. The teenagers claimed to have seen a man wiping down the cab before walking away.

Two blocks from the crime scene two patrol officers saw a white man walking along the sidewalk, and this was believed to be the Zodiac killer though they did not realize at the time. The man was around 35-45 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a crew cut, and slightly older looking than the description the three teenagers gave. For some reason, which I still don’t understand to this day is that the police got a call that they should be on the look-out for a black suspect, so when they saw this white man they were not immediately suspicious. The Wikipedia source says the police just drove by the man walking but other sources I’ve seen have claimed the police officers actually stopped and talked to the man.

There’s still no suspects at this point and this is technically the last confirmed murder done by the Zodiac. On October 13, 1969, two days after the murder of Paul Stine, the San Francisco Chronicle got another letter from the Zodiac talking credit for killing Stine as well as sending them the torn piece of Stine’s shirt. After this the teenagers who witnessed this man helped the police come up with a composite sketch.

The next day, October 14 the newspaper received another letter from the Zodiac threatening to kill school children getting off of a school bus. On October 20 a person who claimed to be the Zodiac called the police wanting two lawyers to go on the talk show A.M. San Francisco. During the show someone claiming to be the Zodiac called several times and told them his name was Sam. One of the lawyers scheduled a meeting with the Zodiac but he never showed.

Another cryptogram came in the mail on November 8, 1969 called the Z-340 cryptogram. This cryptogram went unsolved for 51 years until just recently in December of 2020 it was solved by a team of private citizens such as Sam Blake a mathematician, Jarl Van Eycke, a Belgian programmers and American software engineer David Oranchak. They sent what they found to the FBI who verified their discovery. However, this cryptogram was basically bullshit and didn’t give any clues or leads about who the Zodiac was.

On November 9, 1969 the Zodiac mailed a letter discussing how two policemen stopped and spoke with him a few minutes after he shot Paul Stine. Some of this letter was published to the paper on November 12.

So clearly this guy just loves to taunt the police and send letters which I don’t really have any doubt that a random person was sending these letters, I think it was the real Zodiac and he clearly was an attention seeking asshole.

On December 20, 1969 exactly one year after the supposed first murder the Zodiac committed, he sent a letter asking one the lawyers from the AM show to help him.

Things seemed to be pretty quiet on the Zodiac’s end for a couple of months which seems kind of weird. Until one night a woman named Kathleen Johns was driving to go visit her mother. It was March 22, 1970 and she had her 10 month old daughter in tow. She was also 7 months pregnant. While she was driving a car behind her kept honking and flashing their lights so she pulled over on the side of the road. The man also pulled over and parked behind her telling her that he noticed her right rear wheel was wobbling. He offered to tighten it for her. Kathleen agreed and when the man finished he drove off.

When Kathleen went to get back on the road her wheel fell off and she realized that this man had actually loosened the wheel instead of tightening it. The man who “fixed” the wheel came back and offered to drive Kathleen and her daughter to a gas station. While driving they drove past a bunch of gas station yet the man did not stop. When the man stopped at an intersection about 90 minutes later Kathleen actually jumped out of the vehicle with her daughter and hid in a field. The driver searched for her using his flashlight and kept telling her he wouldn’t hurt her, but he eventually gave up and left. Kathleen hitched a ride to a police station to report the man.

Which ok a couple of things here. First, how the fuck did this woman and her small child stay so quiet as this guy was looking for them in the field with his flashlight? Like the fact that the child did not make A SOUND is amazing. Also after getting in this car with a stranger who most definitely was going to kill her and probably her child, it’s crazy she got in ANOTHER car with a stranger to hitch a ride to the police station but I get that it was the 1970’s and everyone was whack.

Ok and this part is fucking insane. While Kathleen was reporting this to the police she noticed the composite sketch they had made of the Zodiac and identified that man as the one who she had to jump out of his car.

Some accounts say this man threatened to kill Kathleen and her daughter though one police report disputes this. There’s also some confusion over whether the Zodiac actually left his car to look for her in the field or not. One report said he did and another says he did not leave his car.

The Zodiac like we’ve already established was an egotistical maniac who wanted everyone to pay attention to him. He kept sending letters throughout 1970 and at one point actually demanded that people wear “Zodiac buttons” basically like he wanted his own fan club.

On July 24, 1970 the Zodiac sent a letter claiming responsibility for the incident with Kathleen and her daughter. There was also other letters sent from supposedly the Zodiac claiming other killings though none of these have ever been confirmed to be done by the Zodiac.

Since this is already a super long story when discussing potential suspects I am only going to talk about one even though there are a few, mostly because this one suspect is the one that is most widely believed to be the Zodiac.

Arthur Leigh Allen had been interviewed by the police very early on in the investigation and also had a lot of search warrants over 20 years. On October 6, 1969 Allen was interviewed by Vallejo police. He had apparently been around the area of Lake Berryessa the day that Bryan and Cecila were attacked and killed (Bryan survived) on September 27, 1969. Allen told the police he had actually been scuba diving at Salt Point that same day.

In 1971 one of Arthur’s friends, Donald Cheney had reported to police that Arthur often talked about his desire to kill other people and he even referred to himself as “the Zodiac” either before or during the time when the killings took place. Arthur was also known to keep a flashlight secured on his gun so he could see at night according to this friend.

Arthur Leigh Allen had been honourably discharged from the US Navy in 1958, as well as having been fired from his job being an elementary school teacher in March 1968 after sexual assault allegations with his students came forth. Which if that is true then Arthur was only fired for around 9 months before the Zodiac killings took place. Maybe he began killing due to possible anger from getting fired from this job earlier in that year.

Arthur Leigh Allen also apparently had never had a girlfriend or a wife, and was described as being quite angry towards women probably due to this reason. Perhaps he targeted mostly couples due to his embarrassment or shame of never having a relationship, or perhaps he struggled with talking to women.

In September of 1972 the San Francisco police got a search warrant for Arthur’s house. Arthur was also described as being “fixated on children” and in 1974 he was arrested for sexually assaulting a 12 year old boy and got 2 years imprisonment. Apparently during this time he was in prison no Zodiac letters were sent. Also classic fucking 70’s punishment, 2 years for sexual assault on a child?! Smh.

Arthur’s house was searched again in February of 1991. He died in 1992 and the Vallejo police got another warrant and seized property from his place. It does not appear that anything crazy was found to tie him to the Zodiac killings.

A letter that was sent to the Riverside Police Department from Bate’s killer was typed with a Royal typewriter which was the same brand of typewriter that was found in Arthur’s house in 1991. Arthur also wore a Zodiac brand wristwatch and lived in Vallejo. He also worked a few minutes away from where one of the Zodiac killings took place and he lived close to one of the victims (Ferrin).

In 2002 the San Francisco police got a partial DNA profile from salvia that was found on stamps and envelopes of the Zodiac’s letters. Remember back in the late 1960’s there was no such thing as being able to link DNA (at least easily) to a person. However, Arthur Leigh Allen’s DNA did not match the DNA found. Don Cheney, the friend who claimed Arthur could have been the Zodiac was also tested but the DNA did not match him either.

A former police handwriting expert Lloyd Cunningham who worked on the Zodiac case for a long time claimed that Arthur Leigh Allen’s handwriting was nowhere close to that of whoever wrote the Zodiac letters. However, it could be possible that someone else wrote the letters, an accomplice perhaps, and also that an accomplice or someone working closely to the real Zodiac provided salvia for the stamps and envelopes.

This is a really long case and there’s a lot more details and suspects that are available to research into so I highly suggest you do your own research on this case, it is fascinating. To this day, in 2021, no one has been convicted of the Zodiac killings. To me personally I feel as though the real Zodiac either moved away from the California area, randomly stopped killing (though that seems unlikely), or died or went to prison himself and that is why the Zodiac has never been found.

I think it is most likely believed that he died because this dude was an egomaniac that wanted credit for his killings. If he continued to kill even if he moved out of the California area he would’ve most likely kept leaving clues and sending letters. If he went to prison I feel like he would’ve confessed at some point since he’s already in there.

It could be possible that the Zodiac is still alive today but he would be extremely old, at least in his 80’s I’d say, and unless a deathbed confession comes in the next few years I’d say we can pretty much without a doubt say he died in a sudden way and was never able to confess or take credit publicly. I’d say the Zodiac killer’s identity will remain unsolved.

Let me know who you think the Zodiac is, other theories you have, and if there’s any other cases you want me to cover in the future! Stay safe & I’ll have a new true crime story posted soon!

#1968 #1969 #zodiac #thezodiac #thezodiackiller #truecrime #murder

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wardog-of-the-endless · 4 years

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5 & 20!

FanFan! You’re a terribly beautiful awful person I love you dearly.

5. What’s a crackship you love? Hmmmm, so this is an interesting question. I'm not sure if we define crackship as within fandom, or like, cross fandom? Like, absolutely banana-boat type ship? WHAT IS THE CRITERIA? TO FANLORE: "A crack ship is a ship that is highly ridiculous, bizarre, disturbing, and/or unlikely to ever become canon. The characters don't have any chemistry, never interact, are in different canons or timelines, are different species, one is an inanimate object, etc." OK. Using this criterion (subtract disturbing, though, because... no?):

(MCU) MARVEL: WinterIron (Bucky x Tony) & WinterHawk (Bucky x Clint) probably both count in the MCU for Crackship selections. WinterHawk makes a bit more sense in some of the comic stories (Hawkeye & The WinterSoldier) with a bonus option of a Triad featuring Natasha, if you're into that. (I'm not mad about it, to be honest).

TMFU/The Man From Uncle (Movie): Napollya/Spies In Love, etc. So I love Napoleon Solo x Illya Kuryakin. I'm not sorry for it. I'll probably write about it. CanonWise, probably not. Bromance wise? Off the charts. Blame Henry & Armie, if you must.

Criminal Minds: Derek Morgan x Spencer Reid. Not gonna become canon but honestly, there was way too much "Pretty Boy" for me not to go "they should totally make out". This is a pairing I'm casually affectionate for, I haven't read much or written any.

Inception: Do we consider DreamHusbands aka Arthur x Eames a crackship? Unlikely to become canon and minimal interaction. Whatever, I ship it like burning.

DC (Comics, Cartoon, DCCU, Whatever): I'm always a fan of SuperBat or SuperWonderBat.. So. Superman x Batman, Superman x Batman x WonderWoman, all good. Supremely powerful alien & warrior vs the man that keeps them human? Continueeee.

Crossover Crackships: (I wasn’t sure above was cracky enough?) *Eliot Spencer (Leverage) x Carlos "Cougar" Alvarez (Losers) x Jake Jensen (Losers) is a great triad ship. I read like, 2 fics but oh man, hot like burning. Toni Likey, very very much. *Lo Zingaro aka Fabio Cannizzaro (They Call Me Jeeg aka Lo Chiamavano Jeeg Robot) x Majid (Wolf): Bad Boys in Love CrossoverFic. Blame the TOG server. Luca Marinelli & Marwan Kenzari's chemistry in The Old Guard has me shipping a bunch of their alternate characters, but none as hard as these guys yet. It's pretty cracktastic, I'm still not sorry.

20. Do you have a favorite fanfic or author? If so, tag them/post a link and share the love!

Oh man this is TOUGH. Ok, ok, so... Sorry this is gonna be TOG heavy, I think.

droit du seigneur by silvyri

- TOG. Nicky has to marry a truly terrible man but the new lord takes a shine to him and claims the right of first night. (Nicky x Joe)

as our love shapes our universe by nicolorenaldigenovia

-TOG. This is L’s Princess Diaries AU (I love L, I recommend everything I’ve read of her’s, truth be told. If she’s reading this, HI DARLING!) The Old Guard Princess Diaries Fusion/AU where Prince Nicolo is Princess Mia's cousin, who introduces his friend Prince Yusuf Al-Kaysani to be Mia's future king.

let's right, these wrongs, together by nicolorenaldigenovia

-Another TOG L fic-. (Remember what I said?) or the one where Nicky is housemates with Nile after Yusuf breaks up with him. And when he finally opens up about it, Nicky realizes that his current predicament was brought on by misunderstandings and good intentions with ill results. But it’s too late. It’s been nearly a year; it doesn’t matter now.

Hemingway by silvermadi (Orientation)

-Remember Fabio x Majid? It’s my Madi-babe’s fault. This is her work, I love it, I love her, I’m rec’ing.

Finally Alive by domini_moonbeam

-”Joe is the new immortal not Nile, and Nicky is the one sent to go find him.” Ok so I don’t know domini but I’d probably fall at their feet if I did. This is for sure one of my favorite TOG stories.

as your sun sets (i know you in bleary-eyed 3AM) by theprophetlemonade

-This is a Sense8/Shadowhunters crossover AU. I have read it entirely too many times. It’s MARVELOUS.

Laying Claim by laceymcbain

-Inception/Dream Husbands. “Arthur, you've rung me at 2:30 in the bloody morning from Soho where you appear to be on a street corner and shirtless, possibly drugged. I've no doubt you're capable of handling yourself under normal circumstances, but drunken blokes aren't always the most understanding sort, especially when you're not actually selling what you look like you're selling.”

The One Where They're Stars on HGTV by earlgreytea68

-Inception/Dream Husbands. Super long HGTV AU Series that is FABULOUS.

And I’m stopping before this gets out of control because I have HUNDREDS more but. I want to sneak in a Standalone Author Rec, in case someone is wanting some Marvel and because I can’t pick a story from her but I would rec all her WinterIron without hesitation, is Ray.

RayShippouUchiha

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deans-mind-palace · 4 years

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Nähkästchenplauderei

For those who didn’t know, that’s German. Normally it would be “aus dem Nähkästchen plaudern” which literally translates to “to talk out of the sewing box”. It’s a common phrase in Germany. Means something like “to spill some beans” or “to catch up on all the gossip”or “to share private information”.

Reason why I’m telling you this?

It’s me, Elena. This is a new part of my blog now. I want to involve all of you more in my daily writing and and the related funny stories, problems or ideas and inspirations. Maybe that’s interesting for you. Maybe it’s just a therapeutic exercise for me, when I’m (not) in the mood to write. Not sure yet. xD

I’ll call it “Nähkästchenplauderei” because I talk about me and writing fanfic but not really about their content. I’ll give you some insider stories about the fanfics I wrote/will write. Funny things. What happened to me during writing it, what gave me inspiration and how I do my research or what is important to me about a certain story and why I’m writing it. The daily life (cough *and struggle* cough) of a writer. If you’re not interested in these pieces of information, then you’ll see just the heading and you’ll know ‘Aaaah, that’s not a story I can read so that’s not interesting for me’. So it’s easier for you to skip. But I thought this could be interesting for you. I want to get to know you more and you can always laugh with me or smack your forehead because of my craziness. This could be fun and I am encouraging you to discuss themes or to tell me your opinion or own experiences. Of course, I hope that many of you take part. ❤️

I’ll tag you all only in this part, afterwards you can tell me, if you want to be notified. If you don’t drop a comment, I’ll automatically take you off my taglist for “Nähkästchenplauderei”. I don’t know how many parts this will have. I’ll write one every time I’m in the mood for it.

*oOo*

Nähkästchenplauderei - A blog about my blog.

A new passion - Or the story of me buying a guitar on Amazon at 1am

I always do a lot of research for my stories. I know some authors hate it, but I love doing research. It’s like playing detective and investigating while educating myself further. I always do Pinterest boards (I can share them with you, if you want) for my series because looking at the pictures and the links inspires me during writing. The ‘Simple Man Series’ is Set in an alternative universe where Jensen is a Country singer. I had no idea about country music, to be honest. I got all my knowledge about it from watching ‘Walk the line’ but that’s it. Obviously, I needed to do research! I created a Spotify playlist for the series (which I will link as soon as it’s uploaded).

When I wrote Suspirium or collected pictures for my Pinterest boards I always listened to it. Somehow I fell in love with this kind of music. I never played an instrument because I didn’t have the patience. I played to flute in fifth grade, because it was part of the Music class. We even got grades for playing it. Let me tell you, it was a disaster! Always got Ds. Although I got an A one time. Every time I practiced the flute, my dog started to howl. You see, it really was awful. I believe that’s why I lost the interest in playing an instrument. I still went to the choir, though, because I loved singing (still do). I always said, if I had the patience I’d love to learn the piano or the guitar, because these are basic instruments and you can play everything on them.

Guess what? I sat there and was writing Suspirium when an idea started to from in my head. There are dozens of Corona online lessons for the guitar, beginner models of guitars aren’t that expensive and you can still sell them or use them as decoration. Normally, I overthink everything. I need ages to make an decision, normally weeks or months till I lost the interest. So I did my research. Which model? Acoustic, western or concert? Which size? Guitar scale? How do I identify a quality product? Best YouTube channels? Best apps?

Found a black one and I immediately fell in love with it. And guess what? It’ll arrive by tomorrow afternoon! :D I really did it and I’m a bit proud of myself for not overthinking it! I’m looking forward to learning every song of artists I love. Adele, Pink, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Linkin Park, Train, Oasis, James Arthur, Tom Walker, Lewis Capaldi, James Blunt, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Shawn Mendes, John Legend, Common Linnets, Lumineers and thousands more. Of course, some of my new Country faves, too.

My first song will either be ‘Simple Man’ because the story was inspired by it and it was the first song that I’ve heard Jensen sing or ‘Hey there Delilah’ because I love that one right now. It’s my current catchy tune.

These will be followed by ‘The One that got away’ by Pink and ‘Bonfire heart’ by James Blunt. If these four aren’t too difficult, of course... I’ll keep you updated. :D

*oOo*

The story behind Suspirium - Or as I like to call it, the story of reviving a more than dead language.

I have that idea since I’ve started this blog some time ago. I wasn’t sure if I should make it a Dean, Sam or Cas story, so I brought my arguments up and you could decide which professor you want, remember? As soon as you chose Sam, I knew that he would be a Latin Prof. That’s based on the canon in the series and my preferences. Sam is the best in Latin in the entire series. And I am able to read, translate AND EVEN SPEAK Latin, so it’s something I can relate to. A great subject, although I know that the opinions on Latin are different.

I can speak five languages (German - my mother tongue, English, Spanish, Dutch and Latin, I’d like to learn French soon) and I personally think Latin’s a beautiful language. Of course, it doesn’t sound as beautiful and elegant as French (although French has its origin in Latin). But a language is a lot more than the emphasis. In one of the first chaps of Suspirium Sam and Reader discuss the beauty of Latin.

“Latin is the language of law, architecture and engineering, the military, science, philosophy, religion and - of particular interest here - the language of a flourishing literature which for centuries served as a model for all Western literature. The Latin of literature speaks of love and war in hundreds of masterpieces, reflects on the body and soul, develops theories about the meaning of life and the tasks of man, about the fate of the soul and the nature of matter, sings of the beauty of nature, the meaning of friendship, the pain of losing all that is dear to one; and it criticizes depravity, ponders death, the arbitrariness of power, violence and cruelty. It creates inner images, puts emotions into words, formulates ideas about the world and social life. Latin is the language of the relationship between the one and everything.” Suspirium, Chapter 3

Roman poets are more than two millennia dead, BUT the themes they wrote about (Love, pain, friendship and braveness, also sex...) are still actual in our society. They stood the test of time. A language where no ‘thank you’ exists, just a ‘to be thankful’. This language is mysterious, its culture unbelievable nowadays. It’s like an enigma that wants to be solved - or not, depends on you and if you learn your vocabulary. Trust me, I had to learn that the hard way in seventh grade. ;)

Sam is basically my old Latin teacher. He uses the same methods and tells the same things. He makes jokes, adds additional information and makes his students question the meaning behind the poems and stories. Sometimes I even used words my teacher said to us. I looked up some of my Latin notes and use that for the lectures. It’s a lot of fun and that’s where I get my inspiration from. A big thank you to my teacher. This story would not work out without him always encouraging me and explaining everything to me, even if he had to do it three times. Gratiam habeo, magister. :D

Questions for you, only if you want to:

Do you play an instrument? Which or would you like to play one?

What’ your favourite genre and who’s your favourite artist and which song?

How many languages do you speak? Which? Which would you like to speak (in addition)?

Wanna tell me your name and origin?

-> Next post will probably be about how I make my covers, choose GIFs, find inspiration on Pinterest and Spotify and my first friendship ever on Tumblr some years ago. And how I got in touch with SPN.

Tags beneath cut:

@ashthefirefox @rintheemolion @fortheentries @vexhye @traceyaudette @vicariouslythruspn @crazybutconfidentaf @zizzlekwum @outofnowhere82 @myopiamystical @vicmc624 @imaginationisgrowth @seven-seas-of-fuck-you @shypickleghostsuitcase @intoomuchfandoms @angeltardisbow @ayamenimthiriel @still-a-demon-very-ineffable-de @mimzy1994 @everyobsession9023 @tokiohearts483 @butterscotchseventeen @aberrant-annie @autumn-blessings @aberrant-annie @lust-for-pan @screechingartisancashbailiff @readsreblogsfics @akshi8278 @hobby27 @thewintersoldierswife @squirrelnotsam @transparentfestivaltiger

#about me #nähkästchenplauderei #my blog #fanfic writing #fanfiction #daily problems #the strugge is real #writers on tumblr #get to know the writer #get to know each other #fanfic authors #spn #supernatural

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fallout4treasures · 4 years

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I’m bored. Here are my actor choices for a Fallout 4 movie.

I don’t think it’s everyone, but it still took me all day.

I tried to keep them in a rough order of appearance.

Also, I based Nate and Nora off of the games’ preset. However, if I were actually casting a movie, I would just have open auditions. But anyway, here we go.

Nate:

Milo Ventimiglia

It was between him and Jensen Ackles. But honestly, I already had my Nora choice in my heart and I could just see Milo and her running to the vault in a panic together. If that’s not enough I saw Nate in him instantly. The widowed soldier desperately looking for his son in the annihilated future. Plagued with nightmares, but he would still stay warm and uplifting. Milo + Jumpsuit + Dogmeat = Yes, please.

Nora:

Anne Hathaway

Anything I say about her won’t do her justice. First off, she’s easily one of the most talented actors of all time. From the Princess Diaries to Les Miserables, she has proved time and time again that she can be anyone she wants to. Could she be a full-of-life but grief ridden mother, making new friends and enemies while shooting her way through the Commonwealth to find her kidnapped child? In her fucking sleep. Plus her presence would be plenty strong enough to stand up to any of the rest of our star studded, “would-be” cast.

Codsworth & all the Mr. Handy bots(voice):

Tim Curry

I just want to see it, I have no other excuse.

Conrad Kellogg:

Christopher Meloni

I kept wanting to go with Jeffery Dean Morgan, but I just didn’t think I could learn to hate that face the way I hate Kellogg’s. But then once I thought of Christopher there was no other choice. He can do the voice and the terrifying, non-emotional thing with no issue. (His character seriously got to me in Handmaid’s Tale.) But he could also be relatable enough to actually feel for Kellogg while diving through his memories.

Preston Garvey:

John Boyega

I had definitely forgotten about John when I was browsing through. My husband and I actually discussed him versus Donald Glover for awhile. In the end we decided that Boyega’s Preston would have a stronger stoic side as well as the fun loving friend. I think he would effortlessly display Preston’s disappointment in the Minutemen, as well as his survivor’s guilt.

Sturges:

Chris Pratt

This part is way too small for Chris nowadays, but I really think he could fall into Sturges’ carefree 50’s mechanic vibe. Plus I could see him throwing in a new sarcastic side to him that could be fun. If not, then I think he would still take him on perfectly, line for line.

Mama Murphy:

Helen Mirren

She’s powerful. She’s gorgeous. I would almost be afraid she would steal from anyone else on screen with her. And yet, it’s the surreal power that’s needed to make Mama Murphy a real life character. So there ya go.

Paladin Danse:

John Krasinski

Have you seen him in Jack Ryan? I really think he could embody Danse, heart and soul. From his hardened and serious outsides to his soft, broken, and vulnerable insides. He would play the soldier with so much heart, and would probably have us sobbing when he struggles over his new identity. (Me being in love with both of them has absolutely nothing to do with it. Nothing at all.) Plus him in a flight suit. Nuff said.

Piper Wright:

Kat Dennings

First off, she’s freaking gorgeous. Second, I think Piper’s fiery personality would fit her like a glove. Plus she would take on the role of Nat’s big sister perfectly. If you’ve seen her in Thor then you already know she makes an excellent side-kick and adds some great comic relief.

Mayor McDonough:

Alec Baldwin

I jumped around a lot with this one. I even considered people like James Spader and Jack Nicholson (too old, I know). But then I remembered Alec’s ability to lay on the cheeeeeese. I have no doubt he could handle McDonough’s suspicious but seemingly normal character, and transitioning into his manic and desperate attempt to stay alive. Plus, he would nail his “I am not a synth!” speech, finding the perfect balance of creepy and welcoming.

Ellie Perkins:

Ellie Kemper

She has an adorable, scrappy, and loving personality that glows every time she’s on screen. I don’t think I’ve seen her in anything serious, personally, but I bet she’d be up for the challenge. Especially to fill the role for someone cute and spunky like Ellie.

Nick Valentine:

Liev Schreiber

I really, really struggled with this one. Obviously CGI and other special effects would have to happen no matter what, but whoever I chose still had to have those serious eyes, warm and friendly smile, and that old Boston gumshoe voice. Cue Liev. He’s probably a touch young, but if we’re already using CGI anyway so who cares.

Elder Arthur Maxson:

Tom Hardy

I don’t even feel the need to explain myself here. Venom. That’s all I’ll say.

X6-88:

Michael B. Jordan

As sweet as his smile is, I feel like the minute Jordan pulls on a stone cold look, blood would drain the face of whoever was playing opposite of him. However he would easily be able to add the oddly comforting touch X6 has when he watches over the Sole Survivor.

Desdemona:

Laura Prepon

Her commanding and sexy vibe in everything she plays is absolutely perfect. At least for me. She’s a bit young, but I think it would be easy enough to age her up. She would naturally become the leader of the Railroad, and would totally scare the piss out of everyone in her way.

Deacon:

Ryan Alosio

Yep, the man himself. He’s got the look, the charisma, and he can obviously do Deac’s iconic voice. Don’t fix what’s not broken. If you’re not convinced, watch this very impressive reel of his. Or do it anyway because DAMN. It was shameful how quickly I fell in love.

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi3911957785?ref_=nmvi_vi_imdb_1

Tinker Tom:

Anthony Mackie

Tom has a whole lot of energy to keep up with. I pushed him off to one of the last ones I chose because he is just so unique, and I actually needed my husband’s opinion. We finally settled on the talented and energetic Anthony. He’s goofy, absolutely lovable, and would probably have way too much fun playing into the crazy conspiracy bits.

Father(Old Man Shaun):

Gary Oldman

I feel bad not giving this brilliant actor a bigger role. His chameleon ability could land him almost anything here, but his soft but strong voice is literally perfect for Father’s. Just age him up a bit and he’ll melt into the role like with everything he doeswewse. He would make the reunion with Shaun 1000x more intense and emotional, and I could see him almost convincing all of us to join the Institute. I mean, it’s Gary fucking Oldman.

(Side Quest Characters)

John Hancock:

James Franco

I actually couldn’t believe I hadn’t put this together before. I’m starting to wonder if Hancock was actually written for James. Super chill, but not scared to get shit done. Including taking care of Finn in the most casual and Godfather way possible within the first few moments of meeting him. Then afterward he would take some chems with Sole and talk about life for awhile. I’m totally okay with this idea.

Robert MacCready:

James Marsden

I’ll be honest, I have never played with MacCready before. I had to watch some videos to get a feel for it but in the end I feel like I found a solid choice. I know he’s “pretty” but throw on some scruff, dirt, and a green cap and he’s there. Think Westworld.

Cait:

Karen Gillan

Cait can kick my ass any day, and that’s how I feel about Karen. They are both just so breathtakingly badass. Any sole survivor would struggle to keep from lusting after her, and then caring deeply as they worked through her drug addiction.

Curie:

Mélanie Laurent

Both Curie and Melanie are just innocently stunning and can light up a room with a smile. Curie would be especially difficult because not only is she gorgeous, but she’s almost always the smartest one in the room, but I think Melanie could do her justice.

---

So there is our very expensive cast list!

There’s a lot here that I feel on the fence about but this was still a lot of fun to do. I’m sure there are other actors that I have forgotten that could take on these characters too, so let me know what you would have done differently!

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impossibly-cold-collector · 4 years

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Hi 😄 I've been reading fanfic from the same 2 fandoms my whole life, but I've been thinking of getting into Marvel or Merlin fanfic, any recs to share? And if not (or in addition if you like), tell me something about your favourite thing? 😊

Hi thanks for the ask! What 2 fandoms if you dont mind me asking?

So for Marvel I mainly read stony fanfics and I would recommend on starting out with fics based in 2012.

But here are some of my favorites:

Some Things Shouldn't Be a Chore by scifigrl47 (tbh anything by scifigrl47 is great)

Summary: Steve takes things like personal responsibility and respect seriously. Tony's got people he pays to take care of that kind of thing, and anyway, he's pretty sure that he's going to die of some exotic disease in his workshop, because Dummy's still a little spotty about what is 'clean' enough to put on an open wound. The rest of the Avengers are in this for personal gain, except for Clint, he just enjoys being a dick.And some things shouldn't be a chore.

This is a great series for overall Avenergs family feels as well. I especially love part 3!

If We Never Got This Second Chance by Pookaseraph

Summary: When Tony and Steve’s son from the future, Jake Jensen, arrives at Avenger’s Tower, the two of them are forced to confront some hard truths: Tony that he might not actually become a horrible father, and Steve that he might not be able to set aside his discomfort with sharing a child with another man. When they both get a second chance at a first try at fatherhood, it’s up to the two of them to learn from their own future's past.

I'm a sucker for a kid!Fic so this one was great.

Love among the Hydrothermal Vents by DevilDoll

Summary: In which Namor has a thing for Steve, an octopus has a thing for Tony, and Steve and Tony eventually have a thing for each other.

This one uses characters that arent in the MCU but it's still easier to follow along with if you dont know these characters. It's one of my favs ❤. I would also check out Semaphore by DevilDoll as well, it's a great starter fic.

Other then that you can always check out my Stony fic tag on my tumblr for fics I recommend as I read them!

Now for Merlin! I love merthur so here are my recs for that!

A Warlock's Worth by ella_bane

Summary: When a visiting prince sets his sights on Merlin, Arthur is not amused. A story of love, loyalty, and secrets too-long kept.

I'm such a sucker for jealous Arthur.

Stars Above, Stones Below by Destina

Summary: After the disastrous end of his betrothal to Gwen and the regret of his offer to Princess Mithian, Arthur swears off finding a wife until he's ready to wed. When Merlin offers himself to Arthur as bedmate, Arthur suggests they hand-fast in secret for a single year of mutual pleasure without obligation. As their year together unfolds, and secrets and betrayals unravel around them, Arthur and Merlin learn there is no such thing as uncomplicated pleasure. Everything they thought they knew can change in the span of a single year.

Oh this was so great. It soothed the ache that Angst that happend that season brought on.

Misrule by thehoyden

Summary: "Well," Morgana said, looking pleased, "Maybe Arthur won't actually throw the tourney this year."

I absolutely this fic, it's such a cute oneshot. I think Arthur's and Merlin's characterization is spot on. Plus any fix with Morgana and Gwen dressing up Merlin gets a gold star in my book ^^

As for the most popular Merthir fics, most of those are actually AUs and are great reads as well. I didn't include them here because I figure its great to start out with ones that are in the canon universe.

And likewise for merthur you can check out my merthur fic tag for more recommendations!

But if your curious the two main ones are:

A Modern Manservant Bu Mamalazzer

The Student Prince bu FayJay

As for your other question about favourite thing, that's so difficult Xd! I'm the type of person who has a favourite thing for everything, so I guess it hard to narrow down favourite thing over all, but I'll say thet my absolute favourite thing to do is going to the movie theater. I love love love watching films on the big screen, and I love collecting the stubs of all the movies I've seen over the years ❤

Thanks so much for the ask Anon! You really made my day❤❤

#stony fic #merthur fic #anon #asks #thanks again I had lots of fun replying!#stony #merthur

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introvertguide · 4 years

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Network (1976); AFI #64

The current movie under review is one long procession of relatable diatribes, the newsroom drama Network (1976). This was an acting driven film and the award circuit is evidence of that. The movie had 6 actors in the 4 Academy Awards acting categories and took home awards for 3 of them. The winner of the Best Supporting Actress and the nominee for Best Supporting Actor were only on film 5 minutes and 6 minutes respectively. Every single role was just dripping with dramatic tension. An especially notable performance was from Peter Finch for which he won Best Actor from the Academy, at the BAFTAs, and at the Golden Globes. Unfortunately, he did not get to enjoy the adulation since he died very early in 1977 of a heart attack before any awards came out. Another note for the movie was a top 10 ranking of cinematic screenplays of all time by the Writer’s Guild of America. Awards for Best Screenplay went to Paddy Chayefsky from the Academy and the Golden Globes are proof of the honor. There are many interesting things about this film beyond the acting and writing, but I want to go ahead and spoil the story a little before I go further so here is the warning...

SPOILER ALERT!!! THIS IS ONE OF THE ALL TIME GREATEST CINEMATIC SCRIPTS AND IT HAS TWISTS TO SPOIL! WATCH THE FILM BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER! DON’T RUIN THE EXPERIENCE FOR YOURSELF!

The film starts with the narrator whose voice comes in throughout the movie and sounds like a gameshow emcee. It is explained that Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is a news anchor who has recently become a widower and will soon be fired from his job due to poor ratings. He goes out and gets drunk with his division president Max Schumacher (William Holden) and mentions killing himself on the air, but they are both drunk and Max thinks this is a joke. The following night, Beale announces on live television that he is tired of all the “bulls**t” and will commit suicide on air in a week. The news anchor is obviously fired immediately, but Schumacher convinces the network to allow Beale to go on the air one last time and apologize for the outburst. Beale once again goes into an angry diatribe and this causes a rating spike. The head of programming for the Network is Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), and she tries to convince Max to keep Beale on the air despite his obvious mental instability. Max refuses because Howard Beale is his old friend and there is concern for Howard’s health. Diana switches approaches and begins to have an affair with the much older married man.

Christensen talks about the network being the laughing stock of all the channels and she is seeking just one hit show to get back on top. She cuts a deal with a band of terrorists called the Ecumenical Liberation Army for a new docudrama series called The Mao Tse-Tung Hour for the upcoming fall season. Max decides to end these diatribes with Howard because it is seriously affecting his health, but Christensen convinces her boss, Frank Hackett (Robert Duvall), to slot the evening news show under the entertainment programming division so she can develop it. Hackett agrees, and convinces the network executives to fire Schumacher. Hackett fires Schumacher in one of many confrontational diatribes delivered throughout the film. Not to be outdone, Beale shows up to work in his pajamas and, in his own on-air diatribe, convinces the nation to shout out of their windows "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Beale is a ratings hit and he is soon hosting a new program called The Howard Beale Show, top-billed as "the mad prophet of the airwaves". Ultimately, the show becomes the most highly-rated program on television, and Beale finds new celebrity preaching his angry message in front of a live studio audience that, on cue, chants Beale's signature catchphrase. At first, Max and Diana's romance withers as the show flourishes, but in the flush of high ratings, the two ultimately find their way back together and Schumacher leaves his wife of over 25 years for Christensen. The wife is played by Beatrice Straight, and she won a Best Supporting Actress award for her miniscule 5 minutes of screen time. She really lays into Max for disrespecting her for some young infatuation and it hurts. Fantastic performance.

The movie actually gets very funny for a short period of time as Max and Diana go on a date that ends physically and the entire time she will not shut up about ratings. Even during sex, she just keeps spouting out numbers because apparently it turns her on. Also, she now has to go into contract negotiations with the Liberation Army, and watching an almost completely silent arms dealer talk about contract language while shooting in the air to stop arguments is great. It is the hardest I have laughed in a long time.

Much to the displeasure of the network, Beale discovers that Communications Corporation of America (CCA), the conglomerate that owns the network, will be bought out by an even larger Saudi Arabian conglomerate. He launches an on-screen tirade against the deal and urges viewers to pressure the White House to stop it. This panics the top network brass because the network debt load has made the merger essential for its survival. Hackett takes Beale to meet with CCA chairman Arthur Jensen (Ned Beatty), who explains the world beyond countries and people and how it is ruled by corporations. Christensen's fanatical devotion to her job and emotional emptiness ultimately drive away Schumacher, who warns his former lover that she will self-destruct at the pace she is running with her career. "You are television incarnate, Diana," he tells her, "indifferent to suffering, insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality." Jensen seems to have successfully persuade Beale to abandon his populist message and preach a new corporation message. This new approach is not popular with audiences as they find his new sermons on the dehumanization of society depressing, yet Jensen will not allow the network to fire Beale. Seeing its two-for-the-price-of-one value—solving the Beale problem plus sparking a boost in season-opener ratings—Christensen, Hackett, and the other executives decide to hire the ELA to assassinate Beale on the air. The assassination succeeds, putting an end to The Howard Beale Show and kicking off a second season of The Mao Tse-Tung Hour. The film ends with an overhead of a bleeding Howard Beale as commercials play and the voice over narration ends "the story of Howard Beale, the first known instance of a man who was killed because he had lousy ratings."

Network was written as a “what if” by Paddy Chayefsky after hearing about a Floridian news anchor who shot herself on air. Her name was Christine Chubbuck and she had long term issues with depression. She was continually suffering and had attempted suicide before, but she wanted to make a statement. Follow up investigation showed that she was suffering from clinical depression, and this was exacerbated by the constant stress that came from working in a newsroom. Research into the “story behind the story” showed that the obsession with ratings and appearance and in-office politics makes for quite the pressure cooker. Chayefsky wanted to write this story and how damaging it could be to a person’s psyche. People like Beale are chewed up and spit out by the system while people like Christensen can become successful by being cut-throat obsessive with everything about the business. It is a story of all the different kinds of people who peddle BS for a living and, no matter how good their intentions, everybody touched by the business comes out smelling like crap.

Peter Finch was the first of only two actors to win the Oscar for Best Actor posthumously (Heath Ledger being the other) and it was rather ironic since his character dies at the end of the movie. Sadly, or maybe not, this was Finch’s biggest success in a long time and he really identified with the character of Beale. He had a prolific career that was starting to wind down when he had a sudden spike of popularity from this film. He died of a heart attack in a Beverly Hills hotel right after an interview with Johnny Carson. I guess it is nice that he got to go out on top. RIP Mr. Finch.

When I think back on the 100 movies on the AFI list, this one stands out as having the most dramatic speeches, even more than Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf or Citizen Cane. Every single character with more than five minutes of screen time seems to have a dramatic speech (if not many) in this film. Normally, this would not be something that I liked, but I see that all of these people are getting out their emotional garbage. These characters do not seem to be yelling to hurt others, but to try and release the hurt they have in an attempt to heal. Being loud to steal attention bothers me, but being loud because you genuinely need help and have painful energy that needs release does not.

So does this film deserve to be on the AFI? Yes and it should probably be higher. It is one of the best stories put to film of all time and it was acted beautifully. It would have won many more awards but it came out the same year as Taxi Driver, All the President’s Men, and Rocky. Amongst all of those films, it still took home most of the acting awards and Best Original Screenplay. It is the story of an individual who gets fed up with all the bureaucracy and that feeling still permeates through society today. Fantastic movie. And would I recommend it? Yes. I insist upon it. I was originally worried about how mental illness is portrayed as entertainment, but I love how one of the characters advocates for his friend throughout and that trying to take advantage of a fed up man who has become delusional goes nowhere but wrong. This to me is a two hour tutorial of how a dramatic speech should be given. I have only taken a couple of film classes, but I am sad that I didn’t see this film until my early 30s and happily put forth a recommendation for this movie.

#network #peter finch #70s #film #introvert #Robert duvall #William holden #faye dunaway #posthumous #ned beatty #howard beale #mad as hell #afi films #drama #diatribe

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timeless-hollywood-classics · 4 years

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Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress, a child fashion model and a performer in several Broadway productions as a Ziegfeld Girl; she became a major star of Paramount Pictures in the 1940s. Her most notable films were her first major role, as Charlie Chaplin's leading lady in Modern Times, and Chaplin's subsequent film The Great Dictator. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in So Proudly We Hail! (1943). Her husbands included Chaplin, Burgess Meredith, and Erich Maria Remarque.

Goddard was the daughter of Joseph Russell Levy (1881–1954), the son of a prosperous cigar manufacturer from Salt Lake City, and Alta Mae Goddard (1887–1983). Her father was Jewish, her mother Episcopalian of English ancestry. They married in 1908 and separated while their daughter was very young, although the divorce did not become final until 1926. According to Goddard, her father left them, but according to J. R. Levy, Alta absconded with the child.[11] Goddard was raised by her mother, and did not meet her father again until the late 1930s, after she had become famous.

In a 1938 interview published in Collier's, Goddard claimed Levy was not her biological father.[13] In response, Levy filed a suit against his daughter, claiming that the interview had ruined his reputation and cost him his job, and demanded financial support from her. In a December 17, 1945 article written by Oliver Jensen in Life, Goddard admitted to having lost the case and being forced to pay her father $35 a week.

To avoid a custody battle, she and her mother moved often during her childhood, even relocating to Canada at one point. Goddard began modeling at an early age to support her mother and herself, working for Saks Fifth Avenue, Hattie Carnegie, and others. An important figure in her childhood was her great uncle, Charles Goddard, the owner of the American Druggists Syndicate. He played a central role in Goddard's career, introducing her to Broadway impresario Florenz Ziegfeld.

In 1926, she made her stage debut as a dancer in Ziegfeld's summer revue, No Foolin', which was also the first time that she used the stage name Paulette Goddard. Ziegfeld hired her for another musical, Rio Rita, which opened in February 1927, but she left the show after only three weeks to appear in the play The Unconquerable Male, produced by Archie Selwyn. It was, however, a flop and closed after only three days following its premiere in Atlantic City.

Soon after the play closed, Goddard was introduced to Edgar James, president of the Southern Lumber Company, located in Asheville, North Carolina, by Charles Goddard. Aged 17, considerably younger than James, she married him on June 28, 1927 in Rye, New York. It was a short marriage, and Goddard was granted a divorce in Reno, Nevada, in 1929, receiving a divorce settlement of $375,000.

Goddard first visited Hollywood in 1929, when she appeared as an uncredited extra in two films, the Laurel and Hardy short film Berth Marks (1929), and George Fitzmaurice's drama The Locked Door (1929).

Following her divorce, she briefly visited Europe before returning to Hollywood in late 1930 with her mother. Her second attempt at acting was no more successful than the first, as she landed work only as an extra.

In 1930, she signed her first film contract with producer Samuel Goldwyn to appear as a Goldwyn Girl in Whoopee! (1930). She also appeared in City Streets (1931) Ladies of the Big House (1931) and The Girl Habit (1931) for Paramount, Palmy Days (1931) for Goldwyn, and The Mouthpiece (1932) for Warners.

Goldwyn and she did not get along, and she began working for Hal Roach Studios, appearing in a string of uncredited supporting roles for the next four years, including Show Business (1932), Young Ironsides (1932), Pack Up Your Troubles (1932) (with Laurel and Hardy), and Girl Grief with Charley Chase.

Goldwyn used Goddard in The Kid from Spain (1932), The Bowery (1933), Roman Scandals (1933), and Kid Millions (1934).

The year she signed with Goldwyn, Goddard began dating Charlie Chaplin, a relationship that received substantial attention from the press. It marked a turning point in Goddard's career when Chaplin cast her as his leading lady in his next box office hit, Modern Times, in 1936. Her role as "The Gamin", an orphan girl who runs away from the authorities and becomes The Tramp's companion, was her first credited film appearance and garnered her mainly positive reviews, Frank S. Nugent of The New York Times describing her as "the fitting recipient of the great Charlot's championship".

Following the success of Modern Times, Chaplin planned other projects with Goddard in mind as a co-star, but he worked slowly, and Goddard worried that the public might forget about her if she did not continue to make regular film appearances. She signed a contract with David O. Selznick and appeared with Janet Gaynor in the comedy The Young in Heart (1938) before Selznick lent her to MGM to appear in two films.

The first of these, Dramatic School (1938), co-starred Luise Rainer, but the film received mediocre reviews and failed to attract an audience.

Her next film, The Women (1939), was a success. With an all-female cast headed by Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell, the film's supporting role of Miriam Aarons was played by Goddard. Pauline Kael later wrote of Goddard, "she is a stand-out. fun."

Selznick was pleased with Goddard's performances, particularly her work in The Young in Heart, and considered her for the role of Scarlett O'Hara. Initial screen tests convinced Selznick and director George Cukor that Goddard would require coaching to be effective in the role, but that she showed promise, and she was the first actress given a Technicolor screen test.

Russell Birdwell, the head of Selznick's publicity department, had strong misgivings about Goddard. He warned Selznick of the "tremendous avalanche of criticism that will befall us and the picture should Paulette be given this part...I have never known a woman, intent on a career dependent upon her popularity with the masses, to hold and live such an insane and absurd attitude towards the press and her fellow man as does Paulette Goddard...Briefly, I think she is dynamite that will explode in our very faces if she is given the part."

Selznick remained interested in Goddard for the role of Scarlett. After he was introduced to Vivien Leigh, he wrote to his wife that Leigh was a "dark horse" and that his choice had "narrowed down to Paulette, Jean Arthur, Joan Bennett, and Vivien Leigh".

After a series of tests with Leigh that pleased both Selznick and Cukor, Selznick cancelled the further tests that had been scheduled for Goddard, and the part was given to Leigh. It has been suggested that Goddard lost the part because Selznick feared that questions surrounding her marital status with Charlie Chaplin would result in scandal. However, Selznick was aware that Leigh and Laurence Olivier lived together, as their respective spouses had refused to divorce them, and in addition to offering Leigh a contract, he engaged Olivier as the leading man in his next production Rebecca (1940). Chaplin's biographer Joyce Milton wrote that Selznick was worried about legal issues by signing her to a contract that might conflict with her pre-existing contracts with the Chaplin studio.

Goddard signed a contract with Paramount Pictures and her next film, The Cat and the Canary (1939) with Bob Hope, was a turning point in the careers of both actors. They promptly were re-teamed in The Ghost Breakers (1940).

Goddard starred with Chaplin again in his 1940 film The Great Dictator. The couple split amicably soon afterward, and Goddard allegedly obtained a divorce in Mexico in 1942, with Chaplin agreeing to a generous settlement.

At Paramount, Goddard was used by Cecil B. De Mille in the action epic North West Mounted Police (1940), playing the second female lead.

She was Fred Astaire's leading lady in Second Chorus (1940), where she met actor Burgess Meredith, her third husband,.

Goddard made Pot o' Gold (1941), a comedy with James Stewart, then supported Charles Boyer and Olivia de Havilland in Hold Back the Dawn (1941), from a script by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, directed by Mitchell Leisen.

Goddard was teamed with Hope for a third time in Nothing But the Truth (1942), then made The Lady Has Plans (1942), a comedy with Ray Milland.

She did Reap the Wild Wind (1942), playing the lead, a Scarlett O'Hara type character. Co-starring Milland and John Wayne, it was a huge hit.

Goddard did The Forest Rangers (1942). One of her better-remembered film appearances was in the variety musical Star Spangled Rhythm (1943), in which she sang "A Sweater, a Sarong, and a Peekaboo Bang" with Dorothy Lamour and Veronica Lake. She and Milland did The Crystal Ball (1943).

Goddard received one Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the 1943 film So Proudly We Hail!.

Goddard was teamed with MacMurray in Standing Room Only (1944) and Sonny Tufts in I Love a Soldier (1944). She was one of many Paramount stars in Duffy's Tavern (1945).

Goddard's most successful film was Kitty (1945), in which she played the title role.

In The Diary of a Chambermaid (1946), Goddard starred with Burgess Meredith, to whom she was married at the time, under the direction of Jean Renoir. It was made for United Artists.

At Paramount she did Suddenly It's Spring (1947) and De Mille's Unconquered (1947). During the Hollywood Blacklist, when she and blacklisted husband Meredith were mobbed by a baying crowd screaming "Communists!" on their way to a premiere, Goddard is said to have turned to her husband and said, "Shall I roll down the window and hit them with my diamonds, Bugsy?"

In 1947, she made An Ideal Husband in Britain for Alexander Korda, and was accompanied on a publicity trip to Brussels by Clarissa Spencer-Churchill, niece of Sir Winston Churchill and future wife of future Prime Minister Anthony Eden.

Goddard and her husband were among several stars in On Our Merry Way (1948).

At Paramount, she did two movies with MacDonald Carey: Hazard (1948) and Bride of Vengeance (1949). She then left the studio.

In 1949, she formed Monterey Pictures with John Steinbeck. Goddard starred in Anna Lucasta (1949), then went to Mexico for The Torch (1950). In England, she was in Babes in Bagdad (1952); then she went to Hollywood for Vice Squad (1953), Sins of Jezebel (1953), Paris Model (1953), and Charge of the Lancers (1954). Her last starring role was in the English production A Stranger Came Home (known as The Unholy Four in the United States).

Goddard began appearing in summer stock and on television, guest starring on episodes of Sherlock Holmes, an adaptation of The Women, this time playing the role of Sylvia Fowler, The Errol Flynn Theatre, The Joseph Cotten Show, and The Ford Television Theatre.

She was in an episode of Adventures in Paradise and a TV version of The Phantom.

After her marriage to Erich Maria Remarque, Goddard largely retired from acting and moved to Ronco sopra Ascona, Switzerland.

In 1964, she attempted a comeback in films with a supporting role in the Italian film Time of Indifference, which was her last feature film.

After Remarque's death in 1970, she made one last attempt at acting, when she accepted a small role in an episode of The Snoop Sisters (1972) for television.

Upon Remarque's death, Goddard inherited much of his money and several important properties across Europe, including a wealth of contemporary art, which augmented her own long-standing collection. During this period, her talent at accumulating wealth became a byword among the old Hollywood élite. During the 1980s, she became a fairly well known (and highly visible) socialite in New York City, appearing covered with jewels at many high-profile cultural functions with several well-known men, including Andy Warhol, with whom she sustained a friendship for many years until his death in 1987.

Goddard married the much older lumber tycoon Edgar James on June 28, 1927, when she was 17 years old; the couple moved to North Carolina. They separated two years later and divorced in 1932.

In 1932, Goddard began a relationship with Charlie Chaplin. She later moved into his home in Beverly Hills. They were reportedly married in secret in Canton, China, in June 1936. Years later Chaplin privately told relatives that they were married only in common law. Aside from referring to Goddard as "my wife" at the October 1940 premiere of The Great Dictator, neither Goddard nor Chaplin publicly commented on their marital status. On June 4, 1942, Goddard was granted a Mexican divorce from Chaplin.

In May 1944, she married Burgess Meredith at David O. Selznick's home in Beverly Hills. They divorced in June 1949.

In 1958, Goddard married author Erich Maria Remarque. They remained married until Remarque's death in 1970.

Goddard had no children. In October 1944, she suffered the miscarriage of a son with Burgess Meredith.

Goddard underwent invasive treatment for breast cancer in 1975, successfully by all accounts. On April 23, 1990, aged 79, she died at her home in Switzerland from heart failure while under respiratory support due to emphysema. She is buried in Ronco Village Cemetery, next to Remarque and her mother.

#paulette goddard #classic movie stars #classic hollywood #golden age of hollywood

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popentertainmentmusic · 4 years

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I AM WOMAN (2019)

Starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Evan Peters, Danielle Macdonald, Molly Broadstock, Chris Parnell, David Lyons, Matty Cardarople, Dusty Sorg, Coco Greenstone, Genevieve Davis, Gregg Arthur, Scout Bowman, Jordan Raskopoulos, Gus Murray, Ari Newman, Christian Byers, Liam Douglass, Rita Rani Ahuja, and Fiona Press.

Screenplay by Emma Jensen.

Directed by Unjoo Moon.

Distributed by Quiver Distribution. 116 minutes. Not Rated.

Out of all the popular 1970s musical artists who are deserving of a biopic, Helen Reddy may not be the first one that people think of. Not that Reddy didn’t have a dramatic life; she most certainly did. Not that she wasn’t a big star; for the first half of the 1970s she was huge, having several smash hits, her own TV variety series and acting in films.

At the time she was every bit as big as Elton John or Queen, both of whom have had popular film “recreations” of their lives in the last few years. It’s just, for better or worse, Reddy’s music has not stuck in the pop culture zeitgeist in the way those artists’ songs did. She hasn’t had a hit single since 1977, and 50 years on from the start of her career, people would be hard-pressed to name most of her hits beyond the one which gives this film biography its title.

For the record, there were many (14 top 40 singles from 1971 to 1977), including “I Don’t Know How To Love Him,” “Delta Dawn,” “Angie Baby,” “Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress),” “You and Me Against the World,” “Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady,” “You’re My World,” “Peaceful” (which is great but was not used in this film, grrrr….) and more.

Even “I Am Woman,” despite its iconic status, has become somewhat mocked as slightly cheesy in the decades since Reddy topped the charts with the song. However, that isn’t taking into consideration how daring a song it was in the early-Women’s Lib era of 1972. Reddy wrote the song simply because she felt it was a subject that was not being addressed in pop music. The song soon became an anthem for female empowerment and still is a stirring call to arms in the war of the sexes. The mockery the song has received now is more to do with how the song has been misused and overused in pop culture than being a judgment on the song itself.

However, despite writing a feminist anthem, Reddy was not necessarily embroiled in the feminist movement, as this film states. Even musically, she had more hits about mentally disturbed women (“Delta Dawn,” “Leave Me Alone” and “Angie Baby”) than she did about empowered ones (just “I Am Woman,” and maybe if you really stretch things “Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady.”)

Also, against the grain of traditional music-bio moves, Reddy never had any drug or alcohol problems. (Although her then-husband and manager Jeff Wald, who plays a big role in this film, had enough of those for both of them.) In fact, she was considered a bit of a goody-two-shoes at the time. But she still had one hell of a ride for several years.

I Am Woman does a nice job of taking us back to those years.

Unlike so many of these jukebox biopics (we’re looking at you, Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman), I Am Woman does not play fast and loose with the musical timeline. Most of the songs here are era-appropriate for when they were used in Reddy’s storyline. Oh, sure, they do use Reddy’s cover of Cilla Black’s “You’re My World” in the background of a scene that takes place over a decade before Reddy recorded the song. However, at that point in history, Black’s original version of the song was fairly current, so I guess it can get a pass.

They also introduce her playing “Angie Baby” many years after it was popular, but it’s a concert performance, so it makes sense that she would still be performing one of her biggest hits at shows. And it does make a certain dramatic sense to play “Love Song for Jeffrey” and “Ain’t No Way to Treat a Lady” as her relationship with Jeff is falling apart, not when they were recorded in happier days.

Also, periodically the film plays a little fast and loose about the meanings of the songs. Specifically, Reddy recorded “You and Me Against the World” very explicitly as a song about a mother and her child (there is even a vocal cameo by her young daughter Traci at the beginning and the end of the song), not about a woman and her best friend. Nonetheless, I Am Woman keeps teasing the term “you and me against the world” with Helen and her bestie Lillian, and eventually it suggests the song was written in honor of that friend.

However, little-known Australian actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey does a wonderful job of living in Reddy’s skin, and Evan Peters (American Horror Story) is terrifically out of control as her controlling and slightly pathetic husband Wald.

I Am Woman will likely not become the kind of smash hit that Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman became, but in a strange way it’s a slightly better – if slightly more pedestrian – biofilm than either of those, particularly Bohemian Rhapsody. (I Am Woman sort of has the vibe of those made-for-TV music biofilms VH1 used to produce in the 1990s.)

Also, it will hopefully bring to light the music of a mostly forgotten talent who deserves a pop-culture re-evaluation.

Jay S. Jacobs

#I Am Woman #2020 #Music Review #Helen Reddy #Jay S. Jacobs

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tippitv · 5 years

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SPN 15.02 “Raising Hell” - TippiTV Recap

Welcome to the recap of episode 2 of the final season! As with the first episode, I will be providing descriptions of graphics I would have made if I didn't have a shitty pain-wracked upper body. I tried making graphics with my feet, which feel great, but it was... too artistic...

I didn't want to set such a high bar for myself.

Okay in the intro bit Belphejack describes his warding spell on the town as a mile-wide circle where "ghosts can't get in or out." Now I'm confused because the cemetery from which all the ghosts/demons erupted like a Dr. Pimple Popper compilation video is outside of this circle. Isn’t it? All the evacuees are also outside this circle. What's keeping all the people at the shelter from getting possessed by ghosts that didn't happen to be in the town? Wouldn't it have made more sense to get everyone into the shelter and then make the circle around that? All they've done is created a Venn diagram where the warded circle doesn't touch either the cemetery or the shelter.

[Graphic: just a terrible drawing of the above to illustrate my point.]

Actually screw it I need to make this graphic.

Or wait... Are they saying this bustling town AND the cemetery fill up a space of only 1 mile and are warded together?

And that somehow the majority of ghosts are in this area for some reason and that they hadn't managed to go much further than that after they were freed?

OH MY GOD WHY AM I THINKING SO HARD ABOUT THIS?

Anyway we now move to the present day, which seems to be soon after the evacuation. I'm actually slightly pleasantly surprised that they picked up here instead of moving on to the other three billion ghosts that need dealing with.

A woman sneaks around the supposedly deserted town, covering her nose and mouth with a scarf. Ah right... the "benzene." I actually did live through a few benzene leaks and you can smell it. The CDC describes it has smelling something like gasoline but to me it smells like... a certain kind of bandaging. Medcinal and rubbery. It seems unlikely that nobody in this town would know this and point out that there's zero benzene smell in the air. The woman runs into her neighbor, who's acting like a stone cold weirdo. She's wary but keeps chatting right up until the moment he stabs her a bunch of times.

A ghost pops out of him. He somewhat resembles the prophet who lost his soul so I was mildly confused for a moment. Also throughout this whole episode it's like he can't decide what his accent is and it's very annoying. Hell, he goes through like three accents just spelling the word "disembowel" here. Because the neighbor lady had been chatting about spelling bees.

At the high school, Castiel tells Sam about the neighbor lady going missing. For some reason, Sam has trouble getting everyone's attention. Did this town only have forty people in it? The cafeteria isn't remotely full. Sam reminds everyone to stay out of the quarantine zone. "Any questions?" Everyone raises their hands.

Sam's face makes a bunch of faces that can be summed up as "uh oh spaghettios."

Dean and Belph are in town bonding (not really) over being good soldiers who just wanna do their jobs. The mixed-accent ghost tries to make an escape through the warding whe Dean blasts him with rock salt. Belph points out they're not dealing with regular ghosts. "That was Francis Tumblety." Oh no the inventor of Tumblr!

[Graphic: Dashcon as Hell]

Turns out Francis is more famously known as Jack the Ripper. When Belph explains this Dean is like, "Cool," which seems like a weird reaction for him to have. Also wouldn't the soul of someone as bad as Jack the Ripper have become demonic by now?

High school shelter. They picked a really weird building for their exterior shots. It looks like a cross between an Alpine chalet and a city hall. Some of the antsy townsfolk with strong Canadian accents decide to escape back to their Kansan homes.

One of the homes is currently being used as a meeting hall by the ghosts. I cannot overstate how much I hate seeing ghosts in full daylight. The makeup looks straight out of a school play. Like Sam earlier, Francis has some difficulty getting everyone's attention. What kind of parallel is this supposed to be? He gets the other ghosts to agree to mount an attack against the hunters and then they can put on a production of The Importance of Being Earnest and Dead.

Two of the townsfolk sneak back home only to encounter two of the ghosts. They look terrified even though the ghosts look absolutely comical.

[Graphic: Photoshop these two ghosts into a Scooby Doo scene]

Sam and Castiel argue about what and when to tell the evacuees. Rowena walks in on them and acts like she just got a Samstiel idea for Whumptober.

After some exposition about God and his sister and the soul-bomb that Rowena made back then, Sam says he needs her to make something similar that will trap the ghosts. She says it will be very difficult and will take her until nearly the end of the episode.

Then Sam gets called away to join the other plot line. The two people who slipped out of the shelter are now possessed and oozing some CGI out of their eyes. Man, daylight really is unkind to everything except like Jensen Ackles's complexion.

Francis Tumbledore materializes and demands they erase the warding or the ghosts will start killing people. To make his point, the two recently possessed people get their innards turned into Hamburger Helper by the ghosts inside them. Someone offscreen shoots them with a confetti gun!

Ugh. It's that wanker Ketch, which I believe is his full name, and the confetti is actually a bunch of "iron flakes." The flakes just gently tickle the skin instead of penetrating and thus damaging it, which doesn't seem like it would harm ghosts. I mean, we have iron in our blood and that doesn't seem like a deterrent to ghosts but whatever. Even Ketch's dumb pocket square is annoying me. I don't remember why he annoys me but I feel it deep in my soul.

Everyone reconvenes at the school for a stand-n-chat. Rowena and Ketch reminisce and flirt. Oh, Rowena. You can do so much better. Ketch gets around to being surprised to learn that Jack's corpse is now being possessed by the demon Belphegor, even though he's currently on a mission to kill Belphegor. He had to be momentarily ignorant so we could get some clunky exposition. Blah blah blah a demon named Ardat was the one who ordered the hit but neglected to mention what Ketch would be looking for.

Cut to Reno where Amara is in her well-appointed hotel suite getting a temple massage from a masseuse named Kimiko. Kimiko's hands disappear to be replaced by slightly more masculine hands.

Amara sits up, startled and displeased to discover her brother. I don't care if y'all are billions of years old it's gross to show up in your sister's room when she's only wearing a sheet. Also it's rude to smite a masseuse in the middle of an appointment.

"Sooo how about that Game of Thrones ending?" Chuck small-talks. "Pretty great, right?"

[Graphic: Screenshot of my post about Supernatural's showrunner comparing the show's finale to GoT that inexplicably has 35,000 notes]

Amara, naturally, is suspicious of her brother's sudden appearance and wants to know why he's there.

You know, it's too bad Castiel doesn't have that power where he could touch someone on the forehead and make them sleep. Instead of dealing with all these angry evacuees he could just tap them all into a short coma.

Rowena wants Dean to tell her more about Ketch like he's the village matchmaker instead of a guy with three billion evil souls to deal with. He's nice enough to warn her away from him, but it just seems to make her more intrigued.

Time for Dean and Castiel to hash out their feelings. I mean the feelings where Dean is mad at Castiel for not telling everyone about Jack losing his soul, not the feelings where they keep staring at each other like "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel is playing in the background but they can never act on it because they live in a very heteronormative universe. Generally speaking, Dean is also just mad at this whole thing where free will is an illusion and they've been playing God's games. "Nothing about our lives is real."

[Graphic: Screencap of the Scoobynatural episode]

Dean dramatically stalks out of the room while Cas, his back turned like they're in a soap opera, calls out to him. They face each other. "You asked what about all of this was real... we are." Dean doesn't say anything to that and leaves the room heterosexually.

He goes out on patrol with Ketch and gives him an iron necklace to keep from getting possessed. Ketch wants to know more about Rowena.

[Graphic: I mean... can I do something with Dean as Bea Arthur in Fiddler on the Roof?]

Luckily he gets word about trouble down at the ol' abandoned meat-packing plant. Two hunters have gone missing. Ketch gets thrown into a concrete wall in such a way that would kill him or, at the very least, leave him with a spine made of oatmeal. Lizzie Borden aims to kill them, but a new, unseen ghost shouts at her to leave.

Aw, it's Kevin Tran. I like how he moves the plastic doorway strips with his hands instead of just blinking his way into the room. Turns out God sent him to Hell instead of Heaven, but at least it's given him sort of a badass reputation among the other ghosts so that they do what he says. Ohh I bet that gets pissed away pretty soon.

Reno. God is watching something on TV where the CC says "a sexy pastiche of fragrant tripe" which is often the tagline of Buckleming episodes. Amara is trying to get her yoga on but he wants to talk about taking a vacation together. She figures out he needs her for something. She zeroes in on his shoulder wound that mirrors Sam's. "You're not complete," she says. "You're not at full strength."

And this, my friends, is where I began to get this tingling discomfort that made me wonder if Sam is going to become the new God by the finale.

The switch from night to day to night to day is so weird in this episode. Or maybe it always is and for some reason I'm noticing it more. Anyway while Kevin is off doing recon on the other ghosts, Sam and Dean fret about the warding starting to fade. "We're gonna need you to charge it back up," Dean says to Belph. "Sorry guys it was a one-time thing," Belph says. And nobody asks any followup questions like "WHY?"

Belph also says, in regards to Kevin, that the default setting on Heaven is souls can't get in once they've been to Hell. God made exceptions for John and Bobby but he doesn't exactly like the Winchesters anymore. I feel like y'all really ought to talk to Billie about this. Also, doesn't that mean Sam and Dean would never get to go to Heaven? This just lends further credence to a Samgod hypothesis.

Ghost meeting. One of the ghosts logically points out that all they have to do is wait for the warding to fail completely and then just stroll out. Random ghost would be excellent at snarky recapping. But Francis Tumbledry is the Veruca Salt of serial killing ghosts.

[Graphic: Screencap from Willy Wonka where Veruca is saying she wants and Oompa Loompa right now except it's Francis and he wants to break through the warding]

Kevin pops up and tries to act tough but immediately gets found out as a spy.

Rowena and Ketch flirt and make rather strained sexual innuendos for a scene while working on the ghost vacuum. You can't make me transcribe any of it! Luckily she gets called away before anybody's pants come off.

And then she apparently goes, on foot, from the high school to the warded town some five miles away. Either that or she needlessly parks really far away from her destination. Either way, it gives Francis Tumbleforya a chance to intercept her and tell her the ghosts have Kevin. Oh and Ketch gets his ass ambushed.

She meets the Winchesters in the middle of the street to deliver the news. I mean, Kevin is in the same room with the ghosts but how do they "have" him? He could blip away. This was a dorky plan from the start but I guess I relate. I, too, took a lot of AP classes in high school and I can't plan for crap.

The Winchesters meet with Francis. He sticks his hand through Kevin and turns on his heart light.

They let this go on for a weirdly long time instead of pretending to negotiate until Rowena runs into the room. She brandishes a Himalayan salt lamp at the ghosts and shouts, "Capare!" A couple get sucked in but the rest blip away. Only Kevin remains.

Everyone runs off to where the ghosts are planning to attack the warding in a mostly invisible, budget-friendly manner. Ketch shows up, too, but everyone's too busy dreading the imminent breach to notice he's not wearing his iron necklace anymore.

[Graphic: A catalog ad from GOOP dot com selling the iron necklace as a belt to keep your nethers from getting overrun with evil spirits]

He lets Rowena vacuum up a few ghosts before knocking her out. He reveals himself to be Francis Tumbleweed and says he's going to use the crystal as a bomb to knock out the warding because bad guys always talk too much about their plans. Indeed, Dean quickly shoots him in the arm and the crystal goes flying.

Dean catches it and hands it back to Rowena so she can finish Dirt-Deviling the ghosts.

Denouement. Castiel tries to heal Ketch but can't for some reason. Did he get some kind of cooties from trying to heal the godly bullet wound in Sam's shoulder? Is he just tired? Does he just hate Ketch as much as I do? Time will tell.

The Winchesters say their goodbyes to Kevin, who's decided to wander the earth like some kind of phantom Dr. Banner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33izVlIOgnQ

"I love you guys," Kevin says. They smile at him. Like dang, say you love him too! I mean just give a guy a moment of happiness before he leaves to gradually lose his sense of self and his soul fades to nothing. Also maybe hug him. He's solid-ish.

Man, what a bummer.

In Reno, Amara is saying her goodbyes, too, but in a much sassier and satisfying away. She gets to tell her brother off and wear magenta lip stick. She mentions that he's lost so much power that he can't even leave this world without her help. Oh honey just punt him into Apocalypse World, then. Leave his ass to flounder.

We end with a bunch of ghosts (red glowing nuggets of light) trying to break into the town from the top. But like... why? They have the whole rest of the world. Why are they bothering with this mile-wide circle of real estate? The Winchesters and associates fret about how they're going to stop all the ghosts.

It's a shorter season, so they better hurry...

***

If you enjoyed the recap and are able, please visit my virtual tip jar: paypal.me/TippiBlevins or https://ko-fi.com/A4017DA

#supernatural #tippitv #recap #my recaps

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mrsvasiliev · 5 years

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Guess what I did instead of working on that Shobbs fic?

So instead of writing that fic I promised @thefuckingwarship, I compiled a list! A list that is fueled by my love for Jason Statham. But this is not a typical “actor crush” where I think an actor is hot or charming. This is what I call a “dad crush” where I often find myself wishing his badass characters would be my dad. It probably has to do with the fact that he spends two movies bonding with little Chinese girls. As a former little Chinese girl, I am very affected. So I made a list, with notes, ranking every character I’ve seen him play in order of my dad preference. Please feel free to add to this or disagree with me. I’d love to hear other people’s opinions on his dad potential. (I’ll get back to working on that fic I swear!)

Metrics:

Ranking: My order of preference for how much I want them to be my dad. Not necessarily logical. Not fully based on other ratings.

Fun factor: how much fun you have when you are with him. How funny/cool they are. Does not indicate care/ reliability/ bond.

Dad factor: reliability. emotional availability. protectiveness. General dad qualities.

1. Jonas Taylor - charming and good with kids. Not an “emotionally stunted tough guy”. Has good healthy relationships with everyone. Lives in a world where it’s “take your kids to work day” every day, which means awesome ocean adventures and learning how to fight sharks. Fun Factor: 10/10 Dad Factor: 9/10

2. Phil Broker - Like Jonas, he is also good with kids, emotionally available and balanced. Stay at home dad, with dad powers at 1000%. Will rescue you single-handedly from kidnappers. Will go horseback riding with you after school. Will do literally anything for you, from kicking asses to licking boots. Loses first place to Jonas because he has no personality/hobbies outside of being the best dad ever. I can see the relationship being a little suffocating as you grow older. Won’t take you on cool adventures like fighting biker gangs and blowing up meth labs, because he’s too protective. :( Fun Factor: 7/10 Dad Factor: 100/10

3. Luke Wright - Cool, laid back dad. Treats you as an equal. Will respect your autonomy and intelligence. Happy to let you spread your wings, but always there to catch you when you fall. Will run your enemies over with a car several times. Fun Factor: 7/10 Dad Factor: 10/10

4. Deckard Shaw - Displayed a lot of cool uncle vibes with baby Brian, so definitely great with kids. Psycho-bananas for family. Probably will be a very involved and protective dad. Unlike Phil, who completely divorces himself from his job to be a dad, being a badass assassin is basically the Shaw family business. You will learn how to make bombs and kill people. Will have many cool adventures saving the world. Fun Factor: 15/10 Dad Factor: 8/10

5. Jensen Ames - Good solid family man type. Works hard to provide for you. Breaks out of jail and murders people to get daughter back. Will raise you in a dystopian Mexican junkyard. Fun Factor: 2/10 Dad Factor: 9/10

6. Rick Ford - Most embarrassing dad ever! You will probably not survive past puberty because you would have died of embarrassment at some point. Will tackle being a dad with as much intensity and enthusiasm as everything else. Honestly kind of cute in his earnestness. Fun Factor: 4/10 Dad Factor: 11/10

7. Danny Bryce - Emotionally stunted tough guy. Is responsible and competent. Like Phil, he leaves his badassery behind for his family, so no awesome adventures. :( Cares about you in his own gruff way, but has trouble expressing it probably. You can always depend on him. Fun Factor: 4/10 Dad Factor: 7/10

8. Turkish - Great sense of humour, cool dude, seems like a good time to be around. Hustling to make a living and provide for you. Lost to Danny because he is a little bumbling and not very competent. You might lose your dad because he got killed by gangsters or arrested by the police. Fun Factor: 7/10 Dad Factor: 6/10

9. Lee Christmas - Lee seems like a cool dude too. Not around a lot, but shows a genuine desire for family (i.e. the Lacy debacle). Would treasure his relationship with you. You’ll have a good time whenever he is around, but he would be gone for months at a time. Expect to have 20 badass, doting aunts/uncles. Fun Factor: 7/10 Dad Factor: 4/10

10. Quentin Connors - Intelligent and competent. He has a sense of loyalty but ultimately is selfish and a little narcissistic. Not a good man. But he does have one billion dollars. My moral compass kind of goes haywire from the magnetic pull of one billion dollars. Fun Factor: 7/10 Dad Factor: 4/10

11. Tony Leather - Family man with questionable priorities. Claims to be pulling jobs to provide for his family, but clearly attached to his criminal buddies and lifestyle. Disregards his wife's concerns and protests. Tony cares about his family but can’t prioritize it over the con. Good with his kids though. Fun Factor: 5/10 Dad Factor: 4/10

12. Chev Chelios- Human disaster. Trying to improve himself. Probably not a responsible dad, but will make an honest effort. Will bring you to some horribly inappropriate places. Will let you get away with a lot. Fun factor: 6/10 Dad factor: 4/10

13. Jack Crawford - Obsessed with finding his partner’s killer. You’ll always take a backseat to the case. Total disappointment of a dad. Does care about you and will try, but expect to be tossed to the side as soon as he gets a lead. Fun Factor: 2/10 Dad Factor: 3/10

14. Bateman - Loving guy. Seems smart and charming. Like Christmas, he has a longing for family and will likely treasure his relationship with any children of his. Is, unfortunately, a crackhead, therefore cannot be trusted to be responsible for kids. Fun Factor: 5/10 Dad Factor: 2/10

15. Nick Wild - Has a strong sense of loyalty and responsibility. But is also a self-destructive, compulsive gambler. Is definitely an “emotionally stunted tough guy”. Will care about you, but will not be emotionally available. Can count on him to avenge you for your murder at least. Fun Factor: 3/10 Dad Factor: 2/10

16. Bacon- Immature, deadbeat dad. Seem like the type of guy who dumps the heavy lifting of parenthood on his partner. Will be around to play with you when it’s convenient for him. More likely to hang out with his mates. Maybe 1 hour/week of dad time. Fun Factor: 4/10 Dad Factor: 1/10

17. Tom Brandt - Another entry for embarrassing dads as well as “emotionally stunted tough guy” dads. Total fashion disaster. That lumpy-ass-old-man-sweater with baggy sweatpants?!! Ewww…. No social grace or manners. Will kill you with embarrassment just like Rick Ford. Proven time and again to be prone to excessive violence. A domestic abuse case waiting to happen. Fun Factor: 0/10 Dad Factor: 1/10

18/19 Arthur Bishop/ Handsome Rob - Does not know you exist. You don’t even know their name. Your mom doesn’t know their name either. Fun Factor: 0/10 Dad Factor: 0/10 (Resurrection does not exist to me)

20. Joey Jones (Smith) - Clearly cares about his family. Provides for you. Protective too. Has debilitating PTSD. Lives in self-imposed exile. Would be a great dad if he weren’t so FUCKING SAD and full of self-loathing. Could be #4 or 5 if he got help. Fun Factor: -100/10 Dad Factor: 5/10

BONUS: Frank Martin - Ultimate responsible parent. Has a lot of rules. Tells you to take your feet off his furniture. Will complain about you getting his upholstery dirty. A constant air of exasperation. Uses “I’m going to count to three” as a threat. Will make you get to the airport 3 hours early and sit in the terminal. Will drop you off at school, appointments, and extracurriculars with military precision. Fun Factor: 3/10 Mom Factor:10/10

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holisticfansstuff · 5 years

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the diamond of the day part two

I don't like sad endings but I really liked the show, so I did all I could to prepare myself for the end. I found out about Arthur's death ahead of time, exactly how and why he dies, what Merlin says to him, looked up the scene in advance so I'd be ready, skipped to the end so I could see for myself who survives and who's conspicuous by their absence.

It wasn't enough. I've watched the end of the finale before. It still didn't prepare me for the emotional impact of what happened, when I watched the entire episode. Nothing could have prepared me for Colin Morgan's acting in those last scenes ( and Bradley's too! He'd gotten so much better by the end of the show! ) Colin made me feel his pain with him, suffer with him, as he suffered (as many great actors do. Look at Jensen. You can love Dean, you can hate Dean, but it's almost impossible not to empathize with him when he's in pain). I thought I'd be able to stay detached if I made fun of them or knew ahead of time what was going to happen. I was wrong. Lol.

The episode was so beautifully shot and acted with the most lovely music playing in the background to set the mood. Hats off to the writers and the cast, honestly. It's not how I would have chosen to end it, but then again, I've never written a script for a hit TV show with fans and producers all breathing down my neck, so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The ending wasn't as bad as it could have been. At least Gwen was still alive. And without a Pendragon on the throne, perhaps magic will be allowed back in Camelot? Especially since the Battle of Camlann was won via sorcery. Perhaps that's what the prophecy meant? Maybe Arthur was never meant to survive the process, or he was meant to only live long enough to play his part in making that happen. Merlin didn't fail. He just lost sight of what his real goal was. Somehow, somewhere along the way, for Merlin, success ceased to mean the end of bigotry against magic and came to mean the survival of Arthur at any cost, including magic itself. At least that's the only explanation I can come up with. Let's pretend for a moment that TV scripts make sense and there is logic at least within the narrative.

I don't think Merlin never returned to Camelot. He had friends there too. Yes, Arthur was his best friend but his other friends needed him and he, them. I can't see him abandoning Gwen, newly widowed and a peasant queen, vulnerable to threats within the court and outside it. Gwen was his first real friend, or at least the first friend he had who was close to his own age in Camelot. No matter how grief stricken he was, I just can't see him simply taking off.

I think Gaius had his favourite meal ready like he'd promised, when Merlin finally returned. I think Gwen, Leon and Percival rallied after allowing themselves some time to grieve-after all, they had a kingdom to care for. They governed Camelot together, for a long, long time, before the time came for them to move on. The ban on magic was lifted for good, the magic folk and regular people lived side by side in peace, and prospered.

Merlin never gave in to the temptation of deliberately creating a crisis, so that Albion needed Arthur so badly that Arthur had to return, as I surely would have, so-ahem. Just kidding. Haha. Or am I?

We know Freya lived on in some form as the Lady of the Lake, probably in Avalon. It's fair to assume that Arthur did too, then. He had a life there, as did Merlin, in another dimension. And they are fated to meet again. So far every attempt to avert any prophecy in this story has failed spectacularly, so we can assume this one is set in stone too. At some point in the future, they are reunited. And in the meantime, they find new purpose, discover new passions, find happiness in old friends and new.

#the diamond of the day part two #merlin #5x13 #arthur Pendragon #merlin headcanons #merlin emrys #emrys #the once and future king #since Gwen is the once and future queen #I'm assuming she returns too when Arthur does?#heh #freya #avalon #long post #mt #merlin finale

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trulycertain · 6 years

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Deus Ex is One Great Big Goth Phase

@jackedjoyce, @valeriannn, @ngresonance - I blame you all. We run a Very Serious Server.

ngresonance Today at 00:10 Put nail stickers where Adam's nails are supposed to be

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:11 ...Do not make me draw this He'd be so glitzy

ngresonanceToday at 00:11 Gold of course

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:12 ...Dammit, dammit, dammit Would he have to wear false nails, though, or just the wraps?

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:13 jensen showing up with poorly painted nails only to end up with pritchard rubbing acitone on his polycarbonate hands and grumbling about how Jensen clearly never had a goth phase ngresonanceToday at 00:13 If he wants to be able to pick up little things like coins and stickers, probably false nails

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:13 Or maybe he did

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:13 and then proceeding to make them STUNNINHG

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:13 Perhaps he got used to painting his old nails and just couldn't get used to aug fingers

ngresonanceToday at 00:13 Pritchard probably cares for his nails, using nail oil and keeping them filed, but doesn't paint them obviously

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:14 "Holding the little brush is hard" "Did you fucking go to the gas station for this low quality shit"

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:14 I wan... I want to draw. And I can't decide whether it's goth Frank or post-punk Jensen

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:14 "Im bored." "Too bad. I'm not done with my design"

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:14 With his daft hair and his black nail varnish wearing these

Because continuity To be fair, if he disassembles computers, Frank must have really good hand coordination. I bet he'd be good.

ngresonanceToday at 00:15 Eidos show us Frank's goth phase

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:17 [Jensen] grooms his beard like that! If you think that boy has never worn eyeliner I don't know what to tell you

Resident Toufexpert Today at 00:18 Idk why i really want adam to be a beauty guru "Beardy make up and the best mascara to cry in" 20 mil views

BrideToday at 00:21 "Eye-liner for Augmented Eyes"

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:21 "The best swatches for Sarif Industries model augs" Honestly i just want to hear adam do the tongue click

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:22 I want him to be alternative, somehow Frank's there all goth and angry and "I am so alone" and gets pissed off by that guy who's a ten-years-too-late Cranberries fan. "God damn it I thought you were meant to be the preppiest prep who’s ever prepped."

ValerianToday at 00:22 never too late to be a cranberries fan

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:22 Agreed.

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:23 "Hi im adam and im here today with my special guest frank who's a fucking prick and made fun of me for making the debate team"

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:23 *laughter* Yup. He'd be so pissy but secretly so hurt. Stop it. Stop it. I should not want to pat teenage Adam's head and ruin his careful hairdo and tell him everything will end up fine. Except for the whole aug dystopia thing never mind that...

ValerianToday at 00:24 why would you lie to him like that

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:24 true

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:24 Did he have a slime channel phase

ValerianToday at 00:24 i can think of one or two things that are decidedly not fine

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:25 i love how there's so many aus i could b e thinking about but my main concern right now is "beauty guru youtuber adam AU"

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:25 Agreed I'm stuck on "lanky earnest captain of the debate team who keeps trying to grow a beard and failing and had a goth phase"

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:26 "ITS NOT A PHASE MOM IT'S WHO I AM"

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:26 "and keeps trying to look after his mom and pretend everything's fine because people would look at him funny and probably put him in care if he explained"

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:26 "THIS IS ME NOW"

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:26 *laughter* Yes, that

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:26 Arthur Jensen: I wish I got a different baby

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:26 Adam: *blasts thirty seconds to mars and reapplies eyeliner*

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:27 "Adam it's time for school" "NOT NOW MOM IM WRITING MY HARRY POTTER FANFICTION"

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:28 He'd so be there for the Draco in Leather Pants stuff

Resident ToufexpertToday at 00:28 i love terrible millennial teen adam

trulycertain (Print), is a shrubToday at 00:28 I just like working-class knackered kid who's actually quite well-liked while trying to secretly indulge his total nerd and goth tendencies And also is a terrible millenial teen]

Mutual: I legit do want to hear about Megan's goth phase, though. She eventually got very embarrassed about it and never told anyone about it ever again. Except possibly Adam when she was really drunk on a date with him trulycertainToday at 00:40 Yes, good. Cue equal sheepishness and scratching the beard and "so, uh, Meg... same?”

#discord stuff #aus #tru plays deus ex #sort of #church of the machine god server #the trueue

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aphaskengland-bitter-tea-drinker · 6 years

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Superhero AU

... I forgot to send you the Superhero AU thing yesterday, so yeah... Anyways, let's imagine this: 1. Name: The Magician Real name: Arthur Kirkland Age: 23 Alignment: Good Powers: -He can use a variety of spells that include moving, transforming and creating several objects as long as he uses his wand. He can also use the magic of it as a force to hold things in their place or to fight against other forces. -With his hands, he doesn't have that many different options, but he can still use basic spells. -He can see and communicate with several magical creatures such as fairies and unicorns. Abilities: -He can be pretty intimidating thanks to his sharp eyes. -He's a great detective. -He can read very quickly. Disadvantages: -If he kills or purposely hurts a good (or not completely evil) creature, his powers will be taken away. -He isn't very good at summoning spirits. -He needs to be focused to make his magic work. -He can't cook for shit. Trivia: -He's a librarian. -He has a crush on the cute waiter who works near his house. -He loves his little brothers. -He has a bunny called Jensen. 2. Name: *I'mnotgoodwithnames* Real name: Alfred F. Jones Age: 19 Alignment: Good Powers: -Superhuman strength -Matter Ingestion (?) -Superhuman endurance -Telephaty with his twin brother. Abilities: -No one's really sure if it's actually a superpower, but he can literally eat anything without getting sick. -He's very brave and heroic... except when it comes to ghosts and haunted stuff in general. -He's very energetic and smart. -His puppy eyes can convince anyone to do anything for him. Disadvantages: -He's pretty bad at geography. -He can be very oblivious and he's easily distracted. -He can't see shit without his glasses or contacts. Trivia: -He's studying archaeology. -He has a huge crush on a Japanese superhero that he hasn't met... yet. -He loves fast food and movies. -He has a Golden Retriever called Hero. 3. Name: *x2* Real name: Matthew Williams. Age: 19 Alignment: Good Powers: -Invisibility -Force-field generation and manipulation -Super strength -Telephaty with his twin Abilities: -He's very elastic and agile. -He has a pretty good knowledge on how to deal with injuries and illnesses. -He's so sweet and nice that people can't say no to him. Disadvantages: -He can be too soft. -He's very shy and soft-spoken, so it's kind of hard for him to be intimidating. -He can't see pretty well without his glasses or contacts. Trivia: -He's studying to become a nurse. -He's actually dating someone. -He loves maple syrup, pancakes and helping people and animals. -He has a huge Chow Chow calles Kumajiro. -When he gets mad or he's in his hockey mode, he's scary, strong and intimidating af. 4. Name: *x3* Real name: Gilbert Beilschmidt Age: 24 Alignment: Bad Powers: -His whole body (and his special clothes) can transform into an specific material if he touches it with his hands. I mean, if he touches gold, he's gonna turn into it, but he'll conserve his human form, abilities and brain. -He can communicate with birds... yeah. Abilities: -He works out a lot, so he's very strong and agile. -It's really hard to get him drunk. -He's incredibly good at planning and organising. Disadvantages: -He has to wear special gloves or rings to avoid turning into random materials in public. -If he's wearing normal clothes, he looks weird, but he can't take them off because that would be awkward. -Bad at flirting. Trivia: -He works as a History teacher for kids. -He's dating someone. -He loves birds, potatoes and beer. -He has a bird called Gilbird. -He has a lot of plushies and he loves them. 5. Name: Le Triton Real name: Francis Bonnefoy Age: 26 Alignment: Bad Powers: -Mind control (He can do it by seducing people with his eyes or his voice. He uses his eyes for simple tasks, his talking voice if they try to resist and his singing voice to completely brainwash them). *In said people's eyes, he looks exactly like the love of their life (he can even look and sound like a girl or like someone non-binary) or as their dream lover. If they're asexual or aromantic, he looks like someone they really admire. -Sonic scream. Abilities: -He's very sneaky. -He's not sure if it's because of his powers, but people adore him after they eat his food. -He does have a nice singing voice. -Good at flirting. Disadvantages: -If they can't see or hear him, his powers are useless. -He's not very strong, and he's definitely not good at hand-to-hand combat. -He's afraid to actually make someone fall in love with him, so he's never tried to use his powers at their maximum. -His powers (except for his sonic scream) don't work with his biggest enemy, The Magician (I'll let you analyse this one). -He pretty much has the powers of a mermaid, but he can't grow a tail and he's not that good at swimming. -He's a crybaby. Trivia: -He has a café and he works there as a cook and waiter. -He's single, but one of his customers has catched his eye. -He loves wine and designing his friends' suits. -He has several doves and they're all called Pierre. 6. Name: *x4* Real name: Antonio Fernández Carriedo Age: 25 Alignment: Bad (Not really, his friends are just really bad influences on him). Powers: -Plant manipulation. -Poison generation -He can communicate with plants andanimals. Abilities: -He has a very loyal bull that sometimes follows him and charges at his enemies. -He's very good at playing the innocent person, though. -He's also very strong, and it's really hard to catch him since he can mentally communicate with the plants. -If he gets mad, nothing's going to stop him... except his boyfriend. His boyfriend is scary. -It's not exactly an ability, but he usually has a small and angry Italian boyfriend covering his back. -Good at flirting. Disadvantages: -He's naive af. -If there are no plants, he's fucked up. -He can't control animals. -He doesn't realise when he's flirting or when people are flirting with him. Trivia: -He sells his own vegetables that he grows on his little farm and he also is a Spanish tutor. -He has a small and angry Italian boyfriend who also has superpowers. -He loves tomatoes and his boyfriend. -He has a chihuahua called Tomate, but it lives with his boyfriend. -He has a pretty bad sense of fashion. So, in this AU, Antonio, Gilbert and Francis are the members of the Bad Touch Trio, a group of supervillains whose goal is basically to cause chaos, mess with the good guys and be hilarious... Yeah, they just haven't found something else to do with their lives. So, Artie, Alfie and Mattie are the siblings and the heroes of the city. Neither of them have much experience, but they do their best. Bonus: Alfie pretends that he hates the BTT, but he actually thinks that they're hilarious. Bonus 2: Since I love drama, guess who's dating Gil and who's dating Mattie... Jk, they know each other's secret identity. Bonus 3: It'd be a shame if Arthur and Francis fell in love and started dating their worst enemy... Bonus 4: I got this idea thanks to the choreography for Sax in Just Dance, so that's the BTT's song in this AU. -Gil 2.0

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