#stephen arthur stills | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dollarbin · 5 months

Text

Nickel Bin #4:

Cat Stevens' Foreigner Suite

Though I'm surely as guilty of practicing it as the next music blogger, I don't know how to spell pretentious without looking it up.

But The Beatles surely entered every new Spelling Bee hoping pretentious would be the first word they were responsible for. They knew the concept all too well. After all, Yoko and John decided his schlong, and nothing else, was a worthy subject for a 40 minute film.

(No, I'm not gonna show you a clip of the movie here; get your mind out of the gutter; and anyway, the film was only ever shown once and is not available anywhere; so no slow-motion image of Lennon's Johnson for you; Yoko said "the critics wouldn't touch it"; neither will this blog...)

Paul meanwhile routinely praised his own music by posing as a nonexistent journalist named Clint Harrigan. And George was inspired to write Try Some, Buy Some to document "his sudden perception of God amid the temptations of the material world" while living in this house:

And Ringo... well you know The Dollar Bin is shy about criticizing Ringo, even if his website just announced a "LANDMARK PHOTOGRAPHY RETROSPECTIVE HARDCOVER “BEATS & THREADS” CHRONICLING OVER 70 YEARS OF HIS LEGENDARY DRUM KITS AND ERA DEFINING FASHIONS."

There is perhaps just one form of late 60s to mid 70s era rock pretension of which the lads from Liverpool never partook: the side-long song. Arthur Lee's Love introduced the idea of one long song filling an entire side of vinyl on their second record, and everyone, including Lee, instantly recognized that doing so was pretentious nonsense.

(By the way, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands does not count. Why? A) it's only 11 minutes long and takes up a side on its own only because it is at the end of a double album, b) it's too awesome to criticize in any way, and c) cuz I said so.)

Relax: I love Pink Floyd's Echoes (not to mention The Pentangle's Jack Orion) as much as any reasonable white guy, but you've got to admit there is little one can imagine more pretentious than declaring that your music requires listeners to concentrate for 18-23 minutes without pause because you're a big deal artist sent by the gods who cannot be bothered to meet the needs of radio formatting or real people with real responsibilities.

And that brings us to our first ever discussion of one of the Dollar Bin's greatest oddballs, Cat Stevens. It wasn't pretentious enough for Cat to fill the entire A Side of his career cauterizing 73 album Foreigner with one song; he also insisted on calling it a "suite".

The musical term "suite" has its origins in the 1500's and was central to Baroque era music; the idea of a suite was to assemble serious music together for the purpose of serious dancing. Bach wrote a bunch of them; time signatures were to be rigidly followed; everything was either homophonic (not homophobic, ye hasty reader, homophonic: all acceptable music is queer friendly) or polyphonic or, who am I kidding? I have no idea what a song suite actually is; all I can say that it's a serious piece of serious music; in other words it has nothing to do with Jethro Tull.

What I'm trying to say here is that taking three to seven pop songs, smashing them together (with either total or no elegance) and calling it a "suite" is comparable to me wrapping up last Wednesday's spaghetti in a tortilla, adding canned salsa, and declaring my pathetic lunch a Super Deluxe Burrito. Stephen Stills was of course the master of such pretension; see Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. I'll bet he's tucking into a spaghetti burrito as we speak.

Cat Stevens' Foreigner Suite is, admittedly, another totally pretentious addition to this club. And yet, it features everything we love about the Cat Man: sweet harmonies, dense sonic changes, passionate lyrics and his patented I'm-a-grandpa-who-zipped-up-too-fast-and-got-his-hairy-hacky-sack-caught-in-it vocal stylings. Plus he recorded the song while on tax exile in Jamaica and was appropriately enamored with reggae, so the whole thing is a fitting follow up to Paul Simon's Mother and Child Reunion.

My wife bought this record early in our relationship at a Salvation Army without my pretentious approval. I knew Cat Stevens. My long ago friend Thom Moore of Moore Brothers fame had shown us Harold & Maude and I'd been listening to Tea for The Tillerman since middle school.

(My buddy Eric and I once spent all of a sleepover listening to the title track on repeat; when we finally went to bed we turned it down as low as it could go while still remaining audible; therefore we woke up every other minute and a half when everyone belted out HAPPY DAY!; we had no access to, or interest in, drugs, so that was our idea of trippin').

But I'd decided early on that everything after Mona Bone Jakon (now that's a record that deserves a big deal Dollar Bin treatment; it's the overlooked third member of holy, end-of-the-60's, white people music trinity alongside Five Leaves Left and Astral Weeks) was a compromise, and that everything after Teaser and the Firecat was a worthy soundtrack for that film about Lennon's one-eyed monster.

So I turned my pretentious nose up at my lady friend's thrift store find, resumed listening to Daydream Nation, and thereby missed out on Foreigner Suite for the rest of the 90's.

But then we had a kid in 02 it was time to a) rewrite my pretentious first/last novel, b) drink more/cheaper beer, and c) listen to the records in my collection I had previously ignored, all in an effort to prove to myself that I was not simply a middle aged, balding dadman forever more. And that brought me to Foreigner Suite.

Let's listen.

youtube

Where to start? I count the soulful main theme (There are no words...) which opens the piece briefly and then comes back for an extended run at the end, then there's another two or three unique melody sections as well as the funk in the middle, and then the whole thing soars away with sweet piano doodling and a chorus that I can't begin to get my head around: heaven, Cat sings, must have programmed you. Is he singing to a 60's era, Warehouse-sized IBM machine? Or to Neil's new robot? Is he inventing the internet years before Al Gore did?

I love this song. I'd play it loud on weekends in our first real home whenever my wife was at work. My infant daughter spent the 8 minutes unpacking all her toys one by one, tasting each of them. And I'd sit on the floor beside her, tasting them too. Then she'd don every costume jewelry necklace in the house and crawl about, dragging bling wherever she went. And I'd sing along with Cat and crawl along after her, marvelling. After all, Heaven had programmed her.

And when she graduates from college this May I'll likely have Cat Stevens in my head:

When you're talking to me And the whirling wind turns to song Why it sets my soul free

Here's to Cat. He wound up donating all the money he saved on his taxes while in Jamaica to UNESCO.

More importantly, here's to Martin Luther King. Today's his day. His words and voice are currently knocking the wind out of my ninth grade students in all the right ways.

And, most importantly, here's to all the unpretentious people who spent today in service to others.

Cheers.

#cat stevens #stephen stills still sucks #nickel bin!#pink floyd #arthur lee #sad eyed lady of the lowlands

5 notes · View notes

neil-gaiman · 22 days

Note

Curiosity is getting the best of me, and truly I’d love to hear your opinion on this.

When I dig into horror, macabre, paranormal, terror, or dark themed writing (whether it’s writing or screen adaptations) I always have the same results.

Writers and artists such as yourself, Stephen King, Dean Koontz, etc. are always mentioned. And I mean that with true respect. But, I’m always disappointed that Clive Barker is either rarely mentioned, barely looked at, or never even acknowledged when it comes to horror works. Granted, writers such as yourselves don’t entirely focus on horror.

But, I feel Barker is snubbed or just shrugged off a lot of the time. I still feel he’s not appreciated so much, other than the horror film fan community always giving him praise.

Since you both seemed to be good colleagues (from assumption, which I could be wrong), do you think his works are overlooked?

I mean….his writing is more than just the Hellbound Heart. Or as people reading these fan mail asks would more properly know it by, the horror movie adaptation Hellraiser (1987).

I don't read much any more about horror, which means I have no idea what people are saying these days about Clive or me or Stephen King or Arthur Machen or Robert Aickman or Lisa Tuttle or anybody really.

For me, the six Books of Blood and The Damnation Game were formative literature, and meeting Clive in 1984 when we were both babies was inspiring. I was on set as a journalist when Hellraiser was being shot -- hell, I was on set when Clive Barker's Underworld (1985) was being shot. You can read my interview with Clive from 1988 in the book Clive Barker: Shadows in Eden.

501 notes · View notes

colleendoran · 1 year

Text

Misunderstanding

I received a note from someone who was upset I “failed to cite Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics” in my research for my work on Neil Gaiman's Chivalry and the essays I wrote about it.

I really appreciate that people want to make sure credit goes where it's due, and I have a lot of respect for Scott McCloud's accomplishment with his wonderful book.

I haven't read it myself in some years, and didn't cite it in my articles because I didn't reference it. I don't even know where my copy is so I don't know what McCloud referenced, either.

The information in my articles re: illuminated manuscripts and the Bayeux Tapestry, as well as other theories about the development of sequential art from prehistory, not only predate McCloud's work (and in fact, predate McCloud's birth,) but they are so common and so well known in comics circles that asking me to cite them seems as weird to me as asking me to cite the information that George Washington was the first President of the United States.

A part of me wonders if someone is trying to play, "Let's you and him fight."

No.

But I’m happy to bring to your attention some reading material.

Stephen Becker in his 1959 work Comic Art in America: A Social History of the Funnies, the Political Cartoons, Magazine Humor, Sporting Cartoons, and Animated Cartoons was among the first to discuss the Bayeux Tapestry as comic art. I read that book sometime in the 1980’s. I think a lot of people assume the Bayeux tapestry as comic art was McCloud’s idea, but we don’t all walk around with a reference library in our heads, so there you go. I can’t find my copy of Becker’s work to quote, but I did find an article by Arthur Asa Berger with a mention of the Bayeux Tapestry as comic art in the summer 1978 issue of The Wilson Quarterly.

My first exposure to the idea of comics as descendant of fine art was Maurice Horn’s 1976 The World Encyclopedia of Comics which was my first read re: comics history. I still have my tattered 1976 edition.

While Horn scorned the idea that tapestries and manuscripts could be comic art (see, it was a matter of discussion way back then, so much so that authors were writing snarky asides to one another about it,) he believed the origin of sequential art was in the Renaissance sketches of Leonardo da Vinci - which I think everyone now agrees is kind of a bonkers idea.

I think Horn was just intent on elevating the comic art form by hooking up with da Vinci.

You go, boi.

Comics as descendant of art on scrolls is a very common theory, the easiest to trace being in Manga! Manga! The World of Japanese Comics by Fred Schodt published in 1983 when I was still a teenager. I can't find my copy to show examples, but this text is still in print and you can go read it for yourself.

I was introduced to manga by cartoonist Leslie Sternbergh and bought Schodt’s book at Books Kinokuniya on (I think) a trip to New York around the time of first publication of Schodt’s work. And years later took a trip to Japan with Fred Schodt and a group of cartoonists including Jeff Smith and Jules Fieffer, Nicole Hollander, and Denys Cowan as the guests of Tezuka Productions.

Here we all are.

So, I’m familiar with manga, see.

As for comics as descendant of cave paintings, hieroglyphics and ancient art in general, Will Eisner’s 1985 Comics and Sequential Art not only made all of those points, but made those points with comic art examples. Like these.

And this.

And more than a few words on this:

I find it amusing that someone is questioning why I didn’t cite McCloud when what you should probably be questioning is why more people don’t cite Eisner who produced his book eight years before McCloud published his and who is well known to have influenced McCloud.

Whatever. My book's autographed.

I also danced with Eisner. Eat your heart out.

Understanding Comics is a terrific work with huge advantages over every book (that I know of) about comics that came before: it taught comics entirely in the language of comics.

But the discussion in it about the origins of comics and my work especially re: illuminated manuscripts/tapestries, did not originate with McCloud. I research illuminated manuscripts because it’s my hobby and it informs my art.

I encourage everyone to read Understanding Comics because it is an outstanding work.

But it’s not the book that introduced me to the concepts of the development of comic art. It’s not even the point of origin of those concepts. So, there is no reason to cite it.

Also, shocking as it may seem, I occasionally come up with ideas on my own. While I'm younger than McCloud, I've actually been a comics pro longer than he has. So I've had plenty of opportunity to, you know, read things and toss things around, and decide for myself.

When I first read Chivalry and first begged Neil Gaiman to let me adapt it, my head full of the work of Alberto Sangorski and his art for Tennyson’s Le Morte D’Arthur, Understanding Comics hadn’t been published yet.

It's been a good twelve years since I last read McCloud's work, and I don't think I've spoken to him five times in the last three decades. But I'm pretty sure he never mentioned Sangorski.

I hope that clears everything up, and maybe introduces some of you to some works you might not be aware of.

Have a great day.

#understanding comics #comics history #neil gaiman #scott mccloud #chivalry #jules fieffer #tezuka productions #manga #will eisner

2K notes · View notes

dark-mcu-ship-tourney · 5 months

Text

Hello!

Welcome to the Problematic MCU Ship Tournament!

This blog will pit 64 different pairings against one another. All of them are in some way “problematic”- some feature a minor and an adult, others feature incestuous pairings, others still simply have questionable or potentially abusive dynamics. Many ships combine elements of more than one.

Each day, 4 polls will be posted pitting two different ships together (for a total of 8 ships per day). You are free to vote in as many or as few of these polls as you’d like.

This blog is explicitly pro-ship and anti-censorship, and obviously features dark themes. If this is a point of discomfort for you, you are free to block this blog, I don’t bite. Hate towards anyone (and anything unreasonably rude about ships or characters) will not be published and users that send it will be blocked. Nothing explicit will be posted to this blog, regardless of the ship, so minors are free to interact if they so wish.

The bracket below shows all the ships that will be posted, as well as their first opponent. After the first round has been completed, the diagram will be updated and all of the winning ships will be pitted against one another. You can also find a typed list of all ships under the cut, for users that can’t or don’t want to read my terrible handwriting.

May the odds be ever in your (ship’s) favor!

All First Round Ships:

1. Morgan Stark x Harold “Happy” Hogan

2. Morgan Stark x James “Rhodey” Rhodes

3. Morgan Stark x Tony Stark

4. Morgan Stark x Pepper Potts

5. Scott Lang x Cassie Lang

6. Frigga Freyrdottir x Thor Odinson

7. Vision x Billy Maximoff x Tommy Maximoff

8. Wanda Maximoff x Billy Maximoff x Tommy Maximoff

9. Maria Stark x Tony Stark

10. Howard Stark x Tony Stark

11. Obadiah “Obie” Stane x Tony Stark

12. Tony Stark x Peter Parker

13. Peter Parker x Harold “Happy” Hogan

14. Tony Stark x Harley Keener

15. America Chavez x Dr. Stephen Strange

16. America Chavez x Wanda Maximoff

17. Odin Borson x Thor Odinson

18. King T'Chaka x Prince T'Challa

19. Xu Shang-Chi x Xu Wenwu

20. Marc Spector x Stephen Grant

21. Thor Odinson x Rocket Raccoon

22. Thor Odinson x Groot

23. Peter Quill x Rocket Raccoon

24. James “Bucky” Barnes x Rocket Raccoon

25. Adrian Toomes x Peter Parker

26. Dr. Otto Octavius x Peter Parker

27. Dr. Curt Connors x Peter Parker

28. Steven “Skip” Westcott x Peter Parker

29. Dr. Stephen Strange x Peter Parker

30. Quentin Beck x Peter Parker

31. James “Bucky” Barnes x Peter Parker

32. Steve Rogers x Peter Parker

33. Thor Odinson x Loki Laufeyson

34. Loki Laufeyson x Sylvie Laufeydottir

35. Princess Shuri x James “Bucky” Barnes

36. Princess/Queen Shuri x Namor/K’uk’ulkan

37. Thanos x Nebula

38. Thanos x Gamora

39. Thanos x Loki Laufeyson

40. Thanos x Tony Stark

41. Clint Barton x Kate Bishop

42. Clint Barton x Lila Barton

43. Carol Danvers x Kamala Khan

44. Monica Rambeau x Kamala Khan

45. Stephen Grant x Khonshu

46. Jake Lockley x Khonshu

47. Marc Spector x Khanshu

48. Arthur Harrow x Ammit

49. Xu Shang-Chi x Xu Xialing

50. Princess Shuri x King/Prince T’Challa

51. Billy Maximoff x Tommy Maximoff

52. Wanda Maximoff x Pietro Maximoff

53. Peter Parker x May Parker

54. Queen Ramonda x Princess Shuri

55. Queen Ramonda x King/Prince T’Challa

56. Peter Parker x Ben Parker

57. Marc Spector x Jake Lockley

58. Stephen Grant x Jake Lockley

59. Natasha Romanov x Yelena Belova

60. Gamora x Nebula

61. Odin Borson x Loki Laufeyson

62. Frigga Feyrdottir x Loki Laufeyson

63. Peter Parker x Carol Danvers

64. Peter Parker x James “Rhodey” Rhodes

#mcu #proship #thorki #starker #sylki #spiderio #spiderstrange #spidershield #winterspider #nashuri #yelenat #poll #ship tournament #tournament polls #poll bracket #fandom polls #tumblr polls

76 notes · View notes

meraki-yao · 9 months

Text

RWRB Movie Analysis + Feelings: The King, and Parental Love

Okay heads up, this is gonna be an amalgam of a meta/analysis, and my own feelings and experience/me venting, because I’m going through some things right now in my life and this is how I cope.

So in the book, the “final boss” on Alex's side is Richards. In the movie, I would say it’s more the action of being outed than Miguel himself, but yeah. The former is politically driven to screw things up while the latter is career-driven. To understand this change please read this essay.

Henry’s “final boss” is his Grandmother Queen Mary in the book, and his Grandfather King James in the movie. These two are in a similar position: the head of the monarchy and of the family, both trying to make Henry hide the truth. On first glance it might feel like they simply gender-bent the Queen for the movie for the sake of distancing the movie from the actual royal family, which, fair.

(Tangent: Also the fact that Stephen Fry is not only a gay icon in the UK but also a good friend of King Charles, yet he took this role without hesitation, I applaud you Sir)

But as I watched the Buckingham confrontation more, I noticed something.

And I noticed this because I’m familiar with it, in fact I’m living with it.

Either way, both the Queen and the King wanted Henry to hide his sexuality. That is forcing him into the closet, especially the way the Queen still brings up finding a wife in the book and Alex is right there, it’s forcing him into the closet for his entire life. That, is awful.

But there’s a difference.

In the book, Queen Mary doesn’t care about Henry. She berates Henry for damaging the crown’s image. She only mentions things from his perspective and says she’s only “protecting” him when she’s trying to convince Henry once she realizes that he’s not going to budge. She barely acknowledges Alex. Even till the end, she never really gave in: Princess Catherine gave her an ultimatum, and because she still wants to be in power, she extremely begrudgingly, agreed to Catherine’s terms. Not Henry, Catherine’s. It just so happens that Catherine’s terms are supporting Henry. On top of that, Catherine mentions feeling awful because of Mary (Quote: “And I swear on my life, and Arthur’s. I will take you off the throne before I will let them feel the things you made me feel”), so it’s clear that this is generational. Queen Mary is arrogant, power-hungry, and uncaring for her children and grandchildren. All she sees is the crown. She does not love Henry.

Okay, now look at the movie.

In the movie, King James says he’s protecting Henry at the start of the conversation. He admits that Alex and Henry’s love is genuine. He says the nation will not accept a prince who is homosexual. Which is still bullshit, but look at it. He’s speaking about Henry. This is about Henry. This isn’t about the crown as a whole, this is about Henry being shunned. About Henry facing scrutiny. He even says no one is saying Henry doesn’t deserve to be happy, and the implication there is that he thinks Henry will be unhappy if he comes out. In the end, he didn’t stop Henry from going onto the balcony when, as terrible as it would be, he could have. He just asked if Henry was sure because there is no turning back. He stepped back from the situation, and with a warning, let Henry decide for himself.

So here’s the thing.

There’s a type of parents, that truly do love their child and want them to be happy. But it comes out wrong and hurtful, because they want what they think is the best for their kid, without considering what their kid actually wants. They stick with the world and mindset they grew up with, and enforce that on their child, without acknowledging that after decades, the world the child lives in, and the world they lived in at that age, are extremely different. They want their kids to get the things that make the parents happy, but they don’t realize that the same thing might not make the child happy, maybe even make the kid feel worse. This is a different type of pain than straight-up abuse and neglect. (Please note that I am absolutely not saying that this type of pain is more than abuse/neglect. Abuse/neglect is still extremely fucking awful. But pain isn’t something that should be compared.)

And I say this, because my parents belong to this category. And it took me 18 years to realize that they can truly love me, and hurt me at the same time, and it’s not actually my fault that I feel bad about myself, it’s theirs.

Here’s the personal part. Please bear with me. (If you’re not interested, or find family issues or devaluing of mental health issues potentially triggering, please skip to *****)

My parents are older for my cohort, come from an extremely traditional and conservative society, and immigrated to my city during the 90s. I’m Gen Z. So our generation gap and cultural gap ended up being pretty fucking wide. I’m a very emotional, artsy person while my parents are pragmatic and hold traditional ideas very strictly. So what happens is that they don’t value the things I want to and like to do, because it doesn’t fit the perspective they grew up with and ended up being stuck with. I’ll state two examples from the clusterfuck that is my life.

Last night when I tried to subtly explain my recent struggles to my mom, she straight up said emotional people are egotistical and tend to end up mentally ill by their own doing. I excused myself and locked myself in my room to sob for ten minutes because whether or not she realised it, she was also talking about me, and holy fuck it hurt. What she said is fucked up, but the problem is I know why she thinks this way: a combination of her personality, personal experience, society and environment resulted in this perception being the only way she has ever viewed emotional people, and she just… never changed. Maybe if she heard more narratives or stories about “emotional people” she might change her mind, but right now the only exception is her daughter, who she can easily pass off as “not trying hard enough”.

My personal choices for university were between psychology, science & arts, and sociology, but on the day of finalizing my university choices, my parents spent hours telling me, in both shouting matches, and gently convincing in the same tone the king tries to persuade Henry with, about how those degrees aren’t useful, and I won’t get a job, and they need me to support myself by 25. Under pressure, borderline hysteria and non-stop crying from said pressure, and the knowledge that 1, I can’t convince them at this stage 2, I’m running out of time 3, they’re paying for my tuition, I caved in. I am now stuck with a degree I hate and feel like I have no motivation to live every fucking day. I meant it when I said RWRB is like, my only light in life right now. I’m literally writing this to avoid schoolwork. I’m also not saying my parents’ concerns aren’t valid, they are, that being said it took me so long to realize that it is not normal for me to feel so shit about myself and my life every fucking day, and that we didn’t even come to a compromise, because based on what their society taught them, they think they’re in the absolute right, and I’m being naïve, and they ended up forcing me into this. I refuse to say this was my choice. It wasn’t. It’s theirs.

*****

Movies, books and shows are my escapism. I find comfort in stories, and even more so when I see characters who I can relate to, who are in same way, starting at a point where I am.

When I read the book, I fell in love with both of the boys. But between them, I related more to Henry: a family who doesn’t understand us, with the sole exception being our sister, having out-dated traditional ideas enforced on us, and having parts of us being invalidated. Granted Henry’s core issue being his sexuality and my core issue being my personality and interest makes the whole issue still different, but there are bits and pieces that are similar, and I find comfort in that.

But then I watched the movie, and for some reason it hit harder. I found myself relating more to Movie Henry than Book Henry (again, I love them both, one’s not better than the other, they are different, and both precious). And I ended up clocking it on the King.

The king didn’t come across to me as cold and uncaring the way the Queen in the book did. He came across to me as someone who genuinely loves Henry, but failed to understand how Henry wanted and needed to be loved, and failed to see how the perception and opinions of the younger generation have changed. Let’s be honest, having a heterosexual prince isn’t a requirement the way the King and subsequently Henry viewed it, it’s just an expectation because that’s how the royal family’s image in the past was: either you’re straight, or you’re queer and hidden. The King was stuck with that expectation while ignoring the growing acceptance of the LGBT+ community among the people, even for prominent figures, because that wasn’t the society that he was raised in, and therefore stuck with. The king meant it when he said he wanted to protect Henry, and he didn’t support Henry because he believed that Henry was naïve or not looking at the bigger picture when he wanted to come clean about his relationship and that doing so would be Henry’s detriment. I have heard that used on me too many times.

The king loves Henry the way my parents love me: genuine, but ultimately hurtful.

And in all honesty, I think that might be a more relatable/humanizing characterization for this type of family member.

With this in mind, I do believe that perhaps when Henry was younger, when he was a boy, he had good memories with his grandfather the way I still do make good memories with my family despite all the conflict, that once upon a time the King wasn’t the king to Henry, but just Grandpa who would let him sit on his lap and read stories to him. I can’t see the Queen from the book doing that at all.

(There’s also this incredible fic imagining King James “protecting” Henry because he too is gay, but lost his love during a far more unforgiving and cruel period of time, thus fearing for Henry, It’s absolutely magnificent, please go check it out: AO3 link)

I know I said I’m on the fence about getting a sequel (although if we do get one of course I’m watching it regardless), but this feels like something, granted unique to the movie, that would be interesting to explore. Somewhat like the conclusion of Disney’s Encanto, where the older generation needs to realize that their way of thinking is outdated and hurtful and that they need to listen to what the younger ones have to say. (the younger ones aren’t always right, but they need to at the very least, be heard and respected)

The King in the movie does truly love Henry, and that, allows space for forgiveness and reconciliation, and a chance for him to learn to love his grandson in the right way. It would be nice to see that.

93 notes · View notes

messy-gemini1 · 1 year

Text

Modern reader and rdr2 because i miss them

Arthur: Y/n, how are you doing? Y/n: Living the dream! Arthur: Oh, that's good. Y/n: Except, it's not my dream. It's a dream Stephen King once had. _____ Y/n: Don’t worry, I have a permit. Hosea: ...This just says “I can do what I want”. Y/n: mhm! :) ______

Hosea: Something tells me Y/n's going to be a bit more unhinged today... Y/n, holding a lit match and a bag of cheetos: Leave me be, Dutch isn't home to stop me, I'm going feral. _____

Hosea: When Y/n was born, the gods said, "They're too perfect for this world." Arthur: Please. When they were born, the devil said, "Oh, competition." ______

*Y/n showing arthur a modern computer* Arthur: How does that even work? Y/n, mocking them: hOw dO yOu UsE a cOmPUteR aNd KnOw wHaTS GoiNg oN iT DoEsNt mAke SeNSe?! Arthur: Your face doesnt make sense. _____ John: Come on Y/n, do it for our friendship. You can't put a price on that... Y/n: Yes I can, dear. Fifty dollars ______ John: I’ve never asked someone out. How do you even do it? Arthur: Oh, what I do is, I look them up and down and I say: “Hey… how you doin’?” Y/n, scoffing: Oh, please. Arthur, to Y/n: Hey, how you doin’? Y/n: Y/n: *giggles and blushes* ______ Arthur: You need a hobby. John: I have a hobby! Arthur:: Hitting Y/n isn't a hobby nor is getting your ass kicked by Y/n. _____ Y/n: Sean just said "I have an appetite for destruction" and then they reached down and untied my shoe. ______ Micah, dramatically: They called me a fool. Y/n, sick of Micah's shit: They weren’t wrong. ______

Y/n: I would do anything for money. *later* Y/n, covered in blood: THE STATEMENT STILL STANDS! Dutch:*debating his deseion on letting reader stay in the camp* ______ Micah: your a little bastard! Y/n: how'd you know my dad died? Arthur: *so done with Y/n's shit*

#rdr2 incorrect quotes #rdr2 memes #arthur morgan x reader #micah bell #hosea mathews #dutch van der linde #john marston

215 notes · View notes

brokehorrorfan · 6 months

Text

Scream Factory has revealed the specs for its Tales from the Darkside: The Movie 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray. Based on the TV series of the same name, the 1990 horror anthology will be released on November 28.

John Harrison (Dune) directs from a script by George A. Romero (Night of the Living Dead) and Michael McDowell (Beetlejuice), including adaptations of Stephen King and Arthur Conan Doyle. Debbie Harry, Christian Slater, David Johansen, William Hickey, James Remar, Rae Dawn Chong, and Matthew Lawrence star.

Tales from the Darkside: The Movie has been newly scanned in 4K from the original camera negative. It's presented with Dolby Vision as well as DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 audio. Special features are listed below.

Disc 1 - 4K UHD:

Audio commentary by director John Harrison and co-writer George A. Romero

Audio commentary by co-producer David R. Kappes

Audio commentary by film critics Emily Higgins and Billy Dunham (new)

Disc 2 - Blu-ray:

Audio commentary by director John Harrison and co-writer George A. Romero

Audio commentary by co-producer David R. Kappes

Audio commentary by film critics Emily Higgins and Billy Dunham (new)

Tales Behind the Darkside – Feature-length documentary with director John Harrison, actors James Remar and Rae Dawn Chong, producer Mitchell Galin, director of photography Robert Draper, production designer Ruth Ammon, special effects artists Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, and Howard Berger, creature performer Michael Deak, and editor Harry B. Miller

Behind-the-scenes footage

Theatrical trailer

TV spots

Radio spots

Behind-the-scenes gallery

Stills gallery

To keep from being eaten by a modern-day witch (Deborah Harry), a young paperboy weaves three twisted stories to distract her. In “Lot 249,” a vengeful college student (Steve Buscemi) resuscitates an evil mummy to teach unsuspecting student bodies (Julianne Moore, Christian Slater) a lesson in terror. Then, “Cat From Hell” is a furry black feline who cannot be killed… he may have nine lives, but those who cross his path are not so lucky. Finally, in “Lover’s Vow,” a stone gargoyle comes to life to commit murder.

Pre-order Tales from the Darkside: The Movie.

#tales from the darkside #george romero #george a. romero #geroge a romero #stephen king #horror #90s horror #1990s horror #scream factory #dvd #gift #debbie harry #christian slater #rae dawn chong #matthew lawrence

43 notes · View notes

worstqueerbaittournament · 1 year

Text

Submission messagefor Merlin and Arthur: merthur (merlin and Arthur from the BBC show merlin

Submission message for Steve and Bucky: Does Stucky count? Steve and Bucky from Captain America

Additional propaganda: I refuse to shut up about this. Merlin is not queerbait!! At no point during the show is there a genuine possibility of Arthur and Merlin to be in a romantic relationship. They are queer coded but they do not create a false impression of their relationship. See Sherlock for good example: they constantly bring it up in the show itself and dangle it in front of the viewers, only to not follow through. The show Merlin does not set them up. There are no offhanded remarks, comments, or jokes that they’re more than friends. There is simply no chance in the show that they will get together. They are queer coded, which is not the same. Coding says: this character displays some traits and characteristics that ___ people may relate to. Baiting says: oh you want these two together? hmm, you wanna see that? wouldn’t that be nifty? what if they talk about it and act like it? aren’t you gonna keep watching to find out if they really do? Then follows up with: SIKE! Wow we got you, of course they’re not together! All of that was meaningless! Let’s please stop confusing these two entirely separate concepts!

Merthur is just gay I don’t have to explain merthur on the merthur site. They’re talking to each other at night and giving each other flowers and shit— things Arthur NEVER does with his canon romantic love interest and if I’m not mistaken I think Arthur like goes to sleep for a hundred years and Merlin is like. Still waiting for him? Let them kiss, damn!

Stucky: "Of course, this is still a rollicking adventure tale and no adventure is complete without a love story.....the longest, most tortured one in Marvel history" - Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (writers of Captain America movies + Avengers Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame)

"from the meet cute to the tragic separation, their bond has all the elements of a classic romance." - Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

"Just as Jeph and Tim’’s earlier Daredevil: Yellow, Spider-Man: Blue, and Hulk: Gray all dealt with the major love interests in, the heroes’ lives, so too does Captain America: White. Steve and Bucky are each other’s soulmate." - Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

“So you have a character in Captain America who is searching for the only thing that he has left from his past that has any meaning to him, and that’s Bucky; and people have interpreted that relationship all kinds of ways and it’s great...we will never define it, as filmmakers, explicitly." - The Russos (Captain America: Civil War press)

"You mean, aside from Cap and Bucky?" - Anthony Russo (co-director of Cap 2 and 3 and Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame) when asked about romance in Captain Amierca: Civil War

"Moderator: But you already had a romantic B story with Cap and Bucky, right?

Anthony: We sure do

Joe: We still do

Moderator: Did you ever had to dial down the sexual tension on set?

Joe: Why would we?" - Anthony and Joe Russo (directors of Cap 2 and 3 and Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame) at a screening of Captain America: Civil War

Just a few examples directly from Marvel and the writers and directors.

merthur totally should win for so many reasons but mostly. most because the show writer, when advertising the last episode, said it was “a love story between two men” and then arthur just died in merlin’s arms for 42 minutes. on the day before christmas.

I put the first episode of Merlin, because I heard it was such a great show. I knew nothing about the ship at that point. I only put it on because i love shows like that. Before the first episode was over I was like OMG those two are gayer than later seasons Destiel. There is no way it was not intentional. NONE. Big time homoerotic vibes. It was great

I get the coding critique, but I think I disagree with the person who said they never teased a relationship with Merthur. If we’re talking “offhanded jokes that they’re more than friends” (or that other characters thought they were together a la Sherlock), I think the poetry and pants scenes fit that.

#merthur #merlin x arthur #merlin bbc #merlin #stucky #steve x bucky #captain america #tournament

84 notes · View notes

ripesinner · 5 months

Text

WHEN WE’RE OLD AND HAVE TO LEAVE THE EARTH, I’LL STILL REMEMBER ALL I’VE LEARNED FROM YOU.

cassie howard & maddy perez — euphoria (gif credit: bakerolivia) / old friends — freya manfred / flood — eliza griswold / no children — the mountain goats / catalog of unabashed gratitude — ross gay / the crucible — arthur miller / i don’t know you anymore — eric nam / the chronology of water: a memoir — lidia yuknavitch / jules vaughn & rue bennet — euphoria / what would i do? — andrew rannells and christian borle / robert goolrick / euripedes, orestes — ian johnston / the last days of judas iscariot — stephen adly guirgis / thirteen — catherine hardwicke / olivia benson & elliot stabler — law and order, svu / the frost — mitski

39 notes · View notes

howtosingit · 10 months

Text

Some good/bad/ugly (but not super ugly, I'm not a dick about it) thoughts on RWRB. Obvious spoilers.

The Good:

The cake. Different from the book in a few ways but so damn good and a really strong beginning for the film. Also, watch through the credits for a tiny post-credit cake moment.

Alex and Henry messaging back and forth and talking on the phone at the beginning. A perfect way to translate that to the screen, taking advantage of the visual medium. I laughed out loud multiple times during the segment and just really enjoyed watching it.

Zahra. All of her scenes. So good. Dare I say her relationship with Alex was the most developed in the film? Maybe. It was certainly my favorite.

The polo match was a lot of fun, too. Though brief, it was very much in-line with what was on the page and that was satisfying to watch.

The King. He's a very different character than Queen Mary and by casting Stephen Fry and refocusing the moment, it became layered and interesting. An implied foil for Henry. Probably one of the better changes from the book.

The Bad:

Nora and Bea don't have a lot to do. Nora certainly gets a little lost after the first part of the film, though she’s around. Bea doesn't really mean anything until the last half of the film. Neither of them really have any of the depth that their book counterparts had, which is a shame since they're so great on the page.

Percy (because I'm pretty sure he is never referred to as Pez in the film) is an absolutely nothing character. Surprised he wasn't cut, but they clearly wanted Henry to have a counterpart to match Alex's Nora. But he actually gets nothing at all to do.

Alex and Henry's Christmas phone call is gone, and they only really have one big moment of vulnerability before New Year's (the hospital closet), which kind of makes the big kiss feel unearned. They're definitely friendly by New Year's, so that's something.

We're told a lot about the cages that Alex and Henry find themselves in, but they're never clearly defined in the film (it's very tell, don't show), which makes the stakes of them breaking out to be together feel lower, at least to me. I wish we saw a little bit more of the world that they inhabit so that we could understand the risks, but instead it's all summarized in TV segments.

For me, Alex and Henry never really feel fully-realized, especially Henry, who doesn't get his big moments until the later half of the film. It's a shame, but none of their moments of sincerity felt truly earned. I don't know, there was some kind of barrier between me and them for the entire film, I struggled to feel for them outside of "oh that's cute" or "oh that's sad" or "oh how nice."

The Ugly (or, more accurately, things that still don't sit right with me 15 hours later):

Miguel. Oh, boy. I really, really don't understand the choice to include this original character. From the very beginning it's just very... what? And why? All of the leak and antagonism of the leak, instead of being contributed to the white conservative Republican was instead placed on a queer Latiné man with no depth and I'm just... so very very confused by this choice. Obviously it was to streamline a lot of the backstory and details of how the leak came to happen, but my god... I really don't even know. I don't know if Matthew will ever talk about his choices for this character, but I'd really like to hear them. Also, he's not Liam or Rafael Luna, not even close. A pity that comparison was even made at any point during promo because it's 100% not true.

We get maybe 3 mentions of Arthur, no sight of Catherine. In fact, while Catherine is an absent mother, it's not attributed to her grief at all, but more just that she'd rather be anywhere else than by her children? And Henry and Bea are both very resentful of that fact. And I was like... why are we doing that to Catherine? She doesn't deserve that writing.

So after the leak, we get the communications lockdown which makes it impossible for Alex and Henry to speak to each other. But the film decided to have Alex make his big public speech during that time, without having Henry by his side or without him even talking to Henry about it first, and I found that really really upsetting. That was one of my favorite parts of the book, that Alex got to Henry as quickly as he could and then they walked through the whole situation together, side-by-side, as a team, both consenting to the everything after their consent was ripped away from them because of the leak. The film didn't give them that and I really didn't like it at all.

I mean, there were other things, too (the big sex scene was in Paris and happened way too early in my opinion - not because of the sex itself, just how it was framed), but I'm really not interested in picking the film apart. It's an okay film. It's not a terrible way to spend 2 hours. All in all, it feels like a solid summary of the book with glimpses at a lot of the book moments that we love. That doesn't make it a bad film, just a straightforward, simple one. It was made to be palatable for a general audience and that's fine. There's a deeper and more complex story here, which we know from the book, but this film wasn't the place to tell it. It tells a version of it, and it does an okay job at it.

(But, like, I'll take a 5-6 episode mini-series one day so that we can get the fully complex Henry backstory and screen time that he deserves to have.)

Also, Taylor Zakhar Perez's bare ass is a 10 out of 10, would recommend. There will be plenty of gifs of that in the next day or two, and no one will be complaining about it.

Oh, the opening credits were cute too and had an early-2000s rom-com vibe, which was great!

#just some thoughts... not all positive #but certainly not hate either #no one lose their heads here #sometimes you just have to word vomit #rwrb #red white and royal blue #rwrb movie #rwrb spoilers #spoilers #red white and royal blue spoilers

48 notes · View notes

oliverferrie · 6 months

Text

It's Trans Day of Rememberance, time to support your local trans author while they are still alive

I originally put this thread up on blue birb hellsite, but I wanted to make a longer, more nuanced post for Tumblr. TDOR is a heavy day for me, and every time I see the list of names it makes me want to squirrel away and cry. So instead I want to spread around some books by trans authors, to uplift our voices. The books themselves are not necessarily about trans characters (mine is not) but my experience as a trans guy does inform the text, and when I read these other works, I feel a kinship to the author in that regard, however imagined that is.

I'll start, it's me, buy my horrific (seriously, read the content warning) fantasy book about young queers surviving atrocities: SUGAR PEOPLE

Next up: Δάιος, by Andromeda Ruins (@andromedaexists). A heavy anti-establishment retelling of the fall of Icarus that leans heavily into the reality of queer folk as outcast and put at risk by the powers that be. I have yet to finish it but the prose really slaps you with its urgency.

Next up: FEMININ GANGE (Feminine gait), by Molly Øxnevad, a contemporary novel about the trans healthcare system in Norway. It's written in Norwegian (bokmål) but I really hope to see it translated in English one day because it's such an important piece of literature on the state of our centralised transmedical health system here in norway.

Next up, MAO SIN RAUDE KJOLE (Mao's Red Dress), by Jan Elisabeth Lindvik, (also norwegian, nynorsk) a coming of age novel set in the backdrop of the sixties. It's only really available in Norway, and it's another one I hope to see translated someday, but it's worth knowing about, as it's a seminal novel by a trans activist with so many decades of lived experience, as the country slowly changed its views around trans folk.

Next, we have JACK OF THORNS, Book 1 of INHERITANCE by AK Faulkner, a dark urban fantasy featuring messy queers and LOTS of trauma. I had the pleasure of meeting Faulkner at a con earlier this year, and they have got an awesome thing going with the Inheritance universe. I've been enjoying Jack of Thorns a lot, it does not hold back.

Next, it's the astounding FRESHWATER by Akwaeke Emezi, a magical contemporary novel about dissociative experiences and trauma, and how they interplay with culture and growing up. A very intense and beautifully written book that isn't afraid to tackle dissociative identities AND gender identity (something those of us who have both often have to mask for fear of being denied treatment).

AND THEY LIVED... by Stephen Salvatore, a very contemporary YA romance that deals with societal issues around being gay and nonbinary. It's written from the POV of a cringey, hopeful teen, and dances between happily-ever-after romance and a pointed exhumation of incredibly dark things.

Finally, LARK & KASIM START A REVOLUTION by Kacen Callender, a contemporary YA written in a comfortably snappy rhythm, about love, friendship and a social media mishap that spirals out of control.

If you are an author listed here and you want off this list, just let me know! If you are an author and you want ON this list, feel free to reblog and add your stuff.

Otherwise, go forth and support a trans author today! Connect with our stories, real and imagined. Increase empathy and understanding around the world. Maybe TDOR will be a memorial of the past one day, instead of a memorial of the present day.

#tdor #trans day of remembrance #trans authors #uplift trans voices

24 notes · View notes

wonder-worker · 9 months

Text

Elizabeth Woodville and Elizabeth of York: Queenship

"As an English queen consort, Elizabeth of York, like her mother, had a web of family connections that became the focus of her major patronage activities" - Michelle L. Beer

"After the safe delivery of their eldest sons, both queens Elizabeth gave thanks by founding chapels. Elizabeth Woodville's was in fact eight years after the event and probably as much a thanksgiving to Westminster Abbey for sanctuary as to God for her son. The chapel was attached to the old Lady Chapel of the abbey and dedicated to St Erasmus, a saint invoked against birth pains as well as patron of sailors which made him an unusually apt dedicatee given the king's absence abroad at the time of Prince Edward's birth. Elizabeth of York's foundation was more immediately linked to the birth of Arthur at Winchester, a site chosen for her lying-in by Henry to associate his first-born with the legendary king after whom he was to be named. Here Elizabeth founded a chapel dedicated to Our Lady." - J.L. Laynesmith

"In 1499 Elizabeth of York wrote to the prior of Christ Church, Canterbury, asking for a literal carte blanche of presentation to the highly desirable, centrally located living of All Hallows, Gracechurch Street, London, for which Elizabeth Woodville and her husband had also wanted preferment" - Derek Neal

"Both queens were granted rights of presentation to canonries and prebends in the royal chapel of St. Stephen, Westminster." - Derek Neal.

"Most of the border patterns (of The Fifteen Os, printed by William Caxton and co-sponsored by Elizabeth of York and Margaret Beaufort) are of stylized flowers, mythical beasts, and semi human creatures, quite possibly reused from other books, but one is of a vase of gillyflowers, the emblem of Elizabeth Woodville, whose family had been such important patrons of Caxton, and just over half-way up the margin these flowers lead into a rose branch, crowned with the emblem of her daughter's marriage, the Tudor rose, as if in reference to Elizabeth of York's adoption of her mother's patronage." - J.L. Laynesmith

"In 1480 she (Elizabeth Woodville) petitioned Pope Sixtus IV to allow her subjects to enjoy the indulgences attached to the newly re-established feast of the Visitation, even if the office was recited in private. She also expressed to the Pope her desire for the 'devotion of the faithful of the realm for the [Ave Maria] to be increased more and more'. The Pope obliged by attaching indulgences to the use of the Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to the recitation of the Ave Maria at each Angelus bell. He also dictated that copies of the letter granting these indulgences be exhibited across the country, thereby ensuring that everyone knew not only of the opportunities to gain indulgences but also of the queen's intercessory role in their spiritual welfare. … Elizabeth's daughter, who of course shared her name saint, was apparently inspired by her mother to develop the devotions still further. Following her petition in 1492, the Pope granted 300 days of pardon to anyone reciting the salutation three times at each tolling of the Angelus bell.” - J.L. Laynesmith

"Elizabeth Darcy, the lady mistress of the nursery for Elizabeth Woodville's children, was appointed to the same post for Elizabeth of York's children, probably as a result of the younger queen's childhood affection for Darcy." - J.L Laynesmith

A couple of reasons why this interests me:

- Elizabeth Woodville was the first English queen since Philippa of Hainault to raise royal daughters, with almost a century and five other queens in between them. I don't think there's ever been such a huge gap in that regard before, which means that Elizabeth would not really had any direct precedent or source of inspiration to follow beyond what was ideally, conventionally expected. Clearly, judging by the fact that her daughter was widely considered a successful queen and emulated several of her mother's own activities, Elizabeth did her job well.

- There's a strange, persistently recurring trend in historical fiction and general histories that tends to make the relationship between the two Elizabeths contentious and/or distant, or tends to emphasize their polarity in whatever capacity, or tends to prioritize Elizabeth of York's relationship with her uncle Richard III and his wife Anne Neville than her own mother (and her own father, tbh). This speaks volumes of the vilification and negative depictions of Elizabeth Woodville in contemporary media, but also the tendency to use Elizabeth of York as a cipher for historians' own thoughts about historical figures rather than a historical figure in her own right. This is particularly prevalent in Ricardian and Ricardian-leaning media, the latest shining example being Alison Weir's "The Last White Rose". On the other hand, a few sympathetic Tudor analyses tend to (understandably) focus on re-evaluating Elizabeth's relationship with Margaret Beaufort and debunking the irritating misconception that they didn't get along. But in the process, Elizabeth of York's relationship and inspiration from her own mother gets lost and forgotten in the mix, when it should in fact be highlighted the most. It's frustrating, because Elizabeth Woodville was evidently her daughter's most important role model: Elizabeth of York was regularly at her mother's side during her childhood, observed her successful queenship for 17 years, and, as we can see, directly mirrored several of her mother's activities during her own tenure as queen. Interestingly, as the 5th quote shows, even when she co-sponsored a book by William Caxton with Margaret, Caxton himself clearly associated Elizabeth of York's patronage to her mother's influence. It's a shame that only a few specific historians tend to focus on the connection between mother and daughter, as I think there's a wealth of analyses to be made on it.

- While both Elizabeths were English queens, with a web of family connections that they used to their and the crown's benefit, their situations were definitely not the same and should not be treated as such. Their different status prior to their marriage meant that their respective families and actions were always going to be viewed and treated differently, for one. More importantly, though, Elizabeth Woodville was the first Englishwoman to be crowned queen. Her English family's advancement and involvement in national and local politics was to be expected, but it's important to keep in mind that it was not precedented. It simply hadn't happened before, and it wasn't expected to happen again. Elizabeth Woodville was very much a novel queen in that regard; certain aspects of her queenship were very unique and unprecedented for that time, and she was the one who established the precedent of using her homeborn family as a network of politics and patronage that all later English consorts followed. In contrast, by the time Elizabeth of York became queen, this was a comparatively more established and familiar practice, followed by two former consorts, her mother and Anne Neville. So, even apart from their differing status and the propaganda against them, it makes sense that their activities were regarded differently, both by contemporary detractors and subsequent historians. There's also the fact that Elizabeth Woodville and her relatives had far more direct power and involvement with the Crown Prince's council, household and administration than Elizabeth of York and her relatives did, which we know massively contributed to the commentary and/or criticism the former received.

Sources:

Michelle L. Beer, "Queenship at the Renaissance Courts of Britain: Catherine of Aragon and Margaret Tudor, 1503-1533"

J.L. Laynesmith, "The Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503"

Derek Neal, "The Queen's Grace: English Queenship 1464-1503"

#historicwomendaily #elizabeth woodville #elizabeth of york #queenship tag #english history #15th century #tudors #queue #oh well #my post

44 notes · View notes

runnning-outof-time · 1 year

Text

The Perfect Tree | Arthur Shelby x Reader

Request: no - part of my Countdown to Christmas Event

Pairing: Arthur Shelby x reader

Summary: In which Arthur and his family wait until the last minute possible to find their Christmas tree…will it still be perfect?

Warnings: one bad word

Word Count: 1365

A/N: this one feels personal given that I’ve only just got me tree this past Saturday. Only 5 more days, y’all! Enjoy! :)

"Is today the day, mumma?" seven year old Stephen Shelby asked as he walked into the kitchen, where his mother and father were just finishing up with dealing with breakfast.

"I think it may be," (Y/N) answered her child, a smile on her face as she draped the dish towel over the sink.

"The day for what, son?" Arthur chimed in from where he was sitting with the newspaper, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"We're getting our tree today!" Stephen cheered, his smile just about touching his ears.

"Why don't you go make sure your sister is ready?" (Y/N) suggested to the boy, who eagerly jumped on the task that was presented to him.

"We're getting our tree today?" Arthur looked at (Y/N) the second Stephen left the room.

"I figured we would...given the fact that Christmas is now five days away," (Y/N) answered him, not shying away from placing emphasis on the lack of days that there was until Christmas.

It seemed like the Shelby family had really dropped the ball with the Christmas preparations this year. Like (Y/N) pointed out, there were only five days until the big day, and they'd only barely decorated. There was a good reason for this though.

"Well I thought that maybe you'd want to scale it back this year...with Leo being born and all," Arthur explained his thought process. Their youngest of three, Leo Shelby, had been born at the beginning of December, so it was only fair to assume that there was a potential of things looking a bit different this year.

Not in (Y/N)'s mind though. "Oh no, Arthur...if anything we need the tree even more now. We can't not have a tree on Leo's first Christmas," she stressed the importance of tradition. Her son was only going to have one first Christmas, and sure he'll most likely not remember it, but she damn sure will.

Arthur pursed his lips and nodded his head. She'd made some very good points. "What'll we do with Leo though? You plannin' on bringin' him with us?"

"No, having him out like that wouldn't be good for him. I'll call either Polly or Ada over to watch him while we're out," she explained her remedy for that roadblock.

"I suggest you call 'em now so they'll have some time to get over here," Arthur suggested, nodding his head towards where the phone was hung on the wall.

"Good idea," (Y/N) said with a grin, "how 'bout you go and check on the kids. I'm worried that Eileen's giving Stephen a hard time since they've not come down yet," she told him what he could in the meantime.

Arthur nodded as he stood, mumbling something about not being the best one to be put in for this situation. (Y/N) just rolled her eyes at his comments, ignoring them as she made her way over to the phone.

—

"Thank you so much for this, Ada," (Y/N) gushed as she opened the door to see her sister-in-law, who'd also brought her son, Karl, along.

"Of course, (Y/N)," Ada smiled back at the other woman, "I'll make sure Leo stays warm in here while the rest of you go out and find yourselves a tree," she said, stepping inside and following (Y/N) to the sitting room, where Leo was bundled up in his moveable bassinet.

"Stephen?! Eileen?! Are you ready to leave?" (Y/N) called out for her two older children then.

"Coming, mum!" they both shouted as footsteps were heard racing down the stairs then.

"Hi, auntie Ada!" Stephen greeted the other woman who was standing in the sitting room. Ada smiled at the two children as they moved over to hug her.

"Arthur! We're getting ready to go out!" (Y/N) called for her husband then.

"I'm comin’!" he called back from where he was in the kitchen. He appeared seconds later, working on getting his coat situated. "We all ready?" he asked once he was in front of his family.

"Yes we are," (Y/N) affirmed, a smile on her face before she let the two children go out the door first before following behind with Arthur.

——

"Are we almost back home?" Stephen asked as the family trudged their way back through the snow.

"We should be," Arthur answered, grunting as he continued pulling the tree across the ground, "don't know why we had to go out so far," he couldn't help but mumble.

"Because there were no good trees closer, and it had to be perfect," (Y/N) answered him, happy that Eileen had insisted on holding her hand. She didn't want to have any parts in the tree dragging.

"Well let's hope that there's still some branches on it by the time we get back," Arthur stated, squeezing his eyes shut as he used up whatever energy that he had left. He didn't expect to be pulling a tree through the forest today.

"I can see our house!" Stephen exclaimed, pointing out ahead of him.

"Thank Jesus," Arthur breathed.

"We're almost home," (Y/N) said with a smile, the excitement building up inside of her. Decorating the tree was her favorite part of getting ready for the holidays.

It only took them a few minutes to get to their door, and several more for Arthur to get the tree inside. Soon enough, it was standing upright in their front room, and the kids were bouncing with excitement as they prepared to begin decorating the tree. (Y/N) made sure that all of the materials were out before she spun around to see where Arthur was.

"Sitting this one out?" she asked him, looking to where he was sitting on one of the chairs; a glass in his hand.

"I'll let you and the kids have the fun," he answered her, fiddling with the glass in his hand then. He smiled as he looked at her, watching as she accepted his answer and turned back to their children so that they could begin working on the tree.

The tree was decorated rather quickly, and soon enough, all of the lights in the room were out so that Stephen and Eileen could bask in the warm glow of the candles that were positioned strategically around the garland, tinsel, and ornaments. (Y/N) was sitting on Arthur's lap, her arms hooked around his neck as she smiled down at her children.

"We picked a good tree this year," she started, looking it over once more, "I might even say it's perfect."

"You certainly have the eye for them," Arthur commented, a grin tugging the corners of his lips upwards.

"I'm sorry for getting upset with you in the woods today," she told him then as she turned to face him, a slight frown on her face. It wasn't obvious in the moment, because (Y/N) cared a great deal about her tree, but the fact that she and Arthur had what was on the verge of a full-blown argument over the type of tree that they'd be getting was a bit over the top thinking back on it.

"No need to apologize there, love," he brushed her off, "I should know by now that the tree is your area of business and that any feedback that I may give might only serve to complicate things more."

(Y/N) couldn't help but giggle at his statement. "I shouldn't 've said those things to you though," she said then, resting her head on his shoulder.

"The kids got a kick out of it at least. They're used to their dad saying shit like that...never would have expected it from their mumma," he said with a chuckle, his hand falling to rest on her kneecap. They both laughed at his comment before silence fell over them. A smile formed on (Y/N)'s face as she looked at her children again. "It does look perfect though," Arthur spoke up after a few moments had passed.

"It does," (Y/N) agreed, her eyes focused on the tree. Now they were officially ready for Christmas to come.

———

Tagged: @the-anxious-youth @mgcllovdrms @look-at-the-soul @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @shelbydelrey @december16-1991 @onlydeadcells @peakyswritings @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry @stevie75 @dark-academia-slut @zablife @cillmequick @lovemissyhoneybee @letal-y-poetica @lora21 @just-a-blackhole @anotherblinder @christinasyellowflowers @insanitybyanothername

MASTERLIST

Countdown to Christmas MASTERLIST

#arthur shelby #arthur shelby x reader #arthur shelby x y/n #arthur shelby imagine #arthur shelby blurb #peaky blinders #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinders x y/n #peaky blinders imagine #peaky blinders blurb #peaky blinders fanfic #peaky blinders fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic #k’s countdown to christmas

121 notes · View notes