TV & Satellite Week Magazine (issue 418) feature on Red, White & Royal Blue
text under the cut, image by myself.
When Alex (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the son of US President Ellen Claremont (Uma Thurman), is invited to a royal wedding in Britain, he's expected to be on his best behaviour and be as diplomatic as possible. Unfortunately, things don't quite turn out that way...
Alex has an ongoing feud with Prince Henry (Nicholas Galitzine), which comes to a head when a fight between the pair causes the destruction of the very expensive wedding cake. To avoid a PR disaster, they are instructed to stage a high-profile friendship until the gossip dies down - but the campaign proves to be far more effective than either of them anticipated.
"In doing their damage control, they discover that they actually like each other -and love each other, says Matthew López, who directed and co-wrote this adaptation of Casey McQuiston's bestselling novel. ‘This was absolutely a passion project for me - I read the book, and it zoomed straight to the top of my "must-do" list. The idea of anybody else making this movie would have thrown me into fits of jealousy.’
López was acutely aware that the key to the film's success would be in casting lead actors with credible chemistry, and he was delighted that Zakhar Perez and Galitzine sparked together instantly.
‘The nightmare scenario for me was finding two perfect actors who did not gel at all’, says López. ‘But what was innate from the moment Taylor and Nick first met was that they played so incredibly well together.’
The two leads were equally keen to make their characters relationship evolve believably.
‘Nick and I felt a responsiblity to bring to life these sexual moments that are in the book in a real, grounded way’, says Zakhar Perez. ‘The intimate scenes were choreographed and specific when it came to whether it was a moment of passion, or a tender experience. In a relationship you go through different stages, and we got to explore those throughout the film.’
For Galitzine, another part of the appeal of the project was the chance to portray a character who was experiencing such an intense internal conflict.
‘Henry feels a very strong sense of duty, but he's completely in denial of his own feelings’, he says. ‘There's something very selfless, if not really heartbreaking, about that. He's in this totally solitary position of this role he was born into’.
In addition to Thurman as the US President, the film also features Stephen Fry in the role of Henry's grandfather, the British King- and López was delighted to have Fry on board.
‘Stephen took no convincing whatsoever, and that was such a happy thing for me’, says López. 'And it was really important to us to create a lot of daylight between the fictional royal family that features in the movie and the actual royals. These characters aren't the Windsors, they are completely made up. But when we had Stephen Fry walk on set that day as this fictional king, I think everybody in the cast and crew stood to attention!’
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For the three sentence prompt: Defenestrate
The world was more beautiful than she could have ever imagined. A fresh springtime rain had made the grass greener than any foliage she had seen in the castle gardens, and as the breeze blew the blades waved at her in succession, a cascade of cheer and welcome rippling again and again. Raindrops still glittered on a few patches, dazzlingly bright in the sunlight, sparkling like the priceless jewels of her parents' crowns. Birdsong filled the air, a familiar sound but with a feral energy to it, a freedom that she'd never before experienced. Trees sat together in clusters in distant areas, an invitation of mystery and adventure and something new.
But there were blotches in the painting. Off to the right, she could see the littered remains of what had once been a watch post. Another one was being constructed nearby, though the area had been cleared for her to explore. A pile of construction material lay awaiting use, the promise of a barrier between her city and her castle and the dangers of the world outside.
All her life she'd wanted freedom. All her life she'd wanted to guide her people and to see her people, to see the world they lived in, to be a part of that world. All her life she'd dreamed of this moment, of the moment that she could finally leave the castle and the parade grounds and smell the wildflowers in the air, taste the wind and laugh with the fairies as they flew by.
As she gently walked through the grass with bare feet, basking in the sensation, she found herself enlivened and drained all at once. This was a beautiful moment, an amazing moment, but the cost at which she paid for it...
Zelda glanced back, hair caught in her face as the breeze played with it, and she caught sight of two Sheikah warriors in the distance, keeping watch. Link and Impa were her most trusted allies and, dare she say it, friends, and together they had managed to defenestrate the king.
Her imprisonment was traded for her father's. She had to throw him in a cell to be able to do this.
His angry shouts still echoed in her ears, but the sight of her stalwart guards standing in the distance brought her peace. She turned back to look at the world she'd sacrificed her family to save.
Freedom was hers at last. And, she mused as she looked back at the wounds of the recent battle, she would ensure it was everyone's soon enough.
This war would end under her rule, and Ganondorf would be defeated.
Alternatively, in a different Hyrule...
Link had to admit, defenstrate the princess of Hyrule had not been on his to-do list today, but as the girl tried to use her magic to fight a damn darknut, it was just about his only option.
Her squeal of protest as she flew out the window was pretty entertaining, at least.
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How Long Can a Man Endure?
@silvercaptain24
Here’s the fic I promised you! <3 I hope you enjoy it!
For those of who aren’t Silver, this is the once-in-a-blue-moon event of me writing whump. No promises I’ll ever write whump again, it’s not really my taste, but, I would gladly do many things for my friends <3. And after all, I too was once a sadist, long ago in the days of my youth *gazes off wistfully into the middle distance*
Anyway, this was awfully fun to write, and I really hope you like it, Silver :D
It’s not really Febuwhump, but since I’m not really a whump person i had no idea what to do, so I picked from the Febuwhump prompt list the first prompt that struck my fancy 😅
Accordingly, this fic is inspired by Prompt 22:
Can’t Scream
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They were right there.
Wind could hear his brothers, their frantic footsteps as they called their names over and over and over, the sound echoing off the sandstone walls of the cave system.
Unfortunately, the hand clamped around his mouth and the sharp point of the sickle tickling his neck kept him from calling back.
“We don’t have much time,” the Yiga holding him hissed, the scythe’s point moving restlessly back and forth against his skin. “We have to find out what these two know before they find us.”
“Right,” the second one snarled, and drew a throwing knife as he turned to the second prisoner, held firm in the grasp of a blademaster. “Answer the question, hero. Which one of you bears the blood curse?”
Warriors narrowed his eyes, trying to hide the tenseness in his shoulders. “And you think I’d tell you? Clearly, you don’t understand what the hero is like. No wonder you can’t ever defeat—”
The yiga slammed a fist into his stomach, cutting the sentence off with a gasp and a groan.
“Here’s the deal, hero.” The yiga laid the flat of his blade against Warriors’ cheek, the point resting centimeters away from his eye. “Tell us which hero bears the blood curse, or—”
He tapped the knife meaningfully, and turned his masked face towards Wind.
The tip of the scythe tapped against Wind’s neck, and he stiffened despite himself.
Warriors clenched his jaw. “You won’t kill him.” Somehow he managed to sound calm, despite the fact that Wind could see from across the room that every muscle was as tense as a bowstring. “He’s the only other source of information you have.”
The yiga paused, all three of them exchanging careful looks. “…Fine.” The yiga spat at last, and the breath Wind hadn’t even noticed he’d been holding escaped in relief.
The relief was short lived.
“How about this,” The leader said, trailing the knife’s point gently down Warriors’ cheek, watching the captain as he froze beneath the steely caress. “We’ll focus our efforts on you, instead, since that’s what you want—but if you scream, the boy dies. Extra information means nothing if we’re caught.”
And before Warriors could so much as blink, the yiga spun the knife downward and stabbed it into Wars’ shoulder.
The beginnings of a sharp cry slipped out of the captain’s mouth, but he bit it off at the last second, sinking his teeth viciously into his bottom lip. Warrior’s face had gone white, and his gaze flew frantically to Wind, eyes wild with fear.
Wind stared back, his heart beating wildly. Terror for himself and for his brother squeezed his chest, clawing up his throat, snatching at his breath.
The yiga let out a raspy chuckle, and gave the knife a little twist in the wound, laughing louder at the faint groan that managed to squeeze past Warriors’ clamped lips.
“Hmm,” he said, voice full of satisfaction, “luckily for the boy, you caught that one just in time.” He pulled the knife out slowly, letting Warriors feel every agonizing inch, before spinning the knife on one finger, eying the captain with vicious amusement.
“Well? Are you going to tell us which hero we need? Or do we have to try this again?”
Warriors stared at the him, opened his mouth… and spat at the Yiga’s face. The yiga leapt back with a stifled yelp, but not quick enough. The stain was crimson against the bone-white mask, colored by the blood oozing from Warriors’ lip.
“Brave, brave hero,” The yiga cooed. “Let’s see which lasts longer… your resolve? Your courage?...”
With the speed of a striking snake, he stabbed the knife into Warrior’s arm. Wars sucked in a sharp, ragged gasp.
The yiga tsked sharply, giving the knife a little wiggle. “…or the boy’s life?”
Wind stared at the dark, damp circle that slowly soaked into Wars’ sleeve around the knife, and the way it got suddenly darker and wider when the yiga yanked the knife free.
Wind wanted to be anywhere but here. He wanted to scream, or cry, or stab the yiga himself—he didn’t want to have to watch his brother being tortured for him.
The yiga trailed the knife across War’s collarbone, slowly making his way over to his other arm. “Well?”
Warriors shook his head sharply, and Wind slammed his eyes shut.
The quick, pained breath Wars let out seemed to echo even louder in the darkness behind Wind’s eyelids.
He… he couldn’t just stand here and let them do this to Wars! If… if Wind had convinced Wars to follow him and check out the cool cave, this… none of this would have happened.
This was all.
His.
Fault.
Wind squirmed in his captor’s hold, trying to ignore the scrape and sting of the rough hemp biting into his wrists. The yiga growled in annoyance, and something slammed into the side of Wind’s head, a blunt pain blossoming out of the lights that flashed behind his eyes.
“Quit your squirming!” The hand around Wind’s mouth began to squeeze his jaw, and despite himself Wind felt tears springing to his eyes from the agonizing pressure.
“Stop!” Warrior’s voice was ragged, torn by pain, as sharp and bloody as a shattered shard of glass. “Don’t—don’t you dare touch him.”
The yiga laughed, and said something about not being in the position to make demands—but Wind wasn’t listening anymore.
He had what he was going after snuggly in the palm of his hand. The crystal of Tetra’s communication stone was smooth and cool against his skin, and he squeezed his eyes shut, focusing on turning it on and off and on again.
The King of Red Lions had taught him the code that sailors use to communicate between ships—he only hoped that Wild would pick up the message on his slate, and that someone would understand—
... --- ... / .-- . .----. .-. . / .... . .-. . / ... --- ...
Please, please, Farore, he whimpered against the Yiga’s hand. Please let them understand. Please—
He could hear the dull thuds and the slick sounds of the knife being stabbed and withdrawn again, the sharp gasps and deep groans that Warriors made echoing in symphony.
... --- ... / .-- . .----. .-. . / .... . .-. . / ... --- ...
... --- ... / .-- . .----. .-. . / .... . .-. . / ... --- ...
... --- ...
... --- ...
... --- ...
The communication stone buzzed in his palm, and Wind’s eyes snapped open—just in time to see the Yiga drive the knife into the captain’s ear, pinning it to the sandstone like a butterfly to a paper.
Warriors’ lips were clamped firmly shut, but a noise escaped anyway, a high whine full of pain. At the same moment, at tear escaped the captain’s eye and slid down his cheek.
The yiga laughed. “That was close, wasn’t it? You’ll have to be careful if you don’t want to see a pretty red line on the boy’s throat. Now…”
He left the knife in, and drew another from his pouch as he eyed the hero thoughtfully.
The stone buzzed against Wind’s palm again.
.-- . .----. .-. . / -.-. --- -- .. -. --.
“You seem to like piercings, so I think I’ll give you a matching set.” He pulled the knife back, and Wind could see how Warriors’ shut his eyes, tensing every muscle, biting down into an already abused and bleeding lip.
Wind held his breath, and the stone buzzed one last time.
-. --- .--
Then the door exploded open.
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