#the fact that it's one day before Satan's is completely coincidental
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Decided to make one of them there student ids for MC. Now they can get discounts at the zoo.
#obey me#obey me shall we date#obey me mc#also oct 19 is my birthday and since this is my obeymesona it's also their birthday#the fact that it's one day before Satan's is completely coincidental
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lucifer in love
in which the avatar of pride tries and fails to get you out of bed
gn!MC, no physical descriptions. fluff. fluff. fluff. lucifer is scared but it’s okay, he’s just not used to being in love yet, he’ll get there, he swears it. pet names (including little lamb once bc it’s canon). he’s literally so in love.
this has no bearing on the fic, but in my mind this is OG game a few months into your relationship, not NB setting. also I sprinkle in some of my own lore headcanons here.
lucifer was not a morning demon.
everyone in the house of lamentation knew it. his brothers would normally steer clear of him until breakfast (aside from the days that satan and belphie were feeling particularly confident), even diavolo and barbatos knew better than to start drowning him with work before a certain time of day.
coincidentally, you weren’t exactly built for mornings, either.
but still, lucifer had incredible resolve and far more years of discipline built up within him than you did. which obviously made the mornings you’d wake up in his bed difficult for both of you.
“my love, it’s time to wake up,” he leaned over your sleeping body placed a hand on your shoulder. he was already fully dressed and (somewhat) ready to brave the early morning hours. he wanted to let you sleep in as long as possible, and it pained him to rouse you from such serenity, but he also knew you’d miss breakfast if he let you rest any longer. and then you’d really be cranky.
his lips formed a small yet genuine, fond smile when he heard you grumbling. “nooo, just a bit longer…” your voice was muffled by his sheets, and you tried to turn away from him.
“little lamb…” he warned, but there was no real bite behind it and you knew it. lucifer knew well that you were as stubborn as he was, so it wasn’t surprising to him in the slightest when you kept pleading with him.
“pleaseee lucifer, come lay with me for a bit longer. I want you near me.”
he sighed. he dared not show any signs of how tempted he was by you. the irony of a human being the one to tempt a demon.
but he did not waiver. “MC, you’ll be late if you stay in bed any longer.”
“so what?” you whined indignantly. “I haven’t been late or even missed a class in weeks- in fact you showed me just last night how deserving I was of a reward for good behaviour. let’s just play hooky today.”
he rolled his eyes slightly. of course you would use his excuse for getting you into his room last night against him to sleep in longer.
you turned to him, laying on your back and staring up at his unamused face with a still-sleepy grin of your own. “come on, baby, just lay with me. we don’t have to skip if you insist on going, but being a little late won’t hurt, you know?”
he blinked and tried to keep his composure. he still wasn’t quite used to being on the receiving end of pet names, and human ones at that, but you had been growing quite comfortable with throwing them at him lately.
this was the third time you had called him that in the past week, and he still wasn’t sure if he liked it or not… he’d need it to be tested a few more times before he could make a final decision.
He didn’t feel the need to test out terms of endearment- he knew what he was comfortable saying and calling you, and you never seemed to complain with him sticking with some of the more… classic? is that how you put it? names. with the exception of little lamb. obviously.
if he was being honest, though, he had been holding back. human world terms of endearment felt so lacklustre in comparison to those in infernal. he would never admit this, but he was… hesitant to use devildom terms of endearment on you.
often times they couldn’t be translated into any human language, nor could the feelings they spoke of be conveyed differently. the things that lucifer wanted to call you were akin to that of a declaration of complete devotion forever and always. even by demon standards they were intense, because they basically promised that even after death, there would be no one else.
his hesitation was not because he was unsure if he felt the emotions they conveyed for you. not at all, he knew his feelings and yours as well.
but you’ve thrown him for a loop. even if he was sure… he wanted to wait a bit before showing you just how deep his feelings ran. because the intensity of it all was something he had never felt for anyone in all his millennia. the fact that he had someone he could even toss around the idea of using those names on… those feelings were just for him to get comfortable with, so that when he was truly ready, he could pull it off without a hitch.
he wondered if lilith had felt for her human anywhere close to what he felt for you, sometimes, but he always buried that thought away as quickly as it popped into his mind.
blame it on his pride getting in the way, or call it what it was- fear of what being in love was doing to him and what it would continue to do to him. and what it meant he would be willing to do for you…
“uh, lucifer? my love? you’re staring off into space, is everything okay?”
your voice brought him out of his thoughts and the concern within it made him warm inside.
he was still leaning over you, hand gently gripping your shoulder, and your face was wrinkled with worry. he loved you.
until he had it all worked out, he’d show you as much as he could through human declarations of love and lots of action.
he looked down at his wrist as if to check a non-existent watch. “fine, I suppose there’s time to spare.”
he let the sound of your victorious laughter wash all over him and bathed in the feeling of your arms around his neck after he crawled over you to reach his side of the bed.
your smile was radiant, and he felt another piece of the armour encasing his heart chip away. he had been feeling that a lot since you first started the exchange program, but even more so since you both began your relationship.
there was no stopping this, he was falling headfirst into unknown territory for the second time in his life, for a completely different reason this time.
but he’d never ask for anything else. because just like the first time, he figured that this could only result in changing his life for the better as well.
once again he had to shake himself out of his thoughts. you were smiling and talking about one thing or another- he missed the start of the conversation- and playing with his tie.
lucifer was not a morning demon. he woke up exhausted, he dreaded the pile of work forever thrown at him. but his resolve was insanely strong.
maybe he’d give in to you more often if it meant he got to have you like this, in his arms, laughing at his ruined resolve and how weak he is for you, for the rest of your life.
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haha get it? rest of your life bc you’re mortal and he’s not?
anyway I hope you enjoyed!!
#obey me lucifer x reader#obey me lucifer#lucifer x reader#obey me x reader#lucifer x mc#obey me x mc#obey me x reader fluff#obey me lucifer x reader fluff#lucifer x reader fluff#obey me shall we date#obey me nightbringer
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Hi! Can I request headcannons for the human brothers accidently summoning an angel mc instead of a demon and the angel mc insisting on sticking around and helping them?
The other brothers: :)
Satan: >:)
This has been in the drafts for too long. I really love the absolute mood switch between Lucifers and Mammons. And just Satans in general ig.
Lucifer
After years of religious trauma at the hands of his father Lucifer finally thought he was free of any connection to the church. Summoning a flaming seraphim at 3 in the morning was not a pleasant way to find out that he was wrong.
As for you, being summoned for the first time in your long long life was an unwelcome surprise. You were a seraphim for heaven's sake. The cream of the crop, highest of the high, and that wasn’t pride speaking only facts. You were crucial to running the celestial realm.
But somehow you’re undeniably tied to his human. You could feel where his soul became intermeshed with your very essence. How wrong it felt to be tied to something so mortal, and delicate, and free.
Any attempts to leave would surely be met with disaster.
So you stay. Lucifer is cold. You can’t blame him. Being there reopens old wounds that he’d rather have remained closed. But just ignoring each other isn’t going to work.
He’s not interested in the celestial realm, and despises any blessing you try and give him, but a fresh cup of coffee during an all-nighter seems to make him brighter than any magic you could do and when you run your hands through his hair he looks at you with more fondness than you can comprehend.
You learn to be more human. He learns to let go of the past.
And one day you find that you don’t want to leave anymore.
For celestial sake that thought should as well be treason! But it’s true.
It’s a spring afternoon and Lucifer plays celestial lullabies on his piano and you want nothing more than for the beautiful night to come so you can sweep him in your arms and remind him how he glows.
You don’t know what is right and what is wrong anymore, but you know that this human is yours and you are his. To rip off your wings would be to find solace in his arms. But you can not give him that. This he knows.
So you promise to protect him, in words he can’t hear but he understands. The spread of your wings shield him from the world and you press blessings to his skin in the shape of the crescents in his back and your lips on his neck. If nothing else you’ll keep him safe. When the world seems too big and the stress of his life gets him down you’ll always be here for him to crawl back to. You can give him that much.
Mammon
That was it
You had to have been assigned the stupidest human in the world
When you were promoted to guardian angel you kinda thought it would be more ‘protecting orphans’ and ‘guiding lost puppies back home’ NOT watching a grown man spend his last paycheck on his eighth Nigerian prince scam
Seriously mammon? Did the prophetic dreams you sent mean nothing? The visions of the future he coincidentally had after hitting his head on a light post, only simple illusions? What more could you try beyond simply marching down their and clocking him on the head yourself?
...unless
Raphael would have your wings if you went to the human world. But that would be a lot less painful that having to watch whatever Mammon was going to do with all the rubber cement he just bought.
The next morning you decide to sneak down. The city was amazing, all colored light and fun machines that whizzed by you on the streets
But you had to stay focused
You were an angel on a mission
You made your way towards central park. Mammon went there every morning to swindle tourists out of their wallets. If you were fast you’d get there before the first patrol office started chasing him.
Spotting the albino you marched straight towards him, readied yourself, and smacked him over the head.
Maybe not very angel-like but it worked.
One introduction later and you're officially a guardian angel
Mammon’s actually pretty nice once you get to know him. Sure he may be a bit too obsessed with lining his pockets but for all his talk he never hesitates to try and help you out.
Consistent affection and care is good for him. He never really knows how to react when you wrap your wings around him but even with his tsundere objections it's obvious he’s pleased.
He’ll take whatever scraps of affection you’ll give him and practically beams at every little gesture you do, no matter how small or insignificant.
You do have to be careful though.
At his request you had attempted to bless him with a bit of luck. An easy enough spell for an angel like you (even if you were 90% sure he planned to go gambling after). Whatever scheming he’s doing immediately stops the moment you cup his face. He seems to freeze when you lean in, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek
You were about to congratulate yourself on a spell well done when you noticed the condition he was in. He was like a living statue, a statue with a very very red face
Before you can ask what was wrong he flails pushing you away and darting off to his room
Any attempts to speak to him the rest of the day were met with incoherent shouting.
It might be best to withhold any magic until you can figure out how humans work
Levi
Once again Levi’s dedication to anime gets him into trouble
It started with his most recent obsession, a new anime that follows a group of angels, produced by the famous company, Dove. The plot, the animation, the soundtrack, all of it was amazing so when they came out with a new limited edition item featuring the very symbol that the main character wore he just had to have it
The moment it came he was setting it up on its own altar, a handmade replica just like in the show only for- Oh no
Before his eyes burst a shining visage of light and then you
You blink in surprise, whether it's from taking a human form for the first time in decades or the strange new room you were in, only you know
The scene may be foreign but the guy quivering on the floor was not
BE NOT AFRAID
Your booming voice echoes around the room
For some reason the guy begins to freak out even more
Didn’t he see your halo? You even told him to not be afraid. Were humans really so strange? :(
Oh well. You hum making your aura as comforting as possible and slowly the guy calms down enough for you to coax him into a seat as you begin to explain.
Which might not have been the best move.
The moment it sunk in he was bombarding you with questions
Yes you were an angel, no you didn’t know what anime was, yes you had wings, no you didn’t have any secret ultimate moves...whatever those were
He ranted and raved over this and that and you let him. He seemed like he needed someone to talk to. It also let you piece together what had happened.
He seemed to be a natural sorcerer, and a powerful one at that if he could someone an angel with no training or even knowledge that he could do magic
Just a few minutes in his presence made his self loathing obvious. Mix in a bit of anxiety and envy and you essentially have Levi in a nutshell
So you decide to stay
What kind of angel would you be if you just left him here? Michael would understand.
Or he wouldn't, it didn’t really matter because you already made up your mind.
Living with Levi is an experience for both of you.
He introduces you to so many new things. He had little boxes that could control light and screens containing actual people to talk to. It was all quite fanciful
In return you act as his friend, encouraging him to go out with you and attending cons with him, even if you still weren't exactly sure what cosplaying is
Slowly he begins to open up for you
He’s still nervous to go out in public, and a complete introvert at heart.
But that was fine. You could both figure out this new world together, at your own pace
Satan
Definitely was not trying to summon a demon to lay havoc on his enemies
Nope, not him he says all while trying to casually kick away vials of mysterious fluids
...Right
You’ve been down to the human world enough to know a demon summoner when you see one
Or in this case a failed summoner
He has no excuse for why he called you and instead seems more insistent that you leave
As much as you you might like to return to the celestial realm, you cannot in good conscience leave a man that you know is going to try and raise hell on earth the moment your gone
So you stay, and it's a good thing you do
This man has anger issues like no other
You thought Raphael was bad this guy is like a demon himself
However he seems willing to try and make the best of what he considers a bad situation
He asks you a lot of questions on the celestial realm
For a guy who knows so much about the devildom he seems to really be lacking on any knowledge on the other celestial beings
He mostly asks you questions on the celestial war, which is a touchy topic at best and downright upsetting at worst
He’s very interested in your opinions as your point of view is very different from his own, what with being a different species and everything
You learn things too, mostly about humans and cats but you suppose its a fair trade
Because of this you become close friends
You really win him over when he finds out your calming aura naturally attracts the stray kittens Satan's been trying to pet for the last few months
It’s not uncommon to head out to late night coffee shops and discuss the merits of different aspects of your lives
But maybe you’ve gotten a bit to close when he starts asking you to revise his summoning notes
Asmo
Apparently a lifetime of partying has prepared Asmo for some very weird discoveries
When you're sent down to the human world you have one job, find and keep an eye on the potentially dangerous summoner who's been in contact with multiple high level demons in the past few days.
Instead you end up meeting Asmo
You were prepared for a fight, not to be tackled into a hug the moment you revealed yourself
Asmo on the other hand is squealing with excitement
Sweetie, he's been waiting for this moment! This is his first time meeting an angel after all
He immediately begins talking about everything he wants to do
You quickly find out that he hasn’t made any pacts...yet, if only because he “couldn’t bear to damage his skin with such an ugly mark”
...Well you suppose that's a reason to not sell your soul
Even thoughts he's aware of the three realms it doesn’t make him any less enamoured with you
He’s never met an angel, he’s quick to mention. He’d love to get to know you, if you get what he means ;)
Are all humans so upfront?
If you decline he still wants to see your true form, even after you explain that no, if you transform you will not just be a beautiful angel with wings but instead a glowing mass of eyes and feathers and angelic light that will probably end up blinding him
Blinded because of your beauty ;) ;) ;)
That said he’s easily satisfied when you just bring out your wings.
He loves fussing with them and decorates them with jewelry and roses whenever you leave them out
He even starts an angel trend on insta after posting a photo as if they were coming from his back instead
Claims your glowing aura is great for his skin
You’re not sure if that’s a pick up line or if he’s serious but he definitely basks in your presence
Loves when you talk about the celestial realm, somewhere he desperately wants to go
I mean it's the only place that's fit for a beauty like him right? But of course he can’t die yet, his fans would be sooo upset
You agree to bring him up there one day, even if that sounds a little morbid
Of course he asks you to become his guardian angel
That may not be your actual job but you can’t resist his puppy dog eyes
You and him go pretty much everywhere together, bar some more xxx rated sites
He introduces you to parties and bars, and while you don’t indulge it's enjoyable to see humans in their natural element. They’re so fun and free spirited just like Asmo
Maybe that's what attracted you to him in the first place
He loves life for what it is, something so admirably human
But you don’t slack off either. You take your role as Official Guardian Angel seriously. You guard his drinks when he goes to the bathroom, and hum celestial lullabies when he’s sad and escort him down dark alleys when walking home. He has nothing to fear with you around.
You’ve become very fond of this human. Perhaps you’ll stick around a bit longer than you planned
Beel
It’s rare to be assigned to a human so...mundane
But that’s exactly what Beel is. He goes to the gym in the mornings, works a nine to five, and comes back home to his dog
He even has a good relationship with this family, do you know how hard that is to find in this day and age???
The only thing even slightly abnormal about this guy is his appetite
He could put a gluttony demon to shame with the way he eats
But the point is you really can’t figure out why you’ve been assigned to him or how your supposed to guide him
Eat a little less? Stop stealing your brother's lunch?
It’s the first time in a long while you’ve been so stumped
So you do what any sane angel would, go down to the human world to meet him yourself
He’s a likeable guy and it’s easy to get close to him, more so do to your angelic status
Although it’s surprising how well he takes the whole angel revelation
To be honest your pretty sure he forgets most of the time
He tends to follow you around, especially at night when he insists on walking you to wherever you need to be. It’s sweet even though there's little that can really harm you in the human realm
You quickly realize that he’s the type to have nightmares, usually calling out for one of his brothers or his sister
It’s become habit to wake up and head to his room
Just being there seems to calm him down
The first time he wakes up when your doing this he ends up asking you to stay
Isn’t shy about sharing the bed either.
He’s easy going so goes along with whatever idea you have
Especially when he starts finding snacks in his bag, each one blessed for a good day or to stay full or whatever little thing you thought of that day
Belphegor
Humans can’t see angels. Not unless they want to be seen, you remind yourself for what must be the tenth time.
But you’re almost certain that guy is looking right at you.
Step to the left, his head follows
To the right, his eyes narrow looking at you like your some puzzle he just hasn’t figured out yet
…this was fine
You turn around pretending to just not see him in hope that he’ll get distracted by something else
...you glance back. Why was he still looking at you? What is with this creep?
Enough is enough.
You march over there ready to ask what his problem is. Instead he beats you to it.
Eh? You’re an angel right? He asks before you can say anything.
???? Shouldn’t he sound more shocked.
The guy just sleepily blinks. He doesn’t look like a sorcerer or a witch, in fact you can’t feel any magic from him at all.
You go to ask only to realize he’s sound asleep. It’s not like you could just leave him here. And at the same time a human who can just see angels is an oddity of itself.
You decide to hang around for a while. Belphegor doesn't mind. He only says something about it being "too troublesome to drive you off," and "you'd look like you'd just come back anyways"
Belphie sticks to you like glue, if glue was absolutely insufferable and seemed to enjoy annoying you at every possible moment
You would think this would be easy. I mean he sleeps all day and when he’s not sleeping he’s napping. Simple enough right? Wrong
When he was awake he was committed to pushing every single button you have
If it seemed like it might inconvenience or annoy you he was already doing it. Trying to smack your halo, pounce on you, or even jump off the roof just to see you scramble to catch him. He was like some terrible terrible cat
Luckily he was never energetic for long. When he wore himself out he’d retreat to the roof of his crappy one bedroom and wait for you to join him
He liked to look at the stars and he’d point them out to you. Orion, Polaris, Sirius, he would mutter, bringing you back to the days when Michael, who was once so fond of you, would sneak you down to the human world just to show you the stars and darkness the celestial realm could not offer
When he finally got tired you would take over reciting Celestial names and marking the sky with your finger just to show him where they’d be.
Those times were pleasant. Even if they were brief.
“I’m gonna jump.”
“Do it.”
“You’re an angel. Aren’t you supposed to stop me before I do something stupid?”
“You won't.”
“Aight. Bet.” Belphie pitches forward and you just manage to catch him by the leg before he falls off the roof.
Brat.
Always ruining a good moment.
You can’t even be mad. The moment you pull him up he’s already resting his fluffy head in your lap waiting for you to pet him.
He may be the most troublesome human in the entire three realms, but he’s your human
#obey me#obey me hc#angel au#obey me lucifer#obey me mammon#obey me leviathan#obey me levi#obey me satan#obey me asmo#obey me asmodeus#obey me beel#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me belphie#obey me shall we date#obey me au#angels#obey me angels
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Their reactions to you breaking up with them // Part One
LUCIFER // BEELZEBUB // BELPHEGOR // DIAVOLO // SIMEON
Part Two (Mammon/Leviathan/Satan/Asmodeus/Barbatos) will come later this week ! It was supposed to come out with everyone else but I just wasn’t satisfied with some (cough Satan cough Barbatos) so I decided to split it into two parts and release the second one later ! ☺️
This idea suddenly popped in the middle of the night into my mind and I can’t ignore it so bear with me.
(Also sorry for the angst if you aren’t new here you should be used to it by now)
Fun fact I’m actually writing this while listening to ‘Left & RIght’ by SVT and let me tell you this does not fit the vibe at all, but it works lmao
MASTERLIST
NB: This is all made under the assumption that the boys love and respect you enough not to kill you right on the spot of course and that they’re not crazy enough (at least not anymore) to lock you up in i don’t know an attic for example
+ Also this goes without saying that most of these if not all are not “we should stay friends” kind of breakup, it’s more of a “it doesn’t work anymore we should stop seeing each other” kind of breakup.
(Sorry for the delay I got a bit sick yesterday and couldn’t find enough strengh to open my computer and actually concentrate)
—
The one who acted like it doesn’t affect him in any way.
He gave you his everything and that’s what you gave back to him? How preposturous!
He was mad.
But he refused to show it. His pride and ego were so important to him and to him at the moment they were the only thing he could still salvage from this humiliation.
Which is why everytime he saw you afterwards, he looked at you for a milisecond before scoffing and averting his eyes before walking away from the room, his head held up high to the point it hurted his neck.
But the fact that he tried to stay proud didn’t mean breaking up with you didn’t hurt.
Because it did. And he hated every part of this.
You probably surprised him once or twice at night in the music room lazily playing a few notes on the piano with a glass of wine as his only company.
Muttering words that you couldn’t quite understand without having to get closer, but you could feel each and everyone of them dripping with bitterness and pain.
After all of this Lucifer wanted to hate you, he truly did. But he couldn’t, and it was absolutely infuriating to him.
He, Lucifer, the Avatar of Pride, one of the most powerful demons in the entire Devildom, the right-hand-man to the prince himself, fell in love with a mere weak human. And yet he was the only one left suffering.
How humiliating.
Beel was actually surprised by how much it didn’t hurt.
A break up is normally painful, but appart from a little pinch in his heart his body was completely numb to the pain.
So he didn’t try to fight it. He simply accepted it and watched you walk away. After all your happiness was always his first priority and it didn’t hurt that much so it was okay... right?
But over the days you, along with the other brothers noticed a slight change in Beel’s behavior.
Which from his perspective was coincidental with the pain from his heart spreading more and more inside of him.
It started with a lack of appetite which, coming from him, was worrying of course but you all assumed it was his way of “coping” and that he would be back eating in no time.
But it didn’t happen like that. The lack of appetite was suddenly added to a tighter grip on things. At some points you had all lost track of the times you walked on Beel staring intensely at a doorknob that he accidentally ripped off its handles.
Then it escalated. It wasn’t object he was unconsciously hurting it was now other people as well, slapping their hand away or bumping into them hard.
Until one day he found himself into a fight with a lesser demon that to your knowledge hadn’t done anything to set him off. It took the the combined strenght of Lucifer, Mammon and Belphegor to get Beel off the demon.
And it took him one glance your direction to stop fighting his brothers. He saw you look at him as if you didn’t recognize him, as if you were wondering where was the Beel you knew, the one who was kind and loving. And he started crying.
The numbness of his body was finally wearing off to reveal all of the pain it had been hiding.
Probably the messiest breakup since first he just refuses to even aknowledge what you said.
You saved his life. He was living a life filled with hatred and despair since Lilith’s death and you came in, and while things happened that he is definitely not proud of, your forgave him and gave him a new chance at life where he could have fun with you and everybody else.
He had been latching onto you since that day, his only goal in life was you. You were his life line.
That’s why he refused to break up. That’s why he said “no” as soon as the words were out of your mouth.
You tried to tell him that’s it’s not his choice but he wouldn’t hear it. He was not going to let you go.
A big fight exploded between you two, so vehement that some of the brothers who heard the ruckus rushed over to see what was wrong.
After a while they managed to cool you down and you finally got a look at his face. And you saw nothing but pain.
With his emotions exposed like that in front you and everybody else Belphegor got really embarrassed, cursed under his breath under his breath and then turn around to run away. Far from you.
Not knowing what to do he somehow found his way back in the attic where he stayed on his own accord this time. He stayed there day and night refusing to go out. Afraid that he was going to see you again.
At that moment he didn’t hate humans as much as he did before he met you, but now after what you had said he couldn’t help but let a newfound yet familiar grudge grow inside him once again. He didn’t want to trust humans anymore.
Probably and surprisingly the most crushed out of all of them.
You. Out of all people, you were abandoning him.
You were the most intimate and the closest relationship he ever had. You were his entire world, he gave you everything he could give. This man almost worshipped you for loving him. And you were pulling away from him ?
All you see in his face is utter disbelief... And pain.
He doesn’t say a word, his knees simply give out and without ever breaking eye contact with you he crashes on the floor.
When you decided walk away, he continued to look at you until you truly disappeared.
Afterwards, in public, he acted like he always did, he had this happy persona for more than a thousand years he knew how to make it look like he was feeling alright.
But you noticed. Because he avoided every plausible contact with you. He acted like you weren’t part of his world anymore because he knew that if he did so much as to look at you his smile would immediately falter.
He wanted you back. Nobody could have wanted someone back more than he wanted you. You were the first person whom he ever loved and the first person who ever truly loved him back.
He always thought he lived a life only filled with solitude until you single-handledly showed him that he wasn’t alone as he thought. Until you told him that with you by his side he would never feel alone anymore.
He thought about bringing you back by force, using his privileges as the Devildom Prince and only ruler to get you to fulfill the promise that you made to him.
He actually nearly made it happen.
But was advised by both Lucifer and Barbatos that it would be a bad idea and, while he did it reluctantly, he ultimately agreed.
But he never felt so alone.
Surprisingly Simeon was the one who had the most trouble understanding why you wanted to break it off.
The only thoughts running thorugh his mind at the moment were : “What happened ? What did he do wrong?”
He was always so careful with you, so romantic, so understanding, so... perfect.
There was no other word, he was a perfect boyfriend. He always did what he thought was right. He always treated you right. So why did you break up with him?
Simeon was a smart man, he wrote countless times about love too but he truly couldn’t comprehend the fact you wanted to end your relationship.
He thought was you had was so special, he was in love with you. Every moment that he spent with you was precious to him.
And he couldn’t get around the fact that you didn’t feel the same anymore.
But he did let you go though.
Without asking any questions or giving much of a fight because even there he wanted to put your feelings first.
He didn’t even cry, nor complained. He just caressed your cheek one last time with his long fingers, making sure to remember the softness of your skin and the shape of your jaw.
He looked at every detail of your face and he memorized them all knowing it would be the last time he would ever be allowed to be so close to you.
Then he layed his lips on your forehead for the last kiss he could give you and whispered, his voice trembling, so slightly that you barely even noticed it :
“If that’s what you want”
The first time he saw you again afterward he tried to make his way to you to talk with you as if you were back to friends. but as soon as he saw you shifting awkwardly while you looked at him he stopped in his tracks, gave you a small smile and turned around.
Once again putting your feelings first.
#obey me#obey me one master to rule them all#swd obey me#obey me headcanons#obey me!#obey me lucifer#obey me beelzebub#obey me belphegor#obey me diavolo#obey me simeon#obey me beel#obey me belphie
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Begin Again [MinYoongi]
Pairing : Yoongi x Reader
Word count : 5.2K
Genre : Fluff and Angst
Description : Friends to lovers, Long Distance relationship, Lovers to (?)
Summary : when you thought the friendship you once had with him died away after one silly mistake, and you thought you would never have again what you lost;
But it blossoms back unexpectedly stronger and is slowly growing to be something more beautiful than you ever had
"I've been spending the last eight months thinking all love ever does is break and burn, and end;
But on a Wednesday in a cafe i watched it Begin Again"
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It was the start of a new year and you weren't particularly happy about being moved up a few classes into an entirely new class with relatively new students you haven't personally met yet. You were still grateful for your good results in the past year to have you land in such a good class. In all honesty though, you did miss your friends from your old class, all of them being scattered in the back classes however changed your mind about being thankful that you're at least in a better one. The first few days of getting used to the classes went by rather slowly as you were listening to the introductions of the other students and teachers half mindedly, till around your 4th day into the classes that is.
You were randomly seated in the Chemistry lab by the teacher as she familiarised herself with the rest of the class. Not paying much attention you were spacing out, resting your chin on your palm, tapping away at your cheek.
" Um, hey there"
The voice from the stool next to you spoke. You turned your head to the direction of the voice, being met with warm brown eyes looking right at you. He had soft black hair, eyes slightly puffy as if he hadn't slept well the night before, lips curled up in a slight smile as he looked at you.
"Oh, hello"
you answered, trying not to sound overly shocked at the first human interaction you've had in this new class.
"I'm yoongi, what's your name?"
"I'm y/n, nice to meet you Yoongi"
"So what are your interests? What do you like to do y/n? Any hobbies?"
It definitely took you by surprise when this boy you've never really met before was suddenly making an interest to get to know you more. Something about him felt raw and not shy but in a good way.
"Well i really love listening to music and i do indulge in art as well. Spend most of my time listening to songs while drawing. Draw the mood of the song you know?"
"Damn, haha you sound kinda like me. Not tryna be cheesy or anything but i love listening to music too, I'm shit at drawing tho, i can barely draw a stickman"
Both of you exchanged a little chuckle at his open confession about himself. And even though it had only been a few minutes of words between the two of you, you felt at that moment that he wasn't like the other boys who popped up to talk to you first. This one genuinely seemed interested in you just to make a new friend.
-----------------------🤝------------------------
"Yo y/n you wanna ditch PE and hang out in the library? The new Resident Evil movie came out we can watch"
"You know what, yeah let's yeet"
You don't know how it went from spending lunch times together, to skipping the most boring subjects to hang out and hide. It'd been a few months since you started your new friendship with Yoongi, and by now you were known as the inseparable duo, funny enough both of you became the class representatives. Somehow you two got closer and closer each day, the more you talked the more you felt like you've known each other for years, yet some part of you knew that there was more to Yoongi than he was showing to you.
On a particularly slow day at your classes, you and Yoongi had pre planned to sneak out to hang out at your usual spot in the library. Sitting at the back of the library the both of you laughed at a joke Yoongi made about how almost the whole school shipped the both of you.
"You know y/n, I envy you"
"Oh well, I know I'm fabulous" you playfully said as you flipped your hair back, earning a little grunt and a harmless eye roll from Yoongi.
"It's not that you loonatic, i envy you...cause you have such a nice relationship with your family"
His sudden statement caught you slightly off guard but you gave him a look, clearly eager to know the reason behind his words. Flashing half a smile towards you he starts his story.
"Growing up for me was, well, it was an experience. I grew up under the care of foster parents who constantly reminded me that my parents gave me away cause i was a burden, all my life that's what i was told. Never had a father figure or mother figure to help shape my emotions? Guess that's why I don't show it if I'm sad or depressed, which is actually most of the time"
he looks down at his hands and chuckles softly.
"But you know something y/n? Being with you makes me feel like I could be myself, like I don't have to be afraid of being judged. And that's why I wanted you to know the truth but i understand if you don't wanna get involved or-"
You cut him off by placing your hand on his, giving him a reassuring smile.
"Yoongi, i want you to know that I'll always be here for you and you can talk to me about this anytime okay? You're my best friend now! And I'm hoping I'm yours too?" You ask in a more playful tone making yoongi giggle.
"Of course you are"
"Good! Cause i come in a package deal of crackhead and supportive as well as a no return contract"
"Sounds perfect to me bestie"
-----------------------😚------------------------
Over 2 years had passed and the whole highschool down to the teachers were sure the two of you were in a relationship, as everyone saw the two of you being practically stuck together almost all the time. Yoongi and your friendship became stronger than ever since that day he decided to open up to you. It became a regular thing where you'd confide in each other for emotional comfort as well as motivation and support. Not missing the fact that your level of crackhead together had become an all time high.
Your finals and exams blasted through and you had spent all your study weeks with Yoongi in the library. As sketchy as it was you and your best friend actually did sincere studying. And as it would, your hard work together paid off earning the both of you high marks in your finals. The two of you didn't miss to make a trademark crackhead scene at the receiving of the scroll ceremony when you accidentally tripped on your shoelace and Yoongi cracked up laughing and clapping before helping you up. The two of you celebrate with drinks and a lot of food that night and Yoongi paid for everything to make it up to you for laughing when you fell.
You looked at yourself one last time in the mirror before heading out to your highschool's hall. It was your graduation party but more importantly to you it was Yoongi's birthday. Coincidentally the two events had fallen on the same day, and what better opportunity than to get dressed up to party at your graduation ceremony together. It had been a heck of a ride these last two years, and you were going to make sure this last school event would be memorable.
Upon arriving you scan around the hall of students in search of the familiar face.
"Looking for me?"
He makes his presence behind you known by clearing his throat. You turn around to give your usual playful comment back but the words were caught in your throat as your gaze landed on your best friend. He was dressed smart, in a suit that looked like it was custom made to fit him, his hair in a side part and bangs neatly framing his face. You were so used to seeing him in his casual hoodies and ripped jeans that seeing him in formal wear made you choke on your words.
Too focused on getting your senses back in check, you don't notice how Yoongi's train of thought was stopped dead in its tracks as he watched you turn around to face him. He never pictured his crackhead of a best friend in something other than t-shirts and track pants. Seeing you in a dress that hugged your figure in all the right places and taking in the sight of you, with your makeup and hair all done to suit the dress you were wearing nearly made him pass out from how he was holding his breath to admire you.
Clearing the silence between the two of you, Yoongi speaks up first.
"Well well, you don't completely look like the satanic spawn of hot cheetos and depression today. You actually look pretty good"
Smirking a little smile you bite back at his comment.
"Well same to you too Mr. I'm a millennial emo teen. You actually look, presentable today"
The two of you exchanged a playful giggle and assumed your seats at your class tables as the ceremony went on.
You don't see the small glances Yoongi takes in your direction, the thoughts gushing through his mind about how you looked at the moment and cursing himself for not realising your features sooner. He admired the way you had chosen to dress up today, seeing the way you had styled your hair so your curls would frame your face, the way you had done your makeup in a more natural looking way that he thought suited you perfectly. Yoongi didn't remember when the unlabeled feelings for you came but the longer he looked at you the more he was starting to put a name to the feelings he had. So much so that he had completely spaced out in his thoughts of you like that he didn't realise you were speaking to him.
" -don't you think so Yoongi?"
"I'm sorry what did you say? The umm, the music is so loud"
"I saaaaiiddd it's beginning to get a little dull at this graduation ceremony, we need a little surprise, don't you think?"
"Surprise?? What kind of surprise?"
Flashing a smile his way you get up and walk towards the front of the hall where the ceremony host was finishing up their ending speech. Whispering into the host's ear, he gives you the microphone and you confidently stride to the front. But you accidentally go too close to the speaker and it lets out an unpleasant squee, making you move back and away a little. You look up and around finding your best friend's eyes looking back at you giggling at the scene that just occured.
"Well that's one way to get everyone's attention" you chuckle earning muffled chuckles and words from the hall.
"So firstly congrats to everyone on graduating y'all did it. But that's not why I'm up here right now. Today is a special day for someone, and since it's the last day we'll all be gathering I wanted to make this memorable for him. So everyone I would like to wish out here, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIN YOONGI"
you started to sing happy birthday and the rest of the hall joined in singing with you.
In all this happening, Yoongi could only focus on you, the way you just boldly got up to sing out loud and wish him Happy Birthday in the most "you" way possible. So he didn't know if it was the moment or if it was his unlabeled feelings overflowing for you, that he got up and walked towards you as the song was ending. He couldn't tell what came over him at that moment but he knew for sure he wasn't going to stop what he was about to do next. Cupping your cheeks in his palms, he leaned in, pressing his soft lips to yours. Kissing you with deep feelings overtaking his mind. The moment his lips touched yours he knew what those unlabeled feelings were, it was Love.
You couldn't process fast enough that your best friend was striding towards you with a goal, a desire. And you surely didn't expect for him to suddenly kiss you. Registering the feeling of his lips on yours, your eyes closed on their own as if on automatic response. You sank into the feeling of his lips, and it was then you felt the spark that ignited your own unlabeled feelings for Yoongi. You had definitely asked yourself countless times before if what you were feeling for Yoongi was more than just friendship. On the countless nights he had cried on your shoulder or when you cried on his, on the many occasions where you were both always partners in crime, you would always glance at Yoongi and wonder what more could there be to the feelings between you.
As the both of you slowly pulled away from each other a roaring sound of cheers erupted as it seemed to be that the two of you were the last ones to know you two were actually in love with each other. Taking your hand in his, Yoongi and you ran out of the hall that night knowing well where the two of you stood from that moment on.
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"No babe I think you should definitely take the opportunity to study there, I know it's far but it'll be really good for you, plus it's something you really like! It'll take some time for you to get used to the new place but i know you'll fit right in. In fact i know your wack ass would stand out"
You giggled at his comment but you wholeheartedly took his motivation and advice. But the question and thoughts still lingered in your mind as you heard Yoongi chuckle on the other end of the phone.
"But Yoongi, this means we'd be in a long distance relationship, with you going off to study in the opposite direction and all. Even our breaks don't match Yoongi.. what'll we do" the worrying tone in your voice didn't go unnoticed by Yoongi as he answered you in a calm reassuring tone.
"It'll take some work, but i know we can get through this okay? We'll make it, we can make it. I love you" you smiled at Yoongi's voice uttering the sweet words of love as you felt yourself calm your thoughts.
"I love you too Yoongi. Well then, keep me company while i pack?"
"You bet"
It had been a few months since you started dating, and honestly it didn't feel any different from when the two of you were in your phase of friendship, everything was going relatively smooth apart from the little fights and misunderstandings you had now that you were a couple. Sometimes you sit to think to yourself if moving into a relationship with Yoongi was the best choice, it would feel as though sometimes he would act differently and not like he always would but you just shake of the thoughts. You just figured with all these future college studies and intakes coming about that he was just as stressed as you were. You assured yourself that the two of you would be alright and that you'll always have each other.
A few more months pass and the two of you have already started your college lives. Yoongi being in a campus almost 8 hours away from you with minimal transport for him to even go home let alone plan to meet you. It was going smoothly, settling into orientation and getting to know the layouts of the campus well, meeting new friends and truly taking in your next step in education. You and Yoongi would exchange day to day text messages about how orientation and the first days of classes went.
All well and good till Yoongi's texts became slower and less frequent, he would always say that he's busy with his friends there, or straight up not giving a response at all. You became more and more fearful at how this long distance thing was going to work out for the two of you.
28th Tuesday
[12:27am] hey Yoongi! I hope you had a great day, I miss you and hope you sleep well, love you!
[08:40am] Hey Babe, good morning! I'm in class now, wishing we could skip like old times haha, hope you have a great day! Text me soon
[6:48pm] Hey i just got back to my dorm after classes, it was super fun! How was your day??
[8:11pm] Yoongi?? Are you okay? Are you busy babe?
[8:24pm] I miss youuuuuuuu :(
[10:16pm] Yoongi :(
You tossed your phone to the side of your bed as you felt your tears well up, why was he suddenly avoiding you? Is he okay?? Did he get hurt? Your thoughts were spiraling, getting messier till you heard the familiar ping from your phone. You scurried to your phone to see Yoongi's name pop up on the screen. Your smile quickly faded, replaced by disappointment at his reply.
[10:43pm] Hey, was busy with friends today, going to bed now ttyl <3
You frowned and wouldn't let him go this time. The days of short texts to unreplied texts and this is how he replies now? In a fit of fury you call him.
"Hello?-"
"Yoongi what's wrong? You haven't been replying to my texts as usual are you okay??"
"Mmh I'm fine, just busy with classes and my new friends y/n"
"Well I can't accept that answer Yoongi, I'm busy with classes and friend's here too but I take the time so why can't you?"
"Hey it's not that big of a deal y/n, we're in new environments now and it'll take me some time to settle in"
"Yoongi surely you have at least 5 minutes a day to text me??"
"Yeah of course I do, I just texted you didn't i?"
"That short ass reply was what you call a text Yoongi? It really sounds like you're avoiding me"
"You know what y/n I don't have time for this right now I'm tired"
"No Yoongi, I haven't talked to you properly in days come on don't you miss me Yoongi?"
"To be honest I've been enjoying the new company here that's I haven't missed you much"
"What do you mean Yoongi? You don't think of me?"
"Not all the time no, i have other things to think about here y/n i have new responsibilities here I can't be thinking about you all the damn time, just be happy I texted you back"
"Are you threatening to not text me anymore Yoongi? Is that what you're saying? You don't wanna talk to me anymore?"
"Oh god for fucks sake y/n stop being so clingy alright? Just grow up a little!"
The sound of his voice in heightened frustration made you choke on your words, you silenced yourself as his words rang loud in your head.
"You know what y/n I don't think this will work out, I'm going to get even busier and this will just be in the way of it all"
"Yoongi…"
"I'm sorry y/n but clearly this distance is proving that we won't work out"
"Are you... breaking up with me Yoongi?.."
The pain in your voice and the soft shaky exhale doesn't go unnoticed by Yoongi. Yoongi takes a deep breath, realising he spoke too fast in frustration. As much as he did feel for you this distance was tearing you apart and Yoongi didn't want to believe it but it was the truth. He spoke softer this time giving his side of his explanation.
"Y/n, you've been nothing but amazing to me, but I realize that we were more compatible as friends, I mean think about it, we've had so many petty fights that we never had before we dated. Our growing college life will further hinder our relationship. I don't want to hurt you like this by not giving you the love and attention you deserve. I'll always love you y/n, just not as more than friends I suppose"
You couldn't believe what was happening right now, your world felt like it was crashing down on you hard and fast, you could feel the sharp stinging in your chest from how your heart was breaking the more reality hit you. Yoongi's words had reason to them, but you were still in a state of confusion. Why could you make time for Yoongi but he couldn't for you? Maybe it's because the two of you are pursuing different fields of studies? Maybe he really had better things to do? Yoongi didn't want to hurt your feelings by making you feel abandoned so he was in fact abandoning you? No? But he said he'll still love you?? Your head was spinning a bunch of thoughts ran through your head.
"Okay Yoongi...if that's what would be the best for us..then okay"
"Don't worry okay? We'll still text as usual, talk when we can okay? I won't let you go, you're still my best friend y/n"
You didn't know if his words would be comforting enough, but at that moment you took what you had and calmed your thoughts for now.
"Okay Yoongi.."
"Good, I have an early schedule tomorrow. I'll talk to you later okay? I'm going to bed now. Goodnight y/n"
"Good night Yoongi"
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As it will, Yoongi and you slowly drifted apart. You would often see his social media updates about how he was actively participating in clubs, and how he had taken up new responsibilities, going to camps and hosting events at his institute and he definitely seemed to be doing well. You on the other hand fell more and more at war with your emotions, it didn't hinder your studies. Thankfully you could keep those two apart. But whenever it got a little too quiet you'd think of him, the days in highschool when you were inseparable. You missed his laugh, his endearing way of calling you the most heinous nicknames. You definitely missed his comforting arms, his words of encouragement when you were down, you wished nothing more that in this moment you were crying to him instead of because of him.
You couldn't believe that you were sitting here, broken and feeling alone by the guy that made his way into your life, and had now made his way out in the most painful way possible. You were left there clueless and confused. Did he do it for you? Was it the right thing? Did he really think of you? Why was this happening? What would have happened if you didn't date? Would things be different? Would your best friend have stayed? All these questions playing through your mind, countless nights you spent crying yourself to sleep. Thinking of how you felt almost betrayed, you cursed at yourself for sending texts to him that were only left on read or replied with a simple "I'm busy, text you later".
Slowly days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months as you hadn't spoken much to Yoongi. You became stone hearted from all that had happened and slowly you got back into yourself. You were more and more active in your college life and you were growing to be better at controlling your emotions. Sure some little things remind you of him now and then, but it was much easier by now to brush his thoughts off. As sadly as your situation was you learned to move with it and not let it consume you. Every now and then you'd see Yoongi piston updates on his progressively active life and you'd feel happy for him, you wondered if he ever felt the same for you when he saw your updates on how well you were doing.
----------------------🍃-------------------------
It had been a total of 4 years since everything happened, you were on a roll and you had graduated college. You had a few job applications pending and you were more stable with your life by now. All the questions you once had were stored in a box collection dust in the far corner of your mind.
It was a relaxing Saturday evening, you were in your apartment lounging on your bed. As you were chatting away with your friends a familiar ping aroused from your phone. The name that popped up on the screen made your heart heavy and you breathing shallow, a true ghost from your past…
"Yoongi 🥀"
Your screen read. Taking a deep breath you opened the chat.
[9:57pm] Hey y/n it's been a long time… are you free tonight? Can I call you?
You didn't know what exactly to think right now. Every cell in your brain telling you not to. That you shouldn't give into him again, and that you should just talk to him over text no matter what it was. But your heart was screaming for him, the familiar feeling of longing for him returning in a massive tsunami, washing over your thoughts. You took a deep breath to centre your thoughts and decided you'd listen to him and talk to him again.
[9:59pm] Hey Yoongi, yeah I'm free to talk.
As soon as the message was read by him, your phone rang. You took one more deep breath and answered the call.
"Hello y/n, how are you?"
You cursed in your head at how much you missed his voice, the way he spoke to you at this moment had a hint of the same longing you had for him.
"Hey..Yoongi, I'm good. How are you?"
"I've been good too.. congratulations on graduating"
"Thanks Yoongi, congratulations on graduating too.."
"Thanks…"
The silence that fell had you both reflecting on everything that happened and how fast it all went by. The box of questions in your mind burst out once again whereas Yoongi on the other hand was feeling guilt and hate towards himself for everything that he put you through. Little did you know that these last few months Yoongi was hit with the hard realisation that he had lost not only his best friend but the person he cared about the most. His family certainly did not improve and the one person who was there for him when he needed it, he had left broken hearted and abruptly once he found a new escape. Yoongi was slowly flooded with memories of you as he neared his own college graduation. He remembered your highschool graduation and how he felt for you there in that moment of time. He spent a few nights crying at the realisation that he had thought of what's best for you but didn't think of how you felt and how he had left things between the two of you.
"Why Yoongi…."
Was all you managed to say out loud before your emotions caved in. Understanding what you were asking he answered.
"I was so caught up in the new environment of growing up and moving on that I did what I thought was the best to not hurt you...but I didn't think far enough that doing so will indeed hurt you.. and I wasn't there for you like i was supposed to. It took a hard hit to my head to realise that I was wrong y/n… you were always there for me and stupidly I made this mistake… I thought i was thinking of the best for both of us, when in fact i was thinking of myself.. I was selfish and I realised that…so many things reminded me of you y/n, the clouds, the sun, the sight of roses, the smell of hot cheetos.."
You giggled a little at his last comment earning a little muffled one from Yoongi.
"I understand if you hate me for what I did to you y/n… and I don't know if it'll ever be the same between us again.. but I'm willing to try to bring back what we had... if you're willing to give me a chance…"
You exhaled softly before letting out everything that you've been feeling.
"I don't hate you Yoongi, I never could and I never will. You're everything to me Yoongi and I was just really hurt by what you did and how you ended things. So many thoughts went through my head and I won't even talk about how much you made me cry….you dipshit" the playful cursing nickname made Yoongi chuckle a little, slowly making him feel reassured at the directions of the conversation.
"I'm willing to give us a chance Yoongi..and you're right, I don't expect it to be the same as what we had, I just hate that I lost my best friend.."
"I know..i understand that..and I'm sorry..for everything"
"It's okay Yoongi, I'm sorry too… maybe I should've been more understanding…"
"Hey… do you.. wanna hang out Tomorrow night?"
"You wanna hang out?"
"Yeah, i wanna see you and catch up with you"
"Sure Yoongi that'd be nice"
"Great!! I'll meet you at the café by our old highschool?"
"Sure Yoongi, sounds great"
"Right then, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"See you tomorrow Yoongi"
You could hear the smiles in each other's voices as you both bid goodnight and hung up the phone. You didn't know what it was exactly but you knew just from that phone call that everything was going to be alright. You felt like you breathed much easier now, your mind much lighter. Yoongi felt the same, he was smiling more now filled with the excitement of meeting you again tomorrow after years.
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You made sure to check yourself out in the mirror a few more times before heading towards the café. You had chosen to wear a simple yet stylish outfit, your hair tied back in a low loose ponytail, your short hairs framing your face. You were nervous yet excited to be reunited with your best friend again. And as you approach the café, there he was. Standing outside the door of the café waiting for you. The now slightly more mature looking, dark fluffy haired man, wearing a long black coat was looking just as nervous and excited as he was looking down at his feet.
"I didn't know you needed glasses to see now"
your voice made him turn his head fast in your direction. The moment his gaze landed on you, it felt like highschool all over again. The way you looked standing there, just centimetres away from him. He took in your slightly matured face yet he told himself that you hadn't changed one bit.
"It's official, you're old Yoongi"
He chuckled and playfully scoffed at your comment.
"Well at least i don't dress like the satanic spawn of depression and hot cheetos"
"Sure thing Mr. I'm still a millennial emo teen"
The two of you laughed, and the world seemed to slow down. The feeling that nothing ever really changed between the two of you was knowing, however this time something felt entirely different. Both of you could feel it for sure. It was the feeling of a bond stronger than both friendship and love. You didn't know what the feeling was exactly, all that you knew was that you're never losing each other again. All this while you've been sitting there watching the feelings you had burn and crash in the worst way possible, but today right here at this café, right in front of your eyes you watched everything Begin Again.
#bts#bts fanfic#bts fanfction#bts au#yoongi fanfic#bts min yoongi#min yoongi#bts yoongi#kpop fluff#bts fluff#bts angst
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The True Story Behind An American Werewolf In London (1981), And The 9 REAL Werewolves That You Might Bump Into This Full Moon
What makes a horror film a cult classic?
Is it a suspenseful and seriously-addictive plot? Is it iconic characters with quick-witted one liners? Or is it the way the director throws out the old rule book and redefines the genre forever?
An American Werewolf in London (1981) doesn’t score so highly on any of those questions, but despite hitting the big screen amongst a herd of werewolf-inspired movies, it is officially a cult classic.
But why?
With CGI so bad it’ll rival a low-budget episode of Buffy, and with sex scenes so bad it’ll rival a high-budget episode of Buffy, this Yankee doggo wouldn’t need a silver bullet to be floored at the box office these days.
However, when the hum of the theatre-goers melted away into a hush as the opening shot of the Yorkshire Moors back in ‘81, this film was set to terrify the audience.
Jump-scares worthy of Annabelle 36: Yes, This Doll Still Ain’t Dead redefined the genre, with the shockingly realistic transformation scene taking centre stage.
Back in the 1980s, you didn’t see stuff like this.
That’s why to the previous generation An American Werewolf In London is considered one of the most terrifying movies to date. But to me, the real terror doesn’t lie in the engorging snout of the American tourist, nor his every-decaying gap-year bestie.
It’s how realistic this movie is to real werewolves.
Today’s post is all about how accurate the film’s portrayal of the werewolf is to the legends of the beast, and the roll-call of the 9 most famous real werewolves.
Let’s get spooky!
First, Let’s Recap Of An American Werewolf In London (1981)
The horror genre is infamous for many things.
The grotesque violence against women, female characters with less complexity than a box of condoms, and plots thinner than the women cast as final girls.
This film is no different, but it's the latter point that really matters here.
The story starts with two American tourists who decided to spend their Gap Year in England.
Yeah, me neither.
But instead of having an emotional connection with an elephant in India, they stumble into a cosy little pub named The Slaughtered Lamb. Chockful of secretive villagers and satanic imagery - oh, and a vague warning about the full moon - our scene is set.
Basics, they tell ‘em: “Teach english to the primitive villagers all you want, just don’t go on the moors or you will get pregnant and die”
Guess who gets lost and ends up on the moors. What’s that I hear? Mysterious howling that is getting closer to them?
One of the pair - Jack - is attacked first, and is mauled by the wolf-like being. David is attacked too, but the pub-goers shoot it before it has a chance to rip his throat out.
But moments before he passes out from the pain, he does not see a creature. He sees a naked man, instead.
(Dun dun duh)
David wakes up 3 weeks later in a London hospital with no recollection of the attacks, but a policeman fills him in, claiming he was attacked by a lunatic. David’s dead pal Jack then makes the first of his appearances in a kind of ghostly-corpsy form. He lets him know that what attacked them was a werewolf, and that David is now one.
Jack urges David to commit suicide to prevent an attack he cannot control, and to end the curse that makes Jack appear as a ghost that will continue with the existence of the bloodline. During his stint in hospital, he falls for a nurse who he shacks up with when he leaves hospital.
During his first full moon, he stalks the streets of London, slaughtering several in the process. He wakes up in a wolf enclosure at the London Zoo, unharmed by the creatures and with no memory of last night.
Eventually, he begins to piece together the reality of his, uh, werewolf-ness, and attempts to prevent another massacre by getting himself arrested, but he fails. He is drawn into an Adult Cinema by Jack, and meets the ghosts of his other victims who helpfully suggest suicide methods for him to try.
David transforms for the last time, and continues his attack into central London until he is cornered in an alley. His nurse-lover rocks up, and attempts to calm him. For a moment this seems to work, but he is then shot by police and dies.
A sequel did follow up this film, and and sees a similar story set in Paris. The setting isn’t the only difference, however; this time we see an underground werewolf society that’s looking for ways to control the, uh, werewolfness using drugs.
How Accurate Is This To The Legend Of The Werewolf?
Haunted houses, mass murderers, and the creepy details of infamous court cases - it doesn’t take much to justify typing ‘based on a true story’ onto a movie poster.
But the original inspiration behind this film doesn’t just follow one vague story about a vague ghost doing vague ghost things like taking that 10 quid out of your coat pocket even though you spent it on that candle from TK Maxx and are officially in denial that you have a problem it’s not a problem mum it just really rare to find that candle okay these are american imports.
The writer-director, Max Landis, wanted to focus his film on something real, on “something where you really [didn’t] have to suspend disbelief”.
To Landis, Werewolves are an “international” monster, with each individual culture having some man-beast supposedly roam their lands and ravage their communities. He even cited historical cases like in France or in Wales where people were burnt to death for their afflictions, cases that will get their attention later in this post.
So if this film was directly based on the legend of the werewolf, what was the legend of the werewolf?
*Inhale*
A werewolf is a human that can shapeshift into a wolf having been cursed by another, or by an affliction from another werewolf during the night of the full moon.
Then again, tales tell of drinking water from the puddle created by a wolf’s footprint or wearing a fur belt too much that can cause one to become a ‘wolf-man’.
Scientists have debunked claims stretching back as far as 27 AD with a variety of medical causes unexplained in years gone by, from Lycanthropy (a disorder from which one believes they can transform into a wolf) to Werewolf Syndrome (medical conditions which involve excessive hair growth), to Poryphoria which coincidentally is also used to debunk rumours of vampirism. But the widespread belief that once dominated the world suggests supernatural forces could have been at play, too.
In fact, only in the 18th century did official court cases stop referencing werewolves in Bavaria and Austria.
Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped myths and mysterious stories from still cropping up today.
Historically, werewolves and witches were often closely aligned, whether the wolves were used by witches for their own purposes, or they were ridden by them. Therefore, a link was forged between witchcraft trials and the hunts for the man-wolves.
That being said, it wasn’t just witches they were closely allied with: Germanic tradition might have focused on the former associations, but the Slavic countries considered them closely allied with vampires. This belief in werewolves in Europe - the epicentre of the beastly action - emerged in the 14th century, and peaked in 16th century france.
This is where the first link between the historical cases of wolf-men and the movie emerge. If the number of werewolf cases grew during one era, this can point to 2 things: that rumours of werewolves fuelled more rumours, or that werewolves were real and thus spreading the curse.
So, when Jack appears as a corpsey-ghosty-being-thing and tells him that the werewolf bloodline needs to end with him, the film conforms to werewolf legends.
Specifically, werewolves were considered to have a variety of give-away traits whether transformed or as a human: unibrows, curled fingernails, low-set ears, and a certain swagger were dead giveaways for werewolves in their human guise.
Or, when in wolf form, it will bear characteristics such as not having a tail, bearing human eyes and speaking with a human voice. So yes, that scene in Twilight is an accurate depiction of a werewolf.
But aside from David looking like a wolf during his transformation, one of the key similarities between historic cases and the film is the post-transformation effects:
Having returned to human form, werewolves are often weak and completely debilitated. In fact, severe depressions are often mentioned, too, something that must become pretty annoying if its every 4 weeks.
Remember when David was in that coma for 3 weeks?
Remember when the ghosts lectured him on suicide methods?
Speaking of folklore mirroring the film, remember the totally-not-creepily-named pub? Ah yes, The Slaughtered Lamb:
The five-pointed star was enough satanic imagery to suggest a divine link to the werewolf that isn’t explored in the movie, but historically curses from gods, saints, and the devil are mentioned. The latter is specifically true for Russia, suggesting this werewolf might be fresh from Mother Russia.
Oh, and of course, witches supposedly did deals with the devil, suggesting a witchy-satany-link that explains the decor of the pub.
Given their warnings of a full moon and a desire to protect the young men from their original forays onto the moors, it suggests the decor was put in place as a protection against the supernatural forces haunting the area, or maybe even a deal with the forces to protect the pub or village itself.
The penultimate parallel is the OG attack itself.
The policeman claims David and Jack were attacked by a lunatic. And if you check out this post on the full moon, you’ll know how well this fits the concept of the werewolf.
The final key similarity is this:
The Ancient Greeks and Romans believed in the power of exhaustion to cure people of werewolf, uh, -ism. The captured victims would be subjected to unruly levels of physical exertion in the hope that it would drive the beast from the body.
We discover in the second film that the actual ‘cure’ is adrenaline. By engaging in activities which encourage enough adrenaline to rush through the body, the beast can be kept at bay.
This is confirmed by the concept of killing a werewolf in the first film: when the werewolves are shot, they immediately return to human form.
Quick flashback to GCSE biology, ‘couple dots connected, and here we are.
The 9 Real Werewolves That Have Existed Throughout History And Might Still Exist Today
So - we know that An American Werewolf In London is pretty-gosh-darn-accurate to the legend of the mythical beast that is the werewolf.
But it’s not like werewolves actually exist, do they?
Do they?!
#1 - Pierre Burgot (1502)
The 16th century was a pretty shite time to be alive. If you weren’t dying in childbirth, you were being beheaded for adultery, you dirty b*tch.
Pierre Burgot was facing such a predicament, but his was slightly more furry. Whilst tending his sheep like most french farmers, three men on horseback rocked up and asked him if he’d like to renounce god and follow them, instead. With the promise of protected sheep, he accepted, and was later turned into a wolf as a part of the contract.
Then, in true devil-worshipper-werewolf fashion they terrorised the region, willingly becoming wolves to kill, pillage, and eat innocent civilians.
When Burgot was eventually attacked during a quick snack, he was discovered in human form, mirroring the movie titling this post.
#2 - Giles Garnier (1573)
A hermit concealed in the woods who may or may not turn into a wolf is a pretty common tale still cropping up today, but back in the 16th century, this was more popular than ever.
With a taste for childrens, he began to pick off and partially devour young locals. The villagers’ proof of his attacks, however, did not simply come from pinning the attacks on a recluse:
They saw a wolf maul a young boy and followed it to see it transform back into a human form - the human form of Giles Garnier.
Garnier even confessed to his shapeshifting-situation.
#3 - Perrenette Gandillon (1598)
A 15 year old boy was livin’ his best Middle Ages life when he saw a wolf lunge at his sister. With its human hands it grabbed her and killed her, then switching its attention to him.
It might have left deep wounds, and he might have died days later, but the boy had just enough time left to cough up a brief description of the hairy hands he saw grab his younger sister - and the scar gracing the wolf’s body.
From here the villagers led a mob to the house of Perrenette Gandillon, a woman who bore the same scar. This was actually a very common way to deduce a werewolf back to its human form. The thing is, they then worked out that it wasn’t just her who was getting wolfy.
Her whole family had actually been spotted in beast-mode, something they later each confessed to.
(They were even believed to pace on all fours in their prison cells.)
#4 - Jacques Roulet (1598)
This is the ultimate werewolf story, bringing together an ostracised member of a community and family relations that would make Christmas dinner more awkward than my UKIP aunt naming dropping Jacob Rees-Mogg.
When a young boy was found mutilated and two wolves seen, they were hunted down until a man dressed in rags and in a daze emerged from the darkness.
Jacques Roulet was his name; slaughtering innocent children was his game.
It is believed that he and his amigos had been given their powers by the devil himself, and the eventual confession of these amigos supported this claim.
#5 - Peter Stubbe (1582)
Whispers of werewolves have littered court records and conjured up local legends for centuries, but there are some people that stand out from the crowd - this is one of those werewolves.
Peter Stubbe was a well-off farmer who made his name in the community. Unfortunately, how we remember him is different to his community. Supposedly, Stubbe made a pact with the devil, requesting that “at his pleasure he might work his malice on men, women, and children, in the shape of some beast”.
His pact resulted in a murder spree spanning 25 years. By the time he was supposedly discovered as the culprit of the murders haunting Bedburg, he was described as devoid of humanity during his time as a wolf, and he had no memory of his actions once returned to his human form.
#6 - The Beast of Gevaudan (1764)
Our story starts in 1764, when the residents of Gévaudan started noticing people were dying. Sure, it’s nothing new for 250 years ago, but when their throats were consistently being ripped out, concerns were raised.
With 210 attacks being blamed on these legendary man-eating animals or wolf-dog hybrid, this became a myth all too real for the inhabitants of the area. Lone men, women and children near livestock were the victims of these attacks, suggesting a totally normal beast attack, right?
But when they discovered that only the necks were being targeted, this pointed to much more mythical roots, explaining why we consider this one of the most prominent potential sightings of a werewolf to date.
#7 - The Livonian Werewolf (17th century)
You’d think werewolves would be mysterious marvels of nature, rarely divulging the realities of their lives, right? This guy bucked the trend.
Thiess of Kaltenbrun was a typical Swedish bloke who spent his time practicing folk magic, wearing fur pelts, and becoming a wolf. Widely known to be a werewolf - despite being in his 80s - the authorities brought him in for questioning on an unrelated matter. From there he spilled on his specialist lifestyle.
He claimed he and others of his kind would only change on certain days like Pentecost or Midsummer Night by throwing on a wolf pelt, a common method of becoming the mystical being.
He also claimed that they would kill and ‘gather’ meat in wolfy form, but cook it in human terms.
Yet the most peculiar point he made was that werewolves were not demonic creatures, but were agents of god. Werewolves would spend their free time travelling to hell to battle the devil and the witches, and bring back the livestock they had stolen, contradicting all other tales we have seen so far.
#8 - The Southend Werewolf (1952)
William Ramsay was only 9 years old when it first happened. One day, he suddenly felt an icy shiver take over his body, a smell like rotting meat float around him, and an aggression overcome his mind. He was shivering, he was growling, he was in-tune to his senses.
He had - or so he claimed - become a werewolf.
He then finished up his transformation by ripping a fence post out of his garden. Super-human strength was often reported whenever this would overcome him, confirming that all these signs bear a similarity to cases of demonic possession.
Other events of turning into a werewolf bear similar resemblance, including him attempting to attack and kidnap a prostitute and biting doctors attempting to restrain him. After every event, Ramsay would fail to remember the attacks.
He even checked himself into a mental hospital in an attempt to get to the bottom of his affliction in the 1980s. They found no explanation for these events.
And it was following these similar cases of him ‘turning’ - including one that involved the police and splashed his story across the papers - that the Warrens decided to pay him a visit whilst in London. They deduced that this was a Demon Animal Spirit. Having been suspicious of his claims prior to their investigation, they then claimed an exorcism was required. So, Ramsay was flown out to the USA, and an exorcism performed by Bishop McKenna occurred.
At first, the exorcism did fuck all. But it was only when the bishop touched his forward and asked the demon to reveal itself that Ramsay once again began to turn. That was the final time that Ramsay ever became a werewolf.
#9 - A Mysterious Beast Is Killed In Montana (2018)
Strange and unknown creatures are always being killed, captured, and caught on camera. But with the ‘hoax’ label stamped firmly on most of these cases, they often go disregarded. This is not one of the cases.
In May 2018, deep in rural Montana, a creature was shot dead by a rancher. Cloaked in long, grey fur, bearing huge claws and an oversized head, this was no ratified beast.
The authorities had no clue what it was.
The teeth and paws were too short to belong to a wolf, and the floppy ears and fur did not point to a doggo, either.
Do You Think Werewolves Exist?
If you liked hearing ‘bout werewolves, I’m sure you’ll love to hear a new ghost story everyday, right?
Tap follow to see a new one in your feed on-the-daily!
#an american werewolf in london#an american werewolf in paris#werewolf#full moon#astrology#beastmode#female were#werewolf sightings#vampire werewolf#twilight#jacob black#team jacob#Horror Movies#best horror movies#the twilight saga#scary werewolf#white werewolf#full moon werewolf#real life werewolf#real life ghost stories#lycan werewolf#werewolf moon#famous werewolves#bill ramsey werewolf#Ed and Lorraine Warren#peter stubbe#werewolf film#american werewolf#an american werewolf#a werewolf in london
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So, Waitress is closing and Why I am Happy about that: An Exceedingly long essay Rant about Broadway
Look. Nobody's gonna read this, most likely, but it's 2 in the morning and my brain's been obsessing over Broadway (more than usual, anyway) since communing with my people at intensive this week. So, in the interest of getting some sleep before 8 hrs of dance and shitty high notes tomorrow, here goes.
I love classic, high-school-and-community standard musicals. I love new and experimental musicals. I love Disney film-to-stage musicals. I love institution musicals like Chorus Line, Cats, and Wicked; I even have a soft spot for Phantom. I am eagerly anticipating West Side Story next Christmas (seriously, I have a calander).
BUT.
As I said to one of my fellow dancers during post-class stretch (after noting his insane flexibilty and making yet another resolution to stretch more) I am Sick to GoDAMnEd DEATH of revivals, franchise adaptions, and restagings taking up the Broadway and greater theater markets.
I get why it's happening; I do. Musical theater, even shows that never make it out of Regional productions (Be More Chill, btw, I'm so proud of you bby :'-D ) are REALLY FREAKING EXPENSIVE, not just to stage, but also to develop. Broadway productions nowadays regularly go upwards of TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in costs.
Those costs are more and more frequently being met through funding by large groups of wealthy investors, who can expect basically little to no return on that investment. Only a select few shows that make it to the Great White Way do well enough to turn a profit (let alone the kinds of numbers that Hamilton, DEH, and Wicked continue to make), and more and more shows are closing in defict or once they break even. (Coincidentally, this is probably why we're seeing more and more straight plays on Broadway, especially in limited engagements. They're quicker, cheaper, and still have the same level of prestige.)
It makes sense then to assume that a show linked to an already successful property has a better chance of reaching that break-even mark, or perhaps generating a small return, than a more original idea. It's a surer bet, and we've seen it a lot these past few seasons. Anastasia, Beetlejuice, Pretty Woman, Moulin Rouge, Mean Girls... we get it. We promise. Investors want some security in an extremely and notoriously insecure market before they're willing to lay out the dough.
I get it. Everybody gets it.
And, to be fair, some of those shows are and continue to be GOOD. Tony nominees and award winners, even. But here's the problem: it's boring.
And not because I know how Act 2 ends without getting spoilers on tumblr. Unless they're younger than ten, the population of Broadway-and-musicals fans generally has a good handle on where a show's relevant plotlines are going. It's really not the wanting to know the end that keeps your butt in your overpriced red velvet seat and your eyes on the stage. It's the score, the words, occasionally the choreography, and most importantly the magicians on, off, and backstage bringing those things to life in a new and interesting way.
The antithesis of this, then, is having to watch slavish recreation of iconic scenes, lines, and characters from iconic films, presented Onstage! (TM), now with Bonus Songs! for your reconsumption. (Yes, Pretty Woman, I'm looking at you.)
Hey, I love Pretty Woman the Movie, slightly dodgy messages about feminity aside. I love it as a movie, and I really don't need to watch the knock off version of it, even if it comes in a shiny Broadway package.
Anastasia, and Beetlejuice, on the other hand, work extrodinarily well as musicals because they are NOT carbon copies of the original, somehow miraculously transplanted onto the stage.
Ironically, musicals based on original ideas are actually some of the most successful and well reviewed recent productions. Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, and Hadestown this season are all original works, and well, look at them. (Fishy, huh? Coincidence, I think the fuck not.)
Recently I got to see The Prom on Broadway, the day after I saw Pretty Woman. The contrast between shows and my enjoyment of them was well defined. I couldn't look away from The Prom, despite many of the major story beats being as obvious as our Cheeto-in-Chief's spray tan. I and the entire rest of the theater were completely engaged by what was going on onstage, both comedically and dramatically. At Pretty Woman, I found myself checking the Playbill to see how many songs were left for me to make it through and anxiously comparing the size of my thighs to the dancers onstage to pass the time (ah, pre pro Body Issues, welcome back! We all thought you'd retired!)
Three guesses which show I'd choose to see again.
When I read that Waitress was closing, the first thing I did was panic and start marking pre January weekends where I would both be free and possibly have disposable income (I've never gotten to see the show, and frankly I would like too). My second reaction was, yes, to mourn the closure of a wonderful show, but it was mixed with hopeful anticipation. Waitress had a good long time in the sun, and just like a well lived life, eventually it must and should end. It's better, in my humble student opinion, to live with memories and cast albums (and regional productions) than the stodgy life of a show that's jealously clung to its Broadway berth through the tourist-and-date-night trade (*cough*Phantom*cough*). It's sort of like your 40 something mother taking selfies in booty shorts in an effort to prove she's still 'hip' and in her twenties. Cringe.
Ephemera is the nature of live performance, and probably part of its allure. And just like in the natural world, old things have to end so that new things can become. Waitress closing is a vital part of this cycle.
Broadway has a limited number of theaters. That's a hard and absolute fact. Maybe a quarter of them are effectively taken off the market for new shows by productions apparently cursed with immortality. Waitress has just opened up another spot both physically and creatively for a new project- hopefully something we haven't seen before- and I hope to God, Satan, and Sondheim that it doesn't get filled with another franchise spinoff, celebrity jukebox musical, or -Lin Miranda forbid - yet another revival.
Why the revival hate, though? Aren't revivals an major way to revisit the landmark and important musicals of the past and bring them to a new audience?
Well, yes. They are, especially when they're staged and presented with the emphasis on letting the music and words speak for themselves and giving the actors leeway to work with the material, without the typical levels of Broadway Extra (TM) and creative meddling from the producers. (The recent Lincoln Center staging of A Chorus Line is a good example of the stripped down style I'm talking about.) But even if they have their place, once again, revivals (while valuable and cool and all that) are Something We've Already Seen.
Let's take Newsies for example. A show with a huge fan base (mostly teen, mostly girls) who I frequently see wishing for a revival.
Now, I am a raging Newsies fan. Newsies is the show that got me started on attempting to make a profession out of dance and theater. I can sing both the OBC and Live albums back to front. I may or may not have had embarrassing crushes on certain cast and characters that I will take to my grave (I'll never tell and you'll never know, mwahhaha). So, do I love and worship ever iteration of this show? Yes. Do I wish I had been able to see either the Natl Tour or Broadway productions? Hell yes, with all my heart. Do I wish the Gatelli choreography was in any way accessible for me to learn? More than I want Broadway tickets to cost less than my soul, kidney, and hypothetical but unlikely first born combined.
But do I want a Broadway revival? Hell FUCKING No.
It's over, it's done, and it lives on in reinterpretation in regional and junior productions. Good. That, to be quite honest, is where it should belong.
It doesn't need to be rehashed on the biggest stages, and to be frank, neither do most of the ultra popular revivals that have been happening. (Yes, Ali Stoker is awesome and deserves the world, but Broadway does not need Oklahoma. If you need to see it that bad, go find a high school production somewhere. I recommend the midwest.) Broadway does not need 1776 (even though I am looking forward to it). Broadway does not need a Sweeney Todd revival (even though I want one like I want ice cream after suffering through jazz class in an un-air-conditioned studio on a 90 degree afternoon with no breeze. Seriously, I might be making sacrifices at my altar to this cause in the back of my closet).
Broadway needs musicals that are at least nominally original, and if not, come from something obscure enough (Kinky Boots, Waitress, Newsies) that they can make their own way. Barring that, investors, writers, and directors, please have the courage and decency to take established content in a new direction. Please, I'm begging you. I'd honestly-and-truly much rather sit through something that didn't try to shove the better version of itself down my throat even as it bored and annoyed me to tears. If I'm going to pay $80+ to sit through two hours of something terrible (and less engaging than my dancer body image issues) at least let me get my money's worth in unique horribleness.
#broadway#newsies#hadestown#mean girls#anastasia the musical#musical theater#waitress#hamilton#beetlejuice#tony awards
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Fire & Ice (Part 1/2)
Pairing: ONE-SHOT Michael Langdon x fem!Reader (Game of Thrones AU)
Words: 2.5k
Summary: Game of Thrones AU - Reader is forced into an arranged marriage to Michael, through her brother, Viserys. In exchange for her, Michael guarantees them a spot in the Sanctuary and restoration to their family’s name and rule.
Warnings: ANGSTYYYY, mentions of arranged marriage, fluffy!Michael
REQUESTED BY - ANON
“ hi! idk if requests are open but I was wondering if you could do a Michael Langdon x reader 2 one-shot au based on Daenerys and Khal Drogo’s arranged marriage minus the abuse because that’d be too much and Michael is soft (enough said!) please? thanks :) ”
A/N - Just to let you know, the reader in this is a Targaryen, wasn’t sure if you didn’t want her to be or not, so I thought to include it tho :) Sorry for the long wait, and I really hope you enjoy xox I’m really sorry if this wasn’t what you envisioned, but it was the best possible way I thought the story could flow! I tried to combine both the storylines from both shows. I tried really hard, so sorry if its shit 😫
“Y/N!”
The familiar, stern voice of your older brother, Viserys, booming through the hallways, sent chills down your spine. Indeed he was your brother, and essentially the only living family you had left, as the both of you were the only existing members of your dying house, house Targaryen, and yet it was he who frightened you the most. You had grown to understand, that he was a man of bad character: he was never mindful of you, never considerate of your feelings nor your worth, was too invasive and extremely controlling…To the point where he made the sole decision to arrange you for marriage: without a single word from you, or any sort of input, you’d become a bride to be and there simply was no way of arguing your way out.
“I promised him a wife, and he promised me an army, a crown and the throne. He promised us a position in the sanctuary. You know that since we lost our rule, our reign and all our treasures we can’t buy our way in. This is our only chance to live, sweet sister. Now, do as I say, for the sake of our family’s legacy…Because Y/n, we are the last Targaryens, the rightful heirs. Do it for the sake of who we are.”
Yet much to your unfortune, your husband had arranged a day to meet you, to see you face to face, for him to make the final judgement as to whether he wanted to marry you or not…Still you had no say in your own future. You hadn’t known much about him nor how he looked, despite knowing that he was in fact a man of wealth, of strength and of great power, from the rumours you’d heard…And today was the day you’d finally meet.
And the only other thing you knew of him, was that of his name…Michael Langdon.
“There’s our bride to be!” Viserys called, holding what seemed to be a beautiful, silk violet dress. Having interfered your thoughts, of you remiscining the precise moment you’d been told you were to sold off, you hesitantly tore your attention from the serene view of the city, and immediately walked over to Viserys.
“It’s a gift, from the Cooperative...Go on touch it. I want you to wear it for today.”
Mesmerised by the fabric, you instinctively reach your hand out to touch it. Your fingers gently stroking through the dress, satisfied by its smooth texture, amazed by the gesture of the gift, despite not yet meeting your husband to be.
“I need you to be perfect today…Can you do that for me?
“You don’t want to wake the dragon, do you?”
“No” You silently uttered, no more than a whisper. You’d always spoken this way, you simply grew accustomed to being dubious, submitting yourself to fear and fright, enticed by your superiors. To them you were just a pawn.
“When the write the history of my reign sweet sister, they will say it began today…”
***
Dissonant sounds of chattering, and the whistling of the light breeze was all that filled the silence and the tension. You both awaited for Michael and his companions to arrive, standing in between behind your Viserys and you your landlord, Illyrio Mopatis.
“Where is he?” Viserys questioned, sensing his growing frustration as his impatience as per usual ran thin all too quickly.
“The Cooperative are not known for their punctuality.”
All to coincidentally, the distant sound of hooves stomping against the solid concrete ground followed by the heavy wheels of a carriage being pulled grew louder, and much more closer. You felt your body tense, by the second, the inevitability of this arrangement and the unpredictability of its outcome began taking its toll on you.
Many times before, you’d tried convincing yourself that this situation in its entirety was all simply a dream, that it was all just a nightmare far to vivid for you to awake. Yet once the black carriage had come into view, trying best to pinch yourself on the arm, thinking that would do the trick, you knew better than to remain in denial. This was happening, and there was no way of escaping it.
When the horses stood afront of you all, the carriage coming to a halt behind, instantly you felt your heart leaping from your chest, this gut-wrench feeling wavering through your body.
As its door swung open, 3 men each walked out, all wearing similar black suits which you felt instinctively couldn’t have been Michael, with a tiny, middle-aged woman, with short black hair yet again in a similar black suit exit through: in pairs each standing on either side of the carriage.
Finally, there he stood.
The least to say, you were breath taken: he was gorgeous. Wearing a red, velvet suit, luscious, long golden hair flowing just past his broad shoulders, with a towering height compared to the rest, his eyes this light blue colour that were ever so piercing, yet ever so mesmerising. His features all too accentuated, exemplified his age, his maturity you felt.
“Welcome, my honoured guests! May I present to you, Viserys of House Targaryen, the third of his name, the rightful king of the Andals and the first men. And his sister, Y/N of House Targaryen.”
Before your thoughts could roam any further, you’d remembered that Illyrio insisted you walked down and greet your fellow and yet potential husband to be. Out of respect that you assumed was the reason for this, although Illyrio simply clarified, that Michael was a man not to be taken lightly, and was definitely not to be kept waiting. So, before you had the chance to even speak a word to him, you were certain you did not at all want to upset him and began to gradually walk, as Illyrio continued greeting his guests.
Instantly you felt your body being aggressively pulled, your arm tugged back as Viserys held on, preventing you from walking down the steps to greet Michael. Your eyes were fixated on him, just as his were when he exited the carriage: you felt giddy, yet still most fearful. A part of you wanted him to say no, in that way you’d have your freedom for now, until perhaps Viserys struck up another bargain with a powerful figure. Yet for now, your fate was held in the hands of a complete stranger.
“Do you see his stature and those fellow companions? Michael Langdon has never been defeated, in anything. He gets what he wants, when he wants. He’s the Antichrist of course, one of the most influential people alive…And you will be his Queen.”
The whisper of his words, left you senseless, paralysed by fear. You were potentially going to wed a monster, or worse you were currently face to face with him. You’d never felt this terrified ever, not even Viserys startled you this much.
“Come forward my dear” Illyrio had shouted, his eyes widening with impatience, as he gestured you to walk…It seemed you had kept them waiting.
You felt your breath hitch in your throat, you mind trying hard to comprehend the news that Michael was essentially the son of Satan… How was it even possible? Surely he was just pure evil, worse than Viserys, and you’d believed no one could have ever been more worse than him…
Walking down the final step, coming face to face with Michael: you were much shorter than him. His towering figure overlooking you, every inch of your body exposed for him to see, for him to torment. The dress was no help either… It’s silk fabric was ever so thin, that your nipples were on display for all to see, the breeze hardening them, causing them to look perkier than usual. The fabric tight, hugging your body, just enough to reveal your curves: your eyes still locked on his, watching him examining you, those piercing blue eyes travelling up and down your body. Stepping forward, just inches apart, he began circling you: like a predator hungry for its prey, you felt helpless, before returning to his original position.
Hesitantly, tearing his gaze apart from you, to Illyrio, giving him a swift nod of assurance, did he only then return to seat himself in the carriage. His companions following behind shortly, the horses continued riding on.
Puzzled you were, though a part of you had an inkling, knowing most likely what his decision had been.
“Where is he going?” Viserys shouted, his voice drenched in confusion as he hastily ran to stand beside Illyrio, wanting answers.
“The ceremony is over.”
“Well, he didn’t say anything. Did he like her?”
“Trust me, your Grace, if he didn’t like her, we’d know…”
***
Days had passed since you last saw Michael, since you’d last spent your time as a ‘free’ woman. Today was the wedding…
According to the words of your servants, as news travelled immensely fast, Michael insisted on having the wedding immediately: just as Illyrio said, he wasn’t a man to be kept waiting.
You were assisted in wearing this beautiful, white gown. Similar to the silk one you’d worn to your first meeting with Michael, one he had also gifted and insisted that you wear. Perhaps for sentimental value, you’d hope, searching for a bit of good in him, knowing well it probably wasn’t a natural occurrence of his.
Now you sat beside him, ever so still, ever so silently. Not much to your surprise, he looked as handsome as ever. Wearing a similar velvet suit, more maroon than before, with a long black coat, and red leather clothes, you both contrasted with the other yet still looked as though you both synchronised with one another. His hair still looked just as luscious the first time, he looked impeccable.
The ceremony was unique, held outdoors, in a private venue, overlooking the sea, with many esteemed guests that had been invited, all that you had not known. Many wore silver masks, or masquerades that completely hid their identities: perhaps it was the way of the Cooperative. All of whom were in debt to Michael. Yet it frightened you still.
The giving and receiving of gifts had began, as you sat beside your husband. Still the both of you hadn’t said a word to one another: Michael having many times tried to spark a conversation though was always interrupted by his guests coming to congratulate their ‘Lord’ on the marriage. And now, you felt at any moment, he try again, although you’ been to distracted by the most unusual, most shocking of gifts. One of the gifts you’d been most intrigued about, one that you felt ignited a feeling within you that you’d never felt before, the moment they had been laid in front of you…Dragon eggs, three of them in fact, just like the sigil of your house. Gifted by Michael himself, “from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai…frozen in time.” Lifting one up, holding it in your bare hands, you felt empowered, like you never had before.
“My gift to you.”
“Th-Thank you” You stuttered, still staring at the egg grasped in your hand, observing its every fine detail.
Although, soon following them, laid before you two, the hissing sounds of a pit of snakes had startled your attention. Lowering the egg, returning it to its casket, looking over towards the snakes in complete fright, it was perhaps the most bizarre of all the gifts, yet you knew precisely of its significance to Michael. Despite not having had a proper, consistent education, having been on the run for so long, you were familiar with the traditions of the gods. Sneakily diverting your attention unto Michael, you’d noticed a small smirk growing on his face. Almost, as though it had been instinctively, as though he felt your eyes on him, he turned towards you, shooting you a heartfelt smile, that you immediately thought was a simple act of deceit. Immediately you’d pretended you hadn’t even seen him at all, and looked onwards towards the crowd of guests, dining, dancing and chattering away. It was your wedding yet a part of you felt like a complete foreigner.
“I’m sorry about before, having left you in the dark, you not knowing what was to come. I was simply just savouring the moment till I foun the best possible moment we could talk...Privately.”
His words interfered with your thoughts and growing concerns, yet he hadn’t startled you as you’d predicted. His tone was sincere, it felt soothing to hear.
“T-That’s alright, I understand, my Lord.”
“Michael, just call me Michael, Y/N. Please, I insist, since we’re bounded together for life and death.”
Nodding to his instruction, you wanted nothing more than to sit in silence, hoping that your shy behaviour would simply do the trick…Wrong.
“You look beautiful, can’t help but feel incredibly lucky” He interrupted, his words triggering you to instantly snap your head in his direction. It definitely wasn’t something you’d been expecting to hear, a compliment escaping his lips…Outrageous you thought, yet optimism ignited within you.
“Th-Thank you, Michael.”
A small smile brewing on your face, wanting to reassure to him that you were most thankful for his kind words, or perhaps for this marriage…You didn’t want to upset him in anyway possible, that may have shown his true colours. This Michael would do for now.
“The ceremony should be coming to an end soon. If you want we could just leave now? Our time perhaps could be spent more wisely, getting to know one another, than with these people.”
Instantly, he stood himself from his seat, his long hair flowing perfectly in time with the breeze. His hand reaching out to you, waiting for you to take it, and without any further hesitation, a part of you agreeing to his words willingly, you took it.
You felt yourself being pulled with ease, as he stood awaiting for you to ensure your dress was perfectly placed, before you looked up at him, nodding to signal that you were prepared.
“Thank you honoured guests, for joining us on this special evening. But I must inform you all that Y/N and I will be leaving now.”
“Hail Satan!” The crowd roared in unison, cheering to their Lord, as you both walked through the crowd, Michael leading the way as his hand continued to hold yours, gripping you tightly, as though to not lose you. You felt completely intimidated, feeling the stares of his followers burning through your skin, despite not actually witnessing their faces, you simply knew.
Finally having reached a breach in the crowd: you noticed Michael standing in front of the black carriage, he’d arrived with initially.
Opening the door, waiting by its side, just as you were about to enter, you felt his hand gripping your arm gently, as though not wanting to cause you pain, though wanting to stop you from entering. Gazing up at him, despite the watchful crowd, you felt the intimacy between you two growing immensely, and a part of you, as though instinct, wanting nothing more than to kiss. Just as though he’d read your thoughts, he began to edge closer to you, feeling his hands grip around your waist, pulling your body closer towards his chest, as your hands gripped his large biceps.
The feeling of his lips crushing down against yours, giving yourself into his affection, most willingly felt right and pure. His lips slightly parting, feeling a small smirk growing on his face as you looked up to find it was indeed a smile, he utters:
“My angel.”
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ISLAM 101: ALMS AND CHARITY: VIRTUES OF ZAKAT: Part 2
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF ZAKAT ON SOCIETY? (Part 2)
Looking from a transactional perspective, it becomes evident that those who knowingly indulge in usury face the threat being doomed to a fate similar to that of Satan’s, vis-a-vis, expulsion from the mercy of God. Insisting on dealing with interest is to come into conflict with the Creator. The result of such an action is evident: Those who are adamant in delusively claiming right over others’ wealth or money will live as if struck by Satan, the very same state in which they will resurrect.
The reason for this punishment is that they iniquitously equate usury with trade, claiming its permissibility; this is a case of an incorrect perspective yielding conclusions that are immensely wide off the mark. By paying close attention to the Qur’anic instruction instead, we can gain a better insight into the very psychology that affords them this misunderstanding. In other words, by asserting that, “Trading is just like usury”, usurers actually dare to suggest that trading and usury are ethical equals. Yet the clear Qur’anic directive, “God has permitted trade and forbidden usury,” unambiguously puts an end to all possible debates. Usury and interest are an assault on property and wealth, whose protection is just as essential as the protection of life and chastity. In fact, all religions highlight, in one way or another, a person’s duty to protect the five essentials of faith, mind, property, life, and progeny. The hadith, “A believer’s property, blood, and chastity are forbidden to another believer,” amplifies this outlook. In this context, usury is an attack on the property from which we are compelled to protect ourselves, and a sinister means of exploiting the sweat of others. From another perspective, allowing usury to operate means the ultimate blow to production as men will preponderantly prefer to adopt methods that provide them easy earnings in their quest for satiating their natural inclination for wealth. With usury, this inclination is wastefully exploited, instead of cultivating the world, and many promising talents are laid waste on by the embracement of the motto “Invest in interest, and lay back!”
Usury, a practice that destroys qard al-hasan, (i.e lending money to those in need just for the sake of God, a pivotal part of the Islamic spirit) concurrently terminates the social bond, leaving each person to solve financial problems individually rather than seeking a communal help. As a result, nobody is left with a problem-free opportunity to borrow money. Qard al-hasan, a vehemently emphasized facet of Islam, is given eighteen times more reward than sadaqa. This precious practice reinforces the belief that whatever the expected surplus is, it should strictly be expected from God. Together with forbidding participation in sin and enmity, the Qur’an strongly encourages virtue and goodness46 as the principal causes of action, whether it is good or bad, necessarily attracts the same degree of responsibility.
Simply put, the acceptance of usury in public life means siding with the rich and immorally leaving the poor to fight their own desperate battle. This, indeed, represents complete deviation from Divine Mercy and Compassion. Although God grants wealth to the rich, He also provides a sanctuary for the poor through decreeing alms and charity.
And yet, the vices of usury are not limited to what has already been mentioned. Perhaps the ultimate motive should be sought in a more profound domain. What is important is that the Creator has sternly forbidden usury and has given permission for trading. In reality, the key factor that paves our direction is the simple commands or prohibitions of God, not the entailing beneficial results that surface upon their application. Therefore, the benefits are subordinate to our efforts and striving to achieve the blessing of the Almighty, through abhorring what has been decreed as being abhorrent, and embracing what has been decreed as being worthy of embrace.
Sadaqa, an initiator of blessings and prosperity with all its types, is also the golden key to the copious treasures of Divine Compassion. By virtue of a miraculous style of articulation, the Qur’an illustrates charity as an act that brings the provider closer to God, so to speak; incorporates him or her into Paradise; reinforces the spiritual bond between believers and humankind in general; and takes the provider far away from Satan and hellfire, as opposed to amplifying the numerous harms inherent in interest. Such harms, whenever and wherever they are incurred, become a motive or means for distancing one’s self from the Compassion of the Creator and from the entrance into Paradise; for coming closer to Satan and the hellfire; and for erecting insidious walls between people.
The Qur’anic declaration “God blights usury and makes almsgiving fruitful,” at once destroys the possibility of exploiting others’ earnings through usury, a practice which aims to demolish the very foundation of social justice; one could say that it provides a cure for a disease before it takes hold of the whole body. The realization of this cure is through an uncompromising establishment of the institutions for alms and charity and forever shutting the door on inequitable practices whose menacing effects are extensively renowned. The number of investors whose dreams of riches and luxury have become horrendous nightmares through the manipulations of interest is by no means few. Opposed to these, there are countless souls whose wealth has multiplied in great magnitudes thanks to sadaqa, not to mention the love they have earned from the masses. By now, it should be blatantly evident that usury is a destroyer of social balance and a spoiler of the mutual harmony which is the unbending backbone of human life.
Not coincidentally, this verse relating to usury is among the final revelations of the Qur’an; its prohibition was declared during the concluding days of the Prophet’s (upon whom be peace) life. The Messenger of God, during the Farewell Pilgrimage, put the prohibition of usury into effect, first by abolishing his uncle Abbas’s interest, thereby setting a perfect example.
Throughout those sermons, addressed somewhat as farewells to his Companions, he abolished blood feuds and then pronounced, “Beware! All previous usury is now under my feet, and the first interest I abolish is that of Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib.” Absolutely nobody hesitated, including Abbas, in abandoning their anticipated hoards of interest; moreover, they started agonizing over possible divine penalties for their prior indulgence in usury. A soothing edict, however, was revealed soon after, dispersing the noble Companions’ anxiety:
There is no sin on those who believe and do good, righteous deeds for what they might have partaken (in the past), provided (henceforth) they fear (the end of their previous creeds and misdeeds) and come to faith and do good, righteous deeds, then keep from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety and believe (more profoundly), then be more meticulous in obeying God in greater reverence for Him and piety and be devoted to doing good, aware that God is seeing them. (Maida 5:93)
Belief and sincerity have been reiterated three times in the above verse. This reinforces the importance of abstaining from the forbidden for protection from the hellfire, and in turn, the value of refraining from doubtful cases in order to avoid falling into the domain of the forbidden, thereby causing the inner self to decay. The Noble Prophet declared, “Leave what gives you doubt, stick to what is certain.” In another hadith that follows a similar trait, the Messenger has evidently stated that the halal (i.e. permissible) and the haram (i.e. non-permissible) have unequivocally become clear; thus the doubtful must be evaded, a recommended course of action that places emphasis on one’s spiritual life.
An implicit illustration is also to be found through a brilliant depiction of the perennial indolence of usurers and the consequential anxieties of their parasitical lives. Those who lead such a life suffer a similar ending, facing a fitting penalty for their unjust insistence that usury constitutes normal trade. According to the interpretations of Ibn Abbas, an illustrious Companion, usurers will be resurrected in a state of strangulation. The words articulated by the Messenger of God illustrate a symbolic scene he witnessed during the Miraj, or Ascension, and offers us enlightenment: “Then I saw a group whose bellies were like houses and who happened to be on the path which the Pharaoh and his folk were taken to hellfire day and night. Each time they saw Pharaoh and his folk, they would leap forward from repulsion, only to fall down face-first from the weight caused by their stomach, after which the Pharaoh and his folk would start trampling on them. I asked ‘O Jibril? Who are they?’ and he replied ‘They are usurers.’”
In another similar hadith, the Prophet mentions having seen a group comprised of people who would fall down face first every time they attempted to get up; thus he was again informed they were usurers.
This destiny is the final result of obstinately insisting on a satanic path. The Messenger of God clearly pronounced that the curse of God will indiscriminately afflict the indulgers of usury, including the provider, the acceptor, the witness, the proxy, the secretary and whoever takes an active part in such dealing, the doomed outcome of impudently declaring war on God and His Messenger. In fact, the fate of the entire group—the instigators and his or her various supports—is captured perfectly in a very short and powerful chapter near the conclusion of the Qur ’an: “Perish the hands of the Father of Flame! Perish he! No profit to him from all his wealth, and all his gains! Burnt soon will he be in a Fire of Blazing Flame! His wife shall carry the (crackling) wood – As fuel! A twisted rope of palm-leaf fibre round her (own) neck!” (Tabbat 111:1-5) May God protect us all from such a destiny.
Addressing the giant mass gathered around him eighty days prior to his eternal migration from Earth, the Messenger of God pronounced that God had now perfected the religion and finalized His blessings on the Muslims, stressing that the only way to procure the blessing of God is through Islam, the submission to the will of God.
Thus, the Prophet encapsulated the basic tenets of the Qur’an, the miraculous guide for those in possession of a magnanimous spirit, as magnanimousness is perhaps the most ideal word to describe the precious state of mind of the believers who successfully eschewed usury and adopted zakat. In fact, the Companions who had, at that time, gained utmost maturity after a 23-year period of stringent development unconditionally surrendered to those exquisite tenets. This, in turn, underlines the significance of corrective maturity before the embracement of the principles required to annul immorality. Even though societies may achieve a head-spinning development in technology, for example, or an apparent increase in welfare through solutions to minor economic problems, no matter how happy they seem on the surface, their life-spans will never realize their full potential and they will be utterly helpless, in an imminent shake of social upheaval, as long as they carry on the practice of usury that is so fundamentally contrary to human nature. In effect, systems that move us against the tide of righteousness are no more than “sparks in the pan” and cannot provide long-lasting illumination.
The Qur’an eloquently states, “God invites to the Abode of Peace, and guides whom He wills to a straight path” (Yunus 10:25). As certified by the Qur’an, the prohibition of usury was personally elaborated by the Prophet (upon whom be peace) and then additionally, he commissioned Abu Bakr and Ali to explain the prohibition accordingly to hinder possible misunderstandings. If humanity carries the serious intention of curing itself of the leech-like effects of usury, it inevitably must wake up in the illuminative realm of iman, belief in God, and lend an ear to the commands and prohibitions of the Almighty Creator. Observing morality in financial transactions is a virtue of believers. Thus, in a society of believers, it becomes necessary to establish alternative systems where all exploitable loopholes are firmly covered, and whereby charity-oriented institutions become established, rescuing the poor from the throes of despair.
In a nutshell, zakat and interest are two opposite and dichotomous poles. While zakat is aimed towards acknowledging the rights of the poor and eliminating obstacles that impede these rights, the essential crux of interest entails the rich ignominiously becoming richer, leaving the poor stranded in destitution. Contrary to such a devastating outcome, by preventing the exploitation of the poor, Islam also shows the rich alternative ways to make use of their wealth, free of fear and anxiety. The application of zakat ultimately means the extirpation of usury, endowing the society with genuine, long-lasting bliss.
THE OTHER SOCIAL BENEFITS OF ZAKAT
Indubitably, the benefits of zakat do not end there. Among the other benefits of zakat are that it is social insurance on public life, an aura maintaining tolerance between social groups, a catalyst that puts fire in the economic life and a balancing factor that emphasizes both the importance of worldly earnings and the eternal importance of life in the eternal abode.
Each aspect which has been delineated above, as one may guess, is also a positive step towards building an unshakeable social structure. Moreover, the totality constitutes a prelude to other innumerable benefits that will arise through the utilization of zakat—benefits both seen and unseen, in this world and the next. God, the Exalted, is remote from indulging in any activity void of meaning and distant from negated attributes: “Not for (idle) sport did We create the heavens and the earth and all that is between!” (Anbiya 21:16)
Therefore if zakat has been decreed by Him, then it unquestionably must contain a copious load of purposes, all of which will unravel in time.
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Evil in the Mirror: John Carpenter’s Revealing ‘Prince of Darkness’ by Joshua Rothkopf
[Last year, Musings paid homage to Produced and Abandoned: The Best Films You’ve Never Seen, a review anthology from the National Society of Film Critics that championed studio orphans from the ‘70s and ‘80s. In the days before the Internet, young cinephiles like myself relied on reference books and anthologies to lead us to films we might not have discovered otherwise. Released in 1990, Produced and Abandoned was a foundational piece of work, introducing me to such wonders as Cutter’s Way, Lost in America, High Tide, Choose Me, Housekeeping, and Fat City. (You can find the full list of entries here.) Our first round of Produced and Abandoned essays included Angelica Jade Bastién on By the Sea, Mike D’Angelo on The Counselor, Judy Berman on Velvet Goldmine, and Keith Phipps on O.C. and Stiggs. Over the next four weeks, Musings will continue with another round of essays about tarnished gems, in the hope they’ll get a second look. Or, more likely, a first. —Scott Tobias, editor.]
It’s generally accepted that John Carpenter wasn’t a personal filmmaker—not personal in the way that Martin Scorsese, only five years his senior and Italianamerican from the start, was. Carpenter grew up movie-crazy in the ’50s and ’60s. He wanted to make Westerns exactly at the moment when that became an unrealistic career goal. His heroes were Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and, above all, Howard Hawks. It’s been nourishing to listen to Amy Nicholson’s wonderful eight-part podcast Halloween Unmasked, still in progress, and to hear Carpenter—usually oblique in interviews—open up about his boyhood in the Jim Crow–era South. He mentions visiting an insane asylum during a college psych trip and locking eyes with a prisoner who spooked him. That may be the basis for killer Michael Myers but, by and large, this was a guy who wrote what he dreamed up, not what he knew.
That’s not to suggest Carpenter didn’t develop his own signature style. When he arrived in Los Angeles in 1968 to attend film school at USC, he reinvented himself, transforming from a Max Fischer–like creative wunderkind (he was a rock guitarist and high-school class president) into a laconic, bell-bottomed cowboy who listened more than he spoke. He was too cool for nerdy Dan O’Bannon, who worked with him on Dark Star. He was too cool for Hollywood itself, even after he’d succeeded there, rarely mingling socially and turning down projects like Top Gun and Fatal Attraction.
But the cool act was a bit of smokescreen. I once asked Carpenter about it, and he owned up to a private sense of pain in regard to his work. “I take every failure hard,” he told me in 2008, singling out the audience’s abandonment of The Thing, a remake of his favorite film (one that actually improves on its source). “The movie was hated. Even by science-fiction fans. They thought that I had betrayed some kind of trust, and the piling on was insane. Even the original movie's director, Christian Nyby, was dissing me.”
Carpenter would rebound from that 1982 commercial disaster—as well the indignity of getting sacked from Firestarter—by playing the game even better. He directed Jeff Bridges to a Best Actor nomination on Starman (that’s as rare as a unicorn for a sci-fi performance) and, just as things were turning golden, blew all his capital again on 1986’s Big Trouble in Little China, which was rushed and subsequently buried in the massive shadow of Aliens. “You try to make a studio picture your own, but in the end, it’s their film,” Carpenter said in our interview, the Kentucky rascal turned bitter. “And they’re going to get what they want. After that experience, I had to stop playing for the studios for a while and go independent again.”
This is the pivotal moment in Carpenter’s career, the one that fascinates me the most. It should fascinate more people, given what the filmmaker did. Divorced and with a two-year-old son, Carpenter is, at that point, 38 years old. He’s already feeling like a Hollywood burnout, with a decade of ups and downs to prove it. The solution was a pay cut, a big one: Prince of Darkness, financed through “supermensch” Shep Gordon and Alive Films and released in 1987, would be made for a grand total of $3 million, the first title in a multi-picture deal that guaranteed Carpenter complete creative control.
Scrappy but never chintzy, Prince of Darkness is the most lovable of movies. On the surface, it has all the cool minimalism a JC fan could ask for: elegant anamorphic compositions (Gary Kibbe’s muscular cinematography adds millions more in production value), a seesawing synth score, a one-location “siege” structure akin to the director’s Assault on Precinct 13 and The Thing. The movie also has Alice Cooper killing a grad student with a bicycle. It has a swirling canister of green Satanic goo in a church basement.
Critics, by and large, were unkind. In a representative review from the New York Times, Vincent Canby called it “surprisingly cheesy,” singling out first-time screenwriter Martin Quatermass for particular scorn (he “overloads the dialogue with scientific references and is stingy with the surprises”), not realizing that this was a pseudonym for Carpenter himself. Would it have mattered? Released days before Halloween, Prince got clobbered by the gig Carpenter turned down, Fatal Attraction, still surging in its sixth weekend.
But below the surface—and still a matter for wider appreciation—is the film that Carpenter dug himself out of his psychic hellhole to make: his most personal horror movie, starring a version of himself. Prince of Darkness is about watching and waiting. In a way, it’s a romantic view of the auteur’s own time at school. It’s a movie about the evil that stares out of the mirror (i.e., yourself). Like all of his films, it arrived under the possessive title John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness. In my mind, that apostrophe is actually a contraction: John Carpenter Is Prince of Darkness. And Prince of Darkness is him.
First, let’s understand what $3 million means in 1987. To compare it to some other movies of the same period, Blue Velvet’s budget is twice as large. Hannah and Her Sisters, largely shot in Mia Farrow’s apartment, was funded at $6.4 million. When Scorsese decided to go indie and make his audacious The Last Temptation of Christ, he had a $7 million allowance—and that’s for robes and sandals. Carpenter, on the other hand, would be doing practical special effects in camera. He’d be doing a movie with gore and supernatural nuttiness. In a now-quaint New York Times article from April 1987 titled “Independents Making It Big” (“The major studios have abandoned small, serious, risky films, the kind that often win prizes”), Merchant Ivory’s Oscar-winning A Room With A View gets prime positioning with a big photograph; that one has a $3 million budget, roughly. (Not coincidentally, Carpenter’s financiers, Alive Films, are name-checked in the piece as the producers of Alan Rudolph’s Trouble in Mind.)
Coming off Big Trouble in Little China’s estimated $20 million budget (it was probably more), Carpenter would be making a radical shift. But he agreed to Alive’s terms. He’d return to doing things fast and smart, to distilling his vision down to its cleanest, clearest grammar, to getting it done in 30 days (Halloween was shot in 20, over four weeks in May 1978). Even if you disregard the whole of Prince of Darkness’s content—and we won’t be doing that—Carpenter’s desire to work in total artistic freedom is breathtaking. He will do what it takes to move forward.
A little plot: In Prince of Darkness, scientists, theologians and academics plunge into a dilapidated church where they power up their equipment and study a mysterious genie in a bottle: an “anti-god.” The scenario has some of the pseudo-tech fizz of Poltergeist or, in a lighter vein, the Harold Ramis scenes in Ghostbusters. It’s not meant to hold up under scrutiny. Carpenter, who says he was reading books about quantum uncertainty at the time (maybe not the most comforting bedside material given his professional predicament), gives pages of chewy dialogue to the twin father figures of his oeuvre: Donald Pleasence, returning from Halloween and Escape from New York, plays an unnamed, worried priest; and Big Trouble’s wizened Victor Wong appears as an esteemed professor of metaphysical causality.
If the movie has a conventional hero (it doesn’t), it’s Brian, a student who splits the difference between creepy and generically handsome. He’s played by Jameson Parker, then a TV star on Simon & Simon. Or at least I think it’s Jameson Parker. Unlike his more famous San Diego private detective, Brian sports a robust, porn-star-worthy moustache. It makes him look swarthy, mysterious—a little like the lanky John Carpenter himself, who shoots these early scenes in classrooms and hallways at his alma mater, USC. “I spent many happy years at SC as a film student,” Carpenter says on Shout! Factory’s collector’s Blu-ray. “I really enjoyed myself. I learned everything about how to make movies there.”
Watching Prince of Darkness is as close as we’ll come to seeing the director’s formative years re-enacted, memoir-style. In getting back to basics, Carpenter decided to do it literally. Brian sits in class listening; he has a bit of a Laurie Strode moment looking out the window, distracted. Who is he? He’s a young scientist observing evil, almost flirting with it. He spies on a pretty girl in the courtyard (Lisa Blount). She’s got a boyfriend and it irks him, wordlessly. Later, Brian will woo her to bed and use some hard-core Howard Hawks dialogue on her: “Who was he? The one that gave you such a high opinion of men?” he says, straight out of Lauren Bacall’s playbook in To Have and Have Not. It works. She kisses him.
The movie isn’t all wish-fulfillment. In fact, it’s charming how fully the Carpenter surrogate recedes into the team; Brian isn’t even a factor in the final showdown. Maybe his job is to watch other people vanquish evil. That would make sense, since it’s his creator’s comfort zone. In the meantime, the offscreen Carpenter is building some of his grossest sequences, spraying unsuspecting people in the mouth with streams of ectoplasm (à la Rob Bottin’s landmark FX in The Thing), mounting parallel action and deploying beetles, maggots and ants where necessary.
Prince of Darkness has one moment that’s proven unforgettable, transcending even the horror genre. It’s an eerie transmission, the voice slowed down and distorted: “This is not a dream…not a dream…” DJ Shadow samples it a few times on his groundbreaking debut, 1996’s Endtroducing. (The voice is actually Carpenter’s, impossible not to notice once you’ve been made aware of it.) He’s supposed to be a future dude reaching backward in time—“from the year one, nine, nine, nine”—maybe to prevent a biblical apocalypse. All we see is a jittery handheld shot of a silhouetted robed figure slowly emerging from the church, the ominous end-of-the-world smoke gathering.
The economy of the shot is beautiful, Carpenter achieving the texture of a half-remembered nightmare using only a capture-video-off-a-TV-screen trick. (It’s very Inland Empire—and come to think of it, that basement cylinder of swirling green evil is a lot like the glass box from the first episode of the rebooted Twin Peaks: The Return.) So in a situation where Carpenter is facing his most prohibitive spending limits, he’s actually expanding his craft. Prince of Darkness signals his own creative rehabilitation after turning his heel on the studios. Or, to quote the film’s poster: “It is evil. It is real. It is awakening.”
What does it mean that Carpenter’s big payoff involves a mirror? These Cocteau-like shots were some of the most dangerous to pull off. One of them involved plunging a prosthetic hand into highly toxic liquid mercury (a substance the crew had to drain from their hydraulic cranes just to make the gag work). Then, to capture the action on the “other side” of the mirror, poor Lisa Blount had to swim submerged in a darkened swimming pool while an underwater camera shot upward at the glimmering surface. I include these technical details not only to express awe at Carpenter’s commitment (along with that of his collaborators), but also to stress the obvious: The mirror climax was really important to him. The movie’s final seconds are the whole of Prince of Darkness’s reflexivity in a single cut: Brian, woken from a double dream, approaches his bedroom mirror. We see from the perspective of the glass. He touches that porn ’stache tentatively, then reaches out. Cut to black.
It’s not easy to touch that mirror—to walk away from everything you’ve labored to achieve over years, to a place where it’s just you and your talent and what you can do. To me, that’s what Prince of Darkness expresses, subtly. Creatively, the experiment worked: It led directly to Carpenter’s 1988 stealth masterpiece They Live, his most confident political statement and a kindred project in its use of real L.A. locations. That film’s critical reputation has already been defended at large. But maybe it’s time to rally behind the moment slightly earlier, when the director had to rediscover who he was, and what he wanted—and when he found a way to turn everything around.
#john carpenter#halloween#prince of darkness#the thing#they live#horror film#produced and abandoned#demon#big trouble in little china#assault on precinct 13#joshua rothkopf#oscilloscope laboratories#o-scope labs#film writing#musings
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[TEASER #5 & 6 UPDATED!] SVT 2017 “Alone/Al1″ Project Prime Number Deductions
If you’re interested in the explanations of the prime numbers, click the “Read more”!
[UPDATED with explanation of TEASER #5 (WOOZI) AND TEASER #6 (JUN) as of May 13th, 04:13 KST]
[To be updated with every new teaser]
This is the format I will be following to explain the hints found in every member’s teaser, their prime number and why the hint links to the answer:
MEMBER: “[The phrase and hint on their teaser]”
• The answer to their prime number
• Why it is the answer to their prime number
1. VERNON: “One less than a revolution”
Vernon’s prime number: 359
Reason: A full “revolution” is represented by the number 360, and “one less” obviously means subtract one (1) of something. From this, we can deduce that this phrase is a hint to subtract 1 from 360. If we reform this into an equation, the hint essentially becomes 360 – 1. 360 – 1 = 359, and 359 is a prime number. Therefore, 359 is Vernon’s prime number. In the teaser, the most obvious evidence to this prime number was the compass, where the needle was swinging wildly and the “north” of the compass was labelled as 359. The abundance of windmills (that spin in “full revolution”) can also be considered as hints to the prime number.
2. JEONGHAN: "Somebody said it means imperfection and danger”
Jeonghan’s prime number: 11
Reason: As illustrated in the Bible, the number 11 is associated with all things negative. In Biblical numerology, 11 stands for chaos, evil, sin, transgression, destruction, and - as the phrase says - 11 means imperfection and danger, which is why 11 is Jeonghan’s prime number. The most obvious evidence pointing to this prime number was Jeonghan crossing out the dates on the calendar and crossing out day 11 of the month with a red marker, as opposed to the previous 10 days being crossed out in a black marker.
[If you’re wondering if there’s any evidence that shows how the number 11 is a symbol of imperfection and danger, here’s some more context for you: It’s a number said to be somehow coincidentally linked with many devastating events in both the Bible and in modern times. Examples in the Bible include the 11 dukes of Edom that were constantly at war with Israel and the 11 sons of Jacob that disintegrated their family relationship. Examples in modern times include 9/11 and the 9.0-9.1 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Tōhoku, Japan on March 11th of 2011.]
3. MINGYU: “Another chapter of my life began since I met you”
Mingyu’s prime number: 2
Reason: Based on the phrase’s hint alone, the number 2 can be deduced simply because the word “another” indicates one more of something or someone that is already mentioned. In the context of this case, it would be an additional chapter to Mingyu’s life because of meeting “you”. In numerical terms, since “another” means “one more” (1+), then that means the minimum number to qualify as an equivalent for the word “another” would be 2. It is also the only definite number that can be associated with the word “another” because “another” can mean any number beyond 1. Therefore, 2 is Mingyu’s prime number. Mingyu’s teaser displayed a lot of symmetrical shots, and there were clearly two of many things: two clocks pointing to 2 o’clock, two windows, two photos of two people, two armchairs, two bitten apples, two oil lamps, two Mingyus.
4. DK: “In the place thirteen pieces can be completed”
DK’s prime number: 3733
Reason: The hint can be confusing considering the word “thirteen” is included in the hint itself, and 13 is a prime number. However, the key to understanding DK’s prime number lies in the word “completed”. Referring to the Bible and Biblical numerology once again, the numbers 3 and 7 are the first and second numbers of the Bible’s first four spiritually perfect numerals. Both numbers are representative of completeness and perfection. The number 3 itself can also be seen as a reference to Jesus’ resurrection on the third day, suggesting that Seventeen is “resurrecting” through this project (or, as the boys said, “debuting again” with a new and improved side). In addition to this, the use of three 3s can be seen as a reference to the New Testament that has 27 books. 27 books in numerical terms mean 3 x 3 x 3, or completeness to the third power. The use of one 7 can also be considered an inference to God’s creative work (since God created the world in 7 days), an implication that Seventeen’s upcoming project will embody divinity and absolute perfection. Based on these meanings and hints that can be derived from the teaser, it’s clear why DK’s prime number is 3733. The most obvious evidence pointing to this number is the time being continuously shown on DK’s stopwatch - 37:33. It should also be noted that every time he finishes a lap and stops running at the same place he started, the stopwatch ends at 37:33, indicating that the spot he stops at may very well be “the place thirteen pieces can be completed”.
5. WOOZI: “All the questions in the world can be answered in one definitive answer”
Woozi’s prime number: 4643
Reason: Before delving into any explanations, what needs to be established is that “all the questions in the world” is probably not inclusive of questions that we can answer without much problem. The “questions” that the hint is most likely referring to are probably the “big” questions concerning life, universe, God, etc.; questions that no one seems to have the answers to, is embodied by “one definitive answer” in the form of a prime number (at least, it is according to whoever made this hint). In the case of this prime number, there isn’t really any specific clue that points to a particular number or set of numbers. That’s what makes this really complicated. And really really long. There’s also the fact that 4643 isn’t really a number that’s associated with much of anything. However, based on the previous teasers, we can infer that this prime number probably also has religious connotations, so let’s look at the numbers separately first:
As mentioned before in the reason of DK’s prime number, the number 3 is a spiritually perfect number that stands for completeness and perfection. 4 is a number that derives its meaning from creation because, on the fourth day of creation week, God had brought the sun, moon and stars into existence. The hint on the teaser talks about “all the questions in the world” being answered by this one number, and the answer of God being the creator of the universe would, if true, be a definitive answer to at least half the questions in the world (or more specifically, the half seeking answers to the phenomenon that is the universe and the answers to the question of whether or not a God exists). Because of this, 4 - the number of physical creation - makes sense as a part (technically two parts since there are two 4s) of the number 4643. The two 4s in this “one definitive answer” embody the truth to “the questions in the world” regarding God and His existence.
Moving onto the number 6: the number that stands for human weakness, Satan’s evil, and the manifestation of sin. On the sixth day of creation week, God made man, which is why 6 is the number of man. If a good portion of the questions in the world are concerned with the existence of God and making sense of the universe, then another portion is probably about ethics, morality and human nature. Questions about why so many bad things happen in the world, why humans are the way they are, etc. etc., these questions would be answered with the number 6 that contains the truth to the “questions in the world” regarding Man and their nature.
The last number involved is one of the four spiritually perfect numerals that was explained earlier on. 3, being one of the numbers that appear the most in the Bible, can be a reference to many Biblical events or symbolic meanings illustrated in the Bible. However, in the context of this teaser and the hint, the number 3 takes on a different meaning. In the Bible’s very last book - the Book of Revelation - the very last line describes God as a Being “which is, and which was, and which is to come” (1:4). This clearly points to God being the “definitive answer” to the past, the present, and the future; therefore, the number 3 is the answer to the “questions in the world” regarding Time.
“But why 4643 and not 463? Isn’t 463 a prime number too? What’s the purpose of the extra 4?” is what most of you might ask, but there is a double meaning to the number 4643. 4 + 6 + 4 + 3 = 17, in which another Biblical reference can be found. The number 17 obviously represents the boys, and in the Bible, it also represents “complete victory” (which is probably reflective of what the boys want out of this comeback); but here, it means something greater. One of the most significant meanings to the number 17 is that when Love is mentioned for the 17th time in the first book of Corinthians, the apostle Paul states that it is the greatest gift of all. What is more interesting is that not only is the number 17 tied to Love, this is stated on the 13th chapter and the 13th verse of 1 Corinthians. (I find it really hard to be a coincidence, I’m just saying. 13 members, and the group name is 17. And there’s nothing but love between Seventeen and Carats. And in the Bible, love - the greatest gift of all - is mentioned for the 17th time on the 13th chapter and 13th verse.)
“And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
Tl;dr, God, Man, Time and Love are the ultimate answers to “all the questions in the world”. Combined as one definitive answer in the form of a prime number, that is how Woozi’s prime number 4643 came to be. The hints in the teaser are glaringly obvious, but its purpose of its inclusion is confusing until the numbers make sense. The books all spread out on the floor and the math book Woozi was reading in the beginning are references to the scientific and mathematic questions trying to make sense of the universe. The shot of pouring rain, the light (bulb), and the water, as well as the sound of waves (?) are references to questions regarding nature and the phenomena of the universe. The quick flashes of words such as “rewind”, “pause”, “stop” are references to questions regarding time. It all seems like a bunch of shots randomly thrown in the same teaser, but it becomes clear that these shots were examples of and references to “all the questions in the world”.
6. JUN: “As the door opened, I was faced with the new destiny”
Jun’s prime number: 1013
Reason: Considering how Biblical numerology played a large role in the symbolism of the first five prime numbers, it would be natural to begin theorizing the meaning of Jun’s prime number by using Biblical numerology. However, when considering what the numbers within 1013 represent in the Bible (1, 3, 10, 13), the prime number makes little to no sense, especially with the hint of this teaser. So, I then looked at Bible verses to see if any of them were from chapter 10 and verse 13 that explicitly or implicitly mentioned doors. And sure enough, in the first book of Corinthians - the same book of the Bible that was looked at earlier for Woozi’s teaser - a “door” is implied in the 13th verse of the 10th chapter. This is what the verse reads:
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)
The “door” in the hint, then, becomes a clear metaphor for “the way out” that God will always provide. In addition to this, it should be noted that the number of times that a door opens within the teaser is three, which is a direct reference to the Biblical meaning of the number 3: completeness. The significance of three doors being opened, combined with the Bible verse, conveys a meaning that the journey to “the way out” from temptation has been completed, hence the latter clause “I was faced with the new destiny”, though what this “new destiny” contains is left for viewers to guess. As for what the “temptation” is in the teaser’s context, based on Joshua’s voicemail, it’s likely that the urge to see someone again is the “temptation” in the teaser. Joshua asks the question “will we see each other again?” and pauses before letting out a rather dejected “no, nevermind... bye” and ending his voicemail. In the voicemail, his tone (coupled with Jun’s staring at the letter in his hand) indicates longing and a temptation to do something about the feeling. This journey from being tempted to “the new destiny” is what Jun’s prime number 1013 means.
The clue that makes the connection between Jun’s prime number and the Bible verse in the Corinthians is obvious but can be easily missed as it appears for only a few seconds at the beginning of the video. The painting hanging on the wall depicts five men, four of which are sitting down. There is a wine bottle on the table, and though it is somewhat blurry and unclear, it looks like two of the men - second man from the left and first man from the right - are smoking. If we relate 1 Corinthians 10:13 with this picture, it can be inferred that the “temptations” are alcohol and smoking, and “the way out” provided by God are the open doors one man is standing at the doorway of. As the Bible verse states, “[God] will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear”, and opens the doors to the way out as wide as possible to make the decision of whether or not to succumb to temptation or endure it as easy as possible.
#seventeen#svt#17#seventeen project#2017 seventeen project#s.coups#seungcheol#choi seungcheol#jeonghan#yoon jeonghan#joshua#joshua hong#jisoo#hong jisoo#jun#junhui#wen junhui#hoshi#soonyoung#kwon soonyoung#wonwoo#jeon wonwoo#woozi#jihoon#lee jihoon#dk#dokyeom#seokmin#lee seokmin#mingyu
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deluge
Summary: Gristoph Delorn is one with the mud, but Bunny McCormick says otherwise. Kyan just wants Creek to get a clue, and Dipper just wants to get some sleep.
Prompt: Mud - South Park gets a lot of snow, and naturally, when the snow melts, mud appears. Does your muse hate getting dirty or actually love it? Are there siblings or kids to play in it with? Do they end up stuck in it somehow? How annoying is it when a friend or family member tracks it all in the house for your muse to worry about cleaning later? Ugh, gross.
Words: 1578
Additonal Notes: Twaig belongs to @lonelyopal! Thanks for allowing me to use her for this!
Link is in the title if you wish to read it on AO3!
“Out!”
“No!”
“OUT!”
“I already told you, NO!”
Kyan Marshlovski’s right eye twitched in irritation.
It had already been around half an hour, and already he had grown tired of the arguing that was currently going on between one of the tallest in their friend group, Gristoph Delorn, and the shortest in their friend group, Bunny McCormick. The former was currently stretched out on the lawn of the Delorn-Sinclair home - his house, coincidentally - and was currently taking what could only be described as a mud bath, but of the cruder variety. He’d seen mud baths before - actual mud baths, like the ones in spas; Aunt Shelly had taken him to work once to see how it worked - , but this was just ridiculous.
Bunny, on her end, was furiously clutching a hose connected to the nearest tap - one that Kyan knew Mr. Sinclair always used to water the garden and the lawn. By the tap, Dipper Thorn was dozing in a patch of sunlight, the beams hitting his blond-and-black hair in such a way that his more angelic attributes became more prominent. The poor boy hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, no thanks to the rather thin walls of his room, and the fact that his fathers’ room had been right next door...
Kyan immediately took that thought, locked it in a chest, and mentally threw it out to sea, never to see it again. He did not want to think about Prof. Pirrup and Mr. Thorn in that way. At all.
“You will get out of that mud, Gris,” Bunny threatened. “Or so help me, Satan won’t know what to do with you when I’m through with you.”
In his sleep, Dipper sneezed, and he shifted, leaning against a nearby bush before falling deeper into slumber again.
Eyes still closed, Gristoph grunted in disinterest as he stretched out his arms and legs, covering both in the mud. Kyan could feel Creek Tweak-Tucker tense next to him, his grip on his thermos tightening, and immediately, one of his hands found their way to his arm, patting it reassuringly. His best friend didn’t really like the mud, having had a pretty bad experience with it when they were younger - said event had somehow involved Candy Cartman, a potato, and a rocket launcher, but that is a story for another day - , so his reaction was, honestly, completely justified.
Bunny’s scowl darkened, and Kyan noted that it looked terribly out of place on her adorable little face. “Gris!”
“What?” was the taller boy’s bored reply.
“Get out of the mud!”
“No.”
“T-this is going to take forever to resolve,” Creek grumbled, wishing that he was anywhere but here. Hell, even dealing with his little sister Twaig would have been better than watching Bunny and Gristoph act like an old married couple.
Kyan sighed, leaning his head on his best friend’s shoulder tentatively. When it didn’t look like Creek had picked up on the hidden meaning behind his action, he sighed again, but chose to let it be. Creek may have been the most high-alert person in the world, but he was, for lack of a better term, so fucking dense when it came to his own best friend’s blatant crush on him.
Hell, even Twaig had picked up on it a year or so ago, and had resorted to consistently telling her brother about it, right in front of Kyan himself.
Not that he believed her about it, of course, Kyan thought sullenly. He’s as dense as a brick!
Every fucking time Twaig had told Creek about Kyan’s crush on him, Kyan had turned a bright red, and every fucking time, Creek had dismissed her ‘claims’. While it was great that their best friendship was in no way tarnished, it was pretty grating seeing him dismiss the concept time and time again.
But that is a story for another day.
“GRISTOPH!”
“No amount of yelling will convince me to get out, Bun-Bun,” Gristoph mumbled, using his friend’s childhood nickname, mostly to get under her skin. He was the only one who ever called her that nowadays, and it always got her steaming. Cracking open one forest green eye, he gave her a tiny smirk. “I am one with the mud, and there is nothing you can do about it.”
“One with the mud, my butt!” Bunny shrieked, and Kyan winced. She definitely picked that up from Candy. “You are filthy!”
“I’ve always been filthy.”
“Not this kind of filthy!” She gestured wildly to his clothes, which were now dirtied with mud. “I know your dad is always covered in dirt and digging around, but you don’t need to follow in his footsteps like this!”
Gristoph opened his other eye. “I like the mud.”
“And I like a clean Gristoph!” Bunny threw her hands up in the air. “I’m not letting one of my good friends walk around caked in mud.”
Gristoph stared at her for a moment, and then, as a response, he flopped over on his stomach, effectively covering the front of his shirt with mud.
Silence.
Creek and Kyan shared a look. Both their faces read, “Oh, fuck me.”
“Oh, that is it!” Bunny whirled around. “DIPPER!”
The son of the Antichrist snored. Loudly.
“Oh boy, here we go,” Creek grumbled.
“DIPPER!”
Dipper’s mismatched red and blue eyes flew open, glowing bright red, and suddenly-
SPLAT!
The mud went flying in all directions, commandeered by Dipper’s self-defense mechanism.
“FUCK!” Creek swore loudly, standing up and staring at his jacket and shirt, which were now splattered with mud, his thermos long abandoned on the grass. Kyan remained seated, staring in fear at the mud on his clothes, with only one thought in mind. Mom-Dad’s going to kill me.
Gristoph, on his end, sat up, observing the mess that was Creek and Kyan’s clothes. He was about to apologize - he was one with the mud, it was only fitting he apologize on its behalf - when out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Bunny.
Bunny, covered head to toe in mud.
He couldn’t help it. He laughed out loud.
He realized his mistake far too late, however, because by the time he had covered his mouth to stifle his laughter, Bunny had stalked over to the tap, twisted it open, and aimed the hose at Gristoph’s chest. Dipper wisely moved away as a deluge attacked Gristoph, propelling the taller boy straight into the nearest tree.
“I yield, I yield!” Gristoph yelled over the rush of water.
Bunny turned the tap some more. “What was that? I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of the water!”
“I SAID I YIELD, FUCKING HELL!” Gristoph hollered, now on the verge of getting pissed off.
With a satisfied smile, Bunny lessened the flow of water coming from the hose and aimed it at herself to clean herself off, and as she did so, Gristoph grouchily pried himself away from the tree he had crashed into, now sopping wet.
“Creek?”
Kyan froze, and looked up to meet the eyes of Creek’s curious younger sister, Twaig. Oh, son of a bitch, what’s she doing here?
“What’re you doing here, Twaig?” Creek stared at her. “Aren’t you supposed to be at Ikarus’s house?”
“I was, but he took Rin home,” Twaig shook her head before her brow furrowed in concern. “Why are you covered in mud?”
Creek turned his gaze sharply to Dipper, who was currently in the process of drawing an upside down pentagram portal back to Hell in the grass, trying to make an escape. Following his line of sight, Twaig stared at the son of the Antichrist, and made a faint ‘oh’ sound in realization before telling him, “You know Tweek’s not going to be happy about this, right?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Creek groaned before turning to Kyan. “I gotta go, Ky. Duty calls.”
“What duty?” Kyan asked him.
The tall blond gave his sister a glance. “Sister duty.”
“Oh, boo, just kiss your boyfriend goodbye already, we don’t have all day!” Twaig waggled her eyebrows at Kyan, who turned as red as a tomato as he stammered, “T-T-TWAIG!”
Creek rolled his eyes before giving his younger sister a noogie, making her whine in protest. “Whatever, Twaig. See you ‘round, Ky. Still up for movie night this Friday?”
“Huh? Oh, uh, y-yeah, that’d be great!” Kyan was babbling, he knew he was. “So it’s a date, then?” NO IT’S NOT YOU FUCKING IDIOT WHY DID YOU SAY THAT-
“It’s a date,” Creek agreed, smiling at him, and then and there, Kyan melted.
It didn’t even matter that Bunny was hosing Gristoph down behind him, or that Dipper had made his escape to his bedroom in Hell, or that he was still covered in mud. As Creek walked away, all Kyan could think of was that he had the nicest goddamn smile in the whole wide world.
When he came home later on, Kyle had been about to chastise him when he saw the look in his eyes, and, at the sight of it, he had wisely kept silent. It was only when Stan glanced at their son that he deigned to ask Kyle about it.
“Something’s up with Kyan,” were his opening lines.
Kyle smiled. “Dude. He’s in love, that’s what’s up.”
“... It’s Creek, isn’t it.”
“I’m at least 99% sure it is.”
Stan, despite himself, grinned. “I call dibs on telling Craig.”
“Then I’m telling Tweek,” Kyle agreed.
#south park#spdrabblebomb#bunny mccormick#gristoph delorn#kyan marshlovski#creek tweak-tucker#creek tweak tucker#twaig tucker#dipper percival thorn#classo's fanfics
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NEW TESTAMENT CRITIQUE הברית החדשה (Reply 2 one for israel jews for jes...
COMMENTARY:
The problem with Rabbi Skobak's straw man argument at 19:58 is that, number one, God isn't limited to the puny mechanisms of the Talmud and. number 2, resurrection is the mechanism God employed to signify the arrival of the Messiah.
God could have done a number of things, including speaking directly to the Hebrews in Jerusalem in a manner approved by Rabbi Skobak, but, speaking only for myself, I don't believe Rabbi Skobak speaks for God. To make the claims he does, Rabbi Skobak, is to use the name of the Lord for his own purposes.
God spoke to all of mankind with resurrection because the Hebrews continue to refuse to speak to anyone else but those who speak Hebrew (or Aramaic as the case may be). Resurrection cuts through all the babble of language, entirely. It's existential, not doctrine.
And the people who listened were the Romans. The Gospel of Mark was wroditten by Cornelius, the Roman centurion featured in Acts 10, a God Fearer who had begun a rountine surveillance file on Jesus when He appeared above the Roman military horizon as a potential Zealot/Jihadist when He was baptized. Cornelius had a personal acquaintance with Jesus through the Capernaum synagogue and Jairus. Jesus performed the first long distance healing for Cornelius's servant in Matthew 8 and the textual evidence is that Matthew was an eyewitness to the encounter. And this surveillance file became the Q Source that all four Gospels depend upon to frame their narrative. A Roman source as contemporary to the time as, say, the sources for Schindler's List in our time. The Gospel of Mark is less history in the modern Hegelian sense of the word as modern journalism in the Truman Capote "In Cold Blood" sense of the word.
The Gospel of Matthew is the outlier of the four Gospels, a Judaizer polemic in the Jews for Judaism tradition, explaining why God's intention was for all men to be circumcised in order to respond to the direct intervention of God into history. And, of course, Matthew connects all the theological dots that Mark captures coincidentally in his narrative but, because he is a God Fearer and not a foreskin free practicing Hebrew generally unschooled in the Talmud because it is not necessary to be schooled in the Talmud to recognize the hand of God when resurrection pre-empts all the puny mechanisms and traditions of a moribund blood-sacrifice Temple business model Rabbi Skobak is frantic to justify, if only for job security.
At 24:15, Rebbi doubles down on his "mechanisms of God" strawman complaining that the Roman Cornelius didn't capture the purposeful message of resurrection in Hebrew but in Greek, The fact is, Mark was probably originally transmitted up the chain of command in Latin to the Praetorian Guards in Rome and the current coarse Greek is a translation from Latin to the coine Greek of the Roman barracks. John Mark, the publisher of The Gospel of Mark in Alexandria, added several elements (in particular, the parenthetical statement in Mark 7:19, the reference to Job in Mark 15:28. the details of Jesus' Passion in Gethsemane, his own naked escape from the Temple guards and the editorial post script of 16:20).
The Gospel of Mark exists because God's mechanism of resurrection obviously surmounts the secular mechanisms of the Jewish laws and traditions. It is completed around 40 and is at least the second in a series of intelligence reports from Palestine to Rome concerning this unexpected phenomena of resurrection. Tertullian records that Tiberius proposed elevating Jesus to the status of legal deity based on intelligence from Palestine sometime before his death in 37. The mechanism of God for bringing Peter and Cornelius together should satisfy the honest inquiries of a person familiar with protocols of prophecy.
Acts began as a amicus brief for Paul's defense in Rome and then is apparently expanded by the desk officer for the Jesus file in the Praetorian Guard to revisit the Gospel of Mark beginning with an interview with Cornelius and access to both the Q Source and all the living players in the Gospel of Mark and Matthew. Theophilus is the operational name for either the Jesus file in Rome or the desk officer who, arguably, becomes the author of Hebrews, which is the manifesto for the Roman Christian Church. The 13 epistles of Paul, especially Romans, is the new cloth of the New Testament that has torn away from the old cloth of the Talmud.
The Gospel of Matthew is written by Levi, the publican disciple of the original Apostles. Matthew remains in the employ of Herod and is the mole who supplies the red verses in the Christian bible of the sayings of Jesus. As I say, Matthew is a Judaizer polemic that opposes Paul's mandate to the gentiles.
John Mark is the author of The Gospel of John. It is the last gospel written, It was begun while Peter was still alive and Paul was in Rome, so, by 64, but is the only Gospel completed after the fall of Jerusalem. It is the most Jewish narrative of the Gospels, but it is also a companion to the Gospel of Mark, They both begin when Jesus appears above the Roman military horizon and converge at Chapter 6 in both books with the feeding of the 5,000 and in Chapter 11 in both books: Lazarus is raised on Palm Sunday after Jesus has surveyed theTemple the day before He scourges the money chambers out of that precinct. By the time John Mark writes The Gospel of John, he has established the first Christian publishing house in Alexandria and he imports Philo's mid-Platonic "logos" into Christian theology. The Gospel of John is the most Jewish of the Gospels, Matthew notwithstanding, because John Mark's narrative is suffused with the celebration of Passover of a boy before Christmas, so to speak. While Mark's chronology is rigid in the military manner, John Mark's description of the Passover Week is probably the more accurate because Cornelius's grasp of Jewish festivals was sketchy (which is why John Mark added the explication in Mark 7:19).
John Mark was something of a mascot for the 12 Disciples and the Disciple Jesus loved. He was young enough to not be a threat to the Roman guard mount in charge of Jesus' execution. He was probably no more than 15 and small in stature. He first meets Jesus at the Canaan wedding where Jesus changes water into wine and he is shocked by the coup de grace of the Roman guard that brings forth water and blood from Jesus' lungs.
John Mark did not witness the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday nor the events in the Temple the following few days before The Last Supper: he was in Bethany with his mother and Martha and Mary. His arrangement of the scourging in the Temple at the beginning of his narrative reflects both his absence from the Palm Sunday parade and his desire to emphasize the resurrection of Lazarus as the proximate cause of the arrest of Jesus and the fulfillment of The Satan's wager for Jesus's soul from the Temptation, a reprise of the wagering between God and The Satan in Job. As an epic of Homeric significance, the entire narrative of the Bible comes to a focus in John 11:35, the instant the Old Covenant is superceded by the New Testament to be introduced by the mechanism of resurrection and to be edorsed and validated by the destruction of Jerusalem set into motion by the denial of Jesus by crucifixion. Like Pharaoh and Jews for Judaism, God hardened the hearts of the Sanducees that delivered Jesus to the Romans on perjured charges.
Resurrection is God's mechanism of validation for the New Testament. The Romans understood its meaning and purpose: Jews for Judaism, not so much.
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[Exclusive Interview] Aislinn Clarke talks THE DEVIL’S DOORWAY, Horror and Stephen King
There are many things to love about Aislinn Clarke. She is the very first woman to direct a feature-length horror film from Northern Ireland. She’s a huge Stephen King fan. She’s a lifelong, dedicated horror fanatic and The Devil’s Doorway is her feature directorial debut. The film was picked up by IFC Midnight and is a shining example of how to do a found footage film right. Set in 1960, the film tells the tale of two Catholic priests who are sent to a Magdalene Laundry to investigate a reported miracle. What the priests uncover is more than either one of them could have ever imagined. You can find my full review of the film here.
Aislinn was kind enough to discuss all these things and more with me from her home in Ireland. She will definitely be a director to watch so read on to learn a bit more about this fascinating woman, The Devil’s Doorway, and which Stephen King story she would like to tell.
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Rachel Prin for Nightmare On Film Street: Congratulations on your first feature film! The Devil’s Doorway is officially out in the world has been getting a lot of positive words surrounding it. As this is your debut feature film, what has this whole experience been like for you?
Aislinn Clarke: Well, I feel pretty good because it’s done and it’s out there. It’s a long hard process getting a film made and I think going into it you don’t even know how hard it’s going to be. I think it probably is for films that everybody makes and it’s kind of like giving birth to a child, and I have done that. It’s a longer and more difficult thing than you think it’s going to be, but there’s a great sense of achievement when it’s done. Looking back it’s probably the same for most people who are in this line of work you think ‘Oh I would have done this slightly differently’ or ‘I would have done that maybe differently’ but you get to a point where everybody is happy and the film gets out there and then you just kind of have to look forward to the next thing.
NOFS: The film is set in 1960 in a Magdalene Laundry. The juxtaposition of historical fact with the story really worked well together in this film. Why did you feel compelled to integrate this part of history into The Devil’s Doorway?
AC: I’ve been interested in Magdalene Laundries for a long time. I was aware of them even since childhood. My father worked for a bakery and he would deliver bread to the local Magdalene Laundry and I remember him describing it as sort of a version of hell. He said, ‘That’s what hell is like.’ The girls in there sweating, working so hard, they all look so miserable because it’s so hot and steam is running down the walls. So, even since childhood I’d always been interested. I used to make documentaries and that’s what I started doing coming out of University. I was researching for a documentary on Magdalene Laundries and spoke to a number of survivors and people whose mothers had been in Laundries. So, I’d done a bunch of research and for years it’s something that I’ve been very aware of.
Then, quite coincidentally, The Devil’s Doorway started as kind of a one page project that two producer and co-writers had this idea that they wanted to make a horror film that was a very different one. Set in modern day, in an abandoned laundry, found footage, but shot on Go-Pros, so a completely different project. Something more like [REC] or Grave Encounters. They spoke to a couple different directors, but I said, ‘I wouldn’t do it like that at all.’ I think it’s a great idea to do a horror film in a Magdalene Laundry, to make a political or social comment on the situation, but I think found footage is really tired. There’s so much of it and people tend to roll their eyes when they hear found footage and don’t even give it a chance any more. So I said, ‘What if we make it period found footage? Set in 1960, that’s the high point for these places where they were more prolific. That way it’ll have this period aesthetic and it’ll give it a fresh feel and also set it up at the high point of real human drama.’ All good horror has a center of real human drama. They could have said, no that’s not what we want to do, but they came back and said ‘Yeah, that sounds great’ and that’s where it went.
NOFS: The film was partially shot on 16mm film and this choice added a layer of authenticity, believability and an aesthetic that truly added to the overall story. What has been your experience with some of these older techniques and why did you choose to film your film this way?
AC: I’ve worked with film my entire film making life, ever since I went to film school. The film school I went to was really mostly academic, which was incredibly useful actually in terms of learning the language of cinema and stuff like that, but it wasn’t very practical. But I was making films myself, on an old Super 8 camera that I had so I made a lot of 8mm films. I’ve been editing my own 8mm films for years and doing it in the old-fashioned tactile way. Then, myself and the DP, together we had made some 35mm shorts, so we were both pretty experienced working with film and it seemed like the natural choice. I think if you’ve worked with film as much as we have, you can really see the difference, and I think it really shows in this film and people really accept it.
We had to convince the producers that it was worthwhile. Obviously they’re going to be a bit nervous about spending money on film when you can do things digitally, but we really really felt that we couldn’t just put a filter on it and expect it to sell. Even people who don’t know much about the difference between the two mediums can tell. It just feels more real when you look at it. So, we did screen tests on film and screen tests digitally and they agreed that it was enough of a difference to be worthwhile. We compromised and agreed that anything that needed SFX we would shoot digitally so that we’d have more room in post production to manipulate that. For me, it was the natural thing to do. If you’re making a found footage film set in 1960, they would have shot it on 16mm. To really sell the aesthetic, which is such a big part of found footage, and giving it a sense of being a real document, we had to go that extra mile.
“All good horror has a center of real human drama.”
NOFS: Along the same lines, the buildings were truly beautiful and haunting. Where was the film shot and how did you come across these locations?
AC: Well, we had our art designer, John Leslie, who is fantastic. I think he knows every nook and cranny of Ireland and these were places that I’d never been to before, but he had. There were two main locations that we used. One of them was an old house that had belonged to Lord Craig Abbot that hadn’t been lived in since the 1930’s, and had then been a hospital during the war for soldiers. I think it has been used for shooting other things in the past. Part of it was used for World War Z, and then we used this disused linen mill in the middle of the country side. That worked for the laundry because it had a lot of the same equipment that you would need for big sheets of material and it had been used for The Frankenstein Chronicles and the TV show Penny Dreadful. So John, is really excellent. He was able to pull them off the top of his head, and they were just the right kind of feel and tone for us.
NOFS: As this is a found footage film, a score is a delicate thing and I thought the music was really beautiful, minimal and well executed. What was your approach to sound design and more specifically in regards to the film’s score?
AC: I’ve done a lot of sound work; audio theater, sound installations, and things like that in my theater work, so it’s an area that I’m pretty familiar with. I think, well I know, that I would have chosen to not have a score in the film at all cause I felt like it would have felt more like an authentic document. And I wanted to use more of the diegetic sounds of the place; girls in the place singing (which we have a little bit at the end), and sounds and music that would be organic in that place. While I think the music is great, Andrew McAllister who did the score is fantastic, but from the beginning I just would have preferred to not have a score. I would have wanted a lot more space, sound of wind, creaking, thunderstorms outside, but everything is a compromise and the producers were really keen to have a score. So, I worked with Andrew and the score that he wrote was, as much as possible, has a tone of things that would be diegetic. We tried to keep it to instruments that you might find in a convent and a lot of female voices. We got a bunch of singers into a studio for a day to do some satanic chanting, and some mild abandon singing. That wasn’t really scored as much as it was just felt, and we used that in various parts of the score. They did something similar in The Witch I think. As much as possible we tried to give it the texture of belonging rather than being external to film.
“It’s about the real evil things that people do in the real world. And that’s the moment in the film that’s not a documentary, but it could be. Girls were brutalized.”
NOFS: There’s one scene involving Kathleen that stuck with me long after the film was over, and also I think, speaks to some other shots throughout the film. There’s a lot of lead up to the culmination of her pregnancy and when she finally does give birth the focus is all on her face. What you see is a terrified, pained woman, but what you don’t see and what you hear is more terrifying. Reminded me a lot of Rosemary’s Baby in that way. Why did you choose to approach this important scene in such a way? And can you speak a little bit on the idea that sometimes showing less is more in horror?
AC: That’s my favorite film in the scene actually. I think Lauren (Coe) did a really great job performing that and we shot it for quite a long time. It was really kind of exhausting and physically demanding and as an actress she did an amazing job. For me, from the very beginning, it was one of the first things that I envisioned for the film. That’s sort of the crux, and for me is the worst part of the film because women did have brutal births and that really happened. So while you might find other moments in the film to be really scary, they’re supernatural and they’re not really real. This cut feels like it is really real. The reason that I chose to just stay on her face is because I think the audience is used to seeing. And in a way it’s distancing. They’re used to seeing and can kind of tune out and it can become a passive thing. Where if you show them things they’re not used to seeing, their mind has to search it out. It’s more of an active process and that makes it more horrifying. Your mind can horrify you more than I ever can.
There’s something about the close up that forces you to empathize. And as it goes on, uncomfortably long, it’s even better. That is different to being scared. It’s different to being entertained. It’s more of an active process and for me that’s what the heart of the film is about. It’s about the real evil things that people do in the real world. And that’s the moment in the film that’s not a documentary, but it could be. Girls were brutalized. And right up to my mother’s generation and beyond, women had episiotomies that left them disabled for life. And that’s not even in laundries, in Ireland, that’s a Catholic State issue. It has to do with caesarean sections being basically illegal because they reduce the amount of pregnancies you can have. So instead, the pelvic bone ligament was severed and it would never repair. It’s brutal and painful and I really just wanted to express that moment in a way that’s uncompromising. If you show everything, it makes it more passive. I wanted them to really think about it.
NOFS: It’s clear that horror is a genre near and dear to your heart. Who are some other directors that have inspired you or what have been some films that have really had an impact on you and your choice to pursue film making in the genre?
AC: I’ve been a horror fan since I was a little kid. I’m the youngest of four, and my dad was a massive horror fan. Our Friday nights would be all about going to the video store and picking out a scary movie. He would kind of censor them. Anything that was sexual, he’d make me leave the room and then come back in. I saw The Exorcist when I was about 7, but I didn’t see the crucifix scene if you know what I’m talking about, but I saw the head spinning and the pea soup. Like most horror fans I watch everything; good, bad and in between. My favorite horror film is Rosemary’s Baby, probably my favorite film of all time. I love Repulsion as well, Don’t Look Now. Hereditary really messed me up for days. I had such strange nightmares, but I really thought it was great.
NOFS: You are the first woman in Northern Ireland to write and direct a feature-length horror film. How do you view progress of more women being involved in the horror film making process and where do you think the future of women in horror is heading?
AC: That’s an interesting question. I think there’s a lot of really good horror coming from women recently and I think that’s the start of a wave. It’s not going to stop and there’s just going to be more and more. I’m a judge for the Women in Horror Film Festival in Atlanta, and we get such good work in from women that I don’t know and women that I am familiar with. I think, traditionally, there’s been a perception that women don’t like horror movies. There’s just kind of a cultural assumption that they don’t, and part of that is reinforced by movies ironically. We’ve been telling horror stories as long as we’ve been telling stories. It’s a real mechanism for unpacking trauma and thinking about our human experience. I think women have always been a part of that and it’s just in recent years that it’s become more understood and mainstream that it’s something women are really into. And because women are getting more access into making films at all, there’s just more of them making horror films as a result of that. It’s good for every genre to have fresh perspectives and it enriches the scene for everybody. The more variety we have perspectives to, the more material we’re going to get that really makes you think and that resonates.
“I think, traditionally, there’s been a perception that women don’t like horror movies. There’s just kind of a cultural assumption that they don’t, and part of that is reinforced by movies ironically.”
NOFS: I gotta be honest, I read on your Twitter that you are a big Stephen King fan and I’m curious…if you had the option to take your pick of any Stephen King property to adapt into a film, what would you choose and why?
AC: Wow, that is a really good question. I absolutely love Stephen King and I’ve loved him since I was a kid. I actually wrote him a letter when I was about 7 or 8 because I loved him so much, but I didn’t put adequate postage on it so he never would have gotten it. I particularly love his short stories. I feel like the short stories are tonally very different, from each other, and from the novels. There’s a lot of elements that tie them all together. Very often there’s the Castle Rock thing, repeated characters that are very similar, the female leads usually have a similar tone about them which is nice and familiar to return to, but I particularly love the short stories because they’re just very well crafted. I think if I was going to do something I’d love to do an anthology. I know they’re revitalizing Creepshow, that would be the most amazing thing ever to make one of those. I really love The Man in the Black Suit and it’s well thought out world. That I could see expanding and making a feature film. I’ve thought about that a lot actually. The imagery in it is really beautiful.
NOFS: What’s coming up next for you? Are there any projects that you can currently talk about?
AC: I always have a couple of plates spinning. I have several things that have been optioned by production companies. The things that are closest to being made, are a film with Fantastic Films in Dublin, called Rainy Days. It’s kind of a post-apocalyptic story that’s centered around child protagonists and an epidemic of sadness. A terrible grief that sweeps over the land and people waste away from terrible sadness basically. When we enter the story there’s very few people left and the people that are called ‘stragglers.’ They have this communicable sadness but all they want is human contact and closeness. They’re not aggressive or mean to harm anyone but they’re still scary because they bring death. The only people left in our portion of the story are a few kids, two little girls on an island lighthouse and a little boy on the mainland. He’s driving cars until he runs out of fuel and hears a signal from the girls and decides he’s going to go and find them. It’s essentially a hopeful message about humanity and community.
I also have a crime thriller series in the works. I do mostly horror, but when I don’t there’s still a dead body in it somewhere. It’s looking in good shape too, but it’ll be one or the other that I’ll be making next year.
Make sure to check out Aislinn’s latest film, The Devil’s Doorway. It’s available now in select theaters and on VOD. Let us know what you think! Head on over to our Facebook Group or Twitter.
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“Orthodox ISIL” Steers Toward the Cinema
For the first time, Christian zealots have resorted to acts of terror
Published: Sepember 6, 2017, Andrei Mel’nikov, Nezavisimaya Gazeta
When, at the beginning of this year, the mysterious organization Christian State—Holy Rus’ threatened to blow up a cinema where the film Matilda was going to be shown, many considered these warnings to be the empty chest-thumping of the marginalized. Meanwhile, the threats have continued to come, even recently. The last of them dates from August. And then it flared up for real.
Early in the morning of September 4, a man behind the wheel of a UAZ vehicle rammed into the entrance of the Cosmos cinema in Yekaterinburg. The vehicle was full of gas cylinders, and the driver, exiting the cab, threw a bottle of flammable liquid into the foyer of the movie theater. He expected the fire to engulf the vehicle and an explosion of the gas cylinder to occur. However, the fire was extinguished fairly quickly, and the attacker’s intentions did not come to fruition.
The criminal was interrogated. He said that his name is Denis Murashov, he had arrived in Yekaterinburg the night before; he had spent the entire previous day at the Church of All Saints, which is dedicated to the memory of Nicholas II, and then he “went to the movies”. The goal was the movie theater; Yekaterinburg is the city where the most striking events unfolded throughout the year-long campaign against Matilda—all of this suggests that the attack was inspired by the hysteria that blazed among opponents of the film which, in their opinion, offends the memory of the Tsar who is glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church as a martyr and saint.
Citing the attacker’s acquaintances, znak.com reported that he was against Alexei Uchitel’s film. The media investigated Murashov’s social media accounts and discovered evidence of his interest in the problems of political orthodoxy. The content analysis suggested that the man is inclined towards the marginal currents of national orthodoxy, which practice a cult of controversial saints and profess extreme intolerance towards dissent.
A week earlier, they threw bottles of flammable liquid at the St. Petersburg studio of the director of the film, a film which was controversial even before its release. The fire in the studio didn’t end up inflicting as much material damage as shifting the discussion of the film about the love affair of a Russian emperor and a ballerina from the field of verbal provocation into the sphere of illegal violence.
Many people regard the incidents in Yekaterinburg as the result of a campaign that Deputy of the State Duma and a former Prosecutor General of the Republic of Crimea Natalya Poklonskaya is waging against Uchitel’s films. This course has been marked by a number of stages, each of which opened an increasingly absurd page in the history of the development of Russian political culture. There were also appeals to the prosecutor, and prayer vigils of Orthodox activists; it got to the point when Poklonskaya, with photographs in her hands, was discussing the artistic career of the porno actor who played the role of Nicholas II. The nature of the controversy, spiraling downward into vaudeville-operatic notes, suddenly degenerated into acts of political terror.
A number of notable figures support Poklonskaya in this fight, including the priest and former functionary in the Moscow Patriarchy Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin. He dedicated a large number of speeches and remarks to the battle with Matilda. On September 4 in particular, after the incident with Cosmos movie theater, Chaplin made a post on social media in which he supports Polkonsky’s findings in the area of pornography. “Mr. Eidinger (the actor who plays the role of the Tsar—“NGR”) definitely plays with satanic symbols on his [social media] account, and tries to belittle christian symbols…” writes the priest, “Don’t tell me, then, that the choice of this actor for the role of Tsar Nicholas was coincidental. In fact, I am convinced that Matilda is an cult-mystical, satanic manipulation of Russia. Symbolic regicide. Even if not all of the filmmakers are completely aware of it”.
However, official church representation was quick to condemn Murashov’s act. On the evening of September 4 the Yekaterinburg diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church released a special statement which was published on the diocese website. “We regard the attack with attempted arson at KKC Cosmos as an unprecedented, publicly dangerous act that deserves unconditional condemnation and punishment of the perpetrator, whatever their motives may have been”, it says in the report. However, in the text, the condemnation of the crime was given much less space than was given to complaints that the believers’ opinions are being ignored and there is insufficient dialogue regarding Matilda. “We express our concerns that on the 100 year anniversary of the tragic death of the Tsar’s family, showing of works of art that divide the citizens of Russia can not be a means of building peace and mutual respect”, states the diocese. Thus, in a way, the diocese shifts responsibility for the incident onto those who defend the director’s right to free creativity.
Alexei Uchitel has accused Natalya Poklonskaya of supporting terrorists. “Before our eyes, we are seeing a new terrorist organization forming under the guise of religion, having no relation either to Russian traditions, nor to genuine Russian Orthodoxy. They are only interested in the destabilization of society, in violence and war. We know know the names of those who are behind them”, quotes the director’s press release. In his words, Poklonskaya is behind them, she “does not hide that she supports these organizations and guarantees them protection”. It is not specified which precise organizations are being discussed.
Meanwhile, the Orthodox activists from the movement Forty Times Forty, who participated in the all-Russian “prayer vigil against Matilda” on August 1 offered their protection to the director after the first attack on Uchitel’s studio. “The incident with Mr. Uchitel’s studio is a provocation designed to discredit believers who are legitimately protesting against his film “Matilda”. For us, the commandment “thou shalt not kill” is immutable”, announced the leader of the movement Andrei Kormukhin. He suggested that an attack on the director was being prepared. Uchitel refuted Forty Times Forty’s protection. “Why did they plan to guard me and from whom, from themselves?” RIA Novosti quoted Matilda’s author. Meanwhile, Orthodox activists have appointed the next “vigil” against the film for September 17. It is worth noting that almost no one has seen the film yet; the premiere will only take place in October.
This battle against a film seen by no one; and these feelings, which are outraged by the mirage of an alleged blasphemy, give the situation a kind of absurd and also sinister character. A sense is developing that the issue isn't about a specific film, but about a symptomatic psychological (so far!) execution of the so-called creative class (one could use the good old word “intelligentsia”). The case of the theater director Kirill Serebrennikov fits into this context as well. Although church-affiliated forces were not formally involved in discussions about the avant-garde director, during discussions few people invoked the nature of the corruption allegations against Serebrennikov; the conversation was in the context of the opposition of conservative aesthetics of official art to the Gogol Center. Opponents note the “immorality” and “cosmopolitanism” of the director, and proponents note the liberal rebelliousness and rejection of “spiritual bonds”.
Thus, the menacing attention of the most obscurantist forces in religious society has turned to the representatives of modern culture and—increasingly—to the intelligentsia. The intelligentsia, in turn, is disarmed by its reverence to the religious agenda, considering obscurantist displays to be the machinations of the political “regime”, and not a natural essence of religious practice. The permissiveness of the adherents’ “bonds” on one hand, and the starry-eyed illusions of the liberal opposition on the other, turn political ecclesiasticism into an ideal weapon against the creative class.
This process allows you to make what was recently considered a phantasmagoria into a true story: “Orthodox Taliban”, or the “Orthodox ISIL” (Taliban and ISIL are terrorist organizations banned in the Russian Federation- annotation NGR). Perhaps we need to remember September 4, 2017, the day when patriotic Christian zealots resorted to methods of serious, entirely un-operatic terror.
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Spreading the No longer-So-Proper News And Message
New Post has been published on https://beingmad.org/spreading-the-no-longer-so-proper-news-and-message/
Spreading the No longer-So-Proper News And Message
Part 1: Any other Gospel?
The influence of the occult upon our normal lives is awesome. An African missionary from the Mandinka tribe of West Africa, once requested a congregation a question just like that requested by means of the Apostle Paul of the Galatians. His 11-minute email messages , spoken in the mid-nineties, I will still keep in mind, as he shouted the query: “You silly People… Who has bewitched you?!”
The premise of his longer email messages changed into that, proper use of here inside the Corrector’ U.S. Of A., everywhere he regarded, he could come across the occult have an impact on. Whether it was via the media, advertisements, from the “alternative religions,” even from the pulpits of well-which means Christian ministers, what this guy became detecting was something Aside from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Crystals, guided imagery, recuperation meditation, Christian Technology, Kabbalah, Mormonism…Why has “Christian The us” so eagerly standard these ideas that, at their root, are so opposite to that which might be taken into consideration orthodox? Why are such a lot of things Other than biblical principles being sought out to meet the wishes of folks who declare to be Christians?
In 2 Corinthians, 11th bankruptcy, the Apostle warned that some could come preaching “Another Jesus” and “a one-of-a-kind gospel.” He wrote, “…as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” There are three styles of doctrine spoken of in the New Testament: the doctrine of guy, the doctrine of devils and the doctrine of Christ (and of God). Personally, I contend that Bible illiteracy is The idea for this continual weakening of Orthodox Christianity. One instance of this can be observed in the wide variety of Southern Baptists who’re joining the Mormon Church. Consistent with the Arizona Latter-day Sentinel, April 2, 1988, “…an average of 282 individuals in their church joins the LDS church each week. Coincidentally, the (sic) common Southern Baptist congregation has 283 participants, this means that the Baptists lose 52 congregations each yr to the Mormons.
Although a collection might also point out the call ‘Jesus’ and season their verbal exchange with spiritual-sounding, familiar Christianese, Not all that glitters is gold. As an example, those who worship The Sacred Mushroom (No, I’m Not kidding) seek advice from a mushroom as ‘Jesus’ so, based upon Romans 10:9-10 (…If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the lifeless, thou shalt be stored. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.) they bear in mind themselves to be “saved.” a few honestly believe this and have positioned their faith in a fungus.
We must ask ourselves simply WHO this Jesus is every time that call is spoken. Is he Lucifer’s brother? The archangel Michael? An Ascended grasp? A trifling prophet? A fungus? Or is the ‘Jesus’ to whom they refer the Lord of all Creation that He claimed to be? You see Jesus of Nazareth turned into both a liar, a lunatic, or surely Lord of all… The way WE have to see Him as well.
Element 2: The FARCE is with us!
After the primary Superstar Wars movie, Christian bumper stickers got here out mentioning that the “Pressure” was with us. Wondering the Superstar Wars film turned into a Christian allegory, many assumed this “Force” being mentioned in the film become the Holy Spirit. Of path, as we all recognize, the Holy Spirit is not a Force, however, the 0.33 Character of the triune God that we worship.
proper?
No longer In step with a 2001 survey with the aid of the Barna Group which stated that 61% of Americans believed the Holy Spirit to be An insignificant symbol of God’s presence as opposed to a residing entity. Scripture really reveals that the Holy Spirit has a motive – to empower folks who accept as true within Christ for the advancing of His State – in addition to non-public man or woman tendencies. But, I wonder at how many Christians, ministers protected, talk over with Him merely as “it” – If they well knew Him at all. simply as fantastic, 60% of adults consider Satan is merely an image of evil. But, 81% people agree with angels exist and have an impact on human beings’ lives.
What is most startling approximately the Celebrity Wars phenomenon isn’t always the advent of Yet Every other movie, but the actual ways in which people around the arena seem like forming a religion out of the aspect. The Anglican Digest mentioned that the first college to train Jedi – named for the Jedi Knights from the collection – changed into lately opened in Romania. Publications on the Superstar Wars Academy encompass the perfect use of lightsaber swords and training on how to speak Wookiee.
The BBC mentioned (2002) that at the least 70,000 human beings in Australia wrote in “Jedi” as their reaction beneath the class of faith on the last census form. Hard-middle fans of the movies had been seeking to have Jedi declared a professional religion across the English-speak international for years now.
The same situation befell in New Zealand of their census of 2001. Similarly, greater than 390,000 human beings in England declared themselves Jedi in their census of the equal year – a surprisingly wide variety when you recollect that simplest 260,000 people in England declared themselves to be Jewish! There are numerous Internet campaigns happening now that inspire electorate in the U.S. To petition for Jedi as a reputable religion on the following U.S. Census form.
Celebrity Wars creator, George Lucas, once stated: “I put the Pressure into the film with a purpose to attempt to awaken a sure form of spirituality in younger human beings — more a notion of God than a perception in any specific religious system. I wanted to make it so that young people would begin to ask questions about the thriller.”
nicely, it backfired, George. In a Time mag interview, Lucas downplayed any nonsecular implications approximately his series, however then went on to confess to the use of “the Pressure” as an illustration of God and the Darkish Facet warrior, Darth Vader, as a metaphor for the evil that exists inside us all. How unique is that from pronouncing all human beings are born in sin and want the assist of “God” to save them? Sounds quite spiritual, does it Not?
Unfortunately, only a few proponents of this Jedi religion have noticed that their new “religion” is very elitist and best a completely few of the Celebrity Wars characters are authorized to obtain any enjoy the Force, that being best the ones noted in the collection as Jedi Knights. A long way from being literally a ‘life-Pressure’ that may be harnessed by way of the underclasses and oppressed, it may only be utilized by a delegated few High Priests.
The Holy Spirit is so entitled to one very particular, apparent purpose: to distinguish Him from EVIL spirits, deceiving devils which are continuously at work in our midst, killing, stealing and destroying even folks that call themselves ‘Christian.’ The Holy Spirit empowers us. He convicts us of sin AND of our righteousness. He comforts, exhorts, edifies and confirms. He’s a consistent Trainer and reminds us of all that Jesus taught (so examine what Jesus taught). He is the exact equal Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead and He desires to absorb residence in absolutely everyone who believes that Jesus is who He stated He is.
Jesus despatched Him. So, He’s manifestly all properly ever want! He’s no mere Force, but wherein Devil and his minions are concerned, He will make YOU a Pressure to be reckoned with.
Component three: The Kabbalah Kraze
The ultra-modern today’s religion is the Kabbalah. Pop singer Madonna has reportedly donated tens of millions to the purpose. Other well-known followers consist of comedian Roseann Barr, actress Demi Moore and lots of others. In modern day occult revolution wherein every dimension of the occult is being explored, there has been a revived interest in Kabbalah amongst both Jew and Gentile.
Although its Jewish origin makes it precise, Kabbalah is still basically an occultic exercise and is hence incompatible with the Judeo-Christian faiths. Its Pantheistic theology teaches that every one fact springs directly from God’s very own essence. Even supposing one believes that those “emanations” from God’s essence have “long past through a descent of ten spheres on four exclusive tiers” – whatever Which means – the conclusion is inescapable that even he who’s on the bottom degree is still of 1 essence with God; and hence, ultimately, that person IS God. This is a concept that is incompatible with the Biblical concept God, who created the world out of not anything, No longer out of Himself. In Genesis 1:1, the Hebrew phrase for “create” is “bara,” referring to something popping out of not anything. This verse debunks Pantheism, the perception that God is within the Creation and IS the Introduction. God isn’t always the tree, the rock, the building or the air. Yet, Pantheism holds that God permeates the whole lot, and, consequently, IS all.
Pantheism is not particular to the practitioners of Kabbalah. I as soon as debated a believer in Pantheism and requested him if God was in the ones chicken droppings at the rock wall before us. I trust I heard his intellectual wheels come to a screeching halt for a second. “Come now,” I said, urging him Now not to check his brain at the door, “your ideas are either actually real at all times or they aren’t true in any respect.” By the way, he was a member of a neighborhood mainline Christian denomination. Pantheism is being embraced with the aid of many Christians. The concept is, basically, that most effective the nonsecular measurement exists. some Pantheistic religions consist of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Pantheism also forms The premise for Transcendental Meditation and some components of recent Age mysticism.
This should No longer be careworn with the idea of God’s omnipresence. God IS omnipresent. He is everywhere without delay. David stated, “…If I ascend up into heaven, thou (God) artwork there: if I make my mattress in hell, behold, thou art there,” (Psalm 139: eight). however, god isn’t the created world. In truth, He’s completely Outside to the created international. Worship belongs to the writer, Now, not His Creation. Paul tells us in Romans 1:25 that there could be those “Who modified the reality of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature extra than the author….”
God is related to the world as a sculptor is related to his sculpture, or I’m related to this email messages on my laptop display screen right now. The sculptor isn’t the sculpture. The writer is not the writing. The sculpture and the writing are productions. They’re produced by the only that creates, and what one creates, can be created once more. Possibly it will be one-of-a-kind or it is able to be higher.
God created everything just by means of talking it into lifestyles. It changed into Now not hard. He is God, you understand. “Let there be mild and there has been mild”. Poof! “Permit the waters to bring about and they brought forth, Allow the earth bring forth and it introduced forth” (Genesis 1:20,24). Poof! God changed into No longer positioned to a check to make the universe. some say, “Mankind become a greater tough product!” God fashioned Adam out of the dirt of the ground; we must No longer were TOO hard. Like a dust pie perhaps. Poof! He took a rib from Adam’s Aspect, spoke a word, and became it into a woman. Poof! That turned into Not Tough for God. This complete Advent changed into Not any such wonderful manufacturing in which God become worried. To us, it’s miles absolutely unfathomable. With only a little phrase, it all got here to be, or at the least, got commenced. It becomes really smooth for the author. Genesis 1:31 declares that in six days – Even though a day is as a thousand years in God’s economy – it all got here to be, certainly via His spoken phrases.
Imagine having that kind of an all-powerful creator God coping with our measly, temporal problems! He Desires to manage our lives in this equal way, but we need to Supply them to Him.
Element four: If it’s damaged, Permit’s repair it
North The united states is the only continent on the earth wherein the Church isn’t always developing, no matter a 2002 Barna survey revealing that 85% of us self-pick out as Christians. The exodus from American church buildings has reached biblical proportions. people are leaving organized church buildings at a charge of fifty-three,000 per week in Europe and North America mixed (the U.S. misplaced 57,500 inside the whole Vietnam Conflict, to position that range in attitude). As a whole, Christians lose 7, six hundred an afternoon to Different religions or irreligion.
In line with the North American Mission Board (NAMB), the need for new church buildings is more than it’s ever been as evidenced by the church-to-populace ratios over the last century. As an example, in 1900, there have been 27 church buildings, of multiple denominations, in keeping with 10,000 human beings. These days there are 12 church buildings according to 10,000 humans. Meanwhile, 8 churches near their doors permanently each day; almost 3,000 annually.
The mind boggles concerning the trendy in American Church information. For instance, the quantity of ministers who no longer agree with in the infallibility of Scripture is startling: eighty-five% of the Presbyterian United states of America pastors stated NO; 85% of the Methodist pastors said NO; 85% of the Episcopal pastors stated NO; 55% of the Baptist pastors said NO; forty-five% of the Catholic Monks stated NO.
A whopping forty-two% of USA citizens trust Jesus devoted sins. Whereas Jesus directed us to “cross and make disciples,” only16% of American Christians are concerned in a discipleship procedure of frequent assembly with a group or character for a religious increase. The Internet is the best mass medium whose target market proportion has grown throughout the past decade. The share of the populace the usage of the Internet as a nonsecular useful resource has increased by way of two-thirds in view that 1998. Consistent with the Barna Institution, “Our studies continue to show that human beings are using the Christian media to offer elements of ministry that aren’t effectively furnished to them with the aid of their nearby church.” He defined, “For a few people, these media supplement their church revel in. For others, an aggregate of those media paperwork a sizeable portion of their faith revels in….”
Church leaders have to start strategizing properly about now!
Yes, the times They’re a-changing’. The Church have to wisely adapt and reach the masses in which They may be, however we ought to cautiously filter out the whole lot we read and hear through the lessons of Jesus Christ. Recollect the sensible counsel of Paul: “Watch out lest any man spoils you via philosophy and useless deceit, after the culture of men, after the rudiments of the sector, and No longer after Christ,” Colossians 2:8. Lamentably, plenty of this modern-day religious smorgasbord, consisting of the new Millenium’s hybrid faiths – Even though they will well be signs and symptoms of the apostasy of the cease times – are certainly something much less than the unpaid invoices of the Church at huge.
Selah.
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